The Tech Haven of Profound

NEW BLOG!!

2006-07-30T23:45:00.000-04:00

New Blog:

profound.wordpress.com

I no longer update blogger- as userfriendly and fun as it is. Call me a wagonist.

2006-07-02T14:13:00.000-04:00

Agile

2006-07-02T14:12:00.000-04:00

Closed

2006-07-02T14:11:00.000-04:00

Opened out

2006-07-02T14:10:00.000-04:00

Sideways

2006-07-02T13:35:00.001-04:00

Agile messenger again

2006-07-02T13:35:00.000-04:00

My messages

2006-07-02T13:34:00.000-04:00

Statuesque - Shining despite the dirt.

2006-07-02T13:33:00.000-04:00

The Nokia 9300, Ahhh Sheer Delight!

Trying Something New

2006-06-27T21:37:00.000-04:00

Until I get my camera back to take pics of the Nokia 9300 in action I need to give some reasons to read my blog.

What do tech guys like more than tech? Answer... HOT GIRLS.

Why else do we play games like Dead or Alive 4 if not for the amazing CG, why else do we run behind Lara Croft in Tomb Raider? No, it isn't because she can jump...

Additionally I am a HUGE Vybz Kartel fan. I figured let me try a little something.

Did I say my phone is King?

2006-06-25T13:52:00.000-04:00

Whoever said bMobile's GPRS service was bad is probably using a lame phone. Yes, you and your SLVR and your Motorola C333 and the like having nothing on me. NCB uses bMobile's GPRS system to do their mobile swipe card system. I use bMobile to remote control my PC from my Nokia 9300.

Yes, that is what I said. I was having some trouble with my DynDns account and figured out that the reason I wasn't remote controlling things is because my account password was incorrect. After correcting that I was able to promptly log into my remotely anywhere account on my PC and view the status. I havent yet tried to remote control in the real sense- over GPRS... ridiculous- but I can manage accounts, shut down the system, telnet, ssh and just about everything else.

I was also able to swiftly adjust my wireless network settings at home from the phone while I was at work. I think I am getting infinitely happier about my new phone. I still haven't setup blackberry fully but I have everything else. Perhaps a new voice dialing system would be a welcome addition.

Pictures to come.

My Obesession

2006-06-23T10:38:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to post a link to my obsession. I don't think I will add or subtract anything from this setup. I am just going to save my money until one month I can just close my eyes and buy all the parts. The best part will be putting it all together, bit by bit. It shouldn't be too loud because I am using ultra silent fans.

New Build

New Developments

2006-06-21T08:12:00.000-04:00

I have made some changes in my life.

I have given away (second phone donated) the Motorolla V300 to my father. Seemingly it was father's day and I figured it would make a good gift. It was either I give it to him or I give it to my girlfriend's sister. Dad got it. He likes it too; it is the coolest phone he has ever owned. Happy father's day dad- who will never read my blog.

You may be asking what phone do I have now? Am I going to go hard or go lame? Well, to all my player-hating non-supporters I have gone hard. We call her 9300, Nokia 9300. The Godess of phones is with us; the Nokia Smartphone will be our refuge. So me and 93, so we roll.

I had every intention of taking pictures but well... I did other things instead. I will however post some web pics until I can borrow my camera again.

The phone is everything. It runs a Symbian 7, Series 80 OS which means that it can be anything imaginable. It has some awesome default features which I haven't fully tested but will certainly attempt. It has a system lock which I guess is anti-theft. It has built in document, sheet, powerpoint etc readers. It has the ability to do an ip-passthrough. Therefore when connected to my PC, whether by cable or by bluetooth the phone will inherit my internet connection (1mbps) and act accordingly. I want to test that theory. I am going to build a PAN using bluetooth to the phone. It is going to be hype.

I wanted the phone because it has been haunting me for years. I had to go through so much crap but finally I took out the money (retails from CandW for J$44200) and said yes. It closes to show a regular brick (and mortar?) phone but when it opens it becomes your mini-laptop. Hype. I have two more things I want to put on it and then it will be ready for hard labour. I am going to load blackberry connect on it as well as Bulldog anti-virus.

Due to changes at work I am going to be connected to the BES so I may as well have a fully featured and fully open device to do everything. Antivirus is a basic necessity for a smartphone. I wish I could insure the phone though- but that may be stretching it. I can only get it under householders insurace- and I don't own my own yet. I am still a kid I suppose... right.

I have Agile Messenger running with googletalk, msn and yahoo so I am as connected and even more so than with the hiptop. I have a fully featured HTML browser. It comes with a messaging client. I am not going to upgrade it until I see how the phone handles blackberry first.

Some guy

2006-06-01T01:21:00.000-04:00

SO there is this dude who calls in for tech support saying he is unable to ping his ip address. He has a dynamic ip (a residential account) so all I want to know is whether or not he can browse the web. He can browse, he can check email- why is he bothering me. He thinks he should be able to ping but he has no idea how pinging works.

Firstly- is his modem going to allow an incoming ping request? No answer.

Secondly, is the machine behind the modem (al-be-it masked by a NAT Firewall) going to respond to the request? No.

So I try to give him some knowledge and let him know he needs to reconceptualize things. Punk.

I called the Internet Admin and asked them if we block things- nope we don't . What makes matters worse is that residential customers aren't supposed to be able to ping- he was surprised when I told him that I could. I think if he knew the little things I was up to it would blow his mind. I do worse than ping, I vpn, remote desktop, ftp etc. The only thing I haven't really tried yet is a web server. That was simply because I couldn't get Win 2003 server to deal with my wifi on a radius properly (a task I will one day pick up under Nix.)

All the guy needs to do is flash his Speedtouch 536 to a recent firmware version. After he does that he can verify some settings related to incoming requests. The new speedtouch firmware allows for integration with Dynamic DNS. He should get himself an auto-updated account so that he doesn't have to remember the ip- like a lame person.

Geez, tired of these NOobs.

The Last Stand

2006-05-28T11:35:00.000-04:00

So I went to see Xmen: The Last Stand last night. I wanted to go on Friday but it was sold out. Last night was fine because the theatre got smart and used two cinemas instead of one. I watched it with my brother and some close friends.

The movie. Click on the picture and you will go to a site that has a bunch of reviews. Here is my review:

The movie is HAAARD. I am glad I saw it in theatres. It is definately a summer blockbuster. It is filled with action and has some critical plot elements. They take the story of Xmen, twist it and show you something unexpected. The thing that made the movie so stunning is that they broke most if not all of the sacred rules that every Xmen fan expects to be maintained. People died. Important people died, lives changed forever- etc. When I say important I am talking about foundation people.

Coincidentally I am still waiting on the Gambit story entrance. They dropped him just because some dude from Lost didn't want it. Gambit used to be my third favourite character.

Fire pon a Cyclops! Fire pon a Rogue! Don't burn them in the same flame... independent yet everlasting fires.

