From having asked around my high school in the last two weeks or so, I'm putting my estimate that at least 600 of the 2150 students and more than 2 dozen staff will be gone at some point that day. I, unfortunately, have AP tests on Wed and Thurs, so I'm not going to be able to go until Friday. All the students are hoping that May 19, 1999 will remain as a lowest-percent-attendance record for many years.
I use a MouseMan marble to play Quake II and many other 3D games (Descent, Half Life,...). It took me a while to achieve Nirvana with the controls, but here's what I've settled on for all the games:
Mouse in "look mode" all the time (turn and look up/down)
button 1: fire
button 2: run
button 3: various. In Quake II, it "zooms in", which is simply awesome for long-distance railgun or rocket shots
ASDF: strafe left, back, forward, strafe right respectively
space: jump
V: crouch (or slide down in Descent)
X: center view
R: various ('use' in Half-Life, 'slide up' in Descent)
That may help. The trackball is excellent for aiming--I think it's even better than the mouse, because you don't have to move your arm--but it royally sucks for movement.
Look, I've dealt with enough of them to know what they're like.
That's not what I said. You need to be one to really understand what being a sysadmin is like. Trust me. It's not something you can really empathize with.
I have. Probably a lot more than you.
You're probably right, but pissing contests prove nothing nor does greater volume indicate greater understanding.
Sysadmins don't create anything. They're tinkerers. A few of them here and there may be inspired tinkerers who more than earn their pay, but I sure haven't ever met one like that.
Further support that you don't really understand syadmins. It's true that sysadmins don't "create" in Rand-ish terms, but they're definitely as much architects as Howard Roark or Peter Keating.
My originial proposal stuff stands. Go become a sysadmin, don't be so closed-minded about Rand, and then re-read your post.
Having been on both sides (user and sysadmin) in an academic setting, let me present my feelings:
At the beginning of the school year, I thought our sysadmin was an incompetent jerk and was constantly complaining and saying how much better I could do. One afternoon, he chewed me out. As it turned out, his problem was not so much his own inability to run the system, but that his freedom was being crippled by a slew of stupid rules, plans, and policies written by the administration. In an academic or government setting, never underestimate the power of technological stupidity of the administration. After I understood this, he and I got along better.
Now from the sysadmin perspective: "Know it all" users are basically a black-and-white issue: they're either a lot of help, or utter hell. The biggest problems are not the users who are clueless, but the ones who "know it all." They aren't the ones who take up the most time, but the ones who are the biggest hassle to deal with because they always insist they're right. There are details about computer systems that we know that the users don't. It's a fact of life. Either we won't, can't, or just haven't been able to tell you, and you either need to live with that, or ask in a calm manner (for which we will almost always give an obliging answer). Every sysadmin I know, including me, gets harried when helping users. Seeing "clutter" just upsets us. While I agree that it probably wasn't necessary to completely re-arrange your icons, it may have just been to preserve his wearing-thin sanity -- how do you know he wasn't working under a lot of stress, like most of us do? We also tend to be pretty possessive about "our" systems, and there is some degree of justification for that. It's our paid job, so please respect it. Do you not think you have some students who think they're smarter than you are? How do you feel if they shoot off at you? In some cases, they may be darn well smarter than you, but they still need to recognize that there's still something they can learn and they need to respect you. Sysadmins are the same way. Like it or not, we're paid to run your system, and thus demand at least a little respect. It is a difficult thing to understand without actually having had the experience, so please either take my word for it or ask your current "highly competent and nice guy" if you can have a day-long sample of what it's like.
In rare cases, it may be that you are in fact right and that your sysadmin is truly incompetent, in which case, you take it up with the administration, not the sysadmin {him,her}self.
That's actually pretty much how I got my training. With basically no experience, I started with a small ISP a little over a year ago, working behind a guy who had inherited the business from the guy who started it. I asked questions, solved problems, observed, screwed up my fair share of times, and when the "head" sysadmin moved about 2 months ago, I took over. I'm now training my replacements.
My advice is to find either a small company that needs another admin (or even one to being with!) that is willing to take someone with brains but not a long resume. Either that, or find a nice sysadmin in a large company who will be willing to take you under his/her wing for a year or two.
