April 1st, 2008
Now that my better half has her own PC, I decided that it is probably a good idea to get a NAS unit so our music and other files can be shared between the two PC’s easily. The guy I work with bought a Netgear NV+ 1TB unit for something like £550. Whilst its fun to play with stuff like RAID 5, its a bit of an extreme solution for me (and him if I’m honest). However, it did mean he was getting rid of his Dlink NAS, so I bought it off of him. Its got space for 2 disks (both SATA) and can be set up as RAID 0 (striping), RAID 1 (mirroring) or JBOD (Just a Bunch Of Disks). It had a pair of 500GB Samsung drives included so I set it up as a RAID 1 volume of 500GB so I have data redundancy. I’ve also enabled the email option so that it will email me if a disk fails. Wicked cool huh? No? Just me then…
Anyway, as the NAS has a gigabit link, I bought a gigabit switch to connect the print server and PC’s to so they have full speed. So far I have to say I am very happy. I have yet set up Media Center again pointing a the NAS for the music but should imagine its going to take a while, as I have somewhere in the region of 6750 songs. But hey, thats what nighttime is for!
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March 29th, 2008
I’ve noticed a few people finding this blog through the 0×0000007E error that I posted about a while back. Just thought I’d update you all on that little situation. Turns out that Vista x64 does not like to be installed on some systems when running 4GB (or more) of RAM. If you are running 4GB and get this error while installing, just pop a stick of RAM out whilst it installs and either apply service pack 1 or update KB929777.
Unfortunately, the offline update feature of Vista isnt working yet so you can’t sliptream SP1 into your Vista build nice and easily (although you can use the “old” XP command line method), so the only way around this problem is to take a stick of RAM out of the machine and then install Vista. Bit of a fag I know, but its the only way at the moment.
Still, after you’ve installed SP1 and you’re sure you’re going to be sticking with it, delete the temp files left behind from the SP1 install. To do this open a command prompt and type vsp1cln.exe. This will remove all those files that were changed in SP1 so you don’t have them hanging around on the system anymore.
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March 25th, 2008
Over the Easter weekend I bought a Canon EOS 400D Digital SLR. I’ve been wanting a DSLR for a while now, as I find that point and shoots are great for quick snaps (I have a 10MP Sony something or other), but for really good shots you need the control and quality that only a DSLR can provide. I’ve been playing with it pretty much constantly since I bought it trying the different settings and learning how to use it. As I’ve not really used a SLR before its been quite the learning curve, but its definitely worth it as it just so easy to get a good shot once you’ve worked out how each function affects the others.
Of course, now that I have it, I’m thinking I could do with a “better” lens as I’m intending to use it when my brother and I go on trackdays to get get some really nice shots of the car. After doing some reading, I’m thinking a lens that goes to at least 300mm is a good idea, and the Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 III Lens seems like a good bet for the budget consious buyer. I’d love a better lens, but as this is just another(!) hobby I can’t justify a larger price tag than the 100-odd quid the canon costs. And anyway, I’m not good enough to warrant a better lens!
I will probably also invest in a monopod to get some stability from my shots (I already have a tripod I bought a few years ago, although I’m having trouble “locating” the actual camera attachment plate for it!). You never know, if I get some shots that I think are good enough, I might just post them up here for you to look at. Now isn’t that exciting?
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March 25th, 2008
I managed to get the fret Doctor on over the Easter weekend, and its great stuff. The ‘board of my Classic was starting to look a bit anaemic after a year of being virtually unplayed. I took off the crusty old strings and put a little fret doctor on a rag. I then rubbed it into to ‘board which quickly regained its original colour and feel. The ‘board was so dry it just swallowed it up, so I may apply another coat to make sure its happy. But, so far so good!
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March 19th, 2008
I got the fret doctor in the mail today, and as I have the next 5 days off work over Easter, I might be able to get around to giving it a go. Don’t quote me on that though.
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March 18th, 2008
There is an interesting thread over on the Les Paul Forum at the moment regarding the difference in sound between a lightweight aluminium tailpiece and heavier zinc tailpiece on a Les Paul. It has been suggested that a “double-blind” test be performed on both tailpieces to determine if the majority of listeners can tell the difference between the two, and therefore determine whether it is a worthy change or not.
There are a couple of problems with this that I thought would be interesting (to me at least) to mention them here. Firstly, it will never be a perfect test as there are too many uncontrolled variables. Even if you use a brand new set of strings from the same vendor and of the same gauge, different sets can still sound different. If you use the same set of strings, then the second time they are played, they haven’t been played for the same amount of time as they had been for the original test, which will effect the sound, however small. The flip side to that of course, is that no test is perfect and there will always be variables that you cannot control.
The second problem, and the one I think is impossible to overcome, is the variable of the human ear. Some people have higher developed hearing than others and can perceive smaller changes in sound than others. This is a fundamental problem that cannot be overcome, because even if you can do a study of a large enough control group, it will never be able to quantify if the change is going to be good for you. The only way to see if you like one sound better than the other is to try it for yourself, otherwise all you are doing is using other people’s perception on what is better and that is no guarantee for yourself. If you ask someone to make a choice as to whether something sounds better than something else, you are immediately verging off of the scientific path and into the realms of speculation. The only scientifically provable criteria you can study is which frequencies are enhanced or suppressed by a specific modification and that can never tell you which is going to be “better” to your own ear.
