God I hope the new iPhone has a model that will run on Verizon. I don't care if it actually DOES, or if it is ever supported by VZW, I just want AT&T to feel enough pressure to make an effort to suck less.
I bought a 3Gs iPhone last fall, anticipating spending much of my time in Dallas. My reality turned out a bit different, now I'm living in rural Minnesota. I'm still forced to pay full price for 'unlimited' data, even though haven't seen a 3G connection since October. I was promised tethering was 'just around the corner', too - not that it matters - it'd be faster to walk to a hotspot than use a tethered EDGE connection. Now I see AT&T is budgeting major expansions in MN - all around the metro area, still 100 miles outside my stomping grounds. North and South Dakota aren't even on the AT&T map. I was recently visiting Warroad, MN, on the Canadian border, and couldn't even make a voice call. Crookston doesn't even have EDGE service. AT&T pisses and moans about folks who actually take them for their word about 'unlimited' data, but I'd sure like to have my bill cut back as compensation for not getting ANY 3G service. On the up side, I keep the 3G radio off and get GREAT battery life.
I know lots of/.ers will think I'm an idiot 'fanboy' for keeping the iPhone, but I really like the apps I've got on it - I use it for billing, task management, weather and flight planning and lots of other stuff - and the apps integrate nicely with my macbook. I'd have gone with a droid/google phone, but at the time it was only available on T-Mobile, and I KNEW that wouldn't work for me. In the future I'm worried that the droid platform will be so windows-centric that I'll get the short end of the cool app stick as a mac user.
For the moment I feel like I'm watching a race to see who wins - the Droid to provide apps I need on their vastly superior VZW coverage, or AT&T to expand the coverage for their superior apps. Maybe I should just trade the iPhone in for a Touch in the mean time.:-(
I'm glad they passed the bill, we really need an updated system. The new stuff gives more accurate info, and (supposedly) will include very accurate weather information (for free) similar to what XM sells for something like $500/yr. Old-fashioned radar coverage works poorly in hilly / mountainous terrain, and gps navigation allows direct flight which will save time, fuel and bucks. The old-time systems are disappearing (NDBs are becoming a rare novelty - and good riddance, I say). I'm also pleased that this doesn't seem to have included 'user fees' for general aviation, which would serve as a deterrent to private flight, and make it more expensive to stay in practice, and more dangerous as a result.
Having said all that, I AM disappointed at the general direction of being tracked and my whereabouts logged with even more consistency and precision by some government entity. Big brother is smacking his lips over this, but at least THIS time we actually get some convenience for our trade off of privacy.
I live in a radar 'dead' zone, and don't have to worry about the FAA watching when occasionally buzzing a neighbor; guess I'd better enjoy it while I can.
So did the last 'open source' router I bought from Netgear - then I found out it could ONLY be configured with IE6. I think I'll hold off on buying any more 'open source' netgear equipment until I can confirm they aren't still confused about this 'open source' stuff.
I've been it "IT" for 20 years, and have experienced the "glory" at least twice.
Once, while twiddling with some workstation upgrades at a client site I had a cute young secretary ask if I could do something about all the static on her phone. I checked some lines at the key system in the closet, and noticed the power cord had been neatly wrapped and bundled in with the phone lines. I cut it loose and shifted it a bit, and the noise went away. The secretary was so elated she offered "to have my children". Being the socially dysfunctional dork that I am, I backed away slowly while wondering if my recent marriage may have been my best move.
The second event, much more recently, occurred while I was at a cool old-time whiskey bar near Reno enjoying a beer with some friends. When the bar maid started complaining that their Internet connection was down (again!), preventing them from running credit cards, one of my (rather inebriated) buddies piped up that I was some kind of computer genius, while I kept my head down and tried to look inconspicuous. They ended up talking me into 'looking into it' with free scotch and cigars. It turned out that the boss had installed a new wifi video surveillance system that was interfering with the crappy USB wifi dongle on their crappy, ancient windows 98 box. I guessed the router password on the first attempt (I'm no Bruce Schneier - it was just that bad a password - I wonder if scotch helps with password guessing?) and changed the wifi channel, and it started working. I got a kiss and lots more scotch out of it. Every time my buddies retell it (they know nothing about IT - they really believe I'm a genius) the story just gets better.
