Viktor Blom Biography | Poker Blog

Isildur1 is Viktor Blom.......see the post below

Viktor Blom Biography | Poker Blog

plus my previous post

http://tonycossey.blogspot.com/2010/03/online-poker-high-stakes-roller-coaster.html

The Online Poker High Stakes Roller Coaster

Anyone who has been following the fortunes of online poker player ISILDUR1, will know he has been on somewhat of a roller coaster ride, his latest adventures this week show how much his bankroll varies day to day and even hour to hour, but his taking on all comers and some of the best online pros/

The Online Railbird Report: durrrr and OMGClayAiken Pummel Isildur1 | PokerNews

Isildur1 has an interesting career history, with it seems a self built bankroll -- here is an extract from Wikipedia on his career so far, I wish I could play this style of poker, only my skill limits my horizons :-)

ISILDUR1 the anonymous online player from Sweden first appeared at Full Tilt Poker on September 16, 2009, and remained largely unnoticed until November when he began playing well known professionals such as Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey, Brian Townsend, Cole South, and Patrik Antonius at stakes as high as $500/$1000.^[4] He reached a career peak on November 15 with total winnings of $5 million.^[7] By mid December, however, he was down $2 million net,^[7] including an approximately $4 million loss to Brian Hastings on December 8, when the two played heads-up $500/$1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha for five hours.With a few brief exceptions, Isildur1 did not appear on Full Tilt between his collapse in mid-December and his return in February 2010.

According Full Tilt's insider interview with Patrik Antonius, Isildur1 had a bankroll of approximately $2000 in January 2009. He built his bankroll to $1.4 million by September and began playing on Full Tilt. He first played Haseeb Qureshi, a high stakes regular, at the $100/$200 stakes. After 24 hours Isildur1 managed to win almost $500,000. He disappeared and then resurfaced a month later and played Brian Townsend, Patrik Antonius, and Cole South at the $200/$400 to $500/$1000 tables and suffered a million dollar loss. Baar, a columnist on HighStakesDB which is a website that monitors and tracks high stakes activity online, suggested that Isildur1 was overly aggressive and could cost him playing against elite competition. Isildur1, however, proved critics wrong by winning approximately $2 million back from Townsend and South during the last week of October 2009.

Isildur1 performance in No Limit Hold'em was so dominant that most players refused to play him in Hold'em or offered to play him under the condition that he plays Pot Limit Omaha as well. He then challenged Phil Ivey, currently ranked 1st for the 4th consecutive month on ESPN’s poker rankings, playing three tables heads up No-Limit Hold’em at the $500/$1000 stakes. After a week of play Isildur1 incurred a $3.2 million loss to Ivey and stated in a subsequent interview that Ivey was the toughest opponent he ever played.

Antonius’s then challenged Isildur1 to a rematch in Omaha. Isildur1 openly admitted his experience in Omaha was fairly limited but accepted regardless costing him another $3 million after playing for only one day which, at the time, was the largest one day gain and loss in the history of online poker. This record was broken half a month later when Isildur1 played Brian Hastings. The following day they played a rematch in Omaha where Isildur1 managed to win $2 million back from Antonius.

His winnings hovered at the $2 million mark until December 8, 2009 when he played Brian Hastings for five hours. With a mixture of good luck and collusion from fellow Team CardRunners hand histories, Hastings managed to win $4.2 million from Isildur1 making it the largest one day gain and loss in the history of online poker.

It was discovered afterward that collusion had occurred between Hastings, Townsend, and Cole South in which the three shared and compiled over 30,000 hands of Isildur1’s play which may have resulted in Isildur1's $4.2 million loss to Hastings. They had gained an unfair advantage which Full Tilt defines as "accessing or compiling information on other players beyond that which the user has personally observed through his or her own game play" after Townsend admitted to acquiring hands of Isildur1's play through Hastings which he spoke of during an interview with ESPN.As a result, Townsend was suspended from his red pro status for 30 days.

