The Foscam control script for ZoneMinder which I found on the ZoneMinder wiki was a good starting point, but seemed to have left and right wired backwards, and didn’t support the presets. So I’ve updated it to fix those issues, the script is below.

To install: find where the control scripts are installed on your distro. In mine I found the files in:

/usr/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.8.8/ZoneMinder/Control/

If you’re not sure where to look, run the command:

locate PanasonicIP.pm

This will return the location of one of the existing control scripts.

Once you’ve found them, create a new file called FoscamFI8918W.pm and paste the code below into it. As with the original script this assumes there is an admin user with no password on your camera. This will have to do until I can work out how to pass through a proper username and password from the ZoneMinder frontend.Update 27/02/2011: the username and password are now passed via the Control Device field. See below.

You’ll need to add the control script to the ZoneMinder interface and attach it to your camera. First make sure that ZoneMinder is configured to support controllable cameras. Open Options from the main console and click OPT_CONTROL in the System tab.

Then open the source options for the camera you want to control. Select the Control tab, and click Edit next to Control Type. Click the Add New Control button, then enter the following settings (Update 27/02/2011, see bottom of post for updated settings for IR control and username/password.):

Now save and close that window, and refresh the one for your camera. You should now see the Foscam FI8918W script in the list. Select it, and enter the IP address of the camera in the Control Address box. Make sure Controllable is ticked, then click Save.

Now if you view the camera you’ll have a Control option near the top. Click it to reveal the Pan/Tilt controls, along with the presets:

That’s it. Enjoy your controllable cameras!Â

Download the FoscamFI8918W.pm script. Rename to .pm.

I’ll update this post when I work out the password passthrough and how to turn the IR LED on and off via ZoneMinder. Update 27/02/2011: the script now uses Sleep and Wake to turn the IR off and on and passes the username and password via the Control Device parameter. You’ll need to enable those options on the Main tab of the Control like so:

And put your username and password query string in the Control Device field:

# ==========================================================================
#
# ZoneMinder Foscam FI8918W IP Control Protocol Module, $Date: 2009-11-25 09:20:00 +0000 (Wed, 04 Nov 2009) $, $Revision: 0001 $
# Copyright (C) 2001-2008 Philip Coombes
# Modified for use with Foscam FI8918W IP Camera by Dave Harris
# Modified Feb 2011 by Howard Durdle (http://durdl.es/x) to:
#      fix horizontal panning, add presets and IR on/off
#      use Control Device field to pass username and password
#
# This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
# modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
# as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
# of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
#
# This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
# GNU General Public License for more details.
#
# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
# along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
# Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
#
# ==========================================================================
#
# This module contains the implementation of the Foscam FI8918W IP camera control
# protocol
#
package ZoneMinder::Control::FoscamFI8918W;
 
use 5.006;
use strict;
use warnings;
 
require ZoneMinder::Base;
require ZoneMinder::Control;
 
our @ISA = qw(ZoneMinder::Control);
 
our $VERSION = $ZoneMinder::Base::VERSION;
 
# ==========================================================================
#
# Foscam FI8918W IP Control Protocol
#
# ==========================================================================
 
use ZoneMinder::Debug qw(:all);
use ZoneMinder::Config qw(:all);
 
 use Time::HiRes qw( usleep );
 
sub new
{
	my $class = shift;
	my $id = shift;
	my $self = ZoneMinder::Control->new( $id );
	my $logindetails = "";
	bless( $self, $class );
	srand( time() );
	return $self;
}
 
our $AUTOLOAD;
 
sub AUTOLOAD
{
	my $self = shift;
	my $class = ref($self) || croak( "$self not object" );
	my $name = $AUTOLOAD;
	$name =~ s/.*://;
	if ( exists($self->{$name}) )
	{
		return( $self->{$name} );
	}
	Fatal( "Can't access $name member of object of class $class" );
}
our $stop_command;
 
sub open
{
	my $self = shift;
 
	$self->loadMonitor();
 
	use LWP::UserAgent;
	$self->{ua} = LWP::UserAgent->new;
	$self->{ua}->agent( "ZoneMinder Control Agent/".ZM_VERSION );
 
	$self->{state} = 'open';
}
 
sub close
{
	my $self = shift;
	$self->{state} = 'closed';
}
 
sub printMsg
{
	my $self = shift;
	my $msg = shift;
	my $msg_len = length($msg);
 
