What??? the iTunes interface is the worst I've ever seen, much, much worse that winamp, worse than musicmatch (ick), and even Real's is less confusing, better looking and more functional, can't say I've ever used quicktimes for a music library but...
The only reason I'm posting this is b/c I've noticed other people, lots, using iTunes as their music player and it flumoxes me, maybe I'm missing something, trying to force it to work a certain way rather than learning to work with it the way it wants to work, but doesn't anyone else out there find it so maddening that you'd rather stick a spoon in your eye than use it? And what about the sound? where are my DSPs?
iTunes I put below all but quicktime, since I've never used it and can't compare. LOL even yahoo's musc player is marginally better!
Personally, I use ephpod for my iPod synch, with mp3Tag for organizing, winamp, which while flawed is still miles better than anything else I've ever found, for playing music, and VLC for the video goodness.
I've solved this problem w/ VPN (simple RV42 linksys routers @ every site), Windows Firewall & Windows IP Filters - I'd implement IPSec to the router if I could but I don't think I can w/ these. The security cameras are behind the vpn router (NAT'd, naturally, with port forwarding for the video program's client interface) and all other local systems are behind a separate router.
As for the bosses, they get an RV42 at their houses/work as well. I use the DVR's client software, not the web interface, so we can keep port 80 blocked. I have dedicated video monitoring PCs @ the central office, no one is allowed to load or do ANYthing to/with them other than monitor the cameras. Where I can't do that (a couple of the PHBs' personal PCs) I make sure I manage their security. So far it's working pretty well.
I think it says (guesses?) it will cost Sony $900 and launch, not that Sony will charge $900 for it. And that's spec'd for the all-out box, HD, Blue-Ray, etc.
Speaking of which, how much is it worth to sony that Blue-Ray wins the format war? Sony will have not just the usual benefits of $$ games sold to make up for their hardware losses, if they can put xx million blue ray disk readers out there too...
As a windows desktop administrator since the bad old days of 95 and 98 I have to give you guys some credit for how far you've come; however there are two issues I'm faced with that continue to be problematic - user rights and security auditing.
Despite whatever SU-like features you have, on XP I still can't reliably install, or in some cases even run(!), programs under restricted user accounts, forcing me to give most of my clients admin accounts and just hoping for the best. How seriously do you treat this issue and what work is being done towards getting an OS that can be used in the real world with restricted user rights?
Auditing - finding, say, if user X has any write rights anywhere on a server, who has done what on the system in the past day, what files were modified by a program's install, etc. all these things are do-able but not easily, and not using just MS supplied tools. How about a toolset for administrators that give us (especially the part-time admins like myself who don't just live and breath security) easy access to the reporting, auditing, and security tweaking we need to do our jobs well. And no, configuring and interpreting the security logs in the event viewer doesn't count as an easy to use auditing tool.
OK, I know there's the ACLU and EFF (actually does the EFF focus on this kind of thing?) but how else do we oppose this *effectively*? Any responses will be read and distributed to some well-funded friends with a stake in this issue.
Aside from the obvious one, spelling, I think the word processor has encouraged at best a different kind of intelligence.
It used to be you had to conceive your entire essay/story/etc., then have each paragraph, and each sentence, held in your head to some extent before you started writing. Think once / write once (edit once) and then type it out. Now you can start a paper/paragraph/sentence with nothing in your short term memory, just kind of roll it out and go back a million times to edit/redu/rethink/rework it until it's all coherent.
Basically, for certain tasks, the more that's stored in the electronic memory the less is (needed to be) stored in your brain.
I completely disagree that it's hard(er) to get fluid layout allowing dynamic content (resizable pages, etc.) using CSS - I've gone both ways to acheive that goal and using CSS was way easier to handle unknown-at-design-time changing content.
This is from the perspecive of writing server side scripting + html. Possibly if you're doing all your work client side then tables are easier (I don't know) but CSS + Server Side Scripting for the win every time if you want dynamic content.
I think the reason is CSS is more relational - you put things on the page relative to other things, or relative to other settings (i.e. all fonts are in em not in px, etc.).
