The Mac and BIOS

It seems that there is a lot of nonsense on the Internet regarding this subject. At the end of the day it makes no odds whether the system or method that Apple use to determine the way that Mac computers boot is a System BIOS or a EFI.

It could be stated that the reason that Macs can be used with an operating system other than OSX is that Apple had moved to Intel microprocessors and an EFI but it can also be stated that pc manufacturers have also moved to an EFI framework for the BIOS used in non-Mac computers.

To this end it remains that this is largely semantics and it really makes no difference to the efforts of those that want to run an alternate operating system on ether of the two hardware platforms.
The quest to run OSX on non-Apple hardware continues and the endless thread of questions from those that are having problems in getting Boot Camp to run Windows on their Macs continues.

Whether Boot Camp Assistant is a just a partition tool and not much else, whether there are better tools and why some seem to continue to have problems in getting it to work are all continuing in 2011.
The installation of a Hackintosh or the booting of OSX on ANY hardware revolves around the requirement for a bootable media for the operating system used for the initial setup is the issue at hand NOT the settings of the hardware (EFI/BIOS) - setting the SATA Type to AHCI for example.
Even the Lifehacker instructions detail the preparation of a thumb drive to boot the hardware into OSX and then subsequently install OSX onto the computers hard drive. The converse of this is Boot Camp where a Windows (or other OS) partition is created on the Mac computer and then there is an option to install that alternate operating system. In the second case, Boot Camp, the process that installs Windows (for example) is the Windows installer NOT anything supplied by Boot Camp.

In both cases, the installation of a Hackintosh on Windows hardware and the installation of Windows on Apple hardware, there may be changes made to the EFI settings but these are largely hidden from the user.

The final analysis of all of this is that you are better off buying a Mac if you want to run OSX - but then I have a different assessment of the time value of money.

Go to the Cloud

What the ____ does that mean?

MS have no clue what "the Cloud" is - I am not sure that I do!

This was in reaction to an ad seen on Channel 4 for Microsoft - seems like they are using the term "cloud" just so they can and so that it is fixed in the minds of "dumb" consumers.

I can't really see the significance of "the cloud" when it comes to sorting and editing photographs to post on your Facebook page. Nothing has really changed, apart from the usage of the word "cloud". Your interaction with on-line services such as social networking sites has always been "cloud" based.

I guess Microsoft want their customer base to be familiar with the term "cloud" before they make even big a deal about it. Perhaps they are worried about loosing market share to the likes of Google. Hotmail and GMail have always been "cloud".

Firesheep

Firesheep - a Firefox extension

Supposedly Firesheep can be used to monitor Wi-Fi traffic on public hotspots. There was November/December 2010 press coverage of this.

I have my suspicions that the coverage of Firesheep is a gigantic FUD campaign run by Ian and Eric to get people to use them as security consultants. They are participants in the Hackers Conferences (ShmooCon etc.).

• Facebook wants to be your Internet ID Card  - Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols ZDNet January 18, 2011
• The Shmoo Group
• Codebutler website -  run by Ian Gallagher and Eric Butler  - neg9.org
• Slides from Toorcon 12 Talk - see an example above

ShopWiki still ignores robots.txt

I seem to remember that this was a problem before (Oct/Nov 2006) that went away after putting the appropriate entry in robots.txt - this is what the ShopWiki help for webmasters suggests.

However, they seem to be ignoring the robots file again!

I have placed a Rewrite condition and rule in my server config. Let's see if that works - I won't publish what I did until I confirm that it works - there is more than enough of this on the Internet as it is!

Thank you BBC

• System pages on The Technology Muse
• iPlayer Pages
• DRM and Circumvention
• get_iplayer pages

Thank you BBC in changing the way that you handle the iPhone and related Apple products w.r.t. iPlayer you have uncovered a much better tool. A tool that is built using the same OSS technologies that iPlayer and Adobe AIR use to supply your content in a manner that you consider legitimate. As get_iplayer is built using the same core technologies as iPlayer it is not likely to get broken in the same way as Po-Ru's ipdl.

Po-Ru may well fix his excellent downloader but it seems that get_iplayer is a far more useful, but more complicated, tool. Once again the industry that is taking strides to protect its "intellectual Property" (please note the quotes) has shot itself in the foot.

While I can understand Phil Lewis' stance on continuing the development of get_iPlayer (LinuxCenter.net) [there could be a potential of consultancy there], we should all support David Woodhouse and the crew at infradead.org for taking over the fork.

Ian Hunter of the BBC is right to be concerned that non-iPlayer apps and devices that break their "rules - for example, by storing programmes beyond the 30 day limit, or playing them outside the UK."

Downloading 4OD

The use of the RTMPDump library for downloading media streams

I am currently working on this. If you have a solution or anything to add to this project please feel free to comment.

Using NAS for Media Server

So far I have 4T of storage space on line (locally) and I am working on methods to populate the drives in a timely manner.



Using "drag and drop" from Windows Explorer or even ftp is just too slow to populate the drives. A test was made in an attempt in transferring around 400M of audio media. The transfer ran overnight but had to be terminated the next morning as only a little over 100M had transferred.

A bulk transfer was made using an external USB drive cradle attached to a Linux computer. The contents of my 1.5T Television drive were transferred to the NAS pre-formatted drive (ext2). On returning the drive to the D-Link NAS the file permissions needed to be configured so that the media can be accessed on the network.

There are no plans is making this media available for access via the Internet, but it is possible. This would create a DRM nightmare as ALL my media has had the DRM removed. Besides, the bandwidth required would be far more than I want to contemplate.

Using .htaccess for password control of Internet resources

Assigning passwords to protect directories on the servers used by tempusfugit.ca

    .htaccess and .htpasswrd files in the protected directories

The directories as protected by making the appropriate entry in the .conf file for the VirtualSite in question.

