Clever and potentially profitable

Dell Latitude 10 Tabet Driver issues

2013-05-14T18:54:00.000-05:00

Found a couple of fixes. Remember how much hell Windows is while the Mac just works?

Well, here are a few.

As a tablet, great hardware. With Windows 8 Pro, it has a lot of promise in flexibility.

Now if Dell/Intel/Microsoft would make it just work.

1. To get my (old school but still very decent) Think Outside Stowaway Travel mouse working I had to put it in pairing mode, start the pairing, and before it went out of pairing mode, go to Control Panel - Hardware and Sound - Devices and Printers.

Right click the mouse. Select Properties. Then on the Services tab, make sure 'Drivers for Keyboard, mice, etc.' is selected.

Then, my mouse worked.

Brilliant right? Like I don't want Windows 8 to load my mouse driver when I pair a mouse? Why do I have to figure that out? And I don't even know how I did except long persistence of looking at the issue.

Now, I had the Bluetooth Keyboard quit working on me once. To fix that...

Open Device Manager. Expand 'Bluetooth' by clicking the arrow or double clicking it. Right click on 'Bluetooth Radio' and then the Power Management tab. Deselect and reselect 'Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power'.

I haven't decided to leave this disabled or not. Will try to report back. Obviously it's going to use more power if I don't let the computer turn it off, but having my devices stop working is no bueno.

See my other woes with Dell Customer service at:

http://rcbullock.blogspot.com/2013/04/my-sad-dell-latitude-10-experience.html

Now if I can just get tethering working with my cell phone. It works fine with my Mac of course, and every other hotspot appears to work with the tablet. Sigh.

Biolite Stove on Sale This Week

2013-04-23T09:19:00.003-05:00

I own one. I think it overdelivers. I don't own the grill attachment, because I'm cheap. :)

We cooked some veggie burgers last night on it and some regular burgers for the kids with a frying pan.

Free shipping this week from http://www.biolitestove.com/ and use coupon code PARKWEEK13 at checkout.

My Sad Dell Latitude 10 Experience

2013-04-16T13:36:00.002-05:00

(Read to the end for updates.)

I ordered this on 5 April. 24 DAYS LATER, still waiting to get a good unit. It will be my FOURTH try. First two had issues right out of the box. Third one was new, but wrong hardware.

First had a bad camera. Here's the pic it took. the inner lens was covered in gunk or something. I'm not taking it apart. No way they tested it.

No, I didn't forget to remove a protective film, but it looks like maybe they did on the inside of the tablet.

The replacement had a crack in the back and a popped corner AND the wrong OS. I ordered Pro, replacement had cheaper regular Win 8. But they shipped it quickly. Overnight I think. Too bad it was wrong and busted. The popped corner I later pressed on a bit and it popped back in. That's as far as I go.

This is how the replacement arrived packaged: free to move around a lot. At least wrap it up.

Dell, this could be why you are having trouble competing.

I like the specs and price of the machine but this is all just unacceptable.

I was also told the replacement would be new. I spent several hours setting up the first one before discovering the back camera issue.

The second I at least noticed the wrong OS off the bat so I didn't spend much time with it.

This experience is making me want to by an iPad mini, much as I dislike Apple's walled garden. At least their products and service are top notch.

I might be able to live with the restrictions in iOS. :(

From Dell on 4/16/2013: Just wait, we will get you a replacement. Some day.

23 April 2013:
I spend 20 minutes on the phone with them asking what's up, and they finally tell me there's one on the truck and it's a new one, not a refurb.

Yay, right? Not so fast.

They sent the wrong HARDWARE this time. An ST2e which is the 'Essentials' model missing several features vs. the model I had paid for.

THIRD TRY DELL! One broken, one damaged AND the wrong OS, one brand new with the right OS BUT the WRONG MODEL.

Let's go for FOUR and you better be sending me an upgrade and a case for the hours I'm spending packing these up and on the phone with you.

