Another Excellent Use of Dropbox

Dropbox is my new favorite utility.  When I first heard of it, I thought I'd never use it.  Then, after darn near pulling out my hair trying to figure out why my VOIP PBX server keeps freezing up, I wrote my last blog post (like 5 minutes ago!) which copies the uptime file to Dropbox.

Then, I thought that the second biggest pain in the rear is messing with copying files between the computers for the phone configurations.  I have great tools on my Mac (like TextWrangler, which for XML-style phone configuration files is awesome), and... well, I have vim on the VOIP PBX server.

I don't want to mess around with reconfiguring the tftp server (for the phones), so I simply went to ~/Dropbox:

$cd ~/Dropbox

...and linked it to /tftproot, which is the tftp (trivial file transfer protocol) root folder which is returned to the individual phones:

$ln -s /tftproot/

This created a folder link in my Dropbox folder which sent the contents to Dropbox.  Now, with it in Dropbox, I can edit the files on my Mac and Dropbox will handle the transfer.

Using Cron and Dropbox to monitor a server

I've been dealing with a server that has an issue, and I keep trying to get things to work right.  I thought it might be nice to know (without having to check and potentially without being at home) if the server is operating correctly by copying the runtime file (which tells how long the server was running).

So, the first thing I've done was open a Dropbox account and install Dropbox CLI.  This, by default, sets the folder to ~/Dropbox on Linux.

Then, I created a cron job to copy the runtime file every five minutes:

$crontab -e

In vim, which is the default editor in CentOS (and probably many others), you'll need to press 'i' to get into insert mode.  Use the following in the crontab file:

5,10,15,20,25,30,35,40,45,50,55,0     *     *     *     *     cp -f /proc/uptime ~/Dropbox >/dev/null 2>&1

Then, in vim, press esc, ':', and 'wq' and press enter.

Now, every 5 minutes the runtime file will be copied to the Dropbox folder and synced to Dropbox.  Even better, this can be extended to include reports (perhaps those generated by Nagios or another monitor program).

What have I done that is so great?

Steve Jobs (to a Gawker Blogger): "By the way, what have you done that's so great?  Do you create anything, or just criticize others work and belittle their motivations"

Interesting quote.  Arrogant, flamboyant, and in some ways, mean.

I guess the same question can be asked of me, since I've been pretty critical of a lot of others (Microsoft, Apple, Google, The American Planning Association, to name a few).  Well, I have my answer:

• I've built the first part of an activity generator, which is part of a new generation of travel demand models (all on a PC).  The code from this will be shared to others in the state I live in.


• I've assisted many relatives and friends with computer issues.


• I've freely shared my knowledge on several listservs and user support web sites.


• I've built a VOIP phone system in my house.


• I created the theme you see on this website.  In fact, I've built this website and worked on several others.

For still being young, I'd say I've one pretty well.

Why Google's Not Wrong in Sniffing Wi-Fi Data

Google admitted to sniffing wi-fi data with their streetview cars.  The NYT thinks "Google could be accused of intercepting private communications and violating wiretap laws in the United States".  The flaw with the thought lies in the same article: "nonpassword (sic) protected Wi-Fi networks".

The flaw with the thought of Google violating wiretap laws is that they didn't break into a closed network.  The telephone network is closed (physically).  A wired computer network is closed.  A password protected wi-fi network is closed.  An open wi-fi network is NOT.  This is akin to Google walking down the street with a recorder listening to everyone SHOUTING.

The moral of this is to lock down your wireless network.  The really scary thing for those affected is that even a light-weight hacker could do all kinds of damage to a computer on an open wi-fi network.  In fact, most could do a few things that could be criminally damaging and put someone in jail for years..  The manufacturers of most of the wireless access point or wireless router devices have done a darn good job of making it easy to set encryption on their devices.  The last three I've had any experience with (all from different manufacturers, Apple, Linksys, and Netgear) have idiot-proof instructions.

Thoughts on Flash...and Apple

Wow.  St. Stephen blasts Adobe with a load of arrogance that even Steve Ballmer can't manage.

I wanted to take this opportunity to post my thoughts on all of this.

