I looked at rsync and curlftpfs, but that combination was complex to set up. Soon after, I stumbled on FTPcopy and have found a good solution.

Here is a bash script to automate the process and create a daily mirror of whatever FTP server you want to back up.

1. Download and install FTPCopy from the repositories.
   sudo apt-get install ftpcopy
2. Change to a directory that will store the script and open a new text file.
   cd /path/to/directory
vi ftpbackup
3. Press i, then copy and paste the following text.
   #!/bin/bash

   USER=username
   HOST="website"
   PASS=password
   REMOTE="public_html/"
   DIR=$(echo "/path/to/backup/$HOST")
   cd $DIR

   # Issue FTPcopy command
ftpcopy --no-delete -l 1 -u $USER -p $PASS $HOST $REMOTE .

4. Be sure to change the values for website, storage directory, remote directory, host, username and password.
5. Save and exit the text file by typing :wq
6. Make the script executable by typing chmod a+x /path/to/script
7. Add the script to the crontab so it will be executed on a regular basis. I use Webmin for this type of administration work, but it is possible to use the command line. Use this example to sort out the format. Mine runs daily at 12 AM.

To clarify, this code changes directories into the backup folder, then issues the ftpcopy command. The remote directory of public_html is common on many webservers, but be sure to confirm before running the script. The no-delete option means that files are not removed from the backup if they’ve been removed from the web server. The l option simply means provide feedback of what files are being moved — this can be viewed in your user mail.

After the time has passed for the first time, check the folder where your backups will reside to make sure they are being added as planned.

Since it’s been 2 months now since I’ve been using it, I thought it was time for some opinions. I’ve already installed Windows 7, run Keynote presentations, taken it on a road trip, and done nearly all of my daily computer activities. In every way, this machine is superior to my previous MacBook.

The Outside

The solid aluminum exterior of this MacBook Pro is a massive improvement over the polycarbonate shell of the MacBook–and previously, the iBook–as it has very little flex and will be the end of the dreaded palm rest cracking that affected nearly every previous generation of MacBook. That aluminum shell means this computer is lighter and thinner as well. While likely not a very big difference (I’ve yet to break out the tape measure), you can feel it when it is in a case or backpack.

The assortment of ports on the left side has changed somewhat as well. Gone is the dedicated audio-in jack and FireWire 400 and in its place is a backwards-compatible FireWire 800 port. The single audio jack now deals with digital and analog input and output on its own. In addition to the standard Gigabit ethernet and 2 USB 2.0 ports is the new Mini DisplayPort and SD card slot. The DisplayPort requires another new dongle from the Apple Store. The SD card slot has already proven itself worthy, by copying camera photos during a brief road trip. It is an item I think probably won’t be useful all the time, but those occasional times it is required, it will be great to have. The Kensington lock slot has also been moved to the right side. This is a good thing for me, as I always put my computer ports down in my bag, and now the lock is readily accessible. Using the lock for the first time, it was very tight, but after applying some pressure, it now slips in and out fairly easily. The aluminum is slightly bent inside, but nothing major. As usual, your mileage may vary.

The backlit keyboard is definitely my favourite upgrade. I had no idea that seeing what I was typing in the dark would be so handy. A side benefit of this technology is that the ambient light sensor also subtly adjusts the screen brightness to an optimum level.

Other changes from the Core 2 Duo MacBook are the built-in battery and “buttonless” touchpad. Technically the touchpad is a button, but just looking at it shows nothing. So far I’ve found it to be slightly more sensitive when using a thumb to activate. Battery life is also an improvement, though I may not get a chance to test it fully until I return to school in a few days.

The display on this machine is also noticeably brighter, with more vivid colours. After putting the two machines side by side, there is a definite difference, as shown above. I had heard all the horror stories about the screens being a black mirror, but so far that has not been an issue for me. Sure, there is some reflection, but the beauty of a laptop is that it can easily be adjusted to mitigate the glare.

Apple has been touting their non-user-replaceable batteries in their more recent notebooks, and this MacBook Pro delivers.

The Inside

The inside components of a computer are certainly more important than the outside, and the upgrades to this generation of MacBook Pro make it a screamer. Even though the clock speed is only increased from 2.0 GHz to 2.26, the newer processor is far more efficient, and the faster RAM, along with a boost to 4 GB means there is virtually no wait for applications to load or for the machine to shut down. The graphics subsystem is the biggest gainer in the lot, with a move from the GMA950 chip to nVidia’s 9400M system. This means smoother transitions in Keynote, more frames in both games and iTunes visualizer and more speed in the future when more applications use Apple’s OpenCL computing language. I’m looking forward to that.

