NETWORK || Intra/Inter || Reading Materials || Internet Access & News || What Happens Here

Preferably, visit the Technical Event Book, otherwise known as the Time Line: a series of pages giving an episodic history of what I have read, or done, or failed to fix! It includes an ancillary history of events that have affected my life.

Time Line 2009 shows that in March into April several problems arose, especially with Kaspersky AV software. That ended when that software was removed.

This set of images is purely historical, as one room was when I had to share it with my father yet alive, and shows where I performed computer fixes, and which, of necessity, was in a constant state of flux.

And, O for Office, or C for The Cell, as it was in 2008:

a) b)    c) d)  e)

f)  g)   h)  i)

j)  k)  l)  m)

In the images above several items can be seen. Some of them are noted here: in the first photo (a) this is natural light. The window is open even if it is frigid. Takes the cold air to keep the place habitable. Why? Heat sources, that's what. The two monitors are attached to a Dell Precision 650, and sit on two beams attached to a bookcase. That's why they lean down to the right. The right hand window will contain the replacement air conditioner if and when it arrives.

The second image (b) shows three monitors. The left hand item is faulty, and is the first that needs replacement. I intend to buy an LCD. What a difference that will make in space gain. That particular monitor is attached to Rutland, the ML570 server. The middle monitor is attached to Oxford, the MSI motherboard white box. That's an AMD dual processor now with a card reader installed in a floppy slot, which enabled me to upload these photographs, taken on February 6th., 2008.

The third image (c) shows the physical relationship between the first two images. Not a great distance, maybe eight feet. The keyboards are all Dvorak. The wooden stuff above is holding some hundreds of books, mostly inaccessible.

The fourth image (d) shows Devon, the IBM x220 attached to the right hand monitor in image two. The keyboard cable lies in front of the black front of the computer. At the bottom of the picture can be seen the front of the ML350, down and to the right of the rusty, blue toolbox.

The fifth image (e) shows the ML350 more clearly, and the foot of the box that carries the ML570. That's a caster below the light green safety box. The cables leading off the ML570 can be seen.

In the sixth image (f) the rear of the ML570 is central. That monster weighs around 200lb., and it was picked up gingerly indeed to sit on its box. On the other side of the box is a shelf loaded with coffee table books. To the left and to the rear of the image are the two Dell Precision 650 workstations. One is to be seen with its triangular, silvery plate. Behind it can just about be seen, with a tiny glowing light, against the wall, Monmouth, the active Dell. I have not started up Leicester, the new Dell, because the memory upgrade only came yesterday (February 7th., 2008), and I haven't had time to do a proper job on it. One can see the beams that hold the books and, above the ML570, sits the Hewlett-Packard ScanJet IIc scanner, an oldie but goody. It is old, but it works and can handle legal and greater sized images.

In the seventh image (g) the TV and Hi-Fi sit behind the fan, and some of the books on the upper shelving can be seen.

The eighth image (h) shows Oxford, the clone, and four Seagate U160 half-height drives sitting to its front, just left of the ML570. Two of those drives will be placed in an old ProLiant 800, for which a hot-swap drive cage is currently sitting on top of the shelf above. Philip Pullman's HDM can be seen in the upper left of the photograph. Don't ask. The camera that had a purportedly blank film sits, almost visible, above the binocular case. The bed is to the left of the picture, with a coat lying on it just visible here. The ninth (i) is almost the same as the previous image.

The final row starts (j) with a view of the two Dell Precision 650 workstations. The one in front has yet to be started. Another way of recognising it is by noticing the boot marks where it was stored underneath Dave's desk at CHS. It contains 2GB PC3200 DDR and five U320 15k drives. I need extra RAM and monitors before it becomes stabilised. I shall test drive it with either XP Pro or Vista shortly. The next image (k) shows the layout, with the diagonal beams placed on top of four self-standing book cases. The third image (l) shows what's above the bed, with a ProLiant cage holding four of the dead U320 147GB drives. Finally (m), this is what I gaze at when the evenings arise or soccer is available, or I'm tired of reading. The TV is actually older that my ScanJet IIc, but hangs in there. It will have to be changed when digital HDTV becomes compulsory. However, it will still show any one of my hundreds of VHS tapes, so I won't throw it out.

n) o) p) q)
Plus ça change, c'est la même chose. In this line, the p) image shows where the two monitors attached to the Dell now sit. See b) and c) above. The image o) shows that the Dell now sits next to the ML570, which has its door open. That image reveals the two arrays and the addition, at the bottom lhs, the two drive SCA cage. That holds the boot drive, and was accepted without bother when I installed the cage and its cable. In the background sits the old red mahogany dresser, solid wood: made by my father. The green cloth at the bottom indicates the bed. In n) we see that the white box has been moved to the place where the two monitors were (a) above). The HP scanner sits on top. This will, if it happens, allow me to install the air conditioner with minimum fuss. The last on the right is the view from the door. Congestion rules, milord.

