HI SYN!

Windows update issues post SP3 install

Yesterday I finished the re-install of my IBM ThinkPad T42 using the factory install disks. After completing the re-install, I diligently started the Windows Update process to make sure my laptop was up to date before pushing all my data back onto it.  After 2 patches, SP3 update was next and I let it do its thing for the next few hours and went to bed.  This morning I woke up to try and install a few optional updates and generally wrap the reload up and found I couldn't install ANYTHING! .NET 2.0 had a critical update that would take, nor would any of the optional hardware and software updates work. Finally after googling around I found a post here that says:

This problem will not exist on the final version of SP3.

It can be fixed by running this command:

regsvr32 wups2.dll

Sure enough, after registering that dll file with the above command I am now able to apply all updates to the system.  Good for both future reference and for anyone googling around wondering why they can't update their XP system anymore!

Domain Registration

Last night I read a story about how our favorite company (Network Solutions) which controls the US Domain Name system (and the costs associated to it) has decided to raise the price... again.  So I hopped onto registrar account and checked out the status of my domains and nearly missed renewing a domain!  Since I have only a few domains that im using for personal (and work purposes now!) I'm renewing them for a few years before the "man" decides to raise prices again and again each year.  And I though yearly raises in apartment rents were bad :(

colo vs dedicated server

I've been shopping around the past few days for either a colocated server space for an old box I have (AMD 64 4000, 4GB memory, 300GB HD) or a deal on a dedicated server.  I've pretty much decided on going with Burst.net unless one of my recent quotes come back with a great deal since I cannot stand spending $50/mo on a Celeron with 512MB memory and 80GB HD vs what I can get for $70/mo. There is an interesting thread on WHT that I stumbled upon dealing with the question of why cheap colo costs more than cheap dedicated:

This is probably a dumb question, but I've been curious about something. While shopping around for either a cheap dedicated server (less than $75/mo) or a cheap colo for a 1u server, I have noticed that the cheap dedicated servers are often less than a cheap colo, which seems odd to me since with a colo you bring your own machine. For example, Sago Networks has cheap dedicateds for $50, $59, $79 etc. yet their cheapest colo option is $99. For Sago's $50 dedicated you get 1000GB transfer and 2 IP's, and with their $99 colo you get only get 100 GB transfer and 1 IP. And Sago is not unusual in this respect. I've priced other providers that fall into this category and they have similar differences. So why is colo more expensive than dedicated for similar, if not lower, features?

Read the rest

The reason I'm going to a dedicated/colo server (again!) is because this VPS has proven too unstable for me.  I can't deal with my sites being up and down or painfully slow because another VPS is eating up all of the hosts CPU. Plus I can't run any game servers for fun!  I also will get about 10x the server for 2.5x the cost which I think is a good deal and I get to put some of my old, idle hardware into action.  This decisions seems Win-Win for everyone.

RIP Old Database server

A couple of weeks ago I took ClanBase.com's old DB server offline.  The server (Dual Xeon 3.2Ghz, 6GB memory) was a workhorse for sure and required little maintenance during it's production time. The final #uptime was:

05:29:04 up 794 days, 22:58,  1 user,  load average: 0.00, 0.00, 0.00

It actually amazes me that we never ran into a problem with this server even with the amount of high traffic we were throwing at it.  I forget it's average QPS, but it was around 300 on average and that's with caching enabled.  I think over it's 2 year life span I had to restart MySQL maybe 3 times. Hopefully this new DB server has the same track record :)

Back to Windows

For the past month and half I've been trying to use Ubuntu 7.10 exclusively.  However, the same old story happened to me as it's happened to others.  Here's the recap of some of the issues I ran into: - Exchange client: I tried the thunderbird exchange client, didn't work and webmail is no substitute for the full client - IRC: X-Chat is awesome, however I use BNC's that require both a password and a different port on connection; something X-Chat doesn't like - Flash: It's "supported" but not fully since some flash movies work (ie> most of youtubes) and others do not (ie> just about all of yahoo.com's) - Java:  Hit and miss for websites (ie> SmugMug).  I trialed SmugMug and generally like the service but I wasn't able to fool with the easy to upload features during the trial. - Nvidia 8800GT: It's not new but yet the drivers are considered beta and need to be MANUALLY installed (and reinstalled for every kernel upgrade/recompile) - Creative X-Fi: Not supported at all and I had to install a SB Live! card to get sound!  This card is not very new so I'm not understanding the hold up here. - Dell Webcam: I got spoiled by this little puppy for the first month I had this monitor before I switched to Ubuntu but it's not supported in any way in Linux right now - Games: I had WoW running under emulation Things I will miss - (Good) Virtual Desktop: Windows has it but it's not as good as Ubuntu implementation.  I really liked the ability to use the scroll button to switch between 2 Virtual Desktops - Overall Unix Desktop feel: The only way I'm getting this back is if I switch to a Mac... and if OS X ever supports (not via hacks) my XPS 720, I just might pull the trigger on that. - Compiz: The wobbly effect is an immediate disable in my mind but I do like this engine after all - 4GB memory usage: The most I used was 3.2GB but having all 4GB available was nice! As I thought before, Linux on the Desktop is a good idea but won't be fully realized outside of nitches and devices like the Asus EeePC.  I still think the ultimate (Open Source) OS will be something based around a design like BeOS.... now if Haiku can only get to beta stage I can start considering a switch to it!

