Drive Cloning

Drive cloning and its related cousin drive imaging are two of the staples of a computer technician's tool set. In fact, if someone who claims to be a computer technician and has no idea how to clone or image drives, then you might want to have someone else fixing your computer.

When you have a harddrive that has Windows or Mac operating system on it plus all the associated programs that have been installed in it, you want to create a clone of this drive so that when something goes wrong with the system or the drive itself dies, you have the exact duplicate of its former self. This saves many hours of not having to reinstall the operating system and programs. This fact alone makes drive cloning or drive imaging a very attractive task to do to a computer before you start using it. Once you start using the computer, it's on its way to become corrupted with errors and computer viruses and all the things that can and will go wrong with the operating system and the physical deterioration of the physical drive itself. Therefore, it's not a matter of if but when you need to either reinstall the operating system or replace the drive. Knowing that it will happen anyway, you should be proactive with what you have to do when it happens.

My View on Windows 8

Now that Windows 8 has been out since October 2012 and has gone through 2 major updates in the forms of 8.1 and 8.1 Update 1, it's time that I put in a few words on my opinion of it. Before, reading on, please watch this 24-minute rant video so you can get some ideas that I will be saying next. Granted, this video was created when Windows 8 was Windows 8.0. Since then, Microsoft has released two major updates that have addressed some of the complaints mentioned in the videos. So this mini reviews covers the most annoyances that still exist.

Let me start with the most obvious: the Start button. At least Microsoft brought back a half-baked Start button with Windows 8.1. Its initial complete absence drove many people nuts. After almost 20 years of telling people to hit the Start button to do virtually everything in Windows, Microsoft thought no one would cry blood murder when it suddenly took it away? When power users like myself get lost without the Start button, what did Microsoft think the Ludites would feel?

The Start button in Windows 8.1 is still not its full old self. For starter, left clicking on it does not launch the expected start menu of old. Instead you get hit on the face with a jarring experience of looking at the hated tiles. The tiles are the mainstay of the formerly known as Metro interface which is designed for touch screen interface. This is Microsoft's biggest mistake with Windows 8. It tries to merge the two interfaces in one system. The Metro interface is virtually useless without touch interface. Microsoft was hoping that by now, many people would have touch-capable computers. This is not the case. The majority of Windows 8 users do not have such a computer. Even if they do, they still prefer to use the mouse as their primary way to navigate. 

My proposal to Microsoft is to decouple the Metro interface from the desktop interface. At the very least, give people the option to completely disable Metro completely. Having the tiles suddenly show up when the user click on something is a jarring experience. It's like an unwelcome magic trick when the magician pulls off the veil to reveal something unexpected. Unlike a magic trick, computer users do not like a sudden change in interface. How did this pass the focus group testing during Windows 8 testing? Most likely, it didn't. Most likely, the sudden change in interface got negative reactions from testers but Microsoft decided to over-ride that in its zeal to move all Windows users to the touch interface. Evidence of this zeal remains with Windows 8.1 when clicking on the Start button would whisk you away from the desktop mode and drop you onto the tile interface.  

On the related note, the Charms bar is clearly the Metro version of the classic Taskbar. The problem is the Charms bar shows up when you don't want it to show up. This is like left clicking on the Start button. When you move the cursor to the right side of the screen to move or close a window, the Charms bar will suddenly pop out on the right edge. While this is not as jarring as the suddenly switch to Metro mode because the desktop is still visible, this uninvited Charms bar is an annoyance. Fortunately, this behavior can be disabled in Windows 8.1. However, if you use the trackpad, the Charms bar still shows up if Windows  misinterpret your finger movement as a swipe as opposed to a no swip with a mouse. Therefore until Microsoft allows you to completely disable the Charms bar, I recommend that you use a mouse instead of the trackpad.

Even with Windows 8.1 Update 1, I will still not recommend it for the average longtime Windows user. Yes, the Start button is back, sort off, but navigating in the Modern UI formerly known as Metro mode is still confusing.

