ClearOS has to be one of the laziest things ever, but one of the coolest things ever, too. It’s a Gateway, Proxy, Shares manager, and much more rolled into one. Easy to manage in-all, update, and hack (OK, maybe not all the time, but what do you expect?).
A few things that attracted me to the ClearOS solution was (and still is):
Caching
Proxy (/Filter)
Blacklisting
Anti-Virus
Web Interface
Now I’m sure there’s others out there, and you can also build this solution yourself. Seeing how I’m familiar with most of these to use, and implement, I did not really care to get lazy and use a web interface with it. I can spend all day in the console, but it doesn’t hurt to have a little cushion there, er.. or to be lazy. The main thing that pulled me towards ClearOS and its all-in-one approach was the caching.
Thus, I wish to share the home network’s caching reports. It surprised me at how much of an impact using a local caching server actually helps.
Reports
This isn’t entirely a month, but I’m sure you can get the idea.
At another glance, by month.
Against what?
In rough-draft-mode, there are at least 4 to 6 active physical machines utilising the Internet. May it be some streaming activity, mail retrieval, or mass-storage movement between here and remote servers .. There can be a huge amount of data consumed. Some screens straight from the feeder (router) itself:
253GB in (if I did my maths right ..) in total passed in May. So the Squid is doing a great job I’d say at attempting to capture what it can.Whether it’s caching more than serving is up to question. Reviewing some of the domains it’s been serving most is generally photo and music sites. (YouTube, HypeM, Grooveshark, Facebook, etc).
So I’d safely say, that in some cases this is a relief to the network. It may not be the “all and all” solution for using less bandwidth when it comes to mass-storage movement, but it does indeed lower web (http/) traffic to free up some space for something else.
So as Google came out with “Music Beta” obviously I requested an invite, and waited. Later on, I got it. Even though I don’t use it that much, and still consider it a waste .. There’s some things I think that could be an improvement to it–to possibly help it succeed in this dog-eat-dog world.
Get Social
Grooveshark, and notably HypeM, these services have something in common – Social; Twitter, Facebook, whatever. They all allow you to tag your music and easily share it with your friends. Google Music (beta) lacks this, and could prove to be a bothersome in the future when someone really enjoys a song.
To the ‘least, add Last.FM support. This would be an excellent feature.
The “Desktop”
I understand Google has ChromeOS going on, where everything is centered around the web but.. a desktop application wouldn’t hurt.
I installed the “sync” application (that’s all it is), and while it may be useful, it as I said, lacks a music player interface.
I believe this marks the biggest change in Ubuntu’s history. More-so Canonical’s. Taking a leap forward without knowing exactly what Unity could do to their reputation, and still giving it a shot. It takes much effort to put forward your vision. The vision however, may not be seen as soon as it is revealed, but may instead take a little longer to settle in.
A few months ago I wrote that Ubuntu should hit the shelves. Due to Unity being a big hop, why not? Since it’s such a swift turn in direction from other streamline distributions, it’s the best time to throw it out there. People in the store would know Ubuntu as Unity, not straight-forward GNOME. This, I believe, would be a natural come-to for new-comers to Ubuntu, and Linux in general. Get them used to it as Unity and stick with it.
Outegrations that need Improved
As it is, there is a “Files & Folders” icon that you can click on and proceed to a folder. When you click on this folder it opens up a file browser (Nautilus) – This should be changed and allow you to navigate through folders within that area. Much like Nautilus, this icon should also allow you to point at a music file and it starts playing – Or you can right click it, and select “Play,” “Add to Queue,” or something else that would be suitable such as: “Sync,” or “Push.” Basically, the entire “Unity” experience needs or should be integrated into Ubuntu One. It shouldn’t be forced onto the user, but should be there/exposed for convenience.
This is an outegration that is a downside to the clutter-free / seamless environment. It by default, should be an integration.
Not a Review
This is not a review. Just a “some things I’d change” post. I have not used it long enough to give any final passing-thoughts. I feel that this is a big relocate-move for Ubuntu, and it’s still too touchy to be able to lay a final piece out.
Edit: I removed the “Social Layer” bit due to this already being available when you click on your own username. I was thinking something slightly different, but this works practically the same way. (being able to easily post updates to networks)
Heh – It’s no secret that Sony has ultimately made a person or group extremely angry. As much as I want Sony to pack their bags and go back to Japan, I’ve tried to come up with some reasons for them to stay.. and get back in good with the hackers.
1 – Bring Back OtherOS
This may not seem like a big deal. But uhm… Sony ripped off people by doing this.
2 – Stop Suing People for Hacking the PlayStation
People obviously enjoy the hardware that Sony produces, but more-so they enjoy hacking it and making it do things other than gaming.
