Ask Lifehacker exists to answer your questions, and we’re always seeking more. Ask us a question this week and not only will we help you out, you could also win a D-Link prize pack containing a dual-band wireless N750 gigabit ADSL2+ modem router and a wireless network camera with night vision.
The combination of the DSL-2870B router and DCS-942L gives you rock-solid network performance and the ability to remotely monitor your home or office with a dedicated smartphone app when you’re not there.
Here’s the deal: ask us a question suitable for Ask Lifehacker in the comments below. The question we judge the most interesting will win the D-Link prize bundle (valued at $349.90) and will be answered here on the site. We’ll also try to answer as many of the others as possible.
Full terms and conditions here. Entries close on Friday 4 October at midday, so let’s hear your questions!
Comments
61 responses to “Ask Lifehacker A Question And Win A D-Link Wireless Camera And Router”
How are people storing / plan on storing their captured footage from the camera? How much capacity are people dedicating, and is it to a cloud server or a local NAS? Are people worried about power being disconnected first?
You can attach local storage, mydlink Cloud or hook it into another NAS – I’m sure there’d be a way to cloud to a 3rd party! As for power out, think you’d have that problem with any setup – a good UPS will fix it but at a cost…
I’m a Uni student in Orbost (rural Victoria) who has to spend a lot of time on the run throughout all of Gippsland. My primarily computer only has 128GB local storage, meaning I have to carefully select what files I keep local and what I can hide in the cloud, but don’t like using 3rd party services for sensitive files (bank statements, essays and notes for Uni, lots of small sized files etc.). Combining the above DSL-2870B router and DCS-942L with a NAS would be a fantastic upgrade from my 10 year old router (with a WiFi reach of about 5m) and a way to keep an eye on my stuff when I’m travelling – but what would be best NAS/setup to go with it for making my own private cloud? Cheers!
Hi Lifehacker,
Ive been a gamer for most of my life, and as a consequence I have amassed a somewhat sizable collection of ‘vintage’ video games and consoles. I currently have an Atari, Sega Mega Drive, PS1, PS2, PS3, XBox 360, and am looking to add a few more into this collection (Super Nintendo, Commadore 64…). All the consoles and games are different, and there are varieties of both discs and cartridges. So my question is, what’s the best and safest way to store them all? I want to be enjoying these classics for years to come!
Whats the best ipad apps for teachers?
Whats the best apps for students?
Collaboration?
Dear Lifehacker,
I own and live in an apartment (well the bank owns most of it at the moment…) and I accidentally created a water feature in my laundry whilst drilling to put in some new shelves. That cost me a pretty penny to get fixed up and I don’t want to do it again. What can I use to locate pipes and wiring in concrete/brick walls that actually works? I’ve read reviews on some devices and people say they are next to useless, while others say they work well. So I’m a little confused…
Please help!
This is a genuine question, not just an attempt to win (which would also be nice) so if anyone knows of this magical device, please reply
first use a digital multimeter to find live wiring in the general area. if you are unsure, cut off power to the room while working. most pipes run up and down less active nearby units. evaluate the areas first.
if the wall is a partition wall or encased in brick there is no true standard. measure the length of the brick, use shorter Tapcon screws, hammer drill, and Plugs/Concrete Anchors.
Dear LH,
I’m in a bit of a rut. At the start if the year I set myself a goal, and that goal was to create this mind blowing app for Windows Phone. I’ve never programmed for a mobile device before but I came up with this great idea for an app and thought it would be a great expedition into programming for mobile devices.
My work involves alot of going away with not alot of time to do personal things during my downtime and its broken my enthusiasm and the momentum I had when I first started to get into it. Now, its nearly October and I haven’t got the energy to get back into the programming mind frame to finish it off.
The question: How do I find the motivation to get back into it? Particularly for this type of thing which requires alot of mental energy and for your head to be in the right place. I really need to get this app done otherwise I’ll be kicking myself.
Cheers,
Uber
Dear Lifehacker,
In the next few weeks I plan on getting my ACT P plates. This has led to some confusion as to what I am/am not allowed to do in NSW. As my Mum drives a Turbo Golf and I plan on sometimes borrowing it, what are the rules surrounding ACT drivers in NSW where P plates can’t drive turbos and have a speed limit? Should I just follow their rules or to the ACT’s still apply to me?
