Microsoft Close to Releasing IE 8
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7852340.stm
Microsoft today announced that it had released Internet Explorer 8 "Release Candidate One", or RC1, which indicates that the browser is very close to General Availability (GA).
This surprises me, as I just uninstalled the IE8 Beta last Friday after being thoroughly disgusted with instability, rendering problems and other bugs with the version prior to RC1. Perhaps they've been burning the midnight QA oil, but somehow I'm skeptical.
In the meantime, Firefox has been enjoying steady market share growth, crossing the 20% barrier (to 21%). While I like Firefox for a number of reasons, and it remains my #1 choice in browsers, I have to admit that I've been using Google Chrome more and more due to its raw speed. Chrome doesn't seem to work very well on some sites, however, so I generally use it only for browsing news sites and, of course, with Gmail.
This should be an interesting year for browsers, and will tell if Redmond will be able to recapture any lost market share with IE8. Based on my experience so far, I'd have to vote no.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Monday, December 29, 2008
Monday, October 08, 2007
Hilton Garden Inn - Stay 3 Nights in October, Get a Free Yamaha USB Speaker Offer
This is a great, little known promotion that Wired Magazine and Hilton Garden Inn are running.
Basically, just stay 3 nights at HGI in October and they will send you a $150 USB powered Yamaha speaker that will work with your laptop, iPod, etc, free of charge. Just make sure that you either book your stay through the link above or tell your travel agent to use Promo Code OHMS when they make your reservation.
I checked out the speaker (it's the Yamaha NX-U10), and it actually got pretty good reviews. It sells for around $100 street, so it's a heckuva deal.
This is a great, little known promotion that Wired Magazine and Hilton Garden Inn are running.
Basically, just stay 3 nights at HGI in October and they will send you a $150 USB powered Yamaha speaker that will work with your laptop, iPod, etc, free of charge. Just make sure that you either book your stay through the link above or tell your travel agent to use Promo Code OHMS when they make your reservation.
I checked out the speaker (it's the Yamaha NX-U10), and it actually got pretty good reviews. It sells for around $100 street, so it's a heckuva deal.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Fixing Microsoft Outlook's Email Address "Auto Complete" Nickname Problem
Microsoft Outlook, on the whole, is a good tool for managing email, contacts, calendars, and so forth. One piece of over-engineering, IMHO, is Outlook's email address "Nickname" feature, in which Outlook attempts to make things easier for you when you begin typing an email address in to the 'To:', 'CC:' or 'BCC:' fields. What happens behind the scenes is that Outlook captures email addresses you type in this way (as opposed to having it look them up in the address book), and stores them as "nicknames" in a file that's located at C:\Documents and Settings\{your user ID}\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.NK2 .
An annoying problem crops up when someone's email address changes, or if their email address in the Outlook address book is different from the one that's stored in the nickname file--also if you begin typing in someone's address and hit 'tab' to autocomplete the entry--sometimes you wind up sending messages to the wrong person.
Typically, the advice I would give to someone facing this problem would be to simply delete the .NK2 file--a somewhat heavy-handed solution, as it deletes all of the nicknames stored (which is not necessarily a bad thing, but most people actually *like* this feature). Unfortunately, the .NK2 file is not editable unless you purchase a utility to do so (which, for about $30, isn't worth it IMHO).
I just discovered an alternate solution, which allows you to simply delete the entries you don't want . To remove a contact from your Outlook address box so that it won't be suggested again, open a new message and begin typing in the address. Use the up and down arrow keys to select the address to be removed from the addresses suggested. When the address to be removed is highlighted, press the Delete key.
I tried it and it works great!
Microsoft Outlook, on the whole, is a good tool for managing email, contacts, calendars, and so forth. One piece of over-engineering, IMHO, is Outlook's email address "Nickname" feature, in which Outlook attempts to make things easier for you when you begin typing an email address in to the 'To:', 'CC:' or 'BCC:' fields. What happens behind the scenes is that Outlook captures email addresses you type in this way (as opposed to having it look them up in the address book), and stores them as "nicknames" in a file that's located at C:\Documents and Settings\{your user ID}\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.NK2 .
