They have a system to diagnose and test hardware defects based on software checks which aren't available under Linux. They need to create a similiar system where each component can be tested using native linux tools.
Pretty much every Dell I've worked on in the last year, maybe more, has a bootable diagnostic partition separate from the Windows install. Further, that diagnostic partition looks suspiciously like Linux.
Dell also provides diagnostic discs for their servers that look suspiciously like Linux.
There's no reason that a diagnostic partition could not be present on a computer with Linux loaded on it. There's no reason why they couldn't provide their diagnostic software on a bootable CD-ROM or USB key. If it's diagnosing the hardware, why does it matter what software you've got loaded on the machine?
It's been way more reliable for me than my neighbors' cable internet. Sure, their highest burst download speeds are better than my paltry 3 meg connection, but I have that 3 meg connection with very little variation day and night. Their cable connection slows down noticeably after school and in the evenings--when most of us are using the net. Our DSL does not slow in any detectable way.
I really wish we could go back to our DSL connection... But we moved a mere 6 miles in the wrong direction, and the cable company has no DSL out here. They're rolling out fiber in the city itself, but out here we have nothing but cable internet.
They tell me that the cable's top speed is higher than what our DSL had to offer before - 3 Mbps instead of 1.5 Mbps - but I have yet to see it. The connection is spotty as hell. It falls over for no good reason at least once a month, while we had DSL for over two years with no interruption in service at all.
I've also run into trouble with blocked ports. I have, on more than one occasion, attempted to connect to a home PC for various purposes...RDP, VNC, FTP, WWW...I'll generally get one or two good connections, and then the ports are blocked. I've had to repeatedly change ports...and the new ones will get blocked after a couple connections as well. I realize it's a 'home' account, not 'business', but I still think I ought to be able to occasionally connect into my home PC to grab a file I forgot.
I hope our results are atypical... I hope cable is more reliable elsewhere... But from my own experiences I can't imagine trying to run a business on a cable line. I can't imagine having to rely on the cable company for connectivity. And I genuinely regret moving out of DSL range.
And that, I think, is the whole point. Rather than advertise Linux as some kind of discount version of Windows, advertise Linux as an alternative. Apple doesn't ship Parallels with new Macs. Folks understand that if they buy a Mac there is going to be some learning involved. People buy a Mac because it is NOT Windows. And for the programs that people absolutely have to run in Windows, they can grab Parallels, tweak it a bit to get things up and running, and then run those few programs through it.
I think a good part of the problem is that many people, myself included, are still running software that requires administrative access to work properly.
Many of my son's games only run correctly when you are logged in as an administrator (under XP, not Vista). I assume that he'd need to enter a password or click OK to make them work under Vista.
Utilities like Net Stumbler require administrative rights to run properly under Vista.
One of the language training programs at a school that I support requires administrative access to run properly.
Maybe there's a good reason why these programs need administrative access, maybe not...but they need it. And under Vista you'll be prompted.
That's something that I noticed almost immediately when I installed Vista. I guess I don't know how it would be for your typical home user, but the things I was trying to do kept asking me for permission. Had to click OK to install software...had to click OK to change network settings...had to click OK to change firewall/filesharing settings when it detected a new network...had to intentionally run the command prompt with administrative rights, and then click OK to allow it... Maybe your average user wouldn't see it so much, maybe they would, but it got to the point where I wasn't even reading the warnings anymore.
By contrast, Ubuntu asks you relatively seldom. At the command prompt I'm frequently having to sudo stuff, but it just asks for your password, you don't get asked if it's OK or not. Synaptic asks for permission...a few system changes do...installing software usually does... But I got the OK prompt a dozen times a day with Vista, compared to once or twice with Ubuntu.
Macs also prompt the user for administrative operations...but again, it's far less frequent than Vista.
I 'upgraded' my work PC to Vista because I needed familiarity with it. I needed to learn the differences between Vista and XP so i could support my clients. Plus, I figured it ought to be better... Built-in tablet support and whatnot... I'm regretting the 'upgrade' and wish I knew where the original reload discs were, because I'd much rather go back to XP.
Granted, my viewpoint is a little skewed... I'm looking at this from a computer technician's point of view, not that of a home user. But really, it seems like a step backwards in functionality. Did you know that Vista no longer ships with Hyperterm? I had to actually go download a terminal emulator when I wanted to log into a Cisco's console. It also has no built-in telnet application, had to go download that as well. I'd use PuTTY for both, but PuTTY has issues with Vista (not Microsoft's fault, but I still can't use it reliably). I can't get at my network settings as easily as XP either...I could just right-click on the network icon under XP, Vista makes me click through several windows to get to it. I've had no end of trouble getting Vista's IE7 to work with Cisco's P/S/ASDM - I eventually just gave up and installed Firefox.
Seems like it takes a lot longer for my tablet to hibernate than it used to...and the battery doesn't seem to last as long either...but that's probably because my tablet was never really intended to work with Vista.
Sure, there are a few nice new features... But for the most part I have a harder time getting work done with Vista than I did with XP.
