Rants, Raves, and Ramblings

I just put an ad on craigslist for these, but I thought I’d share them here as well. Maybe you know a relative or two who could benefit from a simple and fully functioning PC. Well, here’s a chance to do that and provide me with some spare cash as well.

• All systems come with keyboard, mouse, and power cable
• All drivers and Windows Updates have been installed
• All parts have been tested and are in working condition
• Memory and hard drive have been thoroughly tested and have no errors
• All systems are cable and DSL ready
• Systems 5 and 6 can be used for 56k dial-up connections
• Perfect for web browsing, checking e-mail, using Word/Excel, light gaming, etc.
• Not recommended for serious gaming or heavy multimedia editing (obviously)
• Includes the following preinstalled software:

• Office XP (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• AVG Antivirus Free Edition
• Mozilla Firefox
• VLC Media Player
• WinZip
• Adobe Reader
• Java Runtime
• Adobe Flash

Below are the detailed specs for each system. You can click any of the images to see the high-res version (Note: Images removed 2/7/2010 for being unnecessary and obsolete).

System #1 – $75 – AMD Athlon 950MHz Processor, 192MB Memory, 20GB Hard Drive, CD-ROM Drive, Floppy Drive, Sound Card, Video Card, Network Card, 2x USB Ports (Back), PS/2 Keyboard, Labtec USB Optical Mouse, Power Cable, Windows 2000 Professional

System #2 – $75 – AMD Duron 950MHz Processor, 192MB Memory, 20GB Hard Drive, CD-ROM Drive, Floppy Drive, Sound Card, Video Card, Network Card, 2x USB Ports (Back), 2x USB Ports (Front), PS/2 Keyboard, GE PS/2 Optical Mouse, Power Cable, Windows 2000 Professional

System #3 – $65 – AMD Duron 950MHz Processor, 192MB Memory, 10GB Hard Drive, CD-ROM Drive, Floppy Drive, Sound Card, Video Card, Network Card, 2x USB Ports (Back), PS/2 Keyboard, Labtec USB Optical Mouse, Power Cable, Windows 2000 Professional

System #4 – $90 – AMD Athlon 1.05GHz Processor, 192MB Memory, 40GB Hard Drive, CD-ROM Drive, 8x CD-RW Drive, Floppy Drive, Sound Card, Video Card, Network Card, 2x USB Ports (Back), PS/2 Keyboard, Microsoft USB Optical Mouse, Power Cable, Windows 2000 Professional

System #5 – $40 – Cyrix 225MHz Processor, 64MB Memory, 4GB Hard Drive, CD-ROM Drive, Floppy Drive, Sound Card, Video Card, Network Card, 56k Modem, 2x USB Ports (Back), PS/2 Keyboard, Logitech Serial Ball Mouse, Power Cable, Windows 98 Second Edition

System #6 – $40 – Intel Pentium 200MHz Processor, 64MB Memory, 4GB Hard Drive, CD-ROM Drive, Floppy Drive, Sound Card, Video Card, Network Card, 56k Modem, 2x USB Ports (Back), PS/2 Keyboard, Microsoft PS/2 Ball Mouse, Power Cable, Windows 98 Second Edition

I also have two 15” VGA monitors for sale at $10/piece. They are tested working and can do at least 800×600 resolution. Power cable included with purchase.

Some other notes:

• I will deliver any of these within Toledo area for no extra cost.
• I will add a 56k modem to any system whose specs do not currently include one for an additional $15.

If you have any questions or are interested in purchasing one of these, e-mail me. You’ll be helping me clear some room, and I’ll be eternally thankful to you for it.

EDIT (8/12): Appended paragraphs lost by input error. My apologies.

I got a lot of small projects done this past weekend.

DVDFlick is a great free/open source software program for Windows that offers flexible and simple DVD authoring. I’ve been using this to complete two projects of mine that have been on the backburner for far too long; one being a VHS to DVD conversion of an old family video, and the other being a collection of avant garde short films for my landlord. So far, I’ve found it to be an awesome program – I highly recommend it to anyone seeking a simple interface for putting digital movies (FLVs included!) onto DVD. Thanks to Dan for the tip.

I was also reminded recently of another screen saver that should have been mentioned in my Screen Savers post a while back – the BSOD Screen Saver. You have to give Microsoft some credit for willing to have a sense of humor about it. I remember I had this installed on the tech bench workstation at Computer Renaissance, and it was priceless watching customer’s faces when they saw it kick in. Nothing boosts your confidence quite like watching a technician’s PC ‘crash’.

I’m told by the good folks at uCertify that anyone interesting in their products will receive a 10% discount if they use the coupon code NESTOR. You may recall that I recently reviewed their certification testing software here not too long ago. Don’t say I never did anything for you.

As some of you know, I like to collect exotic computers. Ever since I heard about them, I’ve thought a BeBox would be the crown jewel of such a collection. Only 1800 of these were ever made, and there is even an online registry where you can see a list of owners. Well, I happened upon an eBay auction for one recently. If only I had $1000 to throw at thing like this…

Want to know something ridiculous? Despite hating the infernal devices, I am currently in possession of three different cell phones (and three different phone numbers). You see, I recently purchased a new cell phone, as my contract for the old one is up shortly and I figured it’d be a good time to get a new contract (and new number). However, I was under the impression that my contract was up at the end of this month, when its actually up in October. So until then, i’ll be carting around both the new phone, my old one, and my work phone. What kind of nerd cred do I get for this?

