Re:This actually is the killer app...
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PS2 As PC
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· Score: 1
What happens when chipsets like the nForce only cost a few bucks (this will eventually happen)?
Then the nForce 5000 Super Plus Ultra E-Lite model will be out (which, I hear, will allow you to run the Holodeck from StarTrek, as well as real-time creation and physics modeling of billion-polygon emoticons showing a wide range of human and animal emotions!), and the nForce will look like a 4MB STB Nitro 3D.
I believe it's called anecdotal evidence. Are you implying that my anecdote is the only incompatibilty with a Linux distro? Surely you are not. I routinely have issues setting up video cards with XFree86 (of course, I also tend to use off-brand POS cards where the manafacturer has gone out of business, but that's not the point...). I've also had trouble with audio cards and NIC's. But, the main thing is that the HW manafacturer's, in a lot of cases, don't support Linux. Even if a HW company has gone out of business recently (or merged or changed focus, etc.), they usually (at one time or another) produced a 95/98 and perhaps an NT driver, which can still be found relatively easily. I can't say the same for Linux drivers.
But, wait, there's that damn anecdoctal evidence again. I didn't realize we were trying to adhere to the strictest standards of scientific inquiry and integrity. In that case, I suppose I could parse the HCL for Windows 3.1/95/98/Me/NT/2K, then hunt down drivers for every component that I can think of that wasn't on the list, then do the same thing for Linux drivers, and then run a line-by-line comparison to them using a point + modifiers scale (using modifiers such as +10 for being on an official HCL or similar (with built-in driver support), -1 for having to use Windrivers.com, -5 for having to download the driver through some guy's geocities webpage, +5 for automatic resource detection/assignment, +1 if Linux or Windows at least tells me the name and model of the component, etc.) then added it all up and declared a winner. Of course, then you'd probably be bitching about my grading scale.
Besides, I have a job, and they do expect me to do work every once in a while. I can only spend so much time on Slashdot and Slashdot related projects. And, if CNET can base an article on anecdoctal evidence, I certainly see no harm in my doing the same. (For the record, I've probably been through 1500+ Windows installations, and only 5-10 Linux installations. I'd say that Windows is leading by a high margin by percentage of "painless installs". And yes, I know 5-10 isn't statistically relevant, but since when does that make a difference on Slashdot?)
Also, the fact that Linux distros are released more frequently means that all of your device drivers will be conveniently contained on the OS media. All it takes is ONE device driver not in place on a Win2k install to quickly make it much more painful than Redhat or Mandrake. Also, it is untrue that drivers for WinDOS are necessarily just a matter of "put in the CD and the OS will find your driver for you". For a novice, futzing with a 3rd party Windows driver may be no less seemingly confounding than dealing with a 3rd party Linux driver.
If the Linux distros are so god at picking up on hw, why do I have to give XF86config monitor timings, and know whether my video card has a timinhg chip (or whatever the hell it is that it asks...). And then the drivers included in the distro (Savage4) NEVER work. Not on Mandrake, not on Caldera, not on RedHat....Windows 2000 picked up on it and installed the drivers seamlessly. Same thing with an older Dell system I have (I believe it's an onboard ATI Rage II). XWindows wouldn't work for nothing on it...Win2K worked without a hitch. True, the Win2K drivers for my Savage4 didn't include DirctX support, so I had to go to S3's website and hunt down Win2K drivers, then run the Setup program. How hard is that? With RedHat 7, I had to go to RedHat's site, look in the support docs and find out how to downgrade the XServer to an older version. Caldera required me to hunt down some Linux drivers for the Savage4 that some guy had made in his spare time (no support from S3) which took about a week, then figure out how the hell to get them working.
Windows drivers (2000 and otherwise) are pretty good about including a setup program, otherwise, just use Devic Mgr and say Update Driver, and point it to the right place. the real issue is finding the driver, and Windows drivers are much more easily found.
Let's see, for the last few months, I was contracted out working support for a large factory. Three techs, and not enough work for one. So, out of 40 paid hours/week, I was there for about 35 hours/week, did around 30 documented hours on calls a month, and probably around 15-20 actual hours worked (due to rounding). The rest of the time I drank coffee, smoked cigarettes, devoured the Web, and learned some coding. I did that for about 6 months.
Now, as a network/desktop service tech, I still work 40 hours per week, 8:00-4:30, with an hour lunch, a half-hour of it paid. I get no holidays, no sick time, no bonus, no benefits, shitty pay, and rack up the miles (on my expense).
But, I'm lucky compared to my fiance who works a minimum of 60 hours/week (5 days a week), often climbing to 70-80 hours (6-7 days), and has worked the last 15 days straight. She's an assistant restauraunt manager, and is salaried. You wouldn't think she'd have to put in 15+ hour days, but she has a few times in the year she's been there.
Then, there's my dad, who, as a truck driver, works 60-70 hours a week according to his logs, but was actually driving for 80-90 hours. That doesn't include time spent waiting for loading/unloading, on layovers, snowed-in, actually unloading the trailer, etc. With that, it would probably climb to 100+, and he has to sleep in a cab the size of my closet for 3-4+ weeks at a time.
