What's New

February 29, 2012

Round Five? with the 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.

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>

Holy Crap - More Snow!
Yes, even more snow for our little corner of Colorado. That big snowstorm in early February of 2012 wasn't enough (see below). Apparently, my back wasn't aching enough. Mother nature is surely out to test me this winter. It's already snowed five times since that storm (on the 3 - 4th of Feb, 2012). This time we got another four inches on the 23rf of Feb, 2012. This time it came as something of a surprise. My usual warning mechanism (See 'The Human Barometer') wasn't working properly, I became ill on the 17th of Feb, and my body was aching all the time, so I didn't notice the usual symptoms which might have allowed me to predict this storm. I do recall my joints being very achy (I was cracking my knuckles quite frequently) on the night of the 22nd. I wasn't the only one surprised. While I remember hearing about the possibility of snow on the news, no one at work was discussing it the day before. I wasn't supposed to be that much. 1 to 2 inches at most...

Unlike some of the earlier storms, the snow from this storm wasn't light and fluffy, and it certainly wasn't a small amount. We got approximately 4 inches in our community. Everyone got more than the predictions called for. I had to fire up the snow blower to clear this mess. We sure are getting our fair share of snow this year. As a matter of fact, according to the meteorologists on the news, we're above average for our totals. Unfortunately, due to the total 'crapiness' of all the online weather sites, I find it impossible to determine how much snow we typically have by this time of year. Is it just me, or do these weather websites seem totally unusable? If you're looking for some specific historical information, it's impossible to find. Let's just say we've had a lot of snow, more than usual... ...Crappy weather websites!... If you know of a website where I can compare historical precipitation (snow or rain) totals for a given city/region, please forward me the link.

USAA is Awesome:
<rave>It's not often that you get a good feeling about your insurance company. It's not often that your bank or insurance company gives you some money back. That's right. They paid me. All companies hold a certain amount of capital. Since USAA is a member-owned company, it cannot issue stock to raise capital. It must raise capital through other means. One way that USAA manages its capital is through something called a "Subscriber's Account" (Subscriber's Savings Account - SSA). USAA holds a portion of its capital in each member's name in a "Subscriber's Account". Since there are no shareholders, profits are retained for financial strength or returned to the members. Returns are accomplished through the SSA. Each year a portion of USAA's profit is retained as "unassigned," the rest is allocated to each member's SSA using a formula based on the amount of premium the member paid that year as well as the member's SSA balance. The allocation of capital to a member's SSA occurs early in the calendar year (Letter dated Feb 9th indicated an allocation of $193.25) Late in the calendar year a portion of the member's SSA is distributed to the member via checks or electronic funds transfer. The entirety of the SSA belongs to the member, but is not completely distributed until approximately 6 months after the member no longer has a USAA P&C policy. In 2011 the distribution amounted to 6% of the member's Subscriber's Account balance.

USAA is an insurance company and a bank (United Services Automobile Association). It is 'NOT' a publicly traded company. It's an 'Association', the members are the 'owners'. It doesn't answer to 'stockholders', it answers to it's members. Military members and their families (past and present) constitute the membership. The company suggests products and services, but the members get to vote on all the big changes and decisions. They're focused on products and services which help members meet their financial needs, not services that generate the most income for the company.

This is one of the best companies I've ever done business with. I've never been steered wrong, wronged or misled by USAA. Their service has always been the best. I can't imagine another company which treats it's members like owners, always looks out for the interests of it's members, and doesn't seek to screw those it serves. If you know a company as forthright, honest, and responsive, please share it with me.</rave>
<https://www.usaa.com/inet/ent_blogs/Blogs?action=blogpost&blogkey=newsroom&postkey=usaa_returns_594million&tags=strength>
<https://www.usaa.com/inet/pages/faq_PC_Subscribers_Account_Distribution_index>
<https://www.usaa.com/inet/pages/about_usaa>

GraphicConverter:
Thorsten Lemke (of Lemkesoft) completed work on several updates over the past few week. I recently saw/downloaded the following updates: 7.6.2 (b435, b439). 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.
<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 2.7.1, 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. Developed and maintained by Apple; XQuartz is designed specifically for the Mac OS X operating system. It's a more refined version of an 'X' windowing system than the X11 version shipped/distributed by Apple during major software updates. 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 the official build distributed with major software updates/upgrades, and XQuartz is an open-source, more refined version, distributed outside standard update channels.

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://developer.apple.com/opensource/tools/X11.html>
<http://www.apple.com/opensource/>
<http://xquartz.macosforge.org/trac/wiki/X112.7.1>
<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>

February 20, 2012

Influenza I'm Sick!
It hasn't been too long since I was sick last (Sep, 2011), but this particular illness doesn't come as any surprise. Colorado is right in the middle of it's annual flu-season, and there's been a lot of people sick at work. I've been exposed at work and at home to plenty of bugs over the last few months. As a matter of fact, Kim was sick last month. I thought I was going to escape the strain that's been going around, but I'm just not lucky enough. I think this count's as being sick twice this season... Now that we've been exposed to two of the flu varieties, I certainly hope that we'll be spared any others that make their way to Colorado.

Thankfully, this bug isn't quite as bad as the one in September. I was planning a four day vacation, with Monday being Presidents Day. Unfortunately, by Thursday afternoon I knew I was coming down with something. Definitely more than your typical cold. It's some sort of influenza bug. A strain we haven't been vaccinated against (we got our flu shots in October and November). Mild headache (from congestion), lots of head and chest congestion, a sore throat, aching muscles, slight fever. All the typical symptoms for me. I never get an upset stomach, so at least there's that. I'm seriously considering another day off... What a bother. I'm taking cold medicine, getting extra sleep, drinking plenty of fluids, etc. I hope you're not a victim of this years cold and flu season.

D&D updates:
The updates below cover our meeting on the 4th of Feb, 2012 . The party has departed Whillip, and the first chapters of their next adventure have been written. Our heroes have completed all their administrative tasks and chores, and they 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. 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 (not counting tonight's (18 Feb 2012) meeting) will take place on the 3rd of Mar, 2012. Our last meeting was one person short, but I'm pretty sure everyone will attend the next one. Who knows, maybe I'll finally be able to update our 'group photo'. The last time I did that was more than a year ago. 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. I finally took a new one!
<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 meeting on the 4th of Feb, 2012. The party has departed Whillip and set out on their next adventure. Check out the details in our journal entries.
<https://www.robsworld.org/ajournal09.html#jan07_2012>

Who's Who?:
I updated the "Who's Who?" page with several changes:

I added an entry for Inaen Whitherclaw on the 'Allies' list.