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March 12th, 2008
I started playing guitar back in ’92 and ever since I first started to properly look after my guitars (when I started on electric in ’95) I’ve used “Lemon Oils” to condition my rosewood & ebony fret boards. However, most “lemon” oil that you can get commercially is simply a synthetic oil with a bit of lemon scent thrown in, which whilst adequate, I feel isn’t quite right. For a while now I’ve been meaning to try Fret Doctor which receives great reviews from those that have tried it and I finally got around to buying some. I’ll let you know how it works when I receive it.
On a related note, I have also tried Virtuoso Cleaner and Polish. Up until I got my ’59 reissue Les Paul, my Les Paul Classic was my main guitar which served me well from 2001 (bought on September 11th, fact fans) through to March of 2007. Despite my (sometimes rather lame) attempts to keep it clean, after 5 years of gigging most weekends there was a significant haze on the finish, particularly around the arm wear, which no polish I tried could even get close to removing. I even tried a little t-cut (an abrasive compound for removing scratches from cars) to see if there would be any improvement. All the t-cut seemed to do was move the haze around.
So after reading the rave reviews I’d seen about Virtuoso products, I bought a bottle of both the polish and the cleaner. Using a new duster, I applied a little of the cleaner to the back first (which also had some hazing) and gave it a good solid rubbing. After using so many different polishes, I never thought I could get the haze off, but the Virtuoso cleaner did the job brilliantly. Once I’d cleaned the grime off of the guitar, I used some of the polish to buff the guitar back up to a shine, which it did nicely. I’m not sure the Virtuoso polish is any better than other polishe, but combined with the effect of the cleaner, the change was brilliant. I’d highly recommend the cleaner to anyone who, like me, has a guitar that looks hazier than the ’60′s. Whilst you’re there you might as well buy the polish as well, but be heartbroken if they don’t have it in stock.
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March 10th, 2008
So far I have to say I’m very happy with the fix I’ve put in place for the Sky broadband speed problems. Its not quite as fast as it used to be, as I seem to top out at about 1.5MB/s, with an average of about 0.9MB/s, but really that’s fine. If you want to sort your Sky broadband out, then I strongly suggest using the below technique. A simple and quick fix.
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March 7th, 2008
I use Sky for my broadband services (as well as TV and phone) which is good value; £10 a month for (up to) 16Mb broadband, unlimited use (although “fair usage” does apply) and free router. Thanks to some decent house wiring I can get the full 16Mb, but there is a problem. After the router has been on for several hours, the speed of the connection drops down to a point where it starts to get unbearable. Only rebooting the router will let it reconnect at the full 16Mb. Investigating why this is, I came across this post on the Skyuser.co.uk forum indicating it is a problem with the Sky router firmware. The solution is to change the Noise Margin to a number higher than the default 7db. This will make the router sync at a slower speed initially, but it shouldn’t then drop in speed over time.
Looking at the statistics on my router, I was syncing at about 15360kbps with a Noise Margin of 11db. Obviously I needed to change my target noise margin to a much higher number than the 7db the router was wanting. So, using the Mognuts tool linked to on the Skyuser forum, I changed the target Noise Margin to 13db. After this was saved to the routers configuration, it resync’d at 14112kbps and a Noise Margin of 13.8db. Hopefully this will stop the router slowing down, although I may need to tweak the target Noise Margin again just to get it settled. I will let you know how this works out.
Edit: Well, its now 3.30PM and its been running from around 9 this morning. I’ve just downloaded a file and the speed hasn’t dropped off; it was downloading from Fileshack at 850kbps this morning and its still just as quick. I’m also downloading Windows XP SP3 RC2 from Microsoft, but that seems capped at 256kbps. But fingers crossed this is going to work.
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February 19th, 2008
I was asked the other day by someone at work to have a look at his BT comtrend powerline adapters. The problem with them is that BT supply them in pairs and if you want to use more than the original 2 you need to be able to set them up (for which BT do not supply instructions).
So after a bit of research I found the following post on DigitalSpy. The process goes something like this:
- On the back of each device is a label, one of which is a MAC number, which looks like 012345678ABC. Make note of these numbers on each device you wish to set up.
- Plug in the devices, and connect them to your router. Log into your router, and find the DHCP option. In here there will be a list of IP addresses associated with a MAC number. For each device you have a MAC number for, make a note of the IP address associated with it (for example 192.168.0.10).
- Open your web browser and type into the address bar the first IP address you have noted. This should take you to a login page. The default password is admin (if it asks for a username, it should also be admin by default).
- Once into the device, choose the option for change configuration, then choose Mac.
- Under this heading make a note of the Network Identifier (I suggest copying it and pasting it into a word or notepad file).
- Repeat this process for each device, making sure the Network ID and Encryption Key are identical on all the devices. Once you have applied the setting to all the devices, they should all work on the same network.
Now, I don’t use these devices at home so have only very limited experience with them (I use Netgear instead). Also, bear in mind that the process may vary slightly depending on how old or new the adapters are and which router you’re using, so these aren’t necessarily “step-by-step” instructions. But if you’re confident by all means give it a go. Just don’t blame me if it doesn’t work.
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