Shouldn't be a problem to take off from the power line. The electric motors used in R/C airplanes can generate enough thrust to hover a plane and all it's gear. Build the drone with two electric motors and counter rotating props and you could take off vertically (as well as hover) at full thrust (if that). Go up 50 feet, then turn off one of the motors to spin into nose dive position and kick the elevator to full climb to get back to horizontal flight. The great thing about R/C plans (and drones) is you can do crazy stunts that would make a human pilot motion sick, black out, or outright kill them.
Even if you secure the WiFi access point the information Google is interested in is still available. They are looking for the MAC address of the WiFi base station and the signal strength, then correlating that data with GPS data. The data they are interested in is not private data.
Oil spill cleanup technology hasn't advanced much. The equipment in use today is pretty much the same as in 1989. The advance in technology has occurred in preventing the oil spills in the first place. Impossible to determine how many spills have been prevented by improving systems over the past 20 years, the feats of engineering involved here will never get any credit. The failures that result in disaster on the other hand will be what we remember. That's the way the world works.
Problem with a new solution is dealing with all the legacy hardware out there for processing transactions. Retailers have to buy new readers that would support both old and new cards, or buy new readers and keep the old ones in service. Retailers profits are hurt.
Card Issuers could force the change over by only processing transactions with the new cards, but if retailers push back and not install new readers the Card Issuers profits take a hit.
Consumers would have to update as well. Some people just won't do it. Example: Old ladies who have an old card without a mag stripe and no expiration date in their deceased 25 years ago husbands name. Card issuers and retailers can either loose out on the transaction or make the sale.
A bit of a stalemate all around really until the cost of dealing with the fraud exceeds the cost of updating the hardware.
Gives real-time stock market quotes, forecasts the weather, beams distress signals from anywhere in the universe, and tells the time in over thirty-six thousand time zones. (from the back of the action figure box)
That's one of the positive aspects of Exchange Outlook Mobile Access over BlackBerry devices. With BlackBerry, carriers can block RIM's servers on the data network and only allow you access if you pay the extra charge every month. Outlook Mobile Access (Active Sync) runs over HTTPS, and corporations have their own exchange environment, making blocking access impossible for the carriers. Even better, ActiveSync client implementations on iPhone, Android, and PalmOS seem to be far superior to Microsoft's own implementation.
It's not crap. My brother is an airline pilot (First Officer) for a regional carrier owned by Delta. He is only on the clock when he's in the cockpit pulled away from the gate. Sitting around at the airport, walk around inspecting the plane, preflight check, etc. are all off the clock. When he's stuck overnight outside his home city he gets a fixed "per diem" wage to cover expenses. On paper, his on the clock wage is high for someone with his experience, in practice the hours spent in job related tasks vs. pay is low. Keep at it long and you'll be be a Senior Captain earning a nice paycheck, but that's in the distant future.
The lack of multitasking in the iPhone is an asset, not a shortcoming. It really reminds me of PalmOS.
Multitasking on Windows Mobile is a joke. Very few of the handsets have the resources needed to multitask well. Missing a phone call because you have too many apps running sucks. We rolled out a number of PalmPre recently, and most users didn't like them. The few who did took time to read the manual and learn how to properly use the device. Don't have any experience with Android myself.
The great thing about the iPhone is that it remembers that it's a phone, and the functionality of the phone has priority over other things. If you're in an app and someone calls you, the phone takes over.
Windows Mobile is a Windows OS first, with software to run the phone hardware bolted on. The phone portion of the device competes equally with the other components.
The PalmPre is an iPhone competitor first, so competing with the iPhone is prioritized above everything else. Palm hasn't exactly figured out how to compete with the iPhone, so the bulleted list for feature by feature comparison is the focus here.
My feeling is Android is a Google Project first. It's own kind of beast due to the open nature I think.
XP Mode is nothing special, it is just the latest version of Virtual PC, and a pre-configured Windows XP VM, and a clause in the Windows 7 OS license that grants you the rights for no additional cost. For the most part Windows XP mode isn't needed at all. I've run into a single application so far that I need WinXP mode for, and that application has issues on all 64 bit editions of Windows including WinXP 64. It works fine on every 32bit edition of Windows including Windows 7.
I don't see Windows XP taking off in a large enterprise do to the IT management issues. In addition to maintaining the Window 7 host OS, and keep it up to date, and supplying it with Anti-Virus, you also have to keep the Windows XP mode VM up to date with Windows XP patches, Anti-Virus software, etc. Windows XP mode is a bridge to get MS customers running old or custom applications that do not run on Windows Vista or 7 to upgrade while they plan their migration to up to date software.
In larger enterprises and installations where security is an issue, Citrix, Terminal Services, and enterprise visualization technologies will preempt use of Windows XP mode.
