Category Archives: Essay

Ubuntu LTS running under QEmu on Windows 7

Getting Ubuntu Client running under QEmu on Windows 7

Having just gone through the exercise of getting QEmu running Ubuntu ‘Desktop’ (not Server) under Windows 7 without installing a bunch of Intel hardware virtualization driver software. I thought I’d share the process, in the hope of helping others. Note that even with the latest software acceleration enhancements (TCG), Ubuntu isn’t particularly usable as a graphical operating system under Windows 7, however it’s perfectly fine to support SSH sessions for doing linux stuff.

Honestly you are far better installing the ‘Server’ edition of Ubuntu if you just want SSH, but I viewed this as more of an ‘experiment’.

Continue reading →

Mac Pro 2008 Not Turning On: Power Supply Problems

Apple Mac Pro 2008

Just an aside, my trusty Mac Pro 2008 tower started behaving erratically a few weeks ago. Basically it wouldn’t power on, instead it would emit two faint relay type clicks a few seconds after pressing the power button. Leaving it unplugged overnight would occasionally result in it being boot-able the next morning.

Now I’ve been through a few spare parts on this particular computer – in particular graphics cards (it’s on its third). The overnight powerdown fix pointed me towards SMC problems, but replacing the motherboard battery didn’t resolve anything. Which lead me to the PSU. I tried using compressed air to blow the dust out of it in case it was some kind of thermal issue to no avail.

Continue reading →

PySmaz a Pure Python Small-String Compression Library Ported from SMAZ

PySmaz is a pure python port of the SMAZ small string compression library originally developed by Salvatore Sanfilippo. I thought I’d just jot down a few notes about the experience of porting the library from C to Python. In particular the challenges around optimizing both the absolute compression ratio of the algorithm, ensuring throughput is acceptable for its intended use, while preventing the code from descending into an unreadable mess.

Continue reading →