This afternoon, after having played the Ariel board game (5+) with my young daughter, my older daughter and my wife, we were in the mood to play a board game and decided to check on the app store. We found Scrabble featured on the app store and since I had always been a fan of scrabble decided to give it a try even though it was priced at $10 / £6.

I found the Scabble app on the iPad really awesome. Some of the nice features are:

Feels just like playing on the real board and some.

With multiplayer mode, we could use our iPhones as tile rays – needed a simple Bluetooth set up.

The board rotates automatically after it recognizes that the are two players.

The whole game looks polished with great user interface and music.

I and Nikki loved it!

Ever since I bought my iPad, I have not been using it much except for some casual browsing and my daily dose of morning tech rss feeds via.

The main issue is that since iOS4 is not available on iPad yet, I would have to close and switch between numerous apps to get to the social media outlets that I frequent such as Facebook, Twitter, Techcrunch etc.

But with the new app Fliboard, all my favourite feeds are in place in a slick magazine style format!!

If you are on the iPad, I would seriously suggest getting this free app!!

This morning, my Mcafee Secure badge on one of my sites stopped working. When I checked, the reason was cited as a vulnerability on the server in the form of an outdated OpenSSH. I called Godaddy and they said that since my server was on a non-managed plan (i.e I was not paying them $1200 per year), they woud not be able to update the OpenSSH or apply a patch to make sure the server would not be compromised. So, I decided to roll up my sleeves and do it myself. With a little research and 30 minutes of my time, I was able to update the OpenSSH version and saved $1200 in the process!

Disclaimer:

THIS HOWTO IS PROVIDED BY BONIGALA DOT COM “AS IS” AND ANY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL BONIGALA DOT COM. OR ITS CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

STOP: This guide can be considered dangerous as if the directions are not followed exactly and all steps completed you may loose access to your server completely. Use this with caution!

This howto assumes the reader has a general knowledge of Linux and the command line interface for installing applications and has root access to the server. Readers with minimal knowledge of Linux or the processes of compiling and installing software should not attempt this without proper supervision from a system administrator or in a production environment.

1) Open Terminal in Mac OS X

2) Enter command# ssh username@domain.com (replace the username and domain with your own details)

3) If you see a message like: “Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)?”, type “yes” and hit enter

4) Enter your system password

5) Enter command# su - (This will take you to the root)

6) Enter command# sshd -v (To see the current version of OpenSSH on your server). You may see a message like:

OpenSSH_4.5p1, OpenSSL 0.9.8b 04 May 2006

STOP: This guide can be considered dangerous as if the directions are not followed exactly and all steps completed you may loose access to your server completely. Use this with caution!

7) Enter command# wget ftp://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/OpenSSH/portable/openssh-5.4p1.tar.gz (This will download the latest version of the OpenSSH files. You will have to change the version number if a more recent version has been released. Check on openbsd.com for the latest version number)

8 ) Enter command# tar -xvzf openssh-5.4p1.tar.gz (This will unarchive the file)

9) Enter command# chkconfig –level 1235 telnet on (You might get an error message like “error reading information on service telnet: No such file or directory”. You can ignore this and move on.)

10) Enter command# ./configure –prefix=/usr –sysconfdir=/etc/ssh –with-pam (The configure command bellow will enable the pluggable authentication module, PAM and set the configuration path for SSH.)

STOP: This guide can be considered dangerous as if the directions are not followed exactly and all steps completed you may loose access to your server completely. Use this with caution!

11) Enter command# ./configure
Enter command# make
Enter command# make install

12) Enter command# /etc/init.d/sshd restart (To restart openssh. You may see messages like this:)
Stopping sshd: [ OK ]
Starting sshd: [ OK ]

13) Enter command# su - (To back to root)

14) Enter command# sshd -v (To check version to see if upgrade is successful. You may see messages like this:)
sshd: illegal option — v
OpenSSH_5.4p1, OpenSSL 0.9.8b 04 May 2006

15) Enter command# chkconfig –level 1235 telnet off
You might get an error message like “error reading information on service telnet: No such file or directory”. You can ignore this and move on.

