Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with connect

Want to install a 3rd party trailer hitch to a new 2010 Ford Transit Connect delivery van. Safe?

orehek — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 08:15:16 -0800

Want to install a 3rd party trailer hitch to a new 2010 Ford Transit Connect delivery van. Safe? We just bought a 2010 Ford Transit Connect delivery van (4-cylinder engine). We have read the spec sheet, spoke with our dealer and even called Ford's technical department with no luck...We just get a canned answer with no real thought behind it. Ford does not make a trailer hitch for the Transit Connect and they also do not recommend using one. However, there is a well-known company on the west coast (Valley Industries) that makes aftermarket trailer hitches for almost every vehicle known to man. Here is an online dealer who sells the trailer in question:
Trailer Hitch for 2010 Ford Transit Connect.
The vehicle has a maximum cargo capacity of 1600lbs…that much we did verify. Here is the reason why we think using a trailer ought to be fine. We deliver large boxes (30” x 18” x 18”) but they are relatively light, about 45lbs each and the Transit Connect can only hold about 10 of them at a time. If we fill the cargo space to capacity, the cargo will weigh only 450lbs. Therefore, we are still 1150lbs away from reaching the cargo max weight. This is the primary reason why we feel that pulling, say an 8ft U-Haul trailer hauling an additional 15 boxes ought to be fine. Any help and/or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Why can't I connect to my neighbor's open wireless network?

Sia Stewart — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:25:24 -0800

My downstairs neighbor has given me permission to connect to her open wireless network. The network looks unsecured, doesn't ask for a password, just tells me "unable to connect," except once when it seemed to connect but told me I had a weak or limited connection. The signal is strong. My laptop connects just fine to other networks, so I'm guessing there is some setting at her end that's stopping the connection. Any idea what it might be? She has no idea, but will probably make whatever change I ask her to. FWIW, I'm using XP on an HP machine. No idea what her set up might be.

2 Macs 1 HD

Aya — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 17:00:45 -0800

How can I connect 2 Macs to 1 HardDrive So I recently bought a new Macbook Pro and I would like to be able to have wireless access to the files in the external 200gbs usb hard drive connected to my old iMac G5.

ipod to stereo

cookie googleman — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:10:48 -0800

How does one achieve the best sound quality when connecting ipod/iphone directly to stereo? I recently purchased a Belkin Stereo Cable for iPhone to connect my ipod and iphone directly to my stereo. It works, but the sound quality is not very good. Is there a better way to do this without having to purchase a dock? Thanks in advance.

Connect Intel Macbook to basic TV?

AONeal79 — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:24:43 -0800

Even after reading these forums, I still can't get my head around exactly what I need to connect my Macbook to my basic, non-HD TV. What I would love is if someone could give me specific product ID numbers from Monoprice for each cable/adapter that I need. Here are photos of my Macbook and the back of my basic, 5-year old Toshiba TV. Thanks so much!

Connecting with WiFi, what does "Identifying" mean?

exphysicist345 — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:47:54 -0800

[WiFi Filter] What does "Identifying" mean? When connecting up to a WiFi hotspot, the Network and Sharing Center on my laptop shows the word "Identifying." My question is simple: Who is identifying whom?

The word "Identifying" appears underneath the middle icon, which represents the hotspot. Sometimes the Identifying is completed quickly, sometimes it hangs and never finishes.

As I sit glumly staring at it, I can't help needing to know: Who is doing the Identifying? Whom are they trying to Identify? And why does the Identifying sometimes fail?

Windows Vista SP1 on a Toshiba laptop, various hotspots.

Elluminate vs. Adobe Connect

Mom — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:50:17 -0800

Elluminate VRoom vs. Adobe Connect: Which Online Meeting tool is better? My college is reviewing Elluminate's VRoom and Adobe's Connect. Have you used them, and do you have a preference? Issues: some participants have dialup, presenters and/or participants may not have high computer literacy, cost is very much an issue, but we have some leeway. Specifically, How does Adobe Connect do over dialup? Are there gaping flaws in either product that we haven't uncovered yet?

How to show computer desktop and video on LCD TV

atm — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:40:53 -0800

Hi, I'm looking for a way to show my computer's desktop on my large LCD TV so my wife and I can both see it. I have a used an s-video cable (along with an audio cable) from my laptop to the TV, but there are three problems with this method. 1) requires a reboot of my laptop to make it recognize the TV and play to it 2) text is blurry on the TV due to TV's unsuitability for acting as a computer monitor 3) requires the s-video cable to be plugged into the otherwise wirelessly connected laptop So I'm looking for a solution that will eliminate these problems. Like maybe something that will just play my desktop as a video signal to the TV and not try to make the TV into another monitor of my computer. Also, I'm not looking for HDTV quality, just watchable video (internet quality would be fine.) Thanks!

