As a matter of fact RIPE has recognized 'monoculture' at the Root DNS Server Level (at one time all the root servers did run BIND) as a similar potential/problem vulnerability quite some time ago. They have since moved a couple to different packages. The 'K' root server, for example, now runs NSD 1.0.2-REL . For more information, please see their origional announcemnt at: http://www.ripe.net/ripe/mail-archives/dns-wg/2003/msg00044.html.
In a networking class that I teach at Xavier University I make sure that the students apply their lessons on multiple platforms for this reason exactly.
A little clarification to my intentions is needed: of course if you were under worked, your business has fewer clients, etc. there should be layoffs. A business exists for one purpose- to make money; you can't be mad at a corporation when it legally acts in its' best interests and stated purpose. Certainly this thing of ours has had its' share of excesses in the last few years; I'm not talking about an end to frivolity and dot-com extravaganza.
What I'm referring to is a general trend in the economy. Go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the two figures that should jump out at you are that employment is up (now at 5.7%) and productivity is up 4.0% in Q3 alone; both of these trends are continuing upward. With low inflation a company is not making money by raising prices so an easy alternative have fewer people do the same amount of work or do the same amount of work for less (salary, benefits, etc.)
On a totally unrelated topic there was a time in this country when corporations only existed to further the public good; our founding fathers feared and were fleeing the religious and corporate tyranny. I feel that this forgotten legal decision is one of the most important in our history; it essentially empowered corporations as what we know today: semi-autonomous beings capable of owning property, being wronged, and having the rights of a citizen (where comes the term 'corporate citizen'). It established that: "Corporations are persons within the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States". For all those and bitch and rave about globalization, corporate power, corporate abuse, the pedaling of political influence, and the like and wonder to themselves 'how did we get here?', this is a good place to start. I would love to discuss this sometime on slash, another day, another topic...
In the very back of the September 2000 issue of Scientific American there is an article Using a Kite as an Experimental Platform, which provides plans for a 'Picavet Suspension' system that you can use to keep your equipment (camera) level in flight, historical references, a discussion of kite types/recommended uses, and references.
By the way, Shawn Carlson, the guy that wrote that article, is the Founder and Executive Director of the Society for Amateur Scientists. Seems like the type of organization slashdotters would enjoy.
Hoo-rah for the day of the citizen scientist! Hoo-ray for the impending American Renaissance.
I disagree- the US became a super power because of World War II; it was a watershed event for this country. While the rest of the world was taking turns blowing up each others factories, decimating their populations, and sowing the seeds of political strife we were ramping up capacity, production, and developing business. The US is a super power for one simple reason- economic power. Think about it- we don't have the largest population, the most educated population, or even the longest life expectancy. We just out spend (usually on R&D) every other country in the world on defense; we even subsidize other country's purchase of our arms, regardless of ethics, to protect our economic interests. Money is the master of (ORWELL=offense)"defense"(/ORWELL). Why are your tax dollars spent in this fashion? Corporate lobbyists own our government.
At the end of the day though, what matters to a country is manufacturing, products, such as software, cars, widgets, etc. It doesn't matter to a country how well your software streamlines production, how many widgets marketing & sales can distribute, or how efficient the line can be if you're not paying employees in your own country to then buy those widgets. Third world countries are smart to follow in Japans footsteps. I know that this is a complicated issue, but I sometimes feel that the relentless American profit machine is its' own worst enemy.
In addition to our WAN/LAN I also run a medium size phone switch (195 nodes / 16 IP Phones / 2 PRIs for switched access / 1 dedicated Long Distance T1). When you get to the corporate level you're buying a solution; not building one in house, because phones are essential to the day to day operation of the company. Period. I think generically when you say phone switch you're referring to everything telco past the demarc; switch T1s/PRIs, operate internal digital stations, provide analog lines, route calls, manage security, reporting/tracking/billing, Voicemail, Auto Attendants, Hunt Groups, Digital Faxing- the whole 7 layer enchilada. Few corporations are going to allow their IT departments to go the Slashdot way w/ so much on the line. A modern phone switch must reliably scale to thousands of nodes including IP devices, support Unified Messaging (receiving faxes & voice mails through PC), have reporting right out of the box, must be easy to use, and work on the first cut over. While the word 'easy' is certainly a very relative word- in my experience most geeks (a word of complimentary endearment in my vocabulary) can easily master telco while the reverse is not often true. Believe it or not, in the old days these were sometimes the roles of separate administrators / departments.