Around the time I got my new laptop, I decided to see if I could find a way to synchronize bookmarks across different computers. I very quickly found the Firefox add-on ‘FoxMarks’, which I’ve fallen in love with since. Really about 90% of anything I do on a computer is read web pages. For a long while, I fell out of the practice of bookmarking webpages because I’d always be at a different computer (work PC, laptop, one of many home PCs, etc) and I didn’t want to deal with remembering which computer I bookmarked what page on. FoxMarks has fixed that problem, and now I wonder how I lived without it. It’s a testament to Firefox that extremely useful add-ons like this exist, while no such plug-in capability exists for IE yet (or at least one as cool).

Part of the nice thing about discovering FoxMarks was that I needed to sit down and collect all the bookmarks I had collection through the years across all my computers, and this turned out to be a good opportunity to sift through and find the dead links and then either update them or get rid of them. I also took advantage of this opportunity to reorganize my bookmarks entirely, and now I think I have a much more intuitive folder structure than I’ve ever had before.

In a similar vein, I decided to see about synchronizing my e-mail. For years, I’ve used the Thunderbird/GMail/POP3 combination to manage my e-mail, and this worked great. But now that I’m regularly using at least three different computers at any given time (my laptop, my home PC, my work PC), I needed to find a way to better synchronize what I was doing. I decided the easiest and best course of action would be to use IMAP instead of POP3. With POP3, everything just gets downloaded to your PC and however you organize it from that point is up to you – the server doesn’t keep any record and continues to just lump all e-mail into one big pile. But with IMAP, all the subfolders you create are actually recorded on the server, and so you see this structure regardless of which computer you connect from or which mail client you connect with.

So over this past weekend I went through the migration process of uploading all my archived e-mails to the GMail server, dealing with connection headaches, reorganizing my subfolder structure (it needed to be done anyway), and deleting a lot of the unnecessary e-mails that had amassed. I’m still working on those last two things, but I’m happy to say that I’m now successfully running GMail with IMAP through Thunderbird, and I couldn’t be happier with the results – all my computers see the exact same folder structure whenever I connect with Thunderbird.

A lot of these little projects, like using FoxMarks and IMAP, have been brought about by two changes in my lifestyle: that I’m moving away from my old home PC and that I’ve got a decent laptop to use now. I bought a ‘gaming’ PC like a year ago and had it hooked up in my bedroom, but I still never turned it on much except to game; most of my home computing was handled on an old Pentium 4 system that i’d had for years that was hooked up in my dining room. Though the computer in my room was more physically convenient to get to, the old one in my dining room had all the good stuff on it; it had all my e-mails, all my files, all my bookmarks. So I just kept using it, even though it’s got an energy-wasting 22-inch CRT monitor that is excessively bright, takes 20 minutes to turn on when its cold, and seems to just generally be in the process of dying.

And though I had a laptop that I carried with me, it was really just for business use. It was kind of bulky, was a pain to type on (you had to press extra hard on the keys), and had a battery life of about 15 minutes. Now that I have a new laptop that doesn’t have any of those problems, I’m actually using it laptop for everyday stuff…and that means web browsing, e-mail, and the like. Clearly, I would need to find a less-centralized way of storing my data so that I can get to it from wherever I need to. I needed to wrest control of my data from that aging dining room PC.

So now I’ve got my bookmarks ready for portable computing, thanks to FoxMarks…I’ve got my e-mail ready for portable computing, thanks to IMAP…what else is left? Ah, that’s right – I need to find a new file server. So here’s what I’m looking for:

• At least 400GB usable storage, preferably ~1TB or so – does not need to be included, I can get the drives
• Redundancy in the form of RAID1 or RAID5 – preferably RAID5, and preferably hardware, though software is acceptable
• Gigabit connectivity – my home LAN is all gigabit and it would be ridiculous not to take advantage of that for a file server
• Low-impact management OS – preferably just a firmware system, as I intend to keep this on 24/7 and would like to save energy

So does anyone have any suggestions on a NAS device that meets these criteria (or close to them?)

BTW, if anyone is interested in watching an hour-long training video on how to sell OS/2 Version 2, check out my YouTube channel. I finally got around to dicing this thing up and uploading it. The script and acting are humorous on their own, but I think the video will actually provide some insight on OS/2 for those who have never seen it or heard of it.

I had the pleasure of attending The Last HOPE (Hackers On Planet Earth) last weekend in NYC. For those of you not in the know, Hackers On Planet Earth is a hacker convention that takes place about every two years at the infamous Hotel Pennsylvania in Manhattan. It’s run by 2600, perhaps the most well-known and longest-running hacker mag in the US. This was my second HOPE, having attended HOPE 6 two years ago, and I had an even better experience this time around than I did before.

Like many hacker cons, HOPE is an event that offers a multitude of fascinating things to pass the time with. The con itself runs for three days (Friday through Sunday) roughly 10AM to midnight and manifests itself most apparently in the presentations given every hour on the hour across four different rooms (there were only three in 2006). These presentations span a vast array of hacker topics, and aren’t limited to the technical, as one might suppose. There were many talks that dealt with economics, society, psychology, politics, entertainment, journalism, and even sex – all from the ‘hacker’ perspective.

But the presentations aren’t the only thing that happen. Far from it. The second floor of the hotel has sections for vendors (which included AdaFruit, Make Magazine, the EFF, No Starch Press, ToooL,Club Mate, and others), a lockpicking village (where you can buy lockpicking goods, practice on a variety of locks, and get first-hand instructions from any number of hobbyists standing about), a line for Segway rides, booths representing different hackerspaces, and so much more. I also liked that this year they decided to put up a number of different art installations and liven the decor up a tad (pictures below).

