Posted by on September 25, 2008 under Uncategorized | 
UPDATE 2008.10.03:
So it looks like Travis was right, and an Outlook plug-in is needed - which means this system isn’t 100% compatible, although the ActiveSync part looks interesting. That means the only100% solution I know of is still Post Path. It just isn’t open source. If Cisco would find a way to GPL it, they would literally TAKE OVER the market. Maybe one day they will.
Original Post:
So someone FINALLY released a 100% MAPI compatible (read - Exchange compatible) system under an open source license. Zarafa. At first read, it appears to offer full ActiveSync support, and Outlook over HTTPS as well. The limitation appears to be in the number of Outlook clients that can connect via MAPI, unless you purchase one of the higher-end versions.
I’ll post an update after further evaluation.
http://zarafa.com/?q=en/content/community-0
Other 100% MAPI compatible alternatives include PostPath, which was recently aquired by Cisco. But they aren’t (yet) open source.
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Posted by on September 19, 2008 under Uncategorized |
I ran into a problem the other day… too many downloads of a large VMWare image I had shared. It swamped my connection and made the server inaccessible. So I had to quickly put in a bandwidth limiter, and thought I’d share how easy it is to do:
I am using mod_bandwidth. There are several other Apache2 modules for managing bandwidth. This one is a great quick fix. In fact, I usually install this by default, but unfortunately forgot to on this website - until my bandwidth was maxed. I highly recommend installing something along these lines to protect your system from this problem.
My system is Ubuntu Server and Apache2
This is simple to implement:
- Grab the latest version of the source code
- Extract and compile the Apache module
- change apache2.conf
To begin:
Find the latest source code download link at: http://ivn.cl/#bandwidth Currently it is version 0.8
In a Terminal windows, run these commands in a temp folder:
sudo su
apt-get install apache2-threaded-dev
cd /tmp
wget http://ivn.cl/files/source/mod_bw-0.8.tgz
tar xvzf mod_bw-0.8.tgz
cd mod_bw
note: you may get an error after running this next command - you can ignore it
apxs2 -i -a -c mod_bw.c
nano /etc/apache2/apache2.conf
add the following to the top of the file
LoadModule bw_module /usr/lib/apache2/modules/mod_bw.so
BandWidthModule On
BandWidth all 1000000
MinBandWidth all 100000
ForceBandWidthModule On
This will limit the apache server to 1 Mb of bandwidth with each connections getting at least 100k
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Posted by on September 11, 2008 under Uncategorized |
“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”
– John F. Kennedy
For about a year after September 11th, 2001 this quote was in my signature at the bottom of every e-mail, regardless of who it went to - a friend, a customer, anyone.
As I sat in my car this morning talking to my wife, I lamented that so many have already forgotten, or pushed into the back of their minds, the events of this day. The very real threat that exists in this world from those that hate America and what America has stood for - a country built on the principles of God’s Word (often called Judeo-Christian values). A country that has been blessed, has prospered, and who’s citizens share that blessing with others in the world, more so than any other country.
Like everyone else, I remember exactly where I was 7 years ago as though it happened today, even if I can’t recall what I ate for lunch Monday. I recall the odd feeling, simply trying to understand what was happening, “Why has ANOTHER plane flown into the building?” The abrupt realization that we were like children, who’s innocence was suddenly broken, and our view of the world around us would never be the same.
I also recall where I was on another day, November 7th that same year. I was working in Chicago. That evening I was in my hotel room finishing some client notes from the day, with the CMA Awards show on the TV. I stopped suddenly when Vince Gill announced that Alan Jackson, my favorite country singer, was coming on to perform a never heard before song. He delivered the song in an appropriate way that only Mr. Jackson could, quite, humble, just him and his guitar (reminds me of my dad). The words spoke to me, as they did to millions of others.
