The raspberry pi is fully functional credit card-sized computer that is cheap enough ($25) that it can be used just for a single purpose. With this hack the computer imitates an airplay speaker, making it possible to send songs over to an old stereo wirelessly from your phone.
The Raspberry Pi generated massive hype in nerdy circles this summer when it came out and weāre beginning now to see some amazing hacks from this tiny computer now.
Iāve had mine for a few months now but I hadnāt got around to using it yet. So Iāve now decided to try to make something that Iāve wanted for a while: a product to bring my good but dated speaker system into the 21st century by enabling wireless streaming of music to it.
A possible way to do this would be to buy an Airport Express or an Apple TV and connect the audio out to the stereo. But then I would feel like overpaying for features like video streaming or wireless routing that wouldnāt be used. Besides, those products cost around Ā£80. Airplay enabled speakers cost Ā£200 at the low end. This raspberry pi creation should easily come in under Ā£30.
Hereās a video of it in action.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4opWFboWro?rel=0]
Month: June 2015
Raspberry Pi Whole Home Audio Updates
Itās been a long time since Iāve written about my Raspberry Pi Whole Home Audio Project.
Simply, thatās because Iāve hit a bit of a wall and Iām especially busy with work right now so I havenāt been able to find the time to work my way around it.
The problem is that the USB WiFi adapters that I bought (for about $5 each) donāt perform well. They have signal strength issues, and while they do work and maintain a network connection, the poor signal strength means the connection isnāt fast enough to stream audio. There are plenty of other people out there having the same problem. You get what you pay for, I guess, and I need to buy replacement adapters.
Iām also considering a change in direction. My original plan was to install mopidy on one of the Pis and use pulse audio to stream the output to the others.
Iām considering instead installing TuneBlade on one of my Windows PCs. TuneBlade takes all the audio output from that computer and streams it using Appleās AirPlay protocol. Iād then install ShairPort on all the Pis to turn them into AirPort receivers.
What do you guys think?
Prevent Forwarding, Replying or Reply-All in Outlook
About a month ago I wrote a post that detailed how to prevent attendees from forwarding your Outlook meetings to other people.
Since then Iāve expanded upon it slightly on my own computer: in addition to the option to prevent meetings from being forwarded, Iāve added similar buttons to the new email toolbar that can prevent forwarding, replying or replies to all.
Preventing people from hittingĀ āreply allā is sometimes a great tactic if youāre sending an email to particularly large group and you donāt want everybody to get caught up in any follow-up. By contrast, preventing replies (thus forcing people to use āreply allā instead) is great if you want the opposite, and for everyone to be kept in the loop.
My previous post details the process of setting all this up, but below is the code for the four macros. The first disables forwarding, the second disables replies, the third disables reply all and the final re-enables all response options. By default, nothing is disabled on new items unless you hit the relevant button to run the macro.
Enjoy!
Sub DisableForwarding() ActiveInspector.CurrentItem.Actions("Forward").Enabled = False X = MsgBox("Forwarding of this item has been disabled", vbInformation, "Forwarding Disabled") End Sub Sub DisableReply() ActiveInspector.CurrentItem.Actions("Reply").Enabled = False X = MsgBox("Replies to this item have been disabled", vbInformation, "Forwarding Disabled") End Sub Sub DisableReplyAll() ActiveInspector.CurrentItem.Actions("Reply to All").Enabled = False X = MsgBox("Reply All has been disabled for this item", vbInformation, "Forwarding Disabled") End Sub Sub EnableAllResponses() ActiveInspector.CurrentItem.Actions("Forward").Enabled = True ActiveInspector.CurrentItem.Actions("Reply").Enabled = True ActiveInspector.CurrentItem.Actions("Reply to All").Enabled = True X = MsgBox("Forwarding, Replies and Reply All have been enabled for this item", vbInformation, "Forwarding Disabled") End Sub
Late Night Links – Sunday June 14th, 2015
Itās that time of the week again! Itās been an especially busy weekend, so I hope youāre all suitably appreciative that Iām taking the time to put this together.
- XKCD #1535: Words For Pets
I mostly call Charlie BrownĀ ādog.ā - Mechanical Beer Bong
- Samsung Reveals Plans for New Mirror and Transparent OLED Displays
I want one. I donāt know why, I just do. - Googleās New Smart Lock is the Password Manager for the Rest of Us
Interesting. I currently use KeyPass and sync the file to all our computers and my mobile devices. - Dyson Built a Lamp That Burns for 37 Years Thanks to Satellite Tech
Iām not convinced a $900 lamp is all that necessary. - Reuters: BlackBerry is Planning on Making an Android Device
- Dinner In White: Thousands Attend ParisĀ āChic Picnicā
Flo went to the Calgary version of this last year and had a great time. - French Airport Police Wrongly Detain 6-Year-Old in Crackdown
- Why You Should Never Trust Homemade Bullet-Proof Vests
In case you didnāt already know not to. - Please, Get Your Facts Straight
And weāre done! Have a good week all, see you next week.
You can now buy deep-fried Starbucks coffee
Inside the balls is about a teaspoon of ground coffee. The whole thing is served with a topping of whipped cream.
You can now buy deep-fried Starbucks coffee
Inside the balls is about a teaspoon of ground coffee. The whole thing is served with a topping of whipped cream.
Project Management Proverbs
Itās been quite a while since Iāve blogged. Work has been especially busy for the past month or so, and as my calendar gets squeezed from every direction the first thing to disappear from it is the time to post here.
Thatās unfortunate, and I must get better at it.
Anyway, a few weeks ago I came across a post elsewhere about project management proverbs, and some of them are certainly worth sharing.
One in particular caught my eye because my boss MattĀ recently welcomed his new son Jude to the world. I know that toward the end of his wifeās pregnancy he was getting anxious, as Iām sure any expected father would, and they wanted the birth to be sooner rather than later.
It takes one woman nine months to have a baby. The project management proverb I read reminds us that, despite conventional project management wisdom, the same result cannot be achieved in one month simply by impregnating nine women.
Other notable points:
- The sooner you get behind schedule, the more time you have to make it up.
- A badly planned project will take three times longer than expected. A well planned project only twice as long as expected.
- The person who says it will take the longest and cost the most is the only one with a clue how to do the job.
- If youāre six months late on a milestone due next week but nevertheless really believe you can make it, youāre a project manager.
More here!
Does your organisation have a proper change management process? How do you tackle changes on your projects? Feel free to reblog, message or send an ask.