Yesterday, Cox increased the speeds for Premier plan customers. Upload speeds were increased to 4 or 5 Mbps, downloads increased to about 25Mbps. Unfortunately Cox messed up and didn’t apparently test that their upgrade would work all modems on their approved list. The D-Link DCM-202 has massive problems with uploads on Cox’ new setup – it disconnects if you are trying to upload anything. Once you stop the upload attempt, the modem will reconnect. Downloads should be fine but even those might be affected.

Cox didn’t feel it’s necessary to at least acknowledge this problem on their web site so many customers were, like me, totally caught off-guard about it and have to figure this out on their own. The DCM-202 is one of the most widely used modems so there are probably lots and lots of customers who are undoubtedly freaking out right now. Lovely service, Cox.

Cox’ new infrastructure works best with DOCSIS 3.0 modems. The D-Link DCM-202 and almost all other currently available modems however are only DOCSIS 2.0 compliant. Apparently, D-Link is the only modem manufacturer that currently has these problems on Cox’ new deal. Cox and D-Link supposedly are working together to figure out what the problem is.

Since you’ll likelyneed your internet to actually work right now and not when Cox and D-Link get around to working things out you will need to get a different cable modem. Luckily, you can buy any common cable modem (for example, the Linksys CM-100 you’ll find at Target and Staples works just fine) – just don’t buy another D-Link DCM 202. It just won’t work.

Ideally you’ll purchase Motorola’s SB6120 modem though – it’s the only DOCSIS 3.0 compliant modem Cox can work with (disregard the Cisco modem they have on their list – according to a rep I spoke to, that one is not supported right now either). The Motorola SB 6120 also one of the few DOCSIS 3.0 modems currently available on the market. But you might need to order that one online – I was unable to get one at any of the Fry’s Electronic stores or three other electronic places I went to. It’s sold out everywhere apparently, at least at the time of this writing.

So summary: if you’re on Cox Premier and have the D-Link DCM-202 go out right now and buy a different cable modem. I hope this helps you and saves you hours on the phone with tech support and running around town trying to find the SB6120.

I have to deal with literally hundreds of external hard drives clients give me, and some I use for my own long term storage needs. The pain is that no manufacturer has figured out a way to put even a basic LCD on it that allows me to see what’s on a drive without having to power it up, plug it in a computer, and go from there.

For most consumers this is a non-issue but if you have a lot of drives, checking what’s on a hard drive, or see how much disk space is left, can become very time consuming.

So it would be great if I could connect an iPhone/iPod Touch to an external drive via USB and at least see the file names and how much disk space is still available, without having to go through a computer. Ideally this would work even without having to use an external power adapter for the drive (some drives can be powered up via USB only), but I don’t know if that’s technically possible with the iPod/iPhone’s limitations. I understand the chipset in those is a USB slave only, but maybe some super geeky dev or company could come up with a way around that.

I hope this proposal makes sense. If you’re ready for a challenge, go forth and create. I know lots of folks like me will thank you and pay handsomely for an app like that.

Make sure to follow Gary Bettan and Videoguys on Twitter @videoguys

I’m reading news coverage of a Morgan Stanley analyst (Kathryn Huberty) “predicting” that Apple’s iPhone would do much better without carrier exclusivity, that is, making the iPhone available on wireless provider networks other than AT&T.

The news articles generally make it sound like this is a new idea nobody else had thought of before.

A bunch of online media outlets that are pretending this is news, which makes it look like she’s the only one who has ever thought of it, or that this idea of parting with AT&T for increased iPhone sales is a new one. CNET, The Register, PC World, Business Week…they all want to make this sound like a big, new revelation. (At least CNET recognizes that many, many others have been saying this as well for some time.)

Apple is aware that being tied to AT&T is hampering sales: The web is full of people bitching about AT&T’s wireless service problems and there are more than enough people blatantly saying “I’ll buy the iPhone as soon as it’s not exclusive to AT&T” . I’m one of those by the way.

