Vista laptop not connecting to wireless router

My modem/wireless router died and I got a replacement which turned out to be a Pace model 4111N.

Everything seemed OK, however when I tried to connect an old Vista laptop (actually two of them), it wouldn't connect to the internet.  I would get a local only connection.  My Windows 8 laptop, iPad, Apple TV, Roku all connect OK to the Pace.

However, while waiting for the replacement modem/router, I hooked up an replacement DSL modem along with my old Belkin router.  And that worked.  [And in fact, hooking up my Belkin router into the Pace modem worked too.]

So apparently it's a problem with certain routers with certain computers.

Similarly, I took the Vista laptop to my mom's place which has two networks set up.  I was able to connect to the internet on one of the networks.  But on the other one, I get a local only connection.

Anyway, apparently this is a common problem.  However finding the solution is not common.

First I tried this solution from youtube.  The suggested fix was to go to Manage Network Connections.  Go to the Wireless Network Connection Properties.  Then to Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) properties and make sure that that it wasn't using a fixed IP address and to Obtain an IP address automatically.  It wasn't using using a fixed IP address.

Next another suggested solution from youtube was to turn of TCP/IPv6.  Tried it.  Didn't work.

Next was to reset winsock.
reboot

nope

this video suggest using Google's DNS server 8.8.8.8

nope.  still connects to the Tsunami network, but not CCOH

not going to be as easy as I thought it might be.

try the automated fix from Microsoft suggested here (I saw this before but couldn't find it again until now).

nope.  I had high hopes for that one.

did an ipconfig and looked up the ipaddrees and default gateway address and entered it in the ipv4 properties.  didn't work.  connect back to tsunami and set to autodetect.  working again.  the ip4 address for tsunami is 192.168.0.193.  the ip4 address for ccoh is 178.168.10.142 with the default gateway 178.168.10.1 (which is kind of odd).

back to the Microsoft fix and try fix it manually.  The ServiceName for the wireless network adapter starts with 3535...  OK next step is change the value of broadcast flag,  DhcpConnForceBroadcastFlag.

Shucks, I thought that one would work.

[11/27/14]  Took the laptop home and disappointingly it didn't connect to my home network either.  So the problem continues..

google some more

This guy got it working by changing the channel on the router.  But I don't want to touch the settings on the router even if I could.  I think the Hawaiiantelcom password protected it.  I remember when I tried going into the modem configuration with the password written on the modem, I couldn't get in.

Hey maybe I'll try Hawaiiantel support.  Maybe I might luck out.  Some of them seem to know what they're doing.

This post had the problem as DHCP not enabled.

Unfortunately when I looked, DHCP was enabled.  I did note it had somewhat an odd IPv4 address of 169.254.201.157.  I think when it connected the IP address was a more normal 192.196.xxx.xxx.

I can ping the 169.254.201.157 which I think is the router, but I can't seem to ping anything else.

Change back to Obtain DNS Server address automatically.  And now when I ipconfig /all, the default gateway address is blank.

Connected the ethernet cable.  The IPv4 address is 192.168.200.73.  The default gateway is 192.168.200.1.  And DHCP server is the same address.

Checking my desktop which is also hardwired, the IPv4 address is 192.168.200.64.  The default gateway and DHCP server is the same address as above.

***

Here's another potential solution.  It looks like this guy had the same problem.  The solution was to update the driver for the wireless network card.  It's the same card as in the Compaq laptop.  Atheros AR5007.  Unfortunately the link for the driver is broken.  Maybe this link will work?

*** [8/15/15]

My Pace DSL modem/router died and I started using a Comtrend (that I got from Allie) in conjunction with my old Belkin router.  In the meantime, I got another Pace from Evelyn (not sure why she had it, but she was using a different model).  I wasn't really using it, but decided to hook it up for testing or something.  And I tried to connect the Vista laptop to it.  And it worked.  Beats me.  Don't know why it's working when it didn't work with the other Pace.  But I'm not complaining.  So now I'm using this Pace for now.

Sony Playstation TV

from Cordkillers 45

Sony is getting ready to launch its internet-based TV service with a private beta test in New York this month, and is aiming for a commercial launch within the first quarter of 2015.

The service, which is being called PlayStation Vue, will offer live and on demand programming from most but not all major broadcasters as well as a number of cable channels, and aims to win over PlayStation users with traditional cable TV subscriptions through features like a cloud DVR and a modern UI. “PlayStation Vue reinvents the traditional viewing experience so your programming effortlessly finds you, enabling you to watch much more of what you want and search a lot less,” said Sony Computer Entertainment President and CEO Andrew House.

Vue will offer users programming from CBS, NBC and Fox, as well as cable networks affiliated with these broadcasters, including FX, Fox Sports, USA Network, Syfy and more. As reported earlier, Sony was also able to sign up Viacom to include channels like Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon. Other partners announced Thursday include Scripps (Food Network, HGTV and more) and Discovery Communications (Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC and more).

Notably absent from that list is ABC and any other Disney-owned network, including the sports heavyweight ESPN. Also amiss is HBO, which plans to target cord cutters and other broadband users with its own internet-based service next year.

PlayStation Vue subscribers will initially be able to watch the programming with PS3 and PS4 game consoles, but Sony wants to also launch an iPad app as well as apps for other devices soon. Presumably, some of that will also include Sony smart TVs already out in the market. Subscribers will be able to access any show on demand for three days after it aired without scheduling a recording first. Shows tagged for recording will be available for 28 days.

