Slashdot Mirror


User: Wee

Wee's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
934
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 934

  1. Re:Take this review with a grain of salt on LCD Round-up · · Score: 2
    My bad. I thought they were saying that 2^32 == 16M.

    -B

  2. Take this review with a grain of salt on LCD Round-up · · Score: 2
    "Although LCD screens claim support for 32-bit color, the displays themselves often aren't capable of accurately reproducing all 16.7 million colors common 32-bit graphics modes."

    Reading between the grammatical lines, I'd say they have to go back and think about exponents some more. The rest of the review is just as hinky.

    -B

  3. Gentoo is great unless you want to upgrade on Two Reviews of Debian 3.0 · · Score: 2
    Check out Gentoo Linux [gentoo.org]. It uses a package system called Portage that is similar to FreeBSD's "Ports" system. Basically, you run "emerge apps- editors/vim" to automatically build Vim for you, it will also download and build any dependancies required too! The only downside is it will take a while to build X, or any other large package(Gnome, KDE, etc)

    I'll throw my hat in: I'd love to use Gentoo. Except they have a fairly spotty upgrade path. It's like a couple scripts written by a few guys who felt like doing something constructive one day. Might be integrated somehow at some point. Install the soon-to-be old version at your peril. Super.

    I want to use Gentoo and Portage (both at home and at work). I really do, believe me. As a concept it sounds like a godsend. But I can't use Gentoo, at least not at work. Portage sounds great, until something which isn't included get installed, or someone needs the new version of the OS, or whatever.

    I don't have time to mess with it at home. The days of tweaking an OS, as oppposed to actually using an OS, are long since past for me. I still have 13 floppies with Slack on them if want to spend time configuring instead of doing...

    -B

  4. Re:You're talking about Minix on Ballmer Sees Free Software as Enemy No. 1 · · Score: 2
    I did and as it turns out you were lying when you said "but generally the two (inter)operate separately and nicely.".

    When did I ever mention AD? Never? I thought so. If you can't get the two OSes to work together, then maybe training is what you need. Judging from your animosity towards me, I can say with certainty that you need therapy in any case.

    Go back under your bridge.

    -B

  5. Re:Have things changed *that* much? on Slashback: Dataplay, XviD, PPC · · Score: 2
    Can I hope there are still enough bastions of decent beer that I won't have to use a guidebook to find them next trip?

    Yeah, I think so. We just did like you did. Or if I saw a tap handle that had an unknown name on it, I'd ask about it.

    It was just really hard to get away from Bud advertising and feel like we were in a "real British pub" and not some US imitation.

    -B

  6. Re:You're talking about Minix on Ballmer Sees Free Software as Enemy No. 1 · · Score: 2
    That's all fine and dandy but it still does not answer my question. How do I get my linux box to authenticate from an active directory server or vice versa?

    You are maybe mistaking me for your personal IT department? You think I have to prove something to you? Go take a look at Google or something and get your own damn answers...

    -B

  7. Re:No, he's talking about Windows on Ballmer Sees Free Software as Enemy No. 1 · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Ok, I'll call you crazy. Linux doesn't operate separate of Windows. Microsoft has been trying to dominate the server market like they did the desktop market for years. Because there were always better quality choices available, Microsoft could only break in on the low-end. Linux competes for the same low-end business servers that Microsoft has made such successful inroads at.

    I've seen more than a few companies that simply will not run Linux (or BSD, or Plan 9, or BeOS, or whatever). My wife's company is going to bankrupt itself because it *has* to get on the MS license subscription bandwagon. Which is fine. If MS can sell that bill of goods, then bully on them. But the people at my wife's firm think that they can't even run Linux. They don't even consider it. I don't know why that is.

    If they need to run Exchange, then so be it. Does that mean their web server needs to be IIS? Not at all. They don't know that.

    You're right: MS is competing with Linux. But there's a lot of room to move in the small server/edge network/whatever area; it's a huge playground, and they choices don't have to be mutually exclusive.

    -B

  8. Re:You're talking about Minix on Ballmer Sees Free Software as Enemy No. 1 · · Score: 2
    Apparently you are very knowledgable about this topic (why else would be moderated up so high) so could you tell me how to get linux to authenticate and interplay nicely with active directory?

