What's New

April 29, 2012

D&D updates:
The updates below cover our meetings on the 14th of April, 2012. The party has departed Whillip, and the first chapters of their next adventure have been written. Our heroes completed all their administrative tasks and chores, and decided upon their next adventure. After accepting a charge to quest for a lost tome of legendary power, the party was teleported across the world to Kester; a small mountain town on the edge of a vast wasteland. After talking with their sponsor, they set off to start this new adventure. After trekking south along an old trade route, the party entered the town of Parlonis. Here they sought more clues about the nature of the desert, it's inhabitants, and the fabled city of 'Lingice-Enz'. Departing the frontier town, the party headed out into the desert. Here they've encountered odd magical effects, dangerous monsters and combat with the master of this domain - An immense Sand Dragon! When we last left our heros, they were wandering the desert. Doing their best to follow some rather thin clues regarding the location of the lost city. Will our heroes ever wrestle the location of Lingice-Enz from this vast sea of tainted sand? Will they ever find the tome known as "Eivobrin's Incanabula"; or will they become another footnote labeled 'A group of adventurers sought the book, but never completed their quest'? Stay tuned for the exciting and continuing adventures of the H.A.L.L.O.W.ed Knights.

3rd Edition Campaign:
I updated the date of our next meeting - Our next meeting will take place on the 12th of May, 2012. A few meetings back, I was actually able to take a new group picture, and it's a good one. Check it out if you get the chance. The "3eCampaign" 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. Thanks to some input from Lee, I was able to post some updates from our meetings on the 14th of April, 2012. The party is wandering around in a tainted desert, looking for the ruins of an ancient city. Check out the details in our journal entries.
<https://www.robsworld.org/ajournal09.html#apr14_2012>

Monsters encountered:
Back on the road again. During our most recent gaming sessions, the party entered a phase of the campaign where they're meeting new people, forging new alliances, and discovering new varieties of creatures. This meeting saw our party trekking through the deserts and wastelands of the Dry Steppes; encountering, a large variety of wasteland creatures. The monsters page is a listing of monsters that the party has encountered, read about, or heard of.
<https://www.robsworld.org/monsters.html>

These updates follow our meeting on the 14th of April, 2012. 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>

My Bluetooth Modification:
I did something a little risky this weekend. I modified my computer... Risky? Well, there was some risk involved. I could have damage my computer, or invalidated my warranty. Knowing me, I'm lucky I didn't end up electrocuting myself! What's the story? It's a bluetooth story. Back in May of 2009, I purchased my current desktop computer. A dual quad-core Mac Pro (early 2009). Since that purchase, I've upgraded my computer a bit. Internally I've added hard drives (all four bays now in use) and some memory (now running 20GB of RAM). This week I opened up the chassis in order to attempt an actual modification (I drilled a hole in something, and rewired a component; so that counts as a 'mod', right?). The modification involved my Bluetooth reception.

The Mac Pro line, like most computers, has an internal antenna for Bluetooth connectivity. Unfortunately, Apple decided to install the antenna inside the aluminum chassis at the bottom of the unit. As my computer sits in a well on my computer desk, the signal has to travel through the computer in order to reach my Magic Trackpad. The coverage is spotty at best. My Magic Trackpad always had a hard time performing. Stuttering, disconnecting, erratic cursor movement, poor accuracy, slow/sluggish behavior; that sort of thing. My previous Power Mac G5 had the same sort of problem. As a matter of fact it was so bad in my previous computer that I'd completely given up on Bluetooth. I'd assumed the problem was the technology. I was convinced that Bluetooth simply couldn't be used effectively on any computer! In order to get my Magic Trackpad to work properly, I had to keep it less than six inches away from the computer.

While searching for solutions to my Bluetooth woes, I discovered several reports of similar problems as well as reports of miswired Bluetooth modules. It seems that Apple has often connected the wrong wires to the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi components in the Mac Pro line. So, not only is the antenna placement a problem, in some cases the antenna isn't even connected to the Bluetooth module. That means the only 'Antenna' is the short piece of wire hanging off the module - The antenna sits there doing nothing while the Bluetooth signal is simply pumped out the end of the wire... Needless to say, there are a lot of reports regarding Bluetooth connectivity issues.

O.k. Time to finally fix the problem! I started doing some extensive searches on the internet. As it turns out, there are a few variations in Mac Pro models that make this fix specific to the Mac Pro 4,1(Early 2009) model. If you have a different model, you should definitely do some searches to see if there's a fix for your model. In searching for a cure to this problem, I discovered a few little known facts about Bluetooth as it relates to this model of Mac Pro.

You cannot access the Bluetooth antenna without removing the following components: At least two drive bays (far left), Graphics card, card slot cover bracket, PCIe fan, The processor tray, and the processor cage.
Using a Bluetooth dongle - A USB connected external Bluetooth antenna - May work, but odds are you won't be able to wake your computer using a wireless mouse or keyboard. Mac compatibility with Bluetooth dongles is poor. The available dongles don't support all the wireless capabilities built into the Mac.
Simply rewiring/confirming the wiring between the Bluetooth module and the Bluetooth antenna may not solve your connectivity issues, as the location under the processor tray inside the aluminum enclosure may be causing signal degradation resulting in poor reception.
Trusting the labels on your Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wiring may be inadvisable. I've found numerous reports of the labelling and wiring be incorrectly applied.

My solution? I bought two pieces of hardware over the internet.

A Pigtail cable: U.FL to RP-SMA female bulkhead connector. U.FL pigtails are for connecting Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, WWAN Cards, and similar devices to antennas. U.FL is typically found on mini-PCI cards in laptops and are also on other OEM wireless circuit boards. You'll need a twelve inch cable. Cost at Amazon was appx $17.00
An external Wi-Fi/Bluetooth antenna: These two wireless technologies use the same frequency range, so most antennas are compatible for either application. There are various different sizes and dB/Gain capabilities. You don't need an antenna with high gain capability (i.e. I bought a 10dBi antenna, but that's probably more than I needed. A 2-5dBi range should be fine). Don't get one that's too long or lacks a 90 degree hinged extender. The antenna will need to extend a few inches away from the computer and then bend upward at a 90 degree angle from the chassis (if you have room/are o.k. with an antenna that sticks straight out from the chassis you could forego the models with that hinged joint). Make sure the antenna has an RP-SMA antenna connector. Cost at Amazon was appx $4.00

Once you have these components you'll need to install them. Here's a brief walkthrough:

Power down you Mac. You certainly don't want to electrocute yourself or damage the computer.
Disconnect all the cables.
Lay the computer down on a flat non-static surface (ground yourself if necessary/static is bad).
Open the computer up, removing the component enclosure panel.
Remove your graphics card as it may be in the way as you proceed, and you certainly don't want to damage it. To remove the graphics card you'll have to slide the PCIe fan enclosure backwards in order to move a retaining bar that holds the graphics card in place. You don't have to actually remove the fan, but you will need to slide it to the left (by depressing a white button on the fan enclosure). Remove the card as gently as possible; as damage to the connector may occur while removing or inserting the card.
Remove the processor tray from the bottom of the chassis. The processor tray is installed in front of/blocking the Bluetooth module.
Remove one of the PCI card slot covers (a PCI blank). I recommend the unused one that's furthest from the top of the computer (when it's standing up). I wanted to keep the antenna from passing the top of the chassis.
Drill a hole in the center of the card slot cover. The hole should be just large enough to accommodate the bulkhead connector.
Attach the pigtail connector to the card slot cover. Secure the insulating washer and nut. reinsert the blank into the cover slot. Reconnect the retaining bracket.
Locate the Bluetooth module and disconnect the original antenna cable (not the cable that connects the module to the motherboard. Leave it in place but cover the connector with an insulator (black electrical tape will do).
Insulate the open end (opposite the bulkhead connector) of the pigtail cable. Fish the cable behind the processor cage, remove the tape/insulator and connect the socket end of the pigtail cable to the Bluetooth module. Be careful with this step, as the connector is very small and the center pin can be damaged quite easily.
Connect the external antenna to the RP-SMA bulkhead connector (now protruding from the slot cover). Leave the chassis open for this step, as you'll want to adjust the angle and fit of the antenna.
Once the cable is connected and the antenna adjusted, replace the components you removed and close up the chassis.
Put the computer back in place (be careful of the new antenna) and reconnect all cables.
Power up the computer and log in. Everything should be working properly. Your computer shouldn't need any additional changes to preferences or settings.

It took me about two hours to complete the modifications (disconnecting, reconnecting and getting logged back in took quite some time, and I wasted a bunch of time trying to remove the processor cage in order to get a look at the stock Bluetooth antenna. I eventually realized that I didn't need to see or touch that antenna. I'm pretty sure that this procedure doesn't invalidate my warranty. If you are concerned about that, you could always leave it to Apple professionals. In my case, the repair restored full Bluetooth connectivity. I spent way less time doing the modification than I would have spent trying to get Apple to sort it out. I didn't have to send the computer in for repair or endure countless days and hours of troubleshooting.

I no longer have any connectivity problems with my Magic Trackpad. No lag, no disconnects, no stuttering, etc. As a matter of fact, the device now works from appx 15 feet away (all the way to the other side of the room). Before this fix, I couldn't move the mouse more than a foot from the computer. If I did, I'd completely lose my Bluetooth connection. This is all good news as I'm now reconsidering the purchase of some additional Bluetooth peripherals.
<http://www.mcelhearn.com/2007/04/19/apple-bungles-bluetooth-in-mac-pro/>
<http://nobblynoel.wordpress.com/2010/04/25/mac-pro-2009-bluetooth-fix/>
<https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2231119?start=0&tstart=0>
<https://www.robsworld.org/bluetoothhardware.png>

Software favorites:
Another batch of beta updates for my favorite Graphics editor. GraphicConverter moves ever forward. As usual, developer has been busy updating this application. 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) completed work on at least seven updates over the past week. I recently saw/downloaded the following updates: 8 (b839), 8 (b842). 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 I would do without it. The best part about GC is it's author. 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.

