Random thought exchange
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With the new Simpsons movie coming out this week, I figured I would give this a shot.
If you want to create your own, head over to the Simpsons movie website and click on Create your Simpsons avatar.
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You’ve seen my post about the light-emitting fabric, and the gaming table. Both of those are brought to us by Philips.
Well, the engineers are back at it. Take a look at their amazing products that are featured in this video. All I can say is DAMN COOL!
When you’re done, check out Philips Simplicity.
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Back in January I posted an article about domains that I have for sale. Anyways, there are still a bunch available.
I have recently closed down several projects, and will be selling the following domains. If you’re interested, please contact me.
- canadalovesny.com
- canadalovesnyweekend.com
- entertocontinue.com
- whatastupididea.com
- x-marksthe.com
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Condo for sale! Check it out…
Updated photography
And the iBook goes to….
Happy v-day!
Technology
I got it all working… if anyone else is having the same problem with the isight or audio… this is what I did..
- uninstall parallel tools from windows xp (winxp)
- restart winxp
- shut down winxp
- uninstall parallels from the mac
- your VM should still exist after you do this. I backed up my winxp VM just in case it got deleted. I suggest you do the same if you have the space on your system.
- restart the mac
- delete the parallels application folder – if it still exists
- install the latest version of parallels (ver 3 rev. 4560)
- start up winxp
- reinstall parallel tools in winxp
- restart winxp
That should resolve the problems for you. That did for me. The isight and audio work just fine now. I guess the problem is that I did the upgrade to v3, instead of uninstalling and reinstalling. I would imagine that some of the old v2 parallel tool drivers aren’t working properly with v3.
if you’re having the same problem, give this a shot – let me know if it works for you.
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Technology
I’ve been having a problem with audio since I upgraded to Parallels v. 3 rev. 4120. It just doesn’t work. Also they claim that the iSight works in v3. Not the case. Mine doesn’t work. Maybe the next version will work properly.
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Technology
(history)
- Oct. 2006 – I bought the sleek and sexy Samsung a900 NOX. It’s a great phone. I certainly like it better than the Razr.
- Jan. 2007 – I sold my Dell Axim x50v w/ GPS. I decided to do this because I was able to get good cash (thanks to CraigsList Toronto) and that I noticed I really wasn’t using it all that frequently. My usage was mostly due to the lack of capability when syncing with Entourage with Mac OSX.
- May 2007 – I noticed that I missed having a PDA. I liked having a mini computer with games and applications, along with my calendar and whatnot. I decided at this point to start looking around at getting a lower-end PDA.
- early June 2007 – I went into my local Bell Mobility store, and took a look at the PDA phones that they have. At first I was really turned off by them. Mostly because I’ve been jealous of the iPhone, and nothing they have is remotely as sleek and well designed as that. The other reason is that I wasn’t sure that I wanted a phone that was as bulky as the ‘smartphones’ they have. I start talking with the sales rep there, and find out that I’m not eligible for a rebate until Oct. 2007. Well, when I start thinking about getting something, I usually can’t wait and so…
- mid June 2007 – I decided to start looking around CraigsList Toronto for a Bell version of the Palm 700p. The 700p is the Palm OS version (the 700wx is the Windows Mobile version). I decided that I would go the route of the Palm OS because of how well it sync’s (out of the box) with OSX, and by adding the Chapura conduits you can sync with Entourage.
So, now that leaves me right here. I found a great deal on the 700p on CraigsList Toronto. It turns out that I went to highschool with the girl I bought it from. Small world. Worked out well for me, as she lives around the corner from me.
Now here’s the problem. I enjoyed using the mobile browser on my a900. I’m on a Bell corporate plan which allows for unlimited web-browsing for $5/mo. Great deal no? Well, it turns out that it’s only for WAP service, not data service – which means that I now have to get a Data Plan on the 700p to surf the web. That kind of sucks, because I don’t need to check e-mail on the phone. I just want to use canada411 online (to save $1.50 per call to 411), facebook mobile, etc. Plus I setup my own POP3 web-based e-mail client. Anyways, I’ll be adding a data plan. I get a discount on it because of my corporate plan… but it’s extra money that I didn’t want to shell out.
Oh well, them’s the brakes!
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Technology
So, yesterday I tried out a coworkers Motorola H500 headset. Pretty clear. Somewhat comfortable. But it was floppy on my face. It wasn’t the type of headset that stays in place when it’s on. So despite how good it was, I want something that won’t annoy me. I would give this one an 8/10.
