It's obvious to any experienced Unix users that highlighting text copies the text to the buffer. No reason to waste effort by making such minor things overly complex. You can still use the right-click menu in most apps to access additional C&P options. Wasting effort 100% of the time because people make errors 5% of the time is bad design and that is what it'd be to have some sort of confirmation on cutting or pasting.
I cut and paste text between browsers, email, editors, etc all the time with rarely a problem. Certainly less problems than I experience doing the same in Windows. Just try C&P'ing from a DOS box.:P
I think the last study I saw said something like 30% of business users use Mozilla while about 90% use IE.. which works because many people use more than one browser. 30% of those that use the Internet at work exposed to Mozilla is a lot higher number than I would have guessed. I'd suspect that is why Microsoft is suddenly making noise about an upcoming IE release with popup blocking and stuff. (I just wish they'd fix their CSS and PNG support!)
I introduced Firefox and Thunderbird where I worked and it's been pretty successful. Firefox was impressive to the boss and he's became something of a Thunderbird convert from Outlook.. going as far as trying to get other people to switch to Thunderbird.
I think my main wishlist is better support for plugins (in all OS's), better extension and theme UI (Ximian's Red Carpet would be what I'd copy), and giving Thunderbird better support for dealing with large amounts of mail. Better UI in the individual apps for intergrating Firefox, Thunderbird, etc would be good too. It'd be nice to be able to, in Thunderbird, set Firefox as my default browser and vice versa.
No denying that how you think of yourself can make a large difference as to if you are put in a bad situation. I disagree though that any place is safe. You find just as many rapist and psychos in good neighborhoods as in bad. Self defense classes are a good idea, and everyone (male or female) should have them, but you're still dealing with the fact that men are overall stronger, bigger, and more aggressive. My roommate is strong and very much a tough tomboyish type of girl and certainly no pushover but I could still disable her before she could even reach me. If I can do it then I'm sure guys willing to use destructive amounts of force could do it too. I'd judge my roommate able to beat the shit out of probably 80% of guys but that still leaves a lot of creeps out there that could be a danger. If she REALLY wants to walk alone I'll let her but I try to discourage her from doing so at night. I'm not saying something will happen if she is alone.. I'm saying that the chances are considerably better that something will happen if she is alone. Is it worth taking such chances?
And yes, I admit to being overprotective. I'm the same way with my pets and I'm sure when I have kids I'll be overprotective to them too. On the other hand I encourage taking risks that have been carefully considered and prepared for. Set yourself on fire if you want.. just learn how to do it without any permanent damage.;)
I hate using Windows because it lacks the Unix-style cut n'paste of text. It's so easy to work with. As a programmer it saves me a huge amount of time. I'd think the same would be true for anyone that works a lot with text. I just wish cutting and pasting other things in Unix was as easy. Gnome & KDE programmers should stop copying Windows and Mac methods and go with the easier Unix style. Highlight a file and the file is selected. Press the middle button and it's copied. Easy as can be. For more complex options you can still use the Windows-like right-click menus.
Sure historically or geneticlly it makes sense. It just amuses me that women say they want love but what they really want is money and power.
I must be a freak.. I don't really care about younger or slimmer.. I like geek girls. I haven't figured out how that evolves.
I've been married.. you're right.. being married is way different than prostitution. At least with the later you get something for your money. I dunno what I got from being married except bills and nagging and a woman that slept with my friends. Not that I think all marriages are that way.. gee at least I hope not.:)
So you're suggestion is to go with her idea that she can defend herself against thugs, which is clearly wrong, and if she happens to get raped, beaten, or killed then just say "oops, it's not my fault I wasn't there"? Sounds like a good plan. It'd certainly be less effort on my part. Afterall it's all my imagination that a cute woman walking alone at night through mostly empty streets is a tempting target.
Yeah. I find it a bit odd that women are so calculating about dating. To often even women you're close to will judge you by how much money you make. It really bothers me actually. I don't care if I'm making a lot or a little.. I don't want my work life and my income to define who I am or my relationships. Funny me for wanting to base relationships off love and respect.
The effectiveness of flashing cash to pick up girls makes me wonder why prostitution is illegal. If a woman only goes out with you because you have money how is that any better than trading sex for cash?
