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Bend in the Weather (20 unread)

MPAA RIAA - Are Internet downloads really hurting your business?

Posted: January 6th, 2009, 3:23pm CET

Like a screaming and kicking two year old being dragged through a shopping centre by the arm by a frustrated mother, the MPAA and RIAA appear that besides all the tantrums they have thrown over Internet users obtaining emtheir/em material; that the struggle is futile.br / br / Statistics have been released for both the Movie and Music industry for 2008. Remember, the year the bottom fell out financially in the 4th quarter (when you think people would be dropping entertainment products before anything else).br / br / The numbers are in... 2008 was the biggest year for both the a href=http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20090102-music-sales-up-10-in-2008-thanks-to-downloads-and-vinyl.htmlMusic/a and a href=http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20090105-what-piracy-movie-biz-sees-record-box-office-in-2008.htmlMovie/a industries. So much for Internet users destroying both industries as claimed by both bodies! img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/tongue.png alt=:-P style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /br / br / What the industry associations seem to slowly becoming aware of (and are appear quite scared of the consequences), is that former emucon/u/emsumers are turning into online emupro/u/emsumers.br / br / There is no need to run out and see that flashy new movie based on a slick TV advert. Most users wait for reviews, and even watch various trailers and snippets of the movies on a href=http://au.youtube.com/YouTube/a these days (before the MPAA jump up and down and it's pulled).br / br / Likewise people have woken up that by using online music stores they can buy just the individual 1-2 songs they want and not an entire album that is normally full of 8-9 tracks that are crap. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/tongue.png alt=:-P style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / (This isn't always the case, and I often purchase full albums). As a result album sales are dramatically down and have continued the slide since 2006. (Can anyone say iTunes store?)br / br / With the issues of a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_managementDRM/a media, you'll see more people demanding non-restricted medium. Particularly with issues moving that same purchase between different players (ie: Car CD player, MP3 player, desktop computer). Why should a user need to pay for multiple copies of the same item. With the physical medium this isn't required.br / br / It's great to see artists are jumpin onto digital downloads. (Examples that instantly spring to mind are a href=http://au.youtube.com/MontyPythonMonty Python with their own YouTube channel/a, and a href=http://www.radiohead.com/deadairspace/Radiohead/a releasing their a href=http://www.inrainbows.com/ target=_blank class=bb-url'In Rainbows'/a album direct to listeners over the Internet.) Hopefully the industry-execs realise it's a brave new world and that their fat-cat style lifestyles are over. Every other industry has been shaken up by both computing and the Internet, why not entertainment?br / br / The frivolous lawsuits these industries have waged over recent years against their actual emcustomers/em shows just how reluctant they are to move on. Is it a case they realise that the days of a big publishing house (Sony, EMI, Warner Bros, Universal, etc) are slowly eroding?br / br / Sure distribution to cinemas for movies is still probably required, but the days of customers buying media (CDs or DVDs) is quickly disappearing.br / For block-buster movies - I still love watching them on a big screen. But I would see probably 10% of movies these days in those red chairs and the remainder in the comfort and convenience of my home.br / br / With Nintendo jumping on board and a href=http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,,24873755-15306,00.html? target=_blank class=bb-urlannouncing a Wii entertainment channel (named Wiinomia)/a, on top of items like a href=http://www.tivo.com.au/Tivo/a - it's becoming common place. Users are already quite familiar with digital downloads for entertainment media (thanks largely to a href=http://www.apple.com/au/itunes/whatson/music.htmlApple's iTunes Store/a).br / br / So are you one that still buys CDs? Have you moved all your music across to digital libraries? (Personally I have bought music CDs, but very rarely play them, but use the ripped versions on my computer more than often. I often end up losing the CD and forgetting where I put them. They are emsomewhere/em in the house.. but loading my music player on my computer or grabbing my iPod is so much more convenient).br / br / Will we still see Music and DVD bricks and mortar stores in 10 years time?br / br / Online services like a href=http://www.last.fm/last.fm/a, a href=http://www.jamendo.com/en/Jamendo/a, a href=http://www.magnatune.com/ target=_blank class=bb-urlMagnaTune/a have helped many budding artists get global recognition that traditional distributors haven't been able to provide. Interestingly, I wonder if there is a service similar to these for budding movie creators (besides YouTube)?br / br / Hopefully more established artists currently under contract follow Radiohead's lead, and don't renew with their traditional labels and move to some of these new online distribution channels. It's a better solution for their fans, and likely to make them more revenues. (It's rumoured that Radiohead made $9mUSD from releasing his album directly to the public! - mostly by selling a limited edition of the album to fans). Quite clever! img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/cool.png alt=8-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /br / br / Where do you see the entertainment industry heading? Will the public get more direct access to artists and do away with record and movie companies? Will we see the work of these large companies restricted in future to just promoting cinema releases and rock band tours?br / br / Hold on to your hats, this game hasn't even started. What we've seen so far is only really like watching a New Zealand sporting team doing the a href=http://www.newzealand.com/travel/about-nz/features/haka-feature/haka.cfmHaka/a. The real game hasn't even commenced! Expect the industry to play dirty holding onto whatever emperceived/em advantage they believe they have.br / br / So far their a href=http://www.artistdirect.comArtists Direct/a website seems nothing more than a propaganda website, whilst appearing to be along the lines of Magnatune and Jamendo to confuse end-users. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/normal.png alt=:-| style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / I guess the dirty tricks may have already started.
Best NFO eva!

Posted: January 6th, 2009, 9:38am CET

Someone directed me to this a href=http://newzleech.com/nfo.php?id=574722NFO entry/a.br / br / Can't say I've seen the movie (it's currently showing in cinemas across the country if you're interested).br / If the movie is anything like the NFO entry than it's bound to be awesome!
One way to rid society of speed cameras

Posted: December 28th, 2008, 1:43pm CET

You have to smile at the ingenious style of a teenager. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/cool.png alt=8-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /br / br / It seems that teens in High School have figured out a relatively simple way to ensure that a href=http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081222-dont-like-speed-cameras-use-them-to-punk-your-enemies.html target=_blank class=bb-urlspeed cameras will soon be out of circulation/a.br / br / olliTake some glossy photo printer paper/liliObtain the license plate of an enemy/liliUse a template of your local license plates/liliPrint their license plate detail on the template (using a similar font)/liliStick 'fake plate' over your real license plate/liliDrive through speeding deliberately/liliGive it a few days and your enemy will get a nice 'present' in the mail/li/olbr / They refer to the process as the emSpeed Camera Pimping Game/em.br / Apparently the cameras can't detect the difference between a real plate and those photo-paper ones. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/eek.png alt=:-O style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / br / br / Now if only I had the license plates of some polliticians and senior police officials. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/tongue.png alt=:-P style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / br / br / br / For the record: I don't condone speeding or running red lights. I do however object to a faceless object splatted all over public roads in an effort to raise revenue.
The Laws of Moving

Posted: December 22nd, 2008, 7:26am CET

There should be laws when moving. Particularly when you're moving your business emAND/em your house at the same time. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/eek.png alt=:-O style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /br / br / Let me introduce you to the 10 laws of moving:br / br / strongLaw #1/strongbr / Instead of boxing, cleaning and moving literally tonnes of computer equipment, furniture and other knick-knacks, you should be allowed to burn the lot from the former residence/office and then get a 'magical' wish/rebate the other end to replace the lot with new stuff. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/cool.png alt=8-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / br / br / strongLaw #2/strongbr / You are excused from everything. Moving is stressful and tiring. You are allowed to be obnoxious, rude and angry for a period of 2 weeks prior to moving and 2 weeks after the move.br / br / strongLaw #3/strongbr / All favours can be called in without exception. This includes all those people's who's computers you've repaired, the hordes of people who come ask for computing advice and those you have lent a hand over the years.br / br / strongLaw #4/strongbr / Anything not worn, viewed or used in the past 3 years is able to recycled, handed on, given-away or disposed of.br / br / strongLaw #5/strongbr / You will always lose one box when moving, but regain the box you lost in the previous move.br / br / strongLaw #6/strongbr / No matter how well you think you have estimated the effort required, you will under-estimate the task. You uwill/u under-estimate the task.br / br / strongLaw #7/strongbr / emSomething/em will be broken in the move. It's emonly stuff/em, so don't stress too much about it, it can be replaced.br / br / strongLaw #8/strongbr / There is no such thing as too many boxes, packing tape, bubble-wrap and packing clothes/paper.br / br / strongLaw #9/strongbr / Some boxes are never unpacked. The contents of these boxes will remain locked away in these boxes for years to come.br / br / strongLaw #10/strongbr / You never have enough time to move. Moving is supposed to be cram 2emn/em days in emn/em days.br / br / centerhr //centerbr / Having said that, we've survived the move. We moved in last Friday (12supth/sup December). Yes, we had a few things damaged (nothing major, but does require some love, hammers and glue to repair a few pieces).br / br / We're working through the boxes (albeit slowly). I think by the time signed 32-bit integers roll over we'll be unpacked. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/tongue.png alt=:-P style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /br / The essentials are unpacked and we're making some progress through the rest of the house.br / br / All in all, it's been successful; though we're thankful the experience is over. We're dead beat and looking forward to going into Xmas/New Years mode for a few days to recharge the batteries. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/cool.png alt=8-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / br / br / Most things around the place are complete; although we do have a handful of tradies due back to finish up their jobs (mainl due to them 'forgotting' or stuffing up. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/normal.png alt=:-| style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / Gawd, the general population of trades-people out there are slap happy. There is no-way I would get away with some of the crap they pull. I'm finding unless you watch 'em like a hawk you'll end up with a dodgy or half-asses job. They are learning quickly though, that I write down everything so nothing slips by me. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/tongue.png alt=:-P style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / I've caught a few of 'em out now and it seems the word is getting around. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/wink.png alt=;-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / Hopefully by the first week in January all these items are cleared up.br / br / One bonus: It's great to finally have a house with central cooling! img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/cool.png alt=8-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /
Join the fast lane!

