Now, I actually believe there was a literal ark. However, I don't believe they'll ever find it, at least not there.
Why? Because according to Genesis 8:4,the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.
That would be like saying that I own a moderate-sized building somewhere in the Rocky Mountains; now go find it. That's a BIG region to cover -- a whole mountain range....
Ararat is only one mountain in the mountains of Ararat. I think they're looking in the wrong place, assuming that 5,000 years of decay has left anything standing, in the first place.
I personally can't and/or won't use the online version, because my personal taxes are too complex and because I don't like the privacy implications, even with SSL/HTTPS.
I only want the final tax data going over the wires and don't want another company having all the forms data. (Of course, most of that could be reconstructed from e-Filing, etc....)
I also don't want to have some new April 15 DDoS knocking out the Internet, itself, come tax day, to stop all Internet filing.... (BTW, I got my return mid-March, so I really don't file late; I'm speaking hypothetically.) I'll just e-File early to mid-March each year and not use the online/web version.
So, I believe that to answer the original question, we have got to point out that we are about as large as the Mac community, on the desktop. They make Mac standalone versions of Tax software, so why not Linux?
Better yet. Why not ask them to write a Java application that is compiled to native machine code (or perhaps just leave as Java binaries)? They could build a write once, run anywhere Java app, couldn't they? (You know they could, of course....)
You know, Tax Cut and Tax Act are smaller than Turbo Tax. It seems to me that they'd benefit most from a Windows, Mac, Linux, (or whatever) version of tax software in Java....
Why not? Couldn't this be said of most productivity software? Build it in Java and support at least three platforms?
I think companies are now realizing that Linux will be and already is big. We just have to do more convincing that the desktop is now.
I still don't see what excuse they could give to not just code "write once, run anywhere" Java software products.
They could inlude a pretty installer and, even include the necessary version of Java for the application, if need be....
Of course, we'd have to use it awhile and study it, to make a real comparison. I can't actually see this site, because of the/. effect, so I'll ramble and speculate....
Visualizing this in my puny little brain, I "see" a problem -- 3D clutter. If you think your current 2D desktop is cluttered, because of hidden stuff sitting behind stuff, then wait for the 3D effect.... On the other hand, the holy grail of 3D interfaces -- hologram projection and the like -- might have the problem of seeing through the object....
If you do real/semi-real 3D with actual depth, there could be problems with users having headaches or blurred vision, or flicker, as well, possibly, depending on implementation, yada, yada.
I think alpha-blending, if done properly, is a better way to unhide relavent information. Dual monitors, wide-screens, or really large screens with a lot of resolution are others.
What I do notice it that they seem to me to be VERY chatty about Intels. When they talk about AMD's, they seem to be quieter.
I notice that an AMD could nuke an Intel on a test and get little press. When an Intel edges out an AMD, it gets more press.
Perhaps it's big news when Intels can keep up with AMD's, these days!:-) I would love to see 64 bit versions of the software in these comparisons, to show how future proofed the AMD's are.
And I know that everything I've said here is anecdotal and that I'm biased toward AMD chips....
I'll just claim "infinite regression." Your argument says my argument is self-contradicting. I counter by saying that you're contradicting yourself, and so on. We can argue like this all day.
The crowd on Slashdot that doesn't like censorship censors those who disagree with a viewpoint they don't share. So, to the poster of "I think it should be illegal to be that contradictory" has obviously ignored the whole point of my post and of Slashdot (and is contradicting himself.) Now we're at the point of infinite regression....
I'm just pointing out a Slashdot hypocrisy. User A makes cracks about censorship "out there" in "free society." (Fine with me -- this site, after all is free as in freedom.)
User B disagrees with User A's assesment of the situation and gets modded down. (The disagreement is fine with me. The modding down [read CENSORSHIP] is not fine with me -- this site, after all is free as in freedom.)
User C disagrees with either User A or User B or neither or both. (Fine with me as long as nobody gets modded down for disagreement -- this site, after all is free as in freedom.)
User D comes in and rails on User B. (Fine with me, again this is a free site.)
User E mods down User B, because he/she wants to shut up (censor) User B's views. (Not fine with me, again this is a free site.)
So, you can't have it both ways. Hate, loathe, disagree with the FCC all you want, on Slashdot, in public, in private -- whatever. That's GREAT.