My roommate likes to walk to work and she works at night. I think it annoys her a little that I insist on walking her the three miles to work and then home again when she leaves (yes, a total of ~12 miles of walking for me per night) but I really don't think it's safe for her to walk alone. She thinks that because this is an okay neighborhood and because she is pretty tough that she'd be okay but I really disagree. All women are more appealing targets because almost always they are easier targets and because even if they don't have money they have a value to most attackers (usually male). You said you were mugged with your fiance. How do you think things would have gone if she'd been alone when mugged? Is it really so sexist to think women need escorts when walking at night?
I've been threatened in lots of places and yet to have had anyone walk off with my money or having inflicted any serious damage to me. I was short and geeky as a kid and grew up in a bad neighborhood. I learned fast that assholes can tell if your afraid or not. If you are then you're a target. If you're not then not only do they not attack you but they may even take your side in a situation. I had many people who tried to beat me up that afterwards became friends and something like bodyguards. As an adult the rules haven't really changed a lot.. I just grew a lot. Being 6'6 makes a difference too. Discourages people from even trying to start shit.
No, I was shot and stabbed by friends during rough housing. We did a lot of bad things to each other when bored. Also have been blown up, set on fire, electrocuted, knocked off a three story buildings roof onto concrete, etc. Hrm.. I'm probably a good example of why parents shouldn't tell their kids to go play outside.
On my wishlist is one of those bulletproof trenchcoats with big inner pockets large enough to carry a laptop. Sure, at ~$5000, they still are (and look) expensive but it'd sure cast a "don't fuck with me" air to you.
I agree that guns are not good for self defense but I think learning to use a gun is a good step to learning self defense. A weapon you are afraid of and not familiar with is something you won't be able to defend yourself against.
Really I suggest learning basics like learning to not follow a set routine, to look like you know where you're going and what you're doing, etc as the most important step to self defense. Learning basic defense or martial arts skills would be useful too.
If you're planning on kicking a guy in the balls when he has a weapon aimed at you then you are nuts. Most attackers don't want to use their weapons. If you assault them then you could make them accidently hurt you or just piss them off whereas they would again hurt you.
Running away from someone with a weapon is okay as long as their weapon isn't a gun. You don't want to turn your back on someone with a gun. It's hard to shoot someone with a pistol if that person can see where you're aiming and avoid the line of fire. Backing up slowly would be a better strategy. Once you get a respectable distance away then you can run. Again though, running risks just pissing off your attacker.
Pepper spray is useless. I've sprayed myself with it lots of times. It stings but will not disable an attacker. Yet again, this will only piss off an attacker.
Stun guns can work but require you to be close to the attacker and to be quicker than they are. You're as likely to get hurt from the exchange as they are. I'd use them as a last resort.
Get one of those personal alarm things. They will bring attention to you and do not encourage your attacker to become violent. That combined with a general awareness of how not to become a target will serve you better than any weapon.
Now as far as carrying weapons.. I'm for it. They are not good for preventing a quick violent crime but they can be useful for defending against psychos, terrorists, and others that are beyond reason. People trained in the proper use of weapons are less likely to be involved in a weapon related accident. Most people won't get into gun fights at the drop of a hat so the violence isn't going to be any higher. The real key is proper training in the use and handling of the weapons. Untrained idiots running around with weapons is a major threat. You have this problem when people don't train their kids in the use of these weapons but decide to buy them anyway.. or maybe their friends parents buy them.. or they find it in a park. Then you have kids blowing each others heads off by accident. A good reason to train yourself and your family in the basics of such weapons even if you intend to not keep any around.
I've been both shot and stabbed. It's really not the big deal that tv makes it out to be. It hurts but isn't really the tragic horror that it's shown as on tv. Most muggers don't know how to use their weapons and aren't really motivated to use them. So they attack you and make a quick buck.. now they have a major criminal offense against them. Whereas if they just accept the brush off and move on to an easier target the chance is that they won't be doing any serious time. Sure, most of them aren't to bright but it's not hard to figure something so basic out. For the dumber ones you can confuse them by just acting like you didn't notice them or behaving in a insane manner. Raving about aliens and the coming end of the world is a first rate way to convince someone that it's not worth their effort to fuck with you.
Maybe this only works if you have the right mindset though. If you're nutty enough not give a fuck if someone stabs you then you'll probably not be picked as a target by many muggers. At least not if they have been at their job very long. Give in to them and sure you might get away unscratched but you're more likely to be picked as a target and the more often you're picked as a target the more likely some asshole will ice you just for fun.
I did that. I also dress like something between a freak and a bum and I dyed my hair blue. Anyone that hassles me I make weird comments to about aliens and my fondness for anal probes and women with three breasts.
