Something else to check out instead of using the tape connector kit, Best Buy has a box that broadcasts your device's audio output to any FM station, so it's 1 less wire to worry about. And it has a built in power converter so you can use it to power your device also.
That's what I want too, but let's go one step further. DVD's also come in the mini format, same as CD(about 3 inches?), and they hold 1.8 gig (30 hours). So, what I want is a portable cd/dvd/mp3 player built for that format so it's nice and compact. Sony had a player out a while ago for the regular mini cd's, didn't go over too well, but I think one that did mini mp3-dvd's should sell pretty good.
If you've still got a bit of budget left, then you might want to look into one of the companies providing v-server or user-mode linux hosting (some are as low as $5 - $10 a month). This gives you a full virtual linux box with static ip, that you can set up your own dns / web redirector, etc. That plus cable modem is still cheaper than a business class dsl.
My second priority would be trying to find a job. Or a temporary consulting gig. If your gig is doing web backend stuff, then it's nice to be able to keep up your skills on your home box, and also use that as a demo platform.
Re:One thing..
on
Security Alert
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
And then they think that they are safe if they don't accept any browser cookies.
That won't meate the OSI's definition of Open Source. However, remember that their tradmark application for "Open Source" fell through. So, as long as Sun makes the source code viewable, then they can call it "open source", it just won't be "OSI Open Source". And definately won't be "FSF Free".
Actually, ipv6 can help reduce the spread of worms. Right now, most worms will target random subnets, and all hosts within those subnets. Since the address range if ipv6 is so large it will make it that much harder for a worm to find a target host to infect. And the routers could then be programed to put in a logirithmic delay between connections everytime a host tries to contact a non-existant ip address (i.e., a few bad guesses will have no effect on the connection speed, but when it starts to get into the thousands, the router could slow the connection quite a bit, up to the point of stopping the worm spread).
If he's hourly, I'd agree, however if he is paid salery then it the employer should have to pay. After all, they take advantage of saleried employees all the time (extra hours), so if someone can't make it in then the employer should eat the cost (give and take). Otherwise, they should the back-pay for unpaid overtime.
Another thing I forgot to add, is if your needs are calling for Redhat Enterprise, but you only require updates and not break/fix support / phone support, you might want to check out one of the enterprise server clones/rebuilds such as Scientific Linux (Fermi labs), White Box Enterprise, etc. These are binary compatible with RHEL, so you can install tivoli / netbackup / oracle without any hickups. It seems that SL is the best bet, as they have a government labratory behind them and it looks like they are active with updates. Of course, with something like oracle if your are alrady paying through the nose for oracle licensing / support, then the few hundred a year to Redhat is peanuts.
A few things I've learned from deploying Linux in the enterprise (some of these may not apply to everyone, depending on how large the enterprise is)... 1) An installation needs to be supportable. This does not mean that you can get tech questions answered quickly via IRC or mailing lists. This may or may not mean the availablity of a hotline to call when everything hits the fan, and you are loosing big bucks every hour. It most definetly means that you can get install third-party software, and when that software hickups, you can call the vendor and have them help you, and not tell you they don't support your installation choice. Support also includes an assurance that someone has a _financial incentive_ to provide timely security updates and bug fixes for the product. 2) An installation needs to be repeatable. Which means that installing a distro that doesn't baseline their releases won't cut it. What I mean is, some distributions come out with a version, say 11.2, and will put out a series of fixes in the form of a couple updated package files every week or so. Thus, if you set up a server today with versin 11.2 and all current fixes, then next week if you do the same thing you will get a slightly different install. So what is needed is for the distro to have the concept of maintance levels, or patch levels, which defines a line in the sand so that you can at any time install 11.2 patch-level 13 and it will always be the same. (This also makes it easier for patches to be reviewed and signed off on by your patch-review board). 3) An installation needs to have a good chance of being maintanable by someone off the street. There are more enterprise-class unix admins out there than enterprise linux admins (that is, at least 5 years experience supporting a minimum of 50 systems that are in use 24x7 with stirct uptime requirements). And since most enterprises and their vendors are going with one or two linux flavors, a shop has a better chance of getting an admin in a pinch if they go with one of those two major linux players. And just knowing how to troubleshoot and upkeep linux in general isn't enough for a production system. Any linux distro has it's particulars that you don't want someine learning about during a crisis.
