Mood: :borg:
There have been 43 comment spams caught since the last digest report 1 day, 5 hours ago.
I love you, Spam Karma, and I want to have your babies.
Mood: :borg:
There have been 43 comment spams caught since the last digest report 1 day, 5 hours ago.
I love you, Spam Karma, and I want to have your babies.
Mood: :borg:
Update: The latest ipodpatcher.exe doesn’t seem to work properly with this batch file, so I suggest using the Rockbox Installer X to install the boot loader into your iPod.
I recently installed Rockbox on my iPod, which allows for skinning, playing of GameBoy games, and lots of other options. It’s not perfect, but I can dual-boot back into the original Apple firmware, which is nice.
The installation of the Rockbox bootloader on your iPod is a very manual procedure, so I dusted off the old school DOS skills and made a batch file that will handle steps 1b through 1g of the Rockbox iPod installation. It works in WinXP with my iPod Photo, but I followed the instructions for all supported models so it should work for everyone (crosses fingers).
Here are the batch file contents. Please copy and paste it into Notepad, then save the file as install.bat in your C:\Rockbox folder. It assumes you’ve already followed step 1a and put the required files in the same folder.
@echo off
REM Rockbox iPod install batch file
REM By Jim Allison (jim@holycow.com)
REM Clear the variables
set device=
set ipod=
cls
REM Check for the executables. If either not found, exit.
if not exist C:\Rockbox\ipodpatcher.exe goto error_ipodpatcher
if not exist C:\Rockbox\ipod_fw.exe goto error_ipod_fw
echo -------------------------------------------------------------------
echo This is a batch file to help install Rockbox on an iPod in Windows.
echo _
echo Please plug in your iPod now, and press any key once
echo it appears as a drive in your Windows Explorer.
echo _
echo Press Ctrl-C to exit
echo _
pause
C:
cd \Rockbox
REM Check for the bin files. If none found, exit. If any found, assume the last one, but ask to make sure.
if exist bootloader-color.bin (
set ipod=Color/Photo
) else (
if exist bootloader-4g.bin (
set ipod=4G-Grayscale
) else (
if exist bootloader-nano.bin (
set ipod=Nano
) else (
if exist bootloader-video.bin (
set ipod=Video/5G
) else (
goto error_nobins
)
)
)
)
cls
echo --------------------------------------------------------------
echo You have the bin file for the
echo _
echo iPod %ipod%.
echo _
echo If this is not your iPod model, please press Ctrl-C to
echo terminate this batch file and make sure only the bin
echo file for your particular iPod model is in C:\Rockbox:
echo _
echo iPod Color/Photo: bootloader-color.bin
echo iPod 4G (Grayscale): bootloader-4g.bin
echo iPod Nano: bootloader-nano.bin
echo iPod Video/5G: bootloader-video.bin
echo _
pause
del temp*.txt
REM Run through drives 0-5 via iPodPatcher
ipodpatcher 0 > temp0.txt
ipodpatcher 1 > temp1.txt
ipodpatcher 2 > temp2.txt
ipodpatcher 3 > temp3.txt
ipodpatcher 4 > temp4.txt
ipodpatcher 5 > temp5.txt
REM Parse temp files for signs of an iPod
for /F "tokens=1,2,3" %%l in (temp0.txt) do if "%%l"=="Part" if "%%m"=="Start" if "%%n"=="Sector" set device=0
for /F "tokens=1,2,3" %%l in (temp1.txt) do if "%%l"=="Part" if "%%m"=="Start" if "%%n"=="Sector" set device=1
for /F "tokens=1,2,3" %%l in (temp2.txt) do if "%%l"=="Part" if "%%m"=="Start" if "%%n"=="Sector" set device=2
for /F "tokens=1,2,3" %%l in (temp3.txt) do if "%%l"=="Part" if "%%m"=="Start" if "%%n"=="Sector" set device=3
for /F "tokens=1,2,3" %%l in (temp4.txt) do if "%%l"=="Part" if "%%m"=="Start" if "%%n"=="Sector" set device=4
for /F "tokens=1,2,3" %%l in (temp5.txt) do if "%%l"=="Part" if "%%m"=="Start" if "%%n"=="Sector" set device=5
if "%device%"=="" goto error_nopod
REM Create backup of original firmware
ipodpatcher -r %device% bootpartition.bin
if not exist bootpartition.bin goto error_backupfailed
REM Extract Apple's firmware from the bootpartition.bin image file
ipod_fw -o apple_os.bin -e 0 bootpartition.bin
if not exist apple_os.bin goto error_backupfailed
REM The iPod Video/5G has an extra firmware for the video decoder chip. This needs to be extracted:
if "%ipod%"=="Video/5G" ipod_fw -o apple_sw_5g_rcsc.bin -e 1 bootpartition.bin
REM Create Rockboot.bin, depending on the iPod model
if "%ipod%"=="4G-Grayscale" ipod_fw -g 4g -o rockboot.bin -i apple_os.bin bootloader-4g.bin
if "%ipod%"=="Color/Photo" ipod_fw -g color -o rockboot.bin -i apple_os.bin bootloader-color.bin
if "%ipod%"=="Nano" ipod_fw -g nano -o rockboot.bin -i apple_os.bin bootloader-nano.bin
if "%ipod%"=="Video/5G" ipod_fw -g video -o rockboot.bin -i apple_os.bin bootloader-video.bin
REM Install the bootloader!
