Problem: VLC "Vetinari"stutters / plays choppy video when older versions played just fine.
Solution: Go to Tools \ Preferences \ Input/Codecs and set "Hardware-accelerated decoding" to "Disable".
Monday, April 29, 2019
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Things I learned when setting up hardware keys for Google accounts
Here are some items that are potentially useful to know when setting up a hardware key (i.e. Yubikey) for online security.
1. Yubikey is grossly overpriced. HyperFIDO has fully compatible keys at a quarter of the cost, and they even protect the USB plug contacts - something Yubikey does not do.
(Why most key makers choose designs that expose the USB contacts, I will never understand.)
They also have a mini version. Reviews say it is not as well built, but at this price, you can afford to buy spares. Plus it comes with a cap to keep grunge out of the USB plug.
Unfortunately, they don't have a Bluetooth / NFC version. For that you should consider a Feitian at half the cost of a Yubikey.
[Update]: I have noticed that some services work with Yubikeys, but don't work with other FIDO-compatible keys. This is a problem on their end. I've had good luck with companies fixing their issues once I point them out.
2. You can't use Firefox for setup. You can use Firefox for ongoing use, but to set up, you must use Google Chrome.
3. With Google, you can add many keys. I was able to add five to my Google account. If there is a limit, I've not found it yet.
This is most excellent since you can have multiple keys for difference purposes (desktop, laptop, travel) plus pre-registered backups stored in a safe place for when you lose/break your primary key(s).
4. You still need your passwords. Hardware keys supplement passwords, but - currently and somewhat oddly - do not replace them.
5. Phone/text verification is fairly secure, but not as secure. After you enroll your keys, you should consider removing your mobile as an option for 2-step verification.
As far as I know - and I've not yet tested - for ordinary two-factor authentication, you can use a physical key for your desktop, but you do not absolutely need one for your mobile. I intend to find out as soon as I can.
If, however, you enroll in the Google Advanced Protection program, you (apparently) must have at least one key for your mobile. This usually means a Bluetooth or NFC key, though USB-C keys are also available.
[Update]: I've only been asked to use my mobile (NFC) key a couple of times. Usually when I'm off my WiFi network and signing in to some new service.
Other notes:
- Adding and removing keys is a snap.
- The LED light on the Mini is fairly bright. There is an LED on the Titanium also, but it is not obtrusive.
1. Yubikey is grossly overpriced. HyperFIDO has fully compatible keys at a quarter of the cost, and they even protect the USB plug contacts - something Yubikey does not do.
(Why most key makers choose designs that expose the USB contacts, I will never understand.)
They also have a mini version. Reviews say it is not as well built, but at this price, you can afford to buy spares. Plus it comes with a cap to keep grunge out of the USB plug.
Unfortunately, they don't have a Bluetooth / NFC version. For that you should consider a Feitian at half the cost of a Yubikey.
[Update]: I have noticed that some services work with Yubikeys, but don't work with other FIDO-compatible keys. This is a problem on their end. I've had good luck with companies fixing their issues once I point them out.
2. You can't use Firefox for setup. You can use Firefox for ongoing use, but to set up, you must use Google Chrome.
3. With Google, you can add many keys. I was able to add five to my Google account. If there is a limit, I've not found it yet.
This is most excellent since you can have multiple keys for difference purposes (desktop, laptop, travel) plus pre-registered backups stored in a safe place for when you lose/break your primary key(s).
4. You still need your passwords. Hardware keys supplement passwords, but - currently and somewhat oddly - do not replace them.
5. Phone/text verification is fairly secure, but not as secure. After you enroll your keys, you should consider removing your mobile as an option for 2-step verification.
As far as I know - and I've not yet tested - for ordinary two-factor authentication, you can use a physical key for your desktop, but you do not absolutely need one for your mobile. I intend to find out as soon as I can.
If, however, you enroll in the Google Advanced Protection program, you (apparently) must have at least one key for your mobile. This usually means a Bluetooth or NFC key, though USB-C keys are also available.
[Update]: I've only been asked to use my mobile (NFC) key a couple of times. Usually when I'm off my WiFi network and signing in to some new service.
Other notes:
- Adding and removing keys is a snap.
- The LED light on the Mini is fairly bright. There is an LED on the Titanium also, but it is not obtrusive.
