MacRumorsLive Gets HACKED Covering Macworld Expo 2009
This is just plain silly. The MacRumorsLive site (http://www.macrumorslive.com) got hacked only about 25 minutes into them covering the keynote. I took a quick screen capture of when the hack ...
Ongoing Roundup of Macworld 2009 News, Products, Links, etc.
I will be at (or currently am at) Macworld 2009 this week. As you can see, they have been waiting for me (GRIN – see picture below). I'm hoping to ...
Fix It: Opening Control Panel Crashes Windows Explorer on XP/Vista
Have you ever tried to open your Control Panel on Windows XP (or Vista) and every time that you attempted it, you received a “Windows Explorer has Stopped Working” message ...
Voice call hangups after 4 minutes on Tmobile MDA/HTC Wizard
I figured that I would post this little bit of mobile phone tweaking for any users who may be searching for a solution to the following issue. Ever since I upgraded my Tmobile MDA to the “latest and greatest” rom (v 2.26), I have been plagued with dropping calls after 4 minutes. It was definitely a bug that I had encountered and it was driving me INSANE! Well, digging through HowardForums, XDA-developers and SBSH’s forums, I believe that I found the solution. I thought that I would share both the commentary on the fix as well as the .CAB file as well. Use at your own risk!
Quoted information:
Voice calls hang-up after 4 minutes on the Cingular 8125 or T-Mobile MDA
Technical Note 2208
Last Reviewed 09-Aug-2006
Applies to:
Mobility XE client version 6.7 or 7.0
Mobility client OS: Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocke <> t PC phones running on the Cingular 8125 (AKU 2.0) or the T-Mobile MDA (AKU 2.2)
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Watch out Windows Live…here comes Netvibes!
I was browsing my referral stats on Google Analytics and I saw a domain called Netvibes.com show up. Of course, that piqued my interest so I started some research on this. Well, I must say that I was impressed! This is a clear cut example of a Web 2.0 type of site. (What is Web 2.0? Take a look at Wikipedia’s definition.) While Windows Live has a similar type of style (tabs where you can add content, feeds, gadgets, etc), I personally believe that Netvibes did it better. They heavily rely on AJAX to allow you to drag and drop content, so be sure that you use one of their “approved” browsers. The nice thing is, they have many of the hot Web 2.0 sites as ready-made content channels. It’s easy enough to add RSS feeds (with a nice full page reader built in), iCals (import in your Google Calendars), bookmarks (including del.icio.us), Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, Pop/IMAP mail and other third party modules. You can drag the panels around on a tab and between tabs.
I did have a little bit of an issue adding some RSS feeds, but I’m going to chalk it up as user IN-experience. I plan on spending some time browsing the “Netvibes ecosystem” which is basically the repository for third party customizations (e.g., RSS feeds, podcasts, iCal events and others).
I definitely recommend checking out this service!
Updated 09.26.06 @ 9:15am:
Evaluating two Open Source Apps: Vanilla Forum & CraftySyntax
Race for the Cure!
My wonderful wife did a wonderful thing. About a week ago, she decided that she would do the Race for the Cure (The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation race in San Francisco). She has been working out for a long time but this time decided to do it for the good of others. Driven by various events, including a recent neighbor diagnosis, she decided to ask for sponsorship and did the 16th annual run today! She raised (as of this writing) $1,280.00 in sponsorship (above her $1000 goal)! The race went well (she actually ran in the timed, not walking, portion of the race), so well, in fact, that she thinks that she will do it or something larger in the future! What an inspiration!
Go Cobras!
My oldest daughter, Natasha, is a member the Cobras of LMYA Soccer. They are currently 3-0 and looking really solid! I’m so proud of my little soccer player! She is showing a lot of promise and talent!
A happy ending to the Apple Support Vicious Circle
Well, I didn’t think it would happen…but it did. Finally, I was able to talk to someone live…after being on hold for 35 minutes. This time, when I went through the SAME status line, there was an option to talk to a representative. So, I got that option, was on hold then, nicely, pleaded my case to the rep. I have found through experience that if you act calmly and nicely, yet articulate and clearly present your case without yelling or screaming, you have better success (than being belligerent).
The support guy read through the file history…lots of “Ok’s” and “Uh huhs” to no one in particular. (I am wondering if he was reading all of the emails that I had sent…grin!) Then he said that he would talk to a Dispatch person for a while. I was put on hold again.
When he came back, he asked me if I had ever received an extension from the initial Rep who had left me a message. I told him, no…there was no way for a week for me to get ahold of anyone. So, he then said that the display WAS covered under a special case (sounded a bit like he was just B.S.ing me) and that the initial rep should have known that. (Sounds to me like they didn’t expect me to bitch and moan…)
So, bottom line, it was set to be repaired and I should get it back in a week…WHEW! I’m back to NOT being annoyed with Apple (not that I ever truly was…).
Stuck in a vicious Apple support circle
Ok, I just have to vent for a bit here…but first I want to say that I have always loved Macs and Apple computer…I endorse them, support them, fix them and use them. I’m encouraged with their recent decisions, intel chip, dual boot, fun with Parallels, etc. Wish I could get a new Intel-based one….some day. But I digress…
Here’s the background of my “hellish” support issue with Apple. I was reading the Apple Support site trying to figure out if one of my 2 G4 laptops were affected by the battery recall (1 yes, 1 no). Then I read about a display issue on the 15″ Apple G4 Powerbook. I realized, after reading through the case, that mine was experiencing the same symptoms, however, the serial number did not fall within the range.
Since I still had about 200 days left in my AppleCare, I took the laptop in to the nearest Apple store. They reviewed it and told me that it wasn’t part of the serial number extended warranty, however that it might be covered under my AppleCare. The only “issue” was that there was some damage on the case of the laptop. The Genius Bar guy said that they would review it.
So it was all shipped away and I crossed my fingers. I tried to track the progress about a million times a day online…finally it was received and then the status was set to Repair in Progress.
About a day later, I received a voicemail from the support people saying that my machine was NOT covered under the extended warranty and that to fix it, there would be a $1200 charge. They gave me a number to call and discuss…