At this rate, I'll have TWO more glorious IT experiences before I retire!
In my experience, it's necessary to upgrade a windows machine to newer hardware at least every six years or else it isn't powerful enough to run current anti-virus software.
I still can't believe they don't teach even more fundamental and useful mental tools
No kidding, although I was thinking of even MORE practical skills: "Regardless of the career a child takes up when they leave school, a high percentage of them will use a %A in their daily work, and all of them are likely to %B"
For values of %A and %B: - Checkbook, use cash (I didn't learn SQUAT about money management in school) - relationship, have friends and a spouse (I didn't learn anything about interpersonal skills - at least not formally) - source of nourishment, eat (I didn't learn more than the very basics - and most of that is now considered incorrect - about diet and nutrition) - (an) exercise routine, be somewhat physically active (I took 'gym', but didn't learn anything about basic weight training, the benefits of aerobics and importance of flexibility)
I lack the imagination to fit this into my pithy example, but something about dealing with children and basic parenting would certainly work in the list, too. Seriously, what's more important - knowing what year Washington crossed the Delaware, or how to not turn into a broke, fat, wife beater with bratty kids?
All the stuff about how to speed read, think critically, debate logically, memorize easily and see through the clouded vale of shoddy statistics one is constantly showered with would be awesome, too. You'd think all that could EASILY be fit into 12 FREAKIN' YEARS of education, but somehow many students barely manage to learn the basics of reading and grammar. I swear primary school has just become a subsidized baby-sitting service.
I haven't actually fired up ipv6 (yet), but I did a lot of preliminary legwork, and found that:
- An end user cannot find a Verizon tech who knows what IPv6 is, let alone sign up for it
- The local indy ISP doesn't want to mess with it
- while my linux and mac workstations, and OpenWRT router will support ipv6, my networked HP printer/scanner/fax gee-whiz box, my asterisk appliance, none of my various VoIP phones, my chumby or my Nabistag have any idea what ipv6 is - and they out number my PCs
- the proliferation of the ethernet enabled 'gadgets' is really driving our ipv4 depletion - and they are the very devices least likely to support ipv6
I love using linux for as much as I possibly can, but I have noticed a distinct difference in the audio quality between my old power book Ti and a 'business' grade dell. The audio out my mac mini is MUCH better than what I get out of Dell desktops I've used, too. My eeePC 901 does seem to sound pretty good, though.
Doctor Who was on the presidential commission to raise the drinking age? I bet it was the Doctor with the stupid celery stock on his lapel... I never did like him; it doesn't surprise me that a more recent regeneration would recant - he seems to be getting more easy going.
just think about trying to get that number as you are throwing someone out.
Out of curiosity... how do they get that information off the person being thrown out to know which of the hundreds of patrons that came in that night make the 'banned' list? Wouldn't the person actually need to get arrested, such that the information on the list is retrieved from the police?
They occasionally post clutter-busting suggestions over at www.lifehacker.com. The original links from this one no longer seem to work, but I thought it was brilliant: http://lifehacker.com/237789/diy-under+desk-gadget-mount Basically, mount a peg board on hinged stand-offs with hasps to lock it in the 'up' position, and then mount all the small peripherals and cabling to the bottom of the desk. May not be completely child proof, depending on the size of your children and the extent of the cable fasteners you use.
I used to work for a company that pioneered some early voice recognition, and employed a team of Polish engineers who had escaped the soviets. Their early versions only understood English with a Polish accent.
I'm currently working on (or should be, instead of surfing/.) a book project for Syngress, an 'impress' of Elsevier. This almost makes me feel dirty. I'm doing it more for the experience than the cash, and there isn't any 'research' involved, so I suspect this scandal won't affect me directly. Still, for any serious future projects I'll certainly look elsewhere first.
Why on earth isn't there a torrent for the netbook remix? I found one off TPB, and downloaded it, but my hash doesn't match what ubuntu claims it should (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuHashes) - I got d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e. Maybe an innocent artefact from the generous fellow who created the torrent - maybe not. I deleted the file and now am getting it straight from an official ftp site - at 1/8 the speed. I had really hoped to 1) get the file in such a way as to share it with other enthusiasts (you know - 'ubuntu') and 2) actually demonstrate a completely legitimate use for bittorrent, but I've been stymied. GAAAH!