An annoying problem crops up when someone's email address changes, or if their email address in the Outlook address book is different from the one that's stored in the nickname file--also if you begin typing in someone's address and hit 'tab' to autocomplete the entry--sometimes you wind up sending messages to the wrong person.
Typically, the advice I would give to someone facing this problem would be to simply delete the .NK2 file--a somewhat heavy-handed solution, as it deletes all of the nicknames stored (which is not necessarily a bad thing, but most people actually *like* this feature). Unfortunately, the .NK2 file is not editable unless you purchase a utility to do so (which, for about $30, isn't worth it IMHO).
I just discovered an alternate solution, which allows you to simply delete the entries you don't want . To remove a contact from your Outlook address box so that it won't be suggested again, open a new message and begin typing in the address. Use the up and down arrow keys to select the address to be removed from the addresses suggested. When the address to be removed is highlighted, press the Delete key.
I tried it and it works great!
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
How to fix Outlook's annoying "nickname autocomplete' problems
A number of friends have asked me over the years how to reset or disable Outlook's "nickname cache" feature. If you're not sure what this is, it's what happens when you are composing an email message and begin typing a name or email address into one of the address fields in Outlook. Outlook will try to be helpful and suggest a list of names (nicknames) based on a cache of previously entered addresses. The problem with this is that over time the cache gets populated with a litany of old or incorrect addresses, and it can become quite an annoyance if you don't pay attention to what you're doing.
After a bit of research, I stumbled across two solutions to the problem: 1) turn off the feature all together, and 2) reset the cache.
1. Turning off the nickname cache feature
This is much simpler than I thought it would be. First, start Outlook, and then select Tools...Options, followed by Email Options, and then click the Advanced E-Mail Options button (this was tested in Outlook 2003--other versions are likely to be the same, only different ;-) ). In the advanced options dialog, toward the bottom, there is a check box titled 'Suggest names while completing To, CVc, and Bcc fields'. Simply uncheck, click OK, and the "feature" will go away permanently.
2. Resetting the nickname cache
If you happen to *like* the nickname cache/autocomplete feature, but want to clean out all of the junk that's accumulated, you'll need to find the nickname file and delete it. The nickname cache file always has an extension of '.nk2' on the end of it, so finding the file is as simple as searching the hard drive for all files that end in .nk2. I prefer to use the search assistant (hit the Start button, followed by the 'Search' icon...if you're using Windows Desktop search, you'll need to click on 'search assistant' toward the bottom left of the screen). Then select 'All files and
folders', and be sure to click the advanced options and select 'Search System' and 'Search 'Hidden' files. In the file name field, type *.nk2 and then click the 'search' button.
On my machine, the file was named 'Outlook.nk2'. Once it's been found, shut down Outlook, delete or rename the file, and then restart Outlook. Outlook will recreate the file from scratch and begin the process of caching nicknames anew.
References
Microsoft Outlook Auto Complete enable or disable?
How to reset the nickname and the automatic completion caches in Outlook
A number of friends have asked me over the years how to reset or disable Outlook's "nickname cache" feature. If you're not sure what this is, it's what happens when you are composing an email message and begin typing a name or email address into one of the address fields in Outlook. Outlook will try to be helpful and suggest a list of names (nicknames) based on a cache of previously entered addresses. The problem with this is that over time the cache gets populated with a litany of old or incorrect addresses, and it can become quite an annoyance if you don't pay attention to what you're doing.
After a bit of research, I stumbled across two solutions to the problem: 1) turn off the feature all together, and 2) reset the cache.
