Anthony Martin’s Weblog

I have rigged a touchatag RFID tag to automatically tweet if there's an earthquake.  The tag has been enclosed in a display slab (the slab is intended for collectible coins).  I've labeled the tags with a post-it note and placed it in the slab as well.  The earthquake tag is being held by a top-heavy robot that will (hopefully) fall on the tag reader during a moderate or large seismic event.

It would be so cool if it worked, wouldn't it?

           

Click here to download:

Automatic_Earthquake_Tweettag_.zip (2804 KB)

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Is that really Windows 3.11 running on my iPhone?  No, not really.  I'm just accessing it over VNC with my iPhone.  It's actually running on my desktop in Virtual PC as a 386 DX with 64 MB RAM and 250 MB HDD.

What happened was, I decided to install DOS 6.22, then it grew from there.  I found a Windows for Workgroups 3.11 ISO file, then the Y2K fix.  Then the 32-bit update with Freecell, and so on.

I even found the Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16 and S3 Trio64V video driver so I could have sound and use full color depth (I left it at 640x480 just for kicks).  There's the network card driver and a TCP/IP stack so I can access the Internet.  Not easy.  Virtual PC itself was no help at all with any of this except for the ability to undo disk writes.

It's like building a ship in a bottle.  Some people see that as fun.  Others say, "WHY!?"

It's also great how all this stuff came back to me.  Little things, like which IRQ the sound card is on or which DOS programs will run in EMS vs. XMS.  Then there's remembering what to do when you install a video driver that doesn't work.  Yep, run the setup from the command line because there's no "safe mode."

There were also some surprises like the fact that Creative Labs drivers can still be downloaded from their web site, even in 2009!  Another surprise was that Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 was available along with a matching version of Outlook Express.  IE even installed a version of Java that runs applets.  Not from Microsoft's web site, mind you.  No, I had to Google all this.  Thanks Google!

One thing I found downright shocking was that AOL Instant Messenger works.  Think about that for a second.  This app is twelve years old and version 1.0 can still connect to the same servers.  Well, I guess that's not too amazing considering AIM is merely a chat app.

So none of this is actually useful, but it's certainly a blast from the past.  Fun stuff.

         

Click here to download:

Windows_3.11_on_iPhonetag_Geek.zip (526 KB)

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Part of what we expect from big-name-electronics is support, right?  Originally, I had to chose between Kodak, Aiptek, and whoever it is who makes the Flip Mino.  I have very little experience dealing with this aspect of consumer electronics because they are generally so reliable in the first place.  But if you had to chose an HD video camera strictly by how well known the brand is, wouldn't you go with Kodak?

Why did my Kodak Zi6 break down?  I don't know.  They never said.  The first symptom of problems was that it would only record 5 seconds then appear to lock up.  It doesn't run any kind of Microsoft operating system, so there was no explanation as to why it would lock up.  Yes, that was a joke, but isn't that what you think of when something locks up?  Microsoft/Windows?

Indeed, the firmware on the Zi6 is so simple, how could it ever lock up like this?  So I ran the diagnostic, and it seemed to get worse.  To me, this is clearly symptoms of hardware failure, not the firmware.  It could have been caused by anything from humidity to component defect or a combination thereof.

Since I bought it in April and it started acting up in August, I thought for sure the warranty had expired, but Kodak's web site took my information and indicated that it was indeed covered.  I shipped it uninsured by USPS for $2.70 (risky, I know).  They did whatever they did and sent it back UPS for free.  There was no indication on the rider sheet about what went wrong or how they fixed it.  But it works now, so what do I care?  They got my camera back to me in 3 weeks.  That was very nice too.

My theory is that they sent me a new or refurbished device, not my original camera.  I think this because the serial number sticker looks askew.  It clearly looks like someone pealed it off and applied it to a different camera.

I don't care if that's what they did as long as it works.  I just hope the replacement device doesn't need service with a serial number sticker looking this way.

So way to go, Kodak!  No real complaints from me.  I just wish it didn't break right before the trip up north, but the timing is not Kodak's fault.  On the other hand, if you were going to just replace it, why not send the replacement first, dear Kodak?  That's what Seagate does with hard drives.  Oh well.  Like I said, no real complaints.

Ok, I do actually have one small complaint.  They didn't update the firmware to the latest bersion before shipping it back to me.  It came back with 1.10 and the web site lists 1.11.  The steps indicate you must use an external card reader to update the camera's firmware, but that's not true.  You can load the firmware onto the SD card with the camera itself, then follow the steps as if you used an external card reader.

Incidently, there is talk of a group forming to edit (hack) the Zi6 firmware to get more features out of it.  Neat.  They're even discussing the feature I want: default HD60.

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This is what CNN might look like if someone wrote a Michael Jackson blocker plug-in (similar to a pop-up blocker):

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I know how to fix it, I just thought this message was kind-of funny.  I got the message after iTerm recommended doing an automatic update to the latest version:


'You cannot open the application "iTerm" because it is not supported on this architecture.'

