This Saturday afternoon I finally got down to upgrading my eMachines Desktop from Windows XP Home to Windows XP Professional. Here's some extracts from my Palm DayNotez Journal
4:10 PM
Started Windows XP Professional upgrade of Windows XP Home OS on eMachines T2865
4:23 PM
Win XP Pro Setup estimating another 39 minutes
4:28 PM
Win XP Pro Setup halted while I look for NVIDIA audio driver.
Fortunately the driver is in a folder on the C Drive
4:45 PM
Bleeping error ".. Program Entry point in ... MSDART.DLL" during upgrade setup - Error Message with an OK button - press OK and it just keeps coming back (that's the normal thing with looping error messages) - the last thing I want to see during an Operating System upgrade.
Used old machine to search the internet for the error. There were plenty of references to it. One with a solution to Click the OK button 80+ times - I tried it and of course it didn't work . The solution was to shutdown the machine & let it restart, then continue with the installation.
5:51 PM
Even though I only upgraded from Windows XP Home to Windows XP Professional, it appears that the XP versions are so different I have to redo all of the "Critical Updates". I guess some of them may be different. What a pain!
6:06 PM
After half an hour or more of downloading & installing the "Critical Updates", there is one more important one I almost missed - XP Service Pack 1. This one looks like it will take a long time...
Saturday, July 10, 2004
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
V600 Update
Well, I've been almost too embarrassed to post this.
I'd blogged on June 12 that my Motorola V600 cellphone had gone silent. My wireless carrier tech support had suggested I return the phone to Amazon for a replacement. Amazon were very good about it, and I received a new replacement phone within a week.
Before returning the non-working Motorola V600 I decided to clear it by doing a Master Clear. Then I did something I really wish I had not - I checked the old phone to confirm that its RingTones still weren't working. To my astonishment and dismay they were now working! Now I had two Motorola V600 cellphones, and had to return one of them. I really could not return the older one with a clear conscience, since now there was nothing wrong with it.
To cut a long story short, I returned the new replacement cellphone...
Why the cellphone started working:
My only guess is this was because I took out the battery and left it out for a period of time, then put it back in and switched on the phone. This seems to do some sort of reset. Tech support had taken me through this step, but had not asked me to leave the battery out for long enough.
I'd blogged on June 12 that my Motorola V600 cellphone had gone silent. My wireless carrier tech support had suggested I return the phone to Amazon for a replacement. Amazon were very good about it, and I received a new replacement phone within a week.
Before returning the non-working Motorola V600 I decided to clear it by doing a Master Clear. Then I did something I really wish I had not - I checked the old phone to confirm that its RingTones still weren't working. To my astonishment and dismay they were now working! Now I had two Motorola V600 cellphones, and had to return one of them. I really could not return the older one with a clear conscience, since now there was nothing wrong with it.
To cut a long story short, I returned the new replacement cellphone...
Why the cellphone started working:
My only guess is this was because I took out the battery and left it out for a period of time, then put it back in and switched on the phone. This seems to do some sort of reset. Tech support had taken me through this step, but had not asked me to leave the battery out for long enough.
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Microsoft follows Yahoo
Microsoft is going to increase Hotmail Storage from 2 megabytes to 250 megabytes according to this article on MyWay
I wondered how long it would take for them to decide this, and of course it's two and a half times Yahoo's new storage. Hopefully there are not as many glitches as Yahoo is having...
I wondered how long it would take for them to decide this, and of course it's two and a half times Yahoo's new storage. Hopefully there are not as many glitches as Yahoo is having...
Friday, June 18, 2004
Smaller Nokias
eWeek reports Flip Phones Among Nokia's Five New Models
In my recent cellphone hunt, I ruled out the Nokia models because of their size - their new Flip Phones can only be smaller.
In my recent cellphone hunt, I ruled out the Nokia models because of their size - their new Flip Phones can only be smaller.
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Yahoo Accounts up to 100Mb
My Way News: "Yahoo! Upgrades E-Mail Capacity to 100 MB"
But that doesn't explain why I'm struggling to login to my Yahoo account now. Maybe this does:
From a news article this morning "Big Sites Slowed by Attack on Akamai" on Editor and Publisher.
But that doesn't explain why I'm struggling to login to my Yahoo account now. Maybe this does:
From a news article this morning "Big Sites Slowed by Attack on Akamai" on Editor and Publisher.
