Paul Begley Blog

Our engineers ran into an issue attempting to update Microsoft Teams through the Admin Center. The engineers opened a ticket with Microsoft Support, and they hadn’t run into this before and thought it was a proxy error. Well, we are working from home and none of us were using any standard proxy. We also weren’t using a VPN and testing with ‘all the standard browsers’ (Firefox, Chrome, Edge, and a few others). No joy.

We *were* able to connect if we used Fiddler. Which is strange because Fiddler is a proxy, right?

Anyhow, we resolved the issue. Super easy. We manually changed our local system DNS to Google DNS (8.8.8.8). Can’t really explain that one. I’m using PiHole locally, the other engineer was using Comcast. Both our systems are using commercial network gear with no filtering.

Screen shot and error string below for reference.

Hope this helps someone, because when I searched for the string below (in quotes), I got exactly one unique result that wasn’t very helpful.

Error String:
“We can’t get the effective dial plan so the dial plan can’t be tested.”

Screen Shot:

Summary

We have been testing streaming services off and on for the past several years. We were early adopters for various streaming devices (Roku, Chromecast) and many streaming services, including Netflix (DVD, now streaming), Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu, Britbox, DirecTV Now, and YouTube TV.

Recently we had our roof replaced. In doing so, our DirecTV dish was removed, and after review, we decided to cancel our DirecTV subscription.

Details

Prior to YouTube TV, other ‘cable replacement’ options that provided local TV as well as the non-network content we wanted were almost unusable from an interface standpoint.

Cable replacement requirements

1. Roku device support
2. Local channels, BBC America, and short list of cable stations we like
3. Usable User Interface – high priority
4. Cloud DVR capability – minimum of 200 – 300 hours (record Olympics)

Throughout these experiments, DirecTV has been our cable provider of choice. DirecTV offered the content we wanted as well as innovative technology, such as the DirecTiVo. I was able to pick up used DirecTiVo’s for <$50 and upgrade them with large hard drives to get ~300 hours of recording time. This was great because we had three school age daughters and I dedicated one unit to record just about the entire Olympics coverage circa 2004.

5 Very Common Cord Cutting Mistakes & How You Can Avoid Them

https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/5-very-common-cord-cutting-mistakes-how-you-can-avoid-them/

1. Rushing into cord cutting – before we cut the cord, we used the Roku and at least a dozen streaming services for several years. This was not something new for us, so when the time came, it was easy for us to make a joint decision.
2. Cord cutting does NOT work like cable – we determined we required a streaming service that provided local channels, some cable channels, and had at least a 200-hour DVR capability, ideally cloud based. YouTube TV has an unlimited DVR capability.
3. Cost – we tracked costs of cable and streaming services
4. Content – you can’t have everything. For example, we do NOT care about sports, but we DO care about Olympic coverage, BBC America, and some channels like Hallmark that our family likes to binge during winter holidays.
5. Robust Internet provider – we aren’t huge fans of Comcast/Xfinity cable, but they have provided a robust, broadband Internet service. They are also the ONLY broadband option in our area. DSL is available, but not broadband. We are half way between two CO’s, and FIOS doesn’t have a contract with our township

Cons – we live in an imperfect world…

• No Hallmark Channel. I don’t care, but my wife and daughters (who don’t even live with us) are relentlessly nagging campaigning to subscribe to the Hallmark Channel for holiday movies.
• CBS DVR shows are actually “CBS On Demand” and have commercials that you can’t skip. Also, until the software was upgraded, it didn’t handle the transition to/from commercials properly which caused some shows to hang. Credit to YouTube/CBS for fixing this.
• Bandwidth to the TCL TV – we have experienced some buffering issues and sluggish interface behavior with Roku TV. This isn’t a show stopper, and I have been making it a “priority device” for Google WiFi. Next step is to configure an Ethernet connection.
• That’s it! We are very happy with the cord cutting.

