Random Links, 9/03/2011

• 'Shrimp On A Treadmill': The Politics Of 'Silly' Studies [npr.org]
• Another Windows 8 tidbit: File management to get an overhaul [zdnet.com]
• UK's atomic clock 'is world's most accurate' [bbc.co.uk]
• H-P's One-Year Plan [wsj.com]
• What lies beneath in the catacombs of Paris [bbc.co.uk]
• Groupon's CEO lashes out at critics ahead of IPO [reuters.com]

The IPv4 Market

A few interesting links appeared in my RSS feeds the other day, and I figured they were interesting enough to share. They certainly bring up a few discussion topics, though the third link deals more with the political side of reselling IPs and none on the technical aspects that the Ars articles cover. All in all, the topic is something that I'm interested in and I'm not at all sure how the future will end up for it.

• The case for a free market in IPv4 addresses
• Trading IPv4 addresses will end in tears
• Trading IPv4 Addresses Starts Making Internet Elders Nervous

Safe Journey, Steve

Steve Jobs has stepped down as CEO of Apple, and we've had a few days to internalize what this actually means. So far Wall Street doesn't seem to mind, as their stock has increased in value since the announcement, and tech pundits seem to have calmed down a bit since. Apple the company is not going anywhere and there are plenty of people there that work incredibly hard to produce the products in their lineup. Here are a few links about the legendary Steve Jobs at Apple.

• A 1992 Look at Steve Jobs and the Birth of Apple
• Money Quotes, Steve Jobs-Style
• Steve Jobs' Apple: a timeline
• Steve Jobs Steps Down the First Time: The 1985 Press Coverage
• Steve Jobs: The Edison of Our Time and the Future of Apple
• The End of Innocence: What Happened After Apple Fired Steve Jobs (Pt 1)
• The End of Innocence: How Steve Jobs Was Able to Save Apple (Pt 2)

KVM on Illumos

KVM on Illumos

A little over a year ago, I came to Joyent because of a shared belief that systems software innovation matters — that there is no level of the software stack that should be considered off-limits to innovation. Specifically, we ardently believe in innovating in the operating system itself — that extending and leveraging technologies like [...]

[Planet Illumos]

Space: The Final Frontier

I’ve had a bunch of links about the NASA Space Transportation System (STS) – otherwise known as the “shuttles” – accumulating over the past few weeks, so I’ve decided to dump them here. The articles offer a great perspective of the shuttle system, as well as some awesome and spectacular photographs depicting the program over the years. Enjoy the reads :)

• The space shuttle: Portrait of an American era – A great photo gallery of some unique and memorable shots of shuttle, locations, and people (Washington Post Magazine, July 6 2011)
• Last flight of the Space Shuttle: a 30-year retrospective – Overview of the Space Transportation System (Ars Technica, July 7 2011)
• Video: As Endeavour Returns Home For the Final Time, Atlantis Prepares for the Last Shuttle Launch Ever – A wrap-up of the Endeavour shuttle and video of its last mission landing (Popular Science, June 1 2011)
• As Humans Take Leave of Space, Robot Explorers Will Go Farther and Look Closer Than Ever – A perspective that the end of the shuttle program is nothing to be sad about, as it is the starting point for a brand new future for NASA with robots and far-reaching exploration (Popular Science, July 8 2011)
• Historic Pairing: Shuttle Docked to the ISS : Big Pic – A beautiful once-in-a-lifetime photograph of the shuttle Endeavour docked to the International Space Station (Discovery News, June 7 2011)

DOCSIS

I wanted to post these two links from Ars Technica which were published a few weeks ago about one of the current prominent cable internet technologies, Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS). The two parts are a nice overview of the tech for those that aren’t network administrators (and even for those that are) and give some insight into how many home internet connections work today.

• Meet DOCSIS, Part 1: the unsung hero of high-speed cable Internet access
• Meet DOCSIS, Part 2: the jump from 2.0 to 3.0

Posterity

I’m not sure whether the best inventions really come from when people are in the shower, but I certainly had a realization. In 50, 60, 70, or however many years down the road when I’m getting to that age I would need to think of either moving into an assisted living home (or just shrugging it off and skydiving instead) and when I might lose my mind or be forgetting what happened in the past, I will hopefully realize the beauty of what we call a blog in this day and age. I’ll be a little selfish here and say that this blog is for nobody as much as it is for me. The modern diary or written history, a blog serves to hold memories and document events, photographs, names, and other points of interest for the future and years to come. Whatever form the Internet is in in 70 years, I hope to be able to recall my writings and read what I thought of things in my youth :)

On that cheerful note, I attended the TJ 25th Celebration tonight which included presentations by Bettie Stegall, a video by Ed Montgomery (TJHSST Communications System Research Lab director), current and past Principals, and performances by several TJ student groups. I was able to meet up with some people I hadn’t seen in years including Molly P, Jacob W, and several faculty (Ms. Groves still remembered my name :) ) members. If I’m not able to make it to J-Day next Friday, I bid Mr. Washer adieu from FCPS IT, and hope he has a fantastic time getting back into playwriting and the theater.

"The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.”

--Don Williams, Jr.