Over the last year or so, I've played with a home-built PVR system using the Ubuntu-based implementation of MythTV, Mythbuntu.  Mythbuntu is really just a convenient way to set up a Linux-based computer with MythTV easily installed.  Anyway, previous installments are: Easter projects – Drupal vs Joomla! and tangling with Mythbuntu, Mythbuntu, part 2 and Mythbuntu, part 3.  Most recently, I had been forced to relocate the main server box upstairs, away from the main living room.  This was due to the generally annoying and ugly computer case with its flashing lights and persistent fan and hard drive noise.  I had attempted to use an old Acer laptop as a Mythbuntu frontend connected to the TV and relaying the output to the TV.  This proved rather less than ideal.  I had difficulty getting a decent picture to the TV, though this was mostly due to my ignorance of TV and video settings compounded by issues around output formats from the laptop.  Subsequently,  I've played with a few apps on my iPad (of which more in an upcoming post) which enable the replay of uPnP recordings from the mythbuntu box via my domestic WiFi network.  This got me thinking about whether it might be easiest to pick up a relatively cheap uPnP enabled media player with which to play my recordings.I did a little browsing and came across the Patriot Box Office media player.  This little device is capable of playing just about any media format, and crucially is uPnP compatible, even without installing a hard drive.  While a hard drive would clearly be essential to use all of the player's  facilities, I didn't plan to install one.  Firstly I figured it would detract from the device's silence, and secondly, I wanted to keep this as cheap as possible (the Patriot player was at the time less than £50 from Amazon).  In keeping with my efforts to keep this shoestring cheap, I decided to try and set this up with a spare Netgear USB WiFi stick rather than splash out on the recommended Patriot 802.11n USB stick.  After all, I thought, they are probably just trying to sell stuff.The device itself is small, light and seemingly of good build quality.  I haven't opened it up, as I didn't install a hard drive.  I connected it to the power supply, to the TV and inserted the Netgear WiFi stick.  Eagerly, I switched it on...nope, the Netgear WiFi stick just would not work.  Upon browsing the Patriot support forums, it seems that only certain WiFi chipsets are supported.  So it was back to the drawing board while I ordered the recommended Patriot WiFi device.  In the meantime, I've got a long ethernet cable stretching from the router upstairs, and I can say that the device performs really well as a replacement for a mythbuntu front end, though with restricted functionality due to the absence of any added storage (of course).  I can't, at the moment at least, watch live TV from the mythbuntu system, or stream video from the internet (not so important to me).  This isn't a pressing problem at the moment, as we normally use a Humax PVR box for most of our live viewing and recording.  A more immediate issue is that having an ethernet cable trailing down the stairs is something of a trip hazard!I have a second uPnP server in the network: my QNAP NAS box runs Twonkymedia - I can therefore watch some of my home-made videos.  Which isn't quite as appealing as you might think - these are mostly of me riding my time trial bike.  And what's probably most alarming is that it includes Silent Movie, the full video of Team Grumpy's 2009 ride in the Duo Normand time trial.  All 90 minutes or so.If your are interested in finding out more about the Patriot media player, here are some links to the Patriot Memory page describing the device, and the tech specifications (pdf).