I added Newlonen Eivobrin to the list of persons known. He's a legendary (now deceased?) figure from the current adventure.

I added an entry for Eivobrin's Incanabula. Legendary items usually get a spot on the "Who's Who" page. I typically locate the item in conjunction with the items creator or someone who possessed the item.

Added an entry for Tekelut Thringus; the mage sponsoring the party's current adventure.

That's a lot of changes, and I'm sure there's more to come. Whenever the party starts a new adventure, there's usually a slew of new NPCs to document. The "Who's Who?" page is a listing of characters, both player characters and non-player characters.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ewhoswho.html>

Players in our campaign:
A few months back, one of our players decided to leave the group. While we've been looking for a new player, the chair has been vacant for some time. There's been a few other changes as well; including a change of Dungeon Masters. Mark ran our last adventure, but now he and I have switched places and I'm back at the DM's podium. With all these changes our group photo remained the same for more than a year. Getting everyone at the table at one time has been a challenge, but this week I was finally able to get a new group picture. As a result, I've updated the annotations beneath the large group photo on this page. A group of crazy characters constitute the players in our campaign. Many players have graced my gaming table over the years, some are old friends, some are new, but in the end - friends are what I call them. The players page contains a photo of our group and a short listing of who we are.
<https://www.robsworld.org/players.html>

Where Now?:
With the party just starting a new adventure, I find myself updating some geographic/location links. This week I updated some links for various places around the realms. Places related to their next adventure. Where Now?" is a listing of various places the party has visited or researched.
<https://www.robsworld.org/wherenow.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 Mortimer receiving information about 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 4th of Feb, 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>

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.
- Bulletin board rules: As with the new Bulletin Boards, this new page isn't linked directly to the rest of the 'Tollgate Crossing' website. An essential feature. A precaution if you will. Just a reminder that everyone should act in a civilized manner. Hopefully I won't need to reference the 'rules' any time soon.
Welcome: The website's opener. A page containing an introduction to our community website. Here you'll find all the latest news and announcements. I rearranged the banners a bit - It's something I do to indicate a change in the content.
- I updated the banners for our next Home Owner's Association (13 Mar, 2012) meeting.
- Our last meeting (on the 14th of Feb, 2012), was supposed to be our Annual elections/membership meeting (held IAW our bylaws). Unfortunately, there not enough residents attended or forwarded their proxies. As a result, we didn't achieve quorum, and the HOA board/management will have to reschedule another Annual meeting or conduct a 'by mail' election.
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 Home Owner's Association (13 Mar, 2012) meeting.
- I also posted information about that meeting on the 14th of Feb, 2012. The one where residents were supposed to show up or forward their proxies. Unfortunately, now we'll have to reschedule the annual meeting, and that will cost us some additional money that our HOA didn't budget for.

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>

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 month we had a NW meeting and 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 the announcement for our last Neighborhood Watch meeting. We had a meeting on the 2nd of Feb, 2012, and everyone was invited. Mary Bonnell from Colorado's Department of Wildlife gave an outstanding presentation regarding the wildlife living in and around our communities.
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 April. The specific date hasn't been set yet, but 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.
Info:A page of links and information pertinent to the safety and security of communities in Southeast Aurora, Colorado.
- I added some information and links about the wildlife that inhabits the areas in and around Southeast Aurora, Colorado.

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>

Apple announces Mac OS 10.8 / Mountain Lion:
In an uncharacteristic move, Apple revealed it's next operating system without a huge media event. No on stage presentations. No press releases. No fanfare? I don't like it. Apple should have sent out invitations, should have had a big press release. They should have done a formal presentation. Keep up the press releases. All press is good press. The media loves Apple - Sure there's people who 'hate' Apple. There's always a few people who hate a winner, and you can't eliminate those voices who might try to criticize the latest greatest thing from Apple. I say bring back the big press events.

On the 16th of February, 2012, I found an email in my Inbox. Apple had just announced their next operating system. The next Mac OS will be named 'Mountain Lion'. Lion (OS 10.7) was announced in Oct, 2010, and released in July of 2011. According to Apple, 10.8 will be released in 'Late Summer of 2012'. If they keep to their previous release schedule, we should see Mountain Lion released in September or October?

The new OS will incorporate more iOS features. Building upon the success of that platform, it certainly seems to me that Apple is moving towards a unified operating system. The mobile devices running the iOS operating system are becoming more and more sophisticated. With more powerful and faster processors, the portable iOS devices are quickly approaching par with some of the desktop machines. I can see a future where the two operating systems will merge to for a singular OS which runs on portable devices as well as Laptops an Desktop computers. The features announced for Mountain Lion clearly show a harmonization of applications, looks and feel. It won't be long before Laptops will be running iOS, and soon afterwards the two will merge to become the 'Apple OS'.

So what were some of the announced features and applications?

Messages - Integrating the chat features of the desktop application (iChat) with FaceTime and the free instant message capabilities of iMessage from iOS. iChat will go away. The 'Chat' or 'Messages' experience on Mac OS X will look the same as the 'Messages' capability on iOS. You can download the Messages beta now!
Reminders - Looking like a direct port from iOS, this version will have all the same functionality. This app will allow you to sync all your messages across all Apple devices.
Notes - The Notes application will come to the Mac desktop. With all the same capabilities as the current iOS version. Of course the syncing will give you access on all your Apple devices. iCloud is going to be busy with all this syncing going on.
Notifications - The Notifications center is finally coming to the Mac OS. Banners and alerts will appear and disappear just like 'Growl' notifications. You'll be able to access the Notifications center at any time. Just swipe to the left...
Share Sheets - The media/document sharing experience in Mac OS X will be standardized and expanded. Share links, photos, notes, and videos. Send Tweets, email, and post to various websites through the expanded and improved 'Share Sheets'.
Game Center - One of the awesome parts of gaming on an iOS device is the ability to find players, competitors and team members through the Game Center. Now it's coming to the Mac.
Airplay Mirroring - Awesome; your Mac on your Apple TV. Browse the internet, watch videos, give a presentation. Transform you big screen HDTV into a mirror of your Mac. No cables necessary. Over the air streaming directly to your Apple TV (which needs an HDMI connection to your HD TV).
Gatekeeper - A new idea from Apple. While the iOS only has one way to get apps onto it, the Mac has always had a messy way of downloading and installing apps. The traditional way. You can download applications from anyone, anywhere. This means Malware can get in. The Gatekeeper will allow you to lock down some of those holes. As a preference pane, you'll be able to chose how applications can get installed. Choose the Mac App Store only, Mac App Store and Apple Developers (signed applications), or the Wild west of the World Wide Web. The Gatekeeper also improves upon the current Malware detection and protection included in OS 10.7.
iCloud updates - Presumably Apple's iCloud will allow you to seamlessly and effortlessly sync your email, calendars, contacts, and documents across all your Apple devices. This should mean updates for the desktop versions of Pages, Keynote, and Numbers. It will also mean the demise of the iDisk. Unfortunately, Mac users will lose a great feature/capability when the iDisk disappears.

