Bogieblog

Time for a New Phone

I was visiting the family in Kansas Tuesday thru Saturday. During the entire time I was out of NH I didn't have cell phone service or text (even at airports). I could connect to wifi and use any apps I wanted, but the main function of the phone was a no-go. I have US Cellular, and it has never failed me because they have agreements with Verizon (which has massive coverage in KS). I did some research and everyplace was telling me I would have to remove then reinstall the SIM card, reset the network (loosing a lot of presets), or do a factory reset. But, it was clear that they were talking about no cell service from anyone (including your own carrier). I messed around with the settings, rebooting etc but I didn't want to do anything drastic. Finally found a site that said old software may be to blame.

My phone is old enough that it hasn't updated for 1 or 1.5 years so I thought that may be the problem. I found a US cellular site in KS about 30 miles from where I was staying so Cop Car and I went on a field trip to see if I had inadvertently changed something since my last trip. About 10 miles away my phone suddenly started pinging with texts coming in. I looked and sure enough I had cell service. Decided that they probably couldn't figure out anything if had cell service so decided to turn around and not bother. Besides, I had been thinking of getting a new phone and that gave me the excuse I needed to spend money on one.

Yesterday afternoon it was in the 90s so decided it was a great time to go to my favorite US Cellular location. Told the guy my woes and he looked up where I had been and figured I was correct. At the very least, since My old S9+ didn't have 5G, that might have been the issue too (some networks have dropped support for the older tech). I had done my research and wanted a phone that could take my SD card for all my picture taking, and the flagship Samsungs don't. But, there is a nice mid-range phone that does, and has decent performance at less than 1/2 the price of the more popular models.

After all was said and done, I walked out with an A54 and a contract that included insurance and unlimited data that was only $2 more than what I'd been paying. My old plan (not a contract) had limited data although I could go over and they would automatically charge for the next higher amount.

Most things were synced at the store or on my way home, but of course I had to set up a few things last night. I kept my old phone as a backup and it still retained its wifi connecting abilities, so that is cool as I can use the old phone for web surfing while outside in the sitting area (or when the new phone is charging)

Aptitude

From 123 Aptitude Test, Thanks to Cop Car's post.

The only surprise for the Personality Type was that I scored so high in Artistic.

You know, when I was younger, I wanted to be veterinarian. After dog grooming for a while, I understood that working with animals is only fun on my off time - I don't want to do that for my day job. Here are my results from the test - and I must say that it is probably pretty good.

 

Router Woes

Yesterday morning I was trying to since my Kindle to download some books I had just bought. For some reason the Kindle couldn't access my network and nothing I tried would get it there. Figured the device was showing its age and just shrugged it off. In the afternoon, tried again and same result so downloaded onto my computer and then tried to transfer to the Kindle thru USB. After much frustration, I gave up and decided to download the books to my laptop while I debated getting a new reading device.

Then I realized my laptop didn't have a signal from the wifi. Checked both my phones (personal and work), and they were running off the tower. Hmmm, this is not looking good if the router isn't throwing a signal. I installed a new Router (Netgear) just over a year ago (August 2019 to be exact), so maybe an update was pushed and it needed tweaked. After an hour, I was no closer to figuring it out. My desktop still ran fine (it is hardwired to the router), and my work computer was okay - until it suddenly wasn't. Now that is of major concern since I am 100% working from home. I messed with it until 4:45 and made the executive decision that I needed to get a new router - and now because Saturday I won't be home (land clearing with the FHC crew) and Sunday is HOG and I didn't want to leave it until Sunday afternoon. Got online and got the last Linksys AC2200 router reserved for pickup (no, I didn't research - no time, just did it). Of course they close at 6, and it was at least a 45 minute drive (especially with everyone going north for the holiday weekend), so I hopped right to it.

Got the new router home and the first thing I had to do was download the app to my phone. It kind of peeves me that everything is so app driven that I can't even download the software onto my computer first. Anyway, I got over my peevedness, downloaded the app, removed the old router, installed the new one and got it all set up. I WAS pleasantly surprised that the set up for the Linksys was much easier than I remember it being for the Netgear. Although I did have a minor heart attack because it couldn't find the 'net at first after rebooting the modem, but that is because my modem took it's sweet time. Once I had the router try it again, it worked just fine.Bonus points are that the Linksys router is smaller so fits on top of my tower, within the cubby just fine.