But, at least show the same courtesy to fellow Slashdot users who don't agree with you. DON'T CENSOR BECAUSE YOU DON'T LIKE A VIEWPOINT!!! Mod down if it's Offtopic, Flaimbait, etc. The parent's post IS NOT FLAIMBAIT -- it is merely a disagreement. (Or, are we going to ignore Slashdot's guidelines on modding?)
If my comments are ILLEGAL, then that makes you a CENSOR, and you are imposing your ideas on me and everyone else out there. Don't you see the hypocrisy?!?!?!? Are you now the thought police?
I disagree with User A, in this case, and happen to agree with User B. I guess I should be censored. Most of the time, however, I agree with Slashdot. I don't on this one, though -- I think that public TV has gone too far down the slippery slope.
However, have I ever said that you cannot say "bad words" on this site? No. Have I censored a fellow Slashdot user? No. Do I mod down when I don't agree? No. I rarely mod down and go after the TRUE FlaimBait and the TRUE OffTopic stuff -- not disagreements.
Want to prove my point? Mod me down. Although we're in the minority on this site, there are still tens of thousands of us who agree with what the FCC is doing in this case. Not everyone is so vocal, though. (Hmmmm, I wonder why...)
On the other hand, the FCC has done some pretty dumb things in the past -- so has Congress, etc. I don't like big government or lots of regulation, either. I do feel that the public airwaves have gotten out of control. I don't believe that all TV should be TV-Y, TV-Y7, and TV-PG. However, I do feel very strongly that there is a line that public airwaves should not cross.
Now, though, we got people who think that Slashdot should take a side in politics and be active in censorship. That's sheer hypocrisy -- if you think the FCC is wrong here. Don't I get a voice, too?
Your Rights Online -- ha! Thanks to all the thought police out there for making this possible.
Now why in the world was the parent of this modded down?!?!?!? C'mon moderators, can't you take a little dissent?
I thought this site was in favor of free speech and dissent, not censorship! Your Rights Online, indeed!!!
I, too, am a father with kids and am glad that the FCC is FINALLY cracking down. If you want profanity, you've got satellite, cable, or the video/DVD market. If if goes out over public airwaves, there should be restrictions; it is the law, after all....
C'mon. Mod me down and the parent up. Take 7 points away from me, but don't censor people's viewpoints just because they differ from yours. Man, I wish I had yesterday's mod points back. I'd give it an Interesting or an Insightful, not an "I'm going to censor your 'alternate' viewpoint with a FlameBait rating."
Not to argue or to make anyone feel bad, but I know a lot of good IT people who have been out of work for 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, a year, or even more. If you quit right now, employers probably won't like you, next go-around, unless the economy really picks up.
On the other hand, I see your point. If your're young, single, and not too happy with an IT job but the lure of joining a traveling rock band presents itself, then it's hard to say, "No." And, guaranteed, you will kick yourself later if you don't try.
However, what if somebody quits a cushy job, goes for it, and then the rock band thing doesn't work out at all? Then what? You'll kick yourself later for having done it.
Hopefully, the rock band thing works out and is a lot of fun, as well as a learning experience. On the other hand, they're not called starving artists for nothing....
Am I the only one who disagrees? I don't want to sound like a party pooper, but....
I think that you will have more short-term happiness doing this. However, I think that since the economy is bad, that you're better off, for now, sticking with IT and looking for long-term happiness. You said it best when you said it was inherently risky. Think "Tortoise and Hare."
You might find that employers don't want to re-hire you back to IT, later. Can you find a way to do IT while you're on the road, to keep up your skills and experience?
If you decide to go for it, you could take your IT with you, start up a consulting company, and do IT for the band and other side projects -- just be sure to actually get paid for it. I think you'd mitigate the risk of having a bad-looking resume, later.
On the road, setup the band's web site, run lights with Linux, program keyboards, program pyrotecnics, program video, setup databases for all sorts of stuff to track, and find every other way you can to run the band's IT/computers....
Maybe you could also work toward certification, a bachelors degree, or a masters degree in the mean time. Keep learning, programming, and performing systems administration work. Even running your own IT company is IT experience in and of itself.
You could also find a cause or two and donate your skills through this company.
I know for a fact that I was playing computer card games, like solitaire on my TRS-80 Model I in 1980. It certainly was NOT the first computer to do so, graphical or not.
Don't you think there is prior art, here?
And as an Re: to "Wha???", I have to agree. How can they patent a derivative work of an ancient game?