Thanks
JJ
Dear Lifehacker,
I do not mean to pry, but you don’t by any chance happen to have six fingers on your right hand? (Just kidding!)
Seriously, I’m running out of hard drive space because I have a collection of years of home photos. Apart from getting more storage or culling some pictures, the other option I’ve been thinking about is converting all my images to the WebP file format. It looks like it could compress down to somewhere between 40-60% of the original size.
What are the advantages or disadvantages? Is this a good idea? Or am I committing myself to a file format that hasn’t got the same backing as some more mainstream image file formats?
Thanks – Running out of space
Dear Lifehacker,
I’m feeling like an entrepreneur, I have a great idea for a new startup website. What do I do now, Business Plan, network, etc. But my biggest set back is funding. Where or what are the best ways to get funding for my new venture?
Thanks
w
Our family has recently purchased an investment property that will be used for holiday rentals. Given that the property will be unoccupied for extended periods it would be good to have some form of (visual/internet based) security. Can Ask Lifehacker suggest how we might do this without invading the privacy of our guests?
How to get rid of the dark circles under my eyes? I sleep and drink lots of water and it lightens but never goes away completely. Employer has even thought I was some heavy drinking night owl, when I was not 🙁
I’m always looking to trim a few more minutes off my morning routine. Is it really necessary for me to brush my teeth for 2 minutes and if so do you have any suggestions to make the time more productive?
Dear LifeHacker
I need to come up with a good question so i can win the prize on this page, i was wondering if you had any good idea’s?
http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2013/09/ask-lifehacker-a-question-and-win-a-d-link-wireless-camera-and-router/
Hail LifeHacker
I am currently in the process of returning to the workforce after a prolonged absence (illness related). During my recovery my desktop has been my lifeline to the world, however it is now showing its age and I need to purchase a replacement.
My problem is this – on my quest to replace the desktop with a laptop I find that there are numerous opinions, forums and articles extolling the virtues of the different OS, their components and what is currently considered value for money.
I have been to sites like Whirlpool etc where plenty of sage advice is offered, yet even when I state that my requirements are for a laptop I am presented with a myriad of opinions and options.
Therefore my question becomes – when fan boys and advocates dominate public forums like this, can you actually trust the information that is being disseminated.
Signed
Frustrated of Redfern
Dear Lifehacker,
I’m a web developer who is always looking to sharpen my skills, and I was wondering what are your suggestions for the best development languages, frameworks or environments, specifically in Australia?
Cheers,
-iain
Is there any way on Gods green earth that i could win this D Link package?Just answer the question Lifehacker…just answer the question.
My partner and I have just bought our first house which is at the top of a hill. Because of this it’s constantly windy outside which makes Bin Night quite an issue. How can I stop the bins from blowing over without weighing them down so much that we get in trouble for excess garbage?
I have a old PC running at home which I use to record live TV (via mythtv) and I use my phone to sent a wake-on-lan package to wake it when I want to watch tv at home (saves me getting off the couch and pressing the button- yes, I am lazy).
I want to be able to turn on the PC remotely and manage recordings form anywhere I have an internet connection. I can already log on the the web interface of the pc to manage the recordings remotely but my problem is turning it on remotely (ie not connected to the same wifi network).
I know I need to configure my router to let the wake on lan package through – but I dont know where to start.
I use XBMC to watch TV at home on a farily old PC – I was told I can migrate this over to a raspbery pi and save on electricity – but how do I know it will actually be worth it? In this case it probably will pay off pretty soon as a pi plus peripherals will only set me back ~$50.
This leads me to the bigger question – what tech can I replace to save on electricity and is it actually worth doing – ie will the long term payoff be worth the initial investment in new hardware?
OK my last question,
I have a solar hot water system and most days of the year it does a great job – only occasionally will I need to turn on the electric booster to warm the water (usually on cloudy winter days). On days like this I often forget to turn on the booster to avoid a cold shower in the evening (especially since I am the usually the last one to shower in a family of 6). Is there a technological solution to turn on the booster automatically without me having to remember it – perhaps some sort of IFTTT solution? I dont want to leave the booster on all the time as it is a waste of electricity.
