IBM Cloud Computing Webinar

The IBM Toronto Software Lab periodically runs webinars on information management related topics, which are called DB2 Chat with the Lab. These tend to be highly informative sessions, which wrap up with a Q&A time that enables attendees to openly ask questions on the subjects that were discussed during the talks. Best of all, these sessions are absolutely free to the general public and anybody is welcome to attend.

The next DB2 Chat with the Lab is a particularly important one, because it deals with a subject that is reshaping our industry and is likely to change the way IT business is done. I’m talking of course about Cloud Computing, a flexible technology that makes computational resources available on-demand, at a pay as you go rate, and ready to scale right from the get-go.

When: March 25, 1:00-2:30 PM Eastern / 12:00 PM Central / 10:00 AM Pacific. Please mark your calendar.

What: DB2 and Cloud Computing; a 1.5 hour session that will cover the following topics:

• Introduce Cloud Computing, its benefits, and IBM’s Cloud strategy.
• Cover usage scenarios for running DB2 in a Cloud.
• Describe various Cloud deployment options for DB2, and touches on the subject of Amazon EC2.
• Hear from business partners leveraging Clouds for DB2-based solutions.

Who: There will be several prominent speakers on the bill. Sal Vella (VP Development – Data Servers & Data Warehousing, IBM) will get the ball rolling, followed by Leon Katsnelson (Program Director of Data Management Portfolio, IBM), and Rav Ahuja (Senior Product Manager – Data Management, IBM). Next up will be some of IBM’s business partners, including Mike Oliver (CTO, Corent), Scott Chate (Dir. of Products, Corent) and finally Uri Budnik (Director of Business Development, RightScale).

How: Register here and you’ll receive all the details you need to be able to dial in for the call. At a later stage you’ll also receive an email containing details about how to join the web conference so that you can follow along with the presentation.

You don’t have to be an analyst or manager to join this call. On the contrary, we’d love to see more developers partecipate and getting involved. Even if you are not interested in DB2 per se, you will probably learn something new or find the information that’s being presented interesting.

And if you happen to be at IDUG on May 12, you can attend the session E03 “DB2 in the Cloud”, presented by the aforementioned Leon Katsnelson, if you want to continue learning about our Cloud Computing and Software as a Service (SaaS) efforts.

Unlocking intermediate resolutions on Sony Vaio FWs

In my recent Sony Vaio FW Series review I mentioned that one of the major drawbacks of an this excellent laptop was the inability to select a resolution other than full-hd (1920×1080), 1024×768 or 800×600 on Windows. For all intents and purposes, by default you are stuck with the native 1920×1080 resolution. This is crystal clear, and ideal for watching movies, particularly hi-def ones through the blue-ray player that comes included with the laptop. It also works out for the best if you use Photoshop, Visual Studio, or other programs that require a lot of screen real estate.

Unfortunately, with that resolution on a 16.4″ screen the text appears very small. For some people this won’t be a problem, while for others it could cause headaches or undo eye strain. In this post, I’ll discuss a few approaches to help you with this, including how to enable reduced resolution for your Sony Vaio FW (in my case Sony Vaio VNG-FW285D/H), despite the fact that the installed driver (for the ATI Radeon HD 3650) doesn’t allow you to do this.

1st approach: Keep the full-hd resolution, but increase the font size on your system. On Vista you can do so by right clicking on your desktop, selecting Personalize, and then Adjust font size (DPI) on the left column of the Personalize appearance and sounds window that appears. The 120 DPI option should be sufficient, but you can always increase it even more. You will need to restart your machine to see these effects applied. The only downside to this is that some programs will look slightly weird.

2nd approach: As soon as you attach your laptop to an HDTV through an HDMI cable, all the available resolutions will be unlocked, thus enabling you to set a resolution that matches your own TV. This gives you the opportunity to set the resolution for your laptop’s LCD however you wish. Unfortunately the next time you restart, if the HDMI cable is disconnected, you will be back to the three default resolutions. The workaround would be to hibernate or put your laptop to sleep, but on Windows you will be forced sooner or later to restart, and having to attach the TV every time you need to restart is a real pain.

