AaTike-A Gaming console

AaTike-A Gaming console , was designed as part of CMPE242 course in SJSU.

Tech Specs:
Processor: LPC2148
LCD: Nokia 6100 GLCD

How to convert *.rm to mp3 on Ubuntu

This is yet another HOW to on converting Real Media files in *.rm format to mp3 format.

Step 1: copy and paste this text in a file and save it as 'rm2mp3' w/o the quotes 

---------------------

#!/bin/sh
inputfile=$1
inputfilename=`basename $1 rm`
ext='mp3'
outputfilename=$inputfilename$ext

echo 'CONVERTING TO WAV FORMAT'
mplayer $inputfile -ao pcm

echo 'CONVERTING WAV FORMAT TO MP3'
lame -h -b 256 audiodump.wav $outputfilename

rm -f audiodump.wav

echo 'DONE...!'

----------------------------------------------

Step 2: Change permissions to execute the file. Do the command :

$chmod 777 rm2mp3

Step 3: Then execute the script with the command:

$./rm2mp3 filename.rm

Where filename.rm is the input file.

Step 4: The folder that had the *.rm file has the converted mp3 file.

Step 5: Enjoy listening!

Happy Hacking!

PS: This Tutorial was found here. Thanks a lot! That helped me a lot!

How to convert wma files to mp3 on Ubuntu

Do you sync your iPod/iPhone with Rhythmbox/Amarok on Ubuntu and grouse about the lack of auto conversion capability of Windows media audio(*.wma) files to mp3 in Rhythmbox?
Then here is a simple hack, but not completely automatic like in iTunes.

Step 1: Install LAME {Lame is ain't a mp3 encoder}

from the Synaptic package manager by doing so:

System->Administration->Synaptic Package manager

Type lame in the search box. Then install the package(Fig 1).

Fig 1: Install LAME

Step 2: Install Nautilus Audio converter script

After installing LAME, install 'nautilus audio converter script'.

Type 'nautilus audio' in the search box. Then install the package(Fig 2)

Fig 2: Install 'nautilus audio converter script'

Step 3: Choose file to convert to mp3

After you're done with the installing, choose the file you wish to convert, by right clicking on the desired file. Then hoover over 'scripts' which has the audio converter script installed. Choose 'Audio files converter'(Fig 3).

Fig 3: Choose files to convert

Step 4: Choose extension

As in this case its mp3(Fig 4)

Fig 4: Choose Extension

Step 5: Select quality

By Default it would be 'extreme' and its recommended.

Fig 5: Choose quality

Step 6: Enter meta-tags

If you wish to do so, work around with this, else just click OK.

Fig 6: Enter meta-tags

Step 7: Voila! your files are converted!

Make sure you have the files in /home/XXX/music folder, so that Rhythmbox populates your play-list automatically.

Hope this worked for you, leave a comment any ways!

Happy Hacking!

Grub error 15 on a 2 HDD box[solved]

Do you get Error 15(file not found) while loading Grub on your 2 HDD box?
Then here is the solution.

Grub Error 15 is commonly found when Grub is unable to find vmlinuz(the kernel image). In such a case just boot from a live cd and do the following

$sudo grub

this command enters grub,once that is done,enter

find /boot/grub/stage1

This will return the location of the root ex: (hd0,4)

Now you need to edit the Grub's menu.lst
if running through a Ubuntu Live cd then the command:

$sudo gedit /media/disk/boot/grub/menu.lst

menu.lst may look like this:

title Ubuntu 9.04, kernel 2.6.28-11-generic
root (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-11-generic root=/dev/sda5 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-11-generic

if this is the case then ,just replace the (hdx,y) with device UUID.

to get the UUID:

$blkid

will give you the uuid of all the partitions on the disk.

search for the partition with ext3/4 and copy it(in my case (hd0,4) /dev/sda5 uuid=.....)

now replace the line in menu.lst where (hdx,y) appears

ex: root (hd0,4)

the entry in menu.lst should look like this after the edit

title Ubuntu 9.04, kernel 2.6.28-11-generic
uuid ee9fd0b7-29c5-42a4-a606-9342fae9523a
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-11-generic root=UUID=ee9fd0b7-29c5-42a4-a606-9342fae9523a ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-11-generic

observe that even the line with 'kernel' has been replaced with the respective uuid.

now save it and reboot.

and voila! tell me what happens!

How to play Moser Baer DVDs on Ubuntu 9.04

I observed that some people were facing issues while trying to play a Moser Baer (Super DVD) movie DVD on Ubuntu 9.04.
Some times even though all codecs are installed, somehow VLC/totem wont play the DVD. The only suggestion to fix this is to do this:

Go to VLC media player
tools>preferences> videotab
and set the video output to X11 video output.
This *may* help to play those DVDs.

Automount Hard disk on Ubuntu 9.04

I found that Ubuntu 9.04 wasn't auto-mounting hard disk drives on boot.In earlier versions I had to edit /etc/fstab to mount itself on boot.This was quiet tricky as messing with fstab wasn't a good idea.But in this release its lot easier.
In a terminal enter

$sudo apt-get install pysdm

[or it can done through synaptic also]

then in the terminal enter
$pysdm

then the gui pops up and select all the drives you wish to mount on boot and you are all set!

Amarok 2 unable to play audio files on Ubuntu 9.04-Solved

Soon after upgrading to Ubuntu 9.04(Review coming soon!) I found that Amarok 2 was unable to play any kind of audio files.