Saturday, June 12, 2004
Sounds of silence
Well, my Motorola V600 lasted a week (and what a week it was!).
Up until yesterday my V600 was working perfectly. Then I transferred a couple of MIDI and MP3 files to it. I noticed that some of the MIDI files did not play, no problem, I just deleted them. Then while I tried to play one MIDI or MP3 ringtone, I got a message - "File corrupt - delete?" - to which I said yes. I little later I realized that none of the ringtones, not even the built-in ones which came with the phone, were working. When you scroll through the list of ringtones and stop on one, it normally plays - none of them play. Not in the menu to choose Ring Detail, or from the MultiMedia/Sounds menu. I also made sure that all the volumes were set to the highest. Also, the startup and shutdown sounds work fine, and I'd assume they use the some speaker...
Another weird thing - if I set the phone to Ring & Vibrate, it doesn't even Vibrate, but if I set it to Vibrate, that works.
After a call to support, a Power off and wait, and a Master Reset of the phone, it's still the same. They suggested I return the phone.
Up until yesterday my V600 was working perfectly. Then I transferred a couple of MIDI and MP3 files to it. I noticed that some of the MIDI files did not play, no problem, I just deleted them. Then while I tried to play one MIDI or MP3 ringtone, I got a message - "File corrupt - delete?" - to which I said yes. I little later I realized that none of the ringtones, not even the built-in ones which came with the phone, were working. When you scroll through the list of ringtones and stop on one, it normally plays - none of them play. Not in the menu to choose Ring Detail, or from the MultiMedia/Sounds menu. I also made sure that all the volumes were set to the highest. Also, the startup and shutdown sounds work fine, and I'd assume they use the some speaker...
Another weird thing - if I set the phone to Ring & Vibrate, it doesn't even Vibrate, but if I set it to Vibrate, that works.
After a call to support, a Power off and wait, and a Master Reset of the phone, it's still the same. They suggested I return the phone.
Tuesday, June 08, 2004
Treo 600 sans camera
Yesterday I read about a camera-less version of the Treo 600, which costs the same as the Treo 600, and (according to eWeek) is not available to consumers. There is also an article about it on Phonescoop.
Saturday, June 05, 2004
Got the V600!
Well, I finally got the Motorola V600 (after a long enough wait), and activated it this morning. The reception is much better than my old V60 (shown on the right in the picture).
Friday, June 04, 2004
Cellphone twilight zone
I'm a-waiting and a-waiting my new cellphone.
The waiting IS the hardest part.
That still didn't stop me looking at another interesting cellphone, the Nokia 6620 (Review on Phonescoop)
This is a weird, squat looking phone.
Some of Nokia's cellphones really look weird...
The waiting IS the hardest part.
That still didn't stop me looking at another interesting cellphone, the Nokia 6620 (Review on Phonescoop)
This is a weird, squat looking phone.
Some of Nokia's cellphones really look weird...
Thursday, June 03, 2004
Warning - too cheap!
When a version of a well-known brand software goes on sale for $10 or less after mail-in rebates, beware!
I bought version 8.0 of MusicMatch JukeBox Deluxe for $10 after mail-in rebates. What a bargain I thought! But I forgot the old axiom "You get what you pay for".
The install went great. The program even updated itself to version 8.2 without much of a problem. Then I looked for something in Windows Explorer, and my DVD writer drive letter was not showing. No problem, this is Windows, so when in doubt, reboot. The CDROM drive was showing, but the DVD drive still wasn't showing. I went into Control Panel and found the entry for the DVD drive. It was disabled, and I could not enable it. I uninstalled MusicMatch. It didn't undo the mess it had made. Fortunately I had created a System Restore Point before installing MusicMatch (One of the best features of Windows XP). After a System Restore the DVD writer was back and working
Then I contacted MusicMatch support, and did a search for MusicMatch problems on the Web.
There was a whole lot of info at gadget girl
Version 8 is regarded as the worst version of MusicMatch ever. It seems things steadily got worse starting with version 7. The only suggestion seems to be to download and use version 7.5
Sometimes software is just too cheap...
I bought version 8.0 of MusicMatch JukeBox Deluxe for $10 after mail-in rebates. What a bargain I thought! But I forgot the old axiom "You get what you pay for".