    Sure. I'll bite.

    I wouldn't say that I'm not knowledgable about Linux and Windows; I've used them both for many years. But I also wouldn't presume to know everything about either, whether together or separately. I've never been paid as a sysadmin, either, so I might be missing something. Use whatever grains of salt you wish with my post. (But do me a favor and try and be at least a little bit civil.)

    Having said that, I can tell you that I've used them both in various ways for a long time. I just don't see them competing all that much sometimes. I've use Windows for games, I've used Linux for games. I've got a USB SmartMedia card reader that works on my Linux laptop and my wife's WinXP machine. I've used Linux for a web server platform, I've used Windows for a web server platform. I've had a Linux box with a couple big IDE disks and software RAID feeding samba and all the Windows clients around it get whatever they need just fine. I've used WINE and dual booted and had ftp servers coming off NT4 and scp'ed to other machines. I've even had a gopher server on Windows and a PDC that was Linux. It all depends on the task at hand, the timing, political strife, the direction of the afternoon wind, the phase of the moon and how low hemlines are this season. Hell, man, use whatever you like. Whatever works for you, works for you.

    Like I said, pick whatever OS you need for the job. Like I also said, it's good you get the choice. If you're otherwise unhappy, see a counselor.

    -B

  9. You're talking about Minix on Ballmer Sees Free Software as Enemy No. 1 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Same with Microsoft. If they would be able to do their job, there would be no Linux and nobody would cry foul.

    Ummm, I hate to shatter your world-view or anything, but Linux was created because Minix was not able to do the job (or, more accurately, Linus was not able to do any job with Minix, but it's the same difference). The creation of Linux had nothing (or "very, very little") to do with the existence of Windows. Put another way, the two would still have been created in absence of the other; their creations were orthogonal to one another.

    Call me crazy, but I just don't know why Linux and Windows always have to compete for the same space. Sure, there's a little overlap, but generally the two (inter)operate separately and nicely. Right tool for the job... choice is good, eh?

    -B

  10. Re:Damn! Now I need a new travel book... on Slashback: Dataplay, XviD, PPC · · Score: 2
    Hm, it seems like you just went to the wrong places... really, Budweiser is dogs piss, I fing it amazing that people here in Britain drink it.

    I find it amazing people anywhere drink it. I know a joke which applies here:

    Q: Why is drinking Budweiser like having sex in a canoe?
    A: Because it's fscking close to water.

    Thank you, thank you. I'm here all week...

    Without getting into specialist ales, you should try some bitter like Directors, or Youngs Ordinary. If you have to go for a lager, the most consistently quality is good old Stella, affectionately known as Wifebeater due to its sometimes excessive behaviour altering side effects. Caffreys is good for an almost hangover free 10 to 14 pint pub crawl (may take additional training).

    I'll give the bitters a go, for certain. And I hadn't noticed the altering effects of Stella. But I'm normally fairly even tempered even in the face of the worst alcoholic adversity. If you're ever in the US, try King Cobra (or any other "beer" which comes in a 40 ounce bottle) if you want a sample of American riot beer.

    I really appreciate the pub crawl advice. We're planning on doing a Soho crawl. I'll defintely keep the Caffreys advice in mind (as long as I'm able to, at least).

    And really, calling TGIs a restaurant is pushing it, eh?

    Yeah, that's certainly giving it something it shouldn't have. I just didn't know the word for "pretentious meat market-ish place which serves awful food and is filled with idiotic, cologne-drenched beeper salesmen either yelling at some inane sporting event on a loud TV or trying to tag the nearest waitress".

    -B

  11. You need a better backpack on TiBook Wi-Fi Range Hack: New Card · · Score: 2
    I like *not* having an external antenna on my TiPB. My laptop constantly goes in and out of my school bag. I prefer not having to pay extra attention to a little peice of plastic sticking out in these and other such situations.

    You need a better backpack bag. I have a Thinkpad with a Lucent card that sticks out, and I have never had an issue once I found my Tumi backpack. That bag absolutely rocks. It's the best made. Tough as iron, pockets sized to fit CDs/media, a handle on the top, a "file cabinet" pocket for docs and loose papers, and really comfortable straps.

