I've seen this happen in a retail DVD drive. I was in a computer store one day, and a kid comes in with his computer. He hands a sales rep a baggie full of CD shards and says he was sitting at his computer running a program on the CD, when about thirty seconds later he hears a small "boom". When he opened the drive the CD was shattered into many, many pieces. He got what he could out of the drive but said there was still a lot of stuff stuck inside. I thought it was the strangest thing I'd ever seen go wrong with a computer. No one there had ever seen or heard of this happening. It was actually quite funny. Everyone there including the kid had a good chuckle at it;)
It's just the X window managers that're beginning to catch up with the aesthetic appeal of Microsoft Windows.
Beginning? As far as I'm concerned most window managers available have surpassed the aesthetic appeal of Windows. That's why I use them. I find Windows a) ugly, and b) frustrating to use because of it's unintuitive interface.
Thinking back, when I started using Linux (and X) in about '95/'96, I found the Window Managers then to be superior to Windows (3.x and Win 95). It really doesn't take much.
Personally, I think Windows XP is step backwards for the Windows UI. The first time I had to use it was when helping a neighbour with some problems they'd been having. I thought the bloody thing was ugly as sin, and very messy. I couldn't stand using it, much less looking at it. I actually found it a little confusing - this coming from a long time Linux user. But wait, isn't Linux supposed to be arcane, confusing, and diffcult to use?
Like I said, one of the main reasons I like running Linux and X is that the Window Managers available provide a much better UI. In terms of aesthetics, ergonomics, and intuitivity.
To reply to your comment on aesthetics, just look at themes for example. All the major window managers are fully themeable and you can change the UI quite a bit. With Windows the most you can do (using the same effort it takes to apply a theme to a wm) is change some colours and add a background.
I think in such cases, they'd go have their facial image updated. The person would be verified/authorized to perform the update by other means of information collected, such as hand writing (signature), height, eye colour, other forms of ID, etc. Of course, if the facial damage wasn't that bad, human judgement could be enough (ie: look at the person and the picture on the license.) Having scars on your face would probably be a good thing as far as the recognition software is concerned.
If you check the Xandros downloads page, you'd see that Xandros hasn't relased anything yet, and as such, aren't required to release the source either.
"and a possible end to the decline we've seen in the price of memory."
A possible end?
The ram I'm using in my system, which I bought late August/early Septemer, has nearly tripled in price since then! At the time I bought it, I thought it was a reasonable price, but now it's just way too expensive.
Keep in mind that memory prices have a great deal to do with supply and demand (or so they say.) Here's a price FAQ I found at crucial.com when wondering why my ram had become so expensvie.
Really. Newer software is designed because newer hardware is available. The new software is generally coded for/with the new hardware in mind. If this guy wants to run a system on older hardware, he should be using software that was designed around the same time the hardware was available. Try the Linux 2.0 kernel series, X 3.3.6. Older distributions had smaller foot prints. Older versions of window managers would be smaller and quicker to compile. Speaking of which, if you have an old system, don't expect to be able to compile all these new software packages with new features designed to take advantage of new hardware, in a reasonable amount of time. Use the older stuff with feature sets that match those of your hardware. Older software is still stable, too. That's why at the time it was released as a 'stable version'. It just doesn't have some of the new features and additions that consume resources. Said features weren't around in old software, because said resources weren't available.
You don't have to be subjected to strip searches, or searches of any kind if you decide not to board the plane. As soon as they pulled off the first electrode, why didn't he just walk away? If it was an issue of principle, he could have continued to argue in a safer manner, perhaps having a physician brought in to properly remove or inspect the electrodes. Or, he could have taken the bus home! (I'm sure there are ferry boats to the mainland.)
Anyone? Moderators?
I'm seeing comments like this and this being moderated up. Did any of the moderators read the article? If they did, they would have noticed on the second page that there is an email address to send comments and formal objections to (ie: not your premiere, although that would also help), and that they *prefer* electronic mail (not paper.) - to quote "Where possible, the board asks that all comments and objections be sent by electronic mail." They also outline the rules for making a formal objection.
Also, "If you file a letter of comment, it will be part of the record of the proceedings. CPCC will receive a copy of it and the Board will take it into account when making a final decision."
