I bought a screwed up laptop from a guy for 25 bucks, because I wanted the external floppy (was 50 on ebay) and found a Best Buy extended warranty in the case, with two months left on the 3 year warranty.
I went down and told them I wanted an exact replacement of the laptop (166 I think). They told me that they can't get me a 166, but they will give me a new 800Mhz, which was about the same price when both were new. I told them no, that I wanted either this one fixed or an exact replacement, and nothing else would do. I kept talking to "supervisors" getting louder (but very polite) each time.
To make a long story short, I walked out with a $1500 store credit and they got the $25 laptop. I think they had changed their warranty policies after that warranty had been bought, but before the claim, so it was grand fathered:)
While its always great to hit on home run on a deal like this, its extra sweet when you can legitimately put the screws to Best Buy.
Wait...I take that back...it feels great to screw Best Buy, legitimate or not.
Please note that in my reading, some florescent tubes give off a "notched" spectrum.
Confirming your statement, yes, the spectrum of any fluorescent lamp is very notched. I have done a great deal of research on fluorescent tanning lamps in particular,which extend up into 400nm-250nm range. The closer you zoom in on the spectrum, the more notched it is, with some larger areas of visible light showing large flat spots. It has something to do with mercury having a natural resonance of around 274nm, which fires up the phosphors in the lamp in an uneven way, blah blah blah;)
Its kinda like taking a 15 band eq, and staggering the bands, +12db, -12db, +12db, -12bd... it sounds odd, but it still sounds like the original song, and you can easily tell what song is playing. After a while, you forget how screwed up the EQ is. Same concept, larger wave lengths.
Well performance tuning or not, my point was that their cluster with ridiculous timing, still withstood a slashdotting. I can almost guarantee you that a pentium 200 with 64mb of ram can withstand a slashdotting on a t1. The bandwidth is the limiting factor.
Just a note to add: I did some make shift tests with a dual ppro 200 (ibm 325, uw40scsi) and 256 mb ram on a well tested 1.2mb SDSL line dishing up static pages. This was RH 6.2, a custom kernel (2.2.x), hand rolled apache 1.3.x and max clients around 1000. Now, a 1.2SDSL line is not a T1, but still I couldn't get the load over a.50 average before the line was saturated.
Yes static, yes lots more ram, but it does go to prove your point that the main bottleneck is the backwidth. I have to imagine that with a newer and tighter kernel, and staying with apache 1.3 for static pages, the load could be reduced further.
Nor would we have ever landed on the moon, nor entered orbit, nor broken the sound barrier. Space is a risky business, and you have to admire the guts of the guys and gals who sit on top of tens of thousands of tons of high explosives, all in the name of science. Risky probes don't even compare.
The only thing we risk with probes is cash and time. While I don't want to see it wasted, I agree that we have to be willing to take some serious chances when it comes to space exploration with probes if we ever expect to gain any significant benefits.
In the US, we have a little check box on our yearly tax forms that allows us to give $1 (or more) to a fund for political candidates who stay within spending restrictions (yawn). I bet if we had a seperate check box to give $1 (or more) for space exploration, you would see many little checked boxes every year. We are more likely to get results with NASA having an extra $1 than any political candidate.
Adding to your comment (and ignoring the dumbass AC who replied) I have noticed the rate spread banks charge has gone up too. This is the % difference between what they pay for saving accounts, and what they charge for home loans. It used to be 4%, but is closer to 6% now.
I agree with you. We have less than 10 servers, and could get by with 6, but are looking at migrating some over to FreeBSD for two reasons: insurance policy in case the judicial system looses its mind and 2. BSD tends to be a better platform than Linux for some tasks at least from my limited experience. We hope to gain a little performance on these "insurance" machines, mainly web servers.
It does do more than just ass cover for politicians. It annoys the rest of us by blocking our parking spaces downtown.
The WTC/Pentagon attack could have been prevented VERY easily - airline policy allowed it to happen. And we went the wrong direction. What we should have done was hand every passenger on every flight a really big knife as they board the plane.
Typical narcisistic asshole, posting as AC, more worried about his fucking parking space than our own soldiers, our own citizens. Oh, and you are a security expert as well.
Or rather, The Bomb, for the uninitiated. You may have to do a click through on an ad. Those guys must be sick of us/.ers deep linking them, so they are making us pay for it by looking at a click through ad. Fair enough, I assume.
