Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with gateway

How big a pipeline?

BigLankyBastard — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 07:52:51 -0800

Is there a straightforward set of recommendations or standards for how much internet bandwidth to set up per number of expected users? I have been asked to consult on a project to provide internet access to a large apartment building. There are between 60 and 80 units in the building. I am fairly sure that their current plan regarding the shared internet connection will be inadequate, but I have had a very hard time finding any source to back up my instinct, let alone any simple way to calculate what the shared bandwidth SHOULD be for that many home users.

Bonus points for anyone who points me to a company that provides that sort of large-scale shared internet access.

Selling a new invention to the world...suggestions on shopping carts and cc processing?

msoffab — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:46:35 -0800

Selling a new invention to the world online...suggestions on shopping carts and cc processing? I am redoing my friends website for a new invention...it's a bottle opener for screw cap wine bottles.

I am in the process of redoing the site and I want to know your suggestions on payment processing for a single item like this. PayPal is ok or we could sign up for a regular merchant account and gateway. As far as rates, I have a cc processor/merchant account, so I care about gateway and ecommerce fees on top of my cc processor's rates.

I am looking for a dead simple solution like shopify or something that can easily be created to handle the ecommerce as well as allow for static pages (ie press, video demonstrations, about us, contact, etc). It would be nice to have some type of backend for supporting order status, shipping, receipts, etc. But no one feature would be a deal breaker for me. It should be 2-3 clicks before they click 'place order'

Eventually, we would like to setup landing pages how shamwow does it. They have a single page that is optimized for conversions (probably using A/B testing) and allows for the customer to place an order on the same page. Any suggestions for this?

Bonus question: would this change if I had 1-3 products to sell? I got another buddy who is inventing something and there are a couple indirect products he is selling related to it. I am hoping to use the same dead simple system on there too.

Thanks for reading that long and drawn out question :)

White-label hosted credit-card processing?

pengale — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:03:21 -0800

What online credit-card processor best meets these criteria? 1. 100% hosted. No PCI-DSS worries.
2. 100% branded/white-label. Use own domain (i.e. CNAME), and customize design and navigation.
3. Concentrates on just the payment step; design your own cart/sales page
4. No minimum annual revenue amount; cost structure suitable for small business.
5. Customer-service-focused (where the customer is the merchant...)

Sorry if this has been posted before; most of the other questions I could find pertain to either shopping carts or payment gateways that require you to comply with PCI-DSS. Does something like this even exist?

Is there an AIM-to-IRC bot?

Mwongozi — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 07:54:08 -0800

Can I talk to my IRC-using friends via AIM? Bitlbee is the exact opposite of what I'm looking for. I essentially want a bot that will sit on an IRC server, pretending to be me, and forward any private messages to my AIM client - also relaying back my responses.

I don't really care about channels, I just want to be able to MSG people.

Does this exist? My Google-fu is failing me.

One Cisco router, two ISPs - gateway redundancy?

doomtop — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 07:29:28 -0800

One Cisco router, two ISPs - gateway redundancy? I'm looking for a way to use two ISP connections (one cable, one DSL) to provide gateway redundancy. What I mean is, if one gateway stops working for any reason, I would like to router to start using the other gateway automatically. Is it possible with one router, and how would it be done?

What I'd like to do is connect the equipment from the ISPs to a switch and connect the WAN of my Cisco router to the switch as well. Then I would assign the static IP address from each ISP to a separate virtual interface each on the WAN of the Cisco.

Does this make any sense? Would I need two routers to do it? Or would i need two physical interfaces?

Help me pick a dual-head video card compatible with OSx86 (hackintosh) and Linux

fishfucker — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 07:58:47 -0800

Recommend a video card that can push dual monitors on OSX86 (Hackintosh) and Linux. Lots more info about my setup inside. I have a stock Gateway GT 5636e, and two HP w2207h 22" Monitors (1680 x 1050 with HDMI). I want to buy a video card that's compatible with OSx86 and Ubuntu (or a similar workstation distro) that's dual head.

