365 Discoveries » Discoveries

Configuration Program for Panasonic BL-C30A

Justin Marty — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 06:02:08 +0000

Alright, guys, this is a boring post, but I hope to help a couple people out with it. The Panasonic BL-30A I speak of is a wired/wireless IP network camera with pan/tilt functionality. When I purchased it, Panasonic was just adding it to its list of devices it no longer actively supported, so its definitely not supported now. No firmware updates were ever released for it, and just to give you an idea of the firmware’s antiquity, the wireless only works WEP encryption. I picked one up about 4 years ago and, miraculously, have managed to keep track of the CD that came with it. But, that’s the trouble: If the camera is reset, or you end up with it on a network where that camera is on the wrong subnet, the only way to set it up the first time is to use the configuration utility that comes on the CD. I think you can also find the camera’s DHCP address if you have access to your network’s DHCP tables, or you browse through your computer’s ARP tables, assuming you’re in the same broadcast domain, but I’m not sure if it enables web-interface configuration until after the initial configuration performed by the setup program on the CD. After several fruitless web searches, and many dead links, I gave up trying to find it on the web and decided to dig up the CD where I had it stashed. Here I share with you the original setup software (including instruction manual with its machine-translated English) for the BL-C30A.

Panasonic BL-C30A NETWORKCAMERA.zip
All CD files in a .zip folder

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Configuration Program for Panasonic BL-C30A originally appeared on 365 Discoveries on August 8, 2011.

New Program Checks SubFinder Automatically

Justin Marty — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 01:18:54 +0000

Last year, my wife completed earning a liberal studies degree and a multiple-subject credential, but with the employment rate in the Central Valley of California being among the highest in the nation, finding a teaching position proved impossible. However, she was able to interview and be placed on several school district’s sub lists. We found being called for a job from the automated system was a poor way to get jobs since the system would call based on a priority list. Several factors played into this list, but one of them was how often you worked at a particular site. Since my wife just started subbing, we knew she wouldn’t be called for any school site unless all the regulars were already employed for the day or skipped out on the job. Then, my wife revealed there was an online component to the system. Being of the geek type, when she told me these districts used a system called SubFinder and listed every available job for which she is eligible, I knew this would be the key.

At first, I set up a shortcut on her smartphone which jumped right to the web sites for SubFinder which allowed her to job shop throughout the day. But with my mind still turning, I knew I couldn’t let this continue manually. This is the INTERNETS! That means connected systems and automation, my friends!

SubFinder has no built-in notification system, aside from the archaic one-at-a-time phone calling system(I know, right?). However, I was able to find a new online service called SubAssistant which checks your SubFinder account for you, then sends you a text message or email alert when one is available. All you need to do is sign up, enter your SubFinder info, set your notification preferences, and wait for the jobs to come to you. Once I set this up for my wife, she couldn’t believe how many notifications she was receiving. While SubAssistant doesn’t auto accept the jobs for you, it was easy for my wife to get the email on her phone, then immediately pop open the browser and pick up the job manually.

While looking for automated programs to check SubFinder, I ran across a couple of others for different sub systems like Sub Sidekick, Jobulator, and SubAlerts, but all these programs require you to download software to your own computer and leave your computer on 24/7 so the software can check the site. I liked SubAssistant’s approach; its all online so you don’t have to worry about leaving your computer on or missing jobs because you forgot to start the software after a reboot. (Not to mention the electric bill!) Another option is using something like the Check4Change plugin for Firefox or ReloadEvery for Internet Explorer and (I think) Chrome. But again, these two just refresh the page and essentially tie you to your computer.

Does anyone know of any other program that can do the same thing for SubFinder? SubAssistant works great, but it doesn’t hurt to try others, right?

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New Program Checks SubFinder Automatically originally appeared on 365 Discoveries on March 16, 2011.

Microsoft Windows 7 Student Discount is on again

Justin Marty — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 05:17:47 +0000

Well, sorta… While we’ll never see the $30 student deal we saw when Windows 7 was first released, for a limited time, Windows 7 Professional is available for $65 to anyone who has an eligible .edu email address. Go to: http://www.microsoft.com/student/en/us/windows/buynow/default.aspx to check for eligibility.

