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The difference between the TP-Link TL-WR841N and TL-WR841ND

Dave Farquhar Servers and Networking May 13, 2015July 10, 2017antenna, TL, tp link

I see people asking about the difference between the TP-Link TL-WR841N and TL-WR841ND (sometimes they just ask TP-Link TL-WR841N vs TL-WR841ND). Since nobody else seems to have answered, I’ll take the question.

Here’s how to decode TP-Link model numbers. This is true of the 841 series, which is my go-to for the moment when I need a capable yet inexpensive router, but also other TP-Link models.

“TL” stands for TP-Link. “WR” stands for wireless router. The numbers tell you where the model stands in the product line. Beefier routers have larger numbers. “N” stands for the type of networking, which, in this case, is 802.11N. “D” stands for detachable antennae.

If you don’t need to be able to detach the antennae to replace them with bigger, longer-range models, you can save some money by buying the N-model. Otherwise, the TL-WR841N and TL-WR841ND are functionally identical. They both use the same DD-WRT build.

SSDs, data loss, electricity, and hype

Dave Farquhar Hardware, security May 12, 2015May 11, 20151990s, intel, jmicron, micron, samsung, toshiba

I’m not particularly worried about this, but under the very worst case scenario, certain solid-state disks can theoretically lose data in a week or two if they’re left without power. But that doesn’t instill panic and get clicks when you say it like that.

But you knew I was going to write about it. Let me tell you why I’m not worried.

Fare thee well, Super Civic. And thanks for everything.

Dave Farquhar Parenting, Saving money May 11, 2015April 8, 2022thermostat

Last week, at about 238,000 miles, we traded my wife’s 2002 Honda Civic. It was good to us.

She drove that car the night we first met. It was the car we drove home after we got married. We drove our dog home from the Humane Society in it, I drove her to the hospital in it, and we drove our two boys home from the hospital in it. When a car lasts 13 years, it gets to participate in a lot I guess.

Beware “graded value” baseball cards on Ebay

Dave Farquhar Baseball, scams May 8, 2015July 8, 20171980s, Barry Bonds, baseball cards

There are a few hucksters on Ebay, whom I don’t care to give free advertising by mentioning by name, who hawk “graded” cards on Ebay and claim them to be especially valuable. One even puts supposed appraised values in his listings in parenthesis, then invites you to visit his page for an explanation of “graded” value, where he cites an example of a run-of-the-mill 1970s star card, normally worth $60, being worth $2,500 once graded.

The thing is, that’s an edge case. It’s important to understand those edge cases to avoid a ripoff.

Micro Center’s Inland ProHT 88037 USB powered speakers

Dave Farquhar Hardware May 7, 2015July 13, 20161980s, Micro Center, usb port

Micro Center sells a pair of $5 USB-powered speakers. You’re either going to read the next sentence or you aren’t.

Still with me? Great. Let’s talk about them.

Worried about the wrong things? It’s always the wrong thing.

Dave Farquhar War Stories May 6, 2015May 2, 20151990s, DBA, Information Assurance, internet providers, passwords, Patch Tuesday, SSL, TLS

Guy Wright’s piece titled Internet Security: We were worried about the wrong things is a bit old but it’s an important point. Security is a moving target. It’s always a moving target.

I disagree, however, with the assertion that SSL (and its successor, TLS) were a waste of time.

Tricks for giving presentations at work

Dave Farquhar Uncategorized May 5, 2015May 2, 20151990s, journalism, unix

One of my peers–he does exactly what I do at work, but for Unix machines while I cover Windows–asked me for some tips for giving presentations after he gave a presentation last week. I’ve presented a couple of times myself, and from the feedback I received, I didn’t make too much of a fool of myself, so he asked for my feedback.

I gave him a few tips that have served me well over the years.

How to size your Internet connection

Dave Farquhar ISPs, Servers and Networking May 4, 2015August 3, 2017AT&T, AT&T U-verse, netflix, Roku

So I understand ISPs are upselling connection speeds saying it’ll make Netflix work better. That’s a nice theory. But if you’re already over 10 megabits, there’s a decent chance your connection speed won’t do much for Netflix at all. Here’s how to size your Internet connection. Read more

The hidden FM radio in your phone

Dave Farquhar Android May 1, 2015April 23, 2015motorola

Most modern cell phones have an FM radio built into their SoC, but the only major makers who are actually enabling them are HTC and Motorola. There’s disagreement over whether this is a problem, of course.

My Moto E has an FM radio and an app that lets me use it. I have to say if I’ve used it, I don’t remember it. But as NPR says, there’s an advantage to it.

Using the OSI model to troubleshoot video

Dave Farquhar Hardware, Troubleshooting April 30, 2015November 28, 2016amd, nvidia, OSI, osi model, PNY

I was at church on Sunday and the video projection wasn’t working. After a few minutes of watching everyone struggle, I volunteered to take a look, and working together, we were able to get the video working again using a simple, repeatable methodology: Using the OSI model to troubleshoot video.

I’m going to share that methodology now.