Usage: The primary use of this machine is for web development. (I'm pretty much just going to be running RubyMine/IntelliJ and a web browser). It will also see occasional Photoshop, Flash, and Illustrator work. In theory, it should be capable of working with video. I have zero intention of playing games on this machine, so I don't need gaming level performance.

Budget: as close to $50 (after rebate, if necessary) as possible, but feel free to give recommendations up to $100 if this is too low or there's a compelling reason to spend extra money for my needs. Ideally I won't have to buy a new power supply to get the new video card running (according to some newegg commenters, the current power supply is 400w and it *may* have a 6 pin pci express adapter -- I haven't cracked the seal to verify yet). Being carried by Amazon/Newegg/Fry's or anyone with fast shipping is a plus.

Compatibility: Supposedly, nVidia Geforce cards work best with Hackintosh/OSx86, which is my first choice to install on this machine, but if the OSx86 install fails, I will be installing some flavor of Linux, most likely Ubuntu. If it comes to that, I want to be able to run the whiz-bang compiz effects. Generally, I want a card that will work for either purpose, but if I have to sacrifice some minor linux compatibility (slightly harder to install, etc) for having greater OSx86 compatibility, that's fine. Actual experience and/or links to comments/threads that verify compatibility is preferred to guesses, but I'm not picky.

The Zotac 1GB Geforce 9500 is an example of the sort of cards and price range I've been looking at. Still, I am no longer clued in to what makes any particular card model better than another (last time I built a machine, whichever card had more RAM and a 'bigger' model number was usually better). Mostly, I'm worried that I am misinformed in thinking that simply because a video card has two separate DVI ports that it will be able to drive two separate monitors.

I probably won't be able to check back until midday to provide more information, so hopefully I didn't leave anything out. Thanks guys!

What is a reputable, low-cost, non-PayPal merchant account to accept credit cards online?

roxie110 — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:19:28 -0800

What are some reputable, low-cost, non-PayPal merchant accounts that enable you to accept credit cards online? Extra credit question: what are the best designed and lowest cost Web store options? I've been using PayPal for years to sell on Ebay, but want to open up a standalone web store and accept credit cards directly.

So my question is a two-parter:

1) Who out there has a good, reputable, low-cost merchant account to directly accept credit cards online? My business volume will probably be a couple thousand dollars a month to start, but hopefully as I move sales from Ebay to my Web store, it will be several times that. I'm tired of shoveling money into Ebay/Paypal's pockets, so I'm open to any suggestions. My biggest concern, besides cost, is protection against fraud. PayPal does have certain protections for the seller against unauthorized credit card payments, and I'm terrified of losing hundreds of dollars to bad apples if I go to a non-PayPal merchant account. Any insight on that?

2) Can anyone recommend a Web store that's easy to set up, allows for a certain level of customization, and has sophisticated inventory management? I've spent some time trying to set up a ProStore Business-Level account but refuse to open it because their inventory management is a joke if you have more than 10 or 20 items (I generally have 150-200). The entire interfaice is utterly slow and counterintuitive--though maybe I'd need to upgrade to Advanced to get more functionality. The upside is that it synchs inventory with your Ebay store, and it would be hard to let that go, as I'm constantly adding new items to the store. Any suggestions?

MANY THANKS for your help!!

Replace a Gateway Laptop LCD?

nokry56 — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 14:33:39 -0800

My girlfriend's Gateway T-6836 just fell. Her screen is broken and she called me in tears. I found a replacement screen, but will it work? And how can I replace it? Here's the screen I found: link
Thoughts?

Any ideas on how to get to taking this thing apart and replacing the screen? What potential problems might I run into? Should it be as simple as opening up the LCD, unplugging the broken screen and pluggin in the new one?

Obviously there could be other problems, but I figured I'd start with the screen. I work in IT and am not afraid to get my hands dirty, but I've never had to replace a laptop screen... Help?

