Conor Duffy's Blog

Christmas and the New Year

Well, it’s Christmas Eve, which means this year is almost over :). I’m finished college now until the 18th of January, which means plenty of time to relax and de-stress after the rubbish year I’ve had, which is why I’m looking forward to next year, and hope it’ll be a good one :)

I especially can’t wait for the 18th of January, because a number of things are happening that day. First off, I’ll be back to Dundalk to college. Secondly, I’m selling my Advent 4211-C and buying the ASUS EEE PC 1201N, and I’m also looking to buy the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic phone as well. Lastly, if I get talking to some people, there may be a new, better, faster, cheaper staticanime|sparkanime|animelovers server coming at you towards February.

Anyway, Merry Christmas everyone, hope you all have a good time, and I might see you back here in January!

Possible New Server in January

Hi everyone.

I know I haven’t posted in a while, been really busy with college work, so figured I’d write something today, and Hurrah!! It’s good news :)

As you may have read in a previous post, I was shutting down my Dedicated server, as it was costing €70 per month to run it, which is quite a lot. Well, it’s still being shut down, but my hosting company OVH have just opened an Irish branch, which features my server for €40 a month, with a 1TB HDD instead of the existing €750

So, we’l be moving there in January hopefully, which leads me onto the next order of business. The first month will cost €210 euro, as the server has a €50 set-up fee, €40 for the month, and €150 for a Cloudmin 10-instance annual license.

Cloudmin, for the un-educated, is a derivitave of Virtualmin, designed for managing and running Virtual hosts. Since the current server has become a mess of config’s geared towards the main domain, I figure it would be better to use Xen to make virtual machines for each host, install Virtualmin in each, and cluster the lot. Well, until I read about Cloudmin, and figured it could handle all that for me, which means minimal time spent maintianing and configuring systems :)

Lastly, I will be password-protecting the proxy, access will be available for €5 euro for the first month, then €2 a month thereafter for access. Included with the access will be 1GB of space on TorrentFlux (a remote torrent downloader, similar to ImageShack’s Tor service), and a forum for users to communicate with each other. Hopefully I’ll be able to configure the password-protection and the forum to tie into the TorrentFlux database, which will make things easier to manage for all users (myself included)

Anyway, more on all this in January sometime, until then, toodles!!

SERVER MOVE!!!

Ok, sorry about the caps, butt needed to get attention. On the 15th Decemember, the server ns363416.ovh.net, which hosts staticanime.net, sparkanime.net & purplemonquay.com will be shut down, due to lack of funding for the renewal costs.

Fear not though, as both http://blog.staticanime.net & http://www.purplemonquay.com will survive. blog.staticanime.net has been moved to Tumblr.com, and I’m currently copying the content from purplemonquay.com to it’s new home.

While this transition is in progress, there may be issues accessing the above two domains. Thankfully, both will also be available at alternative addresses, http://staticanime.tumblr.com and http://purplemonquay.wordpress.com respectively, until the main addresses resolve.

Hopefully the tranisition is smooth and quick, and that both sites (and both myself and Criona) are back to blogging ASAP!!

Create a Windows 7 AIO DVD

I’ve been installing Windows 7 on quite a few PC’s, and I’m getting fed up of downloading different versions from my Technet account as required, so I decided to try combine all 8 Windows 7 ISO’s I have into one master ISO, consisting of Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise & Ultimate (both 32 and 64-bit versions, also normal and N builds too), and it works like a charm :P


So, first of all, you need the following ISO’s:

* Windows 7 Automated Installation Kit
* en_windows_7_ultimate_x86_dvd_x15-65921.iso
* en_windows_7_ultimate_x64_dvd_x15-65922.iso
* en_windows_7_enterprise_x86_dvd_x15-70745.iso
* en_windows_7_enterprise_x64_dvd_x15-70749.iso
* en_windows_7_ultimate_n_x86_dvd_x16-13640.iso
* en_windows_7_ultimate_n_x64_dvd_x16-13641.iso
* en_windows_7_enterprise_n_x86_dvd_x16-11935.iso
* en_windows_7_enterprise_n_x64_dvd_x16-11943.iso

When you get these, install the Windows Automated Installation Kit, then prepare your folder structure.

