bioneural.net » wireless

Resolving router issues with Be Unlimited

Bruce — Tue, 27 May 2008 07:02:48 +0000

Be Unlimited provide ADSL2+ services in the UK, supplying a Be-branded Thompson SpeedTouch wireless router called the BeBox. The Member Forum is full of complaints about router instability and errant behaviour. My 780WL had been doing well for around 6 months, then started resetting itself sometimes several times within a short period, but at least daily. Sometimes after a reset I was left with no Internet connectivity. Eventually Be sent me a replacement router, which came with replacement problems. So how do you turn a flaky BeBox into a rock-solid Internet router? Just take the "Be" out of your BeBox. Be deny any blame Be offered me a variety of explanations and solutions for the frequent disconnection/ resets I was experiencing: The router firmware was corrupt (this was suggested by each of the 4 support staff I contacted—perhaps a stock response. I explained I couldn't replace it using a Mac—see below); Local errors my router reported were indicative of a problem between the router and my computer; Local errors my router reported were likely due to line noise (despite very good data rates it seems, and a clear Quiet Line Test—17070 option 2); The replacement router was disconnecting because I was using the wrong DNS server IP addresses (I was; Be's instructions for configuring the replacement router for a static IP were completely wrong; I got no connection at all until I was given the correct gateway IP address over the phone); Ongoing issues with the replacement router indicated that the problem was "something on my network", ...

Mac-friendly alternatives to Apple's 1G iPhone

Bruce — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 12:04:28 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

The iPhone has arrived in the US. Even if it were available in New Zealand I still wouldn't buy one. I'm happy to wait for the large beta-test program (i.e. 1 in 5 US adults) to refine the product first. That said, I've been looking for a way to converge my mobile devices (phone, PDA, iPod) for some time. Sadly the 1st generation iPhone does not look like the device to fill this need. Relative to other Mac-friendly alternatives it comes up uniquely short in a number of areas on my feature wish-list. But of course I haven't seen or held it in the "flesh", and it is only a 1G device—so I can't be overly critical. Or can I? Most of the pre-launch focus has been on iPhone's interface (not unimportant), but what about comparative features? It's clear that while the iPhone offers few unique features (iTMS DRM playback, bookmark syncing) it's also immediately apparent that, relative to comparable products, the iPhone has the most limitations. I've been a Palm user since 1999, owning a Palm V, an m505, and (currently) a Tungsten T3: I also use an ageing Sony Ericsson T610 and an iPod (1G deceased; currently an iPod Photo). It would be nice to carry around one device instead of three (ditto on the chargers); I had hoped that device might be the iPhone: So the iPhone has arrived. I posted on the perfect PDA + phone back in 2005—it still hasn't arrived. With Palm OS so obviously stagnating ...

Access Mac's Internet on Palm via Bluetooth

Bruce — Sun, 12 Oct 2003 07:25:03 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

Surf the Web, send and receive e-mail by creating a wireless Personal Area Network between your Palm T3 and Mac... This guide is no longer being updated. Getting this to work is evidently dependent on many variables and it is highly likely that your set-up differs from mine. I no longer have Mac OS X Panther or Palm Desktop installed so cannot help you problem-solve; all I know is on this page. I don't know if it will work with Mac OS X Tiger (note: the Bluetooth Serial Utility no longer exists; see System Preferences > Bluetooth). The solution I recommend for sharing your Mac's Internet connection to the Palm is not free, but saves much frustration. If this is functionality that you simply must have buy The Missing Sync for Palm OS. The following setup uses a QuickSilver G4 PowerMac running Mac OS X 10.3.2, fitted with a D-Link DBT-120 USB Bluetooth Adapter, connected to the Internet via a Vigor 2200USB NAT router and ADSL, and a PalmOne T3 running Palm OS 5.2.1. PC users can check out Dean's guide here. There are 10 steps: Step 1: Enable Bluetooth on your Mac and Palm You probably already know how to turn on Bluetooth on the Mac and Palm. If you haven't activated it, do so. If you don't know how to, you probably don't want to read any further :-). Step 2: Pair your Mac and Palm T3 Before beginning, you'll need to pair your Palm and Mac. To do this, use Mac OS X's Bluetooth Setup ...