So it's a new year friends. I don't know if anyone has ever read this blog, however i do hope i am contributing to the internet.
I think i've wrote this before, but i'm really starting to get concerned with how much i take from the internet without giving back.
I know that most people only see the Internet as a one-way deal, but that is a misguided view. The Internet mainly exists by the investment of people or organizations. These entities put a lot of resources into putting information on Earth's network (The Internet). I'm sure that the average person that does not understand servers and network traffic can only see that they pay a bill in order to connect, but that connection fee is not from the Internet overlord. They're from the service company that has gone through enough paperwork to get your business. More and more i'm gaining this sense of responsibility to contribute and add back. Maybe because i am learning more and want to spread that knowledge.
Colin and i have had a few small talks recently about sharing knowledge.
In these talks we have determined that there are very few knowledgeable people that are willing to share their experiences. Some want monetary support (a valid request i'm sure) and others feel that, "I went through these problems and so should you!" and the other percentage are too lazy/don't know how to do it effectively.
Well, we're fed up with this. If for whatever reason, there is no profit to be had in withholding knowledge and experience.
So as i sacrifice my few hours of sleep to write about this, i want to post a few areas of interest that i plan on writing about (and probably with colin's help).
-bikes
-beekeeping
-chickens
-urban farming (ish)
-fishing
-home repair
-computer systems
-dumpster diving
-etc...
Now i want to make it very clear that me (and colin) are not masters of information, but we do spend alot of time on research as well as have experienced many things. Our posts are not to boast our egos, nor to establish any standard or guidelines, but rather to share our experiences.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Monday, July 13, 2009
It's been a while
And there's absolutely no reason to say that i'm picking this back up again. I just don't care enough. What i do want and hope you for your interest in, is to post torrents that i've created. These torrents are most likely things that you'll not find anywhere else. I've just recently started making torrents, figuring that i've taken alot from the community, it's my time to give back.
The first of the torrents is The Filthy 42s. They're this sweet rock/grunge/punk band from Jersey. I really enjoy their sound and they put on a decent live show. The singer nailed his mouth off the mic the last time i saw them and was bleeding down his lips as he sang sad love songs. It was good.
Okay, so here's The Filthy 42s:
http://isohunt.com/download/106189969/filthy+42s+positively+south+jersey+rock+and+roll+punk+rock+cornerstone+flac.torrent
The Next in The Remnant's new Demo called "Pittsburgh." It's called Pittsburgh in honor of the greatest city in the world. ... Well, i don't know if that's true, but i know they recorded it there and that it is, in my perspective, a fantastic city.
Here's The Remnants:
http://isohunt.com/download/107469765/rock+roll+punk+pittsburgh+remnants+flac.torrent
I hope to be adding quite a few more to this. I'm excited to be spreading the art of my friends around, so get involved. I was so psyched when someone started downloading The Filthy 42s this morning. Sweet!
The first of the torrents is The Filthy 42s. They're this sweet rock/grunge/punk band from Jersey. I really enjoy their sound and they put on a decent live show. The singer nailed his mouth off the mic the last time i saw them and was bleeding down his lips as he sang sad love songs. It was good.
Okay, so here's The Filthy 42s:
http://isohunt.com/download/106189969/filthy+42s+positively+south+jersey+rock+and+roll+punk+rock+cornerstone+flac.torrent
The Next in The Remnant's new Demo called "Pittsburgh." It's called Pittsburgh in honor of the greatest city in the world. ... Well, i don't know if that's true, but i know they recorded it there and that it is, in my perspective, a fantastic city.
Here's The Remnants:
http://isohunt.com/download/107469765/rock+roll+punk+pittsburgh+remnants+flac.torrent
I hope to be adding quite a few more to this. I'm excited to be spreading the art of my friends around, so get involved. I was so psyched when someone started downloading The Filthy 42s this morning. Sweet!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Apathy
Yeah, i haven't really cared much for this thing... it's becoming a theme, so i'll probably not continue.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Operating Systems
Sorry this took so long.
This week's post is going to be directed towards Operating Systems, as you already knew. Most computer users know what this is... Windows' (Vista, XP), Apple's (OSX), The People's (Linux), and Corporations' and Universities' (Unix)... to name a few of the well-known. Many users, even the Geek Squad and alike, fail to realize what an operating system is. Not that i'm judging them, because i'm really ignorant on many things, but it is really important that we understand what we are to expect from our operating systems.
