When I work and get paid - I get taxed. When I buy something at the store - I get taxed.
so - they tax me coming and going. This is rediculous.
if they want to tax on-line gambling - they should ONLY tax the gambling site. here is how it would work:
gamble.com registers for a license. users buy gambling credits at gamble.com (or any other gambling site) and spend them on games - tickets etc. each day/week/month (prior to any payouts) the money that is collected on any given game gets taxed - based on its amount. The money that is left is used to pay the odds on the payout - and the rest is profit for the site.
- or something like that -
or - the other option - cival disobedience. I get taxed on the money I make already - thats enough. I will not pay any taxes for any other thing. they already take 48% of my damn income... but when you add in all the other taxes - its more like 60%+
When I was a sophmore in high school - I ended up teaching the computer classes about the hardware in the systems. My teacher saw that I had an interest in machines - so he got me a job working for the district repairing all the machines. I then began working replacing chips in apple II motherboards.
I had learned all about the hardware from the amount of gaming that I did... I always had to upgrade to run the latest and greatest.
but the best part was I had free reign of all systems in the school. Setup there CAD network (before autocad) and convinced them that we needed a BBS to share info with all the students.
I'll leave it to your imagination what the BBS' true purpose was....:P
Students would be learning how to hack government web sites.
Students would learn crappy OS' like lin^H^H^H Windows
Students wouldnt benefit in their future careers from learning how to use computers - look at me for example - I learned on TSR 80 and Apple II, and when I first got my 286 and would stay up till 4am playing populous on my $600.00 2400 bps modem my dad would say "What the hell are you still doing on that thing. You'll rot your brain, quit wasting your time and go do something useful"... now I am just a lowly Network Manager making a measly 6 figure income. (with bad spelling)
The only thing a student would learn as a useful skill would be how to reboot there BSOD'ed workstation.
And the # 1 reason why not to have computers in schools is:
Students would be spending way too much time surfing useless sites like/. - oh wait... thats the number one reason why companies shouldn't have internet access - sorry.
The funny thing about "gender discrimination" is that we have only recently begun to define gender as an appropriate descriptor for sex.
gender (jndr) n. Abbr. g., gen.
Grammar. A grammatical category used in the analysis of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and, in some languages, verbs that may be arbitrary or based on characteristics such as sex or animacy and that determines agreement with or selection of modifiers, referents, or grammatical forms. One category of such a set. The classification of a word or grammatical form in such a category. The distinguishing form or forms used. Sexual identity, especially in relation to society or culture
SEX is the proper term to define the architecture of one physical anatomy which determines MALE / FEMALE.
but now adays SEX is not PC - so we have rewritten, see:
Usage Note: Traditionally, gender has been used primarily to refer to the grammatical categories of "masculine," "feminine," and "neuter"; but in recent years the word has become well established in its use to refer to sex-based categories, as in phrases such as gender gap and the politics of gender. This usage is supported by the practice of many anthropologists, who reserve sex for reference to biological categories, while using gender to refer to social or cultural categories. According to this rule, one would say The effectiveness of the medication appears to depend on the sex (not gender) of the patient, but In peasant societies, gender (not sex) roles are likely to be more clearly defined. This distinction is useful in principle, but it is by no means widely observed, and considerable variation in usage occurs at all levels.
Yup - played it, played the beta stress tests etc...
its an ok game. but I was just expecting more out of it. So - guess I cant complain too much - I mean, its not their fault that they were too little too late.
looks like most buy it for the fact that it is D2 - not cuz it is the latest and greatest.
GUIs have been entrenched into our thinking due only to the iface we have been presented with. IMHO *nix with CLI + the ability to have a familiar GUI is the best approach.
Especially when you consider the open source community - and the growing legions of young that are growing up in the information age. I predict that in the future - these younger generation will produce drastic innovations (While not working for MS) based on the fact that they have been exposed to so many devices with which they can interact. GUI development is in its infancy - and will get better as generations of users come, see and are displeased... only to make it better.