Amazingly this tactic really cuts back on the number of girls that go out with me too. Luckily there is an easy solution.. leave the electronics at home, dress nicer, look a lil less scary, and show off how much cash you're making at your nice geek job.
Showing a little confidence has the interesting effect of scaring off muggers while attracting women. Be warned though, women are much more costly than muggers. Muggers generally don't move in with you and continue to drain your finances for long periods of time.
Re:I'd suggest really old maps
on
Open Maps?
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· Score: 1
I've mapped areas using a GPS recorder. It was actually kind of interesting. The really fun part is streets that suddenly change names halfway down a block.:)
No, swap is like trucks that have double tires. It runs on them all, all the time, which helps should you need them but at the cost of impacting your effeciency all the time and being some risk in itself to reliability. I usually keep a swap partition but leave it switched off by default and keep it there only should I see some task running away and I need emergency memory while I fix it.. closer to your spare tire concept I think.
Overall responsiveness is impacted by swap.. regardless as to how much physical memory you have. The more swap you have the more it'll impact the machines performance. Certain things try to use swap first, which slow the machine down, and the more swap you have the more effort the machine goes through to manage it.
You shouldn't run out of memory with or without swap because if you do, either way, then random processes are killed. If you can't afford enough physical memory then swap can be beneficial (sometimes running badly is better than not running at all) but when possible you want to run in all physical memory. Wait until you have 4GB of stuff swapped on a system with 128MB of physical memory and then tell me that system stability is improved by swap.
So it's better not to be able to fix a problem than to have to decide in advance how much memory you want to use, max? I think they need better tools for on-the-fly adjustments but setting a max limit should be easy enough to do in advance.
Your server is going to kill tasks due to low memory conditions regardless as to how much memory you have and to how much of that is physical and how much is swap. Using swap just makes the behavior worse when it happens. Using limits just gives you more control over what gets killed. Sure you never want to run out of memory but you should prepare for every possible problem on any important machines. If you don't notice the problem before you use up the 4GB of ram your server has then you just weren't paying attention.
Certain Linux kernels have a bad thrashing problem but that's been fixed for quite some time. It's still worse, with any OS, if you use swap.. especially a lot of swap. I'd suggest upgrading your kernel if you're having severe trashing problems with your systems. If it still thrashes then you have a severe problem and probably need to add physical memory and audit the apps you're running. I've always seen Windows servers go down under much less stress than Linux servers excepting those certain kernels which did have a problem. It could be in how your apps are using the systems too.. how well your apps respond to low memory situations.
Linux does give you more rope to hang yourself but it doesn't come with a noose around your neck. I do think that distros are badly installed in general though. They don't do a very good job at installing for specific problem domains. Not that I think Windows does either but Linux should, and can, do a better job. For my servers I prepare a custom installer that installs just what is needed for the task needed and is pre-configured to do the job right. I think Debian, RedHat, etc need to do something similar.
Which is why you set a memory limit on all non-root users so if they run more than x amount of memory then their apps die. Your email app goes away complete with powerpoint crap and nothing else gets hosed.
I've built many servers, embedded systems, and even desktop systems that don't use any swap at all. Many more I limit the amount of swap greatly. The overall responsiveness is much better if you don't use swap and I find system stability to be better. Really it doesn't matter what the systems are used for or how many apps are being ran.. it's just how much memory you're going to use compared to the amount of physical memory you can afford. You can run out of memory just as easily using swap as you can while limited to physical memory.. the main difference being that the recovery of the sitution is much worse in the case of using swap. Quite often the system starts to churn and then grinds to a halt. Without swap those tasks just die and everything else keeps running. Setting memory limits on tasks is a good way of ensuring which tasks are killed first but I'd like to see better control of this given to the admin.
I'm not scared of heights but I can't imagine wanting to be on such a bridge as some crazy drunk bastard comes weaving down the road in my direction. IMO the problem with many bridges is that they are to narrow and lack room to move out of the way should there be a problem. Also, many lack a sidewalk or bicycle lane which annoys me as these would be simple to add and beneficial to many people. Expecting pedestrians to go around is stupid.
The easy solution would be to just have each frame rendered twice, by independant nodes, and if they don't match then you know you have a buggy or hacked node that needs blacklisted. Given a distributed base like this the cost of rendering frames twice wouldn't be bad.
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It's obvious to any experienced Unix users that highlighting text copies the text to the buffer. No reason to waste effort by making such minor things overly complex. You can still use the right-click menu in most apps to access additional C&P options. Wasting effort 100% of the time because people make errors 5% of the time is bad design and that is what it'd be to have some sort of confirmation on cutting or pasting.