The 8.0 release (currently in beta) is a new full release. A completely new version re-written as a 64 bit application (can be launched as 32 bit/defaults to 64 bit). Sandboxing and codesigning support has been added, several bugs have been fixed, and support for large images (16,000x16,000 pixels) was added. The version 8 beta expires June 1st, 2012. The new version will be a free update for all registered customers of version 7.
<http://www.lemkesoft.com/content/162/new-functions-and-versions.html>

X11 / XQuartz:
One of the best things about OSX? - it's really Unix!
I'm running X11/XQuartz 2.7.2rc1, 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.

What's the difference between X11 and XQuartz? - They're both 'X' (as in uniX) Window Systems. Computer software and network protocol that provides a graphical user interface for a networked computer running a flavor of the unix operating system. X11 was originally developed by MIT. It appeared in Sep of 1987, and it's maintained and distributed by the X.Org foundation, the free and open software is distributed (under license) by Apple with it' Mac OS X operating system. XQuartz is also an 'X' windowing system. XQuartz was originally an open source project. Apple acquired it and maintains it as the official X11 distribution. With the release of Mountain Lion OS 10.8, Apple will drop XQuartz from the MacOS. You'll still be able to use it, but you'll have to download and install it on your own. Developed and maintained by the XQuartz organization; XQuartz is designed specifically for the Mac OS X operating system. It's a more refined version of an 'X' windowing system than the standard X11 version. XQuartz is developed as an open-source project, and it's updated more frequently than the X11 version shipped/distributed with official Apple software updates. So, in brief X11 is an official build distributed with major software updates/upgrades (primarily for Unix/Linux distribution), and XQuartz is an open-source, more refined version, distributed specifically for the Mac OS.

While X11/XQuartz forms the basis of running Unix applications on your Mac (you really need an X Windows System), getting Unix apps up and running on your Mac isn't always as easy as downloading and double clicking. (see note above), but the following links should help you get started.
<http://www.apple.com/opensource/>
<http://xquartz.macosforge.org/trac/wiki/X112.7.2>
<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>

More free Music from the iTunes Store:
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 an online music streaming service called MOG, and I've recently (as of Sep 2011) started using eMusic 'Radio' stations for music discovery. Combined together, these two services provide full-play access to more than 23 million tracks! (14m on MOG (as of Mar, 2012), 12m on eMusic (as of Sep 2011)) Two fantastic ways to discover music, and no need for illegal downloads or pirated tracks. I occasionally use a few of the other methods (music blogs and podcasts), but MOG and eMusic now serve as my primary Music Discovery sources.

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 or listen to all sorts of music for free. I download most of my music from a couple of commercial sources (eMusic and iTunes), but I occasionally download tracks (legally) from various websites and blogs in order to satisfy my craving for music.

Here's a listing of some of the music I legally downloaded - and paid for!

iTunes Music Downloads:
Sometimes I purchase music from iTunes, and sometimes I take advantage of their free downloads (check it out on Tuesdays). iTunes is the King of the Hill when it comes to the bigger names, so sometimes I find that I have to pay the higher prices. Here's a few of the downloads I recently scored from the iTunes store. This time they were all Free!
* Black Magic - Magic Wands: (single) From their debut album 'Aloha Moon'. Here's another indie/alternative band. The lead vocals are pretty good. I really liked the fuzzed over electro-pop. The drum-machine and guitar work was especially good.
* These Blue Days - John Butté: (single) From the album 'All About Everything'. It's good old New Orleans style Jazz with a decidedly blue flavor. I keep listening to this song over and over. It's great. Smooth, soulful and ultimately uplifting.

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. In September of 2011, I completed a review and update to my 'Music' page. I updated many of the paragraphs, removed some outdated information and changed the layout some. If you have a comment, question or correction regarding my 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>

Apple's Focus on Security and Customer Service:
Recently (back on the 16th of April, 2012) I had to cancel one of my credit cards. Apparently, someone got ahold of my cc number and my bank saw some suspicious activity. Rather than take any chances, I canceled that card. After I got my new card, I set about changing all my auto-payments to the new credit card number. One place I didn't change my card number? iTunes... That led to a curious occurrence. On the 24th of April, my MobileMe/iCloud login stopped working. I couldn't log in. At first this only affected my ability to download updates for iPhone/iPad apps. I thought there might be some problem with Apple's iTunes Store. I fired off an email to an Apple Support address.

When I try to download iPhone/iPad app updates (1 free update available in iTunes Store (My App Updates), I get an error message that says "Your Apple ID has been disabled. Contact iTunes Support at http://www.apple.com/itunes/storesupport/ for assistance" What gives? Everything worked fine yesterday... I can still log in everywhere else (MobileMe, the web site, iWork.com, Messages, Mail.app MobileMe email account, etc... Why can't I download updates for my Apps?

After sending that email, I realized that the problem wasn't with the iTunes Store. A few internet searches latter and I realized that this was a security issue. Apple had locked me out of my account for some reason. While the problem started with my ability to download App updates, it soon spread. Soon I couldn't do anything with my Apple ID. I couldn't access my iDisk, couldn't check my mac.com/me.com email, couldn't access my music in the iCloud, couldn't chat via Apple's Messages or FaceTime services, couldn't purchase Apps (for my iPhone, iPad or computer (through the Apple App Store)), music or movies. I couldn't make online backups of my iPhone and iPad. The list goes on and on. I hadn't realized how much I relied on my Apple ID. to make things work. I had no idea that Apple's services were such a big part of my digital life. It's a little scary that I rely so heavily on all these 'Cloud' based services.

It took a couple of days, but Apple responded (on the 26th of April). Their reply confirmed my findings/suspicions. My account had been disabled for security reasons. They must have noticed that my credit card got cancelled. Or perhaps one of us tried to charge something (without realizing it) to the card through the iTunes Store. In any case, I had already taken action to reset my password while I was waiting for their reply. I changed my password and security question/response. I also enabled a few other security features and customer service options. Apple's response was quick, courteous, and informative.

Robert, thanks for being such a wonderful customer during a difficult situation. Please don't hesitate to contact me back if you need additional assistance and I hope you have a great and safe day! = )

After receiving their instructions, I set about changing my login on all my devices, web pages, applications and preferences. There's probably a couple more that I forgot about. By now I've retyped my new password enough times to have it memorized, and I hope there won't be any more credit card surprises waiting for me in the weeks to come. After resetting all those passwords, I got another letter from Apple.

This is just a quick follow-up to your previous request. I wanted to ensure that your iTunes Store issue has been taken care of. I am looking forward to your reply so that I can be certain it has been fully resolved.

Really? I know I'm a Apple 'Fan Boy', but I really didn't expect them to be so thorough in this regard. I do believe they actually care about their customers. This is definitely going the extra mile. Outside Apple's customer service, I've never, ever had this level of support before. Most online customer service is curt and direct at best. This was personal, caring and informative. You'd think these people actually cared about me. It's really too bad that more corporations can't treat their customers this well. I wrote back to thank 'Tanya' (the customer support representative) and received this final reply...

Hello Robert,

This is Tanya again. I hope that your day is going well. I just want to say that you are very welcome, and thanks for replying. I'm glad to hear that your issue has been resolved, and I was able to provide you with the support you deserve. I know it is always such a feeling of accomplishment, when things work out the way you want them to.

Robert, believe me, nothing makes Apple happier than knowing that we have pleased our wonderful customers. I truly hope that you continue to enjoy all that the iTunes Store has to offer.

It was a pleasure to assist you, and I will now close this request. Remember support is just an email away if needed. Best wishes and continued happiness!

Sincerely,

Tanya
iTunes Store/Mac App Store Customer Support

This experience was just another reminder of all the reasons why Apple customer service is so awesome. Yes I realize that not all experiences with Apple's Customer Support are quite so rosy. You needn't email me with your exceptions to my comments. In my experience (as illustrated above); in my opinion, Apple's Customer Service is outstanding.
<http://www.theacsi.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=149&catid=&Itemid=214&c=Apple+&i=Personal+Computers>
<http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20017064-260.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/applecustomerservice.jpg>
<http://www.apple.com/support/>
<http://store.apple.com/us/help>

April 22, 2012

Refinancing our Mortgage:
<rant>Kim and I bought our house back in 2005, when mortgage rates were riding high pretty high. Thankfully, my status as a veteran allowed us to get a decent fixed rate with our VA home loan. Great? Well, maybe not so great - 6.5% Over the years, the economy has fallen into the crapper, the banks won a giant windfall (when we bailed them out at our expense), paid their executives gigantic bonuses, bought up a bunch of other banks, and delivered record dividends to their investors. With the Federal Funds Rate riding along at 0 - 0.25% (The rate fell to 0% on the 16th of Dec, 2008), the big banks (my bank included) have been raking in record profits. They're paying virtually nothing for the money they get from the fed. Every penny they lend becomes instant profit for them. Man, talk about a lucrative deal. So why are the rates for home mortgages so high? That's a very good question...

Getting our home refinanced a second time was no easy task. We decided to go with our current bank. It may have been easier that way, but they sure are reluctant to let you refinance. If they had a choice, I'm sure they'd just say no whenever someone asked... Fortunately for us, that might result if federal investigations, oversight and fines. Still, they've got no incentive to reduce my rate, and I'm truly amazed that I was able to get any kind of reduction in my loan. The last time we refinanced (through our current lender) we managed to get a whole 1.375% reduction! Wow! Amazing, such a drastic drop. It's almost one and a half percent! ...I hope you're feeling the sarcasm...

Well, we did it again. This time we managed a whole 1.125% reduction. Another massive drop in interest - Not! Just like last time, the paperwork was quite onerous (it took us more than an hour to sign all the documents), and the financing officers dragged the process out forever. Come on. We're refinancing into another VA loan. A loan that's guaranteed by the federal government. I tried to convince them that they didn't need to run a credit check. They did anyway. At least they didn't try to charge me a bunch of unnecessary fees this time. Last time I had to explain to them that all the extra fees they wanted to charge were either illegal or unnecessary. Like they didn't know that to begin with! Just like last time; I was already in a VA loan, but they had to verify my status as a veteran. I had to convince them that an appraisal wasn't necessary, and the list goes on. All in all, after more than two months, we finally got our mortgage refinanced, but the aggravation was barely worth it. Why does it have to be so difficult? Kim and I will save appx $225.00 per month with this refinancing, but we're planning to continue paying the same monthly payment. We'll put the extra amount towards the principal. Hopefully we'll pay off this loan before we die...

