I’ve decided that I want to get myself into some electronics stuff and took that as an opportunity to come up with some new content. I’ve already got a project in the works that will give use a couple posts, and a few more projects in the works after that. My buddy, Thomas, is doing some stuff of his own and might even pop in to share what he’s done as well.

Life is causing progress to move a bit slower than I had hoped and anticipated, but things are definitely getting done!

Yay!!!

If you are running Firefox 3 and Adblock and have noticed the occational flash object not working anymore – Its not Firefox’s fault!  Well, not specifically at least.  Adblock on Firefox 3 is the one breaking some flash content.

Ever since Firefox 3 was released I noticed a few of the websites I frequent stopped working, and always assumed it was at the fault of 3.0 because my 2.0 worked just fine.  Testing those sites on a fresh install of FF3 had them working perfectly, though.  Switching to Adblock Plus has solved this issue.

Some of the websites that were broken…
Xbox.com – the entire front-page is flash based and none of it worked.
TWiT – the flash players didn’t show up.
Picnik – the entire app doesn’t load when Adblock is enabled.

This is a common hack with a lot of useful variations. You can make an Xbox controller to PC USB adapter like the fine folks at llamma.com or you can splice a USB connector into the convenient Xbox controller extension cable like these guys at xbox-scene.

However, if you’re like me, you enjoy the idea of your Xbox as a PC. That considered, a slightly more streamlined modification is called for.

History

The many applications of the Microsoft Xbox are more or less incredible. I bought my first one on Ebay for a little under $100 in December of ‘06. I then proceeded to add a 400 gig hard drive and install Xbox Media Center and the joy just continues. I can play backup games, more audio/video formats than I know what to do with, and run an utterly convenient FTP server whenever I need one.

Given that, I was pretty excited when a neighbor fried her Xbox and offered it to me. I told her it was an easy fix (new power supply and about 15 minutes of work) but she said I could have it anyway. Thank you! =)

As my first Xbox is pretty well tricked out in terms of gaming and multimedia, I had to come up with another use for this new one! I ended up deciding that because Linux tends to make everything better, Gentoox was a good choice. XBMC is amazing software, but having a cheap, quiet Linux server that uses less than 90 watts of power would be spiffy.

So what does one need to make a functional PC? Peripherals. Video-out? The Xbox has that covered. Keyboard and mouse? Not so much. Time to get crackin’!

Planning

As I mentioned in the first paragraph, there are a lot of ways to get the Xbox to do USB. if you take any part of the controller cable apart, you find five wires: red, green, black, white, and yellow. If you take apart a female USB connector, you’ll find it shares four of these: the red, green, black and white wires. =) Neat, huh?

The fifth, yellow wire is proprietary for the Xbox. From what I understand, that uses a special frequency tied to the H-Sync signal of the composite video signal in order to facilitate light guns and such.

All of this means adding USB connectivity to the Xbox is about as easy as you could ask for. Regarding the method of implementation, that’s up to you. For my initial experiment, I spliced one connector from a USB bracket into the Xbox’s controller extension cable. Once that worked exactly as expected, I knew I could do it better. I don’t like the idea of using a floppy adapter cable for my Gentoo server to have a keyboard, and it just doesn’t look cool.

After a little figuring, I decided to add two USB ports to the front panel of the Xbox. Others have added ports to the rear of the box, but those seem inconvenient. Be forewarned, adding them to the front is a way bigger pain than the back, as you need to make a lot of case modifications to fit anything in the front.

A technical note to consider is that, once you connect a USB device, the corresponding controller port will not work. This is because you’re effectively rerouting the voltage and data lines to another location, and the Xbox isn’t set up to support another USB root hub.

Gettin’ Busy

Materials:

• Xbox (…yeah)
• Torx Bits, Screwdriver
• USB bracket
• Soldering Iron, Heat-shrink Tubing
• Dremel (or something to cut plastic and aluminum)
• Scissors, Electrical Tape, Sand Paper, etc

I list a dremel as a required tool, but it’s more of a luxury. I actually used Xacto blades and scissors to do the case modifications… but I do not recommend that, haha. It was way more difficult than it needed to be and caused the end result to look less polished.