The service will initially just be available in New York to invited beta testers. The company wants to expand that beta test to Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Sony intends to launch commercially in Q1 of 2015, and we can expect the company to keep mum on final pricing until then. But with the bundle it has already amassed, one shouldn’t expect Vue to be cheap.

portable electric bike

Foldable bikes have always promised flexibility for bikers.

But most end up being far too inconvenient to ever use in a city. They are often too expensive, difficult to ride, and too big or heavy to realistically carry around with you.

It seemed as if finding a bike that is small enough to be portable, and lightweight enough to be carried around was unachievable.

But that’s where the aptly named the ‘impossible’ bike comes in.

This lightweight bike can be easily folded to fit inside any normal backpack, weighs less than 11 pounds and is a mere 17 inches tall when folded, according to CNET — plus, it's electric.

[this is something I wouldn't have minded getting - when I was younger.  wth, maybe even now!]

how to charge your phone twice as fast?

one of 46 life hacks

Actually I kind of doubt it's twice as fast.  Let me google...

According to this cnet test, it's not that much faster.  This article says slightly.

Cryptowall

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -

Honolulu Police say it started showing up in Hawaii in late October. Since then, at least two dozen small businesses have been victimized by it.

It is Cryptowall, a form of ransomware.

Like so many other computer viruses, Cryptowall is launched into a user's system via email.

"It looks like a normal business email. The emails I've seen have come in saying 'please refer to the attached invoices or attached information for your businesses" said Lt. John McCarthy of HPD.

Once a person clicks on the link or attachment, the virus starts encrypting all the data on the computer, as well as those in the network, unbeknownst to the user.

When someone tries to access that information, all that appears is an indecipherable code. A countdown clock appears on the screen, telling the user he or she has a certain amount of time to pay a ransom - $500 and up – in Bitcoin.

"Bitcoin is a form of virtual currency which is virtually untraceable, both at the purchase of the Bitcoin and the transaction" said McCarthy.

Many people have paid the ransom already. "So far there's been over half a billion dollars stolen this year" said Dennis Padlock of Pacific Computer Corporation.

He implores that the best defense against Cryptowall and other viruses is prevention. Padlock says to never open suspicious or unfamiliar emails, and never click on links or attachments accordingly.

Additionally, he says to routinely backup your system. Cryptowall has attacked small businesses internationally, but so far law enforcement officials have yet to trace its origin.

***

bleepingcomputer

US-China climate deal

BEIJING — A groundbreaking agreement struck Wednesday by the United States and China puts the world's two worst polluters on a faster track to curbing the heat-trapping gases blamed for global warming. With the clock ticking on a worldwide climate treaty, the two countries sought to move beyond their troubled history as environmental adversaries and spur other nations.

The U.S., a chief proponent of the prospective treaty, is setting an ambitious new goal to stop pumping as much carbon dioxide into the air. China, whose appetite for cheap energy has grown along with its burgeoning economy, agreed for the first time to a self-imposed deadline of 2030 for when its emissions will top out.

Yet it wasn't clear how either the U.S. or China would meet their goals, nor whether China's growing emissions until 2030 would negate any reductions in the U.S.

Still, the dual announcements from President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping, unveiled Wednesday in Beijing, came as a shock to environmentalists who had pined for such action but suspected China's reluctance and Obama's weakened political standing might interfere.

Republicans were equally taken aback, accusing Obama of saddling future presidents with an unrealistic burden.

This unrealistic plan that the president would dump on his successor would ensure higher utility rates and far fewer jobs," said Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who is set to become the majority leader early next year.

Under the agreement, Obama set a goal to cut U.S. emissions between 26 and 28 percent by 2025, compared with 2005 levels. Officials have said the U.S. is already on track to meet Obama's earlier goal to lower emissions 17 percent by 2020, and that the revised goal meant the U.S. would be cutting pollution roughly twice as fast during a five-year period starting in 2020.

China, whose emissions are growing as it builds new coal plants, set a target for its emissions to peak by about 2030 — earlier if possible — with the idea being that its emissions would then start falling. Although that goal still allows China to keep pumping more carbon dioxide for the next 16 years, it marked an unprecedented step for Beijing, which has been reluctant to be boxed in on climate by the global community.

World leaders who have been pressing for a global climate treaty heralded the deal, with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urging all other nations to follow Obama's and Xi's lead by announcing their own emissions targets by early next year. Former Vice President Al Gore, a prominent environmentalist, called the Chinese move "a signal of groundbreaking progress from the world's largest polluter."

E.T. dug up

Some of the thousands of copies of various Atari games dug out of a New Mexico landfill earlier this year are now being auctioned off on eBay, with asking prices as high as $500.

The city of Alamogordo, New Mexico--the location of the famous "Atari Dump"--is now selling copies of E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial, Asteroids, Defender, Warlords, and Missile Command on eBay through the Tularosa Basin Historical Society.

The marquee offering is E.T, the failed video game tie-in for Steven Spielberg's 1982 theatrical hit. eBay listings for E.T. are already seeing asking prices as high as $500 or more. Should you win an auction for E.T., or any of the other excavated games, you'll receive a certificate of authenticity and a property tag. You'll also get a pamphlet with photos from 1983 and the dig earlier this year.

