It's not that a prolific submitter should have a half life, or have a limit on the quantity of their stories. The problem is in the overall quality of the submitter's stories and/or links. And perhaps that is where the solution lies -
Perhaps Slashdot needs a moderation/meta-mod system for submitters. I can hear CmdrTaco groaning now at the idea of the coding required, but perhaps Slashdot needs a means of developing a "community consensus" about users' story submissions. Moderate the story submission, and thereby the user. Users who submit good stories will get a ranking boost, and users who submit stories that are not well received will take a ranking hit. Then simply make the "user ranking" information available to the editors as they do story selection and let them allow that data to be a part of the story posting decision making process. That way the editor can make the call. If the same story is posted by several users, then the editor can choose to give the credit to the user with the highest "user ranking".
Now some of that is already in place in the "friend/foe" system, and perhaps that is another way to tap that kind of data. And there's already a system in place to block stories posted by particular editors. So the philosophy and much of the mechanics may already be in place.
You need a couple of the SLOWEST machines your clients are likely to have in production. Remember there are still folks out there running PII400s and Windows 98 on their desks(1). You need to be sure your apps perform well on base hardware, as well as your blisteringly fast build machine.
Amen! Awesomely useful for everything from jotting notes to flowcharting data streams and program flows to tracking APIs and interfaces. Also great for collaboration/brainstorming. If you can afford it, get one with the attached scanner/printer, so that when you need to erase it you can first push a button and dump the scribblings to paper.
In your reply to the question on GPL 3 you bring up the issue of client server software and the protocols they use:
It would also be nice to be able to restrict proprietary protocols (such as one between a client piece and a server piece, which may have originally been designed to function together) to only other GPL projects, which would essentially create GPL-bonded protocol interfaces. This won't restrict use in any way - only what closed-source projects are limited to interfacing with when redistributed.
What about the flip side? Such a position would put several open source projects in the position of violating their own license - ie Gaim, Samba, etc. AOL and/or Microsoft claim that the protocols used by their software are proprietary, and therefore legally protected and unavailable to open source projects without a license. GPL 3, if it included such a passage, would put the FSF and GNU in the interesting position of having to defend Microsoft or AOL's position against Samba or Gaim. Furthermore, it would put the develpers of open source alternatives in a mighty hypocritical position - ie we're using your protocols without your permission and no, you can't use ours. Is that really a can of worms we want to open?
From my Mepis workstation, attached to my Gentoo server....
It's all about using the right tool for the job.
Mepis is a desktop oriented distro. Works great - I have it on my desk and laptop. It is easy and painless. Apt is a great package system, and the GUI tools (Synaptic) work well. Defaults are sensible for the target users - ie former Windows users. I add about three apps to a default install for 95% of my needs. But it's not for my server.
I run Gentoo on my server because it fits my needs. My server is old (PII400), so control over optimizations and services is important. Gentoo gives me a better handle on configuration. And the package database tends to be more up-to-date. Important on a box that can be seen from out there. I've set up six of them, and while they haven't been without their challenges I've solved the problems and learned in the process.
Part of it is me - I prefer the "Gentoo Way" over the "Debian Way" when it comes to managing init scripts, default configurations, etc. Oh, and it installed flawlessly with boot and root on a RAID-1 with all the other volumes on LVM2. No other distro I've tried has managed that cleanly. Including the new Debian installer.
Mercury Interactive makes a great set of tools for regression and load testing. If the app is Windows based, WinRunner or QuickTest will allow you to script end-user actions for repetitive testing scenarios. LoadRunner is a great way to test a back end system, not just for load but also regression. And, if you're not useing a bug-tracking mechanism already, TestDirector is a nice web based tool for bug tracking that integrates well with the other tools.
I used these extensively for several years at a major entertainment company in Orlando to do testing, and they just flat work.