They will use the foundational principles - but add a creative twists. Probably even to the point where we will be dloading complete GUIS for our OS of choice ('cept closed source OS') - as opposed to just themes/skins.
last (Off topic): I find it interesting that you quote albert einstein in your.sig - then state so matter-of-factly "Just as the shortest distance between two points is a straigt line."
As this is not the case. The shortest distance between two points is no distance - or now. In an infinite universe all concept occupies the same existence.
My point was really that Diablo II is a failure already. They should have called it: Diablo: millenium edition. It is the same game - but they spent all their time taking out all the cheats (good)
But that is why they lost so many ppl - who wants to work on the SAME GAME for 7 years....
For the amount of time they put into this and what you get, it shows that all the best game devs work somewhere else:P
Diablo II is very late - and nothing new. The game is the same, the play is near the same - and unless they have unveiled a SUBSTANTIALLY larger world - pointless.
The game employs features that have been around for ages, is sprite based, and has a very linear gameplay. BORING.
Now pool of radiance seems to be the better fit for yall ex nethacks... Remember when RPG/Fantasy games actually enthralled you with a story.
I am absolutley amazed at how Diablo II can even sell. It is obvious that ppl are getting it just because they liked Diablo (which was goodfor its time - um... 1995!!!)
rant rant rant
5 years WAY too late. I mean, UO had better gameplay/everything and it was released in 97....
I do agree with the fact that thoughts should not be capable of ownership, as thought is the substance from which reality is created. However, thoughts are surely things - every thought is a thing.
Every tangible creation you can see at one time originated in thought. One prime example of how thoughts have been misconstrued as having an "original owner" is in the situation where several people may think of an idea at the same time. If many have the same thoughts - who should determine the original thinker of the thought...
I beleive that the direction all this is going - is back to a grass roots barter system. If we want to push for a "radical" change - how bout creating material that is transferable via bartering - no money can change hands. If you want to continue to create free things - do so. If you would like payment - barter, but do not sell.
I would be more than happy to give my computer skills, martial arts teaching, advice etc.. others would be able to offer craftsmanship in other areas - such as woodworking.
Is there no reason why we have to have money as they only currency - money actually devalues all that you create - in that it takes away the inherant appreciation for your creations, as money means nothing. Your service, art, code, etc. is what matters - and only by receiving what someone else has created - or by knowing that you can give your away for free - do you appreciate and get appreciated.
If you trade - you appreciate what you get for what you give. If you receive money - there is no appreciation, just the desire to find something else to use the money for. Money, in and of itself, has no intrinsic value.
*sigh* utopia would have been so great....
p.s. what makes you so sure I am a liberal?
**Copyright me - all material contained within - even quotes from external sources is owned by me, and may not be read, replied to, sold bought or traded without the express written permission of the original creator.
This is prolly the best possible thing that could ever happen to the open source movement (if this is the case - and people find out about it)
Talk about "ANTI-TRUST" M$ woul be basically killing themselves if they did this and it got out. No one would be dumb enough to believe anything that came out of them again.
"Today reports began coming in about whether or not Microsoft, the Redmond, WA software giant, sabotaged its own free email service, Hotmail to bolster acceptance of their flagship computer operating system, Windows 2000.
Sources, wishing to remain Anonymous, close to Microsoft state that internal Hotmail employees were directed to cause intermittent service outages in the wake of the announcement to move to an alternative operating system known as FreeBSD.
Microsoft has just released a statement detailing their plans to move to Windows 2000 as to ensure that these inconvieniences do not re-occur.
"Our efforts to scale FreeBSD to handle the 70 million users we have failed due to certain core functionality that is missing in FreeBSD, but is provided by Windows 2000. Based on our new architecture - these events will not be repeated." -- says one Hotmail spokesman.
how bout - I am too lame to actually ask people for help. I dont want you to help me - and I wont help you.
with the people asking other network managers who may have experience - they will be better informed and will implement faster than you. Be careful - you'll prolly end up doing his nightly backups.
Always share your info - its the best job security there is.