I had a bit of a wise word from an old work colleague concerning addiction to caffeine, among other things.
He said that if you get really sick, you can quit almost anything you're addicted to.
So, follow the advice above by tapering off to a point that you are confortable with. Then, the next time you get really sick, decide to go cold turkey and not pick up the habit again.
I got kidney stones, partly from drinking 6-8 Cokes a day (full of caffeine, carbonated water, and sugar -- lots of diuretics), and partly from not drinking enough water. I spent three days in the hospital for that one. After that, I really dropped off the Cokes and increased my water intake.
The only other time I got a kidney stone was just before I finally decided to really cut back on caffeine. Fortunately, I didn't have to go to the ER with this one....
I'll tell you that caffeine withdrawal doesn't begin to compare with kidney stones!!!
So, scale back now, and quit the next time you get really sick....
I now drink Coke ONCE a month.... (I never liked coffee or tea, though.) I may drink a hot chocolate once or twice a month during the fall/winter months. I occasionally eat chocolate. I drink lots of water, instead.
I don't get kidney stones any more, either....
Re:Your worries are without merit -- bzzzzt
on
Paperless Billing?
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· Score: 1
Danger Will Robinson! In YOUR case (anecdotal evidence, of course) YOU have had no problem. However, there ARE problems that people really HAVE encountered, many of which took a long time and a lot of effort to correct. Remember, with money, you are guilty until proven innocent.
Note this: many online billing systems and automatic payment systems, allow the companies you have registered with, to add to or take away money at will.
Not having a paper trail may be very bad, if there is identity theft, someone steals your bill pay password, there is a transaction you haven't authorized, or if there are software bugs in any system, whether it's your bank's fault or it's a vendor's fault, etc. (Oh yeah, I forgot, all financial code is bug free, right?!?!?)
After many years, my wife and I just started using it for a few bills, but not without plenty of research and apprehension. We do thoroughly screen every transaction and keep all bills and receipts. However, we were like that before automatic bill pay, since paper transactions aren't perfect, either.
So, be aware and don't trust your money to anyone or any institution that even smacks of being shady, in the least. Again, keep a copy of all transactions.
You can cut new rectangular holes into the wall, just smaller than the size of the boxes. These boxes can expand to the size of the hole.
Of course, run wire up/down first, then cut, then mount the expandable box. Ask the person at the hardware store for more info. (Level the rectangular holes, first.)
You could cap off or cover up the 1964 era boxes, or leave them alone.
Stop! Don't even hint at CP/M!!! SCO owns that, since Caldera bought it from Digital Research....:-O Egad. Doing a CP/M file system might actually be something for which SCO could sue Linux developers.... Of course, using the CP/M filesystem would be next to useless. PIP, anyone?
Don't even joke about using an old file system like CP/M, in place of FAT. OK, I know you weren't actually advocating it and all, but CP/M wouldn't put us in a better light.
I'm actually worried about this M$ FAT thing. EXT2 is actually a Linux-native filesystem that will work on really small filesystems, like 1.2 and 1.44M floppies. CRAM-FS and Minix would work well for really small file systems, too, but I'm worried about potential IP issues with Minix, too.
So, I'm going to swap out everything FAT-based that I can find, and replace it with EXT2.
"...the size of a TV..." "...the size of a breadbox..." "...notebook..."
I know exactly what the size of TVs, breadboxes, and notebooks are! Good thing were talking about precise, scientific dimensions here -- unlike NASA's problem with converting standard to metric....:-)
Was that a 13" black and white or a 57" HDTV rear projection supercomputer?
One thing to remember, you are a junior developer and you will rock the boat if you are not walking-on-eggshells-careful. This is true even in a good economy.
Trust me, I used to rant about things broken in IT. I was respected for having a lot of knowledge and insight in IT. However much I still believe I was right, I learned, years later that attitude and patience will pay off more than brilliant ideas.
An old saying has to do with attracting flies with honey. Learn that and learn all you can about security on your spare time, to buttress your claims. Show them how good and knowledgable a worker you are, to convince them your opinion is valid.
Don't tell them they are wrong. Just factually show them how they could improve.
(I wrote this in about 3 minutes, so if it doesn't appear coherent, read it again, without mentally spell checking and grammar checking. Sorry about the clutter.)
You know, in "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century," they find out about our culture through archaeology. This, of course, is after the nuclear World War III.
