Introducing Route 85 - iOS Developer Training

Tip of the Day: Keep those WordPress Sites Updated

As posted in the past few days on several blogs and Twitter, there is a WordPress plugin specific malware out in the wild. Thousands of WordPress sites are being blacklisted.

See the details on the Securi blog site.

Happy Holidays!

Has Gamer Culture Gone Out of Control? #StopGamerGate2014

It's been simmering under the radar for quite some time, but now it's hitting the front pages of major news outlets: #GamerGate, online mobs and harassment of women (and anyone expressing critical opinion).

Here's the path that lead me down the rabbit hole:

Why the Trolls Will Always Win

Doesn't take much searching to then find:

5 Things I Learned as the Internet's Most Hated Person

Another Woman In Gaming Flees Home Following Death Threats

Searching on names that keep coming up in these articles:

Anita Sarkeesian shares the most radical thing you can do to support women online

And now the New York Times:

Feminist Critics of Video Games Facing Threats in ‘GamerGate’ Campaign

Has this reached critical mass where leaders in the multi-billion dollar industry of gaming need to step up and take a stand against harassment? Check out the new hashtag on Twitter that is getting attention: #StopGamerGate2014 - can real change start to take hold?

You Mad Bro' ... Does everything have to be controversial?

I was actually surprised to read that the giveaway of the new U2 album by Apple has managed to upset lots of people:

Free U2 album: How the most generous giveaway in music history turned PR disaster

To be honest, I think the headline is feeding the flames a bit by calling it a PR disaster. But the question is this: has the Internet community been overwhelmed by whiners, complainers and trolls?   

Perhaps there's just as many or more people that are happy about getting some free music in their iTunes account. Those stories don't get such clickable* headlines as the one above.

On the other hand, maybe it was just a bad choice of delivery:

Why the Free U2 Album is Pissing Off Apple Users

So, just dropping the free album into everyone's iTunes account is a bad way to do it.  Next time (if there is one), just give everyone the option to accept the offer?  Anyway, now there's a nifty tool from Apple to remove the offending album.  Isn't technology fun???

* The spell checker doesn't like this word ... is it legit or did I just make up a new word?

Is there a "Next Big Thing" on the horizon?

Lots of chatter going on about Ello - the tantalizing new social network startup. Could it be the next big thing?  Let's look at some of the comments:

No, I am not interested in joining your proprietary social network - In a nutshell, it all comes down to the money and no matter what you are told, it's eventually going to $ell out.

What The Ell Is Ello? The Ad-Free Social Network Everyone's Talking About - It's all about the timing and Facebook is just messing things up now.

Actually, I'm more intrigued with diaspora, which at first glance seems to be a failed "Facebook alternative" but yet it's a different idea altogether. And it's Open Source and part of the Free Software movement.

So, I'll probably try both, maybe start my own diaspora pod, and watch the excitement unfold.

Minecraft is now part of Microsoft

News flash: Mojang, parent company of Minecraft, has been sold to Microsoft for $2.5 billion.  Take a deep breath. Yes, it's official.

Not completely sure how I feel about this. Even though I've made a living in IT using and managing Micro$oft products, they're still the necessary evil. Now something as cool, open and free as Minecraft is part of that evil empire.

Links to the announcement and related posts:

Mojang.com - Yes, we're being bought by Microsoft

Notch.net - I'm leaving Mojang

Transferring files to an Android Tablet

This post could also be titled, "Things You Can Not Do with an Android Tablet" - which is what I'm basically finding out.  Sure, I'll admit, this particular tablet is at the lower end of the market (HP 7 Plus, on sale direct from HP for less than $90), but it does function just fine as my mobile device at the office (email and web-based apps).

The goal was (supposedly) simple - load a few of my favorite songs on the tablet so I could listen to music when not connected to Wi-Fi. From previous posts one knows that my new platform of choice is Linux.  I was naive in thinking that it would be easy. After all, Android is based on Linux, right? Well, it doesn't work out that way.

If I was trying to connect to a Windows machine (Win 7 or newer, don't expect any support for XP) or a Mac, there's a chance you can get it to work.  Nothing I found for Linux worked.  Just for reference, I'll include the links of things that I tried.

