...because a lot of my work is cleaning up those systems infested with spyware. And that's just my parents, co-workers, and friends' systems. My co-worker has a laptop that she telecommutes with, and her sister got a hold of that thing and loaded just about every cute freeware app she could grab on the 'Net. This thing was so loaded down with spyware that they were wrestling each other for control over Internet Explorer, and it wouldn't even browse. I don't remember exactly how many hits Ad Aware picked up, but it was several hundred.
I also had a bad run in with new.net. My thoughts about those people would land me in jail if put into action. Read about these scumbags along with removal instructions here. I spent an hour trying to extricate it out of my mom's computer before finding this link. This thing has a DLL that literally ties itself into the TCP/IP stack of Windows, so removing it will disable TCP/IP. Just a slight problem, don't you think? Nothing like an untrusted third party app intercepting your TCP/IP calls and doing god knows what with them.
I should mention that a different co-worker picked up CoolWebSearch, a particularly evil spyware app that resurrects itself even after you try to remove it with Ad-Aware. An awesome app called CWSShredder is available at http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html. Also located there is a HiJackThis, which scans regkeys commonly used by spyware and allows you to remove them. Be very careful with this app though, as legit keys are listed too.
In light my experience, I shudder to think what Joe Sixpack must have on his system....
Last thought: What gets my goat is how everyone's going after virus writers, but no one's touching these asshole spyware programmers. These programs DO interfere with system operations, are difficult to remove (some even actively interfere with ad-removal software), and run without the user's knowledge. I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but I simply must vent.
IANAL, but from the way it's worded I get the impression that this tax only applies if you build your own network in lieu of using/paying for an existing communications service that already exists. VOIP or VPNs might apply, and while I still think that's bogus, I don't see how LANs fit in.
That said, one must still wonder how they plan to identitfy all the VOIP/VPN users and tax them.
No lie. Giants kicks ass. It's one of my favorite games of all time. Thanks for the heads up on Armed & Dangerous, I will definitely check that out.
I don't disagree that open environments are hard on video cards, but they've been done quite effectively on the games I have already mentioned, and a few I forgot - Tribes, Uru and BF1942. Back in the Quake days, yeah, I can see why open environments would be impossible - but today I think most respectable gamers have the video power to hack nice open environments.
I think what's been happening is that developers are sticking to closer surroundings so they can throw in more detailed geometry and take advantage of the T&L effects that video cards offer today. And I suppose closed areas are good for building suspense and "guiding" a player to an objective. But still, as the games I have pointed out prove, it's possible to make a great game (well, except maybe in the case of Uru) incoporating open environments that run well. I just wish more developers would make them.
I'm with you there. Well not necessarily regarding the butterflies and Bambi prancing happily though the meadow, but I'm talking about open environments. There is very, very, very little of that in games for some reason. Everyone still has Doom syndrome where they make you run though a maze for the entire game.
It's probably why I liked Beyond Good & Evil and Giants so much.
Looks interesting, but I've had bad enough luck with IOMega products I wouldn't consider buying another one. But this article brings up an important point. How do you back up your data?
At work I've got a DDS4 6 tape autochanger but I'm maxing it out and the tapes tend to die easily. The insanely cheap prices of hard disks have allowed us to expand to a hefty amount of storage even though we are a small business. It will only be a matter of time before the autochanger doesn't cut it anymore. So when you are a small business, how do you back up a lot of data without paying enterprise prices?
Windows was NEVER built with security/multiple users in mind. It just kind of was added on as an afterthought when they got into the networking game. The problem Microsoft has had has always been of one with backwards compatibility. Windows 3.1 apps had to be compatible with 95, 95 apps had to work on 98, and so on. That's why to this day any app you install is going to drop something into the/WINDOWS/SYSTEM directory. Applications for Windows were pretty much written assuming that they will have full access to everything in the system. In a lot of cases that's still true today (for instance, an HP scanner driver/program I installed won't work properly on any other account besides the one that installed it). When you install a Windows app, it typically wants to go in and overwrite/add.DLL's, write stuff into the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE registry hive, and other such important things.
Linux/Unix, on the other hand, has always, always always been about networks and shared access. And the apps have always been written as such. Users can install and run apps straight from their home directories without having to add or change anything in/sbin,/lib, or/etc. Primary system files never need to be touched, nor should they be. If someone wants to change the look and feel of their shell or X, they can write the appropriate file into their home directory.