1. Turning off the nickname cache feature
This is much simpler than I thought it would be. First, start Outlook, and then select Tools...Options, followed by Email Options, and then click the Advanced E-Mail Options button (this was tested in Outlook 2003--other versions are likely to be the same, only different ;-) ). In the advanced options dialog, toward the bottom, there is a check box titled 'Suggest names while completing To, CVc, and Bcc fields'. Simply uncheck, click OK, and the "feature" will go away permanently.
2. Resetting the nickname cache
If you happen to *like* the nickname cache/autocomplete feature, but want to clean out all of the junk that's accumulated, you'll need to find the nickname file and delete it. The nickname cache file always has an extension of '.nk2' on the end of it, so finding the file is as simple as searching the hard drive for all files that end in .nk2. I prefer to use the search assistant (hit the Start button, followed by the 'Search' icon...if you're using Windows Desktop search, you'll need to click on 'search assistant' toward the bottom left of the screen). Then select 'All files and
folders', and be sure to click the advanced options and select 'Search System' and 'Search 'Hidden' files. In the file name field, type *.nk2 and then click the 'search' button.
On my machine, the file was named 'Outlook.nk2'. Once it's been found, shut down Outlook, delete or rename the file, and then restart Outlook. Outlook will recreate the file from scratch and begin the process of caching nicknames anew.
References
Microsoft Outlook Auto Complete enable or disable?
How to reset the nickname and the automatic completion caches in Outlook
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Compuware Buys Proxima Technology for $31M
Compuware Corporation (NASDAQ: CPWR) announced on January 2 that it has entered into an agreement to purchase privately held Proxima Technology of Denver, Colorado, for $31 million in an all-cash deal. Proxima Technology's flagship product, Centauri Business Service Manager, will become a key component of the Compuware Vantage management suite, providing business service management and service level management functionality previously missing from the company's offerings.
For Proxima's part, Compuware's ownership will provide significant new opportunities for Centauri. Putting the might of Compuware's sales and marketing force behind Centauri will not only allow it to penetrate new markets and customers, but it will also enable Compuware to penetrate further into large system integrators and outsourcers like EDS and IBM Global Services, which are key Proxima customers.
Centauri could also be leveraged inside of Vantage as a centralized integration point for the Vantage products, providing dashboard, reporting and notification functionality across the product line. Centauri could also ease the integration between Vantage and other products in the Compuware portfolio, including Changepoint, not to mention third-party vendor products.
Overall, the acquisition is a good move for both companies: Compuware was the last large systems management company to add service management to its portfolio, which will allow it to compete on a more level playing field against the "big four" (IBM, HP, CA and BMC). Proxima gains the might of a $1.2B software company, and of course its employees will enjoy a much anticipated "liquidity event."
If Compuware plays its cards right, it could leverage Centauri in a number of key ways, further establishing Vantage as a systems management force to be reckoned with.
Compuware Corporation (NASDAQ: CPWR) announced on January 2 that it has entered into an agreement to purchase privately held Proxima Technology of Denver, Colorado, for $31 million in an all-cash deal. Proxima Technology's flagship product, Centauri Business Service Manager, will become a key component of the Compuware Vantage management suite, providing business service management and service level management functionality previously missing from the company's offerings.
For Proxima's part, Compuware's ownership will provide significant new opportunities for Centauri. Putting the might of Compuware's sales and marketing force behind Centauri will not only allow it to penetrate new markets and customers, but it will also enable Compuware to penetrate further into large system integrators and outsourcers like EDS and IBM Global Services, which are key Proxima customers.
Centauri could also be leveraged inside of Vantage as a centralized integration point for the Vantage products, providing dashboard, reporting and notification functionality across the product line. Centauri could also ease the integration between Vantage and other products in the Compuware portfolio, including Changepoint, not to mention third-party vendor products.
Overall, the acquisition is a good move for both companies: Compuware was the last large systems management company to add service management to its portfolio, which will allow it to compete on a more level playing field against the "big four" (IBM, HP, CA and BMC). Proxima gains the might of a $1.2B software company, and of course its employees will enjoy a much anticipated "liquidity event."
