Jane Talks Tech!

Installing Ovi Maps via Nokia's Ovi Suite software

Jane O. Ullah — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:21:28 PST

The influx of searchers looking for info on installing Ovi Maps on their E71x phones is strong. This is good. :) Sadly, the post that they typically hit upon first is this monster about installing Nokia Maps 3.0.1 on the Nokia E71x. That information is out-dated and I have tried to redirect people to a much easier way of getting Ovi Maps installed and functional on their devices. The entire point of this post is:

You don't need to download the Nokia Maps 2.0 version as I had had to do with Nokia PC Suite software & the older versions of the Maps software available.
If you are using the Nokia PC Suite software, transition to the excellent Ovi Suite software which is now at v. 2.1.0.87. Ovi Suite now syncs your contact with your Ovi.com account! There is also better support for Microsoft Outlook and Windows Contacts syncing.
With Ovi Suite software, installing Ovi Maps is significantly less tricky and quite unlike this post which gets a lot of hits from people interested in Ovi Maps on the Nokia E71x phone.

Here are the updated instructions for installing Ovi Maps to your Nokia E71x phone:

Have your USB sync cable ready. Have a recent backup of your phone's contents (either using the old Nokia PC Suite software, Ovi Suite software or through the "Control" option when you rightclick the "Nokia E71x" icon under "Devices and Printers" in Windows 7. See the embedded images to see more about this 3rd option.)
Download the most recent version of Nokia's Ovi Suite software (v. 2.1.0.87). When installing, you will have the option of setting up your phone with the software. I connected my phone via the USB cable first. I recommend you do the same to avoid any potential issues with bluetooth. You can always set up your connection via bluetooth later. Follow the installation prompts and I would recommend making a backup of your phone before attempting anything else.
Fire up the Ovi Suite software and navigate to the 'Maps' tab. The software will actually prompt you to install Ovi Maps on your device! If you aren't able to install maps via the Ovi Suite software, then keep reading. :)
Download the latest Ovi Maps .sis file for your device. In the case of E71x owners, we're SOL because our device is not officially supported for use with Ovi Maps! However, I used the installation file (Nokia Maps 3.0_0302_3.2.sis) for initially installing Ovi Maps to my E71x. Once you have successfully installed Ovi Maps using that version listed above, fire up the Ovi Suite software and check up for updates. Please remember to have your 8GB microSD card inserted in your phone before you begin downloading any maps. If no updates are detected, start up the Ovi Maps application and check your file version. My Nokia E71x which is currently running the v3.28 firmware version has the following version information for the Ovi Maps software: v. 3.01 09wk44 b01.
If all goes according to plan, you should be able to run the Ovi maps software. If you not, leave a comment and I'll investigate. :P

For what it's worth (FWIW), here's info on Ovi Suite and some items it installs on your computer. In order for me to help you, make sure you are running the later Ovi Suite version.

Nokia Ovi Suite 2.1.0.87
PC Connectivity Solution 10.5.1.0
Connectivity Cable Driver 7.1.27.0
Nokia Ovi Suite Software Updater 2009.46.1.60264
Maps Service API 3.0.38.0
Nokia mPlatform 2.6.86
Ovi Desktop Sync Engine 1.1.0.80
Ovi Maps on Jane's E71x: v3.0109wk44b01 MW

You can access this same info by navigating to the 'Help' tab and clicking 'About Ovi Suite'. Then, click on "System Information" and voila!

Cheers!

the unboxing of my dv7-3080us (20 days late)

Jane O. Ullah — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:03:41 PST

The pictures speak a 1000 words!! Overall, this computer is a BEAST, in my non-qualified opinion. See the WEI score to back that up. I'm a little late to the unboxing party as I've had this notebook to play with since the 6th of January. :)
This post will give a brief overview of the differences between the newer (2009) HP dv7-3080us notebook which I obtained under extremely fortuitous circumstances against my older (2008) customized HP dv9700t laptop. Price-wise, this dv7-3080us retails from $1,399 and upwards. In August, 2008, I purchased dv9700t custom notebook for just under $1440. With computers, this is pretty much the way things are i.e. price drops and you can almost always wait to get that perfect computer because something better will come along!

Without further ado, check the two pcs out!

