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New Nvidia drivers for Windows Vista may fix WoW problems
Reader Scott kindly dropped us a note (thanks!) that Nvidia released new drivers for Windows Vista on Tuesday, and hidden in the release notes is a note that the "low frame rates" within WoW have been fixed.So if you're running WoW in Vista, have an Nvidia graphics card (with one GPU), and still having graphical problems, a driver update definitely wouldn't hurt. Things seem to have calmed down on the graphics issues since a few patches have hit, but maybe there are still a few of you out there looking for a solution.As for us Windows XP users, looks like we're still stuck with an older driver version. If you've updated your drivers on XP and are still having problems, the best thing to do is probably just to let Blizzard know about it.Update: Whoops, Slashrude (and other commenters) point out what I missed: these are beta drivers, which means installing them may not be such a good idea. Update at your own risk.
WoW Insider RSS issues
A few readers have sent us tips already to let us know that there are issues with the RSS feed here on the site. We appreciate you all letting us know, and we are aware that some of the older articles are getting published on the RSS feed as new. We've also noticed that the RSS feed will sometimes publish new articles twice, leaving you with two copies of the same article in your reader.We're aware of both issues, and have forwarded information onto our tech guys about it-- they say a fix is coming. If you have any other issues or questions, feel free to post them in the comments below, or send us tips via our tips page. Thanks for reading, and for sticking with us through these issues-- we're hoping to get them worked out soon.
Two possible fixes for iPhone activation problems
For those still stuck in iPhone activation limbo, we have a couple of tips and tricks might help you to get on your way. While these might not be sure-fire solutions for everyone, they sound general enough and have worked for at least two individuals, so they just might work for you as well. First up is a three-step process from Download Squad's Alex Hung which involves shuffling a couple of SIM cards around. After waiting far too long like so many others, Alex called AT&T who told him that the iPhone activation process involves two basic steps: the first is the SIM activation, while the second is some sort of iTunes verification process (if I had to guess, this is for Apple's records to keep track of who owns which phones and how many, since they get a cut of every AT&T iPhone contract). Like many others, Alex received the email that the SIM activation process had completed, but his iPhone still wasn't working. After a phone call and some clever deduction, here is Alex's trick that might help some of you get your iBricks to start working more like iPhones. Note, however, that this requires you to already be an AT&T customer with a Cingular or AT&T phone and SIM card separate from the iPhone: Assuming you've already gone through the initial activation process and are stuck somewhere in limbo like so many others, power down your iPhone and swap out the iPhone's SIM (outlined in this downloadable iPhone User Guide - your first search result in that document for "SIM" should do it) for the SIM from your old phone. Power the phone back on. Plug the iPhone back into iTunes to force a new activation process (every time you swap the iPhone's SIM, it will need to be plugged into iTunes and verified before your iPhone will work). Your activation might or might not work this second time around with your old SIM, but once you complete it, power the phone back down. Proceed to step 3. Swap out the SIM cards again and re-insert the SIM that originally came with your iPhone. For the heck of it, wait a minute or two before powering the iPhone back on. If all goes well, your new iPhone SIM and iTunes verification will have finally straightened out, allowing you to use your iPhone as Apple originally intended. You might have to power cycle the phone one more time (Alex did), as the iPhone might actually request you to do so, but this trick just might work for some of you. If it does, or if you have any modifications to the steps that ultimately get your iPhone up and running, please share in the comments. A catch with this method, however, is that we really aren't sure what will happen to your other activation requests if this trick actually succeeds. We also aren't sure whether this is a 'good' way to get your iPhone up and running, since you will technically be entering a second activation process into AT&T's (and possibly Apple's) systems, which could potentially cause more problems. If anyone knows something we don't about this trick, please share that in the comments as well and we'll be happy to update this post.The second method is detailed by Rogue Amoeba's Paul Kafasis on the company's blog. This one is a bit simpler, though potentially more time consuming: Paul essentially called a specific AT&T number (1-877-800-3701), selected the proper extension (#1) and waited 45 minutes until getting a representative who explained the situation. Turns out that Paul's activation was a manual process that wasn't fully completed by the original rep who handled it. After this new rep apparently fixed a small issue by adding a required feature and clicking the "Yes, Paul can use his iPhone now" button, he was up and running with his iPhone.Of course, these solutions might not work for everyone, but we sure hope they can bring a smile to at least some of you who have had a less-than-stellar experience getting their iPhones actually working like iPhones. Of course, if you have your own ideas or modifications to these solutions, please share them in the comments and we'll update this post.
