original image title: TTY—No Jesus

Sprint and Southwest Airlines now offer toll-free TTY (teletypewriter) and video relay access, giving deaf and hard-of-hearing customers direct access to Southwest Airlines customer service. With this toll free service, deaf, hard-of-hearing, and speech disabled customers needing to call Southwest Airlines can dial a dedicated toll-free TTY telephone number: 800-533-1305. That number is answered by a Sprint relay agent. The Sprint relay agent relays information between the Customer Service representative and the relay user in English or Spanish.

I realize I’ve been an erratic blogger lately.

Okay, fine – ABSENT blogger. But this is starting to sound like the diaries I tried to keep growing up. Every entry started with, “Sorry it’s been so long…”

ANYWAY, I have a good reason — a GREAT reason for being *quiet* lately — a new WIP!

The working title is THROUGH TO YOU. It’s shaping up to be more high-concept magical realism, which is where my heart lies. <3 *happy sigh*

I’m SO excited about this new wip…over the last few weeks I’ve been battling out characters and point of view most of all. I had to take a huge GULP when I realized my MC is male AND he’s telling the story in first person present-tense. This is so foreign to me! But that’s how the story is taking shape, and it feels so natural as I go, I’m not going to argue! Bite my nails, yes! But I’m going with it!

As far as SPARK goes…still waiting. Sorry, that’s a crappy update, but it’s all I’ve got!

I also finished FIRE by Kristin Cashore last week. With no free time to read, I listened to it (as usual) on audio at work. I have to say, I like this recording much better than the one of GRACELING. FIRE was read in the traditional way by a single person, whereas GRACELING was done by Full Cast Audio. The actors who did GRACELING were great, but much as I love Bruce Coville…it’s just *jarring* to hear one person read the narrative, and a slew of different actors read the lines of dialogue for different characters. It works well for plays, but not so much for books.

ANYWAY, I really, really loved FIRE. The “monsters” were such an interesting, unique concept for fantasy. I admit I don’t read a lot of fantasy, but anything called a “monster” that is devastatingly beautiful and alluring is an automatic win with me. ALSO there was so much talk of blood, sex, affairs, menstrual bleeding, pregnancy and babies, my head was reproductively spinning! I love what a wonderfully feminist writer Kristin Cashore is without coming off like she’s on a soap box. I got the same impression from GRACELING, and it’s just SO refreshing. The women in her books are strong, but still feminine, and they deal with the issues of women in a realistic and mostly positive manner.

I’m trying to decide what to listen to next, but LEVIATHAN and GOING BOVINE are both in my queue.

Replicating the same act in perpetuity is not evolution. There must be some indication of genius Sparky. I’m not in the business of judging Everybody Else’s idea of Friendship. Somebody Else can do that. Anybody Else can do that. Not me. I’m busy with my idea of Friendship Sparky.

I’m open to trying on your ideas if you could send that to me TTY or text. A picture helps. It’s my brain. A Cult of One is no joke Sparky. I do my best to be a loyal Friend. What you do at The Corner Store is your business.

Week 16 on the Port Gamble to Talkeetna Trail. Storm clouds at the cross roads. No rain. Meditation six ay em. Sandhill sprints. To the top. Times Five. Seventeen minutes. Two hour bike ride. Seventy Eight Weeks to Go.

SPACupdate.com has provided 24/7 Wall Street with some exclusive coverage on key issues coming up in the realm of special purpose acquisition companies.  2020 ChinaCap Acquirco (NASDAQ: TTY; NASDAQ: EDS) is on deck for its deal vote. NRDC Acquisition Co. (AMEX: NAQ) is adopting a REIT-strategy that differs from what was seen in Capitol Acquisition Co. (AMEX: CLA) or Enterprise Acquisition Co. (AMEX: EST).  Triplecrown Acquisition Co. (AMEX: TCW) also has a vote coming up.  More detailed information is provided below on each company.

2020 ChinaCap Acquirco (NASDAQ: TTY; NASDAQ: EDS) looks to cash in on rising investor sentiment in China that has buoyed SPACs’ success as an asset class all year. Oct. 19, the $69 million blank check will have its deal vote and multiple sources have confirmed the SPAC will likely succeed in getting its target, Windrace International, a Chinese apparel maker, through its merger. Already, the SPAC’s shares, at $7.93, are trading slightly above their redemption value—an anomaly that has been increasingly occurring for blank checks lately—and its warrants are at $1.73. In anticipation of its deal’s completion, the SPAC has already moved its shares to the NASDAQ.

NRDC Acquisition Co. (AMEX: NAQ) is mimicking the expected success of SPACs that are buying or have bought REITs—except, instead of trying to buy one, like Capitol Acquisition Co. (AMEX: CLA) or Enterprise Acquisition Co. (AMEX: EST), the $414 million SPAC has elected to become one, with its shareholders expected approval on Oct. 20. For a while, NRDC shares have traded above their redemption value, making that SPAC and 2020 ChinaCap two of the three currently trading at such a high value. Shares are trading at around $10.40, about five percent above trust. Recently, warrants were trading at around $1.05 and market sources have indicated the blank check’s deal will be pushed through.

Investors have not been as high on Triplecrown Acquisition Co. (AMEX: TCW), the SPAC that looks to bring public Natural Dairy, a subsidiary of Cullen Agricultural Technologies. The SPAC wants to buy the milk farm process optimizer that will also use proceeds from the $552 million blank check to buy distressed properties—namely, farmland. It is expected that on Oct. 21, the SPAC will convene shareholders for a deal vote; the blank check only has until Oct. 22 before it will be forced to liquidate without a completed merger. Shares have been trading recently at around $9.24, more than $0.50 off trust, and warrants are selling for a mere $0.09.