1.6GHz Core i7 processor (dv7-3080us) vs 2.13GHz Core 2 Duo processor (dv9700t): The Core i7 chip has Turbo Boost which can bump up the processing speed from the current 1.6MHz to 2.8GHz. I'm not a fan of doing any sort of overclocking on a notebook so I'm currently using the notebook at the base 1.6Ghz frequency. From a plain user standpoint, I noticed that my hardware controls are much more responsive and have no lag time between the press and whatever command is evoked. Points go to the core i7 processor for that. I'm able to boot into Windows in less than 1 minute which is not saying too much given as my other computer was humming pretty smoothly. That 1-minute boot-up rule is still holding up after all the usual suspects have been installed (carbonite, norton internet security, etc).
Blu-ray ROM: This is just me buying into the hype of having a notebook that can play Blu-ray DVD discs, but this is definitely better than having a plain ole' Super Multi CD/DVD +/- RW burner. Points go to the dv7-3080us for that. It's kinda telling to note that I would NOT have purchased a Blu-ray ROM for ~ $200 more because I am not convinced that Blu-ray is worth the extra money.
Updated components:
- like the bluetooth radio now contains bluetooth 2.1 technology versus the dv9700t's v. 2.0
- a much better sound card from IDT technologies versus the Realtek HD audio sound system in the dv9700t
- the replacement of the Motorola modem in the dv9700t with the newer LSI HDA modem
- 'softer' keys on the dv7-3080us which are less prone to my 'fat' fingers getting stuck and yanking off keys (true story)
- a 'flush' webcam in the dv7-3080us that doesn't light up when in use like the dv9700t did (I actually used duct tape to cut off the blue light that got turned on whenever the webcam was in use. It alerts potential thieves that they may be recorded), etc.As you'll see in the pictures, the webcam light in the dv7-3080us has been lost and the actual webcam doesn't protrude like the dv9700t's does below:
- rearranged audio input/output ports (see the pictures)The new arrangement puts the audio i/o to the right of the user which tucks any cords neatly out of the way. The arrangement of the audio i/o ports in the dv9700t laptop.
- the removal of the physical wifi/bluetooth switch in favor of a touch-activated switch for wifi/bluetooth on the dv7-3080us notebook:
  The dv9versus Frankly, I prefer the new way of turning wifi/bluetooth on or off in the dv7-3080us notebook. Fewer accidental disconnections are always a plus in my book. :)
- removal of the 'locking' mechanism for when the laptop lid is shut down in favor of nothing on the dv7-3080us notebook. I don't miss the extra step with the dv9700t notebook of having to depress a button to release the notebook's lid.
Added components: like the addition of the eSATA/USB port. I lost my fingerprint reader which I got for the dv9700t, but so far I've survived very well without the fingerprint reader.

So far, those are the noticeable alterations I've observed between the dv9700t and the dv7-3080us. Again, comparing both laptops is really unfair because a 2008 vs 2009 (when it comes to computer gadgets) could render any review meaningless. This little "review" is mostly for my pleasure and those who may find themselves at crossroads. For full disclosure, I got a discount (~ 70%) on this laptop because I purchased it on a penny auction website. Beginner's luck so do NOT try gambling at home! :)Below are the pictures of the laptop as I first received it:

Getting the best out of your Windows PC

Jane O. Ullah — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 19:12:43 PST

In the 4 years (counting from 2006 when I purchased my first desktop computer) that I've been an active PC user, I have encountered the following scenario several times:

User buys a PC because it's cheap.
User ignores all the how-tos included with PC including crucial information on how to keep the system running optimally.
User keeps ignoring those pesky prompts to install updates or continues to cancel the installation of said updates.
User goes deep into the weeds when infected and does things like installing multiple AV programs on 1 machines, reading & using advice obtained from sketchy forums on the internet.
User's PC slows to a painful halt and he/she either calls for a friend or has to spend money to fix the problems.

Of course, from time to time, stuff will get borked on your Windows machine and even through no fault of your own sometimes. Those kinds of problems can include having faulty hardware which can be rectified by getting firmware updates or updated drivers for the faulty hardware or . My main theme in my posts about taking care of your computer revolves around proactive user intervention. As a Windows user, you *absolutely* have to take care of your computer or else you *will* see degraded performance over time. If you are completely clueless around computers, look around your neighborhood for free community resources that can help you with your computer. For instance, I currently volunteer with Free IT Athens which is a "non-profit community advocate for free software and open technology" and they'll be very happy to help with computer issues!

What does being proactive around your computer mean? For me, it entails *all* of the following:

Regularly checking for Windows Updates if you have turned off Automatic Updates
If you've got automatic updates turned on, visit the "Windows Updates" page occasionally to verify that the system hasn't been waiting for your permission to install those updates.
Check your PC manufacturer's website for product/firmware/software updates
Running your antispyware/antivirus utility weekly or daily (depending on how much on the at-risk scale you fall). Please try to be available when the scan is complete in order for you to be able to weed out false positives. Several AV engines have been known to accidentally mark critical system files as viruses. If you've set your AV scanner to run overnight and it detects your critical system files as viruses, you'll be screwed if the AV ends up deleting such a file. So, my advice will be to start your AV scan early in the day so you don't do overnight runs.

My list is not exhaustive, but by merely doing these things, I think a lot of issues could be avoided.Several good ways to see if your computer's components has received any upgrade is to do the following (which is tailored to HP computers because my 2 notebooks are from Hewlett-Packard) include:

Going to your Windows PC's control panel and setting Automatic Updates to "install automatically" and *also* allowing Windows to check for updates to other products. See the relevant settting: These other products will show up as "optional" updates and I've found recent driver versions for things like my Nvidia graphics card, Ethernet/Internet, Synaptics touchpad, modem, etc. Case in point: my Realtek NIC driver recently received a driver update via Windows updates. As you'll see, the HP support page for my notebook still has the old drivers!
Old Realtek drivers:New Realtek drivers: My point: besides software updates meant to improve your system, driver and/or firmware updates can be very helpful to your system as well! Bear in mind that your laptop/desktop is composed of several 3rd party components that may have flaws in them. If you never check their website(s) to see if updates for their products (e.g. fingerprint reader driver, HP quicklaunch buttons, touchpad, etc) are available, how will you be able to fix any problems you are currently having with these items?
Run HP Updates: If you're using an HP computer, HP includes a software tool called HP Update which I highly recommend you run first. In my experience, HP Updates works for critical updates issued by HP.
Go to this website http://hp.com/go/support which will take you to HP Support website. You should know your HP model number and that is what you need to search for (select "Downloads and Drivers"). Now, don't go download-crazy yet. First thing to do is: go to Windows "Add and Remove" programs and see the installed programs and their version numbers. Knowing the version numbers will help you figure out if you are running an old version of your hardware's drivers. If you can't find that information via "Add and Remove" programs, I would recommend that you visit the "Device Management" section of your computer. Get to that section by clicking the Windows 'Start' button and type "device manager" into the search bar. Then, you can rightclick the product you're looking to upgrade, check out its properties and verify that the driver is out-of-date. If it is, return to the page of "Downloads and Drivers" and be very sure that you are ONLY downloading the HP software drivers for your exact operating system. In my computer's case, here's what the screen looks like:
Install Secunia PSI which is a security tool that lets you know which programs on your computer are 'insecure' primarily because they are out-of-date or a newly discovered vulnerability. I run this weekly on my computer to give me a status update (so to speak) on all the programs I've got installed on my computer. Secunia PSI is free for personal use and I strongly urge you to install it on your computer. On a side note (related to finding version information), I also use a tool (Belarc Advisor) to give me a nice .html page that contains a listing of all programs installed on my computer, software license information for certain products, and critical information about your computer & connected devices like serial numbers, version numbers, etc. I highly recommend this tool as part of your Windows user arsenal.
Manually checking programs installed on your computer for software updates that could affect the performance of your computer. Sometimes, programs you install aren't very smart about calling 'home' to notify the user of an update. In this case, you have to either go to the software maker's website to check if there has been an update or look for a "check for updates" button which is usually found under the "Help" section.

This is not an exhaustive list, but I'd also like to list several pitfalls that can occur with well intentions:

Running programs like DriverMax, DriverCure, etc and accepting all "updated" drivers blindly. Please, if you are unfamiliar with rolling back your system with system restore or "if it ain't broke", don't go there. I've used DriverMax and DriverCure. They both always found outdated drivers. *HOWEVER* the driver matching algorithm is clearly not 100% foolproof. PC manufacturers' have a good reason for wanting you to use their packaged executables for installing any driver updates. That said, there's nothing wrong with using those programs to see what drivers are potentially out-of-date. Then, I strongly recommend that you go to the source to download said updates yourself. For instance, through DriverCure by Paretologic, I was found out that were updates to my Realtek HD audio drivers, Realtek NIC controller drivers and Intel wireless drivers! Windows Update didn't detect these updates and the HP support site's drivers had not been updated. Now, if "it ain't broke, don't fix it." If your PC's running just fine with the old driver versions, then sit tight. If you're obsessed with running the latest & greatest drivers for your devices, be aware that you will cause things to stop functioning at some point. Of course, I had nothing to do with that. You're on your own in implementing any tips given on this website, m'kay?
As I always stress, PLEASE for the love of data, create a system restore point, manually copy precious files over a removable USB drive, create a whole system image, create a backup of your files, just save your work BEFORE attempting a driver upgrade. True story: I've had to pave a PC after a botched driver installation. So, I'm a little paranoid when it comes to having several copies of the same data. :)

Getting blocked from Amazon and their disconnected customer service

Jane O. Ullah — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:30:13 PST

See the latest developments at the bottom. As I write, it's been close to 48 hrs since I got an email from Amazon that alerted me to "suspicious activity" they had detected on my account. Thus, they helpfully suspended my account. According to that same email, the account suspension was reversible following their receipt of a follow-up email from me telling them whether or not their detection was in error. The following account is a recounting of Amazon's epic failure in the basic rules of engagement in customer service.

Here's what happened: I signed up for Blippy which is a new service that pulls your purchases from accounts like Amazon, iTunes, bank accounts and allows you to broadcast (or keep private) your transactions. I added my Amazon account to my Blippy account and next thing I know, I got this email from account-alert@amazon.com (cc'ed to investigation-dept@amazon.com) at about 6am on 01/13/2009:

Given the seriousness of the situation i.e. (i) I couldn't log into my Amazon.com account to review my purchases (ii) I couldn't log into my Amazon Sellers account (iii) I couldn't log into Amazon related services like the Amazon Mechanical Turk (don't judge me, a girl's gotta eat. lol), Amazon Associates, etc because my account had been suspended, I expected that there would be an expeditious resolution of the matter. I sent them an email response at ~ 8:40am on the same day as shown in this pic below:

In that email, I let them know exactly what I did i.e. I signed up for Blippy and added my Amazon.com account credentials. According to their first email, I assumed (wrongly) that this issue would rank highly on their to-do list. When nothing happened after ~ 3hrs, I sent another email to account-alert@amazon.com and investigation-dept@amazon.com. After placing 2 calls to Amazon's customer service number, I was given an E.T.A. of 24 - 48hrs and I let the matter lie until today (01/14/2009). After about 35hrs and counting, I have yet to have my Amazon.com account reactivated. No one from Amazon has initiated a phone call to me to keep me abreast of any issues that they may be facing. To be clear, up till now, I've never had an upsetting experience with Amazon.com. I've spent a lot of my money through their website and I have an Amazon Seller's account there as well. My point: I have a long history with Amazon.com and a bit appalled at how they appear to be dragging their feet on this serious issue.

