Need I say anymore? I think XKCD has said it all!.. Users eh?

Firstly, I would like to say that using a wireless network which is not yours, will probably land you in some trouble. But, hey, it’s not for me to judge, I’m just here to provide the information!

After very recently looking for some admin-like answers to some wireless network problems I was having, I found this article that details in a Make Magazine or Instructables style, how to create a “Predator” wireless access point sniffer.

The Predator is a hacked router and huge wireless receiver, plus a tripod. It will scan the surrounding area for the strongest unencrypted, or “open” wireless network and repeat it into your network. And because of the over-average size of the receiver, you should be able to get a good signal as long as you have a fairly good line-of-sight. So you will have free wireless internet, while still retaining control of your network security. Very cool, but remember it might be illegal depending on where you live and laws in that country etc. Also, I wouldn’t suggest sticking the thing right next to the window as in the pictures, unless you want the SAS zip-lining into your lounge after reports of a sniper in your building!

There’s a serious “Geek alert” on this article. If you don’t know what IPv4 or IPv6 is then I suggest you look away and read the next article.. For those who are still reading, IPv6 address have been implemented on almost half of the root servers which means that IPv6 systems can communicate with each other without any legacy IPv4 stuff being used.

Why do we care? Well the number of IP addresses that are currently allocated on the internet is going to hit a very real limit in about 3 years time. This is because the pool of IP addresses available within IPv4 is nearly all used up. Of course back when the IPv4 standard was drawn up in the 70’s, it was never thought that there would be a need to address more than 4 billion computers on the internet. Thankfully with the IPv6 standard, which has had a real push for implementation, that upper limit of IP addresses goes up by a factor of 4 - a number roughly equivalent to 3 followed by 38 zeroes. Hopefully this will be enough for another 30 years! [SHOW ME]

H2O Networks, based in Merseyside, are soon to install a fibre network into the sewers of either Bournemouth, Dundee or Northampton. The choice is up to the local councils apparently in who gets their paperwork ready first. The first “fibrecity” project will be announced in April, and will take approximately 18 months to complete. So we can expect the city to be live hopefully sometime in 2010 - and the speeds? A minimum of 100Mbit/s!

Using the sewers is nothing new - hundreds of miles of pre-installed pipes deep under the ground have always looked like the easiest way to provide homes with the next generation of connectivity. The only thing that crosses my mind is what happens if a sewer pipe breaks and takes the fibre with it? Legally, the sewer pipe is the responsibility of the people “up-stream” from the break (if it’s private) so that means everyone the sewer serves has to get it fixed jointly. If people disagree it means no internet. It’s good however to see some changes for the better and a positive drive to increase bandwodth in the UK. And this soon after parliament recently voiced their concerns over connectivity compared to the rest of Europe. [SHOW ME]

You know the problem - you have people you would like to help out and perhaps even remotely connect to their PCs via the internet to show them how to do things. The problem is that these types of people are invariably IT novices. They are having problems because they aren’t “geeks” and because of this, getting them to install and configure remote control software you know would be a nightmare. And then if that person also has a router, you have to talk them through port-forwarding and things. And after hours on the phone, it probably still wouldn’t work. Invariably we just wouldn’t even start would we? And we would have to make a visit, which would mean the person’s PC might be out of commission until you can make time to get there and fix it. Well now things have changed…

Enter “Crossloop”. A free public beta download. The software is in a tiny download, measuring a byte-sized 2Mb. Once you’ve downloaded and installed it you have the ability to connect, or be connected to. To connect to someone it is easy with nice (almost pre-school) graphics & simple to follow buttons and boxes. If you want to connect to someone else’s PC to help them out, get them to download the Crossloop software - talk them through the install & get them to run it. When they’ve got that far, just get them to click on the Share tab at the top of the box and get them to read out the Access Code that appears in the box. Type this number into your own copy of CrossLoop, from the Access tab at the top of your box and hit Connect. Get them to also hit their Connect button, in the share tab. After a few system messages the person sharing their desktop will be asked if the person trying to remotely access should be allowed to do so. Simply get them to hit Yes and away you go.