Brought exclusively by the SPACupdate.com team.

October 19, 2009

SPACupdate.com has provided 24/7 Wall Street with some exclusive coverage for the world of special purpose acquisition companies or SPACs.  This monitors live deals involving blank check companies, associated stock and warrant transactions and relevant personnel moves. Watch warrant holders to see where the trade winds for blank check votes blow. Two deals have major SPAC players owning warrants that will serve as a barometer as deal votes approach. One already has: TM Entertainment’s merger vote will come tomorrow.

United Refining Energy (AMEX: URX) will merge with Oklahoma City-based oil and natural gas producer Chaparral Energy, the SPAC announced Tuesday. The deal announcement sent the blank checks’ warrants spiking up to 45 cents in Tuesday trading; its shares closed at $9.96.

Thanks to the success of the Hicks Acquisition/Resolute Energy (NYSE: REN) deal—which, as of press time, had successfully generated value after the merger’s close—the $450 million SPAC has an opportunity to cash in on rising investor sentiment.

Yield-to-trust players that still have stakes in the SPAC also have incentive to sell shares to other buyers who will support the merger, or, simply push the deal through. Israel Englander and HBK Investments vehicles control millions of warrants in the SPAC, along with about 20% of its shares, according to the most recently available federal filings.  The blank check is looking to have at least half of its warrant owners redeem holdings for $0.50 each at the deal’s closing.

CS China Acquisition Co. (OTC: CSAQF) looks to bring public an Asian gaming promotion company that will operate baccarat tables in South Korea and China. The SPAC will rearrange warrants, lengthening deadlines and raising strike values, as many blank checks have done to entice shareholders and warrant holders to bet on a deal’s success.

Integrated Core Strategies has more than a million warrants in the $32 million SPAC and warrant prices rose to $0.35 in Tuesday trading.  The SPAC’s shares are still well off their trust value, up three percent in Tuesday trading, closing at about $5.69. Still, the shares are about $0.30 below their redemption value.

Investors should note that the SPAC’s timetable will allow for its management team to carefully align the blank check’s shareholders prior to a deal vote, which has not yet been announced. CS China’s deal deadline is not until 2011. The SPAC will issue about 10.4 million shares and an equal number of warrants to Spring Fortune Investment, which owns Asia Gaming. The target runs faming facilities in Macau, China, and will launch an additional facility in South Korea.

The SPAC’s deal with its target will increase warrants’ strike price to $6.10 and extend their life to a five-year time frame following their issuance. Their exercise is also contingent upon the target’s GAAP net income exceeding $30 million for the fiscal year prior to activation. The warrants will automatically activate after shares trade regularly above $9.50.

TM Entertainment & Media (AMEX: TMI) will have its deal vote Oct. 15 to bring public a Chinese marketing company. Similar to its liquidation fight with activist investor Phillip Goldstein, who demanded the blank check redeem shareholders and liquidate early in March, TMI’s chances for success are largely attached to Goldstein’s willingness to either sell the shares to a shareholder in support of the deal, or vote in favor himself.

Because he has about two million of the SPAC’s warrants, Goldstein’s approval of the blank check’s deal has the potential to generate value for him, provided he is willing to bet on the target’s chances in the public markets

The SPAC’s warrants are trading at around $0.44 each and its shares are trading $0.41 under trust, at $9.50, so market sentiment could be indicating that the blank check will get its deal done. However, the blank check’s volume has been relatively low for a month. Shares rose about three percent in Tuesday trading, to $7.76.

Next week, three announced SPAC mergers—2020 ChinaCap Acquiro, NRDC Acquisition and Triplecrown (TTY, NAQ, TCW)—will keep investors in the asset class attentive to their deal votes. For more on these SPACs and other blank checks, visit www.SPACupdate.com.

LinuxLogo es una pequena aplicacion la cual pondra un grafico en ascii, sea debian,suse etc.., en la consola tty.

Instalación:

# apt-get install linuxlogo

Una vez instalado editamos como root el siguiente fichero etc/inittab y nos dirigimos a la siguiente linea 1:2345:respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty1 donde tty1 es la primera terminal virtual (ejemplo presionando Alt + F2 se abrira la tty 2).

Modificamos la linea quedando de esta menera:

1:2345:respawn:/sbin/getty -f /etc/issue.linuxlogo 38400 tty1 (Se puede hacer lo mismo con cada terminal para que en todas nos aparezca el logo)

Ahora reiniciamos :

# /etc/init.d/linuxlogo restart

Ahora cada vez que entremos al equipo nos aparecera el Logo.

Si queremos verlo también por putty para los que se conectan ssh desde windows a Linux.

linux_logo > /etc/motd

:wq!

1:2345:respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty1
1:2345:respawn:/sbin/getty -f /etc/issue.linuxlogo 38400 tty1

SPACupdate.com produces reports on blank check companies, stake purchases and live deal situations.
 
Three blank check companies: 2020 ChinaCap Acquiro (AMEX: TTY), NRDC Acquisition (AMEX: NAQ) and Capitol Acquisition Co. (AMEX:CLA), are all trading at or above their trust values prior to their deal votes. This signals growing investor confidence in the targets the SPACs have selected.

On Oct. 15, TM Entertainment & Media (NYSE: TMI) will have its deal vote to buy China MediaExpress, an advertising company. The SPAC’s shareholder base is primarily occupied by yield-to-trust investors, which may hobble its efforts to take its target public. Already, one of TM Entertainment’s shareholders, Bulldog Investors, sought to have the company liquidate early instead of pursue a merger.
 
