Tag Archives: Hardware

Facebook and Open Compute Project

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I just want to get this out in the open, I am not a Facebook (or Twitter) user nor have I been thrilled with the fast-and-loose nature of Facebook’s handling of public or private user information.

In an interesting twist to Facebook’s “openness”, Facebook has released details and documents of their Open Compute Project that is the basis for their recent datacenter located in Prineville, Oregon. The specifications have been released by Facebook under the Open Web Foundation Agreement, while the design and implementation files are released under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.  Being a hardware-nut and have always been interested in datacenter design and architecture, the released server, rack and power component specifications made my day.

To me, it is very nice to see what was done to make the datacenter as lean and mean as possible, mostly the power supply used by each server node. The 450W power supply has two inputs, a nominal 277VAC input as primary and a 48VDC input as a backup. For typical servers, you would have two separate AC or DC power supplies that should pull power from two different sources (such as independent UPS or circuits). There is inherent inefficiencies with this setup as you have to deal with additional losses due to having two sets of conversion components, increased cooling, and an external interposer.

Right now, the two server boards that have had their designs and specifications released are both dual socket boards. The first board is a high-memory capacity board that can take two AMD Opteron 6100-series processors and has 24 memory slots evenly distributed between the two sockets. The second board uses Intel Xeon 5500/5600-series processors and has the common 18 memory slots (9 per socket, 3 slots per channel) setup found in most 1U and 2U servers. Both boards are custom designs and only have the required components included, such as SATA, USB and Gigabit Ethernet. Efficiency, cost savings and simplicity are the reasons for the stark nature of these boards, which is the priority for large scale-out compute systems.

Another unique feature of both boards is how power is provided; rather than using the more common ATX-style connectors (which are available for testing purposes), the designs call for a edge-mounted connector that is more likely found in Cisco Catalyst 6500-series modules or various blade servers. Again, simplicity and efficiency are critical.

As intriguing as the hardware is, it may not be as practical in more common small or medium business environments. Nonetheless, some of the design elements are already found in blade servers or industrial applications. It is the datacenter design elements that will have more of an impact in the near future, as IT continues its march towards cost and energy efficiency.

Edit: BTW, how cool are LED lights powered over Ethernet?

MacBook Air 13″: More wireless than wired

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As with the first generation MacBook Air, both the current 11″ and 13″ variants of the MacBook Air come with a form of 802.11 wireless networking integrated. If you want to connect it to a wired network, you would need to purchase a USB Ethernet adapter from Apple or a compatible third-party. At first, this might sound like another nickel-and-dime attempt by Apple or form triumphing over function.

Well, the latter may be true as Apple wanted to nip and tuck the MacBook Air even more and there is no easy way to put in an Ethernet port into something that slim. It was kind of bad enough with the first-gen MacBook Air when Apple decided to use a pop-down door to provide USB, micro-DVI and headphone ports.

When I was looking at purchasing a MacBook Air, I was at a crossroads when it came to use the device on my (then) relatively slow wireless network or use up a precious USB port and use it wired. I took the safe route and included a USB Ethernet adapter with the order. Once the laptop arrived, I decided to wire up so that I could download updates and applications. Since then, I have only wired up three or four more times due to poor or no wireless access.

With 802.11g and getting decent signal strength, doing larger file transfers was rather painful but I slogged through it. After adding a 802.11n access point on the 5GHz band, it was faster and more convenient to go wireless than wired. Not to mention, one less wire to deal with when on the recliner, couch or at work is a very good thing.

Now, if only Apple would have done a little bit better with the SD slot. I dislike having an SD card that sticks out along the edge of the laptop when inserted. I’m fine with that on an SD reader, but not when I’m jostling the laptop around and making sure I don’t end up breaking the SD card in half. Not sure if this is also the case with other MacBook products.

BTW, Incase continues to make great cases, covers and sleeves for various Apple products; and, they haven’t disappointed me with their Neoprene Sleeve for the MacBook Air. It fits snugly and I really like the lining used. If you want one, you’ll probably have to head down to an Apple store as trying to find one available online is a bit… difficult.

MacBook Air 13″: The heat is (kinda) on

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I have been using my MacBook Air 13″ to catch up on various soccer games (such as: Real Salt Lake v LA Galaxy, Portland Timbers v Chivas USA) that I haven’t been able to such on local channels or cable. The usual streams are done with Flash or Silverlight, so the CPU has some work to do, along with some browsing on the side. Below is a snippet of the CPU activity while watching a video in Silverlight and having a couple of chat windows open and active. I also have the laptop on wireless, as I don’t always want a network cable and USB Ethernet adapter to deal with.

