SMS Messaging via PC

In a 24/7 operation it can be a bit of a battle in maintaining 100% up-time in your operations. To this end, automated messaging systems via SMS were developed. Some of these systems include the following.

GSM Modem:

http://www.mobiledata.com.au/Product/ProductList.asp?lngSubCatID=826

http://www.esis.com.au/Modems-industrial/GSM_CDMA_Modems.htm

http://www.wwsinternational.com.au/maestro-wireless-modem/

Alternative may be SMS gateway:

http://www.zabbix.com/wiki/howto/config/alerts/smsapi

http://www.message-media.com.au/

https://www.smsbroadcast.com.au/?gclid=CKvjgKvEk58CFQwwpAodtiqTzA

Interface to a mobile phone:

http://www.gnokii.org/docs.shtml

http://www.developershome.com/sms/freeLibForSMS.asp

http://tuxmobil.org/phones_linux_sms.html

Cheap Programmable Robots

I've always had somewhat of an interest in robots. Up until fairly recently though there haven't really been any cheap robots that I've been particularly interested in. Two that I recently found (and that were on sale :-)) were the Asuro as well as the Viper from Microbrics.

The Microbrics option seems to be aimed towards the beginner and reminds me a lot of more expensive Lego and Mecanno options. Components are Lego like in that they fit together as 'modules'. For instance, one module may consist of an IR receiver (for commands from a remote control) while another may consist of a small electric motor. Funnily enough, there also seem to be completely cosmetic parts as well. You should note that most of the parts are put together using a small (supplied) Philips headed screwdriver. The manual was decent but there could have been more detail to be honest (its fairly short at around 30 pages). Unlike other inexpensive robots though this one can be programmed via a serial port (newer versions can be programmed via USB obviously) using an IDE that uses the BASIC programming language. Moreover, it includes sensors for bump detection, motorised wheels as well as mechanisms for remote control, and line detection.

http://www.microbric.com/page.php?sId=17

The Asuro robot is probably one of the least expensive options on the market for something this, 'advanced'. The reason why this is the case is that unlike other robots you need to completely assemble/solder it yourself. (For those of you who are relatively new to soldering short pin/side corresponds to the flat side of the LED diagram on the PCB. For those of you who are impatient, read the manual quickly but 'properly'. Some parts are more difficult to connect if others have been installed first. Other than that does not seem overly difficult to assemble.)

Like other more advanced electronic devices it can be programmed using the C programming language as well as a Visual Interface (which only seems to be accessible using German at this stage though). Like the Viper, it includes sensors for bump detection, motorised wheels as well as mechanisms for remote control, and line detection.

http://www.arexx.com/arexx.php?cmd=goto&cparam=p_asuro

http://www.arexx.com/arexx.php?cmd=goto&cparam=p_asuro_downloads

Network Monitoring Systems

Nagios: is clearly the easiest to install/administer (even from source). Graphs could be better though but plugins and community support/documentation are probably the best.

Zabbix: is easily the best for graphs but still a slight learning curve and documentation could be better. SNMP support is lacking but is supposedly part of a commercial downstream project and is a project request for 1.8 (next version), slightly worried about agent having security vulnerabilities as well (although it does seem to be patched regularly).

ZenOSS: could be great but still has too many bugs and there's too much of a learning curve. In future I think this will be 'the standard' for larger networks if Zabbix doesn't fix its SNMP capabilities and/or Nagios doesn't fix its graphs or or plugin to do better graphing.

SNIPS: was a disaster. Don't want to even talk about it. Everything is manually configured (crontab, source code install, etc...) guessing it was developed a long time ago and hasn't been worked on since.

OpenNMS: will try later...

All have the ability to Email/SMS provided correct plugin.

All have SNMP/IP capabilities and other service monitoring.

