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Nokia USB Host Mode

Ok, here’s my issue

• Sony Camera using SONY Memory Stick Duo memory
• Nokia N800 that supports SD/Mini/MicroSD memory, not Memory Stick
  How do I transfer pictures from the camera to the N800 so I can upload/email them around the world? No solution as of March 2008.

SOLVED!
USB HostControl – hopefully, this will work for you too. It took more than a few times to get my N800 to see the SONY camera, but eventually, /media/usb/sda1 showed up and was available in File Manager. There was some lag in accessing the files and directories on the camera. I had to put the camera in Mass Storage mode and put the N800 in Host mode using the USB HostControl utility. Don’t worry about the USB device not Supported message once the sda1 shows up.

I’m thinking a shell script is needed to pull the photos ASAP off the camera. Then scp them to my server just like I do with a normal winxp Pc.
--

• To enable host mode you’ll need to become root, and then run

$ echo host> /sys/devices/platform/musb_hdrc/mode
*plug something in with fingers crossed.
*I got the ‘USB device not Supported’ message, but don’t worry. File Manager opened and off I went.
*To go back to normal operation:

$ echo otg > /sys/devices/platform/musb_hdrc/mode

USB Host Mode didn’t work for my 7-in-1 memory card reader. It didn’t initially work for a direct connection between the camera and N800, but eventually it did.

It would have been much easier to get a camera that natively supports SD/micro/miniSD cards instead. Then I could have simply swapped the SD card from the camera into the N800. Live and learn.

VoIP SIP

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Special Exhibitions

Made in Hong Kong – Contemporary Art Exhibition
(21 Dec 2007 – 6 Apr 2008)

An Inheritance of Virtuosity :
Donated Chinese Paintings of Ho Chat-yuen
(28 Dec 2007 – 9 Mar 2008)
"Hong Kong Art: Open Dialogue" Exhibition Series
(2008 – 2009)

Permanent Exhibitions

New Literati Painting
(From 1 Mar 2008)

Early 20th Century Guangdong Painting
(Until 17 Feb 2008)

Collecting and Inheriting: A Selection of Paintings and Calligraphy of the Ming and Qing Dynasties from the Xubaizhai Collection

Chinese Jade and Gold

Gems of Chinese Ceramics from the Hong Kong Museum of Art

The Chater Legacy － A Selection of the Chater Collection

I’ve been holding off on this, but think I may end up using it for media files.
NearlyFreeSpeech Hosting

Someone elses’ recommendations:

1. You’ll need Ubuntu Server, Drupal, Webmin and Virtualmin. All are FOSS and usable out-of-the-box with large and friendly support communities. Good luck, have fun.
2. Plesk – possibly the worst thing I’ve ever used. Convoluted backend I couldn’t hack on to extend pop-before-smtp the way I wanted.
3. CPanel – the original but very costly 6 years ago when I last used it. Has some impressive addons
4. Ensim DirectAdmin – Not one I’ve used personally, but I hear its ok.
5. VHCS – Freeware. Never used it personally. But there are many OS projects and forks out there if you look hard enough
6. Webmin (free/gpl)

