tech, news, productivity, views and stuff
So there I was about to write a new blog entry when my wireless went down (again). Quite weird in that I could ping other devices on the network (even use VNC) but could not access the router via a browser or even ping it.
In the end I just unplugged the router and the Airport Express, waited ten seconds, and then plugged them back in again.
Now working.
On my main tech website I have a what others have called “useful” guide to sharing files between Mac OS X and Windows XP.
Sharing files between an XP PC and a Mac running OS 10.4
Of course one of the key issues for me now is that Microsoft have released Vista and Apple have just released Leopard (10.5) which means that my guide is out of date by two operating systems.
I do now have a Vista PC, but it is running Vista Business Edition which is “tweaked” for networking by Microsoft, whereas the Vista Ultimate Home Edition is not, therefore I think I am going to have to write two guides, one for Business and one for Home.
However I don’t yet have Leopard, partly as there isn’t a huge amount there for me to upgrade, but also I am not sure if all my peripherals and applications will work under Leopard. I remember having issues and problems when I upgraded my old G5 PowerMac from Panther (10.3) to Tiger (10.4) and some applications stopped working properly.
So eventually I will be upgrading my guides once I have bought the new operating systems.
Digital Photography Review has posted a review of the Nikon Coolpix P5100 and it didn’t go down well with the reviewer.
Ultimately, for us, the P5100 was a disappointment, but not a surprise.
I really like the Digital Photography Reviews as they are so thorough including sample and comparative shots, if you want to get a camera, I would check the review on Digital Photography Review first before anywhere else.
Recently I have been having a few issues with the connectivity of my Airport Express base station.
I have had to power cycle the base station a couple of times now, as the wireless network just seemed to stop working.
My Airport Express is quite old now, I bought it when it was first released and on the Apple Discussion Forums there have been quite a few people who have had issues with their Airport Express units “dying”.
I am not sure why I am losing connectivity, there doesn’t seem to be a pattern.
I am not too worried as I have a spare wireless base station or two hanging around, it’s more the hassle of reconfiguring the wireless network and all the clients.
When checking to see if something works, one of the first things you should do is check that all the cables are plugged in…
There was me thinking my EyeHome had died, the reality was that I had previously unplugged all the cables (except the power cable) in preparation for changing my under-television configuration.
It’s looking like my EyeHome media streamer has stopped working (again).
The last time it stopped working it was the power supply, which was replaced. I have no idea what the problem is this time. The standby light is on, but the green light fails to come on when I use the remote to power it up!
Trouble is that Elgato no longer make the EyeHome and I don’t think that the new(ish) Apple TV will connect to my (not so) old television without spending extra on expensive cables.
There goes my plans for using my new Airport Extreme.
Updating the wireless driver on my HP TC1100 seems to have done the trick. I have maintained a wireless connection for ages now without it dropping.
If you are having wireless connectivity issues and you have an Intel 2200BG adapter, check to see if there are new drivers as this could make a big difference, it did for me.
Appleinsider are rumouring that Apple will be releasing a sub-notebook at MacWorld in January.
The 13-inch portable, which AppleInsider first detailed back in February, will mark the Cupertino-based Mac maker’s re-entry into the sub-notebook market — arriving in a form-factor that’s approximately 50 percent lighter and strikingly slimmer than the company’s current 15-inch professional MacBook Pro offering.
I am quite disappointed if this is going to be the form factor.
I would really like a 10″ model, I have always liked the Sony VAIO 10″ models and would really like to see something similar running OS X.
Oh a touchscreen would be nice as well.
According to the Guardian, there is a conference next week in which scientists will be discussing how best to achieve warp speed.
Captain Kirk and his crew may someday be followed on their travels across the universe at warp speed by the rest of us. If scientists meeting for a one-day international conference next week have their way, the starship Enterprise’s warp drive will no longer be the stuff of science fiction but a viable means of travelling vast distances at faster than the speed of light.
Really?
I have been using my old HP TC1100 Tablet PC recently and was very annoyed with the wireless connection which would drop on a regular basis.
Knowing that there was nothing wrong with my wireless network, I put it down to the wireless flakiness of Windows XP, but wasn’t entirely satisfied with that.
I then wondered if there was a driver update for the wireless adapter, so I ran Windows Update.
After taking an eternity to download Windows Genuine Advantage and other updates I finally got round to downloading the wireless adapter update.
So far so good, no dropped connections.