Re:VW *used* to provide a 1/8" input jack
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Pods Unite
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VW Bug's also used to power the windshield washer using your spare tire pressure so if you didn't fill the air in the spare tire you would be screwed when you actually experienced a flat tire!
VW Bug engines used to be so easy to remove that people would go grocery shopping, come back to their car and drive away then wonder why their engine suddenly sucked monkey balls. Take it to the mechanic only to find out somebody swapped their new engine with an old one! Kids were taking these engines and putting them in dune buggies or simply replacing their shot engines. A skilled person could remove an engine in under 20 minutes. Kinda like a BOFH swapping parts on the managers PC!
Fortunately, the new Bug's are not like the old ones... But still JD Power and Associates rate the VW's as some of the worst cars to buy.
Another reason MS is evil is they don't provide one with a decent rescue system. One needs to buy a third party tool such as Winternals Administrator Pak if they want to be able to recover a dead system. This costs $699!
I actually bought the Winternals Admin Pak because it saves me so much time when fixing dead NT/Win2k/XP systems. Heck if even works on Win9x FAT16/32 systems. I was able to cost justify it because I work on so many systems but joe blow Windows users is up the creek without a paddle if they system won't boot or completely blue screens every-time they try to boot.
Winternals Admin pak will boot off CD, mount the NTFS system, connect to a network and allow you to back it up. It can also edit the registry, reset passwords, disable system services or drivers, etc. It is the greatest thing since sliced bread, it just costs way way way too much!
Microsoft has a system called WinPE which is ONLY available to large enterprise customers. Microsoft Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE) is a minimal operating system based on the Windows XP kernel. It will give you a complete Win32 environment with network support, a graphical user interface (800x600) and FAT/NTFS/CDFS filesystem support. Very handy for burnin testing systems with no OS, rescuing files to a network share, virus scan and so on. WinPE will replace any Dos bootdisk. WinPE should be included with Windows so ALL USERS CAN RESCUE THEIR SYSTEM!!!
Bart's PE Builder got a cease and desist order to remove a similar system that he reverse engineered. I believe he included some things that MS objected to. So he has re-written it and is waiting for MS sign off. This would be a free implementation of WinPE. http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/
This is just one of many reasons why I prefer Linux! At least if it's not made easy for me, I can build my own rescue system. With MS I have to buy it or work for someone who has access to it! I know tech's who pirate the third party tools because they have no other choice. It's far too expensive to pay for it.
Of course as already mentioned, there are numerous ways to install a dual boot Linux system even with these conditions it's just harder then it needs to be.
I hate most OEM's Windows installation because of all the extra crap they through in. I like to do a custom installation and set it up my way not the way the OEM wanted it.
Apparently, Microsoft is the root cause of all the Restoration CD's. It is now against MS policy for an OEM Windows distributor to include a full install Windows CDROM with their systems. The OEM's no longer have any choice in the matter and must only distribute a restoration CDROM/DVD with their systems!
This is why everyone only get's restoration CD's. It used to be that you got both a Restoration CD and the full official MS installation version of Windows. But even then this CD would not upgrade nor install if there was any other OS installed on the system.
The whole point is to make it difficult for people to buy a new PC with a new version of Windows and then install it on a second older PC.
Well Outlook still has problems with corrupt PST files! Yeah at least you have an inbox repair tool and a downloadable truncator tool for when your lusers create 2.5GB PST files and then wonder why Outlook runs so damn slow!
At least Mail.app uses Unix mailstores! Plain text is worlds better then a proprietary binary datastore that get's corrupted!
Because 96.3% of the commercials are really really stupid or I've seen them far too many times!
When I see a new AFLAC duck commercial I actual rewind it and watch it a few times. This is an amazing marketing machine. Whoever does these ads should be getting paid big bucks!
I've been known to rewind for other commercials as well. The TiVo scans so smooth during fast forward that I get a real good idea of the commercial content I am skipping. If I'm interested I actually stop and check it out. I found out about new upcoming shows this way that I'll want to record with the TiVo. Just recorded "44 minutes: The North Hollywood Shootout" that way!
Sure I could use the commercial skip remote control hack but why bother? In less then a minute I can blast past the commercials. It's a godsend for those shows where they put far too many commecials on! You know the 1/2 hour show that goes an hour due to all the flipping commercials!
I would like them to track my data and maybe deliver advertising content to me but it has got to be acurate! I've been known to watch their informercials like the BMW Films, etc. That one with James Brown was really quite good! Commercials will be dead soon enough.
The wave of the future will be custom infomercials for stuff you might actually be interested in buying! Heck if I turned on my TiVo and it flashed a not too annoying alert box on the screen to let me know about new content. Then gave me the option to go look at it, it would be alright.
But the key is the content has GOT to be what I want to know about! i.e. how about an in depth Apple Computer ad or some new FireWire hard disk with 20 minutes of in depth coverage on the device and why it's better then the competition. Etc, point being it's got to be stuff I am actually interested in. They have the technology to target more accurately but they are not doing it properly.
If the content is some new cooking pot with holes in the top to pour out the water, then I am DEFINITELY NOT INTERESTED! What's the big deal with putting a strainer in the sink and pouring ones pasta into it? I know people who bought this stupid thing and then realized how stupid it was! A strainer works better! After pasta has been sitting for a few minutes, you need to run hot water over it to loosen up the starch. Letting it sit in a semi-dry pan will turn it into glue as it cools!
I suppose I answered my own question. I know people who bought junk like this along with the thigh master, situp curler, 7 minute Abs, etc. America is full of suckers who drool over these commercials and buy expensive stuff they don't need and will only use once before plopping it in the attic for a future tag sale date. These are the 1D10T's that the marketing machine is targeting!
Yup, that idea didn't scale well, now did it! Neither did Communism....
