http://www.johnmasone.com The life and times of my camera phone Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:57:56 -0400 en http://www.johnmasone.com/article.php?id=169 e4f9034c Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:39:28 EDT I\'ve added a new page to my website: http://www.johnmasone.com/computerparts/ It\'s all the random old computer parts I\'ve been acquiring for years. Lots of it is pulled RAM from upgraded computers. Small stuff that no one can really do anything with. Well hopefully SOMEONE can do something with it, but I sure have no use for it. I\'ll be adding more as I get more stuff. http://www.johnmasone.com/article.php?id=168 53e4c248 Mon, 14 Jul 2008 22:06:18 EDT Top: Apple PCI 10/100 Ethernet Card. Manufactured in 1997. Bottom: Startech PCI 10/100 Ethernet Card. Manufactured in 2007. Non computer people are probably thinking \"OMFG the new one is so much smaller\" while at the same time, computer nerds are looking at this and probably thinking \"10 years and thats the only size difference. I hope the new one also plays DVDs or somethin\" Actually there are cards that are the same size as the new one, and do much more, 10x faster networking for example (gigabit). And Apple makes a usb ethernet adapters that is a spec even compared to this card. In the end, the 2007 card simply can\'t be any smaller. The pins have to be where they are, the metal bracket has to be where it is, and they have to be connected with a piece of board strong enough that it won\'t snap off when you\'re trying to install it. But from a non-computer nerd point of view, it is cool how it\'s the exact same card, just way smaller. Oh and also, the 2007 card runs about $7. However the 1997 card, which is also an Apple card, probably went for $500 at least. http://www.johnmasone.com/article.php?id=167 ee598d70 Sat, 28 Jun 2008 04:15:25 EDT If you don\'t know what the 2 Girls 1 Cup phenomenon is... You should go figure it out elsewhere, then come back. If you DO know what it is, then prepare to be amazed. I have posted below, the two FUNNIEST \"reaction\" videos for 2 Girls 1 Cup. I don\'t remember the last time I laughed this hard. You have to watch them both, and IN ORDER! Enjoy! http://www.johnmasone.com/article.php?id=166 59444c74 Mon, 09 Jun 2008 23:58:47 EDT Apple revealed the new iPhone 3G today, like everyone expected. It has pretty much all the features everyone knew it was going to have. Fast 3G support, GPS, even the $200 cheaper \"Half The Price\". During the Keynote presentation, Steven Jobs himself even made a big point about how people wanted the phone cheaper, and Apple delivered. With one catch. The phone is now $200 cheaper. But the plans for the iPhone are now $10 more expensive. So you save $200 over the old iPhone. But you also pay $240 more over the two year contract. So the new \"Half The Price\" iPhone is actually $40 more than the old iPhone. $70 is pretty damn expensive for a 450 minute/month cell phone plan, even if it comes with unlimited web browsing. http://www.johnmasone.com/article.php?id=165 80620f79 Sun, 08 Jun 2008 04:23:56 EDT When I first switched from Comcast to RCN (granted it was only about 3 months ago), it was great. My TV (A 26\" Toshiba Regza) has a built in ATSC/QAM HD tuner. That means it can get any HD signal you give it. And I was getting a lot. RCN was broadcasting all of it\'s Digital Cable channels in QAM HD. No need for a bulky cable box, no need to pay $12 a month for that box. No need to try and find a place to put a cable box when my tv hangs directly on the wall. I was getting NESN HD and life was good. THEN... RCN decided that while it was getting rid of all it\'s analog channels, they would also go ahead an Encrypt all their HD channels. Now they can give you all sorts of reasons why they encrypt their HD channels, but the bottom line is that they do it for one reason. To get people like ME to pay the $12 a month extra for the RCN HD cable box. Even though my TV already has an HD tuner built in. It is HELLA lame. No more NESN HD. No more Myth Busters HD. No more CNN Obama Ass Kissing HD. Non-encrypted HD channels were one of the few draws RCN has over Comcast. RCN service isn\'t as reliable as Comcast. And RCN tech support is just as useless as Comcast. But HD direct into my TV made it worth the trouble to switch. But now they\'ve taken that away. So once my RCN contract is up, if they haven\'t given me back at least the all important NESN HD, I\'ll probably just switch back to Comcast and get no HD channels, BUT I won\'t lose my internet as much. So if you are pissed off about RCN taking away your HD, go ahead and call them to complain. You can also join this Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=27402274888 If RCN is learning from Comcast, then they\'ll be sure and completely ignore