Slashdot Mirror

My mirror: http://www.alexburke.ca/pripyat/ (God bless wget, even on Windows!)

Here you go. No bandwidth limit, and I took a couple of minutes to strip out the ad-insertion JavaScript.

This is totally and completely unnecessary for PDAs running Pocket PC connecting to Windows 2000 Server/Advanced Server, Windows XP Professional, and Windows Server 2003 systems. Microsoft has a version of their Terminal Services Client for Pocket PC, and here is some Microsoft-funded cheerleading about how easy it is and how well it works.

There's no need for any proprietary desktop server application to serve the data to you like the one mentioned in this Slashdot story. In fact, the Remote Desktop Protocol is superior in many ways to applications like VNC and this new geegaw because, as far as I know, it doesn't send everything as bitmaps -- it sends GDI commands and the like, so area fills and most window drawing is actually done at the client, saving incredible amounts of bandwidth in the process. It's actually decently usable over dialup, even though it obviously smokes over broadband. RDP 5.2 is the latest, complete with clipboard, audio, and drive letter redirection. (Yes, copy and paste files between machines and they're all sent encrypted over the same port connection.)

I'm typing this message on my home desktop PC even though I'm at my girlfriend's house at the moment (with a 1Mbit DSL connection), some 5km from home (with a 3Mbit DSL connection), and everything is pretty snappy. It's not quite as quick as sitting at the console, but it isn't much different. I'm quite impressed by just how well it's integrated into the host OS and how well it works.

Even better yet, you can connect to any PC using the RDP 5.2 client in the form of an ActiveX control from any web browser. I have such a beast on my own website, and it's come in really handy from time to time, such as when I'm trying to connect from my home PC from older Win95/98 machines that don't have the client software installed. Check it out here.

Okay, so what about PalmOS, you say? As far as I know, no RDP client exists for PalmOS. But this is Slashdot, people. Write one!

Okay, I'm done raving now. Thanks for listening.

Mr. Draper is an interesting character, full of knowledge and interesting anecdotes. I had the pleasure of meeting him at LinuxWorld 99 in San Jose. We spent a day (August 15, 1999) together roaming the streets of Berkeley, Calfornia, chatting up a storm.

It was an interesting get-together. I'm glad I met him. If you get the chance, say hi to him.

Here is a picture of him I took on the UC Berkeley campus. Here is a slideshow of all my LinuxWorld 99 pictures.

Mr. Draper is an interesting character, full of knowledge and interesting anecdotes. I had the pleasure of meeting him at LinuxWorld 99 in San Jose. We spent a day (August 15, 1999) together roaming the streets of Berkeley, Calfornia, chatting up a storm.

It was an interesting get-together. I'm glad I met him. If you get the chance, say hi to him.

Here is a picture of him I took on the UC Berkeley campus. Here is a slideshow of all my LinuxWorld 99 pictures.

It turned out the Plasma screen (Pioneer I think) has a DVI-D connector and the GeForce (and every other video card I checked) has a DVI-I connector, they are not compatible!

Yes, they are.

Your GeForce has a DVI-I output connector on it, which outputs both digital and analog versions of the SAME signal. You can screw a small adapter onto that DVI-I connector which converts the analog signal, ground, and DDC pins to a normal VGA HD15 connector to use a normal CRT monitor with.

However, if you plug a digital flat-panel display with a DVI-D input into that same connector on your GeForce, it will use the digital part of the output and will look better than if you used the analog part (assuming your monitor has both DVI-D and HD15 connectors like mine.

So, yes, it will work. Plug it in, and if it's the only thing connected to the card, the card should detect that and use the digital output automatically without you having to connect an analog monitor and switch it over to digital output in the Display Control Panel.

You're welcome.

Sorry, forgot to make ViewSonic a link. Yes, not 20.1", but 19", multi-domain technology (no, the Dell doesn't have that) for accurate colors through a crazy-wide viewing angle, a very respectable 25ms refresh rate for super-smooth motion, and they look gorgeous.

Bigger is not always better, kids.

I cant wait for the day that I can replace them with cheap, lightweight, easily moved *anythings*.

That day has come. (Okay, not cheap, but the rest fits nicely.)

FWIW, those 20" CRT monitors are probably about 18.5" viewable each. Roughly US$1,800 will give you two of these babies, one of which has just graced my desk. It's 19" of pure viewing pleasure, with multidomain technology for accurate color at any viewing angle up to 170 horizontal and vertical, and it tips the scales at a mere 17.5 pounds. 12080x1024 resolution looks really nice on this panel (which isn't surprising seeing as that's its native resolution.)

Don't throw out your existing speakers if you like bass, though. Hence the old but nice Yamaha YST-M20DSPs next to it. The literature actually mentions "powerful 3-watt speakers", which almost brought tears to my eyes from laughing so hard. They sound quite crisp, but are pitifully lacking in bass. (Yes, even when the bass is cranked in the OSD control.)

Having both HD15 and DVI-D connectors was a requirement for my next monitor, and this fits the bill nicely.

The built-in microphone is a nice touch. I don't recall it being mentioned in the lit; I only discovered it when I saw the MIC OUT connector on the back panel. I believe the opening for the mic itself is right between the top of the N and I in the ViewSonic logo on the front panel. It's very discreet.

Enough rambling -- grab a high-quality LCD today and don't look back.

Here's my mirror (Windows only, unfortunately).

Don't hit this mirror before 8:15AM EDT since the file is currently being uploaded to the webserver.

Those 3D Pipes can mess you up.

Yes, they sure can. (At least, that's what students of an unnamed university claim...)

--

Those 3D Pipes can mess you up.

Yes, they sure can. (At least, that's what students of an unnamed university claim...)

--

Those 3D Pipes can mess you up.

Yes, they sure can. (At least, that's what students of an unnamed university claim...)

--

Those 3D Pipes can mess you up.

Yes, they sure can. (At least, that's what students of an unnamed university claim...)

--

Those 3D Pipes can mess you up.

Yes, they sure can. (At least, that's what students of an unnamed university claim...)

--

Those 3D Pipes can mess you up.

Yes, they sure can. (At least, that's what students of an unnamed university claim...)

--