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Powerline vs Wi-Fi

Just about everyone knows what Wi-Fi is and most people even have it at home.  Because wireless N is not yet standardized, most people are still using wireless G.  What most people don’t know is that there is an alternative that in many cases will work better than wireless G and it uses lines you already have in your walls.

Powerline

Powerline connections use your existing electrical wiring.  One huge advantage is the simplicity.  Plug one powerline box into your router with an ethernet cable and the power cord into an electrical socket.  Then put your other powerline box wherever you need ethernet and hook it up to your device with an ethernet cable.  That’s it.  You’ve got internet.  Because of the simplicity, companies like Sling Media sell powerline devices like the Slinglink Turbo Powerline Kit to make hooking up a Slingbox that much easier.

Speed

A big problem with wireless is that you never actually get the claimed speeds.  Wireless G claims a theoretical max of 54Mbps.  Cut that number in half if you have two wireless devices talking to each other. With expected interference, such as neighbor’s Wi-Fi, you can likely cut that number in half again.  In my experience, if you get 20Mbps from ethernet device to Wi-Fi device, that’s about typical.  If you’re trying to move some big data like an HD show from one tivo to another, then you’re going from Wi-Fi to Wi-Fi and only getting about 10Mbps.  This is painfully slow.

This is where powerline becomes very handy.  If you just move one of your TiVos to powerline instead of Wi-Fi, you don’t have to cut that speed in half.  Powerline can take some trial and error to setup but if you find the best plugs to use, you can expect to get near 20Mbps and some newer powerline technology claims even more.  The end result is you can double your TiVo transfer speeds because only 1 TiVo on Wi-Fi can use the full 20Mbps while 1 on powerline is also getting 20Mbps.

Placement

Finding the best places to put the powerline devices may be the hardest part.  If speed is not important, you can probably use just about any 2 plugs.  I have yet to see 2 plugs that didn’t work at least a little.  The closer they are physically on the wire, the better the performance should be so it helps to know how your electrical is ran in your house.  If you don’t know, trial and error is a must as well as bandwidth testing software such as Qcheck.

Excellent Alternative

Everyone has Wi-Fi but that creates even more interference that slows it down. Powerline is a great alternative or complement to help maximize your home networking. Once wireless N is standardized, it will be much faster than wireless G but it will never be as simple to setup as powerline.

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PDF software.. not just from Adobe

PDF, standing for Portable Document Format, is a common format used for sending read-only files. While it was invented by Adobe in 1993, it is now an open standard. So Adobe and others now make some useful PDF tools.

PDF Readers

Of course, you can get the free Acrobat Reader from Adobe.

If you want a smaller and faster reader, try the Sumatra PDF (Windows only).

PDF Writers

A great addition to any computer is a PDF writer, which allows you to create PDF files from other documents. Macs can do this by default as a print option. Windows users can download PDFCreator. It adds PDFCreator as a printer which is handy if you want to make PDFs or just for when you don’t have a real printer around.

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Dell Reinstallation Disk Doesn’t Always Work

I recently performed a system reinstall for an Arlington, VA customer. His Dell Inspiron 1720 came with a Reinstallation DVD for Windows Vista Business 32Bit. This is not the same as an installation disk from Microsoft because it can only be installed on a particular computer.

But after Vista was reinstalled using the Reinstallation DVD, the computer would not fully boot. It just showed a mouse and a blank screen. Booting into Safe Mode showed that it was stuck on the crcdisk.sys file.

After researching, I determined that the problem was a common one. Apparently Dell does not include all the necessary SATA drivers in the Reinstallation DVD to allow a working reinstall. I had to go into the BIOS and change the SATA hard drive to use ATA instead of AHCI. This isn’t the default setting.

So if your reinstall doesn’t work, you could need to add additional drivers or change BIOS settings.

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Podcast Explains History of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Everyone in Washington D.C. is talking about the government takeover of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. They’re headquartered here in Northern Virginia. People who work there are anxious about a big management shakeup.

If you’re interested in some historical perspective on Freddie and Fannie, there is a podcast called My History Can Beat Up Your Politics. Its last episode talks about the origins and life of these companies. iTunes users can subscribe to it here.

Bruce Carlson of My History Can Beat Up Your Politics describes this podcast:

Not everything from the New Deal lasted. Some of the programs were abandoned in a couple of years, others lasted four or five, some until after World War II. Social Security remains. Fannie Mae, also known as the Federal National Mortgage Association, is a legacy of the New Deal. One that is now in trouble. A look at Fannie Mae, which for the first time since 1968 has come under Federal Government stewardship. And a quick contrast between the Bush Admin’s suprisingly muscular government actions and those of the New Deal.

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Hands-Free Headsets

When people ask me for hands-free headset advice, my first question is if they prefer wireless (using bluetooth) or wired (plugging a headset into the phone). Each have their pros and cons.

Wired:

  • cheaper ($10-$25)
  • no loss in audio quality
  • simple
  • no battery to charge
  • needs to have correct adapter for particular phone

Wireless:

  • More expensive ($80 for my favorites)
  • No wire to get in the way or take up room
  • Allows you to walk about 20 feet from the phone (helpful if your phone only gets reception in one spot)
  • Works with any bluetooth device, including computers (so you can use it for Skype calls)

Favorite Models

The exact model of headphone is a matter of preference because ears are different shapes and sizes. My current favorites are from Plantronics.

  • The Plantronics MX-505 (pictured) is an excellent wired headset. Make sure to get the correct version for your phone. Plantronics now also sells the MX-500i which includes both a 2.5mm adapter for most mobile phone and a small USB adapter for computers.
  • The Plantronics Discovery 925 (pictured) is a great Bluetooth headset. It has a case that has a built-in battery to charge the phone. As bluetooth headsets go, it sounds good and is simple to operate.

Your Preference

Much of the wired/bluetooth decision is preference. I think that both look dorky and I prefer the lack of any audio degradation by a wired headset. But seeing people on phones around D.C., Virginia, and Maryland, I think that I’m in the minority at this point.

Because of Washington D.C.’s hands-free headset law (July 1, 2004) and just to be safer, you should have a headset that you feel comfortable using.