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26
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May
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2010
Posted in : Life, Luck??, News & Media, Warcraft
After reading several reviews of the various plantronics headsets, I decided to purchase their .Audio 655 headset. It wasn’t my first choice, as I wanted to continue to use my cheap microsoft lifechat headset which had earpads big enough to fit comfortably, but Futureshop didn’t have any in stock.
There are pros to this headset. It’s pretty. It feels sturdy. The headband is padded. The cable is long. My friends reported my voice quality went up drastically (You don’t sound like a grandmother anymore) over ventrilo.
But the pros are very frustrating. First off, the ear pads are too small, so my ears hurt. I figured this would happen, and usually I can tolerate it. Usually, in time, it goes away as the headset loosens up and my ears get used to it. So I was ignoring this frustration.
But the one thing I couldn’t stand was the crackling. CONSTANT crackling. This headset comes with no drivers, so when I contacted Plantronics, and advised them of the issue, they “kindly” informed me that it was my computer, not the headset, despite the evidence I found elsewhere online.
For those who care, I am running 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium on an i7 920 hyper-threaded quadcore with 6gb memory. My power source is adequate. I have tried four different usb slots on my computer, and all result in the crackling and the sound cutting out.
I can repeat this issue on other systems running 64-bit headsets, but the problem does not exist on 32-bit systems.
This echoes another plantronics headset, the GameCom 777. It uses the same C4 chipset as my headset. Coincidence?
Needless to say, if you are running a 64-bit headset, Plantronics earns a fail.
Their headsets seem nice enough, but unless you want lame customer service and a headset that crackles and cuts out worse than a blown car stereo system, give it a pass.
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25
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April
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2010
Posted in : Life, News & Media
Awesome book. I found out about it after the Rotary Club was holding a shindig to honour Dr. Ray Wiss with an award. The Prime Minister stealthed in and out of Sudbury for a photo op. I’ll give SH a bit more credit, since he’s always supported our military, and say he was coming here to honour a great man. Because a great man is what Dr. Wiss is.
A tiny part of me fell in love with him through his journal, which was published as FOB Doc. It gives such a wonderfully eye-opening view of the war in Afghanistan, and the boredom and panic that exists there.
There were lines that made me laugh. For some reason, in the glossary for example, where Dr. Wiss is explaining the different types of IEDS… Roadside IED. Car-IED. Suicide IED. Suicide IED in a Car IED. Bike IED. Donkey IED. I just hooted with laughter. Donkey IED? A friend of mine deployed in the ‘Stan with the US Army has confirmed Donkey IEDs do exist. So maybe it’s not really funny, but it was at the time.
Anyways, money from the purchase of the book goes to the War Families Fund, which helps out families of deployed soldiers. It’s a good read — it made me want to be young, healthy, and over there.
Pick it up.
PS – Dr. Wiss, you rock. In case you somehow stumble over here.
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04
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November
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2009
Posted in : Life, News & Media
Bell Mobility, along with partner-rival Telus, are entering the modern cellular age by upgrading its networks to HSPA.
For years, Bell and Telus have been parading their antiquated CDMA technology as state-of-the-art and robust and powerful, never to be replaced. The two companies praised how CDMA phones do not require SIM cards, therefore making them harder to steal and re-use.
Whatever. Within hours of switching on their HSPA network, Bell’s mobility website is offering the iPhone, trying to make up for years of being behind the curve.
HSPA is a higher speed upgrade to GSM technology, and has been long used by rivals Rogers and Fido. Rogers-Fido unveiled their HSPA networks in the Golden Horseshoe in 2007, and have continued to expand the network since then. Rogers also shut down its older, similar-to-CDMA TDMA network.
Rogers-Fido’s use of the HSPA network have allowed them to sell cutting-edge cell phones from companies such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, LG, and of course, Apple’s iPhone.
Bell and Telus haven’t been able to offer the latest and best technological options because of their old and out-dated network. It has also proved to be a hindrance to Bell consumers who want to roam, as very few other countries use CDMA technology.
It’s yet to be seen if Bell’s rural coverage will continue to beat the stuffing out of Rogers, however. The one thing that has kept me a loyal Bell Mobility customer all these years is that I can get coverage in areas where Rogers doesn’t cover. Rogers praises how they cover the most people, and it’s true if you live in a big city. Bell has a lot of rural coverage, so while they might get less people, all those people can use their phones in places Rogers can’t.
And hopefully Bell will avoid the 3G problems Rogers had.
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05
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March
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2009
Posted in : News & Media
Well, it is official. Vincent Li has been found Not Criminally Responsible (NCR) for the death of Tim McLean. For those of you who live under a rock, Tim McLean was a young man on his way home from his job at a carnival. He was taking a greyhound out towards Alberta, if I recall that point right, and was asleep with a pair of headphones on.
Vincent Li stabbed him to death and cut up his body.
