Tourist In Paradise

Welcome to my Travelog!

2012-12-31T07:00:00.000+08:00

Rodney is a guy from Malaysia who studied in Singapore. He currently shuttles between several cities in Southeast Asia for work and play. This website is a collection of his travel journals and random thoughts.

Sunrise at Phu Chi Fa near the Thai-Laos border

Travelogs

North Thailand: Chiang Mai - Chiang Rai (Dec 2005)	The Netherlands: Amsterdam (Sep 2005)
Australia: Perth (Jul 2005)	Yokoso! Japan: 8 days in Central Honshu (Apr 2005)
Andaman Islands: Koh Ngai / Trang (Nov 2004)	Italy: Milan & Lake Como (Aug 2002)

Events

Ferry & Jeni's ROM Ceremony
(Jul 2005)

Anime / Now Watching

Gunbuster 2 / Aim for the Top 2!
(Feb 2006)

Honey and Clover
(Feb 2006)

Articles

Linksys WRT54GL Performance (Apr 2008)	Samsung Galaxy S Tweaks (Nov 2010)
Enhanced Pitch Shifter for ReClock (Apr 2009)	Nokia N80: Changing Fonts (Jun 2006)

If you would like to view my "guestbook" or leave me a message, please click the comments link below.

Samsung Galaxy Note: SpeedMod Kernel Changelog

2012-01-21T20:52:00.002+08:00

This is the changelog of the SpeedMod kernel for the Samsung Galaxy Note:

Click here to download the Gingerbread kernel for the Galaxy Note.

GINGERBREAD versions:

K1-3:
- Disabled more kernel debugging

K1-2:
- CPU hotplug and frequency scaling adjustments
- GPU frequency scaling adjustments
- FUSE module included

K1-1:
- Initial release

_______________________________

More Samsung Galaxy Note Tips

Samsung Galaxy Note: Download SpeedMod kernel

2012-01-21T20:48:00.003+08:00

Download links for the SpeedMod Gingerbread kernel for the Samsung Galaxy Note.

The procedure for how to flash using Odin is here.

The latest changelog is here.

NOTE: The downloads on this page are for the Galaxy NOTE GT-N7000 only.

This version is only for Samsung Gingerbread ROMs. It will not work with CyanogenMod or MIUI ROMS!

Version: K1-3 (31-Jan-2012)

Odin version: SpeedMod K1-3 for Odin
CWM version: SpeedMod K1-3 for CWM

Version: K1-1 (21-Jan-2012)
Odin version: SpeedMod K1-1 for Odin
CWM version: SpeedMod K1-1 for CWM

You can download some of the versions and the source code from XDA forums.

[HOW TO ENABLE LOGCAT]

If you are a developer or want to re-enable logcat for whatever reason, do this:

adb shell
su
mount -o remount,rw /system
echo ANDROIDLOGGER >> /system/etc/tweaks.conf
mount -o remount,ro /system

Reboot and you should have it enabled.

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More Samsung Galaxy Note Tips

Samsung Galaxy S2: SpeedMod Kernel Changelog

2011-10-02T17:42:00.000+08:00

This is the changelog of the SpeedMod kernel for the Samsung Galaxy S2:

Click here to download the Gingerbread kernel for the Galaxy S2 I9100.

GINGERBREAD versions:

K2-20:
- CPU hotplug and frequency scaling adjustments
- GPU frequency scaling adjustments
- FUSE module included

K2-19:
- Updated compiler options
- PREEMPT mode
- CPU hotplug changes
- Enabled KALLSYMS_ALL for Voodoo Louder and Tegrak OC compatibility
- Updated scheduler tweaks
- Disabled AFTR cpuidle mode
- Slightly more aggressive GPU DVFS speed increase
- GPU base clock set to 167MHz instead of 160MHz
- Disabled some more debug logging in the kernel

K2-18:
- Patch from Linaro to support ARM CPU topology
- Updated ARM topology patches
- Enabled sched_mc for dual-core power management
- Enabled AFTR (ARM off top running) CPU idle mode
- Nicer looking kernel version string
- Updated to CWM5
- VM patches from 2.6.36 kernel
- PREEMPT_VOLUNTARY mode
- CPU hotplug optimizations
- Disabled scheduler stats
- Disabled more debug code: STACKTRACE and LATENCYTOP
- High resolution timer HRTICK enabled in CFS scheduler
- Scheduler tweaks
- Some kernel config option cleanups
- Adjustments to compiler options
- Adjustment to wifi driver wakelock timeout
- max17042: Fix fuel alert wakelocks
- nohz: sched delay going tickless when CPU is loaded
- rcu: remove rcu_needs_cpu_flush() to avoid false quiescent states
- remove the per cpu tick skew
- Touchscreen MOVHYST ("Vitalij fix") set to 10

K2-16:
- Touchscreen tweaks: MOVHYST ("Vitalij fix") set to 3 (same as SGS1)
- Touchscreen sensitivity (burst length) increased

K2-15:
- Added TCP timeout tweaks

K2-13:
- Disabled debugging: FRAME_POINTERS and ARM_UNWIND
- Modified IO tweaks (write flush timing)
- max17042: Fix fuel alert wakelocks (thanks Entropy512)

K2-12:
- Changed some compiler optimization settings

K2-11:
- Updated wifi driver from GT-N7000 sources
- Updated CWM recovery to 4.0.1.5
- Changed some compiler optimization settings

K2-10:
- Reworked patches from GT-N7000 sources
- Adjusted init.d script startup delay

K2-9:
- Removed -ffast-math from compiler optimizations

K2-8:
- Patched net usb drivers from GT-N7000 sources
- Revert to using CONFIG_PREEMPT
- New compiler optimization settings (smoother!)

K2-7:
- Implemented ARM_ERRATA_743622, ext4 and mm patches from GT-N7000 sources

K2-6:
- Change to CONFIG_PREEMPT_VOLUNTARY for kernel

K2-5:
- Rebuilt using new GT-I9100_OpenSource_Update3 source code

K2-3:
- Revert faster USB charging speed, it was causing instability for some USB ports
- Disable Mali-400 GPU state tracking
- Minor bugfix to Exynos cpu suspend hotplug

K2-2:
- Rebuilt using newer Linaro 2011.10 GCC 4.5 toolchain
- USB charging speed increased by 10%: current limit set to 500mA

K2-1:
- Rebuilt using newer AT&T SGH-I777_Opensource source code

K1-T41:
- Updated init.rc for better XXKI3 compatibility

K1-T40:
- Compiled using Linaro GCC 4.5 2011.09 toolchain
- Updated wifi, sound, fs patches from update2 source code

K1-T39:
- Modified brightness levels, higher mid-level brightness
- Slight optimization to light sensor driver

K1-T32:
- Reverted back to Update1 source code but with new compiler optimizations from K1-T29

K1-T31:
- Experimental fix for "no deep sleep" problem from update2 source code

K1-T30:
- Compatibility fix for non-Samsung emmc storage

K1-T29:
- More compiler optimizations

K1-T28:
- Re-built from new Samsung update2 source code

_______________________________

More Samsung Galaxy S2 Tips

Samsung Galaxy S2: Download SpeedMod kernel

2011-10-02T17:35:00.006+08:00

Download links for the SpeedMod Gingerbread kernel for the Samsung Galaxy S2.

The procedure for how to flash using Odin is here.

