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Robert LeBlanc Keynote Session at Red Hat Summit
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Robert LeBlanc, IBM Senior Vice President for Middleware, gave a keynote presentation at the Red Hat Summit. Here is the [26-minute YouTube video]:
I am running Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 6.2 as my primary laptop operating system. Most of IBM's products, like Lotus Notes for email, run natively on Linux for the desktop. I have a Windows XP running as a Linux KVM guest to run a few third-party software that we are still using.
technorati tags: , IBM, RedHat, RHEL, Robert LeBlanc
Happy Fourth of July
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Photo by Amy Claxton, in Paris, Texas
Happy Fourth of July everyone! For my readers outside the U.S.A, this Wednesday marks America's [Independence Day]. Celebrations include parades during the day, and fireworks at night.
A long time ago, the IBM Tucson lab decided to close down the entire week, forcing everyone to take a week of their allotted vacation, so as to perform maintenance on the air conditioners and other equipment. Since then, many IBMers in Tucson have adopted this week as a good time to get out of town.
Most years, I head over to San Diego, California. This year, however, I will be taking a cruise on the Caribbean.
Should SQL be considered a Storage Protocol?
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Can Structured Query Language [SQL] be considered a storage protocol?
Several months ago, I was asked to review a book on SQL, titled appropriately enough "The Complete Idiot's Guide to SQL", by Steven Holzner, Ph.D. As a published author myself, I get a lot of these requests, and I agreed in this case, given that SQL was invented by IBM, and is a good fundamental skill to have for Business Analytics and Database Management.
(FTC Disclosure: I work for IBM but was not part of the SQL development team. I was provided a copy of this book for free to review it. I was not paid to mention this book, nor told what to write. I do not know the author personally nor anyone that works for his publicist. All of my opinions of the book in this blog post are my own.)
Despite an agreed-upon standard for SQL, each relational database management system (RDBMS) has decided to customize it for their own purposes. First, SQL can be quite wordy, so some RDBMS have made certain keywords optional. Second, RDBMS offer extra features by adding keywords or programming language extentions, options or parameters above and beyond what the SQL standard calls for. Third, the SQL standard has changed over the years, and some RDBMS have opted to keep some backward compatibility with their prior releases. Fourth, some RDBMS want to discourage people from easily porting code from one RDBMS to another, known in the industry as vendor lock-in.
Throughout my career, I have managed various databases, including Informix, DB2, MySQL, and Microsoft SQL Server, so I am quite familiar with the differences in SQL and the problems and implications that arise.
Most authors who want to write about SQL typically make a choice between (a) stick to the SQL standard, and expect the reader to customize the examples to their particular DBMS; or (b) stick to a single RDBMS implemenation, and offer examples that may not work on other RDBMS.
I found the book "The Complete Idiot's Guide to SQL" covered the basics quite well, but with an odd twist. The basics include creating databases and tables, defining columns, inserting and deleting rows, updating fields, and performing queries or joins. The odd twist is that Steven does not make the typical choice above, but rather shows how the various DBMS are different than standard SQL syntax, with actual working examples for different RDBMS.
You might be thinking to yourself that only an idiot would work in a place that had to require knowledge of multiple RDBMS. The sad truth is that most of the medium and large companies I speak to have two or more in production. This is either through acquisitions, or in some cases, individual business units or departments implementing their own via the [Shadow IT].
(For those who want to learn SQL and try out the examples in this book, IBM offers a free version of DB2 called [DB2-C Express] that runs on Windows, Linux, Mac OS, and Solaris.)
Last week, while I was in Russia for the [Edge Comes to You] event, I was interviewed by a journalist from [Storage News] on various topics. One question stuck me as strange. He asked why I did not mention IBM's acquisition of Netezza in my keynote session about storage. I had to explain that Netezza was not in the IBM System Storage product line, it is in a different group, under Business Analytics, where it belongs.
While it is true that Netezza can store data, because it has storage components inside, the same could also be said about nearly every other piece of IT equipment, from servers with internal disk, to digital cameras, smart phones and portable music players. They can all be considered storage devices, but doing so would undermine what differentiates them from one another.
Which brings me back to my original question: Should we consider SQL to be a storage protocol? For the longest time, IT folks only considered block-based interfaces as storage protocols, then we added file-based interfaces like CIFS and NFS, and we also have object-based interfaces, such as IBM's Object Access Method (OAM) and the System Storage Archive Manager (SSAM) API. Could SQL interfaces be the next storage protocol?
Let me know what you think on this. Leave a comment below.
Things to See and Do in Moscow
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Despite having business meetings every day I was here in Moscow, I managed to do a bit of sightseeing. June is a good month to visit Russia, as there are nearly 18 hours of daylight to see things. Some things are outdoors, and not constrained to normal business hours.
Near my hotel, the [Crowne Plaza at the World Trade Center], was a cute little park called "Ulista 1905 Goda". It is always nice to see large cities set aside space for nature. There were plenty of park benches to sit and enjoy. The word Ulista simply means "Street" in Russian language, and 1905 refers to the year of historical importance.
The [1905 Russian Revolution] was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. It included worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies, including sailors aboard the battleship Potemkin. Alexander Adrianov became Moscow's first official mayor. The revolution led to the establishment of the State Duma of the Russian Empire, the multi-party system, and the Russian Constitution of 1906, ending the reign of Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia.
Walking from my hotel towards the direction of the Kremlin, I managed to find the [Old Arbat street], which has been around since the 15th century. This was considered a prestigious area of town, home to many artists, academics and politicians. Today, it is pedestrian-only, no cars allowed, with various souvenir shops and restaurants.
This is [Saint Basil's Cathedral], on the [Red Square]. This is officially The Cathedral of the Protection of Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat, but there is no longer any moat.
There is a lot to see around the Red Square to see. The [Kremlin] is a walled castle with an [Armoury Chamber] and various other cathedrals and government buildings to see inside. A ticket for the Armoury Chamber will set you back 700 rubles (about 22 bucks). [Lenin's Masoleum] is free of charge, but only open for three hours on weekdays, from 10:00am to 1:00pm, so plan accordingly.
Returning back to the hotel from the event venue on Wednesday, I walked past the [Cathedral of Christ the Saviour] on my way to the Kropotskinskaya subway station. It is actually across the river from the Red Square. Built in 1860, it is considered the tallest Orthodox church in the world at 344 feet. The domes are electroplated in gold.
I found the taxis to be ridiculously expensive here in Moscow, so I took to the subway instead. If fellow filmmaker John Waters can [hitchhike across the state of Ohio], I can certainly be adventurous and ride the Moscow Metro.
The Moscow Metro is second most used rapid transit system in the world (the first being the one in Tokyo). As a result, the subway can get quite crowded, but I found being squashed into a carload of Russian supermodels to be quite tolerable. The price is a bargain at only 28 rubles per ride (less than a dollar), with unlimited transfers.
While the Metro is a great way to get around the city, it is also a destination in itself, as the system was built in 1935 and has historical architectures that you can only see underground. At the [Ploshchad Revolyutsii station], for example, there is a whole collection of bronze statues of men and women in different work roles. For the statue of the frontier guard, many people rub the dog's nose for good luck that it has become bright and shiny.
Dispel quickly the notion that you need to eat traditional Russian food while in Moscow. A bowl of Borsch (a watery soup made from beets) and a plate of Beef Stroganof set me back 50 bucks! Apparently, restaurants know that only tourists ask for "traditional Russian food", so the prices are set accordingly.
I had to find less expensive eats to stay within my per diem meal limits. Where do the locals eat? Russia is a modern country, with plenty of Burger King, Wendy's, Baskin Robbins, Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks.
No visit to any foreign country would be complete without at least eating one meal at McDonald's. Before working for IBM, I did software engineering for McDonald's, so as a former employee, I try to visit at least one McDonald's in every country. They have restaurants in over 120 countries, so I have a ways to go yet.
A meal consisting of a "Royal" quarter-pounder with cheese, large fries and a Coke was only 214 rubles, less than seven dollars. The meat patty was medium rare, just like I make at home. You just can't get that in the States where everything has to be overcooked to avoid food-bourne illnesses. The fries were a bit over-salted, but the Coke struck just the right balance of syrup and carbonation.
Moscow is home to many museums and art galleries. The [State Tretyakov Gallery] focuses on sculptures and oil paintings from Russian artists, named after a Russian merchant who dontated his collection to get it started.
Plan a good two hours to see everything. There were many guided tour groups when I was there, which slowed me down getting through the large crowds of old people.There were over 50 rooms, with subject matter ranging from portraits, ships, and buildings, to piles of dead bodies in battle scenes. I especially liked the unique styles of [Mikhail Vrubel] and [Vasily Vereshchagin]. In many of the rooms, there were laminated placards in large-type English that explained the pieces on display.
My last stop was the [Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU)]. This served two purposes. First, it is situated up on a hill so that you can see a great view of the rest of the city. Second, there were street vendors selling souvenirs, including the ever-popular [Matryoshka dolls], military hats, keychains, and refrigerator magnets.
In other countries, I have found going to the movies as an interesting way to see the locals in action. Foreign movies are shown here in their original language, with either Russian subtitles for the locals or headphones to hear the Russian dubbed audio track. Sadly, I did not have time to do that this week. This poster, depicting the latest Disney movie "Brave", indicates that it opens this weekend.