I guess what I am trying to say is that Linux won't be necessary to "open up" as it becomes more user friendly because it and the apps that run on it have been written with the idea that it's a shared system. Give the user their sandbox to play in and don't let them touch the rest of the system. Saying opening up the system Windows style is apples and oranges because Windows was originally created with a single, trusted user in mind, and it's been impossible for Microsoft to extricate themselves from that trap they set way back when. If you want an analogy, take a look at SMTP. If it was originally built with distrust in mind would we be having the problems with spam we are today?
A friend of mine just went nuts when he found out about a new switch from SMC, the SMC8508T. While it's unmanaged, it offers non-blocking architecture across the entire line as well as support of jumbo frames up to 9K, which is extremely unusual for SOHO stuff. Not even a lot of expensive Cisco stuff does jumbo frames. And he paid $150 for it.
Why should you care about jumbo frames? I found this nice guide about that here.
Speak of the devil...
on
Real Problems
·
· Score: 2, Informative
I was just mulling over the thought of installing the new Real Player to see if they got over the insane tentacleware complex they seem to have given RP9. According to the reviews on download.com, apparently not. Looks like it'll continue to be Real Alternative for me!
If a working RPM is available I will normally download and install it. However, more often than not, if I want the latest version of software X it will not be available in RPM, so it's at that point I will compile and install. The gripe I have about that is I have to look at./configure --help and make sure that I have all the options set up that I need. If it's tied to other source trees (OpenSSH seems to be a pretty popular one), this gets really complicated.
It's even better when you download the newer version and have to remember what options you used to compile originally and get scared of breaking your existing app.
Or still better, the programmer decided he wanted to use some obscure headers that can only downloaded from a server in Uzbekistan hosted on a staticy dial-up connection, so now it's up to you to track them down and load them in so the damned source will compile. But then after you do this you find out that your headers are outdated and the source is calling on functions that don't exist. Now THAT'S fun.
I doubt PC gaming will die out. One of the major reasons is that developers will take money from wherever they can. Now that I've been hearing about this unified game development platform Microsoft cooked up, I think game developers will write the software once and release it both XBOX and PC platforms. As far as Playstation goes, I don't know how easy it is to port a game from the PC/Xbox to Playstation, but it seems to be easy enough where I've seen some games being released on all three platforms at the same time.
The other reason why I believe PC gaming is here to stay is because of the controls and multiplayer play. I'm sure everyone here is familiar with the WASD/mouse configuration. With that, it's really easy to whip around a 180 and blast whoever's tailing you. Anyone ever tried to do this with a D-Pad on a console contoller? It's called "Hang on, I'll be with you in a second." Of course, on a console that's usually against a computer opponent, unless you happen to be paying $10/mo for the privilege of playing online with someone. And that brings me to my next point...LANs. Anyone ever heard of someone doing a big LAN party using Xbox/Playstations? Neither have I. And on Xbox, you get 4 players per console, all of whom can see each others' screens because it's split into four tiny quads. Then pair that with the fact that you can only have 4 Xboxes hooked up in the same game, which means you get a maximum of 16 players per game, all of whom are playing on what would probably be less than the equivalent resolution on 320x200 in one small corner of a crappy color TV.
Now ask anyone who has ever participated in a 64-player deathfest why he thinks PC gaming will die out.
Seriously, what IS the difference between Gnome and KDE? I have run both and find them equally functional. Granted, I have never configured them from scratch, and I'm sure there are some differences there...
Now correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand one of the differences is that one uses TK and the other uses QT toolkits. Even as such, I can run programs written under either on my desktop. So is Gnome vs. KDE just a holy war or do the differences run deeper than that?
IMHO, mixing your personal life and business is a very bad idea. Your statement And most importantly how do you handle authority (tardiness, work ethic, and workplace codes) with a girlfriend?" is a perfect example of that. The answer to that question is: You don't. Are you really going to be able to sit her down in front of you and reprimand her as a superior? Even if she takes it without throwing something at you, it will probably go in one ear and out the other. The same goes for your brother. If one of them isn't doing a good job, do you think you could "fire" them? I guarantee that doing so will give you major problems in your personal life, and you just might end up stuck with lots of dead weight just to avoid it.
