Using a Creative RM-1800 remote control with WinAmp

Posted on Friday 20th August, 2010 by Gareth J M Saunders
Creative X-Fi Platinum soundcard, breakout box and remote control

Creative X-Fi Platinum soundcard, breakout box and remote control

What a fabulous discovery: I can now use my Creative RM-1800 infra-red remote control to control WinAmp.

Creative drivers

For the last few years my shiny, silver Creative remote control has sat beneath my PC monitor looking rather forlorn and underused. So a few months back I emptied it of batteries and handed it over to Reuben and Joshua’s toy box.

The remote control was one of the reasons that I went for the X-Fi Platinum in the first place.  I had visions of sitting in my study and being able to control my music from the other side of the room.

It was great for a couple of weeks.  I had to make do with Creative Entertainment Center rather than WinAmp but that was fine. I could live with that.  But then the first time I had to do a clean reinstall of Windows XP and upgraded my Creative X-Fi Platinum drivers I lost use of the remote control.

1. Install Creative Entertainment Center

I had assumed that the remote control drivers were a part of the soundcard drivers, after all the infra-red receiver is firmly embedded into the break-out box that is installed just beneath my DVD-RW drive.  But they are not: they are installed with Creative Entertainment Center.  I only discovered that yesterday!

I installed the Creative Entertainment Center software this evening.  It ended with a rather abrupt error message but it did install ok — at least, both the remote control driver and Creative Entertainment Center are installed and appear to be functioning correctly.

2. Enable Remote Control

Once installed I fired up the Entertainment Center Settings, which brings up this dialog box in which you need to enable the remote control:

Screenshot of Creative Remote Control Settings window

Creative Remote Control Settings window

3. WinAmp plugin

The final step was to install the Creative Remote Control plugin for WinAmp.

Under Windows 7 I had to install by right-clicking the installer file and selecting “Run as administrator”. This is because the plugin installer needs to write to the C:\Program Files\WinAmp directory and for security reasons it needs administrator rights to be able to do that.

4. That’s it

And that was it!  When I fire up WinAmp I can now sit in my study and control my music from the other side of the room.

I’m running

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Updating Outlook Appointments gadget for Outlook 2010

Posted on Sunday 15th August, 2010 by Gareth J M Saunders
Outlook appointments gadget for Windows 7

Outlook appointments gadget for Windows 7

One of my favourite Windows 7 gadgets is the Outlook Appointments gadget. As gadgets go it’s pretty simple: it shows me  upcoming appointments. From Outlook.

But oddly, only when Outlook is open.

Anyhow, when I upgraded Microsoft Office from 2007 to 2010 a couple of weeks ago I discovered that it no longer worked … it just complained that it didn’t have the correct version of Outlook installed.

The hack

But there is a simple hack:

  1. Make sure that you can view hidden and system files (Control Panel > Folder Options > under View tab select “Show hidden files, folders, or drives”).
  2. Close the Outlook upcoming appointments gadget.
  3. In Windows Explorer navigate to C:\Users\YOURNAME\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Sidebar\Gadgets\OutlookAppointmentsGadget.gadget\en-US\js\” where YOURNAME is the name of your user account.
  4. Open the file “outlook.vbs” with Notepad (or other text editor; personally I wouldn’t use WordPad).
  5. On lines 22 and 42 change the two occurrences of the number “12″ to “14″.
  6. Save the file.
  7. Open the Outlook  Appointments gadget again.

Outlook Tasks gadget

The same hack also works for the “Outlook Tasks” gadget.

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What’s a kitchen?!

Posted on Friday 13th August, 2010 by Gareth J M Saunders
Call centre

Congratulations! By looking at this photo of a call centre you qualify for an £850 voucher for ...

Who you gonna call? Not me…!

A few years ago, around about the end of May 2006, I signed up for the Telephone Preference Service (TPS). I know that because I have a letter from them confirming that I had signed up for it.

The TPS is

“the official central opt out register on which you can record your preference not to receive unsolicited sales or marketing calls. It is a legal requirement that all organisations (including charities, voluntary organisations and political parties) do not make such calls to numbers registered on the TPS unless they have your consent to do so.”

Despite that we still get unsolicited sales calls from time to time, wrapped up in a cunning disguise to make them look like we’ve won a competition or money-off voucher for a new kitchen, bathroom or bedroom.

I got another one of those calls this evening, and I have to confess to have … well, see for yourself.

The call

As professional sales calls go this one didn’t get off to a terribly good start.  When I picked up the phone the caller was in the middle of a chat with a colleague.  They were laughing about something.

