Author: Clickford, Steven M.

Buy AMERICAN Commercial Software and Services!

Clickford, Steven M.

I’m writing this with a bit of a kicking myself in the balls for not learning this sooner.

I do not support non profit Open Source Software (OSS) anymore. For years, I have remained highly skeptical, and now I am fully against using any software that doesn’t pay taxes into our society. (I am not open to debating why not, and if anyone comments and attacks me personally, or even tries to threaten me, I will take your IP address and report it to your LOCAL authorities for criminal punishment.)

One of the things in 2018 that turned me away was how much consolidation in the Unified Communications front in OSS world. (Look at Freeswitch switching corporate sponsors and the infamous merger of Free PBX and Asterisk, which was the former’s offspring or “fork” in the coding world.) OSS touts themselves to be more open by having “peer reviewed” investigation of code. You mean “group think” right? What about accountability such as sustainability and looking at the long term? Oh wait, they are just as notorious as commercial software with a lifecycle.

Of course OSS today is the “freeware” or “shareware” of the new Millenium  , if you want more features, you have to pay for it right? OSS also stands for Free Open Source Software, but the reason why I stuck to OSS was you’re seeing a LOT more commercial support or free software that requires an unlock situation whether it’s a free community login or some key that will always keep free stuff to a minimum (VMware) or what have you.

So how is it any different than the commercial software?

I don’t see much differences especially when Microsoft’s visual looks, has looked cheap (err it looks like Linux some days); and given how the cloud has degraded the “power user” (thats-a-me) what difference does it make?

I am also sick and tired of the lectures that for profit companies are evil and they aren’t caring and they are solely making money. So what do you do, the FOSS programmer – live in your parent’s basement and not make any buck for a living? Nothing is ever “free”!

When you hear someone say “It’s free and open source”, it should be treated as an oxymoron because most “free and open source software” requires someone to compile the code to make the app work. Most often its a defensive mode by the open source community to keep “non technical” people out of using technology; a tactic known as calling “users” indirectly as  “computer illiterate people” a page out of the IBM tech playbook back in the 1950s.

I am also defending acquiring AMERICAN-based vendors. I got f—d over by a Canadian company called CounterPath earlier this year acquiring a SIP softphone app for my legacy workstations to find out after burning $90 that it needs to be on an active WAN to work and not only that the software is going EOL after May 2019 because of a certificate that is expiring. This was not publicized in March while the package was still available to purchase and they gave me a notice in May, after burning this amount of cash for 2 licenses, and the support tech was like “well we told you a couple of times”, NO I only got a stern notice in May. I shouldn’t be lied like that and should get the Windows 7 and greater app for free because of this technical-person-like emotional manipulation support tactic is so far from bait and switch.

I waited too long because I had a life where I just didn’t have the time to set it up. The site doesn’t explain how the licensing works, while I did research prior to. And by the time I confronted their technical support, my PayPal protection lapsed.

Make sure you buy American software, and commercial grade, not some degrading “free” and complex software that only geniuses can  figure out. Oh wait, they are in jail because they had raped children because only “technical people” do things that aren’t socially acceptable by law…

</rant>

Session Initiation Protocol – The Secrets, part two

Clickford, Steven M.

For the end user level, SIP telephones can do cool stuff that couldn’t be done on “office phones” prior to.

One for the first time since ISDN, office grade sets can interconnect without the expense of a large PBX  system. Some can work in Peer to Peer fashion.  BUT, don’t believe in this entirely just yet.

They work in basic modes when it’s off the H323 network, if the Avayas, the Mitels and the Ciscos have “dual modes”. You have to toggle this in it’s basic configuration. Continue reading →

Session Initiation Protocol – The Secrets

Clickford, Steven M.1 Comment

For multimedia communications, a standard has been around called the Session Initiation Protocol or SIP. My sister platform, The Museum of Telephony, has explained this in a way that it’s an app-driven telephony like interface.

Originally for the fusion instant messaging or IM, video and voice calls, SIP became an international standard for basic telephony extensions (or “stacks”) for such technologies to work over the Internet.  SIP is an open standard, in “theory”. As you read along, it’s going to become a cliche pretty quickly.

This isn’t telephony per se, and it gets extremely technical. And degrading men can act like fanboys of this technology too. Trigger warning! Link contains non-laymen content from an apparent misongyst!

I digress. Just bare with me.

Continue reading →

Happy Election Day

Clickford, Steven M.

