Linked by Thom Holwerda on Mon 30th Nov 2009 23:45 UTC
Yesterday (today if you're in the US), Sun released the latest version of its virtualisation solution, VirtualBox 3.1. Among speed improvements and other smaller features, the biggest news is that Virtualox 3.1 introduces something called teleportation: you can move running VMs between machines - servers or clients, different architectures, different host operating systems, it doesn't matter to VirtualBox. Coincidentally, this reminded me of an idea I once had about moving running applications between machines.
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RE: Let's separate VM teleportationa and Data teleportation
by felipe_alfaro on Tue 1st Dec 2009 15:40
in reply to "Let's separate VM teleportationa and Data teleportation"
Member since:2006-04-16
RE[2]: Let's separate VM teleportationa and Data teleportation
by namakemono on Wed 2nd Dec 2009 18:25
in reply to "RE: Let's separate VM teleportationa and Data teleportation"
Member since:2009-07-01
RE: Let's separate VM teleportationa and Data teleportation
by phoenix on Tue 1st Dec 2009 20:32
in reply to "Let's separate VM teleportationa and Data teleportation"
Member since:2005-07-11
About Thom's idea, it is better to be possible do the transportation of the data only, not the whole OS or the application itself. This may sign that you will need same apps in both lands, but it will be faster to migrate than whole OS/App/Data. Otherwise, using a remote session or putting the data in a server is better.
You store the actual VM image on shared storage (NFS, CIFS, iSCSI, etc). It's only the in-use memory that is transported from one host to the other.
That said, what I really would love is something based in an environment like the Chrome proposal. I'm working in a document in the phone/handheld and when arriving home, I only put it in the cradle and the content is switched to be showed in a better screen, and I can continue to work with other input devices. If I loss the device the content is preserved because it is stored in the server.
Remote X11, rdesktop, VNC, and NX allow you to do this already, although not as seamlessly as some would like.
RE[2]: Let's separate VM teleportationa and Data teleportation
by namakemono on Wed 2nd Dec 2009 18:37
in reply to "RE: Let's separate VM teleportationa and Data teleportation"
Member since:2009-07-01
You store the actual VM image on shared storage (NFS, CIFS, iSCSI, etc). It's only the in-use memory that is transported from one host to the other.
And what if I need to change/migrate the area in that such VM image is stored ? Is there a way to move it having the VM running ? - this is my understanding of "VM transportation", not only the instance, but the image too.
Remote X11, rdesktop, VNC, and NX allow you to do this already, although not as seamlessly as some would like.
Well, I was thinking in something that changes the presentation itself - like when a web page knows if you are using a browser in a desktop or in a mobile device. Doing a VNC/RDesktop of a desktop sized screen in the mobile device will be a scrolling challenge.
Rgds,
News
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 22:33 UTC
Official Apple statement on PRISM and privacy: "Regardless of the circumstances, our Legal team conducts an evaluation of each request and, only if appropriate, we retrieve and deliver the narrowest possible set of information to the authorities. In fact, from time to time when we see inconsistencies or inaccuracies in a request, we will refuse to fulfill it." This is basically Apple re-publishing their earlier statement in a more official manner. You either believe it, or you don't.
Linked by Anonymous on 06/18/13 22:26 UTC
The open source Contiki operating system and its commercial Thingsquare distribution are making strides towards the connected home. According to a Computerworld article, a new LED light bulb manufacturer is putting small computers into their light bulbs. Each computer runs the Contiki OS, which gives each bulb an IP address and allows them to be controlled with a smartphone application. To connect the bulbs to the application, the bulbs use both Wi-Fi and the much lower power IEEE 802.15.4 mesh technology.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 22:25 UTC
"Google asked the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on Tuesday to ease long-standing gag orders over data requests it makes, arguing that the company has a constitutional right to speak about information it's forced to give the government. The legal filing, which cites the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech, is the latest move by the California-based tech giant to protect its reputation in the aftermath of news reports about sweeping National Security Agency surveillance of Internet traffic." Draining the ditch after the cow has drowned in it.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 17:45 UTC
"I can't find one person who has been using the Nexus 7 for an extended period of time, and hasn't seen a massive downgrade in performance. Just what kind of downgrade are we talking here? I cannot pick up my Nexus 7 without experiencing problems like a lag of ten seconds, or more, just to rotate the display; touches refusing to acknowledged; stuttering notification panel actions; and unresponsive apps." Fully and utterly agreed. My Nexus 7 was blazing-fast and awesome for a few months, and at some point, it just started sucking. Just like that. I've tried loads of ROMs, and nothing helps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 17:32 UTC, submitted by poundsmack
A new release of the hobby operating system MenuetOS! The release notes are a bit non-descript, but you'll have to take what you can get: "updates and improvements (picview, httpc, ehci, ...)".
