Category: Geek

Press the following combination of buttons:

> * < < * < *

> Right
< Left * Astrix If done correctly you should get the service menu where you can perform some nifty tests. It should work on every Sony Ericsson (and all the old Ericsson) phones.

I have been using XBMC for over a year now and I have yet to find a better alternative.

Here are some screenshots
https://jonsthoughtsoneverything.com/xbmc/

What I like about it:

1) easy to use, very practical
2) plays any video format you throw at it
3) for movie covers and info it connects to IMDB and downloads them. You get the movie dvd cover, cast info, movie plot, running time, IMDB rating and more.
4) connects to my macs itunes and photos
5) connects to internet radio stations, very nice interface
6) you can install scripts that allow it to do a multitude of things from connecting you to youtube to watching movie trailers on Apple. For examples go to https://www.xbmcscripts.com/
7) very useful weather section
8) allows you to connect to your xbox from any room using your computer..
9) you don’t need to install any software on your computer
10) when playing movies you have a ton of options including the very important audio syncing. say you download a movie with a messed up audio sync, you can slow down the audio or speed it up using xbmc
11) you can create bookmarks in movies. say you are half way through a movie and you need to leave, create a bookmark so you can come back to it later
12) you can customize or download different skins for xbmc although i like the default one
13) its very impressive when you show people over 300 album covers and you tell them you see all these movies? well you can watch any of them right now with a click of a button. it looks like the future basically.
14) very cheap to setup, all you need is an old xbox and the xbox remote

www.xboxmediacenter.com

A very informative article on why old systems and specifically the SNES get discolored. I always figured it was something in the plastic and that light might also have something to do and turns out I was mostly right. [Link]

I am going to start off by saying I am not a fan of Wataniya. I have been an MTC user since 1995 and I am very loyal to the brand. So, when I was contacted by Wataniya to try out their new W-net internet router I wasn’t very thrilled because I would rather it had been MTC calling me. But I still went ahead and met with the Wataniya guy who turned out to be cool and a Nintendo Wii fan and he explained to me what W-net was and told me that Wataniya had hooked me up with a 6 month prepaid subscription. I was thinking worst case scenario if the connection turned out to be crap I could take the router to work and hook it up over there since my office lacked a wifi connection which annoys the hell out of me whenever I take my Macbook to work. After using the device for over 2 weeks I can say I am impressed.

When I first opened the package I found the Quick Start Guide which involved 11 steps on how to setup the connection. I ignored the guide, turned on the router and connected to it via wifi on my Macbook. Thats it, I was connected to the Internet. Its a lot easier then 11 steps.

The Wataniya router works on the HSDPA network which is a 3G mobile protocol. Currently 3G isn’t covered everywhere in Kuwait so if you don’t have 3G in your area you will end up connecting onto the much slower EDGE network. So if you want to take full advantage of W-net you better hope you live in a 3G zone. I live in Salmiya and I have 3G here.

The most impressive thing about the W-Net connection is the download speed. I have a 512 DSL connection by Qualitynet and I usually download files at around 63 KB/sec. With W-net on the other hand I download at around 107 KB/sec which is nearly twice as fast as my DSL connection. The upload speed is slow though at around 15 KB/sec where as my Qualitynet hits around 35 KB/sec.

Loading websites feels slower on the Wataniya connection. When I type in a URL its always quicker to load on my Qualitynet connection. I thought it was because of the connection latency but I pinged mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com on both my Qualitynet connection and the Wataniya connection and the results were very close so I don’t know why the lack of acceleration.

