Tag: Technology

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Chasing Gremlins

There are many benefits to technology.

Most of us have various bits of tech in our homes, it may be just our computer, or our phones. Some of us have a bit more technology in our homes, and there be gremlins hiding there.

Most of the time the gremlins are dormant and only awaken when we do something causing us to trip over them. For example, we move something around, or try to add a new device. Usually these instances result in a minor irritation but are easily resolved.

I’ve been chasing gremlins for the past week and a half, and I have a lot of devices to chase the little devils through.

About a week or two ago, Edison was having a problem. In the course of 4 hours they flipped the power on & off at least 6 times. I’d just get the clocks reset and bang! The power was off again. Sometimes the power would stutter on for a moment then go off again.

Technology really doesn’t like that!

All the gremlins awoke and have been running through system after system, creating odd and completely random effects. Devices appearing and disappearing from the network, devices working fine one moment and then refusing to execute a command they’d just completed. Or suddenly executing a command that they’d received an hour ago because they suddenly remembered it (Kinda like Joe Biden…)

Fortunately, unlike in the case of Joe, (switching off humans is generally a bad idea,) I can switch devices off and if necessary reinitialize them.

Over the past two days, I’ve begun to feel like The Exorcist. Get thee back Demon!!

Or like a poor bastard that pissed off a Techno-Madge in Babylon 5.

Then I remembered I AM a Techno-Madge and these gremlins will be purged!

There are 30 devices online at my home at any given moment. I’ve purged 25 of these devices thus far. the remaining 5 are sitting in techno-limbo as I type. They’re being reset to factory default and one by one I’ll add them to the network as they wake up mindless from their reset.

After that, the gremlins should be at least flushed from my systems for the time being.

Gremlins will always make a reappearance. Sometimes they’re artifacts of small little bugs that are no consequence in a particular device. The problem is that they can be cumulative. When you have enough devices added to the same network, these little insignificant bugs combine and mutate, (no, we’re not to Maximum Overdrive or SkyNet yet,) the mutation is more of an interaction between devices.

Mr Scott said it best, “The more you complicate the plumbing, the easier to stop up the works.”

We’re living it. All of our devices are “smart” each of them has memory, when they’re network connected the router and some switches remember the state of each of the devices.

Sometimes, just turning the device off and restarting it isn’t enough. That’s because the router will often reconnect the device(s) in the same way when you turn them back on again and then you’re right back where you started.

The systems are trying to be helpful but they’re actually just more frustrating.

I had to completely reinitialize the Nest Thermostat and the Nest Protect smoke alarms. That was fun, “Gee thanks Google, I knew no good would come of you purchasing Nest, you jackasses could complicate a wet dream.”

Did you know that if you plug a HomePod mini into your computer it will flash Orange? How about that the HomePod mini has around 2.6 gigabytes of software running inside it?

Did you know that your printer is a smart little bugger and it tries to remember it’s setup so hard that it actually fights you when you’re trying to send it back to factory default?

Don’t even ask about network attached storage devices. They can be really contrary. It’s with good reason, they’re trying to protect your data so many of them will require signs, countersigns, along with various incantations and sigils.

The most frustrating part of this particular adventure has been certain smart lightbulbs (I’m looking at you office lamp,) several of these machines have told me they’ve reset, but lied. The office light was the worst offender 5 times straight, “Yep, I’ve reset,” but then, “No, you can’t configure me because I’m already set up.”

“Uh huh, and how did that go for you little light bulb?” (Lightbulb contritely dims)

Don’t get me wrong, I like having a “Smart House”, privacy issues notwithstanding. Yeah, all these smart devices can and do phone their creators regularly. God only knows what information they’re sending.

I thought, and this is demonstrating perhaps white racist language, when I purchased a machine I was that machine’s master.

Yeah, what of it? Am I going to hear from the robot-rights association?

Alright the last devices appear to have returned to their pristine factory reset zombie state…

I’m off to give them a purpose again.

(Wanders off)

“Come on my little slaves, let’s put you back to work.“

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Time for the Geeky

For years, (at least 10) I’ve been using Apple TimeCapsules for my router and basic backup needs. The main TimeCapsule which has been in continuous operation for 5 – 6 years was finally starting to show its age.

