Instead of implanting it, it might be easier to buy a Swatch Access (www.swatch.com). These watches have a programmable chip + RFID on board (e.g. they are used for access to skilifts).
Advantage: no surgery, you wear it all the time, you can take it off and if technology progresses, you can replace it very easily.
Well, 2 simultaneous drive fails: it has happened to me at two seperate occasions on the same Dell PE2650. I also complained to tech support that this was very strange, and that I did not trust the server anymore, and that there had to be a harware faillure in the Array or backplane .
But, apparantly you have to schedule a consistency check every week or so... if you do not do this there is a possibility that data on the RAID gets out of sync/corrupted (or something like that) and when a drive fails the subsequent rebuild will fail also. In my case the RAID then complained of 2 drive faillures, while the second drive would afterwards format and work normally (but I got it and almost everything inside the server replaced anyhow).
Maybe this happened to you also? Make sure you schedule the weekly check of the RAID!!!
Where I live it is illegal to connect your lights and power outlets on the same circuit. You need a seperate breaker for the lights and one for other appliances...
It is a possibility that also crossed my mind since the announcement. Apple is what Sony has been trying to be, but they were handicaped by the OS. Steve Jobs respects Sony a lot, you can read that in different interviews with him, so... who knows...
I am partly IT manager for my company, which means the IT part is only half of my job. And yes, I do more than half of my time on IT subjects, but NOT on pure network administration.
On a Windows network, with 5 servers (mail/domain, database, batch server, terminal server, test server), with Oracle databases and 30 clients, including VPN support for remote users, I spend between 1 and 10% of my time on pure network admin. Depending on if there are large updates needed (e.g. Exchange 2000 -> 2003, etc.) or not.
In a Windows environment: Make sure you set up user rights properly (block access to installing programs, etc.). Really lock it down very good for the beginner users, but trust power users if you can and give them more flexibility to manage their own system. Create a good security profile for your company, use group policy to lock computers down AND distribute software (!), use WSUS (www.microsoft.com/wsus) for windows patches, don't be cheap on antivirus programs, spyware scanners, your base network appliances and a decent firewall. Make sure you have decent warranty on your hardware, and if needed support contracts for servers. Outsource the firewall and router configs.
The pure Windows network administration is automated here (group policy, windows patches, software installs,...), and apart from creating a user now and then, and replacing a faulty drive or old hardware, I hardly put time in the network.
When a reinstall of Windows is needed (once in 4 years on desktops, really) the group policies make sure it gets installed with the basic software automatically. I only have to adjust some settings specific to a user. That's it. A new PC is ready on our network within 2 hours, from a clean and empty drive.
Most of my IT time goes to other software projects.
But, it does take some time to create this initial setup. After that, you are spending like 1 day per month (3%) on the network. If you have a disaster (crashed server), of course you need some more time, but apart from that... it's easy.
Just demand your management 1 full month to really concentrate on the admin tasks. In this time learn how to work with the domains, group policies and the lot. The more time you put into setting it up, the more time you will gain afterwards. Set up the network really good, then go back to programming.
If you want to spend even less time: buy Mac OS X Server and Apple hardware.
Good luck! If you are a Linux shop: somebody else on Slashdot might have an idea.
Except for contacts and calendar, my PocketPc is mostly used for GPS navigation. There are many programs available, of which TomTom (www.tomtom.com) is my favourite. Slap on a cheap GPS receiver, and you save time every day!
Personally, GPS navigation is the killer app PocketPc's and Palm's have been searching for...
Since a few years the Belgian regulatory body for postal services and telecommunication (BIPT), has a special unit that tracks and warns for (possible) virus attacks.
Sometimes you get a warning of the BIPT in the radio news or during the traffic information announcements.
http://www.bipt.be/bipt_E.htm
I do not know how they work or how they are structured, and if it helps at all, but the UK is not the first country to do this...
One additional thing to consider if you are planning to use Windows is the 4GB process limit (which is NOT the same as a total memory limit) in a 'normal' Windows server.
The operating system (Windows Server Enterprise Edition) will work with more than 4GB memory, but a process running on that server can only address 4GB of memory, of which 2GB is reserved kernel space (in normal circumstances, not including the/3GB switch, bla bla bla,....).
Of course there are some tricks and things you can do, but still... keep this in mind.
