You don't fix systems that large by throwing technology at it.
Unless you fix the setup structurally so it's managed in a decent way instead of by deadbeats and get a consistent strategy and approach in place you'll be throwing money away as you're not fixing the real problem.
The irony is that fixing the real problem would be a huge money saver as well - but that would stop several gravy trains at once, of course..
If they'd just ignored it it would have been a nuisance. Now it's a publicity boost and a REAL problem.
It demonstrates that these teachers seem to combine a lack of knowledge about how to deal with students with a lack of knowledge on how to manage publicity as it makes it appear they have something to hide (and they should have known that shutting down the site isn't going to solve this as many others will spring up instead). Duh.
I was quite looking forward to it until I found out it won't allow 3rd party apps. I can only speak for myself, but that killed any chance I'd buy one. No device is ever perfect so a degree of customisation is simply required to make it work for the end user. So, I myself am not part of its target market, but I can live with that:-)
Let's downgrade the competition so we can actually compete again..
Sorry, not now I for the first time in quite some time have found a reason to maybe recommend Dell. It most certainly is NOT going to be Sony anymore, their repair service is so bad I can hardly describe it in polite terms..
A while back I was under the impression that only Cable & Wireless still had a fleet capable of laying such cables, but I haven't kept up with it. Who does the actual bedding of the cable this time?
I found the whole technology involved rather impressive..
If a black hole could port stuff from our Universe elsewhere there's really no argument to stop the reverse being true either.
This would, however, mean that the laws about preserving mass, energy etc. must have a bigger scope, or those holes could cause quite a bit of an imbalance. Or maybe there's always an opposite flow somewhere else, a bit like communicating vessels but in multiple dimensions..
Meanwhile, back in the real world, I got a parking ticket:-/
When I travel I won't need 2 screens anyway (gets a bit difficult in a plane:-), so I use the laptop for showing docs.
Under Windows it runs UltraVNC and the main screen has Win2vnc installed, any combination with Linux uses x2vnc and if it's all Linux you can use x2x.
I can see myself buy a 2nd screen pretty soon though (a wide one), I now have cards with digital out in all my systems (OK, it's pointless in the server but it's a test system so it can be used for anything:-)
Having said all that, I sometimes find it handy to dump the complete manual on tree and sit in the sun reading my way through it..
I mean, with the thoughtful, intelligent way they approach their evidence gathering I think that'll be their only option. Call it the SCO approach: we want to see all your trade secrets without real evidence you need it on charges that are so hard to prove it's a bit of a challenge finding where to start.
And there too, the intention is not find the guilty at all - it's intimidation for money.
I can see this is a tactic of executives that know their income is safe: I have yet to see any business that survives suing its customers. And in this case they're targeting their future customers, so well done for bright ideas. Almost as bright as putting rootkits into disks.
"If one browser worked the way I wanted, all the time, then the other two would get deleted."
I have found only one single reason to hang on to IE, I have the displeasure to sometimes need ActiveX. If it wasn't for that I would have stopped using IE long ago. However, here again it's a choice for best fit. In a Win only world you would just be stuck with IE..
As for choice on word processors, I like OpenOffice better than Word, but that's because its word prediction feature is something I use almost daily. And my spreadsheet needs do not exceed Calc:-).
If you look at the overall picture there's almost no reason why I should stick with Windows either, and I don't - my desktop is running more and more time in Ubuntu:-).
Does that make me a Linux fanboy? Umm, yes, probably. I simply like things that work, and for me (as in 'for me PERSONALLY') Ubuntu does the job better than Windows. May not apply to everyone (nor would I say that), but it works best for me..
I'm not convinced the article provides a solid basis for blaming choice as a problem.
I have yet to see people try to find a new toolset every time they build a platform. Usually, an IT shop decided on which tools it will use to do the job (including which hardware, code language and dev framework) and will stick with that choice, simply because that's where their expertise lies. Only when the toolset is not up to the job or there is a simpler/better way to address the task at hand will there be a re-examination and/or switch, and such changes are in both environments (Win/FOSS) also driven by the people doing the job doing the usual looking around for ideas and products - that's simply part of the work (did I just argue that Slashdot reading is essential? Yes!:-)).
