Author: RagManX

Guide: Converting physical system to virtual system

I recently reloaded my system from scratch. I wish I had thought to do this. I did it the old-fashioned, hard way of installing on a fresh hard drive and restoring things from my old hard drive. This way seems much smarter. (from MAKEzine).

recently got a new replacement laptop for work. I had a lot of stuff on the old laptop after 2+ years of use and so I didn’t want to have to rush myself in remembering everything in one or two passes before formatting it to send back to the office. There are always things I forget when I’m mostly focused on moving data files over: files in “hidden” places like IM logs and non-file based data such as product keys, configuration info, settings for programs and other stuff. So I decided the best thing to do was make it into a VM and take my time about reinstalling and configuring the new laptop to match.

[tags]Virtual machine, backup[/tags]

Another HTPC article

I put up a different, but similar article recently.  Here’s a post at Engadget that’s something of a guide on building your own home theatre PC (HTPC) for under $1,000.

We’ve seen a lot of home theater PCs lately and being in need of a new workstation, we decide to build one of our own. We started planning by looking around to see what others had done.

[tags]HTPC, Engadget[/tags]

Newsflash: Size matters – 19 inch laptops on the way

I just got a laptop with a 15.4″ display.  I like it, but it’s not as nice as the 17″ display on my wife’s laptop.  But both of these pale in comparison to the 19″ laptops which should be available sometime in the near future.

SavRow likes to refer to their computers as “bespoke technology,” which implies a certain degree of high-end customization. And, sure enough, the company’s computers tend to be fairly upscale models, with features targeting gamers. The company’s latest, the Axen X-1 laptop includes a mammoth 19-inch display, dual NVIDIA 7800 GTX Go GPUs, an AMD Turion at speeds of up to 2.2 GHz, dual-layer burner, 7200 RPM hard drive, and up to 2GB of RAM. Of course, you’ll pay over $4,000 for all that large-screen, desktop-level performance, and we doubt it’s very portable either. But, hey, we hear SavRow’s throwing in a second pair of pants with each purchase.

[tags]Laptop, 19″ laptop LCD[/tags]

Linux on Intel iMacs

Seems Linux hackers don’t waste time getting their beloved OS running on whatever hardware they damn well please. (from Engadget)

However, if your goal is to just run an OS other than Mac OS X, you’re in luck. The enterprising team at the Mactel-Linux project have claimed at least partial victory: they were able to get Gentoo Linux to boot on an Intel iMac. Obviously, they’ve still got some work to do before they can do anything useful with the OS, but it’s a major step.

[tags]Linux, iMac, Intel, Gentoo[/tags]

Potential PDF replacement?

In another of the many “I’m not sure how I stumbled across this” sites I stumble across, I’ve been reading about Unipage tonight.

What is Unipage?

Unipage is a way to store a complete web page as just one file.

All of the page’s images, formatting, and even functionality are kept together instead of as separate files.

To create a Unipage from any web page or page on your computer, you need the Unipage Unifier program.

[tags]PDF replacement, Unipage[/tags]

“Lawer” threatens to sue Cory Doctorow

This article and series of emails is just too funny. Here are a few tips for future pretend lawyers:

  1. Learn how to spell “Lawyer” correctly.
  2. Learn how to spell.
  3. Learn the difference between libel and slander.
  4. Make sure you are registered with a recognized law society/association.
  5. Don’t make up a title for yourself that has no meaning

[tags]Boingboign, Cory Doctorow, Pretend lawyers[/tags]

Playstation 3 may or may not be late – collective yawn heard

This is covered all over the gaming web.  According to a report by Merrill-Lynch (warning – PDF file), the PS3 will be late and more expensive than originally expected.  Then, Sony says not true.  Then, Sony announces the PS3 may be delayed because the Blu-Ray specs (Sony’s optical format for the PS3) haven’t been finalized.

How can a product with no firm release date really be delayed?   The best we’ve ever gotten from Sony is Spring 2006, and I’ve not seen a single site that believed that.  From what I can gather, gamers world ’round are reacting to this non-news with a great big collective “So?” or something like that.  AsI have often done, I’ll point you towards Bill’s commentary for a better write-up of this non-event.

[tags]PS3, Playstation 3, Sony, Yawn[/tags]

Software conversion of an XBox to an XBox media center

I have a mod chip that I had planned on putting in my XBox, but after reading this article, I’m reconsidering.  Aside from the Datel Action Replay device, I have everything I need to perform the conversion.  I may try to get the Datel device and do this conversion this week.  Then I just have to finish getting my MythTV box working and I’ll be good to go.

[tags]XBox, Media Center, Mod[/tags]