This is due to the fact that you are working on 32-bit hardware that can only address 4GB directly, as far as I understand. Does Linux have this limit too? Or are there other 'tricks' that the Linux kernel applies to go above 4gb? Maybe other Slashdotters can elaborate on this.
If you do not mind shopping abroad, try Ogone (www.ogone.com). It has different gateways: a Web terminal, batch upload, direct link to your website,...
Well, my VW Golf, rated as 'simple' car already has that... There are multiple CPU's inside the car and the motor management computer gives feedback about possible car problems via a LED-screen... I once had a broken air-intake-sensor and it caused the car to put itself in 'safe mode' limiting my speed to 90 kph and displaying a warning. Depending on the driving style and state of the engine, the maintenance sign is displayed at different mileages (max. 30.000km) and severe errors are marked with yellow (moderate) and red (severe) color codes. All warnings inform the driver what problem is occuring. The dealer can read out exactly what component failed with a special connector. Btw, all the dashboard IS digital, despite the analogue intrument panel, all the electronics steering that ARE digital. Analogue displays are more easy to read than digital onces (easier on the eye) and thus are mph and rpm displayed analogue, although the info is available digitally.
Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be cheaper to just revamp the whole IT infrastructure.
Let's say all companies in all countries, the governements and the IT suppliers join hands and pay into one large "IT fund" or donate research time and development for a joint new technology.
At the same time governements all over the world passes legislation to increase the reponsibility of IT vendors like e.g. Microsoft (faster bug fixes required by law, free bug fixes, longer free support, better en safer Windows code,...) and up-to-date legislation to procecute virus writer and so on.
We use these measures to:
1) Get rid of x86/WinTel and all its legacy technology and software (no more ISA, no more IRQ, no more Win/DOS compatibility,....) and move to something decent (PowerPC? Heck, even MS goes to PowerPC for the future XBOX, so why not for PC's...)
2) Get rid of Windows altogether and create a decent replacemnt for it without legacy and backwards compatability
3) All governements by Apple Machines and Mac OS X at huge discounts: already a huge step forward in security of our personal information and files.
I think this would enhance competition, drive the economy forward, foster future new developments and maybe get rid of monopolies and get decent competition in the IT market... and be a lot cheaper than the combined cost of all anti-virus licenses, and hidden costs of lost productivity and fall-out of current attacks...
I know... I know... I'm dreaming eh... Some forces would be against this... Damn....
You are right about the VAT being charged to the end-consumer, even if it is a company. My mistake sorry.
The system is easy for trade within a country, or simple goods exchanges across borders.
However, the system is more difficult, because of "triangle-operations" in the EU, and the fact that you have to take care of the 'location' of the service or delivery. In addition to that, every country adopts the same VAT legislation by Europe, but can (within certain boundaries) add or change specific rules. I have a book of 1000 pages on VAT law... Believe me, you are welcome to do our VAT declaration anytime!
E.g. what if I am a Belgian garage with a VAT number that dispatches a worker to fix a car across the border in the Netherlands, that was driven by the employee of a US firm that has a VAT representative in Italy?
- Location of service: Netherlands - It is a service, so I have to charge VAT. Dutch or Belgian VAT? - Invoice address = America - VAT Representative and VAT number of an American firm in Italy: what happens with VAT charges? - What if I replace the alternator on the car? Is that a delivery to the Netherlands? USA? Italy? - What if the car was actually owned by a French rental firm, but the damage was not covered by the rental contract, and I have to charge the US firm? What with the VAT of the alternator, that finally ends up in France? - Etc..
I don't know what exactlty the price difference is between UK and Germany, but for Slashdot readers to form their opinion, please take into account the following:
- VAT rates are different for different countries in the Euro-zone. I think it is crap as well, but it is a fact of life. Most of the time you have two or three VAT rates on goods. 0% VAT, a basic rate and a high rate. The zero and basic rate are generally applicable to goods that are considered to be "basic necessities", e.g. food. The high rate is for "luxury items", e.g. electronics, perfume, services,...
E.g. the VAT rate of books in Belgium is 6%, in the UK it is 0%. The VAT rate on a computer in Belgium is 21% and in Germany 16%. This causes serious price differences. Some companies decide to absorb the VAT differences and hence charge less excluding VAT in one country than the other, to avoid price differences. Others do not.
I live in Belgium, and it sucks to be in a country where everything execpt food is charged 21% extra... Well, social security is good though...