If Compuware plays its cards right, it could leverage Centauri in a number of key ways, further establishing Vantage as a systems management force to be reckoned with.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Lessons from the James Kim Tragedy
As you probably know, CNet journalist James Kim died this week trying to find help for he and his family, who had become stranded in the backwoods of Oregon. Hopefully this tragedy can help others, however, by reinforcing the idea that we should always be prepared for this type of situation--and a few lessons can be learned from James' mistakes that might save someone's life in the future.
First, I came across a website that someone put together that illustrates James' path using GPS coordinates provided by the rescue agencies that tracked him, combined with technology from Google Earth. The data shows that James followed the road that they had become stuck on for a while, and then struck out off-road, proceeding down a ravine. Press reports indicate that he had been tracked by a bear, which is probably why he left the road. The most heartbreaking item from the track is that he basically wound up going in a circle, passing away not far from where he started--and if he had only started out by going the other way on the road, he would have come across a lodge in a very short period of time.
So what lessons can be learned from this? If you're planning on taking a trip through unfamiliar territory, consider the following:
As you probably know, CNet journalist James Kim died this week trying to find help for he and his family, who had become stranded in the backwoods of Oregon. Hopefully this tragedy can help others, however, by reinforcing the idea that we should always be prepared for this type of situation--and a few lessons can be learned from James' mistakes that might save someone's life in the future.
First, I came across a website that someone put together that illustrates James' path using GPS coordinates provided by the rescue agencies that tracked him, combined with technology from Google Earth. The data shows that James followed the road that they had become stuck on for a while, and then struck out off-road, proceeding down a ravine. Press reports indicate that he had been tracked by a bear, which is probably why he left the road. The most heartbreaking item from the track is that he basically wound up going in a circle, passing away not far from where he started--and if he had only started out by going the other way on the road, he would have come across a lodge in a very short period of time.
So what lessons can be learned from this? If you're planning on taking a trip through unfamiliar territory, consider the following:
- Carry a detailed map of the area you plan to travel through, along with a quality compass and basic map-reading and navigation skills (GPS is great until the batteries die!). A good map would have quite likely saved Mr. Kim's life--he would have seen the lodge on the map and started up the road the other way.
- Carry an emergency kit in your car that includes non-perishable/high-calorie foods, drinking water, matches, flares, blankets, flashlight, etc.
- Invest in a GPS; they are available for less than $100, and make sure that you have spare batteries. If you're gadget-minded like me, you can get topographical maps of the area you're traveling through and load them into the GPS.
There is an excellent, much more complete list available at http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/wilderness-survival-kit-gadgets-and-ideas-that-could-save-your-life-220100.php ; highly recommended reading.
Rest in peace, James Kim--I'm really glad your family survived. I'm sure that was the one thing that you hoped for, regardless of your personal fate. I would feel the same way about my family!
Thursday, November 02, 2006
CA's Ex-CEO Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison
Sanjay Kumar, former CEO of CA, was given 12 years in prison and an $8M fine for his role in the company's $2.2B accounting scandal.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Red wine molecule helps mice live longer
Hmm...now, if only they could show that it helps *humans* live longer....but at least it appears that having a bit of red wine doesn't hurt!
Red wine molecule helps mice live longer Top News Reuters.com: " A compound found in red wine and grapes can extend the lifespan of obese mice and help them enjoy a healthier old age, scientists said on Wednesday."
Hmm...now, if only they could show that it helps *humans* live longer....but at least it appears that having a bit of red wine doesn't hurt!
Red wine molecule helps mice live longer Top News Reuters.com: " A compound found in red wine and grapes can extend the lifespan of obese mice and help them enjoy a healthier old age, scientists said on Wednesday."
