Taciturn

This weekend was to be a weekend of distributed computing. I was going to have a stab at setting up my new bullet-proof Fuji[tsu] boxes.

Somewhere along the way I got distracted by openMosix. I've heard of it before and always held it in my mind as something worth looking at. I read through a chunk of the HOWTO (which is quite long), only to discover that they're currently only releasing 2.4-based kernels. This disappoints me, because I've got used to the comfort of ALSA by default, IDE CD-burning interface (no SCSI emu), and I can even pretend I can tell the difference between the 2.6.8.1 scheduler and the previous one.

So that put a stop to oM. At the moment I'm downloading the Slackware 10.1 ISOs (d1 and d2) for installation on my Fujis. I haven't decided on hostnames for them yet. "fuji" sounds nice, but considering there are two (and maybe four if I take ownership of the remnants at work), it seems unfair.

My original plan was to have one at home (yes mum, I do need another computer) and one at work, but having brought one home I'm tempted to set them up as thin clients (using an identical kernel) with at least one downstairs for general consumption. Consider:

Oh shit, I just missed the weather. I'd love to know what it is but I don't want the pasta to boil over when I go upstairs to check bom.

Solution; lightweight, quiet box downstairs near the kitchen with a browser within easy reach. I could even put it in the adjacent TV room hooked up to the amp as a crude media box accessing my music collection, or even streaming from the www.

That, of course, brings the question of how I'd wire up such a box. I don't think the residents are too keen on seeing another blue cable strung along walls and over walkways. It's just not nice. So, wireless? I've tried before and been very disappointed, but maybe things are looking better now. Hey, I've still got the NIC I bought for wireless demarc on my server box, and I don't really need three working NICs in my PC. Let's not be silly.

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I've been chewing on a new domain, in the way a cow chews its cud. I thought of it a while ago, dropped it into my file of "think about this another time and see if it's still cool", and having brought it up for the second round (hence cud) it's sounding better than before. I threw it around #hmod after the discovery that hmod.org was camped, and most seemed happy with it. The reason I'm on the prowl for a new domain is that midg3t.net is far too personal. I want to set up a mail host for friends and family, partly so we have a bit more freedom to choose an ISP (avoiding "but Ted, I'd have to change my email address!").

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Last night I noticed that the linux.conf.au 2005 programme has been posted. Lots of interesting talks. I think the Asterisk talk will give me some useful knowledge to take home, as just last week we were discussing managing our own PBX at work, particularly with VoIP and Free Software, not to mention the EduLinux miniconf in the days beforehand. Oh, how keen I am to manage a lab of Linux machines, only it's not part of my job description and I'd have to do it all in my own time. 'Fraid Mac OSX just isn't good enough for me (despite my strikingly OSX-like Gnome theme).

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On the horizon are assignments for TAFE, organising my trip to linux.conf.au, deciding whether to change DNS registrar, a DVD-burner so I can watch AATCHB at whim, trying to get GNU/Linux incl. the Gnome DE onto the family PC without community uproar, and switching to the mutt MUA.

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