Mounting the Nokia 9300 file system on Linux with p3nfs

This is how I made my Nokia 9300’s file system available to my Ubuntu Dapper box. I can now copy/move files around, as well as edit files on the phone just like I could earlier with the 9210.

Browsing the phone’s filesystem in Nautilus

You need a working Bluetooth setup. See my earlier Bluetooth related HOWTO on how to find out your phone’s Bluetooth address with the hcitool and how to setup a PIN so you can pair the devices in a friendly fashion. You need to have portmap installed (in order to use any kind of NFS shares). Then you need the key ingredient, p3nfs. Download the ARCH Linux binary package and the corresponding nfsapp SIS installer for the 9300/9500.

1. Install nfsapp on the phone (send the file over via Bluetooth, or browse to the p3nfs homepage with the phone’s browser and download it)
2. Convert the ARCH linux binary package of p3nfs into a debian package and install it: sudo alien -i p3nfs-x.xx.pkg.tar.gz
3. Set the suid bit on /usr/bin/p3nfsd so that you don’t have to be root to access the phone’s filesystem: sudo chmod+s /usr/bin/p3nfsd
4. Bind an rfcomm device to your phone. The nfsapp uses the Bluetooth channel 13: sudo rfcomm bind /dev/rfcomm0 XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX 13 (XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX being your phone’s address)
5. Start nfsapp on the phone. Check that it’s using Bluetooth/13 to communicate. If not, press ‘p’ to change it
6. Make a convenient mount point in your home directory, such as ‘Phone’
7. Start p3nfsd: p3nfsd -series80 -tty /dev/rfcomm0 -dir /home/<username>/Phone
8. Browse to the Phone directory with a file manager or in the terminal
9. when you’re done, exit any application, file browser or terminal accessing the ‘Phone’ directory and unmount the phone: ls /home/<username>/Phone/exit — wait for output confirming that p3nfsd has exited cleanly

You would probably prefer not to type all those commands by hand every day, so make a few nice aliases in your ~/.bashrc:
alias bindcomm='sudo rfcomm bind /dev/rfcomm0 XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX 13'
alias mountphone='p3nfsd -series80 -tty /dev/rfcomm0 -dir /home/username/Phone'
alias umountphone='ls /home/username/Phone/exit'

NOTE: Do not mess with files on the E: and Z: “drives” on the phone. They belong the running system’s internal memory and touching that stuff may crash the phone and perhaps make it unbootable.

NOTE: This HOWTO is just a quick list of steps to get this working. It is not a substitute for actually reading the p3nfs README file. The p3nfs documentation also deals with situations when things are not working. I won’t, so don’t call me for support :)

Technorati Tags: mobile, nokia, linux, p3nfs

Exaile! The amaroK replacement for GNOME

My search for the perfect music player has continued for a long time. I like Rhythmbox-like players with good library management over the straightforward XMMS-style players. Lately, I’ve been using Quod Libet a lot. Its search function is second to none, and Ex Falso, its companion application for tag editing is really sweet. I never felt comfortable with Quod Libet’s radio stream support. So, most of the time I reverted to browsing Shoutcast streams with Streamtuner and playing them with Beep.

I’ve always admired amaroK’s all-in-one philosophy. Functionally, it’s the undisputed champion of players. Alas, amaroK is very resource-hungry and my poor box is slow. To make matters worse, amaroK loads a bunch of KDE libraries along with it, so running it in GNOME is painful.

Thus, I have been on a lookout for an amaroK replacement for GNOME for some time now. Listen seems promising, but frankly it has always felt a bit unstable (not that amaroK itself never crashes, but that’s one thing we don’t want to clone from it.) Then I stumbled upon an even younger Exaile! on the Ubuntu forums and it is awesome. Written by synic in Python, it promises to be all i’m looking for. Rock!

Exaile! player jazz action

Exaile has all I want:

• You can easily browse either your library or the file system
• Good search function
• Streaming radio support and shoutcast directory browsing
• Tag editing
• Album art fetching from amazon.com
• Is a GTK+ app and fits well into the GNOME desktop
• iPod and mp3 player support (well, I don’t need this but there it is if you have python-gpod installed)

Of course, after testing this app and falling in love with it, i had to biuld a package for Ubuntu Dapper. Enjoy, but remember that this project is very young and you might find bugs (all standard disclaimers about my packages’ reliablility apply too, of course.)