As always, from a sightseeing perspective, I try to leave a few things un-done, so I have reason to come back. If you know of any other exciting things to see or do in Moscow, please put that in the comments below so that I can consider it for my next trip! I would like to thank my IBM Russia colleagues Rimma Vladimirova and Sunil Bagai for their suggestions and assistance.
technorati tags: Moscow, Russia, Arbat, Kremlin, Saint Basils, Red Square, Moscow Metro, McDonalds, Armoury, Lenin, Masoleum, John Waters, Tretyakov, Disney
IBM Edge Comes to You - Moscow Russia 2012
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This week I am in Moscow, Russia for today's "Edge Comes to You" event. Although we had over 20 countries represented at the Edge2012 conference in Orlando, Florida earlier this month, IBM realizes that not everyone can travel to the United States. So, IBM has created the "Edge Comes to You" events where a condensed subset of the agenda is presented. Over the next four months, these events are planned in about two dozen other countries.
This is my first time in Russia, and the weather was very nice. With over 11 million people, Moscow is the 6th largest city in the world, and boasts having the largest community of billionaires. With this trip, I have now been to all five of the so-called BRICK countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and Korea) in the past five years!
The venue was the [Info Space Transtvo Conference Center] not far from the Kremlin. While Barack Obama was making friends with Vladimir Putin this week at the G2012 Summit in Mexico, I was making friends with the lovely ladies at the check-in counter.
If it looks like some of the letters are backwards, that is not an illusion. The Russian language uses the [Cyrillic alphabet]. The backwards N ("И"), backwards R ("Я"), the number 3 ("З), and what looks like the big blue staple logo from Netapp ("П"), are actually all characters in this alphabet.
Having spent eight years in a fraternity during college, I found these not much different from the Greek alphabet. Once you learn how to pronounce each of the 33 characters, you can get by quite nicely in Moscow. I successfully navigated my way through Moscow's famous subway system, and ordered food on restaurant menus.
The conference coordinators were Tatiana Eltekova (left) and Natalia Grebenshchikova (right). Business is booming in Russia, and IBM just opened ten new branch offices throughout the country this month. So these two ladies in the marketing department have been quite busy lately.
I especially liked all the attention to detail. For example, the signage was crisp and clean, and the graphics all matched the Powerpoint charts of each presentation.
Moscow is close to the North pole, similar in latitude as Juneau, Alaska; Edinburgh, Scottland; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Stockholm, Sweden.
As a result, it is daylight for nearly 18 hours a day. The first part of the day, from 8:00am to 4:30pm, was "Technical Edge", a condensed version of the 4.5 day event in Orlando, Florida. I gave three of the five keynote presentations:
(Note: I do not speak Russian fluently enough to give a technical presentation, so I did then entire presentation in English, and had real-time translators convert to Russian for me. The audience wore headphones. However, I was able to sprinkly a few Russian phrases, such as "доброе утро", "Я не понимаю по-русский" and "спасибо".)
After the keynote sessions, I was interviewed by a journalist for [Storage News] magazine. The questions covered a variety of topics, from the implications of [Big Data analytics] to the future of storage devices that employ [Phase Change Memory]. I look forward to reading the article when it gets published!
The afternoon had break-out sessions in three separate rooms. Each room hosted seven topics, giving the attendees plenty to choose from for each time slot. I presented one of these break-out sessions, Big Data Cloud Storage Technology Comparison. The title was already printed in all the agendas, so we went with it, but I would have rather called it "Big Data Storage Options". In this session, I explained Hadoop, InfoSphere BigInsights, internal and external storage options.
I spent some time comparing Hadoop File System (HDFS) with IBM's own General Parallel File System (GPFS) which now offers Hadoop interfaces in a Shared-Nothing Cluster (SNC) configuration. IBM GPFS is about twice as fast as HDFS for typical workloads.
At the end of the Technical Edge event, there was a prize draw. Business cards were drawn at random, and three lucky attendees won a complete four-volume set of my book series "Inside System Storage"! Sadly, these got held up in customs, so we provided a "certificate" to redeem them for the books when they arrive to the IBM office.
The second part of the day, from 5:00pm to 8pm, was "Executive Edge", a condensed version of the 2 day event in Orlando, designed for CIOs and IT leaders. Having this event in the evening allowed busy executives to come over after they spend the day in the office. I presented IBM Storage Strategy in the Smarter Computing Era, similar to my presentation in Orlando.
Both events were well-attended. Despite fighting jet lag across 11 time zones, I managed to hang in there for the entire day. I got great feedback and comments from the attendees. I look forward to hearing how the other "Edge Comes to You" events fare in the other countries. I would like to thank Tatiana and Natalia for their excellent work organizing and running this event!
technorati tags: IBM, Moscow, Russia, Edge, ECTY, Cyrillic, Tatiana Eltekova, Natalia Grebenshchikova, Smarter Storage, Smarter Computing, Smarter Planet, Big Data, Cloud, IBM Watson, Jeopardy, Hadoop, HDFS, InfoSphere, BigInsights, GPFS, GPFS-SNC
Back from Orlando - More IBM Storage Announcements
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Well, it's Tuesday again, and you know what that means... IBM announcements!
Last week, IBM had a big storage launch of various products, with the June 4 announcements at the IBM Edge 2012 conference. I provided highlights in my post [IBM Edge Announcements]. As promised, here are the rest of the announcements.
This week I am on the road visiting various clients. Next week, Moscow Russia for the "Edge Comes to You" event!
technorati tags: IBM, SONAS, TPC, Tivoli Storage, Productivity Center, ProtecTIER, TS7650, TS7620, CIFS, OST, VTL, LTFS, Storage Manager, Tape System Library Manager, DS8000, DS8800, XIV Gen3, N3220, N3240, Edge, ECTY
Day5 IBM Edge Final Sessions of the Week
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This week I am in Orlando, Florida for the IBM Edge conference. This is the last day, so it ends early for people who want to get home to their
That's it folks. Next week, I am spending time with my research buddies at the Almaden Research Center near San Jose, California, and then it is off to Moscow, Russia to kick off a series of IBM events called "Edge Comes to You" (ECTY).
The ECTY conferences will be a smaller subset of the Edge conference here in Orlando, but offered in other countries for those who were unable to travel to the United States.
technorati tags: IBM, Edge2012, Real-Time Compression, NetApp, SVC, Storwize V7000, iBurst, PAM, NDMP, SONAS, Active Directory, NIS, LDAP, SAMBA, Acess Control Lists, NFS, CIFS, ECTY
Day4 IBM Edge Free-for-All
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This week I am in Orlando, Florida for the IBM Edge conference. Thursday evening after all the other sessions, we had a Free-for-All, a Q&A panel across all storage topics, moderated by Scott Drummond. The conference officially ends at noon tomorrow, but for many, this is the last session, as people fly out Friday morning. Here are the questions and the panel responses during the session.
When will IBM unify their storage management between Mainframe z/OS and the distributed systems platforms?
IBM offers a Change and Configuration Management Data Base (CCMDB) for this purpose with appropriate collectors from z/OS and distributed systems, but hasn't sold well.
When will IBM devices have RESTful interfaces?
Both IBM Systems Director and IBM Tivoli Storage Productivity Center (TPC) offer RESTful APIs. IBM Systems Director can manage z/VM and Linux on System z, as well as Power Systems and x86 based distributed systems. Since October 2008, IBM's Project Zero introduced RESTful interfaces to PHP and Groovy software running on WebSphere sMash environments. We have not heard much about this since 2008.
Will IBM TPC support NPIV on Power Systems?
TPC 5.1 has toleration support for this, showing the first port connection discovered, but not all connections, and we expect to retrofit this toleration to TPC 4.2.2 Fixpack 2. Hopefully, we will have full support in a future release.
We would like TPC for Replication to run on Linux for System z. We do not run z/OS at the disaster recovery site location.
Submit an IBM Request for Enhancement [RFE] for this. We have TPC for Replication on z/OS, as well as the distributed systems version that runs on Windows, Linux and AIX.
We have enhancements we would like to see for XIV and SONAS also, can we use the RFE process for this also?
Yes, submit the requirements for our review.
We heard the Statement of Direction that there would be storage integrated into the PureSystems. What exactly does that mean?
The PureSystems family of expert-integrated systems is based on a new chassis that has a front part, a midplane, and a back-part. All IBM System Storage products that support x86 and Power Systems can work with PureSystems. However, IBM does not yet offer storage that fits in the front part of the PureFlex chassis, but the Statement of Direction indicates that we intend to offer that option. Until then, the IBM Storwize V7000 is the storage of choice that can be put into the PureSystems rack, but outside the individual chasses.
We see some features like Real-Time Compression being put into the SAN Volume Controller (SVC), and other features put into the back-end devices. How are we supposed to make sense of this?
IBM's new pilot program, the SmartCloud Virtual Storage Center, to bring these all together. In general, we have design teams of system architects that determine which features go in which products, and prioritize accordingly.
We heard the IBM Executives during the opening session indicate that IBM's strategy involves supporting Big Data, but I haven't seen any storage that supports native Hadoop interfaces. Did I miss something?
First, I want to emphasize that Big Data is more than just MapReduce workloads. IBM offers Streams and BigInsights software to handle text, as well as Business Intelligence and Data Warehouse solutions for structured data. IBM's General Parallel File System (GPFS) has a Shar
Everytime we upgrade our SVC, we review the list for SDDPCM multi-pathing and see that we need to upgrade our back-end DS8000 microcode up to recommended levels. Can we get a list of combinations that work from other customers?
The advantage of storage hypervisors like SVC is that we can separate the multi-pathing driver from the back-end managed disk systems. You only need the SDDPCM to support the SVC, not the back-end devices. For the most part, SVC has not dropped support for any level of previously supported OS or multi-pathing software.
On SVC, when we migrate volumes (vDisks) from one storage pool to another, we would like to throttle this process during FlashCopy.
