Do it the Mac way. Standardized XML format (property lists) stored in a standard location (~/Library/Application Support/ApplicationName). Each app has its own file to work with, and completely removing an app and its detritus is as simple as trashing the folders.
The registry was a bad idea from the start. I imagine MS wants to get rid of it, but it has become too entrenched and backwards compatibility requires it to still be around.
This reminds me of Warbird Adventures, an outfit here in FL that offered "experience" flights in WWII era trainers.
Back in 2005, one of their aircraft broke apart in flight and instructor and student were both killed.
Did they even post a tiny memorial on the site? Nope. Bad for business. But the disrespect shown for their former employee and customer was enough to keep me from ever recommending them again.
A little sympathy goes a long way towards a good reputation. The world isn't perfect, and there's no way they could have known about the structural flaw that caused the breakup. (the NTSB did not hold WA liable). Yet their complete cover-up of the incident on their own site has created a lot of resentment in my case.
Especially since the aircraft that broke up in flight was the one I had flown in months earlier, and the instructor who was killed was with me on my flight.
Companies need to be more open about these things.
I believe they only enforce the limit in areas that experience network congestion, and even then only against the worst abusers.
250GB can be thought of as a minimum; they won't bug you for using less than that. But if you exceed 250GB, and your node is congested, they may send you that call.
Also, from what I've heard, people generally don't get the call unless they're well over 500GB of usage. (Please correct me if you've heard otherwise)
>For something like an A320 - its well within the F-16's parameters to "pull up next to it" and wave.
I bet getting to do something like that would *totally* make a USAF pilot's day.:)
Hell, it would probably make their *decade*. Imagine being able to pull up right next to an airliner and wave at the crew, probably making a "YOU EEEEDIOTS!!!" expression (even though it may not be visible due to their helmet/mask)
My guess is that in a very poor country like Nigeria, the authorities might even turn a blind eye to their citizens scamming foreigners, unless pressure is placed on their country by said foreigners.
Why? These scammers are cheating US citizens out of millions of dollars, which then flow conveniently... into the Nigerian economy.
More foreign money flowing into your economy means more prosperity for everyone. Not just the scammers, but everyone else because those scammers will spend their ill-gotten money throughout the country.
So unless pressure is brought upon Nigeria by other countries that Nigerians are scamming, the local authorities are really not going to care all that much, outside maybe a dozen token arrests where they just slap the scammer on the wrist and say "You bad boy, don't do that again!"
AAC+ is an AMAZING codec at low bitrates. I actually know someone who worked on it, and has sent me files that were 24kbps and sounded amazing considering.
So I'm not surprised that it can come close to (or even beat in some cases) OGG at 160kbps. AAC+ really is that good.
Also note that Billie Jean isn't a song that works codecs very hard. I have a 128k MP3 of it that sounds very good. Try listening to the Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love" at 128k mp3 and you *will* shudder, though.
I keep wondering how much the common belief in the US that "life in China sucks" and that you are "always under the heel of the government" there with no rights and all that is really true.
Most Chinese I speak to have said they love their country and that it's not as bad as Americans make it out to be over there.
How much of the Chinese government's "horribleness" is real, and how much is just propaganda? It really makes you wonder.
I've noticed many cases where the physical line owned by the local provider is capable of MUCH MORE bandwidth than they're willing to sell. They simply refuse to sell you the faster connection.
AT&T is a good example. With ADSL2 my current pair is rated at being able to go up to nearly 20 megabits down and 2 megabits up. Yet they will only sell me 6 megabits down and HALF a megabit up.
Allowing competition in this area would rock; it wouldn't be long before another provider offers the higher speeds on AT&T's own lines, and then AT&T would have to up their own offerings as well in order to not look like fools.
So I see this as going either way. More competition is usually a good thing in the end.
Someone can go to Vegas once or twice on a special trip and come out WAY ahead. It has happened.
However, if someone lives in the area and goes there every weekend, the longer they keep going, the more likely they will eventually fall behind no matter how "lucky" they are at first. If you gamble long term, you always lose.
Gambling can be fun, but you have to remember that long term you will lose. If you go once in a while and win big, and most importantly LEAVE after you win big, it can be an enjoyable activity.
