Asus has released new firmware for the WL-500gP wireless router. The new firmware revision is 1.9.7.2, old revision is 1.9.7.0. I have tried updating my WL-500gP with the new firmware, but no matter what I do, the router goes into recovery mode (power led flashes once per second) when it restarts.

The new firmware revision can be downloaded from Asus and one of the fixes in the new firmware is the ability to update firmware through the web interface. I tried upgrading to 1.9.7.2 through the web interface and it does indeed seem to be not working.

Instead, I had to upload the new firmware using Asus' firmware restoration tool (included among the Asus router utilities). Use a wired connection to the router for the following:

1. Reset the router to factory defaults by pressing the reset button for 10 seconds while the router is running
2. Unplug the power cord and press the reset button. Keep pressing the reset button while plugging back in power cord. Keep pressing reset button until power led starts flashing once per second.
3. Assign the pc you are working from a static IP-address of 192.168.1.10 (subnet mask: 255.255.255.0, preferred DNS server: 192.168.1.1) and start the firmware restoration tool.
4. Select the firmware file (*.trx) and click upload
5. Wait for the firmware to load and the router to restart
6. Reset the router to factory defaults when it comes back up
7. Configure the router (uploading a previously saved settings file may not work if there are many changes between firmware revisions)

Ok, I did all of the above, but the 1.9.7.2 firmware still failed to work properly. As mentioned initially, the router would go into recovery mode when restarting.

Has anybody else had similar experiences with the 1.9.7.2 firmware?

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As part of the ongoing Danish ADSL price war (+ the attempt to catch up with Swedish ADSL prices), Tele2 on October 25th announced a 20 mpbs ADSL line to be available shortly.

I (again) signed up for notification about availability in the faint hope that maybe this time, the offer would extend to my telephone central (Stenløse).

Tele2 customer service emailed me today informing me that the 20 mpbs line is now available (10 mpbs now, with an upgrade to 20 mpbs during the month of December), but alas, when I called Tele2 they regrettably informed me that their network still does not cover Stenløse central and that I would not be able to get the 20 mpbs line.

Bummer … again!

Well, on the bright side the customer service guy did tell me that Tele2 is continuously expanding their network and they inform existing customers when centrals are upgraded. Hopefully this will happen to me any time soon…

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I'm sitting next to Anna who has come down with a serious case of the flu. It's very late at night and there's quite a storm blowing outside - I can hear our flower pots getting knocked about by the wind and I hope our roof tiles stay put…
Ida and I decided to take turns watching over Anna, because we did not expect Anna to be able to sleep. She's in a pretty bad shape: nose all clogged, bad cough and running a fever, but despite these ailments, she's actually been asleep (with a few minor interruptions) since 10 PM. I really hope she wakes up feeling better.

I thought I would use the opportunity to post a couple of recent video clips of Anna in her usual ship shape.

Read the rest of this post to see the clips (more…)

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It appears as if Nokia is finally zeroing in on a release date for the updated N80 - the N80i or internet edition. In late august, the N80i was announced for release in mid-september, but no handsets have actually appeared in shops so far.

I have been keeping an eye at a few retailer sites and it would now appear as if something is happening.

On the N80 internet edition page of the Norwegian site lanseringsguide.amobil.no, there is a link to the N80 internet edition at Netshop.no. Until a few days ago, Netshop.no listed N80i availability (unconfirmed) for October 30th, but then changed the date to October 27th¹ 28th² 29th³. Ok, now it's back to October 30th⁴ … pushed to October 31st⁵ … November 2nd⁶ … November 5th⁷ … November 9th⁸ … November 11th⁹

Danish phone retailers, Proshop and Gooby have both been listing the N80i for some time, but without any information on availability.

Yesterday, Danish phone retailer GoBlue.dk also added the N80 internet edition to their product catalog - again without any availability information.