  
Directory "/path_to_directory/restricted_directory"

     AllowOverride All

/Directory

Note that the tag delimiters have been removed from the Directory Tag

The contents of .htaccess:

  AuthName "A Dark and Secret Place"
  AuthType basic

  AuthUserFile /path_to_directory/restricted_directory/.htpasswd
  require valid-user

 

The text specified in AuthName is what is displayed in the login dialog below:

Installing and using Apache on a home-based website

The easiest way to do this is to use Ubuntu - Apache 2 comes pre-installed it is only a matter of configuration.

Methods of mitigation of IPv4 address exhaustion

• IPv6 and the migration from IPv4 on The Technology Muse

Is the appearance of log entries of the form:
crawl-66-249-65-10.googlebot.com - - [08/Dec/2010:12:43:59 -0500] "GET /techwatch.ca/....

an indication of mitigation effort for the address exhaustion of IPv4 or is this a general change for the migration to IPv6?

Previously crawls from Googlebot were of the form: 66.249.65.10

I still have entries in my logs that are of the IPv4 quads of 00-FF (000-255)

Update: May 2012

The server log entries when I last looked were pretty much spilt between IPv4 addresses and host names for the originating servers. It is my theory that the Host Server Name will be the identifier when IPv6 is fully inplemented. This is because the new breed of Router/Gateway is capable of addressing the host assocaited with the MAC address of the device connected to the Internet.

I addition the Residential Gateway and the Terado Tunneling adapter, if used by your ISP, can determine the local LAN address of the devices connected to that device. When IPv6 is fully implemented the individual device will be addressed - NOT the router or Gateway.

• Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMPv6) for the Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) Specification
• How your individual device can be identified on the Internet
• IPv6 and Windows 7

Panda Technologies

Where the fuck these these people come from?
"Cloud Solutions" indeed!

Seem  to capitalize on "cloud" buzz - seem to like to use terms such as:

• Genetic Heuristic Engine
• Collective Intelligence
• Behavioral blocking and analysis
• Proactive technologies and Antimalware.

Do people buy into the hype-crap? Sounds like their marketing department has swallowed the "cloud" dictionary and thesaurus!

get_iplayer for Windows

How to install and configure get_iplayer on a Windows computer.

• Main page for get_iplayer on The Technology Muse
• iPlayer pages

How to compile and modify the Linux code for get_iplayer

The main problem with the maintenance of get_iplayer is that it is a Linux based project. The Windows support and maintenance is an after thought.

The consequence of which is that when get_iplayer fails due to to changes made by the BBC, January and July 2011, the fixes for Windows users are not published on the infradead.org website. This along with comments about there being nobody willing to "step up to the plate" to maintain the Windows install.

While I am capable of doing this, in fact I could even maintain a Mac version if I put my mind to it.

I have a working Windows solution and do not see the need pursue the Windows option any further. I run multiple Linux computers but find that most of my work requires me to use Windows and the majority of those that would like to download BBC programming will also be Windows users. The Linux community is such that the dislike of Windows over-rides the desire to come up with timely Windows solutions. It is an "elitist" thing. (IMO)

It would appear that there are people of "the list" community that are capable of compiling new Windows executables but the administration  of the install process is up-in-the-air.  I installed a patched version of the RTMPDump program in my get_iplayer v2.79 Windows install and confirm that it works

I am presuming that there will be a v2.8 that will contain this new version of FLVStreamer. In the meantime I will work on my Linux implementation.

Generating a Windows executable for FLVStreamer

It seems that it would be more involved to generate a Windows version of the RTMPDump program. The souce was originally developed in a Linux environment and to completely rewrite it would be impractical if not impossible as the standard adopted by the BBC and others has probably become very "highly tuned".

The version of RTMPDump used by the main Windows distribution of get_iplayer is capable of CRYPTO support. As far as I can see the CRYPTO functions are not used by the BBC at the present time, although this could be the case in the future. To generate a Windows executable with CRYPTO support would require access to the CRYPTO libraries (I have found a license for such a library but the license starts at €2,750!)

get_iplayer Links:

• Download a Windows Installer for get_iplayer
• SWF & get_iplayer research links
• RTMPDump 2.4  - an alternative to the FLVStreamer that I use
• MinGW 0.3-alpha-2 - Minimalist GNU for Windows  - MinGW provides a complete Open Source programming tool set which is suitable for the development of native MS-Windows applications,  and which do not depend on any 3rd-party C-Runtime DLLs.
• GCC 4.5.2 - the GNU Compiler Collection
• PolarSSL 0.14.3 - PolarSSL library - Crypto and SSL made easy - this has an expensive license, it is not known whether you need this to rebuild the RTMPDump program
• crypto(3) - The OpenSSL crypto library

The Daz Loader

Tips and findings using the Windows Activation Loader by Daz

Links:

• Windows Activation on The Technology Muse
• All Windows pages
• My Digital Life forum on using the Daz Loader for Windows 7
• Whether to use The Daz loader or RemoveWAT
  

AMD Accelerated Processor Unit - APU

What an APU is and how it compares to a CPU and an associated GPU

Why do Internet users want to Block Google Analytics

This page is a recap of the usage of Google Analytics, how it has helped in the development of my website and the apparent misunderstanding of those that seem to want to block its access?

When a visitors accesses this website a Javascript on the page records some details of the visit. These details are used to determine the desires of the visitor. Changes are made accordingly.

Some posters on forums seem to feel that this is an invasion of their privacy. This is mainly due to the lack of understanding about the information that is collected and made available to the website owner. What information Google retain and extract from this venture is another matter.

There seems to be a deep distrust of Google

RSHTML - Really Simple HTML

The majority of my pages on my website was to follow a coding schema that I call RSHTML or "Really Simple HTML". The reasons for this are many-fold.

• It was quick to "cobble" a page together.
• Search Engines will know where to find things.
• There are many web developers out there that are much better at the fancy stuff than me!
• For what I want to achieve I don't need to overcomplicate things.