Dear Lifehacker,
More of a rhetorical question but why don’t high demand websites employ the BitTorrent Protocol more? Even if it’s only for fallback only and only for static versions of the website. Or even your own CDN over BitTorrent. That way when a DOS attack happens, at least legit users could get access to some aspects of the website.
I reckon you could use a BtSync file on the root of your webserver (kind of like favicons.ico but only containing the BtSync ID) and a browser addon to employ Bt Sync. The beauty is that with more people using a website then it would be more reliable as the content would likely be closer. I’m just not so sure about overhead of establishing the connections.
Spoke to soon – check out http://vole.cc/ as an example of a Social Network built on BTSync.
One of my geeky dream goals is to learn how to program in Java for the purposes of creating Android apps. Where is the best place to start??
There’s a wealth of information out there on starting out in Java programming, but most of it is not focused on Android app development specifically. Should I start out with these, or should I try to seek out more Android-specific Java tutorials?
As an aside, I have very little programming experience. Used to write HTML / CSS for websites, and had some experience with VBA in highschool, but not much else other than that.
Thanks!
I’m interested in backing up all my data – everything from games to pictures to videos. I know there are plenty of paid services that store your data in the cloud, but I was interested in a physical backup system. My question is this: What is the most practical backup solution for me, and how long will my data last like this?
I have been hunting for a solution for a while for a media player for 4 different HD TV’s in my home.
We have several TB of collected movies etc in a variety of formats & codecs.
What can I use to play everything that I throw at it? I have tried streaming via PS3 Server & Serviio,
& am currently making use of Sony Blu-Ray players. However these still don’t play everything.
Am I asking too much? Would a Raspberry Pi or similar Android micro-pc work?
Thanks, Struggling Streamer.
Hi Lifehacker,
I like playing games on my pc, ps3, phone, xbox 360, tablet pretty much everything and anything that I can get my hands on. I also work full time and have a girlfriend (Already lost 3 girlfriends to my gaming habit – Aion was the culprit). What can I do to help balance my day and night? and keep my girlfriends? help me Lifehacker.
Currently I use 128 bit WEP to secure my WiFi router but how do I go about setting the WiFi password such that instead of the long string of random numbers and letters, I can change it to a simple and easily remembered and entered password so friends and family can easily connect?
Dear Lifehacker,
I used to be a big fan and user of the 28 Degrees Mastercard for overseas travel as you’ve previously written about on your site, but since the beginning of October they have introduced a 3% cash withdrawal fee. What are now some other options for getting the best deal on foreign currency withdrawals?
My partner wants to start her own business making food using a number of recipes she has made herself. What are the guidelines to follow, what’s the best ways to go about marketing? Can it be done from a domestic kitchen? Thanks
Oh that’s a good one! First suggestion go to your local Council and talk to the environmental planners (they should know all about the local and national food laws). There is a heap to know about labeling and the correct food preparation rules (basically if your selling it in any real volume – and by that I mean more than a charity cake stall – you will need commercial kitchen equipment). A good way to get around this initially is ask around at restaurants that are open at night and see if you can use them in the morning – rent the unused time to get you started BEFORE investing in huge amounts to upgrade your home kitchen (I would also suggest you look at renting a place with a commercial kitchen rather than converting a home kitchen)
I am not a specialist in this area but have worked with people in similar positions…
As for marketing – I would start at Markets (go for a produce or food themed one if you can- and also one that does not have a similar product to yours), have samples and get the word out – markets are great to sell at, you can do one or do many – gather a following, use social media to promote to them and build up from there…
Hope that helps!
Thanks! I’ll pass that info onto her!
I’ve been collecting D&D, Reaper, and Pathfinder miniatures for a few years now and have a sizeable collection. But I don’t have a good system for storing and/or displaying these miniatures and keeping them dust free.
Got any ideas?
Mint is a fantastic app that tracks spending and personal finance in the US. Is there and will there ever be an Australian equivalent? Or when is Mint coming to Australia?
