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Gallery Following Describes Our WebSite Display Software Which is partly out-of-date *** PLEASE IGNORE *** |
VenAreteHardwareOur Internet Server Hardware (And Software), For VentureArete.org WebSites:How We Chose Our Hardware, How we Set It Up, & Report Of Our Server’s Current Operation.By Henry S Gurr, VentureArete.org SiteMaster.
(RevUpDatedHSG18July2016. RevHSG22Jan9024.) A CLICKABLE OUTLINE OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS PAGEI. History & Development of Henry Gurr’s ZMMQ Website: III. How We Decided To Set Up And Run Our Own Home Internet Server, Using $200 ACER Chromebook Laptops. IV. Henry Gurr’s Links To Chromebook Views & Reviews. More Good Reading & Information About Your NEXT Laptop!! History & Development of Henry Gurr’s ZMMQ Website, and The Forced Circumstances That Channeled Us Into => Setting Up Our Own Internet Server, and Why We chose Acer Chromebook, and Why We Chose Specific Software(s), To Compliment That of Chromebook’s Native ChromeOS. My ZMMQuality WebSite was established in the Fall of 2002, under the leadership of USCA Librarian & Computer Guru, Paul Lewis. Paul Lewis. Paul was, a Most Wonderfully Helpful Computer Guru, as well as an Open Source Software Expert & Avid Proponent of.]] In addition to being our Campus Government Document Librarian, and Campus GIS Service, he was webmaster for the USCA Library website. I had gone to his office to ask for his advice on how get the best GPS Hand Set. In explaining how I would use a GPS for data collection, on my planned Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (ZMM Book) Research Trip, he immediately had the cheerful idea to create a WebSite to display my Summer 2002 ZMM Route Research Trip Photos & Documentation. And in the same breath, Paul, volunteered to be the webmaster for what soon became, our first version of, what you are looking at now!! Thus it was that The ZMM Quality Website became a reality. Paul and I became good friends, and comrades at arms, re Computers, Open Source Software, books, and political concerns. Gradually, under Paul’s guidance, I learned how to take over various WebSite Tasks, such as posting my ZMM Route Research Trip Photos & Documents: Paul continued with doing all the => Domain Name Maintenance, Server Maintenance, as well as New Software Installs & UpDates. This team work continued until Paul’s prolonged fight with cancer and death 30 Jan 2011. To Paul Lewis, USCA Library Computer Guru: We Send Our Last Thank You and Final Goodbye: God Be With You. Click Here To Learn More About Paul Lewis, Work As A Librarian, And His “Open Source Project” Accomplishments. AFTER this page comes up, please scroll down to => ….. A Last Fairwell To USCA Librarian Paul Lewis Click Here To Learn About => Paul Lewis, a USCA Librarian As Well As A Learning Center Volunteer, And Paul, As A Big Fan Of Open Source Software. A94237807&v=2.1&it=r&sid=sitemap&asid=b1b309db |Click Here To Learn About => Paul Lewis’s Story => “Why Linux Works For Libraries, How He Started Testing The Linux Computer Operating System, As Het Ready To Migrate His USCA Library's Web Server From Windows To Linux. And Now, He Won't Give Linux Up, Ever!! Click Here For ZMMQ Early History Photo Album, Shows .Photos of Paul Lewis & myself, as well as Screen Shots of Some of our software’s edit pages. …AFTER this Gallery Albums Page comes up, please scroll down and click on “ZMMquality Web Site: Our Software & How We Got Started. 4 April 2002”. (Continuing from above): After Paul Lewis’s death, ZMM Quality Website (Server Host Location & Maintenance), went thru a series of changes, until ~May 2012, I was informed that my campus, USCA, would no longer host my site, with eventual termination on their servers set to 16 May 2013. This was, to say the least, unwelcomed news, and I spent several months, asking that this decision be reversed, even offering to personally fund site maintenance by USCA Staff. This idea ground to a halt when, my campus wanted approximately $30 per hour for 1 hour per week, for their projected staff time. This being ~ $1500 per year, and was out of my league. I tried inquiring for similar hosting help, at Montana State University, with no luck. I also considered ZMM Author Robert Pirsig’s old Alma Mater, University of Minnesota. (Note: Pirsig’s father, Professor Maynard Pirsig, very famous, for many-a-year, as U Minn Dean of the Law School.) But getting U Minn WebHosting seemed to big a stretch, considering our university’s resistance to date. I should still try this some time. Seventeen Different Emerging Hardware “Answers” => Gather, Then Coalescence, & Then Fuse Into One **AHA** : A Totally Unexpected & Brand New Problem Solution Arrives!!A Curious Trail of Discovery and Decision Making, Solely Prompted by Passing Eye-Catch, Onto A Staples “Weekly Sales Flyer”, Which Had Been Neglected for ~2 months on our kitchen’s telephone shelf:This Staples Advertisement, Showing 3 color Photos Of Laptops On Sale, Was Originally Placed On Our Kitchen Telephone Shelf, As Reminder To “Get These Memory Sticks & Hard Drives”. The Laptop Photos, also On This Page, Were Sufficient To Suddenly Mental Trigger => The Realization of A Beautiful New Way. My son David Gurr and I had long been aware of the very effective efforts to Laptop Manufacturers (cell phone mfg’s also), to keep electrical power usage at a bare minimum, while STILL maintaining speed and performance. …And for this reason, David has for several years, used his older Dell Laptop, for his => Fossil Bug Tracking System and General Software Server and General Back-Up Storage for his ongoing OS Software Development efforts. In David’s main efforts, to Extended & Augment => The Plan 9 Operating System, he has in the course of his work => 1) Become very familiar with software codes used in Computer Operating Systems (OS), mostly studying The OS Called Linux, and
2) The study of various Open Source BootLoaders, such as U-Boot, that are used in Linux.
