You actually bought something from Belkin? Every single piece of their hardware that I've used has been nothing but a total fuckup. They have a bad reputation for anyone in the know and IMO they've earned it.
I do it as a side job and have a handful of customers. Most of them have called me back for return business multiple times.
Firstly, yes most of the stuff is easy to do. Since ATX came out I actually have common sticks of RAM and a couple spare PSUs. When I have a new customer whose computer won't start, the first thing I do is check all the plugs as well as make sure the surge protector/UPS is on. I also try a different plug in the house/apartment (if feasible) to make sure it's not an electrical thing (blown fuse, for instance, and that one plug the computer is in is the only one on the circuit.)
It's rare that it's actually a hardware failure - it's mostly stupid shit. At $20 an hour, my rates aren't all that bad compared to what I've heard Geek Squad and other companies will ream you for, especially because I don't unnecessarily pad my time. 95% of the time I work in the customer's home so they're right there and see me working.
The reason I (and so many others in the field) do stuff like "Backup and reformat" is because it takes less time that it would for me to try out the several diagnoses and attempted repairs (none of which may work). Backup/reformat also has several benefits, including:
* Data Audit - Out of all this shit, what do you really need?
* Better guarantee of being virus-free
* Snappier operation
* I can customize their settings for them right there
Ultimately, I try very hard to be ethical. I'm sure there's been a couple of times in the last few years where I was sluggish or tired and wasn't working as fast as I normally do. And you know what? The good money isn't in ethical. If you do a good enough job, you don't necessarily keep that person as a return customer. You have to either branch out besides repair (I also do consulting, acquisitions (purchasing stuff for them), security/threat analysis, system hardening, etc. - way more beyond the "HAY GAIZ I HAVE A WINDOWS CS LAWL" stuff), do some very unethical stuff, or don't make enough money for it to be a full-time job.
Most of the customers I've gotten after the initial foray of "put out a couple hundred flyers" are referrals from past customers, many of whom never call me again. I'll have a guy call me up and say his cousin needs a computer fixed, etc., and that's another way my income via this venture is supplemented.
I try hard to be ethical, so it will probably never be anything more than a part-time gig - and that's why so many of the computer repair "gurus" pull shit like this.
The same freedoms that are meant to protect us are just as easily abused by people out for profits or their own political agendas.
The only way to ensure that we keep our rights is to continually remain vigilant and fight for them whenever they are challenged. I'm embarassed, frustrated, and outraged that so many of my other fellow Americans are so goddamned lazy about this.
It's a copypasta troll. Is your sarcasm detector broken by any chance?
Our goal is to convince people that piracy is something the good guys are doing in a fight with the evil corporations. Making money is wrong, even though Slashdot displays ads, and it cost me money to buy the computer I'm using to pirate stuff.
If World of Warcraft ever fizzles out, they probably have a backup plan already in place.
I'm guessing that they're working on a World of Warcraft 2. A bigger, better engine that looks better and can do more. If 1 ever fizzles out, they'll wait a little while and bring out 2.
When I was younger and basically sitting on my ass at home, Valve's Steam service announced that they would be ending support of Windows 98/ME. I was running Windows ME. (Yeah it crashed a lot, but I didn't want to partition my 40 gig HD at the time.)
I busted my ass to find some kind of work - any work - so I could get some upgraded parts and a copy of XP. Damned if I was going to lose the ability to play my Steam games.
The best way to drive users to the next generation is to have a service that they feel is critical or important say "We're upgrading, and if you don't you're gonna lose us."
Since you don't have your e-mail listed, I'm posting here.
I'm a highly underpaid IT admin working at a 501(c)(3) trying to admin a woefully underequipped, underpowered, and understaffed network. I'm having a hard time figuring everything out. If I could toss a few questions your way and you'd have the time to answer them, would you please e-mail me?
A lot of it has to do with "rights" based on country. A company might have the right to distribute a game in Britain, but not in Sweden. As such, they would have to have a way to ensure that the game is only distributed to people in Britain.
It would be much more in the spirit of the Internet if there were more "global" rights for distribution, but I think many people can recognize how this would be a double-edged sword.
Being a New Jerseyan, I know the term NIMBY well. But for the uninformed, it stands for "Not In My Back Yard". NIMBYs are the kind of assholes who have fought for many years to keep windmills out of the coastal waters (so far out that it's hard to see them) because they don't want to ruin the skyline on their precious beachfront property.
So if one page out of all of my tabs spazzes out on me, will it just crash that one page and not the whole browser? Because that would be awesome. It takes a minute to reload all of my tabs.