And even beyond these ‘official’ ways to pass the time, the social environment is what really brings the whole thing together. Had I not obligations to return to the place I was staying at at a reasonable hour, I might have stuck around for some of the parties and bar outings that took place after midnight. I managed to strike up a number of conversations by asking people to ‘sign my yearbook’, which was really a copy of the newly released Best of 2600. I mostly asked presenters whose talks I enjoyed the most, but I also got a few random signatures just to see what people would write.

The following is a brief list of some of the autographs I got:

• Emmanuel Goldstein, founder and chief editor of 2600
• bernieS, editor of 2600
• Froggy, co-founder of Notacon
• Tyger, co-founder of Notacon
• Jason Scott, maintainer of textfiles.com and creator of BBS: The Documentary
• Nick Farr, co-founder of The Hacker Foundation and the HacDC hackerspace in Washington, D.C.
• John Draper aka Captain Crunch
• Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame
• RenderMan, who gave a great talk on hacking people using a variety of wireless technologies
• Myrcurial, who delivered an entertaining and insightful speech on working as an executive in a corporation without compromising your hacker lifestyle
• Barry Wels, founder of TOOOL (The Open Organization Of Lockpickers)
• Jacob Appelbaum, big man in the Tor project as well as fellow Coil fan
• The Cheshire Catalyst, last editor of Abbie Hoffman’s TAP Newsletter, owner of his own area code (321), and longtime 2600 associate
• Karsten Nohl, PhD student at the University of Virginia. Participated in a panel on the recent Debian OpenSSL vulnerability, and gave a highly informative presentation on RFID security at HOPE 6.
• Deviant Ollam, lockpicker extraordinare who hosted a great talk on traveling with firearms on the airlines (and how it means better security for your luggage)
• Grandmaster Ratte’, co-founder of the Cult of the Dead Cow

Of course, there were many others who managed to elude me and my ‘yearbook’ during the con, including Robert Steele, Jello Biafra, Kevin Mitnick, Johnny Long, and John Threat.

Another noteworthy addition to this year’s HOPE was RFID-enabled badges that could be used to track people throughout the con. They only had enough for the first 1400 of roughly 3000 attendees, but I was one of the lucky few to get one. Unfortunately, at some point the battery snapped off of mine and I wasn’t able to participate, though I still think it was a very cool idea. There were graphs on televisions put up around the con where you could see how many people were in a given room at any time. Much of this was experimental and fell short of the intended goals, but it was stated during the closing ceremonies that they intend to do this again at the Next HOPE, and I’m sure it will be far more refined by that point.

And now for pictures. You can see my descriptions to the side of the images. Click the thumbnails to view the larger versions.

	The Main Screen area on the second floor, which played movies and streamed the main talks throughout the con. Note the convenient cots available for use.
	Some random human traffic around the Microcontroller Workshop area. The Hackerspace Village can be seen in the back.
	Some of the ‘commons’ area, as I like to call it. Just random tables set up for people to sit down and plug their computers in. The Lockpicking Village can be seen in the back.
	A snapshot of the Vendors Area, with the Main Screen visible in the back. Pictured up front is the table for Make Magazine.
	This set of art would be the first thing you’d see after registering and taking the escalators up to the second floor (which has been detailed in all the previous photos).
	A close-up of the center-piece. I wonder what the message is here.
	Another example of some of the art found around the second floor.
	Between the two pieces above sat this table, commemorating The Last HOPE and staying in line with the death theme.
	Caskets adorned the front of every podium in the speaking rooms. You can see Myrcurial preparing for his talk, ‘From A Black Hat to a Black Suit – How To Climb the Corporate Security Ladder Without Losing Your Soul‘, which was surprisingly fun and enlightening.
	I had to take a picture of this ‘modified’ flier put up in one of the elevators. Hacker humor at it’s finest.
	Members of Anonymous prepare for their talk, introducing who Anonymous is and what they do.
	On Sunday, they put a huge piece of paper up on the wall and encouraged people to write on it. Here is an early picture of the result.
	A closer look at some of the board.
	…and more.
	This was just prior to a casket being hauled in by weeping pallbearers to the funeral march. Closing ceremonies were indeed a somber event.

If you’re curious why it was called ‘The Last HOPE’: a little after HOPE 6 it was discovered that the owners of the Hotel Pennsylvania had decided they were going to demolish it. Without the Hotel Pennsylvania, it’s doubtful that another place in Manhattan could be found to host such an event; I guess most places shy away from allowing 3000 hackers to converge on their property for a weekend. So the event was determined to be the last HOPE event, with many rightfully convinced that the event as we know it would not longer continue after this one. However, it was announced during the closing ceremonies that because the downturn of the economy, ironically enough, plans to demolish the hotel have been scrapped for now. There was much rejoicing.

As mentioned in this journal a few days ago, my spare bedroom/computer work room has been enlivened by the addition of some much-needed shelving. Though still a mess, the room is operable now, and as such, I’ve been getting a lot of work done.

Below are some photographs of my work room as of this week. More changes are yet to come, including:

• Throwing out/selling some older and less used equipment
• Erecting another shelf on which to house network equipment and materials
• Potentially erecting a mini-shelf on which to solely house software
• Adding some plastic shelving/storage units to the bottom shelf so as to make better use of the unused space

You can see my explanations to the side of the images. Click the thumbnails to view the larger versions.

