An IPOD thats not an IPOD

Posted on June 14, 2006 by Yusuf Mangera
A few weeks ago, I installed Rockbox on my trusty 30GB iPod Photo. Rockbox isn’t one of the many applications that run on the iPod software platform; rather, it’s firmware that completely replaces the iPod’s, with the goal of expanding the possibilities and the limits of the existing hardware.

In its current state, the Rockbox interface is utilitarian, graphically sparse, and reminiscent of a command-line system, and it lacks the flash of modern commercial MP3 players. But where it comes up short in pizzazz, it more than compensates in options and settings, many of which would make the default iPod jealous. Using RockPod is fun, and though it doesn’t benefit from a seamless iTunes relationship (you can, however, manually transfer songs within iTunes) and is missing a few familiar features that make the iPod so popular with the masses, I personally dig it–enough to use it exclusively for a while.


Apples to–umm–Apples: A standard iPod next to the Rockbox iPod.

Specifically, the Rockbox open-source firmware, which is updated on a near daily basis by a dedicated group of programmers (and interested users such as you), opens up many doors in the area of audio quality, where Apple has often fallen short: flat sound with weak bass and weaker equalizer presets. Simply browsing through the audio settings will make an audio geek perk up.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the iPod’s innards hosed down and replaced with an alternative operating system. Last year, fellow CNET editor Tim Moynihan installed the iPodLinux OS on an old iPod (actually, my old iPod) to showcase its video-playing capabilities. In fact, it was the efforts of the software’s developers, the iPodLinux Project, that paved the way for further iPod exploration, including the Rockbox project, whose firmware builds are coded from the ground up.

From the Rockbox Web site: "Rockbox aims to be considerably more functional and efficient than your device’s stock firmware while remaining easy to use and customizable. Rockbox is written by users, for users." This notion of replacing or substituting firmware, particularly on a device as popular as the iPod, opens the door to understanding the possibilities of the hardware inside the device and thus deserves merit. While Apple makes a sucessful product by combining a well-designed physique with a sparkling personality, it also dumbs down the package for the masses. Rockbox is anything but dumb.

The geeks’ iPod
The header is an oxymoron–the iPod is mainstream, typical, and safe. The original geek MP3 player was the Rio Karma, which included features such as OGG and FLAC support, gapless playback, and a variety of menu settings; its dock even had a built-in Ethernet jack. But moments after viewing the Rockbox’s splash screen on my iPod, I realized its personality had changed–same body, new soul. I grabbed the player and my headphones and slipped away from CNET to explore my made-over iPod.

Some of the Rockbox’s key features are Karma-like: OGG and FLAC support, as well as gapless playback (dance mixes on a standard iPod are anything but seamless). You also get crossfading options, fade in/out, a user-definable antiskip buffer, and much more–all on a spartan interface that’s simply not as pretty as the iPod’s. But the Rockbox is fairly easy to use, considering all the extra features you get.

You get photo playback–no thumbnail grid views–but you can zoom in and tweak slide-show settings. File/folder organization is completely customizable, and you can browse by ID3 tag data. Rockbox even offers a choice of playback screen skins (again user-customizable and created); some include dancing graphics (a.k.a. DancePuff Duo), while others show a battery meter with the actual time remaining. The Rockbox GUI is exceptionally customizable as you can see in these beautiful 5G iPod example themes. Incidentally, the iPod’s battery life takes a serious hit when using Rockbox, but this is a known issue that will be remedied by the time Rockbox for iPod officially launches later this year. There’s playlist creation, bookmarking, and a library of plug-ins ranging from games and a calculator to a very cool oscilloscope. But most of all, it offers a hard-core control over audio playback.


The Rockbox’s playback screen is customizable.


Does your iPod have a built-in oscilloscope?

Volume can be cranked up; you have control over bass and treble, balance, stereo width, mono/stereo settings, and cross-feed, as well as a heavy-duty graphical equalizer that helps you sculpt sound in real time, though extreme tweaking will cut out the sound for a second. Granted, some of the options are a bit overkill, and you’ll encounter some bugs, but all in all, the Rockbox truly rocks.


Adjust your audio in real time with the powerful five-band parametric equalizer.

And it’s not just for the iPod; the Rockbox team has developed replacement firmware for a host of devices from Archos, iRiver, Cowon, and even the 5G iPod.

I want to point out that Rockbox is a constant work in progress and doesn’t officially launch until November. The developers didn’t even get sound on an iPod until January of this year, so my references to audio-related bugs, battery life, and even the look and feel should definitely be considered with this in mind. A Rockbox developer expects battery life to equal or surpass that of the current iPod by launch. Given the current pace of work, Rockbox inches its way toward perfection on a daily basis.

Life without DRM
Even if it could easily get licensing for decoding FairPlay AAC (iTunes Music Store) or WMA DRM, the Rockbox team wouldn’t go there–for obvious reasons. Instead, the player–formerly known as the iPod Photo–supports MP3, OGG, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, and a host of other audio formats that are either open source or universal. Additionally, the Rockbox will play AAC, ALAC, SHN, WavPack, AC3, MPC, MP1, and MP2 file formats.

For the moment, I have abandoned buying songs from music services and have returned to ripping discs in MP3 or OGG, or I get music where I can for free.

Hurray for open source!
There’s no denying the iPod’s accomplished design: anchored by the Click Wheel (Rockbox plus Click Wheel is nice), which has yet to be surpassed as a navigator, and the common yet still inspiring look and feel. The iPod software is slick too, with its innocent Mac OS sensibility and flair. But deep inside, the iPod is a computer processor that begs to be programmed, adjusted, overclocked, and tweaked. Apple keeps it simple with a thin set of audio options and emphasizes the lowest common denominator. Open-source experimenters such as Rockbox give users choice and flexibility, but more importantly, their work brings us several steps closer in the quest for the ultimate digital audio player.

 

http://www.rockbox.org/

 

Posted in Computers and Internet | Leave a comment

Make your own: Small battery-powered USB charger for IPOD

Posted on June 12, 2006 by Yusuf Mangera
Posted in Computers and Internet | Leave a comment

How to convert episodes from a TV Series DVD to DivX/XviD with ease using free software

Posted on May 24, 2006 by Yusuf Mangera
How to convert episodes from a TV Series DVD to DivX/XviD with ease using free software

Guide Revision 1.02 (23rd May 06)

Quick introduction:

So you want to convert the episodes on a "TV series" DVD into separate DivX or XviD files, eh? …and you want to do it for free, you say? Well, my friend, you are in luck!

Although very similar to converting movie DVDs to DivX/XviD (for which there are many great guides), there are some subtle differences when converting a "TV series" DVD into separate DivX/XviD files, which is why I’ve written this guide.

Before we start I must say (well write) that the two themes of this guide are "with ease" and "for free".

By "with ease" I mean that this guide should be nice and easy to follow. There is a lot of text in this guide, but don’t let that put you off reading it. I just like to explain everything of relevance so that readers aren’t left having to guess anything. I hate nothing more than when I try to follow some instructions and great chinks of information are left out. Therefore, this guide should* cover everything you need to know in order to convert your DVDs to DivX/XviD.

*I’ve used the word "should" in the last sentence as there are bound to be some DVDs out there which have an odd structure and, hence, will create a few questions in your mind, but this guide should cover most DVDs. If you do come across a DVD with an odd structure and you can’t figure out what you need to do to rip it, by all means post a question to this thread (with screenshots where applicable) and I (or someone else from this website) will try and help you out. …you never know, it may even result in me making an amendment to this guide! 🙂

By "for free" I mean… eer… "for free". There are several software products out there which you can pay for (FairUse Wizard is just one) which will give you the same results, but I say "Why pay when you can do it for free?".

Now that I’ve got that off my chest, let’s get crackin’…

————————————————–

Tools:

Essential Tools:

You need these two tools in order to follow this guide, so if you don’t have them already, go and download them:

DVD Decrypter 3.5.4.0
DVD Decrypter is DVD ripping software. This one is free. There are other free ones, but DVD Decrypter is generally considered by most (myself included) to be the best.

