How to quickly test remote controls

If you’re like me, you have 5 or 6 remote controls that wander all around your living room. We’re even seeing them used in major appliances, air conditioners being the most common so far.

When one of them stops working, here’s a simple way to tell whether it’s sending any infrared light to your TV, VCR, DVD, or cable box (or air conditioner).

Just point it at a digital camera or camcorder, and if it’s working, the light will show up in the camera's LCD viewfinder! Fast, easy, and COOL!

I purchased a small sensor many years ago for this very purpose, but if I’d thought of this first, we could’ve saved some money. Try it - it works great!

The CCD’s used in digicams are sensitive to IR, even though our eyes aren’t.

Wish I could remember where I originally found this trick. To whomever first discovered it - thanks!

Copyright 2003 www.DavesRepair.com
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Google News needs tweaking?

A “news” site called Axcess News reported that President Bush was undergoing a colonoscopy, leaving Vice President Cheney in charge of the United States for the duration of the procedure.

The article, which was the top story on Google news briefly yesterday, had the unfortunate title “Bush butt probed, Cheney in charge” and began with “A shudder could be felt across Capitol Hill Friday after news came out that President Bush would be having his butt checked out…”

Perhaps Google will now be rethinking whether Axcess News should remain in the Google News index?

Axcess News, by the way, is a member of the esteemed Online News Association, which purports to be a serious group of online news sites. The president of the ONA is Kinsey Wilson, the Executive Editor of USAToday.com.
From Techcrunch

'Bundles of joy'

A building was coming up near house. A construction worker with two kids - one barely a year old - made them sleep in the morning inside our compound. No creches for them.  No beds. Just plain floor in the open. The kids get food only when the mother comes back for lunch. The 'elder' sister has to look after her brother till the mother comes back. You can find the two 'bundles of joy' next to the bags.

Harry Potter hits BitTorrent

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, the latest and last of the wildly popular Harry Potter books that is due to go on sale this weekend, has hit BitTorrent. Various torrents of the novel consist of photographed pages (as above) with reading quality that isn’t perfect, but for desperate fans readable enough. Whilst the validity of the hype surrounding Harry Potter may be subject to debate, what the leaking of the book does demonstrate is that the days of the mainstream media and publishers strictly controlling the dissemination of information has well and truly past; simply where there is a fan with a will, there is a way.

For educational purposes only, the Harry Potter book can be found by searching The Pirate Bay.

Pictures from mobile in India?

Any way to post pictures directly from mobile from india?

Testing SMS blogging.The earlier post was thru GPRS.