	This is the entry way to the bedroom in question. From this view, you can easily see my networking rack, which is currently used as a shelter for my cat box, an empty 22-inch monitor shell full of broken parts (which I intend to build a small Christmas tree out of one day), and most of my networking equipment. You can also see some bags/boxes of tools on the floor, and the left-hand edge of my bench.
	This is essentially half of my bench area, which is made up of two wooden tables perpendicular to each other in a corner. We can see that the underside of my bench is almost entirely filled with large CRT monitors; on the left-hand side, you can make out an SGI workstation sandwiched between the network rack and legs of the table. The LCD monitor propped against the wall on the right is connected to what I use as my ‘browsing’ workstation (not pictured). A dual Pentium 3 workstation that I used to use as a home web server can be seen underneath the table’s right-hand side. The rest is all just for projects I’m working on.
	Here we can see the center of my bench area. The useful stuff here would be the stack of blank media discs (CD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW), the software wallets (full of all my diagnostic software and OS discs), an old HP LaserJet 4 printer (works great, even after all these years), and a test station (used for running virus scans on pulled hard drives and testing components). Right in the middle of all this is a pile of software junk that I have yet to find a good home for; my current idea is to put up a smaller shelf somewhere just for it.
	Ah, the shelves. While I couldn’t fit them into the shot in their entirety, you can see about 95% of them. The top shelf is primarily for vintage software, boxes full of obscure components, and documentation that I don’t intend to access often. The bottom shelf is primary housing for tools and useful components, including my collection of hard drives, floppy drives, optical drives, memory, processors, cards, heat-sinks/fans, and mice, as well as some power supplies. I also keep all the relevant screws, slot covers, and a few tools up there. A big goal is to find decent plastic shelving to cover up all that visible wall space on the right. Just remember that everything you see on those shelves was on top of the bench tables for over a year. Didn’t have much room to get anything done with that kind of living arrangement…
	This view gives you a nice pull-away shot of most of the bench region. Not much sits to the right of the test workstation – just the 17-inch CRT monitor that its hooked up to. Note how messy the floor is; motherboard boxes that I haven’t decided what to do with yet, an extra NeXtstation monitor with an old HP Deskjet on top of it…I really need to clean up this place.
	A view of my ongoing ‘Wall of Certifications’. I don’t have anywhere else to put these things, so I thought i’d start a wall full of them. From left to right: Security+, A+, CCNA, Network+, MCP, and MCSE. They never sent me my MCSA cert and I’m still waiting on my CIW. It’s kind of difficult to tell, but if you look above the Security+ certification, you can see how bad I am at hanging things up.
	A close-up of the CRT (a Philips that does insane resolutions). I’m making it a goal to eliminate regular usage of CRTs in my house, mostly for the cost-saving that will follow. LCDs leave a much smaller energy footprint, and I intend to reap the financial benefits of that. Hidden behind this area is more junk I haven’t decided what to do with yet stacked on top of a wooden stool, and my stack of broken/old hard drives. I originally intended to make a throne out of them before realizing that I couldn’t bond them together well enough, and that the weight of the throne would make it extremely difficult to move. Behind the door is a closet in which I have all my vintage equipment like 286s, IBM PS/2s, and old Mac stuff.
	This brings us to the steel shelving unit that lines the wall parallel to the wooden-shelved-wall. Proudly displayed here are the original Compaq portable, some NeXtStation monitors, a toaster-sized SGI machine (non-working), two NeXtStation laser printers, and a stack of SGI Indy workstations. The hallway is visible through the doorway on the right.
	Here we see an iMac standing in front of a G3 tower, an SGI Indigo (non-working, and a series of Sun workstations. The two actual NeXtStations I own are directly to the right of these Sun boxes. On the midget shelf we can see my old high school laptop (A Cyrix 466, I believe), an HP Vectra computer (delightful in its tiny size – runs off a Pentium 3 CPU and takes mostly laptop parts), my XO laptop sitting on an external Sun tape drive, and a NeXtStation video cable that was made by my friend Jason for me (pictured in the photograph on the right).
	A modular Catalyst 5500 sits next to a rack-mount Sun server, some DECStations, and some SGI boxes (including two Octanes). However, these are obscured by a mess of stuff I haven’t gotten rid of yet. Not much interesting here.
	And to make sure I go out on a less-than-spectacular note, here is a pile of stuff next to the steel shelves that just haven’t been put somewhere yet. The box of ethernet cabling normally sits on top of the network rack, and below it you can see two 500′ spools of CAT5E that I recently bought from Menards (on sale for $29.99 each!). A stack of good keyboards also rests on an empty ATX case. If you look at the midget shelf just above you can see my old laptop. In the top left corner is pictued a Celeron 466 machine I intend to format and sell for cheap, or maybe just strip for parts.

Now mind you that these aren’t the only computers I have. There are still a ton packed away in that closet, and I have a different set up in my dining room and bedroom (I actually use those two computers the most, actually). I intend to document and inventory most of the exotic PCs pictured in this entry at some point, which may or may not be of interest to some of you.

I’d love to see anyone else’s workbench, if they would be willing to share.

Last week, I was discussing my new laptop with a coworker. The conversation ended up with me coining a few simple phrases that I think frame my thoughts on some of the major operating systems out there:

me: For me, Vista is like saying ‘Here is a brand new car. Its uncomfortable to sit in, ugly, costs a lot more, and isn’t fun to drive…but, it’s new!’
me: Ubuntu is like saying ‘Well, I’ve got this really cool used motorcycle. It’s inexpensive, looks cool, is a lot of fun to drive, but it needs some work to get it to be fully functioning.’
me: Windows XP is like saying ‘I’m the reliable car you’ve owned and ran for years. I’m not that fun anymore, but I’m not a drag to ride in either. I’m getting older, but I still run just fine. Plus, you’ve already got me, so you don’t have to spend anything to fix me up or buy a replacement if you don’t want to.’
Nick: what about 2000?
me: Same thing as XP, but add ‘The a/c doesn’t work and the windows and steering are manual. And you need new brake pads.’

