Link of the Day [4.23.11]
When Artificial Intelligence goes dumb.
It’s an interesting item, because it is an example dumb computing. Dumb computing is dangerous. If they don’t learn, how do we? WOPR should show us the way.
Quote of the Day [4.06.11]
“I think they started out with the goal of being open, but they are learning that this approach doesn’t work in the world of phones where tight tolerances on user experience require much more coordination between hardware and software.”
iOS versus Android: OS Footprint is not a Proxy for Application Footprint
The Network Is Down
Last weekend I replaced the venerable LinkSys WRT54g router with the completely awesome AirPort Extreme.
The week prior I had noticed a whine coming from the LinkSys. That was strange as routers don’t have a spinning hard drive. What could be making that noise? So to shut it up, I unplugged it to reboot. That did the job no more whine.
I went about doing house chores for an hour before I had the chance to use a computer. When I did use my computers, I found that I couldn’t access the internet. I quickly glanced at the lights on the LinkSys. It looked okay.
I tried to access LinkSys’s browser-based configuration screen. “No route to host.” I tried pinging its IP address. “100% packet loss.” I looked closer at the router’s lights and noticed that the LAN LED wasn’t on. Since it was next to another LED that was on, it looked alright but, sadly, wasn’t.
The LinkSys router was kaput.
Luckily, I have had an AirportExtreme in my possession for a year now. I was going to replace the LinkSys a year ago, but was too lazy to shut down all computing devices, change out the router, then reboot all computing devices and configure them. Out of necessity, I now had to do it.
I shut down all laptops, except my main MBP. I took the Mac Mini down, too. IPhone can stay on but I switched to just the cellular network. The 0G iPhone I didn’t bother. Using the MBP, I began configuring the replacement network.
Apple’s Airport utilities make this easy. You could just follow the wizard to set it up, but I liked to have control of my configuration. Manually, I went about configuring the AirportExtreme router. Lots of same settings, I ported from the defunct LinkSys — network IP addressing, MAC address filtering. Others I changed — new wireless ID.
I brought online all computing devices and reconfigured them for the new wireless network. The TiBook gave me trouble because, I think OSX Tiger, didn’t like to remember the new wireless network name until I created a new Location for it.
Overall, it went smoothly. At work, I have to deal with networked software nodes, and it is a pain in the ass to debug network trouble. Who’s causing what to whom all happens in the invisible ethernet and it takes some understanding of how networks work to find and fix the trouble. My new house wireless network was stood up without too much hassles.
The sole issue I have with my new wireless network is what to do about the AirportExpress. I had originally used this to extend the LinkSys network via bridging, because I couldn’t get wireless coverage throughout the house with just the LinkSys router. With the new AirportExtreme, I don’t need it, but I didn’t know when I started reconfiguring the network. I tried configuring the Express for bridging, but it cause conflicts on the Extreme. Only when I abandoned the Express did I realize that the Extreme is powerful enough to provide coverage throughout my house (and my neighbors, too). Therefore, the Express sits silent on the floor waiting for a use. I’ll probably try to configure it with my stereo system so I can stream music through it.
The new network is up. I’m planning to put a network drive off of it, perhaps SSD. I want to try that back to my Mac feature. It’s also faster since there is only one wireless station.
I’m back online thanks to the Apple’s AirportExtreme router; it’s cold white face and unblinking, green LED comforts me.
More Room Than All My Drives Combined
Looking for storage solutions for my computers at home, I settled on this external hard drive. 500 GB of space! Like the title suggests, this drive is more space than all the computers sitting in my house currently have combined!
What to do?
Partition it? Should I break it down into smaller logical spaces? Most of my computers are already partitioned. I’m afraid that I may need to save a 300 GB file.
Start back ups? Eh. I’m not too worried about losing data. Yet.
Re-install Tiger, 10.4? Booting off the fire wire would be cool. But why?
It’s a lot, but I really would’ve liked to put this on the network as a network drive. The solution to that would be this, but that’s another expense. I tried looking at this, but it would’ve forced me to use a weird PC file system. Complicated.
Mac Book Pro
The new MacIntel hardware was shown off yesterday and surprises of surprises, a new laptop that is not a updated iBook was revealed. Sadly, it was saddled with the lamest of lame names: MacBook Pro. That makes such a sexy piece of equipment sound like a dorky financial application.
