Android Settings for O2

Settings required to get internet working on the go with the Google Nexus One, which is running android version 2.1 are shown below.

3G Connection Setting

Settings / Wireless and Network / Mobile Networks / Access Point Names.
Hit the menu button and select new APN, and set the following:

• Name: O2 Mobile Web
• APN: mobile.o2.co.uk
• Proxy:
• Port:
• Username: o2web
• Password: password
• Server:
• MMSC:
• MMS proxy:
• MMS port:
• MCC: 234
• MNC: 10
• Authentication type:
• APN type:

Select 'back', and enable 'Data roaming'.

That's it for 3G settings.

Google Android Voice Recognition

My new Google Nexus One phone is running Android 2.1, and makes use of the Google beta voice recognition.

Summary: To date, I give it a 6/10. It didn't work too well for me, but shows significant promise.

For this facility, the actual processing is performed online - your phone captures a sentence, uploads it to a voice recognition service, and it is processed, and the results sent back (very quickly).

I should also point out that voice recognition that is performed to dial people from your address book, does not require an online connection, and is handled within the phone itself, for example, I can say 'Call Steve Clarke', and it works quite reliably.

For me, the online software, which is used for text and email dictation, and GPS destination searching, is a bit of a struggle:

I said: "This is the google voice recognition software. So far so good. I have a very mild lancashire accent and this software seems to struggle with long words and complicated sentences."

It typed: "This is the google voice recognition software. So far so good. I have a very mild length transaction. Famous software seems to struggle with long words uncomplicated sentences."

It seems to me that the software struggles with spoken contractions of words, for example, I said "andcomplicated". I also suspect that it struggles with words that aren't in the US based dictionary, for example, 'Lancashire', which is pronounce by most people either lank-i-shuh, or lank-uh-shuh.

Nice try though, and I look forward to upgrades on the processing server which will recognise me !

All in all, it is much better than the Windows Vista recognition - see my blog on 'Windows Vista does not like northeners'.

From the looks of it, things are getting better. Take a look at a 2008 article on the Telegraph website.

O2 Mobile Speed

Just ordered a Google Nexus One, and have upgraded my O2 contract to include Unlimited data access.

Unlimited is a term that really should not be used, as there are limits: You have a 1G/month download limit, and there are other limitations in the Ts&Cs, such as not being allowed to use VOIP.

Once I changed over, O2 sent me some new phone settings, which I applied to my E90. By default, the browser access point was "O2 Postpay WAP". I also tried the "O2 Mobile Web" settings - see below for details:

Speed Testing With A Nokia E90, and O2 3G and 3.5G connections

Performing the speed test with http://text.dslreports.com/mspeed, at 14:30 - 15:00 on Sunday 17th January:

With the "O2 Postpay WAP" access point, I initially had a 3.5G connection, but it soon dropped back to 3G:

200K file: waited 2 minutes & gave up
200K file: 347kbps, 1.054s latency
400K file: 761kbps, 0.583s latency
1M file: waited for 8 minutes & gave up
400K file: 688kbps, 0.567s latency
200K file downloded in 2.7s: 608kbps
200K file: 738kbps, 0.611s latency

With the "O2 Mobile Web" access point, I have a 3.5G connection:

100K file downloaded in 2.2s: 372kbps
1M file: 247kbps, 0.641s latency
1M file: 265kbps, 0.787s latency
100K file downloaded in 3.2s: 256kbps
400K file: 211kbps, 0.675s latency
400K file: 144kbps, 0.695s latency
1M file: 531kbps, 4.564s latency

Back to the original settings "O2 Postpay WAP":

100K file downloaded in 1.594s: 514kbps
400K file: waited 3 minutes and gave up
100K file downloaded in 2.096s: 390kbps
200K file downloaded in 3.138s: 522kbps
400K file: 541kbps, 0.629s latency
1M file waited 3 minutes and gave up

And finally, back to "O2 Mobile Web"

1Mb file: 448kbps, 0.644s latency
400K file: 576kbps, 1.136s latency
400K file: 377kbps, 0.704s latency

Now, it looks like there is a choice between slow or un-reliable:

"O2 Mobile Web" Average Speed 343kbps, 100% success
"O2 Postpay WAP" Average speed 638kbps, 66% success

What I don't currently know is how much of the page loads is attributed to the E90 and the server at the other end, and how much is attributed to the network connection.

