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30 years ago today... The Amiga was introduced to the world!
STARDATE: 2014.08.15:
Audio Tag Tool, written by Pedro Ávila Lopes (Translated by:Rafael Bermúdez (es), Christian Bjelle (sv), Dovydas (lt), Daniel van Eeden (nl), Rafal Glazar (pl), Dmytro Goykolov (ua), Jeremie Knuesel (fr), Oleksandr Korneta (ua), Vítězslav Kotrla (cs), Pedro Ávila Lopes (pt), Pavel Maryanov (ru), Christopher Orr (en_GB), Rostislav Raykov (bg), Emilio Scalise (it), Lucas Mazzardo Veloso (pt_BR), Jan Wenzel (de),), is one of the best tagging tools I have ever used. Most I have seen make you enter the names of the albums and other information that is shared by all the tracks in a given album, one at a time for each track. Many can grab the info from the file name (if the info is there) as well as look up album info on the iNet to auto fill -- this is important and very helpful -- unless your album is not in a database. In the 1980s I put together what many call "mixes." Not to be confused with "re-mixes," these are collections of various artists/songs.
I called them "Radio Shows." I suppose, partly because I worked at a radio station, but mostly because I thought it was cool.
I have been slowly RIPing my records and cassettes to mp3. I use Wave Repair, Audacity, or DAK Wave MP3 Editor PRO v7.1b. DAK's Editor has many bells and whistles and is really fun. It is Windows only. (I have been experimenting to get it to run under Linux, it launches but that is it).
DAK's editor has a tagger that has many options (you can't add your own fields, however), but everything is either typed in or you cut and paste. It is very time consuming. Thus it is a better tool to use for tagging a couple of files or if you need to re-tag a file for some reason.
Audacity lets you tag as you save, plus you can save a template to load later. This lets you have all the repetitive info added quickly; you can load the template when you export to mp3 and add the other info by hand.
Wave Repair is designed for bringing vinyl to .WAV and has two modes of operation. Evaluation mode is free for anyone just wishing to have a recorder. It works well and actually has many features enabled, including the ability to save. It is very powerful. The registered pay version is even more powerful with many, many more features.
I really like the time record, it lets you monitor the levels before recording, so you can make adjustments before you hit record and is available in the evaluation mode. While DAK's has a nice timer record as well, you have to record a sample then check your levels.
Once you timer record, you need to save and exit the PRG as it is not stable enough to do more recording. I have never had the PRG fail but it doesn't let me timer record again.
In contrast, Wave Repair actually records directly to disk. There is no "save" in the menu since your .WAV file is written directly to the hard drive -- this includes edits. I don't recall if Wave Repair has a tag editor.
Between the filling in of repetitive fields once, and grabbing track and artist (etc.) from file name, Audio Tag Tool is my tag tool of choice. Add to the fact I use the X41 while monitoring kids at nap time, it is something I can do that does not require lots of concentration, it is quick and easy and runs under Linux.
For more info:
http://pwp.netcabo.pt/paol/tagtool/
STARDATE: 2020.01.02: The above seems to be gone. So I googled the paol/tagtool and found: tagtool
STARDATE: 2014.08.25:
Happy St. Valentine's Day!
Ever since I put Blackbeard's Hard Drive in Teach, Teamviewer does not show the computer when running under Linux. Under windows, everything looks the same. :/
I'd tried reinstalling Teamviewer and nothing, nadda, zippo.
I can use Teamviewer from the computer like normal. I have full and complete access to all the other computers, as if nothing has changed. But Blackbeard (the computer's identity) is listed as offline and no incoming connection can reach it. I even removed the listing of Blackbeard from the offline listing, hoping it might reappear in the right list, but now it is gone. Perhaps I can reconfigure it with a different name, Teach, perhaps.
Meanwhile, I have a work around. I can access the system remotely with deBerry under Linux using KDE Desktop Sharing. Now, for whatever reason, it is a bit slow. I've used remote sharing on much slower Linux boxes and it is just like operating the computer like I am sitting right there, nice and fast -- much like running Teamviewer.
Any who. I just connect remotely, then I connect to deBerry using Teamviewer. You get the infinity effect when KDE Remote Desktop Shows the Teamviewer window and you see the Remote Desktop opened up with Teamviewer on it and the Remote Desktop showing on it, etc.
It slowly starts to draw the screens inside the remote screens, so you quickly go to the outer frame of Teamviewer and select switch control with partner. This stops the infinity rendering; it closes the Teamviewer window on Blackbeard and opens up Blackbeard in Teamviewer's window on deBarry. I then close the KDE Remote Desktop Sharing connection, leaving me remotely connected in Teamviewer with a fast remote connection. I can then do everything that can be done via Teamviewer on any other computer.
Crazy, but it works! I wonder if there is a .rc file or something that has something to do with this stealth mode of Teamviewer on Blackbeard/Teach. Blackbeard is an R50p and was the computer that all the OSs on the Hard Drive were originally installed on, as well as both the installs of Teamviewer (under Kubuntu Linux and Windows XP). Teach is an R50 that has the BBHD (Blackbeard Hard Drive) installed since Blackbeard's demise. The XP install acts as if nothing has changed. Both computers are very similar, but there are differences. The resolution has dropped from 1600*1200 to 1024*768, RAM has dropped from 2Gigs to 512Megs, the touch pad seems to be unplugged (have yet to investigate this), there is a firewire on Teach, and the USB ports work on Teach, where as the USB ports could only supply power-out on Blackbeard.
Interestingly, the rendering does not time out on Teach. All the fancy things the desktop does, work better with Teach, despite having a fraction of Blackbeard's memory. I do miss the resolution. It is hard to believe that we used to think 800*600 was massive resolution for our desktops.
There are seriously times, when I am upstairs monitoring sleeping kids, when I wish I could access the C128D! When I was going through the dH masters it would have been nice to have been able to work remotely at nap. Sigh.
It was nice to have a project that I had to do on the C128D. Dampier is the only portable C128 I have setup. It even has Wheels! However, I needed to print things off on a regular basis and it would have been a major hassle to go back and forth between the two machines, so many times.
High Lights.
The Graphic Environment Operation System is an interesting and major thing that happened to the C64, 128 and Apple II computers. GEOS gave users of these machines an alternate reality for their machines. A way to interact with their computers that was new and different, at least, for many.
