Pairing an Apple Wireless Keyboard in Ubuntu 12.04
I was recently given a 3-battery (second-generation) Apple Wireless keyboard, model A1255. I run Ubuntu 12.04 as my primary OS on my laptop, so I didn't anticipate any compatibility issues. It didn't take me long to run into trouble. During the pairing process, Ubuntu gives a random PIN that must be typed into the keyboard, but it consistently rejected the number. The solution? Hold down the "command" button while typing the PIN number, release the command button, and then press enter. As a side note, put the keyboard in discoverable mode by powering it off, and then holding the power button until the light blinks steadily. I hope that saves someone some grief!
FuelCell250
Remote VNC Access
There's nothing quite like being 500 miles from home and having the ability to control your home computer with your cell phone. In the past, I have used PocketCloud in conjunction with the built in RDP server to access my Windows 7 computer. It was pretty handy for managing my media library from work or my laptop.
I ran into a problem, though, once I completely moved my home computers to Linux: the best RDP server solution for Linux (xRDP) just didn't cut it. It was nowhere near as seamless as the built in utilities for Windows, and I don't like fiddling past initial setup.
I decided my Raspberry Pi would make a great remote access point. No sensitive information, very low power draw for 24/7 uptime, and I can tuck it in next to my router so I never have to see it.
Join me after the break for a quick and easy tutorial for enabling remote access to your own Linux machine! We'll be using TightVNC Server for Linux, a Raspberry Pi running Raspbian, and your choice of a VNC client.
Hacking Gogo In-Flight Wi-Fi
Ok, its more of a bypass then a hack, but still fun. While waiting for takeoff I was thumbing through the add-filled magazine in the seat pocket in front of me, when lo and behold I see a full page add for Blackberry 10's new Z10 phone, with the caption "free gogo internet for blackberry users this month". Well, as any self-respecting hacker would, I decided that free wifi was mine. Assuming they were using user-agent string to filter out Blackberry vs non-blackberry clients, I decided to do some experimenting and found that:
Mozilla/5.0 (BB10; Z10) AppleWebKit/534.55.3 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1.3 Mobile Safari/531.21.10
worked! I basically modified the safari user-agent string with the BB10; Z10 addition, and there was free internets to be had.
Nuts and bolts:
thankfully I already had my user-agent switching extension loaded in chrome, so I simply opened it up and duplicated the safari user-agent string then refreshed the page and the gogo portal asked me if I'd like free wifi. Thanks, gogo!
--badger32d
Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean on HTC Nexus One
The HTC Nexus One is likely the most iconic Android device to date. None of the other Android devices I've used have ever quite felt as good in the hand or looked as good.So it's a shame the onboard ROM is too small to support anything above Gingerbread (2.3). Or, is it? Officially, the system partition is too small, the GPU isn't up to the task of pushing Jelly Bean, etc. But the Nexus S pushes it just fine, and it's essentially the same hardware (granted, a few changes, but the same processing power).
As luck would have it, the awesome devs over at XDA developers have worked out a way to repartition the onboard ROM to allow Android 4.0 and above to be installed.
Join me after the jump for a walkthrough of the installation!
Custom Launchers in Ubuntu 12.04 LTS
I know that I'm straying into Lifehacker territory here, but this is a tip I couldn't help but share. I've always wanted to create customer launchers for the Unity dock, and I've finally found how. I'm going to apply this to Minecraft, but you can use to create an icon for just about any program or command that you might need to run in Ubuntu. Read on for instructions...
Encrypted Web Browsing With SSH and Ubuntu
Every now and then, you may be forced to use an unencrypted wireless access point to access the internet. Many hotels and coffee shops leave their access points unencrypted, instead relying on other solutions such as captive portals to authenticate customers. This keeps unauthorized users off the network (sort of), but it doesn't encrypt anything between you and the access point. This could allow a malicious hacker to intercept personal information, such as passwords. With an SSH server at home, you can encrypt your web traffic and slingshot it back to your house. Your SSH server will then decrypt it and send it back out to the internet, as if you were browsing from inside your secure home network. Interested? Read on.
HDTV Cooling Mods
Well over a year ago, my Uncle gave me an older 26" 720p LCD HDTV. Clearly, it is one of the first-generation flat-panel screens, as it has some quirks. The color isn't very consistent, and it temporarily burns in static images. Other than that, it's been a great TV, and we've gotten a lot of use out of it. We were very dismayed when we discovered that the sound was cutting out after 15-30 minutes of use, and we really didn't want to spend $200+ on a new TV. I quickly traced the problem to heat, as the problem only appeared at the beginning of the summer, and the sound seemed to last longer with a small fan propped up behind the TV. See how I revived our HDTV after the break!
Open Lab Idaho
Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to announce a partnership between Hacked Potatoes and Open Lab Idaho, a community hackerspace here in Boise! Only weeks after Hacked Potatoes was founded, we caught wind of the local maker culture and their efforts to start a hackerspace. We couldn't help but get involved and contribute to the rest of the team that made Open Lab Idaho happen. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our members and executive teams, we are now a thriving community hackerspace. So far, Open Lab Idaho members have worked on a variety of projects, ranging from RepRap 3d printing and robotics to t-shirt screen printing. We welcome projects of any kind. Hit us up on the forums with your ideas! Keep an eye on @OpenLabIdaho on Twitter as well as the blog for workshop and event updates.
So what does this mean for Hacked Potatoes? It means that we have a much bigger community to work with, and more upcoming projects than ever. Now that Open Lab Idaho is off the ground, keep an eye on us! The best is yet to come.
In Search of a Chair
Recently, I came to two realizations regarding hacking and working at a desk for eight hours a day. The first was "you get what you pay for." A few months ago, I purchased a used macbook from a friend with the intention of learning OSX to better help the students I frequently assist. Since then, the macbook has become a daily driver for school and web browsing at home. Even now, I am using it to write this post. By far, the February 2008 model macbook (polycarbonate) is the best built laptop I have experienced to date. The aluminum ones I can only assume are better. I use that word "experience" because it best describes the concept of a good balance between form and function. This laptop is physically built right. The attention to the detail and finesse of the hardware is unparalleled, which has opened the eyes of a seasoned hardcore PC fan. I do hope that Lenovo or someone else steps up to this level because despite how awesome the hardware is, the OS just doesn't stack up in the same way. OSX is really the only real problem with this laptop, and I expect to replace it with a distribution of Linux soon. That said, we all know the package deal doesn't come cheap.
The second realization I came was how important my body is to working in general. As I work in the technology sector, I find that cheap desks and chairs to be insufficient to keeping this tool I use 100% of the time, that is my body, healthy and comfortable. With the amount of money I spend on multiple laptops, desktop upgrades, media center PCs, and servers, why do I skimp so much on things that directly affect my body?
iPod Nano Recall, Part II
In our previous post about Apple's first-generation iPod Nano replacement program, we had the absurd idea to send in a couple of dead iPods to see what Apple would replace. One of them wasn't just dead though.
On the second, I replaced the screen, left the screws out, and then accidentally ran it through the wash! By the time it came out of the dryer, it was in several pieces and the logic board was oval shaped, and we used the whole front assembly to fix another iPod. The first iPod was just dead, and the second only needed to be run over by a car to look any worse.
Laughing the whole time, we sent them into Apple to see what would happen.