I wanted to give a spoiler but I wont. My advice is forget the reviews- they all suck. Look within your heart as an Xmen fan and appreciate that if you knew exactly what would happen you would be wasting your money at the theatre. Keep an open mind. The most important thing- DO NOT GET UP. Even if you see the credits rolling and you are feeling pissed off do not move from your seat until the curtains are closed. If you dare move you would have wasted ALL your money.

New old Discoveries

2006-05-25T22:24:00.000-04:00

First there was sliced bread. Then they made Google Home Page. I mean how cool is that? I decided to pimp my page a little bit. I think I am going to try some more customizations. I need certain things to help me with work- sticky, to-do and email mainly. When Google came out with Google Calendar I was in orbit and headed straight to the stars. Google Homepage makes things so much easier. The only difficulty now is keeping each window open- which is easily solved by using Mozilla Firefox, one tab per service.

Before the pimping:

Afterwards when I added some new stuff:

I know. Isn't google awesome? I agree. So now I can have fun and work all in one window. Macromedia flash and Ajax will cleanse the Internet.

I wanted to post a couple screens of Remotely Anywhere. I had to uninstall remotely anywhere because it just wouldn't allow anything on Port 21- at all. It refused to start the programme. I am using another port now so it should be fine. It is a really great product and has help me save a lot of time in the past. May it continue to do so.

Screens courtesy of GIMP the Open Source version of Adobe Photoshop. The screen resolution is 1440x900 to fit my screen so be aware. Yes, WXGA gone large again.

In a previous post I neglected to post the motherboard I settled on for Lori Alexia Vista Machine. Here it is.

Theory proven False

2006-05-25T09:08:00.000-04:00

Well well.

Yatta posited a theory that the easiest way to remotely access my box across the corporate proxy filled firewall is to use port 80. For some reason the firewall allows the default browsing port as well as the ftp port. I couldn't install Remotely Anywhere using port 80- received errors when it attempted to start the service. I figure that is because the browsers have already started the service on that port.

I installed everything using the default port and then went in and changed it to 21. No go on the corporate firewall. Either they block the ftp port or something... So in the end I am unable to log into my account across the company firewall.

Coincidentally I am going to post some screens of Remotely Anywhere and try to block out personally identifying information. Should be on later today.

My two mongrels are henceforth codenamed Ren and Stimpy.

What's going on?

2006-05-24T20:24:00.000-04:00

Let me update everyone on what is going on.

I have two mongrels. I called the younger one Sheela- but dad calls her Shadow. Two females. Mongrels. They came into my life through my dad. He saw them at Utech and decided all by himself that God sent them to him. As a result they now live in my backyard. Mongrels. I hate dogs, I hate hate mongrels. Why couldn't we get an alsation or a rotwiler or a real dog. Mongrels.

[I had a picture but I lost it. Sorry.]

I have finally decided to forego the car and focus on the room. There is a lot of red tape to cut through but I think things will start this week. First step is clearing the room- then installing the heating, then painting and tiling- then living. Mom is going to turn my current room into a sitting room. How lame is that... very lame. I hope to post pictures of my setup when things are ready- should be about two months in total.

I have put a decent timetable on my activities. First is the room. Afterwards I will build my PC. Then after all that I will look about a method of transport.

World Cup is coming in about two weeks. I am bringing England and Italy. I know England won't win but I am not a wagonist. I am definately not bringing Brazil. I don't care if they have an amazing lineup. Brazil has yet to win in Europe and they are not making history this year. I really wanted to have my new television. I guess I will go with the old fashioned way- vcr, recording matches. I am just getting around to buying the needed items for my PVR though. Unfortunately by the time I receive these items it will be deep into the opening matches. I have finally settled on this baby coupled with Beyond TV and Flow Digital Cable. The only crappy thing about it is that Flow is dragging along with the startup process. I mean really... I want my Cable- I am willing to pay for it. If it takes them this long to deliver on promises imagine when they start. I am not getting their digital services. I would rather my girl gets that, tests it then I will venture there if it is really worth it.

My digital camera is now on assignment so expect more text. One of the reasons for my delay is because I wanted to accumilate some pics to share. However, I recently bought a 1GB SD Card for the Kodak. We can now take 1396 3MP pictures. How cool is that?

My v300 has internet- finally. Cable and Wireless is selling the Nokia 9300 for 44k. I am basically sitting on my hands to not buy it. If phones had a supreme being that nokia would be god.

Reinstalled my Alcohol 120% as well as my Remotely Anywhere. I am about to return to my usual online antics- finally. The only direction is up.

Oh. Finally. Hitman: Blood Money can't play on Jenna. Seemingly the processor is the only part that I failed. Can you believe this crap? My all time favourite third-person shooter can't be played on my machine. I have to build a machine to play on it. Hey: Rate my future build (from Newegg):
[case]Thermaltake Tsunami VA3400SWA Silver- Mirror Coating Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 400W Power Supply
[gpu]XFX PV-T73G-UDE3 Geforce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
[tv]Hauppauge 1062 PCI Interface WinTV-PVR-150 MCE Kit Tuner Card
[cpu]AMD Athlon 64 4000+ San Diego 2000MHz HT Socket 939 Processor Model ADA4000BNBOX
[ram]OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Platinum System Memory Model OCZ4002048ELDCPE-K
[hd]Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200KS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
[i/o]Logitech MX 5000 967558-0403 Black USB Bluetooth Wireless Standard Keyboard Mouse Included
[monitor]Acer AL2416Wd Silver 24" 6ms Widescreen LCD Monitor
[game]Logitech 963326-0403 Cordless RumblePad 2 USB
[dvd-rw1]BenQ 16X DVD±R DVD Burner With exclusive SolidBurn Technology Black ATA/ATAPI Model DW1650 BK
[dvd-rw2]SAMSUNG 16X DVD±R DVD Burner With 5X DVD-RAM Write Black IDE Model SH-S162A/BEBN
[sound]Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS SB0350 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card
[fan]ZALMAN CNPS7000B-CU 92mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan/Heatsink
[fan]ZALMAN VF700-CU 2 Ball VGA COOLER
[mobo fan]SUNON FAN-PMD1204PQB1 40mm 2 Ball Case Cooling Fan/Heatsink

If I get the list without the monitor then we are looking at just under 100k. All this to play Hitman:Blood Money. It must be love.

Having a really bad week

2006-05-03T19:02:00.000-04:00

Jenna is on my last nerve. When a woman gets this bad that she burns your pocket in an unreasonable manner I think it is time to leave her. I mean really, I get her anything she wants- Jenna wants a new graphics card, I get it. When Jenna wanted a new monitor I bought her the best 19" WXGA on the market. She wanted a new burner- she had it.

My most recent burner, the one I bought just a couple months ago, no longer works. It must be the motherboard. Why else would a cost-effective but industry leading burner stop burning and start reading blank dvds as only have 400mb free? Why else would it refuse to recognize any of my discs- discs it recognized a week earlier. It all started with the big Pioneer I had, now it is doing it with my NEC. It attempted to do it to my Liteon as well.

Jenna, I am giving you notice. As soon as I raise J$90k you and I are through. I don't care if you want to sabotage me from now until then. I am over you- you hear me you stupid gold-digging intel! I am going to get a real woman, an AMD Venice core 3800+ with hyper transport. She is going to be named Lori- the star of the future. You, you will just be some piece of junk in one of my best friend's rooms. It is over.

