My hard drive failed - came back in the freezer! 16 June 2006, 11:24
Posted by Orhan in : Geeky Techy Stuff , add a commentI use an old notebook hard drive in an external 2.5″ enclosure to carry my data everywhere. It failed last week, I didn’t mind because I keep regular backups (using xcopy with some parameters.) It turned out that my back up script was not perfect. I thought it was backing up fine but I found out the hard way that it was encountering an error and stopping to copy the files and the error message dissapears so quickly that I did not realize the problem.
Anyway, I had to retrieve the data from my failed hard disk and I do not have $1000 to give to the professionals. I was searching the web for an appropriate software and I came accross this discussion: “Freeze your hard drive to recover data: Myth or Reality?“
I tried the trick, and it worked! I put the hard disk along with the enclosure to the freezer and waited for 10 minutes. I then connected my laptop and downloaded everything off of it. It needed a few unplug-plug cycles but I was able to recover all the data..
Just ordered a skype regular phone adapter kmu-30a by K-mate 14 June 2006, 14:13
Posted by Orhan in : General , 2 comments
Just ordered a regular phone (rj11) adapter for skype. It also has a gateway function. This will be for the family so that they can call me using the regular house phone.
Found it on eBay.
Will post here the review here when I receive it.
Interesting free software from the author 13 June 2006, 21:52
Posted by Orhan in : General , add a commentI was looking for a simple folder synchronization tool and I came accross this web site. Interesting, check it out:
Orhan
Dell announced the successor to Inspiron 700m/710m brothers: XPS m1210 31 May 2006, 21:38
Posted by Orhan in : General , add a commentWell, Dell has launched a successor to its ultra portable 700m/710m series. The new name is XPS m1210. It has built-in webcam, microphone, probably bluetooth and it is based on Intel Core Duo processors.
Meanwhile, www.700musers.com forums expands to cover 710m and the new sibling m1210.
www.700musers.com , www.710musers.com , www.m1210users.com
Database problem 15 May 2006, 12:06
Posted by Orhan in : General , add a commentHi All,
There has been a database problem for the last 2-3 days with Yahoo web hosting. I am not sure if it is fixed totally because it has been coming and going. For now, it seems to be working fine but the service was down for an abnormally long duration of time.
Orhan
Dell Inspiron 700m internal bluetooth mod completed 6 May 2006, 03:45
Posted by Orhan in : Geeky Techy Stuff , 20 commentsWell, not exactly as planned, but a successful internal bluetooth addition is completed for the Inspiron 700m laptop. Although the chipset allows three usb ports, since there were no traces on the motherboard, I could not figure out where the unused usb port had its terminals. So I decided to pull a parallel line to the upper usb port. The first few figures show how the laptop is dismantled and how the usb port terminals are accessed on the motherboard.
4 wires are needed to carry the usb to another location. I used a usb receptacle just to keep the standard usb jack on the bluetooth dongle. Also, I think it is good to have a flexible system, maybe I might need it for something else in the future.
I added a power on/off switch to the +5v lead. This way I was planning to make the usb port usable while not using the bluetooth dongle. Well, it didn’t work as expected too. It turns out that I need a 3-pole switch to cut the data lines too. Anyways, having a power switch is still good for saving the battery. I am planning to change to a 3-pole switch in the future.
I figured the best place for the on/off switch is the front panel, near the optical drive bay. I opened a “window” with the help of a friend and made the switch accessible.
The usb dongle sits in the area where 700m has the wifi mini-pci card and the phone modem. Insulating it from the shiny protective sheet under the plastic cover is necessary. I used a simple tape for that.
Everything works OK for the time being. I am down to 1 usb port as of now, but it really makes no difference since I will not need one for the bluetooth!
Let me know if you have any questions..
Extreme 700m mod: Adding a USB port for internal bluetooth project 4 May 2006, 21:15
Posted by Orhan in : Geeky Techy Stuff , add a commentAfter a long period of silence, I am back with an extreme mod project for the 700m. The Intel chipset used on Dell 700m provides at least 3 USB ports but only two are accessible on the laptop. The third is terminated and hidden on the motherboard. It is actually active and can be used if a usb device can be wired into it properly.
A similar mod has been posted by tnkgrl at: Internal USB Bluetooth module in AV1050
I am planning to finish the project in 2 days max. Detailed instructions and pictures will follow.