The Macintosh was one of the few machines at the time that sported a GUI (Graphic User Interface). The Amiga and Atari ST were among these. For the most part, they were in such a different direction than the 8 bit computers of the time, that it really was a whole new world.
GEOS afforded this opportunity at a low cost. I'm not speaking of cash cost, here, as it really is a rather expensive system depending on how deeply you delved into it. But you could enter this new and exciting world without leaving your beloved machine behind.
GEOS introduced many to integrated software, postscript printing, desktop publishing and a new way to simply handle your files. But you got to keep that fabulous computer and you could still use that WP you were so familiar with as importing your files was the norm.
There were things that really rank as 2cool, when it came to GEOS use. At least on the commodore side.
The Light Pen.
Ok, there are not much cooler experiences than using a Light Pen with GEOS. Now, true, in the long run it is really useless for most applications, but for things like drawing and using the Desktop, it really rocks.
The Joystick.
Yes, the joystick! Now add a ten foot joystick extension cable and move way, way back and kinda slouch in your chair. You get the idea. I have never done this in MacOS, AmigaOS, or Windows! (Well, ok Teamviewer with the kindle in my comfy chair.)
Running Under Emulation on a Laptop.
That crisp TFT displaying GEOS looks amazing.
On a ThinkPad.
Really any laptop with the little joystick controller (called the Track Point on an IBM) is waycool.
Tablet.
The next step is running emulated GEOS on a table like the X41 it's like having a light pen that works in every instance! Even in geoWrite!
Those last three are kinda over the top things for our little GUI. But, it was emulation that introduced me to (more) modern laptops. I was content with my stationary commodore and the occasional jaunt with the SX-64.
This just gave me a thought. Once in a great while, I'll find myself alone at The Monastery of the Ascension. I take a laptop and windup doing some coding via emulation. Next time I go, I should take the SX-64! That would be nice.
STARDATE: 2014.08.28:
I had tried a freeware to RIP vinyl. I believe it was called Vinyl. It didn't work for me. My sound system isn't the greatest for keeping spare noise at bay.
I have used DAK's Holy Grail Song Splitter PRO and on many recording's it has proved it's worth. It lives up to it's name -- when it works.
When doesn't it work? I have been ripping tapes lately. I find that DAK's editor takes less HD space and it works, but it is slow to do things like deleting a highlighted area. Audacity really shines in this zone, however, you need HD space.
With the Holy Grail, space is not really a concern, but audio quality is. Some of the cassettes I'm RIPping don't have the best fidelity and some are over-modulated and some have lots of noise.
I had a nice tape deck that had an auto line level that was slowly dying, and it reeked havoc with the sound quality, thus rendering Holy Grail Song Splitter PRO useless. Back up the train.
The DAK audio suite is pretty thorough. Albeit, they didn't include Holy Grail Song Splitter PRO in the suite. There are two pieces of software that do some incredible things. One is a graphic equalizer that you can setup to fix some of the fidelity issues, the other is the key to my problem: DePopper 3.
There are some important things this software can do. You can get rid of pops and other record sounds as well as tape hiss and the 60MHz hum that my system has.
This made the Holy Grail live up to it's name once again! I am able to auto split tracks and do the large cut and paste of the file names into the edit window and zip -- I have mp3s! Now if I can only solve the mystery as to why sometimes it writes the complete tag and other times it does not.
STARDATE: 2014.08.29:
Talk about a crazy scheduled! I can't seem to find the time to write for months, then I get the opportunity to do so and get way ahead of my posting time line. Now you might think I'm "ahead of my time," but, I think it makes this old news by the time things get posted. Luckily I don't post current events here.
As I write this, it is the last of August of 2014. I recall getting used to writing 1970 on my grade school papers as the year 1969 had just passed. Now, I am writing for the future -- 2015.
There were computers back in 1970, but I was not directly exposed to them. They were things of SciFi and Police Drama - fiction for the most part. Something spoken of, yet never seen. Well, OK, you could see the console on Star Trek, but you mostly just heard the computer as Majel Barrett voiced the thoughts of the "Computer," as they referred to it.
It is strange, if you really focus on how things actually were back then, how you can have a device as small (or smaller) than the iPod with such computing power.
When you think of a computer that took up several large rooms, and how little computing power that computer had, in [{retrospect}] of an iPod. It would have taken a long, long time to do a task, like calculate PI to, say, 255 places past the decimal. The iPod G4 does it in a fraction of a second. Hours or weeks versus fractions of a second.
Plus, that little device will fit in my pocket!
Wow.
Now, the jump from those old, large mainframes to an iPod was not overnight. If you look at the technology of, say five years back, sure, some things have changed, but not as big as the contrast between a mainframe and an iPod.
I have a palm Treo 700p, that can do many things, not too dissimilar to the iPod. It has a different type of touch screen, but it does have a screen that reads my input from either my finger nail or the stylus. There is email, web browsing, playing movies and music. Not quite the same, but pretty close.
The palm is actually a -7 year jump. Now in 2000, devices were bigger; there have been pocket or calculator size machines since, at least, the 90s. I'm thinking of those test computers that actually ran Windows 95. Some had glasses for screens, but I never got to see those in action. I used to get a lot of catalogues back then for electronic test equipment. I remember National had one, it was Walkman size. Then there was the Atari Portfolio.
Speaking of Walkman, there's an evolutionary step to the iPod.
I recall two audio mile stones in my life. They were both gifts. The first was a 'Transistor Radio.' Back then, when someone said transistor radio, it referred to a radio that fit in your hand. These radios were about two and a half inches wide, three or four inches tall and about three quarters of an inch thick. They had an ear phone, a mono ear bud like thing that inserted into one ear. Most were AM radios, some were AM/FM. They emerged after the first inklings of stereo broadcasts done on two separate carrier bands, so FM meant a whole other set of radio stations.
When I was a kid, AM radio was dull and there wasn't much in the area to listen to, FM had the likes of KFXD, who, at the time, played Rock.
My brother had gotten a Transistor Radio for what must have been his birthday. I was fascinated by this radio. It was this solid point in time and space that was connected to the ethereal plane; a vast universe of waves reaching throughout space, converging in the spot of that radio and playing out of the speaker.
My dad sat me on the front porch and in a very serious way, gave me his transistor radio. It was truly a right of passage!
My dad collected radios. I didn't realize this at the time. I did know he worked on them (what that meant at the time I don't know). He wasn't active, as far as I could see, in doing anything with radios in my life time. He did, however, read Popular Machanix, Mechanics Illustrated and Radio Electronics.
