Much ado about scripting, Linux & Eclipse: card subject to change

2008-01-29

Alice in Change

Still more changes & news to report:

  • With the explosion of new projects and components in Modeling, do you find installing all your bits to be increasingly a bit of a chore, even with Update Manager? Then come check out the Modeling Amalgamation Project proposal review tomorrow @ 1500 UTC!
  • Are you textually active? The drop by the Textual Modeling Framework proposal review, also tomorrow @ 1500 UTC!
  • Ever wondered why the EMF project uses Bugzilla's ASSIGNED state to mean "fix in CVS", and RESOLVED:FIXED to mean "fix available in a build?" Wonder no more. We've switched to a more logical workflow, using RESOLVED:FIXED and VERIFIED:FIXED and silently moved all the old bugs to VERIFIED to help with cleaner queries. For details, see bug 206558.

HOWTO: Bluetooth for Linux

Connecting a Thinkpad T60p to a Sony DR-BT30Q Headset

A month or so ago, I scored a Sony Wireless Stereo Headset (DR-BT30Q) with my accumulated Aeroplan miles. Then, when they arrived, I discovered to my dismay that while my SonyEricsson W810i supports Bluetooth 2.0, is DOES NOT support A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) or AVRCP (Audio Video Remote Control Profile). So, while I can use 'em to answer the phone, I can't use them to listen to music on my Walkman-branded MP3-playing phone. Last I checked, SE had no intention of publishing updated firmware or any other way of installing these profiles onto existing phones. Way to go, SE.

Anyway, tonight, in a burst of insomnia, I decided to try to install the BlueZ stack on my Thinkpad and try to get these things working. To my pleasant surprise, it worked! Here's the process:

  1. Install bluez & utils
    apt-get install bluez bluez-utils bluez-firmware bluez-hcidump bluetooth bluez-audio kdebluetooth python-bluez
  2. Install a bluez-friendly audio player, like audacious.
    apt-get install audacious
  3. Install Thinkpad button support.
    apt-get install tpb
  4. (Re)start the bluetooth radio -- I tried /etc/init.d/bluetooth restart but it was Fn-F5 that actually turned on the radio. (This is why I needed tpb.)
  5. I ran a2dp.sh a few times, but it never managed to find my device's MAC address.
  6. I then tried to play with hcitool and dbus-send to manually connect to the headset, but that failed miserably. I did however, find the headset's MAC address.
  7. I manually added my device's bluetooth address into ~/.asoundrc, but that also didn't help.
  8. I noticed that the ~/.a2dp/a2dp.py script (created in step 5) was missing the MAC address, so I added it by hand.
  9. I started up K-Menu > System > Settings > kbluetooth and played around with that a little -- no luck.
  10. I started up audacious (and configured it to use bluetooth).
  11. I loaded up the latest episode of Real Synthetic Audio and started it playing.
  12. NOW, finally, I was prompted to authenticate my bluetooth radio with the headset. I entered the standard code, 0000, and voom -- wireless audio! Now all I need is a spiritual awakening, I suppose. :D

2008-01-25

Building Change

Seems everyone's talking about change these days. Hell, people are even ranting about the way media is changing.

But real issues aside, in part two of this series, I'd like to briefly mention two changes happening closer to home, here in releng-land:

  • EMF, SDO, and XSD are now being packaged a little differently. Consider this a little social experiment to see who, if anyone, still uses zips to get their downloads, rather than using Update Manager. Do you like the new "sourcedoc" zips? Feel free to let us know what you think (here, on IRC in #eclipse-modeling, or in the newsgroups).
  • GEF is now being built by the Common Modeling Build, the first (of many, I'm sure) projects to come over to the dark side. Will DSDP or VE be next? Time will tell.

2008-01-23

Now we know!


Whoops! Something went wrong. Now we know about it!
-- 'Mmkay. And when will you fix it?

2008-01-16

Personal Changelog

To kick off a new blog series on change and change accessories, I'd like to start with a bit of self-promotion about a great bit of system integration that would not have been possible without the Magic of Co-Op StudentsTM. Anyone who's been to the Eclipse Modeling Project's websites has probably seen how we generate release notes per build/release and per-bug deltas & patches. And as I've shamelessly promoted this a number of times in numerous bugzillae, it seems fitting to use a song we've most likely all heard before...