Irate would-be Lenovo customers seeing delays on ThinkPad T61
Your idea of the Lenovo buying experience has probably been all but tainted if its latest ThinkPad T61 was, er, would have been your first machine from the company. According to an incredibly long thread over at Notebook Review, more than a few would-be customers are getting progressively angrier as each passing day goes by without any sign of their new laptop. Apparently, a number of manufacturing hiccups are delaying the process, and some users are even reporting ship dates into the first week of September. Moreover, it seems that some loyal users even received consolation emails that tried to explain the delays and apologized by offering up a free accessory and a chance to easily cancel the order. So if you've had a T61 on order since day one and weren't already aware of all this behind the scenes turmoil, do yourself a favor and take a very deep breath before hitting the read link.[Thanks, Craig]
Popular Mechanics cranks out another ten HDTV myths
Truthfully, it's quite sad that these top ten lists of HDTV myths keep popping up, as it just reinforces the sad truth that many folks are still mystified by the prospect of HDTV. Nevertheless, Popular Mechanics has doled out its own version of the woefully popular rundown, and making the cut are the ever popular tall-tales that an HD set-top-box is somehow required to receive any HD programming, a 1080p TV is unquestionably superior to a 720p counterpart, and that an HDTV will magically convert all programming to stunning high-definition. Additionally, we shed a tear just thinking of those who still believed that all flat-panels are indeed HD-ready and that pristine video quality is only channeled through stupendously overpriced cabling. A few newcomers to the list involved 1080p panels that actually can't accept 1080p signals from a scaling player, and the unbelief that HD video can't be recorded onto standard DVD-Rs. Of course, there's no shame in being duped by a unintelligible big box employee or just not being up to speed on the HDTV minutia, so take a few and hit the read link if you're looking to clear up any lingering HD haze.[Photo courtesy of Chris Eckert/Studio D, thanks Matt]
Sony ups PlayStation 3 firmware to v1.7, PSOne titles not faring so well
Another PlayStation 3 firmware update, another list of issues. Unfortunately, this seems to be somewhat of a recurring theme, and while users may not have found issues with last month's refresh, the v1.7 isn't as kind. Reportedly, the latest update enables the PS3 "to play PSOne titles that are already saved on your PSP," but numerous sources are suggesting that the feature, um, doesn't work. On a lighter note, PSOne and PS2 dual shock controllers will now shake, rattle, 'n rumble when connected to your PS3, and those with PSPs sitting around can also hit up v3.4 (required for the PSP-to-PS3 playback) on their handheld machine. So, dearest readers, we'll point the question at you: is your recently update PS3 playing nice with those PSOne selections?[Via Joystiq, thanks to everyone who sent this in]
"AFK neighbor just bit my dog"
There's a running joke in my guild that whenever anyone has to leave an instance for a little while, everyone says "AFK to wash face." Apparently someone actually used that AFK excuse at one point, and it's been funny ever since. Most of the AFK's I've seen have been pretty tame, although I have had a few people leave instance runs fast because their kids have demolished their house in some way ("chocolate syrup all over kitchen floor, afk a sec"), and once because "afk 2 mins, cops at door." We didn't hear from that guy for the rest of the night.But there's lots of better AFK excuses than even that. "g2g guys, there's smoke coming out of my computer..""afk my brother has a knife""Guys I have to go there's a car that crashed into my house""guys i got to go, dog just died"" I have to go AFK for a bit guys, my son just told me he's gay.""brb internet just went out""afk wife giving birth"Ok, so those last two are excuses given, not received. But I've never heard anything this crazy-- I must be grouping with the wrong people. Or maybe the right ones...What's the craziest AFK excuse you've actually heard in game? And (because most of these are probably fake anyway) what's the craziest one you've ever given to get out of a bad PUG?
