Ouch! Still, I would think updating a Linux distro is less of a revolution than an evolution.
When you upgrade a Microsoft OS, you never know what kind of huge, bloated, poorly-tested, insecure, labyrinthine technology you will be roped into using. I can't speak for the Linux world since I don't have much experience, but Microsoft's attitude is often:
If it works, screw with it, so the marketing monkeys have something to trumpet about. If it breaks, fix it in a service pack, but not until people complain.
I can tell you that this is not a unified solution. Newer does not equal better by any means. We have several customers who've insisted on taking the plunge and upgrading to (formatting and re-installing; not upgrading the installed components) Windows ME, Windows 2000, or Windows XP (home or pro) and hav actually CAUSED themselves problems, rather than solve them. Many of them have reverted to Windows 98 to solve their problems because it 'worked' moreso than the "professional" operating systems (ME notwithstanding).
I've also worked with quite a few machines, some with '98 (for game playing), mostly with 2k and XP (for development use both at work and at home) and unless those machines that were upgraded had some really old or funky hardware, your experience is vastly different from mine.
Still, I realize I wasn't really helping the poor guy, but the fact remains that the crystal in Windows 98's palm is going to start flashing pretty soon. Microsoft is going to make sure that it does everything it can to force users to upgrade, whether they like it, or need it, or not.
If an administrator is willing to do the work that Microsoft cannot or will not do, it should be possible to locate and download hotfixes and security patches so that you don't have to rely on Microsoft's servers. I used to always do that and keep a local copy of everything for the next time I wanted to set up a machine or reinstall the OS. However, as you stated, this is getting harder and harder to do. I'm not sure you can download a full installation of IE (although you probably can order it on CD for a nominal fee), however, all fixes come with a KB article number and I believe if you look the article up in the KB there is usually, if not always, a download link.
Like another poster said, "Spend the money!" Anything else means you will spend it anyway in man-hours, with less assurance of a good result.
I have a hard time sympathizing with management who would willingly use Windows 98, especially in the year 2003. Windows 98 was nothing but pain for me (I ran it on the kids' computer for a couple years). I switched it to XP Home and all my problems went away.
Expense notwithstanding, the first thing I would do is upgrade to a _business_ operating system, i.e., Windows 2000. Windows 98 is oging to be dead soon anyway from what I understand. Microsoft is dead-ending their old software really agressively these days (of course, the same will be true for Windows 2000, which is a shame).
After that, there are tons of solutions available.
I know it's not realistic to expect PHB's to upgrade the OS, but in the next year or two it's going to be mandatory if you want continued support.
That was one of my favorite games of the last several years and the only RTS game I could ever get into (besides Outpost 2). The AI was weak, but the game was loads of fun. My kids loved it, too. If there's a sequel I'll be in line to check it out.
Gee, I seem to recall feeling the same way in the late 80's. So many Amiga games (my platform of choice at the time) had jaw-dropping graphics and no good game play, but there were still some great games.
However, I'll one-up you. I actually rented the movie! The local video store has more MST'ed SF movies than SF movies I'd want to rent... bleh!
Anyhow, it was interesting to see what they cut out... most exposition that made the film have slightly more sense, plus some apparent fleeting nudity in the for-lack-of-a-better-word sex scene with Chunkhead and Grandma.
Truly a horrible movie, and a great MST3K episode.
The original intent of blue laws was exactly what you say they were "pretending", but if the law was enforced equally (i.e., small businesses weren't exempt) then it really does sound fair, even if it wasn't necessarily a good idea.
Unfortunately, the real problem is government attempting to right some imbalance by passing a law and then passing another law to adjust for the new problems created and then passing yet another law when that doesn't quite work... that's why the government is constantly screwing the consumer in areas like cable and satellite TV. They are trying to level the playing field by badaging the symptoms rather than curing the causes and are causing more problems then they solve.
It's also how our Federal tax code got to its ludicrous, elephantine state. Just like in programming, sometimes you have to throw the whole thing out and start over. It will be much less work in the long run.
A flat tax or something equivalent wouldn't be a panacea, but it would sure be a better starting place for adjustments than the status quo. Also, not leading people around by the nose through the tax code (incentives, disincentive and other nonsense, social engineering through draconian bureaucracy...) would be a good idea.
