Sophie on a BIG slide!!
Labels: pix
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Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Should I put my servers in the ceiling?
So, during some renovation here at work, a mysterious box was discovered in the ceiling. Since this box had wires coming out of it, it was naturally assumed to be my responsibility, and I was called in to take a look.
Climbing up on a ladder, I found a piece of paper taped to the top of this mystery component, though any sort of sticky-like quality to this tape had long since disintegrated. "Oh, it seems to be some sort of communique!" I said.
The note makes reference to two researchers who haven't been at UAB in many, many years. It also makes reference to the "ninth floor," while this device was discovered on the third floor. The amount of cables running out of the back of this box led me to believe that it was possible they did rise six floors through this building.
Ignoring the warning on the communique, I did in fact unplug it, then disconnected the cables, probably inhaling large amounts of asbestos, and pulled the device out of the ceiling. I found out that it was a DECServer 200/MC, thanks to this helpful label:
I didn't know what that was, as this piece of equipment was clearly produced when I was in middle school and not climbing around in ceilings. So, I did what any self-respecting geek would do -- I took it apart!!
And inside, I found.....the Lindbergh baby!! No, just kidding. I found a bunch of wires and processors but no hard drives, indicating some sort of network switch. The word "server" used to be used in a different context, I guess.
Some enterprising researchers and/or IT guys installed this thing in the ceiling in the days before the building was officially networked, and used it to send data back and forth across six floors.
The Wikipedia article I linked above indicates that the 200/MC was first produced in 1986. So this box has likely been living in the ceiling for some twenty years. I'd love to know how much it cost back then....probably in the thousands.
Anyway, it's on the scrap heap now, though I must confess I did quickly check eBay to see if it was a collector's item or anything. No such luck.
Climbing up on a ladder, I found a piece of paper taped to the top of this mystery component, though any sort of sticky-like quality to this tape had long since disintegrated. "Oh, it seems to be some sort of communique!" I said.
The note makes reference to two researchers who haven't been at UAB in many, many years. It also makes reference to the "ninth floor," while this device was discovered on the third floor. The amount of cables running out of the back of this box led me to believe that it was possible they did rise six floors through this building.Ignoring the warning on the communique, I did in fact unplug it, then disconnected the cables, probably inhaling large amounts of asbestos, and pulled the device out of the ceiling. I found out that it was a DECServer 200/MC, thanks to this helpful label:
I didn't know what that was, as this piece of equipment was clearly produced when I was in middle school and not climbing around in ceilings. So, I did what any self-respecting geek would do -- I took it apart!!
And inside, I found.....the Lindbergh baby!! No, just kidding. I found a bunch of wires and processors but no hard drives, indicating some sort of network switch. The word "server" used to be used in a different context, I guess.
Some enterprising researchers and/or IT guys installed this thing in the ceiling in the days before the building was officially networked, and used it to send data back and forth across six floors.
The Wikipedia article I linked above indicates that the 200/MC was first produced in 1986. So this box has likely been living in the ceiling for some twenty years. I'd love to know how much it cost back then....probably in the thousands.
Anyway, it's on the scrap heap now, though I must confess I did quickly check eBay to see if it was a collector's item or anything. No such luck.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
Friday, July 06, 2007
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Friday, June 15, 2007
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Monday, April 09, 2007
Sunday, April 08, 2007
The new addition to The Venetian...
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Thursday, January 11, 2007
MacWorld, Day 3
So it's Day 3 of MacWorld. My eyes are starting to glaze over a bit, as even I can get to the point of tech overload. Part of me thinks they should rename the show to "iPodWorld," as so many of the vendors here are iPod-only. Cases for your iPod in every possible variety, from stuffed animal cases to integrated headphones to armbands to clothing.
Still, seen some cool stuff today. An excellent presentation on Mac OS X Wizardry, and a slightly-disappointing sneak peek at Office 2008 at the Microsoft booth. Disappointing only because it focused almost exclusively on Word, where as my main concern for Office 2008 is Entourage -- is it going to get better? The only mention of Entourage was to show off a new mini-app called "My Day," which sits on your Desktop and shows today's calendar appointments, to-dos, etc. Can run even when Entourage is closed, so it must access the Entourage DB at all times. Pretty cool. Office '08 for the Mac is supposed to be out in the second half of this year, September seems to be the best guess right now.
