• Master Data – Continuing to look for the latest information – this is still a fast growing software market, and ideas around things like “data governance” (people and process) first, “master data management” (tools – machines talking to machines) second, are getting established within many corporations.
• Change Management, Agility, IT in Transition – things like mixing “fast twitch” (agile) and “controlled” (waterfall) methodologies, and balancing limited resources & requests across multiple competing initiatives.
• Emerging Business Priorities – less on the technology, more towards a realization of / developing understanding on how economy and technology are changing expectations and strategies of the business – and how the business can (and / or should) leverage technology to make sure they succeed  / thrive.
• Vendor management / Dealing with strategic vendors – Consolidation (acquisitions) in the vendor space, plus the sense that some vendors (like Microsoft, Oracle, SAP) may feel they are locked in to our business – so how do you manage them so that you get what you need from the relationship?

Click to enlarge ...

Other major topics covered at length:

• Cloud computing – this topic is absolutely being hyped to no end, with every Gartner analyst and visiting vendor holding the topic out as the Next Great Thing. It was actually kind of annoying, even though I did not attend any sessions in this area – and I heard as much from other attendees. I did hear (more accurately read – via twitter (see below)) that the Cloud sessions were often full to overflow, so there is definitely great interest in the marketplace. I am encouraged by the progress being made, but still not sure that The Cloud is ready to host ERP and Financial apps without more clarity on security and integration. I do owe props to the session speakers – topics attempted to get specific about applying the cloud to the enterprise sooner rather than later, but apparently were a little thin on these specifics.
• Social networking – another heavily hyped idea, with breathless stats on the growth and future popularity (and profitability) of social networking in the enterprise. I think this one was a bit more hype than reality, at least from an “IT shows leadership” perspective – less than 400 active twitterers (<5%), and a bare majority of hands when asked how many have a personal Facebook page.
• Consumer impact on Corporate IT – lots of conversation and sessions on the proliferation of consumer devices, and the impact of consumer-based assumptions / expectations on internal IT. I have already expressed some opinions on corporate IT’s ability to think like consumer or internet product developers (link spoiler alert: it’s a challenge based on the reward structure). However, I did see a nice contract when listening to a presentation on change management; it’s easy to get folks to change when they are going to something they want – like an iPad or an effective data query tool.

Other observations:

• Animated keynote speakers – I saw Mark Benioff (Salesforce.com), John Chambers (Cisco), and Steve Ballmer (Microsoft) – and it seemed like they were all trying to be the funniest, wittiest, loudest guys. Very animated, a bit pandering – made me feel like the audience was full of insecure twenty-somethings that needed to get jazzed on the iconoclast leading the company.
• Forecast error – during the show, Gartner reported 40% more attendees then they had planned for, and noted that they were seeing multiple overflow sessions. Although they were proud of their ability to flex and scale, I was a little surprised by the magnitude of the miss.
• Twitter – I was impressed to see that Gartner published a hashtag in the conference material, encouraging a community / conversation that could immediately and easily be tracked. This, I believe, is one of those classic “killer app” scenarios for Twitter – if you can spare the segmenting of your attention, you can monitor a number of different threads of interest at once. Also, you can take the pulse of a large audience (say, during the keynotes) as the twitterers react positively and negatively about the speaker – in near-real time.

My #GartnerSYM twitter stream (and replies)
Overall #GartnerSYM twitter stream

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Send mail to webmaster at cazh1 dot com
© Jim MacLennan for cazh1, 2010. | Permalink | 3 comments |
Post tags: Cisco, cloud computing, conference, Facebook, forecast error, Gartner, Hype Cycle, iPad, John Chambers, Mark Benioff, master data management, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, SAPPHIRE, Social Networks, Steve Ballmer, Twitter

All articles, blog entries, and other content on this site are licensed under a Creative Commons License    ]]> http://www.cazh1.com/gartner-symposium-2010/feed/ 3 http://www.cazh1.com/field-notes-video-conferencing-for-business-conversations/ http://www.cazh1.com/field-notes-video-conferencing-for-business-conversations/#comments Sun, 22 Mar 2009 15:52:00 +0000 Jim MacLennan http://qc.cazh1.com/?p=295 This past week saw my first experience with video conference calling – something obvious to consider in these tight economic times. Some observations –

