Random Thoughts

Had a USB flash drive go bad on me. Was considering repairing (many of the drives that I've come across have had some sort of soldering issue but were out of warranty when I repaired them. This was difficult to open/fix without voiding the warranty though as it was a 'nano' style device which basically sits almost flush to the casing of your computer) it but it was still under warranty. Thought there would have been more USB specific utilities out there but resorted to using storage specific utilities such as HD Tune, Scandisk, fsck, badblocks, and so on.
http://superuser.com/questions/376274/check-the-physical-health-of-a-usb-stick-in-linux
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/51481-3-sandisk-flash-drive-nightmare-error

Based on what I've observed it may actually be harder to find a reliable flash type storage (randomly) then first thought. It seems no matter which brand you choose they always seem to have a 'bad batch', counterfeiting problems, or product line issues every once in a while...
http://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=918
http://blogs.computerworld.com/17585/defensively_buying_a_usb_flash_drive

Concept that I was theorising about ('Cloudnet', a predecessor to 'Skynet' like capabilities) in my 'Cloud' report. Will be interesting how far they can push this. Ideally every robot/computer out there will be able to interface with the same 'core'. In a way, the concept/technology reminds me of of many robots from science fiction.
http://www.itwire.com/opinion-and-analysis/shaw-thing/59042-robots-to-use-%E2%80%9Ccloud-based-brain%E2%80%9D 

Another power management utility. Given number of computers in use around the world, I wonder how much of a saving we would make towards Carbon emissions if we were to mandate use of such programs (and better hardware) everywhere (aware of extensive power management technology deployment throughout portable and server technology. Don't see as much of an impact (in the real world) in the desktop/workstation (except in major enterprises) space though).
http://grano.la/
http://grano.la/blog/bios-help/?id=faq

Which reminds me, curious to know just what impact of this style of carbon reduction worldwide would be (I recall a statistic that said that cows were the source of several hundred litres of methane gas each day)?
http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/executivesuite/downtime/8609582/french-farm-scheme-targets-farting-cows

Easeus Data Recovery Wizard, nice free data recovery option for those under Windows and don't really have the time/desire to learn/skill to use more specialised forensic utilities. Limited to 1GB recovery in free/trial version though.
http://www.easeus.com/datarecoverywizard/
http://www.easeus.com/datarecoverywizard/free-data-recovery-software.htm

Figured out I had left some 'extraneous material' in a header for the Aspire One referred to below (labour intensive device to open if you've never seen this particular model). Resulted in occasional short. Have since done a trace back to larger, pads/points (easier to solder 'cleanly' 1mm target as opposed to something about 0.25-0.50mm in size) and are using these as connection points. Works perfectly now.
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2013/03/laptop-hacking-and-hardware-workarounds.html
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/cleanup-operations.html

Another alternative to 'netbooks'. Note small battery capacity, difficulty upgrading, casing, and heating dissipation problems (dealt with by underclocking in subsequent BIOS versions apparently).
http://liliputing.com/2012/11/asus-vivobook-x202-dissected-almost-as-tough-to-upgrade-as-an-ultrabook.html
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2003823
http://www.minimachines.net/a-la-une/sous-le-capot-dun-asus-vivobook-x202e-1839

Some things impossible/difficult to simulate. If simulation/training runs aren't realistic then you could be doing more harm than good.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-15/airbus-test-pilot-says-air-france-crash-has-simulators-stumped.html

- as usual thanks to all of the individuals and groups who purchase and use my goods and services
http://sites.google.com/site/dtbnguyen/
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com.au/

Arduino Programming

Recently, an electronics store opened close by. This of course had its pros as well as its cons. The pros being that I have a place close by where I can get all sorts of electronic parts that I require. The con being sometimes you can get caught up in new pieces of technology. One of these pieces of technology happens to be Arduino electronics. There are obviously many different variations of compatible hardware but the most useful one that I came across that was in stock was the EtherTen.

http://www.freetronics.com/products/etherten

http://www.freetronics.com/collections/arduino

Its basically a 100% Arduino compatible board that has an on board MicroSD card slot, an Ethernet port, as well as an ATmega328P MCU. Besides doing the usual LED blinker type experiments that you may have encoutered at University you'll also have the chance to interact with the outside world using all sorts of extra functionality such as wireless, LCD screens, motors, and enironmentel sensors. (details regarding this are available towards the bottom of this post)

Software Setup

1) Download software from, http://arduino.cc

2) Upon uncompression the you'll notice a arduino executable. Opening it will result in a minimalistic IDE for simple programming of the device itself.

