On the other hand, I have a hotmail account that I set up two years ago, with a name that's unlikely to appear in any dictionary attack, and I still get absolutely no spam on that account. I don't trust MS, but I don't think they're selling hotmail names.
Yeah, I knew a guy from Alaska who had stories of people carrying alcohol on hikes and taking a drink - your throat just gets frozen. Here's a link where someone almost died, but the doctor used a tube to get liquid into the victim.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/ice/filmmore/referenc e/interview/vaughan08.html
I'm not some MS fanboy, but I am quite pragmatic since I am the IT dept for my small company. We have 30 users, and we moved to Small Business Server a few years back. We use email, shared calendars (a lot), and Outlook Web Access (quite a lot), shared contacts (some). So, yes, Exchange can do a lot of stuff we don't use, but that's not the issue. There was nothing available a few years ago that would let us do the things we wanted/needed easily. I looked long and hard for an open source or at least Linux based alternative, and then spent $8k on SBS ($4k for hardware, $4k for the licences). I don't regret it, it was the right choice at the time and might still be. I've had to learn a few things about admining Exchange, but it hasn't been too hard to get a stable setup which meets our needs. The thing that gets me is, to do what we need really shouldn't be too hard, all the pieces are pretty much out there, but no one has put it all together yet. I can see that in a couple of years instead of migrating to SBS 2007 or whatever I'll be looking at some open source solutions, but right now I'm happy enough.
Hmmm, for a 30 user network you could use SBS, which can ONLY have the Exchange server running as the AD master, so you shouldn't need different boxes. A few years back I went that route, we rely on shared calendars in Outlook heavily and when we were forced to move from MS Mail & POP I looked at all the options. At that time, SBS really was the only decent option, much as I wanted to use something Linux based. It's worked out well, though the 16gb limit is a pain. If you've only got 30 or so users you should check into it, though these days there are more/better options.
Playing the devil's advocate, one could argue that $129 for a Linux distro is still too much, given that something like Ubuntu or Mandriva can give you all the Linux alternatives just as well as Xandros, for free. If you're looking to spend money on the OS, but not on apps, there are lots of open source/freeware apps for XP too, including GIMP, OO.org etc. So either you want Linux, in which case you choose free, or you want Windows, in which case you pay. The advantages of Crossover Office etc in Xandros are real, but may not be enough to convince the masses to fork over their hard-earned. Good luck to them, you never know until you try.
obviously, it's fairly unlikely that anyone is purposely sharing their wireless network Actually, I have my access point open on purpose, because if I'm travelling I'd like to hop onto someone's ap to check my mail, and I'm happy to let others do the same. I do check my logs every so often - none of my neighbors are using it, but if they have a guest with a laptop they're welcome to get online for a while.
I hear ya. I switched to CavTel from speakeasy for my DSL earlier this year. Static IP, can host whatever I want - it's slower speed but I'm saving $50 a month on phone/internet access, and really it's the always-on aspect I'm after, rather than the fastest download.
It says it "sits atop" CentOS (a free recompile of RHEL). It also says "It is distributed as a stand-alone Linux distribution". So, they've taken CentOS, done their openfiler magic, and packaged it as a distro - it's not something you just tack onto Fedora Core. I've never used it but it does look interesting for adding cheap storage in, say, an AD environment easily.
In MD, it's against the law to leave your keys in the car when you get out, due to the number of thefts from gas stations etc. So, you are expected to take some steps to protect your vehicle. I can see that you could argue that you should also take steps to protect your wifi if you don't want it used. I leave mine open, if a neighbor wants some access I'm fine with that. I do check my logs periodically, and have yet to see anyone actually using it, but it's there.
In the US, your airtime counts whether it's an incoming or outgoing call. On the flip side, calls to cell phones are not any more expensive than calls to landlines. I think that's a big part of the reason that phones took off in Europe before here - the plans were cheaper because people calling you were picking up the tab for the airtime. Here, it's all on the owner of the mobile phone. The good side is that cell phones don't need a special area code, so to a caller they look just like any other number, and most local calls here are free.
I've had decent luck recently with the Optra cartridges from 866-imaging.com but some of the others I've used in the past did seriously mess them up. On the other hand, I figured that the toner savings still outweighed the extra maintenance costs; I did consider getting one of those toner vacs but I just don't want to go there.
I would say just use snapfish or ofoto or clubphoto - the pictures come back looking great, are reasonably priced, and you can use a cheap b&w laser for any documents you need to print at home. I really dislike inkjets because of the ink costs, I have a Dell printer I got free still in its box that I am keeping for emergency use but I doubt I'll ever break it open.
given that traffic-related charges are a major source of income for police depts (certainly in Britain) I was always under the impression that, unlike here in the US, the local police departments in the UK do not directly receive the proceeds of traffic fines. I understood that the central government got them, which is why you never used to get the type of sneaky speed traps that you get in small towns here. The financial motivation wasn't there, so British police always seemed to me more concerned about actual dangerous driving rather than ticketable offences.
