Technology

ecobee4 with Amazon Alexa Voice Service 4
Today is the official launch of the ecobee4 smart thermostat: the latest in what’s now a long(ish) line of WiFi thermostats from the eponymous Toronto-based ecobee Inc. Whenever ecobee releases an even “smarter” version of their smart thermostat, you can pretty much guarantee I’m gonna be all over that product […]

ecobee4 Smart Thermostat Review

This entry was posted in Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews Technology and tagged Alexa Amazon Amazon Alexa Apple ecobee ecobee 4 ecobee 4 review ecobee4 ecobee4 review home automation HomeKit IFTTT product review review SmartThings thermostat voice control on by (updated 2741 days ago)
Google Fiber speed test of EdgeRouter Lite 7
Many moons ago, I replaced my Google Fiber Network Box with a UBNT EdgeRouter Lite router at our house in Provo, Utah… and never looked back! With a street price of under $90, the ER-Lite was a tough act to beat for the money. But later, when Ubiquiti Networks released the newer EdgeRouter […]

EdgeRouter X vs. EdgeRouter Lite Google Fiber Speed Tests

This entry was posted in Linux Networking Technology and tagged EdgeRouter EdgeRouter comparison EdgeRouter Lite EdgeRouter POE EdgeRouter X ER-L ER-LITE ER-Lite vs ER-X ER-POE ER-X fastest Google Fiber speed speed test Ubiquiti UBNT on by (updated 2829 days ago)
ecobee3 Lite calibration mode 1
Are you wanting to get on the smart thermostat bandwagon, but aren’t sure if it’s worth the $249 price tag of the full-featured models like the ecobee3 and Nest? Then has ecobee got a deal for you. They recently added the ecobee3 Lite to their line-up with a very tempting MSRP of […]

Review: ecobee3 Lite

This entry was posted in DIY Home Theater & Automation Technology and tagged DIY ecobee ecobee upgrade ecobee3 ecobee3 Lite Install remote thermostat smart thermostat thermostat WiFi thermostat on by (updated 2860 days ago)
Kernel Version vs Firmware Version 6
In March of last year, I published this article claiming that the latest (at the time) DD-WRT builds based on the Linux 2.6 kernel (K2.6) ran faster on a Linksys/Cisco E4200 router than their K3.x counterparts. Since then, I’ve heard apocryphal stories from some in the DD-WRT forums that the […]

DD-WRT K2.6 vs K3.x vs Tomato Router Firmware Head to ...

This entry was posted in Linux Technology and tagged DD-WRT ddwrt EdgeRouter K2.6 K2.6 vs K3.x K3 K3.x Linux networking speed speed test speedtest Tomato UBNT USG which is faster on by (updated 2872 days ago)
AC Infinity S3 fan
If you’re like most homeowners, you probably keep your receiver, amplifier, router, network switch, or any other electronic equipment inside a cabinet… which means you have a heat problem. Heat is the enemy of electronics, and circulating air through and around anything electronic is vital to its performance and longevity. This is the cabinet […]

Review: AC Infinity Airplate Cabinet Fan

This entry was posted in DIY Product Reviews Technology and tagged AC Infinity cabinet fan computer fan cooling fan equipment cabinet product review review usb USB fan on by (updated 3051 days ago)
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UPDATE: Since most modern browsers yanked their trust for StartSSL certificates due to some funny business from StartCom, I no longer recommend StartSSL certs. I’ve switched all my certs over to LetsEncrypt (using the excellent Dehydrated script for easy setup and renewal). The article below remains here for historical purposes only. […]

Create a Free SSL Certificate with StartSSL

This entry was posted in Linux Technology and tagged .crt Apache bundle CA file certificate authority certificate signing request csr free SSL certificate key Linux pem private key self-signed self-signed SSL certificate SSL StartCom StartSSL on by (updated 2652 days ago)
"Forget" your access point(s) on your existing UniFi Controller before adopting it on your hosted controller
After writing the post on how to quickly upgrade your Ubiquiti UniFi Controller on non-Debian Linux boxes (I run mine on CentOS), I decided that it still wasn’t quick enough. So I threw together a script called upgrade_unifi.sh that does the following: Stops the existing UniFi Controller Makes a backup of your old UniFi […]

Automated Script for UniFi Controller Upgrade on Linux/Unix Systems

This entry was posted in Linux Technology and tagged command line gist Linux new version script Ubiquiti UBNT UniFi UniFi controller update Upgrade on by (updated 2912 days ago)
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If you’re running the Ubiquiti UniFi Controller on a Linux box (I run mine on CentOS), the default instructions from UBNT walk you through building a simple SysV init script to run the Java .jar file as a service. I was in a tinkering mood, so I re-wrote the SysV startup script on my […]

Improved Startup Script for Ubiquiti UniFi Controller on Unix / ...

