Pixelhum

Windows XP Service Pack 2 has a habit of rebooting the computer if Windows Update is scheduled to install updates automatically. This can result in lost data if you have unsaved work on your screen at the time.

Tim Rain has written a good article explaining why this all happens, how Windows determines whether to restart, and how to prevent AU from automatically rebooting.

Obviously, if Windows Update needs to reboot the computer then it should be rebooted as soon as possible, but this at least allows some control and prevents data loss.

I’ve been looking around for a suitable way to control MPD from either my desktop PC or my PDA (with wireless adapter). I couldn’t find anything that really suited me; they were either too bloated with features, or too simplistic. So… like a good little hacker, I started writing my own.

Update: First release is available.

Update 2: NeoMPC now has it’s own page.

MPD (Music Player Daemon) is a great little app that runs in the background on your Linux box and plays music. You control it with a client of some sort; currently available are GTK and QT based clients for the desktop, web based clients written in PHP, and command line based clients, one of which uses ncurses. It supports many music file formats, as well as gapless playback (essential in my opinion) and crossfading. It’s also very lightweight and doesn’t use much resources.

I’m using MPD-Class to actual control MPD, which means I don’t have to get my PHP hands too dirty, and I’m using Smarty for the visual interface which, as an added bonus, means it should be easily skinnable.

Here’s a couple of shots of the interface as it currently stands.

The playlist screen works in as much as it does show the playlist, but the buttons aren’t functioning yet. The control screen pretty much works, although at the moment it reloads the page for every button press, which seems fine on the desktop, but Pocket Internet Explorer reloads all the images too (and not particularly quickly either), which looks rubbish. I’m thinking about possibly an AJAX solution but it depends on how much JavaScript Pocket IE supports.

I’m tempted to start a project on SourceForge or something, but I need a good name first. Any suggestions?

Well, the parts for my media box project arrived last week so I spent the weekend putting it together and configuring Ubuntu Linux to perform media box type duties. The Software side is far from complete, but the machine build went smoothly and is documented here.

Here’s all the components laid out on the table, ready:

I listed the components on a previous post but I’ll list them again here:

• VIA EPIA MII 12000 Mini-ITX Mainboard
• 512Mb Crucial DDR RAM
• Travla C137 Case with 120W PSU
• Seagate 7200.7 200Gb HD
• Panasonic Slimline slotload DVD/CDRW drive

So without further ado, let’s get this machine together…

First the harddisk will be installed, I didn’t get enough pictures of this, but basically there is a tray in the bottom of the case that catches on one side and is secured with a couple of screws on the other. Space at the plug end is a little bit limited, especially considering the way the IDE cable is wired into the plug, but it went in fine with no real difficulty.

And from another angle:

This shot shows one of the fans nicely. It’s not the quietest of fans, although there is very little motor noise therefore it’s not particularly annoying.

The next thing to go in is the Mainboard. That was easy enough, the four risers that the board requires are already installed in the case so all we need to do is fit the backplane and screw the board down:

You can see some IDE cable origami going on already where I’ve connected up the harddisk. I actually managed to connect it to the secondary IDE channel, not that it mattered really and it made wiring up both drives a little easier. I’ve also connected the ATX power connector and the front panel connectors to the mainboard, although the case only has connectors for power LED, HDD LED and power switch.

The last thing to go in is the DVD/CDRW drive. This screws into a frame that fits in the top part of the case. Two things I had to be careful of here; the screws that hold the drive in place are very small, and very easy to lose, as I almost discovered! Also, it’s a bit tricky getting the drive properly lined up with the front of the case.

You can see more IDE cable origami where I had to cunningly fold the DVD drive IDE cable to get it to fit, and to get the plug the correct way round for the drive.

It’s a bit packed in there! This shot shows you how I had to fold the IDE cable to fit.

Now everything is in, I can put the lid on, and relax with a glass of red wine:

As you can see I wasted no time getting Ubuntu onto it! I’ll post another article later detailing the software setup I use.

Yay! The parts have turned up for my media box. I’m building a machine to sit next to the TV and Hi-Fi, solely to store and play music and video. At some point I’ll add a Digital TV card so the machine can do TiVo like duties for us.

Anyway, here’s what I ordered:

• VIA EPIA MII 12000 Mini-ITX Mainboard
• 512Mb Crucial DDR RAM
• Travla C137 Case with 120W PSU
• Seagate 7200.7 200Gb HD
• Panasonic Slimline slotload DVD/CDRW drive

The mainboard has everything I need on it, plus a couple of bonuses. A CompactFlash slot means I could get it booting off a memory card instead of harddisk, possibly speeding everything up and making it more of a ‘switch on and off’ device. A PC-Card slot means I can add a wireless card at some point (to avoid wires and keep the other half happy!).

I intend to run the whole thing on GNU/Linux, probably Ubuntu given my recent good experience with it. I’ll post more later, possibly with pictures!

I’ve recently discovered and have been playing around with Ubuntu Linux, more specifically, Ubuntu 5.04 “Hoary Hedgehog”. A Debian based distribution, Ubuntu aims to be an excellent desktop distribution and also, being based on Debian, is excellent for use as a server OS.

First impressions are extremely favourable. In fact, I replaced an old Debain install on a server in the office with an install of Ubuntu!

If I ever convert to Linux on the desktop, this will probably be the distro I go for.