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User: NineNine

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  1. Re:Rivalry in the area on NCSU/Red Hat "Open Source University" · · Score: 1

    Chris, I should've known. You showed me Solaris for the first time. My bad. I did know that it at least wasn't AIX. What was Gibbs?

  2. Re:Rivalry in the area on NCSU/Red Hat "Open Source University" · · Score: 1

    That's not true. UNC (Chapel Hill, I'm assuming is what you're talking about, since that's where SunSite is) does, indeed, have a CS department. They have for a while now. UNC is also definately a proponent of Open Source, but they're a bit more practical, in that they're not shoving it down all of the students' throats. And actually, UNC's shell accounts are running under HP-UX, I believe.

    - A former UNC-CH OIT employee

  3. $60?? on How Do Companies Pay for "On-Call" Support? · · Score: 1

    $60? Are you serious? No way. That's pretty pathetic. One way to do it is just to offer to pay an on-call person a double hourly rate for all-on call hours he/she works. That way, the management sees it in the bottom line, and you'll definately find people who wouldn't mind being on-call.

  4. Re:MP3 Box on Linux-Based Home Services Server · · Score: 1

    No, actually an MP3 box would be useful as hell. I need a box to play my CD's full of MP3s on. I sure as hell don't download music, then sit in fron tof the damn computer to listen to it. Right now, I can either A. Run a long wire to my stereo or B. Take a lot of time to convert my MP3s to standard CD audio. Think about it!

  5. This is stupid on Massachusetts Universities To Require Laptops · · Score: 1

    This is truly a stupid idea. What's the point, exactly? To boost Dell's sales? Hell, I'm a computer professional (a damn successful one, if I do say so myself), and I don't have a laptop. Why? I don't need one! Why do college kids? What is the possible benefit of typing notes as opposed to writing them? Is it so that they can be entertained with porn while they're in class? This seems like a totally brainless decision on the part of the University's administration.

  6. Re:Don't whine on Aristotle, Dilbert And The Working Life · · Score: 1

    The problems addressed by this article don't concern the future of work. Even if they did, there's no difference between contract and 'permanent' work. With 'permanent' jobs, in most parts of the US at least, the employees can be let go just as quickly and easily as contractors. You're fooling yourself if you think that getting your paycheck through the end company rather than a head shop provides any security.

    Paid vacations? Benefits? Sorry, but last time I checked, none of that was worth a 50% pay cut. Unless of course, you're a permanent employee with 5 months of vacation a year, and your health insurance provides for your own, private staff of neurosurgeons on-call. No. The myth of the happy 'permanent' worker is long since dead. That's the Dilbert mentality.

  7. Don't whine on Aristotle, Dilbert And The Working Life · · Score: 1

    There's absolutely no reason in this economy to whine about work. If you don't like where you are, feel free to go elsewhere. It's been easier to find a job now than it ever has been in history... and high-paying ones, too! Even better, it's easy for tech workers to be contract workers. Contract workers get twice the pay, and have none of the stress of 'permanent' employees. No. There's absolutely no reason to whine about work.

  8. Let the free market sort it out! on Why Not To Meter Internet Access · · Score: 1

    Let the free market sort it out! This is along the same lines of the Impending Internet Traffic Jam of Doom that was prophesized years ago. Of course, market forces made the big pipes bigger. No problem. No, market forces will continue to guide Internet access. AOL users are generally light users. They pay for x number of hours each month. DSL users pay a larger, flat fee for a amount of bandwidth, for unlimited hours. There's nothing to do about this. It's not even an issue. The market will work it out.

  9. Re:Who cares. Just collect yer damn paycheck on Apache vs IIS in Performance? · · Score: 1

    And unprofessional.

  10. Re:Who cares. Just collect yer damn paycheck on Apache vs IIS in Performance? · · Score: 1

    That's just silly.

  11. Re:Who cares. Just collect yer damn paycheck on Apache vs IIS in Performance? · · Score: 1

    Bingo! I'd moderate this up if I could. I'm of the same sentiment. I'm a developer. My boss tells me what to code, and how to code it. I do it. I get my paycheck. I go home. I have a life.

  12. Re:Totally a matter of opinion. on Top 10 Most Important Tech People of the Decade · · Score: 1

    I think you meant subjective, not objective.

  13. This only impacts the dummies... on Techies Rampant on Drugs · · Score: 1

    ...who are stupid enough to work at startups on promises of optinos. I work very hard, and get paid very well, but I'm a contractor. I have no stress. I don't give a shit about work. I work my 40, then I go home. The stress is their own damn fault. Smart people don't stress about work.

  14. Re:Is caffeine a drug? on Techies Rampant on Drugs · · Score: 1

    Actually, it is, and it's very addicting. I was addicted for years in college. I had 3 days of sever withdrawl when I quit. I had to quit because it was making me sick (doctor's orders). Caffeine is bad shit. You just won't hear that coming from the soft drink or coffee industries.

  15. Re:it probably won't get too much better on Management To Blame For IT Worker Shortage? · · Score: 1

    No. I'm one of those people who doesn't care. I couldn't care less about computers. I'm in it for the money. I still do a good job, because I want to continue to work for my outrageously high hourly rate. That's how the market works. I don't have to like what I do to be good at it and make lots of money.