I said hello.

“Oh! Sorry,” she replied, “Hello!”

I’d clearly taken her by surprise. But ever the professional she started to read from her script.

“Congratulations! You’ve been selected in a … blah blah blah … to receive an £850 voucher towards the cost of a new kitchen or bedroom.”

“Sorry, I’m not interested,” I said.

She ignored me and pressed on with her script.

“Can I ask you how old is your kitchen?”

“My what?” I asked.

“Your kitchen,” she said.

“Kitchen?! What’s a kitchen?”

“You know,” she said, a little taken aback, “a kitchen.”

“I have no idea what that is. I don’t think we’ve got a … what did you call it?”

“Kitchen”

“Yeah, I don’t think we’ve got a kitchen.”

“A kitchen,” she said, her voice getting more animated now. “Surely you know what a kitchen is…”

And then she went to the trouble of trying to describe it for me.

“… A kitchen: a room with a sink and cupboards in it.”

“Hmm … no, sorry. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Come on!” she said, “stop taking the mickey, everyone knows what a kitchen is.”

“I have … no … idea,” I said, sounding genuinely confused.

“Okay,” she continued, “then can you tell me how old your bedroom is?”

“Well!” I exclaimed, “that’s a very personal question!”

“No it’s not!” she said, quite forcefully.

I’m pretty certain that bit wasn’t on her call centre script.

“It is to me.”

“How can it be a personal question?” she challenged me.

“Well, I don’t phone up complete strangers and ask them how old their bedroom is! How rude!”

“But it’s for a voucher,” she said.

“Ahhh!” I said, sounding quite enlightened. “A VOUCHER!”

“Yes,” she said, almost audibly sighing with relief.

“Yeah, I’m not interested.”

“What?!” she exploded. “I can’t believe that you’re turning down the opportunity for an £850 voucher for a new kitchen or bedroom.”

“I … I …,” I wasn’t quite sure what to say.  But that was okay because I didn’t have to.  She was back to her script.

“Can you tell me how old the furniture in your bedroom is?”

“No.”

“Well, can you tell me how old your kitchen is?”

I think she was trying to catch me out.  But how could she, had she forgotten, I don’t know what a kitchen is.

“My what?”

She then called for her manager, and I could hear her talking to him.  ”This guy says that he doesn’t know what a kitchen is,” she said to him.

There was a pause while she handed me over to her manager, Dan.

“Hello sir,” he said, quite politely.

“Hello,” I replied, as is the custom.

“Are you having a good evening?” he asked.

“Erm, yes.  I was just trying to explain to your colleague,” I ventured, “that I wasn’t interested in your offer just now because we already have twins and have another baby on the way so we’re really not planning to upgrade our kitchen or bedrooms in the near future.”

“That’s fine,” he said. “I’m sorry about that, she must have been a bit slow to understand what you were saying.”

“That’s ok, I understand.  Thank you. Good night.”

I hung up.

Next time

We seem to get these calls every couple of weeks.  The next time it happens I really need to take the company’s name so that I can contact the Telephone Preference Service and ask them to follow up the call to ascertain why we were being contacted.

In the meantime I’ll just continue to have fun.  The last time I got a call like this I just told them that we hadn’t had a kitchen since the explosion and that the insurance company was dealing with it.  The next time … any suggestions?  Leave them in the comments, if you like.

p.s. I do know what a kitchen is. We’ve got loads of them!

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Wisdom tooth extraction

Posted on Thursday 29th July, 2010 by Gareth J M Saunders
Wisdom tooth and ruler

Proof positive that I'm not getting that long in the tooth

On Monday morning I walked down to our local dentists’ surgery here in Anstruther, looking out over the harbour, and to the noise of what sounded like my jaw being cracked open I had my lower-left wisdom tooth removed.

It had been rather naughty for quite a few years and so had to come out. It had never really come in properly, was crowding the back of my mouth quite uncomfortably at times (mostly when my mouth had visitors) and to top it all the dentist suggested that it may also have had a low-grade infection simmering there for quite a while, years perhaps.

Everything must go

Following a sudden bout of toothache about a month ago, numerous emergency visits to the dentist and two courses of antibiotics the decision was made: it had to go.  The appointment was booked, the date arrived, I was psyched up and conveniently was sitting in a dentist’s chair with a needle in my mouth receiving the first of three injections to numb my tooth. (And jaw. And tongue.)

