Take IT from us

FCC tells advertises to lower volume on adverts

markus — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 05:39:19 +0000

Starting next year December, America won’t have to rush for their remotes to lower the volumes on their TV sets when advertisements starts.

When South Africa complained that DSTV’s adverts is way to loud, they responded by saying it’s aligned with International standards. I would like to see this ruling here to. Advertisments the same volume as regular scheduled programming. I find it pretty irritating that you have to reach for the remote and turn down the volume. (And no, it doesn’t make me pay more attention to the advert, It makes me change the channel.)

Holding thumbs and reaching for earplugs.

ANC page on Wikipedia censored

markus — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 05:20:11 +0000

Well, this is funny, ironic and has made my day.

ANC spokesman Keith Khoza told News24 online that the changes to the webpage were not consistent with a civilised society.

“How does that assist any cause or anybody to tamper with information?” he asked.

Well, the answer is, how does passing the “secrecy bill” assist any cause or anybody except corrupt goverment officials? Isn’t freedom of speach what they “fought” for? Now they are taking it away from all the South Africans.

They are still stating there is freedom of speech but one has to follow other bills set out by them or only certain things is applicable.

Dstv on mobile device

markus — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 06:01:12 +0000

You can now watch DSTV on your mobile device, well, most people can. Vodacom and MTN subscribers can now watch DSTV on 3G.

Vodacom Live has a subscription fee of R59 per month or R19 per week

Mtn has a subscription fee of R40 monthly or R15 weekly

You can watch upto 11 channels on your 3G enabled device. If you need more information on the activation or channels. Visit DSTV’s site:

http://www.dstvmobile.com/dstvmobile/content/en/south-africa/south-africa-about-mobile-tv

Gopro HD Hero2 – New Gopro released.

markus — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 06:48:35 +0000

There is a new Gopro released: Hero2. With twice the power and features at the same price! That is a good deal. The price remains at $299

Here is some of the specs:

Professional 11MP Sensor
2x Faster Image Processor
2X Sharper Glass Lens
Professional Low Light Performance
Full 170°, Medium 12°, Narrow 90° FOV in 1080p and 720p Video
120 fps WVGA, 60 fps 720p, 48 fps 960p, 30 fps 1080p Video
Full 170° and Medium 127° FOV Photos
10 11MP Photos Per Second Burst
One 11MP Photo Every 0.5 Sec Time-Lapse
3.5mm External Stereo Microphone Input
Simple Language Based User Interface
Compatible Wi-Fi BacPac™ and Wi-Fi Remote™
Long Range Remote Control of up to 50 GoPro Cameras
Wi-Fi Video/Photo Preview + Playback
Live Streaming Video + Photos to the Web

How to root Galaxy S or S2 under linux

markus — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 05:05:36 +0000

I have found a great post Mr Zammler

Written by MrZammler

on 15/09/2011

Filed under Android

So, I got myself a new Samsung Galaxy SII. It’s a great phone as it is, but of course after a while your hand scratches to *really* start using it. The first thing you must do is root your device. There are many guides out there on how to root it by using Odin (a Samsung application for flashing) but if you don’t have access to a Windows machine, your only chance is with Heimdall. As always, I’m not responsible for any damage. Use the following at your own risk!

As you may know, Heimdall is an application that tries to re-implement Odin’s functionallity for Linux/MacOS and Windows. First thing to do is download and compile it. Get Heimdall source from here: http://www.glassechidna.com.au/products/heimdall/. Try some binaries, if they don’t work, compile it. Check the package docs. Eventually you should have a ‘heimdall’ binary. The frontend is not needed at this point.

Find a kernel file that is suited to your stock kernel. Check this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1103399. Make sure you download the correct kernel. Extract the archives twice, untill you have zImage.

Put your phone in download mode. Power off, then press Volume Down+Home Key+Power key. Keep them pressed untill you see an intro screen, then release and press Volume up. You should now see the “Downloading” mode. Connect the phone to the PC and check if it’s detected:
mrz@winterland ~/stuff/galaxy $ heimdall detect
Device detected
Then run (sudo is needed if you get a permission denied for the usb (libusb couldn’t open USB device /dev/bus/usb/001/010: Permission denied))
mrz@winterland ~/stuff/galaxy $ sudo heimdall flash --kernel zImage
Heimdall v1.3.1, Copyright (c) 2010-2011, Benjamin Dobell, Glass Echidna

http://www.glassechidna.com.au

 
This software is provided free of charge. Copying and redistribution is
encouraged.
 