First there's open.  Apple isn't really open.  Heck, I can't (legally) take my legally-purchased copy of OSX Snow Leopard and put it on anything except a Mac.  If I had an iPhone or an iPad, I'd be limited to the software that they say is okay, not anything I damn well please (like I can with my Blackberry Storm and I hear Android users can do).

Second, there's the full web.  Yeah, I know.  I consume it every day.  I play Flash-based Facebook games.  I view Flash-based videos.  I've tried playing some Flash-based videos on my Blackberry (which also doesn't support Flash...yet).  There's more to say here.  75% of the web's video is in H.264, but it seems that a lot of the videos I want to see are in Flash.  I also don't give a damn that there are thousands of games in the iTunes App Store when the ones I care about are on Facebook.

Third, there's reliability, scalability, and performance.

I don't know what to write here that St. Stephen hasn't already.  Flash is the number one reason that Macs crash.  My work PC doesn't have the same problem.  So why is it that after years of Flash performing poorly and crashing on Macs has NOBODY DONE ANYTHING ABOUT IT?

I'm not going to go on.

Here's the deal, and I think 99% of computer users feel the same way I do.  I want a computer that works and "just works" every time.  I want Flash to work, Facebook to work, I want to install things myself and I don't want to be limited to what Big Brother says I can install.  I know with such great power comes great responsibility, but I also expect that the OS vendor will keep up with security updates to components in their operating system.

My next computer is looking like a PC.  God, I hate to type that, but Ubuntu is looking really cool over Parallels...probably a lot cooler on dedicated hardware.

Sour Grapes Alert: The Macalope Weekly Special Edition: Fools of the Year

I'm spending a small part of my Sunday catching up on blogs, and one of them was the "Fools of the Year" from the Macalope.

I have no issues with them ripping on Wall Street "Reporters" that THINK they know computers.  They spread more misinformation than the National Enquirer.  What I DO have issues with is them bashing those that have bashed the iPad.  I know all of them of them deserve their spot on the list for many other reasons.  But seriously, ripping on a product that has the specs to fall short of expectations before it comes out is a problem?  Heck, if Dell started promoting their next new thing - and it has a Pentium 4, every computer "reporter" would be ripping that apart!  Why, then, should the iPad be exempt?  For the price tag, you're not getting much.  However, add a few hundred GB of storage (so you could store a few DVDs, eBooks, a large iTunes library, and pictures), add an SD card slot and a CF card slot (keeping in mind that the stock version of Preview can read many digital camera raw formats in addition to JPEGs), and now you have a device worth drooling over!

The other thing, is Apple needs to get OUT of bed with AT&T.  They need to NOT be in bed with any wireless carrier.  Some of us live in places where AT&Ts coverage stinks, and problems have been well documented in New York City (I've also seen other reported problems in Tampa and have heard hit-and-miss reports in Cincinnati).

So, Macalope, please stop bashing people for bashing unreleased products based on specs.  I'm sure you've done it too, and I know you'd do it in a heartbeat to something Windows-related, since you appear to be more fanboy than semi-unbiased reporter.

The Macalope Weekly Special Edition: Fools of the Year | Computers | MacUser | Macworld.

How I Fixed my MacBook Pro

Last Christmas, my loving wife gave me a copy of Snow Leopard.  After upgrading, my computer started running so slow that it was pathetic.  My hard drive died, and I thought that maybe that was the issue.

It wasn't.

I started surfing through the forums on 9to5Mac and Apple Support Discussions and found very little that I liked, most of it blaming coreaudiod (the core audio services).  I had tried defragging my hard drive before I had to replace it, and I wasn't satisfied with the results.

So, I tried a few things.  First off, I reset the SMC controller (on my MBP, you do that by shutting down the computer, unplugging it and removing the battery, and holding down the power button for 5 seconds).

Then, I booted up, shut down, and reset the NVRAM (on my MBP, you do that by starting up and holding the control+option+P+R keys and holding them down until the second startup sound).

It certainly feels faster.  Time will tell if this is a real fix.

