This post is mostly in response to all of the people I see dumping on the EEE or worse, using the EEE to dump on Linux. You see Windows zealots flaming it because you can’t play game X on it. You see some flaming it because it comes with Xandros; others use it to complain about distro proliferation. They are all right yet still about as wrong as people can be.

It can be funny watching some people try to get their minds wrapped around the value of Linux...

Think about it folks: you cannot run Word on your Volkswagen either but it still carried your carcass to work this morning. And the converse is true as well: Petrol on a Windows machine is….wait a minute we might be onto something here. Just kidding. The point is, they are different tools for different purposes and there is no value in blaming the other tool for not being like yourself. And I am not implying Windows users are tools…

continue reading "The many faces of Linux and the humble EEE"

Howdy, this is the author of DVD-DB and EZRip. I can assure you that I am not MIA, I have not been eaten by a pack of dogs, just busy. You know how it is. Also have been fighting a number of irritating bugs in EZRip not to mention the idiocy of (in a weak moment) allowing Vi to reformat the main Python file in EZRip, completely fouling the logic. But first:

• DVD-DB is now and hopefully forever more known as DVD Metabase. I changed it because I found another site that is acting as a DVD database but not for this kind of information. Regardless, the name was too similar and since I really had nothing to lose, I renamed it to something more in keeping with the nature of the data. I am in the process now of expunging it from the site and changing the name in available source. I will leave the smaller utility classes alone since the name at that level is pretty generic.
• By the end of this weekend I will have the rest of the metadata table population scripts online.
• Also, using examples from XML-RPC.org I mean to publish the proper XML-RPC interfaces to the back-end so that anyone can interact with it.
• I have come the a sad conclusion that as much as I love HandBrake for ripping it is brain-damaged WRT scanning the disc. I now have processed at least 20-30 discs from my personal collection where HandBrake segfaults (from 0.9.2 and including the latest version straight from Subversion) yet humble lsdvd reads all of the tracks perfectly. Now HandBrake may work better for some folks and in time they might fix the bugs (or if I run out of things to do I may take a swing at it and submit a patch), who knows. To account for this, there is a new config setting: EZRipConfig::scanWithLSDVD. Set this to 0 (default) and HandBrakeCLI will query the disc. Set it to 1 and lsdvd will be used.
• As mentioned above, part of EZRip got hosed and I am slowly piecing that logic back together. This also reinforces my need to finally pick a VCS and use it. I am still trying to decide if a distributed or conventional VCS makes more sense.
• Finally I have extended EZRip to scan a disc differently. The scan process I am referring to here is where you have a lot of strange tracks on a disc (multiple duplicate episodes on a TV series for instance or perhaps lots of special features) and you want to get a clue as to what they are w/o going through the whole rip process. Scan mode now will rip the first N chapters of each interesting track on the disc in low-quality mode to allow you to “sample” each video file to see if you want to use it or not. The number of chapters can be set by filter or track “type” so movies for instance can rip only the first chapter whereas sometimes you need two or three for a show to get to the title sequence.  Then in full rip mode, any quality/encoding measures you have selected are used.
• The old Target variable in EZRip has gone away to make room for a more reliable method of managing selected track types.
• Lots of bugs fixed.

That is all for now. The current EZRip is in test as I write this. If it passes all of my regression tests I will post a new version tonight. Same for DVD Metabase; no bugs to fix but need to extend the scripts to populate the peripheral metadata tables. I can’t wait to share this with the world because this thing is kicking some serious tail here in the lab…

Me to you

JeffC

Here is a real-world example of something Windows will never do do that Linux *encourages*: rebuilding your kernel to support new hardware. You can do this on Linux; you may not want to but it is really nice knowing that you can. Microsoft will never ever allow this so opting with Linux here is less a philosophical choice than a practical one. Same goes for the wireless and audio drivers. Now you probably will not want to compile your kernel every day but if you do it the Debian way, you can do it fairly easily and safely when you need to.

Normally installing Linux these days is a pretty uneventful process. Sure once in a while the odd bit of hardware can provide some drama but that usually lasts as long as it takes Google to hand me the answer. Sony hardware on the other hand usually has enough uniqueness to it that you get to test your problem-solving abilities or at the very least your patience. The Sony CR 190 was no different.

The hardware and software discussed in this article are a year old at this point; however the hardware is what you will find on the budget machines available today. Some of the hardware will probably be supported by a current distro without requiring such extraordinary measures but that is not the point. The skills used here are useful with just about any Linux with just about any hardware.

