I am getting an iMac…

Just which one?! I mean really all that seperates them is the following things: 1700 ATI on the 17″/20″ vs 7600GT on the 24″ 24″ may have the option of upgrading due to the MXM port Firewire 800 on 24″ The screen size obviously I was having a really hard time with the final decision. Is the extra 4″ screen worth 500 dollars?!?!?! Am I just that geeky? Well I found some pictures of a 17,20,24 side-by-side. For the Win…24″ :) LOOK HOW FRICKEN GREAT IT IS! I could surf the internet all the while debugging code on the SAME screen. Even better I could run the 24″ screen with my 35″ LCD Flat Panel TV. I am not sure even if I have that much desk space. ...

November 1, 2006 · 1 min · Nick

Nokia E61 – Initial Thoughts

Having now spent the better part of a day with the device I wanted to post a few thoughts: The device is very solid. My past smart phones I babied because I knew one drop meant destruction. This is very much a Nokia phone, able to take some beatings. I really like the metal they used to line the case with. I do worry about the build of the joystick as it seems to be the weakest link. I thought the same thing with my Nokia 3250 and to this day it still works so I will hold strong. Symbian Series 60 v3 is a beautiful OS. I always wanted a Psion when I was growing up because everyone told me Epoch was a great environment to work in. Having been through the revisions of Series 40/60/80 phones I agree. The load (and reload) times I became so accustom to are gone. When I click on email, the email comes up. When I click on Web, Opera comes up. I have yet to lock up the system and have to do the hard reset. Coming from a Treo it is so refreshing to get rid of the “Remove battery, insert stylus, replace battery cover, turn phone on, wash, rinse, repeat.” I always wondered what the point of Wifi in a phone was. The few times I have played with these devices (here is looking at you Cingular 8125) the processor was so limiting that it made no difference in speed. With the E61 this has all changed. The best function of this Wifi feature is the SIP VOIP Client. I punched in my Sipphone (more to come on this) settings and was able to make calls using the wifi. Can’t wait to live in a city blanketed with Wifi to kick the Cingular bill all together. Browser on this device…AMAZING…The browser is mean and lean with all the features I have come to expect in desktop browsers. Heck up until yesterday even Internet Explorer couldn’t touch these functions such as integrated RSS Reader, Popup Blocker, Expose-ish Tab Things, Flash and Java integrated. I have become so used to on Treos and WM5 machines using the wap version of pages that I accepted that mobile internet sucked. No more! I just visit the full HTML version of sites and all is well. Nokia made a smart move by teaming up with the OSS KHTML crowd as Apple did. The browser is unlike any other to grace a handheld device. Awesome job Nokia and the KHTML developers. Voice and Signal quality as with all Nokia devices – Top Notch The next pro will be something only a Catholic Theologian type could appreciate. With the inclusion of Realplayer and an OS that can actually run it full screen, I am now able to watch EWTN streaming live on my phone. I am sure it would stream other live feeds but this is the one I watch. Nokia also ships this device with Real bookmarks for most of the BBC streams and Reuters. I can see myself stuck in an airport using this a lot. Battery life?! What is this!? I haven’t had to charge it after heavy bluetooth and wifi use. My past smart phones needed to travel with their chargers. Not the E61. With all devices there are some bads: ...

October 20, 2006 · 5 min · Nick

Bye Bye Treo…

The Treo 650 is a great phone. I purchased it after a horrible experince with Windows Mobile and decided to go the Palm route for the excellent Linux support. Excellent was an over statement. The experince is only excellent if your palm is older than 3 years. USB and new Device IDs seem to be the bane of syncing. The final straw was my new work location doesn’t allow phones with cameras in the building. My Dad is more than welcome to carry such things so to him went the treo. I have battled with the next smart phone with a 3 way tie between the Nokia E61 (not E62), Cingular 8125 (HTC Wizard), and the Blackberry 8700C. What finally pushed me over was the fond memories of my Nokia 3250 and the power of Symbian OS. With the Nokia E61 coming in with Wifi and a SIP VOIP Client that sealed the deal. I will be able to walk around my house in dual-mode making free calls when I am in range of the wifi. Keep checking back for tips-n-tricks with this great little device. ...

October 11, 2006 · 1 min · Nick

One command to rule them all!

sudo apt-get install nmap tcpdump ngrep etherape ethereal ettercap kismet aircrack john airsnort dsniff hping3 fragroute arpwatch nessus nessusd openssh-server netcat whois perl python ruby airsnort ntop iptraf nbtscan tor privoxy nikto cheops-ng stunnel fping tcptraceroute firestarter socat vncviewer wordlist anon-proxy network-manager network-manager-gnome After that you should have a workstation capable of being used for GOOD in the hands of a security admin.

October 3, 2006 · 1 min · Nick

My UNIX Adventure Timeline

1984 I was born grunting binary, ugh and ahh. Parents knew no better. 1989 Parents finally realize it was binary and buy me a C64 to conquer Frogger. Fall in love with CLI 1994 Dad brings home a AST Advantage! Plus 486 DX/33. I fall in love with Prodigy and the internet becomes my playground. 1995 Dad buys Windows 95 upgrade and installs on the beloved AST. I throw up in my mouth. ...

September 21, 2006 · 8 min · Nick