What's New

December 31, 2010

A Snowy End to 2010:
It's officially winter, but we didn't have any snow on Christmas day. As a matter of fact, we haven't had much snow at all. So far, our winter; the last couple months to be more specific, haven't produced much at all in the way of precipitation. I was just thinking about watering the lawn - Yes, actually I was - when we got hit. First came the super cold temps. A low pressure front (oh my aching bones) rolled through the area. The mercury (or the digital equivalent thereof) sank down, down, down. Down below the freezing zone. Into the single digits. On the 30th of December, we got temps down around 5 degrees Fahrenheit. Accompanying this low pressure front was more than blistering cold temps, it also brought a heavy dose of snow! Hurray - Finally some snow to end the year (3-4 inches in Southeast Aurora). The mountains have been soaking up most of the moisture (so far this season), but the last week gave us a little taste. While the front range is blanketed in white, the new years goes out with a silent coating of crisp cold snow. Temps went down below zero on the evening of the 31st.

The Gamer's Cave - Renovated:
Recently, I did a bit of renovating. Minor stuff really. I moved around some furniture in the basement. Our basement isn't finished, but it is the home to our "Gamer's Cave" or "The Gamer's Lair". It's the place we've set aside to play table-top games (D&D primarily). A big table surrounded by several chairs is the centerpiece of our bi-weekly meetings, and it's a place where we spend a good deal of time (six+ hours at a time).

The renovation involved a reconfiguration of the furniture, the integration of an overhead projector (which I bought years ago), and a new table for serving up snacks and drinks. With this renovation/reconfiguration; I've created more space for the Dungeonmaster (currently that's Mark), integrated a consultation area, and cleared the way to use that overhead projector. I've got more plans for the space, but right now it's a pretty awesome place for playing D&D. Way better than some of the dank basements, crowded dorm rooms, public day rooms, noisy fire departments, cramped barracks, and tiny dining rooms of my gaming past. I took a bunch of pictures, if you're at all interested. Of course you are - Game On!
<https://www.robsworld.org/iphoto/gamerslair/index.html>

Printer won't print - Round Three:
<rant>Another computer problem continues to vex me, and it makes me angry. I originally wrote about this problem back in August of 2010, then again in September of 2010, and I honestly thought I had fixed the problem. Thankfully when the problem reoccurs. Despite the difficulties noted in various online forums, it's relatively easy to fix (if only temporarily) for the home user. This particular problem has struck numerous times on my Mac, and it still vexes many other Mac owners. While I love the Mac OS, no operating system is without it's issues, and this is just one of those perplexing problems that seems to bother people in our age of super-computers and sophisticated communications devices. If you're familiar with my battles in the land of network connections, you know I don't give up easily when confronted with a technological challenge. This desktop dilemma is just the latest of those challenges.

A bit more detail - So the problem started occurring (on my computer) back in August of 2010, and towards the end of 2010 it struck again!. It's hard to pin down the exact date that this problem first started cropping up. Online forums suggest a date as early as Sep of 2009. That could indicate that it came about with the release of Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6 - Released Aug 28, 2009). The problem involves my Epson printers, and it seems to only affect other users of Epson printers. So far I haven't narrowed it down much further than possible problems printing PDF content. As a matter of fact, I think it might be a problem created when one tries to print pdfs produced using Microsoft Word 2007. It affects prints when I'm using the Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Acrobat Plug-in (Mac version 10.0.0 and as far back as 9.3.4). It happens so sporadically that it's really difficult to troubleshoot. My latest run-in with this problem leads me to a known incompatibility with the Mac's inability to view/properly display pdfs created using Microsoft Word 2007. For that issue, I submitted a bug report (ref bug tracker nr: 8802239) with Apple.

The following error is noted when printing fails:
Error: /Library/Printers/EPSON/InkjetPrinter2/Filter/rastertoescpII.app/Contents/MacOS/rastertoescpII failed

Once this error appears, nothing will print, and it affects both my printers at the same time. Both my printers are Epson printers, so the problem may be common to drivers for both my printers (I have different drivers for the Epson Stylus Photo R200 and Epson Artisan 800). After a bit of online searching, I found a solution (although temporary). I have to re-install my print drivers. Here are the steps I take to reset my printing system. Re-install print drivers and reset printing. Other searches (online) indicate this problem affecting those attempting to print from Apple's iPhoto application.

Turn off all printers (I've got two).
Remove current printers from 'Print & Fax' preference pane (click the minus button under list of printers). Click OK to confirm.
Position your mouse cursor inside the empty pane where the printers were listed (in the Print & Fax preference pane). Press and hold CTRL key, followed by right click.
When menu/option appears, select 'Reset printing system'. You may be prompted to enter an administrator name/password to confirm.
Turn on your printer(s). Printers/drivers should be automatically re-added to your list of printers. If this doesn't work, you could try a reinstall of the drivers available on the Epson support site (if you install from disc they'll be pre-snow leopard drivers). You may also need to re-enable printer sharing.

So far, this has worked for me. Sometimes I have to do it multiple times to make it work. Sometimes/whenever I'm dealing with a pdf document created using Word 2007, I must print the document using the a 'Print as image' option under Adobe Reader's 'Advanced' options. The technique above (the reset procedure) usually restores my ability to print. Unfortunately, it only works until the error happens again... Apple/Epson have some problems that need resolution. This problem's been around since the introduction of Snow Leopard (I think). It's quite annoying and I wish I knew how to solve it for good. Despite their claims to the contrary - Epson has NOT solved this problem by releasing updated drivers for Snow Leopard. So far, it appears as if this problem is only affecting Epson printers, and it may be caused by pdf files created using Word 2007. Epson - Fix This!</rant>
<http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2160662>

Christmas Book Bonanza:
With this year's Christmas, I added a few new books to the groaning shelves of my every growing collection: Dreamer of Dune - Biography of Frank Herbert (1st Ed. Leather bound Hardcover by Brian Herbert), National Geographic's Last Wild Places (leather bound, first edition), National Geographic's Guide To Scenic Highways and Byways (1st Ed. Hardcover), and of course all those D&D books listed below. I haven't got any idea when I'll get to these books.

For now, I'll add them to my bookshelf (only added one to my 'Books' pages), and this addition just increases the number of books waiting to be read. While I'm currently reading an extremely slow burning book (Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson), I'm looking forward to many of the books on my bookshelf. I'm really interested in the 'Personal Effects' novel. It represents something novel in books. It's a 'fiction' meets 'reality' concept. The book comes with numerous 'artifacts' and links to web sites, which involve the reader in a more substantial method of storytelling. I'm also looking forward to all those 'Dune' novels that I've been accumulating over the years. The Dune series is something I can't get enough of. Unfortunately, I haven't had time to read any of the recent books.

In addition to adding the Dune book to my 'On the Shelf' and 'Frank Herbert / Brian Herbert & Kevin Anderson' pages, I also corrected a spelling error. A year ago, I revised my 'Books' web page. It no longer displays a simple flat file listing. Now it's a starting point for numerous lists. Lists of my favorite books. These lists were created using some new software; well, it's not really 'new' software, but it is the first time I've used it to create web pages. Bookpedia is one of the great applications created by Bruji.com. I've been meaning to start using it for some time now. It's the sort of software that has helped me create my web pages, while simultaneously keeping my life organized. I hope you enjoy the revised 'Book' pages.
<https://www.robsworld.org/books.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/myfavs.html>
<http://www.bruji.com/bookpedia/>

D&D books:
I recently received five new rule books for my favorite game. These books came as Christmas gifts, all but wiping out my 'wish list' for D&D books. My favorite game is rule heavy, book heavy, but thankfully, the players don't have to buy all the books. That joy usually rests on the DM's shoulders. I received two book which I think will enhance the game play within the context of our campaign. The latest acquisitions were:

Exemplars of Evil: Villains form a special core in the D&D game. Without sufficiently vile opponents, the players might find themselves more concerned with the bureaucratic minutiae of the game, and that's no fun. Keep your players focused on the soul crushing sources of evil in our realms and they'll stay happy :-). This book is packed full of "Deadly Foes to Vex Your Heroes"(tm). This supplement provides DMs with details on how to build memorable villains for the D&D campaign. It also presents numerous ready-to-play villains and malevolent groups of various levels. This book is a DM's reference. Players should not peruse this book or bring one to the game table.
Drow of the Underdark: The Dark Elves or Drow of D&D are a malevolent, cruel, race of subterranean Elves that live deep beneath the surface, and this book provides many details on the society, religion, magic, monsters and culture that is Drow. A definitive treatise on all things Drow. As Drow are typically evil, players should request permission before they bring this book to the table.
Lords of Darkness: Like Exemplars of Evil, this book provides details on villains in the game. This game accessory focuses on evil powers that threaten the realms of Faerûn. Providing details on groups such as the 'Red Wizards of Thay', the 'Zhentarim', the 'Shadow Thieves' and others, this book provides a useful reference for any DM running a Forgotten Realms campaign. This book is a DM's reference. Players should not peruse this book or bring one to the game table.
Mysteries of the Moonsea: Another Forgotten Realms Campaign Accessory, this book is a slightly different take on the typical 'regional' addendums. Here is a series of ready-to-use scenarios, campaign inserts and detailed encounters for use in your Forgotten Realms campaign. This book provides basic regional background info, and a large number of ready-to-run mini adventures or quests. This book is a DM's reference. Players should not peruse this book or bring one to the game table.
Cormyr - The Tearing of the Weave: A campaign adventure for characters of levels 4-7. This 'book' is in fact a module/Adventure for use in a Forgotten Realms campaign. Set primarily in the region of Cormyr, it's a long running adventure which may see characters progress from levels 4 through 8th as they endeavor to complete this epic quest. This book is a DM's reference. Players should not peruse this book or bring one to the game table.

As a result of these purchases, I updated my D&D books page. I also updated the D&D books page to increase the font size. The microscopically small font was torturous on the eyes, and I've received more than one complaint about that aspect of the page. Hopefully this will make the list a bit more useful. Finally, I updated some info about various versions of D&D and the contact info at the bottom of the page.
<https://www.robsworld.org/dndbooks.html>

Software favorites:
More updates from one of my favorite software applications. GraphicConverter moves ever forward. As usual, developer has been busy updating this application. Here's a bunch of updates for the product that's always getting better. All the updates are free for those who own a license (for the most recent version). If you need a powerhouse converter, editor and browser for your graphics, grab a copy of GraphicConverter - You won't be disappointed.