Re:Will anyone gain anything from this? Not Linux
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The End is Nigh for XP
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· Score: 1
Eventually, as it always happens, there will be bug releases and new drivers for Windows Vista. Upgrading to them is as easily as doing "Windows Update." Linux (and BSD) distros will never be this easily patched due to the very nature of being open source. I only have to go to 1 web site to update my PC's - Windows Update - and it's incredibly simple - just click on Update and voila, it's done and everything works.
Huh. That sounds an awful lot like Synaptic under Ubuntu. A nice, friendly GUI for installing new software and an automated process that routinely checks for and offers to install updates. Oh...wait...Windows Update only works for updating Microsoft software... Synaptic lets you install new software, and will update anything you install through it, meaning 3rd party software with absolutely no ties to the official Ubuntu distribution as well.
Not trying to be an ass... But Linux has had simple ways to update software for quite some time.
Agreed. I'm paying Blizzard a monthly fee for an enjoyable gaming experience. I do this to relax and have fun in the evening. Some people have cable TV, some go to the movies, some go to the theater...I play WoW. And I want my money's worth. I don't want my game experience ruined because some guy bought a program that lets him cheat.
I don't know if anyone remembers trying to play Diablo (the first one) multi-player. It was fun for the first week or two, and then the cheats started showing up. Hacks and cheats that allowed you to kill people in town. Duplication bugs that gave you limitless wealth. It soon stopped being fun.
Diablo II offered both an open (peer-to-peer) multi-player mode and a closed (housed on Blizzard's Battle.net servers) multi-player mode - I played the closed version. Because the open version showed the same kind of cheats and hacks that the first Diablo did.
I have no problem with people cheating and hacking on their own time. If it's a single-player game they can IDDQD all they want. But if I'm playing a multi-player game I want a relatively level playing field. I want to know that they have just as much a chance of dying as I do. It's no fun when everyone gets headshots all the time and can't be killed.
You should both be glad you've actually got some way to purchase processors at a brick & mortar retailer. I'm lucky if I can pick up the right type of RAM around here... Processors, motherboards, decent sound and video cards, and empty computer cases are all out of the question. I have to order absolutely everything on-line and pay for shipping and handling. Very inconvenient when something sizzles and I just want to get back up and running fast.
If you are too cheap or poor to get one, (k)ubuntu is right over there.
The various Linux distros are certainly more secure than Windows, but I'm not sure I'd trust them on a naked broadband connection either. There are still vulnerabilities for people to take advantage of - fewer, certainly, but they're still there.
Wah! I'm a geek who loves closing tax loopholes for the rich until I realize that means taxing my nerdy activities too!
I guess I'm just curious what they're going to tax, and how...
Isn't just about any kind of income taxed right now? I mean...you get taxed on investments, gifts, winnings... If I sell some World of Warcraft sword on eBay, aren't I supposed to report that income already? And wouldn't I be taxed on that income?...so, what needs to change?
Or are they planning on taxing in-game income? If I sell that sword in-game for 100 gold, does the government suddenly need a cut of that? If so, do I pay them with gold or with dollars?
Because we do a lot of business with them and their clients. They offer very competitive pricing on pure bandwidth packages and their bundled price is outstanding. Plus they're a local company, which means tech support isn't outsourced yet. And they're far more reliable than the local cable company. So we wind up recommending that any of our customers looking for an ISP go with them.
All of which means that we wind up working with their installers and seeing their equipment very often. I've done work on their devices more than once and can attest that they are running IPv6 - a separate address for each interface on the device: bandwidth, video, phone. I have been told by their installers that this is typical and that their internal equipment is all running IPv6, though I have no proof of that myself.
2) If I have 1000 aggregation routers connected to customers running IPv4, and two routers in my network where IPv6 is turned on, am I "running IPv6 on my internal network?"
Yes, technically, you would be running IPv6 on your internal network. And I suppose this may be similar to what they're running. I have been led to believe that their servers (mail, web, whatever) are also running IPv6 as well, though this may be incorrect.
Re:Gee, why is no one switching to IPv6?
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IPv6 Tested in Space
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· Score: 2, Interesting
Perhaps I am wrong... One of our larger local ISPs is rolling out its own fiber and offering a comprehensive package that includes broadband, unlimited phone, and video - and they're using IPv6 on their internal network. The end user doesn't see that though...they get an IPv4 address on their broadband router, just like with a regular cable/DSL connection. I just assumed that if a local ISP here was doing IPv6 internally that more worldwide would be doing so.
Re:Gee, why is no one switching to IPv6?
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IPv6 Tested in Space
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· Score: 4, Interesting
While it is certainly true that there aren't a whole ton of home routers that support IPv6 yet, it's on the way. Vista installs IPv6 by default and it's a pain to get rid of it. Vista tells you you've got full IPv4 connectivity, but limited IPv6 connectivity...and I've already had one client ask me what that meant, and how he could get full IPv6. Folks will buy an IPv6 router just because it's got a bigger number...and now that Vista advertises IPv6 connectivity, people will be aware that there is a bigger number to be had.
Plus, some stupid applications insist on trying IPv6 if it is installed and wait forever for the packets to time out... A common problem I ran into with folks who tinkered under XP was massive slowdowns with Firefox after someone had installed IPv6. Remove IPv6 and everything was fine. Of course...Vista doesn't like it when you try to remove IPv6... Haven't had any calls about slowdowns yet...maybe Vista handles the stack better than XP did...