First things first, we need to make room in our Xbox case for the new bracket. Open that bad boy up (six torx screws on the bottom of the Xbox), get rid of the drives (another few torx screws), and assess the situation at hand. I chose to mount mine vertically on the left-hand side, so that’s what I’ll describe here.

Removing the face plate of the Xbox isn’t very difficult, but it’s not very obvious at first either. There are three points by which it’s secured to the rest of the chassis. Two tabs on the outside on the left and right side, and one little tab in the middle and on the inside of the case.

All you need to do is stick a screwdriver (or something) into the left- or right-side gap and pry a little.

That third of the face plate will pop off.

Then use your thumb to press up on the little tab, releasing it.

Now the face plate is free. All that’s left to do is unplug the power/eject buttons from the motherboard and the whole assembly will be in your hands.

From here, there are two paths. First, you could start soldering straight away, but then things might not fit right. So, instead, I chose to hack the case to pieces first. The easiest part was cutting a big square hole in the face plate for the bracket to screw into.

Pretty simple stuff, as you can see. It would’ve been incredibly simple had I had a dremel on hand at the time. Instead, however, I was forced to use an Xacto knife as a chisel and attempt to slice and pound my way through the plastic, haha. It worked, amidst much pounding and uneccesary sweating, and I sanded the edges down afterwards.

The holes are for the little screws that originally held the USB ports to the metal bracket.

Next in line… hacking the rest of the case, the shielding, and the DVD drive to pieces! This is why others have chosen to put the USB ports on the back of their Xboxes… but, as I said earlier, I far prefer the accessibility of front-mounted ports. Additionally, if you chose some other location for yours, your modifications will naturally be different.

You have to remove a section of the bottom grill from the front of the case, a chunk of the shielding from the front, left corner, and another rectangle from the left side of the shield. To get the shield out, obviously you’re going to have to remove the motherboard and power supply.

I also had to remove one of the front support posts from the DVD drive.

Finally, I needed to shave a good bit of excess plastic off of the USB bracket to squeeze it in next to the DVD drive.

Now that you can attach your USB ports to your Xbox, you can measure lengths of cable and see how it all will fit. Once you’ve got a comfortable setup, it’s time to set in on the seriously geeky work – the soldering! The cool thing is, because Microsoft decided to stick with the USB color-coding, the soldering is beyond simple.

Soldering

Time to take your USB bracket and hack the connector off. =) Cut the shielding to the appropriate length for your setup (mine was almost perfect), and strip the wires on your chosen first connector.

Because this tutorial is being written ex post facto, I don’t have any pictures of the actual soldering. All I’ve got for illustration purposes is the finished product. As you can see, I just soldered the appropriately colored wires together. The yellow joints were done with heat shrink tubing and the black is electrical tape. I was experimenting with different methods of connection, so sometimes I was able to use heat shrink and sometimes I was not. The connector to the Xbox motherboard integrates both ports, similarly to the USB bracket’s original connector. Be careful though! There’s just enough wire to go from the Xbox motherboard to the controller module with a minute amount of slack; be sure to get your joints right on the first go.

A method I used to lessen the strain on the shorter cables was to strip the USB connector’s cables bare in two places: at the end and about a half-inch above that. After cutting the controller module’s cables in half and stripping the tips, this allowed me to solder the wire coming from the controller module to the exposed section of the USB wire and the wire from the motherboard to the tip of the USB wire, effectively lengthening the wire between the controller module and the motherboard. …I wish I had more detailed pictures to explain that, but hopefully you’ll see what you can do when you have the materials in your hands. =)

After the soldering is complete, you’re nearly there! Personally, I tested the whole lot of it with a multimeter. The pins on the USB ports should match with the respective pins on the controller ports. USB ports share common power and ground lines throughout the entire circuit, so if you connect the whole assembly to the Xbox motherboard, you should have continuity between every controller port and both USB ports on those common lines.

