Archive for category Gadgets
Lapdawg: Search For An Inexpensive Laptop Bed Stand
Summary: Here is the link to the cheap Lapdawg Clone:
As of this writing the price is $49.99 with free shipping, no coupon required. This is less than half the price of the Lapdawg branded version when shipping is included.
I frequently use my laptop while lying down in bed. I’ve tried using assorted pillows to prop up the laptop but that never seemed to work, it was never in the right position.
So I started looking around and found out there is a company that makes a nice looking laptop bed stand called the Lapdawg. The Lapdawg X4 stand looks pretty good from their site, it is very adjustable and it looks high quality. I was interested in buying the Lapdawg X4 until I saw the price of $89 + $16 shipping ($105 total + possible tax), more than I wanted to spend on a laptop stand. They have a coupon field when you purchase, but I looked around and couldn’t find any Lapdawg coupon codes that would reduce the price to something I was willing to pay.
So I started looking around for a laptop stand for a more reasonable price. On Amazon I found a laptop stand that looks exactly like the Lapdawg and has decent reviews. The stand is a clones of the Lapdawg and exactly the same (find the link in the summary at the top of this page). In comparing the pictures from Lapdawg’s site with the pictures on Amazon you can see that it is likely the exact same stand. Look at the hinges on the legs, you can see it has white markings around them to measure the degrees, these are exactly the same on both. It looks like the Lapdawg company rebrands these laptop stands with the Lapdawg name and then they sell them on their own site.
I went ahead and ordered the laptop stand from Amazon since it was significantly less expensive than the Lapdawg and the shipping was free. The laptop stand that I received from Amazon looks exactly like the Lapdawg. It has all the same folding features and has the white degree dials around the hinges. The only difference I can see is that my stand comes with a a cooling fan powered by USB. Personally I don’t bother to use the fans, my laptop stays cool enough, but in case you want them they are there. Luckily I never notice the fans, they are small so they don’t take up any extra space and the cord is detachable so it doesn’t get in the way.
I’ve been using the laptop stand for a month now and it is great (I’m actually using it to type this blog post). The hinge adjustments are kind of a pain because there are six of them. I just leave it in the configuration that I like because it is a hassle to reset all six hinges everytime you want to put it way.
Simple Tomato Firmware Install On Asus RT-N16 Router
The Asus RT-N16 router is one of the most powerful routers currently available. The RT-N16 has 802.11n, gigabit network ports, a fast processor, lots of memory and flash, and two USB ports for running a printer and external hard drive at the same time.
The stock Asus firmware is not that great, people have reported a lot of problems with it. So a great way to improve this router is to install a third party firmware. The two most popular are Tomato and DD-WRT. Tomato seems to have all the advanced features plus it is easier to use than DD-WRT so I decided to install Tomato. The standard version of Tomato does not support USB. Luckily there is another project called TomatoUSB that allows the use of the USB ports on the RT-N16.
The only problem with the alternate firmwares is that the documentation is severely lacking. There doesn’t seem to be a single, easy to follow guide on how to install the firmware. You have to spend many hours reading forum posts that are sometimes contradictory.
In reality installing Tomato is actually pretty simple once you figure it out. There is a lot of confusing information online, but if you follow the steps below you will have a working Tomato install:
- Download the latest version of TomatoUSB from here: http://tomatousb.org/download. For the Asus RT-N16 you need to use the “Ext” build for Kernel 2.6 MIPSR2. The Ext build has the most features and it will fit in the RT-N16′s flash space. I used Build 47, but use whatever the latest version is.
- Install the Firmware Restoration Utility from the CD that came with the router. Run \Utility\setup.exe from the CD to install it. If you no longer have the CD you can also download it from the Asus website.
- Disable the firewall on your computer. This is required, the Restoration Utility refuses to run unless it is disabled. To disable it on Vista or Windows 7, hit the Start key then type firewall to get to the firewall control panel. On XP you should be able to go to the Control Panel and find the Firewall icon.
- Using an ethernet cable plug your computer into one of the 4 LAN ports on the router.
- Open a web browser and go to http://192.168.1.1. Verify that the router login page loads. If nothing loads then your computer is not able to reach the router. You’ll need to fix this problem before continuing.
- Run the Asus Firmware Restoration Utility from the Start menu. If it gives you an error about the firewall then your firewall isn’t disabled. You need to disable it before continuing.
- Click the Browse button and select the file that you downloaded in step #1. Don’t click the upload button yet.
- Put the router in recovery mode: Unplug the router. Hold down the Reset button. Plug the router back in. Once the power light starts slowly flashing release the reset button. The power light should continue to flash. The flashing light means the router is ready to accept the new firmware.
- Click the upload button in the Restoration utility. The firmware will now start uploading into the router. Don’t touch anything while the firmware is being uploaded. After the upload is complete wait five minutes or so just to be sure everything is done.
- Now reset the settings to default: Unplug the router. Hold the WPS button on the back of the router. Plug the router back in. Hold the button for about 30 seconds and release it.
- Open a browser and go to http://192.168.1.1. Login with user “admin” and password “admin”. You should be logged into Tomato. Now you can configure your router using the Tomato GUI.
I’ve used the above steps to successfully install Tomato on my Rt-N16. If you have any suggestions or improvements to this guide let me know by leaving a comment.
This page is ad free as a service for RT-N16 users. The only thing I ask is that if you found this page useful and happen to be ordering something from Amazon.com, that you click on this link before placing your order: Amazon Link. It doesn’t cost you anything, it is completely anonymous, and I get a small referral fee that pays for the hosting of this site. If you never order anything from Amazon then don’t worry about it, enjoy the site for free.
Fix Broken Buttons on Harmony Remote
Logitech’s Harmony Remote is a really nice remote. I’ve had mine for a couple years but now the most commonly used buttons are wearing out. Since I have a Tivo the most used buttons are the forward buttons that I use for skipping commercials. These buttons are pretty much unusable now, they will work some of the time but only if you press really hard.
It seems stupid to buy a new Harmony remote every couple of years just because the buttons wore out. So here is how you can fix the buttons. These instructions are for the 676, but should work on most other versions too:
- Open the remote by removing the four screws at the bottom (two are under the battery compartment.
- Pry the remote open.
- Remove the two screws that are holding the circuit board on.
- Take the button piece out and flip it over too see the backs of the buttons.
- On my remote the buttons that were broken had some kind of shiny liquid on them. I’m not really sure what this is or where it comes from, all I know is you need to get rid of it.
- Take a Q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol and scrub the keys and the contacts on the circuit board.
- Put the remote back together, it should now be working.
After I performed the above procedure the remote buttons started working perfectly.
Update 4/8/2010: The buttons stopped working again so I tried the cleaning process again. The buttons look very clean but for some reason the buttons still don’t work. I’m not sure why it would work great the first time but have no effect the second time.
I was looking around online and found a product called CaiKote 44. This product is designed for exactly the type of button repair that I needed. It is a paste that you put on the bottom of the buttons and it restores the conductivity. Application is pretty easy, using the included swabs just spread a thin layer of CaiKote on the button and let it dry for a few hours. Once I put the remote back together it was working perfectly again.
The problem seems to be finding CaiKote. The only physical store that I know of that carries this product is Fry’s Electronics. They sell it for $5.99. It was difficult to find, it took two workers a while before we finally found it. If you go it is located in the electronics parts department near some LCD screen cleaning products.
I haven’t found a good place to buy it online. You can but it from the manufacturer, but they have a $25 minimum order. It is also sold on Amazon here, but as of right now the price is very high, maybe it will drop to a more reasonable price in the future.