To put a numbers to the improvements, I took measurements of some common computing tasks of both machines.

Overall the machine certainly feels speedy, with minimal pauses between application changes. Disk performance is basically the same, seeing as the drive was just transferred between systems.

A big change I have noticed is that this computer is far quieter than my previous MacBook. That one had fans that would peak at 6200 RPM when doing anything remotely computation intensive. Even watching Flash video would cause the fans to spike. On this computer, they seem to peak at 2200 RPM, as that was the maximum speed I observed while encoding some MP3 files recently. Obviously it’s a change that won’t be listed on the spec sheet, but it is a welcome change for anyone using their computer for semi-heavy lifting.

I’ve been very happy with this new machine and the benefits it brings. Though I said it about the last MacBook I owned, this MacBook Pro will likely stick around for a long time, thanks to its powerful processor, aluminum shell and fast graphics chip.

What is it used for?

You may be wondering what the real purpose of the board is, but there is no definite answer to that. In reality, Arduino, being an open source hardware project, has been used in numerous projects seen around the web. Any component that can be plugged into one of the pins can be controlled, which means people have used it to create secret knock opening doors, a radio controlled lawnmower, even a laser harp. This only scratches the surface. My plans, without giving too much away, include building a panoramic camera mount and adding radio controls to household/garage items (project details will be here when they are completed). If you have any interest at all in electronics, I suggest picking one up and learning about it.

With the updates on Thursday, I decided to take the plunge and try my hand at building the OS on my own. If you decide to do the same, keep in mind it is a fairly advanced procedure, despite the attempts of Google to automate the processes. You’ll also need a Ubuntu computer with version 8.04 or later (I used my server running 9.04 Jaunty).

Building Chrome

All the instructions you need are on Google’s page about this very subject. It contains a very detailed procedure for downloading and compiling the system to be installed on a regular computer or run with VMWare. Since I don’t have any spare hardware lying around, I went the VMWare route.

You’ll have to start by downloading the 200 MB files. If you wish to use the tarball version, here are the commands you can use to move to the home directory, download and unzip.

From there you can start with the steps on the above Google link.

The process is relatively straightforward as compared to a standard compile/install procedure, thanks to Google’s use of bash scripts. I proceeded without incident until it came time to run the ./enter_chroot.sh script. This one failed multiple times and it took me some time to figure out that I needed to run ./make_chroot.sh a second time. After that, there were no more problems, and I soon had a VMWare disk to use.

Using Chrome OS

If you wish to bypass the whole build process, gdgt has graciously provided a direct link to a download for a VMWare image. Going that route can definitely save some time.
After installing a VMWare Fusion trial, I had Chrome OS running and was presented with a nice log in screen. If you enter your Google address and password, all the applications should be set up immediately with your data and you can begin to use the OS right away. Once logged in, you really are using a giant browser.
At this stage, the open-source Chromium downloads lag behind what Google presented earlier this week, so some of the features aren’t available yet. Right now there is a Chrome browser, and that’s about it. The button at the top left shows some of the applications available, like Calendar, YouTube, Documents, Hulu and more.
These are essentially just links to the respective Google pages. The top right corner has buttons for changing a few settings and checking battery and WiFI information. Other than that, it’s pretty spartan (there isn’t even a shutdown button).

It is an interesting take on the future of computing, a problem I noticed is that a weak internet connection really dampens the benefits. To truly make use of the features built in, you’ll need a solid pipe, because waiting to even check a calendar is a bit annoying. If/when this makes its way to netbooks with wireless internet solutions, that will make a very nice package.

Is this the future?

Using these early builds, I found myself wondering who will want to use an operating system that deals very little with local storage and functionality. Google’s intention is that it will be used almost exclusively on netbooks — the tiny 8-10″ computers that are mostly used for email and web browsing. They’ve even decided that to use their version of Chromium, you’ll have to buy a new device (it won’t be available as a software only product). For that purpose, I can see it being a success. For full scale computing, I don’t think it will be usurping Windows or Mac OS X any time soon.

Having installed the RC build 7100 and using it on and off for the last few weeks, I must say that I actually like this software. Despite a few annoyances here and there, overall Windows 7 is a big step up from Vista, and even XP. Let’s take a closer look.