3rd approach: This is the real solution to the problem in my opinion. You need to patch the ATI drivers to unlock further resolutions and options for your display. This is done in a few simple steps, the process is considered safe and I have done it on my brand new laptop. That said, proceed at your own risk. I do not accept any responsibility for any issues or damage that doing this may cause, however unlikely such problems are to happen:

1. Download the driver for your video card (in my case HD 3650) from the ATI support site. In my case the file name was 9-1_vista64_dd_ccc_wdm_enu_
   74234.exe.
2. Doubleclick on that downloaded file and follow the initial wizard. This will extract the contents of the driver to a folder such as C:\ATI\SUPPORT\9-1_vista64_dd_ccc_wdm_enu_74234. That installer will also automatically execute the extracted Setup.exe, opening up a Catalyst Install Manager. Shut it down, and do not proceed with the installation. First we need to patch the driver.
3. Download, install and run DH Mobility Modder.NET. This program will let you browse for the folder where your driver was extracted to (e.g., C:\ATI\SUPPORT\9-1_vista64_dd_ccc_wdm_enu_74234), and by clicking on “Modify” the driver will be patched.
4. Finally, you can execute the Setup.exe file within C:\ATI\SUPPORT\9-1_vista64_dd_ccc_wdm_enu_74234\Driver and proceed with the installation. After restarting, you should be able to select from among the many available resolutions as shown in the figure below.

At 1360×768 the image will appear softer (or less crisp) than at the native resolution of 1920×1080, but this is common and it’s still perfectly usable. If you pick a resolution with a aspect ratio that’s different than the ultra-wide screen (16:9), by default you will see two black bands on the sides of the screen. These are there in order to maintain the proper aspect ratio of the chosen resolution. Of course, this sensible default can be changed if you really wish to do so; just go in the ATI Catalyst Control Center under Display Manager -> Display Properties.

With your new resolutions enabled, you should now be able to switch from an “easy on the eyes” resolution to a stunning full-hd one for your entertainment needs whenever you want.

4th approach: Use Linux for you day-to-day work, and Windows for watching movies. Ubuntu supports many intermediate resolutions, including 1360×768, which preserves the 16:9 aspect ratio (again, at this reduced resolution the image will appear softer).

I’ve personally started using a combination of the first, third and fourth approaches. My main reasons for publishing this is that the third approach gives you the freedom to choose your resolution at will, as with most any other laptop.

Sony Vaio FW Series: A Developer’s Review

For the past three months or so I haven’t had a computer of my own. This is not as bad as it sounds, because I’ve had work hardware, but such computers are intended to be used for work purposes only. Now that DB2 on Mac has been released, I’m waiting on the new 17″ MacBook Pro, which will be added to the setup as well, but again, that’s a work machine and it won’t arrive for at least a month due to delays on Apple’s side. Long story short, I grew tired of being without a personal laptop after my own MacBook Pro died numerous weeks ago, so I decided to take the plunge and purchase a moderately priced replacement. What follows is a review of the laptop I ended up purchasing as my day-to-day personal model, after a lot of careful consideration, and a list of features I required (in order of priority).

My requirements

• My main operating system needs to be Ubuntu, so most components should work with Linux.
• A relatively fast machine for development. It should be able to handle Aptana Studio, NetBeans and even Visual Studio occasionally (without breaking a sweat).
• An entertainment laptop. I want to be able to watch hi-definition movies from the comfort of my bed at night. To do this a large, wide screen, high resolution, and a Blue-Ray reader were paramount.
• It needed to be able to facilitate backups for several gigabytes of data, which means it needed to have a combo drive that’s able to burn DVDs.
• Sturdy overall construction.
• Look sleek and be relatively ergonomic.
• It had to be affordable (my budget was roughly $1500/1600 CND).

My choice

Believe it or not, there weren’t too many available choices that were able to satisfy my requirements and my budget. For a while I had a crush on the Dell XPS 16, but unfortunately the Full HD option and the Blue-Ray/DVD Burner combo jacked the cost up several hundred dollars over my budget. This model is also well known for its tendency to become extremely hot (e.g., 115° F) while on your lap, and after the problems with heat that my old MacBook Pro had, I decided that this model was definitely a no-go.

After researching numerous models, I finally came across the perfect match: the Sony Vaio VGN-FW285D/H for $1600 CND (listed price $1650 CND). The exact model names and configurations change from country to country, and even in Canada, several lower end models exist (and there’s also a “configure to order” option which ends up being slightly more expensive spec-by-spec).