"The direct connections into major global Internet backbones include OC3 and DS3 connections to UUNet, Sprint, Cable & Wireless, GTE (BBN), Digex (Intermedia), PSINet, AT&T, Verio and MindSpring (Netcom)."
Those are rather small pipes. I wouldn't collo with anyone who has smaller than an OC48.
looks like internap has the "It's not how fat you pipe is - it's how route your packets"
Whelp - read my other post. It all depends on YOUR ability to manage them.
Here is a hint on how to get around the qwest call center:
Next time you are in the facility - talk to the NOC staff and the NOC manager. Make sure that they KNOW you. Then take a look at one of the phones in the NOC. (they should all be labled with their real DID #) memorize it.
Next time you need something - call INTO THE NOC Directly. They will usually say that you need to open a ticket - you reply "I will - but I need this done now. I will follow up and open a ticket as soon as you do x."
Works for me every time.
Also - make SURE you keep your account manager and implementation manager informed of every little detail. When you dont get a response - email the hell out of em. and copy all you internal staff (obviously just the ones who whould be included) and then they can reply directly to the qwest ppl.
Basically - know that the qwest employees dont want to look bad - and they will jump through hoops to make sure they dont look like they are the reason your pissed. This really gets internal qwest moving:)
Actually - the service that you get will depend on your ability to manage the relationship. All co-lo's will have issues. All co-lo's have poorly trained 24/7 NOC staff.
You MUST be the one to shove your needs down their throat and get them to respond.
Having also had systems hosted at various co-lo's I so far believe Qwest to be the best. (they still have their share of problems) but for the most part their facilities are the best - they have a solid, fast backbone and you can't beat their prices.
Managing your vendors is the key to your success - don't accept what they tell you about outages, redundancy etc... problems happen, and when they do - you need to stay on top of them to make sure that you get all the info out of them as to ensure that you will be comfortable with the resolution.
Here is a list of the requirements we put together for a co-lo:
Fast reliable bandwidth.
Bandwidth provided by the collocation partner must be fast enough to handle the current and future requirements of hosted services. In addition, reliable speeds must be provided through such means as an SLA to ensure that the quality of service provided meets the expectations set by the signing of a contract for service.
Redundancy.
Collocation partner must provide redundant connections to the Internet via multiple links and/or multiple ISPs. Redundancy must be provided for the following standard services; Bandwidth, Power and cooling. All services provided by the collocation partner must not be a point of failure as to incur downtime or excessive risk to the operations of systems collocated therein.
Physical Security.
Physical access to systems collocated should be limited and monitored by both human and electronic means. All access to systems must be documented via videotape or sign-in at time of entry. Cage/Rack access should be limited to an approved access list and ideally accompanied by Collocation NOC staff.
Network Security.
Network services must be monitored on a continual basis as to ensure the integrity of the network security/health of critical nodes not within the direct responsibility of Quicknet Network Technicians. All routers, switches etc. shall have measures taken as to prevent, as much as possible, the attempts of denial of services.
Fail-over Capabilities.
In addition to system and network redundancy - services must be provided with the ability to fail-over to a healthy system in the event that the primary system is below acceptable functioning levels. This includes such services as HTTP, DNS, DB etc. continued availability of services with minimal impact to the users.
These are rather generic and you will find that most co-lo services will say that they can meet these - but remember the two most important aspects of hosted services:
1. it is a sellers market. They can and will get whatever they want as there are so many customers and not enough hosts.
2. the fact that it is a sellers market doesn't mean that you are at a disadvantage. This is a new industry - and since most of the companies are inexperienced, you can pretty much manage the services you get by staying on top of the implementation manager and the account manager. They typically dont have too much experience in dealing with hosted service, they do want to do a good job and if you clearly communicate and document all requirements and expectations you will get the best results.
Exodus: HORRID! had NOC staff walk by and trip on the power cords to machines - taking me off line. No secure space - unless you get a cage - all racks are open to other customers in your area. BAD. Dont own their own backbone (which means you pay more) max bandwidth oc 48. worst managers in the industry. (tech staff forgot wr mem on routers - then when they reloaded - they had lost the configs and many other horror stories....)
