A portable battery that can be used to plug-in most portable items. Has 2 USB ports and an AC outlet on the side. Built-in converter so can connect battery to ac outlet or to a power outlet in your car. Even if you don’t have the battery plugged in, it will provide additional power for your devices, or to recharge them.
XPower PowerSource Mobile 100 is the model name.
Looks like very good protection for your portable devices, and not unreasonable prices either. I may just have to order one for my Archos 504
I’ve bought a 40GB 504, and am almost completely happy with it. Currently, I can’t use it to output to a tv just using a standard mini to RCA cable, but Archos is working on it. I’ve been happy with their tech support, as they did a lot to try and help me. It seems it’s a firmware issue, so hopefully they’ll get it resolved soon.
I’m also not happy with their current plug-in pricing. I want to have MPG2 and AC3 audio support, but I’m not going to pay 20 Euros for it (assuming they use the same price for the Cinema plug-in that they’re using for the podcast plug-in they’ve released). Hopefully the market won’t buy it, so they’ll have to drop the price.
I’ve started using Dr. Divx for my encoding. Much more powerful than the Divx Converter, and it doesn’t require the MPEG2 plug-in to convert MPEG2 or VOB files. Too bad I hadn’t looked at it before registering the MPEG2 plug-in. Such is life.
Dr.Divx allows for batching of files. You can also add additional files to be processed while it is currently converting a file. It supports ‘watch’ folders, so you can move files you want converted to a watched folder, and Dr. Divx will automatically add them to it’s batch list. Handy if you have a lot of files that require the same parameters, since otherwise you’d have to load each file, and set the parameters for conversion by hand.
Well worth checking out if you want to convert files.
Setup for Firefox 2.0 and how to completely clean it out. Also some info on using about:config to change Firefox settings.
TweakGuides.com – Firefox Tweak Guide
My list of Firefox extensions as of today.
Tab Mix Plus – Gives much better control over Tab appearance and functionality, as well as including a Session Manager. Well worth the download
FireBug – For all your web page development tasks. CSS, Javascript, Ajax development. Layout problems etc. Well worth checking out and installing if you do ANY web page development with CSS or Javascript.
Download Manager Tweak Extension – Allows the download manager to be opened in a tab, and a few other minor enhancements.
Image Zoom – for zooming in and out on images.
Feed Your Reader – Will re-direct RSS feeds to your favourite reader. I use this to ‘feed’ them to Feeddemon
IETab – If you want to open a window in Firefox, but it really needs IE, then this extension is for you. Used the IE control inside a Firefox tab.
CSE HTML Validator – if you use the CSE HTML Validator, this plug-in lets you use it on a loaded page. Can have it validate all pages you load, or only when you do a View source. Note, the plug-in works with the free version too.
Old:
Web Developer Extension – Essential if you do any web development. Allows for quick selection of information, and selective control over stylesheets, cookies and other items related to web page design.
Update: I’ve started using Dr. Divx instead. I’ll put up a new post soon with details. It has many more options, and will do MPG/VOB conversion without having to buy anything extra. It’s free, and available from Divx.
I will be getting an Archos video player of some sort. Deciding between 504 and 604. Same price, so have to decide if want 10GB extra or 5mm less (the 504 is a 40GB vs 604 30GB, but 604 is 5mm thinner).
Anyhow, this is about using the Divx Converter to create avi files for playing on the Archos units. Divx Converter is part of Divx for Windows. It has a 15-day trial of all the components, and after the 15 days, only the basic codec and the Divx Player still work.
It isn’t too expensive, and in my experience, it works very well. It’s $19.99 USD for the Converter and Pro codec. If you want to convert MPG2 or VOB (i.e. DVDs), you need an additional plug-in for $9.99USD.
For burning files from the web (i.e. downloads via bittorrent), first try it on the Archos. If it’s a divx file with mp3 audio, it will most likely play without any conversion.
To burn files, copy them onto the Converter. I was using the portable profile for conversion. Select the view list option and then edit the entries. For 4:3 entries, make the height 272, and accept the width. For widescreen entries, set the width to 480 and do the conversion. You’ll notice that 2.35:1 movies end up being 496×208, and this is because that is closer to 2.35:1 then 480×208 is. The restriction is that MPG dimensions have to be a multiple of 16 pixels, so end up with ‘weird’ dimensions. It’s close enough to the Archos screen dimensions that you won’t notice.
For burning DVD’s, I recommend using DVD Converter (I’ve provided the file here as it isn’t easy to find on the web anymore). Rip the DVD in IFO mode. This means you’ll have to rip each ‘piece’ individually, but it makes it easier to convert in Divx as you don’t have to know the aspect ratio of the file in order to convert it. Also, Divx recommends installing AC3Filter as volume levels can be low otherwise. They have links on their site to it, or you can search the web. You can try doing a conversion without it and see what it’s like. I found the levels were on the low side on the Archos, so I installed AC3Filter.
Divx also provides a utility that sets the configuration in AC3Filter to be compatible with Divx. Basically, the settings boost the volume a little from default, and ensure that SPDIF out is disabled. For burning to the Archos, you have to ensure that it only burns stereo audio. Otherwise the Archos can’t play it.