Don’t get me wrong, it still works but it was starting to drop WiFi connections at odd moments and for no apparent reason. I started digging around and found that the maximum number of WiFi connections a TimeCapsule could handle was 40. What wasn’t completely clear was did the TimeCapsule have enough horsepower to handle 40 wireless and some unknown number of wired clients or was it 40 total?

I did a quick count of the number of devices talking to the TimeCapsule on average. Try 30 devices talking on WiFi normally. (The joys of a smart home!) If all the possible devices that wanted internet access Wired & Wireless were online we were talking 50 total.

Hmmm. A few quick experiments later and I found that low usage WiFi devices were being knocked off the net being replaced by higher demand devices. Things like Xbox, Apple TV, and DVD players would replace things like the thermostat, or the weather station display unit.

These low demand devices would generally come back after the high demand items got turned off, but sometimes they’d have to be reset to reconnect to the network.

I don’t know if it was processing, sheer number of clients, or just plain old tired, what was obvious was two things. 1) The number of clients was only going to increase, & 2) I really needed new router.

I looked at Eero’s, Orbi’s, and Netgear. The problem I had with each of these was that you had to have an account with Google, Amazon, or Netgear and I didn’t really like that idea. I wanted a router that did it’s job and wasn’t phoning home to tell wherever home was, about my porn habits, or anything else I was doing or shopping for. So an account being necessary to use a router I purchased, was out of the question.

Maybe I’m paranoid, maybe I’m not.

After some searching I found the Amplifi Alien.

I did some more research and found that you don’t have to have an account to use it. It’s a mesh router. Meaning it has the ability to seamlessly broadcast to other routers or to a satellite Alien (repeater).

The unit supports WiFi 6 so my phone and more recent devices are happy, it supports standard 2.4 and 5 GHz, with unification of everything under one SSID (Network Name). My Apple TimeCapsules always had a problem with that, and I had to maintain two different network names to provide for the 2.4 GHz only devices.

The router doesn’t have a dedicated backhaul wireless channel, but it does have the ability to use a hardline to handle the backhaul communications.

This is a pricey router, but no more than a 3 TB TimeCapsule was.

The unit is configured from an app on your phone.

I had it up and running in about 10 minutes. 5 Minutes was spent trying to figure out a way to put this machine out where it can be seen instead of hiding in my wiring closet. It’s beautiful.

Wow! This thing is FAST!

Suddenly, all my devices are connected and stable. Since Apple has gotten out of the Router Business I knew I was going to have to replace my router with something non-Apple eventually. I hadn’t planned on doing it right now.

That being said, I’m pleased as punch with this machine. I’m getting full fiber optic speeds out of my ISP. My WiFi coverage is much better than it was. I’ve got zero dead zones in the house or garage, and the signal extends well into the street as well as covering my entire yard.

SUPER! No more weird pauses in music or podcasts while I’m working in the yard.

I’ve also got up to 120 WiFi clients and because of the mesh technology I’ve got the ability to actually have more than 120 by adding another Alien at the other end of the house. The mesh tech, sends clients to whichever router is closer, so presumably with many of the client devices staying in one location I could have 1/2 on one router and 1/2 on the other.

Right now, I’ve only got the one router and it covers my needs very well. But it’s nice to have some expansion room, thinking longer term.

Devices are only going to get smarter. Speakers, lights, TVs, locks, alarm systems, garage door openers, and on & on. Even my HAM radio has the ability to use the internet over WiFi.

I was surprised to discover that there were so many machines in my home that were chatting away. I knew they were there, I’d obviously connected them to the network but I’d never really started counting them until recently.

In my immediate future, I suspect there is going to be a smart ceiling fan, a smart garage door opener, some video surveillance cameras, and maybe even a smart door lock.

I could actually see moving everything to WiFi. I’m not sure I will, but I like the concept of not having to run actual cable if/when I move to a new house.

Thus far… A week into owning this puppy, I’m giving it a big thumbs up. It seems to like the Synology RAID. Now to see how it reacts to multiple network drives…

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Not Sure if this is better… or worse.

I’ve been noticing over the last few months more and more “Cookie Notifications”.

Hell, even I post a cookie notification on this site.

I don’t collect or indeed look at the metrics provided by these cookies but the blog application collects them. I don’t monetize the readership of this blog, I’ve thought about it, but decided against it .

While I could use the money, ultimately it’s more important to be able to speak my mind without worrying about someone having leverage to force me to take down or apologize for a post.

