Debian Linux + ReplicatorG

Posted on May 1, 2012 by cyrozap

Recently, I have been trying to get rid of my MacBook Pro so I will be able to upgrade my iPhone in the Fall when the new one is supposed to come out. Up until now, my MacBook had been my MakerBot-controlling machine. Now that I have a nice, speedy Linux laptop with an average of 7 hours of battery life and become more proficient with Linux, I’ve been using the MacBook less and less. Today, I decided I was going to print more parts from the Mendel-Inspired Lowrider. To do this, I needed to install ReplicatorG. Well, I got it running fine, but it wasn’t detecting my serial port (I plan on using the physical RS-232 port on my laptop instead of the USB-TTL convertor). As is the norm with Linux, I figured it was a permissions problem and, lo-and-behold, I was right! This article got me up and running rather quickly. Basically, I just had to “sudo chmod a+rw /dev/ttyS0″ and I was good to go.

An interesting thing I noticed: for some reason, Skeinforge works a lot faster on my Debian Laptop than my MacBook Pro even though they have the same processor (T7300) and RAM speed (DDR2 667 MHz).

The thought just occurred to me that maybe my Debian Laptop’s Skeinforge is faster because the Debian Laptop has an SSD.

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The Peeks have arrived!

Posted on February 26, 2012 by cyrozap

Update 3/29/12: Peek’s OS has been open-sourced! The new dev site is here: PeekLinux.com

Well, I just received my casepack of 30 Peek devices (it was originally supposed to be 20…) and I have nothing to do with them. I’ll be hanging out in #peekdev (##peek is no longer used) on Freenode IRC as cyrozap, so spread the word about the IRC channel and join in so we can collectively figure out how to make this awesome device better! Code to help get started has been posted to http://peekhack.posterous.com. http://elinux.org/Peek has some good info on how to flash the device.

Oh, and thanks to Sam Aarons for letting me know that Peeks were being given away! I still have no idea why that news hasn’t reached Hack-a-Day yet…

Update 2/29/12: For those of you wondering, this is how you wire up a normal micro-USB cable to an FTDI cable for use with a Peek. Sorry for the poor photo quality; my iPhone’s case has plastic covering the lens that likes to diffuse light. :|

Cable Wiring

From FTDI -> USB, the connections are: Black -> Black, Red -> Red, Orange -> Green, Yellow -> White

Posted in Hacking/Modding | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

My Enhancement Request to Apple (and Verizon, AT&T, et al.)

Posted on December 27, 2011 by cyrozap

I just sent this Enhancement Request to Apple. I’ve reproduced it below:

Unlocked Verizon iPhone 4S To Work On U.S. GSM Carriers

This may be more of a problem with Verizon, but I really would love it if an unlocked Verizon iPhone 4S could be permitted to work on any GSM carrier in the world–including the United States. Currently, it only works on Verizon in the U.S. and GSM carriers internationally, but not AT&T, T-Mobile U.S., nor any other U.S. regional GSM carriers. I was going to buy an iPhone 4S, thinking that this was the dawn of the age of easy migration between wireless carriers, but upon learning about this crippling of the iPhone’s enormous hardware potential, I have resolved to not purchase one. I also find it absurd that Verizon will not let an Apple-unlocked iPhone 4S be permitted on its network. This stifles innovation and reeks of monopolistic practices. If iPhone owners got fed up with AT&T’s lack of expansive 3G coverage, they could switch to Verizon. If they got tired of Verizon’s slow 3G data speeds, they could easily switch to AT&T or T-Mobile. If consumers were allowed to freely flow between carriers, the superior carrier would have more subscribers by nature and not by force. I’d prefer it if companies would bring about this change by themselves instead of legislation forcing the change. Either way, it must happen eventually. Apple has the power to protest these anti-competitive habits by allowing the activation of U.S. SIM cards in unlocked Verizon iPhone 4S’s. I don’t know if this request will actually do anything, but it makes me feel better to know that someone will see this and might even stop a moment to think, “What if…”

Go to http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html to send your own Enhancement Request.

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Peek Linux With GSM Support

Posted on December 5, 2011 by cyrozap

The Peek is a mobile device that uses a GSM radio to get your email and display it. Basically, it’s a single-purpose email device.

A month or two ago, I bought a Peek on eBay for $22. I thought it might be useful, but it ended up being useless without the Peek service. So far, I’ve managed to upgrade the firmware, but I still need the Peek service to get it to work. Peek customer support has been unresponsive to my request to activate my Peek, so I now want to install Linux on this thing to at least get SOME functionality out of it. Unfortunately, without the GSM radio drivers of the TI Locosto chip, this device is still useless (even on Linux). My new side project is to now get access to TI’s Locosto dev info so I can make binary drivers for the chip for Linux. I would only be able to make binaries because of TI’s NDA.

