The Year of The Geek - Latest Comments

Re: A Long Overdue Thunderbolt Review-type-thing

SLeepdepD — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 00:13:54 -0000

Thanks for a thorough review. I'm a Verizon customer on the original Droid and due for an upgrade. I'm not going to get a 3G phone so it's just a question of how long do I wait to upgrade. There are only 4 4G phones, all with their own Pro's and Con's. I'll probably upgrade in the next couple weeks here and the Thunderbolt is the one I'll get.

Re: A Long Overdue Thunderbolt Review-type-thing

John M. — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:19:38 -0000

Ahh, thanks for letting me know. I'll make a note.

Re: A Long Overdue Thunderbolt Review-type-thing

Tom Sliwowski — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:11:26 -0000

Not all HTC phones come with Sense. My G2 aka Desire Z was/is AOSP and was heavily advertised as that.

Re: Getting more from my Original DROID (Part 2: Restoring and Troubleshooting)

xmichaelx — Fri, 13 May 2011 13:39:04 -0000

Thanks for this! I'm considering CM7 for my Droid, and your write-up is really helpful!

Re: Another Stupid TUAW post: “Why I’m staying with AT&T” and a moron too!

John M. — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:01:11 -0000

They build fairly solid products and people should buy them because of that...not because it looks nice in their hand or living room. It pains me to see a person drop $2000 on a computer that they use for internet browsing and e-mail. I also remember when it was so "corporate" to have a smart phone...

Re: Another Stupid TUAW post: “Why I’m staying with AT&T” and a moron too!

Ben Murphy — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 13:51:24 -0000

The iPhone is the Ford Mustang of the cell phone world. People will buy it because they do see it as a status symbol even though, as John M. pointed out, they are everywhere and everyone and their grandmother has one. It sickens me, though, to think how many people have AT&T service because of the iPhone. Too many of them will stick with AT&T, though, out of fear or out of habit. Smart(er) people will flock to Verizon, while the smartest will stay away from a device that REQUIRES a "bumper" to function. I have my father-in-law's subscription to MacWorld as my bathroom reading and it cracks me up how many of their advertisers have to mention that their iPhone accessories are compatible with the original bumper. Holy shit! Accessories designed around accessories (which are actually not accessories since you kind of need them to make the device work). I love Mac Pro desktops, but the love ends there.

Re: Another Stupid TUAW post: “Why I’m staying with AT&T” and a moron too!

John M. — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 13:09:44 -0000

I actually like the hardware of the iPhone more than the operating system itself, but you've seen the people who use the iPhone religiously, they have no idea what they're doing for the most part and most just get the damn thing as a status symbol, even though EVERYONE has one now. I guess I expected too much from a technology blogger...

Re: Another Stupid TUAW post: “Why I’m staying with AT&T” and a moron too!

Tom Sliwowski — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 13:02:15 -0000

Weird how AT&T's bad cell phone service is largely brushed aside. Seems like most iPhone users don't care that the iPhone is a pretty shitty phone, they just want apps.

Re: T-Mobile, Big Red, Samsung, and Moto dump on the Open Handset Alliance

John M. — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:09:40 -0000

I believe this is what you're referring to: http://www.engadget.com/2010/0...

This does make it sound much better than bricking the phone. I'm glad they actually cleared that up so quickly.

Re: T-Mobile, Big Red, Samsung, and Moto dump on the Open Handset Alliance

Tom Sliwowski — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:58:01 -0000

According to Motorola the eFuse won't brick your phone, just put it in recovery mode so you can flash an "approved" version of the OS. Not horrible but not as bad as bricking.

I'm not a fan of "Junkware" but it's something that comes with carrier branding. I am sure that the OHA has some provision to allow for this just because stuff like this has been going on forever.

AFAIK the Avatar copy loaded on the Vibrant is on the microSD card so I assume it can be deleted via terminal, file manager or ADB. Since the Vibrant is positioned as an entertainment phone, MobiTV, Slacker Radio and Sims 3 make sense that they are included.

An outdated Kindle app doesn't really bother me since apps get updates all the time and there is a delay between manufacturing/flashing the hardware and when it goes to market.

I doubt there is a dedicated button for Gogo, most likely just a link on the screen.