Perhaps it's something to do with the change in focus at the end of the racing season, but I'm often tinkering around with tech stuff in the autumn!  Anyway, I've just taken delivery of one of the new Kindle e-book readers from Amazon.  This model is one of several devices being launched by Amazon over the next few months, with the others apparently being a touch screen Kindle and the Kindle Fire - an Android-based tablet that promises to shake up the tablet market.  The new Kindle is usually referred to as the Kindle 4 (though Amazon seem to just refer to it as the Kindle) and differs principally from the previous model (the Kindle 3, now renamed Kindle Keyboard) by the absence of the tiny keyboard and audio playback facility.Anyway, my initial response to reading the specs of the Kindle 4 was one of disbelief: why would anyone pay for a Kindle with reduced specs - half the memory, half the battery life, no keyboard, no charger?  In fact it still has the capacity to store over a thousand books, the battery life is still 1 month, and the on-screen keyboard (operated by the five-way central button) works just fine.  I guess the expectation is that users either already have numerous USB chargers kicking around, or will just charge from a computer's USB port.The front buttons are, from left to right: Back; Keyboard; the 5-way select button; Menu; Home.  These provide the familiar functions as on previous models.  On the bottom edge there is a press-button on/off button that turns the device into standby mode (this is a slide and release switch on the Kindle 3) and a tiny USB socket.  It's to Amazon's credit that this is a standard USB socket - it's one of the smaller varieties, micro-B.  I get rather frustrated by the profusion of proprietary cables - I have so many kicking around, including two different types for the old iPaq PocketPC, the iPod/iPad cables and the Cowon one for my music player.  Page navigation is via the forward and back buttons found on the right and left edges of the device.  These are in the same location as on the Kindle 3 though subtly different in shape and action.The screen is the same excellent electronic paper display as used on the Kindle 3, with a 16-level grey scale.  This is surprisingly good at displaying images.  The Kindle 4's firmware differs from previous models in it's screen refresh mode.  In earlier models each page turn happens via a 'blackening' of the screen.  I know this bothers some people, and perhaps that's why Amazon implemented a different screen change system in the Kindle 4 in which a complete screen refresh only happens every six or so page turns.  This makes page changes quicker at the cost of gradually degraded resolution.  I downloaded and installed a firmware update that offers the ability to toggle between screen modes.  On a bit of testing, I've stuck with the new screen refresh mode, as I don't notice any issues with the display when I'm absorbed in reading.  This is the first electronic paper display I've used, and the thing really is startlingly crisp and easy to read - much better in many ways that my first generation iPad.The case is quite similar to the Kindle 3, but the bezel is a slightly lighter grey.  The back of the unit has a slightly rubbery texture.  Overall, the device feels (initially at least) to be a bit plasticky, with the pretty much matte texture of the screen.  But these are first impressions, largely by comparison to the heavier aluminium bodied iPad, and in use it's pretty clear that the Kindle is rock solid and robust.The Kindle is hooked up to an Amazon account, books are delivered via WiFi (there isn't a 3G version) - or can be copied via the USB cable.  As with previous models, pdfs can be read either by copying the file over via USB or by conversion to Kindle format by some arcane email-mediated communication that I've not tried.  The Amazon account shares ebooks between the Kindle and the Kindle apps running on my iPad and my MacBook, and synchronises where I am in each book.Some comparisons:  the Kindle is far superior as an e-book reader than the iPad, though it has to be said that in overall capability the iPad is of course a more versatile device.  This is largely because of the screen quality (for example it's excellent for reading in bight sunlight) but also the Kindle's form factor  scores pretty highly.  It's very light and easy to operate single-handed, for example when lying in bed (where I do most of my recreational book reading).There is a sense of handing over one's reading to another 'walled garden' as one does with the iOS software ecosystem.  Having said that, there are options by which files can be converted between e-book formats (the Kindle reads Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; HTML, DOC, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP through conversion).  Most e-book reader websites advocate software such as Calibre, which offers e-book library management and the facility to interchange formats.  I've installed this on Mac and Linux, and it seems pretty straightforward to use.The full instruction manual is on the device, with only a minimal instruction leaflet provided in the box.Full technical specs (at Amazon.co.uk)  

