However, there was one issue that was bugging me – I have several remote desktop sessions for various servers set and saved to open in a 1024×768 window, in Windows XP those RDP sessions worked great.

Windows 7 seems to have a bug where, no matter what the windows size it set to the window opens slightly to small, causing you to have to stretch the window to get it to the proper size.

I consulted Google for a solution and found this forum thread where Kristin L. Griffin posted a solution [3rd post from the top].

The solution is simple but you will have to edit each of your saved RDP sessions individually:

1. Open the saved RDP session in notepad (it’s really just a text file).
2. Locate the following three lines:
   1. desktopwidth:i:
   2. desktopheight:i:
   3. winposstr:s:
3. desktopwidth:i: and desktopheight:i: are the size of the RDP window.
4. For example, if the RDP window was set to open at 1024×768 these two lines would look like this:
   1. desktopwidth:i:1024
   2. desktopheight:i:768
5. The winposstr:s: line controls the RDP window positioning and size and is the line that needs to be edited to fix the sizing issue.
6. Edit the winposstr:s: line like this:
   1. First value should be 0
   2. Second value should be 1
   3. Third and fourth value should be 50
   4. The fifth value comes from taking the desktopwidth:i: size and adding 90 to it. In the case of a 1024×768 RDP window it works out to be 1114.
   5. The sixth value comes from taking the desktopheight:i: size and adding 90 to it as well. In the case of a 1024×768 RDP window it works out to be 858.
7. After editing winposstr:s: it should look like this:
   1. winposstr:s:0,1,50,50,1114,858
8. If you have your RDP sessions opening in a different windows size then the last two values of winposstr:s: will be different than the ones shown.
9. Save the file and your RDP window should open sized properly.

The economy being what it is – a friend asked me how much it costs to have his office computers running 24/7. So, I used my current measurement interface and multimeter to measure how much current one of the systems drew in various states of use. Knowing the current draw I could figure out how much wattage the system was using in those various states of use.

volts x amps = watts

I found the Oregon commercial electric rate of ¢7.63 per kilowatthour from here and used the following formula to figure out the cost to run one system 24/7:

watts x 24 hours x 30.5 days/month = watt hours (Wh)

Wh / 1000 = kilowatthour (kWh)

kWh x ¢7.63 = cost per month to run computer 24/7 for month

What’s most interesting is that when the system and the monitor were powered off they were still drawing 9.6 watts! That’s ¢54 a month just for the privilege of having the device plugged in!

Wikipedia – Vampire Power

Book – “Love You Forever” by Robert Munsch

Music – “Breathless” by Daniel Rudd of Stock20

This was an easy and cheap way to add a weighted base to my Panavise 201 Jr.

You can buy weighted bases that are specifically made for the Panavise 201 Jr; but I had the materials lying around and a lot of times making stuff is funner than buying it.

I used a 2.5lb plate weight (or dumbbell weight) for the weighted base. The only modification needed was the drilling of three holes for mounting the Panavise:

Introducing the Panavise to its new base:

Test fit – the screws will be trimmed later:

Screws trimmed and rubber feet added for grip and screw clearance:

All done; time for eggnog:

Related – Panavise Weighted Base on MAKE

I wanted a way to easily and safely (or semi-safely) use my multimeter’s current measuring function (ammeter) on 120Vac devices.

To measure current with an ammeter you need to break the circuit and insert the ammeter so that the electricity flows through the ammeter on its way to the device being powered.

To do this easily and safely with devices powered via mains voltage (120Vac) I made this “interface.” One side of the circuit goes directly to the outlet, and the other is broken and goes to a terminal strip. An ammeter is connected to the terminal strip, completing the circuit and allowing the ammeter to measure the current being drawn from the device plugged into the outlet.

This was easy, took only about an hour to make, and all the parts can be picked up from any decent hardware store:

I started with a standard plastic surface mount switch/outlet box:

I used small angle brackets to attach the terminal strip to the box:

Drilled holes in the box to mount the terminal strip:

Cut some machine screws down to size:

The terminal strip attached to the box:

Drilled a hole for the wires to pass through to the terminal strip:

Wired up the outlet – this is wired the same way you’d normally wire an outlet except that one side (positive in this case) of the circuit is being broken by the terminal strip:

All together:

Only the last two terminals are used, the rest are just extra:

Measuring the current draw of a desk lamp (CLF bulb). Notice that I used longer screws on the terminal strip to allow alligator clips to be clipped on:

Now I can measure the current draw of a 120Vac device (or devices) easily and relatively safely using my multimeter. I say “relatively safely” because the terminals are exposed so caution should be taken when in use. Also, it should only be used for quick measurements, noting long term.