The brown object on the floor to the left is a chest, of solid timber, how rare these days, that came from England some thirty years ago, and it is much older than that. It came out of a cellar in a Queen Anne house in Bristol, and has contained many of my tools ever since. The brown boxes sitting on it at the rear contain books. There are about eight thousand in boxes in this storage space. The left hand image shows that on top of the books sits a ProLiant hard drive cage which was the original tenant in the afore-mentioned ProLiant 800 server.

A  The dickins.lan network, as it is called in Active Directory, is 100BaseT with a 1GB switch. Currently, the network has two Windows 2008 R2 Enterprise SP1 Server computers, and three Win 7 Ultimate, two of which are SP1boxes.  One XP Pro SP3, and one 2008 Datacenter. The latter uses all 6GB RAM, even though X86. Nice, and it runs well, used as the main data repository with its 14 SCSI U320 drives.

B On April 20th, 2000, I bought a Hewlett-Packard 712/60 PA-RISC machine, with a 19in. monitor. Very nicely made, and I hoped I could install the Puffin Linux port on it. Later, I found that although there are ports, nothing will actually run if one is trying the current version. It's now 2011, and I still have no external SCSI CD-ROM to use with the latest Debian native Linux OS. I did, June 2006, find one of the correct external CD-ROM boxes. What it needs is a power source which is still missing: so, must search for that before it becomes the CD useable for a Debian installation. (Ten plus years, and still it sits clueless)

INTRA/INTER || top
C  The office network includes substantially different computers enabling research on and determination of the reliability of hardware and software. The http://mattoid.com Linux based domain is at Vexxhost, as are the http://mattoid.ca and http://mattoid.net domains.

This situation with rented hosting is maintained prior to one day obtaining a direct connection to the Internet, with its attendant benefits and problems. With that in mind I am slowly planning an installation of a Unix/Linux web server and a determination of the best proxy and firewall soft/hardware for Windows and Unix/Linux.

D  Firewalls ahead! Oh, yes, with IPv6, I suppose. If you want a domain for yourself, check availability with a whois, this one still works: Whois.  In 2000 I had to place a switch between the "modem" (xDSL or cable box) and the local machines to protect them. The increase in security problems, especially with the overwhelming popularity of MS OS throughout the world has allowed systematic attacks from script kiddies, game server searchers, including the infamous Scour.net operation, and other nefarious characters. Microsoft has bought an Anti-Spyware software company which, in 2005, has brought some sanity. It's ridiculous that, for example, Symantec won't allow installation of its commonly used security software on a server. They expect everyone in a home/office situation not to run servers and instead to be running XP Pro, or Win2kPro or something similar, when connecting to the internet. Networks don't run well without a server to help matters along. Peer to peer is a nightmare. Now, I use Microsoft software that runs on all of their operating systems.



READING MATERIALS || top

E  For the literate amongst you, I can highly recommend several sources of information, viz., Mark Minasi's books on Windows 2000, 2003 and NT4 (there are lots of places still running this, and having no intentions in updating: for example many libraries still have NT4 servers allied with Windows 95 public access boxes), published by Sybex. Subscribe to his monthly emails at http://www.minasi.com/nwsreg.asp. His website also has support pages that can be useful. I also recommend most of the O'Reilly computing publications, particularly the Nutshell series. There are many good authors: it is better to visit a library or talk to knowledgeable friends before buying texts that soon enough become outdated.

F  On the buying side, now that I am in Ottawa, Computer Supply House is excellent for all of one's computer paraphernalia and books, all of which are regularly discounted.

G  A plug here for all independent bookstores, mainly run by aficionados, not purely for the almighty dollar, like some chains we could mention. Chapters is a horror, and don't hold your breath for any improvement even though they were "obtained" by Indigo. On Elgin Street, in Ottawa, is Perfect Books, with, again, some very nice people working there.

H  For software that adds value to NTx, go to Systems Internals. They are now owned and augmented by Microsoft.

 Too many magazines with small readership have lessened the variety available as they gradually ceased publication. Luckily, is now on the Web, (Jerry Pournelle, Martin Heller, Jon Udell and others who wrote for the best computer magazine that ever was . . . .) Unfortunately, Byte is now subscription funded, which people out of work, and there are still many ex-dot.com workers around, cannot afford. It's not that the charge is high, it's simply that it is part of the constant diminishing of one's money by tiny amounts. To add up how much one spends each month on magazines, if one is sufficiently desirous of maintaining currency with trends, is sometimes astonishing. I simply buy them and forgo nutrition. Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine (that's a downloadable PDF now), PC Magazine and Linux Journal all come in handy. Don't forget to read other journals, simply because all work and no play, makes one as dull as William, the fat boy, Gates. Read The Economist for international politics, science news and literature reviews. Scientific American, National Geographic, Harrowsmith Country Life, Wilson Quarterly (if one can find it), all contain articles and material that ensures that there is balance to one's life.