Posted: December 18th, 2008, 3:17pm CET

tabletrtdimg src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/uploads/internode_logo.gif alt= //tdtdDSL2+ speeds have been primarily restricted in Australia to those ISP companies running their own DSLAM equipment in Telstra exchanges. This meant that unless you ISP placed their equipment in the same exchange as your local exchange you were trapped on ADSL1 speeds (a max. of 8Mbit/sec)./td/tr/tableTelstra has recently opened up wholesaling their ADSL2+ ports to 3rd parties (ie: your non-Telstra ISP) for those with agreements.br / To date, a few have taken up the offer - though pricing wasn't cheap.br / a href=http://www.internode.on.net/news/2008/12/122.phpbr / Internode have however announced their agreement with Telstra to onsell Telstra ADSL2+ ports/a. Whilst the pricing doesn't match that of their own DSLAM equipment (compare a href=http://www.internode.on.net/products/broadband/adsl2_/Internode's ADSL2+/a vs the Telstra ports utilising a href=http://www.internode.on.net/residential/internet/home_adsl/twoplus/pricing/ADSL2Plus/a.br / br / This adds approximately 1,400 exchanges across Australia that now can get ADSL2+ speeds.br / br / You can check if you can get it by using their a href=https://secure.internode.on.net/webtools/internode-dsl-finder target=_blank class=bb-urlADSL line checker/a. This will also tell you what products are available to you at your location.br / br / I'm currently using an 8Mbit ADSL1 connection, but for the additional $5/pcm I will move up to a Telstra ADSL2+ port. br / Bring on the speed! img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/cool.png alt=8-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /br / br / If you're on the lookout for a tecnically compotent ISP in Oz, you can't look past Internode. They aren't the cheapest (and they certainly aren't the dearest!), but quality of service can't be matched. I couldn't recommend 'em enough. br / br / Even better they have a great File Archive that boasts GBs of Linux resources available unmetered. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/smile.png alt=:-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /
Back online after moving into the new house

Posted: December 15th, 2008, 3:44pm CET

In a href=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/archives/289-Im-tired-of-the-city-life....htmlmy last post, I mentioned I was moving out of the city (Melbourne, Australia) and heading to the country/a.br / br / Well the transition has occurred and I'm more than happy with the move. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/cool.png alt=8-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / Our neighbours two deep on each side have all come out and introduced themselves, and the general atmosphere around the place is warm and uplifting.br / br / The sense of community runs strong outside of the capital cities by the look of it.br / a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bannockburn,_Victoria target=_blank class=bb-urlbr / Bannockburn/a is by no means a small town, though it's no thriving metropolis. It's about 15 mins drive from a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geelong,_Victoria target=_blank class=bb-urlGeelong/a, but you would think you're thousands of miles away or in a parallel universe. Hand-waves whilst driving, a chat with a stranger (soon to be become an acquaintance/friend) are all common place. At the time of the 2006 Census, the population was a mere 2,486, but has more than doubled in the following two years. By 2015, they are expecting a population of around 15,000. If you're down this way, be sure to drop in. It's a quaint part of town and quite charming.br / br / All the majority of our daily needs are here (local Woolworths, petrol, green grocer, butcher, baker, vet, auto repair, post office, pub, restaurants, fast-food, legal and accounting services,etc can all be found in the town). img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/smile.png alt=:-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / Those not here (ie: the not-every-day purchases) is only a 15 minute car-drive into Geelong.br / br / I'm loving the lack of police sirens/choppers and cars doing wheelies until 4am most nights. The only noise we hear at present is the 6-7am chatter of the native birds found in abundance. (Not a real problem -- we're up at 6-7am anyway -- working through to late at night getting the house set-up).br / br / Bannockburn for me was a natural choice. It's closer to loved ones, as well as the type of environment, community I would like to raise a family one day. The hustle and bustle and dog-eat-dog attitude that the big cities portray is not the values I would like to instil into my own children.br / br / hr /br / So how did the move go on Friday? As many know there was a deluge across a lot of Australia. In our neck of the woods we had the pitter-patter of a few rain drops from about 10:30am whilst filling the removalist's truck. By 3:15pm they had finished unloading the truck and literally seconds after the truck doors had been shut down it bucketed! img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/eek.png alt=:-O style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / br / br / I'm glad we got our water tank hooked up prior to the move. Those 24 hours resulted in approx 70mm of rain. The tank is now full! img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/laugh.png alt=:-D style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /br / That much rain ensured we had a natural inground swimming pool over most of the backyard. The dogs found this too irresistable (they had never seen so much rain in their young years), and decided it was time for swimming. Shortly after we had dual-coloured dogs.... The original colour on their top half and a nice brown/muddy underbelly.br / br / Saturday/Sunday saw us return to clean up our vacated premises. On Wednesday we return the keys to the landlord. It's a great feeling moving out of the rent cycle and into our own home. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/cool.png alt=8-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / br / br / Monday I had our networking guys in to terminate off our wired house. We now have 48 GigaE running throughout the house. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/cool.png alt=8-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / The 19 racks I have in the garage look all very impressive now. I'll take some photos in the next few days and post them up for all to see. (Once I find the box with my camera data-cable! img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/sad.png alt=:-( style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / )br / br / The new 48-port GigE Managed Switch also has PoE on all ports, and makes powering the Snom VoIP phones a breeze with no need for a power pack anymore (frees up on power point, and also one less cable to tangle unde rmy desk!). Cabling the house was a great idea -- being able to just plug an Ethernet cable into the wall in nearly every room of the house is just a god-send and something I would recommend to anyone who's building (do it during the framing stage, prior to the plastering).br / br / The mountain of boxes strewn around the house are slowly disappearing. It will take us some time but we're hoping by Christmas to have everything fully unpacked/setup. That will leave me with the daunting task of establishing our gardens/plants/lawns outside during this crazy drought/summer. Something I am looking forward to getting up and running.br / br / One of the benefits is since moving that my ADSL1 connection is indeed faster and cleaner here than our previous location (though we are about the same distance from the exchange (1-1.5kms). I'm pulling down pretty much the physical limits of ADSL1 and squeezing 100-150Kb/sec more then I previously have. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/cool.png alt=8-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / Once ADSL2+ becomes available through my provider (a href=http://www.internode.on.net/news/2008/11/115.phpInternode - due in the next few days/a), I may consider the move up if the price is 'reasonable'.br / br / The garden shed and vegie garden will probably be first off the ranks, with the rest to follow after that.br / I'm seriously considering putting in a large sandpit for the dogs so they can dig til their hearts content (and not in my lawn/vegies/plants!img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/tongue.png alt=:-P style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / )br / br / Though, all in good time. In the interim, I'm just enjoying country life, and not missing the glare of the city at all. A few more weeks of setting up house and I'll be as happy as my dogs running around in mud! img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/smile.png alt=:-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /
I'm tired of the city life...