A number of Isildur1’s regular opponents commented on him in the media buzz surrounding his collapse. On December 11, Ilari Sahamies appeared on Finnish radio show Radio Rock Korporaatio, saying, “He’s playing 9 tables at once against Patrik [Antonius], [Phil] Ivey, and durrrr [Tom Dwan] – the guy must be missing a chromosome.”Also that day, the Full Tilt Academy released a video in which Patrik Antonius discussed Isildur1 with Phil Gordon. Antonius, who won the largest online pot ever ($1.4 million) against Isildur1, called him “extremely dangerous” because he constantly puts his opponents to difficult decisions. Antonius further opined that the mysterious Swede would return.

The rise and fall of Isildur1 was on nearly every Top Stories of 2009 list, including those of Cardplayer, PokerNews.com, PokerNewsDaily.com, and pokerlistings.com.

On December 22, 2009, PokerNews.com published an interview with Isildur1 about his loss to Brian Hastings, but Isildur1 again refused to reveal his identity.

Beginner’s Guide to Git – Make Tech Easier

I found this great starter guide to using the SCM, GIT, its a perfect solution to revision control for software devlopment projects, allows each user to have his own branch of development and does not rely on a central server, good article and a great software utility.

Beginner’s Guide to Git – Make Tech Easier

Here is the GIT online manual for more in depth info

Online book of GIT

FT.com / Commodities - Oil futures turn upside down

Interesting times in the oil market, see the link below, I think Supply outstripping demand would pretty unique in modern times.
FT.com / Commodities - Oil futures turn upside down

CrunchBang & Xubuntu Linux

Some interesting events this week, a relative of mine had the terrible experience of being burgled. I hope those responsible are caught and prosecuted, however with crimes of this type its so difficult to find the culprits.

This event left my relatives family with NO computers, i had some old PC hardware that I could supply them, very low spec and frankly I had a dilemma.

Windows XP was the system that my relatives had used for years, they unfortunately had lost their Windows XP install disks as the laptop bag went with the computer.....a lesson for everyone there, keep your install disks separate from your computer.

Thus Linux came to the rescue, this really was interesting from a 'switching from XP to linux' perspective.

The low spec hardware dictated that I could not use Ubuntu Linux or Mint Linux in their standard form, thus i had to find a easy to use desktop that was light on system resources.

After trying out both Crunchbang and Xubuntu in virtual machines (under virtualbox running on my ubuntu desktop) booting from ISO to evaluate the front ends.

I really liked the minimal style of Cunchbang (seen below in the screen shot), the speed on the low spec machine was very impressive, the openbox window manager provided a acceptable user experience. My only concern was the default application

launch menu being initiated by a right-click, which would i feel cause initial discomfort for new users.

I was so impressed by Crunchbang in fact, I moved one of my test machines to this distro.

However from a ease of use point of view i thought my relatives would adopt Xubuntu more readily, simply due to the APPLICATIONS button acting like the XP start button. Also Xubuntu provided a lot more eye candy without using a huge amount of system resources and used open openoffice, which i have more experience in rather than the Abiword and Gnumeric apps supplied as default with Crunchbang.

The PC is now installed, working nicely and with 5 more people converted to Open Source Software. However DO please try Crunchbang linux, its minimal, slick and way fast, however i think its for users with some existing linux desktop experience.

Linux Nibbles Number 2

A tip i grabbed from tuxradar.com -- nice wireless distance vector tip - less speed = more distance all via the command line

Wireless speed management

Difficulty: Intermediate

Application: iwconfig

The speed at which a piece of radio transmission/receiver equipment can communicate with another depends on how much signal is available. In order to maintain communications as the available signal fades, the radios need to transmit data at a slower rate. Normally, the radios attempt to work out the available signal on their own and automatically select the fastest possible speed.

In fringe areas with a barely adequate signal, packets may be needlessly lost while the radios continually renegotiate the link speed. If you can't add more antenna gain, or reposition your equipment to achieve a better enough signal, consider forcing your card to sync at a lower rate. This will mean fewer retries, and can be substantially faster than using a continually flip-flopping link. Each driver has its own method for setting the link speed. In Linux, set the link speed with iwconfig:

iwconfig eth0 rate 2M

This forces the radio to always sync at 2Mbps, even if other speeds are available. You can also set a particular speed as a ceiling, and allow the card to automatically scale to any slower speed, but go no faster. For example, you might use this on the example link above:

iwconfig eth0 rate 5.5M auto

Using the auto directive this way tells the driver to allow speeds up to 5.5Mbps, and to run slower if necessary, but will never try to sync at anything faster. To restore the card to full auto scaling, just specify auto by itself:

iwconfig eth0 rate auto

Cards can generally reach much further at 1Mbps than they can at 11Mbps. There is a difference of 12dB between the 1Mbps and 11Mbps ratings of the Orinoco card - that's four times the potential distance just by dropping the data rate!