We have to watch out for complacency. Certainly on this day, I think of the complacency that might make us think we are no longer vulnerable to attacks of this nature, that it won’t happen to ME. But we must also be on constant guard for complacency in all areas of our lives, with ourselves, and how we direct the way we live… complacency in the attention we provide to our spouses, our children, our Faith. They require our constant attention. My dad once told me that life is a struggle, that you must battle every day against the wickedness of the flesh. I know what he spoke of, and it comforted me to know that this man, my dad, the man that has earned my love and respect, above all other men that I have known in my life, confided in me that he too, we all, face this battle. As my dad always does with such ease, he was speaking from God’s Word, where even one such as Paul struggled every day, and was not afraid to admit it.
I have struggled with complacency, and reflecting on this today I know that I must work each day going forward to lean on the power of the Holy Spirit within me to win this fight. Sadly, I do not find myself complacent about worldly things, which are not important as they will pass away, but am too often complacent about the important things that live forever - my wife, my son, my church. I must endeavor to stand on Gods Word, actively, everyday, to spend my full effort building Gods kingdom in my family, my church, and the world around me. It is ironic that as I look to the past today to address my own complacency, God’s Word says that I must move forward by forgetting the past, and focusing on what I can do now, and in the future. This is a blessing, being released from our past, our sins, which enables us to pursue the best that God has in store for us. I don’t have to waste any more time with sadness over the past, but am freed to focus on the Hope of today, and the future. But not to forget that it is work, and must be worked out everyday.
As I sat in my car this morning talking to my wife, I lamented that so many have already forgotten…
And as I spoke those words to my wife, I noticed the flag in front of our office building this morning - at half staff. Not every one has forgotten…
Hope is not lost, when our Hope is in Christ Jesus.
References:
Romans 7:14-25
http://bibleresources.bible.com/passagesearchresults.php?passage1=Rom+7%3A14-25&version1=51
Philippians 3:12-15
http://bibleresources.bible.com/passagesearchresults.php?passage1=Philippians+3%3A12-15&version1=51
Ephesians 6:10-20
http://bibleresources.bible.com/passagesearchresults.php?passage1=Ephesians+6%3A10-20&version1=51
http://www.cafonline.org/Default.aspx?page=12183
http://www.christianitytoday.com/tc/2003/001/14.14.html
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Posted by on September 4, 2008 under Uncategorized |
Red Hat announced today the acquisition of Qumranet, the inventor and maintainer of KVM: http://www.redhat.com/promo/qumranet/
Red Hat has been involved with the ongoing efforts to develop and maintain KVM. I think this will give additional focus, resources, and credibility to the KVM project. Red Hat’s virtual management project, oVirt will probably pick up the pace as well.
So long as Red Hat keeps development of KVM as free and open-source, this should be a big plus. I don’t know why they wouldn’t.
It’s been clear to me for over a year now that KVM was the future of virtualization, that VMWare and Xen would fade as the Hypervisor becomes a commodity. Ubuntu moving to KVM as it’s primary platform for virtualization was the first validation, and now Red Hat. KVM already has a broader set of capabilities than ESX and Xen. It’ll blow the doors off of virtualization with the upcoming PCI passthrough capabilties (more news on that to follow).
I’ll keep you apprised of what I see going on in the developer community for KVM
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Posted by on September 3, 2008 under Uncategorized |
I was in an Apple store at lunch today (don’t tell anybody) with a friend picking up a Nano for his wife. I have always been curious about the little PDA checkout devices they use. My buddy was even impressed with how quickly he was able to checkout, since the clerk scanned the bar code right where we were standing, and swipped the credit card, all from the PDA. I have been trying for a while to get a good look at it, but the clerks always seem to actively hide the face of the device. Until today, when I was able to see it clearly…
Funny thing is, the PDA she was using was running Microsoft Pocket PC. I even pointed it out to my buddy, to which the clerk just laughed and said ‘don’t tell anybody’.
I just thought that was ironic. What do you think?
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Posted by on September 2, 2008 under Uncategorized |
Filing this one under either silly, ridiculous, or scary, Microsoft was finally granted a patent for its amazing invention, the Page Up and Page Down functions:
Read about it here: http://news.zdnet.com/2424-9595_22-218626.html
Aside from copious amounts of prior art, and obviousness, is this shame on Microsoft, shame on the Patent Office, or both?
What do you think?
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