After work, I headed over to the store and returned the two most recent purchases, and decided that I would try the Plantronics Explorer 350. Pretty good price (Under $100CAD after taxes). Lightweight, and came with two chargers – 1 for the home and 1 for the car. I charged it up, and put it on. At first I thought that it was comfortable. It stayed in place, unlike some of the others I tested. After about 5 minutes, the piece that goes in the ear started to annoy me. That part is rubberized, and seems to be ‘molded’, but there’s a part of it that was inside my ear pressing outwards. Not sure if that makes sense, but it was a weird feeling. I took it off and tried it again an hour later, but the same irritation occurred.
As for audio quality – I would say it was pretty good. Clear. No noticeable background humming. All in all, I would give this one a 7/10 – would have scored higher (8 or 8.5) because of the car charger, but the irritation dropped it down to a 7.
Guess we’ll see where this story goes over the next couple of days.
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How much spam could a spambot spot if a spambot could spot spam?
Technology
Ya, I gave the Jabra JX-10 back. Totally sucks, because I thought that it would be amazing. I give this one a 6.5/10 compared to my old-school Logitech being an 8.5.
After work, I headed to a friends house to try out his Sony Ericsson headset – HBH-PV700. Nice size. Average to lighter-side of the weight. Not as compact as the others. Fits well on the ear, once you play around with it for about 30 seconds. Guess what? Still static! When I passed the headset back to him, he said “Ya, it sounds like that on my phone too”. What gives? Still continuing onwards…
This time I decided that I would try another Logitech brand headset, because I figured that since the first one was so great, maybe the next would be good too. Having said that, I want to cut down the number of trips that I do to the store, so I also picked up the Motorola H670. It was on sale, so I figured why not get 2! I was able to pick-up both of these for less than the cost of a single JX-10 after I got the discounted price. Amazing.
I got home about two hours ago, and decided to give these a try. Open up the packaging, charge them up and give them a shot. At first I try the Motorola H670. Looks pretty sleek, comes with 3 different ear loops to use. I pair it with my phone – very easy to do thanks to their simple pairing technology. That means that it took about 5 seconds vs. 8 seconds. LOL 
Pop it on my ear, and notice that it feels a bit floppy. I change around the ear loops and find one that fits the best – although I’m not completely thrilled about it as it’s still flopping around a bit. I start to make a few calls. Not too bad.. pretty decent quality on my end. There is a bit of static that I hear, but not even close to as bad as the others. So far, this is the top contender. That is until I ask the person I’m talking to how I sound. I sounded choppy, quiet, and a bit staticy. NOOO! I really wanted this one to work. I got it for a great price – $67 CAD. This one gets a 7.5/10 rating.
Now time to try out the Logitech Mobile Express. Good size, fits well, and has a lot more static. I make a couple of calls, and the people tell me that it sounds like I’m on speakerphone, but that the volume and clarity are pretty good. The audio is a bit choppy for me, and staticy. This one gets a 4/10 rating. How can a company that made one so well, make one that fails?
Back to the store I go. The customer service reps are going to know me as the guy who buys everything and returns it. I really don’t mean to do that. All I’m asking for is a headset that’s clear, no static (as long as the phone is within 5-10 ft. range – dare I attempt the 33ft./10m range that Bluetooth 1.2 claims it can handle??), and fits/feels good.
Back to the store I go…
another day that is… they’re closed now….
…to be continued…
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Ok.. so I took back the H700. What a shame… because I got it for a great price $46 CAD + tax!
I picked up the Jabra JX-10. This is supposed to be one of the most superior headsets on the market. I put it on and it was so tiny and light, and fit amazingly. For the price tag of $199 CAD (I got it for $126), you would think that it would have blown the old Logitech one that I had out of the water. Well… guess what? There was a slight hiss in the background. I would be able to live with that, because when you’re talking to someone you don’t hear it. You also don’t hear the hiss when the headset isn’t active. Also, there was static. I must say, it was MUCH better than the Motorola H700, but when I moved the phone from the right-side of my body, to the left, the static increased. Line of sight to the headset (within inches of the phone – Samsung SPH-A900) had static as well.
Time for this bad boy to be returned too. Maybe I’ll give it a bit longer to test it out.
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Technology
Ok, so this morning I bought the Motorola H700. It’s a cute little headset that fits very well and is light. I charged it up, and started to use it. Immediately I noticed that there was quite a bit of static with my phone (the Samsung SPH-A900 w/ Bell on their CDMA network).
I thought maybe it was my phone, so I paired it with my Macbook Pro, and the same thing. It was just too annoying to live with. I thought this headset was supposed to be outstanding with clarity, but I guess my old-school Logitech one is better. A shame that it doesn’t fit this nicely.
This one is going back… onward with the hunt!
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Well, my bluetooth headset (the Logitech Mobile Freedom) that I bought about 2 years ago is starting to annoy me, now that I’m using it so frequently. It’s just not that comfortable.
I’m going to start looking for a new one…
…to be continued…
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