Jan Krupa

Using T-Mobile CZ eSIM with Gemini PDA

2018-11-08T00:00:00+01:00

Starting from 1st of November this year T-Mobile Czech Republic started to offer it’s services using eSIM technology (T-Mobile web on eSIM). It is available for both prepaid (pay-as-you-go) and postpaid (contract) services. I tried it on my Gemini PDA. Here is a step-by-step guide how to use it.

Getting eSIM

First you have to visit T-Mobile CZ store and either purchase new prepaid eSIM (200 CZK = €8, the same credit is available for you to spend) or convert your existing SIM to eSIM (free). Currently it’s not possible to do this online.

Steps to provision eSIM

Connect to internet either using WiFi or physical SIM card and data connection
Update Gemini to the latest system update
Open eSIM Wallet application (available in the latest system update)
Because certificate provided by T-Mobile CZ provisioning server is not signed by certificate authority Gemini trusts you need to enable “Bypass TLS authentication” in Settings. Click on the three dots in upper right corner, select “Settings” and “Network” in the next menu. If you fail to do this you’ll see this error during provisioning
Click on the three dots in upper right corner and select “Add profile”
Select “Activation Code” as the installation method
Select “Scan QR code”
Scan the QR code
Click on “INSTALL”
eSIM should be successfully installed to your Gemini, now
Click on the power button to enable it

Few remarks to eSIM functionality

Gemini dual SIM functionality is similar to other phones. 4G / LTE connection is always enabled only on one SIM card. The other one is using 2G / 3G connection. You can decide which one by selecting it as preferred SIM for mobile data in settings.

You can’t provision T-Mobile CZ eSIM twice. In case you need to move it to different phone you need to visit T-Mobile CZ store again and request new eSIM (free).

Once you provision eSIM you can use it in roaming the same way as normal SIM card.

openSUSE Conference 2017

2017-05-29T00:00:00+02:00

There was an openSUSE Conference 2017 in Nuremberg, last week. I gave a talk about Sigfox network - Collecting data from IoT devices using Sigfox network.

Getting started with Sigfox using Pycom SiPy

2017-04-17T00:00:00+02:00

What is Sigfox and Sigfox network

Sigfox employs a proprietary technology that enables communication using the Industrial, Scientific and Medical ISM radio band which uses 868MHz in Europe and 902MHz in the US. It utilizes a wide-reaching signal that passes freely through solid objects, called “ultra narrowband” and requires little energy, being termed “Low-power Wide-area network (LPWAN)”. The network is based on one-hop star topology and requires a mobile operator to carry the generated traffic. The signal can also be used to easily cover large areas and to reach underground objects.

Sigfox has partnered with a number of firms in the LPWAN industry such as Texas Instruments, Silicon Labs and Axom. The ISM radio band support bidirectional communication. The existing standard for Sigfox communications supports up to 140 uplink messages a day, each of which can carry a payload of 12 Bytes (Excluding message header and transmission information) and up to 4 downlink messages per day, each of which can carry a payload of 8 Bytes.

Source: Sigfox - Wikipedia

Is there coverage in the area where I’m located?

You can check global Sigfox coverage on their website in the coverage section. In general most of the western Europe, America and Australia is covered.

How much does the service cost?

This is not easy to say. It will depend on your location, amount of transferred messages and amount of Sigfox devices you have. In general it should be something between €0.1 - €1 per device per month. Many of the current Sigfox devices include 1 year free subscription to the Sigfox network worldwide. Pycom SiPy also have it included.

What is Pycom SiPy?

Pycom SiPy is a €30 - €35 MicroPython enabled micro controller with these specifications:

Espressif ESP32 chipset
Dual processor + WiFi radio System on Chip.
Network processor handles the WiFi connectivity and the IPv6 stack
Main processor is entirely free to run the user application
An extra ULP-coprocessor that can monitor GPIOs, the ADC channels and control most of the internal peripherals during deep-sleep mode while only consuming 25uA

Interfaces

2 x UART, 2 x SPI, I2C, I2S, micro SD card
Analog channels: 8x12 bit ADCs
Timers: 4x16 bit with PWM and input capture
DMA on all peripherals
GPIO: Up to 24

Security and certifications

SSL/TLS support
WPA Enterprise security
AES encryption engine

Memory

RAM: 512kb
Flash Memory: 4MB
GPIO: Upto 24
Hardware floating point acceleration
Python multi-threading