One of the guys in my LUG said a few weeks ago "the only good NT sysadmins have come from either a UNIX or a VMS background" which, as I thought about it, is largely correct -- having dealt with quite a few NT and UNIX admins myself. Now, I have no experience with VMS, but I think that the reason UNIX breeds good sysadmins is that UNIX forces you to understand not just what computers do, but how and why they do it.
The worst part about NT, I think, is not so much that it's just an inferior OS, but that it's an entirely inferior model for an OS. It makes stuff too easy, which means you never learn about how and why the computer is doing what it is. This is just fine for end-users, but for a sysadmin, this is a Very Bad Thing. The UNIX (adn I guess VMS) admins understand the computer, not just knowing about the computer.
...because I wonder who is doing the censoring. I can't help but remember Montag in Farenheit 451 (the guy burned books by day and read them by night, if you don't remember). Censorship seems like an immensely hypocritical job, telling others what they can or cannot know. I really wonder about those doing the censoring, whether they are so digusted by what they see that they quit, or are so disgusted that they are forced to ban certain material that they end up quitting.
As a Mormon, I will agree that, yes, to an extent there are some people within the LDS church that there is some degree of paranoia with regards to sin and temptation -- especially when it involves children and teens. However, I'd bet this is the case within any religious organization. I do think that such censorship is a little out of hand, but I don't in any way advocate complete freedom of exposure. You quote Joseph Smith correctly, but I'd counter-argue that the spirit of the statement is that knowledge is required in order to differentiate between "good" and "evil." Free agency is inseparable from responsibility, and in some cases, agency should not be given because responsibility cannot be held (this doesn't just go for kids; I know adults like this too). Such mass censorship of certain internet sites is going a little far, though; the porn I can understand, the others I can't. They should at least clearly notify the customers of such a policy.
It's limited to 21 days. I'm not sure how, but after 21 you have to buy it or delete it. I'm not going to try it anyway -- the old beta screwed my system up badly.
I'll just keep using my $600 MySQL server to handle my 100 meg database for the time being, thank you. The majority of the database market doesn't need -- nor can it afford -- a server that can chomp thru 1 terabyte of data in 1 second.
Isn't all of this simply a way to create increased dependence on Microsoft computers?
Well, yes, of course. That's the marketing goal of any company. What I meant was that these goals are applicable to any computing organization -- especially Free Software.
Before you go bashing, let's examine what Mr. Gates has to say. Rest assured, I hate MS just as much as the next guy, but Gates isn't completely off the mark. Here's the Time article point-for-point.
Insist communication flow thru email
Study sales data online to share insights easily
Shift "knowledge workers" into high-level thinking (ie, freely distribute company data)
Use digital tools to create virtual teams
Convert every paper process to a digital process
Use digital tools to eliminate single-task jobs
Create a digital feedback loop (ie, re-evaluate your processes frequently)
Use digital systems to route customer complaints immediately
Use digital communication to redefine the boundaries (ie, re-examine what your business does, what it can do, and what it should do)
Transform every business process to "just-in-time delivery" (ie, keep low inventory/overhead; speedy delivery)
Use digital delivery to eliminate the middle man
Use digital tools to help customers solve problems for themselves Admittedly, none of these are brilliant breakthroughs (it's all stuff various tech visionaries have been saying for years). However, behind the corporate double-speak, there's still a solid plan for 21th-century business. Ironically, notice that the Open Source community follows every one probably better than any corporation. When was the last time Alan's diary contained the entry "spent all day in a meeting with Linus" or Miguel wasted half a forest on yet another "GNOME is almost finished" memo? Don't be so quick to dismiss ideas just because they came from mouth of the Devil of Redmond.
Doesn't surprise me. That's probably the high-res, zero-compression, not-for-internet-release version. Notice they said "we're making it smaller" -- chopping it down to 320x200 and compressing it.
Have you checked to make sure that your card isn't too hot? My experience with VooDoo2's says that if they aren't properly cooled then they'll lock hard. Make sure you've got adequate case ventilation, especially if you have lots of other stuff in there. VooDoo2's make great space heaters.
Slashdot Mirror
From having asked around my high school in the last two weeks or so, I'm putting my estimate that at least 600 of the 2150 students and more than 2 dozen staff will be gone at some point that day. I, unfortunately, have AP tests on Wed and Thurs, so I'm not going to be able to go until Friday. All the students are hoping that May 19, 1999 will remain as a lowest-percent-attendance record for many years.