Wii Warm Up: Technical difficulties
Since the release of the Wii, we've gotten a few e-mails from people reporting that they've had various problems with their systems -- and we're not talking straps here, but actual technical difficulties. In light of that, we figured it was a good time to open the floor to everyone and ask: have you had any issues with your Wii? Controllers not working, discs not reading, tears, recriminations, explosions ... any problems at all? If so, we want to hear about it.
Screen flickering problem plagues MacBooks
MacBook owners just can't seem to get a break, it seems. The loveable laptops have had a handful of problems since their debut, ranging from the random shutdown syndrome (which was later fixed), to the whirring moo problem (also fixed), to the discoloration issue (yep, fixed), to the plastic cracking crisis (no idea what's going on there). The latest problème du jour apparently has to do with flickering screens, which seem to crop up on an unpredictable basis, but might possibly be triggered by high CPU load. Apparently this issue has been discussed on Apple's own web forums for months, but the particular thread was recently locked for no reason, reports AppleDefects. Further, other Mac sites, including MacinTouch and O'Grady's PowerPage, are reporting similar problems with older PowerBook and MacBook Pros. Hopefully this will all be swiftly resolved with a firmware update in short order. A sample video of the problem can be found on the next page.Read - AppleDefectsRead - O'Grady's PowerPageRead - Apple forums[Via The Inquirer]
Sony begrudgingly promises fix for PS3 720p output issues
Apparently Sony's kicking off an early Thanksgiving break tomorrow, as they seem to be exhausting themselves today in preparation. After breaking the news that PSP Spots are US bound, floating the PSP 3.0 firmware out, and probably dealing with that massive invoice they just received from Thomas Menino and friends, the company is issuing a quasi-promise that the 1080i / 720p output problems plaguing some distraught PS3 owners will be fixed. Interestingly enough, Sony places a slightly unbelievable amount of blame on "antiquated HDTVs," as if having an HDTV that supports 720p is some sort of hidden requirement to operate a PlayStation 3. While we fully understand that most HDTV sets purchased today will indeed play nice with 720p signals, where's the love for folks who snagged those first generations sets produced by yours truly? According to Sony, a fix is on the way, but it doesn't sound like you'll be getting served with a smile.
Error: Do not pass GO, do not collect GOW
Reports are coming to Xbox 360 Fanboy that many of our readers on the East coast are having trouble getting a copy of Gears of War. Readers report of showing up the morning of November 8th -- as instructed by EB/GameStop -- only to be turned away. Reader Mark FitzGerald sends this unfortunate message:"The shipments were supposed to come in 11/7/06. Upon not arriving a pre-recorded message was sent to everyone's phone who made a pre-order telling them they could pick it up 11/08/06 at 10:30 a.m. EST sharp. Upon arriving this morning at many locations customers were surprised to learn shipments were "delayed" until the afternoon. but again at about 3:00 p.m. EST, calls were sent again to pre-order customers telling them due to a shipping error, the game again would not be available until 11/09/06 at 10:30 a.m. EST. They are giving a five dollar refund to all those who pre-ordered"Other readers write in with similar shipping error stories. How about your neck of the woods? Does your local store complain of shipping problems? If so, were you offered any kind of refund or discount once the game finally shows up?
Backup not all it's cracked up to be?
I don't rely on .Mac's Backup, but I tinker with it from time to time. It's never seemed to be the killer app to fit all my needs, but others in the Mac web who are more passionate and knowledgeable about backup software seem to be quite upset with it. In particular, Jonathan 'Wolf' Rentzsch, Michael McCracken and Erik Barzeski more or less echo the same opinion: Backup needs help, and a lot of it.All three of these notable Mac personalities have penned horror stories and useful overviews of what is so wrong with the little .Mac app that (someday) could, and I found them with a recent Apple kbase article John Gruber linked concerning a silly restriction of working with Backup 3 files.After reading through these, I think I might leave my Backup tinkering as just that, and rely more on ChronoSync since it does machine syncing in addition to straight backup. Though the fact that I haven't seen ChronoSync written up as good or bad in any of the recent reviews makes me curious. Has anyone heard anything?