Depends on your source, I think. IIRC, the old Tech Ref Manual listed them as 1700-1711. I don't suppose the contract numbers are canon, even if (at least some of) the names are.
The TRM goes on to list later generations including dozens more Constitution-class ships as well as several other versions from scouts and tugs to my fave, the "Dreadnought", with 3 warp nacelles.
Those starship types don't show up in the later "Star Trek History of Space Flight" (or whatever it was called) book. I don't know how rigidly Paramount managed that sort of thing, so finding contradictory info might be easy.
I don't want to get into the whole "what is canon and what isn't" thing, it's just a freakin' TV show. However, I do think the idea of making new episodes in the vein of TOS is really cool, especially if there's good continuity with established history (like "Federation", which was the best Star Trek book I ever read).
I'm DL'ing the episode by modem, so I'll get to enjoy it tomorrow.
Long time Trek fans will recall that the Exeter was one of the original 12 Constitution-class starships. Others included Constitution (obviously), Enterprise (duh!), York, Potempkin, Hood... that's all I recall off-hand.
The old AMC U.S.S. Enterprise I built with my Dad when I was a bout 8 or so had decals for all twelve ships with appropriate call numbers (NCC-1700, etc).
I'm sure the classic, original Technical Reference Guide, with its silly "20th century equivalent" electronic components probably has a listing, but mine's in a box somehwhere.
p.s. I live in a subdivision called "Exeter".
Re:True story - virtual reality foxhole digging si
on
Mood-Sensing Computer
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· Score: 2
As with the case in Oregon, a costly, unweildly, unfeasible solution is usually a sign of a lack of common sense. Fortunately, there are some lawmakers and leaders who have common sense, but not enough.
Very informative, Bill! The Nanny State is alive and well.
I'm glad Virginia is largely immune to this kind of nonsense. Of course, if Northern Virginia were in charge, we'd be more like Maryland or, shudder, Massachusetts, but fortunately there are enough people in the Commonwealth who would rather live their lives and be productive than vote those kinds of politicians in.
I'm glad NJ and Oregon have those laws, I've lost 5 cars this week to exploding gas stations and two times it wasn't even caused by me!
Why? Why settle for a simple, proven, cost-effective solution for increasing revenue when you can go for the technologically-advanced, bureaucratically-unmanageable, intrusive, expensive and utterly ridiculous solution? This is Oregon, after all.
Plus don't forget all the potential for using anti-terror efforts as an excuse for tracking citizens' movements or other bald-faced power grabs.
This is what happens when a bunch of technically- naive (i.e. most) politicians get ahold of a copy of Wired.
Does Microsoft honestly expect to stay afloat in five years if their next move forward involves two strategies which royally piss off corporations and consumers alike?
It's worked for them so far, who says the future will be any different? Tell me something that Microsoft has done that has not pissed off corporations and consumers? (For me personally, I can say Windows 2000, Visual Studio 6, and ODBC 3.0).
Re:When will they learn?
on
ISP Chief on Spam
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· Score: 3, Insightful
I had to write them a nasty e-mail critisizing the lack of filters (even though it was my aunt's fault for posting to a bunch of newsgroups).
It's not your fault when someone abuses you or takes advantage of you. Certainly, there are steps to take to help prevent this abuse, but let's leave the fault where it belongs: the spammer.
He says he can't describe the book, so he doesn't. He says he can't describe the style of writing, so he doesn't. About the only thing he did say was that you need to be "feral" to understand it. I suppose that's some use of the word I'm not familiar with.
I'm still trying to figure out why he wrote a review, since he clearly couldn't be bothered with describing anything useful about the book.
Yeah, I know what you mean. Every time I've upgraded my housing, the neighborhood I moved to was more white. I like white professional people just fine (I am one), but I really enjoyed the (age, national-origin, career) diversity in the apartments I lived in 10-15 years ago.
Slashdot Mirror
Ouch! Still, I would think updating a Linux distro is less of a revolution than an evolution.
When you upgrade a Microsoft OS, you never know what kind of huge, bloated, poorly-tested, insecure, labyrinthine technology you will be roped into using. I can't speak for the Linux world since I don't have much experience, but Microsoft's attitude is often:
If it works, screw with it, so the marketing monkeys have something to trumpet about. If it breaks, fix it in a service pack, but not until people complain.
