Changing Date and Time in Unix BSD

This post is as much for me as anyone else, I always forget this simple command for changing the system date or system time in BSD Unix.

Simply (as root) type 'date' then hit enter
This will spit back the current date and time

If you want to change it, type 'date yyMMddhhmm' then hit enter
substitute:

• yy with 2 digit year code
• MM with 2 digit month code
• dd with 2 digit day code (date)
• hh with two digits for hours (Unix uses 24 hour clock)
  
• mm with two digits for minutes
  

In this example 'date 0903300935' you will get the time and date of March 30th, 2009 at 9:35AM

Remember that BSD Unix is using a 24 hour (military) clock. So if you need something in the afternoon, say 3:35pm, you would use 'date 0903301535' then hit enter. This would render the date and time as March 30th, 2009 at 3:35PM

That is how you change the time in BSD Unix.

Windows Mobile 6.1 DST Issue

I am disappointed in both Verizon Wireless and Microsoft. After I recently wrote about the windows mobile 6.1 update for the verizon wireless smt5800, which overall, I was very pleased with, I found out that they did not patch the Daylight Savings Time adjustment issue in Windows Mobile 6.1 . How stupid is that?

For those of you that do not know, windows mobile 5 and 6 devices needed to be patched due to the change in dates for DST updates. Well, it turns out that they did not fix it in Windows Mobile 6.1 either. So in short, if you receive a calendar request from your exchange server, accept it, and get back in the office and see that your calendar is one hour off, you need to patch your phone.

Go here to get the patch.

Green Screen Verizon FIOS via HDMI

I recently had Verizon Fios TV (and internet) installed at my house. Overall, I was extremely impressed with the level of service in notifying me about the install and the technician that was sent to do the job. However, I am having a problem, and it turns out I am not the only one.

I have new Sharp 32" LCD 720p tv connected via HDMI cables to the QIP-7100 Motorola HD set-top box. After watching the tv for about 30 seconds, it will turn to a green screen, yet the audio works fine. I need to powercycle both the box and the tv in order to get picture again, yet it will just happend again immediately. I have switched out the cables, inputs, etc and nothing works. The box does work if I use the 5 component cables, however that is not an ideal solution for anyone that is trying not to have a million ugly wires running up the wall.

So far, I have found on other blogs, that this is a known issue with the Verizon box, and that it has gone unresolved for almost a year. That is unacceptable, I hope my decision to move to Verizon because of Comcast's idiotic technicians and support was not a bad decision.

I did read on another blog that a patch is on the way, so let's see if it actually happens.

Update, Windows 6.1 on SMT5800

Just a quick update on impressions of the winmo6.1 update for the Verizon Wireless SMT5800. If you did not read that article, or install the update yet, here are instructions: Windows Mobile 6.1 for Verizon Wireless SMT5800

I have had the winmo 6.1 update rom installed on my verizon smt5800 for about one month now. Keep in mind, I am a moderately heavy user of both the data and phone portions of the phone (more so on the data side), So I am a pretty good test case.

I still have not seen anything "official" from Verizon announcing the Windows Mobile 6.1 upgrade for the SMT5800, but I have had ZERO issues with installing it and running it on my phone. Just thought I would drop some quick notes here, for people that care:

1. Threaded SMS is cool, takes some getting used to, but cool.
2. The remoted desktop client only works if you have a hostname, so okay on local sides of your network, but chances are you do not have a hostname set up for a home pc or an individual machine back at the office.
3. The upgrades to Pocket Internet Explorer are useless. It has a zoom out feature that allows you to see a whole page, and you can now set your homepage. Otherwise, it is as slow and cumbersome as ever. Stick with Skyfire or Opera (Skyfire works great)
4. EVDO Rev A works great.
5. I have about 10 aftermarket programs on the device, all of them are functioning without bugs.
6. I have not run into any programs or issues where something had bugs or was broken.
7. The battery seems to last a little bit longer now
8. I do not have to reboot the phone as much anymore to free up memory, seems they have fixed some of the memory leaks.
9. Call and Voice Quality have not changed
10. The new home screen provided by Microsoft was cool (it is disabled by default for the verizon one) But I still went back and put a custom home screen on the smt5800
11. Navigation on the device changed slightly. For instance, <- arrow now works more like an up arrow and the 'del' key is not universally swapped with the back arrow for navigation. Also, when popping menus up with the right soft key, some of them do not lose by hitting the <- arrow, instead you must hit the soft key again. No big deal, minor things really, but again, takes some getting used to.
    

Overall, I have used the update for about a month now, with not a single negative issue. There is nothing to wait for.

Upgrade your SMT5800 to Windows Mobile 6.1 Today!