For example, if you don't know if you'll be displaying 5 columns or 10 columns of graphics/text the scripting to write the tables out is a pain, accounting for spans, figuring out programaticaly where the end of the row is and getting all the correct table markup in, completely rewritting the table every time some data in the middle gets cut out and it goes to 9 columns... With CSS it's a breeze, you don't need to do much of anything on the server side, just drop the data into the document and, if it's well written, the document will bend itself around as needed to accomodate it.
I've got pages that display @ multiple resolutions (as in resize and realign everything to take advantage of the additional screen realestate) & at +- 2 font sizes that are written in under a hundred lines of code + markup. it would take hundreds of lines to do that w/ tables if it could even be done.
"The real problem is that everything is moved via truck and made out of plastic. SUV or not, rising petroleum prices are going to cascade into everything else anyway."
I wish I could avoid this conversation but that last line is too much - the problem is the more people who drive SUV's needlessly the faster oil prices will go up and make everything else, as you point out, more expensive for everyone else. So every moron who drives an SUV by themselves on their daily commute is directly hurting me.
Not to mention they're wide as hell and make it harder for me to split lanes on my motorcycle
This was already covered by the Japanese many years ago - ever see Roujin Z? By the director of Akira, it's a mechanical assistance suit for the elderly that, among other things, replaces many of the functions of nursing homes.
"While there should be no misconception that the ultimate goal of DARPA is to turn autonomous vehicles into killing machines"
Feel I should at least mention the idea that doing really, really cool development for DARPA is the kind of thing you need to ask... should I?
Not sure if this is possible w/o yafw (yet another flame war) but someone has to say it... these people could be doing the exact same research without involving the US military... couldn't they? And, um, I suppose it's possible they could actually not give that research to the US military after they'd perfected it...
OK, I can see that one way or another if you build it the US military will get it, but it doesn't have to be soooooo, like, readily handed over. Could at least make them ask or something...
lol thanks I kind of thought it was a decent question too, working in the industry I do I tend to see the sides of laws other people don't pay attention too but moderation is what it is.
As it is I'm not woried, there's no way Utah law can do anything to us in California. I think:)
yea, as I posted above I run a double-confirmation opt-in email list for local adult clubs (the contents of the emails could be considered porn on occasion, it's that damn "lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of any person" clause that gets us, i mean, that encompases a hell of a lot of calvin klein commercials too...) - does this mean I need to confirm the age and residency of everyone who signs up (and confirms!) to the list? that would be waaaaaaay too stupid. but it's utah. so i'm worried.
I'm wondering about subscription list too, I run a double confirmation opt-in email list with some sexually explicit material, if some kid in utah comes to a website I admin, signs up and confirms, do the mormons come to san francisco and arrest me?
I too disagree that Exchange is the key, I've been looking for a windows based calendar/email/contacts integrated client forever and can't find anything that can touch outlook. And that's not a very high bar to cross. If ANYone comes out w/ one I'll have my clients off Outlook so fast it'll make MS's head spin. Screw Exchange, for small businesses (all my clients are businesses w/ less than 20 employees) I can work just fine without it. I mean, sure, there needs to be a way to share the calendar info, but that is way, way less than an exchange server and could be supported by any number of client-ish hacks.
Give me the client side and I'll be such a happy camper.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/peekabooty does what you want but I'm not sure how well. I'd imagine it's better than triangle boy since symantec bought safeweb and kind of buried it.
And those are some FAT beurocrats they're putting in there... 17,000 square feet / 50 employees = 340 sq ft per beaurocrat. That's some fat cats they have there. Or a really, really spacious server room and a Mr. Burns style executive washroom.
props to nonags, it's my first stop whenever I'm looking for software. I only find what I need about 50% of the time there but it's always good free goodness.
I'm trying to form the Church of the Coming Combat Upgrade (waiting 6 months or more for them to fix the incredibly unequal combat system which was promised, repeatedly, in early 2004 and, like the Second Coming of the Big J., has yet to materialize). I'll not consider JTL until they fix the first game. Hrm, I wonder if Microsoft and SOE hang together, they operate in some of the same ways.