I cried when I saw it though. It makes it all the more harder to get the dual PPC G5 desktop I so crave. Hmm. Can I have more Macs in my house than need?
MacMini Notes
Okay it’s been almost a week since I have set up my Mac Mini. Really only 5 days. I want to make note of some things that I have experienced while using it.
- I need an Apple specific keyboard. I am using a split keyboard that I have had since my old Dell PC Win95. It works for typing, but there are things missing. The Windows key is the Apple/Command Key. I don’t know what the Alt key is for. Honestly, I had a hard time telling what the option key was for on a Mac keyboard. The arrow keys don’t work correctly. The home, end and page down/up keys don’t work either. I know that I can always get a key mapping software and correctly map these things, but I would really like to have a Apple specific keyboard. Split keyboard. For Christmas. See my Amazon Wish List.
- At first, I thought that the fan was as loud as my laptop, but I am wrong. It’s quiet. The CD/DVD drive though is loud.
- I partitioned the drive into three partitions. 25 Gb for the system. 12 Gb for Users. 35 Gb for Data. Is that enough or should I get an external drive?
- I want to turn it into a file serving machine. Can anyone help me find out how to do that?
- Installed the dev tools on the machine after a 900 Mb download. Apple does not include the dev disk with this machine. That’s a mistake as having free dev tools is a plus in my book. How can you convince people to develop software for the OS if you don’t give them some help?
- Trying to figure out a synchronization issue for my machines. How do I go about maintaining two different computers with similar data? Like if I want to access files off my laptop how should I do it? This will begin to be a complicated issue once I have the third of my PPC Macs.
- Should I install all applications that I have on my laptop here? Or should I wait for the third machine?
- Tiger is pretty cool. I use the widgets a lot. I have a sudoku widget and also the Rejks widget for the Rejks museum. There pretty neat.
Overall, I am happy with my purchase. This is what I bought with my promotion.
Net Meetings
I now know why they have established a net meeting protocol. I have to coordinate putting together a slied presentation for class on monday. And I only have my part done. What happened to the other stuff? We need some collaboration tools online. Tout de suite!
The only Apples I have owned
Low End Mac does a run down on how Apple created notebook fever. People wanted one of these from the get go. In fact, my first Apple was a PowerBook 140. I currently own a TiBook and have been trying to resurrect my PowerBook 190. For as much as I have loved Apple, I have only owned their laptops. No desktops. Yet.
Intel Inside. Fuck.
On monday, Steve Jobs turned my world upside down. He announced that Apple is intending to switch to using intel processors. So long PowerPC. Hello x86.
It has been rumored for a long time now that Apple always had a build of OS X which compiled on x86 chips. Monday saw confirmation of that rumor and a bold new direction for Apple.
It has taken me days to figure out how I want to blog about this. I am an Apple loyalist. My family has owned an Apple since the early 80s. I know where my Apple ][e is. I had an original Powerbook 140. It became the ultimate Civ machine for my brother. I bought the last of the Powerbook 190s. Imagine a world of 8 bit graphics. Nothing but shades of grey when the world was going color. I write this on my 1GHz TiBook, the one before the Aluminum ones. I love Apple. Always rooted for them.
It was more than Apple being not Microsoft. It was also about not being Intel. Remember Wintel is an insult in Mac circles. Now Apple has embraced the dark side. As if the megahertz war would not been won “not by a PPC chip.”
As software engineer and comp sci student, I have been exposed to x86 instruction set. It sucks compared to PPC. It is halfass backwards and inelegant. It also has to support a lot of older instructions from the 80s. The PPC chip was RISC. Gorgeous and nice instruction set.
I am mourning the loss of the chip more than I can imagine. Strange. Being an Apple loyalist means that you understand that Apple is more than just the computer, the OS, the box, the chip, but is a lifestyle brand. But to me the PPC chip is also part of the brand. Can I support Apple? Is Apple still Apple with Intel Inside?
Ars Technica sums up my feelings of the loss of the PowerPC chip. John Gruber is a good read to understand what needs to happen for Apple.
A couple of new toys
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Forgive me for the crappy shot that this picture is, but I had to show some of the fun stuff I recently purchased or was sent to me. I took this shot with an iSight that my cousin sent to me as part of a payment he owes me. It is of my new 20″ cinema display. I have it hooked up to my TiBook and using it as a second monitor. Having dual displays rocks.