Digipro drawing pad users of the world, unite.
http://digitalbluewave.blogspot.com/2008/11/updated-wizardpen-driver-070-alpha1-p.html
Let's make these things Just Work in 9.04.
fabrice_sp is helping me with basically all of my packaging at this stage, we have one we're working on for the wizardpen. The idea for the end result is this:
a .deb file with the drive in it, and a postinstall script that goes as follows:
'please unplug your drawing pad and hit enter.'
grep -i name /proc/bus/input/devices
'pleas plug in your drawing pad and hit enter.'
grep -i name /proc/bus/input/devices
(the second time the command is run, there should be one additional result.)
Take that result and add it to /etc/hal/fdi/policy/99-x11-wizardpen.fdi, which needs to contain some other basically static xml, but I don't know how to post it here..
What would be /really/ nice of course is if the driver was included in main, and could recognize all the different wizardpen drawing pads and make them all Just Work; that is the end goal here, and we need all the help we can get. I hope the wacom folks have it better than this..
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
I'm an Ubuntero!
First order of business: I've upgraded the Ubuntu Stellarium package to 0.10.0
Here's how to get it.
I have installed stellarium on my machine with these same steps to ensure that nothing is broken. It's not as scary as it looks.
Note that this guide will not work if you're using a PowerPC machine such as a PowerBook or PlayStation3. Ubuntu doesn't have OpenGL acceleration on the PS3 anyways, and if you want to build a .deb for yourself on a PowerBook or other PPC based machine, let me know; I can walk you through it. Unfortunately, canonical only builds PPA packages for i386 (x86), amd64 (x86_64), and lpia (low power intel architecture)-- which is just another way of saying ...more x86. Also note that this guide will not work on Ubuntu Hardy; only Intrepid and newer. If you're still waiting for a bug or two to get worked out of Intrepid, just hang onto this for later.
Firstly, add the apt-line to your software sources.
System > Administration > Software Sources
Go to the 'Third-Party Software' tab, click the 'add' button near the bottom left corner of the window.
"Enter the complete APT line of the repository that you want to add as source"
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/ethana2/ubuntu intrepid main
When you close the window, it'll tell you it needs to reload the index of stuff you can install, go ahead and do it.
== at this point, you have added my Personal Package Archive to your Ubuntu installation ==
[If you already had stellarium installed, just run updates and you're done. --I'll assume you don't.]
Next, go to Applications > Add/Remove, and search for stellarium. It should return one result, and that one result is of course the one you want.
Check the box next to it and hit 'Apply Changes'. Enter your password, and it will probably complain about how I haven't been knighted by King Shuttleworth. Ignore this and install anyway. I am responsible to Canonical for my behavior in regards to this PPA, having signed their code of conduct with gpg, and I'm not going to mess with anyone.
After installing this application, you will be provided with the opportunity to run it immediately. Do what you want.
Stellarium will show up under Applications > Education, but you can move it wherever you will with the Main Menu Editor found in System > Prefs.
Enjoy*
*Enjoying is not required by the GPL; if you choose not to enjoy it, no one can stop you.
Here's how to get it.
I have installed stellarium on my machine with these same steps to ensure that nothing is broken. It's not as scary as it looks.
Note that this guide will not work if you're using a PowerPC machine such as a PowerBook or PlayStation3. Ubuntu doesn't have OpenGL acceleration on the PS3 anyways, and if you want to build a .deb for yourself on a PowerBook or other PPC based machine, let me know; I can walk you through it. Unfortunately, canonical only builds PPA packages for i386 (x86), amd64 (x86_64), and lpia (low power intel architecture)-- which is just another way of saying ...more x86. Also note that this guide will not work on Ubuntu Hardy; only Intrepid and newer. If you're still waiting for a bug or two to get worked out of Intrepid, just hang onto this for later.
Firstly, add the apt-line to your software sources.
System > Administration > Software Sources
Go to the 'Third-Party Software' tab, click the 'add' button near the bottom left corner of the window.
