Tuesday, October 18, 2011

NeoniQ/Geniatech/Asiapads ATV1000 firmware updates etc

I bought one of the above Android-based media players and had a hard time getting it to play movies properly. The interface wasn't exactly the easiest to live with.


I have since found a newer version of the firmware (09Sep2011) *and* a version of the Android Market!!!

Download the above and then do the following:
1) copy the new firmware onto an SD card (not a USB disk!!!),
2) rename it to update.zip
3) On the media player, press F2 to go to the home screen, the F1 to bring up the options at the bottom of the screen. Select Settings, Privacy, Update firmware. It will reboot and install the new firmare.

Repeat this process for the market zip too.


Note: There have been a few updates since the above was written.
The first one is update_eng_0916 and the second one is update_Australia_0927

Update_eng_0916 is very similar to the original 09Sep2011 one, with a few more apps in it, as well as Flash player v10.2

The 'australian' one comes with Flash player v10.3


I am using the 'eng' version and, apart for the extra junk apps, it works very well.

The above updates do not include the HDMI switcher that came with the original firmware.
To get it back, do the following:

  • press and hold left mouse button
  • when the menu pops up, select Shortcuts, Settings, Display settings.
  • Done!



Enjoy!

ps: Comments and/or links to this article are most welcome!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

FileZilla connection issues - MSLD

It looks like somebody cocked up at FileZilla.
The latest version (v3.5.1) refuses to connect to my RedHat server, even though all previous versions of FileZilla did.

Reading some of the threads around the web, the developers decided to use the MLSD command (to get a directory listing) and it seems to cause no end of problems.
They seem to insist that MLSD is a standard command and the people should change their FTP servers instead.
Perhaps those devs should extract their cranium from their anus, instead of telling people to change their (perfectly good FTP servers. We use ProFTPD)

That rant aside, the way to overcome this problem is to not use passive mode.

Use the File/SiteManager menu to find the entry you want to connect to and, under TransferSettings, set the Transfer mode to Active.

Enjoy!

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Why Your JavaScript Developed in Firefox Might Fail in IE

Mitchell Pronschinske has a great article explaining js differences between Firefox and Internet Exploder.

Some of those issues can be bypassed by using jQuery but it still is a great read for all js developers.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Samsung Galaxy S2 secret codes

An extensive list of the secret codes for the S2 can be found here
Many thanks to the XDA guys!


Friday, August 12, 2011

how to fix - Excel won't show charts any more!

One day my VBA code in Excel was happily generating charts and the next it wasn't.


It would create the new worksheets, raise no errors whatsoever, but show nothing!


Nothing was changed in the spreadsheet. I even retrieved a copy from my backups.


There is no explanation I can think of for this but here is how I fixed it.

I opened the print preview dialog, went to page settings, changed the paper backwards and forwards, toggled a few other settings, left everything the way it was, closed the dialog and       voila! it now works!


ps: Comments and/or links to this article are most welcome!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Google+ guide

this article has a great multi-part guide to g+.

It describes most of the functions of g+. as well as how to manage g+.

For example, there is mention of 'reading' circles and 'sharing' circles.
You would use sharing circles for publishing info and/or pics to friends.
A person could appear in more than one of your sharing circles.

On the other hand, reading circles are place where you want to consume info from others and you would only have a person in one such circle.
This is a neat way of managing the amount of info that you are faced with.

Viewing your Streams (posts from anyone in any of your circles) can be overwhelming, whereas reading circles make it much more targeted and manageable.


Please note that g+ offers 'circles', period. It makes no distinction between reading, sharing, caring or any other kind of circles.
The distinction and naming is strictly yours.

Read the article for much more info on how to get the best of g+.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Eclipse Indigo - some useful addins

Here are some useful addins for Eclipse Indigo:


  • PHP development tools (PDT):
    Using the Help/InstallNewSoftware menu option, click on ADD and enter the following:
    Name: PDT
    Location: http://download.eclipse.org/tools/pdt/updates/3.0/milestones/
    When presented with a list of choices of components to install, choose All-in-one-SDK
    Done!
  • Rockstarapps CSS/JS compressor:
    Using the Help/InstallNewSoftware menu option, click on ADD and enter the following:
    Name: RockstarApps
    Location: http://update.rockstarapps.com/site.xml 
    When presented with a list of choices of components to install, choose all except Amazon WS Tools and WorkBench Branding Feature.
    (Note, this is a personal preference, you can choose to install those too)
    Done!

How to fix VirtualBox disks after they've been relocated to another drive


Sometimes you may find that you need to move the VirtualBox disk images to another one of your disks.

If you then power up VB, it will complain because it thinks that there are 2 disks with the same ID: The original one (which you have now moved and no longer exists in that location) and the new one.

This article will help you fix this problem.
You can also read more info on VB disk management in this article.



Monday, July 11, 2011

Import Facebook Contacts to Google Plus

Now that google+ is here, you may want to migrate your contacts from Facebuck, oops, I meant Facebook, to google+.


This article explains just how to do this.
Go for it!


ps: Don't forget, if you want an invitation to google+, leave a comment below.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Stop using Android task killers





This is a brief extract from this article, explaining why we should no longer use Task Killers.

Hello, friends. This is an Android Public Service Announcement regarding the overuse of “task killer” apps in the Android community. Almost everyone has experimented or used one of these apps at one point in their Android life. I wont judge you. In some cases, these apps might have been installed even without your knowledge. I know for a fact that reps at carrier retail stores will download and install these upon buying any of their Android phones. But why? It’s largely in part because of this HUGE misconception that Android needs these apps in order to run properly. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Chrome Dev Tools reloaded

Very useful video by the Google Chrome Dev Tools guys.


