I just had an epiphany. I might understand why Apple removed MySQL from OS X Lion Server. It's because of all things, MySQL should be a free app, downloaded from the app store. That's not Apple's job, it's MySQL's job. This is how software works now.

We'll talk about the inclusion of PostgreSQL in a second, just hold on.

Here's what my problem with MySQL has always been, and it's actually the reason I got a Mac Mini Server: installing and upgrading MySQL is always a major pain in the ass, especially upgrading. But it shouldn't be hard at all. Minor releases of MySQL should update just as easily as any other software, so why don't they? I don't know!

In MySQL's defense, they try to make installation easy on a Mac, but you can tell their heart just isn't in it yet. But everything even the most anal system administrator does when upgrading MySQL can and should be be automated. Shutdown? Yes. Backups? Yes. Rollback if necessary? No. They should actually work to make sure rollbacks are never necessary. That's what testing is for.

Having said that, I'm sure Apple would be willing to support multiple major versions for server applications. It's not something the current apps require, but we get it, some people need MySQL 5.0 and can't move forward yet, fine, that's a separate app from 5.1 and 5.5. Maybe these versions could be "in app" purchases (which have no cost, for the free versions.) There could be one MySQL app that can be configured for a specific version, or maybe even multiple versions at once.

The point is this, the days of manual software installs are over, even for server software. If MySQL doesn't do it, you can bet within the next year one or more other database makers will.

The other thing to factor in is that Apple released a new Mac Mini Server with OS X Lion Server. This would indicate that they aren't giving up on the server market. It says that as usual, they are trying to change it, for the better. I hope that's what happens.

Oh, I almost forgot about the inclusion of PostgreSQL. Apple needs a database on the server to support the wiki feature, but there is no app store database ready yet. PostgreSQL may have even been chosen because it is the less used package, to encourage MySQL to take action. Or maybe PostgreSQL was chosen because they've already committed to making an app which Apple will use once it's ready.

Anyway, this is what I'd personally like to see, an app store database. We'll just have to wait and see what actually happens.

Many companies and organizations limit their services on the Internet to users of a specific country. This is especially true for streaming based services that stream media like music or videos over the Internet. It usually comes down to usage rights as the main reason for the limitation. Others say the limits are there to save money and bandwidth as the target audience is usually also limited to the countries the services are allowed in.

One of the best ways of accessing these services from outside the supported countries is to use a VPN, a virtual private network. This is helpful for citizens on holidays who want to access the services abroad but also – obviously – for users from other countries who want to access the services.

UltraVPN was discovered by Nakodari from Addictive Tips and we have to say that it is one of the easiest solutions right now. It works great currently and gives access to Hulu, Pandora and all the other US-only websites and services out there. The streaming quality is excellent unlike that of other free competitors (like Hotspot Shield). Our guess however is that it is only a matter of time – thanks to popularity – before the performance of UltraVPN will get a dent or two as well.

Installation is a breeze. All the user needs is to create an account at the UltraVPN website (only username and password required). The VPN setup is available for Windows and Mac OS. The username and password have to be supplied on startup. The vpn service will notify the user that the computer has been connected to it. What’s left is to access the websites and services to test the speed and quality of the service.

Head over to the Ultra VPN website to download the client, create an account and access additional information about the virtual private network. The vpn service has been successfully tested with Hulu, ABC and Pandora.

Tags: abc, hulu, mac software, pandora, ultra vpn, virtual private network, vpn, windows software

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