	Debug( $msg."[".$msg_len."]" );
}
 
sub sendCmd
{
	my $self = shift;
	my $cmd = shift;
	my $result = undef;
	printMsg( $cmd, "Tx" );
 
	my $req = HTTP::Request->new( GET=>"http://".$self->{Monitor}->{ControlAddress}."/$cmd".$self->{Monitor}->{ControlDevice} );
	my $res = $self->{ua}->request($req);
 
	if ( $res->is_success )
	{
		$result = !undef;
	}
	else
	{
		Error( "Error check failed:'".$res->status_line()."'" );
	}
 
	return( $result );
}
 
sub reset
{
	my $self = shift;
	Debug( "Camera Reset" );
	my $cmd = "reboot.cgi?";
	$self->sendCmd( $cmd );
}
 
#Up Arrow
sub moveConUp
{
	my $self = shift;
	$stop_command = "1";
	Debug( "Move Up" );
	my $cmd = "decoder_control.cgi?command=0&";
	$self->sendCmd( $cmd );
}
 
#Down Arrow
sub moveConDown
{
	my $self = shift;
	$stop_command = "1";
	Debug( "Move Down" );
	my $cmd = "decoder_control.cgi?command=2&";
	$self->sendCmd( $cmd );
}
 
#Left Arrow
sub moveConLeft
{
	my $self = shift;
	$stop_command = "1";
	Debug( "Move Left" );
	my $cmd = "decoder_control.cgi?command=6&";
	$self->sendCmd( $cmd );
}
 
#Right Arrow
sub moveConRight
{
	my $self = shift;
	$stop_command = "1";
	Debug( "Move Right" );
	my $cmd = "decoder_control.cgi?command=4&";
	$self->sendCmd( $cmd );
}
 
#Diagonally Up Right Arrow
sub moveConUpRight
{
	my $self = shift;
	$stop_command = "1";
	Debug( "Move Diagonally Up Right" );
	my $cmd = "decoder_control.cgi?command=90&";
	$self->sendCmd( $cmd );
}
 
#Diagonally Down Right Arrow
sub moveConDownRight
{
	my $self = shift;
	$stop_command = "1";
	Debug( "Move Diagonally Down Right" );
	my $cmd = "decoder_control.cgi?command=92&";
	$self->sendCmd( $cmd );
}
 
#Diagonally Up Left Arrow
sub moveConUpLeft
{
	my $self = shift;
	$stop_command = "1";
	Debug( "Move Diagonally Up Left" );
	my $cmd = "decoder_control.cgi?command=91&";
	$self->sendCmd( $cmd );
}
 
#Diagonally Down Left Arrow
sub moveConDownLeft
{
	my $self = shift;
	$stop_command = "1";
	Debug( "Move Diagonally Down Left" );
	my $cmd = "decoder_control.cgi?command=93&";
	$self->sendCmd( $cmd );
}
 
#Stop
sub moveStop
{
	my $self = shift;
	Debug( "Move Stop" );
	my $cmd = "decoder_control.cgi?command=1&";
	$self->sendCmd( $cmd );
}
 
#Move Camera to Home Position
sub presetHome
{
	my $self = shift;
	Debug( "Home Preset" );
	my $cmd = "decoder_control.cgi?command=25&";
	$self->sendCmd( $cmd );
}
 
#Set preset
sub presetSet
{
    my $self = shift;
    my $params = shift;
    my $preset = $self->getParam( $params, 'preset' );
	my $presetCmd = 30 + ($preset*2);
    Debug( "Set Preset $preset with cmd $presetCmd" );
    my $cmd = "decoder_control.cgi?command=$presetCmd&";
    $self->sendCmd( $cmd );
}
 
#Goto preset
sub presetGoto
{
    my $self = shift;
    my $params = shift;
    $stop_command = "1";
    my $preset = $self->getParam( $params, 'preset' );
    my $presetCmd = 31 + ($preset*2);
    Debug( "Goto Preset $preset with cmd $presetCmd" );
    my $cmd = "decoder_control.cgi?command=$presetCmd&";
    $self->sendCmd( $cmd );
}
 
#Turn IR on
sub wake
{
	my $self = shift;
	Debug( "Wake - IR on" );
	my $cmd = "decoder_control.cgi?command=95&";
	$self->sendCmd( $cmd );
}
 
#Turn IR off
sub sleep
{
	my $self = shift;
	Debug( "Sleep - IR off" );
	my $cmd = "decoder_control.cgi?command=94&";
	$self->sendCmd( $cmd );
}
 
1;

PciRoot(0x1)/Pci(0x1c,0x0)/Pci(0x0,0x0) for the GTS in slot one.
PciRoot(0x1)/Pci(0x1,0x0)/Pci(0x0,0x0) for the GTX in slot two (PEG2).

You’ll need this for when you generate the EFI hex string in EFI Studio.

Remember also to change the BIOS to boot from PEG2.

Maybe that’ll save someone else the pain of pulling the cards and running gfxutil -f display on each one!