First on the list, this method at least did connect to the tablet, although it is extremely slow.  Getting inside a folder on the tablet never happened (or maybe I just didn't wait long enough?): How to Transfer Files from Ubuntu to Android

These methods either didn't work  or were too risky or complicated to even try:

How To Properly Mount Android 4.0+ Devices In Ubuntu Using Go-mtpfs

Transfer Files from Android and Linux with ADB and AAFM

How to Transfer Files Between Android and a Linux Mint PC

I also went into the Software Manager (isn't that where you supposed to look first?) and installed mtpfs, which runs from the command line. There's a lack of documentation for this on the web, but there is a man file.  I was able to mount the tablet as root, but not able to enter or list the directory.  Maybe I just missed some important step or was too impatient.

So, the moral of the story is ... If you want to use an Android tablet, iPad or iPod with Linux, you're going to have to wait a little bit longer for that to happen.

PS - I was able to finally get Windows XP to connect to the tablet from the instructions provided by HP Support.  However, it still failed to allow me to copy mp3 files to the tablet.

Ubuntu 14.04 Upgrade Bug

I upgraded one laptop with Ubuntu 12.04 LTS to 14.04 LTS. Most of the process went pretty smoothly.  However, every software update after the upgrade complains about a failed install:
Calculating upgrade... Done
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
38 not fully installed or removed.

For the sake of brevity, I won't post the entire string of error messages, but it boils down to errors encountered while processing: tex-common

Researching a bit leads me to this bug report - "package tex-common 4.04 failed to install/upgrade" - which proves to be interesting reading.  The issue is also listed on the TrustyTahr Release Notes under Known Issues.

Towards the bottom of the bug report a fix has been suggested (post #12). Also for users that know they have the tex-common package installed (appears to be pretty common), it is suggested to purge the package before the upgrade and then re-install (post #13).

Ah, the joys of upgrades!

Favorite Quote of the Day

"Joining a Facebook group about creative productivity is like buying a chair about jogging." 

Merlin Mann @hotdogsladies via Twitter

While you're on break (and not supposed to be working), go on over and visit Merlin Mann's web site: 43 Folders

Web 2.0 Relics

Just when you think you understand something, then it goes and changes. So true with technology and the web.

Not so long ago (although some would say otherwise), just being able to create your own web page with Notepad or vi was cool (really, it was!). Then the web became more dynamic with HTML 4 and Javascript. Cue up the browser wars next and then - Web 2.0 - the social web!  All along the way great debates about usability and design would sprout up.  Good design always plays an important role.

Where are we now and is design moving forward into Web 2.1?  Sam Solomon blogs about Why I'm Done with Social Media Buttons and gives some insight about where things should be going next.

Meanwhile, the rest of us that are not on the cutting edge just muddle along.

P.S. Not to forget, the concept of the semantic web still exists, it's just not the same buzzword it used to be.

P.S.S. Still might be ahead of it's time, but also check out the Friend of a Friend (FOAF) project.

Microsoft Backpedals

In the aftermath of the NSA scandal, several large IT companies are trying to minimize the consumer backlash, so it seems.  In this article about Microsoft's latest attempts to tighten security, they ramp up encryption of popular services.

As quoted from this blog: "Our goal is to provide even greater protection for data across all the great Microsoft services you use and depend on every day." Signs of Microsoft addressing customer issues, perhaps?

Even back in December, 2013 Microsoft began the damage control on the official TechNet blog - "Many of our customers have serious concerns about government surveillance of the Internet. We share their concerns."

Is this Microsoft "doing the right thing" or damage control?

---

Helps if I could spell "backpedals" correctly too!

[cloud] Storage Wars

Over the past few months, I've been trying out several different cloud storage providers. Actually, I've been using Amazon Cloud for a couple of years with my Kindle and it's still a favorite.  Since the price war broke out between Google and Amazon, I benefit from a much lower price per GB.

In this post I'll give some of my impressions of each service along with some of the pros and cons.