Sure in the beginning it was very cheap to host a site and post a ton of simple HTML pages (no graphics) but now that there is a much larger Internet using population it's become much more expensive to publish to all the users. If you succeed you get swamped and have trouble paying for it all.
I remember what it was like when the Net was new and everyone was migrating from BBS systems to the Internet. Once there were two ISP's in my state it effectively killed all the BBS's that didn't get a broadband T1 line and setup a Telnet Port.
Maybe we should create sub-Internet networks. i.e. branch it off into smaller communities with like minded folks. What about a GeekNet, etc. Filter out all the garbage and build smaller networks? i.e. when you're on GeekNet and you google, you only get Geek content. When you're on needpointNet then you only get Needlepoint/sewing/Martha Stewart stuff. Probably would be too expensive to manage and maintain though...
No easy answers but there are lot's of possibilities to improve things.
True Innovation combined with some spit and polish can be mind blowing. I forsee several technologies that have only scratched the surface combining into amazing feats of stunning accomplishment.
1. It seems the beef is with the images of the patterns scanned from the envelopes and published as a thumbnail on the website. i.e. it's like a shopping cart and the site is publishing private works without permission. Similar to SlashDot getting asked to remove a couple of company logo's from the article headers.
2. Why not get the pattern companies together and have them talk to Apple. Heck if they can do what Apple did with music then they can do it with patterns. I am sure if my sewing friends could download a high quality pattern online for a buck it would benefit many people.
Use the Adobe PDF format with the encryption if you want. (of course someone could just download that software from that Russian company we all know so well...) Errr better come up with a better encryption scheme then what PDF uses.
Keep old patterns around forever without discontinuing them.
Make it easy to find the patterns you want and only pay for the patterns you really want.
Allow for easy access to those out in booney-ville who have to drive 2 hours to get to the nearest hobby sewing shop to buy a pattern.
Provide online forums and clubs where pattern lovers can get together and discuss the joys of needlepoint.
Make the patterns compatible with highend sewing machines that can accept electronic patterns. Heck partner up with the companies that make the sewing machines that can do that! Advertise the machines on the website! Heck, sell regular sewing patterns as well!
Bet they would sell a whole lot more patterns then they do now! They need to market it properly because most people simply would not know how cool it would be. i.e. target the needlepoint folks that you find online.
Heck, I keep telling people about the Apple music store and they haven't even heard of it yet. Imagine that! But several have gone, no kidding! A buck a song? Where's the nearest Apple store? Think I will go check them thar Apples out!
Think Different was a very true statement that became a slogan for Apple. But it really means you need to pull your head out of the sand and take a good fresh look around. Things change pretty fast in this world and those who don't adapt will die rather quickly. The Internet is starting to change many things around us every year. As more people get online and more families buy computers, more kids get online. This next generation will surpass the first generation and it will just keep going so in 10-20 years you will have even more computer literate people. Time to wake up and realize there are better ways to do things! Just having an online store is not enough, you need to make it work and you need to re-think everything you learned in business school because it simply doesn't work that way anymore!
Yup, as others have posted, here is a list of things that this would be useful for.
Mail Order DVD movies on the cheap.
DVD Vending Machines
Buy a disposable DVD at the video store instead of renting get's you a quality disc that isn't scratched so it won't skip! (this really pisses me off when I rent DVD's).
Cheaper for video stores to stock more copies!
No more late fees!
Hotels could save money and offer more choices by selling disposible DVD's instead of video on demand pay per view. Basic DVD players are cheap too.
Seems like a good idea to me. Just make sure they don't degrade until you open the package and it's OK with me.
This won't kill the regular DVD's that are for sale.
Not so great for video games as you generally want more time then 48 hours. But I don't rent games to play to win. I rent to try it out before I buy it. If it sucks, I don't buy a copy. If I find I really like the game I buy it. There's a whole lot of crappola PS2 titles out there so I've been burned before and I don't have time to read all the reviews and keep up on the latest one hit wonder game title. I also don't have 48 hours to play the game non-stop, I have a job and girlfriend so that's out.
Now you can buy all new software as nothing from prior to Longhorn will run as it will be missing all it's API calls.
Sure maybe they can fix the bloat and evil API clutter by simply stripping it all out and redoing it. Then all applications need to be re-written for no reason just so they can run on Longhorn.
That's one way to fix the economy. Or at least force people to seriously consider an Apple Switch. Heck, as long as they have to rebuy everything anyway might as well go all the way and jump ship while they're at it.
Unfortunately, they were all custom jobs. The company I worked for strove to build a one product meets all needs but ended up modifying systems constantly to do what you are doing.
For example, built a great one to monitor long term paper records. All the records were placed in a box and bar-coded. The box was placed on shelf position that was bar-coded as well. Handheld computers scanned the box and the shelf location and the computer knew where it was at all times. When a box was requested the system knew who it was sent to and who was responsible for it and even printed a UPS shipping label. When it returned they just scanned the box and the shelf where they dropped it. It was easy as pie for the users a real no brainer.
Trouble is the whole thing involved multiple computers a large database, 5 handhelds, wireless, modems, and tech support. Ran DOS and Novell along with a Clipper based software system. It was reliable (no Windows) issues. Had Linux been available back then with support it probably would have run that with a MySQL or PostgreSQL backend.
It's entirely possible to find a geek to build something for you. Looks like you already did with FileMaker Pro. It would be possible to find someone to tweak it to make it meet your needs or build something new. But anything sophisticated will of course cost money to build unless you have a geek on staff.;-)
Since you have OSX, it contains all you really need for tools and building blocks. All you need to do is turn on the Apache PHP module running under OSX. Install PostgreSQL and then setup PHP to talk to it. Then find someone who knows PHP and pay them to build you a web based inventory package. You have all the tools you need. Heck, with the Developer CD you have C/C++/ObjC/Java as well. Go to town!