AutoGK 2.27 (or later)
Auto Gordian Knot (or AutoGK as it’s also known) is a modified version of the highly respected Gordian Knot software. AutoGK does the same as Gordian Knot, but the user interface has been simplified. Although AutoGK does have some options that you can configure, most are hidden (Ctrl & F9 will reveal them). Instead AutoGK rather cleverly, and with great success, guesses the settings you will need! If the output ever comes out a bit incorrectly, the AutoGK tutorial should be able to help you out.

Optional Tools:

These tools will not be covered specifically in this guide, so you are not obliged to download them in order to follow this guide, but they are worth a quick mention as they may help you:

DVD Region+CSS Free (this is NOT freeware!)
DVD Region+CSS Free is not required unless you plan to rip a DVD where region of the DVD does not match that of your DVD drive. Now, before anyone corrects me on that last sentence, it is possible to get DVD Decrypter to rip a DVD when its region does not match that of your drive, but this can be quite slow and DVD Region+CSS Free can help to speed things up. If you don’t want to pay to make your drive multi-region it is possible, with some drives, to flash new firmware to it to make it multi-region. However this carries the risk of bricking your drive (I.E. it could be flashed badly and cause you DVD drive to stop functioning). Put simply, DVD Region+CSS Free is a safe way of making your DVD drives multi-region!

VirtualDub
This guide assumes that the DVD you are going to convert into DivX/XviD files, has all the episodes in separate Program Chains, or as they are more frequently shortened to "PGCs" (more about PGCs later). However, you will sometimes find that all the episodes are in one PGC. This means you will end up with one long DivX/XviD file with all the episodes back-to-back. If you want to separate the episodes into individual files you will need to use a video editor (such as VirtualDub) to chop the files into sections.

————————————————–

The Guide:

Right… In this guide I am going to focus on converting the TV episodes to XviD (instead of DivX) as I personally feel it’s a better codec. Not only that, XviD is currently the most popularly used video codec. DivX is the second most popular, but statistics suggest that XviD is about twice as popular (so XviD is quite clearly in the lead). However, it is easy to convert the files to DivX using this guide, if you prefer, by changing a simple setting within the "Advanced Options" of the software we are going to use (AutoGK). (…and for the slightly more inquisitive amongst you…) Further to this, statistics suggest that, despite being the oldest and most restrictive container format (file type), .AVI is the most popular container format and MP3 is the most popular audio codec. As such, this guide will focus on creating .AVI files which will contain XviD video and MP3 audio, as this will be what most people want. Now, on with the show… err… I mean guide…

STEP 1 – Configuring DVD Decrypter.

I have DVD Decrypter set to its default settings, apart from the "IFO Mode" settings, which I have tweaked a bit. Note: you should only need to do this once, unless you mess with the settings at a later date, of course!

Open DVD Decrypter. Then click "Tools" > "Settings". This will open the Settings window. Next click on the "IFO Mode" tab.

Under the "On Startup" section:

– Disable "Select Main Movie PGC". When enabled this feature simply selects the longest PGC, which can be annoying when ripping multiple DVDs!
– Disable "Enable Stream Processing". When enabled this feature will allow you to rip audio or video streams from a DVD. You don’t need this enabled for this guide as we want the audio and video to be in the same file.
– Enable "Uncheck Suspect Cells". This is enabled by default.

Under the "Options" section:

– Set "File Splitting" to "None". This is important as it will keep the episodes in one file when ripped, as oppose to splitting them part way through the episode (which would cause problems later). The only time you may want to change this is when all the episodes are back to back in one PGC (this will become clearer once you’ve read the ripping section of this guide). If the episodes are all in one PGC and if, for example, the episodes are divided by "Chapters" then you may want to set this option to "Chapters". For now, though, don’t worry about this and just leave it set to "None".
– Enable all the other options in this section. This will reduce the risk of anything going wrong. If you experience any problems when ripping, you may need to change a few of these options.

Under the "Create Additional Files" section:

– Disable all the options. You do not need any of the additional files to be created for the purpose of this guide.

Under the "File Names" section:

– Enable the "Include PGC Number" option.
– Disable the "Include Angle Number" option.

Now DVD Decrypter is configured correctly, click "OK" so that DVD Decrypter accepts the changes you have made.

STEP 2 – Creating a Folder Structure.

Before you start ripping a DVD, you should ensure you have enough free space on the hard drive to which you are going to rip the DVD. I recommend you have at least twice as much space free than the total size of the DVD. So if you have a 4.35GB DVD, you should have at least 9GB free. If you have an 8GB DVD you should have at least 16GB free. If you have more than one DVD to convert to DivX/XviD (as AutoGK can convert more than one DVD using it’s "Job queue", which you’ll see later) then you will need to check you have enough free space for more than one DVD. Just remember you need at least twice as much space free than the total size of each DVD.

To see what the total size of a DVD is you must insert it into the DVD, then open "My Computer", right-click on the drive with the DVD in it and select "Properties". As you can see, this DVD is about 8GB:

You can see how much space you have free on any given hard drive by opening "My Computer", right-clicking on the hard drive and selecting "Properties". As you can see I have over 46GB of free space on this hard drive:

Once you have checked you have enough free space, you should create a folder for each episode on the DVD(s) you are going to rip. For the purpose of this guide I am going to rip one of the best UK TV series ever made: Only Fools and Horses – Series 1. This DVD has 7 episodes so I have created a folder for each of the 7 episodes:

Note: It is important that you create a folder for each episode, as if you rip all the DVD files to the same folder (even if you give the ripped files different filenames) this will cause problems for AutoGK. This is because AutoGK creates a temporary folder (called "agk_tmp") for each file it converts and if all the source files are in the same directory the files in the temporary folder become all messed up resulting in the same episode being converted several times, instead of each episode being converted once. Just create separate folders for each episode… trust me! Finally, make sure the folders have a meaningful name as AutoGK will use this later.

STEP 3 – Ripping the episodes with DVD Decrypter.

Once the folders for each episode are created, start DVD Decrypter (if it isn’t already running). Next, if the DVD you wish to convert isn’t alreay in the DVD drive insert it into the DVD drive. Within the "Destination" section of DVD Decrypter there is an icon of a folder with a magnifying glass on it. This is known as the "Browse for a folder" button. Click it. When the "Browse For Folder" window appears, navigate to the folder you created for episode 1 and click "OK".

Next, under the "Input" section of DVD Decrypter locate the first episode. This will usually be the first PGC of the correct length (20 – 30 minutes) and click it to highlight it.

Usually all the PGCs (one for each episode) will be under the same VTS section:

Sometimes they might be under different VTS sections though:

Either way you should be able to identify the PGC of interest by its duration:

If you can only find one PGC that is 2 or 3 hours long, then this probably means that the episodes are back to back within the one PGC. Sometimes a DVD will have both seperate PGCs for each episode and one big PGC containing all the episodes (this is usually to allow the DVD viewer to watch one episode at a time or all the episodes back-to-back). In this instance you are only interested in the separate episode PGCs and you can ignore the PGC which is 2 or 3 hours long.

Note: If the DVD only has one PGC that is 2 or 3 hours long (containing several episodes) you will have to select that PGC to rip. After you have converted it to DivX/XviD (using AutoGK) you will have to cut it into separate files for each episode (with VirtualDub or similar). There are already many guides on this website that cover DivX/XviD editing, which will teach you how to cut DivX/XviD files into sections, so I will not cover it in this guide. Having said that, you may be able to rip the individual episodes by adjusting the "File Splitting" method within DVD Decrypter’s options (which I wrote about in the "Configuring DVD Decrypter" step of this guide). However, by the time you have worked out which "File Splitting" method may work (if any!), it might just be quicker to rip the whole 2 or 3 hour long PGC and then chop it up with VirtualDub or similar software. Anyway…

Once the first episode has been highlighted, click the "Decrypt" button:

This will start the decryption process for the first episode, which on average takes about 5 to 10 minutes to complete:

Once this is complete, you should get a confirmation message, to which you can click "OK":

If you were to look in the folder you created for the first episode you will see that DVD Decrypter has created a .VOB and .IFO file. The .VOB file contains the actual audio and video from the episode and the .IFO contains information about the .VOB file (I.E. the names of the audio languages, the location of the chapters, etc.).

