Some Random Thoughts

So this week I'm in Pompano Beach working at the office. I've been developing new software for the company I work for, Alarms GPS. I just finished eating a lunch of rice & beans, chicken, and lettuce. Very good stuff. Right now I'm sitting at my desk waiting anxiously to receive an email from Movistar, a cell service company down in Mexico, to finish a VPN configuration that we've been working on for 3 weeks. Let's just say that it's somewhat frustrating to spend forever doing something that could really take one afternoon....but anyway....

I've been using Google Chrome lately, and I like it because it's fast, it has great themes, and it has lots of cool extensions. Not as many as Firefox, but who really cares, because I only use 2: Xmarks and AdBlock plus. You should check them out, they are really worth it! Anyway, I'm using Ariel to write this blog post, and I've got to say, this netbook really has got a great feeling keyboard! I'm running Ubuntu 10.10 32-bit, which makes her really fast and speedy. Check out a snapshot of my desktop (yes, I have a wallpaper for openSUSE, but come on, it looks cool!!):

I used a cool app called Shutter (only for Linux) to create the cool 3D reflect effect...

Otherwise, I'm trying to get these people to take me out to test our car tracker/alarm now. The car alarm is just a device that you plug into your vehicle that has a remote control (to lock and unlock doors or start the engine) which also tracks where it is which you can see on our tracking webpage (it uses Google Maps, which is cool). I think the alarm pretty much ready, it just needs a final test run to make sure it works as advertised, and that I didn't mess up anything important. I really need to get my own car (and not to mention, my license) so I can just go and test it the way I want without having to worry about anything.....

Alrighty, time to get back.....so long!

Jesse L. Zamora

Firewalls, Me, And My Netbook Ariel

So lately I've been configuring firewalls. What ever for? Well, the company for which I work (Alarms GPS) has a network of servers that need to be protected from the outside. So, I configured the entire network for the entire 6 or so servers we have using a Fedora 11 server with Shorewall. Most of you don't really care, so you don't have to keep reading. Anyway, at first it was difficult trying to figure out  how to get the configuration started, but eventually I got it working and was able to also configure an IPSEC VPN using the Linux ipsec-tools (Racoon and setkey) with Wyless (a T-Mobile service provider). Either way, this past week in our brand new office in Fort Lauderdale, we setup a local firewall not only for security, but also to run a proxy server that allows us to block certain webpages, such as YouTube, Facebook, or the notorious Windows Live Messenger. The configuration was simple, and I got the proxy server running, but I haven't figured out how to get it to block sites yet. So I'll need to go back down there and finish it.

Right now I'm blogging from my new netbook (named Ariel). I'm waiting for the peeps to get off the Internet so I can install our own internet blocking system so we can limit the websites we go to, and even specify what times we can go on the Internet (e.g., we could block the Internet after 10:00 PM so people won't be surfing at midnight, etc). One appealing thing is that while a proxy server can block information, it can also help to speed up the Internet connection. Yes, really, it does speed up your Internet a whole lot. What it does is that it saves a "cache" of webpages on the server so that the next time you access that page, it can quickly provide the basic elements in record time, and the page loads instantly. So that's another reason to have a firewall here at the house, since we don't have the fastest Internet all the time....

When everybody is off the computers, hacking time begins! They are taking way too long, and my battery is getting lower and lower, and still I haven't started to get the thing setup. Seriously, is there no order in this place??? Either way, I'm going to go get my power adaptor to get the battery charging before I ruin my battery pack.

If you've read this far, I commend you for your valor. I assume you don't understand most of what I have written in the above paragraphs, but if you did (if you're a Linux geek or something), then great! Well, I've got to stop blogging now. So, till next time!

Jesse L. Zamora

New Netbook

Yay! I just got my new ASUS EeePC Seashell Series netbook! I have given her the name "Ariel" since I like that name...and also, because she's just hot!!!
 

Here Ariel's specs:

Size: 12.1 in.
CPU: AMD Athlon Neo II 1.7 GHz
Memory: 2GB DDR3
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 4250
Hard Drive: 320GB SATA II
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit
Battery Life: Up to 6 hours!

I'm installing Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook Edition next to Windows 7 in order to have a dual boot system. This is totally aweseme! Why do I want to keep Windows? Well, to compile the Qt4 apps I work on to work well on other Windows 7 machines!!

I'm also installing Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook Edition as my main installation. I'll install the Qt4 SDK and add stuff for development of PHP code, as well as add GIMP and Inkscape for my image editing and creation needs.

All I have to say about Ariel is that she is totally awesome. I mean, for $300 (without shipping), I get a hot netbook that is almost twice as powerful as my previous netbook for the same price. And it's got a bigger screen. This is so awesome!!!

Sorry Thumbelina (my previous netbook), but I've found someone else....