Clonezilla the open source harddisk partition cloning solution

Partition cloning has been a handy tools for many computer techies and users ever since the emergence of a famous software named as Ghost in 1996. Ghost is still around nowadays under the umbrella of Symantec. On the other hand, Acronis has produced their competing True Image products and has gained much popularity too.

Partition cloning software is useful for many purposes, such as:

• Backup and restore of the whole harddisk or partitions in the harddisk.
• Provisioning of standard set of software by cloning the harddisk or partition image from existing computer to another.
• Transferring data from one harddisk to another, eg. upgrade new harddisk to computer.
• Deploy testing, benchmarking or R&D computers, whereby the harddisk will be wiped out and restored to original state after the project.
• and many more...

Both Symantec Ghost and Acronis True Image are great tools, only that you need to purchase license for each of the computer that you're going to use them. There are other free and/or open source alternative solutions available, and I find Clonezilla developed by the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) in Taiwan is among the best.

There are 2 varieties of Clonezilla available, Clonezilla Live and Clonezilla Server Edition. Clonezilla Live is suitable for single machine backup and restore, while Clonezilla Server Edition is for massive deployment in corporate environment, whereby it can clone many computers simultaneously.

Multicast (a technology whereby a single image can be sent simultaneously to many machines without putting greater stress on the network than sending an image to a single machine) is supported in Clonezilla Server Edition. You can also remotely use it to save or restore a bunch of computers if PXE and Wake-on-LAN are supported.

Clonezilla is developed on Linux and based on a couple of open source projects such as DRBL, Partition Image, ntfsclone, and udpcast. You can boot from its live CD and use it directly.

The 5 balls of life that should be balanced

I would like to share with you the following training notes, which originated from the 172nd Commencement Address of Georgia Institute of Technology in 1996, by the former President and CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises, Brian G. Dyson.

Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some 5 balls in the air. You name them - work, family, health, friends and spirit and you're keeping all of these in the air.

You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other 4 balls -- family, health, friends and spirit -- are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same.

You must understand that and strive for balance in your life. How?

• Don't undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special.

• Don't set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you.

• Don't take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as they were your life, for without them, life is meaningless.

• Don't let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or for the future. By living your life one day at a time you live ALL the days of your life.

• Don't give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.

• Don't be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect. It is this fragile thread that binds us to each together.

• Don't be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

• Don't shut love out of your life by saying it's impossible to find. The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly, and the best way to keep love is to give it wings.

• Don't run though life so fast that you forget not only where you've been, but also where you are going.

• Don't forget, a person's greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.

• Don't be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you can always carry easily.

• Don't use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved.

Life is not a race, but a journey to be savoured each step of the way. Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery and Today is a gift: that's why we call it - The Present.

New Apple iPhone 3G - faster speed, cheaper price

For your information, Apple CEO Steve Jobs has just announced the 3G version of iPhone in their Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2008, San Francisco.

Two of the promising new key features brought by this phone are 3G technology and Maps with GPS. Downloading speed of iPhone 3G (using HSDPA) is 2-3 times faster than iPhone over 2.5G EDGE. With this 3G feature, you can also talk and browse at the same time.

For business users, it provides built-in support to Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, delivering push email, calendar, and contacts. For students and engineers, it also comes with a full-featured scientific calculator.

The iPhone 3G also has longer battery life than its predecessor. It promises a solid 5 hours of 3G talk time, 10 hours of 2G talk time, 5 hours of 3G Internet time, 6 hours of Wi-Fi Internet time, 7 hours of video playback, 24 hours of audio playback and 12.5 days standby time.

Jobs announced that this new iPhone 3G will launch in 22 countries on July 11, and will roll out to a total of 70 by the end of 2008. Despite being more feature rich, the iPhone 3G is surprisingly cheaper than its predecessor. In US, the 16GB version is priced at $299 and the 8GB version costs only $199.

It is hoped that we could probably see it in the coming CommunicAsia 2008 in Singapore.

Click here for more information about iPhone 3G.