Random Update

Sales, sales, sales. I have been working hard on getting my SGI Inventory out the door and into the hands of those who can use them. That’s mostly what I’ve been upto this month. Check the eBay and store sections for the latest parts postings. The SGI Fuel’s have been flying off the shelves, I can barely list them fast enough. Some other SGI stuff has been hanging around a little longer but I am sure that it will eventually go.

I am trying to list complete systems on eBay, and the systems that I strip for parts will be in the store section of the DoogieLabs site. I do have some V12 SGI Graphics cards and other goodies that are parts that will be going up on eBay for better visibility. Deciding what goes where is a bit of a balancing act in itself.

*PHONE*

Progress has been made in getting me a new cellphone. The phone that I’ve had for 2 years now is just not cutting it. For months now I have had to be choosy where I answer the phone because I cannot turn up the call volume… So I can’t hear dick. Now the power and other volume button are broken, which forces me to slide the keyboard open just to wake the phone. I think the OG Droid has finally bit the dust. My best friend Micki was awesome and hooked me up with a newer incredible, but due to how busy I have been I have been unable to flash it. It was also still a 3G only phone. I have had Cricket for 10 years now, and I think it’s time to finally throw in the towel and move over to something else. I have wanted 4G for a while now, so I am going to step up to the plate. What finally gave me the motivation to deal with my phone issues? Frustration, and not from my old phone being a POS… Story time:

I got a lot of stuff from my old employer. My messaged me and said they were giving away a BUNCH of stuff. I voiced my opinion and a few hours later, stuff started showing up. Included in the lot was barely used (if at all) Samsung Galaxy S phone from Sprint. This phone has the AMOLED display and 4G wimax technology. I figured it would be a considerable upgrade and started to investigate how to go about activating it. After doing some quick research online I set out to a Boost Mobile store to attempt to have the phone activated with out a contract. Upon walking into the store they said that they could only activate three sprint phones and mine was not on the list. FAIL. I went to the sprint store, and they were not really anymore helpful. I asked “If I own the handset outright, am I required to sign up for a contract to have your service?” .. .”Yes…” FAIL. I looked at the other phones and asked a few questions and just before leaving I asked them to check and make sure that it wasn’t reported lost, and it wasn’t. However, they did find that it was still attached to an account that had an outstanding balance. Apparently my old employer used the phones company wide, and as a result had a balance of tens of thousands of dollars that they weren’t going to pay off. After having a bit of a snicker with the employees, I headed out and decided to throw in the towel. The phone was as good as a brick, so if I want 4G I am going to have to look elsewhere.

As it turns out, work was the answer. I was able to trade in both phones I had and put the money towards a Galaxy II . . Brand new phone, I get about $100 off from the phones I traded in, so I pay $100 in cash and I have a brand new phone, dual core goodness, an OLED screen, and working volume buttons. Oh yes, hearing people on calls again would be wonderful. That all should be sorted before the 9th.

UPCOMING!

I have a treat in the works for the SGI community as a whole. One recent customer pointed out the desperate need for a decent instructional video that demonstrates how to install IRIX, and prep an external hard drive to use as an install source. Especially the IP35 systems such as the Fuel and Tezro, proper documentation seems to be lacking as far as installing IRIX goes. There are actually people that have been stuck for months trying to get some sort of working IRIX setup on their system! :-O

SO in collaboration with another SGI enthusiast, we are going to spend the month of April working toward a solution that everyone can follow along and not get stuck or hung up at some strange place.

Projects?

There are several active projects that I have been juggling. Why so many projects?

Those who know me well know that I am a person of many interests. I have always had a couple of projects on my plate, and the last couple of years has seen an increase in project workload because I have been teaching myself more about electronics. This has slowed down the speed at which projects progress, but they haven’t stopped altogether. I have had a yearning to work on my Corrado again, and am kind of sad that I’m not in a position to do so. The car isn’t at my house, and there is no money for parts. If I could spare a few hundred bucks for some Dynamat I could move forward on getting the interior back together. For those that have seen the Corrado completely torn apart at the shop it is actually still in that same state, just in my Uncles garage. (At least it has an indoor home!)

For those who aren’t sure where I left off with the Corrado, last year I replaced all the suspension bushings, power steering rack, and converted to DE Brakes with 5 lug. The Corrado is rolling on all brand new suspension parts, and aside from lowering springs, attention can finally be focused elsewhere.

I also moved the Radiator 3″ further forward, and was able to retain the A/C condenser I snagged from a Passat. The car didn’t have A/C before since I removed it when I was a teenager, and now I find myself wanting to put it back. (which is fine.) If I can get my garage cleaned out, and decide the fate of the Van I can start work again on it real soon I think.

I created an update video of the random updates from this month. The first potion is once again blank like the last upload. I’ve had it with my video editing software and will be switching over before the next video.

April is going to be fun!

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SITE TODO:

• Add SGI Fuel Page into the Computing Museum.
• Release the new Solaris Backup Utilities software before the end of April.
• Add more services and parts to the store.