The last 24 hours have definietly been a unique experience. I dedicated all of my efforts outside of my job to trying to help with communications on the fire (mostly through Facebook, Twitter, and http://www.wallow.us. It has been such an intense time, but an amazing experience. Yesterday I helped the local call center located at the school’s District Office get properly segmented and secured with their data network. I installed an Untangle box which is doing most of the work for me now. Once they were back up and running I got ready for the live stream which was a whole other experience. Trying to live blog and run a camera at the same time is not an easy task. I hope that the stream was useable enough that it was beneficial for people. At the peak of the meeting I noticed 1740 people watching it live. I’m not sure if that was the highest number, but the highest that I saw. At midnight while reading through the amazing emails that I got from people all over the country I pulled up the analytics for my blog, and saw that i had over 10,000 views yesterday. I hope that this site is helping out, and hope I can continue to provide accurate information to everyone affected by this fire. Thank you for making this such a beneficial experience.
BLOG UPDATE @ 6/6/2011 – 8:30am
My blog is getting hijacked for the time being to provide information, photos, and videos of the Wallow Fire currently burning south of my hometown. Please share this website with others. If you have something you’d like me to add please contact me in whichever way you’d like. Facebook, Twitter, or just leave me a comment on this post.
Wallow Comments (OLD)
Here is the old single post, with the comments.. If you have linked to this page please just click on the header at the top or goto http://www.wallow.us to get the latest information.
Cellular Nostalgia
While waiting for my iPhone 4 to be delivered yesterday I began to think of the list of cellular devices that I have used in the past. I was surprised at how extensive the list was so I began to type up my history with cell phones. Then again while even beginning this post I had to return to the list to add AirCards. While insignificant at first I thought, I realized I have used them on three different carriers. Here’s my list:
These analog phones were before your cell phone did anything other than make a phone call unless you had a cool Nokia phones that had snake (nibbles) on it.
Nokia 252 – Nice compact phone for the time period. It was my first phone, and I even had to convince my parents to sign the contract to let me get a pre-paid phone because I was under 18..
Motorola StarTAC – This phone was truly ahead of it’s time, but wouldn’t be the last innovative Motorola flip phone that I would own.
Nokia 5110 – The Nokia that everyone had a the time. It had the first run of games and RINGTONES! These were pretty amazing MIDI tones that made the Motorola nine different rings looks pretty sad. The original Nokia Tune still carries on today on their phones. Out of no where while typing this I had *#6391# come into my head. I believe that is the code to initialize programming on the Nokia phones. The Motorola method involved thirteen pressings of a particular button (it’s been too long!).
Motorola Vader – This phone was the StarTAC’s little brother but was the sexy phone of it’s time. The compact design made it a must have phone! I remember spending a couple hundred dollars on this phone in High School and thinking what a ridiculous amount of money that was for a phone. Little did I know what I would be getting myself into.
Nokia 3310 – Very sad day when my Vader was the casualty of being thrown across a room and breaking in half. 🙁 I was given a Nokia 3310 (very, very similar to the previous Nokia’s in software) as a replacement from CellularONE.
Motorola v120e – The first phone that I modded. It was as close to the v60 that I could get at the time, and was given to me by a CellularONE rep. I replaced the number pad with a “waterfall” set of numbers that would light up and dance around when you got a phone call. I’m sure my dad just loved that feature when he ended up with the phone after I moved to college.
Motorola v60i – My first text messaging phone. I remember having to convince my mom I would pay the extra 5 or 10 dollars a month for 200 text messages (I was still under 18), and then had to call and have her up it because I texted too much. Wow things were simpler then. CellularONE didn’t have service outside of Northeast Arizona at the time that was very cost effective at all so I migrated to Alltel. I got a discount on the phone from the Radio Shack in Globe where we stopped on our way down to move me to the valley. This was the business man’s phone, and was another amazing piece of Motorola hardware. This and the 120e allowed you to compose your own ringtones, and Riley Trickey made me a ringtone after a song that he had written.
Motorola T720 – Again working at Radio Shack (a real corporate Radio Shack this time), I was eligible for employee discounts on Verizon Wireless plans. For 25 bucks a month I had my first cell phone (IN MY OWN NAME!!). I remember getting the very first camera phone into our store that Verizon carried. It was a big deal! I got a ridiculous amount of minutes and messages for the time, and loved that phone. It was my first colored screen phone. There were some pretty handy Hex editing tools that allowed me to upload my own wallpapers (not even an option back then, I had to hack my phone to get some sweet 120 pixel images on my phone), and even get some ringtones on there. There were the higher class polyphonic ringtones mind you!
Motorola v60s – Right before my mission, I upgraded to the new hotness of the v60 that had a built in SPEAKERPHONE! My mom was kind enough to help me build credit by using the phone while I was gone. Dang parents are awesome!! I never did get that phone or number back.. hehe She still has it to this day with a Droid R2D2.