Linux Nibbles Number 1

Where has all my disk space gone on my linux box?

login as root and "du -x / | sort -n | tail -10"

My home linux example on my debian lenny (5.0) server (running under virtualbox)

du -x / | sort -n | tail -10

89656 /usr/local/webmin

89704 /usr/local

140544 /var/cache/apt/archives

140776 /tmp

159692 /var/cache/apt

165380 /var/cache

190484 /usr/share

248276 /var

395552 /usr

890608 /

Rootkits, Malware, TCPview, keyloggers and Security Nightmares

A close friend of mine who has asked to remain anonymous has had a nightmare scenario with a his home computer, a warning to all of us....

A description of this tale of woe
1. Our friend received a payment from his employer as a temporary worker for a series of projects he completed, part of this payment he placed in a building society account which can be accessed by online web browser based services only. The amount transferred was £4000
2. Within 8 hours of the payment arriving in the building society account, it was effectively stolen by online hackers by money being transferred in two £2000 lump sums
3. Also on his credit card, 5 items were purchased totalling £1800 in the same 24 hour period
4. On his other credit card an account was created using www.amazon.co.uk and attempted payments were placed for processing - only when amazon warned our friend did he discover the other transactions

Our friend and his wife suspected their computer was the root of the problem, I thought it sounded like someone had obtained their credit card and online banking details via their PC running Windows XP, they asked me to take a look, what i found was an insight into the poor security of Microsoft operating systems that are effected by certain exploits that are not patched.

How i found the problem

A) on first inspection the Microsoft XP computer seemed 100% ok

* Valid anti virus solution fully updated - Norton
* Valid anti spyware solution fully updated - Norton
* Microsoft firewall enabled and all microsoft updates seemed installed ok
* Separate ADSL router and with built in firewall supplied by their broadband supplier


B) I decided to run a separate virus and malware checker on this PC in Windows "SAFE MODE with networking" enabled, you can access this mode by pressing F8 during windows startup and selecting the appropriate menu option - the malwarebytes software I used is a very strong tool for discovering and fixing malware issues and runs well in safe mode -- www.malwarebytes.org - this took a long time to run (2 hours) but found 524 items of various spyware/malware that seemed fairly NON suspect, however this type of malware can act as a 'masking agent' for what is known as a ROOTKIT. A rootkit is a bit of software that HIDES software which allows a remote person can use to control your PC over the internet see here on wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rootkit )


C) I ran a rootkit discovery programme after using malwarebytes to remove the malware discovered above ( http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/sysinternals/bb897445.aspx ) which found a ROOTKIT on the system, Also using TCPVIEW from sysinternals i saw a system process connecting to differing addresses on the internet in thw far east and netherlands, i suspected this was a KEYLOGGER program ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keylogger ), this program allows keystrokes on your keyboard to be intercepted and its smart enough to know when you are typing banking or credit card details.

Example of a normal TCPVIEW output window is below

























D) The ONLY solution to this issue on which you can rely on to fix the issue in my opinion is a total wipe of the PC's hard disk and a re-install of the whole computer from scratch

How did this occur?

* This is the scary part, over the last year Microsoft have had issues with Internet Explorer, the remote hacker had used this exploit below in the URL, which was only fixed in July 2009 to take control of our friends computer and remotely install this software http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms09-034.mspx
* This exploit above can be activated by simply browsing to a website which has code embedded to use the exploit to compromise the security of your XP computer.


Why did the antivirus and firewall software not stop this?

* the antivirus/spyware software stops known virus's and malware, its does not plug holes in Internet explorer, thus a hacker writes a VERY simply bit of JAVASCRIPT on a web page that simply uses the exploit to take remote control of your XP PC, antivirus can't detect it as it has NO PRIOR knowledge of this code as a virus. the firewall can't block the traffic as it is in the traffic port that allows you to browse the internet, hence if you block that port you cant browse anything


Given the above how can this be prevented?