Installation

Right away, I was impressed with the changes to the installation process. Nearly all irrelevant options are hidden, and the important ones are out in plain site. Formatting my Boot Camp partition was as easy as clicking “Format” and waiting less than 10 seconds. After entering the RC serial number, all files were copied, settings updated and the computer reboot into Windows. From start to finish the process took 50 minutes, but that doesn’t include the extra finagling I had to do to get the setup disk to work properly with Boot Camp.

Interface

There are a multitude of changes in the interface, and most of them are for the better. The taskbar has now been called the smartbar and it gets its name from only displaying application icons, and the way applications can be “bolted” to the bar. Personally, I find this an excellent way of managing open applications, and the fact that a simple mouseover displays the entire window means a quick look is possible to make sure you have the right application.

One tiny thing that has bothered me since starting with the RC Beta is that scrolling does not automatically select the window beneath the cursor. On Mac OS X, scrolling is done in the application that the cursor is presently over, regardless if it is active or not. While it sounds like I’m splitting hairs, it becomes a major nuisance when switching back and forth between applications.

My MacBook, with its GMA950 graphics chip, returned a Windows Experience Index score of 3.2, with the lowest score being the graphics system. Despite this, Windows 7 is very snappy, and the Aero interface displayed without trouble. Some machines that were unable to take full advantage of the Vista interface eye candy might be able to do so now.

Application updates

Windows 7 also sees some nice enhancements to core software functionality and application updates. A big component of Windows Media Player is the ability to stream to other devices on the network using the UPnP server. While I didn’t really test this feature, I was happy to see a UPnP viewer included in the application. This meant I could listen to/watch any media that was stored on my file server. Unfortunately, this feature didn’t work completely correctly, as files were duplicated in the library for some reason, but the actual release version may work better.

One of the biggest surprises I found was the new take on wallpaper in Windows 7. As shown in the above picture, some of the choices are very trippy. That psychedelic turtle has found a place on my wallpaper, mostly because it is so unlike any of Microsoft’s previous wallpapers.

Many other applications have seen updates as well. Paint has more features seen in a standard image-manipulation program, Screen Capture is more versatile, network tools are more powerful and the control panel organizes things more clearly, to name a few.

This only really begins to scratch the surface of this massive upgrade, but from what I’ve been able to see/use on the last few months, I’d say Microsoft has done a good job listening to user complaints and acting on them. Of course, it will never fully replace the OS X installation on my MacBook, but I no longer dread booting into the alternate reality.

The result is a Ubuntu bash script that renames all the formatted files in a folder with the actual episode titles. Right now it requires Linux because it uses wget and XMLStarlet to download the file data, but I may release an additional script that works with other systems.

The entire script is made possible by the excellent XML feed service by TVRage.com.

Download the script

Prerequisite

XMLStarlet
XMLStarlet is a small command-line utility that can process XML files and text. It is required to traverse the XML structure of the TVRage.com data. To download this utility in Ubuntu, simply use the repositories.

Usage

Change paths where appropriate.

1. Save the script to a known folder, change into that folder, and make it executable by issuing the following command
   chmod a+x ./tvrenamer.sh
2. Change the current directory to the folder that contains the video files.
   cd Television/Season\ 1
3. Rename all the files in the folder to use the format SxxExx.extension
   S08E01.avi
S08E02.avi
S08E03.avi
S08E04.avi
S08E05.avi
S08E06.avi
S08E07.avi
S08E08.avi
S08E09.avi
S08E10.avi
4. Call the script and append the name of the show to the end of the command.
   /path/to/script/tvrenamer.sh Simpsons
5. Watch as the shows all magically change their name.
   Downloading show data for 'Simpsons'...
Downloading episode guide...
Simpsons - S08E01 - Treehouse of Horror VII.avi
Simpsons - S08E02 - You Only Move Twice.avi
Simpsons - S08E03 - The Homer They Fall.avi
Simpsons - S08E04 - Burns, Baby Burns.avi
Simpsons - S08E05 - Bart After Dark.avi
Simpsons - S08E06 - A Milhouse Divided.avi
Simpsons - S08E07 - Lisa's Date with Density.avi
Simpsons - S08E08 - Hurricane Neddy.avi
Simpsons - S08E09 - El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer).avi
Simpsons - S08E10 - The Springfield Files.avi

If you wish to access the script simply by typing the name (tvrenamer, for example) simply issue the following two commands:

From this point, you simply need to use tvrenamer "TV Show".

The script reads all files in the folder, but will only rename files that are in the S**E** format. TV show titles must have escaped spaces to properly search for the show, or be surrounded in ” quotes.