GraphicConverter:
Thorsten Lemke (of Lemkesoft) released an entirely new version of GraphicConverter last month (in Nov, 2010). Since then there have been multiple beta/minor releases. I downloaded versions 7.0.3 (129, 131, 132 and 133) during the last week. GraphicConverter is an image converter and editor. A fantastic piece of shareware that is well worth the price (~$40.00). I use it to convert image formats into web standard formats, to create and edit image maps and other graphics. I've been singing GC's praises for many years now, and I'm not sure what I would do without it. The best part about GC is it's creator. Thorsten Lemke is completely committed to his customer base. Constantly and Continuously responding to customer recommendations and bug reports. GC is a dynamic, evolving, application. Always on the cutting edge, an absolute must in any web developers tool box. At a fraction of PhotoShop's cost, this photo editor puts a huge wrench in your toolbox.
<http://www.lemkesoft.com/content/193/key-features.html>

With this software update, I've updated my Software Favorites page. It's primarily dedicated to web publishing for the Mac user. Not meant for the professional, It's my hope that home users and hobbyists will find it useful. It's a listing of applications that I find useful in publishing my web pages.
<https://www.robsworld.org/myfavs.html>

iTunes - It's so simple:
<rave>Recently (as a Christmas gift), I purchased a couple of TV seasons using the iTunes store. Two television series which I love. I've seen them all, most more than once, but can't seem to get enough: Kolchak the Night Stalker. The original 1974/75 television series. It only ran one season, but I loved it (watched back in the 70s). What a thriller for a young sci-fi and fantasy fan. This show helped forge my love of sci-fi, fantasy and horror. It was a great TV show, and Darren McGavin as Carl Kolchak was outstanding. I loved that show, and now, thanks to Apple's iTunes store, I can own it, watch it when I want, and fall in love all over again. The entire season (it only ran one season - 20 shows) only cost me $19.80 (not counting taxes). I downloaded and can't wait to watch.

Another show, I'm sure you're all familiar with - The X-Files. Inspired by Kolchak, here's another sci-fi classic. Lasting much longer than Kolchak, here's the king of paranormal investigation shows. Kim and I loved this show, and miss it now that it's gone. Looking to recapture that feeling we purchased the first season for $29.99 (for 24 episodes). It'll take a while, but we've got a great line-up ahead of us. Time to watch some TV. This is increasingly the way I watch television. I don't watch cable (If it weren't for Kim's viewing habits, I would have ditched the cable long ago).

The iTunes store makes it so simple, so easy, so inexpensive to download shows, movies, music. It's no wonder they rule when it comes to selling entertainment media. Convenience, variety, service and simplicity. If only they had a little competition. Well, maybe Amazon compares... Let's see - Nope not available for digital download. How about X-Files? Well, it's available as a video on demand selection, but you can't download and own it. The price was the same, but it's only a rental! iTunes rules. </rave>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolchak:_The_Night_Stalker>
<http://www.apple.com/itunes/>

Southeast Aurora Neighborhood Watch website:
My odd-ball schedule actually works in my favor for some things. A couple of those things are the community support activities which I enjoy - Volunteering with our local neighborhood watch, maintaining the Southeast Aurora Neighborhood Watch website and mailing lists. Here are some of the changes I made at our Neighborhood Watch website over the last couple days:

* Current: A web page dedicated to the most recent news, announcements and information. I added three new banners over the last few days. Our next neighborhood watch meeting is tentatively scheduled to take place on the 3rd of February, 2011. Hopefully we'll have a new PAR (Police Area Representative) by that time. We've also got two fund raisers coming up. Both events are being held to help the Aurora Police department's K9 unit. They need a new Police Dog, but the city doesn't budget for these canine cops. The first is a Tip-A-Cop event. 26 January, 2010 between 5-9pm. Order some food at the Southland's Old Chicago, and a cop will serve your meal. Please give a donation to help buy a Police Dog. The other event is another Family Night at the Pepsi Center. The Avalanche will be playing the Anaheim Ducks, and you can help us raise funds by purchasing a discounted ticket. This event will take place 5 Feb, 2011 at 1pm.
* Events: A listing of upcoming and recurring events in you Southeast Aurora Neighborhood. Events sponsored by or relevant to our Neighborhood Watch. Here are additional details regarding the three events I listed above. The Neighborhood Watch meeting, the Tip-A-Cop fundraiser, and the Family Night fundraiser at the Pepsi Center. You can even view or download a flyer for the Family Night event.

If you are a resident of Southeast Aurora, you might want to check out our Southeast Aurora Neighborhood Watch website (Serving the following communities: Tollgate Crossing, Sorrel Ranch, The Wheatlands, Beacon Point, Southshore, Tallyn’s Reach, Saddle Rock - North, Serenity Ridge, Black Stone, Heritage Eagle Bend and Rocking Horse). If you're concerned about the safety and security of our community, you might want to join our group, or subscribe to one of our mailing lists to receive periodic alerts, updates and information.
<http://www.southeastaurora-neighborhoodwatch.org/Welcome.html>

Happy Holidays/Merry Christmas:
Kim and I would like to take the opportunity to wish all our visitors a Happy Holiday Season, a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. We sincerely hope that you and your family had a joyous time during the last few days. We wish you prosperity and health throughout the year to come. Thanks for being our friends and family. We wish we could have made a trip out to see all our friends and family for the holidays, but we couldn't arrange it this year. Maybe we'll see you in 2011.

This year, Kim got most of the cool gadgets - Well, Kitchen gadgets are cool too, right? Her haul included a Waffle Maker, A Pannini Press, a CrockPot with a timer. Well, I'll certainly eat well in the coming year. Gifts I got were books (mostly the D&D kind), games (when will I ever play them?), a large number of shirts and a couple TV seasons on iTunes (X-Files first season and the original Kolchak the Night Stalker). That's just a few of the goodies we scored this year. Of course there's also Kim's new car, and all the stuff we got throughout the year. We really are lucky to have such good jobs. We also give to charity throughout the year. This year we gave over $1,000 to the Vietnam Veterans of America, and I dedicated more than 100 hours of work to a non-profit community oriented group (yeah, the Neighborhood Watch - Hey, that's a good cause). We hope your year will be happy, healthy and wealthy as we move into 2011.
<https://www.robsworld.org/holidaygreetings_2010.pdf>

Problems with my Seagate BlackArmor 110 NAS - Solved, sort of:
Back in July of 2010, I purchased a new hard drive. I purchased this new drive as a replacement for a hard drive attached to my router. I had a Western Digital (500GB) hard drive attached to my Time Capsule. The drive was attached via USB, and it had some problems staying connected to the network. USB isn't the best choice for a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device. I was using the WD drive as a NAS, but it wasn't performing very well in that role. I decided to upgrade to a drive with Ethernet connectivity.

I chose a Seagate BlackArmor 110 NAS to fill the role - as a NAS device. As previously mentioned, it connects via Ethernet (with max connection speed of 1GB), and the drive has a speed of 7200rpm; making it quite snappy as a server/storage device. Way faster than USB, but nowhere near that 'theoretical' speed of 1GB. It also has two USB 2.0 ports, so you can connect other devices (hook up a printer for shared printing, or another hard drive for server backup). In addition to it's storage capabilities. The drive came with some software and server capabilities. Unfortunately, it didn't have any AFP support, and the drive came preformatted in FAT32 windows disk format. I would have preferred the Mac's HFS+ or even ZFS.

I was using it to serve up files on my local network, and it worked fine for a while. The SMB connection worked fine at first. It even allowed remote access (using a web based interface). Using the web based management software, I was even able to set up daily back-ups using the WD drive; which I connected to the NAS via USB. I moved all my iTunes files over to this server, and I added many videos, photos, and text files. Adding this drive bumped up my storage capacity to a total of 4.28TB! This particular drive received quite a few positive reviews, and I was happy with it until recently...

<rant>So, here we are - less than six months later, and the drive has stopped serving up shares. I can see the device using bonjour, NFS, SMB and CIFS protocols, but I can't mount the shares to my desktop using bonjour, SMB or CIFS. When I mounted the shares using NFS, I couldn't access the data stored on the device. While I was initially very happy with the device, I have to admit that I'm quite disappointed with the customer support. I've done everything I could think of to get the device working again, a friend with a Windows machine even helped me with a factory reset, restoring the drive to it's initial configuration state. When I turned to Seagate for support, they were less than helpful. While they initially answered my email requests for support (a few exchanges of email towards the end of Nov, beginning of Dec, 2010), they now claim "At this time neither e-mail or chat support is offered for Black Armor 440/420/220/110 NAS units for issues like this." I don't get it, they initially engaged in some half-hearted attempts to troubleshoot this drive via email, but now they're referring me to telephone support - Which of course 'Costs Money'. $14.99 per incident. It's a small price, but that's not the point. Due to my schedule, I can't manage telephone support. Their hours don't work for someone who works nights - and I was on mids until Christmas.</rant>

Update: Many days later, and I was still struggling with the drive. I think the problem is probably due to Apple's software, an update which changed the SMB protocol. I think there's been some changes to my OS which adversely affected my ability to properly connect to SMB shares. I'm not the only one having issues with SMB connectivity (see the links below). Thankfully there's were a few people helping me troubleshoot the issue. I've posted my problem on Apple's discussion boards, filed a BUG report (with Apple), and sought help from the 'Samba' developers community. One individual was particularly helpful. William Brown of Adelaide University in Australia was the one who held my hand to guide me through the mysterious maze of NAS. After numerous email exchanges, hours of troubleshooting, and countless attempts to get my drive back in ship shape, we finally came upon some success. I've finally got the drives primary share mounted to my desktop. I can even drag and drop files across the network. Most importantly, I can now use the drive to store my media files (music, videos, photos). It's not connected by SMB. I've got the drive talking over NFS (Network File System) protocol. It's actually faster than SMB, but it doesn't support quite as many features, and the file locking capabilities are just about non-existent. Here's the magic formula (a terminal/command line string) that finally got the beast back on my local network:

>sudo mount -o nosuid,noowners,nolocks,locallocks -v -t nfs 10.0.1.2:/DataVolume/Public /Volumes/MOUNT

So for now, the thing is working. Unfortunately, it doesn't automount (tried to get it automounting with Apple's Disk Utility, but that didn't work), and every time I reboot or log out, I have to remount the share. Hopefully Apple will correct the problem and update the OS. In the meantime, I'm looking for a NAS solution that works well with Macs. The most important feature of any new NAS drive is support. Hopefully I can find a company that builds Mac compatible NAS drives and supports their product. If you'd like to recommend a ethernet connected NAS drive, feel free to email me:
<http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=11861795>
<http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=12766940>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_File_System_(protocol)>
<https://www.robsworld.org/blackarmorupdate.png>
<https://www.robsworld.org/mycomputer.html>

December 22, 2010

Software favorites:
A few more releases for some of my favorite software applications. GraphicConverter moves ever forward. As usual, developer has been busy updating this application. Here's a set of beta updates for the product that's always getting better. More free updates for those who own a license. If you need a powerhouse converter, editor and browser for your graphics, grab a copy of GraphicConverter - You won't be disappointed. In addition to the GraphicConverter update, I also updated my copy of XQuartz.