My mom just opened a small retail shop, and drives a 4 hour round trip commute to work 10 hours/day 7 days a week. Factor in time for making the things she sells, getting supplies, and selling at craft shows and the like, and she's probably pushing 110-120 hours per week.
So, I wouldn't be too quick too complain about the state of affiars in IT. It can be long, hard work, but there's always someone else out there working 5 times harder for 1/3rd of the pay. BTW, my parents barely make enough to afford a $650/month mortgage, $250/month car payment, and necessities. And, as they would say, that's what happens who you don't have a decent education and are 45 years old....
The one thing that years and years of sleep research has shown is that when you deprive people of sleep, their body temperature lowers, and that's about it. The fact is, we know shit all about sleep and the effects of its deprivation. To compare it to going hungry is ridiculous. Food is required to give us energy in order to survive. There is no evidence that says that sleep is required with the same regularity. In fact, there are non-somniacs who can effortlessly go for weeks at a time without sleeping!
Take it for what it's worth, but my well-respected Psych professor in college told me that in the days before PETA, they kept a goat awake for about a week (by spraying water and ringing bells when it's eyes closed for > 3 seconds), and then it died.
Also, I invite anyone to completely go without sleep and maintain a coherent and functional status for > 90% of the day for extended periods. I don't believe it can be done. I've stayed awake and (semi-)functioning for 48-50 hours straight, but, eventually, you will simply fall down and pass out. I just pray it's not during driving (whcih, BTW, I've found that increasing your speed is likely to keep you more alert if you're feeling a bit drowsy.)
Well, I must apologize for posting in present tense. I no longer am employed by Dell Tech Support (thank god). A year of 40+ phone calls a day eventually led to burn out and a 2 month sabbatical. I'm now a somewhat gainfully employed netwrok consultant, though not with one of my job offers (they were in WA and CA, I prefer the SE) =)
Not to take away from your experience, but where I work, I wouldn't trade Dell's support for anything. We have a lot of Dell Laptops, as well as many servers (quad Xeons, redundant everything, etc). In any case, we have the same type of support contract, 2 business days, on site. I'm pretty sure everytime we've called, they've been here the next day. Very rarely to they even do anyh troubleshooting over the phone. I'm not to sure if they trust our diagnosis, or if they just find it easier to show up on site.
Admittedly, I've never had the problem you described, but they have come out (or shipped parts) to use immediately. We lost one of the HDD in one of the servers, and Dell had a new one shipped overnight to us, it was here about 20 hours after making the call.
Simple enough explanation. You're a large corporate account, and with Dell servers. That gets noticed, and Dell assumes you have your own techs to diagnose problems. Besides, they don't wnat to piss you off.
I called one night because the cable link light on the modem was out, I said "hi I am having a problem with My internet connection, the cable light is out and I can't get online, are you having a server problem right now?" the persons respons was "I don't know sir." I said "can you find out?" then she replied "no I can't, but I can leave the tech support guys a measage about your problem and when they get in tomorrow they will try and fix it."
Did you really need to tie up a tech support line for that? Did you do anything to your computer? Did your modem work before? Is it broadband (which is unreliable at best)? Well then, guess what, I'm quite sure there's a problem with their network. Wait till tomorrow and try again. See, that's one reason why tech support lines are always busy...you know the answer, so why call (and then bitch about it)?
I don't necessarily think you read Mr. Katz right. By going to a sofa vendor, you are almost always guaranteed to have someone to hear your complaint and offer a replacement if the sofa is defective. With tech companies, before anyone hears your complaint you must go through dozens of automated menus, wait on hold for hours at a time, and give the company every personal detail before they will usually help you diagnose the problem with your computer hardware/software. This is what he's talking about. He's not talking about the knowledge that any tech company must have, he's talking about what the companies CAN do for customers REGARDLESS of what knowledge they have.
This is a flawed analogy. No one calls up sofa vendors because they don't know how to sit down on their sofa. Or because they got a stain on the sofa. Or because they want to be walked thru unpacking the sofa. Etc, etc.
There are real reasons that there are dozens of automated menus. It's so you don't waste some tech's time calling server support when you should have called software support. There are real reasons there are long hold times. It's because there's 1000 other people out there who just want to know the basics. If people only called in when something was defective and able to be fixed (Windows bugs may be defects, but there's no way Dell can fix them) like they do with sofas, all these problems would dissappear.
Making a very-limited-choice interface is not a solution for dealing with intrinsically complex problems.
So then what is the solution? Remove the options, and remove some of the complexity. Most people don't need anymore than those 3 buttons right there.
"Send Mail" button. OK. Wait, my mail returned to me with the "address unknown" message! The button doesn't work!
Assuming that the company who provided the "computer" also provides the ISP, then that "cryptic" error message is easily replaced by something along the lines of "Mail delivery failed. I'm sorry, but it seems that the email address we were trying to send this message to (foo@bar.com) does not exist. Please verify the email address with your contact and try sending it again. Thank you."
"Read Mail" button. OK. But where is my "Print" button, and "Reply to" button, and "Delete" button, and "Move to folder" button, and how do I deal with make-money-fast messages a hundred of which is sitting in my inbox...
