Sprint mobile broadband (Sierra 598) on Ubuntu 9.10

I was pleasantly surprised to find that plugging my Sprint mobile broadband dongle (it says Sierra Wireless USB 598 on the back) into my laptop running Ubuntu 9.10 worked out of the box! After plugging in, go to the network icon in the toolbar and there appeared an entry for 'Mobile Broadband'. I checked the checkbox underneath it, which took me through an easy setup wizard (selected 'USA' and 'Sprint') and it worked! Warms my heart when Ubuntu works so well.

Replacing power-steering vacuum suction hose on 2001 Honda Civic

On a non-computer note, I had the misfortune of not replacing the power-steering reservoir in its bracket after changing the left headlight on my civic. The hose connecting it to the power-steering pump rubber one of the belts, eventually puncturing the hose. The fluid ran out of the system and my steering started making unhappy noises. Then followed seven hours of me figuring out how to fix this on a Sunday when shops were closed. The upshot was that I learned that the name of the hose is the power-steering suction hose, and it is a part available only at the dealer (costs < $5). It is a curved, molded tube about a foot long. It looks a bit like a question mark. It is distinct from the high-pressure hose and the return hose. Here are the steps I took to replace it (after my temporary hack of duck-tape and epoxy):

1. Turn off engine
   
2. Suck as much fluid as you can out of the power-steering reservoir with a turkey baster (literally) or some other such device. I used a turkey baster with a straw on the end to reach a bit further in. Deposit this fluid in a container that you can bring to an auto parts shop for proper disposal.
   
3. Take a pair of pliers, grab the spring-clamp attaching the suction tube to the reservoir and lower the clamp down the tube so it is no longer clamping the tube onto the reservoir.
   
4. Place a receptacle underneath the hose and reservoir to catch any fluid that spills out when you remove the hose from the reservoir. I used a disposable plastic cup.
   
5. Remove the hose from the reservoir. It comes off moderately easily. A fair bit of fluid will drain out of the reservoir.
   
6. Place reservoir on a towel or something to catch any remaining drips.
   
7. Empty plastic cup
   
8. Repeat procedure for other end of hose. Less fluid will spill out this time, but it may spill on the alternator, which probably is not good.
   
9. Remove hose from car, remove clamps from hose, and slide clamps onto replacement hose.
   
10. Reverse detachment procedure to reattach hose to pump and reservoir and move clamps back into place clamping the hose at each end.
    
11. Place reservoir back into holding bracket.
    
12. Fill up reservoir to min fill line with honda-compatible power steering fluid.
    
13. Start engine and turn off after a few seconds. The fluid level in the reservoir will have dropped a bunch.
    
14. Add more fluid to reservoir to bring it back up to somewhere between min and max level.
    
15. Start engine and turn steering wheel stop to stop a few times. Don't hold at a stop too long - this strains the pump. The purpose of turning wheel a lot is to work out any air bubbles from the system. I could not tell if this was effective.
    
16. Evaluate fluid level with engine off.
    

Tether via USB from Android G1 to Ubuntu

I installed Cyanogen's mod version 4.2.5 on my Android G1 phone, and it's been working great. On feature that was added since version 4.2.3 is USB networking. Turns out it's simple to use with Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic). It may work with earlier version as well. The steps:

1. Check the box for 'Internet tethering' under Settings->Wireless controls
   
2. Plug G1 into Ubuntu box with USB cable. Btw, looks like the order of these first two steps doesn't matter.
   
3. Click on the networking icon in your toolbar on the Ubuntu box. In the menu that appears, I have an item entitled 'Wired Network (HTC Android Phone)'. Underneath it is a choice 'ifupdown (bnep0)'.
   
4. Click on 'ifupdown (bnep0)'.
   
5. Now you should be connected to internet.
   

So this is pretty straightforward, and in particular, it doesn't seem that the Android application, Wired Tether for Root Users, is necessary.

Howto transfer photos from Android G1 to computer via USB

I'm not sure why it was so hard to to figure this one out. I wanted to transfer photos from my Android G1 to my linux laptop. Basically, you follow the following steps, many of which are from, http://forums.t-mobile.com/tmbl/board/message?board.id=AndroidFAQs&message.id=74:

1. Plug in USB cable to connect the phone and laptop
   
2. On the phone, go the notifications (drag down the top of the screen). There should be a 'USB connected' notification. Click on it.
   
3. Click on 'Mount'
   
4. On my Ubuntu desktop, under 'Places', a new option now shows up titled '1.0 GB Media'. That is the connection to the Android phone.
   
5. For me, the option to open 'F-Spot' photo tool popped up. I declined and used the built in file browser. In either case, the photos are located in the folder dcim/Camera.
   