Personally, I don't see the big deal in blocking advertising. Most good sites aren't too in your face about it and it helps keep them running. I haven't run ABP in years because of it and I've found some of the ads to be useful.
Following the same logic (sites need revenue from ads to stay operational) I too did not use the Adblock Plus add in.
Until one day when I was served the most annoying ad ever. I was attempting to read an lengthy article while listening to my favorite internet stream at the time, when my ears were assaulted with a sound that made GSM interference sound pleasant.
On the page with the lengthy article I was planning to read, I was presented with a "punch the monkey" type flash ad. Only this ad was hit some evil ninja villain. The Flash ad was the source of the horrendous noise. The Flash programmer had set the the thing to loop infinitely and disable all of the flash plug-ins controls. Every time I refreshed the web page the same ad was served up again.
That's when I changed my position. I loaded up NoScript and Adblock Plus, and this annoyance was no more. I've never looked back. I was pushed too far, and it won't happen again. Ever.
All the funny cat videos on You Tube have yet to top the hilarity of drunken squirrels falling out of trees, missing jumps from one tree to another, or running full out across the open ground with a half eaten slice of pizza only to run face first into a brick wall. Ah campus life near the frat houses. OK it won't solve your rat problem but it could at least add some amusement.;)
Similar to previous upgrade programs. The goal is minimizing the number of end users who may postpone purchasing a new computer because of the next version of Windows will be released soon.
Buy an eligible new PC with Windows Vista (Home Premium, Business, or Ultimate) and get a free upgrade to Windows 7 when it's released.
No free upgrade to anyone who currently has Vista, and the program doesn't exist yet so no free upgrade if you buy a new PC tomorrow.
OS X is close to being right. Two versions: Client and Server. Windows has how many versions for client and then mutiple different editions for server...argh! The KISS principle does not apply to Microsoft apparently. Personally I would like to see three editions...
1. Retail/Home/OEM/whatever that ships with computers you would buy at retail. 2. Business - basically the same as version #1, but only basics are installed. No media center, Windows Live, Games, etc. 3. Server.
To make matters worse, Microsoft has two different versions targeted for business. Windows Business, which is for SMB sector, and Enterprise, which is the same as Business except it adds full Multi-language Interface (MUI) support so you can install one version of Windows across your entire enterprise instead of localized versions of Business. My life would be much easier at times if I could use Enterprise, but it's only available if you have a full Microsoft Enterprise licensing agreement. Our company (Fortune 500) only has a MS Select.:-/
Thin Clients definitely seem like the way to go for general use. A good thin client (say a WYSE terminal or similar) will get you many more years of service than a standard desktop, and when dealing with hundreds or even thousands of computers you can be assured that they are all up to date, or at least up to date as the servers that are serving the clients are.
There will be some applications where a thin client is not the ideal solution, depending on your school. Heavy multimedia use, CAD, or school newspaper may require something other than a a thin client, a desktop, workstation, or even a Mac. The school library/media center may need a desktop solution for accessing DVD based encyclopedias, etc.
Your wiring will be important. Get it done right the first time around. Switches can be easily swapped, but the cabling running through the walls is rarely changed once installed. Contract with a certified infrastructure installer.
Decide on the standards for the various configurations up front. Thin clients may be your default, but what will the configurations for a non-thin client Windows PC be? Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7? What will your standard Mac configurations be? Define the process for obtaining an exception to the thin client default.
Start with your server hardware. Most Dell servers have a Dell Remote Access Card which allows you to get a full console (including BIOS and power on options) via web page. Performance of the full GUI over a slow link is marginal however. I'm sure other server vendors have similar options.
Also or alternatively, look for BMC controllers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseboard_management_controller) and IPMI interfaces (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_Platform_Management_Interface).
From there address further needs with RS232, Telnet, SSH, etc. Step up to RDP and VNC for GUI needs.
Another one to be aware of is Michigan Republicans using lists of foreclosures in the precinct and challenging a voters eligibility to vote based on that list. NPR Story, Michigan Messenger Story.
If you're concerned about this, look up your states Voter Eligibility and Identification Requirements on a state.XX.us website. Print out a copy and bring them with you. If you're challenged, challenge them right back and stand up for fellow citizens around you who are being unfairly challenged.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm over thinking it. Here's a R/C plane going from VTOL to normal flight and back to VTOL.
http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=1322
Shouldn't be a problem to take off from the power line. The electric motors used in R/C airplanes can generate enough thrust to hover a plane and all it's gear. Build the drone with two electric motors and counter rotating props and you could take off vertically (as well as hover) at full thrust (if that). Go up 50 feet, then turn off one of the motors to spin into nose dive position and kick the elevator to full climb to get back to horizontal flight. The great thing about R/C plans (and drones) is you can do crazy stunts that would make a human pilot motion sick, black out, or outright kill them.
