Star Wars Burlesque from Tenderloins on Vimeo.

Diamond VStream WPCTV1080H

The question of the day was from a client who asked, “How can I display what I see on my notebook to my big screen TV, without physically connecting it?”.

Obviously, connecting the notebook to your LCD TV is probably the easiest thing in the world, using an HDMI, DVI or even VGA cable, however, it is inconvenient, especially if you are using the notebook for a presentation and the TV is on the other end of the room.

Fortunately, there are a number of devices on the market that allow you to easily stream your video and audio to external displays, wirelessly.

One is the Diamond Multimedia Wireless Converter (WPCTV1080H), that connects to your display with an HDMI cable, and to your notebook with a little USB dongle.

Now your external display becomes an extension of your notebook! You can watch everything from Netflix to YouTube to your security cameras in full 1080p resolution. The computer can be up to about 30 ft away from the display device.

Slick, eh?  Only about 120 dollars, or less.  We have them if you need one.  They even include the HDMI cable.

Hey, it annoys me too! Why oh why do websites insist on force-feeding you content you might not actually want to hear? Please, web developers, give us the option to actually play your video if we want to. In fact, there is a particular web publication that I read frequently that does this on just about every page.. Yuck!

Anyway, the aforementioned person was using Firefox, and here’s how you disable this annoying feature on Firefox:

Select PREFERENCES, select APPLICATIONS, locate video formats and select ACTION for each item, such as QuickTime or Flash, and then select “always ask”.

For Internet Explorer (IE9 – if you are using something older… Uhmmm Time to upgrade!)

TOOLS / SETTINGS (Gear Icon) , Safety, Select “ActiveX Filtering”…   Now when you visit a website (such as www.YouTube.com), Flash should NOT play. You will get a warning saying you need to upgrade your Adobe Flash Player.  If you should want to view the Flash content, find the blue circle with a line through it to the right of the URL bar and you can enable for that site

For Chrome users, you can download extensions like “Stop Autoplay”. If you need assistance, I can type that up for you too =-)

Happy surfing…

While roaming around, it was easy to see that the “eye in the sky” was ever present, and I do mean EVERYWHERE.  Heck, at check-in, there were 17 cameras that I spotted without even turning my head around! On the 2nd floor, where the big buffet and the non-smoking casino area is, there were at least 60 cameras clearly visible. (How many were not visible?).

There were cameras in hallways, elevators and parking garages. Who knows, maybe even some in the bathrooms. (Let’s hope not).

What it reminded me of was how grateful I am that we have surveillance at our places of business (Homeland Secure IT has at least a dozen that you can see inside and outside), and at our home.

When we are away from work or home, we get alerts in email, letting us know that something, or someone moved in view of our cameras. We can then use our Android smartphone, computer or iPad to watch the cameras in real-time. They record video and audio automatically. They see in the dark, and offer very high resolution.

While setting up a casino is not outside our realm of expertise, setting up your home or business is right in the middle of our sweet spot.

If you crave the peace of mind offered by high quality video surveillance, then give us a call and let’s talk about how we can put a system in place that will meet your needs and desires.

We offer IP Network cameras, both wired and wireless, as well as conventional CCTV solutions. We are dealers for quality products from Cisco, Panasonic and other manufactures and we serve the Greenville / Upstate SC area.

864.990.4748 or info@homelandsecureit.com for more information!

What was it?  It was BIG!  Here’s a Wall Street Journal video that details it:  (Vegetarians and Vegans may want to skip this. hahah)

Alas, no mention of The Dockside Band playing, but hey, there’s a shot of me helping man-handle a cow!   Mooooooooo!

On Friday night, while the cooking was going on, TimTV performed his act with fire eating, and then the rain came & the wind blew… Allll night long!  Dozens watched on a webcam to see what was going on and to watch those crazy cooks like Jeff Bannister do their thing, while battling the weather… The next day, it cleared up just in time for hundreds of people to attend and enjoy some tasty beef!

Some of the sponsors of the event were www.WeServePapers.com, Swagclub, Network Controls, Whipp and Ken’s Plumbing.

One thing is for certain… Bovinova 2012 will be even more spectacular!

I even shared the link with a few people, and they too laughed at the thought. Some considered that there were ground fault breakers in place, but, the lights remained on, etc.

Welllll, one guy decided he would test it:

http://techland.time.com/2011/04/14/two-minute-video-wherein-i-stick-tweezers-into-a-wet-surge-protector/

Great little video…  And no, I’m still not going to test this power strip in that manner!