In defense of my decision

2006-04-30T18:34:00.000-04:00

I gave it some more thought. The hiptop's downfall was the size and the fact that the features were not consistent. I own two mobile phones and a media player- and I don't like having a bag (so girly?) and having things in my hands. That means that my belt and my pockets are the only places available.

My belt was being occupied by the hiptop2- a very large device that just spread out on everything. It could however store all my organizer and calendar details as well as my contacts. But guess what- my Zen stores organizer and calendar information as well. The only limitation is that I have to sync it at home and not on the go- but still... a major step forward. The only sacrifice made to date relates to the push email- which has become far less critical. Every other duty is done between the new phone and the Zen. These two devices can happily coexist on my belt while my Miphone occupies my pocket- being that it is so thin.

If I ever need push/pop email I will put it on my bmobile.

Therefore I have saved a bunch of money on my mobile bill, saved on real estate on my belt and still have all my contacts in tact.

Thank you Zen for being so versatile.

Definition of Lexicon

2006-04-30T17:46:00.000-04:00

lex·i·con
n. pl. lex·i·cons or lex·i·ca (-k)

A dictionary.
A stock of terms used in a particular profession, subject, or style; a vocabulary: the lexicon of surrealist art.
Linguistics. The morphemes of a language considered as a group.

[Medieval Latin, from Greek lexikon (biblion), word(book), from neuter of lexikos, of words, from lexis, word, from legein, to speak. See leg- in Indo-European Roots.]
[Download Now or Buy the Book]
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Main Entry:	lexicon²
Part of Speech:	noun
Definition:	the vocabulary of a person, group, subject, or language; also, the total morphemes of a language
Etymology:	Greek lexis `word, phrase'

Source: Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.6)
Copyright © 2003-2005 Lexico Publishing Group, LLC

So Long old friend

2006-04-29T09:07:00.000-04:00

I have a couple things to say.

1) I gave away the Hiptop2 and instead bought a Motorola v300

I have moved on. I parted ways with the Hiptop2 on Thursday April 27, 2006 and embraced the Motorola v300. I didn't embrace it like I did my Hiptop2 or the Zen or even the new WXGA. It was a business arrangement. The Hiptop2 let me down on Wednesday night by being down for the entire time- I mean all evening and night. I figured I had enough. I decided that the additional $800 per month was just not worth it anymore.

I know, initially I said friends don't sell friends. I also know that the v300 is a major downgrade. However, I only spent $5000 to get the brand new flip phone. I am going to pimp it and make it into a decent enough replacement. Besides, the Hiptop2 was taking up realestate on my belt which should have been shared between a phone and my Zen. I had to stop hurting- what is the point of push email if it only works sometimes. The phone would often tell me I have no SIM, or switch to phone only mode. Besides, C&W doesn't invest too much into the Hiptop2 infrastructure to give it a good catalog of items- they let it die and I left her.

The giving away part was a snap decision. I originally intended to put her to rest in a nice memorial type ceremony attended by close friends and family. Instead though one of my two best friends quickly asked me to give it to him- and so I did. I know... I gave away a $20g phone... I could have atleast sold it for $5000. Atleast it will always be near me, and if I want it back I can rob/negotiate with him.

2) More confusion and sometimes more certainty about the car

I am at odds with myself about this thing. I view it from all angles. If I don't buy it at all then I have more resources to fix my room and save money. If I save money then I can achieve my goal of making a 'tidy sum' in three years (this being year 2).
My male parent seems to have a problem with me getting that room. Just today a renewed badminded effort was made to push me out of my vision. I tell you, sometimes I feel like I could move out and pay rent- but because I have my goals I say no. Therefore there is a very strong possibility that I won't be able to get what I want.
Then there is the point about being muscled out of what isn't even rightfully mine. Sure it belongs to you but you said I can borrow it- no need to then do a total switch. Things like that make me want to say "fine until christmas kindly youth over ugly- i will get my own tings" but I can't say that. I have to be smart and say think clearly boy, do the best possible thing.
Darn confusing.

---

I will be posting pictures of the new phone- not that the v300 isn't a popular phone that most people know- but as a courtesy.
The best possible decision will be made known to me when the time comes.

Want to switch to something a little irreverent and yet a little philosophical. It is a question that I have never had the answer to- how do we treat the Bible.

I know this is off tech topic but I just want to know: The book created about 3000+ years ago had a set context. Men couldn't fornicate; men were commanded 'thou shalt not kill' unless the person wasn't a Jew; women were a little higher than house/sex slaves and you could have as many as you could afford. A few millenia/centuries afterwards we change it up a bit. The book is used to justify the subjugation of the African diaspora and they say that slaves should obey their masters. Just a few centuries before that the book was used to justify the religious crusades which saw the slaughter of any non-christian entity- muslims etc. After slavery the book is used to help set us free. Women come along wanting to vote- the book is used to provide equal rights, finally men could fornicate (boo-hoo) and commit adultery and you shouldn't kill- unless it was a war. Then we have the 2000+ understanding, diversified into several different denominations which are either fundamentalist or have a broader conceptual approach- or just plain new age.

What are we supposed to believe? If the Bible is the inspired word and it was written in context do we continue believing in that initial context? Or is it that the Bible which has the same words for centuries can be reinterpreted to justify a generation. Hmmm.

Priorities Straightened

2006-04-23T13:22:00.000-04:00

pri·or·i·ty P Pronunciation Key n. pl. pri·or·i·ties

Precedence, especially established by order of importance or urgency.
1. An established right to precedence.
2. An authoritative rating that establishes such precedence.
A preceding or coming earlier in time.
Something afforded or deserving prior attention.

---

I have limited resources and several desires. How do I achieve them all? One way is to prioritize and achive things incrementally. Priorities can be established by order of importance, or cost, or urgency, or time to complete the task. The following is a complete list of objectives. Though numbered they are not in order of priority.

I want my little lilly-pad somewhat away from everybody else in my house without paying rent. That may weigh in at over 100k to accomplish fully. Repairs needed, not to mention cleanup- and probably different furniture.
I want to be mobile- I want my own car. Car loans threaten to charge be $25000 per month. With all the things I want to achive, and considering my priorities the car is very low on my list. I can endure 'this' a little longer.
I want to build my PVR. TV Card with Remote and IR Blaster, Round Cables and an Internal Fan for cooling, 1GB-stick of RAM, Cordless Desktop, Sound Card, 5.1 Audio to name a few come in at $28862.24 without shipping from Miami or the 5.1 Audio. The perfect PVR/Gaming system (withouth a mobo or chip change). I don't want to do a mobo or chip change because that would be too expensive- the new X2 starts at U$400+
I want to fully network my house, wired and wireless. I already have the wireless, I have a switch- I just need to run the cable. That is relatively inexpensive but it requires time to sit down, calibrate the cables properly for the plug and do everything neatly along the skirting. Time. Cost should be less than $4000.
I want a new mobile phone: The Nokia 6255 to be exact. I want to stop using the unreliable hiptop email service and get something a bit more reliable. I would get a cheap bMobile to maintain my postpaid account.

