Dell Optiplex Amber Power Button and Not Starting - CMOS Battery?

Few days back my home computer which is a Dell Optiplex 980 failed to power on and blue LED in the power button was showing Amber and the usual sequence of power on self check and sequence of blinking numbers did not appear.

I trying power cycling and the status was the same. Looked behind the computer and the power supply unit's indicator was green. 

I recalled that previous time when the machine had started the clock was reset to an older date and there was a possibility that the onboard CMOS battery would have drained. Typically a drained CMOS battery would not stop a machine from booting but it would be a thing worth trying. 

Opened up the unit, removed the CMOS button cell CR2032 and replaced it from a new one from my stock of batteries. After that the computer powered on, the amber in power button was back to blue, machine did initial configuration and powered on. I set the date to current date rebooted it once more to check that every thing works. 

I breathed a sigh of relief. If you have similar problem on a Dell PC, you may want to try this easy fix and let me know if that worked for you.

Panasonic CR3032 on Amazon India
CR2032 on Amazon.com (USA)

Jio GigaFiber First Hand Review of Installation and Usage

Jio GigaFiber has been under test for a while in Bangalore and came to our locality on Sarjapur Road Bangalore around January February 2019. Note that it is not yet launched commercially  happened with Jio GigaFiber so far.

I got my connection installed and activated last week of February and now have been using it for around 3 months under Preview offer for the Jio GigaFiber.

Jio GigaFiber is available in only certain areas of Bangalore and other cities but I see that network cables and infrastructure is expanding fast for a full commercial launch. 

In this post I will answer frequently asked questions and let you know my experience so far. 

Triple Play - Voice line and TV service is not yet active. Smart home features also are not yet provided or activated. At this time at (approaching end May 2019) only Internet connection is active.

Tp-link WiFi Repeater/Range Extender - My Detailed Review
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Jio GigaFiber Subscriber End Equipment 

Equipment is a white box with Fiber Input and dual band WiFi router is built into the same box. It provides a phone line RJ11 port and also 3 wired Ethernet ports and 2 USB ports.

What I have got is made by Fuhong Precision, Vietnam.

Various Interfaces and connections on rear of the Subscriber box.

Fiber through internal wiring duct comes to wall. This is followed by connection with a patch cable to the subscriber unit.  Fiber patch cord is SC Type.

In case you need longer patch cord or similar fiber cables, these are available on Amazon India on this link

Optical Fiber Patch Cords SC Type on Amazon India

Outside fiber drop - 

1:8 or 1:16 splitter is usually installed for giving fiber connection to multiple houses from a fiber drop. Boxes look like this which are typically installed in basements or common utility areas of apartments.

Fiber that is routed to the house. Good experience overall, the way installation was handled. Jio installation team was well trained for fiber installation, wiring including internal wiring through wall ducts.

Kits used by installation team

More views of the installation

Connection takes around a minute to establish. Front light starts with red, then becomes blinking green and then solid green.Solid green LED on Jio GigaFiber Box indicates an established connection .

What I have paid - Rs 4500 security deposit. The service is free till commercial launch.

Commercial launch date is not announced yet (as of 21 May 2019). There are rumours on various plans and services which will be available. Prices may start from as low as Rs 600 per month. There is no official word but base price is expected to offer 100 GB high-speed data, unlimited voice calling, Jio Home TV subscription and access to other Jio apps. As per rumours similar to many of the Jio Mobile prepaid plans, the package would come with 28-day validity. Jio’s Internet Protocol television (IPTV) service is known as Jio Home TV. A landline connection (for unlimited voice calling) may be provided through the phone port on the subscriber box. Users may have to get landline phones or may be offered as a bundle.

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Speed Test

I was using Airtel DSL line with 40Mbps speed before this Jio connection and the new connection gives me 100Mbps during this trial. I am getting between 90 to 100Mbps speed through cable or 5G WiFi line of sight connection. For 2.4G WiFi speeds are lower are mostly we can only get 35 to 50Mbps.

Speed measured on Mobile phone when connected through 5G WiFi to Reliance Jio GigaFiber Box.

Speed measured on Mobile phone when connected through 2.4G WiFi to Reliance Jio GigaFiber Box.

The subscriber box is well made. With both WiFi bands active and with 4 to 6 devices connected, I have not seen face problem in 3 months of operation. Based on the load and activity, the unit gets warm but not too hot. It has ventilation holes all around on the botton side. It is advisable to keep it on a flat surface so that it does not overheat. It is all convection cooling through air and there are no fans.