Find some Mac Programmers and get some quotes. Linux programmers or PHP programmers could do it just as well.
Find a local Linux Users Group and the local Mac User Groups. Check with the schools Computer Instructors see if any students would be interested in a side project.
I know I've got a Series 1 with a lifetime membership that follows the serial number of the unit. This stays intact even if you buy hard disk upgrades or do it yourself.
The Series2 offers the media option. There is still the lifetime membership plus the media one time cost. I believe they will discount you for one or two more Series2's in the same household for the media option. This allows streaming over a home network from TiVo to TiVo just like the Sonic Blue boxen.
It's a bit expensive, but I plan to first upgrade the Series1 and then add a Series2 later on. I might wait for a DVD-R option on a Series2.5/3. The streaming MP3's from my Mac iTunes to the TiVo series2 would be very kewl indeed. The TV is hooked into my HiFi so that will give me great audio.
Access will attempt to optimize your queries and literally mangles them. Do so googling searches to find the registry key to turn this query optimization off by default.
I remember reading an article about a company that used an Access front end to a PostgreSQL backend and they had to turn on debugging on the PostgreSQL server to see what the submitted queries were. Access was optimizing their already optimized queries and literally making them not optimized in the process.;-)
This sort of frontend to backend via Access Links and ODBC connections is very very common in the industry. Of course, there will always be some work on an IT staff member to set it up and get it working. i.e. the Access front end needs to be installed and configured properly and the MDB needs to be distributed, etc. But it's very do-able. You can use just about any backend database you like. i.e. Oracle, IBM UDB/DB2, Sybase, PostgreSQL, MS-SQL, MySQL, Interbase, etc.
Unfortunately, your list of requirements is lacking. All you stated was ease of use, connectivity, and foreign language support.
Apple is the absolute best choice here.
- Ease of use/configuration/connectivity is the absolute best. Power Management works extremely well (been sleeping my PowerBook and not rebooting it for months!), OS X supports many languages and the architecture can support it within most applications if they are written properly for multi-language support. Connectivity is the best! I use my PowerBook to test network connectivity all the time. Just plug in an ethernet cable and you're online in about 5 seconds without needing to do anything at all. You can switch networks both wired and wireless with extreme ease.
You'll need to better define her needs. i.e. what software does she need? Would the OS X operating system support everything she needs?
Next you'll need to find out how portable a computer she needs and compare that to the need for raw power. i.e. iBook 12" or PowerBook 12" - The main difference is the faster G4 processor and price. The 15" Powerbook should be replaced by a new model for the Aluminum case sometime soon, so you might want to wait a couple of months if you can. If you want a larger laptop then you get to consider the other iBooks vs. the 15"/17" PowerBooks. Again, compare speed vs. price and size.
If there's an Apple store nearby, go spend an hour or two picking the Apple staff's brains. They are all very knowledgable. Not sure they will be familiar with Japanese though! Bring your girlfriend with you and have them change the language settings to demo the Japanese support.
With Windows, you may need to order a Japanese language version of Windows. This means you need to buy another copy of Windows. OS X includes all languages within OS X itself and can actually switch modes pretty easily. Windows may be able to do some switching but I believe Asian languages are more complex so require a new verison of Windows to be fully capable. OS X includes all the Asian fonts as well.
The real problem is that most music radio stations have converted over to completely computerized and programmable systems then laying off the DJ's. One DJ can program music for 5-10 radio stations. All content is recorded and played back.
So it seems they couldn't rip the CD because it's not Redbook standard and their digital systems cannot read the proprietary tracks and formats. Same thing as trying to play it in a PC or Mac.
Good, I am happy the radio stations are having trouble as well. I hope it hurts the music business! The dirty bastards!
But had they simply not laid off all those DJ's they wouldn't have this problem. There is a single rock station left in my state that is still independent and run by real live DJ's. These guys kick butt and take names. All the other stations are lame as hell.
106.9 WCCC in Hartford Connecticut is the only local Rock station left! Out of 99.1, 105.9, 102.1, 104.1; they have all been bought out and dumbed down! 106.9 is the only one to play requests and they are the only ones to give away prizes to the local audience only! The other corporate stations lump you in with 25 other stations across the nation to compete for prizes, etc.
Also due to the RIAA, they've effectively killed online radio stations which were bringing back a revival of independent broadcasters. But due to the insane licensing they get forced out!
Geeks need to get together and bypass the corporate music giants. Make our own independent labels that actually pay the artists and provide the fans what they want. We do need to be careful to do it legally though!
Hell let fans download the music for a reasonable fee! WTF, this should have happened 3-4 years ago! The new media is being held back by the evil corporate greed and fear!
I am positive there are a ton of great musicians out there that are never going to be mainstream but will win fans worldwide if the world could only get to their music! We need a non-profit group that can help the Indie artists above and beyond sites like MP3.COM which actually sucks.
You are in the exact same boat as Microsoft but you are in complete denial about it. Oracle is a fantastic database but it is way way way overpriced and way way way too hard to setup and use.
PostgreSQL would replace many Oracle production systems barring those that actually need those fancy Oracle features you charge so damn much for!
I've used both systems. I am by no means an Oracle Guru. But I find PostgreSQL meets the majority of my needs and where it falls down; I'll run Oracle.
Get real Larry, Open Source can threaten Oracle too ya know!
It works OK, but most users really don't like it all that much. It can be slow and there are occasional problems with needing to refresh a web page because it didn't completely render. From my understanding there are frequently scheduled reboots of these OWA enabled servers.
The Outlook Web Client is limited compared to the full Outlook client. Those heavy email users would find it unacceptable for frequent use. It's fine for getting one's email remotely but it's not good enough for constant use.