If there are too many acronyms in there, just remember the name Mediatomb. Mediatomb is an open-source, cross-platform DLNA server that streams a variety of media formats across a local network to whatever compatible device you happen to have running at the end. It can stream video, music, photos in numerous formats, and will even transcode others so that they can stream as well. All this tinkering comes at the expense of user-friendliness, though. In most cases, the regular binaries for each operating system will do most of the cool tricks I mention here. To get the most out of the system, however, requires you to compile from source.

As mentioned in my previous file server post, I’m running Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackolope on a “headless” Intel server, which I control via the terminal. Since the computer doesn’t restart, I wanted it to run as a daemon, which was where I ran into a problem. For some reason, Jaunty didn’t play nice with the standard daemon package, so I had do a little digging to find the solution.

Steps

1. Create a temporary working directory by issuing this command
   $ mkdir temp
2. Install the ffmpegthumbnailer libraries by installing libffmpegthumbnailer. Use the command sudo apt-get install libffmpegthumbnailer and enter your admin password when prompted.
3. Compile ffmpeg using the tutorial at Juliensimon.blogspot.com but include the configure tag --enable-libffmpegthumbnailer. Don’t move on until the configuration confirms thumbnailer installation.
4. Compile and install the Mediatomb binaries from source — again, I used the excellent tutorial at Juliensimon.blogspot.com
5. Check the functionality of Mediatomb to issuing the command $ mediatomb then opening a web browser to http://ip_of_server:49152/
6. To make the daemon work, first download the daemon package by issuing this command (one line)
   $ wget http://mirrors.kernel.org/ubuntu/pool/universe/m/mediatomb/mediatomb-daemon_0.11.0-3ubuntu2_all.deb
7. Now extract the files in the package to the temporary directory created earlier
   $ dpkg-deb -x mediatomb-daemon_0.11.0-3ubuntu2_all.deb temp

   As you can see, the daemon package is just a collection of configuration files, so installing it properly is just a matter of copying the files back.

8. Change to the temporary directory with the files by typing
   $ cd temp_directory_name
9. Type these commands one line at a time to copy the files back to their rightful place. The commands with two lines should be printed as one single command.
   $ sudo cp etc/mediatomb/config.xml /etc/mediatomb/config.xml

   $ sudo cp etc/default/mediatomb /etc/default/mediatomb

   $ sudo cp etc/init.d/mediatomb /etc/init.d/mediatomb

   $ sudo cp etc/logrotate.d/mediatomb /etc/logrotate.d/mediatomb

   $ sudo cp usr/share/doc/mediatomb-daemon/README.Debian usr/share/doc/mediatomb-daemon/README.Debian

   $ sudo cp usr/share/doc/mediatomb-daemon/changelog.Debian.gz /usr/share/doc/mediatomb-daemon/changelog.Debian.gz

   $ sudo cp usr/share/doc/mediatomb-daemon/changelog.gz /usr/share/doc/mediatomb-daemon/changelog.gz

   $ sudo cp usr/share/doc/mediatomb-daemon/copyright /usr/share/doc/mediatomb-daemon/copyright

   If the copy comes back with errors about directories, you’ll likely have to use the mkdir to create the requested folders.

10. Now the important step is setting the proper permissions of the folder /var/lib/mediatomb. Change into that directory by issuing
    $ cd /var/lib/
11. The folder /var/lib/mediatomb should contain 3 files:
    $ ls mediatomb
mediatomb.html
sqlite3.db
sqlite3.db-journal
12. Change the ownership of the folder and its contents.
    $ chown -R mediatomb:mediatomb mediatomb
13. Change the permissions of the HTML file.
    $ sudo chmod 666 mediatomb/mediatomb.html
14. Change the permissions of the remaining two files:
    $ sudo chmod 644 mediatomb/sqlite3.db
$ sudo chmod 644 mediatomb/sqlite3.db-journal
15. Make the script run at startup.
    $ update-rc.d mediatomb defaults

To start the server, simply issue the command sudo /etc/init.d/mediatomb start. If the server doesn’t start, view the Mediatomb log file to see what else is happening.

Exit with :q. I’ve been running this setup since I first built the server, and it has worked exceptionally well.

This is the first of 3 operating system comparisons. Windows 7 and Ubuntu 9.04 will be up shortly.