Messenger for Mac sign-in problems
Looks like Microsoft's recent upgrading of Messenger for Mac to version 6 didn't go down as smoothly as they would have liked. Microsoft's own Messenger newsgroup is just one of the places buzzing with people having problems logging in. I found this out while struggling through this jungle of versions myself. Going from 5.1.1 to 6.0.0 locked me out of the service, with only a typically vague error message to guide me. To make matters worse, I was able to log in to the fancy new Windows Live Messenger on PC. Trashing my preferences and going back to previous versions did nothing, and Google wasn't much more helpful. That was around the time I stumbled on to the newsgroup. In the end, my solution was simple enough - I changed my admittedly weak Passport password to something a little more robust and, voila, I was in. Are any of you having similar problems? Let me know in the comments if so and what workarounds you've found.
Thottbot will be fine
Just in case you were worried that all the comments you had put into Thottbot were gone, don't be. We've heard from the man himself and everything is going to be fine.In an email, Thott says "Some of the back end stuff lost its mind and kept reporting threads as non-existent. The site calmly accepted this and created a new thread start each time someone posted a comment. Now there are multiple thread starts for each page. Once I write something to merge them all it'll be back to normal."Great to hear that one of the best WoW resources on the Internet is safe and secure. Where else could you learn how Goblin Rocket Fuel can lead to online romance between an engie and an alkie? (second comment)
TiVo Series3 + plasma TV = big problems
So you just paid $800 for your brand new Series3 TiVo ($1,000 if you transferred your lifetime subscription), waited patiently as the morons from the cable company tried to get their heads around installing CableCARDs in a non-TV device, and finally sat down on your couch to begin recording and commercial skipping all that great HD programming -- just to find out that your damn TiVo remote doesn't work! As many home theater aficionados know (first-hand, unfortunately), plasma TVs emit a significant amount of EMI and RFI signals from their surfaces that can confuse nearby IR sensors and render them useless, especially if your home theater gear juts out in front of the display. Well this problem has been happening in spades to new Series3 owners, as the box's IR receiver seems especially sensitive to other frequencies, so much so that they often need to press a button 10 to 15 times for a command to actually register. TiVo seems to be aware of the issue, but has not yet offered a solution, which is why the good folks who frequent the TiVo Community forum have put their heads together and come up with several effective workarounds. The most ghetto of these fixes involves attaching a tiny opaque "hood" around the box's sensor window, so that plasma interference can't go through but line-of-sight remote commands are still received. Since you probably don't want an ugly piece of cardboard hanging off of your beautiful $800 device, forum user "lightspeed" has come up with a slightly more difficult but much more aesthetically pleasing alternative: after carefully disassembling your Series3, you simply need to attach 6 to 8 small squares of GLAD Press 'n Seal to the inside of the IR window on the front face plate, which will serve to shield the sensor from the bad signals but let the good ones get through. Good job, intrepid TiVo devotees, but what we wanna know is: out of all the folks who beta tested this product, was there not even one of them who used it with a plasma and could have caught this problem much sooner? TiVo: makes a great product, but needs a little help in the e-commerce and quality assurance departments.Read- ProblemRead- FixRead- Fix pics
Bug-fixin' iTunes 7 upgrade on the way?
Most of the Apple fan base is busy chatting about the latest iPod releases, the possibility of laptop spec bumps, and the when-the-hell-is-it-coming-already iPhone, but not all is well and good in Macland, as certain folks have been experiencing all sorts of problems with the just-released iTunes 7. Issues range from broken podcasts to unrecognized hardware to crappy-sounding audio, and although some of the bugs have seen successfully troubleshooting from crafty consumers, everyone is still waiting on word from Cupertino as to how it's going to address the multitude of problems. Well for those of you who've been forced to listen to your old transistor radio for the last few days, AppleInsider has some potentially good news, claiming that people with "ties to Apple" say that the company is well aware of the many glitches (as well as the public outcry) and are "toiling feverishly" on an update -- as in, both Mac and Windows users can expect version 7.0.x ASAP. We bring you this news not only to buoy your spirits in these times of despair, but also as a heads up to certain individuals in the programming community; after all, since QTFairUse struck back so quickly at iTunes 7, don't think that Steve and friends aren't spending at least some of their time trying to break that annoying little piracy-enabling patch for good.
Blu-ray camp can't get 50GB titles to work?