Apart from a few bits of JavaScript, most notably the code to display the modification date of the page, the code comprises of only a few tags:

• The obvious HTML HEADER TITLE and BODY tags
• <  p > and  < /p > paragraph tags
• <Hx> Heading tags
• <a> and </a> Anchors (HyperLinks)
• and line breaks <br>

Word is out about AVG Free

"It is getting too naggy"

The link

IPv6 and Windows 7

Yes it is featured in Windows 7 (IPv6 that is) but it is not yet implemented as far as the "Outside World" is concerned. - or is it?

The effects of the existence of ipv6 on the operation of services such as BTGuard are irrelevant. (with respect to un-checking it or disabling IPv6 Connectivity)

For those of you who use BTGuard and have still been caught I suggest you check into that, as IPv6 can still attach or embed your true IP address in outgoing packets.

What???? Who says that anyone has been caught?


All I can say is that the monitoring of server logs in the days when IPv6 is the norm will be a lot of fun. Most "governing" and "surveilling" agencies have a tough enough time with IPv4.

And, who can make such dogmatic statements as the IPv6 is a reason for something working or not? It looks suspicious to me so the original post has been removed (from the TorrentFreak forum). I do not need to provide a platform for such nonsense - I can provide that myself! (and only I can remove/edit posts etc that do not tow the company line).

Links:

• All about IPv6 and its effects on your anonymity on this blog 

VirtualBox

In my experiments with Windows 7 and XP-Mode I came across virtualization.

Windows Home Server - compared to a Linux server with Samba shares

I started a page (on my website - www.tempusfugit.ca) on this before - but couldn't see the need when it is so easy to configure a Ubuntu server.

Quote from Ed Bott's ZDNet posting:

As a product, it has built a passionate user base, filled with enthusiasts who have pushed the platform to its limits. As a business, though, Windows Home Server has been a dud, never really breaking out beyond its enthusiast base.

Links:

• How Microsoft can clean up the mess in its home and small business server business - Ed Bott, ZDNet  November 30, 2010
• The Drive Extender Problem - Was dropped from WHS November 2010 - "Has Microsoft just ruined Windows Home Server?" arstechnica.com, Peter Bright
• Vail - HP drops Windows Home Server "Vail" - Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, ZDNet December 1, 2010
• WHS-Vail-Beta-D-Day-Arrives-Tomorrow Posted @ 3/14/2011 12:41 PM By Paul Thurrott winsupersite

AMD Catalyst Control Center

This utility appears to be installed on computers that have AMD APUs.

The application shown above is seen when you select the CCC menu option and it allows you to set the advanced display options and to set profiles.

It would appear that there are automatic "recovery" profiles that get set when internal diagnostics detect that there is a potential problem with the graphics system.

Links:

• The AMD Fusion Utility

AVG finally shoots itself in the foot

• A-V on the Technology Muse

 
What with all the nonsense about "Needing to update my Anti Virus Software" and the offers of ancillary products when I do. I finally decided to give MS Security Essentials a try out.

AVG 2011 Free Edition is just too much of a pain! Final straw was the constant placing of an icon on my desktop(s)**** - trivial I know! but it is just one of the annoyances that have been bugging me of late with them.

**** I run multiple computers with Windows on them and have been installing AVG Free on them as a matter of course. Although no fan of Microsoft I think that I will be switching over to their free A-V offering. Ubuntu Linux is the preferred solution, but in instances where I have to use Windows I may as well keep it as "pure" as possible.

SLAPP - Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation

An acronym coined by Penelope Canan and George W. Pring, University of Denver.  Describing the bully-boy" tactic to silence critics by using the legal system.

What the WikiP page on SLAPP says:

A strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) is a lawsuit that is intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition

I am not sure where the following quote was from, but it is related to blogging and the Internet:

......... if in your blogging you make a false statement, it is just that. So, just report things that you are know are true, or say that what you are saying is just conjecture.

A lot of what I blog about is speculation (conjecture)

Downloading from P2P could be construed as an action that a SLAPP be launched. Organizations such as EFF are likely to claim that such cases are examples of SLAPP. Those that are against this sort of legal activity are those that are the apologists (i.e. The Electronic Frontier Foundation), those that launch these suits are likley to be the copyright holders.

File recovery from RRBackups data files

This post is a review of the procedures detailed previously in describing RR&R and the utilities RRUTILS.exe and IBMRRUTIL.exe

Links:

• RRUTILS.exe  - The utility that can be used to recover data and manage the RRBACKUPS files and directories.
• Other pages on this blog relating to RRBACKUPS

Bin Selection for low TDP

This is the selection of processors for low power consumption.

This all started when researching whether a 95W processor would be a problem on a motherboard that had a recommendation of 65W.

The jury seems to be out on whether the 95W processor will be too much for the Zotec GF8200 C E motherboard - but it does highlight a number of points.

The TDP is a "nominal" or a maximum value for the specified processor (it is likely that your processor will consume less power and processors can be selected from production runs for units that exhibit low power  consumption)

These processors can be sold at a premium or they can get re-branded as low TDP devices. Due to the nature of how Intel and AMD market their products it is not clear how this manifests itself. Those at review sites, such as Anandtech, can speculate on this - but it will probably remain unknown to the
exact state of affairs.

In any case, it is probably true that processors that have a lower TDP are not necessarily better capable to be overclocked. This seems to be the #1concern of the "fanboys" on review sites.

NemesisChild On an AMD forum says: "Do your research!" - he also went on to talk about MOSFETS (only I don't really think that he knew what a MOSFET was! (apart from the fact that he/she may have read/been told that they are the transistors that provide power control to the processor)

GF8200-C-E with Phenom X3 8750 (95w TDP) 65w motherboard with 95w CPU - this is the board I want to use a 95W on ---- here one person responds with a list of approved processors that says you can't use anything higher than 65w, but then it looks like a Zotac moderator says you can:

Any processor compatible with any AM2+ board should run fine. A BIOS update may be needed to recognize the name of processors released after the most most recent BIOS.

