The old 1397 G-protocol wireless network adapter in my laptop was dragging at 20Mbs given a 50Mbs Suddenlink Cable service. Cable-connected gave the ISP rated speed of 50Mbs for downloads, but the wireless behind my Netgear 300-N router dogged at 20Mbs. I chose a not-too-expensive (around $18) solution installing the Trendnet AC600 which gave me N protocol backward compatibility and increased my wireless download speed to 40 Mbs. Not much to brag about with normal Internet transactions, but downloads and streming is much better now.
I did have a few problems since the lack of proper installation documentation failed to address some gotchs:
1. Ensure IPv6 is disabled if you know you don't need it
2. If you install the accompanying utility, you will probably end up with two ICONs in the Taskbar notification area and have Sleep/Hibernate problems. UNINSTALL the utility that came with TrendNet and return to the one you have been using. You also need to go to your Startup tasks and uncheck WLAN Card Wireless Network Tray from starting
3. Don't disable QoS. Speedtests were fantastic with QoS enabled. Whereas cable-connencted gave me 50Mbs (Suddenlink subscription) for download, Qos enabled wireless gave me 40Mbs. This was twice the speed as the previous G-protocol. Very pleased.
4. Another Sleep/Hibernate issue happens when you uncheck "Allow computer to turn off power to save energy (Device Manager, Power Management tab for the adapter). Surprisingly, you need to keep this checked for Sleep/Hibernate to work correctly.
The Trendnet AC600 is a blessing for me now that I have it and the software configured for Windows 10 correctly.
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Thursday, October 22, 2015
725. O'Blunder continues to harm this country
The veto of the Defense Bill, see here, shows again O'Blunders arrogance and lack of commitment to America's National Security. In which world does he and his cronies live! Not America. O'Blunder should have been impeached long ago. Ok. Breathe. Sigh.
Let's see where his party (like Facebook friends) stands when it goes through the veto overrule process. It seems senseless given the increase in ISIS war and hacking attacks that any President would want to continue CUTS in the Defense Budget rather than increasing it! He needs an NCIS Gibb's swat to the back of the head to get his attention and then a good kick for being so stupid. We will all remember the President who gave the GREEN LIGHT to Iran, Russia, and North Korea to rule the world! Shame on the Democrats supporting his policies.
Let's see where his party (like Facebook friends) stands when it goes through the veto overrule process. It seems senseless given the increase in ISIS war and hacking attacks that any President would want to continue CUTS in the Defense Budget rather than increasing it! He needs an NCIS Gibb's swat to the back of the head to get his attention and then a good kick for being so stupid. We will all remember the President who gave the GREEN LIGHT to Iran, Russia, and North Korea to rule the world! Shame on the Democrats supporting his policies.
724. Runaway Market?
When will I get a dip in the market so I can BUY? Sam's crystal ball is murky. All technical indications I see are for the market to continue its rise (generally) for a while. What scares me is that the further it goes up (this time) the more it will fall. So, let me go out on the limb after the 300+ DJIA day today. We may again test the 18,000 barrier (+3%) and then once again return to 16,000 floor (-11%) to test that again. By that time (late December) we'll be ready for the new year boost should it come. January might get a spike up, but earnings in 1Q will probably damper that quickly. Summers are usually boring with the market taking its own vacation until September. I will bet on a decent rally then until election time. Depending who will get it, I predict the market to dump (Dems) or rise (Reps). The net of this forecast is fasten your seat belts and learn to be very, very patient. By September 2016 we should be seeing that the inflation increases through the summer are not a big thing.
But then, who knows for sure? I could be one of the pessimists that predict doomsday for the last 5 years and when something close finally happens (temporarily) polishes his/her participation trophy. I'm NOT a pessimist given the U.S. economy outlook and its ability to manage crises. Now, worldwide is a different story. Tons of things that could affect its economy. The biggest I see is the continued hammering of the Emerging Markets. OPEC is killing the commodity markets (not just oil) and will bankrupt some countries if we don't start exporting oil to stop it. Will O'Blunder do ANYTHING? No. 2016 will be a lost year as far as shoring up worldwide economy. So, the realist in me again points out volatility and nothing exciting until 4Q2016 when we learn of our fates with a new President. I know i'll be ready to pull the plug or fire a rocket in November 2016. I truly hope We the People wise up by then a vote to celebrate rather than shrivel up and hibernate for another 4 years like these last 7 years. I thank the productive U.S. companies for getting us to where we are despite the government (Executive and Congress).