Even if you secure the WiFi access point the information Google is interested in is still available. They are looking for the MAC address of the WiFi base station and the signal strength, then correlating that data with GPS data. The data they are interested in is not private data.
Oil spill cleanup technology hasn't advanced much. The equipment in use today is pretty much the same as in 1989. The advance in technology has occurred in preventing the oil spills in the first place. Impossible to determine how many spills have been prevented by improving systems over the past 20 years, the feats of engineering involved here will never get any credit. The failures that result in disaster on the other hand will be what we remember. That's the way the world works.
Everyone who knows how to deal with an oil well at this depth works for the oil companies. Other oil companies are assisting.
It's simple. Everyone who knows how to deal with oil wells at this depth works for the oil companies.
Problem with a new solution is dealing with all the legacy hardware out there for processing transactions. Retailers have to buy new readers that would support both old and new cards, or buy new readers and keep the old ones in service. Retailers profits are hurt.
Card Issuers could force the change over by only processing transactions with the new cards, but if retailers push back and not install new readers the Card Issuers profits take a hit.
Consumers would have to update as well. Some people just won't do it. Example: Old ladies who have an old card without a mag stripe and no expiration date in their deceased 25 years ago husbands name. Card issuers and retailers can either loose out on the transaction or make the sale.
A bit of a stalemate all around really until the cost of dealing with the fraud exceeds the cost of updating the hardware.
I wonder how many pieces of tape have been applied to the lenses of the web cams on these laptops in light of the various news stories...
Gives real-time stock market quotes, forecasts the weather, beams distress signals from anywhere in the universe, and tells the time in over thirty-six thousand time zones. (from the back of the action figure box)
Rock.
Scissors.
Paper.
Lizard.
Spock.
That's one of the positive aspects of Exchange Outlook Mobile Access over BlackBerry devices. With BlackBerry, carriers can block RIM's servers on the data network and only allow you access if you pay the extra charge every month. Outlook Mobile Access (Active Sync) runs over HTTPS, and corporations have their own exchange environment, making blocking access impossible for the carriers. Even better, ActiveSync client implementations on iPhone, Android, and PalmOS seem to be far superior to Microsoft's own implementation.
It's not crap. My brother is an airline pilot (First Officer) for a regional carrier owned by Delta. He is only on the clock when he's in the cockpit pulled away from the gate. Sitting around at the airport, walk around inspecting the plane, preflight check, etc. are all off the clock. When he's stuck overnight outside his home city he gets a fixed "per diem" wage to cover expenses. On paper, his on the clock wage is high for someone with his experience, in practice the hours spent in job related tasks vs. pay is low. Keep at it long and you'll be be a Senior Captain earning a nice paycheck, but that's in the distant future.
The lack of multitasking in the iPhone is an asset, not a shortcoming. It really reminds me of PalmOS.
Multitasking on Windows Mobile is a joke. Very few of the handsets have the resources needed to multitask well. Missing a phone call because you have too many apps running sucks. We rolled out a number of PalmPre recently, and most users didn't like them. The few who did took time to read the manual and learn how to properly use the device. Don't have any experience with Android myself.
The great thing about the iPhone is that it remembers that it's a phone, and the functionality of the phone has priority over other things. If you're in an app and someone calls you, the phone takes over.
Windows Mobile is a Windows OS first, with software to run the phone hardware bolted on. The phone portion of the device competes equally with the other components.
The PalmPre is an iPhone competitor first, so competing with the iPhone is prioritized above everything else. Palm hasn't exactly figured out how to compete with the iPhone, so the bulleted list for feature by feature comparison is the focus here.
My feeling is Android is a Google Project first. It's own kind of beast due to the open nature I think.
XP Mode is nothing special, it is just the latest version of Virtual PC, and a pre-configured Windows XP VM, and a clause in the Windows 7 OS license that grants you the rights for no additional cost. For the most part Windows XP mode isn't needed at all. I've run into a single application so far that I need WinXP mode for, and that application has issues on all 64 bit editions of Windows including WinXP 64. It works fine on every 32bit edition of Windows including Windows 7.
I don't see Windows XP taking off in a large enterprise do to the IT management issues. In addition to maintaining the Window 7 host OS, and keep it up to date, and supplying it with Anti-Virus, you also have to keep the Windows XP mode VM up to date with Windows XP patches, Anti-Virus software, etc. Windows XP mode is a bridge to get MS customers running old or custom applications that do not run on Windows Vista or 7 to upgrade while they plan their migration to up to date software.
In larger enterprises and installations where security is an issue, Citrix, Terminal Services, and enterprise visualization technologies will preempt use of Windows XP mode.