It was a joke. Not a great one, but a joke nonetheless.
I can tell you that this is not a unified solution. Newer does not equal better by any means. We have several customers who've insisted on taking the plunge and upgrading to (formatting and re-installing; not upgrading the installed components) Windows ME, Windows 2000, or Windows XP (home or pro) and hav actually CAUSED themselves problems, rather than solve them. Many of them have reverted to Windows 98 to solve their problems because it 'worked' moreso than the "professional" operating systems (ME notwithstanding).
I've also worked with quite a few machines, some with '98 (for game playing), mostly with 2k and XP (for development use both at work and at home) and unless those machines that were upgraded had some really old or funky hardware, your experience is vastly different from mine.
Still, I realize I wasn't really helping the poor guy, but the fact remains that the crystal in Windows 98's palm is going to start flashing pretty soon. Microsoft is going to make sure that it does everything it can to force users to upgrade, whether they like it, or need it, or not.
If an administrator is willing to do the work that Microsoft cannot or will not do, it should be possible to locate and download hotfixes and security patches so that you don't have to rely on Microsoft's servers. I used to always do that and keep a local copy of everything for the next time I wanted to set up a machine or reinstall the OS. However, as you stated, this is getting harder and harder to do. I'm not sure you can download a full installation of IE (although you probably can order it on CD for a nominal fee), however, all fixes come with a KB article number and I believe if you look the article up in the KB there is usually, if not always, a download link.
Like another poster said, "Spend the money!" Anything else means you will spend it anyway in man-hours, with less assurance of a good result.
I have a hard time sympathizing with management who would willingly use Windows 98, especially in the year 2003. Windows 98 was nothing but pain for me (I ran it on the kids' computer for a couple years). I switched it to XP Home and all my problems went away.
Expense notwithstanding, the first thing I would do is upgrade to a _business_ operating system, i.e., Windows 2000. Windows 98 is oging to be dead soon anyway from what I understand. Microsoft is dead-ending their old software really agressively these days (of course, the same will be true for Windows 2000, which is a shame).
After that, there are tons of solutions available.
I know it's not realistic to expect PHB's to upgrade the OS, but in the next year or two it's going to be mandatory if you want continued support.
That's what demos are for. Besides it sounds like it could be up to another year before it happens.
Total Annihilation?!
That was one of my favorite games of the last several years and the only RTS game I could ever get into (besides Outpost 2). The AI was weak, but the game was loads of fun. My kids loved it, too. If there's a sequel I'll be in line to check it out.
Gee, I seem to recall feeling the same way in the late 80's. So many Amiga games (my platform of choice at the time) had jaw-dropping graphics and no good game play, but there were still some great games.
Some things never change.
Here's the real question: Is the TRM considered canon? I know the U.S.S. Enterprise blueprints from the same era (which are extremely cool) are not.
After that, we can settle the question of "Who is better, Kirk or Picard?"
Then, "What is the one, true religion?"
IDIC,
Rick
Not literally, but in prior years the Home Owner's Association did a lot of that figuratively.
"Space Mutiny" was in the 8th season actually.
However, I'll one-up you. I actually rented the movie! The local video store has more MST'ed SF movies than SF movies I'd want to rent... bleh!
Anyhow, it was interesting to see what they cut out... most exposition that made the film have slightly more sense, plus some apparent fleeting nudity in the for-lack-of-a-better-word sex scene with Chunkhead and Grandma.
Truly a horrible movie, and a great MST3K episode.
The original intent of blue laws was exactly what you say they were "pretending", but if the law was enforced equally (i.e., small businesses weren't exempt) then it really does sound fair, even if it wasn't necessarily a good idea.
Unfortunately, the real problem is government attempting to right some imbalance by passing a law and then passing another law to adjust for the new problems created and then passing yet another law when that doesn't quite work... that's why the government is constantly screwing the consumer in areas like cable and satellite TV. They are trying to level the playing field by badaging the symptoms rather than curing the causes and are causing more problems then they solve.
It's also how our Federal tax code got to its ludicrous, elephantine state. Just like in programming, sometimes you have to throw the whole thing out and start over. It will be much less work in the long run.