You're right that *nix is a perfect fit for all of this; remember Unix was invented at Bell Labs. The auxiliary applications are there; to support your phone switch you need to reliably record and report all activity across your switch for billing, acct. tracking, etc. I would guess that *nix runs the backbone.
By the way I think that Bayonne is encompassed in the umbrella project of GNUComm; hopefully it's just a matter of time before someone finishes the Embedded Linux Phone Switch. As an incentive to anyone who develops and releases a free system: even used handsets cost big money for a particular phone switch; pick wisely 'cause you're most likely stuck with it for a little while. Caveat: you will most likely be pushed out of the market by softphones.
Since you're in the market and I just went through this myself contact me off list and I'll share my experience with Inter-Tel Technologies which is one of the fastest growing companies in the US (short version: no I don't work there and overall positive).
Slashdot Mirror
Very good point.
3 /msg00044.html .
As a matter of fact RIPE has recognized 'monoculture' at the Root DNS Server Level (at one time all the root servers did run BIND) as a similar potential/problem vulnerability quite some time ago. They have since moved a couple to different packages. The 'K' root server, for example, now runs NSD 1.0.2-REL . For more information, please see their origional announcemnt at: http://www.ripe.net/ripe/mail-archives/dns-wg/200
In a networking class that I teach at Xavier University I make sure that the students apply their lessons on multiple platforms for this reason exactly.
A little clarification to my intentions is needed: of course if you were under worked, your business has fewer clients, etc. there should be layoffs. A business exists for one purpose- to make money; you can't be mad at a corporation when it legally acts in its' best interests and stated purpose. Certainly this thing of ours has had its' share of excesses in the last few years; I'm not talking about an end to frivolity and dot-com extravaganza.
What I'm referring to is a general trend in the economy. Go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the two figures that should jump out at you are that employment is up (now at 5.7%) and productivity is up 4.0% in Q3 alone; both of these trends are continuing upward. With low inflation a company is not making money by raising prices so an easy alternative have fewer people do the same amount of work or do the same amount of work for less (salary, benefits, etc.)
On a totally unrelated topic there was a time in this country when corporations only existed to further the public good; our founding fathers feared and were fleeing the religious and corporate tyranny. I feel that this forgotten legal decision is one of the most important in our history; it essentially empowered corporations as what we know today: semi-autonomous beings capable of owning property, being wronged, and having the rights of a citizen (where comes the term 'corporate citizen'). It established that: "Corporations are persons within the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States". For all those and bitch and rave about globalization, corporate power, corporate abuse, the pedaling of political influence, and the like and wonder to themselves 'how did we get here?', this is a good place to start. I would love to discuss this sometime on slash, another day, another topic...
My 2 cents.
In the very back of the September 2000 issue of Scientific American there is an article Using a Kite as an Experimental Platform, which provides plans for a 'Picavet Suspension' system that you can use to keep your equipment (camera) level in flight, historical references, a discussion of kite types/recommended uses, and references.
By the way, Shawn Carlson, the guy that wrote that article, is the Founder and Executive Director of the Society for Amateur Scientists. Seems like the type of organization slashdotters would enjoy.
Hoo-rah for the day of the citizen scientist! Hoo-ray for the impending American Renaissance.
