steven n fettig's Jitterin' Thoughts

It has been quite some time since I last added to this weblog. I moved (as stated I think many times before) most of my personal commentaries to a different area of the web to try and divide personal interests from my technical and business interests. Work has kept me so busy lately that I have not been able to get much further on my stevenfettig.com v. 3a project. I would like to transform the incoming page into a totally MT based site instead of the phpNuke/MT combination. I do like phpNuke, but am finding it a bit unwieldy at times and since my ability to spend large amounts of time on computer projects has diminished in proportion to the passing of time, I want something a little simpler... Now, if I could only pay someone a reasonable amount of money to do the work for me!

One reason for writing today, however, was not to simply rehash old news in the world of the web, but to mention a project I have been working on for Tankcraft relating to the slow, slow, slow transition from Windows machines to Linux. After much debate, I finally downloaded and installed a copy of RedHat (Linux) 8.0 and have honestly been impressed... very impressed. Some things do frustrate me - like the subtle differences between FreeBSD and RedHat Linux that make installation and modification of packages like Apache extremely frustrating and time consuming* - but for the most part, I am impressed with the interface. I gave up on using FreeBSD as a desktop alternative (although I will never give it up on the servers running this whole 'thang) because of lack of time, lack of patience and again, lack of time. I would really enjoy switching everything to the Mac platform, because that would be really easy and I could continue to use all of my favorite Unix apps, but I am not about to spend the money on the hardware (unless someone wants to buy a PowerEdge 1300 and Intellistation M Pro Dual PII 450 from me for about $2000.00 for the pair). I'll wait until what I have simply won't run anymore - which will be quite a while from now. By that time, maybe (just maybe) FreeBSD will have made it to where I want it to be for the desktop... and then I won't care about using the Mac platform.

Well, a few hours after writing my last rant, I came across the following article in InformationWeek: Microsoft Warns Of Open-Source Pricing Threat

Perhaps more people are evaluating Microsoft's pricing. I honestly didn't think the day would come this soon, but you never know.

By the way, my complaint about Microsoft has little to do with the products themselves - actually, I am usually pretty happy with Windows and Office for basic stuff. Sure, there is a lot of unnecessary bloat, but it works on an amazing number of systems. I just can't stand the pricing...

Why dare I put this entry into the category FreeBSD? Because, no matter what I do, I will always compare the OS I am working with against FreeBSD. That is because FreeBSD has ended up being the easiest and most stable operating system I have ever used to date. Yes, one of my entries from yesterday complained about the usability of FreeBSD as concerns a Desktop or Workstation, but that includes trying to use the machine for a multitude of purposes (other than just work). I also realized that for much of my schooling, I am really going to require a more main-stream OS to run programs like Mathematica.

Anyway, I had an interesting time with RedHat today that I would love an explanation for. I originally gave up the idea of using RedHat as my R&D webserver at Tankcraft because it runs Apache 2.0 and I have yet to really see 2.0 recommended for production use (which really translates to: you are going to have many a problem -- most of them odd -- with using Apache 2.0 and modules like php and perl), but I found out that I was the one to bungle things up with only God knows what (yes, quite the description, isn't it) and decided to start from square-one and re-install RH 8.0... and whadaya know? It worked. Once I had verified that I could indeed run some mySQL and PHP driven databases on the system, I put the machine on the R&D network at work and went to town... only to find out that the response time for pages served from the machine ridiculously slow for clients. It ran great on the localhost, but not on external workstations. When I say ridiculous, I mean ridiculous. It would take upwards of 30 seconds to serve a 2 Kb page... This sounded like something I had encountered in the past on a private network -- reverse lookups slowing the whole process down. The only thing is, that I had reverse lookups turned off in the Apache 2.0 httpd.conf and the problem persisted. I decided after fooling with cables and numerous restarts (I was convinced it was something having to do with the network at that point in time) that I would populate hosts with reverse lookups of the machines I was using to access the server and voila, it worked like a charm. I am still haunted by the fact that this shouldn't be... something in the server is requiring names to be resolved, but I don't know what. I am almost starting to wonder if it is the fault of php or even the scripting for the DB I am testing (which I didn't write, but modified). Anyway, if anyone actually took enough time to read this and has a clue... well, drop me a line. The link to my email is in the column to the right of all of this.

Suffice it to say, I am somewhat frustrated... this doesn't take away from my resolve, however, to rid my world of Windows. I'm just plain sick of dealing with the bloat and baggage that comes along with using that OS. Oh, well, for the time being, I'm stuck with it...

Aaron asked the world sometime ago about email-to-weblog posting. I think his idea (I'm too lazy to look up the details right now) was for comments and also voicemails, but with a few mods, this just might work. Take a look at:
Blogging via email, securely
If I weren't so tired, I'd show my really excited side. Trust me, I'm excited.

A while back I wrote about my ridiculous addiction to technology and while cooking some spaghetti for my dinner tonight, I was once again confronted by how crazy the lust for technology becomes. I was explaining to my wife why we should simply say screw-it to Ameritech/SBC and go with SprintPCS's biggest shared plan and therefore be rid of the multiple FCC charges and crazy fees that Ameritech charges for services. While this idea seemed quite intelligent to me while driving home from work, the more I explained it to my wife, the more I realized that I'm losing it. Not that I won't save money, etc., but really that I come up with a new scheme to save money on telephone costs about ever 2 minutes. This one (the longer I thought about it) was actually prompted by my desire to rid myself of phone, phone and Palm (actually Sony Clie). Yes, I have two wireless phones. One for internet access, one provided to me from the business I work for (for mostly business use) and the Clie for remembering to forget everything I need to do today/tomorrow/next year. I want to buy another gadget - and that's what it really comes down to. Yes, I still think some of the charges we pay to Ameritech and the FCC are crazy (like having to pay the universal fund charge twice - once for our local line and once to our long distance/international telephone company). There really are two things certain about life: death AND taxes. This time my desire for a new gadget was coupled with an attempt to circumvent one of those... Crazy, I tell ya.

