VMware Fusion

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I haven’t written about it for a while, but I am still heavily relying on virtualization on my Macbook to do almost everything. There are several work programs that must run in Windows, plus Quicken for my personal stuff, etc. I am sorry to admit that I upgraded to Parallels 3.0 right before VMware announced the pricing and pre-ordering of Fusion back in June. When VMware announced pre-order of Fusion I also got that. Lets face it i haven’t settled on either product just yet.

I have been using Parallels since they announced their product, and upgraded since I couldn’t wait for the final version of Fusion. Parallels 3.0 has some nice features, like multiple snapshots (like VMware Workstation, but not Fusion), and the ability to open windows files from the Mac OS. That is the dilemma. Now that Fusion is out, I am running it. I will admit it is noticeably faster (to me) than Parallels. That and the fact that i can use all the existing VM’s i have (and i have allot) is very compelling. I just wish Fusion could do some of the things Parallels can do (multiple snapshots and launching programs from the Mac OS). If it had those two functions it would be the perfect product (for now). Even with those shortcomings, i will say that Fusion is the only virtualization software currently running on my Macbook. Parallels has a new beta out that addresses some of their performance issues and other features so i may switch back, who knows.

With all my existing VM’s, my use of VMware Workstation on windows, and ESX server at work I am firmly wanting the decision to use Fusion over Parallels to be good a no brainer! Right now that isn’t the case, but the performance difference (to me) keeps it running on my Mac.

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Tivo HD

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For a few years I have been using a computer based DVR. I would like to say it was cheaper than a Tivo, but in the end the hardware costs were probably more, but I didn’t have any monthly recurring costs. The other major advantage was that I could do whatever I wanted with the recordings since there wasn’t any DRM on them. The downside within the past two years was that I have a nice 40″ LCD HD TV that I am not getting much benefit out of since I am not using it with HD. That was why back in March I got a HD DVR from my cable provider, RCN. I personally disliked the device. It only held a small amount of HD content. The screen would go blank when you fast forwarded too much with HD content and then took almost 10 seconds to come back to normal all while you hear what is going on in the background. It just seemed like a half baked device, but it did HD so I kept it.

Between March and July when I moved my computer DVR got used less and less until right before I moved I wasn’t using it at all. In July Tivo announced an affordable HD Tivo, and the FCC rules allowing anyone who wants a CableCARD to ask for it from their cable provider. It was perfect timing for me since I was moving. My new place also has RCN, so I didn’t want their HD DVR again so I asked for a CableCARD, and went out and ordered an HD Tivo. I had Tivo for over 3 years before I went to a computer based DVR and that wasn’t until my Tivo died. I did go out and buy a Tivo Series 2, but it wasn’t the same by then so the series 2 actually sits in my closet to this day unused. Having a Tivo again I remembered how much I liked that device! No tinkering involved. For a while I liked the flexibility of a computer based DVR, but now I just want a product that works. That is part of the reason why I have a Mac at home and no windows PC anymore. I tinker enough at work, that I don’t want to have to at home. That is why I am very happy with my new Tivo!

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Xbox 360

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Just this week I ebayed my Wii since I didn’t use it that much. It sat in the box for a month after I moved, and sat idle for 2 months before that at my old place. I was able to get a great price for it with the 2 games I bought, so off it went. I figured I would put that money back into savings, but that was not in the cards. Halo 3 comes out in a few weeks, and as much as I am not a huge gamer, I do play Halo. I will go through phases of heavy play, and then nothing for months. I have been like this for years. If it wasn’t Halo 2, it was Halo, or Half Life, or Dume, Duke Nukem, etc. I play till I get dizy from all the movement. I know I shouldn’t do it but I do.

It was because Halo 3 is almost out that I went out and bought a new Xbox 360. I picked up Rainbow Six Vegas to hold me over until Halo. Vegas is cool, but hard. The Xbox graphics are fantastic, but I am still not sure if $349 plus tax is worth it to play Halo! Right now I don’t care, I am just going to pre order Halo now!

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Hosting Changes Afoot

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It’s September, so that means hosting provider changes! I don’t know why but both my blog hosting service as well as my general website hosting provider were both setup in September. That means annual fee’s are around the corner, so if i want to make changes i have to do it soon. Well Typepad did have an issue about 2 years ago so I now renew in November for them, but my hosting provider Site5 renews in about a week. I need to decide if i want to renew with them for another year or make changes to my hosting services.

I would like to cut back the amount i am paying for web services so i am thinking about alternatives. I like Site5 but my needs have changed over time. I ended up not using their free setups of linux apps like WordPress. I used Gallery for a while but just recently messed up my config and didn’t really use it enough to warrant the expense. With a blog site like this one on Typepad, having another site is a bit redundant especially if i don’t ever update it. Typepad now offers the ability to setup regular pages on my blog so i might create a version of my regular site here. That means i only have to get an email provider and keep Typepad as my main web presence. I have also been thinking of buying Flickr Pro so i can use it like i was going to use the Gallery application. With the cost of the mail hosting, and Flickr Pro, vs regular hosting with Site5 i am saving a few bucks. I am getting less features, but I am getting better functions out of the features I am using, so I am planning my migration away from Site5. The only thing that takes a little thinking is how to move my mail to a new provider without loosing any mail. Fingers crossed.

