The Lance J. Technoweb

I've been using my late 2009-vintage A1342 MacBook as my primary computer for many years,  but I have just upgraded to a 2020 "M1" MacBook Air . There was nothing wrong with my old MacBook, except that it could no longer run a supported Mac operating system.  So I decided to repurpose it as a utility laptop that I can drag around to different sites to perform basic network maintenance functions. My old MacBook had a Sandisk 1 TB SSD inside, which is far more than it needs now.  I ended up pulling out  the 1 TB drive and putting it into a USB3 enclosure so that I can archive bulky files on it (photos, email, videos and documents).  Instead of the 1 TB drive, I put a very inexpensive 60 GB SSD into the MacBook.  60 GB is plenty of space for what I plan to use it for. Thank you, MacBook A1342.  Your 11+ years of service have been amazing.

I love my GL.iNet Mini routers, but one issue I have with them is that they are so small that they are hard to mount on a wall. Yes, I could buy a specialty bracket, but it seems like there is a faster and cheaper way.  Enter my solution: A home-made bracket that can be made in minutes using heavy paper or transparency film. A little cutting and folding and tape, and in minutes I have a reasonably robust router mount. Homemade GL.iNet Router Bracket Creating the Bracket The PDF document allows for four brackets to be created from a single 8.5" x 11" sheet of card stock. That's far less than penny for numerous brackets. Win! Here is the process after you download the PDF document: Print it on heavy card stock or on plastic film. Cut out the shaded areas with scissors or a sharp knife.  Cut on bold lines. Fold on the dotted lines Use some tape and/or glue to make a little box that you can tack or staple to the wall Bracket ready to be glued or taped together I find these ...

For the past 7+ years I have been running the same class of WiFi equipment: The Apple Airport Express N v2. I have been exceedingly successful of running these routers.  They are rock-solid devices, and they support many more channels than the typical expensive "prosumer" routers, since the Airport Express supports DFS.  Why did the tech press slam the Airport Express as being "overpriced and under-powered"?  Because the tech press is filled with idiots. How awesome is DFS?  Let me tell you. I live in the city where there are 40+ visible WiFi access points in my vicinity.  Each of these routers are all trying to scream over one another to be heard. There are only really 6 or so non-overlapping WiFi channels (2.4GHz and 5 GHz).  Each of the standard channels have at least 5 visible access points. Except the DFS channels, which no one seems to use. So when I boot up MY Airport Express, it lands on Channel 52, where there is literally no competition.  My ...

All "cloud backup" services encrypt data using industry-leading encryption algorithms so that you can trust that your data is secure. Except that's not true.  Although these companies do encrypt your data, the vast majority of these services keep a copy of your encryption key, which they can secretly use at any time to look at all of your data. Sure, these companies likely want to do the right thing for reputational reasons, but the same could be said for Equifax and CapitalOne and Experian and hundreds of other finance and healthcare companies that each spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year on their computer systems.  Just taking a look at data theft throughout the industry and we have to ask ourselves: WHY should anyone have confidence in a backup service that has full access to all of my data? To put the nail in the coffin, all these services have legalese that makes it clear that they are not responsible for any data theft caused by their failures.  They si...

A lot of eBay sellers sell stuff with Free Shipping.  It is a bad idea. I don't believe in selling any of my items with "Free Shipping".  Why?  Because shipping costs very real money.  I can be more competitive with my pricing if my shipping expenses are lower. Here are the details: Shipping costs are based on distance.  Shipping costs real money, and shipping cost is almost always based on distance.  It is simply more cost efficient and fair if local people pay less and far away people pay more.  Are you 300 miles away?  You should pay less because my real shipping costs are less.  Are you 1800+ miles away?  Sorry, but shipping that far costs me more money.  I'll ship it to you, but you need to pay more to cover the shipping costs. Taxes.   Some areas do not charge sales tax on shipping.  If a product is $15 + $5 shipping, the customer pays tax on the $15 product.  In contrast, if a product is $20 with "free shippin...

My concrete basement floor is very uneven, and so my laundry washer and dryer were bouncing all over the place. I solved this problem by making an inexpensive pedestal for my laundry machines. This post is about how I designed and made my laundry pedestal. It cost me less than $25 to make, and took about 30 minutes to build. A pedestal has numerous benefits:  It gives the equipment a perfectly level surface to sit on. It raises the machines so that they are easier to access. If there is a basement flood, a pedestal raises the machines out of harm's way It is very inexpensive. I made mine for about $25 in materials. Laundry Pedestal Design My pedestal is basically a piece of 3/4 inch plywood with an underlying frame made of 2x4 lumber around it to give it some structure. Then I mounted robust adjustable feet on each corner. In order to easily adjust the feet while the platform was sitting on the floor, I drilled four holes in each of the corners, directly above the adjusters. These ...

Ouch, a watered-damaged MacBook!  Maybe someone spilled some water or other liquid onto the keyboard.  This is bad!  Immediate action is in order, with seconds to spare. This is how I address a water-damaged device.    TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE! If it still works, turn it off immediately! Make sure it is unplugged.  Don't plug it back in. Do NOT try to plug it in or turn it on again.  Really. Open it up.  This requires the appropriate precision screwdriver kit.  Don't have one?  Take it to a shop!  Do NOT use the wrong tools. Disconnect the battery Mop up any water with paper towels. Is there water everywhere?  Pull out the board and other components to do some further mopping up in the tight spaces. Put the parts, except the display and battery, in a slightly warm oven (maybe 90 °C, or 190 °F) for 4 hours to help encourage the drying of parts.  Water can get under components, we want to encourage that water to evaporat...