Apple OS X Lion, and Airprint Activator
Ok so you have Airprint Activator v2 installed – but no printers are showing up.
Check out the FAQ entry:
http://netputing.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=13
Worked like a charm – but did require some command line fun.
For any other vi newbies, just use replace “cat” with “vi” in the final command from the FAQ, and then delete the lines specified using the backspace key. When ready to save, just type “:wq” to save the file and quit.
Reboot and now the printer should now display in the status screen for Airprint Activator.
What do you get when you cross a rotary airplane engine with an MR2?
For anyone in the mood for an old school airplane radial engine purring loudly in a Toyota MR2 look no further.
It is still getting “tuned” – but it’s ~150 horsepower should be plenty to motivate the MR2 on the road. This would be a tough conversion with the engine mounted in the front of the car, so it’s nice to see an MR2 get some crazy engine love. Check out the article for the oily details!
Will be neat to see how this project continues…
The muralist and the skyline – a worthy challenge
Working on the kid’s room and noticed that it needed something a little different. Since the previous use of the room was a “dining nook” (a relative term when you live in a 700 sq ft house) – there was an opportunity to make it more of a kid-friendly space and have some fun.
We figured that we could do a mural above the picture rail that spans the room. It’s about 18 linear feet and about 18 inches tall. We finally settled on a skyline of some sort. Since we had already painted the area blue – we figured a mural that incorporate “bay area” elements would blend in nicely.
So here’s what we did:
Special thanks to muralist Scott Willis for helping bring this vision to life. His interpretation of our random sketches and various descriptions were spot on. Extra points for incorporating actual constellations well – that was a nice bonus. He ended up tying in some great bay area landmarks along with some with personally significant ones (Santa Clara mission – woot!). Scott’s rates were very reasonable and the work was done in a day – i would gladly do another mural like this in the future!
OneNote on iTunes App Store – pretty slick!
Microsoft has not put very much effort in developing cross platform content for the App Store – but their OneNote application is definitely a step in the right direction.
Background: I was looking forward to testing the cross platform functionality. I have Windows 7 (64-bit) and Office 2010, and have been looking for a simple way to expand OneNote to mobile devices (iPad and iPod Touch). I have used Evernote and other similar programs, so was curious how this integration might compare.
The Good: The Microsoft OneNote app provides standard functionality without messing up notebook formatting.You can edit tasks and notebook contents. The picture integration is usable and works well – I think there is definitely some untapped potential for functionality in using the touch interface more – but for a 1.0 version it works.
The app is free for a “limited” time, but it definitely gives an idea of what’s possible when Microsoft puts even some minor effort into a platform.
The Bad: I had some issues getting the sync to work reliably at first. Did a reinstall and everything has worked normally since. They also pushed out an app update to deal with an authentication issue. No big showstoppers or missing functionality that wouldn’t make the app worth checking out. If you already use OneNote, this is a handy addition – but for new adopters (Evernote converts, etc.) it may be worth seeing what the next major update rolls out.
Cisco umi telepresence demo at Valley Fair…
There was a kiosk setup with live demonstrations of the Cisco consumer telepresence solution “umi” at Valley Fair mall. There were two suites setup for private testing of the device and the demo was very well done. Once we sat down – had a brief introduction to the system and had a 3 minute conversation with a remote magician(it was actually pretty fun). This gave us a chance to have some conversation, get a feel for audio/video quality and the interface.
DISCLAIMER: Per the salesperson on site, the network connection was not dedicated and was part of whatever internet infrastructure was in place at Valley Fair (i.e. not ideal – but probably a decent approximation of a typical home user that has a multiple network devices/users in their home).
Since I have experience using other HD “telepresence” solutions (Lifesize, Tandberg) in addition to the usual consumer products (Skype, Sony PS3, iChat, etc.) – I was interested to see what Cisco had put together with this turn-key consumer solution.
Interface: Lots of boxes (there is a set top box, the camera on the TV and a remote – it gets busy). The visual interface is elegant and simple – definitely designed to be comfortable to as wide an audience as possible. The making/answering call functions were very straightforward (something typical telepresence solutions tend to overlook). I appreciated the simple remote layout.
Audio Quality: Audio and video were in sync – sound was good and conversation flowed well. Was initially stymied by not seeing what video we were transmitting – so it just looked like a video feed magically appeared. I am sure there is some sort of PiP setting for this. The demo suite was enclosed but far from soundproof – and audio quality was still good with voices sounding natural without evidence of compression.
Video Quality: This is by far the most subjective, but since i have used other HD solutions in the past I was interested to see what was possible at this price point in the market.
- Colors: A little washed out – it might have been a simple issue of TV calibration and lighting – but I would assume the demo area had been optimized. When I viewed the picture that we were transmitting – the colors seemed more vibrant – so compression/network congestion could definitely be factors.
- Motion: Since this was a live “magic show” that we were watching – there was some motion – but in very small screen areas. The magician was sitting at a desk and performing some basic sleight of hand tricks. There were some block artifacts that showed up – but they didn’t linger and cleared up quickly. The salesperson assured us that this was most likely due to the internet connection quality.
