Chris Pirillo » cable

World’s Shortest USB Cable

Chris — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:07:46 +0000

World’s Shortest USB Cable is a post from Chris Pirillo

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I hate having super-long USB cables when all I really need is one that’s an inch or two long. It’s such a waste of space, especially when I’m traveling. Thank goodness the folks at ThinkGeek have the iStubz to charge my iPhone with!

The iStubz is only 3 inches long, and I promise that those three inches will satisfy you! It works with any USB-compatible iPod or iPhone, and is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux. You don’t need cables strung all over Hell and half of Georgia. Using a nice short cable keeps things de-cluttered and organized.

If you’re interested in grabbing the iStubz for yourself – or anything from ThinkGeek for that matter – make sure you take advantage of the ThinkGeek coupons that I have for you. Why pay full price for anything?!

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How to Use FireWire 400 Devices in 800 Ports

Chris — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:21:41 +0000

How to Use FireWire 400 Devices in 800 Ports is a post from Chris Pirillo

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I don’t know if you remember the battle between USB and FireWire, but USB won of course. I still have a few devices that use FireWire, including the camera I use to record my videos. FireWire has less overhead than you do with a USB connection.

You probably still have devices that connect via FireWire 400 ports, I’m sure. I know I do. But now I need to connect this camera to a FireWire 800 port. Instead of buying all new cable, I’m just going to use a Sonnet FireWire 400-to-800 Adapter.

Just use your existing FireWire 400 cables with this simple adapter from Sonnet to connect devices to a FireWire 800 port. Just plug it in between a FireWire 800 port and a standard FireWire 400 cable’s 6-pin male connector. It can’t get any simpler.

Make sure you keep the Sonnet Adapters in mind, instead of going out and buying all new cable!

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What’s in Your Home Theater?

Chris — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 04:14:41 +0000

What’s in Your Home Theater? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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Have you set up a home theater yet? I finally had the opportunity to finish our home theater system that was started when we moved in. It’s a chore to pick the right equipment and set up the right environment. I’m happy with how it turned out, though. I have seven tips here passed along from TJ, to help you set up your own home theater.

Get good equipment. It’s not only about what’s there, and what you need now. If you want a good setup, don’t try to cut corners. Get high-quality items.
Beware of interference. Interference from other items in your house can be a big issue. You wouldn’t want a computer or a non-shielded speaker near your equipment.
Get good cables. Be aware of the amount of shielding around the cable. Cheap cables won’t necessarily conduct electricity well, either. It helps to go for digital cable, as they pick up more frequency than analog cables.
Get a set of equipment. While it’s not mandatory, you can connect many sets to use only one remote, which makes things simpler.
Plug things into each other. Some pieces of gear may have additional outlets built in. This could not only save you wall outlet space, but keep things neater. It will also allow you to turn everything off and on at once.
Get good speakers. The best setup in the world will sound like crap if your speakers are crap. You can always build incrementally, in order to have more money to buy good equipment and speakers.
Old things are sometimes superior. Things like tape players and radio units can actually be better quality than some of the newer things. This won’t usually hold true for things like a DVD player, though.

Never take advice from a salesman. They will lie to you, to get you to spend even more money. What other tips do you have when setting up a home theater?

Home Theater Design EBook(R.

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Am I the Only One in Love with Retractable Cables?

Chris — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:46:18 +0000

Am I the Only One in Love with Retractable Cables? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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When I got my laptop cooler, I quickly realized I needed a specific type of USB cable… one that had a male adapter on both ends. I had a difficult time finding the exact model I needed. It got me to thinking, I have a few smaller retractable kits, but I stumbled upon this one. It’s the best I’ve found, by far. The CablesToGo USB 2.0 Retractable Cable Kit is the most comprehensive kit I’ve seen, for only around $35.00.

