How to build a low cost Bluetooth relay

Posted by Raffael on 01/05/201301/05/2013 Posted in Tutorials, Web Tips Tagged bluetooth home automation, bluetooth relay board, bluetooth relay switch, home automation, low cost bluetooth module, low cost bluetooth switch

Meanwhile there are lots of solutions for home automation in the market. However the most of them share one flaw – their price. But blessedly there is Youtube where you can find a video for each topic…
On Youtube I came across a clever tinkerer named Lou, who shows how you can build a low cost Bluetooth relay. I think this is really cool, because there are a many application areas. You could open your garage door, switch lights on and off or unlock an electric lock. To build up one of these Bluetooth relays you must not even be a technical genius, because the use of a soldering iron is sufficient. Knowledge in programming or microcontroller-technology isn’t necessary.
For the Bluetooth relay you need only one transistor and a Bluetooth headset from Samsung. (Although I think each […]

Send emails in C#

Posted by Raffael on 01/04/2013 Posted in C#.Net, Tutorials Tagged C#, c# email template, c# fake mail, c# fake sender, c# mailmessage, c# mailto, c# system.net.mail html, mail, system.net.mail

Today I’ll show you how to send easily emails in C#. All that is required, comes with the System.Net.Mail namespace.
In order to be able to send email using the subsequent snippets, all you need is the address of a SMTP server and some login data for even those. (Open, i.e. anonymous STMP servers, aren’t eas to find these days.)
To obtain the address of your provider’s SMTP server you should look on the websites of your provider or glance at one of the following three lists ([1] [2] [3]).
If you have found out the server address and your credentials, we can begin.

public void sendMail(string sender, string recipient,
[…]

How to run a full-value Linux on your Android device

Posted by Raffael on 01/03/2013 Posted in News & Apps, Tutorials, Web Tips Tagged Linux on Android, Ubuntu on Android, Ubuntu on Android device, Virtual machine on Android

I know, why I love my Android smartphone. It is open, flexible and the opportunities to use it seem to be endless. In times companies don’t let me choose, what software I can use to I transfer my music onto the device (Apple – iTunes), I, as an Android user, can ask myself the question: “Should I install the new Cyanogen Mod or straigt way a full-value Linux distribution on my device today? “.
Yes, you heard correctly, a full Linux distribution on your Android device. Ruan from Androidclone managed it and shares his knowledge gladly with all Android fans. At Androidclone board you can find a detailed tutorial, how to run Ubuntu 10.10 on your Android device.

How to run Android on PC

Posted by Raffael on 01/02/201301/02/2013 Posted in News & Apps, Tutorials, Windows 7, Windows 8 Tagged android emulator, android on pc, android on windows, android virtual machine, android virtual pc, android virtualbox, android virtualization, android virtualization on windows, android x64, android x86

In the following article I’ll show you how to run Android in a virtual machine on your Windows. The post may appear relatively long at first glance, but actually setting up is really easy. So don’t be daunted by the article’s lenght.
If you reach the end of the article and did all steps correctly, you can work with Windows and Android on the same machine at the same time. And now blathered enough, let’s go!

What do we need?

Microsoft Virtual PC (Download) or VirtualBox (Download)
Android x86 iso-file (Download)

At first you have to install Microsoft’s Virtual PC. Therefore you have to download it (use the link from the above “What do we need?”-list ). But wait – maybe you can spare yourself the download and installation. Take […]

How to easily record from a webcam in C#

Posted by Raffael on 01/02/201311/03/2017 Posted in C#.Net, Tutorials Tagged aforge, aforge webcam, C#, c# web cam code project, c# web camera, c# web camera capture, c# web camera library, c# webcam, capture image web camera c#, csharp web camera, take picture webcam c#

What is the easiest way to use a webcam in C# and record from it? If you search for an answer to this question you’ll find a lot of articles in the internet but most of them are many pages long and very confusing. However that isn’t really necessary. With the aid of the AForge.NET library you can do the given task really easy. Just a few lines of C# code are enough to drive your webcam and capture images from it. In the following I’ll show you how to handle the AForge library.
What do you need?

The AForge.Video.dll together with the AForge.Video.DirectShow.dll
Both dlls can be found on the AForge website inside the “(libs only)” zip-archive.
A simple winforms-application, with a picturebox on its gui
A webcam. For example this one:No products found.
Basic C#-knowledge. If not exists, read this: No products found.

At first you have to reference the both dlls and write the using-statements […]