I'm allover the interwebs!
I was just reading the front page of Engadget when I saw they posted that Apple will be hosting a Press Conference on this Friday. Without even reading the article, this comes to mind, It’s clearly regarding the antenna problems, and secondly I think their might an apology and a recall.
Maybe it was Jeremy Clarkson’s statement that forced them to hold this conference!
So I have been using Firefox 4 Beta 1 on my friend’s laptop (Macbook pro running OS X), and I can say it’s a move in the right direction! The first thing I noticed was it launches faster than before, this might be because he doesn’t have so many extensions. The next thing I noticed was the Site Identity button and fav icon have become part of the address bar, which makes things aesthetically nicer. Also aesthetically it looks more boxy, which makes me feel its leaner and faster. Finally on the aesthetics, the addons now open in a tab instead of a window, which I find neat (you can access it by typing in about:addons in the address bar). Next they added a progress indicator that loads a pie chart on each tab that is still loading, this allows you to see how much of the page is left to load. Finally it loads pages faster, more like chrome. Below are comparison shots of the site identity buttons from Firefox 3 and 4, and a snapshot of the pie chart progress indicator.
To conclude the 1st beta of Firefox 4 shows a real step forward and has been really stable with no crashes in the couple of days that I have used it. If you haven’t downloaded it yet you can get it for all three major Operating Systems (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux) here.
Firefox 3
Firefox 4
Progress Pie Chart
Usually when companies claim they have setup a paperless statements to help save the environment I usually think it’s a great idea, however it somehow fails. Some companies still keep sending paper statements even after you’ve signed up to paperless statements, and others complicate the process when dealing with them as a result. However I do it anyways because I try my hardest to be green.
As an international student in Montreal, I must receive health insurance as it is not provided to me by the Canadian Government. My University’s provider is Sun Life Financial. Over the years Sun Life has been great to deal with. I’ve only had one problem with them over the last four years, and I’m pretty sure it was only circumstantial.
Now back to the paperless statements and direct deposits. Before I signed up I would have to waste money on stamps and envelopes, and time waiting for the claim to be processed. Now all I do is after I have been treated (I have been going to physiotherapy lately) is sign in to the portal online, type in some details, and that’s all. I usually get an email within a day or two (sometimes even within the hour) that my claim has been processed, and the money will be directly deposited within a few days. This considerably reduce the time it takes for the entire process, makes it easier, and less of a hassle. I could see how this could be a big problem for an insurance company as people might try to fraud them (which they can investigate), however they still did it anyways, which makes me truly believe that Sun Life is sincere. I would just like to congratulate Sun Life and its employees on offering such great services and being a company that cares. They should be a corporate role model for other companies!
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JDFHGEiLcU
After reading about the iPhone 4 antenna problem, I’m glad I don’t have plans (as of yet) to purchase one. Today I was watching Top Gear (the most watched tv show in the world FYI), when Jeremy Clarkson made fun of the issue while introducing The Stig. I felt it was really funny, and well worth sharing! One of the main reasons I watch Top Gear is because of Mr. Clarkson’s Humor!
Anyone that knows me knows how much I love updating computers, gadgets, or anything that can be flashed with a new firmware/software. I just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Today thanks to engadget I get to have that feeling! My Canon Rebel T2i gets an update to 1.08 which fixes a bug while shooting video in manual mode, as well as some Spanish and French spelling mistakes in the menu for the 1-D Mark IV. Download links below
Canon Rebel T2i 1.08 Firmware: Windows + Mac
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV 1.08 Firmware: Windows + Mac
I found this great cartoon on CagleCartoons.com via Reddit. I feel this cartoon really captures the one mistake that parents are making these days. I thought it was worth sharing!
Today I helped my friend unlock his Bell 2Wire 2701HG-G Modem/Router. We were not doing it to unlock it per say, but we wanted to update his router to a newer firmware to hopefully resolve a wifi disconnection issue with his iPad. I stumbled upon some forums that lead me to a file. We updated the modem, which cleared his Bell settings (something I knew would happen from experience!). So after a long time of scrolling through pages of forums, and trying to figure stuff out, with the help of the forum I figured it out on my own.
