One of the things I like about OS X is the astounding number of quality applications that perform one task but perform that task in an sleek, easy to configure and easy to learn way. Some of my favorites are MailPlane, Things and 1Password. In my line of work 1Password had become indespensible.

For those of you not familiar with the app, 1Password manages all of your passwords and sensitive data for your online accounts, can keep track of all of your software serial numbers and lets you store  post-it style secure notes.  The interface is very slick and the data is kept in a virtual vault that you open  with a master password.  Once you have unlocked your vault, all of your usernames and passwords are automatically filled when you go to web pages that require login.  Because username and password fields are auto-filled you can generate very long and complex passwords for your online accounts that you never have to remember.  For example, I use a randomly generated, 16-character password for my Facebook account that consists of numbers, letters (upper and lower-case) and special characters yet I have no idea what it is.  A password of that strength and complexity is going to be next to impossible to crack.  There are only two downsides to the application — the fact that it is Mac ONLY and that comes with a $39.95 price tag. For a mixed OS user like me the Mac-only compatibility is a frustrating issue (but I’m happy to pay for a good product).

Over the past few months, buzz has been growing around a new password management application call LastPass so I thought I would check it out.  The things that drew me to LastPass initially were the multiple-OS support and compatibility with Chrome, Firefox, Safari as well as Internet Explorer.  The next attention getter was that it was completely free.  I spent a little over an hour yesterday setting up and reading all of the details about LastPass and I think 1Password is going to have to take a graceful bow and exit stage right.  This is why…

LastPass is free.  LastPass does everything 1Password does.  LastPass can be intergrated with every major browser.  LastPass works on Windows, OS X and Linux. Your passwords are stored on their servers and locally in an encrypted “vault” and only your master password can be used to open the vault.  Even if someone somehow stole your vault files from LastPass.com’s servers or took your laptop your data would be safe.  Lastpass.com cannot read your vault file stored on their server. I repeat, Lastpass.com cannot read the passwords or usernames in your vault file.  As more and more of our data is stored at 3rd party locations it is vital that the our personal privacy is respected and that even if their servers were breached our data would remain safe.

The average person selects passwords that are easy for them to remember and therefore are generally too short, easy to guess and insecure.  By using an application like LastPass (or even 1Password if you prefer) you can increase your online security and privacy by an exponential amount.  You just have to remember one password, it’s easy to install, it syncs across computers and all major browsers.  What else could you want?  Just do download it and start using it.  You won’t regret it.

By running my site on this setup:

• I am protected from ANY hardware failure with seamless and automatic fail over to the backup hardware
• all my files are mirrored to fail over storage AND backed up to a 3rd location. If one fails the 2nd takes over instantly
• all network routes have 2 or more paths (as many as 8 in some parts of the setup)
• all storage is served by a crazy fast, completely private back-end network.
• all links are 1Gbps or FASTER

What I’m trying to say is, outside of a direct meteorite strike on the physical rack this setup is in, this site or any others on the system should NEVER be down.  My boss even moved one of his personal sites to the system because of it’s robustness.

The biggest advantage for “normal” people is that you can have all of the benefits of an infrastructure that would costs many tens of thousands of dollars for around $0.82 per day.  If you run a business or any website that needs to be up 100% of the time and have the peace of mind that all of your data is 3x redundant as well as ready for instant, seamless fail-over, this type of hosting is for you.  Honestly, if you are running any business that doesn’t require the resources of a dedicated server it would be stupid not to move over to a system like this.  The benefit to cost ratio is just unreal.  All of that plus the fact that the network storage back-end makes your sites load WAY faster than straight disk-based hosting accounts, you just can’t beat it.

If you want to check it out, click the little link on the right side that says “Redundant Hosting Has Arrived”.

Sure this is shameless self promotion but the product is solid and I wouldn’t tell you to get an account unless I believed in it 100%.  My job literally depends on it!

Topics will include system redundancy, storage redundancy, SAN options, Xen, reviews of various software products including XenServer 5.5 and other Citrix Products, NexentaStor, virtualization in general and my thoughts on the future of “Cloud Computing”.

It should be fun, I have tons of stuff waiting to flow from my fingers. I hope you find them interesting and informative!!