ipodpatcher -w %device% rockboot.bin
cls
echo ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
echo Testing
echo _
echo You can now disconnect your ipod from your PC in the normal way.
echo This should cause your iPod to reboot.
echo _
echo You should now see a light blue screen with some tiny writing - this is the
echo Rockbox bootloader. Because you haven't yet installed Rockbox itself, the
echo bootloader will fail to start Rockbox and should then default to start the
echo original Apple firmware. If this happens, then all has gone well.
echo _
echo Do not delete C:\Rockbox\bootpartition.bin! It can be used
echo to restore your iPod to its original configuration.
echo _
echo Please complete the installation by following the instructions at
echo www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/IpodInstallation#Step_2_Install_Rockbox
echo _
goto end
:error_ipodpatcher
cls
echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
echo C:\Rockbox\iPodPatcher.exe not found!
echo This batch file assumes that your Rockbox files are in C:\Rockbox
echo Exiting...
goto end
:error_ipod_fw
cls
echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
echo C:\Rockbox\iPod_FW.exe not found!
echo This batch file assumes that your Rockbox files are in C:\Rockbox
echo Exiting...
goto end
:error_nobins
cls
echo -------------------------------------------------------------------------
echo No bin files found! Please download the appropriate bin file
echo for your iPod from http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/pub/Main/IpodInstallation
echo and save it into your C:\Rockbox folder.
echo _
echo iPod Color/Photo: bootloader-color.bin
echo iPod 4G (Grayscale): bootloader-4g.bin
echo iPod Nano: bootloader-nano.bin
echo iPod Video/5G: bootloader-video.bin
goto end
:error_backupfailed
echo Oops! Something went wrong with the backup process.
echo I'm not going to continue. Please try the manual procedure.
goto end
:error_nopod
cls
echo -----------------------------------------------------
echo ERROR!
echo I can't find your iPod! Please make sure your iPod is
echo plugged in and appears as a drive in Windows Explorer,
echo then try this batch file again. If it keeps failing
echo then try the manual procedure.
goto end
:end
del temp*.txt
pause
Mood: :borg:
One thing I find annoying with blogs is when you post or view comments, then the author may make a bunch of new postings before you visit again. Comments on the older posts get “buried” and you may not remember you were having a kind of conversation 2 or 3 posts back.
I’ve installed the Smart Unread Comments plugin at the top of the posts area, which should allow my visitors to see any new comment posts since their last visit, provided they’re using cookies.
Mood: :thrpp:
This has either brightened my day, or destroyed a little bit of my soul. I’m not sure which.
Mood: :borg:
One of the neat new things about WordPress 2.0 is the ability to drag and drop graphics into your posts, like this:

There’s Emily, in a nice close-up.
Cool!
Mood:
I have tried two of the new DVD players that also support playback of DivX-encoded video files. Both have problems with even basic DVDs, much less burnt DVD-Rs or AVI files. The two players I tried were the RJTech RJ-700DVX (artifacts on screen and sound synch problems with DVD-Rs) and the Kosch DV-X721C (unacceptable pauses on commercial DVDs and poor AVI playback).
Anybody found a good DVD player that also supports DVD-Rs and DivX-encoded files properly?
Mood:
Well, I found that the default theme for WordPress didn’t preserve image or URL links when you clicked on the Categories or previous months. That would have made some of my older posts look a bit incomplete.
In addition, my State of My Mind posts were too wide for that last theme.
Both problems fixed now with this new theme. Wish I had found this months ago…
Mood:
I had to work Canada Day, but got Monday the 4th off in lieu. The weather looked promising, so I suggested we take the kids to PlayLand.
The weather mostly held, with the scattered showers either being quite welcome on the humid day, or our timing being so good that the rain hit while we were inside eating lunch.
Geoffrey had a blast, going on umpteenmillion rides, including the little roller coaster, and Emily stayed asleep most of the time. As expected, he loves cotton candy and the little donuts you can get there.
Mood:
This morning I woke up to barking and some guy yelling outside. Because of where our bedroom is, such loud noises tend to echo. It sounded about a block away. The last thing I heard him yell was, “Get away from that cat, goddamnit!” That woke me all the way up.
When I got downstairs, I found Mellissa crying. A couple of young adult pit bulls had come into our yard, chased Pasha into our carport, pulled her out from under the car and savaged her. The old fatty didn’t have a chance. The yelling was from one of our neighbours. By the time Mellissa got out there with a hockey stick she couldn’t tell if it was Pasha or Muggins, they had ripped her apart so badly. The cat died shortly thereafter.
These pit bulls reportedly had no collars, and were running free around the neighbourhood. They ran off in different directions. Animal Control was called, but who knows if they’ll catch them?
I hate stupid people who get “tough” dogs and can’t take care of them properly; this is what happens. Now that they’ve got a taste for blood and have enjoyed a successful hunt, what’s to keep them from pulling a baby out of a stroller?
Update: Pasha is alive! Someone else’s gray cat was killed, but it was such a mess that they had no idea until Pasha finally came out of hiding.
Second update: The dogs were captured and are being held. Apparently the owner of one of them is “known”.
Mood:
Let it be known henceforth that any mention of “poker” in my blog comments will cause instant deletion. That is all.