This is an interesting concept created by a group at M.I.T. The basic idea is that commuters need a way to get from the airport, bus station or train depot to continue thier journey. The concept is similiar to one of the rentable luggage racks at the airport or a shopping cart kind of idea as they stack and can get several of them in a single parking spot.
Here's the full article http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/19651/
Well it didn't go without a hitch. We got all the clocks in the house changed ok so that wasn't a problem. My workstation even though it was on all night failed to update. Server and Laptop updated. Had to power off the cell phone and turn it back on again to update the cell phone. Learn something new every day!
It's amazing I was sitting here answering emails for over an hour thinking it was later than it was even though the other clocks were right. Didn't notice the discrepency right off. Must be too early.
At least it's light out so you can see outside. I hate when it gets dark early though. It kind of curtails the after work activities outside.
Finally got the Raid working on the server and can access the files from my workstation. The raid appears to be working great at the moment. Spent all Geekend working on it.
Here's a list of the problems.
1. The server sits underneath my workstation so that has also been down all Geekend.
2. The raid-controller refuses to create a hardware raid. So I had to configure a software raid on Ubuntu.
3. For what ever reason, the server re-detects the vidio and drops it down to 800x600 after I connect it to the KVM.
4. Had to use separate keyboards and Mice to operate 2 machines. They use to work off the KVM just fine with a single keyboard and mouse and monitor....now its just sharing the monitor.
5. I had to re-install Ubuntu a couple of times because I hosed the configuration of the raid. After which of course I learned a few shortcuts to reduce the time. When I first got it working I could create folders and files on the raid. When I rebooted they were missing kinda. The problem I discovered was in some of the packages used to mount NTFS drives on Ubuntu. Also figuring out the correct commands to mount the dumb thing properly when the system boots.
6. I needed some real data on the drive so I copied a 500mb video file to the raid. I took 30 min. After tweaking a setting I found somewhere on the web the same file transferred much faster. I copied a file from the usb to the desktop and it tok 8min...copied the file to the drive from the desktop in 8min. Then I copied a similiar size file from the usb to the raid and it was also 8min. BIG Huge Improvement there.
So now the Geekend is over and it's about time to eat. All that is left is transfering my data back to the server and then connecting 2 more machines to it.
Glad I had an extra hour to do it in! LOL
Was it worth all the hastle...not really except I have a Linux platform to play with once in a while. It's probably never going to be a piece-of-cake to work on unless I really spend the days and nights over several years like some of the people.
Like I said...don't try this at home!
I picked up some drive caddy enclosures on EBAY to replace ones I already had because the fans were too noisy. Two of them don't seem to want to work. One of them I put in my Linux box and works fine. Can't get this computer to boot with them for some reason.
Ordered a raid controller for my Linux box so I'm waiting to set that up again...can't use it anyway until the KVM switch comes in.
Onther day another 100 bucks or so.
I was able to add a pair of hard drives and set up raid 1 on them. The drives are 500GB each but under RAID 1 they are mirrored so I only get 500gb total space to use but my data will be safe if one of the drives fail. This was not a particular easy task. Took over half the day to figure it out.
Next project is to figure out how to run the system without a cdrom drive physically attached. By adding the drives I lose the ability to close the case unless the cdrom is removed. The problem is that when I do this the system no longer boots.
The good news is that it's not totally imperative I get this working expeditiously. Progress is Progress right?
As you can guess, I tested the new hard drives last night extensively and they passed so I started the project.
I just plugged in usb memory stick and it mounted automatically! Cool! Forgot I put some .MP4 movies on it. Now watching Commando Cody. Well I had to install more software to do it.
Ubuntu is as bad as Vista as far as asking permission to do things....maybe worse.
OK I guess I'm the idot buying 2 hard drives from a guy on EBAY. This guy finally got the drives to me after 2 weeks. The time frame isn't that bad but his choice of packaging sucks.
This guy sells lot's of hard drives.He buys them in bulk from a rebuilder and resells them. I doubt that they ship drives to him in USPS envelopes like he did with mine. I install refurbished drives all the time so I have no problem with that. Especially since the model I bought is exactly like the one I just bought retail.
The way shippers throw things around, manufacturers always ship hard drives in some sort of foam to protect the drive from shock. I have seen some pretty torn up boxes have hard drives survive the experience just because of the foam packaging.
As I'm writing this, I am testing one of the hard drives to certify it before I put it into use. I'll do that to the other one also when this one is complete. Since these drives are slated to be used on my Linux box for file storage...I need to be picky from the beginning to ensure my data is safe. that means thorough testing before committing.
Just finishing up adding all 39 episodes of this series to my collection. It aired in 1954-1955. I bearly remember this because I was 3 years old when it aired origionally. In these older sci-fi movies they had ray guns! It constanly blows me away that many of the things we saw in older sci-fi movies are now things we take for granted. The Rocky Jones Series was the first to use doors that would open automatically as I understand it.
Dell has announced that Ubuntu will be an option operating system on some of their new systems. So my timing is perfect to start learning the OS.
What I'm finding out right now is that I think they are biting off more than they can chew. First time users will likely be less problem to some degree. But If they are experienced in Windows, users will likely find they have less they can easily do. They will find lot's of differences. And the learning curve looks steep for a few things.
I just upgraded my bios on the linux system I'm using yesterday. Took quite a while to get it to take properly. It's a 5 year old motherboard on a Pentium 850 MHz system. Now it fully supports the larger new hard drives. Unfortunately, I'm waiting for a new KVM switch since both of mine seemed to have take a dump at the same time as the bios upgrade. Also, my new hard drives for my file storage hasn't arrived yet.
I have other issues as well...
My case is a rackmount that sits under my main system so it's not easy to get to. I need to remove the cdrom drive and get an external one working via usb. Then I can add another drive caddy and have all my disks removeable from the front of the case. Getting new ones with better fans for my workstation at the same time.
When it's done...I'll be bettr able to handle what's coming down the road as far as Linux goes. I've only dabbled with it over the years but it's definately close to Prime Time!
He forwarded all his email to 10 other people as directed...fully expecting a freakin miracle. Friends have no clue to the state he is now in...He never calls never writes...but rest assured he clicked on every link...he did everything he was asked. Thank's to technology, his atomic powered computer is still forwarding emails, sending out tons of spam, literally doing the bidding of others...just like he was still sitting there.
Up until last evening, I had been reasonably satisfied with the Vongo service. This inspite of the fact that they prevent you from accessing the service unless you are using the latest version and several times the DRM licences have gotten corrupted on my system.
When this happens, it forces a complete uninstall of Windows Media Player and the Vongo software and deleting the DRM files to start over. I have done it so many times actually I could do it in my sleep.
Yesterday, at least they sent an email stating the new software...version 2 was now available and that my current software would need to be updated to fully use the service...so I started to comply and initiated the upgrade. It was refusing to install because I use Windows media Player 10 and was requiring me to use version 11 before it would install.
For One, I don't personally like WMP 11 and Two, it would mean no longer using one of my other favorite applications. 2 weeks ago I reported a bad movie they had encoded wrong and they never fixed it. Tech Suport in general is lousy. First you have to submit a ticket via the ASK Vongo self help thing and then finally they send and email with some instructions. Included in the email is the Vongo phone number that you can't find on the site.
Personally any company that forces you to constantly update thier software is one thing. But forcing you to update someone elses is another and enough is enough!
Goodbye Vongo Good Riddens!