It's funny you mention this, I just heard (on NPR but I can't recall the show, sorry, no link) that CBS was about to run this story - the angle was the reports were based on forged documents that could have easily been checked but weren't - this story was bumped right before it was broadcast by, you guessed it, Rather's report on Bush's national guard. Blinding irony, no?
no, no knowledge of software RAID in other OSs. I meant my comment specifically for Windows software RAID, sorry if that wasn't clear (I think I realized 1/2 way thru writing the post I wasn't being specific and tried to correct that...).
I'm quite certain, after several tests I personally did, that Windows (all testing done in 2k but XP probably uses the same software raid technology...) software raid is a horrible idea and should never be used unless you have really really good backups of the data in the RAID (and are just implementing the raid for performance reasons).
"Could another version of Paketto Keiretsu be in the works?"
Silly poster, the article's link to Dan's website brings you to the new tools (in "prebuild three"). Can someone please get a.torrent up?
Those are some seriously amazing gadgets in there, but I have to say I've yet to actually, you know, use one in any particular way.... yet I'm excited there are more out! I somehow want to know I could store knoppix in DNS even if I'm not likely to actually do it.
The problem w/ Software RAID is it depends on the OS, if you OS fails you can loose your data - I've confirmed this w/ Windows Software RAID at least, it's a real, real bitch to recover from if you have any OS problems (and no matter what anyone tells you Signed Disks in Windows are a horror story waiting to jump out at you).
As for forking $ for RAID cards, I've had really good experiences w/ the MegaRaid cards from LSI Logic - really, really good tech support and exceptionally inexpensive cards.
Doesn't this 300 feet thing sound fishy to you? I was looking at RFID chips... about 9 months ago and for a reasonably priced chip and reader, with ideal conditions, I was lucky to get reads at 18 inches. PLUS any kind of metal will weaken the signal (not just the plates mind you, the whole bumper and the rest of the car (well, if there's any metal in it) will make the read harder.
Either in the past 9 months HUGE progress has been made in RFID technology or there's something really fishy about this story.
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What??? the iTunes interface is the worst I've ever seen, much, much worse that winamp, worse than musicmatch (ick), and even Real's is less confusing, better looking and more functional, can't say I've ever used quicktimes for a music library but...
The only reason I'm posting this is b/c I've noticed other people, lots, using iTunes as their music player and it flumoxes me, maybe I'm missing something, trying to force it to work a certain way rather than learning to work with it the way it wants to work, but doesn't anyone else out there find it so maddening that you'd rather stick a spoon in your eye than use it? And what about the sound? where are my DSPs?
iTunes I put below all but quicktime, since I've never used it and can't compare. LOL even yahoo's musc player is marginally better!
Personally, I use ephpod for my iPod synch, with mp3Tag for organizing, winamp, which while flawed is still miles better than anything else I've ever found, for playing music, and VLC for the video goodness.
I've solved this problem w/ VPN (simple RV42 linksys routers @ every site), Windows Firewall & Windows IP Filters - I'd implement IPSec to the router if I could but I don't think I can w/ these. The security cameras are behind the vpn router (NAT'd, naturally, with port forwarding for the video program's client interface) and all other local systems are behind a separate router.
As for the bosses, they get an RV42 at their houses/work as well. I use the DVR's client software, not the web interface, so we can keep port 80 blocked. I have dedicated video monitoring PCs @ the central office, no one is allowed to load or do ANYthing to/with them other than monitor the cameras. Where I can't do that (a couple of the PHBs' personal PCs) I make sure I manage their security. So far it's working pretty well.
I think it says (guesses?) it will cost Sony $900 and launch, not that Sony will charge $900 for it. And that's spec'd for the all-out box, HD, Blue-Ray, etc.
Speaking of which, how much is it worth to sony that Blue-Ray wins the format war? Sony will have not just the usual benefits of $$ games sold to make up for their hardware losses, if they can put xx million blue ray disk readers out there too...
As a windows desktop administrator since the bad old days of 95 and 98 I have to give you guys some credit for how far you've come; however there are two issues I'm faced with that continue to be problematic - user rights and security auditing.
Despite whatever SU-like features you have, on XP I still can't reliably install, or in some cases even run(!), programs under restricted user accounts, forcing me to give most of my clients admin accounts and just hoping for the best. How seriously do you treat this issue and what work is being done towards getting an OS that can be used in the real world with restricted user rights?
