The Bloog

(See update at the end of the post)

Today, all of a sudden, I noticed the iPhone was no longer connected to the wi-fi network at home. I went to Settings/Wi-Fi and it wouldn’t even detect the network. Occasionally, it would show up, I would select it, enter the password and give the error “Unable to join the network <”SSID Name> “.

I tried connecting with the laptop to the wi-fi and it worked fine. I tried resetting the router, but still, no success in connecting with the iPhone.

I googled this problem and tried one of the suggestions:

- Go to Settings/General/Reset and Reset Network Settings

I tried that a few times and nothing. Then, I disabled the wireless security on the router and I was able to connect with the iPhone. But that wasn’t good enough a solution because I need the security enabled. So I turned it back and again, the iPhone wouldn’t connect or even see the wireless the network.

In trying to determine whether it’s a router problem or a phone problem, I setup a secondary wireless router I had as a spare. The laptop could see the second wireless network, but not the iPhone.

Frustrated and confused, I started changing whatever came to mind. I set both routers to wireless-G mode only, from the Mixed mode they were both on. On my main router, I also changed the password (I am using WPA2 Persnal with TKIP).

After a couple of minutes of “thinking”, the iPhone saw the second router all of a sudden and for the first time. I selected it, put in the password and connected successfully. Then, it started seeing the main router/wireless network also. So I selected that one also, put in the new password and also connected successfully.

Great! Makes sense? No. I cannot see any logical explanation to this, but it worked. This is, however, very common in the computer troubleshooting world. If all made sense initially, then the problem probably wouldn’t exist in the first place.

Somewhat scared that I may lose the wi-fi again, I went to the main router and changed the password back to what it was initially. I also changed the network mode back to Mixed. On the iPhone, I went to Settings/Wi-fi and chose to forget the network so that I can connect to it again and put in the new password. It worked fine.

Now the iPhone sees both wireless networks fine and can connect to either one without problems. My Wi-Fi is back! I hope some of this may help you in case you have similar problems. Good luck!

UPDATE 04/23/09: Eventually, the wi-fi died altogether. I thought it was a hardware problem, maybe with the wi-fi module. I gave up on it and got an iPhone 3G. I was getting ready to sell the original iPhone since everything else was working just fine, until…. I saw light at the end of the tunnel. I came across a post at the ModMyI forums of a user experiencing the same problems I had with Wi-Fi. Fortunately, that person solved it eventually and posted back with a link to a guide. So here it is:

How to fix your iPhone 2G if you have Wi-Fi problems: http://www.modmyi.com/forums/general-iphone-chat/441981-not-finding-wifi-iphone-2g.html#post3984881

It is a little involving, but it works! It was a software problem after all, probably somewhere at the baseband level…

My iPhone is fully functional again

First, it was Fring that allowed us to make the first calls to Skype contacts on the iPhone. Now, Skype announced they will release their own iPhone application that will do exactly that. I can’t wait.

Report: Skype coming to the iPhone | Wireless – CNET News.

For the gamers out there, Activision has released Map Pack 1 for Call of Duty: World at War. Available now, for a cost, only for Xbox360 and PS3, PC users still have to wait.

The four new maps available are:

• Nightfire
• Station
• Knee Deep
• Verrückt (Zombie Asylum)

Sample images from Call of Duty’s site:

New map: Nightfire

New map: Station

New map: Knee Deep

New map: Verruckt

Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 has been released today. The previous version, IE 7 has been released on October 18, 2006. Two years and five months later, IE 8 surfaces and according to Microsoft, it is Faster, Easier and Safer. It better be after all this time!

Should you upgrade?
Well, yes! You should always upgrade to the latest browser version, if not for the added security and privacy features, which are always there in new releases, then for contributing to making the internet a better place. How? By being up to date with the latest browser, you’re making the life of the developers easier and, thusly, you’re allowing designers and developers alike to spend more time building new and nicer things instead of fixing issues and quirks of older browser versions.

But, if you still need more information, see this interesting document put together by Microsoft, which looks into different user behaviours and explains how Internet Explorer 8 helps make various scenarios easier and faster: http://download.microsoft.com/download/A/6/7/A67974CC-84E7-4F62-B09E-5C575E1E7A3C/Improving%20Consumer%20Use%20of%20the%20Web_Final%20_2_.pdf

Installing
Installing Internet Explorer 8 couldn’t be easier. A small download and few steps later, IE 8 will be installed. A restart of the computer will be required though.

Internet Explorer 8 Setup Window

Uninstalling

The first issue I looked into was whether it can be easily uninstalled in case I need to. Apparently, it is. Internet Explorer 8 can be uninstalled from the Control Panel/Remove Programs just like any other piece of software.

For more information and to download, go to Internet Explorer 8′s Home page .

Internet Explorer 8 videos available here

A great little piece from photographer Zack Arias. Take the time to watch it entirely.

There’s something exciting about going around town and snapping shots without actually looking through the viewfinder and composing the shot. Just let the camera hang by your side with your finger on the shutter (that’s how it would be when using a RapidStrap), turn sideways as if you were looking elsewhere and let it snap. New, strange, yet intriguing things may result from it.