Now you need to repeat the same process for episode 2.

So click the "Browse for a folder" button again. When the "Browse For Folder" window appears, navigate to the folder you created for episode 2 and click "OK".

Next, under the "Input" section of DVD Decrypter locate the second episode, then click the "Decrypt" button. This will start the decrypting process again.

Once this is complete, you should get a confirmation message, to which you can click "OK".

Now repeat the process for episode 3, 4 and so on. Remember to set the correct destination folder for each episode and select the correct PGC before clicking the "Decrypt" button.

Once you have done this for all the episodes, you can close DVD Decrypter and continue to the next step.

STEP 4 – Converting the .VOB file (DVD Video) to DivX/XviD using Auto Gordian Knot.

Once you have ripped all the episodes to their respective folders, start AutoGK:

Firstly click the "Input file" browse icon (that’s the little folder with the green arrow pointing towards it) and locate the .IFO (not .VOB!) for the first episode. This will be in the folder you ripped the first episode to. Once you have located the .IFO, highlight it and click "Open":

This will load the file into AutoGK:

Next click the "Output file" browse icon. This will prompt you to save the output in the same folder as the episode 1 .VOB and .IFO file. It should also name it something appropriate as it copies the folder name (remember I told you to have meaningful folder names?). Then click "Save":

This will set the same location for the file:

Check that the first audio track is set to your desired language (note: only languages that were available on the DVD will be available). Leave the second audio track set to "No Second Audio Track" and leave the subtitles track set to "No Subtitles".

Next, under "Select output size" click on the "Custom size (MB)" option. Note: selecting this option will cause AutoGK to encode the video using a 2-pass method. This means it will read the episode from the DVD (I.E. the .VOB file) twice, to improve its final quality.

Now you must enter a size (in MB) that you wish the final DivX/XviD file to be. You can enter anything here, but I tend to enter values that will let me get 2 or 3 episodes (or about 1 hour of video) on one 700MB CD-R.

So if the episodes are around 20 minutes, I will try to get 3 episodes on one 700MB CD-R. In this instance I would set this value to about 230 or even 233 as 233 multiplied by 3 equals 699 (just enough to fit onto a 700MB CD-R).

If the episodes are around 30 minutes, I will try to get 2 episodes on one 700MB CD-R. In this instance I would set this value to about 350 or maybe 349 as 349 multiplied by 2 equals 698 (just enough to fit onto a 700MB CD-R).

After a while you will get an idea of the sort of number you want to enter here. If you are uncertain, you could always just convert one episode for now and see how it turns out before you convert the rest.

As you can see in the previous screenshot (above) the "Source Information" bar reads:

Video info: MPEG2 720×576 PAL 4:3 PGC 1. Length: 0:29:55:23

You should pay attention to the bit that reads "Length: ?:??:??:?" as this tells you how long the video is. My example is 0:29:55:23 (0 Hours : 29 Minutes : 55 Seconds : 23 Milliseconds" or, in other words 30 minutes! So, as these episodes are 30 minutes long I will want to try and get 2 episodes on one 700MB CD-R. So I am going to set the "Custom size (MB)" to 349:

Note: you only have to set the "Custom size (MB)" for the first episode. The same values will be used for the other files you add.

Next click the "Advanced Settings" button.

Set the "Output resolution settings" to: Fixed width [640]

Set the "Codec" to: XviD (unless you want to convert to DivX, then you’d select DivX)

Set the "Output audio type" to: VBR MP3, kbps [128]

Leave the Subtitle options both disabled.

Once you have done this, you can click "OK".

Note: Every time you use AutoGK from now on it should retain the Advanced Options. You will have select the "Custom size (MB)" option and set the value (on the main AutoGK screen) every time you start AutoGK, though.

Finally click "Add Job" and this job will be added to the "Job queue".

Next, you can either add the remaining episodes to the Job queue, or you can just click "Start" to convert the first file and see how it comes out.

If you want to add the second episode, simply do the following:
– Click the "Input file" browse icon, locate the .IFO for the next episode and click "Open".
– Next click the "Output file" browse icon, ensure the file name is appropriate and click "Save".
– Check that the first audio track is set to your desired language.
– Leave the second audio track set to "No Second Audio Track".
– Leave the subtitles track set to "No Subtitles".
– Check the "Source Information" bar for the length of the episode and ensure the "Custom size (MB)" is set to an appropriate value. If this episode is of a similar length to the previous one, the same value should be fine.
– Finally click "Add Job".

Repeat this for the remaining episodes you wish to convert and then click the "Start" button:

AutoGK will run a series of applications (which will appear on your task bar) to convert each episode to a XviD/DivX .AVI file. It will take between 30 minutes a 2 hours to convert each episode (depending on the specifications of your computer). The output will be located in the episode folders as per the "Output file" paths you specified earlier.

Once the conversion is complete you can delete the "agk_tmp" folder (and its contents), the .LOG file, the .IFO file and the .VOB file within each episode folder, leaving just the XviD/DivX .AVI file for each episode:

…and that’s it! 🙂

Now you can just sit back/have a coffee/go to work/go to sleep (delete as appropiate) until AutoGK has completed the job queue.

Note: whilst AutoGK is converting a series of episodes to DivX/XviD, you can rip the next DVD you want to convert (using DVD Decrypter) and load the ripped files into the AutoGK Job Queue. Once it has completed the first series of episodes, it will continue to convert any additional episodes you have added to the queue.

If this is one of the first episodes you have converted to DivX/XviD by following this guide, you should probably check the output to ensure the quality meets your satisfaction…

…if it doesn’t you should adjust the quality setting in AutoGK ("Custom size (MB)") and try again.

Thanks for reading!

Posted in Computers and Internet | Leave a comment

Linux Installations for newbies

Posted on May 22, 2006 by Yusuf Mangera

===== IS LINUX FOR YOU? ===============================================
First off….. is Linux for you? Well that depends what you want from Linux.

If you want Windows without the Windows price tag… Linux IS NOT for you.
If you want an OS that prides itself on security, stability, speed, and giving you a wealth of choices and power… Linux will make you very happy.
If you’re a power user… a programmer or IT professional… Linux will make you giddy like a school girl.

===== WHICH LINUX DISTRO? ===============================================
So you still want to try Linux? My recommendation for newbs is OpenSuSe because it has the best installer of any OS, and it has a powerful GUI control panel.

===== MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS ===============================================
To run feature rich Linux desktop distro like SuSe, you’ll want roughly:
– Celeron 300 Mhz / Pentium II 300 Mhz or faster
– 128 MB of RAM, but you’ll be significantly happier with 256 MB
– At least 4 to 5 GB free space on the hard drive

If your system can’t meet those specs, you should use a distro specifically for older hardware such as "Damn Small Linux" or "Puppy Linux". These are harder to install, but perform like champs on the most meager of hardware configurations.

===== EVIL HARDWARE ===============================================
In advance, the following hardware will provide problems in Linux:
– 3D acceleration on ATI Mobile graphics cards and new ATI graphics cards (ATI provides no working driver to achieve this). Linux will display on your monitor, but hang up playing 3D games.
– Winmodems (aka "soft modems" or "software modems")… they’re lame, cheap, and suck. Thankfully they’re vanishing from the super duper cheap PCs these days.
– Roughly half of all wireless devices for laptops. They will work, but it will not be as easy as clicking a checkbox and tah dah. How happy you will be depends on the chipset of your wireless device.
Good chipsets: Orinoco, Prism, Prism2, Hermes, Atheros, Atmel (aka at76c503a)
Bad chipsets: Broadcomm (a BUTTLOAD of devices, especially integrated), Marvell, RaLink
To find out which chipset you have…. Google for your wireless device’s manufact, model, and then the word chipset.

