networking
Do you remember when a router used to be an exotic bit of network kit? Those days are long gone. A router is one of those salt-of-the-earth items now; anyone who pays for an internet connection needs a router, for: 1. NAT and basic hardware firewall protection from internet evildoers
networking
We sit at the intersection of two trends: 1. Most home networking gear, including routers, has safely transitioned to gigabit ethernet. 2. The generation, storage, and transmission of large high definition video files is becoming commonplace. If that sounds like you, or someone you know, there's one tweak
networking
One of the sadder recent news stories is the disappearance of Turing award-winning researcher Jim Gray. I've written about Jim's research before; he has a knack for explaining fundamental truths of computer architecture in uniquely clear ways. For example, in this ACM interview, Jim illustrates how
networking
Everyone loves ping. It's simple. It's utilitarian. And it does exactly what the sonar inspired name implies. Ping tells you if a remote computer is responding to network requests. The ping utility was written by Mike Muuss, a senior scientist at the U.S. Army Research
social media
From the Wikipedia entry on Linked In [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LinkedIn]: > It is not possible to remove yourself from LinkedIn. Instead, you have to file a customer support ticket. This blurb neatly summarizes everything that's wrong with the Linked In service. I've been
networking
I've had great success using ethernet sniffers (such as Etherdetect [http://www.etherdetect.com/], or Ethereal [http://www.ethereal.com/]) to troubleshoot communication problems. Installing a sniffer, even after installing the required WinPcap packet capture library [http://www.winpcap.org/install/default.htm], doesn't require a
software development concepts
Rajesh Setty has some unusual advice for IT professionals: stop wasting time in the technology skill-set rat race, and start building your personal brand: Jack meets Janet and they start talking. Jack explains who he is and what he does for a living and Janet does the same. While Jack
networking
At work today, we had a problem with a particular workstation. Although it was connected to a gigabit ethernet hub, network file transfers were "too slow". How do you quantify "too slow"? I was reminded of chapter seven of Programming Pearls -- The Back of the
remote desktop
Microsoft's Remote Desktop [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_Desktop_Protocol] is incredibly convenient. It's the next best thing to physically being in front of the target computer-- and it's by far the fastest remoting protocol I've ever used. Over a fast
http compression
HTTP compression is the ultimate no-brainer. The network is really slow, and CPU time is effectively free and getting faster and, uh, “free-er” every day. Compression typically reduces plaintext size by 75 percent: that quadruples your throughput! Every website should be serving up HTTP compressed pages to clients that can