A Networked Home

GMail, Windows Mail, IMAP Error

If you are using Gmail’s new IMAP feature with Windows Mail (and possibly other clients, although this doesn’t appear to be a problem in Outlook) you will probably encounter the following error message whenever your program attempts to send/receive mail:

Header download for the ‘[Gmail]’ folder did not complete. Could not select ‘[Gmail]’ on the IMAP server. You might try refreshing your folder list to synchronize with the IMAP server. Account: ‘imap.gmail.com’, Server: ‘imap.gmail.com’, Protocol: IMAP, Server Response: ‘Unknown Mailbox: [Gmail] (Failure)’, Port: 993, Secure(SSL): Yes, Error Number: 0×800CCCD2

This one, thankfully, has an easy fix.  Right click on the GMail folder and select “Don’t Synchronize”.  This does not affect your sending or receiving of mail or any of IMAP settings.  That’s it!  Error solved!

Dell Inspiron 1525, Travel Pack and Co-Pilot Navigator

I recently received a new Dell Inspiron 1525 laptop (running Windows Vista) along with the set of travel adapters (plugs for the car, airplane, etc.) and the Co-Pilot Navigator GPS hardware and software for laptops.

I have begun trying all of this out and will be posting a review of each item soon.  For now, I will give a quick first impression.

The laptop and Vista are both solid and Vista is much less annoying than I was afraid it would be.

The travel pack is as-advertised but also a little confusing due to lack of documentation.

The Co-Pilot Navigator is fantastic based on the first couple of test.

FreeLaptopReward.com For Real?

I have been hearing the radio ads recently for FreeLaptopReward.com. After hearing the ads enough I decided to give it a run and see how many hoops I’d have to jump through.

First, it asks which laptop you would like to receive and gives you 5 choices. Next it asks your choice of several $200 gas cards.

This is how it works. You are presented with a series of advertisers and asked to click a Yes or No radio button. You need to say yes to a certain number of these (in various categories) in order to proceed.

In case you missed it, here’s the fine print in a size you can actually read:

“*This promotion is conducted exclusively by FreeLaptopReward. To receive the gift for this promotion you must: 1) register with valid information; 2) complete the user survey; 3) complete at least 2 Silver, 2 Gold and 6 Platinum offers. Available offers will vary and some offers may require a purchase to qualify. Receipt of your item requires compliance with offer terms, including: age and residency requirements; registration with valid email address, shipping address and contact phone number; completion of user survey and sponsor promotions. Upon valid completion of all Program Requirements we will ship your item to the shipping address you provided. Unless otherwise indicated, participation eligibility is restricted to US residents, 18 and over. Void where prohibited. “

So, you need to say yes to a total of 10 vendors. Will these cost you money? In most cases, yes. How much? I can’t say for sure. In most cases you will receive something for your money spent - such as the old Combia Records deal.

If you fail to choose 10 vendors then you will be asked to choose from a lower tier prize - a $50 gift card from one of several stores.

I chose to back out at this point because I didn’t need the laptop and I didn’t want to eventually have to make all of the phone calls to cancel all of the “free” trials and to pay for the non-trial items.

My conclusions:

• Can you actually get a “free” laptop? Probably.
• Will it cost you less than buying one? Maybe.
• Is it worth the time and trouble? I doubt it.

Cat 5, Cat 5E and Cat 6

Having recently run some new ethernet cables in my home I got to thinking about what exactly the differences are between the Cat 5E I was running and the older Cat 5 standard and the latest Cat 6 standard.

To start:

• Cat 5 is rated to 100m (100MHz)
• Cat 5E is rated to 350m (100MHz)
• Cat 6 is rated to 550m or 1000m (Depending on you source) (200MHz)

Both Cat 5E and Cat 6 are backwards compatible.

For general home use any of the 3 would be fine, but if you want to “future-proof” your home, or if you are wiring an office then Cat 6 is the way to go.

If you would like to read some more in-depth analysis of these cables then here are a few good links:

• http://www.connectworld.net/syscon/support.htm
• http://www.broadbandutopia.com/caandcaco.html
• http://discountcablesusa.com/ethernet-cables100.html 

Ziova CS615 Where Are You?

A while back I posted news of the pending release of the Ziova CS615.  To date, there has been no other news about the product.

News on the Ziova website was last updated December 26, 2007 announcing the CS615 with a release date of March 2008 for the US.  Since then there has been no update.  I am trying to contact a company rep and I will keep everyone posted.