Minnesota has a 'use' tax that works that way. I bought a used airplane, and keep it out of state, and didn't have to pay 'use' tax on it until I flew it across the MN state line. Note that on normal purchases, you only owe sales tax on NEW items, but 'use' tax includes USED things as well.
Also note that the state tracked my IFR flight plans and kindly sent me a reminder once I actually filed a flight into the state, in what I consider a pretty gross privacy violation.
At least the annual registration fees aren't too crazy.
How long before each worm compares copies of other source code, checks it for copyright and patent infringement, and automatically fires off legal threats?
I've been enjoying the heck out of ubuntu's jaunty netbook remix beta on my eeePC 901. It's due out in final form in just a couple more weeks. It was easy to stick on a thumb drive to test out in 'live' mode, and after installing it on a 12G partition and downloading all kinds of cool goodies I've still got over 7G free.
I think the wifi works better than the stock xandros, but the battery seems to burn a bit quicker.
My fear is that it's possible to get the bios directly from the factory in China pre-loaded with a virus 'back-door'. I doubt the Chinese have any use for MY computer, but I'm pretty sure nearly all the PCs in the US government and military come from China, and I suspect the Chinese may have an interest in them.
Seems the real answer would be for cameras to start being made with a standardized accessory slot - like the mini-PC cards. You could then get a PC card gps, wifi, blue-tooth, 3g, extra memory, USB, SCSI, firewire (live video!), whatever - swap between camera bodies, even have a gps card with its own internal battery that could be left on with a good view of the sky then re-united with the camera at a convenient time to do the geo-tagging.
Slashdot Mirror
God I hope the new iPhone has a model that will run on Verizon. I don't care if it actually DOES, or if it is ever supported by VZW, I just want AT&T to feel enough pressure to make an effort to suck less.
I bought a 3Gs iPhone last fall, anticipating spending much of my time in Dallas. My reality turned out a bit different, now I'm living in rural Minnesota. I'm still forced to pay full price for 'unlimited' data, even though haven't seen a 3G connection since October. I was promised tethering was 'just around the corner', too - not that it matters - it'd be faster to walk to a hotspot than use a tethered EDGE connection. Now I see AT&T is budgeting major expansions in MN - all around the metro area, still 100 miles outside my stomping grounds. North and South Dakota aren't even on the AT&T map. I was recently visiting Warroad, MN, on the Canadian border, and couldn't even make a voice call. Crookston doesn't even have EDGE service. AT&T pisses and moans about folks who actually take them for their word about 'unlimited' data, but I'd sure like to have my bill cut back as compensation for not getting ANY 3G service. On the up side, I keep the 3G radio off and get GREAT battery life.
I know lots of /.ers will think I'm an idiot 'fanboy' for keeping the iPhone, but I really like the apps I've got on it - I use it for billing, task management, weather and flight planning and lots of other stuff - and the apps integrate nicely with my macbook. I'd have gone with a droid/google phone, but at the time it was only available on T-Mobile, and I KNEW that wouldn't work for me. In the future I'm worried that the droid platform will be so windows-centric that I'll get the short end of the cool app stick as a mac user.
For the moment I feel like I'm watching a race to see who wins - the Droid to provide apps I need on their vastly superior VZW coverage, or AT&T to expand the coverage for their superior apps. Maybe I should just trade the iPhone in for a Touch in the mean time. :-(
I'm glad they passed the bill, we really need an updated system. The new stuff gives more accurate info, and (supposedly) will include very accurate weather information (for free) similar to what XM sells for something like $500/yr. Old-fashioned radar coverage works poorly in hilly / mountainous terrain, and gps navigation allows direct flight which will save time, fuel and bucks. The old-time systems are disappearing (NDBs are becoming a rare novelty - and good riddance, I say). I'm also pleased that this doesn't seem to have included 'user fees' for general aviation, which would serve as a deterrent to private flight, and make it more expensive to stay in practice, and more dangerous as a result.