"Enter the complete APT line of the repository that you want to add as source"
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/
When you close the window, it'll tell you it needs to reload the index of stuff you can install, go ahead and do it.
== at this point, you have added my Personal Package Archive to your Ubuntu installation ==
[If you already had stellarium installed, just run updates and you're done. --I'll assume you don't.]
Next, go to Applications > Add/Remove, and search for stellarium. It should return one result, and that one result is of course the one you want.
Check the box next to it and hit 'Apply Changes'. Enter your password, and it will probably complain about how I haven't been knighted by King Shuttleworth. Ignore this and install anyway. I am responsible to Canonical for my behavior in regards to this PPA, having signed their code of conduct with gpg, and I'm not going to mess with anyone.
After installing this application, you will be provided with the opportunity to run it immediately. Do what you want.
Stellarium will show up under Applications > Education, but you can move it wherever you will with the Main Menu Editor found in System > Prefs.
Enjoy*
*Enjoying is not required by the GPL; if you choose not to enjoy it, no one can stop you.
Friday, June 20, 2008
ignore this
1bf532acf07835edf2f37780b68757dd
md5 for a text file for the verification of its creation date
md5 for a text file for the verification of its creation date
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Gaming on Linux: The Time has Come.
If you're from Ubuntu feature requests, skip to paragraph 4.
One of the reasons for not moving to Linux that you hear a lot from windows users is that their games don't work on Linux. For the most part, this is true. Of course, there are always compatibility layers like wine or, ahem, cedega... But let us think for a moment: this is just another proprietary app dependency. Sure, it'd be nice if they made games for us, but we have the best kernel on earth, the best window compositing system, the best 3 browsers ... Heck, we even had better hardware support than vista for a while. What got us there? For the most part, not proprietary software dependency.
A short time ago, I surveyed the Linux gaming situation and was pleasantly surprised. We have unified. We have advanced. Through great projects like ioq3, crystal space, SDL, and opengl, we have, in my opinion, nearly caught up. You can play sauerbraten, tremulous, nexuiz, openarena, urban terror, and many others. What is lacking? Out of the box support for controllers. Let's face it: who has an open source gaming console? Yeah. Good job. So let us examine what a pc needs to catch up in full.
Out of the box controller/gamepad support. Do we have it? Kinda. But what if you want to use it? Tough. You have to go out and find the source for joy2key and joy2mouse, run a ./configure make sudo make install on it. Now, console users don't like terminals. I don't mind them, but before I knew what I was doing, I tried that and it didn't work. I probably didn't do it right... Anyway...
What we need is a way to simply plug in your gamepad, and be able to just use it. This involves binding keys and mouse movements in its simplest form. Heck, I like having a backup for my keyboard and mouse anyway. That binding needs to be integrated into the gamepad manager, and all of that needs to be included(optionally) with Ubuntu. If not the default Ubuntu, perhaps a new variant, like Ubuntu Full Circle? (I think that would be appropriate, next to the xbox 360 and nintendo revo--- wii. Best of all, you could install it on the ps3 --also, as an indicator that one of the last weaknesses of Linux... has caught up. The circle is complete. Once we were but the learners. Now we... are the masters. *I plead fair use*)
ethana2@gmail.com -- help me refine my ideas.
One of the reasons for not moving to Linux that you hear a lot from windows users is that their games don't work on Linux. For the most part, this is true. Of course, there are always compatibility layers like wine or, ahem, cedega... But let us think for a moment: this is just another proprietary app dependency. Sure, it'd be nice if they made games for us, but we have the best kernel on earth, the best window compositing system, the best 3 browsers ... Heck, we even had better hardware support than vista for a while. What got us there? For the most part, not proprietary software dependency.
A short time ago, I surveyed the Linux gaming situation and was pleasantly surprised. We have unified. We have advanced. Through great projects like ioq3, crystal space, SDL, and opengl, we have, in my opinion, nearly caught up. You can play sauerbraten, tremulous, nexuiz, openarena, urban terror, and many others. What is lacking? Out of the box support for controllers. Let's face it: who has an open source gaming console? Yeah. Good job. So let us examine what a pc needs to catch up in full.