Capitol Acquisition Co. (AMEX: CLA), the SPAC that aims to bring public Two Harbors Investment Corp., will have its deal vote Oct. 26. Ideation Acquisition Co. (AMEX: IDI) delayed its deal vote one day, to Oct. 27.
 
No SPACs have deal votes set for this week.
 
Bulldog Investors reported in a federal filing that it sold part of its stake in InterAmerican Acquisition Group (OTC:IAQGU), the SPAC that brought public development company China New Cities. The investor previously held about nine percent.
 
Wesley Capital Management revealed it has a stake of nearly nine percent in NRDC Acquisition Co. (AMEX: NAQ).
 
Millennium Management sold out of its stake in Hicks Acquisition Co. (AMEX: TOH) before the blank check got its deal approved. On Friday, Hicks’ deal to buy Resolute Natural Resources was approved by shareholders, marking a surprising turnaround for the blank check that just a couple of months ago had a stalled deal to buy Graham Packaging.

 For more on these SPACs and other blank checks, visit www.SPACupdate.com.

For the first time in more than a year, a special purpose acquisition company, a SPAC, saw its shares broke through their trust value prior to a deal vote. In the last 12 months, blank checks approaching deal votes saw their redemption value as the ceiling for share worth—and after a transaction’s completion, aggressive sell-offs pummeled their target’s value.

NRDC Acquisition Co. (AMEX: NAQ) broke this painful streak for blank check management teams. Oddly, it is the only SPAC approaching a deal vote that does not have a specific target in mind.  NRDC simply aims to convert itself to REIT status and begin buying up distressed property. The SPAC’s shares traded up to $10.00 each at the close of trading Monday; recently, warrants sold at around $0.77, marking a substantial rebound. The SPAC’s per-share redemption value is $9.91. NRDC’s vote date comes in mid-October.

NRDC is not the only blank check pursuing real estate investments. Capitol Acquisition Co. (AMEX: CLA) has paired up with Pine River Capital Management’s Two Harbors Investment Corp.  The SPAC’s deal vote must come by early November.

As you will see below, there are many more recent developments in other SPACs and overlapping SPACs that will be coming front and center in the coming weeks.

Elsewhere, GHL Acquisition Co. (AMEX: GHQ) continues to execute buybacks as it approaches its Sept. 23 deal vote date.  Last week came word that Weiss Multi-Strategy Advisers took a stake of 6% in NRDC Acquisition Co. (AMEX: NAQ).  Also last week, Azimuth Opportunity LTD sold out of its stake in 2020 ChinaCap Acquiro Inc. (AMEX: TTY). Previously, it held a 5.6% stake.

Pine River Capital Management last week took a stake of 10% in Si Mei Te Food Co., the company brought public via China Discovery Acquisition Co. (CADUF). The investor, which looks to have affiliate Two Harbors Investment Corp. bought by SPAC Capitol Acquisition Co., has increasingly been buying into companies that were brought public, and lost value, in 2009.

Global Consumer Acquisition Co. (AMEX: GHC) has a new bank to buy, after its deal to buy assets from Colonial Bank fell apart with that target’s collapse. Now—along with 1st Commerce Bank—the SPAC will buy Service1st Bank of Nevada. The new entity will still be known as Western Liberty Bancorp and Service1st executives will mostly populate its top ranks. The SPAC has until late November to complete the deal.

Prospect Acquisition Co. (AMEX: PAX) has a deal to bring public a real estate investment firm with operations in the U.S. and Japan. The $248 million SPAC will buy Kennedy Wilson Inc.; it is requiring redemption of at least half of its warrants at $0.55 each. Warrants that are not redeemed will be subject to higher strike prices and a longer expiration date.  In a statement, the SPAC’s target highlighted distressed opportunities in California, where up to $10 billion in newly-constructed real estate is set to re-price to meet market conditions. The SPAC’s deal deadline comes in November.

Triplecrown Acquisition Co. (AMEX: TCW) is looking to buy Cullen Agricultural Technologies Co., which is rolling out Natural Dairy, a milk-processing optimizer, across the Southeast U.S. The target will eventually also buy up farmland along the Eastern Seaboard, where it looks to bring more efficient processing to the dairy industry. Triplecrown shareholders will wind up with 78% of the company going public; warrant strike prices and expiration dates have both been adjusted up to support the transaction. The SPAC’s deal deadline comes next month.

InterAmerican Acquisition Group (OTC: IAQGU) and China New Cities Development successfully merged, the blank check revealed. The SPAC’s shareholders who supported the transaction will be redeemed $4.85 per share. In days leading up to the SPAC’s deal deadline, the blank check repurchased about $24 million from would-be dissenting voters. The SPAC’s shares traded down more than 33% on the news.

-Brought to us exclusively by the SPACUpdate.com team.

We have seen many significant developments in recent days regarding the field of M&A in form of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies, or SPACs.  SPACUpdate.com sent us some key data on Secure America Acquisition Co. (AMEX: HLD), GHL Acquisition Co. (AMEX: GHQ), Hicks Acquisition Co. (AMEX: TOH), 2020 ChinaCap Acquisition Co. (AMEX: TTY), and in North Shore Acquisition Co. (OTC: NSAQ).  Many have written off SPACs as a class, but based on the calendar and news flow a blanket bet against the class looks like a blind bet.

Secure America Acquisition Co., (AMEX: HLD), as many other blank checks have, decided to pursue a target well outside of its range of industries and has a merger agreement with Ultimate Escapes, a Florida-based luxury resort operator.

