Logitech MX Mouse - rubber grip and battery problem

A Logitech MX900 mouse is the finest of pointing devices and uses regular Bluetooth to connect to a PC. I was looking for a mouse to work with an 2008 iMac and the mouse paired with it easily using System preferences > Bluetooth > +. 

The mouse had a rubber soft-feel coating which had worn and perished over time - possibly due to cleaning and possibly due to hand perspiration (see here for a pic from a guy who paint sprayed the mouse to great effect). My solution was to use a cloth and alcohol (microfibre cloth and alcoholic hand disinfectant) to clean off the rubber and leave a shiny plastic finish as shown here.

The second problem I caused myself by replacing the two NiH AA batteries. The charging light on the base unit was fast-flashing in red because I'd used 2000mA/hour batteries. Changing these for 1500mA/hr which were normal for this mouse's time changed the charging light to a slow flashing green. Long missed mouse with a great result.

How to allow Windows Vista to logon to a Buffalo NAS box / Linkstation / Terrastation

If you can't log into your Buffalo NAS box it's because of Microsoft updating the system for the greater good of encouraging me to switch to Apple sooner.

The symptoms:

The NAS box drive appears in the Network folder

You can access the NAS box via Window XP

You can't logon and it might seem to you that the login details are wrong

You can get the to web control panel using its IP e.g http://192.168.0.20

The cause:

Vista uses the NTLMv2 protocol, which Samba on the box does not support.

The solution:

Go to Start > Run > "secpol.msc"

Local Policies ; Security Options ; Network Security; LAN Manager authentication level.

Change from "Send NTLMv2 response only" to "Send LM & NTLM - use NTLMv2 session security if negotiated". Click OK.

Thanks to the lovely Buffalo Support Forum

Windows Mobile is still aweful

They say that it takes three goes to get a piece of software right. One piece of software that has broken the rule, and charred this expectation is Windows Mobile. So today I break a silence to join those who berate Windows Mobile: they say that 'Winmo' is a lame interface for a smart phone. I've used Winmo since it was called 'Windows CE' - this was a low-power operating system to embed in devices such as electronic diaries. This was lame too. My rogue's gallery of owned or loaned devices includes the successful HP Jornada 710; the well sized Samsung's Izzi Pro and well featured HP Ipaq 6550. Phone features were added to "Windows CE" and Windows Mobile was born, I went for the HTC TyTn II followed by today's HTC Touch Diamond2 running version 6.5. In this hardware collection you will find capable specifications with Bluetooth; WLAN; hi-res touch screens; video calling; fingerprint recognition; GPS and geo-tagging cameras. What you won't find is even one device that can use these conveniently. It can't display photos with any degree of speed or slick; similarly it can't jot a shopping list; show video without distortion and choppiness; install software; select music to play or make a phone call. An ipod Touch makes mincemeat on almost every point. It's even better at adding a contact or appointment for which it was not primarily designed.

I’ll agree it’s unfair to slam Windows Mobile and call it atrocious. But Microsoft has had the resources to change the phone world and numerous versions later, I still find it hard to use my HTC to send a text; make a phone call or do any of those ipod basics.
If anyone reviews Windows 7 mobile and says it's the dog's doodas, they might just find me already deaf. I’ve long believed that WinMo might provide what was missing elsewhere. I’ve done the good thing and put Google’s Android on my HTC (see www.androidonhtc.com). Both Google Android and iphone have had their irritations but by the second or third release they've been sorted.

Buying a phone at mobiles.co.uk - obvious benefits and hidden irritations

A new phone and a better deal seemed possible with mobiles.co.uk. Their O2 tariff was better than any I could find on O2 itself - besides there was 14 months half-price rental. Several snags were to emerge afterwards one of which was to want an Internet bolt-on which O2's web said was free to anyone who was on a 600 minute tariff. In fact that meant anyone who didn't buy through mobiles.co.uk. Thus £6.50 was added to my monthly bill, wiping out most of the money benefit. Automatically and as fairly warned I'd be signed up to the Tech Guys and also to mobile phone insurance. The Tech Guys sub was cancelled in one call. The phone insurance, which covers most risks except phone loss, was cancelled after another. Reminder letters continued to arrive and another call was needed to cancel it.
The half-price rental required redemption - which meant that I must remember to send my bills at 6 9, 12, 15 and 18 months or else forfeit the money. A cheque with an unexplainable amount of £39 then arrives following several emails. So by the end of this I'll have sent 5 bills and received 5 cheques and 15 emails. I am not expecting a reply to a letter asking how the rebate was calculated and I'll conclude Mobiles.co.uk is a faceless, phoneless operation. If getting a mobile doesn't require talking to someone to confirm details, I should know my stuff better before buying online with a click.