Category Archives: Random Tech

Random Tech

Steve Jobs plays FDR in Apple’s Lost 1944 Commercial

Filmed in 1984, this long lost video clip pits the early machinery of Apple against the established “Blue Blob” of IBM and the PC era.

The Apple 1944 commercial features a lot of inside jokes to rally the Apple troops of the 1980’s. Troops can be seen gambling with memory chips as poker chips, paratroopers are jumping into enemy territory with giant Apple CRT computers, and zombie like workers are chained to their IBM based PCs. At over 8 minutes long, Apples lost 1944 commercial is really a mini-film that plays a bit like the classic 80’s military spoof Stripes, with Bill Murray.

Insanely Great! Go get ’em, Blue Busters!

Victory is sounded with the “Hello I am Macintosh” greeting of the Apple hardware that replaces the old school IBM PC. Modern history since 1984 has shown that the battle has been largely won by Apple.

Why?

Because they possessed “The most powerful weapon on Earth, an idea whose time has come!” Ideas like the iPod, the iPad, iTunes, the Mac Book Air and other slick, stylish Apple products.

Random Tech

Stormtrooper Shuffle — Fun with 3D Animation

A fun weekend video for all the Star Wars fans out there. The Stormtrooper Shuffle. A parody of LMFAO’s Everyday I’m Shufflin’ Party Rock Anthem video. Check out the lightsaber limbo. Better get low or get singed!

Students in the New Media Department at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada put this animation together. The ULeth motto is “Fiat Lux”, Latin for “Let there be light”. Maybe it should be “Let there be lightsabers”

Random Tech

What Google Would Have Looked Like in the 80’s

If any readers are old enough to remember the old BBS days before browsers, web pages and broadband WiFi connections, here’s a nostalgic throwback with a modern twist.

What-Google-Would-Look-Like-in-the-80s
Snapshot of masswerk.at's rendition of Google's search engine if it was an old school BBS.

 

The BBS or Bulletin Board System, predated today’s speedy, graphical based internet using ASCII art and text based navigation. This rendition of what Google would have looked like in the 80’s by mass:werk actually works with live search data. (At least when the servers aren’t overloaded) Check out this video by Squirrel-Monkey.com that mass:werk based this working Google BBS on:  http://youtu.be/O8vCEg5k_d4

Random Tech, Start-Ups

Start Up Business Models Explained in a Video

This excellent video from Business Model Generation explains the essentials of generating a business model for your current business or the idea for your next enterprise:

So if you need to re-structure your current business model or make a business model for the idea that’s itching to get out of your brain and into the real world this 2 minute video is a good place to start.

If you are interested in more details information on start up business models, they have some excellent tools to help you find your way around.

Random Tech

A Different Kind of Jailbreak

Though this fun loving beagle would like to jailbreak a locked phone, he tends to stick with older tech toys that he can get his paws around.

Happy Friday All! Enjoy the weekend!

Bay Area Travel, Random Tech

Severe Thunderstorms hit the Bay Area and Silicon Valley

A rare severe thunderstorm hits the Bay Area bring lightning strikes, heavy rain and hail to  the area. Most of California is facing a bit of a drought so the pitter patter of rain drops hitting the roof is a welcome sound.

SiliconCali_Weather-Radar_Silicon-Valley
San Francisco Bay Area Weather radar from the National Weather Service.

 

Weather radar screenshot from NOAA’s National Weather Service site at weather.gov. A good site for reliable weather information without all the annoying flash ads and those ridiculous “One weird trick to ….” ads that plague Weather.com. Weather.gov isn’t ad supported because you’ve already paid for the site whether your use it or not. If you pay federal taxes in the United States, you’re helping to keep weather.gov running. Use it while you can! If you want to see the full loop of radar all over the United States check out this mosaic of all NOAA weather radars in the continental US. Happy weather watching!

Linux Sysadmin, Random Tech

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Install Errors

Some errors that came up during a Red Hat Enterprise Linux install:

 

Unable to read package metadata. This may be due

to a missing repodata directory. Please ensure that

your install tree has been correctly generated.

Cannot retrieve repository metadata (repomd.xml)

for repository:  anaconda-base-201003220802.x86_64.

Please verify its path and try again

 

So I ran the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Media Check and received the result below.

What you don’t want to see:

—————–| Media Check Result |—————–

The media check FAILED for the image:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 5.5 DVD

The image which was just tested has errors. This could

be due to a corrupt download or a bad disc. If

applicable, please clean the disc and try again. If

this test continues to fail you should not continue

the install.

Red_Hat_Linux_Install_OK_Button

I cleaned the disk and ran the Media Check again—Still failed.

Sometimes just cleaning the disc resolves the problem. Sometimes it’s because the DVD drive on the system you are installing on won’t read some discs correctly that were burned on other DVD drives.

Or your media could just be suffering from bit rot.

What you want to see:

—————–| Media Check Result |—————–

The media check PASSED for the image:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 5.5 DVD

It is OK to install from this media.

