Jemimus' Blog

USATODAY.com - Are hackers using your PC to spew spam and steal?

Nice article summorizing the recent landscape of Hacking, Phishing and Zombifying. A must read if you are not up to date on those 3 terms I just mentioned!

With that I mean specificly the non-tech readers of my blog!!

Thinking about getting some new cases.

I am getting a bit tired of my main server, fs_srv1, which sits in the livingroom, making such a noise all time. On top of that, it looks butt-ugly, and isn't exactly extendible.

This seems to be a far better alternative:

Its the Lian-Li PC-V1100.

Specifications

• Observed Dimensions: 490 (L) x 208 (W) x 515mm (D)
• Construction: Aluminum
• Observed weight: 8.6 kg (w/o PSU)
• Mainboard: up to a full size ATX
• PCI Slots: Seven
• Drive Bays: six hidden 3.5”, five exposed 5.25” with one of these FDD cover plate and tray
• Cooling: 120mm front case fan with filter, rear 120mm exhaust
• Front mounted ports: two USB 2.0, Firewire, mic in and audio out
• Power Supply: None
• Available in silver and anodized black

Apart from the fact that it looks stunning, it also has wheels, and is made to be extremely quiet.

Here a quote from Overclocker Cafe's review:

"The Lian Li PC-V1100 has features and expansion room to satisfy most anyone.  Taking a new design and sound proofing it has opened up the niche market of silence seekers that much more.  With the room inside the PC-V1100 it almost screams for a water cooling system to be installed in it.  The listing of pros below says it all.  The only problems with the case are the lack of a reset button and no mainboard tray.  The lack of a mainboard tray can be overlooked for the most part because of the large amount of work room inside.  Pricing at $250 isn't exactly cheap but considering what you get for the money, it's worth every penny."

I would need to include this PSU:

Its the Zalman Silent 400W Power Supply.

Right now fs_srv1 is a P3 800, but considdering the amount of shit I run on it (website, p2p, sql, sharepoint, pr0n, music, AD, etc. etc. etc. , its long overdue an upgrade. Upgrading the case will at least prepare for an eventual upgrade, which I will probably do somewhere next year when I have some money.

Alternativly I might considder a barebone case, such as this:

This is the Shuttle XPC SB81P, and is reviewed at Tomshardware here, Overclocker Cafe here, and The Techreport here.

I was also thinking of a barebone case to place at my mother's to act as a server to which I could extend my domain. The Shuttle XPC Zen seems perfect for this role, as its low-tech, very small and discreet. Reviews here and here.

Oke. two weeks are up.

They turned out to be pretty cool after all. This is a company I would not mind working for at all, most of the company is technical, and most are geeks  They tell me they where pretty happy with me, and hinted that they might ask me back in future if I was needed. Pretty cool. Also I managed to do far more interesting work in their office enviroment, than being left with support work, these guys hardly need support.

Got a call yesterday from one of the newer account managers at my company, they have a job for me at somewhat larger company, and it would involve helping out with their Windows 2003 migration.. about fucking time!
The nice thing about new account managers, is that you have a black slate with them. They dont know anythign about you, and simply read your CV, which is great, cause my CV details the stuff I am good at, and is customized to insure intersting jobs.. and it worked!

If he can get me in there, its a great customer to work for. They are the largest media production houses in the Netherlands, and provide a huge scala of media and production services to television and radio, inluding the public tv channels and news outlet.

A while ago I was asked to assist my company in an offer for the implementation of a total management solution for this customer, and I provided all the comparison information for Landesk Manager. We lost the bid though, shame. Wonder what they will need me for specificly.

Anyway, back in the land of current job, Windows Update is finally working correctly! Most clients that booted this morning either installed all updates or downloaded them, very good. Replication and browsing is sorted to. All in all I have left this network in a better state than I found it, always nice.

Is anyone technical reading these technical posts of mine? if so, please leave a comment... its not that I dont appreciate Butterfly, Gracie etc. posting, but I would really like some technical feedback aswell!