Network Card Bridging

So you have Windows XP or Vista and you wish to bridge two or more physical or virtual network cards together? Well you can.

The reason for bridging, which just means sharing the network cards together in to one network, can be useful for various reasons. One major use is with virtual machines, if you already made the Microsoft Loopback Adapter or Tap-32 adapter and want the virtual one to access a real network, bridging can be great.

To bridge two or more network cards together in XP, all you need to go is go to your Control Panel, then Network Connections, select two network cards (hold down Ctrl as you click both cards to selet both at the same time), then right click either one of them, and choose Bridge Connections. That's all you need to do.

Now for Vista it's a little bit of more steps, you have to go to Control Panel, Network and Sharing Center, then Manage Network Connections, then do the same steps, but it works the same.

Now being that it's now a bridge, each card no longer has it's own individual IP address, but one now just for the bridge. So if it's two cards or twenty, it's one IP.

You will still be able to browse the LAN/WAN(Internet normally) with no problems on your machine, yet your virtual machines will now have access to the LAN/WAN. This is if you are actually bridging for virtualization purposes.

Two must have programs for managing Windows Startup.

I was watching TechTV (now G4) one day and I believe it was on The Screensavers show, where they would show off a really cool piece of software.

They had shown Startup Control Panel which is a very cool tool. What it does is, it manages what you want and do not want to start up on your Windows machine. It does way more than msconfig. It actually allows you to add things to startup vs msconfig that only allows you to modify things already added. What's really cool however, is how to adds it self to your control panel where you adjust other Windows things. This is of course, why it has Control Panel in it's name. I also like the feature that if you delete an item from startup, it puts it in Deleted, until you permently delete it, kinda like the Windows Recycle Bin. This is nice for accidental deletion.

The other cool program is called CodeStuff Starter which does basically everything that Startup Control Panel does, except it is added to the Start Menu -> (All) Programs. I prefer this program because it seems to give you way more options. This program allows for way more customization then Startup Control Panel although, I wish it went to your Control Panel also.

So you want a Virtual Networking Card to play with?

There is a feature inside Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and possibly others, called Microsoft Loopback Adapter.

To add one of these virtual adapters do the following:

1. Go to your Control Panel then choose Add Hardware.
2. In the Add Hardware Wizard, click Next.
3. Wait for the wizard to fail on finding new hardware attached to your PC but not added
4. Choose, Yes I have already connected the Hardware. (No will exit the Wizard).
   
5. Go to the very bottom of the list and choose "Add a new hardware device" then click Next.
   
6. Choose "Install hardware that I manually select from a list (Advanced)"
7. Choose Network Adapters
8. Under Microsoft, choose "Microsoft Loopback Adapter"
9. Click Next, then Next.
10. Then after it completes, choose Finish

Now if you go to your Control Panel then Networking Connections, you now have a "new" network card that you can use with Virtual PC or VirtualBox. You can also use it for various tests you need to perform, but don't want to screw up your actual Network Card. The list of what you can do with Microsoft Loopback Adapter is just so long, that if I tried to even list all of them, I couldn't and even if it was attempted, the list would be extremly long.

Nokia N810 Internet Tablet

I recently bought a Nokia N810 Internet Tablet that basically is the size of a Smartphone yet it's actually a mini-computer. I can do everything that is vital to me on the go, as long as their is WiFi Internet available somewhere around me, which there always seems to be.

I use my N810 for everything from just browsing the web to look up quick information to remoting in to various PCs using VNC.

The tablet runs Maemo as it's OS, which is based on Linux and it contains a bunch of free and open-source software.

I can even listen to Shoutcast streams, so I can basically even listen to 2pac all day long or the NYPD SOD (Special Operations Division) if I feel so inclined, which I normally am.

I also sent Instant Messages (IMs) out with my N810. It has Pidgin as it's addon, which is really nice. Though, since I run my IMs through Pidgin on only one machine now so that I have universal logs, I do not do this anymore. How to do this is what I will discuss in another post soon.

I love how this device does not rely on a cell phone plan. It relys soley on WiFi, which is free in a lot of places but sometimes not avaible in the current place you are. Though, how can you complain about a free service?

I use my device as a navigator through various places, because it has GPS included and maps included, so I can help navigate myself through various cities. Also, I can even load PDFs on to it, so I can save public transit maps and schedules for easy access. That beats carrying all that paper around.