Expected Performance

The different capabilities of the protocols / connections are as follows:

GPRS = 2G - up to 114Kbps
EDGE = 2.5G - up to 560Kbps
UMTS = 3G - up to 2Mbps (believe O2 is a maximum of 384Kbps)
HSPA = 3.5G - 1.2Mbps to 84Mbps (supposedly 3.6Mbps for O2 as of today)

Performing the same tests with a Google Nexus One

The following tests are going to be performed ...

Before, and after the Google Nexus One tests were performed, the E90 was used to benchmark the network capabilities at the time of the test.

Links

• DSL Reports Mobile Phone Speed Test
• IPhone Speed Test

Roberts Stream WM202 Radio - Review

I've just bought the Roberts Stream WM202 radio as a gift for Christmas. I picked it because it has FM/DAB and Internet Radio, and because it had support for the BBC Listen Again.

Summary

9/10 The Roberts Stream WM202 is an excellent product, which surpasses the features of the Reciva Radios and the Freecom MusicPal. Excellent sound, easy to use menus, brilliant compatibility.

Overview

• Available in black, or for a little extra, white or silver
• DAB/FM/WIFI Internet Stereo Radio
• Wired / Wireless network connection
  
• Thousands of radio stations around the world, or add your own
  
• Plays podcasts and BBC Listen again without a PC turned on
  
• Play your music collection from your computer or network storage
  
• 2 alarm timers (DAB/FM/buzzer) or internet radio
• Supports MP3/WMA and Real audio formats
• Portable - Mains / battery Operated

Introduction

I have a few Reciva based radios, and believed that their chipset and software was the only way of listening to Listen Again services without having a PC turned on. Well, I was wrong - the Roberts Stream WM202 uses the Frontier Silicon chipset, which beautifully integrates DAB, FM, Media Player and WiFi.

Construction

The radio is a portable stereo radio, which has a good solid construction, with the controls on the top, two speakers in the front which have an excellent output in both volume and frequency response.

The display is a large multi-line graphical back-lit LCD display, with white text on a blue background. The controls are easy to use, with 5 preset buttons (which double as play/fast forward/rewind/pause when operating as a media player). There is a large rotary control which is used for selection and navigation through the menus.

There is a single on/off push button, and when switched back on, the radio automatically reverts to playing what was on when it was switched off, be it DAB or Internet etc...

There are 5 preset buttons on the top, which are set by holding the appropriate button down for 5 seconds when the station is playing. 5 presets are possible in each of the 5 radio modes, which gives 15 channels in total.

The radio has a 9V input, and comes with a small transformer, moulded into the plug. The radio also has a battery compartment for cable-free operation!.

The radio can operate on a network either wired, or wireless (on the rear of the radio, there is an ethernet socket).

The rear of the radio has a USB socket, which is provided so that the radio can be upgraded, although for most upgrades, you will not even need this, as you can upgrade over-the-air!.

Also on the rear of the radio, there are two 3.5mm sockets, one for audio-in, and one for audio-out / headphones.

DAB

When DAB is selected, the radio automatically plays the last DAB station listened to. The menu button enables you to easily scan for stations, and if you really need to do a manual scan, that is supported too.

The DAB function even supports the Dynamic Range (DRC) control too.

DAB+.

FM

By simply pressing the mode button, the radio switches to FM mode, and starts playing the last station listened to. The controls and display for the FM mode seamlessly integrate into the radio's other features.

Radio station scanning is a simple as pressing the select button - you can then store your favorites by holding the appropriate favorite button in for 5 seconds.

The scanning can be configured to detect strong stations only, or stop at some of the weaker stations. Plus if the station you really enjoy is weak, you can enable 'Listen in Mono', which improves the signal quality further.

Internet Radio

With another press of the mode button, you flip into the internet radio mode. Configuration of the wifi connection is simple to do with the built-in 'Network Wizard', and you can connect to either a wired or a wireless system, and with wireless. WEP, WMA, DHCP and manual configuration are all supported. Each connection is stored as a separate network profile, so if you take the radio on the move, perhaps between houses / networks, you won't keep having to re-enter your network settings.

Internet Radio Station Searching

Searching for radio stations cannot be easier, you can search from the station list for:

• My Favorites - You can set these up online (see below)
• Local United Kingdom - A list of all the local radio stations
• BBC - This includes all listen-again podcasts
• Stations - You can browse by Location, Genre, Popular, New or just Search
• Podcasts - You can search by Location, Genre or just Search
• My Added Stations - You can add your own stations too
  

When listening to a station, be it Favorite, BBC, Podcast etc..., you can assign it to a favorite, by pressing and holding the desired preset button for 5 seconds.

