Posts

Posted on

VPNs are a hack

I don’t have a problem with Virtual Private Networks (or VPNs) as a technology. They serve a purpose and I do work with them a lot where I am currently employed. But, I have come to the conclusion that using them for common or casual remote access is a total hack.

For the remote computer, the VPN essentially takes that remote system and virtually places it on the office network. That’s the hack. Instead of using secure technology and SSL tunneling, you “fake” having the computer on the office network. Obviously this is sometimes required, but should remote users be using VPN just to send and recieve mail? I’m not even sure you need a VPN for file access if you have a good, secure portal that allows uploads and downloads. End users dependent on VPNs for access to their day-to-day tools are depending on a single point of failure. If the VPN doesn’t work, the user is out of commission.

I feel that a VPN should be used to connect office LANs together and as an emergency for remote users who can’t get what they want through normal secure methods.

Posted on

Speakeasy + Covad + Bellsouth = DSL

Last Friday around 8:00am EDT, my DSL died. I stopped by the house around lunchtime and checked things out. I have had a lot of issues with DSL in the past due to the wiring in my house being unshielded and basically ancient. But, when I plugged an analog phone into the jack outside my house, I got no dialtone. That’s bad.

I put in a trouble ticket and by the end of that day I got a voice mail indicating my phone line was good and my DSL would be back up Monday. No explination about what happened or why my phone just went dead. Same for the DSL. It just came back with no message from Bellsouth or anything.

I suspect gnomes … or maybe brownies.

Posted on

iBook vs. Inspiron

My (super smart and very sexy) girlfriend returned my iBook to me. I have been lugging it around with my Dell Inspiron 9300, which I purchased as my primary gaming system last year. The two laptops are totally different animals and I hadn’t really grasped that until I broke out the iBook and started to use it at work.

The Inspiron is a 17″ widescreen desktop replacement. It has power and speed. I can play EVE or BF2 on it with no problems and it looks and runs great. But, I can’t pop it out of my backpack and work on it for an hour or so and then put it up without busting out the power adapter and finding some room to clear off my desk. The two laptops represent two opposite ends of the laptop spectrum, yet they both have some kind of attractive quality that I enjoy. The iBook is simple and polished in every detail. From the physical design to the operating system (OS X). The Inspiron is like some kind of container for a giant screen and a video card, caged in a plastic shell so I can actually take it places. If the iBook were Face from the A-Team, the Inspiron would be B.A.

Posted on

EVE Online

I’m a little surprised I am still playing EVE Online. It’s a really good game and I am surprised at the size and available options it presents. If you like massivly multiplayer games, I think you should feel obligated to try EVE. Many aspects of the game remind me of my old days playing MUSHes and MUDs.

I think that moderate playing has contributed to my enjoyment. Taking it slow, in a decent corporation, with no pressure to race ahead. This type of playing is augmented by the method EVE uses to train skills. My character learns new things over time, even when I am offline. It means my time spent not playing is more valuable than most other games I am not playing.

Posted on

Umstead and Black Creek

Yesterday, some friends and I rode into Umstead from Cary. It was a good ride and my second for the year. I am hoping that when daylight savings kicks in and the weather is generally warmer, I will get more rides in. Got about an hour of straight riding in. The cooler weather made me really appreciate picking up a shell from REI last year. Keeping the wind out makes the 50 degree weather tolerable.