I have never experienced such an increase in intrusion threats that have coincided with denial that there is any problem at all.
Its so bad, I am starting to become one of those tin-foil hat IT guys who is starting to believe that management has been blackmailed by the "hackers" (not yet but that is the road I am on). I also, more seriously, believe that the increase in "Cybersecurity" firms and "Ethical Hackers" correlates to the increase in incidents. The old "Gotta hire a criminal to prevent a crime" is really turning out to be a bad idea.
The key to security is competent system administrators, but all the older ones are getting canned in favor of younger DevOps who went to "code camp" one summer and used AWS to host an app no one bought.
So it is more than just playing in the vacant lot, I think some sites were making some cash from their online courses via the API and now their business model is getting flushed.
No kidding. Taliban blowing up the Bamiyan Buddhas = Cultural Vandalism. ISIS in Palmyra = Cultural Vandalism. Company charging for services rendered so they do not go out of business = I dunno, a better business model than their older one? Its not cultural vandalism though.
Seeing how people are attached to their old passwords I bet there is some value to these accounts.
Considering I just finished up a gig where I worked with Novell Netware 3.1 I firmly believe that people will still use everything that the rest of us think is long gone.
Pardon me, someone is trying to reach me on VMS PHONE so I have to hurry.
When I would "short" a company I would write it down, and then the price it was and what I would short it at.
I made a ton of fake money. So then I tried real time and picked a short with a call day and if I invested $100k Fake Money in the shorts and on call day I would see how much I made or how much I owed. In the first exercise with no time limit but just selling myt shorts when it hit the target I think I made something like $220k of Fake Money. When I did a more realistic experiment with a call day I owed $42k on my fake margin calls.
In other words, Short selling is difficult, even if you know something is over-valued.
That is why i think these guys are doing classic "Pump and Dump". Giving analysis like I would be able to give on certain stocks and saying they are crap...One hits and makes news and people look at the site and see they advised BUY on a stock or two and it drives up the price and they sell. That is what we are seeing here. I do not believe these guys are Anonymous.
Also, as I wrote above, this group is most likely tied with HYIPs in the past and two Malaysian Web Hosting companies, who would be familair with Demand Media's offerings. So this and this story is, in my opinion, a ruse to disguise Pump and Dump.
They might have used insider knowledge or just some good guessing on their analysis (their Western Union one makes sense to me). But, my best guess based on quick research into online companies is that I traced the probable owners of this site to a Malaysian company called "Virtus Offshore Investment Company". They ran some HYIPs a few years ago.
It also seems to be tied to Webhosting companies Shinjiru.com and Advanced Hosting Technology both of Malaysia.
I got a Venn diagram of this that looks like a damn spirograph doodle, but this is it in a nutshell.
Remember, I am some guy on the internet. Don't get the torches and pitchforks out or anything.
I have given paypal donations to "anonymous proxy" admins (FDC servers) for logs, I have gotten account information from ISP helpdesks and I have helped police file subpoenas to legal departments located in-the-middle-of-nowhere USA. Once, I even traveled to Romania to chat with a hacking crew about the damage that they did and asked them personally to help me repair it (Romanians are really helpful and friendly and it was my pleasure to meet them).
So I read the headline and said to myself "poor girl, ten years! that must mean she has had some very bad help in the past" So I dug a bit to get an idea about what might really be going on. I found the same stuff others here found but for some reason the one that really stood out was this
"Alt.Therapy is a new (dis)organization for artists, mutants, mentally ill radicals, freaks in trouble, and anyone who is looking for help who does not support the brainwashing industry of mainstream therapy.
At Alt.Therapy we define ourselves as post-sane. We do not want to conform to a central definition of reality. Yet sometimes people like us can get into difficult situations. We need people to talk to who think like we do who have been through similar experiences.
I'm not a licensed therapist and don't offer a traditional cure to your problems but I offer an alternative form of therapy that will help you improve your life. Sessions range from 15 minutes to an hour and are based on your individual needs as a client.