Motorola RAZR v3m – Fresh back from my mission I was ready for my third amazing Motorola flip phone. The V3m version of the RAZR was amazing! A camera phone with text messaging integrated that worked well. The phone was so thin, and to this day is still one of my favorite phones. We were way past polyphonic ringtones now, and I could convert a mp3 to a mid file that was smaller than 250k and less than 30 seconds to the phone and have real ringtones.
Palm Treo 700w – Windows Mobile 5 – Things went spiraling down hill from here. My first smartphone. I got hooked up with this phone from a friend of a coworker, Brad for $150.00 I think. A steal for the phone at the time. This phone was so horrible compared to today’s standard of phone, but it was one of the best smart phones of the day. My employer, Azstar Communications, paid for my data plan and I was in business. I had Outlook mobile hooked up to multiple email accounts (Exchange and IMAP), and we were off. That phone served me very well, and my mom even used it for a few years after I upgraded.
HTC Mogul (XV6800) – Window Mobile 6 – My first HTC phone, but last Windows Mobile phone. This slider was a step up from the Treo because of the newer version of the Windows Mobile operating system and larger touch screen, but it was still a Windows Mobile phone. I used this phone without a data plan because we had just moved into our home and were trying to save money. Pay-As-You-Go data is not the smartest idea, but using the built-in 802.11 wireless card made it a usable phone.
BlackBerry Storm 9530 – The timing on this phone was pretty spot on. My employer was getting me a BlackBerry, and it timed to the release of this fail of a phone. It was slow, and slow. Definitely not the best introduction to the RIM line phone cellular phones.
BlackBerry 8830 World Edition – I finally caved and got rid of my Storm to inherit a phone with no MMS support (because RIM decided if it didn’t have a camera you didn’t need the ability to receive picture messages either) and a QWERTY keyboard.
Palm Pre – This phone was loaned to me for a summer to provide internet access to rodeos that I was live streaming. I didn’t like the phone at all, but the built-in and free Mobile HotSpot feature made it a home run for what we needed. Thanks Verizon! (Please bring the free HotSpot back!!)
BlackBerry Tour 9630 – The last phone RIM had on Verizon to offer the ball for navigation. it was a nice functioning phone running the BlackBerry OS Verison 5. The newer OS made the phone a much more pleasant experience.
BlackBerry Bold 9650 – My current BlackBerry. Basically a Tour with more memory, and a the optical track pad in place of the notorious ball. The 3.2 Megapixel camera takes sharp pictures of still objects. The focusing takes some time, but pays off for snapping pictures of serial numbers and other small information on technological devices.
Apple iPhone 4 – Here’s my thoughts on the iPhone 4
T-Mobile – Sony Vaio TX770P Integrated EDGE Modem (Unlocked). EDGE was definitely slow, but I can’t complain about having an integrated modem in my already ultra portable laptop. I still have that laptop because I can’t bare to sell it. It is a nice live stream computer using UStream.
Sprint – PCMCIA EVDO Modem (When Sprint offered truly umlimited data plans). Sticking out of the same Sony VAIO laptop it was always on. I don’t even know how many GBs I would rack up in a month. Amazing coverage in the Phoenix Metro area. I found myself using my work VPN even while at work with that laptop instead of switching to my WiFi card. It would use Verizon’s towers when I would travel home, but only at 1x, so the dial-up speeds, similar to my T-Mobile EDGE experience, while away from the valley were less than stellar, but at least there was service.
Verizon – Multiple USB Pantech and Verizon modems. Verizon has consistently had great coverage for the majority of places I travel. It is slower than it’s competitors, but I drop connection rarely in the many situations I’ve used either an aircard or my Blackberry as a modem. it sure makes my trips up to Colorado to visit Amanda’s family more bearable. Travelling drives me crazy!
iPhone 4 Review (Verizon)
Like many others I stayed up on February 2nd to pre-order my iPhone at 1am Arizona time. Again, like many others I have been hitting refresh on my FedEx tracking seeing it make it’s journey from California to my doorstep. Activation was painless (although I have heard of people having issues with activation due to the overwhelming number of activations today) after the mandatory application of Ghost Armor on my screen. Ghost Armor is a nice Arizona-based company that provides screen protectors for all sorts of technology. My iPad, BlackBerry Bold, and my wife’s HTC Incredible all sport the protectors. It was slightly weird using my Droid X to a picture of my iPhone, and post it to Facebook letting everyone know that beautiful piece of Motorola and Android technology would soon be gathering dust.
Once activated and dried off, I booted up the device and setup my mail (gmail using Microsoft Exchange support for calendar and contact syncronization), my voicemail, and Google Voice number. After my core messaging applications were in place I plugged the phone into my MacBook Pro for the initial sync (which is known to be notoriously slow and drawn out). Many of my iPad applications that had been designed for both iOS devices were synced over (including my “must-have” LogMeIn Ignition, DropBox, and Documents ToGo Premium among others). 45 minutes had my music and apps installed and ready to go. The process was painless, and surprisingly easy. My only wish would have been to have the option to import all the settings, accounts, and logins from my iPad to my iPhone. A small qualm, but it would have made the process even more plug-and-play.