Try ‘You Need a Budget’ (YNAB). the guy in our office swears by it.
Dear Lifehacker,
I have a Nexus 10 Tablet. When I am out of the office I use it constantly, but when I am sitting at my desk, it just sits there. I would like an app that constantly updates with new information. I have desk clock Plus, but that just gives Time, Date & Weather, all good, but I want more, what about news headlines, and constantly updating twitter feed. Is there such an app?
Dear Lifehacker,
as a self-confessed gadget nut, I’m in a pickle. My wife and I have recently welcomed a bundle of joy into our lives and I’d love to celebrate that with all appropriate gadgets, however baby gadgets (monitors, thermometers, etc.) are not made by brands I am used to and i’m wary of getting duped. What gadgets are the best and from which manufacturers.
Regards Gadget-loving Dad
Dear Lifehacker
I’m going on an overseas holiday soon- what provisions should I put in place for access to my data in case something happens?
Hi Lifehacker,
I only own one laptop, and I’m interested in tips and techniques to separate my work and private life more effectively. I’ve toyed with the idea of having two user accounts on my computer, and using the selective sync feature of dropbox to only keep the files for each side of my life available in each account. Is it worth the trouble?
Are there any good strategies for keeping work and and private life separate?
Thanks
Hey Lifehacker, my name’s Axis and I have a problem: I suffer from chronic Procrastivity. I am ridiculously creative at coming up with ways of procrastinating, and even worse, internally justifying that procrastination as being genuinely productive. How do I break free from this disease and fool my devious subconscious into letting me add real value in my home and work environments?
Dear Lifehacker,
I’m very keen on home automation and I have no idea where to start. I hear of products like WeMo, IFTTT and Raspberry Pi. Can you please help me make sense of it all with a 101 guide to home automation?
Thanks
ian37
Dear Lifehacker,
I bought a MacBook Air with Mountain Lion installed. Do I now own Mountain Lion as if I had bought it from the App Store? If so, how do I extract it off my Air to retro install it on another mac I own?
Regards,
Don’t want to pay twice !
Hi Lifehacker!!
I have a question about consumer rights and laws. Hopefully the answer can come in handy for future readers!! 🙂
I was recently in a pickle where I was sold a service with a certain benefit, however when I tried to claim this benefit I was rejected. After a month of enquiries and explaining to multiple people that I sold the product with the benefit, I was lucky enough to claim it. But what got to me during the month long investigation was what the staff said “if we cant find the phone record, we cant do anything”.
I understand that it is illegal for any business to leave the consumer with false impression and misleading information like “no cancellation fee” offered by the sales staff but not company. Normally given this situation, the consumer have the right to ask for no cancellation fee. But where is the line drawn where there is no proof such as no record of the sales call or verbal offering by a sales person?
In this case, should I be recording every sales call for future reference?
Thanks
I am currently using OpenDNS to prevent my children (17, 13 & 7 years) from accessing “unsuitable content” on our wifi. I have since discovered that apps on their phones & ipod touches are immune to OpenDNS restrictions. Is there any software or program available to install on my router that will allow me to block apps such as kik, snapchat, & facetime? My 13 year old daughter has had her ipod & smartphone confiscated after I discovered lewd messages from older boys, but she needs her phone to contact me on school days as she has bad asthma & a heart condition, but I’m horrified by what she can access when unsupervised!
Does this router combo pack come with iOS or android app to to easily remotely monitor ur home? I was thinking of getting something like this but money is tight for me atm
The DLINK 942L can be accessed via Web or Phone. You can even access it via VLC media player if you want and if you setup it up correctly.
Hi Lifehacker,
With the recent revelations around the NSA and other security agencies’ collection of data I no longer trust my smartphone. I have nothing to hide, but I am sensitive about my privacy, and I don’t like the idea of my details being shared without my knowledge for the purposes of advertising or surveillance, not to mention the possibility of these details falling into the hands of someone malicious. So, I want to either ditch my smartphone or make it difficult (preferably impossible) for entities to harvest data from my smartphone without my consent. Is there an app suitable for this purpose? Should I switch to a dumbphone if I am that concerned about my privacy? What are my options for safe, NSA-, advertising-, and hacker-proof communications solutions in this post-Snowden environment?
