qihoo8.net http://www.qihoo8.net Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:36:56 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 en I eagerly anticipated the release of the HP iPAQ 111 http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/04/03/i-eagerly-anticipated-the-release-of-the-hp-ipaq-111/ http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/04/03/i-eagerly-anticipated-the-release-of-the-hp-ipaq-111/#comments Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:36:56 +0000 qihoo8 http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/04/03/i-eagerly-anticipated-the-release-of-the-hp-ipaq-111/ I eagerly anticipated the release of the HP iPAQ 111 to replace my aging ipaq 4150. It made me appreciate what a great pda that one was.
What I like about the 110-
-Small size. Not quite as small as the 4150, but very close. It’s snug but still fits my Sena case.
-Synchronizing with Exchange Server. Email, tasks and calendar sync great.
-Build quality. Feels like a quality product and should be pretty durable.
-BT and Wifi work well.
What I don’t like-
-WM6 is buggy and slow. It locks up, runs sluggish and I have to soft reset frequently. My WM2003 pda did not have these issues.
-More memory would have been nice.
-Did not come with a backup program.
I’m glad HP came out with a classic(no phone) PDA. It’s a great solution for me. I like this unit but I can get things done faster with my old 4150.

GO:HP iPAQ 111 Classic Handheld (FA979AA#ABA) (110 Series)

Related Posts:

]]> http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/04/03/i-eagerly-anticipated-the-release-of-the-hp-ipaq-111/feed/ HP iPAQ 111 Classic Handheld hard to find fault http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/04/03/hp-ipaq-111-classic-handheld-hard-to-find-fault/ http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/04/03/hp-ipaq-111-classic-handheld-hard-to-find-fault/#comments Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:35:16 +0000 qihoo8 http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/04/03/hp-ipaq-111-classic-handheld-hard-to-find-fault/

I have owned several Pocket PCs, including a few earlier versions of the iPaq. Of the ones I have tried, this is probably the best, though its not a great leap forward. Having WiFi, Bluetooth, SDHC support (previous versions didn’t support the new higher capacity cards that this one does - I have an 8Gb SD card in mine), a standard USB connection (previous iPaqs I owned use a proprietary USB connector) a relatively fast processor, the latest version of Windows Mobile all whilst retaining a relatively small form factor is a strong combination. Whilst many will opt for a Pocket PC phone (as my last Windows Mobile device was), having a seperate PDA from your phone has advantages for some e.g. if you are obliged to use a particular mobile phone for work (as I am) then you don’t need the phone features on your PDA. With this device I can keep all of my personal contacts seperate from the business contacts on my phone and use the bluetooth feature to get my phone (a Blackberry Pearl) to dial any number I select on my iPaq. I have read other reviews on Amazon and can’t say I have experienced any of the problems described. The screen on my iPaq works fine (no odd colours displayed) and windows media player has not yet crashed on my once (and I have listened to quite a lot of music and watched video on it). Overall, not a stunning leap forward but hard to find fault with it.

GO:HP iPAQ 111 Classic Handheld (FA979AA#ABA) (110 Series)

Related Posts:

]]> http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/04/03/hp-ipaq-111-classic-handheld-hard-to-find-fault/feed/ The signal is always strong http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/25/the-signal-is-always-strong/ http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/25/the-signal-is-always-strong/#comments Wed, 25 Mar 2009 06:00:45 +0000 qihoo8 http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/25/the-signal-is-always-strong/ I happen to be a novice setting up PC related stuff but this router was cake to set up. Be forwarned; however, my intention was to simply set up wireless with encryption and nothing else. I had no desire to set up a full blown network with file and printer sharing. I simply wanted encrypted wireless for my xp windows pc and vista windows laptop in the house. I figure I can print stuff by using the pc with the printer or using a flash drive so I had no desire in oversteaping my technical boundries.