Technorati Tags: multimedia, gnome

GPRS via Bluetooth and Nokia 9300

(Update: Instructions for connecting via the DKU2 cable now at the end of the post.)
This is how I made the GPRS Internet connection working from my Ubuntu Dapper laptop via a Nokia 9300 and Bluetooth. I found this info on an Ubuntu forums thread, kudos go to emperon:

1. Have a working bluetooth setup.
2. hcitool scan gives you your phone’s BD address. Make a note of this.
3. sdptool search DUN will show you the appropriate channel to use. Make a note of this.
4. Check that you have a 4-number code in /etc/bluetooth/pin unless your phone and the machine are very friendly already. Your phone may ask for this number later.
5. Type rfcomm bind /dev/rfcomm0 X:X:X:X:X:X YY (where X:X:X:X:X:X is the BD address and YY is the channel number).
6. Type rfcomm and check that the channel is either “clear” or “closed”.
7. Create /etc/ppp/peers/gprs with the following contents:
   /dev/rfcomm0
connect '/usr/sbin/chat -v -f /etc/ppp/peers/gprs.chat'
        noauth
        defaultroute
        usepeerdns
        lcp-echo-interval 65535
        debug
8. Create /etc/ppp/peers/gprs.chat with the following contents:
   TIMEOUT                 15        
ECHO                    ON
HANGUP                  ON      
''                      AT
OK                      ATZ     
OK                      ATD*99*#
(NOTE: *99*# above is the number to call. This one works for Sonera in Finland and many other providers, but call your friendly provider helpdesk and make sure you have the correct one.)
9. Initiate bluetooth pairing between your phone and the computer.
10. Make the call: sudo pppd call gprs
11. Surf away!

Here’s instructions for connecting via the DKU2 cable supplied with the 9300. Cables are uncool and sometimes get in the way, but the procedure is simpler. This info comes mostly from gr0kzer0 in another forum thread:

1. Install wvdial.
2. Connect the cable.
3. Run wvdialconf /etc/wvdial.conf
4. Edit the /etc/wvdial.conf just created. Look at the last four lines, we edit the Phone, Password and Username lines (the username and password are bogus ones. wvdial wants non-empty ones but you can enter Batman’s credentials there if you like), and additionally force the modem into Stupid Mode.
   [Dialer Defaults]
Init1 = ATZ
Init2 = ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
Modem Type = USB Modem
Baud = 460800
New PPPD = yes
Modem = /dev/ttyACM0
ISDN = 0
Phone = *99#
Password = foo
Username = bar
Stupid Mode = 1
   (NOTE: Again try to find a suitable phone number)
5. Now you should be able to dial out with wvdial or GNOME PPP.

Technorati Tags: gprs, linux, bluetooth, nokia, howto

Ubuntu: Past, Present and Future look in parallel

Today’s updates brought some things that make it seem like Ubuntu Dapper is finalizing: neither login messages, release identificators, nor the artwork advertises Dapper’s beta status anymore, the system default look is awesome, and everything works as advertised.

What better way to celebrate the official release of Dapper on June 1st than remember old times? Matt has made the artwork from all previous Ubuntu releases parallel installable, so if you feel nostalgic, you can use the Warty theme and wallpaper.

Technorati Tags: ubuntu, debian

New packages

I've uploaded packages of GNOME phone manager, LyX 1.4, REOBack and Finnish dict dictionaries on the new packages page. Enjoy.

Technorati Tags: debian, software

Upgrading Ubuntu now a snap!

Ubuntu Breezy users can now upgrade to Dapper more easily than ever. (Actually, someone who isn’t comfortable with the standard Debian dist-upgrade method shouldn’t upgrade before Dapper stabilizes on June 1st, but the method is already there.) I don’t think any other operating system is this easy to upgrade. Daniel shows us how in his blog:
daniel.holba.ch/blog » Blog Archive » Upgrading to Ubuntu 6.06

Technorati Tags: ubuntu, debian

GNOME Phone Manager for Dapper

Since the gnome-phone-manager-0.6 on dapper is broken, I built a package from the latest 0.7 sources. Since I know someone might be insterested in a working phone manager, I've uploaded the package on Box.net. My package works, but not perfectly of course: you'll have to make a link in /usr/share/gnome-phone-manager to the phone icon or the phone manager will crash upon startup. So after you install the package do "sudo ln -s /usr/share/pixmaps/cellphone.png /usr/share/gnome-phone-manager" and enjoy. As always, there's no guarantee and if my packages break your system or are found eating children on the midnight streets, don't bother me.

