Metacity and Sawfish are two window managers for the GNOME desktop
Thanks for explaining, and I hope this is the start of a new policy on/., where potentially-unfamiliar terms are defined. Time after time I've encountered some unexplained reference in an article and wondered, "Am I the only person who doesn't know what this is?"
Yeh, no doubt! Their WAP 11 I have is a neat little toy and gets some respectable range... when utilized with ANYBODY BUT LINKSYS' CRAPPY CARDS! Sorry Linksys, I just had to say it. The WPC11 sucks. 15-25ft of useful range is just really sad.
Exactly my experience. Had marginal signal strength with the Linksys WAP and WPC11 separated by mere feet in the same room. Ditched the WPC11 and got an Orinoco Silver PC Card and things worked fine after that. Whoever at Linksys is continuing to allow the company to market the WPC11 is actually damaging the company and the wireless industry. Most users aren't going to know that it's the WPC11 causing the problem and will think that 802.11b wireless networking itself is just useless.
AOL is worse than a stalker
on
Disconnecting
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· Score: 1
You know, the first thing I would do after this is call my credit card company and tell them that you've canceled these accounts and that there should be 1 final payment to them and no more after that.
This doesn't work with AOL. Unless you cancel with them, they'll keep billing you and the card company (or, at least, my card company) will keep passing on the charges and expect you to pay. I even canceled the card itself and got a replacement. AOL got put on the new card! Talking with my card company, they told me that my agreement with AOL allows them to continue billing me even on the replacement card. I threatened to cancel entirely and not get a new card, and was told that the charges would continue and be referred to a collection agency. According to the card company (Wells Fargo, in case you're interested), my only solution was to cancel via AOL or they'd be billing me until the end of time.
I finally went through the amazing hassle of canceling with AOL. I also ran my old credit card through a shredder and mailed it to those Wells Fargo jackasses. Pissed off does not begin to describe my animosity toward those scum.
Have you thought about leaking word of the activity to some media outlet (asking for confidentiality, of course)? Seems to me a story of malfeasance by employees and waste of government resources would be irresistible . A call or two from some reporter asking about it would get a new policy put in place at light speed I'm betting.
Fact is, there is no reason to go through a red light - fullstop. If the yellow isn't long enough get into the habit of slowing down as you approach green lights so that it is long enough and don't try to rush through the yellow. It's all simple defensive driving techniques.
That is absolutely ridiculous. Would it be ok with you if the yellow were shortened to.2 seconds, since all you'd have to do to adjust for it is come to a full stop at the green as a 'defensive driving technique'? The objective is supposedly to make driving safer by reducing the red light runners, and if that's possible by making the yellow a bit longer, why would you want to saddle people with the otherwise-useless burden of having to slow down at green lights?
I know the earlier suit that you're talking about. Until the later one, though, the city was making noises about appealing that decision, or if that didn't work, were going to restructure the deal with LM to make it legal. They weren't about to forego all that nice money, anticipation of which had already been incorporated into the city budget.
I believe that there's going to be a class-action lawsuit filed to get all previously-paid fines refunded. At least, that's what was being talked about the last time I heard the lawyers on a local talk show. I think under the circumstances, it would be appropriate.
I wouldn't make this argument. One doesn't have an expectation of privacy in public. However, I would argue that automatic devices violate the due-process right to confront one's 'accusers'. Cameras are automatic devices and, at least as operated in most jurisdictions, are not subject to examination (i.e. you the accused are not entitled to details of how the camera works, is installed, operated, etc. Some 'expert' goes on the stand and declares the camera accurate, and that's good enough for the court.)
(2) The cameras are inaccurate. This could be a problem. It is really the only argument that I buy. However, can police officers not also be inaccurate? mean? nasty? in a bad mood?
Sure. But at least you can get a cop on the stand and make him defend his actions in issuing a citation, and determine the circumstances under which it happened. Also, coming up with another scenario in which a ticket can be issued unfairly is hardly justification for letting it happen with the cameras. If a device can be shown to issue citations improperly, it ought to be shut off, just as, if you could establish that a cop is issuing citations unfairly, he ought to be fired.
3) The cameras are nothing more than a money making scheme. I can't accept that at all. Certainly, they make money for the city, and for the corporation that reviews the photos, and I could understand how one could accuse a mayor or other city official of doing nothing but making money off of the cameras, but it would seem from the Washington Post article that the cameras are well liked by everyone in the enforcement business, from the lowly cop on patrol to those in power. Yes, it makes some money, but it also serves the function of keeping people safe. Drugs like Aspirin make a lot of money too. Is that a bad thing? In my opinion, no.