After about 10-15 minutes of watching video streams or what-not, the part of the laptop between the keyboard and the display hinge gets pretty warm, if not a smudge hot. It does not get scorching hot or gets uncomfortable when not using a pad between the laptop and my thighs. So, I decided to download and install TemperatureMonitor to see what the temperature sensors come back with after watching a Silverlight stream at full-screen for 10 minutes.

As you can see in the above image, the two CPU cores were running at 72 and 76 degrees Celsius respectively, while the northbridge chip two sensors returned 72 and 80 degrees. All of the battery sensors and the left palm rest sensors come back well below 35 degrees (though the charger proximity is a bit warmer at 42 degrees). To the touch, the palm rest is lukewarm and feels comfortable.

After about 15 minutes of idling, the two CPU cores settled down to 61 degrees each, the northbridge sensor readings also decreased back down to 62 and 71 degrees. Everything else barely budged 2-3 degrees between idle and moderate load.

While I don’t have temperature numbers for my old T60, the back left corner that contains the exhaust and copper fins for the processor and GPU heatpipes got very hot; even with the cooling fan spinning at full tilt. Hot enough to become very uncomfortable to use without a pad or secondary cooling. The W510 does not get nearly as bad as the T60 and with the fan running slightly above normal speeds. I think the only time that I had the fan in the W510 spin at full speed was running several FLAC and MP3 encode jobs simultaneously. Still, it does seem to run a bit warmer than the MacBook Air 13″, but that is to be expected.

I have not had a lot of experience with the MacBook Pro 13″ or 15″ models, so I can’t really compare the MacBook Air 13″ with either Pro models. One can deduce that with an even faster processor (no matter how new and latest process used to fab the processor) and an even beefier GPU (well, in the 15″ models), the Pro 15″ may not run quite as cool as the relatively slower Air.

Now, for my complaint about Silverlight with Firefox 4.0 and OS X 10.6… it requires Firefox to run in 32-bit mode for it to run. This is an issue as Firefox starts up in 64-bit mode by default and needs to restart in 32-bit mode to load up the plug-in. That sucks rotten eggs if you have a lot of tabs or windows open and need to watch a video in Silverlight. Granted, I could use Safari to watch the video, but that’s still a freaking hassle. I’m not blame it on Firefox or OS X, but rather complaining the fact that Silverlight is 32-bit only. Fah!

Where have all the trackballs gone?

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I have been a huge fan of the Microsoft Trackball Explorer device ever since it came out and still really like the ones that I have left. Unfortunately, it is getting harder to use as the ball no longer rolls very well after not using it for a 5-10 minutes.

So, my search for another trackball started for my setup at work. One of the co-workers traded in her Logitech Cordless Optical TrackMan trackball for another pointing device. Like the Microsoft Trackball Explorer, the ball is controlled with the pointer and/or middle finger, rather than the thumb, and actually has enough buttons to program. The way that I’ve programmed both the Microsoft and the Logitech trackballs have been to assign the third and fourth buttons (in the case of the Logitech, I use the back and forward buttons above the left-click button) to be the equivalent to Copy and Paste. When I program it, I actually use the keyboard shortcut of CTRL+C and CTRL+V respectively; that way, I can use it to also stop long running scripts or programs on remote servers that I’ve SSH’d into with PuTTY.

The biggest problems that I have with the Logitech trackball is that, being cordless, it runs through rechargeable batteries like Yoshi does with berries and Koopa Troopas in Super Mario World. Also, the freaking wireless base that Logitech uses makes it absolutely non-portable nor works well when using the laptop and trackball on a small area (be it a laptop cart or a small desk). I would be thrilled if Logitech could update it to use their super tiny USB receiver or convert it to Bluetooth; though, that will not solve the pathetic battery life. Even better, make an identical version that is corded.

Microsoft decided to kill off the Trackball Explorer years ago and used ones go for an obscene amount on various online selling or auction sites. Microsoft also decided that nobody wanted the awesome Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro with the proper key switches and tactile feedback. The smaller Natural Keyboard Elite is no replacement for the Pro, nor is their new attempts of an ergonomic keyboard. All of the new ones have the mushiest keys and have the irritating F-Lock un-feature that drives me batty.

I have also given the Kensington Expert Mouse and their Orbit Trackball with Scroll Ring on several occasions. Neither are proper replacements for the Trackball Explorer, as the Expert Mouse only makes sense when used on a proper desk (the thing is pretty darn large) and the scroll ring is no replacement for a proper scroll wheel found on either the aforementioned Microsoft and Logitech trackballs. The Orbit Trackball is also off the consideration list, due to the lack of programmable buttons and the click-free “Scroll Ring” is not even worth uttering “meh”.

