If you can't access Starbucks WiFi or Greyhound Bus WiFi after upgrading to OSX 10.9.5 (Maverick's). Here's the fix.

After reinstalling OSX 10.9.5 Maverick's on my new SSD drive. Doing a fresh install (not upgrading) I then couldn't access WiFi at starbucks or on a Greyhound Bus.

On my Macbook the solution seemed to solved for Starbucks WiFi by removing any info in the Proxies section of my Network Preferences (I have yet to verify the Greyhound bus config but I suspect it was the exact same problem). I spoke to the Starbuck Support at "Allstream Customer Service at 1-866-385-2555." They said they'd pass this on to their other support tech's to verify this solution with other users. But in the meantime I'll post the solution I came up with here.

To fix the problem do this:

1. Open Network Preferences: 
   
2. Click on active connections "Advanced" settings:
   
3. Go to the "Proxies" section and uncheck all checkboxes under the "Select a protocol to configure" and remove any "Bypass Proxy Settings from these hosts & domains" on my Macbook there was two entries for "*.local, 169.254/16" as soon as I removed these I was able to connect to the "Starbucks WiFi" hotspot and the Starbuck Registration screen came up as normal and I was able to connect to the network successfully!
   

Want to know how to setup your Chromecast HDMI dongle?

Couldn't find a graphic anywhere on the google site telling me how to setup a Chromecast dongle? I was wondering if it was a USB or a HDMI device. I had to set up the Chromecast app to get this image. Now I know. It's an HDMI device just like I suspected. :)

Which world cup team are you?

Not all reviews are created equal! Damn-it!

Hey review sites like geek.com and pcmag.com. I'd like to propose that someone make cell phone reviews better and not just a little bit better, a LOT better! I think the gold standard for review sites is imaging-resource.com but alas they do not review cell phones/smart phones, just cameras. They have created a very detailed set of comparisons that is in my opinion one of the best in the industry.

What is lacking today from pretty much all phone reviews is a standardized comparison list. Most users don't consider all the features of most phones because nobody pays any attention to the details.

Most of these features are routinely ignored by manufacturers and users alike. Reviewers pay most of their attention to a few glamorous details and don't compare apples to apples even in the same reveiw one phone review might talk about the display and the other phone this topic is missed totally making the review totally useless.

And how about all the real world things that make the phone a joy to use or make it just a peice of junk with a nice name. Things like the Microphone sensitivity are key. But nobody reviews the mic. Also things like camera shutter speed and ability to take a picture in direct sunlight. Also for those of us who have compromised senses like less than 20/20 vision or subpar hearing. These details are key and mostly missed out on by the young youthful generation of testers.

There should be a the "Grandma Test" which is a test done on a selection of computer illiterate folks who give you subjective feedback on usability of these sensory tests. As Albert Einstein said. If you can't explain it to your Grandma you don't understand the subject. So I say in this context that same thing applies. Is the phone well thought out and usable in all these little details for the non techie?

Most cell phone reviews are "JUNK"!

Here's a short list of details to show you what I'm talking about.

Missed out comparisons:

1. Water Resistance (Before or after market options)
1. Waterproof vs Water resistant.
2. Realworld depth tests.
2. Rebooting (When actively running a standard set of softwares)
1. Hard Boot restart time
2. Soft Boot restart time
3. Audio Speaker Comparison (using pro audio measurement tools http://www.audiocheck.net/):
   
1. Stereo vs Mono.
2. Front facing vs Rear Facing.
3. Base reproduction.
4. Treble reproduction.
5. Max volume without distortion. 
6. Min volume without distortion. 
7. Audio reproduction ranges (0 hertz to 20,00 hertz using standard test audio sound files)
4. Microphone Sensitivity Comparison (NTi Audio)
1. Microphone recording app ease of use
1. Load speed
2. Save speed
3. Ease of use tests
2. Max recording sensitivity without distortion. 



Microphone Test Reference Chart

1. Realworld sensitivity tests: source in front of mic 1", 5", 10" and 50", source beside mike 1", 5", 10" and 50.
3. Min recording sensitivity without distortion.
1. Realworld sensitivity tests: source in front of mic 1", 5", 10" and 50", source beside mike 1", 5", 10" and 50.
4. Audio recording re-reproduction range (0 hertz to 20,00 hertz)
1. e.g. if you record a sound at 5000 hertz does it play back at 5000 hertz?
5. Wifi Connection Speed (how fast can you connect to a never before connected to hotspot)
6. Bluetooth Connection Speed (same as above but for bluetooth)?
7. Bundled Software Comparison.
1. Create standard list of "must have software"
2. Create standard list of "commonly free software"
8. Charge time from a completely flat battery
9. Actual talk time battery life (standardized talk test e.g. someone talks on phone for 4 hours and two of those hours is on the speaker phone).
10. Actual battery life
1. Under load of standard set of real world apps.
11. Camera Comparison
1. Resolution  and Distortion Tests



Resolution and Distortion Test Comparison Chart

2. Shooting into backlight.
1. Ability to focus
2. Washout stats
3. Macro Tests
1. How close can it focus
4. Normal Focus Test
1. In daylight
2. In fluorescent light
3. In tungsten light
4. At dusk light levels
5. Stary night tests. 
5. Zoom
1. Optical vs Digital
2. 1x, 2x, 3x, 10x etc
6. Wide Angle Test
1. Range of view
2. 10mm vs 70mm etc
7. Load speed from start to focus lock/taking photo (first time after reboot)
8. Reload speed from start to focus lock/taking photo (after camera has been run once)
9. Colour comparison
1. Standard photo colour reproduction tests (see http://www.imaging-resource.com/ for list of standarized tests.
12. Storage Comparison
1. Built in memory speeds (small data and big data)
1. Read 
2. Write
2. External memory speed (small data and big data)
1. Read 
2. Write

In the end it would be nice to see an agreed on list of standardized tests that all review sites could use to do their testing.

I really like how imaging-resource does a summary and a detail review. It is very well done and consistent across time. So you can compare this years reviews to last years reviews etc. They also update all their tests over time if there are mistakes. I like that.

How about it guys? Any takers?