O2 User.co.uk

There has been the launch of a new forum for O2 user, from the creators of the Sky User forum. Will add another post later on why there was a need for the new forum.

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Humax Foxsat-HD Review

It's been three years since freesat -- the satellite equivalent of Freeview -- was first announced and the first freesat-compatible receiver has finally arrived. The Humax Foxsat-HD costs £150 and gives those who don't want to be tied into a subscription a way to watch high-definition broadcasts. Is it a day for glorious celebration or just more waiting?

Strengths


The Foxsat-HD is surprisingly small. It's about two thirds of the size of an average DVD player. It has an all-black colour scheme, apart from the two mirrored strips that run across the top and bottom of the front channel number display. It's stylish, but not in a 'look at me! I live in Hoxton!' kind of way.

The Humax boasts two Scart sockets, a HDMI port and composite output as well as phono sockets

Most people will be introducing high definition into their lives for the first time, which includes the standard £80 freesat installation service. If you already have a Sky dish on your home, you can use that instead, saving you the extra expense of a new install. All you have to do is connect the satellite lead to the dish socket on the back and you're ready to rock.

For hooking the box up to your telly, the Foxsat-HD sports two Scart sockets, a HDMI port, composite output as well as red, green and blue phono sockets. The latter are linked to a manual switch that lets you change between outputting a standard RGB signal and a full component signal for HD. There's also an optical output so you can connect it to a surround-sound receiver for Dolby Digital. Humax rather generously provides a HDMI cable as well as Scart and composite leads in the box.

The seven-day EPG shows your channel choices, but initially loads a menu based on genre

When you first start up the box, it checks for a software update and then asks you for your postcode. It uses this to work out which regional variations of the ITV and BBC channels to include in your EPG. The channel tuning takes under a minute and once it's finished, your box is completely set up. There are 80 channels available now, but this is expected to rise to 300 by the end of the year. Take at look at our forums for the full list.

Your foray into the world of digital currently begins and ends with BBC HD, as it's the only HD channel available on freesat right now. Happily, the picture quality of the channel is stunning, with bags of detail and really vivid colours.

This quality is to be expected from a HD signal, but some of the other channels, like True Movies, are heavily compressed and look pretty poor. In fact, you're really getting the same broadcasts that are received by Sky set-top boxes -- the only real difference is the freesat EPG over the top. Still, we can't fault the actual output from the Foxsat-HD, as when it's presented with a decent signal, it performs admirably.

What really separates this box from standard free-to-air satellite receivers is the support for the seven-day freesat EPG. When you press the 'guide' button, you're first presented with a pop-up box that divides the channels into areas of interest, such as entertainment, news and sport, movies and music. Once you select an option, you're dropped into the main guide, which is laid out horizontally.

The guide looks dull, but it does feel very responsive and has a neat Quick Navigation feature that lets you jump between days with the up and down buttons while moving the time slot with the left and right buttons. Pressing the red button switches to a vertical list view and hitting the blue button takes you to the 'find' function that lets you search for programmes by name.

The EPG shows the only currently available HD channel -- BBC HD

Instead of using the full guide, you can switch between programmes with the channel list view or by using the excellent 'now and next' function that lets you skip forward and back through a whole day's worth of shows.

There are more free-to-air channels available than freesat has put in its programming guide; if you're feeling brave, you can do a manual tune to pick these up. Extra channels of interest include LUXE TV in high definition, Sky News, CNN, the Flaunt music channel and BET. These are placed in a separate EPG, but you can switch between freesat and non-freesat modes in the main menu.

All freesat boxes have to include an Ethernet socket on the rear for use with future IPTV services and the Foxsat-HD is no different. Currently this is unused, but the technical bods at freesat told us that they expect to have IPTV services such as the BBC's iPlayer running by the end of the year. They also confirmed that this box would definitely receive a software update to make it compatible with these future services, so your investment should be well protected.

Weaknesses

We only have a few minor niggles with the box, although the first concerns the remote. The layout feels cluttered and we don't like the way the volume and channel change buttons are positioned horizontally. We would've preferred to have them mounted vertically like on most other remotes.

The other issue is over how the guide works. freesat has stipulated that when you open the guide it must first show a genre menu. However, on the Foxsat-HD, this is displayed as a pop-up box that sits on top of the main guide. The problem is that it looks more like an alert box you'd get in Windows. Thankfully, Humax has told us this is going to be changed to a standalone page that you will see before entering the main guide, bringing it into line with the other freesat receivers we saw at the launch of the service.

Not everything is rosy cheeks and candy floss with the freesat service either. The lack of Channel 5 is disappointing at launch and ITV HD hasn't gone live yet -- it's expected to do so soon. Also, because freesat has rewritten the interactive spec to speed things up, this does mean that some services aren't yet fully supported. So even though the Foxsat-HD is much faster than Sky or Freeview boxes when dealing with interactive content, you're currently left without some services, such as the multi-screen view on BBC News 24.

Conclusion


The Foxsat-HD may be one of the first freesat box to hit the market, but it already feels like a mature product. It's fast, user friendly and offers great picture quality, but manages to pack all this into a compact and stylish box. We just wish there were more HD channels available on freesat to take advantage of its high-definition capabilities.

Saitek P3200 Manuals

Recently I have been getting a lot of people who have been looking for the Saitek P3200 Rumblepad manuals. So I decided to upload it.

It does not have too much information about using it with applications, but does include the setup. Its fairly basic, just have the drivers ready, plug it in and the default settings work fine for it. Use the Windows Gamepad configuration utility to set everything up.

Download:

http://rapidshare.com/files/140579810/P3200_Rumble_Pad_Manual.pdf

Noisy Fan

When a user complains to you that his or her computer is making a loud whirring noise, there are really only two types of components that can make that type of noise: disk drives and cooling fans. A problem with either type of component could spell disaster.

But in most cases, you'll discover that the noise is being generated by one of the cooling fans inside the computer. Most computers have three cooling fans, one inside the power supply, one on the case itself, and one on the CPU. Of course, each of these cooling fans is designed to keep the whole system as cool as possible by generating a constant airflow inside the case that will bring cool air in while moving the hot air out. If any of these cooling fans fails, the system could overheat and cause data loss. So your first inclination might be to just replace the noisy fan. While doing so is a fairly easy operation, it's not always necessary. In many cases, the fan, like the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz, needs only a drop of oil.

Choosing your oil
As you read the introduction to this article, the first question on your mind was probably, "What kind of oil should you use?" And, that's actually a very good question, because using the wrong kind of oil can have adverse effects.

To begin with, let me say: You shouldn't use WD-40 on a computer fan! Many folks use WD-40 to lubricate all kinds of squeaky or noisy mechanical components around the home and office. In fact, WD-40 is such a great multi-purpose problem solver that you might assume that you can quiet a noisy computer fan with a quick spray of WD-40. However, that's not the case.

The reason that you shouldn't use WD-40 on a computer fan is that while it is indeed a lubricant it's mainly designed as a cleaner/degreaser, that loosens stuck parts, prevents corrosion, and displaces water-obviously not the types of problems found in computer cooling fans. Furthermore, it's a light lubricant that is better for lubricating something like a hinge that only moves occasionally rather than a component that moves continuously and at high speeds such as a computer fan.

That said; what type of oil should you use? Well almost any lightweight mechanical oil, such as 3-in-1 household oil, will do just fine.

I prefer to use sewing machine oil, because, in addition to being a lightweight oil, it has excellent viscosity, holds up well at high temperatures, and is specifically designed to lubricate moving parts that operate at high speeds. You can pick up a tube of sewing machine oil at almost any sewing machine dealer or even at a fabric store for about £2 to £3.

How do computer cooling fans work?
Almost all computer-cooling fans are designed around a sleeve bearing assembly -- although I have encountered some computer cooling fans that use a ball bearing assembly. For this article, I'll focus on the sleeve bearing assembly.

A sleeve bearing assembly is composed of a shaft (to which the fan blade is attached) that rotates inside of a stationary cylinder. In this case, the cylinder is made of a porous metal, which is impregnated with oil. As the shaft rotates, oil is pulled out of the cylinder creating a film of oil on which the shaft rides. This film of oil prevents metal-to-metal contact and thereby eliminates friction and almost all noise. This type of sleeve bearing assembly is illustrated in Figure A.

Figure A

A sleeve bearing assembly is composed of a shaft that rotates inside of a stationary cylinder.

In a perfect sleeve bearing assembly, the amount of oil in the bearing is the correct amount and stays constant throughout the life of the fan. However, if the assembly doesn't stay sealed properly, some of the oil can dry up over time. When that happens, the rotating shaft will come in direct contact with the stationary cylinder, which creates a scraping or grinding sound.

In addition to the noise, the increased friction will cause the fan to rotate slower, which in turn will reduce the airflow. If the airflow is reduced, the system will run hotter than it should, which puts certain components at risk for failure. Replenishing the oil reserve in the sleeve bearing assembly will reverse this condition.

Does your PC have a fever?
If you want to monitor the temperature inside your PC, you might want to investigate software like CompuNurse or a Lian Li LCD Thermometer.

Oiling the fan
Now comes the tricky part. How exactly do you go about oiling a computer-cooling fan that uses a sleeve bearing assembly? Well, to begin with, you need to use only a single drop of oil.

If you refer to Figure A, you'll see that the lubrication point is located in the centre of the fan. It's a good rule of thumb to physically remove the fan from the computer to oil it.

Figure B shows a typical sleeve bearing assembly computer-cooling fan after it was taken out of a power supply.

Figure B

You should physically remove the fan from the computer to oil it.

Once you have the fan out of the computer, lay it on a table and carefully peel the sticker back, as shown in Figure C. There should be a flange of the sticker over the wire connection that you can easily grasp. It should peel away very cleanly.

Figure C

Peel the sticker back by grasping the flange.

You'll need to pull out the rubber plug to reveal the lubrication well, as shown in Figure D. If you use a small flat-headed screwdriver, you should be able to get under the edge of the plug and pop it out very easily.

Figure D

Once you've peeled the sticker back, you'll need to pull out the rubber plug.

Once you access the lubrication well, you can see the end of the shaft sticking out of the porous metal cylinder. At this point, put a single drop of oil in the lubrication well, as shown in Figure E.

Figure E

Remember: You only need to use a single drop of oil to properly lubricate the sleeve bearing assembly.

Finishing up
To complete the operation, replace the rubber plug and press the sticker back into place. If the sticker doesn't stay in place, use tiny drop of glue or a small piece of scotch tape to secure it.

You can then replace the fan. After the computer has been running for a few seconds, the oil will work its way into the porous metal and then into the cylinder and you should discover that the fan is running faster and quieter. And, you'll then have the satisfaction of knowing that not only have you quieted a noisy fan, but you've also extended the life of the fan and consequently the computer.

Customize Firefox Toolbar

Sick with that default way your icons look and you want to change things around a ‘bit? It is easy enough to do if you know where to look. Heck you could pretty much remove everything above your tab bar if you wanted to. The easiest way to customize your toolbar space would be to right-click on it and then click on the “Customize…” menu option.

From there everything is pretty easy to figure out. You can drag things into the box that pops up to remove them, and then click an drag things out of the box and into the menu to add them to the toolbar. On the bottom of that popup box you see a few other options as well.

The drop down box gives you the option to show just the icons, icons and text descriptions or just the text. If you don’t like the pretty icons, go hardcore and use the text only options. Personally I am an “icons only” kind of guy.

I don’t use the space and flexable space very much. They will help you push some of your icons around to the far left or far right if you need them to be there. The seperator will help you put little bars between your icons and toolbar spaces so things look nice and neat.

All the other icons you see there should be fairly familiar. If you have installed a few extensions, you might also see buttons for them there that you can drag over to your toolbar space.

Next thing you see if a check box option for using small icons. I have this one checked as well, because by doing so it shrinks my buttons down and gives me more toolbar space to work with. That’s more room for adding other neat buttons and options up there. It also helps to give you a little more viewing space where your Web sites are displayed too.

There is a button to add a new toolbar too. Use this if you need a new spot to expand all your buttons and options to. The last option you see here is for the folks that try to customize but end up messing things up and they don’t know how to go back.

Just hit the “Restore Default” button and everything will go back to the way it looked when you first installed Firefox (well, toolbar and icon positions anyways).

Packet Injection With Aireplay On Windows

This is a guide on using Aireplay on Windows, for those of you who have a card that supports it in windows.

Hardware & Software

The process of Cracking WEP key on Windows system enhanced about Aireplay-ng packet injection is executed through "hack". The process applies CommView for Wifi library. The functionallity is theoretically relevant on every chipset that the mentioned application supports.
The library (through socket) allows the Airodump and Aireplay applications to connect into the network card. All of this is possible thanks to Airserv-ng application that Aircrack-ng package newly contains. The list of supported
network cards is on producers webpages. The most well known are D-Link, Z-Com (Prism), Netgear (Atheros), ipw22xx,29xx (Centrino), Cisco..

How To

Preparation. As a first step the driver actualization is necessary. This procedure applies CommView for Wifi driver which knows packet injection and supports much more wireless cards such as AiroPeek driver. Exe instaler is not available. It is not necessary to install a conventional driver. The new card installation procedure is the same as well as the "actualization" procedure of the existing (conventional) driver. If you have installed a driver that knows packet injection you can skip this step.

In the network card configuration it is necessary to take off zero config.




Click above the network card icon (right mouse button) induces pull-down menu where in "Properties" and then in "Configuration"



..we go ahead -> onto card "Driver" where we can find the button "Driver Actualization"


This step offers online actualization which is for this purpose useless.



Next step: choose "Install from the list or..."



Next step: "Do not search. I will choose the driver myself..."


In the dialog window enter the path to the install folder CommView Wifi/Driver where..


..the file net5211.inf is located


At a standard installation the whole path is: C:\\Program Files\CommViewWiFi\Driver\net5211.inf


The automatic vendor detection is implemented and the detected card is offered for the installation. The .inf file contains the entire list of cards.



Installation of uncertified driver click yes.



The installation is completed. Thats all.

Packet Injection & Aireplay-ng

So far it is not possible to generate the trafic packet injection onthe Windows platform. Packet injection as we know it from the Linux distribution in the application Aireplay-ng is the only possibility how effectively speed up "capture" of needed amount of ivs for the crack WEP key. Thistext will describe a small obstruction and a 100% functional way how to use Aireplay-ng and packet injection in Windows.

Hack the box.

Direct and oficialy presented method so far does not exist. This all is solved by a small hack that consists of two parts.

Library commview.dll (ca2k.dll)

Through the installation of CommView Wifi application we get the library. In the installation file is the library that will serve as a connection between the application and network card. In the Aircrack-ng 0.9 package is a small gimmick that we are going to use. It allows a multiple use of the network card in the real time. What does the "Start up" in the Start up menu mean?

Airserv-ng.

For this purpose the application Airserv-ng was. It is a server as it is obvious from the name. It allows the use of one card for more applications. The further procedure is working only on the console. In the menu Start/Start up with the command cmd we induce the console window. With the command cd we move into the fil

cd c:\aircrack-ng-0.9

Start up Airserv-ng on the channel no. 6

airserv-ng -d commview.dll -p 12345 -c 6

or see the proggres and start up Airserv-ng on the channel no.6 in the debug mode

airserv-ng -d "commview.dll|debug" -p 12345 -c 6

Airserv-ng console in the debug mode shows mess..

We confirm the inquiry: "Does this look like yourd card!? In the new (second) console we start up on the channel no.4 Airodump-ng

airodump-ng --ivs --ch 6 -w dumpfile 127.0.0.1:12345

Aireplay-ng

Aireplay-ng is an application that allows client disconnection from AP, false autentization, interactive packet playback, repeated sending of ARP. It implements KoreK chopchop, fragmentation and newly also injection testing. It is operated through these switches:

- 0: Deauthentication

- 1: Fake authentication

- 2: Interactive packet replay

- 3: ARP request replay attack


- 4: KoreK chopchop attack

- 5: Fragmentation attack

- 9: Injection test

In the new console we will use - 2 (interactive packet replay)

aireplay-ng -2 -b 00:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx -d 00:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx 127.0.0.1:12345

Aircrack-ng:

In the last console we start up Aircrack-ng. In the case that there is in the file more records we should choose the right MAC. Each record has its sequence, number and the number of captured ivs.

aircrack-ng *.ivs

The key was recovered.



"Weplab" - All the windows.

Orange's Option ICON2

3G modems that connect to your notebook via USB are nothing new, but Orange's Orange's Option ICON2 is different not only in looks but also in its support of 7.2Mbps connections. Should you get excited about the high speed? Only if you don’t mind buying now in order to reap the benefits in the future.

We have previously looked at USB 3G modems from from Vodafone and T-Mobile, so how does Orange's latest offering compare?
The Orange modem is available on three single-user plans: Unlimited, Traveller and Daily, with other price plans available for groups. The Unlimited tariff costs £25 per month, with the modem costing £70, £20 or free, depending whether you take a 12-, 18- or 24-month contract. The Traveller plan costs £45 per month with up to 15MB of roaming data, and the modem is free. Both these plans also get you 250 Wi-Fi minutes. To use the Daily plan, you must buy the modem for £115, and pay £7 per day; this also gets 60 minutes of Wi-Fi. Extra Wi-Fi minutes cost 8p each.
A fair use policy applies. Unlimited and Traveller contracts are limited to 3GB a month, while Daily users get 1GB per day.

Design
This modem isn't going to win any prizes for looks. It's enormous when compared to the Huawei model we saw from Vodafone and T-Mobile, and far less pretty to look at. The Option ICON2 measures 46mm wide by 103mm tall by 14mm thick. In fact it isn’t much smaller than a mobile phone.
The casing is black apart from a large Orange logo; it's made of plastic and feels fairly lightweight, although the modem's build quality seems solid enough. The SIM fits into a slot on one of the long edges of the device; the slot is unprotected by a cover, so the edge of the SIM is visible (it doesn't protrude though).
A single bright white LED light blinks to indicate levels of status while trying to connect, and stays permanently illuminated when a connection is made.
The modem can slot directly into an available USB port, although its size could cause problems in some cases. There's about 17mm of casing either side of the USB connector, which means that if your computer has two USB slots either side by side or vertically stacked, and one is already occupied, you won’t be able to use the adjacent slot. Similarly, this device will block access to a free adjacent slot.
The alternative is to use the supplied USB extension cable. This is just 33cm long, making it easy for notebook users to carry around. If you intend to use the modem with a desktop computer you may find this cable too short to allow the modem to sit on your desk while it's in use, though.
The Option ICON2 is supplied in a DVD-style case, and comes with a printed manual along with the aforementioned extension cable.

Features & performance
The Orange Option ICON2 USB Modem supports Windows XP with SP1 and SP 2, Windows XP Tablet PC 2005 with SP2, Windows Vista and Windows 2000 with SP4 as well as Mac OS X.
It's a plug-and-play device, so all the required software self-installs when you plug in the modem. We tried it on a new Windows Vista computer, and it installed and ran first time. Even allowing for Vista’s annoying checks that we really did want to run the modem software, installation took less than a minute. We were similarly impressed with connection speed, which typically took less than ten seconds during testing.
When the software is installed, you simply click the ‘Connect’ button and the modem gets online.
The software is relatively unsophisticated. It incorporates an SMS center, where you can manage text messages. But that's all. You can’t check on data usage within it, which means you can’t find out how close you are to overstepping Orange’s fair usage limits — or indeed any other limits that may be imposed by your employer. Nor can you set the modem to connect automatically when you plug it in: connections must be made manually.
The real selling point of this modem is its support for 7.2Mbps operation. It will connect at the highest speed available, dropping down to GPRS if necessary. But if you're expecting 7.2Mbps connections from Orange anytime soon, you may be in for a disappointment. When we asked, we got the following statement:

"Orange is continually looking at ways to improve its network and offer faster speeds to customers. In 2008, the plan is to offer speeds of up to 7.2Mbps in the UK’s top 5 cities, focusing on business areas, before rolling-out to the rest of the UK. We currently have 94 percent 3G coverage of the UK outdoor population, and are in the process of upgrading the 3G downlink speeds to 3.6Mbps."

So if you live in a ‘top 5 city’ then 7.2Mbps could come your way fairly soon, but elsewhere you'll have to wait.
This is a far less stylish modem than the Vodafone and T-Mobile offerings we mentioned earlier, and the desktop software is short on features. On the plus side, the software installed quickly and efficiently, it connected to the 3G network quickly, and the modem functioned flawlessly during testing. If you want a 3G modem for today that's ready for 7.2Mbps tomorrow (or the next day). then the Orange Option ICON2 USB Modem seems like a good choice.

Viewsonic VA1912WB 19"

I just recently bought a Viewsonic VA1912WB 19" widescreen monitor and there seems to be a lot of pages about choosing between some 19" widescreen monitors. Including this one and some Hanns G's. So I'm here to let you know how this monitor performs if you were considering to buy it.

To start off, this monitor came in a fairly well packed box, with two styrofoam shields on both sides to secure it. Also wrapped in some type of padded plastic to keep it from getting scratches. The contents of the box are: 1 manual, a base installation paper, 1 cd with drivers for the screen (but it is unnecessary to install, it works fine without it ) 1 DVI cable, 1 D-Sub cable, 1 audio cable for the built in speakers, and a power cable.

Price: 208.99 (via newegg)
Resolution: WXGA+ 1440X900
Response Time: 8ms
Brightness: 300 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio: 500:1
Pixel Pitch: 0.294

Installation: This monitor was very easy to set up, the base popped onto the screen very easily and it holds it up well. The only problem I have is it does feel a little flimsy and kinda looks like its gonna fall forward. But to my amazement, it holds up very well after shaking the desk mildly.

Testing it out: After connecting it into my laptop (waiting for my gfx card to come in for my new build) I set the resolution to its default 1440x900, and this monitor was very sharp looking and was not blurry at all. The text was easy to read with ClearType on. It was just the right brightness, so I didn't bother messing with that. Checked it with Dead Pixel Buddy and I found 0 dead pixels . Next I tried out a game to see if I could notice any ghosting. I started up Halo: Combat Evolved (since my on board gfx card on lappy isn't so great ) Anyways, I threw around a few grenades and played the level "Cartographer" and I was very pleased to see no ghosting at all on this monitor. With a 8ms response time and a 500:1 ratio, this monitor performs very well.(pictures below). I was looking into getting the Hanns G HW191 because it had a 5ms response time and 700:1 ratio, but I'm glad I chose the Viewsonic because I have had no problems with it so far. The OSD is simple and easy to navigate through(pic below) using the 1 and 2 buttons under the screen. There are also built in speakers attached to the bottom of the screen, I haven't tested them out because I really wont be using them, that's really my only pet peeve about this monitor, the large speakers at the bottom. I don't like looking at them because I probably wont ever use them.

Conclusion: Overall, this monitor is a great budget 19" widescreen that will be sure to fulfill your need, whether your gaming or just browsing Overclock.net and this thing is bigger than I expected it to be. So if your looking into buying a widescreen monitor, please take this monitor into consideration because it is a great monitor for a sub $200 budget.
I would like to thanks you for looking at my review. Hope you like it, and if you have any questions, please post or PM me. Thanks.