* Move to Linux or Unix on your home computer ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_Linux ) Our friend is swapping to Ubuntu Linux as a desktop operating system ( http://www.ubuntu.com ) after learning the hard way, its a learning curve but he and his wife want to trust their computer again, ubuntu supports almost 100% of the features of windows with FREE software - http://www.ubuntu.com/products/whatisubuntu/910features
* Consider moving to an Apple solution, apples operating system uses UNIX behind the pretty graphics, which is highly secure - http://www.apple.com/uk/mac/


However the above solutions are not for everyone, thus if you must stay with Microsoft Windows Products

* Upgrade to Windows 7 and load up the FREE security essentials pack http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/
* Even with Windows 7 Move your web browser to FIREFOX for Windows -- http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/firefox/
* STILL ensure you have FIREWALL ON, AUTOMATIC UPDATES ENABLED and i would reccomnd this package which should try and prevent break in's of the type i have described -- http://www.threatfire.com/


If you must use Windows XP

* Install FIREFOX (This may not help with ALL exploits)
* Use an anti virus solution that is fully updated -- AVG is a ok choice, others like AVAST are also ok choices -- http://free.avg.com/gb-en/homepage
* use an anti spyware solution that is fully updated -- see item above
* Install threatfire (see above)
* Install a firewall that is of a high quality -- consider this free one -- http://personalfirewall.comodo.com/
* Enable automatic updates
* THIS ONE IS THE BEST PROTECTION -- but costs 26 euros -- Enable a SANDBOX for your browser - http://www.sandboxie.com/


What is Sandboxie (from the last item above)

Sandboxie runs your programs, like a web browser, in an isolated space which prevents them from making permanent changes to other programs and data in your computer. Take a look at the http://www.sandboxie.com/ website which explains more, you can try the software for free

csharp help

A great reference on C# - I am slowly getting into Monodevelop and Mono, problem i have is a can't settle on which language to concentrate on! I love python and now i find this C# easy mulkti platform stuff appealing.......i should just get on a program in both or i am never going to start.

http://www.csharphelp.com/index.html

IT Highlights of the Decade

Ok i am not going to wax lyrical about details behind my selection here, but this post gives my highlights of the IT world of the last decade as requested by a pal of mine

• iPhone - Grabbed 50% OF THE SMARTPHONE MARKET and forced the established players including Blackberry to change their tact
• Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux - The great survivors, XP was the product Microsoft could NOT kill off (helped by the rise of the netbook) and Ubuntu became the distro that newbie Linux users could not do without
• Rise of Mysql - This open source database grabbed a huge market by the scruff of the neck and rode the wave of the Linux server/software driven web 2.0 revolution
• fall of Mysql - Playing the exit plan game Mysql ended up in the hands of the BIGGEST RIVAL Oracle via Sun.
• Java - Sun java and players like JBOSS made java 'stack' one of the most powerful platforms for players in all sorts of industries
• Firefox - The Driller killer web browser, filled the holes in microsoft's bug fix turnaround for the IE Browser, plus introduced the ultimate customization - the Add-in.
• USB - just how easy is buying ANY peripheral nowdays......errr buy USB -- DONE.
• Oracle, Predator of the decade - 64 companies purchased - mainly good, solid deals too, way to go Larry.
• Google -- say no more
  

Adobe PDF Reader not the only show in town

As you may or may not know the PDF document reader on your windows PC from Abobe has a reputation for having bugs that give online criminals a chance to take over your computer with rootkits and viruses, this article reviews the best alternatives -- i use sumatra on windows PC's -- small program, big features and FREE ...

http://lifehacker.com/5328211/five-best-pdf-readers

Securely Delete Files on your Computer

here are times when you really want to make sure a file on your computer is deleted and can't be recovered by a PC expert, I am sure I don't have to preach about how it is really important these days to 'securely delete' your files.

