Switching…

Well, that was not expected, another update before we hit Leopard. It was followed by a security update a day later as well. You can install them without any issues related to our server software. There is however a problem reported with popping noises coming from the speakers on Intel Mac’s after installing this update. I haven’t noticed it myself but be warned.

More about the software update or the security update

I’ve got some time to spare to give you all an update on how things are going at the moment. The new job is quite exciting and I’m very busing taking all the new stuff in and learning a lot of new people. The number of my LinkedIn connections just doubled in the last month. I’ve helped with a bid, a consulting document for a client and started on creating some structure in the way they do integration projects.

One of the nice perks that come with the new job is a company car and I’ve found myself a nice one that fits the budget I had. I’ve decided on the new Mitshubishi Outlander. While researching the car I came across this promotional video which really sold it to me.

The cityscape scenery in the commercial is shot just a few blocks from my home in Rotterdam, it gives you a nice impression of the great architecture we’ve got here. Hope you like it as well !

PS: I’ve ordered a black one and I’ve taken the Rockford Fosgate audio system as well. Can’t wait to actually get it…

Update: It ended up to be the “cool silver” version. I’ve been driving it now for a month and have used it for my holiday to Italy. It was great and still is a very good drive… even on the german autobahn.

Sorry for having the site offline, almost for 24 hours this time. The cause, a telco-telco migration of my DSL line! My ISP has been taken over by another larger ISP and now they are moving everybody to the new owners network. The actual move yesterday wasn’t announced, I only noticed I was suddenly offline while I wasn’t at home and couldn’t do a thing. We’ll see how they will perform and if it will become a buggy connection I guess I’ll have to get myself a different ISP.

The blogosphere and all the Apple new sites have covered it by now. Is it for real? Does this mean no more small headless Mac ? Should we buy up the last ones and keep upgrading the CPU till there is no more fit or can we switch to a more powerfull Apple TV as the new low power Mac server platform. A Mac Pro is way to powerfull, loud and power consuming to be as this effective. I guess we will need to wait and see what will be announced at the WWDC.

But don’t hold your breath as it is still not a fact! I guess I will buy one of the last mini’s to replace the last G4 I still have running. As you might know I’ve got a Intel Core Duo as my desktop machine and a G4 1.5 as the server where I run everything on.

Update: There is a petition you can sign to persuade apple to keep the mini alive!

There is a light at the end of the tunnel, after complaining and blogging about the issue for some time it looks like it is going to be solved in the next release of MySQL. I received some updates on the bug report via email and it is released in version 5.0.40 Enterprise version, see the release notes. Now we only need to wait for the Community release….

Last time I was in between jobs I had all the time of the world and worked on some of my personal pet projects for days at a time. It was a wonderful time and I was getting a lot of things done. I was hoping for the same effect this time, to finish some of the work in migrating all the documentation to the new site and to add some new stuff I’ve got lying around.

Unfortunatly my personal situation has changed, I’m no longer the free single with no worries, I’m now a father with a small child and responsibilities (and worries included with all that). So I’m a bit disappointed, reality is a killer.

Did get some stuff done and I’m still trying to get some things done. I’ve checked the latest OS X security update, Courier Auth and the new Postfix version. Currently I’m moving the DSPAM stuff before the end of the week. Next week it’s off to San Fransisco in the USA, unfortunately it’s going to be all work and no play…

Sorry, I’m going to be off-line for the coming week. I’m taking a short break and I’m taking the family on a trip for the coming week. The time between two jobs is an excellent opportunity to relax and plan a vacation.

By the way, the new job is starting great before I actually started ! I’ve been asked to go to the Tibco User convention (TUCON) in San Fransisco. Which sounds like a nice trip but I don’t think I have much opportunity to see much of the town. Most of the time will be spend indoors hearing all the news on the new software and the wonderful things others have built with it. I’ll be flying in on the 30th of April and will be leaving on 3th of May. This means that the first actual day at my new job is going to take place in San Fransisco. If there is anyone wanting to meet me there is always te possibility to plan something…

Tried to buy a PS3 yesterday and was amazed at the number of consoles available. It looks likes Sony got us enough consoles to buy, only the accessories are a bit hard to get. it is going to replace my age old PS2 which has served my gaming needs since 2001. It looks awesome and plays most of the PS2 games I have. I’m a Grantourismo fan since the beginning and I finished unlocking all the cars in the new GT HD within the hour. I really love the ability to download the demo’s which means I haven’t bought any games yet but I will in the end.

The one I’m looking forward to LittleBigWorld which looks great and the multiplayer cooperative angle of the game is something I really like.

I’ve still got a old fashioned wide screen CRT TV (but a pretty good one from B&O) which doesn’t show of the improved graphics. But I’ve ordered a HDMI to DVI cable to connect it to my 23″ Cinema Display which will (hopefully) allow my to get gaming in full HD. It will arrive in a few days and I will let you know if it works as expected.

By the way, my Playstation Network online-id is: Richard-5

Update: I’m very disappointed in Sony and Apple. In Sony for requiring all HDMI video output to require HDCP and not just for when you play a BlueRay DVD. In Apple for not having HDCP in their Cinema Displays, especially the 23″ model which they even named ‘HD’ (the one I got) to show of that it can show true HD video resolutions. When I connected my PS3 the screen was black and stayed black with the power led blinking ! I think I need to go shopping for another monitor

What a surprise, is this the last hurdle for Leopard ? I’ve udated my PPC server and haven’t ran into any issues at the moment. Everything still is working as expected. I don’t think Intel based Macs should have any problem as it looks like our programs aren’t affected.

Check out all the improvements that where made in the knowledge base article describing the update.

It’s been a while since I blogged here, this is been caused by several things that have been going on which precented me from blogging.
First there was the moving of the documentation which at first consumed most of my time.

Second there was the problem of PHP 5.2.1 not properly compiling on the PPC platform, I’m still looking for a solution for that.

Third, I’ve been very busy with job interviews and reviewing the company in question using my contacts in my professional and personal network. I can happily tell you that the last activity has resulted in some success. I can tell you that I’ve accepted the offer that was made to me and that I will start my new job on the first of may 2007.

I hope to spend more time blogging till that moment and hopefully find the time to solve that pesky little PHP problem. The blog might change a bit in he future as I might get the opportunity to do some work related blogging as I’m working in the exciting world of integration software (middleware) where SOA is now an accepted and somewhat generally understood buzzword…