I've learned quite a few cool things I did not know.


how to emulate CSS3 pseudo-classes and attribute selectors in IE6-8

selectivizr is a JavaScript utility that emulates CSS3 pseudo-classes and attribute selectors in Internet Explorer 6-8

For anyone who has to suffer under the curse of Microsoft's gift to the world, otherwise known as Internet Exploder6, suffer no more. selectivizr will help with a few things anyway.


Have you heard the one about No-idea, i mean Nokia and Microshaft getting together and combining 
(well, MS is giving Nookia a barelful of money anyway)   their smartphone platforms?

Yeap, same as adding 2 turkeys and expecting an eagle.

HTML5, CSS3, SVG and other standards support in various browsers

This web site is for everyone who does web work.
(sorry corporate guys that only write for IE6... your world is very simple...just follow the herd)


The site allows you to specify a number of criteria upon which the results will be based, such as brand, version(s) etc. See image below.





Once the criteria has been specified, pressing the 'Compatibility tables' button will bring up the following page, which shows all the relevant info.Note the areas I've highlighted in red. They are above the section describing
the capability being compared and provide links to other relevant info.
Sometimes they also point to workaround for IE6 etc.




Wednesday, June 15, 2011

How to recover after your email password is compromised

This article is a must-read!

Remember, your gmail account is the gateway to many services which may contain confidential data!
(GDocs and GContacts for example!)


Friday, June 10, 2011

Go programming language

Jörg Walter has written a fantastic article on Go, the new Google programming language.

For comparative purposes, he also briefly describes C, C++, Objective-C, Java, Javascript and a brief mention of C#.

His article has also been updated to reflect (quite a lot of) input from readers.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Bitcoin: inside the encrypted, peer-to-peer digital currency

Bitcoin is a virtual currency, designed to allow people to buy and sell without centralized control by banks or governments, and it allows for pseudonymous transactions which aren't tied to a real identity. In keeping with the hacker ethos, Bitcoin has no need to trust any central authority; every aspect of the currency is confirmed and secured through the use of strong cryptography.
Read the full article



Monday, June 6, 2011

Virtualised browsers - Safari,Chrome, FF, Opera and IE as standalone EXEs

There just wasn't enough room in the title to say it all!

One of the main issues a web developer is faced with, is to ensure that his (hers too!) work renders correctly in all (most) of the browsers in use.

Of course, there is always the wonderful browsershots.org, to which you can submit your URL(s) and it will show you what your page will look like any every single browser known to man!

But if you wanted instant gratification, you could, say, install all 'other' browsers on your desktop and then pick one version of IE to work with. You could never use more than one.

However, since the advent of 'virtual application' tools, such as VMWare's ThinApp and Xenocode, things have changed!

You can now wrap up an app, such as IE6 (also known as Internet Embarassment or the curse of MS upon web developers) into a single EXE that is, in effect, a standalone application.

And that is exactly what Xenocode have done. They have wrapped up Safari, Firefox, Chrome and IE6, 7 and8 into standalone EXEs which you can download and run, without having to install anything!!!

And you can run all of the Internet Embarassment versions at once!

For more info, visit Xenocode

[Update 6 june 2011] It all seems to have gone to the doghouse. The EXEs have long since been removed.

The new website is called Spoon.net...]


Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Seeeduino ADK lets you build Android accessories on the cheap

For those of you who are also into hardware, here is a bit of good news.

You can start developing Android Open Accessories on the cheap, as in for about $80, as opposed to the $400 or so you'd need for the Google recommended dev kit.

Seeeduino ADK lets you build Android accessories on the cheap -- Engadget


ps: Comments and/or links to this article are most welcome!

Re-skin your existing web app using jQuery Mobile

Here is an example of how to tweak your website to make it more mobile friendly.

Re-skin your existing web app using jQuery Mobile


ps: Comments and/or links to this article are most welcome!

Monday, May 23, 2011

The Rise Of JSON

Interesting article and comments on the rise of JSON over XML.

Don't get your knickers in a knot if you are an XML evangelist.
It is horses for courses. It just seems that more horses are in the JSON course.

With the rapid takeup of javascript, JSON is a more natural fit for it than XML.


MIX Online: The Rise Of JSON


ps: Comments and/or links to this article are most welcome!

Understanding JOINs in MySQL and Other Relational Databases

Understanding JOINs in MySQL and Other Relational Databases

ps: Comments and/or links to this article are most welcome!

How does dynamic range compression change audio? How does distortion work?

For those of you who play electric guitar, or any other electric instrument, and are interested in how some of those effects work, here are 2 articles that shed some light into it.


http://www.howtogeek.com/64096/htg-explains-how-do-guitar-distortion-and-overdrive-work/

ps: Comments and/or links to this article are most welcome!

In defense of CSS hacks — introducing “safe CSS hacks”

Mathias Bynens has created a nice article describing different ways of managing CSS for Internet Exploder.

It would had been great if IE never came to existence but, we are stuck with it, so we may as well find out how to live with it. 

(copious amounts of aspirin also help).

You can also look at my article or just pick all my IE articles by clicking on the IE label on the left side of this screen.

ps: Comments and/or links to this article are most welcome!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

The 30 CSS Selectors you Must Memorise

Great article on CSS selectors!




ps: Comments and/or links to this article are most welcome!

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Free online virus scanners

The following web sites are some of the many that offer multi-scanner file virus scanning:

- Joti

- VirusScan


ps: Comments and/or links to this article are most welcome!