Category: Technology

Categories
Technology

YaST and Ruby

I don’t often post about Ruby anymore (that might be changing in the future … I’ll post more later), but this is a pretty cool story.

YaST (Yet another Setup Tool in the openSUSE and SUSE Linux Enterprise world) just announced today that their Ruby rewrite is complete and has been committed. The project’s aim was to move YaST from YCP to Ruby to hopefully foster more community involvement in the development of the setup tool.

Here are the stats:

  • 4204 files
  • 594680 lines of YCP deleted
  • 724687 lines of Ruby added

That’s pretty crazy from where I am sitting. I’m just starting to pay closer attention to the openSUSE and SUSE communities, but this project caught my eye right away. Really cool to see it be committed for implementation in future versions of openSUSE and SUSE.

Categories
Technology

Single vs Multi Monitor

Multiple MonitorsYeah, that is just a little bit ridiculous. I don’t have anything near that (nor do I think I would ever want anything like that), but I have been testing out a dual-monitor setup for the past few weeks to see if I like having the extra space or if a single, larger monitor really works best for me.

So far the results are inconclusive, but I do have some thoughts on the whole matter.

If you don’t like messy, stream-of-consciousness posts you might as well navigate to some other place … it is going to get messy from this point forward.

  • So far my favorite setup tends to be a single large monitor (between 23″ and 24″) hooked up to a 13″ laptop. Mainly it is a 13″ MacBook Pro. Having an obviously-primary monitor allows me to put it front-and-center and then I keep minor stuff on the secondary monitor (laptop screen). Minimum amount of head-turning, but it seems to fit best for me at the moment.
  • The distance from the screens seems to be a major factor with how well I work with them. It is pretty easy for two 23″ to 24″ panels to get too close and feel like the panels are going to eat your soul. So that might be hyperbole, but for me I need to be able to get the two monitors far enough away that I don’t feel crowded by them. It also has the benefit of leaving me more workspace directly in front of me for other things.
  • Get a decent mouse and keyboard. This isn’t monitor-setup specific, but it still needs to be said. I like Apple’s wireless accessories, but if you are not using a Mac I almost always reach for Logitech first. I still have my original Logitech optical mouse from 1999 (or something) and it still works. That’s pretty darn good. The main things is to find something that is comfortable and has decent keys (for keyboards).
  • Full-screen apps in OS X are really nice (and Mavericks is going to make it even better). It help eliminate some of the claustrophobic feeling that a laptop screen can bring. Not a complete replacement, but try out full screen apps as often as you can to see which ones will work for you.
  • When using large monitors, just don’t full-screen anything. I can’t. There is so much wasted space that it bugs me and I need to be using windows where I can see the ends of them. Kind of the opposite of working on a laptop. I think that is part of the reason single-window, single-app workflows on mobile devices are so popular and work so well. The limitations of the screen size almost necessitate single-window, single-app workflows.
  • I have not been able to try out things with 27″ monitors, and if I did I’d need to spend for the higher resolutions. I’ve used a 27″ iMac in the past and ran into the problem I have with multi-monitor setups … mainly that you need to be able to get it far enough away from your eyes or else you feel like it is going to come and eat you. Whole. One gulp. Gone. I don’t have the same issue with a single 24″ + 13″ laptop as I do even with just a single 27″ monitor. There must be some physiological switch flipped in my brain. Bad brain.
  • Linux multi-monitor setups can be very finicky. I think that OS X Mavericks has about the easiest time getting things to a working condition and being useful. That’s part of the benefit of owning the entire platform.

It really just comes down to what works for you. You need to experiment and I am going to continue to do so. Here are the OSes I have been trying out so far along with the hardware(ish):

  • OS X 10.8 on Mac mini and 13″ MacBook Pro
  • OS X 10.9 Developer Preview on Mac mini and 13″ MacBook Pro
  • openSUSE 12.3 on desktop
  • SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 SP3 on desktop
  • Windows 7 on desktop and 12″ HP convertible tablet
  • Windows 8 on desktop

A lot of different possible setups and I am going to spend some more time in GNOME 3 with openSUSE and also probably load Ubuntu 13.04 on the desktop at some point.

So give them a go and see what works for you. Right now I’m still on the fence, but a 23″ monitor plus the 13″ MacBook Pro has seemed to be the most natural for me so far.

Categories
Business Technology

IT Getting Pushed Out

Bradley Chambers put up a good post tonight titled Managed Service Providers And Employees Who Don’t Need the IT Department. I recommend that any person working in IT go on over and take a look at what he has to say about the future of IT departments everywhere.

Server Cabling

While I don’t think I can agree with the entirety of the post, I happen to think that one key passage says a lot about where IT departments should be aiming at the moment.

You’ve got to become more than just a broke/fix person or a SysAdmin. You’ve got to help turn your IT department into a solutions department. You’ve got to be able to do things that the MSP can’t. You’ve got to be able to solve business problems with technology that create operational efficiencies (now you are paying your own way). You need to be able to connect puzzle pieces.