• I got quick feedback that my original camera position was disconcerting for the others. I had put it off to the side, which made me look “off camera”, almost in profile, while in conversation. As I thought about it, I agreed – because if I was looking at me, it would be weird / annoying. I do not like it when the person I am talking with is not looking me in the eyes.
• On that note – when we’re in a conversation, I’m typically looking at a 6” circle around your  eyes. When on a business / working video conference, however, I’m looking at a 2 x 2 inch square picture of the speaker – because we all have other windows open, looking at documents / programs under review. It’s feels more like a “talking heads” newscast than a conversation …
• … but you have to take the good with the bad. The ability to bring up a spreadsheet or presentation or application on a shared screen is quite powerful – participants can “see what I see”. You just need to understand that this is a multimedia conversation, and not simply a replacement for a phone call.
• On the other hand – my family uses Skype to stay connected with our daughter away at college. When we make the call, we’ll flip the video feed to full screen – and since the web cams on our respective laptops are perched right above the screen, our eyes are focused reasonably close to the other person’s face. Simple conversational video calls, without the multitasking overhead, are reasonably effective.
• Microphone configuration is also very important; some folks are using headsets, while I use the microphone incorporated in the video camera. I prefer this arrangement; I’m already comfortable with using a speakerphone on normal calls, and prolonged use of an earpiece gets a bit annoying. The key, however, is to get everyone to correctly configure microphone settings. Everyone’s volume was a little different, and it impacted the smooth flow of conversation.
• We are using inexpensive web cams, not highfalutin’ conference calling hardware. In this scenario, the system does a reasonably brilliant job of flipping camera control to whoever is speaking. This seems obvious, but I noticed that when I was speaking, your remote view doesn’t bother flipping to your feed – it stays on the last speaker. This can be a tad disconcerting if that person reverts to typical conference call habits, and looks away / does a little multi-tasking.
• I also noticed that people were much more cautious, or overly polite, about talking over one another. I assume that as we get used to holding conference calls in this format, we’ll get more comfortable with the interruptions.

Later in the week, I had a long conversation with a colleague in Germany. Here, the video call format is very effective. Typically, I prefer face-to-face conversations to phone calls – you can react when someone’s facial expressions signal a lack of agreement or comprehension. Of course, this is not practical with meine freunde in Deutschland, where language differences exacerbate the situation. The video call solves that problem immediately and effectively – I found myself communicating in face-to-face mode now, with hand gestures (ex. air quotes) and facial expressions indicate agreement, keep the conversation moving along.

Like any bit of technology, reality is not as smooth as the sales pitch makes it out to be, but still a very effective tool, and something that can be experimented with quite inexpensively.

Experimentation leads to experience, leads to effectiveness.

Previously …

• International Meetings – Pick a Convenient Time (April 1, 2005)
• Challenges when demoing / training / pitching complex systems (May 23, 2005)
• eMail on Blackberry Changes Definition of Acceptable eMail (September 19, 2005)
• Hand writing recognition – harder than colored bubbles (November 19, 2005)
• Waiting outside their office (February 14, 2006)
• Catching up on Mind Mapping; collaborative tools and some “market research” (May 13, 2007)
• Alternative KM Tools (3 of 3) (September 25, 2007)
• Power Outage Follow Up – Observations (March 28, 2008)

Technorati Tags: collaboration, hands on, Knowledge Management, productivity

Invisible Technorati Tags: cazh1, James P. MacLennan, jpmacl, MacLennan

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Send mail to webmaster at cazh1 dot com
© Jim MacLennan for cazh1, 2009. | Permalink | No comment |
Post tags:

All articles, blog entries, and other content on this site are licensed under a Creative Commons License    ]]> http://www.cazh1.com/field-notes-video-conferencing-for-business-conversations/feed/ 0 http://www.cazh1.com/third-times-the-charm-blackberry-bold/ http://www.cazh1.com/third-times-the-charm-blackberry-bold/#comments Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:11:00 +0000 Jim MacLennan http://qc.cazh1.com/?p=284 I recently had to part ways with my Blackberry Pearl – some heartache, I suppose, but time and product innnovation march on. There is a lot to like about the Blackberry Bold – I am definitely happy to have made the change …

