HOWTO: Set up your Fon, or My adventures with a little white box

So tonight at the Midlands Mac User Group Richard, Ben and I were talking about the Fon AP that Ben had at Trilby. For some reason he (and others) were having trouble setting up their Fon router to work.
I bought one too for €8 and never got around to setting it up. So I figured I’d give it a try.

Firstly, my current setup. I have ADSL broadband from Virgin (not the cable service, the over the BT service). I have a Netgear DG834G Wireless ADSL Modem Router serving up wifi to my house (protected of course). I can also connect to one of the 4 10/100Mbps ports if needed. My DG834G currently serves up IP’s via DHCP all within one range. I have no other routers, switches, or anything else in the house. Oh but I do have a Airport Express which connects as a client to the DG834G to stream audio to my Hifi.

So here we go. I’ve taken every thing out of the box. I have my Fon AP (access point), power supply, installation guide, and network cable if needed.

According to the install guide I start by connnecting my ethernet cable from the adsl router to the Fon WAP.

HOWTO: Secure Backup to an iPod

I have a few backup systems in force after a hard drive crash on my last Powerbook. Firstly I backup the main stuff using Mozy.com’s online backup system. I also backup to CD every few months for a local copy. And lastly, I backup to my 80GB iPod which I have plugged in very often during the week.

I got this idea from the In The Trenches podcast  and saw the post on George Starcher’s blog about how he set his up, and with some adjustment, I got mine working. Here’s what I do.

First, follow all the instructions on the blog post. I created a 5GB image first, but am now moving that to a 10GB one as I’ve decided to include backup of my Photo Library.

All the rest is the same, with the exception of the Script file. I built into mine some logging (thanks to google searches) which I then pump through and display on my desktop using GeekTool. Just choose a File to be shown, and type in the path to the log file (in my case /Users/username/.rsync.log)

Below is the script I use, which logs to a hidden log file in my home directory.

echo ================================ rsync Backup script ================================= >>~/.rsync.log
date >>~/.rsync.log
echo ==Mounting Backup Disk: >>~/.rsync.log
hdiutil attach /Volumes/Dom\’s\ iPod\ Video/Backup/EncryptedBackup.sparseimage
echo : Backup Disk Mounted >>~/.rsync.log
echo ==start rsync logging== >>~/.rsync.log
rsync -aE –progress –exclude=Library/Fonts/ –exclude=Library/Application\ Support/iDVD –exclude=Library/Application\ Support/iMovie –exclude=Library/Application\ Support/Garageband –exclude=Desktop/BitTorrents –exclude=.cpan/ –exclude=.Trash –exclude=.DS_Store –exclude=Library/Favorites –exclude=Library/Print* –exclude=Library/Icons/ –exclude=Library/Indexes/ –exclude=Library/iMovie/ –exclude=Library/iTunes/ –exclude=Library/Safari/Icons/ –exclude=.Trash/ –exclude=Library/Caches/ –exclude=Movies/ –exclude=Pictures/iPhoto\ Library/iPod\ Photo\ Cache –exclude=Music/iTunes/iTunes\ Music –exclude=*.mp3 –exclude=*.m4p –exclude=*.m4a ~/ /Volumes/EncryptedBackup/>>~/.rsync.log || echo -n
sleep 2m
hdiutil dettach /Volumes/Dom\’s\ iPod\ Video/Backup/EncryptedBackup.sparseimage
echo =====Backup Complete===== >>~/.rsync.log

A few points to note. I have two folders on my desktop, Downloads and Bit Torrents which I don’t want to backup. I also exclude some cache folders in the ~/Library folder, some font folders, Indexes, etc. I also exclude my music files, so I exclude the iTunes Music folder, any MP3 and AAC files, and the iPod cached Photo files (whats the point?)

You’ll see that my disk image is located in /Backup on my iPod and the script is located in /Scripts.

Like George, all this is executed via an Automator action which sits on my Desktop.

The only thing to watch

So thats it. Just plug in your iPod, run the action, and watch it fly by on your desktop.

HOWTO: Make a disc image from a VIDEO_TS folder for free

This tip is widely shown on the interweb but I thought I’d post it too for some reference. Thanks to AppleFritter for this tip.

Once you have your VIDEO_TS folder (from a personally owned DVD, not copyrighted materials*) make sure its somewhere handy (in say ~/MOVIE_NAME/VIDEO_TS). Then fire up the Terminal from Applications>Utilities and type the following magic command:

hdiutil makehybrid -o MOVIE_NAME ~/MOVIE_NAME/ -udf

Then sit and wait. A .iso file will slowly be created in your home folder with the movie name as its title. It will take a while depending on the size of the VIDEO_TS folder.
REMEMBER: You must have enough free space to fit a file the same size as the VIDEO_TS folder plus some spare. So don’t go making a .iso of a 8Gb folder when you only have 3Gb free!
And thats it. Now you can test that ISO by mounting it, then you can open up DVD Player, or burn that out to a disc with DisK Utility or Burn

Simple!

HOWTO: Import JVC .MOD camcorder files into iMovie, Final Cut or Convert to another format

I came across this very problem when I was doing some short films for work. The manager had bought a JVC GZ-MG130 Hard drive based camcorder and had recorded some short bits that needed editing. After first searching, I found out that iMovie couldn’t directly interface with the camera like it does on a Firewire one, because its JVC and they use a USB interface.

So some searching came up with this method.