Local legislation, wages, taxes,... are different between countries. The EU is for now still a free-trade zone that uses one single currency (well, the execpt UK and some other country) but it is NOT a single country. This means that you have different laws, taxes, wages, warranty requirements, ea. for different countries. So, necessarily the price that the end counsumer has to pay for a products is different. There is also a difference in shipping costs, between a country as large as Germany, and one as small as Belgium. Warranty on electronics in Germany is 2 years (by law). In Belgium it is 1 year. Translations of manuals for 100 million German speaking people or 10 million French/Dutch speaking also make products in Belgium more expensive. Etc.
All these factors also causes end user prices to differ between countries.
I don't think that is fair at all, but it is the way it is... We can only strive for more European harmonisation... I for one, would like to have one single (read 'lower') VAT rate, tax rate, etc... but others (like the UK) are more protectionistic, and don't want the EU to take to much power....
The last time I checked the price excluding VAT of Apple harware in the Netherlands is higher than in Belgium, so I suspect Apple tries to harmonise the prices between the Netherlands and Belgium
Exchange rates fluctuate Exchange rates could be the reason for prices differences between the UK and the EU mainland. If the UK wants to avoid that: join the Euro! But, this also means companies like Apple have to hedge against exchange rate differences. (For information on hedging, see google.) Basically you make a contract to buy x amount of EUR in the future at a given exchange rate now. This COULD be safer for a company if it anticipates changing exchange rates correctly, but carries costs as well. These are also factored into the product end price.
And, as I said before, do not underestimate the wage effect...
By the way, Inter-company trade does not have to pay VAT. VAT is a tax paid by endconsumers (private persons), companies that trade with each other pay VAT on goods they buy, but can redeem this from the tax authority. Companies charge the private persons VAT, and pay it to the government. It is a difficult system, search on google if you want to know more.
I'm surprised that nobody seemed to talk about good technical security starting at the production plant of the car... Instead of buying guns, start with buying a car that has a decent anti-theft system.
My VW Golf has a very simple and cheap protective measure that is called a 'tranponder'. Basically it is an RFID chip embedded in the car key. If the original car key is not available, the car won't start. Combine this with the fact that the ignition wires are all black, and randomly changed from one car to another. This means that even if a burglar tries to tamper with the ignition, he will have very little information to decide which wires to connect, and even if he does connect wires, the chances of actually getting the engine to start are small. If he finds the correct wires to connect on one Golf, another Golf probably won't. Combining the wrong wires is noticed by the onboard computer and renders the car unstartable.
The transponder is certified by my insurance as a anti-theft device. Even thought the car has no alarm, theft will be covered by my insurance.
Inside your car: leave NOTHING (not even small chance) in plain sight. Get a radio with a code or detachable front, and nobody will break into it. And if they still steal the car itself or the radio, the insurance will pay. You get a new car or radio, so who cares? Don't be a fool and resort to force. Goods are not worth it...
I agree with you that they indeed should have prevented the looting of Iraq. That would have indeed helped the situation... I'm not offended by the US guarding the ministry of Oil... I only find it strange that they do guard the Oil Ministry, but not the other ones... That does put a perspective on things, I would presume...
I'm not saying we should try to abuse the media to get our point across... I was only trying to explain why other countries are sceptical about the war, given this evidence... As I said...all (especially larger countries) 'influence' media in more or lesser ways.... In Europe France has known to do that too (e.g. in bombing of the Greenpeace ship in a French harbor by the French secret service)... I'm not saying we are right and you are wrong, to the contrary! I'm only warning to stay critical about news sources and to inform yourself as much as possible...
Oh.. I forgot: the picture was taken during the looting of Iraq, just after the government of Iraq gave up... Given the damage done to other ministries and the public institutions of Iraq, I doubt the US was guarding those as well... I also saw video footage on the TV news...
Well, the picture clearly show the ministry of oil in Iraq in the background. If I remember correctly it was taken from what we call a "frog perspective", so the camera is close to the ground looking upwards. Troops around the building and around a marmer or concrete sign saying "Ministry of Oil" in English and Arabic(?)... No it was not another ministry that could be mistaken for it...
Please.. also read other media than the American. Every country's media is probably biased in one way or another, but a good mix can give you more details so that you can decide yourself what is more likely to be the truth...
