I.T and similar » Opinion Australia

Caved in – bought a HTC Diamond.

Oct 142008

After months of waiting and searching around I decided in the end the Samsung Omnia wasn’t go to arrive in Oz anytime soon. Besides which there were a few issues that were concerning me about it which left me balancing between choosing it, or the new HTC Diamond as my replacement PDA.

In the end Telstra solved the problem for me by essentially giving it to me ‘free’ as long as I continued on my current plan. As I had no intention of changing the plan anyway it suited me so I agreed and said thanks. Of course this is the 4Gb model not the 8Gb, but I thought it would be more than adequate for my needs

Well it arrived, is more or less set up, and so far is doing pretty much what I wanted it to be able to do. Of course I’ve been using it as I used the old iMate and haven’t explored the gizmo’s yet but will be starting on that soon… when I get time.

I’ve not read through the manual yet, but I think on balance reading the manual for a change might be productive as I have to sort out a new interface completely different to the ones I’ve used for the past 3 years or so. I’d like to be able to watch movies on it as well so testing out the DivX capabilities will be fun!

Over the weeks since its introduction I’ve heard complaints that it’s not intuitive… it’s slow… battery life is suspect and the rest and while some are clearly rumours spread by iPhone aficionado’s, there *are* issues in several areas that need working on.

It *does* feel slow, subjectively at least, when loading web pages. They seem to take longer to load than previously, but this is almost certainly down to the cpu over head of rendering the higher screen resolution and isn’t that onerous. Battery life is however dire. Even as a phone, coupled with occasional browsing and game playing, the battery is lucky to make it through the day. I’ve a suspicion I’m going to have to shell out a few dollars more for a battery capable of carrying a higher load if I want to watch movies!

The unit as supplied didn’t come with a dedicated car kit in the box, but I have a USB converter for the cigarette lighter socket so I can charge on the move at least. What’s worse is that local suppliers have *no* accessories available at all and say they are having problems sourcing any… which means going to the HTC Online Store and paying top dollar! Bearing in mind the shift of the US$ against the $AU any purchases will end up costing even more!

It’s not all bad of course. The ‘touch-flo’ interface is very nice to play with and looks set to become a favourite. Having said that, one of the best things about the Diamond is the new game called ‘Teeter’ which is simply ‘rolling’ a virtual ball into holes thru various patterns. What makes it special is the tactile feedback you get so that when you ‘hit’ a side you *feel* it at the point it touches the side! Really weird til you get used to it… but makes for a really fun experience!!

Conclusions? Well I can’t say I’m ecstatic about it… but it’ll do… for now. There is still massive room for improvement but it is a real step up from the iMate for me. Is it as good as an iPhone? Well that really depend on what you want. The unit is smaller and lighter which is both a good thing *and* a bad thing!

Ultimately it’s horses for courses. I prefer to use an OS I’m familiar with and WinMobile 6.1 suits me fine. Perhaps the 8Gb model might have been ‘better’ but given my previous usage patterns, I think 4 Gb is sufficient. Right now I’m happy with what I have.

Edit:
Just checked out the prices for Accessories and learned the cost for me to buy a desktop cradle and extended battery pack will be $AU185. Will have to discuss this with the wife before splashing out. No worries – I can manage well enough without either for a while yet.

I’ve been converted!

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Oct 082008

A short while ago I bought myself an external SATA HDD Docking station and a couple of SATA disks to allow me to put my money where my mouth has been all these years and finally back up my computers the way I nag everyone else to!

One thing that occurred to me after receiving it was that I could finally check out all those hard drives I’d removed from machines I’d outgrown or had simply died. Currently I have at least 24 and I know there are more tucked away in various cupboards!

Trouble is they take up room… along with the several dozen CD drives, floppy drives, power boxes etc that are cluttering up my cupboards and the hassle of fitting them into a machine, checking them and removing them is just too much effort to contemplate!

To use the external docking station tho I needed something that would convert a SATA connection to am IDE… and that finally arrived today after the sort of fuss you’d think remarkable was it not for my ongoing jinx’ [i](I just take the effects of the jinx as a matter of course usually – tho occasionally get frustrated by it)[/i].