23 April 2013:
Dell tells me it's been discontinued. Umm, this just came out like 90 days ago. The ST model is discontinued, the ST2 is the new one. 50+ minutes on this phone call so far...We agreed to stop using the 'ST2' term and call it the Latitude 10 to eliminate that confusion. I point out to them that their website says this can ship tomorrow. So it's not discontinued.

23 April 2013:
They call and reference the issue # and only leave half a message. No idea why they called.

24 April 2014:
Called them, told me nothing. Waiting on the tech to call. In an hour.

25 April 2014:
I think they called me today, but I'm working and miss business hours, soo...

26 April 2014:
Call the person I'm supposed to call at 255PM CST who is supposed to be in the office until 5pm. Never get a response.

29 April 2014:
Call the guy from 26 April, 905 CST. He's supposed to be in. No answer. Get an email from them so I call, and finally get someone. She's more concerned about getting their systems back than making sure I finally get the right one on the FOURTH attempt. Or that I'm a happy customer. I have never got any waybills to send them back, despite being told earlier that IIRC the third system was supposed to come with one. She says she will send me two. She also tells me now the FOURTH tablet I will get will be a refurb vs. a new one like attempt #3 was. She says a new system of the lower end model costs more than I paid for my refurb. I don't care how much the new system I DON'T WANT AND NEVER ASKED FOR costs.

Later:
I get ONE waybill in my email.

I email her BACK saying I need another one, AS WE DISCUSSED.

25 days and counting, Dell, to get the proper tablet, with the proper OS, that I ordered, and even though you sent a new one for attempt THREE, and it was the WRONG one, now I'm back to getting a refurb.

At some point. If they have it in stock. Or the next model up. If they have it.

30 April 2013:
I go to wipe the one that was cracked and had the wrong OS so I can send it back. Says it "Could not find the files needed". Good thing it was just setup for testing and doesn't contain any of my personal info. I seem to remember that one had a visible restore partition that on the other tablets I've had was hidden. IIRC. Oh well. Another fault, it had enough to start with.

1 May 2013:
I get a message saying Fedex will deliver something tomorrow. Nothing from Dell.

2 May 2013:
A new (well, refurb in great condition so far it appears) tablet arrives! After Dell emails to tell me it's coming. They didn't have this spec in stock.

GUESS WHAT?!! *NO STYLUS*!! I KNEW I SHOULDN'T HAVE SENT IT BACK! A little voice told me they wouldn't get it right.

Well, it was a big voice. My past experience. But with my luck, they would have said I didn't send it all back.

So, back to the phone!

They say they will send me one in a separate order. At least now if I return the tablet (God forbid) I can not jump that hurdle again.

8 May 2013:
Tried all manner of drivers from Dell, Windows updates, etc. The FOURTH unit will not use my phone as a hotspot correctly with the Metro Internet Explorer, and it won't pair with my Bluetooth mouse.

Some stuff works on the hotspot, some doesn't. Most hotspots work though.

My Macbook Air and other devices had had no problems with either device. Did a system wipe and Windows update. No change.

It also has trouble seeing my hotspots right downstairs and my Macbook Air gets a strong great signal.

Defective driver, card, what? I don't care much any more.

Dell Latitude 10 Essentials For Sale, some mini review elements

2013-04-09T09:26:00.000-05:00

I bought a Dell Latitude 10 Certified Refurb I need to sell, because of course I decided on a higher end model after purchase. And of course I got a deal I can pass on instead of sending it back. I can send it back, or I can save you some serious cash.

This is an EXCELLENT tablet. Tablet interface OR the standard Windows 8 desktop.

This means all the new tablet goodies and all your regular Windows apps will work.

Quicken 2010? No problem. Chrome desktop Browser? Yup. You can even plug any standard keyboard and mouse, printer, hub, thumb drive, etc. into it with the normal sized USB port.

Dell sells it new for $579+ tax so about $620. I'm asking $400 for this one. That's around 36% off the new price for the same warranty, and it looks like new.

Look here, and it's the 'Essentials' model for $579:

http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/latitude-10-tablet/pd.aspx?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&~ck=mn

It's the 64gig one.