The terror alert system is just a way for politicians to protect themselves.
While I do not necessarily disagree with your view of politicians, there are other uses. It may confuse/distract/prevent some actions from happening. It may create some voice traffic and give them some information. It may not. But it does serve more that just cover ass for politicians, or at least it _can_.
I know, thanks anyway. My point was it is often not practical to have enough capacitance to get the wave as clean as a pure DC source, such as a battery. Even when you do, the wave is not perfectly flat, since there is still the reaction time of the capacitor to consider. In this application, I said it was optional, and not likely needed. This was based on my experience with using capacitors in 240VAC, car stereo and other applications.
You're thinking of a half-wave rectifier - just one diode in series. A full-wave rectifier will output 0=__/\/\/\.
Given a 60hz input, there will be 120 peaks per second at the output. In other words, the output has a DC offset, a strong 120hz wave, and some harmonics.
I am more adept at 220vac choke and high frequency plasma systems (100kHz+ neon and fluorescent), my strengths are not DC;) I had thought a standard bridge rectifier was only half wave, but I see your point. I am not sure how the trough is inverted (my ignorance and need to google). Thanks. Assuming you are correct (a safe assumption) then now we are left with a 120Hz wave, so we address the grandparents consern of a 120hz flicker in the LEDs:
If there is a 120Hz flicker, you won't know it, since you can't really detect anything that fast.
On another note, I did work on a successful project to continuously ignite 2400 watts of fluorescent lamps using less than 120v/15a and developing it into a commercial product. Ask me about the natural resonance of mercury (253.7nm) and its relationship to high frequency vs. high energy and I might be more in my element;)
I took the survey on my windows xp notebook, answered truthfully, and when I clicked "done", IE crashed, and closed all IE windows instantly. No error messages, nothing, just desktop.
I am not sure if this is Microsoft saying "screw you then, go ahead and migrate" or if this is yet more evidence as to WHY I am migrating to begin with.
""You want 4 diodes and a small capacitor. Otherwise the LEDs will still flicker, at 120 Hz. I'm not sure why they don't just put these parts into the strand, because they can't cost more than 35-40 cents in quantity.""
I have given your statement alot of thought, and have no earthly idea where you think it will flicker at 120Hz. Seriously, if you know something I don't (entirely possible) please enlighten me. While I am not an electrical engineer, you could say I dabble.
The capacitors do not elliminate ripple, but they assist a little. They may take the voltage fluxuation of 12 to 0 volts (60 times a second), and reduce the flux to 12-6v perhaps (still at 60 x per second), but only a battery will produce a pure 12VDC path with no wave characteristics.
As to 120Hz, no capacitor or diode by itself can change the inversion rate of electricity. The 60Hz rating is for the full wave, NOT just the up portion (peak). IE: 1Hz = (1 peak + 1 trough). So if you use a rectifier to essentially filter out the lower have of the sine wave, you still get 60 peaks per second, NOT 120. What you get is 60 peaks, with 60 zero volt null waves inbetween where the troughs (now filtered out) used to be, per second.
Lame attempt at graphic:
0=_ \__/\__/\__ now, instead of
0=__ \/\/ \/ \/
But again, still at 60Hz, since you have only turned -12V into 0V.
True, but it also costs money, and Slashdotters are a bunch of commies who don't want to pay for anything.
Yes, you are a troll, but you accidently made an important, but incorrect comment.
I pay for linux. Every production machines I have that uses linux, has paid support. I have purchased every version of RedHat in the box, since 4.2 (except 9, which had no box set).
I use both windows and linux, in about equal quantities. I use windows where I have to use proprietary software on the desktop. I use linux where I need machines to be bullet proof reliable and dedicated to do one or two tasks at very high performance levels.
I AM trying to migrate to Linux fully, but not because of money. Its because of choices. I have an old dual cpu pentium pro 200 box that I run as a dedicated DNS server. Old, but still very good performance and incredible uptime. It is stripped down to a kernel, bind, sshd and a few utilities. This means very little CAN go wrong. I could do the same thing on a new box, or an old box, with the load being the deciding factor.
MS does not give me the option to do this, as you MUST install the gui, not practical to use BIND on, has 10x the amount of software to do the same task. Also, it is impossible to backup the entire OS with Windows (on purpose). MS does not give me the option of taking an old machine that is out of production, and installing the same OS and BIND, to act as a backup (unless I want to pay for a license I am not likely to use). Linux does.