Red_Hat_Linux_Install_OK_Button

If you are still getting errors on your burned iso image for your Red Hat linux install, you may need to re-download the image and burn it again to a fresh DVD.

Bay Area Travel, Random Tech

Does your flight simulator let you do this?

Does Southwest fly from here? I don’t think so.

Enjoy! Have a great weekend!

Random Tech, Windows Sysadmin

Correcting Daylight Savings Time on Windows

Correcting Daylight Savings Time on Windows XP

Why is your Windows computer setting the wrong time? It could be a failing CMOS battery, which keeps the time in your computer case. The battery is usually a CR2032 or similar. Otherwise, If you don’t have automatic updates turned on or you have a non-internet connected Windows PC, it may be setting the time according to the old daylight savings rules.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 changed the official start and end dates for daylight savings time in most of the United States. This also extended daylight savings (i.e. fake time) through November instead of ending in October as it had previously.  One reason given for the change was to allow more daylight for Halloween trick-or-treating. Yet another example of ruining a long held tradition through legislation. It’s Halloween. It’s supposed to be dark and spooky. Why not require portable floodlights to be placed on every neighborhood street to offer more light for trick-or-treaters?

Of course the Energy Policy Act of 2005 was meant to save energy as well. Weather any actual energy was saved is debatable. Starting in 2007, the bill amended the Uniform Time Act of 1966 by changing the start and end dates of daylight saving time. Clocks were set ahead one hour on the second Sunday of March (March 11, 2007) instead of on the first Sunday of April (April 1, 2007). Clocks were set back one hour on the first Sunday in November (November 4, 2007), instead of the last Sunday of October (October 28, 2007).

To cope with these changes and the effect it has had on computer operating systems, Microsoft has come up with some updates for the different Windows versions.

Installing the correct update for your OS will enable your computer to automatically adjust the computer clock on the correct date due to the revised Daylight Saving Time.

For Windows XP Service Pack 3:

Download the Update for Windows XP SP3 (KB2570791) package.

Microsoft Knowledge Base page:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2570791

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME START AND END DATES FOR THE UNITED STATES

Year Date DST Begins Date DST Ends
2012 March 11 November 4
2013 March 10 November 3
2014 March 9 November 2
2015 March 8 November 1
2016 March 13 November 6
2017 March 12 November 5
2018 March 11 November 4
2019 March 10 November 3
2020 March 8 November 1
2021 March 14 November 7
2022 March 13 November 6
2023 March 12 November 5
2024 March 10 November 3
2025 March 9 November 2
Random Tech

Mega Millions Lottery Record Jackpot and the Odds

Tonight’s Mega Millions Lottery record jackpot currently sits at an estimated $640 million dollars. Well over half a billion bucks. Or $462 million for the cash option. Still definitely big money. If you have enough extreme good luck to beat the 1 in 176 million odds of getting all 5 numbers plus the Mega Ball in a single draw on your ticket.

Long lines have been forming today at lottery sales agents all over the country. Mega Millions is played in nearly every state in the United States now. Only Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi are the lone holdout states that have yet to join the Mega Millions bandwagon. They’re missing out on the Mega Millions Lottery Record Jackpot tonight. This is the largest lottery jackpot ever in the history of lotteries on the entire planet.

Everyone waiting in line with their cash and favorite numbers in hand believes they can beat the odds. The odds are of course astronomical, but someone eventually wins. Tonight with so many tickets being purchased by people who normally don’t play, lured in by the Mega Millions Lottery Record Jackpot, the odds are that the at least one ticket with the winning numbers is out there. Which brings the real reason many people have bought into this extremely thin chance of turning a single dollar into 640 million dollars. Hope. Hope of being able to buy a home in America again. Hope of getting off the daily rat race of the 9 to 6 workday, if you are lucky enough to be employed in this economy. Hope of being financially free. But all the hope you can muster will only bring you a 1 in 40 chance of winning anything at all in the Mega Millions drawing. You have a 1 in 75 chance of doubling your dollar to 2 dollars. Long odds for another dollar.

You can wear your lucky socks and pick your “lucky” numbers, but the Mega Millions Lottery Record Jackpot will be influenced by no such superstitions. The winner or winners will be chosen at MegaRandom. With odds of winning the record Mega Millions jackpot at 1 in 176 million, you have better odds of surviving a ride down Iguazu Falls!

Happy Lottery Games! May the odds be ever in your favor!

Update: Mega Millions Lottery Record Jackpot winning numbers for 3/30/2012 are:

2-4-23-38-46 Mega Ball 23

Results are still pending, check the Mega Millions site or check back here soon!

Looks like at least one winning Mega Millions ticket was bought in Maryland. They’re still counting tickets…

And it’s official, Mega Millions jackpot winners in Maryland, Kansas and Illinois. $640 million split 3 ways. Obviously the odds are NOT ever in your favor.