You are entitled to attend the hearing, and present your comments and objections. I will not be able to attend the hearing, but I am writing a formal objection. I suggest all Canadians do so - but read the article in its entirety so you know how to do it properly.
Have you ever disassembled a hard drive? I've taken apart about ten of them (and hung the platters on my wall, looks kinda neet). How do you think all the parts in the drive move? There's a magnetic motor, and then there are usually 4 magnets that help move the arm - 2 on top, 2 on bottom. Then the actual arm itself has a big electromagnet on it. These magnets are *very* strong, and sit less than 5cm away from the platters. Yet they don't seem to affect data on the drive. I think the whole "magnets near computers" thing is largely over exaggerated. When I was younger, I took a magnet from a science kit and ran it over a floppy - it didn't do a thing. It probably has to be either extremely strong, or very localized to affect the data. I'd say not to worry about magnets around your computer - just don't run it through an MRI.
I'm in Comp. Sci. at university, and really, the only software I need is a text editor to write my code, a compiler to compile my code, and an OS to run it on. All the software I need is available for free. I'm running Linux, and I can use vi, nedit, or emacs to write my code. C, C++, Java, you name the language, there's a free (as in open source and beer) compiler available for it. Not all the courses I'll be taking involve programming, however. I will have to take humanities courses, and an English (technical writing) class. There are free word processing applications too. I don't have any commercial software on my computer, and won't ever need any to get me through my educational career. If the employment I find is at all similar, I probably won't need commercial software for the rest of my life.
Anyone can intercept the light from my blinking leds and derive the encrypted data all they want. For anything terribly important, I use encryption. I suppose an ISP couldn't encrypt all the data through their modem banks, but if any of their customers were using encryption over those modems, it'd be secure. It doesn't make sense to me why traffic lights on a network device would blink for every bit anyway. Why not just on a per-packet basis?
A lot of people are talking about how much it's costing Rogers or Shaw for their bandwidth. Touting numbers about T1/T3/whatever rentals. They have their own fibre that runs through the cities they offer the service in, and intercity as well. It's *their* fibre. The only thing that costs them money is their connection to the backbone, which is backed by the entire customer base. Each node (ie: each section where bandwidth is 'shared') is connected to a fibre network which leads back to the CO. In my area (a smaller one), this then hits more fibre, picks up a few more small cities on the way to Toronto, and is then routed off Shaw's network to the rest of the internet.
You might think "well it also costs them to wire the fibre." Well they had to bloody do that anyway. That's an assumed cost.
I suppose in my area, I've got it pretty well off. It's a small city, and when I worked for the Cable co. I heard we had smaller nodes than larger centers. Basically, we have the same infrastructure as a huge city, but we're not a huge city.
I don't think any of this price hiking has anything to do with what it costs the cable co. for bandwidth. Rogers is just using this as a way (ie: excuse) to make more money. It's also a good way to gain new customers, those who don't use the net much and find ~$40/month a little pricey.
They should offer lower price points for those who don't use the net much, but anything higher than $50/month for residential service is too much. It's about $40/month for our TV, and $40/month for internet, add tax, $90/month. I'd say the cable co. is getting thier money's worth from us. They're just hikin the price because they can. What're they trying to do, turn this into ISDN?
I admit, if someone on my node were hogging bandwidth all the time, I'd want them to pay more for it. If the bandwidth is shared, though, doesn't that mean as soon as someone else starts using it, the person who's hogging just has less to hog?
I'm sure if the course required that you be on the internet, there'd be computers in class. Browse the web and check your email at home; you're in class for a reason.
How about blocking cell phone frequencies from every class room, lecture hall, and laboratory. Cell phones ringing during a lecture makes me crazy, and I'm a student. If I were a professor, I'd go bloody postal. No one should have a cell phone in class - it's very rude, and very disruptive. And I don't care if they forgot to turn it off, one ring is one ring too many. It's never just one ring either. The student with the phone has to root through their jacket or back pack to find the phone and turn it off - usually 3+ rings later.
And seriously, unless you're a student with some kind of job that requires you to have a cell phone at all times (yeah right, how many students have that kind of job) you don't need to have a bloody phone with you at all times! Leave the thing at home for the sake of your class mates, and your embarassment.
I'm fairly certain there isn't any student who needs a phone in class. None of the students whose phone has rang in my classes have ever answered it. They turn it off as quickly as they can, while 200+ people stare them down.