The install went great. The program even updated itself to version 8.2 without much of a problem. Then I looked for something in Windows Explorer, and my DVD writer drive letter was not showing. No problem, this is Windows, so when in doubt, reboot. The CDROM drive was showing, but the DVD drive still wasn't showing. I went into Control Panel and found the entry for the DVD drive. It was disabled, and I could not enable it. I uninstalled MusicMatch. It didn't undo the mess it had made. Fortunately I had created a System Restore Point before installing MusicMatch (One of the best features of Windows XP). After a System Restore the DVD writer was back and working
Then I contacted MusicMatch support, and did a search for MusicMatch problems on the Web.
There was a whole lot of info at gadget girl
Version 8 is regarded as the worst version of MusicMatch ever. It seems things steadily got worse starting with version 7. The only suggestion seems to be to download and use version 7.5
Sometimes software is just too cheap...
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Small Clie thoughts
There are numerous articles and responses to the "Sony to Halt Sales of Clie PDAs in U.S." news like My Way News, Brighthand and PDABuzz
After my initial surprise, I've come to similar conclusions to those in the PDABuzz article. PalmOne had indicated that it would be moving from handhelds to smartphones earlier this year. This is apparently due to saturation of the (U.S.) market for standalone PDAs. I must admit, the combination of a PDA and a phone into a smartphone makes sense, and the Treo 600 is close to being the ideal smartphone. I had wondered why Sony had not brought out a Palm OS based smartphone - all their Sony Ericsson smartphones are Symbian OS based. With smartphones being "the next big (or little) thing", Sony had to choose between creating a Palm OS based smartphone from scratch, or enhancing their current smartphones...
After my initial surprise, I've come to similar conclusions to those in the PDABuzz article. PalmOne had indicated that it would be moving from handhelds to smartphones earlier this year. This is apparently due to saturation of the (U.S.) market for standalone PDAs. I must admit, the combination of a PDA and a phone into a smartphone makes sense, and the Treo 600 is close to being the ideal smartphone. I had wondered why Sony had not brought out a Palm OS based smartphone - all their Sony Ericsson smartphones are Symbian OS based. With smartphones being "the next big (or little) thing", Sony had to choose between creating a Palm OS based smartphone from scratch, or enhancing their current smartphones...
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
Sony to exit key handheld arenas - News - ZDNet
Sony to exit key handheld arenas - News from ZDNet
Say what????
Oh no...
argh!
Anyone want to buy a used but well looked-after Clie NX60?
Say what????
Oh no...
argh!
Anyone want to buy a used but well looked-after Clie NX60?
Monday, May 31, 2004
Reveal your sources
In my research for a new cellphone, I've found the following websites helpful:
(These are in no particular order)
HowardChui - some in-depth reviews, if you don't mind seeing his picture over and over again, holding up a cellphone to the camera. A related resource, HowardForums, has some interesting information too.
I don't use forums as a primary source of information, but mainly to confirm information.
PhoneScoop - an excellent source for news, information on phones and carriers, as well as upcoming cellphones. There is also a "Phone Finder" to find phones matching your specifications, and user forums.
The mother of all technology sites, CNET, has reviews and prices on the latest phones.
Wireless Advisor has how-to articles, for example "How to Choose a Wireless Phone Service", and other informative articles, as well as forums.
MobileBurn features reviews, rumors and forums.
(These are in no particular order)
HowardChui - some in-depth reviews, if you don't mind seeing his picture over and over again, holding up a cellphone to the camera. A related resource, HowardForums, has some interesting information too.
I don't use forums as a primary source of information, but mainly to confirm information.
PhoneScoop - an excellent source for news, information on phones and carriers, as well as upcoming cellphones. There is also a "Phone Finder" to find phones matching your specifications, and user forums.
The mother of all technology sites, CNET, has reviews and prices on the latest phones.
Wireless Advisor has how-to articles, for example "How to Choose a Wireless Phone Service", and other informative articles, as well as forums.
MobileBurn features reviews, rumors and forums.
Saturday, May 29, 2004
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Microsoft says bye-bye Wi-Fi
I read yesterday that Microsoft is to stop selling it's hardware Wi-Fi solutions (Okay, I know it's old news, I was catching up reading some eWeek magazines).
Someone at PCMag.com thinks the XBox may be next
Someone at PCMag.com thinks the XBox may be next
Monday, May 24, 2004
Wild unlocked goose chase
Spent a considerable amount of my spare time today looking at the Motorola V400 cell phone.