GHL Acquisition Co. (AMEX: GHQ) has plans to issue more shares of its stock to execute warrant buybacks, the SPAC revealed. Last week, the SPAC announced buybacks of more than 10 million shares to complete its merger with Iridium Holdings. Sources familiar with the situation say the SPAC will ultimately get its deal completed.

InterAmerican Acquisition Co. (OTC: IAQGU) has its vote date set for Sept. 8, after multiple delays. The blank check could still push the vote date back as far as Sept. 10, but no further, as Thursday is its deal deadline. Despite buybacks of $24 million, sources say the blank check still had more work as of Friday to complete its merger.

Hicks Acquisition Co. (AMEX: TOH) has a potential ally as it looks to bring public Resolute Natural Resources. SPO Advisory, a California-based energy investor, has amassed a stake in the SPAC amounting to more than 22 percent. The blank check’s warrants have traded up substantially since Hicks Acquisition backed out of its deal with Graham Packaging and signed its merger agreement with Resolute. The SPAC’s deal vote date is Sept. 22…

2020 ChinaCap Acquisition Co. (AMEX: TTY) has a new investor; Keywise Greater China Opportunities Fund revealed a stake buy of 6% and Israel Englander’s Integrated Core Strategies also reported holdings in the SPAC’s warrants that amounted to nearly 3 million warrants. Integrated has minimal holdings in the SPAC’s stock, as well.

North Shore Acquisition Co. (OTC: NSAQ), the SPAC that recently saw Tremisis Energy Acquisition Co. II CEO Sang Chul-Kim take its helm, also has a new investor: Tiger Europe Master Fund Ltd. filed at 13G with the SEC revealing it has a 5.5% stake.

-The SPACUpdate Staff
SPACUpdate.COM

SEPTEMBER 8, 2009

Zocken unter Linux ist mehr als nur möglich. Nicht nur, dass viele Majordistributionen viele Open-Source-Spiele in ihren Repositories haben, sondern es laufen auch viele Spiele, die eigentlich für das Redmonder Betriebssystem entwickelt worden sind, per wine unter Linux.

Nun richten sich viele, wenn nicht die meisten, Gamer einen zweiten X Server ein, um auch während einer WoW Session in ICQ online sein zu können oder eben im Clan-Forum etwas zu spammen surfen oder… oder… oder… Ist das nötig? Nein!

Es geht auch anders

Das World Wide Web, IRC, Instant Messaging und VoIP via Jabber (ICQ suckt nun wirklich) und Musik hören: Man kann nahezu alles über das (virtuelle) Terminal, kurz tty, machen. Warum also eine Ressource, die man sowieso hat, nicht nutzen? Nur weil es nicht so gut aussieht? Willst Du zocken oder surfen?

Und spätestens wenn der X Server mal wieder streikt, weil nVidia oder ATI mal wieder schlampig bei ihren Treibern gearbeitet haben, ist es mehr als vorteilhaft, wenn man weiß, wie das Terminal funktioniert.

Bildschirmmultiplexer

Nun hat der Textmodus naturgemäß einen Nachteil: Man kann normalerweise pro Terminal nur eine Anwendung laufen lassen. Wie gesagt: normalerweise;

Um dieses Problem zu lösen hat sich die Open Source Community ein Programm namens „screen“ gegeben. Damit ist es möglich mehrere Programme gleichzeitig auf einem Terminal laufen zu lassen. Und das Beste ist, dass Screen und viele andere Terminalprogramme in den Repositories der Distribution Eurer Wahl ist.

Also: Schnappt sie euch, Tiger

Today is Tuesday and I’ve just gotten around to some more of the Sunday New York Times. So here’s what  I learned. I’m not even going to add to it in any way. The article is fascinating on it’s own.

Rest In Peace Mr. Marsters.

(from the New York Times Obituaries, Sunday, August 23rd)

Sign language, lip reading and speech training helped James Marsters get through college and dental school and made it possible for him to succeed as an orthodontist. He could communicate very well face to face.

But for most of his first 40 years, the telephone was a barrier.

“All of us in the family, whenever a call came for my dad,” his son James Jr. said on Friday, “we picked up this handset attached to the phone so that we could listen in and relay to my father what the caller was saying. He would read our lips and then reply in his own voice.”

Dr. Marsters and two deaf colleagues broke that barrier for themselves and tens of thousands of other hearing-impaired people in 1964 when they converted an old, bulky, clacking Teletype machine into a device that could relay a typewritten conversation through a telephone line. It was the first example of what became commonly known as a TTY and is now, in a greatly updated and compact version, called a text telephone.

Dr. Marsters died of natural causes at his home in Oakland, Calif., on July 28, his son said. He was 85.

A mutual acquaintance, aware that two of his friends were thinking along the same lines, introduced Dr. Marsters to Robert H. Weitbrecht, a physicist at Stanford University,in 1964. Both were soon fiddling with the nearly obsolete Teletype machines cluttering Dr. Marsters’s garage.

Mr. Weitbrecht came up with the idea of using an acoustic coupler — now called a modem — to connect two of the Teletype machines. The coupler changed electrical signals coming from one Teletype machine into tones sent through a telephone wire; at the other end, the tones were changed back into electrical signals so that the message could be printed on the receiving machine.

Another tinkerer, Andrew Saks, an electrical engineer and a grandson of the founder of Saks Fifth Avenue, was soon working in the garage as well. Dr. Marsters and Mr. Weitbrecht had gone to him for financing.

With the intention of building a network of TTY users, the three men began collecting and reconditioning the Teletype machines that were being discarded by news services and companies like Western Union. They formed a company, the Applied Communications Corporation, to refurbish and donate TTYs. Dr. Marsters traveled around the country, educating the deaf community about the new technology, forming partnerships with other organizations and lobbying for support from government officials.