Today is the day to vote because our geriatric Secretary of State believes “early elections” “cheapens” the elections (Union Leader, circa late 2016). BTW many department heads at the New Hampshire government is NOT elected by you. Save that for another day.

Just in case you are being suckered into vote an entire party, do know that is meddlign with the elections. In the jury system, they tell you not to rely your opinions on the media, well please refrain from voting based on what Sean Hannity, or any commentator on any cable network after midnight Eastern Time to 11:59 pm Eastern Time. Vote on what YOU believe that impacts YOU. Not your friends, not your family, not what you think should be the greater impact. People are selfish in real life, but selfless in the booth. The logic makes no sense.

Meanwhile I am very unhappy with our two parties (as well as the creepy carpetbagging Free Staters…)

Why the Republicans are a Joke

The Democrats are a Lost Cause

And a later time why cable news is dangerous to democracy

How the local media lacks holding the real power accountable

And why SB2 (the municipal “elections” destroys democracy in the form of enabling lazy voters.)

Celebrate the freedom of voting based on the responsibilities of voting for the right people based on what YOU believe and HANDLE the consequences if a pol is doing the WRONG thing despite acting as if he’s “RIGHT”.

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Are You Sure You Want to Lean a Backwards Path Politically?

Clickford, Steven M.

I couldn’t resist!

I mean, we have choices. Just like a decade ago; if you vote one way, there will be consequences, if you vote on pride, if you listen to the preaching and the preacher; you may be mislead. Follow what YOU believe. The reason why I am being very clear and firm is too many people are getting their views from a third party that is trying to MANIPULATE you. Do not let a talking head on air or on line make you vote. Especially if it doesn’t apply to you locally.

Politickin’

Clickford, Steven M.

I’ve already expressed my views on politics in previous cycles, but lately it drives me nuts.

It’s also hard to talk about deep issues to family as well.

I am extremely fed up with the polarized society, that is not of the U.S., but New Hampshire specifically. It’s also not a Democrat or Republican issue. It’s actually more of the culture of #NHpolitics (since #NHpoli is too sexy of a hashtag like neighboring states…)

Continue reading →

Steven is Out of the Office

Clickford, Steven M.

I wanted to post a quick note here since I have noticed unusual hits yesterday and Tuesday as well as these hits were on unusual trafficked pages as well. I also have not had a lot of time to follow up as well as the social media posts have been used lower than average lately. I do not want to single a person out, or a group out specifically or disclose what hits were triggered recently, other than I feel a bit creeped out that someone could be monitoring me in ether a troll like matter, or in the legalese way. I say this because it has happened twice in the last year, and I am only speculating.

Because of some loose ended posts recently, I wanted to disclose that I am currently unavailable for the foreseeable future. There are a lot of personal struggles in my life right now. Along with the recent self discovery, and other concerns addressed to me, I probably won’t be active here for a while.

And because WordPress gives me basic statistics, and seeing the hits, I felt I should come clean and explain the reason why the site has not been updated and there will not be any plans anytime soon because I have a lot on my plate and I do not have any muscle to keep holding the world around me singlehandedly.

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One Year Later: Missing Kristin

Clickford, Steven M.

This was derived from a Facebook status post, and written to honor the memory of a teacher from the days I attended the GLEC program in Massachusetts. In August of last year, this teacher I knew from the sister program I attended, had passed away. She was south of 35 years old, if I did my math right by two months. I say this with the utmost sadness recalling the emotions and celebrating her life. This one has only but positive memories because that was the individual she was. Rare.

A year ago I had to go through a death of Kristin Mulvey, people in my remaining GLEC/CREST circles would relate to. She died of a really nasty high stage ovarian cancer, which is the worst bitch on the planet if you asked me. 🙂 I am going to just be upfront and say she was my last teacher crush, and for all the right reasons. She never had any skeletons in her closet (which is the vulernabiltiies for people to “fall for” even with a woman-crush/professional-crush situations), she was the real deal – what you saw was what you got. She never came off like princess, or a bitch, rude or disrespectful. (This occurs a lot in the SPED circles sadly.) The people that I know that knew her had nothing bad to say about her at all not because they wanted to cover her, it was real. Because SHE WAS the real deal. She was the cool-chick, the laid back cool woman type that wouldn’t let the smallest things of a person bother her or take it out against a student (anyone whose a student in SPED in one walk of life could relate to.)

