February 02, 2010

Breevy

I have been looking for tool very similar to TextExpander by Smile on my Mac. This is a great text replacement tool that allows you to type in some characters and the text gets replace. For example if I type in tx it gets replace with Thank You.

TextExpander is great, but its for Macintosh Only. Which is a problem since at work I use Microsoft Windows Server 2003.

I am currently testing Breevy, by 16 Software. So far the application works great! I am not seeing any performance issues with my computer. I run Visual Studio 2008, Outlook and several different browsers and don't see any performance hit by using a text expander program.

The application is very easy to install and can be access by clicking on the icon in the Task bar. The Typo Auto Correction is very cool as it automatically replaces misspelled words in any application.

I am still testing it out to see if its worth purchasing it for $29.95. I am liking the results that I see thus far, and I think that it will definitely help my performance at work. My trial period ends on March 1st.

January 27, 2010

Amana Refrigerator

We had a problem with our Amana Refrigerator; model number ABB2227DEB, the cooling part stop working around 4pm last night. Both the Refrigerator and Freezer were not keeping cool and the ice in the freezer has started melting. We could hear the refrigerator running, it wasn't making any strange noise, and the light turned on when we opened the door.

We called several places in the Framingham area to see if someone would come out last night. We made about 10 calls and wasn't able to find anyone. We were surprised that there wasn't a 24-hour service available in the Framingham area. After about 20 minutes of trying, we decided that we would wait till the morning to call a local repair company.

I took a quick trip to Stop and Shop and got six bags of ice (cost $12.50). We packed up all the perishables and put them in a couple of coolers we had. We put the coolers on the deck, since it wasn't going to get above freezing overnight. We put some of the frozen foods in the spare freezer in the basement.

This morning we called Belcher's Appliance Center in Framingham, (508) 626-2321, to see if someone would come out to fix the refrigerator. Someone was at the door within 5 minutes of calling them. What great service! This isn't the first time they did this, last April when we had a problem with our washer someone came within 10 minutes of calling them.

The guy initially thought the issue was with the fan since it was running slow and replaced it with a new one that he had. However that one was also running slow. He then said it was probably the Control Board that wasn't working correctly. He had a new Control Board in his truck and was a part that was able to replace it very quickly. He told me that it�s a common problem in some refrigerators and that's why he had them.

Once the new Control Board was in place, the fan worked fine. He told us to wait a few hours for the temp to get to normal before putting in any of the food that we took out. He was able to fix everything within a half hour.

Site Note: About a week ago, we noticed a problem with some items in the refrigerator freezing. This should have been an early warning sign for us since we had the exact same issue with our last refrigerator in Newton. So be aware, if you discover some of your items in the refrigerator starting to freeze you might be having a problem with the Control Board.

 

January 25, 2010

Panasionic FV-11VHL1 Fan

We have a Panasonic fan that was not working correctly in our bathroom. We decided to look for a replacement and was surprise that there weren't that many fans that fit in the ceiling opening. We were unable to get any information from the Panasonic website since, at the time, we didn't know the particular model that we have.

We consulted several people and eventually the owner at The Lighting Showroom, in Orleans Ma, was able to tell us that we should be looking at FV-11VHL2 model fans. We didn't buy it a new one from them since we were able to identify one online for about $200 cheaper than what they were selling them for.

We ended up buying the fan at National Trade Supply for $270.30 including shipping.

When it came time to replace the fan we had our electrician do the installation. He took a look at our setup and determine that our problem was not related to a bad fan but that the exhaust valve was blocked. He cleaned all the dust and the fan worked fine.

The electrician was able to identify that we have a Panasonic FV-11VHL1.

The lesson learn in our fan replacement journey:

• Identify the fan you currently have. Early on, we thought we had the correct model number but it turns out that we had the fan engine model number.
• Don't count on Home Depot or Lowes for fans, both have a limited selection to large fan sizes
  
• Don't open the fan box until you are sure that you really need the fan.
  

January 19, 2010

Election Day in Massachusetts

Who would have guess that today's election in Massachusetts would be huge:

Latest polls suggest State Senator Scott Brown could defeat state Attorney General Martha Coakley, which would be a huge upset in this traditionally liberal New England state, take away the Democrats' supermajority in congress and thereby reshape President Barack Obama's agenda after just one year in office.

