.: What’s Bruin :.

My new Dell 2407WFP 24″ LCD widsecreen flat panel monitor

This monitor is so cool. I can attach my USB mouse and thumb drive to it because it has two USB ports on the side. There are also two other media readers. One of them is a compact flash reader, from which I downloaded this picture to my PowerBook from my camera. And most of all, I love the high-quality picture and colors. In this shot I have two Word documents open at the same time both magnified at 150%. The resolution that my PowerBook supports on this is 1920 x 1200 px. I’m pretty sure that the monitor can go higher, but I will have to wait until I get a new Mac Pro or something like that.

Oh and yes, I still have my stupid Windows machine attached to this monitor also via a VGA cable.

Tags: 2407WFP, Apple, Computers, Dell, flat-panel, geek_stuff, LCD, monitor, PowerBook

I decided to backup all my data on my Windows computer. I actually turned on this computer earlier this evening because this chat software that we use on Blackboard did not work on Safari. (I found out through a classmate that the software will work fine on my Mac if I use Firefox.)

But anyways, in order to participate in the chat I subjected myself to using a PC. When I turned on the computer, it said that there was a hard drive failure. So I decided to reboot. It worked, but now I’m not taking any chances. I’m backing up all my old data, even stuff that I have not used in a couple of years like all the teaching files that I’ve accumulated over 11 years of that god-awful “profession”.

Fortunately, all the data fits on one DVD. Mission accomplished.

… It is your destiny.

Tags: Announcements, backup, Computers, data, geek_stuff, hard-drive

Last week I “tried” one of those new Apple iPods with video, a black 80GB model from Fry’s Electronics. On the first morning I was watching a vodcast from Mars Hill Church on the train. I got tired of holding the iPod to watch the video and just put it back in my shirt pocket and listened to the sermon instead. I returned the iPod the next day and removed my iPod Nano from eBay. I’m gonna stick with the regular iPod because if I don’t like holding the iPod to watch the video, then there’s no point to it right now for me.

Instead I decided to upgrade my monitor. Upon recommendaton from Mark, I ordered one of these from Dell. When it arrives, I’ll post pictures.

It did take some convincing on my part for Josephine to agree, but I think we’ll be able to manage. It should increase my productivity and enjoyment. Now I can bring the 19″ CRT monitor that I have to work to have the ability to view two documents on the screen simultaenously.

Tags: Apple, Computers, Dell, geek_stuff, iPod, LCD, monitor, widescreen

For the past month I’ve noticed that my PowerBook was running much slower than what I was used to. I thought it was because I had installed Photoshop CS2. But after photography class last night I checked the memory properties just for the heck of it and the display said that I only had 512 MB of RAM. No wonder it’s been running slow.

I was pretty mad. I initially thought that after I sent my PowerBook in the first time for the other repair back in October that Apple had swiped the RAM chip out from my laptop (it’s supposed to have 1 GB of RAM). But upon further examination of the properties display, I read that there was a memory failure.

So I did an Extended Hardware Test to confirm that fault and the error code.

Thank goodness for AppleCare. They are sending me a box tomorrow and should have my memory problem repaired within a week. It will be difficult to be without my laptop. I guess I will have to stoop to using Windows XP . . . lame.

Now comes the fun part of making a list of all the software I have installed plus backing up all my data and the entire hard drive. I have to do this just in case they find some other faults and decide to swap out the hard drive or motherboard again. They said they would run a complete diagnostic and fix whatever else was wrong.

Hopefully, my data and programs will be in tact because I don’t want to reinstall a bunch of stuff and restore my data.

Update 4/28/06: The box did not arrive at Josephine’s work today, so I did not have to back anything up and will probably have the use of my computer for the weekend. Hopefully, the box will arrive on Monday so I can ship it off to Apple by Tuesday.

Update 5/1/06: The box did arrive at Josephine’s work. So I backed up my data and made a list of the software that’s on my machine. Off to Apple tomorrow.

Tags: Apple, Computers, memory, PowerBook, RAM, repairs, warranty

Bluetooth = wireless file transfer

Bluetooth + Verizon + Motorola V3c RAZR (S/W .03) = crippled gear so you have to pay Verizon to get ringtones, pics, and videos

What’s the point of Bluetooth on the phone if you can’t transfer files from a computer to your phone? Exactly. There is no point. So I did some “research” on the Web and found a couple of forum threads that attempt to “explain” how to Flash my Verizon RAZR phone from a software version .03 (crappy crippled Bluetooth) to version .02 (full Bluetooth-enabled with OBEX). But if you’ve ever read technical support forums before you already know that the people writing the technical tips don’t explain things very well. Additionally, you have to read through pages and pages of useless information before you find a couple of useful tidbits.