Having said all that, I AM disappointed at the general direction of being tracked and my whereabouts logged with even more consistency and precision by some government entity. Big brother is smacking his lips over this, but at least THIS time we actually get some convenience for our trade off of privacy.
I live in a radar 'dead' zone, and don't have to worry about the FAA watching when occasionally buzzing a neighbor; guess I'd better enjoy it while I can.
I still remember a visit from a PC sales rep that was hired straight off the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleading squad. OMG I bet she could sell computers.
So did the last 'open source' router I bought from Netgear - then I found out it could ONLY be configured with IE6. I think I'll hold off on buying any more 'open source' netgear equipment until I can confirm they aren't still confused about this 'open source' stuff.
I've been it "IT" for 20 years, and have experienced the "glory" at least twice.
Once, while twiddling with some workstation upgrades at a client site I had a cute young secretary ask if I could do something about all the static on her phone. I checked some lines at the key system in the closet, and noticed the power cord had been neatly wrapped and bundled in with the phone lines. I cut it loose and shifted it a bit, and the noise went away. The secretary was so elated she offered "to have my children". Being the socially dysfunctional dork that I am, I backed away slowly while wondering if my recent marriage may have been my best move.
The second event, much more recently, occurred while I was at a cool old-time whiskey bar near Reno enjoying a beer with some friends. When the bar maid started complaining that their Internet connection was down (again!), preventing them from running credit cards, one of my (rather inebriated) buddies piped up that I was some kind of computer genius, while I kept my head down and tried to look inconspicuous. They ended up talking me into 'looking into it' with free scotch and cigars. It turned out that the boss had installed a new wifi video surveillance system that was interfering with the crappy USB wifi dongle on their crappy, ancient windows 98 box. I guessed the router password on the first attempt (I'm no Bruce Schneier - it was just that bad a password - I wonder if scotch helps with password guessing?) and changed the wifi channel, and it started working. I got a kiss and lots more scotch out of it. Every time my buddies retell it (they know nothing about IT - they really believe I'm a genius) the story just gets better.
At this rate, I'll have TWO more glorious IT experiences before I retire!
In my experience, it's necessary to upgrade a windows machine to newer hardware at least every six years or else it isn't powerful enough to run current anti-virus software.
I still can't believe they don't teach even more fundamental and useful mental tools
No kidding, although I was thinking of even MORE practical skills:
"Regardless of the career a child takes up when they leave school, a high percentage of them will use a %A in their daily work, and all of them are likely to %B"
For values of %A and %B:
- Checkbook, use cash (I didn't learn SQUAT about money management in school)
- relationship, have friends and a spouse (I didn't learn anything about interpersonal skills - at least not formally)
- source of nourishment, eat (I didn't learn more than the very basics - and most of that is now considered incorrect - about diet and nutrition)
- (an) exercise routine, be somewhat physically active (I took 'gym', but didn't learn anything about basic weight training, the benefits of aerobics and importance of flexibility)
I lack the imagination to fit this into my pithy example, but something about dealing with children and basic parenting would certainly work in the list, too. Seriously, what's more important - knowing what year Washington crossed the Delaware, or how to not turn into a broke, fat, wife beater with bratty kids?
All the stuff about how to speed read, think critically, debate logically, memorize easily and see through the clouded vale of shoddy statistics one is constantly showered with would be awesome, too. You'd think all that could EASILY be fit into 12 FREAKIN' YEARS of education, but somehow many students barely manage to learn the basics of reading and grammar. I swear primary school has just become a subsidized baby-sitting service.
I haven't actually fired up ipv6 (yet), but I did a lot of preliminary legwork, and found that:
- An end user cannot find a Verizon tech who knows what IPv6 is, let alone sign up for it
- The local indy ISP doesn't want to mess with it
- while my linux and mac workstations, and OpenWRT router will support ipv6, my networked HP printer/scanner/fax gee-whiz box, my asterisk appliance, none of my various VoIP phones, my chumby or my Nabistag have any idea what ipv6 is - and they out number my PCs
- the proliferation of the ethernet enabled 'gadgets' is really driving our ipv4 depletion - and they are the very devices least likely to support ipv6
I love using linux for as much as I possibly can, but I have noticed a distinct difference in the audio quality between my old power book Ti and a 'business' grade dell. The audio out my mac mini is MUCH better than what I get out of Dell desktops I've used, too. My eeePC 901 does seem to sound pretty good, though.