They only take a picture when you actually run the light; the reviewing would be to ensure that, of the pictures taken, they all have legible tags etc. So no, you won't have a camera trail from these things.
I've seen a couple of these tickets and they work as the grandparent said - you see one shot of the car at the line, light is red, the next shot is of the car in the intersection, light still red; they also have an enlargement of the licence plate, which is a little pixilated but legible. You may notice that they always do two quick flashes; that's the two pictures. Around me, it's legal to enter the intersection to make a left turn and then complete the turn after the light changes, so being able to show that you entered the intersection while the light was red is important. Also around me over the last 10 years or so the number of red light runners was really getting out of hand, so I'm actually in favor of these things.
Skype actually is from some of the designers of KaZaa IIRC, but they weren't the ones who added the spyware and Skype is spyware free. This video add-on, however, isn't actually from Skype, it's a third party and it looks to me like adware. I won't be installing it until I'm clear on what it might do, but I've tried Skype and been very impressed with it on calls from the US to Korea.
Yeah, I don't like the wording of their agreement either: "You also understand and agree that the Service may include advertisements and that these advertisements are necessary for Dialcom to provide the Service. You also understand and agree that the Service may include certain communications from Dialcom, such as service announcements, administrative messages and the Dialcom Newsletter, and that these communications are considered part of Dialcom membership." Sounds like agreeing to adware & spam to me...
I've been waiting for an inexpensive way to allow non-tech types at the office talk to other non-techies with video for a while. Any way to be able to do this easily through NATs is a boon, even if it's not standards based. Bring it on!
If you want to ditch Verizon you have to go through the same stuff here. I switched from Speakeasy + Verizon to Cavtel recently & was without DSL for 3 weeks; first I had to cancel Speakeasy, then wait for Verizon to clear the line before I could even place my order with Cavtel. I've lived in the UK, so I hate BT as much as the next guy, but don't kid yourself that dealing with Verizon is any easier.
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On the other hand, I have a hotmail account that I set up two years ago, with a name that's unlikely to appear in any dictionary attack, and I still get absolutely no spam on that account. I don't trust MS, but I don't think they're selling hotmail names.
Yeah, I knew a guy from Alaska who had stories of people carrying alcohol on hikes and taking a drink - your throat just gets frozen. Here's a link where someone almost died, but the doctor used a tube to get liquid into the victim. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/ice/filmmore/referenc e/interview/vaughan08.html
I'm not some MS fanboy, but I am quite pragmatic since I am the IT dept for my small company. We have 30 users, and we moved to Small Business Server a few years back. We use email, shared calendars (a lot), and Outlook Web Access (quite a lot), shared contacts (some). So, yes, Exchange can do a lot of stuff we don't use, but that's not the issue. There was nothing available a few years ago that would let us do the things we wanted/needed easily. I looked long and hard for an open source or at least Linux based alternative, and then spent $8k on SBS ($4k for hardware, $4k for the licences). I don't regret it, it was the right choice at the time and might still be. I've had to learn a few things about admining Exchange, but it hasn't been too hard to get a stable setup which meets our needs. The thing that gets me is, to do what we need really shouldn't be too hard, all the pieces are pretty much out there, but no one has put it all together yet. I can see that in a couple of years instead of migrating to SBS 2007 or whatever I'll be looking at some open source solutions, but right now I'm happy enough.
Hmmm, for a 30 user network you could use SBS, which can ONLY have the Exchange server running as the AD master, so you shouldn't need different boxes. A few years back I went that route, we rely on shared calendars in Outlook heavily and when we were forced to move from MS Mail & POP I looked at all the options. At that time, SBS really was the only decent option, much as I wanted to use something Linux based. It's worked out well, though the 16gb limit is a pain. If you've only got 30 or so users you should check into it, though these days there are more/better options.
Playing the devil's advocate, one could argue that $129 for a Linux distro is still too much, given that something like Ubuntu or Mandriva can give you all the Linux alternatives just as well as Xandros, for free. If you're looking to spend money on the OS, but not on apps, there are lots of open source/freeware apps for XP too, including GIMP, OO.org etc. So either you want Linux, in which case you choose free, or you want Windows, in which case you pay. The advantages of Crossover Office etc in Xandros are real, but may not be enough to convince the masses to fork over their hard-earned. Good luck to them, you never know until you try.
obviously, it's fairly unlikely that anyone is purposely sharing their wireless network
Actually, I have my access point open on purpose, because if I'm travelling I'd like to hop onto someone's ap to check my mail, and I'm happy to let others do the same. I do check my logs every so often - none of my neighbors are using it, but if they have a guest with a laptop they're welcome to get online for a while.
