package

Apr 27 2009

Undercover with GnuPG

Now, I know open-source software can be a bit intimidating. GnuPG may look mean, but it is a breeze to install. Just give me 15 minutes.

First off you need to download the software. GnuPG runs in the terminal, and has no GUI, but don’t worry. You won’t be accessing this much. Just download the package and run through the installer. You can set GnuPG from the Terminal, but let’s hold off and download some goodies first.

You’ll need this one for 10.1, this one for Jaguar (GnuPG is available for OS 9, but its setup won’t be covered here).

Now, time for the toys. First off, rather than mess with the Terminal to configure things, lets download GPGPreferences, a preference pane that allows you to tweak settings. As you use GPG, you will have reason to come here and change things.

To get started, you will need to generate a key for yourself. GPGKeys will help you here. This app manages your keys. Hit “Keys” and “Generate…” and the app will fire up the Terminal and walk you through the setup process. As soon as you have a key, you can encrypt, sign and send secure messages to people with keys.

Now, goodies for your mail client. Grab either EntourageGPG or GPGMail (10.1 and 10.2 versions available), download and install it. This addition will allow you to send and receive secure messages from Entourage or Mail. These behave differently, but both verify that your recipient has a GPG key and make sending and receiving encrypted messages easy.

Note: Eudora and Mailsmith scripts are available too, but not covered here, because I don’t know anyone who uses them.

For those of you that use an online service like Yahoo, there is still a way to encrypt and decrypt messages. You can use GPGDropThing to encode and sign text to paste into your email message. GPGDropThing also decrypts and verifies.

If you’d like to encrypt files, then you’ll want to try out GPGFileTool. This app provides a GUI for file encryption using your GPG key.

GPG takes a little getting used to, but becomes very natural to use. If you’d like to practice on someone that won’t make fun of you, send me some encrypted feedback on today’s episode.

As always, remember that these powerful security tools and intended for the forces of good!

Tune in next week for more free tools!

Brian

By admin • Articles, Freeloader Friday Download of the Week • Comments Off • Tags: breeze, change, decrypt, download, encrypted messages, eudora, file encryption, gnupg, GPG, gpg key, Jaguar, mail client, mailsmith scripts, mess, open source software, os 9, package, software, terminal, time

Apr 27 2009

The Elemental Road Warrior– Part III– Fire & Water

Compatibility Legend

12″

G3 iBook

14″

G3 iBook

12″

G4 PowerBook

15″

G4 Titanium PowerBook

17″

G4 PowerBook

This week I’ll be wrapping up my series on the Elemental Road Warrior with a

double feature of Fire and Water. If you remember from the previous installments

of this series, I have already found viable solutions to the problem of earth and

its effects on your ‘Book’s appearance as well as wind and how to use its cooling

abilities to your benefit. This week I’ll look at harnessing fire by protecting

your ‘Book from surges and spikes. I’ll also look at controlling the forces

of water by doing my darndest to find ways to keep it the heck out of your ‘Book

in the first place.

First thing’s first …

Fire: You could say that fire is the force that overheats

your processor …you could say that, but you’d really be messing things up

for me if you did. Fire, for the purposes of this series of articles is the

force that powers your ‘Book Ã³ electricity. Why do we need to protect

our portables from a force that is necessary to power them in the first place?

Electricity is great for laptops. But too much electricity or the wrong kind

can damage your ‘Book. Admittedly, this problem usually only occurs when your

‘Book is plugged in via an AC adaptor, but if you’re like me, you spend as much

time powered by the battery as you do powered by the wall socket.

Here are a few suggestions for how to improve quality and regulate the quantity

of power entering your ‘Book.

smartsocket The Elemental Road Warrior Part III Fire & Water

SmartSockets

Portable –

Provides surge suppression (210 Joules, 400 Clamping Voltage) for your

AC adaptor and your modem connection in a portable package. Includes a

build-in telephone splitter and telephone cord storage spool onboard.

The SmartSockets Portable comes with a lifetime warranty and up to $10,000

in connected equipment replacement warranty.

+: Nice neat little package.

-: Covers up both outlets and offers only one.

uniac The Elemental Road Warrior Part III Fire & Water

Universal

AC/Car/Air Adaptor –

Answers the need for power, surge suppression and various types of connections

all in one portable unit. This feature-rich product includes over voltage

protection, current limit, over temperature protection and short circuit

protection. There are also adapters (sold separately) for cel phones and

PDA’s.

+: Very versatile.

