Triple Boot Mac OS X, Ubuntu and Windows XP on MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo (Part 3)
Posted by Mr. IT Guy | Filed under Featured, Hardware, Linux, Mac OSX, Microsoft, Networking Product, Operating System, Review
Out of the three parts, this is the part where I stumble upon the most “unexpected” issues. First of all, Live CD does not work on my 2nd-gen Macbook Pro (MBP). There seems to be some problem with the ATI drivers on the Live CD that prevents X from starting up. I have to use the Alternate CD with the text-based-installer. Also, GRUB will not install. Fortunately LILO will be offered and it installs just fine. Finally X will not work after the reboot and you need to install some drivers before it will work.
Tags: Linux, mac, Mac OSX, macbook pro, Microsoft, os x, ubuntu, windows
ZyXEL ZyWALL 35
Posted by Mr. IT Guy | Filed under Hardware, Networking Product, Review
ZyWALL 35 is a nifty and easy to use firewall in a small, yet rack-mountable form factor. Main feature of ZyWALL product lines includes:
- SPI based firewall
- IPSec VPN connection
- Integrated Anti-Virus, Intrusion Detection and Prevention, Anti-Spam and Content Filtering through third party service
Overall, this product is a great performer while small in dimensions. The front panel hosts 2 WAN ports and 4 LAN/DMZ ports. The LAN/DMZ port can be configured as LAN or DMZ segment from the web interface. At the back, there’s a PC-card slot which can be used with a wireless card or turbo card (UTM), but not both. There’s also a console port and modem port at the back of the unit. The modem port provides additional backup gateway solution through either 56K connection or ISDN.
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Tags: backup, encryption, security, zywall, zyxel
Vista: now, later or never?
Posted by Mr. IT Guy | Filed under IT in General, Microsoft, Operating System, Review
Microsoft has acknowledged that Vista’s biggest competitor is none other than Windows XP. Windows XP is the standard desktop operating system in most residential and business computers. Even after almost half a year, XP still reigns supreme as king of desktop OS. The most common question that comes with Windows Vista is “Do I need to update?”. Vista is “supposedly” more secure than any other desktop oriented Windows OS, but how much secure is it? Even if it’s more secure, do you need the extra security? I believe that if someone can understand some basic internet safety, Windows XP is a good enough platform for desktop computing. There’s also Linux as the alternative solution for the brave souls.
In business environment, where upgrades usually comes in batches, switching to Vista might require a lot of changes. A lot of software may not play nice with Vista (i.e. VPN Client Software, Anti-Virus software, Accounting Software, etc). Vista also might require some hardware upgrades. One should really ask again, what is the ROI by switching to Vista? There are some who take the middle-ground stance and upgrade as necessary. For example, some companies I know of, only get new laptops with Vista, but will not upgrade existing fleet of laptops and desktops to Vista.
My personal recommendation for home user: If you’re upgrading your computer hardware, you might as well get Windows Vista as long as other software that you’re going to use also supports it.