Windows to RasPi Internet Connection Sharing

One of the cons of Raspberry Pi is that it comes without a built-in wifi card. If you do not have a wifi dongle that works with Raspberry Pi out of the box, what your are left with is to connect it through a ethernet cable (or compile yourself a driver for your non-compatible wifi dongle, as discussed here). However, for my case, my internet router is located far away from my Raspberry Pi. So the next best thing I can do is to hook it to a laptop using an ethernet cable, and use a shared internet connection.

Here's how to turn it on in Windows 7 and above.

Going Wireless on Raspbmc with MT7601

$35 for a PC, that's Raspberry Pi. You can hook it to a monitor, speakers, USB peripherals as well as the Internet; there are pretty lots of ways you can use it for. I am using it for a menial task though - as a HTPC in my living room.

Raspberry Pi Model B

Raspberry Pi runs on Linux, which is a scary OS for the majority of computer users (including me) who are unfamiliar with it. For me, the biggest challenge was installing the driver for my USB wi-fi dongle, which is not supported by Raspbian out-of-the-box. It took me a weekend of googling and hours of trial and error to finally get it working. (There were numerous times when I almost threw the dongle out of the window because of frustration.) Therefore, I am writing this post for my future reference. Perhaps it might also benefit any other readers are having trouble setting up their wi-fi dongle.

Day #1 - Osaka Castle

»Day #1 - Osaka Castle

21 December 2012, Friday
The day was 21-12-12, the day the world would end in major cataclysms - solar storms, magnetic pole reversal, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. To the horror of some friends and family members, we chose today to travel to Japan instead of sitting at home tuning in to this grand finale.

Thankfully, rather than losing radio contact and flying into an erupting Mt Fuji, we touched down at Kansai Airport at 8.35am as scheduled.

「外国人の皆様、日本へよこそ」("To our foreigner passengers, welcome to Japan," announced the cabin attendant.

Nearly 2 years after my return from Japan in the wake of the 9.0 earthquake on 12 March 2011, I was back in the Land of the Rising Sun. This time with a companion though - my girlfriend Zhi, whom I promised I would bring here one day and "show her around the place". But that's an understatement as we have both been anticipating this moment since we booked our flight with Air Asia during a promotion back in March. (Perhaps I should also mention that the experience with Air Asia is a terrible one.)

The Hidden Gem at Penang Supreme Court

The wooden stairways from the rear lobby of the Penang supreme court leads to a space on the second floor which is dark if not for the light that streams down from the concavity in the ceiling above. It is a dome with peacock motif stained glass lined with copper carvings.

We'll come back to the stairs and the dome in a moment...

Dome with peacock motif stained glass, lined with copper carvings

The Penang supreme court that stands on the plot of land in between Light Street and Farquhar Street was built by the British colonists in 1903. The architectural design was influenced by the works of Andrew Palladio, a 16th-century Venetian architect.

Sunset At Permatang

During the weekdays, the industrial zone in Bayan Lepas is as far as I would go. But last Saturday brought me further south, to a small village located on the south-east tip of Penang island - Permatang Damar Laut.

Sunset at Permatang Damar Laut

Besides the all too familiar stretch of beach in Batu Ferringhi on the northen part of the island, there are a few less known (albeit more easily accessible) beaches on the opposite end. From the south-east to the south-west, there's Batu Maung, Permatang Damar Laut, Teluk Kumbar and Gertak Sanggul. I knew I would have to stop by at these spots for some photo some day. Finally, I decided to start with the closest one, Permatang Damar Laut (or better known among the locals as simply "Permatang").

Picture this: Cows lazying on the field, mouths constantly moving as if they're chewing gum; plenty of goats grazing the grass, stopping only to give an occasional "meh"; roosters pecking the ground, some crowing at the wrong time of the day... That's Permatang Damar Laut, one of the few idyllic villages left in Penang.