Digital Jotter

Lately I’ve been enjoying the Camfrog video chat program. I’ve had to run it on an old Windows machine because my main desktop computer has Linux. There is a Linux server version of Camfrog for people who want to host their own chat room, but no Camfrog client version. This got me wondering if I could run the program on my Linux desktop using Wine or some other solution.

First I figured I had better get the webcam working under Linux. This turned out to be very easy. A check at the LibLand web site told me that I needed the gspca driver for my Logitech Communicate STX webcam. I have OpenSuSE Linux, so I used YAST to search for the software package and it came up with the gspcav-kmp-default package, which I installed. I remembered from previous trials with the webcam that the module needs to be loaded using the modprobe command.

In a terminal I did the following:

su
[enter root password]
modprobe gspca
exit

I used Skype to test out the webcam and it worked fine. The gspca module seems to load or unload when the webcam is plugged in or removed.

With the webcam now working, I downloaded the Windows version of the Camfrog video chat client and ran the install in a terminal using wine:

wine camfrog.exe

This worked really well and if I had needed to sign up for an account name I could have. As I already had a Camfrog username, I cancelled the sign-up and went straight to the login. This also worked flawlessly and my hopes were getting higher. But alas when attempting to join a chat room, the program would crash every time. After Googling around a bit I found this seemed to be the same situation for others. I would have to come up with a new plan.

Quite by chance I was reading my copy of APC magazine (an Australian PC mag) when I came across an article on virtualisation using VirtualBox. This allows the user to install another OS in a virtual environment on top of their host OS. To some this might seem a silly solution because you could just have a dual-boot machine. But to me it seemed a great idea because of the ability to run the extra OS like a program without the hassle of rebooting every time.

The magazine article suggested using your package installer to install VirtualBox, and I made this mistake! What the article failed to mention was that VirtualBox has two versions; an open source version without USB support (needed for the webcam) and a propriety version by Sun that has USB support and is free for private use. Go to the VirtualBox web site and get the propriety version. I found I could get the 1.6.6 stable version working well but not the experimental 2.0.2 version.

I had several goes at getting everything working properly because I didn’t know what I was doing, but the following instructions are based on my successful attempt. For OpenSuSE 11 to work with USB I had to do the following:

Add my username to the virtualbox group so I that had the correct permissions. I did this with YAST - Security and Users - User and Group Management

Find out the VirtualBox devgid (mine was 109)

cat /etc/group | grep vboxusers

Add the following entries in /etc/fstab in this order. (where xxx is the vboxuser gid)

/sys/bus/usb/drivers /proc/bus/usb usbfs devgid=xxx,devmode=664 0 0
none /dev/bus/usb usbfs devgid=xxx,devmode=664 0 0

Also add the following line in /etc/init.d/boot.local

mount -a

Reboot

Please note that this was peculiar to my Linux version and not every step may be necessary for your distro.

After installing the right version of VirtualBox for my hardware, I was able to run VirtalBox from my KDE menu under System - Sun xVM VirtualBox. The set-up is pretty srtaight forward if you read the dialogue boxes. Once you have created your virtual disk it’s a matter of popping your Windows XP install disk in the CD drive and checking a few settings on VirtualBox. Most important is to click on the CD/DVD ROM drive settings and make sure the mount setting is checked. This allows the Windows install disk to be booted. I also enabled Audio and USB, as the whole point of the exercise was to run Camfrog.

Pushing the green Start arrow on VirtualBox had me up and away with my Windows install on the virtual drive. The APC mag article said they needed to unmount and remount the CD after Windows first virtual reboot during install, so I did this using the Devices menu on VirtualBox and it all went well. I didn’t need to do this during the second virtual reboot. It wasn’t long before I was staring at a Windows desktop on top of my Linux desktop. Very amusing!

To get my webcam working I shut down Windows and went into the USB settings and the added a device filter for my webcam. Clicking the add filter from device showed up three possible choices (probably my keyboard, mouse, and webcam). I didn’t know which was which, so I used YAST - Hardware - Hardware information to get a report on all my gear. There is probably an easy command line way of finding the same info, but hey, I’m a point and click type of guy. I could see a label in the hardware information for my Logitech webcam that sort of matched one of the three VirtualBox choices, so I picked that one.

After starting Windows again, I installed the Logitech software that came with my webcam and after completing the set-up I could record videos with sound. Recording sound is only an option through USB, but luckily my webcam has a built-in mic. Plugging in a mic to my sound card didn’t work. I installed the Camfrog video chat software (which I download using IE). This time it all worked. My video wasn’t as smooth as on a native Windows machine, but I think this is down to the USB support provided on VirtualBox. Video from others was perfectly smooth depending on their Internet connection. The Camfrog program itself was very stable and worked just fine.

This might seem like a lot of work to get a Windows program working on Linux, but it was a fun learning experience and if I come across another Windows only program I would like to use, I now have everything set up.

