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Website Upgrades

August 2023 marks the 21st year of this site. While this website is updated on a part time basis, there is a new makeover happening.

Icons will be available on all sections (where there is more than one page to a section). Drop down menus, for page topics, will be eliminated.

In the non tech section. This section has additional content added.

The states of Oregon, Washington, and Alaska will have their own topic pages, followed by additional content.

As the Nextcloud server is using AI to gather up a digital media collection, that started in 2001, topics will be added to the site.

The Galloping Gertie section now includes four additional pages covering Sturdy Gertie, the construction and opening of the third Tacoma Narrows Bridge, and photos of the Narrows.

Changes have been made to how that text can be displayed so that it will be easier to read when zooming in.

Eclipse Information

The Annular Eclipse will be seen in parts Oregon on October 14th. The ring of fire will be visible for 4 1/2 minutes.

It has been six years since the last eclipse was seen in Oregon. The video, from the 2017 esclipse, will be posted in the Non Tech section.

One difference with this eclispe is the you must wear goggles the who time because the moon will not completely cover the moon.

As discovered from the last eclipse, it does record better on DV than your Go Pro or phone.

Want to learn to code?

For the past few years, I have been working with a few on how to program using Visual Basic.

This computer language has been use (on this website) for twenty years but it isn't the only one used.

Coding topics won't be covered on this website but will covered on the wifile.com website that is used to promote software applications that work with MySQL Server for record keeping and financial transactions.

Visual Basic isn't 80's BASIC (how I hate the name) but it is a very powerful language that can do a great many things in a very organized way.

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The end of Tivo

September 2023 marks the of using Tivo for television services. The service had been in use since 2007.

As a result of a decision made by Xfinity, the device was deactivated and X1 is now in operation in the house.

The systems have been in use since 2007 using a Series 3 and a Premier. It was easier to use than the X1 and will be sadly missed.

Availability of Raspberry Pi 4 devices

The shortage has finally stopped. There will be more material during the Fall and Winter on these devices.

The Raspberry Pi cluster is being worked on to provide an additional unit with 4 devices connected to the system.

These device will be featured on how to utilize them for VPN, collaboration services for the Nextcloud server, and entertainment purposes.

Four of these devices at 64 bit with 4 cores each can facilitate many I.T. resources for a home or small business.

The cluster that is operating on the network will include power over ethernet (POE) to eliminate the power adapters and utilize a special network switch to control power to the system as well as data traffic.

Installation of the POE is being posted the Linux section this week.

Nextcloud Section (Linux)

Since Nextcloud is a Linux application, this topic has been added to the Linux section.

This section will be updated (in the next few months) with completion of the installation to the cloud server application.