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HP Touchpad: WebOS 3.0.5 removes all patches

If you’re anything like me, the recent update to WebOS 3.0.5 was something exciting, as it proves our beloved platform isn’t going the way of the grave just yet. But if your experience is like mine, you updated and found that your touch ripple was back, your smoothness patches were gone, and everything was back to it’s pre-patched sluggishness.

Well, before you pull out the doctor and restore to 3.0.4, you can try adding the old patches feed and reinstalling them. The patches will run just fine until the new ones are written and released for 3.0.5, and you won’t have to put up with a vanilla touchpad until then. Read More »

HP Touchpad: Muffle System Logging IPKG Error

After the recent 3.0.4 update to HP’s Touchpad, the Muffle System Logging patch was being broken, and was unable to be updated or removed. I found it irritating because I had to manually update all the other patches one by one instead of using the ‘update all’ button.

Here’s how I fixed it:

1. Fire up Preware, and press the drop down option in the top left hand corner of the screen marked Preware.
2. Select Saved Package List. This is a list of all the packages you have installed on your Touchpad.
3. Press the update button to synchronise this list. A notification will appear in the top right to say that the list has been updated successfully.
4. Press the back button to get back to the main screen of Preware. Tap in the search area at the top and search for Emergency.
5. In the returned list of packages, tap “Emergency Patch Recovery” and select Install. This patch will remove all custom Preware patches and updates, then ask you to reboot your Touchpad.
6. When your Touchpad starts up again, all your patches will be goneski. Not to worry, though – you don’t have to reinstall everything manually since you updated your patch list earlier.
7. Fire up Preware and select Saved Package List again.
8. Press Install All. Preware will reinstall all your patches and ask you to restart Luna.

You should now be able to install the new version of Muffle System Logging.

Problems downloading iOS?

I’m not sure if it’s the fact that I’m using iTunes on Windows or if it’s because I’m with a shitty ISP, but every time I try to download iPhone software I get an error saying that the network connection was reset and the update bombs out.

Instead, I had to directly download the software from Apple’s download server, then hold shift (or option if you’re a mac person) and click on restore. It’ll ask you where your software is you want to use,  and restore from there.

You can even install older versions if you want, although you might need to downgrade your iTunes as well.

iOS 4.3.3:  iPhone 4 (GSM), iPhone 4, iOS 4.2.8 (CDMA), iPhone 3GS, iPad 2 WiFi, iPad 2 GSM, iPad 2 CDMA, iPad, iPod touch 3G and iPod touch 4G

iOS 4.3.2: iPhone 4 (GSM), iPhone 4, iOS 4.2.7 (CDMA), iPhone 3GS, iPad 2 WiFi, iPad 2 GSM, iPad 2 CDMA, iPad, iPod touch 3G and iPod touch 4G

iOS 4.3.1: iPhone 4 (GSM), iPhone 3GS, iPad 2 WiFi, iPad 2 GSM, iPad 2 CDMA, iPad, iPod touch 3G and iPod touch 4G

iOS 4.3:  iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 GSM, Pad 1, iPad 2 WiFi, iPad 2,2 (3G AT&T?), iPad 2,3 (3G Verizon?), iPod Touch 3G and iPod Touch 4G

iOS 4: iPod Touch 2G, iPod Touch 3G, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3Gs and iPhone 4.

iOS 3.1.3: iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3Gs.

iOS 2.2.1: iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPod Touch, iPod Touch 2G.

iOS 1.1.4: iPhone, iPod Touch.

Airvideo on Ubuntu the even easier way

For those of you who don’t know what Airvideo is, it’s a little piece of software which runs on a server in your home and allows you to watch videos on your iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad both in your home via WiFi and when you’re out and about on a 3G network. It transcodes video (including MKV) into something your iDevice can play, then streams it out at the ideal bit rate for the available bandwidth. The server software is free, and the client software is available on the App store for around $2, which is a phenomenal bargain considering what it does.

A while ago I wrote a howto on installing the Windows version of the Airvideo server on Ubuntu using the Wine environment, because the Linux version of the Airvideo server was a little… well, confusing.