I use Linux, not because its cheaper (its not for me), but because I am too lazy to keep up with the other 95% of the OS that is not necessary for any given task, AND I am too professional to NOT keep up with it if its installed. At the server, Linux is is just faster, easier to install, more reliable, more stable, faster, better supported, easier to customize, easier to maintain, easier to learn, easier to backup and restore, smaller, more flexible, and requires less manhours than Windows.
After previewing this comment, I realized I was wrong. When you consider all the costs, I guess it is cheaper then. Hmm.
Ironically, the easiest way to "see" 60Hz flicker is to not look directly at it. Look at a monitor set to 60hz, then look 2 foot away, but pay attention through the corner of your eye, you notice the flicker dramatically more. I am not sure what the physics is behind this, but it is noticable for anything that flickers, like old style fluorescent lights, etc.
I find I have trouble with monitors set as high as 72 or 75Hz. I can tell the difference between 85 and 100. I DONT "see" the difference, btw, I feel it. Then again, I sit in front of a computer for many hours a day.
Anyone pick up some of those LED strands? Ugh. The flickering. They don't convert the power from AC to DC, so naturally the LEDs being one-way things flicker at 60hz (maybe its 30 at that point? I dunno).
Anyone know of someone that sells a solution to this? I'm thinking a few capacitors and a few diodes would do it?
60Hz (50Hz in Europe and some other places). But the nature of LEDs would mean they flicker would not be as bad as it would seem (they dim down slower than they ignite). Traditional fluorescent lights flicker at 60Hz too (not new starterless ones, the ballasts operate at 25kHz to 110kHz).
I have used LEDs to turn a pot plant into a Xmas tree (it was the 80s, what can I say) and simply used a wall wart style transformer(12vdc). You don't need capacitors to turn AC into DC, although it will be smoother electricity (less ripple). Not needed for just lighting LEDs, since they simply consume and burn the electricity.
All you need is 4 diodes to turn AC into DC. Go google "bridge rectifier" and I am sure you can find plans. It is very very easy to make. The typical basic rectifier has 4 diodes and 2 capacitors (optional). But its still easier to buy a universal transformer/rectifier for small loads. For medium to large loads (3 to 30 amps) you may try a car battery instead. Another option is a regulated power supply, basically a poor man's Variac. Those are under $50 for up to 8 amps or more.
There are some other methods as well, such as using a power inverter that works at a higher frequency (LEDs don't care what Hz you use, just the direction of the current flow). Any Hz over 85 is going to appear flicker free. You might have trouble finding an inverter that works at these higher Hz.
Another possible but ludicrous option is to get a surplus military generator. Most of these have dual taps, 60Hz for basic power, and 400Hz for aircraft recharging. The 400Hz side will work nicely for powering LEDs. These can be purchased at auction for a couple grand or less. They run on anything remotely "fuel oil", even corn oil.
They've just raised the national terror alert level to ORANGE. YES, ORANGE! Orange means high, by the way, or 4 out of 5 on the chart.
This is due to two factors:
1, they suspect that terrorists are collecting funds by standing in front of Walmarts with a red kettle, and ringing bells.
2, They discovered 12 Saudis that were taking leasons on how to fly sleighs and getting instruction on basic deer husbandry.
The Dept. of Homeland Defense requests that anyone spotting any flying sleighs that are being led by deer like animals assume it is a Saudi terrorist. Initial indications are they plan to attack on the eve of birth of Christ, as a religious statement against the "infidels". If they try to land on your roof, you should take necessary defensive action. Deadly force is authorized.
We now return you to our regularly scheduled nonsense, already in progress...
Unless you use hotmail for some bizarre reason, block MSN.COM in your firewall, or HOSTS it to 127.0.0.1
Cant do that. I HAVE set hotmail to 127.0.0.1 on some boxes, but we use bcentral and a few other services that require we are able to resolve msn. I set IPs manually, NO dhcp available, except wirelessly. I could just set up the few computers that need msn to resolve to our main dns server, instead of the router's dns server (old dual cpu ppro 200 box, with intranet httpd/firewall/router) and get rid of the hosts files completely, but there is always some exception needed.