Why don't I mention the name of my bank? You're kidding right? They hold all the power, just like the mail man, just like your employer. Complain and you're screwed. There's no such thing as consumer protection in this country. Try to fight the man and you'll end up unemployed, without a credit card, no bank account, probably on a terrorist watch list... I love my job, I love my bank, I love my mailman. All is good in my World! For the privilege of a home loan I will pay more than $300,000.00. How could any bank possibly go bankrupt with that kind of a deal?</rant>

FTP account for our D&D campaign:
Another benefit of my new hosting provider. Our D&D group uses a lot of documents. Character sheets, maps, concordiums, house rules, weather worksheets, weapons lists, equipment lists, etc. A lot of documents. Face-To-Face D&D is nothing like the online video game. Players and the Dungeonmaster are constantly surrounded by paperwork, documents and printed play aids. In an effort to improve the exchange of these materials, and hopefully cut down on some of that printed material, I've set up an FTP server for our group. My new (as of Dec, 2011) hosting provider makes it easy to set up an FTP account/server/service, and I made use of that service this week. Our group now has a place where they can upload, download, and share all those documents we're all so fond of. It may not have a pretty icon based front end or offer online collaboration options, but I control it, it doesn't have a file size or storage limit, doesn't cost me any extra to use, and I don't have to worry so much about it going away. I've shared the account information with all the players and now we all have access to a shored file store. You can even view and download files from the ftp account using a web browser. Feel free to check it out if you're interested in our D&D campaign.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ecampaign/>
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ecampaign.html>

Hotlinking is Theft:
<rant>It's been happening to my website since day one, and I've never been able to do much about it. With my new hosting provider, I finally have some recourse; a way to stop that theft of content and bandwidth. First of all - Let's start with a bit of an explanation or definition for those of you who don't own/run your own websites. What is Hotlinking?

Hot Linking / Hotlinking / Inline linking / leeching / piggy-backing / direct linking / offsite image grabs / bandwidth theft:
Inline linking is the use of a linked object; an image, movie, text or other content (usually images) from one site by another site. One site is said to have an inline link to the original content. This second site directly links to the original content and the bandwidth of the original site is used to display the content. When a third party views the second site (the one with the hot link), their browser fetches/downloads and displays the original content inline with the second webpage. The third party sees the second party's website, but the content which appears is actually coming from the first site. Bandwidth to deliver this content is expended at the first website (hosting the original content) and at the distant end, where the third party displays the content in their browser.

This inline linking is part of standard HTML design. Many websites use this technique to great effect. Several different types of content are loaded from various different servers in order to reduce server load or speed up page load times. The front-page of a website might reside on one server (to reduce initial page rendering times), while individual articles and images might reside on a different server (to reduce the bandwidth load on the primary server). When inline linking is conducted without consent it is usually considered inappropriate (in some cases it is considered illegal). The original site may object to the use of it's copyrighted content. The original site may object to this unauthorized use of it's bandwidth. The original site may object to the way that the content is displayed. The original content may be offered for sale at the original site. The content being hotlinked may be proprietary or confidential. The inline linking may deprive the original site of ad based/per-click/per-view revenue. Direct linking may be used by malicious web authors in an attempt to deceive a third party (to make their site look legitimate). There are many reasons why one should not practice hotlinking when the original content resides on someone else's website. Hotlinking can screw with page/hit counters and usage statistics.

My experiences with hotlinking. Every time I look for hotlinking I find numerous instances. There are many website out there where my original content is being inline linked to someone else's website. In the past I tried emailing the site doing the linking. I asked nicely if they would stop doing it. I explained how they could copy my content with my permission and display the content directly. That usually didn't work. In some cases the person doing the hotlinking was ignorant of the practice. They remove the direct link apologize for any problem it may have caused. On the other hand, some are jerks, insisting that they can link to anything they find in the 'Google Images' directory... One person even went so far as to say I should get off the internet if I didn't want people to see my stuff. Most of the time I was simply wasting my time. I'd email a contact address and never get any reply. After a while, I simply gave up. It was a never ending battle, and the direct email approach took too much effort.

Now - With my new hosting provider, I have a new way to handle these bandwidth thieves. They've implemented a technique I discovered long ago. If someone insists on stealing my content by hotlinking to it, I would simply change the content. I usually changed the content to indicate that the person doing the hotlinking was stealing my bandwidth. This usually resulted in the offending party changing the image/content. Sometimes I simply swapped out the linked material with an advertisement for Rob's World!, sometimes I did both. Unfortunately, manually implementing this technique took some effort. I had to figure out who was doing the hotlinking (by examining my log files). Then I would email them in an effort to get them to stop. When that failed I would write their hosting provider. If that failed (and it often did), I would swap out the content for something they didn't want to see on their website. Now - With my new hosting provider, I've got an automated way to deal with this hotlinking. My web host provides a service called 'Hotlink Protection'. It automatically detects websites that are hotlinking to my content. It then displays alternate content in place of the linked material. So this automated service finally brings me some peace of mind. My hit counters/daily visits count may suffer, but at least I'll know that the numbers are people visiting my site, and not some thief's website.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inline_linking>
<http://docs.cpanel.net/twiki/bin/view/11_30/CpanelDocs/HotLinkProtection>
<https://www.robsworld.org/chopsticks3.png>
<https://www.robsworld.org/hotlinkingistheft.png>

iTunes Offers free Music to the Masses:
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 an online music streaming service called MOG, and I've recently (as of Sep 2011) started using eMusic 'Radio' stations for music discovery. Combined together, these two services provide full-play access to more than 23 million tracks! (14m on MOG (as of Mar, 2012), 12m on eMusic (as of Sep 2011)) Two fantastic ways to discover music, and no need for illegal downloads or pirated tracks. I occasionally use a few of the other methods (music blogs and podcasts), but MOG and eMusic now serve as my primary Music Discovery sources.

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 or listen to all sorts of music for free. I download most of my music from a couple of commercial sources (eMusic and iTunes), but I occasionally download tracks (legally) from various websites, newsgroups and blogs in order to satisfy my craving for music.

Here's a listing of some of the music I legally downloaded - and paid for!

iTunes Music Downloads:
Sometimes I purchase music from iTunes, and sometimes I take advantage of their free downloads (check it out on Tuesdays). iTunes is the King of the Hill when it comes to the bigger names, so sometimes I find that I have to pay the higher prices. Here's a few of the downloads I recently scored from the iTunes store. This time they were all Free!
* Watching You Watch Him - Eric Hutchinson: (single) Great musical composition. Drums, clapping, guitar and a little tambourine. The lyrics were light and airy. If you enjoy Paul Simon or Jack Johnson, you'll definitely enjoy Eric Hutchinson. I've added on of his albums to my eMusic list.
* New Ceremony - Dry The River: (single) From the album 'Shallow Bed'. This band has a folkish sound with melancholy vocals. Reminds me a bit of Bon Iver or Mumford & Sons. Excellent pacing, instrumentals and lyrics.
* By Surprise - Gemini Club: (single) From 'Here We Sit' 7 song EP. Excellent electronic composition. I like the piano backing. Reminds me of Deastro. It's got a great bass beat going and it wouldn't take much to get the floor dancing.

Spam reduction measures:
<rave>You just can't escape from this scourge of the internet era - Or can you?. It's a good thing that I own my own domains. I can create and delete email addresses at my whim. I do so in order to control who has my email address, what those email addresses are used for, and to track spam that shows up on specifically assigned addresses. During the month of Dec, 2011, I moved all my domains (robsworld.org, vaessen.name, vaessen.net, vaessen.ws, tollgatecrossing.org, and one other) to a new hosting service (the reasons are varied, but this is not the time to tell that story). The new hosting service offers numerous ways to cut down on the amount of spam I've been receiving: Account and user level filtering, SpamAssassin block/black list filtering, domain keys, SPF filtering, BoxTrapper and other methods. In the few days that I've been with the new service (since approximately the 12th of Dec, 2011), I've reduced my spam by more than 98%. In the past (during 2011) I would typically receive approximately 35 spam messages per day, now I get less than one spam message a day! This is extremely good news. Reducing the amount of spam is awesome, but the excellent spam control measures at my disposal is even better!</rave>

This month (April, 2012), I tried to implement another measure to reduce spam. BoxTrapper functions as a spam filter for incoming email. The filter implements a 'Challenge-Response' verification system. When email is sent to the email address(es) protected by BoxTrapper, the sender receives a verification email. This verification email requires a response before the original email is delivered. As a high percentage of spam is delivered through unmonitored email accounts (send and forget/send and disconnect), a spammer will most likely not receive or respond to any verification requests. The original message sent to the trapped address will be discarded after a period of time, and the intended recipient never sees the spam.

I originally thought this particular method would cause some issues. I was worried about the fact that it's annoying to non-spammers. Requiring non-spammers to respond to a "Are you a spammer?" verification message is a bit annoying and somewhat insulting - I know I don't like it. As it turns out, this particular 'challenge-response' method doesn't require a verification message from every sender. It can be configured to rely on 'SpamAssassin' scores to trigger the challenge-response mechanism. If the spam score is low enough, no challenge is issued. I was also worried that it was an 'All-or-None' process. I was afraid that enabling it for any of my accounts would end up filtering email destined for every address at that domain/account. As it turns out, this is true. Despite the fact that there's a setting for "Email addresses going to this account (comma-separated list)" this configuration setting has no impact on the 'BoxTrapper' rules. No matter what address a person sends email to (at a specific domain), the email gets the 'BoxTrapper' treatment. I don't want every address 'trapped', just some specific ones. Some of my email addresses are spam magnets, and I was hoping to configure those to use BoxTrapper while leaving other email addresses unfiltered by BoxTrapper. No such luck there. If I want to filter a specific email address, I'll have to set it up as a separate email account under the appropriate domain.

