TestRant: Server-Side Coolness...

Note - from June 24th 2009, this blog has migrated from Blogger to a self-hosted version. Click here to go straight there.

This might not look like much (in fact it will look exactly the same as always, notwithstanding that the left sidebar is not rebuilt yet). In fact, it represents several full (long) days of pretty hard graft - all of which is Microsoft's fault.

The upgrade to Ubuntu (let me tell you - moving from WinXP Pro Corporate edition to buntu is an UPGRADE) was seamless - nay, flawless. The hard bit was the fact that I need a residual WinXP functionality to run TradeStation and my satellite connection. Since WinXP is still about as secure as women who read "Elle", I did not want any WinXP machine to link to our netorrk in any compromisable (new word?) way.

So I set WinXP up as a virtual machine under Ubuntu - giving me very precise access control both to the WinXP instal itself, and the interaction between the WinXP install and therest of the network.

Now let me say this - I have not yet installed TradeStation in the new XP wirtual machine (I decided to dispense with the old Windows partition completely); I plan to do that tonight.

All that will exist on the XP machine is the net conneccvtivity and TradeStation: no apps, no browser, not a damn ting (why should I waste VM space when Ubuntu does EVRYTHING better than Windows?).

At present my machine is doing several tasks, and the XP mmachine (a virtual machine, ou understand) is operating with absolutly no noticable performance degradation. Both the Ubuntu partition and the VM are using the same internet connection, what's more it's a shared dialup which is accessed via the ethernet card! So the VM and the Ubuntu main game, while being completely Chinese-walledfrom one another, are sharing resources... amazing.

I've alays thought of myself as a reasonably bright lad, but either I am a massive brainiac or Ubuntu is literally idiot-proof. Get it, and instal it (or play ith it for a while) and you will agree.

LinuxRant: it Just Gets Better....

Note - from June 24th 2009, this blog has migrated from Blogger to a self-hosted version. Click here to go straight there.

Migrating to Ubuntu - the OS which all the hip young things are using nowadays - has had a side benefit which I had not even considered when making the decision to make the change.

I was primarily looking for something secure - I have had an intolerable time of late, with chuckleheads the world over who take advantage of Windows vulnerabilities. And once your PC has been got at once, it seems that no amount of cleaning can remedy it (not even a hard drive low-level format and complete reinstall of WInXP from scratch).

Also, I wanted some solid encryption capabilities - for no other reason than it (data encryption) is something governments hate. Anything non-violent which is hated by government, is almost definitely something I support.

The side effect will be well-known to Linux users - that is, the ability to set up my full site (the old RantPRO) and to access it as if it was a local drive. In Windows I could do several things - but all involved the use of some form of client software as an intermediate step. I needed PuTTY plus a mySQL client to log in to the site's databases, I needed an FTP client to change operating files (PHP scripts, mostly).

But now, I can access site files directly, them modify them, then save them as if they were on my own drives. Furthermore, I can - having installed all the necessary Linux-based software - create an exact replica of my site's environment (PHP, mySQL, Perl, APACHE and so on) and test run new file changes in real time on my PC, knowing that the performance will be identical on the webserver.

One thing eludes me (for now)- how to get a couple of Windows-only apps to run under Linux. WINE has not worked for a couple of them (TradeStation and PhoneTray), and our ISP's firmware won't work either (and we can't connect without it).

But at the end of the day, the writing is on the wall for Microsoft. Windows Vista will be a flop, and - as with the browser market - the maturation of high-quality freeware operating systems will see users flee MS offerings in favour of better, more secure (and free) alternatives. It is already the case that MS is haemorrhaging market share in the browser market - and operating systems is next.

Fingers crossed, tomorrow will see the return of the OzRant...

UbuntuRant: Bye Bye, Bill

Note - from June 24th 2009, this blog has migrated from Blogger to a self-hosted version. Click here to go straight there.

I've said a few times that I have no dramatic objections to Microsoft - so long as one accepts that their software is crap relative to alternatives.

This Vista carry-on is an absolute joke. It will be the biggest disappointment since OS/2 Warp.

Personally, I have switched to Ubuntu - a Linux variant based on Debian. Whereas a native root install of Windows XP takes about an hour, Ubuntu successfully detected all my hardware and was completely installed (including repartitioning my hard disk) in less than ten minutes.

I was sure that setting up the network and internet-sharing was going to be really tough - the internet connection is done with unidirectional satellite into mmy desktop, with the upload leg undertaken via a laptop (due to conflicts between the software for the satellite dish and that for the ISPs dial-up connection manager).

Since I expected the setup to be as hard as buggery, I went into several Ubuntu forums to try annd get guidance. turns out it was a piece of piss, and the first Google search I did. fixed the dial-up sharing in five minutes.

I still have to work out how to run the Windows-only satellite software under Linux/Ubuntu, but I'm pretty sure it can be done. Also, Tradestation requires Windows... I am hoping I can use Wine (which provides a windows replicate environment within Ubuntu)... if so, our entire household will be Ubuntu before the weekend is over.

The security improvement is immediate. So much so that I will re-commence normal rants-missions next week, and the new version of RantPro the week after.

No more smart-arse French quips. No more fuming at serial hacks into my Windows machine. No more belts and braces security slowing down my machine to a crawl.

I'm going to tear this market apart this year, and you're gonna get to watch for as long as you can be bothered to pay attention.

And note to Blogger: why did you change the default language to French without fucking ASKING me? How the fuck do I change it back?

Short the S&P - this stupid liquidity-driven surge is over.