I Got Nothing

So you get this... How to live like a king for very little. Crude, but true.

Storage

I know there are pros and cons to various storage options, but the Microsoft Office 365 subscription is really attractive. You can get 1 TB of OneDrive space plus Office for $6.99/month. I may have to buy a laptop to support my consulting work and would like to get the new version of Office. Instead of shelling out for the full version all at once, I can pay $7/month or $70 for the year. (If you want to install Office on up to five devices, you can $9.99/month or $99.99/year.)

On-line storage comparison at the Technologizer

I can't wait to see how Google, Dropbox, etc. respond!

Wouxun KG-UV8D: Firmware Update and Green Buttons

The latest version (firmware v1.03) of the KG-UV8D is available at BuyTwoWayRadios:

"First, the KG-UV8D is now available with 2.5k step. Early versions of this radio were only available with a minimum 5k step. Of course, an eventual update to a 2.5k version was expected, and Wouxun recently brought addition of the smaller step to market."

"The KG-UV8D comes standard with a 1700mAh battery pack in the box. However, for a limited time, Buy Two Way Radios is replacing the stock battery pack with a FREE high capacity battery upgrade!" 

"Demo versions of the KG-UV8D featured green A/B and EXIT buttons on the keypad. When Wouxun officially released the radio to market, the buttons were black. Those who were expecting the KG-UV8D to ship with green buttons were disappointed to find they were black. 

"Well, due to popular demand, Buy Two Way Radios worked with Wouxun to bring back the green buttons, and now we have them! This is a limited run, and we only received one hundred of them, but now you can get a KG-UV8D with green buttons while supplies last. Whether we are able to get more in the future with green buttons depends on the demand."

Some people are already getting their new ones.

My Friends

This week my friends have included:

fixboot
Two XP machines suddenly lost their minds. A little Recovery Console magic got them going again:

"Use this command to write the new Windows boot sector code on the system partition. In the command syntax, drive name is the drive letter where the boot sector will be written. This command fixes damage in the Windows boot sector. This command overrides the default setting, which writes to the system boot partition. The fixboot command is supported only on x86-based computers."

netstat -a
A computer that should be a good machine would take an incredibly long time to open Excel, Word, and Reader files. If you were in the application and did a File | Open everything was quick. Netstat allowed me see that the computer was trying to connect to a server that had been retired. It was just spinning its wheels until it timed out. I ended up adding the old server name to DNS and pointing it to the new server.

Hiren's BootCD
A great general purpose boot disc with lots of tools, but I used it for NTPWEdit 0.3 to reset a customer's password on an XP box. Download here.

Microsoft Program Install and Uninstall Fixit troubleshooter

A client had tried re-installing a tool on his laptop, but it wouldn't complete successfully. It kept throwing an "Error 1706. No valid source could be found for product VeriFire Tools. The Windows Installer cannot continue."  I ran the Fixit troubleshooter from here to clean-up the broken installs. (I had to run it four times as the software showed up four times and each one needed to be removed.)

Lots of other good stuff recently, too... playing with Server 2012, Exchange 2010, a Juniper firewall, a MondoPad, Trend cloud anti-virus, etc.

HT Repeater Box for $20?

Radioddity is selling the RPT-2D Two Way Radio Repeater Box for Two Transceivers Station DIY for $28. But, if they get 200 likes on Facebook, they will drop the price to $20.

Via reddit

Reading by Street Light

This is one of the most vivid examples of life without electricity at home: http://t.co/s88OQpRDbL pic.twitter.com/eAIDTnf9sH
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) June 27, 2014

Leixen VV-898: Updated Software

EA7LX comments that there is a new version of the VV-898 software:

"It gave an error on FM radio frequency despite you change it or not. It was a MODAL ERROR so you had to kill the program and never send the info to the radio. It has something to do with "." PERIOD and "," COMMA in regional settins being different from chineses. I have had the same problem with Windows7 Spanish and WindowsXP English. Now it works. Note that the date of the downloadable file has changed but it keeps th same version and release numbers."

Leixen downloads are here.

Pofung - Evolution

I didn't recall the image, so this may be a dup, but here you go anyway.

Via AR-15.com

IoT with Google Nest

It is amazing the connections that will be possible with the IoT and devices like Google Nest.

Some of the “Works With Nest” automations which Nest is talking about: 

• Mercedes-Benz cars can alert a Nest thermostat to when you’ll arrive home so that it can begin adjusting the temperature while you’re on your way.

• Logitech Harmony universal remotes can be programmed to control a Nest thermostat.

• A Nest thermostat can tell a Whirlpool washer and dryer that you’re not at home, allowing them to switch to slower, more energy-efficient cycles.

• When your Jawbone Up24 wristband knows you’ve woken up, it can tell a Nest thermostat so that it can tweak the temperature.

• LIFX light bulbs can flash if your Nest Protect smoke detector goes off, and fool prowlers by turning on and off randomly when your Nest thermostat tells them that you’re not around.

• The excellent IFTTT service for DIY automation works with the Nest thermostat and Nest Protect smoke detector, letting you write your own recipes, such as one which alerts the neighbors by text message if smoke is detected at your home.

• Starting this fall, the Google Now smartphone app will let the Nest thermostat know when you’re on the way home, and will allow you to set it through an “OK Google” spoken command.

Xiegu X108: Pre-order at Import Communications

Ed has posted the X108 kits for pre-order at Import Communications. The Standard edition kit is $595.00, but on sale now for $535.50. Likewise, the Deluxe edition is normally $695.00, but available for $625.50. Sale prices are good through July 15. He should get the kits in late July.