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Devops at Modivo S.A. Owner of small business behind Kocham Wieluń - local journal / news site.
More ⟶Xiaomi TV Box S 2gen - Add (restore) a working IR receiver
Xiaomi TV Box S 2nd gen (MDZ-28-AA) is missing what was a feature in older boxes - IR remote receiver. While original remote is using BT, and you likely use HDMI CEC to control the box with TV remote, some may need IR to use with their universal remotes like older Logitech Harmony units that lack BT support Hub provides. Turns out that this box is missing just a few components and there's a full software support for IR included.
More ⟶Lenovo ThinkSmart Cam - unbricking after a failed firmware update (Icatchtek V37M)
Lenovo ThinkSmart Camera - a very nice 4K conference camera, working both with PC and their ThinkSmart ecosystem. It has however a fatal flaw in firmware update procedure - if you don't read entire included README file - you wouldn't know device does firmware update on itself - after the installer reported success. If you happen to interrupt this process by eg. disconnecting USB cable - you may end up with a brick that is no longer detected by PC.
More ⟶Harmony Touch / Ultimate One / maybe others - a (potential) fix for "Stuck on Harmony logo"
So I got Ultimate One remote with the classic symptom of "stuck on Harmony logo". Using Menu + Off combination entered "reset mode" splash screen but it was also stuck there, not recognized by PC. I was able to fix it in a non-obvious way.
More ⟶Ikea PARASOLL - hack door close sensor to use monostable switch instad of a magentic sensor.
I was looking for a simple ZigBee "door sensor", but using a physical switch (non-magnetic) as I wanted to install it inside my entry door lock so it reports lock status. There's a cheap Ikea PARASOLL magnetic door sensor available that I was able to hack into a physical switch and use in Home Assistant.
More ⟶Cannot upgrade Lenovo Thunderbolt 3 Dock firmware? Use different cable.
Quick tip, as it took me two hours to resolve. If you are trying to update your Thunderbolt 3 dock from Lenovo (in my case Workstation Dock Gen 2) and you are stuck on "Wait 20 seconds" loop, try to switch Thunderbolt cable to one you received in box with your dock.
More ⟶Avocent IP KVM Hacking: use SIP from any OEM on Dell 1082DS (and probably others)
Many KVM switches (local and IP) from major companies like Dell, HP or IBM are manufactured by Avocent. Those KVMs use special cables known as SIPs or RIPs to communicate with managed machines.In normal scenario only OEM and Avocent cables work on particular device, but as I discovered - at least in one case this was simple to bypass and allow any existing SIP to work.
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