Ping is so simple and so useful. In previous posts we mentioned ping a couple of times and the good work it does. The fact that ping has not changed much over the last 20+ years means it is on the right track. Now, what if you had that precious little tool with you all the time? You can check the availability of any network hardware on the Internet in a matter of seconds.

Ping is now widely available for mobile phones and it doesn't matter whether you are a devoted iPhone user, Nokia lover or Android hugger. There is a ping tool available for all popular mobile phone platforms.

PuTTY is a free Telnet/SSH client many administrators and people with less skills have grown to love. It is the perfect little tool to help you establish a SSH connection to a remote server. It enables you to connect and administer your Unix/Linux based server from any Unix or Windows work environment.

Many of us need to multi task, be as mobile as possible and be able to deal with various situations on the go. One application I always keep on my mobile is PuTTY's mobile phone port. For many people it is more than just another application, it is a trustworthy companion they would have killed for 10 years ago. I know people who used to reboot servers with text messages just so that they can get them running while on the road and that was about as far as it got. Nothing too fancy.

A universal encyclopedia in your pocket. When was the first time I heard of that? Yes, I'm pretty sure the first time I read of this concept was in the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. I won't be the first and last person to make the connection.

I've been fascinated with the concept of having universal knowledge in your pocket for a long time now. Data plans with mobile carriers, always carrying a USB thumb drive with lots of data that I'm particularly interested in at that moment, audio books, you name it. I've tried all possible ways to keep myself informed on various topics, on the go. I still haven't found the ultimate device, or approach, to meet all my needs. A nifty little gadget called WikiReader is taking a giant leap in the right direction to change all that. For 99$ you can have all the knowledge for servers and uptime in your pocket! I kid you, you can actually have a lot more than that. To be precise, about another 3 million other topics.

BackTrack is the most popular Linux live distribution focused on penetration testing and network security. With no installation whatsoever, the live distribution is ready to run within minutes. BackTrack is the "child", so to speak, of Whax and Auditor Security Collection.

Currently BackTrack consists of more than 300 different up-to-date tools which are logically structured according to the work flow of security professionals. Like most Linux distros, BackTrack is free. The project is hosted and maintained by www.backtrack-linux.org This structure allows even newcomers to find the related tools to accomplish a certain task.

The iPhone - one of the most, if not the most, popular mobile phone on the market. Innovative, when first launched, craved by people from all around the world, and widely accepted by the software development society. There are many great applications for it, most of them designed for plain fun and rich multimedia experience on the go. After a period of euphoria people start tinkering with the device even more, thinking - "What else can I squeeze from this device?".

Most of the times the answer is - a lot! We've all seen various wacky applications and some of practical use. One that you might not find practical at all is the web server for iPhone, called ServersMan. I honestly don't think this app will have a solid commercial value and extensive future implementations, but it is one of those things people will put on their phones only to tell friends they did so. Geeky, really geeky, and good for home use too. You can get all your data off your phone without syncing.