Any help with this would be appreciated!

Here’s some info on the Peek’s hardware: http://elinux.org/Peek

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How To Get an iPad 3G Data Plan Without an iPad

Posted on November 29, 2011 by cyrozap

Because there aren’t any up-to-date guides on how to do this, I decided to make my own.

All you need is an unactivated (never used) AT&T SIM card.

To start, go to http://www.att.com/ipad.

Scroll down to where it says “Need More Data?” Click on that link (or click here, but this direct link might not always work).

Click “Get Your Pass.”

You will come to a “Device Information” screen. Here is where you will enter a fake iPad IMEI and your unactivated AT&T SIM number. The IMEI should be in the form of 01222300******* or 01222400*******, where ******* is a random 7-digit number. The SIM number should be right on your SIM card.

As an alternative to guessing IMEI numbers, you can also get the IMEI from an iPad Wi-Fi + 3G in your local Apple or AT&T store. Just go to Settings->General->About to see it. Taking a picture with your phone would probably look less suspicious than writing the number down, but either way YMMV.

Click “Next.” If it doesn’t work, try again with another fake iPad IMEI. I got my first number to work on my first try (what are the chances), but the second valid IMEI I hit took over 20 more tries to get, so keep trying till you get it!

Once you get past this screen, you’re home free! All you need to do is enter your name, address, email, password for your new AT&T account, Credit Card info, agree to the terms, and your set. Also, from now on, you’ll be able to manage your account from the email and password you set up earlier.

Have fun with your new data plan!

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Any Recommendations for Prusa Mendel Parts?

Posted on November 25, 2011 by cyrozap

Progress on the RepRap has slowed to a crawl and it’s really bumming me out. Building from kits is SO much easier than sourcing the parts yourself. I’ve probably gotten the final cost estimate into the $600-$700 range by now.

Anyway, I need your help. I just need to print out the new X-carriage, get some M3x25mm bolts, buy some MDF for the Y-stage, and get a hot end. However, I don’t really know what to get. What are the recommended dimensions for the Y-stage (LM8UU bearings)? What’s the best hot-end for 3mm PLA that I can get in the U.S. for a Wades extruder?

Feel free to comment with your suggestions!

Posted in RepRap | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Stupid Circuit Prototype…

Posted on November 23, 2011 by cyrozap

Ok, I’ve built this thing TWICE on two different boards now and I still haven’t managed to get it to work with the programmer!

AAAAAAUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHHDSASDGFKLHASKJGHKLJAGLK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you want to help me, see the post I made on the MakerBot Google Group.

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RepRap Prusa Mendel 8mm Rods

Posted on November 22, 2011 by cyrozap

A week ago, I bought three 3′ lengths of 8mm smooth rod for my Prusa Mendel because I wanted to use LM8UU bearings. After receiving the rod and cutting it, I’ve fond that they make a huge difference in reducing play between the linear bearings and the rods. With 5/16″ rod, you could feel the bearings wiggle. Now there is no wiggle at all! If you’re building a “United States customary units” Prusa Mendel and are ordering online and might use LM8UU bearings now or in the future, get 8mm rods. They’re only a $1 more each on McMaster-Carr, so it’s not a huge expense.

tl;dr: Get 8mm smooth rods. They’re the best.

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Vimeo Free Music Exploit

Posted on November 6, 2011 by cyrozap

Well, calling this an “exploit” is really stretching the truth a bit– all I did was poke around in Chrome’s Developer Tools. Basically, to download any track for free, all you have to do is go to http://vimeo.com/musicstore/preview?id=###### and put the music track ID after the equals sign, where the pound signs are. The track ID is the ###### at the end of any http://vimeo.com/musicstore/track/###### link.

I was going to notify Vimeo of this huge security hole, but then, after test-downloading a track (it has since been deleted from my computer), I noticed that the bitrate of the file was 64kbps. 64kbps is good enough quality to give you a sense of the song but too poor quality to use in a video or listen to regularly. This way, they can give you a full preview of the song without worrying about piracy of the full-length song preview.

Clever Vimeo.

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My Current MakerBot Setup

Posted on November 3, 2011 by cyrozap

I haven’t added any good pictures or videos of my work area in a while so, a few days ago, I decided to take some with my Nikon D5100. Continue reading →

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