Unfortunately, most distributions fail one or more of these tests (or other tests that I didn't mention). For example, with Redhat Enterprise, their only supported methods of updating are to use up2date, which grabs the latest patches for all installed packages (which means you can't baseline), or you have to grab the patches one-by-one. If you download their update CD's, they don't provide an easy way to apply all the fixes (rpm --freshen doesn't cut it, cause sometimes you run across a patch that has prerequisites that the previous version didn't have, and rpm doesn't automatically resolve dependancies. Of course, there is always autorpm, autoupdate, apt, and yum, but these aren't part of the base distro, so you aren't guaranteed of it always working with that distro).
Managers also have another purpose -- as an interface between the worker and the corporate monolith. Without a manager, tasks will arive at the employee from multiple directions, and everyone want's their "thing" done first. A manager is good at taking the heat off the worker so he can actually get his job done. In a way, I view my manager as working for me, not the other way around.
Just uses a cdrw, then you won't be wasting anything. As for the business cards and mini-cd's, for some reason they are more expensive than a full-size cd. Now, the mini-cdrw's make a perfect floppy replacement, especially if you put a udf filesystem on it.
Every computer I currently have access to can boot from a CD. What I do is keep a few recovery CD's around, that have multiple boot images (dos, linux, windows). It is a multi-session RW disc, that has the last session set up with a read/write UDF filesystem, that both the Linux and Windows images can access.
You do realize that those trucks buy fuel, don't you? And that fuel has a fairly large tax on it. Also, they go through a lot of fuel, more than cars do. So, they do pay for the roads themselves (along with all the other motorists), just indirectly. But proportionally, it is still right in there.
But the laws of supply and demand only kick in when the supply is constrained. In the case of a non-constrained supply, then what happens is the manufacturer will set the price so that the (sell price - manufacturing cost) * units sold equals is maximized (maximum total profit). Then the manufacture will make as many as will sell at that price.
Now, in this case, there is another economic force at play. It is the laws of economy of scale. So, as demand increases, more will be manufactured, allowing cheaper production costs, which will allow the sell price to drop, assuming that a lower sell price will increase the "quantity demanded" at that demand level enought to cause enough more units to sell to create a higher profit.
I thought the GPL only covered distribution, not usage. If I take a GPL program, and link in a GPL-incompatible module and only keep it on my system, then that is not a violation.
Um, the driver that the binary-only module is also written by this guy. Are you trying to pull a SCO and say that once your own code touches something GPL that you can't also use your own code in a non-GPL manner? Sounds a lot like what the FSF used to pull with the KDE team, that they were violating their own license. I'm sorry, but copyright law doesn't work work like that. You can license something one way, and turn around and use the same code (assuming you didn't transfer the copyright) in any other way you want. The only way around that would be if the GPL itself came with it's own license on restrictions when applying it.
: So why is it on the web, alone, of all the places : where advertising takes place, that people have to : physically respond to an ad before the people : running it get paid?
Simple. Because it can. There is no way to have a positive feedback loop in the other mediums. So, the producers and advertisers rely on statitistical means to determine how effective an ad is, and thereby determine a value for the ad. And they assume that a certain percentage of the audience isn't going to be reached / affected by the ad. Also, you get a larger number of viewers for the ad, so that it ends up costing the advertiser only a small fraction of a peny for each viewer. Web content typically has a much lower number of viewers, and on top of that the costs increase as the number of viewers increases. So content producers need to charge a larger amount per viewer when compared to radio/tv/billboards. In order to justify this higher ad cost, there needs to be a more effective feedback mechanism.
The actual patent law defines infringement to include both making and using a patented device without a license. However, there is a bit of case law that allows you to make the patented device for research purposes, in order to understand the patent.
I wish everone would quit refering to the current "SCO" as if it was the original SCO. Old SCO is no more, and hasn't been around for a while. Old Caldera is also no more. Old Caldera at one point bought some of old SCO's assetts, new management took it over, and renamed Caldera to SCO as a propaganda ploy.
