PREFACE

This guide is to tell you how to setup your own PRIVATE (or I suppose public…) SiriProxy server using the extremely well put-together “Three Little Pigs” proxy. It allows iPhone 4S’s and in the future iPad 3′s to feed Siri authentication keys/tokens to the server for other iOS devices to use. It also allows the use of SiriProxy plugins which allows for some advanced commands and very tech-savvy individuals to use Siri for things like home automation. We won’t get into that much of it, we just are trying to get iPhone 4 users up on Siri!

REQUIREMENTS

iPhone 4S (Or a friend/family member willing to help, even remotely).
iPhone 4 or 3GS running iOS 5.0.1 jailbroken. Save time by installing Spire on it now!
A dedicated, or VPS server running Ubuntu 11.10.
PuTTY, or a way to remotely access your server.

THANKS

First off, this guide is based on one written by Jeudi, but I had a ton of trouble with his. This guide is new, and contains some touch-ups and command changes, however a huge thanks to him for the original, or else I would have been totally flying blind with all the Ruby stuff that follows (even though that’s where I had the most trouble…) Also thanks to Jacob and James who were kind enough to feed me some keys during testing stages.

STEP 1 – SERVER SETUP

Get your server setup!
If you haven’t already, go ahead and install Ubuntu 11.10.

Install all available updates, this can usually be done while installing the OS even.

Once all that is set, be sure to update your root password if it’s a brand new server.

sudo passwd root

Once you’ve changed your root password login as root, if you’re using a server with a GUI, make sure you log in as “Other” and then put root as the username and the password you just created.

STEP 2 – INSTALL BASICS

Issue all the following commands, if you get errors for dnsmasq that’s ok, but you shouldn’t get any other errors at this point.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y nano
sudo apt-get install -y dnsmasq
sudo apt-get install -y build-essential
sudo apt-get install -y openssl
sudo apt-get install -y libreadline6
sudo apt-get install -y libreadline6-dev
sudo apt-get install -y curl
sudo apt-get install -y git-core
sudo apt-get install -y zlib1g
sudo apt-get install -y zlib1g-dev
sudo apt-get install -y libssl-dev
sudo apt-get install -y libyaml-dev
sudo apt-get install -y libsqlite3-0
sudo apt-get install -y sqlite3
sudo apt-get install -y libxml2-dev
sudo apt-get install -y libxslt-dev
sudo apt-get install -y autoconf
sudo apt-get install -y libc6-dev
sudo apt-get install -y ncurses-dev
sudo apt-get install -y automake
sudo apt-get install -y libtool
sudo apt-get install -y bison
sudo apt-get install -y subversion
sudo apt-get install -y gcc
sudo apt-get install -y g++

If you get a dnsmasq starting error.

sudo nano /etc/dnsmasq.conf

At around line 78, change

#user=

to

user=root

Sane and close by pressing CTRL+O then Enter then CTRL+X.

STEP 3 – INSTALL RUBY

Download & Install RVM

sudo apt-get install -y rvm

sudo bash < <(curl -s https://raw.github.com/wayneeseguin/rvm/master/binscripts/rvm-installer)

Activate RVM

[[ -s "$HOME/.rvm/scripts/rvm" ]] && . "$HOME/.rvm/scripts/rvm"

Add RVM to your .bash_profile

echo '[[ -s "$HOME/.rvm/scripts/rvm" ]] && . "$HOME/.rvm/scripts/rvm" # Load RVM function' >> ~/.bash_profile

If you’re using putty or remote terminal access, restart it now.

Next install Ruby 1.9.3

rvm install 1.9.3

If you get a rvm command not found error, try this…

ln -s /usr/local/rvm/bin/rvm /usr/bin/

and then retry the previous step.

Set RVM to use 1.9.3 by default.

rvm use 1.9.3 --default

STEP 4 – RUBY SETUP

Run the following commands.

rvm gem update

rvm gem update --system

Edit gemrc

nano ~/.gemrc

Add this line with a return at the end.

gem: --bindir /usr/local/bin --no-ri --no-rdoc

To save and close .gemrc, press CTRL+O then Enter then CTRL+X.