Frontier Global: ok - cant say too much bout their NOC staff... own some backbone. but account managers are not too responsive. oc 48+
Intel: Fully managed, they only want to be the full asp and dont yet have the option for strictly co-lo. heard they had an oc192 - but not too sure...
Qwest: great owned backbone. ok NOC staff, great account manager/implementation manager. Some internal system issues with their extreme networks switches. but due to their close relationship with extreme - they tend to get solved fast. Also - extreme has a deal with F5 to put F5 load balancing on an asic in their switching routers. this means that their will be no need to buy your F5 in the future - just pay a little more for the switch port. max bandwidth OC192. plus they have a lot of dark fibre - so they wont get saturated any time soon. SLA says 75ms anywhere on their network. Fully locked enclosures, easy to get what you want.
This is actually one of the best things that could happen. Think - BT gets the right to the patent - but everyone just IGNORES them... regardless of how they attempt to enforce it.
Then it becomes a known fact that BT has the un-profitable patent on hyperlinks - but know-one really cares.
Then we realize that we can do the EXACT SAME THING with un-reasonable local (meaning US) taxes.
Why the hell do I have to give the goverment 48% of what I earn?!!! I DON"T!
Slashdot Mirror
that is a really interesting idea - democratic media.
....
but the problem is that you would have to rely on the good judgment of the moderators (which is, in effect, what we do with rob, taco et al)
anyway - off topic I know
but would be great to see how such a system would work. and what stories would make it to the front.
They are _not_ features - They are /innovations/
:)
you would have been fired on the spot from the Marketing dept of MS - as feature can be synonymous with bug
When I work and get paid - I get taxed.
When I buy something at the store - I get taxed.
so - they tax me coming and going. This is rediculous.
if they want to tax on-line gambling - they should ONLY tax the gambling site. here is how it would work:
gamble.com registers for a license.
users buy gambling credits at gamble.com (or any other gambling site) and spend them on games - tickets etc.
each day/week/month (prior to any payouts) the money that is collected on any given game gets taxed - based on its amount.
The money that is left is used to pay the odds on the payout - and the rest is profit for the site.
- or something like that -
or - the other option - cival disobedience. I get taxed on the money I make already - thats enough. I will not pay any taxes for any other thing. they already take 48% of my damn income... but when you add in all the other taxes - its more like 60%+
When I was a sophmore in high school - I ended up teaching the computer classes about the hardware in the systems. My teacher saw that I had an interest in machines - so he got me a job working for the district repairing all the machines. I then began working replacing chips in apple II motherboards.
:P
I had learned all about the hardware from the amount of gaming that I did... I always had to upgrade to run the latest and greatest.
but the best part was I had free reign of all systems in the school. Setup there CAD network (before autocad) and convinced them that we needed a BBS to share info with all the students.
I'll leave it to your imagination what the BBS' true purpose was....
why not to have computers in classrooms:
/. - oh wait... thats the number one reason why companies shouldn't have internet access - sorry.
Students would be downloading pr0n all day.
Students would be learning how to hack government web sites.
Students would learn crappy OS' like lin^H^H^H Windows
Students wouldnt benefit in their future careers from learning how to use computers - look at me for example - I learned on TSR 80 and Apple II, and when I first got my 286 and would stay up till 4am playing populous on my $600.00 2400 bps modem my dad would say "What the hell are you still doing on that thing. You'll rot your brain, quit wasting your time and go do something useful"... now I am just a lowly Network Manager making a measly 6 figure income. (with bad spelling)
The only thing a student would learn as a useful skill would be how to reboot there BSOD'ed workstation.
And the # 1 reason why not to have computers in schools is:
Students would be spending way too much time surfing useless sites like
As seriously as los alamos?
The funny thing about "gender discrimination" is that we have only recently begun to define gender as an appropriate descriptor for sex.
gender (jndr)
n. Abbr. g., gen.
Grammar.
