The MMO Notebook

Archive for the ‘Computers’ Category

While this blog is primarily about online gaming, every now and then I will make a post about technology in general. This is one such post.

In May 2009 I wrote about my reasons for using MobileMe over Google Sync. Things have changed since then.

I have been using Apple’s MobileMe service for a couple of years now. My main gaming rig is a PC, but I have owned an iPhone in the past and I own an iPad now. MobileMe has worked flawlessly for me on both Apple and PC products. I used it to sync my email, contact, and calendar and it did so without issue. The problem with MobileMe is that it costs $100 a year. That is not such a great cost when you spread that out over a twelve month period of time.

Even so, Google’s Gmail and Calendar service is free. Google also has a service called Google Apps, which allows you to use your personal or business domain name for your email. The standard version is free and a Premiere version is only $50 a year. The differences in the two plans can be seen here.

I decided to try the Premiere edition due to the extra storage space and enterprise features. I have used the service for a month now and I have been very impressed. Emails are pushed via two-way sync to my iPad instantaneously. My contacts and calendar items also synced without issue.

My only real complaint is that I can not seem to get my Blackberry to perform two-way email syncing. I receive email easily enough and if I delete items on the Blackberry they are also deleted on the server. However, if I delete email via Google’s webmail, it does not delete from the handset. I have yet to figure out why. Setting it up using IMAP settings should do the trick, but it has not worked as of yet.

One very nice item that Google offers for free is a piece of software that automatically uploads all of your email to your new account. Switching to a different email service has been a big pain in the past, but Google’s Uploader program makes it easy.

So, to line the services up, they go like this: Regular Gmail is free and you get an @gmail.com email address. The Standard edition of Google Apps allows you to use a personal domain name, more storage, and better administration. Google Apps Premiere gives even more storage, Exchange syncing on the desktop using Outlook, more users, and many higher-end enterprise features.

I will be sticking with the Google Apps Premiere account and canceling my MobileMe service. I will save $50 a year and gain extra features on top of that.

I prefer a full-size mouse, but virtually every bluetooth mouse on the market are “travel mice” size, which is another way of saying you need baby-sized hands to comfortably use them. Long ago I found a full-sized Kensington bluetooth mouse that has served me well. It worked with every PC and MAC that I tried to pair it with. Indeed, I was a very happy camper with this mouse until the time came to install Apple’s new “Snow Leopard” operating system. My trusty old mouse would not pair with my Macbook Pro. I was in a panic.

The pairing process baffled me because my Mac could actually “see” my mouse. The Bluetooth Setup Assistant would show the mac address of my mouse in the detection window but it would not go any further. The pairing process would fail. Since the mouse was working fine right up until I installed Snow Leopard, it was fairly obvious it was a software problem. I was worried that my old bluetooth mouse was no longer compatible with Apple’s latest bluetooth stack. Luckily, an idea popped into my head that fixed the problem.

When you run the Bluetooth Setup Assistant on a Mac, it displays any bluetooth device it finds in the detection window. The normal sequence is that it sees the mac address of the mouse and then it changes to the actual name of the mouse. In my case, it should change to “Kensington Mouse,” but it never would get to that point with Snow Leopard. I began to wonder if I could somehow manually type in the name of the mouse to see if that would help things along. Thankfully, the answer is yes.

I started the Bluetooth Setup assitant, and when the first window appeared, I clicked on the “Specify Device” button. I typed “Kensington Mouse” in the dialog box and clicked “OK.” Amazingly enough, it worked perfectly!

Give this method a try if you are having trouble using a bluetooth mouse with Snow Leopard. The name you type in the “Device Address” box must be the exact name that would display if detection was working properly. I was lucky enough to remember the name of mine.

–Kevin

Microsoft has opened up their Windows 7 pre-order website and for a limited time you can get the upcoming operating system for half price. Upgrade pricing for Windows 7 Home Premium is set at a low $49.99, with higher tiers scaling up in price. The low pre-order pricing is for a limited time only, so take advantage of this soon if you plan on upgrading to Windows 7.

My advice: Windows 7 is the best operating system Microsoft has ever created. Run, don’t walk, to the pre-order site and get the great pricing and ditch Vista and XP.