After that it's learning how to maximise your use of the toolset and work around the problems with it, and that tends to result in some branching out from the default platform as well. Do MS shows only use 100% MS code? IF SM had their way, sure, but life's not like that. The only difference with an MS shop is that experimenting doesn't immediately cost license fees and instantly creates the risk of a FAST visit being successful, but that too is an issue hat can be managed.
So this 'choice' is a starting issue, not a live ops issue.
The challenge of a monoculture is not that it's mono, it's about who controls the direction. An MS monoculture doesn't really to be driven by user need, witness the heap of crap that is Vista, and the total mess they made of the different versions of.Net. From an IT strategy point of view you're better off with a direction that YOU set, not the vendor. Not only is it cheaper, it's also less driven by a vendor's need to flog new products.
At that point you can start asking questions about true business benefits and TCO.
From a failure potential this one would probably break the previous nuclear pollution record if it goes wrong. Stuff dependencies on something as unreliable as wind, no, take good old trusty flowing water to carry pollution as far as possible. Also has the advantage that you can't hide from it because most people still have to drink, and plenty of fish will store the pollution for years to come.
Ah, what a (literally) glowing tribute to stupidity that would make: the Chernoboat..
(BTW, it's going to need one heck of an extension lead)
Get an Ubuntu base, which sorts out most of the driver problems etc (and with Beryl you can do a LOT more than with Aero), then install XP in a VMware shell so it's at least a bit stable and you can just roll back any virus infections..
That's what I have to do on a new laptop that doesn't even have XP drivers available (Vaio SZ4XWN)- Ubuntu to the rescue. And it's just sooo delightful to zap Windows &%$£^ Vista. I have NEVER had a version of Windows that was so incredibly useless. I mean, even an unpatched copy of Worries for Workgroups works better (hmm, would be interesting to see how fast that works in a VM - should positively fly:))
If they got you to THINK "that's nice" you have maybe a problem:-)
But seriously, I agree with the underlying tone (at least, that's what I sense), being rude and obnoxious may offer a bit of short term relief but is hardly going to help change the situation. Staying cool and examining the facts for loopholes is far more effective:-).
I'm fine with them fixing this rootkit. That means it only has to be broken once, not twice.
And God help them if I find it on any Windows system I'm working with - if there is as much as a hairline crack in the legal statements made on the DVD they'll be in court again soon. That is, of course, if any of the systems I work with gets near a Sony produced DVD because there will now be an absolute ban of them.
I can't believe that a company that on one hand can make such excellent equipment can on the other hand screw up so completely that it simply defies belief. I mean, are clues too expensive? Did someone have a brain transplant? Is there nobody at the top actually *using* their head?
Thanks for that, will have a look. Interesting to see that any FOSS project that starts to sprout commercial locks end up creating a fork. That's actually quite a wasteful bit of duplication:-(.
Let's start with the premise that SQL Ledger was very obviously scratching a well spread itch - it did have quite a take up and even I was looking at it. So credit to Dieter for addressing a need in a way that obviously got him 'customers'.
However, the accounting system is the financial heart of a company so I decided to lurk on the mailing list and see what was going on, and eventually I asked a few questions where I felt there were issues. There are 2 things to note here:
(1) the list if fully moderated, so no post will go online unless approved by Dieter (AFAIK). (2) I was simply asking from the perspective of a potential user.
There were two results:
(1) I didn't really get the answers that I was looking for (2) I was emailed privately that it could be worth it for me to look at LedgerSMB.
When I looked at LedgerSMB I noticed that, first of all, they fully acknowledged the origin of their code and credited the author for the work and, secondly, that their stated aim was to make it even better, with a roadmap I couldn't find in SQL Ledger.
So, I don't actually know how the original author was character wise until I saw that message in the "new" GPL2 license, but by that time I'd already decided for LedgerSMB because their mailing list is far more active (lively, even:-) ), and communicates openly (they don't moderate as soon as you register). The whole tone inspired more confidence.
So, up until that point I had a little preference for LedgerSMB. After what Dieter did with the license, however, there is no way I would use SQL Ledger. I already have MS to contend with (until I get every desktop on Linux), I don't need another business risk - especially when you then later discover that there are security issues with the SQL Ledger where the author appears to have the idea that the insider threat is nothing to worry about.
Well, I have first hand experience of that being the wrong stance.