The titanium gray model I purchased has the following specifications:

• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8400, 2.26GHz FSB 1066MHz, 3MB L2 Cache
• 4GB RAM PC2-6400 (2GBx2) (Max 4GB)
• 320GB SATA disk (7200RPM)
• ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 with 512MB dedicated VRAM (incorrectly listed as 256MB on the Canadian site)
• 16.4″ Screen, XBRITE-Full HD (1920 x 1080), HDMI and VGA out with Smart Display Sensor
• Blue-Ray Burner (Burns CDs, DVDs, and BDs, including dual layer)
• Intel WiFi Link 5100AGN (802.11a/b/g/n)
• Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit SP1

And of course it comes with the usual yadda-yadda: 1.3MPix Motion Eye camera, Dolby Sound (pretty good), a bunch of media cards readers, 3 USB 2.0 ports, a Firewire port (IEEE 1394), Gigabit Ethernet, modem, Bluetooth, etcetera. If you are purchasing this laptop in the States, you can get the same model on Amazon.com for only $1295.

What I like about this computer

There are many things that appeal to me about this laptop:

• Performance: Talk about a fast laptop! Faster than my previous MacBook Pro. There are speedier processors on the market, but the P8400 is plenty quick as far as I can tell. This Vaio is also very snappy thanks to its large 7200rpm hard drive – something that I really appreciate as a developer and photography enthusiast. Despite Vista being Vista, it’s a very fast computer which boots up in a few seconds and can run heavy IDEs no questions asked. On Ubuntu (more on this later) it’s extremely fast. Finally, not being a heavy gamer, I find the ATI HD 3650 with 512MB VRAM more than adequate for everything I need to do.
• Full HD Screen: I find the screen on this laptop to be spectacular. Colors are crisp and vivid, with excellent antiglare control. The view angle is remarkable too, you could easily seat four people around the laptop and they would all see a nice, crisp picture. It’s ideal for presentations and demos when a projector isn’t on hand. The 16:9 aspect ratio is amazing for watching movies, and very useful when trying to have more than one window open on the screen simultaneously. My wife and I watched a blue-ray movie on it and were both blown away by how awesome the whole full-hd experience (on this laptop) was. As I switched from the notebook to a desktop that’s hooked up to a Samsung SyncMaster 275t, the external monitor felt dull all of a sudden.
• Blue-Ray burner: This is overkill – good overkill, that is. I would have been happy with a Blue-Ray reader and a DVD writer, but the presence of a Blue-Ray recorder really makes this laptop shine. Yes, blank Blue-Ray media is still expensive, but prices are coming down, and the ability to backup 25 or 50GB on a single disk is an extremely welcome bonus.
• Cool and quiet: Despite the size and processing power, this laptop is definitely on the quiet side and I must say that even under stress, it remains relatively cool. The heat exhaust is on the left side, so you can safely place the laptop on your lap or on a table, without experiencing a huge deal of heat or having it shut down like some laptops are prone to doing.
• Construction and Ergonomics: I find the notebook to be very well constructed. It’s sturdy and feels very solid, though it doesn’t feel quite as solid as a unibody MacBook Pro. I believe the lid chassis is made of metal, while the rest is constructed from durable plastic. The area where your wrists rest is made of plastic but almost feels like aluminium. There is also a slight slope between the touchpad and keyboard that makes typing very comfortable. Overall, despite the large screen, this laptop is not cumbersome, and it definitely packs a sleek, modern design which is likely to appeal to many. It sits comfortably on my laps and isn’t particularly heavy either. Sure, it’s not an ultra-portable sized computer, but considering its 16.4″ screen, I think it’s still fairly easy to tote around. The keyboard is Mac-like, even though to be fair, this style of keyboard (wherein the keys are neatly separated from each other) was first adopted by Sony and later implemented by Apple. The touchpad is nice too with very smooth scrolling (always a plus).
• Reliable wi-fi: So far the wi-fi connection seems to be working very reliably. It has been connected with full signal since the first moment I provided credentials to my wireless network, and the speed appears to be great. Other laptops I’ve tried in my house have been far less reliable.
• Compatible with Linux: More on this topic below.
• HDMI Output: Having a single HDMI output (for both audio and video) made connecting the laptop to my HDTV a breeze.
• Free Blue-Ray movies: In Canada the laptop came with three Blue-Ray movies. This isn’t a big selling point, but it’s a nice bonus. In my case, I received Casino Royale, Hitch, and Surf’s Up.

