Software

Forward Thinking?

I had a whole blog post written about using WMIC.exe for anyone still stuck with supporting a Windows 7 OS machine.
It’s a handy little command-line tool for gathering information-about your system, but then I started thinking “this is so backward thinking!” Who still uses Windows 7 in 2019?
We should be “forward thinking”
and realize that nobody’s still using Windows 7 anymore.
Extended support even vaporizes next January for any stragglers out there. Yeah this was probably going to be a bad idea. You could play around with WMIC.exe on Windows 10, but why? I still can’t believe Windows 10 is Microsoft flagship name even though it will be 2020 in less than seven months.
Of course I’m just kidding, I know a lot of corporate staff is still lugging old tired Windows 7 laptops around. Maybe your IT department is secretly working on the migration to Windows 10. I’m sure it will be less dramatic than the move from XP to 7. sure sure sure
Imagine if you could do all your work with only a Chromebook and web applications. Now that would be forward thinking. It sounds like a pretty simple solution for a lot of the modern work force. It also might be very cost effective in more ways than just hardware purchases. Support would be streamlined, security simplified, and other time and resource overhead scaled back. Wouldn’t this be handy in a time when many companies are looking at their bottom line and contemplating cutting operating costs?
I’m sure this wouldn’t work for everyone, but does everyone need all the licenses and expensive applications we’ve all been told repeatedly over the years that we must have? (No, not a chance.)
There’ll always be those who are stuck working with old tired software and hardware from a bygone era. Some may need a self contained system that won’t always have a network connection, some will always think they need an over abundance of software and hardware resources – even when they probably don’t. Some just want everything and use nothing. Some want nothing and need everything.
It’s hard to let go of your comfort zone, and yes, change can be daunting.
The fleet footed are already operating and producing content with smartphones and tablets. Sure a lot of those happen to be Apple products. Remember when everyone had to have a Blackberry to be constantly accessible and working all the time? How about a typewriter or fax machine. Don’t tell me your company still uses a fax! Emails are even getting long in the tooth. Does anyone even know where to find an actual pencil?
The future is here for some, but not for those who ignore the lessons of the past. Somehow there a few who muddle through for a while continuing to make the same bad decisions over and over.
Is this fear of change or just laziness.
You go into a meeting and are told “We are the future!” And then you look around the room and see everyone using Windows 7. (or the dreaded PowerPoint presentation with default templates) Surely this cant possibly be the future! Get out of there fast if you can before they start handing out printouts of the same exact PPP shown on the projector overview.
I know that often you can’t pick the tools you are given to work with. I’m not even advocating for Linux as I usually prefer, but I do know that everyone has been given ample notice to upgrade before support ends – therefore I would hope you wouldn’t have to wait until the last minute before trying to retrain users, retool hardware, or upgrade a plethora of software applications that may or may not work in their current integration with Windows 10. Keep in mind the transition from 32 to 64 bit architecture also can cause a negative impact on your workflow. Not all programs that may have worked on a 32bit Windows 7 system will run smooth on a newer laptop running a upgraded OS. I hope you have tested all your required applications on your new system builds before the actual roll out. If you haven’t done this yet, then look out!
How many users are running “Virtual XP” in their Windows 7 laptops. You probably should be aware of this. Yes believe it or not, there are still some 16 bit applications floating around. Hopefully you can weed those out and upgrade to newer software. Maybe you’ll discover it’s not only no longer a supported program, but it may no longer be required for any critical or less than critical dependencies. (Possibly no one really needs that software any longer)

