The Richter Scale^®

I travel a lot, and I depend heavily on being able to connect to the Internet most anywhere and any time. For speed reasons, I prefer using my notebook’s WiFi connection, but have as back-up a built-in Cingular data connection, and a T-Mobile plug-in PC Card.

For WiFi, I pay both a monthly subscription to T-Mobile and Boingo. T-Mobile Hotspot service is great because it’s what’s offered at American Airlines Admiral’s Clubs, many Starbucks cafes, and Borders Books & Music stores, among others. Boingo is useful because they have roaming agreements with a slew of other WiFi hot spot operators, including Wayport, which is used by many hotels. So, instead of paying $9.95/day for access, I pay $21.95 a month. Considering I have already had nearly 60 hotel nights this year so far (and we’re only 4 months into the year), that’s serious savings.

One of the biggest frustrations of using WiFi connections, however, is finding them, and that’s where the Digital Hotspotter from Canary Wireless comes into play.

(Courtesy of Canary Wireless)

I have been testing the HS10 model of their Digital Hotspotter (MSRP $59.95) for about three months now, and it certainly works as promised. Weighing in at 2.5 ounces (71 grams) with a pair of AAA batteries, the Hotspotter, with a mere button press, will allow you find 802.11b and 802.11g access points in the area (the ones in the 2.4GHz spectrum). It’s not fool proof, but almost every time I tested it it showed the access points I knew to exist in the area, as well as a surprising number of access points which I was not aware of. I have used the Hotspotter all over the U.S. and in a number of foreign locales as well. The few times that known access points were not shown required merely rescanning with the device - a process as easy as just pressing the sole button on the Digital Hotspotter.

The things I like about the Digital Hotspotter include that it is small and compact, that it is quite fast in locating hot spots (and showing them by SSID - the network ID of the hot spot), that it gives me an idea of signal strength and whether the access point is “open” (i.e. does not require a password or encryption key). It also provides information on which channel the access point resides (something that is more useful when debugging a wireless network as an advanced user or an administrator).

Canary Wireless suggests that administrators can use the Digital Hotspotter to find unsecured access points, and certainly that has been helpful to me too.

It’s also a lot faster to whip out the Digital Hotspotter and test an area for hot spots than it is to boot a computer, and then use Microsoft’s maddeningly slow “feature” in Windows XP to scan for wireless networks. Once the Hotspotter finds a hotspot is when you need to boot your computer up and try and access the open hot spot.

Be forewarned, however, that there’s no guarantee, however, that hotspots flagged as “Open” by the Hotspotter will actually allow you free Internet access. Making that determination requires a much more complicated device and process (and takes quite a bit of time) - something that at this point is best done by your computer.

At $59.95, the HS10 Digital Hotspotter is a pretty good deal for all it does, and merits a 8.5 out of 10.0 on The Richter Scale.

I should note that the Digital Hotspotter has been out since late 2004, at least according to the user forums on the Canary Wireless web site, and it is my understanding that a new version is due out this summer.

Here is my wishlist of what I would like an advanced model of this device to additionally offer:

- A recessed button so that it does not accidentally trigger (and run down the batteries) when in my computer bag.
- A second button which would let me ask the Hotspotter to do an in-depth analysis of how “Open” the currently displayed access point was. This would involve actually connecting to the access point, trying to get assigned an IP address, and then trying some HTTP (web) requests to see if sign-in is required (e.g. like for T-Mobile or other access-for-pay wireless gateways) or if the HTTP requests are processed correctly (indicating a truly open, unrestricted gateway)
- Optionally under this second button function, the device should be configurable to check to see if one or more of a series of Internet ports are open in the network the access point is connected to, including e-mail, VPN, and SSH/telnet.

The above items would be incredibly useful to travelers and administrators alike, but likely also challenging to implement in a small battery powered package. Although, if size were not an issue, then an optional GPS module which allows the unit to report on all access points and their characteristics at a given location which could then be logged automatically would be sweet.