Currently, it is not possible to fast forward and rewind BBC Podcasts.

Any access to the list of stations is performed by connecting to the internet, and obtaining the latest update. This is remarkably quick, in comparison to the Reciva browsing, with menu lists coming up within a second of the button being pressed (my Reciva based IRMA1 takes 20 seconds to bring up 'My Stations').

Now, if you want to add more than the five allowed presets, you can do in by configuring your own internet radio lists online. All you need to do is register your radio by finding your radio's unique ID number from the radio's Help menu, and creating an account on www.wifiradio-frontier.com.

Here, you can browse the list or radio stations organised by country, and by genre. When you select to add the station, you can create your own groups, so that like grouped stations remain together. This becomes available on your radio immediately.

Each time you register the radio, the unique ID number is re-generated, so if you buy the radio second hand, there's no need to worry when it comes to registering it - just create a new account and enter the unique ID. You can then unshare the radio settings with the previous owner on the website.

If the station you want doesn't exist in the database, you can add it yourself in the 'My Added Stations' menus.

Music Player

With yet another press of the Mode button, you can play music from computers on your local network. With a click of the select button, I can play music from my UPNP Freecom FSG3 Network Access Storage box, which is running the Twonky Media Server.

You can also play music from Windows File Shares from a networked drive, or from the Media Share option in Windows Media Player.

MP3 Player

You can also plug the headphone socket of your MP3 player to the line-in socket on the back of the Roberts Stream WM202 radio to use the radio as an amplified speaker! This external 3.5mm stereo jack input is mixed with the currently playing station - the manual tells you to turn the volume down on the radio, and use your Ipod volume control - I prefer to switch the radio mode to Media Player (and not browse the network to play any files).

Alarm Clock

The radio has a built-in alarm clock with a snooze feature. You have two alarms which you can set to go off Daily, Once, Weekdays or Weekends. Each alarm can be set for Buzzer, Internet, DAB or FM, and can automatically switch to the last station listened to, or one of your presets - each alarm can have its own volume setting.

When the alarm goes off, just hit the big round select/snooze button to get another 5 minutes sleep.

If the radio station is not available when the alarm is due to sound (e.g. intenet connection is currently down), you don't need to worry about over-sleeping, as the Buzzer will automatically sound instead.

Conclusion

When compared with the Reciva radios that I have (IR100, IRMA1 and Tevion), the WM202 is significantly better, as the features are seamlessly integrated, and the radio is much more responsive. The Roberts Stream WMA202 is also portable, which means that I wouldn't have had to have as many radios scattered around the house!

When compared to the Freecom MusicPal (which uses the VTuner database), the WM202 appears more reliable when connecting to the internet, the sound output is better (and stereo!). The Roberts Stream WM202 is capable of connecting the the BBC Listen Again service, which is not supported through the US VTuner system.

I was involved in setting up a project to provide alternative firmware for the Reciva radios, because they didn't do what I wanted. I don't feel the need to do anything of the sort on this radio as it is well integrated and functional.

Links

• The Roberts Stream WM202
  
• The Frontier Wifi Radio Database (for the WM202)
  
• The Freecom MusicPal
  
• The VTuner Radio Database (as used by the MusicPal)
• The Reciva Radio Database (as used by the IR100)

Reciva Based Radio Links

Many Reciva based radios are now obsolete. Please find links to some that remain:

• Roberts Streamtime
  
• Marks and Spencers MX-200
  
• Revo Pico IR
  
• Tangent Quattro
  

Network Access Storage Links

My FSG-3 is now obsolete, and from what I understand, the current Freecom NAS do not have a media server built in. The following NAS do:

• 1Tb Buffalo Linkstation
  
• Iomega 1Tb NAS
  

Motorola H700 Bluetooth Headset Pairing

I have a Motorola H700 bluetooth headset, and it can play up when messing around with connections.

It worked perfectly well with my Nokia E90, but then I tried it with my TomTom Go Live, and then it worked with neither.

(Re)Pairing with the Nokia E90

This is what I did to get it to connect to the E90 again:

1) Delete the pairing in the E90
2) Put the headset on to charge for a minute (this performs some sort of internal reset)
3) Press and hold the call button - the light turns purple
4) Open the boom
5) Release the call button - the purple light remains on
6) Search for the headset from the phone
7) Enter the passcode of '0000'
8) Select 'Yes' I do want to save settings, and I do want to automatically pair.

Note that the headset does have a timeout, so you do need to shake a leg when messing around with the phone.

This operation got the headset working well again with the phone.