The second was a birthday present. This one turned things around completely. It was a G.E. cassette tape recorder. I now entered the realm of producing audio! I went from passive, yet avid, listener to the maker of sounds.
Before I got the tape recorder, our Dad would get out his open reel tape recorder and he'd record our voices and we'd listen to ourselves in a stunning, not so clear audio. It was fun. My folks never kept any of the recordings. I think my Dad only had one tape, at least I never saw nor heard any other.
After my folks both passed, I listened to the tape, to hear what was on it, in hopes of hearing my brother's or my voices as they sounded when we were kids. It had a mystery recording on it. I sent it to my brother in digitized form. It was a phone conversation about chemistry sets. I thought that one voice must have been his, but couldn't place the other. He was stumped, initially, then remembered a telephone conversation he had recorded with a friend of his one evening. So there really was a treasure!
I suppose my getting a record player was another mile stone. It was a portable. It allowed me to play my spooky records in my room. I had started collecting records that appeared in the stores around Halloween time.
Speaking of major life changes. After my parents had both passed, we went through everything, as is what happens at such times, and I came upon the answering machine. As with most answering machines the tape gets used, then after those message are listen to, the tape gets rewound and the machine records over the top of the old messages.
Quite often my folks would answer the phone and they would catch it after the machine answered. The machine would record something like 2 minutes or so then stop. My dad had gone to the hospital several years before he died, called my mom and my mom had picked up the phone after the machine had picked up the call. They had a lengthy conversation. The recording never got covered up, since the machine had recorder several messages already, putting this recording later on the tape. The tape would have had to fill up again to eventually cover the conversation, but it never did.
It was months after my mom had passed, and years after my dad had passed before I had discovered this gem. While it was over a phone line, their voices were clear and crisp. It was amazing to hear their voices once again.
Where are hidden treasures?
STARDATE: 2014.09.13:
I look at the path I have seen for various technologies, and see a convergence. Everything seems to be landing on the personal home computer.
This PC, has moved silently to the hand-held devices we now use. LPs and 45s; records, 8-tracks and cassettes; tapes to mp3. 8mm, Super 8mm movies; VHS, Laser Disks, and Beta videos; VideoCDs, DVDs, HD-DVD, and BluRay to mp4 and avi. Radio to Pod Casts. Broadcast television and cable TV to Digital Streaming. Things have slowly moved to our computers and quickly to our phones.
Having seen what might have been at one point as "recent history" in the line of computers, where the computer was an enormous behemoth, and the evolution to something as small as a hand-held device with hundreds of times the power, I am truly astounded.
STARDATE:2014.10.11:
I used to have an IBM router setup as a repeater for our WiFi. Actually it was just an added Hot Spot. It was on the end of a 10-base-T line that ran from the router in our bedroom to the Music Room. The 100 ft line was initially plugged into the Amiga 1200 Escom AG machine. The need to add a second hot spot prompted changing the Amiga's access from a 10-base-T to WiFi. To this day Mythreal (That very same Amiga) has an IBM Proxim-based WiFi card with wireless access.
Parent Weekends.
Having adopted RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder) kids has changed our lives. Mia and I have learned the hard way, you really have to take care of yourself or you go bonkers and that is not good for you or the kids. It is recommended that parents of such kids go out together at least once a week and every 3-4 weeks take a parent weekend.
We do this, and it helps immensely. It helps us stay grounded so we really can be present to these children.
To save money, we stay in our trailer. During the summer we will go camping, but when the trailer is in Boise, we simply slip out there and stay away from home. We are just outside the range of our WiFi network. It appears on my list of WiFi in the area, but quite often, it is not strong enough to connect to. The Kindle can make a connection now and then, but the iPod can't.
Repeater time!
Well, I got out the IBM router and it didn't power up. :/ Not sure if the PS died, or what, but it is dead.
Enter our old router!
I ran a line from the router, upstairs along the area of the wall that will be under the coving, once I get the coving done (also on my list). The cable goes through a hole I drilled at an appropriate place in the floor (also under the coving) and down to a junction box. From there I run another cable the remainder of the way to the router. At present, while the connections pass continuity tests, the data flow is so slow that it times out. I have had a test page load on the iPod, but that was all, and most of the time, it acts as though there is no connection. There needs to be more testing.
I think the first order of business is to redo all the connections to the box. The wires are so small and delicate that it is hard to be sure they are making the best connection. If that fails, the next step is to replace the 25 foot run (the wire from the router to the box). Hopefully I can find wire with screw-ready ends. The final resolution is to simply bore a bigger hole in the floor and use the 100ft cable with a ethernet connector on the end.
The 100ft cable has been tested to work. I just wanted to have more options with a junction box and a small hole.
STARDATE:2015.01.10:
I must have been looking at a Sharper Image Catalog, sometime in 2000 - 2005, and I came across the "Ultimate Gaming Laptop." I don't quite recall what they called it, but Ultimate and Gaming were definitely part of the name. The machine, was of course, the DELL XPS. Somehow, I got the idea it was a Play Station in a portable.
Well, the thing intrigued me immensely. It entered my brain as a machine, I'd love to get my hands on. But alas, it's price tag dictated otherwise.
I can recall thinking about the machine, now and then, but it must not have pulled me to it after seeing the price. And perhaps it was only months latter, but I feel it was years later, that this machine was forgotten, lost to the dusty cobwebbed areas of my mind. It may have popped up somewhere. As I recall a knowing whenever a reference to it popped up, or I saw a picture of one somewhere.
At one time in our family life, we watched some TV. Will and Grace, 3rd Rock From the Sun, The Office, Scrubs, perhaps some others. But in the turn of the decade -- around 2009 or 10, our lives changed so much, so fast, in a series of events that changed our lives forever.
I have always been a movie buff. And when the 80s came with VCRs, I was able to watch movies at home. I suppose it started in the dorms. Several people'd go in on renting a player and a movie or three. I recall watching the Star Wars trilogy. Yep, back then there were only three.
My love for movies continued. We even instituted Wednesday as Movie Night. I made up a pizza recipe that grew to the incredible home made pizza we now make (I, the Master Chef, Anastasia the master dough maker, Victoria the saucier and Natasha the Sous Chef.) Every Wednesday was magic.
School got the girls busy, before the change in our lives, but I managed to introduce the kids to Universal Monsters. The twins and I took about 2 and half years and watched every Universal Monsters movie we could find.
