Update Your Router Firmware with Tomato

Wow! This is something I hadn't really tought about but, I'm sure glad I stumpled on to Tomato. Tomato is a firmware update for the popular Linksys WRT54G/GL/GS routers. I just happen to have the WRT54GL.

So this most obvious question is "why would I want (or need) to update my router firmware?" I suppose if you are just average Joe Computer User and your wireless network is working fine the answer is you don't. However if you are like me and want to have greater control over you router including: boosting transmit power, viewing bandwidth graphs, port forwarding, QOS support, site blocking, scripting, scheduling and a whole lot of other stuff I don't understand yet. It basically blows away the standard LinkSys firmware.

I love being able to quickly look at bandwidth graphs to determine how my internet has been performing over periods. I frequently do large uploads so I can see what my max upload speed is. I've also setup to recycle my router weekly, added some port forwarding, setup QOS so I always have bandwidth for VOIP, increased my transmit power so I now get 4 bars on the patio (woohoo!) and lots of other tweeks.

If your in the mood to experiment (note: always may a backup of your current firmware so you can go back) give it a try.

Music for us Slackers

I've found my new favorite radio station to listen to. It's actually many radio stations depending on what my mood is. It's Slacker.com. In one word this site is AWESOME! They just have great radio station selections and are always playing the best music that I want to hear. Occasionly I'll hear something I don't like and I can click a button to NEVER hear it again. Genius! I've played around with some other sites like LaunchCast and Rhapsody. They are both good but, it's seems like it takes forever before they "learn" what music I want to hear. That's good for some people but, us slackers just want good music now. Best of all the site is free!

There are a few limitation such as you can only skip 6 songs an hour but, I seldom have an issue with that. The artist lineup is pretty broad with the obvious exceptions (beatles, etc..). I'm listening to the Alternative Hits Radio (Red Hot Chili Peppers, White Stripes, Panic at the Disco) as I write this so as to not fall asleep. Rock on.

They are also working on a to-go device that looks promising but, a bit pricey. So if you need some tunes, don't have alot of cash, and don't have time to build a "collection" checkout Slacker Personal Radio...

Need Online Storage - Meet Mozy

Yes, I know I've talked about online storage before but, Mozy is a little different. It's more of a backup solution that just plain file storage. I still use my OnmiDrive for storing files I want to have available at work and home but, I'm currently using Mozy to backup my entire home network. I already have a solution for backing up my data from several computers to removable drives but, what if they fail or are lost? I know I can buy more removable drives or use RAID to give me some redundancy but, what if the house burns down or they are stolen!

Mozy gives me some piece of mind to $4.95 a month that all my data is safe. Sure I may never need to do a restore but, if I do I'm covered. I think they call that insurance. They are by far the cheapest for the amount of data I need to backup. Their unlimited plan for home users CHEAP. I have around 150 Gb of critical data to backup (photos, videos, financial docs). And probably another 300 Gb that would be nice to have backed up. One thing to note: you'll need a fast connection to get your stuff up there. It took me over 2 weeks to upload 150 Gb. Once it's up there though the incremental backups are fairly quick and are scheduled during downtime.

So if you are looking for more than just a standard storage solution Mozy is probably one of your better bets. They are an EMC company so they (and your data) should be around a while.