Out of the box controller/gamepad support. Do we have it? Kinda. But what if you want to use it? Tough. You have to go out and find the source for joy2key and joy2mouse, run a ./configure make sudo make install on it. Now, console users don't like terminals. I don't mind them, but before I knew what I was doing, I tried that and it didn't work. I probably didn't do it right... Anyway...
What we need is a way to simply plug in your gamepad, and be able to just use it. This involves binding keys and mouse movements in its simplest form. Heck, I like having a backup for my keyboard and mouse anyway. That binding needs to be integrated into the gamepad manager, and all of that needs to be included(optionally) with Ubuntu. If not the default Ubuntu, perhaps a new variant, like Ubuntu Full Circle? (I think that would be appropriate, next to the xbox 360 and nintendo revo--- wii. Best of all, you could install it on the ps3 --also, as an indicator that one of the last weaknesses of Linux... has caught up. The circle is complete. Once we were but the learners. Now we... are the masters. *I plead fair use*)
ethana2@gmail.com -- help me refine my ideas.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
OSH Laptop Design
Here follows my idea for an open source laptop. Naturally, its components should be open source too.
First, all components need to use USB 3.0. This idea is detailed in a previous post here.
Secondly, it needs to be liquid cooled. This may sound ridiculous, but when you see my idea for the implementation, you may change your mind- more on this later.
Third, while the CPU instruction set's being open may sound stupid, keep in mind that the gcc can add it as a target platform as easily as it could be designed int eh first place. I believe it already exists anyway.
Fourth, it has a co processor. This would require the Linux, Open Solaris, FreeBSD, Haiku, whatever- kernels to be altered, but it would be worth it. Threads would issue a kernel call for mass math batching to the co processor, which would be used for all math intensive operations.
Fifth, it would take advantage of every power saving method under the sun. Parts of the processor would power off via clock gating when unused. Both clock frequencies and voltages to all components would be scaled dynamically.
Here follows some more specific design ideas: The liquid cooling system would be quieter and work better than current laptop air cooling. Thanks to all the power saving measures in place, it wouldn't ave that much stress put on it usually. It would have a small pump in the main body, and would cool all components that generate heat. One tube goes up behind the screen, and one comes down. There, a heat sink that covers the entire back side of it dissipates the heat with vertical fins while the laptop is open. Aluminum would likely work fine. This also opens of some neat aesthetic possibilities. Due to the flexibility of USB 3.0, the keyboard is not mandatory. One could easily replace it with, say, a touchscreen. Or a solar panel, with the top screen being a touchscreen. Possibilities are endless.
We touch first on the hard drive. First notable difference: simplified electronics. The system could use one GB of GDDR3 for L3, graphical cache for the co processor, and perhaps hard drive cache as well. The hard drive itself would lack a cache. Using Gb USB 3, it would negotiate one 60 and one 1 volt power input. The 60 bolt drives the motor, and the one volt drives circuitry. It would have instant spin down in a similar manner to hybrid vehicles. Shock mounted.
Next, the optical drive. Power negotiation would be identical to the other, with the exception of an extra voltage for the laser. The laser would be an independent unit of the drive, capable of bring upgraded to higher frequencies as needed without replacing the entire drive. The tray and reading/writing mechanisms would also be independent, allowing for design variations like drives that grab the disk and pull it in, without major redesign.
The power supply would put out a few 60 and 1 volt lines, with several variable voltage outputs. While these may not be particularly efficient, they centralize power conversion in the PSU. Centralization of operations is crucial. As all other components, it would be liquid cooled. Thus, it would be much denser than many other PSU's. This may sound like a bad idea, but as long as the liquid system is well designed and no one is emptying rounds into the machine, it should be fine.