16) Reboot server

I had always been interested in photography and consider myself to be an enthusiast. After many years of point and shoot cameras, I got my first SLR in 2001 which was the Canon Rebel 2000.The camera came with the 28-80mm kit lens. This camera opened up the world of photography for me and got me hooked right from the start. A couple of years later I got a telephoto lens, the Canon 85-300mm lens and this led me to take my photos to a whole new level.

My first DSLR was the Canon EOS 400D which I bought from Jessops in 2005. It came with the 18-55mm kit lens. Going digital was awesome and it helped me improve my understanding of photography and my skills. We went on trips to Switzerland, Egypt and other places and I took hundreds of beautiful shots. Birthdays were great occasions for me to try out new techniques and principles.

The past couple of years, I had been so busy with launching several new online business ventures that photography took a back seat. There were months during which I hardly took my camera out. After I got my iPhone I just started using that even for important events. I could say I lost interest in photography.

Last week I decided to upgrade my ESO 400D and get the latest Canon 7D which is a sign that I am getting the passion back again. Actually I wanted to buy a HD camcorder and was looking around when I realized I should actually get a DSLR that could shoot movies in HD so that I can use it for both purposes with out lugging around too much equipment. The need for a HD camcorder was ignited by my next phase of entrepreneurial development – branding on YouTube. I feel it is time for me to start using video to document my interest in business and entrepreneurship.

The Canon 7D is a logical candidate for my requirements. I have always been a Canon user and after using the 400D I was sure I would be at home with the 7D. With the new 18.0 Megapixel APS-C size CMOS sensor and Dual DIGIC 4 Image Processors, I was sure it would suit my photographic needs and with the full HD video at 30p (29.97 fps), 24p (23.976 fps) and 25p with an array of manual controls, including manual exposure during movie shooting and ISO speed selection, it would be excellent for my video needs including videos for my YouTube channel and for commercial videos for my websites.

It is quite pricey but after having viewed the amazing videos that you can take with this camera I think the 7D is good value for money. I played around with it yesterday a little bit and am trying to get to know most of functions before my younger daughter’s birthday this Sunday where I will be shooting both photos and video.

I will write an in-depth review of the Canon 7D next month or so after I have had a chance to take some photos. Or perhaps I will just post a video review!

As mentioned in several of my previous posts, my HP Pavilion DV2000 died after over heating and the motherboard was burned. I was tempted to get a 15inch MacBook Pro immediately but after a little bit of research realized that perhaps it is better to wait till January or February of 2010 and I will tell you why.

I bought my iMac 24inch back in July 2009 and by September 2009 Apple had released a new version of the iMac with a 27inch screen and various significant improvements in terms of the chipset and speed etc. I was quite disappointed and realized that I should have researched before going for the iMac at that stage and read up on Apple product cycles and more. Had I waited a couple of months I would have got the latest iMac. The same goes for the MacBook Pro now. With various rumors going around about new chipsets and how Apple will move from NVIDIA graphics to ATI 45xx series GPUs along with the newest Intel Core i7 CPUs.

The last release of the MacBook Pro was June 08, 2009 which is 192 days. The average Apple MacBook Pro update cycle lasts around 200 days. Also Fudzilla claims that Intel is planning on launching three Arrandale-based processors on January 3rd, 2010. These Arrandale processors are based on the advanced Nehalem architecture first introduced into desktop Macs earlier this year, and should represent a significant performance improvement over the Core 2 Duo processors that are currently found in Apple’s MacBook Pros. Read the Apple MackBook Pro 17inch review over at Gadgetbase.com.

These are just rumors for now. So, if you really need a MacBook Pro at the moment, then go ahead and buy it. But if you can wait for a couple of months then it would probably be worth it. Also check out this video from Dave on Youtube (LACK78).