A grammatical category used in the analysis of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and, in some languages, verbs that may be arbitrary or based on characteristics such as sex or animacy and that determines agreement with or selection of modifiers, referents, or grammatical forms.
One category of such a set.
The classification of a word or grammatical form in such a category.
The distinguishing form or forms used.
Sexual identity, especially in relation to society or culture
SEX is the proper term to define the architecture of one physical anatomy which determines MALE / FEMALE.
but now adays SEX is not PC - so we have rewritten, see:
Usage Note: Traditionally, gender has been used primarily to refer to the grammatical categories of "masculine," "feminine," and "neuter"; but in recent years the word has become well established in its use to refer to sex-based categories, as in phrases such as gender gap and the politics of gender. This usage is supported by the practice of many anthropologists, who reserve sex for reference to biological categories, while using gender to refer to social or cultural categories. According to this rule, one would say The effectiveness of the medication appears to depend on the sex (not gender) of the patient, but In peasant societies, gender (not sex) roles are likely to be more clearly defined. This distinction is useful in principle, but it is by no means widely observed, and considerable variation in usage occurs at all levels.
Yup - played it, played the beta stress tests etc...
its an ok game. but I was just expecting more out of it. So - guess I cant complain too much - I mean, its not their fault that they were too little too late.
looks like most buy it for the fact that it is D2 - not cuz it is the latest and greatest.
GUIs have been entrenched into our thinking due only to the iface we have been presented with. IMHO *nix with CLI + the ability to have a familiar GUI is the best approach.
.sig - then state so matter-of-factly "Just as the shortest distance between two points is a straigt line."
Especially when you consider the open source community - and the growing legions of young that are growing up in the information age. I predict that in the future - these younger generation will produce drastic innovations (While not working for MS) based on the fact that they have been exposed to so many devices with which they can interact. GUI development is in its infancy - and will get better as generations of users come, see and are displeased... only to make it better.
They will use the foundational principles - but add a creative twists. Probably even to the point where we will be dloading complete GUIS for our OS of choice ('cept closed source OS') - as opposed to just themes/skins.
last (Off topic): I find it interesting that you quote albert einstein in your
As this is not the case. The shortest distance between two points is no distance - or now. In an infinite universe all concept occupies the same existence.
excuse SP.
Pet Rock!
The best part - is that they copyrighted their "innovative version" of the flag!
:)
Next thing you know - they will sue the US for immitating their "look and feel"
and maybe they'll come after us if we print out their flag - and burn it!!
Yes and no.
:P
My point was really that Diablo II is a failure already. They should have called it: Diablo: millenium edition. It is the same game - but they spent all their time taking out all the cheats (good)
But that is why they lost so many ppl - who wants to work on the SAME GAME for 7 years....
For the amount of time they put into this and what you get, it shows that all the best game devs work somewhere else
oops - forgot pool of radiance link:
http://www.poolofradiance.com
Diablo II is very late - and nothing new. The game is the same, the play is near the same - and unless they have unveiled a SUBSTANTIALLY larger world - pointless.
The game employs features that have been around for ages, is sprite based, and has a very linear gameplay. BORING.
Now pool of radiance seems to be the better fit for yall ex nethacks... Remember when RPG/Fantasy games actually enthralled you with a story.
I am absolutley amazed at how Diablo II can even sell. It is obvious that ppl are getting it just because they liked Diablo (which was goodfor its time - um... 1995!!!)
rant rant rant
5 years WAY too late. I mean, UO had better gameplay/everything and it was released in 97....
Well actually if you worked in their company and typed the post from the company provide workstation (which I NEVER do) - then yes...
remember that little intellectual property doc you sign when you started... all thoughts you think are now owned by megacorp.
every see fortress. "all thoughts are now property of the mentel corporation"
By the time you submit the code it is just horrible.
I do agree with the fact that thoughts should not be capable of ownership, as thought is the substance from which reality is created. However, thoughts are surely things - every thought is a thing.
Every tangible creation you can see at one time originated in thought. One prime example of how thoughts have been misconstrued as having an "original owner" is in the situation where several people may think of an idea at the same time. If many have the same thoughts - who should determine the original thinker of the thought...