Following the initial auction wave, an additional 70 copies of E.T. will be sold through future eBay auctions. "Then that is it. This will never occur again," the city writes.

Head over to this eBay page to see everything up for auction from the Atari dig.

In addition to the auction, Alamogordo is giving away copies of the excavated games to museums around the world. A deeper dive into the Atari landfill dig will be chronicled in upcoming documentary Atari: Game Over, which was produced by Xbox and will debut on November 20.

Amazon Fire TV Stick

There’s another streaming stick vying for an HDMI port on the back of your television. On Monday, Amazon announced the Fire TV Stick, a $39 streaming stick that runs the full Amazon television interface that first debuted on the Fire TV earlier this year.

Amazon’s new streaming stick is available for pre-order now and will ship by November 19.

The new stick doesn’t require a second device, like a smartphone or tablet, to beam video from. Instead, it comes with a remote and can run apps like Netflix and Prime Instant Video on its own, like the full-sized Fire TV. In that way, it’s more similar to the $50 Roku Streaming Stick than Google’s Chromecast.

In fact, Amazon is directly comparing its streaming stick to the Chromecast and touting its relative computing power: The Amazon product page brags that Fire TV Stick has “4x the storage and 2x the memory of Chromecast.”

The $100 Fire TV has a quad-core processor and the ability to run a fair number of games. The Fire TV Stick only has a dual-core processor — a Broadcom Capri 28155 — paired with a dedicated VideoCore4 GPU. But despite the reduced power, the Fire TV Stick has most of the same features as the full-size Fire TV. Amazon says its device can run voice search, display mirroring and “casual games.” The Fire Game Controller works with the Fire TV Stick, too.

The Fire TV Stick plugs directly into a TV’s HDMI port and, like other streaming sticks, will need an external USB adapter to power it. It comes with a more basic Wi-Fi Direct remote than the full-size Fire TV, although you can purchase Amazon’s Voice Remote for $30. You can also use Amazon’s remote app on your phone for voice search.

*** [11/19/14]

No larger than your average USB thumb drive, streaming sticks like the Amazon Fire TV, Roku Stick, and Google’s Chromecast connect to your home Wi-Fi network and plug into your television’s HDMI port. Once configured, they let your TV-addicted loved ones stream their favorite shows, apps, and movies on the boob tube, using a variety of both free and paid Internet services.

Each of these streaming sticks is priced south of $50, less expensive than streaming boxes like the Roku 3 or Apple TV. For that price, you’re going to sacrifice some power and, occasionally, a remote control. But each of the sticks we’re about to offer gets the job done, at the very least bringing Netflix and YouTube to your television.

The question is: Which one of these sticks should find its way into your favorite person’s stocking this year?

*** [12/10/14]

Comparing the Fire TV Stick to the Fire TV (and the Roku Streaming Stick)

Microsoft Office now free (on mobile)

Few golden geese in technology have survived as long as Office has for Microsoft.

The suite of applications that includes Word, Excel and PowerPoint, first released in 1990, generated nearly a third of Microsoft's revenue during its last fiscal year — about $26 billion of $87 billion in total. By some estimates, the software accounted for an even higher portion of the company's gross profits.

But in a sign of the seismic changes underway in the tech industry, Microsoft, the world's largest software company, said on Thursday that it would give away a comprehensive mobile edition of Office. The free software for iPads, iPhones and Android tablets will do most of the most essential things people normally do with the computer versions of the product.

The outlook for Microsoft's apps has improved in recent quarters with the growth of Office 365, a cloud version of the product that includes constantly updated apps, unlimited online file storage and free Skype calling to traditional phones. Consumers pay $7 to $10 a month for the service, rather than buying a copy of Office for about $150.

Microsoft started to suggest a more open posture earlier this year, when it released an iPad version of Office that could be used to read documents, spreadsheets and presentations.

If users wanted to edit or print those documents, though, they needed to pay a subscription fee to Microsoft. Now Microsoft is doing away with those hindrances. It is starting to test similarly full-featured and free Office apps for tablets running Android, Google's mobile operating system. And it is updating Office apps for iPhone to allow editing, at a time when Apple's new big-screen smartphones are making it easier to get work done on the devices.

By making an unabridged version of Office available for free on mobile, Microsoft is betting it can get even more people to start using the software, without stealing sales from the PC and Mac versions of the product, where it still makes truckloads of money.

Pace 4111N DSL modem/router connection problems

My old Motorola DSL modem/wireless router combo stopped working.  No lights.  So I got a replacement from Hawaiian Telcom.

In the meantime, I used a Comtrend DSL modem (that I got when Allie got her Hawaiian Telcom modem replaced, but I wanted a wireless router, but they couldn't cancel the first order, so she got two modems) with my old Belkin router.  Anyway, that seemed to work OK.  Plus it doesn't give me interference on the cordless phone that I use.

Anyway, the replacement modem came and it's a Pace modem, not a Motorola.

Hooked it up, straight-forward enough.  Connects to my Apple TV fine.  Connects to my iPad fine.

But when I tried to connect two laptops running Vista, both of them connected locally to the router, but not to the internet.

Googling, I found this link from thebitguru.com.  Have to try it later.  But I'm posting it here so I don't lose the link (that I looked up on my ipad).