There were only 18 TTYs in operation in 1966, Karen Peltz Strauss, the author of “A New Civil Right: Telecommunications Equality for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Americans” (Gallaudet University Press,2006), said in a telephone interview on Thursday. By 2006, there were about 30,000 listings in the Blue Book a national directory of TTY users.

Pointing out that the Internet has since greatly reduced the need for text telephones, Ms. Peltz Strauss said, “I would say that by the mid-1990s it had peaked at tens of thousands of people who had and used them regularly.”

Dr. Marsters, she said, “got the ball rolling for future generations of people with hearing loss to achieve telecommunications equality.”

Beyond making their technological breakthrough and starting the network, Dr. Marsters and his partners, working with other leaders of the deaf community, played significant roles in reshaping government policy.

When they introduced their device, the partners met strong resistance from AT&T, which then had virtual control over the nation’s telephone system and prohibited direct connections to its network. In 1968, the Federal Communications Commission struck down AT&T’s restrictive policy, saying it had no right to deny the connection to its network as long as there was no harm to its operations.

In the 1970s, Dr. Marsters and Mr. Saks made arrangements with several local telephone companies in California to introduce relay services — technology that allowed deaf people to communicate with hearing people.

“Dr. Marsters and his partners provided the forerunner of what is now a nationwide network of telecommunication relay services,” Ms. Peltz Strauss said. “These services are now completely free to anybody who wants them because they are required by law under the Americans With Disabilities Act.”

James Carlyle Marsters was born in Norwich, N.Y., on April 5, 1924, one of two sons of Guy and Anna Belle Marsters. His father was a pharmaceutical company executive.

Besides his son James, Dr. Marsters is survived by another son, Guy; a daughter, Jean Marsters; and two grandchildren. His wife of 49 years, the former Alice Dorsey, died in 2003.

In infancy, Jimmy Marsters lost his hearing to scarlet fever and measles. As a toddler, he received lip-reading and speech training. After graduating from the Wright Oral School for the Deaf in New York City in 1943, he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Union College,in Schenectady, N.Y.

For three years, Mr. Marsters worked in a necktie factory in New York while his applications to dental schools were repeatedly rejected. Eventually, the New York University College of Dentistryadmitted him, with the understanding that it would offer no special accommodations. He received his dental degree in 1952, then moved to California, where two years later he earned a master’s degree in orthodontics at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.Dr. Marsters opened his orthodontics practice in Pasadena, Calif., in 1954; he retired in 1990. Mr. Weitbrecht died in 1983, and Mr. Saks died in 1989.

One day in May 1964, when both were at their homes in California, Dr. Marsters and Mr. Weitbrecht made the first TTY call on a traditional telephone line.

Their communication was garbled at first. But after some adjustments were made, their typed words were clear and concise: “Are you printing me now?” Mr. Weitbrecht asked Dr. Marsters. “Let’s quit for now and gloat over the success.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/us/23marsters.html?ref=obituaries

Après l’installation toute fraîche d’Ubuntu Jaunty sur mon laptop, j’avais remarqué que les différents terminaux tty, accessibles par la combinaison de touche <Ctrl> + <Alt> + <Fn> (<Fn> allant de F1 à F6), étaient … moches ! En fait le problème venait simplement du fait que leur résolution n’était pas suffisamment grande. Pour remédier à ce léger inconvénient j’ai dû procéder à quelques réglages qui m’ont permis d’avoir une belle console bien claire.

Avant toute chose, il faut activer le framebuffer en passant le paramètre vga au noyau lors de son amorçage. Ce paramètre prend pour valeur un code qui représente une résolution et un nombre de bits de couleurs. Le code 791 par exemple, indique une résolution de 1024×768 pour 16 bits de couleurs. Vous pouvez jetez un oeil sur le tableau assez complet des modes disponibles.  Pour avoir la liste de ceux qui sont supportés par votre carte graphique ainsi que les codes qui leurs sont associés installez hwinfo. Pour ce faire entrez la commande suivante dans un terminal :

sudo apt-get install hwinfo

Une fois le paquet installé, tapez :

sudo hwinfo --framebuffer

Assurez-vous de ne pas oublier le sudo, autrement la commande ci-dessus ne donnera pas de résultat. Maintenant que nous connaissons le code du mode à adopter (791 pour ma part), passons le paramètre au noyau. Cette opération se fait au niveau du chargeur de démarrage, en l’occurrence Grub dont le fichier de configuration est /boot/grub/menu.lst. Editez ce dernier :

sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst

Puis repérez la ligne qui contient les paramètres à passer au noyau :

# defoptions=quiet splash

Ajoutez-y l’option vga=791, ce qui donnera

# defoptions=quiet splash vga=791

Sauvegardez le ficher puis quittez. Pour que Grub applique les changements exécutez dans le teminal la commande suivante :

sudo update-grub

Ainsi, Grub prendra en compte le nouveau paramètre dès le prochain démarrage et les changements persisteront même après les mises à jour du noyau. Le plus important étant fait, reste maintenant à régler quelques petits détails. Si vous redémarrez votre système maintenant, il est probable que le splash screen (l’écran affichant Ubuntu au démarrage) soit décalé vers la droite, ou pire qu’il ne s’affiche pas du tout. Pour palier ces éventuels problèmes nous allons éditer un autre fichier :

sudo gedit /etc/usplash.conf

Dans le fichier /etc/usplash, assurez vous que les valeurs de xres et yres soient bien ceux de la résolution choisie pour le terminal. Dans mon cas, ayant opté pour une résolution de 1024×768, je dois avoir le contenu suivant :

