Running and Passing.

Top 10 Keywords (past 30 days)

• matt kowal
• open books
• “third nature”
• matt kowal wales
• matthew kowal
• 3rd nature
• right brain initiative photography volunteer
• Matthew+Kowal+Jr
• parachute ghost cover pictures
• goals and elements of tarp

View the April, 2011 Self-Fulfilling Prophecy list: http://www.mattkowal.net/blog/2011/a-self-fulfilling-prophecy-2011/

View the April, 2010 Self-Fulfilling Prophecy list: http://www.mattkowal.net/blog/2010/a-self-fulfilling-prophecy/

The names of wireless networks broadcasting into my Newark, Delaware apartment:

5V1F6
bridge
dlink
getyourown
……………
How Fake Money Saved Brazil
internets
Ivy-M
ivy59
JAZZ
Kristen Cecchini’s Network
NETGEAR

While living in Portland, Oregon I make a similar post in March, 2010 : Our packets are colliding! Is my network Colluding?

After a few months of roughly 75GB traffic, the bandwidth meter has disappeared from my Comcast users & accounts page. I now see a graphic informing me that the usage meter is not available for my account.

In the early spring, I replaced my rented cable modem with a refurbished Linksys CM100. The meter continued to function for a month or so afterward, but has since vanished. I am behind a router and usually connect to my home network through one of three devices, but that never posed a problem for the meter during the initial roll-out.

Many users are reporting that their meter is also unavailable or appears only periodically. I imagine any meter functions must consume network+system resources, so perhaps Comcast pulls the meter after an account is deemed unlikely to exceed their 250GB cap.

Being a multimedia producer/consumer, I maintain a extensive audio+visual collection. I shoot RAW, listen to hi-fi audio files and download HD video. I have above average storage and backup needs.

I was looking backup/media storage solution and initially thought a Windows Home Server based setup would suffice, but found them to be overpriced and a bit too Windows Media Center/Microsoft centric. I then explored the DIY option of building an Intel Atom based Mini ITX system and running the popular FreeNAS operating system. However, most small form factor setups have only 1 HD bay and the cost difference between a custom build and a pre-configured unit was negligible.

I researched some pre-built systems from the usual suspects (D-Link, Iomega, Netgear), but decided to purchase a Synology DS210j and equip it w/ a 2 TB Western Digital SATA Drive. The DS210j features 2 drive bays (currently supporting up to 2x2TB SATA drives), 3 on-board USB ports, and a 10/100/1000 Ethernet jack.

The device can provide local network access to Windows, Mac, or Linux system and stream video, music, and images to a wide range of devices. I recently shared some locally hosted files with my father in Ohio via a DynDNS account and the DS210j’s web enabled file station app.

I’ve been using the DS210j as a backup device for my primary PCs and as primary storage for all completed projects and archived work. Utilizing one of the three on-board USB ports, I have setup the the Disk Station Manager to automatically backup select folders to an attached 1 terabyte Western Digital My Book.

I’ll spare you a more lengthy spiel. If you want more info, I recommend you checkout the DS210j’s complete feature set on Synology’s website then read the reviews on Newegg.

Bonus Level:

• Initial setup was a cakewalk. The Synology wiki has an excellent start-up guide and the company host’s an active forum.
• The AJAX based management system and File Station are responsive and full featured.
• Optional software RAID.
• Low operating power and additional energy-saving options.
• FTP and HTTP(s) (w/ php + MySql) server for Internet file sharing and/or simple hosting.

Cons:

• Lack of guide/documentation regarding the generation and importation of custom SSL certificates.

** Outlook ** Datacenter clouds and p2p systems will compliment each other as they continue to grow. Casual users and business interests will likely live in the cloud, but for content producing local groups, power users, and media center enthusiasts we are still in the era of the network/home server.

For guides+reviews on home and small business networking check out smallnetbuilder.com.

The names of wireless networks found in my apartment.

Unknown
APeak
katsu1214
vortice4c
AC Home
Webb
linksys
Unknown
Annala
Unknown
Gobnet
PurplePopsicle13
CocoPuff
kirsten
danas internet
Unknown
myqwest8721
linksys
NETGEAR 2
default
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown

This past week Comcast rolled out their bandwidth meter here in Portland, Oregon. Home cable internet plans are now subject to a 250 GB / month limit and Comcast currently offers no options to purchase additional bandwidth.  The first violation of this cap results in a phone call from the friendly ‘Customer Security Assurance’ people warning of said limit. Customers who violate the cap a 2nd time within six months of the first violation will have their service terminated for one year. I direct interested parties to Comcast’s Updated Acceptable Use Policy.

I’m actually curious as to my bandwitch consumption. Ever since my father purchased a Time Warner Ohio cable connection in the mid/late 1990′s, I have used considerable bandwidth with little regard.  I have never been malicious, but have made no attempt to curb my usage. Many European and Asian ISPs offer cable services with upload/download speeds considerably higher than those commonly found in the United States and virtually all of these foreign services remain free of any bandwidth cap.

I’m pretty opposed to the idea of a bandwidth meter and believe Comcast is creating a false scarcity. I am currently on 6 month promotion and receive a discounted rate, but will not hesitate to change providers should the cap become a hindrance.

** In other news, I’d like to direct visitors to the System7.org computer and network security site. Run by a knowledge friend of mine, System 7 speaks on relevant security concerns and offers some insightful suggestions. He has recently been posting on the privacy policy of search engines.