I plan on setting up a 400GB raid system this spring (would that be enough? I could add an additional 400GB but it wouldn't be raid), unfortunatly I'm only on cable. If I had the bandwidth they're asking for, I'd host that site no problem. It'd be fun. So basically, if anyone would like to fund a nice pipe into my basement, I'll do it:P
Although I'm sure there's no shortage of admins for kernel.org.
I have a Win98 machine at home too, and yeah, I can keep it running fairly stable. But it still does crash, and generally runs dirt slow. And I do maintain the windows installation - windows updates, scandisk, defrag, uninstalling unnecessary software, registry maintenance, you name it.
One big reason I don't use windows is because its user interface is frustratingly limited. I run Enlightenment 16, and Window Maker on my Linux PC, and find the interface infinetly more intuitive, intelligent, and easier to use. I find it improves my productivity. These two window managers do a much better job at managing windows, they perform better, and for me, have a far better track record of stability than windows.
I had become so used to the benefits of these window managers, that while I was home for Christmas, I could not use our 'family' machine that ran windows 98. Instead of using that machine and ssh'ing to my two servers like I used to, I sat local to the machines - using only a shell - because I felt like Windows was keeping me from getting any real work done.
Stability issues aside, I find every other aspect of Windows to be terrible. What I find incredible, is how Windows XP is exactly the same as every other release of windows. The only change to the interface is more eye candy, which means Windows will now hog even more resources than it did before. I've had several opportunities to use XP, and have found its dialogs have become more confusing and ill-designed than previous releases of Windows.
It won't be long before Windows becomes more 'arcane' to setup than Linux with a shell.
You got that job in the first place. I'm 20, and would die for any kind of Unix admin job. I've been wanting that kind of job for 2 years now. I suppose I don't live in the right place to find something like that though. Small city, less opportunity.
However, in your position, I think I'd confront that IT Manager and ask him what the problem is. If he doesn't like that, and does decide to fire you without good reason, you've got grounds for discrimination, in which case, consult a lawyer.
If you never bring it up, you're going to continue working in an uncomfortable environment which would make any job terrible. Eventually you're going to have to discuss it, and it's better you do so while you still have the job, rather than doing it afterwards in the presence of lawyers.
Algoma University College in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. It's got what's called "Accelerated Second Degree Programs in Computer Science and Information Technology." It is 12 months long, from April 30 to April 30 the following year. You can find the program's website here. Basically, the program requires that you have a 3 or 4 year degree in anything BUT Comp. Sci. or I.T.
Apparently this program is pretty popular and really good. I don't know much about it, however. I never attented AUC, it's just in my home town. If you ever decide to attend the program, look me up;)
BTW, I'm assuming you're in the US, and with the value of your dollar, it's like 50% off every day in Canada;) Sault Ste. Marie is also a border town, with a twin city located 5 minutes away in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
Some friends of mine in residence at school have Windows XP, and a buddy of mine has Mac OS X on a nice G4 system. As such, I've had a chance to play around with both. Seems to me that with every release, Windows looks more and more like a Mac OS.
I gotta say though - it's not nearly as slick and intuitive. Not by a long shot:)
I couldn't compare either in terms of stability. Havn't used them that much. Although my friend with the Mac has never complained of stability issues. The Windows XPers have only said it's more stable than previous releases, to which I replied "It doesn't take much."
Would it be possible to install a ceiling vent fan, similar to those found in bathrooms used to vent steam? If you could do that, and possibly keep a window open a crack (just enough to balance the outside cold with the inside heat so it's comfortable), then close the door to the room, you'll be all set.
A little over a year ago, I had accidentally left Linux with X and Window Maker running on the "family" PC (ie: the one that needs to run windows so the rest of the family can use it.)
I left the house to run some errands, and while I was away, my mom needed to browse the web, and check her email (via hotmail.) When I returned home, she asked me why the computer was different. I said "oh, I musta left Linux running." - lo and behold, she figured out the Window Maker interface enough to open Netscape and browse the web. Needless to say, I was impressed.
The thing about Linux and associated software, is that it can be complicated or it can be easy. It all depends on what the user wants to do with it. If you want to setup servers, compile all your apps, muck around with source code, or uber-tune your window manager interface, then yeah, Linux (or bsd, or whatever) will be complicated. Take all that crap away, and setup a system with a standard graphical interface, and it can be just as easy and friendly as a Mac.