    The actual compartment that holds the laptop has a foam liner (which is removeable if you want to carry normal stuff) that protects the sides and bottom. There's about five inches in between the laptop and the top of the bag, so the Lucent card sticks up in the air and is nicely protected.

    If you need a more general purpose backpack which also carries a laptop, then check out Tumi's other models.

    -B

  12. Re:Damn! Now I need a new travel book... on Slashback: Dataplay, XviD, PPC · · Score: 2
    Excellent choice! Well done!

    Geez... I had never even thought to go back to the classics...

    -B

  13. Re:Damn! Now I need a new travel book... on Slashback: Dataplay, XviD, PPC · · Score: 3, Interesting
    I considered telling them that in the US only sorority girls drink Smirnoff Ice! I stuck with Tennent's lager, to at least feel I'd gone somewhere.

    Smirnoff Ice?! It has a chemical in it which makes you crave it fortnightly... :-)

    I drank Caffrey's and Harp and Bass and many "regional" beers/ales often given to Yanks to make them feel they'd had their money's worth. I also enjoyed Stella Artois (ordered simply as "Stella") because it reminded me of what pedestrian American beer could have been. My favorite beer I had while there was a couple of pints I had in a pub called the Leinster Arms. I have no idea what it was called, but it was good, and went well with a generic pub lunch. That I'll probably never have it again is just as well, I suppose, since it was a bit of culture which would likely be cheapened if enjoyed anywhere but then and there.

    -B

  14. Re:Damn! Now I need a new travel book... on Slashback: Dataplay, XviD, PPC · · Score: 2
    Was it worth it? Shit, yeah. The in-flight movies were terrible.

    The last time I flew to England it was on Virgin, and I didn't have a book, laptop, palm pilot, anything. Bad idea. You're dead right: the movies were absolutely horrible. I actually found myself playing Nintendo (think Super Mario-era Nintendo) during the flight the movies were so bad. Hell, there were little kids who wouldn't even play it. But it was better than the movies. I don't even remember what was playing and I don't think I want to see "Undercover Brother" this time, either. Which is why I asked for book recommendations. I honestly thought that Quicksilver would be out in time and hadn't even though about what to get.

    Come on, teleportation.

    The world is an incredibly small place now; I shudder to think what teleportation will do to it. I remember in the early 80's my older brother went to England and we were beside ourselves because he brought back Dr Who stuff, books (I wanted a British dictionary), records (vinyl, kids: Two Tone stuff, The Clash, The Damned, Buzzcocks, etc, etc) and creepers/Doc Martens because we couldn't get them anywhere in Phoenix. We had to make roadtrips to LA for the music and such and even then we didn't get everything we wanted (although we usually got some things we didn't). Remember "imports"? Man, that was the shit when the copy you ordered came in like 19 weeks later. I still have a blue vinyl Captain Sensible Birthday EP a guy carried back in a suitcase for me. Got a red vinyl copy of Strawberries, signed Madness LPs, some Police B-sides, and a bunch of other junk I have to rip someday, too. But now you can get it all off the Net. Or at Sam Goody. There's about four corporations who own everything, and it's the same stuff no matter where you go.

    It used to mean going to England or France or Pakistan or where ever meant that you were going to some place that was different than where you were form. You got and tasted and smelled stuff you couldn't get back home. The most popular restaurant I saw when I was last in London was TGI Fridays and the most popular beer was Budweiser. You could hardly get away from Budweiser. One barkeep was telling me that he ran out of it weekly. The Virgin Megastore there had everything I can get here. I did wind up buying a driving game, though. It was right-hand drive. Now, going there is almost like going to Seattle, except everyone sounds funny. I'l have to remember to stay in th epubs and on the back streets.

    Once teleportation hits, the world really will be flat.

    -B

  15. Re:Damn! Now I need a new travel book... on Slashback: Dataplay, XviD, PPC · · Score: 2
    26+ hours? Are you coming from Oz or New Zealand? ;-)

    It's 13 hours each way, and I'll be damned if I'll pay money to fly books all the way to Europe only to sit about reading them while there. Except for those odd in-between hours that first night/morning, I plan on looking at things which are part of a scenic view, not imagining them.