<aside> … although my inner conspiracy theorist sees a case of planned obsolescence. Apparently, others have experienced the same problem – a sticky trackball that refuses to scroll down. Try as I may, nothing would improve the situation – and so I was compelled to upgrade. </aside>

• Acceptable Form Factor: Yes, the Pearl was “perfect” because of it’s candy-bar size – unlike the classic 7200 series, which felt strange when held up to your ear as a cell phone. Bottom line – the Bold still fits comfortably in jacket, shirt, and pants pockets. Plus, when I’m using it as a phone, I’ve typically got the Bluetooth headset plugged in.
• QWERTY is Back: You can get used to the predictive typing on the Pearl’s compressed, two-letters-to-a-key keyboard, but the Bold’s “standard” layout has help reduce my typos considerably (alas, I have to take ownership of misspelings again).
• So That‘s What WiFi is For … It didn’t register until I connected to my local Tomato to get out to the intarweb – much faster than anything I’d ever seen before, very useful.
• Improved Screen: More real estate really helps here, and the applications are much more useful. Not just the “native” Contacts, eMail, and Calendar clients, but the web browser as well; pages just render better on this thing. I mean, it was usable before, but now it’s actually quite effective.
• More Applications: A few more games, big deal – I don’t play in meetings anymore. However, there is a wide range of free, Blackberry-aware apps that are really useful – the Google suite, of course, plus Facebook and the Wall Street Journal. I’ve even re-downloaded Twitterberry, which has made a few updates since I last played with it (trying microblogging again …)

<aside> I heard of a law firm, touting the effectiveness of their corporate-supported iPhones with enthusiastic praise for the Bloomberg application. “How wonderful”, says the barrister, “that we can proactively contact our clients when a story comes across the wires involving their firm”. What do they call that app – iAmbulanceChaser? </aside>




• Subtleties that Really Deliver: No, I’m not an iPhone hater – but I have discovered a number of little features – not widely talked about, but spot-on useful – that apparently are not matched in the BBKWT. Face it – the Blackberry is spooky self-aware that it’s a phone, first and foremost; open up an eMail, and if a phone number appears in the body, you can click on it to initiate a call. Or start a conversation with Messenger, and click the green phone button – a pop up asks if you want to call the person you are chatting with. Nice.
• My Desktop: I also like the fact that I can add custom folders and rearrange icons, even moving them within these new folders. The home screen gives me space for six icons, so I’ve got a folder for messaging apps (email, gmail, IM, SMS, and tberry), Internet apps (browser, Google apps, WSJ, Facebook), plus direct licks to calendar, contacts, and Google Maps (my fave application for the handheld).
  

No, it’s not perfect – I don’t understand why I can’t create shortcuts for my favorite web sites (Bloglines, Ping, Weather Underground, etc.) in the folders – but I can see myself growing more independent from the luggable [notebook]. If I could only get a decent VNC client …

Previously …

• eMail on Blackberry Changes Definition of Acceptable eMail (September 19, 2005)
• My first month with the Blackberry Pearl (February 26, 2007)
• Rare event: Design problems with my Blackberry Pearl (May 24, 2007)
• New Twitter features starting to make things more relevant (June 3, 2007)
• Communication is the responsibility of … (August 19, 2007)
• Innovation That Matters – Substance Over Style (January 12, 2008)
• The Innovation Generation and User Interfaces (April 9, 2008)
• Stretching Your User Interface Design Muscles (April 16, 2008)
• Finally! Relevant Applications for YouTube and Twitter in the Enterprise! (July 11, 2008)
• On the Road: Business Travel, Fall 2008 (October 13, 2008)

Technorati Tags: blackberry, design, hands on, innovation, productivity, technology, twitter

Invisible Technorati Tags: cazh1, James P. MacLennan, jpmacl, MacLennan,

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Send mail to webmaster at cazh1 dot com
© Jim MacLennan for cazh1, 2009. | Permalink | No comment |
Post tags:

All articles, blog entries, and other content on this site are licensed under a Creative Commons License    ]]> http://www.cazh1.com/third-times-the-charm-blackberry-bold/feed/ 0 http://www.cazh1.com/data-visualization-life-of-open-source-projects/ http://www.cazh1.com/data-visualization-life-of-open-source-projects/#comments Tue, 17 Jun 2008 03:07:00 +0000 Jim MacLennan http://qc.cazh1.com/?p=259 Part of the “art” of communicating IT and business abstractions – technical challenges, project roadmaps, budget performance, customer relationships, IT effectiveness – is landing on the right visualization. A picture tells a thousand words, and if you can draw the picture well, your target audience will grasp these concepts quickly, and (potentially) get insights that were otherwise difficult to attain.