If you do move to Linux – which I would prefer, make sure you can still do whatever it is you need to do with Linux applications or by using “Wine” to support some Windows applications.
As with typing “HELP” at the Command prompt in Windows to list available commands you can also run, at the Linux bash shell a command called “compgen”.
Type compgen -c to list all the commands you can run. You can see how much potential a basic LINUX system has. Maybe you should get familiar with some, if not most of the available commands.
Linux has some great applications available in most repositories that do much of – if not more of what you need to be productive in many business environments. This doesn’t necessarily mean you should migrate from Windows 7 to a Debian based Linux distribution, but there are possibilities here.
What I’m looking “Forward “ towards is having a basic business work solution that leverages Chromebooks or IPads and web based applications as a very simplified alternative to the old guard standard of “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” approach. This is really just a procrastination technique that can cause bigger headaches down the road.
The big question mark will be about security updates and any patches you may need for your system beyond the January 14th 2020 deadline. I’m no Windows 10 super fan, but it is better than Windows 7, and it will be supported beyond the Win 7 support expiration date. Windows 10 will support web based applications via a browser of your choice – so there is some flexibility on how you approach productivity and collaboration among multiple users. I still think it’s way more than most need. I’ll be interested to see how many people start simplifying their approach to productivity via a very streamlined laptop, tablet, and or smartphone setup as they not only “forward think”, but actually “Forward Do”

If you are “the company” or run a small nimble operation you’re probably already way ahead of all this. For sure !

Focus, Focus, Focus

December 31, 2018 0 EPH Blog Linux Wireshark

We begin a new year, with a new focus, or shall we say a re-focus on working smarter, more efficiently, more productive, more economically, and hopefully with less stress. If you’re still using Windows 7, then make note that the support clock may be winding down. If you’re using Windows 10, then you may be looking forward to the possible Spring update, or not.
I’ll most likely continue working with Windows when absolutely necessary, but Linux based objectives should remain my main focus.
As noted in early posts, I remain a big fan of Lenovo laptops (mostly older models) – which really shine once you dump the Installed OS and install an up to date version of Linux.
It’s possible that some people are not overly excited about using older, less powerful hardware, but once you find the Linux Distro that suits your requirements you may be pleasantly surprised how well things function.
I’ve gone to using Debian based MX on my older laptops, and started using the Ubuntu flagship on my latest and “slightly” more powerful ThinkPad.
For content creation I’ve retired my old MacBook (the new ones are a bit expensive) and reluctantly decided to walk away from Logic Pro and see if I can squeeze any more out of LMM and Audacity. I haven’t decided if I should just install Ubuntu Studio or stick with the main Ubuntu LTS

On another interesting note, it looks like my favorite packet decode tool for troubleshooting networking issues is getting a refresh – Wireshark 3.0 will be available in the next few weeks. I’ve looked at the Windows development release 2.9 in the last few days, and look forward to the Debian and Ubuntu supported releases. If I was a true minimalist I would see if I can get more out of tcpdump and not rely on Wireshark as much. That will take some discipline. I have worked with Tshark at times when I probably could have used tcpdump. It might be worthwhile to go old school more often.
I believe the latest version is
4.9.2 released in 2017. I’ll have to explore this a little more.

It looks like 2019 could be a great year for Linux, at least from my perspective, and support of Linux apps also promises to be a interesting Chrome OS development heading our way. It’s already available for some Chromebooks, sadly not mine – yet.

I’m not quite as excited about the latest predicted Windows 10 browser changes, or underlying Linux support. I’m sure some users will be, but part of my New Year’s resolution is to simplify my work flow. I don’t need to get too distracted with MS developments at this time unless something truly amazing appears in the horizon.

I would like to eventually pair down to using only one OS, one laptop, and improve my personal and productive time management in the process.
Even with all the security concerns in the news recently (last year was not so good) I still think Windows does a good job of addressing security. That isn’t enough of a reason to restrict my options to Windows only. Linux may have had the edge years ago, but whatever OS you use requires some effort on the user’s part. Sometimes this boils down to what system you are more familiar with, and how much control of the system you have.

There are a few things I would like to see from any new Windows release, such as the option of a true minimalist installation without all the programs I would never use anyways. I’m also not a fan of the “store”, but a repository similar to Linux installs would be a considerable improvement. I’d also be very interested in a simpler, more streamlined HotFix/patching update process. This would also apply to the big system-updates that seemed to get pushed as opposed to downloaded when I want them downloaded – unlike most Linux Distro upgrades.
On a more positive note;
I do appreciate the development of Powershell. Microsoft’s new shell continues to get better with age. I’d also like to see some developments with the mysterious Microsoft Message Analyzer application. I thought that it had a lot of potential and was very useful, but I haven’t seen much noted on it’s future development lately. I thought it was a nice complement (not competitor) to Wireshark. (anyone need a second opinion?)
In all it looks like some operating systems and applications may be improving in the next year. It looks like Windows and Linux users should have a lot of enhancements coming.