Isn't that what the UDI project was for? http://projectudi.sourceforge.net/. Thing is, it was never really accepted by the kernel community, for a few of reasons: 1) it adds another layer between the driver and the kernel, which causes a theoretical performance penalty (which doesn't seem to exist in the sample drivers). 2) it could encourage more binary-only drivers, whereas by keeping the api a moving target, it would encourage the manufactures to either release source, or not provide drivers at all. And, 3) (the best reason yet) -- it would open up the possibility for Windows to "steal" the higher-quality Linux drivers. Personally, I would think that the benifits of wider adoption of the UDI model (or similar) would far outweigh the problems.
I was wondering about this, so I looked up the statutes, found them at: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/consolid ated_laws.pdf Starting on page 270 (page 54 of the pdf document), it says it is an infringement to make use, offer to sell, or sell a patented invention (35 U.S.C. 271 (a)). Section (b) says if you actively induce infringement you are liable as an infringer (which could cover making source code available in a ready-to-compile format, i.e., configure;make;make install. There is also something in there that seems to cover prividing all the parts for a patented invention, i.e., providing a "kit" which contains only un-patented parts, but which when when built makes a patented invention, would make you guilty of contribuatory infringement.
I haven't found anything regarding non-commercial or personal use in here, but I'm not good at interpreting legal jargon. If you can point me to a source that says it is ok to build and/or use a patented invention for personal / research purposes, then that would be very useful.
Your description of daisy-chaining modules to the side of the systems reminds me of the IBM PCjr. It called them "sidecars". Trully a revolutionary idea, too bad it never caught on mainstream.
>...don't they have training? I've run into that situation with several vendors. Tech comes out on site, and this is the first time tech has seen that particular system. Basically, they get training on the generics, but the vendor has so many system models that a tech which services a particular area may only run into certain models once every few years. Keep in mind that a) the number of units shiped are not that large, and b) techs have limited service areas. So, they usually download the service manuals and rely on their back-end support to fix the problem.
Too add to this, no OCR packages is 100% accurate. Most will be 95 - 99%, which still means you have to have someone proofread / correct each page. Which is just as expensive as having the text entered manually. Side note: I remember a number of years ago, trying out OCR, and it turned out that I could type the page in sligtly faster than it could be scanned and recognized.
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Something else to check out instead of using the tape connector kit, Best Buy has a box that broadcasts your device's audio output to any FM station, so it's 1 less wire to worry about. And it has a built in power converter so you can use it to power your device also.
That's what I want too, but let's go one step further. DVD's also come in the mini format, same as CD(about 3 inches?), and they hold 1.8 gig (30 hours). So, what I want is a portable cd/dvd/mp3 player built for that format so it's nice and compact. Sony had a player out a while ago for the regular mini cd's, didn't go over too well, but I think one that did mini mp3-dvd's should sell pretty good.
If you've still got a bit of budget left, then you might want to look into one of the companies providing v-server or user-mode linux hosting (some are as low as $5 - $10 a month). This gives you a full virtual linux box with static ip, that you can set up your own dns / web redirector, etc. That plus cable modem is still cheaper than a business class dsl.
My second priority would be trying to find a job. Or a temporary consulting gig. If your gig is doing web backend stuff, then it's nice to be able to keep up your skills on your home box, and also use that as a demo platform.
And then they think that they are safe if they don't accept any browser cookies.
That won't meate the OSI's definition of Open Source. However, remember that their tradmark application for "Open Source" fell through. So, as long as Sun makes the source code viewable, then they can call it "open source", it just won't be "OSI Open Source". And definately won't be "FSF Free".
Actually, ipv6 can help reduce the spread of worms. Right now, most worms will target random subnets, and all hosts within those subnets. Since the address range if ipv6 is so large it will make it that much harder for a worm to find a target host to infect. And the routers could then be programed to put in a logirithmic delay between connections everytime a host tries to contact a non-existant ip address (i.e., a few bad guesses will have no effect on the connection speed, but when it starts to get into the thousands, the router could slow the connection quite a bit, up to the point of stopping the worm spread).
If he's hourly, I'd agree, however if he is paid salery then it the employer should have to pay. After all, they take advantage of saleried employees all the time (extra hours), so if someone can't make it in then the employer should eat the cost (give and take).
Otherwise, they should the back-pay for unpaid overtime.