Hmmm. I guess I can start at 4. Then 1. Then 3. Then 2. Then if anything 5. Or, maybe I can scrap 2 altogether, and scrap 5 as well. So I do 4, 3 and 1 and just save my money. Hmmm. How long can I endure not being able to leave home without underbreath mutterings.... We'll see. Taxifare is cheaper than gas money.

Digg

2006-04-23T11:41:00.000-04:00

Who knew that Kevin Rose moved on from Attack of the Show since Last YEAR!!? The screen savers used to be my favourite show to watch- after which was Call for Help and then X-Play. G4 has eroded the tech in G4-Tech TV by taking out the more mature presenters. Thankfully these stalwarts have moved onward and upward. I realized that I have been wasting away at work looking for crap to do when I could be getting educated in my favourite past time. Here are a few pages my friend shared with me that have proven to be invaluable.

This week in tech - http://www.thisweekintech.com/
Digg - http://digg.com/
Binary - http://www.binrev.com/
CommandN - http://commandn.typepad.com/
Revision 3 - http://www.revision3.com/
Diggnation - http://revision3.com/diggnation
Hak.5 - http://www.hak5.org/

I think Digg and Revision3 as well as Diggnation will be the ones I most frequently visit. They have a lot of things in Revision3 that I have always wanted to do. Kevin Rose stands out because on The Screen Savers he was the dark tipper.

-----

I have set up the older PC for my mother and father to use far away from my room. I think she should be fine now- even the printer is down there. My brother used to print random things at 2am until I put a time limiter on the Printer. When he sends his print requests downstairs I no longer have to care. Nobody sleeps downstairs yet so nobody will be waking up. Mom doesn't have to come in and wake me to use the computer- FREEDOM!!! J/K- it wasn't that bad.

The only thing missing on that machine is the internet. My wireless has pretty good range but that receiver is crap. Additionally the reception in that part of the house is horrible anyway. I am going to have to run cable to that machine. If I run the cable I would have to setup those ethernet plugs and the switch under the staircase and then another two plugs in my room and my parents room where the router is. Three plugs, one router, 500ft of Cat 5e cable.
My long term goal for my mom's machine is that it will be a stroage area for all my media. I can't stream consistently over my existing wireless and ethernet is cheaper to implement.

Day Two

2006-04-21T13:03:00.000-04:00

I received my new monitor henceforth labelled WXGA on Wednesday evening. Today marks the second day of use. It has been wonderful.

The newness has its ups and downs- don't think it is continously smooth sailing. I watched Smallville on the monitor and my experience improved ten-fold. Everything was bigger and I could sit farther behind and watch. This monitor is the proper face of my media centre. Even though it is exam time I am giving in to the temptation to install a game and see how it looks at the maximum screen resolution. The newest game I have is True Crime: New York. I don't even know much about the game- just about a somewhat corrupt cop- which is fine for me. I want to see how things look stretched out on a 1440 by 900 screen res.

One problem I have found so far is that the pictures look grainy. It could be that my digital camera sucks and I need to buy a new one. That option seems likely. It could also be that the screen is so wide it automatically stretches everything out- because the smaller pictures like thumnails or just 640 by 480 look decent. I would prefer to not blame my new monitor.
Another issue is that some programmes are not yet used to all the real estate. They will have to get used to it though because the wxga is here to stay.

I think it is time to up the ante for the media centre. Flow is arriving in May, World Cup is about June and I need to get things cracking. That is precisely the reason I am going to buy and install this TV Capture card. I think it is excellent. The obvious limitation is that it has a single tuner, but then again that isn't so bad. I still have a high speed internet connection, I can supplement any additional tuners wanted.
After getting the Capture Card I intend to get a remote. I will then tell the Flow people to freely enter my home and give me something to watch. I have never been much of a television person though so I don't expect too much magic from this experience. I guess I am tired of just not having cable. Most of my time will be spent recording shows- i mean really- Smallville ends in two or three weeks, Supernatural is wrapping up too. There isn't much going on these days.

Update on the Car:

For all the Jamaicans who read my blog (the two of you- Hey MOM!) this car thing is tricky. Hands down the Cable and Wireless Cooperative Credit Union has the best deal. You need to deposit ten percent of the value of the vehicle, get about 18% and 5 years to pay. The vehicle needs to be under 5 years of age to get the maximum coverage. Regardless of the age you need to put 10% in your shares but you may have to secure an additional 20% in a fixed account that isn't going anywhere. The fees include 1% of the value of the vehicle, $10,000 one off cost, the cost of the loan application, first month downpayment. You also have separate costs like transfer charges, valuation charges, insurance- all of which they want to lend you (entrapment). If you get a sweet deal on a vehicle then joy to you because it makes everything affordable. Once the car is priced at less than $900,000 you will be looking at repayments under $25,000 per month.

Banks suck. If the vehicle is brand new you get 90% coverage, 20% and seven years to pay. If the vehicle is 2002 you get 60% coverage, four years at 20%. If you were buying a $900,000 2001 vehicle you would have to find 40% yourself, pay 20068.34 per month for three years. Credit Union wins.

The only problem I may have to reposition my priorities. Suppose I can move out of my little room and into a bigger room in my house but at my expense. Which would be wiser- buy the car and make car payments or save up, fix my room and then make car payments. I want a car because I don't like asking and being rejected. Essentially I want my own independence.

However, if I stopped going to school (which will happen atleast when summer ends) then why will I need a car? Probably to take my girl out on the weekends. If I had my little pad that looks okay but I don't have to pay rent for it wouldn't that be smarter to secure first. That way instead of going out it would be simpler to tell people to comce in.

Face it people, I am going to be living with my parents right until I am ready to get married- another three or four years. If I save my money now, as in really save each month, then I can easily retire at 30, probably even retire at 26.

Be wise.

Behold She Comes

2006-04-20T08:29:00.000-04:00

THE MONITOR HAS LANDED!!

I am so ecstatic! I have been having a rough weekend riddled with mistakes and misinterpretations but yesterday I paused for a cause and just was dumbfounded. My monitor is here. All the badminded people who thought it wouldn't happen, the people who saw me drooling over her day in and day out thinking I am just a window shopper- HAAAA!

I have pictures! I mean when I saw the box I had to just snap three right away. I held it in my arms all the way home. I gently took her out of the car and rested her on my bed. Opening the package was probably the most erotic part. I slowly and carefully unfolded the clasps in the box and gently cut the tape holding it at the sides. I peeled it back ever so slightly so as to avoid tearing the box. It isn't that I am ever going to use the box again but I have respect for her nakedness and know that she wouldn't want to be shamefully stripped.
Then I removed each part, bit by bit until I held her and pulled her out of her casing. It was magical. The 19" just so huge. I could hardly believe how big she really was. I am used to 19", so don't get me wrong but a widescreen WXGA?? Wow.