So this post will summarize the steps you need to follow in order to downgrade your Verizon Motorola V3c RAZR phone software from .03 to .02.

Equipment and software needed:

• Verizon Motorola V3c RAZR phone with .03 software
• Mini USB cable (you’ll need to download and install the necessary USB drivers - sorry I’m not writing a tutorial on that)
• PC (sorry, this flash procedure does not work on a Mac)
• Motorola RSD Lite v. 1.9.1 (you’ll have to register)
• GATW_X_01.0F.02P (this is the flash file)

Procedure to follow:

1. Install Motorola RSD Lite v. 1.9.1.
2. Unzip the flash file; be sure to note its location on your PC (recommend the desktop).
3. Connect your phone to the PC via the mini-USB cable.
4. Start the Motorola RSD Lite v. 1.9.1 software (if it does not recognize your phone automatically, then you probably did not install the correct USB drivers.
5. Browse for the flash file in the RSD software window that opens after you start it.
6. Click Start.
7. It takes about 15 minutes to finish; DO NOT UNPLUG the cable from the phone or turn it off.
8. Power off your phone when instructed to do so. (It will tell you to manually power up the phone.)
9. Power phone back on.
10. Activate and reprogram your phone with *228 (Option 1).
11. Pair your phone with your Bluetooth-enabled computer; it should work fully now with PCs and Macs - sorry pairing is another tutorial that I am not interested in writing.

I also found this page to be very helpful. Hope that helps and saves you time!

Tags: Bluetooth, cell_phones, Computers, file-transfer, flash, gatw_x_01.0f.02p, geek_stuff, Motorola, OBEX, RAZR, RSD-Lite, Verizon

I installed two early birthday gifts onto my PowerBook yesterday, iLife ‘06 and Photoshop CS2. Both arrived in yesterday’s mail as gifts from Josephine and my parents.

Tags: Apple, birthday, Computers, iLife, Photoshop, quick_links

The weirdest thing happened yesterday when I upgraded Firefox to 1.5.0.1. When I dragged the download into my Applications folder, it would not replace the old version of Firefox. So I moved the old one to the Trash and then the new installed just fine. So when I went to empty the trash, it would not empty.

I tried to move the files to my PC, but it would only copy. I tried changing the permissions of the files with “Get Info”, but even though I now had “complete control” over the files, it still would not let me empty the Trash. After numerous attempts at trying different things, I went to macupdate.com and did a search on “Trash”. I found a free app that sounded exactly like what I needed to solve this problem called Force Empty Trash 1.0 by Macmaps.com.

It worked perfectly and I rid my Trash of the Firefox files that would not leave.

That’s such a geeky post, but maybe there will be someone out there who can appreciate the info and maybe even find it useful.

Tags: Apple, Computers, Firefox, OSX, Trash

New Intel Macs Scream, Jobs Says

Patience, my friend. In time, he will seek you out. And when he does, you must bring him before me . . .

Apple’s switch to using Intel’s dual core processors is already shaping up to be a providential, profound, and profitable move for the computer technology artist company. According to Steve Jobs, “These things are screamers.”

. . .the new machines are two to four times faster then the Macs they replace, which are based on PowerPC chips from IBM and Motorola.

Wired News: New Intel Macs Scream

Things must be cooking over there in Silicon Valley as the new iMac and MacBook pro are being released half a year ahead of schedule. Soon the transformation will be complete since “Apple will transition its entire product line before the end of the year, updating the hardware month by month.”

Although I’m not in the market for either of these two new beasts, I can’t wait to get both of them someday. By then they will be of the new iterations, sure to be even more powerful that you can imagine.

Tags: Apple, Computers, geek_stuff, Intel, technology

I started work on my next video project. A couple of weeks ago I had Pourpa purchase a copy of Final Cut Express HD at the UCLA Student Store for me. So when I imported my video clips, I was amazed at how complex the working canvas was for Final Cut. So much to my chagrin, I decided to uninstall all of the components for Final Cut because it’s just too complicated for me to learn right now. And I have no motivation to spend hours playing around with 20 different parameters for each element in a frame just to make a digital movie.

So it’s back to good ol’ iMovie for me! Simple. Easy to use. And only a couple of parameters to worry about. And it still makes great movies. After all, I’m just an amateur and hobby enthusiast.

Anyone interested in a like-new product of Final Cut Express HD? I’m currently selling it on eBay.

Update: Apparently, it’s illegal to sell used software on eBay as my auction was removed. Lame. So unless someone wants to buy it from me at a discounted price, I guess I’ll have to eventually learn to use this software. I’d sell it for $99. Its retail value is $299.

Update 2: Just sold it today 12/2/05. Who needs eBay?

