For a while now I’ve been hanging on to a working version of pcrd - the linux control program for Icom PCR-1000 scanners. This version will compile with the latest gcc based distributions and work on all known Linux distros. You can find it here. It seems to work well here - the only issue I encounter is sometimes getting the unit to turn on - however after that, it tunes fine for as long as it’s turned on.

If you do notice any problems with pcrd, feel free to let me know - I’ll see what I can do about them. I want to add DSP support, but I don’t have the needed details to do this as yet, so it’s on the todo list.

Yesterday I got a call from Janine Beach (Executive Relations, Apple Asia/Pac) to state that Apple regards that the problem with the SuperDrives (as reported here, here, and here) is a correctly functioning SuperDrive. Apple’s official line is that there is no problem burning on 8x Apple media so the drive is fine - even if it fails to recognise any other brand or speed of media. This means you can ONLY use Apple media in the drive - as even 16x TDK discs do not work correctly. There was no notification of the fact that Apple SuperDrives would only burn as advertised on Apple media - and when I stressed this point, I was told by Janine that the drive works as it should, and Apple would not be doing anything about it. After telling Janine that this was unacceptable, I was basically stonewalled.

For this reason, I am asking anyone who has experiance in lodging official complaints with the ACCC or starting class action law suits to contact me to discuss the best approach in making Apple accountable for thier faulty equipment.

Updated 10/4: I understand that Apple Australia employee email accounts are the first letter of their first name, then their last name @asia.apple.com - so Joe Smith would be jsmith@asia.apple.com if people want to contact someone within Apple about their SuperDrive issues as well…..

Airservices Australia have updated a few of the Australian DAPS. I’ve updated my collection of these DAPS for those wanting to keep up. Niel Brown states that the following changes have been made:

The following charts are new:

YSCB SID HOWLY 1 YSCB SID NONUP 1 </pre>

The following charts are updated:

YBCS STAR HENDO 6
YBCS STAR KEEWI 4
YMML SID OWENS 9
YPAD SID ADELAIDE 7
YPAD SID NATYA 9
YPAD SID TAILEM BEND 2
YPAD SID TORRENS 1
YPAD STAR RIKAB 2
YPPH SID BADJA 3
YPPH SID BALLIDU 4
YPPH SID BINDI 7
YPPH SID CLACKLINE 8
YPPH SID JOSBU 3
YPPH SID KAJUN 6
YPPH SID MELBA 3
YPPH SID PEPPA 4
YPPH SID PINGELLY 5
YPPH SID SPUDO 4
YSCB SID CANBERRA 4
YSCB SID CORRYONG 2
YSCB SID CULIN 3
YSCB SID TANTA 3
YSCB SID WAGGA 3
YSCB SID YASS 3

After a few weeks of playing around, I’ve managed to get my USB HDTV decoder working properly under linux (Fedora Core to be exact). I’ve managed to write a few scripts up that allow me to log into a web site and schedule show recordings.

The scheduling is handled by atd, and I use the zapdvb package to capture the HDTV stream straight to disk. This is then handled by a few other scripts and encoded to a 1Mbit/sec Xvid avi.

It’s good to be able to schedule the shows and then just watch the avi file when ready! If I get the time, I’ll throw the scripts up on here for others to pick apart.

So I keep getting more and more of these invites, and less and less people to give them to. Email me if you want one! Want to know more about Windows Live Messenger? Check out the WLM site.

I personally think v8 is a good step forwards from v7.5 - which is the current publicly available verison of MSN Messenger. I do believe however that it is a bit cluttered with ads. This being said, there is a patch that will work that removes ads. It’s available locally or from the original site.