Another component that one might find interesting is the modulator. This would be a digital-to-analog wave generator, and could be used as a modem, or to provide traditional audio output to old headphones and speakers. Or, hey, tuning radio and TV- even broadcasting at moderate power. This would be placed above the screen, along with a digital microphone and perhaps a webcam.
The usual or recommended setup would be one colemak thin keyboard, a thumb pad for security, and a touch mouse. Perhaps a small scanning pad would be handy too. These would be isolated in the keyboard layer, separate from other internal components, and a breeze to replace. As much as possible, the machine should be EM shielded and waterproof. With the right sealing methods, and design, it may be a good idea to actually make it capable of underwater use, conditionally. That is, it needs to be designed with that in mind, but most people wouldn't need it actually built in when they get one.
I want to set up some kind of group to make such designs a reality, but I need all the help I can get. ethana2@gmail.com- for those willing to contribute or comment.
First, all components need to use USB 3.0. This idea is detailed in a previous post here.
Secondly, it needs to be liquid cooled. This may sound ridiculous, but when you see my idea for the implementation, you may change your mind- more on this later.
Third, while the CPU instruction set's being open may sound stupid, keep in mind that the gcc can add it as a target platform as easily as it could be designed int eh first place. I believe it already exists anyway.
Fourth, it has a co processor. This would require the Linux, Open Solaris, FreeBSD, Haiku, whatever- kernels to be altered, but it would be worth it. Threads would issue a kernel call for mass math batching to the co processor, which would be used for all math intensive operations.
Fifth, it would take advantage of every power saving method under the sun. Parts of the processor would power off via clock gating when unused. Both clock frequencies and voltages to all components would be scaled dynamically.
Here follows some more specific design ideas: The liquid cooling system would be quieter and work better than current laptop air cooling. Thanks to all the power saving measures in place, it wouldn't ave that much stress put on it usually. It would have a small pump in the main body, and would cool all components that generate heat. One tube goes up behind the screen, and one comes down. There, a heat sink that covers the entire back side of it dissipates the heat with vertical fins while the laptop is open. Aluminum would likely work fine. This also opens of some neat aesthetic possibilities. Due to the flexibility of USB 3.0, the keyboard is not mandatory. One could easily replace it with, say, a touchscreen. Or a solar panel, with the top screen being a touchscreen. Possibilities are endless.
We touch first on the hard drive. First notable difference: simplified electronics. The system could use one GB of GDDR3 for L3, graphical cache for the co processor, and perhaps hard drive cache as well. The hard drive itself would lack a cache. Using Gb USB 3, it would negotiate one 60 and one 1 volt power input. The 60 bolt drives the motor, and the one volt drives circuitry. It would have instant spin down in a similar manner to hybrid vehicles. Shock mounted.
Next, the optical drive. Power negotiation would be identical to the other, with the exception of an extra voltage for the laser. The laser would be an independent unit of the drive, capable of bring upgraded to higher frequencies as needed without replacing the entire drive. The tray and reading/writing mechanisms would also be independent, allowing for design variations like drives that grab the disk and pull it in, without major redesign.
The power supply would put out a few 60 and 1 volt lines, with several variable voltage outputs. While these may not be particularly efficient, they centralize power conversion in the PSU. Centralization of operations is crucial. As all other components, it would be liquid cooled. Thus, it would be much denser than many other PSU's. This may sound like a bad idea, but as long as the liquid system is well designed and no one is emptying rounds into the machine, it should be fine.
Another component that one might find interesting is the modulator. This would be a digital-to-analog wave generator, and could be used as a modem, or to provide traditional audio output to old headphones and speakers. Or, hey, tuning radio and TV- even broadcasting at moderate power. This would be placed above the screen, along with a digital microphone and perhaps a webcam.