Bah. Give me a recliner with probes to plug my brain directly into the computer Matrix-style and then I'll start paying attention.
Quoth Ed Muth, group project manager at MS:
"Microsoft was pleased but not surprised by Mindcraft's results concerning the excellent performance of Windows NT Server."
Why am I not surprised either.
- Mouse in "look mode" all the time (turn and look up/down)
- button 1: fire
- button 2: run
- button 3: various. In Quake II, it "zooms in", which is simply awesome for long-distance railgun or rocket shots
- ASDF: strafe left, back, forward, strafe right respectively
- space: jump
- V: crouch (or slide down in Descent)
- X: center view
- R: various ('use' in Half-Life, 'slide up' in Descent)
That may help. The trackball is excellent for aiming--I think it's even better than the mouse, because you don't have to move your arm--but it royally sucks for movement.Look, I've dealt with enough of them to know what they're like.
That's not what I said. You need to be one to really understand what being a sysadmin is like. Trust me. It's not something you can really empathize with.
I have. Probably a lot more than you.
You're probably right, but pissing contests prove nothing nor does greater volume indicate greater understanding.
Sysadmins don't create anything. They're tinkerers. A few of them here and there may be inspired tinkerers who more than earn their pay, but I sure haven't ever met one like that.
Further support that you don't really understand syadmins. It's true that sysadmins don't "create" in Rand-ish terms, but they're definitely as much architects as Howard Roark or Peter Keating.
My originial proposal stuff stands. Go become a sysadmin, don't be so closed-minded about Rand, and then re-read your post.
Having been on both sides (user and sysadmin) in an academic setting, let me present my feelings:
At the beginning of the school year, I thought our sysadmin was an incompetent jerk and was constantly complaining and saying how much better I could do. One afternoon, he chewed me out. As it turned out, his problem was not so much his own inability to run the system, but that his freedom was being crippled by a slew of stupid rules, plans, and policies written by the administration. In an academic or government setting, never underestimate the power of technological stupidity of the administration. After I understood this, he and I got along better.
Now from the sysadmin perspective: "Know it all" users are basically a black-and-white issue: they're either a lot of help, or utter hell. The biggest problems are not the users who are clueless, but the ones who "know it all." They aren't the ones who take up the most time, but the ones who are the biggest hassle to deal with because they always insist they're right. There are details about computer systems that we know that the users don't. It's a fact of life. Either we won't, can't, or just haven't been able to tell you, and you either need to live with that, or ask in a calm manner (for which we will almost always give an obliging answer). Every sysadmin I know, including me, gets harried when helping users. Seeing "clutter" just upsets us. While I agree that it probably wasn't necessary to completely re-arrange your icons, it may have just been to preserve his wearing-thin sanity -- how do you know he wasn't working under a lot of stress, like most of us do? We also tend to be pretty possessive about "our" systems, and there is some degree of justification for that. It's our paid job, so please respect it. Do you not think you have some students who think they're smarter than you are? How do you feel if they shoot off at you? In some cases, they may be darn well smarter than you, but they still need to recognize that there's still something they can learn and they need to respect you. Sysadmins are the same way. Like it or not, we're paid to run your system, and thus demand at least a little respect. It is a difficult thing to understand without actually having had the experience, so please either take my word for it or ask your current "highly competent and nice guy" if you can have a day-long sample of what it's like.
In rare cases, it may be that you are in fact right and that your sysadmin is truly incompetent, in which case, you take it up with the administration, not the sysadmin {him,her}self.
That's actually pretty much how I got my training. With basically no experience, I started with a small ISP a little over a year ago, working behind a guy who had inherited the business from the guy who started it. I asked questions, solved problems, observed, screwed up my fair share of times, and when the "head" sysadmin moved about 2 months ago, I took over. I'm now training my replacements.
My advice is to find either a small company that needs another admin (or even one to being with!) that is willing to take someone with brains but not a long resume. Either that, or find a nice sysadmin in a large company who will be willing to take you under his/her wing for a year or two.
One of the guys in my LUG said a few weeks ago "the only good NT sysadmins have come from either a UNIX or a VMS background" which, as I thought about it, is largely correct -- having dealt with quite a few NT and UNIX admins myself. Now, I have no experience with VMS, but I think that the reason UNIX breeds good sysadmins is that UNIX forces you to understand not just what computers do, but how and why they do it.