The latest changelog is here.

NOTE: The downloads on this page are for the Galaxy S2 GT-I9100 only.

This version is only for Samsung Gingerbread ROMs. It will not work with CyanogenMod or MIUI ROMS!

WARNING: This kernel does NOT work for the GT-I9100G. I9100 kernels and ROMs are not compatible with the I9100G.

Version: K2-20 (31-Jan-2012)

Odin version: SpeedMod K2-20 for Odin
CWM version: SpeedMod K2-20 for CWM

Version: K2-19 (21-Jan-2012)

Odin version: SpeedMod K2-19 for Odin
CWM version: SpeedMod K2-19 for CWM

Version: K2-18 (18-Dec-2011)

Odin version: SpeedMod K2-18 for Odin
CWM version: SpeedMod K2-18 for CWM

Version: K2-16 (06-Nov-2011)

Odin version: SpeedMod K2-16 for Odin
CWM version: SpeedMod K2-16 for CWM

Version: K2-13 (29-Oct-2011)

Odin version: SpeedMod K2-13 for Odin
CWM version: SpeedMod K2-13 for CWM

Version: K2-12 (27-Oct-2011)

Odin version: SpeedMod K2-12 for Odin
CWM version: SpeedMod K2-12 for CWM

Version: K2-6 (22-Oct-2011)

Odin version: SpeedMod K2-6

Version: K2-1 (13-Oct-2011)

Odin version: SpeedMod K2-1

Version: K1-T41 (03-Oct-2011)

Odin version: SpeedMod K1-T41

Version: K1-T40 (17-Sep-2011)

Odin version: SpeedMod K1-T40

You can download some of the versions and the source code from XDA forums.

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More Samsung Galaxy S2 Tips

Samsung Galaxy S: Download SpeedMod kernel

2011-10-02T16:19:00.012+08:00

Download links for the SpeedMod Gingerbread kernel for the Samsung Galaxy S.

The procedure for how to flash using Odin is here.

The latest changelog is here.

NOTE: The downloads on this page are for the Galaxy S GT-I9000 only.

This version is only for Samsung Gingerbread ROMs. It will not work with Samsung Froyo, CyanogenMod or MIUI ROMS!

Version: K16-11 (22-Jan-2012)

Odin version: SpeedMod K16-11 for Odin

Version: K16-7 (06-Nov-2011)

Odin version: SpeedMod K16-7 for Odin

Version: K16-6 (29-Oct-2011)

Odin version: SpeedMod K16-6 for Odin

Version: K16-5 (27-Oct-2011)

Odin version: SpeedMod K16-5 for Odin

Version: K16-2 (24-Oct-2011)

Odin version: SpeedMod K16-2 for Odin

Version: K15I-T15 (19-Oct-2011)

Odin version: SpeedMod K15I-T15

Version: K15I-T13 (1-Oct-2011)

Odin version: SpeedMod K15I-T13

You can download some of the versions and the source code from XDA forums.

_________________________________

More Samsung Galaxy S Tips

What is the SpeedMod kernel?

2011-01-13T18:13:00.027+08:00

The SpeedMod kernel is a fast, stable, and efficient (good battery life) alternative Android kernel for the Samsung Galaxy S, S2 and Note, compatible with stock Samsung roms.

It makes our Samsung Galaxy faster, the way it's supposed to be! Plus, it has lots of cool new features.

Click here for how to install the SpeedMod kernel

The SpeedMod Gingerbread kernel is available for:

- Samsung Galaxy S (GT-I9000)
- Samsung Galaxy S2 (GT-I9100)
- Samsung Galaxy Note (GT-N7000)

The SpeedMod Froyo kernel (no longer maintained) is available for the following models:

- International Galaxy S (GT-I9000) and Bell Mobility Vibrant (GT-I9000M)
- AT&T Captivate (SGH-I897)

SpeedMod Gingerbread features:

Root and CWM:
- Installs root (su)
- CWM recovery

Screen and misc tweaks:
- MDNIE screen sharpness tuning (improves text readability)
- MDNIE color tuning (reduces over-saturation of color)
- Lower brightness at low-light levels (S2 only)
- init.d, TUN, CIFS, IPV6 Privacy support

Performance:
- CPU governor tweaks: increase responsiveness
- IO tweaks
- Read ahead tweaks
- Updated to jhash3
- Compiled with optimizations using newer Linaro GCC 4.5 toolchain
- Switched to SLAB instead of SLUB (S2 only)
- ext4 filesystem conversion / lagfix (SGS only)

Excellent battery life and smoothness by disabling unnecessary logging:
- Disabled Android Debug Logger / logcat
- Disabled Kernel debug (S2 only)
- Disabled Samsung debug (S2 only)
- Disabled various tracing and debugging options

SpeedMod Froyo (deprecated) features:

Basic features

- Based on Samsung released kernel source code

- 339MB RAM

Improved sound quality

- Voice calls: audio works with standard stereo headphones and phone mic

- Voice calls: louder earpiece volume and tweaked mic gain to reduced distortion
- Recordings: corrected mic gain to remove audio distortion from video recordings

- Slight boost to rear speaker volume level

- Improvements to FM radio sound quality

- Headphone output boost with support for Voodoo Sound application

Improved display quality

- Improved sharpness: enabled AMOLED mode in MDNIE processing
- Superb text clarity: Removed over-sharpening of the screen

- Better colors

- Optional warm and cold color correction for screens which are too brownish / blueish

Universal Lagfix

- Enhanced version of sztupy's Universal Lagfix

- Safest ext4 mount options

- Supports ext2 / ext3 / ext4 / ext4nj / jfs lagfixes (only ext4 is recommended)

- Supports conversion of /system partition

Brightness Tweaks

- Minimum brightness lowered by 30% for comfortable low-light use

- Auto-Brightness adjusted to keep the screen dimmer longer in low light
- Auto-Brightness adjusted to make the screen brighter earlier in bright light

- Auto-Brightness sensor polling interval increased from 0.5s to 1.2s

(Saves battery and makes brightness levels more stable)
- Auto-Brightness "darkness mode" can be disabled / enabled from Recovery menu

Speed and Efficiency Optimizations

- Disabled kernel debug logging

- Disabled Android debug logger (can be re-enabled via Tweaks)
- Replaced kernel jhash2 with jhash3

- Battery level polling frequency reduced from 5s to 60s

Linux OS Tweaks

- Tweaks for CFQ IO scheduler

- Tweaks for VM parameters

- Tweaks for increased Battery Life

Updated source code patches

- Updated ext4 code in kernel
- Properly working Tiny RCU patch for better speed and efficiency
- Updated lowmemorykiler from Android git

Miscellaneous features

- Includes neldar's BackLightNotification 2.3

- Adjusted kernel HZ value to increase smoothness
(500 or 250 HZ for integer divisibility by 1000ms)

- Compiled using latest Codesourcery 2010.09

- Better GPS performance

_______________________________

More Samsung Galaxy S Tips

Samsung Galaxy S: How to install Froyo DXJPE

2011-01-01T16:58:00.001+08:00

Samsung has just released an updated Android 2.2 Froyo firmware for Southeast Asia, version DXJPE. This is for Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines.

If you have Kies working and you never installed any custom firmwares before, you can just upgrade using Kies.

However, if you are unable to update using Kies or prefer to update manually using Odin, this is how to do it.

