The Blog Of Rhian D. Block | Life In My Words

My Thoughts and Life for the World! | Rhian Douglas Block | http://www.rhianblock.com
Email: rhianATvazoom.com -- Server date is ~ January 28, 2012

If you happen to have one of the new Android phones such as the HTC Amaze or even the Samsung Galaxy SII which happens to be my new phone .. you may be surprised to find that even though you pay for a “unlimited data” package of either 2GB or even 5GB with massive throttling of under 56K modem speeds thereafter you won’t be allowed to make your phone a wireless hotspot without adding a $15 package on top of your existing plan.  But before you upgraded from your other Android phone you were ok.  Don’t cry just yet or get angry even though you feel being billed twice for something you already pay for seems a bit unfair….there are plenty others who feel the same frustration.

So how do they know that you are attempting to use a computer as opposed to your phone to conduct Internet functions you might ask?

One way is due in part to a custom application running within the Android OS called TetheringManager which monitors the status of the this hotspot functionality on the phone itself.  A detailed look into the application package content show references to AT&T and Tmobile’s online splash notification pages.

…TetheringManagerService$ShowNotificationDialogATT  ….

…TetheringManagerServic$eShowNotificationDialogTMOBILE …

This  results in an unsubscribed user being redirected to the splash screen shown below (Tmobile example).

It’s quite simple to get around this obstacle and it involves first rooting your phone or gaining higher priviledges which voids your warranty however opens up a world of possibilities for backing up your applications and doing lots of other tweaking nerdiness.

The process of getting root access is very easy and a simple search for your phone type and the word root access will typically yield good directions.
Once root access is obtained download a quick program like System Tuner from the Google Marketplace.  (System Tuner requires you to turn on USB Debugging which is found under SETTINGS > APPLICATIONS > DEVELOPMENT)

Once you open System Tuner click System Apps located at the top and scroll down until you find TETHERINGMANAGER.  Click it and then select Freeze located at the bottom.  You should now be in business and able to browse the web without being asked to add on a package. This may violate the terms of your agreement with T-Mobile so user beware.  Don’t abuse the use of it and pay your bills on time!

An earthquake which just occurred outside of Richmond, VA is being told to be a magnitude 5.9 5.8.  I was sitting in a lunch room with a couple of coworkers here in King of Prussia, PA when all of a sudden the floor started shaking.  My initial thought was that a large truck had driven on by.

Cell phone service is currently down at least with my carrier T-Mobile.  A few minutes ago I completely received no bars and my phone now states that it is January 5, 1980 at 7:24 PM.  See picture below!

No Service and Wrong Time After Earthquake 8-23-2011

I had a co-worker take a picture of my phone.  That’s kind of funny.  If aliens are invading the planet your cell phone will do no good. Run!!

Back into the swing of things from the vacation to Puerto Rico which was awesome and there are many little projects around the house.  Hopefully I will be posting some pictures of the following projects which have been completed or are in the process of being completed of course thanks in part to this girl named Vanessa!

a) Removed old plants and installed wall and new plants along both the side and front of the house

b) Had all trees and foliage removed from the backyard

c) Constructing  new stone veneer ledges along the entry to my house

d) Negotiated with backyard neighbor to schedule the replacement of the rotted fence

Nerd #1

Nerd #2

El Morro Fort in Puerto Rico. Was blazing hot!

Haven’t posted much for a while because I have been busy with lots of little things.  A few more days and I will be on a much needed vaca to the tiny island of Puerto Rico with Vanessa.  Oh yeah can’t wait!

Some Items on To-Do List:

Drink From Coconut
Sit on Beach and stare at crystal clear water
Eat at a place or two from Man vs. Food TV Show
Pretend I know how to speak Spanish
Visit  El Yunque Rain Forest
Visit El Morro Fort in Old San Juan
Kayak at night the Bio-luminescent Bay
Take Catamaran Tour

Yesterday I received the official document from the United States Patent and Trademark office verifying that Vazoom is now officially trademarked. Registration #3943570 It took a while (Application originally submitted July 2010) but it complete. I have placed the little ® symbol next to it signifying this.

Yah!

Linux isn’t a brand new topic to me although I am a tech nerd so I enjoy getting behind the scenes on lots of pieces of technology. I can recall obtaining the old Red Hat Linux distributions back in the ol’ days on CD from the postal service purchased via the early Internet. On my last truck I even had a clear Red Hat sticker that was planted right on the rear window. The whole world of Linux has evolved quite a lot and there are many different varieties a.k.a distributions now available. Yes young grasshopper, there are other options (free too) besides just Microsoft if you would like to run your own server! Lets be honest here, if you are a super nerd you would say in a geeky voice that your Linux based operating system is the super shiznat and with your root access you can do everything you ever wanted in your command line world.

In my opinion Ubuntu now ranks as one of the most popular flavors of Linux alongside the Red Hat distros. I recently put a system live onto a server for testing some things out. I configured Linux as a server with no GUI. I am definitely not a fan of non GUI based things however the configuration is pretty easy and with the aid of the Internet you are bound to find support if you are stuck on something. The system I configured is running Postfix (Email Server) with SpamAssassin and configured to run as a filter for incoming/outgoing email for a few domains. Email which is destined to one of my domains for example first routes into this system, is accepted or denied based on certain policies, then passed to the SpamAssassin application which analyzes it for junkmail status. The message is then forwarded onto one of the mail servers internally.

To install most applications you can run the apt-get command:
For example: To install Postfix I ran
sudo apt-get install postfix