Since the OWA runs on Microsoft IIS on the NT/2000 platform, you have GOT TO MAKE SURE that it is patched and updated very frequently. I know of smaller outfits who didn't do this and when Code Red and Nimda were rampant they were infected.
In addition to OWA we also use some Citrix abilities for Intranet and other access via a web interface but the encryption is increased for these services using the RSA SecurID fob and high encryption.
We run VPN as well for those work at home or frequent travelers (high speed hotel access). I've got a laptop hooked up right now running VPN using the RSA SecurID system for high encryption. This is preferred! I can access everything exactly as if I was in the office and it's just slightly slower than being on the WAN in a field office. It is completely acceptable. I can access client/server systems, Intranet, Host, etc. All from the comfort of my home.
Yeah VPN and RSA encryption are not cheap but neither is office space. Go ask someone in the know what it costs to maintain an office or cubicle for a single employee. You would be surprised. The ones in the know factor in electricity, floor space, heat, air-conditioning, parking, phone, network, etc. into the equation. Consider all these costs over the cost of VPN, encryption, cell phone, phone line and the power and flexibility of working remotely.
Heck, I pay for my own broadband connection out of my pocket anyway. Putting the work laptop on the home network was a no brainer. I am not looking for work to pay for the broadband connection at all. I just want to be able to utilize VPN to get to the corporate network.
I don't get to work at home but I am on call and I am able to respond to an outage much quicker using broadband and VPN. To dial into the network and then have to run my desktop remotely via pcANYWHERE is much slower then VPN. This remote control is a workaround for the low bandwidth. Just to reset a password could take me 40min. without remote control. With remote control it takes about 15min. With VPN, I can do it in about 10 seconds because the laptop is on my network and left booted up. I just have to login to the VPN and double-click a VB app, type in the ID to reset and click OK.
Everyday tasks are accomplished as easily as if I were in the office directly connected. The productivity gains of working at home are amazing. You would not believe the distraction in a busy office. Noise, chit-chat, waiting in line at the cafeteria, worthless meetings, etc. I get so much more done it's not funny!
Dire Straits would sing "I WANT MY VPN" instead of "I WANT MY MTV".
Actually that's been changing. Prices are dropping frequently across all Apple lines as the economy sags. They even released a single CPU PowerMac again to lower the price a bit. Most users would be happy with an iMac. The desktops are really intended for professionals who can afford it and also want to be able to upgrade it. You can't upgrade the video card or use a SCSI drive in an iMac.
I actually bought a PowerMac G4 Dual 1Ghz MDD a few months ago. Why would I want to spend that much? I had bought a PowerBookG4 550Mhz a few more months before it. I fell in love with the platform and I wanted a highend desktop with DVD burner and dual 17" flat screens. It's been an absolute joy! Worth every damn penny too! Plenty fast enough. In fact, I would say it feels faster than any PC I've used and I've used the top of the line Pentium and even a Dual AMD. Speed to me is not how fast the CPU clock runs or how quick a Window draws it's pixels but how fast I get my work done. Reliability and satisfaction are much more important then if it's a couple seconds faster!
does any *nix installation *not* start you off as Root, with the ability to create more accounts?
Yeah, it's Mac OS X. The slickest easiest installation I've ever seen and I've seen them all!
OS X prompts you to create a user this user account is an administrator but it is not root. Root is disabled by default in OS X. Admin accounts can do quite a bit but not everything. I've left root off on all my OS X boxes because sudo or 'sudo -s' works just fine. Any admin account can run sudo and use their own password to access root functionality.
The security in OS X is rather flexible yet very very simple. It's possible to make a normal user where they can't shoot themselves in the foot. You can also make a restricted user where you can lock things down even further so they can only run the apps you want them to run. This is nice for kiosk systems.
Unix systems are secure out of the box in most cases. OpenBSD being the absolute best at this. Mac OS X is not secured heavily but it's really easy to make it secure. It even includes SSH! Microsoft is horrible, you have to really run it through a major security audit process as just about everything is wide open by default! It's a nightmare!
Granted this is fixed in post NT, but as of NT 4 you could lock down registry editing but it would still process.REG files. So if you knew enough you could make up a.REG file and literally give yourself full admin rights by just copying a file to a floppy and double-clicking it! Of course that's local admin rights and not domain admin rights. But still I can lock out domain admins from remotely getting to the box this way. It won't stop physical access but it kills SMS reporting and remote admin.
It was not the sports themselves it was that the vast majority of those playing the sports were such incredible assholes!
I participated in one sport, swimming. I was rather good at it. I detested gym class but I enjoyed swimming.
Especially, when we had swimming in gym class and I beat two football stars in a race. They were going on and on about how football was a harder sport than swimming. The gym teacher was also the wrestling coach so he know I was on the swim team. The wrestling team ran laps on the stadium in the pool area when the weather was bad. He knew that we swam 5 miles a day and he knew what kind of endurance test swimming really was. The football jocks started insulting me and I challenged them to a race. The coach got his stopwatch and a whistle. I was across the pool and back before they were half way! I then did another 2 laps before they made their first lap! That was fun! The entire gym class laughed at them. I was out of the pool with a towel around my neck laughing when they completed only 2 laps after my 4 laps.
I was a geek who was an outcast for the most part. I smoked cigarettes and hung out with the motor heads and criminals because at least they weren't judgemental and abusive. This kept me from getting jumped or harassed because these metal heads would defend me because I was one of them.
XP can connect by simply adding a network place. But it doesn't allow one to manage the account or change permissions, etc.
It also makes it much simpler for Mac users. i.e. they just email a link to download the XP iDisk tool rather than try to explain how to connect to a WebDAV resource.
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VW Bug's also used to power the windshield washer using your spare tire pressure so if you didn't fill the air in the spare tire you would be screwed when you actually experienced a flat tire!
