When I have one Airport device daisy chained off another, both setting up private NAT networks, they appear in series, correctly reflecting the new topology!

Sadly this is not the case on my iOS 5.0.1 based iPhone 4, it simply shows all the network devices it can see in series regardless of the actual network topology.

I still think it is really cool that a topology map is created at all! Thanks Apple. I guess I am a geek, having fun with networks.

Also a good time to clean gutters and make sure drain tile is connected to down spouts and is clear of debris.

It requires Windows XP Pro (or newer), IIS v4 (or newer), and Windows Media components (for video feeds)… I know, the irony of controlling a home security system with something as insecure as Windows and IIS is not lost on me… it’s compounded by the fact that out of the box the whole thing is plain old clear text HTTP services with no obvious option to encrypt all the traffic. I will have to investigate wrapping the entire server in SSL encryption myself, or putting it on a private LAN with VPN service access only.

It makes turning thermostats on and off very easy, but re-programming them is not an option (which is a shame, as the HAI thermostats are amazing devices that support multiple programs, but they are a real pain to re-program at the keypad; way too many options and features.

I have no access to the Rules section mentioned in the manuals; which means I can’t update the programs in my controller. I am not sure if this is a limitation of my old OnQ HMS 1050 – or if I just have not found the section in the software yet. I am still programming the system with PC Access.

Initial connection was a bit of a mystery as my old OnQ HMS 1050 had never had Names associated with each Code number on the keypads. I had to fire up the old PC Access software to assign a name, then the Web Link software could use it.

Only one of the two can be connected at a time, but that is as easy as changing the com port to the Web Link software so it can’t hang onto the MODEM while you re-use the old PC Access software, then change it back.

The software claims it can send email alerts and a whole slew of other features I have been completely unable to access so far… but I am just beginning to get familiar with it so I will allow it just being non-obvious.

That question could only be answered this time by a drive out to our house to see in person.

So now I am setting up Dynanic DNS; and a tiny home server to report the temperature in the house and outside of it. I’ll put this server outside our firewall (or in a DMZ zone if I can get the router to do that) and plug it directly into the wall without the benefit of battery backed up UPS.

Next time, I can simply check that server to see if power is on and if so, how warm the house is. I should have thought of this sooner.

I am in shock and disbelief that we survived that long without power so well. I hope everyone else does too.

I have to say huge thanks to the power restoration crews and road clearing crews. In the face of natural calamity (salt washing rain followed by sleet and then several inches of heavy wet sticky snow all in only a few hours), and with that compounded by massive plow-blocking traffic jams of epic proportions; they have done a remarkable job of getting the roads passable quickly, then clearing roads so power repair crews could get to down lines, then working on subdivisions (which continues).

Something should be done about not super-saturating the roads all at once with so much traffic, but frankly that could not have been foreseen, at least not on the scale we encountered. The heavy snow taking down overhead lines is something that can only be fixed by re-running those lines underground, which is expensive; but we really need to do it because warmer winters with more wet/sticky snow and ice will be more frequent going forward.

The Prius was a champ, I was able to slowly drive past trucks, cars, and even large snow plows that had no traction at all in the worst of the storm. I did bottom out on Mountain Road where the snow was deep enough that I could not clear the piles, but was able to back up for a mile using the backup camera (following my own tire tracks back out) to try an alternate route. I got stuck 150′ from the driveway and used the snow blower to clear a path to the driveway, getting my car off the street just in time for the plow to come through!

The really strange thing is that all the speed test websites, once they’ve loaded the speed test (which takes 5-10 minutes) claim that my internet speeds are 13-15Mbps down and 3-5Mbps up! That would be great if that were my actual experience.

Initially I though Comcast had done something evil to DNS servers (and their servers are crazy slow and buggy), but I’ve completely by-passed Comcasts name services by using a caching DNS server with Google (8.8.8.8) and OpenDNS (208.67.222.222) as forwarders. That got rid of the “DNS Helper” ad site, and DNS is faster, but web usage is still slow beyond belief; outside the house. The house wiki is screaming fast, and I can stream content from one computer to another easily enough.

Anyone else experiencing a sudden downturn in internet speeds?

