Reinke Faces Life

http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/019882.html

March 08, 2008
The TSA Doesn’t Dig The Macbook Air
Posted by Manuel Lora at March 8, 2008 08:28 PM

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The TSA is the federal agency that supposedly keeps airports safe. It prevents bombs, firearms, knives, brass knuckles and all sorts of evil objects and people from boarding flights. Yet they were puzzled by the new Macbook Air:

***and***

The senior agent hasn’t been trained for technological change. New products on the market? They haven’t been TSA approved. Probably shouldn’t be permitted. He requires me to open the “device” and run a program. I do, and despite his inclination, the lead agent decides to release me and my troublesome laptop. My flight is long gone now, so I head for the service center to get rebooked.

***and***

Oh heroic TSA agents, may you keep our homeland secure from all evils present and future. May your vigilant, Orwellian and totalitarian eyes look after us poor frightened citizens forever and ever. And while you’re at it, read some technology blogs and leave us alone.

***End Quote***

I guess this is one small strike against my getting one. Is this part of the cost of being on the bleeding edge?

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http://weblog.infoworld.com/gripeline/archives/2008/03/western_digital.html

March 04, 2008
Western Digital Lies About Warranty Status
The Gripe Line
Ed Foster

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Drive manufacturers often seem to have a bad memory when it comes to their warranty promises. That’s what one reader discovered when Western Digital’s website falsely labeled his drive as being out of warranty when it wasn’t.

***and***

Then the reader discovered some fine print that only popped up when he hovered his cursor over a small “note” link. It read:

“By default, the warranty date is calculated from the manufacture date. However, if you have proof of purchase, we can update the warranty to calculate it from the purchase date. If you feel that the warranty date needs to be updated from the purchase date, please follow the instructions below.”

***End Quote***

I would have thought that was “fraudulent”. I can see them saying “we only know that we made the drive x/y/z date.” But, I think that they also ask you to register the drive with the dumb post card. Maybe, they are NOT crooks, but this is certainly bad PR.

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http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/25/0625206&from=rss

Big Delays, Small Laptops: OLPC XO Recipients Mad
Posted by Soulskill on Friday January 25, @08:15AM
from the give-one-get-one-if-you-are-lucky dept.
Portables Hardware

***Begin Quote***

PCWMike writes to tell us about the growing concern over the failure of OLPC to deliver laptops to some of its customers. PC World editor-in-chief Harry McCracken notes that record-keeping was poor for some of the people who paid via PayPal. A report on LinuxJournal also suggests that customer information was lost due to errors in the database software used by OLPC. Quoting PC World: “OLPC spokesperson Jackie Lustig acknowledges problems with the ordering and the fulfillment process, but says the biggest challenges are a short supply of XO laptops and the organization’s ability to meet consumer demand for the XO laptop. Some also wonder whether chronic delivery problems for Give One, Get One donors may bode poorly for the 15 countries slated to receive nearly 500,000 XO notebooks. Lustig says delivering in bulk to just over a dozen countries is infinitely simpler than processing and delivering 80,000 individual laptops.”

***End Quote***

Guess I wasn’t lucky. Now the “early January” date has slipped to “maybe April”. Argh! What did these guys take lessons from Dell? They should have outsourced it to Amazon!

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text

http://apnews.myway.com//article/20080126/D8UDG2N00.html

Photo Clues Lead to Camera’s Owner
Jan 26, 4:43 AM (ET)
By BRIAN BERGSTEIN

***Begin Quote***

At dusk on New Year’s Eve, Erika Gunderson got into a taxi in New York City and entered a digital-age mystery. Sitting on the back seat was a nice Canon digital camera. Gunderson asked the driver which previous passenger might have left it, but the cabbie didn’t seem to care. So Gunderson brought it home and showed it to her fiance, Brian Ascher. They decided that the only right thing to do was to find the owner.

***End Quote***

I won’t spoil the story by revealing the ending, but …

… why don’t electronic devices have a return address?

… why don’t all cell phones suggest an ICE (In Case of Emergency)?

… why don’t more people try harder like these folks?

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In my spare time (ha!), I have decided to “learn” the OLPC. It just has some tremendous potential. Under the G1G1 program, I should have mine shortly. I figure I can be at least as good as the Thrid World child who gets one. Maybe not. The child has time, motivation, and focus. Maybe I can do almost as good?