BUY:Linksys WRT160N Ultra RangePlus Wireless-N Broadband Router

That being said… it was as simple as putting the disk in, following directions printing the encryption code and connecting the router. Easy as cake! I had more trouble configuring the recieving vista windows laptop and xp windows pc! Which wasn’t that hard either. The router is connected to my windows vista desktop and my windows vista laptop and seperate xp windows desktop are recieving the signal. It was as easy as plugging in the code to the recieving laptop and pc.

The signal is always strong and no breaks in three weeks of constant use. Despite other comments, the signal strength is awesome even with the unit under a shelf. Unless you live in a 25 room mansion or set up the network wrong… you should have no problems. I have absolutely no complaints. The cherry on top is how awesome this router looks and with no antenna! You could easly hide this under a shelf but why would you want to! It’s beautiful and you could use it as decoration! I admit, it is pricey but well worth the money in the headaches you will save setting it up and the aesthetic factor. Highly recommended especially for novices who simply want wireless in their house.

BUY:Linksys WRT160N Ultra RangePlus Wireless-N Broadband Router

Related Posts:

]]> http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/25/the-signal-is-always-strong/feed/ you now have to buy the WRT54GL http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/25/you-now-have-to-buy-the-wrt54gl/ http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/25/you-now-have-to-buy-the-wrt54gl/#comments Wed, 25 Mar 2009 05:54:16 +0000 qihoo8 http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/25/you-now-have-to-buy-the-wrt54gl/ I’ve bought close to a dozen of the earlier versions of these routers (WRT54G v2-v4) over the past few years as well as recommended them to my friends, and the ability to update and upgrade the flash memory with modified open source software is the reason why these routers deserve a wonderful reputation.

(more…)

Related Posts:

]]> http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/25/you-now-have-to-buy-the-wrt54gl/feed/ Linksys-Cisco WRT54GL supporting Linux firmware http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/25/linksys-cisco-wrt54gl-supporting-linux-firmware/ http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/25/linksys-cisco-wrt54gl-supporting-linux-firmware/#comments Wed, 25 Mar 2009 05:49:03 +0000 qihoo8 http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/25/linksys-cisco-wrt54gl-supporting-linux-firmware/ Linksys-Cisco WRT54GL Wireless-G Broadband Router (Compatible with Linux), besides supporting Linux firmware, is a tested and true wireless router with 802.11 b and g support. It supports WPA, WPA2 and the older WEP encryption schemes. In addition, it has a built-in firewall, MAC address filtering, and supports access policies (such as "don’t allow FTP connections to this computer on Sundays").

(more…)

Related Posts:

]]> http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/25/linksys-cisco-wrt54gl-supporting-linux-firmware/feed/ I have to say that I have come to like the WRT54G2 a lot http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/25/i-have-to-say-that-i-have-come-to-like-the-wrt54g2-a-lot/ http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/25/i-have-to-say-that-i-have-come-to-like-the-wrt54g2-a-lot/#comments Wed, 25 Mar 2009 05:45:00 +0000 qihoo8 http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/25/i-have-to-say-that-i-have-come-to-like-the-wrt54g2-a-lot/ I have to say that I have come to like the Linksys WRT54G2 Wireless-G Broadband Router a lot.
Works very well with my PC, my fiancé’s Mac, a Playstation3, a wired multiuse printer/fax/copier and the standard cable modem RCN provided.
Configuration was quick and easy and I had no problems in that regard.
My only complain with this product is the fact that the DHCP server has problems after a while. If you leave a PC/device on for too much time, it will "lose" it’s IP address and there is no way around the issue other than rebooting / power cycling router and affected devices. It doesn’t happen too often so it’s not a major issue, but I would have appreciated the linksys forums to be more supportive of my post on this issue - as they really have not been.
So 5 stars for product design, features and ease of use
- 1 star for DHCP server flaw
- 1 star for poor product support
= 3 stars

GO:Linksys WRT54G2 Wireless-G Broadband Router

Related Posts:

]]> http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/25/i-have-to-say-that-i-have-come-to-like-the-wrt54g2-a-lot/feed/ Linksys WRT54G2 Wireless-G Broadband Router was very easy to set up http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/25/linksys-wrt54g2-wireless-g-broadband-router-was-very-easy-to-set-up/ http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/25/linksys-wrt54g2-wireless-g-broadband-router-was-very-easy-to-set-up/#comments Wed, 25 Mar 2009 05:42:37 +0000 qihoo8 http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/25/linksys-wrt54g2-wireless-g-broadband-router-was-very-easy-to-set-up/ Linksys WRT54G2 Wireless-G Broadband Router was very easy to set up. It took about 5 minutes total to set up the router and have a wireless connection to my desktop. I have an excellent reception to my desktop that sits about 30 feet away in another room. Also, I have my desktop and laptop (both running vista), xbox 360, and ps3 connected to it wirelessly. the xbox 360 NAT is open and the ps3 NAT is type 2. I’m not sure what that stuff means technically, but in normal person terms it means that I can connect to others with no problems. The back of the router has 4 10/100 ethernet connections on it as well if you want a wired connection.

(more…)

Related Posts:

]]> http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/25/linksys-wrt54g2-wireless-g-broadband-router-was-very-easy-to-set-up/feed/ The Nuvi 360 has map v8 updated from the v7 in the Nuvi 350 http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/24/the-nuvi-360-has-map-v8-updated-from-the-v7-in-the-nuvi-350/ http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/24/the-nuvi-360-has-map-v8-updated-from-the-v7-in-the-nuvi-350/#comments Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:33:13 +0000 qihoo8 http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/24/the-nuvi-360-has-map-v8-updated-from-the-v7-in-the-nuvi-350/ Garmin nüvi 360 3.5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Text-To-Speech

First the good news. This is the smallest, most elegant and compact AIO (all in one) GPS navigation solution I’ve come across. The mapping details are excellent. The Nuvi 360 has map v8 updated from the v7 in the Nuvi 350. The voice prompts are loud, clear and timely. The ease of use is just fantastic and the visibility and quality of the display are very good. The 360 uses the low reflection screen and brighter display which were only found on the very latest 350s. POI access is excellent and can be navigated to much more simply than the TomTom unit which requires additional cumbersome steps. The attachment system for the Nuvi is superb and very secure. With the Nuvi 360 you can access your POIs directly by name rather than having to go through a cumbersome category menu and then only getting the POIs by proximity as is the case with the TomTom 910.


The new screen display in the 360 is nearly as good or equal to the TomTom 910. The automatic panning is not quite as good as the TomTom. And bright light visibility is nearly as good as the TomTom 910. Despite these minor comparative deficiencies, all the other advantages of the Nuvi much more than outweigh the disadvantages of the TomTom 910 (their top of the line). As with all GPS units, you want to place the Nuvi so as to reduce the sun’s glare.
This device is intended as an extremely simple point to point navigating AIO GPS navigation solution and is not intended to enable the use of way points or easily changing the course selected by the unit. You have essentially two options: the shortest route and the fastest route. Fortunately, the mapping program selects routs that are very acceptable. Personally, I like to look at the overall route and fiddle with it. This unit is not designed for such use. Microsoft Streets and Trips is ideal for this kind of tinkering, but terrible for point to point navigation while on the go at which the Nuvi has no peer.
Make sure and get the most recent firmware updates on the Garmin website which will fix the known bugs and further improve the functionality. This unit is so easy to use that my 85 year old father purchased one for himself and he loves it to. He is, to put it kindly, technologically challenged but this unit is so intuitive and easy to use that he’s had no problems whatsoever. He doesn’t like to be distracted while driving so he plans his trip before leaving and simply listens to the voice prompts.
The new bluetooth feature makes using hands free use of your bluetooth enabled phone a pleasure. If you don’t need or want the Bluetooth feature save yourself a couple of hundred bucks and get the most recent Nuvi 350 but make sure it’s got the low reflective screen, the bright display and map v8. Remember, only the most recent Nuvi 350s have the bright low reflective screen. I believe if you get a 350 with map v8 it will automatically have the brighter display with the low reflection screen. I give this unit a 5 star on form and a 5 star on the functionality for which it was designed. You will not be disappointed.