That's a lot of new applications for Mac OS 10.8. What I didn't see in these announcements is anything that isn't already in iOS. The predictions about a fused OS are getting really hard to ignore. I'm guessing that this update will be another $29.95 release available only through the Mac App Store. If you haven't updated to OS 10.7 yet, you won't be able to update to 10.8. While all these new 'iOS' styled apps are neat, I certainly hope there's more to the update than the list released so far. The last OS update (10.7) brought us more than 250 new features. How much will customers pay for the small handful of features listed on Apple's preview page? Maybe the price will be closer to $19.95?
<http://www.apple.com/macosx/mountain-lion/messages-beta/>
<http://www.apple.com/macosx/mountain-lion/>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_OS_X>

Encryption and digital signatures on my Mac:
Spammers have often assaulted my digital identity by forging spam to look like they came from me. As a result, I try to use pgp signed messages (whenever possible) with my email correspondence. Thankfully, there's an open source, free and reliable way to make that happen. There's a group of software developers who devote their time and effort in development of a product called 'GPGTools' it's a series of applications which enable digital signatures and encryption inside the Mac OS X environment. One of the primary components is GPGMail.

GPGMail (recently updated for Lion compatibility) is an open source plugin for Apple Mail. It brings the functionality to sign, verify, encrypt and decrypt email (documents/messages) using the OpenPGP standard. I use MacGPG2 (version 2.0.17-9) and the GPGMail plugin (version 2.0a30) with Apple's Mail.app Version 5.2 (1257) for encryption, decryption, and message authentication. If you would like to correspond in secret, please take note of my Public Keys.

Why do I use signatures or encryption? Well, I don't use the encryption very often, but I have been known to send myself encrypted email containing passwords or private information (banking and medical information). I use pgp signatures quite often, as a way of ensuring message authenticity. I'm tired of spammers pretending to be me; even my web hosting company has 'accused' me of being a spammer. By using these signatures (which uses the message content (upon signing) and a private key to create a signature which can be verified by using my public key) I can assure recipients that the message(s) they received were actually sent be me, and it hasn't been tampered with in transit. In addition to my self published keys, my public keys are also available on various keyservers.

One of the best parts of this software? The developers! They're fantastic. Whenever I have a problem or question, they're eager and willing to help with a patch, troubleshooting or detailed instructions. The project/developers aren't working for a profit, they do it because they believe in the open availability of secure email.
<http://www.gpgtools.org/>
<http://www.gpgtools.org/projects.html>
<http://www.gpgtools.org/macgpg2.html>
<http://www.gpgtools.org/gpgmail/index.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/encryption.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/feedback.html>

February 13, 2012

Blurry icons under Mac OS:
<rant>It's a problem which has been plaguing me (and others) for several years. Back in August of 2010, I started to notice the onset of a particular problem plaguing my Mac's desktop. While I love the Mac OS, no operating system is without it's issues, and this is just one of those perplexing problems that seems to bother people in our age of super-computers and sophisticated communications devices. If you're familiar with my battles in the land of network connections, you know I don't give up easily when confronted with a technological challenge. This desktop dilemma is just the latest of those challenges.

A bit more detail - So the problem started occurring back in 2010, the severity has waxed and waned over the years. This problem involves the icons in my Mac's Dock and the Application Switcher panel (invoked when you press command-tab). The Mac OS (In OS X v10.5 and later) uses 512 x 512 pixel images for the dock, application switcher and Finder in general. Each application and document has appropriately sized images embedded in the code for smaller sizes (for various reasons), but the 512 x 512 resource is supposed to be used when displaying icons in the Finder. Unfortunately, the problem plaguing me was slowly beginning to affect all the icons in my dock and application switcher (I hadn't noticed it affecting the Finder in general (finder windows)).

The effect I'm talking about? Instead of the typical, sharp, high-resolution (512 x 512) icons, I was starting to notice some incredibly low resolution icons (32 x 32?) in my dock and application switcher. It's nothing critical. It wasn't causing crashes (in my case), but it certainly was annoying. Being used to these magnificent 512x512 icons, I really didn't appreciate these blurry low-res icons. When these low-res icons are scaled up to 512 x 512 or 128 x 128 size (with a mouse over or other magnification effect), they appear blurry, out of focus or fuzzy. It's irritating, not at all Mac-like and quite annoying. Not one to let the problem persist, I began my quest to quash these blurry icons.

For a more detailed discussion and history of this problem, see my 'Blurry Icons' posting from Sep of 2011. As I mentioned earlier, this problem has been plaguing me on and off since August of 2010. I thought that a switch to Lion (Apple's latest version of OS X) would take care of this annoying problem... Well, I was wrong. It's back. During the first week of Feb, 2012, I was once again confronted with the blurry icon phenomena. Once again it's affecting Application icons in my Dock and Application Switcher panel. This time I didn't do much to fix it. I tried deleting the icon from my dock, installing new versions of the software (GraphicConverter), rebooting... None of these measures worked. I didn't bother doing any new searches for the issue. Of note, the problem went away after I rebooted into my Snow Leopard partition, then installed a new version of the software on my Lion partition. I really don't know what I did that fixed the icon, but it's back to normal, for now...