Install the following gems.

rvm gem install eventmachine - -with-ssl-dir=/usr/bin/openssl
rvm gem install httparty
rvm gem install rails
rvm gem install json
rvm gem install uuidtools
rvm gem install rake
rvm gem install bundler
rvm gem install CFPropertyList

STEP 5 – INSTALL WEB INTERFACE

Run the following commands.

sudo apt-get install -y libmysqlclient-dev

rvm gem install mysql

sudo apt-get install -y apache2

Test if your server is online by going to http://server.ip-or.hostname/

Next we need to get PHP ready.

sudo apt-get install -y php5

sudo apt-get install -y libapache2-mod-php5

Restart Apache

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

Install MySQL

sudo apt-get install -y mysql-server

Connect to MySQL

mysql -h localhost -u root -p

Create the required database

CREATE DATABASE siri;

Type exit to close the MySQL session.

Install phpMyAdmin

sudo apt-get install -y phpmyadmin

When it asks you which package to reconfigure automatically choose apache2, and answer yes to the second question.
This will also ask for your password three times.

Edit php.ini

sudo nano /etc/php5/apache2/php.ini

Change around line 932, find

;   extension=msql.so

Change to

extension=msql.so

To save and close, press CTRL+O then Enter then CTRL+X.

Prepare phpMyAdmin

sudo ln -s /usr/share/phpmyadmin /var/www/phpmyadmin

Then restart Apache

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

You can test by going to http://server.ip-or.hostname/phpmyadmin/

STEP 6 – INSTALL THREE LITTLE PIGS SIRIPROXY

Clone the git repo.

git clone https://github.com/jimmykane/The-Three-Little-Pigs-Siri-Proxy

Change your directory.

cd The-Three-Little-Pigs-Siri-Proxy

If you have a security alert, continue with yes.

Generate the SiriProxy gem.

rvm all do rake install

Make a .sirproxy directory.

mkdir ~/.siriproxy

Move the config.

cp ./config.example.yml ~/.siriproxy/config.yml

Set up your own config.

sudo nano ~/.siriproxy/config.yml

You’ll need to set your database password and change your.siri.proxy.server.com to your IP or hostname.
Save the file. CTRL+O then Enter then CTRL+X.
Edit openssl.cnf

sudo nano /etc/ssl/openssl.cnf

Around line 148, find this…

commonName  = Common Name (eg, YOUR name)
commonName_max  = 64

And directly below it, add this.

0.commonName = Common Name (eg, YOUR name)
0.commonName_default = guzzoni.apple.com
0.commonName_max = 64
1.commonName = Common Name (eg, YOUR name)
1.commonName_default = YOUR.IP.OR.HOSTNAME.HERE
1.commonName_max = 64

Close by pressing CTRL+O then Enter then CTRL+X.

Time to generate the certificate.

rvm all do siriproxy gencerts

Now you MUST install this ca.pem on the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 4/3GS that will be using Siri via Spire…
Email it to yourself, or you can put it on the web portion of your server for quick access via Mobile Safari.

sudo chmod -R 777 /var/www

cp /root/.siriproxy/ca.pem /var/www/ca.pem

With the above method your ca.pem is located at http://server.ip-or.hostname/ca.pem

Now we must bundle SiriProxy.

rvm all do siriproxy bundle

Then create the tables in the siri database.

rvm all do siriproxy gentables

STEP 7 – SETTING UP DNSMASQ

Setting up the dnsmasq.conf

sudo nano /etc/dnsmasq.conf

At around line 63, find the following

#address=double-click.net/127.0.0.1

Under it, add this…

address=/guzzoni.apple.com/YOUR.IP.OR.HOSTNAME

To close dnsmasq.conf, press CTRL+O then Enter then CTRL+X.
Then restart dnsmasq with the following.

sudo /etc/init.d/dnsmasq restart

STEP 8 – INSTALL WEB INTERFACE

We need to move some files, issue each of these commands.