I posted the cookie notification because you, the reader, have the right to know that information is being collected about you.

That being said, I’ve noticed while reviewing the various cookie policies of sites that I visit, a shocking amount of information is being collected.

The most egregious site thus far, is a site of an adult nature that I’ve enjoyed for many years. This adult site posted their cookie policy sometime in the past few weeks, (Hey, I enjoy the site, but don’t live on it.)

Reviewing their policy presented me with over 100 “Affiliate” companies all of whom set tracking cookies, share information about my interests, have access to my location as listed on site, and pretty much anything and everything I’ve provided about me. Given the nature of the site, the immense sharing of information is troubling.

On the one hand, they’ve probably always been sharing this information, such is the nature of monetization. On the other hand knowing what they’re sharing, and the breathtaking length of companies they’re sharing information with, gives me considerable pause.

Any reasonable adult knows (or should know) that sites of an “Adult” nature are risky by nature, these sites are “The Wild West” and often beyond the reach, or notice of law enforcement. These sites come & go without warning. If you’re a “Free” user they’re going to sell some of your information. After all, they’re in it to make money.

As a reasonable adult, we each must make a value choice. Do we really want to see what’s on the site versus how much we’re willing to “pay” to see it.

That thought leads me to question if these sites will make the next logical move. A move where paid membership affords you privacy from tracking and monetization. If the site is making money from memberships do they need to also share the member’s data?

I’d actually pay a membership fee, if I knew that I’d be excluded from having my peculiarities broadcast to hundreds of unknown advertising agencies attempting to target me with their wares.

Essentially, if you’re using a paid VPN service that’s what you’re doing when you’re surfing the web but not logged into Bing, Google, Yahoo, or whatever. Most of the people I know, use a “Burner” email address for questionable sites.

I wonder about all the information that’s already out there on us all as individuals. The genie is pretty much out of the bottle. Will I forever be followed by an ad showing ‘Fat bottomed Blow Up Slut doll’ because once in 2000 while operating my computer intoxicated, I thought it was interesting to click on that particular genre of ad?

This line of thought has also led me to wonder about my overall membership, free or otherwise on the small number of sites that I frequent.

Much as I’ve enjoyed the site I visited last night, do I really need to visit it, or any sites? I really appreciate their upfront attitude and transparency. For me that is a definite check in the “Plus” column. But as someone who tries to keep a low internet profile, (this blog not withstanding,) how much do I want to share?

Brietbart is an interesting case study in persistence. Almost every time I go to their site I’m being asked to accept tracking and cookies. Every single time I tell them they’re not allowed to sell my information and confirm that choice. But they keep asking, I suspect they’re hoping that one day I’ll just cave in and say “Accept All”. That is somewhat ironic because they’re always ‘banging on’ about freedom and privacy. Them constantly asking the way they do is also degrading the user experience and I find myself less inclined to visit their site at all.

Generally, the same is true, for me, of all websites. I’ve noticed that when I’m confronted with yet another “Cookie / Privacy notice” I’m more prone to not click beyond the notice, instead I’ll close the page.

Maybe that’s a good thing.

If people get tired of answering questions about cookies and tracking, perhaps they’ll stop relying on the internet for all their information… I doubt it.

I can say that since I’ve put the cookie notice up on this site, the traffic through the site has decreased. That data is gleaned not from cookies, but from a count of incoming ip addresses the site maintains over a 24 hour period.

From my perspective, the usability of the internet is degraded. It’s like getting gas at some gas stations or making a purchase with my debit card. I don’t think it’s reasonable to be asked if I want a car wash, to donate to this or that cause, do I want a receipt, or be shouted at with advertisements from a blaring screen, or whatever… I just want to get on with my day.

The internet is becoming another case of answer 50 questions get the simplest things done.

In that regard… I’m leaning more to closing accounts I don’t absolutely need and moving back to good old fashioned printed books and reference manuals.

I’ve been using cash for purchases a lot more lately. It’s really nice, transactions the way they’re supposed to be.

Some would say that’s a sign of paranoia.

For me, it’s about not wanting to be bothered.

When I was much younger, I worked at Radio Shack. We didn’t use a cash register, we wrote out orders on a receipt book and had only a cash drawer. We were supposed to ask each and every customer for their name and mailing address. Many customers, young and old refused to provide this information. It’s amazing to me how much has changed and in such a short time.