But then, who knows for sure? I could be one of the pessimists that predict doomsday for the last 5 years and when something close finally happens (temporarily) polishes his/her participation trophy. I'm NOT a pessimist given the U.S. economy outlook and its ability to manage crises. Now, worldwide is a different story. Tons of things that could affect its economy. The biggest I see is the continued hammering of the Emerging Markets. OPEC is killing the commodity markets (not just oil) and will bankrupt some countries if we don't start exporting oil to stop it. Will O'Blunder do ANYTHING? No. 2016 will be a lost year as far as shoring up worldwide economy. So, the realist in me again points out volatility and nothing exciting until 4Q2016 when we learn of our fates with a new President. I know i'll be ready to pull the plug or fire a rocket in November 2016. I truly hope We the People wise up by then a vote to celebrate rather than shrivel up and hibernate for another 4 years like these last 7 years. I thank the productive U.S. companies for getting us to where we are despite the government (Executive and Congress).
723. Windows 10 - What I like/dislike about it
Likes: Although I am not seeing any measurable performance improvements, Windows 10 still shines:
1. I really enjoy the automatic updates that no longer slow down my computer when downloading and installing. I get only the "installed" notification. Windows 10 will reboot on its own during the night if necessary and you will notice that it has done a Shutdown/Start up compared to a Hibernate/Start up. But, no problem!
2. The start up times regardless if from a Shutdown or Hibernate has improved noticeably and now bearable.
3. The stability, except for the problems I documents in this blog, has been perfect.
4. Network coordination with Netgear router and adapters has been great. Netgear Genie works well with Windows 10.
5. The IE browser may be a tad faster on Windows 10, but avoid Edge which lacks function as described in this blog in other entries. Chrome is about the same speed and still trips over its memory usage when a lot of tabs are open. Maybe it will be better now that I just reinstalled the latest version after the update function failed on older version.
6. I like the tiles on the Start Menu after customizing it to just the things I am likely to use.
7. The Search in the Taskbar is wonderful and always finds the things I need regardless of what it is, i.e., program, bookmark, file, etc.
Dislikes:
1. Cumulative update to get to version 1511 destroys many things. See post # 232. PERFORMANCE degradation became one of my issues.
Windows 10 is NOT tested and supported on my older Dell Inspiron 1440, but runs fine. Now I am good for about 8 years without worrying about a new PC or O/S. Kudos to Microsoft.
2. Anniversary Update 1607 wipes out old card games again, see update in Post 706
3. Cortana becomes active (running) again. Forunately, part of her is set off as I had her set. I had to go into settings to turn off history again.
4. What is INK?!?!?!?!? Nothing I need!
5. One Drive again becomes active. Fortunately, you don't have to sign in when requested.
1. I really enjoy the automatic updates that no longer slow down my computer when downloading and installing. I get only the "installed" notification. Windows 10 will reboot on its own during the night if necessary and you will notice that it has done a Shutdown/Start up compared to a Hibernate/Start up. But, no problem!
2. The start up times regardless if from a Shutdown or Hibernate has improved noticeably and now bearable.
3. The stability, except for the problems I documents in this blog, has been perfect.
4. Network coordination with Netgear router and adapters has been great. Netgear Genie works well with Windows 10.
5. The IE browser may be a tad faster on Windows 10, but avoid Edge which lacks function as described in this blog in other entries. Chrome is about the same speed and still trips over its memory usage when a lot of tabs are open. Maybe it will be better now that I just reinstalled the latest version after the update function failed on older version.
6. I like the tiles on the Start Menu after customizing it to just the things I am likely to use.
7. The Search in the Taskbar is wonderful and always finds the things I need regardless of what it is, i.e., program, bookmark, file, etc.
Dislikes:
1. Cumulative update to get to version 1511 destroys many things. See post # 232. PERFORMANCE degradation became one of my issues.
Windows 10 is NOT tested and supported on my older Dell Inspiron 1440, but runs fine. Now I am good for about 8 years without worrying about a new PC or O/S. Kudos to Microsoft.
2. Anniversary Update 1607 wipes out old card games again, see update in Post 706
3. Cortana becomes active (running) again. Forunately, part of her is set off as I had her set. I had to go into settings to turn off history again.
4. What is INK?!?!?!?!? Nothing I need!
5. One Drive again becomes active. Fortunately, you don't have to sign in when requested.
722. Wireless Performance
I have a Netgear WNR2000v4 N300 router, but only a 1397 wireless card in my laptop (that's a G-protocol). I converted from AT&T DSL to Suddenlink (50Mbps/5Mbs) but was wondering why my streaming to my Chromecast was so slow. So I did a little testing yewsterday with the following results:
1. According to Speed Tests I am getting 50Mbs when cable attached to router (as expected). However, streaming through Google Chrome browser casting appears to involve downloading to browser and and redirecting to the Chromecast device on the HD TV. Whereas, HBOGO appears to connect directly from their site directly to Chromecast device. Hence, HBO is fine for streaming; but other cast through the Chrome browser suffers some. Some sites through the browser are not really viewable.