Okay, so maybe a 4th Print button would be a good idea. Obviously, the poster's message was not to be taken quite so literally as to think there would be absolutely no more options. But, your "Move to folder" button is unneccessary, and probably only comes from you being someone who knows how to use a feature rich email client. This device, obviously, is not for the/.ers. Reply to is handled easily enough by the Send To button. Delete may or may not be an option, perhaps just an automatic purge after so many days have passed.
"Browse Web" button. Hmm... You mean it is just a shortcut to Internet Explorer? Or is it supposed to do something else? And what are all these buttons on websites? I was promised I would need only three buttons and this site has four! Oh, here is a simple site, it just says "type your AOL password here and click OK" -- that I can do...
Limited site functionality wouldn't be a bad idea either, and the poster suggested this as well. Find out what people use the Internet the most for, and build your own websites with that info. (I don't really know what most AOLers do on the Web, but I doubt they need access to Kuro5hin, Slashdot, Techweb, etc.)
All in all, a marketable idea IMHO. Of course, Netpliance tried it with the I-Opener and it didn't work out so well for them, but I think their execution was flawed.
ahhh yes. Most people do realize that you are human, but we don't understand how you can just sit there and tell us "I'm sorry sir there is nothing I can do to help you, good bye."
When *you* can't do anything, I want you to do your job and HELP. Find someone else that CAN and WILL help. If your supervisor can't, tell him to find someone that can.
When I sit on hold for 2 hours (Verizon needs help) I expect some results. I don't expect to hear bullshit excuses, run-around, etc.
There is absolutely NO reason that someone cannot find an experienced tech rep that can help w/ANY problem.
As someone who has worked tech support for Dell (outsourced, but the same program, and you'd never know we were outsourced except for our smaller paychecks) let me clue you in.
First off, the 2 hours hold time really is not our fault. We know you're there, but so are 1000 other people, and they called first. We take them as they come in, and either you get someone who's just looking for good call times who will blow you off (which gets you on the line faster to be blown off) or you get someone, like me, who doesn't really care about call times but will try to fix your problem (but, then, of course, that means you'll have a longer hold time). Those are your two choices...there are no others. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
Secondly, is that a lot of folks call tech support with basic (l)user questions. I'm a sucker for them, and will try to answer them as best as I can. Of course, these folks aren't the best equipped to handle the answers, so I usually end up having to rephrase my answer a few times. Once again, this is going to lead to higher hold times. Sorry about that, but if it was you or your grandmother on the other end of the phone, I'm sure you wouldn't mind me helping her out.
Third, when people yell and scream and bitch and moan at me for something which I have no authority to change, well, that takes time too. Just get down to the problem and I'll try and help you. Bitch and moan, and I'll sit back and read/. until you calm down, or, in extreme cases, I'll "accidentally" hit the disconnect button.
And, if I say there's nothing I can do for you. That's it. There's nothing I can do for you. Mgmt and/or Level 2 techs aren't going to help you either. I'm not Michael Dell, nor do I get a personal audience with him. There's no way in hell I'm going to get Dell to change their policies. Live with it, or complain to Customer Service. Tech Support is there to fix computers, not to handle complaints.
Fourth, you must understand that we provide a limited support. Don't expect me to fix WinAmp. Don't expect me to teach you how to use a spreadsheet. If there's something wrong with your hardware, I'll find it. But you may need to reinstall. Sorry, but that's a valid way of diagnosing software problems.
As for finding someone else to help, you've got to realize that in a room of 300 techs there's 300 people on the other end of the phone as well. If you've been on hold for 2 hours, that means every tech is busy as well. So, what do you expect me to do? Walk around and ask all the techs if they know how to fix your problem? Perhaps I should just stand up and make an announcement? We don't have time to discuss things, except perhaps for the 10 minute smoke break we get every 2 hours. And, yeah, everyone really feels like talking about your problem at that point...no, really, we do. Riiiggghhhht.
Oh, and my supervisor is a manager. That means he's a paper pusher. He monitor's call times and queue loads, etc. He has no technical knowledge, and couldn't help you even if he wanted to. Which he doesn't, and I can't make him.
All in all, I'd say I'm a pretty good tech. I help people when I can, and if you want to bitch and moan, go right ahead, I'll just sit back and pull in my $10/hour to hear you complain. Cuss me out if you want, I really don't care. Not that that happens often with me. Within a year of working there, I've had 2 job offers, one invite to a woman's house boat, and 3 gifts mailed to me. But, hey, I guess I'm the exception.
And tell what is so wrong about protecting ones revenue?
I mean, if we think that making profit is illegal then it should be said openly and without this snipping around the edges.
It very much reminds me of Democratic Party tactics whenever tax cut issues comes up:
in all their rhetoric there is that unspoken hint (sometimes more than hint) that these "rich" people are villains and it is us against them.
Where does this stuff come from? Isn't this country about exactly that. Freedom to pursue ones dream and making as much as possible out of ones abilities?
Not to get too far off-topic here, but I have to say the "American Dream" is a bust. The unfortunate part of most "American Dreams" is that 1,000 or more people must be stepped on in order to claw yourself to the top.