Today (01/14/2009), I placed no less than 3 calls today to Amazon's customer service and all the customer service representatives could do was make and send notes to the Investigation team. I called the Amazon Seller's hotline number and the person I spoke with at ~ 3pm today let me know I was essential Shit-Outta-Luck (SOL) with them as this email shows (His reason: my case had been reassigned to the mysterious account-alert@amazon.com folk and his unit (sellers' accounts) could not continue handling my case):

At this point, it appears I'm at Amazon's mercy because according to the last person I spoke with, reopening a new account (which is NOT a desirable option) would not be smart because their systems would detect and automagically associate the new account with the blocked account and THEN block the new account! Confusing, eh? I don't know what else to do but pray to the Gods-that-be at Amazon to PLEASE get their shit together. Blocking a customer's account for over 48 hrs despite said customer doing all the right things is NOT cool.

I mean, even my bank gives me the courtesy of a call to let me know there is suspected unauthorized activity and lets me talk with an automated machine to verify any recent transactions! I guess I needed a wake up call. I *have* been spending too much money at Amazon anyway so thanks!

Update (01/19/2010): I sent this carefully worded email to Amazon.com and copied all the parties that I had been in touch with (account-alert@amazon.com, investigation-dept@amazon.com, seller.service05@amazon.com and legal@amazon for good measure).

Here's the full text of the email:-----Original Message-----
From: Sent: Jan 19, 2010 8:21:42 AM
Subject: Suspension of on Amazon.com

To whom it may concern:

On January 13, 2010: I received an email from account-alert@amazon.com and it was cc'd to investigation-dept@amazon.com. This email informed me that my logon credentials (specifically) had been used to access Amazon.com, but that no purchases were made. I wrote back ~ 3 hrs after receipt of this email (which was ~ 8.30am EST) that I had indeed used my Amazon logon credentials elsewhere i.e. on the website Blippy.com. In my opinion, doing that was no more risky than sites like Facebook that ask for email credentials in order to access one's contact lists. That was on the 13th. Since then, I have been in touch with Amazon customer service representatives by phone and have been given the runaround. No one seems to be able to get in touch with anyone at Account Services. The Amazon sellers' team has passed the buck to Account Services (see Case xxxxxxxx). The Investigation Team (according to my email records) did not find

This is not acceptable particularly because I am an Amazon Seller in addition to patronizing Amazon rather frequently. I have been unable to do anything related to my Amazon.com dealings (Amazon Associates, Amazon Payments, Sellers, etc). I had read about Amazon.com's atrocious handling of security issues and thought it would never happen to me. Well, here I am: 6 days into my account being "blocked" for "security purposes". What Amazon.com is indulging in is security theater because *surely* my previous 2 emails to account-alert@amazon.com and investigation-dept@amazon.com should have alleviated your fears about an account intrusion.

Pray tell, what exactly is taking Amazon.com 6 days and counting to "investigate"?

I am rather disappointed in Amazon.com and will think twice about giving Amazon my business. I keep very close tabs on my financial accounts and would have been the first to alert Amazon.com of a breach. I have assumed my account-lockout was instigated by my giving Blippy.com access to my Amazon.com account in order to pull my purchase history. This was bolstered by the fact that the initial account-alert@amazon.com email to me said: "We believe it may have been accessed and used by a third-party to make purchases without your permission, but it appears they did not use your credit card to make these purchases."

If this is not about Blippy.com's authorized access to my account, what caused the lockout? At the very least, don't I have a right to know why my account has been locked for 6 days and counting? I have invested my time and money in Amazon.com and to be treated so shabbily is disheartening.

I am not in violation of any Amazon.com 'password' security policies so I need an official response (email:xxxxxxxxxx@xxxxx.com or phone: xxxxxxxxxx) from Amazon.com about the following matters by 5:00PM EST today (01/19/2010):
1) What unauthorized activity was detected
2) What steps has Amazon taken to secure my account
3) When does Amazon.com anticipate unlocking my account, if that is their decision.

Yours sincerely,
Jane Ullah

My laptop from Swoopo has arrived

Jane O. Ullah — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 23:55:32 PST

So, as you might've guessed, I got "lucky" on Swoopo.com and won a kickass HP dv7-3080us laptop (which is being used in the making of this post). Here is the Windows experience index (WEI) score of this bad girl out-of-the-bot (OOB):
Look at that thing! The slowest feature on the laptop is the 7200rpm hard disk drive which is an upgrade from my previous laptop's 5400rpm hard disk drive.