Simple solution: Lock your laptop in a desk drawer at work. If it gets stolen from there, your company is liable (and needs to improve on-site security).
This is the sort of nonsense that the concept of Universal Service, as applied to telcos, was meant to solve.
No matter how expensive it is to run a telephone line out to someone, the phone company is required to do it, because telephone service is a basic need.
Soon we will be at a point where Internet access will be a basic need too; at this point we will probably see universal service clauses for ISPs as well.
$23,000 to run a cable across the street? I bet $19,000 of that is pure profit. And even after paying that they'll likely still charge you their exhorbitant rates and cap you at 250GB.:P
Stop being so overly sensitive. You and excessive political correctness are destroying the ability to just ASK NORMAL QUESTIONS without offending someone.
How is being known as a company that issues gag orders when their products are dangerously defective "in the best interests of the stockholders"?
You'd think building a good corporate image and excellent customer service would be in the best interest of the stockholders, since such companies are more successful long-term.
This is one of the reasons I think we should have high capital gains taxes on ALL short-term gains. Do it on a sliding scale. 90% for a month, 80% for 3 months, 60% for 6 months, etc.. going down to zero for very long term investments.
I bet these shenanigans would stop quickly if LONG TERM growth were rewarded, and short term gains ignored.
I frequently get cert warnings for certain forum sites or other sites where it doesn't matter three shits whether the site it pretending to be someone else. In those cases I just click through the warning, not caring that it is misconfigured.
I'd never click through a warning to make an online purchase or enter personal information though.
Sometimes there's nothing wrong with clicking through a warning. I've found that to be the case more often than not with me.
People from the 1920s and 30s would have LAUGHED at us for making these arguments if we made them back then.
Folks today don't want to make investments for the future. THey don't want to take any risks. It's like society has had its balls collectively cut off.
Look at the space program! We've been in limbo for decades and now that they finally want to do something INTERESTING again people are like "it's too expensive!" or "it's too risky!"
Let the people who take on the challenge accept the risk, as it's always been. Let's invest in our future. Let's stop being pansies. PLEASE.
48V DC is an odd beast, with odd standards going back to the early days of the Bell System.
In a 48V DC system, the positive side is grounded. This is to prevent corrosion on phone lines in the ground that happens more readily if the system is negative ground.
Since positive is ground, the "live" wire is negative, or -48VDC. Since this is the wire you don't want to lick, or allow to touch the chassis when powered, it is colored red in many deployments. The black wire is ground, you can lick* it all you want.
* -48V DC won't really sting you much if you just touch it unless your hands are wet or you touch it with a wet part of you like your tongue.
Sometimes folks set up a redundant system and forget to make one key piece redundant.
Example: A server rack with two UPS systems. Each server has two power cords, one going to each UPS.. but the switch everything is plugged into only has one power input, so it's connected to UPS A.
Power blinks and UPS A decides to shit itself. Rack goes down, even though all the machines are up, because the network switch loses power.
Solution? An auto switching power Y-cable with two inputs, and one output. But 80% of people will be lazy and not bother. Oops.
Anyone doing business should have a legitimate SSL certificate for the site and not use a self-signed certificate. Anyone using a website should be wary of any business site using a self-signed certificate.
Self-signed certificates are okay for personal servers where you know you or a friend signed the cert, but if you're doing business it is a VERY BAD IDEA to use or trust self-signed certs. Firefox's behavior is correct in this regard.
I wonder what the heck their reasoning was? I suspect they were just personally pissed at you for pointing out their mistake and decided to exact revenge rather than accept that a teenager might be better than them at this.
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Do it the Mac way. Standardized XML format (property lists) stored in a standard location (~/Library/Application Support/ApplicationName). Each app has its own file to work with, and completely removing an app and its detritus is as simple as trashing the folders.
The registry was a bad idea from the start. I imagine MS wants to get rid of it, but it has become too entrenched and backwards compatibility requires it to still be around.
This reminds me of Warbird Adventures, an outfit here in FL that offered "experience" flights in WWII era trainers.
Back in 2005, one of their aircraft broke apart in flight and instructor and student were both killed.
Did they even post a tiny memorial on the site? Nope. Bad for business. But the disrespect shown for their former employee and customer was enough to keep me from ever recommending them again.