I don't know who will win, but everyone that I have talked to seem to favor Scott Brown. The polls close at 8pm tonight and it will be interesting to see when they call the race.

This election is the first time that voters can change the outcome of a major piece of election in Congress.

January 13, 2010

GLFE.EXE Application

If you find any of these files in your C:WINDOWSTemp directory:

GLFE.EXE, GLFC.EXE, GLFB.EXE, GLF855.EXE, GLF12.EXE, GLF10.EXE

They are from the Weather Channel Application. It is safe to delete these temporary files, they are just uninstall applications that were created when you closed out of the Weather Channel during your computer start up.

January 11, 2010

Local sales Tax

Starting January 1, 2010, city and towns in Massachusetts can collect local taxes. This was a rule that allowed City and Towns to collect local sales tax which put in place from the Massachusetts State Legislator.

Framingham and Lexington now charge .75% for sales tax. This means that the consumer now pays 7% sales tax in Framingham and Lexington. Many merchants have posted signs to let consumers know of the change.

Currently there is no list of which city and towns have issued sales tax. This would be something that the Boston Globe or the Boston Herald should do.

December 30, 2009

Flip Video Camcorder

I got a MinoHD Flip Video camcorder for Christmas this year. Very very cool. This is a portable video camera that takes excellent HD video. 

This HD camcorder now features 120 minutes of record time and a large, 2" anti-glare display, making it even easier to capture stunning HD video. Video is recorded at 16:9 widescreen, HD 720p (1280 x 720) at 30 frames per seconds (fps) progressive scan; recorded as MP4 file.

The really cool thing is that you can customize the camera on their website. The picture you see is my MinoHD camera, yes its the Haunted Mansion in Disney World.

I already uploaded a video to YouTube, check out what Chatham Light Beach looked like the day after Christmas. It was pretty windy that day, so all you hear is the wind blowing into the camera.

Within hours of taking the Chatham Light footage, we watched the video on a large Sony TV using the HDMI connector on the bottom of the MinoHD. The video quality was very good and everyone that saw it was impress that it came from a small camera.

I had no problems connecting the camera to my PowerBook G4. It plugged into the USB port and iPhoto opened automatically. I was able to export the video from the camera very easily. I didn't have to install anything or configure any software.

I am looking forward to taking lots of videos with the new camera. I already tried the XShot and it works great and definitely a must have accessory to get with the Flip Video Camera.  I also got the USB and HDMI cables with the camera and they work great.

I am looking forward to going on vacation and not having to bring my Sony DCR-TRV720 to take only a few minutes of video. Having a small camera will make it easy to take video whenever I want to, and not be bothered by a large camcorder bag.

December 29, 2009

ClearSound Neckloop Headset

I got a lot of exciting gifts for Christmas this year, including an Amplified Neckloop Headset by ClearSounds. This is a handy device that allows hearing aid users to use their cell phone hands free. The really cool thing about this model is that it will work for any phone type - cellphone and home phones!

The CLA7v2 kit comes with 4 different cables to handle both a 2.5mm and 3.5mm connections. There's a mono and stereo cable for the two connector types. It took a while to figure out which one would work with my LG Vx8360, but after a couple of tries I discovered that my phone uses a 2.5mm stereo cable!

I did a quick test of the Neckloop this morning and it worked great! The sound was very clear and the caller said that my voice was also clear. I was able to answer the phone very quickly and didn't encounter any problems using the new Neckloop. It was a little weird to hear the conversation in both ears.

This is supposed to also work with iPods too, but I haven't tested that yet. However, since the Neckloop needs two AAA batteries to opperate, I am not sure I would be using this for my iPod on a regular bases. I can see this being handy for traveling since I can use one device for multiple sources.

I would highly recommended getting the Amplified Neckloop Headset. ClearSounds has a Bluetooth model, but its more expensive and will only work with Bluetooth devices. This means you can't use it on home phones or with an iPod. The CLA7v2 model works great and very easy to set up.