Lazy Mind

Having all your enterprise apps plugged into Entra ID SSO is certainly a goal for most organisations but it's not easily achieved. Many applications charge extra for SSO functionality or restrict it to the most expensive plans. Some applications may not even offer SSO as an option, older applications in particular.  Enter Password-based SSO, old technology that we might have forgotten about. It's a password vaulting solution where Entra stores your password for you. "But passwords are insecure." I hear you say and you might be right.  This pragmatic approach tries to use tech we are already paying for, to better secure your app. If you don't have the access to other forms of SSO then this might be something to consider.  What does it get you? Long random passwords are the best option, but end users don't like them because we ask them to manage the password themselves. This means users end up reusing passwords or use short and easily remembered pass...

In simple terms DMARC is email protection. It is the next evolution in technologies that have been layered on top of the basic SMTP email protocol in an effort to improve email security. It stops attackers sending email from your domain. Commonly called domain spoofing. Fixing SMTP just isn’t possible. Email is so prevalent that getting everyone to switch to something new would be almost impossible. Layering on top of SMTP allows for the gradual adoption of new technologies without breaking old ones. Let’s explore why you should care about DMARC.  DMARC is made up of 3 technologies:  Sender Policy Framework SPF is a DNS record that you create, that tells the world these are the places my domain sends email from. This should include your mail server but also your website if it uses contact forms, bulk email platforms like Sendgrid and any other web applications that send email using your domain. SPF provides a method for indicating to mail servers checking your DNS records how...

Many people have both a personal and a professional presence on Google+. They have a regular Google account and profile and a Google Apps account and associated profile. The challenge is one of discovery. You have two profiles but would like your main one to be more easily discovered than the other one. In this case your Google Apps profile over your regular Google profile.  While it isn't possible to hide your regular profile completely it is possible to de-emphasize it. This is the approach explained below. It makes sense that a profile with very little detail and no activity is less likely to be indexed higher than an active account with lots of detail of the same name. Naturally, in addition to de-emphasizing your regular Google profile you need to also promote your Google Apps profile. Start by going to the Google+ profile of  your regular Google account. This is located near the top of the pop out menu on the left side of the desktop browser version of Google+. Just...

Here's a little tip for those with large screens that want to better use the real estate their large screen provides. At the top of every window is the window title bar. It contains the application icon, the window title with the application name and the 3 window buttons: minimize, maximize and close. This tip explains how you can use the window title bar to have two applications side by side on you screen. Grab the title bar then drag the mouse to either the far left of the screen or the far right of the screen. The window will automatically resize to cover only one half to the screen. Do the same with another window on the other side of the screen and there you have it an easy way to put two windows side by side. The same effect can be achieved by having only 2 windows open on the desktop, going to an empty spot on the taskbar, right click and select "Show windows side by side". If you grab the window title bar and move the mouse to the top of the sc...

If you haven't listened to the revived Linux Basement podcast you need to. Welcome back to the mic Chad & Claudio. LB - Episode 71 - Reboot : That's right! Linux Basement is back with a new site, a new workflow, and a new episode! Now you can watch our ugly faces in the video feed or download the podcast. On this episode, Peter Haliburton Joins me and we talk about: The new site! Drupal 7 Networking - Wireshark Asterisk - PBX in a flash - Incredible PBX - Nerd Vittles And much much more! Thanks for joining us and it is good to be back! podcast:  LB - Episode 71 - Reboot.mp3 Tags:  Linux Basement drupal Asterisk Wireshark

I've been doing a bit for simple web development for a web design class I'm taking. It's been years since I did anything like this and while I'm enjoying all the modern goodness of HTML5 and CSS3 one thing doesn't seem to have changed. The need to write for exceptions in Internet Explorer. It's not that IE9 hasn't implemented curtain features, it's just that it does it a different way from Firefox and webkit based browsers. I believe IE has come a long way or so the media and pundits say, however the ability to write a web page with the same code for all browsers is still not a reality.  Maybe my expectations are unrealistic but it appears IE has a lot of catching up to do.