Explanation: The internal intricate details of these codes, have been quite familiar to David, for well over 20 years. And in his work, he is ever on the lookout for new developments, for which he regularly surfs the internet, for new ideas in these software areas. … This naturally includes announcements, in the area of Linux, which of course including Google’s ChromeOS, which is a variant of Linux, (As is also the popular Cell Phone OS called Android). …David’s Surfing of The Internet, would have included announcements such as March 19, 2013 announcement => https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/google-goes-global-with-chromebooks-in-six-new-markets/ Google Expands The Global Reach Of Chromebooks …It must have been early Feb 2013 that, David was aware of Google ChromeOS, and how it was being use in the new Chromebook Laptops. This is because he kept telling me about them, and my Chrome Browser History shows I had (3-5 Feb 2013), looked at => 11 tips and [customization] tricks for the Chromebook By James Kendrick. NOTE: After the above Blue Link comes up, to read all 11 Tricks, you will have to scroll down and read below each photo, which unfortunately in this Archive.org version are blank. …Additionally, David discovered one of his Plan9 Developers, Ron Minnich enthuses =>“holy mackeral.”over his Chromebook and gives an abundance of reasons why. 8 Dec 2012. His later post (15 March 2013) Re ChromeBooks, (including Acer), are just as thrilled.. . (Later, I was able to find this same list of reasons, while searching for software installation tips for our First Chrombook Server.) By early 2013, it was becoming evident that my USCA campus, university hosting assistance for my ZMMQ WebSite, was becoming unlikely. Our thoughts increasingly turned to DYI!! Sometime in in early March ‘13, David happened to catch sight of the above mentioned, Staples Office Supply Weekly Paper Advertisement, showing “On-Special-Sale” photos of several laptops. These generic images, suddenly prompted, his problem solving brain, to make a series of series of idea-connections > Step > By > Step > As Follows:=> **AHA** Light-Bulb > That’ It!! > Budget Laptops > Chromebooks > Have Familiar Linux > Have Familiar U-Boot + Coreboot > Plus Have Other Nice “Under-The-Hood” Software Features David Already Using. > Plenty Computational Power > But Quite Low Electrical Consumption > Staples > On-Sale > $200 >Acer C7 > Intel New Processor Celeron 847 > New Lows In Electrical Usage > The Celeron 847 Is Well Proven > And which means this Acer C7 has an Intel X86 Central Computer Processer > Which in turn means, the software arena that David uses daily in his The Plan 9 OS efforts. > Thus Making It Far Easier For David To Do The Conversion from standard Chromebook to Linux Based Apache Internet Server!! …Ditto , for ongoing Maintenance & Software Upgrades, even Program Development, inside these packages (in other words altering the various program code inside the Acer C7), to improve performance, speed and or electrical energy efficiency. And beyond the above, Laptops come with a battery: This makes them far less subject to mal-functions, in case of 120 AC Power Loss or Fluctuations, such as Spikes, Sputters, Surges, Lightning Zaps, Etc. And so long as the Power Loss is less than ~5 hours, a Laptop Server will not require a person to be there, to restart computer, and re-initiate it’s Server Functions. Thus altogether, these above are the special reasons, David successfully switched our Internet Server over to the Acer C7 Laptop, AND most particularly why we use the ChromeBooks from Acer. Immediately after this **AHA**, David told me to start watching for Staples Sale Announcements, for Acer’s C710 Chromebook, which he had been reading about in Linux & Plan9 Forums. By long experience Staples, by this time, had become our most successful tech supplier!! Click Here To Read My (Continued) ZMMQ Site History Discussion, ~30 inches below.. The Following Is => Henry Gurr’s Selection of Information About Chromebook Computers, &The Acer’s C710 Chromebook.Chrome Internet Browser [Excerpt] From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia => …Google Chrome is a browser that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier. ..... As of July 2014, StatCounter estimates that Google Chrome has a 45% worldwide usage share of web browsers, indicating that it is the most widely used web browser in the world.[14] Google releases the majority of Chrome's source code as an open source project Chromium.[15][16] A notable component that is not open source is the built-in Adobe Flash Player. For entire Wikipedia Chrome Article click here: Chromebook [Excerpt] From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia => …A Chromebook is a laptop running Chrome OS as its operating system. The devices are designed to be used primarily while connected to the Internet, with most applications and data residing "in the cloud". A Chromebook is an example of “a thin client”. …The first Chromebooks for sale, by Acer Inc. and Samsung, were announced at the Google I/O conference in May 2011 and began shipping on June 15, 2011 For Entire Wikipedia Chromebook Article Click Here: A Side Note Re Chromebook’s, Which Almost By Definition, Run On Google’s ChromeOS => …"Chrome Books" are typically Small Laptop, which are named Chromebooks, because they incorporate two features, both having names “Chrome”.: 1) The User of these ChromeBook Laptop Computers, is nearly all of the time doing all of their work, in Google’s Chrome Browser, which was an App, originally introduced in Dec 2008. Back then it was, just and only as an Internet Browser!!
…The Idea that a Laptop is ONLY using JUST A BROWSER seems, at first, a strange idea …. until your think about it. ….. Then .... well ... Why not??!! 2) The Operating System (OS), of these laptop’s, is that of Google's relatively new "Chrom OS". This OS is Google’s own somewhat modified version of Debian Linux, with many extra innovations: For example: ChromeOS, has somewhat of a “Dual Boot” ability, wherein the so called ”Developer Mode”, can run a second Operating System: This, in our case, is a specialized version of Ubuntu Linux, adapted for the Acer Chromebook. For more information & discussion (~16 inches below), please click on any of the next three links:
Our Experience With $200 ACER Chromebook Laptops: Personal Use & Internet Server Naturally We Wanted To Double-Check Acer Chromebook C710 As Our Final Choice, So We Continued To Google Around: We found that Expert Reviewers, rate Acer Chromebooks high, but not enthusiastic. See for example Chromebook Reviews & Views , near the bottom of this page.
…We found that actual users are far more enthusiastic, for example.Ron Minnich & Dave Cheney below, at end of Chromebook Reviews. and read Forums & Blogs. We read, in many users experience, that the Acer C710 compared to their competitors was: 1) Not only quite cost effective, quite good design, quite low AC power usage, but also outstanding devices, that are highly recommended. And
2) Same statement applies to Chromebook Supplied Software, and Google Apps. And .