The large and numerous fines the cameras produce provide a perverse incentive to a city to place them in spots where they will maximize revenue, not increase safety. It also reduces the city's incentives to take other measures to increase safety, such as lengthening yellow lights or instituting a system where the yellow flashes shortly before the red comes on. Studies have shown that rear-end collisions go up with red light cameras, and that other measures such as lengthening yellow can cut down the incidence of red light running as much as the cameras are said to do (the statistics that the cameras cut down on red light running are disputed by some). Wouldn't it be better to take steps that would actually reduce the dangerous activity rather than just get a fine for it after it happens?
Given that you offer no evidence other than your own opinion, your declaration of 'bullshit' applys more to your own statements. In point of fact, something similar happened in San Diego (click), where the police union denounced red light cameras when five on-duty cops received citations. You're the one who's full of it, not the original poster. Not to mention that anyone who can't make his point without lapsing into profanity is probably too ill-informed to be rendering opinions to begin with.
San Diego had its red light cameras shut down when some attorneys established in a civil lawsuit that Lockheed Martin had deliberately misplaced the sensors, causing many drivers to be ticketed unfairly. LM got around $70 per ticket, so they had a large incentive to make sure as many were issued as possible. (How'd you like to have cops get a percentage of every ticket or fine they wrote?) This business was so profitable for LM that they installed and maintained the cameras at their expense in return for their cut. The city and other governmental agencies got the rest of the $271 tickets, so they were ecstatic. San Diego got millions of dollars a year from these devices before they were shut off.
The trial brought out many other interesting revelations. For example, each ticket was supposed to be issued by a sworn police officer, who had to review the 'evidence' and sign off on it. Turns out that a spate of tickets were issued when the officer was on vacation. Testimony revealed that the officer frequently just signed a bunch of blank forms and let LM fill them in. Another interesting aspect is that LM fiercely resisted having their hardware and software examined by the plaintiffs. In fact, they threatened the law firm with a suit if they persisted in pressing for discovery of those items. People who have fought their red light tickets in court and who wanted the design details and calibration records for the camera that photographed them were routinely refused this information, even though it's vital to a defense. Another interesting fact revealed at trial was that the cameras were NOT placed at 'the most dangerous intersections' as the city had been contending all along, but at intersections whose yellow light intervals were revealed to be set far shorter than state guidelines. As has been discussed here in other posts, the yellow light duration is a major factor in whether a light will be run or not.
These cameras, at least as operated in San Diego, are a scam. They ticket innocent people, are unexaminable for a defense, and are just a way for the city to rake in big money.
Here's the web site operated by the attorneys who got these cameras shut down: Red Light Lawyers
That's nothing. California has just canned the guy responsible for a $95 million 'error' in picking Oracle software, story, the governor is calling for an investigation by the state Attorney General, and it looks like the taxpayers are going to take a hit to the tune of $41 million. I bet they wish they had Wilkes-Barre's problem.
Much as I despise the BSA, I have to say that in my experience, universities, colleges, and even K-12 public schools are the worst when it comes to pirating software. There's something about them that leads the folks working there to think that ordinary rules of business just don't apply. I once worked for a company that sold computers to schools, and we fully supported the machines. Once school found a cheaper source, so they wanted to buy from there, but have us keep supporting the machines for free. One of many experiences that leads to the headline I put on this comment.
That said, I hope your school tells them to stick it. The BSA's tactics are too storm-trooperish for my taste.
i have a hard time believing they need 5 separate systems to do the calculations
From here: For redundancy purposes, we installed a total of five gyroscopes, each oriented in such a way that any angular motion of the machine will be sensed by at least two gyroscopes.
I think this is a good thing even for the customers. My Tivo is getting ready to die, and if I had paid the 'lifetime' (the Tivo's, not mine) subscription fee, I'd be a little miffed at having to do it again when I get a new unit. I might even switch to the Moxie if it lives up to its hype, so that's another reason to prefer a monthly subscription: you can abandon it at any time if something better comes along.
I've been programming embedded systems for many years, am waaay over 35, and I've never been happier or had more prospects for work. If you're unhappy, then by all means move. Otherwise, keep your skills up (it's important to not continue to work on one system so long that when it goes away you're without skills to begin another one - change companies if necessary to keep this from happening) and enjoy yourself. One last piece of advice: be reliable. The hardest thing to find is someone who'll deliver on time and in budget, and not be a problem. If you're known for that, you won't lack for work.
