Friday, October 29, 2004

Subdomain, parked domain and add-on domain

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Network Solutions Advanced DNS Manager

Network Solutions Advanced DNS Manager

This took a Google search to find. Network Solutions web site is pretty bad.

The traditional approach to moving a domain to a new provider is:

1. Give new provider domain name
1. go to network solutions (for example)
2. change where DNS server address from old provider to new provider.

The alternative approach is documented on this page. In this case Network Solutions takes over the DNS functions and one tells Network Solutions which machine to point to.

It feels like it comes down to who one trusts more, and to whom should one give power over a domain.

US National Security Agency Systems and Network Attack Center (SNAC) has released its 100-page Security Configuration Guide for Mac OS X 10.3.x.

"Opener" Malware: "While we're talking about security, it might be worth noting that the US National Security Agency Systems and Network Attack Center (SNAC) has released its 100-page Security Configuration Guide for Mac OS X 10.3.x.

While some of the NSA's recommendations are understandably more restrictive than are required in most settings, overall, the guide represents an excellent collection of security practices, while applying tools and techniques specific to Mac OS X.

The guide is available here: applemac/osx_client_final_v.1.pdf"

Thursday, October 28, 2004

Nice review of OS X backup solutions

MacZealots.com - Articles - Backing Up Your MacThe author liked Sync, a shareware app. He specifically excluded Retrospect (which I use). Sync sounds like it might be good for a redundant backup solution.

I do daily full backups with offsite rotation every few weeks, but I also do alternative drive imaging every month or so. I'm a bit paranoid about backups. In the last 15 years backups have saved my skin at least six times, including at least 3 complete system failures. Not to mention numerous restores of several files saving hours of work.

Now if I could only create a good and affordable offsite continuous incremental network backup solutions ... I'm hoping Google will help one day ...

Keyhole: will Google do an OS X client?

Keyhole

Keyhole was recently acquired by Google. They're a marvelous fee-based imaging service -- but they require Windows clients. If Google opens up their services I wonder if other clients will appear?

WiebeTech white papers -- firewire 800

WiebeTech Micro Storage Solutions - MEDIA

Some pretty good white papers from WiebeTech, including a 10/04 document outlining why FW 800 won't go anywhere. The author predicts FW 400 will continue for the next 2-3 years, but it will be replaced by SATA II connectors. FW 800 will fade away within a year.

He claims FW 800 is a much better spec than FW 400, but it failed to acheive critical mass -- in part because the original claims were overblown and in part because of disastrous problems with an OS X release.

He doesn't discuss my experiences -- many firewire peripherals are plagued by sleep/wake problems with some versions of OS X and some Apple hardware.

Interestingly he says FW 400 ports are very vulnerable to being shorted. It's apparently a basic design flaw. Seems related to power-up drains -- from now on I'll power-up my drive before I connect it to my iBook.

AMD launches Personal Internet Communicator - $185 for the world

Geekzone, mobile forums

A sealed WinCE PC with XP extensions. Ships with browser, spreadsheet. Sealed, fanless, robust. $185 price point.