My Fit PC2

Here follow some random thoughts on the successes and failures I have had with my new server, currently using 14 Watts, and running the copy of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS that came with the machine. See the Fit PC2 Forum. This website is run on the Fit PC, if it suddenly disappears I may be rebooting, re-installing another version of Linux or have taken it to a Devon and Cornwall LUG meeting.

January 2011

Two New Machines from Compulab announced - Fit-PC3 and Trim-Slice :-) Now to see how much they cost ...

Soekris announce a new machine as well, the net6501. You wait ages for new small computers to be announced and three come along at once.

Log moved to main page, and last years' entries split off - should make this thing much easier to find. Reduced the image size to cut down the bandwidth used

February 2011

Fixed some poorly written php, should speed things up by 0.0000001%. (Try a 'view source' on this page, 80% of all these pages are inserted php code, the actual html pages are tiny, and I only have to edit one file to update the side-menus and css headers.)

March 2011

Picked up a PureMedia MultiCard Reader from PC World. Totally useless. It would not work on any of my machines (Linux or Windows 7), or with any of my various cards. As a last resort I tried it with a different USB cable to the one supplied and that fixed the problem.

I also picked up an 8-port switch as the first phase of my Grand Plan to simplify the phone wiring in this house, and move the router next to the master phone socket so that I get better speeds. I had not realised my Fit-PC had Gb ethernet :-) so have accidently improved the link speed to the OCR computer.

If you remember my problem with the crap power supplies Homebase supply with their 'Petite' dehumidfiers. Well the 2nd one has now failed after only 6 months (and I did not follow my own advise - I can't find the box or receipt). Now to make up the wiring loom mentioned in December if I can find some suitable connectors.

Phase 2 of the Grand Plan is now complete. I now have the router connected to a microfilter on the master socket, rather than one on an extension socket. I used the best quality STP cable I could get, and was a bit dissapointed that there was no improvement in the attenuation and noise figure values on the router status page. This was a LOT simpler than moving the router to the socket, that would have involved a mojor re-wire of the electricity cupboard!

Perhaps things are being swamped by the losses between the house and the exchange. Still a couple of things to try, but this will involve taking the site down for an hour or so mid-April and re-doing some phone wiring.

Yes, I know I can't spell January!

August 2011

I installed Ubuntu 10.10 on my spare Compaq V2000 laptop, then let it upgrade to 11.04. Once I had switched back to 'classic' mode from Unity' it seemed to work well, except that I had no Wireless. Following a hint in the Ubuntu Forum I installed the 'firmware-b2-installer' package and everything is now working fine. I am supprised the Installer did not install it (or at least suggest it).

November 2011

I hated Gnome 3, so deleted Ubuntu from the laptop, and replaced it with Mint.

I notice Compulab are finally about to start shipping the Fit-PC3 they announced at the beginning of the year (see top of his page). They have also announced a thicker version of the Trim-Slice with a hard disk, just in time for the Great Disk Shortage.

Fixed the problem with Indian call centres phoning me