So, are all the rich villains? No, probably not. Are a great many of them? Absolutely. Employing slave labor in 3rd world countries, buying laws to minimize taxes, holding communities economic hostage in order to bring (usually low-paying) jobs, massive layoffs when VP's and higher are pulling in 6 figure bonuses, unabated environmental pollution, outright lies to the public, deceptive and insidious advertising, and the list goes on and on. These are all villianous acts.
Is there anything illegal about this? No, I guess not. But that's only because they write the laws. Is it unethical (which is where laws are supposed to originate from)? Absolutely.
So, you want me to tell you what's wrong with protecting one's revenue? It's because you have to crush people in order to praise the almighty dollar.
Not to mention the purely economical aspect of the wealthy getting wealthier and the poor getting poorer. Eventually, that causes the death of consumers. Oh, and also the oh-so-practical view that a small minority of rich people with a large majority of poor and oppressed wage-slaves will sooner or later lead to a bloody revolt.
If you're trying to set up a data haven for illegal things, doing it in some random country through bribery and other traditional techniques would be far easier than physically assaulting Sealand.
Ummm...why would the Mafia, et al. want to assault Sealand? I think you misunderstood. HavenCo's customers possibly include some Mafia, et al. organizations. These Mafia, et al. folks aren't likely to enjoy Sealand getting blown to bits. These Mafia, et al. groups can have high connections in political circles. You do the math...
Well, if it's an inheritance for our children and their children, it cannot be sold, right? It must be passed on. That is what is meant by not dividing the land and its resources for a price.
And what about the continuing surge in population levels? If I get say, 5 acres, then I have 3 children, do I divide it equally among them? And then what about their children? Must they stay in that same place? What if my land is in Arizona? Can I move (please)?
How about you try being realistic? Instead of whining, in cliche terms about how bad things supposedly are, why don't you try to change things? And by change things, I don't mean rioting in the streets and overturning cars and smashing shop windows in the name of "righteous protest." I'm no huge fan of capitalism, but all-in-all, I feel it works for me better than so-called "socialism," the likes of which exist in China and in the former Soviet Union, would. It certainly works better for me than so-called anarchy, where everyone is "free to do what they want..." including rob my house and enslave me. Blah, blah, blah.
Perhaps if you weren't so busy being brainwashed by your gov't and becoming a drone, you might have realized a few things. First off, that there's more to economies than simple capitalism or communism/socialism. Secondly, that just because communism in the USSR failed does not necessarily mean it's a bad ideal. Thirdly, that nothing is quite so black and white to be able to say "Capitalism good, Communism bad." and be done with it. Fourthly, that the poster was in no way "broad, vague [or] unreasonable", though I admit it might have been a little utopian because of people who can't quite grasp the concept that the US may not have all the answers.
Lastly, the poster was not talking of socialism! He was simply arguing that it should be a birthright to have a piece of land that you are free to do with as you please! How difficult is that to understand?
Host lots and lots of good content cheaply as well, and big companies will buy server space their because of their big nice multiple connections.
They really don't have too much bandwidth there, not to mention the fact that they have a very small platform for a data center, and can't really afford to boot off "bad" customers for "good" customers (since the bad ones pay more). And what business would really want to be hosted on Sealand instead of a local datacenter?
I'm sure Red Hat is upset that they are missing out on the sale of 8000+ Linux licenses!!:-) Maybe they should block downloads from the *.google.com domain
I imagine they only download it once, then distribute via LAN. Besides, from last year's coverage, "Google actually paid for only about 50 copies of Red Hat, and those purchases were more of a goodwill gesture. "I feel like I should be nice, so when I go to Fry's I pick up a copy," Brin said."
Anybody out there have more nitty gritty details on the specs of the latest boxes added? I am interested in CPU speeds, gigabit ethernet, RAM. 8000 of these things! The mind boggles...
Evidently, they shun multiprocessor boxes, use big & fast IDE drives (2 per PC, one on each IDE channel), and from last year's article, use 100 Mbps links on the racks, with gigabit links between the racks. Last year's articles also quotes "256 megabytes of memory and 80 gigabytes of storage", though I imagine it's closer to 512MB (at least) and 180 GB per server now. Also says that they pack them in 1U on each side of a rack.
But, here's the kicker, "Many of the systems are based on Intel Celeron processors, the same chips in cheap consumer PCs."!
Let's disregard the fact that they have only recently been awarded the patent, and applied for it Nov 12, 1996, shall we? I know those pesky facts can get in the way sometimes....
Really, this could all be implemented as a PC right now. The only thing missing is a UI design, which with some decent programming skills and a lot of time, should be able to be hacked together. Of course, this Borg box is only part of my household fantasy.
You'd need it to be able to independently run 2 or more television monitors, or sets of speakers in seperate rooms, with an IR port for control.
It should be able to be programmed to record something or control household X10 devices via HTTP, and have FTP transferring capabilities.
Instead of an IR remote, how about a RF or, even better, 802.11b or Bluetooth, remote?
While we're at it, and I'm envisioning this as the hub of a household's technology, it should handle your voice mail and email communications (including options to page/call you when an important message is rec'd), as well as be your DHCP/DNS/File/Print server for a small home LAN.
Don't forget AMPLIFIED Dolby Digital/DTS 5.1 outputs and inputs.
Dual tuner inputs would make the magic of Picture in Picture possible. Take it one step further, and have web/headlines/menu/etc. as one of the pictures.