WARNING: This procedure WILL ERASE ALL YOUR DATA! You need to make a BACKUP of your apps and data first, using an app like Titanium Backup.

Disclaimer: I make no guarantees that this will work for you. It might brick your phone. Do this at your own risk.

Pre-requisites

You need to have Kies previously installed on your PC, for the USB drivers.

1. Download the package

Download the complete firmware package from here: DXJPE_Complete

2. Unzip the package

After you've downloaded the zip package, unzip it to a temporary directory.

3. Put your phone into Download Mode

- Before you start, make sure your phone's battery is sufficiently charged (50% or more.)

- Power off your phone.

- Wait for the phone to completely shut down (it takes about 30 seconds).

- Press and hold Volume-Down + Home + Power at the same time.

- The phone should boot into Download Mode with the words "do not turn off target":

4. Run Odin and connect your phone

First make sure to quit / exit Kies!

From the directory where you extracted the files, run Odin3 v1.52.exe.

Now plug in your phone to the USB port of your PC. If you have Kies previously installed, you should see one of the ID:COM boxes turn yellow:

5. Now select the firmware files

- In PIT select s1_odin_20100513.pit (you *must* use PIT 513!)

- Tick (Enable) Re-Partition

- In PDA select CODE_I9000DXJPE.tar

- In PHONE select MODEM_I9000DXJPB.tar

- In CSC select CSC_I9000OLBJPA.tar

Leave all other options as default. You should see something like this:

6. Flash the firmware

Click on the "START" button to start the firmware upgrade. Do not disconnect your phone or PC at this point.

After the upgrade finishes, your phone should reboot. Go to Step 7.

IF ERROR: In case Odin does not start flashing and shows an error, your phone might go into the "download error" mode:

DON'T PANIC. This happens sometimes when there is a USB connection error.

First disconnect the USB cable from your phone.

Next shutdown your phone, by either: Press and hold the power button for about 30 seconds. The phone will power off. If it does not, just take out the battery and put it back in.

Try again from Step 3.

7. Enter Recovery Mode to Wipe Data

Most likely, your phone will get stuck booting at the "glowing S logo". This is normal - it is because your phone has a mixture of the old and new firmware data.

To fix this, you need to Clear Data by accessing the Recovery Menu:

- Shutdown your phone and unplug it from the power or USB.

- Boot into Recovery Mode: Press and hold Volume-Up + Home + Power. You have to let go of the power button after about 3 seconds once you see the "Galaxy S" screen.

If you are successful, you will see the Recovery Menu.

Choose "Wipe Data / Factory Reset".

Reboot after it's done.

8. Boot into DXJPA

You should be done at this step! The phone should reboot into DXJPA with your default carrier customizations.

To check the firmware versions, open the Phone Dialer and typing *#1234# and you should see:

9. Change CSC

If you get the wrong carrier customizations or want to change your CSC, you can.

This procedure will change your CSC and Sales Code, but will WIPE ALL DATA similar to a Wipe Data / Factory Reset. Backup first, if you have any data on the phone.

Open the Phone Dialer.

Dial *#06# and the phone should show your IMEI. Copy this down somewhere.

Now Dial: *#272*imei# for example *#272*123456781234567#

The phone will show you a choice of CSCs. Choose the one that matches your carrier.

The phone will reboot and reinstall the new CSC files.

It works!

If you want to buy me a beer, you can do it via Paypal by clicking here. Thank you! :)

SpeedMod kernel

After you have got DXJPE up and running, you might notice that it gets a bit laggy.

If you want to give your phone a big speed boost, you can try my SpeedMod kernel.

_______________________________

More Samsung Galaxy S Tips

AT&T Captivate: Download SpeedMod kernel for Froyo

2010-12-31T18:06:00.060+08:00

DEPRECATED. This version of SpeedMod is no longer maintained.

Download links for the SpeedMod Android 2.2 Froyo kernel for the AT&T Captivate SGH-I897.
The procedure for how to flash using Odin is here.

The latest changelog is here.

NOTE: The downloads on this page are for the AT&T Captivate SGH-I897 only.

For Galaxy S GT-I9000 or GT-I9000M users, download the versions from this page instead.

Version: K13E (12-Apr-2011)

K13 works with official Android 2.2.1 firmwares.

K13 is also compatible with older Android 2.2 firmwares.

Odin versions:

SpeedMod K13E with HZ=500 (Recommended)

ClockWorkMod versions:

SpeedMod K13E with HZ=250 CWM

SpeedMod K13E with HZ=250 CWM BIGMEM (355MB RAM, no 720P video recording)

SpeedMod K13E with HZ=500 CWM

SpeedMod K13E with HZ=500 CWM BIGMEM (355MB RAM, no 720P video recording)

_________________________________

More Samsung Galaxy S Tips

Samsung Galaxy S: SpeedMod Kernel Changelog

2010-11-30T16:28:00.116+08:00

This is the changelog of the SpeedMod kernel for the Samsung Galaxy S:

Click here to download the Gingerbread kernel for the Galaxy S I9000.

GINGERBREAD versions:

K16-11:
- Updated compiler settings
- Some minor tweaks

K16-10:
- Scheduler patched and tweaks adjusted
- Cleanup to kernel configs

K16-9:
- Rebuilt using Linaro GCC 4.4 2011.02
- High resolution timer HRTICK enabled in CFS scheduler
- Some minor tweaks

K16-8:
- Nicer looking kernel version string
- Rebuilt using Linaro GCC 4.6 2011.10
- Ondemand governor patched

K16-7:
- Using wifi driver compiled from source
- Added TCP timeout tweaks

K16-6:
- Switched back to TINY_RCU
- Disabled debugging: FRAME_POINTER
- Modified IO tweaks (write flush timing

K16-5:
- Changed compiler optimizations

K16-3:
- Switched to Linaro GCC 4.4 2011.02 (testing fix for black screen problem)

K16-2:
- Switched to default TREE_RCU (testing fix for black screen problem)

K16-1:
- Reworked MDNIE driver
- Disabled warm/neutral/cold color selection

K15I-T15:
- Updated modules from XXJVT
- Compiled using Linaro GCC 4.6 2011.10 toolchain
- SLUB max order set to 0

K15I-T13:
- Updated modules and init.rc from XXJVS including wifi module
- Should be compatible with XXVJS ROMs

K15I-T11:
- Compiled using Linaro GCC 4.5 2011.09 toolchain
- Changed HZ to 256 for better stability and compatibility

K15I-T8:
- Fixed missing wifi module from update2 source code

K15I-T5:
- Fixed USB Tethering problem
- Minor changes to tweaks

K15I-T2:
- Switched to Linaro 2011-07 GCC 4.5 toolchain
- Enabled GCC Graphite optimizations
- K15I-T2b re-released to show version in About phone menu

K15I-T1:
- Rebuilt from update Samsung source code GalaxyS_OpenSource_GB_Update2
- Disabled CONFIG_FTRACE

FROYO versions (no longer maintained):

K13E: 12-Apr-2011

- Voodoo Sound v7

- Optimization: Disabled CONFIG_UACCESS_WITH_MEMCPY

- Patched lowmemorykiller to remove potential bug with 2.6.35-kernel-specific code

K13D: 21-Mar-2011

- Attempt to fix WiFi error message when turning WiFi on sometimes
- Kernel modules updated from ZSJPJ kernel
- Ported fix from ZSJPJ kernel for downloading apps >30MB from Market
- Default lowmemorykiller minfree changed to 36MB