Paypal alternatives

specialk420 — Tue, 13 May 2008 12:26:23 -0800

What are the best paypal alternatives? For setting up a many to many payment system? services like: http://www.merchantinc.com/ or amazon payment gateway? the simpler the better.

help with fixing my computer...

nyu2 — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 09:41:11 -0800

My monitor's power supply blew out recently, but unfortunately it is built into my PC. The PC still powers on, but the monitor remains black. Is there a way to use my computer despite not being able to turn on the monitor? (plugging in an external monitor did not seem to work) I made the terrible decision of purchasing this gateway computer where the PC is connected to the monitor. The power supply to the monitor blew out recently and I can still turn on the computer, but the monitor remains black. I've tried hooking up an external monitor to the gateway, but that didn't work. I have an external hard drive, but I can't put any files onto it because the monitor won't turn on. Is there a way to still use the computer now that the monitor is broken or at the very least back up my current files?

I've also tried replacing the power supply for $170, thinking that I had fixed the problem only for the same thing to happen two weeks later...apparently this is a very common problem with this model, and gateway support has been absolutely dismal. If at all possible I'd like to avoid throwing anymore money into this piece of junk computer.

Searching for a laptop repair shop that solders...

Alterscape — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 08:29:13 -0800

I'm looking for a reptable laptop repair shop that handles Gateway/e-machines systems and would attempt to re-solder or replace a broken power jack rather than replacing the entire mainboard. I'm in Tempe, AZ, but a reputable mail-in company would work too. A friend has an emachines m2350 laptop, which is a re-badged Gateway m520. To the best of my ability to diagnose, it appears to have the cold-soldered DC power jack problem that google suggests plagues this model. The machine is not under warranty, and the Geek Squad/big-name-repair-place answer seems to be "replace the entire motherboard, at a cost of $200-$400," which does not make financial sense for my friend given the age of the laptop. I started to tear the machine down last night, but the online teardown guides I can find don't go further than "gain access to the RAM under the keyboard." It looks like the entire system will have to be disassembled to get at the underside of the mainboard and I'm not quite that brave when it comes to someone else's machine.

The only repair companies I can find through Google (search terms: gateway/emachines power jack repair) aren't local, and have shady-looking search-engine optimization stuff all over their pages. Can anyone suggest a shop from personal experience that is likely to get the job done well? I'd prefer a local shop, but I suspect I'll be going with a mail-in because almost nobody actually solders things as part of "computer repair" anymore.

Scrolling on its own...

daninnj — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 16:57:15 -0800

My Tablet PC scrolls on its own unless I hit Caps Lock. What gives? Also, anyone know good tech support in or near Philly? I'm typing this on a library computer right now. My Tablet PC is only a year and a half old yet has many problems. One is my touch screen is not working but my main problem right now is that I can be viewing a page in IE or Firefox or in Word or Notepad typing a paper and it would just start scrolling down. If I tried to go back up, it would try but just force itself down.

I noticed that having the Caps Lock on fixes this problem somehow BUT THEN I WOULD HAVE TO TYPE LIKE THIS, which is annoying. Also, when this starts happening, my Shift key would go back a page on Firefox or IE. So if I'm trying to type a capital or a question mark on a form like this one, it would just bring me back to the last page. If I held down shift, it would bring me back to my first page. Restarting the computer would fix this for five minutes. It would happen again.

I reformatted the computer and it still happens, so it's a hardware problem. My warranty expired in June and I'm an idiot for not renewing it (please don't focus on this), so I can't send it to Gateway.

My best bet is to go somewhere to have it fixed but I'm not sure of any places in or around Philly.

So, (1) What might be causing this problem? and (2) Where could I get it fixed?

Trying to figure out a WAP gateway problem

zek — Wed, 30 May 2007 18:01:46 -0800

Why is it that my WiFi doesn't work unless I go to TCP IP Settings > Advanced and delete the Default Gateway? Every day I have to take my laptop computer back and forth between a Linksys WAP and a Linksys WAP combo Ethernet-WAP, both of which are connected to the same 8-port router. I have no trouble connecting to either of the WAPs but I sometimes have trouble getting my Internets to work.

I can unplug the card and reboot my computer all I like to no avail, and I'll be connected to the WAP but not to the Internet. The one thing that is guaranteed to make things start working is to delete the default gateway in Networking > TCP IP configuration. After I delete this, the Internet comes up in 2 seconds. Windows always sticks 192.168.1.1 in there when I'm done but the connection works. If I look at Linksys > Link Information I can see that one WAP does use a gateway of 192.168.2.1 and the other of 192.168.2.188.