The users don't know what a dns server is, or what a hosts file. They DO know that they can't go to alot of sites right now because I have shitlisted them at the router/dns server. I try to keep them as paranoid as possible, so they dont do anything stupid, like use their computer;)
Uhh... MS al ready does on host not found errors, with their MSN search.
Not only do they redirect you to their servers, but their service packs have a nasty habit of resetting your IE preferences to doing this, even if you have chosen to NOT go to MSN.com in your settings. I don't like either company doing this, but MS is the worse about it. Symantec also is bad about this kind of violations. Try installing and uninstalling any Norton product, then go swimming into your registry and see. Adds half a meg of registry even when uninstalled.
Again, a major reason I keep looking toward Linux/MacOS/BSD.
I have to admit, until very recently, I wanted my daily update on SCO -- again I've sort of lost interest, I think because I'm convinced that there's no threat, just a lot of hot air and a nice cash pile for Darl and Co. (well, not the company, but his cronies - you know what I mean!).
SCO updates are just like Mexican soap operas. I don't understand all the language, but there is a lot of passion on both sides, and there is always someone screaming, someone crying, someone lying.
I am 99.4% sure that SCO will lose this "contract dispute". I don't crave the updates for news, I crave it for the entertainment value of Darl, speaking in a language other than common sense, lying and making outrageous claims. Its almost like the Iraqi Information Minister. I didn't listen to him for info, just entertainment. Darl's motives are money rather than survival, but its the closest thing.
Think of it like this: Just because The National Enquirer and The Globe report that space aliens make earth women pregnant, or are roaming the planet disguised as trees, that doesn't mean there is no life on other planets. In the same way, just because slashdot reports on a story, that doesn't mean its necessarily incorrect.;)
Personally, I read/. to get good links from the comments. I have learned about alot of cool sites and stories that were in no way related to the story being posted. I used to read./ to get my SCO fix, but lately, the really interesting stuff about SCO isn't getting reported here anyway, so I just google it or go straight to Groklaw.
Slashdot Mirror
I bought a screwed up laptop from a guy for 25 bucks, because I wanted the external floppy (was 50 on ebay) and found a Best Buy extended warranty in the case, with two months left on the 3 year warranty.
:)
I went down and told them I wanted an exact replacement of the laptop (166 I think). They told me that they can't get me a 166, but they will give me a new 800Mhz, which was about the same price when both were new. I told them no, that I wanted either this one fixed or an exact replacement, and nothing else would do. I kept talking to "supervisors" getting louder (but very polite) each time.
To make a long story short, I walked out with a $1500 store credit and they got the $25 laptop. I think they had changed their warranty policies after that warranty had been bought, but before the claim, so it was grand fathered
While its always great to hit on home run on a deal like this, its extra sweet when you can legitimately put the screws to Best Buy.
Wait...I take that back...it feels great to screw Best Buy, legitimate or not.
Please note that in my reading, some florescent tubes give off a "notched" spectrum.
,which extend up into 400nm-250nm range. The closer you zoom in on the spectrum, the more notched it is, with some larger areas of visible light showing large flat spots. It has something to do with mercury having a natural resonance of around 274nm, which fires up the phosphors in the lamp in an uneven way, blah blah blah ;)
Confirming your statement, yes, the spectrum of any fluorescent lamp is very notched. I have done a great deal of research on fluorescent tanning lamps in particular
Its kinda like taking a 15 band eq, and staggering the bands, +12db, -12db, +12db, -12bd... it sounds odd, but it still sounds like the original song, and you can easily tell what song is playing. After a while, you forget how screwed up the EQ is. Same concept, larger wave lengths.
god I wish I had a mod point for you. nice work.
While searching Google for more info, I found an interesting article dated Nov. 26, where SCO is denying that Google is their next target.
Well performance tuning or not, my point was that their cluster with ridiculous timing, still withstood a slashdotting. I can almost guarantee you that a pentium 200 with 64mb of ram can withstand a slashdotting on a t1. The bandwidth is the limiting factor.
.50 average before the line was saturated.
Just a note to add: I did some make shift tests with a dual ppro 200 (ibm 325, uw40scsi) and 256 mb ram on a well tested 1.2mb SDSL line dishing up static pages. This was RH 6.2, a custom kernel (2.2.x), hand rolled apache 1.3.x and max clients around 1000. Now, a 1.2SDSL line is not a T1, but still I couldn't get the load over a
Yes static, yes lots more ram, but it does go to prove your point that the main bottleneck is the backwidth. I have to imagine that with a newer and tighter kernel, and staying with apache 1.3 for static pages, the load could be reduced further.