The really cool thing with this software is it makes it a lot easier for the not so tech-savvy individual to share their desktop. Also, in the background it uses open-source VNC without any of the normal configuration required. And because both the Access and Share sessions connect centrally to talk to each other, there is no need to open any ports. Finally, for the security paranoid, the Access Code randomly changes on every launch of the CrossLoop software. Simplicity itself. [SHOW ME]

Now I think I’ve seen it all. Thin clients have been getting smaller and smaller - there’s a nice HP T5000 sat on my desk next to my laptop as I write this - and that’s a decent 8×10 inches. Now “Chip PC Technologies” has created a thin client that fits directly into an ethernet back box! So, rather than plugging an ethernet cable into the wall, you simply plug your mouse, keyboard and monitor in and your PC is complete and ready to go.

The other cool thing is all the ethernet connections go into the back of the device, and if your LAN supports PoE (or Power over Ethernet) then the device doesn’t even need to be plugged in! I think this is definitely the way of the future, and I might even suggest this solution for my company. I am wondering about the power button though - not too convenient if hidden behind a desk. Maybe the keyboard comes with a power switch.. According to the company’s specs, they are also looking to produce other systems that will fit into a back box, such as a 4 port switch and even a WiFi hotspot! [SHOW ME]

Suggested by a friend (thanks Deano) this is probably one of the cheapest ways to boost your wi-fi connection - An asian cooking oil strainer and a USB wireless dongle. Just make sure you take your spring rolls out before you build it. [SHOW ME]

Being an IT person, the pictures this website brings don’t surprise me in the slightest. I see daily acts of stupidity but this stuff is a few notches higher! Rod Shelley, the page’s author, hints at working at Gateway (where are they now??) but I think the things here are visible whenever you mix computers with stupid users. [SHOW ME]

BT Business broadband are currently bundling the 2wire BT2700HGV with their lines, which is a wireless router with built in firewall, content management and Hardware VoIP system.

Now this is a brilliant system, as long as at works - but it does have one very annoying “feature.” The BT version of the router actually dials back to base, deposits a serial number or MAC address at the server end and retrieves the username and password set up for the device. Useful if you’re not tech savvy enough to set it up, not very useful if you want to re-distribute the device to a different site, or even want to take a spare one home..

So what can we do about that? Well the only way I can think is to take [this] file and flash the firmware with it. The file is a zip, so you’ll need to decompress to get the raw .2sp file. Once done, the firmware will set the router up as an american ISP. Full details below:

1 Download the file above.

2 Once the router is connected to your PC, go to [this] address.

3 Click upload and find the .2sp file and flash the firmware.

4 Once finished the device will reboot.

5 Now go to [this] address and change the options for the DSL username and password. You can also change the wireless power and other bits that you don’t normally have access too.. =)

Update: I recently tried my 2 wire router with an ADSL2+ connection and it didn’t cope too well with it, so my advise is if you’re upgrading to ADSL2+, upgrade your router too.

Space cube? Yeap it’s a Rubik’s Cube just off the moon’s orbit.. No, hang on, it’s really a tiny PC. I believe it first arrived out of Asia from a Japanese company about 6 months ago or so. Spectacular in the fact of it’s tiny just-over-2-inches form factor that it sports. But also, I got thinking that using it as a PC would be such a waste of it’s tiny size. Ideas I’ve had (so far):

A small email server, for dealing everyone - via linux - their daily dose of spam!

A firewall. Again a great use of linux if you have a limited spec device.

The ideal solution for a print-server if you have a printer that only has a USB port.

An entry level PC for the in-laws, that perhaps live down a well without a lot of space..

OK, maybe I’m being stupid now. But I reckon there are so many places for such a small PC (perhaps hiding inside a door entry system, verifying biometrics or something?) that just using it as a “PC” seems a bit of a waste. Who has more ideas for this tiny marvel??

[link]