Ask MetaFilter posts by carsonb

How can I monitor a disc rewrite process in Ubuntu?

carsonb — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 07:45:38 -0800

I'm using Terminal (Ubuntu 8.04x64) right now to overwrite a 500g external hd with random information. There's been no action aside from a blinking cursor (by itself on a line, not in front of any prompt) since I entered the command yesterday afternoon:
[sudo dd if=/dev/random of=/dev/sdc bs=8m]

I understand it's going to take a while to finish. In the meantime, is there any way to monitor the progress of the operation?

How do I access my network storage from my new computer?

carsonb — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 23:48:11 -0800

How can I access my WD MyBook World Network Storage Drive from my new (Ubuntu 8.04) computer now that my old (WinXP) box is dead dead dead? I can access the PUBLIC folder no problem, but I have ~100Gb of music in a different folder that's behind a user/pass that I think I had stored in MioNet but can't remember anymore. So, a few questions if you please,

Is there a way for me to access this folder without MioNet? I downloaded Wine today; can I use that to run MioNet? Would that help? Would an SSH tunnel give me access? (damn damn damn MioNet! I'd much prefer to stay away from that horrid program.)

(I've seen the above question answered on the Ubuntu forums, but get stuck on the first step, thus:)
How can I find out the IP address for my network drive? Ubuntu 'sees' it, but I can't seem to wring any relevant information out of what's presented.

Finally, given the answer to the above question, and if it comes to this, will resetting the admin password on the drive (using a paperclip in the little hole on the back) erase all my data?

There's a small chance I can get my old box up and running for a short time, but I salvaged the network card from it so it's offline. I'm really feeling my way through the transition from Windows to Ubuntu, and am not yet altogether familiar with the Terminal interface, so please try to be clear and refrain from jargon without explanation. Thank you very much for any help!

Who is 14F1? What is device 2720?

carsonb — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 01:26:51 -0800

My PCI Simple Communications Controller has bitten the dust. When I start up my crusty eMachines T2682 classic desktop computer these days I get the good ol' WinXP Found New Hardware Wizard prompting me to install drivers for my "PCI Simple Communications Controller". Sadly it cannot locate said drivers, and it turns out that "PCI Simple Communications Controller" is Device Manager-speak for "WTF is this?"

As this computer has failed bit by bit I've become more adept at reading tech forums, and as usual they've dealt me a cryptic clue to this puzzle. I learned that Device Manager deals out very little info about "PCI Simple Communications Controller", but what little it gives can be used to find drivers to reactivate the ? device. The Device Instance Id is
PCI\VEN_14F1&DEV_2720&SUBSYS_200014F1&REV_00\4&29817089&0&10F0
which, I believe, details the device vendor as "14F1" and the device itself as "2720".

Vendor 14F1 is listed as Conexant Systems Inc., a modem chipset manufacturer. However, for the life of me I cannot find their device 2720. None of the pci id lists that I've read match that device with vendor 14F1.

What am I missing? What is this mysterious device?

Maybe relevant: During video playback the audio snaps in and out, at random. I have not reinstalled Windows lately. I upgraded to SP3 a few weeks ago, then immediately reverted to a restore point. One of my RAM sockets has gone bad, the computer freezes occasionally, and I think the whole mobo might be dying. Is this some extension of that growing problem, or is there a local solution?

I ask this last because, while I know I need a new computer and will be purchasing one when the wallet is ripe, I'd like to use this opportunity to learn some about how computer guts work and what to do get them to work when they don't. Percussive maintenance only goes so far.

Help with hot summer nights.

carsonb — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:17:07 -0800

Why is my bedroom consistently 10 degrees warmer than the rest of the house, and what can I do to cool it off? Here's a rough diagram of my apartment's layout. There are 4 vents for the AC, and the one intake is in the ceiling of the living room. I have vertical blinds on my south-facing window that I keep closed all day, and an oscillating fan that blows into my room from near the door. Trees block the morning sun onto my window, but noon to sundown I get direct sunlight. The vent in my room blows cold, and is not blocked at all as far as I can tell. The problem persists throughout the night. What can I do?

Green Concierge Seeks Los Angeles Infodump

carsonb — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 18:00:25 -0800

I'm starting a new job as a telephone concierge at a Brand-new upscale retail/housing establishment in Glendale, CA next week—can you help me get my ear to the ground? Clients will be both tenants of the property and casual shoppers, and I am expected to provide expert-level concierge service. However, I'm relatively new in town, and the time I've spent here has been confined to a rather narrow corridor between Echo Park and central Hollywood. My boss is even newer to town than I, and I'd like to make a good impression by hitting the ground running for this gig. Please, I'm eager for all types of suggestions:

- Specifics on LA destinations (restaurants, attractions, events, nightlife, etc. with a focus on upscale, hip, guaranteed solid types of establishments)
- Hints/tips on transportation and navigation
- Blogs, websites, mailing lists, and RSS feeds that will keep me up to date on all of this stuff (I've subscribed to some related AskMe tags already; what am I missing? =o)
- Dead tree rags I should be reading regularly
- Any other information you can provide

Glendale is my first priority, but superior knowledge of all of Los Angeles is my ultimate goal. As mentioned above, I'm working my way through pertinent tags here on AskMe, but if you know of any relevant/obscure questions I might like to see please do mention them. Also, as a sub-question, do you have any tips on this type of job? I've worked as a TTY Relay Operator before and am happy to customer-serve, so I'm not completely unaware of what it entails. But if there's any specific advice you're holding I'd appreciate a share. Thanks!
Yes, I run with my ear to the ground; talented like that.