6. When finished manipulating the files, unmount the volume:
   
   1. Go to Places -> '1.0 GB Media' and opening up the file browser
      
   2. Go to File and select 'Unmount Volume'
      
   3. On the phone, go to the notifications pull down again and click on 'Turn off USB storage' and click on 'Turn Off'
      
   
   
7. Unplug USB cable from phone and computer.
   

Jaunty and 2.6.30 kernel with Nvidia drivers

I recently upgraded to 2.6.30 on my Jaunty laptop and desktop. Turns out there are some issues with the nvidia drivers that come with Jaunty and the newer 2.6.30 kernel. The following upgrade process worked for me (based on the solution found at https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/nvidia-common/+bug/384639/comments/8):

1. If you have Nvidia drivers then:
   
   1. Go to some temp directory (~/tmp for me)
      

   2. wget -c http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/restricted/n/nvidia-graphics-drivers-180/nvidia-180-kernel-source_180.60-0ubuntu1_i386.deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/restricted/n/nvidia-graphics-drivers-180/nvidia-180-libvdpau_180.60-0ubuntu1_i386.deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/restricted/n/nvidia-graphics-drivers-180/nvidia-glx-180_180.60-0ubuntu1_i386.deb

      
      

   3. sudo dpkg -i nvidia-180-kernel-source_180.60-0ubuntu1_i386.deb nvidia-180-libvdpau_180.60-0ubuntu1_i386.deb nvidia-glx-180_180.60-0ubuntu1_i386.deb

      
      
   
   

2. wget -c http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v2.6.30/linux-headers-2.6.30-020630-generic_2.6.30-020630_i386.deb http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v2.6.30/linux-headers-2.6.30-020630_2.6.30-020630_all.deb http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v2.6.30/linux-image-2.6.30-020630-generic_2.6.30-020630_i386.deb

   
   

3. sudo dpkg -i linux-headers-2.6.30-020630-generic_2.6.30-020630_i386.deb linux-headers-2.6.30-020630_2.6.30-020630_all.deb linux-image-2.6.30-020630-generic_2.6.30-020630_i386.deb

   
   

[product-research] wireless headset for pc and cell

I'm going to experiment with keeping notes on various product research expeditions I go on to see if it's useful to others (or myself). This is the first one.

Goal: I want a wireless stereo headset and microphone with good audio quality and long range that I can wear around the house. Bluetooth isn't sufficient because of range. The idea is that I can leave my cell phone and computer in my bedroom and wander around the house while on a cell call or VOIP call. I was hoping that this headset would seamlessly work with my cellphone and computer and also have good enough quality that it could be used for music as well as voice. It'd also be great if I could end calls from the headset.

Result: I couldn't find any product that quite does this, but 100m Class-1 bluetooth comes darn close. All I need is a headset that has decent audio quality, and perhaps a repeater so my class-2 cellphone can get decent range. Here are some options I'm considering:

1. Callpod Dragon looks pretty darn close. Class-1 Bluetooth (extended range), simultaneously can connect to PC and phone. For max range, the PC and phone have to have Class-1 bluetooth connectivity.
   
   • Class-1 dongle: http://www.x-micro.com/main-product-dongle20plus.html
     
   • http://www.startech.com/item/USBBT1EDR-USB-Bluetooth-Adapter-Class-1.aspx
     
   • Or search for [class-1 bluetooth] or [100 meter bluetooth]
     
   
   
2. Creative labs HS-1200. 72 foot range, RF, USB, good audio quality. Range maybe insufficient and not sure how it would hook up to cell phone.
   
3. Plantronics CS361N. 300 foot range, RF, analog RJ-9 connector. no audio quality documented. Could buy RJ-9 to 2.5mm connector.
   

Some other options I was toying with:

• Get a bluetooth headset and get some sort of bluetooth repeater/antenna to extend range. Just came across the CRAZY: http://www.aircable.net/host-xr.html
  

Android G1 Cupcake hacking links/summary

I have the G1 dev phone, but with the recent cupcake update, it got reverted to T-Mobile's stock OS. In particular I lost root on the phone. I ended up installing the JesusFreke OS on the phone, which is working well. Here's what I figured out along the way.

There are a few important concepts in G1 modding (please correct me where I'm wrong):

• SPL: The Secondary-Program-Loader is a piece of firmware that is basically the bootloader - it loads the OS. You want to replace this with a more fully functional version. I use the HardSPL loader. This loader, as well as some of the other ones out there, gives you the option to use fastboot (here or here), which lets you install on partitions on the phone and boot.
  
• Recovery partition: There is a partition on the phone that has a kernel that is used only when the phone is booted into recovery mode (turn on holding power and home at the same time, then press alt+l to get to the menu). Installing a custom image here, like JFv1.43_Recovery.zip from android-roms, gives you an extra option in the recovery menu to use nandroid to backup your entire system (not sure if it includes the sdcard). Usefull if you want to fiddle with your firmware or wiping your phone and want to be able to restore.
  
• System ROM: This is the system that runs during normal booting and operation. I replaced this with JesusFreke JFv1.51_CRB43-ADP.zip using instructions here. It gives you a kernel set up for wifi-tether, and also includes a couple of extra neat things like the ability to multi-touch pinch zoom in and out on the browser. If you're just interested in wifi-teher, you probably don't need JesusFreke's ROM. The wifi-tether link has an alternate kernel that is a smaller mod. Note that installing the JesusFreke ROM recommends wiping the data on the phone.
  

Android-roms at http://code.google.com/p/android-roms/ is a useful site that pulls together most of this info. JesusFreke's blog has details on each ROM release and what was changed from the stock ROM.

Finally, if you have an android dev phone and lost root with the cupcake update. The directions at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=518251 worked for me to regain it. I think these directions require the custom SPL, such as HardSPL.