The usual or recommended setup would be one colemak thin keyboard, a thumb pad for security, and a touch mouse. Perhaps a small scanning pad would be handy too. These would be isolated in the keyboard layer, separate from other internal components, and a breeze to replace. As much as possible, the machine should be EM shielded and waterproof. With the right sealing methods, and design, it may be a good idea to actually make it capable of underwater use, conditionally. That is, it needs to be designed with that in mind, but most people wouldn't need it actually built in when they get one.
I want to set up some kind of group to make such designs a reality, but I need all the help I can get. ethana2@gmail.com- for those willing to contribute or comment.
USB 3.0
The point of USB is to standardize communication systems. It cannot do this, however, unless it is flexible enough to operate in the manner required by a vast variety of applications. Here, the creators of the USB protocol made a few fatal mistakes:
The limited it. They limited the connection pin number, and they limited the connection frequencies. And as for going wireless, they limited it, I believe, to single connections.
Here, I will detail my idea for USB 3.0. If anyone wants to use this idea, they may, and in fact, I encourage them to. But the second they try to rip it out of its proper place in the public domain with patents or similar intellectually fascist methods, I intend to attack. Because just about any idea is obvious to those with the right background. But I won't rail on IP laws here. Back to USB 3.0. You get the point.
One of the ideas central to the USB standard is backwards compatibility. This means that to form a USB connection, you have to start at the lowest common denominator and scale up. USB 3 needs to be a simple addition to that. Here's how a connection should be made:
Host to device: Hello?
Device: I'm here on USB 1.1.
Host: Can you do USB 2.0?
Device: Yes.
Host: Can you do USB 3.0?
Yes. 1 connection, 2 bits, 500 MHz
Host: Scaling to 1 Gbps connection.
or, 5 years down the road-
Host: Can you do USB 3.0?
Device: wireless USB 3.0, 5 connections. One bit/connection, frequencies 4.00, 4.01, 4.02, 4.03, 4.04 GHz.
Host: scaling pseudo parallel connection. Enabling soft encryption.
Why do we need this? Simplicity. Today we have USB ports, DV I/O, PCIe, PCI, SATA, etc.
I want one type of connection and one only: USB 3.0. Monitor, Stereo vision headset, controllers, hubs, cards, drives, eeg's, wireless scanners, co processors, PSU's. Everything. And without royalties.
The limited it. They limited the connection pin number, and they limited the connection frequencies. And as for going wireless, they limited it, I believe, to single connections.
Here, I will detail my idea for USB 3.0. If anyone wants to use this idea, they may, and in fact, I encourage them to. But the second they try to rip it out of its proper place in the public domain with patents or similar intellectually fascist methods, I intend to attack. Because just about any idea is obvious to those with the right background. But I won't rail on IP laws here. Back to USB 3.0. You get the point.
One of the ideas central to the USB standard is backwards compatibility. This means that to form a USB connection, you have to start at the lowest common denominator and scale up. USB 3 needs to be a simple addition to that. Here's how a connection should be made:
Host to device: Hello?
Device: I'm here on USB 1.1.
Host: Can you do USB 2.0?
Device: Yes.
Host: Can you do USB 3.0?
Yes. 1 connection, 2 bits, 500 MHz
Host: Scaling to 1 Gbps connection.
or, 5 years down the road-
Host: Can you do USB 3.0?
Device: wireless USB 3.0, 5 connections. One bit/connection, frequencies 4.00, 4.01, 4.02, 4.03, 4.04 GHz.
Host: scaling pseudo parallel connection. Enabling soft encryption.
Why do we need this? Simplicity. Today we have USB ports, DV I/O, PCIe, PCI, SATA, etc.
I want one type of connection and one only: USB 3.0. Monitor, Stereo vision headset, controllers, hubs, cards, drives, eeg's, wireless scanners, co processors, PSU's. Everything. And without royalties.
Monday, September 4, 2006
All the stuff that wouldn't fit in the 1200 character limit of "About Me"...
