HP Dv6500t Realtek High Definition Microphone Issues in Windows 7

Goodness, hopefully this will help someone out there, as this took much much too long to find the answer to.

I recently upgraded my HP DV6500t laptop to Windows 7, which went smoothly, except for one minor hitch. The microphone produced garbled recording.

Here's the solution, as mentioned by Ethan F on this forum, who said it more succinctly. But it's worth spreading across the web more:

1) Download the latest Windows 7 Realtek drivers from the Realtek website. I just grabbed R2.40 today.
2) Afterwards, I found the microphone didn't produce any sound whatsoever. Launch Realtek HD Audio Manager (It's supposedly in the control panel, but I found easier to look for it from the Windows Start Button)
3) Hit "Device advanced settings" in the upper right of the window
4) Select Separate all input jacks as independent input devices.

It seemed to do the trick for me. Hope it's the same for you if you're struggling with the same issue.

Identity Fraud

I thought this NYTimes "Building an Online Bulwark to Fend Off Identity Fraud" article was useful for knowing options for preventing identity fraud.

Olympic Best of Us Challenge

To market for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the Olympics have launched a Youtube campaign, showcasing offbeat talents of Olympic competitors.  They challenge viewers to see if they can beat them in the events.  Here is the official Best of Us page.  So far, my favorite is Rafael Nadal's:



Asafa Powell's stick balance is also pretty impressive as well. My leg got sore just watching him.

Is exercise good or bad for immunity?

The NYtimes has a OpEd piece on the effect of exercise on one's immunity to colds and the flu.  It runs along the lines of common sense, saying that moderate exercise helps boost mice's immunity, while extreme exercise dramatically worsens it.

Old Adidas ads...

Bloody brilliant and what's remarkable is that they still hold true of runners today.  All of them are here.

Walden Pond

NYTimes showcases Walden Pond, one of the few things I miss about living in the Boston area. I used to live a 12 minute car drive away from Walden pond and I took full advantage of it. The tranquility of swimming outdoors under the sun and without stupid man-made pool lanes was just exquisite.

Here's the official website.

The Porcine Fund

The stock market is all over the place these days.  Need a little certainty in investing?  Well try The Porcine Fund, which

is specifically designed for wealthy individuals and institutions who wish to offset inconvenient capital gains with a countervailing capital loss... The Porcine Fund is available to any individual or institution with an immediate need to sustain a monetary loss.

Its investment include the San Bromista Cat Ranch, which creates an infinite supply of cats for cat fur sales to Europe, Enron and Worldcom.

I know this is old (copyrighted 2002-2004), but this is hilarious.