Technical Log :: Simple Website Solitions

No, I did not abandon blogging. It has been a few months since the last posting though. I am working on a project that takes up virtually every free moment. About four weeks remains to complete it. Until then it’ll be quiet.

Afterward, articles will start showing up. Some technical articles are planned unrelated to Acer notebooks. Our company provides computer related services including website design, hosting, and networking. It might benefit others to write some articles on common problems and how to solve them.

If you have an article suggestion, let me know.

Before beginning, there is an earlier article on this site about composing a carrying case for Acer’s Aspire 9805. Please disregard that article. This is the one to pay attention to.

The first attempt at creating a bag was almost a complete failure. Finding my Timbuk2 bag was the only successful part. While writing this article, I paid a visit to their website and noticed Timbuk2’s new computer bag design and color scheme. This looks quite suspicious since this bag wasn’t on their website months ago when I first started looking. It is also the same exact color scheme as mine, and I’ve got a lot of hits from someone in San Fransisco. Hmm. :o) Glad you liked it enough to put a version on your website folks. ;o)

Note the date at the bottom right corner. Ok, I’m over it and moving on. The key to solving the bag puzzle is simple. Buy a dense foam rubber yoga mat, get some velcro, and a fair amount of good super glue. Cut the half the mat into a very simple pattern. Line the edges with velcro by gluing it down and give it plenty of time to cure up. Done. Total time: Approximately 2 hours & less about $20 in supplies. Once a strip of this material is added to the bottom edge, the result is an inch of high-density foam insulation around the edges of the notebook providing EXACTLY the level of protection I wanted. The notebook won’t survive a drop from five feet off the ground, but you can crack it against a door frame without worrying. The messanger bag is still large enough for power supply, cables, bluetooth mouse and more. If this is actually interesting to you, let me know and I’ll send measurements for the pattern to cutting the foam to fit. This version passed the eight week test so it seems ready.

If you really want to carry you Acer Aspire 9805, this is a pretty good option. Logistically this is the way it works once it’s made.  Place the notebook on the foam insert. Wrap up the edges securing them with the velcro and insert it into the bag. It takes less then two minutes to put the notebook and the bag and walk out the door. Pretty cool.

A software update for the Motorola Moto Q was recently released. You can download it here. The update fixes problems with day light savings time working correctly. I ran the updates from Microsoft without luck and then found this after talking to Sprint.

The update installer walks you through updating your Moto Q, but you’ll need a USB cable to run the update before beginning. When I started it, the update choked. The update installer told me to disconnect my moto q and restart it. The moto q was hung, so I took out the battery, put it back in, and powered it up. Then the USB cable was reconnected and everything worked fine. I had to reset my time zone, but after that my moto had the correct time and all my data is in tact.

One final note.  The connection through ActiveSync 4.5 had to be reestablished (including deleting and re-adding a new account), followed by sync’ing up my notebook with the Moto Q.

The material to get is called Polyethylene foam. I’m looking for a local source to purchase it. It shouldn’t be long now! Below is a picture of it. It looks a little like polystyrene (the same stuff coolers are made from) but it is flexible and much more durable. I’m pretty sure this is the padding notebook bag manufactures use, BTW. A sheet of this could be cut to fit, covered in fabric, and assembled into a protective insert pretty easily. So where can a person fine this material? There are two sites on the internet selling it in small quantities. There may be more. But try this pragmatic idea first! See if a local sporting goods store sells yoga mats made out of this material. If one exists, it might be possible to buy one on sale locally. Then cut it to

Here is a rough draft for installing XP Pro on an Acer Aspire 9805. It was written in one pass this morning so there could be grammar or technical improvements. Let me know if you have questions or need assistance.

This is where I tell you, BTW, to use these instructions at your own risk. I used these instructions to complete the installation myself and am providing them to you hoping you can avoid some of the silliness I stepped into. Please use them in the spirit of community in which they were contributed. Feel free to send feedback to improve things for other visitors. Your participation is welcome.

