Jen and Jon Johnson

Ok… so everything is down again this week while I move over to dreamhost.  I’m getting a bit tired of managing so many servers so I’m going to move all my personal stuff over to a shared host.  Now that my email is hosted by google I was preety much wasting my two VPSs that used to serve as DB/Web and Email systems.  Dreamhost offers mysql 5, php 4 or 5, unlimited DBs and subdomains, static ips, easy ssl, and lots of other stuff that I used to have to host my own system for.

Here are the steps I took to install mythtv 0.20 on Ubunty Edgy Edge 6.10

1. Perform Basic Desktop installation:
   I chose the full desktop install here because it is easiest to do and has almost everything you will need for a full working system. If you are a minimalist you should consider the server install as it will install very little extra bloat, however in the end I doubt you will really notice any problems with the desktop install.Answer the questions about the keyboard layout you have and your time zone and then create a new user. DO NOT name this user mythtv, that is apparently a no-no because this user is created later by the package. I’m not sure that is still true and you are welcome to experiment, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
   On step 5 choose “Manually edit the partition Table and set up your partitions. I choose to partition my system in the following way:
   • /boot 100 mb ext3
   • / 5gb ext3
   • swap 512 mb swap
   • /video all the rest xfs

   If you have multiple drives you will want to use lvm to concatenate them into one big device and mount it on video. For help with this google “lvm howto” or drop me a line.

   restart your computer, take out the cd, and login as your new user.

2. Install IVTV
   I got most of this information from the MythTV wiki
   1. go to System -> Administration -> Software Sources and enter your password if prompted
   2. check all 5 boxes to active all software repositories click close and then reload
   3. Open up a terminal under Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal I explain what I’m doing and then give the command in bold
   4. Install the programs necessary to compile software
      sudo apt-get install build-essential gcc
   5. Find your kernel version
      uname -r
      For me this returns 2.6.17-10-generic or this there are two parts the first is the kernel version which is everythign before the first - (2.6.17) the second is the build which is the rest (-10-generic) write these both down or remember them
   6. Install the raw kernel headers and source
      sudo apt-get install linux-source-2.6.17 linux-headers-2.6.17-10-generic
      Notice that the source uses just the kernel version and the headers uses the entire kernel name
   7. Download the latest drivers from http://ivtvdriver.org you should take special care to download the right driver for your kernel in my case it is 0.7.1
   8. Unpack the drivers - they are probably on your desktop cd ~/Desktop to get there
      tar xf ivtv*
   9. then make and make install
      cd ivtv*
      make
      sudo make install
   10. sudo depmod -a
   11. Get and install the firmware for the cards - this is loaded every time on boot and is not stored on the card directly
       wget http://dl.ivtvdriver.org/ivtv/firmware/firmware.tar.gz
       tar xf firm*
       sudo cp v4l-c* /lib/firmware
   12. make ivtv load on boot
       echo ‘ivtv’ |sudo tee -a /etc/modules
   13. Create ivtv aliases sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/aliases
       Scroll down to alias char-major-81-* and replace it with:
       alias char-major-81 videodev
       alias char-major-81-0 ivtv
       If you have more than one PVR card you will need to add an extra ivtv line for each of them (eg alias char-major-81-1)
   14. depmod -a
   15. modprobe ivtv
   16. dmesg
       You should see a bunc of info for each of yoru cards… if not then go find help on google!
   17. Grab a beer, you have earned it
3. Install LIRC for your remote controll
   1. Start by installing the LIRC daemon and related files along with Ncurses which is used when you are configuring the driver
      sudo apt-get install ncurses-dev lirc
   2. Visit LIRC CVS snapshot page and download the latest snapshot. I needed to use lirc-0.8.1pre2.tar.bz2 becuase it is the only once compatible with the 2.6.17 kernel
   3. extract lirc, it is probably on your desktop so cd ~/Desktop
      tar xjf lirc*
   4. cd lirc*
   5. ./configure
      Choose option 1 and then option 5 and then g which is the Hauppauge remote that came with your pvr-x50 card then choose option 3 “Save and run configure”
   6. make
   7. sudo make install
   8. sudo depmod -a
   9. sudo modprobe lirc_i2c
   10. sudo mode2
       This will let you test out yoru remote, point and click you shoulc see some output, hit ctrl-c when you are done.
   11. Set up lirc to load at boot
       echo ‘lirc_i2c’ | sudo tee -a /etc/modules
       sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/aliases
       add the line “alias char-major-61 lirc_i2c” whre it belongs in the list.
   12. Edit the lirc udev rule and move it to where it goes, I’m assumign that you are still in the lirc source directory, if not go there
       gedit contrib/lirc.rules
       make it look like this KERNEL=”lirc[0-9]*”, NAME=”lirc/%n”, MODE=”0666″ all that is differnt is that you append the MODE=”0666″ to the last line.
       sudo cp contrib/lirc.rules /etc/udev/rules.d/90-lirc.rules
   13. Move the configuration files from our new driver where they belong and overwrite the generic ones
       mv /etc/lircmd.conf /etc/lirc/
       mv /etc/lircd.conf /etc/lirc/
   14. All set, reboot your system to be sure ivtv and lirc come up ok and then we will install myth
       after you reboot you can type irw in the reminal and hit some more buttons on yoru remote, you should get output coresponding to your key presses
4. Install mythtv
   1. First install mysql database and configure it
      sudo apt-get install mysql-server
      mysqladmin -u root password xxxAAAxxx < - replace xxxAAAxxx with your own password. Don't forget this password it is very important.
   3. Install myth and myth-themes
      sudo apt-get install mythtv mythtv-themes
   4. Give the new mythtv user a password
      sudo passwd mythtv
   5. Log out and then log back in as the mythtv user
5. Configure Mythtv
   mythtv-setup
   There are plenty of guides on this so I won’t go into details. Make sure you go through menus 1-4 and if you are in teh US be sure you are set to use cable and not broadcast, that is really annoying
6. Start up the backend
   sudo /etc/init.d/mythtv-backend start
7. Update the channel listing
   /etc/cron.daily/mythtv-backend
8. and enoy!

