So I decided to have a look at the latest Backtrack release (Backtrack 4 R1) which is claimed to be the best version released so far from the backtrack community. With the new Linux kernel version 2.6.34 and with significant overall improvements, this release is worth checking out. I always use the virtual machine option so that to play with it and then install the image on a hard disk by its own. Let us see below how I installed Backtrack 4 R1 on a VMWare virtual machine:

The specifications of my hardware and software are the following:

• Laptop DELL (core i3 with 4GB RAM)
• Win7 64-bit Professional
• VMWARE Workstation version 6.5.4

STEPS:

1. Download file from http://www.backtrack-linux.org/downloads/

File downloaded is bt4-r1-vm.tar.bz2 (around 2.5 GBytes)

2. Check the file with md5.exe tool to verify that MD5 is correct. This is important because such big files sometimes get corrupted when downloaded and also to verify the integrity of the file.

3. Uncompress the image with WinRAR (it took some time for winrar to open the archive – Be patient here.)

4. In VMWARE go to File>Open and select the virtual machine (BT4-R1) which you extracted above.

5. I then selected “Edit Virtual machine settings” and increased the memory from 768MB to 1024MB.

6. Then click on “Power on the virtual machine”
If you get a message that “This virtual machine may have been moved or copied” I selected “I copied it”.

7. After the Virtual machine boots up, you will get a prompt:

bt login:

Use root/toor as initial username/password

You will get the root prompt:

root@bt:~#

Now we must change the root password to something really strong.

root@bt:~# passwd
Enter new UNIX password:
Retype new UNIX password:
passwd: password updated successfully

8. Now do the fix-splash as advised by the backtrack website:

root@bt:~# fix-splash

And then reboot

root@bt:~# reboot now

9. After the machine boots up, start the graphical interface:

root@bt:~# startx

DONE

Some other notes:

I like to have my virtual machine with direct access to the network interface of my host computer, so I always go to the virtual machine settings (“Edit Virtual machine settings”) and change the network adapter from “NAT” to “Bridged Mode“. With that, the LAN interface of the Backtrack in the virtual machine will have direct access to the network. If you have a DHCP server in the network, the Backtrack system will receive IP from the network, or otherwise you can configure static IP. Let’s see how to do both options below:

IP address from DHCP Server

ifconfig eth0 up
dhclient eth0

Static IP

ifconfig eth0 100.100.100.1 netmask 255.255.255.0 up
route add default gw 100.100.100.2 eth0

Also, you need to edit the /etc/resolv.conf file and change the nameserver line to add your DNS IP address.

I live in a sunny country in Europe and my house has a big backyard where I, my wife and two kids spend a lot of time outside almost any season of the year. We are also music lovers and we have tons of CDs and MP3s stored on my computer. I was looking for a solution to somehow broadcast music to the backyard of my house from my music library. We all know the difficulties to stream audio and music from an electronic source (PC with MP3s for example) to an analog receiver (FM Radio for example). This is not a problem at all if you look at the Whole House FM Transmitter which can receive audio from almost any audio source and transmit it to any FM receiver.

At the beginning I was a little skeptical about getting an FM Transmitter for broadcasting music in my house and backyard. The reason was that most FM Transmitters are relatively weak in terms of coverage and they are mainly for use in your car. After testing the Whole House FM Transmitter 2.0 I was relieved to find out that their claims of 150 feet (50 meters) radius coverage are actually true.