I have a large backlog of web links to point to, posts to write that I’ll probably start cutting into, now that I’ve seen this latest bit of visualization … via Slashdot …

A student at UC Davis has created some stunning visualizations of open source software contributions, including Eclipse, Python, Apache httpd and Postgres. From the website: “This visualization, called code_swarm, shows the history of commits in a software project. A commit happens when a developer makes changes to the code or documents and transfers them into the central project repository. Both developers and files are represented as moving elements. When a developer commits a file, it lights up and flies towards that developer. Files are colored according to their purpose, such as whether they are source code or a document. If files or developers have not been active for a while, they will fade away. A histogram at the bottom keeps a reminder of what has come before.”

As a developer, I can draw connections between the narration of significant events and the “flow” of objects. I’ve used these tools/platforms for some time now, and the story told by the animation connects nicely with my understanding of these tools’ “personalities” – gives some insight on how they “grew up”.

Python: This one fits my understanding of a typical open source project; lots of work by one primary, maybe one or two secondary developers, with fits and starts, bursts of activity. Over a period of time, a limited number of additional authors contribute, and things slowly expand until critical mass is hit, and Python is released to the public. Then, a flurry of activity as the popularity takes off …

code_swarm – Python from Michael Ogawa on Vimeo.

Apache: I was fascinated to see this project start off as an exercise in documentation – and stay like that for the longest time (code doesn’t appear until about a third of the way through the movie). Like Python, Apache is a focused platform/application, and had a fairly concentrated core of developers and modules – unlike …

code_swarm – Apache from Michael Ogawa on Vimeo.

Eclipse: I watched this movie first, but it belongs last in the To-View list. Eclipse is a wide-ranging platform with a large number of modules/functions – and a correspondingly large number of developers. It’s amazing to think that the overall project could maintain such a high-quality, unified vision.

code_swarm – Eclipse (short ver.) from Michael Ogawa on Vimeo.

I’d love to see the Linux video …

Previously …

• Another Spam Graph – The Impact of Spammers Changing Tactics (September 17, 2004)
• Communicating Complex Technical Concepts (March 21, 2005)
• Spam Graph redux (nice filter!), and an interesting meme I stumbled upon (May 24, 2005)
• Customer DNA – A Different Take on Understanding Markets and Networks (June 11, 2005)
• Build a Framework: Your chart junk is my roadmap / vision statement (December 27, 2005)
• Project Status Dashboards Best Practice (and a PowerPoint trick) (May 3, 2007)
• Integrated Supply Chain Benefits Go Beyond the Internal Stuff (November 11, 2007)
• Measuring and Reporting IT Value (1 of 2) (November 16, 2007)
• Measuring and Reporting IT Value (2 of 2) (November 20, 2007)

Technorati Tags:

design,
innovation,
presentations,
technology,
visualization

Invisible Technorati Tags:

cazh1,
FEI,
Front End of Innovation,
James P. MacLennan,
jpmacl,
MacLennan,

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Send mail to webmaster at cazh1 dot com
© Jim MacLennan for cazh1, 2008. | Permalink | No comment |
Post tags:

All articles, blog entries, and other content on this site are licensed under a Creative Commons License    ]]> http://www.cazh1.com/data-visualization-life-of-open-source-projects/feed/ 0 http://www.cazh1.com/home-development-workstation-part-3/ http://www.cazh1.com/home-development-workstation-part-3/#comments Mon, 19 May 2008 00:35:00 +0000 Jim MacLennan http://qc.cazh1.com/?p=253 See also …

• Home Development Workstation – Part 1
• Home Development Workstation – Part 2

Ok, here’s where we put the rest of these boxes, switches, wires, and other assorted doo dads in their place. Again, the witty reader will note that I am following along with Jeff Atwood’s Build a PC posts from last summer, just adding some color commentary and my own personal notes.

