Extension Update 3: Rooms and Wireless Planning

Came home today and inspected the progress on the extensions. Very happy that the dividing frame is up. Now we can really see what sort of area that we have to work from.

I can start planning the new built in desk layout and function. Looks like there is going to be heaps of room to play with. Looking forward to the big desk and built-in cupboards.

In thinking about the layout of the new office I am also considering the associated work such as the home network. I am planning on hard wiring most of the house to the Internet. Including a wireless access point upstairs to provide wireless access over the whole house.

As far as wireless access points go I am currently considering two models from Netgear:

1. PROSAFE™ 802.11G WG102
2. PROSAFE™ 802.11G WG302

Both are pretty good wireless access points. The one thing that I have to consider is that I am trying to provide wireless access over two floors and I need the signal to travel both horizontal and vertically. The point will be upstairs and most of the coverage will be over this area. So the additional areal on the WG302 may be distinct advantage, being able to position it at a different angle. Both units are capable of PoE which is a must as the access point will be on a small shelf high on the wall. I am going to have a chat to my brother as he is a guru with this sort of thing… he should be, since he is an IT manager!

The hard-wiring over the rest of the house is mainly to the entertainment areas such as near TV’s etc. This is not so much essential now but more a future proofing measure. I firmly believe that in the future all our “Television” will be delivered via the Internet and not as a signal through the air as it is now (in Australia at least). So I figure that hard wiring it with CAT6 cable is the best option for this application.

So getting back to the office layout; I’ll need a shelf or cupboard dedicated to routers, power, switches and access terminals. So being able to see the walls is starting to make the decisions as to where these things go a lot easier.

Maybe by the end of the week we shall see a second floor start to emerge.

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House Extensions Update 1

Finally found the time to take some photos and write about the new house extensions that we are doing. After much planning, measuring and revising plans and waiting for everything to get through council we have started!

So I got out today and got some photos so that I could post an update. Yesterday the concrete was poured for the footings. Now the builders won’t be back for the rest of the week because they want these to settle and set. Then we should see some real progress. The small slab was poured for the new stair well last week but that was not that exciting. But now we can actually see the beginnings of something.

See not that exciting, a slab of concrete. The window that is there will disapear. Not even sure why it is there as it is under the house.

This is looking from the side, that slab is to the left. The 2 metal poles are holding the front of the house up. The ground floor joists and bearers are partly in place. This extension is going to extend out towards the front and this is the begining of the ground floor. The footings in the foreground are for the new upper deck. Here under that deck will be a water tank. To the right in front of the lower floor are some more footings for a smaller lower deck that will open out from the 4th bedroom. The office that will be most distant in this image will have a small deck as well and will join by a walkway to the lower bedroom deck.

This is exciting for me because this is my new office. I know it doesn’t look like much now but it will! The concrete slab to the left will be the stairs. The office will have it’s own external access and a small deck landing. Not huge but big enough to have a few chairs and enjoy a beer in the hot summer evenings.

There are more images on my flickr page, I have linked these to there. I am trying to keep this up to date now things are started. Sorry if it is boring everyone to tears. But this will be great to look back on over the years. Pkus the listeners of the podcast are wanting some photos and a blog post. See I do listen! More updates to come.

Add Platial Maps Widget to Your WordPress.com Blog

As you can see there have been a few changes around here. I found some motivation from somewhere and decided to update the widgets and ended up with a whole new look. I am still working on a few things but if you find something that isn’t quite right let me know. Since I was editing the widgets for the new theme I came across a new widget for WordPress.com users. It looks like I got the hop on the WordPress guys on this one as they are yet to release it.

You will notice in the sidebar widgets that there is now a Platial Mapkit widget available. Add it to your sidebar and it will show a mini map of the starting location that you specify when you set it up. Cool, but it gets better, you can add places with placemarks and readers can add their own with comments. Tag placemarks, add users as buddies and more.