"Why?" you ask.
Well, because there are so much advertising for your dollar these days. You get Microsoft's lie that everyone likes them and Apple's funny old man cool man ads. How are you supposed to know which is the better buy?
Well, let me try to sort things out for you.
Basically, we're going to need to remove any preconceived idea of what you think an operating system is. Basically, your mind is marketed to look for shiny things. Yeah, shiny things are good, but only if everything underneath it works.
So, remove your ideas.
An operating system, in it's most distilled form, is software programed to control hardware.
Hardware= processors, hard drives, memory, keyboards, graphics cards, network cards ... engines, radios, mircrowaves.... and so on. Yes, you have computers with an operating system in your car.
This the basic of an operating system. This, however won't do for most personal computer users. Most of us want to perform more computation than just running hardware. We want to type papers, browse the internet, play video games, do our taxes and so on. For this, operating systems have been programed to accept other software. This is an important step, because now that we have alien software, they can do some damage. Not because the aliens are bad, but because they don't know the customs. So, a good operating system has an abstraction layer that protects software from accessing the wrong hardware. This adds a few roles to the operating system, it must provide system calls for programs, maintain user accounts, and provide for hardware drivers...
I'm going to stop here... only because i'm boring myself. Hopefully you are getting my point though. Most marketing today for operating systems are ignoring the actual purpose of the operating system... this is the main explanation to why windows vista (and windows 7) has failed. They were trying to make things look to pretty and add rediculous amounts of crappy software to their operating system.
A good operating system is lean, small, and is able to adapt to whatever software you want to put on it. Yeah, you might like your desktop reminder that you recieved mail, but it shouldn't be standard on the os installation. This is a bad operating system... windows vista (and windows 7) is a bad operating system. They have made too much crap, as well as forgot that their operating system needs to be useful (Cough driver problems cough).
So, which OS am i supporting? Linux of course! cause it's open sourced... but, i have to admit, it's not fully functional. I'm hoping to help in that area, but you can't beat that nearly every program is programmed for windows xp. OSX is ok, but again, they program to much crap into it... i think. I don't need a standard application for my web cam... i don't have a web cam... i don't want one.
Unfortunately we're hitting a point in time where there's a bunch of cool stuff coming out, but no operating system is going to be good enough for it. We're going be in a little operating system black hole for a few years, but don't fret... java is heading in the right direction.
Java is a programming language who's goal is to make the programs be able to run on any platform.
A quick look at this is the program used to upload videos to google. It is programed in java and perfectly runs on linux, mac, and windows. Well done.
This is not practical for everything, but again, a step in the right direction.
Any Questions?
Hopefully over the next few months i will be putting together a really sweet computer. I hope to make a computer that is:
1. designed for gaming- this means fairly highend
2. inexpensive- under $700
3. maintains a low cost of ownership- very low energy footprint
4. using experimental technologies- you'll find out.
I will also post all my tweaks in case you'd like to do the same.
This week's post is going to be directed towards Operating Systems, as you already knew. Most computer users know what this is... Windows' (Vista, XP), Apple's (OSX), The People's (Linux), and Corporations' and Universities' (Unix)... to name a few of the well-known. Many users, even the Geek Squad and alike, fail to realize what an operating system is. Not that i'm judging them, because i'm really ignorant on many things, but it is really important that we understand what we are to expect from our operating systems.
"Why?" you ask.
Well, because there are so much advertising for your dollar these days. You get Microsoft's lie that everyone likes them and Apple's funny old man cool man ads. How are you supposed to know which is the better buy?
Well, let me try to sort things out for you.
Basically, we're going to need to remove any preconceived idea of what you think an operating system is. Basically, your mind is marketed to look for shiny things. Yeah, shiny things are good, but only if everything underneath it works.
So, remove your ideas.
An operating system, in it's most distilled form, is software programed to control hardware.
Hardware= processors, hard drives, memory, keyboards, graphics cards, network cards ... engines, radios, mircrowaves.... and so on. Yes, you have computers with an operating system in your car.