The latest version of the popular Ubuntu distribution of GNU/Linux was released a few days ago, version 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot.  I've been playing with this release of Ubuntu  for a week or so on an old notebook (Sony VGN-TX5XN) since a beta 2 release was available, and since release day on a Dell Zino HD desktop PC (dual boot with Windows 7).  This post is really a pointer to a few tweaks and mods I've done (mostly as a reminder to myself) which I found dotted around the internet  As usual, I found that the upgrades went well, though I decided to do a clean installation on the Sony, as I'd accumulated a whole pile of cruft.Overall, I find the appearance and functionality of the (admittedly controversial) Unity desktop fabulous, and from being an unwilling user with Ubuntu 11.04 - I eventually returned to Gnome 2 - I find this iteration of Unity very usable.  Here's a snapshot of my notebook's desktop.  It's using one of the stock desktop images and the default theme (I think it's called Ambiance).[caption id="attachment_1731" align="alignnone" width="287" caption="Ubuntu 11.10 Unity desktop (click for full size image)"][/caption]You can see along the top panel a variety of indicators showing the status of some apps and other functions (Dropbox, UbuntuOne, weather etc).  The vertical panel on the left is the main panel of icons.  I've also kept Docky, as I don't like the icon stacking effect when the main panel is full, and I find it similar to OS X, which I also use.Default applications include the Thunderbird email client, Firefox web browser, and the Libre Office office suite.  The GIMP isn't included in the default installation, but is easily available via the Ubuntu Software Centre.  Personally I quickly installed Synaptic, as I prefer that (or the command line) to the Software Centre.  The breadth of the software available from the software centre is impressive, particularly since most of it is free.  The software centre itself is bright, colourful and easy to search or browse, though it seems a bit slower to install software than Synaptic and especially the command line.In both a fresh install (on the notebook) and the upgrade (on the desktop PC) I had absolutely no issues with hardware or peripherals, including the notebook's wireless card.  Setting up network printers and scanners is quick and easy.  A basic Wacom Bamboo graphics tablet just worked.Compiz Settings. If you're an inveterate tinkerer and have extensively mucked about with compiz settings (as I had), you might find the Unity desktop is a bit oddly behaving.  This was certainly the case for my desktop PC.  These commands reset things so that Unity works.

gconftool --recursive-unset /apps/compiz-1gconftool --recursive-unset /apps/compizconfig-1

Weather app. To add the weather app on the taskbar:

sudo apt-get install indicator-weather

It's pretty obvious how to set this up...I decided to use Google, and it found my location pretty easily. Apart from saving you having to peer out of the window to see what the weather's like, it supplies a four day forecast.UbuntuOne app.  This plonks a notifier about the UbuntuOne status on the taskbar:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:rye/ubuntuone-extrassudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get install ubuntuone-indicator

Sysmonitor. To put a system monitor on the taskbar:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:alexeftimie/ppasudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get install indicator-sysmonitor

To install config tools:

sudo apt-get install dconf-tools

If my old notebook had a bit more oomph, I'd be likely to be using Ubuntu as my main mobile OS.  As it is, my work and home desktop PCs both run Ubuntu, and it has crossed my mind once or twice whether to dual boot my MacBook Pro...

I updated my MacBook Pro with the latest Lion update and my iPad to iOS5.  This brings with it the much-heralded iCloud.  But I'm not exclusively a Mac user, so I'm not convinced it'll be particularly useful.  I don't have an iPhone (or any other phone for that matter).  I only have one iOS device, a first generation iPad (so sharing purchased apps seems pretty unimportant!).  I don't buy music from iTunes. I don't use the dreadful iTunes desktop app to manage my music - indeed I ditched a 2nd generation iPod Touch in favour of a Cowon music player to escape iTunes.  This seems to limit any real utility for iCloud.  Apparently I can:Synchronise my Mail, Contacts, Calendar and Notes.  Well, that happens already, doesn't it?  I have a variety of email accounts that I access wherever I am, either through mobile broadband or WiFi.  And my iPad notes turn up in my gmail account (which I can access on any computer).Bookmarks.  This refers to Safari, which I rarely (if ever) use, and then only on my single iOS device.  On all of my other computers,  I use Chrome, which synchronises my bookmarks to all my devices (except the iPad) - whether they be Linux, OS X or Windows.Photo Stream. No idea what this is for, it doesn't say, and my installed iPhoto is too primitive to take advantage of it anyway.Documents & Data.  Well, this might have been worthwhile for Pages, Keynote and Numbers, where I have the iOS and OS X versions.  However, since I cannot see a way to share files between OS X and iOS devices, and given that I have but a single iOS device, I cannot see what I can share these files with.  But for everything else, I don't think I can share with Linux, so any advantage over Dropbox is questionable. At least I can use Dropbox to transfer files to my iPad!Back to my Mac. Don't know what this is. Apparently this is to connect with a desktop Mac.

Back to My Mac lets anyone with an Apple ID connect remotely to their home or office Mac over the Internet and control the keyboard, pointer and file system.

