Getting my Macbook backed up.

I have made eighteen DVD backups for the Macbook at year end. I have three disks, one is documents, the other mail and mail downloads and the third the desktop and everything else. I do not back up applications. For each of these three disks I have six copies. Two copies go to one off site location and two more to another. Then I save two copies as on site back ups. I need to back up the eMac too but it requires an extra step because the DVD burner is not working well on it. So to back it up I need to copy files to a USB hard drives then to the Macbook and then burn the disks on the Macbook. I have enough blank disks to do this I think having some thirty new disks to work with for the back up.

The Dell Mini 9 first thoughts.

I got the Dell Mini 9 yesterday just before time 1234554321. I first updated it. Then tried the package manager and installed KDE and R. I set up a new gmail account with Evolution software. I got the social browser Flock working on the machine. I adjusted the home page in Firefox and also took the Yahoo tool bar out of view. Still the top of the browser is too large and the window size is further hurt by the lack of a window scroll track pad like my Macbook has. I am so used to the scrolling window track pad control. So I may need to get used to some new finger control methods.

I transferred some songs to the music player and started to use the F-Stop software for photos but did not really get anywhere with F-Stop. The idea of transferring photos to the computer got me copying my photo store on my eMac to my Macbook and also to my network storage drive, as a first step, before transferring the photos to the Mini 9. So I did get the networking working and was able to connect to my network storage.

I took the Mini 9 out on the bus and read a pdf and it was not bad reading and I could keep my glasses on and read while seated but I needed two seats to get the right distance from eyes to screen. I shut the Dell Mini 9 off this morning.

I updated the BIOS on Remembrance to support the Wolfdale processor.

I updated the BIOS on the new computer I built. It is now running at its true 3.0 Ghz speed.

I am getting a Netbook is about a week and a few days.

I am going to get a Netbook. I originally was checking out the Asus models at PcCyber a local small chain computer and parts store. In fact, this store was where I first saw these Netbooks and I first saw them on their website. I surfed ebay numerous times looking at the Asus models. Now two articles have come and gone in Linux journal covering first, the Acer Netbook and its Linux compatibility, and now this past month the Dell Mini 9 was covered in a more general product review. I was already going ahead with the purchase of the Dell Mini 9 before I bought this month's issue and read the review.

So here are the made to order specs of the Dell Mini 9 I am getting. N270 1.6 Ghz Atom processor with 2 GB 667 Mhz RAM, 64 GB solid state drive, cherry red in colour, with 1.3 Mega pixel built in web cam, Bluetooth, wireless G connections, and that is about it, I think. I have two cases for it already shipped and received. It will fit in a coat pocket and also fit in a small shoulder bag I have. It should be cool. It will be here by next Monday, but I am hoping it arrives early on Friday the 13th. Have Netbook will travel, to paraphrase the old science fiction master.

That is strange; my last computer was fully built on Remembrace day and this next one possibly arrives on Friday the 13th.

I learned more about PCI interfaces and the PCI standards by trying to buy the Motu sound card.

It turns out the Motu card because it is a few years old uses a different PCI standard than the motherboard and PCI interfaces in Remembrance. In fact, the Motu was designed for Pentium III era motherboards and the older 2.0 and 2.2 standards for PCI interfaces. It seems that the key thing is the voltage of these standards. The modern standards in effect since about 2002 use about 3 volts whereas the older standards used 5 volts. The Motu card that was on auction required the older 5 volt standards. So this card would not have worked in Remembrance.

At any rate I lost the auction and, in fact, the price went out of my price range.