HOWTO: Connect to the internet via Three (3G UK) and bluetooth

So I have been struggling recently to get online via my powerbook using my Nokia 6280 handset from Three in the UK. I had signed up for an internet package, and was hoping I could do the same I did with Orange previously, and use my phone as a bluetooth modem.

Alas, it did not work. Three handsets blocked this sort of action to limit the bandwidth on the network, and also charge you for a proper package.

But behold, the solution.

1. Set up your handset as a bluetooth modem using the Bluetooth Setup Wizard. The key here is the handset. I think its the phone itself that blocks the access. So I used an unlocked non-Three handset from eBay, my new(to me) Nokia N70

2. Download the Nokia GPRS/3G scripts from http://www.taniwha.org.uk – Use the Nokia 3G Scrripts. Download and copy the scripts to ~/Library/Modem Scripts (this should be the one at the root of the hard drive, not in your user folder.

3. Load up System Preferences, go to Network, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Modem. Check settings are as follows
a) PPP Tab – Telephone number is Three.co.uk
b) Bluetooth Modem tab – Modem is Nokia 3G CID1

4. Go back to the PPP tab, and click Dial Now. This will open Internet Connect. Tick the box to add a Menu bar icon if you want, if not click Connect.

As long as your bluetooth is on your phone, and its paired (which it should be) then it should connect to the 3G network and give you 3G speeds up to 384kbps

NOTE: This is likely to use up all your alloted data in your package (mine is 10Mb) so be careful of additional charges. This also violates the terms of your contract, and your service may be cut off.

Having said that, its good to have an option when you can’t find a Hotspot

technorati tags:3g, three, bluetooth, modem, macosx

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HOWTO: Remove the Orange Home screen from a Nokia N70

So I recently decided I had to buy a new phone. I have a Nokia 6280 and its driving me crazy. It seemed great at first. 3G, bluetooth, 2MP camera, external memory card slot (which I upgraded to 512MB), slide design. Lovely. But the firmware let me down. It spent months restarting itself, and its been back to Three many times for reflashing.Well I reached the final tether. I shifted onto eBay and bought a Nokia N70. Funny thing of course is that the N70 was the phone I was going to get originally. But I changed it to a 6280 after using my girlfriends (which she got at the same time). Well it arrived the other day, locked to Orange, and it had this horrible “Homescreen” built into Orange’s branded firmware. It was obviously designed to make it more Smartphone-ish and look like a Windows Mobile device, which its not. It does better than that really. So I went searching around for info on this (how to remove it really). I read loads of posts saying everyone hated the Homescreen, and Orange just wouldn’t do away with it.While searching, I came across this post at Tech Enclave which solved my problem, and I’m passing it on to you.At first, I tried using Nokia Software Updater to replace the software, even tried reinstalling the current firmware (v3.0546.2.3). That did nothing. Then this post gave me an idea. I can use the method described, to make my phone think it is a Nokia N70 Music Edition, and then maybe reinstalling the firmware would clear the Orange screen. So I did the following (taken from Tech Enclave)1. Download and install Nokia Software Updater2. Download and install Nemesis Service Suite (select Virtual USB device in install process)3. Connect my phone (wait for Windoze to install drivers), open NSS and click Scan For New Device4. Click Phone Info, click Scan, in the box next to Product Code, type 0536418, tick the Enable box and click Write.5. Wait for confirmation on the screen that the changes have happened. Close NSS6. Open NSU, follow the instructions (please, please, please backup your data. This can be done with Nokia PC Suite. NSU reflashes the firmware and all data on the phone will be lost. Simcard and memory cards are fine but programs need to be reinstalled).7. You should be informed that there is a firmware update. Install that, and be sure not to let your computer switch off (vitally dangerous as it can brick you phone, not great if you are on an old laptop that has a battery that barely lasts 20 mins)8. Wait for your phone to restart, and when it gets back to the home screen, unplug.Congratulations. You have some pretty much generic firmware now. Some new themes, a better Music player, and generally a better phone, thanks to the lack of Orange Home screen.I did it and it worked fine. Be aware that this will void your warranty completely, as well as wipe your phone data.Well I hope that helps at least one person. It would’ve saved me hours of searching around. Enjoy your new, free N70!Technorati Tags: Nokia, N70, Orange,

HOWTO: Configure wireless with 64-bit WEP on Mac OS X

I came across a need to do this last night as I was trying to get my girlfriends new Macbook onto the wireless router I have here. So I logged on to the router and found Key 1 and told her to type it in. Much surprise did i get when it denied access. So I tried again, and again, and nothing. So I tried changing the key, and nothing happened. I even tried a 128-bit WEP but nothing happened.

So I tried no WEP or WPA, and got a connection straight away. I checked this on my laptop, by deleting the keychain item for the WLAN, and re-entered it on my laptop, and got nothing. Bugger. No wireless now. Thank god I had a cable plugged in and at hand. So I hooked up and started browsing. I found quite a lot of sites with ideas, like MAC address filtering, but I didn’t want that. I only found one website which mentioned the solution. Luckily, one is enough.

Here’s what you do

1. Set up your 64-bit WEP as normal, and make sure Key 1 is selected.
2. Go to your Mac and enable Airport if its not already done so.
3. From the Airport menu, select the SSID of your network
4. When asked for a password, enter 0x (thats zero-x) followed by your WEP key, i.e. 0xFF12345678
5. Your computer should now connect with no problems at all.

Of course some people would say that you should use more secure methods, like WPA and MAC filtering, but I also have a WM2003 PDA here for sat nav and a few other reasons, none of which I can explain, and that barely supports WEP.

Hope that helps someone at some point.