I remember the days before California went to witholding. Signing that bill was the single worst thing Reagan did as governor. Our tax rates have risen tremendously since then. As you say, if people were having to scrape the money together at the end of the year, they'd be much more aware of just how much state government is taking out of their pockets.
The legislature is going through major contortions to close a 17.5 billion budget gap, and there isn't much stomach for doing it via spending cuts. They're talking about tripling vehicle license fees, raising income taxes, higher sales taxes, etc. Whatever you've been paying up to now, it looks like it's going to get far worse. The only prayer we have is that it takes a two-thirds vote to approve a tax increase, and there are just enough Republicans left in the legislature that increases might fail.
Let's not forget that this is the state that paniced and bought a ton of future energy contracts at the height of the market, burdening consumers with power prices double that in the rest of the coutry for decades to come. The state budget went up 37% in the last 3 years. Audits of most state agencies can't figure out where most of their money is spent. Agencies have a practice of keeping phantom employees on the payroll then using the money they're given to 'pay' these people for other operating purposes. Somehow this Oracle story doesn't surprise me.
I knew a Navy engineer who wanted to make a gliding torpedo. It would be slow, but so quiet that it would be undetectable. He also thought that it could be programmed to hold a ship 'hostage', poised just beneath it and set to detonate if the ship changed position. Don't know if anything ever became of his ideas, but they were interesting.
As for a TiVo for radio, well, how would that work? You have no visual cues to know when to stop fast-forwarding.
I'd want "forward 30 seconds" and "back 5 seconds" buttons. I'd hit the former a few times then listen. If I overshot, I hit the latter and listen each time until I'm back in the program. It's pretty similar to the way I've ended up using my Tivo. I suspect that if you got to know the station's format, you could come pretty close with minimal button punching.
I want two thigs: A Tivo for my radio (I timed it the other day. 14 minutes of actual program, 16 minutes of commercials in each half hour. Aaargh.), and an 'in-flight recorder' for my car. When some jerk cuts me off and I ram him, or some cop claims I didn't signal a turn, I'd like to have proof to back up my claims of innocence. Of course, it should have an 'erase' button just in case...
Slashdot Mirror
The Dark Emitting Diode (DED, aka 'friode'), the Smoke Emitting Diode (SED), and the Light Emitting Resistor.
And the Shakespearean Gate (a picture is funnier, but you get the idea):
__
2B | 2B = ?
Metacity and Sawfish are two window managers for the GNOME desktop
/., where potentially-unfamiliar terms are defined. Time after time I've encountered some unexplained reference in an article and wondered, "Am I the only person who doesn't know what this is?"
Thanks for explaining, and I hope this is the start of a new policy on
Yeh, no doubt! Their WAP 11 I have is a neat little toy and gets some respectable range... when utilized with ANYBODY BUT LINKSYS' CRAPPY CARDS! Sorry Linksys, I just had to say it. The WPC11 sucks. 15-25ft of useful range is just really sad.
Exactly my experience. Had marginal signal strength with the Linksys WAP and WPC11 separated by mere feet in the same room. Ditched the WPC11 and got an Orinoco Silver PC Card and things worked fine after that. Whoever at Linksys is continuing to allow the company to market the WPC11 is actually damaging the company and the wireless industry. Most users aren't going to know that it's the WPC11 causing the problem and will think that 802.11b wireless networking itself is just useless.
You know, the first thing I would do after this is call my credit card company and tell them that you've canceled these accounts and that there should be 1 final payment to them and no more after that.
This doesn't work with AOL. Unless you cancel with them, they'll keep billing you and the card company (or, at least, my card company) will keep passing on the charges and expect you to pay. I even canceled the card itself and got a replacement. AOL got put on the new card! Talking with my card company, they told me that my agreement with AOL allows them to continue billing me even on the replacement card. I threatened to cancel entirely and not get a new card, and was told that the charges would continue and be referred to a collection agency. According to the card company (Wells Fargo, in case you're interested), my only solution was to cancel via AOL or they'd be billing me until the end of time.
I finally went through the amazing hassle of canceling with AOL. I also ran my old credit card through a shredder and mailed it to those Wells Fargo jackasses. Pissed off does not begin to describe my animosity toward those scum.
Have you thought about leaking word of the activity to some media outlet (asking for confidentiality, of course)? Seems to me a story of malfeasance by employees and waste of government resources would be irresistible . A call or two from some reporter asking about it would get a new policy put in place at light speed I'm betting.