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Sunday, September 17, 2006
SlickRun - Universal Command Line for Windows
This is an interesting twist--possibly brilliant, free utility for Windows that gives you a floating command line on your desktop. The utility then allows you to create "command aliases" to quickly launch programs; e.g. 'MAIL' can automatically launch Outlook. You can also enter a Web URL into SlickRun and it automatically launches your Web browser. I haven't tried it yet, but I will!
Bayden Systems - SlickRun
This is an interesting twist--possibly brilliant, free utility for Windows that gives you a floating command line on your desktop. The utility then allows you to create "command aliases" to quickly launch programs; e.g. 'MAIL' can automatically launch Outlook. You can also enter a Web URL into SlickRun and it automatically launches your Web browser. I haven't tried it yet, but I will!
Bayden Systems - SlickRun
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
The Best Time to Buy Everything
Great advice, including the best time to buy airplane tickets (Wednesdays, 21+ days before your flight).
The Best Time to Buy Everything
Great advice, including the best time to buy airplane tickets (Wednesdays, 21+ days before your flight).
The Best Time to Buy Everything
Friday, September 08, 2006
A Nice Digg Dashboard
Original Signal offers a one page overview of the seven Digg categories showing popular headlines during different time-frames of the day. Also marks stories that you haven't seen in orange. They did a very nice job of putting this together.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Plane overruns runway and crashes into bay
Pretty amazing video. This idiot tries to land his executive jet on a runway in Atlantic City that is too short for jets in the first place. Then he lands it 2/3 down the runway, with a 10 knot tailwind....it goes into the bay, everyone gets out OK, and then things get really weird. Be sure to keep watching!
Pretty amazing video. This idiot tries to land his executive jet on a runway in Atlantic City that is too short for jets in the first place. Then he lands it 2/3 down the runway, with a 10 knot tailwind....it goes into the bay, everyone gets out OK, and then things get really weird. Be sure to keep watching!
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Test Blog Post using Windows Live Writer
I have decided to try the new (free) Windows Live Writer program, which bills itself as a free blog editor that will work with any blog (of course, they want you to use the Windows Live Blog, but that's a whole other Oprah!).
We'll see how it works....if this works, it could be cool.
I guess that BlogSpot doesn't support FTP publishing. Bummer.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Beauty and mystery in rare Antarctic clouds
These are really awesome pictures of rare nacreous clouds taken in Antarctica on July 25. The air temperature in the region of these clouds was -87C (-125 degrees F!), and the wind was blowing at 230 KPH (142 MPH). The clouds were located about 20 KM above the ground (12 miles).
Apparently, these types of clouds are only seen when climatic conditions are at their most extreme--such as they are now in the dead winter in Antarctica. Pretty amazing, IMHO.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Thoughts on Sun's Grid
Since my company's product (Centauri) is a part of Sun's N1 Grid Reference Architecture, I decided to sign up for a Sun Grid account to try out the service. After a few fits and starts (primarily having to do with requiring a PayPal account for some random reason), I finally received a note from Sun last week that my Grid account was set up and ready to go (if you 'd like to try it yourself, go to www.network.com).
Basically, the idea behind a grid is that a large number of computing machines are linked together into a "grid," ready to serve processing needs. There are two main initiatives in this area (well, actually three, but HP's offering isn't even close to baked): Sun's Grid and IBM's Grid. Sun's offering provides CPU facilities on an as-needed basis for $1/CPU hour, with no requirements as to maximum and minimum usage--just like an electric utility, you just use the compute power when you need it. The idea is really germane for large enterprises, which have cyclical/seasonal spikes in compute need (a classic example is retail, which typically needs a lot of resources in the November and December months).
It's a great idea, and since we're a part of Sun's initiative, I thought I'd give their compute utility a spin. Sun makes it sound really easy to use: 1) upload your application, 2) run your job, and 3) get your results. Unfortunately, step #1 is where it gets hairy--it's not easy or intuitive in the least to upload an application to the grid.