===== INSTALLING OPENSUSE ===============================================
Still going with OpenSuSe? Good.
Go here: http://en.opensuse.org/Released_Version#Downloads

Step 1) Choosing the right set of CDs
– If you are using a 32-bit Macintosh (G4 and earlier), download the 5 PPC CDs (or DVD if you have a DVD burner).

– If you are using a system that has an AMD Opteron or AMD Athlon 64 as the processor, download the 5 x86_64 CDs (or DVD if you have a DVD burner).

– Everybody else get the 5 x86 CDs (or DVD if you have a DVD burner).

Step 2) Download the ISO files
– The CDs/DVD come as a file called an ISO … it’s a bootable disc image. Download the files appropriate for your system as determined in step 1.

Step 3) Burn the ISO files to disc
– IMPORTANT: DO NOT burn the ISO files to disc in "data format" — it will make the resulting discs useless. You want to burn the files to disc in "Disc Image" format. Look for an option that says something like "Write Disc from Image" "Burn Disc Image". If you have a super lame CD/DVD burner that does not support this option, and you’re using Windows, here is a free CD/DVD burner that supports this option:
http://www.cdburnerxp.se/

Optional: If you want to see the Installer in action before you run it, check this link: http://madpenguin.org/images/reviews/suse101/siia/suseinstaller.html

Step 4) Put in CD #1 and reboot.
– DO NOT shut down Windows improperly (i.e. – press the power button). SuSe will refuse to resize Windows if you do this, because it could cause massive corruption to your Windows partition.
– The CD will boot up. Choose "Installation" obviously 😛
– If the Installer fails to run and you’re on a laptop, reboot and try again using "Installation — ACPI Disabled". This works 99% of the time that regular Install fails on a laptop.

Step 5) Misc Install Options
– By default if SuSe sees Windows it will automatically suggest resizing it and setting up your system to dual boot Windows and Linux. The default recommended scheme is always ideal from my experience, so accept default.
– If you want an environment that feels more like Windows, choose "KDE" instead of Gnome. KDE is faster and has alot better apps IMHO.

Step 6) Finishing CD #1
– After the installer finishes CD #1 it will reboot. Just let it sit there. It will boot up Linux and then go about finishing the install (CDs 2-5). It will also do this if you chose a DVD install method.

Step 7) More install stuff
– It will ask you for a root password. This is the "God password" for your system. In Linux root can do everything. So make it a good ‘un.
– On the final summary screen, be sure to enable SSH if you to be able to get into your system remotely, particularly if you know and trust a Linux expert and want to provide him/her an easy means to troubleshoot your system. This doesn’t just let the world in though, somebody would have to know your password. Don’t enable this if your password is really lame ("god" "admin" "password" etc).
– For "authentication method" — just choose Local. The others are for unusual things such as logging in to a "master server".

Step 8) The installing is done.
– You will now be taken to your KDE desktop!

===== USING OPENSUSE ===============================================
Core applications and their equivalents.
– Microsoft Office –> OpenOffice.org
— OpenOffice can even read from and save to all the MS formats
– Trillian, AOL IM, Yahoo IM, Google Talk, MSN IM, ICQ –> Gaim, Kopete
— Most prefer GAIM, but Kopete comes by default in KDE. So install GAIM (covered in just a bit)
– Firefox –> Firefox 😀
– Outlook –> Thunderbird
– BitTorrent –> Azureus
– Winamp Classic –> XMMS
— XMMS even uses Winamp skins
– VLC –> VLC 😀
– Nero –> k3b (k3b puts nero to shame.. it’s awesome)
– Windows Media Player –> MPlayer
— MPlayer is the Linux swiss army knife of audio/video. It plays *everything*.

Installing security updates.
– Note in the bottom right hand corner in the system tray the green circle with a smiling chameleon. That’s the system update notifier. The colors:
Green: Up to date
Yellow: No internet, cannot tell if updates are available
Red: Updates available

To update, simply right click on the icon and go to "Start YOU" … from there simply Next Next Next until done 🙂

YaST: The uber GUI control panel
– Almost all system tasks are done in YaST. Install software. Remove software. Setup a printer. Setup a scanner. Add users. Delete users. etc etc etc.
– It’s fairly self explanatory and easy to use, so I’ll let you poke around.

Accessing your Windows files
– By default suse will mount your windows partitions like so:
— /windows/C/ (C: Drive)
— /windows/D/ (D: Drive)
… etc ….

Setting up repositories
– People have gone out of the their way to allow you to install extra bits of software not included in SuSe by default. These are called repositories… stacks of software you can install in YaST by simply searching for them and clicking a check box.
– For the sake of clarity and speed, I have created a script so you can do this with no hassle.
– Open up Konsole … if you cannot find it, look in the K Menu, which is located and works just like the Start Menu in Windows.
– Type in "su" and then hit enter… this is to change to root.
– Type in your root password and hit enter.
– Type in the following commands:
(If you chose x86) wget http://www.ncaabbs.com/~gts/suse-repo-script.sh
(If you chose PPC) wget http://www.ncaabbs.com/~gts/suse-repo-script-ppc.sh
(If you chose x86_64) wget http://www.ncaabbs.com/~gts/suse-repo-script-x86-64.sh
chmod +x suse-repo-script*.sh
./suse-repo-script*.sh

(This will now go and add all the relevant repos for you. If you’re on slow internet, this could take awhile. On reasonably fast broadband, this should take < 5 mins.)

That’s it. Done.

Stuff you want to install (requires additional repos)
– mplayer (uber audio/video player)
– mplayerplug-in (to play audio/video in firefox)
– java-1_5_0-sun (java)
– kdemultimedia3-mad (mp3* support)
– xmms (winamp clone)
– xmms-lib-mad (mp3* support)
– mad (mp3* support)
– gaim (Trillian style uber IM client)
– realplayer (obvious)
– acroread (Adobe Acrobat for Linux)
– flash-player (Flash in your browser)
– libquicktime (Quicktime support)
– divx4linux (divx support)

===== BOOTING BACK INTO WINDOWS ===============================================
– When you reboot, you will be given a simple menu to choose to boot either Windows or Linux. Use the up/down arrow on the keyboard to select which one then hit enter to boot it.
– IMPORTANT: On some HP machines, you will see "windows_1" and "windows_2". Select Windows 2!!! Windows 1 is actually a small HP autorecovery partition, which will begin running a special app that completely erases the Linux bootloader and suggests doing a complete system restore!!!
– When you boot back into Windows the first time, Windows will run a hard drive scan. This is because Linux had to beat Windows into the corner to create some free room on the hard drive, and Windows must rescan its partition to know where it can and cannot write to. Just let the scanning continue until finished.

===== QUIRKS (aka Linux IS NOT Windows) ===============================================
– In Linux, to do anything significant to the system, you must be root. This makes Linux very secure, as a virus would have to know your root password. You will notice every time you open YaST you’re prompted for your root password. That’s root in action.
– In Linux, the entire file system is one big tree. In Windows, you have C:/ and D:/ and so on. In Linux it’s all one big folder, only organized. The only location you will likely concern yourself with is your home folder, which is:
/home/(username) … that’s where your files are. Everything there is yours and yours alone. Only root can screw with those files. Conversely, you can’t screw with /home/(someotherguy) files either. Again, security measures built in due to the nature of Linux.
– Linux hides nothing from you. It can be very easy to use and maintain, but you can get under the hood and be as advanced as you want to be. You are not hindered by the lack of source code and "idiot proofing" Windows has. SuSe has made large efforts to make this distribution of Linux very user friendly… but it’s still Linux. So you can do whatever you want… up to and including making your own kernel if you’re so inclined.

Posted in Computers and Internet | Leave a comment

Secure Firefox and IM with PuTTY

Posted on May 22, 2006 by Yusuf Mangera

There are times when you want to connect to the Internet through unknown and/or insecure networks such as the local Panera or other WiFi hotspot. If you aren’t careful, you might make it all too easy for someone to sniff your connection using Ettercap.