The Next Steps

I a going to boot from my SL CD and Repair Permissions and Verify Disk.  Since I'm fearful that this could have had something to do with my last hard drive's death (although I think my fears should be unfounded), I am going to make sure I'm backed up first.

The 64 Bit Lie

The big issue I have is that my computer supposedly won't support 64 bit.  Until today, I was unaware that I had 32-bit EFI (firmware).  I'm somewhat annoyed by that, since I'm pretty sure a Core 2 Duo is a 64-bit processor.  It seems to me that Apple was a bit short-sighted when they did that.

Facebook Blamed For Rise In Syphilis

I once again have to side with TechCrunch on this one.  Facebook does not cause a rise in Syphilis.  The correlation of the two is likely a result of a two factors - how connected we are and how common sex is.

Remember when telephones had cords and were attached to walls?  Remember when the Internet was only for geeks and the DoD?  Now, everyone has a cell phone.  Many of those (just about everyone who is young) has a smartphone or messaging phone.  Facebook has become a catalyst to message people and to connect with family, friends, coworkers, etc.  We are so much more connected than 10 years ago.

The sex thing... well, just watch a few movies from now (I'm thinking along the lines of American Pie) and compare to Short Circuit or My Science Project...

The link: Facebook Blamed For Rise In Syphilis.

The Problem with the iPhone App Store

It has been all over the news about the apps that are removed (or denied access to) the Apple App Store.  Porn has been a big deal, as has been fart apps.  Every time it happens, someone has to bring up that the Apple App Store is a private store and they can do as they please.

The problem isn't what Apple is doing by removing or denying, it is that there is no other alternative.

Think about grocery stores.  If you go through one with your young child and it prominently displays porn right when you walk in the door, you're likely not going to return (with your child, at least), are you?  You would go to a different grocery store.  Depending on your values, you may NEVER return to that store, or you may return only when you don't have your young child.  Heck, if you have certain values, you may return (likely without your child), and buy some of it.

That scenario above is exactly why the Apple App Store should NOT be the only store.  iPhone users should have the power to choose a different store if they want a different selection.

Will it happen?  No, of course not.  Apple wants the profits from the App Store.  They want control over the iPhone.  Unfortunately, people aren't voting with their dollars on this one.

Uneducated Journalism: Why Apple's Porn Purge of Sex-Themed Apps isn't a Smart Move (ABC News)

This is the epitome of uneducated journalism and pandering to stupidity.

First off, the uneducated part.  Evidently the author hasn't read around at the thousands of news articles discussing apps that were removed from the App Store that were not used to deliver porn, but to, say, sell swimsuits.  The author also didn't look at another article from the same magazine, PC World, that brings up the fact that Sports Illustrated and Playboy are still available as apps in the app store.  If Playboy isn't within their criteria of "sex-themed", then I would question what criteria they are using.

Second off, the pandering to stupidity.  Sometimes people must understand that in the wild world of life and the Internet, there is going to be porn and smut.  It isn't Apple's job to police that, mostly because everyone's values are different.  Apple SHOULD compartment questionable apps, like Playboy and the SI Swimsuit edition (perhaps by using age controls and a special section of the app store).

I know the big argument to this is "Apple is hosting the App Store and therefore can control what's in it".  That argument has a few flaws which I will discuss in a future post.

Why I Carry a Blackberry and NOT an iPhone

This is pathetic.  Apple must sell to absolute "prudes" to call simplybeach.com's bikini pictures "overtly sexual".

I carry a Blackberry because I don't want Stevie controlling what I put on MY phone.

Link to full story: AppleInsider | Swimwear seller hit by Apple's removal of 'sexual' apps.

Software Development: On Testing and Comparing to Old Versions

One of my major tasks at work has been porting our old Fortran based distribution and mode choice software to Cube Voyager.  During this process, I have been testing and re-testing to ensure that my results from Voyager match the results that came out of Fortran.

The reason I am continually testing to match is because despite being old and having some bugs that I've had to fix, the mode choice process is technically sound.  If I started from scratch, I probably would not have done something nearly as in-depth as this.

