Belkin N1 Modem Router firmware updated

have been doing a lot of surfing after getting my new phone (i7500) and came across THIS blog posting about updating the N1 firmware. Turns out its a cool site with lots of info (including android lol)
Occurred to me that I have never updated mine since I bought it!

So heres the page for my specific router :
Belkin F5D8632 - Pre-Release Firmware Update

I took the precaution of backing up the router setup (theres the ability to do this as one of the router page options) , and belt and braces I took screenshots of the relevant config.

mine was originally 1.00.06 and I was going to pre-release candidate 1.00.09

Its a N spec router (and now confirmed meets the recently agreed N spec , hurray)
but I only need it for B+G so far (laptop isnt N compatible)

Anyways , went to the router firmware upload page and started it off.
Within 5 minutes the router was back up and running (I chose NOT to do a full reset)

The router had already performed well , but it definitely seems faster , only time will tell if its stable.......

Moral of the story : update your firmware

and as if that isnt enough he provides a link to the N1 'secret' menu
N1 secret developer menu links

golf gti edition 30 apr mpg updates

all high octane fuel as usual

353 miles @ 30.1 MPG
362 miles @ 31.1 MPG

Samsung i7500 HTC Hero clock/weather widget / battery life again! / first ever reboot

HTC Hero look alike home screen clock and weather

any self respecting android user loves the HTC Hero SenseUI interface (a wrapper on Android 1.5)
now the Hero is laggy (although that may be fixed in a new firmware update) and if youre like me youve chosen the Samsung i7500 which has plain ol 1.5.
There are 2 options

1 : flash a custom HERO look a like rom onto the galaxy (i7500), there are some available.
Steps can be found on the web

or

2: install some cool widgets or home replacements that mimic the effect.

I want to keep a quick ui so I chose the widget option for now.
The key thing is that you have to be careful , as the wrong widget and your battery life will be shot........

I narrowed it down to
Beautiful Widgets
or
Weather Widget Donate
(which also allows you to get the forecast widget)

I chose the later after seeing a few places state some battery drain for the first one.
Weather Widget Donate works great , I have no lag issues , no increased battery drain and it looks slick.....highly recommended

(although I see that the Beautiful Widgets has just been updated completely and looks just as good, in fact includes 24hr support and hi/lo temp display), very tempting if I hadnt bought already lol

heres its installed, note that its a combined clock and weather skin.

From Johns Car Blog

(note how I also installed the Battery Status - free by them too. Both have free downloadable skins to allow you to customise the battery visuals, check out Lock 2.0 skin gallery
Dont be confused, the site details many things.

You can get skins for
1. Lock screen (I dont use this)
2. Weather + Clock combined widget
3. Battery widget
You use it to find the one you want , then from the phone you can download them now you have a name to use...
Im using the glass one just now , so the background shows through :-)
You can get to the settings by tapping the widget, it now shows the current and 3 day forecast.
Then press the menu button and 'settings' , there are 2 'skin' options , one for weather , one for battery.
Enjoy
)

Samsung i7500 galaxy battery life update
Now runs for one full day with most toys enabled :-) 3G/Data sync but not GPS. down to 35% by 11pm
Reckon if i turned 3g and sync off I could now get 2 days out of it.

I see the battery has an extended capacity cousin , so it wont be long before someone releases an extended battery and rear cover to improve the life , woohoo


First ever screen lockup and reboot on i7500!
Phones never been off since I got it, but today I tried to unlock it and it went unresponsive on the draw pattern to unlock screen eek!
then the android title came up and it rebooted , then I found the data connection was dead!
In the end I had to switch it on and off again and enter my sim pin code.
(first reboot seemed to not allow me to log into my pin lock)

its here : Wii Metroid Trilogy boxset woohoo

I spent many a long evening playing Metroid Prime (Number 3 out of the series and the only Wii title) bought for a bargain £10 from ebay.

Nintendo have now ported the Gamecube Metroid 1+2 to the Wii with the superb Wii controls and also tweaked it a bit , as well as that they throw in Prime too.

So three games for the price of one.

Cant wait to start playing 1 and 2 now , its gonna be a long month lol
For those new to the Wii or never played any of the Metroid series its a must try.




heres some review scores for IGN :


10 Presentation
All three games scored 10s for presentation and nothing has changed, including the horsepower between GameCube and Wii. The entire series is still slicker in every regard than most Wii titles.
9.0 Graphics
Amazing. The first time you see the snow falling in Phendrana Drift, your jaw will drop. Retro's art and tech combine for an amazing visual experience.
9.0 Sound
Moody and ambient throughout. Some of the voice acting in Corruption could be a little tighter, but otherwise your ears will be happy.
10 Gameplay
Absolutely incredible. The very essence of the 2D Metroid games reborn in 3D. With the new controls, you won't want to put your Wii remote down.
10 Lasting Appeal
More than 80 hours of some of the best interactive adventuring that money can buy. For the price of a regular Wii game.
9.5
Incredible OVERALL

http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/wii/metroidprimetrilogy#critics


BUY IT

Golf GTI Edition 30 mpg update / first ever 10k training distance ran / gaggle of fiat 500 abarths

another Edition 30 update : 30.3MPG 372 miles

next image is my first ever 10k distance while training woohoo :-)
6.3 miles took 1hr 23 minutes (83 minutes) which is hardly record breaking pace.
Thats an average of 13.17 minute miles , which is almost fast walking (14 min/mile lol)
However I managed it , so will work on improving my pace over the next few weeks.
The Garmin forerunner and HRM are proving invaluable in determining my pace and recovery cycle.

final images are of 4 Fiat 500 abarths ready for the '59 plate owners....

samsung i7500 galaxy new user tips part 2

Unable to send text messages on O2
couldnt send any text messages , could receive them and make calls ....
would always get a 'message not sent' icon in notification bar
turns out the message centre number was wrong and had '61500' appended to the correct number.
edited it to remove the extra numbers and voila its working

Making sure the alarm function works!
Ive already mentioned TasKiller as the ultimate app to save battery life by killing background apps.
However I was a bit zealous last night , set my 6.20 am alarm then killed the process......
The alarm icon was present so i assumed it was gonna be ok........
I was however wrong , it didnt go off at all FFS

so dont kill Alarm process if you want to get up for work (seems obvious doesnt it !)


battery life seems better today after the 4th full charge.
funnily enough its takes AGES to charge from 99% to full.
its now 17 hrs from 100% and its now at 60% , much better.

still loving it :-)