"you can ssh into the Meraki and create edit the/storage/config.local file with whatever you want; in my case: Code: echo "firmware.mips.version 6-9163" >/storage/config.local"
And they'll update themselves to an earlier version.
The founders of Meraki have made huge contributions to open source software and it is good to see that others are taking advantage of their great work and making further improvements.
If any donated Pentium 3 machines come in with Win 98 and at least 6 gigabytes of RAM, how about dual booting them with Windows 98 using 2 gigs and Unbuntu on the remainder. And if they're older machines, keep in mind Ubuntu Lite (haven't tried the lite version yet myself but plan to in the next few days). https://wiki.ubuntu.com/InstallingUbuntuLite http://www.ubuntulite.org/
That issue is very much up for grabs in a current FCC proceeding regarding another band of spectrum... with a comment period expiring this week.
In March,
the FCC opened up the 3650 to 3700 MHz band of spectrum for use by an unlimited number of licensees throughout the country, with an easy online application process, no eligibility restrictions or costs to speak of, and with all licensees having a mutual obligation to cooperate and avoid harmful interference to each other. That band is currently used for Fixed Satellite Stations and
exclusion zones around their facilities (see page 66) would prevent usage nearby, but most of the U.S. could benefit from new widespread competion to provide faster, cheaper wireless broadband.
Those who'd like to add their opinions to the
previous set of comments,
perhaps thanking the FCC for opening up the spectrum and opposing its sale at auction to just a pair of exclusive license holders in each area can file a comment by entering
04-151 in the proceeding number here and selecting Reply to Petition for Reconsideration in the drop down box at the bottom. Deadline this week, Thursday Aug 11. Even just a sentence or two of input can be helpful...
There's a really excellent general email list for users of m0n0wall. As a subscriber I've seen quite a few users with problems like yours get very quick responses that solve their problems. And it almost never turns out to be a software bug, though sometimes one might fault inadequately clear and comprehensive documentation.
-S.
The folks working on the project below are super and what they're doing might fit the bill well for you. Given that the greenhouses are pretty much all the same height, presumably, they'd be well-suited for high gain omnis. And if the site is fairly large, a mesh might well be the best configuration since each hop between repeaters in a regular WiFi network would involve a roughly 50% loss in bandwidth as I recall.
CUWiN ANNOUNCES PUBLIC RELEASE OF FREE OPEN SOURCE WIRELESS NETWORKING SOFTWARE:
Imagine a free wireless networking system that any municipality, company, or group of neighbors could easily set up themselves. Over the past half-decade, the Champaign-Urbana Community Wireless Network (CUWiN) has been developing an open source, turnkey wireless networking solution that exceeds the functionality of many proprietary systems. CUWiN's vision is ubiquitous, extremely high-speed, low-cost networking for every community and constituency. Following in the footsteps of Linux and Firefox, CUWiN has focused on creating a low-cost, non-proprietary, user-friendly system. CUWiN's software will share connectivity across the network, allowing users to buy bandwidth in bulk and benefit from the cost savings. CUWiN networks are self-configuring and self-healing -- so adding new wireless nodes is hassle-free, and the system automatically adapts to the loss of an existing node. And, because CUWiN networks are completely ad-hoc, there's no need for expensive central servers or specialized administration equipment.
To set up a network, all end-users need to do is burn a CD with CUWiN's software (which will be available for free at http://www.cuwireless.net), put the CD into an old desktop computer equipped with a supported wireless card, and turn the computer on. Once the computer boots from the CD, the rest of the setup is completely automated: from loading the networking operating system and software, sending out beacons to nearby nodes, negotiating network connectivity, and assimilating into the network -- all the complicated technical setup is taken care of automatically. Unlike most broadband systems, CUWiN's software builds a local intranet as well as providing for Internet-connectivity -- thus, a town that uses CUWiN's system is also creating a community-wide local area network over which streaming audio and video, voice services, etc. can all be sent.
CUWiN is a cutting edge research and development initiative. CUWiN has pioneered the first open source implementation of Hazy Sighted Link State routing protocol (first developed by BBN Technologies); thus CUWiN's software creates a highly robust, scalable ad-hoc wireless networks. CUWiN's route prioritization metric is based on research conducted at MIT and will automatically adapt to any network topology and local geography.
