Yeah, the Rendezvous thing Steve demoed last summer was great but unless your friends are also your roommates (or you live in a dorm with them), Rendezvous isn't going to do anything for you, it's only going to find servers on the same LAN as you. iCommune lets you access iTunes libraries anywhere on the Internet.
I'm curious to know what protocol this plug-in is using. HTTP? AppleShare? This also makes me wonder about the security implications.
As for the RIAA, as long as iCommune works in such a way that the people at the other end really are "friends" and not "some anonymous asshole," it can probably avoid the fate of Napster et al. It would also help its case if it dropped the download feature and only streamed. I don't think downloading and keeping copyrighted files from a friend's library is legal or ethical but streaming them would be.
How about barcodes? Barcodes are even easier, they plug into the PS/2 port and deliver the barcode just as a string of numbers as if they were typed on a keyboard.
My biggest beef with the interface is you have to enter a numeric code to pick a drink thus requiring some chart of all 188 drinks. Once you've partaken of the Monkey a few times, are you really going to be manage it? A-ha! The interface is intentially difficult to act as a throttle on consumption. Once you're sufficiently drunk, you can't manage to order another.
For v.2 I'd use a bigger LCD and display actual drink names, possibly grouped hierarchically by type or primary ingredient. Drink numbers would remain to act as a shortcut for patrons who remember the number of a drink they order often. A touch screen would kick ass but I think they're less robust and more expensive.
Since each patron has an account, I'd give it a "The Usual" button which could be set for each patron. Instead of a PIN, I'd also consider a card swipe. They're students so they could use their student ID as the card.
OSS developers are not saints. They write their code for fun, prestiege, practice, whatever. It's very uncommon for programmers to like doing that and doing things like writing clear documentation, especially for people who lack any skills which would make figuring them out on their own possible. So why should OSS developers spend a lot of time (and if it's really going to be good, it'll probably take about as long as writing the code does) if they don't like it?
When no intrinsic benefit can be found, resort to an extrinsic benefit, money.
In the particular case of Nagios, he repeatedly states that it's designed for sysadmins. Anyone who deserves the moniker of "sysadmin" should be able to figure it out based on the provided information. There are many people who have the title of "sysadmin" but do not have the accompanying skills. That could be why someone can't implement Nagios using the providing information but it's also a problem which goes well beyond the scope of anything those involved with Nagios can solve.
What OSS developers *could* do is seek out people who *do* enjoy creating FAQs, HOWTOs, tutorials, documentation, etc. (such people do exist, I sort of am one). In general it seems such things come about either because someone comes to the project and just decides to do it or does it to benefit their own organization then makes publicly available. How often do developers solicit such help? What are the best venues for doing so?
Not being personally involved with any OSS project myself, I am to a degree talking out of my ass. I welcome anyone with more personal experience to say so and provide evidence:)
Because the PowerBook is smaller and weighs less? The G4 is NOT a small difference in speed, it makes a real difference in OS X Finder performance alone. The 14.1" iBook only exists because 1024x768 is too small for some people on a 12" screen. Each iBook and PowerBook still has a niche but the question is whether each niche is big enough to justify keeping its model.
12" iBook:poor people 14" iBook:old people 12" PowerBook:G4 & SuperDrive people 15" PowerBook:PC card people 17" PowerBook:FireWire 800 & strong-wristed people
That and Lubbock isn't a hotbed for terrorists if you know what I mean. Cow-tippers, yes. Foreign spies, no.
I guess you've never read The Cobweb by Stephen Bury (pen name for Neal Stephenson when he writes with his uncle). BTW, it's not a great book, definitely not as good as their previous book, Interface. Interface is a hoot.
Re:Bring a graduate assistant to class ...
on
Professors vs. WiFi
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· Score: 2
The GA idea could be a pretty good one for some types of classes, especially ones that already use GAs in other ways.
I just thought of something about the computer vs. old methods of "tuning out." For me, and I think most people, the computer with a 'net connection is more engrossing than doodling, reading assignments for other classes, etc. That means it's harder for me to "snap back" my full attention on the class when necessary.
Re:Maybe if teachers worked with technology instea
on
Professors vs. WiFi
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· Score: 2
A professor doesn't have time to read and reply to IM messages during class. This situation calls for more asynchronous communication, email the question.