Update: I am more and more convinced that Comcast is rate limiting everything except speed test traffic; Flash and Java based speed test sites continue to claim I am getting 13-15Mbps download speeds, yet my actual download speeds for web traffic are drastically smaller:

Dragonfly[658]: wget http://www.webmetrics.com/landingpage/bitcurrentcloud2/The_Performance_of_Clouds_Complete.pdf
--2010-09-28 09:02:31--  http://www.webmetrics.com/landingpage/bitcurrentcloud2/The_Performance_of_Clouds_Complete.pdf
Resolving www.webmetrics.com (www.webmetrics.com)... 156.154.25.17
Connecting to www.webmetrics.com (www.webmetrics.com)|156.154.25.17|:80... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 5593363 (5.3M) [application/pdf]
Saving to: “The_Performance_of_Clouds_Complete.pdf”

100%[==========================================================================================>] 5,593,363    170K/s   in 33s     

2010-09-28 09:03:04 (168 KB/s) - “The_Performance_of_Clouds_Complete.pdf” saved [5593363/5593363]

Guru Plug Server Plus, 512MB memory, 512MB flash storage, two Gigabit ethernet ports… I could run caching DNS, MediaWiki, Router/Firewall and openVPN services on this little guy and only burn 5W of power…

Amazing.

The old MicroServer GP has only 256MB of memory, a 20GB microdrive, and one fast ethernet port… I am running openSuSE on it now.

There are more details and ongoing discussion at:
plugcomputer.org

Classic AppleTV (160GB)

The new AppleTV also looks pretty cool, and at $99 it will likely be a market success, but it does not do 1080p; and I have concerns about it picking up all the internet media that I want.

The real media center is probably a Mac Mini, but it’s a lot more expensive.

Old AppleTV: 100baseT/802.11n, 720p, 160GB drive, Mac OS X 10.4 with some bits stripped out $149
New AppleTV: 100baseT/802.11n, 720p, no drive, iOS under the hood $99
Mac Mini: 1000baseT/802.11n, 1080p, bigger drive, full Mac OS X 10.6 upgradable, can work as a DVR with EyeTV $699

Let’s be comprehensive, and compare:
AppleTV (new $99) stream Netflix, iTunes, Flickr, YouTube, Internet Radio, MobileMe, etc
AppleTV (old $149) stream iTunes, Flickr, YouTube, Internet Radio, MobileMe, hack to play Boxee, XBMC, etc
Roku ($59, $69, or $99) stream Netflix, Amazon, Pandora…
Boxee Box (coming in November), plays Boxee content
GoogleTV software coming soon, on which media boxes?
Popcorn Hour ($179 – $361), plays many media formats, can even add a DVD or Blu-Ray drive
Sony Netbox ($130) streams Sony Bravia services (encapsulated Netflix, YouTube, etc)

Update:
Apparently all Profile 2.0 (aka BD-Live) Blu-ray players have an internet connection for upgrading firmware and streaming live audio and video from internet sources. Our new Panasonic DMP-BD85 streams Netflix, Amazon, Youtube, and Pandora… This essentially means that the streaming-only devices we are comparing above are redundant if you already have or plan to get a Profile 2.0 or newer Blu-ray player.

Classic (40GB and 160GB) Apple TV features:
stream youtube
stream internet radio (hundreds of stations)
stream audio, photos, video from iTunes computer on your own LAN
stream photos from MobileMe, Flickr – or sync them from iTunes on a local computer
stream podcasts from internet – or sync them from iTunes on a local computer
stream and sample music from iTunes Music store – or sync music from iTunes on a local computer
rent or buy Movies and TV shows and Music from the iTunes Music store (though that’s pricey)
preview all the trailers you want

With a patchstick hack – Classic Apple TV can also:
run XBMC to view local to disk, or NAS, or LAN movies/music in nearly any format
run Boxee to stream TV shows, podcasts from the internet – or play local media
run CouchSurfer to view internet websites and Flash content (requires extra hacking and either an Intel based Mac OS 10.4 machine or Intel based Tiger install disks)

Frequently the router will lock up on pages other than Amazon’s home page; usually while doing DNS queries to get some of the many sub-domains Amazon uses… Occasionally the whole router will crash and I have to reset it to get it working again.

