Archive for the 'brain dumps' Category

Xecuter rocks my box with XBMC

Published
by
jonh
on Tuesday, May 13, 2008
in FYI and brain dumps
. 0 Comments

AKA: Xecuter modchip installation
AKA: Installing XBMC on your Xbox

My Xbox (original one) has spent the last two months in pieces. This is due, in no small part, to my inability to solder stuff on to a PCB, and also my inability to solder very well at all.

Still it’s all done now so I thought I’d give a quick rundown as to how it all went.

First off it’s important to point out that this is for a hardware mod, if you Xbox still works then you can try a [softmod] rather than taking it all apart, but I don’t know much/anything about that.

What you need:

  • Xecuter3 modchip - get it from the [ModChip Store]
  • Some Torx screwdrivers (T20, T15, T10) - get them at Halfords or Maplins
  • 7W soldering iron + solder + a fine tip for the soldering iron + a multimeter for testing your connections! Also if you haven’t soldered for a while/ever buy a little [build it yourself kit from Maplin] too so you can practice

OK so here we go:

  1. Take your Xbox apart using this lovely guide at [xbox-modchips]
  2. Now follow this fantastic guide from [Modchip.com on how to install your Xecuter 3 CE]. If you haven’t soldered before/for a while I would have a bit of a practice on the kits that you got from Maplins, cos you’re going to have to do it real good on the Xbox.
  3. Right so now it’s installed and when you boot you get the [Flashbios screen]
  4. OK so now you need to install a BIOS on your chip, use the link above to learn how to flash via HTTP
  5. Right so you’re all learned up, now you need to get a BIOS (I’d recommend the Xecuter BIOS) lets go though the steps to get a BIOS:
    • Get an IRC client - use google
    • Connect to the chat server at irc.Prison.NET and then join the channel #xbins
    • Once you’ve joined type:

      !list

      and wait for IRC chat to respond to you with a username and password to access distribution.xbins.org with

    • Now use an FTP client (like [FireFTP]) and login using the details you just received.
    • BIOSes are located in /XBOX/Console Based Applications/bios - get the Xecuter one!
  6. OK so now you need to UnRar the bios to get a .bin file (find a RAR program for you operating system from Google)
  7. Now use the HTTP flash method that you learned a few steps earlier to flash the BIOS - if you get an error use the page above - my modchip had the write protect labeled backwards
  8. OK I’m going to assume that step has all gone to plan and now when you turn the Xbox on you see the “Xecuter rocks my box” written under the large green glowing X and you get dumped to a config screen for the Xecuter BIOS
  9. The IP address should be in the bottom left. FTP to that address with the username and password x3
  10. If you’re doing this because you’ve replaced your Xbox hard drive then choose the Disk option and get Xecuter to partition it
  11. So now on to installing XBMC - I would recommend [installing it as a dashboard]. If you’re using a blank hard drive name the .xbe and .cfg as xbmc.cfg and xbmc.xbe
  12. You’re probably wondering where to get XMBC from now that you’ve got the dashboard and you get it from [T3CH]
  13. Now using the Xecuter FTP server you can [install XBMC via FTP]
  14. Once that’s done then choose “Reboot to Dash” from the menu and enjoy XBMC!
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New inventions for 2010! (aka the future)

Published
by
jonh
on Sunday, January 6, 2008
in Funny, Thoughts and brain dumps
. 6 Comments

Confused? then let me explain. We’re currently in the future that as a child I looked forward to but it’s slightly more disappointing than I expected it to be, for instance the following things are missing:

  • Flying Cars - car’s don’t really seem to have changed at all…
  • Space Bases/Travel/Stuff - 50% of the stuff we send into space explodes :(
  • Robots - OK we have a few things that can [vacuum your carpet], but nothing more really…

Nothing particularly outrageous, but still they’re all wrong :(

So here are my predictions for 2010 (the new future). They’re split into two categories:

  • Concrete predictions - Stuff that totally will happen!
  • Fluffy predictions - fluffy ideas that I can argue I got right - possibly contains humour

As a side note this idea has been totally scraped from the [last Lug Radio podcast] but now that it’s under a [Creative Commons License] it’s all good :D.

