Tech and Gear
I had my PS3 and Linkstation on a wired gigabit subnet because I wanted the PS3 to be able to stream HD content from the Linkstation. But I also needed the PS3 to have Internet access and the Linkstation to be accessible by wireless devices.
First, I tried connecting my Huawei D100 router to the switch but it couldn’t find any HSDPA signal. Sun’s signal is still spotty and weak in some areas and finicky elsewhere. So I guess the D100 has to be in the bedroom where the signal is strongest.
I finally got my LinkStation back from the shop. Only, it’s now a Linkstation Live. Here’s how it happened: A few months ago my CD-R King HDD enclosure died when it suffered a workplace accident. To replace it, I bought a Buffalo LinkStation Pro. But after a only few months, it conked out (Lesson Learned: Do not store important data in these unreliable drives!).
Fortunately, it was still under warranty so I asked James to return it to the shop for repairs. After a few weeks, the shop told us it can no longer be repaired and that they’re sourcing a replacement unit. After a few more weeks, they still couldn’t find a replacement unit. After repeated phone calls by James, they eventually decided to replace with the newer LinkStation Live.
I was a gamer not too long ago. I played a whole gamut of games from classic arcade games like Pac-man, Space Invaders to classic PC games like King’s Quest, Karateka, Prince of Persia, to the modern FPS, RPG, and RTS like Doom I/II, Duke Nukem, Quake I/II/III, Unreal, Command and Conquer I/II, Red Alert I/II, Warcraft I/II/III (and DOTA), Diablo I/II, Starcraft, I even played an MMORPG: Ragnarok (yesh!). But I guess work and studies plus an underpowered laptop put all that to rest.
With the series of holidays coming up, I wanted to have something to while away the time during the occasional respites from attending to Jeanne (and to a certain extent Michelle). Aside from watching movies, what’s better than being part of those movies, in an interactive way i.e. games, right?
Michelle and I finally decided to subscribe to Sun Wireless Broadband. We were quite reluctant at first because of all the horror stories about wireless Internet access. Not just about Sun but also Globe and Smart. In fact, I think Smart Bro started it all, the horror stories.
But recently, there have been better feedback about Sun’s product to the point that people are even saying that Globe and Smart is a waste of time and money. That’s a big turnabout since Sun is really notorious for their poor signal and poor interconnection (but I’m sure it’s not entirely their fault there). And although the horror stories are not completely gone, we decided to take a leap of faith and get one.
Of course, we chose the no commitment option: Buying the modem for less expensive promo price of P1,595 (instead of the overpriced P1,895) and getting the unlimited account for P799 a month. The transaction was reasonably fast and painless. I guess they were eager to make a sale. We filled up two forms (one for the account and one for the credit card billing) and then were given a Huawei E1550 HSDB USB modem. After a short tutorial where the only thing I really heard was about some 24 hour activation, we’re off.
So after getting home,plugging in the USB modem, installing the built-in software, and waiting the requisite 24 hours, here we are surfing wirelessly. And the speed was a miserably slow 150Kbps or so. There are times when it struggles, and there are times (early in the morning) when it’s pretty fast but it’s usually just around 150Kbps. So I guess some of the horror stories are true.
But still it’s not too bad for unlimited wireless for P799 a month. Of course, I definitely want Sun to fix and improve it. Who doesn’t, right? I hope Globe and Smart wake up from their stupor on their self-imagined laurels and goad Sun to fix and improve. And they should all have service level commitments. But for now, Sun is it.
I have no computer, much more a network connection, at the new office I’m deployed to so I’m forced to use my netbook and phone for surfing and downloading. Needless to say, having both WiFi and HSDPA activated is a huge drain on the battery. So I looked around for a USB charger.
The first logical place to go to is of course your friendly neighborhood Nokia service center. They had some but at a staggering P1,200. Next stop, was CD-R King, purveyor of cheap electronica where I endured a somewhat slow queue only to be told that they sell them for P90 but are currently out of stock. I finally found it at Games and Gadget for P220. Not as cheap as CD-R King but it sure beats out-of-stock.
Now I can extend my surfing to as long as my netbook has power and as long as I can stomach the expensive telco charges.