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Kill two Windows servers with one Xserve

Tom Yager at Infoworld reviews the xServe and it’s nothing short of stellar. If money was no object here at atmaspheric HQ (aka my house) I’d love to be running one of these babies from my pending equipment rack going in the basement.

A few of the finer points from the review:

I have tested, and continue to run in a production setting, two instances of Windows 2003 Server hosted by Parallels Desktop, running on OS X Server 10.4.8 on a 3 GHz Xserve. To skip to the punch line, it works, and it’s as fast as all get-out. Parallels does not stretch the truth when it claims near-native performance; Xserve is capable of knocking off any two-socket Netburst (Pentium 4) Xeon server going back at least two years. Compared to Xserve, those Intel boxes eat more electricity and give off more heat than they give back in capacity for work.

Parallels Desktop is a client solution, but I’ll tell you how to deal with that. Parallels also carries with it all of the caveats and shortcomings of host/guest virtualization–in which a full OS is required to support virtual machines–but Parallels and Xserve uniquely turn some of those issues into advantages.

Consolidating Windows servers with Xserve is an edifying and productive exercise. I’ll tell you how it’s going, and exactly how to make it work for your Xserve, or for any Mac that you press into Windows server consolidation duty.

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Sample N80ie images

All taken outside a few days back. In general, the camera is easy to use, but the lack of any zoom control makes it a tad frustrating. Still the results are good… Indoors requires some considerable light as with most phone cameras… I’ll try to snap some shots this weekend to share.

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Low Battery!

The low battery message is unfortunately something I’ve seen on all the Nokia mobile phones I’ve used (E61, N91, N80) that have WiFi except the N93, which I suspect is because it has the largest battery. It seems it’s just something you need to understand how to limit in order to maximize the battery, but it’s still something that makes we wary about having a full day ahead and no charge capability. Tomorrow I’ll be on the go for the day and expect to use my phone for a few important calls, a lot of email (GMail Mobile) and probably a bunch of other things like Shozu and SMS.

Today I was a bit heavy on Gmail, had 2 calls and tried to take a few pictures and was in the process of uploading to Flickr with Shozu when I got the low battery message — it was only 2:30pm. I had charged the N80 overnight as I do almost every day with all my in rotation phones and was not psyched to see this…

The only thing that comes to mind immediately here is the Smartroaming app which I have set to use Wifi if I am in range at home. WiFi scanning is set to off… GMail does not auto-refresh so it’s unlikely that this is the demon, but man something is seriously draining the battery.

Given my current comfort with the N80i this week I’ve decided to bring the N73 instead. I recently spent the better part of the weekend with Gmail, SMS, Shozu and some calls without a recharge … It feels like a few days to a few hours. Not good.

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Mobile Usage Habits

I’ve been using a lot of mobile devices lately and it struck me today somewhat obviously actually, but I am a massive data user — far more than voice. Consider this – since getting the N80ie yesterday the only phone number I’ve added to it was actually my YouMail voicemail number — not the Cingular number (or my phonebook) stored on the SIM. Instead of even thinking about syncing my addressbook over, I instead focused on getting my core apps installed so the device would be familiar to the way I’ve been using all the N-Series devices. Here’s the basic list of apps I use everyday:

  • GMail Mobile
  • Handy Taskman
  • Handy Weather
  • Handy Clock
  • Shozu
  • Birdstep Smartroaming — with WiFi you want to be able to use a single access point and let the device find the quickest available wherever you are.
  • GooSync sync profile so I can sync my calendar from Google…

    I get text alerts from Google Calendar for when I need to be somewhere and YouMail also sends a callerID text for voicemails which is quite nice.

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Apple and Nokia unlikely but …

Today’s crazy rumor regarding a partnership (no sources of course) with Apple and Nokia essentially enabling Apple to license the N95 months after Nokia’s own release is silly, but does get one thinking.

The lustworthy N95 will be an absolutely killer device. It’s the uber-smartphone and will be the one to beat in the high end device market. My guess is that Apple is shooting more in the mass market (ala iMac and iPod) with their iPhone, Going after the super high end and high cost will make it more difficult to be attainable in the same way the iPod is and I believe that the is what Steve Jobs is really shooting for. Apple needs another big time hit to follow the iPod. iTV will likely serve to extend the iPod marketplace – an ecosystem play if you will … The iPhone will be uniquely Apple – not someone else’s tech – as it needs to be in order to remain true to the controlled user experience we all know and respect.

I’ve debated whether I’d even want one for quite a while given the amount of time I’ve spent considering the N95 and for me, the thing is going to have to really have some VERY compelling features – beyond sync – that make it worth my while. I’m sure it will be great – but insanely great is another level.

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Nokia N80ie First Thoughts

I received my Nokia N80 Internet Edition yesterday via the Nokia Blogger relations program and have been very happy using it for the past 24 hours. It’s a tad chunky compared to the N73 but quite a bit shorter. As you can see it’s a slider style device so the number pad is initially hidden underneath the main function buttons.

