hackyourworld.com

Well, a lot has changed since the last time I posted anything here.  The biggest thing, getting married, new job, and even a new host.  Being married is great, the job is in the IT field, and the host is hostgator.com.  Funny story about switching host.

I signed up a few days ago, got the welcome email, and since I use zoneedit.com to manage the DNS (we’ll get to this later) I was in no hurry to get the DNS moved over.  I check my email last night and find an email from the hosting company saying I may be in violation of the TOS!  What?  I’m thinking I don’t even have a website there yet since I hadn’t switched the DNS, so I give them a call (mind you, they’re available 24/7 by phone via 1-800, very cool).  A guy picks up after waiting only a moment or so, again very cool, I explain the situation and ask how I could possibly be breaking the TOS before even have a website there.  The guy on the phone takes a moment to look up everything and understand what’s going on, they’ve flag it as a hacker web site.  “Really…. why?” I ask.  Of course at this point in my head I repeat the domain name, OH!  I think I understand now, so I suggest the guy on the phone visits the site to have a look for himself, which he directs to someone who can actually make the call.  We make small talk on the phone while we wait for the “reviewers”, the guy is very nice and rather knowledgeable, again very cool, he actually visits the site himself while we’re waiting and recognizes asterisk and x10!  After a few minutes the reviewers decided it was okay and instantly my account was reinstated, sweet..  This whole host switch was motivated by the terrible support and poor quality of totalchoicehosting.com, which I had been with for quite a few years, while other hosts improved over the years my host added nothing and kept the prices the same.  Just a small comparision:

TotalChoice: 2.4 gigs space
80 gb a month transfer
no ssh
5$ a month

Gatorhost: 600gb
6000 gb a month transfer
SSH!
8$ a month

So even if I would have bumped up to the 8.95$ plan with totalchoice the space went up to 3gb and transfer to 140gb a month, and still no ssh, still way less than I’m getting and already and
the support with hostgator has been great!

Now to get back to zoneedit.com.  This company has been around for quite some time now, I think I’ve been with them at least 8 or 9 years now, for free.  They offer a DNS service that rivals anything you’ve ever used.  The site may not look like much, but they let you manage up to 5 free “zones”, or domains.  So when you buy a new domain name, you use the nameservers they give you and they let you manage your dns settings, but heres the catch, it’s nearly INSTANT, anyone who ever has changed host knows that in the 24-72 hours after changing your website can be all out of sorts.  Not only do your changes take effect very quickly, you can add sub-domains that point to different ips, or even point something like foo.hackyourworld.com to google.com without the viewer even seeing the google.com.  If you find yourself wanting more control over your domain name, this is the ticket!

With all the changes I am planning on making this more regular, topics for the future will likely include bash, testing web pages, using ssh for demonstrations and opening your garage door by bluetooth proximity.  Hope you enjoy.

I know I’ve been posting a lot today, there was just so much I had got half done and I’ve got the next few days off from work, but my fiance does not, so you’ll probably see even a couple more over the next few days, then you can expect it to slow down to 1-2 a week. So yea, it’s been done over and over, but I never seem to see many tools I use on this list, so just some common things I use on windows. I tend to look for the lightest but powerful tools, seeing how I know what happens to Windows when you stress it out, I keep my laptop running smooth and snappy using these tools. In no particular order:

* Looking at the stats from the traffic of this site we’re going to assume everyone already uses Firefox.

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In the last entry we just did some basics of the X10 system, now we’ll go over using them efficiently. The CM11A device allows you to upload a schedule to it that it will store in it’s own memory, so even if your computer is off, your X10 still works without missing a beat. All it takes is a small config file stored in /etc/heyu (or in ~/.heyu) called x10.sched . Heyu comes with a sample file, it’s very lengthy and can be confusing to some people.

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So who wouldn’t love to pull up to your house, get out of your car, walk in your house and all the lights and devices you love are already on? Or maybe your just want to save on your electric bill, either way with about 50 bucks you’ll be on your way to home automation paradise. This guide is not exactly intended from someone not at least kinda familiar with linux, and you should have at least used a screwdriver once or twice.

This requires:

1. Linux computer (I’m using Ubuntu 7.10, also works with CentOS5)
2. WS467 Modules - Their either 7 bucks a piece off eBay or 3 for 15 - Replacement wall switches
3. CM11a - About 10 bucks, runs the computer interface for the x10 control, stores macros. Uses a serial port, make sure you got one still!
4. Optional - Remotes -
   1. KR19A - This keychain remote control two devices, On/Off/Dim - Simple & small
   2. UR73A - This remote will do it all, don’t get up from your lazy boy just to turn off lights!
5. Very little experience with wiring.
6. 1 Flat-head & 1 Phillips screwdriver
7. A volt-meter is a GREAT investment, not necessary, but can eliminate questions and problems very quickly.

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We’re going to cover a lot of ground, this ‘guide’ assumes you at least know what linux is and hopefully at least used it once or twice.
The intention here is a complete walk thru to get a Trixbox system (2.2 or higher) up an running for a home setup. Some hardware/software you might want:

Sipura 2000 (you can still find them some places, if you can’t the Linksys PAP2-NA should work just fine assuming you get an unlocked one)

You will want an old clunker PC that has a CDROM and a hard drive you can format. The only thing it should require in the end is something a little faster than 500mhz, one power cord, and one network cord.
You will also want a cheap headset or microphone to test with your computer.

Your going to want some sort of SSH client. I use SSH Secure Shell from www.ssh.com (direct link). Putty will work fine as well.

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A few months ago I started using Asterisk@home to provide my home phone. I started as any geek does, no instructions manuals, no books, just google and a burnt CD. The install was easier than installing the latest copy of Ubuntu, just a few keystrokes and the clunker PC was formatted and it’s 233 mhz processor was useful once again!

I started knowing very little about the whole VOIP process, I knew that it involved the internet, phones, and RJ-45. My first setup was a little bit different than the current running server. I had one Ma-bell line coming in the house that the fiancé did not want to give up without a little confidence this “magical” phone system would work. My first impressions about the whole setup was:

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