February, 2009

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16
Feb 09

Pretty fast… for Australia

Yes I’m talking about 10 megabit Internet, of course. Which I now have – w00t. But I almost didn’t.

Got to the new place and hooked up my Billion 7404VGO-M on Internode ADSL2+ NakedExtreme plan. Only got 6 megabits per second! Removed all devices (isolation test), including my line filter/splitter – it’s Naked no need. Got minor speed improvements, but still around 6 mbps. Rang up Internode and found out about their “ADSL2+ Profiles” which you can change via web site. I was on the “Very High Reliability” profile. Switched to “High Speed” and now have 10 mbps. Profile may affect stability buy I’m willing to try out to see what happens.

I am glad I found out about this feature! I was at a loss as to how I was going to improve my setup to get more speed. They even have a “Low Latency” profile for gamers who need low pings. I wonder if other ISPs like iiNet have this feature. Here is a picture.

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8
Feb 09

Sky News has the best bushfire coverage

Head over to Sky News for up-to-date video coverage.

ABC also has some seriously scary photos.

Not much more to say, I hope everyone’s families are alright.

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3
Feb 09

Keep your favourite cookies

I like browser cookies but they can be abused. I love the useful ones that keep me logged into my favourite sites, e.g. my blog, Google, eBay, IceTV and Last.fm to name a few. All the other cookies I can live without and they’re not really doing anything for me, so I often get the urge to clear them out. However, I rarely do this because it’s a bit of a chore to log back into all my favourite sites. So the cookies sit there going stale, using up memory, tracking my visits, serving me ads, etc.

So I thought “I wonder if there’s a way to make Firefox clear all cookies except certain ones I deem perpetual.” I looked for extensions, played around in about:config and found nothing.

But do not despair, dear reader! For the answer to this conundrum lies hidden away within Firefox itself. And it’s so damned easy to set up, it’s ridiculous. Here is the sonewhat over-detailed solution for an older version of Firefox but it still looks roughly the same. Basically, it does “Clear all cookies when I quit, except these ones” which is exactly what I want. I’ve been using it for weeks and I’m loving it. Note that if you clear your cookies manually using the “Clear Private Data” tool, this still wipes all cookies.

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3
Feb 09

How to fix AirTunes dropouts

A while ago I got an Airport Express to pump iTunes through my stereo and had a few problems setting it up. Rather than use it as an access point, I wanted it to act as a node on my existing wireless network. It supports this but I experienced frequent audio dropouts when using AirTunes this way. Forums suggested changing channels, unplugging cordless phones, moving access points etc. etc. and I tried all of them, and all to no avail.

The solution? Well I believe the problem stems from AirTunes using A LOT of bandwidth; 160 kB/s in my experience. I suspect this is flooding the wireless network as it has to go in 2 “directions”, i.e. from the MacBook to the router, then from the router to the Airport Express. So the solution I found was to disable the Airport Express wireless altogether and plug into my router using the ethernet cable. This eliminates one of the “directions” and so alleviates the flooding. The only problem others may see with this solution is that you need to move your broadband router next to the stereo. This isn’t a problem for me as it’s already there for the Xbox 360.

Now I can use my Airport Express for what it was intended, and it totally kicks arse. It’s just a shame Apple didn’t spend the time to test thoroughly in node mode.

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2
Feb 09

Google Calendar reminder frustration

The situation: I have an all day event and want to be reminded by SMS at 8:00 PM the day before so I don’t forget.

The problem: According to Google Calendar, an “all day event” starts at 5:00 PM on the day preceding the event. Here’s the proof:

  • All day event scheduled on Day X, reminder set for 7 hours before. Reminder received on Day X-1 at 10:00 AM.
  • All day event scheduled on Day X, reminder set for 10 hours before. Reminder received on Day X-1 at 7:00 AM.

This effects both email and SMS reminders. One would assume that, logically, an “all day” event would start at 12:00 AM. So when setting the reminder time for an all day event, I have to subtract 8 hours. This limits reminders to only being sent until 5:00 PM. And this is true, I have tested it by scheduling a reminder “0 hours” before an all day event. I received it at 5:00 PM the day before.

And before you ask, YES I have set my timezone to GMT +10 in Google Calendar.

Solution? Change timezone to GMT +2? I’m just setting them to 0 hours now I can live with having reminders at 5.00 PM. But it doesn’t work right. They should fix it.