Router Issues

Jul 31, 2006 | blog

Along with this heat wave in the upper midwest, it seems my home wireless router may be on the fritz.  It keeps cycling through reboots (or so it seems).

We’ve had about a week and a half of record, or near-record high temps, making it very hard on everyone.  Not too easy to keep cool, and I wonder if the heat has anything to do with my router issue.

I’ve connected my main home computer directly into the cable modem and will start trying to diagnose if there is an issue with my router.  About 4 days ago I had upgraded the firmware on the device with a new version from D-Link.  Not sure if that has anything to do with it, but I may try going back to the old firmware (if I can keep a connection long enough).

Ugh, hardware.

Hmm, maybe its time for an upgrade! 🙂

MDA, Voice Command, and Bluetooth Headsets

Jul 29, 2006 | blog

So I’m trying to use Microsoft’s Voice Command with a Bluetooth headset without success…until I found the work-around over on Geek.com!

This post at Geek.com details how to change the default action on an HTC Wizard (such as my MDA), to use Voice Command instead of the built-in voice dial software.  If you’re running into the same problem you can apply this work-around to your device and enjoy the benefits of Voice Command without needing to pull your phone out of your pocket.

Nice surprise over lunch

Jul 24, 2006 | blog

Boy, did I get a surprise over lunch today!  I’ve put in a few requests to review several bluetooth headsets, and got a call-back from a Jabra representative this afternoon.

So it looks like I’ll be able to do an in-depth review of the BT500 as I investigate all the offerings in the marketplace.  This will be a good thing, as I can actually test the latest in Jabra’s behind-the-ear headset design and technology.

Thanks Jabra!

Back to the future

Jul 21, 2006 | blog

So I ditched the full beta test setup I had.  Running Vista, IE7, Office 2007, WMP11 and so on – all in one level of beta or another – was a real performance drag.

So I’m back to Windows XP and Office 2003, though I did elect to keep IE7 beta 3.  Performance on a pure beta OS/App setup was just too much to wait around for.  And my machine is no slouch either – but that is why its called beta software.  Get the bugs out first then optimize for performance.

Now on the flip side, this should not reflect on the feature set or stability of all the beta software run together.  Yes there was the occasional app shut-down, but I never had Vista crash.  For that matter, I can count on one hand how many times I’ve had Windows XP crash in the past five years – no lie.  If anyone’s interestedin that fact, I can write about it another time – simple computing practices are involved.

Again, the functionality of the next generation of OS and software will stun the average person.  The neatest stuff is simply the fit & finish of the interfaces.  While Vista and Office 2007 probably won’t get the kudos that it deserves, but it is truly stunning and makes huge inroads into ease of use.
Yeah, Microsoft is a great company to “hate” if that’s your bag baby.  But the fact of the matter is that without a giant evil empire like MS to sling mud at, you wouldn’t have the fierce competition that we have in the market – yes I’m not kidding.  Just look at the options at the consumer electronics stores that you can get – Windows, Mac, and Linux systems everywhere.

So in short, I’m glad to have a faster computing experience back!  I’ll be plotting my next PC purchase later this year to support my Vista fixation.  I’ll write about that later – probably be a full house upgrade as both my wife and I need new systems, and both the kids as well.  Ugh, the price tag won’t be pretty, but the end-result will :).

~Later~

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