Well thanks to the sterling efforts of one man and his EFI hacking skills, we now have a solution as this image demonstrates. The image on the left shows the result of the VMWare Virtualization Technology test CD confirming that VT is now enabled on my Vaio Z11.

I’ve mirrored his code and instructions here in case his site disappears, read more after the jump…

Download this EFI application and put it on a FAT32 formatted USB stick in the \EFI\BOOT directory.

Boot from the USB stick. When this USB stick is plugged in to your laptop it will boot from it regardless of your settings to deny booting from external devices.

If all goes well you will see the following message:

> Welcome to GRUB!
>
> Entering rescue mode...
> error: file not found
> grub rescue>

At this prompt, type:

setup_var

You’ll be informed of the risks but most importantly you should see confirmation that the tool has found the correct setup variable. You want to see the message say “the GUID should match the expected GUID”. If it does not don’t continue – visit the site of the author and let him know.

Since this definitely works on a Vaio Z11, you should have got this far and can now look at the current setting of the VT offset which is at 0x1af. Type:

setup_var 0x1af

Verify that the variable is set to 0×00. If it is not, do not continue.

Assuming that the variable is as expected, we’ll change the setting, locking VT for your processor to ON:

setup_var 0x1af 0x1

You can verify that this change has been accepted by typing:

setup_var 0x1af

And confirming that the output is now 0×01.

That’s it! Hit CTRL-ALT-DEL and remove the USB stick. You can now check that VT is enabled using whichever tool you prefer. I confirmed mine from a VMWare boot CD and also within Windows using Steve Gibson’s SecurAble tool.

So, I opened up my master socket and disconnected the wire at pin 3 – the bell wire.  Plugged it all back in and found an immediate speed boost of approximately 2Mb.  I fully expect this to increase as my ISP (Be Unlimited) rate up their equipment to match my now far less lossy line.

If you’re handy with a screwdriver and don’t much care about the rules about messing with BT’s sockets it could well be worth your while pulling the wire out of pin 3.  And if you’re a bit scared of that and you have the right master socket, BroadbandBuyer can ship you an iPlate for less than BT charge, and they actually have them in stock!

Unsurprisingly, this is old news for some people.

It turns out that this is caused by the latest NVidia drivers – which of course I downloaded and installed on rebuilding the machine, the only fix at the moment is to add this to the registry:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management]
"SessionImageSize"=dword:00000020

Hopefully NVidia will fix this in a future driver.

I love my Sony Vaio Z.  It’s a wonderful bit of kit – exactly the power/portability ratio I wanted.  It has enough grunt to play the odd game in “Speed” mode while giving 6 hours of battery life on wireless in stamina mode.  Not to mention to gorgeous 1600×900 LED screen and the built in 3G wireless.

I have one problem with it and it’s a failing of Sony’s decision making rather than any particular problem with the kit.  Sony disable the Intel Virtualization Technology in the Core 2 Duo on all their Vaio machines.  I’ve seen no valid rationale for this other than “We don’t support VT on the Vaio range.“  This is absurd since all the Core 2 Duo chips feature Intel Virtualization Technology and I can’t imagine how having it switched on would adversely affect Vista or XP (the two Operating Systems Sony officially supports).

If this were a consumer laptop I could understand – but it’s specifically targeted at business users.  In my business I make extensive use of both Microsoft and VMWare’s virtualisation systems – both of which run much faster on hardware that has the VT functionality enabled.  There are a good number of people on various forums spitting blood about this issue so I’m not the only one complaining.

There is light, of sorts, at the end of this tunnel.  Since Sony have done this before on other machiens in the Vaio series, people have managed to re-enable VT by using BIOS editing tools to flip the right register.  Unfortunately it requires intimate knowledge of the BIOS – knowledge that we won’t have until Sony release a BIOS update that can be reverse engineered.  If we’re very lucky Sony will make amends by releasing a BIOS update that allows us to enable VT in the BIOS interface proper.

The worst part of this is that we (Vaio Z owners) didn’t know that VT was disabled until after we bought the machines.  I know a number of people have returned their units and bought Toshiba or Dell machines that haven’t been crippled by the vendors.  Sony advertised a Core 2 Duo Mobile processor, they didn’t mention in any literature that they’d be disabling bits of the processor for no reason.

Sony, if you’re reading this – please give us control over the entire processor and let us enable VT.

Much better.

And sorry Vista, I tried, I really did.  I liked how your hot-swap driver support meant I could switch between stamina and speed modes without a reboot, but I hated your poor network performance against my NAS (even with SP1).  Maybe I’ll try again on the next new laptop.  Oh, and Sony?  Thank you for my XP downgrade CD and drivers.  Lovely.