For the final step, I used a vice and a hacksaw (not kidding) to mutilate the metal bracket so it would fit in its original place in front of the USB ports. This adds some dust protection, stability to the ports, and just looks way better than a gaping hole in the front of your Xbox.

Completion

Now what? Put the case back together. =) This took a good amount of adjustment and trial-and-error for me the first time, but now it reassembles with ease.

Woohoo, finished! Now your Xbox is ready for USB keyboards, mice, flash drives, cell phone chargers or… hamster wheels? …Of course!

Mine will be used primarily for a keyboard during the configuration of the Gentoox-based jBox and perhaps for the occasional thumb drive if I write a simple auto-mounting script.

Now… go forth and marvel at the professional look and snazzy functionality of your new creation!

Notes and Afterthoughts

This project was a first for me in a few areas. First case mod and first soldering job, for instance. That being said, it was poorly planned, had a lot of improvisation, and took forever, haha. Luckily for me, the technical simplicity of it didn’t require a great deal of planning to end up with a success.

In the near future I plan to add high definition video and audio outputs to my Xbox. I already own one Xbox component video cable, but the opportunity to further modify this little black box is too tempting to pass up. =) What better way to understand the inner workings of a device than to tear it apart and change it up, right? =D

I believe half of these problems only effect those who are running the 64-bit version of the Ubuntu 8.04 beta, but I cannot be sure as I am only running the 64 bit version and have not tried installing on a 32-bit version.  The reason I am installing VMWare Server rather than Workstation or the VMWare Player is because Server is free, unlike Workstation, and it can create virtual machines and access my physical partitions, while the Player cannot.  My primary concern is accessing my physical partitions so I can boot up my Windows installation from within Linux rather than having to reboot into it.

The first part of the installation seems to be a common  problem on all versions of VMWare for Linux, though.  VMWare requires some kernel modules to work, and you usually have to compile them as it is likely that you are not running the same kernel version as the included pre-compiled modules.  If the kernel modules fail to compile, then you will probably have to resort to the “VMWare any-any update.”

Installation

Before anything, three packages have to be installed to prep the system for running VMWare Server.

sudo aptitude install linux-headers-`uname -r` build-essential
sudo aptitude install xinetd

After this you can run the installer.  Download the archive and extract it.  In the folder there should be a file inside thats called install.pl.  Open up a terminal window, move into that directory, and run the file.

sudo ./install.pl

Unless you want things installed in special places, all of the default options should be fine.  Hit enter at each of the prompts.  Once the install is over, it will ask you if you want to run the configuration script.  Say yes and move through the options, specifying things where needed.  After a few prompts it will say that the kernel modules need to be built.  Say yes to this and let it build the modules for you.  If everything builds fine then great!  You don’t need to apply the any-any update!  If it fails you will have to move onto the next step.

Patching the installation

The latest version of the any-any update can be found here.  The file is called vmware-any-any-update###.tar.gz, in this case the ### is 115.  Download the file, extract it, and open your terminal window to its directory.  Run the runme.pl file.

sudo ./runme.pl

This script will patch your installed files and the source files for the kernel modules, and will immediately run the configuration script again.  Follow through like you did before, and hopefully if things worked right, the modules should compile fine and you will be able to finish out the configuration.

Bugs

Now here is where my problems continued.  I would click on the new menu shortcut and the application would not start.  I tried running the vmware command in my terminal window and had an error message repeat three times and exit the program.  I don’t remember what the message was, but a google search turned up a bugzilla page with a solution posted.

VMWare was having an issue with the current builds of the ia32 libs.  The version installed was ia32-libs_2.2ubuntu7_amd64 and I had to downgrade it to ia32-libs_2.2ubuntu4_amd64.  A quick Google search turned up a deb package file.  To install it I had to open up Synaptic, remove the installed package, and then I was able to double click the new (old) package and use the installer gui that came up.