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/17/13 17:58 UTC
"The Internet is one of the most transformative technologies of our lifetimes. But for 2 out of every 3 people on earth, a fast, affordable Internet connection is still out of reach. And this is far from being a solved problem. There are many terrestrial challenges to Internet connectivity - jungles, archipelagos, mountains. There are also major cost challenges. Right now, for example, in most of the countries in the southern hemisphere, the cost of an Internet connection is more than a month's income. Solving these problems isn't simply a question of time: it requires looking at the problem of access from new angles. So today we're unveiling our latest moonshot from Google[x]: balloon-powered Internet access." Insane.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/17/13 17:52 UTC
"MineAssemble is a tiny bootable Minecraft clone written partly in x86 assembly. I made it first and foremost because a university assignment required me to implement a game in assembly for a computer systems course. Because I had never implemented anything more complex than a 'Hello World' bootloader before, I decided I wanted to learn about writing my own kernel code at the same time. Note that the goal of this project was not to write highly efficient hand-optimized assembly code, but rather to have fun and write code that balances readability and speed. This is primarily accomplished by proper commenting and consistent code structuring." Just cool.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 21:03 UTC
Jon Rubinstein, former CEO of Palm: "Well, I'm not sure I would have sold the company to HP. That's for sure. Talk about a waste. Not that I had any choice because when you sell a company you don't get to decide that. Obviously, the board and shareholders decide that. If we had known they were just going to shut it down and never really give it a chance to flourish, what would have been the point of selling the company? I think the deal we had with Verizon really hurt us, but who knew that at the time? These things are all hindsight."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 20:46 UTC
"And so it is with Dell's Alienware X51 R2, a small form factor gaming PC in console digs. It's shaped similar to Microsoft's Xbox 360 Slim, and though it's slightly larger than either a 360 or PlayStation 3, the X51 R2 would be right at home in a living room setting nestled next to a large screen TV. Indeed, it's adept at running Steam's Big Picture mode, and if your primary objective is to play games in the living room, go ahead and consider the X51 R2 a hybrid game console." This is obviously not the only machine like this - still, these are very valid console alternatives even for those that don't like being hunched over with a cramped WASD-claw. Also, PC gamers among us: could you get away with the $699 model for gaming?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 17:32 UTC
From Bloomberg: "Microsoft, the world's largest software company, provides intelligence agencies with information about bugs in its popular software before it publicly releases a fix, according to two people familiar with the process. That information can be used to protect government computers and to access the computers of terrorists or military foes." The lid has officially been blown off.More News »
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Regarding the news, it's good if it's for free. VMWare tools are offered only in the paid product.
About Thom's idea, it is better to be possible do the transportation of the data only, not the whole OS or the application itself. This may sign that you will need same apps in both lands, but it will be faster to migrate than whole OS/App/Data. Otherwise, using a remote session or putting the data in a server is better.
The transportation is helpful in a scenario in that you can not stop processes in order to do Hardware maintenance/upgrades. And the sync process may take a lot of time if these servers are doing massive data changes.
That said, what I really would love is something based in an environment like the Chrome proposal. I'm working in a document in the phone/handheld and when arriving home, I only put it in the cradle and the content is switched to be showed in a better screen, and I can continue to work with other input devices. If I loss the device the content is preserved because it is stored in the server.
Rgds,