My 40th Thread...Linux Life

[target2019]

I'm actually settling in on 0.85 ~ 0.90. On my system, and my eyes, the lower settings were rather ... 'stark or 'jarring', if that makes sense? It's an individual thing.

.9 is working better for me too. Dr Google says gamma should be way up at 2.2 but that really washes out.

I don't have this all in mind yet, but xgamma is on a different scale than Mac/PC settings. This article explains the convergence of gamma in 2009 for PC and Mac crowds.
https://www.geek.com/apple/snow-leopard-and-windows-finally-share-22-gamma-setting-893571/

When you set gamma to .85 with xgamma command, it's similar to what happens when you increase gamma on Mac/PC from 1.8 to 2.2. The output gets darker.

 

[target2019]

Digital Image Captures 1

In 1991 I purchased a Dycam Model 1 digital camera, the first consumer digital camera according to this article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_QuickTake

The picture below was taken with the long-gone Dycam. The 256-greyscale, 376 x 282 pixel size was the entire story. I tweaked a little with Gimp (Equalize, then Contrast adjustment) just now. Opposites Attract is first thing that comes to mind.

Yesterday I started mucking with a LifeCam NX-3000 webcam, also limited to 640 x 480 resolution. Pretty anemic specs, but hardware installed with no problem, so I had an immediate result with the Cheese app.

In the same day I had a failure trying to attach a better camera, the Uniden AppCam 23. That was locked up from previous use and I could not recall the security PIN. The mobile phone setup app was out of date too, with lots of complaints in the app store. It's in the recycle box now.

Also located a QuickCam OEM Cisco VT Camera II by Logitech. Another 640 x 480 webcam, now afflicted with large pink spot showing in the Cheese screen.
And the HP7DV has a built-in webcam as well.

I'll try each of the webcams for fun. All are limited to 640 x 480, and results will appear ancient, I'm sure. Just making do with what is readily available.

 

[deserat]

I've truly enjoyed this thread....even the cruise wandering.

I got fed up with Win10 and found a way to stop the bloated updates, but for some reason after some small update, my headphones drivers broke...sigh...I then went and built a bootable Ubuntu USB....tried it out...not a bad interface and a lot of nice tools/apps that are fairly compatible with other software files.

When I fully retire...again....I think I will be moving completely over to a Linux world. I also have some hardware sitting around that could become useful again as VPN and TV managers using the stripped down and efficient Linux.

Also, the pic early on in the thread of the finned box looked interesting....the ME in me perked up with the heat transfer fins...I may go see what something like that can do for me...

Thanks again....geek out here...

 

[Jimmie]

Finished the LM 19.3 install on DW PC. Man, it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. Install is easy, but LM would never actually boot after an error-free installation. After trying all kinds of manual partition building and retrying install, ended up getting the same results. Talk about frustrating. Decided to walk away from it for a day and think about next steps. Next day I wondered if LM install had issues with PC setup with RAID configured. Disconnected 2nd drive and changed BIOS setting to ACHI, then tried install again. Bingo! Installed successfully. Did some googling and discovered that LM install program wasn't built to handle RAID at all.

Good feeling to know i haven't lost my "techie" touch. Stay safe all!

 

[target2019]

I've truly enjoyed this thread....even the cruise wandering.

I got fed up with Win10 and found a way to stop the bloated updates, but for some reason after some small update, my headphones drivers broke...sigh...I then went and built a bootable Ubuntu USB....tried it out...not a bad interface and a lot of nice tools/apps that are fairly compatible with other software files.

When I fully retire...again....I think I will be moving completely over to a Linux world. I also have some hardware sitting around that could become useful again as VPN and TV managers using the stripped down and efficient Linux.

Also, the pic early on in the thread of the finned box looked interesting....the ME in me perked up with the heat transfer fins...I may go see what something like that can do for me...

Thanks again....geek out here...

"Any port in a storm," as they say.

I'll keep eyes and ears open for comments and reviews about the MintBox Mini 2.

