.. because Gutsy Gibbon has arrived.

You may be wondering what the hell I'm talking about so I'll tell you. Gutsy is the latest version of Ubuntu (pronounced oo-boon-too) Linux, 7.10. This version of Linux is perfect - in my opinion - for the home PC. Ubuntu comes with everything built in and just works. I'm currently running Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop 10.1 from Novell on my home PC but will be upgrading this to Gutsy over the next week.

There must be something significant about October as both Apple and Ubuntu released new versions of their operating systems. Microsoft released about a million patches for Vista, but I'm not sure that counts.

What I like about Ubuntu is it's Live CD. You can download, burn to a disk and boot from it to try out the OS before committing to it... read 'Installing'. This way you can take as long as you like coming to grips with just how wonderful it is, before ditching that hapless water buffalo you're probably running now.

as an aside...
If you're interested in changing OS's (and why wouldn't you be) there is another option. Because M$ software really only works on an M$ operating system (there are some exceptions) you will need to find the better alternatives to the programs you've been using. This is a lot easier than you might think. Download the OpenDisc from www.theopendisc.com. This disc image has swags of OpenSource software that rivals the M$ stuff. OpenOffice.org is one example, this is a very powerful open source office suite that works just like Microsoft Office.. and it's FREE! Once you have your OpenDisc software, install it on your Windows OS and give it a go. You'll be very surprised just how good it is...and it's FREE! Once you're happy that you'll be completely productive in a non-windows world, tearing out the OS is no longer a trial. All the software you've just looked at is available for Linux - YAY!

Anyhooo, back to Gutsy Gibbon. Initially you may think this new version 'looks' very much like the previous one - Feisty Fawn, and you'd be right. But it's what's under the hood that has seen the most changes. There are lots of nice things, but the two big ones for my money are...

* NTFS writing - you can now write directly to a windows NTFS file system

* AppArmor - fire-walling your applications..not just your PC.

For those in the know, AppArmor is an initiative from the OpenSuse project (read NOVELL!!!!!)

Go check out Gutsy.. and remember, IT'S FREE!!!!

The Ubuntu Promise

* Ubuntu will always be free of charge, including enterprise releases and security updates.
* Ubuntu comes with full commercial support from Canonical and hundreds of companies around the world.
* Ubuntu includes the very best translations and accessibility infrastructure that the free software community has to offer.
* Ubuntu CDs contain only free software applications; we encourage you to use free and open source software, improve it and pass it on.

Tags: Linux

I was hoping for some kind of storm this afternoon. All the weather reports pointed to it and the day certainly felt like it should have stormed. But alas...

So in the absence of new lightning bolts, here are some from a few years ago. I'm sure Zeus would be impressed with his handiwork and I must apologise to Thor, it's difficult to capture thunder in pixels. This is a single flash, and it wasn't till after I looked at the image did I realise that it was 5 bolts that hit the ground. Yes I've added a bit of colour for some atmospherics.

I have a fascination with storms, I like to watch them coming, to hear the roar of the wind as it come screaming up the valley. Getting blinded by the lightning and deafened by the thunder...brilliant!
If I don't turn up to work the next day after a stormy night you'd best look for a pile of ash, and a tripod that looks like it may have had a camera attached to it... if you can be bothered :-)

Tags: photography

I was enjoying a Tooheys Extra Dry this afternoon and started thinking about a particular afternoon along the Mooloolaba esplanade a number of years ago. The reason doesn't matter but the occasion was a good one, couple of mates (tip o' the hat to Mark and Jason) and a great afternoon. The particular establishment we selected had a rather extensive beer list so we decided to start at the top and work our way though it. Several times.
Ah... those were the days.

Anyway, as my thoughts progressed from those happy times I started thinking about the beers that I've come across that I rather don't mind. I don't drink much beer anymore. I try to stay away from the fizzy stuff preferring a good wine instead. However, there are a few beers below that I like, this is not an exhaustive list and only includes the more notable ones. Not in any order of preference...

