Occasional Observations

Another weekend of trying to install Linux, this time Ubuntu, and I've finally given up on trying to set up and maintain a dual-boot system. It just ain't happening.

Something random going on with Ubuntu version 8.04, which is only recently released. I even bought a self-help book to make sure I wasn't missing something in the set up, or the partitioning. Swop file set? Check. Format spare partition on primary SCSI hard drive with EXT3 fs? Check.

I took the easy route - booted the Ubuntu live CD and ran the install from there - and I took the harder route and installed from the CD. Why did I do it twice? In fact I did it four times. Each time, after the system was up around three to five minutes, the screen would blank and the system would freeze me out. Not a CTRL-ALT-DEL freeze-out but what the techies in the late 80s used to call a problem that needed the BRS solution - toggling the the Big Red Switch on the front of IBM PS2s to get them out of a lock-up type of freeze-out.

Much as I hate cycling the power on a running system, I did it - and eventually after the fourth try, I gave up and installed VMware on Vista. The VM version of Ubuntu works perfectly - and I really have not got the time, inclination or deep technical skills to try and work out what went wrong.

So, I'm stuck with using Windows as the underlying OS. At least everything works, including my webcam (a few years old, and flaky with Linux) and the toaster - the Netgear SG101 NAS device - where I actually made a bit of progress. Yep, discovered that it is possible to run my Linux VMs from the NAS drive, even though the disks are rather slow and offer a maximum R/W speed of around 5MB per second. This discovery helped sweeten the bitter pill and widens my choice of Linux flavors. The rather excellent ThoughtPolice website even provided me with super-fast downloads (via BitTorrent, faster than HTTP) for some ready-baked VMware images such as Fedora.

Labels: Linux, Ubuntu, virtualization, Vista

Ole. I'm not alone with my Vista keyboard and mouse woes, they are also documented here. The problem is that - it ain't fixed and could happen again with the 32-bit version.

Labels: rant, Vista

Last weekend's aborted attempt to set up a dual-boot system made me think again about which flavor of Linux I'd like. After seeing a demo at a trade show of an OS booting off a secure USB drive and then starting a VMware player version of XP, I realized the answer was pretty obvious - Ubuntu. Version 8.04 is just out and this is a long-term release, too.

My previous reservations with Ubuntu have been that it's too simple, if that's possible - I was feeling restricted by the limited number of packages available for install. This week, RTFM time, and I discovered a straightforward way of unlocking further functionality, simply through enabling the installation of proprietary drivers etc ... which should solve the biggest problem I seem to have - 3D acceleration for my ATI graphics card.

This week I also came across a very, very smooth quasi virtual machine: MojoPac. It's XP only at the moment in terms of both platform and host OS, but apart from that, it uses underlying Windows services but provides a secure environment, running on a portable hard drive or USB stick. Interesting - except that I tend to carry my laptop on trips, for use during the journey. As a just in case - since the installation I saw took a mere 70MB, I'm going to set one up anyway as a just-in-case.

Labels: Linux, tech

After all the bad press, I wasn't looking forward to Terminal 5 at Heathrow on my return flight to Munich today - so not only was I pleasantly surprised (especially after the slooooow arrival process) but also I was actually quite impressed.

My passage through departures was as smooth as a Teddy Boy's flicknife action. Having checked in online, but not printed a boarding card, I was out of the Tube, up the elevator, and logged on to a machine within a minute - and then straight through Passport control (#1) and security without any hitches. In comparison to LHR T1 ... twice as good, at least.

There's a good selection of shops and it wasn't too far to the A-series gates - and when I got to the gate there was a good wifi connection ... so good work all round.

Labels: misc, travel

I'm in the UK for a few days at InfoSec, the UK's main security show for the IT industry. And I'm overwhelmed by the number of so-called solutions out there to the same problems - spam, phishing, pharming, malware, spyware and even good old viruses.

What's more interesting still is the social engineering that many exhibitors are using to generate leads. IT guys who spend most of their time protecting their email address and other details are happy to let a blonde bimbo scan their badge (great! an unqualified lead) in exchange for a peek at their cleavage.

There's a couple of girls walking around - one is a devilish hell, the other a saintly heaven. So far the consensus among people I've talked to is clear: Hell!

Labels: tech

After problems with four separate pieces of software over the last week I've concluded that updated / patched is not always best.

As well as the already-documented Vista woes - solved by a downgrade to the 32-bit version, I've also experienced unprecedented problems with the latest version of Nokia's usually-excellent PC Suite - which didn't want to sync any more, a bit of a deal-breaker, and with the newest version of GoodSync from Siber Systems - telling me it's in Null Mode. In both cases, a rollback to the earlier version solved the problem.

The fourth problem has been with Linux. Maybe I should just stick to Windows, since I know its flaws. At 10pm last night I had to bite the bullet and delete all the work I'd done in updating my home PC to a dual-boot system - because Open SuSE crashed during the kernel update and there was No Way Back. Rather than having a half-cocked, non-functional Linux OS on my system I went into Vista Computer Management and simply deleted the Volumes under Disk Management.

Not quite ready for a return to Windows 2000 though.

Labels: rant, tech

All's gone well on Installation Saturday except the usual hitches (Windows glitches) and the fact that Debian isn't really the one for me - so although I've got the 32-bit Shi*sta installation up and running, SUSE Linux will follow in a few days.

Again I noticed how much faster a fresh install of Windows runs before those logfiles, those patches, those useless installations take their toll. If only there was a really good program out there to return Winders to Vanilla every week or two (without wiping out Files That Matter) then I'd buy it.

