Reviews

The Ubiquiti USW-Pro-24-PoE is a managed Layer 2/3 switch with PoE on every port that slots neatly into the UniFi ecosystem. Coming from unmanaged Netgear PoE switches, the visibility it provides into network topology transformed how I diagnose problems—the controller’s topology view shows exactly which devices connect to which ports, turning what used to require physical investigation into a glance at the dashboard. I bought it because every port has PoE, eliminating the guesswork of which wall port maps to a powered switch port. I kept it because of that topology view. Twenty-four ports sounds like plenty until you start counting cameras, wall jacks, access points, and infrastructure devices, so plan your deployment carefully.

The Ubiquiti U6 Long Range access point makes a bold claim right in its name. After deploying a single ceiling-mounted unit in a 4,000 square foot two-story home, that claim holds up—complete coverage across both floors with no dead spots, handling approximately fifty devices without complaint. Previous access points produced spotty coverage in corners and struggled through walls; those problems simply don’t exist with this unit. The UniFi integration is seamless, roaming between multiple APs is invisible to connected devices, and WiFi 6 efficiency keeps everything stable even when the household is actively streaming, video conferencing, and transferring files simultaneously. Just don’t mount it on your bedroom ceiling—the blue status LED is bright enough to disturb sleep.

The Ubiquiti Dream Machine Pro represents a significant step up from consumer networking gear, offering enterprise-grade features in a package that’s actually manageable for technically-inclined home users. After three years of continuous use, it’s proven itself as the backbone of a demanding home network running four VLANs, approximately fifty devices, nine cameras through Protect, and automatic WAN failover. The centralized management interface handles both networking and Ubiquiti’s camera system from a single console, replacing what would otherwise require command-line configuration or separate tools. The cloud login trend and occasional UI hiccups are annoyances worth noting, but they haven’t undermined three years of reliable operation. If you’re comfortable managing VLANs and understand why IoT devices belong on a separate network, this delivers.

This eight-week CyberLeadership program from the CyberLeadership Institute guides experienced security professionals to operate at executive level, ending with a practical board‑facing capstone project that simulates the presentation of a 2-year plan by an incoming CISO to the board. Each week focuses on a distinct leadership domain, and includes practical action items and templates to be incorporated into the capstone. The course offers 40 CPE towards renewing my CISSP .

Week 1 — The role of a CISO

Week 1 orients participants to the program and the cyber resilience mindset, and introduces the CISO role through lived experience and practical lessons. Participants explore the many variants of the CISO position, clarify their ideal role, and begin building a personal brand and interview readiness. The week covers essential first‑100‑day priorities, ways to engage the C‑suite, and personal resilience practices.

Ship of Destiny concludes Robin Hobb’s Liveship Traders trilogy. Having committed to the series after enjoying her Farseer books, I finished it—but my reservations from The Mad Ship carried through to the end.

The finale brings together the various plot threads: the Vestrit family drama, Kennit’s pirate ambitions, the serpents’ journey, and the truth about liveships and dragons. Hobb ties things up competently enough, but the journey there continued to frustrate me.

The Mad Ship is the second book in Robin Hobb’s Liveship Traders trilogy. I came to this series after enjoying her Farseer trilogy (though finding it quite depressing), and read all three books in sequence shortly after publication.

The premise of living ships made from dragon cocoons has potential, and Hobb’s world-building remains detailed. However, several aspects didn’t work for me.

The trilogy leans heavily into themes of mental illness and trauma. Characters spend considerable time processing their psychological wounds rather than taking action. If you enjoy character introspection, this may appeal to you. I found it slowed the narrative and made the books feel like they were about suffering rather than adventure.

The author of The Stars Came Back , a Heinlein-esque young-adult work of science fiction with a heft side dose of life philosophy, has a new book Komenagen in that same universe. The title is based off of the Platean society’s rite of passage into adulthood. If you like Heinleinian juveniles, this will scratch that itch.

Daredevil’s Season 3 on Netflix has a lot to offer, despite some early warning signs suggesting it might be overly political. The overall plotline involves the return of Wilson Fisk (now openly known as the Kingpin), and Daredevil’s attempts to keep him from regaining control of the city’s criminal underworld. We have an excellent guest villain from Daredevil’s rogues’ gallery, and there are many well-done and subtle callbacks to that character’s earlier appearances in all formats. We get a bit more backstory for Karen Page, which is interesting but awkwardly inserted. We get some significant revelations for Matt Murdock himself.

Season 2 represents a clear improvement over Season 1 of this show in every respect. The dynamic between Danny Rand and Christine (his girlfriend and sidekick) changes significantly for the better, with Christine’s (or rather, the actresses’) noticeably superior martial arts skills getting recognition. Danny’s own moral failings are pointed to and wrestled with. Some problems are recognized as unsolvable, at least by vigilante superheros. Like Season 2 of Luke Cage , there’s some significant moral ambiguity present, but it’s somewhat less drastic.

I don’t have much to say about this one. It was better than the first season, but had too much focus on the criminals. There was significant moral ambiguity, particularly towards the end, which could either be a bad thing or a deliberate storytelling choice that will be redeemed next season. This season, it left a bad taste in my mouth. The cameo appearance by Iron Fist was good, but did not mesh well with Iron Fist Season 2 as a whole. (I’m not sure of the chronology). An improvement over the first season, not least because it was shorter and thus had less time to waste. If they had cut it down to 6 episodes instead of ten, it might have worked.