GraphicConverter:
Thorsten Lemke (of Lemkesoft) released an entirely new version of GraphicConverter last month. Since then there have been multiple beta/minor releases. I downloaded versions 7.0.3 (122, 125 and 126) this week. GraphicConverter is an image converter and editor. A fantastic piece of shareware that is well worth the price (~$40.00). I use it to convert image formats into web standard formats, to create and edit image maps and other graphics. I've been singing GC's praises for many years now, and I'm not sure what I would do without it. The best part about GC is it's creator. Thorsten Lemke is completely committed to his customer base. Constantly and Continuously responding to customer recommendations and bug reports. GC is a dynamic, evolving, application. Always on the cutting edge, an absolute must in any web developers tool box. At a fraction of PhotoShop's cost, this photo editor puts a huge wrench in your toolbox.
<http://www.lemkesoft.com/content/193/key-features.html>

X11:
One of the best things about OSX? - it's really Unix! I'm running X11/XQuartz 2.6.0 available from MacOS Forge

I've been using Unix longer than I've been using Mac's, so I knew about the power potential when I found out that OSX was going to be based on Unix. Some of the most powerful Unix applications (see The GIMP above) run on any OSX equipped Mac. In order to run all these fantastic applications you need nothing more than Apple's version of X11 (which comes free with OSX, or you can download and install other versions). If you want to get a bit more advanced, you can use Fink or Macports with your OSX equipped Mac. Once you get your X Windows environment running, you'll find thousands of Unix applications that have been a well kept secret for all this time.

Getting Unix apps up and running on your Mac isn't always as easy as downloading and double clicking, but the following links should help you get started.
<http://developer.apple.com/opensource/tools/X11.html>
<http://developer.apple.com/opensource/tools/runningx11.html>
<http://www.macports.org/>
<http://www.finkproject.org/>

With these software updates, I've updated my Software Favorites page. It's primarily dedicated to web publishing for the Mac user. Not meant for the professional, It's my hope that home users and hobbyists will find it useful. It's a listing of applications that I find useful in publishing my web pages.
<https://www.robsworld.org/myfavs.html>

Happy Holidays - iPhoto Greeting Cards:
<rave>Wow, with the recent release of iPhoto 9.0 (under the iLife '11 update), Apple added a slew of new greeting card templates to the iPhoto application. Kim and I have been using iPhoto to create our holiday greeting cards since 2007, and this year's card is the best ever. The new greeting card capabilities are vastly improved from previous versions of iPhoto. The card creation process is well curated with an excellent wizard like process, and the carousel display of cards is pretty nifty. Even more impressive are the new 'Letterpress' cards. While Kim and I didn't opt for the letterpress cards, we did order a stack of folded cards for this holiday season. After selecting an assortment of photos to work with, it took us about one hour to create the card (I included a long update letter in the card). Apple's packed iPhoto with 27 greeting card themes (12 of the holiday themes are new this year), and each card offers a fairly high variety of layouts. I was a bit worried about the price, as these cards are quite elegant. Thankfully the cost was pretty low. At approximately $1.79 for each folded card, you really can't do much better. Printing these cards on your own would definitely cost more. Apple doesn't charge you for any mistakes (I used to print my own cards, and I know from first hand experience how much of a hassle that can be) and the cost of inkjet ink can be quite high. The paper quality is awesome. It's got a high cotton count, and it's much heavier than previous years. The photo prints came out great and the colors were very vivid. Far better than anything I could have created on my desktop. We've always been impressed by Apple's print products, and this year they've raised the bar another notch. I've uploaded this years card (as a pdf file) to my web server; just in case you'd like to see what I'm raving about. No one else does cards like this - No wonder Apple's making record profits.</rave>
<https://www.robsworld.org/whatsnews/wn2010/wn2010_nov.html#ilife2011>
<http://www.apple.com/ilife/print-products.html#easier-than-before>
<http://www.apple.com/ilife/print-products.html>
<http://www.apple.com/ilife/iphoto/>

Encryption and email signatures:
Spammers are continuously assaulting my digital identity by forging messages to look like they came from me. As a result, I use pgp signed messages for much of my email correspondence. Unfortunately, I've had a problem with GPGMail (a plugin for Apple's Mail.app) for some time now. It doesn't work properly with the pinentry pop-up/authentication application used to authenticate signatures. The plugin works, but it doesn't work properly. It's an annoying problem which reduces my productivity by requiring more of my attention than it should. I filed a bug report with the developers of GPGMail. Well, recently they finally got around to fixing the plugin. Or so I thought... I installed the 1.3.2 plugin, and promptly lost my ability to send signed messages! Crap - Following this upgrade, I spent upwards of 12 hours troubleshooting the issue. Unfortunately, we (developers and I) weren't able to resolve the issue. So, for now, I'm unable to add digital signatures to my email (The encryption parts of GPGMail still work properly). The issue is currently being worked by the developers, and I'm waiting for another release of the software.

I use GnuPG v1.4.9 and the GPGMail plugin 1.3.2beta1 (Compatible with Snow Leopard (10.6.5)), for Apple's Mail.app Version 4.4 (1082) for encryption, decryption, and message authentication. If you would like to correspond in secret, please take note of my Public Keys. Why do I use signatures or encryption? Well, I don't use the encryption very often, but I have been known to send myself encrypted email containing passwords or private information (banking and medical information). I use pgp signatures quite often, as a way of ensuring message authenticity. I'm tired of spammers pretending to be me. By using these signatures (which uses the message content (upon signing) and a private key to create a signature which can be verified by using my public key) I can assure recipients that the message they received was actually sent be me, and it hasn't been tampered with in transit. In addition to my self published keys, my public keys are also available on various keyservers.

In addition to this software update, I also updated my encryption page and some information regarding my use of encryption/pgp signatures on my feedback page.
<https://www.robsworld.org/encryption.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/feedback.html>

Problems with my Seagate BlackArmor 110 NAS:
Back in July of 2010, I purchased a new hard drive. I purchased this new drive as a replacement for a hard drive attached to my router. I had a Western Digital (500GB) hard drive attached to my Time Capsule. The drive was attached via USB, and it had some problems staying connected to the network. USB isn't the best choice for a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device. I was using the WD drive as a NAS, but it wasn't performing very well in that role. I decided to upgrade to a drive with Ethernet connectivity.

I chose a Seagate BlackArmor 110 NAS to fill the role - as a NAS device. As previously mentioned, it connects via Ethernet (with max connection speed of 1GB), and the drive has a speed of 7200rpm; making it quite snappy as a server/storage device. It also has two USB 2.0 ports, so you can connect other devices (hook up a printer for shared printing, or another hard drive for server backup). In addition to it's storage capabilities. The drive came with some software and server capabilities.

I was using it to serve up files on my local network, it even allows remote access (using a web based interface). Using the web based management software, I was even able to set up daily back-ups using the WD drive; which I connected to the NAS via USB. I moved all my iTunes files over to this server, and I added many videos, photos, and text files. Adding this drive bumped up my storage capacity to a total of 4.28TB! This particular drive received quite a few positive reviews, and I was happy with it until recently...

<rant>So, here we are - less than six months later, and the drive has stopped serving up shares. I can see the device using bonjour, NFS and SMB protocols, but I can't mount the shares to my desktop using bonjour or SMB. When I mount the shares using NFS, I can't access the data stored on the device. While I was initially very happy with the device, I have to admit that I'm quite disappointed with the customer support. I've done everything I could think of to get the device working again, but when I turned to Seagate for support they were less than helpful. While they initially answered my email requests for support (two exchanges of email towards the end of Nov, beginning of Dec, 2010), they now claim "At this time neither e-mail or chat support is offered for Black Armor 440/420/220/110 NAS units for issues like this." I don't get it, they initially engaged in some half-hearted attempts to troubleshoot this drive via email, but now they're referring me to telephone support - Which of course 'Costs Money'. $14.99 per incident. It's a small price, but that's not the point. Due to my schedule, I can't manage telephone support. Their hours don't work for someone who works nights - and I'm on mids.</rant>

Update: Many days later, and I'm still struggling with this drive. At this point I think the problem is probably due to Apple's software. I think there's been some changes to my OS which adversely affected my ability to properly connect to SMB shares. I'm not the only one having issues with SMB connectivity (see the links below). Thankfully there's a few people who are helping me troubleshoot this issue. I've posted my problem on Apple's discussion boards, filed a BUG report (with Apple), and sought help from the 'Samba' developers community. So far none of these efforts (and many hours of troubleshooting) have not resolved the problem. Unfortunately, it looks like I'm not going to be using this drive for some time now. Hopefully Apple will correct the problem and update the OS. Until then, this thing is a brick. I can't mount it's shares on my desktop, and my applications can't connect to it for file sharing.
<http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=11861795>
<http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=12766940>
<https://www.robsworld.org/blackarmorupdate.png>
<https://www.robsworld.org/mycomputer.html>

Influenza Still Sick!
It's been a long time since I've been sick, so this illness came as something of a surprise. While Colorado is suffering through the annual flu-season, I thought I was going to skate through without catching any bug. I got my flu shot, so I figured I was good to go. That's when I started slacking at work. Not wiping down my workstation (at relief), not using a handkerchief on the door handles, not washing my hands often enough. Crap! I caught a bug of some sort. More so than your typical cold, this was some tough bug. On the first day (the 23rd of Nov), I thought it was just a cold. A sore throat. Nothing major. That evening I realized it was something worse. I didn't get much sleep at all (maybe two hours), as my body was aching, and racked with fever - Hot, then cold, then hot again. Add to that the fact that I couldn't lay down without fluids nearly drowning me. I went in to work, and desperately looked for someone to fill in for me. Thankfully, Mike Murray was available. Despite his initial protestations (He wanted to leave early to get a head start on the holiday weekend), he eventually came to my rescue, and sat my position for the day watch. I went home and suffered. I immediately got three hours sleep, but I needed much more. By the end of the day, I didn't feel much better, but I was able to get more sleep than that first night. On Thursday (Thanksgiving day), I spent a long day at work. Coughing, feverish, runny nose, slightly nauseous. I wish I didn't have to be there, but the manning situation didn't leave me any options. I had off Fri-Sun, but I'm still sick. It's nowhere near as bad as those first two days, but it sure isn't much fun either. What a bother. I'm taking cold medicine, getting extra sleep, drinking plenty of fluids, etc. I hope you're not a victim of this years cold and flu season. If you haven't already, please be sure to get your flu shot.