Don't forget the CD burner to make a CD from those OV files, as well as MPEG4 compressed DVD movies on CD.
And, of course, what about the games?!? We wanna play games, don't we? On the big screen TV? Of course we do. So, it should be able to play computer games, but also have video inputs for console systems, which it would do video switching for.
Oh yeah, and it should be available on an easy monthly payment plan! =)
Obviously, this sort of thing can be implemented in a PC, minus an elegant UI. But it's just too much damn work! I want one of these things so I can be lazy...not so I can hack around with it! This is a lazy man's device...it's gotta come preassembled. =)
I hate to tell you this, but the video and audio stored on a DVD is already compressed. While its possible another step of compression will make it smaller, its also possible the data added by the compression will make it larger. Its a bit like zipping jpeg's.
Fortunately, we don't have to aim for lossless compression. MPEG4 works wonders....
Obviously, the FBI agents broke Russian law, but I don't think the Russians would try to prosecute, and I don't think the US Gov't is going to give the agents up for extradition...and I really doubt the agents will be tricked into going to Russia. =)
Did the FBI break US law? It certainly seems that they might have. The whole wash about not having jurisdiction is BS, as the article states the sniffing and login were done in the US...Seattle to be precise.
After Ivanov arrived in Seattle, accompanied by Gorshkov, agents posing as Invita officials asked the men to demonstrate their prowess on a computer outfitted with "sniffer" software to record every keystroke. After arresting the duo, they used account numbers and passwords obtained by the program to gain access to data stored in the computers in Russia, Schroeder said.
Now, the sniffer wasn't a problem, I don't think, since the FBI legally owned that computer and are free to install whatever monitoring tools they want (BTW, I don't think it was a sniffer but a key logger). The using of the passwords to log onto an account that was not theirs, however, is a crime. And I believe that if a private US citizen were to hack another computer in another country, that US law would still be applicable. If I kill a Russian citizen visiting the US, am I not guilty of murder in the US? Or am I only guilty in Russia?
So, the FBI broke the law by hacking another computer. This would be OK if they had a search warrant, but, obviously, they didn't get one until after the fact. I wonder if they tried to get one before the operation, and were turned down by a judge who stated that they didn't need one. Barring that, I would say they definitely need a search warrant before downloading the data (including simply viewing the data and gaining access). After all, for the time between downloading the data and having a search warrant for it, that data was effectively stolen merchandise.
And, besides, it's called a search warrant, not a look warrant!
Feeding the poor. Healing the sick. Housing the homeless. Yeah, I know it sucks to have someone distort the picture with facts, but such is life. The money raised by churches isn't going to put another layer of gold-paint on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel, nimrod. Who do you think started "The Red Cross" and "Doctors Without Borders"? Linux Torvalds?
So what actually does pay for those gold-encrusted towers? Okay...maybe not gold encrusted, but at least in my neck of the woods, most of the churches are the biggest, newest, and nicest buildings around. Something has to pay for them....
Here is a statement I'd like to see you contest. You're average devout Christian is giving a lot more of his or her income to charitable causes than your average Slashdot reader (no, buying clothing from ThinkGeek doesn't count as a charitable contribution, nerds). Hmmm. They must be doing it because their pastors tell them if they don't, they'll go to Hell, right?
No, they're doing it because it makes them feel good. And it's easier than volunteering at the local soup kitchen, or treating a homeless guy to a good meal and hot shower. As with most religious exercises, it's a way for them to absolve themselves of the sin that they have just becasue they're human....
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Then the nForce 5000 Super Plus Ultra E-Lite model will be out (which, I hear, will allow you to run the Holodeck from StarTrek, as well as real-time creation and physics modeling of billion-polygon emoticons showing a wide range of human and animal emotions!), and the nForce will look like a 4MB STB Nitro 3D.
But, wait, there's that damn anecdoctal evidence again. I didn't realize we were trying to adhere to the strictest standards of scientific inquiry and integrity. In that case, I suppose I could parse the HCL for Windows 3.1/95/98/Me/NT/2K, then hunt down drivers for every component that I can think of that wasn't on the list, then do the same thing for Linux drivers, and then run a line-by-line comparison to them using a point + modifiers scale (using modifiers such as +10 for being on an official HCL or similar (with built-in driver support), -1 for having to use Windrivers.com, -5 for having to download the driver through some guy's geocities webpage, +5 for automatic resource detection/assignment, +1 if Linux or Windows at least tells me the name and model of the component, etc.) then added it all up and declared a winner. Of course, then you'd probably be bitching about my grading scale.
Besides, I have a job, and they do expect me to do work every once in a while. I can only spend so much time on Slashdot and Slashdot related projects. And, if CNET can base an article on anecdoctal evidence, I certainly see no harm in my doing the same. (For the record, I've probably been through 1500+ Windows installations, and only 5-10 Linux installations. I'd say that Windows is leading by a high margin by percentage of "painless installs". And yes, I know 5-10 isn't statistically relevant, but since when does that make a difference on Slashdot?)