Amazon Cloud

• Low price plans for budget-minded folks
• Excellent support for music storage and MP3 Cloud Player
• Integrated seamlessly with the Kindle for music and photos

- No Linux support (browser only, single file uploads)
- No Blackberry support

Dropbox

• Great integration for eBooks (O'Reilly, Smashwords, others)
• Productivity integration (Nozbe, IFTTT)
• Support for every platform that I have: Linux, Mac, Windows, Android, Blackberry and Kindle
• Mailbox and Carousel apps for Android and iOS gives you extra free storage
• Has a Python tool for running on a headless Linux installation, great for moving files up to the server

- High price per GB

Box

• Better suited for business with integrated apps
• Support for Blackberry

- No client for Linux
- Highest price of all services reviewed

Copy

• Support for Linux, but the client seems to be buggy
• Developed a client for the Raspberry Pi
• Can split the cost of a shared account between users
• Mid-priced, could be better

- Finally had to give up on the Linux client since it caused the system to lag so badly

iCloud

• Windows, iOS and Android clients

- Pretty much geared for Apple devices

Google Drive

• Native integration on Android devices and Chrome OS
• Lowest price of all services I reviewed
• Works best with Google+ accounts, photos, Google Docs

- No Linux support (browser only)

OneDrive

• Native support for Windows 8, Windows Phone, good for Win 7
• Supported clients for iOS, OS X and Android work well
• Mid-price, can earn free storage using Bing as your search engine

- No Linux support
- No Blackberry or other support

 So, the bottom line is that I'll eventually consolidate everything on Dropbox. The biggest selling point was the available clients for all the devices that I use.  Works fine on Linux, Kindle and Blackberry, which were the hardest to find support for.  Will probably keep the Amazon Cloud since it's dirt cheap and still enjoy using the MP3 music streaming on the Kindle.

Chrome 35 on Linux Breaks Java

Java Doesn't Work on Linux Google Chrome 35, Downgrade Recommended.


If Google's Chrome is your browser of choice and you use a web site on regular basis that relies on the Java plugin, then the newest version is not going to be very useful.

As reported on Softpedia today, users are finding that Java just doesn't work with Chrome 35. Posted a few days earlier on AskUbuntu, the issue has been confirmed and recommended for users that must have Java functionality to roll back to Chrome version 34.

Get Things Done Mashup

I've been reading "Getting Things Done" by David Allen and as a result been spending some time putting together a system to help get organized and more productive.  Previously, I had blogged a comparison between OneNote and Evernote and the latter has won for gathering memos, emails, etc. that need to be acted on (trash anything else).  Also found some good references on how to utilize Evernote (tags, notebooks), like The Secret Weapon.  It's a good start, but still looking for more of a system to put notes, tasks and projects together.

Turns out that there are lots of different GTD systems out there, but I only looked at ZenDone and Nozbe in depth.  Both integrate with Evernote, but in different ways.  The difference was why I choose Nozbe for my Task/Project manager.

So, two pieces of the puzzle ... then I added in If This Then That to funnel things to Evernote by doing one of these:

• Star an email in Gmail
• Label an email in Gmail
• Favorite a Tweet

Next step was to get actionable items from Evernote over into Nozbe.  That's where another part of the integration came into play.  One thing I could do was set a reminder on the note and that would get it over to the Nozbe inbox. From there I could assign it to a project or make it a next action.  Then I discovered TaskClone which allows me to create a note with multiple check boxes, add a specific tag and presto ... each check box item shows up in Nozbe as a separate task.

So, there it is, my GTD system to gather up everything important that needs to remembered and tasks that need to be done.  All that from reading one book (and surfing around the net quite a bit).

The (short) Life and Death of an Internet Startup

This is an interesting story about someone's "next great idea" and how it may or may not actually amount to anything.

How I Killed A Startup In 4 Hours (And Why I Don’t Regret It)

Having lived through the first Internet "bubble" and watching it collapse, I wonder where we're heading now in 2014.  There's a new culture developing in the nether we call the Internet and a younger generation is flourishing (Millennials vs. GenX). 

Other observations in general:

• The use of the "F" word has become ubiquitous, even in business presentations
• Video gaming culture now has become entrenched and the new "elevator music" will soon be theme songs from Zelda and Super Mario
• Almost every daily task is becoming "gamified"
• Cell phones aren't really telephones anymore, they're really micro-computers that you can sometimes talk to someone with
• People rarely "talk" to each other anymore, it's a text or a tweet

Yeah, I'm getting old.

