May 29, 2008
Weird weird issue on the normally kickass server here at the Funcave, which just so happens to be named Charlene. As in…
The name of this server is CHARLENE, SIR!
Tried to copy a 45GB VHD file to our girl…
A file which came courtesy of someone who just so happens to have a pink blog…
No matter how many different ways I tried to copy the file, Charlene eventually got into a totally frozen state. No matter if I tried to copy directly from USB HDD, via network client, or copying from another share, eventually Charlene would become totally unresponsive at the console, sever all network connects, etc.
Now Charlene’s a badass in her own right…
- HP ML350
- 2Ghz single quad-core Xeon
- 19 GB RAM
- 80 GB OS volume
- 250 GB Data volume
Charlene’s running…
- Windows Server Standard 2008 x64
- Hyper-V RC1
Seeing all kinds of weirdness trying to copy files to/from her.
All the mayhem starts when Free Physical Memory drops to sickeningly low levels.
Anyone with any serious knowledge of what’s going on wanna ping me? I’m talking Windows Server team, etc. Or anyone with the last name of Russinovich.
|| posted by chris under beta, clueless, hardware, kma, thumbs down, timekiller, virtualization || comments (4) ||
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May 23, 2008
Let me come right out and get this review over with in one sentence, for those of you who have important things to get done…
The new Indiana Jones movies TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY SUCKS!
Yep, I said it.
Don’t waste your money on this tired old gasbag of a movie.
In fact, I won’t waste your time going into the innumerable ways it sucks.
But I will tell you this…
Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Oh-Who-Gives-A-Damn-Anyway makes Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom look like an Oscar-worthy MASTERPIECE by comparison.
Which I’m sure will make Kate Capshaw very happy.
Instead of telling you all the ways that the latest Indiana Jones delivers every cliche and hackneyed idea that has been put to film for the last 27 years…
Ever since Raiders of the Lost Ark basically kicked the ass of every action movie that had come before it, not to mention all that have come since…
I will instead share with you all the alternate titles I came up with while waiting for this pig of a movie to end tonight…
Raiders of the Aching Lumbago
Indiana Jones and the Search for the Golden Geritol
Indiana Jones Soils His Depends
Indiana Jones and the Last Sandwich (which he promptly gives to his anorexic girlfriend, Ally McBeal)
Indiana Jones and the Quest for Even More Special Effects
Indiana Jones and the Sequel of Doom
Raiders of the Last Nerve
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Gullible Viewers
Indiana Jones and The Final Sellout
Raiders of the Last Box-Office
Indiana Jones and the Lost Cliches
Raiders of My Last $10
Feel free to post up your own opinion, or alternate title suggestion.
But if you want my advice…
Wait for this piece of felgercarb to hit the video store.
|| posted by chris under clueless, kma, media, nostalgia, opinion, thumbs down || comments (2) ||
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May 16, 2008
A lot of interesting things happened in NOLA last weekend. Some of which I’m at liberty to discuss, some of which I’m not.
But by far, the most disconcerting had to be the number of people who said to me at one point or another during the conference…
Oh, I saw that you closed/killed the Funboard forum. I used that ALL THE TIME. I was sorry to see it go!
WHA…?
Ove the entire life of the Funboard, which was the Vanilla-based forum system used here at the Funcave, I personally accounted for over half the postings.
I simply couldn’t get anyone to talk at all.
And I just couldn’t understand why, either.
I thought I was posting intresting topics, especially for a starter board, etc. Open-ended stuff.
But two key stats from the Funboard tell a certain story.
There were 650+ members of the Funboard at the time of its closing.
But there were over 17,000 anonymous views. Now, that’s not accounting for multiple views from same computer, etc.
Still tho…that is a HORRIBLE conversion ratio.
No matter what, I chalk a good bit of the relative failure of the Funboard to a group of things I like to call The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly…
GOOD = Super strong content (which doesn’t generate discussion, simply lurkers/leechers)
BAD = No working notification module/plug-in for Vanilla
UGLY = The utter lack of support for it among my peers, including a few who were downright hostile toward it, ridiculing the effort to start a place where folks wouldn’t be, well…ridiculed for asking a simple question.
