The new Microsoft Surface technology looks pretty slick, albeit a bit expensive. Perhaps someday, after I make a bunch of $$ on my Apple Stock (AAPL), I’ll be able to afford one. 
Check out this video below with a “new” voiceover. Funny Stuff…
Last week, after much waiting by myself, Ubuntu 8.04 LTS came out. Before the release, I didn’t have the time to really mess around much with the BETAs or the last Release Candidate, but the morning it was released, torrenting commenced and went to work.
Got home, burned it to a CD and installed it on my primary Windows workstation (running Vista) using the Wubi Installer.
For those of you not familiar with Wubi, here is the blurb from their website:
“Wubi is an officially supported Ubuntu installer for Windows users that can bring you to the Linux world with a single click. Wubi allows you to install and uninstall Ubuntu as any other Windows application, in a simple and safe way. Are you curious about Linux and Ubuntu? Trying them out has never been easier!”
So basically, you can install Ubuntu into C:\ubuntu then when rebooting your machine, you will have another option to boot to besides Windows… The Wubi Installer by default only created a 12gb “container” for the Ubuntu installation. If you plan on actively using Ubuntu under Wubi, make it as large as you can do without, space wise, in Windows. It can get a bit geeky to add more space to the Wubi side after the fact. I didn’t realize it at the time and went with the 12gb, but then I wanted to run XP inside a Virtual Machine, which didn’t leave me much space left. I ended up Googling around and found a method to create a second Wubi disk and copy over your /home/ folder to it and changing your fstab to use it. So I had the 12gb for system stuff and another separate 25gb /home/ disk image.
The best thing about Wubi is that it allows you to test out Ubuntu on your machine without wiping out anything, no re-partitioning, no real impact on your system at all. You do take a slight performance hit since you are running this off a file on the NTFS file system, but the hit isn’t anywhere near as much as running it from VMWare, which doesn’t help if you are looking to see if Ubuntu is truly compatible with your hardware.
Here are my basic system specs of my first install:
Lenovo something…
AMD 64 X2 3800+
2048mb RAM
250gb HDD
nVidia GeForce 8600GT XFX XXX w/ 256mb RAM
22″ Samsung wide screen @ 1680×1050
19″ Samsung @ 1280×1024
The installation was a breeze and all I had to do was set my network information to get online (I don’t use DHCP on my router).
The nVidia “restricted” driver took a few minutes to download and install due to the mass deluge of downloaders hitting Ubuntu’s (and mirror) servers. Response time for all APT-GET queries were a bit slow over the weekend. It calmed down some on Sunday and I was able to get things done quickly.
Setting up the Beryl/XGL effects were easy once the aforementioned driver was enabled, but Ubuntu leaves out the “advanced” configuration options for the effects. Again, googling around, I was able to find the “apt-get” commands to get those utilities installed.
Probably the longest thing to get working was the true dual display.
Just after installing Ubuntu, both monitors had the same output. After installing the nVidia drivers, the secondary screen dropped out, but there was no explanation for it and no setting in the display properties would bring it back. Googling mentioned a program called “nvidia-settings” which I ran and after much tinkering was able to get a solid xorg.conf created to have the 22″ monitor primary and the 19″ as a secondary span to the first.
Needing to work a lot in the Windows world, I keep a Raw XP VM Machine around that is patched (mostly) and ready to unzip and load to install the few Windows based utilities I need like Adobe Photoshop (doesn’t work well under Wine) and Microsoft Expressions/Visual Studio. Installing VMWare Player took a bit of hacking around, but installed fine. I used the secondary monitor to full screen XP which keeping Ubuntu on the primary.
Overall, things are MUCH better under 8.04 than any of the previous Ubuntus in my opinion. Googling around for things was key for me. Be sure to include “8.04″ in your search queries to limit the number of older pages from being returned. Some of those instructions are way out of date with 8.04.
Later this week, I am going to try my “dad test” on Ubuntu to see if he can handle it, I did install it on his machine, but had trouble getting his Wireless to connect to one of my many access points (He lives across the street with a WiFi repeater in his office). I think the driver is just flaky.
Might end up just putting an Ethernet bridge on his PC so it’ll just use his ethernet port which looked fine.
System Specs:
Dell SC430 Server
Intel Pentium D Dual Core 2.8ghz
1gb RAM
160gb SATA HDD
Integrated Video
17″ Viewsonic LCD
As has been usual with the later Ubuntu builds, Installation was a breeze. This time, I wiped out the parition completely and installed it directly on the box which made it very fast compared to the Wubi install above, which isn’t bad to begin with.
For this installation, I was more server focused, but did not install the “server” version of Ubuntu. I opted to use the same “desktop” version and install all the packages I needed to make it a “server”.