us. But maybe, just maybe, if enough people complain, they just might give us what we\'re asking for. http://www.johnmasone.com/article.php?id=164 377fce7d Wed, 28 May 2008 21:30:17 EDT I finally managed to get a really nice set of pictures of my old Maverick ML7. When I bought my new ML8, I wanted to keep using a lot of the parts I had put on my ML7. SOOOO half the parts went from my ML7 to my new ML8, and half the parts on my new ML8 went to my old ML7. Hence, this ML7 if half new, half used. I have a full parts list along with a crap load of pictures on this page: www.johnmasone.com/ml7/ Email me if you are interested. Asking price is $3000. http://www.johnmasone.com/article.php?id=163 322f8963 Wed, 21 May 2008 01:45:26 EDT So I finally got a refund RMA from OWC. I sent in my second replacement PCI SATA card, and after a week, they issued me a refund. But it was $15.75 short. I emailed them right away and asked what was up. They said the $15.75 is the restocking fee. Thats interesting since neither card WORKED in the first place. So now we know OWC just puts defective returns right back on the virtual shelves. AND one of their emails to me actually admitted that they have a known issue with PCI SATA cards from Siig. SO I guess that $15.75 is just because they like to bust balls. http://www.johnmasone.com/article.php?id=162 85324867 Wed, 21 May 2008 01:41:32 EDT This is what happens when you take the rear shock out of an Maverick ML8. It kinda just falls apart. But the new shock seems to be a much better fit. It\'s a shock for someone who weighs 175 lbs, but I only wait 135 lbs. And based on my body weight, it\'s supposed to be pumped up to about 122 PSI, but I have it pumped up to 150 PSI. It seems to handle much better than it ever has. So maybe the biking season can START finally! http://www.johnmasone.com/article.php?id=161 5c140b6a Wed, 21 May 2008 01:37:58 EDT http://www.johnmasone.com/article.php?id=160 eb09ca6e Tue, 06 May 2008 22:31:10 EDT Here is the review I just left on BizRate for OWC. Read how they totally ripped of off. $80 that I\'ll probably never get back, and all I have to show for it is a broken PCI card. Oy So on April 2nd I ordered a 4 port PCI SATA card. After a few days of messing with it, it became clear that the card was no good. My computer wouldn\'t boot reliably with the card installed. So I tried contacting OWC, first by email. I got several half-sentence reply emails, filled with unhelpful suggestions that didn\'t make sense. Then I switched to live chat, where the person I talked to told me he would email me an RMA \"in a few minutes\". Two days later I went back on to live chat and asked where my RMA was. Again I had to wait and finally got my RMA. I choose the \"advanced cross-ship\" option so they were supposed to send out the replacement card immediately. So I got tracking on the card i sent to them. After about 5 days it arrived. A few days later I started sending emails to OWC. For about 3 or 4 days I emailed them every day, and never got any response. At this point, I was so fed up, i contacted Paypal (yes I was foolish enough to pay with paypal instead of a credit card, dumb mistake) and tried to get my money back through them. They of course told me to take a hike. Finally, back on the live chat, I was told that the paypal \'dispute\' caused a hold up and my replacement part hadn\'t been shipped. Of when you look at the timeline, I hadn\'t opened the dispute until over a week after they were supposed to ship me the replacement part, AND the dispute had already been closed for a day or two when they were telling me this. So there was no reason for them to not have shipped me my part. They also told me they had in fact sent me some emails, but I checked and even checked my junk mail folders, they didn\'t send me anything. So finally they send out my replacement card. 5 days later it arrives and it\'s exactly the same as the original. My computer won\'t boot with it installed. No drivers or software are supposed to be needed. So I go back on to the live chat, tell them I got my replacement card after more than a month, and it doesn\'t work either. And here\'s the kicker: They told me they can\'t give me a refund because it\'s been more than a month since I placed my order!!!!!!!!! So I\'m out $80 with absolutely no recourse except a negative bizrate review. Lesson learned: avoid OWC like the plague! So I thought of a really funny way to get my payback. I don\'t know if I\'m actually going to go through with it or not. Open up the static bag, and poo in it. Yes I said poo in it. Then tape it up. Put it in the box. Tape up the box, put it in a generic brown box for shipping. And smile. I might be out my $80 but goddamn I\'ll get the last laugh for sure. I probably won\'t do it, but if I do I\'ll certainly post about it here.