Auditing - finding, say, if user X has any write rights anywhere on a server, who has done what on the system in the past day, what files were modified by a program's install, etc. all these things are do-able but not easily, and not using just MS supplied tools. How about a toolset for administrators that give us (especially the part-time admins like myself who don't just live and breath security) easy access to the reporting, auditing, and security tweaking we need to do our jobs well. And no, configuring and interpreting the security logs in the event viewer doesn't count as an easy to use auditing tool.
OK, I know there's the ACLU and EFF (actually does the EFF focus on this kind of thing?) but how else do we oppose this *effectively*? Any responses will be read and distributed to some well-funded friends with a stake in this issue.
Aside from the obvious one, spelling, I think the word processor has encouraged at best a different kind of intelligence.
It used to be you had to conceive your entire essay/story/etc., then have each paragraph, and each sentence, held in your head to some extent before you started writing. Think once / write once (edit once) and then type it out. Now you can start a paper/paragraph/sentence with nothing in your short term memory, just kind of roll it out and go back a million times to edit/redu/rethink/rework it until it's all coherent.
Basically, for certain tasks, the more that's stored in the electronic memory the less is (needed to be) stored in your brain.
I completely disagree that it's hard(er) to get fluid layout allowing dynamic content (resizable pages, etc.) using CSS - I've gone both ways to acheive that goal and using CSS was way easier to handle unknown-at-design-time changing content.
This is from the perspecive of writing server side scripting + html. Possibly if you're doing all your work client side then tables are easier (I don't know) but CSS + Server Side Scripting for the win every time if you want dynamic content.
I think the reason is CSS is more relational - you put things on the page relative to other things, or relative to other settings (i.e. all fonts are in em not in px, etc.).
For example, if you don't know if you'll be displaying 5 columns or 10 columns of graphics/text the scripting to write the tables out is a pain, accounting for spans, figuring out programaticaly where the end of the row is and getting all the correct table markup in, completely rewritting the table every time some data in the middle gets cut out and it goes to 9 columns... With CSS it's a breeze, you don't need to do much of anything on the server side, just drop the data into the document and, if it's well written, the document will bend itself around as needed to accomodate it.
I've got pages that display @ multiple resolutions (as in resize and realign everything to take advantage of the additional screen realestate) & at +- 2 font sizes that are written in under a hundred lines of code + markup. it would take hundreds of lines to do that w/ tables if it could even be done.
"The real problem is that everything is moved via truck and made out of plastic. SUV or not, rising petroleum prices are going to cascade into everything else anyway."
I wish I could avoid this conversation but that last line is too much - the problem is the more people who drive SUV's needlessly the faster oil prices will go up and make everything else, as you point out, more expensive for everyone else. So every moron who drives an SUV by themselves on their daily commute is directly hurting me.
Not to mention they're wide as hell and make it harder for me to split lanes on my motorcycle
This was already covered by the Japanese many years ago - ever see Roujin Z? By the director of Akira, it's a mechanical assistance suit for the elderly that, among other things, replaces many of the functions of nursing homes.
"While there should be no misconception that the ultimate goal of DARPA is to turn autonomous vehicles into killing machines"
... should I?
... these people could be doing the exact same research without involving the US military... couldn't they? And, um, I suppose it's possible they could actually not give that research to the US military after they'd perfected it...
Feel I should at least mention the idea that doing really, really cool development for DARPA is the kind of thing you need to ask
Not sure if this is possible w/o yafw (yet another flame war) but someone has to say it
OK, I can see that one way or another if you build it the US military will get it, but it doesn't have to be soooooo, like, readily handed over. Could at least make them ask or something...
lol thanks I kind of thought it was a decent question too, working in the industry I do I tend to see the sides of laws other people don't pay attention too but moderation is what it is.
:)
As it is I'm not woried, there's no way Utah law can do anything to us in California. I think
yea, as I posted above I run a double-confirmation opt-in email list for local adult clubs (the contents of the emails could be considered porn on occasion, it's that damn "lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of any person" clause that gets us, i mean, that encompases a hell of a lot of calvin klein commercials too...) - does this mean I need to confirm the age and residency of everyone who signs up (and confirms!) to the list? that would be waaaaaaay too stupid. but it's utah. so i'm worried.