# Usplash configuration file
# These parameters will only apply after running update-initramfs.

xres=1024
yres=768

Comme indiqué en anglais dans ce même fichier, pour appliquer les changements il faut exécuter la commande update-initramfs. Donc toujours dans la console :

sudo update-initramfs -u

Vous pouvez maintenant redémarrer votre machine, vérifier si tout se passe bien et admirer une console avec une résolution plus confortable qu’avant. Si toutefois au lieu de voir vos terminaux l’écran reste désespérément noir, il existe une manipulation qui consiste à faire en sorte que le module vesafb soit chargé au démarrage et non blacklisté. Puisque sous linux tout est fichier :

sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-framebuffer.conf

Commentez la ligne suivante en ajoutant simplement un # à son début :

blacklist vesafb

Ouvrir maintenant le fichier /etc/initramfs-tools/modules

sudo gedit /etc/initramfs-tools/modules

pour y ajouter les deux modules vesafb et fbcon de la manière suivante :

# List of modules that you want to include in your initramfs.
#
# Syntax:  module_name [args ...]
#
# You must run update-initramfs(8) to effect this change.
#
# Examples:
#
# raid1
# sd_mod

vesafb
fbcon

Si votre fichier contient préalablement d’autre modules, il ne faut bien entendu pas les supprimer, ajoutez vesafb et fbcon à la fin. Appliquons ensuite les changements grâce à la commande update-initramfs déjà vue :

sudo update-initramfs -u

Dernier fichier à modifier maintenant :

/etc/modules

en y ajoutant simplement :

vesafb

Enfin ! Après un simple redémarrage de la machine, tout devrait fonctionner à merveille : le splash screen à sa place et une résolution acceptable pour les différents terminaux. Si vous avez encore quelques problèmes rendez-vous sur le site Ubuntu-fr, vous y trouverez certainement de l’aide. D’ailleurs ce post est inspiré du tutoriel Comment activer le framebuffer.

Maintenant que nous avons une belle console, nous verrons dans les prochains posts que tout ou presque peut être fait dans le terminal. D’ici là portez vous bien

obert was born in 1920 in Orange, California.  Soon after he was born, his parents found out that he was deaf.  His mother taught him how to lipread, and although he went to a deaf school for a very short time, Robert soon stopped going to school altogether.  Instead, he was home schooled with another deaf boy by a private tutor.  When his tutor died, Robert was placed in a mainstream public school.  Public school was not an enjoyable experience for Robert.  He was often made fun of for his speech, and continued to have self-esteem issues throughout his life.  It was during these years at public school that Robert developed a love for the stars on evening walks with his family.  At 18 years old he won the Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science Award for building a reflecting telescope. Robert also became fascinated by the  Ham Radio.  He eventually became a licensed Ham Radio operator and used Morse Code to speak to hearing people all over the world.

Robert then went on to attend University of California Berkley, graduating in 1942 with honors in Astronomy.  There he met another Deaf man who taught him how to sign, but Robert’s skills weren’t perfect and he always felt more comfortable lip reading.  After graduation, he started working at the Radiation Lab at University of California as a Physicist, and then took a job as an Electronics Scientist at the US Naval Air Missile Test Center.  While working for the Navy, he developed a timing system for controlling and taking pictures of  missiles in flight.  During World War II, Robert was placed on the Manhattan Project, which was responsible for building the world’s first atomic bomb.  During this time Robert developed the Geiger Counter, which is used to measure levels of radioactivity. 

After the war Robert returned to school, earning a Master’s degree in Astronomy from the University of Chicago in 1952.  He went through all of his schooling without an interpreter, borrowing notes from classmates to understand what was said during lectures.   Robert’s fascination with the Ham Radio continued, as he submitted articles to RTTY Magazine and traveled around the country with his radio visiting other Ham operators.   In 1950, Robert obtained a radio teletypewriter that allowed him to receive messages, but not send them, over the radio.  It was also incompatible with the telephone.  Robert fooled around with the device a little and was able to modify it so it could send as well as receive messages over the radio.  He also started to challenge many of the Federal regulations regarding radios and eventually got permission to broadcast on more frequencies, among other things. 

Robert didn’t really think about modifying his radio Teletypewriter until he met James C. Marsters through a friend.  James had been working on a way for Deaf people to communicate over the telephone for years.  At James’ suggestion, Robert was able to invent an acoustic coupler that allowed the TTY to work with a regular telephone.   The very first TTY call was made in May of 1964.  Although the device would only send or receive messages to and from another TTY, Deaf people suddenly gained an important means of communication.  They no longer had to knock on doors and leave notes if someone wasn’t home.  They could call their friends instead.

Robert, together with James and his friend Andrew Sacs, started the Applied Communication Corporation to try and put TTYs into the homes of Deaf people everywhere.  They also worked on developing the technology even further, and eventually came out with the Weitbrecht Modem.  Although the three didn’t receive a lot of money for their invention, they felt that the fact that it made many people’s lives easier was compensation enough.  Robert was also awarded tons of honors from various institutions for his work, including an honorary degree from Gallaudet University. 

In 1983, Robert was walking his dog when he was struck by a car while crossing the street.  He died in the hospital several days later.  While his death was tragic, Robert will always be remembered as the man who helped make millions of Deaf people all over the world a little more independent.