Since then, I was contacted by RubioJr (Gracias, Rubio!), who has put together a PPA (a list of packages) to allow Ubuntu and Debian users to enjoy a super simple installation method of Airvideo, without the need to install Wine. Read More »

The iPad 2 doesn’t seem faster

A lot of people have said that iPad 2 doesn’t seem appreciably faster than iPad 1.

Has anyone stopped to consider that it’s probably because the apps you’re using are still written for a single core device?

The same thing happened to computer users when dual core CPUs were released – sure, you could run more programs concurrently, but since each program only used a single core, until they, and the underlying operating system, were rewritten.

A more direct analogy might be the retina display on iPhone 4 – it took a while for apps to be rewritten to support it natively instead of just doubling their pixels.

I’m willing to bet that iPad 2 will go through a similar process – for the time being things will feel the same, or at least a little snappier (as mail, spotlight et al will use one core while your app uses the other).

As apps are rewritten to support multicore and iOS 5 is released (which will no doubt boast better multicore performance), iPad 2 should feel like it is speeding up.

Password Recovery on Cisco 1700 and 1800 Routers

Sometimes you’re going to come across a router you need to work on where someone’s changed the password and forgotten to write it down, and sometimes that person may or may not be you. Regardless of the reason, how to you get in to a router which you’re locked out of?

You’ll need a few bits of kit to get you started. First, a 1700 or 1800 router (obviously) which is unusable. Second, you’ll need a Cisco console cable (light blue with an RJ-45 on one end and a DB9 serial connector on the other). Finally you’ll need a computer with a serial port and a VT100 program of some description. Hyperterm will do in a pinch, but something like Zoc or PuTTY is my preference. Read More »

Automating Usenet downloads with HellaVCR and SABnzbd+

Some people would say that I’m a lazy person, that I don’t want to do anything which requires any hard work. But I prefer to think of myself as efficient – Doing repeated complex tasks over and over irritates me, like scouring index sites for my favourite Linux isos. When a new version appears, it should magically appear in a folder on my server, right?

Thankfully, with a few programs and a bit of time spent on the front end, it can all be magically done for you.

I’ll be doing all of this on Ubuntu 10.04, as that’s my server operating system of choice. If you want to build this setup on a different system, your mileage may vary. Just be sure to check the individual requirements of each package to ensure that they’ll all work correctly (i.e. HellaVCR needs Apache to work). Read More »

Upgrading your iPhone to iOS 4.1 Golden Master

The Golden Master version of iOS 4.1 has been released to Apple Developers, but if you’re not a developer and still want to install 4.1 on your iPhone or iPod Touch, here’s how.

Before you start, though, I have to point out that this is beta software,  so don’t upgrade if you’re worried about it breaking your phone. It’s also a developer build, so you technically shouldn’t be doing it unless you’re a developer, and while your UDID shouldn’t be checked, Apple may still get shirty that you’ve used a prerelease.

If in doubt, wait a week for the real 4.1 to release for reals.

Read More »

iOS 4 slowing down your 3G/3Gs? How about a Downgrade?

While a lot of people are quite happy with iOS 4 on their iPhone 3G or 3Gs, some are finding that their iDevice seems much slower than it once was. On my iPhone 3G, this was most noticeable when running the iPod app in the background whilst browsing the ‘net or checking emails – the music would skip and stutter as the device struggled to keep everything running smoothly.

After a few weeks of frustration, I decided to take the plunge and roll my iPhone 3G back to iOS (or iPhone OS, as it was known at the time) 3.1.3. The speed difference was immediately noticeable, with every app performing much quicker, with load times improving and seamless music no matter what I was doing in the foreground (even PvZ can’t cause audio skips).

The process for rolling back your iPhone from iOS 4.0 or 4.0.1 to 3.1.3 is pretty simple, and you should be done in a half an hour or so.

Read More »

Securing your SSH server

Enabling SSH on your home server – or a virtual private server, if you have one – is a risky affair. An unsecured server is a tempting target for script kiddies who want to test their “skills.” If you’re already running an ssh server, try the following command to see if anyone’s tried to connect to your computer and failed a password check:
user@computer:~$ sudo awk 'gsub(".*sshd.*Failed password for (invalid user )?", "") {print $1}' /var/log/auth.log* | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -5
 11 root
 9 admin
 6 sales
 2 user

So how do you secure your ssh server so that inquisitive people across the globe can’t access and harm your sensitive data?

Read More »

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