Macintosh

Cloud Syncing Tricks

Given the many cloud-sync services available, I wanted something I could sync over the cloud, but be secure - not “secure” if you decide to trust the service provider, but “secure” as in “good luck, NSA.” Read More...

Mandatory Access Control

I’ve been using Objective Development’s Little Snitch for almost as long as I’ve been using a Mac; it lets me selectively deny outgoing internet connections based on a number of criteria, which lets me lock down what apps are allowed to talk to places on the network - local or internet.

Intego’s VirusBarrier X6 can also do this to a lesser extent, but it’s not as refined as Little Snitch, nor does it allow much in the way of ‘this program can only connect to this host, using this protocol and this port’.

I’ve recently become aware of a different app: Hands Off!, which appears to do everything Little Snitch does, but it adds a couple of new things. Read More...

Success in the land of the VPN

I can finally report success with my recent obsession with getting a functional VPN for my home network. Actually, I can report two... Read More...

Backups & Anniversaries

Well, Angela & I have now been married for one full year. We’re celebrating our anniversary first with a family reunion (not really a celebration for us, but hey, free food & company), and then we’re going to Wendover for the weekend. I’m looking forward to seeing the Bonneville Salt Flats, if nothing else. I certainly could use the relaxation.

Life has been pretty good for me; work is looking promising, with a feeling that we’re making a difference.

I’ve had a couple of my R/C Helicopters out already (just back yard hovering for the moment); I still have to service my Rappy & get it ready to fly. That machine hasn’t flown in years now...

And I’ve discovered a really awesome tool for system backups: CrashPlan. (Click for details on CrashPlan) Read More...

MythTV

A short tale of my experience with MythTV - probably the most popular Linux DVR software package. Read More...