Office Live Workspace Sweepstakes

You may or may not know, but Microsoft, in an effort to boost it’s Office Live Workspace beta, has started a massive sweepstakes with daily drawings of prizes for users.

I am a beta tester of the service (a review will follow).  Therefore, I was automatically eligible for the drawings. Cash, Zunes, etc.

Today I received an email that I had won!  What did I win?  A coupon is being mailed to me for a FREE 12 PACK OF PEPSI!

Oh well, I suppose it’s better than nothing!  Even if I am a Coke drinker…

But, if you sign up and begin using the service there is still time for you to be entered into the sweepstakes.

Sync Google Calendar and Outlook

Recently Google released it’s sync option for Microsoft Outlook.  This has been long overdue in my estimation, but, better late than never.

It’s a quick and simple solution.  Just download the sync tool and run it.  Two-way syncing is easy to set up.

You can check out Google’s complete instructions HERE.

Network Switches

The standard wireless router comes with 4 wired ports on the back (plus the line-in).  For most people this is plenty.  But if you need more, or need more than one wired connection in a different part of the home, then you are a candidate for a Wired Network Switch.

This is a simple “dumb” box with multiple ethernet ports on the back.  Any, and all, of the ports can function as in or out.  You can run an ethernet cable out of your wireless router to the wired switch.  You can plug into any of the ports and all of the other ports will then become outs to wherever you need connectivity.

I recently installed one in my basement and ran a connection off of my wireless router  in the office down to it.  I then used the switch to run two new connections to my living room - one to a media center PC and one to the DirecTV DVR.

Personally, I used a D-Link DES-1105.  There was absolutely no setup of any kind needed.  I simply plugged in the ethernet cables and it all worked.  The best part was that it was $9.99 via TigerDirect!

DirecTV HD DVR HR20-100S - Part 4 - Video on Demand

Video-On-Demand

Yes, now DirecTV is entering the VOD fray. I don’t know if it’s available on the new non-HD boxes, but we have the option on the HD DVR HR20-100S.

It says it’s in Beta (what isn’t these days). But it looks fairly smooth and there’s a LOT of content available.

So, first you need an internet connection for your DirecTV box. As far as I know you have to use ethernet, but since there’s 2 USB ports it may be worth a try to insert a wireless adapter. Be warned that the manual says the USB is “for future use”, but it also says that about the 2 ethernet ports (why 2?).

I ran a Cat5 cable up through the floor to the box from a wired network switch mounted in the basement. You can probably also use ethernet over power line though.

The “VOD” shows up prominently in the main menu and you can sort programs in a variety of ways - categories such as Family and Children, Sports, Movies, etc are then broken down into smaller categories.

You simply click on a show and then choose Add To Queue. When the download is complete you can watch the program and then save or delete it. I downloaded a couple of short kids programs and it was fairly quick. There is also HD content which I suspect is not so quick!

DirecTV HD DVR HR20-100S - Part 3 - Big Problems!

Big Problems!

We are paying an additional $9.95 per month to receive HD broadcasts. I had assumed that would include things such as Discovery Channel HD Theater, but whenever I went to this (channel 76) it was blank. So, my wife called DirecTV and was told that this channel, along with 4 others, were part of a “special” HD package that would be an additional $4.95 per month! But, lucky us, there is a 3 month free trial so she agreed.

When I got home from work I tried accessing these channels. The info bar gave the channel name and the show currently on, bu the screen was blank. I tried several channels with the same result.

We called DirecTV. After walking through the basic tech-support (is it plugged in, etc.) they had us reset the unit. When that failed they had us reset the satellite (to a version that we don’t have!).

When the satellite reset failed it took out all of our channels! At that point they recommended a service call which would be $80.00 to fix the problem they had just created! Then they told us we could get the service call for $20.00 if we agreed to the service plan which will be an additional $5.95 per month!

I reset the satellite to the original configuration, and we now have our channels back, but now the additional HD channels we couldn’t see, but at least told us what they were and what was on, say “channel not available”!

The technician is coming the day after tomorrow, but I have no intention of paying for DirecTV’s incompetence!

I will keep you all updated!

UPDATE 2/29/08

After several lengthy phone calls to DirecTV they have decided that my satellite dish is not compatible with HD. So, they are sending out a rep tomorrow to install a new dish.

UPDATE 3/3/08

DirecTV came and installed the new dish and, voila, we have all of the HD! Now, I am not entirely letting them off of the hook here. After all, they knew what kind of dish we had when they let us order HD and they didn’t say a word!

For those about to take the plunge - YOU NEED THE 5 LNB DISH!