I moved because my wife got a promotion and raise that required it. It was a good move for a bunch of reasons. Here's a couple of comparisons: -Texas doesn't have the tourist driver problem Orlando has. In Orlando 25% of the drivers are from somewhere else and have no idea where they are going. Most folks here know where they are going. Which is a good thing, as the Texas Highway Dept is pretty dangerously incompetent. They figure everyone knows where they are going, so they don't put much effort into signage. Makes getting lost easy. -Texas doesn't believe in accelleration lanes. Lots of highway entrances dump directly into the highway - no time to look, much less merge. -Everyone here drives trucks. This isn't as much a macho thing as a reaction to road quality. Hwy 27 South out of Clermont was getting a little ragged a couple of years ago, so they repaved parts of it. Texas wouldn't have bothered yet. I'd never cracked a windshield before moving here. So far we've cracked three, in two years.
Sure, Orlando and CF have their problems, but I'd rather have spent the winter skiing there than shivering here. And yes, if the opportunity presents itself, we will move back.
I now live in Houston, and these folks have some interesting ideas about freedom out here. It's more of an "If I can, I will" attitude. Never mind should. They figure they're drunk and they've got car keys - why not? I actually watched a drunk yell at someone who was attempting to persuade them not to drive. To them it wasn't a question of being inebriated, they were damned if they were going to let anyone else drive their truck.
Dave P.S. - I used to live in Clermont. Miss it terribly.
Pentium 233 768mb ram 2 Promise adapters 2 60GB drives - RAID 1 2 120GB drives - RAID 1 100MB ethernet el cheapo video card 300 watt power supply 1 big case
I care not about video - I haven't looked at the screen in months. It serves files reliably, cost little or nothing. I left space between each drive, added 2 extra case fans, and let it run. It has been rock solid reliable since day 1, which was about 6 years ago. Sexy? No. Effective? Yes.
As is Mepis. Support via the various forums is good. Support for Windows apps (Wine, Crossover Office, and Win4Lin patches in the kernel) is built in to help ease the transition.
Check it out. The iso is a bootable, fully functional config with installer.
-Macros, so you can program multiple actions to a single button. -Backlighting! Wonderful for darkened room use. -"Punch through" - allows you to (for instance) control the master volume on the receiver while navigating the dvd player. -Reliable, well thought through layout allows easy use by feel.
-Start with "Don't touch". Works for awhile, but by age 2 is pointless. -Mini-ITX system. small, so it can fit up high or generally out of reach. Just set your screen saver to start quickly (short timeout) and require a password. -Get one for them. My daugher is getting an old PII400 from me in a week or so. I'll set it up with a couple of her favorite educational games and teach her to use it. She already mouses well, and that's good enough for now.
Ha! Until recently, I too lived in Florida. The market for tech jobs was stagnant. About the only readily available positions were for helldesks.
Currently I live in Houston, TX. The situation here is worse. Most employers can't respond to all of the inquiries they get from job hunters - there are too many.
Mepis: Take Debian Testing, add in the better bits from unstable, mix in very good hardware detection, a good graphical installer, and orient towards desktop users. Bake into a bootable CD.
It's a good distro for folks who would be the target for Knoppix, but who are better suited to a more conservative look. It is a great desktop distro for people who use computers as tools. And its base is Debian.
Full disclosure: I run Debian on my server, Mepis on my laptop, and Gentoo on my test box. I dunno if that makes me distro agnostic, or just schitzophrenic.
Check out Mepis Linux. Debian/testing based, run from CD or easy install, and built for desktop use. Current version is quite solid - It installed beautifully on my AthlonXP desktop and IBM Thinkpad.
Linksys router/firewall is the first line, with only three devices hooked to it: VoIP, web server(Linux/apache), and Linux Firewall. Inside linux firewall is dnscache/dhcp/samba server. Adservers filtered by Squid and large hosts file providing misdirection. No mail server or local mail storage - use a web based email provider. Sensitive data is stored on Novell IPX box. Workstations have resonable firewalls and AV. Only one WinXP box - wife's work laptop with AV and Zone.
It doesn't have to be perfect, just tough enough to make it worthwile for those interested to move on to softer targets.
Back in the early days of the space program, NASA spent tens of thousands of dollars on research to develop a pen that would write in zero gravity. The Russians used a five cent pencil.