Operating systems try to helpful by offering a range of choices based on events. But what happens when you make the wrong choice and set this choice as the default? You have to figure out how to undo it, and that can be a less than intuitive exercise. This happened to me recently, but luckily I found a quick fix.

While setting up my new computer I got sick of telling my OpenSuse system to do nothing when I inserted a CD. I put a check in the box to make my action the default and stop bothering me. Unfortunately, I picked the (to me anyway) very annoying option of having the contents of the CD displayed in a new window of the Konqueror file browser. I wanted the do nothing option. Oh dear…

Straight away I went to the settings tool for Konqueror, but couldn’t see anything that would change this behaviour. Mmmm… OK, I’ll try Google. This wasn’t helpful at all because no matter what sort of query I entered, I ended up with nothing remotely close to what I wanted to see due to the keywords being so common. Then suddenly a light came on… configuration files.

Modern Linux distributions make life so easy there is rarely any need to dip into the configuration files and I had almost forgotten about them. Basically every application will have a configuration file or set of files that are located in the user’s home directory and written in plain text, but hidden from normal view by having a period in front of the filename. Viewing these files is simply a matter of selecting ’show hidden files’ from the file manager’s view menu. Then it’s just a matter of finding the appropriate file and editing it.

This isn’t hard because the files are named in a way that provides good clues to their purpose. It only took a minute to scan the files and spot the one I wanted - medianotifierrc.

Editing it was easy because I could see other types of media that had the do nothing option as the default, so I just copied the syntax. After logging out and back in again for good measure, all was sweet in the world once more.

Next time I have to change some option and can’t find the answer in the settings, I’ll be heading more the configuration files pronto. It’s a quick and simple idea.

I’ve been getting a lot of comment spam from bots lately, so I have added a CAPTCHA to the comments field. You know, one of those wiggly letter things that only humans can read. Thanks to Nio for his anti-spam image plugin.

If this works out well I should be able to stop moderating comments so they appear instantly. If anyone has any problems with the images let me know. I have tried posting a comment and it seemed to work OK. I also tried posting a comment without entering the CAPTCHA in the field and it brings up a message saying the security field was not filled out. This is on a blank page, so I might have to look at customising it to match the site.

Thanks to all the people who create these little plugins. You make the blogger’s life much easier.

It’s taken a huge effort, but I finally got my cake, despite the efforts of that lying, cheating, and thoroughly dishonest robot at Aperture Science. Yes, I’ve been playing the Valve Corporation game Portal. What a fantastic game it is too. I’m not sure if the people at Valve used the tricks they learnt from Half-Life 2 to produce Portal, or whether Portal was the proving ground for Half-Life 2, but I’m very grateful they included the game with my Orange Box collection.

Portal is a puzzle game, but certainly not the type where you work things out in a physically removed manner. No, with Portal you’re in the game and your life often depends on the moves you make. It doesn’t help that the gentle, (wouldn’t hurt a flea) robotic voice guiding you through the tests is actually a despicable, two-faced, morally bankrupt killer! Victory candescence my arse! I wouldn’t take anything less than my promised cake.

You can move around in Portal by firing a portal gun to create an entry and exit portal. Diving through one portal, you pop out the other. Very cool stuff and it can get quite mind boggling once into the later (and more difficult) tests. This game really gets the old grey matter ticking and it pays to keep an open mind on what is physically possible now that you have Aperture Science’s latest technology in your hands. In the last two tests, not only will your grey matter be tested but also your speed and coordination. Oh… and your will to live!

The humour in this game is the best I have ever come across. The laughs start early and go right through to the credits. Sometimes it was even off-putting when desperately trying to stay alive and the robotic is calling out hilarious insults while reading from your personnel file. You want to stop and laugh, but know if you do, your demise could be close at hand. To give an example of the humour in the game, here is a verse from the song that the robot sings during the closing credits:

Aperture Science
We do what we must
because we can.
For the good of all of us.
Except the ones who are dead.
But there’s no sense crying over every mistake.
You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.
And the Science gets done.
And you make a neat gun.
For the people who are still alive.

Since my last post about the Yamaha Scorpio Z I have found some valuable information for home maintenance. Reuben from Indonesia put me on to the Yamaha web site in Indonesia where I was able to download a PDF parts catalogue showing exploded views of the whole bike. I also have the correct valve clearances thanks to my local Yamaha dealer Filco Farm & Sport.

The valve clearances (cold) are:
Intake 0.05 - 0.10 mm
Exhaust 0.10 - 0.15 mm

Filco did my first service (1000km) the other day. This is also the official end of the running period, so I can use the bike as I like now with no restrictions. Over the last few hundred kilometres the bike has really started to free up and feel smoother. I’m very happy with the bike so far and have not had any problems. It’s good to be able to keep up with the traffic on the open road and I now feel happier going on excursions into the countryside.