Doctor who was on presidential commission that pushed to raise drinking age to 21 regrets change, believes it did more harm than good.
Doctor Who was on the presidential commission to raise the drinking age? I bet it was the Doctor with the stupid celery stock on his lapel... I never did like him; it doesn't surprise me that a more recent regeneration would recant - he seems to be getting more easy going.
just think about trying to get that number as you are throwing someone out.
Out of curiosity... how do they get that information off the person being thrown out to know which of the hundreds of patrons that came in that night make the 'banned' list? Wouldn't the person actually need to get arrested, such that the information on the list is retrieved from the police?
They occasionally post clutter-busting suggestions over at www.lifehacker.com. The original links from this one no longer seem to work, but I thought it was brilliant:
http://lifehacker.com/237789/diy-under+desk-gadget-mount
Basically, mount a peg board on hinged stand-offs with hasps to lock it in the 'up' position, and then mount all the small peripherals and cabling to the bottom of the desk. May not be completely child proof, depending on the size of your children and the extent of the cable fasteners you use.
I used to work for a company that pioneered some early voice recognition, and employed a team of Polish engineers who had escaped the soviets. Their early versions only understood English with a Polish accent.
I'm currently working on (or should be, instead of surfing /.) a book project for Syngress, an 'impress' of Elsevier. This almost makes me feel dirty. I'm doing it more for the experience than the cash, and there isn't any 'research' involved, so I suspect this scandal won't affect me directly. Still, for any serious future projects I'll certainly look elsewhere first.
Why on earth isn't there a torrent for the netbook remix? I found one off TPB, and downloaded it, but my hash doesn't match what ubuntu claims it should (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuHashes) - I got d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e. Maybe an innocent artefact from the generous fellow who created the torrent - maybe not. I deleted the file and now am getting it straight from an official ftp site - at 1/8 the speed. I had really hoped to 1) get the file in such a way as to share it with other enthusiasts (you know - 'ubuntu') and 2) actually demonstrate a completely legitimate use for bittorrent, but I've been stymied. GAAAH!
Would that make them annoyanceists?
Led by Phil the Prince of Insufficient Light?
Wow - You're the one with the last running Windows Me box?
I'm a lumberjack and I don't care...
Minnesota has a 'use' tax that works that way. I bought a used airplane, and keep it out of state, and didn't have to pay 'use' tax on it until I flew it across the MN state line. Note that on normal purchases, you only owe sales tax on NEW items, but 'use' tax includes USED things as well.
Also note that the state tracked my IFR flight plans and kindly sent me a reminder once I actually filed a flight into the state, in what I consider a pretty gross privacy violation.
At least the annual registration fees aren't too crazy.
I'd like to see more stored at /dev/null
How long before each worm compares copies of other source code, checks it for copyright and patent infringement, and automatically fires off legal threats?
2nd for jaunty -
I've been enjoying the heck out of ubuntu's jaunty netbook remix beta on my eeePC 901. It's due out in final form in just a couple more weeks. It was easy to stick on a thumb drive to test out in 'live' mode, and after installing it on a 12G partition and downloading all kinds of cool goodies I've still got over 7G free.
I think the wifi works better than the stock xandros, but the battery seems to burn a bit quicker.
More info here:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UNR
I heard the conficker virus causes your system to put up first posts on /.
oh crap...
My fear is that it's possible to get the bios directly from the factory in China pre-loaded with a virus 'back-door'. I doubt the Chinese have any use for MY computer, but I'm pretty sure nearly all the PCs in the US government and military come from China, and I suspect the Chinese may have an interest in them.
Seems the real answer would be for cameras to start being made with a standardized accessory slot - like the mini-PC cards. You could then get a PC card gps, wifi, blue-tooth, 3g, extra memory, USB, SCSI, firewire (live video!), whatever - swap between camera bodies, even have a gps card with its own internal battery that could be left on with a good view of the sky then re-united with the camera at a convenient time to do the geo-tagging.