Use a timer. A basic four or six zone timer with battery backup will be far more cost effective and reliable than a computerized and connected solution. I had one of the fancy electronic timers for a while. After having it knocked out by lightning a couple of times (remember, these are connected to low voltage lines running underground across your property) I got a better solution.
I bought an inexpensive 6 zone timer with built in battery backup that I could set up in acordance with local watering restrictions that would handle my needs. It even had the ability to hook in a rain sensor to interrupt the cycle if it had been raining recently. It worked great. (May still be, I sold the house.)
I'll second this recomendation, as I have used them for 3-4 years. They provide full DNS services, so bring your own domain name. They give full control over MX records, and will do email forwarding for you if you like. They don't supply update clients, but do have links to several that users report work well. (ezipupdate works nicely on linux). Service is excellent.
Re:Joe Sixpack is looking for "useful life"
on
Less Might Be More
·
· Score: 1
I'm a geek too, and I'm looking for long life. Last summer I finally upgraded my dual PII400 desktop (the MB died) to an Athlon XP2500. Runs Mepis Linux. My file server is still a P233mmx with 512mb and 4 drives in mirrored pairs. It runs Novell NetWare 4.12 and is stable as a rock. The firewall/webserver? An old Compaq P90 that in which upgraded the HD to 8GB. It runs Gentoo. Really.
The IBM AT (8mhz, 256MB) has finally been relegated to the attic - the CGA monitor died.
I have Vonage, and love it. Cut my telco line around first of the year. Cut my expenses at the same time. As for reliability, it's as reliable as my service provider (RoadRunner in Houston, and more reliable than the electricity.) Good voicemail, excellent sound quality. It's essentially invisible to all who've tried it.
Slashdot Mirror
It's not that a prolific submitter should have a half life, or have a limit on the quantity of their stories. The problem is in the overall quality of the submitter's stories and/or links. And perhaps that is where the solution lies -
Perhaps Slashdot needs a moderation/meta-mod system for submitters. I can hear CmdrTaco groaning now at the idea of the coding required, but perhaps Slashdot needs a means of developing a "community consensus" about users' story submissions. Moderate the story submission, and thereby the user. Users who submit good stories will get a ranking boost, and users who submit stories that are not well received will take a ranking hit. Then simply make the "user ranking" information available to the editors as they do story selection and let them allow that data to be a part of the story posting decision making process. That way the editor can make the call. If the same story is posted by several users, then the editor can choose to give the credit to the user with the highest "user ranking".
Now some of that is already in place in the "friend/foe" system, and perhaps that is another way to tap that kind of data. And there's already a system in place to block stories posted by particular editors. So the philosophy and much of the mechanics may already be in place.
You need a couple of the SLOWEST machines your clients are likely to have in production. Remember there are still folks out there running PII400s and Windows 98 on their desks(1). You need to be sure your apps perform well on base hardware, as well as your blisteringly fast build machine.
1) No, not me. I use my PII400 as a file server.
Amen! Awesomely useful for everything from jotting notes to flowcharting data streams and program flows to tracking APIs and interfaces. Also great for collaboration/brainstorming. If you can afford it, get one with the attached scanner/printer, so that when you need to erase it you can first push a button and dump the scribblings to paper.
In your reply to the question on GPL 3 you bring up the issue of client server software and the protocols they use:
What about the flip side? Such a position would put several open source projects in the position of violating their own license - ie Gaim, Samba, etc. AOL and/or Microsoft claim that the protocols used by their software are proprietary, and therefore legally protected and unavailable to open source projects without a license. GPL 3, if it included such a passage, would put the FSF and GNU in the interesting position of having to defend Microsoft or AOL's position against Samba or Gaim. Furthermore, it would put the develpers of open source alternatives in a mighty hypocritical position - ie we're using your protocols without your permission and no, you can't use ours. Is that really a can of worms we want to open?
IMHO, NLD has a product that can enable them to lead the linux desktop movement. Now they just need to work on the marketing piece.
Hasn't that always been the problem at Novell? Superior tech, lousy marketing.