Now I’ll admit, these probably aren’t the most accurate representations. I’m not by any means knowledgeable about cars, except for a few popular conceptions. Still, I decided to expand on this and give some representations of what cars I think certain operating systems resemble, and why.

	Windows ME: Ford Pinto – Prone to dangerous explosions when confronted with routine damage. Heavily condemned by Ralph Nader in multiple publications.
	Windows 2000: Used Honda Civic – Fuel-efficient, comfortable, and reliable – but aging. Perfectly fine for functionality, but often in need of minor repairs.
	Windows XP: Used PT Cruiser – A good family car with a goofy look. Aging, but surprisingly reliable and perfectly usable with regular maintenance.
	Windows Vista: Hummer 2 – Huge, inefficient, and popular with people that have too much money and too little sensibility.
	Mac OS Pre-X: Yugo – Ugly, foreign, and known to be of questionable quality.
	Mac OSX: Volkswagen Bug – Expensive and foreign, but efficient. It’s style makes it popular with yuppies, artists, and bearded coffee-house types. Engineered by Hitler.
	UNIX: Ford Model T – The original. Highly influential and perhaps the first mass-produced of its kind.
	Ubuntu Linux: Used Honda Nighthawk – A lot of fun to drive, efficient, and inexpensive. However, it is in need of some repair and usage should not be attempted by those without the time and/or know-how to get it working properly.
	BeOS: Delorean – A different approach to the industry whose popularity was cut short when the owner was caught trafficking drugs. Now exists primarily as a collector’s item for people with too strong a nostalgia for the 80′s and Back to the Future.
	OS/2 Warp: AMC Gremlin – Oddly named competitor to the Ford Pinto by a powerful underdog. Though safer, it was a tremendous flop and production has since fallen to the wayside. It is also now primarily a collector’s item.

I welcome any corrections or additions to this table.

I’ve meant to post, but apathy and work have kept me occupied. I have many things to put up here, I just have to type them out first. Some news:

I’ve managed to finally get my workroom sorted. For those not in the know, I’ve lived for three years in a two-bedroom duplex, and I use the second bedroom as a workroom for computer equipment. I’ve been short on furnture for most of the past three years, and in no room is it more evident than in this computer room. However, I’ve recently gotten around to finally putting up a couple of shelves (1x12x9) for storing equipment, and this has relieved most of the burden. This means I’ve cleared off the tables which were holding piles of cards, computers and software (for the most part). At long last, I have a designated bench to fix computers on; I have a modicum of sanity; I have order among chaos.

At some point, I intend to catalog my interesting or exotic equipment (SGI, Sun, NeXt, DEC, Vintage Apple, etc.) and put them somewhere on the main site. Another benefit of having cleared out some space in the computer room is that I’ve finally gotten around to building spare systems that I can sell for cheap; expect an update soon with the details. They’ll make great systems for your kids or grandparents.

In other news, I took the CIW Foundations exam last week, which makes me a Certified Internet Web Professional Associate. Many of you have probably never heard of the CIW exams, so I decided I should take the time to explain my thoughts and history with it, along with all the other certifications i’ve taken, in a future entry. Look for it soon.

I’ve also purchased myself a new laptop – an Acer Aspire 5050. It’s an inexpensive but powerful little thing – really, my dream laptop. It has everything I’ve wanted in a laptop (save for a webcam – though some models of the 5050 include one, mine did not); a DVD-RW, modem (for troubleshooting dial-up issues), small footprint, and an external VGA port (for connecting to projectors and doing presentations).

It came with a license for Vista Home Basic, which I ran for about 30 mins before deciding the OS was unstomachable. It is now triple-booting Windows XP Pro, Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy), and BackTrack 3. It’s been a lot of fun (and a lot of work) getting Ubuntu to work properly; this model laptop is apparently known for some difficulties, and I’ll cover the details of my tribulations in a future post.

Lots of future posts, huh? I just haven’t had the time to write them. I plan on taking a written test to get my motorcycle test driving permit soon; I’ve also decided I want to take the Server+ exam before summer is over. I’ll also be heading to NYC in a couple weeks for The Last HOPE. And I consider this to be a pretty lazy summer.

Right now, I’m downtown at ISCG waiting for the fireworks to start. Working on the top floor of Fort Industry Square and having a deck is one of the perks of this job; they launch the fireworks directly across the river from us, and I’d have to say its about the best view you could hope for. Nothing in the way, just you and the sky – plus, it’s not too crowded. And having a parking permit in the Seagate Center saves me a lot of money, too.

Shout-outs to Dave Lockert, who is working buku hours in Chicago this summer for Air2Access. We miss you, Dave.

Anyone interested in accompanying me to Cedar Point in early August?

A couple years ago, I had ran into one of my colleagues at Owens, Tom Gray, in the copy room of the Engineering office. He was grading exams he had recently given in his UNIX class (EET 208 for Owens students), and I was just stopping in the room to make copies of something for my Computer Diagnosis class later on that day.

We made some brief chat before I turned my attention to my copying, and it wasn’t too long afterwards that I heard Tom start to laugh. I of course asked him what was so funny, and he showed me what one of his students, Dave Lockert, wrote for an answer on the exam he was grading (note that this was an open-book exam).

(Click for larger view)

I knew Dave, as we actually went to the same high school and I also happened to know that he was (is?) a big World of Warcraft fan – hence the wording of the response. Still, both Tom and I found great humor in it, and Tom decided to spot him some extra points for the sheer balls, nerdiness, and creativity required to do such a thing.

Thanks to Tom Gray and Dave Lockert for making this possible.