So, yes, Dieter has shot himself in the foot with this. Stupid.
I love the fact (in a sarcastic sort of way) that they break compatibility with the tools you need for everyday use, but on the other hand keep "edlin" as part of the code base. I kid you not - go to the command line and type 'edlin'. Incredible..
The guys at LedgerSMB had exactly the same problem, and they're busy cleaning up the code. Their stance is different as they provide a service, not software, and they make more sense re Open Source approach to code.
I think the root problem is that the SQL Ledger guy didn't realise what Open Source meant when he 'opened' it. LedgerSMB seems more focused on simply being a reasonable product, and their focus is the SME market who coul dnever afford the gazillion dollar programs..
and intentionally didn't tell his contributors who kept making valuable contributions
To be fair to the guy, he wasn't very keen to take in contributions so that doesn't seem to be a huge problem. I think he could have just been a bit clearer about his intentions, and that includes the realisation that Open Sourcing may not have been quite what he intended to do.
Oh, and acting when angry isn't a good thing either, but we've all been there, I think:-).
The prime problem I can see is that he did something surreptitiously. Any savvy end user is going to ask questions at that point..
No, that wasn't emotional, that was a fact. Gagging in this case refers to posts querying the change or motive (or even mentioning the very fact) of the change were moderated out so the userbase was kept unaware.
I think the bottomline appears to be that the guy Open Sourced something and didn't quite understood the consequences. And it's easy to stack mistake on mistake once you're on the wrong foot..
Having followed both mailing lists I must say that the LedgerSMB one is very lively indeed - and has more people visible in development. That doesn't mean I don't feel sorry for the original author, but I think he may need a bit of a spokesperson between him and the rest of the world..
I guess the prime challenge would be to find a non-radiated spot and see if bees there thrive. The problem is, we all wanted 100% coverage so it's going to be hard to find such a place that also appeals to bees..
Having said that, the theory isn't that alien IMHO. A bee doesn't exactly have a large body to dissipate radiation with - as it's smaller it has a larger surface to volume ratio..
Well, I'm not just a Linux fanboy. I've also used OS/2, Novell, PowerLAN, AIX, HP-UX, Solaris, OpenBSD.. Hell, I've even used DoubleDOS, and I've been using Windows since Worries for Workgroups 3.11 in LAn and WAN settings.
I use what works for me, and that's where the trouble starts. I did not/choose/ for Vista, I had it rammed down my throat when my Sony laptop failed (which, meanwhile, the repair service has lost so that's going to be fun) - there aren't even XP drivers for the machine. I really could do without another two weeks of digging out where the hell they had moved things to this time, mysterious crashes, software that doesn't work because it makes more money for MS to remove compatibility (although, bizarrely, 'edlin' is still there), hardware that hasn't moved but is suddenly not recognised, WiFi interfaces disappearing after a suspend, a hibernation that doesn't - I can go on. Oh yes, it starts quicker. It has to when it crashes so much - and when you need to carry a spare battery as battery life is 50% of what it's supposed to be. Yet, like quite a bit of hardware, it has been granted the right to state that it is Vista ready. Who's kidding who?
Apart from that, I've worked with some serious hardware, but from a business perspective that should give me some bang for the buck. If I have to spend a fortune on hardware so that an animated cursor feature can put me at risk because it can be hacked I should start to ask myself some questions. And I have.
The usability issue is manufactured, and is faithfully taken out of the cupboard and dusted every time there is a new Windows release (or downgrade, take your pick). Linux isn't anymore about a command line as KDE and Gnome do a decent job. KDE is actually focused on the "Windows way" of working. And there is that one big, no, HUGE advantage from a UI perspective: it practically doesn't change (and neither does Open Office) per version. So, with an update I/STILL/ don't have to retrain staff and lose weeks of productivity whilst everyone figures out where everything has gone. You see, the MS marketing team conveniently omits one critical fact from their marketing waffle about how much time it's going to save you: it may save you time in the long run, but you'll never make up for the sum total of what you lost adopting a new forced way of working.
This laptop will run Ubuntu soon, with a little bit of XP in VMWare. I know that that WILL work.
Slashdot Mirror
You don't fix systems that large by throwing technology at it.
Unless you fix the setup structurally so it's managed in a decent way instead of by deadbeats and get a consistent strategy and approach in place you'll be throwing money away as you're not fixing the real problem.
