Just saw the putback notification from Marty, and the associated heads up message from Prasad about the putback of the Native SATA driver for nVidia CK804 and MCP55 chipsets.I’ve been waiting on this for quite some time now, and I’m eagerly awaiting the release of iso images for snv_72 which have it before I upgrade my main system and get my zones fixed up.Come to think of it, I guess I should probably go and find me a beefy LTO2/3 to backup everything first.`Technorati`_ tags: topic:{Technorati}[OpenSolaris], topic:{Technorati}[Solaris], topic:{Technorati}[nVidia], topic:{Technorati}[CK804], topic:{Technorati}[MCP55], topic:{Technorati}[SATA], topic:{Technorati}[nv_sata]

There was discussion on ogb-discuss overnight about the signal to noise ratio on opensolaris-discuss, and suggestions about how to improve that ratio.The first step was taken by Alan Burlison, who put together this page entitled Installing OpenSolaris.There are links to the OpenSolaris help forum, to installation FAQs, to the Genunix wiki, and to the documentation community. It’s a great jumping off point for your OpenSolaris voyage and I heartily recommend it. There’s also the #opensolaris irc channel on irc.freenode.net if you want some real-time contact.`Technorati`_ tags: topic:{Technorati}[OpenSolaris], topic:{Technorati}[Newcomers], topic:{Technorati}[Sun Microsystems], topic:{Technorati}[Installation], topic:{Technorati}[irc.freenode.net], topic:{Technorati}[Alan Burlison], topic:{Technorati}[ogb-discuss], topic:{Technorati}[OpenSolaris Governing Board]

Wandering in to #opensolaris on irc.freenode.net this morning, DLG pointed me to two urls:

. http://www.sun.com/processors/documentation.html. http://www.sun.com/processors/manuals/Fire_Reference_Manual.pdf

This is great news, because this documentation is the sort of programmer’s reference manual which you need if you want to write a nexus driver for those chips. Now of course, these nexus drivers are already there in OpenSolaris, but they’re not there for OpenBSD. DLG has been corresponding with David Yen and Jonathan Schwartz for a number of months on getting this doco without strings (ie, no nda required), and I’m really happy that this has worked out.There’s nothing there yet for the Schizo chip, but I’m optimistic that this will turn up too, soon enough.`Technorati`_ tags: topic:{Technorati}[David Gwynne], topic:{Technorati}[OpenBSD], topic:{Technorati}[Fire ASIC], topic:{Technorati}[Tomatillo], topic:{Technorati}[Theo de Raadt], topic:{Technorati}[David Yen], topic:{Technorati}[Jonathan Schwartz], topic:{Technorati}[Sun Microelectronics], topic:{Technorati}[OpenSPARC], topic:{Technorati}[Sun Microsystems], topic:{Technorati}[nexus driver]

Rang my provider’s support number yesterday to see about getting my port turned up to ADSL2/2+ speeds. Last night Optus turned the port up to max ADSL1 (8M down, 384k up) claiming that my modem (Open Networks 624W) was incapable of ADSL2 without locking up the DSLAM port.I know that’s bogus since when we were in Sydney we had ADSL2+ active with it on internode for a month.Anyway… Michael on the support line got back in touch with them to let them know that they were mistaken, and very shortly thereafter my line re-synced at 13M down 800k up. Yay!Very happy now .. image:: /images/smilies/icon_smile.gif

alt

:-)

This morning I awoke to the beautiful news that SUNW had swung back to profit, even beating The Street’s EPS estimates by 5c!Despite that, storage was down, general US weakness affected the results…. and as we’ve all gotten used to over the last 5 years, there is a sting in the tail:

On a conference call to discuss the results, Schwartz said that with regards to cutting spending and other costs, “We are by no means done. We view our progress as a streamline step.”

(from www.marketwatch.com)Sigh. More RIFs to come – I guess they’re a fact of life. I just wish that they weren’t. I’m hopeful that Sun won’t need to have such massive retrenchments as they did last year — they suck the morale out of everybody.`Technorati`_ tags: topic:{Technorati}[SUNW], topic:{Technorati}[Sun Microsystems], topic:{Technorati}[earnings]

There was some more kerfuffle this morning about settlement, but it’s all worked out in the end.We’ve been very fortunate to have the assistance of Margaret Kelly, from John P. Kelly & Co, in dealing with all the legal aspects of this purchase.Now we are asset rich and cash poor (thankyou purserj for reminding me of that phrase), and can think seriously about painting and a pool fence and a pool cover and all sorts of other things too.Joy.Guess I’ll have to try to be a grown-up now, too!

When J and I were walking back from our Christmas Day lunch in NYC last year, we came along Lexington Avenue after a brief look inside Grand Central Station. At the intersection of East 41st and Lexington, we saw this really eery scene: .. image:: http://www.jmcpdotcom.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=11661&g2_serialNumber=2

Just got a quick call from our solicitor – Settlement on our home is now scheduled for Monday 24th.

Yesterday we wandered off to UQ (both J’s and my alma mater) to watch Spoonboy get covered in lines.Ok, so he graduated.Finally!Spoonboy: well done, we’re all proud of you.

Dr Mohamed Haneef has been held for two weeks without charge while a cast of several hundred AFP officers tried their best to find some actual evidence of his involvement in the recent UK bombings at Glasgow airport.Dr Haneef was charged only late last week, with the truly desperate “crime” of “recklessly” providing “material support for terrorism” by giving his UK simcard to a cousin just before he left the UK last year.I just saw this article which reports that Dr Haneef’s visa has been cancelled by the Minister for Immigration after he was granted bail of $10,000 by a magistrate. This means that despite the flimsiness of the charge against him, he is now a continued “guest” of the federal government with his career in this country just about destroted and virtually no possibility of appeal against his predicament. While others in this position would no doubt be deported, he is almost certainly going to remain detained until some politically convenient time for the Howard government.The letters in today’s Sydney Morning Herald and Courier Mail show just how much contempt the public has for the Howard Government and the Australian Federal Police in this matter.Not only is this “reckless” charge tantamount to a thought crime, but the actions of the Minister for Immigration show just how far the Howard Government is prepared to go in order to prevent any possibility of a fair trial — let alone the presumption of innocence. Come to think of it, under Mr Howard’s 2004 anti-terror laws I don’t recall that there is a presumption of innocence. What a great way to get rid of your enemies, or to use for scapegoats.If I was still a resident of NSW then I’d be voting for James Purser in the Senate at the forthcoming Federal election. Assuming that it will still be held, of course.`Technorati`_ tags: topic:{Technorati}[James Purser], topic:{Technorati}[Dr Mohamed Haneef], topic:{Technorati}[Detention without trial], topic:{Technorati}[Illegal], topic:{Technorati}[Minister for Immigration]