---

Bin selection does not just affect the TDP but all specs:

Scroogle

How to search the Internet and not let Google know what you are searching for and where located.

    As you can see below it does not stop anyone seeing your IP address and what you are searching for.

There is an entry on WikiP for Scroogle - they (whoever made the entry) are not that impressed with them either!

I use Google Analytics, but not for the sinister goals that Scroogle are trying to circumvent. I do see where they are going with their thoughts, however.

While the visits are somewhat anonymous when a visitor arrives on this site an entry appears in my server log:

216.26.214.81 - - [19/Nov/2007:13:50:08 -0500] "GET /nov_exp.html HTTP/1.1"  200 20098              ____/ /www.scroogle.org/cgi-bin/nbbw.cgi"  "Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U;  Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.8.1.9) Gecko/20071111 Firefox/2.0.0.9"

The fact that the visitor was a Linux user and they visited the nov_exp page tells me what I need to know about the visitor. The content of the page nov_exp is likely to be concerned with XP drivers for a wireless notebook.

Actually, Scroogle was probably the Linux user. The IP was probably not the originator of the search but, nevertheless, the visit was registered.


This was the first time that the string: "www.scroogle.org/cgi-bin/nbbw.cgi" was seen


The "scrapper" is available to webmasters - but there may be a little bit of hypocrisy going on here?

 One of the benefits is that you can ensure that your employer cannot track your Internet searches as the search string is masked by the browser extension. Which, presumably has to be installed on the browsers computer. (April 2011 - not sure what I meant here when I first wrote this page - Nov 2007)

The way that it is approached it is if there is something really sinister with the way that Google collect information and what their intentions are. The fact that cookies are set - something the majority of websites do - and information is gathered - such as the users IP and the search string (keywords). This information doesn't have to be used for nefarious means. In fact it can be used to make your surfing experience better.

I am a totally commercial-free website - I use Google Analytics to track visits to this site. I know what I can and can't do with the information that Google collects for me. In fact, I would be surprised if they are even interested in the information that I monitor. As far as a Machiavellian plat with big business is concerned - I consider it a nonsense.

I do not use Adsense, in fact I think that it is a waste of time! The fact that Scroogle post such as the shot below is an indication that they are clueless.

If you wanted to stop Google tracking you, yes, you could turn off JavaScript but that would not stop the Adsense ads from polluting your screen.

• Scroogle home page
• Microsoft bans Scroogle  - from theregister.co.uk

btguard update virtual machine stack overflow

I (formerly ****) discuss(ed) this issue on www.tempusfugit.ca on my page on Immutable Virtual Machines

I have seen various queries regarding this:

East Providence - btguard updates virtual machine stack overflow
Houston - btguards update virtual machine stack overflow
Basingstoke - btguard virtual machine stack overflow
San Jose - virtual machine stack overflow btguard

I am not sure if this is systemic.

**** Update May 18th 2012

Thank you to the visitor from Ottawa I am now migrating the information that was hosted on my website to this blog.

I will make a post for Immutable Virtual Machines here and expand on my theories regarding the use such VMs and the possible causes of this error being reported.

AMD Fusion

This utility is used on Asus and other computers with AMD APUs to control the performance of the processor. It can be used to overclock and overclock APUs such as the AMD E-450.

The AMD Fusion Utility Recovery

This seems to be a function that is hidden from general usage. My 2nd AO522 has the options to control the display modes using AMD Catalyst Control Center (CCC), but I seem to have blown them away from my 1st.

Still, the AMD recovery functionality still seems to work.

Changing your company name

Why would a company want to change its name?

Google changed its name from Backrub to Google in 1997/1998

Other companies that have changed their names:

• See .famousnamechanges.net for a list of corporations
• OneWorldSafeDisk changed to Core Data Recovery.

Lamnia VPN

Please see review on tempusfugit.ca

See The Technology Muse on the Lamnia website

The post that is quoted on the Lamnia site - Tor iPlayer Access

The first attempt at Intimidation by Wayne McAlpine

This is the first bout of intimidation from Wayne McAlpine when he thought that I was an employee of an auto shop. 31 Oct - Mid-Nov 2010

So we stop or play more games you will not like my games

Replay or  we play up to you --- sent from admin@obd-trouble-codes.com - I guess he meant REPLY
He seemed to have taken exception was taken to what I observed as an "unsafe web form"

Some links that were both sent to me and placed on a website set-up by Wayne to impersonate an Auto Shop.

• http://postautotips.com/ - this is where Wayne posted the Fake Domain Link.
• is this your experience like this ?? at Fred Emslie And Sons Limited (the Fake Domain)
• http://wimp.com/lubeinvestigated/ - Video
• http://www.wheels.ca/article/794926 
• http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20110408/w5-the-mechanic-110409/ 
• http://www.perfspot.com/profile.asp?uid=0CD82C66-B74B-41AE-9ECE-F338DDE583B6  4 Jan 2011 

The links above were sent by email to me at rcmp-are-comming@tempusfugit.ca   - interesting spelling of coming

This is clearly a case of intended intimidation. Wayne McAlpine went to the trouble of registering a Domain name in name of the company that he thought that I worked for. (This is clearly in Google's list of things that they see as a violation of their Terms of Service). The domain registration was so that Wayne could post the links shown above.

• WhoIs www.tempusfugit.ca
• Second attempt at intimidation by Wayne McAlpine 
• Santa Clara visits
• When someone makes a complaint to Google

If you are reading this from Santa Clara (Mountainview?) I hope thatyou can see the folly of this man.

How many times do I have deleted the AVG icon?`

Seems like every time boot my computer it is back!

