computoman

Now let us take a look a remote music controller called mpd. With mplayer we could do everything from the command line, mpd we should be able to use the gui on the remote machine. We will not need to use ssh here either. You will want to set up your host machines with speakers as before. Then we need to add a new piece of software called mpd. It is available for a wide variety of systems including Android. http://mpd.wikia.com/wiki/Clients $ sudo apt-get install mpd Server does not have to have gui installed. Copy your music files to the server if they are not already there. Then you will want go edit the config file for you file settings and etc. $ sudo vim /etc/mpd.conf Once you have that done, you will need to go to the client machine and install the following: $ sudo apt-get install mpc gmpc Then go to the gui menu for the  sound and video.   Choose the gnome-music-player-client. Everything is gui from there. You will need to set the servernam...

Computers are getting smaller and smaller. We use them to solve problems, but you still have to give them instructions to do what you want. Computer languages are a way to give the computer the instructions you want it to use.  The first computer I ever used was at college. Then they did not even have a computer major. Mostly you majored in math. The first computer was large and bulky. We used punch cards to get computer code into the machine. In fact, we used a language call Fortran (Formula translation) which was the forerunner of a more recent language called Basic (Beginner’s all purpose instruction code).  Fortran is still actually around and you can still use it. On Linux it is sometimes called gfortran. Basic has evolved into so many variations that are too many to mention though you may have heard of VB.net. Personally I prefer Quickbasic variations for my non-gui systems. The next computer I used in the professional world was the Datapoint Terminal i...

If you have access to MSWindows machines (XP, 7, or 8), you can build an MSWindows tablet for under $50 dollars. Purchase a cheap Android tablet for under fifty dollars and the add a free rdp (remote desktop) app from the app store and you have an instant windows desktop. Just connect to your mswindows box.  If you do not have access to mswindows systems then get a cheap system for a few hundred dollars. Still cheaper than the tablet per se. You come out ahead.

If you have access to MSWindows machines (XP, 7, or 8), you can build an MSWindows tablet for under $50 dollars. Purchase a cheap Android tablet for under fifty dollars and the add a free rdp (remote desktop) app from the app store and you have an instant windows desktop. Just connect to your mswindows box.  If you do not have access to mswindows systems then get a cheap system for a few hundred dollars. Still cheaper than the tablet per se. You come out ahead.

One of the latest little gadgets to come out on the market is Chromecast. You can push out media (video) from almost any device that supports the Dial protocol ( https://sites.google.com/a/dial-multiscreen.org/dial/ ). Commercials show users sending their video from laptop, ipad, iphone, and etc to the unit when the unit is attached to the back of a tv set that supports hdmi. There may still be some security issues to work out (i.e. http://blog.gtvhacker.com/2013/chromecast-exploiting-the-newest-device-by-google/ ) , but software can always be upgraded in some cases. Third party developers say that it is easy to program media to the unit using HTML5. The future of web browsing. Originally some free time with Netflix was included. Google has allegedly now taken that part of the deal off the table according to news reports. At only $35, if you have not purchased a media streaming device then certainly consider it.  I will probably stay with using XBMC on the Raspberry Pi. 

One of the latest little gadgets to come out on the market is Chromecast. You can push out media (video) from almost any device that supports the Dial protocol ( https://sites.google.com/a/dial-multiscreen.org/dial/ ). Commercials show users sending their video from laptop, ipad, iphone, and etc to the unit when the unit is attached to the back of a tv set that supports hdmi. There may still be some security issues to work out (i.e. http://blog.gtvhacker.com/2013/chromecast-exploiting-the-newest-device-by-google/ ) , but software can always be upgraded in some cases. Third party developers say that it is easy to program media to the unit using HTML5. The future of web browsing. Originally some free time with Netflix was included. Google has allegedly now taken that part of the deal off the table according to news reports. At only $35, if you have not purchased a media streaming device then certainly consider it.  I will probably stay with using XBMC on the Raspberry Pi....