Yes, we had several requests like this, which is why we now recommend using Volume Mirorring to perform migrations. In fact the GUI wizard uses Volume Mirroring by default when migrations are performed. As for throttling, IBM has implemented "I/O Priority Manager" that offers Quality of Service classes for DS8000 and XIV Gen3, and might consider porting this to other products in our portfolio.
Sizing systems is an art. I just need to know if the DS8000 is running hot. Can we have the equivalent of "red lines" for our disk systems similar to automobile engines?
Storage Optimizer was added to TPC 4.2 to help in this area, identifying heat-maps for IBM DS8000, DS6000, DS5000, DS4000, SVC and Storwize V7000. We recommend you look at the performance violation reports.
How can we evaluate the characteristics of our workloads?
Yes, TPC can do this.
When we are replacing non-IBM storage with IBM, we don't have good tools to evaluate the non-IBM equipment. What is IBM doing for this?
IBM's Disk Magic modeling tool can take inputs from a variety of sources, including iostat from the servers themselves. You can also install a 90-day trial of TPC to help with this.
We really like EMC's "Grab" program, does IBM have one also?
Yes, IBM has one also. See the [SSIC Discovery Utility].
Updating the Host Attachment Kit (HAK) for AIX is quite painful for the SVC. We prefer the method employed for the XIV.
Thanks for the feedback.
For SVC, we need to correlate disk with VMware and VIOS. Can we get vSCSI information on VIOS?
TPC 5.1 has this support, and we believe it has been retrofitted to TPC 4.2.2 Fixpack 2, coming out this month.
Currently, with SVC, when volumes are part of a Global Mirror (GM) session, we need to cancel GM, expand the source volume, expand the target volume, then restart GM. We would like this to be fully automated and non-disruptive.
Sounds like a great requirement to submit for the RFE process.
Can we get an RSS Feed for the RFE community.
Yes, you can subscribe to it. You can also set up "Watch Lists".
Thanks to all of the IBM experts on the panel for their participation at this event!
technorati tags: IBM, Edge2012, Free-for-All, CCMDB, Project Zero, RESTful, TPC, SVC, RFE, Storwize V7000, PureSystems, PureFlex, SmartCloud, Virtual Storage Center, Big+Data, SONAS, XIV, DS8000, Global Mirror
Day4 IBM Edge Cloud Computing
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This week I am in Orlando, Florida for the IBM Edge conference. Here is a recap of Day 4 afternoon sessions which related to Cloud computing.
The conference is almost over folks! Just a few sessions tomorrow and then it is all done.
technorati tags: IBM, SmartCloud Enterprise, object storage, George Contino, Nirvanix, CloudNAS, SAP, UWM
Day4 IBM Edge Tivoli Sessions
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This week I am in Orlando, Florida for the IBM Edge conference. Here is a recap of Day 4 morning sessions that focused on Tivoli products.
At lunch, I spoke with Scott Laningham who was doing video interviews. For years, Scott was the #1 blogger on IBM developerWorks until I took over the title last year. We discussed working on a video in the future on this.
technorati tags: IBM, Tivoli Storage, Productivity Center, SmartCloud, Virtual Storage Center, Richard Moulds, Thales, Gordon Arnold, Encryption, Scott Lanignham
Day3 IBM Edge Breakout sessions
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This week I am in Orlando, Florida for the IBM Edge conference. Here is a recap of Day 3.
In the evening, the attendees at IBM Edge joined the attendees from Innovate2012 (focused on IBM Rational products) at SeaWorld, with BBQ dinner, rides, Shamu the whale show, and a concert featuring Foreigner!
technorati tags: IBM, Stephen Foskett, Sanjay Bhikot, Data Footprint Reduction, Compression, Deduplication, Space-Efficient, Point-in-time, RICOH, SVC, Storwize V7000, SONAS, Active Cloud Engine, Smarter Computing, Smarter Storage, Foreigner, SeaWorld, Innovate2012
Day2 IBM Edge Social Media BOF
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This week I am in Orlando, Florida for the IBM Edge conference. Tuesday afternoon we had a Birds-of-a-Feather (BOF) session to discuss social media. I was the moderator. We had two independent bloggers on the panel: [Jon Toigo] and [Steve Foskett]. We had several IBM social media experts, including Jack Arnold, Scott Drummond, Mary Hall, Nick Harris, and Rich Swain. Also joining us was Alex Hollingworth, social media expert from Emulex.
IBM Social Media Birds of a Feather v5
View more presentations from Tony Pearson on IBM Expert Network.
At the opening session, Deon Newman suggest we re-tweet him, isn't that plagiarism? What is your take on this?
The important thing is to give credit where it is due. Avoid screen scraping others and passing it off as your own. When you re-tweet someone, you give them credit for their original tweet. You are basically saying, "I could not have said it better myself!" With blogs, you can do the same by linking to other blog posts.
I am active in social media, but am having trouble getting the older colleagues in the IT department to participate. I want them to write down all the knowledge in their heads.
The best way to get employees to do anything new or different is to show them how it benefits them. For example, if the elders are tired of answering the same questions over and over, have them start an internal wiki, blog or knowledgebase to capture the answers to frequent questions. This will save them time, so they can see value for themselves. I suggest looking at IBM Lotus Connections which provides collaboration tools inside your firewall, accessible only to internal employees of the company.
How do we differentiate facts from opinions in our social media writings?
You can always be explicit, for example IMHO stands for "In my humble opinion". I find that blogs are 99 percent opinion, and 1 percent fact, so it is easier to point out the facts linking or citing sources, and let the rest of your writing be considered opinion.
I would like to find people on Linkedin to establish business relationships with the storage administrators, decision makers and influencers within the companies I want to sell to, how do I best do that?
Nobody likes cold calls. If you upgrade to a "Pro" account on LinkedIn, you can send 15 to 25 "Inmail" emails through their system to introduce yourself. Otherwise, consider finding someone in your network that knows them, and arrange for them to provide the mutual introduction for you.
How do I find people to follow related to the topics I am interested in, like storage?
There are tools like [Tweetadder] to help you find people to follow. Or, just search on certain hashtags, and add people you find that use them.
I am concerned about privacy? What can I do to protect my privacy?
Decide up front which topics are off-limits in your blog or other social media. For services like Facebook, check your privacy settings every 30 days. Several people have opted to create a special "Facebook Page" that represents their professional brand, so that the rest of Facebook can be used for friends and family.
I want to start a new blog, which service should I use?
Services like Blogger, Blogspt and TypePad are generally easy to set up. Wordpress is more advanced, but can be more complicated to set up.
I don't care for writing a blog, how can I set up a video blog, or vlog?
Consider creating a channel on YouTube. Another popular site is Vimeo. A "Pro" account of Vimeo provides added features.
I am new to Twitter, what tools should I look into?
I suggest you look at HootSuite. This lets you post to Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin. You can schedule when a tweet will be posted, so you can right them in advance and schedule them for a certain date and time. Also, if you have a blog, you can have Hootsuite send out tweets automatically with the titles and link to each blog post.
How much effort should we put in to Social Media?
As much or as little as you want. Don't force yourself to spend more time than you want. Typically, people spend 1-2 hours per day. Cut down how much you spend watching television to make up the difference. Set up "Google Alerts" that can send you emails when certain phrases appear anywhere. There are also social bookmarking tools like Instapaper, Delicious or Diigo that can save bookmarks in the cloud for things that you want to read, but don't have time to read now.
Which social media would be the best to get chicks.
Writing a technical blog with good quality content. Girls want to be with you. Guys want to be you.
How can I use social media to provide feedback about specific products?
IBM now has a [Reviews and Ratings] for its IBM System Storage products. Consider writing a review today!
Thanks to all of the panel for their help with this!
technorati tags: IBM, IBMedge, BOF, Social Media, Twitter, Linked, Facebook
Day2 IBM Edge Announcements
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Well it's Tuesday again, and you know what that means... IBM announcements! Yesterday, at the IBM Edge conference here in Orlando, Florida, IBM announced its new apporach to storage, and a whole bunch of storage products, enhancements, and services. I will focus on some key ones here, and save the rest for next week.
For more on any of these announcements, see the [June 4th Announcement Page], or follow the Twitter tag #transformITnow.
technorati tags: IBM, SVC, Storwize V7000, Tivoli Storage, Productivity Center, TPC, DS3500, DCS37000
Day1 IBM Edge Afternoon Breakout Sessions
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The first day had various breakout sessions in the afternoon.
Tonight we have the grand opening reception of the Solution Center and a concert featuring Grace Potter & the Nocturnals!
technorati tags: IBM, Archive, Compliance, WORM, NENR, Mike Griese, , Dan Zehnpfennig, Tivoli Storage, Productivity Center, TPC, Watson, Healthcare, Financial Services, Wellpoint, Seton, CitiGroup
Day1 IBM Edge Opening Keynote Sessions
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This week, I am in Orlando, Florida presenting, blogging and tweeting at the IBM Edge conference. The first day began with opening main tent sessions. Deon Newman, IBM VP of Marketing, was the emcee. The four-person [Bella Electric Strings] rocked the house with some electric violins.
This was a great way to kick off the week!
technorati tags: IBM, Deon Newman, Bella Electric Strings, Rod Adkins, Smarter Planet, Smarter Computing, Brian Truskowski, Smarter Storage, Yoni Cohen, Snowball Studios, Rick Haverty, URMC, SONAS, Storwize V7000, VNA, Acuo Technologies
Day0 IBM Edge2012 in Orlando Florida
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Hi everyone! It's Sunday, and I have arrived safely to Orlando, Florida. It actually took me 25 hours to get here, due to mechanical problems on the plane, and an unexpected overnight stay in Chicago. My checked bags unfortunately got misplaced in Chicago, and will hopefully arrive later today.