1. Date listed October 24th [back]
2. Date listed October 25th [back]
3. Date listed October 26th [back]
4. Date listed October 27th [back]
5. Date listed October 28th [back]
6. Date listed October 30th [back]
7. Date listed November 2nd also listed at Norwegian retailer back]
8. Date listed October 25th [back]
9. Date listed October 26th [back]
10. Date listed October 27th [back]
11. Date listed October 28th [back]
12. Date listed October 30th [back]
13. Date listed November 2nd also listed at Norwegian retailer XD.no [back]
14. Date listed November 6th [back]
15. Date listed November 9th [back]

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The reply from Tele2 customer service to my request for an update on the 8 mbps upgrade of my broadband connection was a big letdown. Apparently, I was able to sign up for the upgrade by mistake - Tele2 only provides the 8 mbps connection within their own network, which does not extend to my neighborhood.

Bummer!

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I have been all set to buy a new phone for a whole year, but the way phone manufacturers design, announce and release new models is really off-putting to me. I know this is really a luxury problem, but buying a new phone is a big deal (literally!) to me.

At first, I was all set to get the Sony Ericsson P990i, which was announced in October 2005 to be available in Q1 2006. I am currently on a P910i, having been through a P800, and the P990i looked as if it would add the few missing ingredients to make Sony Ericsson's P-line perfect: WiFi, 3G and a better camera.

Sadly, the P990i Q1 release date was quickly postphoned to Q2 2006 and while waiting for the P990i to be released, I started to read less encouraging things about the phone - the P990i's WiFi, 3G and camera was indeed very well received, but some reviews raised issues pertaining to the P990i's updates to the ergonomics of the P800/P900/P910i device line; the new versions of SymbianOS and UIQ; and the P990i's amount of free RAM, which is actually lower than that of its predecessor, the P910i.

In Denmark, the first P990i's did not arrive until mid-august and during the long wait, I had started to look at other options. My attention was caught by the Nokia N80, because it has similar specs (WiFi, 3G and ≥2 MP camera), while also being less bulky (Because of its size and weight, I sometimes leave my P910i at home - not a good thing for a mobile phone.). Just as I was getting interested in the N80, Nokia announced the N80 internet edition, available from mid-september. One of the new N80i features is flickr integration, a feature I currently use quite a bit through Shozu. Since this feature appears to be limited to the N80i (flickr only mentions the N80i, not the N80), I decided to wait for the N80i.

Well, in late august "mid-september" was just around the corner, but it's now mid-october and there's little sign of the N80i. This Norwegian phone launch tracking site lists N80i release for "October" and this Nokia press release mentions a N80i US release for "November". To complicate matters further, Nokia in late September announced the N95 for release in Q1 2007. The N95 seems to be everything the P990i and N80i are - and then some, including for instance integrated GPS (which really looks awesome).

So, what is a poor boy going to do?

• Who's going to buy the N80 internet edition if is delayed any further? Especially when considering the many complaints about N80 battery life, non-autofocus camera and buggy firmware?
• The Q1 2007 release date of the N95 suggests that if we are really, really - I mean really - lucky, the phone will come out around April 1., 2007 (or else Nokia have us fooled). However, going by the track record of previous phone releases, the N95 is probably more likely to be released some time next summer.
• By the time the N95 is released another, extremely desirable model will of cause have been announced.
• The P990i is available now and the price has gone down quite significantly over the last week or so. From about $770 to $680. Maybe I should just get that one and start saving for the N95?

Dammit! I hate the promises of these phones that are "just over the horizon"…

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In a continued effort to catch up with Swedish internet broadband prices and speeds, my ISP Tele2 announced the availablility of 8192/512 Mbit/s broadband in September 2006. The 8 Mbit line is priced at DKK 379 (∼ $63) a month, which is actually DKK 20 less than what I currently pay for my 2 Mbit line - go figure…

Needless to say, I immediately signed up for an upgrade to 8 Mbit and on September 11th, Tele2 confirmed my upgrade request, telling me the actual upgrade would take place within 4 weeks. I have been testing my broadband line transfer rates from time to time ever since, but nothing has happend - the transfer rates remain at 1.8 Mbit/s download and 450 kbit/s upload, which translate into the 2048/512 kbit/s line I'm subscribed to.

So, today I emailed Tele2 customer support, asking them if they can tell me when the upgrade will be effective.

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