I am running hardware version 3.1 and firmware 2.51.0 (though I swear I applied 2.51.4 update successfully in the past, it’s reporting 2.51.0). While re-applying firmware update this morning the trusty old Linksys died and would not recover.

A mad scramble to get internet again led me to buy a D-Link EBR-2310 from a local Office Depot (how cool that Office Depot carries the entire D-Link line!)… which will give me time to recover the Linksys I hope, and time to research running a linux server with two network ports as a router and firewall.

http://homecommunity.cisco.com/t5/Wired-Routers/BEFSR81-crashes-when-accessing-amazon-com/td-p/333269/page/5 the second to last post on this topic is very informative, and it looks like a DNS specific bug…

I love D-Link’s new line of gear, especially their “EtherGreen” low power high speed gigabit ethernet switches… so I suspect this router from D-Link will be fine, but it only has a four port hub on the LAN side. The Linksys BEFSR81 had an amazing 8 port switch on the LAN side… excellent and still cheap.

This extreme price gouging was all very publicly exposed 8-10 years ago in news papers and on the news. I assumed market pressures and exposure would bring the prices into a reasonable markup, but I was wrong. We paid perhaps 24% more for the Blu-ray player and perhaps 14% more for the TV that we could have scored on the internet to both save on shipping and support the brick and mortar store. The receiver was a bargain because it was an “open box” item missing it’s manuals, pink noise sensing microphone, and it had a substitute remote as it’s original was missing… We got the speakers for less than internet pricing because we were buying so much stuff all together. Am I wrong to be all rant enabled over the cable and incidentals pricing practices? I know they have to make a living, so a reasonable markup on every item is perfectly understandable.

Best Buy:

• LG 55LD520 (deliberately chose older model for composite and S-video input and analog tuner)
• Denon AVR-1610 receiver (deliberately chose older model for composite and S-video input and TOSLINK/Coax inputs)
• Definitive ProMonitor 1000 pair of front speakers
• Definitive ProMonitor 800 pair of surround speakers
• Definitive ProCenter 1000 center channel speaker
• Polk Audio PSW110 subwoofer
• Panasonic DMP-BD85 Blu-ray player (chosen for being cheap, fast, and having good reviews)

Monoprice:

• 1.5′ HDMI cables at $1.83 each (source to receiver)
• 6′ HDMI cables at $2.91 each (receiver to television)
• 6′ TOSLINK cables at $4.41 each (television to receiver for broadcast sound)
• 3′ S-video cables at $1.25 each (LaserVision to receiver)
• 3′ coaxial cable with RCA ends at $.79 (LaserVision to receiver)
• 12′ coaxial cable with RCA ends at $1.87 (sub-woofer from receiver)
• 150′ of 14AWG speaker wire $$17.34 + $9.19 (speakers from receiver)
• RCA male to F female connectors $.83 each (connect sub-woofer through in-wall coaxial cable)

Already have:

• Pioneer LaserVision player (S-video and coaxial digital audio)
• Sony Playstation (composite video and RCA Stereo)
• Nintendo 64 (composite video and RCA Stereo)

An interesting find, if you are looking for home entertainment options, is that the most modern A/V Receivers and large screen televisions are dropping composite and S-video connectors and reducing the number of optical and coaxial digital audio inputs. The largest televisions are also dropping the analog (NTSC) tuners. For many people this will not be a problem, as modern Blu-ray and up-scaling DVD players all support HDMI (and new TVs and receivers have plenty of HDMI connectors). We have (and I suspect we are not alone) a lot of older gear that still needs to connect though, and it was hard to find gear that connects via S-Video and old fashioned composite video. I am not sure what newer XBox, Playstation, and Wii games connect with – I suspect it has all gone to HDMI give the dearth of older connections on newer model TVs and receivers. We also wanted an analog tuner because we use a ChannelMaster system to rebroadcast security camera feeds and our DISH satellite receiver throughout the house, having the analog tuner means the newer TV can pick that up too.

Update: I was able to mail order replacements for the missing remote control and pink noise microphone for $65 from NewRemoteControl.com, and I found a free PDF of the manual online.