Universal Rule

Book Reviews

Wednesday, April 21, 2004

Using WLAN at home securely -- Comment()
Today I used the WLAN (Apple Extreme Base Station) at home also with my PowerBook G4 from work. Everything works fine. I improved the security even further by a configuration change in the ADSL broadband router. Now the combination ADSL-WLAN-iBook/PowerBook should be secure, as I'm using WPA for WLAN, Cisco VPN for all network traffic, and the internal firewall is switched on in the iBook and PowerBook.

New web site for Finnish Operations Research Society (FORS) -- Comment()
FORS has opened new web pages at www.optimointi.fi. I'm a member of FORS, and was elected to the board last year. Presently the society has close to 240 members. Here is some background: "FORS was founded to promote and advance OR in our country and to serve as a link between people interested in this field. This purpose is still valid today, almost 30 years later. The main activities of the society are seminars, excursions, training courses, and conferences."

-- Comment()
Mac Voyeurs in a Windows World: "David Coursey [...] said he constantly runs into Windows users who love the Mac. Coursey calls such schizophrenics Mac voyeurs. [...] More closet Mac fans may be in the Linux camp. For example, nine of the top 20 themes, or Linux skins, at Themes.org are based on Apple's Aqua, the name for the look of OS X."

Ordered an inkjet: Canon i455 -- Comment()
While I ordered a new battery for my iBook, I also ordered an inkjet printer. I finally decided to get a Canon i455. I pondered some time between i560 and i455, and finally decided on i455. My need will be only a few pages weekly, so the recommendation on getting an i455 if you print less than 40 pages per month applies to me. Canon i560 would have been much more economical, and probably a bit more silent as well. But I think I made a good choice. And I'll connect the i455 to my AirPort Extreme Base Station, which makes it possible to print wirelessly though WLAN.

Double the battery life on G3 iBook with a new battery? -- Comment()
I noticed an article at LowEndMac about improving the battery life of a G3 iBook by using a G4 battery. I happen to have just such an iBook, a 600 MHz G3 model with two USB ports. Originally the battery lasted about three hours (rated maximum was four), and has now (in 2.5 years) come down to 1.5-2 hours. The original battery was rated at 42 watt-hours, and the new G4 iBook batteries are rated 50 watt-hours. But it seems that they perform even better than 20% longer, giving 5 hours of use time. This would be great!

Encouraged by this I ordered a new battery for my iBook from the Apple store. The only requirement for the new 12.1" iBook battery was to have a model with two USB ports. So, it definetely seems that even an older dog can be taught new tricks.