3 – There was no need to sue in the first place, make a public apology to Hotz
Yea……. Let’s get to the point here. Hotz needs to be left alone. I think you’ve violated everyone’s abilities when you took him to court.
Recently, as I’m sure you’ve heard (and if you haven’t, ..), ‘bin Laden has been captured, and well, killed. How this operation has went down is spelled out in plain. There’s probably some slightly bent information that was displayed (the President’s speech), and so on, but the majority of it looks “okay.”
Sparking it All Back Up
Things were quiet for some time. Say 9, 10 years?–But now they aren’t. Things are only going to get more weird as they go on. Who knows, the government could have possibly been doing a decent job of keeping it quiet - Preferably to their advantage.
9/11
September 11, 2001 was no joke to anyone. I don’t blame anyone at all for being angry at the situation. It goes a little deeper than what happen though. From the take-downs of various videos reporting the situation, to odd US Military activity, the works. There was a lot censored, and most likely still censored to this day.
People (first responders, etc) not being compensated for their health, people around the incident that were affected by, and so: The media that hurried up to rush the videos offline.
I’ve found some videos (quick Googling) about the scene. Such as the “What We Saw” video. However, the video cuts out the most important parts of it. The entire video, which was recorded at a horrible angle did not capture one of the buildings falling. No worries there – The worry is the cut out of when the one they could see. Why? No idea. It seems awfully convenient it skipped that part.
I’m basically just recapping on the situation. Those who have looked into this themselves are probably well aware of the cover-ups, and other documentary pieces. One being “Loose Change.” (Good film, I recommend checking it out.)
Hell Plugged In
So let’s get to the more critical parts.
Relatively speaking, for 10 years stories were continuing to be covered up, and more stories popped up. As I stated up there. The bigger issue now is that the US has sparked something that was quiet.
As I said, to their advantage, even if so; That was probably best for all parties. United States civilians mostly, as we (us Americans, not the government) don’t care to go to war. I’m probably speaking for myself, and only a few others, but that is the basic idea. I’m sure there’s people out there that did want Mr. Laden (or is it bin Laden?) dead, but for what reasons?
People not Aware
This is a sad thing to come to, and finally accept. There’s not a lot of people out there that are aware of the cover-ups, odd happenings, and the assumed fact that nine eleven was an inside job. Yes, an inside job by our own government. It is disgusting, but I would not put it past the suits.
Confluction?
My definition of a “confluction:”
A conflict that has the tendency to produce multiple variations, thus becoming a fluctuating conflict – Confluction.
Now the Pakistan Military is snooping around wondering “what the heck just happened?” Nor do I blame them. It’s hard to tell what happened, and who will be confessing the ultimate truth (which, by previous results of the US Government, very little-to-none).
This is of absolutely no use to anyone outside of the US, but to those in?–perfect. Be notified when you have a text, or a missed call (heh), and it’ll even highlight numbers on websites so you can make calls using GV.
A notifications tool to display when you receive new email. The ultra-neat thing about this extension?–If you have the Sync featured enabled on your Chrome browser, and use Chrome on at least 2 computers (duh), it will automatically configure to another Gmail account wtihin that second browser. For me, I use a straight Gmail account on one browser, on the other I use my Google Apps account. It worked out perfectly. As a matter of fact, it was sort-of creepy at how well the Sync feature worked + Mail Checker Plus.
Yes. Definitely needed for anyone who goes on tab-frenzies. Especially when they get all scrunched up. This will even allow you to reposition the tabs easily.
A search engine specifically targeted at finding images around the web. Right-click any image, and select the TinEye. It’ll try to find where-else this image is on the Internet.
Uh-huh. YT Enhancer I can safely say is probably something YouTube hates. But I love it, and no shame to admitting it. Click on one-of-several buttons to resize, dim the lights, or kill the glitched out YT player. Note: This should also work on other browsers, not just Chrome – I have not tested though.
OK, OK. So maybe this seems a little awkward. However this tool is to the point. I’d rather install this seamless extension and be able to quickly see what is going on in the “circle of the net” instead of having to install separate extensions for each network.
So there you have it. Hopefully these tools can benefit you, and your surfing experience. To extra note about the “Tab Menu,” Opera web browser does offer Group Tabs. I didn’t think of it until after this entire post, so try this one for Chrome. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/acdchnhopobbnjfibnecpnilpgkcjgnl – I have not tested it, just throwing it out there.
OK — First off: The cloud isn’t anything new. It’s just cheaper, and easier for anyone to get their hands on. More-so, companies and various individuals have made it easier to manage. Text documents, music, videos, whatever. It’s literally no different than renting a fleet of servers and managing them with some fancy software, yourself.