Sigfox specifiction

TI CC1125NarrowbandTransceiver
Class 0 device. Maximum Tx power:
- +14dBm(Europe)
- +22dBm (America)
- +22dBm (Australia and New Zealand)
Node range: Up to 50km

Verify that it’s working without the Expansion Board

When I first ordered Pycom SiPy I didn’t include Expansion Board 2.0 in the order. This was a mistake but you can still verify if the board works. Connect 5V to 5V pin (or 3.3V to 3.3V pin) and Ground to GND pin. The device will start to power up. Within a few seconds you should be able to see sipy-wlan-XXXX wireless network. Connect to the network with these credentials:

ESSID: sipy-wlan-XXXX
PSK: www.pycom.io

You should get IP address from the 192.168.4.0/24 network range. Now try to telnet to 192.168.4.1 with these credentials:

Login: micro
Password: python

After logging-in you should see MicroPython command line.

$ telnet 192.168.4.1
Trying 192.168.4.1...
Connected to 192.168.4.1.
Escape character is '^]'.
MicroPython v1.8.6-556-g989d5ac9 on 2017-03-30; SiPy with ESP32
Login as: micro
Password:
Login succeeded!
Type "help()" for more information.

>>>

Sigfox won’t work at this moment because the board needs firmware upgrade which also registers it to Pycom:

>>> import os
>>> os.uname().release
'1.6.3.b2'

>>> from network import Sigfox
>>> import binascii
>>> sigfox = Sigfox(mode=Sigfox.SIGFOX, rcz=Sigfox.RCZ1)
>>> print(binascii.hexlify(sigfox.id()))
b'ffffffff'
>>> print(binascii.hexlify(sigfox.pac()))
b'ffffffffffffffff'

There is also FTP server running on the board. You can log-in with these credentials:

Login: micro
Password: python

Connect the device to the expansion board

I wasn’t able to connect to the device via serial cable - I’m probably doing something wrong, here. There is a schema of the Pycom SiPy pinout on the Pycom website. Because I needed to update the firmware I connected the device to expansion board.

Update firmware

In order for Sigfox to work you’ll need to update firmware in the device. You can download Pycom updater for Linux, OS X and Windows from the Resources section of the Pycom website. After you finish the update process you should see a screen similar to this one.

┌───────────────────Success──────────────────────┐
│                                                │
│ Your device was successfully updated to        │
│ version 1.6.10.b1                              │
│                                                │
│ Please remove the wire and reset the board.    │
│                                                │
│ Sigfox: ID = 12345678, PAC = 1234567890123456  │
│                                                │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                   <Finish>                     │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

If you check the release version from MicroPython command line you should see the same version as in the Pycom updater.

>>> import os
>>> os.uname().release
'1.6.10.b1'

Also the Sigfox library should return correct Device ID and PAC.

>>> from network import Sigfox
>>> import binascii
>>> sigfox = Sigfox(mode=Sigfox.SIGFOX, rcz=Sigfox.RCZ1)
>>> print(binascii.hexlify(sigfox.id()))
b'12345678'
>>> print(binascii.hexlify(sigfox.pac()))
b'1234567890123456'

Activate device on Sigfox network

Before you start tinkering with Sigfox connection on you Pycom SiPy device you’ll need to register it to Sigfox network. This is described in Pycom documentation. You’ll need your Device ID and PAC number. Open Sigfox activation page in your browser and follow the instructions. After successfull registration to Sigfox portal you should see your device in the device list.

Configure callbacks

Open Sigfox portal, log-in and click on Device -> select device -> Callbacks -> New -> Custom callback. Add your custom callback. Here is an example:

You can also configure the callbacks much simplier like this:

Type: DATA UPLINK
Channel: EMAIL
Custom payload config: str::char:12
Recipient: user@example.com
Subject: Sigfox message from {device}
Message: string: {customData#str}

Send your first message over Sigfox network

Messages in Sigfox network are limited to 12 bytes for outgoing messages and 8 bytes for incoming messages. In this example we’ll send an array consisting of [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12] numbers.

>>> import socket
>>> from network import Sigfox
>>> sigfox = Sigfox(mode=Sigfox.SIGFOX, rcz=Sigfox.RCZ1)
>>> s = socket.socket(socket.AF_SIGFOX, socket.SOCK_RAW)
>>> s.setblocking(True)
>>> s.setsockopt(socket.SOL_SIGFOX, socket.SO_RX, False)
>>> s.send(bytes([1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12]))
12

You can also send text messages:

>>> s.send('test12345678')
12

Immediately you’ll receive an email notification configured in the callbacks section. This example is using the simplier callback with just a string translation.

Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2017 14:00:00 +0200 (CEST)
From: SIGFOX <backend-noreply@sigfox.com>
To: user@example.com

string: test12345678

Change WiFi settings

Add this code to /flash/boot.py using the internal FTP server running on Pycom SiPy on 192.168.4.1:

import network

wlan = network.WLAN()
wlan.init(mode=network.WLAN.AP, ssid='my-new-essid', auth=(network.WLAN.WPA2,'my-new-passphrase'), channel=7, antenna=network.WLAN.INT_ANT)

More information about WLAN settings are described in network.WLAN section of the documentation.

Add this code to /flash/boot.py using the internal FTP server running on Pycom SiPy on 192.168.4.1:

import network

server = network.Server()
server.deinit()
server.init(login=('user', 'password'), timeout=600)

More information about telnet and FTP settings are described in network.server section of the documentation.

Resources on the web

Prepaid data SIM card in South Korea

2016-12-01T00:00:00+01:00

I spent one week in South Korea in the beginning of November 2016. We were travelling across the country from Busan to Seoul. Because I don’t speak Korean I wanted to be able to use Google Translate, Google Maps and few other apps on the go. This blog post is an advice on what to look for if you’re in the same situation looking for prepaid data SIM card for use in South Korea and your home GSM provider charges excessive amount of money for roaming.

Korea SIM Card by kt M mobile

One of the most visible and available prepaid SIM cards is Korea SIM Card by kt M mobile. It’s available in selected 7-Eleven and CU stores in tourist areas (airports, ports, ..) and couple of other locations. It’s available in 1GB and 2GB variants with prices ranging from $23 to $39. In general pretty good deal but nothing special.

I was almost ready to buy Korea SIM Card by kt M mobile but I saw better deal in Busan port in the KT olleh booth.

KT olleh USIM

It’s a SIM card which allows you to use unlimited data with the following pricing.

5 days 27500 KRW ($25)
10 days 38500 KRW ($34)
30 days 71500 KRW ($64)

There is no voice and SMS service available on this SIM card. It seems that the SIM card is just a rental but when I bought it at Busan Port I was told that there is no need to return it after use - it will just stop working. But please verify this information with the local shop and contract you sign. More information about this product is available on KT Mobile Rental website. I was able to buy it without any reservation. The only required thing for all SIM cards in Korea is that you have to present valid passport to verify your identity.

Choosing a TV - LG 49UH6507

2016-08-30T00:00:00+02:00

For quite some time I resisted to buying a TV. But recently I had stronger and stronger urge to have a device to watch new TV series on a larger screen than notebook or tablet. After few weeks of skimming through eshops I decided to buy 49” LG 49UH6507.

Specifications

Model: 49” LG 49UH6507
Resolution: 4K, 3840x2160 px
Screen refresh rate: 100Hz
Operating system: webOS 3.0
Connectivity: Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth
Connectivity (SW): DLNA, Miracast, WiDi

Why webOS

I tested quite a lot of different TVs and TV users interfaces (Android TV, webOS and Tizen) in various local resellers showrooms. It’s probably a good idea to go for Android TV if one of your requirements is to have very large selection of available applications for the TV. But in terms of UI webOS is winning for me.

How to get the content to the TV

One of my main requirements in terms of content was that it should be possible to use either SMB, DLNA or some other easily deployable protocols to get content to the TV. This model running webOS 3.0 supports DLNA. I’m using ReadyMedia (formerly known as MiniDLNA) on my home NAS. What’s cool is that the TV can play both H264 and H265 content in various containers (MKV, mp4, avi). It also supports SRT subtitles - via local storage (USB) as well as DLNA. The only requirement is that they need to be named the same way as the video file.

Pros

Nice and clear display
webOS is pretty slick and easy to use
Ready for future H265 DVB-T2 update in Czech Republic
LG Magic Remote

Cons

It’s not an OLED TV :)
It doesn’t support SMB

PINE 64 getting started guide

2016-04-07T00:00:00+02:00

After few weeks of delay PINE 64 arrived. Here are first impressions and tips on how you can start exploring the device.

The first place which is worth visiting is PINE 64 Wiki. It’s not too extensive so far but you can find the basic information about hardware and setup guides, there. I tried couple of images from Pine A64 Software Release but since I have the 2GB RAM version I’m out of luck for most of them.