We don't force you to talk about your family history and refuse to ask "how does that make you feel?" Instead we ask the question "what does that make you want to do?" Then we help you do it. You provide us with a description of your main problem and we provide you with a counseling session that will help you change it.
We also offer packages that include a list of bands with similar ideas, a customized playlist related to your life, an introduction to like-minded communities, a list of films that apply to your current situation, and a list of books to read that you will find mentally stimulating.
Add on: Lists of bands, films, like-minded communities, books written by people who think like you do, and a customized playlist related to your life - $20"
So a non-therapist charges $60 to $80 an hour for, what seems to be, non-therapy.
Seems like she is a petty con artist on many small levels and I am guessing this Slashdot article was part of it.
Before I was in charge of hiring for my team, my managers employed a guy who didn't know anything because they did not check his references for some reason. He would always call me while I was on vacation because a simple procedure that he should have known was confusing him. Later our company cell phones were switched from Verizon to AT&T and AT&T had no signal in the Aosta Valley in the Italian Alps.
That is where I would go on vacations.
So if you have AT&T, go to the lovely Aosta Valley but do not cross over into France or else your voicemail will be filled with messages.
and your resume and references were up to date and you described that work situation to me; I would say to myself: "Hmmm...this guy can put up with a lot of work and a lot of demands. This is a sometimes stressful position but I bet it would be a paid vacation to him"
But of course you would not mention sloppy work in the interview, you would say "I was worried that my work might be suffering due to long hours so I decided to seek another position" (if the question was brought up).
Anyway, I cannot be unique in thinking this. What you have to do is start looking for another job, send out resumes left and right. Craft those resumes and cover letters to target the position you want, have many resumes that are worded differently and have many cover letters so after a while you just make a few modifications and send them out.
You have to do this so that another group can take advantage of your awesome work ethic (who will treat you better) and so you can keep your sanity, and...most importantly so your work doesn't suffer so much that you lose your reputation. If you work hard, too hard and you crack, you will be amazed at how fast the people who were prodding you on with dangerous work hours will turn against you.
Its like those horror movies of the 80's. A spirit voice said "Get Out!" and walls bleed, children get sucked into television static and yet the family decides to "tough it out". In the end there is a hole in the ground, a murderous man running around in a fedora, arterial spray and glowing eyes that promise a sequel. What they don't show is the family saying "hmmmm....we should have got out when it asked us to leave".
He claims that using google maps to stalk angry customers combined with harassing phone calls threatening rape helps his business with Search Engine Optimization from generating negative reviews.
His techniques match those of Brooklyn based discount camera and electronics retailers of a few years ago, with the object of the personal phone calls being to get a few $100 more out of suckers who think they are getting the best price on something. These camera scammers used to have multiple websites, cheap cameras listed and they would call and threaten customers using "Italian" names. Then complaints would mount and they would leave and move on to the next website, but I do not think they earned much money by doing this.
One reason I doubt Borker (hilarious name) is making loads of cash on this is because he handles the phone calls himself, that means there are not many calls (he answers "Eyewear" in the same way the camera guys used to answer the phone "Photography" or "Cameras") but I do believe he is making money off of something. Perhaps it is his other company that is referenced in older whois lookups of his websites called AOSI, which appeared to be a search engine optimization company. I am not sure the company has the same name now, but that might explain why he was happy to be interviewed about his crappy businesses.
Oh, and I really doubt his Wall Street story too. He used to have an office at 305 Madison Avenue which is a temporary office / mobile office rental address. He formed "OpticGenius.com" and ran it from there. I do not know too many "Wall Street" people who give up their jobs and devote themselves to running scams from home or temporary offices as a better source of income.