One of the best ways to secure your connection is to use a VPN, but that isn’t always practical. So here’s a way to securely connect to the net using only an SSH client and a remote box that you control/trust.

Requirements:

  1. PuTTY* loaded on your local machine
  2. Remote host running OpenSSH (e.g. Linux box at home)
  3. Firefox (obviously)
  4. Gaim for all your IM needs

Just follow these steps…


1. Create a new PuTTY session
Run PuTTY and create a new session in PuTTY to connect to the remote host that is running OpenSSH. Fill in the hostname, the port (usually 22), make sure SSH is checked, give it a session name and hit Save:

2. Configure a secure tunnel
Click on “Tunnels” on the left and set up dynamic fowarding for a local port (e.g. 7070). Under “Add new forwarded port” type in 7070 for the source port, leave the destination blank, and check Auto and Dynamic. Then it the Add button. If you did it correctly, you’ll see D7070 listed in the Forwarded Ports box:

That’s it for tunnels, as there is no need to create more than one. Remember to save your session profile in PuTTY so you don’t have to set up the tunnel next time.

3. Connect to the remote SSH box
Double click on the connection profile and type in your username and password when prompted.

4. Configure Firefox
Go to Tools, Options, General, and then click on Connection Settings…

Check Manual Proxy Configuration, leave most of the fields blank, but fill in 127.0.0.1 for the SOCKS v5 host with a port of 7070 (or whatever you used in Step 2):

5. Configure Gaim
Fire up Gaim and hit the Preferences button:

Then select Network on the left and set up the Proxy Server. The Proxy Type should be SOCKS 5. The host is 127.0.0.1 and the port is 7070 (or whatever you chose in Step 2).

There’s no need for a user or password. Then hit close.

6. Enjoy
That’s it. From now on, as long as you first log into the remote ssh host with PuTTY, your Firefox and IM traffic will be routed over a secure tunnel to the remote host and then out to the Net. Good stuff.

* Yes, PuTTY is available for Linux. It’s even in Portage!

Update (Email): Actually, the setup for Thunderbird to securely proxy your email traffic is pretty much the same as it is for Firefox.

And then type in 127.0.0.1 and your port number:

That’s it.

 

Posted in Computers and Internet | 1 Comment

GPRS Settings UK Mobiles

Posted on May 22, 2006 by Yusuf Mangera

The settings to use vary according which network you are on, and sometimes whether it is a contract or PAYG account.

No setting shown?

For Orange, there is no username or password – leave the fields blank. If you keep being bothered for a password, try a single space.

Where no setting is given, you can probably leave the field blank, and the server will assign what is needed. For POP3 email, the settings will normally depend on your email account, which may not be associated with the mobile network at all.

O2

 

Orange

 

Session Type

Continuous/Permanent

Session Type

Continuous/Permanent

Security

Off

Security

Off

Gateway Address

 

Gateway Address

192.168.71.35

Port number

9201

Port number

9201

DNS Address

193.113.200.200
193.113.200.201

DNS Address

158.43.192.1
158.43.128.1

Authentication

Normal

Authentication

Normal

Access Point Name
PAYG

mobile.o2.co.uk
payandgo.o2.co.uk *

Access Point Name
PAYG

orangeinternet
payginternet

Mail server (SMTP)
PAYG

smtp.o2.co.uk
payandgo.o2.co.uk

Mail server (SMTP)

smtp.orange.net

Mail server (POP3)

mail.o2.co.uk

Mail server (POP3)

mail.orange.net

Username
PAYG

mobileweb
payandgo

Username

 

Password
PAYG

password
payandgo

Password

 

Home Page

http://pda.o2.co.uk/

Home Page

http://orange.multimedia/

T-mobile

 

Vodafone

 

Session Type

Continuous/Permanent

Session Type

Continuous/Permanent

Security

Off

Security

Off

Gateway Address

149.254.001.010

Gateway Address

212.183.137.012

Authentication

Normal

Authentication

Normal

Access Point Name

general.t-mobile.uk

Access Point Name
PAYG

internet
pp.vodafone.co.uk

Port number

9201

Port number

9201

Mail server (SMTP)

smtp.t-email.co.uk

Mail server (SMTP)

send.vodafone.net

Mail server (POP3)

 

Mail server (POP3)

 

Username

user

Username

web

Password

one2one

Password

web

Home Page

http://wap.t-mobile.co.uk/
http://www.t-zones.co.uk

Home Page

http://live.vodafone.com

Virgin

 

Three

 

Session Type

Continuous/Permanent

Session Type

n/a
3 don’t offer any data
connectivity to UK users

Security

Off

Security

Gateway Address

149.254.001.010

Gateway Address

Authentication

Normal

Authentication

 

Access Point Name

goto.virginmobile.uk

Access Point Name

 

Port number

9201

Port number

 

Mail server (SMTP)

 

Mail server (SMTP)

 

Mail server (POP3)

 

Mail server (POP3)

 

Username

user

Username

 

Password

[blank]

Password

 

Home Page

http://www.virgin.com/mobile/wap/

Home Page

 
Posted in Computers and Internet | Leave a comment

How-to Backup Your Original XBOX360 Games

Posted on May 22, 2006 by Yusuf Mangera

How-to Backup Your Original XBOX360 Games

Before we start with this tutorial here’s a quick note:

This guide is written to help you take backups of your original xbox360 games, mainly due the fact that the microsoft xbox360 is causing alot of trouble on game discs like scratches due the malfunction of several dvd-drives and therefore you should be able to backup your own legit copy.

Also take note you won’t be able to play your backups as microsoft won’t allow booting of dvd-r on your xbox360.

We do not support piracy in any way with this tutorial!

Before we start lets see what we all need:

1) A dvd-drive wich can be easly taken apart
2) Your original xbox360 game
3) Data/Movie dvd wich is at least 8gigabyte in size
4) Philips screwdriver to open your dvd-drive
5) WxRipper can be found @ http://www.360-scene.org/  or at the bottom of the article
6) Optional: Wx360 wich can be found @ http://www.360-scene.org/  or at the bottom of the article
7) Last but not least, some patience

Equipment used by me for this tutorial:

– A pioneer dvd-r a04 (one of the best to take apart and acces the laser unit)
– DISC 3 from SEASON 2 of 24 (PAL / UK) wich is 8,3Gigabyte
– My original Dead Or Alive 4 game

Step 1: Take your dvd-drive apart

First of all we need to acces the laser untit of our dvd-drive, this can useally be done by removing the screws wich holds it casing! You will need to figure out yourself on how to do this for your own dvd-drive, but it should be a piece of cake.

Warning: this action will most likely void your units warrenty so make sure you want to do this!

When you did everything correct and you see the laser unit, it will probly look something like this.

STEP 2: Installing your dvd-drive

The hardest part is over now and we should now connect our dvd-drive to the computer and place it on an easy accesible place.

I’m sure you all know that this has to be done when the power is shutdown from your computer.

When everything is in place, power on your computer and continue to the following step.

STEP 3: WxRipper

By now you should have extracted both files we mentioned earlier and have them installed on your computer, so let’s fire-up WxRipper and see how things work.

a) Put your dvd in the drive wich is over 8 gigabyte (I used 24 season 2 disc3) and wait until your computer recognized it.

b) From the menu select Hotswap and then "Find magic number".

c) After the magic number has been found you select "Stop drive".

d) now comes the magic part, you need to switch the dvd wich is in your drive with your original game.
     Warning: this needs to be done without pressing the eject button!!

e) when everything is back in place you can select "spin drive"

f) when the drive is spinning again it’s time to dump the image, this can be done by clicking on "start dump"

g) You can take a break now as this stage can take a long time depening on the read speed of your dvd drive.

h) – After some time, almost one hour for my case, i have now dumped my xbox360 game.
     – The dumped image is a exact RAW copy of the original game disc, wich means any dummy data is copied with this.
     – You can now burn this .iso file to an empty dvd-r dl or you can continue with these optional steps and start experimenting with the xbox360 files.