I DON'T WANT THE ICON ON MY DESKTOP! Why do they insist on putting there every time they do an update?

I also don't want to "Speed up my computer" or "Analyze it"

• All A-V posts on The Technology Muse

Immutable Virtual Machine

Running Torrenting and IP obfuscation software in a Virtual Machine. 

The theory here is that you create a Virtual Machine (computer) that is a new computer every time it is created and if it is corrupted no damage is done to the host computer when the VM is running. If the VM becomes corrupted, due to the files that are downloaded on it, on closing the corruption and/or malware goes away. Re-starting the Immutable VM will return you to where you were before the infection.

The trick is to remember to copy the (clean) downloads to another storage medium before closing the VM. There is no reason that the Immutable VM is not run indefinitely until a corruption happens or the complete system is re-started.

The other thing to bear in mind when running an Immutable VM is that Windows Updates will cause the host computer to re-start periodically. You can control this but be mindful that keeping the host computer up-to-date is also key to keeping yourself free from overall infection.

Links:

• VirtualBox   - the configuration of to create an immutable VM
• Windows 7 XP-Mode 
• Windows Virtual PC

Running Torrenting and IP obfuscation software in a Virtual Machine

If you are using a service such as TorrentPrivacy or BTGuard you are fully aware of what you are dealing with in regard to malicious downloads. If you download a lot of material it will not be long before you infect your computer despite your best efforts.

A Virtual Machine that cannot be changed, or reverts back to its original state when closed (i.e. immutable) will prevent this from happening.

However your IP obfuscation software needs to able to run in this virtual environment. If the client software causes a stack overflow then you have a problem.

• Running torrenting activities in an immutable VM seems to make sense.
• What an Immutable Virtual Machine is

Chicken of the VNC

Having used VNC Viewer on Windows and Linux PCs I downloaded Chicken of the VNC when I was test driving a Mac Book Air.

cityExplorer™ and London Planning

Verdict (Fall 2009): The cityExplorer™ maps are a waste of time and money - the $14.99US is better invested in a good guide book.

LimeWire P2P

It is interesting that GMail serves up an ad for LimeWire P2P that when followed renders a "page not found" error.

The LimeWire site when searched for and accessed directly gives the following page:

HTTP Error Handling

This is synopsis of the error handling on my webserver.

In fact, "error" is a misnomer here - it should be "response" handling or the "Handling of Server Status Codes"

• 404 - File Not found
• 401 - Authorization Required
• 403 - Forbidden
• 3xx - Moved handling

The 404 response can be customized on the Blogger platform

Rotating Ubuntu Logs

This applies to all logs - Access logs - error logs - ftp logs and more

This is a cron task   - I need to dig out what changes I made to the config files         

• /etc/logrotate.d/apache2        
• logrotate.conf        
• /etc/crontab
           

Advanced configuration of an Ubuntu Webserver

This will eventually be the home of my notes on configuration of an Ubuntu webserver

A translation lookaside buffer (TLB) is nonexistent

"A translation lookaside buffer (TLB) is nonexistent, however a small fringe group of people assert that it is a CPU cache that memory management hardware....."


Interesting that this text appears in the Google SERP but is nowhere to be found if searching for the exact text. It is presumed that the text was in a META tag description but is not found in the source listing for the WikiPedia page.

I think that it has been removed - Intel or AMD shill(work)

Canon EDSDK

My experiences with the Canon EOS Software Development Kit

• Canon pages on The Technology Muse
• Where to download the latest EDSDK
• When I tried to download v 2.10
• Zoombrowser EX
• Canon CameraWindow 

I have downloaded all the Canon SDKs as they have been released. These SDKs are stored on my own private intranet.

I have programmed a few applications using the SDK but I have found that it is a lot of work. It would seem that you are far better off either finding another generic solution or using the software as-is. I have found that there is little to no support for the software either from Canon directly, especially Japan and not even from the development group in Australia where it is thought that the major development work for products such as Zoombrowser EX is performed.

Netflix and the Roger's Bandwidth Cap

Rogers doesn't have a "Cap" - rather a "threshold", over which you will pay for your extra useage up to a maximum of $50 per billing period.

Contrary to the CBC news reports that claimed that Rogers lowered their "caps" earlier this year when Netflix got approval for providing service in Canada, what they actually did was to raise the "Extra Usage" charge from a maximum of $25 to $50 per billing period.
So the real cost of Netflix in Canada, if you are near or above your alloted bandwidth is not $7.99 per month as Netflix say on their website but rather up to $57.99 per month (not such a bargain as the bill of fair is much more restrictive than what is available in the US and on P2P file-sharing sites).

For those that are on an "Extreme" plan you are currently paying for 95G per monthly billing period, so if you use the Netflix service heavily (they say on their website that you can expect 1G per hour for normal DVD quality and 2G per hour for HD) you will be paying this extra rate if you go above 95 (or 47 and a half) hours per month.

Of course if you are well about this $50 threshold maximum it makes sense to use more bandwidth rather than less - this kinda makes a nonsense of the concept of a "Cap"????

libdehdcp

Now that the HDCP key**** is loose will the ghost of Dr. Peter Gutmann emerge from the shadows?

Halloween is coming up after all.

Is there really a need for an AACS defeating version of good old libdvdcss? It would seem that many are content with the DVD quality and the step to BD is not worth the hassle of wrestling with HDCP keys and the like.

Oh, for those that may be lost in the acronym soup:
AACS - Advanced Access Content System (for High-Definition Video discs)
HDCP - High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection
BD - BluRay Disc (of course - but it still needs to be said)

 **** in fact the usage of HDCP is not really relevant as the discussion is more likely to be about libaacs.dll

Remote administration of a webserver using VNC

I use VNC to remotely configure and monitor my webserver. At the present time this is all over a Local Area Network although it would be possible over the Internet.