Ubuntu newbie blog #1 growing blog on WordPress.com

Noticed that the fastest growing blog on wordpress.com is “Linux for human beings?” by Danny. The blog is a report of Danny’s real-life experiment of replacing Windows with Linux. He honestly tells us the good and the bad stuff a new user faces trying to use Ubuntu without geek help around. Hang in there Danny, lots of people have gotten their Ubuntu boxen working beautifully in the end!

Update: I completely missed this: the second fastest growing blog is “Ubuntu newbie” by Cornell :)

Dapper enters beta, Edgy planning started

I’ve been running the development version of Ubuntu 6.06 (Dapper Drake) on all my machines since GNOME 2.14 was released on March 15th, without too much trouble. When I ran my daily upgrade yesterday, I noticed the artwork started to mention Dapper Beta. Today, Dapper officially enters Beta status, so the release should be more or less in its final form. Now you can read the Beta Announcement and drool over the great new features. If you can, try out the Beta and report any remainging bugs!

Dapper is different from previous Ubuntu releases. It is the culmination of lessons learned from the first three releases and will be the first one to receive three years of support for desktop installations and five years for servers, which makes it comparable to the expensive “enterprise” distributions from Red Hat and SUSE. The difference is of course that Ubuntu will never have a separate “enterprise” release but all Ubuntu users get the best possible distribution for free. This is great for corporate users and others who value extremely stable platforms but it has another consequense as well, for those who enjoy living on the edge: the freedom to experiment on the release coming up after Dapper, the Edgy Eft!

Following a rock solid release such as Dapper, the Ubuntu community can again freely concentrate on exploring new, exciting technologies for the next releases. Ubuntu leader Mark Shuttleworth, A.K.A sabdfl, opened yesterday the planning period for the next release, giving the community free hands to experiment, imposing almost “zero from-the-top requirements” for the release. We can afford this because of the long support for Dapper. Those who want to keep running a solid release can still enjoy Dapper while the more adventurous users can venture to the unknown with Edgy Eft. I’m sure that will be very exciting. I’m already anxious to try out Xen, wobbly windows on Xgl/AIGXL, and whatever the Ubuntu hackers come up with. Let’s first get Dapper out though, and make sure it’s the most awesome system to date!

SMB printing in Dapper: a bug and a workaround

People at work tossed a little Fujitsu laptop to me for some reason. It had Windows XP but I promptly replaced it with a real operating system and now it runs Ubuntu Dapper. I named it oskar, after the little hero in Grass’s The Tin Drum. Its internal network card is broken but I can replace it with a little USB LAN dongle (tested under Windows and it worked). The installation was totally uneventful, everything Just Works as advertised.

Samba printing, however, is currently broken. Because there is a Windows box on my home network, I use Samba for all networking. Samba on my Dapper server works well and the Windows box can print to it, but the Dapper laptop could not. On the Ubuntu Forums, other people seemed to be having problems with printing from Dapper to Windows servers, so i went on to examine relevant bug reports on Dapper. Looks like the problem has appeared quite recently (sometime around April 12th), and is on the client side. Sure enough reverting the smbspool binary to an older version indeed fixed the problem. Hopefully we’ll soon see this bug fixed and smbclient updated!

Otherwise, Dapper currently works very well, and the new GNOME is awesome.

Easter eggs

Warning: Easter Egg spoilers ahead!

Celebrating Easter, Jonathan has gone egg hunting. He first exposes a known liar, aptitude. We all know of APT’s Super Cow Powers because they’re documented (type “apt-get” with no arguments and hit ENTER), but aptitude keeps its powers hidden. The key to finding aptitude’s Super Cow Powers is endurance and liberal use of the -v switch.

Firefox’s secret message from the Book of Mozilla is well known as well, but the really great OpenOffice.org Easter Egg that Jonathan unveils was news to me. Of course, Jonathan sees such an elaborate Easter Egg as “proof that OpenOffice.org is bloated”. Not that we would need further proof of that! :) I didn’t know about the funny release names in the Ubuntu kernel documentation either.

Here are a couple of GNOME eggs I’m aware of. Open the “Run” dialog (press alt+F2). Type “gegls from outer space” as the command. You get to play a game that “will change the way you think of your desktop forever.” It features GEGLs (Genetically Engineered Goat, Large). GEGL is a mythical creature in GIMP and GNOME lore, and the unofficial secret logo of the GNOME project.

The other GNOME egg i know about features Wanda, the fortune telling fish from the Fish Applet. Type “free the fish” into the Run dialog and Wanda will swim around your desktop occasionally. (You can accomplish the same thing by hitting the ‘f’ key three times after opening the “About” box of a panel.) If you click it with your mouse, it will flee, only to return later. You cannot kill this process because it’s hidden in the gnome-panel process (or one of its children – killiing gnome-panel does help).

