Category Archives: Technology

Enable Telnet in Windows 7 (and Vista)

Posted on by

I ran into a situation today where it would have been really useful to test a connection using telnet, but unfortunately, Windows 7 (and I believe Windows Vista) does not come with telnet installed. At least, that was what I had thought. It turns out that it is included, but it’s disabled. Here’s how to enable it:
Telnet is available from Windows 7 Programs and Features

  • Open the Control Panel
    • If it’s set to View By Category, click Uninstall a Program under the Programs heading.
    • if it’s set to View By Icons. click on the Programs and Features item.
  • Click on Turn Windows features on or off on the left side-bar.
  • If  UAC is enabled, click yes to Allow “Windows Features” to run.
  • Scroll down and check Telnet Client and then click OK

Now you can telnet from the command line as you could in previous versions of Windows. Keep in mind, however, that telnet is not secure. It’s recommended to use SSH when available. I highly recommend PuTTY which is a great free telnet/SSH client.

Linux Connection Delays

Posted on by

Upon connecting to one of my Ubuntu webservers over Secure Shell, I found the connection was taking a long time to establish. At least that was what I thought. It was easy for my to blame my ISP, but since Web and FTP processes were quick, I didn’t take much time to look into or track down the cause of the SSH delays. One evening while installing new packages and frequently re-connecting to the server, I got tired of the delays and found that the issue was not a bandwidth or connection issue at all, but hat upon connection the server was performing a reverse lookup which took approximately 10 seconds. Various sources on the net advised to disable the reverse DNS lookups and the OpenSSH FAQ agrees.

Continue reading →

What’s an EVO without Swype?

Posted on by

If you have an Android based phone and haven’t tried Swype yet, you’re missing out on one of the most innovative alternatives to the standard keyboard. Rather than pressing the keys to spell out a word, Swype lets you simply trace a path over the desired letters. Through pattern recognition, AI and a bit of magic, Swype is able to figure out what you’re trying to say with minimal errors making it way faster than thumb-typing. If your phone doesn’t come with Swype natively, you may be able to get in on their beta test at http://beta.swype.com.

My phone, the HTC EVO on Sprint, recently received an OTA (Over-The-Air) update that includes Swype among other enhancements. Because of this, the beta version of Swype will no longer authenticate on an HTC EVO. Unfortunately, I am running a non-standard ROM called MIUI on my phone which is not supported by Sprint. This also means that I can’t get the OTA update, and since Sprint is not offering an a-la-carte download of the Swype program, I was unable to reinstall Swype after updating to the latest version of MIUI.

It appears that the android modding community is keeping hush on the procedure to install Swype, but if you own an EVO, then you should be able to use the applications that Sprint has licensed for your device. I don’t recommend trying this on any phones that don’t natively come with Swype, but it will work for the EVO.

You’ll need to get a copy of the OTA update. The easiest way to do this is to download a ROM that includes the update.(I used Fresh-EVO-3.5.0.1, Google it.) which includes Swype, but any EVO ROM that has the application will work.

There’s 2 files you’ll need to extract from the ROM (usually just a ZIP file):

/system/app/Swype.apk
and
/system/lib/libswypecore.so

Transfer these files to your phone.

Swype.apk can go anywhere, but you’ll want to copy libswypecore.so to the /system/lib/ folder on your EVO. Yes, you’ll need root permissions. I used Root Explorer (File Manager) by Speed Software but you can use any file manager that gives you access to the system folders.

Finally, Install the program via Swype.apk from your SD card and you should be swyping in no time!

(NOTE: Rooting and/or installing aftermarket ROMs can damage your phone and may void the warranty. Do so at your own risk. Also, avoid piracy. Keep the android community alive by supporting the applications you find valuable).

Stop sending me spam!

Posted on by

I received the following email from my old insurance broker. To protect their identity, the ONLY thing I changed in the email is the company’s name. I changed it to “Dumbass” instead of their actual name.Otherwise, this is the exact email they sent me.

My response is below…

Dear _______,

At Dumbass Insurance Agency, our clients are our favorite people!

We always value the opportunity to serve your insurance needs and we greatly appreciate the trust you put in us. You have our sincere promise to always do our best to provide you with the insurance you need at the most competitive price.

Now….Can we ask a favor? Referrals are our best source of new business. We would greatly appreciate it if you could spread the word of how Dumbass has customized a solution for your insurance needs and how we can do the same for your friends, family, and co-workers.

Please ask those you refer to make sure they tell us that you referred them to us so we can send you a great gift as a token of our appreciation.

Your referrals not only help us grow our business, they make us feel good too!

Thank you for your business.

Stay safe!

Here is my response…


Dear _______,

As an individual, since you won’t even take the time to put my name in your marketing emails or filter out email addresses with which you don’t have names, how can I be sure that you’ll take the time to serve my insurance needs?

I prefer to stick with organizations who take the time to ensure that their customers needs are met, and don’t try to take shortcuts in an effort to earn a quick buck instead of doing the right thing.

Please remove me from your mailing list. Thank you.

Sincerely,
_______

The Fate of the Bookstore

Posted on by

My wanderings tonight brought me to consider the fate of bookstores. I ended up at a local Barnes and Nobles and managed to find quite a few books I was interested in. Particularly, three books on varying aspects of computer programming. The books ranged from $35 to $45 and no doubt would have tax added to them costing me over $120 had I bought them at the store.

When I returned home, I searched on Amazon.com for the same three books. Sure enough, one was $18. one was $4.00 and one was actually $0.01. Each one was coming from a different Amazon affiliate so they each cost $3.99 for shipping. The total of my order was $33.98 which was less than the cost of the cheaper book alone at the bookstore.

With deals like this, there’s few arguments I can make for patronizing local shops. If they don’t conform their pricing structures, I don’t see how it’s beneficial for them to remain open which brings up a personal conflict. I love bookstores!

I enjoy having the ability to pick up new books and peruse them. When purchasing books (with the exception of fiction) it’s critical that the book contain the information I’m looking for and be written in a manner that I can understand and follow. When introducing myself to a new language or technology, It’s good to know if the book is geared towards the beginner or an expert. Sometimes I’ll even read a chapter or two to see if I like the way the author(s) presents the materials. While there’s some provisions to accomplish this online, nothing beats the real thing.

Could bookstores such as Barnes and Noble survive if they cut their in-store prices? Perhaps one solution would be for publishers to send out more new books to public libraries so that people can sample them prior to making any purchases, but would this help sales or hinder them as the book would be “rented” for free.

I’m a big fan of technology, but in addition to the great privileges we get from innovation, there is also a cost associated with advancement.