CUWiN's software is, and always will be, available for free. CUWiN is a non-profit organization supported by grants and donations. CUWiN's software provides one of the world's most advanced networking solutions available today; and we are now making our software available to the general public to use, test, and help develop. We know that there are features and improvements that people will want to see in future releases -- as an open source project, we are counting on the feedback and input from people around the globe.
More information on setting up your own CUWiN network is available online now at: http://www.cuwireless.net/documentation
The latest version (0.5.5) of the CUWiN software will be available for public download by the end of the week at: http://www.cuwireless.net/downloads
A brief article on the background, history, and ethos of the CUWiN project is available at: www.comtechreview.org/article.php?article_id=259
Here are assorted Web sites of members of the Community Technology Centers Network (CTCNet). And there's a complete directory of the Network's 650+ member organizations at a href=http://www2.ctcnet.org/ctc.asp">http://www 2.ctcnet.org/ctc.asp
Most of those centers would love to get more volunteers with good tech skills since their budgets are usually pretty tight. Some are full-fledged community networks, others mainly provide skills-building opportunities for people in the neighborhood.
-S.
There was a deadline of last Friday to submit comments. Perhaps the Judge will request additional comments later in the case. Many of the public comments submitted thus far can be found here:
http://www.mdd.uscourts.gov/Opinions152/Microsoft_ lidigation/MicrosoftLitigation.htm
Other comments, including those by Apple and Red Hat, plus related material can be found here: http://www.applecon.com/ms%20settlement.htm
That site was prepared by Jeffrey Mackie-Mason, an economist who is a consulting forCalifornia class action plainiffs. It seems like it would be a good place to keep checking to see if there's another round of comments requested.
Community Technology Centers' Network (CTCNet)
on
Geek Charities?
·
· Score: 1
In low-income communities where can people no longer in school go to acquire computer skills? Well, they can go on the 'net or over to a buddy's place, of course. But also, in lots of neighborhoods, community technology centers are being established... places where people can take an inexpensive class or just hang out during open access hours trying things out and sharing what they learn. Many of these places could use funds, but just as much they can use volunteer talent. There's a list of hundreds of them at http://www.ctcnet.org. That's the site of the Community Technology Centers' Network (CTCNet).
CTCNet, itself, is thinking it'd like to set up a slashdot-like environment for focus on community technology issues. If you could advise CTCNet staff (hey, that's me) try to set that up, boy would it be appreciated! Write info@ctcnet.org if you think you might be able to offer help!
Steve Ronan
You're right if transporting kids to the top of an existing structure is an appropriate analogy... but there was previously no existing Internet infrastructure that reached the public in many of these libraries or kids in the classrooms. That had to be created.
As former
FCC Chair Reed Hundt indicated, Gore deserves a portion of the credit: "On a personal note, many years ago I had a conversation with then-Senator Al Gore about his wish to see a schoolgirl in Carthage, Tennessee be able to learn from the limitless resources of the Library of Congress, without being barred by time, distance, and lack of money from such opportunities. He explained to me -- and this was long before the Internet was invented -- that fiber optic cable would make the connection between the schoolgirl and a bright future.
From this conversation came this Commission's desire to include classroom connections as an essential goal of universal service. President Clinton in several State of the Union speeches and many other appearances mobilized a national commitment to this goal. And as Vice President, Al Gore has never let a week, or perhaps a day, go by without working to bring to every schoolchild the opportunity to learn on the information highway -- a term he coined.
Thanks to the untiring efforts of Senators Snowe, Rockefeller, Exxon, Kerrey, Hollings, Congressman Markey, Secretary of Education Riley, and many others the Commission was given the legislative mandate to fund connections to every one of two million classrooms in all 100,000 schools in our country. School groups from all over the country supported these congressional initiatives and then pursued their implementation in our rules.
I imagine you're probably alluding to something like a National Press Club dinner where he made a little self-deprecating fun of himself. The whole brouhaha that we're discussing here derives from a CNN interview with Wolf Blitzer. The entire transcript of that didn't include "invent" anywhere.