If you appreciate this software and you would like to support future
development please consider donating:

http://www.glassechidna.com.au/donate/

 
Initialising connection...
Detecting device...
Claiming interface...
Attempt failed. Detaching driver...
Claiming interface again...
Setting up interface...
 
Checking if protocol is initialised...
Protocol is not initialised.
Initialising protocol...
Handshaking with Loke...
 
Beginning session...
Session begun with device of type: 131072
 
Downloading device's PIT file...
PIT file download sucessful
 
Uploading KERNEL
100%
KERNEL upload successful
Ending session...
Rebooting device...
Re-attaching kernel driver...
That’s it! The phone will reboot (notice the yellow triangle when booting), and voila. You should now have 2 extra apps, CWM and SuperUser. One last thing…

Backup your /efs folder. This is important, and can save you from an expensive trip to a Samsung Service Center. Checkhttp://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1068193 for more information.

How to make your own Wiki page

markus — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 09:53:16 +0000

How to build your own Wiki site is very easy. Follow these simple instructions:

First you need a place to host your Wiki site. You need to decide if you want to host your Wiki site locally or on the internet.

There is some reliable hosting companies that will host sites for free or ofcourse some better ones at a cost. (Your choice)

This make your life easier, since most of the hosting companies offer tools that will install everything for you, WordPress, DokuWiki, MediaWiki, Forums ect.

The Hosted way. (Easy)

First signup with your hosting company of choice.
Login to the portal (supplied with your account details)
Locate the Installer. (Contact hosting company if help is needed)
Select Wiki product you wish to install
After installation, the installer will provide you with the details to maintain your personal Wiki page.

Local Hosting (More difficult)

If you are not fammiliar with Linux, and wish to use Windows, see below how.
Download the required Wiki site. Here is a download link for MediaWiki
If you are running Ubuntu Linux, simply run the following: sudo aptitude install apache2 mysql-server php5-cli php5 php5-mysql
Other Linux distro’s must install the above mentioned packages.
Configure Mysql root password: mysqladmin -u root password “newrootpassword”
run: sudo apt-get install mediawiki
Your wiki will be installed in /var/www/wiki
Please see mediawiki for System Specific instructions, this is just to get you started.
http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Installation_guide

I hope this puts you in the right direction into hosting your own Wiki page.

Google Gravity

markus — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 06:39:22 +0000

Chrome of latest Firefox installed? Bored and angry with Google Results:

Take a swing at “Google Gravity” fun tool:

http://mrdoob.com/projects/chromeexperiments/google_gravity/

MX video player for Android

markus — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 06:01:00 +0000

Looking for a great video player on Android that plays almost all coded videos (mpg, avi, mkv m4v)? Try MX video player.

The player has easy controls, very quick, resource friendly and best of all, it’s free. No upgrade to pro-version nonsense.

You have simple slide controls on the sides and top and bottom of the screen to control brightness, volume, ect.

I found this to be my prefered video player on Android, just works great.

Now, just for uPnp integration.

VOIP Provider cheap and reliable

markus — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 09:40:03 +0000

Finding a good and cheap VOIP provider in South Africa can be difficult. Where to start?

First of, check out this page if you would like to know what VOIP is.

Most of the pages you probably already found on the internet sells VOIP in bulk and does not cater for home users or very small companies.You also may have found a few other companies which has dodgy names and you do no trust.

I would like to give you a bump in the right direction. The following 2 companies allows you to cancell at any moment, some give precredited airtime which allows for testing. Both are good and you have heard of before.

Visit the links for more info:
Fnb Connect

Mweb Mtalk

To start of with, check out this page to setup your home system wireless and cheap VOIP system.

What is VOIP or IP Telehony

markus — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 09:29:40 +0000

Very basic/Simple explenation of VOIP.”What is VOIP?” I have seen this question many times before.

VOIP is a network/Internet based telephony protocol. What this means is; A phone system that works over the internet or office/home network.

Why would you want VOIP?The primary reasons is; money savings. No more third party costs for PABX, use asterisk. No more expensive calls, us a VOIP provider.

If your a home user, you can get a simple VOIP/SIP (Sip is the protocol used) phone, setup so that it can connect to the internet, load provider details, and of you go.

See Wikipedia if you would like more information regard VOIP or IP Telephony.