As far as "no-one is choosing to run IPv6 on the ground"... Well, that's just not true. Many ISPs are running IPv6 on their internal networks. You'll never see it because your modem/router/LAN live in an IPv4 tunnel...but it's there. I know I've seen Job Ads for the local hospital asking for IPv6 experience as well...though I don't know if they're actually using it yet or just preparing for the future.
"Dotted quads" may be easier for you to memorize...but I suspect this is largely because that's what you're dealing with on a day-to-day basis. Remember when you were little and it was hard to memorize addresses or phone numbers? Now that seems incredibly simple, doesn't it? Remember when you were just learning IP and wondered why you couldn't use DNS for absolutely everything (because names are so much easier to memorize than numbers). Plus, IPv6 supports a couple different ways to abbreviate addresses...such as stripping leading 0's or replacing them with:: Which makes our old friend 127.0.0.1 something much easier to remember -::1
And simply re-allocating the IPv4 address space just isn't going to cut it. There aren't enough addresses out there. The only reason we've been able to stay with IPv4 for so long is NAT, which causes problems of its own. The bottom line is that we need more addresses than IPv4 has.
Personally, I wish I could ride a bus/train/whatever to work.
Public transportation is an afterthought in much of the U.S. Sure, some of the big cities have decent public transit systems...but where I live it's basically non-existant.
Personal transportation, to me, is a headache. I don't like constantly spending money on gas. I don't like having to get my car inspected, take it to the garage, replace parts... It costs too much, in both time and money. I'd much rather pay a couple dollars and get on a train/bus/whatever.
Or, while we're at it, we could always design cities that are more people-friendly. Cities that weren't designed around the idea that everyone has a car and will use it as the preferred form of transportation. Cities with room for bicycles and pedestrians. Cities laid out in such a way that getting to and from work/home/shopping is relatively easy to do on foot.
We took a trip to Europe a few years back, and I was constantly amazed at how little you needed a car to get around - even outside of the major cities. Why can't we do that here in the U.S.?
Apple is dominant in a particular market segment, the 'too cool for you' market segment. Just about no one else cares at all, and rather, a lot of people see Apple and die hard Apple users as elitist techno snobs.
I certainly wouldn't consider the folks I know who use Macs to be part of the "too cool for you" market segment, and they definitely aren't "elitist techno snobs". I think I'd sooner call them the "don't care enough to make a PC work" market segment.
My sister uses a Mac simply because it is easier for her. She wants to go in to a store looking for a printer, see a "Mac Compatible" sticker, and know it will likely work. She's not interested in whether her computer has a parallel port or not, doesn't care how much RAM it has, doesn't want to know which version of Windows a given printer works on... Just wants to plug it in and have it work.
One of our clients at work has recently moved away from PCs. He's a grumpy old man with too much time on his hands who is constantly clicking on things he shouldn't and breaking his computer - and then blaming us for not somehow protecting him. We used to hear from him at least once a month. We've reloaded his computer repeatedly, set him up as a limited user, installed antivirus and firewall software...and it just keeps breaking. So he decided to try a Macintosh about six months ago, and we haven't heard from him since.
Believe it or not, a good chunk of the population finds PCs fairly complicated. We have customers who ask us if an HP printer will work on a Dell computer. We have people who aren't comfortable unplugging their peripherals and bringing the machine in to us even though all the assorted plugs & connectors are color coded. People don't know the difference between Megabytes and Megahertz. People tell me that they "downloaded the program from the CD to the modem".
Microsoft shouldn't be too worried until Apple begins to sell OS X for installation on hardware besides theirs. When OS X can be put on all kinds of hardware, I will gladly purchase it and I'm sure many others will as well.
Actually, I'm not sure if I'd be that excited about standalone sales of OS X. Yeah, it looks pretty... Apple's got some nice applications available... But I'm not sure that I want just another OS available to me. I can get fairly close to the OS X experience with Vista or various flavors of Linux. What really makes Apple shine is the same thing you are lamenting - lack of hardware choices.
In the PC world you've got hundreds of PC manufacturers, thousands of hardware vendors, billions of combinations of components that are all supposed to work together...
Sure, I'm a hobbyist and I like to tinker. I've built my last dozen machines myself, by hand, from individual components. I like that level of control. I like to sift through benchmarks and reviews to find the motherboards that work best for me. I like the feeling of pride in having a quality PC that I built.
But my sister doesn't care. She wants to go in, buy something off the shelf, and just have it work. She isn't even completely clear on the fact that HP, Dell, IBM, Gateway, etc. all make computers that are called PCs. She sees stickers that say "Mac Compatible" and wonders why there isn't a "Dell Compatible" sticker. And to her, buying a Mac is simpler and more straightforward than buying a PC. She can understand that OS X 10.3 is newer/better/faster than 10.1 She knows that if it says "Mac Compatible" it will likely work. She doesn't need to wonder about whether the printer has a Parallel interface or USB. It just says "Mac", so she's safe.
And I really think that's part of the appeal of Apple products. They're simplified to the point where they just basically work most of the time.
Just curious... do most people still use *tape* for backup? Personally, I use multiple hard drives and a DVD burner on a daily basis.
I guess it depends on what you're backing up...
