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2008-03-24

Extreme 7.3.1 firmware update

All went smoothly, but now my remote base stations (I have a WDS daisy chain 4 links long - see earlier post) don't show in Airport Utility. Still connected - I can ping them just fine, and the remote airTunes express shows up in iTunes.

Update this seems to have been a temporary problem. Everything is now visible again.

All my airports (7 at last count) are configured in bridge mode - my speedtouch adsl modem router provides a DHCP server. On the bright side, this update seems to have helped with one issue: the 802.11n extremes now seem to pick up an IP address from my router using DHCP (previously I found this didn't work and had set manual IP addresses as a work-around).

application/x-mplayer2 plugin

Problems with BBC radio-player?

You need the Flip4Mac internet plugin. Download it free from microsoft. Use the "customize" button when installing to select the browser plugin.

2008-03-09

Uninstall SPSS

installer tells me that a there is still a previous version of SPSS 16 on my mac

SPSS is great, but ...

The Mac install is clunky. If you've aborted an install and want to start again, or you just want to get some space free, you have to remove the old installation.

You've removed all files and directories matching *spss* (and, for good measure, youve also tried *SPSS*), and you can't start again because the installer complains that you haven't removed a previous installation.

remove InstallShield (probably sitting in your home directory) and start again!

If you want to get rid of an older version, and you haven't yet started, use the uninstaller installed with SPSS,

SPSS know about the problem

They say:

Problem Subject: Trying to install SPSS 16 for the Mac yields an error message that there is already a previous flavor

Problem Description: I am trying to re-install SPSS 16 for the Macintosh and I am unable to do so because during the installation I am met with an error message telling me that there is already a previous flavor of SPSS on this machine and that it must be removed before a new install can take place. What is the reason for this message and how can I resolve this so that I can install SPSS 16 for the Macintosh?

Resolution Subject: Completely remove the previous installation of SPSS 16 from this machine

Resolution Description: The reason this is happening is that the previous installation of SPSS 16 for the Macintosh was not uninstalled correctly. If you merely trashed the application folder then SPSS 16 was not uninstalled. The uninstall function is found with the SPSS 16 applcation in the 'Applications' folder. In order to resolve this issue if SPSS 16 is not removed through the uninstall process please go into the 'Users' folder on the main operating systems hard drive. In here you should find a house with your login name on it and you should go into this item. In this house (folder), please trash the following:

~/initspssmac

~/InstallShield (directory, remove the whole thing)

~/Library/Preferences/com.spss.spss for mac.plist

Now empty your trash. Now you will be able to re-install SPSS 16 for the Macintosh.

free iPhone SDK

Apple say:

``Start your development today with the free iPhone SDK ...''

... not quite: this is a 2.1GB download, and it looks as though AAPL wasn't ready for the demand. Currently at 7% after seven hours, and just picking up speed (presumably as the US goes to sleep): occasional bursts of action, but still very slow—10 hours to go...

2008-03-02

Wireless Woes

Strange behaviour: Everything was fine, working with my MBP on a multi-AP WDS network of new Airport Extreme base stations; move to another floor, just next to an AP, can't see the signal, or rather I see it fleetingly, get asked for password, then it disappears. My first conclusion is that the AP must be caput, but back upstairs, where I started, I now see no signal.

Another laptop can see the signal fine. I try manually changing network setup, restart, shutdown, even taking out the battery then restart. Still no wifi connection. I conclude that the wifi card in my laptop must be damaged, or at least have a dodgy aerial connection.

Back at home I still have the same problem—and neither Airport Utility, nor iStumbler can see the signal either. I think I'll try looking at the wifi card.

To check on how to do that I need to get online. So I find an ethernet cable and connect a LAN port on one of my base stations. I'm now online, as expected, but I didn't expect to see Airport Utility and iStumbler burst into life just because I made a wired connection. Everything looks normal, and Network preferences now says I have a wireless connection.

I unplug the ethernet cable, and everything stays fine; back to normal. I don't pretend to understand why.

update

It happened again!

Same symptoms - persisting across two different WDS networks.

Again, recovery coincided with my decision to give up hope and use a wired connection to my base station.

Crazy!