My buddy runs OS X on a G4, and I think it's nice. But I don't think it's great. Combining the two systems (a bsd variant and the mac stuff) has sort of created a half-ass Unix system combined with a niceish interface. It seems some of the Unix attributes have been ignored in favor of.. user friendlyness? A necessary evil, in order to make OS X successful with the average user.
What Apple has done isn't terribly difficult. Any Linux distriution could acheive the same if they'd ditch a lot of the development and server utilities. Maybe include that stuff on a second cd that, as this article stated, the average user will ignore.
What about those of us (ie: all of us;) who don't have perfect typing habits? For example, I rarely use my right pinky finger for anything. Would this device pick up on my ring finger doing the pinky's work?
When adding another half gig of ram, remember that Win98 can only handle up to 512mb. I had a problem with tryna run win98 on a gig of ram using my ATI radeon 64mb vivo - I couldn't set the resolution higher than 640x480@8bpp.
That temperature for the 1.2ghz athlon is crazy high. I'm running a 1.4ghz at full load and it's only at 45C. Although I am using a Swiftech mc462-a (y'know the one with all the aluminum pins) and a delta 68cfm fan which is noisy as hell. That PCPower heatsink looks pretty weak - at least get a decent heatsink with a less noisy fan. I also set the core voltage down to about 1.625V (that's what it's set at in the bios, but it actually runs at about 1.69V) And that made a difference of ~5-8 degrees C. The default bios setting was around 1.8V - you might want to check your setting.
Also, the round cables - I've been reading a lot bad reports on those things. Apparently the reason cables are flat ribbons is because the way all the wires work together. Rounding them can cause all sorts of interference and performance issues. Anyone have any experience with this? I've got round cables, but am not using them right now because of what I've read.
The mouse -- why go cordless when you've got the keyboard with USB ports? Get a nice optical with a cord, plug it into the keyboard, and stop worrying about the latency issues.
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I've seen this happen in a retail DVD drive. ;)
I was in a computer store one day, and a kid comes in with his computer. He hands a sales rep a baggie full of CD shards and says he was sitting at his computer running a program on the CD, when about thirty seconds later he hears a small "boom". When he opened the drive the CD was shattered into many, many pieces. He got what he could out of the drive but said there was still a lot of stuff stuck inside.
I thought it was the strangest thing I'd ever seen go wrong with a computer. No one there had ever seen or heard of this happening. It was actually quite funny. Everyone there including the kid had a good chuckle at it
It's just the X window managers that're beginning to catch up with the aesthetic appeal of Microsoft Windows.
Beginning? As far as I'm concerned most window managers available have surpassed the aesthetic appeal of Windows. That's why I use them. I find Windows a) ugly, and b) frustrating to use because of it's unintuitive interface.
Thinking back, when I started using Linux (and X) in about '95/'96, I found the Window Managers then to be superior to Windows (3.x and Win 95). It really doesn't take much.
Personally, I think Windows XP is step backwards for the Windows UI. The first time I had to use it was when helping a neighbour with some problems they'd been having. I thought the bloody thing was ugly as sin, and very messy. I couldn't stand using it, much less looking at it. I actually found it a little confusing - this coming from a long time Linux user. But wait, isn't Linux supposed to be arcane, confusing, and diffcult to use?
Like I said, one of the main reasons I like running Linux and X is that the Window Managers available provide a much better UI. In terms of aesthetics, ergonomics, and intuitivity.
To reply to your comment on aesthetics, just look at themes for example. All the major window managers are fully themeable and you can change the UI quite a bit. With Windows the most you can do (using the same effort it takes to apply a theme to a wm) is change some colours and add a background.
I think in such cases, they'd go have their facial image updated. The person would be verified/authorized to perform the update by other means of information collected, such as hand writing (signature), height, eye colour, other forms of ID, etc. Of course, if the facial damage wasn't that bad, human judgement could be enough (ie: look at the person and the picture on the license.)
Having scars on your face would probably be a good thing as far as the recognition software is concerned.
If you check the Xandros downloads page, you'd see that Xandros hasn't relased anything yet, and as such, aren't required to release the source either.