In this article we will install Debian Etch on a Sony Vaio CR 190 and at the end of the day have everything but the web cam working. We will rebuild the kernel from fresh source, we will configure and rebuild Alsa to support the advanced audio, we will enable hardware acceleration on a common GPU, and finally rebuild and configure the wireless drivers.

continue reading "The difference between “Don’t wanna” and “Can’t”"

This is the first of a series of short how-to articles for Linux. None shall be overly dense or complex. As the title suggests, it will be about getting the job done simply and easily. Sometimes you go for the big-hack like challenge and others you need something like this.

In this story I will share a simple process for creating instructional videos on a fairly common Ubuntu-ish desktop. They needed to be easily played on a variety of platforms and the creation process itself should require little research or new skills to accomplish. Ultimately it should be easy to accomplish using standard hardware and Linux distribution. I needed to get it done and done quickly. It meets my criteria for such a task: it gets the job done. Once the prerequisites are set up, I can create a new how-to video for Linux in less than 5 minutes (less of course actual recording time).

It meets my criteria for such a task: it gets the job done. Once the prerequisites are set up, I can create a new how-to video for Linux in less than 5 minutes (less of course actual recording time).

continue reading "Gettin’ it done: Simple Instructional Video Creation on Linux"

With the sudden website move out of the way and only as damaged as expected (there will be the odd bad link for a while, mostly older stuff but if you see something please point it out to me), I turned my attention to the Linksys NSLU2 I acquired at LinuxWorld this year. The only real difference between this box and what anyone else would start with is that this was running OpenWRT. I used this for a year or so on a different device and I have to say its a *whole* lotta fun.

In this story I will show you how I converted a mild-mannered Linksys NSLU2 into an RTorrent Appliance. I can park this on a bookshelf someplace and anytime from anywhere I can scp a torrent file to that machine which will then download the requested file to the attached storage. In this case I installed Debian Etc to a 2G USB key, then plugged in the external storage, a Seagate 200G external drive. The finished product looks like this (EFF shirt is extra):

Sluggo and friends happily torrenting away...

continue reading "Converting a NSLU2 into an RTorrent appliance"

I am posting this from Bubba 2.0 (well, in name only), a repurposed laptop with a busted lid. Thats me, Mr Big Bux when it comes to throwing hardware at my site. Started with bare-metal this morning and now have a usable Etch server loading these pages much faster than before and should be able to shoulder the load if I send something to Linux Today again.

continue reading "And a bright and cheery welcome to Bubba2…"

Hi gang. This will likely be the last post from this server. Have a lot to share when this comes back. Suddenly a new project starts, not one but three projects move forward, Bubba shows his or her upper limit, an instant server and more.

The impact here is that over the course of this weekend I am going to set up and move jbcobb.net over to a real headless box running Etch.

But first let me tell you about poor little Bubba and the perfect techno-storm of bugs…

continue reading "The day Bubba choked…."

With so much going on one would wonder why take on any more; I am behind on things as it is. Well for one thing I pay the tab here so if it takes me a year or two this get this out, ya know what? Too bad. Sometimes there is a karma tab to pay in life too and so I do. I feel so lucky about so many things in life that when I can help someone else I will. I have a great wife, a great job and at a time when so many more have so much less I will really try to help folks but the help has gotta mean something…it can’t be just coins in a bucket or a check in the mail.

But first let me tell you about Walter Tore, where my blues crosses my tech…

continue reading "Interesting side project: Setting up an Edubuntu machine for a special friend"

Holy cow have things caught up with me and the many projects I have going on. For the longest time so many projects were able to run in a vacuum or with only minimal interaction. No more. Now it seems that everything is needing some aspect of everything, not to mention the need for process. The good news is I am going to wind up turning out and releasing a lot of tools and software in fairly short order. To whit:

continue reading "Tasks are multiplying like rabbits…."

After a lot of refocusing of priorities, the DVDDB release will be delayed for at least another few days. Lots of things have changed but I think for the better. As a one-man coding crew, I get done what I can when I have the time. The thing is, while not all of the stuff that is delaying release is needed now; however when it is needed I fear that I will not have the time to do it so and ounce of prevention seems prudent. The upside to this is that the API’s will be more stable on the back-end, the DVDDB will be far more secure and easier to manage and the whole project will be better-tested end-to-end.

continue reading "Last minute details…."