I beleive that the direction all this is going - is back to a grass roots barter system. If we want to push for a "radical" change - how bout creating material that is transferable via bartering - no money can change hands. If you want to continue to create free things - do so. If you would like payment - barter, but do not sell.
I would be more than happy to give my computer skills, martial arts teaching, advice etc.. others would be able to offer craftsmanship in other areas - such as woodworking.
Is there no reason why we have to have money as they only currency - money actually devalues all that you create - in that it takes away the inherant appreciation for your creations, as money means nothing. Your service, art, code, etc. is what matters - and only by receiving what someone else has created - or by knowing that you can give your away for free - do you appreciate and get appreciated.
If you trade - you appreciate what you get for what you give. If you receive money - there is no appreciation, just the desire to find something else to use the money for. Money, in and of itself, has no intrinsic value.
*sigh* utopia would have been so great....
p.s. what makes you so sure I am a liberal?
**Copyright me - all material contained within - even quotes from external sources is owned by me, and may not be read, replied to, sold bought or traded without the express written permission of the original creator.
This is prolly the best possible thing that could ever happen to the open source movement (if this is the case - and people find out about it)
Talk about "ANTI-TRUST" M$ woul be basically killing themselves if they did this and it got out. No one would be dumb enough to believe anything that came out of them again.
"Today reports began coming in about whether or not Microsoft, the Redmond, WA software giant, sabotaged its own free email service, Hotmail to bolster acceptance of their flagship computer operating system, Windows 2000.
Sources, wishing to remain Anonymous, close to Microsoft state that internal Hotmail employees were directed to cause intermittent service outages in the wake of the announcement to move to an alternative operating system known as FreeBSD.
Microsoft has just released a statement detailing their plans to move to Windows 2000 as to ensure that these inconvieniences do not re-occur.
"Our efforts to scale FreeBSD to handle the 70 million users we have failed due to certain core functionality that is missing in FreeBSD, but is provided by Windows 2000. Based on our new architecture - these events will not be repeated." -- says one Hotmail spokesman.
you are only locked into that contract as long as they meet their end of the sla.
if they fail to meet their sla then you have legal recourse to back out.
"I want someone to come figure out my job for me"
how bout - I am too lame to actually ask people for help. I dont want you to help me - and I wont help you.
with the people asking other network managers who may have experience - they will be better informed and will implement faster than you. Be careful - you'll prolly end up doing his nightly backups.
Always share your info - its the best job security there is.
"The direct connections into major global Internet backbones include OC3 and DS3 connections to UUNet, Sprint, Cable & Wireless, GTE (BBN), Digex (Intermedia), PSINet, AT&T, Verio and MindSpring (Netcom)."
Those are rather small pipes. I wouldn't collo with anyone who has smaller than an OC48.
looks like internap has the "It's not how fat you pipe is - it's how route your packets"
Hell no!!!!
Do not give them root. They have no reason to have it. PERIOD.
Whelp - read my other post. It all depends on YOUR ability to manage them.
:)
Here is a hint on how to get around the qwest call center:
Next time you are in the facility - talk to the NOC staff and the NOC manager. Make sure that they KNOW you. Then take a look at one of the phones in the NOC. (they should all be labled with their real DID #) memorize it.
Next time you need something - call INTO THE NOC Directly. They will usually say that you need to open a ticket - you reply "I will - but I need this done now. I will follow up and open a ticket as soon as you do x."
Works for me every time.
Also - make SURE you keep your account manager and implementation manager informed of every little detail. When you dont get a response - email the hell out of em. and copy all you internal staff (obviously just the ones who whould be included) and then they can reply directly to the qwest ppl.
Basically - know that the qwest employees dont want to look bad - and they will jump through hoops to make sure they dont look like they are the reason your pissed. This really gets internal qwest moving
Actually - the service that you get will depend on your ability to manage the relationship. All co-lo's will have issues. All co-lo's have poorly trained 24/7 NOC staff.
You MUST be the one to shove your needs down their throat and get them to respond.