What I wish I knew before going to Hong Kong

1. The MTR Song
2. Get an MTR/Octopus Card at arrival using your Credit Card, add HK$50 of cash value to it so you can use it in 7-Eleven and Wellcome (sic) for water and snacks. HK$50 is about US$7. Mastercard, Visa are preferred over Amex at most places.
3. Grab a copy of all the station exit maps here. Keep them in your PDA so you know which of up to 15 exits to take out of the MTR headed in the direction you need to go. This is especially important for Tsim Sha Tsui station. It is HUGE and near many attractions.
4. You can get cash from almost any ATM at a reasonable conversion rate. You hardly ever need cash, but having HK$100-400 in your pocket for unexpected items is useful. MTR stations have well lit ATMs. Cash is provided by individual banks, not the government so each note may look a little different. Nobody seems to care which bank the note was issued by. I understand that the government is going to be issuing legal tender in the future.
5. Credit Cards are welcome almost everywhere – except 7-Eleven and Wellcome or for charges under HK$100.
6. If your hotel doesn’t include free internet service, get a PCCW wifi account, but don’t expect it to work in your hotel. I don’t know why wifi doesn’t work, just that it doesn’t. There are a few free internet sites that may work for some travelers. I’m a internet whore.
7. Currently, the Lonely Planet HK Guidebook seems to be the best for Hong Kong. Macau – basically, none of the guidebooks cover it that you can trust. There doesn’t seem to be an accurate map of Macau made by anyone.
8. TV sucks, but you won’t care. Don’t expect an alarm clock in your room
9. Hotel rooms will be 25-50% smaller than in the US for a similar cost – think New York City. The Eaton had tiny rooms.
10. Learn 20-40 Cantonese phrases, but almost everyone speaks English or Engrish. I wish I knew how to count in Cantonese, really.
11. Be prepared to walk a lot. You’ll be walking up and down stairs constantly. Yes, the MTR stations have escalators, but you’ll probably choose the wrong way or they won’t be on the exit/entrance you need. If you have a PDA, preload all the MTR exit information into it. Wikipedia MTR is a good ref, but so does the MTR website. Here’s the ideal map per station.
12. Learn the MTR and plan your day trips by the section of the island and island that you plan to be on. Try to avoid going back to your hotel until after dinner.
13. Expect to eat real Chinese food, which most westerners will have trouble eating. I’m over 40 and it appears that I’ve never been to a real Chinese restaurant in the USA before this trip. Well, once in San Francisco with Lui Wang – but he ordered all the food and I thought it was nasty. There’s something about a live eel writhing in pain on a hot plate while it cooks itself that just isn’t appetizing to me, even now.
14. I knew not to drink the water or have any ice. Good advice. Towards the end of the trip, I did have ice in my alcoholic drinks and didn’t get sick. The WHO (World health org) says HK water is safe to drink provided the entire piping system hasn’t been compromised. I have no way to determine that and many locals drink bottled water there too.
15. 7 days aren’t enough to do all that I wanted to do in Hong Kong, much less Macau or outer islands. 14 day’s was just about right. By the end, my feet and legs hurt, and I could sleep at any point in the day from exhaustion.
16. Bathrooms – nothing to worry about.
17. Candy – the 3/4" tube candy is good. It is sour covered with gummy inside. Perhaps I can find it here?
18. There are lots of pretty girls. There is also lots of acne.
19. Bring ear plugs for you and your traveling companion. You both snore. Get over it.
20. Places to eat that I can recommend
    1. Gunga din’s in Soho – Indian food, spicy, tasty, yummy. RECOMMENDED Next trip, I’ll be going back.
    2. Fat Angelo’s anywhere – Americanized Italian food. Only if I’m desperate for non-Chinese food. It wasn’t bad, but there are certainly better options around the corner. Avoid the pizza. Salads and bread are good.
    3. Any packed Chinese Restaurant that has good looking food.
    4. Bangkok Thai near Tin Hau – Fantastic! I’ll eat there again. RECOMMENDED
    5. Peninsula Hotel HK – we ate breakfast here. French toast and an Omelet for me. Bangers, eggs, potatoes , Grape Nuts and Fruit for Jim. It was over US$70 for both of us, but perhaps the best meal I had in Hong Kong. RECOMMENDED
    6. Biergarten in Soho – Their Schnitzel was good. Appetizer good. The Bier selections were better. Jim had Wurst and liked it. If you’re in the area, go. Not worth hunting down, IMHO.
    7. Etshu Sushi in Tin Hau – eh – the food was good, but very expensive. I’ll never go back.
    8. KFC outside the Tung Chung MTR station – it was filling and cheap. I don’t think there was a better choice available at the time.
    9. Bulldog’s in soho – eh, if you need English food, I guess it is ok. We went only because they had a Superbowl watching party at 7am on a Monday morning. I had the biggest breakfast they had and it was good, but I barely ate the day before.
    10. Bali Restaurant in Kowloon – RECOMMENDED; it looks like a dump 1/2 a block off Nathan’s Rd. We were the only diners at the time. I was tempted to eat there again when we moved to the Eaton since it is just a few blocks away towards the closest MTR station. We walked by it 2+ times a day the last 3 days.
    11. Ruby Tuesday in Tai Koo – Avoid Jim got sick. My fajitas were less than tasty. This was an expensive meal when compared to others we ate.
    12. Times Square Mall food court – Yes, we ate in the food court and it was tasty. RECOMMENDED Just learning the method to order, pay for and pick up your food was a learning experience. Be certain you know Cantonese enough to recognize your number. If you don’t, you may not eat.
    13. Ho Choi Seafood Restaurant in central (I think) – RECOMMENDED; we ate here on Chinese New Years Day and had Dim sum. The bill was less than KH$100 or US$13. I’ll go back next visit.
    14. Krispy Kreme in Soho – it was just what I needed after Jim tricked me into walking up all the mid-level steps a few blocks away from the escalators. It was there when I needed it, but I doubt I’ll return.
    15. McDonald’s Tin hau – We needed a quick dinner before heading out to the parade. It tastes like you expect, which is good.
    16. Jim’s Big Wieners Version 1, “Version 2”:
    17. This restaurant (don’t know the name) – RECOMMENDED Purely Chinese food. Most dishes were tasty seafood, bbq pork , soup, beans but I found the crab dish that I ordered too small and too much trouble to eat.
    18. Maxine’s in Hung Hom station – it was food and quick. Nothing to write about here.
    19. Oliver’s Super Sandwiches in Tai Wai – linguine eh. Jim’s sandwich reported as good.

