I downloaded TiVo Desktop because I wanted to be able to publish my videos from my desktop computer to my Tivo and watch them in my living room. After playing around with it a little bit, I was not able to get that feature to work. Also, I could transfer video from my TiVo to my PC, but it wouldn’t play at all.

I checked all my settings. I added my Media Access Key, and had the videos in the C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My TiVo Recordings folder. They were AVI and MPG format, so they were supposed to work. Why wasn’t it working?

I guess I didn’t see the fine print when I downloaded TiVo Desktop. I had to purchase and download TiVo Desktop Plus to enable these features. The software doesn’t tell you this when you try to use it. TiVo Desktop Plus costs $24.95 and I didn’t want to spend the money. I thought I could configure something else for free. After a month of thinking, I finally caved and bought it. As soon as I added the software key under Help > Upgrade to TiVo Desktop Plus, the features worked. I’m glad I decided to spend the money. It turned out to be well worth it.

How to find the MAC address for the network card on your Tivo.

The built in network card has the MAC address written on the outside of the unit somewhere. This information won’t help if you have attached another network card such as a wireless card to your Tivo. Here’s how to find the MAC address for your Tivo.

1. Open the Tivo menu.

2. Select Settings.

3. Select Phone/Network.

The MAC address should be listed on that screen along with the IP address.

How to enter Rescue/Recovery Mode on the Creative Labs ZEN Touch, Xtra, NX, USB 2.0 or Firewire MP3 player.

1. Ensure the unit is detached from the computer and powered off.

2. Remove the battery.

3. Hold down the Play/Pause button while inserting a paper clip into the Reset hole.

4. Hold the Play/Pause button until the Rescue Mode screen appears.

You will then have the option to Clean up, Format, Reload OS / Firmware or Reboot.

How to enter Recovery Mode on the Creative Labs Zen Vision W MP3 player.

1. Ensure the unit is detached from the computer and powered off.

2. Remove the battery.

3. Move and hold the Power button to the Power On position while re-inserting the battery.

4. Hold the Power button until the Recovery Mode screen appears.

You will then have the option to Clean up, Format, Reload OS / Firmware or Reboot.

Here are a few settings you can play with to conserve the battery power on your Zune.

Turn off wireless: Select Settings > wireless, and select wireless:off.

Lower the backlight time: Select Settings > display, and select backlight:1 or 5 seconds.

Lower the backlight brightness: Select Settings > display, and select brightness: low

Use the Hold setting: Set it to Locked when you are not using the device. This will prevent the device from playing accidentally.

Keep the device in a cool environment: Lithium-ion batteries like the one in the Zune like cooler environments. Keeping the device in a cooler environment will make the battery last a bit longer.

Use these tips and keep your Zune providing you with hours and hours of play time. Listed below are the average times a Zune device lasts per full battery charge.

Zune 4GB: 24 hours
Zune 8GB: 24 hours
Zune 30GB: 14 hours
Zune 80GB: 30 hours

When you try to sync your Zune, a problem may occur where you get the following error:

Can’t use your Zune Pass with this Zune because you have three other Zune devices already using it. To update the devices for this account, click your Zune tag and select Computers and devices.

You can only sync with a total of 3 devices. One of the devices must be removed. To do so, try the following steps:

1. In the Zune software, Click Sign In, and then enter your credentials.

2. Click Settings > Computers and Devices.

3. Click Remove for the device you want to remove. Click OK when you’re done.

You should now be able to associate a new device with your Zune Pass as well as sync it.

Alltel

Alltel claims to have America’s Largest wireless network. They have the most self owned towers of any other company, and if they don’t own a tower in your area, you can use competitor’s towers. The one nice thing I like about Alltel is that you can change your plan whenever you would like WITHOUT extending your contract. You also have several different options of local plans or national plans. If you do not travel, then go cheap and get a local plan, if you travel once a year, still go with a local plan. You can change it to a national plan for the month you’re traveling.

If you have a lot of friends on other networks, that’s ok! You can take advantage of “My Circle”. That consists of 10 numbers on any network you can make calls to and receive from without using your anytime minutes. This is HUGE to people that use a lot of minutes, to the same numbers not on Alltel. The only other carrier that can compare to this is T-Mobile’s Favorite 5.

Verizon

I know a lot of people who really like Verizon, but there are a few things that I don’t agree with. The biggest problem is the Verizon contract. If you want to change you plan… Guess what? You get your contract extended for another 2 years! And the best part is, they don’t tell you! They also do not give you the option of a local plan. What about the people who ever leave the 3 or 4 state area? Why should they have to pay more for a national plan if they do not travel? Nights start at 9pm? With NO option of getting them to start at 7pm. This doesn’t seem right. In my opinion I would think twice about signing a contract with them.

I have a cheap laptop with a cheap integrated wireless card. No matter what I try, I cannot get it to work with a secured wireless connection. The only way for it to connect is to leave my wireless connection open. This lets all of my neighbors in on my connection though. After I found my neighbor using my connection to share torrents day and night, I decided I had to figure out something. I first tried to use the Access Restrictions feature, but found that only blocked the Internet. People could still connect to my network. Then I discovered my Linksys WRT54G router has a Wireless MAC Filter feature. I was able to secure my wireless connection by only allowing certain MAC addresses to connect to my router.
Read more… »

How to Force Quit a program on your iPhone.

Simply hold down the Home button at least six seconds, until the application you were using quits.

How to enable your Zune device to act as a hard drive and be visible in Explorer.

3. Click once on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
Read more… »

How to mark an email as unread on your iPhone.

The next time you view your Inbox, the message will display the Unread indicator.

We’ve talked about cell phone batteries and how to keep their capacity longer. Now we’ll focus on laptops. Laptops use lithium-ion batteries that can also lose their capacity the more they are exposed to heat. They also lose capacity the quicker you discharge them, so the quicker you drain that battery the more damage you are doing to the capacity of the battery.

Read more… »

You can use the mic button on your iPhone headset to perform certain functions such as answering a call, putting calls on hold and skipping songs while listening to music.

Answer an incoming call:
Click once.

End the current call:
Click once.

Decline an incoming call:
Press and hold for two seconds, then release. Two beeps confirm you declined the call after you release the button.

Switch to an incoming or on-hold call:
Click once. Click again to switch back to the first call.

Switch to an incoming or on-hold call and end current call:
Press and hold for about two seconds, then let go. Two beeps confirm call has been ended after you release the button.

Pause a song or video:
Click the mic button once. Click again to resume playback.

Skip to next song:
Click twice quickly.

Source: iPhone Users Guide

Set a picture in your iPhone to appear when a Contact is calling you.

4. Move and scale the photo the way you want it. Once you have the picture looking the way you like, Tap Set Photo.

Here’s how you can deal with calls that come in while you’re already on the phone using your iPhone.

Source: iPhone Users Guide