After fixing the issue with Windows 7 seeing XP in the network, the problem has returned. I've requested this hot fix again since LLTP seems gone from XP. Aren't computers frustrating - oops, I mean fun, really I do.
MS sent me an email with this link:
KB Article Number(s): 922120
Language: English
Platform: i386
Location: (http://hotfixv4.microsoft.com/Windows%20XP/sp4/Fix215806/2600/free/350011_ENU_i386_zip.exe)
Password:
Password Changes On:
Next Password:
LLTD Responder
You can verify that the LLTD Responder is successfully installed and running.
To verify the LLTD Responder is installed and running
On a computer running Windows XP, click Start, click Control Panel, and then click Network Connections.
Click Local Area Network Connection, click Properties, and then view the list of items used by the network connection.
Ensure that the Link-Layer Topology Discovery Responder check box is selected.
Unfortunately, when I check it's NOT there. Still, I can again see the XP machine from Windows 7. Strangely MS.
So I've got OK results with my DIY antenna but thought I'd do a bit more experimentation.
First I tried elevating the antenna. No joy. It seems the extra wire is a big negative. It might be worth looking into a signal amplifier to drive the extra cable.
Went back downstairs and connected with original cable. Now have 26 synced channels.
Tried putting some AL foil on the back as a reflector. The board is 3/8 thick and there is NO reason to expect that the reflector spacing is in any way appropriate. Hung from light valence (about 10' off floor on second floor). With elements facing N, re-scan got 19 channels.
Turned antenna so the elements were facing S. Re-scan got 17. This is not looking like an improvement.
Took foil off. Re-scan got 23.
It looks like foil at 3/8" isn't helpful.
Next I made another version using AL foil tape. Got 26 channels. Of these there are 18 that have good reception and are in English! Here's what the unit looks like:
OK, the Dell 410 is up and running OK. Time to get it to control the XP machine driving the TV.
Previously I'd installed TightVNC on the PC driving the TV. This allows to control the TV computer from another computer while sitting on the couch. On the couch computer I installed WIN2VNC (shared keyboard mouse so you can use the couch computer keyboard & mouse to control the TV computer) and TightVNC viewer (this creates a Windows window that mirrors the TV computer & TV screen). All in all this arrangement works well.
I've been testing with my new Sony laptop. That's OK for testing but I wanted to use the smaller Dell 410 as the couch computer. Just now the Dell 410 Windows 7 is doubtful long term with what appears to be a illegitimate Windows 7. So I installed Ubuntu alongside Windows 7. This allows me to get some experience with a mixed Windows/Ubuntu network. I had some issues with the wireless connect on the Dell 410 but worked through those. Then installed the Vinagre VNC viewer and presto the Dell 410, now couch computer, and control the TV computer.
I mostly settled out on content.
hulu - tv, some news, some movies
netflixs - movies
pandora - music
youtube - various including amusement, some news, some education
noaa - weather
CNN - news
PBS - news and some tv
various networks - tv
That's way more than I can consume or even want to some by by Comcast.
I am still struggling with recording OTA TV. It turns out that a 2 tuner TV receiver card requires more computer than I have available. So I'm currently looking for a fast enough used computer to setup as an OTA TV DVR. That will allow me to schedule and record various TV shows and save them on disk. I set the disk up as a media server and play the recorded TV/movies/etc. using XBMC and MythTV on the TV computer.
While this all sounds complicated, it's actually simple.
Decided to finish configuring Dell 410. Installed Norton without issue. Noticed message from MS in lower right corner indicating that Windows 7 is NOT a legal copy! NOT GOOD! Windows wants an authentication key. No such key do I have. Send email to chap I bought it from and left voice message. No response yet.
Chapter 2
Not sure I'll get a response from seller and, anyway, I'm curious to see how well it will run Ubuntu. Good backup if Windows 7 dies though I'm more than a little put out about the software. Install Ubuntu OK after adjusting the boot order to boot from CD. System runs OK on wired lan. Sadly, wireless doesn't work.
Chapter 3 Much mucking about. Ubuntu/linux is a real good news/bad news deal. Good news - the answer is out there from some helpful person. Bad news - somewhere for some release for some hardware for ... . Takes a long time to find answer here.
You need to install theb43-fwcutterpackage from the software center. If you use the latest version of Ubuntu, aka 11.04 - Natty Narwhal, you also need to install thefirmware-b43-installerpackage.
All is now well.
Now if this had been Windows there is a fair chance that the problem wouldn't have occurred. Indeed, Windows 7 recognized the wireless hardware and installed appropriately. Not so Ubuntu 11.04. That said, if Windows has problems there is almost no hope at all that you'll get help from MS.
