Let's Talk About Tech!

Background Have you ever had the need to properly erase HDD or SSD before disposing them ? Or selling them ? You do not want to have someone else playing around with your data right ? What we usually do is using a bootable Linux Live CD and use dd style command to write random data on the disk right ? But what if you have 10 disks in your machine ? What if you need a report to proof the world that wiping is a success ? I came across this challenge recently.

Background In 2021, I was introduced to the PaleBlue brand and their groundbreaking approach to rechargeable Li-Ion batteries, designed to supplant traditional single-use batteries. The concept and the product resonated with me deeply. You can revisit my initial article on PaleBlue [ here ]. Now, PaleBlue has taken strides in enhancing their offerings in several key areas. Let's delve into these developments.

Background In a previous article , I demonstrated how to control Somfy devices using php and the Somfy API. Now that it's working, we need to identify some useful activities related to this new functionality. Why not begin integrating it into a Home Automation platform like Domoticz? Let's dive into it.

Background I recently bought a pergola with solar blinds, dimmable LEDs and a orientable roof blades. This is great to enjoy the summer without getting too much hot air or direct sun. It is coming with a Somfy Tahoma controller box that allows controlling the different devices with a SmartPhone. How cool is this ? Ok, but how does it work ? Can I control this myself with my own scripts and integrate it into an home automation system ? Let's have a look !

Background I've spent few years creating PhP functions to help with my script journey, but since few releases, Rubrik is pushing to switch the API auth to service account and tokens which means many of my functions are about to die. It was a massive work, I do not want to lose the benefit of it.

Background Sometimes, when using a self managed counter, you are getting fancy values. Could be test, could be an error, could be wrong value read from a sensor .... Basically, it happens. This is a problem since it is faking your statistics. There is a way to remove those values but it does not always work. Let's find out how to solve this problem.

Background I like home automation and home improvement. One way to become more sustainable is to measure various home consumption (electricity, water, heating, ...). Then, base on the numbers, you can act appropriately and improve the overall figures. Recently, I have created a IoT device to measure and record my solar production, this time we will have a look at the water usage.

Background Always wanted to give a try to a Nutanix examen but you cannot afford it ? (between $99 and $199). Your company does not want to pay for it ? There are discounts from time to time, but you need to prepare for the exam, they are not super easy.  Ok, I have a good news for you !

Background Sometimes, it is cool to receive important notifications directly to your phone when something critical is happening. It's even more true when talking about smart home / home automation : basement water flood, some temperature drops, ... really anything you can think off. There is a Telegram integration in Domoticz, but I was not finding what I was looking for in the official documentation. Let's see how it works !

Background My 3D Printed CNC machine project has been sitting in my basement for over a year now. Unfortunately, some of the parts turned out to be too weak with the 3D printing technique, and I needed to find a solution. Ideally, I needed metal or aluminum parts that could support the constraints of the belt. I searched for an affordable online CNC service for a long time, but it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I finally succeeded.

Background This post may be a bit different from others in the blog, but actually not too different. I enjoy swimming and make an effort to swim at least once a week, but I've always struggled to find suitable swimming goggles. The issue is often water getting inside, causing discomfort from being too tight, becoming foggy, and so on. When you're focused on counting your strokes, it's not practical to stop and adjust your goggles every lap. In the 21st century, there should be a solution to this problem.

Background I'm monitoring the temperature in the datacenter with sensors from ServerCheck . They are reliable and very efficient. They support SNMP and have a comprehensive UI. But, I recently had the need to get the value of one sensor from the CLI. I noticed the company has been renamed to InfraSensing, but the hardware is still the same. Let's see what can be done !

Background I always wanted to print my own PCB. This is so cool to see his own design getting to life. There are a couple of online PCB makers and I'm ready to test one of them ! But how does it work ? What should I do ? How much does it cost ? Where to start ?!?

Background We did a lot of very interesting work so far and we already have a nice working product. However, I have the feeling it is lacking in few aspects. Especially the visibility of its own status and something showing it is working and reporting the data correctly.

Background Yes, I did not resist to share an article on the most discussed topic of the last month ... ChatGPT, the new all terrain tool that address any questions. Instead of writing about something you already know, I let ChatGPT to create this blog post. I asked  questions and I merged the answers below. This is mind blowing ! Let me know in comments what you think about ChatGPT and the generated content. Please Keep in mind that I only layout the text, the entire content is AI-generated.

Background I've received some very positive messages related to my posts about the Wallbox API. This is very rewarding and I would like to thank all the people who are reaching out 🙏🏻. In the comments, I've see people asking for API to restart the unit remotely. Since API only limit is the sky, let's see what can be done.

Background Recently, Rubrik is enforcing the 2FA authentication (Multi Factor Authentication). This is a great security feature that minimizes the risk of unauthorized access to your environment. But how does it work within a script ? There is no way to enter a 2FA code when running a script every day at 2 am for example. The 2FA is enforced starting at CDM v 8.0.2 with a 3 month grace period to allow the customers to adjust their security.