So when Froyo (Android 2.2) came out the DROID got it down the line and that’s when the DROID started to show it’s age; extremely slow…a big drop in performance.  So I decided to root it to get a little more millage out of it before my upgrade.  Mind you, I was waiting for the Thunderbolt to come out to replace it…but decided against upgrading for the time…another story I suppose.  I decided to use SuperOneClick to root my phone, and damn it was simple.  Literally one click and it was done…but what can I do with this root?  Well, first thing was overclocking to see if I can get some more speed.  I overclocked it to 800MHz and really didn’t notice much of a difference besides the fact that I could now have a wireless hot-spot…oh and I could take screen shots now (why doesn’t Android have this functionality built in? Seriously!).

Hey look, I need to ROOT to take a screen shot!

So I decided to take it a step further.  My buddy was telling me about CyanogenMod and how he loved it on his MyTouch and basically brought life back into it.  So I said “Why the hell not?”  Not only does it add a lot of functionality, it will give me Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread)…something the original DROIDs won’t ever see normally.  I backed-up my apps and text messages phone using MyBackup Root then flashed my recovery ROM to ClockworkMod which allows me to install firmware from the SD card and allows me to backup my entire phone to an image just in case anything goes wrong.  After the backup with MyBackup Root I rebooted into recovery mode and backed-up the entire phone using the Nandroid backup (in the recovery) then started to flash CyanogenMod 7 on my phone..this meant I had to do a complete wipe of the phone which is always scary but with the backup I should be cool!

Wiped the phone, flashed the ROM, and booted the phone. It worked! I had the Release Candidate (at the time it was RC1) of CyanogenMod 7 on my phone!

I had some issues with CM7 at first and some issues with getting my apps back (which I’ll talk about in Part 2) but after some initial bumps I was up running as smooth as I could be on a release candidate.  I had some reboots and some programs would crash but reinstalling them from scratch helped for the most part.

After a few updates it became more and more stable.  I am now running RC4 with a new ultra-low voltage kernel (which allows me to overclock to 1GHz and uses less battery power than the stock kernel). which gives me good battery life, pretty good performance, and all around a pretty good experience.

Android 2.3.3 and 1.1GHz!

So if you’re looking to get some more time from your old DROID this seems like a great way to do it.  It’s not up there with the new phones, but it does give your device a nice little jolt until you decide to retire it.

In Part 2 I’ll talk about installing all of the apps from backup and troubleshooting the many issues I had with memory issues and how they were resolved.

As per a very special May Day sale on DreamHost I now have a domain and permanent home for my site.  So now I will actually want to update more, hopefully;-)

Go DreamHost and your kick ass sale!

I love the new space of course. I an now keep all of my docs and programs happily as well as some extras. I’m not removing files left and right anymore to free up space for downloads, etc.

The computer seems to run a little hotter, it could just be me, and it does seem a tad bit louder than the original. My old drive was also a 7200RPM drive, but this one seems quieter seeking, but spinning sounds like a small fan (another one). I can deal with it though, doesn’t bother me.

Was it worth $100? Oh yeah!

Turns out it was NOT Leopard server, but the WordPress configuration. So let this be a lesson, always start fresh if you can.

Our secondary server, POW, the server that this site is currently hosted on hosts a few different domains. Recently, I have been setting up things for our new HCI and Games lab here at BXMC. They wanted a site so they made one in WordPress with my recommendation. Now I need to move it to the server with a better domain than pow.idmi.poly.edu/~chrisdimauro/wordpress. I was instructed to use socialgamelab.bxmc.poly.edu (the bxmc is due to the expected change in all of our domains soon). I call up my guy at IS and he tells me it’s done. Excellent for me.

Now the task of setting up another virtual host on POW. Normally this is a CLI job with lots of files and configuration but not with Server Admin (SA); SA gives you a really nice GUI for editing many server features. One can completely configure and maintain their server without ever using CLI by using SA. More complex set-ups will have difficulty at times while only using SA.

