Make a VM of a Real Machine Using Disk2vhd
Ever wanted to clone a windows machine, and run it as a VM? Well, Disk2vhd is the answer.
“Disk2vhd is a utility that creates VHD (Virtual Hard Disk – Microsoft’s Virtual Machine disk format) versions of physical disks for use in Microsoft Virtual PC or Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machines (VMs).”
In order simplify my home office, I made a snapshot of one of my Windows machines, and now run it on my Mac using VirtualBox. Saves physical space, and keeps me from having to use that Dell I hate.
OpenNMS – Configuring RRD Graph for SNMP Informant
I struggled to create a report in the snmp-graph.properties file to show Logical Disk Percent Idle, but after some tinkering I got it to work. Here’s how the report looks in the file…
report.sinf.peridletm.name=Logical Disk Percent Idle (SNMP-Inf)
report.sinf.peridletm.columns=sinfLDskPctIdleTm
report.sinf.peridletm.type=sinfLDskInstance
report.sinf.peridletm.propertiesValues=sinfLDskInstance
report.sinf.peridletm.command=–title=”Logical Disk {sinfLDskInstance} Percent Idle (SNMP-Informant)” \
DEF:utilization={rrd1}:sinfLDskPctIdleTm:AVERAGE \
DEF:minUtilization={rrd1}:sinfLDskPctIdleTm:MIN \
DEF:maxUtilization={rrd1}:sinfLDskPctIdleTm:MAX \
LINE2:utilization#ff0000:”% idle.” \
GPRINT:utilization:AVERAGE:”Avg \\: %10.2lf %s” \
GPRINT:utilization:MIN:”Min \\: %10.2lf %s” \
GPRINT:utilization:MAX:”Max \\: %10.2lf %s\\n”
Make sure to put the name of the report in the top of the file. (In this case the name of the report is “peridletm”.
Worst Apple Products List – Reasoning Misses the Mark
PCAuthority.com.au did a piece on the worst Apple products ever, and while I don’t necessarily disagree with the Apple devices that made their list, I found much of their reasoning unsound.
For example :
In regard to the “Color Classic”…
“It could be argued that this system forced Apple to rethink building screens into systems. Sure it looks very good but it increases the overall cost of the system and limits users to a particular view. Built-in screens made sense at the start of the computing age but they have thankfully gone the way of the dinosaurs.”
Have they not heard of the G3 iMac, or the G4 iMac, or the eMac? Or how about the new iMacs? They all have built-in screens. What “way of the dinosaurs” are they talking about?
Or how about in regard to the QuickTake, Apple’s old-school digital camera?
“In hindsight, we can say that computer companies make for lousy digital camera vendors. The high-end brands we see in the market today are almost all companies that made old-fashioned film cameras…”
What about Sony? They make some of the best digital cameras. And, Kodak – one of the oldest camera companies in the world, makes terrible digital cameras. I think they’re over-simplifying here.
The article has got some great pictures, and takes you back to the crappier era of computing though, so I suggest you check it out.
“I Before E” English Spelling is Nuts
The guys at Penny Arcade posted a link to this video in their news section. It’s a video of a Merriam-Webster editor discussing the ridiculousness of the “I Before E Rule.” It’s pretty informative.
Star Trek Online Preorder Options
Which one should I pick? Too many to choose from! The nerd part of my brain is over loaded! Gamestop, and Atari’s are the most tempting.
GameStop — GameStop customers receive the ability to command the exclusive and always classic USS Enterprise from Star Trek The Original Series.
Atari (Collector’s Edition) — Red Matter Capacitor : A unique item that charges up and delivers extra energy to all of your ship’s equipment for a short time. Next Generation Uniform, Deep Space Nine uniform.
Atari (Deluxe Edition) — 3 Uniforms from the Original series (blue, red, yellow) , Joined Trill Character, Exclusive “KHAAAN!” Emote, Exclusive Klingon Blood Wine Toast Emote, Unique “NX” Registry Prefix, Automated Defense Battery
Best Buy — Best Buy is offering their customers a fun in-game pet. As a Federation Captain, players own a famed Tribble of Star Trek lore that will accompany them on their travels into the final frontier. As a Klingon commander, players control the boar-like Targ, a beast found on the Klingon home world of Qo’noS.
Amazon — Amazon is offering an exclusive ‘Liberated Borg’ Bridge Officer. This bridge officer, who comes with unique nanotechnology augmentations, assists in missions and gains experience as the player does.
Wal-Mart — With the Wal-Mart Bonus Skill Points package, receive addition skill points that enable players to improve their characters quickly.
Target — Target customers who preorder Star Trek Online receive a unique ground weapon ? a TR-116. This rare projectile weapon is used in dampening fields and other challenging environments; it is also modified with a micro-transporter which beams the fired projectiles to targets at close range so that a user can fire without a direct line of site.
Direct2Drive — Direct2Drive customers receive an exclusive Multi-Spatial Personal Shield. This advanced personal shield system is based on Borg technology, which constantly regenerates itself and the health of its wearer.
STEAM — STEAM is offering customers Chromodynamic Armor. This armor is based on technology brought back from the Delta Quadrant by U.S.S. Voyager improves the damage and critical hits of energy weapons.