By measuring the current draw (amps) of a device you can easily figure out how many watts it’s pulling by multiplying the source voltage by the amps.

volts x amps = watts

My CFL bulb is drawing 0.12 amps, times that by 120 and we get 14.4 watts.

In his Wired article “Steal This Wi-Fi” Bruce Schneier gives some good reasons to leave your wireless network open, being neighborly for starters. While being neighborly is nice, advising people to open their wireless network without providing some advice on how to do it securely is irresponsible and one would have expected more from a renowned security expert…

My blanket advice – close your wireless network. If you don’t know how, find someone who can help you.

On the other hand – if you know how to run an open wireless network securely then do it! It may be a geek thing, but I find it cool (and neighborly) to be able to run an open wireless network and provide passersby with free internet access.

Here is how I do it:

I have a system running SmoothWall Express that I use as a firewall/router, the system has 3 network cards (interfaces) –

RED: Connects to my cable modem (internet)

GREEN: Connects to my private (read: secure) LAN

PURPLE: Connects to the public network

Let’s bust out the Visio:

It’s pretty simple, the SmoothWall won’t let any traffic pass from the Purple (public) network to the Green (private) network. This effectively creates two LANs, one public and one private. Clients on the Purple network cannot see clients on the Green network, the SmoothWall won’t allow it. With this setup I can place an access point on the Purple network and leave it open (no encryption) for the public to use without worry of exposing my systems to that public.

Consequently, you can still access the SmoothWall web interface (used to configure/administer SmoothWall) from the Purple network, while using a strong password would likely be sufficient to secure the web interface from rogue access I’d prefer to completely deny access to any clients on the Purple network.

To do this you edit /etc/rc.d/rc.firewall.up and add the following above the line # IPSEC:

if [ "$PURPLE_DEV" != "" ]; then
/sbin/iptables -I INPUT -p tcp -i $PURPLE_DEV -s 0/0 --dport 441 -j DROP
/sbin/iptables -I INPUT -p tcp -i $PURPLE_DEV -s 0/0 --dport 81 -j DROP
fi

If any attempts are made to access the web interface form the Purple network they will be dropped and the user will get a timeout error as if there was nothing to connect to in the first place.

The gist of it – I have two wireless APs – one on the Green network, secured using WPA that I use for private wireless internet and LAN access. The other on the Purple network, left open for public use. The SmoothWall provides DHCP on both the Purple and Green networks so clients are automatically configured.

I keep an eye on traffic because after all I pay for the connection and even though I leave a wireless connection open; like a guest overstaying their welcome if someone starts sucking my bandwidth by downloading torrents – they are going to get cut off. I haven’t had any issues thus far but if I notice a slowdown in my connection speed, it’s the first thing I check.

This is only one method, there are several ways to accomplish the same effect but SmoothWall Express is free (except the computer to run it on, which does not have to be anything special) and it’s relatively simple to setup. A more novice friendly solution (Mr. Schneier also mentioned) might be the FON AP which uses 2 wireless signals, one secured and one open. But FON requires people to register before using the connection which is a bit… annoying. It would be nice to see more manufactures add dual network capability their wireless APs, to make it easier for people to share their internet connection securely should they want to.

Security flows the other direction too – when using any public Wi-Fi play it safe make sure that any sites you enter passwords on are using a secure (SSL) connection. If it does not say https in the address bar and your browser does not show its respective “lock” icon then don’t enter personal information on it. It’s best to keep it to general browsing when using public wireless because since they are open, it makes it easy to sniff any traffic that flows across them. The person sitting across from you in Starbucks could be reading the same e-mail you are. The person that owns the open signal could also be watching you – be safe.

If your in Vancouver, WA and come across a wireless SSID of “steal this wi-fi” feel free to use the connection, but mind your manners.

Don’t live in Vancouver anymore, but if you are in Oregon and see a wireless SSID mothership.public, that’s me. Feel free to use the connection, but mind your manners.

My SSID “steal this wi-fi” was in use long before Bruce Schneier’s article was published, thankyouverymuch.