Traditionally if you wanted to build an application for Android, you had to install a set of programs on the desktop computer. Doing so could cause a majority of problems. Now there are Android application environments now for direct use on Android such as the Nexus 7.  Such an application is called AIDE (Android integraded development environment). You can get Aide directly from Google play and download it directly ot your device. Now lets build a simple hello world program. Everyone's first program is usually the "Hello world" thing.  This will be a different experience from the days of: $ gcc progname.c -o progname or $ ./config $ make $ sudo make install 1. Get AIDE. It can be downloaded from the Play™ store. 2. Open up AIDE and it will ask to create a new project. AppName: HelloWorld PackageName: com.meetdageeks.HelloWorld 3. Goto MainActivity.Java and add the three lines (without the comments!). package com.HelloWorld; import androi...

Traditionally if you wanted to build an application for Android, you had to install a set of programs on the desktop computer. Doing so could cause a majority of problems. Now there are Android application environments now for direct use on Android such as the Nexus 7.  Such an application is called AIDE (Android integraded development environment). You can get Aide directly from Google play and download it directly ot your device. Now lets build a simple hello world program. Everyone's first program is usually the "Hello world" thing.  This will be a different experience from the days of: $ gcc progname.c -o progname or $ ./config $ make $ sudo make install 1. Get AIDE. It can be downloaded from the Play™ store. 2. Open up AIDE and it will ask to create a new project. AppName: HelloWorld PackageName: com.meetdageeks.HelloWorld 3. Goto MainActivity.Java and add the three lines (without the comments!). package com.HelloWorld; import android.app.*; ...

Always thinking of new ways to use a tripod. Earlier we made an adapter to allow a tripod to be a camera holder. Then I thought, why not make a portable lectern. From the spare wood pile, simple enough as you just needed a rectangle wooden base with a small strip of wood as a lower paper stop.   Actually, you do need a special part called a 1/4 inch tee nut so it can be connected to the tripod. You can get them for about two for a dollar at the local hardware store. Still think this setup is not that stable and would be hesitant to use it to hold any computing device, but then you can always live dangerously. Poor man's stain (a coat of tea and then a coat of vinegar that had steel wool steeping in it overnight.) Later after a week. No additional staining was done.

Have had a chance to play with the Google Nexus 7 that runs Android (I think was built by Asus ) for little over a month now.  Generally have a good thoughts about it though there are just a few reservations which I may discuss later. Since the unit has been out a while, you probably already know the specifications of the unit (you can use you web search engine to get the details if you have not.) I was lucky enought the get the 32 gigabyte version of the unit. Getting anything less than that could make real challenges for you. What was the first thing I added to the unit. first was some experimentation with some home made stands. Even the dollar store had a plastic stand. I based one of my experimental stands off of it. The main reason why I wanted the unit was to see how web applications work with touchpads and maybe also develop some software for the unit. Found out right way that the touchpads react differently than t...

Made some coat hanger tablet stands in another post using coat hangers, I wanted a stand that would be less likely to damage a touchpad and be easy to store while traveling. This what I dreamed of after seeing another idea. Draw your pattern. Trace it over two pieces of thick posterboard. Cut out the pieces. (Just using one long piece is hard to fold.) Double tape the backend of the two pieces together. Bend and insert your tablet. Update: yet another prototype stand. It did not work as expected, but worked well enough.

Years ago there was a song called "Where have all the flowers gone". I sort of wanted to do an introduction based off of that.  In a way the Intel i386 based architecture is not gone, but there is certainly a new major player on the scene. The Arm architecture is the new kid on the block. Originally used for embedded systems, is now coming into the main IT stream. There are desktops, laptops, tablets (aka palmtops), servers and etc that the I386 based systems have done for so long. What is the advantage of the Arm cpu's?  They are cheaper, require less electrical power, and require less space just for starters. The picture represents four different arm or arm derivative based devices that are all within a foot or so of each other. Almost like a whole network of devices.  None of them are the traditional Microsoft operating system based devices either. They are all using some kind of unix lookalike operating system. That is a good thing as it allows similar software t...

