hOme.beardedDonkey 2012-02-22T22:48:52Z Catfish Copyright 2012, Catfish SPHPBLOG Ice Cream Sandwich for Samsung Galaxy S (ICSSGS) releases RC4.1 of Android 4.0.3
Check out the official page at the Google Code site for files and updating instructions: https://code.google.com/p/ice-cream-sandwich-sgs/

Quick update instructions (from ICSSGS RC 3.1):

1. Download ICS RC4.1 ROM ZIP file from google code site
2. Copy downloaded zip file to root of phone's SD card. Verify file copied perfectly (file sizein bytes, md5 or something)
3. Reboot phone and select recovery mode (hold power button -> Reboot -> Recovery)
4. Follow menu instructions to update from ZIP file on sdcard. New ROM will be installed
5. Follow menu to reboot phone
6. Phone will restart and do some updating. Done!

No Responsibility.]]> http://www.beardeddonkey.com/home/index.php?entry=entry120207-230844 2012-02-08T00:00:00Z 2012-02-08T00:00:00Z HOWTO: Update Samsung Galaxy S from Stock, Unrooted Android Gingerbread 2.3.3 to ICS 4.0.3 RC3.1
This is a [almost complete] step by step guide on how to update an unrooted, stock firmware Samsung Galaxy S running Gingerbread 2.3.3 to ICS 4.0.3 RC1.

Standard disclaimer people. No responsibility taken for using or following this guide and the consequences of doing such. These steps worked for me and are based of a number of guides already out there on the internet. I just compiled the steps into 1 guide for my personal archives if I ever have to flash back to a stock ROM and do this again.

Note that the rooting package says firmware version XXJVP. My firmware was a stock 2.3.3 Optus firmware updated via Kies in Australia. It was XWJVN and this rooting method worked for me. Ensure your phone works with this rooting method before doing it (ask on forums or something)

Overview

1. root 2.3.3
2. Backup your apps and data with titanium backup
3. Ensure network lock is off.
4. update-cm-7.1.0-GalaxyS-signed 98.2mb
5. ICS_4.0.3.0(RC3.1)_GalaxyS_Full 145mb

Root 2.3.3

1. Get XXJVP-Complete-Rooting-Package-1.zip from beardeddonkey.com and extract.
2. Ensure connectivity work by having Kies installed on PC and having connected the phone via USB to Kies at least once.
3. Put phone into download mode: Turn off phone, press Volume Down + Home + Power. Screen will go to download mode.
4. Run Odin on the PC
5. Plug the USB cable in.
6. In Odin, the phone connection should be found. There may be more than one port found. Ensure Re-Partition is NOT CHECKED, click the PDA button and select the CF-Root-XX_JVP_AAD_RFS.tar file.
7. Press Start button in Odin. Phone will be rooted and it will reboot automatically.


Backup Using Titanium Backup

1. After phone boots go to: Menu, Settings, Applications, Development, turn on USB debugging.
2. Go to Market and install Titanium Backup for free.
3. Run Titanium Backup, go to Backup/Restore and backup all apps and system data.
4. Make backup(s) of the data backup, either on external SD card and/or PC/online.


Ensure network lock is off

1. *#7465625#* type this into the phone number pad on the phone and check if network lock is off before flashing to CyanogenMod.
2. (Dont know steps to turn it off because mine was)


Update to CyanogenMod 7.1.0 (Gingerbread 2.3.7)

1. Download CyanogenMod ROM update-cm-7.1.0-GalaxyS-signed.zip from beardeddonkey.com
2. Ensure Clockwork Mod app is installed (CWM) and in app list.
3. Copy update-cm-7.1.0-GalaxyS-signed.zip to the root folder on the SD card in the phone. Rename it to update.zip.
4. Install busybox (by Stephen, free edition) from the Market. Run busybox, allow su access.
5. Run CWM app, allow su access.
6. Power off the phone and boot to recovery mode: Volume Up + Home + Power. Phone will appear to boot up as per usual but will go to ClockworkMod Recovery screen. Use Volume Up/Down to move up and down list, Home button to select.
7. If you want to backup everything, go to Backup and Restore -> Backup. System will backup to internal SD.
8. Select "wipe data/factory reset", select "Yes -- delete all user data". System will wipe all data. The formatting takes a while and may seem like it has frozen. It hasn't. Let it do its thing.
9. Select "wipe cache partition", select "Yes - Wipe Cache". System will wipe cache.
10. Select "advanced", select "Wipe Dalvik Cache", select "Yes - Wipe Dalvik Cache". System will wipe Dalvik cache.
11. Select "install zip from sdcard", select "choose zip from sdcard", scroll down to "update.zip" (note that Linux puts Capitals first. lowercase names are further down the list), select "Yes - Install update.zip".
12. The phone will reboot and have a cyanogen splash screen. If the system drops into CWM Recovery mode again (this time with blue text) do step 8 - 11 again. To find the update.zip you may need to look on the "internal sd card" as it seems to confuse the internal and external sd cards.
13. The phone should now be running Gingerbread 2.3.7 Cyanogen Mod 7.1.0.