If the Linux distros are so god at picking up on hw, why do I have to give XF86config monitor timings, and know whether my video card has a timinhg chip (or whatever the hell it is that it asks...). And then the drivers included in the distro (Savage4) NEVER work. Not on Mandrake, not on Caldera, not on RedHat....Windows 2000 picked up on it and installed the drivers seamlessly. Same thing with an older Dell system I have (I believe it's an onboard ATI Rage II). XWindows wouldn't work for nothing on it...Win2K worked without a hitch. True, the Win2K drivers for my Savage4 didn't include DirctX support, so I had to go to S3's website and hunt down Win2K drivers, then run the Setup program. How hard is that? With RedHat 7, I had to go to RedHat's site, look in the support docs and find out how to downgrade the XServer to an older version. Caldera required me to hunt down some Linux drivers for the Savage4 that some guy had made in his spare time (no support from S3) which took about a week, then figure out how the hell to get them working.
Windows drivers (2000 and otherwise) are pretty good about including a setup program, otherwise, just use Devic Mgr and say Update Driver, and point it to the right place. the real issue is finding the driver, and Windows drivers are much more easily found.
Now, as a network/desktop service tech, I still work 40 hours per week, 8:00-4:30, with an hour lunch, a half-hour of it paid. I get no holidays, no sick time, no bonus, no benefits, shitty pay, and rack up the miles (on my expense).
But, I'm lucky compared to my fiance who works a minimum of 60 hours/week (5 days a week), often climbing to 70-80 hours (6-7 days), and has worked the last 15 days straight. She's an assistant restauraunt manager, and is salaried. You wouldn't think she'd have to put in 15+ hour days, but she has a few times in the year she's been there.
Then, there's my dad, who, as a truck driver, works 60-70 hours a week according to his logs, but was actually driving for 80-90 hours. That doesn't include time spent waiting for loading/unloading, on layovers, snowed-in, actually unloading the trailer, etc. With that, it would probably climb to 100+, and he has to sleep in a cab the size of my closet for 3-4+ weeks at a time.
My mom just opened a small retail shop, and drives a 4 hour round trip commute to work 10 hours/day 7 days a week. Factor in time for making the things she sells, getting supplies, and selling at craft shows and the like, and she's probably pushing 110-120 hours per week.
So, I wouldn't be too quick too complain about the state of affiars in IT. It can be long, hard work, but there's always someone else out there working 5 times harder for 1/3rd of the pay. BTW, my parents barely make enough to afford a $650/month mortgage, $250/month car payment, and necessities. And, as they would say, that's what happens who you don't have a decent education and are 45 years old....
Take it for what it's worth, but my well-respected Psych professor in college told me that in the days before PETA, they kept a goat awake for about a week (by spraying water and ringing bells when it's eyes closed for > 3 seconds), and then it died.
Also, I invite anyone to completely go without sleep and maintain a coherent and functional status for > 90% of the day for extended periods. I don't believe it can be done. I've stayed awake and (semi-)functioning for 48-50 hours straight, but, eventually, you will simply fall down and pass out. I just pray it's not during driving (whcih, BTW, I've found that increasing your speed is likely to keep you more alert if you're feeling a bit drowsy.)
Well, I must apologize for posting in present tense. I no longer am employed by Dell Tech Support (thank god). A year of 40+ phone calls a day eventually led to burn out and a 2 month sabbatical. I'm now a somewhat gainfully employed netwrok consultant, though not with one of my job offers (they were in WA and CA, I prefer the SE) =)
Simple enough explanation. You're a large corporate account, and with Dell servers. That gets noticed, and Dell assumes you have your own techs to diagnose problems. Besides, they don't wnat to piss you off.
Did you really need to tie up a tech support line for that? Did you do anything to your computer? Did your modem work before? Is it broadband (which is unreliable at best)? Well then, guess what, I'm quite sure there's a problem with their network. Wait till tomorrow and try again. See, that's one reason why tech support lines are always busy...you know the answer, so why call (and then bitch about it)?
This is a flawed analogy. No one calls up sofa vendors because they don't know how to sit down on their sofa. Or because they got a stain on the sofa. Or because they want to be walked thru unpacking the sofa. Etc, etc.
There are real reasons that there are dozens of automated menus. It's so you don't waste some tech's time calling server support when you should have called software support. There are real reasons there are long hold times. It's because there's 1000 other people out there who just want to know the basics. If people only called in when something was defective and able to be fixed (Windows bugs may be defects, but there's no way Dell can fix them) like they do with sofas, all these problems would dissappear.
So then what is the solution? Remove the options, and remove some of the complexity. Most people don't need anymore than those 3 buttons right there.
"Send Mail" button. OK. Wait, my mail returned to me with the "address unknown" message! The button doesn't work!
Assuming that the company who provided the "computer" also provides the ISP, then that "cryptic" error message is easily replaced by something along the lines of "Mail delivery failed. I'm sorry, but it seems that the email address we were trying to send this message to (foo@bar.com) does not exist. Please verify the email address with your contact and try sending it again. Thank you."
"Read Mail" button. OK. But where is my "Print" button, and "Reply to" button, and "Delete" button, and "Move to folder" button, and how do I deal with make-money-fast messages a hundred of which is sitting in my inbox...