In short, go to Hong Kong. You will be fine and have an eye opening experience.

Georgia

• http://notatlanta.org/hiking.html
• http://georgiatrails.com/county/Cobb
• http://georgiatrails.com/city/Marietta
• http://www.jdmpics.com/trails/hiking-trails-ga.htm
  
  
• Tennessee Rock, Black Rock Mountain, 2.2 miles Loop Climb to the top of Black Rock Mountain and on to a panoramic view of wooded mountains in three States.
• Waterfall, Cloudland Canyon, 2 miles Out and back Descend into a dramatic gorge for close-up views of two beautiful waterfalls.
• Wolfden Loop, Pine Mountain, 6.7 miles Loop Georgia’s most southerly mountain is a long forested ridge of quartzite, complete with rock outcrops, clear streams and waterfalls.
• Canyon Loop, Providence Canyon, 3 miles Loop Often referred to as Georgia’s Grand Canyon, Providence Canyon offers hikers a unique setting of strikingly-colored gullies.
• Sliding Rock-Hurricane Falls, Tallulah Gorge, 5.5 miles Out and back
  Descend from the rim into a world of quartzite rock, high bluffs and waterfalls.

Let’s see. What did this N800 cost me?

So far:
table{border:1px solid black}.
| Desc | Cost |
| N800|>. $231.56|
| Blue tooth Keyboard|>. $34.99|
| 8GB MicroSD|>.$100.66|
| 2GB MicroSD|>.$58.29|
| Screen Protectors|>.$13.83|
| Portable WiFi Router|>.$52.13|
|Total |>.$491.46 |

Well, perhaps an Asus Eee would have been more cost effective at $299 for the 2GB model and $399 for the 4GB model? I’d have much less to carry around with me traveling, but for day trips, the N800 is clearly the better form factor for mapping and battery life.

