Computerboy.com

From Boy to Garageboy??:
“In the summer of 1997, I decided to register a domain name. I was switching ISPs, and I wanted to have an email address that wouldn’t change due to reasons beyond my control. Coincidentally, at my job, some colleagues had been referring to me as “Computer Boy” due to my ability to work magic with the systems we use for chip design.. In my search for good domain names, I inadvertently gave away the name computerboy.com to an enterprising hacker. Anyone who went through his page to see if a domain name existed gave him the idea for a name. Within a few days, he had registered that name. A lucky coincidence? I think no”
Hmmmm. I registered this domain name on July 18, 1997. Is he trying to imply something? I certainly hope not – I don’t recall offering a service to allow people to look up domain names. I certainly didn’t steal it from someone else – my sisters-in-law have called me computerboy for several years now – way back to 1991, if I recall – so I used that to name my business. So I think that perhaps I have a prior use type thing….

I have an old computer (a PowerBook 3400 for those who care) whose hard drive recently died. I had it all backed up (all 250 mb worth), so I wasn’t too concerned about that – but I wasn’t sure how I would find time to replace the drive, or if I even had a replacement.
I took out the 1.2 gb drive and put in a 2 gb drive – but that wasn’t a good thing, as it turns out that the drive I put in was also dead (or maybe it wasn’t set up right – still not sure yet). So there I was, pondering the fate of this computer, when it hit me: I have a bunch of CompactFlash cards from a digital camera, and a PCMCIA adaptor card that I could use to make the CF cards accessible. But would it work?
Long story short, I’m not on the market for a slightly bigger CF card – right now I’m using a 128 mb card, but I think that I’d be better off with a 256 mb card instead – the 128 mb wasn’t big enough for me to fit the OS, the home automation stuff AND the webserver. Why a webserver? Mu-ah-ah-ah…. It allows me to control the lights in the house with a web browser, instead of my remote control or having to use the computer directly. Much cooler. And geekier.
I guess the next step is to take this or another of my computers and turn it into a digital photo frame – so I can just load it up with a bunch of photos (or maybe have a script grab them from a file share/web server) and enjoy the show. I’ve seen a couple of examples on the web, and it’s a cool project – definitely worth sacrificing a laptop for if it works out in the end – and I have no reason to expect it not to….

The Apple Store (U.S.):
“Beautiful industrial design
Housed in a sleek, lightweight cardboard and plastic enclosure, the P-P-P-PowerBook G4 is resistant to pretty much nothing. It’s also perfectly shitty on all surfaces, so you really shouldn’t get this. Unless, of course, you’re an idiot scammer.”
I love the backstory of this whole thing.

Apple – Hot News – iChat AV at 35,000 Feet:
“It’s a long flight from Munich to San Francisco, even non-stop. But recently two enterprising Apple product managers cut the distance dramatically with a few at-hand tools: iChat AV, iSight, 17-inch PowerBook G4, an Airbus and an orbiting satellite.”
How cool is that?

I’ve been dealing with a lot of PC’s of late, and many of them have been infected – or, really, infested – with viruses (aka virii).
The biggest parts of the problem are:
a) users who don’t update their anti-virus software or their OS regularly. Add to this the fact that there are still lots of people using dial-up for their internet access – so even if they do stay on top of the updates, it still takes a while to download stuff. What a pain.
b) anti-virus vendors who only allow you to update the virus definitions if you have a current subscription. If you don’t have a current subscription, you’re asked to renew for another year, and you’re allowed to download updates to the software – but not for the definition files. What a pain.
Now, I’m not suggesting that the anti-virus vendors are in the game for any reason other than to make money – well, yes I am. Let’s face it, if it wasn’t for products like AdAware and AVG, then everyone would need to pay for software to keep their computers bug free. AdAware is the tool I recommend for people dealing with Spyware/Adware – it’s updated frequently, and it does a good job. AVG is a nice anti-virus package that does a great job, considering it’s free – and you can keep it up to date also. There is also TrendMicro’s HouseCall, which let’s you do an online scan of your computer for viruses – but I would only suggest using it if you have a broadband connection.
Another issue here is the fact that Microsoft seems to come out with new OS updates about once a week – sometimes much more frequently. Some of them don’t seem to be necessary, unless you’re already having the problem that it fixes, or are using the affected software. The problem is that you have to stay on top of the available updates to be fully protected, and since there are the aforementioned people with dial-up, and the updates can be large (i.e. more than 4 mb), that’s a big chunk of time spent trying to keep your computer safe and sound.
If you have a broadband connection, keep up to date, and consider buying a cable modem or DSL modem router to increase your security. If you don’t have that option, or you’re using dial-up, at least turn on the “firewall” option for your connection – it might save you trouble down the road.