And I am totally sympathetic to people who work at call centers. Its so easy to be a cock on the phone (and so useless) so combined with unflappable politeness (I pretend I am Jeeves of Wooster and Jeeves who has taken some Ritalin) and the fact that I know my phone call is likely going to be the most interesting thing that happens all day to a call center worker (unless there is sex at lunch or a car accident). Most, but not all bounced me around. I even would get bounced back to the person who started the bouncing sometimes (then I get results by saying "That's weird, this normally only happens in billing"). One time for an incident in the Virginia Maryland area I got to the big manager and he said "I read Kevin Mitnick's book too" and hung up. Smart guy, but I was just trying to find out where to get the cops to send a subpoena.
But most were just like you say you were...and I do not blame them one bit. The only thing worse than having a call center job is suddenly not having a call center job.
Except for the 4chan part. The IP they DDoS might not be assigned to the thief when they get it. (also illegal blah blah)
To add to the IP address part:
When you find the ISP, call them. Wait on the phone, get transfered to people. Always be nice and polite and say stuff like "I understand you are really busy.." and "I know this is an unusual request but..." and patiently wait, acknowledging their apologies and asking advice like "what can you do for me?" and "is there anyone else I can talk to?"
Doing this will get you far.
Now, tell the person who you finally get on the phone with the IP address and the TIME it was accessed. If the IPs were of the same ISP then ask if each one used the same MAC address at the time it was accessed. Then ask "Can you give me the information on that account or do I have to do something else?" You might get someone who does, you might get transferred to someone who can give it to you or you might be told that it might have to be done with more formal measures.
Then get the address of where the company receives subpoenas, get the person's name who you talked to. Ask them who to ask for next time if you have any more questions. Thank them for their time and their help and then call the cops with the information you got.
This works. I have done it before (but not with a stolen laptop). Sometimes the information you get is astounding. Sometimes they blow you off (Verizon will do both but they have big call centers so try many times)
Rails are great but they cover a limited area. Some trucking companies integrate rails and road pretty well with trailers just being transported by rail and then picked up by cab at the most convenient location.
But that requires very precise dispatching and monitoring, so only the biggest companies with the best inventory systems can handle. Hopefully with technology getting cheaper more companies will do this and more geeks will get jobs in the freight industry running those systems.
I used to be a truck driver before I got into Unix Administration (long story but backing up is now a lot safer). When I left the profession in 1999 the truck stops were just putting rj11 jacks for dial up in the trucker section of the restaurants...Not exactly fast but computers had not hit the real of being personal communication yet....which truckers adopt pretty fast. In 1995 I used to feel like a big shot for walking around with a cell phone when I was among non-truckers but truck drivers already had them and owner-operators began to depend upon them immediatly.
But back then fuel was relatively cheap and the only modifications we had on our engines were a governor that restricted top speed (mine was annoyingly set at 68). Now I hardly recognise the cab of a modern truck...I had gauges that used dials and not a single LCD was present and I relied soley on mirror placement and use to avoid accidents.
Oh, and laminated maps. That was the top technology for finding my way around Houston.
Actually for one of the companies involved in building the Maglev.
Copper theft is a problem mostly in open tracks but this one would be closed. The computer systems used can monitor intrusions onto closed tracks but only usually monitor intrusions in closed areas on open tracks like where PLCs are located (the controlers that work things like switches and interlockings etc). Also most new tracks are often made accessable only by maintenence trains rather than just being able to "walk" out onto the tracks.
In the cases of attempted copper theft on open tracks...I have some pretty gory stories that usually start with "what's that smell?"
$16 to $18 a share and they chose the middle of $17. I would have bought if the IPO was at around $7 or $8 a share.
And to clarify what JWSmythe is talking about "coming after him" is that we curious Vonage customers had to sign up with an account and go through steps to read about the IPO with a special account tied to our phone number and customer number. The worry is that those who went through the process as far as seeing the price and deciding against it, might be persued by zealous lawyers if enough of the people who agreed to buy the IPO do not purchase the stock they agreed to buy.
OpenVMS 6.2 on some VAX machine that I always forget the model number of (the door is removed and I never have to look at it.)
Due to the contract maintenence cost for what it is really used for now (inter-office e-mail of all things) I am trying to get rid of it, re-educate employees who still use WP 5.1 to use a PC and OO.org or MS Office.
