The Systems Migration Plan

Major flaws in governments arise from a fear of making radical internal changes
even though a need is clearly seen

Objective:
The Systems Migration Plan is a goal to eventually replace the desktop with a laptop.
To source for a laptop that fulfills the stated purpose and to remain aligned with following policies

Background:
As lifestyle changes, hardware servicing becomes increasing expensive in terms of time spent.
I simply cannot afford to waste precious annual leave days, traveling to some out of the way equipment service centers, or deal with computers that fails from time to time. Selection criteria shifts from "good value for money" to "stability and fuss free support" Naturally this will cost more, but careful study and prudent sourcing will justify over the unseen cost and qualitative factors.

Purpose:
Complete support/ Low failure rate - One stop coverage for the entire system.

Aesthetic/ Space - Significantly free up tabletop real estate, cable clutters, and do away with bulky boxes of spare hardware.

Portability - Self explanatory.

Future-proofing - Technology that remains valid over the next 3 years, so that no further cost necessary beyond the one time outlay.

Timeframe:
- Complete migration by end of 2010 (2 years time)
- To carry out migration while old system still remains serviceable, and to run in parallel until transition is deemed complete and secured.
- Proceed earlier if circumstances makes it necessary.

Fiscal Policy:
- No further funding for any non-migrateable hardware. (eg. desktop rams, hard disks, cards)
- Allow purchase of accessories that may complement future system (eg. speakers, routers)
- Attempt to salvage from old system by selling off non critical and non-migrateable items. Cash proceeds will continue to subject to said fiscal policy.

Environmental Considerations:
- Strong preference for alternatives which takes up less physical space. (eg Portable HDD iso burning stacks of DVDs)

Post disaster reflections

In the aftermath of the major system failure, there are some observations:

1. Very glad that I performed regular backups and data synchronization. This routine begun years ago following the last system disaster, and now proves itself very valid.

2. Internet banking and online billing helps the environment. But was brought to a crippling standstill throughout the crisis. With Trojans running rampant over the OS, it was simply too dangerous to login to any of the services.

3. The incident led to a full spring cleaning of the "PC document box". A process that only happened twice in the last decade. Some very old items were unearthed from this pseudo time capsule. Among them were old hardware receipts that had faded beyond recognition; Instruction manuals for PC components that were discarded years ago; Warranty certs of peripherals which I don't remember owning; and most nostalgically, an installation kit for an extinct OS (see picture)

4. Time distortions - At some point I even installed Win98 in a desperate attempt just to get online. The (literally 10yrs) old software miraculously booted up fine, unhindered by the hardware conflict which stalled its futuristic counterpart. But that was as far as it gets, ironically "home ADSL modems" and "USB modems", did not even existed back then. To say there were no drivers, would be an understatement. There weren't even appropriate device profiles that fitted the description! The only options for "modems" would be etc. 14.4k, 36.6k, 56.6k.

5. Lastly, newer technology is not necessarily better. The ethernet modem, became a victim of its own features. First it failed to connect to the internet. And then, lo and behold, with all its advanced features, allowed me to flash the incorrect firmware rendering it inoperational. This can only be fixed with a visit to the factory. In contrast, the minimalistic ADSL modem eventually set up without a hitch, and was truely reliable to fall back on. This means alot to me, and I remain grateful for small favors.

破财挡灾

Finally restored my computer and got back online.
Had lived out a Computer Disaster during the last three weeks. Having enjoyed a stable system for many years now, I was unfamiliar with the latest system problems. This ordeal had been costly, and extremely tedious (but at least highly educational).

On 06Feb wed - computer was infected by a Trojan which hijacked my browser. The invading program continuously generates instructions to download more unidentified software.

07Feb - all attempts to contain the infection has failed and system became increasingly unstable. Even the resident anti-virus program got crippled. I grimly prepared for the worst.

08Feb - Formating the PC was inevitable. Made backups of some critical files (this was not too hard thanks to a good regular backup practice). Formatted, but realized Win XP cd was not available. (Loan or given away at some point)
The following days saw a series of desperate but fruitless quests of running around borrowing different versions of Win XP only to get stuck during Setup. It due to conflicts between older versions of XP, and my current new generation hardware.

16Feb - Had no choice but to purchase a proper Home OEM version of Win XP, which overcame the conflicts and had the operating system up at last. But that's not the end.

17Feb -Was unable to attain correct configuration for internet access. Troubleshooting took a good 3 days and plenty of help from Singnet Tech Support. Finally got one of the two modems online.

23Feb - (Week 3) Restored most of the core programs. Crisis is over, though the Ethernet modem remained nonfunctional and some secondary programs are not yet installed. Will be conducting a full data sync, and critical backup over the following days, to avoid the same problem in future.

Lao Ye's House

Went to 老爷's new place for the first time. The 16th floor apartment was generously spacious and airy. View was good too, overlooking the surrounding buildings that were much lower. However, the main highlight was the Nintento Wii, and it's accompanying 42" Samsung LCD TV.

This is my first go at the much hyped Nintendo 3rd generation console. We tried out a range of sports based games, with Wii boxing being the obvious crowd favorite. The couples took turns beating the crap out of their spouse. My turn came and naturally I picked the easiest opponent, Mike's 8 years old daughter Felicia (妹妹). Bad mistake. Grasping the 'feel' of the motion sensor based controls within minutes, Felicia proceeded to pummel me round after round. My butt was handled to me on the proverbial silver platter. Ouch! There's nothing quite as pure and cruel as children...

Naturally, in an awkward show of gamesmanship, I conveniently blamed the controls for being unresponsive, and decided not to acquire a Wii console afterall*.

Eventually all towels was thrown and the adults decided it was more dignifying to watch the little girl beat up computer opponents instead. We spent the rest of the evening between playing cards and cheering her way to setting the new high score.

*Unless it's free of course

Novus at the Singapore Museum

Met up to chill with Gab, Duanyi, Erin, Wei Xiu and her soon-to-be husband Arthur. We checked out this bar located within the museum compound. The Novus was divided between dining section and drinks bar. There were both open air and indoor seating, the former had evening live bands perfroming from 9pm onwards.

They served a limited range (2 to be exact) of french beers which tasted fruity and sweet, a refreshing alternative from the typical bitter strong alcoholic garden variety. I'd classify them as 'desert beer' if the term exists.

Price was on the high side at SGD16.00 a pint. Probably more affordable if orders were made during happy hour (before 9pm) where house pour are served 1-for-1 .

Someone else made a detail review, and I'm lazy to do mine. So here is a link instead
http://www.yum.sg/articles/another_good_reason_to_visit_the_national_museum/