A flat tax or something equivalent wouldn't be a panacea, but it would sure be a better starting place for adjustments than the status quo. Also, not leading people around by the nose through the tax code (incentives, disincentive and other nonsense, social engineering through draconian bureaucracy...) would be a good idea.
Depends on your source, I think. IIRC, the old Tech Ref Manual listed them as 1700-1711. I don't suppose the contract numbers are canon, even if (at least some of) the names are.
The TRM goes on to list later generations including dozens more Constitution-class ships as well as several other versions from scouts and tugs to my fave, the "Dreadnought", with 3 warp nacelles.
Those starship types don't show up in the later "Star Trek History of Space Flight" (or whatever it was called) book. I don't know how rigidly Paramount managed that sort of thing, so finding contradictory info might be easy.
I don't want to get into the whole "what is canon and what isn't" thing, it's just a freakin' TV show. However, I do think the idea of making new episodes in the vein of TOS is really cool, especially if there's good continuity with established history (like "Federation", which was the best Star Trek book I ever read).
I'm DL'ing the episode by modem, so I'll get to enjoy it tomorrow.
NCC == "Naval Construction Contract"
Concept Junkie (who could probably buy a car with his early 70's ST paraphenalia)
All the Constitution-class starships are from Earth (i.e., real) history.
Others include the Farragut and Constellation, as well as others I mentioned above.
Long time Trek fans will recall that the Exeter was one of the original 12 Constitution-class starships. Others included Constitution (obviously), Enterprise (duh!), York, Potempkin, Hood... that's all I recall off-hand.
The old AMC U.S.S. Enterprise I built with my Dad when I was a bout 8 or so had decals for all twelve ships with appropriate call numbers (NCC-1700, etc).
I'm sure the classic, original Technical Reference Guide, with its silly "20th century equivalent" electronic components probably has a listing, but mine's in a box somehwhere.
p.s. I live in a subdivision called "Exeter".
As with the case in Oregon, a costly, unweildly, unfeasible solution is usually a sign of a lack of common sense. Fortunately, there are some lawmakers and leaders who have common sense, but not enough.
Very informative, Bill! The Nanny State is alive and well.
I'm glad Virginia is largely immune to this kind of nonsense. Of course, if Northern Virginia were in charge, we'd be more like Maryland or, shudder, Massachusetts, but fortunately there are enough people in the Commonwealth who would rather live their lives and be productive than vote those kinds of politicians in.
I'm glad NJ and Oregon have those laws, I've lost 5 cars this week to exploding gas stations and two times it wasn't even caused by me!
Why? Why settle for a simple, proven, cost-effective solution for increasing revenue when you can go for the technologically-advanced, bureaucratically-unmanageable, intrusive, expensive and utterly ridiculous solution? This is Oregon, after all.
Plus don't forget all the potential for using anti-terror efforts as an excuse for tracking citizens' movements or other bald-faced power grabs.
This is what happens when a bunch of technically- naive (i.e. most) politicians get ahold of a copy of Wired.
http://www.dapcentral.org
'Nuff said.
Yeah, with Microsoft it can be a net negative game. They often get paid to make things worse. That's one of the benefits of being a monopoly.
Does Microsoft honestly expect to stay afloat in five years if their next move forward involves two strategies which royally piss off corporations and consumers alike?
It's worked for them so far, who says the future will be any different? Tell me something that Microsoft has done that has not pissed off corporations and consumers? (For me personally, I can say Windows 2000, Visual Studio 6, and ODBC 3.0).
I had to write them a nasty e-mail critisizing the lack of filters (even though it was my aunt's fault for posting to a bunch of newsgroups).
It's not your fault when someone abuses you or takes advantage of you. Certainly, there are steps to take to help prevent this abuse, but let's leave the fault where it belongs: the spammer.
Worst. Review. Ever.
He says he can't describe the book, so he doesn't. He says he can't describe the style of writing, so he doesn't. About the only thing he did say was that you need to be "feral" to understand it. I suppose that's some use of the word I'm not familiar with.
I'm still trying to figure out why he wrote a review, since he clearly couldn't be bothered with describing anything useful about the book.
I think you are giving their intelligence too much credit.
Yeah, I know what you mean. Every time I've upgraded my housing, the neighborhood I moved to was more white. I like white professional people just fine (I am one), but I really enjoyed the (age, national-origin, career) diversity in the apartments I lived in 10-15 years ago.