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We've written about drakloop and mountloop, a couple of Mandriva programs that simplify the task of creating an encrypted container for your sensitive files.

Just yesterday I was talking about calendar sharing with a potential client, and today I run across this:

I'm the token computer consultant in a local chapter of a business group, and I provide all kinds of services related to computers. Earlier this week I announced to the group that I don't fix Windows machines.

Here's a useful link for making Dspam clean up much more efficiently...

Optimizing DSPAM + MySQL 4.1 | HowtoForge - Linux Howtos and Tutorials

This is more business than software. One of the main target audiences for my book is the small IT consultant who wants to help businesses by providing systems to improve the business, instead of just fixing their computers. To be able to do that, you need to understand business.

Recently we were looking for a service to conduct a survey. We checked out a bunch of different services, including Survey Monkey, and Zoomerang. Each had limitations: memberships that run into hundreds of dollars per year, free versions with limited number of questions or analysis tools, etc.

Requiem

One hundred years and four days. That's how long a remarkable guy named Norman Vaughn lived, I recently heard on the radio. Norm was an Alaskan adventurer I've met several times. When I first met him, he was in his 80s, taking a sea kayaking navigation class. He was taking up a new sport.

Norm had visited the South Pole with Admiral Byrd, on the first expedition to make it to the pole. Norm had raced in the Iditarod many times, most often winning the Red Lantern award for the last racer to finish each year. Norm was an irrepressible optimist, living his dreams every day, and an inspiration. He died two days before Christmas.

One hundred years ago, there were no computers, no IBM, let alone Microsoft, and certainly no open source software. It would be interesting to compare common attitudes and platitudes from then and now.

We've written about encryption in our newsletters on Freelock.com, but it looks like there are some new options available.

... by attaching 6 keyboards, mice, and monitors to it, of course. Need to provide a place for guests or workers to get online, and not much more? This can be a very cost-effective solution. Build a Six-headed, Six-user Linux System.

Just ran across this: KnowledgeTree Document Management System. Looks like a real document management system to add to the list.

Here's a handy article for setting up/configuring a monitoring service on a web server: BobCares :: Outsourced Web Hosting Support :: Installing and Configuring Nagios

Two quick stories caught my eye today, both related to pointing out the propaganda being foisted on us by large corporations...