The Waterfield Sleeve Case from sfbags.com is a unique take on the standard “sleeve” type laptop case. It can be customized in several different ways and the quality of workmanship is very high. This is the second bag I have purchased from sfbags.com and I have been extremely pleased each time. Please view the above video for more information.  Click here to see a larger version.

Edit: One correction to the video: I stated in the video that you don’t get the D-rings if you don’t order the shoulder strap. That is incorrect. You can order the rings without the strap.

The Lacie Iamakey is a USB thumb drive in the shape of a key. Please see the above video for more information. Click here to see a larger version.

It has been awhile since I started using Google Sync, which is Google’s free contacts and calendar syncing software. It allows you to sync your Gmail contacts and calendar to your mobile phone. It does some nice things, but in the end, I decided to stop using it and go back to Apple’s MobileMe service.

Google Sync is free, so I wanted to see if it would be worthy enough to replace my MobileMe service, which costs $99 per year. Google Sync offers push contacts and calendar from Gmail to your mobile phone and it performs those tasks very well. I tested the service on my iPhone 3G and it works as advertised. Once it is setup on your phone, any change you make to your contacts or calendar automatically gets updated in the cloud and on your phone. Unfortunately, push email is not offered as yet, but the button to turn it on is there, so they will probably offer that feature soon.

Updates to my Gmail contacts and calendar were quick and painless. Changes to something in Gmail was almost instantly changed on my phone and vice versa. I never had a problem with functionality and everything worked very well. The only downside that I noticed was that the push feature used more of my iPhone’s battery.

Okay, so if Google Sync works as advertised, why did I stop using it? Quite simply, MobileMe has spoiled me. MobileMe allows me to sync my email, contacts, and calendars to my phone and all my computers. You can use a program called Spanning Sync (for a Mac) to get all of that functionality with Google Sync, but that costs money and is something extra you need to install. I also found software that will sync Google with Microsoft Outlook, but again it costs money. In the end, it is worth it to me to pay for the extra convenience.

If all you need is contacts and calendar syncing between Gmail and your phone, then Google Sync is a no-brainer. It is free, fast, and works very well. If you need to also sync your email and have everything the same across phones and computers, you will need to look elsewhere or deal with the extra paid software. If you use PC’s, I would recommend looking at a company that offers Exchange support.

Google Sync has made a good start. I would definitely give them another try if they were to begin offering features that allow me to sync my data across all my phones and computers. Until then, MobileMe is my choice.

Best Buy has done it again. Just like a previous story, a customer bought a computer, took it home and found a brick inside the box instead of a Macbook Pro. Just like the other story, Best Buy won’t do a thing about it and pawns the problem off to Apple. It looks like Best Buy has a difficult time learning lessons.

I’ll say it again: if you buy an expensive item at Best Buy, open the box right there in the store and make sure you are getting what you pay for. It could save you a huge headache.

A new Visa ad running in Australia. Just imagine…

I didn’t think it was possible, but Microsoft has found a new way to piss off its customers.  A report sighted at Slashdot says that the upcoming Windows 7 Starter Edition will allow you to only run three programs at once. What this means is that if you have your web browser, email, and word processor open and you then want to open Excel, you won’t be able to unless you close what you already have open. That is preposterous!

How in the world can Microsoft be so anti-user as to offer this junk? Limitations like this will only frustrate and annoy users to a point where they might go look for other alternatives. I try to be fair to both sides, but this makes me even more happy to use a Mac as my main computer. Apple has it right when they say that they only offer one version of their operating system – the Ultimate Version. It has no limitations and every feature is included for a price much less than Windows.

Windows 7 is looking better than Vista, but Microsoft has made a big mistake with this decision.

A story came out today that a woman was killed by a rogue laptop computer. Her car was hit by a tow truck, which was not the deadly part.  It seems that her laptop was laying in the backseat, and when her car was hit, it flew up and smacked her in the back of the head. The laptop was the killing blow. This is a sad story, but there are some lessons to be learned here.

You should never leave your computer on your car seat without it being in a case. It would soften the blow if something like this accident happens to you, but it also protects your computer from sunlight and serves as semi-camouflage from thieves. If you must leave your laptop in the car, I recommend placing it on the floor behind the front seat. Keep in mind that heat can negatively affect battery life in computers and cell phones, so don’t leave them in your car for long.

So be safe out there and secure your gadgets.