First, you have to upload a standalone (no console input), 32- or 64-bit pre-compiled application that will run on the Solaris 10 x86 operating system, or a generic Java binary. This automatically excludes pretty much most of the market, as I for one don't have an application of that type just lying around waiting to be run. There are clearly markets that do--such as life sciences--but this is far from an intuitive way to demonstrate the grid to a casual or business user. Once the application is uploaded, then steps 2 and 3 are pretty straight forward.
Unfortunately, this offering is going to go nowhere with your typical user of technology unless it gets much easier to use. I have an idea that probably involves a lot of coding and would definitely require some guru-level Windows operating system knowledge, but if this is possible, it would open up the Sun Grid to virtually anyone.
I got this idea the other day when I was playing with my sparkling new Dell Latitude laptop, which has an Intel Centrino Duo dual-core processor (basically it's two processors in one chip). One of the neat features of having two processors is the concept of "processor affinity" -- you can easily specify which processor you would like a given Windows task to run on (both or only one, and you can even specify exactly which processor). This is useful if you have an application that uses a lot of CPU (like a video rendering application)--you can tell Windows to allow it to run on only one processor, thereby keeping your system responsive and available for other tasks.
My idea is this--what if Sun provided a "hook" into the Windows OS that allowed the grid to appear in the Windows task list as an additional processor? I could then tell the grid to handle the processing needs of my video rendering application, which would conceivably be a lot faster than my dual core processor, even if I allow it to run on both processors at full tilt. There are of course many loose ends to this idea, such as how to get the data that needs to be processed up to the grid (you probably don't want to try to move gigabytes of data across the Internet), but it's just this sort of simplicity that would open up the grid to a market larger market--there are thousands of "power users" such as myself that would love to offload large processing tasks to the grid, especially if the costs were reasonable, known in advance, and capped somehow.
That actually leads me to utility computing problem #2--how do you estimate costs for a job before you actually incur them, and make sure that costs don't go through the roof? For example, using my video rendering example above, I'd really like to know if offloading the process to the grid is going to cost $1, $10 or $100 *before* I submit it (it would probably be OK if you could at least get an estimate once the job has been sent up to the grid and before processing has begun). I would also want to be able to place a spending cap on the job so that I don't wind up with a $10,000 processing bill.
One last thought on making the grid easier to use and opening it up to a larger market--I've thought for a number of years that if Sun and IBM could open up their grids to so-called "commodity hardware" (vis a vis desktop PCs, etc), they could tap an incredibly large pool of largely unused processor power. For example, I run an application on my laptop called 'Boinc', which allows me to dedicate my unused processor cycles to various causes such as the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and Rosetta (the former searches radio signals from space for signs of life, and the latter searches for cures to diseases such as cancer).
If you take this concept and apply it to large enterprises, which have tens of thousands of desktop PCs, and consider that most of them are unused 90%+ of the time, and then plug this unused capacity into a grid, they could tap an incredible source of compute power--one that is also basically free (since CapEx costs for the equipment are already incurred--the only additional cost is additional electricity used and possibly some wear-and-tear by running the CPU at high levels).
I can think of one main reason why Sun and IBM haven't tapped this pool of resources--how do you monetize it? If you're in the business of selling computing capacity, why would you want to provide technology that makes it easier *not* to use the commercial grid services? This would make more sense for a startup that would be in the business of selling the grid technology itself, rather than the utility of a grid.
In summary, I think that for utility computing to truly achieve the status of a utility that is available to the common person, it's got a long way to go. In the meantime I'm sure it will begin to be adopted by specialized vertical markets that have heavy compute requirements, like life sciences and entertainment, but I for one am at a loss as to how to make use of my ten free Grid CPU hours that Sun so gracefully provided me...
Since my company's product (Centauri) is a part of Sun's N1 Grid Reference Architecture, I decided to sign up for a Sun Grid account to try out the service. After a few fits and starts (primarily having to do with requiring a PayPal account for some random reason), I finally received a note from Sun last week that my Grid account was set up and ready to go (if you 'd like to try it yourself, go to www.network.com).