Anyhoo… I have the docking station… I have the ‘converter’… I have the discs. Now all I need is the time to sit and work through them. I’ll report back with what [i](if anything)[/i] useful is found on them and bearing in mind some go back 10 years or more I doubt they’ll be much use!

Edit:
After some work I remembered that nothing related to the jinx will work as well as I might hope, and so it went with this little project. Whilst each part connects to the individual pieces… none of the individual pieces will connect to each other!!

Will have to find a work-around but as usual, that’s the way it goes.

Decided now to take one of the HDD’s, the converter *and* the dockingstation to my friendly local tech store and ask for advice… they’re pretty helpful and resourceful usually so might have a more elegant solution than mine, which is to run around screaming and banging my head against the wall!!

More later!

One step forwards…

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Oct 032008

Wrote this up on the ‘Family Forum’ but figured it deserved to be out here as well. Nothing important really, just an update on the development of our technological setup here at home.

It’s all down to me having discovered a few weeks ago a small utility that allows me to backup all my data online. Ok it cost $100 a year but bearing in mind I lost 40 Gb of priceless photos a couple of years ago I think it’s worth it. What’s more, tho I repeatedly exhort everyone I talk to about computers to back up consistently and regularly… I’ve *never* done it myself! Until I signed up for the online backup service I don’t remember *ever* backing up any of my data. And remember I’ve been using computers since 1983!!

Actually I suppose I’m arguingagainst myself to a certain extent if in all that time I’ve not really lost that much essential data? But that’s besides the point. In the ‘old days’ we stored stuff on 1.5 Mb floppies (and of course much smaller!!) so losing one or two made little difference to the overall picture. However, modern hard drives are getting seriously *huge* and the amount of data one can potentially lose in the event of a catastrophic breakdown is immense so I’m still reccomending regular backups… but at least now I can say it without having my tongue in my cheek as I do so!!

Strangely it was paying for the online storage that made me realise the need for a more ‘physical’ storage system at home, so, after a little thought I went out and bought a ‘docking station’ for SATA HDD’s.

The SATA drives allow ‘hot-swapping’ which means I can (if I want) remove one drive and instert another without too much hassle, and being in a docking station means I can literally lift them out without the need to dismantle a ‘holding case’.

The dock I bought was more useful than most because it also does duty as a USB Hub and has an integrated card reader. The only fly in the ointment was that all my ‘spare’ HDD’s are IDE which obviously is a pain because SATA and IDE have diffferent connectors.

To help sort out the problem I went out and bought two new drives. One, a 500Gb Seagate, the other a 1Tb Western Digital. The 500Gb set me back $105.00, the 1Tb $195. I think I got a pretty good deal there!

Of course this didn’t solve the problem of how I was going to access the old IDE drives… so I searched around and sourced a IDE –> SATA or SATA –> IDE converter made by Skymaster. Lord knows if it’ll work but it was only $45 including delivery so I have my fingers crossed! I had an email telling me the order had been despatched so I’ll find out soon just how well it *does* work… and I’m keeping the fingers crossed!

One of the reasons for wanting the converter desperately is that a couple of years ago I was in the process of cleaning off my desktop computer ready to reformat and reinstall. I’d copied all the photos I’d collected over the past five years, and deleted them off the hard drive… when my daughter accidentally knocked the external HDD off the desk… effectively destroying the only photos we have of her first 5 years!! I’m hoping against hope that it was just the connection that was damaged… so when the converter arrives the first step will be to stick the old 44Gb drive into the docking station and see if perhaps it *might* work.

If not… well the last quote I had from a forensic data recovery firm was between $1000 – $3000 which ain’t cheap in anyone’s book!

Either way, after all these years I *finally* have a decent backup system in place for my data, photos etc, etc, etc. So far I’ve uploaded 35Gb to the online service and copied another 50 Gb to the new backup disc.

If I ever need the online service to *download* those files might cost a fortune… so I may even have to resort to having it all sent to me on DVD’s (whichever is cheapest)… but at least it’s safe… where ever it is!! Cheesy

Lappie blues

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Sep 282008

Finally fixed the laptop. After some prevarication and testing I decided the wireless card might be faulty so managed to force myself to get out and buy a new one.

