web links

ianrselby posted a photo:

ianrselby posted a photo:

ianrselby posted a photo:

ianrselby posted a photo:

ianrselby posted a photo:

Ahhh, my inner geek is going nuts! This is a must-have!

Nice little suite of JS tools… they’re commercial, but reasonably priced. The names kinda imply what they do: Magic Zoom, Magnify, and Thumbs. Definitely worth a look:
Magic Toolbox

One of the down sides to leaving Yahoo! is that the notebook computer I've been using for last few years will no longer be mine in a few days. I'm one of those people who used their company issued computer for lots of non-company stuff too.

When I start at Craigslist, I'll be getting a new laptop running Linux. But that's several weeks away and doesn't run some of the funky Windows apps I need or want access to. So I'm going to try keeping work separate from non-work this time around.

What to do?

I have a Thinkpad T43p at home that's been used mainly as a backup sever and lightweight web browser for a while now. It has a 2GHz CPU, 2GB RAM, 80GB disk, and a kick ass screen and keyboard. But it's running Ubuntu.

So I'm planning to use the recovery CDs to make it back into a Windows box (maybe dropping in a bigger disk along the way) and using it as my personal Windows machine. But that means I need a system to take over doing backups and that other stuff that the Thinkpad used to do.

My solution is to pull a few cheap parts off Newegg.com and build a low-end (but still probably overkill) machine that'll run Linux and do what I want. Here's what I ended up with.

IN WIN IW-BT610T.300BL Black Steel MicroATX Desktop Computer Case 300W Power Supply$50.99 Intel BOXD201GLY2A Intel Celeron 220 SiS 662 Micro ATX Motherboard/CPU Combo$64.99 Crucial 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) System Memory$21.99 Sony NEC Optiarc Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1671S$18.99

I already own a SATA hard disk I can drop in. Same goes for the keyboard and mouse. Plus installing Ubuntu costs me nothing other than my time.

At a total cost of $156.96 plus shipping, it's not bad for under $200. It'll do the backup and other "home server" jobs just fine and serve as a web browsing station now and then if need be. I almost opted for the Intel BOXD945GCLF Atom processor Intel 945GC Mini ITX Motherboard/CPU Combo for even lower power consumption, but wanted to stick with a Micro ATX board for now.

I'm really impressed by what you can get for a cheap these days! The CPU is even 64 bit--not that it matters in this case.

Thoughts?

Semi-related: This old laptop: Revitalizing an aging notebook on the cheap.

(comments)

Need workplace design inspiration? TAND showcases the "inner sanctum" of some creatively-executed spaces. #

The brand new IronRuby.net Wiki fired up yesterday (June 18). This wik.is Deki Wiki based site. This is the place to go for information about IronRuby. IronRuby currently requires you to download and build from source. But, as soon as the...

Trying to justify the £50 price tag, and failing. #

This is by no means new news, but I just read a blog from Matthew McKenzie about WRT54G-based open source routers and it got me thinking. First though, for those not in the know, the Linksys WRT54G can be loaded with a...

Anandeep just wrote a little blog questioning the long-term link between High Performance Computing (HPC) and open source. His logic boils down to this: 1. HPC, like many other technologies, starts with the need for a small set of people to do...

I wasn't really looking for a new job a few months ago when I received an email from Eric Scheide (see Team Bios), the CTO at craigslist. He mentioned that they were looking for someone with MySQL experience and asked if I knew anyone. This sort of thing happens all the time.

But this time it was different. Over the course of about three seconds, something clicked in my little brain and I realized that craigslist is a pretty unique combination of things: a small company with a solid financial base, a great service that I use myself, a focused groups of people who really care about doing things well, and an open-source friendly environment.

I replied that I might be interested myself and things kind of took on a life of their own from there. In the weeks that followed, I got the chance to meet much of the team (including CEO Jim Buckmaster and Craig himself). Each time I came away liking more and more about the team. I've also been impressed at how well the company takes care of its people and how thoughtful they are about making important decisions.

So after taking a few weeks off for some planned travel and unplanned relaxation, I'll start assimilating myself into the craigslist engineering culture and lending a hand wherever I can. Yes, some of that will entail going back to my MySQL roots.

The site is growing like a weed (still!), the people are great, and the focus is on providing a great service that anyone can use. At the same time, there are a lot of technical challenges (they get a ton of page views) and great opportunities to grow the site and give back to both the open source community and all the communities around the world that craigslist serves--a list that's growing all the time.

Not that I really care much what other people think, but the reactions I've had so far when telling people have been universally positive. Very positive. That tells me I'm on the right track.

The only real downside is that crigslist is in San Francisco and I'm in San Jose. So if you have thoughts on getting to the vicinity of 9th and Judah using public transit, let me know. I won't be commuting up every day, but I suspect I'll be trying a few options before settling on what works best.

Previously: Leaving Yahoo!, and The Aftermath.

Related

-->
• Zawodny Joining Craigslist In July WebProNews
• Yahoo's Open Source Developer Lands at Craigslist Wired
• Pilgrim’s Picks for June 19 - Back Home Edition Marketing Pilgrim
• Yahoo’s Executive Structure Crumbles: Lu, Garlinghouse and Makhijani To Leave TechCrunch
• Yahoo evangelist moving to Craigslist CNet
• Three More Managers Leaving Yahoo New York Times
• Yahoo’s People Loss Is Long Overdue The Inquisitr
• Yahoo! exec! exodus! continues! The Register
• Yahoo! loses yet more prominent staff Big Mouth Media
• More Execs Bolt Yahoo, Reorganization Expected Online Media Daily
• Yahoo readies reorganization as more execs depart San Jose Mercury News
• Bidding Yahoo Adieu BusinessWeek

(comments)

Not only do they look cool, they allegedly insulate better than paper sleeves, and are made from renewable cork bark, which is harvested without cutting the tree down. #

"S3Hub allows you to view your S3 online storage, upload, download, set permissions, share with friends and more." This could come in handy, soon. #

It's hard to explain the appeal of Office Space if you don't already get it. Therefore its even harder to explain how funny the first set of comments in response to this link on reddit.com is to me.

[Hint: the full sized image is easier to read.]

Seriously, I'm already a fan of both Office Space and Reddit. But now I love each one just a little bit more.

Feel free to insert your favorite Office Space quote in the comments below--unless you're a no talent ass clown like me, that is.

Damn it feels good to be a gangster.

In related news, Get Firefox 3 Today. I did. You should too.

(comments)

The first post offers this great news: "Our members can now be found in 27 different countries and we're channeling over $12 million annually to a myriad of environmental groups (more than 1,500) around the world." #

“For the most part, the type usage in each of the [Indiana Jones] movies is correct for the period depicted. With one exception: The maps used in the travel montages.”

#