Despite the fact that I can't leverage the 'BoxTrapper' Challenge-Response filtering in a meaningful way, my other spam reduction measures (pgp signatures and SPF records and Domain Keys) have helped me greatly help reduce incidences where spammers pretend to be me (forgeries), and reduce the amount of spam I receive which claims to come From: Me!
<http://docs.cpanel.net/twiki/bin/view/11_30/CpanelDocs/BoxTrapper#Introduction>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenge-response>
<https://www.robsworld.org/index2.html#fightingspam>
<https://www.robsworld.org/whybother.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/forgery.html>

Software favorites:
Another batch of updates for my favorite software application. GraphicConverter moves ever forward. As usual, developer has been busy updating this application. Here's another batch of updates for a 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. In addition to the GC update, I also downloaded updates for three of my favorite cataloging applications.

GraphicConverter:
Thorsten Lemke (of Lemkesoft) completed work on at least twelve updates over the past week. I recently saw/downloaded the following updates: 8(b829), 8(b832), 8(b833), 8(b835). 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 I would do without it. The best part about GC is it's author. 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.

The 8.0 release (currently in beta) is a new full release. A completely new version re-written as a 64 bit application (can be launched as 32 bit/defaults to 64 bit). Sandboxing and codesigning support has been added, several bugs have been fixed, and support for large images (16,000x16,000 pixels) was added. The version 8 beta expires June 1st, 2012. The new version will be a free update for all registered customers of version 7.
<http://www.lemkesoft.com/content/162/new-functions-and-versions.html>

DVDPedia:
DVDPedia is a great little application for cataloging and displaying your movie collection, and I'm running version 5.1.0. It's list of features is impressive, and it keeps getting better with every update. The database is capable of generating statistics, you can keep track of multiple collections, you can easily add titles by typing the name of the movie or you can scan the barcode (using your iSight camera or a barcode reader) right off the movie box (it then searches the internet, and displays choices). It has customizable HTML export capabilities, a 'borrowed' feature with address book integration, the ability to play movies in full screen mode, and many more features which make an awesome addition to your software library. I use DVDpedia to generate HTML listings of my movies and movie reviews.

The 5.0 upgrade was a paid upgrade/new version of the software (The new version only runs on Intel architecture machines and it requires Leopard or better as an OS). This version has been over a year in the making with lots of changes big and small to make the programs even better. What's new? Lots of new search sites including Wikipedia, Freebase and Doghouse, the Pedias' own media server built by and for Pedia users. New custom fields for broader cataloging options: TV series for DVDpedia, comics for Bookpedia and board games for Gamepedia (I may have to buy a copy now) as well as new custom fields including dedicated date fields, check boxes and multi-value fields. A 10-star rating system with half-stars; click twice on a star to make it a half. Swipe gestures for the CoverFlow and Add/Edit window to move back and forth as well as pinch-to-zoom in the Grid view. A new filter feature for the Details view and Statistics to quickly find entries with that same value. And much, much more…

The 5.1.0 update brings back the 'Pocketpedia' integration. Pocketpedia 3 (I bought my copy on the 18th of April, 2012) is back and better than ever. Now you can sync your 'Pedia' collections to all you iOS devices (iPad, iPhone, iPod touch). A companion app (available is the iTunes store) for all the Pedia programs. Now you can take your collections with you wherever you go. Have your lists handy when you're at the store. Browse your collection while you're on the train, plane or couch. It's even got 'Doghouse' integration (see above).

Below are links to some of the pages I created using this software.
<https://www.robsworld.org/iphonemoviecollection/index.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/mymovies/index.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/reviews.html>
<http://www.bruji.com/version5.html>
<http://www.bruji.com/dvdpedia/>
<http://doghouse.bruji.com/>

CDPedia:
CDPedia is a great little application for cataloging and displaying your music collection, and I'm running version 5.1.0. It's list of features is impressive, and it keeps getting better with every update. The database is capable of generating statistics, you can keep track of multiple collections, you can easily add titles by typing the name of the artist, album, or track. You can scan the barcode (using your iSight camera or a barcode reader) right off a jewel case (it then searches the internet, and displays choices), or you can import lists of music from iTunes. It has customizable HTML export capabilities, a 'borrowed' feature with address book integration, and many more features which make an awesome addition to your software library. I use CDPedia to generate HTML listings of my music.

The 5.0 upgrade was a paid upgrade/new version of the software (The new version only runs on Intel architecture machines and it requires Leopard or better as an OS). This version has been over a year in the making with lots of changes big and small to make the programs even better. What's new? Lots of new search sites including Wikipedia, Freebase and Doghouse, the Pedias' own media server built by and for Pedia users. New custom fields for broader cataloging options: TV series for DVDpedia, comics for Bookpedia and board games for Gamepedia (I may have to buy a copy now) as well as new custom fields including dedicated date fields, check boxes and multi-value fields. A 10-star rating system with half-stars; click twice on a star to make it a half. Swipe gestures for the CoverFlow and Add/Edit window to move back and forth as well as pinch-to-zoom in the Grid view. A new filter feature for the Details view and Statistics to quickly find entries with that same value. And much, much more…

The 5.1.0 update brings back the 'Pocketpedia' integration. Pocketpedia 3 (I bought my copy on the 18th of April, 2012) is back and better than ever. Now you can sync your 'Pedia' collections to all you iOS devices (iPad, iPhone, iPod touch). A companion app (available is the iTunes store) for all the Pedia programs. Now you can take your collections with you wherever you go. Have your lists handy when you're at the store. Browse your collection while you're on the train, plane or couch. It's even got 'Doghouse' integration (see above).

Below are links to some of the pages I created using this software.
<https://www.robsworld.org/iphonemusiccollection/index.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/mymusic/index.html>
<http://www.bruji.com/version5.html>
<http://www.bruji.com/cdpedia/>
<http://doghouse.bruji.com/>

Bookpedia:
Bookpedia is a great little application for cataloging and displaying your book collection(s), and I'm running version 5.1.0. It's list of features is impressive, and it keeps getting better with every update. The database is capable of generating statistics, you can keep track of multiple collections, you can easily add titles by typing the name of the author, book, or isbn number. You can scan the barcode (using your iSight camera or a barcode reader) right off the book cover (the application searches the internet, and displays choices). It has customizable HTML export capabilities, a borrowed feature with address book integration, and many more features which make an awesome addition to your software library. I use Bookpedia to generate an HTML listing of my favorite books.

The 5.0 upgrade was a paid upgrade/new version of the software (The new version only runs on Intel architecture machines and it requires Leopard or better as an OS). This version has been over a year in the making with lots of changes big and small to make the programs even better. What's new? Lots of new search sites including Wikipedia, Freebase and Doghouse, the Pedias' own media server built by and for Pedia users. New custom fields for broader cataloging options: TV series for DVDpedia, comics for Bookpedia and board games for Gamepedia (I may have to buy a copy now) as well as new custom fields including dedicated date fields, check boxes and multi-value fields. A 10-star rating system with half-stars; click twice on a star to make it a half. Swipe gestures for the CoverFlow and Add/Edit window to move back and forth as well as pinch-to-zoom in the Grid view. A new filter feature for the Details view and Statistics to quickly find entries with that same value. And much, much more…

The 5.1.0 update brings back the 'Pocketpedia' integration. Pocketpedia 3 (I bought my copy on the 18th of April, 2012) is back and better than ever. Now you can sync your 'Pedia' collections to all you iOS devices (iPad, iPhone, iPod touch). A companion app (available is the iTunes store) for all the Pedia programs. Now you can take your collections with you wherever you go. Have your lists handy when you're at the store. Browse your collection while you're on the train, plane or couch. It's even got 'Doghouse' integration (see above).

Below are links to some of the pages I created using this software.
<https://www.robsworld.org/books.html>
<http://www.bruji.com/version5.html>
<http://www.bruji.com/bookpedia/>
<http://doghouse.bruji.com/>

Credit Card Fraud - A Close Call:
Considering the amount of fraud and crime perpetrated over the internet every single day, Kim and I have been lucky. Lucky until 16 April, 2012 that is. On the 16th of April, we got a call from Visa. They had a few questions about some unusual activity on our credit card... Yes, we've been using our credit card. No we're not traveling, yes we ate at a restaurant, yes we got gas that day, yes my husband bought a television, yes we went grocery shopping, yes the monthly eMusic charge is normal... Kim answered all their questions and we thought that was the end of it. A day later we got two more phone calls from the credit card company. What's up now! Why do they keep calling us? Kim had an appointment, so I was left to deal with the issue. Unfortunately, our internet connection wasn't working properly, so that didn't help issues. After I got on the phone, I tried to figure out what was happening.

According to the credit card company, there were some suspicious charges on our account, and they wanted to make sure they were authorized charges. Once again, I went through the list of pending charges. Everything seemed normal except for one charge. A $1.00 charge labelled 'Google advertising services'. According to the credit card company, this is a suspicious charge, and may indicate someone trying to purchase something online. The credit card company said the charge is still pending, and it might be pending because the person or merchant who attempted to make charges on my credit card didn't have the 'security code'. If I authorize the $1.00 charge, the person/merchant who made that $1.00 charge will be authorized to make additional charges on the card.

Well, I didn't click on any Google advertisements, and I really don't know what's going on. None of the other charges were suspicious. I had been shopping online that week. Maybe one of my online purchases (from Amazon or some other internet seller) resulted in that charge. Given the limited amount of information I was getting from the credit card company, it was really difficult to figure out why there was a $1.00 charge pending on my account. I asked the credit card company to put a block on that card/account until I had more time to investigate. When Kim got home we talked about the $1.00 charge. I still wasn't sure where the $1.00 charge came from and neither was Kim. I called the credit card company back, and got some additional information. Apparently this charge was made at 10:00am on the 16th. Kim and I were both at work at that time. That was enough information for me. Neither one of us knew why the charge was there, and it was made at a time when we were at work. We decided to have the charge marked as possible fraud. The credit card company cancelled our card and sent us new ones. It only took two days to get the new cards, and I immediately contacted all the companies who put automatic charges on our credit card.

