Just finished my M.Eng in EECS there, and there is quite a bit of difference between MIT (and most "top tier" schools) and the other schools, and its not just in the price tag. If you have ever read some of Feynman's books, he mentions that MIT is a great place, but it tends to be a little self-centered in most respects, and many of the people going there become inured to the idea of MIT as the center of the universe. I just mention this so that you take what I have to say with a grain of salt... I loved MIT and think that it is the greatest place in the world.
That said, I have had several long discussions about education with several friends, all of whom have been to different schools of varying different "degrees", from Ivy League to Local Midwest No-Name. The 3 biggest differences that I see between MIT and others is the quality of faculty, students, and resources.
Faculty speaks for itself. Professors are doing full time research related to the class that they are teaching and usually only teaching one class. Most professors are also experts in their repective fields, and have scores of undergrad and grad assistants to enable them to develop some great course notes/problem sets/tests (usually).
The quality of MIT's resources outshines those of almost any other university, especially in the EECS arena. What other university has equivalents to LCS (think W3), the AI lab (think Stallman), the Media Lab (think wearable-computing and other wacky antics), and RLE (think radar), just to name a few.
The student population, however, is the single biggest factor that sets MIT apart from the rest. I did well in high school, figuring that I was probably the smartest kid in school (ego alert!). Then I go to MIT, and I am mediocre, surrounded by people who know more, have done more, and are much smarter that I can ever be. This sort of experience is eye-openingly humbling and incredibly wonderful, to be surrounded by people who are at the same level as you and can think on the same tracks, without you having to go and explain what it means for two computers to "talk to each other". I believe that just being around the MIT population for 5 years did more for me than anything else there.
sometimes a little school break in is required. If you locked you notebook in the lab overnight, or if a classroom has really cool chairs that would go perfect with your computer desk, you just need to get in. Most of the time you can get away with just a good stiff library card, but you have to watch out for the alarmed doors.
I had almost the exact same experience (twice) with my systems.
The first time, I used all the original packing material, plus I filled in all of the open spots with packing peanuts. Basically the damage looked identical to the pictures, except that my monitor had a forklift sized whole through the side of it. They replaced the monitor (after about six months) because it was obviously their fault, but they blamed me for incorrectly packing my systems in the original packing. They stated that the system had been shipped in the box ONCE, and so the box was not sturdy enough to handle a second shipment. Each of the pieces of styrofoam was broken at least once, and the inspector said that it looked like it had been dropped on the corner, but that since I didn't pack it correctly, it was my fault. I got a reinspection of the package, and the second inspector said that that much damage couldn't have happened in shipping, and again blamed me. I was never able to get a third inpector, and UPS stated hanging up on me when I called to ask.
So I bit the bullet and bought new systems (luckily the hard drives were salvageable). The next time it came to ship my computers, I went straight to MailBoxes Etc., who promised me that they could pack anything that I wanted to UPS spec, and that if something was wrong, they would pay me directly and then haggle with UPS. Something went wrong. This time, however, UPS again passed the blame to Mailboxes Etc., and the guy from Mailboxes came to my house, took one look at the carton and insurance forms, and basically signed me over a check right there. Still lost the systems, but this time I had the money to replace them even better.
So, I guess the moral of the story is to find someone who will pay when UPS won't, because they never will.
Along with all of those windows gets, I am also getting a ton of something like this:
66.31.244.129 - - [18/Sep/2001:10:01:11 -0400] "GET/default.ida?XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX%u9090%u6858% ucbd3%u7801%u9090%u6858%ucbd3%u7801%u9090%u6858%uc bd3%u7801%u9090%u9090%u8190%u00c3%u0003%u8b00%u531 b%u53ff%u0078%u0000%u00=a HTTP/1.0" 404 280 "-" "-"
Is this part of the same? It seems to be some sort of overflow of default.ida. I assume that I am ok running apache, because that seems to be the normal course for things, but just making sure.
I think that the turn based games were are much superior to the real-time games of the present, especially in the realm of plot development. The turn based games were developed out of the BBS concept, and therefore had to have some attraction other than stellar graphics, namely a kick ass plot and immersive storyline.
Check out spacemerchant, a bastardized but still extremely fun version of the old tradewars, made web-based. BBS-style turn based games still rule.
I have almost the same basic setup (32" XBR and Sony DVP-S570D). I have been through several different systems and various configurations, and have also listened to a lot of friend's systems, and I found the perfect setup for me:
-Sony STR-V555ES Reciever ($1300): absolutely the best receiver for its money. Has component video switching, S-Video switching, tons of inputs, cool remote, and sounds incredible. A lot of people swear by Onkyo and their analog parts, but give me this Sony any day
-Paradigm Minimon front speakers and matching center channel, with Bose surround (totalled about $1000)
- Velodyne VA-8100X Subwoofer: Best subs in the business
A couple things that I leaned when shopping:
-It really, really depends on 2 things: what you are going to be listening to (movies, music,...) and how big the room is. Especially if you happen to have vaulted ceilings, you need some speakers with power, not to mention a signifigant subwoofer.