Something from South Africa


One of Tassie's finest


Goes in black, comes out black


Doesn't kill your head the next day


With lime is the best

~~~~~~~
Friar Tuck: "This is grain, which any fool can eat, but for which the Lord intended a more divine means of consumption. Let us give praise to our maker and glory to his bounty by learning about... BEER. "

Keeping the photographic side of things to a minium I'll make this brief. Snide comments abound...

In a moment of credit card flippancy I slapped down the plastic and upgraded the endowment package of my camera.

...is that a Canon lens in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

I've been wanting to try my hand at birding for a while now and also generally getting closer to my subjects. I've been using my 200mm f2.8 with a 2x converter but this has only driven my desire for a larger package.

Enter the super-telephoto Canon EF 400 f5.6 USM lens. This 1.2kg hunk of glass and steel is just another marvel from the Canon line-up, and will for a time, complete my lens collection. The 2x teleconverter will push this baby to 800mm f11 which should give me the reach to tap a bird on the shoulder from 50 yards or so. I can hear the SQUAWK already.

Ok so it wasn't fiippancy, I've been putting pennies aside for this baby for quite some time.

So, I'm now just waiting for my new toy to arrive and then I'll be out making all the lady cameras swoon (back of hand to forehead type stuff I'm sure :D )

Update: 22 October 2007
It arrived today and this is the first image out of the lens, 100% crop and no sharpening...
EXIF info: 1/350s at f5.6, ISO 100, 400mm on tripod

Tags: photography, cameras

October 26 is the date.

I don't get too excited about much I.T. related, however this has got me hopping with anticipation.

OS X Leopard is a rather large update from Tiger with some 300+ new things. Hop on over to the Apple website for a sneak preview on what will devastate the Windows Vista devotees.

I have never bought an operating system without a PC to go with it. That is, I've always received an OS via the OEM. Leopard is the first OS that I have laid down the plastic for.

Since embracing the Mac way of life my computing experience has never been better. It just works.

I can empathise with those who are unsure about making the change. All the doubts about software compatibility, range of software and usability went through my head before I took the leap. All of them, bar none, were worries I shouldn't have been having and I quickly learned this... with the help of a Mac redi-reference at work (Paul, you're a legend). I recommend you just do it.. you won't look back and you'll be living in PC nirvana.

I have pre-ordered Leopard and eagerly await it's arrival some time after the 26th. I live in the 'Bush' so I don't expect to get it on that Friday.

In preparation for the new arrival, I have been preparing my little MacBook. Thanks again to Paul, I have a great little tool called Carbon Copy Cloner that can make a DMG image of my hard disk. This is my backup strategy should I wish to roll-back for some reason...can't think of one at the moment but there may be some weird kind of software that I desperately need and can't do without that won't run on Leopard.

Anyway... Tiger was/is great, Leopard looks positively Grand, and if those Apple dudes continue their trend Leopard is going to be a jaw dropper!

Check back from time-to-time as I'll be putting up my impressions of the new animal.

Tags: OS X, mac, apple

I subscribe to a Dilbert delivered internet thingy and I look forward to Dilbert skits that arrive in my mailbox from time-to-time.

Today's is rather humorous to me because I've been in this exact situation. However, I knew the perfect way to get out of the infinite loop from hell.

Problem: My situation was while I was doing some project management. The Client was never happy with the project documentation I was submitting. His nit-picking involved only the documentation, not the project itself. Insufficient detail apparently, including format, font, colour etc. However, it was becoming more time consuming to continually redo minutiae in the documentation than to actually complete the project.

Solution: Increment the project management bill at an hourly rate as applicable to the documentation updates.

From memory my PM hourly rate was around AU$160. The dollar figure for the project increased by this amount with each submission. At the time I wondered how long it would take for said Client to figure out what was going on. It took him 4 revisions, after which he accepted the final submission and the project was completed to spec... on time and on budget.

I never had that problem again with that Client. Many others, but not that one.

Incidentally I think the project was for the replacement of 5 Servers and 1000 workstations, including SOE design and rollout.

Says it all really... and the election has been called.

I must've dreamed a thousand dreams
Been haunted by a million screams
But I can hear the marching feet
Theyre moving into the street.

Now did you read the news today
They say the dangers gone away
But I can see the fires still alight
There burning into the night.

Theres too many men
Too many people
Making too many problems
And not much love to go round
Cant you see
This is a land of confusion.

This is the world we live in
And these are the hands were given
Use them and lets start trying
To make it a place worth living in.

Ooh superman where are you now
When everythings gone wrong somehow
The men of steel, the men of power
Are losing control by the hour.

This is the time
This is the place
So we look for the future
But theres not much love to go round
Tell me why, this is a land of confusion.

This is the world we live in
And these are the hands were given
Use them and lets start trying
To make it a place worth living in.

I remember long ago -
Ooh when the sun was shining
Yes and the stars were bright
All through the night
And the sound of your laughter
As I held you tight
So long ago -

I wont be coming home tonight
My generation will put it right
We're not just making promises
That we know, we'll never keep.

Too many men
Theres too many people
Making too many problems
And not much love to go round
Cant you see
This is a land of confusion.

Now this is the world we live in
And these are the hands were given
Use them and lets start trying
To make it a place worth fighting for.

This is the world we live in
And these are the names were given
Stand up and lets start showing
Just where our lives are going to.

Lyrics by Genesis

