David Vielmetter

Adventures in stupid technology

  • Crap! Xbox error E74

    So I don’t know how many of you read or kept up with my original Xbox E64 post a few months ago, but this is a kind of a continuation of my my original Xbox troubles. When my first gen Xbox got an E64 error I tried repairing it without success. So, to replace it…

  • Vacation: Berlin 2009

    I just got back from a small vacation in Berlin Germany. It was a short trip mostly for visiting friends and family, but I also managed to do a little bit of sight seeing. The humid June climate and the long hours of daylight reminded me of the east coast, but the people and the…

  • Export your saved passwords in Firefox

    In this post I’ll show how to export your Firefox saved passwords to a nice HTML file for safe keeping in the event of a disaster. It’s true that there is already a handy utility called Mozbackup that lets you backup your Firefox profile including all your saved passwords, but this method does not let…

  • Timelapse photography the easy way

    I’ve always wanted to create my own time-lapse movie, but never had the money to invest into the equipment. With the CHDK firmware add-on for Canon’s Digic II, Digic III and Digic IV cameras it is now possible for anyone with a Canon camera to do it. The CHDK firmware add-on has been around for…

  • iPhone mutes calls on headset mode but works on speakerphone

    So far I have found four people with this identical problem. They all purchased an iPhone outside the USA (where in some cases laws have prevented Apple from locking the iPhone) and use it with either a pre-paid 3rd party provider or with an existing non-iphone contract AT&T sim card. The issue they have is…

  • Windows7 x64 a few months later

    It’s been a few months since I installed Windows 7 RC1 x64 and the initial glamor of the latest and greatest operating system from Microsoft has worn off. Although Windows 7 is both easier to use and more useful than ever, there are still some issues with 64bit computing that need to be worked out.…

  • Get more maps onto a Garmin StreetPilot c550

    I’m traveling to Germany in a few days and wanted to use my Garmin StreetPilot c550 to help me navigate the streets of Berlin. I got a used 2008 European Maps SD card off of Amazon for a few bucks and figured why don’t I try getting the maps onto my Garmin GPS. But somehow…

  • Creepy abandoned USA Gas refinery

    On a recent weekend trip to Ojai I drove by this abandoned USA Oil/Gas refinery and stopped to take a few pictures. The site looks like it was initially picked over for parts, but then abandoned and left to rust for years. The entire site is like a ghost town with scattered abandoned homes in…

  • Windows live movie maker

    One thing I was surprised to find amiss in Windows 7 x64 was Windows Movie Maker. Well, it turns out that some people have managed to get WMM 2.6 (the version supplied in Windows XP) to work in Windows 7. But in the spirit of trying beta software, I thought I’d give the new Windows…

  • Customize your Toshiba phone system

    This article contains information on how to change common settings on Toshiba Strata CIX 40 digital VOIP telephony systems and handsets. If you need to learn how to change the system time or set a particular ring tone on a handset click the read more link.