Posted: December 3rd, 2008, 4:07pm CET

Wow, that opening line from the infamous emDragon/em song really hits the mark. (Pity it's not April nor Cuba). img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/tongue.png alt=:-P style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / br / br / I'm sick of city life and ready for a sea-change. To be honest, nothing really holds me to the city and my home is my castle. I'm happy to move out of the hustle and bustle for a much more slower life style; somewhere with clean air, friendly neighbours (who actually talk to you and ask you in for a cuppa!) and somewhere I feel safe to raise kids. I'm extremely lucky to have a job where I can Work From Home the majority of the time. I'll also be relocating to our Ballarat offices as they are actually closer to our Melbourne based offices. (It also means I won't be fighting traffic playing 'animal crossing' in an effort to cross West Gate Bridge) img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/tongue.png alt=:-P style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /br / br / So out of the big choking smoke of Melbourne and off to a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bannockburn,_VictoriaBannockburn/a! Where on earth is Bannockburn you might ask?br / br / centeriframe width=425 height=350 frameborder=0 scrolling=no marginheight=0 marginwidth=0 src=http://maps.google.com.au/maps?q=bannockburn+victoriaamp;ie=UTF8amp;oe=utf-8amp;client=firefox-aamp;s=AARTsJqA7sGhLc3PtjwVIzVoY-5qxdovdgamp;ll=-37.527154,144.442749amp;spn=1.524734,2.334595amp;z=8amp;iwloc=addramp;output=embed/iframebr /smalla href=http://maps.google.com.au/maps?q=bannockburn+victoriaamp;ie=UTF8amp;oe=utf-8amp;client=firefox-aamp;ll=-37.527154,144.442749amp;spn=1.524734,2.334595amp;z=8amp;iwloc=addramp;source=embed style=color:#0000FF;text-align:leftView Larger Map/a/small/centerbr / See - you learnt something new today. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/wink.png alt=;-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /br / br / Our house is getting built here in Bannockburn. It's a lovely sized block (931msup2/sup). This means it's not overly large to maintain (we considered acreage but want to actually emhave time/em to enjoy our weekends!br / centeriframe width=425 height=350 frameborder=0 scrolling=no marginheight=0 marginwidth=0 src=http://maps.google.com.au/maps/ms?ie=UTF8amp;hl=enamp;s=AARTsJpOJadIOj1Hr7PxjS2x5wCrajSl_gamp;msa=0amp;msid=109707552186715764317.000443c25c74996851d83amp;ll=-38.055475,144.171245amp;spn=0.002957,0.00456amp;z=17amp;output=embed/iframebr /smalla href=http://maps.google.com.au/maps/ms?ie=UTF8amp;hl=enamp;msa=0amp;msid=109707552186715764317.000443c25c74996851d83amp;ll=-38.055475,144.171245amp;spn=0.002957,0.00456amp;z=17amp;source=embed style=color:#0000FF;text-align:leftView Larger Map/a/small/centerbr / Being in a Fairway, we don't get much local traffic (only really those wishing to enter a house in the street.) There is wonderful wild-life around the place and you can just stand in the backyard and listen to a dozen different native birds. My folks just moved in over the last few weeks into their own new house only about 2kms away in Bannockburn and my father (much to protests from my mother) has been feeding a baby magpie and his mother on a daily basis! Ahh the quiet life! img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/laugh.png alt=:-D style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /br / br / There are some wonderful wineries scattered throughout the region and I'm sure I'll be sampling many of the local produce that comes from these vineyards over the years! Even better -- Bannockburn is on the door steps to the Great Ocean Road, Lorne, Torquay The Brisbane Ranges and Otway National Parks. Plenty of natural beauty to go, see and explore!br / br / Bannockburn is a growing area and a href=http://www.id.com.au/goldenplains/forecastid/default.asp?id=266amp;pg=1the rate of population growth is quite astounding/a. It's little wonder when it's been a href=http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2008/08/21/17445_news.htmlranked in the top 20 Australian municipalities for it's quality of life/a. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/cool.png alt=8-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /br / br / Having grown up in a href=http://www.geelongcity.vic.gov.au/Geelong/a, I remember when Bannockburn was little more than a pub on the corner opposite the Bluestone railway station and a few dozen houses. Now it's quite a rural community. It's also not that far from Geelong, which means you're back in a large town in 20 minutes.br / br / For us, driving down from Melbourne you instantly feel relaxed as we drive through the city town centre. The place is feeling more home now then our current residence in Altona Meadows.br / br / I start leave today from work and we're scheduled to get the keys to the new place on the 10supth/sup of December. (Just over a week from today). img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/laugh.png alt=:-D style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /br / The removalists will be in on the 12supth/sup to relocate our furniture. (A few days up our sleeves if we run into last minute hiccups -- you know what builders can be like! img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/normal.png alt=:-| style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / ). br / br / Our network won't be patched into the patch panels until I've moved our 19 racks into place on the 15supth/sup so it may be a while until I get to Email/IM or even blog. Those that do have my mobile and need to contact me, may find this is the best method to get a hold of me over the next couple of weeks.br / br / Our carpets are getting layed today and the final aspects of the house are happening over the next few days. (fitting off plugs, last minute touchups, etc). I put a href=http://tankmasta.com.au/TA0102.aspour water tank/a in last Friday and am happy to report we've had regular rain since I put it in. (is this an omen?) img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/wink.png alt=;-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / br / br / centeriframe align=center src=http://www.flickr.com/slideShow/index.gne?group_id=amp;user_id=29135768@N07amp;set_id=72157610329606191amp;tags=Gates,Fences,Watertank frameBorder=0 width=500 height=500 scrolling=no/iframebr/smallCreated with a href=http://www.admarket.se title=Admarket.seAdmarket's/a a href=http://flickrslidr.com title=flickrSLiDRflickrSLiDR/a./small/centerbr / Some of the appliances also commenced going in last week and it's create to actually see that long process finally come to an end. The strange feeling is that we know it will be our new home but it feels like some strangers place when we go and visit! I imagine it's a feeling most people experience when building.br / br / It's exciting and daunting at the same time. Whilst we've got a good deal packed already, there still is a lot to go. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/eek.png alt=:-O style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / What was extremely strange today was looking around the dozens of packed boxes, we got a knock on the door. Our curtains for the new house got delivered. If you're in the market for any curtains/drapes.. I can highly recommend a href=http://www.winningwindows.com.au/Winning Windows/a. They went out of their way to emdeliver them personally/em and even chase multiple suppliers to get us our curtains before Christmas. I overheard many of the phone calls Pauline and the staff had and nothing was too difficult for them. They really did make the job easy. Add to that they threw in a bunch of freebies and a nice little discount. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/cool.png alt=8-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / Kudos to the staff and owners. If only every business delivered service like you!br / br / Kudos also to our a href=http://www.yellowpages.com.au/onlineSolution_moreInfo.do?iblId=4874731amp;iblName=Fenton+Electrical+Pty+Ltdamp;headingCode=32255amp;listingPosition=1amp;originatingPage=ListingPageamp;authToken=11dfd497a45|a9b4a76b50b8fd0424be03658ad65342amp;pageNumber=1amp;st=bnamp;z=303218Electrician/a and a href=http://www.connecttel.com.au/Network/a Installers who I have also done a marvellous job getting our geeky requirements in place without a hitch! img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/cool.png alt=8-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / (Wired GB Network throughout the house anyone, with 15A and separate circuits per room?) Can't recommend these guys enough. br / br / We elected to do concreting around the house prior to moving in as well as we required the gates/fences to go up. (Any other way you know how to keep two active dogs on your property and not leaving paw-prints through freshly laid concrete?!)br / br / centeriframe align=center src=http://www.flickr.com/slideShow/index.gne?group_id=amp;user_id=29135768@N07amp;set_id=72157610535950056amp;text=Plumbing+and+Appliances frameBorder=0 width=500 height=500 scrolling=no/iframebr/smallCreated with a href=http://www.admarket.se title=Admarket.seAdmarket's/a a href=http://flickrslidr.com title=flickrSLiDRflickrSLiDR/a./small/centerbr / So if you don't hear much from me for the remainder of the year you can put it down to:br / ulliI'm homeless and the builder didn't finish our house in time./liliI'm still cursing Telstra who screwed up the commissioning of the new phone line, meaning I'll probably need to wait another 3 months/liliEverything is fine and we've moved in, but being online is down at #1293 on the list of things to do. (Looking at the yard I think I've got a lot of work outside establishing a lawn, garden and veggie patch spring to life)/liliPauline has still left me packed in one of the boxes she hasn't unpacked as yet./li/ulThose of you who are bored and would like to see our house building stages from a block of dirt to the finished product, feel free to a href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/mpbottrell/collections/72157606575837125/take a look through our Flickr collection/a. Hmm... now to pay this thing back! (may Interest rates keep bottoming out!) img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/tongue.png alt=:-P style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /br / br / This will probably be my last day on the computer (we really are flat chat leading up to the move now).br / Hope to see/hear from many of you shortly... hopefully from a new address! img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/cool.png alt=8-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /
Is that a snow flake Satan?