I often get many talented young students who are eager to start in a career with IT, but lack the experience to get their foot in the door at a local tech company. Having been there myself, I’ve decided to share my thoughts on ways to make a few bucks and build experience while waiting for that first official tech job. What follows is a list of four broad areas of technology work that I’ve made money on the side with, complete with the details of what skills to hone, what tools you’ll need, and any other miscellaneous tips I can offer. I’ve also included a recommended certification for you to pursue, in case you want to provide potential customers with more reasons to trust your qualifications.

The following list is primarily intended for young college students with their own cars. A working vehicle is fairly important, since much of what you’ll be doing involves traveling across town to pick up and work on systems.

It is also important to understand your target audience. Namely, understand why people are willing to go to you rather than to an established business. Here are some things to think about:

* A college student working by himself is more likely to charge less for their work than a business, saving the customer money.

* College students typically have a more flexible schedule than local businesses, meaning they are more likely to work nights or weekends to take care of something.

* College students generally do not have a large customer base, meaning the work they do will be very personal and one-on-one. Many people like that they are interacting with a human being, making small talk, and generally establishing a relationship with the person they are hiring to do their work. This can work to the mutual benefit of both you and the customer.

* Many people sympathize with the traditionally poor economic standing of the typical college student, seeing their patronage of your work a way of supporting your interest in gaining an education by lightening your financial burden.

From my own experience, if you are honest, effective, and have good rates, and you will be extremely successful. Being able to communicate well and make small talk are a huge asset, and something that you will get better at as you do more work. Keep in mind that doing a good job will often result in that customer seeking your work in the future, as well as spreading the word and possibly getting you more jobs.

Word of mouth will be your best advertising, but there are things you can do to get the ball rolling faster. Consider placing advertisements in local newspapers, on craigslist, or around college campuses and other public places. Advertise your services, qualifications, and contact info. Don’t forget to mention that you’re a college student looking to make some extra cash and trying to build experience.

1. Computer Repair – this is probably the most common path people start on, which also makes it one of the most competitive. Trying to market yourself and get a good reputation can take time, but there is certainly no shortage of work to be done. Everyone has a computer these days, and there is always work to be done on them, even if its just general maintenance. The key is to proving you are a capable technician who is passionate about your work; having competitive pricing helps, too. Try looking at what local computer shops charge to do certain work and use that as a benchmark.

Skills: Diagnosing symptoms, advising courses of action, installing new components, upgrading components, replacing broken components, spyware/virus removal, performing/setting up data backups, reloading operating systems, repairing operating systems, installing/updating drivers, software installation, configuring Windows, configuring common applications

Tools: Experience, Phillips screwdriver, known good spare parts, spare computers, power supply tester, Windows installation discs, diagnostic software, IDE to USB cable, test station, soldering iron, solder, portable external HDD, flash drives, Norton Ghost, canned air, multimeter

Certifications: CompTIA A+

Tips: Try collecting old computers that people are throwing away. You can sometimes fix these and resell them (think garage sales, websites, craigslist, local papers), or test and find the good parts for use in the future. A good PCI sound card might be exactly what a future customer needs when their’s goes bad; hold onto anything and everything that works, space in your house permitting.

2. Home Networking – people are still switching over from dial-up to broadband, and even more are moving from single-system setups to multiple-system networks. As such, there is a need for installing and configuring home networks using simple routers and switches connected to a cable or DSL modem. It is handy in these situations to be able to crimp and run CAT5 or CAT6 cables for people, as not everyone wants (or can implement) WiFi. I recall pitching in with a friend to buy a 1000′ spool of CAT5e that we then cut up and sold to people. We were able to pay off the cost of the spool (about $60 at the time), keep some for ourselves, and still make some extra money, thanks to the difficulty and expense in buying a length of cable longer than 25′ from big box companies like Best Buy.

Skills: Understanding network hardware, understanding TCP/IP, testing network connectivity on workstations, configuring workstations, configuring home routers, configuring wireless security, creating network cables

Tools: Experience, crimper, 8P8C RJ-45 ends, spool of CAT5/6, punch-down tool, cable tester, cable tracer, known-good cables (straight-through, crossover, and rollover), laptop

Certifications: CompTIA Network+

Tips: Get familiar with DSL setups. Don’t forget that line filters need to be installed on all other phone devices sharing that phone number, and that depending on your provider, you may have to configure the router with PPPoE. Learn to assess the trade-off between convenience and security when asked to secure a wireless network. Also, check eBay for 100-pack bags of 8P8C ends, RJ-45 crimpers, and cable testers; you can get all three for less than $20, shipping included.

3. Web Design - many small businesses like the idea of setting up a website, though they don’t require much information on them – usually just a rundown of their services, contact information, and any tidbits relevent to the service they provide. Once you get started with a business or two, you can use their designs as a way of establishing your worthiness to future customers. Many are surprised at the relevant inexpensiveness of running a site; I always break the costs down into three major divisions, which are domain registration ($15/year), hosting (~$5/month), and design (whatever you charge).

Skills: Understanding DNS, understanding CGI, consulting, layout design, graphic design, HTML coding, creating forms, server-side scripting, purchasing/setting up domains, setting up/configuring hosting services, setting up/configuring e-mail, setting up/configuring e-commerce

Tools: Experience, notepad, HTML, XML, CSS, Javascript, VBScript, PHP, ASP, Perl, SQL, Microsoft Access, Flash, FrontPage, Dreamweaver, Apache, IIS, Adobe Photoshop, Jasc Paint Shop Pro, The GIMP

Certifications: Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)

Tips: Build a website of your own to act as an advertisement for your design skills. Keep a portfolio of other sites you’ve done on the site, and make sure to point out what you can and can’t do. Also, make sure to clarify with your customers early on that there will be separate fees for updating or adding to the site later that are not included with the initial design fee.