The credit card company was a bit aggressive in their vigilance, but I'd rather have that than a lax attitude which could result in fraudsters getting ahold of our credit card information. The credit card company didn't charge us anything to issue new cards, and I have to say that I'm glad they are watching those charges so closely. I still don't know why I got that $1.00 charge from Google, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Unfortunately, Chase doesn't offer one-time/virtual credit card numbers for use with online shopping. Why not? I'd use it, it would reduce fraud. Fraudsters would certainly find it difficult to use my credit card number when it's only good for one purchase!

Xfinity/Comcast internet outage:
It's been a couple of months since I've had this kind of outage. My Comcast (now known as Xfinity) cable internet has been behaving itself over the last couple of years... Or has it? If I were watching closely, I might find that many of my minor, unexplained, inexplicable connectivity issues might be attributable to my internet connection. On the morning of 17 Apr, 2012, I got home from work and needed to use the internet for some important business. Apparently, someone had my credit card number and they were trying to make unauthorized charges (that's another story!). For some reason, I couldn't get email from my rockehost accounts, and I was having difficulty loading some webpages. I called my hosting provider, and spent a futile thirty minutes trying to troubleshoot the problem with them. While I was on the phone with Visa, I realized that the problem was more widespread than I had originally thought. It wasn't just my hosting provider that was having problems, it seemed that I was having major internet connectivity problems. My wife called, and I explained what was happening. She mentioned that the business where she was at was also having internet connectivity issues. That's when I realized this had to be a Comcast/Xfinity problem. Calling Comcast/Xfinity was a complete waste of time. They didn't know anything about an outage in my area, and the technician immediately wanted me to restart my modem and reboot my computer. I explained that I had just done that... I spent the next half hour troubleshooting the problem. Ultimately, I had to reboot my router and my cable modem numerous times before I got my cable internet working again. What was the real cause of this problem? Who knows? No one will never know. Here are the modem's log entries from that incident (and an earlier one?):

1970-01-01 00:00:15 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response. 2012-04-17 14:38:39 3-Critical R005.0 Started Unicast Maintenance Ranging - No Response received - T3 time-out 2012-04-17 02:41:31 3-Critical T002.0 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Failed to acquire FEC framing 2012-04-17 02:33:40 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response. 2012-04-17 02:33:35 3-Critical R005.0 Started Unicast Maintenance Ranging - No Response received - T3 time-out 2012-04-17 02:33:27 3-Critical R004.0 Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Unicast Maintenance opportunities received - T4 timeout 2012-04-17 02:33:26 3-Critical T002.0 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Failed to acquire FEC framing 2012-04-17 02:32:50 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response. 2012-04-17 02:32:41 3-Critical R003.0 Init RANGING Critical Ranging Request Retries exhausted 2012-04-17 02:32:41 3-Critical R002.0 No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out 2012-04-17 02:29:19 3-Critical R003.0 Init RANGING Critical Ranging Request Retries exhausted 2012-04-17 02:29:19 3-Critical R002.0 No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out 2012-04-17 02:26:38 3-Critical T001.0 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Failed to acquire QAM/QPSK symbol timing 2012-04-17 02:26:17 3-Critical T002.0 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Failed to acquire FEC framing 2012-04-17 02:26:13 3-Critical T001.0 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Failed to acquire QAM/QPSK symbol timing

Notice a that top date? 1970 - It's a date I hate to see in my modem logs. This default date is programmed into the modem as the default time whenever the modem can't connect to a time server. Plenty of 'Critical' errors, T3 timeouts and DHCP failures. Calling Comcast/Xfinity usually results in a bunch of useless tests, and then they try to blame the problem on my Modem, the Router, my Computer, the wiring in my house. Anything except their service. The truth is that most of these disconnects are caused by unacceptable SNRs or power levels on the cable line. With an SNR out of spec, the modem can't connect or maintain a connection to the cable service. The biggest problem? My modem doesn't keep track of SNR/line levels. So, unless I happen to be continuously refreshing the modem's 'signal' page, I won't see any changes to the upstream and downstream power levels. I live in a technological age where the technology is so complex that no one really knows how it works, or what it takes to fix things. It's 'F'ing magic!

April 15, 2012

Southeast Aurora Neighborhood Watch website:
I participate in some community focused events, but haven't found the time to serve on any boards, so I do what I can to help the people who live in my neighborhood. Volunteering with our local neighborhood watch, maintaining the Southeast Aurora Neighborhood Watch website and mailing lists. The South East Aurora Neighborhood Watch serves the residents of South East Aurora by providing information and close ties with the local Police Department in order to help keep the residents safe and neighborhoods crime free. Over the last couple of weeks I took some time to update some of the web pages.

Current: A web page dedicated to the most recent news, announcements and information.
- I removed an announcement about our next Neighborhood Watch meeting. Our last meeting was held on the 5th of Apr, 2012. Our next meeting will be held in June of 2012. As usual, our meetings are held at the Fox Ridge Middle School. Everyone's invited, and in an effort to boost attendance, we may distribute some flyers for this meeting. Please consider participating in your Neighborhood Watch. It's free, helps you and your community and helps everyone stay safe.
- I posted information/an announcement about National Drug Take Back Day - It's April 28th. You can safely dispose of old/unwanted prescription medicines/drugs at two locations in Aurora from 10am - 2pm.
- I updated an announcement about the most recent Neighborhood Watch Newsletter. Produced by the Aurora Police Department the newsletter contains plenty of information designed to help you stay safe and secure in South East Aurora.
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 paragraph about our NW meetings. Our next meeting will be held in June. The meeting will be held at Fox Ridge Middle School. If you have an idea about topics to cover, please let our Head Area Coordinator (Judy Van Meter) know. See the Neighborhood Watch website for more details.
- I added an announcement about National Drug Take Back Day - It's April 28th. You can dispose of unwanted prescription medicines at 2 locations from 10am - 2pm.

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, Wheatlands, Beacon Point, Southshore, Tallyn’s Reach, Saddle Rock - North, Serenity Ridge, Black Stone and Heritage Eagle Bend). If you're concerned about the safety and security of your 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>

Updates to the Tollgate Crossing website:
I participate in some community focused events, but haven't found the time to serve on any boards, so I do what I can to help the people who live in my neighborhood. Volunteering with our local neighborhood watch, and supporting our community by maintaining the Tollgate Crossing website, mailing lists and online bulletin boards. The Tollgate Crossing website is focused on the Tollgate Crossing community, with a few links to the Neighborhood Watch website. I recently made a few updates to the community website:

Bulletin Boards: A new feature / website - It's not linked directly through a header link, but I recently created a new website / feature for the residents of Tollgate Crossing. The new website is a series of online bulletin boards. A place where residents can discuss community related issues, share ideas, buy or sell items, etc. This bulletin board software is new to me, but I'll do my best to set up some categories and manage the forums.
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 banner for our next MD (24 Apr, 2012) and HOA (May 8th) meetings.
- I posted a banner announcing a change of HOA management companies. Our HOA management has decided to switch management companies. They've switched our HOA management to the same company that handles our MD management (Clifton, Larson, Allen). The new HOA manager is Mathew Mendisco.
- I posted a new banner announcing the opening of our community pool. FYI: Due to the fact that I haven't received detailed/up to date information, the dates may change.
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 information regarding our next MD (24 Apr, 2012) and HOA (May 8th) meetings.
- I updated a posting regarding HOA elections. There will not be any elections this year. See the posting for more info.
Info: A page of links, phone numbers, email addresses and other information pertinent to the residents/community of Tollgate Crossing.
- I posted updated information about our change of HOA management. Updated the contact information for our HOA, including a contact for the covenant enforcement company. CLA has decided to have another company manage that aspect of our community.
- I posted information regarding the community pool. Dates and hours of operation for summer of 2012. FYI: Due to the fact that I haven't received detailed/up to date information, the dates and house of operation may change.

If you are a resident of 'Tollgate Crossing' (in Aurora, Colorado), you might want to check out the website, mailing lists or bulletin boards. They're loaded with information about our community, provide multiple venues for communications, community interaction and interactive ways to stay connected in Tollgate Crossing. If you'd like to help out by being a moderator, provide feedback, or help me with my coding efforts, please let me know. I'm open to your suggestions.
<http://www.tollgatecrossing.org/Welcome.html>

D&D updates:
The updates below cover our meetings on the 17th, and 31st of Mar, 2012. The party has departed Whillip, and the first chapters of their next adventure have been written. Our heroes completed all their administrative tasks and chores, and decided upon their next adventure. After accepting a charge to quest for a lost book, the party was teleported across the world to Kester; a small mountain town on the edge of a vast wasteland. After talking with their sponsor, they set off to gather more information and start their adventure. After trekking south along an old trade route, the party entered the own of Parlonis, Here they sought more clues about the nature of the desert, it's inhabitants, and the fabled city of 'Lingice-Enz'. Departing the frontier town, the party headed out into the desert. Here they've encountered odd magical effects, dangerous monsters and combat with the master of this domain - An immense Sand Dragon! Will our heroes ever wrestle the location of Lingice-Enz from this vast sea of tainted sand? Will they ever find the tome known as "Eivobrin's Incanabula"; or will they become another footnote labeled 'A group of adventurers sought the book, but never completed their quest'? Stay tuned for the exciting and continuing adventures of the H.A.L.L.O.W.ed Knights.