Hard Drives, Optical Drives

• When disassembling the case, I found one of the silicon grommets on the lower drive cage was a bit munged. Antec is great, they think of everything – the bag o’ miscellaneous parts had a few spare ones.

Click on the picture for a full-size image!

• The drive cages in the Antec P182 are pretty sharp. Those silicon grommets are an anti-vibration feature. It took me a bit to figure out exactly how to install the actual drives – this picture should help …

Click on the picture for a full-size image!

• Note that I put my start-up Raptor in the first position, and the 500GB Caviar in the third position. I had talked to some folks about doubling up and mirroring for security, and I may still do that in the future – just leaving space, seems like the decent thing to do.
• I could have stayed consistent with the clean red SATA cables that came with the motherboard – but that blue cable from the Raptor box was just so cool looking …

Miscellaneous

• The P182 has USB and FireWire ports located up front – the cables for those are in the same bundle as the leads for the LEDS. The motherboard came with additional hardware to make these “visible” out of the back of the machine – more extra stuff to stash with the leftovers.
• There’s also a pair of wires for audio hookups – HD audio and AC’97. I found something on the motherboard for the HD Audio, but I’m drawing a blank on the AC’97 connector. I know it’s high-quality audio for something … ah well, a future project.
• For optical drives, I took an idea from the Tom’s Hardware walkthrough, and put in a pair of DVD-RWs.
• Supplying power to the fans and drives is just a question of picking out the right one from the myriad spilling out of the Corsair. The real trick was hiding the cables and closing up the case – an adventure in folding. There are plenty of tie-up options built in to the Antec, which made the task easier – it’s really a super case.

Final Thoughts

Well, now it’s finally ready to go. As noted last time, I know it boots – now I just need to download the Ubuntu Hardy Heron CD ISO and get installing. But that’s a different post – possibly. This blog is meant to be geared towards the application of technology to business, and vice versa – not a tech haven per se.

So what observations can I make as I survey the piles of spare parts and packing materials?

• Evolution is a Powerful Force for Change: The advancements made in something as mundane as the case that holds it all still delight me. Slide out drive cages, anti-vibration and noise reduction all over the place, and spaces to make cable management easier. If you haven’t looked at the guts of these machines lately, you will find that the “state of the art” never stopped innovating and improving.
• Standards-Based Hardware: Making the “Case” for Standards-Based Software? Ever since the days of the XT clones, these machines have been designed for interoperability with different parts manufacturers. Still, the wide variety of vendors, coupled with the degree of fit for all of these components – makes a strong value statement for available and accepted standards. When all manufacturers agree on the base requirements, and differentiate based on features, functionality, and price (all together), the result is higher-capability machines for a very reasonable price. Makes you want to do the same with all of the systems getting designed and built at work …

Previously …

• The good and the bad about being a hands-on tech manager (January 25, 2005)
• If you want to be more than a programmer, stop programming (April 8, 2005)
• Turning a new page, and working on that home development environment (July 27, 2005)
• Analog and Report Magic Log File Formats (September 10, 2005)
• A blast from my past – game programming for the TRS-80 (October 5, 2005)
• SQL Hack for Reporting Project Phase and Status (December 19, 2007)
• Tomato Firmware – Upgrading my Wireless Router (March 22, 2008)
• iTunes Upgrade Freeze Resolved – and an Enterprise KM Observation (May 3, 2008)
• Home Development Workstation – Part 1 (May 13, 2008)
• Home Development Workstation – Part 2 (May 15, 2008)

Technorati Tags:
hands on,
technology

Invisible Technorati Tags:

cazh1,
James P. MacLennan,
jpmacl,
MacLennan,

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Send mail to webmaster at cazh1 dot com
© Jim MacLennan for cazh1, 2008. | Permalink | No comment |
Post tags:

All articles, blog entries, and other content on this site are licensed under a Creative Commons License    ]]> http://www.cazh1.com/home-development-workstation-part-3/feed/ 0 http://www.cazh1.com/home-development-workstation-part-2/ http://www.cazh1.com/home-development-workstation-part-2/#comments Fri, 16 May 2008 03:28:00 +0000 Jim MacLennan http://qc.cazh1.com/?p=252 See also … Home Development Workstation – Part 1

If You Build It …

For starters, I give major props to Jeff Atwood’s series on building a PC, because the step-by-step assembly notes, and the overriding “calm down, it’s like Legos!” tone … all very comforting. I tend to be a “ready, fire, aim” kinda guy on my home technology projects, so a little common sense around the electrical equipment is always good.