NetGear WGR614
I got this to go with my laptop – they both support the 802.11g wireless protocol, which is 54mbps – a nice improvement over the 11mbps I was getting before. It also supports 802.11b at the same time, and even supports the standard speeds – 1, 2, 5.5, 11, 22 and 54mbps. It also features a 4 port 10/100 switch for the wired computers, and a built-in firewall and all the other bells and whistles that cable/DSL modem routers come with these days.
Initially I had some problem with the setup – namely that while I could connect to it wirelessly, and while I could see it from a wired network, it wasn’t giving out DHCP addresses and it wasn’t allowing me to get out onto the internet – and when it did, it was very very slow. I restarted both the Netgear and my laptop (the wireless device) and all problems went away – nice.
I switched from a combination of an Apple Airport basestation (first generation) and a D-Link cable/DSL modem router. Both worked well, but it’s nice to have one device to do it all now – I just wish it did all that I had before. I was able to have the D-Link email me the log files whenever they reached a certain size. This included incoming packets that it blocked, DHCP requests (both WAN and LAN) and other interesting info. The Netgear, on the other hand, only emails info about URL’s accessed – while I’m sure it’s handy for some, I’m the only one surfing here, so I don’t really want to go over where I’ve already been. It also appears that there’s no way to get access to the info I was looking at before.
Beyond that, I don’t really have any other problems with the device. It’s simple to use, and once it’s setup, I don’t have to worry about it. Sure, I’ll export a backup of the settings in case something happens at some point and I have to re-configure it. And I’ll also be going to Netgears site to see if there have been any updates to the firmware – sometimes they’re actually worth using for these devices – but for the most part, I’m going to just forget that it’s there and never think about it – the best way to go, in my mind.
So, if you’re looking to share your broadband access, and you have the need for wireless, I say check it out – there’s a big rebate on the unit until some time in June, so you can save a bunch of money and have a nice little package to keep you up and running on the internet.

Today I fixed a machine that had spyware on it. Granted, this isn’t unusual from any other day of my life, but…. well, you know. This particular one had it’s homepage changed – the new destination created about 20 pop-up windows, trying to sell all sorts of nice things, including the best one of all: a spyware and pop-up blocker.
I’m really getting sick of this. Computers used to be fun. The internet used to be fun. Now all I see is spyware, pop-ups, and spam. SPAM SPAM SPAM, and not a viking in sight!
If you have a PC, I really recommend the AdAware software. It’s free, it’s updated frequently, and it does a great job!

Intego warns of new Mac OS X Trojan Horse | MacNN News:
“The AS.MW2004.Trojan is a compiled AppleScript applet, a 108 KB self-contained application, with an icon resembling an installer for Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac OS X”
Why anyone would think that the installer for Office 2004 is only 108k is beyond me….
But don’t run it if you value your data!

Spyaudit: “Industry experts suggest that these types of programs may infect up to 90 percent of all Internet-connected computers. Typically, spyware arrives bundled with freeware or shareware, through email or instant message, or by someone with access to a user’s computer.”
On a weekly basis, this is the stuff I’m being asked to clean off of peoples computers. I can’t believe Apple isn’t using this as a selling point – but it might be perceived the wrong way, I guess.
While I understand the fear and loathing that most PC users are now forced to live with – especially if they have kids that use the computer – I just don’t understand why these people – some of whom consider themselves pretty good with their computers – don’t bother to either learn more about the problem or just do something to stop it. I also don’t get why the anti-virus software makers haven’t started adding spy/adware detection to their bag of tricks – if it’s malicious in anyway, it should be detected – they already do that for Trojan Horses, right?
Sure, some of what I’m preaching would mean less work for me and those in my industry – but if people and companies were pro-active about this stuff, it might not have become such a big problem – or industry.

Today I was tasked with setting up a nice, shiny XServe. A co-worker and I did most of the setup earlier this week, but there was some stuff you just can’t do until you’re with the customer – like transfer data, or set up print queues. Frigging print queues.
Everything works great off the bat with the Macs on the LAN, but the PC’s – a mix of Windows 98, 2000 and XP – all suck and don’t want to work. I have to figure it out in the first 45 minutes tomorrow morning, because it’s going to bug me until then and I just want that part of things done done DONE.
What’s cool about the XServe is the server software – you control everything, and it’s all in a nice Mac OS GUI. I loved watching as clients grabbed DHCP addresses from the new server, and just watching it be all slick. Oh, and it’s purty. Very purty. I highly recommend them – if I ever win the lottery, I think I’ll buy one just to look at the purty lights….