Practical Technology

for practical people.

July 31, 2011
by sjvn01
0 comments

There’s one only good Wi-Fi Security choice: WPA2

A friend recently asked me what kind of Wi-Fi security his small business should be using. He was going to use Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) because “everyone supports it.” No! Oh please no!

WEP’s been broken since 2001. Heck, there are even apps to break WEP Wi-Fi security. Mind you, if you’re fool enough to install an unknown cracking tool on your smartphone, you probably deserve all the misery it will bring you.

The bad news though really isn’t that WEP is so easy to break. It’s that so many people still use it. I mean, come on, it’s been fooling people into thinking their networks were secure for ten years now!

In 2010, I did a quick scan and hack on Wi-Fi networks in an office building to see if wireless security was as bad as I thought it was. It was, Ten of these were ‘secured’ with WEP. It took me less time to break into these then it did for me to write this much of this column. That tells you everything you need to know about WEP’s “security.”

More >

July 29, 2011
by sjvn01
0 comments

The top five Linux desktop vendors

It’s really not that hard to give Linux a try on a desktop or notebook. But, I get it. Not everyone is comfortable with burning operating system ISOs to a CD and then booting a computer from it. If that’s you, or a friend of yours, then consider just buying a PC or laptop that has Linux on it that’s ready to go.

Unfortunately, you can’t just go down to your local Best Buy or Sam’s Club and get one. While Linux PCs show up from time to time in retail outlets, the odds are against you finding one. Instead, you’re going to need to order one online. The good news is that there are numerous, well-regarded vendors that carry Linux systems.

Indeed, many big name computer manufacturers, such as Dell, HP, and Lenovo will sell you, or your business anyway, Linux PCs. I’m sorry to say though that even Dell, which at one time did a good job of supporting Ubuntu Linux, has made it very hard to pre-order Linux-powered PCs. It can still be done, but it’s not easy, and the truth of the matter is none of these vendors currently make it easy for an individual to buy a Linux PC.

Instead, your best move is to buy a Linux desktop or notebook from one of the smaller vendors that specialize in Linux. You may not have heard of these companies but they’ve all been in business for a long time and delivery quality goods. You can buy from them with confidence.

More >

July 29, 2011
by sjvn01
0 comments

+1 for Google+

Is Google+ really as good as you’ve heard it is? Yes, it is. Long before Facebook and Twitter existed, I was using “social networks” such as mailing lists and Usenet newsgroups. I was also a dedicated user of BIX, CompuServe and GEnie. So, when I say Google’s new Google+ is the best social network I’ve ever used, I think that means something.

Why? Well, there are several reasons. First and foremost, I love the circles concept.

Circles are how you organize the people you choose to follow on Google+. People can add you to their circles, but they’ll see only those posts that you choose to make public unless you add them to one or more of your circles. Even then, you can easily choose which of your circles will be allowed to see certain posts.

More >

July 28, 2011
by sjvn01
0 comments

Google gets into the Content Delivery Network business

You have to give Google credit. Instead of being content with being the king of search and online advertising, they also want to rule smartphones, Android; Web browsers, Chrome; and now they’re trying the Content Delivery Network (CDN) business on for size.

In the Google Webmaster Central blog, Ram Ramani, Google Engineering Manager, announced, that Google was “releasing the latest addition to the Page Speed family: Page Speed Service.”

Ramani continued, “Page Speed Service is an online service that automatically speeds up loading of your web pages. To use the service, you need to sign up and point your site’s DNS [Domain Name Service] entry to Google. Page Speed Service fetches content from your servers, rewrites your pages by applying web performance best practices, and serves them to end users via Google’s servers across the globe. Your users will continue to access your site just as they did before, only with faster load times. Now you don’t have to worry about concatenating CSS, compressing images, caching, gzipping resources or other web performance best practices”

Google claims that in their testing “we have seen speed improvements of 25% to 60% on several sites. But we know you care most about the numbers for your site, so check out how much Page Speed Service can speed up your site.”

More >

July 27, 2011
by sjvn01
0 comments

Ubuntu Linux gets serious about business partners

Most people, who like Linux, love Ubuntu. Oh they may object to Ubuntu’s new Unity desktop, but at day’s end, they still use Ubuntu. Technology businesses though have a more jaundiced view of Canonical, Ubuntu’s parent company. Canonical, though, is now taking steps now to make its potential hardware and software partners happier.

First, Canonical is trying to become better friends with its reseller partners. Their new channel partner program, Ubuntu Advantage (UA) is “designed to help resellers bring a new set of support services for Ubuntu server, desktop and cloud installations direct to businesses. The program is launching with global partners, including CSS in the US, Asia and Europe, Middle-East and Africa (EMEA).”

The name of the game, according to Canonical, is to “provide enterprise customers with access to the tools and support they need to get maximum return from their Ubuntu infrastructure including round the clock support, Ubuntu Landscape management and monitoring tool, knowledge base and legal cover. Ubuntu Advantage helps to minimize any impact on mission-critical services and reduce the cost of system downtime. The Ubuntu Advantage partner program extends the availability of these services beyond Canonical and, for customers, adds local resources and responsiveness to the expertise that Canonical continues to provide.”

More >

July 26, 2011
by sjvn01
0 comments

Paradise Lost: Paris Hilton arrives on Google+

Those of us lucky enough to be on Google+ love it. Oh, we may get really upset about Google’s real name policies, and how Google’s attempts to improve it haven’t gone far enough. But, we only get so passionate about it because we love it so. We love how it allows us to have intelligent, private conversations in our select circles, how we can have multiple-person video-conferences at will, and how…. who the heck let Paris Hilton in here!

Ack!

Yes. It’s true. Google+ has gone from being the hangout of the technical elite and buddies to being the latest online hangout of that star of amateur porn and really, really bad reality TV, Paris Hilton.

More >