On a side note, I’m sure many will continue to use their smartphones more than any other tech device in the coming year.
Smartphones still appear to be the most portable, and the easiest devices to use.
I think we might continue to see laptop use decline this year. I would also not be surprised if someone actually builds a tablet that really gives the iPad Pro some real competition. This could cut even more into laptop use if the price is attractive enough to compete with entry level laptops.
If Apple ever releases a full fledged version of Logic Pro on the iPad Pro (no Mac required) – I’d probably venture down that road and possibly – if not temporarily forget all about my laptop OS. That would really make 2019 a fun year for tech – at least for me. Talk about simplifying your work flow.
I guess there’s always GarageBand. Hmmm? Interesting concept, but it might wind up being another distraction. (If it we’re to become available)
Focus, focus, focus, that’s what I need to do.
Alright, so now where was I?
Oh, yes, I’m going continue to concentrate my energy on working with Linux for the majority of my efforts and opportunities for efficiency as well as productivity.
As you can see, with so many options, it’s probably is best to limit my time to a few stable Linux Distros and concentrate on improving my skill set. Any other diversions could ultimately cut into my forward progress. There is always more to learn. There never seems to be enough time to focus on one operating system let alone trying to learn everything about every system. Just like last year we’ll just have to go one step at a time.

On to 2019

December 27, 2018 0 EPH Blog Linux Recent Posts Software Tech Tips

Christmas has come and gone, and now we approach the end of 2018. This is the cold and dark part of the year. If you like very cold rain, ice and snow, you’re probably enjoying this. If you’re a robot, you may not.
Typing on a frosty keyboard with gloves or mittens is a bit of a hassle, but there are times when you make do regardless of the environment. Working on a smart phone is less frustrating, especially if you have nifty gloves that sport special screen friendly finger pads or you use a “pen” and don’t drop it in the snow.
Smart watches, and voice assist are all useful, but there are a few of us who still do the majority of their “computer work “ on a laptop. Not bringing an entire tower, monitor, keyboard, and mouse is mobility enough for some. If you work inside, that’s cool, but it’s nice to get out once in a while.
I don’t consider working from your laptop in a coffee shop “field work” but I can see where that is much more enjoyable than being stuck in a cubicle. Do people still sit in cubicles? There are of course, worse places….so I am told.

Advances in mobility technology have made it easier to work at almost any site, and remote applications have allowed some to work from distant locations.
Which is better, on site, or offsite (from a cubicle)? I have to lean towards on site, but that’s not always practical.
Out on an ice field of blowing snow at negative 30 degrees Fahrenheit isn’t always more preferable than a nice cozy office cubicle or desk, but sometimes being there in the cold gives you a whole different perspective and appreciation for the equipment and operating mechanisms on site than a long distance remote view ever could.
That’s all changing for some types of work. Drones, and artificial support will impact how some resources are deployed on site, and offered remotely.
With the new year ahead, I expect to see more practical use of artificial intelligence for application and diagnostic support, and drone usage for inspection related i.e monitoring or surveillance operations.
I don’t think AI needs a cubicle to work, possibly some rack space and lot of power. Drones won’t require ladders, lifts, or climbing harnesses.

As widespread adaptation of IoT, G-5 telecom, and cloud computing services evolve in 2019, watch how your once “state of the art” non-mobile work force drifts towards a persuasive argument for “less office space based work”. Consider how many tasks AI and faster Internet access has played a major impact on work life already.
Flexibility to work in both office based and remote site locations might prove to be a productive skill in the near future. If you’ve already cleared this hurdle, you’re probably in good shape.
Technology continues to march onward. If you can work
“Anywhere” especially where technology hasn’t already automated and crowded humans out completely , than you may have a very desirable skill set that you might not normally consider a positive.
I guess it isn’t that cold and dark after all.