You don't want the 32, you won't have much space unless you delete a bunch of stuff.

Of course I got the next higher model without the AT&T wireless built in because why?

AT&T is evil. And you can tether it via WiFi to your cell anyway. :)

I've had more Androids than I can remember, dallied with the iPad a bit, Nooks, Kindles, Asus Vivo Smart, Lenovo Lynx, and more. This is my favorite so far.

Trust me. I've tried them all, this is the best if you want to DO things with your tablet, and even play any light windows games.

If you're expecting to play Halo, probably best to look at the Surface Pro, but for most tasks, you'll love it.

Expect a more protracted review later.

This machine Eats Everything

2013-04-02T07:47:00.001-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=ibEdgQJEdTA&feature=endscreen

Motorboatin' in Houston

2013-03-31T18:27:00.000-05:00

Just a little drainage problem up by the airport.

Moooon. Moon for you Googlers.

2013-03-26T20:08:00.002-05:00

Another T3i shot. Post processed in iPhoto.

Wordpress Menus Not Going to the Right Places

2013-03-23T15:18:00.001-05:00

After pulling my hair out trying to get a menu item on a non-editable theme to go to the right spot, i.e., '/' instead of '/home' which doesn't exist, is to install this plugin: http://www.fischercreativemedia.com/plugins/quick-page-post-redirect-plugin/ Now, any requests for /home will go to / which is just mydomain.com as intended. Did I save some hair for you? Drop an oh so small donation to me via the Paypal link on the right.

Senseo Coffee Pods : An Alternative, and free pods!

2013-03-20T12:17:00.000-05:00

I made this with some pods I got in Baton Rouge, La. at the Indigo Hotel. The machine there wasn't worthy because it just dripped through the pods, essntially using them as a small bag o' coffee.

Nosirree, I didn't like it.

The other place I've gotten free pods is the burlap bags in hotel rooms that come with some foil packages. I used to ignore these, but then I looked and...SCORE! Free pods.

Now I've got my eye out.

This is a Senseo 7810 that I have a Coffee Duck for use most times.

The Community pods are brewed in Baton Rouge, so they were probably really fresh, and you can see the foam you get. My machine is about 8 years old too.

As for the Coffee Duck, it makes a decent cup but with less crema. This is due more to the fact that I have a non-conical burr grinder so the cofee isn't fine and I don't pack it in too tightly. But it does work well and saves a lot of money and time.

Here's the widget with my recommends:

Sorry, but it looks like the Private Reserve shown above isn't sold on Amazon. I guess you'll just have to visit Baton Rouge. :)

Amazon.com Widgets

An Open Letter to Asus

2013-03-13T13:42:00.002-05:00

I put this in my box to RMA my new Asus Vivo Tab Smart that was a week old.

To Whom It May Concern:

I had two or three of the original Asus Transformer tablets. Some had light bleed, some had creaky cases. This was when they were around $400 I think. I believe I tried 3 before giving up.

I returned them all and ended up with a Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 which had excellent build quality.

Now, I have another Asus product with the same issue. The case creaks and pops. There is SOME light bloom. See if you can fix that. Upper left corner in landscape mode IIRC.

THIS time I am giving you a chance to send me a good one or fix the problems with this one.

A $500 tablet shouldn't pop and creak when you pick it up.

I have a Pantech Element that is more solid than this that I paid $200 for.

I would appreciate it if you would send me some accessories for the MULTIPLE issues I've had. That might make me happy.

Please don't make this the last Asus product I buy for a long, LONG time.

I would also entertain the thought of the Vivo Tab (not RT) as that is probably a more solid tablet.

Sincerely,

Robert Bullock

theroblog.com

Wireless Guru and Blogger

240 knots on top

2013-03-07T19:21:00.001-06:00

Good times! This is almost 300 mph for non-aviation speaking readers.

Every Party

2013-03-03T11:46:00.001-06:00

Friend of mine walks in to the mens` bathroom where a few of us are.