She was so dedicated to her work with severely disabled students. She did stuff that wasn’t in her pay grade because she wanted to. She never used her power to pivot to another career. Sure she had changed employers since, but I have seen too many people just wanting to make a name for THEMSELVES in the actions of other disabled students.

She never treated ANY of her students differently. Including the students from the other programs (that’s-a-me) and it’s rare to find people who valued people as people. I can’t speak too much of her profession since it was over a decade ago, but the dedication was one of the many qualities that would make me be attracted to her, or have as a 1on1 para mind you since it’s so hard to find good help. She was the rare breed. I’m grateful that always spoke highly of me years after I left in 2008, a source had confirmed that to me.

She was also the 4th close death (people I knew prior to 21) in like 8 months, and the first of series that were close which ranged in emotions. I was aware of her illness in the fall 16; it wasn’t a question of if, only when, and even if you think on the latter, the emotions of the former could hit.

When I received the email of her passing my after was just somber, just sad. That’s all I can describe. I knew some of her family in various circles over those same years I knew her, which kinda made the bond between those individuals in different ways.

All I can say I miss her so dearly and that she was a very rare product of the special education world, and sadly she can’t be replaced and people like her are born with it. If a Kristin was in my life in school, I may had become a different person earlier on than later in my life because she was always pleasant. I suspect that is more of a temperament than anything else.

Loosing someone like Kristin has made me rethink on how I should value and find quality help. I wished it didn’t happen this way. The worst sensation for me is to loose someone that you can’t say anything critical about, because someone like Kristin was so damn awesome. I can only speak for myself, I miss you!

🙁

Figuring (Err…Figured) Out my Broken Self

Clickford, Steven M.

I had been off for most of the summer. While I have been very active and busy, I’ve also been suffering depression (the oxymoron.) After a couple of months, I figured out why. In fact it was a night last week where it call came together.

I am not “crippled” enough. I am not “disabled” enough, meaning I am not as “needy” as others, even though I still have needs to be met.

Welcome to Autism! The “invisible” handicap where empathy from others are not as noticed as one who looks “disabled” (whatever that means)

Now I realize how the system is, how it works, and the only way to get true social value to one’s figurative dollar is to be non verbal or be on a wheelchair.

Society is extremely backwards but rest assured, I got a handle of this.

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What I Get Left Behind Handling Tier 1 Repairs

Clickford, Steven M.

Since I had just mentioned my Day Program Problems, let’s look into how far behind I am helping out able bodied tech savvy people

  • IP Surveillance Camera system (Implementation began in July 2015 – No Completion Date)
  • SIP based Telephony Service, in house  (this kinda changed over time) – (Implementation Date April 2016 – Never was completed)
  • Single Sign On for intranet, WiFi (RADIUS), via Apple’s vintage Open Directory 10.5 (Pilot 2016, Implementation 2017, full cutover 2018, but due to a bug in the administration, it hasn’t been fully complete)
  • Routable LANs, migration from “flat”, but seperate VLANs (Mid 2018 to present, estimate time of completion Start of 4Q 2018)
  • SharePoint/content management database of multimedia (this is how the New Instagram profile has content), decided to use Apple’s Wiki service for the 10.5 Server, since this is an internal server in the first place. Simple but has a nice databse. Piloted in 1Q 2018, due to server corruption, it has been halted)
  • A share to stream movies for the ol woman to watch if her iPad is too full. (NON BUSINESS RELATED, and has been delayed because the complex process of DRM-based media.) Because of this non business matter, this is not a priority.
  • Help Desk Ticketing System (envisioned as far back as 2011, a pilot project began in 2016, a form was designed in FileMaker Pro, but never was fully completed, due to the ankle biting Tier 1 requests.)
  • Fixing broken printers (2016/17) – with some cash perhaps both can be completed by end of CY18.
  • ERP – to track my money, purchases, etc. 2011, never went to fruition
  • Web filtering, and proxy – End of FY 18, but due to a firewall breach on my Netgear, the project has been delayed.
  • The Museum of Telephony, adding content of article length? Life got in the way bitches1

So if you want a better outcomes for ACCOUNTABILITY, COMPLIANCE AND TRANSPARENCY, Tier 1 Requests, whether it’s frivolous or not, in an excessive manner will just delay very important long term solutions. This is akin to calling 9-1-1 for breaking an ankle. Before you contact Tier 1, THINK BEFORE YOU ACT!

Now I am an official grumpy sysadmin.