But even if that has been fixed, the simple fact of the matter is that if people don’t get off their own duffs, and support resources they find helpful…
Whether that support is monetary (FB was never a pay site, so this is not about a money thing), or simply posting a comment, question, a note of thanks, or whatever…
If no one takes the time to offer the kind of support that resource needs, then that resource will die.
That is a 100% stone cold guarantee.
R.I.P Funboard.
Evidently folks other than me miss you. Maybe there are more. Really tho…how would I know?
|| posted by chris under clueless, community, funboard, kma, thumbs down || comments (1) ||
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May 13, 2008
Again…let me tell you how astonished, humbled, and amazed at how many of you got real, tangible value out of the talk on Mobility I delivered in New Orleans this weekend.
I appreciate EVERYONE who has already filled out the Mobility Survey. I will be responding to each of you individually about your awesome awesome comments. that’s least I can do for the amazing outpouring of support this community has show to me over the years, and to the ideas I have about Mobility.
I’m worried though, that one of my answers during the Q&A session might not have been as clear as it should have been. I’d like to get the chance to clarify it now for both those who were there, and even folks who were not there. It’s a VERY common question, that comes up all the time in the Mobile world, and is a complex, frustrating, and bothersome issue, as it veers in the very real and nasty world of software piracy.
Let’s start with the question. A gentleman in the audience asked if I would explain how he could get Windows Mobile 6.1 for his device, even tho it’s not slated for a release. He knew that there were unofficial sources out there, but wanted some guidance how to do it, the tools needed, the best sources, and how to avoid destroying his device.
I will tell you…I was taken aback. Here’s why. I will state this in no uncertain terms…
When ANYONE uses an unofficial ROM update to upgrade their device, they are…at best, risking rendering their device useless (bricking it) or exposing themselves to embedded data exploits. However, even if those don’t happen, ANYONE who uses an unofficial ROM update it committing SOFTWARE PIRACY!
Seriously. No different than grabbing a copy of SBS 2003 or 2008 off a warez site.
So…this person was asking me to tell an assembly of roughly 200 SMB IT pros how to commit illegal software piracy, while at the same time potentially giving them information that could destroy their devices, or expose them to hidden data exploits they might never know about.
Not only that…but everything I was saying was being recorded, by a professional audio and video crews being paid by Microsoft, to create videos that may be rebroadcast on the Microsoft Partner site.
If I seemed nervous, I was. I was trying to pick my words very carefully. My first reaction was to simply say…
DON’T DO IT! DON’T THINK ABOUT IT! IT’S NOT WORTH THE RISK! NO WAY!
I didn’t say that.
What I did was hold up my personal mobile device, a Palm Treo 750. I did not use it for the WM 6.1 demo at all, on purpose. I used Microsoft Device Emulator running Windows Mobile 6.1 images. Which is not only free, but an official tool. I talked about how this is the best way to learn for everyone, etc.
I did say tho…that my Treo was running Windows Mobile 6.1 and that it was a pirate build. That I do NOT have direct access to the Windows Mobile team, nor any mobile operators. So that ROm came from an unofficial source.
However, I have vowed to never ever EVER disseminate, distribute, or otherwise give out information to anyone about how to find, use, or otherwise commit software piracy with pirate ROMS.
Think of this like…the War On Drugs. We’ll call it The War On ROMs.
If I get a pirate ROM for personal use and use it, then I’m roughly the equivalent of someone busted possession. Most times…nobody does much of anything.
But if I am directly involved in the distribution, dissemination, and the use of pirate ROMs, then I am the equivalent of a drug dealer. And that’s some seriously bad juju.
Let me ask this question…
How many of you help your clients commit software piracy on their PCs? Do you load warez or illegal OEM copies of Windows, Office, or other software for them?
I hope not. I sure don’t.
In fact, as Running Antelope says…
You Are Mr. Super Straight Arrow About Software Licensing
So much so that even in our own house, we follow software licensing to the letter. Because as I understand it, if I commit, or help commit software piracy, MS has the right to revoke all my certifications, everything.
Basically all the knowledge and certification equity I have worked so hard to build my entire 14 year IT career.
All because someone at a conference wants to use pirate ROMs.
[EDITED: Ending removed on the advice of people much smarter than me. Thank you Susan! Thank you Mark!]
|| posted by chris under clueless, community, hardware, it pro, kma, mobility, opinion, thumbs down || comments (14) ||
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