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Weekend Recap

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Sleeping on the air mattress in my parents apartment did a number on my back. Once I got my parents AC working in their bedroom i slept in their room, but my dad is back tonight so I will be back on the air mattress for 2 nights until i move.

I was supposed to go on Doug’s boat today but I had a head ache and he ended up canceling so it wasn’t in the cards. I did get to go out to Manhasset (can’t spell it) to do some shopping at Bed Bath & Beyond and Linen’s and things. Unfortunately neither place had allot of what i was looking for to put in my new place. I did get a few little things but need to go online to order the majority of stuff.

Friday I went out with people from work to a bar for a while. I drank more than i would have liked, but all in all i had a good time. Everyone is pretty cool to hang out with. Saturday I slept most of the day away and then i went to see the Bourne Ultimatum by myself since i was out by my parents. It was a good movie.

Now I just have one more full day before i move!

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Life at the Parents

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So far my life at my parents has been relatively dull. Their apartment is empty, no one home. No food that i will eat, and not even cold water in the fridge. Last night i walked to the Outback near their apartment. Tonight i took the bus from the LIRR station and went to Applebies.

Going to work i tried out the express bus that stops across the street from the apartment. It took about an hour but it was all in all a peaceful way to get to work. It dropped me off about 2 blocks from my office, so i will be doing the express bus in the morning, but the LIRR still seems better in the afternoon. Just a few more days until I can move into my new apartment!

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The Move

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The move went as well as you could expect. No major issues, but I was very worried about the movers showing up with enough time to move me out while i still had the elevator. Apparently my building only gives you 2 hours to move out, and my movers weren’t the most prompt group even though they suggested scheduling them first thing in the morning to prevent just what i was worried about them (not being there when the elevators were mine). They showed up and got everything out around the time i had been given.

My mom showed up with Zach to wait with the couch that my sister decided she finally wanted. I ended up leaving around 12:30 with all my stuff gone, my mom and Zach hanging in an empty apt while Carrie was getting the moving truck. I took my luggage with my clothes for my parents place with me in a cab and went to work. The rail road home wasn’t too bad, but dragging the big luggage was a bit of a pain. SInce both my parents are at my sisters this week i have their apartment to myself. The down side is that it is hot in most parts of the place except for the living room and their bedroom, and i can’t find any wifi spots to connect to so to be on the internet on my laptop requires me to plug into my dad’s cable modem in his really hot office.

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Packing

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Not much to report since i haven’t had much of a life since i got back from France. I have been spending most of my free time trying to pack my apartment for my move on Tuesday. My place is a huge mess. Packing sucks, and it is not the cheapest thing to be doing either. Who knew box’s were so expensive. Thankfully my Mom brought me a ton of them from my sister that she had left over from her move. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough so i had to go out and buy a few more. I just want this to be over and to be in my new apartment.

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France Trip Recap

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Wednesday and most of Thursday were taken up by work at one of our companies offices near Lille. It was a massive place. It is weird getting used to going to a place like that when the office I work in only has 90 or so people. Thursday night we ended up heading back to Paris on the TGV and walked around the area by our new hotel until we found a sidewalk cafe to have dinner at.

My boss and I also had to figure out a way to get on a conference call with our team back in NY while at our hotel. The call could have turned into an hour long thing, so mobile phones and hotel phones would have been very expensive. We ended up using my macbook and skype to call our conference bridge. It was an interesting use of the technology we had at hand. The hardest part was getting the high speed connection in the hotel to work. Connecting to Skype worked flawlessly once we were online.

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Friday the morning was spent trying to go sight seeing but work took priority so we didn’t get out of the hotel until the afternoon. We hit the Louvre and got lost walking around there for a few hours. Then we walked to the Eiffel Tower. It was crowded so we didn’t go up. The line was really long. I got some decent pictures though.

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After that we had a decently hard time finding a cab back to the hotel. We hit dinner near the hotel at another cafe, and then at night meet up with some people from work who were finally in Paris from Lille.

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A Very Long Day

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It feels like monday night but it is fact Tuesday night in France. I am in Lille, France. The red eye last night was ok. I took some stuff to help me sleep and it worked a little but not completely. The bose noise canceling headphones also helped but it was still a long flight.

Once we got to Paris, we were able to goto a hotel and get a Day room. It is basically a room you pay for during daylight hours so you can shower, sleep, etc. We landed like 7AM local time but didn’t have meetings until noon so we needed a place to go and relax. That room made all the difference. I was able to take a shower and just lie down for an hour. I didn’t sleep but just able to relax on the bed was all i needed to get through the day and even end up at dinner at 10PM local time.

We had our meeting in Paris after we got a bit lost walking around to find our office. We then toured a data center for a bit and then our host took us to the train station so we can catch the TGV to Lille. The TGV was awesome. We got biz class on that also, but it probably wasn’t needed for the hour long trip. That train is fast, and quiet. I always like trains but this one was really cool.

Once in Lille we hit the hotel and then went out for some dinner. We ended up meeting up with some other people from our office and had dinner together. I didn’t get back to the hotel until late. It is weird when it is like 10PM and there is still some daylight out.

I am off to a much needed sleep in a bed.

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