Posts by Do Not Fold Spindle Mutilate

How many apps does it take to back up your data?

I do not believe that a single backup application is the best because it does not not know the specific gritty application details however a general purpose backup application is great for all of those miscellaneous applications. Use an OS specific backup app to backup the OS because there seems to be hidden files and files with extra "this file cannot be read". Database have to have their own backup software to ensure transactionally correct backups.

Oh yea, also make a separate small "in case of emergency" backup which can be used to create a minimal system to start the recovery process.

A multiapp method is way more work but the single applications do not seem to have the documentation that I would like see and understand that the application provider has thoroughly tested the app. For example try to get a list of files which the backup application does not backup.

It's now or never for old sysadmins to learn new tricks

Very true and applies to database administrators as well.

The ideas are very true and apply to database administrators. I chose to retire because the cuts were happening without the proper software to automate the monitoring and updates. Also Oracle was directly telling upper management that their software would do all the work of a dba. May I suggest a slight difference in attitude between us. The article seems to imply that the cause is the financial cuts from the customers but there should also be the technical person automating there own job out of existence. If similar work has been done multiple times then automate as much as possible and move on to larger problems. But what are those larger problems? Perhaps much better failover / backup / recovery or quicker security patching, or better testing / auditing to insure high quality software infrastructure?

A real problem is the market place seems to change quicker with Apple and Microsoft causing massive changes in the OS and interface in a relatively short period of time, it becomes difficult to set out a new path of what software product to learn.

There will always be a need for someone to install the NSA secret monitoring software.

Microsoft's cloud leaves manual transmission behind

Your cattle can be any colour as long as it is black.

Will the customers be willing to pay for your pet customizations if the cost of a cattle server is cheaper? Decades ago the same thing was being said by clerks filling out dozens of financial forms. All of those jobs are gone because most companies buy financial software packages. Now they are automating the jobs of the people who are left. Outside the world of computing when there is a significant price difference between a cheaper mass market product and a higher priced customized item lots of people buy the cheaper / cheapest. There is some market for tailors, independent mechanics and personal chefs but McDonalds servers billions of burgers. Would you like fries with your cattle server?

Bye. Turn the lights out when you are gone. I retired from being a dba because the companies treating me like a pet, a person, changed to treating me like cattle, an expense or a steer.

NSA Prism: Why I'm boycotting US cloud tech - and you should too

Canadian surveillance approved (today's headline Globe & Mail newspaper)

hi,

I agree with much of what you say Trevor but this is the front page headline on today's Globe and Mail:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/data-collection-program-got-green-light-from-mackay-in-2011/article12444909/ I am not surprised. The article does not have much detail but seems to say it has the telephone meta data. The article says "In Canada, a regime of ministerial directives - decrees not scrutinized by Parliament - have authorized the broad surveillance programs."

Why Oracle must kiss goodbye to its database past

Oracle is just another CA. It buys software. It does not build software.

Oracle does not want to publish database revenue because the revenue would show there are few new customers. There is little that is new in relational databases so there are few new customers. Steve Jobs created lots of new interesting products. Larry Ellison does not want to look like an owner of old product. He wants an image of growth but Oracle does not create new products. It only buys new products. Oracle is just another CA.

Here lies /^v.+b$/i

Python

from future import disease.cure

Oracle: 'Eight Android files are decompiled Oracle code'

Source is GPL 2

hi,

Just because the code is the same does not mean Google is using copyrighted Oracle code. The "2.5.29.32.0" seems to from a standard called X.500 PKI. I Googled "private static final String ANY_POLICY = 2.5.29.32.0 ;" and found two exact source codes under GPL 2 released by Sun. To me this means that Google could have used the GPL version not Oracle's version.

http://www.java2s.com/Open-Source/Java-Document/Security/Bouncy-Castle/org/bouncycastle/jce/provider/PKIXCertPathValidatorSpi.java.htm

http://www.java2s.com/Open-Source/Java-Document/6.0-JDK-Modules-sun/security/sun/security/provider/certpath/PolicyNodeImpl.java.htm

The code looks like stuff GPLd by Sun many years ago.

Canada? The computer vendor says no

New machine recalled before arriving

hi,

Ordered a desktop with the new Intel 2600K processor but the Sandy Bridge controller on the motherboard got recalled before the computer arrived. So even when things are available in Canada you don't actually them. Glad I ordered through a brick and mortar because the hassle of returns would have bugged me to no end.

Pirates: Good for Microsoft, great for open sourcers

Are Oracle and SAP going to disappear?

hi,

The fundamental difference between software and other products is the incremental cost of another copy is zero. Open source models of distribution are a great way to attack the high maintenance cost with few improvements from CA. But accountants and auditors do not want financial software from Joe's Garage so the Oracle and SAP will grow. Just like mainframes have not disappeared, large expensive software suites have users which want and need consistency over many years so they are willing to pay heavily for it. The sales people have much better access to upper management than the regular employee causing management to reach for the cheque book in the coat.

Who will rid me of these obsolete PCs?

