Just noticed that Xincom has finally released a firmware update for the DPG-502 Twin WAN router. The upgrade went as smooth as silk via my web browser after downloading the file and backing up the existing setup. I love it when that happens. The new upgrade seems to have a number of different enhancements and revisions to the GUI interface. Thanks for finally releasing the update Xincom.
tags: dpg-502, router, twin wan, xincom
I just put a USA Spec iPod interface into Danielle’s 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I really have to start taking pictures and adding them here. Suffice it to say that there was no adapter needed in addition to the USA Spec kit. The beautiful part was that it took me all of about 20 minutes to install it and Armor All the dash before and after I replaced the stereo. If you are looking for instructions on how to remove the stereo in a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee (dash removal) here you go. It worked right out of the box. The nice part about the USA Spec kit is that it charges the iPod as well as allows you to control it with the factory CD changer controls on the factory stereo. I put one into my Tahoe a few months ago and the installation was just as easy and works just as well in that vehicle.
tags: audio, auto, ipod, ipod interface, stereo
I feel people’s pain a lot when it comes to computer problems. Most days, I take it for granted that I happen to be technically inclined. Even when I am using a machine that I have never used or seen before, I am not afraid to just dive in there and attempt to figure out how to make it work. I have always been that way. But, after this weekend and after talking on the phone with a friend a few minutes ago, I was reminded that most people really are at the mercy of their personal computers. I was attending a party this weekend when a good friend of my in-laws, and a super nice person, told me that she wanted to pay me to do some consulting. I told her there was no need to pay me and asked her what she needed help with. She told me that she wanted to pay me to make her labels for her family Christmas card. I had to really try hard not to laugh out loud and in her face….because she was dead serious. To her, this was a monumental task. To me, it was less than monkey work. I would consider “building a website” monkey work that any jackass could do. This wasn’t even on the map.
So, I paused, asked her what program she had her contacts in. She told me that she didn’t have them in the computer yet, they were all on paper. I told her that she was really capable of doing this herself and that I would be happy to walk her through mail merging them in Word or something after she had all of the contacts put into digital format. She came back by telling me that this was part of what she wanted to pay me to do. Sigh. If I were 10 years old, this would be a great way to make a couple of bucks. At 35, it was bordering on insulting, and that is probably because this is one of the nicest people that I have met via my wife’s family. It was really funny. It ended with me telling her that Kinko’s could probably do this for her very quickly and inexpensively.
But, back to the laptop issue. Ken just called and told me that he was getting a message on his laptop screen saying, “Operating system not found.” He, like me, gets pretty frustrated pretty quickly with things sometimes. Often, in his case, it is due to his computer(s). This is not a particularly good message, indicating that there could simply be a problem with the MBR (Master Boot Record) on the drive, or worse, his drive could be smoked. I told him that we probably had a 99% chance recovering the data on the drive regardless of the situation. But, that it is not something we are going to be able to just flip a switch and fix. He was saying things like, “Yeah, but I need to use this thing today / right now.” While I can understand his frustration, I seldom understand why people get so pissed off about things like this frequently, yet don’t have any backups or duplication of their data. If the data is mission critical and it updates daily then you better replicate it or back it up daily. Then, the worst case is that you lose a one day’s work. But, more than anything is the legions of people that use their laptops as their main computer…with no backups. Regardless of the form factor the computer comes in, a laptop is still a piece of sensitive electronics. Micro electronic devices don’t like to be banged around. Translation, don’t use your laptop as your main data center of your critical information, unless you are super-dilligent about backing that data up daily. And, even then, I would not choose to do it that way unless I absolutely had to. There are too many options these days to remotely log into your main machine at the office or at home to have to deal with nonsense like this. But, for whatever reason, people just don’t want to believe that their computer is going to take a dump. So, do yourself a favor if you are one of these people:
tags: backup, computers, data, drive failure, mbr
The wife’s 1999 Gand Cherokee was displaying a Check Engine light the other day and would not extinguish istelf after one or two start-stop cycles. So, we took it to two local mechanics and the first wanted $95 to plug into the ODBII port and the second wanted $90. I knew that this was a matter of plugging their computer into the car and reading a code from their diagnostic software. Now, I understand everyone has to make a buck and get paid for their time. But, I think it is a bit ridiculous to charge someone $100 for about 5 minutes of your time and use of your equipment. So, after I told the second shop to plug in and figure out the problem, I hopped on the computer at home to see what OBDII scanners and diagnostic equipment would cost to buy. I found the AutoTap OBDII scan tool and software setup for $200. Hmm, I can buy a full blown OBDII diagnostic tool for $200 and it works on any car since 1996? The shop called a little while later and told me that one of the O2 sensors was bad and that it would have to be replaced. They wanted $168 for the oxygen sensor and another couple of hundred to put it in.
That was the final straw. I told the wife that I would screw in the oxygen sensor myself, since it is one plug and the size of a spark plug. And, that I would order the AutoTap scan tool so that we can just do our own Check Engine light scanning in the future…for less than it will cost to have them do the repairs. Of course, I will have to crawl under the Cherokee, but I am cool with that…I like to tinker with stuff. Plus, I am getting tired of everything in San Francisco being marked up 300% just because they can get it.
tags: auto, check engine, obdii, repair, scan tool, tools
