Jim Becher

Jailbreak iOS 4.3.2 – iPhone 4

So today I updated my iPhone to 4.3.2 and Jailbroke it again.   I always get asked why I jailbreak.  The simple answer is because I like to hack devices.  The more to the point reasons are the cool customizations.  The business reason is simple, MyWi it allows me to make the device a wifi hotspot and always have internet where ever …

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Public Wifi – Coffee Shop Security

I went to a coffee shop today to do some work. Update a few documents and get some random things I have been putting off.    As always I log onto the coffee shop wireless and connect to my VPN.  (read other articles here and here). After completing the items I had set out to do.  I took some time to …

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Permanent MTU settings for PPP0 ubuntu

I have a few servers that I help maintain or use for VPN access.  I have found on a few machines that when I use VPN to secure my connection at a coffee shop or any other public WiFi that some sites will not load.  I have seen this issue before when using PPTP but had never taken the time to …

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Top Gadgets, technology, and cool things to purchase.

I love to browse engadget and gizmodo to see the new things in tech.  Technolust is just something that is in me.   The most interesting lists I have seen in a while are the CES 2011 items to watch and the travel gadgets. I’ve had this link bookmarked for a while. The tech is a bit old, but the items …

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Vibram 5 fingers and barefoot running – Part 2

To follow up on my first post regarding Vibram 5 fingers, I’ve got a lot of feedback.  People asking how long it took to get used to the shoes.  How do they feel on my feet, do they hurt toes.   Someone even asked about the press that barefoot running is bad for you.  (runningbarefootisbad). I’ll try to give feed back …

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Netflix Streaming and bandwidth

I’m a network abuser. I use my internet connection for everything. VPN access when at any public wifi location (VPN ddwrt). I also use it for Streaming movies on netflix, backup for my data (mozy, dropbox, rsync for business data) and just general browsing. So overall I am using a lot of data. When comcast put their 250GB limit in place …

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Vibram 5 fingers and barefoot running

— UPDATE: Part 2 A few years back, while in Holland during the summer I ran into an old friend on the beach. He was with his kids and they had long boards and were walking down the beach. My friend was wearing the strangest shoes. I had never seen shoes with toes on them. That was the first time I …

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Browsers and more browsers (IE9, Firefox 4, and chrome)

What browser do you use. I’m a chrome user. Have been for about a year. The features that draw me to chrome are the very simple view with tabs, easy search by the address bar, and sync of the bookmarks. Also, did I mention speed. These great features that set chrome apart are not part of both IE9 and the new …

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WordPress ShortCodes

WordPress is a fantastic CMS / Blog tool. Every time I am asked to customize wordpress I am amazed at how easy it is to implement. One of the great features I have found in wordpress is shortcodes. A shortcode is a WordPress-specific code that lets you do nifty things with very little effort. Shortcodes can embed files or create objects …

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Plus 1 for Thinkpad and Lenovo support

I’ve mentioned before that I recently got another Thinkpad (t410). After receiving the laptop I’ve had wireless issues / performance problems with it. At first I just thought it was due to my wireless network. I use a combination of DDWRT and Airport Extreme to provide wireless to my house. The airport provides the wireless as a dedicated AP and I …

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iPad / iPad2 and everything else

I love the press and the new release that Apple is getting with the iPad2. I recently read an article regarding the Xoom vs the iPad http://blogs.computerworld.com/17907/motorola_xoom_versus_the_ipad_2_the_xoom_is_a_clear_winner The base argument is around the horsepower and processor in the device, the multi tasking features, flash support (soon), gyroscope, and tabs on the browser. As I look at how the iPad is used …

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Modify Files on your iPhone and iPod

If you are like I am and continue to use your iPhone / iPad for more then they are used for. Jailbreaking or just tinkering, you will love this great little app called iphone explorer It is installed on either a PC or Mac and allows you to browse files on the ios device. http://www.macroplant.com/iphoneexplorer/ I recently used it to update …

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Backup Gmail with Thunderbird

In light of the recent events where Gmail lost some users mail. I thought it is appropriate that I post the method I use to back mail. Not only is this method useful for gmail but also google apps or any other mail system that can use IMAP or POP. To make sure that everything is safe I use Thunderbird. Thunderbird …

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Network Performance – iPerf and jperf

I recently setup my new laptop and wanted to test the network connection. I have had some issues with the speed and performance on wireless with the new T410. My home network has both a G wireless and N wireless network available. I have been seeing poor performance on the new thinkpad, while the old T61 would get almost twice the …

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iPad IT apps

I have a lot of apps loaded on the iPad. Many of these apps are games, productivity, social media, and just entertainment. However, there are a few that are really tech and work related. Since I am in the IT field I found a few apps that I would recommend. Remote Desktop 1. winadmin – $8.99 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/winadmin-ipad-edition/id364898965?mt=8 This is the most …

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