If we keep making things biodegradable, who'll know who we were? I'm starting a new campaign: "Biodegradable harms future history."
"We would like to place this in a time capsule, but it'll be gone in 100 years."
I had no trouble reading it. I don't know if I'd bother, though. The benchmark was useless. (I WOULD look at their ACL-based permissions system for PHP, though, if you're into that kind of thing.)
Sorry this post is so long, but I must say it:
All I see JFS coming out as the clear winner, in this test, time after time after time. Hmmm, something is afoul. While I've heard that JFS is speedy, I don't believe it's THAT iron clad....
Then, I saw the hardware being tested: a single-processor 450MHz Pentium II.
I'm most familiar with ReiserFS 3 and ext2. I use ext3 for my/boot/ mount point, so I never "benchmark" it as an end user, so all my comments, below, will have a bias toward ReiserFS....
Well, ReiserFS works far better on faster machines, with more memory and cpu's than it does on slower hardware. It's designed to be scalable and handle small files better than the other FS'es.
Results: ReiserFS needs a speedy machine to perform its best. It uses CPU and memory more, as opposed to more and more disk I/O. It makes heavy use of threading and caching, by *design.* It's supposed to work that way.
Other filesystems, on the other hand, are GREAT for constrained environments.
So, I would have like to have seen at least three different speed single-processor machines and three different dual-processor machines, at least. Then, add memory a couple of times and repeat. Then, compare IDE and SCSI performance. How about RAID performance or "real-world" application performance?
NONE of this was considered, so the test is 100% worthless, for now. Hey, at least the author tried to benchmark; most people won't even do that. I hope that people submit results back to the author and they get posted, as well. Until that time, do not trust these semi-low-level disk benchmarks, even for low-level operations!
This is a shame, since I want REAL benchmark answers to this age-old question. I have NEVER seen a good FS benchmark and want to see one, soon. I know, I know, you say, "Why not just do one yourself?" OK, smarty pants, how do I do a controlled test, when I, myself, don't have 20-30 different hardware settings to test? So, I'll throw down the gauntlet to somebody with deeper pockets, no bias, and a lot of technical skill. Does anybody bite?
If JFS wins most tests on the above, well, then the stats were skewed. Why should the benchmark not show a broader mixture of "winners" and "losers?" Why does JFS almost always beat everyone else, especially under load? Is it really almost always faster?
I'm not against JFS. I used it under AIX for about 6 years, and it saved my bottom quite a few times, but I've only used it in Linux maybe one time, since ReiserFS does so much more.... In fact, I repeatedly begged for a JFS for Linux for years, until Hans Reiser's team made it a reality.
(Again, this is why you may see a preference and bias toward ReiserFS. I started using it since ReiserFS was the first journaled filesystem considered to be stable in Linux. Since then, we have a choice of at least 4 of them, plus tux2 and BeOS's FS. Also, since ReiserFS has SO little file "cluster" overhead, I primarily it over other "jfs'es" for that reason -- small files compact tightly and cache well, which is EXTREMELY important on a Unix machine.)
Also, ReiserFS version 4 is supposed to be much faster than ReiserFS 3 in most tests, which was not borne out in these benchmarks. ReiserFS 4 was very CPU intensive on these tests. However, what would you expect? ReiserFS *IS* CPU intensive and was benchmarked on an anemic single-processor IDE-based machine!!! Many single-processor machines produce about 10X the performance! Oh, BTW, what speed/configuration/type of IDE hard drive did they use?
I don't think the benchmark was fair, practical, or realistic, since other benchmarks have said that under different scenarios, different file systems peform better than others. Sometimes, ext2 wins most tests, sometimes ext3, and Reiser3 and Reiser4, and JFS, and XFS, etc....
Why should we EVER trust benchmarks on a single platform???
OK, I'll give them some credit. However, caveat emptor!
Slashdot Mirror
Isn't the brain mostly fat? I thought that the brain used fat for cushion and support of neurons....
If so, then, hey, I'd be glad to be part of your weight-loss experiment. Not!
Now, I actually believe there was a literal ark. However, I don't believe they'll ever find it, at least not there.
Why? Because according to Genesis 8:4, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.
That would be like saying that I own a moderate-sized building somewhere in the Rocky Mountains; now go find it. That's a BIG region to cover -- a whole mountain range....
Ararat is only one mountain in the mountains of Ararat. I think they're looking in the wrong place, assuming that 5,000 years of decay has left anything standing, in the first place.