However, if you insist on having those personally close to you work for you, you can't treat them as employees because of the reasons outlined above. You're going to have to give them a piece of the promised land - That is, they get a stake in your company. If the company does well, they do well.
Now, the problem with that scenario is how you are going to handle it if somebody has had enough and wants out of your business. If it were me, I wouldn't be down with someone jumping ship and yet still being able to get their share of the company in the event it's sold. So, what you'd have to do is buy that person out, and that could get expensive for whoever's left. Do you see what I mean about a "can of worms"?
If you are dead set on this, consult a business attorney, as well as other people who actually run businesses based on this arrangement. Understand VERY, VERY well the implications of having people close to you work under you, or I think you will be in for a toasty walk though hell.
So, why exactly was it that NASA wanted to scrap the Hubble?"
Probably because they are idiots. But has anyone else noticed that you're seeing Hubble a LOT more in the news since NASA's announcement? Methinks the scientists that operate Hubble are going for positive PR by getting lots of awesome pictures. IMHO, it's a good idea...Before people would probably ask "well, what has Hubble done lately?". Now, by making the public aware of Hubble's merit, they can generate some static for NASA.
Richard said it attracted 3.5 million hits per month from throughout the world.
Richard then demanded $300,000 of taxpayer dollars from the county. Richard said the money would offset the huge expense of running the Web site for the 33 months.
3.5 million hits/month for a county sherrif's site? Was there really THAT much traffic going there? Even if there was, $300,000 for 33 months seems kind of steep...That's more than $9000/month.
Even if by some strech of the imagination this number is close to accurate, this guy's trying to retroactively bill them when the original agreement was to host the site for free. Given that, I can see why they wanted to hit him with extortion.
I live in San Bernardino County. My precinct got the electronic voting machines for this election. They were the ones from Sequoia Voting Systems.
Upon entrance to the polling place, I signed in and the volunteer ran a card though a machine in front of her hand handed it to me. I then walked over to the voting machine. The machines themselves were quite interesting. They appeared to be able to fold into briefcase-like enclosures. Two shutters fold down over the screen, and then the screen folds back into the unit itself. It came up with the voting screen when I slid the card into the reader. The card snapped in, there was no way to get it out at that point.
The system was a touch screen, and the GUI was very simple. Two colums, press the circle next to the person you are voting for. After that, a green check appeared next to that person. Pressing "Next" at the bottom of the screen advanced to the next page, and so on until the end. The last page displayed a summary of all your votes, and the one after that had a big yellow box in the middle that said "Press here to cast your ballot". After I pressed this, the card popped back out again and I took it back to the volunteers. I don't know if the vote was recorded to the card, or if the units were somehow networked to a central server...I couldn't get a really good look at where the wires were running.
IMHO, they've got the ease of use on the interface down...And I think I can safely say if the electronic votes are backed up with a paper counterpart, electronic voting is definitely the way of the future.
Well, for those of you who want to view the profile/credentials of James E. Aker, the man who penned the letter, This appears to be it.
I don't know how many civil trial lawyers named James E. Aker there are working out of Sarasota, FL, the same city Infiumium Labs is based, but my guess is that it's the same guy.
Ah, it just wouldn't be Slashdot without the subtle sarcasm. You are talking about the Itanium. I wasn't. Obviously, Itanium was a flaming mishap like the Pentium Pro was.
My point is that Intel COULD HAVE stuck to their guns and tried to push their own 64 bit architecture to show who was the boss. But they did not and embraced an existing standard. The result will (finally) be a mass migration to the 64-bit platform in the very near future.
Don't think that I believe that Intel is doing this out of the good of their hearts. It's about survival. Fortunately, they know it. A lot of companies would consider themselves above the laws of market forces because they are the top dog, and would continue onward, blindly racing to their inevitable destruction. Companies like 3Dfx, for instance.
What impresses me is that they swallowed their pride and nixed Itanium. Turning their back on a such a long research project which probably cost untold billions shows some balls, don't you think?
Slashdot Mirror
...because a lot of my work is cleaning up those systems infested with spyware. And that's just my parents, co-workers, and friends' systems. My co-worker has a laptop that she telecommutes with, and her sister got a hold of that thing and loaded just about every cute freeware app she could grab on the 'Net. This thing was so loaded down with spyware that they were wrestling each other for control over Internet Explorer, and it wouldn't even browse. I don't remember exactly how many hits Ad Aware picked up, but it was several hundred.