I'm all for the goals and requirements of classes being explicitly stated at the beginning of any course. People learn best when they know what's expected of them.
Re:just block extranet access?
on
Professors vs. WiFi
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· Score: 3, Insightful
That's not a terrible idea but then some students set up open proxies to surf through and become not just classroom distractions but security and spam risks as well.
Very few college students are capable of determining whether a lecture is worthwhile or not.
Re:Maybe if teachers worked with technology instea
on
Professors vs. WiFi
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
What a stupid idea, a teacher using IM *in class.* They're in the same room, they should talk! I can concoct scenarios in which that's not stupid but they almost never happen in real life.
You really aren't asking professors to be interesting, you are asking them to be entertaining, more entertaining than what students can find on a 'net connection. That almost never happens and isn't really a plausible goal anyway.
Even if the students are paying for school themselves, they're not buying the right to be rude, to the teacher or to their fellow students. Students can't properly judge whether a lecture is a waste of their time while it's going on, only when the course is over or maybe after their next assignment.
There are certainly many people who do not teach well, especially in a "sage on the stage" setting, and schools could use less of that format but that's no excuse for being so disrespectful and a distraction to your classmates.
That doesn't sound *too* bad. Can the admin ask a user to wait until a student's next shift or do they have to go do whatever (clear paper jam, install optional Office component, etc.) themselves? Does the admin do web design or just keep the web server going. If they have to work on web content, that sounds out of line. How often is a problem caused by a user doing something they shouldn't like installing a game? Some places are okay with small IT staffs because users stick to their tasks. Are user's machines locked down at all (non-Local Admin in NT/2k/XP)? Do all the machines have antivirus software which is automaticallly running and kept up-to-date?
A lot of times IT staff to user ratios are not a reflection of how much work there is but what the user expectations are. If IT staff have to respond to every call *right now*, you need a lot of staff. If users don't expect same day response, you can get away with less.
I was in Austin, TX in the mid-90s when there was something like 40,000 people a year moving in and the majority of them were from California. I really haven't paid attention to the city since I left in '96 but at the time there was a lot of high tech there. It was a lot of hardware, chip fab and whatnot, but where there's hardware, there's software. At the time, Californians were moving in and were building McMansions in the hills with the proceeds of the sale of their modest homes in California.
Culturally, Austin has a lot going on, particularly its music scene. Pretty much all the state's liberals are corralled there but it is the state capital so virtually every political bent is well represented.
Anyhow, it should be on your list of places to check out.
Locking out so they have to call tech support is unnecessary. Instead lock them out for a relatively short period of time, say 5 minutes. *Any* lockout period is going to foil a brute force attach but a short period gives the user a chance to think a moment and get it right. Almost every time I've seen someone get locked out (with a 5 try limit) it wasn't because they didn't know the password, it was because the mis-typed it too many times (with possible Caps Lock involvement).
I wonder if "new code base" == "Cocoa." OS X-only apps are not necessarily Cocoa (like Office v.X). InDesign is a Carbon app so depending on how Apple improves the OS in the future, being a Cocoa app (if it is) could be a real edge for XPress.
Yeah, I'm downloading it now from one hop away and getting 30KB/sec. I shouldn't try to judge a computer, its case but the case is a Gateway P5 mid-tower. I'm sure it's not still the Pentium 133 or 166 that was originally in it but I think it has to have an AT motherboard.
The package is 116MB?! we'll see what tomorrow is like but I'm thinking it's not staying there for long. We *do* have to pay for the bandwidth.
Totally. The whole subnet is thrashed, its 10Mbit uplink is maxed out
The whole package is 116MB, I'm thinking someone is going to get a pound^H^H^H^H^H talking to.
Re:watch the slashdot effect live!
on
Turn-Key Linux Audio
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· Score: 3, Informative
I'm sort of the netadmin (not really but there ain't no one closer) and the Slashdot Effect has basically wiped out that subnet and swamped its uplink.
I just went down to the lab and I can't tell exactly from looking at it but I'm pretty sure that server is no better than a Pentium MMX.
Does it try to download stuff from that server? This is important because I'm sort of the netadmin (more like network liaison) for the subnet the server is on and the Slashdot Effect has wiped out the whole subnet. We're going to have to talk to them if the package pulls stuff from their server.
BTW, I'm not sure what their server's hardware is but from loooking at it, I'd guess no better than a Pentium MMX.