Only problem I have is, I hate having a device so small for fear it can get easily damaged, but I got 2 years of accidental issurance on it anyway.

Anyway, I love my device and I am glad that I bought it.

Open-Source (and free) software that is a must for any user!

Open-Source software is software that is "free as in speech" and it can be edited to take out bugs, make a spin-off piece of software, or just to modify the software slightly to better fit what it is needed for. Often you can redistribute your changes as long as you somehow offer or link to the original source code. Though check the software license to make sure.

I am taking "free as in beer" software, which means it necessarily doesn't have the source code available but it may, but it is at least completely free for the user to use.

Though the software I am talking about here is open-source and free meaning it's free as in both speech and beer.

My list of great Open-Source and Free software is as follows:

OpenOffice.org - This is a complete Microsoft Office replacement suite. It is based on Sun's StarOffice which in turn is based on OpenOffice. StarOffice is essentially the same except it has a different spell checker, clipart, you have to pay for it, and some other various differences. This suite has a word processor (called Writer and replaces Microsoft Word), slideshow creator (called Impress and replaces Microsoft Powerpoint), spreadsheet program (called Calc and replaces Microsoft Excel), and a database program (called Base and replaces Microsoft Access). This program is so advanced that it even opens and saves Microsoft Office formats. So you can easily and without much effort, share between users who use Microsoft Office, while you use OpenOffice.org. This program runs on Microsoft Windows, Linux, and UNIX.

Mozilla Firefox - The popular web browser that is slowly replacing Internet Explorer. This web browser has proven to be less annoying and more secure then it's rival. It has so many addons that make browsing fun. CoolIris, which allows you to see your news or YouTube videos in 3D is just cool. It even has ad filtering addons to even make your web browsing cleaner and safer. This program runs on Microsoft Windows, Linux, and UNIX.

Mozilla Thunderbird - This program is a really nice replacement for Microsoft Outlook Express or even Microsoft Outlook. It supports more then the two previous mentioned in the sense that it does RSS feeds and make it easily to add GMail email accounts. This program runs on Microsoft Windows, Linux, and UNIX.

Linux - Linux it self, the operating system is free and open-source software itself. Linux is technically the kernel and the distributions are collections of the Linux kernel and other software mixed together in to one nice working system.

UNIX - UNIX it self, the operating system is free and open-source software itself. It comes in various flavors says as FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and NetBSD. This is a truly great OS just like Linux. Since they both basically do very similar things, it's up to you to decide with OS you truly want to use all the time.

If you have any other software that you believe that should be added to this list, please add a comment or get a hold of me, and I will see what I can do about adding it.

VirtualBox from Sun, basically as awesome as Virtual PC but not only free but open-source as well

I have already reviewed Microsoft's Virtual PC product but I have run across another Virtual Machine product that I can't say I like better, but I love just as well. Both products are great in their own way, but it since Virtual PC only runs on Windows and seems to mainly support only Windows guest OSes, it's nice to have Virtual Box that both runs on Linux/UNIX and completely supports them as guest OSes allowing for a nice and easy GUI install that on Virtual PC can be a nightmare and resulting in editing a bunch of config files.

Virtual Box is basically configured the exact same way as Virtual PC except some minor differences. For example, even though it mounts CD/DVD and floppy images, it has a different interface and way of doing it.

I will not go through the install of VirtualBox for Linux/UNIX, not because I feel it's way too simple or that it doesn't deserve it, but it's completely different depending on what Linux/UNIX distribution you install it on. Though, how to install a guest OS will stay the same as the Windows information, it's just how you install the program to begin with on your system.

BTW, Open-Source means that you can download the source-code or original code of the program and edit it to your hearts desire and can even redistribute the modified version, as long as you provide the original source code, even if it's a link. There are some features of VirtualBox that are awesome yet not open-source, so the source code will not have those features. This link explains what I mean.

A quick getting started guide follows:

1. Download the program from the "Downloads" section of VirtualBox.org and get either the x86 (32-bit machine) or AMD64 (only for AMD 64-bit processors) version. Most likely you will need the x86 version, because even if you have an AMD 64-bit processor, your machine probably is running a 32-bit or x86 OS. You will have to go to your System Properties in your Control Panel to find out which one.