Hearing stories of wins like this is almost guaranteed to make you want to start placing bids on Swoopo. Well, don't try this at home. Winning a bounty like this is atypical and I cannot explain how I managed to outbid the hordes to win this sucker. Bidding on Swoopo is terribly addictive so unless you have beginner's luck on yourside, you're *almost* guaranteed to bid fruitlessly.

Call me superstitious, but my first bid on Swoopo was for this laptop and was completely on a lark because I didn't think anything would come of it! I was in shock when I won and am still in shock. Being human, I shared the good news with all and sundry (twitter, facebook and in person). My father-in-law and husband were as gobsmacked as I am and despite my reluctance to get sucked into the hype, I got carried away so guess what I did?

Instead of carrying my money (and win) & running as far from Swoopo as I could, I decided I would let lightning strike me twice. Guess who lost money (~ $100 worth of bids), yours truly. I was rather hard on myself, but I've decided to make things easier to swallow by saying I purchased this laptop for ~ $220. And anyway you slice it, that is a heck of a deal. No, really. Google (or Bing!) it. So, overall, I'm still in the *green* but given the way Swoopo works, a fool and her/his money are soon parted.

Much love and a hefty dose of luck to you should you choose to ignore my advice and bid on Swoopo. They're definitely a legitimate service and showed me good faith in sending my laptop to me in less than a week after winning it! They could do a much better job of communicating with users on the status of wins, but I generally like companies who shut up and sing (i.e. proof of the pudding is in the eating which in this case, they got my laptop to me in record time!).

So thanks to Swoopo for sending the laptop to me. It's a brand new HP dv7-3080us that I've promptly registered on HP's website. I was a little concerned earlier because the listing just had the laptop, but thankfully the laptop shipped with its peripherals like charger and mobile remote. The laptop is a considerable upgrade from my former dv9700t CTO notebook. I'll post a semi-detailed review as time goes on.

My experience with the online bidding industry (Swoopo.com and Haggle.com)

Jane O. Ullah — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 10:52:24 PST

So, in the past week, I've spent under $200 on Swoopo.com and Haggle.com. Why is this news you should care about or what's my point? I'll start off with Haggle.com (Update: Please see a Haggle employee's commentary on the points I raise in this article. )

Haggle.com's premise is "simple":

Bidding on an item is not free. According to their website, you can purchase your bids in bulk (packs of 20, 40, 75, 150, 300 or 600). Each bid costs $0.55 i.e. 5 cents less than Swoopo.com and unlike Swoopo, you get discounts for the more bids you purchase.
Everytime you add your bid to the 'pot,' time is added to the auction's TTL (time-to-live) in 10s increments.
Everytime you add your bid to the 'pot,' money is added to the price of the item (10 cents flat).
Haggle.com has no way of verifying if someone is using automated clicks to bid. If this is an acceptable practice, I'm not sure why Haggle's not clearer about this.
Haggle.com has no way of letting you know if the auction is nearing the end. That is to say, do auctions go on ad infinitum or is there a way to know that the auction is getting close to being over? And no, the countdown timer on the website does not count.
Haggle.com's way of increasing the time-to-live of the bids and not giving users a broad hint of how close the auction is to ending makes me conclude that this site is more of a time and money waster.

Hence, I conclude: Haggle.com is truly not worth the time for me. If you disagree, check out thiseHow article on tips for bidding on Haggle.com. In the short lived time my account was active (as of this writing, I've sent in a request to cancel my account), I noticed 2 user accounts that were eerily similar to one another (UCantWin and UWontWin) that pretty much took over all the bidding and expectedly, won about 60% of the items being bid upon. Haggle.com claims they have checks in place to spot scammers like said user, but quite frankly, I recommend you bid cautiously. Sour grapes, *shrug*. YMMV All I'm saying is: see for yourself. Buy a few bids and watch the rats come to play. Even reading the Facebook forum for Haggle.com gives one the impression of a clique that knows something *I* don't. Oh well, I'm taking my money and going to play elsewhere. All I'm saying is for the time/money investment, you are more likely to have heartbreak and a lighter wallet. Which brings me to Swoopo.com.

Swoopo.com has a much more interesting way of doing the online bidding thing.

The auctions are all different. What does this mean? They have auctions where bidding adds amounts ranging from 1 cent (so-called "penny auctions") to auctions where amounts like 20 cents or 50 cents are added to the 'pot.' This is drastically unlike Haggle.com which (as of this writing) has a fixed amount that your bid adds. Each bid costs $0.60 and you can buy bids in pcks as well.
The auctions have "different" time limits (so to speak). What does this means? Well, all auctions proceed at a different pace based on the time each bid adds to the time-to-live of the auction going on. With Haggle.com, your bid adds 10 seconds flat to the timer. With certain auctions on Swoopo, your bid can add 10s, 15s or 20s to the pot. This allows you to be able to strategize and use your time/bids/money wisely!
With bids placed on items, you also have the option of purchasing the item being bid on minus the amount of money you've spent in bids on the item! Granted, on the surface, this sounds like a great deal, but it's not. The odds are in favor of you getting a better price by searching online yourself, but it is small way to console yourself after loosing to that stupid bidbutler which is a Swoopo-sanctioned way of bidding for items in your absence. Like all tools, use carefully as you can easily exhaust your precious bids by getting in a bidding war when the real battle has yet to be fought. :P

