Want to turn your Raspberry Pi into a portable antenna / wireless router that can be used to pick up WiFi signals from great distances? I did. I will walkthrough how to make the 2.4GHz cantenna using some cheap components and then setup the Pi as a router so you could search for WiFi access points, connect to them, and potentially relay the signal. Great for wardriving or just connecting to your home Wi-Fi from out in the backyard. Continue reading “Raspberry Pi + Cantenna: Ultimate 2.4GHz Wardriving and Long-range WiFi Access”
Automator: Scale Down Large Images From the Contextual-menu
Automator seems to be one of those unknown or ignored Apple-made apps. But it is very powerful and can save you a lot of time. It has also been part of OS X for a long time.
Purpose
To save time by automatically scaling down images (while keeping the original file) to a pre-set size as opposed to manually editing each one.
Requirements For This Walkthrough
Materials
- Mac with OS X
- Large image files
Downloads
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Ability to navigate throughout a computer OS
- Knowledge of basic computer terminology
Step-by-step Instructions
Create the Automator Workflow
You can also download a a pre-built workflow.
- Create a folder for the scaled-down images to go
- Open /Applications/Automator
- Create a workflow similar to the following: (editing the folder and size fields)
- Click File > Save
- Save as something like Reduce to 800×600
Use The New Contextual Service
- Right-click a large image file
- Click Reduce to 800×600
- Watch the magic happen
The scaled-down image will now be revealed in the folder you designated. The original remains in-tact. This operation can also be completed on many files at once. In this example, the picture was 1.8MB and was reduced to 144K.
Wi-Fi Cantenna (2.4GHz): How-to Make a Long-range Wi-Fi Antenna
Create a cantenna to drastically extend your Wi-Fi signal! Works great with a router that has external atennas, like the old-school classic WRT54G. Continue reading “Wi-Fi Cantenna (2.4GHz): How-to Make a Long-range Wi-Fi Antenna”
OS X Scripting: How-to Script A Mouse Click At X-Y Coordinate
Automate annoying and repetitive mouse clicks with this great trick! Continue reading “OS X Scripting: How-to Script A Mouse Click At X-Y Coordinate”