The exact context, by the way, was that he was asked to compare his record in Congress with that of Bill Bradley.
At what point do you think the creation of the Internet was completed?
It ain't done yet, it seems to me.
Some people are still taking the initiative in its continued creation.
Thanks to Al for his contributions in Congress in the eighties and nineties. And thanks to some of you out there who are taking the initiative in other spheres now!
- Steve
You're right that Gore wasn't involved when the foundation was first being laid for the Internet.
But he has had a lot to do with the parts that more recently have reached, for example, schools and libraries in low-income communities. (Heck, the Republicans themselves kept blaming that e-rate program on the "Gore tax" at least until they found out the public supported it.)
Neither any of the folks who started to lay the foundation of the Empire State Building nor any of those who built floors 50-80 are solely responsible for creating the building, but they all played a part in its creation, right?
If one actually searches the interview for the word "invent" one finds it didn't appear there anywhere, not even once. Gore instead claimed that, in regard to the Internet's creation, he "took the initiative" in a particular place at a particular time... his term in Congress. And it's true that he did.
Some apparently would have us believe that the Internet's creation was completed prior to 1980. Silly stuff. As Vint Cerf said in '93 (http://cpsr.org/cpsr/nii/vinton-cerf -testimony):
"In 1982, there were about 100 computers on the ARPANET and a few score others were part of the NSF-sponsored CSNET which also used the Telenet
public data network. In 1993 there are over 1.5 million of them."
So what happened between '82 and '93? Well a whole bunch of people took the initiative in a great many spheres... and in Congress no one more so than Big Al. Among his various initiatives, apparently, was a 1986 legislative effort calling for interconnection of the 5 super-computing Centers, with fiber optic technology, including the one in Illinois where Andreesen et al later developed Mosaic.
Gore's sufficiently cognizant of the Internet's history to know that no one person or group of people "invented" it. And it wasn't created at any particular time; it was the creation of many people over many years. And in Congress, the main chap was Al G., right? Or who am I forgetting?
Slashdot Mirror
The article suggests that a Meraki software upgrade has made it impossible to reflash them.
/storage/config.local file with whatever you want; in my case: /storage/config.local"
Actually, you can still easily make them revert to an earlier version which can be reflashed.
As described here:
http://robin.forumup.it/about99-15-robin.html
"you can ssh into the Meraki and create edit the
Code:
echo "firmware.mips.version 6-9163" >
And they'll update themselves to an earlier version.
The founders of Meraki have made huge contributions to open source software and it is good to see that others are taking advantage of their great work and making further improvements.
If you want to learn more about free space optics for point to point links, check out these two excellent articles in the latest edition of Broadband Properties:
Can You Use an FSO Link?
California City Uses FSO to Bridge 200-Foot Gap
- Steve Ronan
If any donated Pentium 3 machines come in with Win 98 and at least 6 gigabytes of RAM, how about dual booting them with Windows 98 using 2 gigs and Unbuntu on the remainder. And if they're older machines, keep in mind Ubuntu Lite (haven't tried the lite version yet myself but plan to in the next few days).
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/InstallingUbuntuLite
http://www.ubuntulite.org/
In March, the FCC opened up the 3650 to 3700 MHz band of spectrum for use by an unlimited number of licensees throughout the country, with an easy online application process, no eligibility restrictions or costs to speak of, and with all licensees having a mutual obligation to cooperate and avoid harmful interference to each other. That band is currently used for Fixed Satellite Stations and exclusion zones around their facilities (see page 66) would prevent usage nearby, but most of the U.S. could benefit from new widespread competion to provide faster, cheaper wireless broadband.
However, recently nine petitions were filed asking the FCC to reconsider its decision and impose severe restrictions on who can use the spectrum, e.g., Motorola is requesting that all 50 MHz be divided into two blocks with each auctioned off to the highest bidder and Intel requested the same for major metropolitan areas. What do you think: open it or auction it?