That is absolutely ridiculous. Would it be ok with you if the yellow were shortened to .2 seconds, since all you'd have to do to adjust for it is come to a full stop at the green as a 'defensive driving technique'? The objective is supposedly to make driving safer by reducing the red light runners, and if that's possible by making the yellow a bit longer, why would you want to saddle people with the otherwise-useless burden of having to slow down at green lights?
I know the earlier suit that you're talking about. Until the later one, though, the city was making noises about appealing that decision, or if that didn't work, were going to restructure the deal with LM to make it legal. They weren't about to forego all that nice money, anticipation of which had already been incorporated into the city budget.
I believe that there's going to be a class-action lawsuit filed to get all previously-paid fines refunded. At least, that's what was being talked about the last time I heard the lawyers on a local talk show. I think under the circumstances, it would be appropriate.
(1) The cameras are an invasion of privacy.
I wouldn't make this argument. One doesn't have an expectation of privacy in public. However, I would argue that automatic devices violate the due-process right to confront one's 'accusers'. Cameras are automatic devices and, at least as operated in most jurisdictions, are not subject to examination (i.e. you the accused are not entitled to details of how the camera works, is installed, operated, etc. Some 'expert' goes on the stand and declares the camera accurate, and that's good enough for the court.)
(2) The cameras are inaccurate.
This could be a problem. It is really the only argument that I buy. However, can police officers not also be inaccurate? mean? nasty? in a bad mood?
Sure. But at least you can get a cop on the stand and make him defend his actions in issuing a citation, and determine the circumstances under which it happened. Also, coming up with another scenario in which a ticket can be issued unfairly is hardly justification for letting it happen with the cameras. If a device can be shown to issue citations improperly, it ought to be shut off, just as, if you could establish that a cop is issuing citations unfairly, he ought to be fired.
3) The cameras are nothing more than a money making scheme.
I can't accept that at all. Certainly, they make money for the city, and for the corporation that reviews the photos, and I could understand how one could accuse a mayor or other city official of doing nothing but making money off of the cameras, but it would seem from the Washington Post article that the cameras are well liked by everyone in the enforcement business, from the lowly cop on patrol to those in power. Yes, it makes some money, but it also serves the function of keeping people safe. Drugs like Aspirin make a lot of money too. Is that a bad thing? In my opinion, no.
The large and numerous fines the cameras produce provide a perverse incentive to a city to place them in spots where they will maximize revenue, not increase safety. It also reduces the city's incentives to take other measures to increase safety, such as lengthening yellow lights or instituting a system where the yellow flashes shortly before the red comes on. Studies have shown that rear-end collisions go up with red light cameras, and that other measures such as lengthening yellow can cut down the incidence of red light running as much as the cameras are said to do (the statistics that the cameras cut down on red light running are disputed by some). Wouldn't it be better to take steps that would actually reduce the dangerous activity rather than just get a fine for it after it happens?
Given that you offer no evidence other than your own opinion, your declaration of 'bullshit' applys more to your own statements. In point of fact, something similar happened in San Diego (click), where the police union denounced red light cameras when five on-duty cops received citations. You're the one who's full of it, not the original poster. Not to mention that anyone who can't make his point without lapsing into profanity is probably too ill-informed to be rendering opinions to begin with.
San Diego had its red light cameras shut down when some attorneys established in a civil lawsuit that Lockheed Martin had deliberately misplaced the sensors, causing many drivers to be ticketed unfairly. LM got around $70 per ticket, so they had a large incentive to make sure as many were issued as possible. (How'd you like to have cops get a percentage of every ticket or fine they wrote?) This business was so profitable for LM that they installed and maintained the cameras at their expense in return for their cut. The city and other governmental agencies got the rest of the $271 tickets, so they were ecstatic. San Diego got millions of dollars a year from these devices before they were shut off.
The trial brought out many other interesting revelations. For example, each ticket was supposed to be issued by a sworn police officer, who had to review the 'evidence' and sign off on it. Turns out that a spate of tickets were issued when the officer was on vacation. Testimony revealed that the officer frequently just signed a bunch of blank forms and let LM fill them in. Another interesting aspect is that LM fiercely resisted having their hardware and software examined by the plaintiffs. In fact, they threatened the law firm with a suit if they persisted in pressing for discovery of those items. People who have fought their red light tickets in court and who wanted the design details and calibration records for the camera that photographed them were routinely refused this information, even though it's vital to a defense. Another interesting fact revealed at trial was that the cameras were NOT placed at 'the most dangerous intersections' as the city had been contending all along, but at intersections whose yellow light intervals were revealed to be set far shorter than state guidelines. As has been discussed here in other posts, the yellow light duration is a major factor in whether a light will be run or not.