3) Applies to our Home Internet Server circumstance, where Acer’s C710 Chromebooks, have worked out very well, because:
a) The software used on our ChromeBooks, is all X86 familiar territory for David, and thus, he is way ahead on installation, needed (internal) software program changes, maintenance, and trouble-shooting. This because the C710-2847, is shipped with i) Intel x86 Celeron 847 Processor, ii) Linux ChromeOS, iii) U-Boot AND David’s added i) Coreboot, ii) with Ubuntu, all of which are very familiar with David.
b) The C710-2847 easily allows addition of 8 GB RAM, and 120 GB SSD. Thus this Chromebook’s already low electricity consumption, is further reduced, over that of a Spinning Hard Drive, because nearly all of the server files are in RAM, and can be delivered near instantly. This is better for short server time for web visitor, but just as importantly, means the C710 can quickly come out of hibernate, send out the files, and go right back to hibernate. No high electricity consumption, while wait for HD spin-up and Read-Head search time!!.(And besides, a SSD may well have lower average electricity consumption, in contrast to a HD, in an Internet Server application such as ours.)
4) Our Chromebook , is conveniently located, in our hi-traffic kitchen, and being ON all the time, makes for a very convenient computer, to sit-down-to, at a moment’s notice! David regularly uses it for all manner of web browsing, with typically upwards to 80 launched web page tabs, as he studies math, logic, and computer operating system development ideas. His use this way seems to have minimal effect on the C710’s functioning as an Internet Server. :-))
5) Over all, we have had almost no trouble or inconvenience with either of our two C710’s, that may be attributed to their original “as manufactured”, physical or software form. But as Internet Servers (especially modified by us for Server Functionality), the C710-2847, and newer C710-2834, each have had occasional problems, that require attention and vigilance. These problems are specific to our software additions / modifications (for Internet Server Functions), we have made. These will be fully discussed ~14 inches below at A Discussion Of : What, How & Why We Came To Do What We Did, With a Full Explanation Of Our Software & Hardware .
And as of this writing (28 July 2016, including subsequent updates), these above conclusions continue to be confirmed, not only by our own experience, but also we continue to find additional Forums & Blog, that show added support for the same! See for example .Ron Minnich & Dave Cheney below, at end of Chromebook Reviews. But … Don’t Take Our Advice: Check This Out For Yourself, And Let Us Know What You Find And Think:Please Also Read From My Full List Of Chromebook, “Reviews & Views”, Which You Will Find At The Last ~12 Inches Of This Page. You will find out that the Chromebook is NOT a joke or a toy, but a WORKHORSE. It will do what you need, with high quality hardware, minimum fuss, very low electrical power, and very low $ cost!!! And as Long Time Computer David Gewirtz says: “Un-like the top popular OS you must pay $ for, the Chrome Books allow you to get on with what you working on, and with almost no distracting up-dates, patches, and fixes!! Thus It Was, That As Of Mid March 2013 , my son David Gurr & I, having examined suitable alternatives, for continuing ZMM Quality Website, decided to set up our own Domain Name ( http://venturearete.org/), (& contrary to advice of persons, who stated that they had better uses for their time and money), decided set up and run our own Home Internet Server. ''' 1) The earliest date for my Study for Specific Hardware Purchases must have been early March, 2013, And our first Acer Chromebook (C710-2847) was ordered ~20 March 2013 from Staples, $200 on sale, with Staples stating our hardware shipment of RAM on 19th March. And hardware shipment of both the C710-2847 (+ 120 GB SSD) on 21 April ’13.
2) By mid April ’13, our 3 week old C710-2847 had portions of the new Server’s SoftWare installed, and David was using our C7 (on line) to continue research for information needed additional installation steps: My 24 April ’13 follow-up email to friends, nicely preserved David’s thinking & ideas: In this email, in order to-up email tell friends about our progress, I had Copy & Pasted, the entire C710-2847’s Chrome Browser History, for the previous two days: This completely illustrated, the ideas & information David was researching, in preparation for adapting our C710-2847 to an Internet Server. This nicely showed, where he has accessed webpages re How To Put Ubuntu Linux into Chromebooks’ Developer Mode, so Apache Server Software, can host our ZMMQ Site.
3) My paper notes of 29 April ’13, show that I was well into cross-checking, the newly loaded ZMMQ Pages and Gallery Photos, that had survived the migration, into our brand new Acer C7 Chromebook.
4) My May 9 2013 email also reported: a) “Hover.com confirmation for order Internet Domain Name Registration for our new site http://VentureArete.org b) And soon thereafter, our ZMMQ WebPages, on our own Acer C7 Server, at VentureArete.org, became a reality, as follows =>
5) Throughout David’s Server Installation, and ever since, he repeatedly, gets to enthusing about how nicely our Acer C7 functions, both as a Laptop Computer, and as an Internet Server. He really likes it!! Just perfect, is his general conclusion!!
6) As of 9 May, in my email to friends, I summarized: “David was making steady progress in loading up our new Chromebook, to be a new Internet Server for ZMMQ and Gallery”. [And he is] about half way there, to having it on line.”
7) David had our C7 Server fully running by ~13 May 2013, three days in advance of USCA’s previous year => Announced termination of our ww2.usca.edu/ hosting
8) The previous server (at USCA Campus) gave it’s last gasp midmorning 16 May 2013 After final cross-checking (and last minute rev’s), on 20 May ’13, I completed, and posted the earliest versions of this page (you are now reading), as well as on VentureArete.org Home Page.