Posted: November 17th, 2008, 3:49pm CET

It seems former Macromedia staff are busy shovelling snow in Hades.br / br / The Adobe blog a href=http://blogs.adobe.com/penguin.swf/Penguin.swf/a has a nice post on an a href=http://blogs.adobe.com/penguin.swf/2008/11/now_supporting_16_exabytes.htmlalpha version of Acrobat Flash for x86_64 for Linux/a img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/eek.png alt=:-O style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /br / br / So all those running a 64-bit distro using the not so compatible a href=http://swfdec.freedesktop.org/wiki/swfdec/a might wish to give it a whirl.br / br / Adobe have brought flash a long way, they've open sourced the format, provided better Linux support (though that's not to say it's without issues).br / Hopefully Adobe and the Linux community work closer in the future on getting stable releases of all their product lines. Abode has a long history of Mac support, and I'm sure there would be a great following amongst Linux users, and help move an even larger user-base off Windows.br / br / How many people do you hear that are 'stuck' on Windows because they use Adobe Photoshop or a similar Adobe product?br / br / I wonder if this announcement means I'll see more adverts on the web now. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/sad.png alt=:-( style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /
Government Morning Milk Afternoon Naps

Posted: November 10th, 2008, 2:29pm CET

You may laugh at the subject, but after the Federal government introduces a href=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24568137-2862,00.htmlmandatory Internet blocking/a whilst the Victorian Police and State Government are a href=http://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?Document_ID=17806introducing a 'timeout corner'/a I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the introduction of compulsory milk and after noon naps in the work place. Remember in Victoria this comes directly after the a href=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24626358-2862,00.html2am lockout on hotels and clubs is reversed after being a failure/a.br / br / Seriously, does anyone else feel like they are being treated like a child? img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/sad.png alt=:-( style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /br / br / Enough of all the bullshit legislation and start making people accountable. This generational problem of em'it's not my fault'/em has grown tired.br / Time for legal adults to start acting like adults. If you want the privilege of driving a motor vehicle and consuming alcohol these all come with responsibilities. Don't want the responsibility, then don't take on the privilege. It's that simple.br / br / The current government mentality of mollycoddling irresponsible members of society shows the contempt it holds the general population in.br / br / Parents control what your own children get up to. This includes out in public and on the Internet. emYou alone are responsible for your child/em, not your parents, not your neighbour, not your child's school/teacher and certainly not the government. This is emyour responsibility and privilege/em of raising a child. br / br / You wouldn't sit your children them down in front of a TV with an open bookcase of adult movies in plain sight (well we hope you wouldn't), so why do you allow your children to sit unsupervised on the Internet?br / These are the same parents who boldly claim they wouldn't let their child walk aimlessly through a multi-level shopping centre for fear of predators, yet are happy to let them run unaccompanied with a keyboard and mouse on the biggest shopping-centre there is.br / br / To those who enjoy a drink, do so. But do so responsibly. The whole violence on the streets/in clubs on a Friday and Saturday night is appalling.br / I see no 'fun' in binge drinking and then waking up in an emergency room (if lucky), or never waking and lying in a morgue. br / Don't think it's that serious? Take a read through the emergency reports from the inner city hospitals after every weekend.br / br / No-one is saying don't drink. However if your behaviour effects others maybe you shouldn't. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/tongue.png alt=:-P style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /br / br / To the governments and police forces in this land. Grow some balls and prosecute those that behave in anti-social behaviour. The rash of stupid legislation has to stop. America had one crack-pot who will soon leave office. Do we need to oust officials at all levels here before some sensible laws are passed? As public officials you are there to emrepresent the people/em. Is creating laws that affect/restrict everyone of their civil liberties, to stop a select few (ineffectively I might add) representing the people? I think not.br / br / Enough is enough, the violence and stupidity has to stop. It's unacceptable and it has to be stamped out. Laws need to uphold the values of society; they shouldn't be introduced to protect the stupidity of a select few. Those acting anti-socially, have given up their right to be part of society. Start arresting, fining or imposing jail terms on these individuals, but don't lock up society instead.
Strange IRC messages from across the Indian Ocean

Posted: November 4th, 2008, 10:34am CET

Leave your IRC client a href=http://www.melbournecup.com/set to away for a day/a, and then check your private chats later that night.br / br / It's amazing some of the strange banter you get:br / br / blockquote[someuser] hi..br / [someuser] yesterday we completed the network config change in all servers, and now network part is clearbr / [someuser] ;Pbr / [someuser] ;Pbr / [someuser] :pbr / [someuser] please ignore above 3 lines/blockquotebr / For the record, I was helping a fellow admin out with configuring a series of bonded interfaces for a server (7 connections - 3 bonded, one not).br / br / I take it the first two lines of the message tells me it's been completed. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/laugh.png alt=:-D style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /br / The next 3 lines were meant for someone else, whilst the last the user recognised what they had done. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/wink.png alt=;-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / br / br / emstrongThe lesson for today:/strong/em Check which window you're in before typing. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/tongue.png alt=:-P style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /
Making your fonts fontastic!

Posted: October 20th, 2008, 3:44pm CEST

One thing Linux often gets bashed about is 'the fonts look crap', or something similar.br / br / True, it's hard to deny, most distros ship their distro without enabling certain features to give you great looking fonts. (Basically a href=http://freetype.sourceforge.net/patents.htmlto avoid patent issues/a).br / br / Having said that, there is no issue with users deciding what's best for them. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/smile.png alt=:-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / br / br / I recently a href=http://tombuntu.com/index.php/2008/10/15/tweak-your-font-rendering-for-better-appearance/read a blog post/a describing how to get those nice crisp clean fonts that we all would like. That in turn a href=http://rewind.themasterplan.in/2007/07/15/sexy-smooth-fonts-on-kubuntu/lead to this excellent post/a, that has a great a href=http://rewind.themasterplan.in/dl/Kubuntu_FontsConf~/.fonts.conf file/a if you like the look of those silky smooth Apple OSX fonts. (In fact some people think these settings make Linux fonts appear even better than OSX! -- ymmv)br / br / Take a look at his example screenshots, comparing a href=http://rewind.themasterplan.in/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/snapshot_fontwindows.pngWindows (no AntiAliasing)/a, a href=http://rewind.themasterplan.in/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/snapshot_fontosx.pngMacOSX/a, and a href=http://rewind.themasterplan.in/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/snapshot_fontubuntu.pngLinux/a -- and you decide.br / br / I turned it on Thursday night, and it's been refreshingly crisp and clean. Well worth a look. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/cool.png alt=8-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /br / br / I'd be interested to know what other options people are setting and what they've discovered to get the 'wow' factor out of their fonts.br / br / Some great background reading can be found on the a href=http://fontconfig.org/font-config website/a, and in particular the a href=http://fontconfig.org/fontconfig-user.htmlfonts-conf User Manual/a.
RAIDing the RAID

