Interesting technology news for Linux enthusiasts. Plat’Home, a Linux pioneer in Japan, is running a contest around their OpenMicroServer series. If you’re not familiar with their products, several reviews have come out lately including Jason Perlow’s at ZDNet. (Note this is not the exact model that is being offered in the contest.)
The contest is called “Will Linux Work?” in kind of the same vein as the off-beat “Will it blend?” videos you can find on YouTube, but it has a more serious purpose in mind. From August 1st through September 5th, 2008, anyone can send in ideas for how they’d like to use their tough, small, eco-friendly devices.
From the Plat’Home site:
Plat’Home’s OpenMicroServers are known for being tough. Their compact, fanless, diskless design combined with the stability of Linux creates a product that is great for companies that configure once and then stick the server off in a corner for weeks and months and years, even, without checking its condition. This “benign neglect” is tough on normal servers. Not for Plat’Home’s OpenMicroServers.
For four weeks, from August 1st, 2008, through September 5th, 2008, Plat’Home is conducting an online contest, soliciting ideas for the most interesting and challenging conditions to successfully run Plat’Home’s OpenMicroServers.
Does your small business in Arizona have a server room with no air conditioning? Do you live in Alaska and need servers that might be subjected to cold conditions? Are you an archeologist that needs a computer that can be taken on a dig with you and survive dust and bugs? Tell us about it! We want to know if Linux is the solution! “Will Linux Work?”
After collecting ideas for 5 weeks, Plat’Home will announce a winner. The prize? Five OpenMicroServers, and you get to use them — and keep them — as you see fit. At $599 a pop, that’s nothing to sneeze at.
Personally, I’ve been thinking about redo-ing my car mp3 player. I have to look into it a little more, but a small Linux server like this might work really well.
Posted on: August 3rd, 2008 > Read More »
Last week and the first half of this week is Golden Week in Japan, connecting about 4-5 different holidays into one big long one. April 29th is Showa (the previous emperor) Day, May 3rd is Constitution Day, May 4th is Greenery Day, and May 5th is Children’s Day. May 1, May Day, also slips in there, though I don’t think it’s an official public holiday. As usual, because everyone vacations at the same time, traffic is horrible.
Don’t expect to get quick answers back from your Japanese partners and friends until after this Wednesday (May 7th).
Posted on: May 4th, 2008 > Read More »
Two weeks ago while playing soccer I crunched my Achilles tendon. Bad. It’s almost a “100% rupture of the tendon,” which means I had an easy decision to make: Just let it heal and have no pushing off power for athletic activities or… go under the knife. I’m 40 and play ice hockey, soccer, and have my eye on a second marathon “soon,” so I elected to have a doctor go in and reattach it, with the idea that I’ll get my strength back — I heard 100% — in something like 2-3 months.
Have you ever started a new hobby and all of a sudden noticed all the stores and web sites and people involved who were essentially invisible to you before? Being on crutches feels like that a little. I never knew how much effort it is. Most people, busy and in a rush, are not particularly sympathetic. I’ve gotten more than my share of annoyed glances and mumbled curses.
But, there’s this invisible percentage of the population who know exactly what it’s like. And they will hold doors for you and get out of your way and wait for you and give words of encouragement. Crossing paths with someone yesterday, this stranger slowed down, giving me lots of room to hobble by, and as I passed said, “I’ve been there. I know it’s tough. Good luck.” It was an unexpected lift. In fact, yesterday, in busy downtown San Francisco, on my way back and forth from parking stupidly far away from work, four different people went out of their way to ask if I needed help, if they could hail a taxi for me, if I was doing okay. I don’t think I look pitiful — I hope not! — but they still went out of their way to offer help. Very cool.
Here’s to the kindness of strangers.
Posted on: May 3rd, 2008 > Read More »
plat’home’s linux microserver sitting on my desk so compact! they’re a startup in the US but a real company in japan
Posted on: April 1st, 2008 > Read More »
Matt Asay blogged about open source in Japan I’m really thinking there’s more open source activity in Japan now
Posted on: March 31st, 2008 > Read More »