In my recent vacation in the US I was stunned that nobody saw a world-famous picture with US troops guarding the ministry of oil. It was printed in a lot of world press newspapers. A quick search on google couldn't turn up the image, but there is a reference here. No idea what this source is (I did a very quick search). Apparantly US media is biased or censured, so make sure you check all possible sources of information... It is hard to convince Europeans that the Iraqi war is not about oil when a picture like that is in the paper...
I loved NYC & New England, and I'm not an anti-American guy...just want the facts straight:-)
The largest problem for me was starting to trust that the machine would handle all my files correctly.... Seriously...
I've always been very 'file-centered', meaning that I wanted to have control of where my files would go on a hard drive. In DOS and later Windows you had to... or you lost track of everything. If I copied digital pictures to my Windows machine, I would copy them myself to the correct location, and then tell my photo editing program where they are located.
The drag and drop functions of iPhoto and iTunes take care of your files for you, so you work the other way around. You let the application handle the file copying and archiving. These programs are meant to be very easy for users. A lot of functions on the Mac work that way, and I really had to get used to this.
In the beginning I would try to copy pictures myself to the correct directory, only to find that when I imported them in iPhoto, not a link but the entire file was put into the iPhoto library. I really had to 'unlearn' wanting control these actions myself..
CDRoms shatter and 'explode' - be careful
on
Homemade CD Shooter?
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
As you can read in this slashdot article CDroms break up when they are spun to fast. When a CD launched from a cannon hits a wall, you can bet that the flying debris can seriously injure you... I would be VERY careful...
If they are so scared, they should ban e-mail as well... Attach confident data and mail it little by little to your home address... No devices needed.. Oh, and remove the fax and telephone too by the way: you could fax or tell secrets to others...
Our previous building was located just underneath high-voltage power lines. We had to buy laptops and later stand-alone LCD screens because all CRT screens were wobbling due to interference from the power lines...
I'm no electrical expert, so I have no idea how far this effect reaches, but I would be very prudent and try to measure/test the area for interference.
Slashdot Mirror
Instead of implanting it, it might be easier to buy a Swatch Access (www.swatch.com). These watches have a programmable chip + RFID on board (e.g. they are used for access to skilifts).
Advantage: no surgery, you wear it all the time, you can take it off and if technology progresses, you can replace it very easily.
Sounds better to me...
No, there is Dell utility you can use to schedule this... No need to take the system offline...
Well, 2 simultaneous drive fails: it has happened to me at two seperate occasions on the same Dell PE2650. I also complained to tech support that this was very strange, and that I did not trust the server anymore, and that there had to be a harware faillure in the Array or backplane .
But, apparantly you have to schedule a consistency check every week or so... if you do not do this there is a possibility that data on the RAID gets out of sync/corrupted (or something like that) and when a drive fails the subsequent rebuild will fail also. In my case the RAID then complained of 2 drive faillures, while the second drive would afterwards format and work normally (but I got it and almost everything inside the server replaced anyhow).
Maybe this happened to you also? Make sure you schedule the weekly check of the RAID!!!
Where I live it is illegal to connect your lights and power outlets on the same circuit. You need a seperate breaker for the lights and one for other appliances...
It is a possibility that also crossed my mind since the announcement. Apple is what Sony has been trying to be, but they were handicaped by the OS. Steve Jobs respects Sony a lot, you can read that in different interviews with him, so... who knows...
I am partly IT manager for my company, which means the IT part is only half of my job. And yes, I do more than half of my time on IT subjects, but NOT on pure network administration.
On a Windows network, with 5 servers (mail/domain, database, batch server, terminal server, test server), with Oracle databases and 30 clients, including VPN support for remote users, I spend between 1 and 10% of my time on pure network admin. Depending on if there are large updates needed (e.g. Exchange 2000 -> 2003, etc.) or not.
In a Windows environment: Make sure you set up user rights properly (block access to installing programs, etc.). Really lock it down very good for the beginner users, but trust power users if you can and give them more flexibility to manage their own system. Create a good security profile for your company, use group policy to lock computers down AND distribute software (!), use WSUS (www.microsoft.com/wsus) for windows patches, don't be cheap on antivirus programs, spyware scanners, your base network appliances and a decent firewall. Make sure you have decent warranty on your hardware, and if needed support contracts for servers. Outsource the firewall and router configs.