In the present day, we have been watching 3rd Rock. Mia and I on our parent weekends/sanity restoring breaks have spent much time relaxing, watching the series.
The kids talked Mia into watching some 2(b+t) -- The Big Bang Theory. So we all started to watch this show on DVD. I hardly remember when I watched this show originally, but I was very familiar with the first season's episode. Needles to say, if you've seen the show, it is hilarious. And there on the desks are twin XPSs, indistinguishable except by the like, stickers being reversed on the lids.
Crap! that bloody machine was in my brain again! The machine never even made it to my ethereal list. Perhaps I should put it there as the prices of even the used ones are way out there.
I did an eBay search.
This thing is huge! No, I'm out in the trailer, it is January 10th 2015. I have been typing on the IBM/Lenovo branded X41 Tablet, a.k.a. deBarry. So I should say, that thing is huge. But, alas, I am a head of my ramblings.
The machine I found was listed as 'DELL XPS INSPIRON 9100 15.4" LAPTOP 3.20GHz 1GB RAM 128MB ATI RADEON 9700 2658.' At first I thought it was an XPS, but it turns out it was the twin of the XPS. Pretty much the same, but no fancy extra lights.
The key words here are "Inspiron," and "9100."
It had some heat damage, and from the pictures, I determined it was from an outside source and not the computer. In fact, it looks like part of the case may have actually ignited! But, there was no indicator that there was any heat coming off the computer and the seller said the machine does not get hot. Later I did find that an alternate chip set was used on some earlier ones that did tend to run hot.
The unit came without PS and without battery. The battery contains a sub-woofer! But a new battery runs more than I paid for this machine.
This was a "gem listing." One of those listings that has something about it that tends to scare potential buyers away, that I saw as not a problem. If I had known the history of these machines and what they put in them, and perhaps the pictures were a bit different, I might have thought, "I'm not buying that tub, it over heats and damn near caught fire!" At a glance it just put potential buyers off. But looking at the pictures where the damage to the case was and what it looked like, it clearly was an outside job.
The machine has two fans and the PS has a fan as well. (I managed to procure the proper 150W PS for it at a reasonable cost*.)
The machine itself, is amazing. It has a 15.4 inch wide screen (WUXGA) and it's display is clear and crisp at 1950*1200. That is even bigger than the A21p whose display is 1600*1200! Talk about prime real estate!
The sound too, is really good, better than most laptops, albeit, not as good as the IBM 770z ThinkPad. I suppose that says nothing as that machine has amazing sound, but I have read reviews of the 9100, raving about the awesome sound. I would categorize it as good, not awesome. (Oh, and a battery, too has been procured -- with the subwoofer.)
I have currently installed Xandros 4ish on it's 60GIG HD. This was after trying several other Linux installs, that regrettably did not activate the Broadcom WiFi card. I installed Kubuntu, Knopix, and Fedora Core 7. None got the WiFi going, even after a fair amount of tinkering.
Now, Xandros 4 works well. The only complaints I have are two:
1. There is no longer support in the form of a package repository (or anything else, for that mater).
And
2. The sound system is keyed into the PCM as master volume. When you use, either method of changing the volume, the waycool overlay graphics appear displaying Volume and a bar showing the said Volume, but there is no change to the volume as everything system wide is being run via the PCM line. Small item, but irritating to say the least.
Now the fan would run on the PS, especially when the machine was really working and both of the computer's fans were running. I had unplugged the PS (prior to the arrival of the battery) while the fan was still on. But the PS was not hot, is was warm, and I anticipated the fan would shut off soon, but I needed to leave and I don't like to leave new equipment plugged in unattended. Under normal circumstances, I would say this was OK. But given the price I paid for the PS, it may be a cheep knock off PS (here is the * to the above). However, upon internal inspection, the PS has three thermostats and two very large heat sensor bars. It appears to be well manufactured. The seller thinks it was a fluke, as he feels these are really good PSes and has sent a new one (due to arrive today via 5 day labeled Priority 2nd Day Mail.
Just an aside here, I have found the new Priority mail sham, to be a sham. It used to be that 90% of what I have shipped the old Priority 3 Day Mail would arrive in 2 days and the rest within 3 days. Since the change, Priority 2 Day has never taken less than 4 days and usually lands in around 5. Talk about a scam. "I know, it works, so let's fix it!" Pisses me off.
STARDATE:2015.01.23:
WiFi Repeater Solution.
Mia, and I have been taking our parent weekends out in the trailer. It is basically free and it is very comfortable. The only problem is WiFi is not available, or at times, sparse.
I like the idea of accessing data and doing things on my computers at home while away. And it seems unfair that I should actually be so close, and yet not have that accesses.
The kindle, would often grab WiFi if I held it to the window, but it was slow. I was surprised when the X41 was able to get enough signal to use Teamviewer, but not enough bandwidth to use Firefox.
I recall being at Ascension in Jerome. I was in the common room outside my room. I got on the WiFi, but Firefox timed out. I was able to use Teamviewer and access my computer at home and do all my online "rounds" from there.
Well, I have another router, an IBM. It takes two PCMCIA IBM cards (Orinoco) and I can use my antenna on it. It was the repeater I had from the Amber House days. Well, I think the PS crapped out on it or something, as I couldn't get it to powerup. :/
So I grabbed the router I use for doing Xfers from machine to machine that takes forever (I set it up as an isolated WiFi connection, so as not to encroach upon the bandwidth of the family's iNet), and tried it. I got it working, but my 10-base-T connection box wasn't working (I ran a 10-base-T through the floor to a 10-base-T jack). It would be very convenient to have it set up downstairs in the shop. I had not yet been able to replace the cable to the shop when we decided to look into repeaters.
There are a few different options on repeaters as far as how they work and are set up. We opted for the power mains variety.
TP-LINK
The TP-Link package we got from CostCo had a base unit package (with one node), plus a second node.
Set up is a breeze. You run a 10-base-T line from the router to a little box that you plug into an electrical outlet. Then you plug a node in where you want it. In my case, I put one in the garage nearest the east door toward the driveway where the trailer is parked. The other, I put in the shop.
Not only do we have excellent reception in the trailer, but the kid's study, that was kind of a WiFi whole, is covered as well. Our TV now has a full strength connection. Plus, I now have a local 10-base-T in the shop (and the garage for that matter)! The nodes have two 10-base-T jacks on each one. I have yet to plug the cable in, so there could be more on this subject later.