Thursday, April 4, 2019
Additional options for repurposing old Android
Further to my previous post, I have found XWidget to have a lot of good options for information displays on old Androids.
New development of XWidget has reportedly stopped, but the app still works fine. Rainmeter is (presumably) intended to replace it, but it doesn't (yet) work on Android.
The free version allows you to access a fairly good library of free widgets. If you want the others (such as something from this massive collection by jimking) you need to pony up a couple of bucks.
Despite the developers insistence that it was possible to transfer downloaded widgets to Android, I could not make it work. XWidget would not connect to my phone (yes, I checked the driver).
[Update 2019-04-06]: The .XWP files for Xwidget are nothing more than zip/rar archives. You can open them directly with WinRAR and extract the working files without the need to install the PC application, as described below.
Original text:
"My workaround was to unpack/install the widget on the PC and copy to the Android, as follows:
- Download the XWidget package to PC.
- Double-click to invoke the XWidget desktop and install the new widget.
- Locate the unpacked widget in C:\Users\[username]\Documents\XWidget\Widgets
- Copy the widget directory to the Android at Internal storage\XWidget\Widgets
- Start the XWidget app and hit "Refresh" from the three-button menu."
jimking (and others) have an extensive collection of widgets not available in the XWidget gallery, but available for direct download. As does yereverluvinuncleber. I imagine there are many more.
XWidget even allows some simple editing directly on the phone. So if the layout or elements are not to your liking, it is possible to move/add/remove them until the widget is more to taste.
Examples below, all from jimking (thanks, Jim!). The top one is my current favorite for a tablet (8" or larger).
New development of XWidget has reportedly stopped, but the app still works fine. Rainmeter is (presumably) intended to replace it, but it doesn't (yet) work on Android.
The free version allows you to access a fairly good library of free widgets. If you want the others (such as something from this massive collection by jimking) you need to pony up a couple of bucks.
Despite the developers insistence that it was possible to transfer downloaded widgets to Android, I could not make it work. XWidget would not connect to my phone (yes, I checked the driver).
[Update 2019-04-06]: The .XWP files for Xwidget are nothing more than zip/rar archives. You can open them directly with WinRAR and extract the working files without the need to install the PC application, as described below.
Original text:
"My workaround was to unpack/install the widget on the PC and copy to the Android, as follows:
- Download the XWidget package to PC.
- Double-click to invoke the XWidget desktop and install the new widget.
- Locate the unpacked widget in C:\Users\[username]\Documents\XWidget\Widgets
- Copy the widget directory to the Android at Internal storage\XWidget\Widgets
- Start the XWidget app and hit "Refresh" from the three-button menu."
jimking (and others) have an extensive collection of widgets not available in the XWidget gallery, but available for direct download. As does yereverluvinuncleber. I imagine there are many more.
XWidget even allows some simple editing directly on the phone. So if the layout or elements are not to your liking, it is possible to move/add/remove them until the widget is more to taste.
Examples below, all from jimking (thanks, Jim!). The top one is my current favorite for a tablet (8" or larger).
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Using an old Android phone or tablet as a wall/desk clock and/or weather station
No shortage of sites telling us we should be re-purposing old phones rather than junking them.
I wanted to make a wall clock / weather station. Easy, right?
Nope.
Many issues, including:
- The phone did not support a landscape home screen, meaning widgets were out.
- Most weather apps looked like crap.
- Many weather apps also did not rotate into landscape.
So, several things to fix. Very frustrating for what should have been a trivial thing, took much longer than I expected.
As I wanted landscape mode, that meant an app and not a widget. I tried out 10-12 weather apps and was not happy with any of them in landscape; most of them did a bad job of using all the available real estate.
Some solutions:
1. Install Nova Launcher. This allows most any phone/tablet to have a landscape home screen; it also hides the status bar.
(It can't hide the home/back buttons - that's part of the OS. But it does everything else.)
2. Now that I could do landscape widgets, I tried several out. I found the best displays came from Weather & Clock Widget for Android.
Options include a proper big clock, very nice icons, and several full-screen widgets. Also, the widgets scale well to landscape aspect, with the various elements getting larger. Many widgets don't scale up when you make them bigger.
Transparent Clock and Weather was second-best. Its widgets don't scale up well.
Beautiful Widgets was third; the default themes are horrible, but using a different theme and hiding the background (in the widget settings) helps a lot.