So far the experience has been great. I have not dropped any calls (but that has never been a problem for me on Verizon Wireless‘ cellular network), I have the familiar iOS experience from my iPad, and at the end of the day it is an Apple product. I do not see the inability to use voice and data services simultaneously a problem, because I like most other geeks are never too far away from another piece of tech. Those who enjoy Apple products will enjoy the iPhone. For many in the tech field we desire technology that “just works”, and while my background would dictate that I would be an Android phone supporter (which I am, I have a Droid X, HTC Incredible, and a Droid R2D2 currently on my family share plan even after my switch to the iPhone) I need a phone that just works. I do miss Swype a little, bit but I’m sure having it auto-correct me incorrectly more and more will will be a short-lived downside to switching to the iPhone (I would be okay with the option if it was available on my iPhone someday). This device, much like my MacBook Pro and iPad, is reliable and ready for me consume and create content whenever and wherever I need.
Bridge your Frontier Comm. DSL Connection
Over the Christmas holiday break people were asking me how to get their PS3 to not say NAT3 so they could play Call of Duty: Black Ops with other people locally. The problem is the way that the standard Frontier Communications modem (Seimens SE567) handles Network Address Translation. There is a way to modify this, but it will require an additional router. You will teach your modem to work in bridged mode, and pass the public IP address on to another device. I have my modem connected to a Linksys WRT320N for this tutorial.
Here’s what you need to do:
1: Disconnect all computers/devices except the one you will be using. Use an ethernet cable to directly connect to the SE567 modem
2: Log into your Frontier Communications SE567. Type http://192.168.254.254/ into your web browser. At the top of the screen log in with the Username: admin and Password: admin
3: On the left side of the screen click ISP Connection, and then choose the Advanced Settings button located at the bottom of the window
4: On the left side of the screen click Configure the ATM Virtual Circuit
5: You will need the VPI/VCI Setting from the enabled settings, which looks similar to 0/35.
6:On the left side of the screen click Home Network, and then choose the Advanced Settings button located at the bottom of the window. Click on Configure the Universal Plug-n-Play Settings. Disable UPnP, and save.
7: Reboot the modem
8: Log into your Frontier Communications SE567. Type http://192.168.254.254/ into your web browser. At the top of the screen log in with the Username: admin and Password: admin
9: On the left side of the screen click ISP Connection, and then choose the Advanced Settings button located at the bottom of the window
10: On the left side of the screen click Configure the ATM Virtual Circuit
11: Choose Add a new VC
12: Fill in the VPI/VCI settings that you noted down earlier(for example, a VPI/VCI value of 0/35 equals are VPI of 0, VCI of 35). Set the Encapsulation to LLC and make sure the Traffic Class is set to Unspecified Bit Rate. Click Next.
13: Choose RFC-2684 Bridged. Click Next
14: Click Next past the Name section.
15: Choose Finish
16: Disable the currently active VC connection. Choose Enable on the new VC connection.
17: Reboot the SE567.
18: Disconnect the computer from the SE567, and then connect it to your router of choice. Plug your new router into any of the SE567’s Ethernet ports.
19: Configure your router to use PPPoE as the Protocol (most routers default to DHCP/Automatic Configuration, which will not work). Use your Frontier E-mail address as the username and your Frontier password as the password.
20: If your router has an option for MTU, make sure it is set to 1492
21: Save the settings on your router.
From this point, your router should be bridged. Use your router’s Status Page to see if it is connected and has obtained a valid IP/DNS/Gateway address. If it comes up with a 192.168.254.*** address, the router is probably not set up correctly. Check over your settings. Please note, your PCs may require a DHCP Release and a DHCP Renew after this procedure in order to connect.
Click Here to download the original Tutorial | Thanks SeanSite for the Tutorial
Connect Safely | Help for parents
I heard about Connect safely from Larry Magid on TWIT, and felt it worth sharing. Connect Safely is a site dedicated to helping parents direct their children to safe and secure web browsing. On TWIT they were highlighting their book/pdf about Facebook. I think it is a great resource for parents looking for help with the huge experience we call the Internet. Browse on over to connectsafely.org to educate yourself and your children.
Also, TWIT or This Week In Tech is site compiling many podcasts hosted by Leo Laporte for all sorts of technology news. His shows are useful and information for all users of technology. There is something for the novice and the expert. Head on over to TWIT.TV
Just for fun, Graphics Design
Making wedding announcements are definitely not what ZNET Networks claims any proficiency at, but occasionally we get to work on graphics design. I enjoy getting to do it as well as video editing. I found this today while cleaning up some folders and thought I’d upload it so you could see an example of our work.