First, I'll describe what one would note about my personality. I'm rather quiet most of the time, but I speak when spoken to. I try to use my brain as much as possible, but I get nervous around girls, inhibiting its proper functioning. I don't like having attention drawn to me amongst large numbers of people, especially when that group includes females. I'm strange, but I don't want it to scare people away. I'm not after girlfriend-boyfriend relationships really, because I've always liked someone, and it never ends well in my experience..., but I want to keep all my friendly and distant relationships positive and healthy. For better or worse, I care very much what people think of me. I value respect, but I have rather weak power of will. As I go through my day, I try to obey as many rules as possible, hold doors for people, and acknowledge people's presences by nodding my head. If you don't know me, that's a general overview of what you'd see. If you do, I hope this makes things clearer regarding my tendency to avoid people in general. If you are a female I know and wish to talk to me, modesty, sincerity, and frequency of communication are excellent alleviators of my nervousness. Let's see here, to summarize the rest, I'm a geek, and when nervous I can be a klutz as well. I enjoy intelligent discussion, and from the odd perspective of inside my brain, I'd describe it as a rather noisy environment, always thinking about something. Sometimes it annoys me, but I have a relatively well defined interface with the world, and thus don't generally come off as a complete ADD. Like many others, I've never been officially diagnosed, but I have my suspicions. I just kind of keep most of it inside. Except, well, at home. In that case, I'm quite random... sometimes witty, etc. My mom thinks I'm funny, at least.
Here's some other random background.
I used to do basically all of my homework and ace everything. Then, third semester freshman year, I was sick for a week and my propensity for late assignments caught up to me. I never wanted to be the guy who never did his homework, but over the following years, it is essentially what I became. (Pray for me.)
On a random note, I value my hair. Longer hair is freedom for me, but none of my older family members, (grandma, mom, dad...) like it because every once in a while it hides my eyes. When it is as long as I like it, I usually sport the "beach boy" look.
I'm weird. I like to think- I analyze everything. I believe all information should be free. I'm not a commie, and I'm not a capitalist. I like to exchange knowledge with persons near and far. IT is an extension of my mind. I like Google, and I like Firefox, Linux, and Open Office. Current projects:
Language.
OS.
Government and Educational system.
PC architecture.
I was going to do a programming language too, but Twilight is looking good... Python if that doesn't turn out...
And for old friends who may come across this, I'd love to talk to you too. Social networking is one of those things I always looked forward to. (If only I could....) Now I can. (Exactly like Google Earth) Please allow me to recreate old connections. All you people who went to school with me, or Boy Scouts, or church... or various combinations of the aforementioned... If I happen to forget your name, which is likely, show me your face.
Email: ethana2@gmail.com (checked daily)
Verizon: 402-740-8740
Home (I may be online)402-498-4423
MSN messenger, Skype.
Here's some other random background.
I used to do basically all of my homework and ace everything. Then, third semester freshman year, I was sick for a week and my propensity for late assignments caught up to me. I never wanted to be the guy who never did his homework, but over the following years, it is essentially what I became. (Pray for me.)
On a random note, I value my hair. Longer hair is freedom for me, but none of my older family members, (grandma, mom, dad...) like it because every once in a while it hides my eyes. When it is as long as I like it, I usually sport the "beach boy" look.
I'm weird. I like to think- I analyze everything. I believe all information should be free. I'm not a commie, and I'm not a capitalist. I like to exchange knowledge with persons near and far. IT is an extension of my mind. I like Google, and I like Firefox, Linux, and Open Office. Current projects:
Language.
OS.
Government and Educational system.
PC architecture.
I was going to do a programming language too, but Twilight is looking good... Python if that doesn't turn out...
And for old friends who may come across this, I'd love to talk to you too. Social networking is one of those things I always looked forward to. (If only I could....) Now I can. (Exactly like Google Earth) Please allow me to recreate old connections. All you people who went to school with me, or Boy Scouts, or church... or various combinations of the aforementioned... If I happen to forget your name, which is likely, show me your face.
Email: ethana2@gmail.com (checked daily)
Verizon: 402-740-8740
Home (I may be online)402-498-4423
MSN messenger, Skype.
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