A good OS... compared to Linux, or compared to the other varieties of Unix?
As a "Linux alternative" I'd say it is ok. As an alternative to AIX, HPUX, Tru64, IRIX, Mach even... well, it is ok.
The only reason I've seen a company choose Solaris has been cost. They wanted HP (Tru64) or IBM (AIX), but couldn't afford it. So they go with Sun (Solaris) because it is better than MS (Windows).
Otherwise, it is a very middle-of-the-road Unix. Not great, not spectacularly bad (ala SCO).
Oh, and if any of you are having the issue with JDS where you get the XKB Error on log in, the best solution I have seen is set (or create) the file "/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnome_settings _daemon/keybindings/%gconf.xml" (with the '%' sign) to have this contents:
We certainly use this sort of thing, combined with pallet scanning on the forklift. The operator can scan a pallet, work with it, and move on. Very fast, very accurate.
I can do you one better... Apple Rep for a certain computer megastore (that has the word 'Comp' in the name) actually tried to talk a friend of mine *out* of buying an Apple.
She went across the street to the Apple Store, and bought her G5 there, instead. She's delighted with it.
Always seems to have less to do with "amateur", more to do with "idiot" -WS
You need to get out more. I doubt that the crowd that still listens to Led Zepplin has much of an overlap with the iPod crowd. More like 'Blink 182', or 'Eminem' or something. Maybe some sort of Jazz if you're lucky:)
Like the shaking login screen? I rather liked that one when I first saw it. I don't recall exactly where I saw it first, but I know it was way pre-OSX.
Actually, nothing has anything like this yet... including Gnome:)
I don't like the wobbly windows at first glance, but I hated the bouncy icons in OSX, too. Now I actually like them. I'm sure I'll get to like the windows wobbling.
I'm working on something like this right now. It has been my dream since the mid-nineties, and I am finally approaching the point where it is financially/logically possible. Wireless, DVD, digital audio, bluetooth headsets, etc. These make it a real possibility, for me at least.
Good for you. I'm referring to the three seperate IBM ThinkPad T43 laptops that I tried this on in the last three days. All of them had the same problem, with 3 different mice.
I also find it odd. I would say that of the places I've been, only the US is openly hostile towards scholars. Doesn't even seem to matter what science field, or even IT.
Perhaps it is some sort of backlash from the 50s when scientists were considered gods and the 60s where they became devils. I guess the concept of "balance" just never occurs to some people.
As for fewer women in IT? Sure if that's what the numbers say. All I know is there are more women in IT in my current department than I have ever encountered before. And they are damn good at it.
I agree with you. MS Reader is (sadly?) one of the very best e-book platforms out there. It is unfortunate that they haven't released a Mac version. It would be very well received, I think.
On the other hand, the E-Book reader 'E-Reader' is also very nice, and supports palm, Pocket PC, Mac, and Windows. It's also quite a bit more customizable.
The only "open" ebook stuff I know of is the Open EBook Forum, which is really more of a vendor co-ordination.
That is actually an extremely good point... I should correct for it. After all, the logon software only forces a hard reset to clear the device... not the card. The card is encrypted, but technically it could be decrypted easily enough by a decent speed computer. It's just PGP. I haven't put a trigger on it that will work from the card reader...
Actually, he is doing wonderfully, thanks. Almost 2 years post evidence of disease. We were very lucky, and it changed a lot of our perspectives on life.
Good points. I have a gameboy, but it would be awesome to have an adapter (like CF or something) that would let you slot the GBA carts into a handheld.
Docs: 170 MB Code: 58 MB (some older projects zipped) Utilities for Pocket PC: 70 MB (including Perl, at almost 50 MB) Really key desktop utilities: 200 MB HTML Doc with links to the other utilities: 6 KB
Actually, it takes quite a bit less than 1GB. Glad you noticed:)
Quite simple. My wife requested that I go without a replacement device while my son was still undergoing cancer treatment. It was simply too expensive.
Once insurance started to pick the bills up, we were able to afford a new device.
I'll bite, though I have to say this is one of those "use it or don't" kind of things... lots of people sit on both sides.
I use one. I live on it. It has saved my butt more times than I care to recall, and it is the only posession I have that I literally can't function properly without.
Why?
Well, I have a really high-end handheld (the iPaq 5550), with a 1GB SD card. Bluetooth, 802.11b, fingerprint scan, autobackup, swappable battery pack, etc. I use it with a keyboard and recorder at meetings. I sync all of my work on it at 30 minute intervals all day long. Wirelessly, of course. And by all of my work, I mean it literally. It contains every line of code, every document, every script, and every "critical" tool I have ever used. I keep the whole thing encrypted, and set to nuke after 3 invalid login attempts (fingerprint + password). The files are maintained in their native formats (Unix or VMS for the most part, but lots of cross platform files like PDF, HTML, etc. Also all the Office cruft). It's basically a subnotebook on demand. I have a foldout keyboard, and some additional memory cards. I carry them when I need them, and added up they still weigh less than a small laptop.