Mind you, there are some legal concerns here too. The St. Petersburg Times reported last summer that a man was arrested for “stealing” access to an unsecured WiFi access point in a residential area and charged with “unauthorized access to a computer network” - that’s a third-degree felony. And last month in Illinois another individual was fined US$250 and put under court supervision for a year for using a WiFi access point that he was not authorized to use (even though it was “Open"). So if you are using a Digital Hotspotter or any other mechanism to find open hotspots to use, beware the potential legal ramifications if you get caught by someone objecting to your use of their access point.

The folks at Otter Products were nice enough to send me one of the new OtterBoxes for iPod Video (MSRP $49.95) at the end of January, to review here.

So now it’s three months later, and I finally am posting my review. Why did it take so long? Well, in short - waterproof headphones. I’ll get into that subject in a moment.

OtterBoxes are well known for being good protection for one’s valuables. Here on Bonaire where I live, diving and snorkeling are tourism mainstays, and many of the watersports enthusiasts I know use generic OtterBoxes, like the OtterBox 1000, to keep their keys, credit cards, and other valuables dry when in the water, down to depths of up to 100 feet (30 meters).

As such, I was naturally intrigued when at CES I saw Otter Products introducing the OtterBox for iPod Video. I was a bit disappointed when I learned that the OtterBox for iPod Video is designed more to make the iPod weatherproof and wear resistant than to allow it to be used at great depth while diving. However, that still allows for using an iPod while snorkeling, swimming, kayaking, or walking/running/cycling in the rain - all noble pursuits.

However, if one wants to use an iPod in wet conditions, one also needs head phones which will survive those conditions. And that’s where I ran into a snag.

Otter Products does not sell waterproof headphones to go with the various audio-oriented OtterBoxes they offer (they have products for the iPod Nano, the iPod Shuffle, and others), nor do they offer any recommendations of third party waterproof headphones. Personally, I think that is a major gap in their product line, and not at least having a list of suggested products is a disservice to their clients.

I would further advise anyone looking to get another sort of case for an MP3 player for use in wet conditions to first find a set of waterproof or weatherproof headphones they like, and then look at getting cases.

My own search for waterproof headphones was fruitless at first. I finally stumbled over a set at Overtons - the LF Waterproof Headphones for $19.99. I placed the order through Amazon.com because that way I didn’t have to re-enter all my billing/shipping information. However, I was on a tight travel schedule and needed them to arrive at my hotel before I checked out. All indications were that this would work out, but then I got word that they were out of stock so I cancelled the order.

At the next available opportunity I searched a variety electronics stores during a stay in New York City, and struck out on waterproof headphones entirely. I did however come across the Sony MDR A35 water “resistant” headphones at Best Buy for $19.99 - not quite fully water proof, but they would hopefully not fry if fully submerged. According to the product description “stands up to rain, snow and occasional splashing”. That was about four weeks ago.

Last week I was vacationing with my family at the Club Med in Ixtapa, Mexico, and brought the OtterBox for iPod Video along for testing (see picture above). I used the OtterBox every day pool side, and took it swimming several times as well.

The most important result of all my real-world testing is that my 60GB iPod video never got wet, and performed flawlessly in the OtterBox, whether on land, at the water’s surface or even clipped to my swim trunks under water. The only minor issue I had with the OtterBox was that under water it was not possible to adjust the volume - I had to bring it to the surface to do that. With the optional $14.95 (MSRP) armband that would not have been an issue. I suspect that this limitation has to do with the pressure the water exerts on the membrane over the iPod’s controls, and it’s not uncommon to see similar issues with underwater housings for cameras and other devices.

However, I was not particularly thrilled with the Sony MDR A35 headphones. They certainly did work, most of the time, but when I completely submerged my head while swimming, the left channel went out, and only returned when the headphones dried out a bit later. Completely waterproof headphones would resolve that problem if only I could find a good set, I suspect.

I was also concerned about the 1 meter/3 foot depth limitation of the OtterBox for iPod Video, mostly because I am 6’ 3” tall, and in deeper water, I suspect the top of my swim trunks are perilously close to that 3 foot mark (I have not actually measured the distance from my chin to that mark though). However, even in the deeper part of the pool I did not have any flooding.