-Be very, very careful when buying Bose systems. A couple of their products are stellar (Waveradio and some component pieces), but the full package systems like the Lifestyle and Acoustimass series leave quite a bit to be desired, especially in the bass range. Also, those tiny speakers don't tend to do well in a large room or with wide-range music. Make sure you go to a bose store and listen to their demos before you get your heart set on Bose.
-I can't say enough about Paradigm speakers... they sound great for their price range.
-The people in the little specialized audio shops really know their shit. Sure, they will try and sell you something that they carry, but if you go to a couple of shops and get a couple of different viewpoints, you will start to hear the same things over again.
-When looking for a system, skip Best Buy/Circuit City/Big Audio shop
Especially with the early computer years, qualifications on "firsts" got way out of hand, and actually don't matter all that much. Do you mean the first software OS, the first system used to control electrical "computing" equipment, etc? Vannevar Bush and his Differential Analyzer at MIT (analog computer) could argue that the rods and gears that connected the different "components" are a form of OS, same goes for ENIAC and the cables running everywhere. Can a stack of punchcards that run through an early census machine be considered an OS?
When the stored program computer realm opened up, there were several different manufacturers of hardware, each requiring its own "OS".
So, I guess to find the answer to your question, you want to qualify the type of computer that it ran on, and then look for the earliest of its type.
yes, as everyone has stated before, the 486 will do fine as a firewall.
Can anyone comment on his other (real) question, however, that of the GNOME open sockets and how to shut them down/securify them? Also, can these be used to by nmap (queso) to fingerprint the OS? Are any of the binaries listening on these ports setuid? Can they be configured to listen only on a given interface (lo0)? etc...
3Com has had a device out for a while that has similar functionality, however I think it is limited to inter-office stuff. The NBX 100, I think it is called
Would sueing (or threatening to sue) NVIDIA under GPL violation be an incentive for them to open source their existing kernel module? If this happened, I am sure that the OSS community would begin to create parallel (and better) drivers.
Slashdot Mirror
Just finished my M.Eng in EECS there, and there is quite a bit of difference between MIT (and most "top tier" schools) and the other schools, and its not just in the price tag. If you have ever read some of Feynman's books, he mentions that MIT is a great place, but it tends to be a little self-centered in most respects, and many of the people going there become inured to the idea of MIT as the center of the universe. I just mention this so that you take what I have to say with a grain of salt ... I loved MIT and think that it is the greatest place in the world.
That said, I have had several long discussions about education with several friends, all of whom have been to different schools of varying different "degrees", from Ivy League to Local Midwest No-Name. The 3 biggest differences that I see between MIT and others is the quality of faculty, students, and resources.
Faculty speaks for itself. Professors are doing full time research related to the class that they are teaching and usually only teaching one class. Most professors are also experts in their repective fields, and have scores of undergrad and grad assistants to enable them to develop some great course notes/problem sets/tests (usually).
The quality of MIT's resources outshines those of almost any other university, especially in the EECS arena. What other university has equivalents to LCS (think W3), the AI lab (think Stallman), the Media Lab (think wearable-computing and other wacky antics), and RLE (think radar), just to name a few.
The student population, however, is the single biggest factor that sets MIT apart from the rest. I did well in high school, figuring that I was probably the smartest kid in school (ego alert!). Then I go to MIT, and I am mediocre, surrounded by people who know more, have done more, and are much smarter that I can ever be. This sort of experience is eye-openingly humbling and incredibly wonderful, to be surrounded by people who are at the same level as you and can think on the same tracks, without you having to go and explain what it means for two computers to "talk to each other". I believe that just being around the MIT population for 5 years did more for me than anything else there.
sometimes a little school break in is required. If you locked you notebook in the lab overnight, or if a classroom has really cool chairs that would go perfect with your computer desk, you just need to get in. Most of the time you can get away with just a good stiff library card, but you have to watch out for the alarmed doors.
yeah, looking for first post on a Friday night. I'm lame
As far as I know, nym.alias.net, run by an MIT LCS research group, is still up and running, and has been since June of 1996.
I had almost the exact same experience (twice) with my systems.