Ho hum.  Only really useful for those fully assimilated into the Apple collective.  My office PC runs Ubuntu Linux, as does my home desktop PC and my Mythbuntu PVR.  I can (and do) get to these through other applications that use standard VNC protocols, using either my iPad or my MacBook, or my Ubuntu notebook.Find my Mac.  I think this is a way of tracking a Mac if it goes AWOL.  Could be useful, but I already have a third party app for this.I am rather underwhelmed.Oh, but isn't today Ubuntu 11.10 release day?

Well, here's another spectacularly geeky cartoon from xkcd:[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="319" caption="X11"][/caption]I've just been playing with the beta release of Ubuntu GNU/Linux 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot, if I have the spelling correct), due for release this week - tomorrow if memory serves.  I had some issues with screen resolution, so this cartoon resonates with me.  If there's one thing I hate, it's trying to sort out screen resolutions that haven't been detected.Incidentally, the latest release of Ubuntu seems to me to have sorted out many of the issues I've had with the Unity desktop, and I have new-found enthusiasm for it.  Perhaps I'll write a bit more about Ubuntu 11.10 later this week

OK, as well as marking the death of Steve Jobs, today's xkcd cartoon pretty well sums up today's experience of working with Word on a MacBook Pro:[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="370" caption="Eternal Flame"][/caption]This has happened to me several times today.  It spins and it spins until  I force Word to quit.

Another glorious day as the Indian Summer continued through the weekend.  Today saw the North Bucks Road Club hill climb championship, run as usual at Bow Brickhill.  I think the residents of Bow Brickhill are used to mountain bikers congregating on Sunday mornings, but this morning was enlivened by a high turn out and even some spectators!  Presumably this unprecedented enthusiasm was in large part down to the glorious weather.Recently resurfaced (which removed the friable and frankly skittery road surface), the Bow Brickhill climb is quite challenging to race up.  To be perfectly honest, hill climbs have always seemed to me to be a particularly vile kind of time trialling.  This morning I had a bit of a rush to get sorted, as I discovered my road bike had developed a 'garage puncture' since I parked it in the garage on Friday afternoon.  I really don't know how I manage it, though Carol reckons is the big spiders jumping on the valve.Once that was sorted, it was off to Bow Brickhill, where I was surprised by the turnout.  When my start came round my heart was racing even before the off , which gives some indication of my fitness following the post-Duo cold I've been suffering from.  Afte a brisk start, the road rears up, and I started shifting down a few cogs.  Here I suffered my first jumping gears.  Not to worry I thought, just keep plugging away...the trouble is that on climbs I tend to go into 'tourist mode' rather than 'race mode', and I just eased back that bit too much!  Round the bend and the gradient eases.  I shifted up a few gears. Crash! Bang! More gear crashes!  Still, I kept what little momentum I had and headed on up the road expecting the finish to be round the next bend.False expectation!  It was round the bend after that!  I came up the last bit rather too slowly and finished just under 3 minutes.  Not a spectacular result, but I suppose at least I tried.   After a spot of recuperation (and chat with riders) it was off home to get on the the business of coughing my lungs up in private.I still hate hill climbs.Results to follow.

On the back of a frankly lacklustre season, we (Team Grumpy, a.k.a Gerry and Robert) were uncertain how things would go for them at the 2011 edition of the Duo Normand, the 30th time the event has been run (and the 8th in which Team Grumpy has competed). As usual, signing on was a bunfight in a large marquee in the centre of Marigny. On the day, we successfully dodged some quite heavy showers by decamping to the Sport Bar for a coffee while we waited out the worst of the showers.

Well, I joined Google+ while in France.  Which has resulted in a strange blend of English and French in by Google+ page (Franglais?).  Anyway, until I build up enough contacts in my circles, I see tumbleweed blowing.  The interface is clean and easy to use, far less cluttered than Facebook.  I picked up a link to this xkcd cartoon (amusingly, via Google+).[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="428" caption="Google+"][/caption]