 

[target2019]

Digital Image Captures 2

Time to share my office view with y'all, a capture from MS LifeCam NX-3000. I picked this up six years ago to Skype with a potential client. By then I was severed after eight years with mega-corp. The writing contract that resulted was very profitable.

In the final 2-3 years with mega-corp I took advantage of tuition reimbursement, and earned a masters in PM with security focus. Always get the free money. The degree had a large personal payoff, with the security writing contract and subsequent five-year mini-corp job.

And I did not use the webcam at all during the project. The engineer I teamed with was on a boat in Spain, and not really interested in face-to-face time. We conversed through their messaging system and email. His security knowledge and experience was light years beyond mine. The articles were very short, and required an incredible amount of research. When completed the writing went into a proprietary knowledge-base the company used as part of its training services.

So this tiny webcam before me has a story.

Install was very easy, and the camera was recognized. Cheese is minimal software that interfaces with almost any webcam you plug in. Found a way to adjust the position of this clip-on model so it would face outward, towards the front yard. With only 640 x 480 resolution I'll not be over-loading the data lanes, that is a certainty. The shot is scaled 75%, and color is enhanced a bit with Cheese.

The capture program has problems with configuration changes. I tried to change the delay between burst capture, but Cheese has its mind made up, and counted down, 3-2-1. Once I get through posting samples from the remaining webcams (Logitech and built-in HP) I'll try other webcam apps.

 

[zinger1457]

Next I need a Chromecast device. My LG SmartTV does not seem to have native Chromecast functionality.

Therefore I assume I need to purchase and install a wireless Chromecast dongle and insert it into one of the free HDMI ports on the SmartTV? Is that correct?

All I want to do is to "cast" my Linux Mint 19 Cinnamon desktop to my LG SmartTV. I don't want/need any other functionality nor streaming service. Any suggestions for a wireless Chromecast dongle?

Does Linux support miracast? It's what I use to cast from my Windows 10 laptop to my LG SmartTV.

 

[ERD50]

OK, I'll try tagging my question onto this thread.

For years, off and on, I've searched for an app or setting or something that would make it easy to move my cursor a single pixel at a time, for when I'm doing something that requires precision.

I get directed to the "Accessibility" settings, but that takes a few clicks to switch between mouse mode and keyboard mode. Not what I want.

Today, thinking about it, I realized what would work well for me was if I could hold down a special key, that would force the mouse into super slow-mo, like moving a 1/4" per pixel or something. Then I could seamlessly slide between normal and close up mode.

Anyone know of that for Linux?

-ERD50

 

[target2019]

ERD50,
Method 2 on this page might help?
https://www.ostechnix.com/how-to-magnify-screen-areas-on-linux-desktop/

 

[ERD50]

ERD50,
Method 2 on this page might help?
https://www.ostechnix.com/how-to-magnify-screen-areas-on-linux-desktop/

Thanks, but that's the "close, no cigar" stuff I've found.

It's not just zooming, and switching in/out of Accessibility mode is too cumbersome, and it seems to force you to switch from mouse to keyboard.

Imagine trying to select a 4 pixel by 4 pixel area, the mouse moves to far for that.

I suppose I may be able to write a script, capture a keypress and then turn mouse sensitivity way down, if it can be set that low. But I'd rather find something done already. I can't be the only one who want super fine control from time to time.

-ERD50

 

[target2019]

Thanks, but that's the "close, no cigar" stuff I've found.

It's not just zooming, and switching in/out of Accessibility mode is too cumbersome, and it seems to force you to switch from mouse to keyboard.

Imagine trying to select a 4 pixel by 4 pixel area, the mouse moves to far for that.

I suppose I may be able to write a script, capture a keypress and then turn mouse sensitivity way down, if it can be set that low. But I'd rather find something done already. I can't be the only one who want super fine control from time to time.

Sorry about that. In Mint it's Accessibility > Visual > Screen reader. After poking it a bit, I can see it is not suitable. I installed Kmag in case I need to magnify anything. It has more features, like a snapshot command (see below) which is zoomed.

But Kmag will not fulfill your wish, although it helps me better understand what you are looking for. Go to highest magnification, turn off Mouse cursor, and it's closer. But mouse sensitivity means you jump all over the screen with a standard mouse setting.

Are you using a specific app, maybe Gimp or something, to edit photos?

 

[target2019]

Does Linux support miracast? It's what I use to cast from my Windows 10 laptop to my LG SmartTV.

I found a project which mentions it:

MiracleCast - Wifi-Display/Miracast Implementation
https://github.com/albfan/miraclecast

I haven't done anything like this.

 

[ERD50]

...

Are you using a specific app, maybe Gimp or something, to edit photos?

That's one case (and I'll look closer to see if GIMP has a function for that), but it's something I'd like in general. I've seen things on the web, and I try to focus in, and it's hard - not just a matter of magnification, but the mouse hover opens up a pop up, and I need to get that mouse right on a pixel on a tight group.

Ahhh, here's an example. Right-click the time-bar slider to "ALL" then try to hover over a specific stock/fund to get the price/% on the last day (2020-03-27) on the chart. You've got to get that mouse just right.... :


https://stockcharts.com/freecharts/perf.php?VTI,AEP,EXC,FTBFX,LNT,MAT,PEP,PG,VMRGX

-ERD50

 

[target2019]

That's one case (and I'll look closer to see if GIMP has a function for that), but it's something I'd like in general. I've seen things on the web, and I try to focus in, and it's hard - not just a matter of magnification, but the mouse hover opens up a pop up, and I need to get that mouse right on a pixel on a tight group.

Ahhh, here's an example. Right-click the time-bar slider to "ALL" then try to hover over a specific stock/fund to get the price/% on the last day (2020-03-27) on the chart. You've got to get that mouse just right.... :

https://stockcharts.com/freecharts/perf.php?VTI,AEP,EXC,FTBFX,LNT,MAT,PEP,PG,VMRGX

Crystal clear now. I was able to do it, actually. Kmag helped me prove it (see below).

To help steady my mousing:
- Wireless mouse (not pulled by the cord un-necessarily)
- Gel pad with wrist support
- Switched to right button as primary some time ago. Middle finger gives me more control, index was wearing out, causing pain
- After finding the day 3/27, let go very carefully, and used keyboard shortcuts (Alt + F, S) in Kmag to take the shot (still active in foreground).

 

[ERD50]

Crystal clear now. I was able to do it, actually. Kmag helped me prove it (see below).

To help steady my mousing:
- Wireless mouse (not pulled by the cord un-necessarily)
- Gel pad with wrist support
- Switched to right button as primary some time ago. Middle finger gives me more control, index was wearing out, causing pain
- After finding the day 3/27, let go very carefully, and used keyboard shortcuts (Alt + F, S) in Kmag to take the shot (still active in foreground).

Yes, do-able, but not easy.

I did some more research. It seems that what is confusing the issue is that different set-ups have different commands controlling the mouse. I don't know if this is differences in the hardware and driver, differences in Linux versions, or what. I'm really not that fluent at the "under the hood" stuff in Linux.

But what I'm finding is, first execute "xinput list", that returns a list that should include all connected mice. Mine is a generic Amazon Basics, and it was named "USB Optical Mouse ".

When I enter: xinput list-props "USB Optical Mouse" (you can use device # from above output as well), I get:

 xinput list-props "USB Optical Mouse"
Device 'USB Optical Mouse':
	Device Enabled (143):	1
	Coordinate Transformation Matrix (145):	1.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000, 1.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000, 1.000000
	libinput Natural Scrolling Enabled (278):	0
	libinput Natural Scrolling Enabled Default (279):	0
	libinput Scroll Methods Available (280):	0, 0, 1
	libinput Scroll Method Enabled (281):	0, 0, 0
	libinput Scroll Method Enabled Default (282):	0, 0, 0
	libinput Button Scrolling Button (283):	2
	libinput Button Scrolling Button Default (284):	2
	libinput Middle Emulation Enabled (285):	0
	libinput Middle Emulation Enabled Default (286):	0
	libinput Accel Speed (287):	-0.700000
	libinput Accel Speed Default (288):	0.000000
	libinput Accel Profiles Available (289):	1, 1
	libinput Accel Profile Enabled (290):	1, 0
	libinput Accel Profile Enabled Default (291):	1, 0
	libinput Left Handed Enabled (292):	0
	libinput Left Handed Enabled Default (293):	0
	libinput Send Events Modes Available (263):	1, 0
	libinput Send Events Mode Enabled (264):	0, 0
	libinput Send Events Mode Enabled Default (265):	0, 0
	Device Node (266):	"/dev/input/event6"
	Device Product ID (267):	1266, 2361
	libinput Drag Lock Buttons (294):	<no items>
	libinput Horizontal Scroll Enabled (295):	1

Many people refer to a "'Device Accel Constant Deceleration" property, but I don't have that. It was suggested to use "libinput Accel Speed" instead. It can be set from +1.0 to -1.0.

 xinput set-prop "USB Optical Mouse" "libinput Accel Speed" -1.0

My testing results were different from expectations - first column is the value setting, the second is the distance I had to move the mouse to go from the top of my screen to the bottom.


Value - mouse movement

1.0 ~ 0.75"
0.0 ~ 1.0"

Settings of -0.5 to -0.7 were very close to the 0.0 setting. Settings of -0.8 to -1.0 were somewhat exponential.

-0.8 ~ 1.125"
-0.9 ~ 1.375
-1.0 ~ 1.75"


. A value of 0.0 was about 1" of mouse movement.

A -1.0 is pretty slow, good, but I'd really like super-slow. Maybe these differences are why there doesn't seem to be a simple app for this. I have done almost zero programming that interacts with the system like this, but it shouldn't be too hard to put a script together that senses a "Hotkey" and sets that parameter to -1, then returns it to 0. That would help a lot.

Another option would be keys to "nudge" the cursor a pixel at a time. Hmmm, I bet there's a command for that...


-ERD50

 

[ERD50]

...

Another option would be keys to "nudge" the cursor a pixel at a time. Hmmm, I bet there's a command for that...


-ERD50

Look like this is the right command, setting up hot keys should be easy (I think)?

https://www.linux.org/threads/xdotool-mouse.10556/

xdotool mousemove_relative

-ERD50

 

[donheff]

You guys are taking me back to the old days of Linux when I thought the desktop wasn't ready for prime time. xdotool mousemove_relative? LOL.

 

[target2019]

Look like this is the right command, setting up hot keys should be easy (I think)?

https://www.linux.org/threads/xdotool-mouse.10556/

xdotool mousemove_relative

El Profesore,
I used xinput list to find the IDs of my devices. I also found my mouse properties as per your example. I installed xdotool, and consulted the manpage...

xdotool mousemove_relative 100 -50

Thank you for the new learning. I am going to the couch and will wait for my grade posting.

 

[ERD50]

El Profesore,
I used xinput list to find the IDs of my devices. I also found my mouse properties as per your example. I installed xdotool, and consulted the manpage...

xdotool mousemove_relative 100 -50

Thank you for the new learning. I am going to the couch and will wait for my grade posting.

Very good. Just got the next step in and seems to work. Went into Settings/Keyboard, and entered those commands into the GUI (1 pixel relative moves in each direction), and then press the key combo you want and it 'grabs' those.

I figured I might need the mouse up/down in some cases, so I added those. Not sure why I couldn't find this in a search.

-ERD50

 

[target2019]

Very good. Just got the next step in and seems to work. Went into Settings/Keyboard, and entered those commands into the GUI (1 pixel relative moves in each direction), and then press the key combo you want and it 'grabs' those.

I figured I might need the mouse up/down in some cases, so I added those. Not sure why I couldn't find this in a search.

Thanks for sharing the keyboard modifications with xdotool commands.
I have much to learn.

 

[target2019]

Digital Image Captures 3

Sunday morning, and I spied the local chipmunk scampering down his Broadway, a long line of pavers which hug the garage. I don't hunt the chipmunk as some do. Yes, they dig bunkers when moving throughout the grassless yard, needing safe haven from the hungry hawks. But they do not come inside un-invited like mice, and so we remain friends.

During his 2011 transition from U.S. West Coast to Australia, son shipped a box here with electronics accumulated over a period of years. There were routers, cables, phones, and this Cisco-branded QuickCam (manufactured by Logitech):
QuickCam OEM Cisco VT Camera II by Logitech

I plugged in the eyeball-shaped camera, and since it has a longer USB cord I was able to get closer to the window, and tied it down to a board. At first it showed a large pink spot due to overwhelming light from the sky. So I turned on the mauve filter in software, and got something of interest (at least to me).

I'll keep the QuickCam for future experiments. Amazon delivered some toys on Saturday, including two female-to-female USB 3.0 adapters. I'm now able to extend the USB input cables, and can move these webcams around my office for other views. Below I captured the beauty of my front step, where Chipmunk sits from time to time, eating acorns.

I notice that the model identification drop-down says the QuickCam is under control of UVC Driver (046d:08c7). UVC or 'USB Video Class' is a generic driver being loaded for the QuickCam. If there's additional capability, I won't know about it with a generic driver in use. But I'll end things right there.

 

[ERD50]

Thanks for sharing the keyboard modifications with xdotool commands.
I have much to learn.

I actually know very, very little about commands like that. It's only when I can't find a solution to a specific problem, and I have the motivation to dig into it, do I learn of these. Then I document them before I forget!

There was just a post in another thread that got me curious about oil prices, and I cam across one of those graphs with the pop up details when you get the mouse right over the data. I struggled for a few seconds, and then "wait!", and I pressed my key-combo to move the mouse cursor 1 px at a time. Worked perfectly!

I think I'll add some keys for 10 px move, and maybe move them to the w-a-s-z keys for easier one-hand operation.

-ERD50

 

[donheff]

I actually know very, very little about commands like that. It's only when I can't find a solution to a specific problem, and I have the motivation to dig into it, do I learn of these. Then I document them before I forget!

There was just a post in another thread that got me curious about oil prices, and I cam across one of those graphs with the pop up details when you get the mouse right over the data. I struggled for a few seconds, and then "wait!", and I pressed my key-combo to move the mouse cursor 1 px at a time. Worked perfectly!

I think I'll add some keys for 10 px move, and maybe move them to the w-a-s-z keys for easier one-hand operation.

-ERD50

I am in the same boat. When I used Linux years ago I learned how powerful the command line is. I could often solve problems with suggested commands that I would never have discovered using the GUIs. Later, I found the same thing is true in Windows. Often the solution to weird problems ends up being a few arcane commands suggested by helpful geeks with the assistance of Dr. Google.

 

[target2019]

I am in the same boat. When I used Linux years ago I learned how powerful the command line is. I could often solve problems with suggested commands that I would never have discovered using the GUIs. Later, I found the same thing is true in Windows. Often the solution to weird problems ends up being a few arcane commands suggested by helpful geeks with the assistance of Dr. Google.

That reminds me of a Windows problem I had with a USB share on the home router. Netgear had a GUI to connect to it, and, yes, this can be done in Windows file manager. But I had disconnections and other things happen which are now long-forgotten.

In time I found a command, and put it in a startup folder. The script always works...

net use u: \\readyshare\usb /user:username password

Yes, I've created a security problem locally, but I'll accept that. Outside of here, I would not do that.

 

[Ready-4-ER-at-14]

I like mint 16.3 and have all laptops and desktops of personal computers but one running it. No idea if mint will ever work on tablets but would move them too if I could although I guess they are running a type of linux anyway. The only problem for me is I was a bit more savy with old windows with batch files and stuff, while Linux coding is still a bit strange and different if I go to terminal. (sort of like windows command prompt)