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FireFly is a nice DAAP based media server that allows you to listen to your music collection anywhere using any DAAP based client like iTunes, with other players (like Winamp, Rhythmbox, VLC, etc) using plugins, or it even has its own dedicated php/flash/java based clients that can be fired up on any platform any computer giving you instant nirvana.

Many people, like me, use it on their Routers or NAS boxes to access their music anywhere without having to keep their home PC running or lugging around external drives. However, development on this gem stopped some time ago. The last stable build released (2.4.2) was good but it doesn’t have a lot of features provided by the nightly builds in svn (subversion). And the last nightly build released (svn-1696) had a lot of broken things. It was rebuilding the database everytime, crashed around quite a bit, had a lot of security holes. So, I decided to get the latest version (trunk) of the FireFly code, as it had a lot of fixes for above issues, put in whatever was missing, and try to build it for my use.

After a day’s worth of efforts, here it is. This latest build is the most rich in features as compared to the stable one, and is just as stable as the 2.4.2 release if not better, and also fixes all the issues shown by the svn-1696 build. The downloadable source and complete install package are attached with this post. But I’m also listing down the steps that I took to achieve this so that if anyone wants to recompile it with their own options (e.g. I haven’t included ogg/flac support in my build), they are able to do so. You can find the steps below. Please let me know if you have any queries. Also, if you want to submit any patches, I’ll be happy to incorporate them and recompile. I’m also trying to get this source and package into the unslung/optware repositories for wider distribution.

Note: Although I’ve compiled this for Asus WL-500W, it should work for most devices with a mipsel architecture (which includes all the Asus routers in this family). Also, the compilation process should work for most other architectures barring one or two steps. I’d be happy to help if you want to do so and face any issues.

Changes and Build Steps:

• ipkg install optware-devel
• ipkg install buildroot
• Edit /opt/share/aclocal/audiofile.m4 and change AC_DEFUN(AM_PATH_AUDIOFILE, to AC_DEFUN([AM_PATH_AUDIOFILE],
• ipkg install gettext (for some missing m4 macros, libr_rpath etc)
• Comment out AC_USE_SYSTEM_EXTENSIONS in configure.in (using dnl)
• aclocal -I <path of mt-daapd’s local m4 dir>
• run “autoheader” to generate config.h.in
• touch config.rpath (somehow this file is not provided with gettext for us)
• change configure.in line 95, remove the ; at the end
• remove -g flag and add -O2 in configure.in for optimization purpose
• run “automake –add-missing”
• run “autoconf” - to generate configure
• ipkg install grep (for egrep)
• change /bin/sh to /opt/bin/bash in configure and install-sh
• run “./configure –enable-sqlite3 –prefix=/opt CPFLAGS=”-D_LIBC” ” (You can also use –enable-oggvorbis and/or –enableflac)
• After this step, I had to make numerous changes to the source code to put in the missing functionality for database handling, removing some compilation errors, etc. You can diff the svn 1715 code with mine to see the changes.
• run “make”
• run “make install”

And you are done. The modified source and compiled bianries can be downloaded from below.

Let me know if you have any queries or face any issues.

© Shantanu Goel | Compiling Latest FireFly (mt-daapd) for ASUS WL-500W

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Today, the whole word is going gaga over "Opera Unite", the new technology in Opera 10 which will make your web browser a web server as well (and not just that, it will make a whole lot of “sharing” options available). Well, I’m not so excited about it. Technology wise, it is really cool but what they don’t realize is that this is like giving motorized chain-saw or a swiss army knife in the hands of a two-year old. Seriously, majority of the people around the world who get themselves into all sorts of shit while just plain surfing the net, now got a whole new array of avenues where they can be exploited upon. For people who do need a webserver, there are plenty of straight-forward point and click options available. I hope they atleast have options to completely turn it off and even better, keep it turned off by default.

© Shantanu Goel | Opera Web Server In A Browser: Bad Idea

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I got myself a Microtek 800VA UPS (MDP800+) a couple of weeks ago to save my PS3 from the frequent power outages that we are seeing in Hyderabad but the purpose was rather lost when I found that it worked fine only till the mains power was on. As soon as there was an outage, it couldn’t stop the PS3 from an abrupt shut down. I ran around the pathetic Microtek customer service for days and they finally sent an “engineer” down to my place (after a week) to diagnose the issue and he couldn’t say anything more than that the UPS is meant for a PC and nothing else. All logical discussions to tell him that PS3 is essentially a PC but in a different form were kind of like pouring water on a well-oiled rock and hoping it would stick.