VW Bug engines used to be so easy to remove that people would go grocery shopping, come back to their car and drive away then wonder why their engine suddenly sucked monkey balls. Take it to the mechanic only to find out somebody swapped their new engine with an old one! Kids were taking these engines and putting them in dune buggies or simply replacing their shot engines. A skilled person could remove an engine in under 20 minutes. Kinda like a BOFH swapping parts on the managers PC!
Fortunately, the new Bug's are not like the old ones...
But still JD Power and Associates rate the VW's as some of the worst cars to buy.
Another reason MS is evil is they don't provide one with a decent rescue system. One needs to buy a third party tool such as Winternals Administrator Pak if they want to be able to recover a dead system. This costs $699!
I actually bought the Winternals Admin Pak because it saves me so much time when fixing dead NT/Win2k/XP systems. Heck if even works on Win9x FAT16/32 systems. I was able to cost justify it because I work on so many systems but joe blow Windows users is up the creek without a paddle if they system won't boot or completely blue screens every-time they try to boot.
Winternals Admin pak will boot off CD, mount the NTFS system, connect to a network and allow you to back it up. It can also edit the registry, reset passwords, disable system services or drivers, etc. It is the greatest thing since sliced bread, it just costs way way way too much!
Microsoft has a system called WinPE which is ONLY available to large enterprise customers. Microsoft Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE) is a minimal operating system based on the Windows XP kernel. It will give you a complete Win32 environment with network support, a graphical user interface (800x600) and FAT/NTFS/CDFS filesystem support. Very handy for burnin testing systems with no OS, rescuing files to a network share, virus scan and so on. WinPE will replace any Dos bootdisk. WinPE should be included with Windows so ALL USERS CAN RESCUE THEIR SYSTEM!!!
Bart's PE Builder got a cease and desist order to remove a similar system that he reverse engineered. I believe he included some things that MS objected to. So he has re-written it and is waiting for MS sign off. This would be a free implementation of WinPE. http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/
This is just one of many reasons why I prefer Linux! At least if it's not made easy for me, I can build my own rescue system. With MS I have to buy it or work for someone who has access to it! I know tech's who pirate the third party tools because they have no other choice. It's far too expensive to pay for it.
Of course as already mentioned, there are numerous ways to install a dual boot Linux system even with these conditions it's just harder then it needs to be.
I hate most OEM's Windows installation because of all the extra crap they through in. I like to do a custom installation and set it up my way not the way the OEM wanted it.
Apparently, Microsoft is the root cause of all the Restoration CD's. It is now against MS policy for an OEM Windows distributor to include a full install Windows CDROM with their systems. The OEM's no longer have any choice in the matter and must only distribute a restoration CDROM/DVD with their systems!
This is why everyone only get's restoration CD's. It used to be that you got both a Restoration CD and the full official MS installation version of Windows. But even then this CD would not upgrade nor install if there was any other OS installed on the system.
The whole point is to make it difficult for people to buy a new PC with a new version of Windows and then install it on a second older PC.
Should be worlds first 64bit dual SMP desktop for under $4k that can still run all your 32bit stuff.
I own a 64bit SPARC 500Mhz Sun Blade and it's fine and dandy but the Mac G5 spanks the shit out of it for performance and it runs more software!
I will buy one of these dual 2Ghz workstations in a few months!
Well Outlook still has problems with corrupt PST files! Yeah at least you have an inbox repair tool and a downloadable truncator tool for when your lusers create 2.5GB PST files and then wonder why Outlook runs so damn slow!
At least Mail.app uses Unix mailstores! Plain text is worlds better then a proprietary binary datastore that get's corrupted!
Because 96.3% of the commercials are really really stupid or I've seen them far too many times!
When I see a new AFLAC duck commercial I actual rewind it and watch it a few times. This is an amazing marketing machine. Whoever does these ads should be getting paid big bucks!
I've been known to rewind for other commercials as well. The TiVo scans so smooth during fast forward that I get a real good idea of the commercial content I am skipping. If I'm interested I actually stop and check it out. I found out about new upcoming shows this way that I'll want to record with the TiVo. Just recorded "44 minutes: The North Hollywood Shootout" that way!
Sure I could use the commercial skip remote control hack but why bother? In less then a minute I can blast past the commercials. It's a godsend for those shows where they put far too many commecials on! You know the 1/2 hour show that goes an hour due to all the flipping commercials!
I would like them to track my data and maybe deliver advertising content to me but it has got to be acurate! I've been known to watch their informercials like the BMW Films, etc. That one with James Brown was really quite good! Commercials will be dead soon enough.
The wave of the future will be custom infomercials for stuff you might actually be interested in buying! Heck if I turned on my TiVo and it flashed a not too annoying alert box on the screen to let me know about new content. Then gave me the option to go look at it, it would be alright.
But the key is the content has GOT to be what I want to know about! i.e. how about an in depth Apple Computer ad or some new FireWire hard disk with 20 minutes of in depth coverage on the device and why it's better then the competition. Etc, point being it's got to be stuff I am actually interested in. They have the technology to target more accurately but they are not doing it properly.
If the content is some new cooking pot with holes in the top to pour out the water, then I am DEFINITELY NOT INTERESTED! What's the big deal with putting a strainer in the sink and pouring ones pasta into it? I know people who bought this stupid thing and then realized how stupid it was! A strainer works better! After pasta has been sitting for a few minutes, you need to run hot water over it to loosen up the starch. Letting it sit in a semi-dry pan will turn it into glue as it cools!
I suppose I answered my own question. I know people who bought junk like this along with the thigh master, situp curler, 7 minute Abs, etc. America is full of suckers who drool over these commercials and buy expensive stuff they don't need and will only use once before plopping it in the attic for a future tag sale date. These are the 1D10T's that the marketing machine is targeting!