You can set up SSIDs for each node as well as passwords. You can use a utility that lets you choose which node you want to log into and set things up for customization. You can also use the "Pairing" buttons on the nodes to have the node set up with your routers SSID and password. Or you can do it manually, via the fore mentioned conduit.
It is nice to have WiFi, not only in the trailer, but in the WiFi Whole we used to have.
STARDATE:2015.01.24:
Range Extended.
Well, I must admit, it is really nice to have WiFi in the trailer. When camping, we sometimes have WiFi and it occasionally gets used, but not much. But on Parent weekends, it is nice to have access.
What does one do with this access?
I have things on the Farm that I track daily needing access to my home computer. I don't always leave it on, but when I think I need it, I'll leave it up and running. Of course, Teamviewer is usually how I access the machine.
I can access the machine via the kindle, the iPod, or the ThinkPad. The Tablet (ThinkPad) is usually running Linux, and despite running Teamviewer under WINE as the softs are Win softs, it performs flawlessly.
The only quirk I have run into is sometimes, clicking on the A21p's screen via a remote does nothing. I discovered a quick fix:
Send a [CTRL][ALT][DEL] via Teamviewer's window menu, and when the control window pops up on the remote computer's screen, select task manager (I suppose if there is a cancel that should work too as the problem is now fixed) then close out the Task Manager and do what needs to be done as the system is fully responding.
Now, Mia has need to access her computer in a like manner. So I recommended Teamviewer. She installed it. She was using it to write an email on her computer at home and it kept highlighting things, then deleting them! A dangerous situation, to say the least. Now, I have not gotten Teamviewer installed on the iBook (under OS X.3), as StuffIt can't open Teamviewer's disk image, so I have not experience running it on a Mac environment.
(STARDATE:2015.08.14: NOTE: I have installed Teamviewer on a MacBook under MacOS x.5.8 and it works flawlessly)
I did find on Apple's website, a thread concerning this issue and it appears to be a bug in the last few releases of MacOS.
Major Bummer!
Since the bug only seems to affect this particular softs, there may not be a fix anytime soon. :/
Mystery keystrokes making remote access unusable.
Linux 64 and Amiga R30 (Linux)
Well, I have the Amiga OS as one Linux install's only GUI. Been that way for a while, even though I have not messed with it for some time. Part of my problem, is the R30 is not a very quiet computer. It tends to run the fan non-stop. Always has, even with it's previous mother board.
I have a new 20GIG hard drive at my disposal. I am contemplating making a running Linux box with it's front end being X64. Just an idea.
We interrupt this story to bring an important announcement: Fixed! We now return you to your regularly scheduled....OK, I'll elaborate ;)
Blackbeard had mysteriously disappeared from the Teamviewer 'My computers' list. I was only able to access it by either typing in it's Partner ID or starting a session to the computer that would be the controlling computer via Blackbeard and swap control over.
Enter Locutus.
So Locutus is a monster, both in Star Trek and the shop. Locutus is a DELL Inspiron 9100 3.2GHz Hyper Threading machine that I have been experimenting with. I installed Teamviewer in it's Kubuntu atmosphere and it too, failed to appear in the list. :/
I looked at the window Computers & Contacts and hovered over:
the little text balloon popped up saying Add computer, so I added Locutus -- and it appeared in the list on all computers running Teamviewer!
!
So I immediately went into the Studio and got on Blackbeard. Blackbeard is now back in the list!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I may have mentioned this before, but some of these machines have multiple OSes. Blackbeard has three, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, and XP. I use the name Workgroups uses for the machines under Windows which is usually the name in uppercase. For the Kubuntu names I use the machines name followed by _k. This lets me know what OS to expect and if I want to move files to a given folder accessible by that OS. -k has access to everything, but Windows usually only has access to the standard Windows drives'.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled article....
Bummer.
Well, the 20GIG HD didn't work and is garbage. Major bummer.
So I think the next step is to go back to the AmigaOS install I have and experiment there. What I should do is skip the manual loading of the Amiga emulator and try for a straight boot right into the AmigaOS. That would be cool.
It Was A Dark And Stormy Night
by
Brian Crosthwaite
Out across the land before me stretched nothing but darkness. It was a path I had never crossed before. I had set out in a rental car that was an after thought. Ardent Rentals had me on their list, but apparently had failed to pick out and reserve an actual car for me. They had one, I had to wait as they readied it. When I got in it, it still had that mechanic's smell of oil and grime in it.
I recall thinking they must have just been finishing up on it as I was checking in. That may not have been quite true; along this dark road, it stalled twice -- at both of the stop signs I encountered. It's last activity, however, was to sputter to a stop. I managed to get it off the road. Although, it seems hardly a thing to worry about. The sun had set early as is par for that time of year, and yet while not being late, I had been the sole driver upon the road. In fact, I stopped at two crossroads that, too, seemed well deserted.
I opted to leave my luggage in the car. I had stood outside the car a good twenty-five or thirty minutes, in the hopes of catching a ride. I seem to be far enough out of town to put me out of traffic. Any traffic. So, 'twas on foot I got. I started to head back they way I came, not knowing what might or might not lie ahead. I recalled seeing some sort of structure back aways, perhaps a farm house. I decided there in my answer lies, a simple prospect to borrow a phone. The sky was ominous with dark clouds and I could hear rolling thunder.
My cell, fully charged, was well out of range of anything capable of receiving my signal. I had only been on the road for twenty minutes or so, walking my back-tracking, when I saw what was a citadel of a fortress upon a distant hill. I decided this large of a structure commanded some for of human presence. And felt quite certain I might achieve my goal of finding some sort of help there. Or perhaps the increase in altitude would aid my phone in making contact with a stray cell signal somewhere and perhaps, ultimately lead me to refuge from the impending storm.
As luck would have it, at the base of the hill, I found a dirt road. Not a well traveled road, as weeds were coming up, but they looked like they might have simply been this past summers allotment of growth, to be slowly worn upon till spring when they would start growing all over.
After a quick jaunt up the hill the ground leveled off - for the most part. The air was cool. As I walked, I came to realize that the road was not a road, but a path. It was easy to follow, and I would be nearing my destination quickly. My eye caught something moving.
Someone or some "thing" had darted behind a tree. "Hello?!?" I was answered only with a silence carried on the slight breeze.
It was about then I could really feel the pending rain. Flashes of lightning marked the way as I pressed on.
