Yet Another Youtube Video Downloader

It's been a while since my last post, but here's one tool I would like to remember its usefulness to download Youtube videos. It even allows multiple downloads at the same time among the numerous features it possesses.

I mentioned about web browser extensions or plugins, but this time, this tool did not fail to do its intended job.

The screen capture above shows a sample session of Freemake Video Downloader in action. You can download the installer from its website.

That's it for now ;)

IPv6 Readiness

June 8th, 2011 is World IPv6 Day. This is the day when major websites such as Facebook, Google, Yahoo and many others switch to IPv6 from the usual IPv4 to offer their content to internet users for a 24-hour "test flight".

You may test your ipv6 readiness by browsing to this site: http://test-ipv6.com/.

Accessing IPv6 websites does not come without some tinkering from the users' end. There are references as to how this is done and I have chosen to use tunnelbroker.net (HE.NET) with the help of some video here. 

As a result, my laptop is ready for the World IPv6 Day and I can browse IPv6 websites although I am behind IPv4 routers doing NAT to SmartBro, our ISP.

It is also interesting to find out that NAT seems to have been bypassed and I can access my laptop from the internet using the assigned IPv6 address--- something impossible with IPv4 with SmartBro's assignment of private IP addresses (such as 192.168.x.x).

I can access Google's IPv6 server from my laptop:

I can ping6 my laptop from the internet:

I can browse my laptop's IIS7 web server from the internet:

Of course, I don't want to be vulnerable from out there and I have to rely more on the firewall. Windows 7 has the Firewall Turned On by default and could be secure enough for most users.

Happy and safe surfing!

P.S. Unless your ISP and your router is IPv6 capable and offers DHCPv6 ip addresses to your PCs, you'll have to use IPv6 tunnels for this service.

InSSIDer Wi-Fi Network Scanner

I used to have NetStumbler for Wi-Fi network scanning but it doesn't run on Windows 7 OS. Its development seems to have stalled. The newer InSSIDer network scanner runs natively on this new OS. It's interface shows the detected Access Points' signal strength graph in two panes. Aside from 2.4 GHz , it is also able to scan the 5 GHz spectrum.

Overall, the software is very good and it's FREE. It is downloadable from http://www.metageek.net/.

Happy scanning!

Efficient Replacement to Windows Copy or XCopy

Frustrated with Microsoft Windows’ Copy or XCopy command-line tools? Even with Windows Explorer, you seldom succeed in copying multiple files--- it just stops when an error is encountered leaving you clueless as to why and where it stopped. Your instinct would then be retry and fail again.

You might think of using XCopy from the command line. Of course, it’s better than the Copy command giving you a bit of control of multiple file copies but aside from the difficult-to-use syntax, you also get misleading error messages that are hard to troubleshoot. It still eats up your valuable amount of time trying to get it right.

But thanks to Microsoft RichCopy, copying multiple files and directories in the thousands is now a breeze. This is a Windows GUI tool to let you copy multiple files and directories with so many options available in XCopy. It is fast, simple to use and most of all, it’s free!

Please note that this utility is provided as-is, and it's not supported by Microsoft (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2009.04.utilityspotlight.aspx?pr=blog)

Cool Free Software for Offline E-Mail

Another great application that I used and still using is Zimbra Desktop, the FREE desktop software for full email, contact, calendar, document management and offline access features.

I have used a few email clients in the past like Sea Monkey, ThunderBird, MS Outlook, the GMail plugin to receive and store my emails locally on my PC to make them available even without internet, but Zimbra Desktop has the features of consolidating my different email accounts--- GMail and Yahoo.

Installation is straight-forward. After installation, add your email accounts and sync. The syncing process could take a few minutes, so be patient.

My Favorite Blog Editors

I have narrowed down my preferences to using these two blog editors.

First is with Microsoft’s Windows Live Writer where you can have editing done with your blog site’s template. It has preview and html source editing.

Second is Zoundry Raven. This has also the features that I need but most importantly, it is free!

Happy blogging!

Malusay WiFi: Node 3 is up!

The Malusay community wireless network's Node 3 located in the Bato area is now up and running.

The last node in the network is using a NanoStation 2 with an external home-made antenna in WDS/AP mode. With this milestone, we are nearing the 100% completion of the project with only a few finishing touches to make.

Thanks to all those who volunteered their time. Happy surfing!

