Wireless Network Nightmare

So, this temporary housing we're living in has a wireless network set up for us to use free of charge. Great! but I don't have a wireless card. I went to Best Buy and picked one out, and yes I checked to see if the box said it was compatible with windows Vista. After a call to customer service I found out it was only compatible with 32 bit Vista, not the 64 bit version I have, and their company (Dynex) does not make any product that is.
A quick Google search seems to suggest that there are very few wireless network adapters that are compatible, and so I call HP who sold me this version of Vista thinking the card that was an option when I ordered my computer must be a good one. The first salesperson assures me that they can't sell me the card separate from the computer, but any Linksys product will work. I don't trust him for a second, and a customer review on Amazon confirms my suspicion. Foolishly, I call back HP to ask the model number of the one they sell, and a second salesperson tells me very condescendingly that I can't trust customer reviews, and they are all compatible.
Another trip to Best Buy, where I ask not one, but two salespeople who both assure me that I will just need to download a driver.
After a wild goose chase in the Linksys website I talk to a customer service rep on live chat (very nice and helpful) who says there is no driver, but there is one product they make that will work. Naturally it's twice as expensive as the one I originally bought, but worth it because I now have internet again, and feel like a whole person once more.

If anyone needs a wireless USB network adapter that's compatible with 64 bit Vista. Linksys WUSB600N is it.

The MyVu

So, I saw a poster for these odd little personal media viewers in the subway station, and curious person that I am, texted the website to myself.

http://www.myvu.com

Here's a review from Cnet.com:



I just don't think I'll be running out to drop $200+ dollars on one of these until it's 2nd or 3rd generation.

Heroes... Why?

Okay, I know they do one every season. It's their little, check-out-so-and-so's backstory episode that the producers, writers and so on think we're so interested in.

You know what! I have no desire to watch another Heroe's backstory flashback episode. Yes, I said it. I keep seeing the previews for Monday, and it's getting me more and more riled up.



I want clarity on the things that are happening now. I don't want to have to worry about the 10 different apocalyptic future scenarios we've got going on, plus whatever happened in the past.

I realize that I'm just venting frustration here, especially given that I have to wait extra time for this flashback episode. But I really find the whole thing unnecessary. I really hope that they've got a clear direction on this series mapped out, or it's going to go nowhere. My Mom, who enjoyed the first two seasons has actually given up on this season already. She said she can't deal with another year of going nowhere.

Do you hear me producers of Heroes? Sort this thing out. I want to keep this interesting show in my viewing lineup.

Overuse!!!

Hello people, I'm as obsessed now with all of the cool map applications, and flash elements about the election as anyone, but wow.

Personal fave of the day: http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/map.html
Zooming in on the counties is super fun! Yes, I said "super fun" and if you have a problem with that... well... (nevermind).

Could the tv networks have gone any more nuts last night with overuse of graphic gadgetry? I couldn't even watch the HD broadcast of Fox News. I settled on the slightly more subdued CNN. If you were watching on a non-widescreen broadcast, you missed the absurd number of extra elements along the sides of the image. Fox had every piece of text glistening with visual effects, and a slew of constantly changing graphics that I never knew what to look at.

On top of that, every time they went to one of their people to show another chart, things were swirling around in the background and foreground. It was headache inducing.

I miss Tim Russert and his whiteboard. It was though, nice to see his son on the NBC broadcast last night.

Regardless, I enjoyed watching history unfold for me on television, and will remember this election forever. Congratulations to Mr. Obama.

Geek out on the Election!

Live updates from MSNBC.com.

Nugget of information...

Did you all know that YouTube is now the number two search engine on the web? Isn't that crazy?

For those of you who want the stats:

http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=2476

Frankly, with the amount of time we all spend on YouTube searching and sharing, it doesn't surprise me at all. I love the fact that hours upon hours of content are uploaded every minute, even though most of it is total crap.