Comments on: The RedMonk IT Report: From One Thinkpad to Another http://redmonk.com/sogrady/2007/06/25/the-redmonk-it-report-from-one-thinkpad-to-another/ because technology is just another ecosystem Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:49:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Sean Dague http://redmonk.com/sogrady/2007/06/25/the-redmonk-it-report-from-one-thinkpad-to-another/#comment-111130 Sean Dague Tue, 26 Jun 2007 11:02:57 +0000 http://redmonk.com/sogrady/2007/06/25/the-redmonk-it-report-from-one-thinkpad-to-another/#comment-111130 On the subject of versioned home directories, I've found it is actually best to seperate the reasons to backup your home directory, and approach them independantly. 1) Replicating your settings to other machines 2) Not loosing things should you take a crash, or get trigger happy with rm -f I used to solve the first one with CVS, but now I do it with Mercurial, as there is no server setup required. Just start tracking bits like .bashrc, desktop config files, emacs configs, etc. Then point to point push to any new system you are setting up, and all your settings are there. :) Mercurial's merge model is good enough that you can make changes wherever, and merge back without too much pain, or fear of loosing anything. I started solving the "don't loose things" problem recently with backuppc (http://backuppc.sourceforge.net), as I was trying to find a piece of Open Source Linux based backup software that was sufficiently easy to setup and configure that it could be proposed for local schools. As of version 3, I think it has gotten there. I've now got an installation doing daily backups of /etc, /usr/local, and /home for 5 machines, including my laptop. The user interface for browsing versioned files, and pushing them back for restore is quite nice, and I know works, as I did a laptop rebuild 2 weeks ago and leaned on it heavily. On the subject of versioned home directories, I’ve found it is actually best to seperate the reasons to backup your home directory, and approach them independantly.

1) Replicating your settings to other machines

2) Not loosing things should you take a crash, or get trigger happy with rm -f

I used to solve the first one with CVS, but now I do it with Mercurial, as there is no server setup required. Just start tracking bits like .bashrc, desktop config files, emacs configs, etc. Then point to point push to any new system you are setting up, and all your settings are there. :) Mercurial’s merge model is good enough that you can make changes wherever, and merge back without too much pain, or fear of loosing anything.

I started solving the “don’t loose things” problem recently with backuppc (http://backuppc.sourceforge.net), as I was trying to find a piece of Open Source Linux based backup software that was sufficiently easy to setup and configure that it could be proposed for local schools. As of version 3, I think it has gotten there. I’ve now got an installation doing daily backups of /etc, /usr/local, and /home for 5 machines, including my laptop. The user interface for browsing versioned files, and pushing them back for restore is quite nice, and I know works, as I did a laptop rebuild 2 weeks ago and leaned on it heavily.

]]> By: Donnie Berkholz http://redmonk.com/sogrady/2007/06/25/the-redmonk-it-report-from-one-thinkpad-to-another/#comment-111057 Donnie Berkholz Tue, 26 Jun 2007 08:11:20 +0000 http://redmonk.com/sogrady/2007/06/25/the-redmonk-it-report-from-one-thinkpad-to-another/#comment-111057 FWIW, I've got a Sony Vaio here that's about 500MHz and still runs like a champ. From my anecdotal experience, I'd consider trying another Sony. FWIW, I’ve got a Sony Vaio here that’s about 500MHz and still runs like a champ. From my anecdotal experience, I’d consider trying another Sony.

]]> By: Luis Villa http://redmonk.com/sogrady/2007/06/25/the-redmonk-it-report-from-one-thinkpad-to-another/#comment-110983 Luis Villa Tue, 26 Jun 2007 03:41:21 +0000 http://redmonk.com/sogrady/2007/06/25/the-redmonk-it-report-from-one-thinkpad-to-another/#comment-110983 I'm actively pondering <a href="http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=12&zenid=6d58285a12f3082a8c50eb45ad391f59">laser etching</a> to replace stickers. I’m actively pondering laser etching to replace stickers.

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