I came upon the top of a slight rise, where I was greeted by a large tree. Aided by a lightning flash, I saw a gentleman standing beside. I say gentleman, as he appeared in a 20th century blazer that I imagine had patches upon the sleeves, a fedora, and he appeared to be smoking a pipe.
Within the next moment, the lightning flashes continued and I could clearly see that no one was there. I stopped dead in my tracks, for I had plainly seen the man and the light had hardly faded from the first strike when the next flashes illuminated the area. He did not walk off. He did not turn, He had not run. He simply was not there.
Again, "Hello!??"
Again, nothing.
I made my way to the tree and was greeted by a strange chill, making the cool I had experienced before seem warm. It was a bizarre sensation. One I'll soon not forget.
Never the less, I pressed on for want of aid. The path that once seemed so direct and short seemed to stretch out before me, the house seemed much further than it had before. I recall thinking I must have underestimated the size of it. Or perhaps there was an illusion of the light at play here, making the house seem closer than it really was.
Finally the path leveled off again and the land opened up. I was crossing a field or pasture. There appeared to be some old fences off in the distance to the sides that were no obstacles to me. There was a barn. It was not particularity large, and it was open. It appeared empty, none the less, I peaked in and bade another unanswered "Hello."
The lack of an answer did not feel rude this time. Reflecting back I felt a little dissed at my prior attempts to make communication, for I felt there was a presence before and now I was hollering into an empty barn.
I pressed on. The area around me appeared to be a grove of rather large trees. Not the poplars that walled farms from the wind, but large, no enormous, round, trees. I soon found out they were walnut trees as the ground below my feet was strewn with walnuts.
Despite my love of said nut, I pressed on without picking any up. I had just about had my fill of this night, when rain had started to spit from the sky and the house lie only within a few hundred yards.
The wide path had narrowed. The path leading passed the barn through the walnut grove must be a path the farmer who lived in the house ahead must have forged. It was but a narrow, the width- of- a- human type path.
As I left the trees and entered a clearing, I could see a light on in the house. It was oddly a rich yellow and was gone the instant the next flash crossed the sky form my beloved storm. The spit was turning into a real rain and I could hear it pouring behind me on the leaves on the ground. I quickened my pace.
As I approached the back porch of the house I recall thinking, of course, the light went out when the lightning flashed. I should have predicted it really. Upon arrival to the porch the rain had hit and hard it hit. I was not yet under when I realized I was getting drenched. I was soaked. I couldn't have been in the full flow of that storm for more than 20 seconds and I was undeniably wet!
It was time to get help.
I knocked at the door but reserved any "Hellos?!?" I had for I needed an answer and thus far, on that night, no one had responded to my "Hellos".
I stood there, in the flashes of light that were more frequent and closer than my comfort zone allowed, realizing as I was getting wetter for the porch roof was of little protection, that no one was coming to the door.
Where was the blazin' fool I saw down by the tree? Was he playing me for a chump? These were semi-paranoid thoughts running through my mind as the chill was deepening in my clothes.
It was time for action, so I tested the door, grasping the knob, expecting it to be locked and only to be a rude affront to me personally. To my surprise, it turned! I wasted no time entering the building. I was greeted by a room with a bench along a wall opposite coat hooks on the other side. Coats adorned the hooks and there three or four pair of boots along the bench side of the room. I believe this room to be called a "mud room." There was a wool rope rug in the center of the floor and despite the name, the room was clean.
I closed the door behind me and as I passed through to the doorway across, I was now obliged to use yet, another "Hello!?!"
I did not expect to hear anything, when I realized what had been missing at a farm house; the sound of a dog barking answered me! Relieved, I returned, "I'm sorry for the intrusion, my car stalled down on the road and I was caught in this dreadful storm."
The dog I expected to greet me never arrived.
I was dripping wet, and if I hadn't felt so cold, I might have left my drenched jacket in the mudroom to prevent undue spreading of moisture. I must have felt a bit defiant at this point. While I think I must, at least, wiped my feet on the way in, I dripped on the floor and crossed through what appeared to be a kitchen.
I called again, a bit louder this time; perhaps the man by the tree was deaf, "Hello!! Is there anybody here?" There was no answer, and while I walked, a dim light came into view. For the only light I had prior, were the flashes. I thought the wind and thunder must have drowned me out, so I pressed toward the light. It changed but did not cease. It was a flickering fire! Ah warmth!
I went over and thinking the master of this fire heard me, perhaps answered in the thunder and went to put the dog out, or perhaps in another room as people so often do to contain their canines. They shall soon return to the fire no matter the case!
I stood warming myself and waiting for my host. My thoughts became more positive at this point. I was actually starting to dry out a bit. I glanced at my watch; a little after 11. I turned to warm my back. There was a break in the wind and the thunder paused and all was silent -- dead silent. No dog. No one returning, walking across the hardwood floors that in this eerie silence should echo.
Nothing.
The storm resumed it's natural state and my ears were once again full. It was almost soothing after that strange quite. That unsettling quite. I turned toward the fire, shaking off the strange feeling that had started to fill me; from my lower back it had crept up to my shoulders.
I realized I had been there quite a while. The fire that had been a large blaze, was now dying away. I was dry! I was also tired. I sat down om an arm chair that was set close by and was soon opening my eyes. The storm was still going but the fire was just coals and about to go out! I jumped up and called most imploringly my futile, "Hello!?!"
To the returned, relative silence, I continued, "I really need to just barrow your phone if I might. I broke down on the road. Is there anybody here?" I felt like a complete buffoon. This was ridiculous. Was I being played on? Was there truly no one there? I recall piecing it all together. The man by the tree, simply didn't see me. The master of this house had to leave and took the dog, they just happen to depart at the time of my arrival. All complete coincidence. Plan and simple.
Since my trespass was executed, and there was no chance of consequence, I resolved to simply look for the phone, make my call and be on my way. I had wasted enough time as it was. I went back to the kitchen, feeling like I might have saved time if I turned on a light on my way in and just helped myself.
The light switch proved to be a round knob. At first feeling it in the very dim light, when there was light, I was thinking how modern, when I realized I was bringing up a small flame on the wall. It was gas light! How extremely odd. Certainly, not modern. There proved to be no phone in the kitchen.
I went back to the room with the fire. Found a switch, also a knob, and brought that glow to light. For want of a flashlight, I searched the dark for these rotary switches, bringing the house slowly to light, as I searched room to room. One room, a study, surely would have a phone. But none there was found. My searched proved futile. This house, steeped in antiquity was absolutely phoneless. And when I thought to look in the later part of my search, there appeared to be no electrical outlets.