I wish someone could buy the Trackball Explorer design from Microsoft and produce a high-quality and updated version. It would also need to be corded and easily programmed under Windows, OS X and Linux/BSD. I am willing to spend upwards to $70 for each one and would probably buy two upfront.

Ergonomics is becoming more important to me and a good trackball paired up with a keyboard with proper switches and tactile feedback (yep, I know of a couple and am thinking about getting one in a little bit) would help reduce the strain of coding, configuring and documenting. I’m willing to pay more upfront if it helps reduce the chance of having surgery done on my wrists.

MacBook Air 13″: Why not a MacBook Pro 13″?

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While I was doing my due diligence on getting a netbook-like device that would complement my primary laptop, a Lenovo ThinkPad W510, I did consider a MacBook Pro 13″ with Thunderbolt. The price of the MacBook Pro 13″ with the base 2.3GHz Core i5, 4GB of RAM, 128GB SSD, iWork and AppleCare. The price for such a configuration would be nearly the same price as the MacBook Air 13″ that I purchased.

So, why did I choose to go with a slower and non-upgradeable device (the SSD can be upgraded with a 256GB version, but that’s about it)? Simple, the MacBook Air is roughly 1.5 pounds lighter and roughly one-third of an inch thinner at its thickest part (a good 0.84 inch difference at the thinnest point, but that not a true apples-to-apples comparison, and that pun was intended). Let’s not forget that MacBook Air 13″ display has a native resolution of 1440×900 while the MacBook Pro 13″ display has a native resolution of 1280×800. That difference is noticeable and the extra pixels are very useful when working through a stack of photos in Lightroom 3. Another thing that I haven’t missed in my MacBook Air is the lack of an optical drive. If I’m on the go and need to pop in a CD or DVD, I’ll probably pick up a portable drive (probably not the one from Apple); while at home, I can use the remote disc feature and use the optical drive in my ThinkPad or another computer.

If I had to give up my ThinkPad W510, which I wouldn’t, and needed to downsize, then I would have opted for another ThinkPad, this time a T-series with a 14″ display rather than go with a MacBook Pro. Yes, there is still some overlap between the new MacBook Air and my ThinkPad W510 for some tasks, like browsing or reading e-mail; both of those tasks are nicer on the MacBook Air due to its feather-weight and form factor. For heavy duty tasks, like virtualization, large batches of photo editing or workflows, the W510 wins hands down.

First impressions: Apple MacBook Air 13″

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In my last couple of posts, I kind of hinted that I got a new device and did not want to spoil the fun until I had a chance to get settled with the new device. Well, as you can see in the title of this post, the new device in fact an Apple MacBook Air 13″.

Now, some of you might be ready to pelt me with rotten tomatoes or are wondering why in the world would I buy a new Apple product after lambasting Apple on their treatment of iPhone users. Well, my reasons and rationalizations may not be enough to cover all of the concerns and questions.

For the past year, I have been wanting to pick up a netbook, so that I could have a lighter-weight alternative to my 6-odd pound Lenovo ThinkPad W510 mobile workstation. The idea is that I could carry a netbook around with me so that I can download photos that I’ve taken with my Nikon D300, then preview them and delete the ones that I didn’t want.

I looked the various 11″ netbooks from Asus, Acer, Lenovo, Dell and HP, both products targeted at consumers and business users. I even considered a couple of netbooks in tablet/slate form, but none of them really had the same robust feel on a proper Lenovo ThinkPad T or X series or HP EliteBook series of laptops. The screens were pretty cruddy for inspecting photos, the mostly plastic shells and not-so-impressive screen hinges, the 2GB memory limit (some business-class netbooks could take 4GB, but would also come with Windows 7 Professional), meh-tastic stock SSD, and other niggles all did not exude confidence as something I would spend my money on.

Ever since the current generation of MacBook Air laptops came out, I have been interested in what it could potentially offer. I really liked the 13″ screen (the lower resolution of the 11″ model was befitting for a premium netbook, but was not good enough), lightweight yet sturdy industrial design, and actually has a good, non-clicky keyboard. The two things that had kept me from seriously considering the MacBook Air was the cost and it is an Apple product.