K13C: 20-Feb-2011

- Internal and External SD USB mounts work in Recovery mode

- Default lowmemorykiller minfree changed to 32MB "new" Samsung default

- Old 48MB lowmemorykiller minfree settings can be enabled via Tweak (not recommended)

- Kernel modules updated from XWJS5 kernel

- Kernel scheduler tweak removed (seems to be more consistent without it)
- Disabled custom boot sound to make init "cleaner" (can be re-enabled in Tweaks)

K13B: 16-Feb-2011

- Internal SD USB mount now works in Recovery mode

- New Android lowmemorykiller tweak: Increases usable RAM by 12MB

- Voice calls over headphones are louder

- Minor bug fix to FM Radio sound: High frequencies preserved after notification sounds

K13A: 8-Feb-2011

- Neutral / Warm / Cold color option, selectable from Recovery

- Disable minimum auto-brightness level option, selectable from Recovery

K12U: 6-Feb-2011

- Changes to color (less green)

- O3 compiler optimizations except for sound soc codec

- Kernel scheduler tweak modified (improves GPS response)

K12T: 1-Feb-2011

- Voodoo Sound v4 + some minor modifications

- Changes to the way color tweaks is applied
- Improved sharpness: turned on AMOLED mode in MDNIE

- Slightly optimized light sensor driver

K12S: 30-Jan-2011

- Added stereo headphone calling support: Voice calls go via normal stereo headphones if attached, otherwise they go via the Earpiece (thanks to xcaliburinhand for some of the patches)

- Voodoo Sound v3
- Disabled gamma 1.9 setting, everything uses gamma 2.2 now

K12R: 27-Jan-2011

- Compiled using O2 optimization instead of O3, should be more stable

K12Q: 24-Jan-2011

- Disabled Android debug logger / logcat (can be re-enabled in Tweaks)
- Disabled all kernel debug messages (printk) for increased efficiency
- Changed boot logo to I897 logo for AT&T Captivate version
- Changed /cache to ext4nj in recommended ext4 lagfix to fix large Market downloads
- Optional IPv6 Privacy support in Tweaks
- Voodoo Sound v2 compatible
- Fixed loud notification problem with headphones
- Fixed popping / clicking noise when music and FM radio is stopped / started
- Better FM Radio sound:
- - Really removed the high pass filter and DRC from FM Radio (restores full bass)
- - Turn on 4FS mode for ADC in FM Radio (smoother high frequencies)
- - Turn on 128x oversampling for ADC and DAC in FM Radio mode
- Adjusted volume of FM Radio and Media Playback to be similar
- General sound quality improvements:
- - Maximized digital mixer output to improve SNR and resolution
- - 128x oversampling option in Voodoo Sound enabled by default
- - Explicitly disable DRC and NG during media playback, if +1.5dB mode is NOT selected

K12P: 19-Jan-2011

- Increased microphone levels for voice calls: +2 from K12O (-2 from stock)

- Increased earpiece volume for voice calls: +2 from stock

- Updated some scripts and modules from XWJS3 kernel initramfs

K12O: 17-Jan-2011

- Better auto-brightness tuning and levels

- Increased microphone levels again

K12N: 15-Jan-2011

- More balanced auto-brightness tuning, brighter indoors vs K12M

- Auto-brightness changes in 4 seconds instead of 6 seconds in K12M
- Lowered voice call and recording microphone levels a bit

K12M: 14-Jan-2011

- Low brightness fix: lower minimum brightness (about 30% lower than stock)
- Auto-brightness tuning:
- - Gets brighter faster than stock outdoors
- - Stays dimmer longer than stock indoors
- - Brightness levels more evenly spread out

K12L: 13-Jan-2011

- Voodoo Sound v1: FM radio bass fix, controllable headphone output via Voodoo app

- Improved FM radio sound: removed Dynamic Range Compression

- Rear speaker volume increased +1 for media

- Light sensor polling interval changed to 2s instead of 0.5s

(saves battery, more stable brightness levels)

- Light sensor sensitivity adjusted so that the screen doesn't turn bright so easily

(saves battery and reduces screen burn)

- Adjustments to IO Tweak (super smooth now!)

- Changed battery level polling interval to 60 seconds, from 5 seconds

K12K: 9-Jan-2011

- Fixed problem where HD video recording stops: reverted to CFQ IO scheduler

- Headphone output boost for media reduced from +5 to +3

- Headphone output for FM radio reduced to match media level

- Earpiece volume for calls increased +1

K12J: 8-Jan-2011

- Compiled using O3 optimizations and ARM compiler mode

- Updated lowmemorykiller to latest version from Android git

- Recording sound fix: Decreased mic level for recording and voice calls to fix distortion

- Playback sound improvement: Increased headphone output level for media playback

K12I: 4-Jan-2011

- /system conversion to ext4 now supported

- Compiled kernel in -mthumb mode, it makes the phone run smoother

K12H: 31-Dec-2010

- Fixed bug in K12D-G with sound driver where after earphone was used, speaker had no sound

- Using O2 optimizations again

K12G: 30-Dec-2010

- Using Tiny RCU again, big thanks to Paul McKenney
- Patched lowmemorykiller to properly support Tiny RCU

- Improved color

K12F: 28-Dec-2010

- Fixed loop lagfixes
- More cleanup of startup scripts

K12D: 27-Dec-2010

- BLN (Back Light Notification) updated to 2.3

- USB mounts backwards compatible with 2.2 ROMs

- Switched to O3 compiler optimizations

- Improvements and cleanup to CWM startup scripts

- Added Tweak to keep /system write-able (not recommended for normal use!)

K12C: 25-Dec-2010

- Removed TINY RCU and reverted to default RCU

K12A: 24-Dec-2010

- Added TUN.KO support for VPN (enable/disable from Tweaks)

- Removed kernel debug messages from touchscreen and keyboard

- Removed wifi roam test messages from kernel debug log

K12: 23-Dec-2010

- Kernel built from updated source code from Samsung JPX version.

K11C: 21-Dec-2010

- Updated drivers from XXJPY kernel

K11B: 19-Dec-2010

- Updated drivers from XXJPX kernel

- Slight updates to CWM

K11A: 17-Dec-2010

- Updated to Codesourcery 2010.09 toolchain

- Now checks filesystems on Internal and External SD on startup

- Slight updates to CWM

K10K: 15-Dec-2010

- Factory reset now works with XXJPU Android 2.2.1 firmware
- Can use recovery 3e from ROM if needed