The Ever Changing (Internet) World

In light of the recent news about UbuntuOne's cloud and music service coming to an end, thought this post from 2011 was an interesting read:

When a cloud service vanishes: How to protect your data

xkcd: Mystery Solved

Moving away from UbuntuOne Cloud Storage

How strange a coincidence is this? Just a few days after I decided to try Dropbox (motivated by my need to share documents from a laptop to my Kindle), UbuntuOne announces they are dropping the music and file sharing service.

I really enjoyed the ease of sharing my documents, music and photos between a laptop running Ubuntu and my Windows 7 laptop for free (I had earned 25 GB of cloud storage from UbuntuOne by buying some music from their service).

Is it worth upgrading the free 2 GB plan on Dropbox to the 100 GB level?  That's the smallest plan they offer and really more than I need.

Throw in the mix that I've got free space on Apple iCloud, Microsoft's SkyDrive and have been using Amazon Cloud Drive for several years now.  Amazon's service works great between the Mac and Windows ... can I find a way to integrate it with Ubuntu and Linux Mint?

More to follow, I'm sure.

Upgrading to Minecraft server 1.7.8

First time for everything: since I set up my Minecraft server on version 1.7.4, I've had to upgrade.  Guess a lot of changes were made partly because of the Heartbleed bug and the fact that Mojang is making some changes for the username changes that will be implemented soon.  Thus it jumped from 1.7.6-7-8 pretty quickly!

There wasn't much as far as instructions to be found, so here's a short list of what I had to do to get things running again.

1. Stopped the running version 1.7.4 server
2. Renamed the ops.txt file to ops.txt.bak
3. Renamed the user files in <minecraft root folder>/world/players from playername.dat to playername.dat.bak
4. Downloaded the newest .jar file for the Minecraft server using wget into the root folder (normally I'd link to that file, but that changes often)
5. Ran the script to start up the server using a new screen
6. Wait for the conversions to take place, then first thing from the server console op my username (otherwise, nobody has op status

Probably to be expected, once I connected to the server, I lost any inventory that I had previously.  Also noted, from other users that posted info about the upgrade, you will need to re-do any white-list you had created previously.

The ops file and white-list now are .json files that contain both the usernames and their new UUID.  Otherwise, things looked pretty much back to normal.

---

4/14/2104

Addendum: Doing some more research, it looks like the user files should have upgraded automatically when server 1.7.8 was started for the first time.  I saw an error message stating that the conversion failed (and the server stopped).  That's why I renamed the user files and started over.

At the same time, there were reports that some of the Mojang services were having issues, including the service that would have done the conversion.

Conclusion, step 3 might not have been completely necessary.  User's inventory might have been preserved in the upgrade process, but I haven't seen anyone else post anything about that.

Using DropBox for your eBooks and other documents

I have no idea why I waited so long to try DropBox.  I already use Amazon's cloud storage and of course have an iCloud that's linked to my iTunes account.  But these services are geared to mainstream Windows and Mac users.

What I never realized was how easy it is to synch across different platforms like Linux and Kindle using DropBox.

Throw in the fact that several eBook sites are now starting to link up with DropBox for delivery and synching your purchases.  I've already tried it with O'Reilly and Smashwords.

You can try it for free ... and using this link, get an extra 500 MB of storage!

Book Review: Head First JavaScript Programming

Head First JavaScript Programming

By: Eric T. Freeman, Elisabeth Robson

Publisher: O'Reilly Media

Print: March, 2014

 

 The fun way to learn how to program

Pros : Helpful examples, Fun Style, Easy to understand

An excellent gateway for learning to program. The introduction clearly spells out who this book is designed for, why the concepts are presenting the way they are and how the reader can best use the book for learning JavaScript. On top of that, this book is just fun.

For the more experienced, you can select the chapters where you need to sharpen your skills and be adequately challenged.

You can browse through this blog and lots of others for tips and tricks related to JavaScript, all little bits and pieces thrown about on the web.  Sure, there are good pointers in of all of that, but do you get to really know how to effectively program in JavaScript? Now there is this book to get you the rest of the way there!