-----Other Jio Products----------
Jio Hotspot or JioFi 4G Hotspot M2S 150 Mbps Jio 4G is another Portable Wi-Fi Data Device from Jio. You can get the same on Amazon India.

------    --------

Update 10 August 2019. 

Jio landline service is now active through Jio Fiber. Today when I opened the MyJio app and switched to the Fiber connection account I got a pop up that JioFixedVoice is now available for activation. 

Activated it through the app and an OTP. Landline has started working. Just need to plug in a phone into the RJ11 phone socket on the Jio Fiber box. 

Update 12th August 2019

Jio Fiber or JioGiga Fiber has been in trial mode for around a year. Now after trials runs and testing at 5Lac (500K) houses Jio is ready for commercial launch and date has been announced at Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL)’s Annual General Meeting on 12th August 2019.

Commercial launch will happen from 5th September 2019.

Charges will start from Rs 700 and will go upto Rs 10000 per month with speeds between 100Mbps to 1Gbps.

Unlimited voice calling to any phone, any telecom operator will be bundled with Jio GigaFiber.

One of the bundle announced is for cheaper International calling from Jio Landline. One of these is unlimited US/Canada calling plan from Jio Landline for Rs 500 per month.

For some long term yearly plans Jio is also proposing to bundle a 4K set top box and a 4K TV. Stay tuned.
--

Update 4 Sep 2019.
Jio Fiber commercial launch has happened and rates have been finally announced.
Jio Fiber Plans on Jio Website

Key highlights - 
Monthly plans start from Rs 699 to Rs 8499 (before taxes) for speeds starting from 100Mbps to 1Gbps. High speed data quota range is from 100GB to 5000GB (5TB).  As part of initial offer for 6 months bonus additional data is also being offered. 

Plans have been names Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond, Platinum and Titanium.

There are freebies also on offer like in Annual Silver plan you get a decent Bluetooth Speaker free and also additional data. Annual subscribers also get set top box free of cost.

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Update 28 Oct 2019

Fiber connection working well without any problems. No information on billing start date yet for the trial customers. We are able to add data as needed and phone and internet working well. The local contact of Jio have informed that we have to wait for some more time before we get to select the plan and start paying and availability of set top box for TV and other services..

Update June 2020.
Connection working fine without any issues. New apps are being regularly added to Jio Settop box. 

Using connection along with 

TP-Link | AC1200 WiFi Range Extender | Up to 1200Mbps Speed | Dual Band Wireless Extender, Repeater, Signal Booster,

Update October 2020

For existing customers like me who had paid based on 999 per month plan for 100Mbps connection, Jio has updated speed to 150Mbps and monthly quota is also gone and now it is Unlimited. Connection is far better and reliable and rarely have faced outages. Overall a good experience so far. Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are also now part of the apps offered on the Jio Settop box. 

OnePlus 7 Pro Review (Mirror Grey, 8GB RAM, 256GB Storage)

Here are few pictures and quick views on newly launched OnePlus 7 Pro.

Got the Mirror Grey, 8GB RAM, 256GB Storage version from OnePlus store in Bangalore.
Online in India it is available exclusively on Amazon India.

Product Options Available (as of 17th May 2019) include 6GB 128GB and 8GB 256GB Variants.

Awesome speed, amazing screen viewing experience.

Specifications
OS Android 9 out of the box.
Processor - Snapdragon 855
RAM 8 GB
Item Weight 204 g
Product Dimensions 16.3 x 0.9 x 7.6 cm
Batteries: 1 Lithium ion 4000 mAH
Official model number GM1911
Wireless : Bluetooth;WiFi Hotspot
Connectivity technologies 4G;FDD;LTE;
Bands Supported (B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/18/19/20/25/26/28/29/32/66);TDD-LTE;(B34/38/39/40/41);TDS;(B34/39);UMTS;(B1/2/4/5/8/9/19);CDMA;(BC0/BC1);GSM;(B2/3/5/8)
Special features Dual SIM;In-display Fingerprint sensor;Accelerometer;Electronic compass;Gyroscope;Ambient light sensor;Proximity sensor;Sensor core;Laser sensor
Other camera features 8MP
Whats in the box Handset, Power Adapter, Type-C Cable (Support USB 2.0), Documentation, Silicon/Plastic Case and SIM Tray Ejector

Product Pictures

Pop up front facing selfie camera. These have been around now for some time on other brands like Vivo.