A little sympathy goes a long way towards a good reputation. The world isn't perfect, and there's no way they could have known about the structural flaw that caused the breakup. (the NTSB did not hold WA liable). Yet their complete cover-up of the incident on their own site has created a lot of resentment in my case.
Especially since the aircraft that broke up in flight was the one I had flown in months earlier, and the instructor who was killed was with me on my flight.
Companies need to be more open about these things.
I believe they only enforce the limit in areas that experience network congestion, and even then only against the worst abusers.
250GB can be thought of as a minimum; they won't bug you for using less than that. But if you exceed 250GB, and your node is congested, they may send you that call.
Also, from what I've heard, people generally don't get the call unless they're well over 500GB of usage. (Please correct me if you've heard otherwise)
Outrage is awesome.
I find that the more outrage something causes, the more fun the game or product is for those who realize it's just a game.
So when I hear a game causes massive outrage and hysteria, I'll be there to buy it. :)
>For something like an A320 - its well within the F-16's parameters to "pull up next to it" and wave.
I bet getting to do something like that would *totally* make a USAF pilot's day. :)
Hell, it would probably make their *decade*. Imagine being able to pull up right next to an airliner and wave at the crew, probably making a "YOU EEEEDIOTS!!!" expression (even though it may not be visible due to their helmet/mask)
What a story to tell everyone.
My guess is that in a very poor country like Nigeria, the authorities might even turn a blind eye to their citizens scamming foreigners, unless pressure is placed on their country by said foreigners.
Why? These scammers are cheating US citizens out of millions of dollars, which then flow conveniently... into the Nigerian economy.
More foreign money flowing into your economy means more prosperity for everyone. Not just the scammers, but everyone else because those scammers will spend their ill-gotten money throughout the country.
So unless pressure is brought upon Nigeria by other countries that Nigerians are scamming, the local authorities are really not going to care all that much, outside maybe a dozen token arrests where they just slap the scammer on the wrist and say "You bad boy, don't do that again!"
At least that's my theory.
Oh a sarcasm detector! That's a *REALLY* useful invention!
AAC+ is an AMAZING codec at low bitrates. I actually know someone who worked on it, and has sent me files that were 24kbps and sounded amazing considering.
So I'm not surprised that it can come close to (or even beat in some cases) OGG at 160kbps. AAC+ really is that good.
Also note that Billie Jean isn't a song that works codecs very hard. I have a 128k MP3 of it that sounds very good. Try listening to the Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love" at 128k mp3 and you *will* shudder, though.
I keep wondering how much the common belief in the US that "life in China sucks" and that you are "always under the heel of the government" there with no rights and all that is really true.
Most Chinese I speak to have said they love their country and that it's not as bad as Americans make it out to be over there.
How much of the Chinese government's "horribleness" is real, and how much is just propaganda? It really makes you wonder.
I've noticed many cases where the physical line owned by the local provider is capable of MUCH MORE bandwidth than they're willing to sell. They simply refuse to sell you the faster connection.
AT&T is a good example. With ADSL2 my current pair is rated at being able to go up to nearly 20 megabits down and 2 megabits up. Yet they will only sell me 6 megabits down and HALF a megabit up.
Allowing competition in this area would rock; it wouldn't be long before another provider offers the higher speeds on AT&T's own lines, and then AT&T would have to up their own offerings as well in order to not look like fools.
So I see this as going either way. More competition is usually a good thing in the end.
The house always wins LONG TERM. That's the key.
Someone can go to Vegas once or twice on a special trip and come out WAY ahead. It has happened.
However, if someone lives in the area and goes there every weekend, the longer they keep going, the more likely they will eventually fall behind no matter how "lucky" they are at first. If you gamble long term, you always lose.
Gambling can be fun, but you have to remember that long term you will lose. If you go once in a while and win big, and most importantly LEAVE after you win big, it can be an enjoyable activity.
Simple solution: Lock your laptop in a desk drawer at work. If it gets stolen from there, your company is liable (and needs to improve on-site security).
When I was in Canada I saw Canadian flags flying outside many residences.
The US isn't the only country in the world with national pride; TRUST me.
National pride is perfectly okay; it is good to love your country. It's also possible to take it too far, though, like anything else in life. :)
I never understood WHY people defend these companies.