Update: Wow, this thing is really bumming me out. I thought it was over... By the 10th of December, the symptoms had pretty much disappeared. They were quite mild, and I figured the worst was over. On the 11th I felt fatigued and tried to get some good rest, but that didn't happen. By the evening of the 12th (12 Dec, 2010) this thing was back, and I had a fever. I felt like crap again. By Monday all they symptoms were back again at full strength. Unfortunately, I had to work on Monday night. I did my best to get some decent sleep, and I went in for work that evening. I felt like garbage the whole night. Luckily for me, Grover was filling in for another co-worker, and he volunteered to cover for me on Tuesday. So, I went home and got some desperately needed sleep. I woke up and realized that this thing just wasn't going away. On Wednesday (the 15th of Dec, 2010), I went to the urgent care clinic (TriCare gave me problems when I told them I needed to go to Urgent Care. They wanted me to make an appointment with my primary care provider. Right - She's not working today, and I don't want to wait another day. How long will it take to get an authorization for the urgent care? What?! up to 72 hours! That's insane! Anyway... Eventually, they relented and allowed me to see the doctors at the nearest urgent care... I could go on an on about this)

The doctor checked my symptoms and such. Then he made the call. I had a bad case of bronchitis and/or a broad spectrum bacterial infection. In either case, he prescribed a five day course of antibiotics. Some steroids to reduce inflammation of the airways and a strong narcotic cough medicine so I could get some sleep. It's been a week since I saw the doctor, and I'm feeling a lot better. I still have some congestion, but most of the symptoms are gone and I'm breathing freely again. Thankfully those antibiotics did the trick. So far I've missed two days of work over this monster. It sure sucks when your sick. I just wish they had more of those sanitizing wipes at work.

December 15, 2010

Rob's World! - Newsletter:
Each month I send out a monthly newsletter to the avid fans of Rob's World! (Imagine that?) If you're interested in reading about happenings at Rob's World! you can forego the daily/weekly chore of logging in to check out the latest nuggets. The newsletter is a more convenient way to keep up to date on the comings and going in the life and times of Robert & Kim Vaessen and my crazy little web site. I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't want a copy emailed directly to them every month! For some time now, I've had the ability to set up proper mailing lists (thanks to my web host 'Internet Marketing Services'); the kind of mailing list which can automatically handle subscribe and unsubscribe requests. The new mailing list management method includes a built in double confirmation mechanism, a web based list management interface, and a much more efficient way to control the addresses and characteristics associated with the mailing list.

This month I've had to make some changes to the mailing list configuration. I had to rename the mailing list. Spammers found the email address for the mailing list, and then I inadvertently gave them the 'admin' address for the mailing list. These developments led to a boat load of new spam messages, and I was forced to change the name of the mailing list. Damn those spammers! Always making my life hell. I had to create a new mailing list (The mailing list is no longer called 'Newsletter'. I changed the name to 'RWNewsletter'), migrate all the subscribers over to the new mailing list, then shut down the old mailing list. That should do the trick for now. If you're interested in receiving the newsletter, all you have to do is send an email to: Check out the web page for more details.
<http://robsworld.org/mailman/listinfo>
<https://www.robsworld.org/newsletter.html>

Apple TV (2nd gen) update:
On Tuesday (14 Dec, 2010), Apple released the Apple TV Software Update 4.1.1 (not to be confused with the iOS 4.2.1 update)). In October of 2010, I bought one of the new (2nd Generation) Apple TVs. After some initial problems integrating it into my network (One old Apple TV, one new Apple TV, one malfunctioning Network Attached Server, and one light switch!), I now have it up and running in the living room.

The new Apple TV is working great. I don't like the way the menus are organized (removing my content from the top tier of each menu), but that may change. The Netflix menu will take a bit of adjustment, and my universal remote needs a bit of tweaking. All these little things are a bit annoying, but I do like the new device. The streaming performance was a primary concern, but so far I haven't been disappointed. It seems to be working fine. The beefed up processor and large flash for caching are doing their jobs splendidly. If you didn't know better you'd think all that content was stored onboard.

This new software update (Apple TV Software Update 4.1.1) is rather minor. Arriving shortly after the 4.1 update, this one brings two fixes. One corrects a display resolution issue, the other corrects a download problem.
<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4448>
<http://www.apple.com/appletv/>

Updates to my MobileMe HomePage:
Over a year ago, Apple retired the .Mac HomePage application for publishing new .Mac webpages, but they allowed previously published pages to remain viewable on the web. On November 8th, 2010, they discontinued online viewing of photos, movies, and files shared using the webpages created using the old .Mac HomePage web based editor.

In November, Apple discontinued the viewing of photos, movies, or files hosted through the .Mac 'Sites' folder. I somehow got the impression that they were going to disallow the viewing of webpages that were created and stored in a site hierarchy used by the .Mac HomePage online editor. As a result, I created a new 'MobileMe' web page. I went ahead and re-created/re-post all the content I was hosting in the (MobileMe) 'Sites' folder - where the URL was: <http://homepage.mac.com/rvaessen/> - to hosting in the 'Web' folder. I used iWeb in order to re-create/re-post/host my old iTools, .Mac, HomePage. I thought viewing of that page was going away, as it turns out, it's just the viewing of the photos that went away. This week I updated that new 'MobileMe' page. I removed a somewhat confusing paragraph towards the bottom of the page.

The 'new' webpage isn't a complete clone of the old .Mac HomePage. I changed the look a bit, but kept most of the elements from that old webpage. The new web page is available now, just in case you'd like to check it out. So, what can one find on my .Mac/MobileMe page? Links to my favorite Desktop Photos, a link to my Music Collection, my Movie Collection, and my MobileMe gallery. Mostly, its a place where I keep some of my collections. Things I might need access to when I'm away from home, but near a computer.
<http://web.me.com/rvaessen/Robs_World/RobsWorld.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/mobilemechanges01.png>
<http://www.apple.com/mobileme/>

* Welcome: The website's opener. A page containing an introduction to the Neighborhood Watch program and it's volunteers. I updated various references to our PAR officer. Aurora assigns PAR (Police Area Representative) officers to various communities around the city. Currently Area-26 (where we live) is experiencing a PAR officer vacancy. Until the city fills this vacancy, by appointing a new PAR, Officer Darren Lantz (of Area-23) will be covering our area.
* Current: A web page dedicated to the most recent news, announcements and information. I removed a banner for our last NW meeting (held 2 Dec, 2010). I removed the banner announcing our latest NW mailing lists. I removed a banner with information on our last National Night Out event (held in August of 2010).
* Events: A listing of upcoming and recurring events in you Southeast Aurora Neighborhood. Events sponsored by or relevant to our Neighborhood Watch. I updated the event listing for our next NW meeting (which will be held in Feb of 2011). I'll post additional information as it arrives.
* Info: A page of links and information pertinent to the safety and security of our communities. I updated the information for our PAR officer. The position is currently vacant, but Officer Darren Lantz (of Area-23) is filling in. I also updated the contact info for the Tallyn's Reach Head Area Coordinators (thanks to a resident for the corrections).

Updates to the Tollgate Crossing Website:
My odd-ball schedule actually works in my favor for some things. A couple of those activities are the community support activities which I enjoy - Volunteering with our local neighborhood watch, and supporting our community by maintaining the Tollgate Crossing website and mailing lists. The Tollgate Crossing website is focused on the Tollgate Crossing community, with a few links to the Neighborhood Watch website. Over the last few weeks, I made a few updates to the community website:

* Welcome: The website's opener. A page containing an introduction to our community website. Here you'll find all the latest news and announcements. I rearranged the banners a bit - It's something I do to indicate a change in the content. I updated the banners for our next Metro District meeting (Dec 28th) and our next HOA meeting (Jan 11th, 2011). I removed an announcement about the end of the 'HOA Newsletter' mailing list. It just might survive.
* eMail lists: A web page containing details about our mailing lists. I a few community related email mailing lists, and this page contains details regarding all of those lists. I removed an announcement about the pending closure of the HOA Newsletters mailing list. The HOA management has assured me that they will be using this mailing list...
* Events: A detailed listing of upcoming and recurring events in and around Tollgate Crossing. Here is more detailed information regarding some of the events you may have read about on the 'Welcome' page. It's also a place to look for long term/recurring events. I updated the dates for our next HOA (Jan 11th, 2011) and Metro District meetings (28 Dec). I also changed the order of the events on this page.
* Volunteer: The volunteer page is a place where our community solicits help with various non-profit community projects. I removed a call for volunteers with our holiday lighting. I also updated some social committee information.

If you are a resident of 'Tollgate Crossing' (in Aurora, Colorado), you might want to check out the website. It's loaded with information about our community and you can even sign up for some of the email mailing lists that serve our community.
<http://www.tollgatecrossing.org/Welcome.html>

Spammers offer anonymous web proxy:
Do you know what a anonymous proxy service is? Sometimes called a web proxy, an anonymous proxy server attempts to anonymize your web surfing. There are several different varieties, but they all have the same end goal. To protect you from being identified by the destination web site. Many web site are harmful and attempt to log your IP address for improper uses. Some spyware applications and web sites with harmful code might need your personal IP address (or other information disclosed during an HTTP session) in order to do their dirty work. An anonymous proxy hides this information from the web sites you visit. You type in the URL of a web page, and the web page is accessed securely through the Proxy's IP address, your IP is not revealed to the site you surf to. Any links you click from the visited site are also secured behind the proxy.

Browsing the web anonymously can create a safer experience. Unfortunately, it also requires that you rely on and trust the proxy (and it's operators). Some proxy's require you to download software/applications which run on your computer, others are entirely web based. Using a anonymous proxy can reduce your risk of getting infected with trojans, viruses, worms, or other malicious code. It puts a filter between you and the website you visit.

Many offices, educational institutions and government agencies use proxy servers for various reasons. They act as a firewall, reduce traffic by caching commonly accessed sites, can be used to monitor usage, restrict access, protect users computers from previously mentioned malware, etc. An anonymous proxy can help protect your identity, or access otherwise blocked content/web sites.

When using an anonymous proxy, your identity/IP address and the websites you access are revealed to the proxy server. Because of this, some level of trust must exist between the proxy server and the end user. So, lately I've noticed numerous spammers offering their 'Web Proxy' services to the victims they spam. Really! How stupid does a person have to be? Why don't they just send an email saying "Dear computer user, please provide us with all your personal data. We're too lazy to disguise our blatant attempts to steal you credit card number. Your computer log in information would be very useful as well."

