IKARIAM – Live the ancient world!

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I’m going to step out of my normal subject matter and blog about a game I just recently discovered on the Internet. I don’t generally have too much time to play games but I’m not a complete book worm either. The game is called IKARIAM and is a free web-based game.

It’s a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game in the same genre as Sid Meier’s Civilization and built completely around Javascript with some very nice graphics. It can be monotonous for some but it’s also a very easy game that is played in real-time. It provides a nice balance of action and strategy and was truly fun to play. It appealed to me in that I could spend just a few minutes every day (or every few days) and enjoy it just as much if I had spent a few hours playing it.

What was just as interesting was the enormous support for Ikariam within the Greasemonkey community. Greasemonkey is a Mozilla Firefox extension that “allows users to install scripts that make on-the-fly changes to most HTML based web pages”. I personally use a number of Greasemonkey scripts that really enhance my web browsing activity.

If you’re feeling stressed out and have a few minutes to waste I would highly suggest you make your way over to IKARIAM, you’ll probably feel like a little kid again — or perhaps like the emperor Julius Caesar!

Cheers!

UPDATE: May 2, 2008

I’d like to thank ecmanaut for his hard work. Here’s the link to his Kronos Utils project on Google Code;
http://ecmanaut.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/sites/ikariam.org/kronos-utils/kronos_utils.user.js
And don’t forget his two other scripts;
http://ecmanaut.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/sites/ikariam.org/ikariam_friend_list.user.js
http://ecmanaut.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/sites/ikariam.org/ikariam_score_linker.user.js

Cheers!

Update: May 21, 2008

Here are some additional links to the Kronos Utils for Ikariam;
http://code.google.com/p/ecmanaut/source/list
http://corentin.jarnoux.free.fr/kronosutils/index.php

Cheers!

Wireless LAN Vendors

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Thanks to everyone that participated in the poll, “What vendor are you using for your wireless LAN?”. It’s only to be expected that more folks responded with Motorola since I have a few articles dedicated to the Motorola Wireless LAN Switches posted on this blog.

Wireless networking has definitely brought its own set of distinct challenges. Channel and power management are among the too big problems with wireless networking. And let’s not forget the whole security issue with WEP, WPA and WPA2. Interoperability issues can also create a lot of headaches. And the never ending discussions over which band is better, the 2.4Ghz (802.11b/g) or 5Ghz bands (802.11a).

What vendor are you using for your wireless LAN?

Aruba
4 (9%)
Cisco
6 (14%)
Extreme
0 (0%)
Motorola
15 (36%)
Muru
3 (7%)
Trapeze
6 (14%)
3Com
0 (0%)
Other
8 (19%)

Thanks for the feedback!

Cheers!

Nortel 6100 Series Wireless LAN Handset

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I recently received a Nortel 6140 WLAN handset to test within our network as a possible replacement for the Nortel 2211 handset.

The Nortel 6140 supports IEEE 802.11 a/b/g wireless LANs. It features Push-To-Talk (PTT) and speaker phone capabilities.

The first question I had was “how do I get to the configuration?”

In order to enter the Admin menu you need to perform the following

• with handset powered off
• press and hold Green Key
• then press and release Orange Key
• then release Green Key when “Admin Menu” is displayed
• enter password (default 123456)
• use the navigation keys to scroll through the options and select menus

I’ve been really impressed with the call quality on the Nortel 2210 and 2211 so I’m sure I won’t be disappointed with the Nortel 6140. Just as a side note Nortel is OEMing the phones from Polycom (formerly Spectralink), and those folks know how to make some really good phones.

Cheers

Update April, 10, 2008

Out of the box the phone will boot up and display “No Reg Domain Set”. This pertains to which country the device is being operated in so that it can conform to the rules and regulations set forth in that country that govern 802.11 wireless frequencies.

Reg. (Regulatory) Domain
The Regulatory Domain defaults to None on the wireless handset display.
FCC requirements dictate that the menu for changing the domain be available by password, which in this case is the LINE button. To change the domain, press LINE and then enter the digits that represent the domain for the site. You must enter both digits.
The following are domain digits:
• 01—North America
• 02—Europe (except Spain and France) and Japan
• 04—Spain
• 05—France
• 06—Korea
As of this writing, Spain and France are adopting the general European
Regulatory rules. Check with the wireless LAN administrator or supplier for
the correct domain to enter in these countries.

Once you’ve set the regulatory domain you’ll be prompted for which radio you’d like to use; 802.11a, 802.11b/g, 802.11g only.

Cheers!