From what I've seen my Internet only gets stuck if my laptop goes into Standby mode.

If there is no good explanation, then teach me to fish... are there any good tutorials that will help me wrap my head around gateways, routers, bridges, and that kind of thing without assuming I have a graduate-level understanding of networking?

Broken key

daninnj — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 18:48:08 -0800

Can I snap this keyboard key back in? My G key on my Gateway Tablet PC had a piece of food under it and was making it not respond to my finger presses well. I wanted to lift it to clean the bottom of it and it snapped off. I can't seem to get it back on, although, as you can see, the G key works fine with the actually key off, but I want it on.

There are two white pieces, one attached to the black key (but can be lifted up) and one just laying there.

Here's the keyboard, the broken key, and the white piece. The white plastic piece is broken due to my dad trying to snap the key back in place, but still intact.

Is there any hope to get this key back on the keyboard? How does the white piece snap into the key or keyboard?

How would I go about installing Ubuntu Linux to my laptop via PXE or an External HDD?

TrueVox — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 15:17:39 -0800

Installing Ubuntu Linux (or windows, if it's easier) on my Gateway Laptop with a dead DVD Drive. Is it possible to do with PXE? Or from an external HDD (it has working USB ports, and can (theoretically) boot from USB) with the CD image on it? If so, how? See, the problem is that I need a Linux computer to do PXE installs (according to my Google-Fu, yours may be stronger). Sadly, I've yet to get Linux running on my main lappy (an Intel beast), so I'm still running Gates' child. Anyway, just ask if you need more info, thanks!

How can I get my laptop to notice the E drive?

languagehat — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 12:05:16 -0800

My Gateway laptop can't tell if there's anything in the E drive. How do I change this? I recently got a disk to install the 2007 version of my internet security, put it in, and waited for a box to pop up... nada. The red light went on and off and then stopped, but that was all. Figured it was a bad disk, put in a music CD, nada. Went to My Computer, clicked on Devices with Removable Storage, got "Please insert a disk in Drive E." Is there some simple fix I can try, or am I doomed to deal with Customer Support (and possibly sending the damn thing in for repair)?

If something is sent to you in error can the sender demand it back?

saraswati — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 08:52:46 -0800

LegalFilter: A laptop was sent for repair under warranty to Gateway. According to one of their customer service policies, if the repair isn't returned to you within 14 days they'll send you a new one. This time period passed and a new laptop was shipped out. A few days later, the old laptop (now fully repaired) was shipped in error. If a person is now in possession of both laptops because of an error in the vendor's shipping, does the vendor have legal ground to demand one of them back? This is in the US.

How can I automate SMS sending?

spaceman_spiff — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 01:14:58 -0800

I need to send text messages on a regular basis from an automated system. Is SMS the way to go, or is there a better alternative? What I've found in my research is that while outgoing is relatively cheap (and can be free, if you don't mind going through an email gateway), incoming costs an arm and a leg. Plus your firstborn child. And maybe their firstborn. At least, that's what it feels like from the perspective of a startup company.

Is there a better way of communicating with cell phones? I can send messages to @vtext.com and its equivalent for other companies, but I also need to be able to receive - is email a feature that I can expect SMS-capable phones to have? (I've never had a phone that couldn't send text messages via email, but I don't know if this is universal).

This is for the US only, by the way - my system is geographically based, and only covers parts of the US. Whether that simplifies things, or reduces my options, I'm not sure.

email-2-IM?

krisjohn — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 02:31:13 -0800

Do any of the major Instant Messaging services still provide a free email address that simply turns an incoming email address into an instant message like the old @pager.icq.com addresses used to? I'm having heaps of problems with email and I'm moving over to IM, which appears to have matured a lot in the last couple of years. Everything's cool, except for services that require an email address for activation, or for sending forgotten passwords to.

Do any of the main players provide an email-2-IM gateway as part of a free service, or have they all moved to providing a separate email account with web access and only basic notification via the IM client?