The irony is that fixing the real problem would be a huge money saver as well - but that would stop several gravy trains at once, of course..
If they'd just ignored it it would have been a nuisance. Now it's a publicity boost and a REAL problem.
It demonstrates that these teachers seem to combine a lack of knowledge about how to deal with students with a lack of knowledge on how to manage publicity as it makes it appear they have something to hide (and they should have known that shutting down the site isn't going to solve this as many others will spring up instead). Duh.
0 marks out of 10 for demonstrating values.
I was quite looking forward to it until I found out it won't allow 3rd party apps. I can only speak for myself, but that killed any chance I'd buy one. No device is ever perfect so a degree of customisation is simply required to make it work for the end user. So, I myself am not part of its target market, but I can live with that :-)
Let's downgrade the competition so we can actually compete again..
Sorry, not now I for the first time in quite some time have found a reason to maybe recommend Dell. It most certainly is NOT going to be Sony anymore, their repair service is so bad I can hardly describe it in polite terms..
A while back I was under the impression that only Cable & Wireless still had a fleet capable of laying such cables, but I haven't kept up with it. Who does the actual bedding of the cable this time?
I found the whole technology involved rather impressive..
If a black hole could port stuff from our Universe elsewhere there's really no argument to stop the reverse being true either.
:-/
This would, however, mean that the laws about preserving mass, energy etc. must have a bigger scope, or those holes could cause quite a bit of an imbalance. Or maybe there's always an opposite flow somewhere else, a bit like communicating vessels but in multiple dimensions..
Meanwhile, back in the real world, I got a parking ticket
Under Windows it runs UltraVNC and the main screen has Win2vnc installed, any combination with Linux uses x2vnc and if it's all Linux you can use x2x.
I can see myself buy a 2nd screen pretty soon though (a wide one), I now have cards with digital out in all my systems (OK, it's pointless in the server but it's a test system so it can be used for anything :-)
Having said all that, I sometimes find it handy to dump the complete manual on tree and sit in the sun reading my way through it..
I mean, with the thoughtful, intelligent way they approach their evidence gathering I think that'll be their only option. Call it the SCO approach: we want to see all your trade secrets without real evidence you need it on charges that are so hard to prove it's a bit of a challenge finding where to start.
And there too, the intention is not find the guilty at all - it's intimidation for money.
I can see this is a tactic of executives that know their income is safe: I have yet to see any business that survives suing its customers. And in this case they're targeting their future customers, so well done for bright ideas. Almost as bright as putting rootkits into disks.
On a more serious note, you must keep in mind that M$FT has been at this a *little* bit longer than Google.
:-)
Besides, their execs look better and don't throw furniture around
No {bash} I was only kidding {OW}, it was a {UGH} joke! Stop hitting me!
:-)
I have found only one single reason to hang on to IE, I have the displeasure to sometimes need ActiveX. If it wasn't for that I would have stopped using IE long ago. However, here again it's a choice for best fit. In a Win only world you would just be stuck with IE..
As for choice on word processors, I like OpenOffice better than Word, but that's because its word prediction feature is something I use almost daily. And my spreadsheet needs do not exceed Calc
If you look at the overall picture there's almost no reason why I should stick with Windows either, and I don't - my desktop is running more and more time in Ubuntu :-).
Does that make me a Linux fanboy? Umm, yes, probably. I simply like things that work, and for me (as in 'for me PERSONALLY') Ubuntu does the job better than Windows. May not apply to everyone (nor would I say that), but it works best for me..
I'm not convinced the article provides a solid basis for blaming choice as a problem.
:-)).
.Net. From an IT strategy point of view you're better off with a direction that YOU set, not the vendor. Not only is it cheaper, it's also less driven by a vendor's need to flog new products.
I have yet to see people try to find a new toolset every time they build a platform. Usually, an IT shop decided on which tools it will use to do the job (including which hardware, code language and dev framework) and will stick with that choice, simply because that's where their expertise lies. Only when the toolset is not up to the job or there is a simpler/better way to address the task at hand will there be a re-examination and/or switch, and such changes are in both environments (Win/FOSS) also driven by the people doing the job doing the usual looking around for ideas and products - that's simply part of the work (did I just argue that Slashdot reading is essential? Yes!