What?
Hopefully this video will help you understand the “cloud” to at least a “minimal.”
Cloud Computing - How it all works
Runtime
2:33
Author
tbonedk86
Views
29,604
Description
Cloud Computing - How it all works
OK?
So hopefully you get the idea of the cloud if you did not have an idea before.
Do you think the cloud is good for you? For all your files, etc? No. I hope you don’t. The cloud is not meant for personal files. It should never be meant for personal files. There’s exceptions to consider. Such as websites (this website is hosted on amazon’s EC2 currently), random odd music files, etc for backup. But should your personal pictures be there?
If you wouldn’t hang these files up in plain form in your back yard (on a clothes line), then I wouldn’t considering doing the same for the cloud. This goes for all services. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace; virtually anything that can be considered personal from the time you post something personal.
On a side note: There’s tons of people out there that make a living off of exposing their off-the-Internet life. There’s nothing wrong with that. If you can have fun while doing it, and be safe, by all means.
Obviously there’s some files that wouldn’t make a difference public or private. Just think clearly before putting them out there in the open.
Even Facebook says it does not delete everything straight a-way after deactivating/deleting your account.
The Cloud is Already Broke
There, I’ll be one of the ones to say it. The cloud in current form as far as “social websites,” “file backup services,” and anything else that leverages the cloud for direct and in-direct use is in-fact.. broke.
It’s not the provider’s fault either. It’s more of some of the Internet Service Providers, and others that can’t mind their own business (people that send other people pointless “DMCAs”).
The Cloud “Extended..”
In an what I like to call “extended” cloud, services like Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube will not make it through the cross-fire if Internet companies continue to dish out nasty blows to each other, and end-consumers. (however, then you see companies that like to push for non-equal Internet pipes (Verizon?))
Just to elaborate on the extended cloud definition: Any service that can be used anywhere, at anytime, that provides more than just text. Video watching, music listening, picture sharing. I define it as anything that does not typically store content on one’s device. This does not include services such as Amazon Web Services, CloudFiles, and so on. Basically anything that provides in-direct hosting of one’s files. If that makes any sense, at all.
From slapping low bandwidth caps on cell phones, all the way down to slapping “even” caps on houses. It doesn’t look painful now, but the mobile land will not be as innovated as it could be if the low caps are kept. Hence my “I’m not really that bothered” about tablets opinion. Why would I invest in a device that cannot be exhausted to its limits?
Mobile land, as it is now, is not suit for services that are becoming the future. Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, etc will not hold up against these Internet caps, and in my opinion not a lot care either – Or are not aware of possible limitations.
Cramped Tablets
Imagine not being able to watch a few movies, or listen to music (like I do anyway) as much as you normally would sitting at your computer?
The tablet is STILL not mobile .. yet
Some think the the tablet is not mobile, and I don’t disagree. The tablets are just stripped OSs meant for particular uses, or a sub-set of uses. App Stores of many kinds: Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and; Companies that use Android (anyway) are able to plug their own Market for applications. There’s just a lot holding the mobile sector of a tablet back.
Don’t get me wrong, anyone can define the tablet as mobile for many reasons. It is mobile to an extent, but to me, no. It has a lot more to go through before I can accept it as a full-on mobile device. I will say that the PlayBook is an eye-catcher.
Recap
So far I’ve made a few points (I think I did) at why the cloud is broke.
Low Bandwidth Caps – These don’t really make sense. (Especially Canada, and New Zealand)
Exposure – Lots and lots of DMCAs sent out through various video sites, music sites, and so-on for take-downs. At-most, these take-downs are aimed at people who remix said work. (Terrible for the owner who didn’t send it.)
Personal files are at risk – Once they’re there, they are there. This can go without saying “even if you don’t put it on a social networking site,” because someone could simply copy it, and then distribute it. (This is a time for the DMCA: When someone actually needs to use it. Not for some music that was remixed to sound better or appeal to other audiences(Take a stab, and bring them aboard your team?))
Corporate Abuse – <Insert Evil Laugh>. This is where the “extended” cloud I was talking about falls deep. But I think this leaves for a separate piece.
Well anywho, if the “Internet” keeps on slipping on this path, or further, the “cloud” will turn to a big puddle of …. Who knows.
Hopefully companies (Internet Service Providers) will soon understand that cramping up their users is bad – More-so, cell phone companies that exhaust plans, then rip them out from people later on. Or ones that serve customers with “2-5GB” for data and/or try to stamp it with “Unlimited.”
There, I’ll be one of the ones to say it. The cloud in current form as far as “social websites,” “file backup services,” and anything else that leverages the cloud for direct and in-direct use is in-fact.. broke.