Remember your files with any financial records or personal information can of course lead you to being ripped off by a ID fraud type criminal. If such criminals can undelete files on your hard drive and access the content then your security has been badly compromised. Also when you sell a computer, give an old computer to someone or indeed dispose of it, its important to securely delete all your data. There are BOOT CD's like DBAN which can dlete everything from a computers hard disk, however the best mother is to have the physical disk crushed by an expert company

Anyone these days can be a dleted file receovery expert, there are free utilities for windows like "Recuva", which can restore nearly any file that has not been 'securely deleted', thus anyone can be a instant expert with one google search......Dangerous i am sure you will agree.......However secure deletion is pretty easy to use. (Also i would encourage you to use recuva as way of getting files back that have been non securely deleted in error -- see here www.piriform.com/recuv )

What is secure deletion?

A clever professor has worked out a way deleting a file securely from a computers hard disk using a a technique that overwrites the data over 30 times with random bit patterns. see here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutmann_method

Also take caution when using these secure delete programs as once the file is SECURELY DELETED its GONE FOR GOOD. No good calling me and asking me to perform some IT magic as the file is REALLY DELETED FOREVER

WINDOWS XP/VISTA/7 USERS

The free windows deletion utility "ERASER" implements this GUTTMAN technique and is the ONLY way of making sure deleted files are REALLY deleted forever on Windows......download and install from the link below and make sure you turn on GUTTMAN deletion from the options.

You can right click on a file and ERASE it securely, you can also do this with the Windows Trashcan, where deleted files are stored for recovery (its the icon like a dustbin on your desktop.

You should note that if you are deleting a lot of files at once it can take a long time, i had to securely delete on a Linux system 16 gig (4 DVD's worth) of data and it took over 24 hours. However for single files and anything under 1 gig ERASER is quick enough.

Website & Download for Eraser

http://eraser.heidi.ie

MAC USERS

For mac users , you need to CAREFULLY follow this guide from Apple on secure deletion

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.4/en/mh475.html

LINUX USERS

To delete from the Linux command line Install the 'secure delete' package from your Linux vendor, this gives you a command line utility "SRM" or in some cases "shred" or "wipe"

To securely delete from the GNOME GUI follow this guide below

http://www.webupd8.org/2009/09/delete-files-securely-in-nautilus-linux.html

To securely delete from the KDE GUI follow this guide below

http://www.kde-apps.org/content/show.php/Secure+Delete+Servicemenu?content=75734

Hope this helps you out in some way.

Linksys & Gentoo

My brand new home mysql server had a hiccup on install, very strange set of circumstances regarding name resolution. I had installed the latest version of Gentoo on a very mediocre specification PC to act as a MYSQL server on home network, really to aid my self education in coding in Python. Everything went well apart from after the install the server stopped resolving names to IP addresses, preventing me from updating the server. I tried all the handbook instructions on editing the /etc/conf.d/net file as otherwise /etc/resolv.conf gets overwritten on each boot, nothing worked, see my files below


tail /etc/conf.d/net
# This blank configuration will automatically use DHCP for any net.*
# scripts in /etc/init.d. To create a more complete configuration,
# please review /etc/conf.d/net.example and save your configuration
# in /etc/conf.d/net (this file :]!).
# dns_domain_eth0="csynet.co.uk"
#dns_servers_eth0="192.168.0.1"
config_eth0=( "192.168.0.10 netmask 255.255.255.0 brd 192.168.0.255" )
routes_eth0=( "default via 192.168.0.1" )
dns_servers_eth0="192.168.0.1"

ifconfig
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:0d:87:36:d7:c7
inet addr:192.168.0.10 Bcast:192.168.0.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:330 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:157 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:41204 (40.2 KiB) TX bytes:13607 (13.2 KiB)
Interrupt:11 Base address:0xd400

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:45 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:45 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:810 (810.0 B) TX bytes:810 (810.0 B)

tail /etc/resolv.conf
# Generated by net-scripts for interface eth0
nameserver 192.168.0.1

db ~ # ping 192.168.0.1
PING 192.168.0.1 (192.168.0.1) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=255 time=0.773 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=2 ttl=255 time=0.758 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=3 ttl=255 time=0.759 ms
^C
--- 192.168.0.1 ping statistics ---
3 packets transmitted, 3 received, 0% packet loss, time 2003ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 0.758/0.763/0.773/0.023 ms
db ~ # ping 195.112.4.14
PING 195.112.4.14 (195.112.4.14) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 195.112.4.14: icmp_seq=1 ttl=53 time=18.8 ms
64 bytes from 195.112.4.14: icmp_seq=2 ttl=53 time=18.6 ms
64 bytes from 195.112.4.14: icmp_seq=3 ttl=53 time=19.1 ms
64 bytes from 195.112.4.14: icmp_seq=4 ttl=53 time=18.5 ms
^C
--- 195.112.4.14 ping statistics ---
4 packets transmitted, 4 received, 0% packet loss, time 3026ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 18.535/18.793/19.110/0.252 ms
db ~ # ping ntp.nildram.co.uk
ping: unknown host ntp.nildram.co.uk