Those who'd like to add their opinions to the previous set of comments, perhaps thanking the FCC for opening up the spectrum and opposing its sale at auction to just a pair of exclusive license holders in each area can file a comment by entering 04-151 in the proceeding number here and selecting Reply to Petition for Reconsideration in the drop down box at the bottom. Deadline this week, Thursday Aug 11. Even just a sentence or two of input can be helpful...
There's a really excellent general email list for users of m0n0wall. As a subscriber I've seen quite a few users with problems like yours get very quick responses that solve their problems. And it almost never turns out to be a software bug, though sometimes one might fault inadequately clear and comprehensive documentation. -S.
The folks working on the project below are super and what they're doing might fit the bill well for you. Given that the greenhouses are pretty much all the same height, presumably, they'd be well-suited for high gain omnis. And if the site is fairly large, a mesh might well be the best configuration since each hop between repeaters in a regular WiFi network would involve a roughly 50% loss in bandwidth as I recall.
***PLEASE FORWARD***
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 1, 2005
PRESS CONTACT:
Sascha Meinrath
(217)278-3933
sascha@cuwireless.net
CUWiN Website: http://www.cuwireless.net
CUWiN ANNOUNCES PUBLIC RELEASE OF FREE OPEN SOURCE WIRELESS NETWORKING SOFTWARE:
Imagine a free wireless networking system that any municipality, company, or group of neighbors could easily set up themselves. Over the past half-decade, the Champaign-Urbana Community Wireless Network (CUWiN) has been developing an open source, turnkey wireless networking solution that exceeds the functionality of many proprietary systems. CUWiN's vision is ubiquitous, extremely high-speed, low-cost networking for every community and constituency. Following in the footsteps of Linux and Firefox, CUWiN has focused on creating a low-cost, non-proprietary, user-friendly system. CUWiN's software will share connectivity across the network, allowing users to buy bandwidth in bulk and benefit from the cost savings. CUWiN networks are self-configuring and self-healing -- so adding new wireless nodes is hassle-free, and the system automatically adapts to the loss of an existing node. And, because CUWiN networks are completely ad-hoc, there's no need for expensive central servers or specialized administration equipment.
To set up a network, all end-users need to do is burn a CD with CUWiN's software (which will be available for free at http://www.cuwireless.net), put the CD into an old desktop computer equipped with a supported wireless card, and turn the computer on. Once the computer boots from the CD, the rest of the setup is completely automated: from loading the networking operating system and software, sending out beacons to nearby nodes, negotiating network connectivity, and assimilating into the network -- all the complicated technical setup is taken care of automatically. Unlike most broadband systems, CUWiN's software builds a local intranet as well as providing for Internet-connectivity -- thus, a town that uses CUWiN's system is also creating a community-wide local area network over which streaming audio and video, voice services, etc. can all be sent.
CUWiN is a cutting edge research and development initiative. CUWiN has pioneered the first open source implementation of Hazy Sighted Link State routing protocol (first developed by BBN Technologies); thus CUWiN's software creates a highly robust, scalable ad-hoc wireless networks. CUWiN's route prioritization metric is based on research conducted at MIT and will automatically adapt to any network topology and local geography.
CUWiN's software is, and always will be, available for free. CUWiN is a non-profit organization supported by grants and donations. CUWiN's software provides one of the world's most advanced networking solutions available today; and we are now making our software available to the general public to use, test, and help develop. We know that there are features and improvements that people will want to see in future releases -- as an open source project, we are counting on the feedback and input from people around the globe.
More information on setting up your own CUWiN network is available online now at: http://www.cuwireless.net/documentation
The latest version (0.5.5) of the CUWiN software will be available for public download by the end of the week at: http://www.cuwireless.net/downloads
A brief article on the background, history, and ethos of the CUWiN project is available at: www.comtechreview.org/article.php?article_id=259
***
Ab
Here are assorted Web sites of members of the Community Technology Centers Network (CTCNet). And there's a complete directory of the Network's 650+ member organizations at a href=http://www2.ctcnet.org/ctc.asp">http://www 2.ctcnet.org/ctc.asp Most of those centers would love to get more volunteers with good tech skills since their budgets are usually pretty tight. Some are full-fledged community networks, others mainly provide skills-building opportunities for people in the neighborhood. -S.