Computer cruft
I'm continuing to work on the Fire Comcast TV affair. BB now has my Toshiba and we've set her up with Skype so she can talk to David in Korea. That leaves the old Asus laptop with the broken keyboard that I've been using to drive the TV free. After thinking about it a bit I decided that since it is actually working fairly well I'll just continue to use it for the time being.
I might try a USB TV tuner to see if it can record. Alternately, I've got another fairly large desktop upstairs that might have a PCIe buss that would accept a dual channel tuner. I'll need to look into the options and decide what to do.
I also looked into downloading movies using NZB files and Usenet. That looks interesting but I'm a bit uncertain about copyright issues.
No matter what I do I need to get the Asus laptop visible on the net with some shares. It should have been simple but thanks to dear old Microsoft it was a bit of a challenge. It turns out that in order for Windows 7 to see the machine LLTD (a protocol for network resource discovery) must be running on XP. Sadly, the Asus runs XP. More frustratingly Microsoft's docs say SP3 (the most recent/last service pack) supports LLTD. As far as I can tell it doesn't, at least on the version of SP3 I installed a few weeks ago. A good deal of web searching, most of which pointed in the wrong direction, finally revealed this hot fix. It actually enables the LLTD and now the machine shows as it should. Now it's easy to share folders etc so that I can store content on the Asus machine.
I picked up a nice Logitech 505 mouse to clean up the wire mess the old wireless mouse needed. Works like a champ with at least 12' of range! On sale $30 and worth every penny.
TV Antenna
I've made another fractal antenna using some foam insullation board that has foil on both sides. I'll post photos etc. after I've had a chance to test it. For the moment I'm doing other things (a dozen or so OTA channels are enough to start). I may build a 'bow tie' antenna as well and perhaps experiment with other fractals.
Garden
All the rain did a number on the garden particularly the lettuce. Hopefully a few days of dry will give things a chance to recover. I'd bought 3 plastic tubs and have set them up as planters. While doing so I found 5 more good size pots. It looks like I'm good for planting space.
I also picked up some seeds for squash. I'll start them with a view to planting them on the ground in some pots by the driveway where the vines won't be an issue.
So I've got OK results with my DIY antenna but thought I'd do a bit more experimentation.
First I tried elevating the antenna. No joy. It seems the extra wire is a big negative. It might be worth looking into a signal amplifier to drive the extra cable.
Went back downstairs and connected with original cable. Now have 26 synced channels.
Tried putting some AL foil on the back as a reflector. The board is 3/8 thick and there is NO reason to expect that the reflector spacing is in any way appropriate. Hung from light valence (about 10' off floor on second floor). With elements facing N, re-scan got 19 channels.
Turned antenna so the elements were facing S. Re-scan got 17. This is not looking like an improvement.
Took foil off. Re-scan got 23.
It looks like foil at 3/8" isn't helpful.
Next I made another version using AL foil tape. Got 26 channels. Of these there are 18 that have good reception and are in English! Here's what the unit looks like:
AL foil tape antenna: 26 channels!
So here's the list of those worth keeping (English & content):
2-1 WGBH-HD PBS: 6PM NewsHour and other adult content
4-1 WBZ-TV CBS: 6PM Flashpoint and other adjult content
5-1 WCVB-TV ABC: 8PM Shark Tank
7-1 WHDH-HD NBC: 8PM Friday night lights
7-2 This TV
25-1 WFXT DT FOX:
38-1 WSBK-TV IND:
44-1 WGBX-SD PBS:
44-2 WGBH PBS World:
44-3 WGBH PBS Create:
44-4 Kids
44-5 WGBX-HD
56-1 WLVI-DT CW:
56-2 TCN (country network)
62-1 WMFP SAH:
68-1 ION
68-2 qubo (kids)
68-3 IONLife
This is what Antennae Web says I should get. I got most of them but decided not to keep the Hispanic language channels. I also got many others.
Here's the TV fool list. It's a better match in some ways but difficult to interpret.
I'm going to write this one up as a success. On air certainly provides plenty of content.
Next up I'm going to try a 'bow tie' antenna (a more sophisticated one is here and another rather interesting PVC version here) or perhaps a large fractal. It may get a few more channels.
Part of the Fire Comcast TV plan involves substitution some over the air TV for local content. My TVs have OK digital tuners but I've no antenna. A bit of searching on the web and YouTube found a number of DIY antennas so I decided to build one and see what happens. Here's my first effort.