Ever since I bought my iPad, I have not been using it much except for some casual browsing and my daily dose of morning tech rss feeds via.

The main issue is that since iOS4 is not available on iPad yet, I would have to close and switch between numerous apps to get to the social media outlets that I frequent such as Facebook, Twitter, Techcrunch etc.

But with the new app Fliboard, all my favourite feeds are in place in a slick magazine style format!!

If you are on the iPad, I would seriously suggest getting this free app!!

For the past couple of weeks I see my iMac mouse depleting batteries very fast. This morning I changed fresh batteries and after a few hours of normal use the percentage is hown to 72%!

Is any body else having similar issues?

After my recent upgrade to Snow Leopard, I found that emptying the trash was taking a long time. This morning I had deleted an install bundle and wanted to empty the trash. It had 2500 items and took forever to empty the trash.

There is a temporary work around till Apple tackles this issue. The problem is that trash is removing the files securely. This seems to be the root of the cause. When I unchecked the “Empty Trash Securely” option in Finder preferences, the problem has disappeared.

Try at your own discretion.

I know, I know. After I posted about graduating to the iMac from my DELL PC (both for home and office), I said I would update you on how it was going and what my experience was. I must admit I had not done that. I had been caught up in so many fire fights that I did not get any time at all to work on my personal blog.

However, this morning I received the much talked about Mac OS X Snow Leopard upgrade DVD in the post and have installed. The installation was a breeze with no issues. It took a total of 40 minutes (during which I was watching the Arizona Experiment on Discovery – about Chris Robinson, who claims he has premonition). After the install, I notice that my whole system is a LOT faster than it was before. From Vista to Mac OS X was a major leap for me and for days after I got my new iMac, I was amazed at the speed, grace and elegance of the OS X. But with the Snow Leopard, I am dazzled.

There are many reviews on the Mac OS X Snow Leopard out there so I will not write about any of the features etc. Instead I just wanted to document my initial reactions to the upgrade. AWESOME!

Ok. Looks like I am turning into an all out Apple guy. A little more than a week ago I made the switch from my PC to a Mac. I got my new iMac and have had a wonderful week with it. I have been blown away by the speed, the smoothness of operations and the various things that I now could do to make my business process more efficient by using my iMac and my iPhone in tandem.

This morning , my 3 year old HP Pavilion DV2000 died on me. The past few weeks, it was heating up and switching off randomly. I knew the end was near. But finally, this morning when I tried to boot it up, it made one long beep, two short beeps and even though all the lights were on and I could hear the fan the monitor did not turn on. I researched a little to realize that the mother board could have fried. There were reports of this happening because the NVIDIA graphics cards heated up and fried itself and the motherboard.

Anyway, I think it is ridiculous that “laptops” have ventilators and fans on the bottom which means that you can not keep them in your laps (they could scorch your thighs) or put them on a bed and work. They heat up because they do not get enough ventilation. I mean what kind if idiots design these things? Don’t they realize they are “laptops” and need to stay cool and have perhaps side ventilation to enable one to keep them on any surface and work?

So, I called HP to get a quote for the motherboard. Because I was out of warranty, I was redirected to a 3rd party vendor who quoted it at $335 / £210 and during the conversation, the agent said that in situations like this, not only the motherboard but the inverter and the RAM could also be fried. He went on to suggest that I get an Acer Laptop for $650 / £400 instead and that I would better off. So that got me thinking. Instead of shelling out $650 / £400 and getting a shitty laptop again, perhaps I could invest a little more and get the 13″ MacBook Pro. This would work well for my entertainment and internet purposes and would also be useful to high school daughter to whom I had promised a MacBook quite some time back. She wanted a Mac for the video editing capabilities.

Nothing has been decided yet but I will let you know in a day or two if I have secured the MacBook. After working on the iMac for more than a week, I can not think of using a PC Laptop!

Update: 25/07/09 – I have decided that my budget for this month has probably been stretched to the limit with the ne iMac, so I will be postponing the purchase of a new laptop till next month.