When you go through the cart process, be sure to remove any “backup” or physical media options. As long as you’re careful enough to keep the downloaded ISO somewhere safe along with the product key, you don’t need to pay Microsoft for their backup or physical media.

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Microsoft Windows 7 Student Discount is on again originally appeared on 365 Discoveries on February 8, 2011.

Bypass PdaNet Trial Restriction on Android

Justin Marty — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 06:52:26 +0000

Disclaimer: I do not condone utilizing this “hack” as a means to avoid paying for the program.

—

Back when I used June Fabric’s PdaNet on my T-Mobile G1 and later on the Motorola Droid X, I discovered (as I’m sure many others did) an easy, temporary, bypass on the trial restriction to connect to secure https web sites using PdaNet during the trial period. Eventually, I rooted (discover rooting) my device and now enjoy the benefits without the need for USB tethering using PdaNet.

To connect to secure web sites, simply use the program’s nag screen, or the context menu when you right-click on the system tray icon to start the process of purchasing the program. Continue through the process as if you are going to purchase the program. Once you reach a web page which utilizes https during the purchasing process (either PayPal, or June Fabric’s other credit card processing choice), you should now have access to any other secure web site. Though, I never quite pinned down if the bypass worked per session, or within some time frame, but at some point, you will likely loose the ability to connect to secure web sites. At this point, just repeat the procedure.

Again, you are responsible for your actions with this information. I used this as a means to fully vet the program before deciding that rooting was a better way to go. Futhermore, I am not sure this will even work with newer versions of the program as I haven’t used it for some time. Can anyone shed some light on this?

Alternatively, PdaNet allows you to continue using its free version (with nag) without access to secure web sites. If you’re more technically inclined, you can set up a VPN through a computer at home and use that to encrypt all traffic keeping PdaNet and your carrier out of your traffic, https or not. More information on this is available on post #13 on this DroidXForums.com thread.

See my previous post on using PdaNet to tether without rooting.

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Bypass PdaNet Trial Restriction on Android originally appeared on 365 Discoveries on January 25, 2011.

Android Corporate Sync Issues [Troubleshooting]

Justin Marty — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 03:37:05 +0000

The corporate sync feature on Android isn’t perfect, and while Android 2.2 was supposed to bring a host of fixes for the feature, I’ve found that synchronization issues continue, specifically on the Droid X. Below are the fixes I perform, in order, to revive broken sync:

NOTE: Proceed at your own risk. While performing these steps should be harmless, I cannot be held responsible for your choice to proceed if bad things happen.

Restart your device. Be honest, you haven’t done that, yet, have you?
Clear data for the program that is not syncing (e.g Calendar, Email). Typically, I’ve seen sync issues with only one program. Then, restart the device.
Select "Applications" from Settings Menu

Select the "All" tab, then click the "Clear Data" button for each program with the sync issue (e.g. Calendar and Calendar Storage)
Remove then set up the Corporate Sync account (don’t do this unless you have all the details for connecting to your account again)
From the Settings menu, select Accounts, long-press on the Corporate Sync account and then remove.
Wait it out. I’ve had users where the first two procedures above didn’t correct the issue with sync, however, after ignoring it for a few days, the sync returned.
The nulcear option: Reset to factory defaults
Found in the Privacy menu under the Options menu, the Factory Data reset should be regarded as a last resort and only if you know exactly what a Factory Reset entails.

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Android Corporate Sync Issues [Troubleshooting] originally appeared on 365 Discoveries on January 16, 2011.

Finally! Video Backgrounds in Microsoft Office PowerPoint [Office 2010]

Justin Marty — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 23:48:35 +0000

It’s been the one thing thats kept a lot of churches away from using PowerPoint as their video projection software of choice: motion backgrounds. Previously, you could insert a video on a PowerPoint slide, but you couldn’t show any text on top of it (without weird plugins that didn’t work), regardless of layering. Now, with PowerPoint 2010, part of the Microsoft Office 2010 suite of applications, you can send a video to the back layer on a slide and display text or images on top of it. Though, technically, this is not the background of the slide.