"Why the Motorola V400 when you've already decided that the Motorola V600 is the cell phone you want", you may ask.
Well, two reasons
1. The Motorola V400 is the less flashy sibling of the V600, and has all the features except Bluetooth and Video Playback
2. I could get an unlocked Motorola V400 for not much more than V600.
There is an excellent article in this month's MobilePC Magazine about GSM handsets being locked. Briefly, Cellular carriers put a lock on their GSM phones so that you cannot use a SIM card (which contains the number and carrier connection information) from another carrier in the phone. If a cell phone is unlocked, then you can put in any SIM card from any carrier. This also depends on the frequencies at which the carriers networks run - in the US it is usually 1900MHz or 800Mhz, in Europe and the rest of the world it is 900MHz or 1800Mhz. So theoretically, if you have an unlocked quad band (800/900/1800/1900MHz) GSM phone you should be able to use it anywhere in the world where there is cellular service.
Of course, my wild unlocked goose chase was that although I could get an unlocked Motorola V400 cell phone, in the NY area I can only use it on one other carrier, T-Mobile. (I'm deliberately excluding Cingular, which is acquiring AT&T Wireless.) Anyway, on my other T-Mobile cell phone my reception around where I live varies from not good to non-existent, so what's the point of getting an unlocked GSM phone? I already have an old Ericsson T28 World phone which is unlocked and which I use on overseas trips.
Footnote: Other than the above complaint about reception I'm satisfied, even impressed with T-Mobile, since there customer service is quite good. Also, if you have had a phone with them for a certain period of time, you can phone their Customer Service and ask for the phone to be "SIM unlocked". AT&T Wireless and Cingular need to learn that this is more likely to keep customers rather than drive them away.
"Why the Motorola V400 when you've already decided that the Motorola V600 is the cell phone you want", you may ask.
Well, two reasons
1. The Motorola V400 is the less flashy sibling of the V600, and has all the features except Bluetooth and Video Playback
2. I could get an unlocked Motorola V400 for not much more than V600.
There is an excellent article in this month's MobilePC Magazine about GSM handsets being locked. Briefly, Cellular carriers put a lock on their GSM phones so that you cannot use a SIM card (which contains the number and carrier connection information) from another carrier in the phone. If a cell phone is unlocked, then you can put in any SIM card from any carrier. This also depends on the frequencies at which the carriers networks run - in the US it is usually 1900MHz or 800Mhz, in Europe and the rest of the world it is 900MHz or 1800Mhz. So theoretically, if you have an unlocked quad band (800/900/1800/1900MHz) GSM phone you should be able to use it anywhere in the world where there is cellular service.
Of course, my wild unlocked goose chase was that although I could get an unlocked Motorola V400 cell phone, in the NY area I can only use it on one other carrier, T-Mobile. (I'm deliberately excluding Cingular, which is acquiring AT&T Wireless.) Anyway, on my other T-Mobile cell phone my reception around where I live varies from not good to non-existent, so what's the point of getting an unlocked GSM phone? I already have an old Ericsson T28 World phone which is unlocked and which I use on overseas trips.
Footnote: Other than the above complaint about reception I'm satisfied, even impressed with T-Mobile, since there customer service is quite good. Also, if you have had a phone with them for a certain period of time, you can phone their Customer Service and ask for the phone to be "SIM unlocked". AT&T Wireless and Cingular need to learn that this is more likely to keep customers rather than drive them away.
Saturday, May 22, 2004
Down to one...
I really looked hard at the NEC 525, trying to find a reason to like it. The only one I found was that it's $100 less than the Motorola V600. Other than that the closer I looked the more I found not to like.
As for the Sony Ericsson T616, being able to get and keep a signal is the primary reason for having a cellphone, and I've heard that there are reception problems with it. Howard Chui reports "poor RF performance".
The Motorola V600 seems to be very close to the size and weight of my current phone, the Motorola V60, which the best phone I've ever owned. It's as small as a cell phone can get, but because of the clamshell design it is totally usable.
As for the Sony Ericsson T616, being able to get and keep a signal is the primary reason for having a cellphone, and I've heard that there are reception problems with it. Howard Chui reports "poor RF performance".
The Motorola V600 seems to be very close to the size and weight of my current phone, the Motorola V60, which the best phone I've ever owned. It's as small as a cell phone can get, but because of the clamshell design it is totally usable.
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