In past years, IBM ran three separate storage events. One for IT executives, one for technical storage administrators, and one for IBM Business Partners. This year, we have combined all three into one event: IBM Edge. There are three distinct venues: Executive Edge is for the CIOs and IT Directors, Technical Edge for the storage administrators, and Winning Edge is for the IBM Business Partners.
I will be spending most of my time at the Technical Edge events. This year, I was on the review board, and spent much of the last three weeks reviewing a good portion of the 249 presentation topics that will be given this week.
If you have never been to IBM storage events in the past, or it has been awhile since your last one, you can review my blog posts from prior years to get familiar. I have them collected here in my January post [Mark your Calendars - Upcoming Events].
Here is my tentative plan for the week, in case you want to find me. The table is color-coded. White for sessions I am merely attending, and yellow for those sessions that I am presenting or participating as part of a panel.
It's going to be a fun and busy week! I will be tweeting throughout the week. You can follow me on Twitter at [@az990tony]. You can also follow tweets marked #IBMstorage and #IBMedge from others.
technorati tags: IBM, Edge, Executive Edge, Technical Edge, Winning Edge, Twitter, @az990tony, #IBMedge
The Intel Chip Chat Podcast
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This week, Allyson Klein, Director of Technical Leadership Marketing from Intel, interviewed me for the Intel® [Chip Chat podcast] to promote the upcoming [IBM Edge conference] to be held June 4-8 in Orlando, Florida. Intel is a big sponsor of the conference. The podcast is only about 8 minutes long. Enjoy!
technorati tags: IBM, Allyson Klein, Intel, Chip Chap, podcast, IBMEdge, Orlando Florida
IBM Helps out Greece's AlphaTV with LTO-5 and LTFS tape technology
Visits (13174)
As I mentioned in my last post, [IBM announces the 60th anniversary of digital tape storage systems]. As promised, I am back in Tucson today to enjoy the festivities.
Ten years ago, I travelled to New York City with my colleague, Randy Fleenor, to present the latest in IBM tape technology for the 50th Anniversary. On Thursday evening that week, the latest movie in the Star Wars saga, Episode II: Attack of the Clones was just released, and it was being shown using the new Digital Light Projection (DLP) technology just around the corner at the Ziegfeld theater! This movie was the first live-action film to be filmed entirely digital. George Lucas saw that digital video was the future, and started the process moving forward with this film.
I convinced Randy to join me, and we arrived at 11:10pm, the movie was scheduled to start at 11pm, so we figured we had only missed a few previews. We walked into a completely empty lobby. I asked for two tickets for the 11pm show at the ticket counter, and was told it was all sold out, and there was a huge line around the building for all the people waiting to see the 1:00am show, and that we might get in to see the 3:00am show.
Randy and I had meetings on Friday morning, so we were not going to wait in line all night to see a 3am show! Just then, a young man comes out of the theater. He said his girlfriend can't make it, and wanted a refund for his two tickets. I pulled out a twenty-dollar bill, offered to buy them directly at face value, and the theater employees approved the transaction. The seats were front row of the balcony section. By then we had missed all the previews and a short bit of the movie, but that was alright with us.
(FTC Disclosure: I am both an employee and stockholder in IBM. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission may consider this a paid, celebrity endorsement of LTO-5 tapes and the LTFS technology. References to other companies are for illustrative purposes and do not represent an endorsement of their products or services.)
Digital recording is ideal for all types of video, including movies, television, and commercial advertisements.
The latest excitement is over IBM's Linear Tape File System™ (LTFS), which IBM donated to the IT industry as open source so that everyone in the world can benefit. This allows tape cartridges to be treated like USB memory sticks, the ultimate in portability of data. It is supported for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux, and already well embraced by the Medi
Last week, IBM announced that it has helped [Greece's AlphaTV with LTFS on LTO-5 tape technology]. Here is an excerpt:
"The move to IBM technology has helped the network shrink its archive from 1,507 to just 388 square feet, representing dramatic systems and energy-cost savings."
To prepare for this anniversary, I spoke with Brad Johns, of [Brad Johns Consulting]. Brad was head of IBM tape marketing for a while, and ran tape customer councils to gather feedback from our largest customers. Brad was my mentor in marketing at IBM from 2003-2007 and has since retired from IBM to start his own consulting practice.
His latest publication is a TCO study entitled [A New Approach to Lowering the Cost of Storing File Archive Information] where he evaluated the 10-year total cost of ownership (TCO) for storage systems to hold file archives.
The comparison was made between Crossroad Systems' Strongbox® with Enterprise tape library, LTO-5 tapes using LTFS, versus a unified disk storage system offering NAS protocols on high-capacity 3TB drives. The findings: the tape-based archive had nearly 80 percent lower TCO than the disk-based solution!
You don't have to be in the middle of the Greek economy to real that is a good value!
technorati tags: IBM, DLP, Randy Fleenor, Star Wars, George Lucas, AlphaTV, LTO-5, tape, LTFS, TCO, Sony, DVCPRO
IBM announces 60th anniversary of digial tape storage systems
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Well it's Tuesday again, and you know what that means.. IBM announcements! Today, IBM announces that next Monday marks the 60th anniversary of first commercial digital tape storage system! I am on the East coast this week visiting clients, but plan to be back in Tucson in time for the cake and fireworks next Monday.
Note that I said first commercial tape system as tape itself, in various forms, [has been around since 4000 B.C.]. A little historical context might help:
According to the IBM Archives the [IBM 726 tape drive was formally announced May 21, 1952]. It was the size of a refrigerator, and the tape reel was the size of a large pizza. The next time you pull a frozen pizza from your fridge, you can remember this month's celebration!
When I first joined IBM in 1986, there were three kinds of IBM tape. The round reel called 3420, and the square cartridge called 3480, and the tubes that contained a wide swath of tape stored in honeycomb shelves called the [IBM 3850 Mass Storage System].
My first job at IBM was to work on DFHSM, which was specifically started in 1977 to manage the IBM 3850, and later renamed to the DFSMShsm component of the DFSMS element of the z/OS operating system. This software was instrumental in keeping disk and tape at high 80-95 percent utilization rates on mainframe servers.
While visiting a client in Detroit, the client loved their StorageTek tape automation silo, but didn't care for the StorageTek drives inside were incompatible with IBM formats. They wanted to put IBM drives into the StorageTek silos. I agreed it was a good idea, and brought this back to the attention of development. In a contentious meeting with management and engineers, I presented this feedback from the client.
Everyone in the room said IBM couldn't do that. I asked "Why not?" The software engineers I spoke to already said they could support it. With StorageTek at the brink of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, I argued that IBM drives in their tape automation would ease the transition of our mainframe customers to an all-IBM environment.Was the reason related to business/legal concerns, or was their a hardware issue? It turned out to be a little of both. On the business side, IBM had to agree to work with StorageTek on service and support to its mutual clients in mixed environments. On the technical side, the drive had to be tilted 12 degrees to line up with the robotic hand. A few years later, the IBM silo-compatible 3592 drive was commercially available.
Rather than put StorageTek completely out of business, it had the opposite effect. Now that IBM drives can be put in StorageTek libraries, everyone wanted one, basically bringing StorageTek back to life. This forced IBM to offer its own tape automation libraries.
In 1993, I filed my first patent. It was for the RECYCLE function in DFHSM to consolidate valid data from partial tapes to fresh new tapes. Before my patent, the RECYCLE function selected tapes alphabetically, by volume serial (VOLSER). My patent evaluated all tapes based on how full they were, and sorted them least-full to most-full, to maximize the return of cartridges.
Different tape cartridges can hold different amounts of data, especially with different formats on the same media type, with or without compression, so calculating the percentage full turned out to be a tricky algorithm that continues to be used in mainframe environments today.
The patent was popular for cross-licensing, and IBM has since filed additional patents for this invention in other countries to further increase its license revenue for intellectual property.
In 1997, IBM launched the IBM 3494 Virtual Tape Server (VTS), the first virtual tape storage device, blending disk and tape to optimal effect. This was based off the IBM 3850 Mass Storage Systems, which was the first virtual disk system, that used 3380 disk and tape to emulate the older 3350 disk systems.
In the VTS, tape volume images would be emulated as files on a disk system, then later moved to physical tape. We would call the disk the "Tape Volume Cache", and use caching algorithms to decide how long to keep data in cache, versus destage to tape. However, there were only a few tape drives, and sometimes when the VTS was busy, there were no tape drives available to destage the older images, and the cache would fill up.
I had already solved this problem in DFHSM, with a function called pre-migration. The idea was to pre-emptively copy data to tape, but leave it also on disk, so that when it needed to be destaged, all we had to do was delete the disk copy and activate the tape copy. We patented using this idea for the VTS, and it is still used in the successor models of IBM Sysem Storage TS7740 virtual tape libraries today.
Today, tape continues to be the least expensive storage medium, about 15 to 25 times less expensive, dollar-per-GB, than disk technologies. A dollar of today's LTO-5 tape can hold 22 days worth of MP3 music at 192 Kbps recording. A full TS1140 tape cartridge can hold 2 million copies of the book "War and Peace".
(If you have not read the book, Woody Allen took a speed reading course and read the entire novel in just 20 minutes. He summed up the novel in three words: "It involves Russia." By comparison, in the same 20 minutes, at 650MB/sec, the TS1140 drive can read this novel over and over 390,000 times.)