OpenVMS is great. Old DEC hardware cannot be beat. So it is a shame I will never use either again, nor would I want to.
Here is a similar Atmel board but this is only 8 bit and $153. Atmel Ethernut Board
8MB or 16MB flash with 32MB ram on a 32 bit processor is a good deal in the world of small low powr computers. (but still expensive compared to x86 desktop)
I've been to a few places in the Third World and they are often hindered by government tariffs on electronics, (helpful hint: use your old laptop to help pay for your next trip to Ecuador by selling it in Ecuador) bad roads, and that unique third world IT marketing teqnique that can be best described as "get old hardware, fill it up with pirated software".
But the roads and tarriffs will likely add alot of cost to these computers before the mystery of how they actually purchase old Compaq's can be cracked.
On a positive note; at least the power consumption is low. Many big cities in third world contries have 8 + hour blackouts daily and this means computers must be run on diesel generators. Internet cafe's in Port Au Prince are really odd that you have to type e-mails by candlelight.
unless you enjoy switching for the sake of switching.
Hell, I have windows 98 on a laptop that I have no intention of switching OSs on just because I enjoy a working laptop more than I enjoy my favorite OS (FreeBSD, then NetBSD).
Besides, I can't get FreeBSD to see the CDROM during the install....maybe 5.3 will see it.
But as a computer professional, I have to say keep Mandrake on the Presario and advise you to do as I say and not as I do (I break alot of things).
Slashdot Mirror
I have never experienced such an increase in intrusion threats that have coincided with denial that there is any problem at all.
Its so bad, I am starting to become one of those tin-foil hat IT guys who is starting to believe that management has been blackmailed by the "hackers" (not yet but that is the road I am on). I also, more seriously, believe that the increase in "Cybersecurity" firms and "Ethical Hackers" correlates to the increase in incidents. The old "Gotta hire a criminal to prevent a crime" is really turning out to be a bad idea.
The key to security is competent system administrators, but all the older ones are getting canned in favor of younger DevOps who went to "code camp" one summer and used AWS to host an app no one bought.
I think you are correct.
Also it seems a lot of other websites focusing on online courses used the coursera APIs, https://building.coursera.org/... , including https://www.class-central.com/ .
So it is more than just playing in the vacant lot, I think some sites were making some cash from their online courses via the API and now their business model is getting flushed.
No kidding. Taliban blowing up the Bamiyan Buddhas = Cultural Vandalism. ISIS in Palmyra = Cultural Vandalism. Company charging for services rendered so they do not go out of business = I dunno, a better business model than their older one? Its not cultural vandalism though.
Seeing how people are attached to their old passwords I bet there is some value to these accounts.
Considering I just finished up a gig where I worked with Novell Netware 3.1 I firmly believe that people will still use everything that the rest of us think is long gone.
Pardon me, someone is trying to reach me on VMS PHONE so I have to hurry.
I did something similar.
When I would "short" a company I would write it down, and then the price it was and what I would short it at.
I made a ton of fake money. So then I tried real time and picked a short with a call day and if I invested $100k Fake Money in the shorts and on call day I would see how much I made or how much I owed. In the first exercise with no time limit but just selling myt shorts when it hit the target I think I made something like $220k of Fake Money. When I did a more realistic experiment with a call day I owed $42k on my fake margin calls.
In other words, Short selling is difficult, even if you know something is over-valued.
That is why i think these guys are doing classic "Pump and Dump". Giving analysis like I would be able to give on certain stocks and saying they are crap...One hits and makes news and people look at the site and see they advised BUY on a stock or two and it drives up the price and they sell. That is what we are seeing here. I do not believe these guys are Anonymous.
DMD is already going up in price (their only BUY)
https://www.google.com/finance...
Also, as I wrote above, this group is most likely tied with HYIPs in the past and two Malaysian Web Hosting companies, who would be familair with Demand Media's offerings. So this and this story is, in my opinion, a ruse to disguise Pump and Dump.
analysts do.