Ok, I acquired an iGo Blue tooth keyboard today. Getting the keyboard and Nokia paired took more time than it should have. I found a number of instructions on the internet that didn’t work for first 5 times. Here are the steps that finally worked for me:

1. N800 Control Panel
   1. Bluetooth Keyboard
   2. Generic 105-key PC and English USA
   3. search for new devices
2. Keyboard
   1. Enter discoverable mode by pressing CTRL and BOTH Fn Keys simultaneously until the green LED flashes.
3. N800 discovers the keyboard
   1. Select it from the list
   2. Note the code provided – mine was 4 digits
   3. Select Pair
4. Quickly on the Keyboard,
   1. Enter the code (hold the blue Fn key to enter the numeric code #### and <enter> key. Keep the Fn key down for all. (If you aren’t quick enough entering the code plus <enter>, try again. You may need to re-enter discovery mode on the keyboard again too.

In theory, you’ll be paired now. If so, it will be fairly clear. If not, you’ll get an error. When entering the Try Again for pairing, I never got it to work – always had to start over from the beginning.

• There was no software to be loaded.
• There was no need for Windows at all.

Review of the Keyboard

Well, I’m pretty particular about my keyboards. I’ve been using IBM-101 keyboards for over 10 years now and no other keyboards have made me happy. For portable keyboards, I only have experience with a Palm-Pro keyboard which I traveled to Japan with many, many years ago. It was ok, but not a replacement for my IBMs.

Ok, this iGo is portable. It is mostly full sized when opened. The keys feel soft and the lack of a number row drives me crazy. Occasionally, keys get repeated on the N800 when only hit once. I’m guessing that is from the blue tooth connection. Some of the keys aren’t in the right places – at least not for my touch typing. In the end, there really wasn’t much choice for a keyboard for the N800. I guess this will have to do, since using the other input options are simply terrible for non-trivial typing.

Ok, so I’ve spent a little over a week in and around Hong Kong now. What have I learned?

1. Clean drinking water is wonderful
2. drink more water than you think
3. showering daily is nice, but not mandatory
4. Stay to the left doesn’t always work; sometimes you need to stay to the right in traffic
5. Bring 2 pair of jeans on every trip if the weather isn’t too hot
6. Bring 3 t-shirts
7. Sunscreen
8. You can get a few days of wear out of most clothes between washings
9. Engrish is confusing – still their English is better than my Cantonese
   • subway doesn’t mean there’s an underground train down there. It could just be a street crossing.
   • Toilet is a wonderful word, but still has many different meanings.
   • Final Sale means all sales final.
10. Escalators are good, especially in hilly cities
11. Give some money to the Buddhists
12. Macau isn’t just for gambling
13. Water Ferries are smoother than you think
14. Double decker buses are fun
15. If it is an animal and moves, chances are the Chinese probably eat it
16. Coke Lite, not Diet Coke.
17. Speaking German in a German restaurant in Hong Kong isn’t very useful
18. Many travelers are completely obnoxious, not just N. Americans
19. Not all brands of jeans can fit (rough rider?)
20. Recharge your Li Ion camera batteries overnight, every night.
21. Layering is key – t-shirt, heavy shirt, shell, light jacket cover most needs
22. Bring hiking boots if you’ll be walking a bunch
23. You can buy socks and underwear, but they fit differently.
24. You are better off ignoring the Indian Hawkers than noticing them. For the last time, no, I do not need a watch or custom tailored suit.
25. Chinese food can be challenging to eat. Good Indian, Italian, German, Japanese, etc. can be had in HK. Watch out for American at Ruby Tuesdays – hi cost and JH got sick from it.
26. Mass transit done well is fantastic
27. Be prepared to walk, climb, and for your feet and legs to hurt at the end of the day
28. Listen carefully to whatever the other person repeats back to you. Chances are, you or they didn’t really understand your intent.
29. Ear plugs are great if traveling with anyone else – for both of you
30. Internet in a room is a luxury; all sorts of protection schemes exist that only work with Windows/IE.
31. Keep receipts – conversion from HK$ into your native currency is interesting later, not in real-time, but you do get better at it
32. Ignore your diet when walking as much as we did
33. You don’t need a plan before you leave, but you do need to plan every day before heading out
34. Carry your passport with you – ALWAYS.
35. A HK$20 rolex can be had almost anywhere.
36. Phones, computers, etc. aren’t any cheaper in HK and usually don’t have a warranty
37. after a long day, a good shower can make everything ok.
38. Knowing 10-20 phrases gets you a long way with the locals – I knew zero.
39. 10,000 Buddha’s is a bunch.
40. When a line looks long at first, it probably is 2x whatever you think it is. There’s probably another line that you can’t see, but will need to get in too.
41. Take more pictures than you can stand while traveling, but don’t forget to enjoy the experience at the time too.
42. Almost anything you can buy in HK can be had cheaper or same price back home … if you can get it there. The value is in knowing it came from Hong Kong.
43. Brushing your teeth when you can’t drink any of the tap water only took me 4 days to figure out.