For all of the armature astronomers out there with a passing interest in this stuff, here are some helpful links for this years storm:
/.r makes telescopes
Where to find a dark place to view from: DarkSky.org
The storm forecast by city (US/World) from NASA: NASA
Astronomy Links In General:
NASA's J-Pass Satellite Passes: Near earth objects(Java,Email)
NASA's SkyWatch 1.4: Excellent for finding events (Java)
Satellite Related Software: For UNIX, Mac, Windows, Palm & more
SpaceWeather.com: Plan to see the auroras
SlashDot.org: Leonid's Last Year
Weather.com: Don't forget to check before you leave
By MichaelCrawford: This
Tips: viewing and what I bring with me.
If you are going outside don't forget these essentials:
;)
-a blanket you don't mind getting mud/grass on
-a Deet based bug repellent (Unscented Off in the push spray works great)
-a small flashlight (so you don't ruin your night vision)
-take your Allegra _before_ you leave
-pants/long sleeves if you're bothered by bugs
And I would recommend:
-pillows
-snacks (Thermos w/ Hot Chocolate/Coffee, food you can eat with gloves on)
-spare jacket, sweater, gloves (layers!)
-wine
-small radio (I prefer a short-wave; in the middle of no where you can usually pick up different stations)
-a date
-xtra blankets to 'cuddle' in
I disagree- the US became a super power because of World War II; it was a watershed event for this country. While the rest of the world was taking turns blowing up each others factories, decimating their populations, and sowing the seeds of political strife we were ramping up capacity, production, and developing business. The US is a super power for one simple reason- economic power. Think about it- we don't have the largest population, the most educated population, or even the longest life expectancy. We just out spend (usually on R&D) every other country in the world on defense; we even subsidize other country's purchase of our arms, regardless of ethics, to protect our economic interests. Money is the master of (ORWELL=offense)"defense"(/ORWELL). Why are your tax dollars spent in this fashion? Corporate lobbyists own our government.
At the end of the day though, what matters to a country is manufacturing, products, such as software, cars, widgets, etc. It doesn't matter to a country how well your software streamlines production, how many widgets marketing & sales can distribute, or how efficient the line can be if you're not paying employees in your own country to then buy those widgets. Third world countries are smart to follow in Japans footsteps. I know that this is a complicated issue, but I sometimes feel that the relentless American profit machine is its' own worst enemy.
In addition to our WAN/LAN I also run a medium size phone switch (195 nodes / 16 IP Phones / 2 PRIs for switched access / 1 dedicated Long Distance T1). When you get to the corporate level you're buying a solution; not building one in house, because phones are essential to the day to day operation of the company. Period. I think generically when you say phone switch you're referring to everything telco past the demarc; switch T1s/PRIs, operate internal digital stations, provide analog lines, route calls, manage security, reporting/tracking/billing, Voicemail, Auto Attendants, Hunt Groups, Digital Faxing- the whole 7 layer enchilada. Few corporations are going to allow their IT departments to go the Slashdot way w/ so much on the line. A modern phone switch must reliably scale to thousands of nodes including IP devices, support Unified Messaging (receiving faxes & voice mails through PC), have reporting right out of the box, must be easy to use, and work on the first cut over. While the word 'easy' is certainly a very relative word- in my experience most geeks (a word of complimentary endearment in my vocabulary) can easily master telco while the reverse is not often true. Believe it or not, in the old days these were sometimes the roles of separate administrators / departments.
You're right that *nix is a perfect fit for all of this; remember Unix was invented at Bell Labs. The auxiliary applications are there; to support your phone switch you need to reliably record and report all activity across your switch for billing, acct. tracking, etc. I would guess that *nix runs the backbone.
If you'd like you can become a dealer for the company that claims to have 'the world's first Linux technology based voice processing' including Unified Messaging.
By the way I think that Bayonne is encompassed in the umbrella project of GNUComm; hopefully it's just a matter of time before someone finishes the Embedded Linux Phone Switch. As an incentive to anyone who develops and releases a free system: even used handsets cost big money for a particular phone switch; pick wisely 'cause you're most likely stuck with it for a little while. Caveat: you will most likely be pushed out of the market by softphones.
Since you're in the market and I just went through this myself contact me off list and I'll share my experience with Inter-Tel Technologies which is one of the fastest growing companies in the US (short version: no I don't work there and overall positive).