This post is nowhere exhaustive. Online bidding is tiring (seriously) and can result in some real harm being done. It is a lot like gambling and you need to know when to step away from the computer or fold your hand. In my case, I had the good fortune of pulling an all-nighter last night while fixing a friend's computer when I decided to give Swoopo a fierce shake. :P Beginner's luck was on my side because after spending $130 worth of bids, I won a HP dv7-3080US laptop for $50. Un-freaking-believable. Not only was beginner's luck on my side, I had the important element of *time* which is the biggest factor. Remember the all-nighter I pulled? Well, I didn't start bidding on this laptop until about 5am. Before that, I had wasted about 150 Swoopo bids on random items I thought I'd *swoop* in on. Here's a hint: if you think you're on the verge of winning something, you're not. Here are some random tips I've learned in my short time on gambling/bidding on Swoopo.com:

Wee hours of the morning are the best time to place bids. Odds are only dedicated bargain hunters like yourself are up which is both heartwarming and troubling at the same time.
Seriously, focus on what item you absolutely want to win and bid only on that item.
I repeat, to avoid wasting time/money/bids, bid only on items you are deadset on wanting to have. Ideally, you want to win just 1 item so don't be greedy and try to win 3 items at once. Chances are: someone else is deadset on winning that 1 item and you won't get it if your heart is not in it.
Make sure you are absolutely committed to the task (after ensuring that you are only doing the bidding in the wee hours of the morning to weed out drive-by bidders) and that means putting your money where your bids are. You need to spend money to make money. In my case, was spending ~ $200 between Swoopo and Haggle worth winning a ~ $1399 laptop computer? Hell-mother-bleeping-yeah. :D Pardon my *ahem* colorful language.
Bid smartly and plan to bid smartly. Wait until 3s to go before placing your bids. Update: I have since learned that bidding late might not be the smartest idea due to internet latency, etc. In my experience bidding for hot ticket items like the iPhone 3GS, chances are the auction won't be ending soon especially if you can see that there is a lot of activity during the last 15 minutes. Have your timer beside you to give you reminders to double-check on the auction. Sometimes, bidbutlers get into bidding wars that yank up the time. Initially, I was pissed, but I realized that because I was in the auction to win, I would do what it took i.e. wait the bidbutlers out! Because Swoopo has a great way to let bidders know if they're getting 'close' to the auction's end, I was able to have my finger on the trigger button and I quite simply won because I hit the "bid" button at the right time!

To cut this epic tale short,

Gambling is not for the faint of heart (like me). I'm still shaking from the experience and I definitely don't recommend all-nighters although the allure of winning a D90 for $50 is irresistible. :) Swoopo is definitely legitimate (they've been featured in the New York Times and the Economist) and according to this comment from a Swoopo employee from 2008, they were losing money on 70% of auctions! I would like to know what the profit margin is on the remaining 30% if his statement from 2008 still holds true. :)
Don't do it! 50% of me feels I won by luck (but I will admit that I set myself up for receiving Lady Luck's gift! So be ready!) and part of me wants to thank the Almighty for that because (i) my hubby needs a laptop and for 4 months now, I'd been watching laptop prices like a hawk (ii) the specs on this laptop are to DIE for. No, really. I could not have customized the laptop better myself! 6 GBs of memory with the Intel core i7 chip and Nvidia graphics? Sign me up! :D
Results I've experienced through the tips shared may not bring about similar results for you. If you lose the shirt off your back, please don't blame me. I can't say this strongly enough: your. mileage. may. vary. I'm hanging up my bidding shirt until my next all-nighter which I don't plan to do anytime soon.
If you're not a scammer and have actually won stuff from Haggle.com, more power to you. All I'm saying is Haggle needs to be more helpful in weeding out miscreants. Their site is made with good intentions, but you know what they say about the road to damnation being paved with good intentions.
I have not actually received the laptop yet.. I have since received the laptop from Swoopo.com! I'll reserve judgement on Swoopo.com's method of handling auction wins once the laptop is in my possession. I am cautiously optimistic that Swoopo is legitimate and that they will ship the laptop promptly and that it will be as described. If the above is not the case, I will not hesitate to invoke my rights to ask for my money back if fraud is suspected. As always, before doing business with any company, have a look at their site's terms of usage as well as their refunds/returns policy!
Lastly, Swoopo.com is not without those who cry "foul". See Crunchgear's post on Swoopo and here's someone's opinion about Swoopo on the site, RipOffReport.com. Lastly, check out Penny Auction Watch for help in finding out if that site you heard about is too good to be true.
Here's another Swoopo user's account of his experience with Swoopo.com, and a blogger's take on Swoopo and yet another blog on Swoopo's business model.

As my father-in-law said, until my next "spend-money-quick" scheme (LOL), I bid you adieu!