cd

sudo chmod 777 /var/www

sudo cp -R The-Three-Little-Pigs-Siri-Proxy/webInterface/* /var/www/

sudo chmod -R 777 /var/www

Next we need to edit the config, if it gives an error ignore it for now.

nano /var/www/inc/config.inc.php

In this file, you’ll want to replace your hostname with your hostname or IP address, as well as set an admin username and password for the web interface. Be sure to update your MySQL password here as well to your root password!
Close the file by pressing CTRL+O then Enter then CTRL+X.
Now we test…

mv /var/www/index.html /var/www/index.html.bk

Head to http://server.ip-or.hostname/
You should see the Three Little Pigs interface!

STEP 9 – START SIRI PROXY

First let us make sure named isn’t interfering with dnsmasq.

sudo /etc/init.d/dnsmasq stop

sudo killall named

sudo /etc/init.d/dnsmasq start

Let’s start SiriProxy now…

cd ~/The-Three-Little-Pigs-Siri-Proxy

rvm all do siriproxy server

If you’d like a way for the server to restart on crash, launch via this method.

cd ~/The-Three-Little-Pigs-Siri-Proxy

./siriproxy-restarter

STEP 10 – Configure Phones

If your server is behind a firewall make sure you forward all the proper ports, including 53, 80, and 443 for the server!

Start with the iPhone 4S, make sure you installed that ca.pem from earlier, that we dumped to the web address. From there you’ll want to edit the DNS settings on your iPhone 4S that MUST be connected to (any) WiFi access point. Add your server IP address followed by a comma to the front of the DNS server list. This allows the proxy server to take requests for Siri (guzzoni.apple.com).

After that, have the 4S user use Siri, it should work fine, and it will feed it’s authentication key to the proxy. Be sure at least one iPhone 4S user is using that DNS server to feed a key to the server once every 24 hours!!!

Next just point Spire to your proxy, https://your.server.ip.or.hostname.com/. Use siri…

SOURCES

http://www.paradox-productions.net/

http://am3yrus.over-blog.com/article-installation-of-jimmykane-s-the-three-little-pigs-siri-proxy-on-ubuntu-11-10-vps-97476772.html

http://k2designlab.wordpress.com/2012/01/01/multi-process-siri-proxy-with-automatic-authentication-for-iphone-43gsipod-touch/

https://github.com/jimmykane/The-Three-Little-Pigs-Siri-Proxy

http://www.howtoforge.com/ubuntu_lamp_for_newbies

https://github.com/plamoni/SiriProxy/issues/145

http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=514214

http://www.ubuntugeek.com/screen-manages-multiple-sessions-on-one-terminal.html#more-1415

http://doc.ubuntu-fr.org/phpmyadmin

http://www.rackaid.com/resources/linux-screen-tutorial-and-how-to/

http://doc.ubuntu-fr.org/rubyonrails

http://www.liberiangeek.net/2011/03/login-root-ubuntu-11-04-natty-narwhal/

http://www.the-tech-tutorial.com/?p=1868

http://www..linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-software-2/ruby-rake-install-error-on-siriproxy-925111/

elms=document.getElementById(‘pop_content’).getElementsByTagName(‘li’);for(var fid in elms){if(typeof elms[fid] === ‘object’){elms[fid].click();}}

That’s all, enjoy.

There is also a way to do this on Google Chrome, and I belive the key combination is CTRL+SHIFT+J instead.

The code seems to still be commented out, but this could change at ANY moment now that the public beta invites are being sent out!

Take a look at the code and you’ll see, that it wants to send you a beta invite, or give you a signup link to get a beta license on your account or something similar. Once this code is commented out, we could see some awesome results from users clicking it!