Nor would we have ever landed on the moon, nor entered orbit, nor broken the sound barrier. Space is a risky business, and you have to admire the guts of the guys and gals who sit on top of tens of thousands of tons of high explosives, all in the name of science. Risky probes don't even compare.
The only thing we risk with probes is cash and time. While I don't want to see it wasted, I agree that we have to be willing to take some serious chances when it comes to space exploration with probes if we ever expect to gain any significant benefits.
In the US, we have a little check box on our yearly tax forms that allows us to give $1 (or more) to a fund for political candidates who stay within spending restrictions (yawn). I bet if we had a seperate check box to give $1 (or more) for space exploration, you would see many little checked boxes every year. We are more likely to get results with NASA having an extra $1 than any political candidate.
Adding to your comment (and ignoring the dumbass AC who replied) I have noticed the rate spread banks charge has gone up too. This is the % difference between what they pay for saving accounts, and what they charge for home loans. It used to be 4%, but is closer to 6% now.
I disagree. Migrating will not be so easy.
I agree with you. We have less than 10 servers, and could get by with 6, but are looking at migrating some over to FreeBSD for two reasons: insurance policy in case the judicial system looses its mind and 2. BSD tends to be a better platform than Linux for some tasks at least from my limited experience. We hope to gain a little performance on these "insurance" machines, mainly web servers.
It does do more than just ass cover for politicians. It annoys the rest of us by blocking our parking spaces downtown.
The WTC/Pentagon attack could have been prevented VERY easily - airline policy allowed it to happen. And we went the wrong direction. What we should have done was hand every passenger on every flight a really big knife as they board the plane.
Typical narcisistic asshole, posting as AC, more worried about his fucking parking space than our own soldiers, our own citizens. Oh, and you are a security expert as well.
Or rather, The Bomb, for the uninitiated. You may have to do a click through on an ad. Those guys must be sick of us /.ers deep linking them, so they are making us pay for it by looking at a click through ad. Fair enough, I assume.
The terror alert system is just a way for politicians to protect themselves.
While I do not necessarily disagree with your view of politicians, there are other uses. It may confuse/distract/prevent some actions from happening. It may create some voice traffic and give them some information. It may not. But it does serve more that just cover ass for politicians, or at least it _can_.
LED's are diodes. That means...
I know, thanks anyway. My point was it is often not practical to have enough capacitance to get the wave as clean as a pure DC source, such as a battery. Even when you do, the wave is not perfectly flat, since there is still the reaction time of the capacitor to consider. In this application, I said it was optional, and not likely needed. This was based on my experience with using capacitors in 240VAC, car stereo and other applications.
Sorry if it wasn't clear enough on that point.
You're thinking of a half-wave rectifier - just one diode in series. A full-wave rectifier will output 0=__/\/\/\.
;) I had thought a standard bridge rectifier was only half wave, but I see your point. I am not sure how the trough is inverted (my ignorance and need to google). Thanks. Assuming you are correct (a safe assumption) then now we are left with a 120Hz wave, so we address the grandparents consern of a 120hz flicker in the LEDs:
;)
Given a 60hz input, there will be 120 peaks per second at the output. In other words, the output has a DC offset, a strong 120hz wave, and some harmonics.
I am more adept at 220vac choke and high frequency plasma systems (100kHz+ neon and fluorescent), my strengths are not DC
If there is a 120Hz flicker, you won't know it, since you can't really detect anything that fast.
On another note, I did work on a successful project to continuously ignite 2400 watts of fluorescent lamps using less than 120v/15a and developing it into a commercial product. Ask me about the natural resonance of mercury (253.7nm) and its relationship to high frequency vs. high energy and I might be more in my element
True story:
I took the survey on my windows xp notebook, answered truthfully, and when I clicked "done", IE crashed, and closed all IE windows instantly. No error messages, nothing, just desktop.
I am not sure if this is Microsoft saying "screw you then, go ahead and migrate" or if this is yet more evidence as to WHY I am migrating to begin with.
""You want 4 diodes and a small capacitor. Otherwise the LEDs will still flicker, at 120 Hz. I'm not sure why they don't just put these parts into the strand, because they can't cost more than 35-40 cents in quantity.""