This the basic of an operating system. This, however won't do for most personal computer users. Most of us want to perform more computation than just running hardware. We want to type papers, browse the internet, play video games, do our taxes and so on. For this, operating systems have been programed to accept other software. This is an important step, because now that we have alien software, they can do some damage. Not because the aliens are bad, but because they don't know the customs. So, a good operating system has an abstraction layer that protects software from accessing the wrong hardware. This adds a few roles to the operating system, it must provide system calls for programs, maintain user accounts, and provide for hardware drivers...
I'm going to stop here... only because i'm boring myself. Hopefully you are getting my point though. Most marketing today for operating systems are ignoring the actual purpose of the operating system... this is the main explanation to why windows vista (and windows 7) has failed. They were trying to make things look to pretty and add rediculous amounts of crappy software to their operating system.
A good operating system is lean, small, and is able to adapt to whatever software you want to put on it. Yeah, you might like your desktop reminder that you recieved mail, but it shouldn't be standard on the os installation. This is a bad operating system... windows vista (and windows 7) is a bad operating system. They have made too much crap, as well as forgot that their operating system needs to be useful (Cough driver problems cough).
So, which OS am i supporting? Linux of course! cause it's open sourced... but, i have to admit, it's not fully functional. I'm hoping to help in that area, but you can't beat that nearly every program is programmed for windows xp. OSX is ok, but again, they program to much crap into it... i think. I don't need a standard application for my web cam... i don't have a web cam... i don't want one.
Unfortunately we're hitting a point in time where there's a bunch of cool stuff coming out, but no operating system is going to be good enough for it. We're going be in a little operating system black hole for a few years, but don't fret... java is heading in the right direction.
Java is a programming language who's goal is to make the programs be able to run on any platform.
A quick look at this is the program used to upload videos to google. It is programed in java and perfectly runs on linux, mac, and windows. Well done.
This is not practical for everything, but again, a step in the right direction.
Any Questions?
Hopefully over the next few months i will be putting together a really sweet computer. I hope to make a computer that is:
1. designed for gaming- this means fairly highend
2. inexpensive- under $700
3. maintains a low cost of ownership- very low energy footprint
4. using experimental technologies- you'll find out.
I will also post all my tweaks in case you'd like to do the same.
Friday, November 14, 2008
The Airwaves are Liberated, so what?
Hopefully you have read the re-posted information on the FCC's vote to free up the "white space" that is unallocated. There is a lot of speculation of what can be done with this extra broadcasting space, but no one has really set plans.
To those of you who do not bother about why or how things work, you just know that they do and want to use them, you may not understand the giant impact that this may have.
Yeah, you may have read somewhere that they could use these airwaves to implement global wireless internet. Yes, this is true, and is the most speculated plans for the white space; however, this is just a face-value perspective of what all this would involve. Yeah, we could have internet anywhere we go, but we need to understand what would need to be involved behind such an infrastructure to support that.
(techy part)
I prospect that in order for such an implementation, IPv4 would not be able to support the amount of users to connect them to the internet. Yes, the Whitespace ISPs (whoever they're to be) could implement a NAT system like cellphone providers provide, or something like that, but i think that enough people could be brought on board (and enough capital invested) to spur the IPv6 transition.
Those who know networking (and a few of those who don't) have been waiting years for people to see such an opportunity.
Many people have written much more specific descriptions of the benefits to IPv6 implementation, so i won't get into it very deep, but here's a general idea:
Right now we have IPv4 addressing to route information over the internet. No matter what type of computer you have, or what country you're in, you're using one of the addresses to access the internet. Addressing in networking is similar to house addressing. Every website, service, or person has to have one in order to recieve information (mail) on the internet. The problem is, we now have more people trying to access the internet than there are addresses. If you know your IP address, you know that it consists of 4 sets of numbers (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx). IPv4 addressing is difficult to explain to a person who has no prior knowledge of how these things work, and i'm trying to keep these descriptions in those ranges. Don't put too much thought into it, the addresses are all taken.
So, how do people still get on the internet if they're all taken? Well, ISPs keep economic control on the IP addresses that they give people. If they start to run out, they use computing techniques to push out more addresses. A small example of this is in your house. If you are connected to a wireless router and have many computers connected, then you are using what is called Network Address Translation (NAT) to "give out" more addresses. Your router is a computer. It takes the single address that your ISP has given you and creates tables and routes to split your connection to the different computers in your house. This is where the problem comes in. Every time your connection gets hit with these computers used to route traffic, your bandwidth quality decreases.