This did get rid of those original error messages, but some new ones popped up.  VMWare was not able to find some of the gtk library files.  Yet another Google search turned up yet another bugzilla page and yet another solution.  It turns out that VMWare is looking in the wrong spot.  Running these three commands in a terminal fixed the issue.

sudo ln -s /usr/lib32 /usr/l32
sudo sed -i -e ’s/usr\/lib/usr\/l32/g’ /usr/lib32/gtk-2.0/2.10.0/loader-files.d/libgtk2.0-0.loaders
sudo sed -i -e ’s/usr\/lib/usr\/l32/g’ /usr/lib32/libgdk_pixbuf-2.0.so.0.1200.3

Success?

Finally things are working!  I have a gui after clicking the shortcut icon with no fuss!  Well… almost.  Sigh.

It seems that with this default installation there are a lot of permission issues, even for reading some of the button icons.  I looked around for a solution and couldn’t seem to come up with one.  When trying to create a virtual machine it wouldn’t let me save it, even when I tried to save the files in my own home directory.

My quick (and probably not very smart) solution was to run it as the root user.  I added a second shortcut icon to my applications menu, and labeled it as (root).  Rather than running just the vmware command, I have it running gksu vmware. This shortcut icon will prompt you for your password and then run the program as your root user.  Not ideal, but it works.

Does this article help you?  Is there something more that you’d want to know about?  Let me know!  E-mail me at sunny [at] h4xful [dot] net. I would love to hear from you!

now, the rockbox team maintains an excellent set of centralized documentation that takes you through the installation, step by step. later on, i’ll update this article with my own tutorial for a sense of completion. for now, i’ll just go over the benefits and drawbacks of rockbox.

first thing is first – make sure rockbox supports your player! its open source, so they maintain whatever they have the resources, manpower, and will to maintain.

as for me, im sporting a 30 gig ipod 5.5 generation. thats the slim, black, glossy ipod video from a few years ago. the newest (6th generation “classic”) ipods from apple arent supported because they have a completely different hardware setup than their predecessors.

once youve got yourself a hackable ipod (check the docs for other players – ive never touched them), then we’re in business!

what rockbox does well:

• configurability - its linux-based, configuring is half the operating system! im still discovering new things to tweak.
• plays numerous audio formats – more than 15 according to their site, including OGG and FLAC.
• visual appeal – the stock rockbox is as attractive as any command line, but some of the skins available are truly stunning.
• painless file access – removes apples filename obfuscation and doesnt try to sort your music for you.

what rockbox does poorly:

• battery life – the battery life isnt as good with rockbox, because everything is reverse engineered. i get about 8 hours per full charge.
• quirky behavior – sometimes the buttons just dont work. when you take hold off and try to switch songs quickly, it just wont listen if it doesnt want to. im not sure why, but quirks are a natural part of open source software.
• new interface – the rockbox user interface is 100% different from the ipod’s. it will take some getting used to, but once you spend a few minutes with the manual and a few days to execute some common tasks, it becomes natural.
• random death – ive only had this happen to me once out of the few years ive been using this firmware, but my ipod did refuse to boot one fateful day. i ended up having to format it, reinstall rockbox, and start over. backups are good!
• ipod accessories that use the bottom jack dont work – its a new firmware, and thats a proprietary connector. eh.

after weighing the pros and cons, if you decide to move on to upgrading your ipod, you can refer to the documentation on the website, or come back whenever i get my hands on a camera and finish my tutorial.

personally, i love this software. i love not having to care what audio formats i get from torrents – windows media player might not know what it is, but vlc and rockbox do! i love not using itunes. i love the skin ive been using since day one. i love the fact that i can set the lcd backlight fade time and the time it takes to power down. there are a million more options available, and theyre all right there for you if you know what playing with linux feels like.

if you use it and like it, awesome! its easy to update and the community is very active.

if you hate it and want your money back, well, uninstalling it is almost as easy as installing it was.

once again, i’ll be back later with pictures and a step-by-step tutorial on installation, configuration, updating and uninstallation.

Design

To start things off, I would like to say that this is not my own idea, or design.  The idea came from a project posted on Instructables.com, and is actually a combination of two different designs found.  The original design (found here) acts more as a flat shelf, bringing the laptop up off of the desk and the only supports being in the back of the stand.  I didn’t think that would be very safe, and I also didn’t like the style of it, so I wanted to make something different. Luckily in the comments of that project was the link to another person’s take on the project, who also had concerns similar to mine. Their design (found here) was a lot closer to what I envisioned mine as, a prop to raise it up off the ground at an angle. for my stand, I took the prop-style design but also added some holes on the back-end to allow for cable routing.

