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Category Archives: Computers

Sorry Old Friend

August 08

For many, many years I was a Mandriva Linux user.  In fact, I started back in 1999, with Mandrake (former name) 6.0, which I purchased, in box form, from Microcenter.  This was after a really revealing hack on my Windows 98 machine.  Since then, I have never looked back.  I dual booted between the two for a while, but after 2002 or so, I made the complete switch.  For the last 13 years I stuck with Mandrake, then Mandriva Linux for my main computer until about 3 weeks ago.  The transition away from Mandriva started on our netbook.

About six months ago, I got fed up with the performance of Mandriva 2011 on my netbook, so I tried something different, Ubuntu 10.04,  For the beginning, it was a much better match to the hardware.  Everything worked with minimal muss and fuss.  The Lenovo S10 never ran better.  Battery life was not great, but acceptable.  Fast forward to a few weeks ago, and my desktop machine just stopped working.  I was running Mandriva 2011, which is now a KDE only desktop system.  I had a lot of quirks, had to compile the nVidia driver myself, and it just was always on the cusp of crashing.  Not something you want on your main computer.  I had a combination of hardware failure, something on the motherboard, and a corrupt home partition.  I figured, screw it, I really like Ubuntu on the netbook, how about I try it on my main machine?

I have to say, I was very pleasantly surprised.  Everything worked out of the box, including the nVidia proprietary drivers.  Unlike the ailing Mandriva, Ubuntu has a very healthy support community, and they support their LTS (Long Term Support) installations for FIVE years.  Pretty impressive for free.  I opted for the Unity (gnome based) desktop environment.  I have seen complaints about it being too cell phone like, but, to be honest, it is nice having a unified interface between my phone, netbook, and desktop computer.  It is simple and quick to use, even for an old salt like me.  The package management system, and how many packages are available, are outstanding.

Looking back now, I don’t know why I put up with the poorly supported and infrequently updated Mandriva.  I wish them nothing but the best, but I see why Ubuntu is the most popular.  Heck, even Suse is much better supported.  I have found it compares very favorably compared to Windows 7, and is much more polished and modern than Windows XP.

 

Posted by on August 8, 2012 in Computers

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Android WiFi Issues

March 10

With my Wife’s new HTC Inspire (Android 2.2 based) phone, we had a strange issue with the wireless connection to our home router.  After a week of using it, it suddenly stopped connecting to our router, it was so irritating, we nearly returned the phone.

Luckily I found this fix online:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=683639

1) Download an app called WiFiStatic from the App Market. WiFiStatic takes each DHCP assigned IP address and stores it in a small database to be re-applied whenever you are back in range of the same Router again. It is not an ideal solution as you may have to re-scan and re-assign if you visit a busy hotspot, but this is a two press function, so it’s not that onerous.

2) Turn off your Router. Make sure the WiFi on your phone is off too.

3) With the router off, clear your Remembered WiFi connections (or at the very least the Netgear connection). Once that’s done, turn the Router on again and wait until it is full back up again.

4) When the Router is fully operational again, turn on your wifi on the phone and let is scan for and connect to the Netgear Router. You may need to tell it to connect from the Wireless Settings menu on the phone.

5) The phone should now connect to the Router successfully. If it doesn’t, repeat the above procedure.

6) With the phone connected to the router, fire up WiFiStatic. Check Auto Switch and Show Visual Prompt if they are not already selected, then Tap Add configuration at the bottom of the screen.

7) The IP address and other settings assigned by your router should be displayed at the top of the screen, at the bottom should be the name of your router and its MAC address. If not then tap Menu > Generate to populate the form.

8)Tap Menu > Done when everything is ok.

That’s it. Now when you move into range of your Netgear, you should get connected, though it does take a bit longer than normal (the Router still wants to assign an address first before accepting the static IP). You can speed this up by changing the Device table on the router to always keep the Phone’s static IP open.

This shouldn’t work as all my other attempts with Static IP failed, but I’ve had five days now of instant connection to WiFi at home, so something has been freed up.

I has worked like a charm so far for us, and the phone is just amazing.  I see why people really like smart phones, and in particular, Android phones.  It replaces your MP3 player, camera, phone,  PDA, camcorder, and even you netbook for most things.  Pretty remarkable what they can put in your pocket now.