Garmin nüvi 360 3.5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Text-To-Speech

Related Posts:

]]> http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/24/the-nuvi-360-has-map-v8-updated-from-the-v7-in-the-nuvi-350/feed/ I had the Nuvi 350 http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/24/i-had-the-nuvi-350/ http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/24/i-had-the-nuvi-350/#comments Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:31:16 +0000 qihoo8 http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/24/i-had-the-nuvi-350/ Previous to this, I had the Nuvi 350, which is also an excellent device. Since the function is identical in nearly every regard to the 350, there is little point in covering the basics in much depth, but it’s worth re-stating some of them. I will go into great detail on the Bluetooth functionality below. Garmin nüvi 360 3.5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Text-To-Speech
This is such a handy device, and is so well executed, that you would be hard-pressed not to love it. The first thing I noticed about the Nuvi was its incredibly small size and weight. I could not believe how light it was. I literally expected it to have at least twice the heft when I went to pick it up the first time - it was like picking up a deck of cards, but lighter.
The antenna is a flap that is raised from the back, maybe about the size of a matchbook. When raised the Nuvi immediately starts locking in on satellites, when lowered, the unit knows you are through navigating for a while. Intuitive and effective.
Navigation on the Nuvi is very good, fast, and intuitive. It’s no different from many of Garmin’s other offerings in that regard. Some buildings and businesses that you would expect to be shown as POIs are not there, but most are. One thing I would suggest: when a route is less than ideal, Garmin should allow you to correct it permanently so that it does not re-suggest the non-preferred route each time.
I had a problem with my old Nuvi 350 that I have not observed on the new 360. Sometimes the 350 would not lock onto the satellite signal. Once it went into this mode of searching for, but not locking in, for over a minute it just never found anything. The only way I found to correct this was to push the small reset button under the antenna. I notice that another reviewer found that his new 360 had the same problem. This must be a bug in some Nuvi units that would be worth following up with Garmin on. I can tell you that my 360 NEVER has required a reboot, and I’ve been using it continuously.
I did not test the MP3 functionality beyond verifying that it plays back the songs that are pre-loaded for demo purposes. I didn’t care about this feature; I’m very happy with my iPod for song management and playback. I can verify that you would not want to use the Nuvi’s internal speaker for song playback, though. It’s good enough to use as a speakerphone and for voice prompts, but it’s not a hi-fi.
Now, for the fun part: Bluetooth functionality. I have been using it with my BlackBerry 8700c with excellent results so far. I had no problems with the initial discovery and mating process. The interface is robust. What happens is that once your phone has made the connection with the 360, a phone icon appears on the Nuvi. You can now use the 360 to call ANY POI directly from the screen! This is truly amazing; you are now walking around with the yellow pages in the palm of your hand, sortable by your current location, or any other location you choose. I just find the Point of Interest, and touch the phone number of that POI, and the phone starts dialing it. The sound comes out through the speaker of the Nuvi, and conversations have been natural so far. It’s working like an absolute charm, and this single feature moves the device beyond anything else available right now.
When you select the phone icon from the main screen, several phone-related icons appear. From the phone screen, you can make a call manually, access your address book, call a POI, etceteras. The manual dial function works fine from the touchscreen. The really cool news: Nuvi automatically downloads your phone’s address book to its database when it makes the initial Bluetooth link. So, if your phone supports this functionality, you can use it for all dialing functions, since the display is so much nicer than most phones, and the touchscreen works really well. You can always break the BT connection once you get the number dialed if you want a private, non-speakerphoned conversation. I have done that many times already. Once your call ends, the connection to the Nuvi is reestablished automatically. One word of warning: BlackBerry does not support sending its addresses to the Nuvi, so I was unable to test the download feature, but this does not surprise me given BlackBerry’s security obsession. I am confident that it would work fine with other supported phones. Garmin nüvi 360 3.5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Text-To-Speech
Overall, the device is a joy to operate. The battery life is good, although I would not call it excellent. The menus are very intuitive. The accuracy is very high. Even the windshield mount earns my praise. I did a lot of research on the Nuvi, comparing it in excruciating detail to the latest Tom Tom 910, the Magellan Roadmate 800, etceteras. The 350 was a great unit, the 360’s Bluetooth functionality makes it even better, and worth the extra money for me.
UPDATE (7/28/06): I just returned from a 4 day trip to Banff, Canada during which I logged another 20 hours of driving. The unit continues to perform perfectly, including comprehensive POIs in the Banff/Lake Louise area. I also discovered an amazing feature I had not noticed before. I was unfamiliar with the Lake Louise area and had three hungry kids in the car. I pressed Where To, then Restaurants, and the list appeared, in order of proximity to my moving vehicle. Each listing showed the distance to that restaurant, with a little arrow next to it showing the exact direction to that restaurant. I just left it on this page and drove around, following the arrows, which moved as I did, until I found a restaurant that looked good. What an amazing device. I also have nothing but praise for the window mount. Seems like a small thing, but it’s so solid and well-designed I had to make special mention of it. It has a lever to easily create a large suction force, the ball joints are very solid, and the method of attachment to the Nuvi is just extremely well designed.
Update (9/2/06): I have now owned the Nuvi 360 for about two months. It continues to exceed my expectations in terms of reliability and accuracy. So many nice touches that you don’t notice right away but that are executed so well. The auto brightness level, for example, is perfect. The night mode changes the color scheme and the background goes black, highlighting the roads well and keeping the light emissions at a pleasant level, where the day mode would have been too bright. Everyone I demo it for wants one. My next step: buy stock in Garmin?
Update (9/14/07): The unit continues to operate flawlessly. I have now bought this machine for several employees of my company, each of whom love it. I also followed through on my impulse to buy Garmin stock, which has more than doubled since then! I now also own a Nuvi 660; it’s fantastic. However, with the wider screen it’s a bit bulkier to carry around, so my wife and I trade them back and forth depending on what we are doing. I still say that the 360 is the best bang for the buck if you want the Bluetooth functionality, and the 350, which is now selling for only $370, is every ounce as good if you don’t care about the Bluetooth.
One other point - I now drive a BMW 545i with integrated GPS. I bought the car used but I know that the option costs a bundle. I never use it because the Nuvi is so much more user friendly and fast. So for anyone out there who is trying to decide if they should spring for a very expensive integrated GPS system in their new car, here’s one vote to save yourself the money and get the Nuvi. It’s easier to use and you get to carry it around with you to boot!