The strange thing about this problem? It doesn't affect every icon, but once it affects an icon, that icon continues to exhibit the blurring, even after the application is quit and relaunched. It doesn't affect all the icons at once, seeming to strike at random. There must be a corrupt cache somewhere. Something that tells the Mac which resource to display for desktop views of the icons. As far as I can tell, Apple hasn't corrected this problem - Yet.</rant>
<https://www.robsworld.org/whatsnew/wn2011/wn2011_sep.html#blurryicons>
<http://developer.apple.com/mac/library/documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/AppleHIGuidelines/XHIGIcons/XHIGIcons.html>
<http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2132399>
<http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2600445&tstart=0>
<http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2667566&tstart=135>
<http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-10402811-263.html>
<http://www.titanium.free.fr/download.php>
<http://applejack.sourceforge.net/>

Xfinity/Comcast internet outage:
It's been quite some time 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 7 Feb, 2012, I was listening to my Squeeze Box radio; streaming music from my media server ( Buffalo Technology LinkStation Pro Duo 4 TB (2 x 2 TB) RAID Network Attached Storage LS-WV4.0TL/R1 (Black)), when all of a sudden the playback ended. I tried connecting to a local radio station (using the Squeezebox) because I didn't really have the time to troubleshoot any network problems. That's when I realized that I had just lost my internet connection. I spent the next half hour troubleshooting the problem. Ultimately, I had to reboot my router and my cable modem 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:

2012-02-07 04:47:00 3-Critical I002.0 REG RSP not received 1970-01-01 00:01:34 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response. 1970-01-01 00:01:22 3-Critical R002.0 No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out 2012-02-07 04:21:45 3-Critical T002.0 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Failed to acquire FEC framing 2012-02-07 04:21:44 3-Critical R004.0 Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Unicast Maintenance opportunities received - T4 timeout 2012-02-07 04:21:44 3-Critical T002.0 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Failed to acquire FEC framing

Notice a couple of those dates? 1970 - It's a date I frequently 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. If I call Comcast, they'll do a bunch of useless tests, and then they'll try to blame this 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? The 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!

Even More Snow!
Yes, even more snow for our little corner of Colorado. That big snowstorm in early February of 2012 wasn't enough (see below). Apparently, my back isn't aching enough. Mother nature is surely out to test me this winter. It's already snowed twice since that storm (on the 3 - 4th of Feb, 2012). We got another inch on the 7th of Feb, 2012, and a dusting on the 11th of Feb, 2012. I shoveled after both events. Fortunately, it was light enough that I didn't need the snow blower. Wow, we sure are getting our fair share of snow this year. As a matter of fact, according to the meteorologists on the news, we're above average for our totals. Unfortunately, due to the total 'crapiness' of all the online weather sites, I find it impossible to determine how much snow we typically have by this time of year. Is it just me, or do these weather websites seem totally unusable? If you're looking for some specific historical information, it's impossible to find. After some extensive searches, I finally found some references... Apparently, we should have had appx 1 inch of precipitation so far this year. So, our totals so far are appx... Agghh, snow fall doesn't equal precipitation, and once again, it's impossible to find what you're looking for on these weather sites. Let's just say we've had a lot of snow, more than usual... ...Crappy weather websites!...

Software favorites:
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 updates, there was also an update to XQuartz (a Unix windowing system that runs on the Mac). In addition to the software updates, I made a couple of changes to my software favorites page. I removed the entry for 'The Logo Creator'; an application I used for many years. Unfortunately, the developer has chosen not to update the software to Lion compatibility (it won't run under the Lion OS), and I need an application to help me create logos, titles and graphics. I've been waiting patiently, but the promise of an update hasn't come true. As a replacement, I purchased a copy of 'Art Text 2' for my Mac. It does everything that the Logo Creator did; plus, it works under Lion! I've been using it for a few months now (since Sep of 2011), and I'm convinced. It's a great application for creating Titles, Logos, Buttons and graphic for my web pages. I've added it to my Software Favorites page, and removed The Logo Creator.

GraphicConverter:
Thorsten Lemke (of Lemkesoft) completed work on several updates over the past few week. I recently saw/downloaded the following updates: 7.6.2 (b423, b425, b426, b428). 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.
<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 2.7.0rc4 (xorg-server 1.11.4), 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. Developed and maintained by Apple; XQuartz is designed specifically for the Mac OS X operating system. It's a more refined version of an 'X' windowing system than the X11 version shipped/distributed by Apple during major software updates. 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 the official build distributed with major software updates/upgrades, and XQuartz is an open-source, more refined version, distributed outside standard update channels.

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://developer.apple.com/opensource/tools/X11.html>
<http://www.apple.com/opensource/>
<http://xquartz.macosforge.org/trac/wiki/X112.7.1>
<http://www.macports.org/>
<http://www.finkproject.org/>

Art Text 2:
Running version 2.4.1 (442) - Art Text is a Mac OS X application for creating high quality textual graphics, headings, logos, icons, web site elements and buttons. Thanks to multi layer support creating complex graphics is no sweat. This software allows you to create great looking title graphics for print or the web. Create catchy headings and other text graphics. Generate attractive buttons and cool titles to make your web site look stylish and professional. Various logos and icons can be easily created to enrich your brochures, flyers and postcards. I've put together a page with a few samples (my own designs). If you'd like to see more samples, you may find the developers website provides more and 'better' examples.
<http://www.belightsoft.com/products/arttext/overview.php>

Round Four? with the 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.

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.

The bottom line lesson? In my opinion; Mac users should never purchase or use Seagate drives. The 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>

February 05, 2012

Way big Snow Storm!
A big snow storm hit the Aurora area on the 3rd of Feb, 2012. The snow started falling on the evening of the 2nd. The temperature dropped, the plows lined up, and the snow kept falling. On Friday, the snow got heavier, and it kept snowing; all day! The place where Kim and I work preempted the storm, permitting a snow delay before the storm even hit. By the morning of the 4th, they declared a 'code red' event. The place was closed for all but 'mission essential' personnel. We got a paid day off!

Getting a day off because of snow isn't always fun. No sleigh rides around White Potato lake for this kid. No snowmobiling across the frozen tundra, no sledding at knob hill... A snow day means extra work for most folks. Extra work? Of course, do you own a home? Rent a home, live in a place where it snows? Then you know that the snow doesn't shovel itself... How does trading three hours of back breaking work for eight hours of work in front of a computer sound? Those five free hours better be well spent!

