Fri, 07 May 2010

Configuring Windows 7 for Remote Access with Cygwin sshd
posted by Chip Witt

As someone that was openly critical of Windows Vista during its short reign as the flagship Microsoft product, mostly due to my experiences bailing out friends and clients that had gone down the unhappy upgrade path from XP Pro, I feel it is important to give praise where it is due. I have been using Windows 7 on a Sony VAIO P-series for about four months now, and I must admit that it doesn't suck. In fact, I've enjoyed it enough that, when it came time to invest in a new workstation class machine for some of our development work here at Witt'z End Technologies, Windows 7 Professional was the obvious choice of operating system. Those that know me well, know that is about as close to an endorsement as I will ever get, so do not take it lightly.

Now, to all my Linux and Open Source friends that are staring at their screens in shock and horror, I am not abandoning you. We just needed a machine on which to run our Adobe Suite, along with some other necessary tools that required Windows as the primary OS. A necessary Evil, if you will, that in no way lessons my advocacy for all Good things Open Source. In fact, I want to now shift specifically to talking about something Linux provides for systems administrators that Windows still does not, and highlight the Open Source tool, Cygwin, as part of the solution.

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[/tech_tips] permanent link

Sat, 16 May 2009

"I think I might like Ubunt...well, Linux Mint"
posted by Chip Witt

I am lucky enough to have several computers with which I work and play (or rather, lucky enough to have a wife that understands and tolerates my obsessions). Some of my machines are dual-boot with Windows, but all are running a Linux distribution of some flavor. I used to swear by Gentoo, have had periods where I favored Fedora (and other RedHat Linux derivatives like CentOS and Scientific Linux), and have experienced so-so times with Ubuntu, openSUSE, and Slackware over the years. It wasn't until I acquired a Lenovo Ideapad S10 for a pet project I'm working on for my niece that I really thought it worthwhile to evaluate yet another Linux distribution in search of that perfect end-user experience. After literally stumbling upon Linx Mint in my search for optimal configurations for the S10, I am very happy that I gave it a shot as the primary OS on my new toy.

Linux Mint began as an Ubuntu derivative, which itself was a Debian derivative. As far as Ubuntu has come from its Debian roots, so too has Linux Mint expanded well beyond just being a rebranded Ubuntu. DistroWatch.com highlights the benefits of Linux Mint better than I ever could with the following:

"Originally launched as a variant of Ubuntu with integrated media codecs, it has now developed into one of the most user-friendly distributions on the market - complete with a custom desktop and menus, several unique configuration tools, a web-based package installation interface, and a number of different editions. Perhaps most importantly, this is one project where the developers and users are in constant interaction, resulting in dramatic, user-driven improvements with every new release".

The title of this post says a lot. I encountered Linux Mint, read it was related to Ubuntu, and almost took a pass. I've tried to like Ubuntu, but have never been able to embrace it with any enthusiasm (maybe it's the default colors). Aside from having to setup my full-disk-encryption manually (something that is quickly becoming a standard install time option), I've had no complaints, and very few annoyances. Shifting to the Debian way of doing things has been very easy, and I am enjoying using Gnome as my window manager for the first time in a decade. Linux with a sprig of mint turns out to be a very good flavor. I can't wait for the stable release of Linux Mint 7 "Gloria", which is based on the latest Ubuntu 9.04 "Jaunty Jackalope"!

Until next time, give Linux Mint a try...you might find a new favorite.

CW

[/the_new_unix] permanent link

Fri, 01 May 2009

Booting via USB Key Made Easy
posted by Chip Witt

Man, how times change. I remember paying nearly $200 for a 2GB USB flash drive in 2006, and having people "oooh" and "ahh" about the amount of storage space available in such a small gadget. Same size drive, made better and faster, available for purchase online today: less than $10 before taxes and shipping. These drives are no longer an executive status symbol or tool for geek superheros, and the handiness of having one at your disposal in a pinch cannot be denied by even the most casual computer user. While most people use their USB flash drives to conveniently hold random bits of data to transfer between work and home machines, or to perform quick backups of critical, "I-am-so-dead-if-this-disappears" data, many do not know that it has become equally easy to use these drives for emergency booting of machines where the running state has changed from mere SNAFU to complete FUBAR. A state where time is of the essence, and you absolutely must recover information from a machine that is "Blue Screening" (or worse) for some unknown reason.

Now, there are reasons other than an emergency where one might want to boot from an alternate drive. Booting into a safe operating system for secure browsing when connected to a public network, exploring alternative operating systems, etc. are all valid. While I was recently researching the many Linux distribution choices out there, I came across two very useful utilities for making a USB drive bootable: the liveusb-creator and the Universal Netboot Installer. These are very cool finds because the process of getting a USB drive serviceable as a boot device manually is time-consuming, and difficult to do while simultaneously making an espresso drink.

