Monthly Archives: February 2010

Will the Serial Console Ever Die?

linux, technology, ubuntu, , , ,

Will the serial port as a console connection ever be displaced — especially for devices such as switches, routers, SAN boxes, etc.? In one sense it’s a simple connection. But it is the only current port that, in order to use, you need to know about wiring / baud rates / parity, etc. It has non-standard pinouts. And it is becoming too slow to upload firmware to dead devices, as the firmware updates get larger. Also, the serial port is rapidly disappearing from new laptops — which is where you often really need it, in data centers. Centronics, PS/2, and current loop are mostly defunct. Is there any sign on the horizon of a USB console connection?”

source: slashdot.org

This has been a question of my own for a while. There are lots of switches, routers, PDU’s and even servers where we use serial for direct connection. For the servers we use IPMI for remote console. This helps when the OS has died for some reason or we need to change BIOS settings. It’s certainly a nice and alreasy existing feature to have. But as the article states, the setup is more manual as far as configuring port speed and such as well as being really slow for todays standards.

I don’t know. I’m torn between a tried and true technology and moving forward with improved speed and standard connections. What do you guys think?

MontaVista boasts 1-second Linux boot

linux, technology

MontaVista’s Linux demo goes from a cold boot into a sample, “fully operational” vehicle dashboard application in a single second, the company said. It will be showing off the speedy boot performance at the Virtual Freescale Technology Forum this week.

The demo in question is an embedded OS built around specific hardware, so it does forgo drivers and processes required with your typical production version of Linux. Nevertheless, it’s a performance worth some bragging rights.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/07/14/montavista_boasts_1sec_linux_boot/

daily accomplishements

Personal, technology, ubuntu, , , , , , , ,

Work:

  • just typical work

Home/other:

  • Created an entry level account for someone who already had a professional account :/
  • hopefully convinced my father to take the 46g fish tank for his oversized goldfish
  • forgot to feed fresh or saltwater fish or top off water or add carbonate to saltware – damn
  • started work on cleaning up/optimizing a customer laptop. Get to install ubuntu dual boot as well. Not sure how much he’ll actually use it but he’s slightly interested.
  • Updated Ubuntu 10.04 test laptop in preparation for tomorrow’s alpha 3 release.
  • ooo  .. reminds me, have to remove source from hardy on my apt-mirror to free up some space. Only a couple months, no need to have source locally.

I guess that’s it. Not an overly productive day. I need to find a heading that best fits computer work at home. Ideas welcome.

goodnight

GM to shut down hummer

Personal
This is actually a REAL Hummer ... and my car 🙂

Less than a month after General Motors extended its contract to sell its Hummer brand to China’s Tengzhong automaker, The General has announced that it will not complete the deal. According to a statement released to the media Wednesday afternoon, GM will permanently wind down the off-road division as a result.

GM shut down its Pontiac and Saturn brands last year, and sold off Saab a few weeks ago.

“One year ago, General Motors announced that we were going to divest HUMMER, as part of focusing our efforts on Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac going forward. We have since considered a number of possibilities for HUMMER along the way, and we are disappointed that the deal with Tengzhong could not be completed,” said John Smith GM vice president of corporate planning and alliances.

“GM will now work closely with HUMMER employees, dealers and suppliers to wind down the business in an orderly and responsible manner.”

GM says it will continue to provide Hummer parts and service to customers around the globe. All Hummer warranties will continue to be honored.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/gm-to-shut-down-hummer.html

It’s about time. These things were’nt worth the rubber they drove on.

what did icons ever do to you anyway?

FAIL, linux, technology, ubuntu, , ,

Here’s another reason why removing menu icons in Gnome (as well as removing the choice to turn them back on) is a bad idea. What about the 3rd party applications that rely on menu icons that are now turned off by default with no easy way for the average user to turn them back on?

My example is a project called Gnome SSH Tunnel Manager (gSTM)
The application creates ssh tunnels using an easy interface. It sits in the notification area with easy 1-click(right) access to turn tunnels on and off while showing their running status with a red or green light next to the name of each saved tunnel.

This application uses menu icons for it’s status icons as well as the Quit button at the bottom and “show gSTM” button at the top.

with menu icons
with menu icons
without menu icons
without menu icons