November 2007 - Posts
I was a bit a cynical when I read this article about OpenDNS. But you know what? It WORKS! Go and set your DNS name servers now!
https://www.opendns.com/start
I have been using machine virtualization for many years now an I have got to say since the relative affordability of powerful CPUs and Hardware, performance is now very acceptable, even on my Tablet PC!
Suddenly after the IPO of VMWare everyone wants in on the action! So far the big players are VMWare, Microsoft, Parallels, Oracle (new) and several Open Source versions. For me I have been flip flopping between VMWare and Microsoft. If I had a Mac I would probably be looking at VMWare Fusion and Parallels.
So I just wanted to share some of my thoughts on performance when it comes to machine virtualization.
There are a few areas that you need to be concerned with
- 32bit or 64bit Host Operating System
- Multiple CPUs
- Lots of RAM (Most new consumer boards support up to 8GB)
- Fast hard disks 7.2K to 10K or RAID 0, 1, 0+1
- External drive enclosures
- Backup
If I had a choice I would probably dedicate a machine to host all my virtual machines but I would be wasting a machine and also wasting CPU cycles for the host. VMWare has ESX server and Microsoft has Windows 2008 which installs a lightweight host to manage the virtual machines.
For me I went with x64 on my desktop machine and x86 on my tablet, they are running Core 2 Duo E6600 and Core Duo T2500 respectively. Both machines have dual core.
On my tablet since it is a generation behind the latest Santa Rosa ,which supports 4GB RAM, I had to settle for 2GB. On my desktop 8GB is the way to go.
So the main thing in my book is to have fast hard disks and dedicated hard disks for each of your virtual machines. For example, for my desktop machine I have two 2-drive RAID-0 arrays to host my virtual machines. I can run 4-5 machines without any significant performance issues.
If I am running the VMs on an external USB 2 disk, I try to limit the machines to 1-2 per USB 2 disk. When using USB 2, make sure that the port is dedicated for the drive. You don't want any contention with any other peripherals.
I like to use external enclosures for my primary VM that hosts my internal email, files and web site. If the host machine crashes and burns, which it has done a few times during the last few years. I just take the drive and connect it to my other desktop or even my tablet!
So I like to do a few things with Backup. First, I use Microsoft Backup that comes with Windows 2003. It seems to do just fine backing up the guest OS within the VM. The second thing I do is use VSS (Volume Shadow Copy) to backup the image files (VM). VMWare currently doesn't support this, but the backup will be to the last write to the hard disk file (crashed state). Virtual Server 2005 SP1 R2 supports VSS. The Platform SDK has the VSS SDK and a sample exe that allows you to backup a file in use using VSS. I will try and post more info in the future...
Happy virtualization...
Well it looks like Intel has done it again. A serious performer with 30 million transistors...My PC is suddenly feeling a bit slow...
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770
I saw this on the nightly news. It's a very cool concept to help hungry people around the world...and improve your vocabulary...
www.freerice.com
Well with the new addition to the family, my ritual routine on the weekend was to impersonate a Coffee Barista and try and make Espresso and Lattes was cut short due to time.
I've been hooked on good coffee ever since Financier opened up near my office. Between the Lattes and the French Pastries Financier and my old friend Starbucks have really put a dent in my wallet.
One day I walked into a Williams Sonoma and they had a Nespresso representative there. At the time they were trying to sell me a Nespresso D290C, a great machine that makes great espresso fast. I was very surprised by the taste and quality of the espresso that came from such a small capsule. I currently own a Beville 800XL which I use with Illy Pods, which is starting to exhibit some pump problems. I believe they replaced my model with one that has a double boiler with19bars pressure.
In any case I decided it was time to make a break from the manual espresso thing to something much simpler, now the question was which model. So in my travels I found a great site, singleservecoffee.com which previewed the Nespresso Lattissima, manufactured by Delonghi. So this was going to be my next coffee machine.
So what do I think? It is a great machine, just as singleservecoffee.com described. I don't have any serious gripes about the quality of the espresso, caps, or lattes.
There are some things to consider though.
- You can only buy coffee though the Nespresso club or the boutique stores.
- You normal coffee mugs will not fit in the machine, you will need to use the included Lungo or espresso shot glass, which are really narrow...
- When using the milk attachment, the silver tube needs to be extended. I neglected to extend and milk was all over the place...I solved by placing a rubberband around the plastic container, preventing retraction of the tube.
I am thinking of getting one of the lesser expensive models for the Office. Along with the Nespresso frother you can save yourself lots of cash and still enjoy your coffee.
For those who want to calculate the cost, here is the analysis I did the numbers are only for one person, double it and it really makes sense to have your own machine...Obviously the numbers are estimates, even with my own machine I do find myself stopping at the coffee shop or Starbucks once in awhile...
As I mentioned in a previous post today, I have decided to ditch my Cingular Option 3.6Mbps PC-Card in favor for the Verizon USB727 USB Wireless Modem. I also had the Sprint 595 AirCard which I also decided to get rid of due to coverage in my house.
The main reason that the Option card was not working for me is that it could not maintain a reasonable connection during my train ride home (NJ Transit NE Corridor).
So far on a moving train I get anywhere between 300Kbps to almost 1Mbps...which is awesome on a moving vehicle. Stationary performance is awesome...1Mbps to 1.3Mbps sometimes peaking at 3Mbps...
Second, the connection speed is quick and since the USB modem is rather small I can mount it with velcro on the top my laptop screen, enhancing the performance.
So far the only big negative is that Verizon apparently disables the built in GPS or doesn't implement it. At lease Microsoft Streets and Trips 2007/2008 doesn't recognize it as a valid device. (Notice in the following screenshot of the available COM ports)
Some other things I would change is to get rid of the cap. I would replace it with a self retracting usb plug similar to the SanDisk Micro USB memory keys. Secondly, the rubber plug hiding the antenna port needs to be attached some how or at least there should be some kind of sliding cover...
Finally to make everything complete all I need is a EDVO router...The CradlePoint CTR-350 looks real interesting...
It seems that everyone is really obsessed with how many miles per gallon a hybrid car gets...But I was listening to CarTalk on NPR and the weekly puzzler opened my eyes. We shouldn't be looking for MPG, instead we should be looking at MPG per person.
Here is the answer to the puzzler on NPR.
So basically if you are going to use all the seats in a larger vehicle to capacity, then the larger vehicle may have the same or higher MPG per person as one of the high mileage hybrids...So use the larger vehicle when it counts...
First we had AT&T with their 10lbs paper bills now everyone is trying to promote the paperless bill. I recently ran into an interesting bug with one of those paperless systems.
So In June I switched my phone service from Verizon to AT&T to enjoy the iPhone. So as usual I paid my bill online before the switch.
Lately I have been rather disappointed with the AT&T Options 3G PC-Card, so I decided to go back to Verizon to satisfy my wireless broadband addiction. I placed the order for USB727 USB rev A card and I was sent a notice that I had an outstanding balance and my order was put on hold.
I scratched my head and wondered how I could owe money...I didn't receive any emails...nor did I receive any paper mails. So I called Verizon and then discovered I did indeed have a balance. But due to a bug or possibly a feature of the paperless billing system, the moment my account was deactivated, so was the notifications of billing. Well the good thing is that none of this was reflected on my credit report according to the customer service representative.
So what should you do if you have paperless billing, my advice would be to deactivate it before terminating service...