cool n770 hack

If you are a nokia tablet user like me (n770/n800/n810), you must have wished for this feature I am going to describe.

When I am browsing the net on my desktop I come across a webpage that I would like to open on my n770 right away - mostly it's some maemo package that I would like to download and install. The problem is rewriting the cryptic URLs in n770's address bar is time-consuming and error-prone. Going to the same URL through google search takes couple of page loads, which takes sizeable time.

One way to ease this process is to use some clipboard sharing software (synergy, vnc viewer), I am not sure if that works, but I bet someone has tried it. Besides, it will be too heavy as compared to the following method I suggest here.

If you have ssh enabled on your tablet then you can run this simple script on your desktop and command the tablet to open any URL in its browser.

It is only this single command:

ssh root@<ip of tablet> "dbus-send --system --type=method_call --dest=\"com.nokia.osso_browser\" --print-reply /com/nokia/osso_browser/request com.nokia.osso_browser.load_url string:\"$1\""


Save this in a script nokia-browser.sh and the next time you want to open a URL, just execute:

nokia-browser.sh <URL>

You will be prompted for password (unless you have setup the keys)

Check your tablet, it must be loading the URL by now. If a browser is not already open it will be opened automatically because by d-bus magic.

I learnt about this command from this mailing list post. I am just trying to use it remotely.

Picasso

I have no authority in art. But once in a while I try to understand the greatness of some masterpieces.

I have been watching this painting of Pablo Picasso while passing through one corridor in my office. It's titled "Bullfight - Horse air".

I liked it, in a sense that it is simple. You can see a man riding a horse hunting a bull. If one has gift of control over one's hand then one sure can paint this. I didn't exactly understand why Picasso would be a great artist for doing such work.

Every time before when I used to see this picture I used to see the three figures. But yesterday when I looked at it I only saw a handful strokes of brushes and that amazed me. In other words, what I saw was how the artist would have drawn it. It sure is trivial to duplicate something in real life on to paper (it's not trivial to me, but for gifted hands it is). But what is not trivial is, extracting the abstractions out of the real things and expressing them with minimal use of paint. I guess that qualifies the greatness of an artist.