19" LCD (1440x900) + (?) + eMachines T2862 = crisp, clear, monitoring

carsonb — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:40:22 -0800

Please help me fit my new monitor to my crappy old computer. I was just gifted a low-end 19" widescreen LCD monitor with a native resolution of 1440x900. My desktop PC is a hills-old eMachines T2862 with an Intel Integrated Graphics Controller that doesn't seem to support that resolution. Having looked over similar questions here and tentatively probed some other boards that cover the topic, I'm under the impression that I need to acquire a video card. Now, I've opened the case on this computer on numerous occasions, and have happily installed various plug'n'play components (2nd hard drive, more RAM), but find myself woefully clueless when it comes to graphics cards.

So, some questions:

1 - Do I really need a new graphics card? I got a vague idea from some other boards that there might be programs available that can alter the resolution options of and IGC. (Power Strip?) I suppose this would be preferable assuming that those programs are free.

2 - OK, so I probably need a new graphics card. Do you know if my computer is capable of accepting one? What should I look for in the guts to check? Which card should I get? I am decidedly not a gamer, do not watch television on my computer, and only occasionally watch DVDs. In other words, I don't need something super-elite and would prefer the bare-bones, cheap option. Please advise.

3 - Finally, should I plug in my old CRT for now? Am I ruining my shiny new LCD monitor by running it at a non-optimal resolution?

What is the name of this blind sculptor?

carsonb — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 23:55:40 -0800

What is the name of the man in this photograph? I've fed the information available on the photo page (the photographer (Imogen Cunningham), name of the photo (Blind Sculptor, San Francisco), and the year it was taken (1952)) into Google various ways with no luck. There is another photograph by her of him as well.

PS2 plays some DVDs and not others?

carsonb — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 08:02:17 -0800

Why does my roommate's PS2 play some DVDs and not some others? Is there anything I can do about it? I've seen plenty of previous threads where the PS2 DVD drive 'wears out', etc. From what I gather, however, that means that the player won't play any DVDs—whereas our PS2 is picky. For instance, it will play the Planet Terror Bonus Materials disc (disc 2) but not the actual movie disc (disc 1). Same goes for my Death Proof DVDs. There are various other discs that I've tried in it, and results so far seem random. It'll play burned DVDs but not a brand-new Criterion disc. This disc 1/2 delineation is the first seemingly predictable response from the damn machine. Is the drive just going out? If it is short for this world is there anything I can do about it to prolong the magic? What else could it be?

For completeness' sake, I haven't tried playing an actual PS2 game on this rig though by all accounts (roommate's) it works fine as a game console. It has taken and played all music CDs I've introduced. It ate the PB&J I fed it yesterday with no complaint. (Boysenberry, yum!) I'm frustrated, and want to spend my Sunday watching bloody gore and car chases. Help!

Best way to watch regional sports out-of-region?

carsonb — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:43:49 -0800

What is the best way to watch a regionally televised college basketball game if I'm not in the region? The UofArizona men's basketball season starts this week! Tomorrow night, actually. Alas, after many seasons in Tucson I have recently moved to Los Angeles and out of FSNAz's region. I have basic cable but cannot afford a sports package. I wouldn't mind finding a comfortable place nearby that provides refreshment and sports television. In Tucson I knew of a sports bar that handed out/rented little radio receivers tuned to televisions at each table—something like that would work, but if I could find a way to pull this off and enjoy hawt Wildcat action from home it would be awesome. If it must be a sports bar, please let it be near to—if not floating in the middle of—Echo Park Lake.

I welcome all suggestions, recommendations, and ideas. Thanks!

Why do my hands itch?

carsonb — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 08:27:06 -0800

Why do I have itchy bath-hands? If on occasion when I sleep with a t-shirt on, say on a friend's couch, I get sweaty around the head and neck. This is something I'm used to, so not really any problem there. But if I manage to tuck my hands up around my shoulders and sleep that way through the night, I wake up with wrinkly hands that itch like mad. The wrinkles are akin to when you spend too much time in the tub. Why do they itch? And what can I do to alleviate the itchiness?

I don't use any skin treatments currently, nor am I experiencing any skin issues aside from this occasional one.