You're probably being sarcastic but the primary reason is the number of times police (and others) have shot children (and adults) because they thought the toy gun the child was brandishing was real.
Slashdot Mirror
Yeah, the Rendezvous thing Steve demoed last summer was great but unless your friends are also your roommates (or you live in a dorm with them), Rendezvous isn't going to do anything for you, it's only going to find servers on the same LAN as you. iCommune lets you access iTunes libraries anywhere on the Internet.
I'm curious to know what protocol this plug-in is using. HTTP? AppleShare? This also makes me wonder about the security implications.
As for the RIAA, as long as iCommune works in such a way that the people at the other end really are "friends" and not "some anonymous asshole," it can probably avoid the fate of Napster et al. It would also help its case if it dropped the download feature and only streamed. I don't think downloading and keeping copyrighted files from a friend's library is legal or ethical but streaming them would be.
How about barcodes? Barcodes are even easier, they plug into the PS/2 port and deliver the barcode just as a string of numbers as if they were typed on a keyboard.
You never know, you could get a Shirley Temple, minus the cherry.
Maybe they should add "keypad mashing" detection to automaticallly dispense coffee.
Good idea! And with only 188 drinks, there wouldn't be too many options for each letter. the 2 line LCD would probably be sufficient for that.
My biggest beef with the interface is you have to enter a numeric code to pick a drink thus requiring some chart of all 188 drinks. Once you've partaken of the Monkey a few times, are you really going to be manage it? A-ha! The interface is intentially difficult to act as a throttle on consumption. Once you're sufficiently drunk, you can't manage to order another.
For v.2 I'd use a bigger LCD and display actual drink names, possibly grouped hierarchically by type or primary ingredient. Drink numbers would remain to act as a shortcut for patrons who remember the number of a drink they order often. A touch screen would kick ass but I think they're less robust and more expensive.
Since each patron has an account, I'd give it a "The Usual" button which could be set for each patron. Instead of a PIN, I'd also consider a card swipe. They're students so they could use their student ID as the card.
Only the 17" PowerBook has the FireWire 800 port. Also, since the 12" PowerBook doesn't have a PC Card slot, you can't add it later.
OSS developers are not saints. They write their code for fun, prestiege, practice, whatever. It's very uncommon for programmers to like doing that and doing things like writing clear documentation, especially for people who lack any skills which would make figuring them out on their own possible. So why should OSS developers spend a lot of time (and if it's really going to be good, it'll probably take about as long as writing the code does) if they don't like it?
:)
When no intrinsic benefit can be found, resort to an extrinsic benefit, money.
In the particular case of Nagios, he repeatedly states that it's designed for sysadmins. Anyone who deserves the moniker of "sysadmin" should be able to figure it out based on the provided information. There are many people who have the title of "sysadmin" but do not have the accompanying skills. That could be why someone can't implement Nagios using the providing information but it's also a problem which goes well beyond the scope of anything those involved with Nagios can solve.
What OSS developers *could* do is seek out people who *do* enjoy creating FAQs, HOWTOs, tutorials, documentation, etc. (such people do exist, I sort of am one). In general it seems such things come about either because someone comes to the project and just decides to do it or does it to benefit their own organization then makes publicly available. How often do developers solicit such help? What are the best venues for doing so?
Not being personally involved with any OSS project myself, I am to a degree talking out of my ass. I welcome anyone with more personal experience to say so and provide evidence
Because the PowerBook is smaller and weighs less? The G4 is NOT a small difference in speed, it makes a real difference in OS X Finder performance alone. The 14.1" iBook only exists because 1024x768 is too small for some people on a 12" screen. Each iBook and PowerBook still has a niche but the question is whether each niche is big enough to justify keeping its model.
12" iBook:poor people
14" iBook:old people
12" PowerBook:G4 & SuperDrive people
15" PowerBook:PC card people
17" PowerBook:FireWire 800 & strong-wristed people
The GA idea could be a pretty good one for some types of classes, especially ones that already use GAs in other ways.
I just thought of something about the computer vs. old methods of "tuning out." For me, and I think most people, the computer with a 'net connection is more engrossing than doodling, reading assignments for other classes, etc. That means it's harder for me to "snap back" my full attention on the class when necessary.
A professor doesn't have time to read and reply to IM messages during class. This situation calls for more asynchronous communication, email the question.
