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Since I’ve decided on using the virtualization option to run my LAMP stack, it was now down to deciding between Parallels or VMWare. So… $50? or free? The practical side of me rationalized that $50 was a small amount compared to the sense of well-being Parallels should give me as a commercial product with a customer service department. On the other hand, the class is about utilizing the world of open source products. Also, my personal geek husband was confident enough to install the free program (VMWare) on his spanking new Vaio so I figured my 2-year-old laptop could take the risk program too.

In the meantime I’ve downloaded VMWare Server and will be testing it out on my laptop. At the same time, one classmate is testing out VM Player while another is trying out the trial version of Parallels.

I brought my copy of Nero-burned Ubuntu CD to the Malloy Hall Computer Lab where another classmate was just completing his own hijacking. Our class expert, Tapan, was also in the Lab so I purposefully conveniently took the empty seat beside him. That proved to be a wise move.

Step 1: Loaded CD and it offered me the option to install instead of rebooting. Tapan said that the pc was not automatically rebooting so I would need to restart the PC.

Step 1a: Restarted PC and hit F2 to change settings so that it would reboot from CD.

Step 2: Restarted PC again and this time, Ubuntu was initiated.

Step 3: Posed beside hijacked PC as evidence of completed assignment.

Step 4: Took a snapshot of Ubuntu at work on the hiajcked PC and played around with it a little. Discovered that Ubuntu has a whole list of games like mahjong etc but resisted the urge to play because I had to go off to another class up on the hill.

Step 5: Exited from Ubuntu and restored hijacked PC 

Step 5a: Unfortunately both Brad and I ran into a minor glitch where the PC hung with the above screen showing after releasing the CD to us. My first instinct was to run away as fast as possible check with Tapan and he reassured us that all we needed to do was to restart the PC. We did just that and the PC was restored to the usual Windows operating system.

LAMP stands for (L)inux (A)pache (M)ySQL (P)hp. More specifically:

Linux refers to the free open source version of the operating system, Unix. Unix was originally meant for big machines; opposite from Windows. It involves creating a lot of small parts that interact with each other but is relatively user-hostile. Windows XP is based on Unix. Mac OS10 is a variant of Unix. Many people argue that Linux is superior to Windows because it is good not just on the client-side (individual systems), it also scales beautifully and extends to even the biggest web servers. Unfortunately, there is little to no regulation which resulted in numerous different distros (distributions or ‘versions’ to the non-techies). According to distrowatch, the top three distros are Ubuntu, openSUSE, and Fedora.

Our assignment due in two days, beside creating a simple website, includes downloading Ubuntu, burning it onto a disk and then hijacking a pc on campus. Although this is definitely illegal may not be legal, JP reassured us that nothing could go seriously wrong. Even if something did go wrong, we should run away and act innocent. But if that failed, we could just say it was an assignment given by our invincible tenured Professor.

Before downloading Ubuntu, we needed to decide how we want to get it up and running based on the following options:

1. Using an old laptop
2. Dual boot; running off a desktop CD where part of the hard drive is used for the second operating system. However, there have been known cases where the hard drive space used becomes permanently occupied and special software is needed to retrieve the space.
3. Using a virtualization software such as VMWare (free version available here) or Parallels.

Since we’d just sold both our old laptops after hanging onto them like pack-rats for the last 2 years, option 1 was not feasible. Option 2 seemed too risky because my laptop is my life only machine. That left option 3 and I’m inclined towards Parallels because nothing is too expensive for my baby laptop.

Downloading Ubuntu took about 2-3 hours (was working on other stuff so didn’t pay attention to the time) while burning (via Nero) the cd took maybe 10 minutes. Now I just need to hijack me a pc (using option 2) and then look further into using VMWare or Parallels to run Ubuntu on my laptop.

So here’s my simple static website courtesy of Dreamweaver. It’s really just a banner with some text. I’ve almost forgotten how precise the file and source names must match up to work. However, besides the fact that everytime I change a file name/location I need to change everything else on the remote server a.k.a. USFFiles, it’s been pretty fun. I like playing around with images on Photoshop so I had fun creating the banner image and little nav buttons.

I’ll try to work more on it over the next few days but if JP thinks this is adequate, I’ll probably focus more on the other assignments. Also, I know the resume pdf is not loading but I have no idea why so avoid clicking on it since it’ll just hang on you.

p.s: I couldn’t resist using the piggy 

Since the last time I created my own website was back in 1999, it is probably a good thing that JP wants us to each show proof of our ability in this area by creating a simple website. I also happened to have a copy of Dreamweaver 2004 which I purchased during a period when I was annoyed with my then-fiance-now-husband for not creating our wedding site fast enough inspired by web design.

I have just installed Dreamweaver after experiencing some scary whirring sounds from my precious laptop and apparently the whirring sounds continue when I start up the program. And as I type, I’m getting the message that my product registration is complete! Going to take a quick tour of Dreamweaver and/or the tutorial now before I get started on my website.

According to the Dreamweaver tutorial, you need a local site (laptop or any workstation) as well as a remote server. After some directions from ITS on how to create a web account as well as another classmate’s tip on USF Files ("I think the URL for that is https://usffiles.usfca.edu/Student/username/www"), I finally figured out where my remote server would be and will upload an index.html page as soon as I get back from some grocery shopping at Ranch 99.

Inspired by a classmate, I’ve also decided to set up my own bLOG file for this course. I was originally intending to use simple ol’ Word doc but this is so much cooler since I can update it from any online PC/laptop.

Internet Business Applications & Services is a course I took to hone my limited tech skills. You see, I married a geek so I wouldn’t have to be tech-savvy. Unfortunately, until he starts his own business and gives me a non-tech job (personal assistant with privileges?), it’s quite unlikely that I’ll get far in the Bay Area with my current tech know-how.

I haven’t done any of the assignments yet unless setting up a blog counts as a simple website. Wonder if the undergrad class I took in setting up a website could count as a waiver? Anyhow, I’ve been reading a book I borrowed from JP about SugarCRM - might want to do my project in this area.