Another thing I forgot to add, is if your needs are calling for Redhat Enterprise, but you only require updates and not break/fix support / phone support, you might want to check out one of the enterprise server clones/rebuilds such as Scientific Linux (Fermi labs), White Box Enterprise, etc. These are binary compatible with RHEL, so you can install tivoli / netbackup / oracle without any hickups. It seems that SL is the best bet, as they have a government labratory behind them and it looks like they are active with updates. Of course, with something like oracle if your are alrady paying through the nose for oracle licensing / support, then the few hundred a year to Redhat is peanuts.
A few things I've learned from deploying Linux in the enterprise (some of these may not apply to everyone, depending on how large the enterprise is)...
1) An installation needs to be supportable. This does not mean that you can get tech questions answered quickly via IRC or mailing lists. This may or may not mean the availablity of a hotline to call when everything hits the fan, and you are loosing big bucks every hour. It most definetly means that you can get install third-party software, and when that software hickups, you can call the vendor and have them help you, and not tell you they don't support your installation choice. Support also includes an assurance that someone has a _financial incentive_ to provide timely security updates and bug fixes for the product.
2) An installation needs to be repeatable. Which means that installing a distro that doesn't baseline their releases won't cut it. What I mean is, some distributions come out with a version, say 11.2, and will put out a series of fixes in the form of a couple updated package files every week or so. Thus, if you set up a server today with versin 11.2 and all current fixes, then next week if you do the same thing you will get a slightly different install. So what is needed is for the distro to have the concept of maintance levels, or patch levels, which defines a line in the sand so that you can at any time install 11.2 patch-level 13 and it will always be the same. (This also makes it easier for patches to be reviewed and signed off on by your patch-review board).
3) An installation needs to have a good chance of being maintanable by someone off the street. There are more enterprise-class unix admins out there than enterprise linux admins (that is, at least 5 years experience supporting a minimum of 50 systems that are in use 24x7 with stirct uptime requirements). And since most enterprises and their vendors are going with one or two linux flavors, a shop has a better chance of getting an admin in a pinch if they go with one of those two major linux players. And just knowing how to troubleshoot and upkeep linux in general isn't enough for a production system. Any linux distro has it's particulars that you don't want someine learning about during a crisis.
Unfortunately, most distributions fail one or more of these tests (or other tests that I didn't mention). For example, with Redhat Enterprise, their only supported methods of updating are to use up2date, which grabs the latest patches for all installed packages (which means you can't baseline), or you have to grab the patches one-by-one. If you download their update CD's, they don't provide an easy way to apply all the fixes (rpm --freshen doesn't cut it, cause sometimes you run across a patch that has prerequisites that the previous version didn't have, and rpm doesn't automatically resolve dependancies. Of course, there is always autorpm, autoupdate, apt, and yum, but these aren't part of the base distro, so you aren't guaranteed of it always working with that distro).
Managers also have another purpose -- as an interface between the worker and the corporate monolith. Without a manager, tasks will arive at the employee from multiple directions, and everyone want's their "thing" done first. A manager is good at taking the heat off the worker so he can actually get his job done. In a way, I view my manager as working for me, not the other way around.
Just uses a cdrw, then you won't be wasting anything. As for the business cards and mini-cd's, for some reason they are more expensive than a full-size cd.
Now, the mini-cdrw's make a perfect floppy replacement, especially if you put a udf filesystem on it.
Every computer I currently have access to can boot from a CD.
What I do is keep a few recovery CD's around, that have multiple boot images (dos, linux, windows). It is a multi-session RW disc, that has the last session set up with a read/write UDF filesystem, that both the Linux and Windows images can access.
You do realize that those trucks buy fuel, don't you? And that fuel has a fairly large tax on it. Also, they go through a lot of fuel, more than cars do. So, they do pay for the roads themselves (along with all the other motorists), just indirectly. But proportionally, it is still right in there.
But the laws of supply and demand only kick in when the supply is constrained. In the case of a non-constrained supply, then what happens is the manufacturer will set the price so that the (sell price - manufacturing cost) * units sold equals is maximized (maximum total profit). Then the manufacture will make as many as will sell at that price.
Now, in this case, there is another economic force at play. It is the laws of economy of scale. So, as demand increases, more will be manufactured, allowing cheaper production costs, which will allow the sell price to drop, assuming that a lower sell price will increase the "quantity demanded" at that demand level enought to cause enough more units to sell to create a higher profit.