Windows Tiling Window Managers

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiling_window_manager

- Twinsplay: neat if you're into keyboard shortcuts, costs something, 29USD

- MaxTo, you basically setup regions beforehand and then max/min

within those regions, free

- WindowSize: extremely flexible and has pre-aranged setups. If money

wasn't a problem I'd probably go with this. not free, 20 USD

- GridMove: lack of flexibility with preset templates, free

- HashTWM: think TWM for windows, looked at help file not fun to use, free

- bugn: it works but has non-intuitive interface, doesn't work well

with multiple monitors, free

UPS Device Control/Configuration

APC UPS

http://www.digitalgraphics.com.au/apc-ups.html (Serial Settings)

Settings are 8,0,1,Xon/Xoff

The APC SC 1500 UPS uses a very simple command language that is based around single characters and control characters. Apparently, USB interface is slightly buggy (could be software/firmware but apparently requires to re-attach cable every once in a while).

http://www.networkupstools.org/protocols/apcsmart.html (APC commands)

http://linux.die.net/man/8/apcupsd (APC control software)

Upsonic UPS

While cheap the Upsonic Power PrOffice 650 seems to have configuration software available for it. It has an RS-232 interface and has Linux interfacing software.

http://www.ups-software-download.com/

Favourite Links

http://arstechnica.com
http://www.osnews.com/
http://www.reddit.com/
http://www.linux.com/
http://www.lifehacker.com.au/
http://www.engadget.com/
http://www.tomshardware.com/
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/
http://www.linuxtoday.com/
http://www.techradar.com/
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/
http://www.f1technical.net/
http://stackoverflow.com/
http://techcrunch.com/
http://serverfault.com/
http://highscalability.com/
http://www.newscientist.com/
http://phys.org
http://www.itnews.com
http://itwire.com
http://www.zone-h.org/
http://www.net-security.org/
http://www.h-online.com/
http://www.computerweekly.com/
http://www.wired.co.uk/
http://www.digitaltrends.com/
http://www.nature.com/
http://allthingsd.com/
http://www.infosecisland.com/
http://www.theguardian.com
http://www.google.com.au/news
http://www.bing.com/news
http://newslookup.com

Asus 1005P disassembly

The Seashell series look a little bit intimidating since they hide most of the hardware under a very streamlined exterior which seems to be fairly fragile. To upgrade the hard drive you need to remove all four screws from underneath. Then you need to remove a screw from underneath the RAM cover. Then using a business card push in the notches at the top of the keyboard (to avoid scratching the keyboard) inwards and lever upwards and towards you the keyboard. Then remove all screws underneath. You may need to remove the ZIF connector for the keyboard. Then use the business card around the edge of the laptop to separate the top from the middle panel. Remove the ZIF connector from the top of the hard drive by levering the notch upwards and towards the side of the laptop. Then remove relevant screws and pull the hard drive out. Reassembly should be the opposite.

Mobile 3G Router

Of late, I've discovered like others that having gadgets can have benefits as well as downsides. For instance, I have a phone that is just has a prepaid SIM card in it but I would like to upgrade to 3G connectivity but I can't be bothered upgrading my SIM card. As such, I'm reliant on free Internet WiFi hotspots for my connectivity and sometimes even swapping the 3G SIM card from my wireless dongle into my phone when I'm especially desperate. The time was nigh though when a series of devices were produced which had possessed certain things I had in mind though. One of them was the Netcomm 3GT1WN, while another was the Edimax 3G-6200n. Both are similar in that they allow you to insert a wireless USB 3G modem in order to establish a connection, both have a wireless hotspot capability, but most of all they both have the ability to be able to utilise an existing Ethernet based technology in order to use for WAN connectivity or to otherwise use as a LAN port for connection via 3G for when your primary connection goes down (which I have recently been having problems with during the last two weeks. Hence, my interest in these gadgets.). They differ though in the total number of devices they support as well as the battery life. Battery life on the Netcomm device is almost double that of the Edimax (4 vs 1.5) based on reviews on other websites. Moreover, while the Edimax supports about several dozen odd modems the Netcomm seems to support most modems on the market today making it a possible permanent solution for your routing problems. My only real gripes with it may be the occasional stall due to multiple concurrent connections sharing the same bandwidth, the slightly bulkier size, occasional stalls (that may be network related), and a sluggish web interface. I would also like the ability to have both separate WAN/LAN ports. Apart from that it is sensible price effective backup solution for your networking needs.