Our Experience With $200 ACER Chromebook Laptops, for Personal Use, and As Home Internet Server:Our Acer Chromebook’s Supplied ChromeOS Was Augmented With Ubuntu Linux OS. The Latter Is Required For (Our Install of), Apache Server App, Which Is In Turn Required For (Our Install of), pmWiki WebPages, and Menalto (Photo) Gallery, Which Are In Turn Required For (Our Install of), ZMMQ WebSite. Documents and Photos. Respectively.A Discussion Of : What, How & Why We Came To Do What We Did, As Well As A Full Discussion of Our Software and Hardware. Also A Report On How Well Our Acer Chromebook Laptop(s), Functions as an Internet Server, for our VentureArete.org/ZMMQuality Site, Including How Electrical Power Efficient It Is In Service.: I) Software, And Added Hardware, For Our First Acer Chromebook Home Internet Server, Which Was On-Line, From ~13 May 2013 to ~October, 2013.A) Our first server used the Acer Company’s C710-2847 (Often abbreviated to Acer C7) "Chrome Books" are typically Small Laptop, so named for two reasons: 1) Most of the time the user is using Google’s Chrome Browser, introduced in Dec 2008~ ,
2) This laptop’s Operating System (OS), is that of Google's relatively new "ChromOS", which is Google’s own somewhat modified version of Debian Linux.
ChromeOS, has an important feature that is a major help, in converting Chromebooks to an Internet Server: The ChromeOS, has somewhat of a “Dual Boot” ability, wherein the so called ”Developer Mode”, a Chromebook can run a Second Operating System: This, in our case, is a specialized version of Ubuntu Linux, adapted for the Acer ChromeBook, and followed instructions Similar to those of Andrew Cunningham Mr Cunningham (& many other forum users) who: 1) Learned how to do this, AND 2) got the necessary ChrUbuntu DownLoad from Mr JAY0LEE, from this single blog page, which is updated from time to time. This means that the ChromeOS is still there, and can be used, but not quite as easily, a normal “dual boot” computer.. Side note: I fully used (and tested) our new Chromebook, as my main computer for ~2.5 weeks, before we added the below-mentioned + Ubuntu Linux + 8 GB RAM + 120 GB SDD. It ran perfectly the whole time, and I found this C710-2847, quite a useful gadget!! For example I did all my internet browsing and email, and I'm typing these words (ie the original 20 May ’13 portions of this page) on our new AcerC7 right now!! This laptop, was fast, easy to use, and allowed me to do what I wanted, with no crashes, stoppages for updates, pauses for spurious pop-up messages, etc. I thus realize that at $199 from Staples it, has WHOLE LOT going for it!!! Worth your time to investigate!!! (And in the process try Staples Office Supply, which over the years has become our favorite (& our best buy) Techie Store!! Of Course What We Purchases From Staples Back In 2013 Is No Longer Available, But Click Here For Search Staples “Chromebook Laptop”. B) To above Acer C710-2847 ChromeBook we added 1st, According To These Instructions: Click Here the following => Kingston M1G64J90 DDR3 (204-Pin SO-DIMM) Laptop Memory, 8GB (Mfg Model: M1G64J90 ) C) To above Acer C710-2847 ChromeBook we added 2nd , According To These Instructions: Click Here the following => per these instructions: Kingston SSDNow V300 120GB 2.5" SATA III (6 Gb/s) MLC Internal SSD D) To above Acer C710-2847 ChromeBook we added 3rd: “A second Operating System, which in our case, is and followed instructions Similar to those of Andrew Cunningham On this link, he gives a complete installation guide, and where to get the specialized Acer C7 Version of Ubuntu, from JAY0LEE . Mr Cunningham (& many other forum users) who: 1) Learned how to do this, AND 2) got the necessary ChrUbuntu DownLoad from Mr JAY0LEE, from this single blog page, which is updated from time to time. From Mr Cunninghams page, here I C&P his introductory and concluding paragraphs: [Start Quote] “Maybe you think the price of Acer's new $199 C7 Chromebook is appealing and that the hardware doesn't look bad, but you're a little worried about using Chrome OS to get your work done. Or maybe you're looking for a small, cheap laptop to run Ubuntu, and you're not really interested in buying a computer running a Windows license you'll never use. If either of those sentences describe you and you aren't afraid of the command line, it's actually pretty easy to convert the cheapest Chromebook yet into a nice little Linux laptop. …. “ “ … Once you've got Ubuntu running on the Acer C7, it works just as a standard laptop running Ubuntu would. You can install and run anything from the Ubuntu Software Center or other sources and you have full access to the filesystem, making the C7 a much more versatile computer than it is with just Chrome OS installed…. “ [End Quote] And everything Mr Cunningham says, nicely worked out with our new Acer C710-2834 Chromebook, Which Became Our SECOND Home Internet Server! (Which of course, includes the “add’s” as described above.) E) Ubuntu Linux Is Necessary For the Free Apache Internet Server Software. Apache is the most used Internet Server, and is a free download from The Apache Software Foundation and the Apache HTTP Server Project. F) 2 Dec 2014 Up-Date: Our Acer C710-2834, Uses An Observed, Better Than The => Even Hoped For 12 Watts. …David has extensively studied the running conditions of our C710-2834, and introduced a number of software “tweeks”, to reduce CPU Activity. Measured by our Kill-A-Watt Digital Meter. Our measurements show our 2834, runs at about 12 watts of power, except when handling Internet Traffic, when it may rise to 13, possibly 15, watts. And after Internet server requests are completed, power returns to 12 watts, within ~3 sec. …Similar results for our C710-2847. In fact our Kill-A-Watt Digital Meter, also shows that the combined C710-2834, Linksys Router, and Cable Modem have a combined power of 19 watts, except when handling Internet Traffic. This same meter shows the same combined power was 21.85 watt averaged over 9789 hours. I’m not sure why these two results are not closer. C) Problems With Our C710-2847 that are specific to the additions / modifications we have made => So that we could have Ubuntu Linux OS Abilities that are necessary for => The Apache Internet Server Software. However Our Sever Installation (As Described Above) Requires Attention And Vigilance As Follows > …Sometime in October 2013 (date un recorded), David was making routine up dates, which lead to complete software lock-up of our C710-2847 Internet Server. The resulting software “mix-up” was sufficiently confusing, that David decided to switch our ZMMQ Server, over to our newer C710-2834. Later David figured out that the C710-2847’s problem was that the ChrUbuntu Installation had to take into account any new ChromeOS Up-Dates. And without proper