Make a Folder called AIO in your C Drive, and inside it create two folders, one called FINAL_DVD, and one called WIM. Now, extract ALL the files from the en_windows_7_ultimate_x86_dvd_x15-65921.iso to the AIO\FINAL_DVD folder

When it’s finished extracting, go into AIO\FINAL_DVD\Sources\ and delete ei.cfg, and all the install*.clg files. Then move install.wim to the AIO\WIM folder.

Rename install.wim to install-x86.wim. Then, extract JUST the install.wim file from each of the ISO’s to your WIM folder, and rename them according to version and architechture. I ended up with the following WIM’s:

* install-x86.wim
* install-x86-64.wim
* install-n-x86.wim
* install-n-x86-64.wim
* install-ent-x86.wim
* install-ent-x86-64.wim
* install-ent-n-x86.wim
* install-ent-n-x86-64.wim


Now, open the Deployment Tools Command Prompt in the Windows AIK folder in your start menu, and paste/type in the commands below one-by-one

* PUSHD C:\AIO\WIM

* IMAGEX /EXPORT /COMPRESS maximum install-x86.wim 1 C:\AIO\FINAL_DVD\sources\install.wim “Windows 7 Starter”
* IMAGEX /EXPORT /COMPRESS maximum install-n-x86.wim 1 C:\AIO\FINAL_DVD\sources\install.wim “Windows 7 Starter N”
* IMAGEX /EXPORT /COMPRESS maximum install-x86.wim 2 C:\AIO\FINAL_DVD\sources\install.wim “Windows 7 Home Basic”
* IMAGEX /EXPORT /COMPRESS maximum install-n-x86.wim 2 C:\AIO\FINAL_DVD\sources\install.wim “Windows 7 Home Basic N”
* IMAGEX /EXPORT /COMPRESS maximum install-x86.wim 3 C:\AIO\FINAL_DVD\sources\install.wim “Windows 7 Home Premium”
* IMAGEX /EXPORT /COMPRESS maximum install-n-x86.wim 3 C:\AIO\FINAL_DVD\sources\install.wim “Windows 7 Home Premium N”
* IMAGEX /EXPORT /COMPRESS maximum install-x86.wim 4 C:\AIO\FINAL_DVD\sources\install.wim “Windows 7 Professional”
* IMAGEX /EXPORT /COMPRESS maximum install-n-x86.wim 4 C:\AIO\FINAL_DVD\sources\install.wim “Windows 7 Professional N”
* IMAGEX /EXPORT /COMPRESS maximum install-ent-x86.wim 1 C:\AIO\FINAL_DVD\sources\install.wim “Windows 7 Enterprise”
* IMAGEX /EXPORT /COMPRESS maximum install-ent-n-x86.wim 1 C:\AIO\FINAL_DVD\sources\install.wim “Windows 7 Enterprise N”
* IMAGEX /EXPORT /COMPRESS maximum install-x86.wim 5 C:\AIO\FINAL_DVD\sources\install.wim “Windows 7 Ultimate”
* IMAGEX /EXPORT /COMPRESS maximum install-n-x86.wim 5 C:\AIO\FINAL_DVD\sources\install.wim “Windows 7 Ultimate N”
* IMAGEX /EXPORT /COMPRESS maximum install-x86-64.wim 1 C:\AIO\FINAL_DVD\sources\install.wim “Windows 7 Home Basic (x64)”
* IMAGEX /EXPORT /COMPRESS maximum install-n-x86-64.wim 1 C:\AIO\FINAL_DVD\sources\install.wim “Windows 7 Home Basic N (x64)”
* IMAGEX /EXPORT /COMPRESS maximum install-x86-64.wim 2 C:\AIO\FINAL_DVD\sources\install.wim “Windows 7 Home Premium (x64)”
* IMAGEX /EXPORT /COMPRESS maximum install-n-x86-64.wim 2 C:\AIO\FINAL_DVD\sources\install.wim “Windows 7 Home Premium N (x64)”
* IMAGEX /EXPORT /COMPRESS maximum install-x86-64.wim 3 C:\AIO\FINAL_DVD\sources\install.wim “Windows 7 Professional (x64)”
* IMAGEX /EXPORT /COMPRESS maximum install-n-x86-64.wim 3 C:\AIO\FINAL_DVD\sources\install.wim “Windows 7 Professional N (x64)”
* IMAGEX /EXPORT /COMPRESS maximum install-ent-x86-64.wim 1 C:\AIO\FINAL_DVD\sources\install.wim “Windows 7 Enterprise (x64)”
* IMAGEX /EXPORT /COMPRESS maximum install-ent-n-x86-64.wim 1 C:\AIO\FINAL_DVD\sources\install.wim “Windows 7 Enterprise N (x64)”
* IMAGEX /EXPORT /COMPRESS maximum install-x86-64.wim 4 C:\AIO\FINAL_DVD\sources\install.wim “Windows 7 Ultimate (x64)”
* IMAGEX /EXPORT /COMPRESS maximum install-n-x86-64.wim 4 C:\AIO\FINAL_DVD\sources\install.wim “Windows 7 Ultimate N (x64)”