I really doubt this is a "branch" of anonymous.
They might have used insider knowledge or just some good guessing on their analysis (their Western Union one makes sense to me). But, my best guess based on quick research into online companies is that I traced the probable owners of this site to a Malaysian company called "Virtus Offshore Investment Company". They ran some HYIPs a few years ago.
It also seems to be tied to Webhosting companies Shinjiru.com and Advanced Hosting Technology both of Malaysia.
I got a Venn diagram of this that looks like a damn spirograph doodle, but this is it in a nutshell.
Remember, I am some guy on the internet. Don't get the torches and pitchforks out or anything.
Except for Demand Media.
I wonder if the people who run this have money in Demand Media?
I have given paypal donations to "anonymous proxy" admins (FDC servers) for logs, I have gotten account information from ISP helpdesks and I have helped police file subpoenas to legal departments located in-the-middle-of-nowhere USA. Once, I even traveled to Romania to chat with a hacking crew about the damage that they did and asked them personally to help me repair it (Romanians are really helpful and friendly and it was my pleasure to meet them).
So I read the headline and said to myself "poor girl, ten years! that must mean she has had some very bad help in the past" So I dug a bit to get an idea about what might really be going on. I found the same stuff others here found but for some reason the one that really stood out was this
http://alttherapy.experimenthaywire.net/
"Alt.Therapy is a new (dis)organization for artists, mutants, mentally ill radicals, freaks in trouble, and anyone who is looking for help who does not support the brainwashing industry of mainstream therapy.
At Alt.Therapy we define ourselves as post-sane. We do not want to conform to a central definition of reality. Yet sometimes people like us can get into difficult situations. We need people to talk to who think like we do who have been through similar experiences.
I'm not a licensed therapist and don't offer a traditional cure to your problems but I offer an alternative form of therapy that will help you improve your life. Sessions range from 15 minutes to an hour and are based on your individual needs as a client.
We don't force you to talk about your family history and refuse to ask "how does that make you feel?" Instead we ask the question "what does that make you want to do?" Then we help you do it. You provide us with a description of your main problem and we provide you with a counseling session that will help you change it.
We also offer packages that include a list of bands with similar ideas, a customized playlist related to your life, an introduction to like-minded communities, a list of films that apply to your current situation, and a list of books to read that you will find mentally stimulating.
Package 1: - 15 minute session - $20
Package 2: - 30 minute session - $35
Package 3: - 60 minute session - $60
Add on: Lists of bands, films, like-minded communities, books written by people who think like you do, and a customized playlist related to your life - $20"
So a non-therapist charges $60 to $80 an hour for, what seems to be, non-therapy.
Seems like she is a petty con artist on many small levels and I am guessing this Slashdot article was part of it.
Before I was in charge of hiring for my team, my managers employed a guy who didn't know anything because they did not check his references for some reason. He would always call me while I was on vacation because a simple procedure that he should have known was confusing him. Later our company cell phones were switched from Verizon to AT&T and AT&T had no signal in the Aosta Valley in the Italian Alps.
That is where I would go on vacations.
So if you have AT&T, go to the lovely Aosta Valley but do not cross over into France or else your voicemail will be filled with messages.
and your resume and references were up to date and you described that work situation to me; I would say to myself: "Hmmm...this guy can put up with a lot of work and a lot of demands. This is a sometimes stressful position but I bet it would be a paid vacation to him"
But of course you would not mention sloppy work in the interview, you would say "I was worried that my work might be suffering due to long hours so I decided to seek another position" (if the question was brought up).
Anyway, I cannot be unique in thinking this. What you have to do is start looking for another job, send out resumes left and right. Craft those resumes and cover letters to target the position you want, have many resumes that are worded differently and have many cover letters so after a while you just make a few modifications and send them out.
You have to do this so that another group can take advantage of your awesome work ethic (who will treat you better) and so you can keep your sanity, and ...most importantly so your work doesn't suffer so much that you lose your reputation. If you work hard, too hard and you crack, you will be amazed at how fast the people who were prodding you on with dangerous work hours will turn against you.
