New ISP

I recently signed up for Comcast high speed internet, and I was just benchmarking the speed. I don’t know if this is accurate, but here are the results that I got.

-BM-

Zune 3.0…better late then never.

So a couple of weeks ago Zune firmware and software 3.0 came out, and of course all of us Zune owner got that update free of charge, unline the fruit company chargin $9.99 for major upgrades for their touch device.

3.0 brings a lot of nice features. I would suggest getting a Zune pass ($14.99/month for unlimited downloads) because of all the nice things it enables you to do.

I love the tagging of songs that you hear on radio, you can tag a song and then when you sync your Zune you can choose to buy that song from the Marketplace or delete it.

Another nice thing about it is that now you can connect to wireless hotspots and browse the Marketplace and place orders through it as well.

There are a few more updates, I don’t have a Zune pass so I feel like I can’t give you a detailed review about those other features that require the Zune pass.

That’s it for now,
-BM-

WSMV-DT/NBC in Nashville in HD.

Since Monday 9/15/2008, WSMT-DT has switched their news to HD. This the second network in Nashville that has switched to local news in HD. The first network was Channel 5 or CBS which has been airing their local news in HD since 2/2/2007.

-BM-

Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 review.

I just recently purchased this mouse for my notebook since I have built in bluetooth and didn’t want to use additional USB ports for a wireless mouse. I was browsing circuitcity.com and found this for $30 less then the retail price of $50 making it $19.99.

This is a very nice mouse, it is about the size of the Microsoft Notebook Optical Mouse 4000 and it uses two AAA batteries instead of one AA. There is a switch on the bottom of the mouse to turn it on and off, and a connect button to connect it to the computer. There is also a battery indicator right above the scroll wheel.

This mouse also comes with a neoprene case to store your mouse when not in use.

I’m sure some are wondering about how to connect it to your computer. Well, this mouse does not come with a bluetooth adapter for your computer, you either have to have one or buy one in order to use this mouse with your computer. This mouse is ideal for notebook users who have bluetooth built into their notebooks to avoid using the wireless receivers that you get with other wireless mice.

Included in box:
Mouse
Case
Batteries
Instructions

I give this mouse a 4.8 out of 5 because the batteries are rated for three months of use instead of the regular six months on other Microsoft devices.

Another great hardware product from Microsoft.

-BM-�

WDS (Wireless Distribution Service)

With homes getting bigger and bigger, and wireless signals unable to keep up with the big distance over large homes it is hard to have a great signal everywhere in your house. That is where WDS comes into play. WDS stands for wireless distribution service, and that is what is does.

WDS works by having two routers (preferably the same brand and model) running DD-WRT, at least that’s how I have my system set up.

Router1 is connected to your internet connection (modem) and router2 is connected to router1 wirelessly and it still acts as an access point for wireless devices. There is a few different ways to set this up, and I will go into detail later in this article.

I will try to keep this step-by-step, and hopefully I won’t get carried away.

The first thing that we need to do with our routers is to make sure that we have the same stable version of DD-WRT installed on both routers. You don’t need to have two of the same routers, or probably not even the same version of the DD-WRT firmware, but in doing so, it helps eliminate those little issues that will prevent this system to operate successfully.

The next thing that we have to do is to back up the settings on the main router. We will do this just in case if everything else fails we’ll have all of our settings backed up.

When the backup is done, go ahead and reset both of the routers (button on back for 30 seconds) to default settings. This ensures that we start with a clean slate and you will be able to follow this tutorial easier.

Next you will need to write down certain things. router1 wireless MAC, router2 wireless MAC, any DNS servers that are provided by your ISP which would be visible on router1. If you just upgrade to DD-WRT, you may have to change that MAC address to the one on the bottom of your router.

To do that follow the following directions:

nvram set et0macaddr=xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx (on the bottom of your router - 1)
nvram set il0macaddr=xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx (on the bottom of your router)
nvram set wl0macaddr=xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx (on the bottom of your router + 1)
nvram commit

Click on save startup so that these commands get issues everytime the router restarts and you always have the same MAC address.

Don’t set up the wireless security yet, let’s get everything working and then we’ll set up the wireless security.

The best way to make this work is to use WPA-AES (we’ll input the key later) and use the same name for both routers. It is also advisable to use the G-only transmission. A lot of people say that you’re supposed to use the same channel, however, I believe that you should only have to use the same channel if there are a lot of wireless access points around, if not I would leave it on Auto. I have left the channel on Auto and the transmission mode on Auto as well, and I haven’t had any problems so far. Make sure that you mimic the same settings on both routers.

The next thing that we’ll do is very important. Make sure that the two (or more) routers have a different IP address (router1 = 192.168.5.10, router 2 = 192.168.5.100). Remember those things that I said to write down (MAC addresses, etc.) we will be using those next.

On router1 go to Wireless -> WDS and under the WDS Settings change one of those boxes to LAN instead of Disable and put in the MAC address of the second router (caps shouldn’t play a role, but since this is a linux OS, and upper/lower case in linux does, let’s keep the MAC addressing stricktly upper case). You can also put a description, but it’s not neccessary.

Now go to router2 and go to Wireless -> WDS and put in the MAC address to the first router in a LAN field.

While we are at the router2 configuration page go to setup and make sure that the default gateway points to router1’s IP address, and make sure that the DHCP server is disabled since router1 will be the DHCP server. Also go ahead and enter in any DNS servers that you wrote down earlier.

That is pretty much it. Once you have an operational network, you can then enable security on both routers. To keep things simple use the same SSID and same key with WPA-AES encryption.

If you have any issues or need help, please leave a comment or e-mail me and I will try to help you as much as possible.

