Kevin: August 2005 Archives

It came to me the other day. It came to me: the reason Google is getting into instant messaging. The answer is in an obscure movie reference from 1984: the character of SAL 9000 in the movie 2010: Odyssey Two.

The reason Google is getting into instant messaging has a lot to do with the "good" twin of the heuristically programmed algorithmic computer. They are working on a system capable of speech recognition and natural language understanding that will be interfaced through text messaging and (eventually) voice. One day we'll have buddy lists of both real communicants and Google's sentient agents. They'll tap Google News, Google Images, and the ubiquitous search, as well as Google Scholar and Google Answers. Try and imagine any question (contained in the terabytes of public information) that couldn't be answered in this fashion.

Today is Sunday, August 28th, 2005, and you heard read it here first.

I haven't used it yet -- I'm quite pleased with Instant Message from MSN and Yahoo -- but in case I ever want to use my GMail account to IM here would be the settings in Adium:

Jabber ID: [username]@gmail.com
Password: [my GMail Password]
Connect Server: talk.google.com
Resource: Adium
Port: 5222
Mail: [my choice]
Security: check "use TLS encryption" but leave "force old-style SSL" and "allow plaintext authentication" unchecked.

Voilà. (via NSLog)

Someone had recently hotlinked to an image I'd posted here which was using a decent amount of bandwidth. Having never run into this before, I decided to nip it with the following .htaccess file (which resides in the root of my web directory):

This is a small variation on the code described in this tutorial. What it says is to allow requests on gif, jpeg, jpg, and png files from the 348north, google, and bloglines domains.

After installing a new HD in our Raq2 at home in order to have more room for file storage, the issue switched to the best way to get files there from our Mac. I really wanted something that was integrated with Finder, so that limited me to FTP, WebDAV, or AFP. FTP is a read-only implementation, so that was out. AFP is only for Mac-to-Mac, or so I thought. So that left WebDAV.

At some point I should post the Apache config that got WebDAV working on my backup directory but performance was below my expectation. There seemed to be some sort of locking issue -- there would be long pauses after a file was successfully uploaded but before the next file would begin -- which had me frustrated. So I did what anybody would do and asked for help (indirectly). And bingo, the answer to the question that I didn't ask: the Netatalk package [./pkgsrc/net/netatalk]

Netatalk is a freely-available, kernel level implementation of the AppleTalk Protocol Suite, originally for BSD-derived systems. A *NIX/*BSD system running netatalk is capable of serving many macintosh clients simultaneously as an AppleTalk router, AppleShare file server (AFP), *NIX/*BSD print server, and for accessing AppleTalk printers via Printer Access Protocol (PAP). Included are a number of minor printing and debugging utilities.

A make install and AFPD=YES later and I'm in business. The default settings allow for mounting of the user's home directories which is fine for me right now. The daemon also seems to take up less resources than having Apache running, which makes a difference on the old Raq2. Transfers are quick, and there does not seem to be any locking (or whatever).

Paint me pleased.

Wow. The new types of Christian materials coming out these days just impresses me so much. Maybe I'm just more open to it at this stage in my life, but the polish on mainstream Christian audio and video speaks to me. And I hope it speaks to you too.

Tonight I previewed NOOMA's eighth short video (but my first) entitled Dust. Here's the background on the series:

WE CAN GET ANYTHING WE WANT, FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, WHENEVER WE WANT IT. ANY INFORMATION, PRODUCTS, MOVIES, MUSIC, TV, GAMES, DAY OR NIGHT. WITH A SINGLE CLICK. THAT'S JUST HOW IT IS. STILL, OUR LIVES AREN'T DIFFERENT. OUR LIVES AREN'T ANY DIFFERENT THAN ALL GENERATIONS BEFORE US. OUR TIME IS. WE WANT SPIRITUAL DIRECTION, BUT IT HAS TO BE REAL FOR US AND AVAILABLE WHEN WE NEED IT.

WE WANT A NEW FORMAT FOR GETTING CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVES. NOOMA IS THE NEW FORMAT. IT'S A SERIES OF SHORT FILMS FEATURING THE TEACHINGS OF ROB BELL. COMPACT, PORTABLE AND CONCISE. EACH NOOMA FOCUSES ON A DIFFERENT ISSUE WITH RELEVANCE FOR US, AND IT'S THERE WHEN WE NEED IT, WHERE WE NEED IT, AS WE NEED IT.

To me, the depth of the discussion on the tape gave proper insight into a story we've probably all heard before, that of Peter walking out onto the water to meet Jesus. At the same time, it wove in faith in ourselves and living transparent lives in a way that was subtle and effective.

I look forward to using Dust and the other NOOMAs in small group. (There are even downloadable discussion books.)

Honestly, I didn't expect them to react so quickly to my request, but obviously Apple takes me very seriously. Apple has added a Podcast feed for their conference calls. No sign of any other companies in the list.

Now, if iTunes would automatically play through my new Podcasts without pause...

Addi, Hale and I spent the whole day trying to share a little appreciation for the person that takes care of us all.

Thanks, Jill, and Happy Birthday!

Last night I stopped procrastinating and went about installing a new hard drive into our aging iBook. With this update, though, I'm beginning to think of that machine as well-aged.

First things first, a couple of weeks ago I ordered an 5400 RPM 80 GB Samsung drive from NewEgg (~$105) based on reader reviews of how quiet and cool the drive seemed to run. I'm a bit leery of putting a 5400 RPM drive in where a 4200 RPM used to live, but a check of the database at Accelerate Your Mac reflected that others had done so without much problem. The only problem reflected from their forums was that the process for getting to the HD was such a pain.

Based on the discussion, I ventured over to PB FitIt and downloaded the iBook HD replacement instructions. I followed the process essentially step-for-step, stopping only to run to Walmart to get a Torx bit and skipping only the step for disconnection of the speaker wire. I also taped the screws to the step from which they came directly onto their location on the picture. Other than that, after 3 hours all that was left was a fresh install of 10.3.

The new drive is whisper quiet (I didn't even know the computer came on the first time I pressed the power button) and seems to get no warmer than the 10 GB drive it replaces. Let's hope it extends the useful life of this gem for at least another year or so.