Mi piace configurare ogni dettaglio della distribuzione. Ho cercato quindi dopo avere installato Ubuntu, come cambiare l’usplash (cioè il caricamento in fase di boot) e come impostare le tty (cioè le console virtuali raggiungibili con i tasti ctr+alt+F[1-6]) perché avessero la risoluzione del mio monitor (un amplissimo 1680×1050). Se volete sapere come fare, continuate a leggere. Eccovi un assaggio di come appare ora la mia tty:

Altro che 80 caratteri di larghezza…

Cambiare l’usplash e impostarne la risoluzione

Una cosa per volta. Usplash è ciò che rappresenta graficamente il boot in moltissime distribuzioni Linux (compresa Ubuntu). Non è la tecnologia migliore, infatti pare Ubuntu cambierà nella versione 9.10 (o 10.4) seguendo le orme di Fedora. In ogni caso per ora funziona ed è bella la possibilità di cambiarne l’aspetto. Oltre a ciò, si può anche impostarne la risoluzione (che quasi sempre non è corretta, viene tenuta a 1024×768 o 800×600 per questioni di compatibilità).

La prima cosa da fare è procurarsi un bel tema usplash. Su Gnome Look ce ne sono moltissimi (basta cercare il termine usplash), e bisogna assicurarsi che il tema supporti la risoluzione che vogliamo, in caso contrario dovremmo usarlo ad una risoluzione inferiore. Io ho scelto Hardy Colors usplash che fornisce temi in colorazioni differenti. In generale comunque un tema usplash viene distribuito come una libreria in formato .so. Per l’esempio, userò il tema human-ubuntu.so presente nell’archivio di cui sopra.

Da terminale, una volta entrati nella cartella che lo contiene, provvedete a copiarlo dove deve andare:

sudo cp human-ubuntu.so /usr/lib/usplash

Ora dovete creare il nuovo collegamento allo splash screen. Pertanto il comando da dare sarà:

sudo ln -sf /usr/lib/usplash/human-ubuntu.so /etc/alternatives/usplash-artwork.so

Prima di terminare, modificate il file responsabile della risoluzione del vostro usplash:

sudo nano /etc/usplash.conf

Inserite i valori appropriati (la vostra risoluzione, o quella supportata dal tema) e poi premete F2, Invio, F3. Non resta altro che aggiornare l’initramfs:

sudo update-initramfs -u

Impostare la risoluzione delle tty

Per ricavare le informazioni utili che adopererete, dovrete installare il pacchetto hwinfo. Fatelo col gestore di pacchetti. Nel terminale date quindi il comando:

sudo hwinfo --framebuffer

Tra le ultime righe c’è quello che interessa, in particolare nel mio caso:

Mode 0x0368: 1680x1050 (+1680), 8 bits
Mode 0x0369: 1680x1050 (+6720), 24 bits

Ricordate che se il vostro è un monitor economico (molti di quelli nei portatili lo sono) allora non avrete la possibilità di impostare la piena risoluzione che usate. Potete sceglierne comunque una maggiore di quella che state usando in quel momento per le tty. Io ho la possibilità di ottenere la risoluzione 1680×1050 a 24 bit usando la modalità 0×0369. Mi segno pertanto il numero, dimenticandomi dello zero dopo la x. Ciò che mi serve pertanto è 0×369. Voi segnate il vostro numero e poi modificate il file di avvio di grub:

sudo nano /boot/grub/menu.lst

Cercate la riga delle kopt, probabilmente sarà simile alla seguente:

# kopt=root=UUID=********-****-****-****-************ ro

Voi limitatevi ad aggiungere in fondo il parametro vga come segue, sostituendo naturalmente il valore trovato (ricordate che è tutto su una riga):

# kopt=root=UUID=********-****-****-****-************ ro vga=0x369

Ora l’ultima cosa da fare è aggiornare grub:

sudo update-grub

Per ora è tutto. Dal prossimo avvio della macchina (lo spegnimento potrebbe vedersi male, tranquilli) sarà tutto perfetto. Godetevi il vostro boot a tema ed a risoluzione piena, e la vostra nuova immensa console.

Fonti e spunti:

• Framebuffer 1680×1050
• Dell Inspiron 1525 – Gentoo Linux Wiki
• How To Create And Install Your Own Usplash Theme In Ubuntu
• Cambiare lo splash di boot su Ubuntu Gutsy (USplash)
• Bug #154781 in usplash (Ubuntu): “Out of Range message and usplash not displayed in Gutsy”

… ainakin vielä toistaseks. Ja toisaalta tää viikon viimeinen källi saattaa parhaillaan pitää myös naiset erossa jontesta… vaikkakin epäilen kyl.

Vannoutuneimmat lukijat on varmaa osannu vähä ynnäillä juttuja yhtee ja tajunnut et se jokin puuttuu viel näistä meidän källeistä. KYLLÄ! Nimittäin puhuvien kalsarien tuunaus!

Tätä operaatioo varten oli onneks varattu lateksihanskoja, kerta ei edelleenkä oltu varmoja onko niit pesty IKINÄ. Turvalline fiilis hygieniasta tuplaantu ku käytettii viel sellasii SARS suojia naamal. Noni eniveis mun duuni oli koodarina ottaa selville jonten kyrpää vasten hieroutuneesta tekniikasta. Tekniikka oli suhteellisen tuttuu kerta purettiin joskus aikoja si serkkupojan kans sellasii puhuvii onnittelukortteja ja säädettiin sinne just jotain omia tervehdyksiä sen perus “happy birthday” -biisin tilalle. On kaverien ilmeet ollu aina kyl näkemisen arvosia ku onnittelun tilal pärähtää paskanen nauru ja sit jotain ihme häröilyä. Jepjep. Oli joskus olevinaa hauskaaki… tai no kuten kuvasta näkyy, ei me miehet taideta ikinä kasvaa aikusiks kerta pirun hauskaa tää on vieläki.