Having also had systems hosted at various co-lo's I so far believe Qwest to be the best. (they still have their share of problems) but for the most part their facilities are the best - they have a solid, fast backbone and you can't beat their prices.
Managing your vendors is the key to your success - don't accept what they tell you about outages, redundancy etc... problems happen, and when they do - you need to stay on top of them to make sure that you get all the info out of them as to ensure that you will be comfortable with the resolution.
Here is a list of the requirements we put together for a co-lo:
Fast reliable bandwidth.
Bandwidth provided by the collocation partner must be fast enough to handle the current and future requirements of hosted services. In addition, reliable speeds must be provided through such means as an SLA to ensure that the quality of service provided meets the expectations set by the signing of a contract for service.
Redundancy.
Collocation partner must provide redundant connections to the Internet via multiple links and/or multiple ISPs.
Redundancy must be provided for the following standard services; Bandwidth, Power and cooling. All services provided by the collocation partner must not be a point of failure as to incur downtime or excessive risk to the operations of systems collocated therein.
Physical Security.
Physical access to systems collocated should be limited and monitored by both human and electronic means. All access to systems must be documented via videotape or sign-in at time of entry. Cage/Rack access should be limited to an approved access list and ideally accompanied by Collocation NOC staff.
Network Security.
Network services must be monitored on a continual basis as to ensure the integrity of the network security/health of critical nodes not within the direct responsibility of Quicknet Network Technicians. All routers, switches etc. shall have measures taken as to prevent, as much as possible, the attempts of denial of services.
Fail-over Capabilities.
In addition to system and network redundancy - services must be provided with the ability to fail-over to a healthy system in the event that the primary system is below acceptable functioning levels. This includes such services as HTTP, DNS, DB etc. continued availability of services with minimal impact to the users.
These are rather generic and you will find that most co-lo services will say that they can meet these - but remember the two most important aspects of hosted services:
1. it is a sellers market. They can and will get whatever they want as there are so many customers and not enough hosts.
2. the fact that it is a sellers market doesn't mean that you are at a disadvantage. This is a new industry - and since most of the companies are inexperienced, you can pretty much manage the services you get by staying on top of the implementation manager and the account manager. They typically dont have too much experience in dealing with hosted service, they do want to do a good job and if you clearly communicate and document all requirements and expectations you will get the best results.
Exodus: HORRID! had NOC staff walk by and trip on the power cords to machines - taking me off line. No secure space - unless you get a cage - all racks are open to other customers in your area. BAD. Dont own their own backbone (which means you pay more) max bandwidth oc 48. worst managers in the industry. (tech staff forgot wr mem on routers - then when they reloaded - they had lost the configs and many other horror stories....)
Frontier Global: ok - cant say too much bout their NOC staff... own some backbone. but account managers are not too responsive. oc 48+
Intel: Fully managed, they only want to be the full asp and dont yet have the option for strictly co-lo. heard they had an oc192 - but not too sure...
Qwest: great owned backbone. ok NOC staff, great account manager/implementation manager. Some internal system issues with their extreme networks switches. but due to their close relationship with extreme - they tend to get solved fast. Also - extreme has a deal with F5 to put F5 load balancing on an asic in their switching routers. this means that their will be no need to buy your F5 in the future - just pay a little more for the switch port. max bandwidth OC192. plus they have a lot of dark fibre - so they wont get saturated any time soon. SLA says 75ms anywhere on their network. Fully locked enclosures, easy to get what you want.
my $6.73.
Drinking is the act of God pouring God into God.
This is actually one of the best things that could happen. Think - BT gets the right to the patent - but everyone just IGNORES them... regardless of how they attempt to enforce it.
Then it becomes a known fact that BT has the un-profitable patent on hyperlinks - but know-one really cares.
Then we realize that we can do the EXACT SAME THING with un-reasonable local (meaning US) taxes.
Why the hell do I have to give the goverment 48% of what I earn?!!! I DON"T!
HTTP://www.taxgate.com
Drinking is the act of God pouring God into God