• VNC

Asus M4A785TD-M EVO motherboard

This motherboard is used in my Windows 7 experimental computer

---

Other links on this blog relating to the Asus M4A785 motherboard series:

• Asus Core Unlocker
• Asus Core Unlocker - How To
• JumperFree Configuration

Mac EFI facts and myths

This is only a synopsis - please see the rEFIt page on Sourceforce

The list below is a starting point for my own research.

• Myth: You need Boot Camp to run Windows/Linux/...
• Myth: You need BIOS compatibility to boot Linux
• Fact: You need a MBR partition table to use LILO/GRUB
• Fact: You need BIOS compatibility for 2D/3D acceleration
• Fact: You need BIOS compatibility and a MBR partition table to boot Windows
• Myth: Mac OS X requires GPT
• Myth: Mac OS X requires a hidden EFI System Partition
• Myth: EFI requires GPT
• Myth: GRUB overwrites GPT tables;
• Myth: You need rEFIt's reiserfs driver to boot Linux from a reiserfs partition with LILO/GRUB
• Myth: You need rEFIt to install/boot Linux
• Myth: You need rEFIt's gptsync after using Boot Camp Assistant

Links:

• the rEFIt page on Sourceforce
• The rEFIt project  
• The MAC - EFI or BIOS?
• Configuring an Acer AO725 as a Hackintosh

Step-by-step on how to configure Vitualbox to run DVD43 on a 64 bit computer

I have configured many 64 bit computers so that I can run DVD43 both in Windows 7 XP-Mode and Virtualbox.

The original Ste-by-step was featured on my website, www.tempusfugit.ca. This has been taken off-line but I am more than willing to share the techniques with you if you contact me.

NotebookReview.com

Home of the famous "Questionaire"!

my Windows 7 experimental computer

This computer was assembled with the express purpose to test out the new features of Windows 7, particularly XP-Mode.

Asus Core Unlocker - How To

When you update your BIOS on your Asus motherboard you may see an option that says:

"Press 4 for Asus Core Unlocker".

This option may not appear if you processor does not have any locked cores to unlock.
Or;
It may appear on all boards that have had the BIOS update irrespective of the capabilities of the processor.

I see this option on my M4A785TD-M EVO with an AMD Phenom II X6 1055T
(I can't seem to unlock it to an X7 or X8!!!!)

UPDATE: The option changes to a message that "all 6 Cores are unlocked!!!" when I press 4 on boot.
Question is? will it come back when I put my 550 BE on the m/b? and can I unlock it to an X4?

 Links:

• Overclocking guide
• Applying Windows Updates will not unlock cores 
• Download the BIOS update 

Email Systems

A start page for the discussion of Email Systems

Basement

How to host a website from your basement for free

This is a re-post of some of the pages from my website. For a more general synopsis of this project see here.

The pages that were previously on my website included a detail description of the hardware and software setup, the configuration of the DNS and the steps you need to complete so that your website can be seen on the Internet.

• Install Apache and configure your web-server.
• Apache Rewrite Conditions and Rules

This post is a work in progress - it will be added to as I see interest in the topic.

GRUB - GRand Unified Bootloader

GNU GRUB is a Multiboot boot loader. It was derived from  GRUB, the GRand Unified Bootloader, which was originally designed and implemented by Erich Stefan Boleyn.

• Enable VT on InsydeH2O based Sony Vaio laptops, the EFI way - GRUB2

Whether the Mac uses a System BIOS or an EFI

This discussion is relevant to the configuration of OSX on non-Apple hardware (Hackintosh). Whether the BIOS needs to be configured in a particular manner to allow the operation of Snow Leopard for example. Does the SATA type have to be set to ACHI and the boot loader need to be a Linux/Grub derivative (the
Windows 7/Vista bootloader does not seem to work on a Mac)

It is really a moot point (the discussion on the differences) and the rhetoric you see on the web relating EFI partitions makes the whole thing so much more mysterious than it is.

The Insyde h2o BIOS is based on an EFI

To use a computer that has an Insyde BIOS you still need to configure an alternative boot loader. It is not a question of finding the correct BIOS settings.

Those looking for the "magic" BIOS settings are barking up the wrong tree!

• The vmx-var-set.efi utility
• The Mac and EFI - the myths surrounding the MAC and EFI

shannon90210 0 GaPony lario48 avi8tor

......... all seem a little 1Click Pro - if you see what I mean?

BTGuard TOS

You are told by BTGuard that you must not use their service to perform illegal activities.


 

Downloading from file-sharing sites is an illegal activity.
BTGuard might get a court order sooner or later, and its users might get copyright infringement letters

The link above is from Peerblock forum August 14, 2010 - post "Caught Again!"

As far as I am aware there is no such thing as "The BTGuard Infringement Police" - This is probably a scare tactic used by APOs 

Links: 

• Torrenting on The Technology Muse
• The link from the PeerBlock forum that suggests that you are not secure using PB

Antimalware Doctor - A reason to torrent on a dedicated computer.

The instructions and the comments on Antimalware Doctor found on the Internet from confused computer users is "sad".

The removal of Antimalware Doctor is a pain in the neck and really does suggest a complete re-install of the operating system and all the software.

• All pages relating to downloading from P2P sites on this blog

The first indication that something was a wrong was a fake software update dialog that even has an MS KB reference. Attempts at uninstall using the Windows Add/Remove programs is blocked as the Antimalware program starts to run.

The full uninstall is not trivial as vestiges of the infection remain after the fake scanner and browser hijacker are removed. Entries in the start menu and executable files, dlls were removed manually.

The computer that was infected now boots with a DLL not found error and VLC player terminates with a memory allocation error.

This infection of Antimalware Doctor suggests that it is a good idea to torrent on a dedicated computer or at least one that has a VM setup as an Immutable Virtual Machine.

Handbrake iPad

I have figured out what my problem was in transferring video to my iPad. It was not a question of finding what the exact format or settings for file file conversion it was the configuration if iTunes to process audio and video files manually when making a transfer.

