Broadband Over Powerlines

3 comments

The FCC has endorsed BPL (Broadband over Power Lines) as a new method of delivering network connectivity. At least this way, some folks I know that live WAY out in the “boonies” can finally get high speed Internet!

FCC Endorses Broadband over Powerline

“The Federal Communications Commission on Friday gave a big boost to Broadband over Powerline (BPL), classifying the technology as an ‘information service.’ The declaration places BPL-enabled access services on equal footing with cable modem and DSL Internet access services. The FCC has campaigned for BPL approval for years, although ham radio operators have long complained that BPL would interfere with its service. By ruling BPL service’s transmission component is ‘telecommunications,’ and an ‘information service,’ BPL will find it easier to deploy beyond the handful of networks that are currently scattered around the country, mostly in the Northeast. ‘The Commission’s broadband statistics show that subscribers to BPL Internet access services, although few in number overall, increased by nearly 200 percent in 2005,’ said FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, who has been a supporter of the technology. ‘By finding that BPL Internet access services are information services, the Commission provides the regulatory certainty necessary to foster competition between different broadband platform providers.'”

Geek Software of the Week: Sandboxie!

One comment

“Sandboxie?” That sounds lame! Well, a “sandbox” is metaphorically, a place to play. (Like a kid in a sandbox, get it?) So, “Sandboxie” allows you to “play” with programs, and more specifically, websites, that are, perhaps, “dangerous” places. Places where you might get a spyware infection for instance. However, if the “play area” for your browser is “sandboxed,” then theoretically, you are safe!

Sandboxie “Virtual Play Area” Software

“Think of your PC as a piece of paper. Every program you run writes on the paper. When you run your browser, it writes on the paper about every site you visited. And any malware you come across will usually try to write itself into the paper. Traditional privacy and anti-malware software try to locate and erase any writings they think you wouldn’t want on the paper. Most of the times they get it right. But first the makers of these solutions must teach the solution what to look for on the paper, and also how to erase it safely. On the other hand, the Sandboxie sandbox works like a transparency layer placed over the paper. Programs write on the transparency layer and to them it looks like the real paper. When you delete the sandbox, it’s like removing the transparency layer, the unchanged, real paper is revealed.”

The “Get Out of Your Cubicle and Vote!” Edition of Dr. Bill’s Podcast #61!

Leave a comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (8.5MB) | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Dr. Bill Podcast – 61 – (11/04/06)
Click on the “Streaming MP3” badge below to play Streaming Audio of this Podcast.
Streaming MP3 Audio
 Download MP3
(Right-Click on the Link Above and Choose “Save” to Save the MP3 file locally on your PC.)

Click on the “Streaming Ogg” badge below to play Streaming Ogg Vorbis Format Audio of the Podcast.
Streaming Ogg Audio
 Download Ogg Vorbis Format
(Right-Click on the Link Above and Choose “Save” to Save the Ogg Vorbis file locally on your PC.)

Coming to you with bells on! This week we bring you lot’s more stuff! Episode number 61! Proud members of the Techpodcasts Network – a promo for the Rootsmart Podcast! Geek Culture, “My Cubicle,” here are the lyrics:

“My Cubicle”
Lyrics by: Morning Sidekick
Performed by: Jym Britton
Parody on “You’re Beautiful” by James Blunt

My job is stupid my day’s a bore,
Inside this office from eight to four
Nothin’ ever happens my life is pretty bland,
Pretending that I’m working, pray I don’t get canned.

My cubicle, my cubicle
It’s one of sixty two
It’s my small space in a crowded place
Just a six-by-six foot booth
And I hate it, that’s the truth

Well, I give a sigh as the boss walks by,
no one ever talks to me or looks me in the eye.
And I really should work but instead I just sit here and surf the Internet.

In my cubicle, my cubicle
It doesn’t have a view.
It’ my small space in a crowded place
I sit in solitude.
And sometimes I sit here nude.

DeltaCopy for Windows – our Geek Software of the Week – an rsync for Windows! OpenBSD 4.0 has been released! Dr. Bill finds a mistake in the Blog! But he fixed it! OpenBDS indeed! Sigh. Windows Media Player 11 is out! The Thanksgiving Blog header provided by Scott Redmon, our Guilford County Webmaster! Microsoft and Novell announce that they are working together to make Linux and Windows work better together. Are Digg.com users mostly liberal? Dr. Bill tries an experiment on Digg! Get out an vote on Tuesday!

Are Digg.com Users Mostly Liberal?

Leave a comment

I love Digg.com for it’s “up to the minute” tech news! And, I have been “with them” as an active Digger since the beginning… but, as I watch the Diggs coming in tonight, I find myself wondering… are the majority of Digg users liberal? I have noticed that as we get closer to the 2006 mid-term elections, the liberal posts are up on Digg, and the “Diggs” agreeing with them seem to be mounting. My guess is that this is designed by liberal Diggers to motivate the “base” just before the elections. But, are all Diggers liberal? Well, no, I am not, and, as I say, I have been “Digging” since the beginning of Digg.com… but I find the phenomenon interesting.