- Kies works with XXJPU

- Updated CWM Backup & Restore menus

- Using Codesourcery 2010q1 toolchain again

K10J: 12-Dec-2010

- Updated drivers and modules from XXJPU initramfs

- Changed RAM config to match XXJPU's 339MB

- Updated kernel scheduler tweak
- Switched to Codesourcery 2009q3 toolchain

K10I: 8-Dec-2010

- Updated lagfix options menu

- Changed ext4 / ext3 mount points to be more robust

- More adjustments to kernel scheduler tweak

K10H: 5-Dec-2010

- More adjustments to kernel scheduler tweak

- Improved GPS performance with kernel scheduler tweak

K10G: 5-Dec-2010

- Really fixed auto-rotate button problem with kernel scheduler tweak

- Safer write flush timing in battery tweak and ext3/4 commit mount options

K10F: 4-Dec-2010

- Fixed auto-rotate button problem with kernel scheduler tweak

K10E: 4-Dec-2010

- Adjusted kernel scheduler tweak

K10D: 3-Dec-2010

- Removed laptop_mode from Battery Life tweak

- UI update in Recovery menu

K10C: 1-Dec-2010

- Adjusted kernel scheduler tweak

- Added CIFS support, enable / disable from Recovery menu

K10B: 30-Nov-2010

- Added Battery Life tweaks: enabled laptop_mode and longer write flush times

- Tweaked some ext4 /ext3 mount options

- Improved /system remount and init script support

K10A: 29-Nov-2010

- Moved ext2 support to kernel module

- Tweaked some ext4 / ext3 mount options

K10: 28-Nov-2010
- Supports ext2 / ext3 / ext4 / ext4 no-journal / jfs filesystems
- Optimized mount options for ext4 / ext3
- Renamed some of the lagfix schemes to avoid confusion with Voodoo & OCLF
- Moved extra file system support to kernel modules, freeing up some RAM
- Better detection of file systems
- Supports boot-time init scripts in /data/init.d/E* and /data/init.d/S*

K9A: 24-Nov-2010

- Disabled USB debugging on boot. Improved bootanimation support.

K9: 22-Nov-2010

- Fixed potential corruption of /system in Universal Lagfix scripts (thanks supercurio!).

- /system is correctly re-mounted as read-only

K8: 22-Nov-2010

- ULF 0.4-pre update to fix PIT 513 lagfix problems.

- Enabled UACCESS_WITH_MEMCPY, TINY_RCU for speed and efficiency.

K7:

- Fixed battery life problems with different build config.

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More Samsung Galaxy S Tips

Samsung Galaxy S: Download SpeedMod kernel for Froyo

2010-11-22T20:31:00.207+08:00

DEPRECATED. This version of SpeedMod for Froyo is no longer maintained.

Click here for the SpeedMod version for Gingerbread!

Download links for the SpeedMod Android 2.2 Froyo kernel for Samsung Galaxy S.
The procedure for how to flash using Odin is here.

The latest changelog is here.

NOTE: The downloads on this page are for the Galaxy S GT-I9000 and GT-I9000M only.

For AT&T Captivate SGH-I897 users, download the versions from this page instead.

Version: K13E (12-Apr-2011)

K13 works with official Android 2.2.1 firmwares.

K13 is also compatible with older Android 2.2 firmwares.

Odin versions:

SpeedMod K13E with HZ=500 (Recommended)

ClockWorkMod versions:

SpeedMod K13E with HZ=250 CWM

SpeedMod K13E with HZ=250 CWM BIGMEM (355MB RAM, no 720P video recording)

SpeedMod K13E with HZ=500 CWM

SpeedMod K13E with HZ=500 CWM BIGMEM (355MB RAM, no 720P video recording)

You can download some of the versions and the source code from XDA forums.

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More Samsung Galaxy S Tips

Samsung Galaxy S: How to install SpeedMod kernel

2010-11-22T19:40:00.054+08:00

The SpeedMod kernel is a fast, stable, and efficient (good battery life) alternative Android kernel for the Samsung Galaxy S, S2 and Note, compatible with Samsung Android Gingerbread roms.

What is the SpeedMod kernel? Click for more information.

Installation Guide using Odin

Disclaimer: I make no guarantees that this will work for you. It might brick your phone. Do this at your own risk.

There are discussions at the XDA developers forums for the SGS and SGS2.

Pre-requisites

You need to have Kies previously installed on your PC, for the USB drivers.

1. Download Odin and the kernel

Download Odin 1.85 from here. Extract the files into a temporary folder, for example C:\Temp\Odin\.

Download the SpeedMod kernel.
If you are using the Galaxy Note, download the kernel from here.
If you are using the Galaxy S2, download the kernel from here.
If you are using the Galaxy S, download the kernel from here.

Make sure to download the Odin flashable version (not the -CWM version).

Copy the speedmod-kernel-x-y.tar file into the same directory as Odin.

WARNING for Galaxy S2 and Note: The Galaxy S2 and Note keep track of how many times you have flashed a custom kernel or firmware. This could void your warranty. The counter can be reset but the procedure is not trivial, and you'll need to use a hardware USB jig. More information here.

2. Put your phone into Download Mode

- Before you start, make sure your phone's battery is sufficiently charged (50% or more.)

- Power off your phone.

- Wait for the phone to completely shut down (it takes about 30 seconds).

- Press and hold Volume-Down + Home + Power at the same time.

- The phone should boot into Download Mode with the words "do not turn off target":

3. Run Odin and connect your phone

First make sure to quit / exit Kies!

From the directory where you extracted the files, run Odin3 v1.52.exe.

Now plug in your phone to the USB port of your PC. If you have Kies previously installed, you should see one of the ID:COM boxes turn yellow:

4. Now select the kernel file

- In PDA select the speedmod-kernel-x-y.tar file you extracted

Leave the other settings as default:

- PHONE, CSC, PIT should be blank

- Re-partition should be un-ticked

You should see something like this:

5. Flash the firmware

Click on the "START" button to start the firmware upgrade. Do not disconnect your phone or PC at this point.

After the upgrade finishes, your phone should reboot. Go to Step 6.

IF ERROR: In case Odin does not start flashing and shows an error, your phone might go into the "download error" mode:

DON'T PANIC. This happens sometimes when there is a USB connection error.

First disconnect the USB cable from your phone.

Next shutdown your phone, by either: Press and hold the power button for about 30 seconds. The phone will power off. If it does not, just take out the battery and put it back in.

Close Odin and try again from Step 2.

6. Checking the kernel version

Your phone should reboot automatically and boot into Android. Congratulations!

You can check the kernel version by going into Settings > About Phone and checking Kernel Version:

It works!

If you want to buy me a beer, you can do it via Paypal by clicking here. Thank you! :)

Coming Soon: Optimum Settings for SpeedMod kernel

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More Samsung Galaxy S Tips

Samsung Galaxy S: How to install Froyo DXJPA

2010-11-20T17:26:00.038+08:00

UPDATE: There is a newer official Froyo firmware available, DXJPE. Click here to get it.

Samsung has just released the official Android 2.2 Froyo firmware for Southeast Asia, version DXJPA. This is for Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines.

If you have Kies working and you never installed any custom firmwares before, you can just upgrade to DXJPA using Kies.

However, if you are unable to update using Kies or prefer to update manually using Odin, this is how to do it.

WARNING: This procedure WILL ERASE ALL YOUR DATA! You need to make a BACKUP of your apps and data first, using an app like Titanium Backup.

Disclaimer: I make no guarantees that this will work for you. It might brick your phone. Do this at your own risk.

Pre-requisites

You need to have Kies previously installed on your PC, for the USB drivers.

1. Download the package

Download the complete firmware package from here: DXJPA_Complete

Mirror: DXJPA_Complete on Google Docs

(Ignore the warning about unable to scan. Click "Download Anyway".)

Mirror: DXJPA_Complete mirror from SysTem-X

2. Unzip the package

After you've downloaded the zip package, unzip it to a temporary directory.

3. Put your phone into Download Mode

- Before you start, make sure your phone's battery is sufficiently charged (50% or more.)

- Power off your phone.