Time to get to work! Shoveling all that snow is a lot easier when I listen to some podcasts. My favorite? The No Agenda podcast with Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak. "In the morning!" Good thing I've got a warm coat (down filled) and a good snowblower. This year (2012) has brought us more snow than usual. We're already above average for the amount of snow, and the season is far from over. I even had some help from a neighbor (thanks Greg). He ran his snowblower down the sidewalks on this side of the street. His snowblower was much larger, and it didn't look like he was having any problem with the snow. If it hadn't taken me three hours to clear my driveway (and part of the sidewalk), I would have helped some other folks. Unfortunately, but the time I finished, I was completely exhausted. Kim took some pictures while I toiled at the till. Check out the pics if you've got the time. I've got links to two different galleries. One was generated using software hosted on my webhost; the other I generated myself then uploaded to my website. I still can't believe that Apple is doing away with it's MobileMe 'Gallery' service. That sure was an awesome service.
<http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_19885094>
<http://robsworld.org/galleryphotos/index.php/Snowstorm---Feb-2012>
<https://www.robsworld.org/shutterbugphotos/snowstormfeb2012/>

D&D updates:
The updates below cover two meetings in the month of January: The 7th of Jan, 2012 and 21st of Jan, 2012. It took quite a while, but I finally got some input from one of our players (Thanks Lee). The party is back in Whillip, and the first chapters of their next adventure have been written. Our heroes have been busy taking care of the many administrative tasks and chores necessary between adventures, but I doubt they'll spend much game time in town, they're anxious to get going, and spoiling for a fight. 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 18th of Feb, 2012. The characters have already split up the treasure from the last adventure, completed all their training, picked up some new equipment, filled out a bunch of paper work, and researched their next adventure. The next meeting should start our adventurers out on their next quest. Our last meeting was one person short, but I'm pretty sure everyone will attend the next one. Who knows, maybe I'll finally be able to update our 'group photo'. The last time I did that was more than a year ago. 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 Journal index:
Here is the index for all the party's journal entries. Each time the party starts a new adventure, I start a new journal page - With the end of their 8th adventure, I updated the content of this page. I provided more details regarding their next adventure. As more information is revealed, this introductory paragraph will be updated. As the new adventure begins, a new journal page is created, and a link is posted on this index page. If you'd like to read about some of party's previous adventures, this is the page you'll want to visit.
<https://www.robsworld.org/ajournal.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 once again able to post some updates from our meetings on the 7th of Jan, 2012 and 21st of Jan, 2012. The party is currently back in Whillip. Having completed a recent adventure, they're currently resting, recuperating and training for their next adventure. Check out the details in our journal entries.
<https://www.robsworld.org/ajournal09.html#jan07_2012>
<https://www.robsworld.org/ajournal09.html#jan21_2012>

Who's Who?:
I updated the "Who's Who?" page with several changes:

I added an entry for Imago (Sean O's new character).

I moved Skif (Sean O's previous character) to the 'Former PCs' section, and added an entry (for Skif) further down the page.

I even created a new page just for Skif, just in case I want to change all the links that used to point to the "Who's Who?" page. I'll definitely use the new page for any future references to Skif.

When I added Skif to the S.C.R.E.W.O.F.F.S. (An adventuring group from Whillip (Previously a player character organization)) section of the page, I also moved Kussindra to the Clean-up crew (A group of NPC adventurers from Whillip (Many former player characters)), and removed a seldom used NPC.

Finally, I added Chartruz (Allurean's Coure Elladrin familiar) to the Allurean entry in the 'Player Characters' section of the page, and Allurean's personal entry further down the page.

That's a lot of changes. I even reorganized and updated the Player Character listing towards the top of the page, in order to provide a more current roster of the party. The "Who's Who?" page is a listing of characters, both player characters and non-player characters.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ewhoswho.html>

Where Now?:
With the party preparing to embark on a new adventure, I find myself updating some geographic/location links. This week I updated some links for various places around the realms. Places related to their next adventure. Where Now?" is a listing of various places the party has visited or researched.
<https://www.robsworld.org/wherenow.html>

Players in our campaign:
In the wake of Sean B's departure from our group, I sent out a call for players to fill his spot. While we've had some replies, none of the respondents have been suitable candidates (scheduling issues, transportation problems, unwilling to commit to bimonthly meetings, family issues). I'll keep trying. Eventually we'll find someone who can make a commitment to our group, a commitment to adventure. Our current group consists of six players and myself. Recently I updated some out of date character info for Sean O'. He's playing a new character now, so there were a few changes that needed to be made. A group of crazy characters constitute the players in our campaign. Many players have graced my gaming table over the years, some are old friends, some are new, but in the end - friends are what I call them. The players page contains a photo of our group (yes, I know it's way out of date) and a short listing of who we are.
<https://www.robsworld.org/players.html>

Monsters encountered:
Back in town 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 people in the city of Whillip. One of those unique individuals was a 'Kir-Lanan'; a race of people often mistaken as Gargoyles. Azura met one when he sought a master to train him in the secrets of the Dragon Shaman class. Since these creatures are considered 'Minor Races', the characters don't automatically recognize them. After Azura met his new trainer, I added the Kir-Lanan to the party's monster listing. The monsters page is a listing of monsters that the party has encountered, read about, or heard of.
<https://www.robsworld.org/monsters.html>

Here there be Heroes:
With the recent changes to Sean O's characters, I took the time to update the "Hero's Gallery". I created a new gallery entry for Imago. The Hero's Gallery is a list of characters from my campaign. Past and present, the characters listed represent a fraction of those who have called Rob's World! home. Some of the players are long forgotten, but many of the characters live long in our memory. Who can forget their heroic feats, the daring deeds, and tragic endings? Let's heft our mugs, sing their praises, and salute those hero's of lore!
<https://www.robsworld.org/gallery.html>

These updates follow our meetings on the 7th of Jan, 2012 and 21st of Jan, 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>

Death to spammers!
</rant>You just can't escape from this scourge of the internet era. I recently (during the month of Dec, 2011) moved all my domains (robsworld.org, vaessen.name, vaessen.net, vaessen.ws, tollgatecrossing.org, and one other) to a new hosting service. One of the reasons I moved? Spammers! Apparently, Spammers broke into the mail server of my former web host. They compromised his server and started sending spam. In addition to the server compromise, they also installed some nefarious scripting - to facilitate their spamming. In addition to this spam activity, the servers were also brought low by a DDoS attack! All of this information comes to me by way of the server administrator; as such it's veracity/accuracy cannot be verified, but it certainly makes for a good 'Bogey Man' story. The big bad spammers compromised the servers and crashed it with a DDoS attack!