Most new technologies have some teething problems as the early kinks are worked out, but it seems like the Blu-ray camp is experiencing more than its fair share of growing pains -- first the delays, then news that the supposed format-savior PS3 might price itself right out of the market, and finally the revelation that first-gen BD-P1000's were shipping with a picture-degrading chip. Well now it appears that there's even more bad news for Sony's pride and joy, as The Digital Bits' Bill Hunt is confirming what many people already suspected after reading their P1000 manuals: the $1,000 player, as currently configured, will be unable to support movies on upcoming 50GB discs. Hunt cites multiple anonymous industry sources in reporting that Samsung is still having problems getting 50GB discs to work on its machines -- production titles weren't even available to test before the players launched -- and that both Sony and Pioneer are experiencing the same issues with their upcoming products. Luckily for current P1000 owners, it seems that this incompatibility is of the type that will eventually be solved by a firmware upgrade, but until that time, movie studios have been forced to delay longer titles like Lawrence of Arabia and Black Hawk Down -- no doubt frustrating some consumers. With so much on the line here, it's clear that this issue will be resolved sooner or later; however, with the HD DVD camp already offering cheaper (and more) hardware, a larger media selection, and garnering better initial reviews than Blu-ray, it's not clear how much time is left before the so-called format war begins leaning decidedly in HD DVD's favor.[Via HDBeat]
Diebold machines fail in Alaska primary
When you hear the words "electronic voting machines" and "problems" in the same sentence, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to infer that our old friend Diebold is somehow involved. The latest chapter in the company's woeful history of security lapses and tampering accusations comes courtesy of Tuesday's primary election in the great state of Alaska, where several of Diebold's "high-tech" touchscreen units were unable to use their dial-up modems to upload voting results to the Division of Elections' central servers due to an inability to pick up dial-tones and "other problems." Apparently thirteen total precincts experienced the issues, forcing election workers to toil into the wee morning hours manually uploading their data and getting it to sync with the overall numbers. The Director of Elections, Whitney Brewster, attempted to reassure voters that the integrity of the process had not been compromised by pointing out that "just because they're not being uploaded doesn't mean they're not being recorded accurately." That's probably true, but with all the scrutiny and negative publicity surrounding the company, it's going to be hard to convince some folks that any election involving Diebolds's products is ever on the level.[Via Slashdot]
Chromehounds and the Ring of Death
Unfortunate reader Tim has an update on his Chromehounds problem (read part one of his sad tale here):I recently told you guys about chromehounds killing my box. After reading the comments and your reaction, I blew it off as a coincedence. It recently started working again for no reason. As I had already paid for the repair and was awaiting a box to send MS my shiny broken 360, I decided to try and put chromehounds in again. I got through about 30 seconds of the opening cinematic and BLAM! the screen turned into a strange grid and there was a blaring beep. I turned off my xbox, and when I started it again, Lo and behold: the accursed "ring of death" was back.Double coincidence?
Apple admitting, repairing laptop whining and discoloration problems
Always the good corporate citizen -- well, maybe not always -- Apple has finally fessed up to both the MacBook discoloration and MacBook Pro whining issues that have been plaguing customers since the notebooks were released, and has agreed to fix the problems free of charge. We already knew that the company was sneaking new logic boards into Pro models that had been sent in for unrelated repairs, but now the "high-pitched buzzing sound," as it's technically known, has been officially acknowledged in a support page on the Apple website. An inquiry by DailyTech revealed that affected notebooks fall under the standard one-year limited warranty -- meaning that all MacBook Pros are covered -- and that the solution involves replacing either just the fan or both the fan and the logic board. The discolorations, meanwhile, have not yet been publicly recognized, but AppleInsider is reporting that a recent company bulletin intended for retail and service partners indicates that white, 13-inch MacBooks in a specific serial number range will indeed be eligible for a new top case and corresponding screen bezel -- assuming that approved cleaning solutions have been proven ineffective. Overall, not a bad resolution; sure the admissions could have come sooner, but instead of blaming the discoloration on dirty customers, attributing the whining to tinnitus sufferers, and calling it a day, Apple came through in the end and took the responsible course of action.Read- WhiningRead- Discoloration