Now that spammers are offering web based anonymous proxies (this isn't exactly a new practice, it's been going on for ages, but it's the first time I've received spam advertising an anonymous web proxy), one has to ask... How can you trust any anonymous proxy server? Are you using a web proxy? Start asking questions, examining your relationship with the 'Anonymous' proxy service provider. Do they provide a contact form, phone number or email address? If not, you should probably look elsewhere. Do they have a well documented FAQ or terms of service? Do they provide details regarding the protocols and security methods employed? Do they allow you to control scripts, ads and pop-ups? Do they ask you for your user ID's, passwords, or email addresses (for other web sites)? Do they ask to use your bandwidth or email?

Many of these so called 'web based anonymous proxy servers' are simply cover for spammers, scammers and others engaged in illegal activity. Have you ever wondered how a spammer got ahold of your email address? Would you use a web proxy to access a banking site? Would you pass your credit card info through a proxy server? Be afraid, be very afraid. If you're going to trust someone else to see all the traffic entering or leaving your computer, they'd better be trustworthy. Do you trust this data with your current ISP? Why would you trust a spammer advertised anonymous proxy?

If you ever need any help figuring out a problem involving unsolicited email, or help hunting down a spammer, don't hesitate to ask for my help. I'm willing and eager to help. Just drop me an email. I'd put the email address here, but this email message is also posted online, where spammers could scrape the email off the web page. Damn those spammers!
<https://www.robsworld.org/index2.html#fightingspam>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_server>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpamCop>

December 13, 2010

* Welcome: The website's opener. A page containing an introduction to our community website. Here you'll find all the latest news and announcements. I rearranged the banners a bit - It's something I do to indicate a change in the content. I updated the banners for our next Metro District meeting (Dec 28th) and our next HOA meeting (Dec 14th). This HOA meeting will be the last one for Jan Rider (our Westwind Management Community Manager). She's leaving our area and I hope all of you will take the opportunity to thank her for the great job she's done over the last few years. This HOA meeting will also be the annual budget ratification meeting. If you're at all interested in how the board spends your HOA fees, here's a perfect opportunity to get some information and voice your opinion. I also posted an announcement about the end of the 'HOA Newsletter' mailing list...
* eMail lists: A web page containing details about our mailing lists. I a few community related email mailing lists, and this page contains details regarding all of those lists. I posted an announcement about the pending closure of the HOA Newsletters mailing list. If you're at all interested in this mailing list, or how it could save you (our HOA board) money, please read the message I posted.
* Events: A detailed listing of upcoming and recurring events in and around Tollgate Crossing. Here is more detailed information regarding some of the events you may have read about on the 'Welcome' page. It's also a place to look for long term/recurring events. I updated the dates for our next HOA (Dec 14th) and Metro District meetings (28 Dec). I also changed the order of the events on this page and corrected some errors.
* Info: A page of links, phone numbers, email addresses and other information pertinent to the residents/community of Tollgate Crossing. I updated the contact links/info for the HOA community manager. As of December 1st, Sue Daigle has taken over for community management responsibilities from Jan Rider. I also updated the contact info for our Neighborhood Watch PAR (Police Area Representative) Officer. The position is currently vacant, with Officer D. Lantz responding to calls and email until a new PAR officer is appointed.

Date Night - Dinner out and the Blue Man Group:
Have you been to see this show? Wow! Kim and I had a 'Date Night' on Friday (10 Dec, 2010). We took the 'Light Rail' downtown. It's our favorite way to get downtown (downtown Denver). We park the car for free at our nearest station, and the price is comparable to the trip there and back - Plus parking - which is never cheap in downtown Denver. After arriving at the Theater District stop, we made our way to the restaurant (arriving at 0545). Baur's Ristorante is supposed to be an upscale gourmet dinning experience. They sure have the 'Old World' classical looks, dark wood decor, and very dark lighting.

Despite the upscale looks, we found them overpriced, with a limited menu, and poor service. The menu only contained three starters, two soups, two salads, three entrees and three deserts. That's all. Apparently, the theater clientele appreciates the 'streamlined' dining choices? First of all they sat us at an odd shaped table (extremely long and narrow) right next to the entrance. My chair back right up against another patron, and I had much difficulty getting into the seat. I nearly had to shout to Kim, sitting nearly six feet away, in order to be heard. We requested a different table, and they obliged. Unfortunately, we ended up with the "It's only my third day" server after we moved. The service was very slow, despite the fact that there were plenty of staff on hand. Maybe they had a shortage of cooks?

Our appetizer (Calamari) was room temperature by the time it arrived (thirty minutes after we arrived), and the glass they served my beer in was cracked. After I brought it to their attention, it took approximately twenty minutes to get a refill - on a beer! Thirty minutes after the appetizer, we finally got our soup. My chicken corn chowder soup was very good, and Kim enjoyed her soup as well (some sort of squash soup). Regarding the entrees (which arrived more than an hour after we'd arrived) - I didn't real see anything I wanted, and I ended up getting half a roasted chicken (free range - of course) with roasted fingerling potatoes. I know, I ended up pairing a chicken soup with a roast chicken entree. I wasn't too happy about that. Three couples sitting in the same section arrived after us, but they got their food before us. O.k. she's only been working there three days. I'll cut her some slack. Back to the food. The roast chicken was good, but $22.00 good? I don't think so; especially since the potatoes were over 'heatlamped'. They were hard and tough. Like they'd been sitting under a heat lamp all day. Kim got a bacon wrapped filet mignon. While it was o.k. It wasn't cooked as she'd requested.

By the time we were ready to order desert (an hour and forty five minutes after we arrived), we'd already decided that we didn't want any more disappointments. Unfortunately we had one more disappoint in store. The price. For the two of us, the fare (without a tip) came to just under $100.00 - Wow, we ended up paying more than $100.00 for that wretched experience. That's one restaurant we won't be back to. Thankfully the rest of the evening was far more enjoyable.

The Blue Man group is an avant-garde, Internet age, vaudeville show. Three men in blue, who never speak, put on one fantastic show. I really had no idea what to expect. I thought it was going to be all music. Nope - Far from it in fact. It's a cultural experience and a visual feast, an interactive collaboration with the audience and a piece of performance art that sucks you in and leaves you feeling energized and optimistic. This performance in Denver (at the Buell Theatre) is the first stop in their first ever 'National Tour', and it featured loads of new material and plenty of classic 'Blue Man' moments. Kim and I had a fantastic time. There's still a few days left in Denver, and tickets are still available. Thankfully, the tour goes on through June, and plenty of people will have the opportunity to see them in person.
<http://www.baursdenver.com/>
<http://www.blueman.com/app/webroot/nationaltour/>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Man_Group>

Software favorites:
Another beta release for one of my favorite software applications. GraphicConverter moves ever forward. As usual, developer has been busy updating this application. Here's another update for the product that's always getting better. All the updates are free for those who own a license (for the most recent version). If you need a powerhouse converter, editor and browser for your graphics, grab a copy of GraphicConverter - You won't be disappointed.

GraphicConverter:
Thorsten Lemke (of Lemkesoft) released an entirely new version of GraphicConverter last month. Since then there have been multiple beta/minor releases. I downloaded version 7.0.3 (119) this week. GraphicConverter is an image converter and editor. A fantastic piece of shareware that is well worth the price (~$40.00). I use it to convert image formats into web standard formats, to create and edit image maps and other graphics. I've been singing GC's praises for many years now, and I'm not sure what I would do without it. The best part about GC is it's creator. Thorsten Lemke is completely committed to his customer base. Constantly and Continuously responding to customer recommendations and bug reports. GC is a dynamic, evolving, application. Always on the cutting edge, an absolute must in any web developers tool box. At a fraction of PhotoShop's cost, this photo editor puts a huge wrench in your toolbox.
<http://www.lemkesoft.com/content/193/key-features.html>

Vaessen Family Genealogy:
During October of 2010 (on the 29th of Oct, 2010), Clem Saharsky died (Peter Clement Sucharsky). Clem was the last living sibling of my Grandmother, Florence. Clem's parents - Antone Sucharsky and Josephine Tarkowski - had ten children. Clem was the last to die. My sister notified me of Clem's death, and I made some updates to our family history after receiving the sad news. Since then, I've been contacted by another Saharsky family member. Evie Saharsky provided me with some updated and corrected information. As I've come to realize, the information provided in newspaper death notices is seldom accurate. This information from Evie Saharsky is much appreciated, and I used it to update my family genealogy pages. Thanks Evie.

Thanks to some considerable assistance from some Dutch Vaessen's, I've been able to trace my family history back to 1580 (or earlier). If you're interested in the history of the Vaessen name, check out my Vaessen family genealogy pages. The information was compiled and posted using 'MacFamilyTree' software. The software is capable of importing or exporting genealogy data in various different formats, including HTML and GEDCOM standard .ged files.

If you are a member of the Vaessen family, or you're interested in the Vaessen family history, I welcome any corrections, additions or elaborations. Please feel free to write me with any relevant information.
<https://www.robsworld.org/genealogy/vaessen_family/vaessenfamily/index.html>
<http://www.syniumsoftware.com/macfamilytree/>
<https://www.robsworld.org/wapen.png>

Netflix News - More Disney/ABC content:
Recently (reported Dec 8th, 2010 by Netflix), Netflix and Disney/ABC announced an agreement to add more ABC shows for Netflix customers. The agreement brings many of the ABC hit shows such as: Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives and Brother's and Sisters to Netflix. In addition to episodes from these shows, Netflix will be adding episodes from numerous other Disney and ABC shows. Many of these shows will be available (for the first time) via Netflix's 'Watch Instantly' streaming service. Netflix has been increasing their television line-up lately. This strategy may be important for those thinking of cutting their cable subscriptions. This move by Disney/ABC (and other studios) may put pressure on the cable outlets to offer more money for exclusive deals, while simultaneously increasing the appeal of Netflix to audiences with younger viewers.
<http://netflix.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=379>
<http://www.netflix.com>

D&D updates:
We played two D&D sessions during the month of November. These updates come a bit late due to delays in receiving and posting the journal entries. Once again, Kevin was missing from our table, and there is officially one opening with Kevin seeking new employment in the area. Sean missed a session due to illness... Hmmm, maybe I should have canceled a session - I was sick too... Here are updates from our meetings on the 13th and 27th of November.

With the conclusion of our 8 August, 2009 meeting, the players have moved into an entirely new phase of the game. Gone are the S.C.R.E.W.O.F.F.S. - Existing now as a group of non-player characters. The player characters are now members of an entirely new group. The H.A.L.L.O.W.ed Knights. This new group of adventurers have struck out from Whillip. In search of glory, fame, and justice. They seek to right the wrongs of this land. To defend the weak, enslaved and oppressed. Striking out at evil and taint; this group of characters vow to make their mark upon the land. Let H.A.L.L.O.W.ed Knights be a name both feared by evil and revered by the good citizens of these realms.