Mythic Beasts

By far the coolest & smartest host provider I've seen in a while is Mythic Beasts. They are a host provider in the UK that are pretty much focused on dedicated + colo hosting of Mac Mini's! Talk about being green about your servers, that's a great idea if you require a dedicated server but don't really need the full power of a 1U rack server (mostly lots of memory and RAID). I'm tempted to switch my hosting over there since my needs are little but I've switched hosts enough for work and play... this VPS through TekTonic is technically "Green" so I think I'll stay right here, unless THEY start offering very cheap mac mini hosting! An article about Mythic-Beasts: http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/articles/mythic_beasts_02

It's been how long?!

Gesh, time just flew by since I last updated this blog!  Short version is: I got married to a wonderful woman, went on a great cruise and am now on a beast of a computer running Ubuntu. More to come after I sort a few things out now that I've moved it...  again.

Partial plan for reducing "powah"

I've come up with a plan to reduce my footprint but it's going to cost me a few bucks to get it done to really cut down on my power usage. If I create a small EPIA computer to take over Wireless Access Point and Firewall/VPN duties and keep the power consumption under 12W that will reduce the footprint for those two items from 50W to <12W.  (Power Saved: 38W) Next up is the computer situation. My laptop isn't going anywhere. However the systems I use can be tweaked.  I can't remove the gaming system, but I can stop using it and shift watching anime, listening to music and some basic gaming stuff to the Ubuntu box. As for the Ubuntu Box, I want to lower it's footprint complete.  If I get a LCD monitor that will lower the footprint some.  Then if I build a new'ish mini-ITX system I should be able to do everything I am now and then some with a much lower power consumption.  How much? I don't know just yet, time to research parts + prices :) (Power Saved: 180w+?) As for my file server, I think I'm going to leave it shut off most of the time and use it to back up files to. I'll keep all my mp3s on my Ubuntu box and install a bit torrent client on the Ubuntu box so I can download to it in the background.  (Power Saved: 50W) Crazy plan? (268w+ power saved!) Yeah possibly, but the power savings could be huge if I have a 50W server off all the time, a 180W gaming rig off most of the time and reduce my Ubuntu box's powah footprint. I see this as the first necessary step to reducing what I use for when I have a house and I can have a solar + wind power solution in place. I should really see a difference in how much power I use through my monthly bill.

Computer Powah?

The more I think about this power reducing idea, I should really consider reducing my computer footprint as well.  It will actually help my electric bill/consumption indirectly!  Most of my equipment does give off a good amount of heat.  Heck, my bedroom closet is typically warm in the morning because of the door is closed over night and the fileserver warms the temp up to ~80F.

Going low-powah

So, for the past few weeks now I've been trying to figure out how lower my power footprint in the world. To do so, I've been writing down the power consumption of nearly every device in my apartment. I also have switched my web hosting from a dedicated server to a VPS host (which hisyn.com resides on now) since my usage of the server had dropped considerably. I've come to the conclusion that while I can do something to lower my "powah print", I'm not able to touch the big 4 because I live in an apartment. "The Big 4" 1.> HVAC 2.> Washer/Drier combo 3.> Refridgerator 4.> Water Heater While I can't touch those right now in the apartment, I can make a dent by targeting the following areas + devices. Home Theater Area - (Total: 49W "off"/280W "on") - Onkyo Receiver - Comcast DVR - Panasonic Plasma TV - Sony DVD Player - Subwoofer Computers - RCA Cable Modem [24/7] (~10W) - Netgear Gigabit Switch (GS-108) [24/7] (~10W) - Netgear Wireless AP [24/7] (~10W) - m0n0wall Firewall/VPN [24/7] (40W) - Gaming Rig + 19" Monitor (~180W) - FileServer [24/7] (40-50W) - Ubuntu Workstation + 17" Monitor (~120W) - IBM T41 Thinkpad (30-40W) Lighting - Bedroom - Nightstand (40W) - Dresser Light (60W) - Closet Light (60W) - Hallway Light - Bathroom - Ceiling Light (1 x 60W) - Bath Tub Light (1 x 60W) - Mirror Lights (4 x 75W) - Living Room - Standup Light (60W) - TV backlight (75W?) - Porch Light (40W?) - Kitchen - ceiling - Recessed Lights While I haven't cataloged everything on this list, I know I can both lower their power consumption and I know they're part of the problem. In fact, it amazes me to think that my home theater when the power is *OFF*consumes 49W for nothing. I need to rearrange my setup so the power strip is easily turned off. It's the summer, so nothing new is really on except Dr Who on Friday's so I can easily have my DVR off 90% of the time. :) As it stands now, when I turn off all the lights and have my typical 'work' machine on, the laptop, I am consuming 199W. When I boot up my gaming rig, which I do often to watch Anime or work on some of my gaming related tasks for work, I just raised the profile to 380W. Then, if I have my TV on to watch something (or listen) while I work, now I'm up to 660W! Next post... my plan and after that last paragraph I have a plan :]