Of all our clients, the smallest backup we've got is about 14 GB. That's too big for a single DVD-R, but it fits just fine on a DDS3. We can also easily automate a tape backup - just instruct a secretary or someone to swap the tape in the morning. Tapes are reasonably durable too...more rugged, in general, than a removable HDD. Of course, that's all for the little backups...
Some of our clients are backing up 400+ GB of data on a daily basis. I guess you could use some kind of removable HDD...or go through a stack of DVDs every day... Or you could just use a single LTO-3 tape.
And that's just our clients. We don't have any monstrously huge backups to deal with. Some places have literally TerraBytes of data to back up... While I'm sure a good amount of that goes into some kind of RAIDed SAN/NAS...a robotic tape library starts making a lot more sense than a pile of HDDs or DVDs.
The point is CHOICE. Conservatism promotes it, Liberalism takes it away in favor of a utopian ideal.
Perhaps that was the idea originally... And I've said to friends and family that if I'd been born many years earlier I'd likely be a conservative... I like the idea of State's Rights. I don't think that the Federal Government should be so large. I like the notion that the government should, by and large, stay out of your business - all traditionally conservative views.
The problem is that these days "conservative" doesn't mean what it used to. These days the conservatives are all about growing the role of the Federal Government, shoving aside any checks & balances that might exist, and imposing their fairly narrow world-view on everyone else.
The reason I can not vote for a liberal is that they are saying that they will act against their own best interest - they say that they will act to move money from themselves to the poor. I doubt them when they say that...
The problem, I think, is a matter of perceptions. What exactly is in my own best interest? Is simply having more money in my pocket in my best interest? Or could that money serve me better elsewhere?
I have no problem paying more in taxes - though it means less money in my pocket - if we get better schools, healthcare, roads, etc. for everyone. I see this as acting in my best interest. Better schools mean smarter people, who work better and can produce better products for me to buy or sell. Healthier people don't call in sick as often. Better roads let me get to work safely and on-time more often. Despite the fact that I have less money in my pocket my quality of life is improved. And not only my own quality of life...but that of my parents, neighbors, children, friends, co-workers... You get the idea.
I personally think that helping out society in general eventually benefits me individually far more than simply hanging on to my money would.
Of course...this is assuming that our tax money is actually well-spent, which isn't always the case. Right now, under this administration, even with the tax cuts and rebates I've been feeling that we're taxed too much. Under previous administrations, that spent the money differently, I did not mind paying more than I am now.
What I've found interesting is that, in my experience, Linux is most appropriate for some of the folks you'd think least likely.
Sure, your hardcore geek can get along fine with Linux. They either make their system work (by hunting down obscure drivers and submitting their own patches) or find work-arounds (alternative software). It's really not terribly surprising to see a computer geek running Linux these days.
For gamers and power-users it really doesn't work. Many games don't work, or don't work as well, or don't work without substantial tinkering. Power-users who've really learned the in's and out's of Windows frequently aren't willing to spend the time and effort to learn a new OS.
What surprises me is that Linux actually works fairly well for those who are almost completely computer illiterate. The folks who only use their PC's for a few hours a week to check email and surf the web. Sure, they need to learn a new button to click on to get email...but all the functionality they've come to expect from a computer is right there. There's little if any need to get odd bits of software working, force games to run, hunt down obscure drivers... All they need is a web browser and a media player.
I hate to point this out but to anyone not in the know. the Acronym TOR means absolutely NOTHING. why post a warning about something if you do not explain the acronym. WHAT THE HELL IS WITH THE EXCESSIVE ACRONYMS? You all afraid to speak a fully qualified language or are you all afraid someone might notice you have no idea what the hell you're talking about? How about expanding on the acronyms a bit eh? Thanks.
To anyone not in the know, the fact that the TOR protocol has a weakness means absolutely NOTHING regardless of whether they know what TOR stands for or not.
Granted, there is such a thing as TLA-overload...but I don't think this is it. If you don't know that TOR stands for The Onion Router, then why the hell do you care whether it is vulnerable to attack or not? You obviously aren't using it... You don't care about the technology or implementation... You are apparently not even curious enough to Google it... So why bother clicking through to post such a rant?
I've got a family of 3, so we're short one person...but we all fit just fine into a mid-size car. We go grocery shopping too, and all of that fits in the trunk. We've even got room for more people (we can actually fit about 6 in our car) in the back seat, for when we need to haul other people around. We've transported Christmas trees, furniture, a television...everything short of a major appliance (washer/dryer/refrigerator) in our car. Obviously the family with 4 kids doesn't have to drive an SUV just because they've got 4 kids. Families of 4, and more, have been getting along without SUV's for quite some time now.
Further, there's really little reason why we here in the US need to have a society organized around personal transportation the way it is. All over Europe people manage to get along just fine with their own two legs, public transportation, and maybe a bicycle. Just because you don't live in a major metropolitan area doesn't mean you can't have public transportation or a city designed for human beings. Quite a bit could be done to reduce or completely eliminate the need to own your own car.
The more companies treat their employees as adversaries, the more adversaries they create.