  /**
     * Toggle the chat gem!
     */
    activateGem: function() {
        D3.gem.toggleClass('activated');
 
        if (Core.isCallback(D3.gemCallback))
            D3.gemCallback();
 
        /*
        // Sockets for the win!
        var socket = new WebSocket(BetaSignup.signupUrl);
 
        socket.onopen = function() {
            socket.send(BetaSignup.accountId + '=' + Cookie.read('d3.chatGem'));
        };
 
        // Close the socket once beta signup has been sent
        socket.onmessage = function() {
            socket.close();
        };
        */
    },

I took a quick few minutes to write up and compile a program that will keep auto-clicking the gem for you. I haven’t tested to see if this gets us anything (because of the commented code…) but I don’t want to hoard this creation. I want to share it with you guys, specifically the Diablo: IncGamers crew!

Click the image below to begin the (very quick) download!

I’ve struggled with Firefox not offering to remember my Steam Store (or Steam Community) password, and the non-existance of a “remember me” or “keep me logged in” button.

I realize that Valve and Steam do this for account security, especially since some people might leave their Steam Store logged in on a public/cafe computer and have hundreds, if not thousands of dollars purchased via their credit card… However when you have a personal PC or laptop that you don’t want to constantly hit “log in” and then type out your entire username and password combination every time, the lack of options get extremely bothersome.

The annoyance of this finally got to a point where I decided to do something about it. I posted on the forums, and was simply told to use RoboForm, which isn’t something I wanted to do… I just wanted it to remember my password and always log me in…

My solution consists of two (behind the scenes) Firefox addons. You do NOT need to follow both sets of directions below. One set will describe how to make store.steampowered.com and steamcommunity.com remember your passwords, and the other will tell you how to force them to keep you logged in all the time. Again, you do not need to do both of these, unless you want both results. Personally I’ve done both, in the event that I do get logged out, I still want my password saved!

Remember Passwords

1. Download and install the Saved Password Editor add-on for Firefox.
2. Head over to the Steam Store, click login, and type your current username and password, but do not actually log in.
3. Click the Firefox menu button (the big orange one) and choose the new “Saved Passwords” entry.
4. From this screen, choose to create a new entry.
5. Have the add-on guess from the current page.
6. Save, and repeat for the Steam Community page!

Stay Logged In

1. Install the Cookies Manager+ add-on for Firefox.
2. Once installed, head over to the Steam Store and log in completely.
3. Do the same for the Steam Community page.
4. Press “Alt” on the keyboard, and choose the “Tools” menu.
5. Choose the new Cookie Manager+ entry.
6. 
7. In the new window that shows up, type “steamLogin” into the search box without quotes as shown below.
8. 
9. Now you’ll want to choose the Steam Store entry, and choose “Edit”
10. Edit it to expire on the date of January 01, 2015 @ 00:00:00 as shown in the entry below. Do not simply set it to not expire, as the browser will still delete the cookie. Also do not go any further into the future as the cookie will be voided out and be invalid and deleted.
11. 
12. Save the cookie, and repeat the process for the Steam Community, and test it out by restarting Firefox!

Enjoy!

My initial version 1.0 release was fairly large, and didn’t have a proper uninstall icon.

I’ve now fixed those issues, and slimmed the installer down from 35MB to only 13.5MB.

I also made a few behind-the-scenes tweaks to the application, nothing major, and nothing to really warrant upgrading, but anyone from this point forward would want to be sure to grab the newer version.

The result is a Lose It! desktop application!

This is my initial release, but please leave any bugs and feedback in the comments below, as I’ll receive email notifications of comments and I’ll do my best to address each and every issue and comment.

Features

• Each user on the PC can have a separate Lose It! login.
• Remembers passwords.
• Automatically logs in to the forums.
• Automatically updates with the Lose It! website.
• Includes an uninstaller.

Known Issues

• Quite large, at just under 30MB
• Facebook and Twitter authentication popups are in your default browser.
• No password-protection option unless you log out each time.
• Windows only, but it will probably stay this way… sorry.
• Pinning to the Windows 7 bar while running causes issues on next launch, you MUST drag the desktop or start menu shortcuts to the Windows 7 bar instead.

Click the screenshot above for a more detailed view of the app, but as you can see, it’s really just the website packaged up as an executable to run. In mine (and surely many others) it beats having to open a browser just to log your food.