*** [11/8/14]

Connected fine with my Windows 8 laptop.  So maybe it is a problem with Vista.

***  [6/13/15] see this link for more

resetting my roku

[11/6/14]  Noticed a Channel called livestream which broadcasts live events.  Tried it out.  Notice that they have the KHON news live.  Well, it's not news time, so they play a repeat of the latest news.  OK, I guess this sort of makes up for the loss of Hawaii News Now on nowhereTV.

A few more channels I've added recently:

The Hawaii Channel.  Short videos on scenes from Hawaii, featuring Hawaii Underwater, Hawaiian Islands, Hawaii Attractions.

Yahoo! Screen.  Lots of categories on news and entertainment.  Apparently some duplication with The Scene (see below).

Portico (which features videos from Sports Illustrated, Better Homes and Garden, TIME, People, Popular Science, and more).

The Scene (which features videos from ABC News, PBS, The New Yorker, Variety, Wired, The Verge, Golf Digest, Vanity Fair, Buzz Feed, Forbes, The Weather Channel, and more).

*** original post below

[6/13/13] I noticed Retrovision.TV on my Roku wasn't working.  So I figured I'd remove it, but it kept getting an error message that it couldn't be removed.

No big deal I suppose, but it bothered me.  Retrovision.TV is a private channel that was removed from Roku, so maybe that had something to do with it.

So I figured I would add it and then delete it.

It added, but then when I went to my channels there were two entries for Retrovision!

I tried to remove the newly added channel and that worked.

But then when I tried to remove the original entry, it still got the error.

Ugh.

Let me try reset the whole thing to factory settings.

So it reset, but when it booted back up all my channels were added back.  (Except for my favorite one which is videobuzz.)

So retrovision was still there and I still couldn't remove it.

OK, what this guy did was deactivate his roku account.

So I did that.  The channels were still there at first, but when I went to the channel store and back, my channels were blank.  Well at least the icons were blank.  Then after a while, all my channels were gone except for Amazon Instant Video.

OK, progress.  But then I tried to remove Amazon Instant Video and it errored out.

I suppose I could have left it on, but I wanted it completely clean.

OK, let's do another factory reset.

recreate roku account (with the same email address)

It asks you to start with one channel, so I chose crackle.

But I still wanted to see if I could clear all the channels.

First I wanted to see if the remove channels worked, so I added PBS.  But then I decided to remove Crackle.  And it worked.  Then tried to remove PBS.  And that worked too!  So now I had a completely clean Roku.

Now to add back the channels.

1.  I first chose CNBC.  That worked, but I have to enter all my stock symbols back in.  Maybe I should have written down which stocks I had in there.

Next I was going to add Nowhere TV, but I didn't see it the Channel Store.

OK, how about Bloomberg TV?  Not in channel store either.  Another private channel.

Surprised that I had so many private channels.  Maybe I should have written down what channels I had (I had like 90 in there).

2.  My second channel added was 8ctave, since it has Mad Money on there.  (iTunes podcasts also has it and I think viaway too)

3.  I think I'll add Twit next.

4.  Nowhere TV (private) is a must.  I think it has Hawaii News Now on there.  Also Conan O'Brien.

5.  Bloomberg TV (private)  [However Bloomberg is also on Nowhere TV, so I might take this off.  TWIT is also on Nowhere TV, but the content is slightly different so I'll leave it on for now.  See separate post]

6.  VideoBuzz (this is actually my no. 1 favorite, but it's a little more complicated to install).  We'll see if the old instructions still work.  [Nope, didn't need the password.]  Dog Whisperer.  Three Stooges.  Beatles music.  Old kung fu movies.  Etc.

7.  Plex (for my downloaded hulu videos).  It works, but misidentifies some videos and gives them the wrong title.  Also can watch some network TV.  Leno on NBC is kind of fuzzy.  Letterman is clearer.  The picture that is.  [I edited the wrong titles, so it looks better now.]

8.  NBC News.  With the Today Show clips.

I guess those are the main ones every day ones that I would look at.  But here's a few more popular ones.

9. PBS (even though some content is on nowhere TV).  Includes Leahey and Leahey.

10.  Crackle.  For one, it's one of the buttons on the remote control.  Number two (or number one), Three Stooges.  Even though there's a lot more on youtube.  (And I have them all on DVD).  I guess there's movies too and a few Seinfeld episodes.

11.  CNET.  Since I have Twit, I might as well put on CNET which has shorter news and reviews.

12.  To round up my first dozen (which nicely fills out the screen), I'll choose Crunchyroll.  Tons of Korean dramas, etc. here.  Go to drama, then scroll to browse drama.  Unfortunately it seems they limited the number of Korean dramas to only 50.  So it starts from 90 Days Time to Love and ends at Just Do It.  Looking at the website, there are actually 129 episodes. But it looks like you can do a search for episodes that you can access via browsing.  Hey, I see Red Trousers which I remember we saw when Robin Shou came to town.  Too bad it's in Chinese with no subtitles.  Wait now there's subtitles.  And now there isn't.  They don't subtitle Samo and Robin.  But do subtitle some of the others.  Maybe one is speaking Cantonese and the other Mandarin?  OK, here's an edited dubbed version on youtube.  I say it's edited because the verson on crunchy roll is 95 minutes, while the youtube version is 47 minutes.  I'll add it to my youtube playlist.