What I dislike about this laptop

It is hard to find negative things to say about the FW285D/H, especially if you consider the wealth of features and its affordable price tag. But I’m going to nitpick a bit, so as to make the review more informative:

• The high resolution implies that fonts tend to be on the smaller side of things. This, depending on the user, can be a pro or a con, but be aware of it beforehand if you tend to like your font size on the hefty side.
• On Windows the current drivers seem to only offer the spectacular 1920×1080 resolution and two other very low resolutions. I don’t see intermediary resolutions like 1366×768, which would make the font larger for whenever you don’t need that extra bit of space on the screen. Update: I have blogged about a solution for this here.
• A fair number of Sony software/utilities are preinstalled on the system. There is also a trial version of Microsoft Office and Windows Live OneCare, which I uninstalled and replaced with the home version of Avast instead.
• Media for Windows Vista (or a recovery DVD) is not provided. The user is expected to burn their own recovery DVDs (3 regular DVDs or 2 double layers) through a Sony utility. These are copied from an EISA hidden partition (10.2GB) which can be deleted afterwards. To delete the partition you will need diskpart, as explained here.
• The Canadian version came with a keyboard that has both English and French labels. The bi-lingual layout is slightly different than a regular US keyboard, so it takes a little while to get your mind used to having keys like this if you want touch type at full speed. Of course, if you are a French Canadian (or anyone else who types French), you’ll enjoy the bilingual nature of the keyboard. If you purchase the laptop from the States, you won’t encounter the dual language keyboard, of course.
• Sony disables Intel VT support on most Vaios (I think it’s unbelievably stupid of them). This means that if you were to use a virtualization program like vmware, you’d obtain a 20/30% slower VM. This is not a huge deal for me (I run my VMs on a Quad-Core desktop) but it’s definitely something that has the potential to be annoying and which seems to be in place for no good reason (and, lastly, may or not be a deal breaker for you). I believe it can be enabled by patching a BIOS ROM dump, but it’s the kind of tinkering I’m not personally eager to do on the first day after my laptop purchase, especially since this point doesn’t really affect me. Should I develop an actual need for this, I will look into it and report my findings in this blog.

Linux compatibility

On my laptop I have Vista and Ubuntu in dual boot. Ubuntu compatibility was very important to me because I intend to use Ubuntu as my main OS (particularly for development) and only use Vista when needed – or for entertainment purposes (e.g., playing Blue-Ray movies). The great news is that everything worked out of the box with Ubuntu 8.10 x64. And I mean everything that I could possibly test. Video, audio, wireless connection, bluetooth, hibernating, putting the laptop to sleep, you name it. Everything worked out of the box, which speaks volumes for both the compatibility of the Sony Vaio FW Series and the progress level of Ubuntu as a desktop operating system.

If you buy this laptop, and plan to dual boot Ubuntu, you can save yourself a lot of headaches by paritioning your hard drive during the Ubuntu installation, from a live CD. You could use the hidden partition that you deleted as a swap partition, reduce the size of the Windows boot partition, and with all the free space left over create a partition for Ubuntu or add an extra Windows partition and an Ubuntu one. For example, I have a 60GB Windows Vista partition, a 190GB “media” NTFS partition which is accessed by both Windows and Linux, and then about 45GB allocated for Ubuntu. The first partition on the disk, which replaces the unallocated space created by deleting the EISA hidden partition, is a swap partition. Yes, with 4GB of RAM, I didn’t need such a big swap partition, but I had the free space all in one place and decided to go for it.

A word of caution for dual booters who are planning on having the Windows Vista partition as their second partition. You need to edit your menu.lst to change the Vista section from root (hd0, 0) to root (hd0, 1). This correctly indicates where to find Vista when you select Windows from GRUB at boot time. If you don’t go through this step, you may face an Error 12: Invalid Disk Requested or similar messages.

Conclusion

The final verdict is more than positive. This is a very solid laptop with amazing features, for a reasonable price. Unless your budget is significantly larger than mine or your requirements wildly different, I think that the Sony Vaio FW Series won’t leave you disappointed. In particular, if you are looking for a development and entertainment laptop that will work with Ubuntu Linux, without any hassle, then this could be the answer for you, provided that the lack of virtualization is not a major issue (or you are willing to figure out how to enable it).

If you own this computer or end up buying it as well, definitely feel free to share your thoughts on it in the comment section.