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Schoche BTAXS review

2010-12-01T05:16:00.004-05:00

Recently I got a Schoche BTAXS which is technically a great solution for those of us who don't have a Bluetooth receiver in our car stereos. Basically you just plug the unit into the AUX-in of your car, turn the car system to AUX and then once the BTAXS is connected (by pressing the multifunction button once) music and phone calls will be played through your car stereo.

Initially, the small unit (which also doubles as a mike) needs to be charged for 2 or 3 hours but after that, charging from time to time seems effective and if you're really lucky and have a power outlet in your vehicle which doesn't make noise in your speakers when something is connected to it, then you can leave it on charge all the time.

Overall the BTAXS works as advertised and extremely well. I have no complaints about sound quality or connection issues etc. The problem with this product is with the logic.

The BTAXS doesn't seem to understand that you have turned your vehicle off or on. Previously I had a Kensignton LiquidAUX . When you started your vehicle, it connected with your phone and when you turned your vehicle off, it disconnected. Nothing else was required.

The BTAXS has to be manually connected each time you start your vehicle except in cases where you are 30 feet or so away (like in a garage next to your house) in which case it merrily keeps you connected to your phone until you are far away (and have forgotten) at which time it goes in standby mode (disconnects bluetoooth). Then when you come back to the vehicle, you think you are connected but your not. If you leave your vehicle close by, the BTAXS will be still connected to the car so if you get a call you first have to turn off Bluetooth before you can answer the call on your phone.

I don't believe anyone actually tested the thing for more than a few hours in which case it works extremely well, when it is charged and after connecting. But it's a high maintenance gadget, a first generation product so I would advise you to wait for the second generation.

2009-12-14T20:08:00.002-05:00

Android news is coming out at an amazing pace these last few weeks with new phones and apps announced almost daily. Google, as usual has changed the game, not only by starting the Open Handset Alliance and spitting out Android but also coupled it's huge computing expertise with wonderful software to bring us free voice activated maps and now visual search. (Goggles).

Today there is a lot of buzz about the new, so-called "Google phone" apparently being in-house tested by them and rumored to be released in January. The phone itself is very interesting but what is more intriguing is another rumor that this phone will be unlocked and use the usual carriers only for data because the phone will operate on voip.

I suspect Google was frustrated at the way in which the carriers are holding down adoption of Android and by extension widespread use of the phone as an Internet device because of thee old school methods they use to monetize the written, verbal and visual goings on of us sweaty consumers.. Many carriers are still looking at these things as "smart-phones" when really the phone is a secondary part of the phenomena. It's a computer stupid and a two-way communication device that makes most desktop use obsolete other than for the size of the screen.

As such, it uses the computers software update model, not that of a phone. It is meant to be updated regularly over the air. We shouldn't even need to plug it in to our desktops. Let Microsoft wither on the vine and by extrapolation the carriers also if they continue to get in the way of unhindered access to the Internet and all that implies. Ther's gold in them thar hills Billy, it just ain't where you thought it was. I have a feeling that what's coming is that Google will sidestep those carriers out of frustration with the slowness of their metamorphosing into true data carriers as opposed to telephone companies who have gone wireless.

Android

2009-10-06T21:05:00.003-04:00

I've started programming an Android app for the Google phone or for that matter any phone that runs Android. Actually, I found a basic program on the Internet and I am changing it to suit my needs and to make it more visually appealing.

It is a basic calculator app but I want it to keep it's memory settings so that the next time it is used they are still there.

When it is done I will put it in the Android marketplace and set up a webpage under Goodyear and Friends.

Revised and Updated WebSite

2009-03-06T23:07:00.001-05:00

Well after many years of static website content, I finally upgraded the site and now can edit it directly in a very easy way. It's amazing how the price of site hosting has come down over the years and how powerful the software has become.

The site is powered by MiaCMS and compared to the process I used to have to go through, using this software is extremely easy. The learning curve is steep but I love it.

I want the site to feature the business (Goodyear and Friends) but also want it to be a repository for my Buddhist interests as well as our personal life.

2008-11-14T20:44:00.000-05:00

I was getting a lot of freezes which at first I thought were software related but then I remembered it started happening wwhen I put in the new ram so I decided to put back in the old ones to see if the new ones were causing the problem. I noticed after when reconnecting the video that the connector was loose so I tightened that. Now everything is rock solid so tomorrow I will sway out one ram module at a time.

EEE Box ram upgrade

2008-11-08T18:43:00.000-05:00

Upfraded the memory today following the perfect instructions here:

http://www.bergek.com/2008/10/16/upgrading-the-ram-on-eee-box/

Very straightforward.

Asus EEE Box B202 Linux

2008-11-06T16:27:00.000-05:00

Bought this wonderful little computer from Newegg.ca about a week ago. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883220004

The price seems to change with the exchange rate. I tried to find a Canadian supplier before but couldn't, they only carried the Windows version. Since I've been waiting about 8 years for SOMEONE big to sell a computer preloaded with Linux, I jumped on this thing with both feet.

Over the years I think I've paid the Windows tax probably 5 times only to install a different and usually better OS, at first OS/2 and then Linux. The last few years, it's been Ubuntu so when I read that the base system on the EEE Box was Xandros with KDE I was hesitant but went for it anyway cause I figured that this OS would have been customised to run correctly with the Asus hardware. I was never able to get any version of Linux to hibernate or sleep and until this problem is addressed Linux will never fly for laptops.

Anyway, I soon got tired of the Simple Interface and downloaded
advanced-desktop-eeepc_1.0-1_i386.deb
kicker_3.4.2.201-1_i386.deb
ksmserver_3.4.2.201-1_i386.deb

Then I did a Ctrl T to open up a command window and entered
sudo dpkg -i kicker_3.4.2.201-1_i386.deb then
sudo dpkg -i ksmserver_3.4.2.201-1_i386.deb
sudo dpkg -i advanced-desktop-eeepc_1.0-1_i386.deb

I got that info from the EEE PC user forums
http://forum.eeeuser.com

Then I went into the Logout screen of the Easy Desktop and a new button had apppeared that said Extended Desktop or something like that. Pressing it transported me to a more familiar desktop albeit a KDE one rather than Gnome but that's okay. I can live with that. I have installed the things I need and can Hibernate as well. I have to go back to the Easy desktop to Sleep but I don't use it anyway cause the ON/Off blue button is so bright that the flashing kept me awake anyway.