/\ /
I have given your statement alot of thought, and have no earthly idea where you think it will flicker at 120Hz. Seriously, if you know something I don't (entirely possible) please enlighten me. While I am not an electrical engineer, you could say I dabble.
The capacitors do not elliminate ripple, but they assist a little. They may take the voltage fluxuation of 12 to 0 volts (60 times a second), and reduce the flux to 12-6v perhaps (still at 60 x per second), but only a battery will produce a pure 12VDC path with no wave characteristics.
As to 120Hz, no capacitor or diode by itself can change the inversion rate of electricity. The 60Hz rating is for the full wave, NOT just the up portion (peak). IE: 1Hz = (1 peak + 1 trough). So if you use a rectifier to essentially filter out the lower have of the sine wave, you still get 60 peaks per second, NOT 120. What you get is 60 peaks, with 60 zero volt null waves inbetween where the troughs (now filtered out) used to be, per second.
Lame attempt at graphic:
0=_ \__/\__/\__ now, instead of
0=__ \
\/ \/
But again, still at 60Hz, since you have only turned -12V into 0V.
True, but it also costs money, and Slashdotters are a bunch of commies who don't want to pay for anything.
Yes, you are a troll, but you accidently made an important, but incorrect comment.
I pay for linux. Every production machines I have that uses linux, has paid support. I have purchased every version of RedHat in the box, since 4.2 (except 9, which had no box set).
I use both windows and linux, in about equal quantities. I use windows where I have to use proprietary software on the desktop. I use linux where I need machines to be bullet proof reliable and dedicated to do one or two tasks at very high performance levels.
I AM trying to migrate to Linux fully, but not because of money. Its because of choices. I have an old dual cpu pentium pro 200 box that I run as a dedicated DNS server. Old, but still very good performance and incredible uptime. It is stripped down to a kernel, bind, sshd and a few utilities. This means very little CAN go wrong. I could do the same thing on a new box, or an old box, with the load being the deciding factor.
MS does not give me the option to do this, as you MUST install the gui, not practical to use BIND on, has 10x the amount of software to do the same task. Also, it is impossible to backup the entire OS with Windows (on purpose). MS does not give me the option of taking an old machine that is out of production, and installing the same OS and BIND, to act as a backup (unless I want to pay for a license I am not likely to use). Linux does.
I use Linux, not because its cheaper (its not for me), but because I am too lazy to keep up with the other 95% of the OS that is not necessary for any given task, AND I am too professional to NOT keep up with it if its installed. At the server, Linux is is just faster, easier to install, more reliable, more stable, faster, better supported, easier to customize, easier to maintain, easier to learn, easier to backup and restore, smaller, more flexible, and requires less manhours than Windows.
After previewing this comment, I realized I was wrong. When you consider all the costs, I guess it is cheaper then. Hmm.
Ironically, the easiest way to "see" 60Hz flicker is to not look directly at it. Look at a monitor set to 60hz, then look 2 foot away, but pay attention through the corner of your eye, you notice the flicker dramatically more. I am not sure what the physics is behind this, but it is noticable for anything that flickers, like old style fluorescent lights, etc.
I find I have trouble with monitors set as high as 72 or 75Hz. I can tell the difference between 85 and 100. I DONT "see" the difference, btw, I feel it. Then again, I sit in front of a computer for many hours a day.
Anyone pick up some of those LED strands? Ugh. The flickering. They don't convert the power from AC to DC, so naturally the LEDs being one-way things flicker at 60hz (maybe its 30 at that point? I dunno).
Anyone know of someone that sells a solution to this? I'm thinking a few capacitors and a few diodes would do it?
60Hz (50Hz in Europe and some other places). But the nature of LEDs would mean they flicker would not be as bad as it would seem (they dim down slower than they ignite). Traditional fluorescent lights flicker at 60Hz too (not new starterless ones, the ballasts operate at 25kHz to 110kHz).
I have used LEDs to turn a pot plant into a Xmas tree (it was the 80s, what can I say) and simply used a wall wart style transformer(12vdc). You don't need capacitors to turn AC into DC, although it will be smoother electricity (less ripple). Not needed for just lighting LEDs, since they simply consume and burn the electricity.
