For the past 15 years I’ve been using multiple email addresses to try and separate up my email automatically. I have a main email account, one for developing, another for purchases, and another for mailing lists and so on.
Originally this was to try and keep the email addresses that would be low-priority out of my main inbox. It also helped to keep the spam low by ensuring that I had email addresses that were never publicized anywhere, keeping their content relatively clean.
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I’m a sucker for the idea of having of multiple computing devices around the house doing and monitoring different things. I think it’s the childhood memories of lots of flashing lights on control panels marked with completely useless names.
I’ve been working with VirtualBox for the past couple of months as a potential replacement for Parallels. It’s not that I don’t like Parallels, quite the opposite, but VirtualBox has a few features I’m interested in taking advantage of.
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A new article on Ten XML Schemas that you should be aware of is now available at IBM developerWorks. The article collects together some of the XML schemas that I think are important.
In this article, look at some top XML schemas that provide solutions for all sorts of problems, from the basics of Web services to data description. You’ll also cover database-like solutions that involve contacts and invoices. The schemas in this article were chosen for their usefulness and utility, plus their impact on the XML community in how information is shared and exchanged using the XML format.
A new article on some of the best XML usage habits is now available. The article aims to look at some of the main trips and mistakes made by people when using XML as a data or processing format:
Make your XML work easier with the ten tips in this article – ultimately you’ll be less prone to errors and more productive.
You love XML and the flexibility and interoperability that it offers, but you can do some things to make your interaction with XML and the tools that you use to work with it significantly easier. Picking up some basic good habits when you work with XML will ensure that you get the most efficient use out of your XML documentations and applications.
A new article on consuming and using the SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) data that is published and provided by different devices is now available:
The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is built in to many devices, but often the tools and software that can read and parse this information are too large and complicated when you only want to check a quick statistic or track a particular device or issue. This article looks at some simplified methods for getting SNMP information from your devices and how to integrate this information into the rest of your network’s data map.
A new article on understanding the Domain Name System (DNS) is now available:
The Domain Name System (DNS) is the service that converts hostnames and domain details into the IP addresses required for application to communicate. Under UNIX, the primary DNS service is based on BIND, and DNS itself is a key part of most UNIX installations. This article looks at the basics of DNS setup, how servers and requests are distributed, and exchanged and how to set up and keep a DNS environment running smoothly.
A new article on some basic log file information and maintenance is available:
A typical UNIX or Linux machine creates many log files during the course of its operation. Some of these contain useful information; others can be used to help you with capacity and resource planning. This article looks at the fundamental information recorded within the different log files, their location, and how that information can be used to your benefit to work out what is going on within your system.