The Improvements

I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to upgrade my MacBook from 10.5 to 10.6. I inserted the DVD while logged in, the menubar and Dock faded away and I returned 50 minutes later to my original desktop. There were options for installing additional languages, printers or Rosetta, but the default installation seems to provide all the required data, with the notable exception of Rosetta. If you still run PPC based applications, be sure to click that checkbox.

After it was installed, I took a look around and found very few changes to the interface. Sure, Stacks can now scroll when using the tile arrangement, and some menubars have more function, but by and large, the upgrade is behind the scenes. The Airport menu is slightly animated when not connected to a network, as shown on the left. Doing an option+click on the menu items now brings up a condensed system preference panel with the most important functions front and centre. The Sound menu item brings what is probably the most convenient small update, with the ability to choose the audio input and output on the computer with entering System Preferences.

Snow Leopard also seems to change the behaviour of computers exiting from sleep as well. On my MacBook, sleeping the computer for an extended period of time (about 2 hours or so) sometimes causes it to go into deep-sleep mode. That means when it wakes again, you must load the contents of RAM from the hard drive, which can take an extra 30 seconds or so. I’ve yet to determine if this is a change to the OS itself, or simply a flaw with my computer.

Ideal customer

Apple has taken a new strategy here with Snow Leopard. By keeping the interface familiar and improving the underlying technology, they allow users to gain familiarity with the software. As a $35 CAN upgrade, it is easy to recommend, but for regular users of Leopard who use their computer more for email and web than pushing the boundary of computing, it’s probably not all that necessary.

Interestingly, I think Snow Leopard works better as an upgrade for those users still running pre-Leopard installations. As a move from Tiger, or even Panther, SL offers many new features that make computing much, much easier. I’m excited about the new applications that will be released shortly that take advantage of this new technology — it just looks like I’ll have to get a new computer to fully use all the new tools.

For the last year or so I’ve been rocking a set of Sennheiser PX100 foldable headphones and I believe they satisfy all the above criteria.

The Sound

The most important aspect of any piece of audio equipment is of course, the sound. Despite the small package, these Sennheisers provide excellent sound in many configurations. They pump the bass for rock music, while maintaining the mid and high notes for classical, or even regular talking in podcasts. I find it very enjoyable to listen to movies using these headphones as well.

The fit

The PX100s work in an on-the-ear configuration, where the pads don’t actually cover the entire ear and instead rest on them. This means that ambient noise is not cancelled or blocked in any meaningful way, unlike the PX200 which have an over the ear design.

I find the design of these headphones very comfortable. They do not clamp too much, and the soft pads mean I can wear them for many hours without discomfort. That said, I sometimes find that they tilt forward on my head, to the point where I need to readjust them to be comfortable again. This doesn’t detract from the usability of the ‘phones at all, though.

Value

At $80 CAN, the Sennheiser PX100 headphones are somewhat expensive, but I think you get what you pay for. In this case, you get a solid pair headphones, plus a plastic carrying case that is crucial for everyday use. With the case, I don’t have second thoughts about tossing them into my backpack, which was how my previous pair of Sonys broke.

Only time will tell how they hold up to daily use, but over more than one year of nearly everyday listening, my ‘phones show very few signs of wear. They are an excellent choice for listening to any type of music.

OS X 10.0 was by most accounts, a good start, but far from perfect. Through 5 other iterations, the software has grown from novelty to mainstream, with advanced features added with each new release. Snow Leopard takes a slightly different approach in that it forgoes the usual list of blockbuster features and instead improves the existing codebase significantly. This new version will be faster, lighter (on hardware) and will offer new ways for developers to take advantage of the latest hardware.

The big new features of Snow Leopard involve the graphics card and CPU. With the advances in technology of these two components, programmers can take advantage of the new power by using Grand Central Dispatch and OpenCL. Grand Central Dispatch is a suite of tools available to developers to use every core in the multi core systems Apple sells today. OpenCL does something similar with the graphics cards. When these tools are included in new software, they will be much more powerful than today’s applications.

Buying opinions

The most important new feature of Snow Leopard is the cost. At just $29USD, it is priced like an upgrade, and even in Canadian funds it works out to much less than other software ($35). Based on this price point, and the new features that will be available, I will be purchasing a copy soon after it is released on Friday. I may even spring for the family pack, which comes with 5 licenses for only $59 CAN.

For the benefits to users, and the price point of $30, this will be a very popular upgrade, and is highly recommended for users of Leopard, and especially those with older machines. If you’ve been holding out for a solid version of OS X that you can build on and use for many years to come, this may be it.

Look for more information about Snow Leopard here next week.