well, that’s it then it’s alive! KNOWTECH.TV is on!

we’ve been working to bring you what we think of as the 2.0 of the show MacBreak Tech. unlike MBT, the new network allows us to expand the scope of the tech that we can talk about. while there are lots of things planned we’re started off with a show about Macs (because we know that platform) and a show about using inexpensive cameras. you’ll hear some of the same people like Kenji, Ben and Craig. And some new names like Tom, Chris and the other John.

there’s forum so the conversation can continue beyond the podcast, the article, or the emailed comments.

the shows are on iTunes. you can search for them there or just use the links on the main page.

okay, so it doesn’t look like there is lots there. but it’s the ZERO. it takes a while to grow. fortunately there is lots in the pipeline that you’ll see in the next weeks. in the mean time I invite everyone to subscribe to the feeds and give us a listen.

KTHX!

the MBT crew.

KTHXBYE!

I came into the office to the sound of something not unlike a very unhappy animal trapped under a Dremel. I knew right away that was the sound of a drive gone bad. usually you get days warning but this one was normal on last Wednesday and not normal today. the Disk Utility tool showed me which drive was bad. which was Disk 1. so I powered down, opened the case, unplugged Disk 1, and powered back on to see if the screaming stopped. it did. ahh, silence.

 

fortunately I have a spare drive(s) for this server. they weren’t that much money to begin with so it made sense to buy more at the time. there’s no telling when the next drive will fail. and for that time when only one drive is doing the work it’s not a good time to be waiting for more drives to arrive. the better to have a way to keep RAID1 alive is to have drives waiting in the wings.

the new drive had to get formatted. and once that was done I dragged it to the RAID window to add it to the list. it warned “adding this drive will destroy it’s contents.” because I named it something different I clicked yes and it started it’s rebuild. which, according to a progress bar, should be complete in about 5 hours.

total time to complete all the steps for that swap was about 15 minutes.

lessons:
drives fail. have spares.
RAID1 is an okay backup. but you should have an archive strategy for the long term.
listen for the signs of pending failure.
run one of the two apps that will notify you of a failed drive on OS X.
work or play think about how

please stand by. we’re undoing some weird wiring.

We’re reminded again of just how amazing the Airport Express is after setting one up last night. from the setup to using it could not be simpler. naming the network was a longer discussion then actually configuring it including turning on internet, music and printing features.

after it was working with the internet we plugged the printer into the USB port on the Express. and about a minute later it was printing from two Macs after adding the printer from the Bonjour list. printing to it appeared no different in performance then when it was directly connected. allowing a Windows machine needed Bonjour for Windows to work. printing commenced after installing it. here’s the directions for adding a printer to XP for an Airport Express.

last we plugged a long cable running to the main stereo into the 3.5mm jack. the demo for that was this:

Open iTunes on your computer.
Okay.
Down on the lower right side there’s a thing that says “computer” click on that.
It’s says “Lily” and “Computer”
Right. That’s your network. Select “Lily” and then play something.
[music plays from main stereo]
DUDE! that’s my music!
ROCK!
ROCK indeed…

one thing that I hadn’t noticed before is a feature called “Global Bonjour” which allows to anyone print to your printer anywhere on the internet if they know the address. must learn more about this potentially way awesome feature.

airport express

NOTE: an alternate version of the show has been created that fixes some of the audio problem towards the end of the show. thanks camuel! click to download or listen.

Back to My Mac either just magically works or it doesn’t at all. There are several reasons why it doesn’t just work:

Older Router
Configured incorrectly
Double Router 
Weird wired or plugged into the wrong connection.
ISP or BOFH blocking ports.

Back to My Mac users guide.

The secret to getting it to work is to use an Apple router like a Airport Extreme or a Airport Express. However, other routers work just fine. here is a list of compatible routers listed by Apple. just because your router is not on the list doesn’t mean that it won’t work.

A case for not using Back to my Mac and more thoughts on that. and here’s redux.

Apple article on Back to My Mac security. A list of all the ports in use or might be in use on a Mac.

Back to my Mac ports include UDP port 4500 & 5900 and TCP port 443. [one missing port goes here]

general steps:
some gateways are dumb as rocks and just pass on all requests. others are full on firewalls that may or may not allow you to configure them. sometimes there will be nothing you can do and your only options is to upgrade to a new gateway.

if you have a single router connected to your gateway or your gateway is also the router:
Turn on UPnP.

if that doesn’t work
some internet gateways are actually routers. some of them don’t allow you to poke holes in them. they might also be very old and don’t support UPnP. in that case you may need a newer router. but before you do that: upgrade the firmware on your router and or upgrade the firmware on your wireless router.

manually configuring your router:
the documentation for your router will give you the steps you need to enable specific ports. you can always find it online.

other problems
double routers
cable plugged into WAN side on the second router.
one router that doesn’t have UPnP turned on
firewall turned-on without specifying the BtmM ports.
some internet service providers block ports automatically to prevent “server like things” from being run. check your TOS, EULA or tech notes. calling or emailing support might be a good idea as well.

when all is lost
bribe your BOFH with his favorite beverage.

[more notes go here]

programmersatwork.wordpress.com/

note from Ben: “it looks like a bad cut and paste job.”