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iPad 2 Replacement for Screen “Light Leak”

Posted by cgrossmeier in Gadgets - (1 Comments)

Today, Apple support was kind enough to replace my iPad 2 due to the defective screen issue commonly reported as a “Light Leak” or “Yellow Light Bleed” from the back light. The problem results from when the glue that attaches the LCD to the Glass does not let the LCD fit snug against the glass. The end result is a yellow tint that floods across the display between the LCD and the glass through the glue from the back light. Many saw this same issue with older iPads and iPhones in the past but often it resolved within a few days. I was one of the unfortunate users were the issue did not resolve itself.

Here is an example of what I see in a dim room on the old iPad 2.

Screen issues with iPad 2 - Yellow tint from back light causing "Light Leak"

iPad 2 defective Screen Light Leak

So, today I visited the Apple support site and asked for support. the phone tech sent me to the local Apple Store to confirm the issue. The Genius Bar support guy said it was the first one he has seen but had heard of a few returning. They confirmed the issue and replaced the device on the spot.

So far, Apple Support gets an A.

As a secondary note, I had activated my Verizon data plan on the device. a quick call to Verizon with my MEID and they ported over my plan. Verizon also gets an A for this device swap.

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EYE-Fi Card and "Contacting the Eye-Fi Server…" message.

Posted by cgrossmeier in Gadgets - (Comments Off)

I have been plagued with an EYE-Fi card issue that has troubled my nights for a week. Today, I made some significant changes to my network to finally find a resolution.

The issue I discovered: The EYE-FI Card cannot talk through a Double NAT’ed Network.

Once I moved my access point, it started working again.

Here was my process to the solution.
I use a Linksys RS042 Router at my cable modem to split my network into private home network and a public lab for work. On the private side I installed the Linksys WRT610N Router. Prior to the VPN router, my old Eye-fi card was configured and working. However, I discovered a week ago that my images were not transferring off my card. To make matter worse, I had just ordered a new card and could not configure it. I tried to configure the card in EYE-Fi Control Center from my Windows 7 desktop. No luck. I tried from an XP desktop, again, no luck. I even tried from my Macbook Pro with OS X 10.6.5 with no Luck. Even after a dozen emails with Eye-Fi support… I was finding no resolution.

Turns out, when I placed the WRT610N behind the RS042, I lost my ability to connect with my Eye-fi card. The tip off was a comment in the Eye-Fi developer forums. I could see in the logs that I would get an IP address, ping the API.EYE.FI server, and try to send a test XML Packet from the card. The response never succeeded. The developers indicated that the packet was a 4K Packet with a specific HTTP Header. They also noted that if you had a splash screen or something that altered your header, you could end up with a larger HTTP Header and fail to connect.

So, to test if something was mucking the headers, I moved the wireless access point directly onto my cable modem in front of the VPN Router. Sure enough, the “CONTACTING the EYE-FI Server…” message made it through and connected.

So, what did I learn to make your life easier:

  1. Eye-Fi does not like a double NAT network (an access point behind a NAT enabled network)
  2. Not all Wireless-N is supported. You may need to run in B/G Only modes instead of Mixed.
  3. QOS may cause a hick-up (From Eye-fi forums) If you can, turn it off while troubleshooting.
  4. Eye-Fi tech support seems to think desktop Firewalls, Anti-Virus and User Access Control (UAC) may mess up your connections. In my case, they are all back on and working fine.
  5. Not all SD card readers are equal. Some deliver more power required for the Eye-Fi card (From Eye-fi support/forums) use the White Eye-Fi reader provided with the card if in doubt.
  6. You must have internet connectivity to set up your Eye-Fi card. Seems strange, but they want to register your card to your account at the time of setup. In my case, no connectivity means no setup.
  7. Check out your card attributes in the Log. Ensure you have the current firmware: v4.2171 or later.
    [00:00] Eye-Fi firmware 4.2171 Jan 20 2011 18:14:14 started (1), hardware revision 1, 3886/32 MB, 00-18-56-00-00-00
  8. If you can see the following in your Eye-Fi Log, your issue is with the path on the network.
    [00:58] WLAN State: Configured
    [00:58] Received DHCP address 192.168.166.219
    [00:58] Attempting server ping.
    [00:59] Using resolved IP address 216.218.219.2:80 for server api.eye.fi.
    [00:59] Starting to upload “/private/log/messages”…
    [01:00] Server has 0 of 17920 bytes for SRVRPING.JPG.tar for online and desktop delivery (file ID 60977896).

    As you can see in the log, I get an IP address and was able to resolve the IP Address of API.EYE.FI. This tells me basic IP communications is working fine, but I still could not talk to the servers. Something had to be altering my communications in flight.

So, the long and short of it is I hope this helps you resolve your Eye-fi issues.

If this has helped, drop me a note.

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Hybrid Drive Upgrade for Macbook Pro

Posted by cgrossmeier in Gadgets - (Comments Off)

Seagate Momentus XT 500 GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s 32 MB Cache 2.5 Inch Solid State Hybrid Drive ST95005620AS-Bare DriveOver the weekend, I took the time to upgrade my Late 2009 MacBook Pro’s tiny and slow hard drive to something more suited for Demos, Labs, and Virtual Machines. Short of investing a fortune on a Solid State Drive, I opted for the new Seagate Momentus XT 500 GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s 32 MB Cache 2.5 Inch Solid State Hybrid Drive (ST95005620AS). ($119.99 @ Amazon.com) The pairing of a 7200RPM 500GB Drive and a 4GB SSD Read Cache were a compelling combination.

To start, before making any changes, I had Apple Time Machine capture all of the user and application data from the current drive. With just over 200GB of data on the volume, it took 2 hours to archive the data to a Maxtor external drive using Firewire. Once the drives were backed up, the minor surgery started. In less than 5 minutes the entire physical removal and new drive installation was completed.

After an OS Install and Time Machine restore, the Laptop was ready to reboot. Surprisingly, the laptop boot up to my old configuration and was running just like the old system with the exception of a small speed boost. I quickly restarted the system again to measure the boot speed. My initial boot was around two and a half minutes to get to the desktop with all of my background applications running. I rebooted again. The second reboot took just under one minute to start. I figured I could reboot again and see of the 4GB SSD would cache more of the base OS. I was pleased to discover that by my fourth reboot, the system was coming up on average in about 25 seconds. This was a significant improvement and a great surprise considering 90% of the time I boot up only to show a PowerPoint or check email.

If you are interested in upgrading your drive yourself, OWC has a great video on the upgrade process:

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New iPad Case

Posted by cgrossmeier in Gadgets - (Comments Off)

I just ordered the new SwitchEasy CARA Hybrid Case for iPad (Black). It has a unique exterior design and adds a little more protection than my Apple case. What I liked was it protected the screen and the device and still gives me all the functions of my Apple case but with a hard plastic shell.

It also includes all the extras:

  • One CARA™ for iPad
  • Two portable fold-out stands
  • One anti-static Screen Guard
  • One Microfiber Wipe
  • One Squeegee for your Screen Guard application
  • Two Headphone Jack Protectors
  • Two 30 Pin Connector Protectors

I’ll keep you posted on how I like it after it gets installed.

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