If you have your own "war stories" about tape, I would love to hear them, please consider posting a comment below.
technorati tags: IBM, AEG, Bing Crosby, Duct+Tape, Band Aid, DFHSM, RECYCLE, DFSMShsm, z/OS, StorageTek, VTS, VTL, LTO-5, TS1140, LTFS, Woody Allen
VSPEX: EMC strikes back
Visits (20168)
--- Charles Dudley Warner
In my September 2007 post [Supermarkets and Specialty Shops], I explain that there are two kinds of clients:
My how the IT landscape for vendors has evolved in just the past five years! Cisco starts to sell servers, and enters a "mini-mall" alliance with EMC and VMware to offer vBlock integrated stack of server, storage and switches with VMware as the software hypervisor. For those not familiar with the concept of mini-malls, these are typically rows of specialty shops. A shopper can park their car once, and do all their shopping from the various shops in the mini-mall. Not quite "one-stop" shopping of a supermarket, but tries to address the same need.
("Who do I call when it breaks?" -- The three companies formed a puppet company, the Virtual Computing Environment company, or VCE, to help answer that question!)
Among the many things IBM has learned in its 100+ years of experience, it is that clients want choices. Cisco figured this out also, and partnered with NetApp to offer the aptly-named FlexPod reference architecture. In effect, Cisco has two boyfriends, when she is with EMC, it is called a Vblock, and when she is with NetApp, it is called a FlexPod. I was lucky enough to find this graphic to help explain the three-way love triangle.
Did this move put a strain on the relationship between Cisco and EMC? Last month, EMC announced VSPEX, a FlexPod-like approach that provides a choice of servers, and some leeway for resellers to make choices to fit client needs better. Why limit yourself to Cisco servers, when IBM and HP servers are better? Is this an admission that Vblock has failed, and that VSPEX is the new way of doing things? No, I suspect it is just EMC's way to strike back at both Cisco and NetApp in what many are calling the "Stack Wars". (See [The Stack Wars have Begun!], [What is the Enterprise Stack?], or [The Fight for the Fully Virtualized Data Center] for more on this.)
(FTC Disclosure: I am both an employee and shareholder of IBM, so the U.S. Federal Trade Commission may consider this post a paid, celebrity endorsement of the IBM PureFlex system. IBM has working relationships with Cisco, NetApp, and Quantum. I was not paid to mention, nor have I any financial interest in, any of the other companies mentioned in this blog post. )
Chris Mellor and Timothy Prickett Morgan at The Register have a great series of posts exploring this new development: [EMC VSPEX storage torpedo could sink FlexPods], [El Reg hurls EMC onto the rack, drills into VSPEX], [We were right: EMC's VSPEX will take on FlexPods], and [How EMC stuffs channel cakeholes with VSPEX recipes].
Last month, IBM announced its new PureSystems family, ushering in a [new era in computing]. I invite you all to check out the many "Paterns of Expertise" available at the [IBM PureSystems Centre]. This is like an "app store" for the data center, and what I feel truly differentiates IBM's offerings from the rest.
The trend is obvious. Clients who previously purchased from specialty shops are discovering the cost and complexity of building workable systems from piece-parts from separate vendors has proven expensive and challenging. IBM PureFlex™ systems eliminate a lot of the complexity and effort, but still offer plenty of flexibility, choice of server processor types, choice of server and storage hypervisors, and choice of various operating systems.
technorati tags: IBM, Stack Wars, PureSystems, PureFlex, VSPEX, EMC, Vblock, Cisco, VMware, NetApp, FlexPod, HDS, Quantum, Symantec


text:
I am a newbie to RMI.
From the client side, calling Remote method and passing hashmap of keys and values are null. I want the server to fill the values for each key. is that possible.
Map<String, Object> mapObj = new HashMap<String, Object>();
in a loop, I just fill the keys (string of the mapObject) and values as null.
mapObj.get("key1") gives me null. the server side logging gives the whatever object i am filling.
can We pass hashmap to server and have it filled and clien access the same hashmap?
the objects in hashmap are serializable.
Please explain.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Artist description:
No description entered.
Flash Draw Created Nov 20, 2011 460 x 640px Unless noted Copyright 2011 HOMILUIS.
We encourage you to submit a comment and let the artist know what you think of this drawing. Please log in or join to post a comment.
Post a comment
well done! 5h
It was very interesting to watch you draw the rose! It looks quite lovely and smooth. I love the various shades of rhodochrosite that you have used for its petals. I also like the sapphire and emerald tones in the water in the dark bg. 5/5 and faves.
Very beautiful 5 hearts!
Very nice! I like the water effect. :)
lovely! 5h
very nice
That's really good. Keep it up :D
wow beautiful drawing 5h col
Soo pretty!!! collection 5 h


text:
Upgrading to MCSA Server 2012 Online Course
Upgrading Your Skills to MCSA Windows Server 2012 Online Courses
presents online Microsoft certification course Upgrading Your Skills
to MCSA Windows Server 2012 in South Africa. This course provides IT
professionals with the opportunity to validate their skills and
knowledge for implementing the Windows Server 2012 core
infrastructure services. This course provides credit towards the
MCSA and MCSE certifications. This course is designed for IT
professionals who have already earned the MCSA: Windows Server 2008
certification or one of the following MCITP Certifications:
Virtualization Administrator on Windows Server 2008 R2, Enterprise
Messaging Administrator 2010, Lync Server Administrator 2010,
SharePoint Administrator 2010, or Enterprise Desktop Administrator
on Windows 7.
2KO is an IT consulting and training company, offering both business services and multi-platform training. 2KO Africa's wide range of computer courses are available as full time classes, or as online learning, enabling 2KO students the opportunity to study courses online world-wide, to ensure students have access to the best IT certification training in South Africa.
The primary objectives of this course include:
Installing and configuring servers
Configuring server roles and features
Configuring Hyper-V
Installing and administering Active Directory
Deploying, managing, and maintaining servers
Configuring network services and access
Configuring network policy server infrastructures
Configuring and managing Active Directory
Configuring and managing Group Policy
Configuring and managing high availability
Configuring file and storage solutions
Implementing business continuity and disaster recovery
Configuring network services
Configuring identity and access solutions
We create the highest quality course curriculum possible, ensuring you receive the training and knowledge needed to succeed.
Register for an Online Microsoft Technical Course Here
Course Curriculum
Module 1
Windows Server 2012 CORE
Introduction to Windows Server 2012 CORE
Minimum Server Interface
Server Core Management
CORE Roles
Installation Options
Installing and Configuring Server CORE
Chapter Review
Module 2
Windows Server 2012 Local Storage
Storage Basics
Drive Types
File System
Creating Mounts and Links
Chapter Review
Module 3
Windows Server 2012 Storage Spaces
Storage Spaces
High Available Virtual Disk
Advanced Configuration
Advanced Storage Space Management
Working with Storage Space
Chapter Review
Module 4
Windows Firewall
Windows Firewall Advanced Security
Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V
Basic Overview of Virtualization
What is Server Virtualization?
Desktop Virtualization
Presentation Virtualization
Application Virtualization
USV Virtualization
Cloud Computing
System Requirements
Installing the Hyper-V Role
Installing Hyper-V
Configuring Hyper-V
Managing Virtual Networks
Configuration Settings In Hyper-V
Chapter Review
Module 5
Windows Server 2012 Active Directory Domain Services
Active Directory Accounts
Active Directory Administration
Creating Active Directory User Account
Active Directory Templates
Creating a Template
Command Line Tools
PowerShell Scripting
Adding Users and Groups In PowerShell
Chapter Review
Module 6
Windows Server 2012 AD Objects and Groups
Group Scope
Default Groups
Creating Groups
AD DS Permissions
AD DS Delegation
Chapter Review
Module 7
Windows Server 2012 Group Policy Object Basics
Defining GPO
GPO History
Practical Application
GPO Settings
GPO Types
GPO Overview
Chapter Review
Module 8
Windows Server 2012 GPO Starter
Building GPOs
Available Settings
Creating GPOs and Using a Starter GPO
Chapter Review
Module 9
Windows Server 2012 GPO Secure
Security 101
Security Template
Implementing Server Security
Auditing File System Access
Chapter Review
Windows Server 2012 Monitoring
Performance Monitor
Task Manager
Resource Monitor
Event Viewer
Monitoring Tools
Chapter Review
Module 10
Direct Access VS VPN
DA Components
Configuring Direct Access
Module 11
Windows Server 2012 Network Access Protection
NAP Overview
NAP Components
NAP Policing
System Health
NAP Monitoring
Implementing NAP
Chapter Review
Module 12
Windows Server 2012 Active Directory Domain Services
Domain Controller
Virtual Domain Controller
Deploying and Configuring
Read Only Domain Controller (RODC)
Installing RODC
Chapter Review
Module 13
Windows Server 2012 AD DS and DB Management
Active Directory
DS Administrative Center
DS with PowerShell
AD DS Database
DC States
Using Ntdsutil
Recycle Bin
Using Active Directory Recycle Bin
Chapter Review
Module 14
Windows Server 2012 GPO Processing
Basic Process
Process Order
Inheritance and/or Precedence
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) Filters
Slow Link No Link
GPO Processing
Chapter Review
Module 15
High Availability Failover Clustering
High Availability Basics
HA New Features
HA Components
Features CSV
Quorum (Modes)
Failover Clustering
Cluster Deployment Requirements
Failover Cluster Setup and Configuration
HA File Server Setup and Configuration
Cluster Aware Updating
Module 16
HA Hypervisor and VM
HA Basics with Hyper-V
Failover Clustering with Hyper-V
New Features
Best Practices
HV Replica
Virtual Machine Cluster Setup
Failover Cluster Configuration for Hyper-V
Chapter Review
Module 17
Windows Server 2012: Dynamic Access Control
DAC Basics
New VS Old
Central Access Policy
Implementing DAC
Deploying DAC
Implementation of Dynamic Access Control
Chapter Review
Module 18
Networking IPAM
IPAM Basics
Reason to Use IPAM
Management and Monitoring
IPAM Installation and Configuration
Chapter Review
Module 19
Active Directory Federation Services
AD FS Services
Web Security Components
AD FS New Features
AD FS Setup and Configuration
Installing AD FS Role
Installing AD FS for a Single Organization
Configuring AD Claims Provider Trust
Chapter Review
Module 20 Review
Certification Overview
Exam Preparation


text:
One of the most gifted, visionary, and enduring talents ever launched into orbit by the Motown hit machine, Marvin Gaye blazed the trail for the continued evolution of popular black music. Moving from lean, powerful R&B to stylish, sophisticated soul to finally arrive at an intensely political and personal form of artistic self-expression, his work not only redefined soul music as a creative force but also expanded its impact as an agent for social change.