Those are big, blatant, and unmistakable clues to Apple, and anybody who cares about this sort of stuff as to what to do.

So why is this NOW such a seemingly head-slapping revelation? Because someone at Morgan Stanley said it is?

Another thing that bugs me here has nothing to do with Apple or the iPhone but the fact that investment firm analysts are still considered by many to be the next best thing to a finance Nostradamus. Those folks should be reminded that investment firm analysts had a strong hand in causing the financial mess we’ve all been experiencing for the past year or so. Analysts can be wrong. Analysts sometimes have agendas, like a financial interest in the industries, companies and products they talk about. This sways their expressed opinions on a subject to jive with the outcome they want to see. Please people, quit treating analyst words as gold.

So how does this matter to you?

This whole thing shows how a business, small or large, can spend tons of money and energy on hiring analysts or consultants for basic things the business should (and often does) already know – if it only LISTENED – or, if it does indeed already know, pulled its proverbial head out of its ass and followed through with it, instead of wasting more time and money on having analysts confirm their findings. This is especially true if the findings are so clear, as it is in this case.

While a good consultant can indeed do wonders, a lot of times it’s simply a matter of opening your eyes and ears and really, truly learning about your customers and those who could be.

In some cases this works (again – with the right consultant, for the right things). In many, many others it’s a tremendous waste of money though.

So ask yourself: how can your product/service be adopted by more people?

A simple question for which you should be eager to research the answer to.

Couple of sources on the MS analyst talking about iPhone exclusivity:

http://www.crn.com/mobile/220300918;jsessionid=2BKMSVFOQ1IXPQE1GHPSKHWATMY32JVN

http://www.pcworld.com/article/173038/analysts_to_apple_dump_exclusivity_double_iphone_sales.html

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9B34K3O3.htm

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/10/02/iphone_sales_could_double/

http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-10365952-266.html

As someone who constantly works with horizontally elongated timelines (editing and music production software mainly), NEC CRV43 would be fantastic to have. I was giddy when I got my first wide screen 24 inch monitor five years ago but this…oh my.

Let’s see what NEC’s competition can come up with. Either way, the price will come down. But can I wait that long? Hmmm….

Press release for the NEC CRV43 is here

Here is a driver provided by Dell for the ALPS touchpad. However, this driver may work on other touchpad brands as well so give it a try.

ALPS Touchpad Driver for Vista and Windows 7 32 bit

Other Windows 7 drivers you might find usefull:

Intel Pro Wireless adapter driver (if your laptop can’t get online with Windows 7)

ATI Mobility Radeon driver ( ATI mobile graphics cards only)

Before you download: Always check for newer drivers on the driver providers’ web site. Also remember that these drivers were released by Dell and were originally meant for Dell laptops. The drivers here may or may not work on your particular system.

WOLFRAM ALPHA vs GOOGLE

For example, Google has a basic calculator: you type in 2 + 2 and Google will tell you the answer is 4. But what if you put in a mathematical equation in words? Google can’t do anything with that because Google, like the other guys, relies on pre-defined information. Current search engines don’t make up information, they deliver available information to you.

Enter Wolfram Alpha.  Non-catchy name, amazing technology. It’s still in development but the potential is huge.

The Wolfram Alpha technology is smart enough to deliver results the other guys simply cannot at this time.

WOLFRAM | ALPHA – HUH?

Here is how Wolfram | Alpha (attempts to) explain what it does or will do:

Wolfram|Alpha’s long-term goal is to make all systematic knowledge immediately computable and accessible to everyone. We aim to collect and curate all objective data; implement every known model, method, and algorithm; and make it possible to compute whatever can be computed about anything.

Okay… but what the heck does that mean?

It’s difficult to explain so check out this informative video about how Wolfram Alpha works.

If this doesn’t get you excited about the possibilities, nothing will.