How to manage music and spin the dial on the Sansa Connect?

ibmcginty — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:42:45 -0800

Sansa Connect two-fer: (1) the little dial sometimes become immobile; (2) which program to use now that Yahoo Jukebox has bitten the dust? My Sansa Connect is under a year old. The little dial formerly became un-spinnable only on airplanes; now it stops working more frequently, for no reason I have been able to discern. Any suggestions?

Also, is anyone using Rhapsody to manage music on the Connect? Or other programs? Yahoo Jukebox was never that great, and now I can't even seem to save playlists in there anymore.

Xbox 360 won't connect, thus limiting my 'rocking out' time.

cgomez — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:27:03 -0800

I've been using my Xbox 360 for almost a year without any networking problems. As of two days ago, it will not log into Xbox Live and the problem has gotten worse. I've been using the Xbox 360 on my network with an Apple AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and a cable internet connection without issue. On Thursday, I tried to get online and it wouldn't sign in - the network test failed on the MTU stage. I didn't have time to troubleshoot it then, so I waited until this morning. Now that I've been working with it, I tried swapping ethernet cables, power it off, along with my router and cable modem and such, now it won't even get an IP address. I even went so far as plug the 360 directly into the modem and restart the modem.

Is there a way to reset the 360 completely (and not lose my profile, downloaded content)? I'm certain that there is something on the 360 that is causing the problem. I've reset the 360 network settings to default, but they weren't change in the first place.

This is quite frustrating, please help. All logical attempts at remedying this have failed.

Help! No internet in Windows on a Mac

backwords — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 14:37:28 -0800

Running Windows on my Mac and having some internet woes... I am running Windows on my Mac through VMwareFusion. I am connected to the internet fine on the Mac side, but on the Windows side I can't connect at all or the connection is really slow. This just happened in the last couple of hours and I haven't changed anything in Windows.

Any ideas how to fix this?

When I check in Windows it says that I am connected, but websites don't come up and more importantly the software I need for work isn't connecting.

Find PCI slot PS/2 adapter

4midori — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 21:20:38 -0800

How to select and buy PCI card with PS/2 port for older keyboard (repost)

I need to connect a PC keyboard (MS Natural, not Elite) with PS/2 termination to my PC, but the PC lacks a PS/2 port. I've tried a PS/2 to USB adapter, including one from clickykeyboards.com as recommended, but some keys then stick or don't work correctly.

I know I can buy a PCI slot card that has a PS/2 port, but I've been unable to find a) which is the right one for my PC (Dell Dimension 9100) and b) where to buy it.

Oddly, no one seems to make a USB keyboard with the exact layout as the original MS Natural keyboard. I'm using their Ergonomic 4000 model, and it sucks.

I have Googled this, used Yahoo answers, and asked the tech support gurus at my work, but no good answers. Ideas?

Macbook as an external hard drive

JPowers — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 14:44:52 -0800

How can I use my Macbook as an external hard drive? If I want to connect my Macbook to another computer (via firewire or USB, not via a network connection), I've heard that I can connect the two computers, boot up the Macbook, press a few buttons, and then my Macbook will show up on the other computer as an external drive. Is this true? If so, how?

Also, is it possible to do this using my Macbook and a Windows machine?

Why can't I connect to my network using WPA?

gfrobe — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 01:43:06 -0800

Just reinstalled my OS and can longer connect wirelessly to my router using WPA. Things were getting a bit sluggish on my computer so I just reinstalled XP with Sp2 and all updates. I have a US Robotics 5416 wireless PCI card in the computer and until now, have never had any problems with it. However, after the OS reinstall, it will no longer connect to my network using WPA-PSK security. After reinstalling the OS, I installed the same driver as before (the most up to date from USR website) and have done everything the same as before i.e. SSID, passkey phrase, channel) but it just won't work. It just keeps scanning and for a second it says "authenticating" but then it just goes back to scanning.

When I turn off security on the router, it connects OK. Can anyone tell me why WPA would work absolutely fine yesterday but won't work today? I've tried resetting router to factory defaults but that also didn't work.

Thanks.