Douglas Rehfeldt » Uncategorized

Vizio XWR100 Dual-Band HD Video and Wireless Internet Router

Douglas — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:17:48 +0000

I’ve been waiting for prices to drop on the Dual-band routers and today the price was right for a Vizio XWR100 Dual-Band HD Video and Wireless Internet Router. At Costco for US$69.98 it was less than half the price of the Cisco 3000 I had been eyeballing. Granted the XWR100 has 4-10/100MB ports, whereas the 3000 has 10/100/1000MB ports, but then I have a separate managed Gigabit switch for my servers. I’ll keep the old WRT54G with DD-WRT for a spare and test this Vizio unit at home for a bit. Setup was brainless, the unit only comes with a power adapter, a 1.5′ Ethernet cable, and a two page setup guide, which is mostly pictures anyway. It has a USB 2.0 port for external storage, but I have a server. Time will tell how this device performs, but for the price and Costco’s great return policy I couldn’t leave the store without one.

2010 Network Field Survival Guide arrives

Douglas — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 22:42:05 +0000

My copy of the Network Field Survival Guide by Jay McGuerty arrived today!

http://www.networkrecipes.com

2010 Network Field Survival Guide(c) is out

Douglas — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 20:39:28 +0000

A perfect pocket reference for the IT network professional is now updated and available in 2010 release. http://www.networkrecipes.com

New iPhone ruggedized case – Magellan ToughCase

Douglas — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 16:18:23 +0000

As an outdoor enthusiast I got excited to discover a ruggedized case for the iPhone that extends the run-time and location accuracy. Both of which are pretty dismal on my iPhone 3GS. This case could allow me to increase the use of my iPhone to more outdoor activities.

Reminders of a Real-life Hero

Douglas — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 23:21:25 +0000

Today while reading about the patent wars and the “patent trolls” who contribute nothing, but instead collect patents and use them to sue others for profit, I was reminded of a childhood real-life hero, George Washington Carver. I wrote a report on Mr. Carter in middle school and the impact it had on me helped to shape the man that I am today. Mr. Carver discovered hundreds of uses for peanuts and other crops and improvements upon many other things. He only patented three things, and when asked why, he responded “”God gave them to me, how can I sell them to someone else?” George Washington Carver’s epitaph reads “”He could have added fortune to fame, but caring for neither, he found happiness and honor in being helpful to the world.” He is still a real-life hero.

Veterans Day

Douglas — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:06:43 +0000

To my fellow veterans who have served and those still serving, I salute you.

Vote Earth – Will you go an hour without power?

Douglas — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:55:23 +0000

Freedom isn’t free

Douglas — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:34:38 +0000

We must never forget that freedom has a cost. Stop and think about for a moment those who have sacrificed to bring about or help maintain the freedom that we enjoy everyday.

West Michigan Novell Users Group – The Big EveNt 2008

Douglas — Tue, 20 May 2008 10:55:08 +0000

I’m late mentioning this, but the West Michigan Novell Users Group is hosting The Big EveNt 2008. This local users group doesn’t seem to get much attention outside of it’s normal circle. Then again, Novell certainly doesn’t advertise like it’s competitors do either.

Date: May 19 – 20
Location: Prince Conference Center, Calvin College
Presenters: John Delks, VP of Sales for WorkGroup Americas

Needless to say, I’ll be looking at the Suse server and desktop products more closely. I started out as a “Big Red” fanboy in the nineties, but job changes have moved me away from Netware and the Novell product line for another color of computing and a network infrastructure focus. I ran Opensuse on my desktop for years as a network admin/engineer in a primarily Windows shop and used Windows XP in a VMWare VM when it was absolutely necessary to run Windows. The Novell Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop is polished, but my Ubuntu desktop is heavily customized and works for me. I’ll write some more after spending some time with the Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop (SLED).