.
I also had a bad run in with new.net. My thoughts about those people would land me in jail if put into action. Read about these scumbags along with removal instructions here. I spent an hour trying to extricate it out of my mom's computer before finding this link. This thing has a DLL that literally ties itself into the TCP/IP stack of Windows, so removing it will disable TCP/IP. Just a slight problem, don't you think? Nothing like an untrusted third party app intercepting your TCP/IP calls and doing god knows what with them.
I should mention that a different co-worker picked up CoolWebSearch, a particularly evil spyware app that resurrects itself even after you try to remove it with Ad-Aware. An awesome app called CWSShredder is available at http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html
Also located there is a HiJackThis, which scans regkeys commonly used by spyware and allows you to remove them. Be very careful with this app though, as legit keys are listed too.
In light my experience, I shudder to think what Joe Sixpack must have on his system....
Last thought: What gets my goat is how everyone's going after virus writers, but no one's touching these asshole spyware programmers. These programs DO interfere with system operations, are difficult to remove (some even actively interfere with ad-removal software), and run without the user's knowledge. I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but I simply must vent.
IANAL, but from the way it's worded I get the impression that this tax only applies if you build your own network in lieu of using/paying for an existing communications service that already exists. VOIP or VPNs might apply, and while I still think that's bogus, I don't see how LANs fit in.
That said, one must still wonder how they plan to identitfy all the VOIP/VPN users and tax them.
No lie. Giants kicks ass. It's one of my favorite games of all time. Thanks for the heads up on Armed & Dangerous, I will definitely check that out.
I don't disagree that open environments are hard on video cards, but they've been done quite effectively on the games I have already mentioned, and a few I forgot - Tribes, Uru and BF1942. Back in the Quake days, yeah, I can see why open environments would be impossible - but today I think most respectable gamers have the video power to hack nice open environments.
I think what's been happening is that developers are sticking to closer surroundings so they can throw in more detailed geometry and take advantage of the T&L effects that video cards offer today. And I suppose closed areas are good for building suspense and "guiding" a player to an objective. But still, as the games I have pointed out prove, it's possible to make a great game (well, except maybe in the case of Uru) incoporating open environments that run well. I just wish more developers would make them.
I'm with you there. Well not necessarily regarding the butterflies and Bambi prancing happily though the meadow, but I'm talking about open environments. There is very, very, very little of that in games for some reason. Everyone still has Doom syndrome where they make you run though a maze for the entire game.
It's probably why I liked Beyond Good & Evil and Giants so much.
Looks interesting, but I've had bad enough luck with IOMega products I wouldn't consider buying another one. But this article brings up an important point. How do you back up your data?
At work I've got a DDS4 6 tape autochanger but I'm maxing it out and the tapes tend to die easily. The insanely cheap prices of hard disks have allowed us to expand to a hefty amount of storage even though we are a small business. It will only be a matter of time before the autochanger doesn't cut it anymore. So when you are a small business, how do you back up a lot of data without paying enterprise prices?
Windows was NEVER built with security/multiple users in mind. It just kind of was added on as an afterthought when they got into the networking game. The problem Microsoft has had has always been of one with backwards compatibility. Windows 3.1 apps had to be compatible with 95, 95 apps had to work on 98, and so on. That's why to this day any app you install is going to drop something into the /WINDOWS/SYSTEM directory. Applications for Windows were pretty much written assuming that they will have full access to everything in the system. In a lot of cases that's still true today (for instance, an HP scanner driver/program I installed won't work properly on any other account besides the one that installed it). .DLL's, write stuff into the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE registry hive, and other such important things.
/sbin, /lib, or /etc. Primary system files never need to be touched, nor should they be. If someone wants to change the look and feel of their shell or X, they can write the appropriate file into their home directory.
