Moving to Wordpress

This is really just an informational post, and a test of sorts. We're moving our blog from Blogger.com to a locally installed version of Wordpress. There have been a number of articles written about Blogger vs. Wordpress, and I'm sure if you Google it you can find all sorts of views on the subject. When it comes down to it, it's really just a matter of perspective. We chose to move to Wordpress for the following main reasons:

1. More editing functionality and possibilities.


2. Easier template editing (in my opinion).


3. Larger variety of plugins


4. Completely installed and managed locally instead of publishing content to a local address through FTP.

If I wanted this to be a long post, I'm sure I could continue to find and list reasons. Suffice it to say that we're now using Wordpress and the URL for the site has changed. From now on, you can access us here: http://www.lightcubesolutions.com/blog/

Clonezilla HOWTO: Quick and Dirty Setup

Since I wrote the post 'Clonezilla' in January, our blog has been getting a lot of hits, apparently from people looking for advice on how to set up Clonezilla. This is understandable, since DRBL (of which Clonezilla is just a piece) is a complex piece of work, with loads of possibilities. So I decided to write up a small HOWTO, a quick and dirty method of getting Clonezilla up and running.

Before I go on, a bit of a disclaimer: Following the instructions below may not provide you with results that fit your particular needs. If you have specific and detailed requirements, see the DRBL documentation. If you would like to hire LightCube Solutions to provide assistance in setting up a Clonezilla solution for your organization, see our Contact page.

The Steps

1. Install Ubuntu Hardy

You'll need a Linux machine to run your Clonezilla services. I chose Ubuntu because it's easy to set up and is quite popular. DRBL will also run on Debian and Fedora.

2. Install DRBL

First off, open up a Terminal. In Ubuntu Hardy, this is located in 'Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal'. Then change to super-user access by typing:

sudo -i

Next, add DRBL's GPG key to your system:

wget http://drbl.sourceforge.net/GPG-KEY-DRBL
apt-key add GPG-KEY-DRBL

Update your apt configuration so that you can install software from the DRBL guys:

cp /etc/apt/sources.list{,.bak}
echo "deb http://drbl.sourceforge.net/drbl-core drbl stable" \
  >> /etc/apt/sources.list

Finally, install DRBL:

apt-get update
apt-get install drbl

3. Configure a Network Alias

DRBL requires that you have two network interfaces. We can get around this by adding a virtual interface:

cat >> /etc/network/interfaces << "EOF"
auto eth0:1
iface eth0:1 inet static
   address 192.168.222.1
   netmask 255.255.255.0
EOF
ifup eth0:1

Don't worry if you see something like this (it's just an annoying but harmless bug in Ubuntu):
(SIOCSIFFLAGS: Cannot assign requested address)

To verify that you have set up the alias properly, type:

ip addr show eth0 | grep eth0:1

You should see something like this:
inet 192.168.222.1/24 brd 192.168.222.255 scope global eth0:1

4. Configure Your New DRBL Server

If you want to just accept all of the default settings, run the following (note that this will require an internet connection and may take some time):

/opt/drbl/sbin/drbl4imp

Otherwise, if you want to specify your own settings, run the following two items:

/opt/drbl/sbin/drblsrv -i
/opt/drbl/sbin/drblpush -i

Congratulations! That's it, you have a DRBL/Clonezilla server ready to create and deploy custom images. All you need to do to start cloning is run:

/opt/drbl/sbin/dcs

Then, boot up your client machines using PXE. See, that wasn't too painful...

Should "i" 3G

The blogs are hot with chatter about upgrading to the new iphone 3G. To be honest I'm not exempt from the thought. After having used the iphone since November '07 I'm more than pleased. (Sigh I'm already speaking past tense) It has truly been the best mobile device I've EVER had. But there is something about the iphone 3G that is tugging at the hem of my pants.  Just brining up the conversation with my wife I get a coast to coast eye roll. 

I'll be the first to admit that it has only been a few months since I've purchased the iPhone. In my right mind, I would never have considered an upgrade just after an 8 month purchase. I'm not one to keep up with the Jones' either. I really don't need to upgrade my hardware every 6-10 months to feel I'm with the "in crowd". So all that said and in an effort to placate my conscience i'll do my best to analyze the situation from a purely fact based approach. Here is my best shot:

• 3G
• GPS
• Upgraded Design - Speakers and such
• The iphone can be a "hand-me down" (It's a glorified ipod touch if you want it for $100. I'll take the first bidder)

So should "i" iphone 3G?

Where Did The Time Go?

Where were you last week Tuesday? What did you do? How much time did you spend doing whatever you were doing?

I've seen enough Law and Order episodes to know that if I'm ever asked those questions I better have an accurate answer. But have you ever really stopped to think how much time was spent working on "X" or "Y" last week Tuesday? For a small business consultant the answer to those questions directly translates into dollars and cents.

There are so many different things fighting time falling into the buckets of billable and non-billable. Keeping track of everything usually becomes a memory exercise when you actually have time after the fact to sit down and write it up. I would guess that more often than not things are forgotten. Think of the phone calls, the quick emails, the text messages, and multiply that by each simultaneous project (Dare I say per client?). Besides project scope creep, not tracking time and billing accordingly can lead to a serious migraine.