Mac OS X G4 on a PC via PearPC

Old technology but I wanted to take a look at MacOSX without having to fork out the dollars for the technology. First step is acquiring a copy of MacOSX. Best place is via technology classifieds. Next step, is getting a copy of PearPC and PearPCSetup (to ease setup of the configuration file as well as virtual hard drives). Then extract PearPC (jitc version) to a directory of your choice. Run PearPCSetup. Then create a VM as you would in VirtualBox and/or VMWare. Depending on your version of OSX you may need to setup a network adapter as well and/or setup a TAP device. After this boot from a relevant boot image and install as any other MacOSX installation would go. Note that depending on the size of the hard drive you have setup you may have a very long wait. Moreover, you may need to reboot in order to have the installation recognize this as something that you can install the operating system to. Note that it may also be easier if you decide to rip all CD's to ISO files first and use this as your installation media. This can be both quicker as well as quieter. You'll also note the CD's have a tendency to be smaller in size (about the 350 mark for my G4 cd's).

- as usual thanks to all of the individuals and groups who purchase and use my goods and services
http://sites.google.com/site/dtbnguyen/
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com.au/

Replacing LCD on Toshiba NB200

Make sure that you have the correct replacement screen. Remove all power from the device including battery and from the power adapter. Remove the bottom two rubber fittings from the bottom of the screen and then unscrew the screws underneath. The panel itself is not really made to be repaired. You need to push inside out as there are plastic latches holding the panels together. Do this carefully or you're very likely to snap something and be unable to put it together again. A screwdriver from outside levering the panels away from each other while pushing with with your fingers from the inside may be necessary. Unscrew the LCD panel and carefully remove it. Unplug the ribbon cable from the motherboard to the old LCD and and fit it to the new LCD. Turn it on and ensure that the max resolution is correct. Note that 10 inch net-books can come in variants of 1024x600 and 1024x576. Re-fit LCD panel into laptop and then snap the plastic panels together again. Of course, you could always pay someone else to repair it as well.

- as usual thanks to all of the individuals and groups who purchase and use my goods and services
http://sites.google.com/site/dtbnguyen/
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com.au/

Drive Imaging

Ever since computers have started to come without restoration disks for 'environmental reasons', users have often had to rely on proprietary backup methods in order to create rescue methods (but which often have flaws with them as well). I've experimented with several different means through which to achieve free backup. These include G4U, G4L, Partimage (via System Rescue CD), Clonezilla.

G4U

Cons: BSD based, minimal hardware support, minimal documentation on the actual disk itself

Benefits: small, fast, easy to use provided you know how to setup a FTP server and have a DHCP server already in your network, one file only to deal with

G4L

Cons: can be a steep learning curve for those new to imaging

Benefits: Linux based, good hardware support, option of both CLI and menu based interface systems, good options for compression of image, one file only

Clonezilla

Cons: seems to output to multiple files in a directory as opposed to a single file

Benefits: simple to use

Partimage

Cons: unless I'm mistaken can only save/restore partitions

Benefits: easy to use, pretty much just a bunch of menu options

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/FtpFs

http://www.sysresccd.org/Sysresccd-manual-en_Network

http://www.partimage.org/Partimage-manual_Network-support

http://www.partimage.org/Partimage-manual

http://www.thefreecountry.com/utilities/backupandimage.shtml

http://www.paragon-software.com/business/adaptiveimagingtools/

- as usual thanks to all of the individuals and groups who purchase and use my goods and services
http://sites.google.com/site/dtbnguyen/
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com.au/