Then it struck me! Perhaps I was within a cell now. I pulled out my phone, but alas, no signal.
The road was to be my only hope. The rain was falling in droves and it seemed rather cozy in that large, and abandoned for the moment, house. After returning the lights as I found them, I put some wood on the fire and resolved to wait the storm out -- and/or wait for my unknowing host. I had walked in, thinking I was welcomed, only realizing later my foolish mistake. A blunder that actually benefited me in getting out for the cold and wet.
I stood by the fire and as it rose and started to warm me over again, I remembered the light! Upstairs, as I approached the house there had been a light! It had turned off. But it had definitely been there. Perhaps a bedroom light. A dilemma was at hand.
Was I to go up and find where I found the light, solving all mysteries and gaining my needed help, perchance to awaken someone from their sleep to find an uninvited stranger in their house? Or was I to wait here, most likely until the morning when I would be discovered, also an uninvited stranger. "Damn, how could I be such a fool?"
The words simply came out of my mouth. The fire was so warm and I was feeling drowsy, to the point that all I wanted to do at that point was recline in that chair again and drift off to sleep. But the rude thought of my predicament led me to one conclusion: I must leave. I was in a house where I didn't belong.
I headed back through the kitchen and mudroom. I opened the door and the rain, ice cold blasted me in the face with a ferocity that took me from my walking slumber state to wide awake. The lightning was flashing, followed instantly by the sound of thunder. Those strikes where right outside now and this was a dangerous storm. I'd have to take my chance with the human element and I resolved to awaken the master of this house!
I quickly closed the door and turned to go back. I glanced at my watch: 11:59pm. As I raised my glance from my watch and passed through the doorway to the kitchen, a bolt of lightning illuminated the room with the fire and I could clearly see, the silhouette of a woman walking passed the doorway.
I hastened my pace, almost running, "Hello!" I shouted over the roar of the thunder. "I don't mean to startle you, but I have been trapped by this horrific storm!" My voice was loud to pierce the storm without. I had tried to sound imploringly helpless as possible; a fellow human in need. At the same time, be heard above the storm. Upon my arrival in the room, I found nothing.
I had thought earlier that I should have left the lights on, after having turned them off from my initial investigation. That thought was now prevailing upon me as a regret. At least I could have gotten a better look.
The room was empty. I crossed to the doorway on the other side that lead to the hall and called out, "Help!"
"I need your help!" I was pleading at this point. I found the light knob and illuminated the hall. I made my way to the stairs. Then an idea hit me. I whistled! As one whistles to call a dog. And I kept on whistling. If I could get the dogs attention, and in a friendly way, I might resolve this situation sooner. I stopped and stood once more in the relative silence. All I could hear was the storm.
I started up the steps. I hadn't found a knob to help illuminate the stairs, so it was a dark ascent. I reached the first landing and stopped. I stood for a moment, I had no real plan. The sound of the storm lulled a bit and I could hear footfalls on the floor above me. I ran through the dark to the next flight of stairs and stopped. The footfalls continued. I raced, cautiously up the steps.
At the next landing I looked down a hall. Either end had large plate glass windows and the flashes of lightening lit the place up enough for me to see the woman I saw down stairs walking in the opposite direction before me, "Hello!" It was a clear shout at this point -- was this woman deaf? Had the storm drowned my voice out?
I ran up to her and before I got close enough to touch her, for my hand was outstretched, there was a brilliant flash and I could see her dark hair had red highlights. I brought my hand down to touch her shoulder when my hand passed though empty space. She had vanished before my very eyes! I was so startled. I stopped.
I stood there. The hall was empty. I was alone. It was then I realized -- this house was completely and utterly empty. No one lived here. Not for a very long time. A door at the end of the hall opened and closed. No one had opened it. No one had closed it. It simply became unlatched, swung open, then swung shut again, stopping with a click.
After a moment of hesitation, I shook off this silly notion and walked quickly, almost running down the hall. I opened the door, reached for the knob I knew to be there and tuned it. No light came. I thought perhaps the pilot had gone out, so I returned the knob to the off position. I walked over to the bed. There appeared to be the woman in it. She lay still and pale in the dark, illuminated now and then by the varying light from the storm. She did not breath. I turned to leave. I walked to the door and took one last glance and saw the bed was empty.
As I uneasily made my way back down -- I wanted to run out as fast I could go -- the storm had subsided to a light drizzle. I made my way to the fire. I reached out my hand and felt that the fireplace was cold. There was no sign that there had been a fire in that fireplace for a long, long time. In the kitchen on the way out I turned the light knob and found there was no pilot, no gas, and there hadn't been for a long time.
I was out in the walnut trees when it occurred to me I hadn't tried my cell up here. I got signal enough to call for help. As I put my phone back in my packet a dog ran passed as if I were not even there, but I knew, it was the dog that wasn't there.
The End
Copyright 2015 Brian Crosthwaite All Rights Reserved.
STARDATE:2015.02.21:
The DELL Project.
Kubuntu tells me there is a new upgrade: trusty 14.04.2 LTS. The system told me of an upgrade a while back and said my computer had to have something that it does not have turned off. Both the R50 and X41 had the same messages. Both of these machines are the Pentium 4 mobiles.
Just an aside here, as I just learned this today: It has to do with some confusion on part of that Intel Inside stuff. The post on the R50 and R50p show the Intel Pentium M logo with the word Centrino. I thought it was a type of possessor. One person on a forum somewhere, said it was a branding that basically has a mother board with a given CPU, WiFi and a few other things on board. It was more of a certification that supposedly says it meets the Bitchen' criteria.
Anywho, I can't get Trusty to install on either and I can't seem to install via DVD on the DELL. I can load the live Trusty, but I can't install. The install hangs and not always at the same place. :/
Meanwhile, I had installed Kubuntu 11.xx and it worked wonderfully! But couldn't update. Then it started up dating, and stopped at 12.xx. Kinda weird. Install didn't prompt for root privileges and would say unable to verify privileges. As the system has no root (It never asked and I haven't bothered to fix this), I dropped to shell at the graphical login prompt, then typed:
sudo startx
This allowed for the updates to get just as far as the R50p got way back when. I'm temped to set up unattended auto updates, running under super user and just leave the machine on for a few weeks and let the machine sort it all out. That is basically what the R50p did, albeit I prompted it through much of the process -- I didn't have updated URLs to repositories.
Might work.
The biggest challenge with this machine (a DELL Inspiron 9100) is the wlan card. It is a Broadcom card. Of all the OSes I installed the only one to find the card out of the box was Xandros 4. Unfortunately, Xandros is a dead distribution. Which is a shame as it is still in my Linux Hall Of Fame: Simply Mepis, Xandros, Slackware, Dyne:bolic and Kubuntu.
All else worked, screen resolution (1920*1200), audio (although the master gets channeled though the wrong channel, making the shortcuts and buttons useless -- and the on screen graphics for volume control worked as well. Kubuntu did the best at getting things working over all.
Going portable.
Ok, so we are heading tomorrow (currently it is STARDATE: 20150304) on a parent weekend to Monastery of the Ascension in Jerome, ID. I will actually have a lot of free time, as Mia will be attending a retreat for educators. So, I thought if I did have a chance to work on configuring the 9100 some more, I'd take it with me, as working remotely wouldn't work. So I tried the generic bag (nice normal sized bag that most all the laptops have traveled in -- including the PX-8). Hm, too small -- way too small. Next up, Gandalf's bag. Still too small. The bag I got for the 770. :/ it simply will not fit. The GRiD 286, not a laptop but a portable/luggable. Eureka! We have a fit. Wow, I am used to the GRiD in this case and it weighs a lot since the GRiD has a cast iron case. Wow, this thing weighs less, but not much less!
STARDATE:2015.06.24:
So I opened the C128 emulator running Wheels on the A21p. I was planning to go through the computers database and remove all that have passed (sold, given away or donated; also known as gone and update locations of all the machines). But, I didn't seem to have the db on the drive.
I turned and fired up the C128D. I went through and if I knew for sure the machine was gone, I high lighted the line (the db is actually two spreadsheets in geoCalc) and hit [ctrl][D]. This removes the contents on a given line, but not the line itself. As I moved through the data, I updated the last location of each entry. If I didn't know it I put uk.
The db is two whole spreadsheets. geoCalc goes down 256 lines, I don't recall the column count, but it has double letters. I did scroll to AH or some such, as I had planned long ago to start adding data to the right of the data that was already there, but decided against it.
I went through and copied lines or consecutive lines, cleared what I compiled, then moved up to the first empty space and pasted the line(s), thus filling in the empty lines with data. I also took the first lines from the second sheet and put them in the first until it was two lines from full. I left the bottom two lines blank in the case I need them later.
Now, why not just Cut and Paste?
geoCalc 128 has a bug in the code somewhere that makes cutting not copy. Normally when you cut something, it makes a scrap of it (in the form a small file with the data in it) that you can then paste. Normally, this is a nice feature and you can cut something, power-down your system or play a game or what have you, come back to GEOS and paste the scrap, since GEOS makes an actual file with the cut data. It does this with copy as well.
geoCalc has the option of clearing data where no scrap is made. However cut does not make a scrap. In fact, it deletes the old scrap, if there is one, but it fails to make a new scrap. Hence, the copy, clear, then paste routine described above.
Now this may seem tedious. If you use Excel or LibreOffice's Spreadsheet, you know you can simply delete rows (line) or columns and have it closeup the row(s) or column(s). That may have been two much headroom for GEOS to handle, or Programming Short-sight on the part of geoCalc's programmers.
Despite the extra manipulation it really didn't take me long. I covered the whole spread sheet in less than 10 minutes. I had made some changes along the way and experimented with an idea or two that diverted my attention for a bit. I also periodically backed up as I went, so I exited, highlighted the file in one window and copied to another window, then reopened the document. I was astounded at what little time had gone by.
I had about 40 minutes left until time to get Littles up from nap, so I opened my email. After deleting three or four pages of junk mail and reading a couple of real emails, nap was over. :/
STARDATE:2015.06.25:
I recently made a scan on the Amiga 1200. As usual, I planned to email it. Now I thought I'd try my normal, everyday account. I opened up IBrowse and clicked on the WebMail button on top of the browser. I got a dialogue box stating my SSL had woes.
I have run into this on older browsers on machines running Windows 98 and 2000. I turned on the TLS and turn off SSL 2 and 3. That made those secure sites I wasn't able to accesses work. So, I opened up the settings and found no TLS settings. I finally did an update of AmiSSL, but that did not do the trick.
I did manage to send the scan; I just used my Gmail account. For this scan, that was OK, I was sending a BCC to that account anyway.
It really sucks that I can do just about everything on my old AmigaOS 3.1, but am limited on my browsing. I even tried Voyager and had the same woes. I don't really need access to my regular account on the Amiga, but it would be nice. I am still amazed by the fact, my PCs and Macs have gotten faster, but my Amiga is still 49MHz and, as a general rule, it still does stuff faster.
So when I first setup deBerry (an IBM/Lenovo X41 Table) with Kubuntu, I researched and was quite successful at, getting the rotation and screen frame buttons to function. Except. Except, the input -- mouse movement stayed the way it was when unrotated. :(
Recently, I went through a great effort (mostly the effort was on the R50), to get Kubuntu 14.x installed on the R50 and X41t. Afterward, I found I had lost my wonderful, custom pirate map login screen I had made on the Tablet. But it had a neat, but different login screen with some menu items, including network, and a virtual keyboard. But the R50 didn't.
Now I had worked hard to get CellWriter to open up before log in, so I could use the machine as a tablet (the X41 opens up like a notebook, with a keyboard and track point, etc, and you can swivel the screen around and close it down and you have a tablet that you control with a stylus). The program opened up at first and I could login using the stylus and just used the screen not rotated. No biggy. Rotation would have been nice, but hey it worked.
Somewhere along the line, CellWriter stopped opening up and I was forced to always type in my login.
Back to the present.
I opened up the virtual keyboard, once and it has stayed open. A day or two ago I had added the Wacom Table PC90 widget to my Panel. It has things like Touch, Rotation and Mode. However, it doesn't seem to do anything. :/
I thought that perhaps I need to link it to my preferences, so I opened up settings and saw nothing. The new screen setup, however had three icons in a box. I clicked on rotate. Not only did the screen rotate, but so did the mouse! 2cool!
It is possible that the input for screen control is also on that log in screen and I've missed it. I'll definitely have to look sometime. It would also be nice to have on-screen control over rotation from the widget. Or better yet, from simply me rotating the screen. Now that would warrant a 3cool. ;)
Happy Holidays!