I won’t replicate all of his build-in-process steps or pictures, just the highlights. One thing you will need is a decent work space – don’t try to build this on the floor of your den/home office.

The only tools I needed were a Phillips screwdriver and a little knife – lotsa packages to open!

Check Out The Case

• I was amazed by the heft of the P182 – it felt like a loaded PC, not an empty shell. Can’t wait to hoist it around when it’s full of components …
• Some extra work: a nice note from the manufacturer reported a chance that the fans misbehaved at low speeds. This was a defect they couldn’t catch until after assembly, so they threw three extra fans into the box, just in case. I didn’t want to mess with it later, so I swapped out two of the three – one was too difficult to get at, I’ll just take my chances. Plus, now I have three spares (more junk for the closet).
• Before you start adding components to the motherboard, dig out the back panel and “dry fit” the motherboard and back panel into the case. This wasn’t entirely plug and go, I had to fiddle around with the various tabs and knockouts to get it to come together. Take the motherboard back out, now we’ve got some tabletop work to do.

Building Up the Motherboard

• The memory sticks were bigger than I anticipated – and yes, I double checked, it’s physically impossible to put them in backwards
• Slip the processor into the slot on the motherboard per the directions – very simple stuff.
• The processor (CPU) is dwarfed by the cooling fan (Standard CPU Fan) that comes with it … but that’s not a real cooling system …
• … I was genuinely flabbergasted by the size of the IFX-14 CPU cooler (Main Heatsink). The picture below sizes it all up, next to some real world objects you may be more familiar with. In retrospect, I’m not entirely sure I needed the aftermarket CPU cooling system, but I appreciate the heat problem inherent in these types of machines, so I’ll just play along.

Click on the picture for a full-size image!

• Consider going through the entire heat sink installation “dry” – it involves sticky pads, screws and posts, and thermal paste (!). The instructions are capable, but not entirely idiot proof. The dry run is important, because we’ve now come to …
• OOPS #1 – The IFX-14 CPU cooler also comes with the IFX-10 backside motherboard cooler (Backboard Heatsink) – nice additional cooling, I suppose, but as I went through the dry fit to check how things line up in the case … erp, nope, the IFX-10 sticks out too far. Some geeky desktop jewelry, I suppose, but the big tower fit just fine, so the IFx-10 is out, and on we go.
• Another gotcha – attaching the fan. Slightly tricky, and the installation illustrations (which had been excellent to this point) left me with a puzzle. I finally figured it out, so here’s a pic to show exactly how to thread those wires (fan clips) through the holes. I’ve also called out the proper orientation of the anti-vibe strips – also, not called out well in the installation instructions.

Click on the picture for a full-size image!

Two bits of hindsight, for your benefit:

• Now that you’ve got the fan attached – take it back off. You’ll see why in a minute.
• Some system fans have a speed sensor for control – and the motherboard may have a specific power connector for that fan. Find it before you screw everything in place – might be hidden underneath Gigantor-sink.

Back to the Case

• The power supply fit is tighter than tight – aided by the anti-vibration strips inside the cage, I am sure. For this step, you will need to take both sides of the case off.
• Leave all of the power cables trailing out the nearest side of the case. As we install components, we’ll want to be crafty in how we thread the cables, to keep the interior as nice and clean (and maintainable, and expandable) as possible.
• Finally – in goes the motherboard. It’s easiest to get in there with the case lying in it’s side, but now I’ve got multiple power cables hanging out back there, so I’ll just have to make do.
• The case came with a bag full of a wide variety of screws, and no pictures in the documentation – but the bag-within-a-bag, labled MB Only, was helpful. Put as many mounting screws in as you can reach – that heatsink gets in the way of one or two.
• Power supply to the motherboard – two cables! You’ll be able to hide most of these cables under the motherboard – snake them up through the available openings.
• OOPS #2 – This is where I had to (temporarily) remove the fan. The CPU power supply (cable #2 for the motherboard) “conveniently” plugs in right below the heat sink fan. I got it all to fit, but man, I’m really starting to rethink this whole aftermarket CPU cooler idea. Note that this is no slouch against the performance of the device; it was rated best by Tom’s Hardware – but it definitely is a tight fit.