Fasten your seatbelts…

Concrete Predictions

  • 1 Terabyte iPod - that’s a lot of songs kids
  • Nuclear Fusion - putting stuff together can create at least as much energy as breaking it apart!
  • Electric Cars - like the [Tesla] but I think that they’re going to become more common as better batteries are invented

Fluffy Predictions

  • iPod connections on everything - most probably your microwave
  • A generation of Adults with massive forearms from playing Wii too much in their childhood
  • Linux kicking ass on the desktop - yeah yeah laugh it up, one day it will come true…
  • Companies becoming more open - more open development, methods, what they’re thinking, what they’re planning etc
  • Maybe a laboratory under the sea….maybe in another 10 or so years… :)

Come on then, what are your predictions for 2010?

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Things to know about writing Facebook applications

Published
by
jonh
on Thursday, November 29, 2007
in Code, Rants, brain dumps and zooomr
. 2 Comments

From writing my little [Zooomr RSS Reader Facebook application] I believe there are a few things that developers need to be aware of that aren’t immediately obvious.

  1. The application you write is hosted on your server not Facebook!

    Facebook secretly includes the PHP (or whatever) pages under the covers, so http://apps.facebook.com/zooomr_rss_reader is actually mostly http://facebook.bluemonki.net/zooomr/index.php5 with some surrounding Facebook stuff.

  2. The Facebook profile page is static!

    Yeah you heard me it’s static. No it does not make calls to your server when people see it. Think about it, I don’t have that many Facebook apps on my profile but it’s got to be at least 10 different sections - which as we now know means 10 calls to 10 different webservers - which means it would suck, hard.

    The way it works is that you have a cron job (a job that runs every 30 minutes or so) that inserts data into a users profile page using the Facebook API in PHP (or whatever).

  3. You need to look after users data!

    This is kind of an addendum to point 1 and point 2. Lets use an example to make this clearer:

    • For my Zooomr app I need to store peoples Zooomr username
    • In order to insert stuff into their profile page I also need their Facebook ID
    • This means I have to store a (MYSQL) database of Facebook ID’s against Zooomr ID’s and look after it.

    It’s not that much of a big deal, but it seems a little strange. I guess if you do annoying things with someones Facebook ID - write crap on their profile page, send them messages etc - then they’ll just remove your app. Still weird.

So there we go, the 3 main gotchas about writing Facebook applications, at least as far as I was concerned - maybe you’ve had a different experience? Maybe you don’t care. Maybe your cat just died! I strongly doubt any of the above will help with the cat dying, but you never know.

Now that I’ve felt I’ve contributed in a constructive fashion here’s a few things that really got on my b-cups about the whole thing.

  1. No love for BETA

    Developers like to test things before they release them to the world at large. Now initially this is really easy - cos when you’re developing your app you can tick a magical box that says ‘only let developers of this app add it’.

    Great. The problem happens when version 1 of your amazing cat based app is out and you’re working on version 1.1. Lots of people have 1.0 installed, so you can’t just go and change the code running on your server willy nilly, and you can’t change the application end points on Facebook cos that will change it for everyone. So basically you need to create another application in order to have a developer stream of your app and a production stream. PAIN IN THE ASS!

  2. GOD DAMN INFINITE SESSION KEYS!!

    OK so this is all about point 2 - the magical cron script that updates peoples profile pages. To do this you need a valid (PHP) session key. You get one of these when you log into Facebook but it expires after 2 days which is why the infinite session key is useful - it never expires!

    Getting one though is harder than it would first seem - this is the procedure I went through to get one:

    1. Uninstall the app you’re writing from your account
    2. Install another browser (safari is good for Windows types)
    3. [Create the get_infinite_session_key.php5 file described on the Facebook developers wiki]
    4. Visit the page in your new browser and don’t forget to tick the box that says ‘remember my id’
    5. That’s the number!! KEEP IT SAFE!

    Phew!

OK so I think I’ve covered both sides of the things that bothered me about Facebook apps and I hope I’ve instilled some pearls of wisdom to your good selves, now get back to work!