3) Install the Windows USB driver if required via http://www.freetronics.com/pages/installing-the-usb-driver-file-for-windows (you won't require this if you're using Linux)

4) Select correct board by going to Tool > Board

5) Go to Tools > Serial Monitor to find out where device is going to be plugged in. Else just use dmesg and look for something similar to the following (if using Linux)

[ 8632.239231] usb 3-1: new full speed USB device number 3 using uhci_hcd

[ 8632.431914] usb 3-1: New USB device found, idVendor=20a0, idProduct=4150

[ 8632.431926] usb 3-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=220

[ 8632.431935] usb 3-1: Product: Eleven

[ 8632.431943] usb 3-1: Manufacturer: www.freetronics.com

[ 8632.431950] usb 3-1: SerialNumber: 64938323231351C0B1A1

[ 8632.435125] cdc_acm 3-1:1.0: ttyACM0: USB ACM device

6) Go to Tools > Serial Port and select the correct port on which the Arduino has been connected on.

7) You should see the blue LED on the board light up to indicate that the board has now been connected.

Running a Program on the Arduino

1) File > Examples > Digital > Name of Program

2) Sketch > Verify/Compile

3) File > Upload to I/O Board

You'll need to have avr-g++ installed as well as a number of other dependent utilities on Linux. I was using Knoppix Live ISO image so I tried downloading Debian packages obviously. I noticed that there were a few dependency oddities though including some that were not so easy to fix so I resorted to using the Windows version to get things up and running quickly.

Note, that Ethernet will not work without sufficient power. Funnily enough, a Linksys switch AC adapter works perfectly with the device (12V with + in centre) though it can cause the device to heat up a little. Note also that the LCD can be used without extra power although at a significantly lower brightness level.

Not everything is perfect. I had to upload compiled firmware twice a few times or else you may encounter limitations like this guy did here, http://robotjamie.com/etherten-firstlook Nonethless, its an incredible piece of hardware considering how inexpensive it is.

You may need to alter the default initialisation string from the example sketch if you do intend to use the LCD/keypad shield. Details of this were on the underside of the actual PCB on my particular 'Shield'.

Currently, I'm working on wireless transfer of information. Details of my progress on this experiment will follow later.

http://samba.2283325.n4.nabble.com/OT-Remote-control-powerboard-td2491755.html

http://www.freetronics.com/products/lcd-keypad-shield

http://www.freetronics.com/pages/surface-mount-soldering-with-a-toaster-oven

http://www.twaitter.com/freetronics.aspx

http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=633659

http://wiki.debian.org/Multiarch

http://www.practicalarduino.com/

http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Hardware

http://arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoBoardEthernet

http://www.wiznet.co.kr/Sub_Modules/en/product/Product_Detail.asp?cate1=&cate2=&cate3=&pid=1011

http://www.wiznet.co.kr/Sub_Modules/en/product/product_detail.asp?Refid=85&page=1&cate1=5&cate2=7&cate3=26&pid=1074&cType=2

http://www.cadsoftusa.com/

http://www.freeduino.org/

http://robotjamie.com/etherten-firstlook

http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Software

http://arduino.cc/en/Guide/HomePage

http://arduino.cc/en/Reference/HomePage

http://www.freetronics.com/pages/installing-the-usb-driver-file-for-windows

http://www.shieldlist.org/

http://hunt.net.nz/users/darran/

http://www.freetronics.com/blogs/news/2027552-the-new-arduino-uno-what-are-the-implications

- as usual thanks to all of the individuals and groups who purchase and use my goods and services
http://sites.google.com/site/dtbnguyen/
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com.au/

Cheap Programmable Robots

I've always had somewhat of an interest in robots. Up until fairly recently though there haven't really been any cheap robots that I've been particularly interested in. Two that I recently found (and that were on sale :-)) were the Asuro as well as the Viper from Microbrics.

The Microbrics option seems to be aimed towards the beginner and reminds me a lot of more expensive Lego and Mecanno options. Components are Lego like in that they fit together as 'modules'. For instance, one module may consist of an IR receiver (for commands from a remote control) while another may consist of a small electric motor. Funnily enough, there also seem to be completely cosmetic parts as well. You should note that most of the parts are put together using a small (supplied) Philips headed screwdriver. The manual was decent but there could have been more detail to be honest (its fairly short at around 30 pages). Unlike other inexpensive robots though this one can be programmed via a serial port (newer versions can be programmed via USB obviously) using an IDE that uses the BASIC programming language. Moreover, it includes sensors for bump detection, motorised wheels as well as mechanisms for remote control, and line detection.

http://www.microbric.com/page.php?sId=17

The Asuro robot is probably one of the least expensive options on the market for something this, 'advanced'. The reason why this is the case is that unlike other robots you need to completely assemble/solder it yourself. (For those of you who are relatively new to soldering short pin/side corresponds to the flat side of the LED diagram on the PCB. For those of you who are impatient, read the manual quickly but 'properly'. Some parts are more difficult to connect if others have been installed first. Other than that does not seem overly difficult to assemble.)

Like other more advanced electronic devices it can be programmed using the C programming language as well as a Visual Interface (which only seems to be accessible using German at this stage though). Like the Viper, it includes sensors for bump detection, motorised wheels as well as mechanisms for remote control, and line detection.

http://www.arexx.com/arexx.php?cmd=goto&cparam=p_asuro

http://www.arexx.com/arexx.php?cmd=goto&cparam=p_asuro_downloads