This entry was posted in Linux Technology and tagged CentOS init script Linux RHEL startup script Ubiquiti UBNT UniFi UniFi controller Unix on by (updated 3047 days ago)
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UPDATE: I’ve written an automated script that performs all the steps in this article in less than 60 seconds. Feel free to follow the steps below if you want full manual control, or download my script to make your life even easier. 🙂 Ubiquiti Networks’ Java-based UniFi Controller software has a […]

Upgrade Your Linux UniFi Controller Version in 5 Minutes

This entry was posted in Linux Technology and tagged beta version CentOS new version Redhat Ubiquity UBNT UniFi UniFi controller Upgrade on by (updated 3068 days ago)
"Forget" your access point(s) on your existing UniFi Controller before adopting it on your hosted controller 4
If you’ve ever set up a Ubiquiti UniFi access point, such as the UBNT UAP, UBNT UAP-PRO, or UBNT UAP-AC-PRO, you’ve had to run UniFi Controller software required to adopt, configure, and manage your UniFi devices. When I set up a UAP-PRO in our house (see my install guide) I ran the UniFi Controller software full-time on […]

DIY Cloud-Hosting a Ubiquiti (UBNT) UniFi Controller

This entry was posted in Linux Reference Technology Windows and tagged access point cloud-hosted cloud-hosted UniFi controller controller hosted L2 network L3 network self-hosted UAP UAP-AC-PRO UAP-PRO Ubiquiti UBNT UniFi UniFi controller on by (updated 3077 days ago)
LanmanServer now dependent on Drobo Dashboard 1
I’ve had a problem with my Windows 2008 R2 server for over a year that I could never figure out. After every reboot (which I only do after a Windows Update), shared folders were no longer available to network clients. My initial workaround was to RDC to the server, right-click on […]

Fix missing shares on Windows 2008 Server reboot with Drobo

This entry was posted in Technology Windows and tagged DDService dependent service Drobo Drobo Dashboard Service file sharing iSCSI LanmanServer not shared re-share folders server Server service shared folders missing Windows Windows 2008 Windows 2008 R2 Windows Server on by (updated 3214 days ago)
Lux GEO WiFi Thermost 5
Thermostats have come a long way since the days of the gold-colored round Honeywell dial thermostats at your grandma’s house. Ecobee launched the first “smart” thermostat in 2007, but others like Google’s Nest and Honeywell’s Lyric weren’t far behind. But now even those manufacturers are shipping 2nd or 3rd generation hardware… meaning that […]

Review: Lux GEO WiFi Thermostat

This entry was posted in Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews Technology and tagged air conditioning ecobee Honeywell HVAC Lux Lux GEO Nest review smart thermostat thermostat WiFi WiFi thermostat on by (updated 3252 days ago)
Postfix 2.9 Upgrade
To help reduce the load on my Postfix mail servers, I rely on Postscreen (which is built in to Postfix) to help weed out bot spam and misconfigured mailers. And to reduce the load on Postscreen, one of my tricks is to whitelist the outbound IP addresses of a couple of […]

Postscreen Whitelisting of SMTP Outbound IP Addresses from Large Webmail ...

This entry was posted in Linux Technology and tagged CIDR Gmail Hotmail Microsoft Outlook Outlook.com Postfix Postscreen white list whitelist Yahoo on by (updated 3141 days ago)
Setting up multiple WLANs in DD-WRT 24
For the past while, I’ve recommended DD-WRT K2.6 firmware builds for the Linksys E4200 router, as well as other Linksys / Cisco WiFi routers. The builds based on the newer K3.x Linux kernel have now reached a stable enough point where you can run them… but I still recommend the […]

DD-WRT K2.6 Kernel vs. K3.x and How To Upgrade

This entry was posted in Linux Technology and tagged 30-30-30 DD-WRT K2.6 K2.6 vs K3.x K3 K3.x kernel reset router Upgrade WiFi WiFi router on by (updated 3160 days ago)
The Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite can replace the Google Fiber Network Box 64
I’ve been a Google Fiber user (and fan) since the service first hit Provo, Utah. I have a vacation home there, so while I don’t get to benefit from the Gigabit speeds on a daily basis, I certainly take advantage of it while I’m there. Because it’s a vacation home, I rely […]

Replace Your Google Fiber Network Box with a Ubiquiti EdgeRouter ...