OPTIONAL STEPS:

Extracting the iso file is quite easy. Therefore you should launch Wx360 (see top of page for download location)

Now let me guide you to the extraction progress.  

a) First of all you should open the just dumped .iso file or any other xbox/xbox360 .iso file

b) A couple second later you will get a window wich looks alot like explorer and where you can see the files inside the iso

c) To extract the complete .iso just select "extract all files" from the menu file or if you only want to extract one file then you should select your file and right-click on it.

Thats it for now, i hope you enjoyed this tutorial as much as i writing it.
Many thanks go out to: Gael360 for creating these truely great programs, sonic_boom for the great helping hand (luv yu dude), my girlfriend for her patience while i was writing this tutorial and all you visitors who might find this tutorial handy!

This tutorial is fully copyrighted (c) 2006 by killer

Posted in Entertainment | Leave a comment

DIY Hollow Out A Light Bulb

Posted on May 22, 2006 by Yusuf Mangera

Source: http://www.teamdroid.com/diy-hollow-out-a-light-bulb/

When I was growing up I had a keen interest in the sciences. Mostly because of the cool gear that scientists used, you know, beakers, flasks, Bunsen burners that sort of thing. Well, not only did I not have the money for those sorts of thing but I had no idea where to even buy them if I could. So I had to improvise. One of the better improvisations I was able to do was to hollow out a light bulb and use it for other things. The glass that makes the envelope of the build is quite heat resistant and the screw base is good to attach things to (even better if you can find old ones with brass bases, you can solder to those). I made a number of small boilers in order to learn about steam and distillation. I hope to show people that even if a bulb burns out, it can still be useful.

Step 1

You will need some common tools, a screwdriver (regular) and snips (or needle nose pliers). Use whatever bulb you have handy. *CAUTION* Never use a fluorescent bulb for this project, no matter how cool it looks. The powder used to coat the inside of them is made from phosphor and is quite toxic. You’re also working with glass, so use eye protection! You can’t see mine because I’m wearing them. You should also use gloves or wrap the bulb in a towel just in case it breaks. Yeah, you can’t see mine because i didn’t have any handy. So do as I say and not as I do, got it?

Step 2

 

First, grip the little solder point and give it a good twist. You will free the brass contact and break one of the wires leading to the filament.

Step 3

 

Once the contact has been pulled out, carefully crack the glass insulator. The chips from this are quite pervasive, they get into just about anything in the area and they are razor sharp. Use caution.

Step 4

 

After the insulator has been removed you can see the inside supports of the filament and the fill hole. In the old days bulbs were evacuated of atmosphere to keep the filament from oxidising and burning through. Now days the glass envelope is back filled with an inert gas like argon. The keeps the filament from burning through and makes the bulbs safer.

Step 5

 

Use the screwdriver to break the fill tube. 

Step 6

 

The fill tube could be saved for a later project if you wish.

Step 7

You can now shake the filament assembly out of the tube. If the tungsten wire is still intact you could probably find a good use for it. You could make another light bulb if your stuck for something to do I suppose.

Step 8

 

The bulb needs a good cleaning. This powder, as far as I can tell, is somewhat safe. You should still be careful and keep it away from your mouth and anything you might eat near.

Step 9

 

Mind the sharp bits of glass in the socket when doing this. If you have some stubborn bits inside of it that you can’t get to with this technique you can fill the bulb with a little salt and shake it about. this should scour the powder off the walls.

Step 10

 

There you are, an empty light bulb ready for a new lease on life.

As an example I built this neo-Victorian New Age Flemming like valve out of a discarded bulb.

A more traditional use is as a vessel to boil water. I wouldn’t use too hot of a flame, a candle or an alcohol burner should be about as much heat as you should use. It is after all only a light bulb. Real lab ware is much thicker and can take more heat. Still, for the amateur experimenter this can be handy to have.

I hope you have enjoyed this little project and have fun making useful things out of what was once junk.

Posted in Entertainment | Leave a comment

Letter from the President of Iran to George W Bush

Posted on May 22, 2006 by Yusuf Mangera

Mr George Bush,

President of the United States of America

For sometime now I have been thinking about how one can justify the undeniable contradictions that exist in the international arena — which are being constantly debated, especially in political forums and amongst university students. Many questions remain unanswered. These have prompted me to discuss some of the contradictions and questions, in the hopes that it might bring about an opportunity to redress them.

Can one be a follower of Jesus Christ (PBUH), the great Messenger of God,

Feel obliged to respect human rights,

Present liberalism as a civilization model,

Announce ones opposition to the proliferation of nuclear weapons and WMDs,

Make War and Terror his slogan, and finally,

Work towards the establishment of a unified international community a community which Christ and the virtuous of the Earth will one day govern,

But at the same time,

Have countries attacked; the lives, reputations and possessions of people destroyed and on the slight chance of the … of a … criminals in a village city, or convoy for example the entire village, city or convey set ablaze.

Or because of the possibility of the existence of WMDs in one country, it is occupied, around one hundred thousand people killed, its water sources, agriculture and industry destroyed, close to 180,000 foreign troops put on the ground, sanctity of private homes of citizens broken, and the country pushed back perhaps fifty years. At what price? Hundreds of billions of dollars spent from the treasury of one country and certain other countries and tens of thousands of young men and women as occupation troops put in harms way, taken away from family and love ones, their hands stained with the blood of others, subjected to so much psychological pressure that everyday some commit suicide ant those returning home suffer depression, become sickly and grapple with all sorts of aliments; while some are killed and their bodies handed of their families.

On the pretext of the existence of WMDs, this great tragedy came to engulf both the peoples of the occupied and the occupying country. Later it was revealed that no WMDs existed to begin with.

Of course Saddam was a murderous dictator. But the war was not waged to topple him, the announced goal of the war was to find and destroy weapons of mass destruction. He was toppled along the way towards another goal; nevertheless the people of the region are happy about it. I point out that throughout the many years of the … war on Iran Saddam was supported by the West.

Mr President,

You might know that I am a teacher. My students ask me how can theses actions be reconciled with the values outlined at the beginning of this letter and duty to the tradition of Jesus Christ (PBUH), the Messenger of peace and forgiveness.

There are prisoners in Guantanamo Bay that have not been tried, have no legal representation, their families cannot see them and are obviously kept in a strange land outside their own country. There is no international monitoring of their conditions and fate. No one knows whether they are prisoners, POWs, accused or criminals.

European investigators have confirmed the existence of secret prisons in Europe too. I could not correlate the abduction of a person, and him or her being kept in secret prisons, with the provisions of any judicial system. For that matter, I fail to understand how such actions correspond to the values outlined in the beginning of this letter, i.e. the teachings of Jesus Christ (PBUH), human rights and liberal values.

Young people, university students and ordinary people have many questions about the phenomenon of Israel. I am sure you are familiar with some of them.

Throughout history many countries have been occupied, but I think the establishment of a new country with a new people, is a new phenomenon that is exclusive to our times.

Students are saying that sixty years ago such a country did no exist. The show old documents and globes and say try as we have, we have not been able to find a country named Israel.

I tell them to study the history of WWI and II. One of my students told me that during WWII, which more than tens of millions of people perished in, news about the war, was quickly disseminated by the warring parties. Each touted their victories and the most recent battlefront defeat of the other party. After the war, they claimed that six million Jews had been killed. Six million people that were surely related to at least two million families. Again let us assume that these events are true. Does that logically translate into the establishment of the state of Israel in the Middle East or support for such a state? How can this phenomenon be rationalised or explained?

Mr President,

I am sure you know how and at what cost Israel was established:

– Many thousands were killed in the process.

– Millions of indigenous people were made refugees.

– Hundred of thousands of hectares of farmland, olive plantations, towns and villages were destroyed.

This tragedy is not exclusive to the time of establishment; unfortunately it has been ongoing for sixty years now.