[6/17/13]  Now starting to add stuff that I probably won't watch very often (because I don't actually watch that many movies or different TV shows), but these seems to have some good content to browse.

13.  Snag Films.  Has a lot of documentaries and movies.  The categories are Action and Animation, Recent Additions, Comedy (Africa Screams, Groucho Marx in You Bet Your Life highlights), Drama, Health and Food, History, News and Politics, Arts and Culture, Romance, Science and Nature, Short Films.  There are 50 entries per category, so that would make 50*11 or 550 films.  But actually there are a few less because some films are in more than one category.

The web site actually has a lot more films.  For example, they have a National Geographic section that alone has 83 shows.  [You can't beat the raw web for content because that's where the content actually comes from.  So for the most shows, you should actually just hook up a computer to your TV]  From Lionsgate (18 films), I see Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows and Amazing Masters of the Martial Arts (narrated by Ken Howard).  I see Super Size Me on their Sundance Channel (25 films).  I don't see any of these in the Roku channel.  I wonder if I can download these with Freemake?  Nope.  The Search Box says "Search 3000 Films".

[6/22/13 update] Checking this morning I see a lot less films on the Roku Channel.  Still no Super Size Me, but I note it's on Hulu and youtube (for now).

14. Smithsonian is the 25th most popular channel according to Roku (the last entry in the Most Popular category on the Roku).  It actually doesn't have a lot of content (in comparison to snagfilms for example).  Their full episodes category has only 27 films.  But actually that's one more than is on the website.  The odd one is the one is the latest one from The Real Story series: The Real Story of Star Trek.  So it's actually on the web too, but not yet in their Full Episodes section.

Here's another one that caught my eye: The Real Story: Live Free or Die Hard (since I liked that movie).  Unfortunately the full show is not on the web.  Hey now I see that's this is the second episode of season 5 and is scheduled to be shown on July 7.  The Star Trek one is the first episode of season 5 and is scheduled to be shown on June 30.  So is it on the web actually before airing?  Checking on my TV, the episodes airing this week are Apollo 13 and Braveheart which are Season 4 episodes.

15.  Ted Talks.  Interesting talks.  Though the talks are also on youtube, I added the Roku channel since they're organized in categories.  A couple caught my eye: memory and quadcopters.

16.  Dailymotion.  This is kind (along with vimeo) is kind of like youtube as it's a collection of uploaded videos.  And it's also kind of a work-around to watching hulu videos since hulu uploads a lot of their videos here (for some unknown reason).  A major drawback to this channel is it won't allow you to access your playlists.  So you have to favorite the shows that you want to watch.  But now that I think of it, it didn't work.  It's like they're filtering out the hulu videos on the Roku app?  Oh well, they have some color Three Stooges videos on there.

17.  popcornflix.  Has a number of movies, most of which I'm not interested in (so it's like crackle).  But there's a few in the documentary section that are interesting and some that I even own on DVD: 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama, Nobelity, One Peace at a Time.  Like SnagFilms, there's more on the website than on the Roku Channel.  For example, the documentary/shorts category has 67 films in the Roku Channel, while the website has 110.  In the Action/Thriller category, it's 139 to 135.  Hey that one was close.  OK, maybe not so much difference.

18. iTunes Podcasts.  For some reason, today's episode (6/19/13) of Mad Money was erroring out.  While I could view it On Demand or on the website, for some reason I wanted to view it on the Roku (so I can lay back on my chair and pause and rewind at my leisure).  Nope, it's erroring out on iTunes too.  They're probably getting it from the same source.  Oh well, I'll leave it on anyway as there's a lot of good content on there, though much of it is duplicated on Nowhere TV and 8ctave.

19. AOL.on.  AOL brings together videos from various sources/partners in a nicely orgainized interface.  They've added a lot more content since the channel launch.  They present four main categories: Entertainment, Technology, News, Food & Home.  The first "strip" of content is always "Featured".  Entertainment sub-categories/sources are E!, ET Online, SplashNews, PopSugar, Movie Trailers, MovieFone Originals, Movie Trailers - in theaters, Movie Trailers - on DVD, AOL Originals.  In Technology: AOL Autos, Engadget, Cnet, TechCrunch.  In News: HuffPost Live Stream, AP, Reuters, BBC, Newsy, WSJ Live.  Under Food & Home: Martha Stewart, Gourmet TV, Le Gourmet TV, Food Curated, YumSugar, AOL Food, AOL Home, AOL Personal Finance, Better TV Food.  So lots of content here. [6/22/13]

20. Blinkx is sort of like AOL.on with video organized in categories.  But a little different in that they bring content from all over the internet (it seems) instead of from selected partner sites.  Actually that sounds like the old Yahoo!  They have more categories than AOL.on which are family, tech, sports, news, popular, search, fun, movies, fashion, food.  Originally there were only four channels. [6/23/13]

21.  Weather Underground.  This app is on the most popular list.  Just one main page.  With some short video of the weather map. [6/23/13]

22. TuneIn.  Listen to radio over the internet.  Automatically finds many local channels, but not all.  I had to hunt for KSSK, which plays over the internet, but not on the Roku.  [6/24/13]

23. Revision3.  I thought this was going to be like Cnet or TWIT.  But it seems like more like a bunch of 9th grade video projects (though created by tech-savvy adults - so the production level is pretty good) featuring not only tech, but game reviews, movie reviews, science reports, and even magic tricks.  I saw Brian Brushwood, who's also on TWIT's Framerate, explaining a magic trick.  [That's because he's a magician.] I guess this is OK to browse through, when you get bored and are looking for something to look at.  (Then again, I'm old.)  They also have a youtube channel.  [6/26/13]

[7/27/13] A few more channels that I've added (besides Netflix above).