-: A bit pricey at over $100, but then you do get a full AC adapter.

powercenter The Elemental Road Warrior Part III Fire & Water

Computer

PowerCenter PC 200 –

Made by Monster Cable, this portable unit has a maximum 1110 joule surge

protection for two AC power outlets, telephone line surge protection and

flashy visual and audible indicators for damage, protection, and ground

status monitoring. It also beats the Kensington SmartSockets’ warranty

by an additional $40,000 for the replacement of connected equipment.

I have not personally tried this product, but it comes highly

recommended.

Now, last but not least…

Water: Water and laptops do not mix. And if you are inclined

to take your ‘Book swimming or give it a sip of your coffee, there’s really

nothing I can recommend that will save you. There are few if any products on

the market that will make you ‘Book watertight without placing it in some kind

of case or bag. The best I can do is suggest a few products that might help

prevent or minimize damage due to occasional wetness.

Port

Cover –

These items made the rounds a while back and seem to have all but disappeared.

I was able to find the link above through a Google search but have been

unable to get in contact with the vendor to acquire on for this segment.

They seem to be a silicon port covers designed for the 12″ iBook

but they would probably work on the 14″ also. Might be worth a look.

-: Hard to find. No help to PowerBook users.

iskinasphalt The Elemental Road Warrior Part III Fire & Water

iskin The Elemental Road Warrior Part III Fire & Water iSkin

–

As was mentioned in the first part of this series, the iSkins are designed

to protect both the screen and the keyboard and come in many different

colors. They are made from a type of silicon and, thought they don’t create

a watertight seal around your keyboard, they might prevent some damage

if you were to spill any liquid on your open book.

+: Fine product. Might help a bit in the rain but not a downpour.

-: Still no iSkins currently available for the Aluminum PowerBooks.

Opaque models hide the Caps Lock and Num Lock lights.

Desiccant

–

Many ‘Book bags these days have mesh pockets that face the compartment

where your portable is stored. These pouches are the perfect place to

put one of these reusable moisture absorbing Silica Gel packs (just like

those “Do Not Eat” packs that come with electronic equipment

only better (no, you still can eat them)). Just drop one in one of the

mesh pouches near your iBook or PowerBook and it absorbs dampness and

prevents condensation. When the crystals become “full” they

turn blue and all you need do is pop the desiccant in a 300? oven

for 3 hours and, viola, the crystals are pink again and thirsty for more.

+: Will minimize the moisture and humidity inside your case.

Reusable.

-: Desiccant packaging might scratch your ‘Book while in your pack

Ã³ placement is key.

Like I said, there is not much aside from a water-tight case that will save

your portable from being damaged by any liquid that might have the misfortune

of encountering. The best suggestion I can offer is to try and prevent the situation

from coming up in the first place…

mmmug The Elemental Road Warrior Part III Fire & Water

MacMerc.com

Stainless Steel Travel Mug

I know what you’re thinking: this whole series was just a set up to promote

the MacMerc.com Online Store. Not so. I actually wanted to promote some

of the cool Barista travel mugs that are available at Starbucks, but they

don’t seem to make them available for online purchaseÃ³hello!!! The

internet age has started, Starbucks!!!

Anyhow, these 15oz stainless steel mugs are really nice and feature a

sealed lid and sip cover to keep you from spilling a drop if you happen

to tip it over while ejecting a CD or something similar. The mugs are

available with the classic MacMerc.com

grenade logo/dictionary definition or the wildly popular and ever

so cryptic Option-Shift-K

(for those who are still wondering, Option-Shift-K is the keyboard combination

that allows Mac users to type the Apple logo).

+: Snazzy. Help support MacMerc.com while supporting your caffeine

addiction!

-: If you neglect to put the lid on, you could still spill on your

‘Book. Coffee not included.

That brings me to the end of the Elemental Road Warrior, I hope you have enjoyed

this series.

By admin • Articles, Wardriver Wednesday • Comments Off • Tags: ac adaptor, Book, cord storage, darndest, equipment, first fire, g4 powerbook, iBook, kind, modem connection, package, replacement, series, silicon, SmartSockets, surge suppression, telephone cord, titanium powerbook, viable solutions, Water

Apr 27 2009

Keyspan Goodies

After spending the afternoon grabbing a cup of bandwidth from my local Staples,
I came home to find a package on the doorstep addressed to me. (Gotta love that.)
Thinking it might be my long awaited iBook mod supplies, I hurriedly open the
box to find that, instead, it contained a Keyspan Presentation Remote, a Keyspan
USB 4-Port Mini Hub and a Keyspan Zip-Linq Retractable USB Extension Cable —
not what I wished for, but not too shabby either.

