Tong Family (richtong.org sync)

This eSATA adapter now seems to work on the Mac. So you need to download the latest drivers from http://www.rosewill.com/products/d_814/productDetail.htm Rosewill RC-605 problems | Tongfamily Website I got this Rosewill eSATA so I could plug fast drives into my MacBook Pro. Well, like lots of third party stuff it doesn’t really work. It is faster…

Find local network devices using ping | Networking | Mac OS X Hints | Macworld The command line ping command on Mac OS X allows you to find all the network devices in your home; just send a normal ping to a special IP address on your network. First figure out your TCP/IP address for…

I’m actually at a computer typing. Which I never do anymore. Too much time reading everything on the the iPhone, but here are some quick reviews of things: Nightlife in Seattle. A buddy asked me about this, it sure ain’t NYC or LA and there are no online reviews, but it looks like the dance…

Arrgh I knew I shouldn’t have put it in, but got a mini-CD with a copy of Photo Rescue (a $29 value!) which I need, so I just stuck it into the MacBook and it is stuck. http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=406613 says never do this. But how was I to know? The solution is ridiculous. Turn off your…

I lost a Transcend 16GB 300x card. I’m sooo sad. Not only did it cost $$$, but it was absolutely filled with photos I had not yet downloaded. Sportsphotoguy is one of the few folks who are actually texting these high end cards. These very fast cards do make a difference in performance. And most…

I’m so depressed. I must have left the car unlocked, but got back and the glove compartment was missing my TomTom 720 and Escort 9500i. So sad! But, I can’t prove it was stolen, maybe I’m just absent minded. I need both in this car, so what is the state of the art. Well, quite…

Not like we didn’t see this one. Congrats to Credit Suisse, who was the sole manager on the sell side. Oracle to Acquire Sun for $7.4 Billion – Mac Rumors The big industry news on Monday was the announcement that Oracle Corporation would acquire Sun Microsystems for approximately $7.4 billion. The acquisition would bring Sun…

I thought that you needed a prepaid card to get the free apps. I’m sorry I bought the $15 itunes card now. Here is how to do it if you just want free apps on your iPhone. Boy is it complicated! Create an iTunes App Store account without a credit card Create an iTunes App…

G-MAP:Turn by Turn driving on iPhone 3.0 | 9 to 5 Mac G-MAP:Turn by Turn driving on iPhone 3.0 $25 will supposedly get you this on the iPhone once iPhone 3.0 is released. It looks solid. Will this be the only name in town or will there be others?

I hope they also make it a touch screen and simplify the user AppleInsider | Amazon to introduce “big screen” Kindle device this week New York Times cited people briefed on Amazon’s plans as saying the retailer was gearing up to introduce “a larger version of its Kindle wireless device tailored for displaying newspapers, magazines…

Now that I keep music and new photos on my local machine, I also need to sync these files up to a server. Thats because I’m constantly changing things. So looking for something as good as beyond compare on Windows. Looked before, but never found anything. Google search for mac os x directory compare led…

I haven’t posted in a while because somehow the lastest scribefire no longer likes to post to my WordPress. So I’m back to using the web interface. Anyway, since I lost my Etymotic ER-4Ss, I seem to have ended up with two sets of Shure SE-210 (lost one of these!), bought a $40 pair of…

Thank you is so important, you can pretty much say it everywhere, but Jennifers has it in just about every language in the world: Domo Arigato. Japanese Xie Xie. 谢谢 Chinese. CámÆ¡n. Vietnamese Ar Kun. Khmer (in Cambodia) Komapsumnida. Korean So thanks to everyone for making this last trip work 🙂

No, I haven’t lost my mind, but had to share since I’ve had about 10 people ask me what’s going on. Sorry about all the random entries in friendfeed, twitter, facebook and tongfamily.com. For the geeks, read on. Here is the chain: nLyrics is this great plug in for getting lyrics to songs kareoke style…

Linguanaut (as well as google translate) is an easy site for learning simple phrases so you aren’t a complete alien when traveling. Here are some for Japanese: English Greetings Japanese Greetings: Hi! Kon’nichiwa こんにちは Good morning! Ohayou gozaimasu. おはようございます Good evening! Konbanwa こんばんは Welcome! (to greet someone) Irasshaimase!.いらっしゃい How are you? Genkidesu ka? 元気ですか？ I’m…

