Recommended: OpenDNS
I have been using OpenDNS for maybe a year now and I thought others might like to know about it as well. It is a free DNS service that protects you and your children online while speeding up your internet browsing at the same time. It replaces your ISP’s DNS (think of a massive phone book for the internet) with a larger, more reliable one from OpenDNS providing a faster browsing experience. Phishing scam sites are automatically blocked and you can also set it up to filter out adult content or other categories you need blocked. I like this approach since it keeps objectionable material off my network without degrading performance like other programs do. It is really easy to set up as well. I chose to enable OpenDNS on my router so every computer in my home is automatically using the service. If you have children in the house or want just a little more surfing umph!, I think this a no-brainer.
Spitzer’s Debacle is Nobody’s Gain
It saddens me that so many people are taking so much joy from the news about N.Y. Gov. Eliot Spitzer. We are so quick to tear people down and then gleefully watch the resulting train wreck. What the Governor did is wrong, he should resign and that should be the end of it. It doesn’t matter if he was a Democrat or a Republican. I don’t care if his wife chose to stand next to him at a press conference. I’m not interested in the details of his marriage. I don’t want to know who can capitalize on his downfall. Nobody gains. His family are the ones harmed by this, not some political candidate. I’m not saying this isn’t important news and or that it shouldn’t have an impact on us, but our reactions to the news and what we do with it have a great influence on society. I’m afraid many of us have adopted the motto “I’m not happy until your not happy.”
Faster Firefox
If Firefox is your browser of choice (and if it isn’t please see me after class) you may not be getting the speed you need. A short video clip over at Tekzilla shows you how to configure Firefox for faster browsing. Follow the instructions in the video or see my summary below and you’ll see quite an improvement. Before making the change I was only able to view 10 cute kittens in 1 minute but now I am up to 25 cpm [cats-per-minute]!
Faster Firefox Instructions
- In your address bar enter about:config
- In the filter field enter the word pipe
- Double click network.http.pipelining to set it to true
- Double click network.http.proxy.pipelining to set it to true
- Double click network.http.pipelining.maxrequests and enter a value of 30 or greater
- Restart Firefox
Riley’s Walking!
Riley took his first steps the other day. He is so proud of himself. He has been able to do it for quite some time, taking one or two steps and then deciding he would stick to crawling for a little while longer. He would also walk for minutes at a time all over the house using the walls and furniture for support. When he finally decided to try a few more steps he was so excited and started doing it again and again just to please his audience. The video shows him walking about a day or so after his initial steps. He is currently 11 months old and a joy to watch.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM6YmlKufZU