Its like those horror movies of the 80's. A spirit voice said "Get Out!" and walls bleed, children get sucked into television static and yet the family decides to "tough it out". In the end there is a hole in the ground, a murderous man running around in a fedora, arterial spray and glowing eyes that promise a sequel. What they don't show is the family saying "hmmmm....we should have got out when it asked us to leave".
But I do doubt that it is good for his business.
He claims that using google maps to stalk angry customers combined with harassing phone calls threatening rape helps his business with Search Engine Optimization from generating negative reviews.
His techniques match those of Brooklyn based discount camera and electronics retailers of a few years ago, with the object of the personal phone calls being to get a few $100 more out of suckers who think they are getting the best price on something. These camera scammers used to have multiple websites, cheap cameras listed and they would call and threaten customers using "Italian" names. Then complaints would mount and they would leave and move on to the next website, but I do not think they earned much money by doing this.
One reason I doubt Borker (hilarious name) is making loads of cash on this is because he handles the phone calls himself, that means there are not many calls (he answers "Eyewear" in the same way the camera guys used to answer the phone "Photography" or "Cameras") but I do believe he is making money off of something. Perhaps it is his other company that is referenced in older whois lookups of his websites called AOSI, which appeared to be a search engine optimization company. I am not sure the company has the same name now, but that might explain why he was happy to be interviewed about his crappy businesses.
Oh, and I really doubt his Wall Street story too. He used to have an office at 305 Madison Avenue which is a temporary office / mobile office rental address. He formed "OpticGenius.com" and ran it from there. I do not know too many "Wall Street" people who give up their jobs and devote themselves to running scams from home or temporary offices as a better source of income.
And I am totally sympathetic to people who work at call centers. Its so easy to be a cock on the phone (and so useless) so combined with unflappable politeness (I pretend I am Jeeves of Wooster and Jeeves who has taken some Ritalin) and the fact that I know my phone call is likely going to be the most interesting thing that happens all day to a call center worker (unless there is sex at lunch or a car accident). Most, but not all bounced me around. I even would get bounced back to the person who started the bouncing sometimes (then I get results by saying "That's weird, this normally only happens in billing"). One time for an incident in the Virginia Maryland area I got to the big manager and he said "I read Kevin Mitnick's book too" and hung up. Smart guy, but I was just trying to find out where to get the cops to send a subpoena.
But most were just like you say you were...and I do not blame them one bit. The only thing worse than having a call center job is suddenly not having a call center job.
Except for the 4chan part. The IP they DDoS might not be assigned to the thief when they get it. (also illegal blah blah)
To add to the IP address part:
When you find the ISP, call them. Wait on the phone, get transfered to people. Always be nice and polite and say stuff like "I understand you are really busy.." and "I know this is an unusual request but..." and patiently wait, acknowledging their apologies and asking advice like "what can you do for me?" and "is there anyone else I can talk to?"
Doing this will get you far.
Now, tell the person who you finally get on the phone with the IP address and the TIME it was accessed. If the IPs were of the same ISP then ask if each one used the same MAC address at the time it was accessed. Then ask "Can you give me the information on that account or do I have to do something else?" You might get someone who does, you might get transferred to someone who can give it to you or you might be told that it might have to be done with more formal measures.
Then get the address of where the company receives subpoenas, get the person's name who you talked to. Ask them who to ask for next time if you have any more questions. Thank them for their time and their help and then call the cops with the information you got.
This works. I have done it before (but not with a stolen laptop). Sometimes the information you get is astounding. Sometimes they blow you off (Verizon will do both but they have big call centers so try many times)
Good luck.
Rails are great but they cover a limited area. Some trucking companies integrate rails and road pretty well with trailers just being transported by rail and then picked up by cab at the most convenient location.
But that requires very precise dispatching and monitoring, so only the biggest companies with the best inventory systems can handle. Hopefully with technology getting cheaper more companies will do this and more geeks will get jobs in the freight industry running those systems.
