[@540]

LifeBlogger 0.2

I've just released LifeBlogger 0.2 which now supports the Textamerica API.

I've also added support for posts titles when using the MetaWeblog API.

As usual the source is on the CVS server.

[@439]
Erik's Pulse has been published.
800 != 650 Apparently the Jabra BT800 Bluetooth headset is not fully compatible with the Treo 650. The issues are currently being researched and there is no timeline for a solution at this time. Thanks Imshea for the report. Moblog API Textamerica has introduced a new XML-RPC-based API. Darla has been pestering me about it. I told her I'd check it out to see if I could incorporate it in LifeBlogger. The API is very similar to, yet incompatible with, the MetaWeblog API. Why they decided to create a non-standard API, is beyond me. This is really not rocket science. Introducing yet another variation is a recipe for disaster. I think Flickr had the right idea when they implemented the Atom API for Lifeblog.

[@032]
David Czarnecki has already created TextAmerica4J.

[@956]
Vantec NexStar 2

Yesterday, I installed my secondary internal drive into a Vantec NexStar 2 USB hard disk enclosure. I did quite some research to find the right external enclosure. I can see why the NexStar 2 always gets high marks. The case is extremely light and very sleek looking. Installation is extremely simple. Plug and play all the way. There is no fan in the unit, which worried me a bit. Ventilation is provided by grids on each side of the case. It does seem to provide adequate air flow, even after letting it run for a few hours. There's not much more I can ask for, especially for less than $40. [@821]
Erik's Pulse has been published.
TuneCast II The weekend trip was a blast. It was nice to get away for a few days. We took a few pictures.

Since there was a lot of driving involved, I thought it would be the perfect time to try our new Belkin TuneCast II FM Transmitter. I was quite worried after reading the various reports of atrocious sound quality and inability to find a good reception on a busy FM spectrum. The FM dial in the Seattle area is overbooked. It doesn't matter which frequency you pick; there's always a station near by. I left the unit on the default 88.1 frequency, just to see if it worked. I was not expecting good results since there is a station located at 88.5. I was wrong; it worked like a charm. The sound quality was not bad either. Definitely not as clear as a CD, but as good, if not better, than a standard radio station. The volume is a little low though. I had to crank the Carbon up. I never had to change the frequency during the whole trip, even though 88.1 was taken by a station in the Ellensburg area. Rechargeable batteries would be nice. I'm not sure how long the batteries will actually last. We used it for about 6 hours total. So far, so good.

[@391]
Congratulations! You ain't no fool! Bluetooth Printing

Yesterday, I connected an IOGEAR GBP201 USB/Bluetooth Print Adapter to our printer. Installation was brain-dead. No software, just wires. Configuration was easy too, except for the lack of instructions for Macs. We can now print from any of our machines, over Bluetooth. Sweet. Printing from my 6630 did not work. Apparently Nokia implemented BPP (Basic Printing Profile) while the adapter supports HCRP (Hardcopy Cable Replacement Profile) and SPP (Serial Port Profile). Typical. Nevertheless, if you're looking to share your USB printer and have Bluetooth handy; this is definitely the way to go.
Weekend Trip Today, we'll be heading to Eastern Washington for the weekend. We're going to visit Vik's niece who just recently gave birth. Since we'll be traveling, there probably won't be many linkblog updates today. Sorry about that. I'll try to catch up over the weekend. We should have good connectivity at the hotels we're staying at.

[@066]
Yahoo! 360° Russ invited to Yahoo! 360° yesterday. Thanks! I've been handing out invites too. (Darla, Jon, Gustaf, Martin, Jim, Matthew, etc.) The first thing I did was upload my trademark caricature, a few minutes later it was rejected by Yahoo! I assume that since it is not an actual picture of me, it goes again Yahoo's personal photo guidelines. Or maybe they simply reject pictures which could be copyrighted. There you go, social networking with rules and regulations. [@032]
.US

I just received the following:

Dear Valued Go Daddy Customer, Today I have the unfortunate responsibility of informing you that there has been a decision made by bureaucrats of a Federal agency that takes away your right to privacy as guaranteed by the United States Constitution. This decision was unilaterally made by the National Telecommunications and Information Association ("NTIA") www.ntia.doc.gov without hearings that would determine the impact on those affected, and delivered without notice ? in short, the NTIA decision was made without due process of any kind. This is exactly how our government is not supposed to work. The effect of this decision is to disallow new private domain name registrations on .US domain names. In addition, if you already own a private .US domain name registration, you will be forced to forfeit your privacy no later than January 26, 2006. By that time, you will need to choose between either making your personal information available to anyone who wants to see it, or giving up your right to that domain name. I personally find it ironic that our right to .US privacy was stripped away, without due process, by a federal government agency — an agency that should be looking out for our individual rights. For the NTIA to choose the .US extension is the ultimate slap in your face. .US is the only domain name that is specifically intended for Americans (and also those who have a physical presence in our great country). So think about this for a moment. These bureaucrats stripped away the privacy that you're entitled to as an American, on the only domain name that says that you are an American. I am outraged by this ? you should be also. If, like me, you are outraged at the NTIA's decision to strip away our constitutional right to privacy, www.TheDangerO fNoPrivacy.com will provide you with a petition to sign. (Only your name will be published, your address and email information will be kept private.) This Web site also provides a very easy way for you to send either a fax or an email, expressing your outrage, to your Congressperson and Senators. This is all provided at no cost to you. All that is required is for you to take the time to visit www.TheDangerO fNoPrivacy.com sign the petition, and send the fax or email to your legislators. On my personal Blog, www .BobParsons.com there are a number of articles where you can learn more about the NTIA's unfortunate decision and what you can do to help get it reversed. I also will be talking about our right to privacy on Radio Go Daddy, our weekly radio show that debuts today, March 30, at 7 PM PST. To find out how to listen in, please visit the Web site dedicated to the show, www.RadioG oDaddy.com. You can be sure that I, and everyone at GoDaddy.com, will do everything in our power to get the NTIA decision reversed. However, we need your help. Please visit www.TheDangerO fNoPrivacy.com to sign the petition and express your feelings to your Congressperson and Senators. Sincerely, Bob Parsons
President and Founder
GoDaddy.com

[@456]
Erik's Pulse has been published.

[@089]

Shopping Spree 2

The Shopping Spree continues…

Last Friday, I showed at CompUSA around 9am to grab a few things I had seen listed in a one day blast sale flyer.

I picked up a D-LINK DI-524 Wireless Router and a Kensington PilotMouse Mini Bluetooth.

The Kensington PilotMouse Mini Bluetooth is just great. Small and light. Setup was a breeze. I really like the pairing button located underneath. Click it and you're paired. Simple, just works.

It's really too bad the Kensington MouseWorks software/drivers are not Bluetooth-device aware. It would be nice to have a separate set of settings for the mouse and the trackpad.

The D-LINK DI-524 Wireless Router was another story. I decided to get a new wireless router with 802.11g since we're now both using WiFi a lot more. Setup was easy. Set the static IP, restart, etc.

I immediately noticed a problem with DNS. On the first try host names would simply not resolve. Everything worked fined on subsequent tries. I called Matt to see if he had any suggestions. We tried various things to no avail.

We were able to determine that the router was sending 192.168.0.1 (the router's internal IP) as the DNS server to all DHCP clients, instead of sending the DNS hosts that I had statically specified.

We decided to call D-Link's tech support to see if there was a way to fix that problem. After going through many loops, we were basically told that we would have to manually set the DNS hosts for each DHCP clients. Simply not acceptable.

Our tech support experience was pathetic. They were at a complete loss. Forcing us to repeat the same things over and over, and asking us to perform stupid tests, like pinging a host.

I did thank the support tech for making my decision to return their router easier.

Matt pretty much convinced me to look for a Linksys WRT54G instead.

I drove back to CompUSA to return the D-LINK. Their pricing on the Linksys was out of this world. On my way out I stopped by Office Depot, which is conveniently located in the same shopping mall. I figured it wouldn't hurt to check what they had to offer. They had a good price (after rebates) for the Linksys so I picked one up.

It literally took me 10 minutes to set it up at home, most of it spent taking it out of the box. It's been working like a champ since then.

As Matt mentioned, it is Linux-based, meaning that there are quite few firmware alternatives out there.

On Saturday, I decided to swap the heatsink/fan in my desktop computer. I was waiting to go back to Fry's to pickup some Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound, but actually found some at CompUSA on Friday.

Since I had never attempted the procedure before, I, once again, gave Matt a call so he could walk me through it. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would. Taking the old heatsink out was the toughest part. Silicon was used to lock the clips in place which made it quite hard to remove.

Everything is working like a charm now. There's one big problem though, it sounds like a turbine now. The new power supply I installed is very quiet, but the opening/grid for its fan is located right next to the heatsink fan. The heatsink fan is quite noisy and the noise is amplified through the power supply grid openings.

At this point, I'm unwilling to spend any more on upgrades. This machine was put together a few years back and has finally reach its full potential. Adding anything more would be foolish.

So I started looking for a new desktop machine…

I just bought a Shuttle G4 8500G. They are offering a good closeout deal right now.

I have no experience with Shuttle's XPCs, but I'm pretty familiar with their motherboards. We use them in most of our 1U servers.

I wanted something small, because I am so tired of the mess of CPUs that is currently sitting on and under my desk. Having something portable is really not a bad idea, especially if I decide to take it with us when we move to Spain.

I should be receiving it sometime next week.

I'll also need to get some more memory and some kind of USB hard drive enclosure for my secondary internal drive. I'm leaning toward the Vantec NexStar model 2 or 3.

On Sunday night, I installed Vik's new Maxtor OneTouch II which I really like too. The only drawback, apart from the weight (it's not too heavy, but not extremely light either), is that the OneTouch functionality is only available via Firewire.

This has been an interesting weekend, that's for sure.

[@819]