That about sums it up. It is not enough to just “keep the lights on” anymore, but it is time to start pushing things forward in different areas to try to stay ahead of what people are doing. Sadly, working in IT can be a very reactive place (the network is down, you need to fix that).

However, and I say this for myself, time needs to be spent on trying to find areas to help push things forward in a good way. It might mean that I need to get out of my comfort zone, but it also means that the zone might expand just a little bit at the same time.

Categories
Technology

Messing with openSUSE

official-logo-colorWhile it might be as “cool” as some other things, I’m gearing up to start looking seriously at Novell Open Enterprise Server 11 (OES 11) for some upcoming transitions for our main file storage solution. Since we already have time and effort put into Novell NetWare, and eDirectory specifically, that is what I am going to look at first.

While I have extensive experience with Ubuntu and OS X, I haven’t taken a look at SUSE or openSUSE for years. Since OES 11 is usually paired with SUSE Enterprise Linux I need to at least take a look at what is on the other side of the Linux divide.

So, if anyone has any experience or tips with working with SUSE and openSUSE, please leave them in the comments.

Categories
Technology

A Potential Cheaper iPhone

So many caveats for this one I can’t even begin to list them all.

This entire post is based on a rumor from Mac Rumors where they took some “spy shots” of the casings for a new, cheaper iPhone and then paid someone to create a 3D model and then some “spy shots” of that 3D model.

Here you go:

Low Cost iPhoneSo, you have that. I don’t know if this is going to be released by Apple or anything similar, but I’m going to run with it anyway because there are some interesting reasons why Apple would release a second, cheaper iPhone now as compared to the past.

It boils down to four things for me:

  1. The Screen Problem
  2. The Connector Problem
  3. The LTE Problem
  4. The iOS 7 Problem

I’ll take them one at a time and try to outline why the “Low Cost” iPhone would make sense now as compared to the past.

The Screen Problem

The lineup, as it sits right now, is split between 4-inch and 3.5-inch devices (I include the iPod touch here as well). Half of the lineup is 4-inch (iPod touch and iPhone 5) and half is 3.5-inch (iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S).

If Apple would keep with its currently “plan” as it has been implemented in the past, you’d end up with a lineup that is three-quarter 4-inch (iPod touch, iPhone 5, and [probably] iPhone 5S) and one-quarter 3.5-inch (iPhone 4S). That really leaves that one iPhone out there on the edges.

It also would leave Apple trying to source screens at the 3.5-inch size for a single device. They didn’t even do that when they introduced the 4-inch size between the iPhone 5 and higher-end iPod touch were announced at the same time.

So, from a logistics standpoint, maybe it would make more sense for Apple to switch to a lower-cost iPhone with a 4-inch screen so that they would be able to eliminate the need for a smaller screen for a low volume product.

The Connector Problem

See the above but switch out the size of the screen for the type of connector (30-pin and Lightning).

I would imagine that this would also harken the end of the iPad 2 sticking around, or maybe a lower-cost iPad 2-ish product with a Lightning connector would be released as well. Apple wants to push ahead with this as quickly as possible, so eliminating the last three products they currently sell new in one move would be nothing but a net gain for the company.

Truth be told, the Lightning connector is such a huge win for consumers (forgetting that you need to buy new peripherals) that I could see Apple wanting to push it ahead as quickly as possible. It would also just make the whole lineup look better at the store with everything iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad having a Lightning cable attached.

The LTE Problem

LTE is big business right now as all four of the major carriers in the United States are upgrading their networks with Verizon way out ahead. If Apple continues with the past, you’ll have your lowest-cost iPhone (more than likely the 4S) without LTE, and that could be perceived as a negative.

However, releasing a lower-cost iPhone would allow them to offer the entire lineup with LTE from top-to-bottom. That would be good for Apple and good for the brand.

The iOS 7 Problem

My speculation would be that the lower-cost iPhone would include the A6 and not the A5 that would be found in the iPhone 4S. That would give it similar performance to the iPhone 5/iPod touch 5G … which is a bid deal for something like iOS 7 where the GPU performance is going to be key for people to have a good experience.

The blurring, the transparency, parallax, physics engine … you name it and it is going to require some horsepower to render at 60 fps (Apple’s stated goal). We already know Apple is shooting for the iPhone 4 with iOS 7 with a subset of those technologies included. While the iPhone 4S’s A5 was a big step up from the iPhone 4’s A4, it would be even better to have the A6 in there.

More power is better.

Conclusion

While I don’t know what Apple is going to do (obviously), I could see them releasing this lower-cost iPhone now because of the above reasons. I don’t care about colors, the case would be made of plastic and I would imagine the camera would be similar to what is currently in the iPod touch. Increase the thickness a little bit and I would imagine you can shave around $100 off of the iPhone 5 price (I’m just guessing here, I really have no idea) … and you hit your lower price point without losing any margin.

The best part? I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend such a phone to my family. It would “hit all of the high points” for me and also be the cheaper option. Offering LTE, an A6, 4-inch screen, and Lightning would make it a must-have phone while I would tell anyone to seriously consider an iPhone 5 otherwise.

So, there is my speculation. I now feel dirty.