Ok, so simply put, IPv6 has enough addresses that we'll never (i use that word lightly) run out. This will free up alot of the routing congestion that slows down people's connections now.
It would be a huge technological advance.
Next Week: What is an Operating System?
To those of you who do not bother about why or how things work, you just know that they do and want to use them, you may not understand the giant impact that this may have.
Yeah, you may have read somewhere that they could use these airwaves to implement global wireless internet. Yes, this is true, and is the most speculated plans for the white space; however, this is just a face-value perspective of what all this would involve. Yeah, we could have internet anywhere we go, but we need to understand what would need to be involved behind such an infrastructure to support that.
(techy part)
I prospect that in order for such an implementation, IPv4 would not be able to support the amount of users to connect them to the internet. Yes, the Whitespace ISPs (whoever they're to be) could implement a NAT system like cellphone providers provide, or something like that, but i think that enough people could be brought on board (and enough capital invested) to spur the IPv6 transition.
Those who know networking (and a few of those who don't) have been waiting years for people to see such an opportunity.
Many people have written much more specific descriptions of the benefits to IPv6 implementation, so i won't get into it very deep, but here's a general idea:
Right now we have IPv4 addressing to route information over the internet. No matter what type of computer you have, or what country you're in, you're using one of the addresses to access the internet. Addressing in networking is similar to house addressing. Every website, service, or person has to have one in order to recieve information (mail) on the internet. The problem is, we now have more people trying to access the internet than there are addresses. If you know your IP address, you know that it consists of 4 sets of numbers (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx). IPv4 addressing is difficult to explain to a person who has no prior knowledge of how these things work, and i'm trying to keep these descriptions in those ranges. Don't put too much thought into it, the addresses are all taken.
So, how do people still get on the internet if they're all taken? Well, ISPs keep economic control on the IP addresses that they give people. If they start to run out, they use computing techniques to push out more addresses. A small example of this is in your house. If you are connected to a wireless router and have many computers connected, then you are using what is called Network Address Translation (NAT) to "give out" more addresses. Your router is a computer. It takes the single address that your ISP has given you and creates tables and routes to split your connection to the different computers in your house. This is where the problem comes in. Every time your connection gets hit with these computers used to route traffic, your bandwidth quality decreases.
Ok, so simply put, IPv6 has enough addresses that we'll never (i use that word lightly) run out. This will free up alot of the routing congestion that slows down people's connections now.
It would be a huge technological advance.
Next Week: What is an Operating System?
Saturday, November 1, 2008
One for the team
So, i haven't kept up with the "/week" plan, but i'm within the month, so i'm doing well. I've been sick again. No matter.
To the stuff that counts. Well, at least for the *nix brethren(Linux, Mac, OpenBSD and the like. NOT MICROSOFT)
Most of you that i know who are into multimedia production are using the "school's" software to run their editing software. Well, for those of you who are more inclined to open-source, or those who are looking for a simply great multitrack editor, there is Ardour. Ardour is a fantastic program. It is, however, by no means "polished." It is fairly new, being in it's second revision. They haven't even devised the naming scheme yet.
So, why should you use Ardour instead of the more main-stream programs?
This, to me, is an easy answer; although you may not quite have a full grasp on the glory of open source just quite yet, so let me throw some words at you.
When you use an open source program, you become part of the development team. You say, " i don't know how to program, how is this so?"
As you start to use the program, becoming familiar with all it's intricacies, you start to develop a judgement of how that program functions. Just as a master carpenter or mason knows the utility of his tools, you will understand what your "tool" has or is without. So, with this developed understanding and judgement, you decide how to better perfect your tool. This is where the beauty of open source steps in. You spend about 3-128 minutes writing a wall post on Ardour's forum (or any open source program's forum). Then, in the next edition, your input will have assisted in it's design. Trust me, the programmers know that it is the users who have developed that program. Open Source programs take away that impersonal corporate level that ruins the perfection of programs.
I have more to say on that, but i'll leave it there.