When you’re on the road the last thing you want is to be missing the cable that you need. That’s why the USB 2.0 Retractable Cable Kit is the ideal solution for anyone that is always on the go. It’s compact for convenient packing, yet contains the connectors and cables needed to get the job done. It includes everything needed to make RJ45 network connections, RJ11 phone connections, and any USB or FireWire 1394a configuration. Besides the cables, it also includes a stereo headset with microphone so you can listen to your favorite tunes or dictate a note.
This kit is ideal for home and office use, too. With so many technologies out there, it’s hard to know what type of cable may be needed at any given moment. With this kit, you can rest assured you’ll always have the cable needed for your digital camera and camcorder, card reader, MP3 player and more!

The kit includes:

3.5ft USB 2.0 A Male to A Female Cable
4ft Stereo Earphone & Microphone
3ft FireWire 6-Pin Male to 6-Pin Male Cable
3.5ft USB 2.0 A Male to A Male Cable
USB A Male to USB 5-Pin Mini B Male Connector
USB A Male to USB A Male Connector
USB A Male to USB B Male Connector
USB A Male to 4-Pin Mini B Male Connector
FireWire 6-Pin Male to 4-Pin Male Connector
USB A Female to RJ45 Crossover Connector
Two USB A Female to RJ45 Male Connectors
Two USB A Female to RJ11 Male Connectors

If you’re ever in need of extra USB cables or connectors, this is the kit you need to have on hand. Let me know what other Geeky kits you have that I can’t live without! I’m always looking for things that will make my life easier, and more organized.

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How Do You Organize Your Messy Cable Clutter?

Chris — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 02:50:33 +0000

How Do You Organize Your Messy Cable Clutter? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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There will come a time when the device that you come to rely on is going to run out of energy. What do you do when that happens? You have recharge it. And to recharge it, you have to plug it in. But what do you do with all of those cables, and the mess that they create? I hate clutter. I’m a neat freak. I can’t help it.

The driinn phone holder helps with that. It solves the problem of our phone lying around somewhere and having the cord lying around.

Driinn™ is a handy, easy to use product for anyone with a mobile phone, an Mp3 player or a PDA device. Driinn™ is made of a special mix of plastic and rubber. This combination gives the holder strength and grip. Driinn™ hangs between your battery charger and the wall socket. It provides a support for your mobile phone and convenient storage for your charging cord.

This little piece of plastic heaven will make your life much easier… and neater!

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How do you Deal with Old Technology?

Chris — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 03:58:34 +0000

How do you Deal with Old Technology? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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We talk about new technology quite a lot. While home visiting my parents at this time, I’ve noticed how much my parents are behind the times when it comes to tech. Here in my old bedroom, there’s actually a small television with an antenna on it. That’s right… no cable.

This little piece of technology, however, was considered to be state-of-the-art at the time it was bought. It has a port in the front of it that allows you to put in something called a VHS tape. I know, most of you are now heading to Google to see what a VHS tape is! Trust me, they were huge back in the day before DVDs. The movies resided on a magnetic strip within the rectangular case. These were played on a device called a VCR. If you wanted to watch part of the movie again, you had to rewind a little bit. If you wanted to watch the whole movie again, you had to rewind it to the beginning.

Is anyone else out there having to deal with old technology when you visit somewhere? How do you get through it? Do you have to smack your hand against the side of a tv to get any reception? What about dialing up to an Internet account from their house, and opening their Netscape browser?? How do you deal with this?!? Doesn’t it make you crazy?

Calgon… take me away.

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What do you Need for a Wired Home Network?

Chris — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:35:05 +0000

What do you Need for a Wired Home Network? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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Mattstech writes: “Thought I’d share a basic top 6 list on how to hardwire a home network. For power users like me, wireless just doesn’t provide the speed and reliability that I need. I ran some CAT5e over to my room about a month ago, and wanted to share some tips with the community on how to get started.”