Either way, if someone is THAT put off by it (and let's be honest, 99% of people who buy these phones aren't), removing via ADB is trivial.

Re: Issues with WiFi and Vista

John M. — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:54:35 -0000

So I found some people are able to connect to the network now with Vista Home. For some reason you have to de-select "Connect to a more preferred network" AND "Connect even when network is not broadcasting." I don't get it, but it seems to work....

Re: Issues with WiFi and Vista

John M. — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:13:38 -0000

I just think that if it doesn't work in the system, they shouldn't put it in. If it's in the system, why should it not work? Doesn't make sense.

Re: Issues with WiFi and Vista

tomsliwowski — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:08:55 -0000

I agree that non-business/ultimate Vista flavors should take out the choice for RADIUS WPA2 just for simplicity sake.

That said, I don't think it's a real issue in Vista, I mean if you're a user who needs RADIUS services chances are you're in a business and using the business flavor of the OS. I bet XP Home editions don't talk to RADIUS either.

Since Apple has 1 consumer version of their OS they don't have to deal with this hassle (as obscure as it is).

You get paid the big bucks to figure these things out so I don't see why you're so upset.

Re: Computer Repair is ever complete without…

John M. — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:56:25 -0000

I just got my laptop back from Apple. It's completely fixed...guess what they replaced? The ribbon cable....case closed.

Re: Computer Repair is ever complete without…

cruzagonzalezjr — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:09:43 -0000

Excellent point. What you expect and demand from a repairman of any technology is how I perform my work. It's why I have great references from former employers for the last 15 years.

Re: Windows 7 RC1 Update

Stanislav Palatnik — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:15:29 -0000

I was able to upgrade from beta to RC and RC to post RC by choosing the upgrade path :P

Re: My Impressions on Windows 7

John Mahlman IV — Thu, 07 May 2009 10:20:45 -0000

Thanks for that tip, Brad. I suppose I'll wait for a real Windows 7 version to come out, not a big rush really.

Re: My Impressions on Windows 7

brad — Thu, 07 May 2009 01:32:26 -0000

Macdrive 7.2.6 installs ok on win 7 beta build 7000. you do have to edit the MSI file using some free tools. google around and you'll find instructions. Unfortunately it doesn't appear to work anymore on win 7 RC1. The same install trick works but the driver fails to load when you reboot and if you try to repair the installer cancels.

Re: eMachine Computer Repair Job

John Mahlman IV — Mon, 04 May 2009 16:47:32 -0000

So I'm not going to write a whole update on how this ended, I'll simply put a comment here:

He decided to stick with the 512MB stick. I tested the RAM in another computer and it was fine, and another power supply in the computer resulted in the same red flags. It's definitely the motherboard. So instead of shelling out $60 more for a working motherboard he'd rather deal with 512MB of RAM. Not necessarily terrible in Windows XP. Now he's having some minor Java issues as well as a failed CD drive which has nothing to do with me, but now I'm his computer guy so I'm helping a bit. No charge for emailing me;-)

Re: eMachine Computer Repair Job

Mr.Computer repair — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:05:54 -0000

Thank you for this useful post. I found your blog through google. And am glad I found your blog. And I have added your site to my bookmarks :) Computer repairing is a very important subject and people should be aware of DIY stuffs. Healthy computer is an happy computer :)

Re: eMachine Computer Repair Job

John M. — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:08:03 -0000

@Tom
I forgot about that. Much fun there.

Re: eMachine Computer Repair Job

Tom — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:55:59 -0000

Don't forget the CPU FSB being set at 100MHz instead of 166 and the hunt for a homebrew BIOS to correct it.

Re: Upgrading the Hard Drive in a MacBook Pro (Late 2006 – Core 2 Duo)

John M. — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:26:02 -0000

And of course, the price dropped by $10 in 3 days. Oh well.

Re: Just a little “Wow”

Tom — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 01:44:36 -0000

The idea looks very hot. I just hope it's as awesome in practice as on the vid. Also I do wish that there would be a touchscreen input standard across all devices but I doubt it will happen as there are too many people and too many egos to appease...

Re: Some [tech] Info about Me

John M. — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:44:27 -0000

Like I said, I do like the server, but just some things bother me.