After that it's learning how to maximise your use of the toolset and work around the problems with it, and that tends to result in some branching out from the default platform as well. Do MS shows only use 100% MS code? IF SM had their way, sure, but life's not like that. The only difference with an MS shop is that experimenting doesn't immediately cost license fees and instantly creates the risk of a FAST visit being successful, but that too is an issue hat can be managed.
So this 'choice' is a starting issue, not a live ops issue.
The challenge of a monoculture is not that it's mono, it's about who controls the direction. An MS monoculture doesn't really to be driven by user need, witness the heap of crap that is Vista, and the total mess they made of the different versions of
At that point you can start asking questions about true business benefits and TCO.
From a failure potential this one would probably break the previous nuclear pollution record if it goes wrong. Stuff dependencies on something as unreliable as wind, no, take good old trusty flowing water to carry pollution as far as possible. Also has the advantage that you can't hide from it because most people still have to drink, and plenty of fish will store the pollution for years to come.
Ah, what a (literally) glowing tribute to stupidity that would make: the Chernoboat..
(BTW, it's going to need one heck of an extension lead)
Get an Ubuntu base, which sorts out most of the driver problems etc (and with Beryl you can do a LOT more than with Aero), then install XP in a VMware shell so it's at least a bit stable and you can just roll back any virus infections..
:))
That's what I have to do on a new laptop that doesn't even have XP drivers available (Vaio SZ4XWN)- Ubuntu to the rescue. And it's just sooo delightful to zap Windows &%$£^ Vista. I have NEVER had a version of Windows that was so incredibly useless. I mean, even an unpatched copy of Worries for Workgroups works better (hmm, would be interesting to see how fast that works in a VM - should positively fly
If they got you to THINK "that's nice" you have maybe a problem :-)
:-).
But seriously, I agree with the underlying tone (at least, that's what I sense), being rude and obnoxious may offer a bit of short term relief but is hardly going to help change the situation. Staying cool and examining the facts for loopholes is far more effective
I'm fine with them fixing this rootkit. That means it only has to be broken once, not twice.
And God help them if I find it on any Windows system I'm working with - if there is as much as a hairline crack in the legal statements made on the DVD they'll be in court again soon. That is, of course, if any of the systems I work with gets near a Sony produced DVD because there will now be an absolute ban of them.
I can't believe that a company that on one hand can make such excellent equipment can on the other hand screw up so completely that it simply defies belief. I mean, are clues too expensive? Did someone have a brain transplant? Is there nobody at the top actually *using* their head?
Hello?
Thanks for that, will have a look. Interesting to see that any FOSS project that starts to sprout commercial locks end up creating a fork. That's actually quite a wasteful bit of duplication :-(.
If Compiere would run on something like PostgreSQL I'd be very interested in it. The Oracle requirement took it straight out of my list.
Any of the above capable of handling weekly timesheets, with authorisation?
Let's start with the premise that SQL Ledger was very obviously scratching a well spread itch - it did have quite a take up and even I was looking at it. So credit to Dieter for addressing a need in a way that obviously got him 'customers'.
:-) ), and communicates openly (they don't moderate as soon as you register). The whole tone inspired more confidence.
However, the accounting system is the financial heart of a company so I decided to lurk on the mailing list and see what was going on, and eventually I asked a few questions where I felt there were issues. There are 2 things to note here:
(1) the list if fully moderated, so no post will go online unless approved by Dieter (AFAIK).
(2) I was simply asking from the perspective of a potential user.
There were two results:
(1) I didn't really get the answers that I was looking for
(2) I was emailed privately that it could be worth it for me to look at LedgerSMB.
When I looked at LedgerSMB I noticed that, first of all, they fully acknowledged the origin of their code and credited the author for the work and, secondly, that their stated aim was to make it even better, with a roadmap I couldn't find in SQL Ledger.
So, I don't actually know how the original author was character wise until I saw that message in the "new" GPL2 license, but by that time I'd already decided for LedgerSMB because their mailing list is far more active (lively, even
So, up until that point I had a little preference for LedgerSMB. After what Dieter did with the license, however, there is no way I would use SQL Ledger. I already have MS to contend with (until I get every desktop on Linux), I don't need another business risk - especially when you then later discover that there are security issues with the SQL Ledger where the author appears to have the idea that the insider threat is nothing to worry about.