:P
I cut and paste text between browsers, email, editors, etc all the time with rarely a problem. Certainly less problems than I experience doing the same in Windows. Just try C&P'ing from a DOS box.
I think the last study I saw said something like 30% of business users use Mozilla while about 90% use IE.. which works because many people use more than one browser. 30% of those that use the Internet at work exposed to Mozilla is a lot higher number than I would have guessed. I'd suspect that is why Microsoft is suddenly making noise about an upcoming IE release with popup blocking and stuff. (I just wish they'd fix their CSS and PNG support!)
I introduced Firefox and Thunderbird where I worked and it's been pretty successful. Firefox was impressive to the boss and he's became something of a Thunderbird convert from Outlook.. going as far as trying to get other people to switch to Thunderbird.
I think my main wishlist is better support for plugins (in all OS's), better extension and theme UI (Ximian's Red Carpet would be what I'd copy), and giving Thunderbird better support for dealing with large amounts of mail. Better UI in the individual apps for intergrating Firefox, Thunderbird, etc would be good too. It'd be nice to be able to, in Thunderbird, set Firefox as my default browser and vice versa.
Swap is evil in any OS. Don't use it and you'll be happier.. if you can afford enough physical memory to begin with. :)
No denying that how you think of yourself can make a large difference as to if you are put in a bad situation. I disagree though that any place is safe. You find just as many rapist and psychos in good neighborhoods as in bad. Self defense classes are a good idea, and everyone (male or female) should have them, but you're still dealing with the fact that men are overall stronger, bigger, and more aggressive. My roommate is strong and very much a tough tomboyish type of girl and certainly no pushover but I could still disable her before she could even reach me. If I can do it then I'm sure guys willing to use destructive amounts of force could do it too. I'd judge my roommate able to beat the shit out of probably 80% of guys but that still leaves a lot of creeps out there that could be a danger. If she REALLY wants to walk alone I'll let her but I try to discourage her from doing so at night. I'm not saying something will happen if she is alone.. I'm saying that the chances are considerably better that something will happen if she is alone. Is it worth taking such chances?
;)
And yes, I admit to being overprotective. I'm the same way with my pets and I'm sure when I have kids I'll be overprotective to them too. On the other hand I encourage taking risks that have been carefully considered and prepared for. Set yourself on fire if you want.. just learn how to do it without any permanent damage.
Let's say I've had the shit shocked out of me frequently starting from about the age of three. ;)
I hate using Windows because it lacks the Unix-style cut n'paste of text. It's so easy to work with. As a programmer it saves me a huge amount of time. I'd think the same would be true for anyone that works a lot with text. I just wish cutting and pasting other things in Unix was as easy. Gnome & KDE programmers should stop copying Windows and Mac methods and go with the easier Unix style. Highlight a file and the file is selected. Press the middle button and it's copied. Easy as can be. For more complex options you can still use the Windows-like right-click menus.
Sure historically or geneticlly it makes sense. It just amuses me that women say they want love but what they really want is money and power.
:)
I must be a freak.. I don't really care about younger or slimmer.. I like geek girls. I haven't figured out how that evolves.
I've been married.. you're right.. being married is way different than prostitution. At least with the later you get something for your money. I dunno what I got from being married except bills and nagging and a woman that slept with my friends. Not that I think all marriages are that way.. gee at least I hope not.
So you're suggestion is to go with her idea that she can defend herself against thugs, which is clearly wrong, and if she happens to get raped, beaten, or killed then just say "oops, it's not my fault I wasn't there"? Sounds like a good plan. It'd certainly be less effort on my part. Afterall it's all my imagination that a cute woman walking alone at night through mostly empty streets is a tempting target.
Yeah. I find it a bit odd that women are so calculating about dating. To often even women you're close to will judge you by how much money you make. It really bothers me actually. I don't care if I'm making a lot or a little.. I don't want my work life and my income to define who I am or my relationships. Funny me for wanting to base relationships off love and respect.
The effectiveness of flashing cash to pick up girls makes me wonder why prostitution is illegal. If a woman only goes out with you because you have money how is that any better than trading sex for cash?