Personally, I don't see the big deal in blocking advertising. Most good sites aren't too in your face about it and it helps keep them running. I haven't run ABP in years because of it and I've found some of the ads to be useful.
Following the same logic (sites need revenue from ads to stay operational) I too did not use the Adblock Plus add in.
Until one day when I was served the most annoying ad ever. I was attempting to read an lengthy article while listening to my favorite internet stream at the time, when my ears were assaulted with a sound that made GSM interference sound pleasant.
On the page with the lengthy article I was planning to read, I was presented with a "punch the monkey" type flash ad. Only this ad was hit some evil ninja villain. The Flash ad was the source of the horrendous noise. The Flash programmer had set the the thing to loop infinitely and disable all of the flash plug-ins controls. Every time I refreshed the web page the same ad was served up again.
That's when I changed my position. I loaded up NoScript and Adblock Plus, and this annoyance was no more. I've never looked back. I was pushed too far, and it won't happen again. Ever.
A rat's incisors also grow at a frightening rate (2.2 - 2.8 mm a week on average) so they have to gnaw on stuff to wear them down.
All the funny cat videos on You Tube have yet to top the hilarity of drunken squirrels falling out of trees, missing jumps from one tree to another, or running full out across the open ground with a half eaten slice of pizza only to run face first into a brick wall. Ah campus life near the frat houses. OK it won't solve your rat problem but it could at least add some amusement. ;)
Similar to previous upgrade programs. The goal is minimizing the number of end users who may postpone purchasing a new computer because of the next version of Windows will be released soon.
Buy an eligible new PC with Windows Vista (Home Premium, Business, or Ultimate) and get a free upgrade to Windows 7 when it's released.
No free upgrade to anyone who currently has Vista, and the program doesn't exist yet so no free upgrade if you buy a new PC tomorrow.
No free upgrade for Windows XP...
Absolutely nothing unexpected here.
OS X is close to being right. Two versions: Client and Server. Windows has how many versions for client and then mutiple different editions for server...argh! The KISS principle does not apply to Microsoft apparently. Personally I would like to see three editions...
1. Retail/Home/OEM/whatever that ships with computers you would buy at retail.
2. Business - basically the same as version #1, but only basics are installed. No media center, Windows Live, Games, etc.
3. Server.
To make matters worse, Microsoft has two different versions targeted for business. Windows Business, which is for SMB sector, and Enterprise, which is the same as Business except it adds full Multi-language Interface (MUI) support so you can install one version of Windows across your entire enterprise instead of localized versions of Business. My life would be much easier at times if I could use Enterprise, but it's only available if you have a full Microsoft Enterprise licensing agreement. Our company (Fortune 500) only has a MS Select. :-/
Thin Clients definitely seem like the way to go for general use. A good thin client (say a WYSE terminal or similar) will get you many more years of service than a standard desktop, and when dealing with hundreds or even thousands of computers you can be assured that they are all up to date, or at least up to date as the servers that are serving the clients are.
There will be some applications where a thin client is not the ideal solution, depending on your school. Heavy multimedia use, CAD, or school newspaper may require something other than a a thin client, a desktop, workstation, or even a Mac. The school library/media center may need a desktop solution for accessing DVD based encyclopedias, etc.
Your wiring will be important. Get it done right the first time around. Switches can be easily swapped, but the cabling running through the walls is rarely changed once installed. Contract with a certified infrastructure installer.
Decide on the standards for the various configurations up front. Thin clients may be your default, but what will the configurations for a non-thin client Windows PC be? Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7? What will your standard Mac configurations be? Define the process for obtaining an exception to the thin client default.
Parent was referring to DIVX not DivX.
A letter from President Bush without misspellings would be an obvious scam. Clever Nigerians.
Start with your server hardware. Most Dell servers have a Dell Remote Access Card which allows you to get a full console (including BIOS and power on options) via web page. Performance of the full GUI over a slow link is marginal however. I'm sure other server vendors have similar options.
Also or alternatively, look for BMC controllers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseboard_management_controller) and IPMI interfaces (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_Platform_Management_Interface).
From there address further needs with RS232, Telnet, SSH, etc. Step up to RDP and VNC for GUI needs.
Another one to be aware of is Michigan Republicans using lists of foreclosures in the precinct and challenging a voters eligibility to vote based on that list. NPR Story, Michigan Messenger Story.
If you're concerned about this, look up your states Voter Eligibility and Identification Requirements on a state.XX.us website. Print out a copy and bring them with you. If you're challenged, challenge them right back and stand up for fellow citizens around you who are being unfairly challenged.
The benefit is the government can auction off rights to the freed radio spectrum for billions of dollars.
And it's digital. Duh.