RSS problems in WordPress

eiriksoLeave a comment

Well, at the point where I thought WordPress was the way to go I have just discovered that the RSS-feeds for my blogs is completely useless:

1. The only reader that I have found that will accept them is Mozilla Thunderbird. That is a very nice software, but I have to support something more than that!

2. The feeds crash completely if I add a norwegian character to the subject of a post.

I hope this is possible to solve!

Follow the support stuff here:
http://wordpress.org/support/topic.php?id=24029#post-136354

RSS-feed for the support thread:
http://wordpress.org/support/rss.php?topic=24029

Anyone out there with a suggestion?

RSS problems in WordPress

HTPC-Backgrounds – Remote

eirikso1 Comment

I have transfered my old HTPC-backgrounds from an old Blogger-page. You find the rest of the backgrounds in this blog by searching for “HTPC-Backgrounds” or just looking under the category “design”.

I am no longer using ShowShifter as my PVR-software, but the backgrounds can be used in any software that supports custom backgrounds. Just use the “clean” version if you are not using ShowShifter.

A closeup of the remote of an ADB Digital TV Set Top Box.

Full size version:
“Remote.jpg”

Clean version:
Clean version “Remote.jpg”

HTPC-Backgrounds – Remote

How to install NewsGator MCE in Meedio

eiriksoLeave a comment

There is a simple way to install NewsGator for MCE in Meedio. The only functionality that I can not get to work is to let NewsGator remember my login and password (now fixed, see note further down), and to play media files from feeds that include these types of files. I can see that NewsGator runs a command called “doPlayMedia” in explorer when I try to play video. I have no idea if it is possible to let the video open in mediaplayer or something like that.
Click here for the original picture

Update feb. 16 2005

I have now found the solution to the login problem.

The problem was the URL I have used:
http://www.newsgator.com/ngs/subscriber/mce/login.aspx

So, as you can see, no matter how much the password is stored in a cookie, I still actually ask for the login page…

So, I changed the URL that I launch from Meedio to:
http://www.newsgator.com/ngs/subscriber/mce/feeds.aspx

…and I don’t have to login every time!

This is how you configure NewsGator MCE for Meedio:

1. Create a Program Module

2. Program to launch: Internet Explorer
(Most likely: “C:Program FilesInternet Exploreriexplore.exe”)

3. Parameters:
“-k http://www.newsgator.com/ngs/subscriber/mce/feeds.aspx”
(Edited from: “-k http://www.newsgator.com/ngs/subscriber/mce/login.aspx”)

Of course you also have to make an account with NewsGator at http://www.newsgator.com (The free account is enough).

…and you are done!

Sent from: Eirik Solheim

How to install NewsGator MCE in Meedio

The touch screen is now mounted in the kitchen

eirikso7 Comments

I have not found a suitable front cover, so it still looks like
something I found laying around in a space shuttle… But, it works!

I have set it up with Meedio to give me music, weather, news, web radio, Skype IP-phone and X10-control from our kitchen.
Click here for the original picture

The telephone on top of the machine is connected to a PhoneConnector USB-device and works quite well directly through Skype.

I will come back with more info on details about the setup. Both about the software and the silent cooling of the kiosk-PC inside the home made cabinet on the wall.

Sent from: Eirik Solheim

The touch screen is now mounted in the kitchen

How to build a completely silent fan for your cabinet

eirikso14 Comments

Update:
I needed to change the mounting I have described in this article. More on that here:
The Silence of the fans

Original article:
I understood early that I needed some active ventilation if I wanted to have my HTPC inside a cabinet. Of course this ventilation needs to be silent.

You can read about the cabinet here:
Building a cabinet for the living room to house a HTPC

This is the solution:
A 120 mm fan running at 220 V, speed adjusted with a special device for… well… adjusting fan speed…

I tried mounting the fan directly on the cabinet. No matter how slow I ran the fan it would make a very clear noise. So, I had some kind of idea of how I could mount the fan using rubberbands. I have silenced all my hard drives using floating systems like this.

Last weekend I had my parents visiting, and my father was helping me finishing the cabinets. I told him about my idea for the fan. Half an hour later he had made the following arrangement:

The fan is completely silent, it pushes huge amounts of air, and I have never had a lower CPU temperature than what I am experiencing with my computer inside this cabinet.

Here is a video clip showing the functionallity:
Link to video with silent fan – Windows Media

Edit: Here are some more pictures of the attachment of the fan (click them to enlarge):

How to build a completely silent fan for your cabinet

How to build a cabinet for your HTPC

eirikso17 Comments

I have now finished the cabinet that I will use to conceal my new HTPC in the living room. We have not got enough space for a separate server room. I have given up on the idea to have a nice looking HTPC standing visible in the living room. Basically, only three things need to be visible:

1. The screen
2. The loudspeakers
3. The remote control

The HTPC, amplifiers, disks etc is not interesting to look at.


(Please note the large HTPC screen… LOL. The big screen went black the other day. We are currently waiting to find the perfect flat screen. For the computer itself, all side panels of the original cabinet are removed.)

So, our interior designer has made a nice suggestion for our living room. This suggestion includes a row of quadratic cabinets. I could not find any cabinets with the right measures in any of our furniture shops.

I wanted a cabinet of the following dimensions: 70x50x70 (WxDxH).

The solution is a heavily modified cabinet from IKEA.

1 IVAR cabinet, 80x50x83
1 BONDE door, 70×70
1 set of Capita legs
Some white paint


(Picture: Fantastic loudspeakers from Anthony Gallo. Custom built cabinet. Flowers. Firefly RF Remote. 2 TB of storage. A 15 year old 12 inch screen… What is wrong with this picture? 🙂

Cut off 8 cm and 12 cm from the IVAR cabinet. Make new holes for the mounting screws. Put together, paint, mount the legs, mount the door and enjoy!

I have several of these cabinets and two of them is dedicated to the HTPC, hard drives, amplifiers etc. The cabinet with the HTPC is modified further for extra ventilation.

Sent from: Eirik Solheim

How to build a cabinet for your HTPC

How to get up and running with RSS

eiriksoLeave a comment

Imagine how it would be to check your mail like this:

You have to open a web browser and go to a specific URL to check if you have any new meesages from Friend A. Then you have to go to another page to check for messages from Friend B, then you have to go to another page for Friend C, then…
Click here for the original picture

This is approximately how you browse the web for news if you don’t use any special tools. Check into BBC.co.uk, then check CNN.com, then check…

Using RSS-feeds is an extremely effective way to browse news on the web. I found this article explaining some of the issues, and recommending a great tool: RSS Bandit: Brandon Fuller on RSS-feeds

Edit:
Another great introduction to RSS here.

Edit2:
You find links to my feeds and a way to sign up for my email update here.

Personally, I am using Bloglines for all the RSS feeds I subscribe to. In addition to this I have the most important feeds on my Netvibes startpage.

How to get up and running with RSS