Kind of disappointed, I had a hunch which solved it for me though today :). When I tried to read the output voltage from the output ports on the UPS, it showed me 225–230V when main supply was on. As soon as it was switched off, the output dropped to around 160V. On connecting the PS3, it went up a bit (to around 180V). Now, the load should not have been an issue because a PS3 requires 180–350W I think, which can easily be given by even a 500VA UPS. So far, all suggestions given to me were to remove everything else from the UPS except the PS3, but that was actually my setup in the very first place.

The weird idea that I had was that the problem is, in fact, that the PS3 is not enough load for it. Call me crazy but as soon as I connected my TV also to the UPS, it started working just fine and dandy. No trip ups now, and I can even cold-boot my PS3 and TV from the UPS backup alone.

Now, I ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to electrical stuff (in fact this was one of my most dreaded subjects during my graduation). So, if anyone can give me a sound reasoning behind what I just saw would be very much appreciated. Or is this a real fault with the unit that I got, or maybe it is a defect in all the Microtek UPS’s? Anyways, I ain’t complaining till it’s working for me and if you are seeing the same issues you could try the same as well.

© Shantanu Goel | Microtek UPS Problems (And A Solution)

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Update: It has come to my notice that many people do not know about this (and other problems listed in comments of this post). Please digg and reddit this post so that more people can be made aware of it before they upgrade unknowingly.

You should not upgrade to Ubuntu 9.04 (aka Jaunty Jackalope), released a few weeks ago, if:

1. You have an older ATI graphics card (prior to R500, .e.g xpress 200m)
2. You like to have 3D support (read compiz/games, etc)

This is because of the following reasons:

• Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope has the new version of X.org server (1.6)
• The open source graphics drivers for ATI do not have 3D support
• The only version of the ATI properietary drivers (fglrx\Catalyst) compatible with X.org server 1.6 is 9.4
• Support for older cards (mentioned above) was dropped from fglrx 9.4

So, basically right now you are in a soup and it seems to me that this is going to remain this way unless someone figures out how to backport x.org 1.5 onto Jauntu, which is going to be a hell of a task, IMHO

But, if you are a simple person, who looks beyond the gloss of the 3D and marvels at the beauty that the rest of the system holds, then go right ahead and dive in

© Shantanu Goel | Why You Should Not Upgrade to Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope (9.04)

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If you have used perforce, you'd have definitely come across a situation where you wanted to sync files belonging to two different labels, but as soon as you sync the second label, the files from the first label get deleted. P4 help suggests the following ways to achieve this:

or something like

But I've found that depending on the perforce version you are using, the above commands might not work. So, here is a tip that will always work for you irrespective of which version you are using:

It is as simple as that. Let me know what are your perforce tips..

© Shantanu Goel | TIP: Perforce - Sync Files In A Label Without Deleting Previous Files

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Figlet is a brilliant tool to convert text to amazing ASCII Art that I have used for many years. This weekend I thought of creating an online version of it, so that anyone can use it even if they can't install it on their systems. It is pretty easy to use. The drill is just to choose the font you want (and there is a very extensive collection of more than 250 to choose from), input the text that you want to be ASCII'fied, press a button and you are done.

Here is the homepage of my FIGLET Online tool. Please use it and let me know your feedback, what you feel about it, if you think I can add something to it, or if you find any issues. Meanwhile, here is a "brief" sample of the various kind of outputs you can get from it. I've used my name "Shantanu" as the input for these examples.

             #            #              #             #            #              #             #               #
             #            #              #             #            #              #             #               #
  .--.--.    #  ,---,     #              #             #    ___     #              #             #               #
 /  /    '.  #,--.' |     #              #             #  ,--.'|_   #              #             #               #
|  :  /`. /  #|  |  :     #              #      ,---,  #  |  | :,'  #              #      ,---,  #         ,--,  #
;  |  |--`   #:  :  :     #              #  ,-+-. /  | #  :  : ' :  #              #  ,-+-. /  | #       ,'_ /|  #
|  :  ;_     #:  |  |,--. #   ,--.--.    # ,--.'|'   | #.;__,'  /   #   ,--.--.    # ,--.'|'   | #  .--. |  | :  #
 \  \    `.  #|  :  '   | #  /       \   #|   |  ,"' | #|  |   |    #  /       \   #|   |  ,"' | #,'_ /| :  . |  #
  `----.   \ #|  |   /' : # .--.  .-. |  #|   | /  | | #:__,'| :    # .--.  .-. |  #|   | /  | | #|  ' | |  . .  #
  __ \  \  | #'  :  | | | #  \__\/: . .  #|   | |  | | #  '  : |__  #  \__\/: . .  #|   | |  | | #|  | ' |  | |  #
 /  /`--'  / #|  |  ' | : #  ," .--.; |  #|   | |  |/  #  |  | '.'| #  ," .--.; |  #|   | |  |/  #:  | : ;  ; |  #
'--'.     /  #|  :  :_:,' # /  /  ,.  |  #|   | |--'   #  ;  :    ; # /  /  ,.  |  #|   | |--'   #'  :  `--'   \ #
  `--'---'   #|  | ,'     #;  :   .'   \ #|   |/       #  |  ,   /  #;  :   .'   \ #|   |/       #:  ,      .-./ #
             #`--''       #|  ,     .-./ #'---'        #   ---`-'   #|  ,     .-./ #'---'        # `--`----'     #
             #            # `--`---'     #             #            # `--`---'     #             #               #
             ##            ##              ##             ##            ##              ##             ##               ##

