Category: Code

GUIDs in Perl

Here is a handy Perl module called [GuidGen] that let’s you create GUIDs (Global Unique Identifiers) in Perl. A GUID is basically a random number that is guaranteed to be unique across the net. It is based on time and your MAC address. A GUID is useful in something like the ‘user agent’ string, hehe.

72H GDC 29th-Aug 1st starts now

Theme suggestions can be given immediately. On July 15, when I announce it, stage 1 voting will begin. On July 22, stage 2 voting will begin. On July 29, at exactly 12:01 PM EST (that’s right after noon), the results of the voting will be announced and the competition will begin. On August 1, at exactly 12:01 PM EST, the competition will be over and no more entries will be accepted.

I apologize in advance for time conflicts you may have. Unfortunately, there’s no way to ensure that everyone gets all the time. I tried to select a time which would be most appealing to everyone.

Good afternoon.

The voting was close, but the theme that won out is…

HORROR

Enjoy. There’s a lot you can do with the topic, so be creative and have fun. And if you haven’t read the rules, please go read them closely.

Show Reel

Click thumbnails to view each of my older project videos or check the [Demo Page] for more demos. Check out the [Sector13] section for the most recent cool stuff.

You will need Adobe Flash Player 8.0+ to view these videos.




[starmap3d.avi] (4.4M) /
[Demo & Source] (404k)


[nehe_contest.avi] (4.2M) /
[Demo & Source] (817k) / [Details]


[gdc_contest.avi] (2.6M) /
[Demo & Source] (519k)


[3danimation.avi] (2.4M) /
[Source] (962k)


[tagml.avi] (3.8M) /
[Source] (HTTP)

UTF8 Encoding with C# .NET

Occasionally when working with the web you may need to UTF8 encode something you are working on. Here’s a little snippet that shows how to UTF8 encode in C#.

String script = "A string that I need to UTF8 Encode!";
if(script == null || script.Length == 0)
return "";
System.Text.UTF8Encoding newUTF8Encoding = new System.Text.UTF8Encoding();
System.Text.Encoder newEncoder = newUTF8Encoding.GetEncoder();
Int32 encodingLength =
newEncoder.GetByteCount(script.ToCharArray(), 0, script.Length, true);
Byte[] encodedScript = new Byte[ encodingLength ];
newEncoder.GetBytes(script.ToCharArray(), 0, script.Length, encodedScript, 0, true);
String uft8Script = "";
foreach(Byte b in encodedScript)
{
uft8Script += "&#"+(Int32)b+";";
}

Diving into Avalon March 2005 Preview

[MS Channel 9] gave an excellent presentation of this months preview of the Avalon CTP. After taking [a more indepth look at the team], I was able to gather enough information to download the CTP. I plan to immediately take a look at the sample code and jump right in. The installation process was simple. Now on to trying a program referenced in the videos called [Zam 3D ™].

Mono 1.1.6 on Mandriva 2005 LE

Installing the latest version of Mono (mono-1.1.6-3mdk.i586) was as easy as “urpmi mono”.

[root@athelo tgraupmann]# urpmi mono
To satisfy dependencies, the following 4 packages are going to be installed (28 MB):
libgdiplus0-1.1.5-1mdk.i586
libmono-runtime-1.1.6-3mdk.i586
libmono0-1.1.6-3mdk.i586
mono-1.1.6-3mdk.i586
Is this OK? (Y/n) y

See [this story] for more detailed information.

Easy Urpmi

[Easy Urpmi] is the best way to install packages on Mandrake Linux/Mandiva Linux. Running ” urpmi ” as root in the console automatically finds and installs all the dependencies for a particular set of packages. It already saves me hours of time by getting and installing all the binary packages that I need in an instant.

IBUYPOWER D900T

I finally ordered a [this laptop] from [http://www.ibuypower.com] and I can say I’ve been impressed every day and would recommend it for others.