I would think the yearly Pwn2Own competitions is a pretty good indicator. A Windows, Mac, and Linux system are all set up with the latest security patches from their respective OSes. The first person to compromise the system gets to keep it. Every year I've read about it, the order from first to last compromised has been Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Aren't a large chunk of the embryos taken from fertitlity clinics etc., basically stuff that's scheduled to be destroyed anyway? If it's going to get shitcanned it may as well do some good.
GM didn't even sell the car. They had a lease-only program throughout which you could never actually buy the car. They put marginal marketing into it and despite a practical cult-like following of its users who loved the car (i.e. the Apple effect), they forced all of them to be returned. They then crushed every single car save for a few saved for educational purposes (universities, museums). The educational vehicles were given under a clause that they could never be in working order.
Why would GM do any of this if they actually wanted them to get on the road? They wouldn't do it because they didn't want these cars on the road.
In the early 90s, California raised a stink about pollution. They wrote up a law that basically said cars in California have to conform to way tighter pollution restrictions. The federal government eventually overruled them.
The EV-1 was a well-designed model that was eaten up by early adopters but never got very far because a few powerful groups (oil companies, auto companies, and the federal government) colluded to do everything they could to make it a failure. It was unethical and criminally negligent.
On the plus side, GM is completely fucked. Had they not sabotaged the EV-1, they would be one of the leading car companies in the world.
Rappers (sampling)
Video bloggers/YouTube users (anime music videos, montages, etc.)
Pencil and Paper roleplayers (look at the dearth of systems that exist already!
For some reason, any "official" YouTube videos (music videos from labels, trailers, etc.) are typically shitty quality. Someone else will upload a high quality version with good sound and no artifacting, but it'll get taken down.
Slashdot Mirror
You actually bought something from Belkin? Every single piece of their hardware that I've used has been nothing but a total fuckup. They have a bad reputation for anyone in the know and IMO they've earned it.
PC Repairman here.
I do it as a side job and have a handful of customers. Most of them have called me back for return business multiple times.
Firstly, yes most of the stuff is easy to do. Since ATX came out I actually have common sticks of RAM and a couple spare PSUs. When I have a new customer whose computer won't start, the first thing I do is check all the plugs as well as make sure the surge protector/UPS is on. I also try a different plug in the house/apartment (if feasible) to make sure it's not an electrical thing (blown fuse, for instance, and that one plug the computer is in is the only one on the circuit.)
It's rare that it's actually a hardware failure - it's mostly stupid shit. At $20 an hour, my rates aren't all that bad compared to what I've heard Geek Squad and other companies will ream you for, especially because I don't unnecessarily pad my time. 95% of the time I work in the customer's home so they're right there and see me working.
The reason I (and so many others in the field) do stuff like "Backup and reformat" is because it takes less time that it would for me to try out the several diagnoses and attempted repairs (none of which may work). Backup/reformat also has several benefits, including:
* Data Audit - Out of all this shit, what do you really need?
* Better guarantee of being virus-free
* Snappier operation
* I can customize their settings for them right there
Ultimately, I try very hard to be ethical. I'm sure there's been a couple of times in the last few years where I was sluggish or tired and wasn't working as fast as I normally do. And you know what? The good money isn't in ethical. If you do a good enough job, you don't necessarily keep that person as a return customer. You have to either branch out besides repair (I also do consulting, acquisitions (purchasing stuff for them), security/threat analysis, system hardening, etc. - way more beyond the "HAY GAIZ I HAVE A WINDOWS CS LAWL" stuff), do some very unethical stuff, or don't make enough money for it to be a full-time job.
Most of the customers I've gotten after the initial foray of "put out a couple hundred flyers" are referrals from past customers, many of whom never call me again. I'll have a guy call me up and say his cousin needs a computer fixed, etc., and that's another way my income via this venture is supplemented.
I try hard to be ethical, so it will probably never be anything more than a part-time gig - and that's why so many of the computer repair "gurus" pull shit like this.
The whole thing is really just one huge rum still.
Regardless of his connections, he earned his pension. What he's doing is somewhat unethical, but by no means illegal.
He could just as easily have quietly sold the entire database for millions.
Science-to-car analogy translation:
All car engines use small explosions to provide power. What you don't want to happen is a really big explosion.
The same freedoms that are meant to protect us are just as easily abused by people out for profits or their own political agendas.
The only way to ensure that we keep our rights is to continually remain vigilant and fight for them whenever they are challenged. I'm embarassed, frustrated, and outraged that so many of my other fellow Americans are so goddamned lazy about this.