Posted: October 17th, 2008, 6:44pm CEST

In a not to distant past a href=http://etbe.coker.com.au/2008/10/14/some-raid-issues/Russell Coker wrote about RAID Issues/a and referred in part to a href=http://www.cs.wisc.edu/adsl/Publications/corruption-fast08.htmla report containing data from 1,530,000 disks running at NetApp customer sites/a. (also available in a href=http://www.cs.wisc.edu/adsl/Publications/corruption-fast08.pdfPDF/a or a href=http://www.cs.wisc.edu/adsl/Publications/corruption-fast08.psPostscript/a)br / br / Interesting reading, for sure - particularly if you run any large dataset and want to ensure it stays intact! img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/eek.png alt=:-O style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /br / br / It prompted in the recesses of my memory a report compiled in February 2007 by Google. The report, a href=research.google.com/archive/disk_failures.pdfem'Failure Trends in a Large Disk Drive Population'/em/a was a report presented at the USENIX (FAST '07) Conference.br / br / The Google report looked at actual hardware failures of disk Google saw over several years. The numbers were crunched (Is there anything else Google does besides crunch large datasets?). Some interesting results popped out:br / ulliThe disks studied where either SATA or PATA consumer-grade disks that were either 5400RPM or 7200RPM ranging in size from 80G to 400G and been commissioned from any time after 2001. - Interesting this is the same disks that many of us will find in our own machines. No Enterprise disks, SCSI or SAS disks in the study./liliHDDs had a higher tendancy to fail at the start of their life or anything beyond 3 years of use./liliLow or Heavy Utilization of the HDD resulted in greater loss then 'Medium use'./liliDisks that had surface scan errors had a greater result of failure over the next 60 days./liliHDDs in operating in cool temperature (15-30supo/supC) had much greater failure rate in the first 3 years. Whilst disks 3 years had a greater failure rate with the higher the operating temperature. The ideal rate for running disks to minimise failure rate was 30-35supo/supC./liliA disk that spends more than 50% of it's powered on time 40supo/supC is a good indication of a possible problem./lilia href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-Monitoring,_Analysis,_and_Reporting_TechnologySMART/a data analysis revealed that it is not a reliable way to determine if a disk is about to fail. 36% of all disk failure had no SMART errors. The disks that had SMART errors the majority where seek errors (~72%). So basically, expect to see seek errors, beyond that you appear to be running blind with SMART./li/ulbr / Looking at both the Google Report and the NetApp Storage Report some 'best practices' become apparent to ensure you minimise your data loss:br / ulliHDDs are mechanical devices. Expect failure and plan for it./liliAttempt to operate disks in the 30 - 35supo/supC temperature range to extend their life./liliMonitor disk temperatures. Extended periods where a disk temperature rises unexpectedly (ie: not under any additional load than normal), is often an early sign that failure is close at hand./liliAttempt to purchase disks not from the same batch. This will avoid a common manufacturing fault taking your disks out at the same time. (Many storage companies will do that for you as part of their service.) img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/smile.png alt=:-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon //liliHDD failure follows the a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathtub_curveBathtub curve/a. The 'right side' of the bath kicks in around 3 years. Getting life out of your HDDs beyond that is a bonus, treat it as such!/liliHDDs are cheap these days. Don't be cheap -- implement a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_RAID_levels#RAID_6RAID-6/a over a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_RAID_levels#RAID_5RAID-5/a as a matter of course. Ensure you use a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-standard_RAID_levels#Double_parityDouble-parity/a on your RAID-6 implementation. You'll find most recent versions of RAID-6 implement double-parity as 'standard'. (NB: If using NetApp - it's coined as a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-standard_RAID_levels#RAID-DPRAID-DP/a.) Some vendors even allow you to upgrade the storage firmware online if using RAID-6 with Double Parity (NetApp for example has this feature)./lilia href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_spare#Computer_usageHot-Spares/a in your RAID-6 array is a emvery good idea/em. For the cost of the array consider it an insurance policy against the dreaded multiple disk failure which could potentially toast your array./liliHow important is your data? Can you put a cost on it? If the cost of replacement is extreme, consider redundancy options. This could include: Implementing a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nested_RAID_levels#RAID_60_.28RAID_6.2B0.29RAID-60 (or RAID-6+0)/a, archive/backup solutions, or even a total Disaster Recovery (DR) solution./liliAir flow around an array unit is critical. Don't cram your arrays in a fully populated rack, as minimal air-flow will ensure. This will add to the HDD temperatures and general storage enclosure. Remember you're aiming to keep your disks at 30-35supo/supC./liliKeep a logbook of when each drive was added/replaced. You know that 18 month disk then is less likely to fail than that disk that has been whirring away for 5 years. Record size, manufacturer and model/run. You may see some 'patterns' emerge in your own failure rates that will help with additional purchase decisions (ie: particular makes/models to avoid!)/liliPerform regular 'scans' or 'checks' of your HDD health, knowing the current state of disks allows you to plan for the inevitable failure./li/ulbr / Other tips I've picked up over the years looking after Enterprise systems attached to large storage arrays:br / ulliThere is a reason that the ASX demands that publicly listed companies with 'mission critical' services for the public (items such as water supply, electricity/gas, and telecommunications) MUST ensure their 'mission criticial' applications have full Disaster Recovery operation on hot-standy./liliDon't cut corners and not implement items like HotSpares and Double Parity. emWhen/em you have a drive failure (not if), you'll be glade you spent that little bit extra on it./liliA well planned storage solution should have emdrive/em failures, it shouldn't have emstorage/em failures. (a href=http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Internode-resorts-to-disaster-recovery/0,130061791,339292131,00.htmDon't tell Sun/Internode that!/a) img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/tongue.png alt=:-P style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon //liliEnsure you have clean-filtered power. Don't uassume/u it. Power voltage fluctuations and disk writes don't play nicely./liliDon't put all your eggs in one basket. Bad things do happen (I won't mention Internode again). Spreading your data out over multiple storage arrays helps add another level of redundancy. This is a GoodThingsupTM/sup/liliIt's never a bad idea to have spare disks in storage waiting for that inevitable failure, rather than relying on a vendor to have your disk capacity/model available. Every day that dead disk isn't replaced you are putting your array at risk./liliLook after your disks and arrays, and they generally will look after you (ie: ensuring you don't spend countless hours in the early mornings attempting to recover the unrecoverable!)/li/ulbr / br / Above all, may your next emdisk/em failure not be a emcomplete/em failure. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/smile.png alt=:-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / br / br / I'm interested to hear others stories, experiences and ideas that they have put in place to keep their data nice and cosy and their HDDs whirring in a constant and reliable state. Feel free to drop me a comment. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/wink.png alt=;-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /br / br / As a side note: I've been putting RAID-1 in place on my desktop machines as disk prices are so cheap now over the past 18 months. For the price of a few hundred dollars why bother the stress of a hard-disk failure? Having said that, it's no replacement for backing up your 'important' information. RAID-1 is still susceptible to the dreaded multiple disk failure issue. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/cry.png alt=:'( style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / Having said that, I've been lucky at that hasn't occurred. (Touch wood!)
Returning sanity to an insane world

Posted: October 16th, 2008, 11:09pm CEST

Often life runs at the speed of light.br / br / The modern lifestyle is so fast these days, it seems you never get time actually see the roses, let alone stop to smell the roses. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/eek.png alt=:-O style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /br / At times one needs to hit the pause or even the slow-mo button just to catch a breath.br / br / I've discovered one way that works extremely well for me. I hope you too can find a way to recharge the batteries quickly in an often busy world.br / Obviously getting away is the ultimate 'recharge', and that's not always possible, so I have found at times you need a 'quick fix'.br / br / For me, it's a relatively easy one:br / ulliJump in my car./liliTake a short drive around my neighbourhood (at 50km/hr max -- so it's not overly fast)./liliStick on a a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Sinatra target=_blank class=bb-urlFrank Sinatra/a CD./liliListen to a few tracks of emol' blue eyes./em/liliReturn home in 10-20 minutes time feeling much better./li/ulbr / It's amazing, throwing on his CDs, life appears to slow down... The sun seems shinier, people appear more friendly and I could swear people I pass and even the car I'm driving seems to only work at half speed. Instant stress relief. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/cool.png alt=8-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / br / br / Whilst Frank Sinatra won't be the answer for everyone, find something that relaxes and soothes you. Having an 'instant relax' method is a life-saver in the crazy busy world we call 'life'. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/wink.png alt=;-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /
Generation Y

Posted: October 13th, 2008, 6:13pm CEST

This was Emailed to me. It made me laugh so much I had to post it. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/laugh.png alt=:-D style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /br / br / Generation Y. It all makes sense now!br / br / img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/uploads/Gen-Y.jpg alt=Generation Y title=Generation Y border=0 /
Subliminal TV advertising - just what HDTV in Australia needs

Posted: October 10th, 2008, 3:26pm CEST

With the a href=http://ten.com.au/tv_aria-awards-2008.htmlArias for 2008 already getting plugged by Channel 10/a, one has to wonder if this year they'll be as 'smart' to try subliminal advertising throughout the coverage this year.br / br / Many of you may have found you got the munchies for Chupa Chups or even KFC. Throw in a batch of adverts also for Telstra Bigpond, Olay, Big W and Toyota (and emoh what a feeling!/em) during last years Aria Award ceremony.br / br / The ACMA took their sweet time deliberating over the issue, and has ruled a href=http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_311424Channel 10's use of subliminal advertising during the 2007 Aria award ceremony was in breach of the code of conduct/a.br / br / One has to ask - was this the only time they did it? img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/eek.png alt=:-O style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /br / br / Was a href=http://www.nodoz.com.au/NoDoz/a advertisement used during the AFL Brownlow Medal Count? Is a href=http://www.singstargame.com/en-au/SingStar/a used during Australian Idol, and a href=http://www.jennycraig.com.au/Jenny Craig/a and a href=http://www.fitnessfirst.com.au/Fitness First/a during The Biggest Loser?br / br / Don't stress, you can still jump in now and a href=https://www.buyten.com.au/index.cfm?siteID=440get your advertising lined up for the 2008 Arias/a br / br / It's emsoooo/em reassuring to hear what Channel 10 has stated in relation to the finding:ullidistribute the investigation report to relevant production staff (both in-house and external) to ensure that future productions of ARIA Awards are consistent with ACMAs view;br / linot use the same rapid cut use of sponsor logos for the upcoming 2008 ARIA Music Awards;br / liuse the finding as an example in regular code training sessions with staff, to ensure future compliance; andbr / lihighlight the code clause in their external production agreements./ulHmm... great work their ACMA -- you've let them off the hook with no more than a wiggle of your index finger. No fine, no enforced 'apologies' on air. You really are a toothless tiger. You make the laughing stock we call the ACCC look like a bully by comparison.br / br / I might try that the next time I'm pulled over for a breathalyser:ulliI promise I won't drink emthat much/em againbr / liI really will leave the car home next time.br / liOver beers next time re-enact the entire scene for all to watchbr / liI'll tell all my friends to do the same.br / /ulCan I also get off with a stern warning?br / br / Strange that Ch10 thought it was fine, and all 'hip' to do ... particularly after it's a practice that's been frowned upon since the early '70s!br / Did you really think it was all above board -- emSeriously 10/em? img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/tongue.png alt=:-P style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /
A visit to Ballarat this week

