TP-Link Archer C8 wired bridge / access point

Finally decided to replace the Apple Time Capsule with a better router because of the many issues.

I replaced it with the TP-Link Archer C8. TP-Link Archer C8 does not have a bridge mode. The unofficial way to do it seems to be:

1. Connect internet cable modem/router ethernet cord to one of the LAN ports. Don't connect anything to the WAN port
2. Change Archer C8 LAN IP address to one on the cable modem/router's subnet.
   If the cable modem/router is 192.168.0.1, set the Archer C8 to 192.168.0.2
3. Disable the DHCP
4. Reboot

VMWare Tools fails to install or update in VM

1. Go to http://softwareupdate.vmware.com/cds/vmw-desktop/player/
2. Select latest version (7.1.2 as of this writing)
3. > your host OS
4. > Packages
5. > your guest OS

Download the file to your host OS, untar and execute. This then silently installs the VMware Tools ISO Image into the VMware Player working directory.  

Now try re-installing VMWare Tools as usual.

Fix slow LAN transfer speed of files in Windows 7

Disable “Large Send Offload (LSO)”

Large Send Offload is a technique of improving network performance while at the same time reducing CPU overhead. Apparently it does not work very well, so it was suggested to disable it (ref MSDN).

Follow these steps:

• Open Start Menu, right-click on Computer and select Properties
• Under Control Panel Home located on the left side of the window click onDevice Manager
• You will get a list of all devices on your machine. Expand Network Adapters.
• Find your Network Card and double-click on it.
• Select Advanced tab. You will get a list filled with different options.
• Select Large Send Offload V2 (IPv4) and set the value to Disabled
• Do the same for Large Send Offload V2 (IPv6) if it is available
• Click OK

Disable Large Send Offload V2 on the other computer and everything will work as expected.


ref: http://www.howtosolutions.net/2013/06/fixing-slow-sending-or-receiving-of-files-through-lan-network-using-windows/

MPC-HC Increase Playback Speed Adjustment

UPDATE: I've started using PotPlayer instead. It's a MUCH better solution!


You can customize the frame rate increase steps that Media Player Classic Home Cinema takes with the hotkeys (Ctrl+Up / Ctrl + Down).

Under View > Options > Playback > Speed step, set your percentage.

I've set mine to 8%, meaning each jump will be 1.08 times normal speed.

Unfortunately, I've noticed that when playing videos with speed adjusted, external subtitle files (srt/sub/...etc) fail to keep in sync. I've tried the internal filter, external DirectVOB, and ffdshow without success.

The alternative is to use VLC for playing videos with subtitles at a rate faster than normal speed.

Unable to delete file from XBMC - Windows

I was unable to delete a few files from XBMC. The folder permissions were set correctly, but turned out the culprit was utorrent.

The fix:

Preferences > Advanced > bt.read_only_on_complete   

change this to false

Searching for a Google Reader replacement

Trying out Feedly
The interface takes a bit getting used to, with the wasted space and their non-contrasting color scheme.

I would prefer to have:

• the unread count stand out more
• categories disappear after I've read all items within (this only happens at full page refresh)
• it let me scroll through items instead of automatically scrolling to next "page"
• feeds outside a folder
• it not let me accidentally click through to another site by making images clickable
• better sharing to Google+ (instead of the crippled item with a link through feedly)

Also, there's a bug in their "keep unread" counter.

But they have a semi-decent android app, support from IFTTT.com, and they're fast.

As of 31 July, 2013, here's what didn't make the cut:

* Digg Reader
I really wanted this one to work, but they haven't had time to get their shit together well enough.
The biggest issue is marking/unmarking items as read:

• When scanning through, items don't get marked as read so I keep seeing items I've already read through
• This means no marking as unread either
• There are also no unread counts

* The Old Reader
This is pretty much exactly what I want!
The only downside is that it is SLOW


* Hive Reader
Same deal as The Old Reader

Mapped drives: Disconnected until double clicked

I have a few scripts that transfer files to my Apple TimeCapsule, which I've mapped as Z drive on my HT-PC. A lot of times the mapped Z drive will show as "disconnected" until I double click it. Then everything starts working as expected.

Obviously this defeats the whole purpose of automating things...

The solution is this little gem: MapDrive

Set it up as instructed, and you're good to go. Easy peasy.

I've got mine set up in:

• Windows startup folder
• A file that runs before starting up XBMC

ES File Explorer: Mount Dropbox as Virtual Drive on Android

On Android, instead of using the official Dropbox app, you can use ES File Explorer (free) to mount the cloud storage as a virtual drive.

This means that you can now copy/paste/delete as usual and use those files like you would any other on the device.

For RetroArch, playing games stored in the cloud or transferring game saves is a piece of cake! You can carry on playing from where you last left off on another device.

This also works for other cloud services like Box.com and Google Drive.