Tag: 1015PN

Categories
Misc

Odds and Ends

A few random things…

My NookT received an OTA update to veresion 1.4.2 the other day. This zooted my Android Market access, presumably because it undid the “rooting” that had been done when I’d installed it previously. The good news is the identical rooting procedure using an SD card worked to restore root. The only hiccup was I had to setup my Google Market account credentials again. No big deal ultimately and now I have an updated device.

I finally installed Skype on my 1015PN netbook. This was made particularly easy by the fact that Skype now has a 64-bit install file for debian systems. The only catch is it’s still 32-bit software so the 32-bit libraries must-needs be installed. After that, the only other catch was to add my user account to the video group so that the Skype application could access the webcam. That also finally verified that everything is working properly on my debianized system on the netbook. It’s the first time I’ve needed the webcam!

The NFL combine is on going, and lots of people are talking about RG3. I’ve never seen the guy, but apparently he’s really fast and this makes him extremely valuable and a likely first ballot HOF’er, as well as an awesome passer, dancer, and karaoke singer. His first Oscar is likely being prepared as we speak.

These guys might want to look up Ryan Leaf’s career. Or, for that matter, Gino Torretta, Josh McCown, Vinny Testaverde, Drew Henson and Tim Couch to name a few more. I’m not saying RG3 won’t end up being good in the NFL, but the odds don’t favor it. Just because Cam Newton defied expectations doesn’t mean RG3 will (nor does it mean Newton will continue to be effective). For that matter, Andrew Luck could be a bust as well. Playing on Sunday will do that to a QB.

The boy earned another stripe today in his MA class. He also confessed to not really liking practice, but he likes Martial Arts. Not sure how to square that. But pretty soon, hockey will be over and his weekends will be his again. I’m thinking that will cure quite a few ills.

The lass, on the other hand, has been practicing her developing dance recital routine and she can hardly wait for T-ball to start. She’s still enjoying hockey as well, though I think she’ll enjoy normal weekends again as well.

They’re definitely not 2 peas in a pod, more like same winery but different vintages.

Categories
Computers

Streaming with the 1015PN

After Thursday’s debacle with streaming from ESPN3, last night was a bit of redemption. I watched the entire Michigan/ Notre Dame game streaming it through my 1015PN onto our 41″ Sony Bravia.

On the downside, I had trouble getting good video quality. The Nvidia ION graphics processor defaulted to 1080P resolution. The video was very choppy, and it often seemed like it “degraded” to the point where I was just getting stills every 10-15 seconds or so. When I was getting motion, the picture was very blurry. Also, using the Opera browser, the full-screen mode did not work at all. It would give a bigger picture, but it was not full-screen. Rather, it was “window” centered in the screen with a picture that wasn’t centered properly.

I was tempted to lay these issues at my ISP’s door, but I decided to try fiddling with the resolution (per the Wife’s suggestion) to see if that would improve the picture. I also tried a different browser. The results were dramatic.

First, I switched to Google’s Chrome browser. That fixed the full-screen problem.

In conjunction with that, I modified my xorg.conf to limit the resolution the ION was outputting through the HDMI to 720p. I managed that with the following two lines added to the Screen section:

Options "TVStandard"   "HD720p"
Options "MetaModes"    "1280x720"

The TV indicated it was still receiving 1080p over the HDMI connection, but when I relaunched X and reconnected to the game using Chrome, the picture quality was outstanding. Also, I noticed that my statusbar from the window manager was much larger, indicating that I was getting a different resolution. As for the video, it was basically crystal clear with excellent motion. There was a just a little choppiness in the motion, and the occasional blurry patch for certain colors (yellow in particular, no idea why). But overall, the game was completely watchable.

Given those successes, I’ll definitely be doing the streaming thing again. I was quite pleased that the 1015PN proved itself capable, with a little tweaking. The only other thing I need to figure out is how to stop it from suspending. Having to touch the trackpad every few minutes was a nuisance.

Categories
Computers

HDMI on the 1015PN

Necessity is the mother of invention. In this case, it’s the mother of learning how to make HDMI work on my netbook.

If you’re a fellow traveler eschewing desktops like Gnome or KDE for the relative compactness of a window manager this post might be of interest. I wasn’t really surprised to learn the HDMI port didn’t “just work” on my 1015PN. I was surprised at how straight forward it ended up being. It just took a fair amount of research, and a little luck following links from Google searches. I’ll skip the blow-by-blow and get right to the point describing the setup.

Continue reading “HDMI on the 1015PN”
Categories
Computers

Graphics Switching Returns

Within the past couple of days, the alternatives system for debian/wheezy has been updated to support nvidia again. That means it’s once again possible to graphics switch on the 1015PN. There are a few changes as packages have changed names and dependencies have changed as well. Details after the jump.

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Categories
Computers

Crud

After performing an update on my 1015PN, I realize I don’t have graphics switching working anymore because Debian’s alternatives system hasn’t been updated yet for the newer nvidia drivers. It’s not actually the biggest deal because I’ve been taking advantage of the Intel hardware mostly of late for the battery life savings.

Still, it’s annoying to lose the functionality for the time being.

Categories
Computers

1015PN Graphics Switching

UPDATE 7/21/2011:
Except for the xorg.conf files, this post is outdated. I’ve written an update here.

This thread shows how to accomplish graphics switching for ubuntu on the 1015PN. I’ve managed to apply it to the debian/wheezy install on my 1015PN. After the jump are the scripts I created as well as some simple directions.

Continue reading “1015PN Graphics Switching”
Categories
Computers

1015PN Status

Progress continues. I’ve yet to configure Samba or a new window manager, but I’ve continued to bring it along.

More info after the jump.

Continue reading “1015PN Status”
Categories
Computers

Waiting on Snail Mail

I’m still waiting for the memory upgrade for my new 1015PN. I ordered the upgrade directly from Crucial Memory because of a few comments I’d read in the Amazon comments section. They’d indicated that the EEE is pretty picky about the memory it wants and that Amazon had shipped incompatible memory for the upgrade. Those that ordered directly from Crucial had nothing but good things to say.

I, however, don’t have anything good to say. Yet. Because the memory is still in transit. I got a tracking number which indicates that, on April 7th, the memory entered the USPS system and there are no further updates at this time. Apparently, the USPS is a black hole or something; and not just for taxpayer money.

So, in the meantime, I’ve been playing with Debian Live. Very cool stuff. I’ve been working up a custom version that, theoretically, I can just burn right to the hard drive of the EEE when I’m ready. In the meantime, I can use my desktop to build images that I burn onto a USB stick which, in turn, I can use to boot my 1015PN.

Now that I can run a Linux system on it, I can say that the 1015PN has not disappointed in terms of speed. It boots faster from the USB stick then my 900 can boot normally. In general, application launches are snappy and browsing is very well done. I have yet to verify the camera, bluetooth, or do anything related to the ion2 video, but the rest of the system is living up to expectation so far.

Looks like the kids will be getting their “own” computer soon.

UPDATE: HAH!

The memory showed up today: blogging +1.

I’ll note that changing the memory is a lot easier than I’d read. The main thing seemed to be getting the lid off the back to gain access to the memory. It takes 2 jeweler’s screwdrivers: a Philips and a flat-blade. The Philips is for the screw that locks the hatch in place. The flat-blade should then be used to pry up the lid near the screw and then slid it along the long edge toward the other corner. The lid will pop right out without and straining whatsoever. Simple.

There’s definitely a difference in speed with the extra memory. I’ll post a more thorough review after I’ve installed a more suitable OS onto this thing.