I went inside the metro station late at night this week and I didn’t want to attract attention. Having a camera like the D300 with on-body controls for focus and metering really comes handy in situations like this. I went to the top of the stairs, rotated the metering knob, flipped the focus mode switch, focused and went for it. The result is below – the image is called “Multi-Dimensional”.

Multi-Dimensional - Which is your dimension?

Had I actually put the camera to the eye and attempted to compose, I probably wouldn’t have framed it this way. Yes, this image was purposely left unrotated, but that’s where its charm is. 

Look at it by tilting your head to the right and you’ll see one thing. Look at it straight on and you’ll see another, then look at it by tilting your head to the left and you can give yet a third interpretation. Can’t see it right away? Keep looking and it will reveal itself.

So which is your dimension?

It has a very shallow depth of field because it was shot in very low light at f2.8, ISO 1000, but I think that only adds to the image. I can picture this as a lonely print on a big empty wall, in a dark and moody loft-like place with black or red brick walls..

Here are a couple more shots, processed differently however.

Looking sideways

Waiting for the midnight bus - Processed as a lomography image.

Given to what I think may be a bent pin in the 3.5″ memory card reader I usually use, I went and got a Sandisk ImageMate All-in-One Memory Card Reader (Part # SDDR-189-A20).

I had seen a few pictures prior to having it, but my first impression was: Wow! That’s tiny! The All-in-One reader, which is considerably taller than its little brother, the Multi-Card Reader, is extremely thin and compact. It’s no deeper than the width of a CompactFlash card and only slightly taller than two CF cards put together. It has a glossy or piano black finish, which is nice, but prone to dust accumulation.

Left side view of the Sandisk ImageMate All-in-One Memory Card Reader

The ImageMate All-in-One memory card reader comes with a miniscule three-legged stand that allows for the reader to be fixed to it via a magnet and two small slots. Overall, due to the layout of the three legs, it’s fairly stable. I tried to knock it off as if by accident but I was unsuccessful. The reader can be quickly and easily removed from its stand for portability.

On top, a not so obvious button allows you to configure opening a favorite program. To enable this functionality, you need to install a piece of software from SanDisk’s site: the Transfer Button Application. There is also another application available, the Drive Letter application, but I haven’t tried it nor do I intend to. It may, however, come handy for some users.

Sandisk conveniently provides the usb cable required to use the Sandisk ImageMate All-in-One Memory Card Reader

I found very little information on SanDisk’s website as to exactly which reader supports which memory cards, so here it is…

  The ImageMate All-in-One (Part # SDDR-189-A20) supports the following memory cards:

• microSDHC
• miniSD
• SD/SDHC
• MMC
• MS Pro/Duo/Pro Duo/
• xD(M/H)
• CompactFlash
   

The Multi-Card Reader (Part # SDDR-199-A20) supports the following memory cards:

• SD/SDHC
• MMC
• Sony Memory Stick Pro
• xD(M/H)

Front view of the Sandisk ImageMate All-in-One Memory Card Reader

The Sandisk ImageMate All-in-One Memory Card Reader is listed at $28.99 on SanDisk’s website and I find it’s a fair price to pay for what you get: a sleek, compact yet performant reader that will look good on your desk.

Scott Kelby announced today on his blog a new Nikon Tips show which he seems to co-host with his partner in crime, Matt Kloskowski.

The first episode is already up and looks promissing. I personally like the format: short and to the point, yet very clear.

I’ll be checking it out weekly to see if they can show me something I don’t already know about my D300.

Link to Kelby’s blog post: New Weekly Nikon DSLR Tips Show Launches Today.

Watch the first episode at http://www.nikondtown.com/

I remember the first time I used Google as well as my first Paypal transaction. These services changed the way we use the internet; a better search engine and a simpler, more secure way of paying online. 

Here comes another name and service that is bound to cause some change: Noca. Until now, Paypal, while ubiquitous in the e-commerce world, has been charging a hefty fee to merchants for processing transactions. The fee is not far from what credit card companies like Visa & Mastercard charge merchants to accept credit cards in their place of business – from 3% to 4%.

Noca tries to change that. The new service promises a zero cost payment system to merchants. But to be fair it’s not exactly zero; 0.25% to be exact. It also allows customers to pay with their chequing account, rather than with a credit card.

Read more at Noca’s site: Noca – Transact freely

We’ll have to see how many (online) merchants will jump on the wagon and how soon. Noca definitely has potential and I will look forward to making my first transaction as soon as it will roll out internationally (currently available only in US).

More information in this CNET article.

What do you do when, all of a sudden, your computer’s monitor goes black and doesn’t turn back on? You can hear the computer still running as normal but you no longer see anything on screen… what then?

Well, let’s start at the beginning. For a while, the X-Fi Platinum sound card has been acting up, allowing me to use the headphones jack of the front panel just fine but not do the same via the digital out port that is connected to a sound system. From time to time I have to reinstall the sound card driver to restore the sound through the speakers. This time, I thought, I should also try reinstalling maybe the chipset drivers… maybe there is a conflict at that level. So I did. That’s when the screen went black and it remained so.

Intel’s chipset drivers setup must have caused some serious damage at the driver level, which caused something to interfere with the graphics drivers. It was late at night and I was just getting ready to watch a movie. This was definitely not the right time for trouble.

(continue reading…)