After the fifteen minute process of physical installation I adjusted my screen resolution to 1440x900. Then I pressed auto on the monitor to let her choose what was best for me. Let me state one thing very boldly- No Dead Pixels. Big smile on my face for that. I was praying that my first LCD monitor wouldn't have any dead pixels and God heard and answered me.

Pictures look ten times better. My mother saw my desktop picture and actually said- that girl had a hat on all along? It was so amazing, everything is just so significantly improved. The screen is clear, I have a lot of clean real estate- though quite messy as my pics will indicate.

It is so wide. I am going to start practicing good habits with this baby. I am going to turn her off whenever I am not using her. I will try to keep her dust free but I think that is the greatest challenge.

T MINUS Five Days (T-5)

2006-04-15T11:28:00.000-04:00

I can't help it. I told myself that I would stay away until she gets here but I can't help giving even a brief update on the development.

The 19" WXGA LCD monitor is currently in Doral Florida waiting for the public holidays to cease so that she can come home to daddy. I am expecting to get her by Wednesday. A dear friend asked me a very important question with relation to consistency in my posts. She asked "What about the television?" The 27" monitor cost $25,000. Thus far the flatscreen has cost me $17490 and is scheduled to cost an additional six thousand to clear at customs. This means that the amount set aside for the 27" had to be floated into the emergency replacement fund for the 19". JMC has to now function without the 27" television component for the next eight months until I come back around. Before I get the television I am going to maximize the list of other items: tv capture card, sound card, 5.1 speaker system, bluetooth wireless desktop system etc. Besides, once I can capture cable and view it properly on my 19" then mission accomplished.

There are other considerations that are currently upon me. Last year, or the year before- after working at CWJ for a long enough time I was questioned by a fellow about whether or not I bought my car. I said no- because then I spent heavily on Jenna, new hard drive, burners, ram etc. I have decided that after working for so long it is time to stop borrowing and start pushing my own key. What car should a techie drive? There are different types of techies.

Some techies are of the yardie Portmore type who want the latest technology at the absolute cheapest prices. I like to call these the techjamaica.com techies. They will therefore want to buy a sidekick2 for no more than $5000, get an Ipod 5th generation for $12,000 and are willing to drive anything with four wheels. These are the people who will probably drive a car from the 80s and tell you it is vintage.
Other techies are what I call the Uptown techies. They will spend the money on the technology and show you. They have no problem dropping the money down on the latest mp3/video phone, they will have the goods to match anybody. I don't know how they afford it. I really don't. These are the techs rolling in thet tegs with the turbo timer and the big ass muffler.
Then you have me. We are the Cross Roads techies. We aren't totally into the hype but definately into the functionality. We try to balance price and quality- but we aren't unreasonable. Therefore when you can you do what you can- you save your money and make your machine able to truly compete with the uptown. Sometimes we fall in love head over heels and burn the money on one item- but we mainly go for the moderate over time view. I think we should drive small cars with a coupe design to be able to lug around the machine in the back, and maybe one passenger- because we usually walk alone.

I guess that settles it then. Small coupe car is what I am thinking. There isn't too much tech I can afford to do for a car though. I mainly want my own pointA to pointB device. In three years this techie wants his own house... but then that is another 36 months from now.

A new Way

2006-04-07T03:53:00.000-04:00

After long and careful consideration I have decided to not sell my beloved sidekick2. I love my phone. I remember when I used to sleep with it next to my pillow- when all that existed was sidekick, Jenna and me. There was no Zen. Sidekick2 was my friend. Friends should not sell friends and she is serving a purpose.

I therefore have to keep her. Besides, thanks to the Miphone Network I am able to afford the Sidekick2 again. One of the limiting factors with the Sidekick is that my bill peaked to $5000 for about 3 months in a row. Changing to MiCircle Duo though changed things dramatically. Initially the bill is slashed in half and next time around it will be a quater. I can handle a quater.

I have purchased the monitor! I can't see on this current monitor and I can't go into "gaming summer" looking at this lame excuse for a monitor. I have used up some resources from savings and purchased the new unit. I think it is going to continue the revolution within Jenna. She can only get better. I will take lots of pictures when it gets here and is installed. Bear in mind however that it is a 19" WXGA Monitor. There is something good about spending your own hard earned cash and looking at what you got for yourself. A sense of independence and achievement?

I keep dreading the day when I am going to have to put away Jenna and take up Lori. This day will be ushered in by my changing the motherboard to a more recent chipset based on AMD's X2 (Dual Core) Processor. I keep thinking- will I let Jenna live on and donate her to mom or will Jenna be officially laid to rest as her critical parts (hard drive, dvd burners, flat screen wxga lcd monitor) are retained within Lori. I don't know. I mean Jenna will still have a case, processor, motherboard, keyboard and mouse, FX5500 256mb graphics card, 1GB DDR RAM... I think the former may occur. Even if I have to have two computers in my room- one Vista Ready and the other Media Centre ready- I will have my first love by my side... or in the vicinity... until I get a laptop- then it is over between us- just Lori and the laptop.

Not getting a laptop though, so Jenna don't cry.

The Truth

2006-04-02T11:30:00.000-04:00

Zen is no longer untarnished. It is a true test of love. My friend [Yatta] took Zen out of its (expensive!) flexiskin and revealed that the skin was ineffective. I have some nasty scratches on the case itself. Yatta has been cool though because he gave me a replacement screen protector which hopefully has minimized the damage to the screen. Talk about increasing my shopping list.

These are the equipment needed to maximize Zen's potential:
1) Zen Vision:m Docking Station
- It would finally put the Zen in the position of prominence on my desk. There would be no need to leave it sprawled out on my desk with a mess of wires- a tribute to organization.

2) Zen Vision:m Video Cable
- This is an effective party starter. I can immediately connect the Zen to a television and play my videos on the television with the correct screen resolution. Therefore when I am on the move I can walk with this baby until I reach my friend's house- then I open up on them.

3) Zen Vision:m Case
- This totally replaces the flexiskin. It is made of silicone so it should be more sturdy. It has its own belt clip and even a little desk stand. I hope it is easy to remove the player and replace it though because I don't want a clash with the docking station. I would get the black one.

---

In other news, I am selling the hiptop2. I continue to keep my eyes on the prize as I press towards a new monitor. I am selling her for $12000 or nearest offer. It has served me well and now it has one final duty to perform. I placed it on techjamaica but seeing that nobody is interested in my stellar advertising I am going to take it to the streets- of uwi and utech. Look out for advertisements asking prospective buyers to call Rory. If you are in Jamaica and want to get one of the coolest phones on the market comment or gmail me.

Having a camera has its benefits.

PS. I am holding off on the television and spending more time (and money?) on my room. I might as well get the new monitor and make the room better. Afterwards I can drop in a television. I can get a 27" Flat CRT for $25000 if I pay cash one time. Joy.

Going through changes

2006-03-29T00:29:00.000-04:00

I am sorry about the all text posts lately. I finally bought the cable for the Kodak and also got the flash to work. I have not however come around to using it and therefore nothing much has come of it. I just took some pictures and will share them momentarily.