I'm all for the goals and requirements of classes being explicitly stated at the beginning of any course. People learn best when they know what's expected of them.
That's not a terrible idea but then some students set up open proxies to surf through and become not just classroom distractions but security and spam risks as well.
Very few college students are capable of determining whether a lecture is worthwhile or not.
What a stupid idea, a teacher using IM *in class.* They're in the same room, they should talk! I can concoct scenarios in which that's not stupid but they almost never happen in real life.
You really aren't asking professors to be interesting, you are asking them to be entertaining, more entertaining than what students can find on a 'net connection. That almost never happens and isn't really a plausible goal anyway.
Even if the students are paying for school themselves, they're not buying the right to be rude, to the teacher or to their fellow students. Students can't properly judge whether a lecture is a waste of their time while it's going on, only when the course is over or maybe after their next assignment.
There are certainly many people who do not teach well, especially in a "sage on the stage" setting, and schools could use less of that format but that's no excuse for being so disrespectful and a distraction to your classmates.
That doesn't sound *too* bad. Can the admin ask a user to wait until a student's next shift or do they have to go do whatever (clear paper jam, install optional Office component, etc.) themselves? Does the admin do web design or just keep the web server going. If they have to work on web content, that sounds out of line. How often is a problem caused by a user doing something they shouldn't like installing a game? Some places are okay with small IT staffs because users stick to their tasks. Are user's machines locked down at all (non-Local Admin in NT/2k/XP)? Do all the machines have antivirus software which is automaticallly running and kept up-to-date?
A lot of times IT staff to user ratios are not a reflection of how much work there is but what the user expectations are. If IT staff have to respond to every call *right now*, you need a lot of staff. If users don't expect same day response, you can get away with less.
I was in Austin, TX in the mid-90s when there was something like 40,000 people a year moving in and the majority of them were from California. I really haven't paid attention to the city since I left in '96 but at the time there was a lot of high tech there. It was a lot of hardware, chip fab and whatnot, but where there's hardware, there's software. At the time, Californians were moving in and were building McMansions in the hills with the proceeds of the sale of their modest homes in California.
Culturally, Austin has a lot going on, particularly its music scene. Pretty much all the state's liberals are corralled there but it is the state capital so virtually every political bent is well represented.
Anyhow, it should be on your list of places to check out.
Locking out so they have to call tech support is unnecessary. Instead lock them out for a relatively short period of time, say 5 minutes. *Any* lockout period is going to foil a brute force attach but a short period gives the user a chance to think a moment and get it right. Almost every time I've seen someone get locked out (with a 5 try limit) it wasn't because they didn't know the password, it was because the mis-typed it too many times (with possible Caps Lock involvement).
As I put on my high school locker (briefly), "'Asshole' is in the eye of the beholder."
I wonder if "new code base" == "Cocoa." OS X-only apps are not necessarily Cocoa (like Office v.X). InDesign is a Carbon app so depending on how Apple improves the OS in the future, being a Cocoa app (if it is) could be a real edge for XPress.
I've been told it's 1.3GHz Thunderbird so my bad.
I've been told it's 1.3GHz Thunderbird so my bad.
Yeah, I'm downloading it now from one hop away and getting 30KB/sec. I shouldn't try to judge a computer, its case but the case is a Gateway P5 mid-tower. I'm sure it's not still the Pentium 133 or 166 that was originally in it but I think it has to have an AT motherboard.
The package is 116MB?! we'll see what tomorrow is like but I'm thinking it's not staying there for long. We *do* have to pay for the bandwidth.
Totally. The whole subnet is thrashed, its 10Mbit uplink is maxed out The whole package is 116MB, I'm thinking someone is going to get a pound^H^H^H^H^H talking to.
I just went down to the lab and I can't tell exactly from looking at it but I'm pretty sure that server is no better than a Pentium MMX.
Does it try to download stuff from that server? This is important because I'm sort of the netadmin (more like network liaison) for the subnet the server is on and the Slashdot Effect has wiped out the whole subnet. We're going to have to talk to them if the package pulls stuff from their server.
BTW, I'm not sure what their server's hardware is but from loooking at it, I'd guess no better than a Pentium MMX.
You're probably being sarcastic but the primary reason is the number of times police (and others) have shot children (and adults) because they thought the toy gun the child was brandishing was real.