One of the other tasks I've done was a new transit model.  Our old transit network, skimming, and loading models were in TranPlan, which is way old and outdated.  While programming the Voyager upgrade, I did settings and parameters to get things in the range of the what was coming out of the old TranPlan model.  This means that when I actually get the new mode choice ready, I should be close to still having a calibrated model (not! and why in a paragraph!).

The experience with the new mode choice and distribution has enabled me to find bugs in the old mode choice and distribution software.  The bugs include:

• Incorrect file reading format


• Failure to reset certain variables to zero causing transit trips to be assigned when there is technically no transit available


• Potentially incorrect script to calculate auto operating cost in park-n-ride and kiss-n-ride situations

That "not!" from above has to do with that very first bullet.  There was an extra field in the read script causing a fixed file format input of:

ZONE    HH1    HH2    HH3    HH4
  10     33    147    301    132

To be read as:

ZONE    HH1    HH2    HH3    HH4
  10   33.1   47.3    1.1     32

This caused transit trips to drop by about 25%.  Re-calibration, here I come!

Tags: cube, voyager, fortran, programming, software, testing

Google Buzz... Good or Bad?

I've been reading a lot about Google Buzz.  I've heard more than I've tried, but it sounds like a replacement for Twitter, just integrated with GMail.

I haven't considered using it.  I just dropped MySpace (which is crap anyway), and I am active on Facebook and Twitter, and semi-active on LinkedIn and Flickr.

My concern with it is that based on some posts on Lifehacker (see this post and this post)that the security settings are difficult and not always intuitive - there was a post that likened Buzz to a megaphone.  Reading the comments, it sounds like Buzz is doing some stuff that it shouldn't (posting tweets in conversations)... the comments on the two posts are quite interesting and worth a read as much as the articles.

Me?  I'm not passing judgement, but I've turned it off.

Turning off Buzz: log into GMail, scroll to the bottom, and click on the link in dinky print that says "turn off buzz".

"Geek Chic" for the home: IP PBX

I've been thinking about what is really cool and what is really a fad in computing. Fad = iPad.  Cool = IP PBX, especially if you have a new house.

Consider this, particularly if you have purchased a home built in the last few years.  Most low-voltage wiring companies (Guardian, for example) run only two types of wire, RG-6 and CAT-5.  I personally think it has something with the (lack of) intelligence of their hiring pool, but that's another issue altogether.  However, with all the phone lines being run as CAT-5 cable, you can easily replace the phone jacks with network jacks, and you can purchase IP phones for about $100 each.  The PBX, normally the expensive part of the equation, can be done with a halfway (only halfway by modern standards) machine running Asterisk open source IP PBX.  Heck, just about any geek has an extra computer collecting dust somewhere.

Imagine how much geek envy your friends would have when their calls are routed via an auto-attendant to the proper ring or phone, and when your spouse transfers their call to another phone.

iPad = Crap

I wasn't going to do it, but I will.  I think the iPad is crap.

No Storage

Looking at how much of my hard drive is devoted to my iTunes Library (40 GB) and thinking about what I would actually do with something that I don't have to squint to look at, I would want more.  More Movies, probably.  More 1.5 GB movies, likely (I looked at the three movies I've ripped to my hard drive, and they range from 1.3 to 1.67 GB).  I could run out of space on even the 64 GB (most storage) model pretty quickly.  So why, then would I buy something with such limited storage?  Hell, I can get an iPod with 160 GB of storage!  Why can't I even get half of that on the iPad?

Unreplaceable Battery

Why does Apple keep creating products that have batteries that are damn near impossible to change?  Does Stevie really expect us to buy more stuff when the batteries go bad?  This is probably going to be like the iPod and the Mac Mini that are extremely difficult to open?

App Store?

I'm guessing that most apps on the app store were written with the iPhone and iPod Touch in mind.  That being said, why then, would I want an app designed for a screen that is something like 1.5"x3" on anything larger than maybe 2"x4"?  Heck, FB for Blackberry is great... ON MY BLACKBERRY!  It would completely suck on my MacBook Pro.  This "feature" isn't one at all - it basically says that there are no apps for this thing (other than a few that Apple brought out) and it isn't going to get better for a while (if it ever does).

No Card Reader?