Seriously, are they paying you to do this? Giving you free service?
Are they sneaking into your bedroom at night and performing pleasurable acts on you?
I don't get it.
This is the sort of nonsense that the concept of Universal Service, as applied to telcos, was meant to solve.
No matter how expensive it is to run a telephone line out to someone, the phone company is required to do it, because telephone service is a basic need.
Soon we will be at a point where Internet access will be a basic need too; at this point we will probably see universal service clauses for ISPs as well.
$23,000 to run a cable across the street? I bet $19,000 of that is pure profit. And even after paying that they'll likely still charge you their exhorbitant rates and cap you at 250GB. :P
Just use Handbrake. It's free, adds no DRM, and US law can't touch it because it's hosted outside the US.
I don't even know why people bother with the DMCA. It's US-only. Notice how all the fun cracking and releasing and such happens outside the US.
It only takes one person to rip the movie once. After that, copy protection is pointless.
Stop being so overly sensitive. You and excessive political correctness are destroying the ability to just ASK NORMAL QUESTIONS without offending someone.
Bunch of crybabies.
How is being known as a company that issues gag orders when their products are dangerously defective "in the best interests of the stockholders"?
You'd think building a good corporate image and excellent customer service would be in the best interest of the stockholders, since such companies are more successful long-term.
This is one of the reasons I think we should have high capital gains taxes on ALL short-term gains. Do it on a sliding scale. 90% for a month, 80% for 3 months, 60% for 6 months, etc.. going down to zero for very long term investments.
I bet these shenanigans would stop quickly if LONG TERM growth were rewarded, and short term gains ignored.
>Computer programmers have furry conventions.
So do sysadmins! :) Some of us even do admin work for them.
Not me; the day I do my day job at a convention will be the day I start running Windows as my main operating system.
(I actually know more admins in the fandom than programmers. Figure that...)
I frequently get cert warnings for certain forum sites or other sites where it doesn't matter three shits whether the site it pretending to be someone else. In those cases I just click through the warning, not caring that it is misconfigured.
I'd never click through a warning to make an online purchase or enter personal information though.
Sometimes there's nothing wrong with clicking through a warning. I've found that to be the case more often than not with me.
People from the 1920s and 30s would have LAUGHED at us for making these arguments if we made them back then.
Folks today don't want to make investments for the future. THey don't want to take any risks. It's like society has had its balls collectively cut off.
Look at the space program! We've been in limbo for decades and now that they finally want to do something INTERESTING again people are like "it's too expensive!" or "it's too risky!"
Let the people who take on the challenge accept the risk, as it's always been. Let's invest in our future. Let's stop being pansies. PLEASE.
48V DC is an odd beast, with odd standards going back to the early days of the Bell System.
In a 48V DC system, the positive side is grounded. This is to prevent corrosion on phone lines in the ground that happens more readily if the system is negative ground.
Since positive is ground, the "live" wire is negative, or -48VDC. Since this is the wire you don't want to lick, or allow to touch the chassis when powered, it is colored red in many deployments. The black wire is ground, you can lick* it all you want.
* -48V DC won't really sting you much if you just touch it unless your hands are wet or you touch it with a wet part of you like your tongue.
Sometimes folks set up a redundant system and forget to make one key piece redundant.
Example: A server rack with two UPS systems. Each server has two power cords, one going to each UPS.. but the switch everything is plugged into only has one power input, so it's connected to UPS A.
Power blinks and UPS A decides to shit itself. Rack goes down, even though all the machines are up, because the network switch loses power.
Solution? An auto switching power Y-cable with two inputs, and one output. But 80% of people will be lazy and not bother. Oops.
Happens all the time; I see it everywhere.
Anyone doing business should have a legitimate SSL certificate for the site and not use a self-signed certificate. Anyone using a website should be wary of any business site using a self-signed certificate.
Self-signed certificates are okay for personal servers where you know you or a friend signed the cert, but if you're doing business it is a VERY BAD IDEA to use or trust self-signed certs. Firefox's behavior is correct in this regard.
Wow. Way to teach kids how to be honest.
I wonder what the heck their reasoning was? I suspect they were just personally pissed at you for pointing out their mistake and decided to exact revenge rather than accept that a teenager might be better than them at this.