I personally can't and/or won't use the online version, because my personal taxes are too complex and because I don't like the privacy implications, even with SSL/HTTPS.
I only want the final tax data going over the wires and don't want another company having all the forms data. (Of course, most of that could be reconstructed from e-Filing, etc....)
I also don't want to have some new April 15 DDoS knocking out the Internet, itself, come tax day, to stop all Internet filing.... (BTW, I got my return mid-March, so I really don't file late; I'm speaking hypothetically.) I'll just e-File early to mid-March each year and not use the online/web version.
So, I believe that to answer the original question, we have got to point out that we are about as large as the Mac community, on the desktop. They make Mac standalone versions of Tax software, so why not Linux?
Better yet. Why not ask them to write a Java application that is compiled to native machine code (or perhaps just leave as Java binaries)? They could build a write once, run anywhere Java app, couldn't they? (You know they could, of course....)
You know, Tax Cut and Tax Act are smaller than Turbo Tax. It seems to me that they'd benefit most from a Windows, Mac, Linux, (or whatever) version of tax software in Java....
Why not? Couldn't this be said of most productivity software? Build it in Java and support at least three platforms?
I think companies are now realizing that Linux will be and already is big. We just have to do more convincing that the desktop is now.
I still don't see what excuse they could give to not just code "write once, run anywhere" Java software products.
They could inlude a pretty installer and, even include the necessary version of Java for the application, if need be....
Of course, we'd have to use it awhile and study it, to make a real comparison. I can't actually see this site, because of the /. effect, so I'll ramble and speculate....
Visualizing this in my puny little brain, I "see" a problem -- 3D clutter. If you think your current 2D desktop is cluttered, because of hidden stuff sitting behind stuff, then wait for the 3D effect.... On the other hand, the holy grail of 3D interfaces -- hologram projection and the like -- might have the problem of seeing through the object....
If you do real/semi-real 3D with actual depth, there could be problems with users having headaches or blurred vision, or flicker, as well, possibly, depending on implementation, yada, yada.
I think alpha-blending, if done properly, is a better way to unhide relavent information. Dual monitors, wide-screens, or really large screens with a lot of resolution are others.
I think 3D would look cool, though.
What I do notice it that they seem to me to be VERY chatty about Intels. When they talk about AMD's, they seem to be quieter.
:-) I would love to see 64 bit versions of the software in these comparisons, to show how future proofed the AMD's are.
I notice that an AMD could nuke an Intel on a test and get little press. When an Intel edges out an AMD, it gets more press.
Perhaps it's big news when Intels can keep up with AMD's, these days!
And I know that everything I've said here is anecdotal and that I'm biased toward AMD chips....
I'll just claim "infinite regression." Your argument says my argument is self-contradicting. I counter by saying that you're contradicting yourself, and so on. We can argue like this all day.
The crowd on Slashdot that doesn't like censorship censors those who disagree with a viewpoint they don't share. So, to the poster of "I think it should be illegal to be that contradictory" has obviously ignored the whole point of my post and of Slashdot (and is contradicting himself.) Now we're at the point of infinite regression....
I'm just pointing out a Slashdot hypocrisy. User A makes cracks about censorship "out there" in "free society." (Fine with me -- this site, after all is free as in freedom.)
User B disagrees with User A's assesment of the situation and gets modded down. (The disagreement is fine with me. The modding down [read CENSORSHIP] is not fine with me -- this site, after all is free as in freedom.)
User C disagrees with either User A or User B or neither or both. (Fine with me as long as nobody gets modded down for disagreement -- this site, after all is free as in freedom.)
User D comes in and rails on User B. (Fine with me, again this is a free site.)
User E mods down User B, because he/she wants to shut up (censor) User B's views. (Not fine with me, again this is a free site.)
So, you can't have it both ways. Hate, loathe, disagree with the FCC all you want, on Slashdot, in public, in private -- whatever. That's GREAT.
But, at least show the same courtesy to fellow Slashdot users who don't agree with you. DON'T CENSOR BECAUSE YOU DON'T LIKE A VIEWPOINT!!! Mod down if it's Offtopic, Flaimbait, etc. The parent's post IS NOT FLAIMBAIT -- it is merely a disagreement. (Or, are we going to ignore Slashdot's guidelines on modding?)
