Why in the world is the database on a machine accessible from the Internet? IMHO, the only machine(s) accessible from the outside should be the web server(s), which connect either through a private address range or via a restrictive firewall to an internal host with the database....
I am currently working on the high-level design of just such a system. The project is currently titled OpenOPAC. I currently work in a corporate library/IS setting, and see the need for this kind of project. We have been screwed over by our OPAC vendor too many times to count. I initially thought about doing this in RMI, but now that J2EE/EJB seems to be coming along so strongly, I am thinking about heading in that direction. There are a number of promising Open Source J2EE containers coming down the pike (Enhydra Enterprise, jBoss, etc.), so this might work well. Please visit the site -- I am interested in getting comments on what is needed to make a complete system.
It seems as if a good solution would be to have the SMTP server attach some kind of PGPish key to each message which signs the contents of the message with the ISP's key, perhaps a string in the MIME headers. That way, you could keep a log of what keys went out from your service, and then match those up with what a supposed "incriminating" email at some later point if necessary. No storage of the actual content would need to take place.
I guess the only problem would be if different destination email systems mangled the contents to a point where the contents couldn't be verified anymore by the key, not to mention that if this were to be widely implemented, the sizes of the average email sent would begin to increase, and add additional load to email servers and their bandwidth. (although I'm guessing that would be negligible)
I used to work at an Ad agency where they purchased a Jaleo system. This is very cool software. Unlimited layers, motion tracking, real-time effects, and the list goes on. This is a "professional" software package. You probably will not be able to step in the first day and get work done. I wouldn't rate it highly on ease of use, but the power and flexibility of what is possible is staggering. This all ran on an SGI O2 with ~85GB of RAID 5 storage hooked up to it. I'd recommend a touch more horsepower if you are going to do a lot of production....
I was at Lotusphere (Lotus Notes conference) a few weeks ago, and one of the developers there made a reference to the fact that Altavista runs their entire database out of RAM. That's a LOT of RAM!!!!
I went through this a while back myself--I need a database of zip codes with their associated longitudes and lattitudes. (You can use this for proximity searching -- i.e., find the nearest store locations to my zip code) I found a free database from the census bureau, but it was based on 1990 data. Many zip codes in my customer's area had changed since then, so it was pretty much useless. As others have noted, you can subscribe to many services that will send you these files on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis. (Zip codes DO change!)
I use a Black Box 4-port Personal ServSwitch. I haven't ever had any problems with it. It can be cascaded with an array of ServSwitches so you can ramp up with your purchase. It has a single button on the front to cycle through the machines, and you can use to choose which machine to switch to. You can also set it up to cycle through all the machines automatically at a preset interval.
1. Command shell that doesn't involve a lot of learning.... (My suggestion is to call this DOS, for Dumb Old Shell, and make it work much like the MS-DOS command line.)
I challenge you to find many "Joe Blow"s who even knows how to use the DOS command line anymore. I deal with corporate users every day, and if they can't set up something with a "wizard", then they're totally lost.
2. Plug and Play Everywhere! Joe Blow does not want to mount and unmount CDs himself, nor does he want to figure out the IRQ, base I/O address, etc. for his hardware....
This is fine, as long as it works. As far as installing, I have recently installed Linux on 3 different machines with 3 modern, end-user focused distributions (RedHat, Caldera, Mandrake). None required me to have any knowledge of IRQ's, etc. (as long as the hardware is standards based--i.e., on the HCL). Gnome now even comes with an automounter daemon, so CD's can be mounted automatically.
3. A good GUI/WM combination that comes default with all Linux distros. Joe Blow does not like command line interfaces and will avoid them wherever possible. So give him a GUI he can use easily and not be (too) confused by.
As noted above, all 3 modern distributions came with a KDE option -- KDE is very easy for a Windows user to understand (it practically is windows explorer). All the installations had the option of always starting up in the GUI mode.
4. Official suppourt from hardware vendors. If Joe Blow can't buy a new peice of hardware, plug it in, turn it on, install some drivers, and start using it; Joe Blow doesn't want it.
Amen. Actually, Joe Blow doesn't want to have to install drivers either, but that's a different story. Unfortunately, this will not be the case until hardware vendors see a positive economic return on their investments into Linux driver development. They're in the business to make money, not to give it all away.
Does this mean we just give up on the desktop? I don't think so. As noted in another post, with distributions like Corel's and Caldera's, we are now going to have totally operational systems (from a business standpoint) being installed by default. I think these are a great help to the cause and will help make the difference.