I thought the GPL only covered distribution, not usage. If I take a GPL program, and link in a GPL-incompatible module and only keep it on my system, then that is not a violation.
Um, the driver that the binary-only module is also written by this guy. Are you trying to pull a SCO and say that once your own code touches something GPL that you can't also use your own code in a non-GPL manner? Sounds a lot like what the FSF used to pull with the KDE team, that they were violating their own license. I'm sorry, but copyright law doesn't work work like that. You can license something one way, and turn around and use the same code (assuming you didn't transfer the copyright) in any other way you want.
The only way around that would be if the GPL itself came with it's own license on restrictions when applying it.
: So why is it on the web, alone, of all the places
: where advertising takes place, that people have to
: physically respond to an ad before the people
: running it get paid?
Simple. Because it can.
There is no way to have a positive feedback loop in the other mediums. So, the producers and advertisers rely on statitistical means to determine how effective an ad is, and thereby determine a value for the ad. And they assume that a certain percentage of the audience isn't going to be reached / affected by the ad. Also, you get a larger number of viewers for the ad, so that it ends up costing the advertiser only a small fraction of a peny for each viewer.
Web content typically has a much lower number of viewers, and on top of that the costs increase as the number of viewers increases. So content producers need to charge a larger amount per viewer when compared to radio/tv/billboards. In order to justify this higher ad cost, there needs to be a more effective feedback mechanism.
The actual patent law defines infringement to include both making and using a patented device without a license. However, there is a bit of case law that allows you to make the patented device for research purposes, in order to understand the patent.
I wish everone would quit refering to the current "SCO" as if it was the original SCO. Old SCO is no more, and hasn't been around for a while. Old Caldera is also no more. Old Caldera at one point bought some of old SCO's assetts, new management took it over, and renamed Caldera to SCO as a propaganda ploy.
Isn't that what the UDI project was for? http://projectudi.sourceforge.net/.
Thing is, it was never really accepted by the kernel community, for a few of reasons: 1) it adds another layer between the driver and the kernel, which causes a theoretical performance penalty (which doesn't seem to exist in the sample drivers). 2) it could encourage more binary-only drivers, whereas by keeping the api a moving target, it would encourage the manufactures to either release source, or not provide drivers at all. And, 3) (the best reason yet) -- it would open up the possibility for Windows to "steal" the higher-quality Linux drivers.
Personally, I would think that the benifits of wider adoption of the UDI model (or similar) would far outweigh the problems.
I was wondering about this, so I looked up the statutes, found them at: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/consolid ated_laws.pdf
Starting on page 270 (page 54 of the pdf document), it says it is an infringement to make use, offer to sell, or sell a patented invention (35 U.S.C. 271 (a)). Section (b) says if you actively induce infringement you are liable as an infringer (which could cover making source code available in a ready-to-compile format, i.e., configure;make;make install.
There is also something in there that seems to cover prividing all the parts for a patented invention, i.e., providing a "kit" which contains only un-patented parts, but which when when built makes a patented invention, would make you guilty of contribuatory infringement.
I haven't found anything regarding non-commercial or personal use in here, but I'm not good at interpreting legal jargon.
If you can point me to a source that says it is ok to build and/or use a patented invention for personal / research purposes, then that would be very useful.
Your description of daisy-chaining modules to the side of the systems reminds me of the IBM PCjr. It called them "sidecars". Trully a revolutionary idea, too bad it never caught on mainstream.
>...don't they have training?
I've run into that situation with several vendors. Tech comes out on site, and this is the first time tech has seen that particular system.
Basically, they get training on the generics, but the vendor has so many system models that a tech which services a particular area may only run into certain models once every few years. Keep in mind that a) the number of units shiped are not that large, and b) techs have limited service areas.
So, they usually download the service manuals and rely on their back-end support to fix the problem.
Too add to this, no OCR packages is 100% accurate. Most will be 95 - 99%, which still means you have to have someone proofread / correct each page. Which is just as expensive as having the text entered manually.
Side note: I remember a number of years ago, trying out OCR, and it turned out that I could type the page in sligtly faster than it could be scanned and recognized.