Feel like App stores and epub sites have too much control over your commuting computing devices. Well you are not alone. That is the general feeling from all the people who have seen ebooks and or applications either locked down or mysteriously missing. You do not feel as if you own the touchpad or the like. Chances are the web browser on your touchpad, will never be tampered with except for being updated.  Too many local applications on your device can also clutter up storage space.  Picture  What can be another option. You can use your own web server, or lease on-line web space, or use a web hosting service to use your own web applications. In earlier articles, I have talked about how you can write your own progrems for web use. You can actually get quite a few web based applications that are open source from the likes of sourceforge.net and other sites if you do not want to reinvent the wheel. There are so many programs available, from cooking to advanced business...

Raspberry Pi to get Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (popular touchpad operating system) .  Talked about the Raspberry Pi (SOC or system on a chip computer) before in an earlier article. According to several news sources such as  http://www.zdnet.com/raspberry-pi-to-get-android-4-0-ice-cream-sandwich-7000001980/ .  Although Icecream is not the latest version of Android, it is still new enough to be very viable. Hopefully Android version 4.1 will be available soon. What is really interesting is that you can already run an optimized version of Debian linux ( http://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads ) on the unit. With a composite video out port, you can connect it to most portable DVD players (with composite input) or older composite monitors. That means you can have a computer for under fifty dollars.  Since you can easily strap the Raspberry Pi behind a portable dvd player or a low cost portable touch screen, it as a home made touchpad will be surely competition for all t...

Huh? What do you mean that dead VGA monitor just saved you money?  That is what I did not have to go to the electronics store to purchase an overpriced VGA cable just to be cut apart. Why would I want to do that? Most personal computers now have what is know as the i2c (pronounced eye-squared-see) bus coming from the video port. Even the better touchpads and tablets have this port. This means you can connect all kinds of sensing devices to your computing equipment. Let's dig a little deeper. The most traditional sensors used are what is known as temperature sensors. They are electronic thermometers. So you could connect one or many of these sensors to the i2c bus off the computer's video port. Even some hdmi cables support this. Of course, you would need a special interface for your touchpad or tablet. But it is there. What can we do with the temperature sensors. The sensors can be placed in computer server rooms, around entertainment equipment (especially projecto...

Sourceforge.net has a tremendous amount of free software. One area they excel at is with web  server based software.  A web server is a perfect use for an old machine. In fact, I still have an old pII based box that runs our private web server. All the screenshots are from that system. Probably will have to update to a pIII soon. In any case I found this great piece of software that is easier to install than most desktop applications. It should work on any system with a W/M/Lamp based server. It is a POS or short for point of sale software. This is great for a garage sale or a charity event where you need to sort of act like a small business. Most everything in it is point and click once you have it set up. One thing I like about it is, you can access it with an Ipad, Android, or any tablet that has a built in web browser. That gives you and anyone working with you to have the freedom to move around at your sale and not be stuck behind a register. Using a program called ph...

If you have a Kindle, fire, ebook, epub, nook, pdf, android, or an Ipad, please listen up as we ran into this program that is available for the major platforms called Calibre. This particular program not only will help you manage your ebooks on your pc, but it can convert formats also. It is worth taking a look at. So far it is free! Main window: Convert page: Manual: http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/index.html

Computers are getting smaller and smaller. We use them to solve problems, but you still have to give them instructions to do what you want. Computer languages are a way to give the computer the instructions you want it to use.  The first computer I ever used was at college. Then they did not even have a computer major. Mostly you majored in math. The first computer was large and bulky. We used punch cards to get computer code into the machine. In fact, we used a language call Fortran (Formula translation) which was the forerunner of a more recent language called Basic (Beginner's all purpose instruction code).  Fortran is still actually around and you can still use it. On Linux it is sometimes called gfortran. Basic has evolved into so many variations that are too many to mention though you may have heard of VB.net. Personally I prefer Quickbasic variations for my non-gui systems. The next computer I used in the Professional world was the Datapoint Terminal in the days o...