Thanks to Open Build Service there are two frequently updated openSUSE Tumbleweed images available.

If you prefer Debian I would suggest to try Debian Jessie Images from lenny.raposo. It’s quite easy to install them. First you download longsleep’s BSP linux image and copy it onto the Micro SD card.

root@host:~# xzcat simpleimage-pine64-latest.img.xz > /dev/sdX

After that delete the second partition, create it again on the same place, extend it to the end of the Micro SD card and create ext4 filesystem. After that just extract one of the root filesystems available on the forum.

root@debianpine64:~# cat /proc/cpuinfo
Processor	: AArch64 Processor rev 4 (aarch64)
processor	: 0
processor	: 1
processor	: 2
processor	: 3
Features	: fp asimd aes pmull sha1 sha2 crc32
CPU implementer	: 0x41
CPU architecture: AArch64
CPU variant	: 0x0
CPU part	: 0xd03
CPU revision	: 4

Hardware	: sun50iw1p1

root@debianpine64:~# uname -a
Linux debianpine64 3.10.65-4-pine64-longsleep #16 SMP PREEMPT Sun Apr 3 10:56:40 CEST 2016 aarch64 GNU/Linux

root@debianpine64:~# free -m
             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:          1988        108       1880          8          6         34
-/+ buffers/cache:         68       1920
Swap:            0          0          0

FOSDEM 2016

2016-01-31T00:00:00+01:00

I spent weekend in January in Brussels on a FOSDEM 2016 conference where I gave a talk about SUSE Studio Online - SUSE Studio: What’s new and where we are heading, Building and running Linux appliances on the web.

Event details

https://fosdem.org/2016/schedule/event/suse_studio/

Slides

fosdem_2016_susestudio_jkrupa.pdf (Mirror)

Video recording

suse-studio-whats-new-and-where-we-are-heading.mp4 (Mirror)

Useful J2ME applications

2009-01-18T00:00:00+01:00

I received couple of queries from my friends about which J2ME programs I use on my mobile phone. I decided to summarize most of the programs I use, I used in the past or programs I just tried and found useful. I’ll try to make similar list for Windows Mobile applications as well.

Opera Mini

Function: Web browser
Homepage: http://www.opera.com/mini/
Price: free
Open Source: no

Google Mobile - Maps

Function: Maps
Homepage: http://www.google.com/gmm/
Price: free
Open Source: no

mujMail

Function: Email client
Homepage: http://www.mujmail.org/
Price: free
Licence: GPL 2
Open Source: yes

Bombus

Function: Instant messaging, Jabber
Homepage: http://bombus-im.org/
Price: free
Licence: GPL
Open Source: yes

Bombusmod

Function: Instant messaging, Jabber
Homepage: http://www.bombusmod.net.ru/
Price: free
Licence: GPL
Open Source: yes

Skype

Function: Instant messaging
Homepage: http://mobiledownload.skype.com/
Price: free
Open Source: no

jmIrc

Function: IRC client
Homepage: http://jmirc.sourceforge.net/
Price: free
Licence: GPL
Open Source: yes

MidpSSH

Function: SSH client
Homepage: http://www.xk72.com/midpssh/
Price: free
Licence: GPL
Open Source: yes

Image source

VNC

Function: VNC client
Homepage: http://j2mevnc.sourceforge.net/
Price: free
Licence: GPL
Open Source: yes

Weather

Function: Weather situation and forecast
Homepage: http://weather.midlets.eu/
Price: free
Licence: GPL 3
Open Source: yes

KODi - dictionary for mobile phones

Function: Dictionary
Homepage: http://www.kodi.cz/
Price: free
Open Source: no

UtiSoft LIVE Dictionary

Function: Dictionary
Homepage: http://www.utisoft.com/live-dictionary/for-mobile-phone/
Price: free trial, $8 - $16
Open Source: no

vlkgps

Function: GPS
Homepage: http://vlkgps.bielyvlk.sk/
Price: free
Licence: GPL
Open Source: yes

trailexplorer

Function: GPS
Homepage: http://www.substanceofcode.com/software/mobile-trail-explorer/
Price: free
Licence: GPL
Open Source: yes

Slide a Lama Deluxe

Function: Game
Homepage: http://mobilegames.icq.com/?a=moreInfo&itId=1448
Price: €5
Open Source: no

Installing OpenSolaris 2008.05 domU on Debian Linux Xen dom0

2008-05-09T00:00:00+02:00

This blogpost describes installation of OpenSolaris 2008.05 on dom0 running x86_64 Debian/Etch Linux.