The sad story of spammers making my life hell doesn't end there. Oh, no, not all - Now that I've moved my webpages, mailing lists, and email services to a new server, I find that scourge of nasty spammers is indeed universal. Not only did my previous host suffer from spam issues, my new host also appears to have spam problems. One of their servers (possibly more than one) appears to be (it may have since eliminated this problem/infection) infected with a 'DarkMailer' direct mailer script. The SpamHaus and COMCAST blocking/blacklisting services both indicate that a block of IPs run by my new hosting service may be compromised by this same 'DarkMailer' scripting/trojan. My new hosting provider barely admitted to a 'problem account' on a 'shared server'. They admitted that a 'problem account' was the reason that the email server became blocked. Something is/was causing their mail servers to continually get listed on various black/block lists, and all they did is change the server IP and/or request de-listing by the various black/block listing services... This didn't do much to help me, as I was forced to endure continual delisting delays while COMCAST, Hotmail/MSN, Yahoo, AOL and others bounced my email. Six, seven, eight times I was affected by this spam listing problem. My new hosting provider finally reconfigured my domains to use a server that isn't being affected by this problem. I've been problem free (with regards to blacklisting) since Mid January (of 2012).</rant>

<rave>Here's some good news regarding my continual battle against spammers. Owning your own domains is a good idea, it allows you/me to create and delete email addresses at your 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. Recently (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 (see above). 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 (not turned on), BoxTrapper (not turned on) and other methods. In the past month (the first full month since moving to the new servers) I've reduced my spam by more than 98%. Last month (Jan of 2012), I received 13 spam messages. Only 13 pieces of spam made their way to my inbox. All the others were stopped by the various filters and measures enabled to reduce spam. That's an average of .42 spam messages per day! In the past (during 2011) I would typically receive approximately 35 spam messages per day. This is extremely good news. Reducing the amount of spam is awesome, but the excellent spam control measures at my disposal are even better!</rave>

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

Software favorites:
Three more releases for some of my favorite software applications. The GIMP - GNU Image Manipulation Program has been updated once again. This X11/Unix port is constantly undergoing revision; thanks to the strong community of supporting programmers, users and testers. In addition to this X11/Unix application update, I also downloaded another new beta version for one of my favorite software applications. GraphicConverter moves ever forward. As usual, developer has been busy updating this application. Here's another update for the product that's always getting better. All the updates are free for those who own a license. If you need a powerhouse converter, editor and browser for your graphics, grab a copy of GraphicConverter - You won't be disappointed. Finally, with the recent OS X update, Apple released a new version of Safari, my favorite web browser.

GraphicConverter:
Thorsten Lemke (of Lemkesoft) completed work on several updates over the past few week. I recently saw/downloaded the following updates: 7.6.2 (b418, b422). 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.
<http://www.lemkesoft.com/content/162/new-functions-and-versions.html>

The GIMP:
I run version 2.6.12 on my Mac

GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed program for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. Written and developed under X11 for the Unix platform, I'm running a version ported to Mac OS X (runs under X11). This software application is the equivalent of PhotoShop for free! There's very little you can't do with this full feature graphic authoring software suite. It's got all the bells and whistles: Full suite of painting tools, Sub-pixel sampling, Gradient editor and blend tool, Custom brushes and patterns, Full alpha channel support, Layers and channels, Multiple Undo/Redo, Editable text layers, Transformation tools, Selection tools, Advanced path tool, Transformable paths and selections, Advanced scripting capabilities, Support for Photo-Shop plugins, and several more features. I've been using the GIMP for some years now, and I'm continually impressed by it's rich features and powerful rendering capabilities. Here are just a few of the graphics and titles I've created using the GIMP: Slice of a pseudo oil painting, adventuringgroup.png, dndbooks.png, vifsi.png

If you'd like to try out some of the GIMP's text effects, you can check out this web page that will let you create enhanced graphics using some of the GIMP's capabilities.
<http://sourceforge.net/projects/gimponosx>

Safari:
Apple's default web browser for OS X (also available for Windows!), is way ahead of the pack. Apple's browser contains a plethora of incredibly powerful features, and this release moves the browser forward for everyone (there's even a Windows version! - Microsoft stops developing IE for Mac, and Apple makes a Windows version of Safari?). I'm currently running Version 5.1.3 (7534.53.10).

Battle of the browsers. Internet Explorer vs FireFox. Those are your choices right? Wrong! Think different! Think Mac! Choose Safari, the new kid on the block. A fast (The fastest available for Mac) but full featured browser, which performs like a pro. The full release version is a powerful workhorse - Featuring tabbed browsing, URL snap-back, a powerful but elegant bookmark implementation (with built-in import capability), Google, Yahoo and Bing search integration, built-in pop-up blocker, multiple standards (HTML 4.01, HTML 5, XML, XPath, XSLT, XHTML, DOM, CSS, RSS, ECMA Script, Proxy Support, SSL, TLS, JavaScript, Java, plus QuickTime, Flash and Shockwave plug-ins), Top sites - A visual representation of your top visited sites. Cover Flow - A fantastic new way to visualize your bookmarks. Safari Reader mode - banish all those annoying sidebars and adds. Expanded support for HTML 5. Nitro Engine - Makes Safari the fastest in the pack.

Some of the newest features include: The Reading List - A way to store URLs for late, Multi-Touch Gestures (under Lion) - more ways to navigate within Safari; Full-Screen Browsing (under Lion) - With a 30" monitor, I don't really need this; New privacy and security features; Resume - Opens windows and tabs right where you left off; Downloads popover (under Lion); Find option (updated); Better graphics (Under Lion - using HTML5 canvas capabilities); Internet account setups; New processing architecture - to keep your computer from slowing down when the browser starts choking on some pesky video or other heavy duty processing. Safari 5.1.1 includes support for iCloud, a breakthrough set of free cloud services. iCloud stores your Safari bookmarks and Safari Reading List and automatically pushes them to all your devices. Safari 5.1.2 fixes some excessive memory usage issues. 5.1.3 fixes numerous wireless connectivity issues and adds some additional language support.