Posted: October 3rd, 2008, 8:35pm CEST

This week saw me head to the Victorian regional city of a href=http://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/Ballarat/a for a few days to undertake some RHEL5 x86_64 builds for work.br / br / Whilst it's a href=http://veejoe.net/?eid=1051not as exotic a destination as an unnamed colleague visited/a nor did it see me a href=http://jon.oxer.com.au/blog/id/287returning without my pants or shoes/a emsmall( sorry Jon, I couldn't resist! img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/tongue.png alt=:-P style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / )/small/em, it was a productive visit.br / br / Traditionally we undertake builds remotely, however these servers are likely not to appear on our network or even administered by ourselves, so it made sense to go onsite to undertake the work.br / br / I stayed in the a href=http://www.dohertyhotels.com.au/ballaratlodge/Doherty Ballarat Hotel and Convention Centre/a which literally is on the opposite side of the road to a href=http://www.sovereignhill.com.au/ target=_blank class=bb-urlSovereign Hill/a (and no I didn't have time to go there!)br / centeriframe width=425 height=350 frameborder=0 scrolling=no marginheight=0 marginwidth=0 src=http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=qamp;hl=enamp;geocode=amp;q=Doherty+Ballarat+Lodgeamp;sll=-25.335448,135.745076amp;sspn=56.486015,114.257813amp;ie=UTF8amp;cid=-37578921,143868060,16051716684747365062amp;s=AARTsJq2fjX4stmU4Pedsba1gTqxIwq4jQamp;ll=-37.574311,143.870215amp;spn=0.011905,0.018239amp;z=15amp;iwloc=Aamp;output=embed/iframebr /smalla href=http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=qamp;hl=enamp;geocode=amp;q=Doherty+Ballarat+Lodgeamp;sll=-25.335448,135.745076amp;sspn=56.486015,114.257813amp;ie=UTF8amp;cid=-37578921,143868060,16051716684747365062amp;ll=-37.574311,143.870215amp;spn=0.011905,0.018239amp;z=15amp;iwloc=Aamp;source=embed style=color:#0000FF;text-align:leftView Larger Map/a/small/centerbr / br / Whilst I spent most of my time in the office battling with hardware that had been incorrectly ordered (ie: missing hardware and/or non-compatible hardware (ie: 3.5 SATA drives ordered instead of 2.5 SAS drives for the internal enclosure)), I did venture back to the hotel in the evenings for some RR.br / br / centera href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/mpbottrell/2910012898/ title=Room in Doherty and Convention Centreimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3237/2910012898_af05455862_m.jpg width=240 height=180 alt=Room in Doherty and Convention Centre title=Room in Doherty and Convention Centre //a#160;#160;#160;#160;#160;a href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/mpbottrell/2910012902/ title=Room in Doherty and Convention Centreimg src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3146/2910012902_2f64d2a1e8_m.jpg width=240 height=180 alt=Room in Doherty and Convention Centre title=Room in Doherty and Convention Centre //a/centerbr / br / The hotel room was quite pleasant, and what something a corporate traveller expects. There was no surprises out of the ordinary (which you really don't need when travelling), though I did have two strange nights of sleep due to external factors:olbr / listrong1supst/sup night:/strong Apparantly it's Koala mating season. Staying in a hotel room surrounded by forest is lovely to look at during the day, but it's also the playground for randy koalas of a night. So thumbs up to the 'big boy' who kept me up for several hours in the early hours whilst he ravaged the local female population. Koalas aren't dying out in this region whilst this bloke is still kicking! img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/wink.png alt=;-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / Seriously, I thought those types of noises I may have heard from other hotel rooms, not span style=font-style:italicabove/span my hotel room./libr / listrong2supnd/sup night:/strong Local Football season must have finished. Seems some of the local players didn't head over to Bali to celebrate but decided our hotel was a great place to party.br / br / In depth conversations at yelling level could be heard at around 3am. Answers to lifes biggest questions such as emCan you scull beer or bourbon faster?/em were asked repeatedly. Finally after about an hour when it took that long for the gorillas to realise that they couldn't order a pizza to their room (and yes their was going to be surcharge for anything delivered to their room), the group of 6 decided that bundling into a car and heading down to the local McDonalds whilst tanked was the sensible thing to do.br / br / I passed out after that, though it appears they were successful (if not foolish) as their car was there in the morning without any visible signs of damage. It seems the drink and driving campaigns don't apply to footballers.br / br / I made sure I made enough noise as I passed their room at 7am heading off for breakfast, however in their drunken state the night previously, I doubt I would of woken them. It did bring me mild relief to my simmering frustration/anger from the previous nights interruption however./libr / /olThe crazy and overpriced Internet costs in the room small($0.20/1MB with both uploads/downloads charged or $0.15/min)/small ensured I had a relatively Internet free week night. I really didn't miss being connected, though it did remind me how often I relied on just 'quickly looking up something'. Items like news, weather and even a TV guide via the Internet seems to have become the 'standard' method of information retrieval for me. It became more of an inconvenience than anything. I realised then that there was indeed a TV guide in the room. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/wink.png alt=;-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / I gathered a quick round-up of news/weather using local radio. So this is what life was like prior to the Internet? (It seems so long ago now!)br / br / Traditionally I use a href=http://www.google.com/readerGoogle Reader/a to keep abreast of my feeds (as it allows me to bookmark, tag and share feeds easily), but being disconnected from the Internet was going to make that impossible. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/sad.png alt=:-( style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / br / I did however utilise a a href=http://akregator.kde.org/RSS reader/a, and was pleasantly surprised how easily it actually integrated into my Gnome desktop (particularly as it's a KDE app). The tray-icon and minimize/restore from tray all worked flawlessly (mostly due to the fact it's probably coded using a href=http://freedesktop.org/wiki/Specifications?action=showFreeDesktop specs/a). I went with a href=http://akregator.kde.org/Akregator/a over a href=http://liferea.sourceforge.net/Liferea/a after hearing reports that recent versions were prone to a href=http://liferea.blogspot.com/2008/07/fix-for-100-cpu-usage-problem.html100% CPU usage/a.br / br / One thing I did notice, is that current RSS readers do allow for 'offline' mode - though it would be nice if it gave you the option of a 'full download' of certain feeds. Offline mode that only sucks down text is quite frustrating at times, as the associated image (being discussed in the article) isn't available. It feels like over-hearing a discussion you weren't meant to hear!br / br / Whilst it's probably prudent allowing it to be set as a 'per feed' setting as I suspect many people may not want to download a full page for every article on every feed. (Particularly those feeds you only 'scan', and read a small amount of, or those that are overly heavy with graphics/flash, and embedded video.)br / br / Since returning I did notice that Gnome also has the a href=http://www.gnome.org/projects/straw/Straw Reader/a. Hopefully that comes along nicely as it appears to be in early development.br / Ideally I would love to see an RSS reader that integrated a href=http://webkit.org/WebKit/a with a good a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OPMLOPML/a import/export feature, as well as good support for a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(file_format)RSS/a (0.91, 1.0 and 2.0), a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resource_Description_FrameworkRDF/a as well as a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom_(standard)ATOM/a formats. Having a feature that allowed you to selectively do a full download of certain feeds for offline mode would be fantastic. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/cool.png alt=8-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / I'll whack that down on my ever growing todo list small(I think I'll need to live to 800 to ever complete it!)/smallbr / br / One nice feature I discovered is the room had direct dial-in, and due to poor mobile reception in the room it was much more cost effective to have Pauline call me direct over VOIP. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/cool.png alt=8-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / It also meant we could speak for much longer.br / br / The staff I met at the Ballarat office were extremely friendly and actually quite enjoyable to be around. small( Sorry a href=http://mrpointy.wordpress.com/MrPointy/a, they were more cheery then you! )/small They appreciated the effort I put in whilst down there (it's always nice to get some recognition) and appreciated the attention to detail. It was quite good timing as I will relocate offices to this one once I move into our new home (probably 4-6 weeks away). Heading into the Ballarat office is much closer than the Melbourne offices from Bannockburn. I've already made some good inroads into getting to know people there. I'll be the only member from my team at this office location, so it makes sense to build some bridges. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/cool.png alt=8-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /br / br / I did add two things to my 'travel-list' when travelling for work:br / ulbr / liA cheap mini 10/100 switch.br / This is invaluable when you're stuck in a room with one Ethernet port attempting multiple server builds, and also wishing to have your laptop online at the same time. I headed out the first day a picked up a cheapie a href=http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemamp;item=130260166900TP-Link 5-port 10/100 Switch/a. Cost me $20 from a local computer store, but saved hours of frustration./libr / liA decent power board with surge protectionbr / In hindsight I should have also taken/purchased a decent power board. The room only had 4 power outlets which meant I could only have one server up at a time. It would have been nice that I could have multiple machines up at the same time, as these were identical builds (besides their hostnames), I could have used something like a href=http://clusterssh.sourceforge.net/clusterssh/a to undertake the same tasks across all the machines at the same time -- ensuring I could have finished the job in a fraction of the time./libr / /ulbr / We live and learn. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/smile.png alt=:-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /
Making Google Chrome more private