3rd Edition Campaign:
I updated the date of our next meeting - Our next meeting will take place on the 28th of April, 2012. A few meetings back, I was actually able to take a new group picture, and it's a good one. Check it out if you get the chance. The "3eCampaign" 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. Thanks to some input from Lee, I was able to post some updates from our meetings on the17th, and 31st of Mar, 2012. The party is wandering around in a tainted desert, looking for the ruins of an ancient city. Check out the details in our journal entries.
<https://www.robsworld.org/ajournal09.html#mar17_2012>
<https://www.robsworld.org/ajournal09.html#mar31_2012>

Where Now?:
With the party in the midst of a new adventure, I find myself updating some geographic/location links. This week I updated some links for various places around the realms. Updated the 'Dry Steppes' and the ancient ruined city of 'Lingice-Enz'. Places related to their current adventure. "Where Now?" is a listing of various places the party has visited or researched.
<https://www.robsworld.org/wherenow.html>

Who's Who?:
I updated the "Who's Who?" page; adding a new entry for an enigmatic group of adventurers. This 'other group of adventurers' appears to be on the same quest as the party. Either that, or they're tracking our party of heroes. The "Who's Who?" page is a listing of characters, both player characters and non-player characters.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ewhoswho.html>

Monsters encountered:
Back on the road again. During our most recent gaming sessions, the party entered a phase of the campaign where they're meeting new people, forging new alliances, and discovering new varieties of creatures. This meeting saw our party trekking through the deserts and wastelands of the Dry Steppes; encountering, a large variety of wasteland creatures. The monsters page is a listing of monsters that the party has encountered, read about, or heard of.
<https://www.robsworld.org/monsters.html>

These updates follow meetings on the17th, and 31st of Mar, 2012. 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>

Another Java update for Mac OS X / the Flashback Trojan:
As predicted - As the Mac OS becomes more popular, more threats will emerge. Nefarious individuals with malicious intent will create Trojans and exploit code flaws in order to infect and compromise the computers of those who own Macs. Over the last few weeks Apple has released a couple of updates to deal with a trojan spreading amongst Apple computers. The vulnerability behind the 'backdoor.flashback.39' trojan (commonly referred to as the 'Flashback Trojan') was first detected back in Sep of 2011. Exploitation (in the current form) didn't begin until approximately 16 March. Since then it has rapidly spread and infected several thousand computers (more than 660,000 according to some estimates) running the Mac OS (It only infects Macs with an Intel processor).

How does it get installed? The trojan targets an unpatched Java vulnerability within Mac OS X. While Oracle fixed the vulnerability on February 14th, Apple didn't distribute the fix to Mac users until April of 2012. A users computer becomes infected after the user is redirected to a compromised website (by way of an URL/link in a spam message). Once the user visits the malware site, Javascript causes a Java applet containing an exploit to load. The Java applet will only run if Java is enabled on the the users browser (I typically leave Java disabled in Safari. Only turning it on when I absolutely have to). The Java applet stores an executable file on the local machine, and this executable program is used to download and run additional malicious code. The malware also switches between various servers for optimized load balancing. Once infected, the code disables anti-virus applications and your computer becomes part of a botnet and may be used to send out more copies of the spam which spreads the trojan. It also makes your computer vulnerable to remote exploitation by those who control the botnet.

After some significant press coverage (where the press/some reports claim that there were are than 660,000 Macs in the botnet created by the Flashback Trojan (according to Russian antivirus company Dr. Web (who discovered the trojan?)), Apple finally released some updates to deal with the Flashback Trojan. On the 3rd of April, Apple released Java for OS X Lion 2012-001. On the 6th of April, Apple released Java for OS X Lion 2012-002. On the 12th of April, Apple released another update to deal with this Trojan, exploit, vulnerability. Update 2012-001 improved compatibility, security and reliability by updating Java SE 6 to 1.6.0_31. A few days later (on the 5th of April), Apple released the 2012-002 update; which presumably did the same thing as the 2012-001 update? This latest update (2012-003) modifies Safari's default Java behavior. The Java web browser plugin (used on additional browsers besides Safari) and Java web start components will be automatically disabled if unused for 35 days. You can reenable the functionality at any time. This update also removes most common variants of the Flashback Trojan.

This summer's Mac OS X update (code named Mountain Lion) will include a new security feature called 'Gatekeeper'. A two pronged approach to tightly control software distribution on the Mac platform. With Gatekeeper in place, users will have three options for software downloads. One method will only allow downloads from the Mac App Store. A second option would restrict downloads to software containing the digital signature (issued by Apple) of an approved software developer. The third option would allow users to download software from any source. Users could enable, disable and manage these settings as they choose. With Gatekeeper installed, Apple would be able to disable malicious software remotely (provided it came from the Mac App Store, or contained a signature/certificate issued by Apple); possibly preventing the spread of Trojans such as this one.

You can read all about Apple's upgrades, bug fixes, security updates, and more by following the links I've provided below. Hopefully these updates will prevent others from getting infected by the Flashback Trojan. As usual, disabling Java (which Apple may discontinue altogether - if things like this keep happening) will prevent a lot of problems while eliminating a possible infection vector on your Mac.
<http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-57410096-263/how-to-remove-the-flashback-malware-from-os-x/>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_BackDoor.Flashback>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OS_X_Mountain_Lion>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatekeeper_(OS_X)>
<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5242>
<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5055>
<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222>

GraphicConverter:
Thorsten Lemke (of Lemkesoft) completed work on at least six updates over the past week. I recently saw/downloaded the following updates: 8 (b818), 8 (b823). 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 I would do without it. The best part about GC is it's author. 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.

The 8.0 release (currently in beta) is a new full release. A completely new version re-written as a 64 bit application (can be launched as 32 bit/defaults to 64 bit). Sandboxing and codesigning support has been added, several bugs have been fixed, and support for large images (16,000x16,000 pixels) was added. The version 8 beta expires May 1st, 2012. The new version will be a free update for all registered customers of version 7.
<http://www.lemkesoft.com/content/162/new-functions-and-versions.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>

Entertainment upgrade in the basement:
A long time ago (in 2005)... Kim and I bought a picture tube television at the BX (Military Exchange). We wanted something we could use in the guest bedroom or the basement. Back then flat panel (lcd and plasma) TVs were still a bit expensive, so we bought a Sharp 20F460 color television - Old style picture tube television (with a flat picture tube!). We've been using it in the basement since 2005, and it still works well, but it's a bit small (20 inches diagonal) for the basement. When Kim and I are using the treadmill, the TV is approximately 15 feet away from the TV. That 20" display is pretty tough to see from that far away, and trying to read the subtitles is just about impossible. The other problem? It can't handle widescreen or any high definition formats. Anyway, it was time to upgrade. So we bought a new TV. At first I tried to get a second 42" Panasonic Viera 720p - Plasma display, but the company I ordered it from decided that they wanted to charge me an extra $60.00 to cover the $120.00 shipping!? Despite the fact that their advertised price for shipping was $39.00 and that's what I paid when I made my purchase. They emailed me a day after I placed my order, and 'informed' me of the increased shipping cost. I told them to cancel the order and refund me the payment. They did, and I decided to go with a different vendor. What I should have done was report them to the BBB, but I had better things to do that day. I still had to find a new television for the basement, so I kept looking for a second Panasonic TC-P42C2. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a decent price on a second Panasonic TV and I eventually ended up buying a completely different TV. I bought a 40" Sony Bravia 1080p - LCD display (KDL 40BX450). It's slightly smaller than the 42" Plasma, but it's full 1080p capable.

The new television is down in the basement. As a replacement for the 20" non HDTV, it's fantastic! Way bigger, better picture, takes less power to run and it doesn't way a ton (man those picture tube TVs are heavy!). I connected our old (2nd gen.) Apple TV to the basement TV, moved the really old (1st gen.) Apple TV and the Sharp picture tube TV to the guest bedroom, and moved a DVD player from the master bedroom to the basement (replaced it with an internet connected Blu-Ray player). So now we've got a pretty good set up in the basement: Big TV (40"), 2nd gen. Apple TV, DVD Player, and a Receiver for radio and some better sound. This should suffice for now. Now we can really watch some movies while we're working that treadmill.

The Final Straw - Seagate BlackArmor 110 NAS:
Back in July of 2010, I purchased a new hard drive. I purchased this 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 (it still does). 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...

<rant>Less than six months later, the drive had stopped serving up shares. it had become a crippled drive. I couldn't mount any of the shares to my desktop using bonjour, SMB or CIFS. When I mounted shares using NFS, I could see the data, but I couldn't move, delete or affect the data. While I was initially very happy with the device, I was quite disappointed with the customer support. I did 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 eventually claimed "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 eventually referred 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 (at the time), I couldn't manage telephone support.

I struggled with the drive for weeks. Eventually, I came to suspect that the problem was due to Apple software changes/updates, something which changed the SMB protocol. I thought there had been some changes to my OS which adversely affected my ability to properly connect to SMB shares. I wasn't the only one having issues with SMB connectivity (see the links below). Thankfully there were a few people helping me troubleshoot the issue. I even 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 was able to mount the shares (to my desktop) using NFS (using manual unix command line commands). I was even able to drag and drop files across the network. So, while the thing was working, the solution was sub-optimal - It wouldn't automount, and every time I rebooted or logged out, I had to manually remount the share and turn spotlight indexing back on. Eventually, I purchased a new hard drive (a Buffalo Technology LinkStation Pro Duo 4 TB (2 x 2 TB) RAID Network Attached Storage LS-WV4.0TL/R1 (Black)) to act as my NAS. This week (9 Dec, 2011), Apple finally got back to me with the results of their troubleshooting. What did Apple have to say about the bug report that I filed? "Engineering has determined that this issue originates with the samba software you are using. The samba software on that box is broken, and you need to update it. We are closing this bug since our engineers are aware of the issue and will continue to track it." O.k. That's kind of slim on details, and it really doesn't help. I've done everything I could to update the software on that unit. It simply refused any update I tried to feed it. I tried, a friend tried. We tried updating it using the Mac OS, restored it to the factory default condition and tried to update the software using Windows. It still wouldn't update. It was/is a brick. I can't do much of anything with it.

Seagate disaster update: As of January, 2012, the Seagate Drive remains a brick. I loaned it to a friend thinking he might get some use out of it. He never tried to integrate it into his network and eventually returned it without so much as powering it on. When I got it back (2nd week of Jan, 2012), I once again tried to get the thing working. I connected it to my network, and my network recognized it as an IP assigned device. At first I couldn't get the 'Black Armor Discovery' software to work under Lion (Mac OS 10.7.2), so I had to download a new version of the device's discovery software. After the new discovery software recognized the device, I clicked on the 'webpage configuration' button. Unfortunately, I couldn't configure the drive at all. I couldn't access the web interface, and the following error was displayed: "XML error: no wixnas object found!"