I have peformed emergency DB restores from my sailboat and (in one case) a restaurant. I have used it to tweak vacation photos. I use it to keep notes. I use it to write code or docs while waiting for other things. I listen to music on it. I use it to navigate. I read e-books daily.
I was hired at my most recent position largely because I was able to instantly tap my entire code and documentation library. When I say "Oh, I've done that before", it means give me five minutes, and I'll have it. Not "let me remember how that worked". When I moved 9 hours away and lived in a hotel, I had my entire database of information no further than my hip.
Oh, and since lots of people like to say "Well, what if it dies/gets run over/dropped overboard/etc?" The answer is simple. It backs up every morning at 04:00, and the backup is transmitted to 3 seperate servers. I do a manual backup daily at lunchtime (to CD as well as the other sites), and small autobackups happen every 30 minutes. For this data to "die" would require 3 seperate servers, the CDs, and my handheld to all choke at once.
I'm extremely paranoid with the data because it *is* my livlihood. Sure, I could operate without it, and for 3 months I had to when I was between devices. That brief experience proved the usefulness of it.
I had another experience where my laptop died last year. Corporate policy was to store data on the common drive and the laptop, and sync it. Unfortunately, this only applied to 100MB we were allowed to store on the server. What about the rest? Well, handheld to the rescue. There was the rest of my data, and I was back in business within 20 minutes (USB 1.x) on an old desktop.
Slashdot Mirror
It's probably even tax deductible.
-WS
A good OS... compared to Linux, or compared to the other varieties of Unix?
s _daemon/keybindings/%gconf.xml" (with the '%' sign) to have this contents:
t ry>t ry>t ry>t ry>
As a "Linux alternative" I'd say it is ok. As an alternative to AIX, HPUX, Tru64, IRIX, Mach even... well, it is ok.
The only reason I've seen a company choose Solaris has been cost. They wanted HP (Tru64) or IBM (AIX), but couldn't afford it. So they go with Sun (Solaris) because it is better than MS (Windows).
Otherwise, it is a very middle-of-the-road Unix. Not great, not spectacularly bad (ala SCO).
Oh, and if any of you are having the issue with JDS where you get the XKB Error on log in, the best solution I have seen is set (or create) the file "/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults/apps/gnome_setting
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<gconf>
<entry name="volume_up" mtime="1110896708" type="string">
<stringvalue></stringvalue>
</en
<entry name="volume_mute" mtime="1110896705" type="string">
<stringvalue></stringvalue>
</en
<entry name="volume_down" mtime="1110896702" type="string">
<stringvalue></stringvalue>
</en
<entry name="help" mtime="1110896698" type="string">
<stringvalue></stringvalue>
</en
</gconf>
It is the fix that has worked on most of the installs I've heard of. Certainly fixed mine!
-WS
Man, that tulip comment almost made me lose my tea! I hadn't thought about that since Econ :)
-WS
I fully suspect the parent post was sarcastic... but I hope the name is a joke. Man, if that is really your name CHANGE IT NOW!
(I have seen worse real names, though... like Dick Sux and Cox Cable)
-WS
Yes it does. On any mainframe I have worked on, you get precisely the access the security team dictates. Maybe not even all that you need.
And don't even think about asking for more DASD.
-WS
We certainly use this sort of thing, combined with pallet scanning on the forklift. The operator can scan a pallet, work with it, and move on. Very fast, very accurate.
-WS
Actually, I beg to differ. You must simply work on the wrong computers :)
:)
All the gifts of life are indeed held within these walls...
You just gotta be in the right temple
-WS
I can do you one better... Apple Rep for a certain computer megastore (that has the word 'Comp' in the name) actually tried to talk a friend of mine *out* of buying an Apple.
She went across the street to the Apple Store, and bought her G5 there, instead. She's delighted with it.
Always seems to have less to do with "amateur", more to do with "idiot"
-WS
Led Zepplin?
:)
You need to get out more. I doubt that the crowd that still listens to Led Zepplin has much of an overlap with the iPod crowd. More like 'Blink 182', or 'Eminem' or something. Maybe some sort of Jazz if you're lucky
-WS
I'm sorry Mr. Coward, but that is incorrect. I have just conducted a search of your last 200 posts, and many of them contained significant errors. ;)
-WS
Like the shaking login screen? I rather liked that one when I first saw it. I don't recall exactly where I saw it first, but I know it was way pre-OSX.
-WS
Actually, nothing has anything like this yet... including Gnome :)
I don't like the wobbly windows at first glance, but I hated the bouncy icons in OSX, too. Now I actually like them. I'm sure I'll get to like the windows wobbling.
-WS
Heh. All the billboards around here use that same message. "Persistence: Never give in."
Interesting message to send our children, I think. I wonder if it will have the effect the advertisers want?
-WS
I'm working on something like this right now. It has been my dream since the mid-nineties, and I am finally approaching the point where it is financially/logically possible. Wireless, DVD, digital audio, bluetooth headsets, etc. These make it a real possibility, for me at least.