The pure Windows network administration is automated here (group policy, windows patches, software installs,...), and apart from creating a user now and then, and replacing a faulty drive or old hardware, I hardly put time in the network.
When a reinstall of Windows is needed (once in 4 years on desktops, really) the group policies make sure it gets installed with the basic software automatically. I only have to adjust some settings specific to a user. That's it. A new PC is ready on our network within 2 hours, from a clean and empty drive.
Most of my IT time goes to other software projects.
But, it does take some time to create this initial setup. After that, you are spending like 1 day per month (3%) on the network. If you have a disaster (crashed server), of course you need some more time, but apart from that... it's easy.
Just demand your management 1 full month to really concentrate on the admin tasks. In this time learn how to work with the domains, group policies and the lot. The more time you put into setting it up, the more time you will gain afterwards. Set up the network really good, then go back to programming.
If you want to spend even less time: buy Mac OS X Server and Apple hardware.
Good luck! If you are a Linux shop: somebody else on Slashdot might have an idea.
Except for contacts and calendar, my PocketPc is mostly used for GPS navigation. There are many programs available, of which TomTom (www.tomtom.com) is my favourite. Slap on a cheap GPS receiver, and you save time every day!
Personally, GPS navigation is the killer app PocketPc's and Palm's have been searching for...
I noticed that too... but who would have expected otherwise... :-)
Since a few years the Belgian regulatory body for postal services and telecommunication (BIPT), has a special unit that tracks and warns for (possible) virus attacks.
Sometimes you get a warning of the BIPT in the radio news or during the traffic information announcements.
http://www.bipt.be/bipt_E.htm
I do not know how they work or how they are structured, and if it helps at all, but the UK is not the first country to do this...
One additional thing to consider if you are planning to use Windows is the 4GB process limit (which is NOT the same as a total memory limit) in a 'normal' Windows server.
/3GB switch, bla bla bla, ....).
i d= 69
The operating system (Windows Server Enterprise Edition) will work with more than 4GB memory, but a process running on that server can only address 4GB of memory, of which 2GB is reserved kernel space (in normal circumstances, not including the
Check out:
http://www.brianmadden.com/content/content.asp?
Of course there are some tricks and things you can do, but still... keep this in mind.
This is due to the fact that you are working on 32-bit hardware that can only address 4GB directly, as far as I understand. Does Linux have this limit too? Or are there other 'tricks' that the Linux kernel applies to go above 4gb? Maybe other Slashdotters can elaborate on this.
Don't know about price level, but Ogone (www.ogone.com) has a web-interface for handling sales. It can even work with card reader...
If you do not mind shopping abroad, try Ogone (www.ogone.com). It has different gateways: a Web terminal, batch upload, direct link to your website, ...
Well, my VW Golf, rated as 'simple' car already has that... There are multiple CPU's inside the car and the motor management computer gives feedback about possible car problems via a LED-screen... I once had a broken air-intake-sensor and it caused the car to put itself in 'safe mode' limiting my speed to 90 kph and displaying a warning. Depending on the driving style and state of the engine, the maintenance sign is displayed at different mileages (max. 30.000km) and severe errors are marked with yellow (moderate) and red (severe) color codes. All warnings inform the driver what problem is occuring. The dealer can read out exactly what component failed with a special connector. Btw, all the dashboard IS digital, despite the analogue intrument panel, all the electronics steering that ARE digital. Analogue displays are more easy to read than digital onces (easier on the eye) and thus are mph and rpm displayed analogue, although the info is available digitally.
Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be cheaper to just revamp the whole IT infrastructure.
...) and up-to-date legislation to procecute virus writer and so on.
....) and move to something decent (PowerPC? Heck, even MS goes to PowerPC for the future XBOX, so why not for PC's...)
Let's say all companies in all countries, the governements and the IT suppliers join hands and pay into one large "IT fund" or donate research time and development for a joint new technology.
At the same time governements all over the world passes legislation to increase the reponsibility of IT vendors like e.g. Microsoft (faster bug fixes required by law, free bug fixes, longer free support, better en safer Windows code,
We use these measures to:
1) Get rid of x86/WinTel and all its legacy technology and software (no more ISA, no more IRQ, no more Win/DOS compatibility,
2) Get rid of Windows altogether and create a decent replacemnt for it without legacy and backwards compatability
3) All governements by Apple Machines and Mac OS X at huge discounts: already a huge step forward in security of our personal information and files.