My roommate likes to walk to work and she works at night. I think it annoys her a little that I insist on walking her the three miles to work and then home again when she leaves (yes, a total of ~12 miles of walking for me per night) but I really don't think it's safe for her to walk alone. She thinks that because this is an okay neighborhood and because she is pretty tough that she'd be okay but I really disagree. All women are more appealing targets because almost always they are easier targets and because even if they don't have money they have a value to most attackers (usually male). You said you were mugged with your fiance. How do you think things would have gone if she'd been alone when mugged? Is it really so sexist to think women need escorts when walking at night?
I've been threatened in lots of places and yet to have had anyone walk off with my money or having inflicted any serious damage to me. I was short and geeky as a kid and grew up in a bad neighborhood. I learned fast that assholes can tell if your afraid or not. If you are then you're a target. If you're not then not only do they not attack you but they may even take your side in a situation. I had many people who tried to beat me up that afterwards became friends and something like bodyguards. As an adult the rules haven't really changed a lot.. I just grew a lot. Being 6'6 makes a difference too. Discourages people from even trying to start shit.
No, I was shot and stabbed by friends during rough housing. We did a lot of bad things to each other when bored. Also have been blown up, set on fire, electrocuted, knocked off a three story buildings roof onto concrete, etc. Hrm.. I'm probably a good example of why parents shouldn't tell their kids to go play outside.
On my wishlist is one of those bulletproof trenchcoats with big inner pockets large enough to carry a laptop. Sure, at ~$5000, they still are (and look) expensive but it'd sure cast a "don't fuck with me" air to you.
I agree that guns are not good for self defense but I think learning to use a gun is a good step to learning self defense. A weapon you are afraid of and not familiar with is something you won't be able to defend yourself against.
Really I suggest learning basics like learning to not follow a set routine, to look like you know where you're going and what you're doing, etc as the most important step to self defense. Learning basic defense or martial arts skills would be useful too.
If you're planning on kicking a guy in the balls when he has a weapon aimed at you then you are nuts. Most attackers don't want to use their weapons. If you assault them then you could make them accidently hurt you or just piss them off whereas they would again hurt you.
Running away from someone with a weapon is okay as long as their weapon isn't a gun. You don't want to turn your back on someone with a gun. It's hard to shoot someone with a pistol if that person can see where you're aiming and avoid the line of fire. Backing up slowly would be a better strategy. Once you get a respectable distance away then you can run. Again though, running risks just pissing off your attacker.
Pepper spray is useless. I've sprayed myself with it lots of times. It stings but will not disable an attacker. Yet again, this will only piss off an attacker.
Stun guns can work but require you to be close to the attacker and to be quicker than they are. You're as likely to get hurt from the exchange as they are. I'd use them as a last resort.
Get one of those personal alarm things. They will bring attention to you and do not encourage your attacker to become violent. That combined with a general awareness of how not to become a target will serve you better than any weapon.
Now as far as carrying weapons.. I'm for it. They are not good for preventing a quick violent crime but they can be useful for defending against psychos, terrorists, and others that are beyond reason. People trained in the proper use of weapons are less likely to be involved in a weapon related accident. Most people won't get into gun fights at the drop of a hat so the violence isn't going to be any higher. The real key is proper training in the use and handling of the weapons. Untrained idiots running around with weapons is a major threat. You have this problem when people don't train their kids in the use of these weapons but decide to buy them anyway.. or maybe their friends parents buy them.. or they find it in a park. Then you have kids blowing each others heads off by accident. A good reason to train yourself and your family in the basics of such weapons even if you intend to not keep any around.
I've been both shot and stabbed. It's really not the big deal that tv makes it out to be. It hurts but isn't really the tragic horror that it's shown as on tv. Most muggers don't know how to use their weapons and aren't really motivated to use them. So they attack you and make a quick buck.. now they have a major criminal offense against them. Whereas if they just accept the brush off and move on to an easier target the chance is that they won't be doing any serious time. Sure, most of them aren't to bright but it's not hard to figure something so basic out. For the dumber ones you can confuse them by just acting like you didn't notice them or behaving in a insane manner. Raving about aliens and the coming end of the world is a first rate way to convince someone that it's not worth their effort to fuck with you.
Maybe this only works if you have the right mindset though. If you're nutty enough not give a fuck if someone stabs you then you'll probably not be picked as a target by many muggers. At least not if they have been at their job very long. Give in to them and sure you might get away unscratched but you're more likely to be picked as a target and the more often you're picked as a target the more likely some asshole will ice you just for fun.
I did that. I also dress like something between a freak and a bum and I dyed my hair blue. Anyone that hassles me I make weird comments to about aliens and my fondness for anal probes and women with three breasts.