Get the cable and accessories. You can usually buy network cable by the foot at home improvement stores, such as Lowe’s and Home Depot. The big decision here is: how much and what type. As far as quantity goes, you could measure exactly where the cable will be run, but an educated guess can be just as effective. However, it might help to overshoot your estimate by about 10%, so that you don’t end up missing some cable. As for type, there are two major categories of network cable: CAT5e and CAT6. The main difference between the two is related to data transmission capabilities. CAT5e is usually capable of approximately 100 MHz of bandwidth, while CAT6 comes in around the 200 MHz mark. Yes, CAT6 is better, but it is also more expensive. If CAT6 is in your price range (check with your local home improvement stores), by all means go for it. If not, CAT5e will still produce excellent speeds, especially when compared to wireless. There are also some accessories you will need to purchase. Pick up some low-voltage wall boxes (one for each wall plate), RJ-45 jacks, and faceplates to cover it all up with. You also might want to think about getting some fish tape or glow sticks to make it easier to run the cable down the wall.
Cut the hole(s) for the wall jack(s). Before you cut anything, be sure to check where the studs are in the wall. You can do this by either using a stud finder, or just by knocking on the wall. If it sounds hollow, there is no stud in that location. If it sounds (and feels) solid, don’t cut there – you’ve got a stud! Once you’ve found an appropriate location to cut, hold up the low voltage plate to the wall, trace the outline, and score it lightly. Next, cut along the lines you’ve scored until the piece of sheetrock falls out. It helps to have a keyhole saw to do this, but a serrated kitchen knife will also do the job. It helps to pick a location close to other wall plates, such as cable and/or power. That way you won’t have to worry about drilling a hole in the attic to get the cable out from inside the wall.
Insert the low-voltage box(es). If you scored and cut correctly, then the low-voltage wall box should fit snug inside the hole. Once it is in, fold up the pieces of metal hanging down to secure the box.
Run the cable. Take the roll of cable you purchased and use a fish tape/glow stick to fish one end of the cable through the hole, and up into the wall. Again, if the wall plate is not close to others, you may need to drill a hole to get the cable up out of the wall. Otherwise, you should be able to run it through the existing hole. Once the cable is in the attic, continue to pull, and trail the cable over to where the other hole is located. Remember to run in wide swoops – don’t make abrupt turns and/or create kinks in the cable, as this will result in decreased performance. Once you reach the location of the other hole, run the cable down the (hopefully) pre-drilled hole and into the wall. Fish it out, and….your cable is run!
Wire the jacks. In a standard ethernet cable, there are usually eight wires, as described below:
- White/Orange
- Orange
- White/Green
- Blue
- White/Blue
- Green
- White/Brown
- Brown
For RJ-45, there are two major wiring schemes that specify where the wires should be placed in the jack : (T568)A and (T568)B. If you’re wiring from computer to computer, use A. If you’re going from computer to hub, use B. The B scheme is demonstrated above in the list above, but most jacks have a label on the side with both schemes listed. The jack should have come with a punch down tool to use when seating the wires inside the appropriate slots. Once you’ve decided on a scheme, simply sit the wire on top of the corresponding slot, push down with the tool, and repeat for each wire.
Finish it up. Pop the jack inside the faceplate’s hole, and then screw the faceplate into the low-voltage box. Finally, go get some patch cables and connect your components!

While this is still a very rudimentary guide, I think I’ve covered most of the basics. Of course, every application is different, but if you’re looking to boost the speed and security of your home network – hardwiring can be just what you were looking for!

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Is the Quality of your Coax Cable Important?

Chris — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 03:46:08 +0000

Is the Quality of your Coax Cable Important? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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Daniel writes: “I recently decided to swap my office and my bedroom, opting to gain more workspace at the loss of a little living space. In the process of the swap, I relocated my PC to a new room. The coaxial cable running from the wall jack to the router proved to be too short, and as a result, I ran new cable to the new location… there began the problems. At the same time, I downloaded and began using Skype. Shortly after I began to use Skype, I noticed a severe lag in my internet connection speed. I could not figure out what was causing everything to be so slow. At first I thought it was Skype, so I researched its affects on connection speed, discovering that Skype is one of the better non-resource hogs to choose from. Next I tried dumping one of the apps I installed to use with my Skype phone. Strike two. Then, realizing that I couldn’t remember when the last time I cleaned out my browser was, I deleted cookies, and passwords, thinking it would free up RAM. Strike three. Finally, I figured it out. In addition to a new location, I added a new TV to my office mix. The PC and TV split the same cable line. I used an old segment of cable I had from a few years ago to connect from the splitter to the PC. Eureka! After changing out the old segment of cable with a brand new, never used segment, my internet speed was back to normal. I never realized the importance of a simple string of copper. Here are my top five tips for using coaxial cable.”