After reading through numerous forum entries, It seems apparent that the drive is dead. The controller software is toast, and nothing I do will restore the OS on the drive. The worst part is the fact that Seagate doesn't provide any 'factory reset' software for Mac users, so I can't even attempt a factory reset. I couldn't get the drive to mount any shares to my network, and I couldn't contact the drive using SMB or NFS. I even tried 'resetting' the drive using the hardware reset button. I pressed the reset button on the bottom of the drive; waited for the drive to reboot, then attempted to reconnect it to my network. Once again I 'discovered' the drive using the 'Black Armor Discovery' software. Unfortunately, nothing I did would allow me to see the attached drive.

Eventually, I called Seagate warranty service. Despite the fifteen minute wait to speak to a warranty rep, I already had a 'case' number from my previous efforts to get this drive working (and that was no fun - see above); so that sped things up ever so slightly. After explaining my sad story, the customer rep agreed to issue a return authorization. After an initial attempt to perform a 'self' return option (I couldn't find/buy an anti-static bag, and the only package of foam packing material I could find cost ~$20.00), I opted to have Seagate send me a replacement drive and a package in order to return the defective unit. That cost my $9.95, and now I'm waiting for Seagate to send me a new hard drive and shipping materials to return the bad drive. I'll post another update after I receive the replacement drive.

Another update: As of February, 2012, I received the new/replacement drive in the mail (UPS delivered it). I hooked it up to my Network and it's actually working. It's got a new version of the server software, but the drive is still Windows formatted, so 'Case Sensitivity' is an issue. I'm using it to back up all my websites. Copying from my webhost's server to the Seagate drive. All the protocols seem to be working properly. I can mount and access the drive from my desktop. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get Seagate's 'Global Access' web based service to work, but that's not too much of an issue, as I don't foresee the need to access the drive when I'm on the go. I'm still working to get my backup schema perfected (using Carbon Copy Cloner), but I'm certainly glad that this drive isn't a brick. I paid good money for this Seagate Drive.

Round Five update: Today (Feb 25th), the damned Seagate drive has decided to stop working. I can no longer connect to the server. I can't mount it to my /Volumes directory as a share. The BlackArmor discovery software can't see it. It isn't visible as a mounted volume on my desktop/in the finder. I couldn't mount any of the shares to my desktop using bonjour, NFS or SMB/CIFS. What can I do? I can ping the IP address it's allocated under - Sometimes...

I just spent the entire day trying to reconnect it after I restarted my Wi-Fi service. It wasn't connected via Wi-Fi, so that should have caused it to disconnect in the first place... I've tried connecting it, reconnecting it rebooting it, restarting the ethernet interface. Reassigning new DHCP IPs, manual IP assignment, DHCP with static IP address, you name it. After a night's sleep, I gave it another try. Rebooting my computer had little effect. The drive/NAS would appear then disappear from my finder, but nothing I did would allow me to connect to the server.

That thing is a true POS. Please - If anyone is reading this, if anyone with a Mac gives a damn about network connectivity with second party servers or drives - Don't buy a Seagate NAS device. By all means don't buy a NAS 110 (If they still sell this piece of crap). I'll try again when I have more fortitude and I have to reboot my desktop for some other reason.

I can live without this Seagate POS, but admitting a $170.00 loss takes some adjusting. The other thing I refuse to do? Deal with their tech support / returns process again - That was another sad story I don't care to repeat, as no human should ever be subjected to the torture I went through for more than a year.

Round Six - The Final Straw: Last night (April 14th, 2012), I gave the Seagate drive away. It's been unusable since early February (of 2012). I could no longer connect to the server. I couldn't mount it to my /Volumes directory as a share. The BlackArmor discovery software can't see it. It isn't visible as a mounted volume on my desktop/in the finder. I couldn't mount any of the shares to my desktop using bonjour, NFS or SMB/CIFS. I've been trying and trying to get the thing to work, to no avail. I tried rebooting, restarting, resetting, moving the device to different connection points on my network. Connected directly to the second ethernet port on my desktop, connected to my TimeMachine, connected to a Airport Express, connected to a Ethernet switch, an alternate router. You name it, I tried it. The replacement that Seagate shipped me is exhibiting the same problems that the original device displayed.

This thing is a true POS. Please - If anyone is reading this, if anyone with a Mac gives a damn about network connectivity with second party servers or drives - Don't buy a Seagate NAS device. By all means don't buy a NAS 110 (If they still sell this piece of crap). I can live without this Seagate POS, but admitting a $170.00 loss took a bit of acceptance. I'm no longer willing to deal with Seagate's tech support or the returns process. I went that route, and it didn't help. No human should ever be subjected to the torture I went through for more than a year.

I gave the device away to a friend of mine. A windows user. I hope this device doesn't drive him as mad as it did me. I hope this doesn't end our friendship. If he can get it to work with his Windows computer, good for him. If not, oh well... It's not my problem anymore. Good Riddance you piece of crap!

The bottom line lesson? In my opinion; Mac users should never purchase or use Seagate drives. Their software doesn't work properly on Macs (despite their claims to the contrary), and their warranty support is a bureaucratic nightmare.</rant>
<http://forums.seagate.com/t5/BlackArmor-NAS-Network-Storage/NAS-220-XML-error-no-wixnas-object-found/td-p/82190>
<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>

Rob's Rebellious Hair!
Just in case you didn't know. When I retired from the Air Force, I decided to express my individuality in a very outward way - With my hair color. For more than twenty years, my hair conformed to the "Don't look different' policies of the USAF. After retiring, many former military rebel by growing a goatee, a beard, a mustache - Or, the biggest shocker - A piercing! I wasn't about to do any of that (maybe I will at some point...), I wanted something different. I wanted to do something that would really shock people. Shock the people where I work, an institution so conservative that a little color would shock and astonish the sheep roaming the fire code compliant halls. I started coloring my hair back in 2007, and I love it. I've changed colors numerous times since then. I keep trying something new. Varying colors and patterns. I've had a 'Skunk stripe', 'Tiger Stripes', a 'Pink V', a 'Checkerboard pattern' and other designs. The current color is 'Black and Blue' mostly black, with blue stripes along the sides. My radical hair has raised quite a few eyebrows at work, but my indentured servitude has ended and I'm permitted to wear my hair any way I want. I certainly won't let the sideways glances of disapproving conformists get me down. Viva the revolution! My little piece of rebellion in a building inhabited by more conservatives than a Republican convention.
<https://www.robsworld.org/iphoto/robertshair/index.html>

Airport Express:
Another new gadget for my every growing home network. The other day, my wife said: "You know what I'm thankful for?". I said "What?", her answer: "Wi-fi". I have to admit, without Wi-Fi, I'd have run out of cabling and and ethernet ports a long time ago. My home network now has ten wireless devices connected to it. I've got three access points (A TimeCapsule, the Airport Express and a Buffalo NAS) and a plethora of internet enabled devices gobbling up information and entertainment like a heroin addict. On the 6th of April, 2012, I bought an Airport Express. It's portable, allows me to connect a single device to my network and it's extremely easy to set up.

The Airport Express is providing service to another new gadget, an internet enabled Blu-Ray player (A Sony BDP-S185). As I said; it was easy to set up. As a matter of fact, I didn't even read the instructions. I just connected my Blu-Ray player (ethernet from Blu-Ray player to the Airport Extreme), and plugged the Airport Express into the nearest electrical outlet. Minutes later the Blu-Ray player was connected to my network, streaming YouTube videos and Netflix movies with no problems at all. Without the Airport Express, it would have been really difficult to get any signal to the Blu-Ray player. It's in the master bedroom, but the ethernet outlet is on the other side of the room, behind the headboard of our bed... I don't think Kim would appreciate ethernet strung across the ceiling or along the baseboard. Sometimes you just need an instant access point. That's what the Airport Express did for me. With blazing-fast 802.11n, the affordable AirPort Express is powerful enough to run a home Wi-Fi network, yet small enough to take on the road.
<http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/>

Apple TV - 3rd Generation:
Apple TV is a digital media receiver / set-top device, developed and sold by Apple Inc. It (2nd and 3rd gen) has a small form factor with wired (Ethernet 10/100) and wireless (802.11a/b/g/n) network connectivity. It's designed to play digital content (in standard, enhanced and high-definition) from a users personal media library (an iTunes library), the iTunes Store, Netflix, YouTube, Flickr, MobileMe and various other content providers. The device works with Mac OS X or Windows computers. While iTunes and an iTunes library allow users to stream personal media content, it's not required for iTunes Store content or other streaming services.

On Wednesday (07 Mar, 2012), Apple announced another evolution in their Apple TV offering. The third generation of Apple TV brings a few improvements to the line. Most notably is the ability to stream 1080p video. Along with this playback capability, Apple also updated the iTunes software and their iTunes store offerings to include 1080p (blu-ray quality) content for rentals and purchase/download. Other improvements include a processor upgrade; from A4 single core chip in the 2nd gen model, to a single core A5 chip in the 3rd gen device. iCloud integration/capabilities are also improved (with Apple TV OS 4.4 or better); including Photo Stream (up to 1000 of the users most recent photos) and matching/cloud based playback (and re-downloading) of purchased content.

I bought one of the original Apple TVs (a 160gb model for $303.00) back in June of 2009. I liked that device, but found the Roku device superior in content access and ease of use. 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 overlooked light switch!) I found it to be a reliable streaming device with an interface and capabilities that keep changing, updating and evolving to meet increasingly demanding user requirements. On the 5th of April, I bought another new Apple TV. This new 3rd gen device replaces the one I had in the living room. I've moved that 2nd gen device to the basement, and I moved the 1st gen Apple TV upstairs, into the guest room.

The new Apple TVs - both 2nd and 3rd generation, are about a quarter the size and a third the price, of the original device. They don't get anywhere nearly as hot as the 1st generation, the processors are much more powerful, and the storage of media is moved off the device to a users iTunes library and/or the 'cloud'. Outwardly, the new Apple TV (3rd generation) looks identical to the previous model. The release of the new Apple TV was accompanied by a new OS update. Apple TV update 5.0 comes installed on the new Apple TV, and it's available for the 2nd gen Apple TV. Apple stopped updating the 1st gen device back in September of 2010. The newer Apple TVs (2nd and 3rd gen) are powerful enough to run Silverlight, a necessary component for Netflix streaming. The latest OS update also brought a redesigned user interface. The new interface looks (up front) more like the iOS; with big glossy buttons. Chiclet shaped icons that look a lot like iOS App icons. The processor and large flash storage (in the 2nd and 3rd gen devices) are beefy enough to handle streaming (local and via the internet) without any problems (provided your network and provider aren't throttling your traffic or experiencing issues). If you didn't know better you'd think all that content was stored onboard.

