Computer up for Grabs
Several months ago I had some M-Audio hardware break down on me in a way should be hilarious to any tech who worked during the capacitor plague and thought themselves unaffected. The less hilarious result is that the audio hardware needs to be replaced; the catch is that it leverages traditional PCI technology which is now 16-year old and perhaps not the best choice moving forward. So, I’m kicking out my old computer and bringing in a new one. What this means in practical terms for you, the reader, is that I’ve got a computer to give away for free to anyone willing to give it a good home. If it goes unloved, Reboot Canada will get it. Here’s what it is:
- PowerMac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors, year 2003 model)
- 1.25GHz single processor G4
- 167MHz front-side bus
- 768MB PC2700 DDR memory
- One 80GB ATA hard drive and one 40GB ATA hard drive
- One DVD-writer and one DVD-reader/CD-writer combo
- Radeon 9000 video card with 64MB VRAM
- 10/100/1000BaseT ethernet
- Mac OS X 10.4.6 (Tiger)
You’ll have to provide your own mouse, keyboard, and monitor, but that’s about all you’ll need to make it work. Note that this is not the most energy-efficient computer ever made; the power supply is rated for up to 360 watts and there are quite a few moving parts inside. At this stage in its life it’s mostly good for light computing and internet stuff, though it was a beast in its day and will still do multi-tracking if you can get your hands on six-year old software and aforementioned obsolete hardware.
If you’re interested, curious, or have any questions, drop me a line and we can discuss specifics! Bear in mind that there will be no warranty, and this offer is only good to people I know.
UPDATE: The offer is now closed.
Magnets: Great, but not Magical
Forgive me for not having a great deal of enthusiasm for Mr. Gary Goodyear. Take this quote for example, published by the Globe and Mail, as Goodyear answers whether or not he believes in evolution:
“I’m not going to answer that question. I am a Christian, and I don’t think anybody asking a question about my religion is appropriate.”
This by itself doesn’t merit coverage. It’s well-established that evolution has its skeptics, after all. The reason you should be worried is because, as Gigi pointed out, this man is our federal Minister of Science and Technology. Before we grab our torches and pitchforks, perhaps we should look over his resume. The article claims that Goodyear studied chemistry, physics, statistics and kinesiology as an undergrad, and fiddled about with automotive mechanics in highschool. That sounds pretty good, actually. A man with this background is surely a good fit for the cabinet post. In fact, his early accomplishments are downright impressive:
“When I was in high school, we were already tweaking with a coil that would wrap around the upper [radiator] hose and it got an extra five miles to the gallon. … So I’ve been there on this discovery stuff.”
Discovery stuff indeed, Gary. There’s only one problem: it’s bogus. More specifically, it’s bogus when applied to the fuel line. It’s double-plus bogus when applied to the radiator hose which pumps water-based coolants or oil, not gasoline. Suddenly I’m anxious again. Beliefs of evolution aside, Goodyear must at least appear qualified for his portfolio, and this is worrisome.
Let’s be clear: religion is not the enemy of science, nor does it preclude someone from following a career in science. We should all be open-minded and accept that years of science and years or theology still haven’t defined the exact means by which the universe exists, and the answers may yet be controversial to all beliefs. However I expect that whatever religion or non-religion our Minister of Science and Technology happens to follow, he judge evolution by its own merits and not invoke religion as a contention against it.
UPDATE: Goodyear has decided that yes, he does believe in evolution. I recommend reading the full article for context, as this clarification is not as reassuring as it should be.
Soapbox for the Ungeniused
I stumbled upon an interesting blog earlier today and have spent a few hours consuming what I can. Ungeniused, written by a former Mac Genius, provides some interesting insights into the workings of one of Apple’s best-known customer services, the Genius Bar. The author, Jeremy, apparently worked his way up through several important positions within Apple before landing himself a job as a Genius during Apple’s initial push into the retail scene. Geniuses, like just about anyone in tech support and customer service, get a fair amount of flak, and I’ve even been on the giving end when hearing about a particularly bone-headed diagnosis, but it wasn’t always this way.
Jeremy and a colleague write that the Genius Bar during its genesis was in fact staffed with Apple’s top-tier support professionals, drawing from their large southern campuses at the time. These were no amateur enthusiasts to be sure. I remember that as the Apple Stores expanded, numerous local techs would send resumes in droves for the privileged position of “Mac Genius,” so you can bet that there was a large talent pool to draw from even as Apple’s internal human resources began to dry up. This should have ensured that the Genius Bar would consistently be staffed with the best of the best, as new talent received training from Apple’s elite, so what happened?
Apparently, the iPod.
Pretty soon after the iPod exploded onto the market, the Genius Bar began seeing a lot of appointments for iPods while Mac users had their appointments pushed back. iPods do not present the same technical challenges to the Genius Bar as a Mac; Geniuses don’t have the option to repair broken iPods, only to replace them. Sure, the faulty iPod goes back to Apple where someone repaired and it’s resold as a refurbished product, but the Genius’ entire role is still reduced to making a quick assessment and then filling out some paperwork. Put simply, this is very unfulfilling work for someone exceptionally bright and talented. Faced with a sea of iPods, fewer challenges, and less opportunity to grow and learn, some of the best and brightest left in droves for greener pastures.
I can’t fairly praise or disparage the current generation of Mac Geniuses since my shop rarely deals with them; if our shop needs to communicate with Apple, it’s through other channels. Still, it’s a very interesting and informative article (and blog as a whole) and I’d recommended it to anyone in the tech and customer support industry. It bears keeping in mind that the article is a good two and a half years old and that this is an industry that rarely sits still, but the history is very relevant.
Renovations
Found out that apparently wp-config.php is stored in a publicly-accessible directory for most users. This is important because wp-config.php contains, by default, the name of the SQL database that WordPress uses, and the associated username and password (but, to be fair, not your admin username and password). Now, more experienced webheads who implicitly understand these things would have the option of installing the entire WordPress directory somewhere safer (for example, anywhere other than ~/public_html/) before configuring it, but I’m not too keen on moving around a billion files this late in the game. What to do?
Google as usual produces a good answer. The entire WordPress directory doesn’t have to be moved, since it’s really only the wp-config.php file that is of major concern. All that’s needed is to strip out the database/login information and paste it into a new php file outside of ~/public_html/, and then finish by dropping an include(); into wp-config.php to link them up. This way, wp-config.php is still able to view the information it needs while keeping said information out of public view. Hacker-proof? Probably not, but it’s at least a deterrent against bots and scripted attacks.
If you’re paranoid, it goes without saying that you should probably rename your SQL database and the associated login information after moving things around, or else Google’s cache (or someone else’s) might be able to dig up the information anyway.
Anyhow, I wouldn’t be surprised if the page is acting pear-shaped for a few days. Drop me a line if so.