  ******** **                           **
 **////// /**                          /**
/**       /**       ******   *******  ******  ******   *******  **   **
/*********/******  //////** //**///**///**/  //////** //**///**/**  /**
////////**/**///**  *******  /**  /**  /**    *******  /**  /**/**  /**
       /**/**  /** **////**  /**  /**  /**   **////**  /**  /**/**  /**
 ******** /**  /**//******** ***  /**  //** //******** ***  /**//******
////////  //   //  //////// ///   //    //   //////// ///   //  ////// 

    o__ __o      o                                   o
   /v     v\    <|>                                 <|>
  />       <\   / >                                 < >
 _\o____        \o__ __o       o__ __o/  \o__ __o    |         o__ __o/  \o__ __o    o       o
      \_\__o__   |     v\     /v     |    |     |>   o__/_    /v     |    |     |>  <|>     <|>
            \   / \     <\   />     / \  / \   / \   |       />     / \  / \   / \  < >     < >
  \         /   \o/     o/   \      \o/  \o/   \o/   |       \      \o/  \o/   \o/   |       |
   o       o     |     <|     o      |    |     |    o        o      |    |     |    o       o
   <\__ __/>    / \    / \    <\__  / \  / \   / \   <\__     <\__  / \  / \   / \   <\__ __/>  

          _____                    _____                    _____                    _____                _____                    _____                    _____                    _____
         /\    \                  /\    \                  /\    \                  /\    \              /\    \                  /\    \                  /\    \                  /\    \
        /::\    \                /::\____\                /::\    \                /::\____\            /::\    \                /::\    \                /::\____\                /::\____\
       /::::\    \              /:::/    /               /::::\    \              /::::|   |            \:::\    \              /::::\    \              /::::|   |               /:::/    /
      /::::::\    \            /:::/    /               /::::::\    \            /:::::|   |             \:::\    \            /::::::\    \            /:::::|   |              /:::/    /
     /:::/\:::\    \          /:::/    /               /:::/\:::\    \          /::::::|   |              \:::\    \          /:::/\:::\    \          /::::::|   |             /:::/    /
    /:::/__\:::\    \        /:::/____/               /:::/__\:::\    \        /:::/|::|   |               \:::\    \        /:::/__\:::\    \        /:::/|::|   |            /:::/    /
    \:::\   \:::\    \      /::::\    \              /::::\   \:::\    \      /:::/ |::|   |               /::::\    \      /::::\   \:::\    \      /:::/ |::|   |           /:::/    /
  ___\:::\   \:::\    \    /::::::\    \   _____    /::::::\   \:::\    \    /:::/  |::|   | _____        /::::::\    \    /::::::\   \:::\    \    /:::/  |::|   | _____    /:::/    /      _____
 /\   \:::\   \:::\    \  /:::/\:::\    \ /\    \  /:::/\:::\   \:::\    \  /:::/   |::|   |/\    \      /:::/\:::\    \  /:::/\:::\   \:::\    \  /:::/   |::|   |/\    \  /:::/____/      /\    \
/::\   \:::\   \:::\____\/:::/  \:::\    /::\____\/:::/  \:::\   \:::\____\/:: /    |::|   /::\____\    /:::/  \:::\____\/:::/  \:::\   \:::\____\/:: /    |::|   /::\____\|:::|    /      /::\____\
\:::\   \:::\   \::/    /\::/    \:::\  /:::/    /\::/    \:::\  /:::/    /\::/    /|::|  /:::/    /   /:::/    \::/    /\::/    \:::\  /:::/    /\::/    /|::|  /:::/    /|:::|____\     /:::/    /
 \:::\   \:::\   \/____/  \/____/ \:::\/:::/    /  \/____/ \:::\/:::/    /  \/____/ |::| /:::/    /   /:::/    / \/____/  \/____/ \:::\/:::/    /  \/____/ |::| /:::/    /  \:::\    \   /:::/    /
  \:::\   \:::\    \               \::::::/    /            \::::::/    /           |::|/:::/    /   /:::/    /                    \::::::/    /           |::|/:::/    /    \:::\    \ /:::/    /
   \:::\   \:::\____\               \::::/    /              \::::/    /            |::::::/    /   /:::/    /                      \::::/    /            |::::::/    /      \:::\    /:::/    /
    \:::\  /:::/    /               /:::/    /               /:::/    /             |:::::/    /    \::/    /                       /:::/    /             |:::::/    /        \:::\__/:::/    /
     \:::\/:::/    /               /:::/    /               /:::/    /              |::::/    /      \/____/                       /:::/    /              |::::/    /          \::::::::/    /
      \::::::/    /               /:::/    /               /:::/    /               /:::/    /                                    /:::/    /               /:::/    /            \::::::/    /
       \::::/    /               /:::/    /               /:::/    /               /:::/    /                                    /:::/    /               /:::/    /              \::::/    /
        \::/    /                \::/    /                \::/    /                \::/    /                                     \::/    /                \::/    /                \::/____/
         \/____/                  \/____/                  \/____/                  \/____/                                       \/____/                  \/____/                  ~~              

