Massive Update

There have been massive updates to this page on my wiki. And yet most are still incomplete, preliminary sections. A lot of sections have been reoganized and I've added the beginnings of setting up a DynDNS account for accessing the server from the internet or setting up an FTP server.

Burkpedia Updates

• added preliminary DynDNS section to Headless Server
  
• added preliminary Router Configuration to Headless Server
  
• added boxee repo to repo list in Headless Server & Ubuntu Desktop while removing the XBMC repo as boxee > XBMC
  
• merged configuring ssh & securing the system section in Headless Server because all configurations to ssh where in the interest of making it more secure
  
• restored mainframe info page & added preliminary sections for ISPF and Vista tn3270 configuration
  

02/09/09 Burkpedia Updates

• Added new information to the Firefox Configuration section.
  
• Added the Bash Alias File section
  
• Added information on securing ssh
  

Burkpedia Updates

• updated VirtualBox entry to include information on how to deal with an error that VirtualBox will ask you to fix by running:  sudo /etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup. This that usually occurs when an Ubuntu update updates the kernel.
  
• added "3 Ways To Change Your Boot Screen" and "Make Security Center Go Away" sections to the Windows Tweaks page
  
• added some JCL information to the Mainframe stuff page
  
• added a "Misc. Tips" section with some tips to the Drobo page
  

On home linux servers

I've been giving some thought to the next iteration of my Linux server, currently named Hohenheim. No reason for the name, other than I thought Hohenheim sounded cool. Currently it's a barebones AMD kit I put together (no hardware or configuration worth bragging about ). I use it enough that I'd miss having it. Originally I was just planning on ripping out it's guts and upgrading the hardware to the point where it's good enough to serve double duty as a Vista gaming machine - not Crysis good, but StarCraft II or Diablo III good - and having it liquid cooled. The liquid cooling for style and somewhat weakly justifiable because I do run the processor constantly, wether ripping DVDs with HandBrake (video encoding makes a CPU it's bitch) or donating the cycles to Folding@home, so keeping it frosty would be a must. The near silent operation and overclocking possibilities are pluses too. But recently I've changed thought tracks to something radically different.

It started with some comments that are now probably buried in the lifhacker post: What Kind of Server are You Running at Home? Basically a guy was talking about his Bubba Server, which sounds a bit like an external hardrive enclosre with a supersmall motherboard and processor. There are also interesting debates on how powerful a server needs to be in the article that made me reconsider my planned rig. I mean, everything I use on a regular basis runs from the CLI and could be run with all the processing power of an SNES (though granted, the video encoding would take an eternity).

Come May of '09 I should be mainframe certified and (hopefully) gainfully employed, with an apartment and utilites/bills/taxes/etc to pay on my own... in the current economy.....  Having a liquid cooled beast of a server that acts like a starved electricity vampire seems less and less glamorous. And I've been reconsidering the neccesity of dual booting to Windows as well - all the games I was planning on playing are either Mac supported (my main computer of choice) or coming to the Xbox360. Even if I absolutely need a windows program I can always use VirtualBox to create a VM.

So I've been looking at little pc's like these:
They're a bit more powerful than an SNES (actually comparable to a somewhat midrange desktop I think) but they are quieter, easier to stash in a smal apartment, and have a cheaper cost of operation than my current Hohenheim.

So, thats what I've been thinking about. It's still almost a year off from happening (you know, getting a job that comes with an income has to come first and all) but I just thought I could use a second post and this didn't seem like that bad of an idea.

Hello World

Well, here it is: the first post......

It could be worse.

Why? - I've been learning about computers like a sponge and have found a lot of cool information, but it's scattered about making finding it a bit of an easter egg hunt. My friend set me up a wiki on his dreamhost account on a whim and it gets sporadically updated by me and him with information that should be consolidated and shared. It's still very rough and most things are only partial entries. It has a computer/nerd bent. I suppose there's no reason not to shamelessly pimp it: BurkPedia

Sorry about the blink tags. I can't see them so it's not an annoyance for me.

To answer the question (after all the rambling): It'd be nice to have a not so formal way to tell about new updates to the wiki, or to have a box to stand on and add my voice to the collective static of the net. (Yay for being a me-too!)

About me: I'm a person, male.....eh. Does this really matter? I guess you can marvel at my one deviantART submission (though my favorites collection is extensive and really worth checking out).

Yep.....more to come......I guess......