Blogs

Gadget - USB Laptop KVM Switch with File Transfer

Posted Thu, 03/05/2009 - 11:49 by MWalker
IOGear USB KVM

Ever wish you could control that second PC under your desk without a second keyboard, monitor & mouse?  Or have a bulky/ugly KVM with big bundle of cables?  Or are testing something a bit crazy and do not want to jump from PC to PC?

Terry Childs - Good or Evil SysAdmin?

Posted Fri, 02/27/2009 - 11:18 by MWalker

Just some  thoughts on the Terry Childs situation and SysAdmins in general.  Terry Childs is the SysAdmin arrested on July 12, 2008 for disrupting San Francisco’s wide-area network and is currently sitting in the City of San Francisco’s county jail.

(1) Every good SysAdmin has to be a bit of "evil".  Many plot lines out there describe the good guy turning into a bad guy to learn how to defeat the evil organization.  Same concept applies to network security.  No one knows the flaws and holes better than the SysAdmin.  Thinking like a potential hacker, the SysAdmin can take a proactive approach to prevention and more effectively investigate suspicious behaviour.  That being said, what the SysAdmin does not know can be just as dangerous.

Google Groping for Solutions to Gmail Outage

Posted Thu, 02/26/2009 - 17:03 by MWalker

Google Groping for Solutions to Gmail Outage - The popular free email service is restored yet some concerns remain. [Internet.com Security]

SaaS / Hosted Solutions / Cloud Computing are a risk/reward situation.  Some people pick a methodology and stick to it.  There are pros & cons with each.  Think about the solution and the consequences of your choice.  Lets take email hosting as a good example.  Assuming you do not want to run your own mail system, there are several options.

Review - Dell Mobile Precision M2400

Posted Mon, 02/23/2009 - 13:51 by MWalker
Dell Mobile Precision M2400

Summary

Dell refers to the M2400 as an "High-performance workstation performance in an ultra-mobile package" laptop.  The M2400 features a Core2 Duo processor and advanced OpenGL graphics in a < 5lb laptop.

Checking Drupal Status with Nagios and WebInject

Posted Thu, 02/19/2009 - 16:48 by MWalker

Summary

A few weeks back I found a post on the Drupal forums about monitoring the status report page with Nagios and Webinject.  Having lots of practice with Nagios and Webinject, I knew this was possible but noone had provided an example.  So I finally got around to creating the Webinject script today and posted it.  Below is the complete process including the Nagios info I used.

We are now on Technorati!

Posted Tue, 02/17/2009 - 18:06 by MWalker

Please help us build a following!

We want to make the Technology Cadre website a place of friendly reviews and useful information.  Links, bumps on Digg, Technorati, etc. are appreciated. 

You want to link / advertise with us?  Just contact us with the form in the upper right.  We are always looking to work with new people.

Mobile Photo Printing with the Wasabi PZ310

Posted Mon, 02/16/2009 - 16:03 by MWalker
Dell Wasabi PZ310

What is it?

The new Dell Wasabi allows for instant digital photo gratification.  I know many snap happy people with their digital cameras and so many photos never see the light of day.  Perhaps they will make FaceBook or Flickr, but sometimes you just want something in your hand right then and there.

Purge All Your Mail in Mutt

Posted Mon, 02/16/2009 - 15:00 by MWalker

Having a "catchall" mailbox is handy at times, but otherwise it's 99.99% useless to you on a daily basis.  For example for emails from our system and general notifications, we have a noreply@ address.  Needless to say this gets spam and bounces.  The only time you really need to read them is for troubleshooting purposes.

The Value of Virtual Private Servers (VPS)

Posted Thu, 02/12/2009 - 18:04 by MWalker
VPS Diagram

From Wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_server

A virtual private server (VPS, also referred to as Virtual Dedicated Server or VDS) is a method of partitioning a physical server computer into multiple servers such that each has the appearance and capabilities of running on its own dedicated machine. Each virtual server can run its own full-fledged operating system, and each server can be independently rebooted.

Review - Halo Wars on X360

Posted Mon, 02/09/2009 - 10:28 by DSimone
158910-halo_wars_boxshot_original.jpg

The latest incarnation of the HALO franchise is a Real Time Strategy game rather than a First Person Shooter like its three predecessors.  I sat down with the demo release on the XBOX 360. Currently the only platform the game is available on. I foresee a PC release in the future but for now this is what we have to play with.