 The 70-foot tower.

Deploying the NanoStation

Terminating the PoE.

Malusay WiFi: Node 2 is up!

Node 2 located in the vicinity of the barangay hall is now up. We managed to upgrade the existing tower of Tio Lando the whole day today and deployed the PicoStation 2 repeater. With me working on the tower were Rimbol, Jerry, Rodel, Tio Lando and Toto, our climber.

Node 2 is a WDS AP Bridged with Node 1. Signal level is at -66 dBm which is good.

Installing the PicoStation on the 70-foot mast

Tio Lando overseeing the whole activity

Securing the cable onto the pole

Wrapping up and connecting the PoE to the power source.

Malusay's Got Internet!

At last, the long-awaited internet access has come to our barangay.

Sunday, April 11, 2010, despite the long brownout, we have managed to complete the link to the internet. Thanks to Kenneth for lending us his generator set.

The backhaul link between BH1 at the Cadre Tower and BH2 at Malusay Tower is excellent at -45 dBm with 100% CCQ.

Now, the tasks will involve finalizing everything from securing the tower perimeter, deployment of tower lights and UPS batteries and more to efficiently manage the network and users.

Here are the pictures for yesterday's activity at the Cadre Tower. Enjoy!

A day with our ISP.

The view to the "Taw-Taw".

 

The view to the North.

Installing the PowerStation to the 80-foot tower.

Almost dark, but we finally did it!

Malusay WiFi: "Araw ng Kagitingan" Update

Tomorrow, Araw ng Kagitingan will be a holiday. Popoy scheduled tapping the power source to the tower ready for Saturday's installation by our ISP. Of course, I will be there. Benjie is going home too.

By the way, our gratitude to our uncle, Caesar for providing us the power from his cottage in the area in addition to letting us construct the tower on his property at no charge. Salamat Tio!

More updates and pix next time. Happy holiday and weekend ahead!

Tower At NORSU Area Constructed

I purposely went home last Saturday to check on a few things related to the Malusay Wireless Network. So far so good, the 70-foot BH1 tower at the NORSU area is now up. Popoy called me as soon as I arrived to see the site. Using a PocketPC, I was able to confirm that we have the signal from BH2. 

There are a few things needed for this tower such as the power source, but Popoy will also take care of it. We also have to improve the grounding system for protection against lightning and other static discharges, install a protected box for the UPS and other devices. Jerry will take charge of the tower lighting out of 4.5-volt LEDs he planned to assemble.

At BH2, the pfSense box is already up and running and serving DHCP IP addresses to those who will try to connect through Node1. I left it running until I will be back during the Holy Week--- that will be next week.

Benjie scheduled to file application for internet connection in Dumaguete yesterday. Hopefully, the power supply and the grounding system will be ready when the ISP comes for installation.

We are progressing with this project and the construction of BH1 tower, the confirmation of the strength of the PowerStation AP being detected at BH1 tower, and the application for internet connection from the ISP are considered another milestones that we have done.

I will post images as soon as I have it from Popoy when he documented the BH1 construction.

Keep posted!

Malusay WiFi Valentines Update

Here are a few updates about our long-awaited barangay wifi network. I took a 2-day leave from work last Monday and Tuesday. I (with Eva and the kids) managed to take the 9 am boat from Tangil to Guihulngan on Saturday--- a pleasant and enjoyable ride with excitement to see the famous dolphins. Unfortunately, not one showed up.

Immediately upon arrival at around 11 am, I checked the tower mast at the house that Popoy and team upgraded. The last 10-foot segment is ready to be fitted with the access points which will be raised and installed last.

In the afternoon, with the help of Jerry, Rodel and JR, we constructed the omni antenna that we planned to replace on the Nanostations. The materials were procured from Australia and HongKong (pigtails and N-Panel connectors) via Benjie's paypal account. To make it short, we attached the access points (BH-2 and Node 1), with Node 1 having the new home-made omni antenna on the last segment and performed tests.

With the availability of the "climber", we were able to raise the last segment up--- it was a day under the sun that caused me the burns and the first time for our climber to be up performing such a feat (of course with the industry-grade climbing gear courtesy of Benjie).

Late in the afternoon, we got the signal from the access point above (Node-1) on our test wifi-equipped PocketPC and Cellphones. The signal is weak due to the elevation, but the primary concern is to make this node link with Nodes 2, 3 & 4 (please see network diagram below) while giving the link to users nearby at the same time.