Tapulous’s Tap Tap Revenge Has Been Downloaded by 1 out of 3 iTunes Application Users – MarketWatch Here’s a list by Game, penetration of installed base and the developer Tap Tap Revenge 32% Games Tapulous, Inc. Backgrounds 27% Entertainment Stylem MediaTouch Hockey: FS5 26% Games FlipSide5, Inc.Facebook 26% Social Networking Facebook, Inc.Pac-Man 24% Games Namco…

Hey as a closet hip hop fan, check out Lady GaGa (which is a way better name than Stefani Joanne Angelin Germonotta. She was discover by one of my favorite singers Akon. Wrote songs for Pussycat Dolls. Apparently the genre is glam-rock whatever that is but reminds folks of Bowie and Queen. Mainly reminds me…

The Kindle is pretty cool in terms of screen, but the rest of it is pretty well, not elegant. Here are some tips that are pretty much mandatory for PDF conversion (why isn’t this in the box???). The keyboard is really terrible and the way the menus work is confusing, and why is there no…

Analyst: 32GB iPhone could debut in June | iPhone Atlas – CNET Reviews Apple is expected to begin production on a high-end iPhone with 32GB of flash memory and a low-end 3G version this spring, according to a research report released Tuesday by Lazard Capital Markets analyst. Production is anticipated to begin in April and…

TUAW — The Unofficial Apple Weblog We had a lot of mail from users eager to let us know that the NeoOffice 3.0 is now available. NeoOffice is a Mac OS X native open-source office suite originally crafted from the code used for OpenOffice, and its developers are boasting about the following features not found…

For $800, you get 15mp, ISO to 3200, full 1080p movie mode and it is $800. That is really a value leader compared with the amazing 21MP Canon 5DII that I have. Maybe I should get as the low end body 🙂 Canon unveils HD Rebel T1i / EOS 500D digital SLR Canon Breaks the…

They have a site where you can look at all their mileage promotions https://www.ua2go.com/mppromo/. Here are some good ones: Beijing bonus miles most relevant to me. Get 10K bonus miles in First, and Business C and D

Consumer Reports really likes the Walmart Ever Start but there are so few Walmarts around here. So alternatives are. Kirkland (Costco) auto batteries any good? Johnson Controls makes Diehard (Sears), Duralast (AutoZone), Interstate, Kirkland (Costco), Motorcraft (Ford), and some EverStarts. If you bring your core back, then you get $5 back. Kirkland (Costco) auto batteries…

These are folks who didn’t get the memo that we are in a global recession 🙂 J.M. Weston – – Upper East Side – New York Store & Shopping Guide With occasional resoling, these timeless, hand-cobbled French shoes last for life. A good thing, since they cost you your life savings—crocodile moccasins are $2,450; basic…

What the heck is this Audyssey thing and all these new audio modes? In short, you use a little microphone, the system walks you through 6-8 listening locations and it trys to calculate the right equalization (that is which speakers should be louder or softer) and does it dynamically as people hear different frequencies better…

Wow, some cool new features for the iPhone in July. If you can stand it, wait for the new software and faster phone. Copy and past, MMS, landscape view for mail (finally!), google calendar sync, Spotlight search, tethering your PC to the iPhone, faster 3G are amonth the many features.. AppleInsider | iPhone 3.0: 100…

AppleInsider | Apple’s 2009 iPhone to support faster 3G networks – report How fast this year’s new iPhone will get actually depends upon the radio components Apple can source. AT&T’s long term plans include an upgrade to 3GPP Release 7 (HSPA+) and later Release 8, also known as LTE (Long Term Evolution). LTE refactors UMTS…

Man, I have such trouble with batteries on the cars I don’t use much. Both the Volvo 850 and the Acura are always discharging. Finally blew what must be my fifth battery. Read in Consumer Reports that the Wal*Mart Everstart is good. Thanks to autobatteries.com now I know I need a Group Size 47 battery.…

Well, this is one complicated preamp. I must say fortunately AVS Forum has an owners thread. Most amazing features are the Audyssey (what a spelling) system which does automatic speaker calibration. There is even a microphone included and super easy graphical interface. Wow. Also it autodetects an ethernet connection so it can do Internet radio…