WSJ Live.  For financial news and news in general.

Campus Insiders.  College sports news.

IT Pro.  Educational videos (to prep for the certification exams)

Viewster.  Movies (lots of them).  Sort of like popcornflix.

The Knowledge Network.  Video from or associated with the National Science Foundation

Sky News.  World news (originating from Europe).

[11/16/13] Here's a must-have for sports fans.  WatchESPN has come to Roku (but you need to be a cable subscriber to access it).  WatchDisney coming soon.

*** [5/13/14]

I notice my Roku HD (2500X) has problems with Hulu Plus becoming unresponsive when I turn on the captions.  [works better on Roku 3]  I know something's wrong when the captions don't change and the Roku doesn't response to the button presses on the remote.  I read somewhere (don't know where now) that removing some apps might help (to free up some memory I presume).  Let me try it.

I kind of doubt it well help, but it's time for a cleanup anyway.  First let me see what's on my Roku.

NetFlix   Nowhere TV   CNBC
On          CBS News     NBC News
Blinkx     Newsy            Sky News
Buzz:60  Yahoo Screen  WSJ Live
The Street iTunes Podcasts 8ctave
PBS         WeatherNation  Weather Underground
PBS Kids  Smithsonian      History
A&E         FOX                Watch ESPN
CBS Sports  NBA Game  Time BYUtv
iEducation  TED  Animal Planiet
FisHi CNet  Revison 3
CNE  Twit  howdini
ITPro  tunein  Live with Aaron and Kelly
Pandora Facebook  Time Life
Spud's Funny Channel  Armchair Tourist  Crunchyroll
Film Movement  Snagfilms  Viewster
My Favorite Movies  Flixster  Vudu
EPIX  Plex  Dailymotion
fawesome.tv  Portico  popcornflix
Crackle  Hulu Plus  Amazon Instant Video
Instant Watch Browser for Netflix  YouTube  CNN
Roku Media Player VideoBuzz

***

OK let's remove.  But I'll keep a few especially if I have to create a log in again or customize it.

Here's what I kept
Netflix  NowhereTV  CNBC
CBS News NBC News PBS
Watch ESPN Pandora Facebook
Flixster Vudu Plex
Crackle Amazon Instant Video YouTube
MyVideoBuzz

unplug,  replug

add back Hulu Plus, log in
play Dog Whisperer (bad dogs of comedy) with captions
played OK after about 10 minutes, went to commercial,
video plays, now no captions (had the ad playing icon)
then a caption appears frozen on screen and doesn't respond to remote
but video plays on
minutes later it responds and went to home screen

oh well

ok, let's try play the same episode with no captions and see if it locks up.

played about 30 minutes.  pause buttton paused, had to press the back button a couple of times then after a few seconds it went back to the screen.  so it seems to play ok with captions off

[5/18/14] added the AOL On channel because they featured it on the main Roku screen having the Mansfield Park movie available for free.  Not that I'm interested in Mansfield Park, but I added it and went to take a look.  They have 19 movies and they support the Roku captions.  One interesting one I see is the Japanese version of Shall We Dance?

Roku also automatically added MLB TV (as a bonus?).  When I went to take a look, I saw they have a free game of the day.  Unfortunately the Dodgers are blacked out in my location, so I couldn't see it.

[7/29/14] Darn, I no longer see KGMB (Hawaii News Now) on Nowhere TV.

what you can (or can't) watch without a cable subscription

I guess this is covered in other posts, but I'll start fresh.

Yes, you can watch a lot of TV without a cable (or DSL or satellite) TV subscription.  But there's still certain shows that you would need a TV subscription to watch.

First of all, live sports.

I'm talking NFL football.  So far I've only able to view it legally on the FoxSports app on my ipad which required me to sign in with my TV provider (Time Warner Cable).

[11/16/14 -  I see they're streaming the Sunday Night Football game at nbcsports.com/liveextra.]

You can actually watch most NBA games using NBA League Pass, but the video still looks choppy.  Don't know if this would improve with a really fast internet connection.  Once in a while, they have games on TNT.com, but a different feed from the TV.

[11/16/14 - tried twcsportsnet.com.  Hey the Lakers game is on.  But then died.  Requires subscription to Time Warner Cable, but actually also supports Hawaiiantelcom and DirectTV.  Doesn't work very well with my cable connection.  Keeps buffering, plays a little, buffers some more, etc.  And eventually dies.  Would probably work better if I had higher bandwidth.  OK, back to watching on my TV.]

Ditto for MLB.

Not sure if you can watch the NFL and/or NBA on ESPN3.  I'll have to check.  But don't see any replays currently available.  Looks like the NBA will be shown tomorrow.  Turning to Monday, it says the Carolina vs. Philadelphia game will be shown, but device restrictions apply (which means or meant available on desktop, XBox, iPad, but not iPhone or Android).  [Yeah, I'm now accessing today's NBA game on the web.]