I think this would enhance competition, drive the economy forward, foster future new developments and maybe get rid of monopolies and get decent competition in the IT market... and be a lot cheaper than the combined cost of all anti-virus licenses, and hidden costs of lost productivity and fall-out of current attacks...
I know... I know... I'm dreaming eh... Some forces would be against this... Damn....
You are right about the VAT being charged to the end-consumer, even if it is a company. My mistake sorry.
The system is easy for trade within a country, or simple goods exchanges across borders.
However, the system is more difficult, because of "triangle-operations" in the EU, and the fact that you have to take care of the 'location' of the service or delivery. In addition to that, every country adopts the same VAT legislation by Europe, but can (within certain boundaries) add or change specific rules. I have a book of 1000 pages on VAT law... Believe me, you are welcome to do our VAT declaration anytime!
E.g. what if I am a Belgian garage with a VAT number that dispatches a worker to fix a car across the border in the Netherlands, that was driven by the employee of a US firm that has a VAT representative in Italy?
- Location of service: Netherlands
- It is a service, so I have to charge VAT. Dutch or Belgian VAT?
- Invoice address = America
- VAT Representative and VAT number of an American firm in Italy: what happens with VAT charges?
- What if I replace the alternator on the car? Is that a delivery to the Netherlands? USA? Italy?
- What if the car was actually owned by a French rental firm, but the damage was not covered by the rental contract, and I have to charge the US firm? What with the VAT of the alternator, that finally ends up in France?
- Etc..
Believe me, it is far from simple...
I don't know what exactlty the price difference is between UK and Germany, but for Slashdot readers to form their opinion, please take into account the following:
...
... are different between countries. The EU is for now still a free-trade zone that uses one single currency (well, the execpt UK and some other country) but it is NOT a single country. This means that you have different laws, taxes, wages, warranty requirements, ea. for different countries. So, necessarily the price that the end counsumer has to pay for a products is different. There is also a difference in shipping costs, between a country as large as Germany, and one as small as Belgium. Warranty on electronics in Germany is 2 years (by law). In Belgium it is 1 year. Translations of manuals for 100 million German speaking people or 10 million French/Dutch speaking also make products in Belgium more expensive. Etc.
- VAT rates are different for different countries in the Euro-zone. I think it is crap as well, but it is a fact of life. Most of the time you have two or three VAT rates on goods. 0% VAT, a basic rate and a high rate. The zero and basic rate are generally applicable to goods that are considered to be "basic necessities", e.g. food. The high rate is for "luxury items", e.g. electronics, perfume, services,
E.g. the VAT rate of books in Belgium is 6%, in the UK it is 0%. The VAT rate on a computer in Belgium is 21% and in Germany 16%. This causes serious price differences. Some companies decide to absorb the VAT differences and hence charge less excluding VAT in one country than the other, to avoid price differences. Others do not.
I live in Belgium, and it sucks to be in a country where everything execpt food is charged 21% extra... Well, social security is good though...
Local legislation, wages, taxes,
All these factors also causes end user prices to differ between countries.
I don't think that is fair at all, but it is the way it is... We can only strive for more European harmonisation... I for one, would like to have one single (read 'lower') VAT rate, tax rate, etc... but others (like the UK) are more protectionistic, and don't want the EU to take to much power....
The last time I checked the price excluding VAT of Apple harware in the Netherlands is higher than in Belgium, so I suspect Apple tries to harmonise the prices between the Netherlands and Belgium
Exchange rates fluctuate Exchange rates could be the reason for prices differences between the UK and the EU mainland. If the UK wants to avoid that: join the Euro! But, this also means companies like Apple have to hedge against exchange rate differences. (For information on hedging, see google.) Basically you make a contract to buy x amount of EUR in the future at a given exchange rate now. This COULD be safer for a company if it anticipates changing exchange rates correctly, but carries costs as well. These are also factored into the product end price.
And, as I said before, do not underestimate the wage effect...
By the way,
Inter-company trade does not have to pay VAT. VAT is a tax paid by endconsumers (private persons), companies that trade with each other pay VAT on goods they buy, but can redeem this from the tax authority. Companies charge the private persons VAT, and pay it to the government. It is a difficult system, search on google if you want to know more.