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[/tech_tips] permanent link

Fri, 13 Feb 2009

Happy 1234567890!
posted by Chip Witt

If you care about such things, something significant just happened. The internal time on your computer, measured in number of seconds elapsed since 00:00:00 UTC January 1, 1970 (not counting leap seconds), read 1234567890. Likely only your computer and geeks around the world noticed or care, but thought it was worthy of a blog post.

[/whatznew] permanent link

Thu, 27 Mar 2008

My First Wireless WAN Device
posted by Chip Witt

Well, Krista's annoyance at seeing random $9.95 charges on our corporate card for wi-fi hotspot access during my travels over the last year finally convinced me to give an AT&T Wireless WAN device a try. I say device, because it is not a PC card...it is the Sierra Wireless USBConnect 881, which plugs into an available USB port to provide cellular data service.

So far, so good, I guess. I'm using it to write this post, and given the length of time since my last post, this can't be all bad. 3G access, at a max of 3.6 Mbps so far, is sketchy in most locations I've tried to use it. Speeds any slower are virtually unusable, so there are times when I shake my head, and just unplug the device. I've been able to browse the web, check email, and use instant messaging at a rate of about 70% reliability...the other 30% being aggravating discconnects at inopportune times.

In dense metro areas, coverage is supposedly better for high-speed access, but time will tell if this is a worthwhile investment. At any rate, it seems better than sorting random charges, and dealing with time consuming hurdles to get connected.

See you online.

CW

[/whatznew] permanent link

Tue, 18 Jul 2006

Upgrading by Deep Dependency
posted by Chip Witt

The technical analog to "Management by Shiny Object" would have to be "Upgrading by Deep Dependency". I am usually very quick to speak highly of Gentoo Linux as both a Linux distribution and general philosophy, but I have recently been stung by a requirement to upgrade a cascade of seemingly unrelated packages that ultimately "broke" my system in the performance of what I thought was a simple application update...an update intended to resolve a minor bug. Little did I know that I would very soon be begging for the minor annoyance of that bug to return just so I could have my life back. I've been a Gentoo user for at least 5 years, so I know that if I am frustrated, other less dedicated users must be leaving the distribution in droves.

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[/the_new_unix] permanent link

Thu, 13 Jul 2006

PodShow+: Uniting Innovative Content Producers with Hungry Listeners
posted by Chip Witt

You can't be involved with technology without having your eyes open for innovation. Innovative ideas are what make free markets so great, and keep competition in-pace with consumer desires. As organizations muscle their way into the competition for your attention through marketing blitz and main media saturation, a new forum has arisen for niche market consumers to find a message (or messages) most suited to them and their needs through all the noise: PodShow+.

"TheSHOW", as Adam Curry calls it, is many things for many people. It is a web-based aggregator and search engine for podcast listeners to find new content, be it informative talk radio style shows, or new music that is flying under the radar of mainstream outlets. It is a marketing vehicle for podcasters to get their "message" out to listeners. It is an alternative to signing with big recording companies for musicians and song writers, allowing them to use the Internet more easily to find an audience for their creations while they retain ownership rights. Finally, PodShow+ is a social networking tool combining all of these disparate groups, allowing them to work collaboratively to redefine media as we have come to know it.

"Dig me" at My Little Piece of TheSHOW!

CW

[/cool_software] permanent link

WET Pod Foo #2 is up!
posted by Chip Witt

WET Pod Foo #2 was posted today: a couple of cool songs, follow-up to the first show, and new content about Open Source applications you can use painlessly and productively with your current Windows machine. As a bonus, I provide insight into five tools I find indispensable in my daily work life.

Check it out at WET Pod Foo!

CW

[/whatznew] permanent link

Fri, 07 Jul 2006

WET Pod Foo Has Been Launched
posted by Chip Witt

To pursue my interest in exploring the business and educational benefits of the podcasting phenomenon, I have begun a podcast for Witt'z End Technologies called "WET Pod Foo". The first episode is available online at the WET Pod Foo website.

You can subscribe to the podcast feed here with an RSS feed reader.

If you prefer, you can also subscribe through Apple's iTunes to more easily get the podcast into your iTunes client and/or iPod.

Enjoy!

CW

[/whatznew] permanent link

Thu, 29 Jun 2006

Review: "Open Source for the Enterprise: Managing Risks Reaping Rewards"
posted by Chip Witt

It is no secret...I think Open Source Software can be of tremendous value to some organizations, but up until quite recently, books on the subject tended to focus more on the tools than on the business cases in which value might be realized. This is probably quite typical when innovators and early adopters of technology try to impart the value to others...the message tends to contain information that is "cool" rather than truly valuable from an evaluation standpoint.

Woods and Guliani's Open Source for the Enterprise: Managing Risks Reaping Rewards is a refreshing departure from the norm in books covering Open Source technologies for business. It clearly dissects the subject of Open Source, providing useful business-level processes organizations can put to work immediately to evaluate the viability of F/OSS tools for their organization. Regardless of your current stance on Open Source, pro or con, this text may be an eye-opener...and may even change your decision-making paradigm on the subject.

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