This time instead of the Netgear WG511T which worked well for several years, I bought a D-Link DWA-610 ‘Wireless G Notebook Adapter’. Installed it, connected it, and it works.

So far it is *nowhere* near the speed of the old card but that might be a function of it’s ‘iffy’ connection with the Belkin router I have. Having said that, the router itself is nearing the end of its use-by date and is showing its age badly, needing constant reboots to keep it functioning at all!

Maybe a firmware update would solve the problem, but it really is ‘old tech’ compared to the new breed of machine available. It might be simpler all round to just replace it… if the cost is acceptable that is.

Wordweb utility – it’s an essential!

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Sep 282008

This utility is such a ‘must have’ I rarely remember to tell anyone about it! Sounds silly I know but it’s *so* useful, essential even, that I honestly forget that it isn’t a part of the basic operating system!

The thing is called ‘WordWeb‘ and it sits quietly in your taskbar until there is a word you simply *must* know everything about… from spelling to usage! It has two great features – firstly it’s free… secondly it *works*! From writers, through office workers to schoolkids this is the sort of aid you’d expect to be inbuilt to any program that accepts written input. You can even install it onto a usb drive!!

To use it is simplicity itself. Simply highlight a word and click on the icon! Up comes a window similar to the screenshot above (re-sizeable to suit your needs). If you want to change spelling click on the word… else… do whatever.

While you look at the thing… check out the wacky ‘licence conditions‘… !! These people want to save the planet as well!!

Now is the time to say goodbye…

Gripes, I.T and similar 3 Responses »

Sep 102008

Long ago in a far distant time, in the 1960′s I think, long before Dudley Moore had become Dudley Moore… or died of course… there was the brilliantly dangerous show “Not only but Also” starring Pete and Dud.

They’ve little to do with this post other than contributing the subject line and the immortal words of the signature song with which they ended each show. The words we’re interested in are:

Now is the time to say goodbye
Now is the time to yield a sigh (yield it, yield it)
Now is the time to wend our waaaaayyyyy
Until we meeet again
Some sunnnnnny daaaayyyyy.

And here is part of the thing as sung by the lads themselves some 40 years ago!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O189_vonxdc[/youtube]

Obviously it droned on a little longer after that snippet, but you get the drift.

So what has it to do with the post? Well… if you’ve not guessed… the “Large Hadron Collider”, a multi billion dollar particle accelerator is due to start operations sometime over the next 24 hours. It’s purpose is to try to recreate conditions as closely replicating the ‘Big Bang’ that created our universe as possible.

Bearing in mind what happened after the *last* Big Bang you can appreciate that the prospect of doing on the surface of planet Earth is causing a little consternation… what with it being the only planet currently available for us to inhabit. There are claims that the experiments will cause a localised ‘black hole’ which will swallow Europe… or the entire world… or the entire solar system depending on how extreme a case you are proposing. There have even been claims that the experiments will open wormholes in time and space leaving us open to attack by creatures from another dimension.

I’ve never really understood why creatures from another dimension would *want* to attack us without a least discussing it first , but I’m a novice in these matters so am not in a position to judge really.

However I *can* see how the other claims regarding black hole creation is feasible, especially since this is one of the purposes of the experiments, and I must admit to being a little nervous about it. We’ve been assured thaat the collsions the ‘Collider’ is trying to create happen thousands of times a day out in space so there’s little or nothing to concern us. However… outer space is ‘out there’. This is here… on the planet surface where we’re all desperately trying to cling to life for all we’re worth… however much that might or might not be.

At the end of the day of course it makes no difference if I’m totally complacent or a nervous wreck because of it, I have no say in the matter and it will go ahead regardless.

So the point of the post (at last!) is just to say, in the (also immortal) words of Dougie Adams… “Goodbye and thanks for all the fish!”. With luck we’ll all be here tomorrow and the next day, and the day after that and we’ll look back on this episode with amusement, much as we now do at the Millennium Bug which was supposed to stop civilisation as we know it.

Of course… it’ll be a bit of a bugger if we *aren’t* here to read this tomorrow eh??