Note from the Campaign Master
As of 20 February, 2010, one of the players (Mark) has taken over the duties of DM. Mark and I have been planning this change for some time. It's something I like to do, when possible. Unfortunately, the opportunity doesn't present itself too often. Once the campaign has been established, and the players familiar with "Rob's World", I like to encourage full participation by sharing the duties of DM. Mark has written the adventure that the characters are currently engaged in, and I will relinquish DM duties while Mark makes all the big decisions. With Mark behind the podium, I'll do my best to enjoy the mystery, and keep Solmar alive. So, Mark and I have switched places. He'll be running the show, and I'll be playing Solmar. What fun! I'm certainly enjoying this change of pace, the opportunity for adventure, and the mystery of Deepwood. - Robert

3rd Edition Campaign:
I updated the date of our next meeting - Our next meeting is tonight - 11 Dec, 2010. This page (The "3eCampagin" page) is the first stop for information on the campaign that I'm currently running. Here you'll find information regarding our next meeting, some notes, and an index of web pages and documents that are important to our campaign. You can also check out the latest group photo.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ecampaign.html>

The Adventurers journal:
The tale of our adventurers. A series of journal entries from various party members. This document contains details of their encounters. Victory, defeat, desire and glory. Here is the tale of The H.A.L.L.O.W.ed Knights, a group of adventurers who set forth from Whillip, seeking fame, fortune and the defeat of evil in these lands. Here are two journal entries penned by Mutteran - Lee's character. Once again, thanks go out to Lee for his continued support. Be sure to check it out when you get a chance. The party is still on their way to the location of their next challenge. During this particular session the party fought off another attack by summoned elementals. This time, they managed to spot and attack the enigmatic mage that's been hounding the group.
<https://www.robsworld.org/ajournal08.html#oct30 2010>

Monsters encountered:
From the open road to a subterranean aqueduct - As the party enter new environs they will surely encounter some new creatures. Some of those creatures will attempt to eat or injure the party - These creatures we call 'Monsters'! During our most recent gaming sessions, the party learned about two new monsters. A group of Stone Giants extorted a 'toll' from our group, and the party did battle with some aquatic denizens of the Kobold's aqueduct home. With these new encounters, I updated the party's Monster's Known listing. The monsters page is a listing of monsters that the party has encountered, read about, or heard of.
<https://www.robsworld.org/monsters.html>

Where Now?:
With the party out and about, they're bound to learn about some new places or learn some new info about places they've already visited. Thanks to some information obtained from various sources, the party learned a little more about the town threatened by the young Blue Dragon. I updated the entry for the village of Deepwood. "Where Now?" is a listing of various places the party has visited or researched.
<https://www.robsworld.org/wherenow.html>

Who's Who?:
Over the last couple of meetings our party encountered a few new NPCs (Non-Player Characters) and gathered some information about people we already knew. Madge Madgerson is the proprietor of the 'Hostel of the Sacred Stone'. Quik the Kobold is our local guide and member of the 'Aqueduct Tribe'. With this new found knowledge, I updated the "Who's Who?" page. The "Who's Who?" page is a listing of characters, both player characters and non-player characters.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ewhoswho.html>

These updates follow our meetings on the 13th and 27th of November, 2010. This is the eighth adventure for our group of heroes. In search of glory, fame, and justice, the H.A.L.L.O.W.ed Knights seek to right the wrongs of this land. To defend the weak, enslaved and oppressed. Striking out at evil and taint, this group of characters vow to make their mark upon the land. Let H.A.L.L.O.W.ed Knights be a name feared by evil and revered by the good citizens of these realms. Departing on the 1st of Mavis, the party has decided to help the citizens of Deepwood in their quest to vanquish a Blue Dragon from their backyard. After picking up supplies, horses, and some information in Westgate, the party has taken to the open road. The road has proven dangerous and long - Very Long! The party has fought many foes along the way, lost two of their own (Gregor and Jusarian), said goodbye to one longtime companion (Belt resigned as a member of the H.A.L.L.O.W.ed Knights, and hastily departed after learning of some urgent church business), and recruited three new companions (Pyrceval, Azura and the mysterious Crucifer) to strengthen their numbers. All united in their quest to vanquish Deepwood of it's Dragon problem, the adventurers continue in the region of Deepwood. Gone is the dusty long road, here is the dark forest and a subterranean aqueduct, here the adventure begins again. Sharpen your blades and hitch up your horses - Adventure calls and danger beckons!

You can keep up to date with our adventures by continuing to visit "Rob's World!" for all the latest campaign info. If you're enjoying the story of our adventurers, I encourage you to write me and let us know. Perhaps you've got an idea you'd like to share, some criticism or praise. Either way, it'll be earnestly appreciated.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ecampaign.html>

December 8, 2010

Save The Internet - Or Give it all away:
It seems to me, that the Internet (or our access to it (in the U.S.A.)) has increasingly been under attack. Thanks to the gatekeepers (ISPs and various corporations), the watchdogs (The FCC) and our legislators, the good thing we call the internet may soon come to an end. The Internet as we know it, the internet I grew up with, the internet we all rely on, may be quite close to an end. You can help 'Save the Internet' or you can help 'Give it all away'. Right now, the internet doesn't belong to anyone, but that could soon change. December 21st is the critical date.

After more than a year of waffling, this week Chairman Julius Genachowski announced plans to issue weak Net Neutrality rules that give just about everything to giant phone and cable companies, and leave Internet users with almost nothing. Please ask Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Michael Copps to fix this bad rule and protect the open Internet. I urge you/everyone you know to act now. Let the FCC know how you feel. Here's some of my comments to Julius Genachowski.

If Genachowski's Internet rules are passed, it will be a great victory for businesses in America.

Soon the internet will belong to them. Internet providers, the people who own the pipes that deliver your internet will soon own that internet. It's about time, after all they've been delivering all that free internet for quite some time now. It's about time someone started paying for this precious commodity.

They will decide how much internet American's are entitled to. Would you like the 20GB, 40GB, 120GB, or unlimited 'Business' plan? Oh, wait a minute, they've already got that.

They will decide what flavor the Internet is. No you may not visit those 'Unfiltered' internet web sites. That's too dangerous to our network. And besides, good, patriotic Americans would never want to visit 'that' part of the internet.

They will decide whether American's are allowed to drink that 'alternative' Internet. I'm sorry, but this part of the internet has been deemed 'Adult'. According to our records, you have not designated the logins with access to 'Adult' material, and you will also need to set up your 'Sexual preferences profile' before we can determine which materials are suitable for you.

They will decide whether you are permitted to see the competitor's internet. That other Internet Provider has an exclusive deal to provide show 'XYZ' over the internet. If you 'Really' want to see that show, you will need to switch to that provider. The termination fee is $49.95, and it'll take us three weeks to process your request - Customer.

They will own the 'fast' internet, while competitors will have the 'slow' internet. We now offer the 'Hyper Boost Mega Internet'. It's 20% faster than our competitor. If you'd like access to streaming video services, you'll may want to add this service to your plan. That way you won't experience 'Internet lag' and slow-downs which could affect the quality of your service.

You won't be permitted to access the internet services that they don't offer.

You don't really need to visit that forum on Free Speech. We've got all the free speech you need right here.

They will determine how much the internet costs. If you would like to listen to music flavored packets, you'll have to buy the 'Internet package + Music. Would you like to watch those 'Video' packets? Hey, no problem - Just pay $29.95 more a month for access to our 'Internet + Music and Video'. Maybe you would like to share files with your spouse, brother, children or friends. Maybe you just want to move files from one of your computers to another? For an extra $4.95 a month you can add 'File Transfer' to your Internet plan.

Welcome to the future. Only in America can corporations 'own' the Internet, radio frequency bands, the water, and soon... The very air you breath! What a fantastic victory for corporations. The profits will soon start rolling in.

I urge you to stand up for the rights of American's. Stop siding with big business. Stop selling our rights to corporate America. Stop making our constitutional rights into their rights. The internet is not a commodity. It's the collective voices of citizens everywhere. If we sell access to it like a private forum, we give away the rights of millions of Americans. More and more the internet has become our Free Speech highway. It's the place where Americans from all socioeconomic backgrounds freely mingle, exchange ideas and communicate on par with powerful politicians, those opposed to their views, like minds and dissenters alike.

Don't sell the Internet to corporate America. Please reject Genachowski's plan for one that truly protects American's. We deserve more. We deserve an open internet free from corporate control.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski introduced a new Network Neutrality proposal on the 1st of December. This proposal comes in advance of an FCC vote on the issue (scheduled for Dec 21st).

An analysis being circulated by the Save the Internet Coalition asserts that Genachowski's "proposed rule is riddled with loopholes, and falls far short of what's necessary to prevent phone and cable companies from turning the Internet into cable TV: where they decide what moves fast, what moves slow, and whether they can price gouge you or not: a shiny jewel for companies like AT&T and Comcast."

Specifically, the analysis argues that the chairman's proposal:

Fails to restore the FCC's authority over Internet service providers (ISP's) like Comcast and AT&T. This guarantees that the new rules, if passed, will be swiftly rejected by the courts. Any other future rules related to the Internet, such as competition policy (that would give you more choices than your expensive monopoly cable and phone company) would suffer the same fate if the Chairman continues to avoid the simple procedure that would restore his agency's authority.
Allows the loophole of 'specialized services,' which effectively allows these companies to split the Internet into fast and slow lanes that Net Neutrality is trying to prevent. To make matters worse, the proposal has weak protections against "paid prioritization". That is, ISP's charging content providers extra to get their product to move quicker across the Net than others'.
Fails to make even Genachowski's tepid protections apply to wireless connections. With the inevitable explosion of super-fast wireless Internet connections during the next decade, it represents the most blatant sellout to the likes of Verizon and AT&T. Both companies view wireless Internet and phone service as the future of their companies. And both companies are amongst Washington's biggest spenders on PR firms, lobbyists and campaign contributions.

