Get rid of hot pink pixels on a Canon camera sensor

Sometimes image sensors on digital cameras develop stuck or dead pixels. Sometimes showing as a bright pink pixel on the jpg image. Canon cameras and probably other brands too have a function to self repair.

1. Put a fully charged battery in the camera.
2. From the Menu (Under Advanced Functions) initiate a "Manual Sensor Cleaning".
3. Wait for about half a minute, then turn off the camera.

This worked on my Canon 50D

Put router with OpenWrt into repeater mode

Go to address 192.168.1.1 in your browser to access OpenWrt configuration:

To scan for wifi signals and join the signal to repeat: OpenWrt menu -> Network -> Wifi -> on "Wireless Overview" clic "Scan" button.

A list of available networks will appear, then clic "Join Network" button on the right of the selected network.

"Join Network: Settings" screen will appear, then intro the wifi password of the network to join in "WPA passphrase" then clic "submit" button.


Clic "Save & Apply".

... Wait for the changes to be applied.

On the Wireless Overview screen clic the "Add" button to create a wifi network where all your devices will connect.

On the Wireless Network: Master "wifi_name" (radio0.network2) scroll down to Interface Configuration and enter the data of your new network:

Under General Setup tab:
ESSID: "wifi name"
Mode: Access Point
Network: tick "lan"

Under Wireless Security tab:
Choose Encryption: WPA2-PSK
Key: "your_wifi_password"

Clic "Save & Apply" button

------

To put a static route to access the router in the OpenWrt main menu select "Network" -> "Interfaces"

On network "LAN" clic "Edit" button

Put IPv4 Address: 192.168.0.1

Clic "Save & Apply" button

Press the restart button of your router.

How to revert back an OpenWrt router configuration

Your router has been misconfigured and you can't access your router anymore. To fix it you need to do a restart process. Here are the steps:

Put your router in failsafe mode:

Set your PC ip: 192.168.1.2 and subnetmask 255.255.255.0 and gateway 192.168.1.1 (computer may need to restart)

Power off the router

Disconnect the WAN cable

Only connect your PC Ethernet cable to ETH0

Power On the router

Wait for the router to start the boot sequence (SYS LED starts blinking)
When SYS LED is blinking, hit restart button (SYS LED will be blink in a faster rate means your router is in failsafe Mode) (you have to hit the button before the router boots)(you may need to press the restart button twice to enter failsafe mode)


-----

'Factory reset' to default config

Enter console commands:
(You may need to activate Telnet on Windows)

# telnet 192.168.1.1

(wait for the OpenWrt BusyBox front page indicating "FAILSAFE MODE active)

 === IMPORTANT ============================
  Use 'passwd' to set your login password
  this will disable telnet and enable SSH
 ------------------------------------------


BusyBox v1.19.4 (2013-03-14 11:28:31 UTC) built-in shell (ash)
Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands.

  _______                     ________        __
 |       |.-----.-----.-----.|  |  |  |.----.|  |_
 |   -   ||  _  |  -__|     ||  |  |  ||   _||   _|
 |_______||   __|_____|__|__||________||__|  |____|
          |__| W I R E L E S S   F R E E D O M
 -----------------------------------------------------
 ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT (12.09, r36088)
 -----------------------------------------------------
  * 1/4 oz Vodka      Pour all ingredients into mixing
  * 1/4 oz Gin        tin with ice, strain into glass.
  * 1/4 oz Amaretto
  * 1/4 oz Triple sec
  * 1/4 oz Peach schnapps
  * 1/4 oz Sour mix
  * 1 splash Cranberry juice
 -----------------------------------------------------
root@(none):/#





# mount_root (to mount the JFFS2 partition)

# firstboot

# rm -r /overlay/*  (or /overlay/upper/* on some routers)

# mtd -r erase rootfs_data (this will reboot the device as part of the process)



-----------

Once your router restart go to address: 192.168.1.1 in your browser


That's it.

Gimmicky 2016 MacBook Pro

The new Apple Macbook Pro is less Pro. Apple, with one hand gives a gimmicky Touch Bar and fingerprint reader to the notebook and with the other hand takes away some of the most valued pro features. MagSafe, physical function keys, and SD memory card slot are gone with the new MacBook lineup.

 

Apple does not like seeing people upgrading their products outside of Apple ecosystem, and the Ninja Stealth Drive or the Nifty Mini Drive are a very smart gadget to add memory to a MacBook with memory card slot. If users can easily put more memory on the device, they rarely will buy more iCloud storage space. Also Apple sells the very high priced memory upgrades at the moment of buying the product.

Now, if you want to connect something to your Apple notebook you have two options:

How to Use a Router as a Repeater

EyeFi releases X2 Utility

EyeFi has released a software that will work with their X2 card (and previous) after the End-Of-Life date. The version available at the moment is for Mac and requires to uninstall their previous software (Eye-Fi Center), a version for Windows is coming.

Eye-Fi's X2 EOL will brick your memory card's wifi

UPDATE: EyeFi Releases X2 Utility

Eye-Fi the company that makes SD memory cards with wifi capabilities has announced by email to its customers that is going to shut down key services on September 16, 2016.

...This notice formally begins the final stage of the “end-of-life” (EOL) process started in mid-2015 for the affected products.  It’s very important that customers cease using these products no later than September 16, 2016 as some key services these products rely on will be shut down at that time. 

This means that you wont be able to activate the card, change its settings or log in to the managing software after the cut off.