When you install a Windows app, it typically wants to go in and overwrite/add
Linux/Unix, on the other hand, has always, always always been about networks and shared access. And the apps have always been written as such. Users can install and run apps straight from their home directories without having to add or change anything in
I guess what I am trying to say is that Linux won't be necessary to "open up" as it becomes more user friendly because it and the apps that run on it have been written with the idea that it's a shared system. Give the user their sandbox to play in and don't let them touch the rest of the system. Saying opening up the system Windows style is apples and oranges because Windows was originally created with a single, trusted user in mind, and it's been impossible for Microsoft to extricate themselves from that trap they set way back when. If you want an analogy, take a look at SMTP. If it was originally built with distrust in mind would we be having the problems with spam we are today?
Congrats, email me to claim your cookie!
A friend of mine just went nuts when he found out about a new switch from SMC, the SMC8508T. While it's unmanaged, it offers non-blocking architecture across the entire line as well as support of jumbo frames up to 9K, which is extremely unusual for SOHO stuff. Not even a lot of expensive Cisco stuff does jumbo frames. And he paid $150 for it.
Why should you care about jumbo frames? I found this nice guide about that here.
I was just mulling over the thought of installing the new Real Player to see if they got over the insane tentacleware complex they seem to have given RP9. According to the reviews on download.com, apparently not. Looks like it'll continue to be Real Alternative for me!
Dammit, I hate April Fool's. I almost fell for that one. But with all the Big Brother shenanigans the Brits have been up to lately, can you blame me?
How somebody who would name their kid in l33tspeak was able to get sex in the first place.
What the hell project were YOU on? Duke Nukem Forever?
If a working RPM is available I will normally download and install it. However, more often than not, if I want the latest version of software X it will not be available in RPM, so it's at that point I will compile and install. The gripe I have about that is I have to look at ./configure --help and make sure that I have all the options set up that I need. If it's tied to other source trees (OpenSSH seems to be a pretty popular one), this gets really complicated.
It's even better when you download the newer version and have to remember what options you used to compile originally and get scared of breaking your existing app.
Or still better, the programmer decided he wanted to use some obscure headers that can only downloaded from a server in Uzbekistan hosted on a staticy dial-up connection, so now it's up to you to track them down and load them in so the damned source will compile. But then after you do this you find out that your headers are outdated and the source is calling on functions that don't exist. Now THAT'S fun.
Is it any wonder why I tend towards binaries?
...the Icy Hot Stuntaz have begun their bid for world conquest.
There's nothing like bad publicity to get a vaporware product off the ground!
I doubt PC gaming will die out. One of the major reasons is that developers will take money from wherever they can. Now that I've been hearing about this unified game development platform Microsoft cooked up, I think game developers will write the software once and release it both XBOX and PC platforms. As far as Playstation goes, I don't know how easy it is to port a game from the PC/Xbox to Playstation, but it seems to be easy enough where I've seen some games being released on all three platforms at the same time.
The other reason why I believe PC gaming is here to stay is because of the controls and multiplayer play. I'm sure everyone here is familiar with the WASD/mouse configuration. With that, it's really easy to whip around a 180 and blast whoever's tailing you. Anyone ever tried to do this with a D-Pad on a console contoller? It's called "Hang on, I'll be with you in a second." Of course, on a console that's usually against a computer opponent, unless you happen to be paying $10/mo for the privilege of playing online with someone. And that brings me to my next point...LANs. Anyone ever heard of someone doing a big LAN party using Xbox/Playstations? Neither have I. And on Xbox, you get 4 players per console, all of whom can see each others' screens because it's split into four tiny quads. Then pair that with the fact that you can only have 4 Xboxes hooked up in the same game, which means you get a maximum of 16 players per game, all of whom are playing on what would probably be less than the equivalent resolution on 320x200 in one small corner of a crappy color TV.
Now ask anyone who has ever participated in a 64-player deathfest why he thinks PC gaming will die out.
Seriously, what IS the difference between Gnome and KDE? I have run both and find them equally functional. Granted, I have never configured them from scratch, and I'm sure there are some differences there...
Now correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand one of the differences is that one uses TK and the other uses QT toolkits. Even as such, I can run programs written under either on my desktop. So is Gnome vs. KDE just a holy war or do the differences run deeper than that?
Identity theft case in 3...2...1...
Obviously they are not using the new protocol on their web site.