Doing a lot of Wordpress Installations, I chose to get a Virtual host WP environment setup.
I’ve been hearing a lot of good about LighttpD lately and decided to apt-get that instead of Apache2.
LighttpD is a VERY fast alternative to Apache2 (up to 50% faster in some cases). Setting it up was as easy as “apt-get install lighttpd” (After removing Apache2).
# apt-get remove apache2.2-common
# apt-get install lighttpd php5 php5-mysql
I also grabbed PHP-CGI and did a little tweaking to get lighttpd to parse the PHP files using FastCGI which was not difficult.
# light-enable-mod fastcgi
Had to edit the /etc/lighttpd/conf-enabled/10-fastcgi.conf to get my paths correct.
Googling around gave me the conf file lines I needed for the Virtual host config:
$HTTP["host"] == “–YOUR HOST NAME–” {
server.document-root = “/var/www/–THIS VIRTUAL DOC ROOT–”
}
Put as many as you need in there. I used a spare domain and pointed *.MyDomain.com over to it and setup a few virtual hosts to test them.
Restart Lighttpd using:
/etc/init.d/lighttpd force-reload
MySQL Server 5.0 installed without so much as a hiccup and that was it.
apt-get install mysql-server-5.0
I had a LLMP (Linux, Lighttpd, MySQL, PHP) server setup and ready to go.
Download the latest WP files:
curl http://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz -o latest.tar.gz
Uncompress them to the virt root of your choice and be sure to chmod the folders correctly so WP can run the setup and create the wp-config.php file.
There may be a little more to all this than the above instructions, depending on your configuration. The information provided was to just provide basic guidance.
My plans are to eventually backup all the WP blogs on host on my dedicated server and curl them over to this Ubuntu box, uncompress them, drop and restore the databases and have a mirror of them offsite from the dedicated server in case anything ever happens. This should be easiest enough to do in a few hours in one script file on the server to do the backups and database dumps into one compressed file, then another cron’ed script on the local Ubuntu to curl it down and restore everything. If anything ever goes wrong, just change the DNS for the domains and point them to my local Ubuntu which can be DMZed on my router.
This is the end of all my support for this company… They put this ad up in Mexico to, in my opinion, embolden the Mexicans in their takeover of the American southwest.
They claim:
“In no way was it meant to offend or disparage, nor does it advocate an altering of borders, nor does it lend support to any anti-American sentiment, nor does it reflect immigration issues,” Absolut said in a statement left on its consumer inquiry phone line.
So what did they expect it to convey? Is it not anti-American to post an ad that shows the areas that are currently being “taken over” taken over by Mexico? This ad, considering the current climate of illegal immigration, is probably the most outrageous thing I’ve seen in a LONG time.
This should be a message and wake up call to the leaders in Washington of how America is being perceived by the world. America is slowing losing its sovereignty and identity to those who come here and do not believe in our law or want to integrate into the society which hosts them… Absolut’s pandering of Mexican anti-American sentiment is disgusting.
I have a little Absolut left at home, but I’m not going to pour it out. I’m going to happily drink to their demise. They will receive none of my business in the future.
Viva Ketel One!
I know MANY people have reported problems with the new 2.5 Wordpress, especially in the backend administration portion.
The only problem I’ve personally run into so far is inserting images into a post after uploading it. The upload portion including the new flash uploader works flawlessly for me, then when I hit “Insert” to put it in the post, the “Add an Image” popup would just go blank and sit there forever. I tried various things including disabling all plugins, manually updating the files in the wp-admin and wp-includes folder to no avail.
Here is how I fixed my installation…
I simply reinstalled it using the following steps…
The only thing that I can see that didn’t reimport back over was my blogroll links. To fix this, I went ahead and restored my old database and ran this SQL command… from the commandline.
insert into idude.wp_links select * from idude_OLD.wp_links;
Looks like everything is back up and running for me, and it only took about 10 minutes.
I created my first HDR style shot last night using the method from this website … Basically, I just took 3 shots, 1 -2 EV, another @ 0 EV and a third at +2 EV. The software then takes the 3 shots, combines them and allows you to tweak the level of surreality to your liking… My basic 0 EV shot was crappy, but it still ended up coming out much better than I expected.
Here is the Wikipedia entry on HDR(I) :
In computer graphics and photography, high dynamic range imaging (HDRI) is a set of techniques that allows a greater dynamic range of exposures (the range of values between light and dark areas) than normal digital imaging techniques. The intention of HDRI is to accurately represent the wide range of intensity levels found in real scenes ranging from direct sunlight to shadows. HDRI was originally developed for use with purely computer-generated images. Later, methods were developed to produce a high dynamic range image from a set of photographs taken with a range of exposures. With the rising popularity of digital cameras and easy-to-use desktop software, the term "HDR" is now popularly used to refer to the process of tone mapping together with bracketed exposures of normal digital images, giving the end result a high, often exaggerated dynamic range. This composite technique is different from, and generally of lower quality than, the production of an image from a single exposure of a sensor that has a native high dynamic range. Tone mapping is also used to display HDR images on devices with a low native dynamic range, such as a computer screen.