How the Netgear router "fit" in the cubby

The new Linksys fits in the cubby

I got my phones, Kindle, work computer and laptop all set up with little hassle and had everything running by 7:30 last night.

Computer set up

Cop Car had a post about her new computer and the mouse/keyboard that came with it. In the comments we had a short discussion about wireless versions for said peripheries (she likes wired versions). So, instead of trying to explain why I like wireless versions at home, I took it as an opportunity to create a post of my own.

Here is my home desktop set up. Note that there is only one cat on the desk at this time, Rita. Rainey is on the chair (out of picture) and Spot chose not to be in the room at the time the picture was taken.

Below the main desktop is a slide for the keyboard. I have had this desk since the late '90s, so I used corded for years. Even with a hole in the side for wires to get the computer bay, when the slide is out, the length of the keyboard cord can be on the tight side. Additionally, if the slide isn't out, the cord droops enough to get tangled up with my feet. Cats also find the dangling cords very inviting and there were many times that I found that either they, or my feet, had managed to dislodge the connection to the CPU.  I also tend to like my keyboard in the center of the slide, which doesn't leave much room for the mouse so I like my mouse on the desk top itself. I had to use extension cords for the mouse to reach the CPU.

When wireless versions of keyboards and mice became fairly mainstream and cheap, I tried out several sizes and configurations to find the ones I really liked. At the time Staples had a big section where you could try the fit before buying - I don't know if they still have something like that available. These wireless peripheries are so old, they don't run off a sensor plugged into a USB port. If you look closely, you can see a green light to the left of the monitor. Thant is the sensor corded into the regular mouse and keyboard jacks in the back of the CPU (yes, it has 2 cords to the computer). Those cords are long enough to allow for some movement of the sensor or CPU, but short enough not to attract kitty attention.

Now, here is my work computer set up, which as you can see is on top of what is supposed to be a printer stand (and was used for that purpose since I got it in 2003). In back I have placed a spare shelf over the gap between the stand and the wall to allow the base of the monitor to be jammed right up to the wall. As an aside, Spot regularly chooses to sleep on top of the computer case that is on top of the printer :)

There is little room to accommodate peripheries. I will admit, that when I first set up the station, when I started my present job in Jan 209, I had corded varieties of the mouse and keyboard (using spares from old computers - because I don't throw anything away :O ). Without much room, I use the mouse on my desk , so the cord stretching over there was a PITA - and the keyboard was larger than that shown and the edge hung over the front of the stand. When I got my new home computer this past summer, I deliberately chose one with cordless peripheries. I did not like either the mouse (too large for my hand) or the keyboard (too small) so I re-used my existing input devices for my home desktop set up. However, the keyboard is perfectly sized to sit in front of the work laptop and the mouse is adequate for occasional use, so I was happy to use them for that purpose. And, when the work computer is not in use, the keyboard is moved to sit on top of the laptop and my coffee can sit there where it is not in danger of being knocked over by me or the kitties.

Cop Car had mentioned she didn't like the hassle of replacing batteries and then recycling them. I find that batteries last about a year for my home desktop. I would expect them to last longer for the work set up (my personal laptop, which is rarely used, has a mouse that I can't remember the last time I changed the battery). As far as battery disposal, our transfer station has a recycle area. The battery table is right in front, which I have to pass while taking my other recyclables further into the building, so it's no hassle for me. Even if it were, I could just take them into work where there is a container right in the break room for recycle collection.

However, I'm not an all-wireless gal. My work station set up at my place of employment has a wired mouse and keyboard plugged into the docking station which I am perfectly happy with. I could get wireless versions, but see no need. So I'm not ragging on what anyone chooses to use, just explaining what works for me in my circumstances.

Old Phone Woes

When I made my travel arrangements back to Kansas to see family later this year, the service sent me a website so I could download details onto my phone. I always like to be prepared and have several copies of the itinerary and boarding passes on me, so that was something I went for. Unfortunately the website balked because my phone, a Samsung Galaxy S5, is too old (probably the OS was too old and I was to the latest that my phone could handle).

I bought the S5 as a refurb from eb*y several years ago and it has been a good phone for me. On the other hand, I have lusted after the enhanced camera capabilities of the new phones, so started looking around at what I could get without paying an arm and a leg. I started looking at refurb S10's, the latest version, but even the refurbs were higher than the price I was wiling to pay. I started looking at S9's (so last years model :) ), but even those refurbs were beyond my price-point to value ratio.