It's a 'fractal' antenna. There are several sets of plans on the internet. I used these. Without the antenna I get zero stations. I tried a set of 'rabbit ears' without any success. This hack gets me the following channels
2-1 WGBH HD pbs
2-2 WGBH-SD pbs duplicates HD
2-101 nothing but it syncs ok
2-102 ditto
4-1 WBZ-TV
5-1 WCVB
7-1 WHDH
7-2 ThisTV
25-1 WFX intermittent
27-1 WUNI Hispanic
27-2 WUNI Hispanic (different content)
38-1 WSBK intermittent
44-1 WGBX-SD pbs
44-2 World WGBH world news
44-3 Create DIY of some sort
44-4 Kids
44-5 WGBX-HD intermittent
56-1 WLVI-DT syncs
56-2 TCN syncs
62-1 WMFP-DT sports
62-2 WMFPDT2 syncs
66-1 WUTF Hispanic
68-1 ION intermittent
68-2 qubo intermittent
68-3 IONlife somewhat intermittent
That's 26 stations with a small antenna sitting beside the TV oriented improperly!!
I think it's a win and worth a bit more investigation.
Well, I've been messing around with computers for the house. BB wanted something to check email with and use Skype to talk to Dave (he's in Korea). I wanted a HTPC so I can fire Comcast TV.
I resurrected three old Dell V3xx machines. They are Pentium II machines that originally ran Win98. I loaded Ubuntu on them and it runs ... but is rather painfully slow. No joy here though they might be ok as file servers.
Next up was an old Compaq. Not sure of the chip but it has XP and I used it happily for some years. It developed a bad habit of locking up after a bit. Not good. My solution at the time was to simply replace it. Now, it might have a purpose in life. After a bit of mucking about I've narrowed the lockup problem down to either a bad video card (I changed cards and the machine is now stable) or a DVD player that hangs the system (I depowered it and the machine is now stable). One or both are at issue. I'll have to do a bit more work to determine which. Along the way I loaded Ubuntu 11.04. It runs well but there is not enough machine/video card to play streaming media so I continued my search.
Next up was the old Dell laptop. Way underpowered.
I've still got a fair P4 that doesn't work but I'll have to wait a bit to get to it.
At any event I decided to buy a laptop for BB. There was a Craig's list entry by Allen (617 600 8091, 535Auburn, Newton, Ma) for a Dell 410 at an OK price so I arranged to buy one.
New Dell 410
It's a nice compact laptop good for travel. Unfortunately, after I bought it BB decided that she wanted to do video Skype. The machine has no camera. I could buy a USB camera or I'll keep this for use with the HTPC as a remote console using VNC and give BB my current Samsung.
While I was talking to Allen I mentioned my interest in HTPC. He's running a system built around file servers and the WD TV box. Interesting. I'm not sure it's for me and as we were talking I mentioned my interest in a machine with HDMI out. He had a Sony Vaio VGN-FW370J he was willing to part with.
Sony Vaio VGN-FW370J
It's a VERY nice fast laptop. Hooked to the TV it does a great job of playing streaming video. That said, it's rather a nicer machine than I want to use for that purpose so I'll keep looking.
I'm going to focus on an ATX or miniATX machine that can sit behind the TV.
Great thing about these new machines, new to me anyway, is that I picked them both up for $220! Don't you just love Craig's list!
xx
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In my ongoing efforts to resurrect some old PCs I've turned my attention to an old Dell CPT. I know! I know! Old Celeron processor and all. But hey, it's a hobby of sorts.
The first problem I encountered is that someone foolishly set a bios password!! I don't know why people do that but it was done. So I went on the net to see how to get past it. Found three useful links:
Technical Specifications: Dell™ Latitude™ CPx H-Series/J-Series User's Guide - maintenance manual for the machine. Doesn't tell how to reset the bios password but it does show how to take the machine apart. That turns out to be necessary to reset the password since that involves shorting two pins on a chip underneath the motherboard.
Dell Latitude BIOs reset - useful set of detailed photos showing disassembly of the machine.
Thus armed I went at it.
Turned out to be an interesting experience, see my photos, and it worked! Much to my surprise it turned out that BB had last used this machine so presumably she set the passwords! Oh well, into each life.
Machine runs Windows 98 OK. I'll try Puppy Linux to see it that any better.
So I'm continuing to work on getting rid of Comcast TV. A bit more web searching found some interesting information. First off here's a couple of useful youtube videos.
So I'm unhappy with my cable provider, Comcast. My unhappiness is several fold.
It starts with price for TV service. It's now pushing $100 per month and if I'm unwilling to sign a new 2 year agreement it's going to be over $100. It seems the reward for being a good customer is to pay more! Doesn't work for me.
As if price wasn't enough, Comcast recently decided to disable fast forward for some On Demand content. The story is "the network made us do it." Reality is a) Comcast agreed to the restriction as part of a deal to get the content for free, and b) Comcast is sending the codes to the DVR I rent from them (notice here I'm paying for the DVR and its functions) not the content provider. Doesn't work for me.