Very true. Sure, take reasonable security measures... But if you start snooping on everything your employees do, start filtering out Internet sites, start sifting through email...your employees start feeling oppressed and resentful. Get enough resentment going and they'll start looking for ways to get back at you. Usually it's something minor...bringing a pencil home from work to get back at the man or something silly like that...but enough resentment can lead to much bigger problems.
Those 'basic skills' you mention are tied to the tools, no? Put an employee in a building where the door handles and light switches make sense and off they go - put them into another building where door handles and light switches are no longer consistent and you can expect call after call on how to enter a given room and where the hell is the light switch.
Except that doorknobs and lightswitches really do differ from one place to the next.
Some places have automatic lights that come on when you enter the room... Some places have the traditional flip-switch... Some have dimmers... Some have the old push-button switches... Some places have laps with twist-knobs up near the bulb, or maybe a dial type thing on the power cord... And let's not even get into where those switches are placed. Yet your average human being is usually able to turn the lights on, despite some minor stylistic differences in how the lightswitch is presented. The basic concept is the same - flip a switch of some sort to make the lights come on.
I have had users call me and explain that they cannot get into Excel because the program has been removed from their computer...when in fact the icon is simply missing from its usual place. Sometimes it is understandable...like if all shortcuts to the program have been deleted, no icons at all, and the only way to run it would be to go into the Program Files directory and find the.exe itself. I understand having trouble with that. But I have had users call me with that problem when the icon was only moved elsewhere on their desktop.
There is some kind of fundamental disconnect when it comes to computers. Many people just don't have a very basic understanding of how they operate - a lack of understanding that would not be deemed acceptable in just about any other field. Imagine someone who doesn't understand that you need to put gas in a car to make it work - yet we aren't allowed to be surprised when a user thinks their computer should work when the power goes out.
IT is one of the few fields where it is acceptable to have users who know absolutely nothing about the machinery they are trying to use.
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Pretty much every Dell I've worked on in the last year, maybe more, has a bootable diagnostic partition separate from the Windows install. Further, that diagnostic partition looks suspiciously like Linux.
Dell also provides diagnostic discs for their servers that look suspiciously like Linux.
There's no reason that a diagnostic partition could not be present on a computer with Linux loaded on it. There's no reason why they couldn't provide their diagnostic software on a bootable CD-ROM or USB key. If it's diagnosing the hardware, why does it matter what software you've got loaded on the machine?
I really wish we could go back to our DSL connection... But we moved a mere 6 miles in the wrong direction, and the cable company has no DSL out here. They're rolling out fiber in the city itself, but out here we have nothing but cable internet.
They tell me that the cable's top speed is higher than what our DSL had to offer before - 3 Mbps instead of 1.5 Mbps - but I have yet to see it. The connection is spotty as hell. It falls over for no good reason at least once a month, while we had DSL for over two years with no interruption in service at all.
I've also run into trouble with blocked ports. I have, on more than one occasion, attempted to connect to a home PC for various purposes...RDP, VNC, FTP, WWW...I'll generally get one or two good connections, and then the ports are blocked. I've had to repeatedly change ports...and the new ones will get blocked after a couple connections as well. I realize it's a 'home' account, not 'business', but I still think I ought to be able to occasionally connect into my home PC to grab a file I forgot.
I hope our results are atypical... I hope cable is more reliable elsewhere... But from my own experiences I can't imagine trying to run a business on a cable line. I can't imagine having to rely on the cable company for connectivity. And I genuinely regret moving out of DSL range.
And that, I think, is the whole point. Rather than advertise Linux as some kind of discount version of Windows, advertise Linux as an alternative. Apple doesn't ship Parallels with new Macs. Folks understand that if they buy a Mac there is going to be some learning involved. People buy a Mac because it is NOT Windows. And for the programs that people absolutely have to run in Windows, they can grab Parallels, tweak it a bit to get things up and running, and then run those few programs through it.
I think a good part of the problem is that many people, myself included, are still running software that requires administrative access to work properly.
Many of my son's games only run correctly when you are logged in as an administrator (under XP, not Vista). I assume that he'd need to enter a password or click OK to make them work under Vista.
Utilities like Net Stumbler require administrative rights to run properly under Vista.
One of the language training programs at a school that I support requires administrative access to run properly.
Maybe there's a good reason why these programs need administrative access, maybe not...but they need it. And under Vista you'll be prompted.
That's something that I noticed almost immediately when I installed Vista. I guess I don't know how it would be for your typical home user, but the things I was trying to do kept asking me for permission. Had to click OK to install software...had to click OK to change network settings...had to click OK to change firewall/filesharing settings when it detected a new network...had to intentionally run the command prompt with administrative rights, and then click OK to allow it... Maybe your average user wouldn't see it so much, maybe they would, but it got to the point where I wasn't even reading the warnings anymore.
By contrast, Ubuntu asks you relatively seldom. At the command prompt I'm frequently having to sudo stuff, but it just asks for your password, you don't get asked if it's OK or not. Synaptic asks for permission...a few system changes do...installing software usually does... But I got the OK prompt a dozen times a day with Vista, compared to once or twice with Ubuntu.
Macs also prompt the user for administrative operations...but again, it's far less frequent than Vista.
