Later when I got home, my MacBook wouldn’t turn on so I decided that maybe if I hugged it, it would come back to me.  It didn’t, so at that point I realized I would either need a new keyboard or a new laptop, I was rooting for option 1.

So I made an appointment at the Genius Bar.  Went in and had to wait a bit because they were a little back logged, but I didn’t complain because they have laptops and internet where you wait, and I can spend time reading and what not.  So eventually I got called.  The guy was super nice and helpful, he took my laptop into the back and it booted up.  He came back out and told me that I needed a new keyboard.  Awesome, only $100, I can live with that.

So then he started typing everything up and he looked at me and said “What’s your password for the computer?”.  And I looked at him.  I was slightly dumbfounded that this man was asking for my password.  And I sat there and just stared ahead and then I did the dumbest thing I have done in quite a while, I actually told him my password.  I left the interaction feeling like I had just made the biggest mistake ever (mostly because I had) and then I went to Whole Foods, had some dinner and drove home.  On that drive home I realized that they now had access to my entire life.  Just about every password I have is saved somewhere on that computer.  The moment I walked into the door I got on my netbook and proceeded to change every password I could think of.

The next day I got a survey from Apple asking about my Genius Bar Experience.  And while the service was good, the security was not.  So in the comments I went on a diatribe about how they should have offered me a way to change my password.  About how it was so unsecure to just take a users password without explaining what could happen.  Blah blah blah.  So yeah I was pissed and I let it all out in that survey.

And then something strange happened.  They actually called me later that day.  Crazy I know.  The store manager I eventually spoke with (lovely woman by the name of Kristin) first assured me that if someone were to breach security the way I was describing that they would be fired immediately.  She also assured me that they do take security very seriously.  She then said that she had never really thought about what the conversation about asking for a password looked like with users that didn’t express concerns about handing over their password.  They have thought about the conversation they have with users that do express concerns, but not with those that don’t.  She said that my comments really made her think.

I did make sure that I told her that I didn’t think that the problem was specific to her store (Dedham Legacy Place…I recommend it) but was a company wide issue.  And while I don’t think that Apple should be walking around trying to evangelize security, I did say that I chose Apple back in the day because of their customer service, and that I think its important for them to talk with customers about things like this if they want to keep their track record of excellent customer service.  She seemed to buy what I was selling.

So hopefully I don’t have to go back to the Genius Bar any time soon, but if I do, I’ll be interested to see whether or not they really have changed.  At the very least I’m impressed with the manager I talked to and that Apple actually bothered to contact me.

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Adding wordpress.com blog as connected site in Google Buzz

Works like a charm.  If you’re not a wordpress.com site you can add the <meta> tag by going to the theme editor and inserting the tag in the header.php file (assuming that the theme is created properly).

Yay!

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So I wrote back to my dad:

They forgot to say that he created the first library school at Columbia, but forgot to ask the institution if that was alright.  He also had a desire to change the way the world spelled, so he consistently dropped unneeded letters from words (he was originally named Melville).  He also created the American Library Association and was subsequently kicked out for sexual harassment.  Finally he moved to upstate New York and created a colony.  He refused to allow in persons of color and jews.  One can assume from this that he was a bigot.

Basically Dewey was crazy, and would hate most of the librarians that are in the profession today.  So I suspect that’s why the occasion went largely unnoticed.

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The first thing I did was start with an already existing EBS AMI. Right now there aren’t too many available but they are growing.  I chose an Ubuntu 9.04 image since I’m going to install a stack on it, and I’ve already done *most* of it before on Ubuntu.

A quick note: it is possible to create an EBS AMI from an S3 AMI, but I wasn’t able to figure that out (quickly).  Although I did find a script that will do this for you: http://gist.github.com/249915.

Next, I wanted to get the Ubuntu server prepared.  I needed to:

• install mysql — http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/ubuntu/install-mysql-server-5-on-ubuntu/
• install ruby on rails — http://www.hackido.com/2009/04/install-ruby-rails-on-ubuntu-904-jaunty.html (up to and including step 6)
• install zlib — http://www.techsww.com/tutorials/libraries/zlib/installation/installing_zlib_on_ubuntu_linux.php
• install blacklight — http://projectblacklight.org (includes solr and a number of gem dependencies)

I did all of this.  One thing I noticed, Blacklight requires me to use non-standard ports (ie not 22 and 80).  While the server was running, I went into the AWS console and opened ports for its associated security group.  The changes took effect immediately.  I definitely liked that.

Finally, I went in to the AWS Management Console and chose “Create Image (EBS AMI)”.

Then I filled in the information including a description of my image:

and voila! EBS backed AMI.  the one caveat is:

DON’T TERMINATE THE INSTANCE UNTIL THE NEW AMI HAS FINISHED BEING CREATED

because then you’ll loose all the work that you have just done.  doh!