Productivity: OneNote vs Evernote

Sure, I've been using a DayTimer since the mid-90's to keep my appointments, tasks and projects straight.  Most things I just kept in my head (that's not working as well as it used to). Since I've got all these tech-toys (Blackberry, Kindle, laptop), it's time to start using them to get organized and more productive.

What got this started was a roll out of Microsoft OneNote at work.  So, everyone in the office now has it and some teams have already been using it for tracking projects.   First impressions so far:

Pros

• Integrates with Sharepoint and other Office apps we have at work
• Installs on most devices for free
• Free web version of OneNote with a Microsoft OneDrive account
• Has built-in OCD and screen capture

Cons

• Free web version isn't going to link up with the version we're using at work
• No app for the Blackberry
• Nothing for Linux (Ubuntu!)

So, looking at trying to find something that would be more accessible on all my devices, at work and home, took a look at Evernote.  There are apps for Linux available (Everpad, NixNote aka Nevernote) and they have an app for the Blackberry.  Multiple subscription levels that include free personal use and scales up for business use.

Both have third-party apps that used with them to scan, capture web pages and utilize project management tools.

For now, I'm going to use OneNote just for specific work projects and Evernote for everything else.  Also going to use Zendone.com to integrate Evernote with my Google Calendar (OneNote can hook in with Outlook, but we don't use Outlook at work).

More to follow as I try things out.

Thirty years of Personal Computers

My first introduction to computers was in 1978 at Eastern Illinois University. Although it was not my major (Medical Technology), I took a summer class in Basic programming, which was offered through the Mathematics department. The Computer Science department didn't exist yet. Programs where typed in on a keypunch machine, the stack of punch cards handed over to someone at the computer room and then wait until the next day to retrieve your output printed on paper.

Fast forward to 1984 when, after working in the forensic pathology lab for a couple of years, I was able to purchase my very own personal computer.  It was an used Tandy TRS 80. I was quickly frustrated by the limited 4K of RAM (yep, that's 4,000 bytes of memory) and excruciatingly slow cassette tape method of loading and saving programs.  So, just a couple of months later I purchased a bright and shiny Apple IIc with monochrome monitor (green screen), a whopping 128K of RAM and two (count them, two!) 5.25 inch floppy drives.  It was, at the time, amazing!

The rest, as they say, is history.  I could write a long list of computers I've owned since then, but maybe that will be another post someday.

It wouldn't be a decent blog post if I didn't link to something, so for old times sake, go take a look at the Jargon File - where you'll find all sorts of interesting history and terminology.  And happy 38th birthday to Apple, which was founded in April, 1976.

Using an Edimax USB WiFi with Linux Mint 13 Maya

Just for fun, I setup an old PC (HP box with Pentium 4 3.2 Ghz, 2 GB RAM and 160 GB HD) and installed Linux Mint.  The motherboard has the built in Ethernet port, but I wanted to use WiFi. So I plugged in the Edimax USB that I had laying around.  Mint recognized it, but it didn't work quite right (would not maintain a connection but for a few minutes).

Did a bit of searching and found several comments about this issue.  Some where helpful, some not. Finally found this post that briefly outlined the steps to update the driver - and now it's working much better!

Ubuntu: Linux for human beings

Catchy phrase, eh?  Up to three installations of Ubuntu now (2 laptops, 1 server) and enjoying every minute.

 

Found this over at LinuxCounter.net - guess it's a bragging rights kind of thing.

Of course, could always learn new a thing or two about Ubuntu and Linux in general.

Check out this blog:

Cool UBUNTU Tips & Tricks brought to you by OzzyFrank

Malware, Local File Insertion and PHP

Getting back into some web development once again.  I've been playing around with some simple CMS applications for blogging, etc.  On one new site, I installed Pixie, which seems to be a nice solution (plus I just like trying out things that are of British origin).

On the new micro server, I installed tinyCMS to try it out.  Getting it setup and working properly can be a topic of another post, but I was doing a little research on the security of the application.  Seems it does have some documented vulnerabilities, along with WordPress and the TinyMCE editor.