synchronization, stall out would happen. David has yet to find enough time to get our older C710-2847 back to life. Our first Acer C7 (discussed above), was so successful, that we decided to purchase a second one, which would be a standby server (back-up). So Oct 1013, when Staples again had Acer’s on sale, we purchased our Newer C710-2834. It came with 4 GB of RAM and 16 GB SSD: We were gratified to see this sized RAM & SSD, nicely had the ability to run our server software under factory supplied ChromeBook OS, which is a Google hashed version of Gentu Linux.: …As it is, David is quite satisfied with the overall operation of our newer Chromebook, Acer C710-2834, AND our older Chromebook will be converted to that installation, as discussed next below. I) Software, And Standard Hardware, For Our Acer C710-2834 Chromebook }, Which Became Our SECOND Home Internet Server, Which Was On-Line From ~ October 2013 thru 7 Feb 2018: See below “Update 7 Feb 2018:, for details re end of service.A) To our factory supplied Acer C710-2834 ChromeBook’s Chrome Browser, we enhanced with Ubuntu Linux features, by adding the so called Crouton for Chromebook: This is required for the also required Apache Internet Server Software, as discussed other places on this page. B) Our measurements show our C710-2834, run at about 12 watts of power, except when handling Internet Traffic, when it may rise to 14 - 16 watts., possibly even higher, And after Internet requests are completed, power returns to 12 watts, within 3 sec. C) Problems With Our C710-2834 That Are Specific To The Additions / Modifications We Ourselves Made, So We Can Run Our Internet Server Software These Require Special Attention And Vigilance. First off you must understand, that for the intended normal Chromebook User, the way Google keeps the highest barrier to any MalWare, Viruses, Pop-Up Advert’s, etc … from your Chromebook => is to at the slightest provocation => completely wipe all storage media inside the machine itself, and then quickly reload the ChromeOS, using your Internet Connection. …Of course, this is OK for the normal user, because the user’s information, files, apps, etc, are in ~Google’s Cloud Memory, and thus un-affected. …But, for our C710-2847, this “wipe”, deletes it’s SSD, main storage drive, and our server immediately stops!. AND this “wipe”, can happen, without warning, at the slightest provocation, that any slightest thing is amiss. But we are NOT the normal user: ALL of our Software Additions / Modifications for our Internet Server Functions, are necessarily (and only) on this above mentioned SSD!! These are instantly gone, when the “wipe” happens. To make it worse, this completely wipe & reload, can happen with the slightest indication of any mis-behavior. We have yet to determine what all these mis-behaviors are, but for sure a wipe will instantly happen, when a new user logs-on. Gradually David had to figure out that this was happening, and has learned the vigilant precautions, to prevent these ChromeOS SSD complete wipe & reload, except when he is ready. Related to the above, Google will load into this above mentioned SSD, a series continuing smaller Up-Dates: Although nothing disastrous (happens immediately for us), these up-dates will eventually completely fill up our SSD, sometimes in a matter of weeks. When this happened, suddenly Our pmWiki Visitor Counter will fail, or we discover that we can’t add or edit a ZMMQ Page, because naturally there was no more space on the SSD, for any added information. When David see’s this is happened, he cleans-out the SSD, and makes more space. But several weeks, later the same problem all over again. About 4 months ago, David arranged for a cumulative up-date, to replace all of the smaller up-dates, and freed up about 8 GB of space on the SSD, and we have had (so far), no re-occurrence of the “our of SSD space problem”. But attention will be needed to keep this same problem from coming back. Update 26 July 2016: A) To reduce the above mentioned problem of “no more space on the SSD”, ''' David added an 32 GB USB memory stick to our C7 Server: And then, to make sure there was plenty of space on the SSD, he removed from the SSD ~3GB of seldom (server) accessed photos and documents and placed these on the USB. This has worked beautifully for ~ a year now.
B) Starting about May 2015 (and Feb 2016), our server was loaded with successively two more Internet Sites, for it to “serve up”. Our previously smoothly functioning Server, was thus caused additional disruptions that essentially stopped it from doing it’s assigned work: These took David endless hours, of frustrating confusion, to figure out what was happening:
Problem #1: Computer hackers, seeing existence of new Internet Sites (that they hope has weak hacking barriers), immediately start to “machine-gun”, for site access by successively try a PassWord, if fail, try immediately another PassWord, endlessly. They hope the site’s administrator has been lax with a weak simple-to-guess PassWord. These close succession cycles of trials, is so fierce, the server bogs down, and can do no other work. As David said “Hammered to the wall!!”
Problem #2: Having successfully used the “machine-gun” on your site, they proceed to install their own stuff, and use your Server, for their ditty work For us, what got put-in, stopped our server cold. :-(( But with added layers of protection, these two problems have not returned.
Problem#3: The very first pages (or Computer Files) that Hackers encounter in your site, are easily altered. As an added layer of prediction, for our VentureArete.org, David has made a point of entry page, that is itself, is difficult to access and alter.
END Update 26 July 2016: ] As of this writing, 26 July 2016, we are (and continue to be) very satisfied with our Acer C710’s, and believe these will be OK for us, for ~5 years into the future. These laptops are, fast, easy to use, and allowed us to do what wanted, with no crashes, stoppages for updates, pauses for spurious pop-up messages, etc. This applies to both our use of this laptop as a) An Internet Server, or b) As a sit-down-do-a quick email, or web surf!!! However David keeps thinking of other ways (to even further), to lower the electrical power consumption, but still have adequate Internet Server Performance. Originally he had been thinking about our eventually switching over to Acer's next generation, after their present day C720, or even their Chromebook 13. But other ideas come up, such as convert to Internet Server, the computer ability inside of, the following devices: To convert any of these to an Internet Server, would require, study, research, and considerable software innovation, all to be configured by my son David. 1) TV Set-Top-Box
2) Same functions as 1), above, but they are mounted in a USB Dongle.