Here are the specs:
Battalion 101 SC-Turbo ($2,969.00)
Case ( Battalion-101 SC-Turbo 17″ 16:10 Wide Screen WSXGA 1680×1050 LCD TFT Notebook w/Li-Ion Battery, Universal AC Power, Deluxe Carrying Case Original Metallic Silver/Black 2-Tone )
Flash Media Reader/Writer ( Build-in 7-in-i Media Card Reader/Writer [Notebook] )
Carrying Case ( Free Delux Carrying Case )
Processor ( [Socket-775] Intel® Pentium-4 Processor 630 [3.0GHz, 2MB Cache, 800MHz FSB, 64-Bit + HT Ready] )
Operation System ( MS Windows XP Professional Edition )
USB Port ( Build-in 4x USB 2.0 Ports [Notebook] )
Memory ( 2048MB(512MB X4) DDR2-533 PC4200 [Notebook Memory] Major Brand )
Video Card ( User-Upgradable Mobility 256MB nVidia 6800 Go PCI-Express Video )
IEEE-1394 Fire Wire Card ( Build-in 2x IEEE-1394 Firewire Port [Notebook] )
USB Flash Drive ( None )
Hard Drive ( 80 GB 5400rpm ATA-100 Super Slim Notebook Hard Drive )
2nd Hard Drive ( None )
MP3 Player ( None )
TV Tuner ( Build-in TV Tuner with Remote Control [SC-Series] )
Video Camera ( Build-in Digital Web Video Camera )
Raid Configuration ( None )
CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive ( 8x Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive [SC-Turbo] )
Headset ( None )
Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )
Fax Modem ( Build-in 56K V.92 Fax Modem [Notebook] )
Wireless Network Adapter ( [FREE] Wireless LAN Wi-Fi 802.11g 54Mbps Mini-PCI Module )
Network Card ( Build-in 10/100/1000 Network LAN [Notebook] )

Somebody on the Pricewatch forums mentioned that you can build custom laptops thru [http://www.coboc.com].
[http://pctorque.com] known as Sagar notebooks carries similar inventory to to Alienware.
[http://alienware.com] has highly recommended – high performance gaming laptops, yet slightly overpriced.
[http://falcon-nw.com]
[VoodooPC]
[DELL] is a well known corporate supplier, unfortunately they carry many overpriced products.

Get the Clevo SATA drivers [here].

[The manual]

I am not sure what the [maximum memory] could be.

Quickcam and a telescope

I hooked up a QuickCam Express USB Camera up to my Tasco Luminova telescope using rubber bands.

The tricky part was taking off the cover, taking off the lens cover, and connecting the lens to a 20 mm lens with a few rubber bands. I’m running GQCAM on Mandrake Linux 10.1, with the timer taking pictures every 1 minute through the telescope. Every picture is now auto posted on the Internet. Now let’s hope for some clear night weather.

Here is the first [telescopic movie] converted from an image sequence to a quicktime movie.

Quickcam and Infrared

After reading [this Slashdot Article], I decided to try the project and convert my Quickcam VC to an Infrared camera. As the article said, the Quickcam case is much harder to get open. I used a mini screwdriver and pried around the seam with no success until I found a little perpendicular groove. I forced the tip of the screw driver into this groove as was able to pry the case open. From then on, it was easy. Just unscrew the camera with an alan wrench, and then there was a little sticker that holds the current filter in. I puilled the old filter out. Used some old negative that didn’t completely block visible light. And then put everything back together. Presto. It works just like the article.

Picks up IR from remotes and shows the security strips on $US money.

There wasn’t else much to do, so I recorded [a few time lapsed] videos of the clouds with the IR detector, which look like a normal recordings with less saturated colors.

Then I took the filter out and experimented with other filters. I used the filter leader from 400 speed film and that worked just like his example. It only lets IR in. Which was pretty boring. So now I’m in the process of hooking the camera up to my telescope. I’m going to try some timelapsed video of the stars. Let’s see what happens…

Oh and there were some technical problems with the drivers. Since I got the QuickCam VC in 1999, it only has usb drivers that work with Win95/Win98. You go to Logitech’s site and they provide XP drivers for the parallel product but not the USB drivers. Luckily, I found the solution from a hacker on the web that already posted a solution to my problem.