TBS and TNT.  You can watch online, but only if you have a subscription to a participating service.  They don't support Time Warner Cable.  DirectTV and Hawaiian Telcom supported.

What works for free?

ABC.  The website works for free.  And most, if not all, shows are also available on Hulu.

NBC.  The website works for free.  And most, if not all, shows are also available on Hulu.

CBS.  The website works, though you get more episodes with the All Access subscription.  Current shows, not available on Hulu.

Fox.  Some episodes available for free.  More with cable TV subscription.  Time Warner Cable supported, don't see HawaiianTelcom or DirectTV (this is like the only one where I don't see HawaiianTelcom supported).  Available on Hulu.

FXX.  Oddly, I see HawaiianTelcom listed for FXX and Simpson's World, but not Direct TV.  Available on AppleTV but not Roku.

CW.  Website works for free.  Available on Hulu.

So what's not available.  I don't see CBS, TBS, TNT on hulu's list of popular networks.

TNT.  Not playing in my IE.  Website requires TV Service Provider.   HawaiianTelcom and Direct TV are listed. Time Warner Cable not supported, which I find kind of odd since they are owned by Time Warner (not Time Warner cable).

TBS.  Ditto.

However Conan O'Brien is free on the web.  (Also available on Roku via Nowhere TV.)

NatGeoWild.  Need to unlock with TV provider.  HawaiianTelcom and Time Warner Cable listed, but not DirectTV.

History Channel.  A few episodes free.  The rest need to be unlocked.  Time Warner Cable, HawaiianTelcom, DirectTV all supported.

PBS.  Asks to confirm your local station.  Works.  Asks you to sign in for HD, but doesn't ask for authentication.  Also available on Roku and AppleTV.

ESPN3.  Some content free.  Getting Error #2032 on Chrome.  Works in Firefox.  Some content requires sign-in with TV provider.  DirecTV not listed.  Time Warner Cable and Hawaiiantelcom are supported.  Also available on Roku and AppleTV.

Not sure if content is free because I'm on Hawaiian Telcom.  Have to try it on my mom's wifi.  Well, it turns out that she's on Hawaiian Telcom too.

Fox Sports.  You can't watch it live on your computer, but you can on your mobile device (even the nfl).  Requires authentication.

TWC TV app is available for computer, iPad, Roku.  I don't see a comparable app for Hawaiian Telcom

            free?  Hulu  TWC  HT  iPad  Roku  AppleTV
ABC           y      y              y
NBC           y      y              y
CBS           y      n              y   clips
PBS           y      n              y     y      y    
FOX          some    y    y    n    y     y      y
FX            n      n    y    y    y            y
CW            y      y
ESPN3        some   n/a   y    y    y     y      y
Fox Sports    n     n/a   y    ?    y
TBS           n      n    n    y    y
TNT           n      n    n    y    y
NATGEOWILD    n      y    y    y
HISTORY      few     n    y    y    y     y      y
CNBC          n     few   y    y    y   clips    y

So it looks like between Hulu and HawaiianTelcom, you can watch just about all the current content on your computer and/or mobile device (except for some live sporting events).

For archival content, add Netflix and CBS All Access.

[12/13/14] I see they're streaming the North Carolina vs. Kentucky basketball game at cbssports.com.  I don't think it's on  the ipad or Roku app though.

[12/14/14] Checking my ipad, I see they're showing the NFL game on the Fox Sports app (Manziel isn't doing too good in his starting debut so far).  However, they're not showing the CBS game on the app.

HawaiianTelcom TV vs. Oceanic Cable

I'm considering switching from Oceanic to HawaiianTelcom.

The pitch is always to save money.  But really after the first year of savings (when they give you special deal), you don't really save all that much.  The question comes down to features.

Advantages of HawaiianTelcom.

Better DVR with more space.  Upgraded internet speed.  And really that's about it.

Advantages of Oceanic.

OC16 (High School Sports).  On Demand.  Ability to work with TIVO.  Which might really be the ultimate.

I think the best for me might be switching from my HawaiianTel DSL and going all Oceanic.  That way I'd have better starewide free wifi coverage when I'm not at home.  And my TWC app wouldn't be limited when I'm at home (I think).

The lack of On Demand is not quite as bad as it sounds as I usually would watch the shows on Hulu+ on the AppleTV or Roku or on my iPad.

But not everything is available on Hulu+.  Notably CBS shows.  (Well I guess they'll have some old CBS shows.)  But you can watch CBS shows on the iPad and on the computer.  And maybe they'll have an app for the recently launched CBS All Access service.  And I guess TNT and TBS.

One small advantage that HawaiianTelcom has over Oceanic is that they seem to support nearly every service where you can watch TV via the internet.

Oceanic is getting better as they have recently added support for Fox and CNBC.  But they still don't support TBS and TNT.

But hey, who needs to watch that much TV?

*** 11/12/14

Here's another one that HawaiianTel supports, that Time Warner doesn't.  DirectTV doesn't either.  The Watch ABC app on the iPad.  But most of this, if not all, is available on Hulu Plus.

*** 3/19/15

Another minus for HawaiianTelcom.  No Prime Ticket (Clippers).  It was taken off at the end of 2014.

Internet Arcade

If your version of living the dream is playing hundreds of retro arcade games for free on your laptop then thank the folks at the Internet Archives.