I'm wondering about subscription list too, I run a double confirmation opt-in email list with some sexually explicit material, if some kid in utah comes to a website I admin, signs up and confirms, do the mormons come to san francisco and arrest me?
Just sayin thanks 4 the info, webcalendar looks nice, downloading and playing w/ it this week...
rdiff - I'm lazy and use the quite nice, gui-full but shareware Super Flex File Sync. Works very well on the Win boxes I support.
I too disagree that Exchange is the key, I've been looking for a windows based calendar/email/contacts integrated client forever and can't find anything that can touch outlook. And that's not a very high bar to cross. If ANYone comes out w/ one I'll have my clients off Outlook so fast it'll make MS's head spin. Screw Exchange, for small businesses (all my clients are businesses w/ less than 20 employees) I can work just fine without it. I mean, sure, there needs to be a way to share the calendar info, but that is way, way less than an exchange server and could be supported by any number of client-ish hacks.
Give me the client side and I'll be such a happy camper.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/peekabooty does what you want but I'm not sure how well. I'd imagine it's better than triangle boy since symantec bought safeweb and kind of buried it.
And those are some FAT beurocrats they're putting in there... 17,000 square feet / 50 employees = 340 sq ft per beaurocrat. That's some fat cats they have there. Or a really, really spacious server room and a Mr. Burns style executive washroom.
props to nonags, it's my first stop whenever I'm looking for software. I only find what I need about 50% of the time there but it's always good free goodness.
BenQ makes some interesting keyboards and mice, including some in partnership with BMW design group.
The NEC 1765 is a really stunning looking monitor both on and off - you need to see it in person to appreciate it, the best looking LCD i found.
The rest of the PC was plain old AMD-Shuttle, finding a classy, suitable for an executive type PC case is really hard.
I'm trying to form the Church of the Coming Combat Upgrade (waiting 6 months or more for them to fix the incredibly unequal combat system which was promised, repeatedly, in early 2004 and, like the Second Coming of the Big J., has yet to materialize). I'll not consider JTL until they fix the first game. Hrm, I wonder if Microsoft and SOE hang together, they operate in some of the same ways.
It's funny you mention this, I just heard (on NPR but I can't recall the show, sorry, no link) that CBS was about to run this story - the angle was the reports were based on forged documents that could have easily been checked but weren't - this story was bumped right before it was broadcast by, you guessed it, Rather's report on Bush's national guard. Blinding irony, no?
no, no knowledge of software RAID in other OSs. I meant my comment specifically for Windows software RAID, sorry if that wasn't clear (I think I realized 1/2 way thru writing the post I wasn't being specific and tried to correct that...).
I'm quite certain, after several tests I personally did, that Windows (all testing done in 2k but XP probably uses the same software raid technology...) software raid is a horrible idea and should never be used unless you have really really good backups of the data in the RAID (and are just implementing the raid for performance reasons).
"Could another version of Paketto Keiretsu be in the works?"
.torrent up?
Silly poster, the article's link to Dan's website brings you to the new tools (in "prebuild three"). Can someone please get a
Those are some seriously amazing gadgets in there, but I have to say I've yet to actually, you know, use one in any particular way.... yet I'm excited there are more out! I somehow want to know I could store knoppix in DNS even if I'm not likely to actually do it.
The problem w/ Software RAID is it depends on the OS, if you OS fails you can loose your data - I've confirmed this w/ Windows Software RAID at least, it's a real, real bitch to recover from if you have any OS problems (and no matter what anyone tells you Signed Disks in Windows are a horror story waiting to jump out at you).
As for forking $ for RAID cards, I've had really good experiences w/ the MegaRaid cards from LSI Logic - really, really good tech support and exceptionally inexpensive cards.
Doesn't this 300 feet thing sound fishy to you? I was looking at RFID chips ... about 9 months ago and for a reasonably priced chip and reader, with ideal conditions, I was lucky to get reads at 18 inches. PLUS any kind of metal will weaken the signal (not just the plates mind you, the whole bumper and the rest of the car (well, if there's any metal in it) will make the read harder.
Either in the past 9 months HUGE progress has been made in RFID technology or there's something really fishy about this story.