Tim's Weblog » commuter

Looking for a desktop caching tool

Tim — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:57:32 +0000

So I’m in the train again and the internet connection over GPRS is horrific. Well, what can you expect, really. But still, I wish it was a bit better so I wouldn’t have to press reload so often when the connection to a server has been terminated because the signal hiccuped.

If the MacOSX desktop would do a better job at caching, all would be well. But it doesn’t. It doesn’t have a caching dns service, nor does it aggressively cache any content. Which is great in a normal, desktop-y setup, but not very good for the way I’m using the internet right now.

Maybe I should see if I’d get a better response from the whole web if I install something like Squid. It’s part of Macports, so shouldn’t be that difficult. Disk space isn’t a problem either, my Macbook has way more disk space than I ever expect to use.

That’s great for the content, but what about a caching dns server? Bind seems the logical option, but I’m not a big fan of that one. Macports has a package called pdnsd. No idea what that one is. Worth a shot, I guess. But I hope it has some sort of script to make sure it’s added to resolv.conf or something.

Something to work out once I’m home.

Tags: caching, commuter, dns, gprs, internet, macosx, macports, proxy, train

A week on the train

Tim — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:14:58 +0000

So I’ve been taking the train for a week now. Each morning from Sittard to Eindhoven, each afternoon back to Sittard. I kind of expected the most problems in the morning, but so far as I can see, that’s going quite alright. Not too crowded, it usually gets a bit crowded at Roermond, but then I’m already sitting, so I’m not bothered by it a lot.

Getting back is a bigger problem. Lots of delays, lots of people. I don’t mind a lot of people on the train (let’s face it, most commuters ignore the world around them), but I really hate it when I can’t find a decent place to sit. Bought an upgrade ticket twice this week, both times in the afternoon, to get back home. But even first class was very crowded.

Today it’s okay, but I left later than usual. Not sure how this will develop. I do hope this will get better in the next years, because I’ll be commuting this way for a loooong time.

Tags: commuter, train

From the train

Tim — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:15:03 +0000

So this is my first full week of train-travel from home to the office. Second day now (well, done this a few times last week too), heading home and already a very crowded train. Not a nice thing. At least I upgraded my ticket from second to first class, so I have a seat.

I hope I’m going to be able to keep this up for several years It’s nice being at the office.

Tags: commuter, forens, train, travel