Posted: September 27th, 2008, 6:43pm CEST

Most people are aware the a href=http://www.google.com/chrome/?hl=enGoogle's Chrome Browser/a is based on the great work of the a href=http://dev.chromium.org/HomeChromium Browser Project/a.br / br / a href=http://www.codeweavers.com/CodeWeavers/a have even created a free 'port' of Google Chrome for Linux users, aptly named a href=http://www.codeweavers.com/services/ports/chromium/CrossOver Chromium/a. This means Linux people don't need to feel left out of all the Google lovin'.br / br / There have been a href=http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2008/sep/04/googlechromeprivacyissuesaa few people concerned with privacy issues/a (also a href=http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_10510989?nclick_check=1 target=_blank class=bb-urlhere/a and a href=http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10031661-56.html?tag=txt target=_blank class=bb-urlhere/a) when using the a href=http://www.google.com/chrome/?hl=enGoogle Chrome browser/a. a href=http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10032047-56.html target=_blank class=bb-urlEven the EFF has raised concerns/a. Google has reacted and posted some a href=http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/privacy.htmlinformation regarding privacy in Chrome/a.br / br / There has been some applications produced that remove one of the largest concerns people have (a unique ID assigned to every installation of Chrome). In particular a href=http://blog.gjl-network.net/blog/index.php?archives/166-English.htmlamp;serendipity[lang_selected]=enChrome Privacy Guard/a will strip this unique ID out for you. Turning off some of the features (like a href=http://labs.google.com/suggestfaq.htmlGoogle Suggest/a) via the Browser preferences will also limit the amount of information sent back to the mothership (Google).br / br / Buoyed by all these privacy concerns, a href=http://www.srware.net/SRWare/a a German software company have released a href=http://www.srware.net/en/software_srware_iron.php target=_blank class=bb-url'Iron'/a, a browser also based on Chromium source but a href=http://www.srware.net/en/software_srware_iron_chrome_vs_iron.php target=_blank class=bb-urlwithout all the 'Googleness' privacy issues/a.br / br / If you like Chrome, but are concerned about the privacy aspect, Iron might be your solution.br / br / For those on Linux and really just wanting to use a a href=http://webkit.org/ target=_blank class=bb-urlWebKit/a based browser, take a peek at a href=http://www.twotoasts.de/index.php?/pages/midori_summary.html target=_blank class=bb-urlMidori/a.br / br /
The Linux Foundation speaks for no-one.

Posted: September 26th, 2008, 8:14pm CEST

I was appalled after reading the rather rash statements made by a href=http://www.linux-foundation.org/weblogs/jzemlin/Jim Zemlin/a the Executive director of the a href=http://www.linuxfoundation.org/Linux Foundation/a.br / br / His rather bizarre statements against a href=http://www.sun.com/ title=Sun MicrosystemsSun/a (who is also a a href=http://www.linuxfoundation.org/en/Memberssilver member of the Foundation/a) must have left many execs in Santa Clara scratching their heads and wanting some answers.br / What's worse is the story originally ran in a href=http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/09/24/39NF-linux-killing-solaris_1.htmlInfoWorld/a, then was picked up by the a href=http://www.nytimes.com/idg/IDG_852573C400693880002574CE00371FE1.html?pagewanted=1amp;ref=technologyNew York Times/a. Other notable online sites also ran with it, including a href=http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/25/2325232 title=News for NerdsSlashdot/a and a href=http://lwn.net/Articles/300525/LWN/a to mention just two.br / br / Lets look at some of the statements the Exec Director of the Foundation made:br / olbr / liemThe future is Linux and Microsoft Windows, it is not Unix or Solaris./em/libr / liemSolaris has almost no new deployments and is a legacy operating environment offered by a company with financial difficulties. Original equipment manufacturers also do not see a bright future for Solaris./em This was paraphrased and not a direct quote./libr / liemSun/em, he declared, emshould just move over to Linux./em/libr / liemIt's certainly true that Unix is on the decline./em - Discussing IBM AIX and HP-UX/libr / liemThe only people I hear talk about DTrace [Solaris's technology for assessing program and OS behaviours] and ZFS [the Zettabyte File System] as competitive features [are] Sun Microsystems sales representatives. It's not something I believe is impacting the market in any way./em/libr / liem...With capabilities such as ZFS and DTrace, Sun is trying to compete based on minor features/em, Zemlin says. emThat's literally like noticing the view from a third-story building as it burns to the ground./em/libr / liZemlin, on Sun's open-source Solaris as emtoo little, too late./em He also goes on to claim that there is no real open source community around OpenSolaris, arguing that Sun still controls development/libr / liOpen Solaris is no more than an attempt to expand the Solaris user base to drive customers to commercial Sun technology./libr / /olSeriously where does the guy get off?br / br / Looking at a href=http://www.linuxfoundation.org/en/Staffhis profile on the Linux Foundation/a it doesn't instil a level of confidence.br / A former Exec at Free Standards Group (who with the OSDL merged to become the Linux Foundation). He was also VP of Marketing of a href=http://www.covalent.net/Colavent Technologies/a (basically a crowd that sold commercial Apache support amongst other things). In 2000 he was a board member of Corio an ASP, that had an IPO then was sold off in chunks. IBM retains the a href=http://www.corio.com/http://www.corio.com//a URL.br / br / So, from my reading he's got quite a bit of marketing/exec background for web-based application servers.... beyond that, I don't see any real technical prowless. He's a marketing suit that appears to shoot from the hip.br / br / Let's review some of his quick-draws:br / br / ulbr / liThe future is Linux emand Windows/em? br / br / WTF?! Did you take crack before taking the interview?br / br / Sure as the exec. director of The Linux Foundation we expect you to come out and say Linux is the future - but to throw Microsoft in the mix -- you have to be kidding me.br / br / Look at general stall that Microsoft has had with Vista. They have forced OEMs to install it, and even some of the larger ones now have kicked back and offer corporations and high-end consumer devices the option of Windows XP instead./libr / br / liNo major deployments of Solaris... and disliked by the OEMS.br / br / That must be news to both IBM and Dell, who offer OpenSolaris on their x86 series servers.br / br / As for a company in 'financial trouble' this is an extract of the a href=http://materials.proxyvote.com/Approved/866810/20080924/CMBO_27948/HTML2/sun_microsystems-2008_0002.htmletter to shareholders/a attached to their a href=http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/investor/sec_filings/index.jsplatest Annual Report /10-K filing to the SEC/a (a href=http://materials.proxyvote.com/Approved/866810/20080924/CMBO_27948/HTML2/default.htmRead it online here/a).br / br / I've included a screenshot the opening paragraph of the letter:br / br / img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/uploads/SunMicrosystems2008AnnualReport.png alt= /br / That doesn't sound like a company in 'financial trouble' to me. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/tongue.png alt=:-P style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /br / br / You can see this on their a href=http://materials.proxyvote.com/Approved/866810/20080924/CMBO_27948/HTML2/sun_microsystems-2008_0051.htmConsolidated Statements Of Operations/a/libr / br / liThe decline of Unix (Solaris, HP-UX, AIX).br / br / It's interesting to note that all of these make hardware as well as an operating system. These systems normally scale much larger than that of a traditional Linux server (excluding clusters). Take a look at a href=http://www.sun.com/servers/highend/m9000/Sun's M9000/a, a href=http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/p/hardware/midrange_highend/index.htmlIBM's p5 595/a and a href=http://www.hp.com/products1/servers/scalableservers/superdome/specifications.htmlHP's HP-9000 Superdome Server/a. These computers can replace dozens of Intel based servers and thus are not something companies run out and buy dozens of. (well normally!) Interestingly... both HP and IBM are also Platinum Members of the Linux Foundation. With a Platinum membership of $500,000USD each. How's that for biting the hand that feeds you (literally in Zemlin's case).br / br / The I/O throughput and disk-subsystems available for these machines normally far outstrip that of anything under Intel/Linux range.br / /libr / liZFS, Sun Zones/Containers and DTrace.br / br / Seriously you jest Mr Zemlin?br / br / Linux virtualization is still a mish-mash under heavy development. (take Xen, KVM, LVS and even Sun's VirtualBox)... I wouldn't class as enterprise ready. Hell, even VMWare that started in Linux roots, has moved over onto their own kernel. Zones and Containers under Solaris are much neater and better suited to an enterprise environment.br / br / As for ZFS -- Linux has no mainstream file-system that competes. The size of volumes and the ease of use leaves ext3 behind. Even the upcoming ext4 has no real claims over ZFS. For large scale filesystems, ZFS has it over native Linux filesystems. br / br / DTrace - ask any administrator of 100's of Linux servers if they think DTrace is a minor thing? Sure a href=http://sourceware.org/systemtap/Systemtap/a is nice, but the a href=http://sourceware.org/systemtap/wiki/SystemtapDtraceComparisoncomparison of Systemtap to DTrace/a still shows some deficiencies. Being able to trace safely on production systems is a requirement for something that can be used in the real world. Add to it the ability to trace user-space programs and DTrace does indeed have some features many SysAdmins discuss and would love to see under Linux.br / br / /libr / liSun's open source Solaris 'too little-too late'. No community, still controlled by Sun.br / br / Wow... I wonder if he would make the same statement if Microsoft released their OS as open-source? Open-Solaris is a community site, though Sun still controls it. There is nothing wrong with that. It's their baby, and they can do with it what they like.br / br / Sun is still a large OSS backer.... remember products like a href=http://www.mysql.com/MySQL/a, a href=http://www.virtualbox.org/Innotek/VirtualBox/a, and hey, they even a href=http://www.sun.com/software/opensource/java/OpenSourced Java/a.br / br / Sun have shareholders to consider, and they need to make a return on their investments / RD. I don't really have anything bad to say about the a href=http://www.sun.com/cddl/CDDL/a. It makes sense for them... and hey something is better than nothing. What I find hilarious is that many Linux advocates will bag the CDDL, but love Mozilla. Wake up people... the CDDL is based on the a href=http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/MPL-1.1.htmlMPL/a! The CDDL is also recognised as a license under the a href=http://www.opensource.org/licenses/cddl1.phpOSI/a.br / br / /libr / liOpen Solaris attempts to drive customers to commercial Sun technologybr / br / Actually most of the people I've come across it are emalready using/em the commercial Solaris or wish to learn Solaris. OpenSolaris is a nice way they can install it at home and come familiar with the environment outside of work at their own pace. It makes sense that they can utilise the same operating system in their work-place and in the comforts of their own home. br / br / /li/ulFor me, I'm a fan of Linux. I love the breadth of software available to me, the rich and colourful community around it. I have grown up watching Linux (I first compiled up an 0.54 kernel on a lowly 286). My servers and desktops/laptops all run Linux.br / br / Having said that, I learnt *NIX on SunOS and later Solaris. It has it's place, even in today's world.br / I agree, the low-end UNIX servers are often replaced by Linux servers, yet there is nothing really in the Linux space that competes with the high-end UNIX environments.br / br / A lot of what we see in Linux has it's roots in commercial UNIX. (Hell, who has networked file systems in their environment that doesn't use Sun's NFS?)br / br / So take some advice from a Linux admin at the coal face. Linux co-exists well in a heterogeneous environment, sharing the space with commercial UNIXes and even those annoying Windows servers.br / br / If you need to beat up a 'Server OS' next time Zemlin, try attacking Microsoft (Hint: they are not a member of the Linux Foundation). br / br / Linux servers have probably dented more Windows server sales then that of commercial UNIX. a href=http://www.samba.org/Samba/a has played a large role in that.br / br / Exchange is probably the last bastion of Microsoft dominance. With the amount of Exchange 'replacements' now on the go that run under Linux (ie: a href=http://www.postpath.com/PostPath/a, a href=http://www.zarafa.com/Zafara/a, a href=http://www.opengroupware.orgOpenGroupWare/a, a href=http://www.scalix.com/Scalix/a and a href=http://www.open-xchange.com/ target=_blank class=bb-urlOpen-Xchange/a to name just a small fraction of those available. ) It's likely more inroads into the proprietary walls of Microsoft are now showing cracks in many corporations. Many IT managers are struggling to justify the outrageous price they get slugged for Microsoft Exchange, and these cheaper and feature-rich alternatives are often fractions of the cost if not free.br / br / So next time you attempt to speak for the 'Linux Community' Jim Zemlin, try actually speaking to some Linux administrators that live in the Fortune 500 world. We aren't all hippies yelling 'free OS love'. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/tongue.png alt=:-P style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / In fact we happily co-exist with commercial *NIX and sometimes even Windows servers (much to our disgust).br / br / Leave your Us vs Them mentality at your door, it's not a view held by a large proportion of the Linux community. Indeed many Linux administrators actually also administer other commercial *NIX machines in their day-to-day jobs. There are more similarities between the commercial *NIX flavours and Linux than not.br / br / We do realise it's part of the Foundation's role to 'promote Linux', but keep the mud-slinging and crap out of it. Let Linux stand on it's own technical merits and not at the detriment of dragging another 'cousin' down in the process. We see enough of this style of 'marketing' from Microsoft that we don't need to stoop to the same levels.br / br / br / hr /substrongDisclaimer:/strongbr / #8226; I work commercially as a Linux System Administrator at a Fortune-500 company.br / #8226; I have however administered a large range of *NIX based operating systems over the years... including Solaris, HP-UX, AIX, Tru64, and IRIX just to mention a few of the more 'known' variants.br / #8226; My home desktop and all my servers run Linux. Many that know me think I'm a one-eyed Linux zealot!br / #8226; I have no affiliations with Sun Microsystems at all.br / #8226; The views and opinions expressed by some members of The Linux Foundation are not mine./sub
The Duckling