I used to be a truck driver before I got into Unix Administration (long story but backing up is now a lot safer). When I left the profession in 1999 the truck stops were just putting rj11 jacks for dial up in the trucker section of the restaurants...Not exactly fast but computers had not hit the real of being personal communication yet....which truckers adopt pretty fast. In 1995 I used to feel like a big shot for walking around with a cell phone when I was among non-truckers but truck drivers already had them and owner-operators began to depend upon them immediatly.
...I had gauges that used dials and not a single LCD was present and I relied soley on mirror placement and use to avoid accidents.
But back then fuel was relatively cheap and the only modifications we had on our engines were a governor that restricted top speed (mine was annoyingly set at 68). Now I hardly recognise the cab of a modern truck
Oh, and laminated maps. That was the top technology for finding my way around Houston.
Actually for one of the companies involved in building the Maglev.
Copper theft is a problem mostly in open tracks but this one would be closed. The computer systems used can monitor intrusions onto closed tracks but only usually monitor intrusions in closed areas on open tracks like where PLCs are located (the controlers that work things like switches and interlockings etc). Also most new tracks are often made accessable only by maintenence trains rather than just being able to "walk" out onto the tracks.
In the cases of attempted copper theft on open tracks...I have some pretty gory stories that usually start with "what's that smell?"
Now cars will become part of a massive spam sending botnet.
$16 to $18 a share and they chose the middle of $17. I would have bought if the IPO was at around $7 or $8 a share.
And to clarify what JWSmythe is talking about "coming after him" is that we curious Vonage customers had to sign up with an account and go through steps to read about the IPO with a special account tied to our phone number and customer number. The worry is that those who went through the process as far as seeing the price and deciding against it, might be persued by zealous lawyers if enough of the people who agreed to buy the IPO do not purchase the stock they agreed to buy.
Lets hope that does not happen.
Where I work we run two vt220's still.
One monitors a terminal server and the other monitors an old DEC "Infoserver" (tower of x1 SCSI CDROMS).
I think the manufacturing date on those vt220's is 1983 or 1984.
OpenVMS 6.2 on some VAX machine that I always forget the model number of (the door is removed and I never have to look at it.)
Due to the contract maintenence cost for what it is really used for now (inter-office e-mail of all things) I am trying to get rid of it, re-educate employees who still use WP 5.1 to use a PC and OO.org or MS Office.
OpenVMS is great. Old DEC hardware cannot be beat. So it is a shame I will never use either again, nor would I want to.
Here are some ARM based boards to compare:
Microcontrollershop.com
Here is a similar Atmel board but this is only 8 bit and $153. Atmel Ethernut Board
8MB or 16MB flash with 32MB ram on a 32 bit processor is a good deal in the world of small low powr computers. (but still expensive compared to x86 desktop)
I've been to a few places in the Third World and they are often hindered by government tariffs on electronics, (helpful hint: use your old laptop to help pay for your next trip to Ecuador by selling it in Ecuador) bad roads, and that unique third world IT marketing teqnique that can be best described as "get old hardware, fill it up with pirated software".
But the roads and tarriffs will likely add alot of cost to these computers before the mystery of how they actually purchase old Compaq's can be cracked.
On a positive note; at least the power consumption is low. Many big cities in third world contries have 8 + hour blackouts daily and this means computers must be run on diesel generators. Internet cafe's in Port Au Prince are really odd that you have to type e-mails by candlelight.
I hope the plan succeeds.
unless you enjoy switching for the sake of switching.
Hell, I have windows 98 on a laptop that I have no intention of switching OSs on just because I enjoy a working laptop more than I enjoy my favorite OS (FreeBSD, then NetBSD).
Besides, I can't get FreeBSD to see the CDROM during the install....maybe 5.3 will see it.
But as a computer professional, I have to say keep Mandrake on the Presario and advise you to do as I say and not as I do (I break alot of things).
the size of fictional beings.