This is what you’re presented with after opening SA, a very nice looking summary of your server and it’s running processes.

Now, I want to add a new website to this server using a name-based virtual host. So I’ll select ‘Web’ from the left side list of active services, and begin to edit this:

That’s a very simple, straight-forward form for a website. I filled out all of the appropriate information, pointed everything to the proper directory, and save. I restart apache, and try the site after a few (i needed to wait for it to replicate to the external dns servers). After a short wait, I test the site. I am directed to the main site, pow.idmi.poly.edu. Something is not working on my end, I don’t think virtual hosting is working properly. So I test one of our other virtual hosts on the server, and that works. I compare the two, both are the same 100%. Now it’s time to bring out the CLI and go deeper into the config files.

Apparently Leopard server uses different configuration for virtual hosts and apache in general. It breaks up each virtual host config file into numbered .conf files. Apache’s httpd.conf just includes the directory and any .conf files that are inside of that directory. Sure, this looks nice, it’s pretty clean and easy to edit sites, but it’s a pain when researching help, I am literally stuck with Apple only help (to a good extent). I find the appropriate file (nicely named 0005_[ip]_socialgamelab.bxmc.poly.edu.conf) and look into the file. I compare it with the working virtual hosts .conf file and find, they’re also the same.

Now I begin to ask myself things like “Why?” and “What?” but at the same time begin to wonder how Leopard Server is messing this up. The site loads properly if I direct the browser to it’s long directory, but still only gives me the main site if I use the new virtual host name.

I am still in the process of working on getting this to work. I have a list made up of how I am going to resolve this. I think I will update as I go through the list.

1. Comb the internet for help, this includes Apple discussion forums, and of course Google.
2. Change the bxmc to idmi. This could be conflicting on our network which is still using idmi for everything else.
3. Call Apple Support. When you buy Apple server products, like every other server retailer, you get support. We have support for our recently purchased Mac OS 10.5 Server, I will utilize this to it’s fullest extent.
4. Replace the entire apache configuration with a default configuration from another system that works. Last resort because I really do not want to re-configure the webserver.

Covering the List

1. I have been searching the internet and Apple discussion boards for hours (before I wrote this post). I found one issue with domain aliases using an (*) in place of a real alias, but nothing that fixed the problem yet.
2. IS has changed it to IDMI a little while ago, I’m waiting for it to update. Let’s hope this is the last step.

My iPod is 40GB, and I’ve never filled it. But I love my iPod, I love how it looks, and I used to love how rugged it was. It’s been through a lot, here’s a run down of stuff:

• 3 batteries, all replaced by me
• 1 headphone connector
• dropped on asphalt and stepped on accidentally
• dropped in a sink full of water (not by me)
• dropped several times from my pocket to the ground
• sat on
• banged about

I bought it in 2003, when it was new, from eBay for $300. It has lasted me 5 long years, and now the battery is dying again (it only holds about an hour charge). I’ve finally given in and decided to buy a new one.

When looking, I decided to get another iPod, just because I like them, and I’m very impressed with my iPods durability. I decided to get a refurb from Apple. It’s the “previous generation”, basically meaning they don’t make it anymore. It’s 80GB, black, and $100 cheaper than the new ones. Of course I got Applecare for the additional $59. Worth it.

I am anxiously waiting for it to arrive from California now. I’m hoping that this new iPod gives me the same amount of life that my 3rd gen has given me. I of course will not be doing away with the 3rd gen, it’ll still be used for files and backups until something else on it dies (the hard drive or the port).

So, in this post I shall thank you 3rd Generation iPod. You’ve given me countless hours of entertainment, you’ve been around through my entire college career, and I know you’ll always be around somewhere for me.

So as a temporary solution I’m using DynDNS, http://johnmahlman.is-a-geek.net. It’s only a redirect for now, but hopefully I can have a real domain.

I’m hoping to actually update this site with stuff so I can move it to a real domain. I’m hoping to have my CV and other works on here soon. So keep checking back!