A few days ago, I started a process that involves very heavy file processing operations that take anywhere from 10 minutes on the low side to 30 minutes on the high side. Wanting to be as efficient as possible and not let the computer sit idle for any meaningful length of time, and since the …
WARNING: This post involves live mains electricity and is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS! Do not attempt this project on your own unless you are qualified to do so. I advise you to engage a licensed electrician to help you build this test unit! Most of my electronics projects involve modern devices that require low voltage DC and …
When it comes to Linux, the best desktop note taking tool, in my opinion, is Zim Wiki. I love this tool and have used it for a long time. That said, the 800 pound gorilla of note taking tools is Evernote, but unless you want to use the web client, your options on Linux are …
A couple of months ago I decided to move my company’s Asterisk PBX system from one of our physical data-center servers to Amazon’s AWS EC2 Platform. We had been using Trixbox since 2006, but the Community Edition of that product (Trixbox CE) is no longer being developed and is no longer supported. Since I was …
Testing batteries seems like an overly simple topic for a blog post, but unless you have a good quality battery tester, then chances are you’re not testing your batteries correctly. When testing with a multimeter, most people will simply take an open circuit voltage measurement from their cell. The problem with this approach is that …
One of my ongoing home automation frustrations is the interface between my Ademco Alarm Panel and the Raspberry Pi I use to monitor the panel’s bus traffic. The problem that I have is a termination of the USB connection between the AD2USB (AlarmDecoder) that taps into the Ademco panel and the Pi itself. This always …
Detecting Failed AD2USB to Raspberry Pi Connections Read More »
I’m a big fan of Amazon’s EC2 platform and long ago migrated all of my servers to its “cloud”. I’m also a realist when it comes to security and take all of the reasonable precautions I can to limit my risks. One such precaution is two-factor authentication for SSH (see my article “Two-Factor Authentication System …
Wireless networks have become ubiquitous. We use them at home, work, mall, airport, coffee shop and just about everywhere else we go. When setting up a wireless network, it’s wise to spend some quality time considering how you plan to use that network. One important question to consider, is will guests be allowed to have …
I recently upgraded my office by moving to a great new location. As part of the move I added a ton of new space to accommodate our rapid growth and even added a “play area” for the staff so they can burn off some of the frustrations of the “daily grind” with a bit of …
I’ve been running a pfSense router on a small form-factor PC for a few years and have been happy with my setup. What I don’t like though is that the PC is relatively loud and draws way more power than is necessary to meet my routing needs. As part of a recent move I thought …