Tools you will need:

• A saw capabe of cutting through PVC pipe
• Sharpie marker (to mark your  cuts)
• Measuring tape (not required.  more on this later)

As stated earlier, one great aspect to this project is the very low cost.  I planned on making at least two stands so I went with a 10′ length of PVC pipe and bought double the required connector pieces.  The final cost was about $4.50 – including sales tax.  After making both of my stands I ended up with about 3 or 4 feet left over.

Materials you will need:

• A length of 3/4″ PVC pipe – 5′ at least I would think.
• 2 3/4″ PVC corner-connectors
• 4 3/4″ PVC T-shaped connectors

Cuts

First and foremost – I didn’t measure any of the cuts while making this.  It was all eye-balled. I would put the PVC pipe next to the laptop and draw a small line with a sharpie marker where I thought should be cut, and if it was too long, I would cut it down a little bit more and check again.  Remember that you want to cut too long before you cut it too short.  After you make your cut, use a towel or rag to wipe away any dust left on the pipe.  When I was cutting for my stand, it seemed like the dust irritated my skin if I got it on my hands, so try to avoid getting it onto your skin, and wash it off with soap and water if you do manage to touch it.  Use gloves if you are really worried about it.  Also note that your cuts do not have to be completely straight.  The PVC pipe will just be fitting together to the connector pieces and the ends will not be visible.  If you feel they are too jagged or rough feel free to use some sand paper to smooth it down, though it isn’t necessary.

Another thing to remember while you are planning your cuts is to be sure you won’t be blocking anything off that you need access to, such as switches or cable plugs.  With the design we are using the only area you really have to worry about is the front of the laptop.  On my laptop, I have a network switch, sound jacks, and a memory card reader right on the front, and the memory card reader is pretty close to the outside edge, so I measured it out so that the support bars were sitting right underneath the edges of my laptop’s base and not blocking my card reader.  I also made one for my dad and since all of his ports were on the side and back of the laptop, I was able to have the support bars closer together, lending a bit more stability to it.

I wanted to be sure I had flexibility with height, so for the small connector pieces on the back that determine the height, I made three sets of different lengths, each about an inch and a half shorter than the one before it.  (As these are the only pieces that are not dependent on the size and shape of your laptop, the sizes would be wise to have. I don’t have the measurements of these pieces right at this moment, but I will post them later on when I can.)

Putting it together

While putting it all together, make sure it fits snugly together.  To be sure the back connectors are even, measure the distance between the two t-shaped connectors with your tape measure and make sure they match.  If you don’t have a tape measure, use anything else you can judge distance with, like a pencil.

If you are going to be using the cable routing, you will probably have to take some of it apart to make the cables fit around the edges of the frame.  If you are simply running it through the flat strip in the back then it shouldn’t be an issue.  If you are running a cable through to the front of the laptop, you might want to try turning the front connectors inwards a little to help the cable not have to bend as much.  I have my speaker cable run through this way, and just leaving the connectors straight up, the cable seemed to stick up quite a bit and was very distracting.  Another thing to note is that the t-connectors in the back can work with the opening either facing up or back.  Choose which way works best for you, and even use one of both if your setup requires as such.  The connectors on the bottom will only work with the opening facing outwards.

Future

I am very happy with the way that this project ended up, though in its current state I have at least two ideas for ways that I can improve it.  The first, and more important idea would be to get some rubber pads to fit on the bottom of the stand.  It sits perfectly on is own, but if you put any kind of pressure on it or the laptop, it can slide very easily.  I didn’t think of this while I was planning things out.  The other idea would be to paint it.  The white doesn’t look bad, but its not for everyone.

If you have any questions, comments, or ideas on how to improve this laptop stand, then shoot me an e-mail at sunny [at] h4xful [dot] net and I will get back to you.