Cisco VPN Client on Leopard 10.5.2

Just a quick note for those of you struggling with Cisco's VPN client on Leopard, Mac OS X 10.5.2. My initial attempt was based on client version 4.9.0.0.50. The result was the following error message indicating that no active network interfaces are available:

Error 51: Unable to communicate with the VPN subsystem.
Please make sure that you have at least one network interface that is currently active and has an IP address and start this application again.

Needless to say, that was a false statement. So I updated to 4.9.0.1.80, that didn't fix the issue. What fixed it was a minor upgrade to build 100, version 4.9.0.1.100, the VPN connection has become fully functional from there.

The essence is: With Leopard 10.5.2, use 4.9.0.1.100.

How do you share your runs? Do you?

I don't. My current solution for logging runs is a Windows-based software called SportsTracks. It supports the basic set of per-workout metadata as well as input from devices such as a heart rate monitor or GPS receiver. I use Garmin's Forerunner 305 to record workaround duration, distance, heart rate and course, the import works like a charm. Additionally, SportsTracks provides you with an extensive toolkit for analyzing individual workouts by means of statistics and interactive charts, and generating reports covering multiple workouts. What I love about workouts is the logging ritual. Logging a new run after a hard workout and browsing through the data that was silently recorded throughout the last minutes or more likely hours, that's something I really enjoy. I'm obsessed with my distance totals too ;) That left aside this facility serves as kind of a virtual trainer that can actually provide objective feedback...

I have two problems with my current solution. One, SportsTracks is Windows-based and will probably never run on Linux or Mac OS X. My current system runs on Mac OS X, so I have to fall back to a Windows system to import my new workouts and analyze my progress. SportsTracks used .NET, thus, the chances of a Linux or Mac OS X version are practically non-existent. I don't want to go the virtual machine route, not for one application.

Two, and more importantly, there's no easy way to share all data of my past runs via the internet. Yes, I know - not true. What you can do is export maps and workout data as HTML, an automatic upload via FTP can be triggered as well. Right, my idea of sharing my runs though is to provide visitors with an experience that is similar to SportsTracks. For example, with every new run, I can easily check new distance totals in SportsTracks. In the case of per-workout exports, these totals are not available. Another aspect is interactivity with tables and charts, static images are of course limited to a single view of data.

I guess, I'm looking for some kind of service that provides runners with an easy way of sharing workout data and visitors with a clean yet feature-rich interface for browsing through the shared data. Nike+ provides a nice interface that goes into the right direction. Understandably, it only supports Nike+ input (which is why I had to manually migrate run-by-run from Nike+ to SportsTracks when I switched to the Forerunner :/ ). It fails in respect to sharing though, there's no way I know of to share all runs as opposed to a single selected run.

So, my fellow runners: How do you share your runs? Do you share them at all?

Don't throw your Macbook Air out just yet, let there be silence

I've been waiting for my personal Macbook Air for around two weeks and could not wait to get hold of that machine extraordinaire. I expected to receive a notebook that is well-manufactured and manages to combine a minimalistic and elegant design with a solid level of performance.

I loved my new main computer - my Air - from the very beginning (yes, m-a-i-n computer, I know I'm crazy ;) ). Unfortunately, my enthusiasm faded after 1 hour of working with the default OS X installation. A Macbook Air is a beautiful machine, but I also expected it to be beautifully silent during "normal use". Well, much to my regret, it was not! Whenever the CPU load increased moderately (e.g. due to watching a YouTube video) and lasted for longer periods of time, the Air increased the fan speed to the factory maximum of 6200 rpm. At 6200, the buzz of the Air's fan can be incredibly annoying, particularly if you're sensitive to fan noise. At 2500 rpm, the fan is practically unnoticeable - the Air's pretty aggressive about cooling though, so, these low levels are rare in the non-idle-case.

My research lead me to believe that this NOT an issue affecting my Air in particular, it's behavior by design. Lots of Air owners seem to be annoyed by the fan noise, none of them have found satisfying workarounds and some even returned their Airs or got them replaced in hope for a "working" unit.

Rather than returning the Air or requesting a replacement to fix the issue, I investigated further and tried various ways to bring silence to the otherwise flawless and fascinating Air experience. I experimented with different energy saving configurations, software for controlling the fan rpm minimum as well as CPU voltage and frequency and also changed OS X kernel module configurations to alter the fan behavior. While all of these had noticeable effects on the situation, none of them prevented the fan controller from increasing revolutions to the maximum of 6200.

The fan is controlled by the so-called System Management Controller (SMC). Software allows you to modify the rpm minimum, that however could not solve the issue. Apple now provides an SMC firmware update that affects fan control. According to the release notes, this update could potentially worsen the situation because it apparently tries to lower CPU temperature further to avoid hangs and unexpected shutdown (of a single core and/or the whole system). I tried the update, it didn't have any noticeable effect in either direction.

Despite the 6200 rpm targeted by SMC, CPU temperature levels remain in a perfectly safe region (60 - 70 °C) at all times. So, knowing that the rpm increase is unjustified in respect to temperature levels, I changed the rpm minimum to 4500 and 6200. In respect to CPU temperature at 100% CPU utilization, the temperature diff between 4500 (maximum acceptable level that can be considered comfortable) and 6200 rpm is pretty much insignificant. Knowing that, my goal was to redefine the rpm maximum to fully address the issue at stake. I was unable to find any way to do that during the first round of research. Most utilities, including SMC Fan Control, merely allow you to change the minimum. As it turns out though, that software package provides a console application smc that can be used to changed all writable SMC parameters, not just the rpm minimum. With the help of the source of a Linux kernel driver controlling the fan via SMC, I identified the key representing the SMC parameter controlling the rpm maximum and gave the new maximum a try by executing smc as follows:

smc -k F0Mx -w $(python -c 'print hex(4500 << 2)[2:]')

Additionally, I reset the minimum to 1500 to conserve the fan at CPU idle levels:

smc -k F0Mn -w $(python -c 'print hex(1500 << 2)[2:]')

These commands only change minimum and maximum, revolutions still remain in control of SMC. The results have been fantastic, the Air has been quiet and cool ever since enforcing the new limits. Execute these commands in a startup item to make changes permanent (for the sleep / wakeup case, use SleepWatcher).

Now, I can finally say that it is a real pleasure to work with this elegant and capable notebook, I enjoy every minute of doing so. I strongly encourage you to give this workaround a try before throwing the Air out (at your own risk), you definitely miss something!