This entry was posted in Linux Reference Technology and tagged config.boot EdgeMax EdgeOS EdgeRouter EdgeRouter Lite EdgeRouter POE EdgeRouter X ER-LITE ER-POE ER-X ERL ERLITE-3 GFNB Google Fiber Google Fiber Network Box Google Fiber Network Jack POE replace replace Google Fiber Network Box Ubiquiti UBNT on by (updated 2776 days ago)
Bandwidth test as Sender 1
In the top-right corner of the Ubiquiti EdgeMAX EdgeRouter’s GUI interface, you’ll find a Toolbox menu with plenty of goodies inside (assuming you’re running a version of the firmware that has them, such as 1.7.0+). One of the menu items lets you test the Bandwidth to or from your router: Selecting […]

Using the Ubiquiti EdgeRouter’s Built-In Bandwidth Tester

This entry was posted in Linux Reference Technology and tagged bandwidth tool EdgeMax EdgeRouter iperf iperf3 networking router speed test toolbox Ubiquiti UBNT on by (updated 3326 days ago)
Ubiquiti UAP-PRO access point 27
Getting decent WiFi coverage at my house has always been a challenge. The house is three stories (the bottom floor is a daylight basement) and has a footprint of 50′ x 100′. A four car garage extends the footprint even farther to the south, and because I use WiFi-controller irrigation […]

How to Install a Ubiquiti UniFi Access Point Pro (UAP-PRO)

This entry was posted in DIY Reference Technology and tagged antenna bad wifi DD-WRT how to install UAP install UAP router UAP UAP-PRO Ubiquiti UBNT WiFi on by (updated 3337 days ago)
Linux Uptime 2
If you’re getting permissions errors when trying to update WordPress plugins or themes (or even WordPress itself), it can be a major pain to try and troubleshoot WordPress permissions, and the documentation is unclear on exactly what the optimal WordPress permissions settings are. I recommend these using the following four easy Linux […]

Correct Permissions for WordPress

This entry was posted in Linux Reference Technology and tagged 644 755 chmod chown optimal WordPress permissions perfect WordPress permissions permissions right permissions for WordPress set permissions WordPress WP on by
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I went to update the mod_cloudflare package on a CentOS / RHEL box this morning, and ran unto the following problem: % sudo yum update -y mod_cloudflare Resolving Dependencies --> Running transaction check ---> Package mod_cloudflare.x86_64 0:1.2.0-1360806316.el6 will be updated ---> Package mod_cloudflare.x86_64 0:1.3.1-1.el6 will be an update --> Finished Dependency […]

Fixing “Public key for mod_cloudflare-*.rpm is not installed” Error

This entry was posted in Linux Reference Technology and tagged CloudFlare error GPG key mod_cloudflare not installed public key yum on by
Relay assembly close-up. 12
Last week, I was working in my back yard when I noticed that the big red light on top of my septic system control box was lit up. That light is triggered when one of two alarm floats (in either the main effluent pump chamber or the clearwell pump chamber) detects that the fluid level in […]

How to Make Your Septic Alarm Smarter

This entry was posted in DIY Home Theater & Automation Technology and tagged alarm monitoring DSC email relay septic alarm septic alarm monitoring septic buzzer septic pump septic system septic tank smart septic alarm smart things text wireless sensor Z-Wave on by (updated 3404 days ago)
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Last year, when the ecobee3 smart thermostat was announced, I published a preview, then a “first look” and unboxing video, followed soon after by the very first review of the ecobee3. I followed those up with an ecobee3 installation guide for new users, along with an ecobee Smart to ecobee3 upgrade guide for owners migrating […]

Review: ecobee3 HomeKit-enabled Thermostat

This entry was posted in Home Theater & Automation iPhone Product Reviews Technology and tagged Apple automation ecobee ecobee3 Home Kit HomeKit HomeKit-enabled HomeKit-Enabled ecobee3 iOS iPad iPhone Nest product review review Siri smart home smart thermostat thermostat WiFi thermostat on by (updated 3412 days ago)
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“Smart” home devices don’t only make your life easier, but in many cases can also save you money. Readers of my blog already know I’m a big fan of ecobee’s smart thermostat products. They’re WiFi enabled controllers that use weather data available via the Internet to predicatively (and reactively) minimize HVAC system […]

WiFi Sprinker Controller Review: Rachio Iro vs. RainMachine vs. IrrigationCaddy

This entry was posted in DIY iPhone Linux Product Reviews Technology and tagged irrigation IrrigationCaddy product review Rachio Iro Rachio Iro review Rain Machine RainMachine RainMachine review smart controller smart home sprinkler WiFi on by (updated 3413 days ago)
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I write lots of product reviews for “geeky” tech stuff (like smart thermostats, automatic toilet flushers, surge protectors, etc.). But when I get a chance to review some tech that also involves one of my other interests (karate in this case), I’m all over it. As a part-time karate instructor at Fairwood Martial Arts, one […]

Product Review: StrikeMeter by Martial Arts Instruments

This entry was posted in Fitness Karate Product Reviews Technology and tagged impact force Karate kick martial arts measure force meter product review punch review StrikeMeter tae kwon do on by (updated 3460 days ago)