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***Begin Quote***

Dear Verizon Wireless Customer,

Thank you for contacting our Verizon Wireless website. We are sorry to learn that you are having difficulty with your BroadbandAccess service. We are happy to assist you with your question.

We apologize your BroadbandAccess connection is disconnecting and you are unable to pull up an IP address and you have spotty DNS resolution. We are currently not aware of any outages and you should be able to connect to the Internet. We have provided a guide to inputting the DNS on your computer.

Configuring Domain Name Server (DNS) addresses

Please be aware manually programming Domain Name Server (DNS) addresses is not a permanent solution to the issue you are experiencing. If this resolves the issue, please contact our Wireless Technical Support department at 1-800-922-0204 to escalate this issue so we can have a permanent solution.

Windows XP
1. Disconnect from the Internet.
2. Close any open applications.
3. From the Windows desktop, select Start > Programs (All Programs) > Accessories > Communications > Network Connections.
4. Right-click the appropriate network connection (e.g. NationalAccess / BroadbandAccess).
5. Click Properties.
6. Click the Networking tab.
7. Ensure that Type of dial-up server I am calling is set to PPP: Windows 95/98/NT4/2000, Internet.
8. Ensure that Internet Protocol TCP/IP is checked, select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) then click Properties.
9. Ensure that Obtain an IP address automatically is selected.
10. Ensure that Use the following DNS server addresses is selected, enter the following DNS servers then click OK.
Preferred DNS : 66.174.95.44
Alternate DNS : 66.174.95.43
11. Click OK .
12. Close the Network and Dial-up Connections window.

Windows Vista
1. Disconnect from the Internet.
2. Close any open applications.
3. From the Windows desktop, click Start > Connect to.
4. Right-click the appropriate network connection (e.g. NationalAccess / BroadbandAccess).
5. Click Properties.
6. Click the Networking tab.
7. Ensure that Internet Protocol TCP/IPv4 is checked, select Internet Protocol TCP/IPv4 then click Properties.
8. Ensure that Use the following DNS server addresses is selected, enter the following DNS servers then click OK.
Preferred DNS : 66.174.95.44
Alternate DNS ; 66.174.95.43
9. Click OK .
10. Close the Connect to a network window.

If your connection is constantly dropping, then the first item to check is your signal strength indicator. Please make sure that you are receiving 2 bars or more of signal. If you are receiving less than 2 bars, then you may experience problems with the connection dropping due to a weak signal.

If you are getting a strong signal, but the connection is still dropping then there may be a network issue in your area; however, we need to ask you to perform some preliminary troubleshooting steps. This will not guarantee a consistent Internet connection but it should allow your connection to perform to its’ full potential.

The following factors can affect your connection:

* Structural Restrictions - For example, the inside of a building can limit the signal received from the tower. If you move near a window, you have a good chance of increasing your signal; however, this would depend on how many miles you are located from the nearest wireless tower.

* Network Service issues - You might be on the fringe of the network and this might cause you to lose connection. Please visit the link below to view the broadband coverage for your location.

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/CoverageLocatorController?requesttype=NEWREQUEST

* You may be using an old version of the VZAccess Manager. Please visit the link below, if your current version of VZAccess Manager is lower than the one listed on the site then uninstall VZAccess Manager and replace it with the one offered on the website.

http://vzam.net/

You can verify you current version by following the steps below.

1. Launch VZAccess manager
2. Click on Help on top bar
3. Select About VZAccess.
4. This shows the VZAccess Manager Software version.

In order to insure the most up to date coverage area for your PC card, we recommend that you update your PC cards Preferred Roaming List (PRL) once per month. Please follow the steps below to run the VZAccess Manager Activation wizard on your computer to update your PC card’s PRL.