Cheers,
Concerned, but not paranoid.
Hi Lifehacker,
We didn’t join the bandwagon and get solar on our house when the government was being generous with rebates. We have started to look into it and had modern solar come out to our house. Well the hard sell was so bad that I started to really do some research. There are so many dogy companies out there and I am really wondering if we are not home during the day and use most of our power at night time is it worth getting? The other deterrent is we probably won’t be in this house in the next two years so unless we get money back from the sale of the house again is it worth it??
Feeling overwhelmed by information.
How can I best enter online competitions without giving away too much of my personal information
Good Evening Lifehacker,
I have recently moved interstate and started a new job. What your best tip for getting myself known to the people that matter while still maintaining a good relationship with my peers and staff. i.e. I don’t want to be a brown nose but I have come from a well respected position – I knew the movers and shakers both in my organisation and without (greater network of work related organisations) and I want to get back to that point as quick as possible.
Thanks and I appreciate all the work you guys do to make this site the best it can me (again not brown nosing just the facts!)
DrD
How can I use an old android smart phone set up as a security camera to send photos to a Network attached storage ftp folder or usb flash drive attached to my router.
I have an IP camera that can do this but smart phones seem only to be able to stream or send to an email address.
The important part is that I don’t want to have a pc running (costing extra power) all the time.
Dear Lifehacker,
There’s so much information out there on the internet. What’s the best way to pick the right information and how do we convince others what is the right information?
I don’t have a question but i use one of these cameras to monitor mouse traps in my roof. because 1- i have mice
2- i can not be stuffed climbing in the roof each day to check traps see if i need to replace bait
3- can also check activity by having the camera record and log when movement is detected.
What’s the best way to get those little bits of egg shell out of a cracked egg? Sometimes I try and be cool by cracking eggs with one hand and if I drop my attention for a second a bit of egg shell can escape into the bowl of shelled eggs. When I try and retrieve the little thing it lets me get really close to grabbing it but at the last minute inevitably slips through my fingers, teasing me to the point of madness.
Use the shell to pick it out, not your finger
Whats the easiest way to share structured data with friends? If you live your life like an RPG and try to achieve goals collectively, whats the best way to manage the data around those goals?
Dear Lifehacker,
What it he best way to setup a Media NAS server?
Which RAID option is the best?
I found this new RAID software but not sure if I should use it?
http://snapraid.sourceforge.net/
Cheers,
JakeTheMuSS
I’ve been using duolingo to learn a new language http://lifehacker.com/duolingo-teaches-you-a-new-language-on-the-go-on-androi-510269416 for the past 6 months. Keeping my word list updated and accessible across multiple devices has been easy thanks to dropbox. However I think life would be easier if I could sync my wordlist (doc format) to my e-reader to compliment doing lessons on the phone whle travelling. Specifically can I set up an automated process to send the dropbox document to my wifi kindle 3 so I can have the list open on the kindle while doing lessons on my phone.
Dear Lifehacker
On a recent weekend trip, my car’s air-conditioner decide the stop working on the way. As a result I had a a very hot trip home stuck in the Sunday afternoon traffic. Skipping forward, I have been quoted for $3000 dollars to get it fixed (and by fixed, I mean total replacement).
The car still drives fine and the A/C button still lights up, just no cold air comes out.
So I am considering trading in my broken car and get a new one (probably a family car as I am at that part of my life).
So my question is if I am trading in my car, do I have to tell the dealer about the broken air conditioner? Is it a only tell them if they ask or to I have to tell them from the start?
Dear LH,
How come you don’t link to http://io9.com/ ?
Its a Gawker site, and imo much better than ‘pop sugar’ which seems to
hog way too much header.
Cheers
Chunks
Also I have another question. What is the best device for daily public transport use? I will soon be traveling on a train daily for an hour so need some to entertain me. Something that allows web browsing, watch movies, listen to music, play games etc. Between laptops, ipads, tablets, chromebooks, kindles, and the millions of other devices, I have have no idea where to start. Help?