Troubleshooting: RoadNav Map Download Error

I had an error today trying to download maps for Arkansas.  I wish I could provide a fix, but all I can do at this point is raise awareness to the error.

The error read:

Error reading http://geonames.usgs.gov/docs/stategaz/AL_DECI.zip (An error occurred during negotiation).

I did find a bug open on the issue:

http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1683731&group_id=119594&atid=684486

Testing the SVN checkout

svn co https://roadnav.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/roadnav roadnav

When I ran ./configure, I got an error message about wxWindows.  It said “checking for wxconfig… no”.  I found that I needed to install libwxgtk2.6-dev (apt-get install libwxgtk2.6-dev). I also installed the 2.8 version.  I don’t know which it used.

Here is how I compiled it — libroadnav first.

cd $HOME/bin/roadnav/libroadnav/trunck
./configure –prefix=$HOME/bin/roadnav
make
make install

Now just roadnav

cd $HOME/bin/roadnav/roadav/trunk
./configure –with-libroadnav=$HOME/bin/roadnav –prefix=$HOME/bin/roadnav
make
make install

Images in Thunderbird Signatures

Today, we were asked to include an image in our email signature.  So, I had to do some quick digging around to make it work.

It really wasn’t hard at all.  You just place the image somewhere on your hard drive.  In your signature html file, use the absolute url to the path — something like: file://path/to/file.png.

Resources

Mozilla Thunderbird image in signature

WebDav and fstab

This page has moved.  Please update your links:
http://linuxsagas.digitaleagle.net/2008/09/09/webdav-and-fstab/

We have a webdav enabled web site that I wanted to connect to on a regular basis.  I wanted it to mount on my filesystem as opposed to just using it in nautilus so that I could use meld to copy files to it.

So, I added a line to the end of /etc/fstab   (sudo gvim /etc/fstab):

https://mywebsite/~docs    /dir/to/mount/on    davfs    user,noauto,rw    0    0

Then, I added the following line to /etc/davfs2/secrets:

https://mywebsite/~docs    myusername    mypassword

Originally, I had just the unsecure http:// url.  But, it gave me this error:

/sbin/mount.davfs: Mounting failed.
401 Unauthorized

I fixed it by changing the urls to https://.

When I mounted it as root, it worked fine.  But, when I mounted it as my regular user, I got this message:

/sbin/mount.davfs: program is not setuid root

To fix it, I had to run this command:

sudo chmod u+s /sbin/mount.davfs

Then, I changed the file /etc/davfs2/davfs2.conf.  I changed the dav_group setting.  For me, I found a line that said “dav_group staff”.  I replaced staff with my username, which is my default group.  The thread I read mentioned using the users group.

Resources

• Thread: WebDAV slow on Ubuntu
• Thread: how to mount your…
• Linux Tutorial Managing Groups

Writing Eclipse Plugins

I found an excellent article about writing Eclipse plugins and publishing them on SourceForge.  I hope to work on a project like this soon.

Plugging into SourceForge.net

Oracle on Eclipse

I saw the new release today of Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse.

I found this quote on Oracle’s website:

Eclipse is one of several open source communities (Apache, PHP, and Glassfish are other examples) in which Oracle invests significant development resources. A Strategic Developer and Board Member of the Eclipse Foundation, Oracle is a leading participant in the Eclipse Web Tools Platform and Technology projects.

It is just interesting to me since I work with Oracle’s PeopleSoft software.  I waiting for Eclipse to be used with PeopleSoft!

Jasper Reports

I have found Jasper Reports to be a great tool for allowing printing from Java-based applications.  I am using the iReports tool to create the reports in a GUI mode much like Crystal Reports.  Then, with a few lines of Java, I can display the report to view the report and allow him to print.

Jasper Reports Home Page

iReport Home Page

SourceForge Page

Right now, I am trying to figure out how to display totals on the page.  I found this nice article explaining the basics:

Open Source Reporting with JasperReports and iReports (Totals on Page 3)

Gpsd: Fixing for Ubuntu

I have an LT-20 Delorme Earthmate GPS.  It may not be the best GPS, but it gets the job done.  Getting it to work in Ubuntu was no easy feat.

I had to fix a bug in a cypress module.  I followed the instructions from here.

To get the kernel version, I ran:

uname -r

Then, to install the kernel source, I ran:

sudo apt-get install linux-source-2.6.24

Then, I changed directories into the installation directory and unzipped the source:

cd /usr/src
sudo tar -xvf linux-source-2.6.24.tar.bz2

Then, I copied the two files:

cd linux-source-2.6.24/drivers/usb/serial/
sudo mkdir /usr/src/modules
sudo cp cypress_m8.h cypress_m8.c /usr/src/modules/

Next, I created the make file (note that I have installed gvim.  I saw a note saying that they had problems using the gedit text editor):

cd /usr/src/modules
sudo gvim Makefile

And, I pasted these lines into the Makefile:

obj-m := cypress_m8.o
KDIR := /lib/modules/

$(shell uname -r)/build
PWD := $(shell pwd)
default:
$(MAKE) -C $(KDIR) SUBDIRS=$(PWD) modules

Then, I edited cypress_m8.c and commented out line 408.  The original instructions have more detail on this.  I thought the line number might be different, but it was the same as the original instructions.

When running make (sudo make) I had trouble with “make: Nothing to be done for `default’.” message.  I just opened the file and deleted and readded the tab in front of the last line.  Then, it ran fine.

Then, I ran the command:

sudo install -m 644 cypress_m8.ko /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/usb/serial/cypress_m8.ko
sudo depmod -a

Resources

• Bug 111694: DeLORME Earthmate GPS LT-20 (USBid:1163:0200) doesn’t work in Feisty
• USB DeLorme Earthmate LT-20 gps problems

Bible Software Analysis

I found this great article today on Bible Software in Linux.

http://www.ubuntuproductivity.com/journal/software/07/2008/bible-software-on-ubuntu-linux/

I have been using Gnomesword just because it is a Gnome project,  but I would like to spend some more time finding more alternatives and evaluating them.

Convert Youtube Videos

I found this command that successfully strips the audio into a wav file:

ffmpeg -i Blessed_Be_Your_Name.flv -vn -acodec pcm_s16le \
   -ar 44100 -ac 2 Blessed_Be_Your_Name.wav

Here is the same command that includes the video that will play in Window’s Media Player:

ffmpeg -i Blessed_Be_Your_Name.flv -vcodec msmpeg4v2 -acodec pcm_s16le \
   -ar 44100 -ac 2 Blessed_Be_Your_Name.avi

I was able to use this command to convert an flv file from a downloaded Google Tech talk to an mp4 file that I could play with mplayer in Linux:

ffmpeg -i Using_bluemail_to_renew_the_design_and_study_of_enterprise_email.flv \
    -vcodec xvid -acodec pcm_s16le -ar 44100 -ac 2 \
    Using_bluemail_to_renew_the_design_and_study_of_enterprise_email.mp4

Resources

• ffmpeg howto
• Capturing Google and Youtube videos with one command