Free textbooks

Check these out:

http://textbookrevolution.org/

http://freebooks4doctors.com/index.htm

Last one for today

(I told you there would be a few posts, right?!)

BTW I’m going to be in Japan most of December. Looking forward to checking out all the newfangled electronics. Maybe I'll come back with an AIBO. (Or something like that, that they don't sell here). I’ll make sure to send dispatches back to DIODE in the States.

Another thing - have any of you watched Freaks & Geeks? The wife and I just finished the 6-Disc complete series from Netflix and it was a great show - one we could both relate to in many ways - too many ways. Recommended!

Universal Remote & eBay

I also got a great universal remote recently. It’s called the MX-500, and I’m not sure who makes it, but it retails for $140 (and Amazons for $85) but I got it used for $45 on eBay. Just got it in the mail yesterday, and though the manual isn’t well thought out, it’s finally all programmed. Anyhow the cool thing about this remote is that you just point your other remote at it, and it “learns” the infrared codes that the other remote is sending out. So even if your components aren’t in the “pre-programmed” memory, it can do anything that your other remotes do. (Except the Dish Network remote - for some reason they decided to use UHF instead of infrared?! WTF?)

Anyhow it has replaced 6 other remotes, including the TiVo remote (though the TiVo remote is actually the best form-factor remote ever, so that might stay on the coffeetable). I highly recommend it!

Another note about eBay: here are some coupon codes you can use if you pay with Paypal:

C1-Holiday2005 [10% off]
C2-Holiday2005 [$5 off $50]
C1-Holiday2005 [$15 off $100]

They expire 11/30.

I'm still upset at (OK, jealous of) eBay for making so much money for doing basically nothing while everyone else does all the work (packing, shipping, etc), but you do find some good discounts on there. And even though they took $18.95 when I sold my telescope for $595, I guess I would never have gotten that much anywhere else. >Sigh<

Something good for once about Customer Service

The second thing that I wanted to mention about my Treo in particular is that the headset jack on there started to give me problems a couple of months ago, which were sort of tolerable initially but have increased to the point where any call made with any headset is a static-filled adventure in frustration.

I was upset b/c it had been more than a year since I got the phone and the warranty had run out ... or had it? I checked and it turned out that I actually activated the phone on November 19, 2005 - so there were still a few days left!

So, I went to a Sprint store, expecting them to come up with a reason why this wasn’t eligible for the warranty ... but they were basically like, “OK, well this part can’t be repaired, so we’ll have to replace the entire phone.” So, by tomorrow evening (when I pick up the new phone), I’ll have a brand new (or brand refurbished) Treo 650! How sweet is that?!

The Treo 650 as a Bluetooth modem

Hi DIODE! It’s been a while since there have been any posts on the ol’ blog, but I’ve been meaning to share a few neat things with y’all so I’ve got a few posts to, um, post today.

First of all, now that the Sprint network is back up here in S. Florida, I’ve had the chance to use the Treo as a bluetooth modem on several occasions, and I have to say it’s just fantastic!! The setup wasn’t as straighforward and logical as it really should be, but once it works, it works. I like going to Barnes & Noble or elsewhere to do work sometimes, to get out of the house, and the Treo allows me to get on the ‘net while I’m there.

It’s no slouch, either - at 175-180 kbps, it’s 3 times as fast as a 56k modem, and I can have multiple tabs loading in firefox at the same time, and it’s reasonable.

Plus, with the network setting at 230kbs “max”, I can still make phone calls at the same time! And with the Sprint data plan, I can have the Bluetooth net access on indefinitely and still just get charged the usual $15/month.

It’s not TOO hard on the battery, either, though I plug it in when I can. It kind of stinks that the B&N that’s right near me has ZERO outlets for anyone, so I can’t plug it in there, but my Thinkpad G41 is such a power hog that it never gets to the point where the phone battery is a problem.

Anyhow, I’m really quite impressed that it works as well as it does.

This is much better than an LCD TV, IMHO

This has a full 360 degree viewing angle, and also excellent contrast ratio:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7560217193

You should bid on it!

Da Goose