Secure your Wi-Fi Connection with a VPN

WSPA’s Amy Wood (@TVAmy) had a great segment on last night (2011-02-07) in which she had Doug Cone (@nullvariable) a local web/graphics “devsigner” discussing the dangers of using public Wi-Fi. You can find that story here.

He demonstrated a tool which allows even the most novice of “hackers” to see a list of others who are using any given open wireless access point. He did this at a coffee shop and then went around and scared the bejeebus out of people by showing them how much information was at his fingertips.

In a discussion on Facebook the other day with Doug and Russell Tripp (@RussellTripp), I suggested that those two get together and product a video showing the same information in depth and then explaining how to protect yourself from this all-too-real security threat. I believe they may be doing that as a follow-up to the WSPA story and will post that information here as a reply when that becomes a reality.

In the mean time, I thought I give some info about one tool that is both readily available and super-affordable that you can use to secure your connection when using a public Wi-Fi hotspot. That tool is a VPN, or Virtual Private Network. Yes, the same VPN technology that has been around for a very long time and used in businesses and larger corporations, and it is so easy, a caveman could do it. (I’m sure a lawsuit is forthcoming for my use of that slogan)

A VPN connection established to your home will allow you to connect to the open wireless network of your choice, build a “tunnel” to your home connection, and then send all traffic through the wireless network through the encrypted tunnel, providing a very secure transport.

All that is needed is a VPN capable router or firewall at your home. But wait, you say you can’t afford a Cisco ASA 5505 (or WatchGuard or SonicWALL security appliance). That’s okay, you don’t need one.

You may already have a compatible home router that can be setup with the free DD-WRT (the website http://www.dd-wrt.com has a list of compatible routers) which provides VPN capability to your 40 dollar Linksys or similar device!

The setup is pretty straight-forward once the device end is ready. Connecting takes only seconds.

The VPN is not just for Microsoft Windows, but also Apple Mac OSX, iPad, linux, freebsd, solaris, etc. Most smartphones including Android, iPhone, Windows Mobile and Blackberry should have the ability to utilize your VPN too.

If you don’t have a compatible router, you could optionally use OpenVPN on your PC, and last but not least, you could use the OpenVPN HOSTED service. The hosted solution comes with a price tag, but for many it may be worth it to protect their privacy.

If you are fortunate enough to work for a company with a VPN already in place, you could probably use that as an option, assuming the IT policy permits you to do so.

Should you require assistance in Greenville or the Upstate for your personal or business VPN needs, we are partners with Cisco, WatchGuard, SonicWALL, ZyXEL and have a solution that is right for you. Call 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com.

The number one reason we don’t advertise is because we have a very strong & established base of amazing clients and so many terrific friends and family who believe in us so much that they do an incredible job of spreading the word of what we offer! That’s the main reason. There are other reasons, such as the fact that I don’t believe the majority of people who want to buy a Cisco ASA 5505 security appliance or license Trend Micro Anti-Virus are going to pick up the newspaper or phonebook to find us.

I know for a fact that the IT people that we work around don’t get the idea to get a backup solution from listening to top 40 radio, etc. So, in short, advertising in those ways has not been very attractive for us.

But, I couldn’t pass this one up… @BigJonEvans is available for rent. That’s right. This crazy guy over at http://www.youbrand.me/ is allowing us to tattoo our logo on his forehead for a day, as well as streaming a live video where he will discuss some of our products and services, and making a short promo video. But wait, that’s not all, he’s also going to introduce himself as “Homeland Secure IT” for an entire day. And, because we acted right now, he’s throwing in a video of him lip syncing to a song!

I can’t afford a billboard on I-85 that says “Homeland Secure IT offers computer, network and server support, service, repair, sales in Greenville and Upstate SC”, etc, and frankly I don’t think the system administrator at XYZ corporation would read it and give it a serious thought, but I CAN afford Jon’s forehead for a day!  While not quite as big as a billboard, I think more people may see it!

All for the low price of 9 dollars! Now that is advertising money well spent. Advertising with an impact!  (The price goes up one dollar each day, so reserve your spot NOW)

Tomorrow, SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY!  That’s the day you can watch @BigJonEvans talk about Homeland Secure IT and wear our logo. For more information, HEAD on over to Jon’s website at www.YouBrand.Me or follow him on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.