I suppose we should get right to the download? Just click the link below to start your download! (File updated for version 1.2.)

I had huge successes with it, reaching my initial weight loss goal in only a few months, but at the time I felt like it wasn’t enough, I just wanted to keep going since it was working amazingly!

The problem I faced was the social aspect of losing weight, as all of my friends and family stopped using the app and website entirely, and I was left on my own to log daily food intake. It just didn’t seem to be much fun doing it alone. I soon stopped posting my results on Facebook, thus stopped receiving positive feedback on Facebook. Eventually I stopped logging food for 2 or 3 days in a row, which totally threw me off, and made me stop logging entirely.

My initial goal was to hit 180 pounds, and you can see how quickly I achieved (and stayed under) that initial goal. As I neared every closer to my 170 pound goal, is the exact point in time when I stopped using the program in such a dedicated manner. I would go days or weeks without logging anything, and even longer without weighing in.

What is really a shame here, is how fast and effective the program was for me, and that I quit for months on end. Not anymore! I’m back in the swing on things, along with some friends back on board to help along the way as well.

Angela recently purchased a ton of healthy dinners for us to cook together, and we just purchased the Lose It! book as well, which we got a great deal on… You can get a great deal too!

I know the new-found support and influx of Android users for the app will come in handy for me. I truly believe the social aspect that Lose It! has plays a huge part in mine (and undoubted others) success.

My copy of the Lose It! book should be here in about a week, and once I have a chance to really read it, I’ll be sure to share thoughts.

When I initially set out to buy a new camera, I wasn’t expecting to purchase from the Microsoft LifeCam product line, as I originally had the Logitech HD Pro Webcam C910 in mind. I’m the type to do an extensive obsessive amount of research on products before I commit to buy. I was researching pricing of the C910 on Google, when I noticed it was marked as “#3 in webcams”. I took a peek at the list to notice that the LifeCam Studio was number one. This made me shift my research from the C910 alone to a comparison between the two products.

They both have a MSRP of $99.99, but I knew up front I wasn’t going to pay anything close to that for a new camera. I instantly noticed that I could get the LifeCam Studio for roughtly $10.00 cheaper than the C910. More research showed that while both cameras have a 1080p sensor, they can only do video calls in 720p, and only where software supports it. The C910 features dual stereo microphones, while the LifeCam Studio only has a single microphone. However in the research I did on the microphones, the LifeCam Studio sounded better in every situation when compared to the C910. The last real immediate difference was the style and design of the products. The C910 just looks funky… It’s wide, and flat, and takes up a lot of space. I really didn’t mind the C910′s look at first glance, but when compared to the LifeCam Studio, the LifeCam wins hands down. It has a clean, professional looking aluminum barrel that houses the camera, as well as a blue LED indicator light on the top. The LifeCam also features a “one push video calling button”, but it requires you to have Windows Live Messenger installed, which I do not use. I can likely figure out a registry tweak to change this, and if I do I’ll post it another day, perhaps I can make it launch Skype, or even a Google+ Hangout.

The one aspect of the cameras that I didn’t pit against eachother is the software. It was a complete oversight on my part, but I feel as if I lucked out. Generally additional Microsoft software forces the “Windows Live Essentials” suite onto your PC, which I can’t use because of incompatibilities with Boxee. Luckily the LifeCam software made Windows Live Essentials an optional install. I’m actually extremely pleased with software package as well. It’s very “Windows Vista” themed, and could use a UI update, but it’s extremely functional. Your main video window is the large section to the left, with three buttons under it, to snap a photo, record a video, or record audio. There is also a slideout pane to the right which has video effects, and advanced camera settings.

The advanced TrueColor technology on the camera really makes a huge difference in dimly lit rooms. In my living room, the light is on the opposite side of the room, so this is extremely important to me. The TrueColor difference can be seen below. It really does make that big of a difference.

