23 Nov 09 Why I sometimes hate to be in the IT line
The server holding the project files for the e-learning application that I’m developing just died on me today. The cause of the server dying is the insertion of a faulty RAM chip. What flabbergasted me was that the chip was idenfitied as faulty before. Why my colleague knowingly placed the RAM into the server I don’t know. I haven’t gotten a chance to ask.
The result of that action was that the server could not boot up. In fact, the problem was so different from what I’ve encountered before that it didn’t even occur to me that RAM could be the problem. The CPU was supposed to be a headless node that our developers access over the network to the repository and the wiki. What tipped me off was that the CPU was not reachable even after turning on. Network cable seems fine, and are connected at both ends properly. The system was working fine the Friday last week. Then I connected a monitor to the server to try to resolve the issue. Strangely, what came up on the monitor is an image that is akin to static noise you see on TV (during the analog days).
19 Nov 09 Google’s Strange Way to Demand Strong Password
A few days ago, I had to set up a mail client to retrieve mail from a hosted Google mail account. Setting the mail client should be a very simple affair that can be done in a few minutes. I never imagined it would take me more than 10 minutes to get it working.
Tags: gmail
12 Oct 09 Nice Guide to Google Wave
A Complete Guide Google WAVE –
Original Link: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/12448173/A-Complete-Guide-Google-WAVE
Tags: Google Wave
08 Oct 09 Monitors
Monitors just ain’t what they used to be. I remember a time when all I need to know is that if a monitor supports 1024 by 768 resolution, it’s good. If it stayed only in 800 by 600, then it’s bad.
Times have changed! With HD, 1080P, DVI, HDMI, and what have you, it can be confusing. The Real Deal podcast from CNET has an excellent episode on monitors. CNET’s monitor expert, Eric Franklin, is on this episode to talk about monitors and what you need to know about modern monitors.
If you are thinking of buying a TV that you might want to connect up to your CPU or laptop, check it out as well.
08 Oct 08 Using my BlackBerry
Now that I’ve got my BlackBerry working fine, it’s time to get it to work its magic. This, and the previous post, are made with my BB Bold.
A little bit of background on my Bold – I got it from M1, one of three telecom providers in Singapore. It comes with two flavours of BlackBerry plans: a S$30 plan with a data limit of 4 MB and a S$60 plan with unlimited data. (more…)
Tags: BlackBerry
22 Sep 08 First Post from a BlackBerry
Well, this is a test post from a BlackBerry – not sure if it will work.
Called up M1 a couple of days ago and changed the APN from mobilenet to sunsurf and performance has improved a lot. Trying to see if it works better with Wordpress.
08 Sep 08 Finally, A New Desktop!
I’ve finally got around to buying a new desktop for home use. Nothing fancy, but because I want the best bang for my buck, I’ve put off the purchase for quite sometime now. Being an IT guy, of course I chose to have my system assembled from the shops in Sim Lim Square instead of a PC vendor.
So, like any decent programmers/IT specialist will do, I analysed my requirements first. My needs are simple:
- It has to be at least dual core – I run VMware so nothing less than a dual core for me.
- It cannot be an overkill – I’ve seen too many instances where money is really put to waste. (Raise your hand if you’ve heard someone bought a quad-core processor to do word processing.)
- Plenty of hard disk space and running SATAII but must also support IDE drives,
- It must be supported by Linux and be able to run Compiz/Compiz Fusion.
- I prefer Gigabyte motherboard – been using it since my first desktop and never had any problems with it.
With my requirements listed carefully, I settled for Gigabyte motherboard GA-G31M-S2L, which has Intel GMA 3100, Realtek 8168B PCI-Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller, I specifically mentioned these two components because they have been my biggest worry if I were to use LInux.
30 Apr 08 KDE & Compiz-Fusion Hiccups
I have KDE and Compiz-Fusion installed on openSUSE 10.3 running for some time now. Some time ago, I encountered a strange problem where the ALT-F1 key combination does not bring up the menu any more. Also the I don’t know what I did to cause this but I managed to solve it thanks to the openSUSE wiki.
06 Feb 08 Gmail Knows I’m Chinese?
So apparently Gmail knows I’m Chinese. Or so I think. In the past when I log out of Gmail, it will say “Please wait…” Recently, perhaps through some heavy-duty data mining, it told me to “请ç¨ç‰…” (Chinese for “please wait”) instead. I thought that I had turned some settings in Firefox to display Web pages in Mandarin or I revealed through my emails that I’m Chinese – in which case that would be a serious case of privacy invasion, I think.
And all of a sudden, it now speaks to me in English again. I thought it was a mistake on Google’s side. Turns out, it is! Another guy (Joe Shaw) who has entries in Planet SUSE’s blog aggregator also has a similar problem. Well, mine is seemingly resolved now. Hopefully Joe’s get resolved soon too.
Tip: If you are observant, you will see that when you try to login to Gmail’s site, the login page is SSL-secured. Once you log in though, the page is not transmitted through SSL. If you want to keep your connection SSL-secured, you have to login with this address:
https://mail.google.com
instead of http://gmail.com
Basically if you specify right at the start that you want SSL connection, Gmail will keep that for you.
29 Dec 07 Battle at Kruger
This is one of the most amazing video of nature I have ever seen. Over the years I’ve watched countless nature documentaries, many of which are on the savanna with the lions, buffaloes, giraffes, and elephants roaming free. This video clip from YouTube below beats them all.
(more…)