4. Audio/Video – there is a fairly decent demand for converting vinyl records and cassette tapes to audio CDs, and for converting VHS tapes or old family videos into playable DVDs. With the right tools, you can do these yourself; all it takes is a good capture card, the right cables, the right software, and a little know-how. Oh, and some blank discs.

Skills: Converting legacy media into digital files, editing audio/video files, burning CDs/DVDs

Tools: Experience, DVD Recorder, TV capture card, VCR, tape deck, DVD player, assorted media conversion cables, Adobe Premiere, Nero, Handbrake, iMovie, iDVD, Audacity, blank discs

Certifications: (None)

Tips: Scour local garage sales and craigslist for used record players, tape decks, VCRs, laser disc players, reel-to-reel projectors, etc. You never know when you’ll get a job with obscure media, and jobs with legacy equipment are typically more costly.

This article is an adaptation of a speech I normally give to interested students in my class.

I’ve been kicking this idea around for a while, and I finally typed this up at work today. Looking for comments/criticisms/ideas – feel free to contact me. Note that I gave this a version number (0.1) – I’ll create new versions of this as the content gets refined, and anyone interested will get sent a copy of the newer versions.

Title: Technology Organization Outline (Draft)
Author: Sean Nestor (seannestor@gmail.com)
Current Version: 0.1 (April 23, 2008)

I. Table of Contents

I. Table of Contents
II. Overview
III. Purpose
IV. Function
V. Structure
VI. Budget
VII. Membership
VIII. Activity
IX. Projects

II. Overview

This document is a draft outlining the purpose and function of a proposed organization. The content is presented here in an effort to field both support and criticism for the end result of maturing and developing the ideas within. You are encouraged to provide feedback of any nature to the author.

III. Purpose

The proposed organization is to be a collective of Toledo-area technology hobbyists, enthusiasts, and workers gathered for the primary purpose of collaborating together on projects of benefit to the surrounding community.

Note that in this case, technology refers specifically to computing technology and its many related disciplines, including but not limited to: computer repair, networking, telecommunications, electrical engineering, computer programming, web development, graphic design, and multimedia creation.

IV. Function

The functions of this organization will be manifold. Some of the broad aims of the organization will be to:

• Keep a focus on information technology as a viable force within the Toledo area
• Promote the (responsible) use of technology as a tool for bettering the community
• Foster an environment with interpersonal networking opportunities for those seeking to develop their knowledge of information technology
• Engender a society conducive to the interests and concerns of the technology community at large

Many young people of this generation have a familiarity and even fascination with computing technology, ranging in magnitude from interested to passionate. In their search for turning knowledge into a marketable resource, many become discouraged by the lack of opportunity present – turning some away from what would otherwise be their desired career path and dispatching others to different cities to seek employment.

This organization will keep talented youths in this region by providing them with opportunities to volunteer their efforts and prove themselves on a public scale, while also providing them with an environment in which they can associate with like-minded individuals.

V. Structure

The nature of the organization might best be described as a lodge or fraternity, though at present the idea is to legally register the organization as a 501(c)3 non-profit. Should registration as a 501(c)3 fail, a 501(c)10 may be the next area to pursue. (Note that much of the difficulty in establishing the organization is expected to be in correctly filing paperwork to legally register the organization and handling taxes thereafter)

The governing authority will consist of a board and a director. A treasurer and secretary will also be instituted. In the event of a sudden resignation by a member of any of these positions, a temporary replacement can be appointed by the unanimous vote of the board. The position will then be filled until the next election cycle, except in the case of the director position.

Any active due-paying member can run for a board position, and will be elected by a popular vote of active members. Board positions will go up for election once per year on a predetermined and unchanging schedule. Board members may be removed from their position by a positive vote in favor of removal by all other board members, or by ceasing to pay their annual dues and thus becoming an inactive member.

The director must be an active due-paying member, and will be appointed by a unanimous vote of the board. The director will hold a reserved position on the board, and act as the tiebreaking vote in the event of a tie. Directors may be removed from their position by a positive vote in favor of removal by all members of the board excluding the director, or by ceasing to pay the annual dues and thus becoming an inactive member.

The secretary and treasurer must be active due-paying members, and will be appointed by a unanimous vote of the board. They may be removed from their position by a positive vote of in favor of removal by all members of the board excluding the director, or by ceasing to pay the annual dues and thus becoming an inactive member.

Together, the board and director will be responsible for such tasks as confirming the status of proposed projects, the administration of finances to active projects, organizational policy changes, the frequency and placement of member meetings, and any other decisions affecting the operation of the organization. Voting in these matters will be based on either a majority vote or unanimous vote, the type to be determined by the director. Votes may also be put before the body of active members. (Note that the number of members comprising the board is yet to be determined and open to suggestions)

The treasurer will aid in the management and handling of budget matters, acting as an advisor and record-keeper of the organization’s budget. The secretary will aid in the recording and management of relevant information, including meeting minutes, membership applications, membership records, and the like. These positions do not get voting rights as a board member, though they may be held as a dual role by board members.

VI. Budget

The organization’s budget will be derived primarily from annual membership dues and donations. All money generated from these sources of income will be placed in a banking account registered in the name of the organization, and withdrawal of money from this account must not occur unless officially sanctioned by the board.

Other forms of income may be explored, such as drives or sales, pending board approval. In the drives in question, members may volunteer their skills and services in exchange for financial compensation from the general public that will go toward the organization’s budget. (Liability and legal responsibilities for such an event would need to be researched heavily prior to execution)

VII. Membership

Membership will be open to all individuals, pending approval from the board. No specific requirements will need to be fulfilled to achieve membership aside from filling out a membership application and providing the cost of annual dues. The proposed cost of annual dues is $25.