I am going to tinker around more with this method using Photoshop instead of the full PhotoMatrix software that the link above used. PhotoMatrix has a Photoshop plugin that is compatible with Photoshop CS2 according to their website. I run CS3 though, so I’ll have to find out if it’ll work with it.
There are some really cool sites out there with some amazing HDR photos.
Here are a few:
http://abduzeedo.com/superb-hdr-pics-grafitti http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/03/10/35-fantastic-hdr-pictures/ http://abduzeedo.com/20-beautiful-hdr-pictures?=main
Wordpress 2.5 came out the other day and is GREATLY improved over the previous generation of < 2.5 versions.
I haven’t had the chance to play with it much, but I am still going through the process of getting my blogs, and those of my friends and family that I host, upgraded to the latest and greatest version.
Keep up the good work over there at Automattic!
Today, Steve Jobs announced at an Apple Event that the iPhone will, by summertime, get a full version update to 2.x… The 2.0 update will provide ActivSync Microsoft Exchange capabilities including full PUSH email, calendar and contact syncing… The new 2.0 will also provide the framework for the next level of iPhone/Touch apps. Click the image above to see more.
This is very exciting news and is going to usher in the next stage of smartphone domination by the Apple iPhone.
My next main hope is at the release date, Apple will release an 3G iPhone as well as additional improvements, perhaps even a slightly larger screened enhanced phone/PDA more geared towards Fanboy/Power Users that will be more multimedia oriented and perhaps even be able to stream video and interface with the movie element of iTunes, but I’m just dreaming here.
I still think a tablet type Mac that is small, very portable, priced competitively and powerful enough to provide a desktop level experience would be really cool. Then add a docking station that can hook it up to a mouse/monitor/keyboard. If I could have something like this that could be everything for me, I would get one in a heartbeat. PC, Cellphone, VoIP phone, PDA, mobile computing platform, etc.
The Axiotron Mac OSX unofficial Mac Tablet is good, but still a bit larger and more expensive than what I describe above.
Apple has filed patents for something of this sort (the docking station concept), perhaps someday it will leave the vaporware stage.
Then a U.S. Contractor needs to HIRE this guy for a huge sum of money, perfect this suit and mass produce it! If he could build this on his OWN in his own home, imagine if he was working with others with more sophisticated equipment!
Troy Hurtubise is a modern day genius. This suit, called the Trojan Suit, could protect our troops in the war and greatly reduce casualties and it would be VERY intimidating to the enemy as well.
Troy Hurtubise, 43, is travelling from North Bay to his hometown in Hamilton this week to make preparations for a three-day tour of Ontario war memorials. He plans to gather signatures on a petition pressing Ottawa to test the effectiveness of the Trojan suit he created in his home lab.
Hurtubise became an Internet sensation last winter when he introduced the suit and put it up for auction on eBay, drawing media attention worldwide.
The Trojan takes design inspiration from movies and video games and puts it into light armour that Hurtubise says is bulletproof. The suit offers 95 per cent head and body coverage, and also features such extras as a helmet ventilation system, arm-mounted pepper-spray, magnetic sidearm holsters, and even a crotch-mounted, pull-down clock.
When the suit failed to draw any substantial eBay bids, Hurtubise ran out of money and his family was evicted from their home. Hurtubise said his 16-year marriage crumbled under the stress. He sold his pickup and gave his wife the proceeds to start up in a new home, and now it’s just him and the suit.
He’s planning to visit three war memorials daily between Saturday and Monday, arriving at the cenotaph in Hamilton’s Gore Park at 9 a.m. Saturday, and wrapping up at the National War Memorial in Ottawa at 3 p.m. Monday.
He plans to walk “a soldier’s mile” to each memorial wearing the Trojan suit, then stop and salute.
At each stop over the three-day tour, he’ll be gathering signatures on a petition he hopes to present at the Parliament buildings also on Monday.
Here is the blurb from it on Wikipedia…
In early 2007, Hurtubise made public his new protective suit which was designed to be worn by soldiers. Calling it the “Trojan”, Hurtubise describes it as the “first ballistic, full exoskeleton body suit of armour.” Weighing in at 40 lbs, he claims that the suit can withstand bullets from high powered weapons (including an elephant gun). Hurtubise claims that he has been unable to test the suit against live ammunition because no one is willing to shoot him in it.