Gateway laptop screen death

red cell — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 08:51:38 -0800

Gateway Solo 9550 black screen issue [of course there will be--->] My dad's laptop has suddenly stopped illuminating. The OS (winXP) is functioning, but the screen has lost all illumination. There is a very faint trace of what's going on, but other than that, there's nothing. My limited google-foo turned up some other folks suffering the same problem, but no good solution. As always, "thanks" in advance.

Upgrade a Windows 98 Laptop to XP

slowtree — Sat, 27 May 2006 11:33:33 -0800

How to upgrade and old Gateway solo 5300? I have a Gateway solo 5300 Laptop that originally had Windows 98 on. I recenly upgraded it to Windows XP. I am running into a few issues.
1. Under the Power managment on the Advanced tab i do not have the "when i close the lid of laptop" option.
2. I now do not have the ability to scroll with the touchpad.
3. If I boot into the Bios I have a "current operating system" option that only alows me to select ..
A. Win98/2000/ME
B. Windows 95
C. Other
4. Various other limited options..
Should I reinstall windows XP with a format rather than an "Upgrade"?
Is there an updated Bios version I should try to find on the Gateway web site? If so what should I do to Install it?
Generaly what steps Should I take to get this thing running with the new OS like its a brand new Machine?

Connecting to VPN and Internet at the same time

Sharcho — Sat, 27 May 2006 07:52:50 -0800

VPN on Windows 2000: I need to connect to both the VPN and the Internet at the same time. I need some IP addresses to go through the VPN, and others to go through my router's gateway. I need to access the following IP addresses through the VPN:
192.168.10.*, 192.168.20.*, 222.111.55.111
And I want to access everything else through my router's gateway (192.168.1.254).

I tried unchecking the "Use default gateway on remote network" option on the advanced TCP/IP setting of the VPN connection, but after I do that I can't access anything on the VPN.

What are my options for Tablet PCs?

benjh — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 08:55:31 -0800

What are my options for Tablet PCs? I am looking into a possible Tablet PC for work. A lot of what I do is to write notes on information submitted, and send it back.

What brands are my best options? I've been looking at Gateway, Toshiba, HP... any other options? Lenovo is too expensive for tablets.

Any other options besides a tablet? Right now, I use a traditional laptop from Dell.

Will a tablet work for me? I want to be able to write notes down, and then e-mail the results. Right now, I write things hardcopy, and then scan, then e-mail them.

problem adding memory to a gateway laptop

jason9009 — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 20:05:30 -0800

ok so my girlfriend's laptop was rediculously slow and infested with spyware, viruses, and who knows what else. I couldn't even work on it it was so slow. .. Checked the memory .. it was only 256.. got 1024 from crucial.com in two 512 sticks. Should have no problem wiping the spyware .. problem is with the memory!! Took out her old 256 stick and added in the two new sticks. Computer decides not to start.. Powers on but nothing ..

So i take out ONE of the 512 sticks .. powers up just fine . . this behaviour is repeatable .. why is it that when i add the second stick, the computer powers on but that's it . . the laptops monitor doesnt even light up.. no sounds of the harddrive churning .. nothing ..

i can put either 512 stick in by itself and everything is fine ...boots up with 512 kb memory installed. .. so the chips appear fine .. any ideas??

its a gateway laptop running winxp 400 series ( 400SD4 )

Wifi sharing w/ a 'gateway' access page?

prettyboyfloyd — Mon, 17 Jan 2005 18:16:31 -0800

Wifi sharing w/ a 'gateway' access page? {more inside} I have a speakeasy dsl connection (~1068down / 321up) connected to a utilitarian wireless router (Belkin Wireless G router, 2.4Ghz). I'd like to share it with my neighbors. Netshare through speakeasy though, it seems, only allows people to share with a minimum payment of $20 per month.
I'd rather give folks in my building the option of paying some small amount through paypal if they want to. How can I allow them access, but force them through a gateway page each time they connect? The page would have a donate button and some ground rules for usage. If this is a no brainer I would be grateful if someone (kindly) directed me to accesible DIY resources on this topic. Thanks!
(Hope this isn't a DP, I searched through the archives but didn't see this exact question.)

-PBF