"and a possible end to the decline we've seen in the price of memory."
A possible end?
The ram I'm using in my system, which I bought late August/early Septemer, has nearly tripled in price since then! At the time I bought it, I thought it was a reasonable price, but now it's just way too expensive.
Keep in mind that memory prices have a great deal to do with supply and demand (or so they say.) Here's a price FAQ I found at crucial.com when wondering why my ram had become so expensvie.
Class rooms and lecture halls, as well.
Really. Newer software is designed because newer hardware is available. The new software is generally coded for/with the new hardware in mind.
If this guy wants to run a system on older hardware, he should be using software that was designed around the same time the hardware was available. Try the Linux 2.0 kernel series, X 3.3.6. Older distributions had smaller foot prints. Older versions of window managers would be smaller and quicker to compile. Speaking of which, if you have an old system, don't expect to be able to compile all these new software packages with new features designed to take advantage of new hardware, in a reasonable amount of time. Use the older stuff with feature sets that match those of your hardware.
Older software is still stable, too. That's why at the time it was released as a 'stable version'. It just doesn't have some of the new features and additions that consume resources. Said features weren't around in old software, because said resources weren't available.
You don't have to be subjected to strip searches, or searches of any kind if you decide not to board the plane. As soon as they pulled off the first electrode, why didn't he just walk away? If it was an issue of principle, he could have continued to argue in a safer manner, perhaps having a physician brought in to properly remove or inspect the electrodes. Or, he could have taken the bus home! (I'm sure there are ferry boats to the mainland.)
Anyone? Moderators?
I'm seeing comments like this and this being moderated up. Did any of the moderators read the article? If they did, they would have noticed on the second page that there is an email address to send comments and formal objections to (ie: not your premiere, although that would also help), and that they *prefer* electronic mail (not paper.) - to quote "Where possible, the board asks that all comments and objections be sent by electronic mail." They also outline the rules for making a formal objection.
Also, "If you file a letter of comment, it will be part of the record of the proceedings. CPCC will receive a copy of it and the Board will take it into account when making a final decision."
You are entitled to attend the hearing, and present your comments and objections. I will not be able to attend the hearing, but I am writing a formal objection. I suggest all Canadians do so - but read the article in its entirety so you know how to do it properly.
Have you ever disassembled a hard drive? I've taken apart about ten of them (and hung the platters on my wall, looks kinda neet).
How do you think all the parts in the drive move? There's a magnetic motor, and then there are usually 4 magnets that help move the arm - 2 on top, 2 on bottom. Then the actual arm itself has a big electromagnet on it. These magnets are *very* strong, and sit less than 5cm away from the platters. Yet they don't seem to affect data on the drive.
I think the whole "magnets near computers" thing is largely over exaggerated. When I was younger, I took a magnet from a science kit and ran it over a floppy - it didn't do a thing. It probably has to be either extremely strong, or very localized to affect the data.
I'd say not to worry about magnets around your computer - just don't run it through an MRI.
I'm in Comp. Sci. at university, and really, the only software I need is a text editor to write my code, a compiler to compile my code, and an OS to run it on. All the software I need is available for free. I'm running Linux, and I can use vi, nedit, or emacs to write my code. C, C++, Java, you name the language, there's a free (as in open source and beer) compiler available for it.
Not all the courses I'll be taking involve programming, however. I will have to take humanities courses, and an English (technical writing) class. There are free word processing applications too.
I don't have any commercial software on my computer, and won't ever need any to get me through my educational career. If the employment I find is at all similar, I probably won't need commercial software for the rest of my life.
Anyone can intercept the light from my blinking leds and derive the encrypted data all they want. For anything terribly important, I use encryption.
I suppose an ISP couldn't encrypt all the data through their modem banks, but if any of their customers were using encryption over those modems, it'd be secure.
It doesn't make sense to me why traffic lights on a network device would blink for every bit anyway. Why not just on a per-packet basis?
A lot of people are talking about how much it's costing Rogers or Shaw for their bandwidth. Touting numbers about T1/T3/whatever rentals. They have their own fibre that runs through the cities they offer the service in, and intercity as well. It's *their* fibre. The only thing that costs them money is their connection to the backbone, which is backed by the entire customer base. Each node (ie: each section where bandwidth is 'shared') is connected to a fibre network which leads back to the CO. In my area (a smaller one), this then hits more fibre, picks up a few more small cities on the way to Toronto, and is then routed off Shaw's network to the rest of the internet.