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new scientist

Published
by
jonh
on Thursday, May 17, 2007
in Rants and brain dumps
. 3 Comments

Sometimes (read most times) [new scientist] makes me jump up and down with anger!!

For instance this article on [Predicting Chaotic Systems] sent from one of my work buddies. Have a quick read - it’s not very long I promise.

So what’s the problem with it? Well I’m glad you asked!

The analogy given to the problem of predicting chaotic systems is thus:

You cannot predict the exact path a ball will take as it bounces through a pinball machine. But you can predict that the average score will change if the entire machine is tilted.

Which makes sense, but then they go on to say:

Similarly, while we cannot predict the weather in a particular place and on a particular day in 100 years time, we can be sure that on average it will be far warmer if greenhouse gases continue to rise.

Right so read those two statements again and you should stop something inconsistent. Try again, oh all right here it is:

Pinball: tilting table CHANGES average score
Weather: green house gases INCREASE temperature

Right, and what’s the problem with this then? Well we KNOW how to tip a pinball machine to get a better average score, we understand the system. Unfortunately we don’t understand the weather - it’s chaotic you see.

So in the pinball example, we understand the system, we understand what we’ve done to the system and so we can predict the result.

But in the weather example, we DON’T understand the system, we DO understand what we’ve done to it, but that in DOES NOT MEAN that we can predict it. All we’re saying at the moment is: ohh it’s getting hotter isn’t it? Mmmm yes it is! That’s not predicting, it’s some kind of ‘line-of-best-fit’.

Please note that I’m not saying that green houses gases aren’t bad, I’m just trying to make a point about chaotic systems.

Ideas for Inventions or at least stuff what people should make…

Published
by
jonh
on Tuesday, April 24, 2007
in brain dumps
. 8 Comments

These are some ideas I’ve had that are taking up space in my head - can someone please make them for me? Ta

  • A little sensor that you can attach to your backpack a beeps when the sun gets too hot and there’s a danger of you getting sunburnt - or something like that
  • A pen that draws in Ant pheromones so you can lead the Ants back out of your house once they’re in
  • A recharge shop. A place where you can drop stuff off to be recharged for a small fee, or pay a larger amount to swap your dead battery for a full one if you’re in a rush

That’s all I can remember for now…I really need to start keeping a pad next to my bed so I can jot this stuff down!

Ubuntu, a macbook and the hash key

Published
by
jonh
on Tuesday, April 10, 2007
in Code, brain dumps, linux and ubuntu
. 2 Comments

In the default install of Ubuntu Feisty Fawn on an Apple Intel Macbook, the hash key doesn’t work.

This isn’t really a surprise because it barely works in OSX (Alt/Option 3).

To mimic this functionality in Ubuntu go to System -> Preferences -> Keyboard, choose the tab labeled Layout Options.

In the Third Level Choosers list tick the box named: Press Left Alt key to choose 3rd level.

Keyboard Preferences, UbuntuKeyboard Preferences, Ubuntu Hosted on Zooomr

Now you have the # (hash) key by pressing the Alt/Option button and 3 at the same time.

Alt + 3 = Hash (#)Alt + 3 = Hash (#) Hosted on Zooomr

This is pretty damn useful if you like doing include statements in C/C++ or writing comments in scripting languages like Perl, Ruby and PHP.

enjoy!

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Animal X Games 2007

Published
by
jonh
on Thursday, April 5, 2007
in Funny and brain dumps
. 6 Comments

So there I was sorting out some test material on a developers box, running it, fixing it, running it some more. In other words bored. This dev just happens to have a white board next to his desk and I’m bored.

Well what did you expect? Probably not….

ANIMAL X GAMES 2007 (sponsored by Geoff Hurst)

Animal X Games 2007Animal X Games 2007 Hosted on Zooomr

Click on the photo above to be taken to [Zooomr] which will allow you to see close ups of the individual events, it’s almost like being there!

For the partially sighted of you here’s a run down of what you could see if you weren’t partially sighted:

  • Fox Duck chasing
  • Cat-Cow-Pig Halfpipe Rollerskating
  • Badger Surfing
  • Giraffe Fell Rolling (like [Fell Running] but using a ball)

Anything you’d like to see at next years Animal X Games before the council shut us down?