The failure mode was that the automatic synchronization is the default for iTunes, therefore when the iTume software is updated the settings seem to have reverted to the default. The consequence was that video was not transferable after the update was made. STUPID STUPID STUPID! The solution was really simple - it was a pity that all the Apple boards and forums were pretty much useless in determining this fact! Once you knew that this was happening only then could I find reference to this setting. Due to the relative lack of importance of this blog nobody else is likely to find the solution from me unless they are looking for Handbrake settings for the iPad.



Handbrake was also running rather well on my AMD X6 1055T (six core) machine and the conversion times were much faster than they were when I was using AVS4you (AVS Converter 6) and an X4 processor. All 6 cores are utilized and core temperatures were much lower that the conversions using the quad.

Oh, in case what you were looking for was the conversion format - I found that the "Apple TV" setting/profile worked just fine on the iPad.

• All posts on this blog relating to iPads and Tablets in general 
• Using an iPad for business purposes 
• Comparing the iPad to the Playbook 
• Have Microsoft missed the boat with tablets?

Asus Core Unlocker

• Systems pages on this blog
• Overclocking guide
• Applying Windows Updates will not unlock cores

Applying the 2103 BIOS update to my Asus M4A785TD-M EVO motherboard I now get an option to launch the Asus Core Unlocker when I boot the computer.

At present the computer is using an AMD Phenom II X6 1055T processor so there is nothing to unlock. I do have an AMD Phenom II 550 X2, which is widely hailed as a Black Edition processor that has 2 hidden cores.

If anyone is interested I could try unlocking the cores and post the results. At present the 550 is used in a Zotec ITX motherboard (with Phoenix/Award BIOS - that possibly has unlocking capability) - the 550 is easy and modestly overclocked to 3.4G from the stock 3.1G. As it is being used in an ITX format computer heat and power dissipation if of prime concern.

Searches finding this post:
asus m4a785td-m bios 2103 bugs - 16 Aug 2010, Arnhem- As far as I was concerned I didn't find any bugs.

m4a785td-m-evo bios 2103 disabled fourth core - Aug 2010, Bucharest - I can only surmise that this is in reference to a Dual Core processor that will not unlock to 4 cores (only the 3 making it an X3 not an X4) - there have been reports that some X2 processors cannot be unlocked at all!

Cores can also be unlocked using "Unleashing Mode"

DRAM Timing

Posts on Overclocking and memory speed.


What does 5-5-5-15 mean?

CAS is the acronym for Latency Column Address Strobe  - we all can look-up what latency is!   ****  ref to one of the posts linked below.

The Numbers:

1. CL - CAS# Latency - in clocks - 5
2. RAS to CAS Delay (tRCD) - 5
3. TES Precharge - (tRP) - 5
4. Cycle Time - (tRAS) - 15 

In addition the Bank Cycle Time - (tRC) - [25] is specified as it the CR (Command Rate) - [2T]

These timing figures (5,5,5,15 - not the graphic above) were taken from the CPUID/CPU-Z utility running on my AMD Athlon X2 5770 machine.

I have made no attempts to overclock this machine.

Reading some of the posts on the Internet it would appear that there is much confusion regarding these figures. Some seem to imply that smaller the figures the better (fewer clock cycles to complete a processor operation) while others the higher the figures the faster the computer will perform.

In my experience, the higher numbers are associated with faster memory and performance. I have recently purchased 4G of DDR3 RAM that is rated at 9,9,9,27 and that is rated at 1600MHz.

My Intel E8400 computer with DDR2 RAM (400MHz) reports memory timings as: 5,5,5,18 with a CR of 2T.

My Netbook with an Intel Atom N280 processor and DDR2 RAM reports: 4,4,4,12 - This netbook is definitely slower than either of the desktops!

My sub-notebook with DDR3 reports 7,7,7,20

Some Internet posters seem to indicate that there is a "magic" formula that you can use to adjust your memory timing in system BIOS to improve on the Auto settings that a non-overclocked useage would provide. Until it is determined what the figures actually mean there seems little point in changing them from their manufacturers specifications.

• Some more links including those from Kingston, WikiP and Mushkin
• ***** Rather pompous (just like me!) post on overclock.com
• CPUID CPU-Z for how to view these characteristics for your processor
• Spec of the 1,600MHz RAM I purchased - from Kingston Website - has specs for timings and more 

Stackoverflow.com

Stack Overflow is a programming Q & A site that’s free

What are the benefit of Google Sitemaps?

../techwatch.ca/sitemaps.html

JumperFree Configuration

Having started to document my overclocking experiences it seems the Asus/AMI BIOS feature for Advanced CPU and other settings is not well documented. These are some of my notes relating specifically to Jumper-Free Configuration. In other words this terminology just means "configuration using software (BIOS) settings"  as opposed to making physical changes on the motherboard i.e. moving jumpers.

Please follow the links at the foot of this post for more details

CPU Overclocking - changing the default [Auto] to [Manual] and the setting of CPU/HT Reference Clock (and many other parameters) is done under the "Advanced" BIOS menu option-→JumperFree Configuration.

Asus M4A785TD-M EVO

JumperFree is just another way of saying "do it with software"

Links:

• Simple guide to help get you set up and start overclocking your P5B motherboard.  - The Tech Repository Oct 2006
• My Overclocking guide
• Unlocking your system UEFI/BIOS

1ClickPRO under Windows7 64bit

MANY are running 1ClickPRO under Windows7 /64bit w/no prob - Shannon90210 on forum.lgsoftwareinnovations.com

What he/she doesn't say is that the source of the DVD compress was encrypted or not. If all you were doing was to copy your camcorder files to a DVD then you would have no problems - this all adds to the deception.