Pairing with the TomTom Go Live

Remote Linux Access

Overview

This blog gives instructions on how to login between linux machines without having to enter passwords. It does this using the secure shell client / server programs (ssh and sshd). These use a public/private key pair.

Enabling Programs

On the machine you wish to login to, ensure that the SSH server (sshd) is installed.

Enable it is the Mandriva Control Centre (system / Enable Services)

• Tick 'on boot'
• Press 'Start'

Configure the firewall to enable the server to be accessed (security/Personal Firewall):

• Ensure either ssh or all is ticked

Creating your Public / Private Keys for SSH

The machine infront of you is the SSH client. You need to create a public/private key pair for use in ssh sessions. You only need to do this once on the client machine.
From the machine infront of you, create a public/private keyset:

[steve@crunchie ~]$ ssh-keygen
Generating public/private rsa key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (/home/steve/.ssh/id_rsa):
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
Enter same passphrase again:
Your identification has been saved in /home/steve/.ssh/id_rsa.
Your public key has been saved in /home/steve/.ssh/id_rsa.pub.
The key fingerprint is:
3b:4d:5e:21:ee:65:e3:dc:22:21:33:fd:ed:53:d8:fd steve@crunchie
The key's randomart image is:

+--[ RSA 2048]----+
|                 |
|           2 o.  |
|   X. ==o=       |
|       .         |
| +  o o S        |
|     *.o         |
|   X.            |
|. -              |
| ...oo.          |
+-----------------+

Transferring your Public Key to the SSH server

Now, transfer your public key to the machine you want to log into, and set the correct directory permissions:

[steve@crunchie ~]$ cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub | ssh steve@flake 'cat >> .ssh/authorized_keys'
steve@flake's password: *****
[steve@crunchie ~]$ ssh steve@flake 'chmod go-w . ; chmod 700 .ssh ; chmod 640 .ssh/authorized_keys'
steve@flake's password: *****

That's it - you can now open shells up on the target machine without entering a password.

[steve@crunchie ~]$ ssh flake

Setting up X for Remote Access

The machine infront of you is the X server (the server actually draws the windows). Now that you have configured ssh, you won't be prompted for any passwords.

For me, the client machine (the machine on which the applications are started) is called flake:

xauth extract \- $DISPLAY | ssh flake xauth merge \-

Running an Application

this is as simple as sshing into the other machine, and running the application:

ssh flake gedit

Now for the minor complication - when your program exits, the X session remains connected for a period of time, and until the X session closes, ssh will not exit - you have to control-C it.

If you launch your programs from the remote X client / ssh server and re-direct stdin and stdout, this will not happen, e.g.:

[steve@crunchie ~]$ ssh flake
[steve@flake ~]$ gedit < /dev/null >& /dev/null &
[steve@flake ~]$ logout

You can also launch your programs from the X server / ssh client and re-direct stdin and stdout.

I've created a script called 'flake' which I have put in ~/bin on crunchie, my local X server, which is in the path. It closes stdin/out/err and connects to my X client machine (flake) and runs the requested command line program:

#!/bin/sh

exec 0<&- # close stdin
exec 1>&- # close stdout
exec 2>&- # close stderr

ssh flake $* &

Configuring the Menu

You can now create a menu entry, to launch all of the programs on the remote machine, but display the windows here. Select System / Preferences / Main Menu, and create new entries, for example:

Logging In

If you want to have a terminal to connect to a server, added to the menu, the best way to do this is to run the gnome-terminal locally and connect to the remote server:

The command should be:

gnome-terminal -e "ssh remotemachinename"

You could also use an IP address instead of the machine name.

If the remote machine is a Madriva one, it is likely that it contains appropriate environment variables, containing escape sequences which cause the window title to be dynamically changed.

If it is not, you can add something to the start-up script to set the prompt to include the appropriate escape sequences. This is the /etc/profile script on a Freecom FSG3, which uses 'sh' from busybox:

# Set prompt

PS1="[\u@\h \W]\\$ "
export PS1

# Set window title

case $TERM in
xterm*)
PS1="\033]0;\u@\h: \w\007[\u@\h \W]\\$ "
;;
*)
;;
esac

Now, when you login using the new menu entry, the title bar of the window dynamically updates:

LTImage Installation on the Dreambox

Upgrading / Installing

If you are upgrading the firmware, make sure that you have saved / backed up / recorded any important data, for example:

• The Bouquets (using DreamboxEdit under Wine)
• Your Timers
  
• The Crontab File (crontab -l)
• The LNB / Diseq configuration
• Any scripts you have installed on the internal flash
  

LTImage Download and Install

Download the latest image for your dreambox from the LT Team website: http://www.ltteam.org/

Switch on your Dreambox, whilst holding down the down button on the front panel - the display will say **STOP**. Note the IP address displayed.