You might think "well it also costs them to wire the fibre." Well they had to bloody do that anyway. That's an assumed cost.
I suppose in my area, I've got it pretty well off. It's a small city, and when I worked for the Cable co. I heard we had smaller nodes than larger centers. Basically, we have the same infrastructure as a huge city, but we're not a huge city.
I don't think any of this price hiking has anything to do with what it costs the cable co. for bandwidth. Rogers is just using this as a way (ie: excuse) to make more money. It's also a good way to gain new customers, those who don't use the net much and find ~$40/month a little pricey.
They should offer lower price points for those who don't use the net much, but anything higher than $50/month for residential service is too much. It's about $40/month for our TV, and $40/month for internet, add tax, $90/month. I'd say the cable co. is getting thier money's worth from us. They're just hikin the price because they can. What're they trying to do, turn this into ISDN?
I admit, if someone on my node were hogging bandwidth all the time, I'd want them to pay more for it. If the bandwidth is shared, though, doesn't that mean as soon as someone else starts using it, the person who's hogging just has less to hog?
I'm sure if the course required that you be on the internet, there'd be computers in class. Browse the web and check your email at home; you're in class for a reason.
How about blocking cell phone frequencies from every class room, lecture hall, and laboratory. Cell phones ringing during a lecture makes me crazy, and I'm a student. If I were a professor, I'd go bloody postal. No one should have a cell phone in class - it's very rude, and very disruptive. And I don't care if they forgot to turn it off, one ring is one ring too many. It's never just one ring either. The student with the phone has to root through their jacket or back pack to find the phone and turn it off - usually 3+ rings later.
And seriously, unless you're a student with some kind of job that requires you to have a cell phone at all times (yeah right, how many students have that kind of job) you don't need to have a bloody phone with you at all times! Leave the thing at home for the sake of your class mates, and your embarassment.
I'm fairly certain there isn't any student who needs a phone in class. None of the students whose phone has rang in my classes have ever answered it. They turn it off as quickly as they can, while 200+ people stare them down.
I plan on setting up a 400GB raid system this spring (would that be enough? I could add an additional 400GB but it wouldn't be raid), unfortunatly I'm only on cable. If I had the bandwidth they're asking for, I'd host that site no problem. It'd be fun. So basically, if anyone would like to fund a nice pipe into my basement, I'll do it :P
Although I'm sure there's no shortage of admins for kernel.org.
I have a Win98 machine at home too, and yeah, I can keep it running fairly stable. But it still does crash, and generally runs dirt slow. And I do maintain the windows installation - windows updates, scandisk, defrag, uninstalling unnecessary software, registry maintenance, you name it.
One big reason I don't use windows is because its user interface is frustratingly limited. I run Enlightenment 16, and Window Maker on my Linux PC, and find the interface infinetly more intuitive, intelligent, and easier to use. I find it improves my productivity. These two window managers do a much better job at managing windows, they perform better, and for me, have a far better track record of stability than windows.
I had become so used to the benefits of these window managers, that while I was home for Christmas, I could not use our 'family' machine that ran windows 98. Instead of using that machine and ssh'ing to my two servers like I used to, I sat local to the machines - using only a shell - because I felt like Windows was keeping me from getting any real work done.
Stability issues aside, I find every other aspect of Windows to be terrible. What I find incredible, is how Windows XP is exactly the same as every other release of windows. The only change to the interface is more eye candy, which means Windows will now hog even more resources than it did before. I've had several opportunities to use XP, and have found its dialogs have become more confusing and ill-designed than previous releases of Windows.
It won't be long before Windows becomes more 'arcane' to setup than Linux with a shell.
You got that job in the first place. I'm 20, and would die for any kind of Unix admin job. I've been wanting that kind of job for 2 years now. I suppose I don't live in the right place to find something like that though. Small city, less opportunity.
However, in your position, I think I'd confront that IT Manager and ask him what the problem is. If he doesn't like that, and does decide to fire you without good reason, you've got grounds for discrimination, in which case, consult a lawyer.