todo: need to add info on using a different WM probalby ratpoison

So I finally bit the bullet and went with a vps instead of hosting from home. I was just getting fed up with slow upload speeds and trying to seperate my network properly into public and private areas. Now I won’t have to worry about that any more. I’m using a wonderfull service provided by http://www.quantact.com which is located here in San Francisco. Anyway, let me know if there are any problems.

TiVo to let users record TV shows via Verizon phones - Yahoo! News

Ha! I’ve been able to do this for ever… MythTV is clearly way ahead of the game… of cours, I never use it becuase everyting I need to scheudle is usually done in advance… You poor tivo users, what is it like to be held down by the man?

The transition to flickr is now complete and the gallery has been moved over to their servers. This means several things.

1. My bandwidth isn’t being eaten up by photos
2. everything is much faster
3. everything will get updated a lot more frequently because flicker is easier to use than the system I had built for myself
4. Categories can get much more fluid and I will soon have some other cool stuff

You can also check out my photos directly at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonjohnson

This transition was made possible mainly because of the fantastic php library at http://www.phpflickr.com/Â so many thanks go out there.

This is defiantly a step towards the future of web 2.0 as multiple services can be combined to create fluid dynamic user experiences…. enjoy.

This is definatly a step towards the future of web 2.0 as multiple services can be combined to create fluid dynamic user experiences…. enjoy.

So I’m currently re-writing Jen’s Gradebook web application into Ajax and the results are stunning. I had no idea how much time went into reloading the web interface to reload as opposed to passing data to the database. I actually had to add a sleep() to my php backend code in order to ensure that I was getting the visual response I was looking for. Well.. back to work…

Some Great Ajax Links:

Ajax in Action Is a great intro and overview of the necessary worlds including an indepth look at design patterns and performance which I found pretty fascinating.

Jesse James Garrett at adaptive path - this is the article that started the buzz and gave this technology its really crappy name (I know I’m the onlly one who hates it, it is just so corny and difficult to work into a normal conversation)

 prototype.js provides a great starting framework and it will lead you to other projects. Check out rico and script.aculo.us and Behavior to get some wonderful pre-built functions.

 There are obviously a bunch more places to check out, but these should give you a great head start.Â

BBC NEWS has an article today from Bill Thompson which responds to Mac users who believe he is crazy for thinking that OSX is vulnerable. This is ridiculous. Of course OSX is vulnerable and the Apple credo that nothing can touch a Mac is one day going to get them in serious trouble. By telling people that their Mac is safe straight out of the box, and that no steps need to be taken to ensure security apple is setting their users up for a serious problem.

Let me be the one to break this news to you. Your Mac is vulnerable. Most especially it is vulnerable because YOU are running it. Without taking care you could install malware that will compromise your security, steal your passwords, and wipe out your computer. This is possible because, as a Mac user, you have the power to put in your Administrator Password and do something really nasty.

So take care. Your paranoia is the only thing standing between your Mac and certain destruction.

If you are worried now, you should check out SecureMac.com there are some great tools and tips there.

It’s Here!!
Apple - MacBook Pro has been released. With a dual core intel cpu and a built in iSight among a host of other things this mac is AMAZING! Check it out right now, and then go and buy two… one for you and one for me!

Here is a great point about getting linux into schools early. I know that I was originally very wary of switching to Linux because I had grown intimately familiar with Windows and Mac during my high school and early college computing. The first real key for me was actually using a Mac with OSX on it. I became entranced with the power of unix tools like rsync and quickly attempted my first linux install on an unused computer. It failed miserably, mainly because I didn’t have any use for a server, and I was perfectly happy with my Powerbook.It wasn’t until alter when I started experimenting with Mythtv and then had to give up my powerbook and return full time to my desktop computer that I took a fresh look at linux.

It is no secret to mainstream marketers that the key to successful product marketing usually lies somewhere in junior high. If you get kids hooked on the Penguin before they are 15 then they will be hooked for life.

You have to check out this Scanner Video . It is one of the coolest things I have seen in a long time.