Thank you, Santa!

I guess someone must have read one
of my previous articles on USB gadgets and decided to send me a few for
review. So, with out further adieu, here are my thoughts on this collection
of gizmos:

Keyspan
Presentation Remote – This silvery number consists of a radio frequency
remote and a corresponding receiver that plugs into a spare USB port.
The remote has four buttons, one pad and a switch which allow it to function
as a wireless two button mouse with PowerPoint slide control and a laser
pointer without any software installation.

The documentation (consisting of two 5″ x 6″ pieces of photocopied
paper) says that Macintosh users need not install any additional software
to use the Keyspan Presentation Remote. It also states that the remote’s
media mode, which under Windows allows control of Windows Media Player,
is not supported on the Mac. With very little digging on Keyspan’s
web site, I found a beta
release of the software in development for this remote under Mac OS
X. With this software installed, I was able to switch the remote to media
mode where I could configure the buttons, pad and switch to do my bidding
in the Finder, Keynote, iTunes, PowerPoint, Quicktime Player, or pretty
much anything else.

The software is still in beta and getting the drivers to recognize the
RF receiver without crashing my Mac was a bit of an ordeal, but once I
got it working it was really a lot of fun.

+: Simple, useful remote that takes up very little space in the
backpack. Carrying case included.
-: Laser pointer requires too much fiddling to activate. Attaching
the RF receiver can cause your Mac to crash.

K USBHub2 Keyspan Goodies Keyspan
4-Port Mini Hub – USB hubs are just a fact of life if you carry and
use a lot of USB devices. The two USB ports on most portables get filled
way too easily. But, as I mentioned in USB
gadgets for your ‘Book, I have yet to find a hub that I recommend
without hesitation.

That situation has not changed. The Keyspan 4-Port Mini Hub has great
portability and usability, but the case fell apart on its first excursion
in my backpack. The plastic is very light, but somewhat less than durable.
And its “snap together” construction too easily succumbs to
“snap apart” destruction. I would still recommend this hub,
but I would suggest that it be tucked away in a safe and snug pocket to
prevent spontaneous disassembly.

The Keyspan 4-Port Mini Hub comes packaged with an AC adapter that allows
you to attach USB devices that draw more power than the Universal Serial
Bus can efficiently provide on its own. This is a valuable extra in a
portable hub and puts the Keyspan above other portable hubs that lack
this feature. On the downside, the AC adapter requires additional backpack
real estate. But if you need this option, you’ll just have to find the
room.

+: 4-ports of USB fun in a svelte package. Bus and AC power options.
-: Flimsy case. Optional AC power adapter not nearly as portable
as the hub itself.

K ZipLinq3 Keyspan Goodies Keyspan
Zip-Linq Retractable USB Extension Cable – I’ve saved the best for
last. This thing is awesome. “How good could a USB extension cord
be?” Well, it’s ability to extend my USB range isn’t the the part
that’s amazing, it’s the way that it does it. The Keyspan Zip-Linq Retractable
USB Extension Cable is just one of a
slew of retractable extendable portable wonders all based on the same
principle.

K ZipLinq2 Keyspan Goodies The
really great thing about the Zip-Linq’s isn’t so much what they can do
when you extend them, but how little space they require when they are
retracted. A while back, I purchased one
of Macally’s offerings to the retractable cable category. The Macally
offers twice as much cable length as the Keyspan but look at the picture
here–it also takes up more than twice as much room! If you need 5 feet
of USB extension, buy two Keyspan Zip-Linq’s and you’ll have the needed
cable length and more room in you backpack for other stuff.

And the Keyspan Zip-Linq’s are much more durable. In the time it took
me to lose my sales receipt for my Macally Retractable Firewire dealie,
the housing around one of the plug ends split open and I had to reach
for my SwissTool to sweet talk the broken plug out of my iBook’s Firewire
port. The Keyspan Zip-Linq has been much more forgiving of the tortures
I put it through and is just made of tougher stuff in my opinion.

+: Awesome! Asks for so little and gives so much. Also available
in Firewire, Ethernet, telephone, cel phone charger and travel mouse
models.
-: Will arouse envy of those around you. Easily stolen. Buy several.

That’s all for now!

-Rick

By admin • Articles, Wardriver Wednesday • Comments Off • Tags: beta, keyspan, keyspan usb, laser pointer, Linq, mac os x, macintosh users, media mode, mode, package, player, port mini hub, Power, receiver, Remote, rf receiver, slide control, snap, software, usb extension cable

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