If you never bring it up, you're going to continue working in an uncomfortable environment which would make any job terrible. Eventually you're going to have to discuss it, and it's better you do so while you still have the job, rather than doing it afterwards in the presence of lawyers.
Algoma University College in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. It's got what's called "Accelerated Second Degree Programs in Computer Science and Information Technology." It is 12 months long, from April 30 to April 30 the following year. You can find the program's website here. ;)
;) Sault Ste. Marie is also a border town, with a twin city located 5 minutes away in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
Basically, the program requires that you have a 3 or 4 year degree in anything BUT Comp. Sci. or I.T.
Apparently this program is pretty popular and really good. I don't know much about it, however. I never attented AUC, it's just in my home town. If you ever decide to attend the program, look me up
BTW, I'm assuming you're in the US, and with the value of your dollar, it's like 50% off every day in Canada
Some friends of mine in residence at school have Windows XP, and a buddy of mine has Mac OS X on a nice G4 system. As such, I've had a chance to play around with both. Seems to me that with every release, Windows looks more and more like a Mac OS. :)
I gotta say though - it's not nearly as slick and intuitive. Not by a long shot
I couldn't compare either in terms of stability. Havn't used them that much. Although my friend with the Mac has never complained of stability issues. The Windows XPers have only said it's more stable than previous releases, to which I replied "It doesn't take much."
Would it be possible to install a ceiling vent fan, similar to those found in bathrooms used to vent steam? If you could do that, and possibly keep a window open a crack (just enough to balance the outside cold with the inside heat so it's comfortable), then close the door to the room, you'll be all set.
A little over a year ago, I had accidentally left Linux with X and Window Maker running on the "family" PC (ie: the one that needs to run windows so the rest of the family can use it.)
I left the house to run some errands, and while I was away, my mom needed to browse the web, and check her email (via hotmail.) When I returned home, she asked me why the computer was different. I said "oh, I musta left Linux running." - lo and behold, she figured out the Window Maker interface enough to open Netscape and browse the web. Needless to say, I was impressed.
The thing about Linux and associated software, is that it can be complicated or it can be easy. It all depends on what the user wants to do with it. If you want to setup servers, compile all your apps, muck around with source code, or uber-tune your window manager interface, then yeah, Linux (or bsd, or whatever) will be complicated. Take all that crap away, and setup a system with a standard graphical interface, and it can be just as easy and friendly as a Mac.
My buddy runs OS X on a G4, and I think it's nice. But I don't think it's great. Combining the two systems (a bsd variant and the mac stuff) has sort of created a half-ass Unix system combined with a niceish interface. It seems some of the Unix attributes have been ignored in favor of.. user friendlyness? A necessary evil, in order to make OS X successful with the average user.
What Apple has done isn't terribly difficult. Any Linux distriution could acheive the same if they'd ditch a lot of the development and server utilities. Maybe include that stuff on a second cd that, as this article stated, the average user will ignore.
when you setup your wireless network to share with your neighbours, just pass on the the $4.95/month charge for the IP.
What about those of us (ie: all of us ;) who don't have perfect typing habits? For example, I rarely use my right pinky finger for anything. Would this device pick up on my ring finger doing the pinky's work?
When adding another half gig of ram, remember that Win98 can only handle up to 512mb. I had a problem with tryna run win98 on a gig of ram using my ATI radeon 64mb vivo - I couldn't set the resolution higher than 640x480@8bpp.
That temperature for the 1.2ghz athlon is crazy high. I'm running a 1.4ghz at full load and it's only at 45C. Although I am using a Swiftech mc462-a (y'know the one with all the aluminum pins) and a delta 68cfm fan which is noisy as hell. That PCPower heatsink looks pretty weak - at least get a decent heatsink with a less noisy fan. I also set the core voltage down to about 1.625V (that's what it's set at in the bios, but it actually runs at about 1.69V) And that made a difference of ~5-8 degrees C. The default bios setting was around 1.8V - you might want to check your setting.
Also, the round cables - I've been reading a lot bad reports on those things. Apparently the reason cables are flat ribbons is because the way all the wires work together. Rounding them can cause all sorts of interference and performance issues. Anyone have any experience with this? I've got round cables, but am not using them right now because of what I've read.
The mouse -- why go cordless when you've got the keyboard with USB ports? Get a nice optical with a cord, plug it into the keyboard, and stop worrying about the latency issues.