The suit has many features including a solar powered air system, recording device, compartments for emergency morphine and salt, and a knife and gun holster. He estimates that the cost of each suit to be roughly $2,000 if mass produced. It has been called the Halo suit, after the fictional MJOLNIR battle armor the Master Chief character wears in the Xbox game.
In early February, after failing to receive any offers to buy the Trojan, Hurtubise - now bankrupt from the expense of creating the suit - was forced to put the prototype up for auction on eBay in the hopes that it would bring in enough money to sustain his family. Unfortunately for Hurtubise, the auction’s reserve bid was not met. There was a raffle for the suit on the Mission Trojan website, who’s goal is to raise money for further prototypes and testing of the Trojan Suit to demonstrate its abilities for military applications. The suit was won by Sara Markis of West Palm Beach, Florida.
1313 Paste
One of Hurtubise’s latest projects has been the creation of a new paste that he’s called 1313 and believes could be put to good military use. It is a mixture of all his previous concoctions applied to a kevlar fiber pad and then subjected to high pressure for the period of a day in a press. The result is a board or tile-like panel. The panel is placed in layers with other materials such as tiles. The resulting composite material can withstand a direct assault by shotgun slugs, rifle fire, and enough high explosive to demolish a car, yet is quite inexpensive to manufacture.
At an enthusiastic demonstration taped by Daily Planet, Troy displayed its capability to a Canadian military observer. In one of Troy’s demonstrations, the composite material was placed in cushions meant to be placed over the outside of a Humvee. In the tests, the material successfully blocked explosive charges greater than those of a rocket propelled grenade, although they were not shaped charges, and was able to block shot after shot on exactly the same point of impact by a sniper rifle (which is a feat no material in use by the U.S. nor any other military has matched in public demonstrations).
It is Troy’s desire to see military vehicles, currently in service in Afghanistan, equipped with such protection in order to stand up to a landmine explosion, which has already claimed the lives of Canadian soldiers serving there. That, along with his younger brother serving in the Canadian military, inspired the creation of 1313.
I got home this evening and docked my iPhone to get the 1.1.4 update… The docking started up iTunes and notified me that the update was available, so I went ahead and started it.
The normal upgrade procedure started and I went about my browsing during the install. It seemed to take a bit longer (probably adding the framework for the SDK) and it rebooted as usual.
I noticed the signal was low when I unlocked the keypad and the signal didn’t get better (I usually have 3 bars or so). So I went ahead and rebooted the phone again and it came up to this screen…
I went ahead and connected it, it synced successfully, but STILL came back to this screen every time. Then I took out and reseated the SIM card…………… Nothing.
CONCLUSION:
I was getting ready to call Apple Support, then I realized that before I started the update, the Apple Update asked me to update iTunes and a Leopard Graphics fix… After updating iTunes, rebooting, then syncing the phone with the NEW version, it kicked right in and activated it.
MAKE SURE YOU UPDATE iTUNES TO THE LATEST BEFORE UPDATING TO 1.1.4!
Disclaimer: I did originally have a Jailbroken 1.1.1 then went to 1.1.3, before reverting back to 1.1.2 (Jailbroken) and then back to 1.1.3 full to get the new features. So, I’m not sure if this could have caused any of this. Since it is fixed now, I figured it was NOT the cause.
Blackberries have been out since approximately 3:30pm Monday. All carriers are affected since all Blackberry email is dependent upon RIM’s servers being operational for email to be received.
The whole model is a bit silly in my opinion and since this isn’t the first time this has happened, RIM should rethink their architecture a bit to allow fallback of some kind or at least have multiple redundant locations to allow service continuity.
I am glad I went with an iPhone instead of a Blackberry since iPhones aren’t tied to the manufacturer like the Blackberry is. Believe it or not, iPhone owners are on a much longer leash. There is not a single service on the iPhone that would become “Unavailable” if Apple were to have a network issue. Apple was smart enough to simply put a standard POP3/IMAP client on the phone that accesses the user’s mail server directly via WiFi or EDGE.
Companies, instead of investing HUGE (and I mean HUGE) amounts of money into the Blackberry Enterprise Server, should simply open up a secure IMAP port and allow users to retrieve their email from iPhones. Eventually Apple will probably update the mail.app to allow direct MAPI or RPC over HTTPS type connections to interface with corporate Microsoft Exchange Servers.
This is as simple as configuring a few services and opening/securing some ports whereas BlackBerry Enterprise Servers licenses cost as much as $60,000 for 1000 users and many tens of thousands for additional CALs. For a large company, the cost JUST for the licenses could cost > $100,000. That’s not including the cost of the administrators to install it, maintain it, and additional hardware to support it and lost productivity due to outages of the manufacturer’s infrastructure.
Just configure IMAP/MAPI, open some ports and buy an iPhone!
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