Labels: Linux, Vista

Progress report: I've downloaded and burned the 3x AMD x64 installation DVDs and have also decided to completely drop the 64-bit version of Vista in favor of the more widely-found 32-bit version.

My PC actually shipped with the 32-bit version pre-installed - and now I know why. The 64-bit version isn't ready for prime time. Not only does Microsoft have some really serious problems ìn understanding the basics of USB peripheral support (with a functional keyboard and mouse being pretty essential, I'd say) but also my Netgear toaster ain't never going to work with 64-bit. So I'll sacrifice the performance gains in favor of the simpler backup path.

Therefore, the next steps are:

1. Backup everything from Vista (provided that I have the luxury of being able to use my keyboard and mouse) ready for the 64-bit version to bite the dust
2. Clear some space on the primary drive ready for the Linux partition
3. Install the 32-bit version of Vista
4. Install Debian

Labels: Debian

Preparation for the big move to Linux on the main home PC has begun - but not without protest from other family members .... "oh no, NOT linux!" and "but I LIKE Windows!". As a compromise, we're going to move first to a dual-boot system. Anyone who wants to keep Vista can do so - and they can click through the "new device found" messages every time until Ballmer manages to persuade his programmers to find and fix the problem. If I need 'doze then I'll fire up my already-working and installed VMware image of XP Pro - it's a pretty minimal installation and so it should hop along quite nicely.

Step one - I'm going for Debian. Currently downloading the 3x DVD images of the AMD64-tuned version.

Labels: Linux, tech, Vista

Having used Windoze since version 2, and gasped when 3.0 was able to switch to color on my humble 12" color monitor, I've become accustomed, over the last 18 years or so, to the "Bill Gates Appreciation Moments" - those minutes / hours / weeks when you stare at an hourglass or a revolving ball or whatever.

The latest round of updates with Windoze Vista has really taken the biscuit. Redmond, congratulations, you knocked out my mouse! Yay! That takes some doing. MORONS. One of the core computing components that's actually been around longer than 'doze. And some bunch of idiots with an "update" managed to completely knock out my USB mouse - plus my spare (plus a wireless model that has the Mark of Redmond stamped upon it, which means it must be Approved By Steve, right?).

I grew up with keyboard shortcuts so it wasn't a problem, just a monumental pain in the butt to actually navigate around the "most advanced Windows ever" using keyboard shortcuts because all three of my mice were disabled. After so many rounds of moronic "if you have the CD, insert it now" cycles, and even contacting the MS chat helpdesk for a laugh (forget it people, Balls-up-mer was off duty and I got some n00b working from scripts ... managed to trip it into an "ok #insert customer name# goof after a couple of minutes because I asked a mildly-taxing, Turing test-style question which got "it" - the call center robot - kinda flustered) I started hacking. Safe mode, device manager, delete those problematic devices and reboot. 'xcept Billg thought of that and the bastard had second guessed it. Fuuuuuuuuck.

The problem started with last week's "security updates". Maybe some M$ moron worked out that a mouse or a keyboard could be a security risk - that's where these naughty hackers type their stuff, right? Right!!!!! So let's disable both, just in case. Right on! Have another sip of the Kool Aid.

And then there's the memory hole problem with Vista. My household PC has a respectable 2GB of RAM. It cost enough, a year ago. WTF am I supposed to do, sell my car for extra RAM so I can run bloatware? Recent "updates" have led to messages saying that I should close some programs because memory is running low. Nope, we're not talking about the 50 bloat services running in Vista, we're talking about my freaking applications. AAAAAARGH. Vista is like public transportation services: it would run perfectly without anyone using it, getting in the way.

Our home PC is a powerful beast - less than a year old, with an AMD 64 quad-core chip - and it struggles to run Outlook and Winamp at the same time thanks to recent 'doze updates.

As a solution, I'm going virtual. I'm looking for a good 64-bit distro and then I'll put VMware on top (Microsoft VM? Get out of here! Windows on top of Windows, that's a joke!). As I've invested in various software over the years, I'll still have a Windows version running as a VM, in fact I've already got a tame XP installation, an OS that was actually quite good in the end. But Vista? As a friend recently said, it is a TRAIN WRECK.

Dear reader. You might think I'm rather annoyed at Microsoft. You might be right.

Labels: rant, virtualization, Vista

I've been thinking about buying a living room PC for more than four years - every time I get close, something gets in the way. Originally I wanted a model with a small display panel built into the front, and I saw a few interesting prototypes at CeBIT 2006, but never followed up.

Since then, living room PCs have all but died out - in favor of home storage servers. My first attempt at this was a bit of a disaster, and my Netgear SC101 "toaster" is a nice NAS backup device but doesn't work with x64 architecture, which is disappointing. So far I'm still missing the media center extender that will bridge the gap from IT to TV ... and because we're remodelling at home I'm holding back, as we also soon need to upgrade our analog satellite TV system in favor of something a bit more up-to-date.

This weekend I did take a small step, though - moving my 500-or-so CDs out of the living room and into the basement. This means that if I want to listen to a CD in the living room, I need to go downstairs and dig one out - but since I'm more likely to reach for my iPod, this is a minor inconvenience.

Labels: tech

Just paid five pounds Sterling for a pint of beer, in an Indian restaurant in Elephant and Castle of all places. I know London is expensive but this takes the award - drinking's cheaper at the airport! The E&C district is one of the more run-down inner city areas. The shopping center to which the Indian restaurant is attached is an icon of 1960s urban architecture ... flanked by high-rise apartment blocks with those outside "skywalks" that look like muggers' paradise.

I'm back in the real world...

Labels: rant