Subsonic, Sonos, Synology – A team to break the 65k songs limit!

Subsonic_Synology Subsonic setup to run on Synology NAS This is tested on the Synology DS1815+ but should work on most modern synology devices. This uses the Subsonic 5.2.1 standalone package with some modifications to the subsonic.sh script, the addition of a start/stop/status script to control the server and the addition of some default directories for music / playlists / podcasts so that subsonic doesn’t try to access areas that don’t exist by default. The instructions below explain where to put everyt

Source: ghenry22/Subsonic_Synology · GitHub

You would like to play the music on your NAS (e.g. a Synology) …from a web interface? …from your mobile phone?

If you would like to have Subsonic working with your Synology NAS, you have the (obvious) choice of installing a Synology package from CPHub. Unfortunately the Subsonic version of this package is rather ancient.

That is why I used the code from ghhenry22 (see source link) to install Subsonic “manually” on the NAS. SSH and some terminal knowledge is needed. After that, it runs nice and easy as service and is (re)started automatically.

You can access the server via browser (on port 8082) or mobile app after that.

Where it gets really interesting is when Subsonic is combined with a Sonos installation as described here. It is an ideal partner, because it breaks the 65000 songs limit Sonos has when used with normal SMB shares. The Subsonic server registers itself as “online service” and therefore can present as many songs as there are in the library – even if there are way more than 65000 songs.

Subsonic is basically free. To be able to use that nifty Sonos trick however, it is necessary to get a Subsonic Premium subscription for 1$/month or 12$/year, which is really not much.

DSM 5.2 – What’s NEW – Synology – Network Attached Storage (NAS)

DiskStation Manager 5.2 The advent of always accessible data is reshaping our world in exciting ways, increasing business efficiency and unlocking creative opportunities for individuals. DiskStation Manager 5.2 continues to create new possibilities for your private cloud with more business applications and intuitive data management, so you can concentrate on achieving more at work or enjoying your free time.

Source: DSM 5.2 – What’s NEW – Synology – Network Attached Storage (NAS)

I JUST bought and got my DS2415+ today, a lightning fast 12 (!) HD model which can be upgraded to a 24 (!!!!) HD model by adding an extension unit.

And JUST today, Synology released their DSM 5.2 firmware (out of Beta), with Docker support and some other new, neat features.

That is a nice convenience… I am looking forward upgrading my new DiskStation right out of the box with it.

You can’t find that online service in your Sonos Controller?

Sonos is a great multi-room service with great speakers and your smartphone / tablet as controller. You can add several online services like Spotify and others to your account.

If you can’t find a service in your list, try setting another country on your Sonos account settings. Restart your controller and you should find the list of services of that country (e.g. Pandora, Songza and others for the USA).

If that service is geo-locked, you still need a way to get around that. I have configured the DNS based service Unblock-US with my router. How you do that with yours, is described here. All attached devices will have access e.g. to US or UK services. As positive side effect, you can have Netflix, even if it is not yet available in your country. I like it most for Pandora.

 

Cool iOS 8 Jailbreak stuff

What makes iOS 8 really cool? Jailbreak tools and programs!

New for iOS 8:

  • BetterWiFi 7: (works with iOS8) Extension for the standard wifi settings, shows more information about the networks, shows you the passwords of your SSIDs
  • CCSettings for iOS 8: obviously the successor to the well-known control center tweak for iOS7
  • CheeseCake: Android L screen switch off animation (looks really nice, even better than TVLocker Pro)
  • WiFi Explorer: useful WiFi scanner for 2,4Ghz and 5Ghz spectrum

Which iOS Jailbreak Apps make your iDevice really cool?

I have a long personal history with jailbreaking my iOS devices…

I had / have them all:

original iPhone iPad (64 GB WiFi)
iPhone 3G iPad 2 (64 GB WiFi)
iPhone 3GS iPad 3 (64 GB WiFi/3G)
iPhone 4  
iPhone 4S  
iPhone 5  

And I have started jailbreaking them as early as firmwares 1.xx .

It can be sometimes dangerous and cumbersome to jailbreak, but several Cydia apps are definitely worth the hassle. In this post I will try to keep a list of trusted and working Cydia apps. I will try to add a small description, if the function is not obvious.

Have fun checking out my list after the break…

Continue reading Which iOS Jailbreak Apps make your iDevice really cool?

World record panoramic photo of London

On this page, you can enjoy a gorgeous virtual round trip of London. Many great sightseeing points can be viewed with a unprecidented level of detail – all in one photo. There are certain “landmark points”, as well as a virtual tour.

The panoramic view was stiched together from 8000 photos and is 400.000 x 200.000 pixels in sizes. Try that with your usual digital camera!

A personal tip: also try to look down, more or less where you stand and you can see Londoners in their daily life:

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 – How Not To Be A Noob

Hey, I really like that shooter: Battlefield Bad Company 2!!

However, a lot of gamers seem not to know how to play the game. They do horrible mistakes all the time and tend to stand in a corner and snipe the whole time until their tickets run out.

There are a couple of videos out there which can help to be a better player. Here they is one with simple tips that help to be a better player and teammate:

Install Windows via USB Stick

It is quite easy to install one of the more modern Windows variants using a USB stick. You simply have to execute the following steps, using a USB stick of 4 GB or more.

1. Make the stick bootable

from a DOS prompt execute: diskpart
list disk
select disk 1 (assuming disk 1 was your thumb drive in the above list disk command)
clean
create partition primary
select partition 1
active
format fs=fat32
assign
exit

Now the stick is bootable.

2. Windows files

Copy the contents of your Windows image or DVD to the base level of the stick.

3. BIOS

Make sure that in your BIOS boot options, you have selected USB as primary boot option.

4. Booting

You will notice a significant boost in installation speed!! 🙂