Amazingly this tactic really cuts back on the number of girls that go out with me too. Luckily there is an easy solution.. leave the electronics at home, dress nicer, look a lil less scary, and show off how much cash you're making at your nice geek job.
Showing a little confidence has the interesting effect of scaring off muggers while attracting women. Be warned though, women are much more costly than muggers. Muggers generally don't move in with you and continue to drain your finances for long periods of time.
I've mapped areas using a GPS recorder. It was actually kind of interesting. The really fun part is streets that suddenly change names halfway down a block. :)
No, swap is like trucks that have double tires. It runs on them all, all the time, which helps should you need them but at the cost of impacting your effeciency all the time and being some risk in itself to reliability. I usually keep a swap partition but leave it switched off by default and keep it there only should I see some task running away and I need emergency memory while I fix it.. closer to your spare tire concept I think.
Overall responsiveness is impacted by swap.. regardless as to how much physical memory you have. The more swap you have the more it'll impact the machines performance. Certain things try to use swap first, which slow the machine down, and the more swap you have the more effort the machine goes through to manage it.
You shouldn't run out of memory with or without swap because if you do, either way, then random processes are killed. If you can't afford enough physical memory then swap can be beneficial (sometimes running badly is better than not running at all) but when possible you want to run in all physical memory. Wait until you have 4GB of stuff swapped on a system with 128MB of physical memory and then tell me that system stability is improved by swap.
So it's better not to be able to fix a problem than to have to decide in advance how much memory you want to use, max? I think they need better tools for on-the-fly adjustments but setting a max limit should be easy enough to do in advance.
Your server is going to kill tasks due to low memory conditions regardless as to how much memory you have and to how much of that is physical and how much is swap. Using swap just makes the behavior worse when it happens. Using limits just gives you more control over what gets killed. Sure you never want to run out of memory but you should prepare for every possible problem on any important machines. If you don't notice the problem before you use up the 4GB of ram your server has then you just weren't paying attention.
Certain Linux kernels have a bad thrashing problem but that's been fixed for quite some time. It's still worse, with any OS, if you use swap.. especially a lot of swap. I'd suggest upgrading your kernel if you're having severe trashing problems with your systems. If it still thrashes then you have a severe problem and probably need to add physical memory and audit the apps you're running. I've always seen Windows servers go down under much less stress than Linux servers excepting those certain kernels which did have a problem. It could be in how your apps are using the systems too.. how well your apps respond to low memory situations.
Linux does give you more rope to hang yourself but it doesn't come with a noose around your neck. I do think that distros are badly installed in general though. They don't do a very good job at installing for specific problem domains. Not that I think Windows does either but Linux should, and can, do a better job. For my servers I prepare a custom installer that installs just what is needed for the task needed and is pre-configured to do the job right. I think Debian, RedHat, etc need to do something similar.
Which is why you set a memory limit on all non-root users so if they run more than x amount of memory then their apps die. Your email app goes away complete with powerpoint crap and nothing else gets hosed.
I walk 20 miles at a time fairly often so I doubt it'd be to long for me. If it's longer than 20 miles.. then wow. :)
Yum, pollution. You just convinced me to ban motor vehicles from the bridge.
I've built many servers, embedded systems, and even desktop systems that don't use any swap at all. Many more I limit the amount of swap greatly. The overall responsiveness is much better if you don't use swap and I find system stability to be better. Really it doesn't matter what the systems are used for or how many apps are being ran.. it's just how much memory you're going to use compared to the amount of physical memory you can afford. You can run out of memory just as easily using swap as you can while limited to physical memory.. the main difference being that the recovery of the sitution is much worse in the case of using swap. Quite often the system starts to churn and then grinds to a halt. Without swap those tasks just die and everything else keeps running. Setting memory limits on tasks is a good way of ensuring which tasks are killed first but I'd like to see better control of this given to the admin.
The road (bridges) through the Florida Keys is pretty impressive as far as length. It's not entirely a single span but overall it has that effect.
I'm not scared of heights but I can't imagine wanting to be on such a bridge as some crazy drunk bastard comes weaving down the road in my direction. IMO the problem with many bridges is that they are to narrow and lack room to move out of the way should there be a problem. Also, many lack a sidewalk or bicycle lane which annoys me as these would be simple to add and beneficial to many people. Expecting pedestrians to go around is stupid.
The easy solution would be to just have each frame rendered twice, by independant nodes, and if they don't match then you know you have a buggy or hacked node that needs blacklisted. Given a distributed base like this the cost of rendering frames twice wouldn't be bad.