Based on the continually updating software, expanding content access, and interface improvements; I now find the Apple TV (2nd and 3rd Gen with Apple TV OS 5.0 or better) to be a better experience than my Roku boxes (I have a couple of Roku boxes (an original NFP001/Netflix Player and a Roku HD-XR Player). While the Roku continues to offer greater content access. The software and interface haven't been updated or improved in quite some time and you can't (easily) play back any of your own local content. Maybe I should buy one of the newer Roku 2 boxes?

The recent software update (released on the 7th of Mar, 2012) for the Apple TV (update 5.0) brought several improvements and updates: A new user interface; playback and streaming for 1080p resolution content; ability to purchase 1080p content (from iTunes Store); iCloud hosting/playback for movies purchased through iTunes Store; Genius Recommendations (based on previous rentals and purchases); New National Geographic photos for built in screensaver; On device sign-up for content partners.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_TV>
<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4448>
<http://www.apple.com/appletv/>

April 8, 2012

Java Updates for Mac OS X / the Flashback Trojan:
As predicted - As the Mac OS becomes more popular, more threats will emerge. Nefarious individuals with malicious intent will create Trojans and exploit code flaws in order to infect and compromise the computers of those who own Macs. Over the last few weeks Apple has released a couple of updates to deal with a trojan spreading amongst Apple computers. The vulnerability behind the 'backdoor.flashback.39' trojan (commonly referred to as the 'Flashback Trojan') was first detected back in Sep of 2011. Exploitation (in the current form) didn't begin until approximately 16 March. Since then it has rapidly spread and infected several thousand computers (more than 660,000 according to some estimates) running the Mac OS (It only infects Macs with an Intel processor).

After some significant press coverage (where the press/some reports claim that there were are than 660,000 Macs in the botnet created by the Flashback Trojan (according to Russian antivirus company Dr. Web (who discovered the trojan?)), Apple finally released some updates to deal with the Flashback Trojan. On the 3rd of April, Apple released Java for OS X Lion 2012-001. On the 6th of April, Apple released Java for OS X Lion 2012-002. Two updates in the span of three days. Update 2012-001 improved compatibility, security and reliability by updating Java SE 6 to 1.6.0_31. A few days later (on the 5th of April), Apple released the 2012-002 update; which presumably did the same thing as the 2012-001 update. The new update points to the same Knowledge Base page as the original 2012-001 release.

This summer's Mac OS X update (code named Mountain Lion) will include a new security feature called 'Gatekeeper'. A two pronged approach to tightly control software distribution on the Mac platform. With Gatekeeper in place, users will have three options for software downloads. One method will only allow downloads from the Mac App Store. A second option would restrict downloads to software containing the digital signature (issued by Apple) of an approved software developer. The third option would allow users to download software from any source. Users could enable, disable and manage these settings as they choose. With Gatekeeper installed, Apple would be able to disable malicious software remotely (provided it came from the Mac App Store, or contained a signature issued by Apple); possibly preventing the spread of Trojans such as this one.

If you suspect that your computer may be infected (with the backdoor.flashback.39 trojan), or you're simply curious, you can check for the infection by running the following commands in your 'Terminal' application. Note: You must be an admin (or use the 'su' command to become an admin user) in order to run these commands. Once you've launched the 'Terminal' application, copy and paste the commands below (one at a time) to the command line. After pasting the command into your terminal, hit return.

defaults read /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info LSEnvironment defaults read /Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/Info LSEnvironment defaults read ~/.MacOSX/environment DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES

If your computer is NOT infected, the command will produce a response (after each command) which indicates that a domain/default pair "does not exist". If you ARE infected, the command will spit out a path which indicates the location of the malware. If you ARE infected, you can remove the malware manually. Instructions are available at CNET.

You can read all about Apple's upgrades, bug fixes, security updates, and more by following the links I've provided below. Hopefully these updates will prevent others from getting infected by the Flashback Trojan. As usual, disabling Java (which Apple may discontinue altogether - if things like this keep happening) will prevent a lot of problems while eliminating a possible infection vector on your Mac.
<http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-57410096-263/how-to-remove-the-flashback-malware-from-os-x/>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_BackDoor.Flashback>
<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5055>
<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222>

GraphicConverter:
Thorsten Lemke (of Lemkesoft) completed work on at least thirteen updates over the past few week. I recently saw/downloaded the following updates: 8 (b809), 8 (b815), 8 (b817). 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 I would do without it. The best part about GC is it's author. 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.

The 8.0 release (currently in beta) is a new full release. A completely new version re-written as a 64 bit application (can be launched as 32 bit/defaults to 64 bit). Sandboxing and codesigning support has been added, several bugs have been fixed, and support for large images (16,000x16,000 pixels) was added. The version 8 beta expires May 1st, 2012. The new version will be a free update for all registered customers of version 7.
<http://www.lemkesoft.com/content/162/new-functions-and-versions.html>

Winter's last hurrah!
Imagine everyone's surprise! After weeks of warm weather, budding flowers and trees, even some record high temps... We had temperatures in the 80s on Saturday and Sunday (31 Mar, 01 Apr), but that didn't deter the low that arrived on Monday night. In preparation for some cold nights, I drained my 'backflow preventer'. I'm not the best handyman around, but I managed to drain that device with a little instruction and some trial and error. Things went well and I felt good about the freezing temperatures predicted for the coming week. No sooner had I drained that backflow preventer and the nastiness arrived. Beginning on the 2nd of April, Colorado experienced a winter storm in April. The temperatures continued to plunge on Monday night, and the snow started early on Tuesday morning. It snowed all day Tuesday and the temperatures hovered around freezing for more than 24 hours. Snow and slush continued to fall well into the night, and we accumulated more than three inches total. The snow didn't stick around long; it was all gone by the 5th, and the temperatures have resumed their unseasonably warm trend. The storm that dumped snow on us and Utah spawned numerous thunderstorms and tornadoes across the middle of the country over a week long period.

April's Awesome Audio Acquisitions:
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 an online music streaming service called MOG, and I've recently (as of Sep 2011) started using eMusic 'Radio' stations for music discovery. Combined together, these two services provide full-play access to more than 23 million tracks! (14m on MOG (as of Mar, 2012), 12m on eMusic (as of Sep 2011)) Two fantastic ways to discover music, and no need for illegal downloads or pirated tracks. I occasionally use a few of the other methods (music blogs and podcasts), but MOG and eMusic now serve as my primary Music Discovery sources.

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 or listen to all sorts of music for free. I download most of my music from a couple of commercial sources (eMusic and iTunes), but I occasionally download tracks (legally) from various websites, newsgroups and blogs in order to satisfy my craving for music.

Here's a listing of some of the music I legally downloaded - and paid for!

eMusic monthly downloads:
Every month I download ~50 tracks from eMusic.com. This month (Apr of 2012) I managed to download 54 tracks at the low cost of $22.90. I'm paying a $19.99 monthly fee, so that makes the tracks even cheaper (~$0.37 / track). 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. 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.
* Summer of Lust - Library Voices: (12 songs) Last month I downloaded a free single (Generation Handclap) from the bands Summer of Love album. I loved it so much I added it to my eMusic queue. It certainly feels like Summer. The album is full of uplifting, popping songs. Filled with optimism and good feelings. I'm digging the composition, the pacing, the instrumental mixing and the excellent production. A 3hive.com discovery.
* Jewellery Quarter - Twang: (18 songs) A British Independent band discovered by listening to MOG recommendations. Great guitar work and Latin rhythm mix with the West Midlands voice of the lead singer. It's a great blending of synthesizers and subtly folkish pop lyrics.
* Live and Intermittent - Magazine: (17 songs) A favorite from the 80s. This venerable post-punk foundational group (formed by Howard Devoto (former member of the Buzzcocks) in 1977, this band actually reformed in 2009. After an 18 year break-up, Howard Devoto rejoined the band/They reformed and began touring. They've even released a new album. Here's a collection of previously unreleased recordings from a live performances from 1979 and 1980. This should help tide me over until I manage to pick up that latest release.
* Oscillator - Information Society: (6 songs) Another favorite from the 80s. This band's original run was 1982 - 1997. They reformed in 2006 and they're still performing now. An American band from Minnesota. They helped forge the synthpop, house and dance genres. Their sound has since changed a bit, and this album represents some of their more recent efforts.
* Looking for a Sign - Beck: (single) From the movie "Jeff, who lives at home". Beck is a favorite artist, and I had enough money left over to buy a single. This song has some excellent pacing and a great mix of various instruments; including electric guitar, harmonica and banjo. It's amazing how much this artist has changed and grown since the late 80s and early 90s.

iTunes New Music Tuesday downloads:
Sometimes I purchase music from iTunes, and sometimes I take advantage of their free downloads (check it out on Tuesdays). iTunes is the King of the Hill when it comes to the bigger names, so sometimes I find that I have to pay the higher prices. Here's a few free downloads from the iTunes store.
* Brothers by Tanlines: (single) From the album 'Emotions'. Tanlines has created a deep soulful sound, filled with synthesized swooshes, handclaps and great harmony. Music from Tanlines is currently not available at the eMusic website. I guess I'll have to live with this single and the free streaming available on MOG.
* Black to White - Felix Cartal: (single) Felix Cartal is a Canadian DJ/Producer who collaborates with numerous vocalists in Dance scene. This single from his album "Different Faces" features vocals of 'Miss Palmer'. It's haunting sound and excellent production carries several distinctive dance beats and a rousing pulse of electronic energy.
* Ho Hey - The Lumineers: (single) From the album 'The Lumineers'. Excellent folk music with vocals that remind me of the Violent Femmes. Excellent stuff. Great lyrics and instrumentals. I can't wait until the album appears on the eMusic website.

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>