Buy a quality product. I tried using an old cheap cable, and it failed me miserably. Stick with a name brand, such as Philips, Monster or Radio Shack. Better yet, get your cable from the cable provider. In most cases, it is of great quality. To go a step further, have it installed by them as well.
Consider upgrading to HD-optimized cable line. As the rest of the media world makes the transition to High Definition, now is the best time to swap out your lines even if you don’t use HD. Generally speaking, HD coax is of a higher quality and can carry more information, thus improving connectivity.
Keep quality on your mind when selecting connectors and hardware. I suggest using the same brand splitters, elbows, and extenders as the cable itself. As with most every electronic item, the old adage that “you get what you pay for” still applies. Make sure all connections are tight and fully connected. Not doing so will cause a loss in signal strength.
Remember signal strength. Most people have a single coaxial line running into their house from which they split off to all of the different cable sources. Keep in mind that the more you split your line, or the longer the line is, the weaker you signal will be. If you can afford to, have more than one line installed to separate TVs from computers. If you experience signal degradation in your TV signal or are having connection issues that you cannot resolve, call your local cable company and ask for a technician to boost your signal. As more and more customers are added to the cable system, the companies must periodically adjust the signal strengths to accommodate the added users.
Finally, stay organized. Run your cable along the wall and attach with cable clips to give a finished look. If possible, run in the ceilings or along the wall under the carpet. If exposed, I suggest purchasing cable the same color as the background. At corners, be careful not to have too tight of a radius in your turns. Accidentally crimping your line can cause signal degradation.

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Do you Watch “TV” on the Internet?

Chris — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 06:34:02 +0000

Do you Watch “TV” on the Internet? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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Are you watching TV right now? Seriously, is there a television on in your room or house at this moment? I honestly don’t know about the future about the television. The future of TV is going to be on the Internet. There’s a reason I publish everything I do to YouTube. About one in three of every video on the Internet is watched on YouTube. There’s a good chance one of mine will show up.

Someone in our chat room asked if the Internet is going to destroy tv. I happen to be using my television as a monitor, since there’s a computer hooked up to it. I also have my Xbox plugged into it. I can watch my cable service hooked up to it. Now, I can watch my content pretty much anywhere I want. To me, it boils down to the content. A “tv” is a machine. Why does it matter where you watch that content? Why does it have to be on a television? I can pull up any show I want to watch right on my computer and watch as I work.

It’s not even “the future”… it’s the present. Television shows and movies can be watched on the Internet. Within ten years, there will be a huge fundamental shift in the way that we view our content. It will take better broadband, yes. However, the Internet isn’t going to destroy “television”. It may lessen the actual mechanism you think of when you think of the word ‘tv’.

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Pay as you Go Internet… Good or Bad Idea?

Chris — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 06:55:54 +0000

Pay as you Go Internet… Good or Bad Idea? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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The only truth when it comes to Broadband here in America is that we don’t have enough. One community member wrote in to talk about the fact that he really doesn’t have any options for Broadband, other than Satellite. He generally uses his Internet in the middle of the night, when he isn’t subject to capping. The satellite truly isn’t much better than pre-1993 dial-up speeds. He’s asking about “pay as you go/use” Internet service, and what I think the future of it is.

This is just wrong to me, in more ways than one. For those of us who make our livlihood online, and who use it for more than just email, having limited access is damaging. You wouldn’t think Comcast would do this to you. You also wouldn’t think they’d traffic-shape. You also wouldn’t think they’d pay people to sit and sleep during the FCC hearings.

