Mac OS: Show Battery Cycle Count via Terminal

Here's a howto in the terminal:

# system_profiler SPPowerDataType | grep "Cycle Count" | awk '{print $3}'
# 777

[SOLVED?] Google Play: Verify that it's you

 On my work phone google asked: "verify that it's you" - but I could not log in in any way. On other devices Google Play worked. 

I tried and tried, but nothing seemed to work - not even if I took the correct password from other devices. 

The final solution: resert the phone!

Nope - that did not do the trick.

And now the phone seemed utterly useless ... However:

Now this is strange: an old password worked .. even though it was rejected on some systems. The logic is totally absent here, but alas finally I could log in. 

The Cure:

1. Reset the phone to factory standard
2. Install & Use Huaweis Phone Clone 
3. Scan a QR
4. Transfer the data

I had to wait for 15 minutes or so, then the data was transferred. Probably all my data is in China too now. 

Then Google Play worked again.

I used around three hours fighting this #!!!%&&%&!! problem

PS: I am not the only one having these issues. On the web there are several people fighting the same kind of issue. They range from despair to angryness. I almost gave up. And I really don't know why things are working now.

PPS: I was lucky to have another phone that worked. If that had not been the case, well ... let's not even thing about that here.

Logitech G815 Keyboard

The first impression was: oh no a teenager programmed the default cycling colors. It was most annoying, just to say it in a civil manner. A keyboard is a working tool not a lightshow. A tool should help, not distract. 

However, I found this Gist: https://gist.github.com/cornernote/a0d1893aa004b8928ec7e94ccd8dd844 

This recipe works on Ubuntu:

Install

sudo apt install -y libhidapi-dev

git clone https://github.com/MatMoul/g810-led.git

cd g810-led

make clean

make bin

sudo make install

Sample Settings

# red

sudo g815-led -dv 046d -dp c33f -tuk 1 -a FF0000

# green

sudo g815-led -dv 046d -dp c33f -tuk 1 -a 00FF00

# blue

sudo g815-led -dv 046d -dp c33f -tuk 1 -a 0000FF

I used the green one as a starting point. Thanx to the developers behind this repo :-) 

How to initiate a keyboard script at boot

The Script

Here is the script, that I've saved as /etc/init.d/keyboard.zsh

#!/bin/zsh

# Keyboard setup at boot

# Logitech G815

# Date: 20231020

g815-led -a ffaa00

If you use bash, the shebang (i.e. the first line of this script) should be: 

#!/bin/bash

Now make the script executable:

chmod a+x /etc/init.d/keyboard.zsh

Execute at startup

The last step is to run the script when the system boots. So:

update-rc.d /etc/init.d/keyboard.zsh defaults

The defaults keyword will run the script per default.

Now the keyboard will have a warm curry color. You can change the color, and get the hexcode for the color by a color picker. The one on Duckduckgo is excellent: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=color+picker&atb=v314-1&ia=answer 

Impression of the Logitech G815

It's a fine keyboard. However the annoying color cycles are stupid. Most of us want a more silent working experience. To this moment I don't get the idea of the G-function buttons. They are next to SHIFT, and this will give a lot of weird misses, like this: 5 4444444444444444448 - yeah this was the kind of accident. Obviously Logitech should have tested the UX of the keyboard on a few users above the teenage segment.

That being said, the feeling of the keyboard is great. I like the click of the buttons. And I like the fact that it is programmable by Linux users - that is if they are not afraid of scripts here and there.

At cold boot the script was NOT executed

In this AskUbuntu thread I found a working solution:

Running crontab -e will allow you to edit your cron.

Adding a line like this to it:

@reboot /path/to/script

will execute that script once your computer boots up.

So I added this to the crontab:

@reboot /etc/init.d/keyboard.zsh

This solution works on my Ubuntu Ubuntu 23.04 x86_64 6.2.0-35-generic system. 

Now I'd like to program the G-keys and the M-keys. 

[SOLVED] Beosound Level - Google Assistant Not Working (again)

 Well, for a while the thing worked like a charm. Today the Assistant did not work any more. This is annoying. The sound quality is fantastic, but the integration with Google is a major problem. 

After a factory reset everything seems to work again. I had to reinstall the Level in the B&O app and in Google's Assistant. 

[SOLVED] Cannot update Chrome on Ubuntu

After update Chrome would not accept the recent version. That's why I used the command line approach. This is what worked for me:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list'\n\n

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt install google-chrome-stable

[SOLVED] Clevershare: How to Unlock the Screen

 In class the Clevershare screen locked. And it seeemed like there was no way whatsoever to unlock it. So by this "feature" my class lost almost half an hour. If 

A fellow lecturer "M" asked AI how to unlock.  Push the red button was the answer. If that does not work, try the yellow one for a reset.