Western Canada - Electronics Recycling Association

hi,

I have not dealt with them but http://www.era.ca/ the Electronics Recycling Association is in many cities in Western Canada and has lists of needed equipment for listed charities http://www.era.ca/index.php?page=charities

I would suggest physically destroying all hard drives to protect confidential data.

Facebook: Why our 'next-gen' comms ditched MySQL

Big fail for companies selling database software

hi,

What is actually being said here is Oracle, IBM and other commercially available software is so overpriced Facebook would rather create its own. Big fail for Oracle. Where are those super sales people taking the executive out to lunch and golf?

Seagate stuffs 3TB drives in NAS box

Only 60 days?

Does it turn into a pumpkin after 60 days? Does it change to 1 TB after 60 days?

F*ck you, thunders disgruntled fanboi Apple user

The parachute ...

The parachute cannot be attached to the fanboi because all fanboi interfaces are proprietary and the parachute uses open standards.

British Gas signs Voda so meters can snitch direct

Pentabytes of data to be stored for years

I worked for an electrical company which has similar data collection for industrial customers. These generate piles of data which needs to be shoveled around the disks. Would you like an electrical bill with the cost of the power listed in 15 minutes increments? 4 readings per hour * 24 hours * 30 days = 2880 detail lines. All of these details must be kept for years because of audits etc. The quantity of data for each customer has gone up 3000 times but the disk budget likely won't get a penny. Something is going to fail.

Me, me, me: Iomega clones PCs virtually

Fail: disaster recovery but can't restore!

"The cloned image is a kind of disaster recovery" but Iomega adds the point that "you can’t use v.Clone to restore the operating system, applications, and data files back onto your primary system". Well is there anything that can be restored? Anything at all? The product is a disaster. Fail.

Google gives Voice users ability to not share their messages

Your password has been reset to

Wonder how many of the messages would be "Your password has been reset to ..." which would give all script kiddies an easy ride? Or would the message be "Paris were going out to a night club so give us a call at 555-1234"?

Database billionaire trampled by elephant

He missed because ...

the elephant was not in his pyjamas. Good old Groucho Marx joke.

Amazon vanishes 1984 from citizen Kindles

Aussies to the rescue. Doubleplusgood.

The wonderful non-Google project Gutenberg has a copy in Australia:

http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks01/0100021.txt

Of course the legality of having this copy depends on your country's copyright law.

"Ignorance is Strength"

Firefox exploit sends Mozilla into 'high-priority fire drill' mode

April Fools

The fix is scheduled for April 1! April Fools day is a terrible day to release software because I always assume anything received on that day may be a joke or just plain hazardous.

'Miracle' plane crash was no miracle

Air Transit was glider over pacific. Air Canada over Gimli

A previous comment about Air Canada was slightly wrong. It was Air Transit which had no fuel over the Pacific and landed at the Azores. Air Canada had a dead stick over Gilmi

Please read the safety manuals at the authoritative wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Transat_Flight_236

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider

Can life insurance be bought over the phone or internet? Can life insurance be bought in a couple of minutes? Could the passengers bought life insurance while the plane was having problems?

God made me an atheist.

LG confirms 2009 launch for 3G wristphone

Video wrist phone: Nose pics

The person receiving the video call from a wrist video phone will see right up your nostrils. What a great picture. Remember to pick your nose before calling.

Paris gets a Brazilian cut for her nose hairs.

The True Confessions of an Election Official

@James Butler

Thanks for the well written reply. It makes a lots of sense that the dead people list can be slightly out of date.

Dead voters get to vote?

Contrary to the article Obama's dead grandmother's advance vote will count. "Kevin Cronin, the Chief Elections Officer, confirmed that Mrs Dunham's absentee ballot, which was received on October 27, would count towards Mr Obama's final tally."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/barackobama/3380630/Barack-Obamas-grandmother-cast-ballot-in-one-of-her-final-acts.html

Great article except for this.

Rackspace swallows Slicehost Jungle

Raid 10 is not mirrored Raid 5

Pardon me, oh great one, but this is your humble dba with a minor technical point. Raid 10 is not mirrored Raid 5. Raid 10 uses more disk space to try to achieve higher throughput. While Raid 5 is like packing all of the relatives into one smaller condominium with one kitchen and bathroom. If there is a lot of I/O the kitchen and bathroom will be too crowded.

Ellison flogs Oracle server appliance alliance with HP

Preconfigured means Oracle still won't install correctly

The software is preinstalled because Oracle's install procedures still don't work properly all the time. My guess is the version that is preinstalled will be too out of date and will have to be deinstalled before a new installation can actually be run thus using up more money than saving anything.

Hello, I'm a DBA and this is Larry playing with taking our cheque book and not helping his users.

Web designer sues Brat City for assaulting hyperlink

Who watches the watchers?

Hey! Doesn't anyone know the rules around free speech? If someone is blocked from saying something then everyone else tries to repeat it? So here is the link to the Sheboygan Police Department: http://www.sheboyganpolice.com/

You have to watch out for those illegal searches of your coat or website.