Cost

Subscriptions (monthly)
YouTube TV        $49.99
Hulu w/no ads        $11.99
Netflix            $13.85
Total            $75.83

AT&T DirecTV was $96.91 – $102 for two TV’s, the least expensive package available, and DVR with whole home viewing

Hardware

• Network
  • Internet Provider – Comcast Performance Plus Internet – 200/12 Mbps
    • Testing with lower speed Internet tiers showed the 200 Mbps speed offered double the uplink speed (for VoIP performance) and better overall performance. This is probably overkill, but the difference between <100 Mbps and 200 Mbps was about $10/month.
    • There is no data cap for residents of New Jersey. Other states have a monthly, 1TB data cap.
  • Arris SB6183 Cable Modem
  • Google Mesh Wifi – NLS-1304-25
  • Meraki Security Appliance
  • Meraki 8 Port Switch
• Video
  • TV – TCL 65R615
    • Roku TV 9.2.x
    • Roku Wireless speakers
  • Panasonic VIERA TC-L42E50 (7 years old)
    • Roku Stick+
  • Visio 32″ 1080i TV
    • Roku 2
• Voice
  • ObiHai 201 device
  • Google Voice Service
  • Panasonic cordless phones

Reference

DirecTV and TiVo History
https://www.tivopedia.com/directv-and-tivo-history.php

XFINITY Terabyte Internet Data Usage Plan
https://dataplan.xfinity.com/faq/

Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election Volume I of II Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, III

I haven’t reviewed Venmo security in a long time.  Originally I took a look when my middle daughter was looking for an electronic payment service to sort out payments to roommates and friends in college.  At that time (2010?), Venmo appeared to be one of the best options.

That has changed – By default, all peer-to-peer Venmo transactions are public (except transaction amount).  Wired article, “Public By Default”, Hang Do Thi Duc’s site walks through the problem and example API output links are below.

I’m not sure what to recommend to replace Venmo, but I’m going to do a lot of testing over the weekend and post some recommendations.

Click here to see the last 100 transactions posted to Venmo (seriously).
https://venmo.com/api/v5/public?limit=100

It’s Time to Stop Sending Money on Venmo
https://www.wired.com/story/venmo-alternatives/

Public By Default
https://publicbydefault.fyi/

Lots of people ask about backup and disaster recovery for family computers. I use an external USB/eSATA case and Acronis True Image software to image all my friends and family computers. Reference links below for the hardware and software.

The biggest value to me has been flexibility in upgrading drives, decommissioning a system, and migrating to another system. Also, if (and this has NEVER happened) my system were to be compromised, it’s not worth my time and I don’t trust recovery of a compromised system. I will just restore my most recent image and recover my data from the cloud. Also, for people with kids in college, there is one less thing to worry about when they are away at school.

My recommendations:
” Rosewill external USB/eSATA enclosure
” 2TB or larger, fast SATA drive
” Acronis True Image Software

NOTE – Acronis updates its software every year. I have leveraged inexpensive multi-pack upgrades they offer to keep current and install the software on the many family computers…

I like the Rosewill enclosure because it can handle any SATA drive (small SSD to full size SATA) and the cooling fan can be switched on/off as required. I used this enclosure to expand the capacity of my DVR in the past as well as an external and backup drive for my laptops, desktops, and lab equipment.

For backups, I have been using the cheapest 2TB drives I can get and I keep the drives for ~5 years (after that I don’t trust them). Next replacement cycle I might go to 4TB drives.

There are lots of other options, so I included recommendations from The Wirecutter below for portable and external hard drives for reference.

Acronis True Image
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dsoftware&field-keywords=acronis

3.5 Inch Hard Drive Enclosure to USB 3.0 / eSATA
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182247

The Best External Desktop Hard Drive – Jan 2018
https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-external-desktop-hard-drive/

The Best Portable Hard Drive – Oct 2017
https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-portable-hard-drive/