3) Near obsolete (and thus cheap) Android Smart Phone, running on USB to the Internet Router
4) The announced Acer C720, Will Be Even Faster and Lower Power B/C Uses Intel Haswell Dual Core CPU.
5) Other ideas?: Please email to us.
Update 7 Feb 2018: A) Prior to ~2 Feb 2018, we continue to be very satisfied with our Acer C710 based server. HOWEVER On or around 2 Feb 2018, a ChromeOS Software Update was automatically installed in our C710, which effectively prevented our C710 from being a server. B) EXPLANATION: The above mentioned ChromeOS Software Update was to prevent our C710 from responding to the vulnerability bug dubbed "Meltdown" and "Spectre". C) Because of A) above => As of today, we have moved our server to a ASUS E402SA Laptop, running Ubuntu Linux. …But increasingly. Computers of Hacker (over our Internet Connection) have been hammering at our server trying to break into our server. Apparently this “hammering” was over-working our ASUS E402SA, and it failed mud June 2018. …So David switched our server to his New-Egg DYI Computer, below => V) Our Experience With New-Egg Company’s Special Sale Do-It-Yourself Computer For Personal Use & As Internet Server. …This computer was distinctive because it’s CPU (Intel Pentium G3258 Haswell Dual-Core 3.2GHz) was fast & energy efficient, yielding low heat generation, and could thus better handle the above-mentioned “hammering”. This computer dubbed “Steam Machine”, has, been service (with Fan and Power Supply replacements) up the time of this writing Jan 24, 2024. '''V) Durable As It Is, We Still Decided We Should Have In-House Replacements For The Above “Steam Machine”. …In looking around for a good computer, at lower price we discovered and purchased two each => Dell OptiPlex 7010 SFF Desktop Computer i7-3770 3.4 GHz / 8GB RAM / 500GB HD / DVDRW / VGA / WLAN / Windows 10 Pro Refurbished, for $180. …These were from => Discount Computer Depot 1653 N Bolton Street Jacksonville, TX 75766 844-466-9142 https://discountcomputerdepot.com/ Henry Gurr’s May 2013 List of Chromebook, “Reviews & Views”: Links To Internet Resources Re Chromebook Laptops:Part I): Tech Experts Say How & Why They Use Chromebooks in Their Own Lives. [Note: This Part I, was created May 2013, as is somewhat out of date.]NOTE: Especially Read ALL THREE Chromebook Discussions of David Gewirtz Below: He Clearly Says Why The Chromebook Way Is So Vastly Superior To His Work, As a Major Tech Writer & Educator!!! I) Internet Links To: Full Discussion of Experts Own User Experience with the Chromebook’s, and Some Discuss How Their Use Of Chromebook, So Nicely Fits-In-With Google “Eco-System”, Such As => Gmail, Android Smartphone, or Just Google’s Chrome Browser On A Regular Computer. A) Low-end Laptops: The rise of the Chromebook. Summary: Some people are still in denial about the rise of the Linux operating system with the Chrome Web browser interface, Chrome OS, and its hardware: the Chromebooks. The experts say, however, it's the one segment of the PC market that's growing while everything else shrinks. By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols for Linux and Open Source November 8, 2013. http://www.zdnet.com/low-end-laptopsthe-rise-of-the-chromebook-7000022991/ B) Why there are at least two great reasons to buy a Chromebook Summary: I manage a lot of gear, and it's nice once in a while to have a machine that doesn't automatically spawn to-do items. By David Gewirtz for DIY-IT | November 11, 2013 -- 16:23 GMT (08: http://www.zdnet.com/why-there-are-at-least-two-great-reasons-to-buy-a-chromebook-7000023050/ C) Milestone: [Why] I'm Recommending Chromebooks Instead Of Windows Laptops For Civilians Summary: [User problems and effort with Chromebook Laptops are ] an instant no-brainer with the Chromebook. [By comparison] A process, that for Windows would have been fraught with all sorts of issues and fuss. By David Gewirtz for DIY-IT | January 29, 2014 [As you read these David Gewirtz discissions (one above and one below), you must keep in mind that he has been, over 20 years, a very solid Windows Computer user, and had written extensively how to best use that “Microsoft Ecosystem”. So his complete change over to Chromebook, Gmail, & Google Ecosystem.] http://www.zdnet.com/milestone-im-recommending-chromebooks-instead-of-windows-laptops-for-civilians-7000025706/ D) How to decide between a $199 Windows notebook and a Chromebook Summary: This is not an easy decision to make. There are some critical nuances you have to consider before you go one way or the other. In this article, we take a look at those factors. By David Gewirtz for DIY-IT | November 17, 2014 -- 12:40 GMT (04: http://www.zdnet.com/how-to-decide-between-a-199-windows-notebook-and-a-chromebook-7000035855/ E) What Does the Future Hold for Google ChromeOS ? http://fortune.com/2014/03/12/what-does-the-future-hold-for-google-chrome-os/ F) The Chromebook has inserted itself into my life in a way I never expected. Sorry, MacBook Pro -- I just don't need you right now By OPEN SOURCES [Writer] Simon Phipps InfoWorld | Oct 26, 2012 NOTE: To help you “switch-over-to”, Chromebook’s Cloud Environment, Mr Phipps has two excellent suggestions. His Page 2, says how Chromebook, .. fortunately...comes with Google's remote screen-sharing application, delivered as a Chrome extension with a helper application for some platforms. I've added this to the family's ... computers, and I am able to remotely screen-share from anywhere in the world ... .[This remote access app has many uses: You can not only help, view the insides of another persons computer for trouble shooting, but also have at your finger-tips, the resources of your much larger computers at home or work. No doubt with imagination, you will find more uses for this app.]
His Page 3, says [put a] copy of Chrome [Google Chrome Browser] on one of the [your home or work network] computers to access printers, on your network, using Google Cloud Print, and it's now as easy to print from the Chromebook, as it is from any of the other computers. As a bonus, I can queue print jobs from anywhere.
