Thursday, February 21, 2008

Connecting a Motorola V3xx to Linux

I'm using Gentoo Linux, and I have a Motoral V3xx that I want to manage, so here's what I do. You can't use the same steps you find in other places for V3s and V3xs, because they use the p2k protocol, but the V3xx uses p2k05.

1) Change phone to data connection mode
- Open phone, go to main menu -> Settings -> Connection -> USB Settings -> Default Connection -> Data Connection

2) Download and compile p2k-core. Good luck finding it if that link doesn't work, because it's not a very popular package, but it is the only one I could find that supports p2k05 for Linux (and that support is actually pretty alpha). The author, Sandor Otvos, doesn't appear to be interested in using a Sourceforge or Savanna site. Frankly, his website is barely navigable, so if you can't find it, don't know what to tell you. Hopefully more Linux mobile phone management software will be forthcoming.

3) Create a phone group, if necessary, and add your account to it. This is for security. If you don't care, skip this step, and omit the OWNER and GROUP parts in the next step, and change MODE to "666".

4) Create /etc/udev/rules.d/99-motorola-v3xx with the following content (all on one line):

BUS=="usb" SYSFS{product}=="Motorola*" KERNEL=="ttyACM*" SYMLINK=="mobile" MODE=="660" OWNER=="root" GROUP=="phone"

5) Verify cdc_acm and uhci_hcd modules are either compiled into kernel, or loaded

# modprobe cdc_acm uhci_hcd


6) Plug phone into computer via mini-USB connection

7) Type "dmesg" to verify that phone was detected. Should see this:

usb 4-2: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 6

usb 4-2: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice

cdc_acm 4-2:1.0: ttyACM0: USB ACM device

8) Verify /dev/ttyACM0 was created:

# ls -l /dev/ttyACM0


9) Execute p2k-core. If all goes well, you'll see something like this:

# p2k-core
V_1.0 Commands: exit,conn,info,seem,file,fold,mode,help,list
Shell commands and command history (up/down arrows) also works.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Search for Motorola Test Command.
Search for Motorola Data Interface.
Found Interface: Motorola Data Interface
Interface 00 is claimed by kernel driver: cdc_acm
Interface 00 is detached from kernel driver: cdc_acm
Inteface number: 01, Endpoints: 81 01
Switching to P2kmode (cca. 2-3 sec)
Search for Motorola Test Command.
Found Interface: Motorola Test Command
Inteface number: 01, Endpoints: 82 01
This is P2k05 phone.
P2k:>

Good luck. Although I can get connected to the phone, I've not been able to make p2k-core upload files for me. It says it's uploading, but when I rescan the file system, there's nothing new there. Just sending those bits off the end of the plank, I guess.

If you can't get it to connect, try connecting to the phone using simple AT commands in your favorite terminal program (like minicom), and troubleshoot from there as you would a regular modem. If the /dev/ttyACM0 file isn't being created, check that the 99-motorola-v3xx file syntax is correct. If it's off, there will be messages from udevd in /var/log/messages complaining about it. If it's correct, unplug the phone, put udevd into debug mode, tail the messages file, and plug the phone back in:

# udevcontrol log_priority=debug
# tail -f /var/log/messages |grep udev &
(plug in phone)

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Lindsey Vonn Tied for Overall Cup Lead

Lindsey Vonn (nee Kildow) is now tied for the overall World Cup title in alpine skiing. And at 24, she is just getting warmed up. She now shares the title for most downhill victories by an American with Picabo Street and Daron Rahlves. The last, and only, US female to win the overall title was Tamara McKinney in 1983.

Bode is also leading the overall World Cup title for the men. They say he's racing smarter this year, being patient in the slaloms, which paid off big in the combined compeititons, leading him to take the combined cup earlier this season. He's currently tied with Bennie Raich for sixth on the all time win list among men!

So both overall World Cup title leaders are Americans. Last time the season ended like that was in 1983 when Phil Mahre and Tamara McKinney both took the overall titles.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Frisky Dingo

Episode 4 of Frisky Dingo: Best Episode of Anything Ever.

It has everything. Every single line is pure gold. Every character is developed. I think I've watched it about 6 times now.

"My God, the sheer genius of it," cries Killface, at the unveiling of Watley's Antfarm Keyboard.

I can't believe how well put together this show is. I wish I could put some video up here, but copyright infringement, blah blah.

This is the first episode that Watley says "I like to call it Lost Wages," referring to Las Vegas, to which Xander immediately chuckles, "Nice." Those lines are repeated in later episodes, as Watley recycles that pun again and again. Xander never gets tired of it.

Awesome-X and his posse of robotic soldiers, the Xtacles, who he actually thinks are robots, even though they're in fact real men in robotic suits, track Killface to an ostensibly Chinese dry cleaner, Mao, whom Killface convinced to front $64k to have a coupon for his laundromat printed on the back of the Annihilatrix postcards, which were supposed to announce the Annihilatrix to every inhabitant of Earth. They were misprinted, by the way, reading 'Welcome to You're "Doom"', which caused Killface extensive shame and embarrassment. As Awesome-X interrogates Mao, who's actually a young white man disguised as an Asian in order to qualify for a minority business loan, which injustice Awesome-X is preparing to kill him for, he says to him, as Mao negotiates for his life with coupons,

"I'm going to need a few more. More, like a whole box more, and the villabouts of the wheran Kelly."
"You mean 'the whereabouts of the villain Killface'," chimes in one of the Xtacles, through the radio in his helmet,
"Did I just say 'the villabouts of the wheran Kelly?'"
"Yep," the Xtacle replies.
"'Cause I think I've been doing that a lot lately. I wonder if it's a tumor."
After a brief pause, the Xtacle responds, "I know a good cancer doctor."

Adult Swim has just started airing reruns of Sealab 2021 (last night, I think), which was the predecessor to Frisky Dingo, and also created by Adam Reed and Matt Thompson, and is a great show, but not nearly as good as Frisky Dingo, although Debbie DuPree is hotter than Grace Ryan, for some reason, IMHO.

Friday, February 01, 2008

Beef Daube Notes

The Beef Daube recipe has held up exceptionally in the refrigerator all week, and I haven't tired of it in the least.

Favorite method of consumption: served over chunks of toasted French bread.

Andy on Jasper Johns

Another Andy Warhol video, but they are so funny.



According I'll Be Your Mirror: The Selected Andy Warhol Interviews : 1962-1987, Andy goes on to say, "He does this great thing with chicken. He puts parsley inside the chicken." I'm going to have to check that book out.