Reach out and touch change

Your own personal Changelog
Something that's accountable
Something able
Your own personal Changelog
Something for forensics
Something that's sick

Hist'ry unknown?
But you're not alone
Commits you own
Bugs that you have pwned
Load your web retriever
It'll make you a believer, oh

Search CVS
Put it the test
Well, it's not Jazz
But it's still real snazz
It will deliver
You know truth's a forgiver, oh

Reach out and track change [x2]

Your own personal Changelog
Something to show off your skillz
Your tricks and your spills
Your own personal Changelog
Something to show you're 1337
(And) don't miss a beat

Reach out, audit change

With hist'ry known
Your devs will come home
Flesh and bone
See what they have pwned
Load your web receiver
It'll make you a believer, oh
It will deliver
The truth's a forgiver, oh

Reach out and watch change

Your own personal Changelog

Reach out and touch change [x5]

Marilyn Manson (Depeche Mode cover) - Personal Jesus

2008-01-13

Ding, Dong, Djangos is Dead

What a shame -- djangos.com has closed its doors. They've supplied me with loads of music over the years, shipped from all over the US for very little money, all on time and without being screwed by the Can/US border bunch. Djangos, you'll be missed.

Seems only the good die young, all the evil seem to live forever [1].

2008-01-10

Time for M4

Ganymede M4 is out tomorrow! Get your red hots bits here (or here)!

There's no profit out in Portland but they're making up Gany
With long division and an update site
It's easy enough to be used by your granny
And it's out tomorrow night

C'mon people time to give us a hand here
You're Eclipse's working corps
(Can this be what you voted for?)

Time for M4 [x2]
Nothing like Four On The Floor
Time for M4 [x2]

It's an urgent fest of test
Declining bugs

Use the force and ya'll try it out
Th'Eclipse economy is making new jobs
You're the people who benefit most
So give a little to your benevolent hosts

Does open source steal from the rich to give to the poor?
Who cares about that - come get some M4!
And new provisioning tech to explore

Come get some 4 [x2]
Better than going to war
Come get some 4 [x2]

It's an urgent fest of test
Declining bugs

We've got to kill 'em and close 'em
Before the API freeze
Squash some bad bugs
Let 'em bleed from their knees
Give a few dollars to the people who sweat
Source is open or closed - which would you rather get?

At a job site the boss is god like
Conditioned workhorses code into the night
Seasoned vets with their feet in nets
A stones throw away from a cock fight
But not tonight: feed a patch

You'd like another add-on? (feed a patch)
Cause it's the finest in the nation? (feed a patch)
Well there's no time left to add that
When it's scope creep or it's plan

Install M4 [x2]
Better'n releases of yore
Install M4 [x2]

It's an urgent fest of test

Bad Religion - Let Them Eat War

2008-01-05

You Can't Fight Ma Bell

A recent post on Where's My Jetpack? has reminded me of my annual tradition of taking the new Yellow Pages from where it was tossed next to my front door, and relocating it immediately into the blue bin.

So, in an attempt to opt out from this annoying and wasteful service, I've scored this instead:


Please enter your comments and/or suggestions


Thank you for your patience.

There is another option:

2008-01-01

Show Me, Don't Tell Me

Wow. My Grade 9 English teacher continues to be right. She was the first person to tell me "Show Me, Don't Tell Me," in the context of writing essays and debating issues.

Looking for a good recap of 2007 (which includes a bit of well-deserved bashing of Microsoft for Vista and Sony for the PS3), I found this article contrasting religion and atheism, and how to achieve common ground between the two camps. It concludes with 'Lead by Example', which is really just 'Show Me, Don't Preach At Tell Me."

So, while I don't have a lot of opportunities to run afoul of zealots (other than those in my immediate family, I suppose), I'm adding 'be more tolerant of others' beliefs' and 'lead by example' to my 2008 resolutions. Well, that and to get off my butt and get biking more.