From my Mepis workstation, attached to my Gentoo server....
It's all about using the right tool for the job.
Mepis is a desktop oriented distro. Works great - I have it on my desk and laptop. It is easy and painless. Apt is a great package system, and the GUI tools (Synaptic) work well. Defaults are sensible for the target users - ie former Windows users. I add about three apps to a default install for 95% of my needs. But it's not for my server.
I run Gentoo on my server because it fits my needs. My server is old (PII400), so control over optimizations and services is important. Gentoo gives me a better handle on configuration. And the package database tends to be more up-to-date. Important on a box that can be seen from out there. I've set up six of them, and while they haven't been without their challenges I've solved the problems and learned in the process.
Part of it is me - I prefer the "Gentoo Way" over the "Debian Way" when it comes to managing init scripts, default configurations, etc. Oh, and it installed flawlessly with boot and root on a RAID-1 with all the other volumes on LVM2. No other distro I've tried has managed that cleanly. Including the new Debian installer.
If you're not averse to proprietary software...
Mercury Interactive makes a great set of tools for regression and load testing. If the app is Windows based, WinRunner or QuickTest will allow you to script end-user actions for repetitive testing scenarios. LoadRunner is a great way to test a back end system, not just for load but also regression. And, if you're not useing a bug-tracking mechanism already, TestDirector is a nice web based tool for bug tracking that integrates well with the other tools.
I used these extensively for several years at a major entertainment company in Orlando to do testing, and they just flat work.
I moved because my wife got a promotion and raise that required it. It was a good move for a bunch of reasons. Here's a couple of comparisons:
-Texas doesn't have the tourist driver problem Orlando has. In Orlando 25% of the drivers are from somewhere else and have no idea where they are going. Most folks here know where they are going. Which is a good thing, as the Texas Highway Dept is pretty dangerously incompetent. They figure everyone knows where they are going, so they don't put much effort into signage. Makes getting lost easy.
-Texas doesn't believe in accelleration lanes. Lots of highway entrances dump directly into the highway - no time to look, much less merge.
-Everyone here drives trucks. This isn't as much a macho thing as a reaction to road quality. Hwy 27 South out of Clermont was getting a little ragged a couple of years ago, so they repaved parts of it. Texas wouldn't have bothered yet. I'd never cracked a windshield before moving here. So far we've cracked three, in two years.
Sure, Orlando and CF have their problems, but I'd rather have spent the winter skiing there than shivering here. And yes, if the opportunity presents itself, we will move back.
AstroDrabb-
I now live in Houston, and these folks have some interesting ideas about freedom out here. It's more of an "If I can, I will" attitude. Never mind should. They figure they're drunk and they've got car keys - why not? I actually watched a drunk yell at someone who was attempting to persuade them not to drive. To them it wasn't a question of being inebriated, they were damned if they were going to let anyone else drive their truck.
Dave
P.S. - I used to live in Clermont. Miss it terribly.
For home use, I use:
Pentium 233
768mb ram
2 Promise adapters
2 60GB drives - RAID 1
2 120GB drives - RAID 1
100MB ethernet
el cheapo video card
300 watt power supply
1 big case
I care not about video - I haven't looked at the screen in months. It serves files reliably, cost little or nothing. I left space between each drive, added 2 extra case fans, and let it run. It has been rock solid reliable since day 1, which was about 6 years ago. Sexy? No. Effective? Yes.
Head over to LWN and check out their articles on several 64-bit Linux distributions.
Problems aren't unusual, but there are those that work.
As is Mepis. Support via the various forums is good. Support for Windows apps (Wine, Crossover Office, and Win4Lin patches in the kernel) is built in to help ease the transition.
Check it out. The iso is a bootable, fully functional config with installer.
Why Xandros? If it is because you're looking for an up-to-date Debian based desktop oriented distro I'd say take a look at Mepis
Additional features I love on mine:
-Macros, so you can program multiple actions to a single button.
-Backlighting! Wonderful for darkened room use.
-"Punch through" - allows you to (for instance) control the master volume on the receiver while navigating the dvd player.
-Reliable, well thought through layout allows easy use by feel.
A truly great remote.
I have a 2.5 year old. Here's some ideas:
-Start with "Don't touch". Works for awhile, but by age 2 is pointless.
-Mini-ITX system. small, so it can fit up high or generally out of reach. Just set your screen saver to start quickly (short timeout) and require a password.
-Get one for them. My daugher is getting an old PII400 from me in a week or so. I'll set it up with a couple of her favorite educational games and teach her to use it. She already mouses well, and that's good enough for now.
Ha! Until recently, I too lived in Florida. The market for tech jobs was stagnant. About the only readily available positions were for helldesks.
Currently I live in Houston, TX. The situation here is worse. Most employers can't respond to all of the inquiries they get from job hunters - there are too many.
And I'll trump you with my P90! Seriously. I use it as a firewall machine.
The scary part is that I have Samba and Apache 2.x on it. For internal use only, of course. No X tho.
Mepis: Take Debian Testing, add in the better bits from unstable, mix in very good hardware detection, a good graphical installer, and orient towards desktop users. Bake into a bootable CD.
It's a good distro for folks who would be the target for Knoppix, but who are better suited to a more conservative look. It is a great desktop distro for people who use computers as tools. And its base is Debian.
Full disclosure: I run Debian on my server, Mepis on my laptop, and Gentoo on my test box. I dunno if that makes me distro agnostic, or just schitzophrenic.
Check out Mepis Linux. Debian/testing based, run from CD or easy install, and built for desktop use. Current version is quite solid - It installed beautifully on my AthlonXP desktop and IBM Thinkpad.
Linksys router/firewall is the first line, with only three devices hooked to it: VoIP, web server(Linux/apache), and Linux Firewall. Inside linux firewall is dnscache/dhcp/samba server. Adservers filtered by Squid and large hosts file providing misdirection. No mail server or local mail storage - use a web based email provider. Sensitive data is stored on Novell IPX box. Workstations have resonable firewalls and AV. Only one WinXP box - wife's work laptop with AV and Zone.
It doesn't have to be perfect, just tough enough to make it worthwile for those interested to move on to softer targets.
Back in the early days of the space program, NASA spent tens of thousands of dollars on research to develop a pen that would write in zero gravity. The Russians used a five cent pencil.
Use a timer. A basic four or six zone timer with battery backup will be far more cost effective and reliable than a computerized and connected solution. I had one of the fancy electronic timers for a while. After having it knocked out by lightning a couple of times (remember, these are connected to low voltage lines running underground across your property) I got a better solution.
I bought an inexpensive 6 zone timer with built in battery backup that I could set up in acordance with local watering restrictions that would handle my needs. It even had the ability to hook in a rain sensor to interrupt the cycle if it had been raining recently. It worked great. (May still be, I sold the house.)
I'll second this recomendation, as I have used them for 3-4 years. They provide full DNS services, so bring your own domain name. They give full control over MX records, and will do email forwarding for you if you like. They don't supply update clients, but do have links to several that users report work well. (ezipupdate works nicely on linux). Service is excellent.
I'm a geek too, and I'm looking for long life. Last summer I finally upgraded my dual PII400 desktop (the MB died) to an Athlon XP2500. Runs Mepis Linux. My file server is still a P233mmx with 512mb and 4 drives in mirrored pairs. It runs Novell NetWare 4.12 and is stable as a rock. The firewall/webserver? An old Compaq P90 that in which upgraded the HD to 8GB. It runs Gentoo. Really.
The IBM AT (8mhz, 256MB) has finally been relegated to the attic - the CGA monitor died.
I have Vonage, and love it. Cut my telco line around first of the year. Cut my expenses at the same time. As for reliability, it's as reliable as my service provider (RoadRunner in Houston, and more reliable than the electricity.) Good voicemail, excellent sound quality. It's essentially invisible to all who've tried it.
If you want to USE Linux, install a Debian derivative like Mepis or Knoppix.
If you want to LEARN Linux, install Gentoo.