I considered the deployment of the BH-2 and Node-1 a milestone but we also had the opportunity to explain to other people and visitors about our project. All of them praised for the initiative and the help from those outside of the country. They even hoped they can do that in their places with our help some day.

Next, Popoy and I together with Rodel made an ocular inspection at Caesar M's property at the NORSU area. Popoy had prior verbal approval to use his property for the BH-1 tower. The plan is to start the construction on Saturday, Feb 20, 2010 (yesterday). Actually, Popoy sent me sms message that the construction is in progress as scheduled.

The following pictures explain more:

The Planned Network in general

The last segment with the BH-2, Node-1 (PowerStation and Nanostation using external home-made omni antenna)

Rodel staring up the climber

The climber with the climbing gear

The upgraded mast w/ BH-2 and Node-1 (View to the Northeast)

The upgraded mast w/ BH-2 and Node-1 (View to the East)

We also received additional pledge of donation from Benjie for the Squid Caching Server. Daghang salamat!

Of course, I also met the primary objectives and the reasons why I took the leave, but let me keep it to myself.

More updates as we continue this non-profit project for our kababayans!

Malusay WiFi New Year Updates

We missed the December 2009 target for the Malusay Community WiFi to be up and running but we are still actively working on it.

As previously planned, I was supposed to upgrade the tower at the house for our BH-2 and Node-1 radios but the turn-buckles and guy wires were not yet available. Instead, I just picked up a junk Pentium III 650 MHZ and a couple of 10/100 Realtek lan cards for pfSense to run on it, however, Jerry offered his already-working hardware (and a few bottles of beer) and helped me successfully setup pfSense 1.2.3 on it. By the way, thanks to Lemuel for providing the CD installer for pfSense.

The Hardware

pfSense Installation

With the new pfSense box, we were able to configure and test the equipment from Backhaul-1, Backhaul-2, Node-1 and Node-2.

Another reason for the delay is the need to find additional options for the location of Backhaul-1 as construction of the tower would be some kind of a permanent structure to build. Popoy and I visited the NORSU area last Saturday (Jan. 2, 2010) and found 3 more possible locations. From all these 4 locations, we will select the best spot in terms of signal strength, safety and budget considerations.

Also, I was not able to get the UTP cables but fortunately, Popoy released the amount and we can now purchase the roll.

Guys, we need your support. Please bear with us as we are just doing this on our own free time.

Happy New Year sa tanan!

P.S. Thanks to Glencel and Juan also for the RJ-45 connectors!!!

Malusay WiFi Christmas Updates

Merry Christmas everyone!

I found the time to upgrade the AirOS firmware of the PowerStations to the latest and configure them to serve as the backhaul equipment to transmit/receive at 24 mbps at 26 dbm (approximately 400 mWatts).I was able to simulate the link between BH1 which will be deployed in the NORSU area at a 100-foot elevation and BH2 which will be deployed at the antenna mast we have at the house and bridged to the pfSense WAN port.

BH1

BH2

PowerStation PoE

PowerStation LED

Also, surveying the antenna mast results in the following requirements: old guy wires to be replaced, additional 40-foot G.I. pipes at 4 segments requires guy wires and turn-buckles aside from the labor. I plan to do it myself if I have the time and the guts--- maybe after the new year and before we get back to work again.

OldAntenna Mast (front view)

OldAntenna Mast (side view)

Aside from the antenna upgrade, the pfSense box will also be sourced from old Pentium III, 10/100 mbps LAN cards and a hard drive that are lying around.

Advance happy new year!

Barangay Community Wireless Network 2

With the first 4 Ubiquity wireless routers, I have tested using the Openwrt-Robin firmware for the Open-Mesh Network. The network layout is here. Sadly, there has been a lot of instability problems. One problem is the loss of connectivity to the internet from now and then even without being disconnected from the node itself.

I have tried using the Openwrt without the ROBIN or OLSR and there seems to be no problem with connectivity. I tested the r2671 ROBIN firmware and some of the lower versions but still has the same problem. I am not sure if it is Nano2 or Pico2 related, but I don't have time to delve deeper.

