2 April 2019 | Computers, Gizmos, How Does it Work?, Networking, Video |
These days, WiFi is everywhere. Even your washing machine probably has it. 😉
I typically don’t recommend using WiFi due to the huge amount of evidence indicating that it’s probably not the best thing for your health.
But there’s another reason to go back to cables…
WiFi is quite often WAAAY slower than most people think. In fact, it’s very rare that you will get anywhere near the maximum speeds advertised when you buy a WiFi access point or router.
What to do, what to do?
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26 March 2019 | Computers, Networking |
In May 2018, I posted this article: Speed up your browsing with CloudFlare’s public DNS
In that post, I recommended CloudFlare’s DNS, 1.1.1.1. At the time, it was quite fast, and worked perfectly.
Fast forward to today, and I’m afraid that’s no longer the case.
If you switched to CloudFlare’s DNS and you’ve noticed that things like paying via PayPal have become almost useless, read on!
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19 March 2019 | How Does it Work?, Networking, Video |
Ah, the internet… It’s big. Really, really BIG.
We don’t often think about these things, but just how much storage space is needed for the internet to go?
What kind of power is needed to make Google googley?
How on earth does YouTube store and process all that crazy video data?
Join Cletus and me for a look at some fun facts and statistics about YouTube, Google, and the internet as a whole!
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5 March 2019 | Computers, How Does it Work?, Networking, Video |
We hear a lot of about “THEY”. Big data violates our privacy, new potentially dangerous tech like 5G is pushed by “them”, and so on.
But just who is this “they“, anyway?
It turns out, the answer is: It’s complicated!
The best place to look is the big data/spying nonsense. The real history of the internet gives a pretty good idea of just how it all works.
When you lump greedy CEOs together with power-hungry (and often paranoid) politicians, and then toss in some Tech Evangelists for good measure, you get exactly what we have today…
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27 December 2018 | Networking |
Way back in early 2009, I wrote a post entitled: How to Determine the Master Browser in a Windows Workgroup
Since then, quite a number of people have downloaded and used my little LANscanner program for displaying the IP addies, MAC addies, workgroup, and Master Browser of all the gizmos on their local network.
One problem: With the release of Windows 10 1709, it stopped working.
Well, I’m happy to announce the release of LANscanner v2.0!
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20 November 2018 | Computers, Gizmos, Networking, Video |
You know the drill: you try to tell someone about some study showing the health effects of WiFi, 5G, or whatever, and then it hits…
Maybe they come back with one of several standard cop-outs, maybe you’re called crazy, maybe they ask what happened to your tinfoil hat, or maybe they even get angry and abusive!
So, what to do?
In this video, I give some tips and tricks and information that hopefully you will find useful in spreading the word.
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23 October 2018 | Computers, Gizmos, Networking, Video |
Ah yes, the IoT, or Internet of Things.
The future is apparently filled with internet-connected everything, including dust (yes, dust).
We’re already seeing the beginnings of this brave new world, mostly in the form of smart thermostats, smart appliances, and things like Amazon’s Echo toys.
Part of this future IoT is 5G. As I mentioned in an earlier video, there is a fair amount of evidence in the form of numerous studies that 5G will be particularly bad for our health. As you’ll see, even physicists have jumped on board to sound the alarm.
And finally, a discussion of the 5G Internet of Things wouldn’t be complete without a reintroduction to everyone’s favorite forgotten topic: spycraft!
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9 October 2018 | Computers, How Does it Work?, Networking, Video |
Way back in 1995, I was a freshman at university. I had this new thing called “The Internet” at my fingertips.
It was cool, but I wanted to know how it worked. I asked someone, and they wouldn’t answer the question – mostly because they couldn’t answer!
Today, everyone knows and uses the internet, but people keep asking me questions about the basic concepts that make it go.
So, I figured it was about time to give a basic intro to how the internet actually works, including a simplified discussion of networks, IP addresses, ports, protocols, DNS, bandwidth, latency, and more!
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25 September 2018 | Gizmos, Networking, Video |
If you decide to ditch your smartphone, then you have to pick the right dumbphone.
“You must choose, but choose wisely.”
There are many factors that come into play, like where you live and what wireless provider you’re using.
But it gets way more complicated than that…
2G, 3G, or 4G? And then, will 2G be around much longer with the release of 5G? What about 3G networks? How long will 3G be sticking around?
And then we have 4G dumbphones: There aren’t very many (at all), and they aren’t as Google-free as we might hope. SIGH…
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18 September 2018 | Computers, How Does it Work?, Networking |
I recently finished reading the book Surveillance Valley: The Secret Military History of the Internet.
Now, I’ve known for awhile that the world of high-tech – and especially the internet – doesn’t quite work the way everyone thinks it does.
We worship tech billionaires as if they’re the Second Coming, praising them for their ingenuity and standing in awe of their sheer genius.
The reality, on the other hand, is a bit more mundane.
Pretty much all the big players in the internet/tech world got where they are with a little help. And by “a little help”, I mean A LOT…
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These days, WiFi is everywhere. Even your washing machine probably has it. 😉
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