< silence >

Oh sorry. I was wasting your bandwidth there. I don’t know where my mind is. Do you understand what that could do? Do you get what they’re doing here? I wouldn’t put it past any large ISP to be doing this. It’s scary! If this happens, I can seriously see big companies start coming in to offer service that we need… such as Google or Microsoft. The ISPs would be in serious trouble at that point.

I use cable, because I do get better speeds with it. I have a DSL line that is dedicated to running the Live Stream. Heck, I know people who chose their place to live based on the type of Internet available to them.

Pay As You Go gives you the flexibility to use the Internet as much or as little as you like. You only pay for what you use. There are no monthly charges. Think of it like prepaid cell phone service. It’s the same time of plan and deals.

I don’t know. What do you guys think? If this were available, would you go for it? How reliable do you think it would be? Could Power Users ever be able to rely on it when doing business?

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ISP Tips

Chris — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 06:49:30 +0000

ISP Tips is a post from Chris Pirillo

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I recorded a video not long ago about Bandwidth Capping from ISPs. I have a top-five list of things to look for when looking for an ISP. Here are some tips sent in by Lundberry to help you choose the right ISP for you.

What is there reliability in your area? While this might seem obvious to ask you would be amazed at how many people will go with an unreliable ISP because they are cheap. Is your time worth more than a few extra dollars a month to have confidence that when you go online you’ll actually get what you want to.
What is the cost going to be? Is the cost to add a little extra speed and confidence that it will work reasonable and how does that compare to the competition.
Do you get what you pay for? When you pay for a 5Mbps connection do you actually get 5Mbps or do you get 2Mbps. These things will have an effect on how you feel about your investment in internet. You need to ask yourself if your using cable how many cable customers are around here and how will that effect my connection speeds.
What do you need? Do you really need a 20Mbps connection to do flickr a few times a week. I am surprised at how many people will upgrade to a superfast connection for no reason. You can use that extra money you save to get better hardware which will help you just as much as that speed increase your paying for.
Is it Comcast? This one is pretty self explanatory. Though for me Charter is my comcast but I still get raked over the coals in terms of various different things are done to me. For instance the fact that I pay for 5Mbps internet and average about 1Mbps. Or the fact that no matter what modem I use I never can get a consistant connection to the service. Ie. I don’t even get an IP address from my ISP.

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Tips for Choosing the Best ISP for your Needs

Chris — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 09:11:56 +0000

Tips for Choosing the Best ISP for your Needs is a post from Chris Pirillo

The other night, I was having difficulties once again with my Comcast connection. Within hours, two different people emailed me with their Top Five lists of ways to choose an ISP, and why. Here they are… hopefully they’ll help all of you. This list comes from Azaas in the live community.

Don’t fall for marketing. Commercials and trends are not the things you wanna take into consideration when you’re choosing for ISP.
Always read very carefully what you’re signing for. I don’t know if that applies to the states,but in Europe many customers have fallen for the “up to x MB ” thing. That means that your net speed can reach that point but most likely WON’T. So many people end up paying more for something that they could have purchased for less.
Take the time needed and do a research on how user friendly the ISP is. I was trying to contact my ISP for like 4 hours,through their emergency line, and noone would answer my god damn call. That,trust me when i say,should be ranked as one of the most important things you should be looking at an ISP.
Never trust a new company just because it offers great speeds at low prices. What you want is take advantage of the know-how of those old time classic ISPs and not having to put up with the numerous problems a new company will certainly face.If despite that you can’t resist those low costs,take the time and see what people,who are already customers,have to say about that specific ISP. Cost should certainly not be the only thing to take into account when choosing an ISP.
Last but not least… always read the small letters. When i dropped my old plan i got a notice that the router they had provided me with should be returned within a week or i’d have to pay a 300 euros fee. The thing is that i was leaving for Greece the very next day,so i had to change both mine and my gf’s plane tickets which had a cost of 420 euros more than what we had already paid.

