General

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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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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WordPress – Cache Plugins

I have been creating more and more sites with WordPress. I have found it is a great tool and easy to configure. Since I enjoy working with PHP, WordPress makes customization easy. One of the many features that allow WordPress to be a very robust tool is the ability to use plug-ins. A plugin I recommend to everyone is a caching …

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Broadband and bandwidth

I love broadband internet.  I signed up for excite @home back in 1999.  @home eventually became Comcast and my love hate relationship with them continues.   In-fact, I still use the original Motorola surfboard that I got in 1999 (it has a date on it from 1998) as my cable modem. I have been relatively happy with Comcast for all these years in terms of internet …

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Secure Browsing on Public WiFi connection

I’ve posted before regarding browsing the web on a public wifi network like your local coffee shop or restaurant. I will repeat my message, this type of browsing is not secure, you don’t know who else is on the same network you are using. It is not hard for someone to view your sessions or info. (take for example firesheep) It …

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Interesting real world offline hack

There was an interesting article on lifehacker regarding offline file shareing. Kind of like the old “sneaker net”. Where you would put files on a disk and walk the over to someone. The concept of this offline peer-to-peer is to place a flashdrive or similar item into a permanent fixture and people go to that location and either leave info or …

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FireSheep – Blacksheep – what is legal

I love the new firefox plug-in that allows you to view user sessions. It is a simple plug-in called firesheep that uses winpcap to capture packets and hijack web sessions. If you have not heard of this head on over to firesheep and read more What I find funny is the fact that people are all worked up about their security …

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Adobe Rome – content publishing

I just read about adobe rome. So I headed over to the site and started testing the app. Adobe Rome (Site) What an interesting online / desktop tool. It has some great built-in templates (brochures, business cards, letter head, and web sites) I am interested to get some input from designers. The idea that the Adobe tools are very powerful and …

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DVR hurting Football

I could not help but read this article. I am a TiVo user so this does not apply. However, for loyal comcast users this may be an eye opener. The team over at comcast created a feature called auto correction fast forward. It basically tries to interpret your clicks (fast forward or rewind) and put the screen where it thinks you …

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Christmas Gifts

Look out Christmas. Here is a new item I am purchasing for some friends (and myself). Medea Vodka – it has a 250 character LED banner on it that you can program. http://www.medeaspirits.com/how-to-tick/