On the other hand, since the first actual collision experiment isn’t going to take place for 6 – 8 weeks our doom and gloom might be a little premature anyway, but I’m still saying goodbye now in case I’m not around after it happens!

Still here… somewhere.

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Sep 032008

Was looking today at the new Chrome Browser by Google and I have to admit to being *really* impressed!! The screen ‘real estate’ is being used to far greater advantage now I’ve lost those controls I only ever used once in a blue moon, and those additional search boxes that cluttered the place. This browser searches from the ‘address bar’ which leaves a *huuuuge* space!!

I’m not saying it’s perfect but I’ve a;ready stopped using Firefox in favour of Chrome and that alone should convince you it’s worth a look even if you decide it isn’t for you!

Whilst trying out the browser I meandered into Google Groups and found this little snippet of information:

What is a Usenet Newsgroup?

Google Groups contains the world’s most comprehensive archive of Usenet postings, dating back to 1981. Using Groups, you won’t need a newsreader and you can search this archive the same way you’d search on the web. You can also use Groups to post your own comments to an existing Usenet newsgroup.

Usenet is an online bulletin board system that began at Duke University in 1979. Usenet users can post messages to newsgroups that can be read (and responded to) by anyone who has access to the system through a newsreader. Over the years, the number of newsgroups has grown into the thousands; they’re hosted all over the world and cover every conceivable topic.

Well I appreciate this means nothing to most of you but for years I almost *lived* on Usenet arguing and fighting my way around the groups with all and sundry. For years the archive for all this dross was Deja News but after a series of financial blunders the system was all bar wrecked. Luckily Google bought the archive and extended it as far back as 1981 and created the web interface we see today… which is nowhere near as accessible as the old Deja was. Nevertheless at least the archive was saved so now you’ll be able to go and search to see just hopw rude I was to people… if you can find out what my nickname and/or email adress was/were!

Still, the point is that I did all the research and searching using the new browser and apart from a couple of little quirks it’s worked with no problems whatsoever!

As for meself… well I’m slowly losing weight, in part because I’m eating less and alo because I’m moving around more. So do I miss the net?? Well yes. But I’ll get over it.

Walking The Dog!

General Ramblings, I.T and similar No Responses »

Aug 072008

The blog might be updated a little less frequently than usual for the next few days – I’m going walkies!!

Well ok, I’m currently in the process of changing ISP’s ands whilst the new techs tell me they will try to have the account set up overnight, they admit it could take up to a *week* dependent on the speed at which the existing connection is cancelled at the old exchange by the techs and the new one connected.

It had to be done. The old company only allowed me a 25Gb download limit and they counted in that both downloads *and* uploads. The new one has a total of 100Gb (a mix of 40 Gb on and 60 Gb off peak) with uploads not counted… and for the same price as the old account!! They throw in a VOIP connection as well but I doubt I’d use it.

Sadly the speeds won’t increase, I’ll still be getting a maximum of 4.5Mb/sec and possibly lower throughput, but at least I hopefully won’t be throttled back to 64Kb/sec after only a few days of the month as has happened every month since Xmas!!

Let’s hope I won’t be away for more than a day… but if I am… I apologise.

Either way, I will be back soon enough whinging and complaining, so you don’t get rid of me *that* easily!

Smiley Miley

Crime & Punishment, Entertainment, I.T and similar No Responses »

Aug 042008

It’s possible some of you might never have heard of singer Billy Ray Cyrus, but I’ll bet there are a lot fewer of you who’ve never heard of his daughter Miley who has been making a name of her own with her alter ego as “Hannah Montana” especially if you have kids around you!

Over the months, fifteen year old Miley has had her share of controversy. Her ‘image’ has been a traditional Disney ‘wholesomeness’ but someone has slowly been leaking pictures of her onto the internet showing her in various states of dress (and undress) and in poses which have done her image no good at all.

I’m not reproducing them here because there are enough images out there of her if you want to look but I *am* reproducing the photo of the guy who’s been accused of ‘leaking’ them!