In preperation for using the Entitlements driver in our IDM solution I had to restrict our driverset to a single server (version 3.5 of IDM overcomes this restriction but I was also trying to streamline). This meant moving the GroupWise driver from one server to another. There are a number of ways to do this but ultimately they involve, exporting the driver, deleting the driver, importing the driver specifying another server and then deleting the superfluous server from the driverset. You can do this with Designer, but I've not taken a liking to it yet and prefer to use iManager. Before doing any work with the driver, install the GW components on the new recipient server.

To export the driver with iManager do the following:

1. Browse to the driver set and click on the driver in question

2. Select export and follow the prompts, exporting to an xml file on your PC

3. Once exported, delete the driver from the driverset

Import the Driver back into the driverset

1. Now that it's gone, we need to import it back in. Import the driver back into the same driverset selecting the other server and following the prompts

2. Because in my case the GW driver is not on a server other than the primary domain database, we have to specify a user account with RWCEMFs rights to the Domain DB. We also need to specify the IP address of the GW server and the path to the Domain DB.

3. Start the driver

NB: if you're running the IDM drivers on a Netware server, make sure you add a search path for the GW driver components before starting the driver. I add the following line up high in the AUTOEXEC.NCF file.

SEARCH ADD SYS:\SYSTEM\GWDRIVER

Once added to the AUTOEXEC.NCF file, type the same line at the console and press ENTER.

Because we didn't change the name of the driver in the driverset all associations remain current.. so no need for the driver to go off madly reassociating objects.

The final step is to delete the old server from the driver set.

1. Click on the IDM overview in iManager and then select the red X next to the server list.

2. Select the server about to be removed from the driverset and click apply.

3. Done. Go grab yourself a coffee.

FINAL NOTE: Run this process through your test environment. iManager crashed on me during test which cause a few skipped heartbeats. Plus I forgot to add the search line on the recipient server which accounted for a couple more.

Tags: Novell, Netware, IDM, Identity Manager

The ebb and flow of office conversation came around to Victa mowers the other day... as it does.
A few of us were reminiscing over the Victa's we had known or owned or both. As I was mowing the lawn yesterday I thought I'd mention mine. I have a Victa that has been in the family longer than I have.

My Victa is still going strong. Every once in a while it refuses to start but I leave it overnight, and sure as God made little green men, the beast starts the next day. It's old, temperamental and starts when it decides it wants to... as it should, given it's age. There are 3 Victa years to every human year.
It happily shreds anything that goes under it. Cane toads, sticks, garden gnomes, newly planted flowers, all regularly fall victim to its cutter-deck. I could slash a paddock with this little guy... if I have the time, it has the patience.

Being a two-stroke wonder, this mower runs by smoke and mirrors and just a touch of arcane magic. With all the hoo-ha of climate change and environmentally friendly devices this Victa would probably be thrown onto the junk heap in preference for some new sleek emissions-neutral model. But it's lucky. I'm not about to do that.

This mower paid off its debt to the environment decades ago. It has only really required fuel to keep it going, with the occasional check-up. I live in the country, I have plenty of trees that more than adequately soak up the carbon emmissions this little machine puts out once a month for an hour or so.

It's old, but it's a keeper. May it long reign over the lawn.

Printhie from the of Orange district of NSW has created this fantastic Cabernet Merlot. I had my first taste of this drop at the Jenolan Caves dining room and almost made a detour from the Hunter Valley just to go back and find some. I'm hoping the local Choice Liquor store has this one in stock. I will check it out this coming Tuesday if I get a chance.

This cool climate wine is made up of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot and has a rich ruby red colour. The Merlot grapes should have given it a slight mauve tint but I must have been too busy drinking it to notice. There is a trace of oak, which I like in a red, with slight traces of chocolate and blackcurrant... but enough of the snobbishness. Get a bottle and give it a try. Don't chill it.

It's a drink now wine, I wouldn't bother trying to put it down for any length of time... I doubt anyone has the discipline required to keep them down.

Tags: wines

Congratulations to the twit who nearly took off my front bumper this morning on the way to work. The incident occurred on the Bruce Highway around 7:40am just north of the BP Bellbird exit, Nambour.

I know you saw me coming up fast in the right hand lane. I saw you look in your right hand wing mirror. I saw you see me... and yet you pulled out anyway. Smart move moron!

You won't survive too many more of those. I just hope you don't take anyone with you when you go.

And while I'm on this rant...

Cooroy, main street, Monday afternoon. Bravo to the owner of the blue Hyundai Excel who managed to reverse park over the white line at such an idiotically acute angle that they nullified the next space along.
I fail to understand how a driver of such a small car could stuff up a reverse park of this type.

For you specifically, may the fleas of a thousand camels infest your carpets and continue to bite you with their sharp pointy teeth till the end of your days.

I'm now officially an iPod owner.
Mind you, I didn't buy one. I won it in a Novell competition.

No I am NOT on their payroll. I won it honestly and fairly, I assure you.

Anyway back to the brushed metal wonder. I won the 2Gb version of the Nano. It looks very sleek. I have no idea how to use it at this point but being an apple icon I'm thinking all I'll need to do is plug it in and away I go. I'll try that a bit later, it's charging at the moment.

I was hoping it would arrive a little sooner, I wanted to take it on holiday. My CD stacker is in for 'realignment' and I've been without music for a while. But alas, it arrived while I was away. Still, a pleasant surprise to come home to I guess.

The main problem I think I'll face is which 2Gb of my 60Gb music collection will I start with????

hmmm... decisions.

Update 14/10/07 12:15pm

I christened my iPod with Icehouse and have since synched a test playlist to it. All working smoothly as it should.
I have created my Roxette playlist and am now ready to go... Yeee-haaaa!

Tags: Ipod