debian-dom0:~# uname -a
Linux debian-dom0 2.6.18-6-xen-amd64 #1 SMP Sun Feb 10 18:02:52 UTC 2008 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Obtaining installation image / media

Live CD default passwords

Login: jack
Password: jack

Login: root
Password: opensolaris

Installation

Create disk image (at least 4GB)

debian-dom0:~# dd if=/dev/zero of=/xen/os1/opensolaris_disk.img
bs=1M count=4096
4096+0 records in
4096+0 records out
4294967296 bytes (4.3 GB) copied, 146.047 seconds, 29.4 MB/s

Copy OpenSolaris 2008.05 ISO file in /xen/os1/os200805.iso
Mount the ISO file or CD and copy these 2 files in /xen/os1/ on dom0
platform/i86xpv/kernel/amd64/unix
boot/x86.microroot
Create config file /etc/xen/os1.cfg with this content:

name = 'os1'
memory = '1024'
vif = [ '' ]

# Install
disk = [ 'file:/xen/os1/os200805.iso,6:cdrom,r', 'file:/xen/os1/opensolaris_disk.img,0,w' ]
kernel = '/xen/os1/unix'
ramdisk = '/xen/os1/x86.microroot'
extra = '/platform/i86xpv/kernel/amd64/unix -B console=ttya,livemode=text'
on_shutdown = 'destroy'
on_reboot = 'destroy'
on_crash = 'destroy'

Boot the system and login as jack/jack:

debian-dom0:~# xm create -c os1.cfg
Using config file "/etc/xen/os1.cfg".
Started domain os1
v3.0.3-1 chgset 'Tue Oct 17 22:09:52 2006 +0100 '
WARNING: Found hypervisor version: v3.0.3-1 but need at least version
v3.0.4
SunOS Release 5.11 Version snv_86 64-bit
Copyright 1983-2008 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Use is subject to license terms.
Hostname: opensolaris
Remounting root read/write
Probing for device nodes ...
NOTICE: xdf@6: failed to read feature-barrier
NOTICE: xdf@0: failed to read feature-barrier
Preparing live image for use
Done mounting Live image
USB keyboard
 1. Albanian                      22. Latvian
 2. Belarusian                    23. Macedonian
 3. Belgian                       24. Malta_UK
 4. Bulgarian                     25. Malta_US
 5. Croatian                      26. Norwegian
 6. Czech                         27. Polish
 7. Danish                        28. Portuguese
 8. Dutch                         29. Russian
 9. Finnish                       30. Serbia-And-Montenegro
10. French                        31. Slovenian
11. French-Canadian               32. Slovakian
12. Hungarian                     33. Spanish
13. German                        34. Swedish
14. Greek                         35. Swiss-French
15. Icelandic                     36. Swiss-German
16. Italian                       37. Traditional-Chinese
17. Japanese-type6                38. TurkishQ
18. Japanese                      39. TurkishF
19. Korean                        40. UK-English
20. Latin-American                41. US-English
21. Lithuanian
To select the keyboard layout, enter a number [default 41]:

1. Chinese - Simplified
2. Chinese - Traditional
3. English
4. French
5. German
6. Italian
7. Japanese
8. Korean
9. Portuguese - Brazil
10. Russian
11. Spanish
12. Swedish
To select the desktop language, enter a number [default 3]:
Configuring devices.
Mounting local partitions/cdroms
Reading ZFS config: done.

opensolaris console login: jack
Password:
Sun Microsystems Inc. SunOS 5.11 snv_86 January 2008
jack@opensolaris:~$

Wait 1-2 minutes for all daemons and networking to start
In case you want to use static IP, you need to configure it manually:

jack@opensolaris:~$ su -
Password:
May 9 03:04:15 opensolaris su: 'su root' succeeded for jack on
/dev/console
Sun Microsystems Inc. SunOS 5.11 snv_86 January 2008
-bash-3.2# ifconfig -a
lo0: flags=2001000849<up,loopback,running,multicast,ipv4,virtual> mtu
8232 index 1
inet 127.0.0.1 netmask ff000000
xnf0: flags=201004843<up,broadcast,running,multicast,dhcp,ipv4,cos> mtu
1500 index 2
inet 0.0.0.0 netmask ff000000
ether 0:16:3e:38:7:c
lo0: flags=2002000849<up,loopback,running,multicast,ipv6,virtual> mtu
8252 index 1
inet6 ::1/128
-bash-3.2# ifconfig xnf0 192.168.1.100 netmask 255.255.255.0
-bash-3.2# route add default 192.168.1.1
add net default: gateway 192.168.1.1
-bash-3.2# cp /etc/nsswitch.dns /etc/nsswitch.conf
-bash-3.2# echo "nameserver 192.168.10.1" > /etc/resolv.conf
-bash-3.2# logout
jack@opensolaris:~$