When I heard that Stevie was showing photos in the media event, I figured that he would have the wherewithal to put a minimum of a CF and a SD card slot on the thing.  Guess I was wrong.  Not even a USB port for those that have their camera cable.

My Expectations

I EXPECTED an Apple tablet to be similar in form (but with a reasonably easy to replace battery) running a special version of Snow Leopard that would allow me to run programs like Safari, Mail, iPhoto, iMovie, Quicktime+iTunes, iCal, Address Book, and iWork.  I EXPECTED something that would have plenty of storage for all my music, movies, and pictures.  I'm not expecting something that could run Parallels, or have a Terminal interface... basically not a desktop replacement, but something better than an overpriced e-book reader.

Word Cannot Exit

I've heard of software unexpectedly closing.  I've never heard of software that, due to an error, cannot close.

Windows Blocked Files

This one comes with a story.  I downloaded a file from the US Census Bureau at work.  I tried a few ways to unzip the file, but kept getting the error below:



However, when following the instructions to unblock the file, it doesn't work.  I ultimately copied the file over to my trusty MacBook Pro and tried (by double-clicking on it), to no avail.  Then, I opened up Terminal (which has its own space on the dock on my Mac), and unzipped it with a minor complaint.  After this, I talked to our IT consultant, who also tried to unblock the file, and while he could get the instructions, he did not have an unblock button (which wouldn't have worked).

Vista...

While You're Installing Crap, Install More Crap!

Network ACCESS Interrupted?

This one was new to me with Access 2007...

IE 7 isn't later than IE 5?

I tried to get updates from Windows Update after upgrading to IE 7.  Just as much of a mistake as using FireFox.

This was made a while back, I just haven't got around to uploading it until now.

10.6 falsely reports service battery? ... POSSIBLY!

Ref: 10.6 falsely reports service battery? ... I think not.

This is another example of piss-poor tech writing.  This retard author tries to claim that there is no way that Snow Leopard can cause battery problems.  There is proof on the Apple discussion thread that he could be incorrect, and even in my case, with my 3-year-old MacBook Pro with a 14-month-old battery, it appears that those that claim that Snow Leopard could be causing battery problems may be on the right track.

Consider this:

15 minutes ago, I checked Coconut Battery against System Profiler.  They match.  I'm only bringing this up to establish that Coconut Battery reads correctly.

Then, I read the life in Coconut Battery... 37% (2087 mAh)

Then, I shut down the computer, reset the SMC, and re-read the battery... 41% (2287 mAh).

Proof:



Now, if the battery was indeed going bad, I shouldn't have gained an extra 200 mAh by just resetting the SMC.  A bad battery is a bad battery, and its capacity would continue to decline.

That being said, I'm not pleased at all with the quality of Apple Laptop Batteries.  The battery currently in my computer was acquired around 2008-11-12.  In the 1 year and 2 months since then, the capacity has dropped from 95% to 41% (or 37%, hell, I don't know anymore).  Who knows, maybe Snow Leopard EXACERBATES an existing battery problem.  Maybe it CAUSES a new battery problem.  Regardless, the 48 pages of comments on Apple's own discussion forum are probably a lot more than what happened after Tiger and Leopard were released, and since the last comment was today, I'm willing to guess that there is a problem in both the batteries and in Snow Leopard.  We should expect 3 years or so out of a battery, not a >50% loss of capacity after 1 year.

As I was writing this, I saw my remaining time jump from 40-something minutes to an hour.  Maybe Snow Leopard isn't eating the battery, but it certainly is confused by mine, and probably many others.



Cupertino, we have a problem.

Getting back to the reason for writing this, 10.6 Falsely Reports Service Battery?  I think so!  Whatever is going on, SL is obviously not doing something right.  I imagine that it isn't eating the batteries (as is suggested by some of the posts on Apple's discussion board), but it definitely is flawed in the reporting of the information.  I don't buy the thought that it was intentional by Apple to do something to cause batteries to go out to get more revenues from batteries.  I imagine that there is some very questionable manufacturing (after all, these are Sony batteries, which have been known to catch fire in Dells) and that SL can't read it right.  Probably a combination of the two.