The N80ie is essentially the same as the N80 though the Internet Edition designation includes some built in apps right from the get-go.. The N80 has a quad-band radio so you know if there’s a signal you’ll connect, plus the addition of WiFi for those beefier data needs like VOIP with Gizmo Project which comes ready to be installed with a few clicks. I’ve actually installed it, but for some reason cannot activate the service. If you’ve solved this one, please let me know.

My only gripe is that with WiFi on, you’ll have a tough time making it a day on a single charge. If you use it judiciously (like only when you really need it) you should be fine.

I’ll post some more later tonight including a video I shot…

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Cingular 3G Launches in NY, CT, and MA

Most excellent news today!!

Cingular has officially launched 3G HSDPA networks in most of the NY metro area, almost all of Connecticut, and most of Massachusetts. [The Boy Genius Report]

I’ll have to start checking my various Nokia phones to see whether I am connecting at more than EDGE… I just check the coverage map and parts of Jersey and all of Manhattan are lit up. Nothing north (where I live) yet, but hopefully soon. I’ll be in the city later in the week and am hoping for a speed boost!

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Google Apps authentication issues today…

I’ve noticed that my Google notifier (menu bar) and Mobile app have both stopped working today. It actually seems to be Gmail not calendar that’s causing the issue… I’ve had to quit the menu bar application in order to prevent constant login prompts… no biggie as the browser tab refreshes as often to notify new mail, but the mobile app is a real loss. The mobile web UI has nothing on the slick java app for phones. I get the following error:

Network Error

java.lang.RuntimeExeption: Unexpected server response: 500 Internal Server Error

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Hard drive meltdown!!

I am currently suffering a hard drive meltdown…

All my digital bits are surprisingly ad hoc and the drive that is failing currently stores ALL my digital music — about 160GB give or take a few GB 201GB. It’s a 250GB Ximeta Netdisk that I’ve been running in USB mode to a Mac Mini and the drive seems to be whirling up and down without a reliable connection. I’ve gotten it to connect to my computer a few times, though the finder has actually locked up while in the process…

I’ve got two other drives here, though only my 200GB LaCie Firewire can handle the content — once I kill or move what’s on it. That drive had a backup of an older iPhoto library (moved to my 120GB drive now) as well as a slew of archived DVDs which I am actually deleting as I own them and can re-rip. I’m hopeful that the Ximeta will stay connected long enough to transfer the content over, but I am not that hopeful unfortunately. All my purchased content is on my iPod so that’s cool and most of the collection is ripped from my CDs, which are sitting in my garage in “storage” while our basement is being worked on.

UPDATE — I’m screwed unless I can figure out a very creative plan.  I’ve got the drive mounted, but there is way more stuff than I’ve got room to move at the moment.  I think I’ve figured a consistent technique for getting the Ximeta back online, so I feel reasonably comfortable taking it offline tonight in order to let it stay cool, but I need a new hard drive in the am in the worst way.

Take some advice here kids — get a backup plan going…

I’ve been eyeing a nice Infrant NAS RAID which really would be saving my ass right now if I had just purchased it a month ago.

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Pay by Mobile…

If you are a current Cingular subscriber, live in the New York Metro and also happen to have a Mastercard with PayPass, you can sign up for the next phase of the system which will give you a new Nokia phone capable of working within the PayPass system. I’ve got two of the three covered, but without an existing PayPass account I can’t sign up… Gearlog has a few more details, or you can sign up right here.

This seems like a pretty cool implementation. I hope it does not really change the physical aspects of the mobile too much to incorporate the PayPass system… too bad you need a new phone to play.

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Firefox Annoyance

I’m not sure what causes this semi-regular bug in Firefox but it’s driving me crazy. Basically every so often Firefox not longer visually responds to mouse or keyboard actions in the main window. If I change tabs, I can see the page name switch at the top of the window, but nothing seems to be happening in the main space. I have to quit the browser and start again… several times per day at least.

I tend to keep Google Reader, GMail and a few others going at all times, but have seen it with just GR open as well. Anyone else get this?

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Free Agent

I am officially a free agent.

I am currently considering career options and feel like this is the ideal point for me to make a change. I’m looking for something that will enable my passion for technology and my experience in marketing to live nicely together — hopefully in a highly entrepreneurial environment. I’m not sure where it will all net out, but am looking forward to the journey. If you know of anything that might be a good fit, please let me know!

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Cosmetic Changes

Made some cosmetic changes to the site today. Feeling pretty good about it so far… I was getting tired of the old theme and have spent some time playing with the new settings and getting everything just where I want it. Please let me know if something is acting up.

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Wired Test

Happy Browsing!

Wired Test started with a simple goal: to be the most authoritative guide to the universe of gear and gadgets. From the hottest of cell phones to the latest in hybrid cars, we scoured the landscape to find the new, the essential, and the just plain cool. [Wired Test]

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Yahoo! News – You Witness

Yahoo and Reuters are launching YouWitness tomorrow and it should be interesting to see how it pans out. This looks like it will be a pretty high profile move into crowdsourcing with two substantial partners. I hope Yahoo and Reuters integrate this with their main news sections rather than simply creating yet another island of information within the peanut butter jar.

User generated content may start finding itself in new places as well as the NYT is a pretty large consumer of Reuters feeds and the critical mass at Yahoo might be just what the doctor ordered to pepper in new context to breaking stories.

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