I don’t know if you’ve ever had a tooth removed. For all the advances in medical science tooth extraction really does still come down to poking it with a pointy metal stick to get it loose and then pulling it out with a pair of pliers.

The dentist

The dentist that was treating me, Dr John O’Neill was brilliant. He is, by far, the best dentist I’ve ever seen. I’ve learned more about how to look after my teeth properly in about four visits to him than in years of visiting a dentist.

What struck me most was the time he took to speak to me and listen to me before he even went near my mouth. He put me at ease, explained clearly what he was doing, why he was doing it and answered any questions that I had.

Brilliant! If only all dentists were like that.

What happened

The scariest part of the whole procedure for me was when he had what looked to me like a big metal screwdriver in my mouth, pushing against my tooth.  He was really giving it some force, and my fear was that it would slip and I’d suddenly have a pointy piece of metal skewering my cheek.

“I have done this before,” he assured me.

Yeah, but I hadn’t.

It didn’t last long. Job done: the large pointy piece of metal had successfully dislodged my tooth. I had a wobble in my tooth that any nine year old would be proud of.

Then the pliers were unsheathed.

It’s quite an unusual experience to have a grown man removing one of your teeth with pliers; it’s a very physical act. I feel quite protective about my teeth at the best of times — I use them on an almost daily basis — so to allow someone to remove one really does take courage and will-power.

CRACK! … CRACK!

“Oh, yeah,” the dentist said. “I forgot to mention the sound.”

It sounded like my jaw had been broken.

And then the dentist stood back, pliers in hand, a bloody tooth clamped securely in the jaws of the pliers (rather than clamped securely in the jaws of my … erm, jaws).

Complications

The pain once the anaesthetic wore off wasn’t too bad. It did hurt. And it did throb. But it wasn’t as bad as I had feared.

Until Wednesday, when the pain was excruciating. I phoned the dentist from my office in St Andrews at 11:20 and was sitting in the dentist’s chair at 12:10.  I had a dry socket which the dentist washed out and then partially filled with Alvogyl which the dentist told me is an antiviral, antifungal, antiseptic, antibomb, antijean, antieverthing dressing material comprised of tiny brown fibres soaked in, what can only be described as, the taste of Hell!

Still, the pain went. For the best part of the day.

It’s back again. I may be visiting my local, friendly dentist again soon.

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Boats and tractors

Posted on Saturday 24th July, 2010 by Gareth J M Saunders
RNLI Lifeboat launching at Anstruther

RNLI Lifeboat ("Kingdom of Fife") launching at Anstruther

This weekend is the Lifeboat Gala Weekend organised by Anstruther RNLI Lifeboat Station.

We took Reuben and Joshua down to the harbour after their lunchtime sleep today.  I don’t think I’ve heard the words “BOAT!” and “TRACTOR!” used quite so often and with such passion in one afternoon than I did today.

Reuben sitting on a tractor

Reuben sitting on a tractor

Joshua sitting on a tractor

Joshua sitting on a tractor

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Daddy’s taking us to the zoo today

Posted on Wednesday 21st July, 2010 by Gareth J M Saunders
Reuben beside the Penguin Cow sculpture at Edinburgh Zoo

Reuben beside the Penguin Cow sculpture at Edinburgh Zoo

Joshua beside the Penguin Cow sculpture at Edinburgh Zoo

Joshua beside the Penguin Cow sculpture at Edinburgh Zoo

I had a day off today so that I could meet up with my old National Youth Choir of Great Britain friend, and former flatmate, Jonny Coore and family in Edinburgh.

Around 10:00 we set off (in the rain) to Edinburgh (in the rain) to visit Edinburgh Zoo (in the rain).  But what a great day (in the rain).

The first time I visited Edinburgh zoo I was in primary 3, so probably about 6 or 7 years old.  The last time I visited was for a funeral tea for a former member of the zoological society.  So this was my third visit.

I already knew quite a bit about zoos because I’ve listened to The Mighty Boosh on the radio.  Unfortunately, Edinburgh zoo is disappointingly not like Bob Fossil’s Funworld, so I did feel a little out of my depth as it turned out.

Animal magic

First up we saw the sea lions (not seals, those are different) which I explained to Reuben and Joshua look a bit like cats (cos they’ve got whiskers) that live in the sea.

Next up: flamingos. I explained to Reuben and Joshua that flamingos are a bit like pink cats, who stand on one leg. After an introductory talk by someone from the zoo’s education centre he invited questions from the public. Jonny had a question: what do they taste like?

