Right. Uh-huh. We never saw *this* coming. No sireeee. Electronic voting is *reliable*, *safe*, and *fun for the whole family*, and anything else is against the word of the Fuehre...er, I mean, is Anti-American.
Unfortunately, the postmodernists have attempted to apply their idiotic claptrap to science, claiming the existence of such absurd concepts as "alternative scientific truths". What they miss is that science is empirical, and therefore deals with observed characteristics of the real world (i.e., "facts").
Otherwise known as, "If science doesn't give you the facts you *want*, just invent your own and call it 'alternative reasoning'!" The creationists have been doing it for years.
Oh, how I wish I had been in your English class. Every English teacher whose class I have had the dubious pleasure of attending was a big deconstructionist, and I *hated* having to figure out how to write a paper that was funny, original, subtle, and thought-provoking, but utterly devoid of meaning, fact, or any value whatsoever. Compounding this, I've always been an engineer-at-heart -- playing with programming, electronics, and such since the age of six. Fortunately, my father was an English teacher *and* a politician, and I thus had access to an unending font of bullshit[1]. *grin*
Honestly, unless you are selling a book, I heave heard that the only real problem with Linux network security involves the fact the patches for it's many security flaws are often themselves compromised and infected with trojans, etc.
I realize that I'm just feeding the troll, but I've never run across a single 'security patch' that has introduced a single trojan into any of the Linux systems I administrate. In addition, Debian (my distribution of choice), as well as every other major vendor (to my knowledge) signs and checksums their packages to prevent tampering. Sure, the package archives don't use SSL, but that's because you don't need to -- it would be much easier to break in to the package repository than it would be to properly rewrite the packet stream in such a fashion so that it would even be functional, much less provide an appropriate checksum.
A good case-in-point of how well this system works is the recent Debian break-in, in fact. Despite losing *four* crucial systems to a compromise, the integrity of the package archive was kept intact, because of GPG signatures, md5 checksums, and a massive pile of worldwide archive sites against which to verify. The compromise, recovery, and analysis of the break-in was kept open to the public, with factual updates made available at every step of the way. No cover-ups, no spin, no attempts to conceal the severity of the compromise. Just plain honesty.
This prompts a very important question: Would you expect the same from Microsoft if they had faced a similar break-in?
Borrowing and debt-in-general are bad, unless the loans are at zero percent or less. Finishing up your degree is great, but it's really shitty if you do so, only to get dumped out into a lackluster economy with fifty or a hundred thousand in student loans waiting to be paid back. Few college undergrads seem to realize that graduating with a BA, or even a PhD, does not guarantee one a six-figure salary; hell, it's possible to leave school with a doctorate and make less than thirty a year.
Working is also great, but like the parent-poster said, not always an incredibly great option; I'm actually studying linguistic anthropology, and believe you me, it's a real pain in the ass to spend time pouring through textbooks after a long day at work. This goes double if you're working in the field you're majoring in -- it just burns you out.
Scholarships aren't bad, if you can get them; it does take a measure of work (finding and applying), and every little bit helps out. Doing smart things like living at home (for most undergrads this is an option), not making car payments, and the like will also help one get through school without having to file for bankruptcy.
Yeah, but most PC 'serial port' BIOSen work for crap, especially when compared to OpenFirmware (and LOM on Suns). Most of them present you with this ASCII/ANSI-artwork interface that goes slow as fuck at 9600 bps, they often only work with some obscure terminal type that isn't to be found in most Unix terminal emulators, and they still don't give you the same level of options that OF/LOM provide -- I can't reassign hardware resources or power the machine on and/or off at will from the BIOS serial console.
On top of that, the BIOS serial console usually only hangs around until the bootloader is launched, meaning that you still can't use the serial console to install operating systems -- you need to already have an OS and bootloader that both understand serial if you want remote administration.
It's just not the same thing as a real serial console.
Re:Astrophysics for kindergarten 101
on
Bill Nye's Marsdial
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzt! Wrong.
It tracks the rotation of the Earth, as well as the motion of the Earth around the Sun -- you can use a sundial to tell not only the time, but also what day of the year it is.
He didn't build a reactor, he just extracted radium, thorium and uranium out from publicly available sources, such as smoke detectors, old lead paint, and so on. More importantly, his stupid ass spent all kinds of time learning about extracting various highly radioactive elements from common sources, and spent zero time focusing on safety precautions for either himself or the community in which he lived.
The NRC cleanup of his backyard cost millions.
But, no, he was as far from building a nuclear reactor as I am from builing a warp drive.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to check the primary antimatter containment fields...
Excuse me? Japan's technology was pretty much on a level with ours during WWII; what they lacked was raw materials; but make no mistake that japanese planes, aircraft, and weaponry were on a par with those used by the US. Also make no mistake that, had Japan the resources America did during WWII, us Americans would be saying 'Hai, douzo ohairi kudasai. Watakushi no minamosume to kanai wo moraite kudasai.'[1] quite a bit.
The Japanese kept up with us technologically after the war pretty well (after we got done rebuilding most of the country, since we did have to bomb it all to hell), and spent quite a bit of time learning how to make things more efficient, as well as streamlining the processes of building said things -- Total Quality Management (TQM) is a Japanese concept, and the reason why Honda and friends kicked the piss out of GM during the 80's. The Japanese didn't imitate -- they innovated incredibly well, and in the process set themselves up as the world leader in consumer electronics.
So don't insult them by saying they imitated 'U.S. technology' -- they had the same tech we did. They just cared about making it better, rather than gouging customers as much as possible.
[1] "Please, come in, honorable sir. I humbly offer you my beloved daughter and my wife.", although I'm not that good at Japanese, so I probably screwed this attempt at humor all to hell.
I can't see why the parent was modded down; it's true. I've volunteered my time, as well as offered free equipment (I've got a ton of old hardware), and I still can't get local schools or libraries to take me up on the offer for a linux-run computer lab, because I'm not on the approved vendor list.
I'd be willing to take the required time to teach C programming and such to the kids who want to really learn about computers, but the schools just won't allow it; it's sad, really.
Yeah, but they crippled the hell out of the camera firmware of the Digital Rebel (no mirror lock, white balance adjustment sucks, almost useless in full-manual mode); it's essentially nothing more than a high-level consumer zoom camera with interchangable lenses, as opposed to a good entry-level professional/prosumer digital SLR like the Canon 10D or Nikon D100. You'd be better off waiting for a drop in 10D prices, or just buying them a used D60.
The only people that can get away with wearing clip-on ties are police officers, and for obvious reasons -- having a leash that someone can grab is a Bad Idea in a combat situation. See the most recent Matrix film for details.
I completely agree that a well-fitted suit is a joy; it's comfortable, stylish, and women definitely appreciate a man who can dress himself for whatever the occasion might demand -- you're not likely to keep a girlfriend who asks you to show up to a black-tie affair, and you arrive in jeans. Likewise, you stand a much better chance of winning a job in an interview by looking good; it shows that you are professional, dedicated, and that you care about the position for which you are interviewing.
If you hate ties, that's fine; get some stylish turtleneck and crewneck sweaters and shirts -- they're still business casual, and still look great with a decently cut sportcoat.
Oh, and finally, EXERCISE. Suits look best on men that are fit; you don't need a Calvin Klein body, but a suit *will* show off a gut (a little belly-pudge is fine, though), and will likewise drape like a tent around skinny, underused arms and legs. I'm convinced that many people hate wearing suits for this reason -- because they're too out-of-shape to properly wear formal attire.
Those wouldn't all happen to be countries where a large percentage of the population speaks German (as well as their native tongues, English, and likely something else on top of that), would they?
The conference was in Germany, hence the language should be German. Or do you think that the next Linux Expo in California should be held in Spanish as to reach a broader audience?
This is one of the reasons I get really pissed at other Americans when I'm overseas; when I'm in Germany, I speak German -- it's only polite. Thinking that the rest of the world only exists to accomidate your linguistic needs is arrogant ethnocentrism at its worst.
Second: The author is just plain looney. IT is not an investment any more than sticky notes are, and for precisely the same reason: Most of your IT hardware will need replacement in very short order (only a few years).
You should re-evaluate your hardware and software choices if this is the case. I wouldn't expect a car to last only one year, I certainly wouldn't expect a desk to last one year, and computers should have a usable lifetime of around three to five years. Remember -- you're running business applications, not playing games.
Then again, this attitude is largely Microsoft's fault -- their products encourage this annual PC replacement paradigm. That doesn't mean it's the only way to go.
It may be a real, established term, but it encourages a reductionist approach to business that is ultimately quite harmful. In reality, there is no such thing as a 'revenue center' or a 'cost center' -- all parts of a business work together to acheive a common goal, namely profit.
Classifying sales as a 'revenue center' and support as a 'cost center' (because it doesn't generate any income) is foolish thinking that results in very dissatisfied customers and little brand loyalty. How many people do you know who are satisfied with the tech support they get from Microsoft? HP? EarthLink?
A holistic approach to business works the opposite way; sure, you can look for ways to reduce costs[1], but you should never look at one business unit as being somehow seperate from the others. This is the approach that guys like Buffett look for when investing in a company, because it's a long-term one -- they want company managers who have next-decade profits on their mind, not just next quarter's.
[1] Open Source software is great here; my company has saved a metric arseload on IT costs because of it. Making sure your employees are properly utilized is another; employees with nothing to do become demoralized and unmotivated, as do those who are always having to work overtime. Likewise, extracting every nickel out of a capital investement is always wise -- your company should not have to buy new computers, printers, cars, staplers, desks, chairs, or any other durable good on an annual basis.
A big fscking tool is something Ron Jeremy uses to do work.
HTH.
Lawyers have figured it out.
on
Ageism in IT?
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
Senior members are far more respected in the field of law, because it is understood that the older a lawyer gets, the more experience they have; concordantly, the more experience they have, the better a lawyer they are.
What does a lawyer do? Pretty much the same thing as a programmer. A good, experienced lawyer will have a specialty area of law, but be able to learn about new legal arenas as the need arises; likewise, an experienced lawyer will know the ins-and-outs of a specific arena in the legal system, including exceptions and loopholes a younger, less experienced lawyer might miss.
Same goes for programmers. An older programmer, generally speaking, will be more sensitive to over-using resources, will have a better grasp of programming methodologies, and will know about many more former bugs and programming mishaps than a fresh-out-of-college CS grad.
Sun does not, nor will it ever, understand users. The entire company is geared toward sysadmins who are expected to be able to jump through install hoops and tweak systems to get top performance.
That's correct, and a Ferrari is aimed at drivers who know how to properly handle a sports car. The multitude of schmucks buying them to impress other people, while signifigant, represents a much smaller segment of the market -- most of the young rich idiots who buy Ferraris without ever learning to drive on a race track end up getting themselves killed.
Sun is proud of their "9's" - 99.999...% uptime. The truth is that 99.99% of businesses don't need that percentage. Sun is proud of their scaling, but I've got news - 99.99% of businesses don't need that much power.
Right, but the ones that do (They're known as the 'Fortune 500') are willing to pay premium prices to get what they want, just like Ferrari drivers. Sure, it's a niche market, but it's a lucrative one.
It's also clear that we'll hit 10Ghz machines with multiple gigs of RAM in just a few years, and they'll cost around $1K; if you want terabytes of disk it may cost around $2K. How is Sun going to compete with that?
Right, and how do I make two hundred clones of your monster Wintel machine in an hour and a half, without needing an assistant? Oh, wait, I can't. Will I be able to swap out CPUs without a second of downtime? Can I reassign hardware resources between different virtual domains on this monster workstation from a terminal on a different continent without needing to physically touch the machine, all without downtime? Is your monster PC going to be able to handle transferring over 40G/sec on its motherboard backplane to multiple drives?
I don't think you really understand how this technology is used.
Slashdot Mirror
Right. Uh-huh. We never saw *this* coming. No sireeee. Electronic voting is *reliable*, *safe*, and *fun for the whole family*, and anything else is against the word of the Fuehre...er, I mean, is Anti-American.
Unfortunately, the postmodernists have attempted to apply their idiotic claptrap to science, claiming the existence of such absurd concepts as "alternative scientific truths". What they miss is that science is empirical, and therefore deals with observed characteristics of the real world (i.e., "facts").
Otherwise known as, "If science doesn't give you the facts you *want*, just invent your own and call it 'alternative reasoning'!" The creationists have been doing it for years.
Oh, how I wish I had been in your English class. Every English teacher whose class I have had the dubious pleasure of attending was a big deconstructionist, and I *hated* having to figure out how to write a paper that was funny, original, subtle, and thought-provoking, but utterly devoid of meaning, fact, or any value whatsoever. Compounding this, I've always been an engineer-at-heart -- playing with programming, electronics, and such since the age of six. Fortunately, my father was an English teacher *and* a politician, and I thus had access to an unending font of bullshit[1]. *grin*
Honestly, unless you are selling a book, I heave heard that the only real problem with Linux network security involves the fact the patches for it's many security flaws are often themselves compromised and infected with trojans, etc.
I realize that I'm just feeding the troll, but I've never run across a single 'security patch' that has introduced a single trojan into any of the Linux systems I administrate. In addition, Debian (my distribution of choice), as well as every other major vendor (to my knowledge) signs and checksums their packages to prevent tampering. Sure, the package archives don't use SSL, but that's because you don't need to -- it would be much easier to break in to the package repository than it would be to properly rewrite the packet stream in such a fashion so that it would even be functional, much less provide an appropriate checksum.
A good case-in-point of how well this system works is the recent Debian break-in, in fact. Despite losing *four* crucial systems to a compromise, the integrity of the package archive was kept intact, because of GPG signatures, md5 checksums, and a massive pile of worldwide archive sites against which to verify. The compromise, recovery, and analysis of the break-in was kept open to the public, with factual updates made available at every step of the way. No cover-ups, no spin, no attempts to conceal the severity of the compromise. Just plain honesty.
This prompts a very important question: Would you expect the same from Microsoft if they had faced a similar break-in?
...woman's height decreased 25%
What's wrong with that?
I'd like to second this motion.
Borrowing and debt-in-general are bad, unless the loans are at zero percent or less. Finishing up your degree is great, but it's really shitty if you do so, only to get dumped out into a lackluster economy with fifty or a hundred thousand in student loans waiting to be paid back. Few college undergrads seem to realize that graduating with a BA, or even a PhD, does not guarantee one a six-figure salary; hell, it's possible to leave school with a doctorate and make less than thirty a year.
Working is also great, but like the parent-poster said, not always an incredibly great option; I'm actually studying linguistic anthropology, and believe you me, it's a real pain in the ass to spend time pouring through textbooks after a long day at work. This goes double if you're working in the field you're majoring in -- it just burns you out.
Scholarships aren't bad, if you can get them; it does take a measure of work (finding and applying), and every little bit helps out. Doing smart things like living at home (for most undergrads this is an option), not making car payments, and the like will also help one get through school without having to file for bankruptcy.
Yeah, but most PC 'serial port' BIOSen work for crap, especially when compared to OpenFirmware (and LOM on Suns). Most of them present you with this ASCII/ANSI-artwork interface that goes slow as fuck at 9600 bps, they often only work with some obscure terminal type that isn't to be found in most Unix terminal emulators, and they still don't give you the same level of options that OF/LOM provide -- I can't reassign hardware resources or power the machine on and/or off at will from the BIOS serial console.
On top of that, the BIOS serial console usually only hangs around until the bootloader is launched, meaning that you still can't use the serial console to install operating systems -- you need to already have an OS and bootloader that both understand serial if you want remote administration.
It's just not the same thing as a real serial console.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzt! Wrong.
It tracks the rotation of the Earth, as well as the motion of the Earth around the Sun -- you can use a sundial to tell not only the time, but also what day of the year it is.
Sorry, just had to put this in. *grin*
Better yet, give me a machine press *and* clueless users!
He didn't build a reactor, he just extracted radium, thorium and uranium out from publicly available sources, such as smoke detectors, old lead paint, and so on. More importantly, his stupid ass spent all kinds of time learning about extracting various highly radioactive elements from common sources, and spent zero time focusing on safety precautions for either himself or the community in which he lived.
The NRC cleanup of his backyard cost millions.
But, no, he was as far from building a nuclear reactor as I am from builing a warp drive.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to check the primary antimatter containment fields...
Ich haben deine Mutter gefickt!
Statt Deutsch studieren, nicht war?
Excuse me? Japan's technology was pretty much on a level with ours during WWII; what they lacked was raw materials; but make no mistake that japanese planes, aircraft, and weaponry were on a par with those used by the US. Also make no mistake that, had Japan the resources America did during WWII, us Americans would be saying 'Hai, douzo ohairi kudasai. Watakushi no minamosume to kanai wo moraite kudasai.'[1] quite a bit.
The Japanese kept up with us technologically after the war pretty well (after we got done rebuilding most of the country, since we did have to bomb it all to hell), and spent quite a bit of time learning how to make things more efficient, as well as streamlining the processes of building said things -- Total Quality Management (TQM) is a Japanese concept, and the reason why Honda and friends kicked the piss out of GM during the 80's. The Japanese didn't imitate -- they innovated incredibly well, and in the process set themselves up as the world leader in consumer electronics.
So don't insult them by saying they imitated 'U.S. technology' -- they had the same tech we did. They just cared about making it better, rather than gouging customers as much as possible.
[1] "Please, come in, honorable sir. I humbly offer you my beloved daughter and my wife.", although I'm not that good at Japanese, so I probably screwed this attempt at humor all to hell.
I can't see why the parent was modded down; it's true. I've volunteered my time, as well as offered free equipment (I've got a ton of old hardware), and I still can't get local schools or libraries to take me up on the offer for a linux-run computer lab, because I'm not on the approved vendor list.
I'd be willing to take the required time to teach C programming and such to the kids who want to really learn about computers, but the schools just won't allow it; it's sad, really.
Yeah, but they crippled the hell out of the camera firmware of the Digital Rebel (no mirror lock, white balance adjustment sucks, almost useless in full-manual mode); it's essentially nothing more than a high-level consumer zoom camera with interchangable lenses, as opposed to a good entry-level professional/prosumer digital SLR like the Canon 10D or Nikon D100. You'd be better off waiting for a drop in 10D prices, or just buying them a used D60.
The only people that can get away with wearing clip-on ties are police officers, and for obvious reasons -- having a leash that someone can grab is a Bad Idea in a combat situation. See the most recent Matrix film for details.
I completely agree that a well-fitted suit is a joy; it's comfortable, stylish, and women definitely appreciate a man who can dress himself for whatever the occasion might demand -- you're not likely to keep a girlfriend who asks you to show up to a black-tie affair, and you arrive in jeans. Likewise, you stand a much better chance of winning a job in an interview by looking good; it shows that you are professional, dedicated, and that you care about the position for which you are interviewing.
If you hate ties, that's fine; get some stylish turtleneck and crewneck sweaters and shirts -- they're still business casual, and still look great with a decently cut sportcoat.
Oh, and finally, EXERCISE. Suits look best on men that are fit; you don't need a Calvin Klein body, but a suit *will* show off a gut (a little belly-pudge is fine, though), and will likewise drape like a tent around skinny, underused arms and legs. I'm convinced that many people hate wearing suits for this reason -- because they're too out-of-shape to properly wear formal attire.
120 characters is too few to say anything funny with a link in it.
No it's not:
<a href="http://goatse.cx">IRS Audit Survivors</a>
(Sorry, couldn't resist).
Those wouldn't all happen to be countries where a large percentage of the population speaks German (as well as their native tongues, English, and likely something else on top of that), would they?
The conference was in Germany, hence the language should be German. Or do you think that the next Linux Expo in California should be held in Spanish as to reach a broader audience?
This is one of the reasons I get really pissed at other Americans when I'm overseas; when I'm in Germany, I speak German -- it's only polite. Thinking that the rest of the world only exists to accomidate your linguistic needs is arrogant ethnocentrism at its worst.
Second: The author is just plain looney. IT is not an investment any more than sticky notes are, and for precisely the same reason: Most of your IT hardware will need replacement in very short order (only a few years).
You should re-evaluate your hardware and software choices if this is the case. I wouldn't expect a car to last only one year, I certainly wouldn't expect a desk to last one year, and computers should have a usable lifetime of around three to five years. Remember -- you're running business applications, not playing games.
Then again, this attitude is largely Microsoft's fault -- their products encourage this annual PC replacement paradigm. That doesn't mean it's the only way to go.
It may be a real, established term, but it encourages a reductionist approach to business that is ultimately quite harmful. In reality, there is no such thing as a 'revenue center' or a 'cost center' -- all parts of a business work together to acheive a common goal, namely profit.
Classifying sales as a 'revenue center' and support as a 'cost center' (because it doesn't generate any income) is foolish thinking that results in very dissatisfied customers and little brand loyalty. How many people do you know who are satisfied with the tech support they get from Microsoft? HP? EarthLink?
A holistic approach to business works the opposite way; sure, you can look for ways to reduce costs[1], but you should never look at one business unit as being somehow seperate from the others. This is the approach that guys like Buffett look for when investing in a company, because it's a long-term one -- they want company managers who have next-decade profits on their mind, not just next quarter's.
[1] Open Source software is great here; my company has saved a metric arseload on IT costs because of it. Making sure your employees are properly utilized is another; employees with nothing to do become demoralized and unmotivated, as do those who are always having to work overtime. Likewise, extracting every nickel out of a capital investement is always wise -- your company should not have to buy new computers, printers, cars, staplers, desks, chairs, or any other durable good on an annual basis.
I can finally run a web browser not tied to a piece-of-crap IMAP client and mediocre newsreader.
A robot is something you use to do work.
A big fscking tool is something Ron Jeremy uses to do work.
HTH.
Senior members are far more respected in the field of law, because it is understood that the older a lawyer gets, the more experience they have; concordantly, the more experience they have, the better a lawyer they are.
What does a lawyer do? Pretty much the same thing as a programmer. A good, experienced lawyer will have a specialty area of law, but be able to learn about new legal arenas as the need arises; likewise, an experienced lawyer will know the ins-and-outs of a specific arena in the legal system, including exceptions and loopholes a younger, less experienced lawyer might miss.
Same goes for programmers. An older programmer, generally speaking, will be more sensitive to over-using resources, will have a better grasp of programming methodologies, and will know about many more former bugs and programming mishaps than a fresh-out-of-college CS grad.
Sun does not, nor will it ever, understand users. The entire company is geared toward sysadmins who are expected to be able to jump through install hoops and tweak systems to get top performance.
That's correct, and a Ferrari is aimed at drivers who know how to properly handle a sports car. The multitude of schmucks buying them to impress other people, while signifigant, represents a much smaller segment of the market -- most of the young rich idiots who buy Ferraris without ever learning to drive on a race track end up getting themselves killed.
Sun is proud of their "9's" - 99.999...% uptime. The truth is that 99.99% of businesses don't need that percentage. Sun is proud of their scaling, but I've got news - 99.99% of businesses don't need that much power.
Right, but the ones that do (They're known as the 'Fortune 500') are willing to pay premium prices to get what they want, just like Ferrari drivers. Sure, it's a niche market, but it's a lucrative one.
It's also clear that we'll hit 10Ghz machines with multiple gigs of RAM in just a few years, and they'll cost around $1K; if you want terabytes of disk it may cost around $2K. How is Sun going to compete with that?
Right, and how do I make two hundred clones of your monster Wintel machine in an hour and a half, without needing an assistant? Oh, wait, I can't. Will I be able to swap out CPUs without a second of downtime? Can I reassign hardware resources between different virtual domains on this monster workstation from a terminal on a different continent without needing to physically touch the machine, all without downtime? Is your monster PC going to be able to handle transferring over 40G/sec on its motherboard backplane to multiple drives?
I don't think you really understand how this technology is used.
...and the RIAA would be missing their greatest source for new hit music.
Sex Change Operation...SCO.
Santa Cruise Operation...SCO.
Coincidence? I think not!