Rob the Geek

Category: Technology

  • Backing up the Pi

    We’ve just had some work done on one of our systems (which runs from a Raspberry Pi v2) so, aside from the config file backups that we can collect from the systems interface, I thought it would be prudent to grab an image backup.. this is how it was done:

  • CentOS 7 – CLI to GUI

    I’ve been playing with a few VMs as I try to figure out a new infrastructure for our office, and as part of this I’ve taken a particular shine to CentOS as a minimal build for my virtual servers. I then decided I wanted to get a few sandbox environments running with desktop software and, […]

  • PBX in a Flash – Cyclic Reboot under Hyper-V

    This post is for anyone who is running into an issue where following the guide over on Nerd Vittles and setting up under Hyper-V leaves their virtual machine in a cyclic reboot… er, cycle. If you are quick enough, you may catch the error (Fig 1) umount: can’t umount /mnt/selinux: Invalid argument ..which isn’t entirely […]

  • Reflashing a Rooted Router

    I have a couple of Open Mesh Indoor Access Points that I’ve used for various projects, the most recent of which being the provision of WiFi for our Teenage Subnet. These devices have a very cool history. Originally created under the banner of Meraki (since sold to Cisco and thenceforth diverging from its open source […]

  • Kicking off with Koha

    Koha is a fully featured, scalable library management system. So, I thought I’d set up Koha on a virtual machine to have a bit of a play, and maybe use it to manage our library at home. Create the virtual machine I’m using VirtualBox as my VM manager, so – first off we create a […]

  • When USB goes bad…

    So, I decided to give running a linux distro *solely* from a USB 3.0 flash drive… the install itself was fairly simple and painless, the pain only started on the reboot. The drive failed, and I was dropped to the rather unfriendly >initfs prompt. I tried a few things, from fixing the failed superblocks dumpe2fs […]

  • Linux for Kids

    My best mate dropped over on the weekend and left me an ancient Sony Vaio that he’d acquired for his 7-year-old daughter. After shooting the breeze over the beer, we got to talking about his daughters computer use. Essentially he (and she) just wanted “something she can use and have for her own” – he’d […]

  • Technology and Recreation – a recipie for AWESOME

    For gadget geeks like myself, there’s always been an opportunity to mix technology with what we do when AFK (away from keyboard). My first heart monitor watch *had* to be imported because no one in this country was selling the IR receiver (connecting through a DB9 (serial) cable no less.. for the more normal, serial […]

  • Social Scams and Why They Work

    Over the last week, as New Zealanders begin to change their jandals (flip-flops / thongs) for shoes, I’ve noted a significant increase in the number of “warnings” being posted in my social network feeds. This is not uncommon and it’s not unique only to my network of contacts as these articles point out. Now, for […]

  • ASUS Garmin A10

    I got one of these phones when they first came out – they were pretty awesome back then, however over time they have been orphaned on older, vulnerable iterations of Android and they simply don’t have what it takes to be a primary device any longer. Because of this – I’m currently looking to root the phone and install upon it a modified ROM which will give me *just* what I need to turn this into a useful device for sitting in the car.