Tags: Apple, Computers, digital-video, Final-Cut, geek_stuff, iMovie

Last night I got about six hours of sleep so I’m almost caught up from the one hour from the night before. My re-install of the PowerBook is pretty much complete. I have to reconfigure my FTP sofware, resubscribe to my RSS feeds in NewsNetWire, and redo all my smart playlists on iTunes so I can put some tunes on the Nano. And last but not definitely not least, I have a ton of pictures to process from the Oregon State game and the Miramar Air Show.

Tags: Apple, Computers, FTP, geek_stuff, iPod, iTunes, Nano, PowerBook, RSS, sleep

My PowerBook G4 arrived safely today, one day earlier than I expected. Apple replaced the top case, keyboard, and hard drive. So I’m now reinstalling all my software, which is not fun. But it sure is good to have my baby back!

I had to suffer with using a PC for five days. That’s pretty good service if you ask me.

Tags: Apple, Computers, geek_stuff, PowerBook, repairs, warranty

AppleCare rocks! I got an email notification today that my PowerBook has been repaired and shipped. I should have my little baby back on Tuesday.

Tags: Apple, Computers, quick_links

I packaged up my PowerBook in the box that Apple sent me today. It’s going out tomorrow via DHL Express. But now I have a dilemma. I don’t have a power charger for my iPod Nano; I was just using the notebook to sync and charge the iPod.

So I decided to buy an adapter for the ripoff price of $29 from Fry’s. But it ended up being the wrong kind, a Firewire adapter. The cable that came with the Nano uses USB. I’m going to return the adapter to Fry’s for a refund, but I don’t really feel like going to the Apple Store in Fashion Valley because there are always a ton of people at that mall.

I discovered that I could plug the Nano into my PC’s USB port. The PC thinks that I want to install new hardware and asks me to restart my computer, but I just ignore it. And voila, the Nano gets its battery charged without formatting it for PC. So what does this mean for me? It means that I can order the right USB adapter from the Apple web site. I get to avoid the crowds at the mall and in the meantime, I can trick the Nano and PC into being friends.

Tags: Apple, Computers, geek_stuff, iPod, PowerBook, repairs, warranty

Just out of curiosity, I explored my Apple system disk and decided to run the Apple Hardware Test. I think I may have discovered the problem: Logic Board - Error detected.

So the motherboard is defective or was damaged some how. The exact error message is: 2STH/1/3: TRACK PAD.

So I plan to call Apple again tomorrow morning and see what I should do next. I think I may have to send in the computer. So I’ve already backed up all my data to my external hard drive. Now I’m going to make a spreadsheet of all the applications I have loaded here, with the web site for downloading the install files again, and any registration numbers or passwords that will need to be reloaded.

Somehow, I need to back up my email messages, but I don’t really know how I’m going to do that right now. I don’t have everything on GMail. Some of my important messages reside on this computer’s hard drive.

Update #3: I called Apple this morning. They are asking me to send it in for repair. The nice thing about it is that they will provide the box for shipping, which sounds like shipping and return will be for free. Unfortunately, they said that the logic board replacement is usually on back order, so it may take a couple of weeks.

Tags: Apple, Computers, PowerBook, repairs, sleep, warranty

I’m not very happy with my PowerBook right now. For the past few days this machine has been going to sleep suddenly. I’ve tried resetting the PRAM and PMU. I called technical support on Sunday and they walked me through deleting some preference files.

And this thing is still going to sleep suddenly and sometimes repetitively.

Tomorrow, I’m gonna call Apple again and this time, I am going to inquire about getting this thing repaired or maybe even replaced. Unfortunately, I have about 500 pictures from the Miramar Air Show that I am still working on. But that may have to wait if I need to send my machine in for repair. I guess I’ll have to back up my data and make a list of software that might need to be reinstalled.

Thankfully, this is still under warranty, plus I have an extended care program with the Apple Protection Plan. It’s just very inconvenient and very annoying.

Update #1: I called Apple when I arrived early at work. But I forgot my System CD at home. They helped me run a diagnostic test and the computer did a minor hard disk repair. But when I rebooted the system, the computer when back to sleep while the desktop was still loading. So I plan to call back this afternoon when I get home, but this time will have my system CD available. I asked if I would need to send in my computer. But the technician said the worst case scenario would be that I would have to back up all my data, then reformat the hard drive and re-install all my software.

Update #2: When I called Apple again when I arrived home, the technician walked me through a diagnostic and repair using the system disk. It seemed to work well for a couple of hours. And then the machine started to go to sleep over and over again, even as I write this update. Tonight, I hope to finish re-doing some of my pictures from the first group of photos from the air show. Then I’m going to back up my data. And finally, I’m going to make a list of all third party software that I have installed on this notebook. Tomorrow, I plan to reformat the hard drive and reinstall the operating system.

Tags: Apple, Computers, PowerBook, repairs, sleep, warranty