Tracking Bandwidth Using a DD-WRT-equipped Router

With all of the news lately out of Comcast about their bandwidth caps, do you feel the urge to begin tracking your own usage so you can keep an eye on things? Well, because I have to voice an opinion on everything, I do have to say that I'm impressed that there is such a fuss over a 250GB cap, because in all seriousness, that's a lot of freaking data.

I'd be willing to bet if someone breaks through 250GB a month, there is something fishy going on, and it's probably not something of the legit kind. There are indeed instances when lots of data can be downloaded for reasonable means, but really... 250GB isn't enough?! The cap on my ISP in Canada (Rogers) is 95GB, so 250GB seems like an absolute dream.

But I digress. If you happen to use a router that's equipped with the DD-WRT firmware, little do you know, but there is already a bandwidth-tracking feature built-in... you just need to know where to look. You can go do that... I'll so weep because I don't have a compatible router.

The method I outline in this very brief tutorial uses the DD-WRT firmware. Instead of capturing your uploads and downloads on each computer, which works very well if you live in a single-computer household, this method monitors your usage at the router level. So there’s no need to install software on each PC/Mac and then walk around with a calculator to add it all up.

Source: Simple Help, Via: Lifehacker

NVIDIA the Target of a Class-Action Suit

How many times in the past two years have we said, "Poor ATI"? It's amazing how fast things can change in this industry, because now it's definitely "Poor NVIDIA". Not only has AMD come out with a killer line-up of new ATI cards, their processor line seems to be heading towards the right direction (although it will be a SLOW process to catch up to Intel). Instead, it's NVIDIA who has all the issues right now.

As if dealing with a myriad of mobile GPU failures wasn't enough, the company has now been issued a class-action lawsuit that claims the Santa Clara-based company knew well in advance of the issues at hand, but kept quiet about it. The exact demands from the lawsuit don't seem to be clear, but it will be brought forth on behalf of all shareholders who bought stock between November 8, 2007 and July 2, 2008.

The full extent of the mobile GPU issue has not yet been seen, but many consumers and analysts alike are concerned that the GPUs will begin dying after warranties run out, which is not going to fare well for anyone - especially NVIDIA. It's going to be an interesting process to watch, but we can hope that it will work out to the consumer's favor.

The drop in stock price cut NVIDIA's market capitalization by more than $3 billion, and the stock has not substantially recovered. In the two months since its announcement, NVIDIA's stock has hovered mostly between $10 and $11 dollars, with a brief peak at just over $14 in the later weeks of August. As of today, NVDA stock was valued at $10.92 per share.

Source: Ars Technica

Why Isn't Linux the #1 Operating System?

Ahh the age-old argument... "Why isn't Linux popular?". I've discussed this exact sentiment a lot in our news before, so I'm sure my thoughts on the matter are clear. Linux should be a lot more popular than it is, but the main reason isn't so much the fact that it's "too different"... it's that developers can't streamline key features from one distro to the next. Proof? How about the fact that certain application download pages don't offer a single installer? Skype, for example, provides eight different Linux-based installers. That's way too complex.

The How-To Geek takes a look at a few different angles, some of which I agree with, some of which I'd argue. The first and foremost complaint is FUD, and that to an extent would be true. People like what they are used to, and given the extreme lack of patience that some people have nowadays (including me at times), having the will to dedicate days' worth of testing a new OS mind turn some people off. That could be with anything, though. Even a new coffee machine could carry a learning curve.

Other arguments are that the hardware manufacturers are to blame... which could also be true. I blame it more on the fact that hardware drivers are difficult to install. In Windows, you click and install. In Linux, you might have to compile, then install, then inject the module into the kernel... it's just not straight-forward at all.

I might sound like a Linux hater, but I'm far from it. I've used Gentoo as my primary OS for well over two years now and enjoy it, but I'm also the type of person who doesn't mind getting his hands dirty. Even I'm not naive enough to think that Linux is ready for the masses. There's probably a good reason that the vast majority of people either stick with Windows or pay out their rear for an Apple.

Microsoft paying off hardware manufacturers for their loyalty, aka the recent Foxconn scandal, and the manufacturers themselves are ignoring the linux platform when creating drivers, to reduce costs. They can afford that Linux because the marketshare is very low. It's the snowball effect -reversed.

Source: the How-To Geek

EliteTorrents' Admin Sentenced to 18 Months of Jail

There might be times when crime seems to pay, but when it doesn't, you know it. As the admin of the BitTorrent tracker EliteTorrents found out, crime didn't pay, and he'll prove it by spending eighteen months in jail and also be $20,000 poorer (I'm unsure if he heard money off the site though, so this might not hurt as much as it seems).

The FBI and DoJ are certainly trying to prove something, but as sites get shut down, more just pop up, and it's truly amazing to see. Despite the severe risk of being shut down and taken to court, some brave souls just don't care, or love the rush.

In the UK, former admin of Oink was charged with "conspiracy to defraud", whatever that means. A handful of uploaders were also charged on one count of uploading one disk. How much their fines will be, we don't know. Oddly enough, it's still legal to file swap in Canada, but I don't expect that to last too much longer either. Pretty soon, we'll all feel guilty for listening to the music or watching the movies we legally bought.

EliteTorrents’ rise to fame, and its subsequent demise, can be traced to a copy of “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith”, which the site pre-released approximately six hours prior to its theatrical premier. After attracting the attention of the MPAA, an investigation into the site by the FBI resulted in the site’s closure in May 2005 (“Operation D-Elite”), as well as the arrest of three administrators.

Source: DailyTech

Tech Roundup - September 12, 2008

• AMD 780G us nVidia GeForce 8200 - Technic3D

• ASUS VW223B LCD Monitor - T-Break
• ATI Radeon HD 4670 512MB GDDR3 - Hardware Canucks
• Force3D HD4870 Freezer DHT - Overclocker Cafe
• Galaxy 9600GT OC - XS Reviews
• Palit HD4850 - Overclockers Club

• ATP Petito Pink Ribbon Edition 1GB USB Drive - TestFreaks
• G.Skill 2x2GB PC2 8800 - Overclockers Online
• Kingston HyperX XMP-1800 2GB DDR3 Memory Kit - TweakTown

• ASUS Xonar HDAV 1.3 Deluxe - Elite Bastards
• Logitech Illuminated Keyboard - i4u

• Cooler Master Hyper Z600 CPU Cooler - Overclock3D
• Evercool Transformer 6 CPU Cooler - Virtual-Hideout
• Glacialtech Igloo 7223 Light E Heatsink - FrostyTech
• NZXT Sentry LX High Performance Fan Controller - Think Computers

• Apevia X-Sniper Tower - Pro-Clockers
• iStarUSA xAGE HDD Docking Station - techPowerUp

• Samsung F400 Bang & Olufsen Music Phone - TweakTown