Running Joomla on Pentium MMX

We all have some old computer lying useless around our apartments. Some acquaintance of mine had also one. An old Pentium MMX with 46 MB RAM and 20 GB hard disk, lowered with Windows 98. Equipped with the net card and floppy drive but CD-ROM drive did not work. Since she did not know what to do with that old box, she gave it to me. Pretty useless machine, you might say. Indeed, comparing this configuration to the cutting edge present-day home computers, but you can still try to learn that old box some new tricks. Ooouh, yeah!

You can even set up web server with Content Management System (CMS), such as Joomla! So, here is brief report how I did that. First you will need to set up some modern operating system. My choice is Debian, but probably any of available Linux base systems will do, so you can choose your favorite distribution. Since installation of Debian is thoroughly covered at their web page, I will not go into detail here. I will just briefly report that I have managed to install Debian version 4 (etch) - base system from 1.4” floppy disks (you will need three of them, if you decide to follow that way). After installing base system, first package that I have installed is OpenSSH (#apt-get install ssh - This command will install the OpenSSH server and client.), so I could access it from the other machine.
Apache web server and all the other prerequisites could be installed in a similar manner, but before you do so, it is advisable to check which versions will work with your Joomla package. You can find installation instructions and which versions of PHP, Apache, and MySQL you need, here.

Then you can proceed in the similar manner:
#apt-get install apache2
#apt-get install libapache2-mod-php5
#apt-get install mysql-server
#apt-get install php5-mysql

There is also Joomla package for Debain, but apt-get installation did not work for me. So, I was following instructions available at Joomla web page.
These are quite simple. Just download and unpack Joomla package in the www directory. In most cases that would be /var/www and follow the instructions. If you get into trouble just google it. It is very likely that your issue have been already resolved. After putting some content on your site, you might want to share that with the world. If your box has a dynamic IP you have several choices for your net presence domain. Check no-ip and dyndns. It is also important to have your local IP address (home network IP) and port properly forwarded through your firewall. If everything is set up correctly, it should work!

Update: I have upgraded my Debian to version 5 (lenny). I did network setup since there is no support for floppy installation anymore. It took very long to install only the base system, so be patient and have something to keep you busy while you waiting. I have also updated Joomla to the most recent version, and I am happy to report that it works with the most recent versions, on the old dusty Pentium MMX machine.

Longer middle distance at slow or moderate pace

This is my middle distance (13-14 km) slow or running at moderate pace running routine:
http://sportstracker.nokia.com/nts/workoutdetail/index.do?id=825276
Before I have bought GPS equipped N78, I have measured the distance with pedometer and cyclocomputer and booth methods gave about the same results as the GPS measurement. I have to check my old notes for the exact value, but the distance I was running is about 13.5 km or perhaps about 100m or 200m longer or shorter. I have several landmarks along the route. The distance between them is about 1km, and accurate values are available at the above mentioned address. I try to run at different pace between them. My workout routine could vary depending on my general health and fitness conditions. However, there are several general rules that I am trying to follow. I run from my starting point (usually my apartment) to the first landmark (about 1km) at very slow pace, just to warm up. At the first landmark I perform stretching about 3 minutes (Note that GPS showed lap distance 0km, but average speed 0.4 km/h, so this is I guess order of magnitude of the GPS error.) and then at moderate pace to the second landmark. Depending on my workout target it could be that I am running second to third landmark at maximum speed, and all the other lap distances are individual, and target dependent, except for the last two. At the penultimate lap distance, I slow down to moderate or slow pace, and the last lap distance I run slowly or even go walking. Here is some more statistic not available from GPS device, but from my heart rate monitor, I have spend 7% or 6:49 min of the workout in health zone (pulse rate between 108 and 144 bpm), 32% or 31:46 min in the fitness zone (pulse rate between 145 and 165)and 60% or 59:02 min in the power zone (pulse rate between 166 and maximum value for this workout). Maximum pulse rate was 184 bpm, and average was165 bpm.

Needless to say that I am hardly waiting Polar Bluetooth Wearlink, a belt for integrated heart rate monitoring on the device (any Nokia Nseries cell phone) that is capable to run Nokia Sports Tracker software.

Leave a note if you like or just let me know if you running somewhere around Spreewald.