A regime has been established which does not show mercy even to kids, destroys houses while the occupants are still in them, announces beforehand its list and plans to assassinate Palestinian figures and keeps thousands of Palestinians in prison. Such a phenomenon is unique or at the very least extremely rare in recent memory.

Another big question asked by people is why is this regime being supported?

Is support for this regime in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ (PBUH) or Moses (PBUH) or liberal values?

Or are we to understand that allowing the original inhabitants of these lands inside and outside Palestine whether they are Christian, Muslim or Jew, to determine their fate, runs contrary to principles of democracy, human rights and the teachings of prophets? If not, why is there so much opposition to a referendum?

The newly elected Palestinian administration recently took office. All independent observes have confirmed that this government represents the electorate. Unbelievingly, they have put the elected government under pressure and have advised it to recognise the Israeli regime, abandon the struggle and follow the programs of the previous government. If the current Palestinian government had run on the above platform, would the Palestinian people have voted for it? Again, can such position taken in opposition to the Palestinian government be reconciled with the values outlined earlier? The people are also saying why are all UNSC resolutions in condemnation of Israel vetoed?

Mr President,

As you are well aware, I live amongst the people and am in constant contact with them — many people from around the Middle East manage to contact me as well. They dot not have faith in these dubious policies either. There is evidence that the people of the region are becoming increasingly angry with such policies.

It is not my intention to pose too many questions, but I need to refer to other points as well.

Why is it that any technological and scientific achievement reached in the Middle East regions is translated into and portrayed as a threat to the Zionist regime? Is not scientific R&D one of the basic rights of nations?

You are familiar with history. Aside from the middle ages, in what other point in history has scientific and technical progress been a crime? Can the possibility of scientific achievements being utilised for military purposes be reason enough to oppose science and technology altogether? If such a supposition is true, then all scientific disciplines, including physics, chemistry, mathematics, medicine, engineering, etc. must be opposed.

Lies were told in the Iraqi matter. What was the result? I have no doubt that telling lies is reprehensible in any culture, and you do not like to be lied to.

Mr President,

Dont Latin Americans have the right to ask, why their elected governments are being opposed and coup leaders supported? Or, why must they constantly be threatened and live in fear?

The people of Africa are hardworking, creative and talented. They can play an important and valuable role in providing for the needs of humanity and contribute to its material and spiritual progress. Poverty and hardship in large parts of Africa are preventing this from happening. Dont they have the right to ask why their enormous wealth including minerals is being looted, despite the fact that they need it more than others?

Again, do such actions correspond to the teachings of Christ and the tenets of human rights?

The brave and faithful people of Iran too have many questions and grievances, including: the coup detat of 1953 and the subsequent toppling of the legal government of the day, opposition to the Islamic revolution, transformation of an Embassy into a headquarters supporting, the activities of those opposing the Islamic Republic (many thousands of pages of documents corroborates this claim), support for Saddam in the war waged against Iran, the shooting down of the Iranian passenger plane, freezing the assets of the Iranian nation, increasing threats, anger and displeasure vis-à-vis the scientific and nuclear progress of the Iranian nation (just when all Iranians are jubilant and collaborating their countrys progress), and many other grievances that I will not refer to in this letter.

Mr President,

September Eleven was a horrendous incident. The killing of innocents is deplorable and appalling in any part of the world. Our government immediately declared its disgust with the perpetrators and offered its condolences to the bereaved and expressed its sympathies.

All governments have a duty to protect the lives, property and good standing of their citizens.

Reportedly your government employs extensive security, protection and intelligence systems and even hunts its opponents abroad. September eleven was not a simple operation. Could it be planned and executed without coordination with intelligence and security services or their extensive infiltration? Of course this is just an educated guess. Why have the various aspects of the attacks been kept secret? Why we are not told who botched their responsibilities? And, why arent those responsible and the guilty parties identified and put on trial?

All governments have a duty to provide security and peace of mind for their citizens. For some years now, the people of your country and neighbours of world trouble spots do not have peace of mind. After 9.11, instead of healing and tending to the emotional wounds of the survivors and the American people who had been immensely traumatised by the attacks some Western media only intensified the climates of fear and insecurity some constantly talked about the possibility of new terror attacks and kept the people in fear. Is that service to the American people? Is it possible to calculate the damages incurred from fear and panic?

American citizen lived in constant fear of fresh attacks that could come at any moment and in any place. They felt insecure in the streets, in their place of work and at home. Who would be happy with this situation? Why was the media, instead of conveying a feeling of security and providing peace of mind, giving rise to a feeling of insecurity?

Some believe that the hype paved the way and was the justification for an attack on Afghanistan. Again I need to refer to the role of media.

In media charters, correct dissemination of information and honest reporting of a story are established tenets. I express my deep regret about the disregard shown by certain Western media for these principles. The main pretext for an attack on Iraq was the existence of WMDs. This was repeated incessantly for the public to, finally, believe and the ground set for an attack on Iraq.

Will the truth not be lost in a contrive and deceptive climate?

Again, if the truth is allowed to be lost, how can that be reconciled with the earlier mentioned values?

Is the truth known to the Almighty lost as well?

Mr President,

In countries around the world, citizens provide for the expenses of governments so that their governments in turn are able to serve them.

The question here is what has the hundreds of billions of dollars, spent every year to pay for the Iraqi campaign, produced for the citizens?

As your Excellency is aware, in some states of your country, people are living in poverty.

Many thousands are homeless and unemployment is a huge problem. Of course these problems exist to a larger or lesser extent in other countries as well. With these conditions in mind, can the gargantuan expenses of the campaign paid from the public treasury be explained and be consistent with the aforementioned principles?

What has been said, are some of the grievances of the people around the world, in our region and in your country. But my main contention which I am hoping you will agree to some of it is:

Those in power have specific time in office, and do not rule indefinitely, but their names will be recorded in history and will be constantly judged in the immediate and distant futures.

The people will scrutinize our presidencies.

Did we manage to bring peace, security and prosperity for the people or insecurity and unemployment?

Did we intend to establish justice, or just supported especial interest groups, and by forcing many people to live in poverty and hardship, made a few people rich and powerful thus trading the approval of the people and the Almighty with theirs?

Did we defend the rights of the underprivileged or ignore them?

Did we defend the rights of all people around the world or imposed wars on them, interfered illegally in their affairs, established hellish prisons and incarcerated some of them?

Did we bring the world peace and security or raised the spectre of intimidation and threats?

Did we tell the truth to our nation and others around the world or presented an inverted version of it?

Were we on the side of people or the occupiers and oppressors?

Did our administration set out to promote rational behaviour, logic, ethics, peace, fulfilling obligations, justice, and service to the people, prosperity, progress and respect for human dignity or the force of guns?

Intimidation, insecurity, disregard for the people, delaying the progress and excellence of other nations, and trample on peoples rights?

And finally, they will judge us on whether we remained true to our oath of office to serve the people, which is our main task, and the traditions of the prophets or not?

Mr President,

How much longer can the world tolerate this situation?

Where will this trend lead the world to?

How long must the people of the world pay for the incorrect decisions of some rulers?

How much longer will the spectre of insecurity raised from the stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction hunt the people of the world?

How much longer will the blood of the innocent men, women and children be spilled on the streets, and peoples houses destroyed over their heads?

Are you pleased with the current condition of the world?

Do you think present policies can continue?

If billions of dollars spent on security, military campaigns and troop movement were instead spent on investment and assistance for poor countries, promotion of health, combating different diseases, education and improvement of mental and physical fitness, assistance to the victims of natural disasters, creation of employment opportunities and production, development projects and poverty alleviation, establishment of peace, mediation between disputing states and distinguishing the flames of racial, ethnic and other conflicts were would the world be today? Would not your government and people be justifiably proud?

Would not your administrations political and economic standing have been stronger?

And I am most sorry to say, would there have been an ever increasing global hatred of the American governments?

Mr President, it is not my intention to distress anyone.

If Prophet Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Ishmael, Joseph or Jesus Christ (PBUH) were with us today, how would they have judged such behaviour? Will we be given a role to play in the promised world, where justice will become universal and Jesus Christ (PBUH) will be present? Will they even accept us?