I'm surprised that nobody seemed to talk about good technical security starting at the production plant of the car... Instead of buying guns, start with buying a car that has a decent anti-theft system.
My VW Golf has a very simple and cheap protective measure that is called a 'tranponder'. Basically it is an RFID chip embedded in the car key. If the original car key is not available, the car won't start. Combine this with the fact that the ignition wires are all black, and randomly changed from one car to another. This means that even if a burglar tries to tamper with the ignition, he will have very little information to decide which wires to connect, and even if he does connect wires, the chances of actually getting the engine to start are small. If he finds the correct wires to connect on one Golf, another Golf probably won't. Combining the wrong wires is noticed by the onboard computer and renders the car unstartable.
The transponder is certified by my insurance as a anti-theft device. Even thought the car has no alarm, theft will be covered by my insurance.
Inside your car: leave NOTHING (not even small chance) in plain sight. Get a radio with a code or detachable front, and nobody will break into it. And if they still steal the car itself or the radio, the insurance will pay. You get a new car or radio, so who cares? Don't be a fool and resort to force. Goods are not worth it...
I agree with you that they indeed should have prevented the looting of Iraq. That would have indeed helped the situation... I'm not offended by the US guarding the ministry of Oil... I only find it strange that they do guard the Oil Ministry, but not the other ones... That does put a perspective on things, I would presume...
I'm not saying we should try to abuse the media to get our point across... I was only trying to explain why other countries are sceptical about the war, given this evidence... As I said...all (especially larger countries) 'influence' media in more or lesser ways.... In Europe France has known to do that too (e.g. in bombing of the Greenpeace ship in a French harbor by the French secret service)... I'm not saying we are right and you are wrong, to the contrary! I'm only warning to stay critical about news sources and to inform yourself as much as possible...
It is the only way to be well informed!
Oh.. I forgot: the picture was taken during the looting of Iraq, just after the government of Iraq gave up... Given the damage done to other ministries and the public institutions of Iraq, I doubt the US was guarding those as well... I also saw video footage on the TV news...
Well, the picture clearly show the ministry of oil in Iraq in the background. If I remember correctly it was taken from what we call a "frog perspective", so the camera is close to the ground looking upwards. Troops around the building and around a marmer or concrete sign saying "Ministry of Oil" in English and Arabic(?)... No it was not another ministry that could be mistaken for it...
Please.. also read other media than the American. Every country's media is probably biased in one way or another, but a good mix can give you more details so that you can decide yourself what is more likely to be the truth...
:-)
In my recent vacation in the US I was stunned that nobody saw a world-famous picture with US troops guarding the ministry of oil. It was printed in a lot of world press newspapers. A quick search on google couldn't turn up the image, but there is a reference here. No idea what this source is (I did a very quick search). Apparantly US media is biased or censured, so make sure you check all possible sources of information... It is hard to convince Europeans that the Iraqi war is not about oil when a picture like that is in the paper...
I loved NYC & New England, and I'm not an anti-American guy...just want the facts straight
The largest problem for me was starting to trust that the machine would handle all my files correctly.... Seriously...
I've always been very 'file-centered', meaning that I wanted to have control of where my files would go on a hard drive. In DOS and later Windows you had to... or you lost track of everything. If I copied digital pictures to my Windows machine, I would copy them myself to the correct location, and then tell my photo editing program where they are located.
The drag and drop functions of iPhoto and iTunes take care of your files for you, so you work the other way around. You let the application handle the file copying and archiving. These programs are meant to be very easy for users. A lot of functions on the Mac work that way, and I really had to get used to this.
In the beginning I would try to copy pictures myself to the correct directory, only to find that when I imported them in iPhoto, not a link but the entire file was put into the iPhoto library. I really had to 'unlearn' wanting control these actions myself..
As you can read in this slashdot article CDroms break up when they are spun to fast. When a CD launched from a cannon hits a wall, you can bet that the flying debris can seriously injure you... I would be VERY careful...
If they are so scared, they should ban e-mail as well... Attach confident data and mail it little by little to your home address... No devices needed.. Oh, and remove the fax and telephone too by the way: you could fax or tell secrets to others...
Our previous building was located just underneath high-voltage power lines. We had to buy laptops and later stand-alone LCD screens because all CRT screens were wobbling due to interference from the power lines...
I'm no electrical expert, so I have no idea how far this effect reaches, but I would be very prudent and try to measure/test the area for interference.