Rshieldslab lives again!
As I dusted off the old mac cube I thought to myself, "gee, wouldn't this make a great server?" Rshieldslab used to run on a gui-less ubuntu machine; it was a pretty capable install (Apache2, MySQL, PHP5, SVN repository), but it was a real pain to set up. Since almost all the work I do ends up happening on a mac (no matter what the target systems are), what if I ran my project site on a mac, too?
Hours later, rshieldslab is alive again with a nice drupal install and plenty of storage space. I've grabbed everything from the old svn repository and am setting up cvs. Might be a step backwards to some, but I'm thinking about ease of setup, ease of use, and years of reliability. I was going to set cvs up on this cube but Apple beat me to the punch; it's already installed! Overall, there were very few changes required to bend the mac to my will and get this site back up and running. Of course, you do it enough times and it only takes a second to realize what you need... Had I done the same install a few years ago it probably would have taken a week.
What's in store for rshieldslab? I'll be posting little micro servers that talk nice to flash and serial ports and processing and whatever else I decide needs a talking to. I have some nice programming hints targeted especially for my fellow designers, although I would hope they could help anyone looking for help. I'll be posting pictures of my metalworking and woodworking projects as they get completed, along with thoughts and experiences working with old hand tools. I might even go over some printmaking techniques or some computer vision systems. If it's interesting enough to me to get me working on it outside of work it will probably end up here.
Enjoy.