The Widget displayed is the one you see here. My options have been included but you can make yours up to whatever you wish. You will have to create an account if you wish to use the widget in your blog. I have also added a placemark for the approximate location of this blog’s HQ, so you can see what they look like.

The map is powered by Google Maps and therefore includes either a map view a satellite view or a mix. As well as zooming in and out and all the usual Google Map goodness. I also noticed a Google Earth link on my homepage map I set up on Platial to take a look at it.

I have not added the widget to this blog, I’d rather keep the lines that I do and not stuff it full of other stuff. Plus it is another thing I have to keep track of if it was here. Although the map I created is available to view, you can see it here. Platial is not only open to WordPress.com users but all bloggers and site designers. So if this is your cup of tea then take a look. The design is simple and to the point and the size is good for a blog, it will fit most if not all blog sidebars. I had not heard of the service before now but it looks pretty good and a bit of fun.

WordPress.com users need to click the link on the widget when it is selected in the set-up. The link is in the text “Making maps at Platial is free”.

Create an account and configure it as you wish. It is fairly simple and straight forward. You can edit these settings easily after you have joined as well so don’t worry too much if you make a mistake.

The last bit is a bit tricky, since I had no “instructions” from the guys here at WordPress I had to work it out. The widget asks you to type in the “Platial Map Id:”. This is the last digits that you see at the end of the Bookmark for your map widget that you have created. That is the Map Id that you need to enter into the widget field and hit submit.

Once that is done just slide the widget into place on your sidebar and save the changes and your done. WordPress we have maps!

Vista Crack Update

It was reported on the 12th of November that Windows Vista was cracked. The version of Vista that is floating around on torrents and P2P Networks, dubbed the “Bill Gates” Version can be enabled using this crack, but a crack it is not. A hack to get it working would be more accurate. The time that it is operable under this hack is limited according to a Microsoft statement.

First up Microsoft has claimed that the “Bill Gates” version is not the final code. In addition they claim that this version may have been tampered with and should be avoided (as you would expect them to say).

Second the “crack” that has been used to activate this version of Vista alters the code from the operating system with those from the pre-release version, or the various release candidates. The user is then able to activate the version with a pre-release product activation key. As I predicted these pre-release keys are temporary, they will be blocked using Microsoft’s Software Protection Platform on the expiry date, which has not been disclosed. Enjoy it while it lasts.

In time I am sure that there will be another hack, crack or whatever for Vista. It remains to be seen exactly how Microsoft handle the further attempts to pirate their operating system.

New Home for The Global Geek Podcast!

This is important! Everyone should be aware that the Global Geek Podcast has a new abode. We have moved over to The Podcast Network! This means a few changes for our regular listeners.

First up it is almost D-Day as far as the URL is concerned. We want to keep the http://www.globalgeekpodcast.com URL for the show. That means that I do some DNS mojo and direct traffic to the new site. That in turn means that you will not be able to get to the old site using that URL. The other thing is that there will also be a change to the feed URL, yes that has changed! Here is a summary of changes:

New site on TPN: http://globalgeek.thepodcastnetwork.com/

[ the same URL will work as soon as I redirect the the traffic, the website was a redirected and masked web page meaning that as far as you were concerned you were looking at http://www.globalgeekpodcast.com but in reality it was http://www.globalgeekpodcast.libsyn.com/%5D

Old RSS subscription:

http://globalgeekpodcast.com/rss

New RSS Subscription:

http://globalgeek.thepodcastnetwork.com/feed/

If you have no interest in our podcast I urge you to support The Podcast Network and find something that you like and take a listen. There is a great show called The Best of TPN which is just as it says and features segments from different shows on the network, check it out.

You can still access the archived material held on Liberated Syndication at the old Website if you want to check out older shows, but remember that to subscribe use the new details, I am going to flip the Name servers soon!!

So please everyone, update your feed readers and podcasting software. The details for other types of subscriptions (iTunes etc) can be found on the new site.

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