Getting bluetooth profiles working with the Nokia E71x phone

Jane O. Ullah — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 16:22:25 PST

This is one of the several posts I've made since I obtained the Nokia e71x phone. As you know, connecting the Nokia E71x phone to your computer via USB is a piece of cake. Pairing this same E71x via bluetooth to your computer is also very easy. However, due to reasons I'll expatiate on in this post, installing the correct bluetooth drivers for the E71x phone was a headache. If the services offered by your computer and phone look like this image below, the chances are you don't have anything to worry about: For proper context, my laptop was running the default bluetooth drivers. HP will not be officially supporting my laptop's model (dv9700t CTO) for upgrades to Windows 7 and as you may know, I've been running Windows 7 since late October 2009. So, if you purchased a laptop recently with Windows 7 already on it, you may not have run into this issue where Windows is unable to install drivers for the Bluetooth peripheral device when you first connect your Nokia E71x phone to your PC. Please note that despite Windows throwing up the driver installation failures, I was able to use all the functions of Ovi suite software with the phone. So for all intents and purposes, getting the extra bluetooth profiles to work as they should for the E71x on your computer may just be icing on the cake. Basically, all I did was install updated drivers for my bluetooth device from HP.com. I installed the DriverCure program and it was able to let me know exactly what driver version I was looking for. Through a process of trial and error, I was able to visit HP's website and type in new laptop model numbers in order to bring up their "Software and Updates" page. Again, driver installation can be tricky so please ensure you have a working backup of all your files (like I did).

My current bluetooth driver version is: 6.2.0.9405 and the advantage of installing these latest drivers is the 'unlocking of the following services in the screenshot below:

Bluetooth hands-free audio:- This lets you listen to audio stored on your phone through your computer's speakers!
Bluetooth L2CAP interface
Bluetooth remote control
Bluetooth AV source
Bluetooth AV Remote control target
Bluetooth headset AG:- This lets you use your computer's speakers as the 'speaker' for your phone. So you can sit back with your computer headset and just talk into the phone!
Bluetooth OPP
Bluetooth FTP:- pretty self explanatory. There's now an icon under "My Computers" that allows you to browse the files on your phone.
Bluetooth Imaging Responder

This might not be a big deal to a casual user, but for web workers, these bluetooth profiles are pure gold. :P Okay, maybe I'm the only excited, but here's *the* money shot that I was hoping to unlock by installing the updated bluetooth drivers:I'm now able to remotely 'control' certain functions of my phone like initiating a phone call from my computer and backing up my contacts/appointments through my computer! it comes with obvious risks and you aren't guaranteed to have the results I'm showing, but it won't hurt to give it a shot after considering the following caveats:

You have backed up your computer's data
You have backed up your phone's contents
You accept full responsibility for any data/equipment carnage that may happen.

Cheers!

Publishing posts in Habari

Jane O. Ullah — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:05:17 PST

So, I finally got around to re-downloading Windows Live Writer which IS the dominant desktop software for creating/editing blog posts. Setting up a Wordpress blog is very easy in Windows Live Writer. In Habari, there's just a little more work that needs to be done to simplify things. For starters, the metaweblogAPI method for posting is not enabled by default in Habari. A plugin does that trick and unfortunately, the documentation of that plugin does little to help you set it up through blogging clients like Windows Live Writer (WLW). Thankfully, andyc has a good post on setting up your blog via the metaweblogAPI method (it's a link that looks like this <blog-url>/xmlrpc. Make sure you have activated the metaweblogAPI plugin and specified directories to upload to).

Furthermore, a Habari developer (michaeltwofish) informed me that Habari supports the Atom Publishing Protocol so I decided to give that a shot. Be aware that WLW will be unable to auto-detect your blog publishing platform at first and it will present you with a screen to pick your publishing protocol of choice as seen below. In the section where it asks for "Service document URL," I put the atom feed of my website there on a hunch and it worked! In fact, this post is my first post via WLW using the Atom Publishing Protocol and I hope it works!

This Atom Publishing Protocol method is not without its issues as I've already been greeted with this screen that tells me WLW was unable to find my blog's categories (along with a slew of other things it can't do. See Picture 3).

Oh well, Picture 1 shows the screen you will be greeted with after WLW fails to auto-detect your blog's publishing protocol.

Picture 2 is just confirming my configuration in WLW.

Picture 3 just how the capabilities of the Atom Publishing Protocol to my blog.

software update v.3.28 for the Nokia E71x and modest improvements to Ovi Maps

Jane O. Ullah — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 22:14:06 PST

So, after using the ATT Tilt phone for awhile (read less than 2 months), I went back to using the Nokia E71x phone. Why? For starters, I discovered that I did *not* become more productive primarily because of the slide-out keyboard which is a good idea in theory, but not in practice. Secondly, for whatever reason, there was NO way I could turn off the touchscreen option in the ATT Tilt phone when making a phone call so a lot of times, my phone calls ended rather abruptly because I'd accidentally hit the "End" button. *sigh*

Needless to say, I was very nervous about returning to the Symbian 60 platform. I remembered very clearly how much installing Ovi Maps was a PITA (pain in the ass), but I decided to brave the headwinds (so to speak). It is my pleasure to report that times have changed with the installation of Ovi Maps to this phone and I'd like to go over some improvements that I've experienced since the time I dumped the E71x for ATT Tilt and now.