Update to ICS 4.0.3 rc3.1

1. Download ICS_4.0.3.0(RC3.1)_GalaxyS_Full.zip from beardeddonkey.com
2. Copy file from PC onto the root folder of the internal SD card. Rename it to update.zip
3. Hold power button on the phone and select Reboot, Recovery Mode.
4. Once the CWM-based Recovery screen appears, select "wipe data/factory reset" and confirm.
5. Select "wipe cache partition" and confirm.
6. Select "advanced", "wipe dalvik cache" and confirm.
7. Select "install zip from sdcard", "choose zip from sdcard", select "update.zip" and press Home key. Confirm.
8. System will reboot. If the phone goes into a reboot loop: remove battery to turn off phone. Hold Volume Up + Home + Power to enter recovery mode again. Repeat steps 4 - 7. After ROM installs select "Go Back", "reboot system now".
9. Phone should now boot to ICS 4.0.3 rc3.1 :))))))))) (first boot up takes a while)


Notes

* The files available for this guide are not my work. I have only placed them here as a convenience to myself, not to steal other people's glory. All glory be to the authors of the files! If you are paranoid I may have altered the files and put viruses in them yo ucan google the filenames and find other/original copies like I did.
* The setting for allowing applications from Unknown Sources in ICS is under Settings, Security. Not under Settings, Applications. You need to tick this option to use Titanium Backup to restore your phone data.
* Titanium doesn't seem to work correctly in ICS. It always complains that Unknown Sources setting is not ticked even when it is.]]> http://www.beardeddonkey.com/home/index.php?entry=entry120125-182911 2012-01-26T00:00:00Z 2012-01-26T00:00:00Z SNIPPET: Toshiba Software and what it all is
Recently I went through my Toshiba L650 and removed a whole stack of software I don't use anymore. I found a whole list of Toshiba software that I would normally leave on the system but this time I decided to compile a list of the software, what it does and whether I decided to keep it installed or not.

The formatting of the table is difficult to get on this size webpage, so here is a link to the original file.

You can download the original document from my Google Docs: Toshiba Software - What it all is

Below is a list of the text contained in the file (for web searching reasons)

Program Name
Description
Did I keep it?
Toshiba Assist
Contains a collection of shortcuts to various Toshiba Utilities.
No
Toshiba Bulletin Board
Contains a collection of shortcuts to various Toshiba Utilities and some functionality like accessing help topics and memo notes etc.
No
Toshiba Config Free
Software that aims to simplify connecting and troubleshooting wireless network connections.
No
Toshiba Disc Creator
Disc burning software.
No
Toshiba eco Utility
Monitors and can control system settings to improve battery life of the laptop. Also tracks system power consumption in real time and displays power usage history.
Yes
Toshiba Face Recognition
User login authentication using face recognition software.
No
Toshiba Hardware Setup
?
Yes
Toshiba HDD/SSD Alert
Monitors drive SMART Predict Failure function and alerts user to backup data in the event of a failure being predicted.
Yes
Toshiba Media Controller
Control your music, pictures and videos by streaming content to any compatible device that supports the Digital Media Renderer (DMR) functions in your home.
No
Toshiba Media Controller Plugin
A plugin associated with Media Controller.
No
Toshiba PC Health Monitor
Monitors system components and shows information such as power consumption, battery health and charge level, CPU temp and fan speed.
Yes
Toshiba Recovery Media Creator
Utility for creating system restore files that can be saved to different media formats like CD, DVD, USB drive etc. These files would be useful if HDD failure occurred and the system restore files were not retrievable from the HDD.
No
Toshiba Reel Time
Utility that displays files accessed by date in descending order in a “thumbnail reel view”. Has some sort/filtering options, and some shortcuts to programs.
No
Toshiba Service Station
Automatically search for TOSHIBA software updates or other alerts from TOSHIBA that are specific to your computer system and its programs.
No
Toshiba Software Modem
(by LSI Corporation) a software modem does the job of a hardware modem but is done in the software.
No
Toshiba Speech System *
Consists of a voice-composition application (text-to-speech) that analyzes documents and reads them aloud using an easily heard and understandable, and a speech-recognition application that recognizes the words you speak into a microphone. This allows you to control and operate various Windows programs by voice command rather than using the keyboard or a mouse.
No
Toshiba Supervisor Password
Utility to set/manage the Toshiba supervisor system.
No
Toshiba Value Added Package
Contains several diagnostic utilities, as well as Power Management Capabilities and also contains the utilities which let you use the FN function keys that control Display Brightness, etc
Yes
Toshiba Web Camera Application
A toolbar that contains shortcuts to webcam related settings and functions.
Yes]]> http://www.beardeddonkey.com/home/index.php?entry=entry120122-204348 2012-01-23T00:00:00Z 2012-01-23T00:00:00Z HOWTO Disassemble an Electrolux Z6160 1800W Vacuum Cleaner
Anyway, I documented it and so the internetians prosper because of it!

WARNING & DISCLAIMER: This appliance is powered by mains power. Mains power can cause serious injury or death.

Absolutely NO RESPONSIBILITY will be taken by the writer or subsequent publishers of this guide for your following the advice or instructions in this guide. If you do not agree to this STOP READING NOW and close the window.



Your continuing to read, use or follow this guide means you acknowledge and take full responsibility for any consequences of accessing this guide.

STEP 1: UNPLUG THE VACUUM CLEANER. DO NOT PLUG THE POWER CABLE BACK IN UNTIL THE APPLIANCE IS FULLY REASSEMBLED.



Step 2: Make sure you did STEP 1. Done it? Ok. Now you can continue.

Step 3: Remove the side doors by opening them and then squeezing the two hinges together. The hinges will unclip from their sockets and the door will fall away from the body. Repeat for the opposite side.



Removing the top buttons can be done using a flat prying tool. Insert the tool between the button plastic and the handle rubber on the inner side of the button. Pry the button outwards so that the button's bevel edge is not below the handle rubber. Now do the same on the opposite side of the button (the outer side). The button will pop up and lift out. Repeat for the other button. Note that the image shows the button after it has been popped out.



The bag compartment cover is best removed after removing the dust bag and the top dust bag cradle. Remove the dust bag as normal. The top dust bag cradle can be removed by pressing one of the hinges inwards and popping it out of its socket. The cradle will fall away from the body.



The air filter and dust bag spacer simply slip out.



Remove the bag compartment cover by lifting it up (open) and sliding a flat prying tool between the plastic at the hinge as indicated in the photo below. Pry the hinge inwards. The hinge will pop out of its socket. Repeat on the other side and the cover will fall away from the body.



Remove the bottom air filter cover by opening the cover and first removing the air filter. (Filter is removed in photo) With the door open, use a flat tool to pry the hinge (circled) of the cover inward, away from the main body. Repeat on the opposite hinge and the cover will fall away from the body.



Remove the filter control dial by prying it inward and then upward with a flat tool where indicated below. The dial will pop and lift out.



The top cover is held on by 1 plus head screw and 4 clips. Remove the screw using an appropriate size screw driver. There are two clips on the bag compartment side. Insert a narrow, flat tool into the slits (circled) on either side of where the screw was removed. Press the tool in, and lift the top cover upwards on that side with the handle. Repeat for the other side.



At the opposite side of the top cover there are 2 concealed clips. Use a flat tool to pry the cover outwards at the points shown below. The cover should unclip and be able to be removed.



Once the top cover is removed, you will see the electronic board (4.) which is sitting on the motor cover. The power cable spindle retractor switch uses a small plastic hinge (1.) to operate. You can simply lift it out. The two black wires (2. and 3.) are best being unattached to remove the motor cover. See more on this below before unattaching them. The motor cover is held down by 5 plus head screws (red circles). Remove them using an appropriately sized plus head screwdriver.



Mark the two black wires using paint, liquid paper or some tape to differentiate between them. I used some green paint and marked the left wire with one dot, the right wire with two. This will aid you in putting the wires back in the correct places. If your markers wear off or you forget to do this, the left wire was about 75mm (3 inches) shorter than the right wire on my model.



Once the black wires are detached you can remove the motor cover. Notice where the wires and power cable feed in the photo (the blue wire should be where the black one is). You will need this when assembling the unit back together. Take a photo if you like or use the one below as reference. The blue and black wires can be a little tight, so you may need to unravel them a little to get the motor cover off. The power cable spindle simply lifts out. Take note of how it is positioned, with the retractor switch (the tensioned wire) at the top on the inside of the unit. Also note where the power cable feeds out of the spindle.



Below you can see the motor cover removed and the power cable spindle removed.



From here you can lift the motor out if required for inspection or replacement. It simply lifts out. There are two rubber mounts at either end which fall away easily once lifted out and an air filter carpet. CAUTION: Be careful when removing the motor. This is a high power part and may still contain electric charge. Do not attempt to open the motor or insert any tools into its housing. Any servicing required to the motor should be done by a qualified electrical mechanic.



To take apart the power cable spindle there are 9 clips. First, unclip 1. and 2. on the outside of the spindle. The plastic can rotate a little on the axle to keep them undone. Next, squeeze the clips 3. and 4. inward and pop them up. The pillar clips on 5., 6., 7. and 8. should come half undone at this point. Use a tool (screw driver or similar) to push clip 9. together and make the spindle come apart in half as pictured below.



After opening the power cable spindle you can now lift out the power cable housing. Removal is easily done by lifting the housing upwards from the spindle. DO NOT PLUG IN THE POWER CABLE AS THERE WILL BE MAINS POWER AT THE END OF THE CABLE. TOUCHING THE COPPER FILAMENTS WHILE THE POWER CABLE IS PLUGGED IN WILL CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH.



Assembly

Assembly is the reverse procedure, with these notes:


1. The power cable housing does not slide down into the power cable spindle. It slides in by squeezing the two clips on each side.
2. The air filter carpet should be inserted before the motor. This makes inserting the motor easier. Ensure the rubber feet on the small motor mount slot into the holes on the bottom of the motor.
3. Ensure all wires are fed correctly, as per photos.
4. Ensure the 2 black wires go back on the correct terminals.
5. Ensure the plastic hinge for the power cable retractor switch is in place.
6. When putting the filter control dial back on, ensure it is positioned to match the hole in the red dial on the electronic board. Use a torch to see the location of the flat side of the dial if you have trouble getting it on.
7. It may be necessary to pry the hinges of the bag compartment cover to get it back on. Perform the same prying motion but push the hinge into the hole in the body to make it find the socket.
8. The top buttons are rather hard to get back on. First ensure the springs are placed in their compartments below where th button goes. Then pry the outer side of the button so it is below the handle rubber, then give the button a swift whack from above with the ball of your hand. The inner side of the button will pop past the rubber.

Keywords: electrolux, vacuum, cleaner, teardown, tear down, guide, howto, step by step, instructions, pull apart, disassemble, repair, troubleshoot, z6160, 1800 watt, 1800w]]> http://www.beardeddonkey.com/home/index.php?entry=entry120121-070434 2012-01-21T00:00:00Z 2012-01-21T00:00:00Z SNIPPET: Settings in ADSL2/ADSL2+ modems (Billion BiPAC 7402VGO)
Here are some settings in an ADSL2/ADSL2+ modem that may help improve line speed and connection stability:

Coding Gain - the coding gain can be set to an auto setting (at least in my Billion router) but I found something occured whereby I would connect at the slowest speed possible. Moving this setting off auto and up to 7 (0-7 are available as options) increased my line speed from a real download speed of 250 kbps up to 600 kbps.

Increasing the coding gain can create connection instability in some cases. The TX Attenuation can be changed to adjust the syncing speeds and increase the signal-to-noise ratio. This means you line speed will drop a little but the connection stability will improve. ADSL2/ADSL2+ uses "Bis" settings, ADSL1 uses "DMT".

I didn't find much difference in the changing of the TX attenuation settings, but overall it decreased line connection speed, but actual download speeds were not affected.

Line speed and connection stability are affected by a number of factors. This is only one thing to check if you have a slow or unstable connection and should be closer to one of the last things you do to try to fix speed and stability problems. If you have a slow download speed or unstable connection, check all your hardware first and try to verify nothing has begun failing hardwarewise.

I changed these settings using my Billion BiPAC 7402VGO modem/router. Other routers may give a better connection overall and may not require you to change their settings.

As always, no responsibility.
]]> http://www.beardeddonkey.com/home/index.php?entry=entry120107-050402 2012-01-07T00:00:00Z 2012-01-07T00:00:00Z HOWTO: Convert/Transcode Video Format and Normalize Audio using MediaCoder
I found that some video files I would download would have very low audio levels. This is extremely annoying to me so I worked out how to normalize the audio level, at the same time I decided I would reencode the video to XviD as I find it usually plays well on my home media set up.

1. Get MediaCoder, google for it, install it. Run the Wizard and answer all its questions at the start. Run the program. Load the video files to be converted into its list using File -> Add File. You can select multiple video files at once.

2. Once videos are loaded, you can change the settings for the conversions. I used the following settings:

Preview tab: Mode -> select Disabled. This switches off the video rendering while the job runs.
Video tab: Enabled -> Tick. Auto bitrate -> Tick, select Output size. The drop down list below "Enabled" should say "Output Size". If it doesn't, after selecting Output Size, select "Video Bitrate" from the dropdown and it will change to Output Size. Type in the size you want the video file to end up in megabytes. Rate Mode -> 2-Pass. Format -> XviD. Encoder and Source -> Auto ticked.
To the right you will see codec names on tabs. Click XviD tab. Profile -> Unrestricted. High Quality Mode -> Ticked. Everything else leave default.
Audio tab: Enabled -> Tick. ID -> 0. Format -> MP3. Encoder -> Lame MP3. Source -> Auto Select = ticked. Resample -> Original. Everything else stays unticked. Select the Lame MP3 tab to the right. Preset -> Extreme (VBR). Everything else is greyed out unselectable.
Container tab: Container -> AVI. Multiplexer -> Auto select. Remuxer -> MEncoder. Leave options default. Leave encoder tabs default.
Sound tab: Channels -> Stereo. Channel Mapping -> unticked. Gain -> unticked. Audio delay -> leave as is. Normalize -> Single Sample. This is the part that normalizes your audio stream. I'm sure you can play around to get what you want exactly here.

Everything else I leave default.

3. The settings you put in will be used for ALL the videos in the list that are ticked. So if you mix 30 minute shows with 1 hour shows etc. be aware if you use a fixed filesize output that longer shows will encode with crappier video quality. Hit the start button to transcode your videos.

You should be able to change whatever video settings you like to get the desired codec/container used for your files.]]> http://www.beardeddonkey.com/home/index.php?entry=entry111227-060531 2011-12-27T00:00:00Z 2011-12-27T00:00:00Z Another 10,000 hits! *bigger party whistle sound*
I don't know.]]> http://www.beardeddonkey.com/home/index.php?entry=entry111211-234826 2011-12-12T00:00:00Z 2011-12-12T00:00:00Z A few small online security tips
Well, as time goes by coupled with the growth in acceptance of online technology, everyday life is becoming more digital. My life pretty much runs on computers now. By this I mean when I get bills in the paper mail I look at them, hand them to my wife to be paid and I never think about that piece of paper again. If I want to know anything about my life I get my phone/tablet/PC and look up my email or my website or my calendar in there. My boss now runs his business through his Gmail account and doesnt bother [digitally] filing anything. He just thinks of what he wants and searches his Gmail for it. This is what I mean by life becoming digitized.

This may be a bad thing (and it is in many ways) but it is also a good thing (in many ways) so for some people this is not how they will be but for others it is and I can see that the general populace is slowly going this way as user interfaces become easier to use and devices become more abundant and in a range of styles to suit more people's needs.

So what this leads to is instead of someone trying to steal your wallet to get your cards and your cash they will be trying to steal your passwords or sniff your computer connections while you are online. How do you prevent this from happening?

Number one is always to have a good password. "What is a good password?" you may ask. The general answer is this: At least 8 characters, using a combination of numbers, letters and symbols. So it means your password might looke like: I3c&tt4b. The problem most people have is remembering a password like this. While this password looks cryptic and difficult to remember, it isn't. Not for me anyway, because I made it and know the key to remembering it. So what is the key to remembering this password? Simple: "I love coffee and tim tams for breakfast". I love (3 looks like a love heart) coffee & tim tams for (4) breakfast. This system can be applied to things like lines of song lyrics from your favourite song to give you a good password.

I saw a news clip this week on how cyber crime is on the increase so I thought I'd add something about secure browsing. If you didnt know, when you use the internet smart computer people can look at what you are looking at. It's kind of like eavesdropping a conversation. So how do you know if you can be eavesdropped? If you're using Firefox, up the top where the URL of the website is will either be grey, blue or green.

Grey means not secure
Blue means sorta secure
Green means it is secure

In Firefox to the left of the URL is the Site Identity Button. If you click it you can see information about the website you are viewing and whether your connection to it is secure or "eavesdroppable". As you can see my website is a dodgy unverified site because I'm just a Joe Bloe that doesn't care about my website that much or doesnt have an online reputation to protect. Now that I am aware of this I might look into changing it.

So check out the sites you go to. See if you can switch to a secure connection for your browsing.]]> http://www.beardeddonkey.com/home/index.php?entry=entry111123-165129 2011-11-23T00:00:00Z 2011-11-23T00:00:00Z