Copy all the VOB files onto Converter (all files starting with VTS_xx_*.vob), and it will recognize that it’s one item, and it will join them. It will display the options dialog, so set the width to 480, and leave the aspect ratio locked! Don’t worry that it isn’t 1.85:1 or 2.35:1. Divx will do the right thing for the output file.
Unfortunately, Converter doesn’t provide an option for overriding the saved file name, so you’ll end up with the same name for output (something like VTS_01.divx), so you’ll have to remember what it was and rename it after the conversion is done.
Have fun with this, and feel free to leave a comment to ask questions. If I know the answer, I’ll update this post to reflect it.
For opening pages in Firefox that require IE.
Looks like a great tool for web page development. Allows for instant mods to current page to test it under various conditions, or analyze information on the page.
This video made the rounds several months ago, and it’s back, but this time with some ‘behind the scenes’ video as well. Take a look if you haven’t seen it before. It’s well worth it!
Cool Stuff Being Made: The Honda Cog Commercial and How It Was Made
Looks like a great utility for encrypting information. Useful on a USB drive too.
TrueCrypt – Free Open-Source On-The-Fly Disk Encryption Software for Windows XP/2000 and Linux
A very tiny USB drive that gets high marks for speed.
I keep thinking about buying one of these boxes that have RAID-5 support with at least a Terabyte of storage. With my video, music and photo collections, and various problems with hard drives, I’d like the extra security of a RAID box.
The names I’ve come across so far that are ‘affordable’ are Buffalo Technology TeraStation
Infrant NAS and Newisys NA-1400.
They’re all around $1000 for the box, and then you have to add hard-drives. Not cheap, but RAID-5 for important data is well worth it. How much is it worth to you to ensure your photos are safe?
I haven’t made a decision on any of these, and I notice that Buffalo now has some PRO versions too. Previous comparisons of Buffalo and Infrant had Infrant on top, but I’ll have to see if I can find a review using the new Buffalo Pro versions to see how they stack up.
An excellent Porsche collection in Dayton, Ohio. Saw it on ‘My Classic Car’.
TajMaGaraj.Excessive Personal Transportation & Automotive Necessities
An interesting test of driving ability (or lack thereof) of the modern driver. We’ve become so dependent on new technology, we don’t know how to actually drive!
An interesting device that connects to the OBDII connector in your car. Depending on the version, can report and record many different stats, and reset the ‘Service Engine’ light. Can do your own diagnostics if the garage isn’t helping.
Also could be used to keep an eye on your child, although depending on where the connector is, the CarChip may interfere with your legs while driving.
MoneySense.ca: Stocks & Markets: Inside the real estate maze: what your agent won’t tell you
A good article on things your real estate agent won’t tell you.
1. Always an option to sell yourself. Two sites mentioned in article: ForSaleByOwner.com and 4SaleByOwner.com. An appraiser is also a good idea if you’re going to do it yourself to get the price in the correct neighbourhood. If a strong market, mark up appraised price 10-15%. AICanada.ca.
Personal opinion: Be prepared to spend the time required to show the house and do the negotiations, but if you’re in a ‘hot’ neighbourhood, no reason this shouldn’t work.
2. Fees are negotiable. If a fast selling neighbourhood, selling and buying with the same agent, or agent brings buyer to table, can negotiate.
3. Conflicts may exist The agent is in the business to sell homes, so they may not tell you all they know about a home, or your situation. After all, the longer it takes them to sell your home, or get you to buy, the longer they have to wait for their paycheque.
4. GST on Commission The Canadian government can’t keeps its hands off anything. I guess they figure it’s a service, therefore they can collect GST. Negotiate up front with your agent to have them reduce their commission by this amount, or at least be aware of the fact that you have to add 7% of commission to your final cost of selling your home.
5. Don’t price too low If you under price your home, you will get lots of people looking, but may get a case of buyer’s remorse after the close. Then the buyer may want out and start legal proceedings to get out of the deal. If it’s priced reasonably, you should get seriously interested buyers.
6. Open houses help the agent more then you This one was a bit of a surprise to me, but after reading the reasons, it makes sense. Basically, an open house is more of an opportunity for the agent to meet prospective clients. How many open houses have you gone to where you just wanted to see the house?
The MLS listing should be enough. Good agents will know about the homes for sale in the neighbourhood their clients are interested in, and will make arrangements for a viewing (you’ll have viewings whether you have an open house or not). Avoids having many people browsing through your home, and having to be away for 3-4 hours.
7. Listing may not be accurate The agent should verify that everything in the listing is correct, but they don’t necessarily do that. This applies to buyers and sellers. Verify the listing for your own home, and confirm items on the list of a home you’re looking at.
A discussion on how the body processes milk, and why drinking it if you’ve drunk poison could be a good thing. Something to think about if you have children…
Bottom line: Drinking milk will cause some form of indigestion. Indigestion slows down the digestion process. Slowing down the digestion process means your body isn’t absorbing as much poison, so now you have more time to seek medical aid.
In Case of Poison Ingestion: Drink Milk? [ Tempus Fugit | TxFx.net ]
I currently use BitComet, but this one’s been getting a lot of exposure lately. May check it out, although I don’t have any complaints with BitComet.
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