From: ibuprofin@painkiller.example.tld.invalid
On Fri, 23 Nov 2012, in the Usenet newsgroup alt.os.linux.mandriva, in article
, Adam wrote:
>Moe Trin wrote:
>Sorry, battling change-of-season cold here.
Two weeks ago, my wife was having problems with "hay fever" - not
exactly sure which pollen was the cause. Hope you're feeling better.
[boot with wireless]
>> Any other "live CDs?
>I have a few (no idea whether they'll recognize the motherboard's
>Wi-Fi), but would more info on what SSIDs stolid can find and their
>relative strengths tell me anything new and useful?
It's mainly to discover what "driver" is needed, and if any clues or
hints can be passed to (what you're running on) stolid so that you
have a chance to configure the wireless.
[Windows apps on stolid for motherboard Wi-Fi]
>>> Network ID, Strength
>>> "", "100%"
>> Is there a "hardware address" associated with this source (you
>> implied it's on channel 9 and likely yours)?
>Yes, it has my router's MAC.
Wondering, because you noted seeing the "no name" entry on eris, so
I was guessing that - but why you see two entries for the router is
still unexplained.
>However, my router's SSID isn't broadcast and Win7 doesn't know my
>PSK, so it can't connect. The native Win7 install doesn't have a
>wired connection set up either, which should reduce the chance of
>malware.
Used to be, the witty comment was that "the best firewall is two inches
of air" but that doesn't take into account modern wireless links. A
proposed extension of an air gap firewall is a "lead gap" or multi-
layer air and lead sandwich - but someone will run 802.11 over cosmic
rays... and "secure" it using WEP.
>> The data is "feel good" type of numbers, but little in the way of
>> actual technical value - they're non-scaled "relative" numbers.
>Are they reliable as relative values -- is 100% stronger than 52% (by
>some unknown amount) and 52% > 30% > 18%?
Fair probability - but not guaranteed. The "curve" _should_ be
monotonic (likely "ever upwards, but with flat spots") but even that
isn't a sure bet. In the 1970s, RCA had an FM IF strip on a chip (the
CA3089) that looked really neat (and dirt cheap at under $5 in onesies)
in the data-sheets. One function it included was a signal strength to
meter drive, and the "example" graphs showed a near perfect logarithmic
transfer of signal level to output voltage. A manufacturer designed a
microwave receiver around the chip using that function to obtain an
analog output that was logarithmic, and the breadboard and prototypes
worked fairly well. Luckily, the manufacturer ordered another several
thousand more chips for the initial production systems - and only then
discovered that that "typical" curve wasn't typical, and reading the
fine print discovered there was no specification of the curve. The
actual "typical" curve resembled a three step staircase and the steps
weren't even consistent or uniform. Back to the drawing board!
>> Also, other objects in proximity may be distorting the antenna
>> pattern - better in some directions, worse in others.
>But in my situation (I posted the signal strengths "measured" by eris
>a few posts ago), would any way to increase the signal received make
>any practical difference?
Difference? Yes. Beneficial? ``That depends''. As you're mainly
interested in "short range" (meaning within your apartment only), a
minor benefit might be to concentrate the energy within that area so
that the nosy neighbors aren't able to eavesdrop. A side benefit is
that it could reduce the interference from outside sources. Another
factor is the actual received signal levels determine the working
bandwidth. A typical receiver may work at 1 MegaBIT/sec at about -90
dBm, but need -73 dBm to provide a full 54 Megabit speed. The receivers
at both ends of the link need to be considered.
[parents' computer shopping]
>> that's where the reputation of the shop comes in.
>Which my father, in his enthusiasm over finding a shop, neglected to
>check, unusual for him.
That happens - not just in the computer sales. The state consumer
protection agencies try to warn the public, yet there is a good
income to be made in defrauding the customers and thus there are more
than enough predators out there. A neighbor mentions a roof repair
person was soliciting business here after the 2011 hail-storms (that
trashed my wife's car). Usual warning signs - large down-payment, no
contractor's license, stark warnings that the sky was falling and the
homeowners needed to get the roof tiles repaired immediately, etc.
>These days there are few small shops left anywhere.
I've noticed. Most of the places to buy computers here are the large
chains - appliance dealers or general department/office stores. You
won't find bargains there unless you're looking for the run-of-the-mill
stuff.
>> On the other hand, your parents could have decided on a MacBook or
>> somethin' ;-)
>At one point (ca. 2001 leading to "retread") Mom tried to persuade
>Dad to get a Mac (ease of use, better security, and their neighbors
>raved about theirs) but Dad insisted on something more familiar.
That's fairly common - the typical Mac customer seems to be a prior
user, or directly influenced by a prior user. The rest of the world
seems to want to stay with the herd, often because they don't have
any actual experience with alternatives. My oldest sister was a
Mac user - because they had a Apple ][ where she worked and that's
what she was comfortable with. Less software available, but what WAS
available did the the jobs she needed.
>> I'm seeing low end desktops (AMD E2 4 GB RAM, 500 GB disk) as low
>> as $237
>IIRC the tower was on sale for under $400, but the monitor, product
>key to unlock the trial version of MS Office,
??? The demo wasn't free? In this case, adding a 20" monitor,
keyboard and mouse jacked the price up to $327. No idea what demos
come with it, but it obviously included some version of windoze.
>having the store (Office Depot) remove the Norton AV and install
>McAfee (which I agreed with),
Shows how long ago I was using DOS/windoze - I don't remember Norton
having an anti-virus product (Norton Utilities were very useful) and
I _think_ I was using something called Thunderbyte Virus Scan. NASA
had several anti-virus programs on their BBS, and the last time I
needed one (neighbor's grandkid and a PC) I grabbed something off the
SIMTEL server at White Sands (or a mirror at oak.oakland.edu or
wuarchive.wustl.edu) that did the job. I imagine those servers are
all long gone by now.
[continued in next message]
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)
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