Okay, so maybe a 4th Print button would be a good idea. Obviously, the poster's message was not to be taken quite so literally as to think there would be absolutely no more options. But, your "Move to folder" button is unneccessary, and probably only comes from you being someone who knows how to use a feature rich email client. This device, obviously, is not for the /.ers. Reply to is handled easily enough by the Send To button. Delete may or may not be an option, perhaps just an automatic purge after so many days have passed.
"Browse Web" button. Hmm... You mean it is just a shortcut to Internet Explorer? Or is it supposed to do something else? And what are all these buttons on websites? I was promised I would need only three buttons and this site has four! Oh, here is a simple site, it just says "type your AOL password here and click OK" -- that I can do...
Limited site functionality wouldn't be a bad idea either, and the poster suggested this as well. Find out what people use the Internet the most for, and build your own websites with that info. (I don't really know what most AOLers do on the Web, but I doubt they need access to Kuro5hin, Slashdot, Techweb, etc.)
All in all, a marketable idea IMHO. Of course, Netpliance tried it with the I-Opener and it didn't work out so well for them, but I think their execution was flawed.
As someone who has worked tech support for Dell (outsourced, but the same program, and you'd never know we were outsourced except for our smaller paychecks) let me clue you in.
First off, the 2 hours hold time really is not our fault. We know you're there, but so are 1000 other people, and they called first. We take them as they come in, and either you get someone who's just looking for good call times who will blow you off (which gets you on the line faster to be blown off) or you get someone, like me, who doesn't really care about call times but will try to fix your problem (but, then, of course, that means you'll have a longer hold time). Those are your two choices...there are no others. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
Secondly, is that a lot of folks call tech support with basic (l)user questions. I'm a sucker for them, and will try to answer them as best as I can. Of course, these folks aren't the best equipped to handle the answers, so I usually end up having to rephrase my answer a few times. Once again, this is going to lead to higher hold times. Sorry about that, but if it was you or your grandmother on the other end of the phone, I'm sure you wouldn't mind me helping her out.
Third, when people yell and scream and bitch and moan at me for something which I have no authority to change, well, that takes time too. Just get down to the problem and I'll try and help you. Bitch and moan, and I'll sit back and read /. until you calm down, or, in extreme cases, I'll "accidentally" hit the disconnect button.
And, if I say there's nothing I can do for you. That's it. There's nothing I can do for you. Mgmt and/or Level 2 techs aren't going to help you either. I'm not Michael Dell, nor do I get a personal audience with him. There's no way in hell I'm going to get Dell to change their policies. Live with it, or complain to Customer Service. Tech Support is there to fix computers, not to handle complaints.
Fourth, you must understand that we provide a limited support. Don't expect me to fix WinAmp. Don't expect me to teach you how to use a spreadsheet. If there's something wrong with your hardware, I'll find it. But you may need to reinstall. Sorry, but that's a valid way of diagnosing software problems.
As for finding someone else to help, you've got to realize that in a room of 300 techs there's 300 people on the other end of the phone as well. If you've been on hold for 2 hours, that means every tech is busy as well. So, what do you expect me to do? Walk around and ask all the techs if they know how to fix your problem? Perhaps I should just stand up and make an announcement? We don't have time to discuss things, except perhaps for the 10 minute smoke break we get every 2 hours. And, yeah, everyone really feels like talking about your problem at that point...no, really, we do. Riiiggghhhht.
Oh, and my supervisor is a manager. That means he's a paper pusher. He monitor's call times and queue loads, etc. He has no technical knowledge, and couldn't help you even if he wanted to. Which he doesn't, and I can't make him.
All in all, I'd say I'm a pretty good tech. I help people when I can, and if you want to bitch and moan, go right ahead, I'll just sit back and pull in my $10/hour to hear you complain. Cuss me out if you want, I really don't care. Not that that happens often with me. Within a year of working there, I've had 2 job offers, one invite to a woman's house boat, and 3 gifts mailed to me. But, hey, I guess I'm the exception.
Not to get too far off-topic here, but I have to say the "American Dream" is a bust. The unfortunate part of most "American Dreams" is that 1,000 or more people must be stepped on in order to claw yourself to the top.
So, are all the rich villains? No, probably not. Are a great many of them? Absolutely. Employing slave labor in 3rd world countries, buying laws to minimize taxes, holding communities economic hostage in order to bring (usually low-paying) jobs, massive layoffs when VP's and higher are pulling in 6 figure bonuses, unabated environmental pollution, outright lies to the public, deceptive and insidious advertising, and the list goes on and on. These are all villianous acts.
Is there anything illegal about this? No, I guess not. But that's only because they write the laws. Is it unethical (which is where laws are supposed to originate from)? Absolutely.
So, you want me to tell you what's wrong with protecting one's revenue? It's because you have to crush people in order to praise the almighty dollar.
Not to mention the purely economical aspect of the wealthy getting wealthier and the poor getting poorer. Eventually, that causes the death of consumers. Oh, and also the oh-so-practical view that a small minority of rich people with a large majority of poor and oppressed wage-slaves will sooner or later lead to a bloody revolt.
Ummm...why would the Mafia, et al. want to assault Sealand? I think you misunderstood. HavenCo's customers possibly include some Mafia, et al. organizations. These Mafia, et al. folks aren't likely to enjoy Sealand getting blown to bits. These Mafia, et al. groups can have high connections in political circles. You do the math...