All you need is 4 diodes to turn AC into DC. Go google "bridge rectifier" and I am sure you can find plans. It is very very easy to make. The typical basic rectifier has 4 diodes and 2 capacitors (optional). But its still easier to buy a universal transformer/rectifier for small loads. For medium to large loads (3 to 30 amps) you may try a car battery instead. Another option is a regulated power supply, basically a poor man's Variac. Those are under $50 for up to 8 amps or more.
There are some other methods as well, such as using a power inverter that works at a higher frequency (LEDs don't care what Hz you use, just the direction of the current flow). Any Hz over 85 is going to appear flicker free. You might have trouble finding an inverter that works at these higher Hz.
Another possible but ludicrous option is to get a surplus military generator. Most of these have dual taps, 60Hz for basic power, and 400Hz for aircraft recharging. The 400Hz side will work nicely for powering LEDs. These can be purchased at auction for a couple grand or less. They run on anything remotely "fuel oil", even corn oil.
They've just raised the national terror alert level to ORANGE. YES, ORANGE! Orange means high, by the way, or 4 out of 5 on the chart.
This is due to two factors:
1, they suspect that terrorists are collecting funds by standing in front of Walmarts with a red kettle, and ringing bells.
2, They discovered 12 Saudis that were taking leasons on how to fly sleighs and getting instruction on basic deer husbandry.
The Dept. of Homeland Defense requests that anyone spotting any flying sleighs that are being led by deer like animals assume it is a Saudi terrorist. Initial indications are they plan to attack on the eve of birth of Christ, as a religious statement against the "infidels". If they try to land on your roof, you should take necessary defensive action. Deadly force is authorized.
We now return you to our regularly scheduled nonsense, already in progress...
Unless you use hotmail for some bizarre reason, block MSN.COM in your firewall, or HOSTS it to 127.0.0.1
;)
Cant do that. I HAVE set hotmail to 127.0.0.1 on some boxes, but we use bcentral and a few other services that require we are able to resolve msn. I set IPs manually, NO dhcp available, except wirelessly. I could just set up the few computers that need msn to resolve to our main dns server, instead of the router's dns server (old dual cpu ppro 200 box, with intranet httpd/firewall/router) and get rid of the hosts files completely, but there is always some exception needed.
The users don't know what a dns server is, or what a hosts file. They DO know that they can't go to alot of sites right now because I have shitlisted them at the router/dns server. I try to keep them as paranoid as possible, so they dont do anything stupid, like use their computer
Uhh... MS al ready does on host not found errors, with their MSN search.
Not only do they redirect you to their servers, but their service packs have a nasty habit of resetting your IE preferences to doing this, even if you have chosen to NOT go to MSN.com in your settings. I don't like either company doing this, but MS is the worse about it. Symantec also is bad about this kind of violations. Try installing and uninstalling any Norton product, then go swimming into your registry and see. Adds half a meg of registry even when uninstalled.
Again, a major reason I keep looking toward Linux/MacOS/BSD.
I have to admit, until very recently, I wanted my daily update on SCO -- again I've sort of lost interest, I think because I'm convinced that there's no threat, just a lot of hot air and a nice cash pile for Darl and Co. (well, not the company, but his cronies - you know what I mean!).
SCO updates are just like Mexican soap operas. I don't understand all the language, but there is a lot of passion on both sides, and there is always someone screaming, someone crying, someone lying.
I am 99.4% sure that SCO will lose this "contract dispute". I don't crave the updates for news, I crave it for the entertainment value of Darl, speaking in a language other than common sense, lying and making outrageous claims. Its almost like the Iraqi Information Minister. I didn't listen to him for info, just entertainment. Darl's motives are money rather than survival, but its the closest thing.
This is why I take the time to metamoderate every time I log onto slashdot, to thin the herd of moderators like you.
Think of it like this: Just because The National Enquirer and The Globe report that space aliens make earth women pregnant, or are roaming the planet disguised as trees, that doesn't mean there is no life on other planets. In the same way, just because slashdot reports on a story, that doesn't mean its necessarily incorrect. ;)
/. to get good links from the comments. I have learned about alot of cool sites and stories that were in no way related to the story being posted. I used to read ./ to get my SCO fix, but lately, the really interesting stuff about SCO isn't getting reported here anyway, so I just google it or go straight to Groklaw.
Personally, I read
Yea, its a great ice breaker. Really gets the conversation going when you walk up and say "Hi, I'm Bob" and immediately begin giving them a hand job.