 

Posted by on March 10, 2011 in Computers, Linux

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Cheap Stuff

March 12

Buying the cheapest does not work for me. I have tried, so many times, to get the least expensive version of something, but I end up disappointed. I end up spending more time trying to fix or exchange the item than actually using it. Here are my personal examples:

  • My first computer, a Cyrix (remember them?) based computer. A 200Mhz Pentium clone. It was slow, and if you ever tried to do anything with the onboard, software based modem, it lagged and dogged like no one’s business. Why did I buy it? It was the cheapest Microcenter had at the time. I learned my lesson, build your own, or buy a nice, mid level computer instead. Since then, I have always built my own, since then I know what parts are inside, or, purchased a mid tier laptop.
  • Shoes. I don’t know how many pairs of shoes I have gone through. Every time I think I am getting a deal, I get a shoe that lasts a year and hurts my feet at the same time. Some people can get away with inexpensive shoes, I can’t. I won’t even mention how much I paid for my last pair of shoes, but it was worth it. Almost no foot pain and a pair of shoes that should last 10 years, easily, and I can get it resoled from the manufacturer for $65.
  • Watches. I have gone through my fair share of Timex, store brands, etc. Most only last a few years, and when you change the battery, it costs a good percentage of the watch price. Give me a good watch any day from Seiko or Orient. They will last decades and are worth the little extra money.
  • Furniture. How many of us have owned a futon? How many are still in working order? My guess is not many. I have tried to go cheap, but the stuff just does not last as well. Get a good Flexsteel or name brand, made in USA couch and it will look out of style before it wears out. Same thing goes for mattresses. Coffee tables and book cases you can go cheap, but nothing you can sit or sleep on.
  • Electronics of many sorts. DVD players, wireless routers, USB card readers, etc. I have bought the cheapest of all of them and had to return or replace just about all of them. I should of just bought the better model to begin with.
  • Cookware. A cheap pan works like a cheap pan. A cheap knife cuts like a cheap knife.  Cheap spoons bend in ice cream that is not soft serve and I really don’t want a piece of mystery metal in my mouth when using a fork or spoon otherwise.

So much time and money wasted, when I could of just bought the better version of something. That is not to say sometimes the cheapest version will not work just fine. If it does for you, more power to you. Some things don’t really seem to be much different quality, no matter the price, like blank DVD’s, most clothes and toiletries. It all depends how you use an item, I guess. I try not abuse anything that I own, but I expect it to at least meet some minimum standards. However, I am opposed to ‘buying the best’ since ‘the best’ is usually 10 times more expensive and works 5% better than the mid tier version of something. A little more money spent up front more than makes up for the lack of heartache later.

 

Posted by on March 12, 2010 in Computers, Hardware

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New Battery

March 10

Probably the only problem I had with our netbook was the battery life. The keyboard, screen, storage, expandability, aesthetics, and speed were just fine. Luckily, unlike some fruit named manufacturers, Lenovo allows you to swap out the battery easily. So, out with the 3 cell and in with a 6 cell battery. 9 cells are available, but they add just too much bulk, and I really don’t need 8 to 10 hours of battery life. That’s a long time to stare at a 10” TFT screen. The results:

Old battery life, with WiFi on, less than 2 hours.

New battery life, with WiFi on, more than 4 hours.

Old battery life, WiFi off, 2 hours, 15 minutes.

New battery life, WiFi off, Over 5 hours.

It only adds 150 grams to the mass of the netbook and it raises up the back about a quarter of an inch. You end up with a little better typing angle, so that’s a plus in my book. It also still fits in the neoprene sleeve that I use to carry the netbook. With a rather reasonable investment, it turned a pretty good netbook into a great netbook.

What I love about the S10 is that it does not look or act like a netbook. It looks like a notebook, it feels like a notebook, especially with Ubuntu on here. Since Lenovo came out with netbooks after nearly everyone else, they learned from the mistakes of others and produced a refined, easy to use product that does not look or feel cheap or compromised and it is a rare netbook with an express card expansion slot.

As a side note, now I am on my second day without recharging the battery. I used it about two hours yesterday, and today it is still showing 3 hours remaining. I think I will keep using it until I get down to less than 5%.

 

Posted by on March 10, 2010 in Computers

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Number 6

March 05

My wireless router died and I had to replace it (No wired or wireless connections were working.)  I purchased a standard ‘g’ router and got everything up and running, or so I thought.  It was pretty laggy and just did not have the same speed as the last one.  I fired up my netbook and ran Wifi Radar to see what other networks were out there, and what channel they were on.  Turns out, almost the whole block is running channel number 6! I found out this is the default for wireless ‘g’ routers.  Changed the channel to channel 3 and instantly my laginess went away and my speed more than doubled.  So, the lesson learned is when setting up a new router, check to see what the neighbors are running and pick something at least 2 away from theirs.  Sadly there are only 11 channels, so in a busy apartment building, this may just be a case of trying all the channels until one works for you.

 

Posted by on March 5, 2010 in Computers

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