So where I'm going with all of this? I've been poking around for something other than my notebook, iCal and/or memory to track time. I've tried various methods over the years but haven't been able to really get a solid solution. Personally, every minute needs to be tracked WHILE I'm doing the work.

OfficeTime seems to solve the problem. Upon mentioning it to my business partner 'JH' he responded - "Another tool"? But I think I've found a winner here. Here is why in a nutshell:

• Simple "Play, Pause and Stop" buttons to activate a timer
• Reporting of time spent based on a number of fields (Time, Project, Etc)
• Team tracking to see how others are spending their time
• Calendar Integration (Great for me as an iCal user!)

The only way to know if its truly it is the time tool of all tools is to demo it out for 21 days. I'll let you know how it went.

When we were kings...

In response to the follow-up on the "Flock" browser, I decided this post was necessary. You see, I too felt that the browser was too busy; almost like I needed ADHD just to process the shear amount of information being delivered! (As an aside, I think I'm going to trademark the term "informatsunami™": the farther back a browser/feed goes, the more overwhelming amounts of data get returned...with no escape!) The painful reality of my discomfort with using the browser in its intended state hit me with force of, well, a tsunami: I’m older now, I don’t need all that “stuff”!

Perhaps it really is a sign of maturity, know quite matter-of-factly what I want and how I want it delivered to me. I could care less if my cell phone has a 2.0 megapixel camera with zoom, or that it plays mp3 files, or that I can download a new ringtone. I JUST WANT TO MAKE A PHONE CALL FROM SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE MY HOUSE AND NOT WORRY ABOUT FINDING A PHONE TO USE!!!! (whew, for a minute there, I lost myself…I lost myself…) Where was I…ah yes, how I want content delivered to me, I digress. I think it’s “cool” to have everything in one tidy Mozilla-based browser. But I really don’t want everything. I don’t want to be part of a social network online; it’s hard enough maintaining my relationships in person! I don’t want to share my pictures with the world (or with the select few people whom I grant access), nor do I want to view everyone else’s pictures. I don’t want to write a blog everyday, as indicated by this being my first blog post in about 5 months! I do want to check my email, the few RSS feeds I subscribe to, and some blogs/articles that center on my current professional activities; I may even want to play a game or two online. Of course, I realize that I could simply tweak/customize Flock’s settings to behave in manner more fitting my discriminating tastes. But then I realized something else: I don’t want to. I joked with “JH” about being too old for Web 2.0, about being passed by. That used to make me sad, but really, I feel liberated.

Getting to the title of this post, my memories too me back in time about 10 years ago. I was a young(er), cocky programmer who had just cut his teeth on a Y2K project, learning Fortran, TAL, C, COBOL and statistical analysis in 18 months. I was moving on to a small consulting firm where I’d learn VB/SQL/ASP development, along with Oracle, Sybase, Linux development/administration. I was barely old enough to drink, yet I had surpassed the technical experience of every person in my family. I had a cell phone! I knew every punctuation combination used to create a smiley! I knew every IM acronym! I downloaded mp3 files before it was illegal! (Ok, ok, it was always illegal; but that was when few got in trouble for it…) I read “journals” updated daily online. The fact is, I’ve already been there, done that. I don’t care anymore, or least I don’t care as much what’s new and improved: it’s really old and declining…or maybe I am. Either way, I might still use Flock and whatever else new comes along. I might even get swept up in the informatsunami™ (remember you read it here first!) But in the end, I’ll still pine for the "old days (you guessed it)…when we were kings…

Flock Test

This is a test. If this post is successfully published, it means I am currently using one of the most useful and complete web browsers of the Web 2.0 age.

Meet Flock. Flock brings together your online presence into one complete package. Using sidebars and widgets, flock connects you to your Gmail, Yahoo Mail, AOL Mail, Flickr, YouTube, Digg, Facebook, Picasa, Blogger.com, (etc., etc.) accounts and lets you access/use their features within one sleek interface. The actual core browser is powered by Mozilla, which means that if you know or use Firefox, Flock will feel very familiar.

Everyone's been talking about Web 2.0, bringing the internet to life and exploring new possibilities with dynamic content and interaction. Well, here it is.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Visual Searching - PicLens

I was looking out of the window during a brilliant sun-setting rainfall. Maybe it was the picturesque view that jogged my brother-in-law memory. He says: "Did I ever show you PicLens?" He has trained an almost muscular response in me with that sort of question. My mouse moved for the default Google Search in Safari. In less than 2.5 minutes after install I'm looking at a full screen 3D wall of images. (The application unfortunately won't work for Safari 3.1.1. They are apparently working on a big release in the near future. I installed it with FireFox)

Okay maybe I haven't drummed this up enough. 

How would you like it if you could see a wall of TV channels instead of flipping channel by channel? For those of us with over 300 channels and nothing good on we may be able to spare ourselves the agony. THAT is what PicLens is all about, but for the web. You are able to search pictures, websites, images and much more. 

My explanation is not doing this app any justice. Just check it out--->(click)!