In the course of looking at this, I came across this post that suggested some things to help make the PHP more secure. Specifically by disabling these functions in the php.ini:   

disable_functions = create_function,gzinflate,eval,base64_decode

Good reading and never hurts to a least try to keep the sites a little more secure. 

Dell Inspiron 1420, Ubuntu and Wireless 1395 WLAN mini-card

I had previously posted about my adventures with installing Ubuntu on this old Dell laptop.  Even though I could get the wireless to connect with the open source drivers included with Ubuntu 12.04, I have always had difficulty getting the connection to persist, especially after a reboot.

First I thought it was the network manager, made changes and eventually went back to the original.  I put up with it for awhile but again went searching for a better answer.

There is a proprietary driver for the Dell Wireless 1395 WLAN mini-card (which is actually a Broadcom BCM 4312 under the hood) provided by the manufacturer here.

Also, more information about detecting and installing alternate drivers provided in the Ubuntu documentation is worth reading:  Identifying Your Broadcom BCM43xx Chipset (PCI)

The easy answer that I discovered was:

• Go to System Settings and select Additional Drivers
• Give it a few minutes to detect your hardware
• Activate the STA wireless driver

Important to note: you need to be plugged in with your Ethernet port to access the Internet. Changing the wireless drivers will disconnect your WiFi and of course will be unable to download anything.  That might be overstating the obvious, but hey, just wanted to mention it.

Logwatch and fail2ban

Things are running along pretty smoothly on the Ubuntu server over on Amazon AWS. Doing some research on server admin and security, saw a post on installing Logwatch to more easily scan the logs daily.   Of course, no surprise to see lots of attempts at compromising the server.

Decided to do something about it and found this article (geared more to Debian Wheezy, but still applies to Ubuntu): Install and Config Fail2Ban

I particularly liked the information about apache-badbots and apache-myadmin, both of which would help block a lot of the traffic seen in the logs.

Also saw lots of entries in the logs with w00tw00t.at.blackhats.romanian.anti-sec:)
So looked up a post on this blog that discusses using fail2ban specifically to block it.

Fun stuff!

LibreOffice on Ubuntu 12.04 - More about hsqldb.jdbcDriver

I have another old laptop that has Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (dual boot with Windows 7) and wanted to see if I could recreate the issue with LibreOffice Base.

This time I did not uninstall the default LibreOffice 3 that came with the distribution.   Rather I followed the instructions mentioned in the previous post and added the PPA followed by an update.  I didn't realize that Base was not included in the default install I had, so did have to install it.

Was not surprised to find that Base could not open up the sample database just as before.  So, that ruled out that doing the uninstall first on the other laptop caused the problem. 

As before, running this command fixed the issue:

sudo apt-get install libhsqldb-java

Upgrading to LibreOffice 4.1 on Ubuntu - Missing hsqldb.jdbcDriver

I've been really enjoying Ubuntu on this old Dell laptop for awhile now.  One thing I ran across was not being able to open MS Publisher documents with the default LibreOffice 3 that was installed.  Doing a little research, that functionality was added to LibreOffice 4, so I decided to upgrade.

Best I could tell, the proper way to proceed was to use the Software Center to uninstall version 3.  Then I found this article on installing LibreOffice 4.1 from the PPA.  After installing with sudo apt-get install libreoffice, I tried out LibreOffice Base.

I created a new database and tried to open it.  Uh-oh, I got this error:
The connection to the data source "SampleDatabase" could not be established.
and
The driver class 'org.hsqldb.jdbcDriver' could not be loaded.

Now what to do?  I went back into the Software Center and looked at LibreOffice Base and there were several optional add-ons for a variety of database drivers.  Select every one available and updated.   Nope, still not working.

Somehow installing from the PPA is not linking correctly so the hsqldb.jdbcDriver can be found.  Doing some more research I found another reference to exactly just that topic on the LibreOffice forum:  Upgraded to LO 4.1.0.4 now get 'connection to data source' error

Reading through that showed me how to install that specific driver with this:
sudo apt-get install libhsqldb-java

(Side note: I did not need to remove the old symbolic link and create a new one as mentioned in the post by dtmonterrey).

Bingo!  LibreOffice Base now opens my new database and I can connect to create and edit tables.

Happy New Year - 2014!

That's about it for today.