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I really like you a lot. You’re like my own personal New York Times. Every day I come into work and I open you up and skim through your “pages”. I like that I can share with my friends and what not (although I’m not going to lie…I think they get sick of me sharing about the cloud). But you know, sometimes I want to share things I’ve read not in Google Reader. Like today I saw this in a tweet:

http://www.amazon.com/Daemon-Daniel-Suarez/dp/0525951113/

It looks like a pretty cool book. I thought some of my followers on Google Reader might like to know about it. So I went and asked The Google to see if there was a way for me to tweet things to Google Reader. Alas there was not.

Google Reader this made me sad. I mean there is twittercal which is super awesome because I can tweet things to my Google Calendar. So why can’t there be twittergooglereader (or something with a better name). I mean don’t you know that the more social media like you become the more I want your functionality to expand and interact with other social media outlets?

Sigh. I still love you though.

Rosalyn

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Right now I can only update my Facebook Status with what I’m watching (if you’re reading this within the day or two I’m posting this you can check out my status at: http://www.facebook.com/rosy1280…you will have to become my friend of course).  Eventually they have plans to update it so you can do more.

Verizon Fios Facebook Interface

The Twitter interface isn’t as exciting.  I can see trending topics, tweets on the show I’m watching, and I can search tweets.  It would be awesome if I could log in to Twitter and see what people are doing like I can with Facebook, but hopefully that’s coming.

Verizon Fios Twitter Interface

So yes.  My cable company rocks.  And anyone who says differently is just jealous :P

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If you’re wondering where I’ve been, well I’ve been getting married and buying a house (cause I’m completely insane). And guess what my lovely blog was used in the best man’s toast (basically he said I was way smarter than my husband let on).

So rest assured folks I’m here and ready to bore you once again with the world of cloud computing. Oh and the rumor mill has it that there will be a Cloud Camp in Boston this coming July.

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Today Verizon updated my cable box.  Occasionally I read the little “here is what we updated message” and today I am so glad I did.  The message told me that the “What’s Hot on Fios Widget” was available (yes my cable box has widgets for weather, sports, etc.) so I decided to take a look at it.  To the left is an image of what I saw.

The “What’s Hot on Fios Widget” shows you the 15 most popular shows being watched right now.  No lie, right now.  When the time changed to 7:00 the top show was Access Hollywood (how unforunate but still its cool that I know that).  There is also one for the hotest movies being ordered On Demand.

I wonder if they have an API for this puppy.  Afterall, my cable boxes are all on the network.  I mean I could at any moment (if there was an API) find out from the comfort of my computer what the world is watching.

I can’t tell you how much more I love Verizon Fios (and honestly I didn’t think that was possible).

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According to Jodi’s publications and talks pages she knows math and FRBR, two topics that are beyond me and makes me even more impressed with her than I was before.  And while this alone deserves a post, the real reason I chose Jodi is because she’s the best cheerleader ever.

I first met Jodi at the New England Chapter of Code4Lib meeting held at the Boston Public Library.  I talked about cloud computing and how I hate applications on desktops because they require me to have a specific browser or computer to use.  I was worried I had offended her (she was discussing Zotero), but later she emailed me to ask about the book on cloud computing I was reading.

I then re-met Jodi at the Annual Code4Lib conference.  She was very open and inviting in the IRC chat room, in the real room, and eventually she encouraged me to do my lightning talk.  Jodi made getting involved with an organization that I was timid about getting involved with much easier (note: I was only timid because I’m a girl and girls and IT aren’t known to go together).

Since then Jodi has sent me delicious links, tweets, and anything else on cloud computing that she comes across.  She doesn’t know it but she has pushed me to become more involved in my areas of interest.  I strive to know more and more about cloud computing because she takes an active interest in my area of interest.  I’m attending different cloud computing events because they are good opportunities and I should take advantage of them (where before I might have wasted the opportunity).

So thanks Jodi for being my cheerleader and making me work harder at my job.

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Its cool that like 12 years ago you bought http://www.rosalyn.com but you’re not doing anything with it. And the thing is in 3 short months I will be married with a new last name, so I need a new domain.

I wanted to go with something generic, like just my first name.  But no, you won’t let me because you just HAVE TO hang on to something you’re not using AT ALL!  And to be even more annoying, the last time the way back machine indicates you had anything of substance was Feb. 14 2001.

So anyway my point is this.  Stop hogging domains.  If you’re not using them don’t keep them.  Set them free.

And http://www.rosalyn.com I’m considering gunning for you……

Sincerely,

Rosalyn Metz (soon to be Hadzipanajotis…and no I’m not considering buying http://www.hadzipanajotis.com no one could spell that)

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