G) [Concerning How Fast These Laptops Will Invade Our Society:] Chromebooks are a glacier, not a fast moving locomotive Posted on January 30, 2014 by Matt Baxter-Reynolds http://theplatform.io/chromebooks-are-a-glacier-not-a-fast-moving-locomotive/ H) Computer Defender Is Convinced!!!. If You Have Time To Read Only One Of These, READ THIS FIRST => Chromebooks Are a Lesson In Easy: http://www.computerworld.com/article/2475936/windows-pcs/chromebooks-are-a-revolution-in-easy.html Ron Minnich, Google Engineer and Plan 9 Expert Is Enthusiastic Chromebook User. This Is Echoed by Dave Cheney. By Ron Minnich Mar 15, 2013 at 11:41 am
I've been using chromebooks (samsung arm/x86, pixel, acer c7) for my Go, coreboot, and other work for over 6 months. They're great. They replaced my Air. [<=Apple MacBook Air] There are things I miss from the Air but I'm not going back. ron http://grokbase.com/t/gg/golang-nuts/133fwqfthy/go-nuts-chromebook-pixel By Dave Cheney Mar 15, 2013 at 2:12 am
I have used a Samsung Chromebook with crouton chroots for Go development. The Samsung Chromebook makes a great arm development environment. I'm not sure I would recommend the Pixel as a development environment for Intel Go development. [<= This was blog, just above Ron Minnich’s at] http://grokbase.com/t/gg/golang-nuts/133fwqfthy/go-nuts-chromebook-pixel II) Continued from above: Wikipedia Says This About Ron Minnich: Ron Minnich is one of four authors of Petascale Plan 9 on Blue Gene'' [IBM’s Biggest or All Super Computer] https://www.usenix.org/legacy/event/usenix07/posters/vanhensbergen.pdf” Ron Minnich is of three original authors of CoreBoot, of which Wikipedia says “Other than the first three models, all Chromebooks run Coreboot.[11] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coreboot III) Continued From Above, Re Wikipedia Statement: David Gurr Adds his own somewhat different understanding: “Chromebooks with X86 CPU’s, have both U-Boot, and Coreboot. However Chromebooks with ARM CPU’s, have only Coreboot. And to a good approximation, Google tries to get U-Boot, in “all”, it works with. This includes all Android devices.” Part II) Internet Links To Experts’ Reviews: A Full Discussion of (With Expert Opinions) Re Various Specific Chromebook Hardware Models:[Note: This Part II, was created May 2013, as is somewhat out of date.] Some Reviews Have Click Tabs for, Specifications, Comments, and Compare. (<-With Other Similar Manufacture’s Models). These listed reviews, below with links, include (as is usual for hardware reviews), discussions of => The physical laptop device, it’s CPU, and other physical features (either good or bad), as well as user experience. Since all Chromebooks, have the same ChromeOS Operating System, these reviewers don’t much discuss this ChromeOS. Similarly, these reviews usually do not mentioned (but you should be quite aware of) how Chromebook, so Nicely Fits in With Google “Echo-system”, such as : => Gmail, Android Smartphone, and Chrome Browser<(on a regular computer), and more. . A SIDE NOTE Concerning The Abovementioned =>“All Chromebooks, Have The Same ChromeOS Operating System” : You are already well experienced with this idea => Many Different Manufacturers & Many Different Hardware Models, ALL with the SAME Operating System SoftWare!!. As you well know, this is what has happened with great success, in the case of a) Windows Computers (ie IBM Clones),
b) Android Smartphones.
c) Thousands of Devices that run on Linux OS.
(Linux OS Devices Include => Cable Modems, Routers, TV Set-Top-Boxes, DVD & CD Players, Smart Home Theater Players, Home Appliances, Communications Controllers, Industrial Controllers, Complete Lines of Laptops & Computer Towers, not to mention the very biggest Super Computers!!.) SUMMARY=> Hundreds of Manufacture’s Hardware Models, practically the same user experience!!! Here is an Excellent Wikipedia Article On Chromebooks. Since we’ve decided to go with Chromebooks from Acer Company, here is much abbreviated summary of the Acer Line, abstracted from above link. See link above for Weight, Dimension, Notes Columns. The Chromegook13, is a Touchscreen. Release[Ref#]``Company``Model# CdName```````Processor ``````Battery ````RAM````````Resolution 2012-11[55]````````Acer`````````C710`````Parrot``Celeron8471007U`````4hour``````2-4GB```````1366×768 2013-10[55] ```````Acer`````````C720````Peppy````````Celeron2955U````8.5hour````2-4GB````````1366×768 2013-11`````````````Acer```````C720P``PeppyPepto```Celeron 2955U``7.5hour````2-4GB````````1366×768 2014-10[57] ```````Acer````````C730``````?None?``````CeleronN2840````8.5hour```2-4GB````````1366×768 2014-08[63] ```````Acer````Chromebook13``(CB5) ```NvidiaTegraK1``11–13hour`2–4GB``````1920×1080 A) Acer C720 Chromebook Review: High On Power, Low On Panache. Acer's new C720 offers outstanding performance for an entry-level Chromebook, but it skimps on some important areas. By JR Raphael Computerworld | Oct 18, 2013 7:00 AM PT '''[This review is really a comparison of the Acer C720, with the HP Chromebook 11, with a Features Comparison Chart. . This page also has links to ComputerWorld’s reviews of HP’s Chromebook 11 & 14, as well as a Chromebook Buying Guide. ]’ http://www.computerworld.com/article/2486219/chrome-os/acer-c720-chromebook-review--high-on-power--low-on-panache.html B) Acer Chromebook C720P-2600 Editor Rating: Excellent. BY JOEL SANTO DOMINGO on Feb 14, 2014. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2453386,00.asp C) Acer C720 Chromebook first impressions: Fast and cheap. Summary: Chromebooks are not exactly mainstream but the new models now appearing may change that. The new model from Acer is leveraging the Intel Haswell processor to leave the rest behind. By James Kendrick for Mobile News | October 17, 2013 http://www.zdnet.com/acer-c720-chromebook-first-impressions-fast-and-cheap-7000022044/ A NOTE By HSG, Concerning the Next Four Chromebook 13 Reviews Below: In Acer’s Chromebook 13, the NVIDIA Tegra chip happens to be the advanced quad processor + GPU, my friend David Alexander (Eml=Vquest), was excited about. He was thrilled with the idea of using ~100,000 Tegra Chips to make parallel processor farm with these: In other words a Super Computer!!! In Googling more, you will discover additional & interesting discussion Re NVIDIA Tegra Processor: For example your should read Wikipedia’s explanation first: The newer Advanced Devices These Days Have “Chips”, Which Combine Several ARM’s + GPU. Wikipedia Will Explain What These Terms Mean Here. END OF NOTE, Concerning the next 4 Reviews below: D) Acer Chromebook 13 ARM + GPU Review: Long Battery Life, But Performance Falls Short by Dana Wollman | @danawollman | September 23rd 2014 … After years of getting little respect, Chromebooks are finally on the rise (at least in schools), which means every major PC maker is trying to get in on the action. That includes chip makers too, like NVIDIA. Though the [NVIDIA] company previously shied away from Chrome OS devices, it's now pledging to power a whole range of different Chromebooks with its Tegra K1 chip, each of them promising long battery life and more graphics muscle. The Acer Chromebook 13 is the first of the bunch, and while some of you might be Chromebook'd out, we were actually excited. Here was a $300 laptop boasting at least 11 hours of battery life, a 1080p display option and enough horsepower to clobber Intel at things like gaming and rich websites. As it turns out, it was all just a little too good to be true. ... “ …You may want to view this above discussion, as a WebPage, so you can click on it’s numerous links, here -> http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/23/acer-chromebook-13-review/ F) Acer Chromebook 13 review: long battery life, but performance falls short. by Dana Wollman | @danawollman | September 23rd 2014 at 5:00 pm Summary: This is the first Chrome OS device with an NVIDIA Tegra chip, , the Acer Chromebook 13 [inch screen], isn't as powerful as promised. Still, it manages to redeem itself with long battery life, a sharp screen, a comfortable keyboard and, most importantly, a fair price." NOTE: The Link to the above can not be found, E) Acer Chromebook 13 review: Acer Chromebook 13 Brings Nvidia To The Chrome OS Party. http://www.cnet.com/products/acer-chromebook-13/ G) Acer Chromebook 13 review Big promises, not big execution. By Dan Seifert on September 4, 2014 http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/4/6103439/acer-chromebook-13-review H) Acer Chromebook 13 (CB5-311-T9B0) Editor Rating: Good By Brial Westover Sept 25, 2014. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2469131,00.asp I) Google Chromebook: 3 Months In. [Using Chromebook As His Only Computer For 3 Months, Mr Kendric’s Reports ~It Quickly & Efficiently Does What I Want, And Otherwise Stays Out Of My Way! SUMMARY: The Samsung Series 5 550 Chromebook surprised me when I discovered how well it worked for me three months ago. The real test of a gadget is the big picture so here's my take after three months of use. By James Kendrick for Mobile News | January 9, 2013 Chrome OS -- hassle-free [Excerpt from Kendrick’s, paragraphs: Re how he did NOT miss his Windows Computers, with all their Updates & Antivirus, etc. ] The more I use Chrome OS the happier I am with how it stays totally out of my way every day. I open the lid and the Chromebook is connected to the web and ready to go in 1 or 2 seconds. The rare times I restart the Chromebook it only takes 8 - 10 seconds which includes automatically firing up the Chrome browser with my 5 startup web sites fully loaded. I can't state strongly enough how great it is that the OS stays in the background when I work. The Chrome browser is front and center, including the web apps and extensions that make my life easier. I never, ever worry about updates and the system has never crashed the entire time I've owned the Chromebook. Google keeps the system and all apps up to date quietly in the background so I am always running the latest and greatest with no effort. When a major system update occurs it is downloaded in the background; I only know it's happened when a little up-arrow icon appears in the system tray indicating a restart is necessary to implement the new version. I don't have to interrupt my work for this I can do it whenever I want. The system keeps working fine until I do. To finish the update I just hit the power button and the system cleanly shuts down in seconds. Hit the button again and the 10 second cold boot happens and I am up and running and the hardware, OS, and all apps are up to date. http://www.zdnet.com/google-chromebook-3-months-in-7000009563/ J) Acer C7 Chromebook review: Chrome OS on the cheap, but at what cost? byMyriam Joire | @tnkgrl | November 26th 2012 [Excerpt concerning “hacker friendly”, portion of review.] Flipping Acer's [$200 C7] Chromebook over reveals a few vents and grilles for the cooling fan and the speakers. What's more interesting is that the bottom shell is largely covered by a plastic door that's fastened with a single Phillips screw located under the warranty seal. Opening this door provides access to a 7mm-thin 2.5-inch SATA hard drive (320GB / 5400rpm) made by Seagate, two DDR3-1066 / 1333 SoDIMM slots (one of them populated with 2GB of RAM) and an Atheros half-height mini-PCIe 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi card (but no Bluetooth). This, combined with the Ethernet jack, VGA output and additional USB 2.0 port makes the C7 a lot more tinker-friendly than Samsung's Chromebook. In fact, resourceful hackers are already dual-booting Chrome OS and Ubuntu 12.04 on this laptop -- we're sure Windows 8 is not too far behind.] http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/26/acer-c7-chromebook-review/ END of Expert Reviews Of Chromebooks. END of This Page: Composed By Hsg22May13, HsgUpdate&Expand3Dec14. HsgUpdateRefine28July16+7Feb18.. HsgRev19-24Jan2024. File = WikiVAoVentureAreteDocVAoHdw16UdateV11.0,HsgRev09.doc PrevFile = WikiVAoVentureAreteDocVAoHdw16UdateV11.0.doc |