Basically, the idea behind a grid is that a large number of computing machines are linked together into a "grid," ready to serve processing needs. There are two main initiatives in this area (well, actually three, but HP's offering isn't even close to baked): Sun's Grid and IBM's Grid. Sun's offering provides CPU facilities on an as-needed basis for $1/CPU hour, with no requirements as to maximum and minimum usage--just like an electric utility, you just use the compute power when you need it. The idea is really germane for large enterprises, which have cyclical/seasonal spikes in compute need (a classic example is retail, which typically needs a lot of resources in the November and December months).
It's a great idea, and since we're a part of Sun's initiative, I thought I'd give their compute utility a spin. Sun makes it sound really easy to use: 1) upload your application, 2) run your job, and 3) get your results. Unfortunately, step #1 is where it gets hairy--it's not easy or intuitive in the least to upload an application to the grid.
First, you have to upload a standalone (no console input), 32- or 64-bit pre-compiled application that will run on the Solaris 10 x86 operating system, or a generic Java binary. This automatically excludes pretty much most of the market, as I for one don't have an application of that type just lying around waiting to be run. There are clearly markets that do--such as life sciences--but this is far from an intuitive way to demonstrate the grid to a casual or business user. Once the application is uploaded, then steps 2 and 3 are pretty straight forward.
Unfortunately, this offering is going to go nowhere with your typical user of technology unless it gets much easier to use. I have an idea that probably involves a lot of coding and would definitely require some guru-level Windows operating system knowledge, but if this is possible, it would open up the Sun Grid to virtually anyone.
I got this idea the other day when I was playing with my sparkling new Dell Latitude laptop, which has an Intel Centrino Duo dual-core processor (basically it's two processors in one chip). One of the neat features of having two processors is the concept of "processor affinity" -- you can easily specify which processor you would like a given Windows task to run on (both or only one, and you can even specify exactly which processor). This is useful if you have an application that uses a lot of CPU (like a video rendering application)--you can tell Windows to allow it to run on only one processor, thereby keeping your system responsive and available for other tasks.
My idea is this--what if Sun provided a "hook" into the Windows OS that allowed the grid to appear in the Windows task list as an additional processor? I could then tell the grid to handle the processing needs of my video rendering application, which would conceivably be a lot faster than my dual core processor, even if I allow it to run on both processors at full tilt. There are of course many loose ends to this idea, such as how to get the data that needs to be processed up to the grid (you probably don't want to try to move gigabytes of data across the Internet), but it's just this sort of simplicity that would open up the grid to a market larger market--there are thousands of "power users" such as myself that would love to offload large processing tasks to the grid, especially if the costs were reasonable, known in advance, and capped somehow.
That actually leads me to utility computing problem #2--how do you estimate costs for a job before you actually incur them, and make sure that costs don't go through the roof? For example, using my video rendering example above, I'd really like to know if offloading the process to the grid is going to cost $1, $10 or $100 *before* I submit it (it would probably be OK if you could at least get an estimate once the job has been sent up to the grid and before processing has begun). I would also want to be able to place a spending cap on the job so that I don't wind up with a $10,000 processing bill.
One last thought on making the grid easier to use and opening it up to a larger market--I've thought for a number of years that if Sun and IBM could open up their grids to so-called "commodity hardware" (vis a vis desktop PCs, etc), they could tap an incredibly large pool of largely unused processor power. For example, I run an application on my laptop called 'Boinc', which allows me to dedicate my unused processor cycles to various causes such as the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and Rosetta (the former searches radio signals from space for signs of life, and the latter searches for cures to diseases such as cancer).
If you take this concept and apply it to large enterprises, which have tens of thousands of desktop PCs, and consider that most of them are unused 90%+ of the time, and then plug this unused capacity into a grid, they could tap an incredible source of compute power--one that is also basically free (since CapEx costs for the equipment are already incurred--the only additional cost is additional electricity used and possibly some wear-and-tear by running the CPU at high levels).