Also talked to the people at the Parallels booth a bit, they continue to make amazing refinements to that product. The new version features Parallels Transporter, which can run Windows applications directly from the Dock, without launching a full version of Windows. So literally, the demo computer had PC apps like Outlook, IE, etc. sitting in the Dock with their familiar Windows icons, and a small Parallels icon overlapping the bottom corner. Way cool.
Couple of neat pictures:
The ginormous banner at the Apple booth for the iPhone. "We need to talk," get it??
The booth for "mophie," a really cool company out of Vermont. Love the name, of course, since Raya and I often call our baby girl "Sophie Mophie." (The company name actually came from the founder's two dogs, Sophie and Molly!) But they are doing something unique to MacWorld, or any other tradeshow for that matter. They make iPod cases and acccessories, and invited MacWorld attendees to sketch out their own ideas/designs for a new product. They picked the best three, and are then allowing people to vote for their favorite until the close of show today. Overnight, they will mock up a prototype of the highest vote-getter, and by noon tomorrow, release a mock-up of the product.
They will then produce it and sell it. Very cool!!
Still, seen some cool stuff today. An excellent presentation on Mac OS X Wizardry, and a slightly-disappointing sneak peek at Office 2008 at the Microsoft booth. Disappointing only because it focused almost exclusively on Word, where as my main concern for Office 2008 is Entourage -- is it going to get better? The only mention of Entourage was to show off a new mini-app called "My Day," which sits on your Desktop and shows today's calendar appointments, to-dos, etc. Can run even when Entourage is closed, so it must access the Entourage DB at all times. Pretty cool. Office '08 for the Mac is supposed to be out in the second half of this year, September seems to be the best guess right now.
Also talked to the people at the Parallels booth a bit, they continue to make amazing refinements to that product. The new version features Parallels Transporter, which can run Windows applications directly from the Dock, without launching a full version of Windows. So literally, the demo computer had PC apps like Outlook, IE, etc. sitting in the Dock with their familiar Windows icons, and a small Parallels icon overlapping the bottom corner. Way cool.
Couple of neat pictures:
They will then produce it and sell it. Very cool!!
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
More MacWorld
Blogger is having issues with mobile posts again, so here are a couple of pix I was unable to send directly from the Treo today:
The new Apple iPhone, causing quite a stir here at MacWorld and everywhere else, even though it's not available until June. In fact, they won't even let us touch it. Apple's booth has two of them, both sealed in glass cylinders, with two security guards who politely but firmly warn people not to touch the glass.
My yummy lunch from In-n-Out Burger at Fisherman's Wharf. After hearing Drew rave about these burgers so much, I had to try it. I must say, for a two-dollar burger, it was pretty damn good. The fries, however, were nothing special -- back home, Milo's are better.
The new Apple iPhone, causing quite a stir here at MacWorld and everywhere else, even though it's not available until June. In fact, they won't even let us touch it. Apple's booth has two of them, both sealed in glass cylinders, with two security guards who politely but firmly warn people not to touch the glass.
My yummy lunch from In-n-Out Burger at Fisherman's Wharf. After hearing Drew rave about these burgers so much, I had to try it. I must say, for a two-dollar burger, it was pretty damn good. The fries, however, were nothing special -- back home, Milo's are better.Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Sunday, December 10, 2006
The largest blue screen of death I've ever seen....
So, this may not mean anything to many people other than me. But the image above is of a double-marquee on top of a CVS/Pharmacy on the Las Vegas Strip. Everything on the Strip has to be bright and tacky, even the drugstores, right?
And although you really can't read it in this camera phone pic, the top marquee is displaying what is known as a "blue screen of death" in the Windows operating system. A blue screen with white text, such as this one, indicates a very serious problem with a Windows computer, problems which are often not repairable. This one indicates "UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME," an error I've seen many times.
Anyway, the screen was probably at least 10 feet wide and eight feet tall, easily making it the largest BSOD I've ever seen!! I was quite amused to see this shining over the Strip.
And although you really can't read it in this camera phone pic, the top marquee is displaying what is known as a "blue screen of death" in the Windows operating system. A blue screen with white text, such as this one, indicates a very serious problem with a Windows computer, problems which are often not repairable. This one indicates "UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME," an error I've seen many times.
Anyway, the screen was probably at least 10 feet wide and eight feet tall, easily making it the largest BSOD I've ever seen!! I was quite amused to see this shining over the Strip.