Qualitynet
PING mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com (66.199.240.42): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 66.199.240.42: icmp_seq=0 ttl=45 time=321.393 ms
64 bytes from 66.199.240.42: icmp_seq=1 ttl=47 time=305.564 ms
64 bytes from 66.199.240.42: icmp_seq=2 ttl=45 time=325.444 ms
64 bytes from 66.199.240.42: icmp_seq=3 ttl=45 time=356.846 ms
64 bytes from 66.199.240.42: icmp_seq=4 ttl=45 time=376.722 ms

Wataniya W-Net
PING mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com (66.199.240.42): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 66.199.240.42: icmp_seq=0 ttl=45 time=306.380 ms
64 bytes from 66.199.240.42: icmp_seq=1 ttl=47 time=327.925 ms
64 bytes from 66.199.240.42: icmp_seq=2 ttl=45 time=383.964 ms
64 bytes from 66.199.240.42: icmp_seq=3 ttl=45 time=295.931 ms
64 bytes from 66.199.240.42: icmp_seq=4 ttl=45 time=472.001 ms

For the geek users, you can customize the settings of the router to your liking just as if it was an ordinary router. It originally came set with the IP address 192.168.1.1 but my network runs on 192.168.0.X so I just logged in to the router settings and just changed stuff like turning of DHCP and changing the routers name. The router has an Ethernet port so you can connect it to the regular network or directly to your computer in case you don’t have wifi.

The price of the router plus Wataniya data line is KD135. The monthly charge for the connection is KD28, or KD300 for 1 year and KD565 for 2. I don’t know if you can order a different cheaper router off the web and use it with the Wataniya data line, I guess it could work.

Would I give up my DSL connection for W-Net? No I wouldn’t. I upload a lot of stuff all the time and 35 KB/sec is slow for me yet alone 15. I also browse the web a lot and like it when pages load instantly. The W-Net connection reminds me of my previous Shownet connection (which was Satellite based). It has a high top speed but slow acceleration meaning when browsing websites you don’t really feel the connection is fast only when you start downloading files do you notice it.

Would I recommend the W-Net connection? Yes in certain situations. For example in my old place in Salwa I couldn’t get a DSL line setup because the phone network in my street didn’t support it. My only option was a Satellite/Dialup combo which sucked. If I was still living there then I would definitely get W-net. Also for people who can’t get phone lines for one reason or another or for people who simply want an Internet connection wherever they go (camping, challet, anywhere with a power outlet) then this would also be a good option.

Am I going to take the router to the office? Nope, whenever I have files to download I just switch over to the W-Net connection and download them. Its really convenient having it because its cutting my download time in half. Anyway if you have any questions regarding W-Net just leave a comment below and I will try to answer it.

www.wataniya.com

There will be a blogger meetup tomorrow at 5:30 since its the first Thursday of the month. The difference this month from other months is the meeting will be held at Dunkin Donuts in Salmiya. Thats a much cooler venue then the previous one which was Second Cup in Kuwait City plus its a lot closer to my house. Whoever changed the location a big thank you! I haven’t been to a bloggers meetup yet but I will tomorrow.

Today I met with a person from Wataniya. They wanted me to try out their new W-Net router based system so they hooked me up with a device and a 6 month subscription plan.

It runs on the HDSPA network and right out of the box on a busy Thursday night I am downloading at 51.6kb. I will post more pictures and details after I play with it some more this weekend. So far this Internet connection seems as fast as my Qualitynet 512 DSL connection.

I have been using Adobe Photoshop CS3 for a couple of months now and its fucking amazing. Its wayyy better then CS2. If you are looking for the Adobe Photoshop CS3 crack which I had posted here well its not here anymore. I am sorry but the crack has been removed.

Wow, if I had the free time I would definitely attempt making this. I don’t think I have ever seen a cooler Halloween pumpkin. [Link]

I was in Hawalli yesterday when I decided to pass by the store Best Buy Kuwait (not official Best Buy just a copy). Turns out they had the Sony UMPC on display. I had only seen it before online so it was cool seeing it in person. Its super tiny and I really wish Apple would come up with something like it. They were selling it for KD699. [Link]

A nice comparison of the top ten most used BitTorrent sites, they recommend BTjunkie.com. [Link]

Not many will get this cartoon, but those who do will find it funny. [Link] #

A cool way to test your bandwidth. [Link]

[via digg]

K.thekuwaiti just emailed me these pictures. Someone in Kuwait owns a K.I.T.T replica from the show Knight Rider. Its really fucking cool.

Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
Picture 4

Dedicated to King Abdullah. [Link]

I found these Tron Adidas sneakers at Atheletes Foot in Marina Mall.