Then, finally, type the following to create your master ISO:

• cd ..
• oscdimg.exe –lSe7enAIO -t10/01/2009,12:00:00 -m -u2 –bC:\AIO\FINAL_DVD\boot\etfsboot.com C:\AIO\FINAL_DVD\ C:\AIO\Se7enAIO.iso

Now, burn the resulting 4.14GB ISO, and enjoy all possible versions of Windows 7 on one single DVD

Fairy Tail

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of anime that throws logic and convention out the window, and mixs it up with a serious dose of OTT (like Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann), so I was suprised to find a new anime last week called Fairy Tail.

The story (a la Wikipedia): A young sorceress, Lucy Heartfilia, travels to the land of Fiore to join the magical Fairy Tail Guild. Along the way, she meets Natsu Dragneel, a teenage boy looking for a dragon named Igneel. Shortly after their meeting, Lucy is abducted by Bora of Prominence, who was posing as Salamander of Fairy Tail, to be sold as a slave. Natsu rescues her and reveals that he is the real Salamander and has the skills of a Dragon Slayer. He offers her membership into the guild, which she accepts, and they become a team performing various missions for the Fairy Tail guild.

I’ve only watched 3 episodes so far, but it’s enjoyable, and brought a smile to my face, so I’m going to keep an eye on this one!

To-Do List/Task Management Software

Since my college work is starting to pile up, I figured it was about time to add some order to the chaos, and find myself a good To-Do List/Task Management software.

After much searching, and a lot of trailing, I settled on Rainlendar. Now, I decided to go for the Pro version, to allow it to sync with my Google Calendar account, where I store my college timetable, and now I can add notes and track my college work all from the one app :D

Machinarium - A game well worth buying

About The Game:

Machinarium is an award-winning independent puzzle / adventure game developed by the makers of popular web-games Samorost and Samorost2.

A little robot who’s been thrown out to the scrap yard behind the city must return and confront the Black Cap Brotherhood and save his robot-girl friend.

• World: Machinarium world is populated only by robots of various forms and functions. One of the most interesting places in this world is old, rusty and legendary city of Machinarium where the game takes place
• Story: You will have to get rid of wicked robots from the Black Cap Brotherhood and save the head of the city and also your robot-girl friend
• Puzzles: You will be solving many logical puzzles, adventure quests, brain teasers and mini-games
• Graphics: Backgrounds and characters are 2D hand-drawn and there is more then one hour of carefully crafted animations
• Music: Beautiful original soundtrack was composed and recorded by Floex (Samorost2 OST)
• Communication: You won’t find any lengthy boring dialogs in this game, characters talk by comic bubbles with simple animations and symbols

So, I’ve only played about 2 hours of Machinarium, and I love it, it’s a beautiful game, and has some quiet challenging puzzles, which is something that can’t be said for most of the games that have come out in the last while.