Saturday, January 4, 2014

Online emulator website to demo OpenWRT LuCI, DD-WRT, Gargoyle, Tomato, TP-Link, Asus, Linksys, D-Link, Belkin, Cisco SB, Mikrotik, Netgear and Sonicwall wireless router firmware GUI

If you are looking for an online emulator to let you try out the web interface of wireless router firmwares including OpenWRT LuCI, DD-WRT, Gargoyle, Tomato Advanced and stock firmware for TP-Link, Asus, Linksys, D-Link, Belkin, Cisco Small Business Online Device, Mikrotik, Netgear, they are actually available in the Internet.

This is particularly useful if you intend to flash your wireless router's stock firmware to an alternative, and you want to evaluate the functionality and looks-and-feels of such firmwares before finalizing your decision.

This is also useful if you intend to buy a new wireless router, and still indecisive among Netgear, TP-Link, Asus, Linksys or D-Link.

Here are the URLs to the respective wireless router online emulators:

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Stay Free From Credit Card Debts

With a new year dawning, it’s time to establish a relatively clean start. Whether or not you have old credit card debts, it’s best to make a conscious decision to avoid accumulating new debts in 2014.

While some may argue that incurring credit card is unavoidable, a measure of self-control and discipline goes a long way in allowing you to maintain your finances in a manageable state. Here are a few ways in which you can stay debt free (relatively) this 2014:


1. Lessen Credit Card Use

This is a no-brainer. While a more obvious answer would be to not use your credit card at all, we all know that that is not a realistic course of action. After all, credit cards exist for a specific reason. What is realistic is controlling your credit card usage to avoid overspending. Use your card only when it is the only option available, and even then mentally weigh if using your credit card is actually necessary. Lessening your actual use of the card lessens any possible debt you might get.
 

2. Prepare for Emergencies

Set aside some money so you can have an emergency fund. By having money prepared for unforeseen events and expenditures, you can dip into that emergency fund instead of reaching for your credit card.
 

3. Charge Within Your Means

If you do need to use your credit card, then use it for transactions you know you can afford. Keep in mind how much you’re actually purchasing and be sure to pay for your credit card bill in a timely manner, avoiding penalties, and interest fees.
 

4. Always Pay in Full

Credit card debts accumulate when you constantly have a balance that’s carried over in the following months. Make sure you place yourself in a state wherein you can afford to pay your monthly bill in full in order to avoid being burdened by long-term debts. Always be aware of what you have to pay and manage your finances accordingly. Remember, huge debts sometimes begin with small but neglected debts.
 

5. Try to Avoid Taking Out Cash Advances

Cash advances are very convenient, and that is why credit cardholders have a tendency to overdo them. Remember that just because you have the option to take out a cash advance doesn’t mean that you have to take that option. A cash advance is simply you borrowing money, and that results—obviously—in debt. Work on your financial situation to ensure that taking out a cash advance will never be necessary. (The aforementioned emergency fund is a great way to do this.)

 
6. Be Careful With Who You Allow to Use the Card

Some people are in credit card debt because someone else overused their card. This is something you can avoid simply by either being careful with who you give access to your credit card account, or just by simply not allowing anyone else to use your card.
 

7. Understand Your Credit Card Account

Ignorance is never an excuse, particularly when it comes to money. When you sign up for a credit card, that’s a financial commitment, and it’s your responsibility to know every detail of every term and condition that financial commitment has. In order for you to not be straddled with credit card debt, it’s always best to know what you’re entitled to and what you’re responsible for. That way, you know which mistakes you cannot afford to make when it comes to your credit card usage.

 
All in all, just be responsible with your credit card use and credit card debt would be the least of your worries. By taking the initiative to avoid credit card debt in the coming year, you can ensure yourself a more financially stable 2014.

Note: This is a guest post by Money Hero,  a Hong Kong’s leading financial comparison website which helps its readers to compare a broad range of financial products online - from credit cards to insurance plans.

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

JuiceSSH the free SSH client for Android developed by Linux system admins

SSH client is an essential tool for us to have remote access to the command line console of Linux/Android/Unix system, be it a server or network device that we manage, or our own personal computer, or a TV box, etc.

In Windows system, most of us use PuTTY or similar SSH client to remotely connect to our Linux/Android/Unix system. Beside Windows, there are PuTTY for Symbian, Windows Mobile, iPhone, ... but where is the PuTTY for Android?

Nowadays we tend to carry a smartphone, perhaps together with a tablet with us, more often than carrying a laptop. In order to practically work on the text-based SSH terminal, the smartphone need to have a large screen, and smartphone that fulfil this requirement is very likely an Android phone. Perhaps the tablet that we carry with us is also an Android tablet. Therefore, the market demand for a good SSH client for Android is definitely there, and JuiceSSH that I'm going to introduce here is among the best I found so far.

With a good SSH client in our Android device, we can access to the server, network equipment or computer anytime, anywhere for emergency troubleshooting, configuration, administration, etc.

JuiceSSH is an all-in-one terminal client for Android. Beside Secure Shell (SSH), it also supports Mobile Shell (MOSH), Local Shell and the unencrypted Telnet. Support for file transfer with SCP and SFTP is in the pipeline. With Local Shell support, you can get into the command line console of your Android device.



JuiceSSH is developed by Paul Maddox (a Linux system architect) and Tom Maddox (a system administrator). Being frequent SSH users themselves, I believe they know well about what their users want. For example, JuiceSSH has a popup keyboard on top of the Android keyboard for the command line commonly used Esc key, arrow keys, PgUp, PgDown, etc.


JuiceSSH has a full colour terminal that supports UTF-8 characters (including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc.). It also supports copy and paste within the session. It will open the web browser when an URL shown on its screen is tapped.

If you deal a lot with Linux/Android/Unix system, this is a good tool for you in your Android devices.


Hint: Click on the "Older Posts" link to continue reading, or click here for a listing of all my past 3 months articles.