1. Launch VZ Access Manger
2. Select “Options”
3. Select “Activation”
4. Click “OK” when “Activation Successful” Message appears

* Your connection might have become corrupted. Please follow the steps below to delete and recreate the connection.
. Go to the Network connections on your Computer.
. Delete the Broadband/NationalAccess Connection.
. Safely eject the PC card.
. Restart your Computer.
1. Within the VZ Access Manager, select “Options”
2. Select “Run Wizard”
3. Select “Next”
4. Select “Detect WWAN device only”
5. Select “Next”
6. Select “Next”
7. Select “PC Card”
8. Select “Next”
9. Select “Next”
10. Once device is detected select “Yes”
11. Select “Next”
12. Enter the 10-digit cell number if not auto populated 13. Select “Next”
14. Select “Do not make copies of any of my dial-up accounts”
15. Select “Next”
16. Select “Next”
17. Select “Run VZ Access at startup if you want the software to load every time you start your PC, otherwise leave unchecked.
18. Select “Finish”

* Also, Venturi may be the cause of the problems you are experiencing. Venturi is compression software that installs along with VZ Access Manager. It is designed to improve the apparent speed of the connection using compression and normally works fine on most PCs but can have adverse affects under certain conditions.

Please follow the steps below to disable Venturi compression via the VZAccess Manager interface.

1. From the Windows desktop, locate and double-click on the VZAccess Manager icon 2. From the top menu, select “Tools”, then “Preferences…”
3. Click on the Venturi tab
4. Uncheck “Compress and accelerate WWAN connections” to disable Venturi compression 5. Click “OK”

If the performance improves after disabling Venturi, please follow the steps below to uninstall this program.
1. On your PC click “Start”
2. Click on “Control Panel” icon
3. Click on “Add and Remove Programs”
4. Locate Venturi and select “Change/Remove”
5. Follow Prompts to finish uninstall

If you are still unable to stay connected to the Internet, please contact the Wireless Data Technical Support department at your convenience. Our representatives are available 6 AM to 11 PM Central Standard Time, 7 days a week and may be reached by dialing: 1-800-922-0204 and selecting option number 3.

Speaking with you in person is the only way to ensure that we have investigated all possible factors that may contribute to the behavior you have described. Our support technicians will obtain the necessary information and then escalate to our next tier of technical support to ensure a timely resolution.

We appreciate your business and thank you for choosing Verizon Wireless.

Sincerely,

Olukemi
Verizon Wireless
Data Technical Support

If you have received this e-mail in error or are not the intended recipient, please notify us immediately by replying to this e-mail and deleting it and all copies and backups thereof. If you are the intended recipient and are a Verizon Wireless customer, this response is subject to the terms of your Customer Agreement.

Original Message Follows:
————————
I have spent the better part of two days playing with it. It is disconnecting for no apparent reason. Failing to pull an ip address. And, spotty dns resolution. Is it me or is there a general problem with the service?

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http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071119/D8T114E00.html

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The Kindle device is shown in this photograph released by Amazon.com on Monday, Nov. 19, 2007. The $399 electronic book device will allow downloads of more than 90,000 book titles, blogs, magazines and newspapers.

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All I know is what I have read in the press.

$400!

Are you kidding me?

It should read the book to me, serve coffee, and do tricks.

Nahhh, I don’t think so.

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http://weblog.infoworld.com/gripeline/archives/2007/10/palms_sneakwrap.html?source=rss

InfoWorld Gripe Line | Ed Foster
October 30, 2007
Palm’s Sneakwrap Warranty

***Begin Quote***

Indeed, if you follow in the reader’s footsteps on Palm’s website (which as I write this on Oct. 29th remains exactly as he described), it is obvious Palm is trying to hide its warranty. The logical places where Palm should tell a potential customer about the 90-day warranty are silent on the subject. Perhaps the most absurd example is the “compare” page which shows more than 40 comparative features for the E2 and two other Palm handhelds but fails to mention the fact that one (the Palm TX) has a one-year warranty while the E2 and the Palm Z22 have the 90-day warranty.

***End Quote***

Looks like Ed nails Palm on this one. And, I was toying with the idea of getting a PDA again. Palm’s off the list.

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FOR THE RECORD:

The DELL LUGGABLE is aka an Inspiron 9100

DELL 130 w ac adapter
model pa - 1131 - 02d dp/n 9y819
input 100-240v 50-60 hz 2.5 A
output 19.5 v 6.7A

A big power brick imho.

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Under the heading of “lessons learned” recently, one really has to test one’s personal dr plan. In this case, I COULD have just carried a second laptop. That was probably the easiest solution. I COULD have completed my “uninstalled life” project where everything would have been backed up on the inet. I COULD have printed my fob’s password list. And, there are probably other things that I could have done. I’ll be working on all of those couldas in the coming weeks. It’s not that I travel much, but one should be prepared.

