We’ve reached the end of Day Two of Interop setup and I have to say that I’ve never seent he team this excited, this motivated and this productive in such a short time. Externals are up and we are now stress-testing our FOUR DS3 circuits, each of which can deliver 45Mbps of bandwidth. — We’ve got the NOC built, the PEDs in place and most of the core network up an running. I’m almost afraid to pinch myself, lest I realize that this is all a dream and we really haven’t even unloaded the trucks!

In any cases, here are a few pics from the setup… enjoy!

Here’s something completely unexpected (Is there a font to denote sarcasm?)

Here’s the kicker… the auction ended up pulling in twice what was expected by the FCC, and these three senators have collectively receivedmore than $300,000 in campaign support from the Telcos.
More after the Jump »

Most of the people who read this blog will not be affected in the least by this announcement, but there are a fair number of people on the Interwebz that don’t have the IT savvy to understand when their browser is exposing them to online danger. The article starts with the example of older (much older) versions of Internet Explorer, and how they are exposing PayPal transactions to snooping, but pretty much EVERY majot browser out there is in danger of getting blocked from PayPal.
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Here’s an oldie from the files… let me set the scene..

Then you step off the plane, and into a religious fundamentalist hell!

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This is a classic video of Patrick Norton and Kevin Rose from the TechTV days in which they poke fun of the more extreme ways of destroying your data. After using a drill, and angle grinder and a degausser, the video shows their efforts to use acid and thermite to make sure that your hard drive is truly unreadable.

Now, before you click to continue, let me take this opportunity to remind all the uberGeeks out there that Thermite is DANGEROUS, Acid can kill you, and being an uberGeek is not an excuse that will keep you out of jail!

More after the Jump »

Between using Norton Ghost to image a “clean copy” of my OS, I also happen to install quite a few systems around the parish. Microsoft’s “TechNet” has downloadable ISOs of the updates found on “Windows Updates” which should dramatically reduce the time I spent downloading critical patches after the installation of each setup.

Give it a try at http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=913086&SD=tech

From the article: “It’s a testament to the challenges companies face in operating data centers that Google (GOOG), Yahoo! (YHOO), and Microsoft (MSFT) have all checked out this remote corner of the world (although none has made a commitment so far). The reason: Iceland has a rare combination of vacant land, cheap geothermal energy, and chilly climate that makes cooling a data center nearly free.”

On paper this is a great idea. I’m betting that there are some execs who are already counting their bonuses once the ROI on a “properly located data center” matures. After all, the Data Centers that run just about every aspect of contemporary IT life require a humungous amount of power — half for lighting up the rows and rows of equipment, and the other half for removing the unholy amount of waste heat that is generated by all that data goodness.

When we first saw the CRU DataPort25 we were underwhelmed. I mean, we’ve seen drive enclosures before and though they vary widely in quality, their basic function — to allow users a quick and easy way to remove storage from a desktop or server — has been pretty much the same.

Upon closer inspection however, we found that the DataPort 25 line of enclosures adds something that is quite unique for external storage…

Two-Drive RAID in an enclosure that’s no bigger than a floppy drive…
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From the article: “Even American leaders are taking note. Senator Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan, has announced his own inquiry into tax evasion by Americans in Liechtenstein, and both he and Senator Barack Obama are pushing legislation that would give the federal government new powers to track down money in Switzerland and elsewhere.

The concept of bank secrecy is deeply rooted in Switzerland, akin to the confidentiality rules governing doctors and lawyers in other countries, and a 1934 law makes it a crime for bankers to disclose client information. For foreigners, this combination is an effective shield against authorities at home.”

Are there any valid reasons why we should have completely anonymous banking? I mean this seriously, I’m not trying to be an ass like usual… It’s can be a nice convenience (for those with means), and I’m sure that it comes in handy (for those with legally-suspect means), but it seems that aside from a very few borderline cases the Swedish/Cayman banking system exists solely because those with ill-gotten gains can afford to part with some of their booty in exchange for the chance to keep the rest.

More after the Jump »

Sorry about the lack of posts for the last week. I’ve been slaving away in a warehouse in Belmont, CA, getting ready for THE network event of the year.

Starting in about a week, an army of engineers, dweebs and uberGeeks will be decending upon the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas to deploy the largest temporary network in the world. If you get a chance, drop on by Interop and see what we’re doing.

Do the French courts better understand how to deal with frivolous copyright threats?

It would appear so… Elizabeth Martin, a lawyer in France, has been banned from practicing for 6 months and forbidden from joining any professional organization for another 10 years. (In other words, she has been blacklisted for a decade, effectively ending her legal career.) — It seems that the Paris Bar Council doesn’t take kindly to its representatives (layers) making estortionist threats, overstating their case, demanding cash payments of 400 Euros each to avoid lawsuits (not actually to settle a lawsuit).

More after the Jump »

Speck has done it again! If you recently purchased that thin and sexy device Apple calls the MacBook Air….then you may want to shelf out a little more cashola for this super sexy “wrap” to protect your investment. Their new SeeThru slim, hard shell case made of polycarbonate shatter-proof plastic snaps right onto your MBA. This two piece ultra-thin casing is designed perfectly so that you can access all ports without having to take the casing off. What’s even better….you can snap it on and off effortlessly without a scratch. Currently, the website offers it in three colors: smoke, pink, and clear. Wanting a little more variation in color? Like the pictures above show….they’ll be coming out with this matte dark amber(cranberry in the light) opaque color they call “bronze” soon enough!

I’m not a big fan of the April’s Fool prank (Amature Day) but if you’re going to prank, you might as well do it in true uberGeek style. Wired has put together a top 10 list of nerd-link stunts that tickle your dweeb funny-bone.

From the article: “2. The Speech-to-Text Platform Joke You’ll need a wireless keyboard for this. Set up a meeting with a colleague to teach them a speech-recognition program (you’ll need a plausible reason why the company needs this). Then, right before the meeting, connect your keyboard wirelessly to the victim’s computer. Explain to the victim that the program will have to be trained to recognize their voice, and give them a sample sentence to try out. As they do this, have a co-worker a few desks away type gibberish into the program page (”Boomshakalaka!). “