Yup, that idea didn't scale well, now did it! Neither did Communism....
Sure in the beginning it was very cheap to host a site and post a ton of simple HTML pages (no graphics) but now that there is a much larger Internet using population it's become much more expensive to publish to all the users. If you succeed you get swamped and have trouble paying for it all.
I remember what it was like when the Net was new and everyone was migrating from BBS systems to the Internet. Once there were two ISP's in my state it effectively killed all the BBS's that didn't get a broadband T1 line and setup a Telnet Port.
Maybe we should create sub-Internet networks. i.e. branch it off into smaller communities with like minded folks. What about a GeekNet, etc. Filter out all the garbage and build smaller networks? i.e. when you're on GeekNet and you google, you only get Geek content. When you're on needpointNet then you only get Needlepoint/sewing/Martha Stewart stuff. Probably would be too expensive to manage and maintain though...
No easy answers but there are lot's of possibilities to improve things.
True Innovation combined with some spit and polish can be mind blowing. I forsee several technologies that have only scratched the surface combining into amazing feats of stunning accomplishment.
Okay, seems we've all heard this story before.
1. It seems the beef is with the images of the patterns scanned from the envelopes and published as a thumbnail on the website. i.e. it's like a shopping cart and the site is publishing private works without permission. Similar to SlashDot getting asked to remove a couple of company logo's from the article headers.
2. Why not get the pattern companies together and have them talk to Apple. Heck if they can do what Apple did with music then they can do it with patterns. I am sure if my sewing friends could download a high quality pattern online for a buck it would benefit many people.
Use the Adobe PDF format with the encryption if you want. (of course someone could just download that software from that Russian company we all know so well...) Errr better come up with a better encryption scheme then what PDF uses.
Keep old patterns around forever without discontinuing them.
Make it easy to find the patterns you want and only pay for the patterns you really want.
Allow for easy access to those out in booney-ville who have to drive 2 hours to get to the nearest hobby sewing shop to buy a pattern.
Provide online forums and clubs where pattern lovers can get together and discuss the joys of needlepoint.
Make the patterns compatible with highend sewing machines that can accept electronic patterns. Heck partner up with the companies that make the sewing machines that can do that! Advertise the machines on the website! Heck, sell regular sewing patterns as well!
Bet they would sell a whole lot more patterns then they do now! They need to market it properly because most people simply would not know how cool it would be. i.e. target the needlepoint folks that you find online.
Heck, I keep telling people about the Apple music store and they haven't even heard of it yet. Imagine that! But several have gone, no kidding! A buck a song? Where's the nearest Apple store? Think I will go check them thar Apples out!
Think Different was a very true statement that became a slogan for Apple. But it really means you need to pull your head out of the sand and take a good fresh look around. Things change pretty fast in this world and those who don't adapt will die rather quickly. The Internet is starting to change many things around us every year. As more people get online and more families buy computers, more kids get online. This next generation will surpass the first generation and it will just keep going so in 10-20 years you will have even more computer literate people. Time to wake up and realize there are better ways to do things! Just having an online store is not enough, you need to make it work and you need to re-think everything you learned in business school because it simply doesn't work that way anymore!
Yup, as others have posted, here is a list of things that this would be useful for.
Seems like a good idea to me. Just make sure they don't degrade until you open the package and it's OK with me.
This won't kill the regular DVD's that are for sale.
Not so great for video games as you generally want more time then 48 hours. But I don't rent games to play to win. I rent to try it out before I buy it. If it sucks, I don't buy a copy. If I find I really like the game I buy it. There's a whole lot of crappola PS2 titles out there so I've been burned before and I don't have time to read all the reviews and keep up on the latest one hit wonder game title. I also don't have 48 hours to play the game non-stop, I have a job and girlfriend so that's out.
Nice to know they fix stuff very fast when it occurs. This was only announced a couple of days ago.
Microsoft is a whole lot slower to release stuff even when they are caught with their pants down which is usually what happens.
Now you can buy all new software as nothing from prior to Longhorn will run as it will be missing all it's API calls.
Sure maybe they can fix the bloat and evil API clutter by simply stripping it all out and redoing it. Then all applications need to be re-written for no reason just so they can run on Longhorn.
That's one way to fix the economy. Or at least force people to seriously consider an Apple Switch. Heck, as long as they have to rebuy everything anyway might as well go all the way and jump ship while they're at it.
Unfortunately, they were all custom jobs. The company I worked for strove to build a one product meets all needs but ended up modifying systems constantly to do what you are doing.
;-)
For example, built a great one to monitor long term paper records. All the records were placed in a box and bar-coded. The box was placed on shelf position that was bar-coded as well. Handheld computers scanned the box and the shelf location and the computer knew where it was at all times. When a box was requested the system knew who it was sent to and who was responsible for it and even printed a UPS shipping label. When it returned they just scanned the box and the shelf where they dropped it. It was easy as pie for the users a real no brainer.
Trouble is the whole thing involved multiple computers a large database, 5 handhelds, wireless, modems, and tech support. Ran DOS and Novell along with a Clipper based software system. It was reliable (no Windows) issues. Had Linux been available back then with support it probably would have run that with a MySQL or PostgreSQL backend.
It's entirely possible to find a geek to build something for you. Looks like you already did with FileMaker Pro. It would be possible to find someone to tweak it to make it meet your needs or build something new. But anything sophisticated will of course cost money to build unless you have a geek on staff.
Since you have OSX, it contains all you really need for tools and building blocks. All you need to do is turn on the Apache PHP module running under OSX. Install PostgreSQL and then setup PHP to talk to it. Then find someone who knows PHP and pay them to build you a web based inventory package. You have all the tools you need. Heck, with the Developer CD you have C/C++/ObjC/Java as well. Go to town!