The reason why I was thinking of using Openwrt is for the mesh networking with an attractive Management Dashboard and the CoovaChilli for captive portal stuff for free. DD-WRT requires an additional overhead expense for the activation key for these Ubuiquity devices for which we do not have the budget. Aside from the instabilities that I have encountered, the system still would require another PC for the RADIUS and MySQL servers as I cannot afford to load all these into the 32 MB Pico2 as the gateway node.

Finally, I have decided to use the original devices' firmwares--- the AirOS. The plan is to configure a backhaul and a WDS system for the nodes onto which the clients can connect to. In between the backhaul and the WDS nodes, a pfSense box is used for many things like the Captive Portal with RADIUS Authentication, routing, bridging, DHCP and monitoring. I have used pfSense extensively in the past and it looks like it is now more stable.

I would probably be using this method until such time when more nodes are needed and probably the ROBIN firmware with Open-Mesh will be very stable by then.

With the current pace, I think the December 2009 target for deployment is still within the window frame.

Next on my agenda are: Captive Portal with RADIUS Auth and Re-Auth, and Node2 and Node3 setup and testing.

Barangay Community Wireless Network

Too busy with real-life activities... work, work, and lots of work!

Now, I managed to schedule my time for some more productive work. This time, I'll be involved in yet another community collaboration for the next few months. I will be doing this during my free time (outside of working hours) in the service of my long-deprived residential village--- the barangay Malusay.

It's been in the planning stages for quite a while already and now we have the equipment.

Stay tuned for the barangay Malusay Mesh Network (MMN)... well actually, I just made this name up for now as we still have to let the community decide. The network is tentatively scheduled to be up in December 2009 for the first 15 members to connect from 3 or 4 Open-Mesh nodes.

Freebsd 6.2 Ports Install Needs XORG_UPGRADE Environment Variable

On a FreeBSD 6.2 machine, installing a port having an xorg dependency returned with this error:

...
===> Verifying install for /usr/local/libdata/xorg/libraries in /usr/ports/x11/xorg-libraries
Read /usr/ports/UPDATING for the procedure to upgrade or install xorg 7.2.
*** Error code 1
...

At least 2 workarounds are available.
1.) Setting an environment variable XOR_UPGRADE will bypass the xorg upgrade message:

% make deinstall clean
% set XORG_UPGRADE=yes
% make install clean

2.) Pass WITHOUT_X11 argument to make:
% make -DWITHOUT_X11 install clean

Works for me! ;)

On FreeBSD CVS Checkout

This is just to point out that FreeBSD now ships with a CVS checkout tool equivalent to the usual cvsup. It is called "csup" and there is no need to run "pkg_add -r cvsup-without-gui".

The csup project is here.

The Guihulngan Wireless Network

Yes, this is my beloved hometown. Here, we've got at least 3 internet service providers one can subscribe to for home or business use. Still, to most people, a thousand or more pesos a month for internet is still expensive and extravagant.

While others subscribe to the slower dialup internet service from the privacy of their homes, others enjoy the faster services offered by internet cafes. Unfortunately, as compared to the dialup service which is available 24 hours a day, internet cafes are open until midnight only.

Today, as technology becomes more affordable and accessible to the grass roots, we are able to build a wireless network of access points that we call "nodes", making it possible to access the internet from laptops and desktops, giving birth to the first Guihulngan Wireless Network.

This sleepy old hometown of mine already has a service similar to those found in cities and airports.

So, when you visit Guihulngan with your wifi-ready laptop, just try to spend a while at a restaurant or in a hotspot-designated area, turn it on, connect or associate your wireless adapter to the nearest node and surf the net.

Creating A PDF File From Any Application on Windows XP

A PDF file is viewable from any platform. You just have to have a PDF reader and Abobe's Acrobat Reader is freely downloadable.

There are applications, like OpenOffice.Org that provide a facility to export documents to PDF format, but some do not make it available for free. Pagemaker 7 does have a facility to export the document to PDF, but not without purchasing Distiller.

It's not really a big problem and the solution is to let the application print the document to a PDF Printer. What's nice is that we have this PDF printer available for personal or commercial use and no fee is required!

Perform these in order:

1. Download and install the latest GPL Ghostscript (working old version GPL Ghostscript 8.5)
   
2. Download and install Bullzip PDF Printer Driver

When done, you will have a new printer called BullZip PDF Printer and you can print from any application into this printer--- the output of which is a PDF File.

Cheers!