Bad Comcast Performance

Lots of people want to improve their on-line Internet performance.

Can you imagine a highway where the speed limit is 200 MPH in the eastbound direction, but 5 MPH in the westbound direction? It's completely nuts.

One problem is that some service providers, like Comcast, provide poor upload speeds. If you use services like Dropbox or Google Drive or Google photos, the upload speeds offered by Comcast could be peaking out - greatly slowing down performance across all your devices at any time of the day. And this poor upload rate is true even with many of Comcast's "Performance" subscriptions.

The upload lane on my Xfinity is often pegged out at the redline, even when I'm doing very little.

Why does Comcast have these decidedly old-school upload speed restrictions? Admittedly their upload rates were pretty good for 1998, but that was a long time ago. People use the Internet for more than AOL now, and Comcast has moved extraordinarily little. Insanely, the FCC allows for these excruciatingly slow upload speeds within their Broadband rules.

Strangely, many of "review" sites discount the importance of upload speed. I assume that's because the sites are looking to earn referral fees and don't really care to be practical.

Fixing a SodaStream Jet, part 1: Disassembly Guide

I've had my SodaStream Jet for years, and once in a while something has gone wrong. Disassembly is the first step to repair. Start with this article to see how to disassemble the SodaStream, and then once you have that down, scroll through my other articles to see how I repaired specfic SodaStream problems. SodaStream Jet Disassembly Guide Tools Required Flat head screwdriver Phillips head screwdriver 1. Remove the Carbonator. Duh. 2. Remove the black panel lever The front big black tilt lever needs to be removed first. Removing this panel is tricky, but it isn't impossible. Looking up at the bottom of the black panel, there are two tabs, one on the left and one on the right. These tabs fully secure the panel in place. The trick is to use a flat-head screwdriver under the plastic to gently lever the tabs out of the way. Note in the pictures how I approach these tabs with my screwdriver. I usually release the left side first, and then I release ...

Sodastream Carbonator Leakage, Usage, and Weight

SodaStream 60L "Carbonator" CO2 cylinders have a specific weight when empty, plus about 410 or so grams for the CO2 they should have when they're "full". A little while ago I went to buy a replacement Carbonator from my local hardware store. The dealer pulled a new Carbonator out of the box and sensed it was lighter than usual. He put the "light" Carbonator in the "empty" pile and sold me a different one. At that moment I concluded that it would be smart of me to weigh both new and empty SodaStream carbonators. Here are the results. Weighing a SodaStream Carbonator - for both Science and Consumer Protection. The dealer told me that sometimes the carbonators leak after they leave the SodaStream filling facility. That means there could be an opportunity for customers like me to get ripped off! The SodaStream cylinders I buy claim to have a net product weight of 410 grams - and that means that a full Soda Stream Carbonator shou...

Mounting Devices to a Wall or Backboard

I wanted to mount an Apple TV, an HDHomerun, and a Ring doorbell transformer to a wall, but none of these devices have tabs or screw holes for wall mounting. Happily, I found a way to easily and inexpensively wall mount equipment even if the device specifically designed with mounting in mind. There are a lot of expensive or complicated mounting options, but then there are cheaper AND better options. Specialized mounting brackets are available for many devices, but they can be stupidly expensive and then I'd have to wait for shipping. Or I could 3D print some brackets. My solution? I simply use zip ties and strategically placed screw-down cable tie mounts . Zip ties are very strong, and the screw mounts can be used to anchor down the zip ties while also preventing the devices from sliding out of position. This is actually far less wasteful than a specialty bracket. Special brackets use a lot of plastic. Zip ties may seem disposable, but they are actually reusable unles...

K4221C Photo Cell Adjustment

I just replaced a K4221 Photocell with a new one. The old photo cell failed in the "on" position, which is actually a great failure mode - I use the photocell to control indoor and outdoor lighting, and for safety reasons its important that it works. So the lights being stuck "on" is a decent failure mode. But the photocell was stuck on for, um, many years. I didn't really notice that there was a photocell, and was just accepting that the lights were on 24x365. Now with the photocell, my lights will be on roughly 16 hours a day. That saves a third off of my lighting bill. In the scheme of things it will only save me a couple hundred bucks, but hey, rather I get it than OPEC. My photocell has a tough job. It is to turn on necessary indoor and outdoor lighting when it starts to get dark outside. But the challenge is that the photocell is positioned so it receives a lot of artificial light from the urban street, and it is unreasonably complex for me to...

Connecting your MIDI keyboard to your Mac

MIDI and the Mac. It's easy, fun, and shockingly inexpensive! I enjoy fooling around with musical instruments, and so when Garageband originally came out several years ago, I was very excited to start using it with my cheap little Casio keyboard. Initially it seemed expensive and complicated to get the right parts together to connect the Mac to my keyboard via MIDI. I didn't want to spend a ton of money in professional-class electronics. I wanted to fool around. Happily, I discovered that it's inexpensive and easy. If you know where to look, a Mac-compliant MIDI adapter can be purchased for under $10! That's right, for less than $10 I connected my Mac to my MIDI keyboard and by MIDI drum kit. I bought an MIDI-to-USB interface, in particular, one like this really inexpensive USB MIDI Cable available through Amazon . The adapter is a simple device that has a MIDI "in"/"out" connectors on one end, and a USB connector on the other. The adapt...

Fixing my Wahl 9918 Groomsman Beard and Mustache Trimmer

Not everyone would bother repairing a $25 beard trimmer, but why not fix something for under $5 instead of spending another $25? My Wahl 9918 Groomsman Beard and Mustache Trimmer has admirably performed its beauty duty for many years, but the time came when the battery just wasn't holding a charge any more. Most people would just put the trimmer in the trash and buy a new one, but I figured I could repair my otherwise excellent Wahl and save some money. In fact, even high priced trimmer and rotary shaver brands, like Norelco and Remington, can be easily repaired using a process similar to the one I used to fix my Wahl. Read on to find out how. I opened up the Wahl by popping off the black plastic faceplate with a tiny flathead screwdriver, which revealed two screws. By removing the two screws I was able to easily open up the unit, revealing the guts of the device. Backplate off, Revealing the screws The internals are rather simple: a motor, a...

The Lance J. Technoweb

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