If like me you have an Android phone one important thing to do is update the version of some of the Google Apps that came with you phone. But they update automatically you say. Not so. At least not on my phone. Do a search on the Android Market for pub: "Google Inc." to find out which updated apps you are missing. I found I had to make a list of the installed apps and install them from the list of Google app on the market. After installing all the updated versions from the app store you will be able to stay current. I don't known why all this is nesisarl . The phone should just pull down the updates. That's just the way.

I found this cool little web app on Fabs blog (of Linux Outlaws fame). It builds a world map of all the countries you have visited. Here's my world map. visited 26 states (11.5%) Create your own visited map of The World

Here's a quick snapshot to demonstrate just how fast world change is.

I've been trying to do a bit of study to consolidate and extend my Linux knowledge. One thing I've been working toward is Linux Professionals Institute Certification. It seems to be a very comprehensive qualification. However as of late last year there has been a review of the exam . I hope this means it's more timely but it looks like it just got broader. Never mind more study, no fun to have!

Ubuntu is starting to get into other markets. In this case the sub-note book market. NetBook Remix marks the beginning of this. With the wild success of the ASUS EeePC it makes a lot of sense. It is rumored that Dell will offer NetBook Remix on their new sub note book . Free Software Magazine provides some detail on what makes NetBook Remix special.

This is the second open movie project released by the Blender Foundation . The first Elephants Dream was also a 3D animated short film. However Big Buck Bunny may appeal to a wider audience than ED as it looks more like a Pixar movie. What's so great about this movie? It was produced entirely on open source software. Blender , the 3D animating software used, now has features in it that large Hollywood studios pay thousands of dollars for. Not bad for community produced software! You can get (download or buy) the movie here .

I got this cool little device the other day and am loving it. It's has wifi and runs Linux. It's Debian based to boot. Cool, cool, cool. Web browsing on its little 4.1 inch screen is a challenge at times but at 800 x 480 resolution it is extremely clear. Check Wikipedia for more info .

Mark Shuttleworth talks at Google about the direction Ubuntu Linux is taking. This presentation is from 2006 so it's nothing new but it's still relevant.

This is a documentary about the origins of the Linux kernel, the Free Software Foundation and what was going on at the time. It's a little long but I consider this documentary fundamental to understanding what Linux is.

Today we are at Showa Memorial Park in Tachikawa . April 29th is Showa Day . It's a national holiday. It used to be call Greenery Day. The kids had a great time playing on the slides and jumping on a mountainous trampoline. As you can see most of Tokyo decided to join us there.

The latest version of Ubuntu has been released. It keeps getting better and better. To see an overview of features click here .

It really makes you think what's next? Give people freedom and there is no limit to what they can create. This is LINUX! Need I say more.

I figure if I get better organized I'll be more productive. I've been reading a bit about productivity and the tools you can use to become more productive. There are a bewildering number of sites wanting to organize just about every facet of online behavior. The really interesting thing is that even though each site is developed independently they are becoming more and more integrated. It's become a necessity for the sites survival. One thing this enables is the adding of features that extend and improve what the tools one site may offer. So called mashups . Something that is not possible with a desktop application. I've been steadily exploring and using more and more Google Apps. One thing Google doesn't offer is task management but Remember The Milk does. It also integrates so tightly with Google apps that you would think it was part of the same application. In a way it is. Through a powerful API. All this use of online applications for someone who is not alway...

So much for a New Years Resolution of adding more stuff to this blog. So what have I been up to? Computer wise busy as always. At long last I've set up a wireless lan at home. It's been great. I've moved from Mandrake 10.1 to Kubuntu on my desktop. I recently upgraded from Edgy 6.10 to Feisty 7.02 with few problems so far. I'm currently looking into webcams. It appears the Logitech QuickCam Communicate STX is supported by the gspca driver and should work well with most apps. I really would like the QuickCam Fusion. It would produce a much better picture but it's more expensive, the driver is still early in development and it doesn't appear to have the application support the older jpeg webcams have. Looking forward to setting it up!