It will be interesting to see how some in-house IT support is affected in the coming year. Help desk support, desktop support, and unique product support, usually hold the keys for administrative tasks. Many professing their bland “tricks”, some reading from their “problem solving flow charts” This is wonderful if you view your workforce as low tech skilled workers. Not all desktop support is like this. There are some very skilled techs who work in desktop support that are truly helpful and productive. Unfortunately it only takes one bad experience to sour one’s opinion.

On the other hand a lot of OS X and Linux users often seem slightly irritated by any form of desktop support from the world of Windows. Hand a thin client to a skilled coder and see what kind of look you get. I understand the security implications, but where’s the soft spot actually located?

I prefer the approach of giving the tools to those who actually do the work that keep the machine running. Sometimes you need to have faith in the person with the screw driver in their hand. That brings me to my point of useful skills for the future. Learn Linux, work more from the shell/terminals, and learn how to use a screw driver (tools). Of course these are all just considerations that may not be widely accepted.

Reading is good, gaining experience through “doing”, and figuring out what works, and what doesn’t may improve your confidence level. Confidence is good to have, but it should be based on some productive abilities.

Practice on non-production systems, offline, and with proper permissions. Never “test” on any system that could have negative impact due to some preventable mistake.

Many companies invest a lot of resources into training low skilled workers to do “higher skilled” focused jobs, but that doesn’t mean these workers can’t learn on their own. I think you should always try to improve “your skills” which may not necessarily be the skills you are required to have or limited to in your present situation. The world is full of surprises. Prepare for your future.

With AI, G-5, Robots, companies contemplating “right sizing”, and cloud computing all picking up momentum in the coming year – what should you do? Here’s my simple advice; don’t let stress sidetrack you. Get enough sleep, remember what your priorities are and be yourself. Sounds like bad advice, but it may not be. You’ll figure it out. Have a cup of coffee and watch the snow drifts change the lay of the land.

PowerShell on LINUX?

November 25, 2018 0 EPH Linux

I know it’s not Christmas yet, but I did get a nice early gift.
My main laptop has been very reliable over the last few years.
My old Lenovo ThinkPad (11e) has been great, but lately I’ve been thinking I’d like to upgrade. I’ve been looking for something to replace the 11e, and finally (after much consideration and spec comparison) settled on a newer 11e with twice the memory and a i3. It looks and feels as rugged as the old machine, but it’s a little faster. The unit came with Windows 10 pro which I replaced with Ubuntu 18.10.
I did play with it for a while with Windows, but after waiting for updates I decided I should stop fooling around and set it up the way I want.

I did test a few other Linux LTS Distros, but Ubuntu 18.10 works great on the new 11e – actually better than it did on the old ThinkPad. I think that was more related to the old Bios and driver/hardware limitations.
The one thing that I do like about Windows 10 has been PowerShell. Now that PowerShell is available for Ubuntu I might not need a Windows machine. I was never too excited about running Ubuntu under Windows, as a virtual box, or duel-boot.
I’ll probably load Win10 on the old 11e just to have on hand for special projects, but I’d like to keep the new laptop as a Linux only machine.

I know ToughBooks have been the benchmark for rugged laptops for fieldwork, but I’ve had great luck with the 11e (Education series) I paired solid hardware (ThinkPad) with a great Operating System (Ubuntu/Linux).
PowerShell is working – although not exactly the same as it would on Windows, but it does seem very promising.

PS /home/eph> Test-Connection LocalHost > Test_Connection.txt
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=0 time=0ms TTL= Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=0 time=0ms TTL= Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=0 time=0ms TTL= Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=0 time=0ms TTL= Ping complete.