Well, I have first hand experience of that being the wrong stance.
So, yes, Dieter has shot himself in the foot with this. Stupid.
I love the fact (in a sarcastic sort of way) that they break compatibility with the tools you need for everyday use, but on the other hand keep "edlin" as part of the code base. I kid you not - go to the command line and type 'edlin'. Incredible..
The guys at LedgerSMB had exactly the same problem, and they're busy cleaning up the code. Their stance is different as they provide a service, not software, and they make more sense re Open Source approach to code.
I think the root problem is that the SQL Ledger guy didn't realise what Open Source meant when he 'opened' it. LedgerSMB seems more focused on simply being a reasonable product, and their focus is the SME market who coul dnever afford the gazillion dollar programs..
To be fair to the guy, he wasn't very keen to take in contributions so that doesn't seem to be a huge problem. I think he could have just been a bit clearer about his intentions, and that includes the realisation that Open Sourcing may not have been quite what he intended to do.
Oh, and acting when angry isn't a good thing either, but we've all been there, I think
The prime problem I can see is that he did something surreptitiously. Any savvy end user is going to ask questions at that point..
No, that wasn't emotional, that was a fact. Gagging in this case refers to posts querying the change or motive (or even mentioning the very fact) of the change were moderated out so the userbase was kept unaware.
I think the bottomline appears to be that the guy Open Sourced something and didn't quite understood the consequences. And it's easy to stack mistake on mistake once you're on the wrong foot..
Having followed both mailing lists I must say that the LedgerSMB one is very lively indeed - and has more people visible in development. That doesn't mean I don't feel sorry for the original author, but I think he may need a bit of a spokesperson between him and the rest of the world..
From SwissInfo comes a similar story.
I guess the prime challenge would be to find a non-radiated spot and see if bees there thrive. The problem is, we all wanted 100% coverage so it's going to be hard to find such a place that also appeals to bees..
Having said that, the theory isn't that alien IMHO. A bee doesn't exactly have a large body to dissipate radiation with - as it's smaller it has a larger surface to volume ratio..
So, will there be(e) a market in Faraday hives?
Well, I'm not just a Linux fanboy. I've also used OS/2, Novell, PowerLAN, AIX, HP-UX, Solaris, OpenBSD.. Hell, I've even used DoubleDOS, and I've been using Windows since Worries for Workgroups 3.11 in LAn and WAN settings.
/choose/ for Vista, I had it rammed down my throat when my Sony laptop failed (which, meanwhile, the repair service has lost so that's going to be fun) - there aren't even XP drivers for the machine. I really could do without another two weeks of digging out where the hell they had moved things to this time, mysterious crashes, software that doesn't work because it makes more money for MS to remove compatibility (although, bizarrely, 'edlin' is still there), hardware that hasn't moved but is suddenly not recognised, WiFi interfaces disappearing after a suspend, a hibernation that doesn't - I can go on. Oh yes, it starts quicker. It has to when it crashes so much - and when you need to carry a spare battery as battery life is 50% of what it's supposed to be. Yet, like quite a bit of hardware, it has been granted the right to state that it is Vista ready. Who's kidding who?
/STILL/ don't have to retrain staff and lose weeks of productivity whilst everyone figures out where everything has gone. You see, the MS marketing team conveniently omits one critical fact from their marketing waffle about how much time it's going to save you: it may save you time in the long run, but you'll never make up for the sum total of what you lost adopting a new forced way of working.
I use what works for me, and that's where the trouble starts. I did not
Apart from that, I've worked with some serious hardware, but from a business perspective that should give me some bang for the buck. If I have to spend a fortune on hardware so that an animated cursor feature can put me at risk because it can be hacked I should start to ask myself some questions. And I have.
The usability issue is manufactured, and is faithfully taken out of the cupboard and dusted every time there is a new Windows release (or downgrade, take your pick). Linux isn't anymore about a command line as KDE and Gnome do a decent job. KDE is actually focused on the "Windows way" of working. And there is that one big, no, HUGE advantage from a UI perspective: it practically doesn't change (and neither does Open Office) per version. So, with an update I
This laptop will run Ubuntu soon, with a little bit of XP in VMWare. I know that that WILL work.