However the forums on the gentoo website provided some bright ideas, like not trusting my Linksys adsl router DNS resolver (192.168.0.1) to work with gentoo. Having changed the DNS to the opendns server the problem was solved. I found this very strange, all my other Linux PC’s at home resolve via the linksys with no issues, even my virtualbox hosts use the same resolver with no issue. If anyone has a sensible answer about why gentoo is different I would appreciate a tip. By the way thanks to those at the gentoo forum users for the smart suggestions.

KeePass Password Safe

KeePass is a free open source password manager, which helps you to manage your passwords in a secure way. You can put all your passwords in one database, which is locked with one master key or a key file. So you only have to remember one single master password or select the key file to unlock the whole database. The databases are encrypted using the best and most secure encryption algorithms currently known (AES and Twofish) Supports Win-MAC-Linux and even mobile devices like the blackberry.....i use this so i don't have the same password for all the services i currently subscribe to.

Link to the website below
KeePass Password Safe

Power Penguin versus BBC Micro

I have just built a x-86 Gentoo Linux server, I found most satisfying learning exercise, I am using the newly built system to continue to my goal of learning to code in python, to re-kindle my development skills from when I was a 6th former many years ago......things have moved on from when i coded my A-Level Project in BBC basic using Acorn's BBC Micro, the modest specification of the PC i just built dwarfs the spec of the BBC Micro

• The BBC Micro had a 2Mhz CPU and 32k of RAM and a floppy disk drive
• The current Gentoo machine, is modest for a modern PC, AMD Duron @1.3Ghz CPU, 1 Gig of RAM and a 30 Gig + a 200 Gig hard drive(s)

This made me think of the GREAT software that BBC had available at the time, just in terms of games the REVS and ELITE titles provided great entertainment.

Were the coders back then more efficient then their modern counterparts as they were FORCED to be given the hardware available? Interesting question....are modern coders perhaps spoilt given the specs of modern systems....send me your thoughts if you have an interest.

By the way if you are a BBC Micro or ZX spectrum fan of Elite -- try the modern version for Windows/Mac/Linux here with oolite.

Netbook

OK i decided to join the netbook club and buy an ultra portable, i wanted two main features a 10.1 inch screen with pre installed Linux, finding a model with linux is getting harder and harder the Micro$oft world domination team have been working the manufacturers hard of late i think.

I plumped for a Lenovo S10e from ebuyer priced at £210, I was tempted by the lovely Samsung range at £300, however finding a linux enabled model was difficult. As you can see in the picture its a nice well made model and seems a quality build. The SuSE Enterprise 10 desktop operating system integrates well and runs very quickly with the ATOM processor and the 1 gig of RAM. However there are some niggles....

• Wireless Features - To enable bluetooth and WiFi you need to use a Function-f5 key combination and a custom green button to toggle both services, only the indicator LED gives any sign of sucess.
• The keyboard and the SuSE SCIM feature seem to conspire to someimes produce double typing, i am looking into this issue
• The Touchpad is rather over sensitive and you seem to use the scroll function when you don't really want to, that may be due to my clumsy use of course.

Also there are some highlights

• The battery indicator software works 100%, many linux distros struggle with this.
• The integrated audio and webcam work straight of the box as long as you run a SuSe registration program and refresh your software with the latest updates
• also the gnome (www.gnome.org) network manager makes networking and WiFi operation really simple....OK not a lenovo feature but certainly a resaon to get users to adodpt linux more widely.
• SuSE supply a Citrix client straight out of the box with the SLED 10 desktop, if you like me, may have to work remotely this is a great addition.