Find some Mac Programmers and get some quotes. Linux programmers or PHP programmers could do it just as well.
Find a local Linux Users Group and the local Mac User Groups. Check with the schools Computer Instructors see if any students would be interested in a side project.
I know I've got a Series 1 with a lifetime membership that follows the serial number of the unit. This stays intact even if you buy hard disk upgrades or do it yourself.
The Series2 offers the media option. There is still the lifetime membership plus the media one time cost. I believe they will discount you for one or two more Series2's in the same household for the media option. This allows streaming over a home network from TiVo to TiVo just like the Sonic Blue boxen.
It's a bit expensive, but I plan to first upgrade the Series1 and then add a Series2 later on. I might wait for a DVD-R option on a Series2.5/3. The streaming MP3's from my Mac iTunes to the TiVo series2 would be very kewl indeed. The TV is hooked into my HiFi so that will give me great audio.
FYI,
;-)
Access will attempt to optimize your queries and literally mangles them. Do so googling searches to find the registry key to turn this query optimization off by default.
I remember reading an article about a company that used an Access front end to a PostgreSQL backend and they had to turn on debugging on the PostgreSQL server to see what the submitted queries were. Access was optimizing their already optimized queries and literally making them not optimized in the process.
This sort of frontend to backend via Access Links and ODBC connections is very very common in the industry. Of course, there will always be some work on an IT staff member to set it up and get it working. i.e. the Access front end needs to be installed and configured properly and the MDB needs to be distributed, etc. But it's very do-able. You can use just about any backend database you like. i.e. Oracle, IBM UDB/DB2, Sybase, PostgreSQL, MS-SQL, MySQL, Interbase, etc.
Unfortunately, your list of requirements is lacking. All you stated was ease of use, connectivity, and foreign language support.
Apple is the absolute best choice here.
- Ease of use/configuration/connectivity is the absolute best. Power Management works extremely well (been sleeping my PowerBook and not rebooting it for months!), OS X supports many languages and the architecture can support it within most applications if they are written properly for multi-language support. Connectivity is the best! I use my PowerBook to test network connectivity all the time. Just plug in an ethernet cable and you're online in about 5 seconds without needing to do anything at all. You can switch networks both wired and wireless with extreme ease.
You'll need to better define her needs. i.e. what software does she need? Would the OS X operating system support everything she needs?
Next you'll need to find out how portable a computer she needs and compare that to the need for raw power. i.e. iBook 12" or PowerBook 12" - The main difference is the faster G4 processor and price. The 15" Powerbook should be replaced by a new model for the Aluminum case sometime soon, so you might want to wait a couple of months if you can. If you want a larger laptop then you get to consider the other iBooks vs. the 15"/17" PowerBooks. Again, compare speed vs. price and size.
If there's an Apple store nearby, go spend an hour or two picking the Apple staff's brains. They are all very knowledgable. Not sure they will be familiar with Japanese though! Bring your girlfriend with you and have them change the language settings to demo the Japanese support.
With Windows, you may need to order a Japanese language version of Windows. This means you need to buy another copy of Windows. OS X includes all languages within OS X itself and can actually switch modes pretty easily. Windows may be able to do some switching but I believe Asian languages are more complex so require a new verison of Windows to be fully capable. OS X includes all the Asian fonts as well.
If I told you then I'd have to kill you.
The real problem is that most music radio stations have converted over to completely computerized and programmable systems then laying off the DJ's. One DJ can program music for 5-10 radio stations. All content is recorded and played back.
So it seems they couldn't rip the CD because it's not Redbook standard and their digital systems cannot read the proprietary tracks and formats. Same thing as trying to play it in a PC or Mac.
Good, I am happy the radio stations are having trouble as well. I hope it hurts the music business! The dirty bastards!
But had they simply not laid off all those DJ's they wouldn't have this problem. There is a single rock station left in my state that is still independent and run by real live DJ's. These guys kick butt and take names. All the other stations are lame as hell.
106.9 WCCC in Hartford Connecticut is the only local Rock station left! Out of 99.1, 105.9, 102.1, 104.1; they have all been bought out and dumbed down! 106.9 is the only one to play requests and they are the only ones to give away prizes to the local audience only! The other corporate stations lump you in with 25 other stations across the nation to compete for prizes, etc.
Also due to the RIAA, they've effectively killed online radio stations which were bringing back a revival of independent broadcasters. But due to the insane licensing they get forced out!
Geeks need to get together and bypass the corporate music giants. Make our own independent labels that actually pay the artists and provide the fans what they want. We do need to be careful to do it legally though!
Hell let fans download the music for a reasonable fee! WTF, this should have happened 3-4 years ago! The new media is being held back by the evil corporate greed and fear!
I am positive there are a ton of great musicians out there that are never going to be mainstream but will win fans worldwide if the world could only get to their music! We need a non-profit group that can help the Indie artists above and beyond sites like MP3.COM which actually sucks.
OK, Larry, listen up!
You are in the exact same boat as Microsoft but you are in complete denial about it. Oracle is a fantastic database but it is way way way overpriced and way way way too hard to setup and use.
PostgreSQL would replace many Oracle production systems barring those that actually need those fancy Oracle features you charge so damn much for!
I've used both systems. I am by no means an Oracle Guru. But I find PostgreSQL meets the majority of my needs and where it falls down; I'll run Oracle.
Get real Larry, Open Source can threaten Oracle too ya know!
It works OK, but most users really don't like it all that much. It can be slow and there are occasional problems with needing to refresh a web page because it didn't completely render. From my understanding there are frequently scheduled reboots of these OWA enabled servers.
The Outlook Web Client is limited compared to the full Outlook client. Those heavy email users would find it unacceptable for frequent use. It's fine for getting one's email remotely but it's not good enough for constant use.
