Long Time No See.........
It has been quite a while since I have had the time to blog and there have been many exciting changes in the meantime. Fist off the reason behind this post... I have finally (I hope) found a tool with which I can blog without having to go through the hassle of login into the website. It is a Firefox plugin by Performancing from which this is my first post.
Being an Apple fan I have been watching the developments with Leopard which look exciting, particularly the 'Time Machine' backup option. Of course there is the announcement of the new iPhone, which I will reserve judgment on until someone does a proper review. The most exciting thing for me from that announcement was the AppleTV which will save me having to plug my MacBook into the TV every time I want to watch a film of TV show kept on my server.
The Server itself is showing signs of aging and has started to make a groaning noise which I hoping only points to a failing hard disk rather than anything more serious. Having said that both HD's SMART checks pass with no problems so will have to investigate further. I have however (finally) got round to sorting out a backup with a little (meaning allot) of help from this script. While that will help restore any lost settings it won't help with the content, this will require the purchase of a backup disk drive (which, currently I can't afford!).
Last week, while my server was having one of its fits, I decided to update my PortableApps. They now have a full suit of stuff for download which gives you everything in one shot. I however, prefer some customization so opted for the 'light 'version and added only the bits I need. While this gives me encrypted email (via Enigmail and Thunderbird) and encrypted IM (via GAIM and the OTR plugin) it did not offer a way of encrypting data on the USB key itself. I managed to find TrueCrypt which, once installed on a PC, gives you the option to create a 'Traveler' drive which allows you to install a cut down version of TrueCrypt and the volume creation wizard so you can 'roll-your-own' encrypted USB key, with the added bonus of Linux computability. On the computability note it is worth mentioning that non of the portable apps work on anything other than Windows (this is not a criticism, they aren't designed too!). With the addition of portaPuttY (which allows me to ssh into the server) I have a fully portable 'system' which can be used on any Windows PC.
Being an Apple fan I have been watching the developments with Leopard which look exciting, particularly the 'Time Machine' backup option. Of course there is the announcement of the new iPhone, which I will reserve judgment on until someone does a proper review. The most exciting thing for me from that announcement was the AppleTV which will save me having to plug my MacBook into the TV every time I want to watch a film of TV show kept on my server.
The Server itself is showing signs of aging and has started to make a groaning noise which I hoping only points to a failing hard disk rather than anything more serious. Having said that both HD's SMART checks pass with no problems so will have to investigate further. I have however (finally) got round to sorting out a backup with a little (meaning allot) of help from this script. While that will help restore any lost settings it won't help with the content, this will require the purchase of a backup disk drive (which, currently I can't afford!).
Last week, while my server was having one of its fits, I decided to update my PortableApps. They now have a full suit of stuff for download which gives you everything in one shot. I however, prefer some customization so opted for the 'light 'version and added only the bits I need. While this gives me encrypted email (via Enigmail and Thunderbird) and encrypted IM (via GAIM and the OTR plugin) it did not offer a way of encrypting data on the USB key itself. I managed to find TrueCrypt which, once installed on a PC, gives you the option to create a 'Traveler' drive which allows you to install a cut down version of TrueCrypt and the volume creation wizard so you can 'roll-your-own' encrypted USB key, with the added bonus of Linux computability. On the computability note it is worth mentioning that non of the portable apps work on anything other than Windows (this is not a criticism, they aren't designed too!). With the addition of portaPuttY (which allows me to ssh into the server) I have a fully portable 'system' which can be used on any Windows PC.
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