Josh Silver, the president of Free Press (the media-reform group he co-founded), says Genochowski's proposal is "not even close to the real Net Neutrality that President Obama promised the American people." In fact, he calls the chairman's plan "fake Net Neutrality." - O.k. I got a little worked up. Time to take a deep breath...
<http://www.freepress.net/press-release/2010/12/1/fcc-peddling-fake-net-neutrality>
<http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2010/db1201/DOC-303136A1.pdf>
<http://act2.freepress.net/sign/real_net_neutrality?source=conf>
<http://www.savetheinternet.com/>

GraphicConverter:
Thorsten Lemke (of Lemkesoft) released an entirely new version of GraphicConverter last month. Since then there have been multiple beta/minor releases. I downloaded version 7.0.3 (115) this week. GraphicConverter is an image converter and editor. A fantastic piece of shareware that is well worth the price (~$40.00). I use it to convert image formats into web standard formats, to create and edit image maps and other graphics. I've been singing GC's praises for many years now, and I'm not sure what I would do without it. The best part about GC is it's creator. Thorsten Lemke is completely committed to his customer base. Constantly and Continuously responding to customer recommendations and bug reports. GC is a dynamic, evolving, application. Always on the cutting edge, an absolute must in any web developers tool box. At a fraction of PhotoShop's cost, this photo editor puts a huge wrench in your toolbox.
<http://www.lemkesoft.com/content/193/key-features.html>

I chose a Seagate BlackArmor 110 NAS to fill the role - as a NAS device. As previously mentioned, it connects via Ethernet (with max connection speed of 1GB), and the drive has a speed of 7200rpm; making it quite snappy as a server/storage device. It also has two USB 2.0 ports, so you can connect other devices (hook up a printer for shared printing, or another hard drive for server backup). In addition to it's storage capabilities. The drive came with some software and server capabilities.

So, they've shuffled me off to phone support - No more email support for you - 'Customer'. During one of the email exchanges, they recommended that I update the firmware on my device. Sure, I'd like to do that, but the firmware image I downloaded (from their website) is no good. The drive complains when I attempt to update the software, saying "The firmware image is not valid. Please use a valid firmware image" - Right, I downloaded the image from their website, and it's not valid? O.k. I asked them to send me a known good copy of the firmware update. I asked nicely - I used the word 'please' on more than one occasion. I asked more than once. They never responded to that request. As a matter of fact, it seems as if they have problems responding to email support requests in general. I often got different people responding to my email, and after waiting for a week I sent a reminder - "I'm still waiting for a reply to my previous email,". They asked me to resend my message... I did.

Why would it be so difficult to send me a known good copy of the firmware update? O.k. so that's not going to happen - For whatever reason, they refuse to help me. Let's try a different approach, the day after I started having problems, my hard drive reported that a new firmware update was available. "System software update 1000.1081 is available for your BA-22B9C2 Seagate BlackArmor® NAS server." Unfortunately, when I attempted to update the firmware, my Black Armor drive responded with "Firmware is not found." I have no idea whether it's my drive that's having a problem. Perhaps the software really isn't available? Once again, I asked them to send me a known good copy of the firmware. I got no response.

So, one of their first suggestions - of course - was that I should execute a Factory Reset. That's a bit drastic, but I'm willing to give it a try. It took me a couple of days, but I managed to move all my files off the backup (still can't access the files on the server (unless I download them one at a time using the Global Access web interface)). Unfortunately, the factory reset procedure involves a Windows application. Yup, there's no Mac version of their recovery software. So now I have to locate a Windows computer in order to attempt this factory reset. There's no guarantee that this factory reset will work, but it's my only alternative at this point.

Am I happy? Hell no. I'm less upset with the drive than I am with the support, or should I say the lack of support? After a couple of email exchanges, they've closed the case on my issue. Their not willing (or able) to send me a known good copy of the firmware update, they don't have a Mac version of the recovery software, and they couldn't tell me how to obtain the recovery key without the software. If I manage to get this thing running again, I'll be quite happy. Unfortunately, I don't know what caused the failure to begin with, and I don't know if it's going to happen again. I cannot recommend this drive to Mac users (poor support, unreliable software). I'm looking for a better NAS solution. Any recommendations?</rant>
<https://www.robsworld.org/blackarmorupdate.png>
<https://www.robsworld.org/mycomputer.html>

Netflix News - First Run Movies go to Netflix:
Recently (reported Dec 1st, 2010 by Netflix), Netflix and FilmDistrict announced an agreement to stream first-run movies to Netflix members. Some of the first movies featured in this new deal include the Ryan Gosling’s latest film ‘Drive’ (which is still in production and expected to be complete by end of November for a summer 2011 release) and the sci-fi thriller 'Lockout', produced and co-written by Luc Besson (due for release in 2012).

This announcement means first run movies (after DVD release) will be licensed to Netflix for 'Watch Instantly' streaming during the 'pay TV window'. A few months after the DVD release, these movies (and others) will go to Netflix instead of the premium cable/satellite channels. This makes more of the newer movies available sooner on Netflix. While cable/satellite and traditional premium pay outlets will continue to pull-in the majority of first run features, this deal marks a change in the mood. Netflix is increasingly forging studio relationships that foreshadow a future where more and more first run movies will go to Netflix. A future where Netflix will feature more and more of the new releases and in-season TV shows. Challenging the traditional studio to cable relationships. This presents a great benefit for Netflix subscribers, an awesome alternative to the traditional cable and satellite outlets; if Netflix can keep the price down. A recent price hike (announced 22 Nov, 2010) could spell the end of the good times for Netflix. If they price themselves into the same corner as the cable and satellite channels, subscribers may see them as no different than their arch-nemesis. If they manage to keep their prices well below those of cable and satellite, subscribers may switch over completely; turning off the cable and going all internet. I know I'd switch if it wasn't for Kim's viewing habits. For her, there are still too many of her favorite shows on cable. What about you? Are you ready to turn off the cable? Could you live without cable (or satellite) TV? Could you exist with Netflix, Roku, Apple TV?
<http://netflix.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=377>
<http://www.netflix.com>

Netflix News - Comcast to cut off Netflix?:
Recently (reported Nov 29, 2010 in The New York Times), Level 3 and Comcast had a disagreement, and the future of Netflix via Comcast came into question. Online reports indicate the origins of this dispute in a recent change of service. Netflix used to use Akamai services to help them deliver movies to their customers. Akamai had the bandwidth, internet connections and servers necessary to move Netflix movies out to everyone who wanted to watch their movies. Recently, Netflix switched that service to Level 3 communications. Level 3 was the CDN (Content Delivery Network) for Netflix at the beginning of 2010. Netflix switched to Akamai as their primary, then switched back to Level 3 (in Oct, 2010) when Akamai's performance came into question. Due to 'performance issues', Netflix switched back to Level 3 and Limelight as their primary CDN. A complicated set of business contracts and negotiations set the stage for this Comcast tiff.

While Level 3 won Netflix back as a customer, they did so at a cost. Some suspect that Level 3 low-balled its way into this new business deal. Perhaps they thought their Tier 1 Internet backbone status would allow them to move their CDN traffic across Comcast's network without paying the usual peering costs. O.k. let's back up a bit. Here's what happened/what's going on. Netflix changed their CDN provider from Akamai to Level 3. When Level 3 tried to move Netflix's content across Comcast's network, Comcast indicated that Level 3 would have to pay. Level 3 would have to pay more than it was expecting. Or was it? Perhaps they already expected a higher rate, but thought they could bluff Comcast into accepting a lower fee? In either case, Level 3 put out a 'press release'. In that press release Level 3 indicated that Comcast would demand a recurring fee from Level 3 in order to transmit Netflix movies to Comcast customers. Note that Level 3 didn't specifically mention Netflix in their announcement, but anyone following these developments could easily read between the lines to conclude that they were talking about Netflix. Level 3 characterized this request for payment as a 'take it or leave it' situation. They further indicated that they agreed to the terms 'under protest'. The announcement was full of buzz-words and key phrases (Demand, Toll Booth, Unilaterally, open Internet, take it or leave it, FCC, Internet Policy Principles, network neutrality, unilaterally-determined toll, 'closed' Internet, special deals) designed to evoke a powerful response. Their announcement immediately sent shock waves through the community of activists interested in Internet Neutrality, fans of Netflix, and consumer advocates. Comcast was uniquely positioned* to act as a catalyst for the media firestorm invoked by Level 3's announcement.

While the media exploded with reports and various cries for 'Action', Comcast responded with their own press release. Directly addressing FCC 'Internet Neutrality' concerns, Comcast sought to allay fears that they might 'cut off' Netflix access or impose some sort of 'competitor fee' on Level 3. They characterized the situation as a 'business dispute regarding traffic ratios'. They further assured the FCC and all concerned parties that 'Comcast will do absolutely nothing to impact our high-speed Internet customers, who can and will be able to access any Internet content they want, including streaming video from all sources.' While these comments and Comcast's assertions regarding the nature of this dispute may be true, the points raised in Level 3's press release are valid as well. These large media corporations (Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner, and others) do not have our Free Speech rights in mind when they plan ways to make us pay for packaged internet access plans. Their only interests are profit. They don't care whether we can freely access 'any Internet content' we want. They want to decide what content we can access. They want to meter it, make us pay to access it, and limit our choices in such a way to optimize their ability to charge us for it.

(* Voted worst company in America (for 2010) by 'Consumerist.com', an online resource for consumer advice. A subsidiary of Consumers Union, publishers of Consumer Reports magazine and website.)

Please keep in mind that I'm only presenting parts, pieces and my opinions in this posting. If you want the full story, you'll need to follow the links provided below. Read about the issues involved, the differing positions and the technical aspects of these business decisions. I can't explain everything in this complex peering dispute, and I only hope that I've provided enough information to get you really interested in the topic.

Netflix continues to expand and improve their service. Leading the industry with thousands of TV shows and movies on disc (over 130,000 titles (last counted Sep 2010)), Netflix is also the king of streaming video as well. More than 15,000 (last counted Sep 2010). Here's a few of the (more than 200) devices which carry Netflix service: Roku player, iPad, iPhone, the new AppleTV, X-Box 360, Windows Phone 7, The PS3, the Wii, TiVo, a growing selection of Blu-Ray players, home theater systems and internet connected televisions.
<http://blog.streamingmedia.com/the_business_of_online_vi/2010/11/akamai-to-lose-netflix-as-a-customer-level-3-and-limelight-pick-up-the-business.html>
<http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/29/netflix-partner-says-comcast-toll-threatens-online-video-delivery/>
<http://consumerist.com/2010/04/congratulations-comcast-youre-the-worst-company-in-america.html>
<http://www.digitalsociety.org/2010/11/level-3-outbid-akamai-on-netflix-by-reselling-stolen-bandwidth/>
<http://www.level3.com/index.cfm?pageID=491&PR=962>
<http://blog.comcast.com/2010/11/comcasts-letter-to-fcc-on-level-3.html>
<http://www.netflix.com>

Another Apple TV for me:
Recently (1 Oct, 2010), Apple released a new Apple TV. Apple TV is a set-top media gateway for your home entertainment center. This small form factor network appliance allows you to stream media from your Mac (or PC) to your enhanced-definition or high-definition widescreen TV. This little box is designed to play digital content from the iTunes store, Netflix (on the new AppleTV), YouTube, Flickr, MobileMe, or your iTunes library. Plug your iTunes library and the internet directly into your entertainment center. Not only does this Apple TV give you access to your computer hosted media, it allows allows you to access galleries and videos hosted on MobileMe, flickr and YouTube. That's not all, it even offers up a huge selection of music (Internet radio stations/streams), podcast programs and video for purchase or rent (through the iTunes store). With the new Apple TV, you've even got another way to get your Netflix fix. Connect wirelessly or through an ethernet connection to enjoy all that media in your living room.