At first I thought: but I have pressed the red on-off button on the remote control.

However, that's not the red button, even though it's red too. The red button is the red one among the function buttons: red, blue, yellow, green. 

However, the red one was not the solution. The yellow buttton did the trick. When I clicked it there was a "restart" option. After a restart the yellow button could turn the locked screen off and of.

I know that many of our collegues had the same issue. 

But now the problem is solved. 

UX-wise this annoying automatic lock is not-so-clever.

Beovision Remote One

When I changed batteries on the remote the connection between the TV and the remote was lost. I had to pair them again.

 https://support.bang-olufsen.com/hc/da/articles/4417060856849-S%C3%A5dan-parres-Beoremote-One-BT-med-Beovision-Contour 

The "recipe" may be hard to follow. 

The icon on the tiny button is very small, and if you have bad eyesight it may be hard to find. On my TV the button was hidden behind some wires. 

I marked the button with a dot to be able to find it again ...

BeoSound Level: Problems

Beosound Level has the coolest sound - but why is it so hard to configure the thing? In the app I tried to connect several speakers to one, with the result that they just hung there - and multiroom did not work for weeks. 

Now Beosound Level lost it's connection to Home Assistant. I have tried to reinstall Level in the B&O app - but this does not work. 

There are constant problems with the different apps - and that's frustrating if you just want to listen to music or radio. 

I don't want to fight with set up and annoying apps. I want to listen to music.

Beoremote One - constant problems

 My Beoremote One is cool. But I cannot change the batteries. There are constant problems with the construction. So I must go to the shop every time the batteries must be changes. That's frustrating at this price tag. I've had several very cheap remotes that just worked out of the box.

First a few months ago the remote could not be opened at all. Our B&O dealer repaired the thing.

Now one of the metal parts is stuck inside the metal box. 

Probably the best solution is to replace the thing with a cheap remote for LG TVs. Preferably a cheap thing that will just work out of the box.

Rioch Theta Z1

Borrowed this device where I work. After only a few years (2019) the app seems discontinued.  Basicly a camera like that is useless - IMHO. Even Bluetooth does not work. Don't use cams that depend on an app.

Pass and QtPass - key not working

For some reason Pass and QtPass stopped working. I tried many things, however what worked was to run:

> pass init KEY-NUMBERS-HERE

In order to get the keys do this:

> gpg --list-keys

Now select a suitable key.

For some reason you have to enter the gpg password in a terminal before QtPass works. Here I need a workaround, that's unpractical.

PS: June 29th 2023
QtPass stopped working after a short while. I only use Pass from the commandline now. I prefer working on Ubuntu here. Why waste time on GUIs?

[SOLUTION] Wiseflow Publish Flow

As an author you need to combine your exam questions with a flow. In the old system you had to click publish, then you'd get the reference number. 

Click the blue button. Now you can create the flow. There is a message about the content which cannot be changed from now on. Which is perfect.

Now click the button that will give you the link. Head to flows, and paste the number and save. 

That's it.

Post Scriptum

Wiseflow is far from intuitive in practise. I had to click each and every button in order to find out how to "publish". I developed this method for solving weird interfaces in computergames in the mid 1980s. Now don't say that we waste time on computergames!

Solution: Chrome blocks localhost

 At last I've found a solution to the annoying blocking of my localhost. Just add this in the browser:

 chrome://flags/#allow-insecure-localhost

This will open the settings, where you can allow to open socalled "insecure" websites. 

HTTPS://

Sometimes the browser will add a https to the URI. Just remove the s.

Wiseflow - how to attach assignments to a flow

 First make sure that the exam questions are updated. Click on Flowversions (the blue button top right):

• Click on the flow version button
• Update
• Then copy the flow id.

In the flow attach the assignment to the flow:

• Under assignment (= "Opgave") paste the id from the previous section.
• Now save it.

Then the version of the exam questions is assigned to the flow.

Activate the exam

Again this is not staightforward. One might (as I did) think that you should activate the flow where it is edited. But of course that is not the case. Do thus:

• > Administrator
• Click the "activate" button

[Solution] Wiseflow - Cannot Publish

 Just use the old author tool!

The new one is buggy - you cannot publish assignments!

(this is written november 2022, I hope that the problem is solved when you read these lines ...)

