Month: July 2005

WTF!

So I woke up on Saturday to this problem with my software. Having been out playing softball the night before and drinking until 1AM I wasn’t in any condition to troubleshoot and fix the problem. However, after a round of golf today and watching Kimi Raikkonen won the Hungarian GP, I was ready to fix the problem.

First, I thought it was something I’ve changed in the code last few days but that won’t be true as users with older version of the software also have the problem. Then I confirmed that it is a problem in my software by using the Mac version of ecto because it worked. Finally I relented and downloaded a copy of a competitor’s software (which shall remain nameless). That software worked so then it is my software.

I put a trace program on and discovered to my dismay that the .Net HTTP library sends out an extra HTTP header that it shouldn’t have (To the initiated, it is the Expect: 100-Continue). So I thought, “Ok, let’s just remove it from the HTTP Header in the code”. Silly me, setting HttpWebRequest.Expected = null does nothing!

But wait! Google came to rescue and I found this post about this stupid problem. Once I set the HttpWebRequest.ServicePoint.Expect100Continue = false, my software connects to TypePad once again!

Total time to fix a bug caused by Microsoft: ~2 hours.

Thanks alot, Mr. Gates. At least this is before my HDTV is delivered!

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D-Day -5

I swapped the SD cable box for a HD DVR yesterday. Fortunate for me, there is a Time Warner service centre just two blocks from my office. My colleague told me that it would probably take an hour or over to get it swap since there is always a long queue (lines for you American 🙂 ). So I left for lunch early at 11:30 am to try to beat the rush hour. When I got there, there are only a few people waiting in the queue so I got it all swapped in under 30 minutes!

Time Warner gives me the latest model they have which is the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD. It has dual tuners, HDMI, and get this, even optical audio output in addition to coaxial digital output! Oh and it also has a SATA connector so, in theory, I can plug in extra hard disks to expand the DVR storage. Not sure whether Time Warner has enabled it so I’ll have to check it out.

As for the TV itself, it is taking a rather long route from the warehouse to my apartment. From the tracking page, here are the cities it has visited thus far:

  1. Ontario, OR
  2. Salt Lake City, UT
  3. Wyoming, WY
  4. Omaha, NE
  5. Springfield, IL

Now it is heading towards Dayton, OH en route to Carlisle, PA. WTF?! I am sure there are more places it would visit between Dayton and Carlisle, not to mention it has to get to New York eventually. I really should create a map of the route through all these cities and post it.



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D-Days -8

I talked about how I promised not to purchase any more gadgets this year apart from “the list”. I am afraid I am going to break my own promise.

8 days to go before my HDTV is delivered. Originally I wasn’t planning to buy (or even consider buying) a HDTV until early next year, after XBox 360 is released. However, one of the guy at work found out about the new Sony 42″ DLP projection TV last week which has a very decent price tag. That pegged my interest level and soon I found that the price of last year Toshiba DLP model is even cheaper and bigger (46″)! So after a few days of intense research and web trawling last weekend, I finally placed the order yesterday.

Of course, getting HDTV means I need to swap my standard def cable box for a HD version. Fortunately, Time Warner has a HD DVR and it even has two built-in tuners so I can watch one program while recording another. So, bye bye TiVo. TiVo has done a great job for the last 3 years but until it is updated to HD with new hardware (HDMI/DVI/Firewire/Components output? Digital audio output? Anyone?) I am afraid I have to use Time Warner’s box. I also have to sell our current TV before the apartment has double the number of TV verses occupants!

I can’t wait to watch DVDs (Band of Brother, Star Wars Trilogy, The Matrix Trilogy, From the Earth to the Moon, the list goes on) again on the new TV as well as playing Halo, and when falls arrives all the TV series that Leah and I love (The West Wing, ER, House, 24, CSI, NCIS, Numb3rs). Not to mention all the sport events such as US Open Tennis, golf, F1. The list goes on…

8 more freaking days!

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