Adjustable screen refresh rate. Smoother experience on 90Hz but you will consume more battery life.

Included 30W adaptor

SAR Value -
Adding box image showing SAR value for Assembled in India unit.
1.187 W/kg (Head)
0.606 W/kg (Body)

Photos Taken by OnePlus 7 Pro.
All photos taken in default camera settings. No adjustment. Only few photos cropped.

Buy OnePlus 7 Pro on Amazon India (Amazon Affiliate links)
OnePlus 7 Pro (Mirror Grey, 6GB RAM, 128GB Storage)
OnePlus 7 Pro (Mirror Grey, 8GB RAM, 256GB Storage)

Review, Usage Guide and Tips for Amazon Kindle e-book Reader in India

All-New Kindle (10th Gen), 6" Display now with Built-in Light, 4 GB, Wi-Fi 

Features 

- 6 inch display, 167 ppi glare-free feels to eyes like real paper, even in direct sunlight.

- Adjustable front light - read comfortably - 24 levels of light from zero to max. 

- As no internet browser, speaker and media options one can read distraction-free. 

- Dictionary feature, Highlight passages, look up definitions, translate words

- Adjust text size—without ever leaving the page (2 finger zoom works).

- Huge and larger selection compared to other options like Kobo

- Book formats size is very compact and so even 4GB can holds thousands of titles, so virtually you can carry library with you.

- Prime reading gives you ten books at any time from a selection of Kindle books. If you need another book, just return one of the existing ones and new one can be downloaded. (Limit of 10 is valid as of May 2019). 

- Amazing battery life. A single battery charge lasts weeks, not hours.

- This device does not support playback of Audible audiobooks.
- Experimental Browser - for very basic web browsing in Black and White

 

- Product dimensions - 160mm x 113mm x 8.7mm

Usage review - 

- This 2019 Kindle 10th Gen makes an already well designed product even better.

- Light weight for its size. At 174 grams, comfortable for even for single hand use.
- Addition of back-light to this base model of latest gen device is a welcome step.

- Although it has 4 LEDs in back-light the light is very uniform across the screen and there are no patches of brightness. You need back-light only in dark or if you prefer a brighter screen. Based on ambient light and what is comfortable to your eyes light can be adjusted at 24 different levels.

- No charger is included. Only a USB cable which can be used to charge from any standard 5V USB charger or a computer. Micro USB port is on lower edge of the device as you see in picture. Next to it is the power button. 

- Availability of many free books as per of Prime Reading (for Prime members) makes money spent more worth it for me.
- Price of many international titles as well as Indian books is far lower for Kindle edition compared to paper backs and hard cover books.

- Resolution of 167ppi sounds low when we compare with phone screens which have upwards of 400ppi these days but with e-ink screen and the book reading this resolution and clarity is really good.

Buy Kindle on Amazon India   (amazon affiliate link)
Buy 2019 Kindle on Amazon.com  (amazon affiliate link) 

Here is some views of device menus and options

- On this Kindle Bluetooth is not enabled for audio books (as of May 2019). 

There are good accessibility options in case you need assistance. These include ofcourse the font size adjustment, screen adjustments for brightness as well as screen reader which can read out buttons and menus for guidance and operation. As there is no builtin speaker one has to be a bluetooth speaker or earphone. volume and speech rate of spoken feedback can be adjusted. 

- In accessibility settings when VoiceView Screen Reader is enabled you can setup a Bluetooth speaker or headset which can be used for listening to on screen menus and commands and if a book page is open it starts to read the same. This is not a very good audio book experience.

- Reading options have language learning features which can be good for learning new words and vocabulary skills.

Experimental Browser
There is a very basic experimental Web browser in Kindle and can be accessed from the top right corner of menu (three dots). Refer to the picture. With this you can have basic browsing done.

   

Parental control options are available to restrict features and content with a passcode. 

Let me know if you have any questions on usage experiences, instructions and tips on transferring books to especially the NCERT and CBSE school books to Kindle?

For converting books for CBSE or any other NCERT books to make them compatible with Kindle, I used Calibre SW which is very easy to use and works flawlessly. 

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Amazon USA

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Amazon Canada