Garmin nüvi 360 3.5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Text-To-Speech

Related Posts:

]]> http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/24/i-had-the-nuvi-350/feed/ I’m a pretty experienced Blackberry user http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/24/im-a-pretty-experienced-blackberry-user/ http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/24/im-a-pretty-experienced-blackberry-user/#comments Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:27:58 +0000 qihoo8 http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/24/im-a-pretty-experienced-blackberry-user/ I’m a pretty experienced Blackberry user and I got the Bold about a month ago after using the Curve 8310 for a year or so. BlackBerry Bold 9000 Phone, Black (AT&T)

 

Briefly:
1. Screen and keyboard ARE very nice and an improvement
2. Its bigger and heavier by far than the Curve — enough to notice especially on your hip
3. Battery life is about 2/3 that of the Curve. I routinely got a day out of the Curve as a heavy user but not the Bold without recharging. Its exacerbated by the fact that the USB re-charging is much slower than the Curve so its harder to "top up" during the day. And yes, I’ve tried minimizing brightness, turning off wi-fi, etc.
4. AT&T’s 3G network is really not ready for prime time. I almost never got "call failed" or "call busy" but do get it 1-3 times a day from the Bold.
5. It is nice to get mail and web while on the phone, but, honestly, Web access does not see that much faster, especially if there are scripts, etc. All in all, nice looking, techncially whizzy, but maybe not as good a phone.

BlackBerry Bold 9000 Phone, Black (AT&T)

Related Posts:

]]> http://www.qihoo8.net/2009/03/24/im-a-pretty-experienced-blackberry-user/feed/