Category Archives: tips & tricks

fixed : where to get an OSX driver for Griffin iMate USB to ADB adapter

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Question :

I came across an old Mac gamepad that has an ADB (Apple Desktop Bus) connector and I was wondering if it would be possible to use it with my current Mac.

I also found a ‘Griffin iMate USB to ADB adapter’ that enables me to connect the gamepad to my USB-port. Unfortunately, when I connect it, only the joystick directions work, but not the buttons.

Is there anywhere I can get drivers for the Griffin iMate that would work for OSX ?

 

Answer :

Luckily, the WaybackMachine has a rather good backup off the original Griffin website, and most downloads still work. You can find it here :

Griffin iMate Software @WaybackMachine

This includes iMate-drivers for both MacOS9 and MacOSX (both support MacOSX Classic mode, which is MacOS9 running from inside MacOSX).

for MacOS9 driver version 2.7 and earlier versions are available

for MacOSX driver version 1.5.2 and 1.5.3beta are available

Since these are really old drivers, you will have to try if you can still run in your recent version of OSX / macOS.

If they don’t run, you might even be able to use the iMate OS X SDK (Software Development Kit) to create your own 😉

For Windows PCs there are no drivers needed, but keyboards, mice with extended functions will only be partially supported.

enjoy !

fixed : reset password on QD520 IP-camera without a Windows-PC [Mac-only]

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Question :

A friend donated a QD520 IP-securitycam to me. It looks great and from what I’m reading, I should be able to get it working with Mac-software, but I when I try to access the device in Safari, it asks for a password (that my friend couldn’t remember), so I can’t login…

There’s no reset button on the QD520, so I will need to reset the password with special software, but it turns out that that software is Windows-only, and I only have Macs…

What can I do ?

 

Answer :

You are completely right about the Windows-only software… but I managed to port the reset tool to Mac using WineBottler, and using that, you can reset the QD520 and it’s password back to factory settings.

After the reset, the QD520 will be back to these factory settings :

login = admin

password =               [ BLANK / NOTHING / EMPTY ]

IP (static) = 192.168.1.10

interface language = (simplified) Chinese     [ yep, that’s a very uncomfy downside of resetting… unfortunately ]

 

Here’s how to reset the QD520 :

  • connect the QD520 to your network
  • use the free LANScan.app (or something similar) to find the QD520’s current IP address [ the LANScan app can be downloaded for FREE from the Mac App Store ]
  • download Winebottler here, and use it to run the Windows-only version of the PasswordResetTool you can get here or in this Xmeye Camera Software bundle (or use Winebottler to create a Mac-compatible version of the QD520passwordresettool)
  • as the original Windows-version PasswordResetTool needs a Telnet connection to communicate with the QD520 IP-cam, you now have to enable Telnet (or Netcat to be more precise) to it’s IP address on your Mac as follows :
    • on your Mac, go to Applications –> Utilities –> Terminal.app
    • double-click on the icon to run Terminal.app
    • there you will see your username-with-a-dollar-sign-attached-to-it ; immediately after that, typ this :
    • nc xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx 23
    • so : N C space QD520-IP-address space 2 3 (in which 23 is the Telnet port number)
    • now you will see an ‘answer’ in the Terminal.app :
      • ????????LocalHost login:
  • when you see that text appear, doubleclick on the QD520passwordresettool to run it
  • when it’s open, at “Device IP”, fill in the QD520-IP-number, and click the “Reset” button
  • when you get the feedback message “Reset OK, Waiting for reboot your device, please!”, click the “OK” button
  • that’s it !
  • don’t forget to quit both the QD520passwordresettool and the Terminal.app

enjoy 😉

NOTE #1 : as mentioned before, the QD520’s IP address will now be 192.168.1.10 and the interface will be in Chinese unfortunately, however, you will be able login now ! ( using login = admin / password = [empty] )

NOTE #2 : unfortunately, there is no Mac-friendly solution to change the QD520’s settings like IP-address and Password just yet… for that, you will still need to use Internet Explorer for Windows with ActiveX and JAVA Runtime installed… [ we are working on a solution for that, but as ActiveX is not supported on Intel-Macs, that’s an extremely hard nut to crack and might even be too complicated… ]

fixed : feeling of writing on paper for iPad Pro

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Question :

I recently overheard a designer talking enthusiastically about a screen protector or something he had on is iPad Pro, which gave him the feeling as if he was writing on traditional paper when he was actually using his Apple Pencil on his iPad Pro.

Can you tell me what he was talking about ?

 

Answer :

He was probably talking about one of these two :

Paper Feel (by Geevon) get it at Amazon.com

PaperLike (by Sapper) get it at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.de

Paper-Like (by ClearView) get it at Amazon.com

…and don’t forget to select the right size for your iPad Pro ; they’re available in 9.7″, 10.5″ and 12.9″

Enjoy 😉

fixed : Passpartout The Starving Artist game for iOS

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Question :

My children have seen all the raving YouTube-reviews about the painting game Passpartout The Starving Artist by Flamebait Games. Now they want to play the game themselves, but they don’t have a Mac or a PC…

Is there a way to play Passpartout The Starving Artist on their iPad ?

 

Answer :

Yes, there is an official iOS-version of the Passpartout The Starving Artist game for sale on the iOS App Store :

Passpartout The Starving Artist for iOS

…so now you can play the game, and paint with more natural motions than you problably could on your Mac  (especially if you have an iPad Pro with a stylus)

And you’re in luck : it runs not only on iPads, but on iPhones also 😉

more exactly : it runs on iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 and newer, iPad mini 2 and newer, iPad Air & iPad Pro (and even iPod Touch 6th gen)

NOTE : if you are looking for Passpartout The Starving Artist for Mac, look here

fixed : budget friendly OBD2 dongle for my car

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Question :

My car’s on-board computer system sometimes gives unexplained, rather random, error messages. Up until now, I went to the dealer garage to have my car’s on-board computer system be analyzed and reset. Recently I heard that I could buy an OBD2-dongle myself and read and erase error messages myself. That would be a real time (and money) saver.

Is there any budget-friendly OBD2-dongle that I can use with my iPhone ?

 

Answer :

Yes there are several OBD2-dongles available that can do the job for you. Just make sure that you keep these things in mind when choosing one :

  • make sure the OBD2-dongle is compatible with iOS (as some are only compatible with PCs or Android-devices)
  • make sure the OBD2-dongle’s connection is over Bluetooth LowEnergy a.k.a. BLE (since that’s the only way to be able to connect your iPhone to your regular WiFi-network (internet) and to the OBD2-dongle at the same time)
  • make sure the OBD2-dongle is based on the original ELM327 chip (most cheap Chinese knock-offs are based on problematic, unreliable clone chips)
  • make sure the OBD2-dongle is compatible with the software you are planning to use with it (not every OBD2-app connects equally good to every OBD2-dongle & if you need to erase the error messages, most FREE versions won’t do so you will usually need the Pro version)

One of the cheapest reliable OBD2-dongles I’ve found is the TONWON OBDII Pro Bluetooth BLE4.0 for about €26,- ;

buy it on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.de

And do not forget to get an accompanying iOS-app :

most interesting for the budget-wary is Car Scanner ELM OBD2 Pro for about €5,50

(or the more expensive OBD Fusion at about €11,- or even the €20,- OBD AutoDoctor that even has an additional Mac-version)

…so buying into this DIY-solution is cheaper than having your car’s on-board computer system reset only once !

enjoy !