(Personal thoughts: I imagine this technology will be bought up by one of the big guys in the near future.

Judging from the memory hostile name and lack of mainstream marketing right now I’m guessing these guys are not too interested in becoming the next Google themselves.)

WHAT HAPPENED

Google went down for parts of the world and with it went their mail service and Google docs. If you couldn’t access your business documents or missed important emails because of this you need to wake the hell up right now.

BAD IDEA

Not only do you never, ever, rely on one single company in order for your business to run, you especially don’t want Google (or Yahoo or any other free provider) to be the company that “facilitates” your business. Because Google will use the information you provide, knowingly or not, to adapt its advertising and search algorhithm. That’s what Google does and I’m not bashing it. But you need to be aware of this.

GMAIL

Gmail spies on your email content. You should know this by now. No, it’s not that Google employees are looking at your emails every time, but sophisticated software does gather and process the content of your mail. Did you never notice how creepily fitting some of those ads are you’re seeing over your inbox?

This data has to go somewhere. What’s to say a rogue Google employee or contractor won’t access your stuff one day?

GOOGLE DOCS

Same for Google docs – that stuff’s online. If it’s online it’s hackable, and accessible to third parties, particularly whoever provides the service. In this case Google.

For years I’ve been telling clients: don’t use Gmail as your sole business email. It looks unprofessional and it’s not secure. Same for Google docs. Anything Google or any other free provider offers should be used with great caution. And always have a backup.

I don’t feel sorry for anyone who was negatively affected by Google’s SNAFU.

Google is not your friend. It’s a business.

If you paid attention to the upcoming Palm Pre’s wireless induction charging option you may have gotten curious about this technology. Palm calls it the Touchstone, I call it the future of powering up our stuff.

So here is another  company I think will possibly be a big part of our future: Powermat.

Powermat makes wireless induction technology, I don’t know if they’re the only company to do so but in any event their technology is nothing short of astounding.

Watching Powermat’s demo videos we see how ordinary devices like cell phones, computers, and kitchen appliances can be powered without cables or batteries. The devices need a powermat receiver. The receiver will get its electricity wirelessly (YES OVER THE AIR!!!)  from the …uh…mat.

The mat is a very thin transmitter piece that you’ll put on the surface of your choosing. You can even integrate the mat into your walls or furniture and make it disappear. So you know that this astounding technology is absolutely real check out the demo videos below.

As a person who works with computers, video cameras, still cameras, and other electronics on a daily basis I get excited: imagine being on a shoot and your camera is constantly connected to the power grid, but without wires.

No more batteries! Hell, no more waiting for a device to charge because you can feed electricity straight to it – over the air. My fellow videographers, photographers, and gadget slaves will appreciate the new found freedom.

Check out Powermat’s wireless charging technology here. I’m sure other companies will follow with even more advanced and innovative wireless induction systems soon. Don’t fight it, it’s coming.

Powermat’s technology should be available in Fall 2009. The Palm Pre and its Touchstone wireless induction charger should be available very soon as well.

Powermat’s wireless charging technology demo video 1

Powermat’s Wireless Charging demo video 2

Note: I do not own stock or have any other financial interest in either Powermat or Palm Pre. Yet.

Powermat

Palm Pre

Today I received an email from Brian Baumley announcing several different subscription packages including – get this – a FREE one. He wrote:

(…)   Market7 (www.market7.com) is introducing a variety of subscription packages (including free!) for its online video collaboration services to fit any budget or scale. Today, anyone can visit www.market7.com to get started with free to premium access to a comprehensive suite of collaborative tools that address the entire video production process, from pre to post.

So go check out Market7 right now. If you can’t remember what it is, check out the details about Market 7 here.

The free subscription is really meant for you to try this out to see if it fits your flow. It’s limited in storage allowance and number of Admins but it’ll give you a good idea of its capabilities. Enjoy!