Start vncserver:

jack@opensolaris:~$ mkdir .vnc;cp .Xclients .vnc/xstartup
jack@opensolaris:~$ vncserver

You will require a password to access your desktops.

Password:
Verify:
xauth: creating new authority file /jack/.Xauthority

New 'opensolaris:1 ()' desktop is opensolaris:1

Starting applications specified in /jack/.vnc/xstartup
Log file is /jack/.vnc/opensolaris:1.log

jack@opensolaris:~$

Connect to VNC server and install OpenSolaris same way as if you boot from CD:

Before you click on the “Reboot” button, you need to put these files in /xen/os1/ on your Debian dom0:
/a/platform/i86xpv/kernel/amd64/unix
/a/platform/i86pc/amd64/boot_archive
On the final installation screen click on the “Reboot” button and wait for OpenSolaris domU shutdown.

debian-dom0:~# xm list
Name ID Mem(MiB) VCPUs State Time(s)
Domain-0 0 837 2 r----- 35598.4
os1 60 1024 1 -b---- 1110.8

debian-dom0:~# xm list
Name ID Mem(MiB) VCPUs State Time(s)
Domain-0 0 837 2 r----- 35599.8

Post-install configuration

Modify config file /etc/xen/os1.cfg:

name = 'os1'
memory = '1024'
vif = [ '' ]

# Normal boot
disk = [ 'file:/xen/os1/opensolaris_disk.img,0,w' ]
kernel = '/xen/os1/unix'
ramdisk = '/xen/os1/boot_archive'
extra = '/platform/i86xpv/kernel/amd64/unix -B zfs-bootfs=rpool/27'
on_shutdown = 'destroy'
on_reboot = 'destroy'
on_crash = 'destroy'

Boot the system and login with your username. In case you are using static IP address, follow the steps above.

debian-dom0:~# xm create -c os1.cfg
Using config file "/etc/xen/os1.cfg".
Started domain os1
v3.0.3-1 chgset 'Tue Oct 17 22:09:52 2006 +0100 '
WARNING: Found hypervisor version: v3.0.3-1 but need at least version
v3.0.4
SunOS Release 5.11 Version snv_86 64-bit
Copyright 1983-2008 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Use is subject to license terms.
NOTICE: xdf@0: failed to read feature-barrier
Hostname: os1
Reading ZFS config: done.
Mounting ZFS filesystems: (6/6)
WARNING: No randomness provider enabled for /dev/random. Use
cryptoadm(1M) to enable a provider.

os1 console login: plnt
Password:
Sun Microsystems Inc. SunOS 5.11 snv_86 January 2008
-bash-3.2$ bash
plnt@os1:~$ mkdir .vnc
plnt@os1:~$ echo \#\!\/bin\/bash > .vnc/xstartup;echo >> .vnc/xstartup
plnt@os1:~$ echo "exec /usr/bin/dtstart jds" >> .vnc/xstartup
plnt@os1:~$ chmod +x .vnc/xstartup
plnt@os1:~$ vncserver

You will require a password to access your desktops.

Password:
Verify:

New 'os1:1 ()' desktop is os1:1

Starting applications specified in /export/home/plnt/.vnc/xstartup
Log file is /export/home/plnt/.vnc/os1:1.log

plnt@os1:~$

Connect to VNC server

OpenSolaris 2008.05 is up and running ;-)

Nice howto for network configuration is here.

Thanks to Mark Johnson for OpenSolaris Xen howto. I had to make few changes to make it work on Debian but it was a great starting point.

References

Running Linux on HP Compaq 2510p notebook

2007-12-02T00:00:00+01:00

I’ve recently bought HP Compaq 2510p notebook (thanks to MEGAOBCHOD.cz for fast and reliable delivery). I wiped out the default Windows Vista installation and installed KUbuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon on it. There was no problem during installation. Most of the things works out of the box. Here are some basic informations which can help other owners of this notebook using Linux.