I started looking again on eb*ay last weekend, to see if refub prices had dropped, when I stumbled upon a seller that had NEW S9 Plus** phones for less than the refurbs were going for. He even had some that were for my carrier (US Cellular), and I had my choice of purple, blue, and black. After some hemming and hawing, I ordered a blue one and it was guaranteed to be here by Friday.

It came in Thursday's mail and Friday afternoon I went to one of my carrier's store and had them swap the account over to the new phone. After a call into the service center that night from a minor snafu, all was good and I have the First Wrold Problem of adjusting on differences between my old phone and new phone.

Stock photo from the seller I got the phone from

** I hear the world asking what the difference between the S9 and S9+ is. The S9+ has a larger screen at 6.2" (versus 5.8"), the battery is more powerful at 3,500mAh (versus 3,000), it has 6GB of RAM (versus 4GB). And, best of all the S9+ has the duel lens camera versus a single lens. In the words of Samsung's website, "This special camera offers dual optical image stabilization and 2X optical zoom."

Electronic Updates

I've had an old Lynksys wireless router that I got somewhere around 2007 (actually, 2008). I remember agonizing whether to go with the old g or the new n band that was the latest protocol. When I bought the new desktop (has it already been 1.5 months?), I got 10% off when I got the CC credit card and used it to pay (hey, and the computer was already on sale for about 20% off). Then a couple of weeks ago there was a surprise in my email; they gave me a 10% reward in credits. Woohoo, I knew what I was going to buy with it. I mean seriously, new modem, new computer, and a router that had to be restarted on a regular basis because it lost itself (always at the least opportune time of course), what's not to like about that?

Fortunately there is a CC within a couple of miles from work, so I hit that up instead of having to make the trek to Concord. I could have gotten a fairly basic router for about what my reward was, but decided to throw in a few of my own $ and get something with a few more bells and whistles. I ended up with a Netgear Nighthawk AC2300 (aka R7000P), the cost of which I paid less than half after using the rewards. Of course I did my research before I went so made sure it wasn't an older version at R7000D. This is an entry level gaming / streaming router and since I don't do either is more than I need, but should be up to snuff longer than a basic version.

Yesterday afternoon, although only in the 70's, it was so humid that working outside (beyond the 1 ton of pellets I picked up and stacked in the garage) was a struggle even to breathe, so I decided to set up the router. On opening the box, I found there were no instructions - just a piece of paper describing what should be in the box. I had looked up to see what issues there were with setting up, so took a snip of the access address that would allow me to set up via a web browser even without Comcast being in the mix.

Although it took a bit of time, the set up went fairly smoothly and I was able to use the "genie" software to get everything working smoothly. The first thing I did was to change the default password on both bands (2.5G and 5G band). I got my phone, laptop, printer, work laptop and work phone working with it to.

Let me tell you, I thought things had gotten fast with the new computer and modem set up, but the router adds a whole 'nother level for everything. I haven't tried out the range, but expect it to be about what the old one was (to about 10 feet perimeter of the outside walls of my house.

Besides the lack of instructions, the only other issue I have with the new router is that it is HUGE. It doesn't fit on top of my computer, or within the cubby in the desk. Well, it fits, just not gracefully - but at least it well be well ventilated and not overheat :). Oh, and it has lots of bright white lights (the old router had 3 dim blue lights).

For comparison on size, I place the old Linksys router on top (looking at the picture I realized that one of the 3 antennae had been rotated back when I hooked up the docking station for my work computer (the yellow wire to the left) so I have since fixed that. At least I know that if Spot jumps up there, she won't break it, it will just move out of the way.

After looking it up, I know I'm not imagining the speed boost. For a visual comparison of the old N versus the new AC versions (and hey, if I had gotten a g router back in 2008, look where it would have been).

Naturally, as explained below (from the the same source as the chart), theoretical speeds and actual speed are different than the chart, but still the new protocol is much faster.

You may have noticed there has been a six year gap between 802.11n and 802.11ac. This is an eternity in technology terms and the big benefit 802.11ac brings from its time in development is speed.

WiFi is always promoted using ‘theoretical’ speeds and by this standard 802.11ac is capable of 1300 megabits per second (Mbps) which is the equivalent of 162.5 megabytes per second (MBps). This is 3x faster than the typical 450Mbps speed attributed to 802.11n.