Firstly before I get to the good stuff (skip this part and go to the bottom if you just want to unlock the 2Wire 2701HG-G) let me warn you to never get a branded modem/router. Why you might ask? Well because of the fact that they are branded some features might be stripped and getting those features back, or a decent web interface might be difficult if not impossible. Secondly they barely release updates, and when they do, you can’t get access to the files your self. I would rather input all these settings into a D-Link/Linksys router or this Buffalo router that is on my wish list.
So first of all you will need to flash the Modem/Router with a newer firmware. This firmware is for another ISP called Singtel. Don’t worry it should work fine as I have used it on a Bell connection. The main problem was once we updated the firmware, and wanted to input the Bell username and password it kept inputting @Singtel.com to the end of the username no matter what we did. Finally I found out that we had to use a key code to remedy that (See this is what I was talking about earlier in the post! I have never used a key code on a router, I feel this is a very stupid idea or “feature” if you want to call it that). So follow the steps below and you should be able to get your router working with the Singtel firmware.
Before Updating your Modem/Router please make sure you have your username and password written down, or call Bell to get them, as they will be erased when the firmware is flashed.
Unlocking the Bell 2Wire 2701HG-G
1. Download the Singtel firmware (Rapidshare)
2. Access your router’s firmware update page, I have listed all the possible web portal addresses that I have encountered, one of them SHOULD work for you. (http://gateway.2wire.net/tech/upgrade.html | http://192.168.2.1/tech/upgrade.html | http://192.168.1.254/tech/upgrade.html)
3. Select the Singtel 2sp file which you downloaded from above and click Update. (You should only do this through a wired connection and not wireless.)
4. Hopefully after a successful flash access the router’s Setup page (http://192.168.1.254/setup | http://192.168.2.1/setup | http://gateway.2wire.net/setup)
5.Enter this Key Code (5225-26P4-6262-22AS-B2E7) and click Advanced, now continue with the setup, and it will not append the @Singtel.com to the end of your B1 username. This is the only Key Code that worked for me as the others would fail even if we had the correct username/password combination. If this Key Code does not work for you check out all the rest of the Key Codes at the 2Wire website.
That is all, your Modem/Router should now connect to bell. The reason I wrote this tutorial, was because I saw that the information was scattered all over the forums, with a bit of correct information everywhere, and not all in one place. If I have made a mistake please point it out so I can fix this. Also I would hope that Bell and other ISPs find this post, and see how much users are frustrated with their branded hardware. Hopefully they will start using less restricted, and user changeable hardware/software. While it might be easier in the short run, I find that in the long run it is more costly, more annoying, and more problematic since there are such few firmware updates. Enjoy your unlocked/updated Modem/Router.
Ps. So far my friend’s iPad is working without a problem. Hopefully it stays that way.
Today I had to buy an iPad invisible shield for my friend, I gave him the box and that was that. Afterwards we were talking and he was joking that they suck at spelling. He then showed me what you can see above. It says “If you invisibleSHIELD™ ever gets damaged we will replace it for free for life!” The you should have been your. I will contact ZAGG and let them know about this, hopefully they will get a laugh out of it.
WinX has given me the opportunity to offer 10 licenses to my readers. Since I don’t have many (haha) that should not be too much of a problem. These are licenses are for the full version of the great DVD ripping program. DVD Ripper Platinum supports decrypting the latest copy protection methods, which makes it easy to rip the latest movies. To get a free license from me simply just reply in the comments in this post, with your best joke, or just tell me something funny that has happened to you. The first 10 people get licenses! ENJOY!
Update: I now have 14 more licenses!
Today I formatted my Mac Pro, and I always run into a problem with my iTunes Library. I like to keep it off my system drive as it is a small 120gb ssd drive. When I try to tell set my iTunes folder to the other hard drive it does not recognize the library and has no songs. This is made even more frustrating when Apple decides to keep updating the folder structure (9.2 in this case). So here is how to fix your iTunes library.
1. Copy the files and folders inside the iTunes folder to the system drive and click on replace all.
2. Click on the iTunes Library file.
3. Now iTunes should open up and have your library intact and will probably update it to the new format.
4.Copy it back to the location you wish to have it at.
5.Press option (shift on pc) while opening iTunes and it will ask you which iTunes library you want to load.
6.Click Choose Library…
7.Find the iTunes folder you want and click on the iTunes Library file.
8.Now it should be working fine, you can delete the old folder!