Posted: September 25th, 2008, 5:03pm CEST

Recently my mother took a photo of her sister's new duckling.br / br / My mother is handy with the camera and always taking shots. br / She isn't a professional photographer by any stretch of the imagination, but it's amazing just being in the right place and the right time can produce a fantastic photo. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/cool.png alt=8-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / This is one such shot.br / br / The duckling was just wandering around the dining room table when the shot was taken. What makes it such a great shot is the reflection in the mirror of the duck as well as the random items placed around the table, giving the photo depth and colour. If fact, if I didn't know any better you would swear it was 'set up' and not just a happy snap (which it was!)br / br / The photo turned out so good it looks like a a href=http://www.hallmarkcards.com.au/HallMark Greeting Card/a!br / br / a href=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/uploads/Pets/Duckling.jpg title=The Ducklingimg src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/uploads/Pets/Duckling-Med.jpg alt=The Duckling title=The Duckling border=0 //abr / br / So to Mum, well done! It's a fantastic shot and one I had to share with others. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/laugh.png alt=:-D style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / br / Hmm... I wonder if we can fatten him up in time for Christmas lunch! img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/tongue.png alt=:-P style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon /
Improving VirtualBox performance

Posted: September 25th, 2008, 10:24am CEST

Most people don't read User Manuals. It's a shame as they miss out on lots of great tid-bits. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/sad.png alt=:-( style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / br / br / One such nugget can be found on Page 66 of the a href=http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/2.0.2/UserManual.pdfVirtualBox User Manual/a:br / br / blockquoteLike a real SATA controller, VirtualBoxs virtual SATA controller operates faster and also consumes less CPU resources than the virtual IDE controller./blockquoteInteresting...br / br / I thought I would give this a go. img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/smile.png alt=:-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / br / br / I had an existing 32-bit Windows XP installation that used the traditional IDE interface, and found it used about 25% of my CPU when running (using an Intel Core 2 Duo E6600) when running under a 64-bit Linux installation.br / br / Whilst it ran fine, dropping the CPU utilisation and speeding it up sounded like a great idea.br / Once done, I compared the results... it was indeed 'zippier', and low and behold, the CPU utilization had dropped to around 5%! Now that's a big improvement!br / br / tabletrtd valign=topimg src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/uploads/cpu-usage.png title=Gnome Screenlet showing CPU usage alt=Gnome Screenlet showing CPU usage //tdtd valign=topSo how did I go about it? br / olbr / liStart the Virtual Machine as per usual./libr / liDownload and install the a href=http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Namp;ProductID=2101amp;DwnldID=16012amp;strOSs=Allamp;OSFullName=All%20Operating%20Systemsamp;lang=engIntel Matrix Storage Manager/a (used to see the SATA interface)./libr / liInstall the software./libr / liShutdown the Virtual Machine/libr / liNow create a temp virtual disk, and install this on SATA-1 on the virtual machine./libr / liBoot back up and ensure you can see the disk (it won't be formatted, so you will probably need to look in the Disk Management utility found in the Administration Tools - Computer Management - Disk Management)/libr / liHopefully you can see the newly added disk./libr / liShutdown the virtual machine./libr / liChange your IDE disk to now be on SATA Port 0/libr / liRemove the temp disk you previously added./libr / liBoot back up and you should now be on a SATA HDD, that now is more snappier and uses a lot less CPU./li/olYou can also use the a href=http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Yamp;ProductID=2101amp;DwnldID=16013amp;strOSs=Allamp;OSFullName=All%20Operating%20Systemsamp;lang=engfloppy disk drivers/a to install it directly using the 'F6' key during installation./td/td/tablebr / br / NB: For those using Vista - you'll find it supports SATA out of the box. (No need to install an additional driver) img src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/templates/default/img/emoticons/cool.png alt=8-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / br / br / So enjoy faster and less resource hungry virtual machines.br / br / NB: Whilst this covers SATA under Windows based Virtual machines, it also applies to running Linux based Virtual Machines.br / br / centera href=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/uploads/Screenshot-VistaVirtualBox.png title=Vista Running under VirtualBoximg align=center border=0 src=http://matt.bottrell.com.au/uploads/Screenshot-VistaVirtualBox-small.png title=Vista Running under VirtualBox alt=Vista Running under VirtualBox //a/center

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