Further up the hill we passed what I thought was an emu. I ignored the ‘emu’, he used to scare me with his pink windmill nonsense. Emus aren’t like cats.

The next talk we heard was about lemurs which I explained to Reuben and Joshua looked a bit like cats.

Reuben and Joshua don’t have a very wide experience of animals so I was trying to relate these new, exotic animals to something they do know about.

Before heading to the picnic area we saw a Malaysia sun bear.  My Mum used to have a bear in Malaysia.  No word of a lie.  I think she called him Joey.

Lunch

We then had lunch.

It’s nice that there’s a section of the zoo set aside for people to bring their own picnics.  It reminds me of a restaurant I visited recently that had a section set aside for diners to leave their pets.

The highlight of lunch had to be that Jonny ate a Club biscuit.  The lowlight was discovering that 500 ml bottles of Coca Cola cost £1.30 at the zoo.

Thundercats and a revelation

After lunch we climbed the hill to discover the giant cats: a leopard, a tiger, a jaguar, another one that I can’t remember, and another one that I couldn’t see.

I couldn’t think of an animal that Reuben and Joshua know about to compare the leopard, tiger and jaguar to.

I also learned at that point to run a zoo all you need really is a very large estate and cages with photographs of animals on them.

If the accompanying text also informs visitors that this particular animal is quite shy which explains why you might not catch sight of them then you don’t even have to go to what must be the troubling expense of actually buying the animals.

So Jonny, his son and I started to think about the kind of zoo that we could realistically open.  It contained cages with — amongst other things — plasma TVs, paperclips, a chest of drawers and sticks.

We went to look for lions but found gibbons. The rain started to pour down so the gibbons took refuge in a custom-built cave-like shelter. We took shelter under a custom-built shelter-like shelter. And then for a moment I wondered if it was us who was sheltering so that we could watch the gibbons, or whether the gibbons were sheltering so that they could watch us.

I then remembered that we had chocolate biscuits in my rucksack and forgot all about the gibbons.

Penguins and monkeys

We trotted down the hill again towards the penguins enclosure for the Penguin Parade. The parade didn’t happen, for some reason, but we did watch a few small penguins feeding. They eat fish.

The monkey house provided more shelter from the rain and plenty of entertainment.  Did you know that monkeys … actually, I didn’t learn anything new about monkeys because I spent most of my time in there trying to prevent Reuben from poking a baby in a pram. Or stealing my glasses.

And that was our visit to the zoo today. Tomorrow I go back to work.

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Can you run it?

Posted on Tuesday 20th July, 2010 by Gareth J M Saunders

Screenshot of Can You Run It showing that Battlefield 2 passes

Battlefield 2 passes with flying colours on my laptop

Downsizing and upsizing

By the recent photographs of my study in various states of disarray you probably know by now that I’m in the process of reorganising a few rooms in our house.

And by now you probably also know the reason why I’m doing it, judging by the recent scan of a 12 weeks and 3 days old baby currently gestating in my wife’s tummy.

Yes, we need to make room for another minor human some time in late January 2011.  So, I’m downsizing some of my … well, stuff, while Jane’s tummy is … well, I guess upsizing.

(She doesn’t read my blog, so don’t worry about that last sentence.)

Battlefield 2

In my study I have two PCs.  One is on my desk, the other is on Jane’s desk/our-old-dining-room-table.  One gets used almost every day, the other gets used only when Valley Boy Rich comes to visit, to play Battlefield 2 over the network.

But the time has finally arrived for my trusty Nethighstreet PC (MSI K7N2 Delta, 2.8 GHz Athlon CPU, 2GB RAM, Creative X-Fi soundcard) to be retired to the PC graveyard that is either Freecycle or eBay (I haven’t quite decided yet). Which obviously leaves us one PC down for our mildly regular death-matches.

Can you run it?

So there I was thinking, if only there was some way of discovering whether Battlefield 2 will run on my laptop when I discovered Can you run it? from System Requirements Lab.

It requires the Java runtime environment to be installed but it’s pretty simple to use:

  1. Visit Can you run it?
  2. Type in a game, or select one from the drop-down list.
  3. Click on the Can you run it? button.
  4. Can you run it? tells you whether you can run it. Or not. Any why.

Genius!  Within a few seconds I was given the good news that Battlefield 2 will run successfully on my laptop.  And what’s more it will do so at a pretty high spec.

I also discovered that it will not run Call of Duty 4, isn’t entirely sure about Lego Star Wars or Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts and hasn’t even heard of Heaven & Hell.

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