I can think of one main reason why Sun and IBM haven't tapped this pool of resources--how do you monetize it? If you're in the business of selling computing capacity, why would you want to provide technology that makes it easier *not* to use the commercial grid services? This would make more sense for a startup that would be in the business of selling the grid technology itself, rather than the utility of a grid.
In summary, I think that for utility computing to truly achieve the status of a utility that is available to the common person, it's got a long way to go. In the meantime I'm sure it will begin to be adopted by specialized vertical markets that have heavy compute requirements, like life sciences and entertainment, but I for one am at a loss as to how to make use of my ten free Grid CPU hours that Sun so gracefully provided me...
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
MINIX 3 - Tiny Linux
MINIX will run in a very small amount of memory, and can even be configured to boot from a USB thumb drive. This could be very useful for creating boot images for troubleshooting or even putting up an "on demand" website.
From the MINIX website:
This new OS is extremely small, with the part that runs in kernel mode under 4000 lines of executable code. The parts that run in user mode are divided into small modules, well insulated from one another. For example, each device driver runs as a separate user-mode process so a bug in a driver (by far the biggest source of bugs in any operating system), cannot bring down the entire OS. In fact, most of the time when a driver crashes it is automatically replaced without requiring any user intervention, without requiring rebooting, and without affecting running programs. These features, the tiny amount of kernel code, and other aspects greatly enhance system reliability.
MINIX will run in a very small amount of memory, and can even be configured to boot from a USB thumb drive. This could be very useful for creating boot images for troubleshooting or even putting up an "on demand" website.
From the MINIX website:
What Is MINIX 3?
MINIX 3 is a new open-source operating system designed to be highly reliable, flexible, and secure. It is based somewhat on previous versions of MINIX, but is fundamentally different in many key ways. MINIX 1 and 2 were intended as teaching tools; MINIX 3 adds the new goal of being usable as a serious system on resource-limited and embedded computers and for applications requiring high reliabilityThis new OS is extremely small, with the part that runs in kernel mode under 4000 lines of executable code. The parts that run in user mode are divided into small modules, well insulated from one another. For example, each device driver runs as a separate user-mode process so a bug in a driver (by far the biggest source of bugs in any operating system), cannot bring down the entire OS. In fact, most of the time when a driver crashes it is automatically replaced without requiring any user intervention, without requiring rebooting, and without affecting running programs. These features, the tiny amount of kernel code, and other aspects greatly enhance system reliability.
MINIX 3 is initially targeted at the following areas:
- Applications where very high reliability is required
- Single-chip, small-RAM, low-power, $100 laptops for Third-World children
- Embedded systems (e.g., cameras, DVD recorders, cell phones)
- Applications where the GPL is too restrictive (MINIX 3 uses a BSD-type license)
- Education (e.g., operating systems courses at universities)
Thursday, April 20, 2006
How to increase download speeds of uTorrent at JohnTP’s Home
A good article that describes how to increase uTorrent download speeds, although many of his recommendations apply to other BitTorrent clients as well.
A good article that describes how to increase uTorrent download speeds, although many of his recommendations apply to other BitTorrent clients as well.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Microwaved Water - See What It Does To Plants
This is spooky--a student took filtered water, divided it into two parts, microwaved one and boiled the other on the stove. She then watered two identical plants with the two types of water, and the results are astounding--the plant watered with the microwaved water was unable to survive after nine days, while the plant watered with stove-boiled water thrived.
The site stops at explaining why this happened, but it does make me think twice about drinking microwaved water!
This is spooky--a student took filtered water, divided it into two parts, microwaved one and boiled the other on the stove. She then watered two identical plants with the two types of water, and the results are astounding--the plant watered with the microwaved water was unable to survive after nine days, while the plant watered with stove-boiled water thrived.
The site stops at explaining why this happened, but it does make me think twice about drinking microwaved water!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)