Diary of a Network Geek

Lifehacker loves iPhone apps almost as much as I do!

No, seriously, I use this thing for everything.  Not too long ago, I showed you a ToDo app that makes life easier for you when trying to keep track of all the things you need to do.  I’ve talked about other apps before, and, of course, earlier this week, I mentioned that people are using their iPhone as a security testing tool.  Really, there’s no end to what you can do with today’s smart phones, though I happen to prefer the iPhone, obviously.

In any case, Lifehacker has put together a list of apps that they recommend, most of which are free.  And, the few that aren’t are only a couple of dollars a piece.  If  you’re a heavy iPhone user, it’s worth it to go take a look at their selection of “must have” iPhone apps: Lifehacker Pack for iPhone.

No, this is not a post about sexual performance.
Pervs.

I use my iPhone for a surprising variety of things, even at the office.  For around $14, I threw together a suite of network scanning and testing tools that let me get a pretty good look at any network I manage.  But, that’s another post.
Today, I thought I’d bring to your attention a great blog post by Nicholas M. Petty tittled “iPen: Hacking with the iDevice“.  What he’s got is a set of instructions and tools for turning your iPhone, or, presumably, your iPad, into hand-held computer security penetration testing tool.  Yeah, I know, it still sounds dirty when you say “penetration”.  Grow up.

If you’re into security, whether you own an iPhone or not, it’s worth going to take a look at just to see the thought process and methodology.
Now, as much as I love this idea, I probably won’t actually do it myself because the first step is to “jailbreak” your phone and, frankly, as tight as money is and as important as my phone is to me, I can’t afford to have problems with it.  Still, it is an interesting idea, especially considering how many of these little devices are wandering loose out there and how many wifi access point exist out in the world.  I often wonder how secure any of them really are, especially in corporate environments.

Anyway, this should be something for network managers to think about the next time they see someone in the lobby of their building “playing a game” on their iPhone!

Okay, so “Steadycam” is probably a copyright restricted name, but you know what I mean.

Normally, I don’t write about video, but this DIY steadycam is cool.  A real Steadycam costs something like $25,000, but this simple, DIY solution is only about $35.  It looks like he’s using it with one of the new DSLRs that can do HD video, too, which, of course, is one of the reasons I posted it.  Also?  It’s cool.

Tired of boring CD cases for your self-produced work?

Try Jewelboxes.
They’re easy to assemble and fully customizable.  Not quite on par with the big-budget commercial printing runs that someone like Microsoft or Sony or someone like that would do, but a whole lot better than a Post-It and a Sharpie!
Seriously, they’re pretty cool, so check them out.

Oh, if only these were real!

Of course, while these potential/concept computers showcased on WebUrbanist are very cool, I’m sure they’ll be a bitch to work on.

I almost never think of what I do as “art”.

I mean, I’m mostly a network plumber, you know?  I make functional networks and good, solid, dependable machines that, well, that just run.  But, there are people who take hardware to a new place, where they are, in fact art.
The Edelweiss by Pius Giger is just that, the PC as art object.

Don’t believe me?  Just click the link and go look at it.  Trust me.

Okay, I know the iPhone is amazing, but this really is cool!

So, when I was on the road a lot, I would occasionally have to do presentations.  That usually meant lugging a laptop which I could hook up to a projector, if they had one available.  Often, it meant added pounds for a day trip just to show a team a few screen captures or a short slideshow.  Not good.
Well, now, if you’ve got an iPhone, you can carry a tiny projector with you instead and reduce your overhead without losing any production value.

Okay, it’s not quite available yet, but it will be soon.  Personally, I can’t wait to see how much it runs!  And, with everyone talking about the new iPad that isn’t quite available yet either, I thought it’d be okay to talk about a vapor-ware add-on for an existing product.

Not your writing composition, by the way, but your photographic composition.

You know, it’s not like the world needs another photography blog or anything, or I think I’d be tempted to convert this site from “Diary of  Network Geek” to “Journal of an Obsessed Amateur Photographer”!  So, you all will have to excuse me while I geek out over photography once in a while.
This time, I’m sharing a link to the Amateur Snapper’s 10 Top Photography Composition Rules.  Of course, I think of them as guidelines more than rules, but, then, I’ve always thought rules were for other people, so take that with a grain of salt.

In any case, the link has ten really good suggestions for composing better pictures.  You may be familiar with some of them, but I’ll bet there’s one or two you’ve forgotten or never thought about much.  Also?  The rest of the site isn’t bad, either, so, if you’re interested in photography, go ahead and click the link.  You won’t be sorry!