To close this post, i have a special request. An acquaintance of mine's lung collapsed. He had surgery today to try to fix this because all other treatments have failed. If you know me, you know that i don't like to express concern like this; however, this person is not well liked. He doesn't have a bunch of people who care about him. Most people think he's a jerk. I think he's a jerk. However, i also am concerned for him on a certain 'above normal' level. I'm not asking you to care for him (or the vain 'pray for him'), but i am understanding my feelings for people. So, maybe consider someone around you.
To the stuff that counts. Well, at least for the *nix brethren(Linux, Mac, OpenBSD and the like. NOT MICROSOFT)
Most of you that i know who are into multimedia production are using the "school's" software to run their editing software. Well, for those of you who are more inclined to open-source, or those who are looking for a simply great multitrack editor, there is Ardour. Ardour is a fantastic program. It is, however, by no means "polished." It is fairly new, being in it's second revision. They haven't even devised the naming scheme yet.
So, why should you use Ardour instead of the more main-stream programs?
This, to me, is an easy answer; although you may not quite have a full grasp on the glory of open source just quite yet, so let me throw some words at you.
When you use an open source program, you become part of the development team. You say, " i don't know how to program, how is this so?"
As you start to use the program, becoming familiar with all it's intricacies, you start to develop a judgement of how that program functions. Just as a master carpenter or mason knows the utility of his tools, you will understand what your "tool" has or is without. So, with this developed understanding and judgement, you decide how to better perfect your tool. This is where the beauty of open source steps in. You spend about 3-128 minutes writing a wall post on Ardour's forum (or any open source program's forum). Then, in the next edition, your input will have assisted in it's design. Trust me, the programmers know that it is the users who have developed that program. Open Source programs take away that impersonal corporate level that ruins the perfection of programs.
I have more to say on that, but i'll leave it there.
To close this post, i have a special request. An acquaintance of mine's lung collapsed. He had surgery today to try to fix this because all other treatments have failed. If you know me, you know that i don't like to express concern like this; however, this person is not well liked. He doesn't have a bunch of people who care about him. Most people think he's a jerk. I think he's a jerk. However, i also am concerned for him on a certain 'above normal' level. I'm not asking you to care for him (or the vain 'pray for him'), but i am understanding my feelings for people. So, maybe consider someone around you.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Radio For All!
Podcasts, streaming, and mp3 files... etc. We have many choices these days to get some sort of online audio. I used to subscribe to a free service (you pay for premium services) at a hub for internet radio live365.com. This was a really good way to find obscure music. The only issue i found is that some radio stations just repeated the same 30 songs over in over. You had hundreds of choices though. You guys know of pandora, itunes radio, amarok radio, and the like, but what if you're looking for something more? I was. I often like to listen to talkradio when i'm doing work because music seems to serve me a different purpose. One of my favorite talk shows is "The Glenn Beck Program." The local talk radio station (104.7) streams his program during the Live hours of 10-12pm. There are two issues that i have with that. First of all, the program starts at 9pm, so i'm missing an hour. Second, i am usually in class or just waking up during that time. So, i was looking for a solution. Glenn streams his shows from his website, but you have to subscribe to a service. I did that for a while, but then i ran out of money. So, i searched and i searched. I went to the "affiliates" section of his website and hoped from each station's website looking for a stream replay of his show. This was quite tedious and because i was trying to do work, not doing me any good.
In comes,
This Week's Featured Website: www.radiotime.com
This website allows you to search for a program or whatever you're looking for. It has a large database of streaming radio stations. So, i just searched for The Glenn Beck program, and found what i was looking for. It gives you a schedule and remaining program time. I'm sure there are many other features to this website that i just haven't investigated yet. Be sure to check it out.
Two talkradio shows i recommend:
The Glenn Beck Program - independant entertainment
Neal Boortz - freedom speaker
In comes,
This Week's Featured Website: www.radiotime.com
This website allows you to search for a program or whatever you're looking for. It has a large database of streaming radio stations. So, i just searched for The Glenn Beck program, and found what i was looking for. It gives you a schedule and remaining program time. I'm sure there are many other features to this website that i just haven't investigated yet. Be sure to check it out.
Two talkradio shows i recommend:
The Glenn Beck Program - independant entertainment
Neal Boortz - freedom speaker
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