Noni… taas karkas ajatus. Piti selittää jotain siit ite prosessista. Tarkemman syynäyksen jälkee tää kalsarin sisäinen tekniikka ei siis kuitenkaa ollu iha samanlaine ku semmonen onnittelukortin vastaava, joten se äänittely ei onnistunutkaan siltä seisomalta. Oltiin tosin jo tallennettu etukäteen omat mörinämme mäkkärillä, vähän möreemmäks tuunattuna.

Onneks yks TTY:llä opiskeleva kaveri lupas jelppiä karhu-mäyrä palkkiolla. Halvalla menee mut ei ainaka meidä paree valittaa. Elikkäs kävin hondalla kyläilemäs hervannassa, mörinät sisältävä muistitikku ja kalsarin sisäinen tekniikka messissä. Ei tullu kaverille mainittua mistä nekin virtapiirit oli kaivettu, olis voinu jäädä tuunaus sikseen. No enivei kaveri teki aiiiiivan loistavaa jälkee! Ollaa tääl p-manin kans repeilty tälle källille aika tyylikkäästi!

Ja jotta källi olis tarpeeks moniulotteinen haluttiin tähänkin upottaa poniteema. Jälleen p-manin (bänditovereiden lahjottamat) my little pony kamikset pääsi käyttöön. Täl kertaa framille pääs t-paita tai pikemminki sen logo. P-man vanhana käsityöläisenä saksi nätisti ponikuviot irti paidasta ja ompeli kalsareihin huulten tilalle. Lopulta tyytyväisyyttä hykerrellen palautettiin tuunatut kalsarit takaisin sinne mistä ne otettiinki.

Työmme hedelmät: Puhuvat kalsarit, joissa etumuksen kohdalla my little pony logo. Logosta painettaessa kuuluu möreä, lähes demoninen ääni, joka kehottaa tuuppaamaan “Kakkoseen, kiitos!”

Aiheesta (sadalle ensimmäiselle) innostuneelle on myös tarjolla tuo kyseinen ääniklippi mp3-muodossa, vaikkapa tyylikkääksi soittariksi! Toimi nyt, sillä nopeat syövät hitaat. Voit lähettää pyyntösi osoitteeseen ristipissarit@gmail.com

Nyt tää poika lähtee lenkille, adjö!

Having grown up in the banking industry, I have solid state terminals in my blood… working with HP3000 and MPE/iX (the predecesor to HP-UX) prepared me for the world of UARTs and baud rate battles long before I installed my first fidonet connection on my BBS.

That being said, I really enjoyed this article about the TTY and the history of its implementation, virtualization and subsequent emulation of virtualization that we are so accustomed to now (or at least the *nix of us in the crowd).

Interestingly, he brings in the stock-ticker creation in 1869 as the intro to his TTY discussion which was new to me and just goes to prove that you can always learn something new by keeping your mind open (instead of saying “I know about TTYs… why would I read this article”).

http://www.linusakesson.net/programming/tty/index.php

With only one day to go until the switch, the CSD DTV Help center wants to ensure that deaf and hard of hearing consumers know what it takes to get ready for the switch on June 12. Here’s what you should know:

Analog television sets will NOT be obsolete after June 12.
You can continue to use your analog TV set after the transition to DTV is completed on June 12.  All you need to do is install a digital-to-analog converter box to each analog TV or connect them to a subscription service, such as cable or satellite TV.  You also must have a good antenna with both rabbit ears, or the equivalent for channels 2-13 (VHF) and a loop, bow-tie or equivalent, to get channels 14-51 (UHF). VCRs, Gaming consoles, DVD players and other devices that don’t rely on a broadcast signal will work without a converter box.

Some viewers may have trouble receiving some digital channels after June 12.
Some stations will change their coverage area in the digital transition.  Watch for station announcements: any station that loses 2% or more of the households it served in analog must notify viewers.  In addition, if you are missing a few channels, you should conduct a channel scan, adjust their antenna and check the signal strength meter on their converter box.  If channels are still missing, you may be able to add them individually by entering the number on the converter box remote.  For more information regarding reception in your area, call the CSD DTV Help Center.

Converter box coupons WILL be available after June 12, while supplies last.
You will have until July 31, while supplies last, to order coupons by calling CSD DTV Help Center; however, it is too late to order coupons and receive them in time for the June 12 transition.  Coupons will expire 90 days after they are mailed, so you must act quickly to redeem them.  You should call ahead to confirm availability of coupon-eligible converter boxes on the day you plan to shop.

Free technical assistance WILL still be available after June 12.
The CSD DTV Help Center will continue to provide assistance after June 12 to anyone that still needs it. In some areas, the FCC is offering free in-home installation services and walk-in centers to consumers who need technical assistance until the end of June, and in some locations, through July.  The CSD DTV Help Center will continue to be available to all consumers.  For more information, contact the CSD DTV Help Center.

You do NOT need a special “digital ready” or “HD ready” antenna to receive DTV signals.
DTV signals do not require a special antenna.  Over-the-air DTV signals require the same type of antenna (i.e., rooftop, set-top) as analog signals.  With digital, however, it’s critical that antennas receive both VHF and UHF signals.

For deaf and hard of hearing consumers, contact our Help Center today!
Until June 30, you can reach the Help Center in a variety of ways. Hours of operation are 7 a.m.-1 a.m., seven days a week.

Contact Information:
Phone numbers: 1-877-388-4968 (voice) and 1-877-889-4273 (TTY).

VP Sorenson Numbers: 866-351-1950 | 866-401-3519

VP DNS address for D-Links: DTV03.CSD.TV

E-mail: DTVHelp@c-s-d.org

AIM: DTVCSR07