    For some time I have been airing my complaints about Microsoft's current licensing schemes (on this weblog and another I work on). My biggest complaint has to do with the cost for a small business like the one I work in to a) keep up with the newer software products that come out* and b) that the software unit of Microsoft is essentially subsidizing the operations like MSN and theOpen Office (the free version of StarOffice). I also got around to...

    This may not be of much interest to people who aren't on a Mac, but it should be anyway simply due to the concept. Check out NetNewsWire from Ranchero Software. I have been well aware of the concept for quite some time, but have not found a suitable client until now. This essentially allows me to check on the latest status of all of the different sites that offer some type of RSS feed - at any time! The crazy thing is that until I actually had this app in my hands, I had no idea of its potential! Anyway, I would highly recommend taking a look at it if you have a Mac...

    As the ever persistent (and addicted) tinkerer, I have been thoroughly tinkering with SprintPCS or PCS Vision specifically and am amazed by the results in performance I have experienced. I have two Vision (i.e. 3G data) devices that I have tested - a Samsung N400 and a Handspring Treo 300. The Treo has become my new favorite true mobile device. I have commented elsewhere that I wish it had a better screen - i.e. similar to the Sony Clie 320x320 screens - but it is definitely sufficient when compared to my other options out on the market today. This commentary is not aimed at the technical side of each device, however - it is aimed at the connectivity issues. Both devices are under an account through Sprint that offers unlimited Data services. (Although, like any good ISP, they want reasonableness when it comes to your unlimited data usage - thus, they can shut off your service if you become a data hog.) The Treo thus far has only been usable as a computing device on its own or as a wireless modem for my PowerBook (Titanium G4). As far as connectivity with my Sony SRX99 goes, I am limited to using it with an external IR adapter or a USB to Serial adapter - and I'm not willing to putz with that combination or buy the cables... On it's own, the Treo does a fantastic job. Browsing with the Blazer web browser is completely acceptable a.** Browsing the web on the PowerBook (using NotifyMail's WirelessModem program) is also great. I get above 56k dialup speeds. Some people have complained that such speeds are less than what they expected of 3G and while I agree, I also recognize as a tinkerer, putzer and network design hobbyist, that thinking 3G would be faster than dialup - i.e. in the range of slow DSL - was a pipe dream. Networks the size and scale of these national cell/pcs networks need testing and lots of real-world use before they will ever get that fast. So, compared to DSL/Cable, it is slow - but it is much faster than dialup and for that 60% of the US population with access only to dialup, it is a welcome addition to my plate of options - remember, competition brings choice, lower prices and eventually better services.
    Getting back to my ever fluid thoughtline - I have also done some serious testing with the Samsung and am amazed. While the Treo is great because it combines my phone and PDA, the Samsung is simply fantastic as a relatively inexpensive wireless modem that just happens to be capable of being used as a phone, too! I have been having problems with our dialup at work lately and decided today after tooooo sloooowww of speeds, to hook up the Samsung to the PowerBook and test that out in the office. Suffice it to say that I was very pleased with the performance. I collaberated with a friend in NYC on a web project he is finishing the design work for over AIM, uploaded files to the server, used ssh to work on some files, checked the display of the page, etc... all on a wireless 3G connection that was definitely faster than dialup.
Try PCS Vision, you'll like it... There. That's my endorsement. It doesn't get any better than that (for now).

    As for my comment regarding Linus Torvalds... this will be quick. I will formulate my thought in the form of a rhetorical question:
How would you like to be the guy mostly responsible for creating an entire industry revolving around open source software? The man is amazing - and the fact that he still remains relevant years and years after coming up with the Linux paradigm is even more amazing.

Of all the positive things I have said (and thought) about RedHat 8.0 recently, I just found my biggest gripe - and to me it is serious. (Although I will comment soon on some gripes about FreeBSD - perhaps really relating to VMWare.) Whoever thought it a great idea to use Apache 2.x as the standard web server on RedHat has made a mistake. I have tested the latest Apache server setup on RedHat 8.0 on 3 different machines and have found the performance to be horrendously slow. (A post I left on comp . infosystems . www . servers . unix makes me almost look too stupid to ask such a question, but I do think I know what I am talking about here.) I may not have the most ideal setup, but I have done everything I know and read on how to tweak the performance of apache. Here's what I've found:
1) It takes an average of 1 second per hit/request to get a response
2) mySQL acts slower than molasses
3) Oh, and while I am doing benchmark testing (subjecting the server to 1000 plus hits) CPU usage never goes above 20%!
I am well aware that open source software requires some patience, but considering a server I have running FreeBSD and apache 1.3.x takes about 1/8th of a second to respond to each hit/request - and the fact that this server's processor speed is half of the other test machines - I find this unacceptable. On top of all this, there is no documentation I have come across that shows apache 2.x to offer any performance increase or better response over 1.3.x
Perhaps I'm the stupid one here, but did it make any sense for RedHat to have a not-ready-for-production server as the default on their workstation/server installs?
I don't think so...

How irritating - to be wrong. After spending precious moments of my lazy time, I decided to make one more go at it - i.e. install another RedHat 8.0 workstation to test the server... the results from the benchmarking I was getting just didn't make sense. Well, I installed again and found benchmark times to be lower than the FreeBSD system in question - and they should be, as this system is 5 times faster (clock-wise) than the FreeBSD setup.

So, I'll say it again - I was wrong...