Western Digital "VelociRaptor" - !!!!!

Over the last few years, when I've needed a high performance hard drive, I've purchased and recommended the Western Digital Raptor line. From the first 36GB 10000RPM 8MB cache drive all the way to the 150GB 10000RPM 15MB cache'd Raptor X, I've been extremely happy with them.

1. I've purchased at least 30 for myself and clients, and none of them have died.
2. They run at 10K RPM (faster than the standard 7200RPM or 5400RPM for desktop drives) meaning faster sustained read speeds and faster random seek reads.
3. They sound cool without being annoying (hehe).

But, they're old... the last update to the line was in late 2006 and, I still love them, but I'm always looking for more speed.

So they introduced the VelociRaptor.

It's a terrible name, yes, but it's all about hard drive performance, and apparently this "tears shit up". It's a 2.5" drive with a huge heatsink surrounding it!

There've been 10K RPM SAS server drives out for a long time, it's nice to see they're bringing them over to the desktop, standard SATA side.

So, while I didn't find this out all by my lonesome, I thought this was exciting enough to bring everyone's attention. Want a fast drive? GET THIS.

300GB, 10K RPM, 3.0GB SATA (finally), and lots of healthy reviews = win.

Source: Engadget
Review: Tom's Hardware
Review: Maximum PC
Review: PC Perspective
Review: Hot Hardware

Rock Band : The Next Generation

My favorite game is Rock Band.

Our band is the Commonwealth of Pants.

Yes, NIkki's British, so that's why, leave us alone.

Anyway, some intrepid soul with (apparently) more love of Star Trek than me decided to go the extra mile and make Rock Band characters out of Star Trek characters.

I wish I had thought of this myself, because it's awesome:



(drops jaw)

Oh, and by the way, here's a video of Nathan drumming. :)

GCalSync - Synchronize Blackberry with Google Calendar

I have a Blackberry Curve 8320 from T-Mobile. I love the device. So much so that I put it through a full washer / dryer cycle just to make it look and smell great! Upon finding out the device no longer functioned, I coughed up the $110 insurance fee and received another. (It looks great, does not smell great... )

But right now I'm not using it with over the air sync of my calendar / address book information since I don't have a working Exchange server at the moment. So I decided to try to (temporarily) move away from the Microsoft Outlook / Microsoft Exchange combination.

The last time I tried this I attempted to use Ximian Evolution (now just Evolution), then I looked into Chandler, and... I came up empty. (Note, the Evolution logo has changed... I just like this one more)

The truth is, I need e-mail and calendaring all the time, everywhere I go, on a laptop, on my desktop, on my phone, and I need them to all share data seamlessly.

I think I may have found what I'm looking for.

Mail: Mozilla Thunderbird

Calendar: Mozilla Lightning (or Sunbird if you want a separate application)

Blackberry Sync: GCalSync

To make it work on the Blackberry side of things you need to be aware of two potential issues which I was not aware of. I received an "invalid tunnel name" error. I fixed it by resolving two issues:

Disabling the "Proxy" setting under TLS on the Blackberry.

Choose Options -> Security Options -> TLS -> TLS Default

Choose Handheld (not "Proxy")

Setting the APN name

Choose Options -> Advanced Options - TCP

Type in your Wireless Provider's APN address, username, and password.

(For T-Mobile, it's wap.voicestream.com with no username or password)

This is the closest I've come to breaking up the Outlook / Exchange combination.

It still isn't seamless, sync between the Blackberry and Google Calendar isn't automatic, you have to initiate it at the GCalSync app on the Blackberry.

Additionally, it won't update already uploaded events.

Nevertheless this is the closest I've come in a while, so I'm going to work with this and see what I end up doing.

Windows Vista Downgrading, aka: Purchasing laptops and shoehorning XP into them

So anyone purchasing a laptop these days has to deal with Windows Vista.