And what about the continuing surge in population levels? If I get say, 5 acres, then I have 3 children, do I divide it equally among them? And then what about their children? Must they stay in that same place? What if my land is in Arizona? Can I move (please)?
Perhaps if you weren't so busy being brainwashed by your gov't and becoming a drone, you might have realized a few things. First off, that there's more to economies than simple capitalism or communism/socialism. Secondly, that just because communism in the USSR failed does not necessarily mean it's a bad ideal. Thirdly, that nothing is quite so black and white to be able to say "Capitalism good, Communism bad." and be done with it. Fourthly, that the poster was in no way "broad, vague [or] unreasonable", though I admit it might have been a little utopian because of people who can't quite grasp the concept that the US may not have all the answers.
Lastly, the poster was not talking of socialism! He was simply arguing that it should be a birthright to have a piece of land that you are free to do with as you please! How difficult is that to understand?
Well, that makes it pretty clear that the US isn't socialist, then....
Ummm...I believe he was talking about property, aka "land". Now, go and reread the post. Thank you.
They really don't have too much bandwidth there, not to mention the fact that they have a very small platform for a data center, and can't really afford to boot off "bad" customers for "good" customers (since the bad ones pay more). And what business would really want to be hosted on Sealand instead of a local datacenter?
I imagine they only download it once, then distribute via LAN. Besides, from last year's coverage, "Google actually paid for only about 50 copies of Red Hat, and those purchases were more of a goodwill gesture. "I feel like I should be nice, so when I go to Fry's I pick up a copy," Brin said."
Evidently, they shun multiprocessor boxes, use big & fast IDE drives (2 per PC, one on each IDE channel), and from last year's article, use 100 Mbps links on the racks, with gigabit links between the racks. Last year's articles also quotes "256 megabytes of memory and 80 gigabytes of storage", though I imagine it's closer to 512MB (at least) and 180 GB per server now. Also says that they pack them in 1U on each side of a rack.
But, here's the kicker, "Many of the systems are based on Intel Celeron processors, the same chips in cheap consumer PCs."!
Let's disregard the fact that they have only recently been awarded the patent, and applied for it Nov 12, 1996, shall we? I know those pesky facts can get in the way sometimes....
You'd need it to be able to independently run 2 or more television monitors, or sets of speakers in seperate rooms, with an IR port for control.
It should be able to be programmed to record something or control household X10 devices via HTTP, and have FTP transferring capabilities.
Instead of an IR remote, how about a RF or, even better, 802.11b or Bluetooth, remote?
While we're at it, and I'm envisioning this as the hub of a household's technology, it should handle your voice mail and email communications (including options to page/call you when an important message is rec'd), as well as be your DHCP/DNS/File/Print server for a small home LAN.
Don't forget AMPLIFIED Dolby Digital/DTS 5.1 outputs and inputs.
Dual tuner inputs would make the magic of Picture in Picture possible. Take it one step further, and have web/headlines/menu/etc. as one of the pictures.
Don't forget the CD burner to make a CD from those OV files, as well as MPEG4 compressed DVD movies on CD.
And, of course, what about the games?!? We wanna play games, don't we? On the big screen TV? Of course we do. So, it should be able to play computer games, but also have video inputs for console systems, which it would do video switching for.
Oh yeah, and it should be available on an easy monthly payment plan! =)
Obviously, this sort of thing can be implemented in a PC, minus an elegant UI. But it's just too much damn work! I want one of these things so I can be lazy...not so I can hack around with it! This is a lazy man's device...it's gotta come preassembled. =)
Fortunately, we don't have to aim for lossless compression. MPEG4 works wonders....
Did the FBI break US law? It certainly seems that they might have. The whole wash about not having jurisdiction is BS, as the article states the sniffing and login were done in the US...Seattle to be precise.
Now, the sniffer wasn't a problem, I don't think, since the FBI legally owned that computer and are free to install whatever monitoring tools they want (BTW, I don't think it was a sniffer but a key logger). The using of the passwords to log onto an account that was not theirs, however, is a crime. And I believe that if a private US citizen were to hack another computer in another country, that US law would still be applicable. If I kill a Russian citizen visiting the US, am I not guilty of murder in the US? Or am I only guilty in Russia?
So, the FBI broke the law by hacking another computer. This would be OK if they had a search warrant, but, obviously, they didn't get one until after the fact. I wonder if they tried to get one before the operation, and were turned down by a judge who stated that they didn't need one. Barring that, I would say they definitely need a search warrant before downloading the data (including simply viewing the data and gaining access). After all, for the time between downloading the data and having a search warrant for it, that data was effectively stolen merchandise.
And, besides, it's called a search warrant, not a look warrant!
So what actually does pay for those gold-encrusted towers? Okay...maybe not gold encrusted, but at least in my neck of the woods, most of the churches are the biggest, newest, and nicest buildings around. Something has to pay for them....
No, they're doing it because it makes them feel good. And it's easier than volunteering at the local soup kitchen, or treating a homeless guy to a good meal and hot shower. As with most religious exercises, it's a way for them to absolve themselves of the sin that they have just becasue they're human....