DynDNS via curl on Apple TV 2

1) Copy this script to /var/root/dyndns.sh

#!/bin/sh
if [ ${ip=$(curl -s ifconfig.me)} != ""$(cat ~/.dyndns.ip) ]; then
curl "http://USERNAME:[email protected]/nic/update?hostname=HOSTNAME&myip=$ip&wildcard=NOCHG&mx=NOCHG&backmx=NOCHG"
fi
echo $ip > ~/.dyndns.ip

2) Edit USERNAME, PASSWORD and HOSTNAME for your DynDNS account

3) Check it runs /var/root/dyndns.sh

4) Copy this script to /Library/LaunchDaemons/dyndns.plist

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>Label</key>
<string>dyndns</string>
<key>ProgramArguments</key>
<array>
<string>/var/root/dyndns.sh</string>
</array>
<key>StartInterval</key>
<integer>3600</integer>
</dict>
</plist>

5) Run launchctl load dyndns.plist

6) Run launchctl start dyndns

Notes:
– You can adjust the interval so that the script runs more frequently than every hour by modifying the 3600 seconds
– If you want to update multiple hostnames you can put them in a comma separated list
– For more information on DynDNS see:
http://dyn.com/support/developers/api/perform-update/

Fast Track Ultra 8R in Mountain Lion

I’ve been having issues with my M-Audio Fast Track Ultra 8R on Apple OSX Mountain Lion (probably ever since Snow Leopard in fact). It would work the first time I boot up, but if I put my Mac to sleep or powered on and off the interface it would no longer be detected by the OS. I’d have to restart to solve the problem which was very annoying.

After not updating the driver for a couple of years I was very distressed when they had removed the old driver from the M-Audio site altogether. After some Googling though I found that they’ve transfered the product to be under their parent company Avid. They now have updated drives on their site:

http://www.avid.com/US/products/fast-track-ultra8r

It no longer has the sleep / power off problems and the new control panel is a nice update. It does seem almost impossible to contact to Avid support, but maybe you can still use M-Audio support?

Google DFP with Appcelerator Titanium

I’ve been using Appcelerator’s Titanium to streamline mobile development for Android and iPhone. They have a module for doing Admob ads but there Double Click for Publishers (DFP) module is only available to enterprise customers.

However, as long as you don’t need the DFP’s multiple sizes and just want custom campaigns with Admob backfill, you can use their current free Admob module.

Initial set up
1) Get Titanium’s Admob module here:
https://marketplace.appcelerator.com/apps/795?1803788439

2) In DFP go to your inventory and create mobile ad units for each size of ad you want to server in your app.

3) In your app set the publisherId to the id of your DFP adunit (normally it’s the publisher id from Admob)

var Admob = require('ti.admob');
var adunit = '/123/App320'; //Get this from your inventory in (2)
var adview = Admob.createView({
adBackgroundColor:'black',
primaryTextColor:'blue',
secondaryTextColor:'green',
publisherId:adunit,
width:320,
height:50,
bottom:0
});

Admob backfill
4) If you haven’t already set up an Admob account at http://www.admob.com and create your app to backfill DFP with.

5) Go to your orders and create a new order and line item:
– Enter the inventory sizes you want to use in your apps
– Since you probably just want to back fill almost always, set an end time far in the future
– Likewise set the quantity of your impressions to really high
– Set a low non-zero CPM value so that your ads actually show up
– When you click save, if you need to check “overbook” then do, it just means no one is viewing your ads yet

6) Add the inventory items you created in DFP previously (2)

7) For each ad size add an Admob creative entering the publisher id you created in (4)

Custom campaigns (optional)
If you want to put your own ads in or run custom campaigns for clients

8) Create a new line item in DFP. This can be under the same order you created before since you can use a different CPM value, or you can create a new order to keep things separate.

9) Again select the ad sizes and and adunits you want to use

10) Set the CPM, impressions and time period that your client is paying for

11) Add a new creative with the images or HTML that you want to display

* Note, unlike backfill with Adsense, in backfill with Admob DFP doesn’t know how much advertisers are bidding, so if you run custom campaigns you’re competing with the manual price you entered in (5), not the price that Admob advertisers are paying. However normally this isn’t an issue since if you’re doing custom campaigns they are hopefully bidding quite a bit higher than Admob for it to be with it. See the link below:

https://support.google.com/dfp_premium/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=2549435

Alternatives to Google Apps

Google recently announced the very sad news that they were suspending the free version Google Apps for businesses. Here are some alternatives:

1) Microsoft’s outlook.com

Using domains.live.com you can map your domain and get up to 500 free email addresses.

2) Zoho mail

Zoho mail have a free version avaliable

3) Google Apps for Education / US Non-Profits

If you are an educational institution of US based Non-profit you can still get Google Apps for free

4) Google App Engine + Google Apps

Google App Engine still requires Google Apps to map domains. They’ve still kept a free version with which you can get a single account. You can probably still use multiple email addresses using catch-alls or with Google App’s “groups” feature, enabling anybody on the internet to post. You can sign up for that at the following link, but they check that your referrer is https://appengine.google.com

https://www.google.com/a/cpanel/standard/new3?refererName=AppEngine

Digitech iStomp and the new iPhone 5 lightning connector

Update 10/10/2013:
A whole year on and apparently they’ve fixed the issue, but they are giving away all but one of the iStomp pedals away for free!
https://www.facebook.com/digitech/posts/660173050674577

Update 11/03/2013:
Digitech explain things at their link here:
http://www.digitech.com/en-US/istomp_lightning

Update 15/02/2013:
Digitech have just sent a push notification to all their users saying that if use the iStomp with the lightning connector it can render the iStomp unusable. They should have tested this a long time ago when people like me originally emailed them. I’m glad I didn’t try and test it for them with mine!