- Wait for the phone to completely shut down (it takes about 30 seconds).

- Press and hold Volume-Down + Home + Power at the same time.

- The phone should boot into Download Mode with the words "do not turn off target":

4. Run Odin and connect your phone

First make sure to quit / exit Kies!

From the directory where you extracted the files, run Odin3 v1.52.exe.

Now plug in your phone to the USB port of your PC. If you have Kies previously installed, you should see one of the ID:COM boxes turn yellow:

5. Now select the firmware files

- In PIT select s1_odin_20100513.pit (you *must* use PIT 513!)

- Tick (Enable) Re-Partition

- In PDA select CODE_I9000DXJPA.tar

- In PHONE select MODEM_I9000DXJPA.tar

- In CSC select CSC_I9000OLBJPA.tar

Leave all other options as default. You should see something like this:

6. Flash the firmware

Click on the "START" button to start the firmware upgrade. Do not disconnect your phone or PC at this point.

After the upgrade finishes, your phone should reboot. Go to Step 7.

IF ERROR: In case Odin does not start flashing and shows an error, your phone might go into the "download error" mode:

DON'T PANIC. This happens sometimes when there is a USB connection error.

First disconnect the USB cable from your phone.

Next shutdown your phone, by either: Press and hold the power button for about 30 seconds. The phone will power off. If it does not, just take out the battery and put it back in.

Try again from Step 3.

7. Enter Recovery Mode to Wipe Data

Most likely, your phone will get stuck booting at the "glowing S logo". This is normal - it is because your phone has a mixture of the old and new firmware data.

To fix this, you need to Clear Data by accessing the Recovery Menu:

- Shutdown your phone and unplug it from the power or USB.

- Boot into Recovery Mode: Press and hold Volume-Up + Home + Power. You have to let go of the power button after about 3 seconds once you see the "Galaxy S" screen.

If you are successful, you will see the Recovery Menu.

Choose "Wipe Data / Factory Reset".

Reboot after it's done.

8. Boot into DXJPA

You should be done at this step! The phone should reboot into DXJPA with your default carrier customizations.

To check the firmware versions, open the Phone Dialer and typing *#1234# and you should see:

9. Change CSC

If you get the wrong carrier customizations or want to change your CSC, you can.

This procedure will change your CSC and Sales Code, but will WIPE ALL DATA similar to a Wipe Data / Factory Reset. Backup first, if you have any data on the phone.

Open the Phone Dialer.

Dial *#06# and the phone should show your IMEI. Copy this down somewhere.

Now Dial: *#272*imei# for example *#272*123456781234567#

The phone will show you a choice of CSCs. Choose the one that matches your carrier.

The phone will reboot and reinstall the new CSC files.

It works!

If you want to buy me a beer, you can do it via Paypal by clicking here. Thank you! :)

SpeedMod kernel

After you have got DXJPA up and running, you might notice that it gets a bit laggy.

If you want to give your phone a big speed boost, you can try my SpeedMod kernel.

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More Samsung Galaxy S Tips

Samsung Galaxy S: Turn off HSPA to improve battery life

2010-11-18T12:55:00.015+08:00

If you use Google Sync or GMail push email on your Galaxy S, you know that the battery doesn't last long - sometimes barely through one day.

One way to get longer battery life is to disable HSPA / HSDPA / HSUPA and limit the phone to using 3G. 3G (UMTS) is not as slow as 2.5G (EDGE/GPRS) but doesn't use as much power as HSPA.

Here's a quick comparison of *typical* download speeds:

GPRS: 48 kbit/s, EDGE: 150-200 kbit/s, 3G: 384 kbit/s, HSDPA: 1000 kbit/s

This is how to do it for the Galaxy S:

Go to the phone dialer pad and enter this code: *#301279#

You should see something like:

Click [2] CHANGE HSPA REVISION

Click [1] RELEASE 99 (HSPA OFF)

Then you should see something like:

Done!

Press the BACK button to exit, or press MENU button then END.

The setting should take effect shortly after you exit the menu. To be sure that the setting take effect, toggle Flight/Airplane mode.

You could store that number in your phone book or speed dial for a quick way to toggle HSPA.

The setting STAYS ACROSS REBOOTS!

If you want to enable HSPA again just go back to the same menu and choose [3] RELEASE 6 (HSDPA/HSUPA). You will then see:

And you've restored the original settings. Press BACK to exit.

Just tested it with the Froyo XXJPP radio and it really works. Longer battery life at last! Not sure if it works with Eclair radio ROMs.

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More Samsung Galaxy S Tips

Samsung Galaxy S: SpeedMod Kernel - FAQ

2010-11-07T22:26:00.063+08:00

Frequently Asked Questions

Updated: 02-Oct-2011

Click here to view the changelog for the Galaxy S kernel.
Click here to view the changelog for the Galaxy S2 kernel.

Q: Which phones is this kernel compatible with?

A: There are Gingerbread versions for the Galaxy S GT-I9000 and Galaxy S2 GT-I9100. Make sure you install the correct one for your phone.

Q: Is the SGS2 SpeedMod kernel compatible with the GT-I9100G model?

A: No, it is not. Kernels and ROMs made for the I9100 will not work with the I9100G.

Q: Which firmware versions can I use this kernel on?

A: Any stock Samsung Gingerbread firmware, and most popular customized Samsung ROMs. It does not work with CM or MIUI ROMs.

Q: Does this kernel support Undervolting or Overclocking?

A: No. I have no plans to support it as this can affect the stability of the phone.

Q: Does this kernel support BLN (Back Light Notification)?

A: No. I have no plans to support it as this requires a paid app and can reduce the battery life of the phone.

Q: Do I need to reset the battery stats after flashing the kernel?

A: No. The battery meter may be inaccurate after a flash. Just fully charge and discharge the battery 2 or 3 times and it should be accurate again.

Galaxy S specific questions

Q: I am upgrading to a newer version of the SpeedMod kernel from an older version. Do I need to remove any lagfixes?

A: No. But a backup is recommended in case anything goes wrong.

Q: Which lagfix do you recommend?

A: "Lagfixes" only apply to the Galaxy S. I recommend EXT4 All lagfix, with the SAFER ext4 mount option. Other lagfixes have a high risk of data loss if the phone crashes or is suddenly powered off or rebooted.

Q: Can I still upgrade my firmware using Kies after installing SpeedMod?

A: Yes. But if you are using a lagfix, you must disable it before upgrading the firmware.

Q: Help! I can't apply any Tweaks in the Recovery menu?

A: Most likely your /system is full. You have to make some free space there, which you can do from recovery using adb root, adb shell.

Q: I appreciate your work. How can I buy you a beer?

A: You can donate via Paypal by clicking here. Thank you! :)

(More Q&As to come later. Leave me questions in the comments and if they are useful, I will add them into the Q&A list.)

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More Samsung Galaxy S Tips

Phase-Coherent Pitch Shifter for ReClock

2009-04-16T23:23:00.061+08:00

This article is for Home Theather and AV enthusiasts who use a computer as the playback device for High Definition video.

A software called ReClock is often used with HTPCs to ensure perfectly smooth video playback and also correct the sound pitch of 25fps PAL movies which have been sped up by 4% from their original 24fps.

Some people, myself included, use ReClock to speed up 24fps movies to 25fps, so that they can be displayed without any 3:2 motion judder on HDTVs which support only 50Hz/60Hz refresh rates. In this case, ReClock can also perform pitch-correction of the audio.