There is, however, one major flaw that will keep this new feature from being truly useful; there’s no way to keep a single video looping through several slides, even if you insert the video into the slide master. In other words, assuming you’ve inserted the same video on subsequent slides, each time you change a slide the video will start over. Therefore, unless your video is looped to the exact time you want to change each slide, there will be a noticeable jump in the video each time you change a slide.

Alternatively, this can be overcome by keeping all the text you wish to display in association with a particular background loop on one slide and make heavy use of custom animations to hide and show blocks of text. This, certainly, becomes very troublesome when dealing with more than two or three “slides” of text, but that could be just enough.

Looking for motion/still backgrounds to use for your PowerPoint slides? Check out my previous post: 100s of Free Worship Backgrounds & Graphics (and videos!)

Update: I found it is possible to keep a video running across multiple slides through the use of video options in the custom animation task pane, however, doing so will cause the video to move to the front, covering any text on the slide. So, while this feature is still useful for video thats inset on a slide, it will not work for full screen motion backgrounds.

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Finally! Video Backgrounds in Microsoft Office PowerPoint [Office 2010] originally appeared on 365 Discoveries on January 9, 2011.

Roommate Agreement / Contract

Justin Marty — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 06:02:36 +0000

So, you’ve busted free of the parents house and you’re ready to live a full, independent life in your dorm, shared apartment, or ( for the lucky) shared home. You and your new roommates may be best friends, but nothing tests those friendships like living with them, their weird guests, and their quirky habits. The best way to ensure conflicts are kept to a minimum is to be clear about what is and isn’t okay around your new shared home. Start by reading this guide on college roommate etiquette tips. One good way to ensure everyone is on the same page is through the use of a roommate agreement or, more ominously, contract. A contract can also be important when your living situation requires significant money to pass hands as everyone pays their part of the security deposit and rent is paid each month; you want to make sure you get that deposit back, right!?

First, you should discuss what the agreement should cover. You want to make sure everyone likes the idea, and is in agreement over how the agreement binds them. A simple agreement may only cover some ground rules, and things like chores. A more involved contract would also cover rent, utilities, and what should be done in the case of a vacating roommate. If you own or rent the home and are sub-leasing rooms, you’ll definitely want a contract that discusses more items related to payments and tenancy dates. The contract should be a required legal document before someone even moves in their first sock.

Below, you’ll find a contract I created for my roommate days. You’ll find it can be very thorough in some areas; I wanted to be sure it was very clear! In hindsight, it didn’t need to be, I had trouble-free roommates, but perhaps your situation isn’t so rosy. At any rate, take the contract, and the chore list I’ve provided and fit it to your needs!

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Roommate Agreement / Contract originally appeared on 365 Discoveries on December 14, 2010.

Why Hulu Plus Isn’t Worth It

Justin Marty — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 07:55:53 +0000

Hulu is great, Hulu Plus isn't (Click to enlarge)

I don’t want to send the wrong message here, so to be clear, Hulu as a advertising-supported service is great. I was never sucked into watching shows for seasons at a time until Hulu and its time-shifting video. Between working full-time, volunteering at church, class in the evening, and just having a life, television certainly wasn’t a priority. When Hulu rolled around, I cut the cable and never looked back.

Hulu Plus, just released to the masses, is a $7.99 a month service (still advertising-supported, I might add) which gives you access to high-definition video (when available) and entire catalogs of episodes from select shows. As it stands, Hulu [free] will typically have available the most recent 5 episodes of any given show. On the other hand, subscribing to Hulu Plus gives access to the entire current season of, for example, Lie to Me and in other circumstances, as in the case of Family Guy, Hulu Plus will unleash the entire run of the show for viewing.

So, why is it not worth it? Right now, you can sign up for a free one-week trial of Hulu Plus. Naturally, I signed up for it, but made sure I placed the cancellation date on my calendar lest I be charged. Immediately, I hop on my new Roku XD with the Hulu Plus channel installed to see what magic has been made available. To my dismay, I find only a handful of shows I subscribe to (out of 19 total) are even available. To see exactly what is going on, I hop on a computer to find my queue has a new column showing what is available and where (see picture above).

