computoman

One of the interesting features in Kodi is setting the country and time zone: Here is a picture tour of where to go. The other quick hint is that having a remote control might be an issue.    To set a web interface add-on as the default web UI, go to System -> Services -> Webserver and select that add-on for the Default value. Then go to the hostname (or IP address) of that HTPC+Port number. Note: Some platforms use port 80, which is the assumed port if no port is given in the address. Now you can use a touchpad with a browser or a laptop.  Setting up am entry in the local dns will make things easier. I like the fact that the cursor keys work great with the system. Personally I just use an old 600 mhz laptop to be the remote control. Allows you to use the internet if you need to or even just use an editor to take notes. That's it for now.

RPi. Touch pads good or bad are becoming so inexpensive that for the buck they are a better value than the lcd (liquid crystal displays) screens.  Also lcd's require interfacing. Just wanted something simple and elegant. So when thinking about making a portable device such as the Raspberry Pi, the touch pads had to be considered. Of course, other ways were considered also. For example you could use an an old black and white portable tv screen. Though portable and having it's own power source to power itself and the Raspberry Pi, they can be a bit bulky. Then another choice was a bit less bulky and you had the advantage of having a dual purpose media device as a monitor. Yes a cd/dvd play could be considered if it has a least video in and a usb port for powering the Raspberry Pi.  As with the tv you will need to make a special case, but that is no big deal.  The best choice it seemed to me would be to use a touch pad. But how to connect them b...

Here is a neat little trick to get move volume from your touchpad or etc, allit required us just a few pieces pvc pipe. There were several ways to do it.  The ist was to use a tube and two elbows. It was effective but not very sturdy, To ke the unit, you would take a piece of tube long enough for the the Nexus7 and the elbows to attach. The you would attach the elbows. The insert the Nexus 7. More often than not the it had to be propped up against something. Drcided to use tees instead of th elbows. Since both sides of the tubes were open, it led to a loss of volume, No problem. Found something to plu up the back sides of the tubes and viola it worked; The finished version.

Touchpads are great. The super portable computer. You can spend several hundred dollars for the Microsoft  surface or save yourself some money if you have access to a Microsoft Windows desktop machine. All you need is a remote desktop software.  Accessing my old XP box with a touchpad. Then again you can also access a linux server with the same software. Raspberry Pi What is below the surface of your touchpad?

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...

Home computer networks are the new model trains. Here we are using a web application from the home web server in the kitchen. User end device: The server:

Perfect for use on a touchpad or the like. Sheldon of the big bang theory would surely love this. Code is at: http://dzwap.ru/f3107/ziprar/?f=index.html

Want to increase the sound volume of your touch pad or the like? This is for units that have the speaker on the bottom of the unit.  Try this neat trick. Take a length of about seven inches of one inch diameter pvc pipe. Your size may vary,   Most hardware stores carry pvc pipe, but you might have to get a long piece just to make a short piece. I had about a two foot long piece already,  Cut a groove in the pipe just wide enough to insert your pad. You probably do not want it too tight. You will also need two elbows. I just used right hand elbows as they were a lot cheaper than the slight angled ones. Press the two elbows on each end. Get your music going on your touch pad and insert it. You should have more than twice the volume without using any kind of electronics with your new megaphone!!

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...