Archive for February 2009
Free Windows Server 2008 Learning
Microsoft offers free learning with Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and other programs and operating systems. As this OS is put into place, IT Pros have got to get their “stuff” together.
K-3D Rendering
Why is Virtualization so Hot? Run Vista, Windows 7 and XP at the Same Time
Over the past several weeks, I have included Sun’s promotional movies for VirtualBox including the ‘how-tos’ throughout the blog over the past several months. While Beta Testing software, the example below shows a dual core HP Pavilion Laptop running Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows XP simultaneously along with Apache Server running Flow Matrix software and scanning with Umit (A Nmap Visual GUI) for vulnerabilities.
All three OSs (below) – note Apache in the lower right corner and only 20% CPU once stable.
Biotechnology and Moore’s Law
I’ve always loved biomedical inventions and prototypes. When I was a kid, I thought the Six Million Dollar Man was cool. The technology and advancements being made are also being affected by Moore’s Law. Here is a link to a PopularMechanics BioTech article that shows breakthroughs.
Surely no one wants to live forever but these type of technologies will make life easier.
(Link suggested by Max)
Say Goodbye to Your Flashdrive
I said in an earlier post (old guys just know) that something new is coming around the corner. Computers are always changing and when prices fall to a low low price, there is usually something just around the corner. If you wondered why flashdrives (thumbdrives) were falling, you can see that eSata drives are available at a fair price and the transfer rate is awesome. Link
Information supplied by James….
And yes, you will hang on to your flashdrive for awhile and then – it falls to the side like old floppy drives…. funny thing is people will find these (flashdrives) in their desk and yep, throw them away….one day in the future.
Information on growing solid state drives. Link
Earlier Link -
Harddrive/ Storage – Is Something around the Corner?
Initialisms and Acronyms – Texting and Messaging
GOM Media Player
GOM Media Player is getting rave reviews. I like it. Only 5 mb and works well. Link
Free Microsoft e-Book on Virtualization
Microsoft offers an e-Book on Virtualization
By Mitch Tulloch with the Microsoft Virtualization Teams
ISBN: 9780735693371
MTSU South to Continue with Shelbyville Campus Addition
Middle Tennessee State University president Sidney McPhee, speaking at the annual Shelbyville & Bedford County Chamber of Commerce banquet on Thursday, said Tennessee Board of Regents has given its approval for MTSU to begin offering classes in Shelbyville - Read the full article – Shelbyville Time-Gazette Link
Articulation with TTC Shelbyville Link
Read Only? A day in the life of IT….
Recently we had a class’s student move a folder inside of another folder. The folder on a server was moved inside of another folder.
Mistake One….
We didn’t look for the files with a ‘disk viewer’ see post below….
Mistake Two….
We started to restore a backup and ran out of disk space…. see Mistake One (the files were on the drive but in a sub folder – the backup would have created a duplicate copy on the disk)
Mistake Three….
We moved the files to a new drive and failed to give appropriate permissions to the new drive (files could be execute and were read only)
Mistake Four….
We went home early instead of sticking with the problem until a solution was presented…..
It is amazing how we run into everyday problems in information technology and we have to split our time among a million people when ‘normal’ jobs require one task at a time….. start to finish….
A great example is how James has been pulled into so many directions that he is starting….starting….starting…finishing…researching……finishing….finishing and then tweaking….he got lunch at 1:15…while working and ate 3/4 of his sandwich… I had been pulled in six directions and ate the other 1/4 of his sandwich…(hey, he hesitated and I saw my chance.)
This form of work can be stressful and the power of starting and stopping makes you appear scatter brained. Many people outside of information technology may not understand the stress and tasks you will have to perform on a normal basis….holidays, family time and the sacrifice that you make is for the better of others….even if most don’t say thanks….believe in what you do.…welcome to IT
Disk Usage
Everybody always wants to know why is my hard drive getting full? Well another hard drive analyzer…. Link
This may look similar to one I posted in the past….this maps out not only how your hard drive looks but how much space is being used….
Speeding Up Your Computer
Although we go over in class to “defluff” your video, move your swap file and all of that good stuff, WoW found this website with information on how to do a few more. (99 Ways to Speed Up Your Computer) Link
Blender – 3D Rendering
Jon Ward-
If you want to step it up and do some more hardcore, professional style 3d editing, check out Blender. http://www.blender.org
It is a very powerful 3d graphics tool. Steep learning curve but once you get used to it, its more intuitive than even the expensive 3d software like Maya.
3-D Rendering
Defrag – UltraDefrag
I’m still a fan of IOBits Smartdefrag, but I’m always looking to improve or for an alternate solution.
This software is from SourceForge (UltraDefrag)…. Link
Release date 2/15
NOTE: Windows Vista users, right click run as Administrator
CPU Information
Recover Data
DataRecovery is another freeware program out there that can help find data that you accidently deleted. Link
Remember, if you recover a picture, recover it to a drive that is not the SOURCE drive. Only negative item….the wipe button is too close to the recover button.
Network Scanner
There are many programs that scan a network – this one can scan an individual computer to find out information.
Lan Calculator
As our students get into Network+ and Microsoft’s MCP, it becomes important to understand subnets and subnetting. Here’s a good Lan Calculator for just this…. Link
Most folks don’t know you can travel around using decimals…… hmmmm think about it….
The Big Seven
Bart Holden was the first student to ever complete the entire programming assignments virtually unassisted. With programming being a key part of understanding the fundamentals of how computers work; only 1 in 20/30 students are truly capable of completing the more complex programming assignments. Kudos to Bart!