I must get one of those New Zealand bike atlases that show all the good motorcycle roads and take the bike on a longer journey.

I’ve just started reading Jupiter’s Travels, a book by Ted Simon. This was written in the Seventies, but is being republished again due to high demand. It’s no wonder the book is well liked, Ted has a nice style of writing and a great story to tell.

My title for this post, ‘Travelling the world on a leaky old Triumph’, is a bit misleading because the Triumph was new when Ted set out on his mammoth journey. It was however leaky when a gasket was left out during assembly thanks to a striking labour force. The bike lost a pint of oil on the way home from the factory. Oh the wonderful Seventies and labour unions!

I’m only about a quarter of the way through the book so far, but it’s a fascinating story.

The last few days I’ve been playing Half-Life 2 and it really is a good game. The graphics and game play are just fantastic, but best of all is the game physics. The way objects can be moved around and thrown is so much fun. I’ve become quite adept at chucking stuff at enemies with my anti-gravity gun. This is not only fun, but also essential for conserving ammo in sections filled with aliens.

Aliens in this game aren’t particularly fused about using weapons when they can just eat you, so there is little in the way of ammo lying around. Instead, it’s a matter of getting creative with the anti-gravity gun. Gas cylinders make a good one-off missile, but for reusable ammo you can’t beat saw blades and engine blocks. I found an engine block earlier on and carted it around for ages; chucking it at any zombie that got in my way. Later I found the joy of saw blades and lines of attacking zombies… messy!

The ones that give me the most trouble are those pesky head crabs. Being small and quick it’s hard to throw stuff at them, so I usually resort to the ever-faithful crowbar. Anyway I’ll have to leave this post where it is - I’ve got an attack chopper to deal with at the moment!

Today I got Valve’s Orange Box PS3 game. It’s actually 5 games in one package. You get the original Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Portal and Team Fortress 2. This is very good value for money considering that the price is no more than a single game.

I’ve only just started playing Half-Life 2, but I’m already enjoying it. I love the way you can move objects around and even throw them at enemies. The first time I picked something up it was a can that a guard insisted I put in the bin. Instead I sconed him with it, which produced a rather angry reaction! Still you’ve got to try different things.

I’ll probably be engrossed in this for a while but when I’m finished I’ll write up a proper review.

Whenever I need information I immediately turn to the web. Of course the info has to be there in the first place to find and that’s my problem. I’m looking to buy either a service manual for my Yamaha Scorpio or even get some basic info like valve clearances. Unfortunately it’s like a giant vacuum in cyberspace. Yamaha must class this sort of information as top secret and for mechanics eyes only.

The bike is under warranty for twelve months, so I’ll get it serviced at the dealers for this period, but after this I’d like to do it myself. It is only a little single after all.

I’ve managed to find lots of info on the XT225 and the engine looks very similar. It may be the father of my machine, so to speak, but there could be differences. The little owners manual that came with the machine is well written, except for leaving out adjusting valve clearance. It just says take it to the dealer - big help! Checking the valve clearances is fairly routine maintenance, so you’d think they would at least give the specs.

I guess the machine is fairly new in New Zealand and Australia, but it’s been around for a while in Indonesia. Anyway, if you know what the valve clearances are or where to find or purchase a service manual, leave a comment. Cheers.

Yesterday I went on my ride in the countryside and for the first time since running in began I was able to run the bike at open road speeds. It was a great feeling and lots of fun going through the corners at a nice clip. Being able to use all the revs up to 6600 also helps with the general control of the bike too. Earlier I made a post stating that the little Yamaha’s seat was quite comfortable. It is… for the first 100km! My bum got a bit numb after that so I stopped and had a pie in Tapawera.

While I was out in the country I saw plenty of other riders and gave them a wave. Some waved back and others didn’t. There is a lively thread about waving and nodding on the Kiwi Biker forum, so I thought I’d do a bit of experimenting.

Nodding didn’t seem to get noticed much and I got few responses. A little right-handed salute with the palm of the hand still on the throttle didn’t fare much better. The best way to get a response seemed to be to take the left hand off the bars and raising it high, move the hand in a rotating left to right motion with the wrist remaining a stationary pivot point.

This is unmistakable as a friendly wave and I got the best responses. Doing this coming out of a corner I managed to get some Harley riders to wave back despite being on a 225cc commuter.

Back in town I waved at a scooter rider, but he started wobbling all around looking back at me wondering who I was.

Waving in such an obvious fashion does make one feel a bit cheesed off when there is no response however. If a small gesture is made and no response is forthcoming, you can almost pretend you didn’t do it (a bit like coughing to cover up a fart).

Seeing as I am writing a bit about motorbikes these days, I’ve decided to give the topic it’s own category in my blog. This should also help in the generation of content too.