1) Jenna went to rehab

I think Jenna caught a virus when I unsuccessfully attempted to impress a significant female friend of mine. I wanted to prove that I could get the brand new SIMs: Open for Business game to her very close to the ship date. I tried very hard to scour the internet for it. It wasn't all bad... it actually worked out pretty well. Anyhow, needless to say Jenna stopped burning media all together. She then decided that shutting down was too good for her. One of my friends advised that I should probably format. I backed up most of my good stuff on the 200Gb and then did a cleansweep.

She is now running well. One of the two new burners I wanted has finally arrived. It is the NEC 3550, i think. It runs like a smooth criminal. The only problem now is that the lite-on is cramping my style. I intend to get a second burner, probably the same model and colour NEC in the near future. Many of my older cds and dvds aren't being recognized though, which is cause for concern.

2) When I needed her most she abandoned me

Jenna's 19" CRT has finally died. I have pictures.

I wanted to revamp my resume to try to get a new job and the monitor gave up the ghost. There is a gaping hole where the monitor once was. May she live it up in monitor heaven. 19" CRT!!!

3) My Brother's Dell and my Zen (Zennisha? Zenna?Nope, just Zen)

My brother has a brand new Dell Inspiron 6000. It is the media centre edition. It features 15.4" Widescreen, Centrino 1.7ghz, 80GB Hard drive and 512Mb ram. Pretty sweet. The wireless on it is flaming as well- built in. It connects nicely to the wireless network I have at home. That simply means I don't need to run cable to his room. Joy. The plan is that I will use his crappy 12 or 13" monitor while he ports everything across to his new laptop. He doesn't really like the laptop though because it doesn't have a dedicated graphics card... Therefore I supposedly have no monitor to use.

I intend to replace the 19"CRT with a 19" LCD widescreen from Acer. However until that day (which may not be until the end of April) I can't realistically go without the use of Jenna? That is worse than torture- utter cruelty.

Here are some pics of some hot Laptop on Zen action:

This is probably the first time you are seeing my ZEN. It has the flexiskin from Boxwave Corp. I think it is sexy. The propriety usb transfer port is on it as well. The laptop isn't mine so I am not going to exclaim over it- except to say it has Windows MCE 2005 preloaded. The Zen, the newest sweetheart. Jenna is kinda out of commission though.

It is getting so serious that I am actually getting in some serious moods when I look across at her. Imagine coming home and seeing the picture below. It really affects me. I am willing to sell my Hiptop2 for $10,000 just so that I can get a new monitor fast.

Lastly) I chickened out

I ducked out of the TV buying race at the last minute. I know, that sucks. However, extenuating circumstances? Besides, tomorrow is another day... right?

Straight Forward

2006-03-07T22:44:00.000-04:00

I think I am able to now focus my energy and resources on my dreams of the Jenna Media Centre. I made a Newegg.com wishlist that has all the parts needed to truly put her at the peak of her game. The total I would need to get those goods to Miami as well as purchase them is U$600. No, I am not taking donations at this time (but if you wanted to I wouldn't say no).

In truth I have been shifting around my goal for this path month in pursuit of smaller dreams. I wanted a few special small electronics to help me throughout my daily activities. I wanted a PDA firstly to be able to track my appointments and have a to-do list. I needed something to sync with my outlook at home. I used to be very business oriented and figured that would be the right direction and practice for the future. I also wanted to be able to access email on the go- GPRS technology is the most prevalent in Jamaica. Then came the Hiptop2 to answer my dreams.
I wanted to be in touch with my soul again. I wanted to enlighten the musical me and get back some groove. I chose the Zen, or better yet, the Zen chose me.
I wanted to capture those special moments and stop thinking about those "I wish I had a camera moments". I bought the Kodak CX7300. It isn't an award winner, but then I am no photographer. I only want to point, shoot and store on the Zen.

I am done seeking out these smaller dreams and am closer to completion. I have the three electronics that I think I want. It is time to secure things on the home front. Therefore that means full speed ahead for the Jenna Media Centre. I need to pay for that TV though- then the fun can begin.

The Zen Vision: M

2006-02-25T16:57:00.000-04:00

The first time I saw her at the mailpac establishment I was so relieved. I had to wait for two exta days before they finally let me have her. I gently put her in my bag and took her home.

After enjoying a meal together of a Cheese Patty and a Coco Bread I gently opened her package and proceeded to remove the seals. The first thing I did after removing the seals was to hold her close to me and just hug her. It was such a feeling of release that the award winning industry leader was finally in my possession after searching for her for months.

It is so small. I don't know what the Ipod boys are ranting about. It is just as small, albeit not as thin. I don't think it is heavy but I guess it can be interpreted as such. I had to install software and Jenna (my PC) was a bit resistant to the cd but I soon rectified that. I didn't install the Creative Mediasource software because everyone tells me it is foolishness. The tool to transfer files is critical though.

My first week of usage has been amazing! I use it for everything now. I don't even need to use the video conversion tool because Zen (that is her name) has native support for all the video clips I download. The music plays well on the stock speakers. Picture loading is now cool- though initially it was a bit strange. I loaded a picture on my Zen for a group project and it froze the Zen. I got laughed at for that by a Mac fanboy. He coined the phrase that the Zen is the Windows version of the iPod. I agree- because like Windows all the Zen needed was a quick reset (restart). It hasn't frozen since. It seemed to have slight issues loading the video and seeking- but since the reset everything is loading quickly. It responds like a high performance PC.

Everything they tell you about the Zen is true. It has great battery life for video as well as audio. It does pictures right, it does videos right. It does it right. It doesn't support lossless WMA though- so I need to redo my Kartel album. All my other music is fine though because I had previously converted it to mp3. My non-lossless WMA works well so it is a minor issue.

I had to get used to the touch pad. I have never used an mp3 player before and I was hoping everything was in the touchpad. I didn't realize that the back, menu, shortcut and play were necessary buttons. It isn't really a one-hand thing for me, personally. I treat Zen like a queen so I want to be extra careful all the time.

Cartoons like Family Guy are cool on Zen but I am not certain about Sci-fi like Smallville. The dark was really dark. Will do more watching.

I don't want to get into the comparison thing but I love my Zen. I didn't get to borrow a digicam (if you want to sponsor me one I am taking donations). It makes me happy. I use a different background each day- and I can store thousands and thousands of pictures, my entire music collection and some videos that I want to see on the go. The jump drive feature also rocks- I have a walking 2gb jump drive now thanks to Zen.

Just 9 short hours

2006-02-20T01:16:00.000-04:00

I am at work now. I had intended to do a wonderful presentation on the In's and out's of the Zen Vision: m. However what has occurred is that the shipment with my beloved Zen was delayed. I will be picking it up bright and early tomorrow morning though. I think I am even going to go there before I get some sleep. Who wants to miss that?

I haven't been able to make any additions to my PVR this week. I plan to make an order by Friday though. I will be getting either those two burners, the television payed off completely or both. I am more interested in the burner though.

Everyone needs a social community to let off steam and express some creativity. I frequent a site called Animesynergy.com. I usually read and post in their persistent story thread (my creation :)). You can take a look at it here. As a matter of fact I will quote a part I consider exciting.

