Allo.com GSM Card
23rd Apr 2013, 21:37:42
Since I first started to experiment with chan_mobile, I've got used to the convenience of a GSM breakout for my Asterisk PBX. As you might reasonably expect, chan_mobile isn't 100% reliable, so a 'proper' GSM card was a tempting prospect.
A Diary of a Be Broadband Refugee
15th Mar 2013, 18:57:58
I was sad when I heard Be had been sold to Sky. Be were the first reputable company to offer ADSL2+ in my area and the only ones to offer annex M, giving me a blistering 5Mb/s download and 1Mb/s upload speeds. When there was a technical problem, there was a 24/7 freephone number to call which would be answered by a man who didn't care if you were using Linux behind a FreeBSD router - not once was I ever asked to restart Windows or to please be doing the needful.
BT Infinity FTTC (and my own FreeBSD router)
13th Jan 2013, 17:22:17
Since it was launched three years ago in 2010, BT Infinity with its 80Mb download and 20Mb upload has been a tempting prospect, but the idea of dealing with BT retail horrifies me. However, having just acquired a building with no phone line, my hand was forced. It seems BT is the only telecom operator who will install a PSTN line for free for new subscribers. This saving of £130.00 pushed me over the edge. How bad could it be?
A Raspberry Pi and High Power USB Devices
18th Oct 2012, 10:16:49
After some faltering attempts to use my Raspberry Pi model B as a media centre, I repurposed it as a take-anywhere 3G router and general wireless swiss army knife. To do so, I needed to be able to use high power USB devices which the Raspberry Pi is not designed for. I (re)learned a bit about electronics in the process.
iRobot Roomba 770 Robotic Vacuum Cleaner - is it Any Good?
23rd Jun 2012, 10:06:32
Yes, I think it is.
Most people vacuum the house about once a week. It's a job that's easy to ignore when you're busy: once a week becomes every other week, then becomes once a month. In our house, it had become a herculean task that was done once in a blue moon. So I thought, I have an automatic dishwasher to clean my dishes, an automatic washing machine to clean my clothes, why not a robotic vacuum cleaner for my carpets?
IPv6 for Xen Hosts on a Hetzner Leased Server With a Routed IPv4 Allocation
21st Jun 2012, 21:43:01
My Hetzner leased server includes an IPv6 /64 allocation. However, since a /64 can't be further subnetted and Hetzner expect IPv6 hosts to be in the same layer 2 segment as their switches. This is incompatible with the routed IPv4 setup I use on the dom0. The answer is proxy_ndp.
Use an old Mobile Phone as a GSM Gateway in Asterisk
22nd Apr 2012, 19:16:29
Like most people I carry a mobile phone, but mine is for emergencies only. Just a handful of people know the the number and that's how I like to keep it. Because I use Asterisk, I'm always reachable through my land line number which I route around between various destinations or voicemail depending on what suits me. I'm spoilt by this, so having my mobile phone ring unexpectedly at an inconvenient time is a bit intrusive.
But, increasingly, almost everyone I interact with wants my mobile number - employers, customers, banks, garages, insurance companies - if it doesn't start '07', they're not happy.