I must say, though, that swimming with music of my own choice, shutting out the ever present shrieking, shouting, and noise which follows children into pools, was blissful.

As a device to protect an iPod from the elements, I found the OtterBox for iPod Video excels. It’s now a standard part of my gear for anytime I plan to do anything outdoors with my iPod Video and I am recommending it to others for that purpose.

Based on that, I give the OtterBox for iPod Video an 8.0 out 10.0 on The Richter Scale.

In closing, I will add that as a device to use for being able to swim with an iPod, I simply cannot get over the inadequacy of waterproof headphone support. That isn’t really the fault of Otter Products, but they certainly could do a lot more to reduce the frustration of using of their products in environments the products are designed for (like in the water). At the very least they could provide a list of headphone options with links to where such headphones could be purchased. If they did something like this, or better yet, offered a selection of waterproof headphones themselves, it would increase my already high rating of the Otterbox for iPod Video a bit more.

Nintendo has announced the name it plans to market the gaming console formerly known as Revolution under - it’s “Wii”, pronounced like the English “We” (as in “us").

Introducing ... Wii.
As in “we.”
While the code-name “Revolution” expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer.
Wii will break down that wall that separates video game players from everybody else.
Wii will put people more in touch with their games ... and each other. But you’re probably asking: What does the name mean?
Wii sounds like “we,” which emphasizes this console is for everyone.
Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii.
Wii has a distinctive “ii” spelling that symbolizes both the unique controllers and the image of people gathering to play.
And Wii, as a name and a console, brings something revolutionary to the world of video games that sets it apart from the crowd.
So that’s Wii. But now Nintendo needs you.
Because, it’s really not about you or me.
It’s about Wii.
And together, Wii will change everything.

From http://revolution.nintendo.com

How cutesy. The new name is actually too cute.

As a father of young children, I simply cannot rid my mind of associating “Wii” with “Daddy, I need to go wee-wee”. Will that be the battlecry of the next Nintendo generation? Will they subvert the meaning of going Number One to mean they want to play video games? I hope not.

And while Nintendo says the name will be easily remembered around the world, regardless of language - in the few languages I know enough of to try and pronounce “Wii” in (those languages being German, Czech, Dutch, and Papiamentu), it sounds nothing like the English pronounciation in any of those.

Nintendo also touts the lack of confusion of the new name and not needing to abbreviate - a not-so-subtle swat at Sony’s PlayStation 2 a.k.a. PS2. I would be concerned that the new name is too generic, and without a prefix of “Nintendo”, has no clear meaning. I cringe at the thought of my son or daughter asking friends over to play with their “Wii”. I am sure there are laws against that in most localities.

In any case, time will tell whether the new name for the console-formerly-known-as-Revolution is a dud or a smash (or just merely ho-hum, like the Nintendo GameCube).

During lunch with my 9 year old son and a couple of his friends a few days ago, I suggested that next time he plays Star Wars Battlefront II, perhaps he might want to try it on the Xbox 360 as another compatibility update had been made available by Microsoft to allow that Xbox game in particular to run on the Xbox 360. I explained that this might improve the graphics quality of the game play (which, in my opinion, is the only serious weakness of the Xbox version of Star Wars Battlefront II).

I asked him if graphics quality was important to him. He was quick to answer that the graphics didn’t matter much - the particular game was what mattered, and more specifically, the saved profile data (an issue I addressed back in December). After all, the original Halo didn’t look any much better on the Xbox 360 than it did on the Xbox.

I decided to see for myself if there was any difference in graphics quality running the Xbox version of Star Wars Battlefront II on the Xbox 360, much to the annoyance of my son, who felt that my tinkering was eating into his game time.

The difference was stunning. Whereas on the Xbox everything (even with component video out) is kind of blobby and pixelated, Battlefront II felt almost crisp running on my Xbox 360 (using a VGA cable for a high resolution display on my TV). And, amusingly, all my son’s preconceptions about how graphics quality was not important flew out the window. On the Xbox 360, playing four player split-screen is actually rather usable (vs. nearly unusable on the Xbox), and that’s really important to him.