I ordered my visor this morning. The site seemed really slow, but I was able to confirm that the order had been placed. I can't wait for it to arrive (plus it comes in "ice" --- much cooler than the palm's grayish color)
If you look more closely at the screenshots, you will see that you always have the option of navigating with the keyboard (with tab keys, etc.), even if your mouse doesn't work at all (or if you don't have one).
Actually, I believe the protocol is very simple. You just have to issue commands to the serial port. (you could even do it with kermit or something like that) When the windows version was testing my system, I saw it send "A1 ON", which in turn, turned relay "A1" , well, umm...on. Looks like it would be extremely easy to script.
This is interesting coming from a country who is notorious for the sexual content of their television broadcasting (unless this has changed recently without my knowledge)
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Micro$oft(R) Windoze NT(TM)
(C) Copyright 1985-1996 Micro$oft Corp.
C:\>uptime
Micro$oft(R) Windoze NT(TM)
(C) Copyright 1985-1996 Micro$oft Corp.
C:\>uptime
I for one have been holding my breath since 1998.
I nominate michael to be one of the first astronauts on the station. He's been practicing since 1998!
Micro$oft(R) Windoze NT(TM)
(C) Copyright 1985-1996 Micro$oft Corp.
C:\>uptime
I guess the only problem would be if different destination email systems mangled the contents to a point where the contents couldn't be verified anymore by the key, not to mention that if this were to be widely implemented, the sizes of the average email sent would begin to increase, and add additional load to email servers and their bandwidth. (although I'm guessing that would be negligible)
Micro$oft(R) Windoze NT(TM)
(C) Copyright 1985-1996 Micro$oft Corp.
C:\>uptime
Micro$oft(R) Windoze NT(TM)
(C) Copyright 1985-1996 Micro$oft Corp.
C:\>uptime
Micro$oft(R) Windoze NT(TM)
(C) Copyright 1985-1996 Micro$oft Corp.
C:\>uptime
Micro$oft(R) Windoze NT(TM)
(C) Copyright 1985-1996 Micro$oft Corp.
C:\>uptime
Micro$oft(R) Windoze NT(TM)
(C) Copyright 1985-1996 Micro$oft Corp.
C:\>uptime
I challenge you to find many "Joe Blow"s who even knows how to use the DOS command line anymore. I deal with corporate users every day, and if they can't set up something with a "wizard", then they're totally lost.
2. Plug and Play Everywhere! Joe Blow does not want to mount and unmount CDs himself, nor does he want to figure out the IRQ, base I/O address, etc. for his hardware. ...
This is fine, as long as it works. As far as installing, I have recently installed Linux on 3 different machines with 3 modern, end-user focused distributions (RedHat, Caldera, Mandrake). None required me to have any knowledge of IRQ's, etc. (as long as the hardware is standards based--i.e., on the HCL). Gnome now even comes with an automounter daemon, so CD's can be mounted automatically.
3. A good GUI/WM combination that comes default with all Linux distros. Joe Blow does not like command line interfaces and will avoid them wherever possible. So give him a GUI he can use easily and not be (too) confused by.
As noted above, all 3 modern distributions came with a KDE option -- KDE is very easy for a Windows user to understand (it practically is windows explorer). All the installations had the option of always starting up in the GUI mode.
4. Official suppourt from hardware vendors. If Joe Blow can't buy a new peice of hardware, plug it in, turn it on, install some drivers, and start using it; Joe Blow doesn't want it.
Amen. Actually, Joe Blow doesn't want to have to install drivers either, but that's a different story. Unfortunately, this will not be the case until hardware vendors see a positive economic return on their investments into Linux driver development. They're in the business to make money, not to give it all away.
Does this mean we just give up on the desktop? I don't think so. As noted in another post, with distributions like Corel's and Caldera's, we are now going to have totally operational systems (from a business standpoint) being installed by default. I think these are a great help to the cause and will help make the difference.
Micro$oft(R) Windoze NT(TM)
(C) Copyright 1985-1996 Micro$oft Corp.
C:\>uptime
Micro$oft(R) Windoze NT(TM)
(C) Copyright 1985-1996 Micro$oft Corp.
C:\>uptime
Micro$oft(R) Windoze NT(TM)
(C) Copyright 1985-1996 Micro$oft Corp.
C:\>uptime
Micro$oft(R) Windoze NT(TM)
(C) Copyright 1985-1996 Micro$oft Corp.
C:\>uptime
Micro$oft(R) Windoze NT(TM)
(C) Copyright 1985-1996 Micro$oft Corp.
C:\>uptime
This is interesting coming from a country who is notorious for the sexual content of their television broadcasting (unless this has changed recently without my knowledge)
Is this some kind of weird joke?