Yes, I have an old 1.5 GHz PowerPC G4 17" PowerBook (2GB RAM).  And I haven't been keeping up with iTerm updates.  No worries.  I downloaded it manually and it ran fine.  But it makes me wonder if a scenario will ever arise where I can't manually fix it because nobody bothers to compile a PPC or Universal Binary any longer.  What it is, this laptop is the most relyable piece of hardware I've ever owned.  I am on highly borrowed time as it is, so I can't say I'm truely worried much about this.

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With the third child here, it was time for a new imaging device.  Before Benjamin arrived, we got a Canon DV camcorder.  After Hannah arrived, we got a 7.2 (effective) megapixel Cybershot.  The Cybershot could record VGA video in a codec iMovie didn't like very much.  So I just have to re-encode these videos if I want to use them with iMovie.  It was also limited in other ways.  It takes great stills and the video is good enough in a pinch.

The old camcorder stopped working about a year ago.  I think it might still play the tapes, but it can't capture video any longer.  So it was time to buy a new video recorder.  I looked at what Target had from Aiptek and the Mino Flip.  But I settled on the Kodak Vi6.

First of all, this is really just for point-and-shoot.  It is not a camcorder replacement.  The main thing I like about it is that it records in HD.  Specifically, it can shoot 720p@30 and 720p@60.  If you're not familiar with that, it means "High Definition" in either 30 frames-per-second or 60 frames-per-second.  It's what I wanted and that's about all you really need to know.  If you want a more technical explanation on what the numbers really mean, just Google it.

The first complaint I have about this camera is the firmware.  It doesn't allow you to set a default format.  So if I intend to only ever record at 60 fps, I have to switch it each time I power it on.  Second, sometimes the record button doesn't start recording, but I think that's probably pilot error.

Another slight problem is that there is no indication the unit is powered on when the USB is plugged in.  Half the time I'm waiting for something to happen after realizing I need to turn it on after connecting it.  The other half of the time, I'm pulling it off the USB port while it's still powered.  The nice thing is that this camera has never dumped the data as result of pulling it off the USB port while it's still powered.  I've had several cameras that will dump the data in that event, which is a real pain.  Not so with this camera.

Last, the battery life indicator is incorrect.  After about 15 minutes at 60 fps, the battery life indicator was red, which supposedly indicates the battery was almost dead.  But the unit went on to record over 30 minutes more on a red indicator.  I turned it off and back on to see the battery indicator back to 50%.  So battery life seems quite antiquate but the indicator is wrong.

As far as complaints are concerned, that's about it.  I think those are really mild complaints.  One of the features I like is that it has a macro mode to allow focus on extremely close objects.  I've had cameras with a macro feature that doesn't offer much of a difference.

Tip: I recommend either a) avoid putting this device in your pocket or b) get a rubber band to keep the USB from popping out.  Even if you put the device in the felt bag that comes with it, if you put it in your pocket, the USB will pop out at some point.

Another Tip: Get the big, high quality SD card and get extra Kodak batteries.  Kodak sells Ni-MH 2100mAh AA 1.2V.  Don't use alkaline.  Even though it looks like regular AA cells will work, I'm not sure it's such a good idea.  I've been reading reviews of people who use regular AA and they seem to have nothing but problems.  Some reviews say there are no problems.  Kodak is not clear about it.

Here's a clip I shot in LAX before getting on the bus.  It was originally recoded on April 29th, 2009 at 720p @ 60 FPS:

Click here to download:

Zi6_0121.MOV (14851 KB)

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I've been using Mozy to perform backups on my home system.  Basically, Mozy is an online backup solution.  It's rather inexpensive compared to certain solutions and more expensive than others.

One of the problems I've had is that Mozy never seems to ever complete the backup.  According to the log the longest attempt was a try for 3 hours, and in that attempt, the software only got half way through my total backup.  It seems to give up after 11 tries or so.  Each subsequent attempt would get only so far then report failure.

I was thinking of giving up on it since after a month, it never completed a backup.  But I also noticed that the log claimed to have files on the server, with the message "Already on server."  In other words, my client would report a file to upload, but the server would claim it already had the file, which is good.  So it appears that previous failed attempts did actually result in files being backed up.

But how many files have been backed up?  That's the thing, I don't know from the client.  But the server says there are massive files on its side.  I'd estimate about 65% or 70% of the files I've been trying to upload have actually reached the server.  And that's a sliding average because I have a lot of large video files that I back up locally and remove.  So it might actually have all of my files.

Bottom line is that over a month's worth of use, a large number of files have reached the Mozy server, so I'm going to stick with Mozy for now.  I'm not happy with the client, but it appears to move in the direction I want.  I think the client could certainly improve, but I'm willing to work with it.

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