The swirling vortex behind otaku began to close and what stood towering over him was a beast that could only be described as terror itself, what stood now was a minotaur looking creature, the head of bull and the body of an oversized man, its eyes burned with flames and glowing tattoos engulfed its blackened body, its horns where as long as his snout, the tip of which were searing red, chains of flame lingered off its wrists, his weapons of destruction where Runed iron knuckles which covered the bottom half of his fingers.

Otaku took a deep breath,
"Cheiftain, do you see what stands before you, this your enemy, send him into oblivion".

Chieftain snorts and steam shoots forward from his nose and smashes his knuckles together, a deafning sound wave echoes through out whats left of the cave, as he pulls his fists a part a dark red lightning energy dances furiously between the runes incribed on the iron knuckles, his muscles bulge and pulsate as if he is trying to pull the world apart, he cries out and roars, the flames in his eyes go sporadically out of control, the ground begins to tremor.

"what the hell is this....unnerveing power i am feeling", shudders unaz.

then finally, the power that were binding his fists together released its bond to the other and enourmous power surged through chieftain's body from both his arms to his legs to his chest where it collided and a loud explosion followed.

"do you see now, this is the true strength of chieftain, kneel before it in defeat", boasts otaku

There is actually more at the site....."

I played Xbox for the first time in my life last saturday. I was hanging out with a friend and I decided to try out Dead or Alive 3. I think it was love at first sight. I used this Karate dude who uses what looks like the drunken boxing technique. His name is Brad Wong. He is actually pretty cool. His moves look slow but they are fluid. Believe it or not I wiped the floor with two people who play all the time.

I will have a review for the Zen ready by next Sunday and will advise on any developments with the media centre.

Paitently Waiting

2006-02-08T00:33:00.000-04:00

Firstly my most sincere apologies for not posting here since December 20, 2005. I haven't put up anything since last year- again my apologies. I intend to change that going forward though. I am doing (personally) exciting techy things this year and intend to blog about it.

The primary order of business this year is the Portable Media Player.

I am so excited about the Creative Zen Vision: M. It comes from a line of successful and award winning Portable Media Centres from Creative Labs. Many people accuse of it of being an iPod knockoff but I don't agree. When I get it I will give the full update on how it feels and acts. I am going to post real pictures and everything for my review. However, I bought it because the specs were just too amazing.

Coincidentally, Creative came up with and patented a few things that Apple fans take for granted- makes you want to think about who copies who. I couldn't get an Apple- just not my style.

The most detailed review that helped me decide came from this interesting website . They leave no holes barred and really give Creative the good, bad and ugly.

I chose this over the iPod video because I like to just drag whichever video I have and drop it in my media player. Most of the videos I get are avi- why do I have to convert it to this h.whatever format?

It has Radio so I can listen to OT on the radio talkshow if I feel like it- atleast I have options. As soon as I get it I will let everyone know.

One similarity I am noticing between the iPod and the Zen Vision:m is that it loves scratches. Most people who know me realize that I can't tolerate scratches- not even on my beloved hiptop2 (sidekick2). This should help I hope.

OTHER NEWS

For this year I am building a little media station with my new 27" Sharp TV (Flat CRT) and my dear Jenna. I am going to turn Jenna out like the pronstar she is. I am going bit by bit for the full cordless setup. Pictures will be posted for each stage.

You have plenty reason to check here once a week because I keep the tech real. If you want help/ another opinion on anything at all comment and I will scour the web and give an answer.. Peace.

Confessions of a Skype Phone

2005-12-20T08:21:00.000-04:00

I purchased the cheap Skype phone with the LCD screen. Now, it isn't a linksys which means it isn't cordless with a big brand name. As a matter of fact, the only name I see on it is VOIP and USB Phone. However, it is a great phone. The phone does everything it is supposed to.

When I receive a call it rings to the phone directly. I answer from the phone itself and hang up through the phone. I dial numbers in the proper skype format from the phone. It is all in the phone. At the end of the day that is what you really want from a VOIP phone. You want to hear the person on the other end as they hear you. You don't want to have to stop everything you are doing on your PC to take a call- you just want to answer and continue with life. The Skype phone narrowly cost me $2900.00 to attain. It is a one time payment though- an investment in the overall savings of Skype.

I like it.

I decided against getting the wireless amplifier. I just didn't secure the customer base to do so. However, I went as far as actually ordering the device then I cancelled my order. A website that seems to be king of amplifiers is Radiolabs. If you click on the link you will probably want to rub your eyes to see if the price is real. It is a 1W amplifier for cheaper than I was about to buy a 100mw for. I feel I ought to buy it if only in the name of science of consumerism. However, I am going to sit this one out. I am literally sitting on my hands to avoid reordering the item. If you ever wanted to extend the range of your wireless network- and you weren't shy to ask people to buy into it- then this amplifier looks like great value.

Where Internet is headed

2005-12-04T10:51:00.000-04:00

The internet. The big space where I spend my entire life. I am on it at home, I work with it at work, I have it on my hip while on the road- I do internet. If internet were a girl she would be a petite big breasted girl with a slim midriff and medium bottom- top heavy she would be. Internet.

I love the Internet so much and am reasonably good with it that I have had these somewhat crazy capital intensive schemes to share my love for it with everyone. From actual internet service to internet service add-ons I intend to make it happen.

I looked at some of the most recent material on WIMAX. Can I tell you- not for me. Full WIMAX ratification probably won't occur until 2007 when mobile and fixed are fully incorporated. With that in mind whenever I provide internet it is one of two standards: 802.11g or 802.11a. I prefer 'a' because there is a lot less interference with regular home devices. 5ghz signal above everybody's head is stunning. I already do the 802.11g in my neighbourhood and it is too expensive to change out to 'a' but when I move on to my next neighbourhood (provided I make some money at home) I will buy the 802.11a overlay.
What better way to give internet than to also give you something to do with it. Did someone say Skype? Give me your skype username, accept my invitiation to IvyGreen Group and start saving money on International calls.

Lastly though- in case you think I am a rolling stone- i am not. I just love the internet, love technology and have every intention of making it work for me. What if I told you that within six months to a year I would have created a PBX solution that links all my locations and also allows me to make near free International and local calls as well? Also, persons who are clueless about High Speed internet or just want cheaper ways to do cool things- as well as Vybz Kartel fans- I have something bubbling for you soon. Don't believe me... hello, this is Profound you are talking to.

More on Skype

2005-12-02T07:43:00.000-04:00

I appreciate the responses I have been getting about this Skype thing. It is really a great sign. In light of that I am going to give a bit more information on what Skype (through me) has to offer.

One of the major concerns raised is about the Skype Phone. The phone I use for skype functions more like an extra sound device than an actual phone. That is because Skype keeps innovating and that device was made with another now outdated version of Skype. In that version it had full control but Skype keeps evolving. None of the phones I will be getting will use that outdated software- not to worry.