When I opened amarok from a terminal I was getting this error

[snip]
link XMLID_7_ hasn't been detected!
Couldn't resolve property: radialGradient3986
[/snip]

Some threads suggest to install phonon-xine-backend, but Kubuntu is already shipped with phonon backend.

After posting my problem in launchpad I found this solution
just type this in a command line

[code]
sudo apt-get install libxine1-ffmpeg
[/code]

then Amarok will be back in full swing!

However I'm not all that satisfied with Amarok 2 as I was with earlier versions.
Any way I hope this helps somebody.

How to download .ram files(online streamed files)

Here is a video which helps you to download .ram files from websites which stream files online like kannadaaudio.com
You will need RealPlayer on Windows and some codecs for GNU/Linux box.

the steps are:
1>click on the song/media file you need to download
2>open it with a text editor
3>copy the link that appears
4>paste the link in your favorite browser
5>save the file
6>after download is over open it with Real player(Totem/Kaffiene)
7>Voila! the file is in your HDD!



I learned this trick from Suhas, thank u mate!

USB Ubuntu 8.10 install:tutorial

Every time Canonical Inc comes up with a new release candidate of Ubuntu, it keeps getting better. Even with Interpid Ibex 8.10 its no different. This tutorial shows 'How to' install Ubuntu 8.10 on to a flash media and carry it in your pocket. Earlier I had done a 'How to' install Ubuntu 7.10 on a USB which was completely through command line . Now that Ubuntu 8.10 has new feature of doing it through the GUI, I thought it was worth doing a post. The best part about making USB boot disk is that you dont really need to install it to do all this. A simple Live Cd will do the trick. So here it is:

Step1:System->Administration->Create a USB boot disk




Step2:Insert Ubuntu X.XX CD(haven't checked for other distros)





Step3:Insert Flash drive and set space required for persistent feature




Step4:Watch it happening

Step5: After completed reboot from USB or insert USB elsewhere and boot from USB.

I wish you Happy Hacking!

Audio Switch- A Failure story

Ver 0.1

Ver 0.1.1

As I'm a music freak, I have different music on different machines of mine(a desktop and a laptop), but I have only one 2.1 channel sound system which has to be shared by both machines, for which I need to switch between both by plugging and unplugging to a machine each time. This turned out be a huge problem as I have to reach out to the wires plug in/out. So I thought of making a manual Audio switch which would help me with this problem.
First I came up with the Version 0.1 of the switch.
Its summarized below:

Advantages:

1. Easy to handle.

Disadvantages:

1. It was very unstable because it wasn't mounted on a PCB.
2. The sound output was not stereo mixed because of a design error.
3. Was very noisy.

Then I came up with the second version named 0.1.1(since no change in design), which is summarized below:


Advantages:

1. Was easier to handle than the old one.
2. Noise was reduced to a great extent.
3. Was stable as it was mounted on a PCB.
4. Stereo quality sound output.

Disadvantages:

1. Was prone to loose contacts and internal resistances of the extension chords.
2. Instead of providing two separate channels, the switch was multiplexing both inputs, which turned out to be a Disaster!

In the end both versions didn't satisfy my needs and the Audio switch turned to be a big FAILURE!

If if you have any suggestions to improve this please do leave a comment.

Hello ARM COREs!

This is my first venture on ARM cores. After trying a bit, I succeded programming the CORE on an LM3s811 evaluation kit.
This wasn't that hard compared to programming the Atmega core(see this to know how I struggled/struggling to program the MCU).
The text you see is on a 96x16 OLED screen. The chip you see on the left is the LM3s811 MCU. And its fun to program the core on Keil!

PS: eval kit courtesy Devadutta

Water level indicator

This summer, the much needed water level indicator for our home was succesfully designed,tested and implemented.

• It is designed to indicate 3 levels in the overhead water tank.

• It beeps using a buzzer when the tank is either full or empty.

All thanks to www.circuitstoday.com and my "All time" project guide Devadutta.

Rover Bot

Well here's my First Robot. Its a Rover bot. Couldn't do serious/ real time testing cuz of technical constraints.

Specs:
Driven by a Single motor-1.5V DC
Two gears driving the crank
and one worn gear driving all those gears.

Must admit that has appreciable torque which makes it real fast.

Micro controllers here I come!

Finally after trying it out for more than 6 months and seriously trying it out for 15+ days I was finally able to program My ATMega8 micro controller. All thanks to Avrdude and My brother for the ISP mkII.

So micro controllers here I come to join your elite club!

How To hack Philips DVP 3166

Recently I got a Philips DVP 3166. When I tried playing a my favorite movie "Me, Myself and Irene" 's original disc on it , the player denied showing me "wrong region" error. I thought It was something to do with the NTSC/PAL system( how dumb ain't it?) then when it didn't work I promptly did a search which gave me this hack.
just follow these steps for a successful hack.

1) Open the Setup menu then go to the Preference page.
if the player is skipping it then press stop twice and try again.
2) Press 1 3 8 9 3 1 on the keypad of the Remote Control.
3) Options will be available to be selected.
4) Press UP / DOWN key to select the desire Region Code.
5) Press OK.
Note:Region 0 = "playable in all regions" - aka "region free" (Also known informally as "All regions")


then I inserted the disc once again...... Bingo! the Disc started playing.....

All thanks to this web site called videohelp.com.

Happy hacking and happy DVD viewing