Everyone has a right to speak out, and express their opinions… but I suspect that if I post this to Digg (I probably will, just as an experiment) I am sure that I will be “flamed” mercilessly! Ah, c’est la vie! My two cents… since 9-11-2001 we haven’t had another major terrorist attack… the economy is looking really good… but the Republicans don’t seem to get any credit for either situation. But, they are getting plenty of blame. From a Digger that is a registered Republican… hang in there fellow conservatives… and EVERYONE go out and vote no matter who you are for… let’s exercise our rights as citizens to elect our representatives! See ya at the polls on Tuesday!

Digg This!

Hell Freezes Over! Microsoft Works With Linux!

Leave a comment

Yike! That headline says it all!

Microsoft to Promote Linux: The Details

Steve Ballmer (of all people!) said in yesterday’s press conference: “Two things, I’ll make it real simple: Number one, [Novell and Microsoft] are going to work together technically to help the Windows world and the Linux world interoperate. Number two, we’ve struck a deal under which we can provide patent agreements to Linux customers, in which Microsoft’s intellectual property is respected, and we are appropriately compensated for the use of our intellectual property; and we’ve done both of those things in a way that we think still allows the open source development community to actively pursue what it has been doing on behalf of everybody for the last several years.”

Microsoft Windows Media Player 11

Leave a comment

OK… you know your Doctor. I am NOT a big M$ fan. However, I gotta give M$ a few props. Microsoft Windows Media Player 11 has some nice features… oh, by the way, it is now officially out.

Microsoft Windows Media Player 11

It is a free download. It will upgrade your library and playlists from older versions. The default skin is cooler, but you can also download all kinds of other skins, visualizations, etc. So… OK… it is pretty cool. Worth a download!

Geek Software of the Week: DeltaCopy!

Leave a comment

Have you Linux geeks ever wanted rsync on Windows? Miss it, huh? Well, here’s a “Windowzy” version for ya!

DeltaCopy – Rsync for Windows

“In general terms, DeltaCopy is an open source, fast incremental backup program. Let’s say you have to backup one file that is 500 MB every night. A normal file copy would copy the entire file even if a few bytes have changed. DeltaCopy, on the other hand, would only copy the part of file that has actually been modified. This reduces the data transfer to just a small fraction of 500 MB saving time and network bandwidth. In technical terms, DeltaCopy is a “Windows Friendly” wrapper around the Rsync program, currently maintained by Wayne Davison. “rsync” is primarily designed for Unix/Linux/BSD systems. Although ports are available for Windows, they typicall require downloading Cygwin libraries and manual configuration.”

The “I Heard It On a Podcast” Edition of the Dr. Bill Podcast #60!

Leave a comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:33 — 11.2MB) | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Dr. Bill Podcast – 60 – (10/28/06)
Click on the “Streaming MP3” badge below to play Streaming Audio of this Podcast.
Streaming MP3 Audio
 Download MP3
(Right-Click on the Link Above and Choose “Save” to Save the MP3 file locally on your PC.)

Click on the “Streaming Ogg” badge below to play Streaming Ogg Vorbis Format Audio of the Podcast.
Streaming Ogg Audio
 Download Ogg Vorbis Format
(Right-Click on the Link Above and Choose “Save” to Save the Ogg Vorbis file locally on your PC.)

Dr. Bill’s Podcast Number 60! Props to Alfredo Romo, who wrote the pod production software we use- PodProducer! Available at: https://www.podproducer.net “On a Podcast!” by Cruisebox! To celebrate our 60th podcast we play “On A Podcast!” by Cruisebox! YOU are part of the Revolution! The Techpodcast Network Sounder! Dr. Bill digresses again! We check out the items in the Blog, Dr. Bill – The Computer Curmudgeon! Happy Birthday to the iPod! It has 73% of the MP3 Player market! Wow! Weird Al Yankovik also had a birthday… he’s 47. Ubuntu Linux passes the Mac on Google Trends. Firefox 2.0 and IE 7.0 are out… check them out! Features Dr. Bill likes about Firefox 2.0! The Tab Browser Closer and Spell Check… two great, new features! The Minimo Windows Mobile Web Browser. Darkmoon keeps the Doctor straight! Go from Linux “Noob” to Linux “Dewd!” Stephen J. Vaughn-Nichols recommendations for Linux newbies, check them out! Ubuntu “The Edgy Eft” is out! Check it out! You will like it! It has cool enhancements! How to you pronounce all the “…buntus” Like “Ubuntu”, “Kubuntu”, “Xubuntu”, and “Edubuntu.” DEWD! (An expression of excitement!) Geek Software of the Week: µTorrent! The advantages of µTorrent over Azureus as a BitTorrent client. My wife, Belinda, says in post as I write these show notes that the “doohickey” is an “upsilon”… she’s SO smart! The coolness of controlling uTorrent via a web browser! RSS feeds under IE 7.0 and Firefox 2.0! Firefox 2.0 wins in handling RSS feeds! Check it out yourself. You will see! We are over time! Gotta go! See ya next week!

1 … 341 342 343 344 345 … 394