Fixing VLC freezes with Subtitling

Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

It seems the version of X11 that ships with Snow Leopard causes some problems with VLC when it comes to videos with embedded subtitles.
In my case, whenever I tried to open an MKV file that contained subtitles, VLC would get stuck while loading the video and never actually play it. If I tried to quit the application, VLC would immediately freeze, so I\’d have to force quit. Annoying to say the least.
Luckily it\’s pretty easy to fix. Open a Terminal window, copy and paste the following, and press Return (and enter your password when prompted):

sudo chmod a+w /usr/X11/var/cache/fontconfig


Now open your video again and it should work. The first time you try to play a video, it might take a while to load (sometimes a minute or longer), but after that you shouldn\’t have any problems. Note that you\’ll have to repeat the process after any OS update (10.6.1, 10.6.2, etc.) or security update.
— Originally from http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20091205001921637

Why is a MobSyncing Me? And what should I do?

Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

Seriously, have you wondered what the mobsyc.exe process is in Windows?  It is a process that assists with the Microsoft Sync Center & the Offline Files feature.  Typically it is used when you have a Windows Mobile Phone, a SL Server, or have Internet Explorer set to synchronize web pages for viewing offline.
It is not a threat and if you are using any of these features or software packages, don\’t delete it. If you have a home version of Vista or Windows 7, you will see mobsync.exe running in task manager, but closing out of Sync Center should stop the process. If you were using Sync Center and ActiveSync to manage a mobile device and no longer need it, you can uninstall ActiveSync software and it should stop mobsync.exe as well.

Insteon timing & Signal conflicts

Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

As I have stated before, I just upgraded to a 2413U controller, and it\’s made a large difference in my setup.  Overall, in raw statistics the house went down a percentage or two for signal reliablitity, but overall everything seems faster…  And more reliable, even though the raw statistics say it isn\’t as reliable as under the 2412U….
But one thing that was driving me crazy, was that the security chime was acting up.  It just simply wasn\’t activating reliably, it would rarely turn on, sometimes it wouldn\’t…. I eventually settled on this rewritten sound_chime applescript routine…  It worked slightly better, but finally…  I tried a minor change…
on sound_chime(SoundChime, chime_device)
if SoundChime is true then
try
turn on chime_device for 6
on error number errNum
if errNum is -1728 then
my log_security(\"The Chime Device defined in the Alarm_Matrix property does not exist.\")
my log_security(\"Create a new Indigo Device with the name \\\"\" & chime_device & \"\\\", or modify\")
my log_security(\"the Alarm_Matrix property at the top of the \'security sample.scpt\' file.\")
end if
end try
end if
end sound_chime
The Change was:
turn on chime_device for 6 in .5

Now it\’s working without any issues, and almost no noticeable delay.  Why did that work?  It must of been a signal collision…  Insteon is suppose to be robust against signal collisions, but for some reason this wasn\’t be resolved well…
So, if for some reason an Insteon command is routinely failing, take a look at the logs, and see if there maybe a signal collision occurring.  It\’s rare, but it maybe the cause of the issue.

Dragon Age: Origins expansion Awakening announced

Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

‘Dragon Age: Origins — Awakening,’ is a real thing. This morning, EA and BioWare announced the expansion, confirming several details leaked days prior, thanks to an odd European retailer listing.

The expansion appears to take place after the events in the core game, tasking users with rebuilding the devastated Grey Warden ranks in a place named Amaranthine as the order\’s new Commander.

Don\’t think the Darkspawn are toast. The conflict isn’t over — one of the Commanders main goals is to figure out why the Darkspawn are still running around after the Archdemon\’s death. The official release promises a moral choice accompanies this mystery, and morals will factor into rebuilding the order.

‘Dragon Age: Origins — Awakening’ is priced at $39.99 and will be available for all relevant platforms on March 16, 2010.

\”

Oz bank thinks it\’s 2016

Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

According to the Register:

A new year bug has scuppered card transactions at thousands of Australian shops for four days so far, because systems at the Bank of Queensland say it is now 2016.
The glitch has meant most debit cards have effectively expired.
In the ensuing chaos, shops served by Bank of Queensland have been forced to introduce temporary manual workarounds, Business Day reports.

This is why, programmers say we need to throughly test the software.  This is a good example of a roll over issue (presumably).  We have dealt with Year 2K, 2K1, and now 2K10.  Please don\’t put this off, and just fix your date issues.
For the full story, Oz bank thinks it\’s 2016.

\”splitting\” Cat 5 cable, don\’t try this at home..

Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

Technically, you can run two 10/100 network lines, with a standard cat 5 cable.  That is because a 10/100 network line only uses 4 of the 8 wires inside a cat 5 line.
I do not recommend this though.  Doing so, prevents you from uses 1 Gbs networking, and/or Power over Ethernet.
If you do choose to do so, then remember that you need to have the same pin configurations on both ends…  Typically, I have seen this configuration used:
* Connection 1 …
1 – orange white
2 – orange
3 – green white
6 – green
* Connection 2…
1 – blue white
2 – blue
3 – brown white
6 – brown
The best alternative would to pull 2 cables. The next best thing would to get a cheap switch and do it that way. You can find them now for around $10.00…  You would then just pull one cable, and connect it to the switch/hub.  Then you can get two+ connections through one cable.

The end of Time, Part 2

Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

I am not going to say anything quite yet, since BBC America hasn\’t shown the special yet…
But…  Part 2 certainly redeemed itself quite a bit.  Yes, there are some rough edges…  But it was a good send off for David Tennant, and an interesting welcome to Matt Smith\’s Doctor.
I eagerly await Mr. Smith\’s first Season, and while this Answers quite a few questions regarding the last days of the Last Great Time War…  More questions have been brought forward from this special…  Especially about the Lord President himself.  And I don\’t mean President Obama.