MojoLists

I remember clearly, camping out at a mall with friends to get tickets to many concerts when I was younger. That is how you did it then, you couldn't go online and buying at the show would mean paying scalper prices and possibly getting busted.

Things have changed a lot, scalpers, now called ticket brokers or secondary sellers control the market. I have a love, hate, relationship with these folks. When I really want to see a show and have to have great seat, well they are the best option. Brokers manage to grab the best seats through contacts, contracts or scamming. My wife got front row seats to see Elvis Costello for my birthday a few years ago. The seats and the show were amazing, worth every penny. Every penny was around $300 a seat and to my surprise, the venue was not very full.

 The front row had us and about 6 ticket brokers who had decided to use the seats they didn't sell. Behind us there were a few pockets of folks here and there which was a big surprise because the show was sold out. The problem was that the brokers had grabbed all of the tickets and over estimated how much people were willing to pay for an act that appears in Austin on a regular basis. This time however, I was a happy camper.

Last week I started looking for tickets the Flight of The Conchords show, a show I knew would be popular. I wasn't surprised to find out that it sold out on 10 minutes but I was surprised to hear that very few tickets were offered to the public. Brokers, agents, and a number of other promotional geared companies had almost all of the tickets.

I am more than happy to pay a little extra for a good seat but 5, 6 or even 10 times the original $40 is way out of line. Unless there is a miracle, I will have to miss this show, not that I was able to find any decent seats available for under $500 a head.

I can see the value of brokers having access to a small percentage of the tickets for each show, for some the additional cost associated with getting great seats is worth it but to the majority, paying extra for something we never have a chance to purchase is wrong.

I don't have any answers, I am not even sure I know many of the questions, I just know that it would be nice to get a reasonably priced ticket to a middle of the venue seat. These are the fans and it is sad that we are forced to pay a premium because the brokers have access to almost all of the tickets right out of the gate.

I received my new, probably refurbished actually, Linksys WRT160Nv2 router two days ago. Linksys had a fast turnaround time and to my surprise, it came loaded with firmware 2.0.0.2 version 8. I connected and configured the router without much fuss and I am happy to say it works!

Linksys has yet to fix or even acknowledge the problem with the build 11 firmware. It seems they are unable to reproduce the problem so it simply does not exist. I can confirm that the DNS problem has been fixed with my current build 8 firmware and even though I am the one who flubbed up the downgrade on the original router, Linksys handled the problem and has me back as a satisfied customer.

Linksys, yes, I am talking to you. Fix the firmware for us so we can have the up to date security we need without losing our ability to use an internet browser.

Original Article: Linksys WRT160N DNS Issue Needs a Fix

Genesis (1970-1975)  is a dream come true for any early Genesis or Peter Gabriel fan. The early works of Genesis, with Peter Gabriel at the helm showcases the artistic vision and showman ship Gabriel brought to every show, every song, and just about everything in his life.

Gabriel put on exotic costumes and brought shows to a standstill with 30 minute poetry readings or political rants. This made him a little hard to swallow, especially for his band mates, it eventually broke the band apart and ushered Phil Collins to the front of the stage from behind his drum kit.

This is where I left Genesis behind, no longer relevant in my  mind as they began to pump out pop candy like an 80s hit machine, a bad one, at least in my opinion. The early years hinted strongly at the creative powers of Gabriel, the showmanship, and the production mastery that became focused during the 80s and downright masterful in the 90s and beyond.

This 7-CD, 6-DVD box set sounds wonderful. The surround mixes are aggressive, letting Gabriel's artistic vision flow around the room, recreating the energy and feel of the music. The surround mixes are hit and miss, you will find favorites throughout. The CD versions are solid and well mastered, placing the listener at the front of the band.

If you are a fan of early Genesis and Peter Gabriel, this is a no brainer purchase. Order your copy today and let the music pull you back in time, to the birth of a master, a true artist who is finding his legs in these recordings.