2. Run the installer

• 
  
• Click Next
• Read and accept the license agreement
• You can just click Next again although if you want to remove a feature you can in this window.
• Click Install
• When a software installation window comes up warning you about not passing the Windows Logo test, say Continue Anyway.
• Do Continue Anyway again.
• Click Finish

3. Start VirtualBox

1. If you are using Windows XP or Vista (non-classic Start Menu), it is Start -> All Programs -> Sun xVM VirtualBox -> VirtualBox
2. If you are using another version of Windows or the classic Start Menu, it's Start -> Programs -> Sun xVM VirtualBox -> VirtualBox

4. To Register or Not To Register, is the question here. You decide, if you want to, do it, if not, hit cancel.

5. Create a new virtual machine

• Click New, the button right before Settings.
• In the Wizard, click Next.
• In the Name box, give your machine a name, most name it what guest OS they wish to install.
• In the OS type drop-down select the OS that you are installing, yet if it's not on the list, choose Other/Unknown.
• Click Next
• Choose what amount of RAM you wish to use, remember don't go insanse because you will be taking that chuck away from your host OS, and if you run multiple guest OSes, they all get their share. So way too much could cripple your host OS.
• In the Virtual Hard Disk section, click New.
  
• In the Welcome to the Create New Virtual Disk Wizard, choose Next.
• Choose either if you want a Dynamically-expanding image, or one that at first is an empty file and only grows when you add data, stopping at the limit you give it, or choose Fixed-Size image, where the file is always the size you give it, even if you are not using the complete disk on the guest OS.
• Click Next.
• You can either Leave Image name alone, or you can browse for another location to put the Virtual Hard Disk in case you want to put it in another folder or another drive. If you choose to put it in another place besides default, click the Browse Button that's right next to the name, choose a path, type in a name to save the file, then Save.
• Then click Next.
• Then choose Finish.
• Then click Next.
• Then click Finish again.
• Now you will be back in VirtualBox and your machine will be selected along with a whole bunch of options that you can now change on the new virtual system(s).
• If you click Network on the right, you will be able to change what networking scheme you want. You can normally leave the adapter type alone, but the Attached To is the most important. NAT means that it uses Network Address Translation and allows for the guest OS to get on the Internet but does not allow for running servers or anything on the guest OS. Host Interface will install a new Virtual Networking Card on your machine in your Host OSes networking connections, to then have it access the Internet/Local Network, you will have to bridge your real card with the virtual card if you want the guest OSes to see the LAN or Internet besides just the host OS, which will be covered in a later guide. Internal Network will also make a Virtual Networking Card on your machine but it's only Internal meaning between guest OSes and between guest OSes and the host, no external access the LAN or Internet. To create a Virtual Networking Card for the second and third option, under the Host Interfaces click the + or add button, name it what ever you want, then click OK. You will get another failed Windows Logo test, but click Continue Anyway. When the Network is setup just the way you want it click OK.
• To start the install of a new OS, you will need to either mount a CD/DVD image, use a physical CD/DVD, mount a floppy, or use a physical floppy. To use either CD options, click CD/DVD-ROM, to do floppy, click Floppy. Click the checkbox that says "Mount CD/DVD Drive" or "Mount Floppy Drive" Select Host CD/DVD Drive or Host Floppy Drive and select the letter of the drive you want. If you have an image, Select Image File and the Browse button the Virtual Disk Manager wizard will appear. Click Add, browse for the image, click open, then select it in the list then click Select. Then click OK.
• Then after exiting all Wizards, just select the machine you want and then click the Start button (the one in Sun xVM VirtualBox not the Windows Start Menu Button).

6. You machine will boot up to the CD/DVD or Floppy hopefully and you just go and install the OS as if you were installing it at a real physical machine.

RadioReference.com: A totally great site for those interested in radio (police) scanners.

There are some people who are truly interested in radio (police) scanners. By that I mean, they do not just listen to find out who is getting the police called on them, who needs EMS attention, or who's house is on fire, although this is a "benefit" from being in to this hobby.

There are many who just enjoy setting up two-way radios, also known by some as handie-talkies or walkie-talkies. Handie-Talkies is a term that has been coined by Motorola. Others just really find it cool how a radio scanner works, such as myself.

Anyway, if you wish to find radio scanner frequnecies for your area or just talk to others who are in to radio scanning please visit RadioReferece and I assure you, you will totally love the site.

Note: Anything discussing radio waves are also discussed on the site, such as shortwave and Over-The-Air TV signals.