The problem is these speeds are garbage. In the real world no-one ever gets close to theoretical speeds and the fastest 802.11ac real world speeds recorded in testing are around 720Mbps (90MBps). By contrast 802.11n tops out at about 240Mbps (30MBps) so the 3x estimate is still true, just much lower

The article goes on to explain that although range for the new protocol may not be much, if any better, it is the beamforming tech that really makes a difference. The technology actively pinpoints where the wireless device is and pinpoints the beam to maximize efficiency. As an aside, at my last place of employment, we built beamformers, so now I know what they do.

All this means the performance of 802.11ac is maintained far better at long range than 802.11n. Peak performance may be tripled, but at range 5-10x the speed benefits are not unusual and this is where 802.11ac comes into its own. Some numbers for example:

• 802.11ac at one metre: 90MBps, 10 metres: 70MBps and at 20 metres behind two solid walls: 50MBps

• 802.11n at one metre: 30MBps, 10 metres: 20MBps and at 20 metres behind two solid walls: 5-10MBps

 

The article goes on to rate the Nighthawk as the best performing router of the 4 that they mention.

My setup should be good to go for another 10 years or so.

Computer Woes 2019

A couple of weeks ago my graphics card to my desktop went out. I managed to salvage it by removing it and blowing out the fan. I had no idea that it had a fan! I blew out the other two fans every 6 months or so, but the graphics card orientation prevented me from seeing that it had a fan also. I had bought the computer in 2012 as a refurb - I'm guessing with the 1 TB HD and the mid-range graphics card that someone configured it as a gaming PC and returned it for whatever reason. Anyway, it was basically brand new without a scratch on it. I knew that the graphics card fix was probably only temporary so I started looking at new computers. Sorry to say that most of them are downgrades from the 2012 computer. I also looked at refurbs, but those are hit-or-miss and nothing good was around.

Well, last weekend it came to a head when the graphics card went out for good. I went to Concord and got another card, but insatllation did not help so I'm guessing the overheated card took out part of the mother board. NOw, this is an issue because without my desktop, there is no wifi, so no internet even from my laptop (very slow laptop might I add), and only cell tower for the cell phones. ARGH! Back to BB in Concord hoping to find a computer at least as good as what the old one was.

Well, for well over a grand, I could get a gaming machine, but no, I don't need that much "stuff". So I settled for a HP Pavilion 595 that was on sale (hey look, the price went back up so I had decent timing with that!). I could have gotten something cheaper that probably would have been fine, but I just couldn't bring myself to downgrade the processor that much (2012 computer had i7 and most selling today are i5 or even i3) and I wanted the 16 GB memory (most today have 4 or 8).

The graphics is integrated on the 595, so that is a downgrade, as is the power supply at only 180w (old computer had 300w) and the card reader is only good for 3 types (versus 7). But, those downgrades aren't as important as I didn't use them to their full potential anyway.

Download 2019 HP Pavilion Specs downloaded 7-12-19 - landscape A copy of the specs I downloaded from HP

After picking out the computer, they had to load everything, as well as transfer all my files from the old hard drive, so I didn't get to pick it up until about noon on Sunday. Then when I got home I had to get with Comcast to hook it into their system. Oh, and I had bought a new router a month ago (old one was from 2010 and no longer supported by cable company), just never gotten it hooked in, so we did that at the same time.

Then I spent a boatload of time downloading programs and getting email set up. In fact, last night I finally got the separate email program set up for the blog email. I'm sure I'll find more stuff that I need to download, and of course all my internet bookmarks were gone, so I'm slowly getting those that I use the most back and set up with remembering passwords.

Too bad I hadn't already gotten the router hooked in with Comcast so I could truly tell how much internet speed was a result of that versus the new computer (that, although virtually the same specs, would be faster by virtue of not having a boatload of junk files to sort thru).

SNAFU

I was going to post about several things, but as usual lmy black cloud is following me around. My 1.5 year old desktop computer died. So, along with all the snow removal and trying to keep this place warm (can you say 1k worth of propane used in the last month? Not includint pellets of course). I will just go crawi in a hole and  try to figure out what I did in a past life that was so bad that all this bad karma follows me.