My basic question is this: Is there no better way to interact with the rest of the world? Today there are hundreds of millions of Christians, hundreds of millions of Moslems and millions of people who follow the teachings of Moses (PBUH). All divine religions share and respect on word and that is monotheism or belief in a single God and no other in the world.

The holy Koran stresses this common word and calls on an followers of divine religions and says: [3.64] Say: O followers of the Book! Come to an equitable proposition between us and you that we shall not serve any but Allah and (that) we shall not associate aught. With Him and (that) some of us shall not take others for lords besides Allah, but if they turn back, then say: Bear witness that we are Muslims. (The Family of Imran).

Mr President,

According to divine verses, we have all been called upon to worship one God and follow the teachings of divine prophets.

To worship a God which is above all powers in the world and can do all He pleases. The Lord which knows that which is hidden and visible, the past and the future, knows what goes on in the Hearts of His servants and records their deeds.

The Lord who is the possessor of the heavens and the earth and all universe is His court

Planning for the universe is done by His hands, and gives His servants the glad tidings of mercy and forgiveness of sins. He is the companion of the oppressed and the enemy of oppressors. He is the Compassionate, the Merciful. He is the recourse of the faithful and guides them towards the light from darkness. He is witness to the actions of His servants,

He calls on servants to be faithful and do good deeds, and asks them to stay on the path of righteousness and remain steadfast. Calls on servants to heed His prophets and He is a witness to their deeds. A bad ending belongs only to those who have chosen the life of this world and disobey Him and oppress His servants. And A good and eternal paradise belongs to those servants who fear His majesty and do not follow their lascivious selves.

We believe a return to the teachings of the divine prophets is the only road leading to salvations. I have been told that Your Excellency follows the teachings of Jesus (PBUH), and believes in the divine promise of the rule of the righteous on Earth.

We also believe that Jesus Christ (PBUH) was one of the great prophets of the Almighty. He has been repeatedly praised in the Koran. Jesus (PBUH) has been quoted in Koran as well; [19,36] And surely Allah is my Lord and your Lord, therefore serves Him; this is the right path, Marium.

Service to and obedience of the Almighty is the credo of all divine messengers.

The God of all people in Europe, Asia, Africa, America, the Pacific and the rest of the world is one. He is the Almighty who wants to guide and give dignity to all His servants. He has given greatness to Humans.

We again read in the Holy Book: The Almighty God sent His prophets with miracles and clear signs to guide the people and show them divine signs and purity them from sins and pollutions. And He sent the Book and the balance so that the people display justice and avoid the rebellious.

All of the above verses can be seen, one way or the other, in the Good Book as well.

Divine prophets have promised:

The day will come when all humans will congregate before the court of the Almighty, so that their deeds are examined. The good will be directed towards Haven and evildoers will meet divine retribution. I trust both of us believe in such a day, but it will not be easy to calculate the actions of rulers, because we must be answerable to our nations and all others whose lives have been directly or indirectly affected by our actions.

All prophets, speak of peace and tranquillity for man based on monotheism, justice and respect for human dignity.

Do you not think that if all of us come to believe in and abide by these principles, that is, monotheism, worship of God, justice, respect for the dignity of man, belief in the Last Day, we can overcome the present problems of the world that are the result of disobedience to the Almighty and the teachings of prophets and improve our performance?

Do you not think that belief in these principles promotes and guarantees peace, friendship and justice?

Do you not think that the aforementioned written or unwritten principles are universally respected?

Will you not accept this invitation? That is, a genuine return to the teachings of prophets, to monotheism and justice, to preserve human dignity and obedience to the Almighty and His prophets?

Mr President,

History tells us that repressive and cruel governments do not survive. God has entrusted the fate of man to them. The Almighty has not left the universe and humanity to their own devices. Many things have happened contrary to the wishes and plans of governments. These tell us that there is a higher power at work and all events are determined by Him.

Can one deny the signs of change in the world today?

Is this situation of the world today comparable to that of ten years ago? Changes happen fast and come at a furious pace.

The people of the world are not happy with the status quo and pay little heed to the promises and comments made by a number of influential world leaders. Many people around the world feel insecure and oppose the spreading of insecurity and war and do not approve of and accept dubious policies.

The people are protesting the increasing gap between the haves and the have-nots and the rich and poor countries.

The people are disgusted with increasing corruption.

The people of many countries are angry about the attacks on their cultural foundations and the disintegration of families. They are equally dismayed with the fading of care and compassion.

The people of the world have no faith in international organisations, because their rights are not advocated by these organisations.

Liberalism and Western style democracy have not been able to help realize the ideals of humanity. Today these two concepts have failed. Those with insight can already hear the sounds of the shattering and fall of the ideology and thoughts of the liberal democratic systems.

We increasingly see that people around the world are flocking towards a main focal point that is the Almighty God. Undoubtedly through faith in God and the teachings of the prophets, the people will conquer their problems. My question for you is: Do you not want to join them?

Mr President,

Whether we like it or not, the world is gravitating towards faith in the Almighty and justice and the will of God will prevail over all things.

 

Wasalam Ala Man Atabaal hoda

 

Mahmood Ahmadi-Najad

President of the Islamic Republic of Iran

 

 

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Free Hotel Pay Per Veiw (Marriott)

Posted on May 22, 2006 by Yusuf Mangera

Free Hotel Pay Per Veiw

Here’s a tip for those of you that stay in Marriot hotels. Marriot has, to my knowledge, installed a pay-per-view (PPV) system nationwide called “On Command”. This system is probably similar to many such systems used in hotels today. As far as I can tell, there is a radio frequency module attached to the TV that signals some master hotel unit to order movies and add charges to your hotel bill.

I spent several months in a Marriot and found a way to tap into free movies without paying a penny. It all started in the exercise room. Early one morning, I noticed that my favorite cable news channel had not been programmed into the wall mounted TV. No one was around, so I just accessed the menu function and scrolled up the “raw” channels so that I could add my channel. As I hit channels 40, 41, and 42, I found movies. No scrambling and no requests for billing authorization. Nervously, I just skipped past and added my channel. When back in my room, I found that those three channels were unavailable and the menu function was not available on the room TV.

This got me thinking. The exercise room TV was just a regular TV with no PPV box on the back, unlike my room TV. So, did this mean that I could hook up a regular TV in my room and see these channels? I pulled the dresser away from the wall to get a good look at the back of the TV. All of the cable connections had plastic protectors that made it impossible to disconnect. It looked like a single cable came out of the wall and then connected into the On Command PPV module. Out of this box it went into the back of the TV. I dove into my computer bag, pulled out a screw driver, and removed the wall plate from the hotel wall. Behind this place was a common cable splitter—with no plastic protectors. Bingo!

I now had a way to splice into the cable system before it got to my TV. At that point, all I had to do was hook a regular TV up and see if I could get those channels. Now, the maid would certainly sound the alarm if she found a second TV hooked up. Not an option. Instead, I ran down to the local electronics superstore and bought a device that would let me watch TV on my computer (Pinnacle PCTV Deluxe). Radio Shack provided a short cable, a 1-to-2 splitter, and some connectors. I figured, if it didn’t work, I could just return it all.

Then, I waited until until late at night to try my hack. If I accidently brought the hotel’s cable system down, I wanted to do it in the middle of the night when few viewers were watching and I could plead ignorance. I just added my Radio Shack splitter between their splitter and my TV’s cable. That created one new empty cable jack for my computer’s use. I then connected my new cable and hooked it up to my new Pinnacle box. I opened the software and presto, ABC was playing on my computer. The picture was great. I checked the TV and it was also functioning fine. Both my TV and computer got great pictures and I could watch different channels. Both my TV and Pinnacle box had remotes, so I could lie on the bed and watch two channels at one time.

But, what would I find at channels 40 thru 42? Well, non-stop movies actually. This is what I think is going on. When navigating the PPV menus on the TV, there are two options for the adult channels. First, you can order specific movies for about £10

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