By the way, Safari is fully compliant (it was the first Browser to meet that bench mark) with the advanced Acid 3.0 test. So, if you're concerned about standards and compliance, you've nothing to worry about. Develop your web site using the Safari webkit and you won't have to worry about rendering problems or sticky browser compatibility issues. Check out the website for more info. Safari is just one more reason to Switch! It's won a place as my default browser, give it a chance and it'll soon be yours.
<http://www.apple.com/safari/>
<http://www.apple.com/safari/features.html>
<http://www.webstandards.org/action/acid3>

Mac OS 10.7.3 / Security Update 2012-001:
Back in October of 2010 (at a Special Event), Apple announced the latest revision of it's OS X operating system. The 8th OS X version (OS 10.7), code named - Lion, was released on the 20th of July 2011. I've had it up and running on my Mac Pro and two Mac Book Pros, since September of 2011. Here's an update to the latest OS (Lion). This update (OS 10.7.3 and Security Update 2012-001) is primarily designed to deliver general operating system fixes that improve the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac.

The OS update includes Safari 5.1.3 and fixes that add numerous languages, address smart card login issues, address Microsoft Windows file sharing (SMB), addresses printing, wi-fi wake from sleep issues, wireless networking, RAW image compatibility, and numerous Directory Services fixes. You can read all about Apple's upgrades, bug fixes, security updates, and more by following the links I've provided below. Hopefully this update will address some of the network connectivity and 'wake from sleep' issues I've been experiencing. I certainly hope so, as I'm not the only one who's been experiencing these types of issues. Who knows, maybe this update will even address some of the SMB (windows file sharing) connectivity issues that I've had problems with (lots of problems). I upgraded to Lion on the 9th of Sep, 2011, and I have to say, the tweaking, enhancements and iCloud refinements have resulted in considerable speed improvements and enhanced productivity on my Mac. Mission Control and Gestures have significantly increased my productivity. You can read more about the updates at Apple's website.

As a result of these recent updates, the following pages have been updated. myfavs.html, feedback.html, and mycomputer.html.
<http://www.apple.com/macosx/whats-new/>
<http://www.apple.com/macosx/whats-new/features.html>
<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5048>
<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5130>

iTunes Music Match:
iTunes Match is another new service offered by Apple (You may notice that I refer to this service as 'Music Match' in many instances. Officially it's called 'Match' without the 'Music' prefix. I can only imagine that the service (currently limited to 'Music') will expand to cover a broader range of media in the future). A mobile music access service, that makes you music library available, wherever you might be. It's taken me a while to latch on, and I wasn't quite sure I'd be subscribing, but I found a couple reasons why I might want this new service. Maybe you'll find reasons of your own. My reasons? My primary reason - With this new service, I could get rid of the DRM protection on some of my iTunes tracks, while simultaneously upgrading those same tracks to the 256kb iTunes 'Plus' bit rates. Back in the early days of iTunes, Apple included a proprietary DRM on each and every track (almost every track) downloaded by customers. Why? Well, the music industry, distributors demanded it. They claimed it was an 'Anti-Piracy' issue. The DRM was restrictive. Basically it kept you (if you purchased a DRM protected track) from copying the music, or moving it from one device to another, or burning it to a CD. Basically, it penalized the legitimate owner of a track (you paid for it) from using the music on all your devices. It kept you from enjoying your music where and when you wanted to. We could debate the finer points of DRM for days, but let's get on with this article shall we?

Another reason why I decided to buy-in to the Music Match service? Well, my music library is getting rather large, and storage costs money. Wouldn't it be awesome if I could listen to any of the songs in my library (15,776 songs / 75GB - As of 3 Feb, 2012) any time I wanted? Using any device I owned? My iPhone and iPad are 32GB models, my Laptops have a limited amount of storage... So, if I want to take all my music with me, I'll need a bigger hard drive or my own streaming music server... Or do I? This new service from Apple (it's part of Apple's iCloud effort) puts my music in the cloud - and not just the music I bought from Apple; all the music in my collection! That's right Apple's Music Match not only matches my iTunes music, they even match the stuff I didn't buy from them. That means all my eMusic and Amazon tracks are matched. Going beyond the traditional digital downloads, Apple even matches the:

Tracks I ripped off CDs (that I purchased/and still have)
Downloaded from other websites (legally)
Converted from cassettes (that I purchased/and still have)
And get this; they've even uploaded (matched) the stuff that they don't have in their library (more than 12,000,000 songs in the iTunes store).

With iTunes/Apple's Music Match service. I can access my music (tracks in my iTunes library) anywhere I go*. I don't go far without my iPhone, so I should have access to all that music anywhere I go. I can still store some of the tracks in device storage; just in case I don't have a signal; but access to all that music is a pretty compelling reason to keep paying for the service. I particularly like the fact that they even match music I haven't purchased from the iTunes store - because I get my music from different sources. I can't imagine how they managed to negotiate that deal with the RIAA/Music Industry. I've still got digital copies on my media drive (a 2TB Network Attached Server in my basement), and I can stream/access the music from there using Apple and non-Apple devices, like my Logitech Squeeze box. *provided I have access to 3G (cellular) or a Wi-Fi signal (recommended due to bandwidth caps and costs associated with downloading via 3G) and an iTunes compatible device (up to ten devices).

So those are the two main reasons why I signed up for the Music Match service. Now for the experience. How easy or difficult was it to turn on this Music Match service? Did I experience any problems? After I signed up and paid my $24.95 (using a mixture of iTunes store credit, PayPal, and Credit Card - Imagine doing that ten years ago!), iTunes started a three step process that took a long time to finish. First it analyzed my library. It looked for songs it could match. Thankfully that didn't take 'too' long. I have 15,776 songs (as of 3 Feb, 2012) and it took a little over two hours (I've got a cable connection (upload speed is somewhere around 2MB, download appx 12MB)). I didn't stop doing other things, and that may be partly why I had some issues... The next two steps; matching music (making tracks available in the cloud) and uploading music that it couldn't match took a very long time. I started the process at appx 0600 on the 29th of Jan, 2012, and it didn't finish the process until 0255 on the 1st of Feb, 2012. It took appx two days. During that time I encountered a few problems...