Whats missing

• A cisco VPN client would be nice
• A simple WiFi on/off switch in the hardware
• A 3g modem as an optional extra would be a price worth paying, however i can use my 3G phone via bluetooth easily enough
• A preconfigured Blackberry sync, again i am preparing a home grown sync using the software provided by SuSE.

Overall a nice purchase, which i am pleased with, this model replaces my apple powerbook 12 inch which frankly had served me well without a hitch since 2004 (i think). I use portable computers for a variety of tasks but the new Atom proceesor has made working on the move a reality at a really low cost entry point, well done to Intel on that front.

Python TV

well I have delved too deep into something and become hooked, its grave confession to make on a blog I know, but I have to admit this addition to the world…..I am addicted to Python…..(www.python.org)

The last time I did any software development it was still called "programming" and I used a BBC Micro to pass my A Levels with flying colours in the mid 80's, if I recall my "Theatre Ticket Booking System" helped reserve seats and using a visual representation of the theatres seating, it helped of course that the theatre in question had 10 rows of 20 seats……

Over the last week I have been using Python to create a simple gui that changes channels on my digital TV card in Linux workstation, this started with me trying top solve an annoyance I had with the local setup of Mplayer which displays the video output from the card……I thought that I could solve this issue while educating myself.

well with the help of an online tutorial and the PyGTK kit for creating GUI's I have the first version up and running, it only does 3 channels via a very simple GUI based on 3 buttons, although more are easy to add, plus it works very nicely and actually switches channels by passing parameters to Mplayer…….it was a lot easier than I expected and now I am hooked on python and the challenge of programming……….sorry software development……

Screen shot - http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/TGeM9S9-Grs7DkQpbUwV0Q?feat=directlink

Formula Fun

is it me or has formula one become entertaining? Last year, apart from a few historically thrilling moments at end of the of the season in Brazil, was only exciting for about a sixth of each race in total, this year with rule changes and the ' credit crisis' withdrawal of Honda and re-birth of Brawn has brought racing back into the F1 fold......So far i have enjoyed every race and not fallen asleep once :-)

Even with the rain shortened race the enjoyment was there from the first to last lap.... Lewis Hamilton has had an awful start along with the whole Ferrari team, however the emergence of brawn has been a breath of fresh air.....maybe Bernie has had someone from another race series leaking him secrets ala Nigel Stepney.....

Swift Direction Change

Change of Directions are a hard thing to deal with, look at formula 1 cars or politicians as an example, F1 teams spend millions perfecting mechanical grip and aerodynamics to change their cars direction, politicians can NEVER change direction once they announce a policy or train of thought. I recently changed my career path after falling victim to the credit crunch, I worked for a very successful futures and options exchange who were forced to let staff go in the dismal economic climate. Once cast into the abyss of the job market I found it very tough to find opportunities however I struck lucky and found similar job at a telecoms company in London within weeks. The culture change, location change and sector change has lead to an interesting transition, I am enjoying my new position, however managing projects can be made into a smooth transition when moving companies as you can stick to tried and trusted methodologies to be successful, utilising standards such as Prince2.

However I have struggled with several aspects of the transition, the new hours, the new processes and procedures and of course learning the way the new people I have met operate. In fact all this change to cope with has resulted in not so much blogging, partaking less in my hobbies like Online Poker and an un-natural interest in Scooters, an item which I could use to reduce my travel hassles, change one aspect of your life and this seems to spurn changes to all the other aspects as well. Things are returning to normal but in the current economic turmoil who knows what change are around the corner.

ADSL xmas interference

At this time of year it is possible for your connection to become affected by interference from Christmas lights; these may be either internal or external to the premises.

Interference from Christmas lights may cause your router to lose the ADSL signal (loss of synchronisation) or the connection may become intermittent. One way to determine this is to check to see whether the ADSL light on the front of your router has gone out.

If you have lost synchronisation it may be possible for you to identify any causes of internal interference by turning off any Chistmas lights and once again checking your ADSL router to see if your connection has returned.

It may also be possible to locate the exact cause of interference by tuning an analogue radio to Medium Wave 693 down to 612. By tuning in and walking around the premises with the radio you may pick up a high level buzzing when in the vicinity of faulty equipment.

Hopefully these simple checks will help you to easily identify any possible sources of interference over the Christmas period.