I 'upgraded' my work PC to Vista because I needed familiarity with it. I needed to learn the differences between Vista and XP so i could support my clients. Plus, I figured it ought to be better... Built-in tablet support and whatnot... I'm regretting the 'upgrade' and wish I knew where the original reload discs were, because I'd much rather go back to XP.
Granted, my viewpoint is a little skewed... I'm looking at this from a computer technician's point of view, not that of a home user. But really, it seems like a step backwards in functionality. Did you know that Vista no longer ships with Hyperterm? I had to actually go download a terminal emulator when I wanted to log into a Cisco's console. It also has no built-in telnet application, had to go download that as well. I'd use PuTTY for both, but PuTTY has issues with Vista (not Microsoft's fault, but I still can't use it reliably). I can't get at my network settings as easily as XP either...I could just right-click on the network icon under XP, Vista makes me click through several windows to get to it. I've had no end of trouble getting Vista's IE7 to work with Cisco's P/S/ASDM - I eventually just gave up and installed Firefox.
Seems like it takes a lot longer for my tablet to hibernate than it used to...and the battery doesn't seem to last as long either...but that's probably because my tablet was never really intended to work with Vista.
Sure, there are a few nice new features... But for the most part I have a harder time getting work done with Vista than I did with XP.
Huh. That sounds an awful lot like Synaptic under Ubuntu. A nice, friendly GUI for installing new software and an automated process that routinely checks for and offers to install updates. Oh...wait...Windows Update only works for updating Microsoft software... Synaptic lets you install new software, and will update anything you install through it, meaning 3rd party software with absolutely no ties to the official Ubuntu distribution as well.
Not trying to be an ass... But Linux has had simple ways to update software for quite some time.
Agreed. I'm paying Blizzard a monthly fee for an enjoyable gaming experience. I do this to relax and have fun in the evening. Some people have cable TV, some go to the movies, some go to the theater...I play WoW. And I want my money's worth. I don't want my game experience ruined because some guy bought a program that lets him cheat.
I don't know if anyone remembers trying to play Diablo (the first one) multi-player. It was fun for the first week or two, and then the cheats started showing up. Hacks and cheats that allowed you to kill people in town. Duplication bugs that gave you limitless wealth. It soon stopped being fun.
Diablo II offered both an open (peer-to-peer) multi-player mode and a closed (housed on Blizzard's Battle.net servers) multi-player mode - I played the closed version. Because the open version showed the same kind of cheats and hacks that the first Diablo did.
I have no problem with people cheating and hacking on their own time. If it's a single-player game they can IDDQD all they want. But if I'm playing a multi-player game I want a relatively level playing field. I want to know that they have just as much a chance of dying as I do. It's no fun when everyone gets headshots all the time and can't be killed.
You should both be glad you've actually got some way to purchase processors at a brick & mortar retailer. I'm lucky if I can pick up the right type of RAM around here... Processors, motherboards, decent sound and video cards, and empty computer cases are all out of the question. I have to order absolutely everything on-line and pay for shipping and handling. Very inconvenient when something sizzles and I just want to get back up and running fast.
I guess I'm just curious what they're going to tax, and how...
Isn't just about any kind of income taxed right now? I mean...you get taxed on investments, gifts, winnings... If I sell some World of Warcraft sword on eBay, aren't I supposed to report that income already? And wouldn't I be taxed on that income?
Or are they planning on taxing in-game income? If I sell that sword in-game for 100 gold, does the government suddenly need a cut of that? If so, do I pay them with gold or with dollars?
Because we do a lot of business with them and their clients. They offer very competitive pricing on pure bandwidth packages and their bundled price is outstanding. Plus they're a local company, which means tech support isn't outsourced yet. And they're far more reliable than the local cable company. So we wind up recommending that any of our customers looking for an ISP go with them.
All of which means that we wind up working with their installers and seeing their equipment very often. I've done work on their devices more than once and can attest that they are running IPv6 - a separate address for each interface on the device: bandwidth, video, phone. I have been told by their installers that this is typical and that their internal equipment is all running IPv6, though I have no proof of that myself.
Yes, technically, you would be running IPv6 on your internal network. And I suppose this may be similar to what they're running. I have been led to believe that their servers (mail, web, whatever) are also running IPv6 as well, though this may be incorrect.
Perhaps I am wrong... One of our larger local ISPs is rolling out its own fiber and offering a comprehensive package that includes broadband, unlimited phone, and video - and they're using IPv6 on their internal network. The end user doesn't see that though...they get an IPv4 address on their broadband router, just like with a regular cable/DSL connection. I just assumed that if a local ISP here was doing IPv6 internally that more worldwide would be doing so.
While it is certainly true that there aren't a whole ton of home routers that support IPv6 yet, it's on the way. Vista installs IPv6 by default and it's a pain to get rid of it. Vista tells you you've got full IPv4 connectivity, but limited IPv6 connectivity...and I've already had one client ask me what that meant, and how he could get full IPv6. Folks will buy an IPv6 router just because it's got a bigger number...and now that Vista advertises IPv6 connectivity, people will be aware that there is a bigger number to be had.
:: Which makes our old friend 127.0.0.1 something much easier to remember - ::1
Plus, some stupid applications insist on trying IPv6 if it is installed and wait forever for the packets to time out... A common problem I ran into with folks who tinkered under XP was massive slowdowns with Firefox after someone had installed IPv6. Remove IPv6 and everything was fine. Of course...Vista doesn't like it when you try to remove IPv6... Haven't had any calls about slowdowns yet...maybe Vista handles the stack better than XP did...