Graphics card

00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 0c)
00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 0c)

Works fine. Output to external display can be turned on by xrandr tool.

Query (no external monitor connected):

$ xrandr -q
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 1280 x 800, maximum 1280 x 1280
VGA disconnected (normal left inverted right)
LVDS connected 1280x800+0+0 (normal left inverted right) 261mm x 163mm
1280x800 60.0\*+ 60.0
1280x768 60.0
1024x768 60.0
800x600 60.3
640x480 59.9
TV disconnected (normal left inverted right)

Query (CRT monitor connected):

$ xrandr -q
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 1280 x 800, maximum 1280 x 1280
VGA connected (normal left inverted right)
1024x768 85.0 84.9 75.1
800x600 84.9 75.0
640x480 84.6 75.0 60.0
720x400 70.1
LVDS connected 1280x800+0+0 (normal left inverted right) 261mm x 163mm
1280x800 60.0\*+ 60.0
1280x768 60.0
1024x768 60.0
800x600 60.3
640x480 59.9
TV disconnected (normal left inverted right)

Turn on output to external monitor (automatic configuration):

$ xrandr --output VGA --auto

Turn on output to external monitor (1024x768 resolution):

$ xrandr --output VGA --mode 1024x768

Turn off output to external monitor:

$ xrandr --output VGA --off

Sound card

00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) HD Audio
Controller (rev 03)

Module: snd_hda_intel

Works fine.

Ethernet card

00:19.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82566MM Gigabit Network
Connection (rev 03)

Module: e1000

Works fine.

Wi-Fi

10:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 4965 AG or
AGN Network Connection (rev 61)

Module: iwl4965

Works fine.

Bluetooth

Works fine.

WWAN

Not tested, yet. Probably not included in EU version although there is a SIM card slot under the battery.

Modem

Not tested, yet.

Hard drive

Works fine. If you want to fix (or better say workaround) problem with high frequency of load/unload cycles on some hard disks in Ubuntu (more info), you can do it this way.

Install hdparm:

$ aptitude install hdparm

Put this code into /etc/hdparm.conf:

/dev/sda {
apm = 254
spindown_time = 0
}

And run:

$ update-rc.d hdparm defaults

I recommend you to read more info on this issue before using this technique. It can shorten the time for how long does the notebook work on battery.

SD card reader

02:06.2 Generic system peripheral [0805]: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C822
SD/SDIO/MMC/MS/MSPro Host Adapter (rev 21)
02:06.3 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C843 MMC Host Controller (rev 11)

Module: ricoh_mmc

Doesn’t work out of the box in KUbuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon. You need to manually compile the ricoh_mmc module from newer kernel version (howto, thanks to Wojtek). Because of older kernel version in KUbuntu 7.10, you need to add these two lines into ricoh_mmc.c file:

#define PCI_DEVICE_ID_RICOH_R5C832 0x0832
#define PCI_DEVICE_ID_RICOH_R5C843 0x0843

Touchpoint, Touchpad and special keys

Works fine.

Fingerprint reader

Bus 003 Device 004: ID 08ff:2580 AuthenTec, Inc.

Works fine with aes2501 which can be found in aes2501-wy Ubuntu package. It should be working with fprint as well (I didn’t test that, yet).

USB

Works fine.

FireWire

02:06.1 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Ricoh Co Ltd R5C832 IEEE 1394 Controller (rev 04)

Not tested, yet.

PCMCIA / CardBus

02:06.0 CardBus bridge: Ricoh Co Ltd RL5c476 II (rev ba)

Works fine.

ACPI / Power saving

Works fine with powernowd + kde-guidance-powermanager.

Suspend to RAM

Suspend to RAM and resume works fine except it doesn’t restore screen brightness settings which leads to unreadable screen. In order to restore screen brightness level after resume, you need to add this line to /etc/hibernate/common.conf file:

OnResume 20 echo -n 100 \> /proc/acpi/video/C099/C1AE/brightness

It doesn’t respect the actual display brightness power saving settings and set the brightness level to maximum value. Possible values are:

$ cat /proc/acpi/video/C099/C1AE/brightness
levels: 100 51 30 37 44 51 58 65 72 79 86 93 100
current: 0

Another workaround is to push Fn+F9 or Fn+F10 after resume or unplug and plug the power cord.