Since the OWA runs on Microsoft IIS on the NT/2000 platform, you have GOT TO MAKE SURE that it is patched and updated very frequently. I know of smaller outfits who didn't do this and when Code Red and Nimda were rampant they were infected.
In addition to OWA we also use some Citrix abilities for Intranet and other access via a web interface but the encryption is increased for these services using the RSA SecurID fob and high encryption.
We run VPN as well for those work at home or frequent travelers (high speed hotel access). I've got a laptop hooked up right now running VPN using the RSA SecurID system for high encryption. This is preferred! I can access everything exactly as if I was in the office and it's just slightly slower than being on the WAN in a field office. It is completely acceptable. I can access client/server systems, Intranet, Host, etc. All from the comfort of my home.
Yeah VPN and RSA encryption are not cheap but neither is office space. Go ask someone in the know what it costs to maintain an office or cubicle for a single employee. You would be surprised. The ones in the know factor in electricity, floor space, heat, air-conditioning, parking, phone, network, etc. into the equation. Consider all these costs over the cost of VPN, encryption, cell phone, phone line and the power and flexibility of working remotely.
Heck, I pay for my own broadband connection out of my pocket anyway. Putting the work laptop on the home network was a no brainer. I am not looking for work to pay for the broadband connection at all. I just want to be able to utilize VPN to get to the corporate network.
I don't get to work at home but I am on call and I am able to respond to an outage much quicker using broadband and VPN. To dial into the network and then have to run my desktop remotely via pcANYWHERE is much slower then VPN. This remote control is a workaround for the low bandwidth. Just to reset a password could take me 40min. without remote control. With remote control it takes about 15min. With VPN, I can do it in about 10 seconds because the laptop is on my network and left booted up. I just have to login to the VPN and double-click a VB app, type in the ID to reset and click OK.
Everyday tasks are accomplished as easily as if I were in the office directly connected. The productivity gains of working at home are amazing. You would not believe the distraction in a busy office. Noise, chit-chat, waiting in line at the cafeteria, worthless meetings, etc. I get so much more done it's not funny!
Dire Straits would sing "I WANT MY VPN" instead of "I WANT MY MTV".
WebDAV client that uses an FTP commandline GUI.
Actually that's been changing. Prices are dropping frequently across all Apple lines as the economy sags. They even released a single CPU PowerMac again to lower the price a bit. Most users would be happy with an iMac. The desktops are really intended for professionals who can afford it and also want to be able to upgrade it. You can't upgrade the video card or use a SCSI drive in an iMac.
I actually bought a PowerMac G4 Dual 1Ghz MDD a few months ago. Why would I want to spend that much? I had bought a PowerBookG4 550Mhz a few more months before it. I fell in love with the platform and I wanted a highend desktop with DVD burner and dual 17" flat screens. It's been an absolute joy! Worth every damn penny too! Plenty fast enough. In fact, I would say it feels faster than any PC I've used and I've used the top of the line Pentium and even a Dual AMD. Speed to me is not how fast the CPU clock runs or how quick a Window draws it's pixels but how fast I get my work done. Reliability and satisfaction are much more important then if it's a couple seconds faster!
does any *nix installation *not* start you off as Root, with the ability to create more accounts?
Yeah, it's Mac OS X. The slickest easiest installation I've ever seen and I've seen them all!
OS X prompts you to create a user this user account is an administrator but it is not root. Root is disabled by default in OS X. Admin accounts can do quite a bit but not everything. I've left root off on all my OS X boxes because sudo or 'sudo -s' works just fine. Any admin account can run sudo and use their own password to access root functionality.
The security in OS X is rather flexible yet very very simple. It's possible to make a normal user where they can't shoot themselves in the foot. You can also make a restricted user where you can lock things down even further so they can only run the apps you want them to run. This is nice for kiosk systems.
Unix systems are secure out of the box in most cases. OpenBSD being the absolute best at this. Mac OS X is not secured heavily but it's really easy to make it secure. It even includes SSH! Microsoft is horrible, you have to really run it through a major security audit process as just about everything is wide open by default! It's a nightmare!
Granted this is fixed in post NT, but as of NT 4 you could lock down registry editing but it would still process .REG files. So if you knew enough you could make up a .REG file and literally give yourself full admin rights by just copying a file to a floppy and double-clicking it! Of course that's local admin rights and not domain admin rights. But still I can lock out domain admins from remotely getting to the box this way. It won't stop physical access but it kills SMS reporting and remote admin.
It was not the sports themselves it was that the vast majority of those playing the sports were such incredible assholes!
I participated in one sport, swimming. I was rather good at it. I detested gym class but I enjoyed swimming.
Especially, when we had swimming in gym class and I beat two football stars in a race. They were going on and on about how football was a harder sport than swimming. The gym teacher was also the wrestling coach so he know I was on the swim team. The wrestling team ran laps on the stadium in the pool area when the weather was bad. He knew that we swam 5 miles a day and he knew what kind of endurance test swimming really was. The football jocks started insulting me and I challenged them to a race. The coach got his stopwatch and a whistle. I was across the pool and back before they were half way! I then did another 2 laps before they made their first lap! That was fun! The entire gym class laughed at them. I was out of the pool with a towel around my neck laughing when they completed only 2 laps after my 4 laps.
I was a geek who was an outcast for the most part. I smoked cigarettes and hung out with the motor heads and criminals because at least they weren't judgemental and abusive. This kept me from getting jumped or harassed because these metal heads would defend me because I was one of them.
XP can connect by simply adding a network place. But it doesn't allow one to manage the account or change permissions, etc.
It also makes it much simpler for Mac users. i.e. they just email a link to download the XP iDisk tool rather than try to explain how to connect to a WebDAV resource.