A quick summary of this post:

No need to go through all the drama of this post anymore. Using Ovi Suite and your USB cord, Ovi Maps 3.0 will install just fine on your phone.
Firmware updates are out for the Nokia E71 and E71x phone. It's version 3.28 for the Nokia E71x and I've installed it on my phone. It works fine, I haven't noticed any major UI changes and sadly, GPS fixes are still just as slow. Sorry! I don't have a data plan with ATT so don't fret if you don't have a data plan either.

Previously, I used the Nokia PC Suite software for synchronizing, editing, saving my contacts/appointments/tasks, etc. It worked fine, but I remember reading online that Nokia was pushing the Ovi Suite as a more streamlined way doing the above tasks. So, I recently reinstalled Windows 7 on my laptop and instead of installing the Nokia PC Suite software, I installed the Nokia Ovi Suite software. One of the first things that it did was alert me that the software on my Nokia E71x was out-of-date. Whoa!! If you recall, the version shipped with the E71x is v. 3.27 and the Ovi Suite software told me there was v. 3.28 available to upgrade. Now, I'm not crazy, but the thought of doing firmware upgrades on my phone makes me queasy because so. many. things. can go wrong. Before I go on, I'd like to share my story of how I successfully installed this update:
- First, find out what firmware version you are running because these instructions are for the E71x phones with version 3.27. If you are already syncing with the Ovi Suite software, then check the "Updates" tab and you'll be told what software version your phone is running. Another way to find out what firmware version you're running (in Windows 7) is to go to your "Devices and Printers" section and rightclick on the "E71x" device and check the properties tab which also tells you your IMEI number. You will have to have connected your E71x phone in either Mass Storage mode or Image transfer mode to get the E71x" device to show up which is different from the phone
- Second, please plug your charger into your phone. This is a long-ish process and you don't want to be running out of battery life or else you'll end up with a nice coaster
- Third (and possible most important) Please backup your phone. You can use the Ovi suite software to do this. If you haven't connected your phone to your PC at all, then install the Ovi Suite software first and follow the instructions to connect your phone via USB. If you've already connected your phone to your PC and are using the Nokia PC Suite software, feel free to download the Ovi Suite software and completely uninstall the Nokia PC Suite software. Again, please make sure you have a backup of ALL your phone's data using the Ovi Suite software. It creates a .nbu file holding the image of your phone's files. In addition to backing up my phone, I usually export my contact and appointments from Microsoft Outlo0k 2007 just to be on the safe side.
- Click on the "Updates" tab and you'll be instructed not to panic if your Windows PC shows your phone connecting and disconnecting rapidly. At one point, the driver installation process appears to have stalled and I simply removed my battery, removed my charger, remove the USB cord and rebooted the phone. After, I put the phone back together (battery, charger and USB cord into the computer), I hit the "retry" button or whatever it instructs you to do after rebooting the phone. Whatever you do, don't panic if you see an image like this:
- Long story short, if you feel the installation has stalled, remove the usb plug from your phone, remove battery and charger. Put those items back in and restart the installation.
So once I updated my phone's software, I rebooted the Nokia E71x and began the process of synchronizing my contacts/appointments/texts etc with Microsoft Outlook 2007. Here's what my device manager says about the firmware update:Software version: V 03.28
Software version date: 17-08-09
Custom version: PI01.01
Custom version date: 08-18-09
Language set: 6000.01
ModeL E71x
Type: RM-462
Overall, my return to the E71x hasn't been too bad. I don't miss accidentally hanging up calls as I did with the ATT Tilt phone which (shockingly) didn't have an option to deactivate the touchscreen feature while in a call. Anyway, enjoy and feel free to browse my series of posts about the Nokia E71x through the "Nokia E71x" tag .

Dualbooting Windows 7 and Ubuntu

Jane O. Ullah — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:58:08 PST

So, I decided to take another stab at the Ubuntu/Linux Operating System and this time around, i decided that it would be best to have separate physical hard disks as opposed to partitioning ONE hard disk. The process has become less frightening for me because I'm learning to read the prompts & not be scared of hitting the "cancel" button. :) I installed Windows 7 first because it's much easier to do the dualboot when Windows is on the disk already. Installing Ubuntu 9.10 was painless particularly because I had separate hard disks. BUT I ran into an issue when I decided to switch my installations of Ubuntu and Windows 7 around i.e. moving Windows 7 to the larger hard disk. I assumed that since the larger hard disk had been wiped clean, Windows 7 would take care of the NTFS formatting that was needed and whatnots. Well, Windows 7 refused to install because it detected the presence of a "System" partitionI've since learned, the system partition holds the files needed to boot up Windows and this partition needed to be removed. Thankfully, this was an easy fix although I had began to panic slightly. Simply firing up your Disk Management tool (by going to "Adminstrator Tools" and clicking on "Computer management") and reformatting the disk that holds the system volume. Again, please make sure you don't have data residing on this disk or that you have backed up any data you care to retain. Once I got rid of the old system partition created by a previous Ubuntu installation, the installation of Windows 7 was able to proceed seamlessly.

Be aware that GRUB (GNU Grand Unified Bootloader) will replace the boot manager for Windows 7 and you will need to be physically present at your computer to select your Windows 7 operating system if you want to boot up into Windows 7. Otherwise, Ubuntu will automatically load. Cheers!