[Update]: It seems the screens on my clocks are burning in, like old plasma screens. It's not obtrusive (so far).
3. For wall mounting, I considered making a shadowbox, then buying a magnetic mount.
In the end, though, I realized that these were overcomplicated. A couple of Command adhesive strips is all you need.
If you want a clean install, use the Command snap-fastener strips. These are normally used for picture hanging but will work just fine.
(Yes, you do need to plug it in. It won't look bad if you place it near something else that is already plugged in, like a landline phone, computer, etc.)
For a desk, all you need is a stand, or maybe a wireless charger stand.
Here are some examples of what you can do with Nova plus Weather & Clock Widget / Transparent Clock & Weather on a typical 5"-ish phone. My preferred layouts are at top. The top one is for a weather station by the door, while the second one is a kitchen clock.
I wanted to make a wall clock / weather station. Easy, right?
Nope.
Many issues, including:
- The phone did not support a landscape home screen, meaning widgets were out.
- Most weather apps looked like crap.
- Many weather apps also did not rotate into landscape.
So, several things to fix. Very frustrating for what should have been a trivial thing, took much longer than I expected.
As I wanted landscape mode, that meant an app and not a widget. I tried out 10-12 weather apps and was not happy with any of them in landscape; most of them did a bad job of using all the available real estate.
Some solutions:
1. Install Nova Launcher. This allows most any phone/tablet to have a landscape home screen; it also hides the status bar.
(It can't hide the home/back buttons - that's part of the OS. But it does everything else.)
2. Now that I could do landscape widgets, I tried several out. I found the best displays came from Weather & Clock Widget for Android.
Options include a proper big clock, very nice icons, and several full-screen widgets. Also, the widgets scale well to landscape aspect, with the various elements getting larger. Many widgets don't scale up when you make them bigger.
Transparent Clock and Weather was second-best. Its widgets don't scale up well.
Beautiful Widgets was third; the default themes are horrible, but using a different theme and hiding the background (in the widget settings) helps a lot.
[Update]: It seems the screens on my clocks are burning in, like old plasma screens. It's not obtrusive (so far).
3. For wall mounting, I considered making a shadowbox, then buying a magnetic mount.
In the end, though, I realized that these were overcomplicated. A couple of Command adhesive strips is all you need.
If you want a clean install, use the Command snap-fastener strips. These are normally used for picture hanging but will work just fine.
(Yes, you do need to plug it in. It won't look bad if you place it near something else that is already plugged in, like a landline phone, computer, etc.)
For a desk, all you need is a stand, or maybe a wireless charger stand.
Here are some examples of what you can do with Nova plus Weather & Clock Widget / Transparent Clock & Weather on a typical 5"-ish phone. My preferred layouts are at top. The top one is for a weather station by the door, while the second one is a kitchen clock.
How to get an old Android to use a landscape home screen
Lots of sites tell you that you should be "re-purposing" old Android phones into something useful.
I admit there are some useful things they could do. Various kinds of clocks and weather forecasters are obvious; also a remote control for your smart thermostat or lighting.
However, none of these sites deal with the main difficulty for many of these. Which is, of course, old Androids do not rotate the home screen into landscape.
This caused me no end of frustration (well - OK, several hours - but it felt endless) when I wanted to make an old phone a wall clock/weather monitor.
One way to fix it: Use Nova Launcher. It supports landscape home screens, even on older devices.
Google Launcher also did so, but is apparently discontinued. It also populated the home screen with extra crap that Nova does not have.
Nova can also get rid of the quick-access apps and the status bar. It can't get rid of the home/back buttons, as those are part of the OS.
I admit there are some useful things they could do. Various kinds of clocks and weather forecasters are obvious; also a remote control for your smart thermostat or lighting.
However, none of these sites deal with the main difficulty for many of these. Which is, of course, old Androids do not rotate the home screen into landscape.
This caused me no end of frustration (well - OK, several hours - but it felt endless) when I wanted to make an old phone a wall clock/weather monitor.
One way to fix it: Use Nova Launcher. It supports landscape home screens, even on older devices.
Google Launcher also did so, but is apparently discontinued. It also populated the home screen with extra crap that Nova does not have.
Nova can also get rid of the quick-access apps and the status bar. It can't get rid of the home/back buttons, as those are part of the OS.
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