http://www.tripplite.com/vista
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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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Posted by reinkefj
FROM PCMECHANIC
Resetting Your Internet Connection
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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:
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My router can be accessed from the client and rebooted. I usually try that before I go crazy.
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Posted by reinkefj
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2079451,00.asp
Toshiba Ships New Portable HDDs with Automated Backup
By Chris Preimesberger
January 5, 2007
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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.
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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.
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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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Posted by reinkefj
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?
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Posted by reinkefj
http://www.u3.com/smart/default.aspx
Next generation of USB flash drives: the U3 smart drive
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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.
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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.
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Posted by reinkefj
Well, dodged a bullet today. (Maybe?)
The registry was reported corrupt and the pig won’t boot. Repair didn’t.
Argh!
I had tried the rescue disk that came with the platform from Dell. It didn’t do anything good for me.
So I dusted off one of my XP installation disks and ran “repair” using that. It threw the box up into checkdisk, which ran. Didn’t report any errors. May or may not have fixed anything. But it did then allow the box to boot into WXP. (Yeah!)
On the theory that this might be my last chance to visit with my data. I pulled out my WDDRIVE with WDSYNC on it and took a back up. (I usually do my weekly backups on Monday!)
Now, I fearlessly did a cold restart.
That worked but it wasn’t not connecting to the home lan. I tried using WXP, the Intel ProSet Wireless utility, and the VWBBIE (Verizon Wireless Broadband utility also manages the WiFi). Nothing worked.
Argh! Squared!
So I power cycled everything in sight. Ran the Intel Wireless debugger.
Couldn’t think of anything else to do, so on a hunch, I changed the WiFi SSID. Shouldn’t have made any difference. Changed the password as well. (Big deal. Any script kiddie can bust this “security”!)
Disabled PGP. Disabled ZoneAlarm.
Power cycle everything.
Argh! Tripled!
Verified that the BackRoom DELLDESK could connect thru the wifi router to the net. Verified that the OLDDELL notebook could get to the net via the wireless.
So it made me focus on the LUGGABLE as the problem.
Deleted all the Intel configurations. Went to the DELLDESK, changed the SSID and password again. Rebooted the router. Power cycled everything in sight again. And then readded the Intel configurations.
And, voila, the pig put on its roller skates and took off!
So, that wasted a Sunday. Sigh.
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Posted by reinkefj
The registry reports corruption. The pig won’t boot. Repair doesn’t. Argh! Operating from old desktop. Standby for news.
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Posted by reinkefj
OUTLOOK won’t clear the outbox. Disabled Plaxo and LinkedIn toolbars.
Apparently have lost DNS, shifted to VWBBIE, called “home”.
Time to think about OPENDNS again. Put it on the 2do.
VWBBIE feels downright “spritely”
Download Speed: 495 kbps (61.9 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 33 kbps (4.1 KB/sec transfer rate)
And, I even “see” that the venturi caching server is offline. Interesting.
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Posted by reinkefj
Interesting. Every once and while, BLOGDESK loses its mind. It fails to complete a conversation with the target blog it is storing into. I don’t know who to blame (i.e., the Blog site, XP, or BlogDesk). But only a reboot will clear. After a restart, everything works fine. Now that I have gotten in the habit of SAVE then PUBLISH, it’s NBD (no big deal).
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Posted by reinkefj
Recap:
For some reason, after several months of use, now when I start GPS35, it doesn’t appear to “do” anything. It doesn’t splash. It takes memory. (I can see it in XP’s process list.) But, it just doesn’t do anything anymore. I’ve uniunstalled and reinstalled. Help?
Haven’t found any help. Need to dig deeper and harder.
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Posted by reinkefj
I was transferring my LinkedIn contact to my Outlook address book and Plaxo stopped check to to see if they were in Plaxo. Strange?
Update at 0930: plaxo has returned to operating as expected. Perhaps, their site was “down”. If not site, service? And, there’s no idication in the LookOut client that an add in is dead? Interesting that perhaps is the reason for all the non-responding stuff.
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Posted by reinkefj
Argh! Both Microsoft Word2003 and Open Office are locking up on my alumni ezine. Argh! I was able to finish with Zoho Web-based word processor. Saved the issue. Seems to work nicely.
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Posted by reinkefj
For some reason, after several months of use, now when I start GPS35, it doesn’t appear to “do” anything. It doesn’t splash. It takes memory. (I can see it in XP’s process list.) But, it just doesn’t do anything anymore. I’ve uniunstalled and reinstalled. Help?
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Posted by reinkefj
The post was lost. And, eventually the box locked. Argh!
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Posted by reinkefj
Today, I was using blogdesk. I composed a post and sent it to wordpress. BLOGDESK just sat there. I assume trying to connect. Breaking the cycle put the whole box into a stoppage. Reboot. A long cycle because it was applying maintenance. Argh! So, what was the failure? All I know is that BLOGDESK lost my post. Not that is was so valuable. More so that I forgot to save a draft before it published. It should do that. Everything appears to be working now?
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Posted by reinkefj
Outlook with Plaxo Update were “not responding”. I suspect that was the problem again.
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Posted by reinkefj
It appears that Plaxo went awol. The first indication of trouble was when a editpro project wouldn’t open. From that point, every think went down hill from there. Reboot. And try again?
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Posted by reinkefj
I was doing the alumni ezine. As I was finishing the index, poof! WORD decided I needed a new page placed along side the first page. In effect, it folded my doc as if it was a two column newspaper.
I fired up Open Office and could see some of the problems.
I wriggled around like a dead fish.
Finally I had the idea of saving it as an RTF. That didn’t clear the problem but it put me on the track of a solution.
I saved it as WORD60 format. Then, when I reopened it I could delete the break.
Argh.
Very very ugly.
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Posted by reinkefj
Luggable has just slowed to a crawl. Maybe a reboot will clear it?
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Posted by reinkefj
woke up this morning, always a good thing, to find an unresponsive mouse. Reboot. Seems like the mttf is a day. Less if I exercise it. Argh!
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Posted by reinkefj
Sigh. Reboot.
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Posted by reinkefj
Eventually the box became unresponsive after LookOut “forgot” one it’s reminders. It was never able to recapture it.
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Posted by reinkefj
This is a first. WORD basically “lost” a document I created yesterday. Basically, now it has to be treated as untrustworthy. Perhaps it’s time to move to Open Office?
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Posted by reinkefj
First CARDSCAN, then Outlook, become unresponsive. Eventually everything including TASKMANAGER does the same thing. Power Off. Argh!
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Posted by reinkefj
Kodak and Syncura didn’t uninstall right. Reinstall and uninstall?
4 Comments | LUGGABLE | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
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FJohn Reinke
Consultant at Technology Legacies LLC
Advisor, Computer Governance Committee at Manhattan College
Editor / Publisher at Jasper Jottings
Greater New York City Area
JJ Positraction JJ Endnotes Downsize DC
Philosophy of Liberty
I have NOT received any gagged governmental information requests
Reinke Faces Life 
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