Categories
Hardware

IUK 5 A1 IP Camera

On a recent trip to the UK, I called in to a Lidl store because I know they often have interesting (well, to me anyway) bits of tech for low prices. I picked up this little gem for a shade over thirty quid. When you consider it contains wifi hardware, a web server, pan & […]

Categories
Hardware

HP Chromebook 11 Charging Fix

So, the nice HP Chromebook 11 that my wife has seems to have a design fault. If you let the battery run flat, the Chromebook will no longer charge. Symptoms are that there is no charging LED, and no matter how many hours you leave it with the charger plugged in it simply will not […]

Categories
Hardware

Hello Chromebook (Again!)

Having already dipped my toe in the water of Chromebooks with my wife’s HP Chromebook 11, I knew that I liked Chrome OS. The very fast boot time, stable and full featured browser together with a real physical keyboard make these great devices for people who like to create content, rather than just consume it. […]

Categories
Amateur Radio

The Beast of Ballasalla

The GB3IM-S amateur radio repeater on the summit of Snaefell was brought back into service on 17th March. This led me to discover that the output frequency of 433.125 MHz becomes unusable when driving through Ballasalla, due to some strong interference on that frequency. Now, in these modern days where everything has a computer inside […]

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Hardware

The Weirdest Bug – Lenovo Ideapad S205

Today I offered to help a friend with their new Lenovo S205 which they’d bought a year or so previously, but not got around to using. It had come pre-installed with both Ubuntu 12.04 and Ubuntu 12.10 but wasn’t quite behaving properly. I thought the easiest option would be to start again, with a nice […]

Categories
Hardware

Hello Chromebook

I bought my wife an HP Chromebook 11 for her birthday this week. I’ll admit that part of the reason for my choice of gift was my own curiosity. I wanted to see how good a Chromebook was, and whether it would be a better choice to use in schools than the current (expensive) tablet […]