Telemarketing: Comcast’s Traffic Shaping Feature

Chris — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 07:58:19 +0000

Telemarketing: Comcast’s Traffic Shaping Feature is a post from Chris Pirillo

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So this telemarketer from Comcast called me the other night. He attempted to sell me their Triple Play package. He kept letting me know how much I needed their services… even though I already have them. Once it became apparent that the guy had no clue what their services actually ARE and what they DO… I decided to have fun with him.

You’ll hear me tease the guy, and ask him if I can get the Traffic Shaping “feature” with my order. He, of course, had no idea what that even was. I was astounded. For anyone else who may not know, let’s see what Wikipedia has to say:

Traffic shaping (also known as “packet shaping”) is an attempt to control computer network traffic in order to optimize or guarantee performance, low latency, and/or bandwidth by delaying packets. More specifically, traffic shaping is any action on a set of packets (often called a stream or a flow) which imposes additional delay on those packets such that they conform to some predetermined constraint (a contract or traffic profile). Traffic shaping provides a means to control the volume of traffic being sent into a network in a specified period (bandwidth throttling), or the maximum rate at which the traffic is sent (rate limiting), or more complex criteria such as GCRA. This control can be accomplished in many ways and for many reasons; however traffic shaping is always achieved by delaying packets. Traffic shaping is commonly applied at the network edges to control traffic entering the network, but can also be applied by the traffic source (for example, computer or network card) or by an element in the network. Traffic policing is the distinct but related practice of packet dropping and packet marking.

Accusations of Comcast shaping traffic has been widely publicized lately. On Monday, there will actually be a special meeting of the FCC to discuss this exact claim. The main discussion will be focused on “network neutrality and traffic shaping”. It will be interesting to see what affect this meeting could end up having on the way traffic shaping is applied.

This past Friday, another Class Action Lawsuit was filed against Comcast. While Comcast insisting their brand of network management is “reasonable” might thwart the FCC’s investigation into the practice, the courts may see things differently. According to a statement from the law firm involved, Comcast is misleading customers by saying they offer the “fastest Internet connection,” because the ISP “intentionally blocks or impedes its customer’s access to peer-to-peer file sharing.”

Of course, Comcast is defending its practices. While the company finally admits that its doing some traffic shaping, it’s clearly gearing up to fight any allegation that it was wrong in its actions. As Broadband Reports notes, the company uses the word “reasonable” over 40 times. That’s no surprise, since the FCC has said that it would allow “reasonable” network practices. It also uses some questionable metaphors for its actions suggesting that forging packets (oops, sorry, “resets”) are perfectly normal activity, comparing it to a fax machine getting a busy signal.

So… what do you think? Should the FCC be cracking down on this? Or is Comcast just possibly in the right? Leave me a follow-up comment, or send me an email to chris@pirillo.com, and share your thoughts.

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Cable Management

Chris — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 03:17:35 +0000

Cable Management is a post from Chris Pirillo

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Jthermane wrote: “USB, Power, FireWire… there are many types of cables out in the world that do many different things. They can bring things to life, carry data, output sound. But the more cables you get, the harder it is to keep track of them. They start showing up in different locations around your room or home office. Here are my top five tips for cable management.”

Use one drawer or box for all of your cables. This may be hard. However, when you go looking for that special USB cable for your iPod, it cuts down the look time drastically.
LABEL, LABEL, LABEL After a while, you may have two or three black power cords that have different ends… but say the same thing on the adapter. Use a silver sharpie (4 for $5.19 at staples), or buy a pack of file folder labels, and write on them in PEN. Nothing’s worse than having the lettering fade off a label in a drawer full of identical cables.
When storing, fold them up and put a rubber band around them. This makes it easier to store in a drawer, or any other small area.
Put heavily used USB cords into the plugs in the back of the computer. This makes it easier to connect those “quick use” cables in the front ports.
If you don’t have USB connections on the front of the computer, or if you have more USB cords than your computer has connections… buy a USB hub. It makes access to ports much easier, and you can keep it right under your screen. When buying a hub, always think about future expansion.
BONUS TIP!!! Try and keep cords going to the same area rubber-banded or twisty-tied together. This makes it easier to control the mess of cords behind the computer, and makes it look more sightly if your computer isn’t in a case.