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text:
44 exclusive items in the 3.75" scale in one year? That is approximately $900 plus tax/shipping if you tried to grab one of everything! Anyone else think that's just WAAAAAY too much running around to do in a year?
Anyone else worried (like me) that this is a sign of things to come where the retailers demand HUGE lots of exclusive goods?
Didn't this happen and fail in the 90's? It was mostly 12" though. Do you think the market may be different now?
Page created in 0.06 seconds with 18 queries.


text:
It was October 27th, 2012, and the sun was shining down on North Vietnam. My friends and I had planned a motorbike trip to the national park of Cuc Phuong, some 120 kilometers south. Due to the brilliant weather and my desire for a tan, I headed out in short shorts and a tank top.
It was one of the most spectacular drives I've ever taken. Once down near Ninh Binh, the landscape truly becomes magical – huge limestone karsts jut up from the otherwise flat rice fields. But one look at the sky, and we knew there was something brewing.
Approximately halfway there, the sun disappeared and towns looked boarded up. Just as night was falling we finally arrived at the park entrance, where we booked rooms at the first guest house on a lake. My English friend Tom had come along with his Vietnamese girlfriend. She turned on the television as we got settled in our rooms and washed up for dinner.
Breaking news: A category 3 typhoon named Son-Tinh has ravaged the Philippines, and is due to hit Ninh Binh by 13:00 October 28th. It was pretty clear to infer what the news was warning us, but thank goodness we had Houng to translate. No wonder the towns seemed desolate! Apparently we should have checked the weather report before leaving town.
As we sat down for dinner, electricity was out, the wind was howling and it had begun to rain already. Not overly worried yet, we felt more of an electric excitement. By candle light, we spent the night on our guest house porch, watching the storm, throwing back a few bottles of vodka and playing cards.
The vodka had a double purpose though. It was getting COLD, and most of us were ill-equipped for such weather. I didn't even pack a jacket or pants. Over breakfast we strategized the safest way home. Pouring over a map of the park, we identified what seemed to be a way up through the mountainous park to bypass Ninh Binh on our return home. It was risky though. The huge mountains, steep roads, heavy wind and rain and the possibility of landslides and falling debris or trees were a real concern.
"Well at least we would get to see the park, instead of turning around and driving down here for nothing!" It was settled.
By 10 a.m., we were packed and on our bikes headed north through the park, as a ranger waved us farewell and good luck. Travel was slow, but gorgeous. After about an hour we reached a point where, according to the map, there was a turn-off to a road that exited the park. We were almost there!
Then it turned to a small dirt hiking path blocked off to motor vehicles… there was no way out. We rechecked the map; circle the area for a bit, wondering if we were mistaken.
The ranger that waved us off knew we were looking to exit north to avoid the storm, but didn't bother to inform us that the road we saw on the map was not a road at all! There's no other way. We must turn back. Fate would have us arrive in Ninh Binh along with typhoon Son-Tinh.
Already soaked and chilled to the bone and we were back to square one. It was noon, and there was another 120 km to go.
As the arduous journey continued, the elements got worse. The rain drops became like needles; the sting was unrelenting. It was the worst on our faces. It became near-impossible to drive. I had to squint my eyes so I wasn't blinded by the rain, but obviously you can't see when your eyes are just about closed. Sunglasses didn't offer much relief either. They may have protected my eyes a bit more, but visibility was still depressingly low. I had on a face mask. They're practically mandatory when driving in Asia – if not to protect you from the pollution of the cities, to protect you from the dust and debris of the country roads and highways. So my rain-soaked face mask covered my face from my chin to the bridge of my nose.
When I attempted to put on the sunglasses, my breath came up and fogged them. It was an alternating hell of glasses or no glasses. And to top it off my poncho ripped in the wind.
You know when you're in a car and a big gust of wind comes and you can feel it push your car? Well now imagine typhoon-strength winds pushing tiny 125cc motor bikes across highways! Surprisingly busy highways.
Being a fairly new motorbike driver, this was the holy grail of tests. We looked like drunks staggering home. A gust would come and send us traveling more sideways than forward. To counteract this, I drove into the wind, but when the wind subsided a bit I swerved back across the other way. After a bit of time I discovered another tactic. Instead of turning the handlebars into the wind, I just leaned into it. For a good amount of time, I was driving at a 75-degree angle. I wanted to give up so many times. Missing one day of work clearly cannot be worth this...but then again you don't know my bosses.
It literally took every ounce of energy and concentration to stay safely on the roads. Cormac had a brilliant idea of stopping by a hardware shop to find some safety goggles. They worked wonderfully! Now all we had to do was continue at a snail's pace to get back home by nightfall. We trudged on and after six hours of fighting Mother Nature, we safely arrived home in Hanoi.
More from SDReader
- More stories by Caitlin Forrey
- Destination: Kinmen — March 5, 2015
- A lesson in Vietnamese road culture — Dec. 22, 2013
- A nature lover in Langkawi — Sept. 24, 2013
- The Japatul Fire Station: For Jerry Schad — Nov. 6, 2011
- Santa Teresa, Costa Rica — March 25, 2010


text:
Sweep, seven-game win streak powered by homers
CHICAGO -- The sultans of swat for June were at it again on Sunday afternoon. What was once the Royals' most glaring weakness has turned into one of their greatest strengths.
The Royals crushed a pair of home runs -- giving them 14 in their last 16 games -- to power their way to their seventh straight win and a three-game sweep over the White Sox with a 6-3 victory on Father's Day at U.S. Cellular Field.View Full Game Coverage
CHICAGO -- The sultans of swat for June were at it again on Sunday afternoon. What was once the Royals' most glaring weakness has turned into one of their greatest strengths.
The Royals crushed a pair of home runs -- giving them 14 in their last 16 games -- to power their way to their seventh straight win and a three-game sweep over the White Sox with a 6-3 victory on Father's Day at U.S. Cellular Field.View Full Game Coverage
Kansas City wasn't cheated on either of its homers. Eric Hosmer's two-run shot in the first inning traveled 431 feet to dead center, and Salvador Perez's three-run blast to left in the third went 418 feet and gave the Royals a 5-1 lead. Those two home runs provided enough support for Royals starter James Shields, who danced in and out of danger all afternoon.
"That was big to get on the board early," said Hosmer, who has three homers in his last seven games. "Omar [Infante] started it off with a nice hit and I think Salvador's there in the third inning was huge because they had some momentum to get back. They got one run there in the first, and a three-run home run takes away a lot of momentum from them and really gives Shields a lot of breathing room out there. I think that was the huge blow for us."
The Royals high-fived at the mound after Greg Holland nailed down his 20th save in 21 chances without manager Ned Yost, who picked up his third ejection of the season in the bottom of the first. After Adam Eaton lead off with a triple, Shields was called for a balk with Gordon Beckham at bat, scoring Eaton. Yost strolled out from the mound for an explanation, and after the discussion initially seemed cordial, Yost got into it with home-plate umpire Paul Emmel.
"Well, you can't argue a step off. It's ground for immediate ejection," Yost said. "He didn't want to discuss it and I just said something when I was walking away that made me sit in this office from the first inning on."
The balk call ultimately didn't mater, as Shields picked up the win despite allowing 10 hits in six innings. He stranded eight Chicago baserunners and held the White Sox to two hits in 11 at-bats with runners in scoring position.
Shields dodged a major bullet with two on and two outs in the third and the Royals up, 5-1. After a lengthy at-bat, Jose Abreu crushed a fly ball to deep center that appeared destined to clear the wall, but it was knocked down by the wind.
"I thought it was over the ivy, to be honest with you," Shields said. "I don't know if he got it all. I mean, it seemed like it to me, but yeah, I thought it was gone. I guess the wind kind of held it up a little bit."
The White Sox cut into Kansas City's lead with one out in the third on Alejandro De Aza's two-run double. Two batters later, Shields allowed a single to Eaton, but he got Beckham to fly out to center. Chicago then mounted a two-out rally in the sixth on back-to-back singles by Adrian Nieto and Eaton, but Shields got Beckham to fly out to right.
As Yost put it, Shields seems to have a away of grinding through innings.
"This team was tough today," Shields said of the White Sox. "They kept fouling balls off, fouling balls off and next thing you know they're working counts. They hit the mistakes [we] made, they also got a lot of hits on balls they were kind of check-swinging on as well, but overall, that's a tough team over there. You've gotta tip you cap to that, but we did a great job of scoring runs today like we did all series long."