So back I went to look at what Dell, Lenovo or HP could offer with their ultra-portable laptops and even considered a convertible table from Lenovo or Dell. The problem that I ran into was the base cost of the ultra-portable laptop or tablet, without 4GB of RAM or an SSD. Considering that whatever I wanted to buy would have to be able to take a little bit abuse now and then, the chassis had to be made from metal and/or alloy and had a decent SSD. Even with a Dell Premier discount from work, an E4310 with the base Core i5-560M, 4GB of RAM, 128GB mobility SSD, 3-year warranty and Intel 802.11n wireless, the cost would still be a bit more than the MacBook Air 13″ that I wanted (more on that in a bit). Also, the E4310 would end up about 1 pound heavier than the MacBook Air 13″, including the AC adapter. I’m also still not sold with the overall build quality or the performance of the Dell SSD. Of course, I could order it with a based hard drive and buy and slap in a mid-range OCZ Vertex 2 SSD and would end up costing about the same (+/- $50).

Two Sundays ago, I stopped by a local Apple Store, again, to take a look at and play with a MacBook Air 13″. I was sold on the form factor, the unibody aluminum case, the (glossy) screen and the overall performance. I was still skittish about the price, but remembered that I had an Apple iPhone gift card that could be used on an iPhone or any other product at an Apple Store or Apple’s online store. That helped lessen the hit to the wallet.

By the time I went home, I decided to go with the MacBook Air 13″ base model (which has a Core 2 Duo 1.86GHz/6MB cache, 2GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD), but wanted to upgrade the RAM to 4GB and add a USB Ethernet adapter, iWork suite and requisite AppleCare. The total ended up just under $1800 with 2-3 day shipping and before applying the gift card.

The laptop arrived Friday morning, at which I immediately and carefully opened the box, plugged it in to charge up the battery and plugged in the USB Ethernet adapter and into the guest network at work. I powered it on and the Apple startup sound boomed a bit too loud (I feel dirty each time I hear it), then proceeded to walk me through the initial setup. Once that was all done with, I opted to start pulling down the latest updates, which totaled to around 230MB and took about 45 minutes to download and install. I rebooted it and was back at the desktop in under a minute. That’s faster than the time it takes for my ThinkPad to accept my fingerprint, power up and get to the Windows is starting animation. Granted, my ThinkPad has to spin up a hard drive and do a quick scan of the four 4GB memory modules :D

I have been using the MacBook Air 13″ as my primary laptop over the past couple of days, making sure that I downloaded and installed Firefox 4 RC, Google Chrome, Sequel Pro, Cyberduck and went through all of the System Preferences to get everything set up the way that I wanted. I also caved in and configured the default Mail client to access my personal and GMail mailboxes, as well as using iChat as the IM client of choice. I had to install and trust the self-signed CA certificate that I use on my personal servers so that the various browsers and applications would be happy. I have run into a couple of glitches with the iChat application and the Google Talk tunnel I have set up on my personal Jabber server. I also set up the Address Book and iCal applications to sync up with my calendar and contacts hosted by Google.

The low weight and thin form factor almost makes my geeky want of any tablet disappear. Sure, it is larger and weighs more than a Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy Tab or the Apple iPad/iPad 2 and takes a bit longer to “boot up”, but it is so much more usable for personal and work purposes.

It has been several years since I used Mac OS X on a regular basis, so I had to re-learn the OS X nuances and differences compared to Windows 7 and the GNOME desktop that comes with Ubuntu 10.04 LTS. I also have not had a chance to install Nikon Transfer and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3, but that’ll have to wait for another day or two.

I have yet to use the new Apple App Store for OS X, as I have found all of the applications that I care for off of the project’s websites. The only application equivalent that I haven’t really found yet is something akin to Foobar 2000 on Windows. I tried Clementine, but it kept on throwing errors when trying to play FLAC files off of my file server or ones that I’ve copied to the local disk. I would prefer not have to deal with iTunes or QuickTime, so I may have to switch over to VLC as my music player.

I am also still getting used to the multi-touch gestures and the two-finger “right-click”. The trackpad itself is quite nice and is a step up from either of my ThinkPad laptops (sorry IBM/Lenovo). It almost negates the need for a trackball for most tasks, but may not be ideal for working with digital photography workflow applications.

All in all, I am impressed with the MacBook Air 13″ and I feel that it is almost worth the cost. The only cost that I really have to complain about is the AppleCare for the laptop. $249 isn’t a bad price, but I’m kind of spoiled on the Dell or HP business support contracts and the fact that AppleCare does not really provide an on-site option.

Is it a perfect device for my needs? I can’t really say right now, but ask me again in about six months. Am I feeling buyer’s remorse yet? No, not yet. Can I recommend it to everyone? Not really, as it is not the best bang for the buck for a device that is only used for e-mail, web browsing and watching the occasional movie or TV show. If you want something that feels like a professional-class laptop and weighs just about 3 pounds, the MacBook Air in either form should at last be considered.

…and yes, I am still looking forward to replace my iPhone 3G with an HTC Evo Shift 4G.