I have DSL from ATT for the past two years under the smallest plan.  Its speed? like snail… I got too tired of it and upgraded to the highest plan last week, ouch…

Then problem came. Because of the better speed, I started doing more downloading and watching movies, yea

Every time, yes, every time, I download a big file or watch a movie, the 2wire modem keeps restarting itself or other people call it 2wire modem drop out or connection drops repeatedly or whatever you call it.

It kept doing that for a week until yesterday when I couldn’t handle the frustration anymore and called ATT customer service. The gentleman was nice, worked with me for close to an hour doing this and that: from unhooking power to removing DSL filter, etc…

None worked so he finally concluded that the problem was with the 2Wire modem and that he would transfer me to someone who can send me a new one.

Then a lady greeted me with “It is a good day here at ATT, how can I make your day a good day?” That was pretty awesome so I told her that a support technician diagnosed my modem that it fails and I need a new one.  She said it would cost me money for a new modem.

I told her I was under the impression that I would get a replacement without cost. She said it would cost me $100. I told her that wouldn’t make my day a good day. She said, “we ain’t give any modem for free.”

If I happen to have to spend on a new modem, I know I can get it for much less else where so I didn’t buy from the lady. I started to search Craigslist and found several of them for just $20. I emailed the sellers with some questions and waited.

In the mean time, I googled to see if anyone experiences the same issue. It turns out there are MANY and there is a solution to fix the 2Wire’s constantly drop out issue.

After tweaking several times, here is the final setting on my modem that works:

Wireless mode: 802.11b
Max connection: 12mbps
Authentication: WPA2

Under this setting, my modem never drops. Under 802.11g and other max connection setting, my 2wire drops.

How to change 2Wire wireless settings:

• Open up a browser and type: http://homeportal/ => hit Enter
• Click on “Home Network”
• Click on “Wireless Setting” (this is located under the ATT logo) => if your modem is password protected, it will prompt you for the password, go ahead and login
• Scroll down, you will find wireless mode and max connection under Additional Setting.

I recently needed to change my name in my Gmail account, it was embarrassing but after spending over half an hour, I still couldn’t figure out how

I remember it was pretty easy several years ago but the feature is now a little more hidden. I kept concentrating on the “General” tab and overlooked the other tabs.

Here is how to change your display name in Gmail, after wasting nearly an hour

1. Login to your Gmail account
2. Click on Options => click on Mail Settings (on the very top right)
3. Click on Accounts and Import
4. The 3rd option: “Send mail as:” => click on “edit info” on the right and enter your new desired name.

I really enjoy working in a datacenter. The servers, the switches, the lights, the design, the network cables, the noises,… all of those things really fascinate me. Beautiful!!! Spare a minute to check out some of the datacenter images I have collected below.

Hitachi’s green datacenter:

Facebook Datacenter:

Google Datacenter:

Microsoft Datacenter:

ThePlanet Datacenter:

I personally toured ThePlanet datacenter in Dallas in 2005, very neat and beautiful setup.

Beautiful Networking Design:

Google Datacenter Tour Video:

 
Keep checking back, I will upload more.

Today, Google announced a new feature for its Google Maps service allowing us to easily find available flu shot locations near us. I tested around and found it to be very useful and highly recommend you to check it out if you have not.

• Google Flu Shot Finder: http://www.google.com/flushot

Currently, it is available in the United States only.

Instruction:
When you are at www.google.com/flushot => click on Change location on the top left => enter your zip code and hit Enter to display available locations near you.

Note: for Internet Explorer browser, simply click on the link then enter your zip code near “Find flu shots near:”

Legends:

H1N1 flu shots
Seasonal flu shots
Both

Reference:
Google announcement

As I was sorting through my big collection of images, I stumbled upon these, the original google hardware. These were the first machines Google started its business with. Make me think.