It is no time for the Apple watch

There are a few things that Apple got wrong with the watch.

Canon DPP 4 and EOS Utility 3 compatibility

Canon's raw processing software Digital Photo Professional (DPP) has 2 different versions being developed in parallel: 3.x and 4.x.

UPDATE: Canon has added support for most of their cameras to Digital Photo Professional 4. Now you don't need to install both versions to manage old and modern raw files.

Apple Watch sales drop after "fanboy" rush

Apple released a sales report about the Watch, iPods, iPads and other accessories showing an increment on sales basically due to the new smart watch.

Wearables war: no winner yet

Apple invested a great sum of resources in their watch to catch up with the Android wearables. A year ago the Apple watch was announced. And although I personally prefer the round screen of the Motorola 360 or the LG watch, Apple's watch is also a nicely designed piece of technology.

Wintec Filemate SSD card. Tested

External HDD Western Digital (USB)

How to fix the Canon EF-S 17-85mm lens

I could have continue using the lens with manual focus in the Manual or Aperture Priority modes of the camera, but I use a lot that lens, so I decided to give a try to replace the cable by myself.

Hackintosh in a Samsung laptop

The shiny black Samsung R70, a top level machine on the days of Windows Vista, was the laptop I installed OSX 10.5 Leopard. Yes, I know this goes against of Apple's terms & conditions, but I was curious and wanted to learn how to use Apple's system.

Samsung R70

The Samsung laptop was just a few months old, and I spent a lot of money on the latest technology. I was paying installments each month for one year, so buying another computer was not an option.

I tried different distributions and different settings for each distribution. Nothing worked, so I parked the idea. But it was still in my head, so after a few weeks reading more about it, I tried again until the system booted successfully. I saw the Apple logo appear on the screen, I couldn't believe it, I was really excited.

I still had to solve some problems thought, like the keyboard and touch pad weren't detected, sound and microphone weren't working... I had to find patches and workarounds. I bought an expensive PCMCIA card that the system detected as Airport to have wifi. It did a very good "hackintosh", and I liked to work with that system so much that I ended buying the real thing. Thanks Apple for the trial!

nVidia chip

The Samsung laptop worked well until the fourth year, then problems with the graphics started. It was hit by the nVidia defect. It was out of guarantee. If I wanted to fix it, I needed to replace the main board, that was a expensive reparation and the problem will appear again in the future. Contacting Samsung's customer service didn't help. Now it is just an expensive Samsung branded paperweight.

Is just one usb port in your laptop enough for you? Apple thinks so

The new Apple Macbook introduces some interesting new technology. Because the new Intel chip consumes less power, the heat has been reduced and it is absorbed by the enclosure, resulting in the first fan-less Mac.

But this is not the only moving part that has been eliminated. The touch pad is not clickable any more. With the new force touch technology when a long press happens, it is interpreted like a click.
Less moving parts means less possibilities of breaking, making the device more reliable.

The keyboard has also been redesigned to fit in less space using the new scissor system, and it uses individual led in each key to light more efficiently.

The 12 inch. retina screen is going to be the new standard for computer pixel density very soon, as it is already in the smartphone industry.

And the new reversible USB-C port will do the charging and the data transfer through cable.

The innovation and technology used makes this notebook an amazing piece of design. But I am really not sure this single physical port is going to be enough for the average Mac user, at least not enough for me.

Is this notebook going to replace the Air models? It probably will, as it represents all the MacBook Air was designed for. Portability and battery efficiency.

Professionals want matte screen back on Apple computers

When Apple made the change to glossy screen, they gave the customer the matte screen as an option by paying a plus. But not anymore. The options now, if you want to use a Mac without seeing yourself reflected on the screen, are:

1. to buy a translucent sticker that blurs the image. You can find it in the Apple Store.
2. to get an external monitor and connect it to the display port.

The second option is only valid if you don't need portability, while the first option doesn't seem very professional and could leave rests of adhesive on the screen when removed.

Since Apple ditched the matte screen option on their laptop and desktop computers. I I have been sticking to a MacBook 2007, upgrading some of its internal components to be able to continue working with ease. The main reason is that I can only work long hours with a matte screen. I find the glossy finish distracting and difficult to focus on.

So, what's the reason for Apple not offering the matte option?

One reason could be that there is not enough demand to justify it, and eliminating a customization option will reduce the logistic and design costs.

Another reason is the uniformity of the product line. As touch screen products like phones and tablets need to have a glass surface, Apple wants to reduce visual and technical differences between them, like making all products retina display or ditching connectivity ports (like in the new MacBook with only one USB port).

Professionals are claiming for a matte retina display. The more the screen has a paper look, the better. Glossy is consumer, not pro and Apple is not offering a solution to professionals that may need to replace their workstations soon. Maybe they move to Windows next time.

European regulation about screens used for computer workstations, states: “Workstations shall be so designed that … no direct glare and, as far as possible, no reflections on the screen.”

“why we will not buy an apple mac if it has a glossy screen”

Riding a real hoverboard by Lexus

In the year 2015 finally we have a real rideable hoverboard.

Lexus has released a teaser showing a stylish board that levitates about one inch over the ground.

How does it work? 

Here is the physics behind the hoverboard:
The surface is probably made with hidden magnets underneath or another method to produce a magnetic field. The superconductor material inside the board, when cooled by liquid nitrogen, generates a contrary magnetic field powerful enough to make it levitate over the surface.

The car-maker company created an advanced technology product to generate viral advertisement that will position the Lexus brand as innovative and cool.