I read this article on the Verge this morning regarding ThinkPad turning 20. I was just amazed that it has been around that long. I remember the first ThinkPad I saw. It may have been one of the first laptops I had ever seen. It was this large black square (amazing). Over the years the ThinkPad has evolved, but it still …
I hate toolbars on my browsers. I despise unwanted software, this is why I was very upset recently with a java update that was being installed on my wife’s computer. For some reason the most recent version of Oracle Java has added the McAfee Security Scan into it’s install. I am not sure if it was a java update or the …
I had the need to generate a few GUID’s for a project recently. Because I typically use Visual Studio I had GuidGen available. It is a feature in Visual Studio from (TOOLS > Creat GUID) Because I often have the urge to simplify things, I quickly put together a Guid generator site. This page will generate any number of GUID’s for …
I’ve been pushing to get a lot done outside of work lately. Some deadlines on applications and other technologies. In doing so, I decided it was time to re-do the theme on my blog. I’ll push out more details regarding the theme once it’s done. I figured the only way to make sure that I completed this project was to just …
I was reading an article on gigaom regarding how bandwidth is getting cheaper. http://gigaom.com/2012/08/02/guess-what-bandwidth-is-getting-cheaper/ The article was not about our home or business bandwidth but rather IP transit costs. The cost to move data from one location to another (overseas). The reference the value from a business perspective, if that business buys a lot of bandwidth. Companies like netflix, google, etc… …
A Mashable article states a list of social savvy cities. They list many large cities. grand Rapids is not one of them. However, they do mention that Grand Rapids has a high percentage of small businesses with face book pages (29%) Read the article here – http://mashable.com/2012/05/17/social-savvy-cities/
Dell has just launched a developer focused laptop. The cool thing about this version is that it runs Ubuntu (linux) and is on a 13 inch laptop. (check out the hardware here) The article that I found regarding this was focused on the Sputnik project. I think this is a great start. I’m a fan of small portable computing and the …
When did listening become illegal? After reading this article I got to thinking more about how the concept of wireless is flawed. http://gigaom.com/2012/05/01/google-wi-fi-snooping-and-the-ever-shifting-creepy-line/ As a technology it uses public airwaves to send data. This concept works great when the data is suppose to be freely available. The success of this can be seen with radio and TV. People are able to …
I have been evaluating my broadband connection at home lately. I currently have a cable modem from Comcast. I’ve been a cable modem user since @home. There was short period where I had a $14 DSL line from yahoo but that did not last long. We have recently had service issues in our area based on signal strength. In doing some …
I recently updated my laptop configuration and did some spring cleaning. It was time to re-install the tools and get the machine ready. I do most of my development in Virtual Machines (virtualbox) but I typically have Visual Studio on my local machine for ease of use. I realized that there are a lot of coponents you have to instll to …
I am happy to say that my 13th wedding anniversary was this week. As always I get my wife a little gift and a card. Lately when I am in need of cards I have been creating my own. I’ve become pretty proficient with Photoshop (or the equivalent open source GIMP) and make my own. I like the idea of making …
I have been using wordpress for a while now. It is one of the best content management systems I have used. Fully customizable and it has a great community of developers to help solve challenges. My favorite plug-in for wordpress is the contact form 7. Contact Form 7 is the most robust and configurable form tool that I have found for …
This has been a great book so far. Not only is Kevin a very sociable person but he is a very entertaining writer. His stories are amazing. To think that he left some out. http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Wires-Adventures-Worlds-Wanted/dp/0316037702 Watch is interview with Snubs on Hak5. “23 Questions with Kevin Mitnick” http://hak5.org/episodes/hak5-1017
I was watching some CES news and ran across a new gadget that I would like to purchase. It looks like I’ll have to wait till March for this one. Only $50 dollars. It is called feedair. http://www.feedair.com I have tried in the past to use the Ambient orb to get something like feedair to work. Weather forecasts, information, etc… I …
UPDATE – Since writing this pfsense has added a package install of SARG. I recommend an updated tutorial of this post – SARG and Pfsense V2. Here is a tutorial on how to setup SARG (http://sarg.sourceforge.net/) – Squid Analysis Report Generator on Pfsense. If you don’t know what any of those words meant then here are some references. SQUID – (www.squid-cache.org): …