IMHO, mixing your personal life and business is a very bad idea. Your statement And most importantly how do you handle authority (tardiness, work ethic, and workplace codes) with a girlfriend?" is a perfect example of that. The answer to that question is: You don't. Are you really going to be able to sit her down in front of you and reprimand her as a superior? Even if she takes it without throwing something at you, it will probably go in one ear and out the other. The same goes for your brother. If one of them isn't doing a good job, do you think you could "fire" them? I guarantee that doing so will give you major problems in your personal life, and you just might end up stuck with lots of dead weight just to avoid it.
However, if you insist on having those personally close to you work for you, you can't treat them as employees because of the reasons outlined above. You're going to have to give them a piece of the promised land - That is, they get a stake in your company. If the company does well, they do well.
Now, the problem with that scenario is how you are going to handle it if somebody has had enough and wants out of your business. If it were me, I wouldn't be down with someone jumping ship and yet still being able to get their share of the company in the event it's sold. So, what you'd have to do is buy that person out, and that could get expensive for whoever's left. Do you see what I mean about a "can of worms"?
If you are dead set on this, consult a business attorney, as well as other people who actually run businesses based on this arrangement. Understand VERY, VERY well the implications of having people close to you work under you, or I think you will be in for a toasty walk though hell.
So, why exactly was it that NASA wanted to scrap the Hubble?"
Probably because they are idiots. But has anyone else noticed that you're seeing Hubble a LOT more in the news since NASA's announcement? Methinks the scientists that operate Hubble are going for positive PR by getting lots of awesome pictures. IMHO, it's a good idea...Before people would probably ask "well, what has Hubble done lately?". Now, by making the public aware of Hubble's merit, they can generate some static for NASA.
From the article:
Richard said it attracted 3.5 million hits per month from throughout the world.
Richard then demanded $300,000 of taxpayer dollars from the county. Richard said the money would offset the huge expense of running the Web site for the 33 months.
3.5 million hits/month for a county sherrif's site? Was there really THAT much traffic going there? Even if there was, $300,000 for 33 months seems kind of steep...That's more than $9000/month.
Even if by some strech of the imagination this number is close to accurate, this guy's trying to retroactively bill them when the original agreement was to host the site for free. Given that, I can see why they wanted to hit him with extortion.
I live in San Bernardino County. My precinct got the electronic voting machines for this election. They were the ones from Sequoia Voting Systems.
Upon entrance to the polling place, I signed in and the volunteer ran a card though a machine in front of her hand handed it to me. I then walked over to the voting machine. The machines themselves were quite interesting. They appeared to be able to fold into briefcase-like enclosures. Two shutters fold down over the screen, and then the screen folds back into the unit itself. It came up with the voting screen when I slid the card into the reader. The card snapped in, there was no way to get it out at that point.
The system was a touch screen, and the GUI was very simple. Two colums, press the circle next to the person you are voting for. After that, a green check appeared next to that person. Pressing "Next" at the bottom of the screen advanced to the next page, and so on until the end. The last page displayed a summary of all your votes, and the one after that had a big yellow box in the middle that said "Press here to cast your ballot". After I pressed this, the card popped back out again and I took it back to the volunteers. I don't know if the vote was recorded to the card, or if the units were somehow networked to a central server...I couldn't get a really good look at where the wires were running.
IMHO, they've got the ease of use on the interface down...And I think I can safely say if the electronic votes are backed up with a paper counterpart, electronic voting is definitely the way of the future.
Well, for those of you who want to view the profile/credentials of James E. Aker, the man who penned the letter, This appears to be it.
I don't know how many civil trial lawyers named James E. Aker there are working out of Sarasota, FL, the same city Infiumium Labs is based, but my guess is that it's the same guy.
Ah, it just wouldn't be Slashdot without the subtle sarcasm. You are talking about the Itanium. I wasn't. Obviously, Itanium was a flaming mishap like the Pentium Pro was.
My point is that Intel COULD HAVE stuck to their guns and tried to push their own 64 bit architecture to show who was the boss. But they did not and embraced an existing standard. The result will (finally) be a mass migration to the 64-bit platform in the very near future.
Don't think that I believe that Intel is doing this out of the good of their hearts. It's about survival. Fortunately, they know it. A lot of companies would consider themselves above the laws of market forces because they are the top dog, and would continue onward, blindly racing to their inevitable destruction. Companies like 3Dfx, for instance.
What impresses me is that they swallowed their pride and nixed Itanium. Turning their back on a such a long research project which probably cost untold billions shows some balls, don't you think?