Geek Fun: Part 1

Sunday, December 24th, 2006

Every once in a while I find something in the net that is probably insignificant to some people but would appear to geeks as pretty cool stuff.

Here’s one of them, displaying several optical illusions and explanations on the trickery they play on our minds.

Linksys WRT54G

Saturday, December 23rd, 2006

Finally I was able to decide on which router to get for my home network. As shown on the image at the left, it’s a Linksys WRT54G. What I got was v5, the first iteration of the router to use VxWorks as the OS for its firmware, and not Linux.

I really don’t have any issues with the OS used in the firmware as long as it does its job. I’ve had several projects at work that used VxWorks as its firmware OS (a printer and a pizzabox NAT), and though it is closed source, it is POSIX-compliant and is well-documented. If ever I decide to switch the firmware to Linux though, it’s still hackable through DD-WRT. They found a way to squeeze everything onto the reduced memory of the v5. (more…)

Posting From My PSP

Wednesday, December 20th, 2006

Or a better title could be: An exercise in masochism just to prove a point.
This is a test just to show that it could be done. However, I recommend staying away from this. If you’ve noticed, the sentences are relatively short.
As you may have guessed, I’ve already bought a router. But that’s just what I want to talk about on my next blog post.

Looking For A Good 802.11g Router

Saturday, December 16th, 2006

My wife surprised the geek in me last night when she told me that she wanted to give me a wireless router for Christmas, one that we could use to keep our PSP (and a future notebook computer) connected anywhere in the house. The problem is, she doesn’t know what and where to buy one.

Now I’m at a loss. A no-brainer choice for me would be a Linksys WRT54GL, with its third party firmware support and generally good feedback from both user and magazine reviews. The cheapskate in me is thinking of getting something else, in line with a Netgear WGR614, a D-Link DI-524, and an Edimax BR-6104K. Our wired office doesn’t offer a choice, as the access points are all Japanese brands which can’t be found anywhere here in the Philippines.

Is the WRT54GL really the best choice for us? Will looking for a cheaper alternative prove to be a wise decision? I have several more days to find out.

Six Things To Whine About Ubuntu

Sunday, December 10th, 2006

I’m currently an Ubuntu fan, dropping Slackware for Ubuntu’s ease of installation and automatic recognition of all devices on my computer. Not only is it easy to install, but as far as my family is concerned, adjusting to it when you have been a Windows user since God-knows-when just takes a little time. I’m not alone in saying these good things about Ubuntu — maybe this article is a proof of Ubuntu’s popularity.

However, there are some things I’m annoyed with Ubuntu. Some of these may be common to some, and some may sound as if I’m nitpicking, and yet some may seem so absurd that you might think I’m crazy. I think if these things are addressed, then I could say that Ubuntu will be the best distribution for me.

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