Click on the picture for a full-size image!

They’re at the Post!

Why yes, I _am_ following Atwood, step by step. Trying hard not to duplicate his pictures, but augmenting his play by play with mine. Here’s the final turn for today …

• Install the video card. I’m keeping it simple, with a single GeForce 8600 GTS – supports dual monitors, which I dig, but I am not the hard core gamer.
• Power it up, and see if it starts.

Ok, full disclosure here – I unboxed the flat screen, threw on the keyboard, hit the power switch, and … nothing. Crestfallen, I reviewed everything, checked the manuals, and still nothing. Actually, I got an LED on the motherboard, but no video card fan, no POST. I wondered if the power-on LEDS are showing anything – so I had to find those. Opened the front door of the case and saw … the power switch. Yup, there is a case power switch along with the one on the back of the power supply. I think one of the on-line tutorials I read had pointed this out already, but I spaced it out. Immediate success followed …

… and here I type. I’m done for now, that was probably 2-3 hours of effort, elongated by my play-by-play blogging. Still, in retrospect, not too difficult.

Next time – fill up the case!

Previously …

• The good and the bad about being a hands-on tech manager (January 25, 2005)
• Turning a new page, and working on that home development environment (July 27, 2005)
• My first month with the Blackberry Pearl (February 26, 2007)
• Tomato Firmware – Upgrading my Wireless Router (March 22, 2008)
• Home Development Workstation – Part 1 (May 13, 2008)

Technorati Tags:

hands on,
technology

Invisible Technorati Tags:

cazh1,
James P. MacLennan,
jpmacl,
MacLennan,

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Send mail to webmaster at cazh1 dot com
© Jim MacLennan for cazh1, 2008. | Permalink | No comment |
Post tags:

All articles, blog entries, and other content on this site are licensed under a Creative Commons License    ]]> http://www.cazh1.com/home-development-workstation-part-2/feed/ 0 http://www.cazh1.com/home-development-workstation-part-1/ http://www.cazh1.com/home-development-workstation-part-1/#comments Wed, 14 May 2008 03:59:00 +0000 Jim MacLennan http://qc.cazh1.com/?p=251 Why

I think that every techie should go through the experience of building up a desktop workstation from the ground level. Maybe it’s because I date back to the days of the PC XT, when computer support duties regularly had us tearing down cases, changing jumper settings and plugging in individual chips for memory expansions. Mainstream p0wnership of the desktop’s guts may also be a dying art form (notwithstanding) – in the days of ubiquitous WiFi, shrinking notebooks, Blackberries and iPods. Cloud computing may liberate us from access to information, but I’m interested in creating and maintaining how that information will be connected, managed, and accessed. In other words – I want to write, not just use, software!

Specifically I have a long list of development projects I’ve been planning (ie. dreaming about and procrastinating), dealing with a wide range of technologies (semantic web, mash-ups, mobile, social networks, SEO, etc.). I also want to take a much deeper dive into platforms other than Windows; it’s clear that Linux, FOSS, and Apple need to be contemplated as part of any organization’s environment. And, since I prefer the comfort of hands-on experience when talking about technology solutions for business issues, I figured it was about time to jump in.

So this will be the story of two things – homebrewing a workstation in the 21st century, and the switch from Windows to Linux. Should be fun …

Prior Art

Of course, step one for most technology projects seems to be find something close, and work it over to meet your needs (techno-jazz, riffing on prior art). It’s not difficult to locate how-to content for building a PC by mail order, and my spec is based on two excellent examples. Tom’s Hardware (TH) is by far the best resource for drilling into details of the components. TH also has an (apparently) annual series on building a PC from scratch using current state-of-the-art components. In addition, I’ve borrowed heavily from a Coding Horror (CH) series from last summer – Atwood’s detailed notes and photos during the build will give me a lot of guidance when doing the actual assembly (yes, I even aped his photo style – sincere flattery, Mr. Atwood!).