Electronically Challenged no Longer

I spent most of the day on the road today. I had taken it off to use up a vacatin day without any idea of what I would do. Then I ended up having to have a medical appointment, so I left this morning at 8:30 for that. I accomplished that, stopped at WallyWorld and Where the Pets Go, to pick up a few things. I also had to pick up my dead laptop along with the backup hard drive that the contents had been transferred to. The old laptop was in Concord, I was in Amherst and right across the street from Staplers.

So, I stopped in and looked at laptops. I really miss being able to listen to the news while doing computer related work, so thought maybe I could find a deal. I did. I found an HP Pavillion (that is what the old laptop was) with a big discount. I also needed Office and Antivirus, so I got to dickering with the sales guy. Office, I got on discount because I got it with a computer, I also got a discount on a triple pack of Antivirus for the same thing. However, I didn't need for multiples (I had renewed my subscription on the other computers recently) and told him that although it was only a $10 difference, I didn't like it. Then, he said I also could get a $40 discount because I have a Stapler's reward card.

SOLD. He had issues getting the system to take in the multiple discounts for the Antivirus, but finally got it to 5 cents less than he had quoted me. SCORE! I also saved by installing the software myself. So I was really happy with what I got.

I then headed to Concord to pick up the old laptop and the backup. When I got there, I discovered that the salesman at Staplers had not given me my credit card back. Fortunately the charges for retrieving the info off the HD wasn't too much so I just used my debit card. Once that was taken care of, I called up Staplers and explained how I lived miles away and it was a huge inconvenience to spend another  hours on the road to go back and get the credit card.

Whining works - they gave me a $20 certificate for my troubles.

Yeah, I spent a lot of extra time on the road that I could have used doing other things (mowing, stacking wood - neither which have been done in 2 weeks), but the extra credit doesn't hurt as a soother in that regard. Plus, since I was in Concord when I discovered the issue, and not at home, I spent less time than I could have (not to mention mileage and gas).

I finally got home about 4:30, took care of animals and household chores, then settled down to set up the laptop. I immediately took it out of Windows 8 mode and set up the wireless network. Then loaded software, transferred some files off my zip drive, and set up for wireless printer use. Guess what I computer I am typing this post on?

All in all, I would call it a lucky, and good day!

My Lucky Week

I've had a run of good luck in the last week, so thought I would share them:

1. Read in the Sunday paper that by downloading the DD app, I could get a free small coffee. I was totally in - and it worked!
2. Went to buy a coffee maker last weekend. I have never owned one, WS never liked the smell of coffee, so I just bought coffee on weekends (the only days I drink coffee at home. So I went store to store looking, but not finding the perfect size, type etc. Finally went to Sears, and was looking at their large selection, when I found one that was acceptable. It was $34 and I was trying to justify the cost to myself (never mind that that is only about 17 weeks worth of coffee - well, more adding in the cost of the grounds). As I was standing there, an Associate walked up and put at sale price sticker of $17 on it. Woohoo - my lucky day! Needless to say the coffee pot came home with me.
3. After breaking my brand new phone back in July, and buying a refurbished on (at more than 1/2 off the price of repair), I have two batteries. That is great, for when the phone runs thru the juice more quickly than I want, but that still meant my useable phone was on the charger a lot. Then early last week I asked myself, "I wonder if the broken phone works well enough to use as a charger for the spare battery?. To my delight - it did, and does. Now I can change out batteries and not have to chain my phone to a charger!
4. Yesterday I went to Staples and bought an external hard drive to back up my desktop (Yes DCE - I had been thinking the very thoughts you and Cop Car expressed). I also bought it before taking my dead lap top to an independant computer guy. I didn't neccessarily want the thing fixed, but wanted to see if I could get the pictures off the hard drive. To make a long story short, he called me up last night saying he had bad news and good news. The bad news was the mohterboard was fried and at 7 years old, he wouldn't suggest trying to replace it. The good news, was of course, was that he was backing up the hard drive to the new external hard drive, so all my stuff is saved! He also gave me a list of suggested laptops to look at for replacement, based on what he DOESN"T see at his shop. It did not include HP, which makes me sad because that laptop had been a rock and really, I got way more life out of it than anyone (especially the computer guy) could reasonably expect. So, since I am getting the pictures back, I am counting that as totally good luck!

That is 4 in a row, in a week's timespan. I am definitely on a roll. Hope it continues!