Paul Mobbs/
Mobbs' Environmental Investigation & Research

The Container Project –
Sixth Report, 25^th April 2003

The network server is complete! This has one really interesting offshoot – I can work outside The Container in the cool breeze, at the end of a long Ethernet cable. From there I worked on the server, finishing off the configuration, and transferring over a lot of data I'd brought with me to form the core of an Intranet. It was also useful because outside The Container, people found the computer more approachable. They could look over your should, ask a few questions, and learn a little more about what was happening inside.

We seem to be winning over the problems with the computer systems. After lots of testing we've found a formula for installing the computers that works first time. Mostly, we work without the documentation and support that you get with new equipment. This means that when you have rather anonymous cards and motherboards, which often don't (correctly) tell you what make or version they are. The Internet can help with some details, but working to get the right system configuration isn't easy. You just have to keep trying different approaches until you hit the solution (or you throw the board out the window).

Things are also made problematic when you hit real problems – like the CD ROM drive that scored chinks out of one of the crucial installation CDs. Luckily, we had a spare just in case something like this happened. But I exhibited the offending CD drive, and it's hapless victim, as a warning to others.

Lisa's been working with people to produce web pages with people, describing a little about themselves and the project. Using my digital camera they took pictures, which I then loaded onto the network. They then learnt how to mix the pictures with the text to produce a page. Then they can be uploaded, via FTP, to a virtual server that I set up specificalyl for people to host their creative work ("pages.container.lan" – note the '.lan' domain that I use as standard to distinguish the Internet from Intranet services in the Domain Name System).

At the end of the afternoon Camille and Mike turned up from Toronto. They brought with them some more boxes, which everyone helped unpack. Fairly soon after that, we packed up early and went to a big party/dance that Mervin had organised in Palmer's Cross.

Elaine and Cherrill work on their text.

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