1. Get  a Google Voice account.  Currently Google voice is in private beta but you can score invtes by searching Google but I might have a few to share if you contact me on my Contact Page
2. Set up to Google Voice account and add your cell phone as at least one of your routing telephone numbers.
3. Set your Google Voice number as one of your “friends, “circle” or whatever your provider calls it.
4. Call your Google Voice number from your cell phone and initiate you call to over 400,000,000 people for free forever.

The best thing about this is there is really nothing cell providers can do about it.  They don’t know the number you are calling is a Google Voice number, it’s a unique phone number you created.  You can call the entire US, Canada and if I recall Mexico and some other foreign countries with Google Voice.

Enjoy the free minutes!

Stay Tuned.

For the 6 readers I may have left, thanks!

In short, his software selects random words from a group of texts then interfaces with Wordpress to create a blog post everyday.  I’m not sure if he just uses the “post by e-mail” feature of Wordpress or if his software interfaces directly but either way, it produces some interesting results.

Have a look at the blog that writes itself here:

http://mkv.dnlr.net/

Read more than one and you will find that although it seems non-sensicle, the software has a way of putting words that create a cohesive post (at times).  I find it facinating to see what topics appear.

http://myphoneblaster.com/

What is it?  In short, you call people and when they answer they hear an MP3 you have uploaded through the site.  You select the number to call, set the caller ID (which is the best part, he he…) and upload a MP3 from your computer or select from a few “default” tracks.

Although I’m first reminded of the days of ‘ole (before everyeone had caller ID) when you could prank call people without being immediately called back or reported to the authorities, I’m sure you can use this site for things other than getting into trouble.

For example:

• Send your significant other a sweet song
• Express your anger through music instead of screaming
• Bug your co-workers (as I have already found this effective)
• Brighten up someone’s day
• Fill-in-the-blank

Give http://myphoneblaster.com/ a try.  I think you will quickly find it fun a addicting.

At home I use Linux and Windows, at work I use a Mac.  I enjoy aspects of all three OS’s but for a while Mac’s have had a killer app that was not available on any other OS.  This applications biggest asset was what it didn’t do — Get in the way!

The app is called Growl and it provides useful notifications only from applications you want to monitor.  For example if you are chatting with someone and reading an intriguing article from Wired but your browser is taking up the entire screen.  With Growl there is no need to flip back and forth between the browser and the IM client, instead Growl pops up a small, non-obtrusive “bubble” with the message from your friend which “floats” there for a few seconds, then goes away.  Growl works with a grocery list of applications to display useful information you may want to be aware of like completed downloads, new IM’s, new e-mails and so many other things.  If you want tend to the notification you can click on the bubble and the appropriate application will be made active, if not, it will just fade away after a few seconds.

For you Linux users out there an application with the same idea in mind is available called Mumbles.  It works with the Gnome desktop and can be installed via a source or a .deb package.  The range of supported applications is not as vast but the ones that matter to me work out of the box — Pidgin, Firefox and Thunderbird.  More support is coming and what is available is already a must-have.

Finally, for you Windows users an app called Snarl is available.  The current issue with Snarl is application support.  I believe it’s on its way to being a great app — just give it a few months.  It does have a developers guide available for anyone who wants to add Snarl functionality into their existing application.

While all three apps serve the same purpose Growl is by far the pack leader.  It has been around the longest and provide support for tons of applications. (Both of the others are admitted attempts to bring “Growl” functionality to the respective OS.) If you are on the computer even half as much as I am I can assure you that once you use these apps you will wonder why someone didn’t think of this a long time ago.  Don’t just take my word for it, download the apps and give them a test run!

Growl – http://growl.info/

Mumble – http://www.mumbles-project.org/

Snarl -  http://www.fullphat.net

I landed a job at a web-hosting company.  It wasn’t just any job — it turned out to be one of the best things in my life thus far.  I work with a small group of extremely talented people whose combined knowledge could overload a supercomputer.  I have superiors but they do not make me feel inferior.  I not only get to come up with ideas but implement them.  I spend most of my time dealing with server related issues but my input in many areas of the company is respected.

I have the joy of getting paid to “play” with computers, help customers avoid certain web disaster, become a Linux guru and, with the help of my co-workers, learn the skills it takes to be a damn fine system engineer.

I hope anyone who reads this has the opportunity, at least once in their life, to truly enjoy their career.  There is nothing better in life than enjoying what you do for a living.