[SOLVED] BeoSound2 - cannot connect to Spotify

 After working for a month the connection to Spotify is not working. The only error message is:

"Playing Mozart from Spotify. [10 sek break] Oops something went wrong"

So far I have tried:

1. Restart device
2. Delete and recreate the link to Spotify in Google Home
3. Shut down Spotify on all devices

The error could be related to:

• Spotify's API
• Google Home don't like Spotify any more for some reason
• Google Home needs reinstall
• BeoSound2 may have an error in the update

Errors like this is not ok after only one month. As a user you cannot know where the error is. The Bang and Olufsen app is not helpfull here. 

Strangely enough the YouTube music service works. However, I really don't like this alternative - too many agressive ads on YouTube Music.

Solution

The problem solved itself. Probably after a restart, I guess. However, later I discovered that you can ask google:

"OK Google play Spotify"

And then Spotify will play whatever it's doing on other devices on the BeoSound2!

BOSS GT-100: Plug the guitar directly in return

 After a lot of experiments my favorite is very simple: bypass the preamp totally. The signal chain is:

1. Guitar
2. Boss GT-100 (whatever settings you like there)
3. Return (in my case an Orange 35-RT)

Be somewhat cautious - it will be loud.

[SOLUTION] YouTube: Cannot save channel info edits

Problem: When I try to change the graphic, description or add links the save button is greyed out.

Solution: Open the channel in a private window in Chrome. Restart Firefox. Now you can save the stuff again.

- This error is most annoying, and a great problem for the millions of YouTubers trying to edit their channels. Probably it is a internal storage error of some kind. @YouTube: please fix this

Libre Office Impress on the Path to Suck

Normally I'd prefer Impress over anything from Microsoft, but here and now the program just sucks:

• The slide pane is buggy. Sometimes it works, somtimes not - that's annoying.
• You cannot insert a YouTube or online video, c'mon please!

My user experience is a constant struggle with panes, hidden menus and what not. 

Dia - how to delete something on MacOS

 Press FN + Delete (backspace)

For some reason you can't just press delete. But on a Mac it's more intuitive and artistic. Hence you have to guess this combination of keys. (Sarcasm warning)

Dia and the Flowchart

 The symbols we need are found in the UML symbol collection.

[SOLVED] Dia Diagram Editon Cannot Launch in MacOS

Run Dia from the terminal
Run it via this command in the terminal:

# DISPLAY=:0 /Applications/Dia.app/Contents/Resources/bin/dia

Launch via alias

Since it is often used, try to create an alias for the terminal:

# alias dia='DISPLAY=:0 /Applications/Dia.app/Contents/Resources/bin/dia'

In order to run dia, simply write this in the terminal

# dia

Unfortunately you'll have to run Dia from the terminal every time. Methinks this is a serious bug - since most users want something that will run out of the box. 

Make the alias permanent

In the termina edit the file .zshrc (og alternatively .bash-profile):

# nano .zshrc

Finally add these lines somewhere convenient in the file:

# Dia launch from the terminal

alias dia='DISPLAY=:0 /Applications/Dia.app/Contents/Resources/bin/dia'

MacOs: internal links in PDF documents cannot open in a browser

For some reason I often have problems when trying to open urls from a PDF on MacOS. If you know the cure here, please let me know in the comments below. 

Don't know why, but so far I've tried to:

• Use Acrobat Reader
• Use Safari 
• Use Chrome
• Change security settings
• Open the links from a browser
• Download the PDF, and open from a PDF-reader (sometimes that's the cure, but alas only sometimes)

In some documents the links work. In other documents they don't. Somehow I suspect that the problem may be PDF's created on a Windows system. My most esteemed collegues have Windows computers, where the links seem to work fine.

About my MacOs:

neofetch

                    'c.          perthykjaerjensen@Pers-MBP.nalnet.cable

                 ,xNMM.          ---------------------------------------

               .OMMMMo           OS: macOS 12.0.1 21A559 x86_64

               OMMM0,            Host: MacBookPro16,2

     .;loddo:' loolloddol;.      Kernel: 21.1.0

   cKMMMMMMMMMMNWMMMMMMMMMM0:    Uptime: 12 days, 17 hours, 38 mins

 .KMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMWd.    Packages: 87 (brew)

 XMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMX.      Shell: zsh 5.8

;MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM:       Resolution: 1440x900@2x

:MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM:       DE: Aqua

.MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMX.      WM: Quartz Compositor

 kMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMWd.    WM Theme: Orange (Light)

 .XMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMk   Terminal: iTerm2

  .XMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMK.   Terminal Font: PTMono-Regular 15

    kMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMd     CPU: Intel i5-1038NG7 (8) @ 2.00GHz

     ;KMMMMMMMWXXWMMMMMMMk.      GPU: Intel Iris Plus Graphics

       .cooc,.    .,coo:.        Memory: 10719MiB / 16384MiB