As far as "no-one is choosing to run IPv6 on the ground"... Well, that's just not true. Many ISPs are running IPv6 on their internal networks. You'll never see it because your modem/router/LAN live in an IPv4 tunnel...but it's there. I know I've seen Job Ads for the local hospital asking for IPv6 experience as well...though I don't know if they're actually using it yet or just preparing for the future.
"Dotted quads" may be easier for you to memorize...but I suspect this is largely because that's what you're dealing with on a day-to-day basis. Remember when you were little and it was hard to memorize addresses or phone numbers? Now that seems incredibly simple, doesn't it? Remember when you were just learning IP and wondered why you couldn't use DNS for absolutely everything (because names are so much easier to memorize than numbers). Plus, IPv6 supports a couple different ways to abbreviate addresses...such as stripping leading 0's or replacing them with
And simply re-allocating the IPv4 address space just isn't going to cut it. There aren't enough addresses out there. The only reason we've been able to stay with IPv4 for so long is NAT, which causes problems of its own. The bottom line is that we need more addresses than IPv4 has.
Personally, I wish I could ride a bus/train/whatever to work.
Public transportation is an afterthought in much of the U.S. Sure, some of the big cities have decent public transit systems...but where I live it's basically non-existant.
Personal transportation, to me, is a headache. I don't like constantly spending money on gas. I don't like having to get my car inspected, take it to the garage, replace parts... It costs too much, in both time and money. I'd much rather pay a couple dollars and get on a train/bus/whatever.
Or, while we're at it, we could always design cities that are more people-friendly. Cities that weren't designed around the idea that everyone has a car and will use it as the preferred form of transportation. Cities with room for bicycles and pedestrians. Cities laid out in such a way that getting to and from work/home/shopping is relatively easy to do on foot.
We took a trip to Europe a few years back, and I was constantly amazed at how little you needed a car to get around - even outside of the major cities. Why can't we do that here in the U.S.?
I certainly wouldn't consider the folks I know who use Macs to be part of the "too cool for you" market segment, and they definitely aren't "elitist techno snobs". I think I'd sooner call them the "don't care enough to make a PC work" market segment.
My sister uses a Mac simply because it is easier for her. She wants to go in to a store looking for a printer, see a "Mac Compatible" sticker, and know it will likely work. She's not interested in whether her computer has a parallel port or not, doesn't care how much RAM it has, doesn't want to know which version of Windows a given printer works on... Just wants to plug it in and have it work.
One of our clients at work has recently moved away from PCs. He's a grumpy old man with too much time on his hands who is constantly clicking on things he shouldn't and breaking his computer - and then blaming us for not somehow protecting him. We used to hear from him at least once a month. We've reloaded his computer repeatedly, set him up as a limited user, installed antivirus and firewall software...and it just keeps breaking. So he decided to try a Macintosh about six months ago, and we haven't heard from him since.
Believe it or not, a good chunk of the population finds PCs fairly complicated. We have customers who ask us if an HP printer will work on a Dell computer. We have people who aren't comfortable unplugging their peripherals and bringing the machine in to us even though all the assorted plugs & connectors are color coded. People don't know the difference between Megabytes and Megahertz. People tell me that they "downloaded the program from the CD to the modem".
Some people simply find Macs easier to deal with.
Actually, I'm not sure if I'd be that excited about standalone sales of OS X. Yeah, it looks pretty... Apple's got some nice applications available... But I'm not sure that I want just another OS available to me. I can get fairly close to the OS X experience with Vista or various flavors of Linux. What really makes Apple shine is the same thing you are lamenting - lack of hardware choices.
In the PC world you've got hundreds of PC manufacturers, thousands of hardware vendors, billions of combinations of components that are all supposed to work together...
Sure, I'm a hobbyist and I like to tinker. I've built my last dozen machines myself, by hand, from individual components. I like that level of control. I like to sift through benchmarks and reviews to find the motherboards that work best for me. I like the feeling of pride in having a quality PC that I built.
But my sister doesn't care. She wants to go in, buy something off the shelf, and just have it work. She isn't even completely clear on the fact that HP, Dell, IBM, Gateway, etc. all make computers that are called PCs. She sees stickers that say "Mac Compatible" and wonders why there isn't a "Dell Compatible" sticker. And to her, buying a Mac is simpler and more straightforward than buying a PC. She can understand that OS X 10.3 is newer/better/faster than 10.1 She knows that if it says "Mac Compatible" it will likely work. She doesn't need to wonder about whether the printer has a Parallel interface or USB. It just says "Mac", so she's safe.
And I really think that's part of the appeal of Apple products. They're simplified to the point where they just basically work most of the time.
I guess it depends on what you're backing up...
Of all our clients, the smallest backup we've got is about 14 GB. That's too big for a single DVD-R, but it fits just fine on a DDS3. We can also easily automate a tape backup - just instruct a secretary or someone to swap the tape in the morning. Tapes are reasonably durable too...more rugged, in general, than a removable HDD. Of course, that's all for the little backups...