I stayed in 3 different hotels over 2008 Chinese New Year week, 7 days at this hotel. The Metropark was the best overall value.

Location across the street from the Tin Hau MTR station on the HK Island line was fantastic. Combined with an MTR Octopus card and you have easy access to almost everything that HK/Kowloon has to offer.

Staff was always friendly and provided extra pillows and a USA power inverter when asked.
Harbor View room (not suite) was normal sized for Asia – about 25% smaller than USA hotel rooms.

Don’t expect much from the TV – mostly Chinese stations.

Our package included free internet, which helped us plan our day trips. However, it wasn’t the normal plug in get DHCP address and go. We couldn’t get it to work with a router and had to use IE to connect over their "hotel internet proxy" – which was more effort than normal. I doubt my Nokia Internet Tablet would have worked at all. I don’t travel with a laptop, but fortunately my travel partner did. Otherwise, I would be SOL.
The view from our 14th floor "Harbor View" room was unbelievable. I could stare out that room for hours just watching HK and harbor activities. We watched the Chinese New Year harbor fireworks from hotel the roof, I doubt we could have found a better viewing location.

The shower was similar to my home shower. Ok for a hotel.

We never drank the hotel water – a Wellcome and 7-Eleven were on the block for quick snacks and water. The MTR/Octopus card can be used for purchases at these shops.
As usual, food in the hotel was expensive. I ate 1 breakfast and 1 dinner here, good, but expensive. The dinner buffet was tasty, breakfast had enough English food to keep my stomach happy after almost a week of only exotic food.

If I return to Hong Kong or Kowloon, the Metropark will be on my short list of hotels to consider, but the internet connectivity will be a challenge.

After a long day of shopping, sight seeing, or even a trip to Macau, coming home to the Metropark was always good.

Didn’t wake up until 2:30p Thursday due to jet lag. That was 16+ hours of sleep after going hard for 12 straight days in Hong Kong/Macau.

Being home is surreal. I can’t believe the trip is over.

I plan to got thru all the trip pictures and movies to tag them with additional information. I’m looking for a way to link google map locations with each picture and comments. The ultimate goal is to provide a way for someone to follow the trip or plan their own trip better. Any ideas?

After I figure the total cost for HK, it is time to start planning the next trip. Costa Rica done; Western Europe? Australia? Brazil, Argentina done; Peru or someplace else?

It took until Saturday (3 days) to un-lag myself. The trip cost me about $3400, which was more than I’d planned, but we ate much richer food, stayed 4 days longer than planned and I included vaccinations and other expenses needed for other trips too. All the bills aren’t in yet, so some are just estimates.

2 weeks of life changing experiences for $3k – seems fair to me. I’d do it again.

Since I have a visa for China that is good for 2 entries and the next 6 months, I should try to get to Shanghai, Beijing and walk a few days on The Great Wall.