Skype story: Family relatives (long-time geographically distant) found me on Skype! 16 March 2006, 22:31
Posted by Orhan in : General , add a commentThis is one of the biggest surprizes for me in a while. Today, as I am working at my office at the university, my cellphone rang. My Skype incoming calls come directly to my cell phone (and no, it is not call forwarding by Skype), and I saw the call was one of them. Thinking it was my parents or a friend (I know it is a Skype incoming call but the cell phone screen does not show the caller’s Skype nickname,) I picked it up.
It turns out that a family relative, whom neither I nor most of my family have met, is on the other side of the line in Denmark. This was a very nice surprize and it shows what internet and Skype is capable of. We were talking a few seconds later he searched, found and dialled me, and he said “You know, or you don’t but we are relatives, HELLO.”
Way to go Skype developers. You are changing the way we communicate, and find each other!
Mini notebook - laptop microphone project 28 February 2006, 06:33
Posted by Orhan in : Geeky Techy Stuff , add a commentI love my laptop but it lacks an onboard microphone. I hate dangling cables around the laptop as well as the hassle to find it and put it on while my internet phones are ringing! So I decided to go ahead and build my mini microphone which I carry all the time, attached to the side of the battery to be used when needed.
What is needed:
1- 1/4″ Stereo phone plug (RadioShack# 274-284, $4.50)
2- Condenser microphone (RadioShack# 270-090, $2.70)
3- Soldering iron
4- Hot glue gun (or you might improvise here)
Procedure:
1- Solder the middle and the tip leads of the stereo phone plug, and solder the positive microphone lead to this connection.
2- Solder the ground lead of the microphone to the ground lead of the phone plug.
3- Test the microphone operation.
4- Carefully fill the gaps and around the soldered connections with hot glue. This will also be the casing of the microphone.
5- Let the melted plastic set, and cool down.
6- Carefully trim the excess portions.
7- Enjoy the mini-microphone! 
Synchronize your bookmarks within browsers - and computers at the same time!! 27 February 2006, 06:23
Posted by Orhan in : Geeky Techy Stuff , add a commentOk, here is a new post after a long period of silence. Today I did maybe the most functional thing of the year. I was thinking about the cool extensions of Firefox and I figured they could have something to maintain the same group of bookmarks accross browsers. Well, turns out that there is one that does it between Firefox and IE, and even more, there is another one that allows you to synchronize your Firefox bookmarks within different computers.
[Firefox <> IE] on Computer 1 <----> [Firefox <> IE] on Computer 2 : ALL SYNCHED !!! Am I happy or what
What is needed: A valid FTP account, that’s it!
How to set up? Just follow these steps:
1- Backup all your bookmarks!!
2-Download and install the following Firefox extensions: Bookmarks Synchronizer 3 and FavoriteSync. Make sure Bookmarks Synchronizer 3 appears above FavoriteSync in the Tools > Extensions window. If it is not, then right-click and move it up as necessary.
3- Restart Firefox.
4- Click the “Sync with favorites” button (yellow star) that is added to the toolbar. At this point, your IE and FF bookmarks should all be the same.
5- Open Firefox, goto Bookmarks > Synchronize Bookmarks
6- Edit FTP settings
7- Press Upload
8- At this point, updated copy of your bookmarks at the ftp location.
For any additional computer, Computer 2,3,… follow these steps:
9- Backup bookmarks!!
10- Download and install the same extensions:
11- Restart Firefox
12- Edit FTP settings, the same as Computer 1, and enable “Merge new data into current bookmarks” option.
13- Press Download, very important. At this point, updated copy of your combined (Computer 1 and Computer 2) bookmarks are at Computer 2.
14- Press Upload, and now the updated copy of your combined (Computer 1 and Computer 2) bookmarks are at the server.
Repeat steps 9-14 for any additional computer.
Continue as follows:
15- Using the Firefox bookmark manager, edit your bookmarks to their final shape. Goto Bookmarks > Synchronize Bookmarks and upload.
16- In all computers, open Firefox, goto Bookmarks > Synchronize Bookmarks and uncheck “Merge new data into current bookmarks” option. Click download. Enable auto download and auto upload options.
17- In Firefox, goto Tools > Extensions > FavoriteSync > Options. Enable “Sync when Firefox starts” and disable “Alert if Windows program not installed”.
Well, that is all I did to get this up and running. Let me know if there is any easier way of doing this..