The first time, I used all the original packing material, plus I filled in all of the open spots with packing peanuts. Basically the damage looked identical to the pictures, except that my monitor had a forklift sized whole through the side of it. They replaced the monitor (after about six months) because it was obviously their fault, but they blamed me for incorrectly packing my systems in the original packing. They stated that the system had been shipped in the box ONCE, and so the box was not sturdy enough to handle a second shipment. Each of the pieces of styrofoam was broken at least once, and the inspector said that it looked like it had been dropped on the corner, but that since I didn't pack it correctly, it was my fault. I got a reinspection of the package, and the second inspector said that that much damage couldn't have happened in shipping, and again blamed me. I was never able to get a third inpector, and UPS stated hanging up on me when I called to ask.
So I bit the bullet and bought new systems (luckily the hard drives were salvageable). The next time it came to ship my computers, I went straight to MailBoxes Etc., who promised me that they could pack anything that I wanted to UPS spec, and that if something was wrong, they would pay me directly and then haggle with UPS. Something went wrong. This time, however, UPS again passed the blame to Mailboxes Etc., and the guy from Mailboxes came to my house, took one look at the carton and insurance forms, and basically signed me over a check right there. Still lost the systems, but this time I had the money to replace them even better.
So, I guess the moral of the story is to find someone who will pay when UPS won't, because they never will.
Along with all of those windows gets, I am also getting a ton of something like this: 66.31.244.129 - - [18/Sep/2001:10:01:11 -0400] "GET /default.ida?XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX%u9090%u6858% ucbd3%u7801%u9090%u6858%ucbd3%u7801%u9090%u6858%uc bd3%u7801%u9090%u9090%u8190%u00c3%u0003%u8b00%u531 b%u53ff%u0078%u0000%u00=a HTTP/1.0" 404 280 "-" "-"
Is this part of the same? It seems to be some sort of overflow of default.ida. I assume that I am ok running apache, because that seems to be the normal course for things, but just making sure.
I think that the turn based games were are much superior to the real-time games of the present, especially in the realm of plot development. The turn based games were developed out of the BBS concept, and therefore had to have some attraction other than stellar graphics, namely a kick ass plot and immersive storyline.
Check out spacemerchant, a bastardized but still extremely fun version of the old tradewars, made web-based. BBS-style turn based games still rule.
I have almost the same basic setup (32" XBR and Sony DVP-S570D). I have been through several different systems and various configurations, and have also listened to a lot of friend's systems, and I found the perfect setup for me:
...) and how big the room is. Especially if you happen to have vaulted ceilings, you need some speakers with power, not to mention a signifigant subwoofer.
... they sound great for their price range.
-Sony STR-V555ES Reciever ($1300): absolutely the best receiver for its money. Has component video switching, S-Video switching, tons of inputs, cool remote, and sounds incredible. A lot of people swear by Onkyo and their analog parts, but give me this Sony any day
-Paradigm Minimon front speakers and matching center channel, with Bose surround (totalled about $1000)
- Velodyne VA-8100X Subwoofer: Best subs in the business
A couple things that I leaned when shopping:
-It really, really depends on 2 things: what you are going to be listening to (movies, music,
-Be very, very careful when buying Bose systems. A couple of their products are stellar (Waveradio and some component pieces), but the full package systems like the Lifestyle and Acoustimass series leave quite a bit to be desired, especially in the bass range. Also, those tiny speakers don't tend to do well in a large room or with wide-range music. Make sure you go to a bose store and listen to their demos before you get your heart set on Bose.
-I can't say enough about Paradigm speakers
-The people in the little specialized audio shops really know their shit. Sure, they will try and sell you something that they carry, but if you go to a couple of shops and get a couple of different viewpoints, you will start to hear the same things over again.
-When looking for a system, skip Best Buy/Circuit City/Big Audio shop
Especially with the early computer years, qualifications on "firsts" got way out of hand, and actually don't matter all that much. Do you mean the first software OS, the first system used to control electrical "computing" equipment, etc? Vannevar Bush and his Differential Analyzer at MIT (analog computer) could argue that the rods and gears that connected the different "components" are a form of OS, same goes for ENIAC and the cables running everywhere. Can a stack of punchcards that run through an early census machine be considered an OS?
When the stored program computer realm opened up, there were several different manufacturers of hardware, each requiring its own "OS".
So, I guess to find the answer to your question, you want to qualify the type of computer that it ran on, and then look for the earliest of its type.
yes, as everyone has stated before, the 486 will do fine as a firewall. Can anyone comment on his other (real) question, however, that of the GNOME open sockets and how to shut them down/securify them? Also, can these be used to by nmap (queso) to fingerprint the OS? Are any of the binaries listening on these ports setuid? Can they be configured to listen only on a given interface (lo0)? etc ...
3Com has had a device out for a while that has similar functionality, however I think it is limited to inter-office stuff. The NBX 100, I think it is called
Would sueing (or threatening to sue) NVIDIA under GPL violation be an incentive for them to open source their existing kernel module? If this happened, I am sure that the OSS community would begin to create parallel (and better) drivers.