Carol has caught a cold. Naturally enough, this has led to galloping hypochondria in me - though I do feel a little bunged up - not good preparation for the Duo Normand. So we both felt a bit under the weather (in contrast, today was the finest weather of the trip so far - very sunny and warm all day) as we set off in the car for Le Molay-Littry, where we planned to leave the car before pedalling off for Port-en-Bessain Huppain. This was a town that we'd always passed through rather than investigated in its own right. Actually it has a fine working fishing harbour which bustles with activity. We stopped there for Moules and frites. Also we picked up a pair of almond croissants for later consumption.Trundling west along the coast, we stopped briefly at the Omaha Beach military cemetery, always a sobering sight, particularly when you see the long list of names of soldiers whose bodies weren't identified. There's a profusion of Omaha beach related places along the cast road, ranging from small museums to collections of miscellaneous WW2 hardware to campsites and pizzerias. It's a bit hard to identify where to actually get down to the beach.Further along the coast, we stopped in Vierville sur Mer where the Omaha beach landings began. It's an astonishing long beach with a few people sunbathing, seagulls standing around, and with a banked set of duns on which holiday homes perch, punctuated by the occasional relic of the German 'Atlantic Wall'. We paused here for a bit, to eat the almond croissants. It was pretty hard to imagine such a peaceful scene was the site of such ferocious fighting during the D-day landings.Turning inland, we passed an enormous iron bridge brought by the D-Day forces. It wasn't obvious whether it was used in the actual landings or later in the campaign - in any event we couldn't stop for a proper look as we were being chased up a steep climb by traffic. On the other hand, incoming traffic was all slowing to have a good gawp.From there it was a pretty straightforward ride back to Le Molay to collect the car. An excellent day's ride, with lots of time to pause for the sights (and smells!) of the Normandy countryside.

Again, two rides today. First off, Gerry and I rode round the main part of the Duo Normand course (slightly over 25 miles). Quite good, though I felt rather lethargic to start with. Much cow muck on road. A brief rain shower caused serious muck spattering!Back to house via one of the Cerisy La Salle boulangeries. Had sandwich lunch before nipping out on the tandem to explore lanes around L'Abbaye d'Hambye. The abbey was closed (as usual). Many very steep (though short) climbs. La Baleine with the Krill restaurant (complete with baleen whale on signpost). Back via Roncey and Notre Dame de Cenilly.

After a bit of a late start (around 11am), headed off on the tandem through lovely green and lush countryside to Agon-Coutainville, where 3 course lunch was had [whelks; skate (R) turkey (C); creme brûlée]. Returned to the house by a slightly different route.

Still windy a.m. Went for brief walk up to Cerisy La Salle for some food. Back at house, decided to go out for short bike ride in the environs of Cerisy La Salle and Notre Dame de Cenilly. Rather good, different roads than usual. Encountered a line painting crew emitting solvent odours.Later, out for regular training route with Gerry on time trial bikes.

Only brief notes just now, due to flaky internet access!Very windy today, with occasional showers (remnants of one of the american hurricanes, apparently). Slept late, then out to do shopping. It was clearly not a day for going out on the tandem. Discovered french supermarkets close at noon on Sunday. Eventually went to Villedieu where bought baguettes and an apple tart.Back to house where cooked dinner (butternut squash risotto) and awaited Gerry & co.

Just quick updates, internet access flaky!Packed a.m. then drove to Portsmouth. Despite stopping for lunch, we still arrived very early (2h early, around 3h after leaving the house).A very smooth crossing, despite the rising winds. Interesting "Ocean Nature Documentary" with no sound. Sun over Normandy as we approached Cherbourg.As we were first on the ferry, we were first off, and zoomed off southward. Took less than 1:30 to reach the house, which is between Cerisy la Salle and Notre Dame de Cenilly.Unpacked, bite to eat, checked weather forecast, not good. And so to bed.

Well, it appears that the latest in Nadine Dorries' attempts to limit women's reproductive freedom got pretty short shrift in Parliament (The Guardian).  From the Guardian's live blog:

What does it mean? On Twittershortly before the vote took place Labour's Chris Bryant posted this:I suspect Nadine Dorries has done more harm to social conservatism on abortion than anyone in 25 years. Hurrah!Really? It is certainly a terrible defeat, perhaps even a textbook example of how not to approach a free-vote, conscience issue. Dorries tabled what appeared at face value a relatively technical change, and yet she ended up losing the support of her government, a large section of her party and even the co-sponsor of her amendment (Frank Field).But this wasn't really a decisive encounter in the culture war; it was more a case of Westminster ganging up on one of parliament's easiest targets. (Which is why the PMQ's exchange earlier was significant. When your own party leader treats you as a figure of ridicule, you are in trouble.) Does this really tell us much about the balance of power between social liberalism and social conservatism in Britain today? I doubt it. The only lesson that really stands out is that, if you want change legislation on a contentious issue, don't ask Dorries to take the lead.