The current industry leaders in technology are also jumping on Skype. Here is possibly the number 1 Skype Phone out now from Linksys. You may have by now noticed the pricetag. If you wanted to take the service ultra seriously then I would recommend that device. If you want to be my customer for life I could give you some assistance...

Non-industry leaders who try to make services affordable are found on ebay. Here are a few that have caller id and full skype control: Sabre Connect and then Image Store.

In essence how large is your pocketbook? If you want the pimp phone but don't want to spend all your pimp money at once then Skype me... I can make it happen. Payment plans, service agreements whatever it takes to make you satisfied. If you want the not so pimp but featured phone then I can make that happen as well.

Skype is prepaid for you. All you need to do to get started is contribute J$800 to get a clump of Skype Credit. If you want to buy a phone number it will cost you another J$800 which will last for a total of three months and will go on reserve 3 months after that. This means that if you pay late after the due date you won't lose you number. It is yours for a clear six months but usable for the three you paid for.

Anything unclear? Add your comments and I will answer promptly.

VOIP Battle for Supremacy

2005-11-15T21:44:00.000-04:00

In today's Jamaica we have grown up and out of the wired mentality and are truly liberated. Cordless phones have turned into stylish First World mobile devices. The three (not one) telecommunications companies battle for our hearts and pockets as they roll out varied interesting alternatives.

Voice Over IP is on the increase as well. Just recently CWJ launched it's Netspeak device. It is supposed to give you unlimited calls to USA, UK and Canada fixed lines over your internet connection. The same device is being marketted in most of the other CWJ locations in the Caribbean and is also being boosted by about two other competitors.

In this day of modernism and technology what are the options? It is officially out of style to pay J$15-18 per minute to call abroad. World Direct and Cell Phone calls don't seem to cut it. Prepaid phone cards that claim that for J$400 they can give you an hour is pathetic. What happens if you don't want to pay J$1575 regardless of usage- you still want a pay-as-you-go alternative for VOIP?

I give you SKYPE. Skype allows you to call for U$0.02c per minute to basically anywhere- whether mobile or landline. They have a long list of rates but they all seem to fall around the U$0.02c bracket. They have a prepayment option that allows you to pay JM$800 (through me) and get about 8hrs based on your call pattern. Therefore if you aren't going to call the same people everyday and want to be able to drop in a call now and then then this would be for you.
Lets compare 8hours:

Miphone:	J$6960	($14.50 per minute)
CWJ Netspeak: Flat rate	J$1890	(includes 20%tax and is charged per month)
Skype Alternative	J$800	(credit lasts for three months before needing to be topped up)

Do the math. Feel free to comment or email to see how best you can get on to paying less. All you need is a High Speed internet connection and a headset. If you are stylish I could even throw in a VOIP phone like pictured above.

A GIANT leap for mankind

2005-11-11T11:53:00.000-04:00

Isn't technology excellent? You can achieve anything you set your mind to in this day and age. How many persons wanted to have complicated networking structures where they share resources across oceans and seas? Who doesn't want to integrate as many members of a unified group as possible to have a common goal or purpose?

Hamachi is amazing. Most of my colleagues use it for gaming but it is actually so much more than that. Hamachi is the ability to simulate a network environment where the rules of windows sharing are applicable and where no VPN is necessary. Remote printing, lan parties, sharing files like a regular network- priceless. Actually no, that is very expensive. So many people spend so much money on static ip addresses and tunneling software and here I am... free.

Check out my picture. That is all it takes. A simple interface. You authenticate to the network you want to connect to, see your online peers then voila! Internet becomes intranet.

My only real concern is the security. They say they use some pretty standard stuff. If i controlled the nuclear arms at the United States I probably wouldn't be using hamachi. I also would be using a Blackberry instead of a Hiptop2.

In many ways this programme reminds me of myself. Cost effective, feature filled and so much smarter than those people with degrees.

Other than Networking

2005-11-10T01:48:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted because I told myself that I wouldn't post until I got in touch with the Lawyers. Well, I haven't... yet. I know, I know... wasteman. Well whatever. I am just behind schedule- that is all.

I have been looking for happiness and stumbled upon some mp3 players that I plan to buy with my hard earned money. I wanted something that was primarily not an iPod. I looked at the Creative Zen line of products. They all seem to quit after about 3 months. I had my heart set on those. Every other reputable player is over my budget for portable audio. I guess I will just have to do without. Negative reviews can really be a major discouraging factor. Therefore it looks like no mp3 player this Christmas- especially if it is my money that will be spent.

Jenna could still use a few things though. I am spying a 19" LCD gaming monitor that would replace my current 19" mammoth CRT. I could also invest in a new soundcard and surround sound speakers for Jenna. If I get the speakers I would have to somehow get extension cables to wire it neatly in my room. It is Chrsitmas and Jenna needs stuff too. I wish I could get her a better processor though but that would require a new mobo and case... and I am not prepared to go there.

I was also pondering getting an 300GB internal HD along with an enclosure that has USB2.0 and Firewire. However, on second thought it would be cheaper and more prudent to simply get some blank DVDs and then archive everything on my hard drive. I would then format Jenna and make the 40GB Primary and make a big fat 2o0 Drive that stores everything. Whenever I get something that seems to want to take up too much space I would just burn and save. Yeah, that is the better idea. Jenna is going to get a Christmas format.

So, to sum up- no mp3 player for me. Instead I use my money to fund my school fees, buy gifts for one or two people and get Jenna some new gear. I either do that or become Uncle Scrooge and save up my money for a higher purpose.

2005-10-28T21:20:00.000-04:00

Innovations

I decided to move towards some goals. It is nearing time of year when Christmas comes up and the University of the West Indies decides they want a $60,000 gift certificate. Lately I have also been thinking of it as the time when I treat the person I care most about. The only tricky thing about it is how is a broke-flat-broke fraternity boy like me going to pull through with these expenses.

Well world, guess what rabbits came out of the top-hat.

Wifi. Wireless-fidelity in my neighbourhood of Ivy Green Mews. The antennas are up and broadcasting at steady three bars across the road. I am (though unsuccessfully) trying to meet with a company next door that seems averse to getting adsl and trying to convince them to try my way. If they say yes then I will get a linksys access point and bridge the connection so that they get five bars of strong signal. If they say no then... they won't say no to my offer. After they say yes I want to move to getting a wifi amplifier to boost my signal. Unfortunately it will be a big 5-mile boost, and it is expensive- but the idea is to have 5bars throughout my community. I am not buying a booster without a steady customer though.

Another innovation of mine is the wagonist approach to VOIP. I have set up a special account using Skype that allows me to help people make VOIP calls at a whopping U$1c a minute. Imagine that, U$1c a minute. CWJ is giving out a postpaid service and I would offer a prepaid alternative. I am currently testing the external phones for the service before I go out and say I can provide it. It would have to be done by referrals only though. I would hate to lose my day job over something like that.

I have bigger dreams but they require a stronger base like these two basic services. I guess I need to market myself better, I don't know. I will definately try to put together those building blocks.

I found a nifty place with a lot of potential on the web. www.animesynergy.com is the place.

Next time I come here you'll hear how it went with that law firm I am trying to woo.