Connect to the IP address from your PC using a web browser, i.e. http://ip.add.re.ss/

Select firmware upgrade in the web browser page, and point at the nfi file you have downloaded, and press 'Flash!'.

Be patient ...

Swapfile

With the later versions of the image, it is necessary to use a swapfile. I use one on the compact flash, which is automatically mounted in /media/cf.

dd if=/dev/zero of=/media/cf/swapfile bs=1024 count=65544
mkswap /media/cf/swapfile
swapon /media/cf/swapfile

To make things permanent, create /etc/rc3.d/S99swap:

#!/bin/sh
swapon /media/cf/swapfile

Ensure that it can be executed with:

chmod a+x /etc/rc3.d/S99swap

Tuning In

Once the web browser has indicated that the download is complete, return to the Dreambox, and press the front panel power button off/on. The dreambox will now boot.

Select the wizard, and configure your LNB setup, then configure your network. Once complete, press the Menu button, and go to Setup / Servce Searching, and leave the dreambox for a while, searching for available channels.

Viewing Card

For UK Freesat, plug your card into the front of the machine, then go to the LT Menu, and download / install MGCamd and NewCS. Select these in the LT Menu 'EMU' section.

Radiotimes, and EPG Grabber

LT provides an EPG downloader. You provide it with an XML file, containing the channels you wish to download, and the python script visits the appropriate guide provider (e.g. Radio Times), and downloads the data.

This method is quite slow, as by default, every possible channel is downloaded. I have created my own scripts, which parse the currently selected bouquets and generate a minimal download.

E2 LoadEPG

Alternatively, someone has managed to produce an OpenTV decoder, and has created E2LoadEPG. It can be downloaded from: http://www.ambrosa.net/, and installed.

cd /media/hdd/download
wget http://www.ambrosa.net/data/files/E2_LOADEPG/e2_loadepg-052.tgz
cd /media/cf
tar xvzf /media/hdd/download/e2_loadepg-0.52.tgz

The program is a suite of python scripts, with a binary application to do the actual download. There are five files which require editing.

First File: /media/cf/e2_loadepg/e2_loadepg.conf

DOWNLOAD_MODULES=bskybsat

Second File: /media/cf/e2_loadepg/dl_modules/bskybsat-channel_list.conf

The script provides the option of selecting which EPGs to download. This actually needs to be automated (parsing lamedb and favorites like I do with my approach), however in the meanwhile, you need to set each channel you wish to get a guide for to a '1'.

# bbc 1 e mids , id=2105
2105=0,bbc 1 e mids
# bbc 1 east (e) , id=2106
2106=0,bbc 1 east (e)
# bbc 1 east (w) , id=2073
2073=0,bbc 1 east (w)

Third File: /usr/bin/enigma2.sh

Following a download, the enigma application is re-started, and this is when it reads the EPG from /media/hdd/epg.dat. I can't find a way of pointing it at the compact flash, however using the hard disk will not force it to keep spinning, as the file is read on startup, then deleted.

Editing the enigma2.sh script to include a 'ln' command makes the EPG available on each reboot:

#!/bin/sh
/usr/bin/showiframe /boot/backdrop.mvi
cd /home/root
[ -f /media/cf/ext.epg.dat ] && ln -s /media/cf/ext.epg.dat /media/hdd/epg.dat
LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libopen.so.0.0 /usr/bin/enigma2
....

Fourth file: /media/cf/e2_loadepg/dl_modules/bskybsat.conf

The fourth file contains the actual download configuration - the transponder needs to be changed so that the program can switch to the right channel to download the EPG. There are two channels I have found that work: "EPG Background Audio" and "IEPG data 1" - if the channel does not have an audio stream playing the background audio you normally hear when navigating the EPG on a sky box, it probably won't have the EPG data.

#
# Set to EPG Background Audio
#
TRANSPONDER_SID_CHANNEL=1038:011C0000:07D4:0002:2:0

Last File: crontab (using 'crontab -e')

2 2 * * * python /media/cf/e2_loadepg/e2_loadepg.py

A Manual Run

Type:

python /media/cf/e2_loadepg/e2_loadepg.py

And check the log file:

/media/cf/e2_loadepg/loadepg.log