If my comments are ILLEGAL, then that makes you a CENSOR, and you are imposing your ideas on me and everyone else out there. Don't you see the hypocrisy?!?!?!? Are you now the thought police?
I disagree with User A, in this case, and happen to agree with User B. I guess I should be censored. Most of the time, however, I agree with Slashdot. I don't on this one, though -- I think that public TV has gone too far down the slippery slope.
However, have I ever said that you cannot say "bad words" on this site? No. Have I censored a fellow Slashdot user? No. Do I mod down when I don't agree? No. I rarely mod down and go after the TRUE FlaimBait and the TRUE OffTopic stuff -- not disagreements.
Want to prove my point? Mod me down. Although we're in the minority on this site, there are still tens of thousands of us who agree with what the FCC is doing in this case. Not everyone is so vocal, though. (Hmmmm, I wonder why...)
On the other hand, the FCC has done some pretty dumb things in the past -- so has Congress, etc. I don't like big government or lots of regulation, either. I do feel that the public airwaves have gotten out of control. I don't believe that all TV should be TV-Y, TV-Y7, and TV-PG. However, I do feel very strongly that there is a line that public airwaves should not cross.
Now, though, we got people who think that Slashdot should take a side in politics and be active in censorship. That's sheer hypocrisy -- if you think the FCC is wrong here. Don't I get a voice, too?
Your Rights Online -- ha! Thanks to all the thought police out there for making this possible.
Now why in the world was the parent of this modded down?!?!?!? C'mon moderators, can't you take a little dissent?
I thought this site was in favor of free speech and dissent, not censorship! Your Rights Online, indeed!!!
I, too, am a father with kids and am glad that the FCC is FINALLY cracking down. If you want profanity, you've got satellite, cable, or the video/DVD market. If if goes out over public airwaves, there should be restrictions; it is the law, after all....
C'mon. Mod me down and the parent up. Take 7 points away from me, but don't censor people's viewpoints just because they differ from yours. Man, I wish I had yesterday's mod points back. I'd give it an Interesting or an Insightful, not an "I'm going to censor your 'alternate' viewpoint with a FlameBait rating."
Not to argue or to make anyone feel bad, but I know a lot of good IT people who have been out of work for 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, a year, or even more. If you quit right now, employers probably won't like you, next go-around, unless the economy really picks up.
On the other hand, I see your point. If your're young, single, and not too happy with an IT job but the lure of joining a traveling rock band presents itself, then it's hard to say, "No." And, guaranteed, you will kick yourself later if you don't try.
However, what if somebody quits a cushy job, goes for it, and then the rock band thing doesn't work out at all? Then what? You'll kick yourself later for having done it.
Hopefully, the rock band thing works out and is a lot of fun, as well as a learning experience. On the other hand, they're not called starving artists for nothing....
Am I the only one who disagrees? I don't want to sound like a party pooper, but....
I think that you will have more short-term happiness doing this. However, I think that since the economy is bad, that you're better off, for now, sticking with IT and looking for long-term happiness. You said it best when you said it was inherently risky. Think "Tortoise and Hare."
You might find that employers don't want to re-hire you back to IT, later. Can you find a way to do IT while you're on the road, to keep up your skills and experience?
If you decide to go for it, you could take your IT with you, start up a consulting company, and do IT for the band and other side projects -- just be sure to actually get paid for it. I think you'd mitigate the risk of having a bad-looking resume, later.
On the road, setup the band's web site, run lights with Linux, program keyboards, program pyrotecnics, program video, setup databases for all sorts of stuff to track, and find every other way you can to run the band's IT/computers....
Maybe you could also work toward certification, a bachelors degree, or a masters degree in the mean time. Keep learning, programming, and performing systems administration work. Even running your own IT company is IT experience in and of itself.
You could also find a cause or two and donate your skills through this company.
One word: "Ouch."
I guess we need duty-free shops on the 'net....
I hope you're right. Since I live in Kansas, I don't want to have to pay tax on everything ordered from the 'net....
Now when was this patent issued?
I know for a fact that I was playing computer card games, like solitaire on my TRS-80 Model I in 1980. It certainly was NOT the first computer to do so, graphical or not.
Don't you think there is prior art, here?
And as an Re: to "Wha???", I have to agree. How can they patent a derivative work of an ancient game?
Shall I now patent computer chess? Or NIM?
Have we re-created the first microseconds of the big bang in the lab?