Disclaimer:
I've been using Windows Vista since day one. I heavily promoted Windows Vista as a panacea for problems laptop computers had connecting to disparate networks, power management, and other little XP issues that would crop up.
I am no longer a promoter of Windows Vista. I help people get rid of it in favor of Windows XP, or a I give a gentle push towards Apple.

I purchased four laptops from a local retailer, three Acer Extensa 4420-5237 units, and a HP Compaq Presario F756NR. I'm keeping one of the Acer's for myself.

Yes I linked you to a Taiwanese Acer site, because Acer America no longer lists that particular unit.

Both laptops come preloaded with Windows Vista Home Premium, 32-bit.

(Insert random Microsoft / Vista hating joke here. Here, I'll start you off: "Preloaded? More like pre-bloated!" Ok, ok, another one: "Preloaded? You must mean defective by design." Actually, that last one is a slogan referring to DRM infestations. Check out http://www.defectivebydesign.org.)

Anyway, both manufacturers (HP/Compaq and Acer) don't offer Windows XP on these laptops. They also don't list XP drivers for these laptops on their websites.

HP makes it rough, luckily enough intrepid souls out there purchased these laptops and either edited some .INF files on their own or found the exact same hardware on older laptops, or on other similar laptops offered by HP, Compaq, or another manufacturer and used the drivers from those models.

Unfortunately, all that information is buried under several forum posts and it's not in one location. So, I'm going to 1) Link to the original posts, and 2) Link to a 100% tested (by me, on a single laptop, don't complain if you can't get it the first time, just ask questions!) compilation of all the correct drivers, and 3) tell you how mad I am.



So, for the Compaq Presario F756NR, drivers are available here:

(Uploading, will post link soon)

The original forum posts I referenced are here:

http://forums11.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/bizsupport/questionanswer.do?admit=109447626+1208137423572+28353475&threadId=1188979
http://forums11.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/bizsupport/questionanswer.do?admit=109447626+1208137423799+28353475&threadId=1193928
Link to another laptop, the V3000Z CTO with some drivers and utilities that work. Read the earlier forum posts though.
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareList?os=228&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=3180330&lang=en'



Luckily, while Acer is just as dumb as HP for not listing drivers on their site, apparently their European bureau didn't get the memo.





So for the Acer Extensa 4420-5237, drivers are available here:

http://support.acer-euro.com/drivers/notebook/ex_4420.html

(lol)



Have fun y'alls!

Westboro Baptist Church gets Rick Roll'd

So the Westboro Baptist Church protested at Northern Illinois University (NIU) during services for the deceased.

Thank God someone Rick Roll'd them for their trouble.



Btw, this happened in Orlando, FL. Thanks to Perez Hilton for the link! (and Nikki for sending me there)

The coolest thing my dad has said (in my presence) in recent memory:

I received an e-mail from my dad today, and it reminded me that he occasionally used to rock.

It is a Microsoft bug/feature related to 8 bit MIME. 2003 Exchange forwards in 8 bit MIME. Other Exchange Servers and many other Servers can accept it. Yahoo and BlackBerry do not. This MS Document tells us how to turn off this feature. It’s scary and reminds me of my days as an assembler programmer XOR’ing a packed data field but it works. I have tried it on mine and now Yahoo messages can be forwarded to my BlackBerry and Vice Versa. It’s something I’ll need to do on any Exchange Server I have that forwards mail to a PDA or server similar to Yahoo.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/257569/

I just looked at that and said to myself, "That's so cool... he used to be an assembler programmer... he knows what XOR is... hehe".

But anyway, to comment on Microsoft, 8 bit mime, ESMTP, and... how dumb SMTP is as a protocol, and why Blackberry/Yahoo/anyone else can't understand a few extra "introduction" lines (or why Exchange 2000 can't) is just... annoying. :)

Best April Fools Joke This Year, C/O The BBC

I wish public broadcasting was taken as seriously in this country as it is in Britain and Canada... GOD SAVE THE QUEEN... and the BBC and CBC.




(I do love Chicago Public Radio and PBS)