    I'd suggest-- as you might guess from my nickname-- two of Vernor Vinge's novels: A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky.

    Way cool. I'll definitely check them out. Thanks for the suggestions!

    -B

  16. Damn! Now I need a new travel book... on Slashback: Dataplay, XviD, PPC · · Score: 4, Interesting
    This is great news... mostly. I was really hoping to have a copy for my trip to London in late November, but I guess it was not to be. I figured as much a while back, but held out small hope.

    Anyone have any good recommendations on geek books suitable for 26+ hours of flying (and a few couple-hour jetlag-induced insomic sessions)? Besides the Slashdot book review section, I mean. Novels and such...

    -B

  17. Re:I'm with you on Redheads Need More Anesthesia than Others · · Score: 2
    If only I had used the phrase "purple helmet" in some innocuous way.

    Bingo!

    -B

  18. Nope on Geoprofiling Moves Into The Limelight · · Score: 2
    A 2700 fps projectile would give someone 900 yards away a little over a second(accounting for some deceleration) to duck correct? Of course by the time the brain recognizes the sound .3 seconds have already passed.

    You see/hear an impact, then hear a shot (or -- even spookier -- you hear the whine of the bullet going past you followed by the sound of the shot a bit later; the disconnect between the two is freaky). You'd have to be looking directly at the shooter to know you were being targeted. If you could manage to see him shooting at you, you probably could duck. Maybe. 900 yards is a long shot, though. In fact, it's probably too long for a .223 to be very effective. Anyone shooting at that range would get something more powerful (heavier bullets not being swayed by wind as much, retaining more energy at impact, etc.). A .308 or 30-06/7.62x54R would do (assuming you stick with military cartridges). That's still a long shot... too long for your average gun owner. A heavier round would be moving slower, though, so it might get there about the same time.

    BTW, the lag between impact and the sound of the shot is one of those things very few movies get right. Although when they do, it makes for much scarier scene.

    (As a disclaimer: I've only been shot at a few times, and not once in any sort of combat-type situation. So I'm probably not the best judge of what it's like to be shot at from long ranges.)

    -B

  19. I don't know about that.... on Mac OS X to Get Journaling FS · · Score: 2
    OS X easy to use. Linux, not there yet, check back in a few years

    Red Hat 8.0 went on an old IBM Thinkpad without a hitch (of course, so did RH 7.x, and 6.2). Wireless NIC, wired NIC, APM, all that works fine. The desktop I could sit my mom in front of. It's not as easy as OS X, sure, but it's come a long way.

    -B

  20. You guys are hilarious on Redheads Need More Anesthesia than Others · · Score: 2
    Your responses are great...

    I'm not an idiot (IQ in the 150s), I'm only 1/16 Polish, no inbreeding (that we know of), and Mr. Glass is slightly inaccurate; Mr. Not-Too-Careful is more like it. Although my name isn't Brasky, the thought has crossed my mind that the crack in the head might have something to do with it.

    Oh yeah, no trophy needed. But it's so sweet you guys care!

    -B

  21. I'm with you on Redheads Need More Anesthesia than Others · · Score: 5, Interesting
    What I've noticed is that when it comes to alcohol, caffiene, and other intoxicants/stimulants, I need a much higher dosage to feel the effects. I have a higher alcohol tolerance than antyone I know, matched only by a binge drinker who weighs 60 lbs more than I do.

    I don't think that I'm more susceptible to pain either. Friends frequently refer to me as the guy with the 'asbestos hands'. If anything, I have a higher pain tolerance than most

    I don't buy it either. I'm pretty blond-ish (I've got reds in my beard and mixed in with a bunch of light colors in my hair) and I'm rather light-skinned. I'd describe myself almost exactly as you describe yourself. I even have a friend like yours with a higher tolerance than myself (although he's recently stopped drinking). I hardly feel pain and when I do it's usually too late.