Secret communications with Comcast X1 TV Setvice

I recently discovered with a confirmation by Comcast tech support that when a customer subscribes to the X1 service on top of the regular TV service, the set top box, commonly known as the cable box or the descrambler box, communicates with the Comcast-issued Internet modem via a secret and invisible wireless signal so that the content of the X1 service can be displayed on the TV. This means if you move or turn off the power to the Internet modem, this X1 service will not work. The regular TV channels should still be there but the interactive guide about the shows will no longer be there.

I don't understand why can't the set top box do the X1 service natively on its own. It gets the TV feed on the same wire that has the Internet signal so why can't it use this same wire for the X1 services? If it can communicate with the Internet modem via this secret wireless signal, it can surely communicate with the X1 server directly. Why bother to hop to the Internet modem to relay the X1 information? When the handheld remote control navigates the X1 menus, does it communicate with the set top box or the Internet modem?

Just because the Comcast tech support person said so, I still think she was mistaken about the necessity of the set top box communicating with the Internet modem via a secret hidden wireless signal. This makes no sense from an engineering perspective. Comcast is not a small company. It surely get this done.

MOCA Support on the Latest Comcast Modem

The latest version of of the modem that comes with your Comcast Internet service is called Wireless Gateway.

https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/comcast-supported-routers-gateways-adapters

It has two major improvements from the previous version. 5 GHz wifi support and MOCA. The MOCA technology uses the home existing coax wiring to propagate teh Internet signal. You need another compatible MOCA host at another part of the home to receive the MOCA signal from the modem. Actiontec makes some excellent MOCA devices.

Edimax CAP1200

To be considered as a business class access point, it has to offer at least one feature that is not found in all consumer class APs. Price point is no longer a designated attribute because certain consumer APs actually cost more than some business class APs. It is exciting that home users can now afford to install business class APs in their homes to benefit from advance networking features that had been exclusive to the business environment.

The playing field for the best business class access point just got another player courtesy of Edimax. Being the best means the AP has to offer some if not all of the popular features without being too expensive. The sweet spot is the sub $150 price point. That said, the Edimax CAP1200 is a top contender. 

The following features supported by the CAP1200 that are of interest. 

1. Wireless AC

2. Support simultaneous 2.4GHz and 5GHz

3. PoE support for both 802.9at (incoming) and 802.9af (outgoing)

4. Smoke detector like casing

5. Build-in RADIUS server 

As far as I know, this is the only AP that can be used as a basic RADIUS server. This is great for organizations that need this service but does not want to install a dedicated RADIUS server on a desktop. With that said, running a basic RADIUS server does not require hefty expensive hardware such as a Windows Server system or a complex Linux server on a desktop. You can get a $35 Raspberry Pi and with a little tweaking, you can get a RADIUS server running that has a small foot print and lower power consumption.

Engenius EAP600

Access points (AP) are networking devices that create a new or relay an existing WiFi network signal so to extend the range of that signal. What they can do depending on a large part, their price. You can find more about access points here.

The EAP600 access point is the flagship access point for Engenius, a provider of consumer and business class networking  devices. At $150 per device, it is attractive not only for small to medium size businesses but the home users who want wifi coverage that is more robust than what can be provided by consumer level gears. 

The EAP600 can be used by itself as the only AP in the network or in conjunction with other EAP600s in a distributed network. In such a distribution network, these EAP600s can facilitate WiFi coverage for dozens of wireless devices in a large physical area such as an office space or multi-rooms home. 

Setup WDS on the EAP600
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RikqKW0qvQk

Overview of EAP600 features
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfju3ce6jAw

As you can see in the video, with these EAP600s working together, your wireless device only sees one wireless name. The EAP600 supports band steering. It also create multiple SSIDs with each SSID be on its own VLAN. This not only keeps devices from one VLAN from accessing the others on another VLAN, but it also restrict bandwidth for a VLAN. For example, you can create a guest SSID on a separate VLAN and only give that VLAN a limited amount of bandwidth.