Update 25/09/2012:
Here’s the latest they sent me. I still don’t quite see how hard it could be to actually buy one and test it themselves:

"Apple is telling us they have an adaptor that will work. I personally have not seen it yet.
Regards,
Digitech Support"

Original:
I’ve been interested in maybe getting an iStomp for a while now. I was a little concerned whether it would work after Apple introduced the new iPhone 5, with its new lightning connector. I was already sad that they took away video output which I loved.

So I contacted Digitech support about whether the Lightning to 30-pin adaptor would work with the iStomp. I couldn’t find any other information out on the interweb, so while I can’t guarantee it will work (it won’t work), here’s the reply I got:

"Thanks for your interest in our products. Regarding the cable, we don’t anticipate there being any problems but since the adapter is not available yet, we cannot verify any compatibility problems at this time.
Regards,
Digitech Support"

So I hope it will keep working, and I hope it works for things like the iRig midi as well. We should know soon though!

The case for wired keyboards

A lot of things are moving to being wireless, and Apple even discontinued their compact wired keyboard all the way back in 2010. But I’m still using mine.

Sure it does make the desk setup neater if everything is wireless, but I still need a wire to charge my phone and sync it fast (wireless syncing in iTunes is still quirky) and you have the hassle of constantly changing batteries. I’ve been using rechargeables for a while, which save money and the environment, but its still a pain. USB keyboards also help when trying to access boot options to have a wired keyboard.

I’ve been using a wired keyboard for a while, plugging my phone in to one of the USB ports to charge and sync it. That still left my magic trackpad needing to have batteries. I tried to build my own USB power similar to this one, but after failing bought a Mobee Power Bar and leave it plugged in the other USB port all the time, and now have a really neat setup with no batteries:

Cornerstone vs. Versions vs. SmartSVN

There are a few different reviews/forums comparing Cornerstone and Versions, but some are out of date, and I really had to try them to really see, so I thought I’d chime in with my opinions. I’ve been using SmartSVN for a while, a cross platform Java SVN client. I started to think about switching though because I now deal with 20+ repositories and it was annoying having so many windows open, since SmartSVN needs a separate window for every repository cannot organise different projects in folders in a single window. I thought it might also be nice to have a native Mac client.

UI
Versions has the better UI, it looks better, and overall has more consistent buttons. Cornerstone is inconsistent with some commands on the toolbar, some on the bottom bar, and some accessible by right clicking. SmartSVN has a more old fashioned UI with simple list like tables and layout rather than

While versions has the better UI overall, it has no built in diff and has a weird feature that when you remove a working copy from the app it prompts to remove the files, which is a bit dangerous and unnatural in my view. It also nests working copies inside the repository tree, which means the overview of all repositories isn’t as good as Cornerstone.

Log/timeline
They all have a log built in, but Versions with its more thought out UI displays this information clearer, and shows changed files. Cornerstone folds up the changed files so you have to click to reveal, and SmartSVN as I said before is less modern and just has a table with all log messages, and another panel to display details.

Recursive Commits
This is actually the main thing I will miss from SmartSVN. SmartSVN had a much smarter recursive commit mode than either Cornerstone or Versions. SmartSVN would:
1) Add unversioned files / delete missing ones
2) Allow you to select which changes you want to commit
3) Only mark the files you select as added and deleted
4) Show a separate diff panel that requires only a single click to show (Cornerstone requires you to click back after each diff preview)

Of these (3) is the key. While Cornerstone prompts you if you want to add unversioned files, it adds all the files first and then prompts to select if you want to commit them, as I mentioned SmartSVN will only add them after you select them. This means you then have the laborious step of going back and reverting the local adds that it did. But still this is better than Versions that has no recursive commits.

Summary
I think I will switch to Cornerstone since having a single window helps so much, and being able to see an overview of all repositories has already showed me missed files that I thought I had previously committed. But there will be more clicking while committing, because SmartSVN is the best there. I wish I could use Versions because its prettier, but just doesn’t cut it for me functionally.

Cornerstone Versions SmartSVN
Native Native
+2 Single Window + Folders +2 Single Window + Folders +1 Single Window
+1 Recursive Commit +2 Recursive Commit
+2 Overview all respositories +1 Overview all respositories
(More items in tree)
+1 Pretty log +2 Beautiful timeline
+1 UI +2 UI
Built in diff Built in diff
-1 Bad remove working copy UI
Mac Mac Mac/Window/Linux
$59 $59 $79

Pedal Board

I love the simplicity and that things are just. Love the Michael Kelly Hybrid Special and the Fender Super Champ XD.

Details
– Input/output jacks wired into the Pedal Train Mini
– Stereo input, one side goes to the Fulldrive 2, the other to the Fisherman Aura – a must for anyone using a piezo pickup.
– The Fulldrive is pretty old, ’99 model, serial number around 2000.
– Built in Footswitch for the Fender Super Champ XD.
– Straight jack-jack connector between the Maxon AD-9 and the Fishbone Overdrive Supreme, a Zendrive clone.
1 Spot power supply with right angle daisychain – these really make the wiring neat.
– Custom stereo cable from Acoustic Engineering Hong Kong with Amphenol connectors.
– Changed the stock pickups to Dimarzio Air Classics on the Hybrid Special.

Links:
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=379147&page=2
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=793223&page=34