Using TorStatus Reports

The Torstatus report will give a listing of all the active servers on the Tor network at any given time. It is useful in determining what Exit Servers are active on the Tor Network and can be used to make you to appear to be located at a specific geographic location.

Not all Tor servers are Exit Servers

To get Tor to exit to the Internet in a specific location you need to examine the report and see what servers are setup to exit to the Internet. This can be determined by the door symbol in the server list.

Links:

• How to get Tor to exit at a specific geographic location
• My previous post on getting Tor to exit in a specific geographic location.

Selecting ExitNodes

Notes on ExitNodes w.r.t. Vidalia Tor

• The Vidalia-Tor Project

1055T X6 Overclocking

These are my BIOS settings: CPU Multiplier frequency xxx, Memory Clock x3.33 (to compensate for the change in FSB to give 1066MHz) - Award BIOS with MIT on a Gigabyte GA-MA78LM-S2H

A full set of instructions and screen-shots of the BIOS screens can be found the Tempusfugit Intranet

Many forums claim that they have instructions on how to do this but turn out to be general instructions on how a Black Edition BE CPU is overclocked, the AMD Phenom X6 1055T (Thuban) is NOT BE. Other reviews on retail websites (Tiger Direct) are in a similar vein where the reviews are claiming core speeds of over 4GHz - it has not been the first time that reviewers haven't even purchased the product and are posting either to confuse or they are just making an extension from another product that they have purchased and the specs of the X6. It has not been the first time that reviews of this nature have been seen on TD.

The Google Chrome Operating System

At the time of first writing this post the Google Chrome Operating system was just a speculation.

Since the announcement in July 2009 there has not been that much more that has come out of this. There is the obvious press release and information from Google themselves and a WikiP page (possibly written by someone at the mighty G) - A few "stub" posts (along with one of my own!) but, so far there is nothing concrete.

• Suse Studios - a vendor of a "Chrome" variant

Suse Linux

I am not sure if SUSE and SUSE Studio are one and the same.

Gesellschaft für Software und System Entwicklung mbH (Lit. Company for Software and System Development)

Why the Web is Broken

The nonsense you see on Blogs, Forum and Social Media sites (Web 2.0 does not work - Two no work)

Like the "squeaky wheel" getting all the grease - the posters on Web forums are the ones that you find when you make a search. The happy customer is largely a silent majority.

Visit any technical forum, reading responses to postings and articles quickly turns into
        a diatribe of zealots - all claiming that they are the oracle.

To see what I mean - do a search for diatribe of zealots using your favourite search engine.

An Example:
Microsoft's Vista is not as bad as the naysayers would have you believe, The Gates Company may well be a Behemoth and maybe an alternative such as Linux may be worth pursuing.

and

A lot of information may well be "out there" but it is usually lost on a fog of advertisements and posts that irrelevant to the issue you are researching.

The corner-stone of Web 2point0 is interactivity

The ability for users to have their say. Post their comments and generate their own content (blogs - You Tube - Facebook)

Review Websites:


As well as the behavior that is prevalent in general technical fora, the review sites (while often little more than advertising platforms) have a large measure of repetition and it is not easy to find out whether a product is good or bad.
   
A good product can often appear to be bad as the detractors and those who have had technical problems are the most the most vocal and tend to make multiple postings. We all experience problems with customer service from time to time and the posting of rants about your experience are often of little help.
   
Having said that, review sites are sometimes quite useful but you have to know how to read between the lines and be patient with the navigation through  (sometimes) pages of reviews that all say the same thing. Those that have overall ratings for a product are good - again these have to be viewed in light of the who is saying what and why.
   
A case in point is the Convertible Notebook computer from HP. It is advertised clearly as a notebook that the screen can be twisted 180 degrees and folded flat - it says IT IS NOT a true tablet and there is no digitizer for taking notes with a stylus, as would be the case with a true tablet.

My dad's car goes faster than any of yours - in reverse

When I was a kid I can remember the discussion about how fast our fathers cars could go. Since that time it had been a catch-phrase for any nonsensical and unverifiable statement. This is what a large portion of the Web2Point0 world is about!
   

FutureShop

This post is because the information about FutureShop is not prominent on their website.
Future Shop is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY).

The FutureShop founder Hassan Khosrowshahi has been appointed the new chairman of Frazer Institute.

Hassan Khosrowshahi is an Iranian Canadian - don't tell George Bush! (he might think that he has any links to Iran!)  [this was originally posted when GB2 was Pres]

Future Shop stores operate as a division of Burnaby-based Best Buy Canada Ltd.

FutureShop Head Office

Best Buy Canada / Future Shop
8800 Glenlyon Parkway,
Burnaby, BC,
V5J 5K3,
Tel.: 604-435 8223
 

• The Frazer Institute

The use of robots.txt

Crawler Exclusion - Site Administration - server loading

CRM - Customer Relationship Management

Since my days with ERP systems I feel that much has moved on. It has now become a lot more "social" and cloud-based

My interest is specifically with SalesForce.com as a neighbour has one of their CRM systems and has some concerns regarding scalability.


The major players in CRM

According to WikiP (Gartner) the major players in CRM are as follows:

1. SAP - CRM module - see also my page on ERP
2. Oracle CRM
3. SalesForce.com - a company founded in March 1999 by former Oracle executive Marc Benioff, Parker Harris, Dave Moellenhoff, and Frank Dominguez
4. Microsoft CRM - aparently MS are supposed to be releasing a CRM solution in 2011
5. Amdocs
6. then others 

-----------------------------------------

• Salesforce ups ante against Oracle with Database.com launch
• Database.com
• salesforce.com - a company specializing in software as a service (SaaS)
• salesforce.com on WikiP
• CRM on WikiP
• Progress Software - seem to make a big thing about SOA (Service Oriented Architecture)
• Microsoft CRM
• SAP CRM - This would only be an add-on module like BI, Retail and FI/CO to an SAP implementation.
• Oracle CRM
• SugarCRM