If you recreated the first microseconds of the Big Bang, then none of us would be here....
I had a bit of a wise word from an old work colleague concerning addiction to caffeine, among other things.
He said that if you get really sick, you can quit almost anything you're addicted to.
So, follow the advice above by tapering off to a point that you are confortable with. Then, the next time you get really sick, decide to go cold turkey and not pick up the habit again.
I got kidney stones, partly from drinking 6-8 Cokes a day (full of caffeine, carbonated water, and sugar -- lots of diuretics), and partly from not drinking enough water. I spent three days in the hospital for that one. After that, I really dropped off the Cokes and increased my water intake.
The only other time I got a kidney stone was just before I finally decided to really cut back on caffeine. Fortunately, I didn't have to go to the ER with this one....
I'll tell you that caffeine withdrawal doesn't begin to compare with kidney stones!!!
So, scale back now, and quit the next time you get really sick....
I now drink Coke ONCE a month.... (I never liked coffee or tea, though.) I may drink a hot chocolate once or twice a month during the fall/winter months. I occasionally eat chocolate. I drink lots of water, instead.
I don't get kidney stones any more, either....
Danger Will Robinson! In YOUR case (anecdotal evidence, of course) YOU have had no problem. However, there ARE problems that people really HAVE encountered, many of which took a long time and a lot of effort to correct. Remember, with money, you are guilty until proven innocent.
Note this: many online billing systems and automatic payment systems, allow the companies you have registered with, to add to or take away money at will.
Not having a paper trail may be very bad, if there is identity theft, someone steals your bill pay password, there is a transaction you haven't authorized, or if there are software bugs in any system, whether it's your bank's fault or it's a vendor's fault, etc. (Oh yeah, I forgot, all financial code is bug free, right?!?!?)
After many years, my wife and I just started using it for a few bills, but not without plenty of research and apprehension. We do thoroughly screen every transaction and keep all bills and receipts. However, we were like that before automatic bill pay, since paper transactions aren't perfect, either.
So, be aware and don't trust your money to anyone or any institution that even smacks of being shady, in the least. Again, keep a copy of all transactions.
You can cut new rectangular holes into the wall, just smaller than the size of the boxes. These boxes can expand to the size of the hole.
Of course, run wire up/down first, then cut, then mount the expandable box. Ask the person at the hardware store for more info. (Level the rectangular holes, first.)
You could cap off or cover up the 1964 era boxes, or leave them alone.
Stop! Don't even hint at CP/M!!! SCO owns that, since Caldera bought it from Digital Research.... :-O Egad. Doing a CP/M file system might actually be something for which SCO could sue Linux developers.... Of course, using the CP/M filesystem would be next to useless. PIP, anyone?
Don't even joke about using an old file system like CP/M, in place of FAT. OK, I know you weren't actually advocating it and all, but CP/M wouldn't put us in a better light.
I'm actually worried about this M$ FAT thing. EXT2 is actually a Linux-native filesystem that will work on really small filesystems, like 1.2 and 1.44M floppies. CRAM-FS and Minix would work well for really small file systems, too, but I'm worried about potential IP issues with Minix, too.
So, I'm going to swap out everything FAT-based that I can find, and replace it with EXT2.
"...the size of a TV..."
:-)
"...the size of a breadbox..."
"...notebook..."
I know exactly what the size of TVs, breadboxes, and notebooks are! Good thing were talking about precise, scientific dimensions here -- unlike NASA's problem with converting standard to metric....
Was that a 13" black and white or a 57" HDTV rear projection supercomputer?
Dno't yuo maen tihs?
X|O|X
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O|X|X
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O|O|O
Nauhgts adn croses, anynoe?
Doesn't this look alot like Shumaker-Levy, or however you spell it?
Asteroid impact? Comet? Small (former) moon?
I think this is the best response I read.
One thing to remember, you are a junior developer and you will rock the boat if you are not walking-on-eggshells-careful. This is true even in a good economy.
Trust me, I used to rant about things broken in IT. I was respected for having a lot of knowledge and insight in IT. However much I still believe I was right, I learned, years later that attitude and patience will pay off more than brilliant ideas.
An old saying has to do with attracting flies with honey. Learn that and learn all you can about security on your spare time, to buttress your claims. Show them how good and knowledgable a worker you are, to convince them your opinion is valid.
Don't tell them they are wrong. Just factually show them how they could improve.