Suspend to disk

Works fine but it’s slow.

lspci

00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile PM965/GM965/GL960 Memory Controller Hub (rev 0c)
02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 0c)
02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 0c)
03.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation Mobile PM965/GM965 MEI Controller (rev 0c)
03.2 IDE interface: Intel Corporation Mobile PM965/GM965 PT IDER Controller (rev 0c)
03.3 Serial controller: Intel Corporation Mobile PM965/GM965 KT Controller (rev 0c)
19.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82566MM Gigabit Network Connection (rev 03)
1a.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Contoller #4 (rev 03)
1a.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #5 (rev 03)
1a.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #2 (rev 03)
1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) HD Audio Controller (rev 03)
1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 03)
1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 03)
1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 03)
1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 03)
1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 03)
1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #1 (rev 03)
1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev f3)
1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801HBM (ICH8M-E) LPC Interface Controller (rev 03)
1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801HBM/HEM (ICH8M/ICH8M-E) IDE Controller (rev 03)
06.0 CardBus bridge: Ricoh Co Ltd RL5c476 II (rev ba)
06.1 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Ricoh Co Ltd R5C832 IEEE 1394 Controller (rev 04)
06.2 Generic system peripheral [0805]: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C822 SD/SDIO/MMC/MS/MSPro Host Adapter (rev 21)
06.3 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C843 MMC Host Controller (rev 11)
00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 4965 AG or AGN Network Connection (rev 61)

lsusb

Bus 006 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 007 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 003 Device 004: ID 08ff:2580 AuthenTec, Inc.
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 0000:0000

/proc/cpuinfo

CPU is at 800MHz because of dynamic frequency scaling policy.

processor : 0
vendor_id : GenuineIntel
cpu family : 6
model : 15
model name : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU U7600 @ 1.20GHz
stepping : 13
cpu MHz : 800.000
cache size : 2048 KB
physical id : 0
siblings : 2
core id : 0
cpu cores : 2
fpu : yes
fpu_exception : yes
cpuid level : 10
wp : yes
flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov
pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm syscall nx lm
constant_tsc pni monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr lahf_lm
bogomips : 2397.01
clflush size : 64
cache_alignment : 64
address sizes : 36 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management:

processor : 1
vendor_id : GenuineIntel
cpu family : 6
model : 15
model name : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU U7600 @ 1.20GHz
stepping : 13
cpu MHz : 800.000
cache size : 2048 KB
physical id : 0
siblings : 2
core id : 1
cpu cores : 2
fpu : yes
fpu_exception : yes
cpuid level : 10
wp : yes
flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov
pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm syscall nx lm
constant_tsc pni monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr lahf_lm
bogomips : 2394.01
clflush size : 64
cache_alignment : 64
address sizes : 36 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management:

Jan Krupa

Using T-Mobile CZ eSIM with Gemini PDA

Getting eSIM

Steps to provision eSIM

Few remarks to eSIM functionality

openSUSE Conference 2017

Event details

Slides

Video recording

Getting started with Sigfox using Pycom SiPy

What is Sigfox and Sigfox network

Is there coverage in the area where I’m located?

How much does the service cost?

What is Pycom SiPy?

Interfaces

Security and certifications

Memory

Sigfox specifiction

Verify that it’s working without the Expansion Board

Connect the device to the expansion board

Update firmware

Activate device on Sigfox network

Configure callbacks

Send your first message over Sigfox network

Change WiFi settings

Change telnet and FTP login credentials

Resources on the web

Prepaid data SIM card in South Korea

Korea SIM Card by kt M mobile

KT olleh USIM

Choosing a TV - LG 49UH6507

Specifications

Why webOS

How to get the content to the TV

Pros

Cons

PINE 64 getting started guide

FOSDEM 2016

Event details

Slides

Video recording

Useful J2ME applications

Opera Mini

Google Mobile - Maps

mujMail

Bombus

Bombusmod

Skype

jmIrc

MidpSSH

VNC

Weather

KODi - dictionary for mobile phones

UtiSoft LIVE Dictionary

vlkgps

trailexplorer

Slide a Lama Deluxe

Installing OpenSolaris 2008.05 domU on Debian Linux Xen dom0

Obtaining installation image / media

Live CD default passwords

Installation

Post-install configuration

References

Running Linux on HP Compaq 2510p notebook

Graphics card

Sound card

Ethernet card

Wi-Fi

Bluetooth

WWAN

Modem

Hard drive

SD card reader

Touchpoint, Touchpad and special keys

Fingerprint reader

USB

FireWire

PCMCIA / CardBus

ACPI / Power saving

Suspend to RAM