Okay, I have an honest-to-goodness Tech Support question for folks more familiar with windows and/or networks than me.
A few days ago, Gershwin Girl's internet starting giving her serious problems in her apartment. She's running off of a wireless router that I configured for her, and until a few days ago everything worked great.
The router still works perfectly on my computer, and on her roommates' computers. In fact, I'm sending this message from her wireless right now and, as you can see, no issues.
But her computer loads websites about 1 out of every 10 tries, disconnects her from gaim with regularity, and is otherwise incredibly annoying. Sometimes it will work great for an hour or so, but never for extended periods.
Her internet DID work fine when she was connected to a different wireless network. Overall, I'm confused. Any ideas?
TIVO question my BIL just bought a TIVO ( Or is buying) Has anyone used the TIVO wireless router? and does anyone else use a wireless connection. We went wired because we just punched a quick whole in the wall and at the time - thier were a lot of complaints about getting wireless to work
I've been running wireless Tivo for quite a while and I've set it up for two other people. As long as you are using the Tivo branded adapter or one of the very specific models they list on their support site it's quite easy. The trick is that almost all of the ones that they list are versions or firmware revisions that aren't easily obtainable.
The best way to go is to buy the Tivo branded WiFi adaptor.
I use TiVo with a wireless connection. I haven't had any problems. I got a supported one (on the second try. Stupid serial numbers) at Best Buy.
Gris, does she have a cordless phone? Or does someone nearby have one? That was the biggest problem my son was having, that his cordless runs on 2.4 Ghz and so did the router, and the phone constantly disconnected him or screwed with the router performance.
I have not had my caffeine yet, so I can't decide if this is a bad thing, and if so, how bad...
Cory Doctorow: Vista, the new version of Windows, has tightened the Trusted Computing screws, putting hardware companies on notice that they will have to get their drivers approved by Microsoft before shipping them. Microsoft had previously designed Vista to simply warn users if their drivers were "unsigned" -- that is, not approved by Microsoft -- but in a new announcement, the company pledged to make it impossible to load any unapproved drivers under Vista.
This has been positioned as an anti-spyware measure, but it will also have the effect of making copy- and use-restriction systems more restrictive. You won't, for example, be able to install alternative drivers for a video-capture card that lets you ignore anti-copying watermarks in your videos, effectively taking control away from you, the owner of the computer, and indiscriminately giving it over to anyone who can insert a watermark (no-copying watermarks have already been illegally inserted into many Fox programs, resulting in their not being stored by TiVo video recorders).
Another effect of this will be to raise the cost of developing drivers, since developers will be required by Microsoft to buy a VeriSign Class 3 Commercial Software Publisher Certificate, at an unknown cost.
[link]
It just bugs me, as it furthers the trend of the personal computer moving from a general-purpose computing device to a home-entertainment device that's controlled by large media companies.
USB turntable: [link]
I actually need a new turntable. And none of my Macs have an audio input.
The iTTUSB also offers a few hardware extras, such as an adjustable anti-skating control for increased stereo balancing, an adjustable pitch control (+/- 8 percent), and support for high-speed vinyl recording. And thanks to the line-level outputs, you can connect to any home stereo with CD or auxiliary (AUX) inputs--no phono inputs required. The turntable comes with a cartridge and stylus, 45 adapter, and USB cable and is compatible with PCs running Windows 98, 2000, or XP and Macs running OS 9 or greater. All computers must also have at least one available USB 1.1 port.
$139.95, which might be a really good deal, depending on the quality of the turntable (which I can't really judge myself...).
As long as you are using the Tivo branded adapter or one of the very specific models they list on their support site it's quite easy. The trick is that almost all of the ones that they list are versions or firmware revisions that aren't easily obtainable.
Wireless support on Linux is a mess. Another way to get around it is to use a wireless adapter that plugs into the Ethernet port. Works with anything that supports Ethernet. You might need a bit of TCP/IP knowhow to get one of those configured though.
I got my Tivo wireless adapter (on a recommendation from ita), plugged it in, and it worked great. I'd recommend it if the phone line is an issue. Plus, I can schedule stuff to record online (and I seem to remember you can't do that through the phone line). I did make sure that my apadter was a supported one.