The worst part about NT, I think, is not so much that it's just an inferior OS, but that it's an entirely inferior model for an OS. It makes stuff too easy, which means you never learn about how and why the computer is doing what it is. This is just fine for end-users, but for a sysadmin, this is a Very Bad Thing. The UNIX (adn I guess VMS) admins understand the computer, not just knowing about the computer.
Dear Mr(s). AC:
Assuming your post is not intended to be humourous, I submit this 3-part suggestion:
- Become a sysadmin yourself
- Read some Ayn Rand for yourself
- Re-evaluate your post
It's not a good idea to try to start a flamewar when all you have is fumes.
Yeah. It proves young people are more mature.
And more cocky.
You don't get it yet? It's the Quake II logo on its side. John Carmack for European dictator!
...because I wonder who is doing the censoring. I can't help but remember Montag in Farenheit 451 (the guy burned books by day and read them by night, if you don't remember). Censorship seems like an immensely hypocritical job, telling others what they can or cannot know. I really wonder about those doing the censoring, whether they are so digusted by what they see that they quit, or are so disgusted that they are forced to ban certain material that they end up quitting.
As a Mormon, I will agree that, yes, to an extent there are some people within the LDS church that there is some degree of paranoia with regards to sin and temptation -- especially when it involves children and teens. However, I'd bet this is the case within any religious organization. I do think that such censorship is a little out of hand, but I don't in any way advocate complete freedom of exposure. You quote Joseph Smith correctly, but I'd counter-argue that the spirit of the statement is that knowledge is required in order to differentiate between "good" and "evil." Free agency is inseparable from responsibility, and in some cases, agency should not be given because responsibility cannot be held (this doesn't just go for kids; I know adults like this too). Such mass censorship of certain internet sites is going a little far, though; the porn I can understand, the others I can't. They should at least clearly notify the customers of such a policy.
It's limited to 21 days. I'm not sure how, but after 21 you have to buy it or delete it. I'm not going to try it anyway -- the old beta screwed my system up badly.
I'll just keep using my $600 MySQL server to handle my 100 meg database for the time being, thank you. The majority of the database market doesn't need -- nor can it afford -- a server that can chomp thru 1 terabyte of data in 1 second.
Isn't all of this simply a way to create increased dependence on Microsoft computers?
Well, yes, of course. That's the marketing goal of any company. What I meant was that these goals are applicable to any computing organization -- especially Free Software.
Insist communication flow thru email
Study sales data online to share insights easily
Shift "knowledge workers" into high-level thinking (ie, freely distribute company data)
Use digital tools to create virtual teams
Convert every paper process to a digital process
Use digital tools to eliminate single-task jobs
Create a digital feedback loop (ie, re-evaluate your processes frequently)
Use digital systems to route customer complaints immediately
Use digital communication to redefine the boundaries (ie, re-examine what your business does, what it can do, and what it should do)
Transform every business process to "just-in-time delivery" (ie, keep low inventory/overhead; speedy delivery)
Use digital delivery to eliminate the middle man
Use digital tools to help customers solve problems for themselves Admittedly, none of these are brilliant breakthroughs (it's all stuff various tech visionaries have been saying for years). However, behind the corporate double-speak, there's still a solid plan for 21th-century business. Ironically, notice that the Open Source community follows every one probably better than any corporation. When was the last time Alan's diary contained the entry "spent all day in a meeting with Linus" or Miguel wasted half a forest on yet another "GNOME is almost finished" memo? Don't be so quick to dismiss ideas just because they came from mouth of the Devil of Redmond.
... look no further than http://movies.soren.cinternet.net/.
Doesn't surprise me. That's probably the high-res, zero-compression, not-for-internet-release version. Notice they said "we're making it smaller" -- chopping it down to 320x200 and compressing it.
looks good so far Rob
x86 only, no source. Sorry {Alpha,Sparc,ARM,PowerPC} lovers.
Yeehah! GNOME 1.0 has now generated more comment traffic than that Iraq story a few months ago. Forget Clinton v. Sadaam, GNOME v. KDE is a real war.
http://movies.soren.cinternet.net/macbeth.mov
if you need it.
Have you checked to make sure that your card isn't too hot? My experience with VooDoo2's says that if they aren't properly cooled then they'll lock hard. Make sure you've got adequate case ventilation, especially if you have lots of other stuff in there. VooDoo2's make great space heaters.
I hope this means the death of AIX.