Daily Techno-Babble

Recently I found myself in the position of having to manage a large number of Cisco routers spread out across a very large geographic area. Initially I was not aware of any tools other than Ciscoworks that were capable of managing these devices. I figured that other products existed but since cost was a factor I was empowered to build an entire management process from the ground up with virtually no budget (sound familiar?). Situations such as this have their disadvantages, not the least being the cost of the tools required compared to how much management one really needs. In this case I really needed to automate as much as possible since I was an “army of one” with little to no funding to back up large software or hardware purchases.

I am happy to report that not only did I find many free or low-cost products to accomplish my goal of better network management, I was also able to far exceed expectations for an automated network management setup that ended up costing less than $2000. In addition to making my life easier these tools also made me look good since now my boss could show off all kinds of screen eye-candy to upper management which is a win-win for all involved.

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As I have mentioned before, I am a huge fan of using a multimedia projector for watching movies and TV. These is just something about having a 100″+ screen that makes the whole process much more enjoyable! Up until recently my favorite projector was the Epson S1, which performed great for about 3 years with no problems whatsoever. My only real complaint was the rather low resolution (800×600) and the brightness on the Panoview Greywolf screen I have been using. To address these two issues I decided to save up and purchase a new projector that had at least 2000 lumens and was at least able to display native XGA (1024×768) resolution. After a failed attempt to use a DLP projector I settled on another Epson, the 76c. Read the rest of this entry »

Several rumor mills are at it again with talk about how Apple is going to release the iPhone sometime early next year. Good news for all since they are talking about two versions, one is a “smart” phone style device with Wi-Fi access and a full qwerty keyboard and the other will be a iPod + phone style combination (see photo). I am sure speculation will continue to run rampant but this latest rumors smacks of truth in that the two models would address 90% or more of the market in both features and design. Of course the news that they have also copyrighted the name “iPhone” is also quite telling….

All I wanted was to be able to watch TV late at night without disturbing my girlfriend who has to be up for work at 3am. So I decided to purchase some decent quality headphones that I could use to solve the problem. I wanted them to be wireless so I could avoid dealing with the annoyance of a long cable running across the room. I checked out several Bluetooth headphones but ultimately decided that paying $100+ for a pair of basic (non-noise canceling) headphones seemed unreasonable so I headed out to the local CompUSA to see if I could find a RF set that was priced under $100. I did find a pair of JVC HAW300RF 900mhz Wireless Headphones that were on sale for only $29! I thought I was getting an awesome deal….boy was I wrong. To sum up my experience with these headphones, they sucked. They proved far more effective at picking up my neighbor’s 900mhz cordless phone conversations than allowing me to listen to my TV. As if the crappy reception was not bad enough, the battery only lasted about an hour even though it was supposed to last over four! So, I packed them up and headed back to the CompUSA and ultimately ended up purchasing a pair of Sennheiser HD-465 Stereo Headphones which were decidedly not wireless. So here I sit, with a thin black cable running across the room but listening to clear, crisp audio. Problem solved.

Just today I was checking out the latest releases on iTunes and I ran across some very scary stuff. First thing I noticed was the new section for PBS, particularly the section for NOVA. Check out the pricing, what’s up with that? They are asking $7.99 per episode! Hey, these are hour long shows that are no different than any other content on iTunes, so what’s with the highway robbery pricing?

Next odd thing I noticed was the episodes for the Fox show Bones are all being displayed twice. Very strange indeed. I initially thought that maybe they were offering both formats, ipod and the higher resolution version but I can’t find anything that indicates this within iTunes itself.

Last but not least, the latest episode of Battlestar Galactica was not nearly up to the quality level I was expecting. The file was about the right size but the quality was closer to the older episodes that I had downloaded which were before they changed to the higher resolution (640×480).

Not sure what’s going on with iTunes but I hope this is just some minor growing pains that will be corrected sooner rather than later!

Many of you already know the hassles one must endure to fly someplace in today’s post-September 11th world. The long security lines, the baggage inspections, and not to mention what happens if they don’t like the way you look. Flying on commercial airlines today is almost more of a hassle than it’s worth. Recently I had the unfortunate opportunity to fly down to DC and was forced to endure yet another round of security hassles that made me think hard about where things are going in the airline industry and what I can do to make my travel agenda more bearable. Read the rest of this entry »

Recently I was in the market for a new home theater projector and decided to try the Optoma 719 since I wanted to see what all the fuss was about regarding DLP vs. LCD projectors. I was looking to replace my trusty Epson S1 (800×600, 1200 Lumens) with something with both higher resolution (XGA, 1024×768) and brighter output (at least 2000 Lumens). Initially my instincts told me to just purchase the Epson 76c, another LCD projector which was a virtual drop-in replacement for the S1, just with the upgraded features I was looking for. However, numerous reviews online spoke very highly of DLP projectors for home theater use so I decided to give the Optoma a try. Read the rest of this entry »