Open Source Monitoring Tool

GroundWork Monitor is a nice looking open source monitoring application. I'll add it to the link list on the right.

I'll update here after I have more information on the application. A friend of mine is configuring it now. On the surface it looks similar to Nagios.

Howto Update the SPSS 16 License Server IP Address

I had to update the IP address of the SPSS 16 license manager on a number of prototype machines today and I couldn't track it down in the SPSS directory. I had to turn to Google who tracked it down on an SPSS site for me.

Check the appropriate spssprod.inf file. This file is located in the product installation directory on the desktop computer. Open spssprod.inf and make sure DAEMONHOST is set to the correct name or IP address of the computer on which the license manager is running. If you are using redundant servers, this should be blank.

Much easier than putting site license files on each machine. I should have done this years ago.

Maryland Discloses Personal Data Online

Security Fix is reporting the latest disclosure of personal data on the web via state run web sites. Apparently they are allowing anyone to search court records revealing all sorts of personal information including SSNs and home addresses.

Google Opens Access to Ratproxy Tool

Google has announced on their security blog that Ratproxy will now be offered as Open Source. Ratproxy...

is designed to transparently analyze legitimate, browser-driven interactions with a tested web property and automatically pinpoint, annotate, and prioritize potential flaws or areas of concern

I don't know that I will be installing this at home but it's certain to be a good tool for the right location.

"Microsoft Office" Available for Rental

Slashdot has a story announcing that Microsoft will begin to be offered at Circuit City stores for $70/year.

I find it amazing that people will still pay for software just because it's the "industry standard" when there are so many alternatives out there that work just as well for free. If you can't grasp the idea of Google hosting your application there is always OpenOffice. Even Apple has decided Microsoft has held the reigns too long. iWork offers about the same group of applications for just a little more than 1 year of Microsoft Office.