If you have a business or cause or something that you would like the world to know about, this is certainly a fun way to increase awareness =)

Have a great weekend and prepare for the snowpacalypse that is coming!

Oh and Jon, I love your current project… That’s using your head!

What’s to look forward to? Snow, ice, seeing your breath, doing donuts in your car in the snow (uhmmm or so I’ve heard), etc. Of course there are the negative sides, such as scraping ice if you don’t have a garage, and worrying about your teenage children driving in the slick stuff.

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is the ability to use the cold in the car to instantly turn a liquid into a solid. In this case, a bottle of water I leave in my car for entertainment purposes. Every cold morning when I get in the car, I perform the following, all in the name of science:

I know, your 5th grader does this too, but hey, at least I am never bored!

Have fun with this, and I will get back to doing that thing we do – computer, server and network service, support and sales here in chilly Greenville, SC…

Friday marked Megan’s final duet, as she is now preparing to leave this program and attend Converse College next year. She will have one more solo recital and the option of doing a senior recital.

Just a few more days and our daughter turns 18, and a few more months and she leaves us to begin her own life. Wow, sad for us, exciting for her!

Pachelbel “Canon in D Major”

Click on the video below to view on YouTube and LIKE them and comment…     See if you can spot and hear all the memes that are in there, there’s a ton!

Snoop Dogg has is now joining forces to fight cyber crime: HACK IS WACK 

If you upload your own video, please let me know! I want to see it!

Hope everyone is enjoying their Labor Day off!

A typical computer worker will have a 19″ monitor on their desk, and spend a good part of their day flipping between applications. They will open Microsoft Outlook, and read emails, flip back to Excel and work on a spreadsheet, copy some data from that and paste it into an email or start up Microsoft Word and continue this routine of flipping between applications to view the most important one at that moment.

Windows 7 allows you to quickly move two programs to opposite sides of a display to view them simultaneously

Some workstations are lucky enough to be equipped with a larger, say 20 or 22 inch widescreen monitor, and Microsoft Windows 7 which allows you to easily snap one program to one half of the screen and another to the other half, sharing that one monitor to view Word and Excel simultaneously.

While this solution is much better than the constant flipping, it does have a few drawbacks, such as limited display area due to screen size, unless you are one of the very few who are fortunate enough to have a 30″ display, and if you are one of those, you can just close out this site now, because we all hate you.  (Of course I am only kidding, really).

A much more elegant solution is to use two monitors, hopefully of the same model and place them side-by-side or use a specialized mount to hold the monitors in the perfect position for you to see them. These mounts have come down in price considerably and are worth looking into, especially if you have MORE than 2 monitors.

Dual monitors can increase your productivity

For those who have not experienced multiple monitors, having two monitors allows you to keep your Outlook open on one, while working in Word or another application on another. You move seamlessly between them, when your mouse gets to the right edge of the left monitor, it moves to the left edge of the right monitor. You can move open windows and applications between these monitors as if they are one large display.

I currently have two 24″ monitors on my desk, and could not work with less than that after maximizing the use of these monsters. If I had a larger desk, I would add another monitor!

Going multi-monitor is a snap. You first need a computer that supports this, or to purchase a dual output video card. Then you need a 2nd monitor and cable. It’s really that easy. Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 supports multiple displays, but Windows 7 does the best job of it. Apple Mac OS X Machines also support multiple monitors.

The Nexlink Business computers we offer come dual monitor ready, so if you have one of these systems, you only need the additional monitor.

If you would like more information on dual or multiple monitors (no need to stop at 2, why not add 6!?), monitor stands, multiple output video cards, or our Nexlink Business computers, please call 864-990-4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com – We offer sales of monitors, computers, video cards and installation in the Greenville / Upstate, SC area.

You can view your trends with a web interface, and access the data with your iPhone. I believe something like this really could encourage you to lose some weight. Recently there have been news stories which cite studies about weight loss and the results indicate that those who use internet weight tracking actually do lose more weight and manage to maintain that loss better than those who do not.

The thing that bothers me is that it will Tweet out your weight once a week to Twitter. All I could think was exactly what it would be tweeting when I stepped on it… Something like, “HELP ME! This fat guy is smushing me!” is probably what it would have to say about me! Still, it is an interesting gadget and I would love to have it. Who knows, maybe I will order one. Follow me on Twitter to see what this thing has to say!

Click on the video player and go to YouTube to check out their other videos while you are at it.