I had to restart my Airport (TimeCapsule) router at one point. The reason may have been connected to the music match process or some other unrelated Airport issues. I lost my 'cloud' connection at one point. As a result iTunes match lost it's connection to the servers. It stopped matching tracks. At another point it lost it's connection to my music library and stalled. My music is stored on a external NAS (Network Attached Server), so that may have been unavailable at some point during the process. In either case, the process stalled, stopped and had to be restarted. Thankfully, getting it going again wasn't all that difficult. I simply quit iTunes, restarted my router, restarted iTunes and then the dread set in... I had to restart the matching procedure from the beginning. Thankfully it didn't take as long to scan my library. Presumably it was simply confirming all the tracks it already knew about. After that it resumed the matching process where it had left off. It didn't mess anything up. I was able to restart the process with no issues. After I got home from work on the 31st, I found that it had stopped again. Perhaps the computer went to sleep, or I lost my network connection again? In either case, I had to restart the process again. This time I didn't reset my router. I simply quit iTunes and restarted it. I restarted the music match process a second time. This time it ran uninterrupted through the evening. When I got up at 0255 on the 1st of February, it was done.

The process takes quite some time (depending on how many tracks you have in your library), but thankfully you can restart the process and it resumes without major issues. It doesn't start over from scratch, and it remembers where it left off, so that helps. If you've got a complex network setup: Multiple external drives, backup routines which make drives inaccessible, multiple devices connecting and disconnecting, you may experience issues like I did. Getting the match service running on my iPhone and iPad was much simpler. I simply clicked a button to enable the service. iTunes can be a complex beast (especially when you're using it on a network with ten media capable devices!), but I think I've got it mostly figured out...

Finally, I'd like to share a few notes of interest regarding the iTunes Music Match service.

It's not unlimited. It costs $24.95 per year, and it only allows you to 'match' 25,000 songs (it doesn't count tracks you've purchased (through iTunes) against this limit). That's more than enough for now (I've 'only' got 15,000 songs in my library, so I should be o.k.).
It doesn't match songs with bit rates below 96KB, above 256KB or greater than 200MB in size. This prevents it from overwriting tracks with higher bit rates than it retains, and avoids the matching of some non music tracks (with bit rates below 96KB).
If you match music with bit rates below 256KB (the iTunes Plus standard), you can delete your locally stored copies, re-download the matched tracks and end up with a new 256KB copy!
You can replace those old DRM tracks as well. Here's how:
- First identify the 'matched' and 'purchased' tracks that have DRM (check the tracks 'kind' - look for 'Protected AAC Audio file').
- Delete the tracks. Yes - Everything will be o.k. You can delete the track from your library, and your locally stored copy (on a hard drive/your iTunes music) Just don't delete the matched copy that's in 'the Cloud'.
- After you've deleted the tracks (they'll still appear in iTunes) they'll have a download icon (shaped like a cloud).
- Select all the tracks with the cloud icon (different cloud icons mean different things), right click and download all the tracks. After they've downloaded, you'll find that they're now 256KB copies without DRM! Hooray! I got rid of almost all my DRM protected tracks in this manner.
One more note on the matching/downloading process. If iTunes no longer sells a version that you've previously purchased (with or without DRM), it'll upload your copy (for matching/availability), but you can't download a new copy. If you delete it and re-download, You'll just end up downloading the version you've already uploaded.

That's all I can think of right now. Thankfully, there's plenty of articles out there that cover this service in great detail; including walkthroughs. Hopefully you can find what your looking for with a google search. If you can't find the answer you're looking for, I'm willing to give it a try, feel free to send me an email. So far I'm enjoying the service, and it hasn't been half as difficult as I had expected. Thank you Apple - For pushing the envelope, for demanding non-restrictive ways to make our music available to us, for making products and services that work.
<http://www.idownloadblog.com/2011/11/14/itunes-match-the-complete-walkthrough/>
<https://www.robsworld.org/wn2007_feb.html#nomoredrm>
<https://www.robsworld.org/stevejobsthoughstonmusic.html>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes_Store>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FairPlay>
<http://www.apple.com/itunes/itunes-match/>
<http://www.apple.com/icloud/features/>
<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1711>
<http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4914>
<http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4124>

February's Music Files:
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! (11m on MOG, 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 (February of 2012) I managed to download 50 tracks at the low cost of $23.01. I'm paying a $19.99 monthly fee, so that makes the tracks even cheaper (~$0.46 / 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.
* Pink Flag - Wire: (21 songs) A favorite band. I first started listening to Wire back in the 80s. The band formed in 1976, and they're still out there, making music, going strong - Never giving up. Here is their classic debut. An album which influenced the Rock, Punk and Post Punk movements for years to come. I added/downloaded this album after listening to some Wire in one of my iTunes 'shuffles'. Outstanding music.
* Little Dragon - Little Dragon: (12 songs) Discovered through an iTunes 'New Music Tuesdays' download. I rediscovered this band after listening to more tracks using MOG. Phenomenal. An awesome mix of R&B fueled by Jazz and Pop. Excellent vocals. Full of inflection and detail. If you enjoy jazzy lounge music, you'll love this.
* album - Public Image Ltd.: (7 songs) A favorite band from the 80s. I've been a fan of Johnny Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) since the Sex Pistols broke up. This album/disk/cassette came out in 1984. Many of the songs are included on other albums, but here are gathered eight gems of PiL; including a few I haven't heard in years. I love it.
* Information Society - Information Society: (7 songs) Another band from the 80s that I haven't heard in years. I re-discovered the band after listening to recommendations in MOG. Like many bands from the 80s, the 90s saw them disappear; with a reemergence in the 2000s. Reminding me very much of several other 80s bands (ABC, OMD, Pet Shop Boys, Thompson Twins), many thought this band was a one hit wonder. Imagine the surprise of everyone involved when they managed to release six full length albums, a handful of EPs, compilations, numerous tours and a resurgence in 2006-2009. Even if they ultimately can't make it in the 2000s, here is a classic 80s album. The electro pop, dance, techno beats are quite juicy.

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>