    I've broken all of my fingers (most twice), most of my toes, a few ribs, both ankles and both wrists. I have a 10" long "depression" in my skull from when I cracked it playing football in the house at age 6 (dove for a "pass", hit the little metal striker plate on the door jamb). I had a double hernia at 18 months old. When I was growing up, I'd say I had a cast/splint on something for about 3 months out of every year. For the longest time, everyone thought I was really fragile. Turns out I just didn't feel it when something broke, and so never had that "Don't dive into a tackle with your fingers sticking out" negative reinforcement. I'd break something and not notice until I couldn't bend a joint or it hurt later on when I moved it in some way.

    I've even broken fingers and not known it. I once went in to the emergency room for a sprain or whatever and they discovered an old break I didn't remember. That was when I did go into the emergency room. After a while, I stopped because it was too expensive (and I had a full set of splints anyway). That's why to this day I can't touch type; I took typing class three times but could never complete it (twice for fingers, once for wrist).

    I don't get cold very easily. I mean, wiping ice off a windshield is no big deal. Hot isn't terribly bothersome, either. Reaching into a campfire to move a log around or into water to get corn (or whatever) isn't something I normally think about not doing. It takes a couple more beers than most people to get a head of steam going, and I never ever throw up from drinking. I'm not ticklish. When I get a splinter, I just take it out with a scalpel and a small incision because it's easier and quicker than digging around. A healthy splash of rubbing alcohol afterward isn't bad at all. I've had a tooth (accidentally) removed without anesthesia. That hurt a lot. It takes a couple Vicodins to do any good. Curisouly, aspirin works very well for most stuff. When I get a headache, it's migraine-quality.

    Long story short, I don't buy the relationship between hair color/skin tone and nerve responsiveness. I know I'm only a sample of one (and a highly biased researcher :-) but the theory just doesn't hold water. I am not more susceptible to pain than most people.

    BTW, I haven't broken anything in four years. If the lack of negative physical feedback didn't teach me to be careful, the feedback of "no type, no money" sure did. I still do stuff like play paintball, it's just that I tend to think a little more carefully about what I need to do before I do it.

    Oh yeah, I'm not Dutch. Scotch-Irish/English, with a teensy bit of Polish.

    -B

  22. Re:You're slightly wrong on A Universal Power Bus? · · Score: 2
    I was oversimplifying, sure. The connector for the Q-phone and the Thinphone, for example, maybe could have been the same, but probably got changed for technical reasons as well. I never did much work with QCP, so I'm only going on talk heard in the halls and around the tables at bldg V cafeteria...

    -B

  23. They make too much from the cables... on A Universal Power Bus? · · Score: 4, Insightful
    When I was at Qualcomm, I did some work for the guys writing the PC-to-phone connectivity software. A lot of effort went into the software. They bundled it with a data cable (or a data/power combo cable) and sold it for like 60 bucks (or something outrageous). They also let people download the software for free. See, they made a killing selling the cable. That's where the money was.

    They change the connectors/pinouts on every rev of a phone for a reason, BTW. There's no way they would have gone in for a plan to adopt a standard connector. They may have done something like make a cable that has the UPB end and the proprietary phone end, however. But I doubt it.

    -B

  24. Re:You mean Mini14 on Geoprofiling Moves Into The Limelight · · Score: 2
    I agree with what you're saying, but I find debating the relative levels of dishonour of "shooting someone in the back from 900 yards" and "shooting someone traditionally defenseless in the back from 900 yards" both macabre and pointless.

    I agree. But my point was that I think that he is making a point by what he is doing. He is targeting certain people, and shooting them in certain ways. There's a reason why he is killing the people he is killing in the way he is killing them.

    I didn't mean to say there was anything close to honor about the way that he is doing what he is doing. I just wanted to point out that there's a reason why he's doing it. And it's not even close to honorable.

    He deserves to die in ways more horrible than humans can imagine.

    -B

  25. Re:You mean Mini14 on Geoprofiling Moves Into The Limelight · · Score: 2
    Something I've wondered in this case... why is it worse to shoot "old men and women and children" than it is to shoot anyone else?

    It's worse. At 900 yards, everyone is defenseless. Yet this bottom feeder chooses to shoot the young or the weak... in the back. Almost as an insult. It's almost... dishonorable (as if there is even the hint of honor in what he is doing). It's like he knows that he's killing the innocent, the weak, the "normally defenseless".

    He's making a point. And it's a bad one.

    -B