Membership applications will be reviewed and approved by the board at the periodic meetings held by the organization. The date of the meeting where the membership application is approved by the board will be established as the official start date of the applicant’s membership.

The membership is valid for one year after the date of membership, after which the member will be required to provide the cost of annual dues in order to renew their membership for another year. Renewing membership ensures that the member is to be considered ‘active’ by the organization, entitling them to all rights and privileges bestowed upon those with membership status.

If a member does not renew their dues upon expiration of their yearly membership, they are considered to be an ‘inactive’ member. An inactive member has no entitlement to the rights and privileges bestowed upon those with membership status.

Membership to an individual who has filed a membership application and provided dues may be rejected by the board, though it is expected that this option will rarely, if ever, be exercised. When exercised, a full refund of the due money provided by the individual will be returned to them.

Membership rights include the right to vote in elections, run for board positions, and propose projects to the board. (Note that this area needs to be expanded upon, detailing what members can do that non-members can’t, and also any violations that can result in having rights or membership status revoked, aside from non-payment of dues)

VIII. Activity

The organization will periodically convene at a location to be determined by the board, during which official duties will be performed. Some of the duties include reading minutes of the previous meeting, documenting attendance, approving membership applications, reading of announcements, opening the floor to new ideas or proposals, and taking board votes on various issues.

The proposed frequency of these meetings will be once per month. The proposed location is that of a public restaurant. Attendance of meetings will be mandatory for board members, the director, the treasurer, and the secretary.

The social aspect of the organization will be paramount. The meetings will be held in an atmosphere conducive to both formal and informal discussions. Time should be allotted to allow informal communication between members to occur.

While not in attendance at meetings, members will be encouraged to participate via a web-based forum on the organization’s web site. As with the meetings, both formal and informal discussions will be allowed.

Other gatherings may be announced by the board upon the board’s decision to hold a gathering separate from the periodic meetings. The board and director may also convene in private, without attendance or knowledge of other members, to have discussions and take votes on matters related to the organization.

IX. Projects

Projects are the activities which will require volunteer work by members to complete. These projects will provide members with an opportunity to develop their technical skills and build experience.

Projects can be proposed by any member, though a project will not become sanctioned by the organization until a unanimous vote of approval by the board takes place. The handling of these projects will either be managed by the board itself or delegated to a committee of comprised of members appointed by the board. Board members will have the right to add, remove, or replace members of the committee, as well as the right to disengage a project.

Once sanctioned, each project will be given a status indicating its progress stage; stages will include concept, development, active, completed, and aborted. The details of the project, including its stage, will be made publicly available via the organization’s web site.

Some of the proposed initial projects are as follows.

• ToledoVotes.com – a website providing access voter resources for Toledo citizens. Highlights include a simple design that focuses on providing simple (but accurate and truthful!) summations of the voting issues and candidates, providing access to more detailed information (possibly including interviews with candidates and key advocates/detractors of an issue), easy voter registration information, a tax calculator (to determine how much a proposed measure would cost the user in taxes), and a discussion forum.
• LAN Party – the idea has been proposed to host a professional-grade LAN party. This would include printed passes, free food/drinks, entertainment, competitions, and prizes. This entails funding for hall, furniture, and equipment rental, as well as marketing/advertising costs. Much of this can probably be mitigated by volunteer efforts, though a door charge may assist in covering the costs.
• Technology Expo – potentially held on a monthly or semi-annual basis, the idea is to rent a venue for a day or weekend and provide booths for technology vendors to market their wares. Other attractions might include door prizes, demonstrations, and refreshments. Revenue would probably be generated by charging for booths, and a minimal door charge for those in attendance ($2-3), with discounts for college students, the elderly, and children. Advertising/marketing costs would need to be substantial.
• Online PC Tech Directory – provide an online directory (hosted on the organization’s website) free to the public where technicians unaffiliated with a business can advertise their skills to those in need of inexpensive home or small business repair work. Technicians will list their qualifications, their rates, what tasks they can do, and other relevant information; this will then be placed on a searchable web page. A ratings system may become a consideration if traffic is high enough.
• System Recycling Program – collect used or broken computers from the general public, and then fix them and prepare them for distribution to a variety of local charities or organizations that can’t afford them. Will need to ensure secure wiping of hard drives on donated systems, and paperwork informing charities that the donated systems are not under any kind of support from the organization. Will likely use Ubuntu Linux and other free software packages unless licensed software comes included with the donated systems.

Some cool screen savers I use/have used.

1. Electric Sheep – Got this one from Dan Melzak. Used it on my laptop for a while. It does take some computing power, but the generated graphics are truly awe-inspiring.

   Electric Sheep is a free, open source screen saver run by thousands of people all over the world. It can be installed on any ordinary PC or Mac. When these computers ‘sleep’, the screen saver comes on and the computers communicate with each other by the internet to share the work of creating morphing abstract animations known as ‘sheep’. The result is a collective ‘android dream’, an homage to Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?.

2. Surveillance Saver – Got this one from Bruce Schneier’s Blog. Used this on my work computer for a while. I’ve always been intrigued by the voyeuristic and Orwellian nature of web-enabled cameras. It’s also amusing to watch a busy food court in a Norwegian mall while you’re bored at work.

   SurveillanceSaver is a screensaver for OS X and Windows that shows live images of over 400 network surveillance cameras worldwide. A haunting live soap opera.

3. System 47 – Got this one from Leonard just the other day. Just a nifty screen saver which emulates the computer console used in Star Trek.

Anybody else have any good screen savers to share?