-WS
Well, quite a few of the games are available for the GBA, which can be used (via adapter) on your television.
:)
I play the games on the GBA all the time. Especially Mario
-WS
Good for you. I'm referring to the three seperate IBM ThinkPad T43 laptops that I tried this on in the last three days. All of them had the same problem, with 3 different mice.
-WS
Especially since Windows had lousy support for "Useless Bus" until about... well, XP still can't find my mouse if I unplug and replug it hot ;)
-WS
I also find it odd. I would say that of the places I've been, only the US is openly hostile towards scholars. Doesn't even seem to matter what science field, or even IT.
Perhaps it is some sort of backlash from the 50s when scientists were considered gods and the 60s where they became devils. I guess the concept of "balance" just never occurs to some people.
As for fewer women in IT? Sure if that's what the numbers say. All I know is there are more women in IT in my current department than I have ever encountered before. And they are damn good at it.
-WS
I agree with you. MS Reader is (sadly?) one of the very best e-book platforms out there. It is unfortunate that they haven't released a Mac version. It would be very well received, I think.
On the other hand, the E-Book reader 'E-Reader' is also very nice, and supports palm, Pocket PC, Mac, and Windows. It's also quite a bit more customizable.
The only "open" ebook stuff I know of is the Open EBook Forum, which is really more of a vendor co-ordination.
That is actually an extremely good point... I should correct for it. After all, the logon software only forces a hard reset to clear the device... not the card. The card is encrypted, but technically it could be decrypted easily enough by a decent speed computer. It's just PGP. I haven't put a trigger on it that will work from the card reader...
:)
Hmmm. Definately time to upgrade that
-WS
Actually, he is doing wonderfully, thanks. Almost 2 years post evidence of disease. We were very lucky, and it changed a lot of our perspectives on life.
-WS
Good points. I have a gameboy, but it would be awesome to have an adapter (like CF or something) that would let you slot the GBA carts into a handheld.
-WS
Yes.
:)
Docs: 170 MB
Code: 58 MB (some older projects zipped)
Utilities for Pocket PC: 70 MB (including Perl, at almost 50 MB)
Really key desktop utilities: 200 MB
HTML Doc with links to the other utilities: 6 KB
Actually, it takes quite a bit less than 1GB. Glad you noticed
-WS
Quite simple. My wife requested that I go without a replacement device while my son was still undergoing cancer treatment. It was simply too expensive.
Once insurance started to pick the bills up, we were able to afford a new device.
-WS
I'll bite, though I have to say this is one of those "use it or don't" kind of things... lots of people sit on both sides.
I use one. I live on it. It has saved my butt more times than I care to recall, and it is the only posession I have that I literally can't function properly without.
Why?
Well, I have a really high-end handheld (the iPaq 5550), with a 1GB SD card. Bluetooth, 802.11b, fingerprint scan, autobackup, swappable battery pack, etc. I use it with a keyboard and recorder at meetings. I sync all of my work on it at 30 minute intervals all day long. Wirelessly, of course. And by all of my work, I mean it literally. It contains every line of code, every document, every script, and every "critical" tool I have ever used. I keep the whole thing encrypted, and set to nuke after 3 invalid login attempts (fingerprint + password). The files are maintained in their native formats (Unix or VMS for the most part, but lots of cross platform files like PDF, HTML, etc. Also all the Office cruft). It's basically a subnotebook on demand. I have a foldout keyboard, and some additional memory cards. I carry them when I need them, and added up they still weigh less than a small laptop.
I have peformed emergency DB restores from my sailboat and (in one case) a restaurant. I have used it to tweak vacation photos. I use it to keep notes. I use it to write code or docs while waiting for other things. I listen to music on it. I use it to navigate. I read e-books daily.
I was hired at my most recent position largely because I was able to instantly tap my entire code and documentation library. When I say "Oh, I've done that before", it means give me five minutes, and I'll have it. Not "let me remember how that worked". When I moved 9 hours away and lived in a hotel, I had my entire database of information no further than my hip.
Oh, and since lots of people like to say "Well, what if it dies/gets run over/dropped overboard/etc?" The answer is simple. It backs up every morning at 04:00, and the backup is transmitted to 3 seperate servers. I do a manual backup daily at lunchtime (to CD as well as the other sites), and small autobackups happen every 30 minutes. For this data to "die" would require 3 seperate servers, the CDs, and my handheld to all choke at once.
I'm extremely paranoid with the data because it *is* my livlihood. Sure, I could operate without it, and for 3 months I had to when I was between devices. That brief experience proved the usefulness of it.
I had another experience where my laptop died last year. Corporate policy was to store data on the common drive and the laptop, and sync it. Unfortunately, this only applied to 100MB we were allowed to store on the server. What about the rest? Well, handheld to the rescue. There was the rest of my data, and I was back in business within 20 minutes (USB 1.x) on an old desktop.
So yes, some people really do use them.
-WS