I don't suppose that will stop her attempts to limit abortion rights.

Over at Posterous:Once again Nadine "70% fiction" Dorries falls short on telling the truthYes, the Tories do want to lose the NHS

VeloNews has an article saying that a report in Gazzetta dello Sport says an investigation into disgraced cyclist Riccardo Riccò's mysterious collapse earlier this year was indeed due to a self-administered blood transfusion  (Probe reveals Ricco self-transfusion – report).  Having spent this weekend reading David Millar's excellent account of his fall from grace into doping, and his subsequent rehabilitation (Racing Through the Dark: The Fall and Rise of David Millar), it's just so depressing seeing someone who is quite probably a very talented athlete take themself so close to death.

In all the furore over the Dorries-Field attempt to restrict women's reproductive rights, I believe that it's important not to lose sight of the fact that this reflects a mere handful of amendments to therather larger legislative effort, a bill to reform the National Health Service.More over at Posterous...

This event was one that we'd been targetting for some time, as it offered an opportunity to ride a 2-up time trial a couple of weeks before the 'big one', the Duo Normand.  The preceding evening saw classic Team Grumpy preparation, a large Thai dinner in the local Thai restaurant washed down with lashings of energy drink.  We must be getting a bit used to this dietary assault as we had no ill-effects (for a change).The Norlond '10' was being run on the F12/10, which uses the A505 Leighton Buzzard bypass, turning at its junction with the A5.  On arriving at the HQ, we had a chat with some of the tandem riders. who were off in front of the 2-up teams, at 1 minute intervals (the 2-up teams were riding at 3 minute intervals) and then set up the bikes and went off for a warmup.  Because we were near the start of the field, we had the opportunity to warm up on the course.  This was good, as it gave us a good feel for how the wind (which was rather stiff) would affect the course.  It turned out the return leg was definitely the harder leg, so we decided to take shorter turns for that leg.  It was also useful to gauge my body's response to effort: I had been suffering from quite a bad cold for the best part of two weeks which had kept me off the bike.  In fact, the worst I felt were some twinges in my legs which cleared by the time I started the event.We lined up at the start, in our usual starting formation with Gerry poised to lead off.  I exhorted him in front of witnesses not to look over his shoulder after he started, and for once, he didn't!  Somewhat disturbingly, I was in a bit of  a high gear for starting, so a gap quickly opened, but it closed quickly as I horsed the gear round.  I was at the front as we approached the Billington roundabout and for once we sailed through with no interfering traffic - indeed I stayed on the tri-bars.We powered off towards the turn, taking turns of about 1-2 minutes.  This was a quick leg, with a stiff tailwind assisting us.  I was surprised at how good I felt, and our changeovers seemed very smooth and professional.  Up the ramp to the turn and a gap opened up, but only briefly, we were together coming out of the turn.  Heading back was indeed tougher with a stiff headwind, but we responded by keeping the turns short.  Gerry exhorted me to take shorter turns, but all I could make out was a seemingly inarticulate and strangled shout.Back to the Billington roundabout again, and once more we got through without traffic problems.  I shouted to Gerry to go all out to the finish, which was by now in sight (I dare say all he heard was a seemingly inarticulate and strangled shout!).  Getting to the lne, I was annoyed to see a motorcyclist blocking the timekeeper's line of sight, so I bellowed out our number.We finished with 22:15, not a bad time in the conditions.  We'd caught a team for 6 minutes and were the fastest 2-up team (but the only all-male team, so that's not too important).  What was hugely encouraging for the upcoming Duo Normand 2-up, is that we both rode really well as a team, which highly effective changeovers.  Indeed some spectators later commented that we were riding so tightly that when seen oncoming we looked like a single bike.  All in all, a very encouraging race.  And just what we needed in the run up to 'the big event'.