It's a copypasta troll. Is your sarcasm detector broken by any chance?
Our goal is to convince people that piracy is something the good guys are doing in a fight with the evil corporations. Making money is wrong, even though Slashdot displays ads, and it cost me money to buy the computer I'm using to pirate stuff.
If World of Warcraft ever fizzles out, they probably have a backup plan already in place.
I'm guessing that they're working on a World of Warcraft 2. A bigger, better engine that looks better and can do more. If 1 ever fizzles out, they'll wait a little while and bring out 2.
When I was younger and basically sitting on my ass at home, Valve's Steam service announced that they would be ending support of Windows 98/ME. I was running Windows ME. (Yeah it crashed a lot, but I didn't want to partition my 40 gig HD at the time.)
I busted my ass to find some kind of work - any work - so I could get some upgraded parts and a copy of XP. Damned if I was going to lose the ability to play my Steam games.
The best way to drive users to the next generation is to have a service that they feel is critical or important say "We're upgrading, and if you don't you're gonna lose us."
Since you don't have your e-mail listed, I'm posting here.
I'm a highly underpaid IT admin working at a 501(c)(3) trying to admin a woefully underequipped, underpowered, and understaffed network. I'm having a hard time figuring everything out. If I could toss a few questions your way and you'd have the time to answer them, would you please e-mail me?
ihmhi6@gmail.com
Albert Hofmann, is that you?
Chair Chucker!
Who the Hell carries their passport around all day in their home country? Most of the time I imagine it would be sitting in a safe place at home.
A lot of it has to do with "rights" based on country. A company might have the right to distribute a game in Britain, but not in Sweden. As such, they would have to have a way to ensure that the game is only distributed to people in Britain.
It would be much more in the spirit of the Internet if there were more "global" rights for distribution, but I think many people can recognize how this would be a double-edged sword.
Wouldn't market forces balance things out?
If you have a ton of smiths, then there would be a ton of smith-made items and therefore a glut. Prices would go down.
Conversely, the Baker's +5 Int Bran Muffin would be more valuable than its baseline because it's rarer.
Being a New Jerseyan, I know the term NIMBY well. But for the uninformed, it stands for "Not In My Back Yard". NIMBYs are the kind of assholes who have fought for many years to keep windmills out of the coastal waters (so far out that it's hard to see them) because they don't want to ruin the skyline on their precious beachfront property.
So if one page out of all of my tabs spazzes out on me, will it just crash that one page and not the whole browser? Because that would be awesome. It takes a minute to reload all of my tabs.
Now if I could only find my car keys ...
Have you tried Google? They're doing some really amazing stuff with their engine lately.
I would think the yearly Pwn2Own competitions is a pretty good indicator. A Windows, Mac, and Linux system are all set up with the latest security patches from their respective OSes. The first person to compromise the system gets to keep it. Every year I've read about it, the order from first to last compromised has been Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Aren't a large chunk of the embryos taken from fertitlity clinics etc., basically stuff that's scheduled to be destroyed anyway? If it's going to get shitcanned it may as well do some good.
Heroin is dangerous because it's addictive as all hell.
I think you should watch "Who Killed The Electric Car?"
There was certainly a car that "panned out" - the General Motors EV1.
GM didn't even sell the car. They had a lease-only program throughout which you could never actually buy the car. They put marginal marketing into it and despite a practical cult-like following of its users who loved the car (i.e. the Apple effect), they forced all of them to be returned. They then crushed every single car save for a few saved for educational purposes (universities, museums). The educational vehicles were given under a clause that they could never be in working order.
Why would GM do any of this if they actually wanted them to get on the road? They wouldn't do it because they didn't want these cars on the road.
In the early 90s, California raised a stink about pollution. They wrote up a law that basically said cars in California have to conform to way tighter pollution restrictions. The federal government eventually overruled them.
The EV-1 was a well-designed model that was eaten up by early adopters but never got very far because a few powerful groups (oil companies, auto companies, and the federal government) colluded to do everything they could to make it a failure. It was unethical and criminally negligent.
On the plus side, GM is completely fucked. Had they not sabotaged the EV-1, they would be one of the leading car companies in the world.
Groups that would immediately support this:
Rappers (sampling)
Video bloggers/YouTube users (anime music videos, montages, etc.)
Pencil and Paper roleplayers (look at the dearth of systems that exist already!
So?
For some reason, any "official" YouTube videos (music videos from labels, trailers, etc.) are typically shitty quality. Someone else will upload a high quality version with good sound and no artifacting, but it'll get taken down.
I expected that to end "Burma Shave".
I've been browsing /. WAY too much.