  16. Re:Some problems in IT... on Management To Blame For IT Worker Shortage? · · Score: 1

    No. I'm a contractor. I work when I want, how much I want, and the rate I want. Only permanent employees get screwed. That's your choice.

  17. No way. This guy's fringe on Jaron Lanier Takes On "Cybernetic Totalists" · · Score: 1

    No way. This guy's in the fringe of uber-geeks, and the people he's talking about are in the fringe. There will always be super-geeks who thnk this way, but it will never be mainstream. I don't think that we have too much to worry about. He's clearly an academic who's out of touch with the real world.

  18. Re:Libertarians? No big business ties? on The Last Days Of Politics · · Score: 1

    You're right. Corporations #1 motive is profit. But that usually works out better than the government, whose motive is what, exactly? Protecting themselves? You mention the environment. We have the US Forest Service 'maintaining' the forests in the Rockies (which are either constantly overcrowded, or burning down) and we have the paper companies maintaining their private forests properly. Why? Not because they love you. But because it makes them the most money to be smart about conservation.

    Libertarians do not want to abolish government completely. They just want enough of it to exist as to protect their citizens from harm. That's it. It's a very simple idea. We don't need the government 'regulating' drugs, or 'regulating' the phone industry or 'regulating' my right to download porn. Check out http://www.lp.org you'll be surprised to see how rational the Libertarians actually are.

  19. Re:Libertarians? No big business ties? on The Last Days Of Politics · · Score: 1

    Yes, as long as the government is still accountable to the society. "Big business" is only accountable to its investors, who tend to be more well-to-do than the "typical" member of society.

    That's untrue. Especially today. the typical investor is much closer to the average American citizen, I'd say, than is the average voter. Besides, who is government accountable to? They're accountable to special interest groups. The AARP and the NRA and NOW. Average Joe Schmoe has virtually no power in elections. But, average Joe Schmoe owns a few shares of a Magellan or Fidelity Fun, which more than likely is a majority holder in several Forbes 500 companies. In this case, the companies are directly accountable to the consumers. No, you're kidding yourself if you think that voting has a greater impact than being a consumer.

    Hardly. All they proved is that a centrally-controlled economy isn't all that efficient.

    And the government controlling big business is what, if not 'centrally-controlled'? As far as big business working "well", all big business is good for is making money for its investors. If its actions start hurting the society in general, it should be destroyed and cut out, just like any parasitic cancerous growth.

    That doesn't exactly make sense, or fit in with the Constitution as I see it. The government has no right to arbitrarily sieze private property.

    I'm perfectly willing to live & let live, until some moron comes along & does something to hurt me or my family (steal my possessions, befoul my air & water, etc). When that happens, then I want them punished, to discourage them (and others) from doing it again - I certainly don't want them "left alone".

    So do I. That's what lawsuits are for. Happens all of the time. Look at tobacco companies. They're being sued into oblivion. I don't like what the government is doing with drug laws. Can I do something about it? Can I sue the government? No. I can get arrested.

    Look at real world examples. Think. In most cases, the coporations, while acting in their owners' best interests, DO have much better results than government. Again, that's exactly why this country is the most powreful in the world.

  20. Re:I knew it was Katz on The Last Days Of Politics · · Score: 1

    Quite honestly, this garbage that Katz is calling an article doesn't even warrant an kind of explination. It's so totally ridiculous, it's tough to poke holes in it, because that's all it is. That's like saying 'Please describe why you disagree with the statement "The sky is red"'. It's false. It's silly. Period. How do you counter that?

  21. It's current on The Shockwave Rider · · Score: 1

    It's current. Lots of disconnected people switching jobs and moving every few months? A nationwide communication network (cellular)? Paranoia over large databases? I don't know about you guys, but this future is now. Today. Here. It's not fiction any more. And it's probably not as bleak as the book portrays it, but it isn't a whole lot of fun, either.

  22. Re:Libertarians? No big business ties? on The Last Days Of Politics · · Score: 1

    You would rather have big government then big business? Sorry, but I think you're confused. Last I checked, but the fall of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and the huge success of the US has essentially proved that big government very bad, and big business works well. The Libertarians believe in as little government as possible. Private citizens (or entities, such as corporations) should be left alone. This has worked in the US for many years, but is starting to be changed by increasing government controls.

  23. Re:There's no need for politics on The Last Days Of Politics · · Score: 2

    That's not true. The Libertarians are very down-to-earth, reasonable people who have no big business or big-government ties. http://lp.org

  24. Re:But guys, at SOME point you have to pay... on The Madison Project: Inconvenience Vs. MP3s · · Score: 2

    No, this will balance out. As more people pirate, the quality will go down. Only crap will be out there (look at the free stuff on say, mp3.com). Then, eventually, people will be willing to go for a pay-per-play service once all that's available is pirated, free garbage. Supply and demand. It'll take care of itself. If, in 5 years, all I can d/l on Napster is free crap, I'll gladly pay-per-play good new stuff.

  25. Bad design on Gnutella Not Scaling? · · Score: 2

    Peer-to-peer searching was just a bad design. It doesn't make any sense to have to hit thousands of different nodes with each search. Of course there'd be a backup! What's lacking with Open Source developers is a basic understanding of data and databases. The two existing databases are sad compared to Oracle and DB2. Until some database expertise (usually, older, experienced developers) comes in the the Open Source arena, bad data designs like the one in Gnutella is going to continue.