I hear ya. I switched to CavTel from speakeasy for my DSL earlier this year. Static IP, can host whatever I want - it's slower speed but I'm saving $50 a month on phone/internet access, and really it's the always-on aspect I'm after, rather than the fastest download.
It says it "sits atop" CentOS (a free recompile of RHEL). It also says "It is distributed as a stand-alone Linux distribution". So, they've taken CentOS, done their openfiler magic, and packaged it as a distro - it's not something you just tack onto Fedora Core. I've never used it but it does look interesting for adding cheap storage in, say, an AD environment easily.
In MD, it's against the law to leave your keys in the car when you get out, due to the number of thefts from gas stations etc. So, you are expected to take some steps to protect your vehicle. I can see that you could argue that you should also take steps to protect your wifi if you don't want it used. I leave mine open, if a neighbor wants some access I'm fine with that. I do check my logs periodically, and have yet to see anyone actually using it, but it's there.
In the US, your airtime counts whether it's an incoming or outgoing call. On the flip side, calls to cell phones are not any more expensive than calls to landlines. I think that's a big part of the reason that phones took off in Europe before here - the plans were cheaper because people calling you were picking up the tab for the airtime. Here, it's all on the owner of the mobile phone. The good side is that cell phones don't need a special area code, so to a caller they look just like any other number, and most local calls here are free.
Check out junkbusters.org, they have lots of advice on where to register to get taken off these types of lists.
If the links are coded, this might at least tell them that your e-mail is a valid one, so I wouldn't do that from an address I cared about.
I've had decent luck recently with the Optra cartridges from 866-imaging.com but some of the others I've used in the past did seriously mess them up. On the other hand, I figured that the toner savings still outweighed the extra maintenance costs; I did consider getting one of those toner vacs but I just don't want to go there.
I would say just use snapfish or ofoto or clubphoto - the pictures come back looking great, are reasonably priced, and you can use a cheap b&w laser for any documents you need to print at home. I really dislike inkjets because of the ink costs, I have a Dell printer I got free still in its box that I am keeping for emergency use but I doubt I'll ever break it open.
Or you could cut & paste the individual characters from a webpage for example, though it would be a pain... Then nothing would show up.
When my buddy started getting a Snickers bar delivered in the afternoon I knew they had to fail soon; that was just crazy.
given that traffic-related charges are a major source of income for police depts (certainly in Britain)
I was always under the impression that, unlike here in the US, the local police departments in the UK do not directly receive the proceeds of traffic fines. I understood that the central government got them, which is why you never used to get the type of sneaky speed traps that you get in small towns here. The financial motivation wasn't there, so British police always seemed to me more concerned about actual dangerous driving rather than ticketable offences.
They only take a picture when you actually run the light; the reviewing would be to ensure that, of the pictures taken, they all have legible tags etc. So no, you won't have a camera trail from these things.
I've seen a couple of these tickets and they work as the grandparent said - you see one shot of the car at the line, light is red, the next shot is of the car in the intersection, light still red; they also have an enlargement of the licence plate, which is a little pixilated but legible. You may notice that they always do two quick flashes; that's the two pictures. Around me, it's legal to enter the intersection to make a left turn and then complete the turn after the light changes, so being able to show that you entered the intersection while the light was red is important. Also around me over the last 10 years or so the number of red light runners was really getting out of hand, so I'm actually in favor of these things.
Skype actually is from some of the designers of KaZaa IIRC, but they weren't the ones who added the spyware and Skype is spyware free. This video add-on, however, isn't actually from Skype, it's a third party and it looks to me like adware. I won't be installing it until I'm clear on what it might do, but I've tried Skype and been very impressed with it on calls from the US to Korea.
Yeah, I don't like the wording of their agreement either:
"You also understand and agree that the Service may include advertisements and that these advertisements are necessary for Dialcom to provide the Service. You also understand and agree that the Service may include certain communications from Dialcom, such as service announcements, administrative messages and the Dialcom Newsletter, and that these communications are considered part of Dialcom membership."
Sounds like agreeing to adware & spam to me...
I've been waiting for an inexpensive way to allow non-tech types at the office talk to other non-techies with video for a while. Any way to be able to do this easily through NATs is a boon, even if it's not standards based. Bring it on!
Maybe OpenOffice just needs to work on it's grammar checker...
I agree too - I had Speakeasy for years & was always happy with the service.
If you want to ditch Verizon you have to go through the same stuff here. I switched from Speakeasy + Verizon to Cavtel recently & was without DSL for 3 weeks; first I had to cancel Speakeasy, then wait for Verizon to clear the line before I could even place my order with Cavtel. I've lived in the UK, so I hate BT as much as the next guy, but don't kid yourself that dealing with Verizon is any easier.