玄箱 “Kuro Box”

Category : hardware + review + updates

There has also been a new addition to my network with a recent purchase of a 玄箱 “Kuro Box” and a small redetermination to learn Linux from scratch. While I probably still couldn’t build a kernel if my life depended upon it, I did manage to get Debian (Sarge) setup and running fairly easily with a little help and guidance from the users I encountered on IRC over the past few weeks. Hat tip to TampaKuro for most of the ideas and suggestions.

Kuro Box initiations generally begin with these three steps. One, figuring out how the hell to actually open the case so you can further disassemble it and mount a proper hard drive. Two, remembering how you took it apart so you can put it all back together again. Three, familiarizing yourself with the default (fresh out of the box) operational states. It sounds simple, sure. But oh yeah, did I mention that all the documentation in the box is written in Japanese? No? Oh yeah, all the written documentation is in Japanese. Don’t worry though, after you’ve either cracked the case or a couple of finger nails you’ll be well on your way.

Consider it a small right of passage, because after all this you’ll be more determined to hack the hell out of it even more. Once your initiation is complete, head over to the ever-helpful wiki pages and get your read on. Here is where you will find just about everything known and even some unknowns documented thoroughly based upon what works and even how to turn your Kuro into a $150 paper-weight if things go terribly wrong. If you’ve skipped ahead and are still trying to crack your box open, you’ve come to the wrong place. The first rule of Kuro Box, nobody talks about how to crack open a Kuro Box.

In the end, this little “network appliance” gets my full approval for being a fully capable power-toy. While not nearly as exotic and robust as a mini or micro ITX system, it fits the bill for most needs and so far is putting up with my minor amount of stress and abuse. But if this all seems a bit daunting, then I would recommend it’s close sibling the Buffalo LinkStation which comes fully assembled with your choice of storage and then some.

Stupid CLI Tricks I’ve accidently learned so far: Blindly typing “Yes” is NOT funny.

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Want to buy my pixels?

Category : general + silly + updates

At first I thought it was simply something Windows related causing my headaches, I pulled this machine apart and reassembled it several times over only to find nothing wrong with it physically. Nothing is burnt, it still works as long as I’m not running it through any taxing 3D applications. All the diagnostics I could run to diagnose any potential issues can be have been run and I’m left stabbing in the dark now. I’ve come to a crossroad and have done a quick inventory of all applications I depend on, crunched the numbers of what I’d be gaining and losing and decided it might be time to give Ubuntu and Linux a shot.

The system decided to put up a fight and something kept preventing me from getting beyond the XP-like loading screen. I got to the Ubuntu live desktop once but it too crapped out like Windows in less time and I’ve come to the realization it’s time for a switch. Not just in operating systems, but the hardware in general since this PC is slowly dying. Before Intel based macs popped up I would have probably laughed at the thought or anyone attempting to convince me of switching platforms. But now after some research, performing such a switch is more and more inviting. And I’ll admit that I’ve grown envious of the new macs since they can now actually run windows not only natively, but side-by-side with OSX under Parallels.

So unless I win the lottery or Steve Jobs personally comes by out of the blue to say hello and drops a Mac Pro on me, I don’t think there’s going to be any way in this lifetime I’m going to see one which is capable of doing what I want. While I can over time save up for replacement parts to get this machine back in working order, it may just be a wasted investment considering that the hardware is slowly becoming more and more outdated. I may just be better off getting a DDR2/PCI-X compatible board and upgrade everything again to wind up in the same spot a few years from now. But that too might just be a wasted investment which is partially why I’ve reasoned upon considering a Mac above my other options.

I really just want to put all the hardware and BIOS trouble-shooting nightmares I’ve faced over the past decade behind me, but financially I’m between a bit of a rock and hard place without many options which would help me right now. I have a few idle domain names I could probably sell advertising space on but need an idea how to kick things off to generate a maximum income. I am somewhat tempted to sell pixel advertising space similar to that of the million dollar homepage, but I doubt that would get much attention. Would you want to buy my pixels if I could guarantee it?

I figure if I could get at least 100 people to purchase 100 pixels at $100 it would set me up with enough to get a fairly solid Mac Pro which I can work and game with. It would also allow me to renew the domain(s) for as long as necessary and set up a dedicated host which to run things from. The main question would be, are there even 100 people out there who would want to buy my pixels? I think I would even be inclined to give those first 100 some extra pixels or something else which is special just as a bonus or something for helping me get sorted in the first place. Any money after that point would most likely go towards something better such as a charitable organization.

While I doubt there’s that many people who actually read this blog, I’d still love to hear from 100 people initially interested in this idea. Along with 100 more people who are interested in a pixel purchase matching the initial offering towards a better cause, and helping me outline a way to actually pull this off. So, would you want to buy my pixels? Or am I just better off finding another way to make some dreams come true?

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MSFirefox 2007 “Professional Edition”

Category : internet + silly

It appears that two weeks ago on the heals of the eagerly awaited release of Firefox 2 a twisted parody was registered. Proving that it doesn’t take much to create an official looking Microsoft product site beyond having way too much free time. While it’s impossible to tell who is actually behind it all, it becomes quite clear when you dig around and read through the MSFirefox site that it’s content is a clever parody of IE7 and Microsoft in general.

So if you start hearing rumors in the coming days and weeks that Microsoft has purchased Firefox, have a good laugh at the completely misinformed reporting it before you kindly clue them in. The only question I would like to ask the sites author is: Why in the hell have people actually download IE7 and not redirect them to Firefox instead? Otherwise, it’s genuine geek humor at it’s finest. Bonus points if official news channels pick this up without realizing it’s a prank.

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Microsoft Linux?!

Category : programming + software

Is it snowing in hell? Can pigs now fly? Are monkeys going to spontaneously fire from my ass like predicted? After reading news like this, these all become pretty valid questions. It’s like one of those terrible supermarket tabloids, except instead of news about some new celebrity couple with an idiotically conceived nickname it’s geek news about Microsoft joining forces with Novel Linux.

What becomes of this only the experts directly on the sidelines can surely tell. But I, for one look forward to learn what becomes of our Redmond based overlords. Mainly to find out what parts of Linux they do actually manage to adopt. After having read a few other good articles from various sources on the topic, all this hype appears to be targeted mostly in the server area.

If this co-op does actually extend beyond the server level (and I’m being extremely optimistic here), we could possibly see Redmond pull a Cupertino and actually reinvent Windows for the better. Who really knows though, it could even turn out for the worse. But, that is if they decide to adopt the Linux kernel into Windows and actually code for and support Linux in general. But for now that seems more like a pipe-dream then a reality.

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