"Is there a party in here I don't know about? Gotta take the Browns to the Super Bowl"

I says "Well, every party has a pooper..."

Is that where the term comes from?

Truth in Advertising

2013-03-02T12:56:00.001-06:00

Bodyfx Scam?

2013-02-26T14:36:00.000-06:00

I'm really not saying it's a scam, but their plan looks just like another company that's nearly a household name. In my opinion, they copied Beachbody a LOT.

And 'that ain't right' as we say in Texas.

What caught my eye was the similarity of Bodyfx to Team Beachbody, a little company that does a program you might have heard of called P90X.

Don't take this post as trash talk, but when a company puts on their site that "No other company is offering anything even remotely close to this plan!" and you know it's a very close copy of another company doing the same thing, you gotta say something, so I am.

I will do a brief comparison in a minute but let me give you a little perspective first.

I'm with Team Beachbody because I did P90X for 13 months before I decided to become a coach. I was loving my results, so I figured why not make some money telling people how great I thought it was?

I win, they win, everyone's happy. Love it. It's a beautiful thing. #tonyhorton.

Here's my progress album on Facebook.

You'll see why I am so happy helping others get in the best shape of their life. There's not really much else to say. It works. It worked for me, it will work for anyone who does it.

So I decided to become a Beachbody Coach.

Enough about me, what about this Bodyfx deal?

Someone I worked with posted their site on a company website. The thing that put me in to blog post writing mode was this statement:

"No other company is offering anything even remotely close to this plan!"

Weeeeelll, not true. Specifically:

"Body FX will generate tens of thousands of paying customers who have already purchased Body FX branded exercise, fitness, and weight-loss DVDs from their television infomercials.

The company plans to provide these leads at no charge to its distributors!"

Beachbody does this. Has been for years.

"Body FX will offer a line of ultra premium fitness and performance oriented nutrition and weight loss products that truly are different and better than what you will find anywhere else. These proprietary and patent-pending formulations will be exclusive to Body FX Reps. Body FX Direct Reps can also market the DVD sets that are advertised on the company's television infomercials."

'Better' is subjective. Patented formulas are just that. One might be 39% whey protein, one might be 40%. Yes, the infinite variations in formulas can be patented but they could all contain pretty much the same things. This is just marketing speak. Some of Beachbody's products and freebies are Coach exclusive too.

"Body FX will use a network marketing commission structure which pays uni-level commissions on up to nine levels of distributors. The pay structure also includes Fast-Start Bonuses, Infinity Bonuses, and Matching Infinity Bonuses."

Beachbody pays all levels with some small qualifications, and all sorts of bonuses. Again, have been for years.

"A distributor only needs to generate $50 BV in personal monthly sales volume to be eligible to earn Uni-level Commissions and Infinity Bonuses. This volume requirement can be met through personal purchases, or purchases made by retail customers."

Don't know what these terms mean, but even the magnitude of '50' is used on one of our qualification standards: '50 PV'.

"This fee is waived when distributors purchase a Fast-Start product pack at the time of their enrollment."

Beachbody has a Fast Start bonus and similar packs we can purchase at huge discounts.

They are even going to call some of their distributors Coaches. That's what we call ours.

I won't bore you with the rest of it, but I think I've shown that it's very VERY similar to Team Beachbody.

If I were exploring this opportunity, I would want to know that the company I was considering joining had copied a lot of what another company does.

Not just in some nuts and bolts but the industry, plan, benefits, and ideas are almost the same.

I understand there will be inevitable similarities with any new companies coming in where there are established companies, but the degree of similarities really struck me here.

Good luck, and I wish you the success I've had with Team Beachbody.

Happy Birthday from Marlboro

2013-02-21T17:31:00.001-06:00

Marlboro.

Helping you have fewer birthdays since forever.

Anyone smoke?

How to get messages on Facebook if it's not from a Friend

2013-02-11T09:37:00.001-06:00

I even added audio. This is how you get messages on Facebook from people who aren't your friends. I made this for the Sienna Plantation Facebook group 'Sienna Pickers'.

