Boydo's Tech Talk

CPU Enhanced Halt, DPCs and Audio Stuttering

Boyd Chan — Sun, 20 May 2012 02:30:05 +0000

For a while, my desktop computer has been having issues with audio stuttering and I’ve undertaken things such as downgrading VLC (which helped a bit) and also updating the audio and network drivers on my desktop computer (which also helped a bit but didn’t completely eliminate the issue). I found that network activity tended to …

Raah Tracker – GPS Tracking for iOS

Boyd Chan — Sat, 19 May 2012 04:55:33 +0000

A while ago I was contacted by Dhruv Chopra to check out a new GPS tracking iOS app that he had in development. Initially, he had built a web app but it has now evolved into a full blown app for iOS devices. Firstly, I’ll cover the web app. This is great as you can …

Fitbit Aria Wi-Fi Smart Scale and the Cold

Boyd Chan — Fri, 18 May 2012 11:08:33 +0000

Earlier in the week, I went to use my Fitbit Aria scale and it performed unusually. When I stood on the scale, it showed “SENSING” on the display for a bit before telling me to step off followed by “THINKING” being displayed. After a little while, “ERR” showed up briefly before disappearing. I tried taking …

The Search for a “Swimming Pedometer”

Boyd Chan — Thu, 17 May 2012 11:29:41 +0000

Yeah, I know. The title of this article is strange but allow me to explain myself a bit. My wife has more recently gotten into the habit of swimming two or three times a week and has wanted to find a way to track her swimming performance much akin to how my Fitbit tracks my …

Incoming Gadget – Nyko Power Grip

Boyd Chan — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:39:18 +0000

Just a quick note for tonight. Continuing on with the steady trickle of gadgets I’ve been receiving lately, I have a Nyko Power Grip on its way. In a nutshell, this is a pseudo-extended battery of sorts (I’ll explain why in the unboxing video). The battery life has been bugging me a little on the …

Boydo Repairs His Nintendo DS – Final Outcome

Boyd Chan — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:01:27 +0000

Last night, I dropped a quick note to say that I was repairing my Nintendo DS after the hinge broke. Tonight, I thought I’d share my repair experience with you. Unfortunately, when the hinge breaks on a Nintendo DS you pretty much have to disassemble the whole thing. I thought I’d get a a new …

Boydo Repairs His Nintendo DS

Boyd Chan — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:06:49 +0000

Just a brief update tonight. Tonight, I started my attempt to replace the case on the my old Nintendo DS after the hinge broke. I thought I’d have a go to see how easy or hard it might be. I’ve gotten a fair way along so far but will have to park it for this …

Hacking a Burner’s Firmware

Boyd Chan — Sun, 13 May 2012 07:57:27 +0000

Following on from yesterday’s post I briefly outlined a problem that I was having with my LG GGW-H20L Super-Multi Blu-ray drive burning to a Shintaro single layer BD-R (Blu-ray disc recordable). In a nutshell, it seemed that my burner did not know how to handle the Shintaro BD-R discs when it came to burning so I …

Not All Optical Discs Are Created Equally

Boyd Chan — Sat, 12 May 2012 11:56:21 +0000

Yesterday, I had bought some Blu-ray discs to use with my Blu-ray burner. I haven’t burnt an optical disc for quite a while so I had forgotten that individual burners have differing compatibilities with the various brands of discs and range of discs within each brand. What this comes down to is the firmware in …

Windows 8 Start Screen and Multi-Monitor Support

Boyd Chan — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:21:27 +0000

Here’s something to keep in mind if you’re one of those people who uses multiple monitors and are looking to upgrade to Windows 8 in the future. With the introduction of the new Start screen in Windows 8 it’s worth knowing that the Start screen will only work on one of your screens (the one …