I’m lusting after the new Sony Vaio Z Series which doesn’t come out in the US until mid-August, and I’ve no idea when it comes out in the UK.  Annoyingly, while the US site allows you to configure your system from scratch – including putting in dual solid state drives – Sony UK limit us to choosing from three prescribed models, none of which contain quite the match of processor and storage I’m looking for.

I know that in the US store the model I’ve specced will cost in the region of $3600 – about 1800 quid at the moment – which doesn’t seem unreasonable for a machine with such an array of features:

• Intel® Coreâ„¢ 2 Duo Processor P9500 (2.53GHz)
• 4 GB DDR3-SDRAM (DDR3-1066, 2GBx2)
• 64 GB Solid State Drive
• DVD±R DL / DVD±RW / DVD-RAM Drive
• LCD 13.1″ (XBRITE-DuraView) 1600×900
• Combined Intel integrated graphics plus NVidia for (low demand) games
• Wireless LAN (802.11a/b/g/n) with integrated Bluetooth® technology
• Integrated Wireless Wide Area Network (that’s 7.2Mbps 3G)
• Gigabit Ethernet, Biometric Fingerprint Sensor

There’s no telling what the actual UK price will be for the device closest to my desired spec, the VGN-Z11VN/B, which differs only by the replacement of the SSD with a 5400rpm 320GB drive.  Given the amount of storage I have at home, I’d rather have the benefit of no moving parts and the (possibly unverified) reduction in heat and power consumption than such large amounts of portable storage.  Also the UK site is listing DDR2 memory rather than DDR3, I hope that’s a typo and not indicative of some cost cutting exercise.

Unfortunately it’s not possible to spec the SSD and a BluRay drive at the same time, so I’ll settle for a dual layer DVD writer instead.  Assuming that is, I can get hold of an SSD configured machine in the UK.  I may have to import one, which raises ugly warranty issues I’d rather avoid.  That said, another advantage to buying an American specced machine is that they give you the option to remove all the usual cruft that Sony install on their laptops – all the free trials and demos of software you’ll never actually use.  They call this service “Fresh Start” and it seems that the UK division have yet to be hit with that particular clue-bat, as they list this little lot under installed software:

• Windows Media Player 11
• WinDVD 8.0 for VAIO
• Adobe Photoshop Elements 6
• Google Picasa
• Easy Media Creator 9
• Adobe® Reader® 8.1
• Adobe Standard 8
• Microsoft® Office Ready 2007 (60 days Try & Buy)
• McAfee Internet Security Suite (with 60 days free virus updates)
• VAIO Recovery Utility – HDD recovery (hidden partition)
• Protector Suite QL 5

Granted, I’d be installed Acrobat Reader and Writer myself, but the rest of it?  Pfft.  I’ll bring my own full copy of Office 2007 thank you.  And the day I let a McAfee Internet “Security” Suite anywhere near my system is the day I stop caring about usable computers.  Oh yes, and the “VAIO Recovery Utility”?  That sounds like a way to use up my disc space while saving Sony the cost and bother of shipping me optical media with my Operating System on it.  Grrr. :@

Speaking of the OS, I may have to play the downgradable licence game and see if they’re going to support XP on the device, rather than Vista.  Time for a call to Sony to find out what’s going to happen come August…

So I spent a happy few hours this Sunday cleaning the dust off the various parts and then hooking it up to the TV in the living room.  I gained a sense of perverse satisfaction from seeing a computer from 1982 hooked up via an RF lead to a 40″ 1080p LCD panel.  Of course every appears in black and white since it was only a quirk of CRT display technology that allow the Spectrum to have a colour display.

After trying out a few commands, and typing the obligatory “Hello World!” program, it was time to try and load something from “tape”.  Problem number one: I have no Spectrum software on tape.  Problem number two: even if I did have tapes, I don’t have a tape deck with which to play them.  The first problem is easily solved by downloading virtual tapes, these TZX files are backups of the original Spectrum data.  I downloaded a few 16K games from World of Spectrum.  Then I used the winTZX tool to convert these files into .wav files.  Yes that’s right – audio files of that godawful screeching noise you thought you’d never have to hear again.

For some reason the soundcard in my MacBook Pro was too noisy, or not loud enough, or too loud or something, but playing the audio via WinAmp resulting in the Spectrum not quite reading the data from the “tape”.  So I gave the Spectrum some solid state storage: a first generation iPod Nano!  I copied the .wav to the Nano, typed LOAD “” and pressed play on the iPod.  Boom!  Or should I say “screech” as the Spectrum loading screen burst into life.  A couple of minutes later (did it really take that long to load 16K!?) and I’m looking at the load screen for Escape which, it must be said, doesn’t seem nearly as “original and absorbing” as it used to!

So that was my nostalgic Sunday.  It’s reminded me of the rest of my early console collection, and that I need to get hold of some of the other 8 and 16 bit machines from my early computing days…