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Don’t Jerk Your Power Cables!

Chris — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 08:23:39 +0000

Don’t Jerk Your Power Cables! is a post from Chris Pirillo

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Every day I get mail. Every once in awhile I get companies that send me products to review, and share information about with all of you. Those are always fun. Today, I got a package with a tin full of little plastic doo-hickeys. The paperwork with it said “Stop Jerking!” HUH? Stop jerking what??

Jerkstopper has come up with a way to use an unused port on your notebook to tether down your power cable. Technically it’s a CRD (Cable Retention Device) designed to utilize any existing port (USB, RJ11 or RJ45) on a laptop computer as a stay or restraint to keep the very fragile AC power connector from being damaged. Repairs to this connector can range from $100 to $250 or more if repairable. The JerkStoppe Cable Retention Device keeps you and others from causing costly damage to your Laptop Computer. For ten dollars, you get three connectors: 1 each USB, RJ45 & RJ11. Plus… you also get a one year money back guarantee!

Here are some of the problems you can now avoid, by using the Jerkstopper:

The power LED and/or battery charge LED flicker when you wiggle the power cord and/or the AC adapter tip on the back or your laptop.
Laptop suffers from spontaneous and/or instantaneous power-downs for no apparent reason.
Laptop only runs when you keep the power cord and plug in a certain direction.. Movement of the AC power adapter plug causes power “glitches” or outages.
Strange “clicking” noises coming from the area near the power plug. Laptop switches from AC power to battery power intermittently.
Laptop refuses to start or charge a properly inserted battery. Laptop appears to be “dead” when you plug AC adapter.
Laptop suddenly shuts off without any warning. Sparks come out of the back of your laptop.
Laptop will not charge the battery and/or Laptop only runs on battery power.

At only $10.00… and having a full one year guarantee… what are you waiting for?

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How to Handle Remote Tech Support

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:30:00 GMT

Using GoToAssist is the easiest way to view and control another person's computer online. Use it to provide instant technical support to family, friends and customers. Start a session with just one click, and instantly connect with the other party.

Network Tools for Windows

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

You need these network tools, no matter which operating systems and networks you have to support. SolarWinds ipMonitor: Affordable Network Monitoring for SMBs. Get turnkey network, server and application availability monitoring with SolarWinds ipMonitor v9.0. This easy-to-use, reliable solution for SMBs delivers out-of-the-box availability monitoring so you always know exactly what's up with Active Directory, DNS, Exchange, FTP, Web, IMAP, MS SQL Server, and SMTP. Download your free trial today. Or, try their totally free tools! And, through 2/29, save 20% when you purchase ipMonitor 9.0.

Get Your Own Web Site

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

Starting at just $3.99/month, web hosting from GoDaddy includes 99.9% uptime, 24/7 support and free access to GoDaddy Hosting Connection, THE place to install over 30 FREE applications sure to help you get the most from your hosting plan and Web site. Enter code CP2 at checkout, and save an additional 10% on any order.

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VMware and Parallels for Virtual Machines

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

It doesn't matter if you're running on Windows or Mac OS X - every power user needs either Parallels or VMware (or both). There's never been an easier way to test software without destroying your primary operating system's stability. Think of how many times you wish you could press a 'reverse' button on your computer. Plus, there's no easier way to try new Linux distributions - see what all the fuss is about. Run Windows in OS X, run Linux in Windows, but the best way to do either is with VMware and/or Parallels.

Coupons for Online Shopping

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:56:13 GMT

This feed is fueled by Lockergnome Online Shopping and Coupon Codes

Before you shop next time, see if we have a coupon first.