-BM-

Outlook 2007 and Gmail IMAP slow??? Not anymore.

Who doesn’t like to use Outlook 2007??? How cool is Gmail IMAP feature??? Using them together is SLOW. Well, there is actually a solution for this.

Please keep in mind, these are some tips to get your e-mail working faster. It will still not be as fast as POP3 access, but it will be pretty close.

There are a few steps to take to get this accomplished.

I think the first step is the most important.

In Outlook 2007 click on Tools->Send/Receive->Send/Receive Settings->Define Send/Receive Groups.

Make sure All Accounts is highlighted and click on Edit.

Make sure your gmail account is selected on the left and then check the “Use custom behavior defined below” radio button.

Expand the [Gmail] set of folders and click on Trash, then select the “Download headers only” radio button. Do the same for Spam.

Next, click on the Inbox folder and select the “Download complete item including attachment” radio button.

Now click ok and that will bring you back to where you clicked Edit. On that page make sure that you set your Send/Receive time at least 30 minutes and not one or two minutes.

Another thing that I find is helpful is to set the default folder for outlook when you launch the program. To do that go to Tools->Options->Other (tab)->Advanced Options->Browse and then select the inbox folder for your Gmail account.

You are done. Your Gmail IMAP account should now be noticably faster when you send or receive e-mails in Outlook 2007.

Enjoy,
-BM-

Cables, cables, cables…

I know a lot of people have heard myths about how the really expensive Monster cables are so incredible, and how they will give you the BEST picture quality ever.

(Dr. Evil’s accent) “Right!!!”

The fact of the matter is, those cables are good, we can even say that they are great, and if you can get them for really cheap, go for it. Unfortunately, they are very expensive, like a 3ft HDMI cable for $99.99 in your local retail stores.

Cables like this HDMI, and others, like a simple 3.5mm audio cable, are marked up by at least 80%. So that $100 HDMI cable actually costs the retail stores around $20 for the product, transport, etc. The other $80 goes to the store, or corporation.

Maybe some people notice the difference, or think they notice the difference. I know most people will not, I do not notice the difference, and I have Monster cables, as well as other brand cables that cost me much less.

A really good place for all your cabling needs that I would recommend would be Monoprice. I recently ordered from them an DVI to HDMI 6ft cable which I have not tested out yet, a 1.5ft Optical cable for sound to replace a Monster brand cable where I have not noticed the difference, and an internal 42-in-1 memory card reader that fits into a 3.5″ bay on your computer. The total for the whole amount which included shipping was just under $25. When checking Radio Shack for the 6ft DVI to HDMI cable, they had them, for $59.99.

If you can wait, order this stuff online. You will not be able to tell the difference in the quality. Monoprice has different products on their website (a huge selection) so getting different sizes is very easy. Their service is great. I placed my order in the morning, and it was shipped that same day.

If you need to return items, you have 21 days, and on the receipt it clearly states that there is NO re-stocking fee on returned items.

This was my first transaction with Monoprice, and it has been a satisfying one, I will recommend them to anybody.

-BM-

RescuePRO review.

As promised, I have been playing a little bit with RescuePRO recovery software. For those that are not familiar with it, it is a data recovery software that comes with the Extreme III SanDisk flash memory cards, and it can be used to recover your lost pictures, or movies, and more. It can be used on any memory storage card, or flash drive. It can also wipe all your data so that it’s harder to recover by somebody else, and also back up your data.

I tested a CF card that I used while on vacation, and it pulled up the pictures that I manually deleted. The scan took around 25 minutes, but it recovered most of the pictures.

The thing to understand when using the software is that it will only recover the portion of the memory card that has not been over written. So if you erased your card, and took 10 new pictures, any space that is allocated to those new pictures would not be recoverable because those memory block have been over written.

All in all, very nice product that works.

Again Circuit City does have that 4GB CF Extreme III card for $39.99 + tax on sale this week.

-BM-

I’m back and a good deal for everyone.

I am back from my vacation, actually I was back on Sunday, but you know how lazy we get when get back from a week long vacation. I went to Williamsburg, VA for a week, and in short, had a great time. Pictures will hopefully come at a later date. I was gone Friday to Sunday, so about nine days.

Now onto the good deal part of the post.

Circuit City has the 4GB SanDisk Extreme III CF card for $74.99 - $35.00 instantly = $39.99. SanDisk also bundles software called RescuePRO with their Extreme III cards. I have not used it yet, but it is for content recovery on memory cards, and I think even flash drives. I will test it later and post a review here.

That’s it for now,

-BM-

From Zune player to TV.

Just recently I purchased a Zune80 in Red, and I have to say, I am enjoying it very much so far. I also purchased the Home A/V Pack that includes the AC Adapter, Dock, A/V Cables, Sync Cable, and Remote Control.

The nice thing about the Zune is that I was able to convert some DVD’s to the h264 format at 640×480 resolution, and it transfered to the Zune with no problems at all, no converting in the Zune software. By having those 640×480 files on the Zune, the output on the TV looks a lot better.

The wireless remote for the dock is great. It has all the functions that are needed.

The A/V Pack that I got is the older one that came out with Zune30’s when the Zune’s first came out, so that is the one that I am using. This is what it looks like.

Overall, I am very impressed with the A/V Pack for the Zune. When the Zune is in the dock it is being charged, and that is when you can use the remote control to control the Zune.

Again, if you do sync anything to the Zune4, Zune8, or Zune80, try to get a larger version whether it’s a Podcast, or movie, or whatever, if it’s video you shouldn’t have any issues with syncing a video with a resolution of 640×480.

That’s all for now,
-BM-