Adobe Flash for Android Still Available, Just not at Google Play Store

2013-02-05T12:48:00.002-06:00

You need to be able to install from non-official sources but usually that's just a checkbox in the settings on your device.

Adobe still has this via a simple APK download.

Go to http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/archived-flash-player-versions.html and get the one for Android 2.x/3.x or 4.0 whichever you have.

I had a slightly older version on my Pantech Element. I got the latest version and saved a copy on my Dropbox in case Adobe takes it down.

Hope this helps, drop a quarter in my Paypal donation box so I can keep drinking coffee and posting helpful tips.

On another note, the icon to change settings needs to be opened via your built in browser for some reason. Chrome doesn't work right to change Flash settings on Android.

Leave a comment if you want more details on that.

Ciao,

Roberto

Bad cell signal? Try a booster

2013-02-01T09:22:00.002-06:00

I got my mom one of these.

The only downside is it requires a 15' vertical separation between two antennas. There is a smaller one for an office or similar environment.

But I read good things. She lives out in the woods, and gets 1-2 bars in the driveway but not in the house.

It works with almost any carrier: AT&T, T-Mobile, and more. Once it's setup, it works without configuration.

Unlike the little microcell from AT&T.

All this does is receive the cell signal in your house at the base station, then transmit it over the antenna you put in the attic, outside on the roof, or in an upstairs window. It amplifies it and has more power output than a cell phone. It does the same thing to receive, since it has better reception than a phone.

There is a cable that runs between the two. You can use cable TV cabling as well for a better signal transfer.

The smaller version has a magnetic antenna and you can use it in your car and house in a single room.

I will update it when mom gets it fully installed. Or when her husband does.

Time to go running...

2013-01-29T14:17:00.001-06:00

I leave you with some flight scenery. This is out of the West Palm Beach airport yesterday.

The inside of a Coca Cola Freestyle

2013-01-27T13:14:00.001-06:00

Here's all the flavor cartridges underneath. At Bullrito's in Sugar land, TX.

A Memory of Light Pre-Order

2013-01-07T11:08:00.002-06:00

Please order from Amazon through us and support theroblog...I'm in the market for a good functional sword for zombies and such, so I appreciate it.

The end is nigh.

20 years, and 16 books.

44 million copies sold.

This is the last book, finished after the author's death, and it comes out tomorrow.

The Wheel of Time was supposed to be a six book series and ended up being 14 books plus a prequel and companion book.

Adventures sometimes turn out that way.

If you are unfamiliar, please click the banner and learn.

If you are an adventure/fantasy book fan you. Must. Read. It.

Get the first ebook in the series for only 99 cents!

Repurposed Hummus Container

2013-01-05T19:24:00.001-06:00

This holds an even dozen and will stop them from getting damaged in my lunch kit.

The International Delight flavoring cups are the exact same height and they don't even move around when you pack it full.

I drink airline coffee so this and Ideal sweetener are necessary evils.

Nerd Test

2012-12-25T15:07:00.001-06:00

OK computer nerds, anyone recognize this socket? Its in the series finale of 'Revolution'.

I know of only one type of computer it was used in.

Anyone got a guess?

Organic Fuel for your Biolite Stove

2012-12-22T23:15:00.002-06:00

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pre-Packaged-Organic-Fuel-Rods-For-Biolite-Wood-Burning-Camp-Stoves-Trail-Stove-/251196626435?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a7c7c5603

They don't look new to me but I asked if they would still work.

Now I just need the stove.

Bob Dylan's Christmas Album

2012-12-22T10:15:00.000-06:00

I heard bits and pieces of it from Dean and Rog, and you can too, with Amazon.

"Horrific" was one word they used. If you're a Dylan fan, you'll probably like it. Let's just say I won't be buying it, but it's a good time, if for other reasons.

While we're at it:

Yes, Shatner and Nimoy sing "Mr. Tambourine Man".

And a random one: