hertenberger.co.za

Simply because it’s a present topic of interest to me and because I find it rather curious that no local Toyota dealer is able to provide anything more than sketchy information on the updated Toyota Fortuner and Hilux range. Here are a couple of images of the new model launched in Thailand that may satisfy prospective local buyers:

There will certainly be slight changes for the South African market, though the overall look is likely to be similar. The primary change from the existing model range is the addition of an automatic gearbox for the diesel models and a slight modification of the front grille and headlights – looks a lot like the new Land Rover, I find. A new radio and a darker interior trim will be available. Other than that, pretty much the same as it’s always been.

The local launch is scheduled for November.

More details may be found here.

Some of the signs posted around Cape Town.

Can’t be too full of care…

Don’t through no nothing, person or persons!

Cigarette butts to the left, other butts to the right.

Who wouldn’t want this cool set of wheels?

Probably the coolest-looking of all Batmobiles, in my opinion. If you have roughly USD 500000 in your budget, you may want to bid for this authentic Batmobile used in the movie Batman Returns. In fact, it is Batmobile #3 from that movie and will be on auction from tomorrow. I’d get one, but I’m still missing the authentic Batsuit #24…

I’ve recently experienced the trials and tribulations of installing and upgrading a piece of software I’ve known for many years. Starting life as DDB4, MaxDB under the MySQL banner has gone through many hands and developers, and even more names. Developed by the University of Berlin under sponsorship from Nixdorf Computers, it transformed into Supra, Entire-SQL, Adabas D and then SAP DB. The software has has been open-sourced for a while and has been under the knife many, many times. And that shows.

A recent installation of SAP 4.6C on Windows 2003 64-bit went rather awry. Strangely, SAP 4.6C installed without issue on the default database version of its day, SAP DB 7.2.05. Even better, the subsequent upgrade of the database software completed without issue to SAP DB 7.3.04. Since I intended upgrading to ECC 6.0, I hoped to get everything running in the SYSWOW64 shell, then transferring to 64-bit later on. Everything went well until I hit the upgrade to SAP DB 7.4.3. That failed spectacularly, many times. The reason for my upgrade path is the unfortunate legacy of an application passed from vendor to vendor and developer to developer. You can’t simpy upgrade to the latest, but have to follow a complicated upgrade path. I tried many things, but could not get the 7.4.3 software installed or upgraded. SAP technical support eventually indicated they could not support my upgrade path – try the 32-bit route, they suggested.

The 32-bit installation of the same type as tried in the SYSWOW64 shell works flawlessly. But even here, there is a dangerous side effect that trapped me on the second system with a database sized just beyond a certain limit. To cater for a database restore, I ensured the target database was at least 120GB in size. Accidentally, my first successful installation ended up being in the region of 126.9GB. On the quality assurance system, I sized the database slightly larger: 129.3GB, to be precise. I don’t pick these numbers, but simply provide a MB size in case you were wondering…

Turns out anything beyond 128GB for a database segment or space is too large. But not for SAP DB versions 7.2.05 or 7.3.04. No: it’s too big for version 7.4.3 and causes the upgrade to fail yet again:

extracting: -rw-r–r–       443294 2004-08-24 20:46:41 runtime/jar/sapdbc.jar
checking unpacked archive… ok
installation of SAP DB Server finished successfully Tu, Aug 26, 2008 at 10:17:43

finding instance type…
starting release already known
migration strategy already known
running finalize check…
looking for domain user…
current database state is OFFLINE
checking parameters…
parameter check failed
cannot finish instance update for “SID”
current database state is OFFLINE
checking parameters…
parameter check failed
param_checkall
ERR
-24973,ERR_XPCHECK: param check failure/request
DATA_SIZE_0002  Constraint
17024000

On later versions, this error can be resolved by changing the value of a database parameter, thus:

dbmcli -d <DBSID> -u <dbm>,<dbm pass> param_directput VOLUMENO_BIT_COUNT 6

But of course, this parameter does not exist in 7.4.3. Thankfully I could simply restart the installation and select smaller dbspaces instead of backing up, resizing and then restoring.

It’s an important lesson for all user of open-source software: the cost of free software is not measured by it’s ease of acquisition, deployment or ability to customize its features. Instead, its real cost is often realized only when it may already be too late: it’s been deployed and the organization using it has become dependent on it.

This is an extreme case: the versions of SAP DB mentioned here have been out of maintenance for ages. Nonetheless, such software is still in active use, as my experience has taught me…

And don’t ever believe the hype that software featuring a higher version number will be better than an older one!

My trusty Canon EOS 350D digital SLR is a great camera. Nonetheless, I’m quite keen to move up a notch and get something a bit more prosumer. The 40D is an obvious choice and can currently be had for a reasonable price in a kit that includes a lens. Maybe I’ll wait a while, though. Canon has just announced an October release of the 40D’s successor: the EOS 50D.

The 50D features a 15MP CMOS and the brand-new DIGIC 4 Image Processor. The camera’s ISO capabilities extend all the way to 12800 and there’s a 3 inch LCD on the back with a Live View function that also does face detection. The camera includes on-screen image manipulation, too.

Image storage takes place on CF cards – I prefer SD. A nice touch is the ability to connect a USB storage device and an optional wireless transmitter. A mini HDMI port is provided to connect the camera directly to a capable device for image playback.

The body-only kit includes the 50D, neck strap, AV cable, software CD’s, USB cable and battery with charger. The 50D should be available in the US in October and shortly thereafter here. Full details here.

A really nice camera and a definite notch above the 40D.

Sebastian Faulks takes the reigns of the James Bond literary franchise in Devil May Care, a novel completed and launched in time for Ian Fleming’s centenary of birth on 28 May 1908. It’s a very quick read, in the style of Fleming’s books.

I believe a mistake has been made with the Bond franchise in book form: like Tintin’s creator Hergé, Fleming should have ceased further production of any further material upon his death. It’s just a clean cut and avoids the pitfalls of dredging up new ideas for a character who has enough in store for future generations to enjoy.

Faulks writes as Fleming. He does so reasonably well, though I had the feeling that Bond was overdosing on scrambled eggs and caviar – he eats almost constantly and seems to have very little else to do. Faulks keeps up with Fleming’s attention to detail: locations, cars, hotel rooms and women. It’s not tedious, but sometimes a bit much. When the action heats up, the book is more enjoyable.

Julius Gorner is a nasty criminal with a nasty sidekick: Chagrin enjoys pulling the tongue from a victim’s mouth or inserting chopsticks into their ears and hammering out the eardrums. Delightful stuff. The story is set in the time just after The Man With The Golden Gun. The bad boys are the Russians, the good guys are the Brits and the Yankees.

Gorner, a drug mogul, is intent on conquering the British empire by flooding it with narcotics. Unable to maintain his patience, a trait many nasties in such novels share, Gorner eventually captures Bond and includes him in a plan that will see a nuclear war unleashed by an apparent attack of the RAF on Russian nuclear warhead installations. The mode of transport introduced in the novel is an interesting one: an Ekranoplan.

Bond has his share of fancy food and drink, but has a tough time in this adventure: some of his teeth are knocked out and he is treated rather harshly in captivity. With the inevitable inclusion of a girl to complete the 007 formula, the day is saved.

If you’re a Bond fan, you’ve probably read this one already! If not, you may wish to skip it in favour of the true 007 classics by Fleming.

Welcome and thanks for visiting!

Today marks another year online since August 2005, with readership and hits from various search engines steadily increasing day by day. It’s not that I obsess over the numbers or anything. It’s just cool to see that yet another geek blog with potentially irrelevant content is visited rather often.

I’m still pretty much in line with my own expectation of posting once daily and have tried to include weekends for a while now. There are off days, but hopefully regular and new readers do find something entertaining here every now and then.

Amazingly, I neglected to enable statistics collection upon moving the site over to HostMonster a while ago. I assumed that these logs would be switched on by default and never really checked them…

It’s done now, so I’ll get a better view of what’s really going on. Generally, statistics with varying degrees of accuracy and relevance are collected and indicated in the sidebar. I’ve made it to three years online and am just shy of 100,000 visitors since that counter was enabled. Don’t remember when. Overall, this site hovers in the top 30 at SA Top Sites, every now and then veering crazily towards the 50 mark.

Achieving good statistics and rankings is not the aim – I just find the information interesting and use it as a yardstick of sorts.

As always, the content varies depending on my current mood and interests. I would love to blog more about SAP technology, but deal with that on a daily basis and haven’t the energy to distill it. Much more fun to write about Lego or a book! It’s been quiet on the Linux front and I haven’t even started to add content about the black MacBook yet.

Readers and Google seekers seem to like the posts on GRUB error 17 and Achieving 1680×1050 most of all. A snapshot just now shows that the world is dealing desperately with GRUB

A clear indication that a how-to is often the best content a website can host. I’d have to agree!

If you’re here for the first time – welcome! Thanks to regular readers who find their way back here. Now, on to year 4…

…though more than very likely illegal. Mygazines hosts a collection of digital magazine copies with the tagline Upload. Share. Archive. It is the kind of collection a magazine junky like me is unable to withstand. As long as they’re online, the service should be taken advantage of, methinks.

The magazine collection is in the process of being bulked up. A quick scan in the bicycle category revealed nothing there yet. The computer section is pretty reasonably stocked, though. Most recent issues of popular titles are available. Free sign-up is required prior to accessing the content. The interface is easy to work with and resembles iTunes.

Select a title and click read. The interface there resembles that of Zinio – click on either side of the page to flip over. It has some nifty graphics effects and permits searching through the text.

It is not possible to download the magazine in its entirety, so one is restricted to paging through it whilst connected to the Internet. Response times are reasonable and the paging effect pleasing to the eye. There’s a filter for objectionable material, though this is easy to toggle – any savvy youngster will have little trouble getting at anything available…

How publishers feel about having their work available without them receiving any cash for it is one question I have. It is likely that certain legal proceedings will take place against Mygazines before too long.

In the meantime, you may want to browse and read what you can.

WordCamp SA 2008 was a success! With a good mix of presentations, heaps of geeks crammed into The Wild Fig in Cape Town’s Observatory and a guest appearance by Wordpress creator Matt Mullenweg.

The presentations had a Wordpress feel to them, but did not focus on the software itself. Instead, themes, plug-ins and open source and free software were discussed.

Thanks to the organizers and the sponsors! Skyrove provided free wireless access to the multitude of notebooks littering the tables and competing for power sockets. Considering the bad weather and the constant demand for bandwidth by eager twitterers and bloggers, Skyrove did a great job.

Considering the effort and cost the sponsors went to to bring attendees this event, I urge you to google them if you require their services – one good turn deserves another.

This was a worthwhile event to attend and I’m already looking forward to next year.

From the fall of 1998 onward, “the United States had the capability to remove Osama bin Laden from Afghanistan or to kill him,” but it quailed when it came time to pull the trigger. A few paragraphs later, Weiner recounts the unfortunate bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1992. Another failure on the part of the CIA: it had wanted to target the Yugoslav Federal Directorate of Supply and Procurement. Then, on handover to the current president Bush, Clinton is to have warned him by saying “your biggest threat is bin Laden.” Bush has denied ever hearing those words.

TIm Weiner’s history of the American Central Intelligence Agency paints a rather unflattering picture of an agency beset by problems and unable to perform its duties. Created in the era of Truman in the mid 1940’s, the CIA was to assist the American president with the coordination of intelligence from around the world. It was never intended to become an organization of spies. The agency falters from the start and is directed by the whims of its head and the wishes of the president. Ironically, the author points out that a secret agency’s successes tend not to be noticed, whilst its failures are publicized widely. For those interested in key historical events such as the Bay of Pigs situation, Nixon’s Watergate and the Vietnam war, there is plenty of material in this book.

Weiner has researched his book well. There are 600 pages of text, followed by roughly 300 pages detailing references and notes. It’s not always a rivetting read – there are many areas in the text swamped with detail. These are often tedious to absorb and add little to the information gleaned.

Covering 60 years of the CIA all the way to Saddam Hussein’s capture and the 9/11 terror attacks, Legacy of Ashes is topical and interesting. Care should be taken that the text is not interpreted as a collection of conspiracy theories. I believe most of the text to be a fairly accurate representation of historic events, though it is highly possible that certain elements have been embellished.

As a factual historic account of a superpower’s inability to function this is an eye-opener. Unfortunately for all of us, this agency has not learned from its mistakes.