Some of our clients are backing up 400+ GB of data on a daily basis. I guess you could use some kind of removable HDD...or go through a stack of DVDs every day... Or you could just use a single LTO-3 tape.
And that's just our clients. We don't have any monstrously huge backups to deal with. Some places have literally TerraBytes of data to back up... While I'm sure a good amount of that goes into some kind of RAIDed SAN/NAS...a robotic tape library starts making a lot more sense than a pile of HDDs or DVDs.
Perhaps that was the idea originally... And I've said to friends and family that if I'd been born many years earlier I'd likely be a conservative... I like the idea of State's Rights. I don't think that the Federal Government should be so large. I like the notion that the government should, by and large, stay out of your business - all traditionally conservative views.
The problem is that these days "conservative" doesn't mean what it used to. These days the conservatives are all about growing the role of the Federal Government, shoving aside any checks & balances that might exist, and imposing their fairly narrow world-view on everyone else.
The problem, I think, is a matter of perceptions. What exactly is in my own best interest? Is simply having more money in my pocket in my best interest? Or could that money serve me better elsewhere?
I have no problem paying more in taxes - though it means less money in my pocket - if we get better schools, healthcare, roads, etc. for everyone. I see this as acting in my best interest. Better schools mean smarter people, who work better and can produce better products for me to buy or sell. Healthier people don't call in sick as often. Better roads let me get to work safely and on-time more often. Despite the fact that I have less money in my pocket my quality of life is improved. And not only my own quality of life...but that of my parents, neighbors, children, friends, co-workers... You get the idea.
I personally think that helping out society in general eventually benefits me individually far more than simply hanging on to my money would.
Of course...this is assuming that our tax money is actually well-spent, which isn't always the case. Right now, under this administration, even with the tax cuts and rebates I've been feeling that we're taxed too much. Under previous administrations, that spent the money differently, I did not mind paying more than I am now.
What I've found interesting is that, in my experience, Linux is most appropriate for some of the folks you'd think least likely.
Sure, your hardcore geek can get along fine with Linux. They either make their system work (by hunting down obscure drivers and submitting their own patches) or find work-arounds (alternative software). It's really not terribly surprising to see a computer geek running Linux these days.
For gamers and power-users it really doesn't work. Many games don't work, or don't work as well, or don't work without substantial tinkering. Power-users who've really learned the in's and out's of Windows frequently aren't willing to spend the time and effort to learn a new OS.
What surprises me is that Linux actually works fairly well for those who are almost completely computer illiterate. The folks who only use their PC's for a few hours a week to check email and surf the web. Sure, they need to learn a new button to click on to get email...but all the functionality they've come to expect from a computer is right there. There's little if any need to get odd bits of software working, force games to run, hunt down obscure drivers... All they need is a web browser and a media player.
To anyone not in the know, the fact that the TOR protocol has a weakness means absolutely NOTHING regardless of whether they know what TOR stands for or not.
Granted, there is such a thing as TLA-overload...but I don't think this is it. If you don't know that TOR stands for The Onion Router, then why the hell do you care whether it is vulnerable to attack or not? You obviously aren't using it... You don't care about the technology or implementation... You are apparently not even curious enough to Google it... So why bother clicking through to post such a rant?
I've got a family of 3, so we're short one person...but we all fit just fine into a mid-size car. We go grocery shopping too, and all of that fits in the trunk. We've even got room for more people (we can actually fit about 6 in our car) in the back seat, for when we need to haul other people around. We've transported Christmas trees, furniture, a television...everything short of a major appliance (washer/dryer/refrigerator) in our car. Obviously the family with 4 kids doesn't have to drive an SUV just because they've got 4 kids. Families of 4, and more, have been getting along without SUV's for quite some time now.
Further, there's really little reason why we here in the US need to have a society organized around personal transportation the way it is. All over Europe people manage to get along just fine with their own two legs, public transportation, and maybe a bicycle. Just because you don't live in a major metropolitan area doesn't mean you can't have public transportation or a city designed for human beings. Quite a bit could be done to reduce or completely eliminate the need to own your own car.
Except that doorknobs and lightswitches really do differ from one place to the next.
Some places have automatic lights that come on when you enter the room... Some places have the traditional flip-switch... Some have dimmers... Some have the old push-button switches... Some places have laps with twist-knobs up near the bulb, or maybe a dial type thing on the power cord... And let's not even get into where those switches are placed. Yet your average human being is usually able to turn the lights on, despite some minor stylistic differences in how the lightswitch is presented. The basic concept is the same - flip a switch of some sort to make the lights come on.
I have had users call me and explain that they cannot get into Excel because the program has been removed from their computer...when in fact the icon is simply missing from its usual place. Sometimes it is understandable...like if all shortcuts to the program have been deleted, no icons at all, and the only way to run it would be to go into the Program Files directory and find the
There is some kind of fundamental disconnect when it comes to computers. Many people just don't have a very basic understanding of how they operate - a lack of understanding that would not be deemed acceptable in just about any other field. Imagine someone who doesn't understand that you need to put gas in a car to make it work - yet we aren't allowed to be surprised when a user thinks their computer should work when the power goes out.
IT is one of the few fields where it is acceptable to have users who know absolutely nothing about the machinery they are trying to use.