- Detail: This was the biggest disappointment – and makes me really think about the cost structure (initial hardware purchase AND monthly service charge – not including the upgrade to your broadband connection that most will likely need to use this reliably). The screen detail was good – it was a little better than watching a DVD on your HD set before line doubling – so it looked like the best it was getting was 480p. Of note – we were seated about 7 feet away from the screen – so a further distance may be more realistic for larger spaces – but be ready to increase your broadband capabilities to get the most out of this box.
Overall: I think there is some potential here – but it seems like there will be a learning curve given the network traffic that typical households deal with. It may not be realistic to turn off every network device (wired or wireless) so you can do a video call and have it look good. It will be interesting to see what Cisco can do on the software side to optimize call quality with various video sets. As has been echoed before – the camera module is pretty chunky and takes up some serious real estate on the top of the TV. I am trying to imagine a TV setup with a Cisco UMI, Xbox Kinect and PS3 Eye – you would need a huge screen to fit those.
Finally – the monthly fee. The hardware is not cheap ($600) – so the $25/month PER umi device seems like a steep cost structure (Plan details here). The monthly charge is required for umi to even work (provides for unlimited calls and up to 100 minutes of video message recording) – so that is an interesting approach when the consumer will have to also shoulder an increased broadband connection cost to accommodate their minimum requirements.
I am looking forward to seeing some real world testing with some faster broadband connections to see if the picture is dramatically different. Cisco does have a 30 day return policy, so it may get on the demo list once I find another person with a fast enough connection to test it…the high up front cost and significant monthly costs are tough to justify though for a long term purchase – let alone a gift. We’ll see how the umi target market reacts!
Stats to Know:
- Costs (as of 12/27/2010): $599 up front hardware cost and monthly service charge ($25/mo, there is a discount if you pay up front for the year)
- Bandwidth: 3.5Mbps for 1080p, 1.5Mbps for 720p – these are BIDIRECTIONAL – so when you are looking at your broadband connection – the upstream number will generally be your limiting factor. Any doubts? Test your bandwidth connection (Cisco).
- Features: Autofocus, vertical tilt and zoom, Integrates with Gtalk video chat
For more information – Cisco umi microsite
The future of human interface is digital?
With touchscreens/tablets changing the typical interface expectations – I like seeing new ways to interact with mechanical systems.
Jaguar has definitely taken an interesting step to automotive instrumentation with the concept of a “digital” dashboard and run with it. I think it’s interesting that you can have a single dashboard that can emulate a futuristic digital readout, but can also be turned into a vintage set of Smith gauges.
Of course this all depends on the data source on the back end – so who knows if IPv6 will find a home there as well in your Automotive Area Network…
Edmunds.com with a great article on Jaguar’s project…
A little trip down the MG memory lane
Just some light reading on MG and the craziness that was the 60s. This fiasco set the stage for the Jensen-Healey to be developed. That can be considered good or bad depending on the audience!
Check out the great article by Aaron Severson at www.ateupwithmotor.com
Jensen Healey – Dashboard redux
The original Jensen Healey dashboard was long gone. It had not aged gracefully – the “cracks” were now full on gouges. I had debated putting on a plastic dash cap – but figured that it would make sense to get it done right and make sure it looks nice.
Matched the vinyl grain pattern to the door panels and the dashboard just came back from it’s day at the shop. Also took the chance to redo the gauge cluster. I was lucky in that all of the Smith gauges were working wonderfully.
Of course – that will probably not be the case once the dash is put back in. Sigh.
Jensen-Healey Restoration – Seat Rails baby!
Tearing out the floor pans gave me the chance to see how we could improve on the seat mounting. The stock Jensen Healey seats had a front seat rail that had completely rusted through (see below). Since I was replacing the floor, it made sense to look at a different seat mounting option that could accommodate some more current seat designs. Found some cheap seats on eBay from a 95 Mazda Miata for test fitting and found they would work quite nicely with some mount point modifications.
But this uncovered another spacing issue. How to keep the right angle for driving position and mount the seat slightly higher than the floor. Found some MGB seat rail adapters from Eclectic Motorworks for Miata seats! These are VERY sturdy brackets that you can either bolt down or weld – but they are all bored out specifically for the Mazda Miata seat mounting pattern. Perfect!
Props to Eclectic for the brackets – they are a nice fit for the Jensen Healey and provide just enough lift off the floor. Definitely a non-standard use, but it works and they are built very well.
Jensen Healey floor and subframe update!
One of several rust prone areas in the Jensen Healey is the floor area – the whole area. After I got the floors out, I wasn’t to keen on the subframe. The pieces were in okay shape – but I could see that the metal had been “stressed” by someone attempting to jack up the car (no doubt a very common occurrence in this car’s history).
Decided to redo the subframe components with thicker gauge steel and call it a day. Since the pieces were simple hat bends – it was worth having a stronger subframe to weld the floor pans to.
The rear of the car also has a subframe area that articulates, so the floor pans will be modified to fit – but should look pretty close to stock and then be ready to accept the new seat rails. I also went with some new metal on the mount bracket to keep everything sturdy. A weak chassis mounting point can ruin your day!
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