As I began to surf and spec the various components, I noticed a trend with these and other “build your own” mavens. The articles are always geared towards the gaming enthusiast, trying to squeeze the quietest performance and the highest power for the least amount of dollars. I remain at a loss to explain why anyone needs two $600 graphics cards, and all the fans required to keep the whole thing from melting down. Most of the changes I made to the specs from my model machines dealt with this; a dual-monitor development workstation is an absolute must, but I wanted multiple windows of Eclipse and Firefox running – not Civ and Doom. (although I nearly changed my mind on the video stuff when I saw this sample of user interface ideas in the works for coming version Ubuntu.)

Deets

I’ll spare you the details of the mixing and matching – I’ll just give you my shopping list, with some callouts for the important components. Note that I did the “good shopper” bit (TH was good for research, and cNet did a decent job of letting me see the competition), and went to a couple different sources for all these parts. I checked prices at Newegg and Amazon for most of the stuff, but had to search hard for some of the components. Note that all prices are just snapshots from when I placed the orders; I started and stopped this project a week or so ago, and when I came back to some of my shopping carts, availability of some components changed considerably. Suggestion: carve out a long afternoon to research the components, price shop, and make the purchase – all in one sitting.

Had to insert a picture of the delivered components – it just felt like the right thing to do. It was kinda like Christmas! (props to Atwood for the idea)

Click on the picture for a full-size image!

Next up … building the box …

Previously …

• Implementing Intranet on Speed: I did finish it … (August 23, 2004)
• The good and the bad about being a hands-on tech manager (January 25, 2005)
• If you want to be more than a programmer, stop programming (April 8, 2005)
• Moving to Eclipse I – Magic Bullet? (May 30, 2005)
• Moving to Eclipse Ia – Relevance (June 1, 2005)
• Turning a new page, and working on that home development environment (July 27, 2005)
• Analog and Report Magic Log File Formats (September 10, 2005)
• A blast from my past – game programming for the TRS-80 (October 5, 2005)
• Digging into open source for a New Big Project leads to Yak Shaving (November 4, 2005)
• Code Mover / Transport: Managing source, environments, and deep-diving into multiple technologies (November 6, 2005)
• My first month with the Blackberry Pearl (February 26, 2007)
• SQL Hack for Reporting Project Phase and Status (December 19, 2007)
• Tomato Firmware – Upgrading my Wireless Router (March 22, 2008)
• iTunes Upgrade Freeze Resolved – and an Enterprise KM Observation (May 3, 2008)

Technorati Tags:

hands on,
technology

Invisible Technorati Tags:

cazh1,
James P. MacLennan,
jpmacl,
MacLennan,

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Send mail to webmaster at cazh1 dot com
© Jim MacLennan for cazh1, 2008. | Permalink | No comment |
Post tags:

All articles, blog entries, and other content on this site are licensed under a Creative Commons License    ]]> http://www.cazh1.com/home-development-workstation-part-1/feed/ 0 http://www.cazh1.com/bigdog-impressive-robotics/ http://www.cazh1.com/bigdog-impressive-robotics/#comments Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:34:00 +0000 Jim MacLennan http://qc.cazh1.com/?p=235 I don’t often post YouTube videos, but this one elicited a “wow” …

I’ve only dabbled in AI-type programming, but I can appreciate the amount of computation that’s going on in real time here. The Big Dog recovers nicely from a hard shove at about 0:40, but that’s nothing compared to scrabbling on the ice at about 1:25. I found myself thinking through the subroutines, if-then statements, and 3D math required to figure out where to move your feet to counterbalance the weight that your carrying.

A little research on Google and Wikipedia and covered some interesting facts about Boston Dynamics; they are a spinoff from MIT doing a number of different robotics projects.

This is the posted in many places. I saw it on Make and BoingBoing, but it’s cross-posted everywhere.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Send mail to webmaster at cazh1 dot com
© Jim MacLennan for cazh1, 2008. | Permalink | No comment |
Post tags: imagination, innovation, Inspiration, interesting stuff, MIT, possibilities, robotics, Science, Technology, video, YouTube

All articles, blog entries, and other content on this site are licensed under a Creative Commons License    ]]> http://www.cazh1.com/bigdog-impressive-robotics/feed/ 0