Josh Holly aka 'trainreq'

This guy is eighteen year old Josh Holly, who also describes himself as a hacker and runs a blog where his pseudonym is ‘trainreq’. According to Josh, who lives in Murfreesboro, Tenn, USA, he ‘hacked’ into Miley’s phone, read her personal mail and downloaded photos she’d taken of herself (on her own phone).

Now I don’t know about you but I think this is absolutely disgusting behaviour! Whatever else she is or isn’t, Miley is a young girl who has as much right to her privacy as anyone else… maybe more so bearing in mind her age and career… and people like this wannabe really need to be slapped back into line. I sincerely hope the full weight of the law descends on him like a ton of bricks.

Taking this sort of photo of yourself is something millions of kids do now, after all it’s so easy to do and it’s fun to do these ‘sexy’ poses for a laugh. Naturally, most images are simply deleted. For the ‘less than famous’ some images might be shared amongst friends… what people of Miley’s age and situation rarely do is have them posted on the open internet for people to ogle!

In the USA and much of the world Miley, at 15, still underage and whilst none of the pictures so far published are actually obscene they are still ‘questionable’ and if Josh publishes the *nude* shots he says she’d taken of herself he could be in real trouble!

Even leaving that aside, I’m sure the USA has laws that make hacking into private phones and data theft illegal, but added to that I’d have though Billy Ray would be hot on this guy’s tail to sue him for every penny he ever earns. Then of course you have Disney itself who have millions tied up in this girls career and *they* will be less than pleased with Josh. Maybe ten years in the slammer will help explain to him that his actions weren’t quite as funny as he thought.

Ok he has had his own 5 minutes of fame… but now it’s time he learns what happens to people who breach other peoples privacy for their own gain.

Wow… for what might be the first time ever I’m on the side of the rich and famous!

And up (grade) we go.

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Aug 032008

Yes I’ve been quiet and no I’m *still* not 100% right… ignoring those who suggest unkindly that I was never right to begin with. However, things being what they are I sat by the computer and again saw on each of the blogs a request that I update the WordPress blog software installation.

Unfortunately I am utterly terrified of upgrading any software that requires me to manually interfere with the database. As many of you will know I can be utterly cack-handed with some things and I’ve been mortally afraid of destroying the blog entirely. So, apart from the time I let my friend Sue walk me through an upgrade… I’ve ignored them entirely!

For an entirely different reason, i.e. to find a ‘captcha’ plugin that will allow me to ‘vet’ prospective members, I visited the WordPress site. I didn’t find the plugin I was looking for but *did* find an automatic update plugin. Now the fact I am willing to hand the upgrade of my precious database over to an entirely unknown third party with no real clue how effective the process is shows you just how pathetic I can be,

Still, I persevered.

I downloaded the plugin, and unzipped it to the desktop. The resultant folder was uploaded to the plugin directory on the server and, as normal, activated through the plugins list. Next step was… to tell it to go and do it. Which I did.

There are a few clicks for you to make, partly to confirm you have downloaded your backup files (which you hope you’ll never need) just in case. And that is sadly just aboout it. The entire process was as easy as it could possibly be. In fact the only way it might be easier could be if it did it without any clicking by the user… or if it just upgraded regardless (perhaps not the best of ideas?).

For me this is one of *the* best plugins available and revolutionises the upgrade process for us ham-fisted techophobes.

Well done Keith… this represents a major step forward for WordPress!!

On a theme… so to speak… I’ve been adding other plugins to make life a little easier. One is Sabre which will help cut out the bot registrations such as those from komatoz.com which make life a pain! Any new registrations will be a chore for people but at least I’ll know they’ll be real people! Another tells me more stats… which I get anyway from the server but it’s all information. And… well there are a couple of other additions useful for me but not to you so I’ll stop rambling… for now.

Anyway, we’re all up to date and a little safer than we were. Now off to see if there is fun stuff I could add.

I might be sick but I’s still having fun!

Older Entries Newer Entries

Opinion Australia

Caved in – bought a HTC Diamond.

I’ve been converted!

One step forwards…

Lappie blues

Wordweb utility – it’s an essential!

Now is the time to say goodbye…

Still here… somewhere.

What is a Usenet Newsgroup?

Walking The Dog!

Smiley Miley

And up (grade) we go.

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