INTERNET ACCESS: HISTORY & NEWS || top

I  This section is purely of historic interest. Additions to the Time Line pages have noted what I currently use to connect to the Web.

So, Internet access using ADSL from BCTel MMG was once installed in the home office in Vancouver, though problematic at times. It was apparent in those early years that DNS and DHCP on their servers and the asymmetric transmission speeds of ADSL didn't work well together. And, that they have/had available an insufficient number of IP addresses given the number of their subscribers. Mind you, it is inexpensive, and 5Mbps+ is now on offer. Plus, one is allowed to host one's domain directly from one's home or small business. If you are an Internet Direct, in BC, subscriber, see the newsgroup direct.adsl on their newsgroup listings.

J  Internet access is by ADSL via http://ncf.ca at 5MB/s.. It works with a Thomson 546 adsl modem, and this non-profit organisation, which includes the Ottawa Library and Carleton U, has given me very few problems.

K There is now a LinkSys 1GB four port switch between the ADSL modem and the 1GB Trendnet 16 port switch for the network.

L  In general, I prefer xDSL (cf cable access) and a good site for all manner of information and links to other sites is dslReports.com or xDSL.com.  
M  Obviously, with NT4, one could use MS Proxy Server, but is anyone going to buy SBS or the full Back Office suite, just for that? Since one should be OS agnostic, maybe one ought to try Linux, especially Slackware or RedHat as the OS for an Internet server. It seems that Linux is tough to beat for multi-connection strengths. Even against other *nix brands.
N   I really believe that several computers around you are needed for building your web pages properly. Have you noticed how different versions, not just browser types, can ruin your whole day, if you haven't tested how your html appears?

There are too many different html editors and suites to wonder at. Some of my colleagues have always used Notepad, since as long as one understands html, then simple pages can be built quickly with this primitive editor. Of course, software designed for the production of more complex web sites needs to be much easier to use. I have also used Macromedia Dreamweaver, Flash & Generator, Allaire Cold Fusion and Microsoft Front Page (which, don't forget, was developed by a group that MS bought up. Once again, they bought, rather than develop). Nowadays I use Expression Web, both 2 and 3.

Of course, each programme has its quirks and benefits. Some are better than others, and it is purely what you, or your company, demands or prefers that might rule your decision.

And, make sure that graphics and Java applets are easily handled. These days, that's an essential part of how eyes are caught by surfers to your site. Also, don't forget to check what you have done on monitors that are of different sizes and with any number of browsers. What I have noticed lately is that FireFox does not show what Internet Explorer shows! 

WHAT HAPPENS HERE || top

O  mattoid INK, as a sometimes working entity, provides technical advice for WAN/LAN and hardware installations and maintenance; database, spreadsheet, financial and word processing services; Web sites maintained and pages built; desktop publishing with Adobe products. 

P  Early November, 2000 (after my wife had left me, and whilst I still inhabited the townhouse in Ottawa) the office was drastically improved. Everything necessary was moved up to the ground floor. No unwanted electromagnetic flux followed me up the stairs. Well, if Ottawa Hydro won't fix the problem (a common earth wire under the basement floor running between each of the units along to the transformer, which some fool had made live!!!), what else was feasible?  As I say, until I left this house I was able to work close to the galley; take a few steps and refill my innards, episodically. Equally close, on my primitive shelving, were all of my books on computing, of reference, dictionaries, on physics, geology, foreign languages, mathematics and lies, sorry, statistics: everything at hand and ready for desperate searches.

Today, at a different abode, even in my injured condition, and periodic shocks to the system, I persist in knowledge search. French, Latin, history, current affairs and literature of all kinds are facets of my book-learning.

Constantly fiddling with MS Exchange; Windows OS service and action packs, Office, BIND and TCP/IP, particularly IPv6; implementing Perl, php and Java scripts, other tools contained within Visual Studio; and other aspects of using networks, such as VPNs. Not to forget security issues and associated software. With the increase in interoperability these days, it is so important to make connections secure. 

There is too much to learn, perhaps, for one single, simple person. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, it has often been said. As time permits, I work on my computer language skills: I must admit that I am somewhat delinquent here, trying only to use what I find I need. 

One thing more: harassment is illegal: click here for my (somewhat unfortunate) position.