Some Specifications

Before continuing with my review for the Whole House FM Transmitter 2.0, let us see some of the specs of this device below:

• Receives as input any audio source (MP3 players, iPod, Home Stereo, TV, DVD, DVR, Satellite Radio, Computers PC or MAC, Microphone etc).
• Transmits to any FM Receiver.
• Covers the entire FM Band Range from 88.1 to 107.9 MHz in steps of 0.1 MHz. This means that you can easily find any unoccupied frequency to transmit your signal.
• Use it anywhere you want (Home, Back Yard, Car, Office, Garage, Boat, exercise room, pool side etc).
• The new Whole House FM Transmitter version 2.0 is built from the ground up with better features, versatility and reliability.
• Compact Size and light weight (a little bit larger than the size of a deck of playing cards).
• Covers 150 feet distance but still satisfies the FCC part 15 regulations.
• Four ways to power the device (AC Outlet, 3 “AA” Batteries, Computer USB Port and 12V Car Adapter).
• It includes all necessary cables and adaptors to start using it immediately (AC adapter, 1/8” (3.5mm) stereo audio cable, USB power cable, 12V DC car power adapter, stereo Y cable, RCA Jack Stereo audio cable).
• If you purchase, you will get also 4 Free Bonuses such as Lavalier Microphone, Free USPS Shipping within USA, 1 Year Warranty and Lifetime customer support.
• 30-Day Money Back Guarantee.
• More Features from the official site HERE.

FM Transmitter Pictures

Testing done on Coverage

My first test on how long the unit can transmit was pretty simple. I just connected a CD player with the FM transmitter using the 1/8” stereo audio cable and selected an unused FM frequency in my area. Power for the transmitter was from the AC outlet. Now, because I live in Europe, we use the even numbered frequencies so I selected 104.6 MHz on my FM radio receiver. After setting up the same frequency on the FM Transmitter, I was able to receive the audio strong and clear on my radio from the living room of my house to the far side of my backyard (around 120 feet away).

My second testing was a little more demanding. I went down to my basement with my laptop computer and connected the FM Transmitter to my laptop using the audio 1/8” jack (one cable end on the headphone jack of the laptop and the other end on the FM Transmitter). I used also the USB cable to power up the transmitter from a free USB port of the laptop. Then, I fired up a playlist with MP3 songs so that to be broadcasted by the transmitter. I went out again to the far side of my back yard to test out the reception. That was more than 120 feet away. I still could hear the music with a lot of noise however, but if you consider that the signal had to pass through the walls of the basement and over to the backyard, the bad quality was expected.

Other Testing Performed

I wanted also to test the audio quality transmitted with different types of audio sources and with different types of power to the unit. Keep in mind that the way you power the device and the quality of the audio source play important role in the output quality of the signal transmitted.

So I did the following tests:

Basically the combination of laptop USB Port as power together with the laptop headphone jack as audio source was the worst because of the electrical issues from getting power and audio from the same source.

Conclusion

The reviewed Whole House FM Transmitter really stands up to its name as a “Whole House” coverage system. If you are in the same situation as me, that is you like to listen to streaming music from a CD player or from your laptop without being bound by distance from the music source, then the Whole House FM system is a great device to broadcast your music on any FM receiver within your home vicinity. Its price tag has also dropped considerably, so why don’t you take a look at the official website of the product to see if it fits your needs. And don’t forget the free shipping within USA and the 30-Day money back guarantee.

Cisco Systems has recently announced its new tablet PC, thereby targeting the market that Apple’s iPad dominates for the moment. The Cisco Cius, will use the Android operating system from Google, while its battery life will be able to last for eight hours.

According to the company, Cisco Cius testing will begin in 2010, and the device will be available to consumers in 2011. The tablet weighs a little more than a pound, while its screen is seven inches, in contrast to the 9.7-inch screen of iPad. Moreover, Cius will have two cameras, a high resolution in front and a 5 Megapixels camera at the back.

Cius will provide email, instant messaging, internet access with Wi-Fi and 4G. Cisco said that the device is designed to provide professionals the ability to create and share content from any location. “This platform can change the way health professionals treat their patients, merchants provide services to their customers or how universities provide education to their students” said Tony Bates, Senior Vice President of Cisco.

Last month, Dell announced the upcoming release of its own tablet PC called Streak, which will also use Android as operating system. It seems that competition for the Apple’s iPad is heating up in the tablet PC market.