First impression with Mini-note 2133

I got it mostly because PCMall had a sale on it for $304. I have been wanting to try a sub notebook for some time and this is a good chance. If it works out, I'd have a good device to carry around for testing network and doing quick Internet stuff.

The machine came in an unassuming HP box. Only a few things inside: the mini-note itself, battery, power cord, a quick start booklet, and User Guide CD. Install the battery, plug in the power, and turn it on, no manual required. Upon booting a standard SLED configuration screen appears. If you had experience with SUSE before it'd be piece of cake. If not, a little background with Linux should get you by just fine. Even just some general knowledge about computers should be enough to get through too. Then the computer rebooted and I was presented with a proper login screen.

Once logged in, things were pretty much smooth from that point on. I got hooked up with my WPA2-PSK wireless network in no time - well, almost. I went for the Network icon in the Computer menu and got nowhere. Then I realized I should just use the NetworkManager applet on the panel directly - I should know better, as that's I always have done with Ubuntu. The included Firefox 2 was fast and easy. Realplayer played media fine, including online streams. The speakers are of decent quality and power. Evolution was a snap to set up with my Exchange, after I figured out the correct form of URL for the asked OWA server: https://servername/Exchange. Hibernation worked flawlessly, which used to be a pain with DIY Linux installations. The battery life is OK at about 2 hrs. The only thing didn't work correctly the first time was the screen resolution. It started with 800x600. I had to set it to 1200x800 in Preferences and reboot to get it to stay in 1200x768 (not sure why it didn't like the 800 height).

Please note that I had the most basic model, KR922UT. That means a VIA 1.2 gHz C7M ULV, 512 MB DDR2-667, and 4 GB flash drive. Pretty humble stuff but everything seemed responsive and smooth. I did had trouble playing a 700kbps Real video clip, but then I realized it's the SD card it's on. Once I've switched it to a Sandisk Extreme III, it ran like a champion. And there's plenty of room to upgrade: $30 get you a 2 GB memory, maybe $100+ for a 7200rpm SATA 2 drive (or SSD), and there's extended 6 cell battery.

It's really a nice Linux based subnote. You could certainly get it with Windows XP or Vista, but I doubt it'd run better. This is actually the first pre-installed Linux laptop I had (plenty of DIY of course), and I'm very satisfied. Only if they'd have Ubuntu. :) I just feel Windows wouldn't stand a chance if not for its existing monopoly.

By the way, now Amazon has it for $299 and free shipping. Nice.

The way Debian manages new network interface

When I upgraded my VM Workstation 6.0.4 to 6.5.0, the network for my Hardy Heron guest stopped working. First I thought it's just outdated VMWare Tools. But after I installed the new one, still no luck. I even tried this fix to make sure VMWare Tools does work - basically using the more compatible open-vmtools. No go. Still the same "no such device" message. Then I remembered the problem when I upgraded Ubuntu. It's the system using the new interface as "eth1". Indeed ifconfig -a showed a eth1. So I resorted to editing /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules. After correcting that, I had to rmmod vmxnet and modprobe it to get eth0 going.

BTW, now I know why Ubuntu ditched its /etc/iftab and went with this long ugly rules thingy - that's the orthodox Debian way. :-)


UPDATE: I also had to manually edit the vmx file to set up a static MAC, otherwise VMWare just divvy up a different MAC every time and the whole thing just keeps breaking.

Dreamforce '08, Monday night

Man, do they know how to party! A gala with open bar, Foo Fighters, and dim sum just can't be too shabby. I actually stayed close to the back of one of the open bars, which really gave me easy access to beers and a place to sit (on the table). It's also a good spot to watch the party goers. Nerds party too, don't they? To be fair, probably fewer than half were true hardcore geeks, but heck, it's fun to stereotype, isn't it? :) I was surprised to see quite a few young female attendees around, proving the point that more than just IT folks were there. Sorry for being stereotypical here, but there really are more females in other fields than in IT, much to the grief (or pride) of male IT nerds. I did try to talk to one of the seemingly alone women but she said she's not by herself. Good luck to her. I hope she's lying only because I looked like a menace or bore. There were also quite a few guys looking lonely but they didn't seem nearly as interesting. ;)

Eventually I got bored, right at the moment that the lady in front of started to halfly take off her jacket and show her scant tanktop underneath. I decide to walk back to hotel. The night was beautiful, mild and clear after a day of raining. San Francisco is also a non-stop city, maybe not as much as NYC, but definitelly vibrant enough, at least to a hillbilly coming from Detroit suburb. I almost forgot how much I'm excited by the city rhythm. Sometimes I even laughed my dear wife's excitement about a metropolitan life. But when I was surrounded by it, I surrendered.

A few dozen people lining up outside of a Sony store to wait for the release of Resistance 2. Heck, I wish I had passion like that. I don't even have Resistance: Fall of Man yet, even I always wanted to. Power to the determined!

I wish I were at home... seriously. Don't need these mixed thoughts right now. But it's probably just a result of too much booze. Suffice to say, this night's drinking covered a lot of categories of alcholic substances. :-)