I’m still completely blown away by the idiocy of blocking Hulu [free] from being viewed on a Google TV device, or blocking Hulu [free] from Roku’s line of new media players, but to find out that Hulu Plus (the reason for the blocking) doesn’t even allow me to watch most of my favorite shows from my Roku on a TV even AFTER paying them AND after consenting to watching advertisements, just completely kills the deal.

As it stands… Hulu? The best thing to happen to broadcast TV since color television sets. Hulu Plus? Not worth a dime. I’ll continue using PlayOn to stream Hulu [free] to my Roku, thank you very much.

UPDATE (2/11/11): I just received a marketing email from PlayOn claiming you can add PlayOn to the Roku. Instructions here: http://www.playon.tv/devices/roku

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Why Hulu Plus Isn’t Worth It originally appeared on 365 Discoveries on November 17, 2010.

Free Holiday / Christmas Music

Justin Marty — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 05:19:01 +0000

There’s no other time of the year which is so uniquely identified by entire genres of music than the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays. Then, come January 1st we’re sick of hearing it piped in over store P.A. systems and radio stations. With the explosion of online radio, and the plethora of options available, there’s little need to keep Holiday MP3s on your computer anymore just so you can listen to it for a couple of months out of the year only to take it out of the rotation on December 26. Below I list just a few of the best in online radio which offer holiday music selections. In no particular order:

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Pandora Radio
- Head over to Pandora and type in the name of your favorite Holiday song, or artist and Pandora will play more music based on the qualities of that song or artist. When you select an artist, and if the option is available, be sure to select the option which includes the word Holiday. For example, when entering “Tran-Siberian Orchestra,” Pandora will suggest “Trans-Siberian Orchestra (Holiday)”. You’ll want to select that Holiday option to ensure Trans-Siberian’s Beethoven performances aren’t included in your mix. Don’t have any song or artist in mind? That’s okay, Pandora has typical genre selections, too.
AOL Music
- I haven’t found anything special about AOL Radio other than its fairly large pre-defined selection of genres. During this time of year you’ll find a bunch of Holiday-themed stations including “Oldies Holiday,” “Top Christmas Songs,” and so on.
Last.fm Radio
- Last.fm is known for their social approach to music discovery. They provide plugins for most popular media players to keep track and display your music playing habits and, in turn, will make suggestions for other artists you may be interested in based on your habits. Additionally, you can find your friends on Last.fm and influence each other’s recommendations. However, you can skip past all that socializing, fire up the Last.fm radio, punch in an artist or genre and start listening!
Grooveshark
- Grooveshark boasts an impressive library and music on-demand. Normally, I would recommend Grooveshark, however, for the purposes of quickly playing Holiday-themed music, Grooveshark sinks to the bottom. While you can use it for Holiday tunes, it’s just not as easy to get a nicely packaged station with only Holiday music as some other services.
Slacker Radio
- Slacker is a good choice for Holiday-themed music because the service offers both artist or song matching and pre-packaged stations for quick selection of desired genres. Just head over to Slacker Radio, click on the Seasonal category, and select your favorite flavor of Holiday

Have a different place to enjoy Holiday radio? Let us know in the comments!

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Free Holiday / Christmas Music originally appeared on 365 Discoveries on November 16, 2010.

My Review of Roku XD Player

Justin Marty — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 21:46:26 +0000

Automated posting: Originally submitted at Roku

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The new XD steps it up with 1080p HD video quality and extended-range wireless.

Roku XD Player

Does (almost) everything

By Justin from Turlock, CA on 11/16/2010

Pros: Built in Wi-Fi, Easy to use, Ability to add private ch, Easy to set up, Downloadable content, Compact

Cons: Video loading fails, No onoff switch, Inconsistent performance, No DLNA

Best Uses: Living room, Primary TV

Describe Yourself: Power User, Early adopter

The product works well with Netflix, Pandora, and the other channels being added every day. Can’t wait for the Hulu channel to be made available. I’m disappointed that DLNA is not supported yet, and the rumor that when it comes, it won’t be fully supported. I’m also disappointed in the decision to remove the PlayOn channel.

(legalese)

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My Review of Roku XD Player originally appeared on 365 Discoveries on November 16, 2010.