Yost's ejection didn't deter the Royals from using a replay review. Bench coach Don Wakamatsu won a sixth-inning challenge that put Mike Moustakas on second and resulted in a tack-on run, as Jarrod Dyson followed with an RBI single to center that made it 6-3, Royals.
Kansas City didn't just sweep the White Sox, the Royals dominated their division rivals. They outscored Chicago, 19-6, the latest display of playing complete games.
"We put it on all cylinders this series," Shields said. "We pitched, we hit, we played some good defense. We drew our walks. We had good situational hitting and good timely hitting. I think this is the first series all year that we really hit on all cylinders, so it's really nice to see."
But the Royals have been building to this moment for a couple of weeks. Kansas City improved to 12-4 in its last 16 games, in which it has averaged 5.1 runs per contest and compiled a plus-24 run differential. This is the type of team the Royals envisioned after making an impressive second-half run at a Wild Card berth last season.
"I think what was such a good feeling about it last year was we realized it's a bunch of talented young guys in here, and the way we went about that second half, I just think it just really opened a lot of guys' eyes in here that we've got the guys in here to do this and we could do this," Hosmer said. "So we realized we were a couple runs away from this thing. Even when we started out bad at the beginning, we realized we were a run or two from being right back in it.
"That time's here now, so we've just got to keep being consistent and playing good ball every day."
Joe Popely is an associate reporter for MLB.com.


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The Padres lost Round One of the Strasburg Sweepstakes. But they still might have a chance at the prize.
Stephen Strasburg is the San Diego State ace who rooted for the Padres while growing up in East County and whose favorite athlete is Jake Peavy. He still cheers for the hometown team.
"I have visualized myself pitching for the Padres," Strasburg said last summer.
The Padres, you can be sure, also have visions of Strasburg striking out hitters for them at one of the best pitcher's venues in the majors, Petco Park. The right-hander's fastball lives in the mid-90s. Pitching for Tony Gwynn's Aztecs last April, Strasburg piled up 23 strikeouts against Utah, part of a dominant season that put him in the Beijing Olympics.
"If we had to draw up a preferred list right now," said Grady Fuson, who oversees the Padres' draft efforts, "he'd certainly be at the top of the list."
Because the Nationals and Mariners lost more games than the Padres last season, they hold the first and second picks, respectively, in the draft this June. But the Padres would represent a chance to stay home. "You never know," Fuson said.
If Strasburg sustains the health and form that dazzled scouts last year, he could represent an intriguing opportunity for Jeff Moorad, should ongoing negotiations result in Moorad taking over the Padres.
Moorad's track record as a player agent and a Diamondbacks executive is one of aggressive spending in the draft.
Strasburg is being advised by player agent Scott Boras, so the Padres shouldn't expect a hometown discount. That isn't how Boras operates. If the Padres sing the small-market blues, he might turn a deaf ear. In fact, Boras recently suggested the Padres will get close to $70 million this year from revenue sharing, including licensing money from baseball's general fund.
The Padres must make a competitive offer to bring their hometown advantage into play, which could persuade Boras to steer Strasburg past the Nationals and Mariners.
It also might take an in-house sales pitch to John Moores.
Moores, the Padres' chairman since late 1994, is likely to remain as majority owner of the club even if Moorad's group reaches terms to buy the club.
Not an admirer of Boras, Moores has cited in-house research that argues against the sums that go to Boras-advised draftees.
If Strasburg continues to show Padres scouts that he is the best player in the 2009 draft class, someone within the Padres organization, potentially Moorad or CEO Sandy Alderson, likely would need to present Moores a cost-benefit analysis of why the club should commit several million dollars to an amateur pitcher.
It never has been clear that Padres execs presented a compelling, speak-his-language case to Moores in 2004 on behalf of Stephen Drew, the Boras-advised Florida State shortstop that Padres scouts rated the best player available. Going against their scouts, the Padres used the No. 1 pick overall on Matt Bush and signed him for $3.15 million, about $2.35 million less than the Diamondbacks of Jerry Colangelo would pay Drew.
Alderson and Fuson – each hired in 2005 – have implied that they were hired largely because of Moores' displeasure with the Bush/Drew fiasco. A stickler for process and data, Alderson presumably would give Moores a spreadsheet breakdown on why Strasburg would or wouldn't be worth a huge investment.
Alderson has shown he will bid aggressively for amateur talent. When he was general manager of the A's in 1990, Oakland gave a major league contract to high school pitcher Todd Van Poppel, whose price tag had scared away clubs. Van Poppel, who had amassed 170 strikeouts as a senior, didn't pan out for the A's, who were coming off a World Series championship at that time.
Last year, Alderson more than quadrupled the Padres' spending on international amateurs, including a $2 million guarantee to 16-year-old pitcher Adis Portillo. Alderson's staff already has discussed spending as much as $6 million on the third-round pick.
Whether Strasburg will remain atop the talent rankings compiled by Padres evaluators will depend on how the junior performs in coming months. His favorite major league team, to be sure, will be watching.
"We certainly are going to scout the hell out of him," said Fuson, who as Oakland's scouting director drafted collegiate pitchers such as Barry Zito, Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson. "We already have."
Odds and ends Bush hasn't thrown from a mound since having reconstructive elbow surgery in August 2007. Physical setbacks last fall shut him down, but recent flat-ground throws are gaining notice. "Matt Bush is looking good," Padres trainer Todd Hutcheson said.
Everth Cabrera, the Single-A shortstop chosen by the Padres in the Rule V draft, will be given every chance to win a roster spot in spring training and is preparing in earnest. "He's already at our Dominican complex working out," Fuson said.
Tom Krasovic: (619) 293-2207; email@example.com


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Posted by Editor on 11/26/99
Track Cyclist Steen Madsen Reinstated
(courtesy G.F.)
Steen Madsen has been reinstated: Steen Madsen, suspended one year ago for a doping infraction, has been reinstated by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. The CCES has recently found evidence supporting Madsen's claim that his positive test for Nandrolone was caused by a nutritional supplement, and did not constitute a wilful act of doping on Madsen's part.
CC Awards
We have removed a number of blatant "ballot box stuffing" attempts in the 1999 CC Awards. The removed ballots changed things a little: as of this morning, Peter Wedge holds a considerable lead over Gord Fraser in the Male standings, Alison Sydor and Genevieve Jeanson are tied in the Female voting and, as expected, Jeanson continues to pull away in the Best Individual Performance category.
OCA AGM Report
(courtesy Jim Crosscombe)
The 26th AGM of the Ontario Cycling Association was held on November 20, 1999. The AGM was attended by 70 members who took the time to participate in some very exciting changes for the association.
Ralph Neumann (treasurer) presented audited statements for the previous two fiscal periods. Ralph emphasized that the audits represent the past and that the board members present at the AGM had no involvement with the association during these fiscal periods. A short presentation followed on the current year's financial picture as of Sept 30, 99. The Association has money in the bank and it would appear that the deficit is well on its way to being eliminated.
The board has already approved a year-end change to tie in with the calendar year - i.e., Dec 31. The audit or financial review will be performed in January and will be ready to be presented at the spring AGM. The spring AGM will likely be held around the time of the Toronto consumer bike show. Budgets and OCA projects for the upcoming season will be presented for member review at the AGM. A significant step toward accountability to the membership has been achieved.
Mr Roy Taylor from the Ministry gave a short presentation on the role of a PSO and the 5 initiatives that his ministry will provide funding for. The presentation was very informative and well received by the attendees. A short Q & A session followed.
We moved on to the proposed bylaw changes. The association's lawyer (John Wilkinson) gave a brief presentation on the changes. The process for approving the bylaws was explained by "Speaker" Alf Plummer - he would run through the bylaws page by page and any "offending" clauses would then be removed to be voted on later. This resulted in about 5 clauses being removed. The basic bylaws were then voted on and approved. Three of the clauses removed were of a housekeeping nature and the changes were readily approved. There was great discussion on whether or not the two proposed committees (Road and Mtb) should remain in the bylaws, thereby committing the board to a specific course of action, or whether to allow the Board to strike the committees as it sees fit. After significant discussion, an amendment was proposed followed by an amendment to the amendment which effectively removed all formal committees from the bylaws. The board has committed to striking High Performance and Development committees.
The elections followed with the following positions up for election.
VP High Performance
VP Development
VP Recreation
VP Administration
All positions with the exception of recreation had at least two candidates. The results are as follows.
VP High Performance - Ralph Neumann
VP Development - Brad Day
VP Recreation - William Martinen
VP Administration - Rob Schultz
The board will appoint an interim Club Liaison Rep whose term will expire at the next club presidents meeting in Sept 2000.
A short Board meeting was held immediately following the AGM for the purpose of establishing the date of the first formal board meeting ˆDecember 1, 1999.
Celebrate the Nature of the Capital at Escapade 2000!
This non-competitive tour challenges you to discover up to 60 kilometres of some of the most beautiful natural areas of Canada's Capital Region as you travel by bicycle, in-line skates or on foot.
Escapade 2000 is a free day-long millennial event. Enjoy wacky and wonderful entertainment with wandering buskers as you travel between six sites and through some breathtaking scenery, including parklands, riverbanks and downtown Ottawa and Hull. Shortcuts allow you to customize the length of your journey.
Come with your family and friends - it's a great opportunity to discover just how "green" Canada's Capital Region is!
Information: 1 800 465-1867 or (613) 239-5000
www.capcan.ca (click on the "Towards the Millennium" button)
Stand by for more information about this exciting event!
|Return to Canadian Cyclist homepage | Back to Top


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Hey everyone. I got some time to do the latest update to the board software, but it meant that all the old modifications and styles wouldn't work anymore. So, here you have the newest iteration of LabourTalk. Please let me know by Private Message if you run into any issues with the new styling. Some new features on the board are:
We hope you like the changes!
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Walmart becoming Unionized ???
Help dispel some rumours about unions or companies in the Retail sector.
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- BellaCoola
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- Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2005 9:29 am
- Location: Edmonton
Walmart becoming Unionized ???
In BC there is one Walmart Tire and Lube shop that has been unionized and 2 more are on their way to becoming unionized as well. Of course Wal mart is going to fight it. Does this mean that all areas of Walmart will eventually become unionized?? Being a former Assistant Manager for Walmart I can safely say that the associates definitately need a union.
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Gloria J. Designs is a graphical design company specializing in custom, personalized wine labels. Based in Half Moon Bay, California overlooking the beautiful Pacific Ocean, Gloria's graphical design company spring-boarded from her many years of architectural and interior design experience.
Gloria moved from the east coast in 1997, where she owned and operated Design-Array, Inc, an interior design showroom specializing in kitchen and bath designs and installations, and interior decorating services. While they were still on the east coast, in 1995, her husband Dominick, founded Bacchus School of Wine, a unique hands-on winemaking school where you learn to make your own award-winning wine.
Thus the need for personalized, custom designed labels for his students. Whether it's creating a visually balanced room or a visually balanced label, the same elements of design apply. So Gloria took her design talents of space and proportion, and her eye for color and applied them to a smaller canvas…a label; resulting in the birth of Gloria J. Designs.
With eight years of label design experience, and the printing of over a million labels, she now brings her unique, custom designed wine labels to you via the Internet. The same love and care that you put into creating your own private wine, she put into creating her gallery of labels. We hope you enjoy her unique custom designed wine labels, and look forward to being of service to you.
Choose from two locations:
San Carlos, CA
Toms River, NJ
New Designs
Private Cellar Collection
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Searching for the perfect career? Or, perhaps, you're still looking for the perfect major to lead to your perfect career? Wherever you are in life, it's okay to need help finding a little direction. Have you ever considered that perhaps you haven't discovered the career of your dreams is because it's still an emerging field? It's more possible than ever that this is the case. With all fields, especially those related to science and technology, growing at a rapid rate, new careers are being created more than ever before. Check out the following careers, which have tremendous career growth potential through the year 2020, in terms of both job growth rate and pay growth rate. Unsurprisingly, science careers and technology careers win out in terms of growth but, in the modern era, we'd expect no less! Check out the following fields, with facts and statistics compiled from Yahoo! Education, Edudemic and Forbes. They are fields that have been predicted to maintain continual growth; so pursuing degrees in any of the fields below would likely be a wise decision (though, ultimately, time will tell).
Biomedical Engineering –It's the field that's hoping to bridge the gap that exists between the fields of engineering and medicine, all with the ultimate hope to advance healthcare practices. And, with a started median pay at just over $53,000 and a pay growth rate of 82 percent, biomedical engineers certainly bring home bank! But, it's also the job security that makes this field enticing. The field is projected to grow at a rate of nearly 61.7 percent, which means that these engineers will be in high demand, at least for the foreseeable future. If you were considering this career path, it looks like a good place to start! Read this article to find out: Is Engineering for You?
Biochemistry –Those who study the complicated chemical processes within or related to living organisms, also known as biochemists, are able to find jobs in fields from agriculture to medicine and beyond. They have a decent starting median pay rate, which comes in at around $40k, but what's really impressive is that the job's expected pay growth is more than one hundred percent! Plus, the industry has a projected job growth of a little more than thirty percent through the year 2020, which means that jobs will be more available than ever before!
Computer Science, Digital Forensics and Cyber Security –It's work that can be exciting, demanding, lucrative – and can help convict criminals. Is there a downside? Computer forensics has been an important resource in many criminal investigations including those regarding terrorism, sexual predators, hackers and other dangers lurking on the web. The job demand for computer-related careers, especially within a security focus, has grown upwards of tenfold within the past decade and only increases with technological advances. For example, the industry has a projected job growth rate of 24.6 percent through the year 2020 alone! The annual salary for someone specializing in computer security can range anywhere upwards from an average of $50,000, with an anticipated pay growth rate of 73 percent. If you can't get enough of technology, then it's probably a great career path for you. Check out the ten steps to a tech career to get started!
Environmental Engineering –As technologies and policies further integrate with environmental standards and sustainability, the demand for graduates with environmental studies or sustainability degrees continues to rise. Environmental engineers start out with a base median pay of around $50k, with an expected growth in pay of more than 71 percent. The industry is also projected to grow 21.9 percent through the year 2020, so these engineers can feel safe in their job habitats for years to come. Learn more about what it takes to become an engineer and where or not engineering could be right for you.
Game Design –If you're looking to get into a field that involves both technology and creativity, this may be perfect for you. But a game designer's salary is no joke – it's more than $75k annually, on average! In the next year alone, the game design industry is projected to reach more than $82 billion on a global scale. That's a lot of games! Common job tasks for game designers include planning all of the factors of the game, from the story-line and characters, rules and levels and environments all connect and interact. It's not all fun and games, however. Additional job options include the creation of simulated architectural, medicinal, legal and other industry-related tools. If you have your heart set on a career in the tech world, check out the ten steps to a tech career.
Geology –If the earth's history fascinates you more than the average bear, geology may be your calling. It's a promising career field, especially since geologists have a starting median pay of more than $45k, with an 84 percent growth rate! Not to mention that geology, as an industry, is projected to grow 19.3 percent through the year 2020. If it's science that's your passion, check out these alternative science jobs.
Homeland Security –The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is fairly young – it was born in 2002, as a result of the terrorist attacks, which took place on September 11, 2001. However, in the short time it's been around, the DHS has already grown to more than 170,000 employees – and is still growing today. Since the creation of the DHS, universities across the country have created more than 300 homeland security programs, 75 of which offer undergraduate degree programs.
Nanotechnology –Earning a degree in nanotechnology is useful because it can be applied in a variety of job fields such as physical or materials science(s), physics, biophysics, chemistry and biochemistry. The nanotechnology industry is projected to reach $2.4 trillion globally within the next year, in addition to an estimate that the industry will employ nearly two million workers within the United States by the year 2020. Now that sounds like a field with job potential!
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Just weeks after the iPhone 5 release date, new Apple rumours have suggested that the iPad mini manufacturer is planning an iPhone 5S launch event for early 2013.
A seeming response to the newly launched Google Nexus 4, a high-end handset that boasts a wallet friendly price tag, latest reports have suggested that Apple has accelerated the certification process for its next-gen iPhone 5S due to manufacturing difficulties with the current iPhone 5.
Expected to sport the same exterior design as the market leading iPhone 5, the newly rumoured iPhone 5S has been claimed to be heading for a Q1 release following a possible March unveiling. What's more, Apple is said to be shortening the lifespan of its handsets, shifting to a new six month product cycle for its dominant smartphone offering with newly revised iterations touching down twice a year, in March and September.
Although the latest reports, which have stemmed from Chinese news outlet the Commercial Times, should be taken with a considerable pinch of salt, it has been suggested that the Q1 iPhone 5S launch event will see Apple unveil the Samsung Galaxy S3 rival alongside a pair of new devices.
With a fifth-generation iPad tablet seemingly on the cards, the heavily rumoured Apple iTV television set is also expected to make an appearance in early 2013 as the Cupertino based company looks to branch out into a new market.
Stating that the as yet unconfirmed iPhone 5S will include a selection of hardware features Apple wished to incorporate within the iPhone 5 but could not implement in time, the Chinese source has added that "facing low yield rates in the production of iPhone 5, Apple has accelerated the certification processes for related parts and components for the iPhone 5S."
Apple has faced iPhone 5 stock shortage since the handset's official release in late September. Having effected sales and caused the iPhone to hand over its crown as the world's most popular smartphone to the Samsung Galaxy S3, dispatch times for iPhone 5 orders are still running at '2-3 weeks'.
iPhone 5 Specs
The most eagerly awaited gadget ever, the iPhone 5 touched down earlier this year to much fanfare and expectation. With Apple giving its iconic smartphone range a complete design overhaul, the iPhone 5 lines up as the first Apple handset to boast a 4-inch screen, up on the 3.5-inch offering of previous models.
Pairing this 1136 x 640p 326ppi Retina display with a collection of high-end innards, the iPhone 5 boasts a new A6 processor alongside a newly revised 8-megapixel iSight camera on the rear and a second, FaceTime snapper up front.
The first device to have done away with the company's longstanding 30-pin dock connector, the iPhone 5, as it is expected will the iPhone 5S, hosts the new 8-pin Lightning port connector within a 7.6mm thick brushed aluminium backed body.
Are you excited by the prospect of a Q1 iPhone 5S release date or are you miffed by the potentially early arrival having already splashed out on an iPhone 5? Let us know via the Trusted Reviews Twitter and Facebook feeds.


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Strong-R Structural Insulation
Client:Ox Engineered Products
Product :Strong-R Structural Insulation
Issue Date:Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Updated Date:Thursday, September 5, 2019
Engineering Services
DrJ provides engineering and related services specializing in light-frame construction.
- Professionally Engineered Solutions
- Code Compliance Evaluations
Structural engineering services are not currently offered in Illinois.
Product Certification
DrJ is an ISO/IEC 17065 accredited product certification body through ANSI Accreditation Services.
Contact Us
Learn more about DrJ and let us know how we can help with innovative products, processes and services. Knowledge, sound design and good installation always lead to success!