 __..         ,
(__ |_  _.._ -+- _.._ . .
.__)[ )(_][ ) | (_][ )(_|

© Shantanu Goel | Project: Figlet Online - Text To ASCII Converter Tool

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Since quite some time, Google Reader has included the feature to share interesting items with your friends who also use Google Reader. Some time back they also added the option to "Share with a Note" to add your take to the shared piece. But I always thought there was no way to share back by comments (or see my friends' take) about that particular article. One way could have been to post the comments on the original site of the article but that had the drawbacks that:

• Others might not even go to the original site to check these comments
• We might not want to make this discussion public outside of our social group
• The original site might not even allow comments

Another way was to keep sharing the item again and again with your own notes, but that would really become a pain (as you can imagine where).

So, google listened to my unspoken thoughts and from this morning onwards, we have a new commenting feature on shared items. Click on the pic below to see it. So, they have given an alternate commenting system that you can use in your friend circle to discuss any item. Really cool, I'd say. What do you think?

(PS: The people who were "predicting" a couple of months ago that Google is going to shut down Google Reader, well, I don't think so. I think they are workign full steam on it to make it an essential part in their grand scheme of things to create an ecosystem, along with Google Friend Connect)

© Shantanu Goel | Comments In Google Reader Shared Items Are Here

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If you have an Asus WL-500W, the DIYers’ favourite wireless router, and have installed the Oleg custom firmware on it, then you would have set up a shutdown script for it, that allows your router to shut down gracefully. This is especially important if you have a USB hard disk attached to it. There are many such scripts available in Oleg’s firmware that you can tweak. All of these reside in “/usr/local/sbin/”. The one that we are going to talk about today is named “pre-shutdown” and it is exceuted just before the router is about to shutdown. Here is my script that will stop all the programs that have been started, finalizes all data accesses for the hard drive, unmounts all the partitions and if they can’t be unmounted, then mounts them as read only to reduce the risks, and then allows the router to continue shutdown. Although this script is written for Asus WL-500W but it will work with most other routers that use oleg or unslung firmware (like Linksys NSLU2, Asus WL-500G, WL-500gP etc):

© Shantanu Goel | Shutdown Script For Asus WL-500W With Oleg Firmware

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Perforce is an excellent revision control system for the code but the GUIs (P4WIN and P4V) are too slow to be productive. Hence, I like to do most of my work through command lines. Now, the other day I needed to add a directory and all its subdirectories and files to the repository (or perforce depot). This is a trivial task through the GUI. Just drag the top level directory onto the changelist area and the GUI takes care of everything but there is no straightforward way to do this through command line, until, I discovered the “-x” option of P4. So, here it is how to achieve this. Run the following command after cd’ing to the directory you want to add:

For Unix/Linux (or if you have the unix utils installed in windows through GNUWin32, UnixUtils or Cygwin):

For Windows:

If you have your own tips and tricks about perforce to carry out tasks easily that do not seem so simple in the first go through command line, please do let me know.

© Shantanu Goel | [TIP] Add Directories Recursively To Perforce (P4) Depot

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Here comes another update, and this time it is a majorly recommended one. For those who are still living under a rock (just kidding :P), this is a plugin that allows you to add any kind of text/html/css/php/javascript code to any of your posts or pages with lots of controls over what to display, where to display, etc etc. So, you could use it as an ad-manager or a copyright notice adder (to thwart those feed scrapers) or just add some friendly messages or related posts, etc for your readers.

This particular version fixes a bug that popped up in the last version that the settings were no longer being saved. Also fixed some minor cosmetic issues. So, hop on to the Shantz WordPress Prefix Suffix Home Page for downloads and details. And yes, don’t forget to leave feedback.

© Shantanu Goel | Project: My WordPress Plugin Shantz WP Prefix Suffix Updated to 1.1.4

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