The Problem

Unfortunately, the default pitch-shifting library included in ReClock has some drawbacks when used to pitch-shift multichannel 5.1 or 7.1 PCM audio:

The phase is not coherent between the different channels. This means that the Left and Right channel might be slightly out of phase, which ruins the stereo effect.
The parameters used in the pitch-shifting algorithm are not optimal for movie sound quality. The subwoofer channel and low frequencies may be weakened, and some pitch-shifting artefacts may be heard in the sound.

ReClock uses the open-source SoundTouch library for pitch-shifting.

The Fix

I have modified the pitch-shifting DLL to fix the problems for 5.1/7.1 PCM audio:

The phase will be coherent between the L-R channels. This preserves the stereo effect and enchances the overall sound.
C and LFE channels should be mostly in-phase with L-R channels.
Optimized the parameters used in the SoundTouch algorithm, so that the subwoofer channel and low frequencies are preserved, and to decrease the pitch-shifting artefacts.

The overall result is much improved sound quality if pitch-shifting for 5.1/7.1 audio is used in ReClock.

How to install it

Updated 25-Jun-09: Updated parameters

Download and install the latest ReClock from here.
Download the enhanced DLL here:
(a) Standard version (best quality) or
(b) Standard version with lower CPU usage
Alternatively, if you use the AC3 Encoder function of ReClock and experience sound dropouts or A/V sync problems, try this version instead:
(a) AC3 Encoder version (best quality) or
(b) AC3 Encoder version with lower CPU usage
Extract and copy the timestretch.dll file to the C:\Program Files\ReClock\ folder, replacing the original file. You may back up the original timestretch.dll file if you wish.
If you experience sound drop-outs, you can try this: open the "Configure ReClock" application, and increase the setting of "Sound pre-buffer size" to 1000ms (default is 500ms). The "Max latency for PCM audio" should be about 10% to 20% (default is 20%).

Have fun, and hope you enjoy the difference it makes!

Click here to download the source code.

Additional tips

There are still some more things you can do to reduce the clicking sounds that can sometimes be heard when timestretching is used.

Set your sound codec (ffdshow audio, etc.) to output at 32-bit INTEGER PCM only (and set ReClock to output at whatever bit-depth your soundcard supports)
Also, if using ffdshow, in the "Processing" menu, under "Allowed sample formats for sound processing", chose ONLY "32 bit integer"

The above are some of the optimum settings I've found after a lot of experimenting.

More technical jargon about what I actually did

ReClock uses the SoundTouch library to do time stretching. SoundTouch uses WSOLA-like time-stretching routines to do this. Basically WSOLA is splitting the sound in chunks, then finding the optimal point to join the chunks back into a longer/shorter waveform depending on how much you want to stretch/shrink the sound. SoundTouch takes in several parameters which can be adjusted to optimize the WSOLA. For more information, check out http://www.surina.net/soundtouch/README.html. In my DLL, I have optimized these paratemers to obtain better sound for movies.

The other thing I did was to fix the phase coherency. SoundTouch can only process sound samples in mono or stereo. In stereo mode, SoundTouch preserves the phase coherency between the 2 channels. For 5.1 channel audio, ReClock actually creates 6 mono channels for SoundTouch to process. So, SoundTouch cuts the sound up different for every channel, and so every channel is slightly out of sync (out of phase). But in my DLL, I use multiple stereo channel processing in SoundTouch, matching up the Left-Right, etc. This pretty much ensures that the stereo imaging is still preserved.

Linksys WRT54GL Routers: Improving Performance

2008-04-25T21:26:00.110+08:00

This page contains some work I've done to enhance the open-source Linux router firmware Tomato which is available at http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato.

Tomato SpeedMod

This mod enhances the Tomato firmware to gain higher performance from the router. These are some of the changes that I've made:

1. Patched ip_conntrack to increase NAT hashtable size and optimized conntrack hash bucket selection filter from modulo to bitwise AND.

2. Increased the IP route cache hashtable to speed up routing when there are many connections (>4000).

3. Added fixes for network hash exploits in Linux 2.4.20 (SpeedMod 110).

4. Patched ip_conntrack_core to Linux 2.4.29 (SpeedMod 112).

5. Replaced Jenkins' lookup2 hash with lookup3 which is faster, this should improve overall speed (SpeedMod 119).

With these changes, these little routers should be able to handle thousands of connections and still remain responsive. I've been in contact with Jon (author of the Tomato firmware) and he may integrate some or all these changes into the stock firmware in the future.

NEW "BETA" QoS features in SpeedMod 120

WARNING: Advanced users only!

1. Implemented the TC-ATM patch. This enables QoS to work accurately for ADSL users.

2. Enhanced the SFQ qdisc: Changed the SFQ hash to use Jenkins' lookup3 hash and increased the hash bucket size from 1K to 16K which will result in less collisions.

3. Turned off HTB hysteresis for more accurate traffic shaping.

The ATM calculations are not enabled by the QoS GUI in Tomato. You need to manually configure tc using a firewall script. You also need to use the correct overhead amount for your type of ADSL connection.

TC-ATM details at http://ace-host.stuart.id.au/russell/files/tc/tc-atm/.

Note: I did NOT implement the "nohyst" option in the tc command line because I already disabled HTB hyteresis in the source code.

I use a WRT54GL v1.1 and PPPoA VC/Mux on a separate ADSL modem, so my overheads are -4 for outbound and 10 for inbound. Other values are given in Russell's website.

An example line in the tc command for my outbound interface is:

tc class change dev vlan1 classid 1:10 htb prio 1 rate 800kbit ceil 800kbit overhead -4 atm

And for inbound IMQ:

tc class add dev imq0 parent 1:1 classid 1:10 htb prio 1 rate 10000kbit ceil 10000kbit overhead 10 atm

For fellow firmware hackers, here is the source code for the TC ATM patches.

[ If you like my work CLICK HERE to buy me a drink via Paypal! ]

DOWNLOADS (Updated 30-Jul-10) Tomato 1.28 + SpeedMod 120:

Click HERE to download SpeedMod-patched Tomato 1.28 firmware for:

Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 / WHR-G54S
Linksys WRT54GL / WRT54G v1-v4
Linksys WRT54GS v1-v3
Linksys WRT54GS v4
Linksys WRTSL54GS
Motorola WR850G

Click HERE to download SpeedMod-patched Tomato 1.28 New Driver for:

Buffalo WHR-G125 and Asus WL-520GU
Linksys WRT54GL / WRT54G v4 / WRT54GS v1-v4 (experimental)

Click HERE to download current SpeedMod source code.

Not sure which version WRT54G/GS you have? Click here to check.

These patched versions were built from the Tomato sources with my patches on top. They work on my WRT54GL and WHR-HP-G54. Try them at your own risk, no guarantees!

For the geeks, if you want to recompile the Tomato source code yourself and implement my patches, download the source and follow the procedures to recompile Tomato, then untar my patches over the source directory.

With these patches, in the web admin page Advanced > Conntrack > Maximum Connections you should be able to increase the value to around 8192 (for 16MB RAM routers) and still get good response from the router. Be careful when increasing this value, because the router might run out of RAM, depending on which other features of Tomato you use.