These cameras, at least as operated in San Diego, are a scam. They ticket innocent people, are unexaminable for a defense, and are just a way for the city to rake in big money.
Here's the web site operated by the attorneys who got these cameras shut down: Red Light Lawyers
That's nothing. California has just canned the guy responsible for a $95 million 'error' in picking Oracle software, story, the governor is calling for an investigation by the state Attorney General, and it looks like the taxpayers are going to take a hit to the tune of $41 million. I bet they wish they had Wilkes-Barre's problem.
Much as I despise the BSA, I have to say that in my experience, universities, colleges, and even K-12 public schools are the worst when it comes to pirating software. There's something about them that leads the folks working there to think that ordinary rules of business just don't apply. I once worked for a company that sold computers to schools, and we fully supported the machines. Once school found a cheaper source, so they wanted to buy from there, but have us keep supporting the machines for free. One of many experiences that leads to the headline I put on this comment.
That said, I hope your school tells them to stick it. The BSA's tactics are too storm-trooperish for my taste.
Go here for the specifications of the Segway. Quite interesting.
i have a hard time believing they need 5 separate systems to do the calculations
From here: For redundancy purposes, we installed a total of five gyroscopes, each oriented in such a way that any angular motion of the machine will be sensed by at least two gyroscopes.
I think this is a good thing even for the customers. My Tivo is getting ready to die, and if I had paid the 'lifetime' (the Tivo's, not mine) subscription fee, I'd be a little miffed at having to do it again when I get a new unit. I might even switch to the Moxie if it lives up to its hype, so that's another reason to prefer a monthly subscription: you can abandon it at any time if something better comes along.
I've been programming embedded systems for many years, am waaay over 35, and I've never been happier or had more prospects for work. If you're unhappy, then by all means move. Otherwise, keep your skills up (it's important to not continue to work on one system so long that when it goes away you're without skills to begin another one - change companies if necessary to keep this from happening) and enjoy yourself. One last piece of advice: be reliable. The hardest thing to find is someone who'll deliver on time and in budget, and not be a problem. If you're known for that, you won't lack for work.
Davis is certainly the master fundraiser, but he's the most incompetent manager I've ever seen, and that's saying a lot.
I remember the days before California went to witholding. Signing that bill was the single worst thing Reagan did as governor. Our tax rates have risen tremendously since then. As you say, if people were having to scrape the money together at the end of the year, they'd be much more aware of just how much state government is taking out of their pockets.
The legislature is going through major contortions to close a 17.5 billion budget gap, and there isn't much stomach for doing it via spending cuts. They're talking about tripling vehicle license fees, raising income taxes, higher sales taxes, etc. Whatever you've been paying up to now, it looks like it's going to get far worse. The only prayer we have is that it takes a two-thirds vote to approve a tax increase, and there are just enough Republicans left in the legislature that increases might fail.
Let's not forget that this is the state that paniced and bought a ton of future energy contracts at the height of the market, burdening consumers with power prices double that in the rest of the coutry for decades to come. The state budget went up 37% in the last 3 years. Audits of most state agencies can't figure out where most of their money is spent. Agencies have a practice of keeping phantom employees on the payroll then using the money they're given to 'pay' these people for other operating purposes. Somehow this Oracle story doesn't surprise me.
I knew a Navy engineer who wanted to make a gliding torpedo. It would be slow, but so quiet that it would be undetectable. He also thought that it could be programmed to hold a ship 'hostage', poised just beneath it and set to detonate if the ship changed position. Don't know if anything ever became of his ideas, but they were interesting.
I'd want "forward 30 seconds" and "back 5 seconds" buttons. I'd hit the former a few times then listen. If I overshot, I hit the latter and listen each time until I'm back in the program. It's pretty similar to the way I've ended up using my Tivo. I suspect that if you got to know the station's format, you could come pretty close with minimal button punching.
Nope. Local talk station KFI in the mornings. They're all about as bad, however.
I want two thigs: A Tivo for my radio (I timed it the other day. 14 minutes of actual program, 16 minutes of commercials in each half hour. Aaargh.), and an 'in-flight recorder' for my car. When some jerk cuts me off and I ram him, or some cop claims I didn't signal a turn, I'd like to have proof to back up my claims of innocence. Of course, it should have an 'erase' button just in case ...
There's an excellent article on the history of the California power crisis here.