Upon reflection, the cheapest, easiest, no brainer solution would be to carry the second laptop.

Note Bene: For all those who say use the hotel’s business center, all the one’s that I checked only offered you a common screen - mouse - keyboard - inet connection at fifty cents a half-minute. Argh! That could run into real money very quickly. In the Golden Nugget, their “business center was two units side by side in the lobby. Not private. Not comfortable. Not conducive to work. As someone who “clocks” hours on my computer, that’s $60/hour. If I wanted to do 40 hours, then that’s $2400!! Buying a new laptop was on 500$. (It was a Gateway.) After further review, I should have pulled the trigger on Sunday night and been done with it. But, now I know.

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http://www.tripplite.com/vista

***Begin Quote***

Any Windows Vista user connecting their computer to any of the following UPS systems MUST download this patch BEFORE they connect their Tripp Lite UPS System to the computer.

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Anyone not just slightly concerned that Vista needs special help connecting a UPS?

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FROM PCMECHANIC

Resetting Your Internet Connection

***Begin Quote***

If you use either DSL or a Cable Modem and find your Internet connection has unexpectedly gone down, before you dial up tech support, try “resetting” your Internet connection. Here is how:

***End Quote***

My router can be accessed from the client and rebooted. I usually try that before I go crazy.

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http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2079451,00.asp

Toshiba Ships New Portable HDDs with Automated Backup
By Chris Preimesberger
January 5, 2007

***Begin Quote***

Mobile storage provider Toshiba Storage Device Division launched Jan. 4 a new line of 2.5-inch USB 2.0 portable external hard drives in 100GB, 120GB and 160GB capacities with automated backup capability.

***and***

At 5.6 inches long by 3.5 inches wide and less than 1 inch tall, the portable drive doesn’t take much space on a desktop.

Availability and pricing

The Toshiba USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive will be on retail store shelves in spring 2007 starting at $139.99.

***End Quote***

So, I would look for everyone to be dumping big external hard drives with no backup software. That translates to me to bargains. Big time. There will be no excuse for data loss when your platform spin, crashes, and burns into the deck. (Hey, I watched Top Gun recently!)

One has to question recovery solutions that are not built around cheap disks.

One caveat: I don’t keep my spare backup usb drives plug in and powered up to the systems to be recovered. The same power fluctuation that fires your desktop can fry it’s back up. That “virus” you got from downloading the latest hot game could do the same. And, let us not forget the biggest data losing virus know to man … the user or the administrator. You can have a brain freeze and toast your own marshmallows. It’s a little harder when the backup drive is some distance away, offline, locked up. Give yourself a chance at a brain thaw before you shoot yourself in the foot.

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LUGGABLE’s Windows Networking errors out on permissions. I plugged in the @HOME in the simple network setup. Doesn’t show anything.

Could the problem be that the router has a blank for a domain name?

http://www.u3.com/smart/default.aspx

Next generation of USB flash drives: the U3 smart drive

***Begin Quote***

Meet the next generation of USB flash drives: the U3 smart drive. It’s what’s inside that makes them smart.

* Carry and access your files easily
* Keep your data safe and secure
* Comes with pre-loaded software
* Hundreds of software titles available!

Storage+Software=Smart

Imagine carrying your software on the same flash drive that carries your files. That’s what you can do with a U3 smart drive. You can plug it into any PC and work, play a game, message friends, send email, edit photos and more. A U3 smart drive makes any PC your own PC. And when you unplug it, it leaves no personal data behind.

***End Quote***

Neat idea. No wonder the stores are dumping the old usb drives at fire sale prices. Before this paradigm shift gets out and they are stuck with the unsold and unsellable inventory.

Already inside the U3 paradigm there’s a Vista incompatibility. If you want to “Vista”, then you need version 1.4 or higher. And, yes, there’s no guarantee that you can move from your version to that version. And, you have to get it from your drive manufacturer.

Nice idea BUT doesn’t wow me.

(1) Locks you into the windows genre.

(2) Limited hardware competition (less than 10 vendors)

(3) Limited software selection. Applications developers need to do a rewrite.

No, not for me. Maybe you, but not me.