AT&T USBConnect Mercurcy

This is a neat little toy we got from AT&T Wireless. It is one of the new 3G air cards from Sierra Wireless. I had previously used one of their EDGE cards on an older Sony Vaio laptop and, while the speed was unimpressive even three years ago, it still afforded adequate coverage and consistent connectivity.

I’m still getting this new little device up and running, but I just noticed a neat and odd little feature – it comes with a slot for a MicroSD card. I’m assuming this is just a reader, but what an odd and interesting extra for this device!

We’re going to be rolling this out on a 17″ MacBook Pro with OS X 10.5.5 and the documentation was a little sketchy on Mac support. For a few moments I wasn’t sure we were going to be able to make it work – I remember not that long ago when it took a kernel hack to get an EVDO card to connect a MacBook on Verizon Wireless. But, a quick search on the general AT&T support library revealed that the device manufacturer does in fact support operation on the Mac OS by providing the necessary driver software on their website.

The device worked great once we got it up and running. Considering the spotty coverage on what in Los Angeles is considered to be a second-class network (the EVDOs – Verizon and Sprint – rule here), the software radio seemed to provide better reception than most of the GSM voice handsets I’ve used in the western region of the L.A. basin.

The Feeling at the Top of the Drop

A few moments ago, I had a very tiny epiphany regarding my feelings about the current mood of the global economy; it reminded me of that feeling one has at the beginning of the ride on a roller coaster as one is about to crest the first, and generally highest, of all the drops.

The feeling is a mixture of fear, anticipation, tremendous excitement. There is agitation and discomfort in not knowing what to expect, as the view ahead is of nothing more than a precipice and oblivion.

I hope that hindsight will regard these perceptions as having been ill-founded.

Follow Up to the PowerEdge 2950 Install

Finally got it up and running last week. What a nightmare.

The first problem dealt with not having a copy of Windows Server 2003 x64. I got a copy, but once I finally got the boot disc wouldn’t locate any of the logical volumes to install itself on. I figured this was one of those circumstances where I’d need a third-party SCSI or RAID driver. Sure enough, I had to call Dell, figuring they could help me out. They sure did. Turns out the PowerEdge I was shipped had an optical drive of the CD-ROM variety. That’s fine, except the SCSI and RAID drivers I needed, which were not located on the support.dell.com website, were shipped from Dell on a DVD-ROM disc. The Dell tech was super helpful and helped me figure this problem out. The workaround involved a desktop with an ISO CD burning program and a CD-R/W DVD-ROM drive. Thank god I just happened to have one of those lying around.

So, I got the ISO off the DVD, burned it to a CD, then took that CD and the Windows install disc back to the server. I had to boot off the driver disc, which would prepare an install config. I then had to insert the Windows disc. The machine rebooted itself and began the install, which took about half an hour. Once that was complete it worked great. Nice and fast. The only problem was that this server was destined to be part of our existing Exchange 2003 topology.

On 64-bit platforms the only version of Exchange you can run is 2007. Looks like I’m going to have to upgrade. I guess I’ll have another article to write once that is done.

The Films of Fall 2008

Man have I been going to the movies a lot lately. I’m not sure what it is, but it seems like I’ve been to at least one a week for the last four weeks.

I know it started when I got to go to an advance screening of Body of Lies way back in September. A fine film, I can no longer tell the difference between the films of the Scott brothers.

Then when W. debuted, I went to see it on opening day. It was no Nixon, which had the advantage of being made a quarter-century after the events it was depicting. Still, it made me think you could have just made a two-hour film with Richard Dreyfuss enacting the most likely scenarios of Dick Cheney and his “man-sized safe” deep inside the confines of the Google Earth-proof Vice-President’s residence.

After seeing its amusing trailers, Sex Drive was a bit of a disappointment, but I did enjoy seeing Clark Duke and Seth Green together on screen.

What Just Happened was similarly disappointing, but it encouraged me to purchase The Player from Amazon and re-watch it on an up-converted DVD in 1080i. I really agree with whomever said this film doesn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know about Hollywood producers. Although, I did enjoy Bruce Willis playing himself as an asshole. And I did always wonder where production funding came from (the drycleaners).

Synecdoche was disorienting, and also simultaneously both saddening and affirming. I’d recommend it only to the most hard-core Charlie Kaufman fans. I enjoyed it and it made me think, but I think I would have liked it better Spike Jonze directed. Then again I have a hard time visualizing him working with Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Zack and Miri was hilarious. I forgot how much I missed Kevin Smith. His directing has become so polished, it’s almost lost the edgy independent quality of Clerks and Mallrats.

Speaking of Mallrats, I’m still shocked that Jason Lee is a member of the CoS. He seemed so likable back then!

So far, Zack and Miri ties with Body of Lies for my favorite film of 2008.

Finally, RocknRolla. I have to admit I have a soft spot for films that use Hungarian (Camelback) notation in their titles. RocknRolla’s plot smelled dispicably similar to Lock, Stock, but I was willing to overlook that for the redone production value and totally new cast, including, Jeremy Piven in a minor but rewarding role. It delivers, and embraces its own campiness at the end by proclaiming that most cliche of endings, a title card effectively stating, “SEQUEL?!?”

Rocknrolla at The Landmark

I just saw Rocknrolla at The Landmark in West LA and I had such a good time I decided to write about it. The loveseats in the screening room are just about the nicest thing I’ve seen in a theater.

The complex has two screens fashioned like a studio screening room. These are small theaters that have small love seats and recliners replacing the traditional stadium seating. Very nice. And a great place to see Guy Ritchie’s latest London crime saga.