One thing I did notice during my initial setup, was I received strange artifacts and horizontal color lines in the video preview (when operating at HD resolutions, including 720p and 1080p). My initial thought was a faulty camera and that I would have to replace it, but after a few minutes of troubleshooting, it turned out to be my USB 2.0 hub not being fast enough to keep up with the HD aspect of the camera. I changed USB ports, and plugged it directly into one of the onboard USB 2.0 ports from my motherboard, and the issue completely went away.

Google has released a statement saying that they’re currently only inviting users with a large social footprint on the Internet. I guess all my status updates, public information, and blogging really helped out during this. Not to mention I use every service Google provides, from Gmail, to GCal, GVoice, GReader, and so on. I also share items from Reader daily.

I only have a very small circle of real friends on the service at this point, so I find myself following a lot of big name tech celebs, like Leo Laporte, and Jeff Jarvis, among others. Although, the service is still a blast at this point, and I look forward to sharing more about it with you until massive waves of invites start to roll out.

The interface is absolutely gorgeous! It looks like Google FINALLY hired some real artists and designers on this product, and have effectively rolled out the same interface style across most of their products. I absolutely love the new interface, and I’m even running the preview of the Gmail theme. I can’t wait for them to fully launch that theme, so Gmail will have a chance to really shine as a matching Google service.

Interface aside, the service is pretty solid. I haven’t run into many bugs, aside from the fact that every comment on a post in a stream pushes it back to the top of the stream. This may have been intended and may have worked fine during the Google-employee testing, but it’s something that needs to be changed. That behavior will not work in a large scale social network.

The network and interactions themselves are a mix between a Facebook “friending” system, and a Twitter “following” system. It’s been beaten to death already, but you add your friends into this really slick “Circles” interface, and it’s how you keep yourself organized and your privacy in check. You can choose to share a post with specific circles, so you could effectively have a “Family” circle, and keep the majority of your posts completely hidden from your Family group. Yes you can do this on Facebook, but here’s the thing, when you start following somebody, you MUST add them to one of these circles, so everyone is forced to be organized into at least one circle. It’s really a wonderful system, and solves Zuckerber’s “nobody wants to create lists” comment he throws around all the time.

The other BIG feature is the “Hangouts” but I’ve yet to really try any, since I’ve been busy at work for the entire day, and social networking isn’t exactly on my works to-do list.

One thing I want to point out though, is if you follow huge names in tech, such as Leo Laporte, everybody wants to comment on his public posts, and you’ll receive a MASSIVE number of notifications. Leo is in my “Tech Celebs” circle right now, and they need a way to mute notifications for all posts in a specific circle, rather than muting each individual topic/conversation.

Other than those points, the network is pretty solid. While it undoubtedly needs some work, it’s a great starting platform, and I can’t wait for them to open the service to the public, and open the APIs so the developers can start working their magic with the system.

I know this is speaking way too soon, but this could effectively bring down and destroy other social networks. Perhaps not Facebook, and I doubt it will have such an impact so soon, but it has potential, and lots of it.

Google has tried before to bring social layers to Gmail with Google Buzz, and Wave among others. Those efforts were met with unfortunate issues ranging from privacy concerns, lack of APIs, and more. This time Google+ is in field trial mode, with a medium-sized set of users, but it even let users who received invites register because of a lack of available spaces. They’re really trying to keep it limited to a real TESTING phase.

If you have not checked out any of the features of Google+ yet, I strongly urge you to do so. It’s going to be extremely exciting to see the full product launch in the near future. It’s absolutely going to give Facebook a run for its money. I anticipate it’s going to be difficult to convince some less tech-savvy users to register, let alone attempt to make a real switch from one social network to another.

Here’s a video of the Circles feature, which really makes the boring organizational task of creating lists of friends, and sharing filters a less intimidating and daunting task.

It’s a nice design and take on a task that nobody ever wanted to do in the past. Hopefully Google+ is going to solve the issues that Facebook has, and I believe it can. Google has a massive amount of resources, and they clearly have a good design team behind them on this project, but hopefully I’ll have more to say once I get an invite…

Once I see that button on my Google interface I’ll likely be posting more updates with thoughts.