So, now my son will only play Star Wars Battlefront II on the Xbox 360. But Halo is still played on the Xbox, since that’s where all his saved game data resides. I found this an interesting commentary on relative values of data vs. presentation, especially considering it comes from a nine year old. But I agree with him.

For several years now it has seemed to me that there’s been a real shopping void on-line. Tough to believe, eh? After all, there are sites dedicated to buying most anything on-line, right? Well, the void I refer to are products from and related to particular Caribbean island destinations.

Considering I live on Bonaire in the southern Caribbean, it was a no-brainer to start with trying to figure out how to get Bonaire originated items on-line. The idea was easy, but the execution was not because selling tangible products requires fulfillment, and shipping stuff directly from Bonaire would make things prohibitively expensive.

So, last summer, my wife and I got together with old friends in New Hampshire and founded Caribbean Stuff, LLC, based in New Boston, New Hampshire, with friends Tracy and Mike Griffin, to provide both the U.S. presence for any future on-line store, as well a distribution point. New Hampshire is one of the few states blessed with no sales tax, and that’s an added bonus.

My wife and I launched http://www.CaribbeanArt.com last fall to test out Caribbean Stuff’s distribution and fulfillment processes, and that worked (and continues to work) great.

I’m pleased to report that approximately one month ago, we successfully launched http://www.BonaireStuff.com with approximately 90 products, and sales have been good. We’re now looking to expand to provide products from other Caribbean islands via a new on-line store to be launch later this year.

As Bonaire is known for its flamingos (presuming you’ve even heard of Bonaire), one my favorite areas of BonaireStuff.com is the flamingo section (just type “flamingo” in the search box at http://www.BonaireStuff.com), where you can get flamingo hats, flamingo sunglasses, and even a “grow-your-own” pet flamingo (just pop it in water and watch it grow). We’re working on further expanding our Bonaire product line as well. If you want to stay abreast of any specials or news from BonaireStuff.com, there’s a place on the BonaireStuff.com home page (near the bottom) where you can subscribe to a newsletter.

A couple of months ago I blogged about a rather annoying problem with hibernating on notebook computers with more than 1 gigabyte of RAM when using Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) installed.

Well, about a month later, I got a message from Jonathon L., another Windows user who had a similar problem, and he pointed me to Microsoft Knowledgebase Article KB90905 which exactly addresses the issue I had.

Unfortunately, the hotfix discussed by the knowledgebase article can only be obtained from Microsoft support:

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix.

As anyone who had ever tried to get Microsoft support for operating systems issues knows, it’s no cake walk. It’s a major hassle, and then to add insult to injury, they try and charge you for the annoyance too. For free support they try to foist you off on your PC maker (if your Windows XP came with your system), and the PC maker can’t help you with hotfixes, sending you right back to Microsoft.

But Jonathon indicated he had tried another approach. He used the ”Send us your comments and questions about this Web site” link on the support page, which is free, and doesn’t require a phone call.

Using his advice (and his experience of having to further elaborate once he got a message asking for more details), I sent the following message via the above Microsoft comment page:

I have a Sony VAIO VGN-670TX with Windows XP Professional SP2 and when I go to hibernate I get the error “Insufficient System Resources Exist to Complete the API”.

This is documented in KB909095 - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/909095/en-us

That Knowledge Base item says you can provide a HotFix to me, but that I need to ask for it.

I’m asking for the HotFix now.

Thanks,

Jake Richter

In less than 24 hours I received an e-mail pointing me to a copy of the hotfix (with a time-out and password to limit broad distribution). I installed it and am pleased to report that the Windows XP SP2 hibernation problem seems to have completely disappeared in my month and more of testing.

So, many thanks to you Jonathon!

Finally back for a few days from lots of travels, but off on my next trip next Monday.

In looking to add a few things to my blog, I learned from a number of folks that my blog software frustrated their attempts to post comments to my blog entries. Had to dig around for a bit, but that’s now fixed.

Also fixed is any weirdness in view my blog via Internet Explorer (I’m a dedicated Firefox web browser user, so I had not noticed the problem).

If any of you encounter any problems with my blog, please drop me a note at jake@richterscale.org.