Source Destination Replies

X LocalHost {System.Net.NetworkInformation.PingReply, System.Net.NetworkInformation.PingReply, System.Net.NetworkInformation.PingRep…

PS /home/eph> cat Test_Connection.txt

Source Destination Replies

X LocalHost {System.Net.NetworkInformation.PingReply, System.Net.NetworkInformation.PingReply, System.Net.NetworkInformation.PingRep…

PS /home/eph> ping localhost -c 6 > Ping_test.txt
PS /home/eph> Get-Content Ping_test.txt
PING localhost (127.0.0.1) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from localhost (127.0.0.1): icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.017 ms
64 bytes from localhost (127.0.0.1): icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.072 ms
64 bytes from localhost (127.0.0.1): icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=0.072 ms
64 bytes from localhost (127.0.0.1): icmp_seq=4 ttl=64 time=0.072 ms
64 bytes from localhost (127.0.0.1): icmp_seq=5 ttl=64 time=0.071 ms
64 bytes from localhost (127.0.0.1): icmp_seq=6 ttl=64 time=0.074 ms

— localhost ping statistics —
6 packets transmitted, 6 received, 0% packet loss, time 127ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 0.017/0.063/0.074/0.020 ms
PS /home/eph> cat Ping_test.txt
PING localhost (127.0.0.1) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from localhost (127.0.0.1): icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.017 ms
64 bytes from localhost (127.0.0.1): icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.072 ms
64 bytes from localhost (127.0.0.1): icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=0.072 ms
64 bytes from localhost (127.0.0.1): icmp_seq=4 ttl=64 time=0.072 ms
64 bytes from localhost (127.0.0.1): icmp_seq=5 ttl=64 time=0.071 ms
64 bytes from localhost (127.0.0.1): icmp_seq=6 ttl=64 time=0.074 ms

— localhost ping statistics —
6 packets transmitted, 6 received, 0% packet loss, time 127ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 0.017/0.063/0.074/0.020 ms

One nice attribute you have avaiable when using Powershell in Linux is the availability of standard Linux commands in the same terminal.

If PowerShell is the only thing keeping you tied to Windows, you might want to take a look at the Linux version.

Chocolatey Goodness

November 12, 2018 0 EPH Blog Software Tech Tips Windows

One of the reasons I prefer Linux over Windows is the ease of package management.
Apt, Yum, and Pacman depending on your distribution (Debian:Ubuntu, RedHat/Fedora or Arch) just seem much more logical than the Microsoft App Store or even Apple’s software store.

I don’t use the GUI interfaces available on any system if I can carry out the same goal from a terminal. I realize all these systems have a “terminal/Command line” available, but a lot of users have grown accustomed to a graphical point and click method. I haven’t, nor do I enjoy navigating around the screens pointing and clicking – it seems like a waste of time.

PowerShell on the Windows System is an exception. I’ve gotten used to using the Windows command prompt and netshell when possible, but always felt that neither lived up to the power of BASH. PowerShell has grown and developed into a useful tool that many Linux users would find worthwhile for system administration and troubleshooting functionality.
When you add in the Chocolatey package management tool/repository you start to see potential for a more Linux-like work flow.

I see that there is also a GUI available for Chocolatey for any who prefer, but installing packages via PowerShell is fairly simple – as is searching and listing available packages.

I doubt i’ll abandon my Linux machine just to run PowerShell, but I think it’s beneficial to know how different Operating systems function and carry out similar tasks you might deal with in Linux.

“list, search, info, and install” are the commands I use the most when using Chocolatey. The “info” command is extremely useful in providing information on the application you may consider installing.

choco -h

list – lists remote or local packages
search – searches remote or local packages (alias for list)
info – retrieves package information. Shorthand for choco search pkgname –exact –verbose
install – installs packages from various sources
pin – suppress upgrades for a package
outdated – retrieves packages that are outdated. Similar to upgrade all –noop
upgrade – upgrades packages from various sources
uninstall – uninstalls a package
pack – packages up a nuspec to a compiled nupkg
push – pushes a compiled nupkg
new – generates files necessary for a chocolatey package from a template
sources – view and configure default sources (alias for source)
source – view and configure default sources
config – Retrieve and configure config file settings
features – view and configure choco features (alias for feature)
feature – view and configure choco features
setapikey – retrieves or saves an apikey for a particular source (alias for apikey)
apikey – retrieves or saves an apikey for a particular source
unpackself – have chocolatey set itself up
version – [DEPRECATED] will be removed in v1 – use choco outdated or cup <pkg|all> -whatif instead
update – [DEPRECATED] RESERVED for future use (you are looking for upgrade, these are not the droids you are looking for)