Of course, Easter Eggs in free software have given rise to some complaints as well. An OpenOffice.org user argues that a piece of free software should work as advertised and only in that manner. There are bug reports demanding the removal of Easter Eggs from OO.o, or at least an easy method for sysadmins to disable them. Issue 61685 has extensively discursive comments for and against eggs.

Canon camera bug fixed in Dapper

Upgraded today, and was pleased to see Lukasz’s bug fix has been applied to the Dapper libgphoto2. Working software rules.

I also like the new look. The brighter Human theme and especially the new icons are very slick. In particular, I enjoy the new Tangerine icon theme variant based on Tango standards. A branded spash screen and a new default background are still missing.

Ubuntu usually has very fresh software but for some reason LyX tends to be a bit old. This was the case in Breezy, and now again in dapper. I have built packages of LyX 1.4 because it has some nice new features missing from 1.3 which is still included in Dapper. I was particularly excited to test the new experimental GTK+ frontend, but it doesn’t work very well yet and is definitely not production ready. Selecting text is very awkward in particular. Luckily, I have managed to integrate Qt apps into GNOME quite nicely, using the Polymer Qt theme as described in this tutorial.

Dapper and the Canon Powershot A400

To get my camera working on Ubuntu Dapper, I used this hack. Nice work Lukasz, let’s hope this bug will be fixed in Dapper proper soon.

Dapper almost works

I’ve upgraded both office and home machines to Ubuntu Dapper now. Good: GNOME 2.14 is sweet, the speed improvements are noticeable and it’s better than ever. Bad: My digital camera is not found automatically. Some sound problems.

The delay of Dapper release vs. the Windows Vista delay is nicely discussed here. It’s all about openness!

“The operating system is going to be late. Last-minute decisions mean a last-minute delay — more testing needed, says the organisation, and a bit more integration. But the reaction isn’t what you might expect: with a few minor reservations, the users and developers are positive and supportive. “It’s worth it,” they say.”

mahangu.org has some notes about Dapper, the Linux Desktop in general, and the sweetness of hardware support in Linux compared to Windows.

LyX on Breezy

I saw the GNOME release cycle nearing 2.12 and took the plunge from Ubuntu Hoary to Breezy one day last week. The upgrade was a bit funky, and LyX was not working, so (this being my production machine at work), I promptly reinstalled Hoary.

Today, I (forever optimistic) thought, "perhaps a clean install will be more successful". Not a painful option, since I had already reinstalled and was running on a virgin, non-customized Ubuntu anyway. The only thing I knew that officially did not work on Breezy yet were the (uninstallaby broken) LyX packages. Too bad, since LyX is my primary tool at work. I thought I'd just build my own LyX, and the latest LyX at that.

The clean install of Breezy was a snap, the new GNOME is awesome (even though Ubuntu have broken it by defaulting to browser mode Nautilus – easy to fix to honor upstream default and to enjoy self more), but sure enough, I could not install LyX. Went to lyx.org to get the source so I could build my own package (surely it must be doable even if the Debian people were too busy with upgrading glibc or X or something in Sid, Sid being truly unstable again).

Not only did I find LyX source. Searching for "debian" in the LyX wiki revealed also a patch for building debian packages on any debian-like system, a clear list of packages to install in order to satisfy LyX's build environment, and clear, hand-holding build instructions.

Building LyX using the provided debian/rules scipt took ages (you end up building lyx, lyx-common, lyx-xforms and lyx-qt), but I did indeed get the LyX packages with a handlful of readily provided commands. Hail the LyX community.

So yes, Breezy works (for me anyway). I'll upgrade my home box as well as soon as I can afford a few hours downtime (my network has a client, you know, and she can be quite selective with when and how much downtime is allowed).

Ubuntu power

Anthony Towns has done an interesting numerical comparative analysis of Debian sarge vs. Ubuntu hoary. "For a distribution that’s under a year old to be maintaining about a quarter of Debian’s packages seems pretty impressive." Well, you could say that. How many hackers does Canonical have working on Ubuntu again? A dozen? Two?

More phone suckage; newbie-love

I can use p3nfs for reading my phone now. Writing is still impossible. Nobody seems to use p3nfs anymore, and those who do, are getting perfect results. Not very encouraging, as no-one seems to have had any reason to fix the problem I'm having. Also, I can't get irda working on Linux (this one is certainly my own fault). So I'm still reduced to a Windows user when I need write support.

Helped newbies on #ubuntu, which is a nice hobby.