It has finally been done. I've switched off the old Windows 2003 server at home and officially replaced it with an Apple Mac mini server. For now... And with 'for now' I really mean for now. It turns out that Apple OS X Server doesn't resemble its client counterpart at all. Where the client is stable and intuitive, the server edition lacks both.
I'll try to explain why I think there's lots of room for improvement. Mainly stuff I ran into while configuring the server/services.
Since the Windows fulfilled several functions, I needed these functions to be available on the OS X server as well. These were;
- Networking services like DNS and DHCP
- Webserver
- Mailserver
- MySQL Database
- SSH Server
- File sharing on the internal network
- Public Key Infrastructure for issuing certificates
- Download station
Evaluating these functions, one would think that this shouldn't be a problem. Well it actually is.... At least some of those features.
As promised, the second part of the Billingham 225 Camera Bag review. This part will be more on the experiences I had during my 2.5 week driving around in Spain (~5500km in total).
The bag is roomier than expected. There were roughly two configurations that I carries around;
- Nikon D300, Nikon 17-55 f/2.8 and a Nikon 85 f/1.8, Panasonic Lumix LX-3
This was the 'easy-way-out' configuration.
- Nikon D300, Voigtlander 20mm, Nikon 35mm f/2, Nikon 50mm f/1.8, Nikon, Nikon 85mm f/1.8 and a Lensbaby Composer
I used this configuration about 80% of the time, since those primes force you to think about composition etc. There's not always room to change lenses. The best example of this is an 'almost' Gigapixel creation I made of the cathedral in Toledo with my 35mm lens. To completely capture the cathedral I had to take 72 photos (result can soon be found in the Panoramas section of my website).
The bag is pretty safe in regards to pick-pockets, and prying fingers. All the zippers etc. protect your gear very well. Downside is that you need to open a lot of things before you get to your gear (every advantage has its disadvantage....)
After Apple updated the Mac mini to it's current form (mid 2010), I decided that it was time to start replacing my 'faithful' Windows 2003 server with something a bit less power consuming. The original Mac Mini was basically a consumer device, but a while back, Apple released a server version of the device. The main differences are:
- Only 1 CPU model available (2.66GHz at this moment)
- No DVD drive
- 2 * 500GB internal disks
- OSX 10.6.4 Server edition (unlimited clients)
Basically everything you could ever need for a server with a very small footprint.
The installation of Coldfusion is not straight forward. Not that I expected it to be [1], [2], [3], but one keeps hoping on an installer that actually installs the complete package, and where you don't have to edit files yourself to get it to work. It's not that it's the very first version of the scripting engine......
Anyway, the installer guides you through everything needed to INSTALL the software. Getting it to work comes next....
Adobe released Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 into the wild. The application can be downloaded from the Adobe website. The trail can be upgraded to a fully functioning version when you enter a valid serial number.
New features are;
- Flickr integration
Really nice feature. I do wonder how (and if) it works across multiple computers.
- Easy sharing
- Lens correction
- Support for DSLR video's
- Image watermarking
- Tethered shooting
For Nikon and Canon Cameras
- etc.
After I downloaded the new version I installed it on my MacBook. The 'old' Lightroom v2.x can be used besides the new version.
Billingham 225As some of you might have noticed, I was looking for a new camera bag. Yesterday, the mailman delivered the Billingham 225 (Black/Tan version) I ordered at Kamera Express.
The reason for me getting this bag is that it holds more space, pockets, zippers etc. than my Crumpler Daily M. It's also safer in regards to prying fingers. Additional advantages are that the bag is less conspicuous, and looks way better than the Crumpler (I know... taste....).
First; I would recommend SquareSpace [2] to anyone who wants to run a website with lots of features and easy as 1-2-3. It's extremely easy to use, and no HTML knowledge is required to start modifying the layout etc. (it helps if you do though).
With the website comes a management center (Dashboard) where you can view traffic/visitor statistics (among a dozen of other things regarding the website). Every now and then, I see the traffic increase.
Green = Visiting IP's / Grey = Pageviews
Initially I thought;
Damn, they started the DDoS again....
After that;
They Slashdotted me (one can always hope)
I intend to do some travelling the next couple of weeks, and for that I need a bigger/safer (more ergonomic) shoulder bag for my camera gear. Since I travel to some areas where people roam the streets that are extremely interested in what you carry around, I need a inconspicuous bag.
Domke F-5XZFirst inline was the Domke F-5XZ WaxWear bag. About the right size and according to the website convenient zippers to protect your gear from certain fingers.
When I received the bag (ordered it online) it turned out that there were no zippers, and also no convenient 'bottom zippered flap which allows easy access'. Two things that made me decide to get the bag weren't there. So I decided to sent that bag back.
I tried to get the non-WaxWear version of the bag (which has the zippers), but that one wasn't available (anymore). So, off to start looking at other brands.
I got an e-mail from an 'old' friend Hunter (probably not his real name) today. He helped me out regarding the exposure of online scammers last year. He (and his 'team') offered to continue my work in regards to exposing online retailers that 'forgot' to send the goods, after you payed..... I couldn't go on with this (important) work for several reasons. Reasons I won't go into at this time.
Anyway, he moved the available content to the public (and free) Wordpress platform and continued what I had left behind.
;)
;)