On Saturday, the vast digital library announced the release of the Internet Arcade, which has translated more than 900 old arcade games into versions you can now play in your Web browser. In your pajamas. Without any coins.

The archive’s titles are from the 1970s through 1990s, and include classics like Pac-Man Plus, Defender, Q*bert, Street Fighter II and Atari favorites like Paperboy and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

The project is an outgrowth of a larger, decades-long project called JSMESS, which emulates hundreds of different computer systems, says Jason Scott, who worked on the Internet Arcade project.

“Earlier this year, I decided to futz around … just to ask the question, ‘How hard would it be to build arcade games, anyway?’ ” Scott writes on his blog. “It turned out to be easy. Very, very easy.”

Still, Scott says, it took months of testing and improvements from a lot of people before the archive of games was ready to be released.

“Some are in pretty weird shape,” Scott writes, but “in the right browser, on a speedy machine, it almost feels perfect.”

[via bing]

Apple Pay is going to change the way you pay (eventually -- maybe)

“Apple Pay is going to be huge,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said last week. “It’s going to change the way we pay for things.”

Well, maybe. They key phrase is going to. Someday.

The good news
Technologically speaking, Apple has knocked this one out of the park. Apple Pay is the best thing Apple’s done in years.

Imagine that a cashier has rung up your purchase. Here’s the moment when you’d usually pull out your credit card. Now, with Apple Pay, you hold your iPhone near the card reader with your thumb resting on the home button.

The phone wakes, beeps, vibrates, and shows a picture of your credit card (minus the number). That means you’re done. You’ve paid. You can leave.

The whole thing doesn’t even take two seconds. I bought stuff in four stores without a glitch. I never had to sign anything, either (although I’m told that some shopkeepers sometimes insist on a signature anyway).

Security
But Apple Pay is not only faster than swiping a credit card — it’s also much, much more secure.

You know all those breaches recently? Target, Home Depot, Staples? All those card numbers were stolen from the stores. If you could prevent your credit card number from sitting in the store’s database, then bad guys couldn’t steal it.

That’s how Apple Pay works. The store never sees, receives, or stores your credit card number. Instead, the phone transmits a temporary, one-time, encoded number that means nothing to the merchant. It incorporates verification codes that only the card issuer (your bank) can translate and verify. (Google Wallet works this way, too.)

In other words, the merchant never even encounters your credit card number. Or your name, for that matter.

Online apps
Once you’ve got Apple Pay going, you can also buy stuff from online merchants’ apps with your fingerprint — just not from websites like Amazon.com and BestBuy.com.

This aspect sounds great, because who isn’t sick of entering name, address, and credit card information over and over again online?

At the moment, though, it’s only a fledgling idea. Not even 20 apps accept Apple Pay at the moment. I tried buying stuff with the apps from Houzz.com and Fancy.com, which both worked fast and great: I just tapped the Pay with Apple Pay button at the checkout moment.

But, man, we need more than 20 apps to make this worth it.

The challenges
So, yeah, Apple Pay is fast and secure and brilliantly designed. But it has a tough slog ahead.

The phone challenge. Apple Pay requires an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus, because only those phones contain the necessary NFC (near-field communications) chip, as well as a special encryption chip that stores and runs the Apple Pay codes. Older phones lack these two special bits of circuitry.

Future: bright. If all future iPhones aren’t Apple Pay-ready, I’ll eat my hat.

The card challenge. Apple Pay works with Visa, MasterCard, and American Express — but so far, it doesn’t work with corporate cards (those issued by your employer) or prepaid cards. It doesn’t work with proprietary credit cards issued by chains like Macy’s or Bloomingdale’s, either.

Future: murky. Apple says it’s exploring possibilities.

The bank challenge. Right now, Apple Pay works only with cards issued by Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, CapOne, JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch, U.S. Trust, and Wells Fargo.

Future: bright. Apple says that 500 more banks’ cards will become compatible in the upcoming months.

The merchant challenge. A store can’t accept Apple Pay unless it has a “contactless” (wireless) card reader. Right now, that’s about 220,000 shops, including McDonald’s, Whole Foods, Subway, Office Depot, BJs, Toys ‘R’ Us, Panera Bread, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Foot Locker, Nike, Sports Authority, RadioShack, Duane Reade, Walgreens, and others. More are coming online soon.

But that’s 220,000 — out of the 8 million businesses that can take credit cards in America. Don’t leave your credit cards at home yet.

Future: On one hand, the future is bright. Next year, America is finally adopting a new, more secure kind of credit card, called EMV (Europay-MasterCard-Visa). It’s the kind they already use in Europe, the kind with a chip, the kind that can require you to type a security code to confirm purchase, the kind that would have prevented the Target or Home Depot card thefts.

To prepare for the EMV revolution, thousands of U.S. merchants are already planning to upgrade their card-reading systems — which will become Apple Pay-compatible in the process.

The Apple Pay future
At the moment, then, Apple Pay works in only a subset of a subset of a subset of a subset of transactions.

The good news for the future is that Apple seems to have engineered a win-win-win-win system. You win, because paying for stuff is faster and more secure than using credit cards. The credit cards and banks win, because they make more money from transaction fees. Merchants win, because anytime you take the friction out of buying, people buy more.

And, of course, Apple wins, because it gets a few cents from every transaction.