Here is a rough draft for installing XP Pro on an Acer Aspire 9805. It was written in one pass this morning so there could be grammar or technical improvements. Let me know if you have questions or need assistance.

This is where I tell you, BTW, to use these instructions at your own risk. I used these instructions to complete the installation myself and am providing them to you hoping you can avoid some of the silliness I stepped into. Please use them in the spirit of community in which they were contributed. Feel free to send feedback to improve things for other visitors. Your participation is welcome. Read more

Its been a while since I updated the website with current information. If you bought an Acer Aspire 9805 (9800 series) notebook, read on.

SM Bus Controller error in Device Manager:

• The bus controller error mystery is solved. Install the Intel Chipset drivers mentioned in a previous article and you won’t get th error any longer (Writer bangs head against wall repeatedly). What a simple idea. Install the drivers correctly from the start and side-step errors. Please don’t make the same mistake, but if you do, that’s how the error goes away. Read more
  2 comments

You’re a tech-savvy consumer, so when you order a new smart phone, you look for a headset made by the same manufacturer. Good idea right?

Last Friday, I received a new Motorola Moto Q and naturally looked for a matching Motorola headset. The thought was to maximize compatibility there by enriching the experience:

Motorola phone + Motorola headset = harmony. EEEEEEEEEEeeee. Wrong!

I tried two models of headsets. The first was a Motorola HS850. Right from the start, it was clear it wasn’t working so great. I could hear anyone talking to me just fine, but the mic wasn’t sensitive enough to allow the other person to hear me properly. The worried me a great deal since I do a lot of technical phone calls and what I’m saying must be crystal clear. The size of the head set was great, but it only fit on my left ear. It isn’t the head set’s fault though. I never knew until now that my ears are two different sizes. ;o)

The next headset was a Motorola H700. The results are the same. Hearing someone through the headset wasn’t a problem but voice transmission was garbled, faint, and static filled. After ten days of experimenting, I called Motorola Technical support and was amazed when they told me neither of the fore-mentioned models are compatible with the Moto-Q. I was a little shy about trying yet a third Motorola model though. The next model I tried was a Plantronics 640E .

This Blue tooth headset works great. It comes with a pen-like portable charger that uses a triple-A battery to charge the headset with. The only drawback is the headset comes apart a little too easily. I prefer to keep the phone and headset in my pocket when not being used. Placing the headset and portable charger are in my pocket, the ear piece tends and charger base come apart. The ear piece could could damaged and need replacing if this happens repeatedly. Another potential drawback is the connector at the bottom of the portable charger is unique to the Plantronics 640, and a special I-GO adaptor had to be ordered. On the plus side, this was fixed when Plantronics created the 665 which uses a standard mini-USB connector to plug into the wall charger. Furthermore, transmission and reception is clear. The headset is relatively comfortable and discreet to wear. If you decide to purchase a headset, go with the Plantronics 665 . It costs a bit more money, but it is worth it. Now if I could find a solution to the Moto-Q’s battery life.

Update (23 Jan 08):  I switched to using a Jabra bt5010.  Jabra products seem to work pretty well and aside from the touchy buttons on my new headset, I love it.  Jabra’s customer service was exemplary also.

When I had to replace the ear buds on the Plantronics headset, I had to purchase them from a third-party vendor who only sells the ear buds as a set of three sizes.  In other words, if you need two medium size ear buds, you have to buy two complete sets and throw away the extra sizes.

Just a quick note.  A vulnerability with Acer’s LunchApp.ocx activex control was discovered.  The vunlerabilty allows anyone to take control of your notebook with a few lines of code in an HTML page.  The security advisory is here.  If you have this activex control installed, download and run this utility to remove the activex control.

The notebook fits into the bag fairly well. There is enough room to build a padded insert to put the notebook into, and there is still room for the accessories inside the bag. The next thing to do is figure out where where I can source the padding material. This where you can help. If you know where I can find this stuff, please email me. The below pictures should give you an idea of how the notebook fits inside the bag. Read more