The second-generation device is small - about one quarter the size of the original, the price has also been reduced. At $99.00, this device cost me less than one third the price of my previous Apple TV. The new device streams content (no hard drive) directly to your TV, eliminating all the problems associated with the sync and store features of the previous generation. The new device has 256MB of memory and 8GB of flash storage for heavy duty caching. Add a beefed up processor (Apple's A4 chip) and you don't have to worry about stuttering video or lagging audio. The streaming on this new device works like a charm.

I purchased one of these new devices in December of 2010. I immediately hooked it up to my media center, and had it up and running in no time at all (It took me appx 30 minutes. Including the time it took to pull the entertainment center out of the media nook, unravel all the cables, plug it in and configure the network connections). That was easy... The hard part came next. After hooking up the new Apple TV, I moved the 1st gen device downstairs. My plan? Connect it to the TV in the basement. What a great idea. Without a cable connection or any sort of TV reception, we can still use that TV to watch videos, listen to music and enjoy our podcasts.

So much for my plan. The first problem... Getting the Apple TV to sync. I tried, and tried, and tried again. It took me five days to finally get that beast to properly sync. The problems were many.

Two Apple TVs on one network caused some naming convention and device identification problems. I eventually renamed the old Apple TV to 'Apple TV (The Basement Edition)'

With both Apple TVs connected to my network, the old one wouldn't sync to my main computer. I'm still not sure why it wouldn't connect to the main computer. It simply refused, always insisting on a connection to my laptop. I had to disconnect the new Apple TV before I could sync the old one. Figuring that out took countless reboots, connects, disconnects, reconnects and some more reboots.

I connected the basement Apple TV to a light switch controlled outlet. Every time I left the basement, I turned off the Apple TV. I don't know how many times I turned it off in the middle of a sync. Connecting to an Apple TV is difficult when the device is turned off. It took two days of troubleshooting before I realized the Apple TV was connected to the basement's primary light switch.

The old Apple TV can sync or stream. With streaming, you can't pick and choose the media you want available. It's an all-or-nothing proposition. Streaming isn't quite as reliable on the old device. There's often lag and other problems. Unfortunately, even with the syncing turned on, the internet connected content sometimes exhibits lag and display issues. Eventually I discovered a setting in the preferences. In you iTunes preference, navigate to the 'Advanced' section, and set that 'Streaming Buffer Size' to Large. That did the trick for me. No more stalling and rebuffering during the middle of video playback.

Problems with my media server caused much consternation. Due to the fact that my media server stopped mounting shares (that's a whole different story), I had to relocate my media collection, and that took about one day to manage. I tried various locations, network connections and configurations. I eventually had to move all my content back to my main computer. Thankfully I was able to host the files on a shared account. Kim and I can both access the media without permission problems.

It took me about five days, but I finally managed to integrate that new Apple TV into my entertainment center, relocate the old Apple TV, and get everything sync'd up. The new Apple TV is working great. I don't like the way the menus are organized (removing my content from the top tier of each menu), but that may change. The Netflix menu will take a bit of adjustment, and my universal remote needs a bit of tweaking. All these little things are a bit annoying, but I do like the new device. The streaming performance was a primary concern, but so far I haven't been disappointed. It seems to be working fine. The beefed up processor and large flash for caching are doing their jobs splendidly. If you didn't know better you'd think all that content was stored onboard. Hopefully I won't need to erase the old Apple TV and re-sync the content for some time. I think I had to do that five or six times before I got it working properly.
<http://www.apple.com/appletv/>

Music Downloads for December - 2010:
Here's a list of some of the music I recently acquired. Where do I get all this stuff? Well, I used to find/discover a lot of free (actually free) music by visiting several of the new music web sites (Pandora, 3hive.com, musicalfamilytree.org) and several other music blogs (Analog Giant, Brooklyn Vegan, Fluxblog, Gorilla vs. Bear, etc) out there, and listening to a few different music podcasts. Used to... Now? Now (As of Oct of 2010) I subscribe to a service called MOG. MOG is an online music service, a blog network, and a social networking website where users can listen to, read about, and discover music. Music + Blog = MOG. It's been around since 2005, in September of 2009 it started offering streaming music subscriptions. With full-play access to more than 9 million tracks, at only $4.99 a month, it's a fantastic way to discover music. I still use a few of the other methods, but MOG has become my primary music discovery source.

Artists want you to hear their music - If you like it, you'll buy it, or maybe you'll buy some concert tickets. The major labels want you to pay for their product - letting you hear it for free is contrary to their business model. Well, guess what? I won't buy it unless I can listen to it first. The major labels are killing themselves with their restrictive distribution and dissemination policies. If you like new music, you can do a web search to find your favorite artists web site, a new music web site, or an archive of free music. Free music is available - Legally! Don't believe the major labels propaganda - Not all free music is illegal. You can legally download music for free. I download music from websites, newsgroups (when I already own rights to the music), and a couple of commercial sources (iTunes and eMusic). Here's a listing of some of the music I legally downloaded - and in most cases - paid for!

eMusic monthly downloads:
Every month I download ~50 tracks from eMusic.com. This month (December of 2010) I managed to download 52 tracks for $22.78 (and I'm paying a $19.99 monthly fee, so that makes the tracks even cheaper). Unlike some music outlets, eMusic doesn't have any DRM and they don't insert unique track id's into the ID3 tags. Their terms of service are consumer friendly; eMusic allows you to burn as many CDs as you like and copy downloads to an unlimited number of your computers and portable MP3 players, including the iPod and Zune (really?). At less than $.50 a track (I'm currently paying $19.99 for $22.99 worth of downloads per month). eMusic offers a really good value for your download dollar. iTunes and Amazon still charge more. eMusic offers more music for your money, and the variable bit rate recordings make for exceptionally high quality recordings.
* La Testa Indipendente - Tre Allegri Ragazzi Morti: (11 songs) Three Happy Dead Boys - A punk band I've never heard of before, but language has proven no barrier when it comes to good music. Here's a band that truly embodies the spirit of Punk - The sound, the ethic, the spirit and the spit! A MOG music discovery. This band really knows how to rock it. Despite my limited understanding of Italian, I find the music marvelous.
* Popular Songs of Great Enduring Strength and Beauty - Camper Van Beethooven: (18 songs) This band has been around since the 80s. They broke up, got back together, brooke up again, and now they're back together again. There's been plenty of band members down through the years, but the core has reunited after success in other bands. Despite the fact that they were influential during the 80s, I never heard them until recently - Thanks to some music discovery from eMusic and MOG. Blending pop, ska, punk, folk and some alt country, here's a band I could grow to love.
* Light - Matisyahu: (14 songs) It's not my first exposure to Matisyahu (first heard him in 2006), but it is my first album. Thanks to MOG, I was able to listen to some full songs, and that helped me make up my mind. Despite the odd origins and crazy appearances, this album kicks it. He's an Electric Rappin' Regae Rockster - Matisyahu that's who!
* Los Angeles - X: (9 songs) A favorite from the 80s. X was punk when it all began - West Coast Punk began with bands like X, Circle Jerks, Black Flag, The Dickies, the Dils, the Germs and many others. This is one of the albums that helped form, define and fuel that movement. Thankfully, I've got more X in my collection, but this one deserves a special place. I misplaced my vinyl long ago. Now I'm lovin' the trip back. What a great album.

Recently (11 Oct, 2010), I received an email from eMusic. The letter announced joyfully that eMusic was about to make some major changes. They're adding 250,000 tracks from BMG! - and they're raising their prices... What! I don't give a crap about more mainstream music from BMG/Sony, what I do care about. A consistent price, quality and selection. While this addition of Sony/BMG may result in the addition of many new members (looking for a cheaper alternative for 'mainstream' music), it's likely to upset many of the old-school eMusic members - like me! I joined eMusic many years ago. Not because they had lower prices (although that helped influence my decision). I joined because they had plenty of independent and hard to find artists in their store/line-up. The addition of these new BMG titles also comes with new pricing - That's right 'new' pricing. The same changes forced onto Apple's iTunes store are now a part of the eMusic store. Gone is the 'credit' based system, replaced with a per track pricing. Each month, my 'subscription' will renew (discarding any remaining money/credits from the previous month) and I'll have to purchase individual tracks or albums using the new pricing scheme. The new pricing scheme?: Individual tracks will be priced between $0.49 and $1.29. Albums will cost somewhere between $5.19 - $8.99.

So, now it's December; eMusic went ahead and implemented their new pricing scheme back in November, and now I'm downloading tracks under the new pricing scheme. With their new pricing scheme in place I find that I have $22.99 to spend each month. I did a little analysis back in November (of 2010). I had 36 albums in my 'Save for Later' list. 36 albums with a total of 453 tracks. I added up the price for all those tracks. I comes to $213.42 or approximately $0.47 per track. That means I'll be able to buy appx 49 tracks per month. Yup, it's a reduction. I used to get 50 download credits a month. That's 50 tracks. Two less tracks probably pays for the administrative costs of tracking the virtual money in each persons account. Right now I'm experiencing some serious storage and network problems, so I won't be able to download any music for some time, but I think I've made up my mind. At only two less tracks per month (on average), I don't think I'm ready to leave eMusic - Yet... So, it's December of 2010. The first month of downloads after the big change. What's the outcome? I downloaded 52 songs for $22.78. That's a per track cost of $0.43. It's a little better than I had estimated, but I did download one album that was discounted. That's probably the difference. I'll have to keep my eye out for those 'Deals', and I doubt I'll be downloading many of the latest offerings. From now on it's mostly older music - That sucks! - but it's not the end of my music collection. Thankfully, my $0.21 will carry over to next month. That's something that wasn't clearly indicated with all these changes. I was sure they were going to keep my $0.21 - After all, the credits didn't roll over. So there's some good news.

These are some of the items I added to my music collection during this month. Since revamping my music collection back in September of 2005, I've been slowly adding, revising and updating the collection. If you have a comment, question or correction regarding my music collection, please don't hesitate to send me an email. Please keep in mind that my collection isn't for sale, and I'm not interested in giving you any copyrighted materials. I'd rather not go to jail for music piracy. :-)
<https://www.robsworld.org/music.html>
<http://www.emusic.com/>