The final straw was when I called Comcast to deal with the above issues. After Comcast's agent explained to me that buying service from Comcast was akin to belonging to a health club, I could always quit and go elsewhere! Outrageous from any rational service perspective.
So having been invited to quit, rimes with fire Comcast, I've begun to explore alternatives.
It turns out that there is a lot of TV content on the Internet. Most is somewhat delayed from the original date of broadcast, but not all. Indeed it turns out that things that I care about in a timely manner like weather and news isn't delayed at all. I can go to NECN weather or the NWS and get weather in real time. Likewise, I can get current news from CNN or ABC or CBS or any number of other providers. The vast majority of TV shows we enjoy are available within a few days to a week of broadcast on either HULU or from the network. The net of it is I don't need Comcast for TV.
So I've been experimenting with driving my TV from an old laptop who's keyboard has a couple of dead keys. It doesn't have an HDMI output but I'm able to connect via a VGA out to my Samsung TV at compatible resolutions. So far so good.
The keyboard is a bit of an issue so I tried an old wireless keyboard I have. It works but eats batteries. A bit of searching revealed an interesting YouTube video on a similar setup.
So I did a bit of research and installed TightVNC on the laptop driving the TV and Win2VNC on my laptop. Presto, I can use my laptop's keyboard and mouse from the comfort of the couch to control the TV laptop.
Next step is to really see what it's like without cable TV. I'll signup for the free week of HULU premium and the other services we might use and see what it's like.
Well, it took three days but the deck garden is more or less done!
Why a deck garden you ask. Well I live on Whispering Pine and there are indeed many very tall mature pines that create lots and lots of shade. So much shade that I'm not actually able to grow grass on what little yard I have. Looks something like this.
Trees equal shade
But I do get a fair bit of sun on one of my decks. So I decided to try a container garden on the deck. Here's what it looks like.
I've had considerable luck growing things on other decks so hopefully this will work well. If it does I'll add some other containers.
BB and I took a very HOT HOT HOT bike ride over to the Assabet River Refuge yesterday. Here's a video from video snaps. It looks like the camera macro has the time parameters reversed. It also seems that I could just as well have made a simple video and then edited with Windows Live Movie Maker. I'll try that next.
There were also many bike designs including a fair number of wood bikes. I found this one particularly interesting:
The use of stressed plywood skin to build a monocoque shell is an interesting idea. It looks like a wood version of a flevo bike.
This one was also rather novel:
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Found a great bread recipe here. It turned out very good though I changed it a bit with over much yeast and not enough salt. Still the results were the best so far.
Ciabatta loaf - Over wide. I should have made two loafs.
Good crust and texture.
Outstanding texture!
After we eat the bread I've on hand I'll make another loaf following the recipe precisely and making two loafs.
BB and I took another short bike ride yesterday around the neighborhood while we waited for the bread to rise. Bread turned out OK, one of the best so far, but still not what I'm looking for.
It took a bit of mucking about but I was able to do something with the video clips from yesterday's bike ride. Here's the result. Not ready for prime time! But, hey, I just messing about and learning as I go.
It's rather over long owing to a poor choice of parameters. I'll try again with 5 second clips and 25 second intervals to see how that works. Overall though I think I like the video clips better than the stills.
BB and I ran errands this AM. Found some nice PEI mussels for dinner.
Got home and had a bit of lunch and read on the deck in the sun/shade. Outstanding.
I worked a bit on repairing the knob for the whole house fan. It split and wouldn't turn the somewhat stiff timer spring. It's the sort of problem that's rather frustrating as the knob is clearly inadequately designed. I'm surprised that it ever worked. It's a 240v 24hr timer and a bit difficult to replace so I decided to have a go at repairing the knob with some epoxy and metal shims. We'll see.
BB and I went for a bike ride around the area. Did about 5 miles or so. I tried to make a time lapse video but it didn't work well so I'll go back to time lapse stills.
The ride itself was really pleasant and we'll try to get out tomorrow for another. Perhaps do the Assabet loop.
I did a bit of yard cleanup yesterday. It looks much better. With the neighbor's trees thinned I may have a shot at grass so I'm going to seed, etc. and see what happens.
BB and I drove to Scituate for the day. Had lunch on the deck at the Mill Wharf restaurant. It was a bit windy but still nice enough. Had an interesting waiter, a retired policeman from Alaska. Good fun. Stopped in at the Roman Table to buy some olive oil and vinegar. It's the only place we've found where you can buy real balsamic vinegar! It's expensive but what a treat. Their olive oils are also outstanding.
On the way back we noticed a bike path along the road. It's not on Google but I'll try to add it.
