Platter of Half Baked Ideas

 Here is the second article in my series of Tech issues which are stranger than fiction! The original article can be found here .  Here's a problem that *sounded* impossible... I almost regret posting the story to a wide audience, because it makes a great tale over drinks at a conference. :-) The story is slightly altered in order to protect the guilty, elide over irrelevant and boring details, and generally make the whole thing more entertaining. I was working in a job running the campus email system some years ago when I got a call from the chairman of the statistics department. "We're having a problem sending email out of the department." "What's the problem?" I asked. "We can't send mail more than 500 miles," the chairman explained. I choked on my latte. "Come again?" "We can't send mail farther than 500 miles from here," he repeated. "A little bit more, actually. Call it 520 miles. But no farthe...

 I recently came across some articles which prove that in the world of tech, truth is often stranger than fiction. Some of these articles seem like a prank or a joke, but the author assures us that these are true incidents.  I think these are too good and so, sharing these here on my blog as well. Here is the first such article - The Wi Fi only works when its raining!! You can find the original post here . That's what my dad said when I asked what was wrong with our home internet connection. "The Wi-Fi only works when it's raining." Let's back up a few steps, so we're all on the same page about the  utter ridiculousness  of this situation. At the time, I was still a college student — this was over 10 years ago. I had come back home to spend a couple of weeks with my parents before the fall semester kicked off. I hadn't been back home in almost a full year, because home and school were on different continents. My dad is an engineer who had already been tink...

 Makeuseof routinely publishes some very useful articles. One such article is using an old router for various purposes. I found it very useful for the old routers I have lying around, hence share the article on my blog. If your ISP has sent you a new router, or you simply fancy an upgrade, you'll run into a problem.   What should you do with the old router? In the case of switching your ISP, you'll often be asked to return the older device. But if you have an old router kicking around the place, here are several ways you can reuse it. What You Can Do With an Old Router It might be in a box; it could be cluttering up a drawer or lost at the back of a wardrobe.  Whatever the case, old routers and modem/router combi units can be reused. We've identified nine ways you can reuse an old Wi-Fi router: Guest Wi-Fi connection Wireless repeater Cheap internet radio Use the old router as a network switch Adapt it as a wireless bridge Build a smart home hub Convert your router i...

We live in a wireless world. Except we don’t. Sure, we can send huge amounts of information across the airwaves, but the devices capable of sending and receiving it are tied down to power cords. Batteries allow some freedom but, eventually, we all have to come back around to the familiar face of the power outlet. What if we didn’t? What if we could charge anywhere, at any time? This is the promise of wireless charging, a concept that seems ripped from sci-fi. But it’s not – it’s real, and it’s available today. Let’s look at the reality and see what this technology can and can’t accomplish. How Wireless Charging Works The term “wireless charging” usually refers to inductive charging. This technology uses a charging station that creates an alternating magnetic field. A device with the proper induction coil will receive energy from that field when it is placed nearby, making it receive power without a physical connection. Cordless toothbrushes and other bathroom devices have u...