(I wrote this in about 3 minutes, so if it doesn't appear coherent, read it again, without mentally spell checking and grammar checking. Sorry about the clutter.)
You know, in "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century," they find out about our culture through archaeology. This, of course, is after the nuclear World War III.
If we keep making things biodegradable, who'll know who we were? I'm starting a new campaign: "Biodegradable harms future history."
"We would like to place this in a time capsule, but it'll be gone in 100 years."
See my comments from the above "./ed already?" post for an answer to your question....
I had no trouble reading it. I don't know if I'd bother, though. The benchmark was useless. (I WOULD look at their ACL-based permissions system for PHP, though, if you're into that kind of thing.)
/boot/ mount point, so I never "benchmark" it as an end user, so all my comments, below, will have a bias toward ReiserFS....
Sorry this post is so long, but I must say it:
All I see JFS coming out as the clear winner, in this test, time after time after time. Hmmm, something is afoul. While I've heard that JFS is speedy, I don't believe it's THAT iron clad....
Then, I saw the hardware being tested: a single-processor 450MHz Pentium II.
I'm most familiar with ReiserFS 3 and ext2. I use ext3 for my
Well, ReiserFS works far better on faster machines, with more memory and cpu's than it does on slower hardware. It's designed to be scalable and handle small files better than the other FS'es.
Results: ReiserFS needs a speedy machine to perform its best. It uses CPU and memory more, as opposed to more and more disk I/O. It makes heavy use of threading and caching, by *design.* It's supposed to work that way.
Other filesystems, on the other hand, are GREAT for constrained environments.
So, I would have like to have seen at least three different speed single-processor machines and three different dual-processor machines, at least. Then, add memory a couple of times and repeat. Then, compare IDE and SCSI performance. How about RAID performance or "real-world" application performance?
NONE of this was considered, so the test is 100% worthless, for now. Hey, at least the author tried to benchmark; most people won't even do that. I hope that people submit results back to the author and they get posted, as well. Until that time, do not trust these semi-low-level disk benchmarks, even for low-level operations!
This is a shame, since I want REAL benchmark answers to this age-old question. I have NEVER seen a good FS benchmark and want to see one, soon. I know, I know, you say, "Why not just do one yourself?" OK, smarty pants, how do I do a controlled test, when I, myself, don't have 20-30 different hardware settings to test? So, I'll throw down the gauntlet to somebody with deeper pockets, no bias, and a lot of technical skill. Does anybody bite?
If JFS wins most tests on the above, well, then the stats were skewed. Why should the benchmark not show a broader mixture of "winners" and "losers?" Why does JFS almost always beat everyone else, especially under load? Is it really almost always faster?
I'm not against JFS. I used it under AIX for about 6 years, and it saved my bottom quite a few times, but I've only used it in Linux maybe one time, since ReiserFS does so much more.... In fact, I repeatedly begged for a JFS for Linux for years, until Hans Reiser's team made it a reality.
(Again, this is why you may see a preference and bias toward ReiserFS. I started using it since ReiserFS was the first journaled filesystem considered to be stable in Linux. Since then, we have a choice of at least 4 of them, plus tux2 and BeOS's FS. Also, since ReiserFS has SO little file "cluster" overhead, I primarily it over other "jfs'es" for that reason -- small files compact tightly and cache well, which is EXTREMELY important on a Unix machine.)
Also, ReiserFS version 4 is supposed to be much faster than ReiserFS 3 in most tests, which was not borne out in these benchmarks. ReiserFS 4 was very CPU intensive on these tests. However, what would you expect? ReiserFS *IS* CPU intensive and was benchmarked on an anemic single-processor IDE-based machine!!! Many single-processor machines produce about 10X the performance! Oh, BTW, what speed/configuration/type of IDE hard drive did they use?
I don't think the benchmark was fair, practical, or realistic, since other benchmarks have said that under different scenarios, different file systems peform better than others. Sometimes, ext2 wins most tests, sometimes ext3, and Reiser3 and Reiser4, and JFS, and XFS, etc....
Why should we EVER trust benchmarks on a single platform???
OK, I'll give them some credit. However, caveat emptor!
http://www.imap.cc/ a.k.a. http://www.fastmail.fm/ is my favorite. They have POP3 and SMTP for a small fee. 10M of space is included.
Why not use the MUCH better protocol IMAP, instead? Why do people keep using and expecting POP3?!?!?