2. Wireless speeds reported from the Speed Tests was 20Mbs, which seemed low to me, even for G-protocols.
3. I moved the laptop next to the router and it didn't change a thing compared to location I normally use my laptop. Wireless was still 20Mbs. Upload was the same in both cases (cable attached and wireless at either location) at 5Mbs.
4. Using the Netgear speed tests within the router code, it reports ridiculously low speeds to specific sites. For example, to netgear.com it was 756Kbps and to Yahoo ir was 17Kbps. Far screen from the cable download/upload speeds indicated from typical independent Speed Tests. I am at a loss to what Netgear measures via their speed tests other than some very, very small package of bits. Conclusion: forget Netgear measurements.
Last night I ordered a new network USB AC-dual band USB device to replace my old 1397 G. From what I understand, the G 1397 and protocol can't deliver more than what I am seeing, but the new AC-dual band running N protocol should double that speed. Hence, streaming should improve since at least the communication to the Chromecast device is wireless!
By November, I'll have new speed tests and casting tests to post here.
1. According to Speed Tests I am getting 50Mbs when cable attached to router (as expected). However, streaming through Google Chrome browser casting appears to involve downloading to browser and and redirecting to the Chromecast device on the HD TV. Whereas, HBOGO appears to connect directly from their site directly to Chromecast device. Hence, HBO is fine for streaming; but other cast through the Chrome browser suffers some. Some sites through the browser are not really viewable.
2. Wireless speeds reported from the Speed Tests was 20Mbs, which seemed low to me, even for G-protocols.
3. I moved the laptop next to the router and it didn't change a thing compared to location I normally use my laptop. Wireless was still 20Mbs. Upload was the same in both cases (cable attached and wireless at either location) at 5Mbs.
4. Using the Netgear speed tests within the router code, it reports ridiculously low speeds to specific sites. For example, to netgear.com it was 756Kbps and to Yahoo ir was 17Kbps. Far screen from the cable download/upload speeds indicated from typical independent Speed Tests. I am at a loss to what Netgear measures via their speed tests other than some very, very small package of bits. Conclusion: forget Netgear measurements.
Last night I ordered a new network USB AC-dual band USB device to replace my old 1397 G. From what I understand, the G 1397 and protocol can't deliver more than what I am seeing, but the new AC-dual band running N protocol should double that speed. Hence, streaming should improve since at least the communication to the Chromecast device is wireless!
By November, I'll have new speed tests and casting tests to post here.
721. Shockwave crash in Chrome
Interesting problem. Google Chrome a while ago announced that they will not support NPAPI plugins after 9/1/15 which includes Adobe Flash (and shockwave). Meaning they support only their built in flash code. Fine. But, my Chrome began having Shockwave Crashes almost daily, yet the only shockwave code present after looking at plugins (about://plugins) was Chrome's code. So, the standard fixes to eliminate duplicate plugins) didn't resolve the problem.
When I tried to update Chrome via its update facility, it failed with error=4. I recall trying this several times over the last 3 months and received the error every time. Thus, I believe the right Chrome code for the right Shockwave never got updated correctly and its automatic updating failed every time too. Today I reinstalled Chrome from scratch and it updated Chrome all the way to Version 46.0.2490.71 m (was 42....), plus its Shockwave-like code went to Shockwave Flash 19.0 r0 (was 18...). So, I am hoping this resolves the Shaockwave crashes. I'll post otherwise if it doesn't.
Update 11/20/2015: The above solution did work UNTIL the MSFT November Cumulative update to get you to version 1511. The next day, another update installed to fix the Flashplayer Shockwave for IE and Edge (Security fix) which seems to have fixed the Chrome problem too.
When I tried to update Chrome via its update facility, it failed with error=4. I recall trying this several times over the last 3 months and received the error every time. Thus, I believe the right Chrome code for the right Shockwave never got updated correctly and its automatic updating failed every time too. Today I reinstalled Chrome from scratch and it updated Chrome all the way to Version 46.0.2490.71 m (was 42....), plus its Shockwave-like code went to Shockwave Flash 19.0 r0 (was 18...). So, I am hoping this resolves the Shaockwave crashes. I'll post otherwise if it doesn't.
Update 11/20/2015: The above solution did work UNTIL the MSFT November Cumulative update to get you to version 1511. The next day, another update installed to fix the Flashplayer Shockwave for IE and Edge (Security fix) which seems to have fixed the Chrome problem too.
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