The text of Judge Motz' opinion can be found here: http://www.applecon.com/documents/ms_documents/MIC ROSOFTOPINION.FINAL11JAN02.pdf
There was a deadline of last Friday to submit comments. Perhaps the Judge will request additional comments later in the case. Many of the public comments submitted thus far can be found here: http://www.mdd.uscourts.gov/Opinions152/Microsoft_ lidigation/MicrosoftLitigation.htm
Other comments, including those by Apple and Red Hat, plus related material can be found here: http://www.applecon.com/ms%20settlement.htm
That site was prepared by Jeffrey Mackie-Mason, an economist who is a consulting forCalifornia class action plainiffs. It seems like it would be a good place to keep checking to see if there's another round of comments requested.
In low-income communities where can people no longer in school go to acquire computer skills? Well, they can go on the 'net or over to a buddy's place, of course. But also, in lots of neighborhoods, community technology centers are being established... places where people can take an inexpensive class or just hang out during open access hours trying things out and sharing what they learn. Many of these places could use funds, but just as much they can use volunteer talent. There's a list of hundreds of them at http://www.ctcnet.org. That's the site of the Community Technology Centers' Network (CTCNet). CTCNet, itself, is thinking it'd like to set up a slashdot-like environment for focus on community technology issues. If you could advise CTCNet staff (hey, that's me) try to set that up, boy would it be appreciated! Write info@ctcnet.org if you think you might be able to offer help! Steve Ronan
There is some excellent background info about Instant Runoff Voting and Proportional Representation systems of voting at http://www.fairvote.org/.
As former FCC Chair Reed Hundt indicated, Gore deserves a portion of the credit:
"On a personal note, many years ago I had a conversation with then-Senator Al Gore about his wish to see a schoolgirl in Carthage, Tennessee be able to learn from the limitless resources of the Library of Congress, without being barred by time, distance, and lack of money from such opportunities. He explained to me -- and this was long before the Internet was invented -- that fiber optic cable would make the connection between the schoolgirl and a bright future.
From this conversation came this Commission's desire to include classroom connections as an essential goal of universal service. President Clinton in several State of the Union speeches and many other appearances mobilized a national commitment to this goal. And as Vice President, Al Gore has never let a week, or perhaps a day, go by without working to bring to every schoolchild the opportunity to learn on the information highway -- a term he coined.
Thanks to the untiring efforts of Senators Snowe, Rockefeller, Exxon, Kerrey, Hollings, Congressman Markey, Secretary of Education Riley, and many others the Commission was given the legislative mandate to fund connections to every one of two million classrooms in all 100,000 schools in our country. School groups from all over the country supported these congressional initiatives and then pursued their implementation in our rules.
-- Steve
The exact context, by the way, was that he was asked to compare his record in Congress with that of Bill Bradley.
- Steve
It ain't done yet, it seems to me.
Some people are still taking the initiative in its continued creation.
Thanks to Al for his contributions in Congress in the eighties and nineties. And thanks to some of you out there who are taking the initiative in other spheres now! - Steve
Neither any of the folks who started to lay the foundation of the Empire State Building nor any of those who built floors 50-80 are solely responsible for creating the building, but they all played a part in its creation, right?
-- Steve
Some apparently would have us believe that the Internet's creation was completed prior to 1980. Silly stuff. As Vint Cerf said in '93 (http://cpsr.org/cpsr/nii/vinton-cerf -testimony): "In 1982, there were about 100 computers on the ARPANET and a few score others were part of the NSF-sponsored CSNET which also used the Telenet public data network. In 1993 there are over 1.5 million of them."
So what happened between '82 and '93? Well a whole bunch of people took the initiative in a great many spheres... and in Congress no one more so than Big Al. Among his various initiatives, apparently, was a 1986 legislative effort calling for interconnection of the 5 super-computing Centers, with fiber optic technology, including the one in Illinois where Andreesen et al later developed Mosaic.
Gore's sufficiently cognizant of the Internet's history to know that no one person or group of people "invented" it. And it wasn't created at any particular time; it was the creation of many people over many years. And in Congress, the main chap was Al G., right? Or who am I forgetting?
- Steve R.