My Frivolous Blog

I am not going to repeat what the tech world was buzzing with today. What is going unheard in the din is that even current AT&T subscribers need to sign a new two-year contract to get the new iPhone. Are Apple/AT&T trying to keep their users from jumping to Android-powered devices which are going to be coming out soon? Although the specs of new iPhone are tempting, I think I am going to wait till the Android-powered phones are launched before deciding whether or not to get an iPhone (and extend my contract with AT&T).

Since this past weekend, when I turn on my dual-boot (Windows XP and Fedora Core 7) PC, I get:


AMD BootBlock V1.0
BIOS ROM checksum error
Reading Drive A:
Insert system disk and press Enter


I have tried to clear CMOS, tried to load MS DOS (both 5.0 and 6.2.2) from floppy disk but I see the same error message. I have tried removing all other components in the PC and restarted it…but get the same error message. I have contacted motherboard (M811 Ver 3.1) manufacturer (PC Chips). Luckily, my other PC is working fine. I am currently without a linux box.

(May 5, 08) Update: This is what I received from mobo support:The warranty on this board expired on 2004. We do offer an out of warranty fee of $35 to try to repair the board, but that does not guarantee that the board will be fixed. Also the fee is non refundable. Would you like to pay the fee for us to attempt to repair the board?

I am not sure if I want to spend $35 (plus shipping) to try to revive the mobo when they aren’t giving an assurance that it will be fixed.

Did you buy an HD-DVD player long before HD-DVD format has been discontinued? Feel you shouldn’t have bought it before the winner of Blu-ray vs DH-DVD war was declared? Despair not…but hurry. The return policy on HD DVD players has been extended to six months. Check out http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120742749977492469.html
I was excited when I purchased mine in November 2007. I am even more excited today as I have returned it to Walmart. The process wasn’t painful at all. Even though I did not have the receipt and packaging the HD-DVD player came in, Walmart accepted the return—just with a printout of statement from my credit card that I used to make the purchase —and has given me store credit for the full amount I paid! Thanks, Walmart.

What qualifications did President (Bill) Clinton have to be commander-in-chief on day one in the office that you think Senator Obama does not have?

I may not be the first to see this (bug?). Serves me right for switching from Mail Classic to the latest and greatest Yahoo! Mail. After recent layoffs at Yahoo!, I wonder if they have enough folks left to look at these “minor” issues.

As a software developer, I sympathize with the 100s of software developers that were laid off at Yahoo! today. While I am sure many of them will not have any difficulty finding another job in silicon valley and/or elsewhere, I hope this serves as a reminder that each of us should look out for our own bottom lines. Employers, even those that are consistently on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to work for, do not care about us employees as much as they care about shareholders (read: those who hold millions of shares).

Since there is a “hiring freeze” where I work, I am not expecting to soon be working with one of the laid off at Yahoo! (although I would like to). I hope to someday work with them. My best wishes to them in their job search.

As an aside, I wonder when the tide will turn from “Do You Yahoo!?” to “Do You Still Yahoo?!”.

The way economy has been lately, I have decided to be as frugal as possible. I need to save something for the rainy days ahead. Looking back at my spending last month, I am glad I didn’t buy any non-essential stuff. I spent only on food, fuel (for my car) and alcohol (fuel for myself). I also spent few bucks on The Gods Must Be Crazy / The Gods Must Be Crazy II. I will have to be more disciplined for the rest of the year. I have also sold a few things that I can live without: iRobot Roomba Vacuum, old XBOX console, Dell Axim 50v + Globalsat BT338 (because I landed a deal on GPS during 2007 Black Friday sale), bunch of books, and a pair of shoes. The shoes were never used, and in the box they came in.

Not only does not spending on non-essentials help save money (duh!), it also helps the environment…I think.

(click on image to see higher resolution image)
Lowepro Transporter Camera Strap came free with the purchase of my Nikon D300 at Amazon.com. Reading customer reviews for this strap on Amazon.com, I was a bit concerned about using this strap—couple of reviewers mentioned likelihood of accidental release of the quick release buckles. Also I was not too excited about advertising Nikon D300 with the strap that Nikon included with the camera. Hence, I came up with this solution. Using inexpensive (100 for about a dollar at Walmart) yet strong 4″ cable ties (each rated as having strength to hold 18 pounds), two on each buckle release, I think I have eliminated risk of unintentional release of the buckle/s. Yes, this solution does not allow for using the strap with another camera. I don’t have another camera! That is one of the motivations for this low-tech solution to protect a high-tech toy. Yes, I like this Lowepro camera strap better than D300’s. This one is more comfortable on my shoulder.

Nothing to be proud of but India and Pakistan have one more thing in common: The first woman prime minister of India, Indira Gandhi, and the first woman prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, were both assassinated. Just as I was sad on Oct 31, 1984, I am sad today. My condolences go out to all the people of Pakistan.

Photoshop Elements 5 or Photoshop Elements 6 do not read Nikon D300 RAW files without updating the Camera Raw plugin. Searching for “camera raw update” in the search box at adobe.com brings separate links for Adobe Camera Raw and DNG Converter for Macintosh and Windows. The useful results show up near the top of the search results. Picking the one for my platform, Windows, and following the instructions solves the problem. I extracted Camera Raw.8bi into Plug-Ins\File Formats folder, overwriting the existing Camera Raw.8bi. Now, *.NEF files from Nikon D300 are read as expected. Unfortunately, Help→Updates… from Photoshop Elements 6 doesn’t pull in this update.