UPDATE: QOS SFQ vs PFIFO

I no longer recommend using the PFIFO qdisc for QOS, and recommend using the (default) SFQ qdisc. If you have previously used the hidden setting to enable PFIFO, you can disable it by:

nvram unset qos_pfifo
nvram commit
reboot

Nokia N80: How to change fonts

2006-05-15T11:44:00.000+08:00

This is a guide on how to change the system font of the newer Nokia Series 60 3rd Edition phones like the N80 and E series. The old procedure for changing fonts on the older Series 60 phones no longer works on these new devices.

The main differences are:

The font name has changed (language-specific)
The font type has changed (CCC or TTF)
The font location has changed

Summary

If you are an experienced font hacker, then the short story of how to change the fonts is:

1. Create a TTF font, and change the "full font name" embedded in the TTF font to "Sans MT 936_S60". You need a TrueType Font editor to do this, like this one. Note that this font name applies to Chinese-input version of the phones. It is likely that English-only phones will use a different font name.

2. Copy the TTF font file to your memory card, and place it in the directory "\Resources\Fonts\". Create the directory if it does not exist.

3. Reboot the phone and it should use your new font.

4. If you want to change back to the default font, just delete the new font file from your memory card "\Resources\Fonts\".

P.S. I have since sold my N80 so no more updates on this article.

Honey and Clover

2006-02-26T22:24:00.000+08:00

Anime Review: Honey and Clover (Hatchimitsu to Clover)

Honey & Clover is an anime based on a manga by Chika Umino. The story revolves around the daily lives of a group of eccentric art school students in Tokyo. This is however, not your average highschool romance anime.

The storyline spans several years, and follows the ups and downs of the gang's college and working lives, balancing just the right amount of comedy and reality. College students and young working adults will easily relate to the characters and situations in this series.

Being an anime about art school students, the animation, artwork and music are top-notch. A lot of attention is paid to the details - the artwork, the timing of the cuts and the soundtrack are all excellent.

Highly recommended.

More information at anidb.net.

Aim for the Top 2!

2006-02-21T00:39:00.000+08:00

Anime Review: Aim for the Top 2! (Gunbuster 2!)

Plot-wise, TOP2 brings nothing new to the mecha / action anime. Elite squad of pilots consisting of teenage kids control big robots to battle against alien monsters. Elite squad discovers cute girl who's curiously clumsy and apparently has no skill. (Possibly, cute girl ends up saving the day?) Nothing new, but by no means a bad storyline. I still haven't completed watching the series yet (2 more episodes to go) so I'll reserve judgement of the plot until then.

Animation and sound however, are top-notch. The voice-acting and animation style reminds me of FLCL, but not so over-the-top. Even the name of the elite squadron is "Fraternity". Being a 6 episode series, it's more style than substance. But the style is in excellent GAINAX tradition - fluid action, great animation, quirky plotline, abundant fan service. Worth watching.

More information at AniDB.net.

Milan & Lake Como: Part 2

2006-02-18T00:49:00.000+08:00

Lake Como

During the one weekend that I was in Milan, I managed to make a half-day trip to nearby Lake Como. After some preliminary research, I found out that Lake Como was an inverted-Y shaped mountain lake surrounded by numerous towns.

The lake town of Como was the nearest to Milan. Como was a quick 45 minute train ride from Cardona station in Milan.

Image copyright DigitalGlobe & Google

Como

Never having been to a mountain lake before, I didn't know what to expect. Right after stepping out of the Como train station, I was blown away by what I saw.

Lake Como was collosal! It looked more like a sea, and this was just the tip of one of the lake's "legs"!

Numerous ferries plied the lake, shuttling people and vehicles between the many lake towns. I took a ride that brought me to Varenna, via a stopover at Menaggio.

Above: Ferry to Varenna, docking at Menaggio.

Above: Menaggio.

Above: Crossing the middle of Lake Como. A little piece of heaven?

Above: The pier at Varenna.

Varenna

Amazingly beautiful town of Varenna, situated near the central portion of lake Como.

My plan was to catch a train from Varenna that would take me back to Milan via a different route. I started walking along this road that I thought would take me to the train station... but the road kept on going and going...

At the point where I took the photo above, it started to drizzle. I realized then that I had taken the wrong road, and was probably now mid-way to the next town. This would mean that I had to walk another 3km along a mountain-side road with speeding Italian cars, dark tunnels, and no shelter from the rain that was getting heavier.

I got quite worried... what if I got lost? what if I missed the last train to Milan? what if some old lady driver runs me down? I actually said a silent prayer before continuing.

Two local cyclists cheered me on as they sped past, probably thinking "crazy Asian guy, walking along the main road". Eventually, I ran into civilization again. A few houses at first, then some shops, more buildings... and finally, a road junction with a sight to behold...

Truly it must have been a sign from God! The rain actually stopped, and the train station turned out to be right next to the road pictured above. I managed to catch the last train back to Milan.

The train ride took about an hour, passing through the town of Lecco and ending up at the Stazione Centrale in Milan.

This day trip ended up being more exciting that I had bargained for, but was worth it.

Back to Part 1

Milan & Lake Como: Part 1

2006-02-18T00:11:00.000+08:00

Introduction

My first trip to Europe was in August 2002, when I worked in Milan, Italy for 2 weeks. Milan is situated in the northern Lombardy region of Italy, not too far from the Swiss border.

Image copyright MDA Earthsat & Google

My weekdays were spent at work, and the weeknights dining and partying in town. One of the hangouts me and my colleagues frequented was a bar we called "the Lola". Wonder if its still there...

Milan

Most fo my colleagues had been living in Milan for months already, and a few of them were kind enough to take us visitors on a small walking tour of the town.

Image copyright DigitalGlobe & Google

Milan's city layout was very orderly, centering around an old castle, Castello Sforzesco (top left of the satellite map above).

Above: Photos from Piazza del Duomo, a large open area just outside the famous Duomo cathedral and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele.

Above: Tram tracks on the streets of Milan.

Above: Making our way to Castello Sforzesco.

Above: Inside the castle, checking out the city map.

Above: One Frenchman, one Dutch, one Dutch Chinese and one Malaysian Chinese wandering through Milan's Chinatown.

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Australia - Perth: Part 2

2006-02-05T15:48:00.000+08:00

Burswood Park & Swan River

Satellite view of the area...

Image copyright Google and DigitalGlobe

Holiday Inn at Burswood Park...

Lucky duck...

Burswood Park...

Swan River...

Parting shots from the aeroplane...

Above: Swan River leading to Perth.

Above: Just outside Perth, towards Mount Gungin.

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Australia - Perth: Part 1

2006-02-05T15:45:00.000+08:00

Perth City

Photos taken on a Sunday afternoon stroll though Perth City.
Satellite view of the area...

Image copyright Google and DigitalGlobe

Area around the Supreme Court Gardens...

Near the Barrack Street Jetties...

Around Barrack Square...

The Swan Bell Tower...

Between the Supreme Court Gardens & Alf Curlewis Gardens...

Walking back to Murray Street...

Murray Street & Hay Street...

Continue to Part 2 / Back to Introduction

Australia - Perth: Introduction

2006-02-05T15:18:00.000+08:00

I made my first trip to Australia in July 2005, when I went to Perth to attend a conference. Didn't have much time to spare touring, as it was only a 3 day trip.

I stayed at the Holiday Inn Hotel at Burswood Park, which was across the Swan River from east Perth.

Here are some pictures:

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