The problem with battery life on a portable DVD player tends to be that it is spinning a disk with a motor. They get around this with a combination of a big heavy battery and a very small screen. This tradeoff results in just enough battery life to watch one movie.
If instead you convert your DVD to DIVX format and play it on a notebook computer, you get a bigger brighter screen and a longer lasting battery.
Also, if you get bored of movies, you can play games instead.
Most scsi drives have a jumper you can set so they start when they receive a scsi start command from the controller. You configure the controller to send scsi starts to the drives in a sensable way. This way your 14 drives don't try to spin up at the same time and blow up your power supply. Remember it takes much less power to keep the platters spinning then it does to start them spinning. Most IDE drives just power up the moment you add power to them. A tower of 14 180 gig drives is impressive but a tower of 14 180 gig drives all trying to spin up at the same time would probably melt most server grade power supplies.
Mentioning an OS is simply to make tech supports life easier. When someone rings up and says they are having problems getting the adaptor to work an old unix box, the tech support department can turn around and say "we don't support that". If someone says they can't get it to work on a generic PC with an adaptec scsi controller, then the tech support bod can at least give them some pointers. "Have you checked the termination" etc.
> The problem with pedantary is that you really have to be sure that you're correct.
I wasn't trying to be pedantic. My point was that I didn't think catastrophic was a good choice of word, regardless of its pedantic correctness.
catastrophic: Of, relating to, or involving a catastrophe.
catastrophe: A sudden violent change in the earth's surface; a cataclysm.
cataclysm: A devastating flood. [from Latin cataclysmos, deluge]
I don't personally believe there was a lot to be devastated therefore I still belive it was a poor choice of words, however correct it could be argued to be.
Words lose there power when they are used for trivial things.
trivial: nobody died. Source: Me.
catastrophe: A complete failure; a fiasco: The food was cold, the guests quarreled the whole dinner was a catastrophe. Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
When somebody uses a word to describe a spoiled dinner party, its hard to use the same word to describe a flood the size of two states on another planet and still have any hope of injecting some awe into the description.
I think catastrophe is overused.
> The problem with pedantary is that you really have to be sure that you're correct.
Yes you do. I'm sure you'll try harder next time.:-)
A better way might have been to have a chat with the MCSE and ask them how things are set up. Take an interest in security saying you are looking for ways to make your home network secure and want to know how it is done at work. Treat someone as an expert in their field and (even if they are not) they will take it as a compliment. Treat them as an idiot and they will take offence. You don't mention if the Cisco has been set up with any access control lists. Is that how she is locking down the network? Now the MCSE is going to be on the defensive since you went to her bosses boss.
If you still feel the need to prove a point then take it as read that this is how the company wants the system to work and make imaginative use of it. Ask the admin staff to leave a printer turned on over the weekend because you want to do some work from home and may need to print some stuff out. Plug a box in after your debian firewall to do file serving and ask your boss that, since you have access to files on this machine from home, would he mind you working from home one morning while you wait for a plumber.
Most of all be subtle. The shotgun approach obviously didn't work.
Mr. Girard, the Experian spokesman, said... "It just shows that today, even big companies can be victimized," he said. "it's a never-ending struggle against the bad guys." ___
A never-ending struggle? Think about it. It seems that Ford and Experian have an agreement so that Ford can get credit information from Experian. The only thing needed is this security ID. A "never-ending struggle" seems to suggest it took them some time for Experian to come up with this system. How did it used to work?
Ring Ring.
Experian: "Hello Experian Credit Inquiry Line, whose personal details would you like?"
Caller: "Err, I didn't say who I worked for yet."
Experian: "Sorry what company are you calling from?"
Caller: "Ford"
Experian: "Whose personal details would you like?"
Caller "Err, don't you want me to prove I work for Ford?"
Experian: "Who would pretend they worked for Ford?"
Also if while paying for your shopping with a newfangled smartcard based cash card system, the clerk asks you to hold on a moment and disappears below the counter, at which point there is a bright flash and the sound of a flashgun recharging... check your balance before you leave.
The dvd release of The Matrix in the UK had a headbutt cut out. They couldn't be bothered to amend the directors commentary track to match so the UK R2 release doesn't have the commentary track on it.
Large hunting knife in the forehead, yes, headbutt, no.
Think about it. Your site has a review of windows XP and it finishes off with the conclusion that it is much better then 2000 and everyone should go out and upgrade from 2000.
Hey you just disparaged 2000 and broke your frontpage license agreement.
Slashdot Mirror
I wonder if the simulator was accurate enough for them to know he was coming.
Bob.
The problem with battery life on a portable DVD player tends to be that it is spinning a disk with a motor. They get around this with a combination of a big heavy battery and a very small screen. This tradeoff results in just enough battery life to watch one movie.
If instead you convert your DVD to DIVX format and play it on a notebook computer, you get a bigger brighter screen and a longer lasting battery.
Also, if you get bored of movies, you can play games instead.
Bob.
Fdisk for minds would be good but what I want is fsck. Download your mind onto a computer, run fsck on it, and upload it back to your head.
Since running fsck on a running system is dangerous, running it on your mind while it is still in your head is probably not recommended.
You could try it in a quiet state, maybe while watching TV, but what if the doorbell rang mid-fsck. Ooops.
Bob.
Most scsi drives have a jumper you can set so they start when they receive a scsi start command from the controller. You configure the controller to send scsi starts to the drives in a sensable way. This way your 14 drives don't try to spin up at the same time and blow up your power supply. Remember it takes much less power to keep the platters spinning then it does to start them spinning. Most IDE drives just power up the moment you add power to them. A tower of 14 180 gig drives is impressive but a tower of 14 180 gig drives all trying to spin up at the same time would probably melt most server grade power supplies.
Any ideas how they get around this?
Bob.
Mentioning an OS is simply to make tech supports life easier. When someone rings up and says they are having problems getting the adaptor to work an old unix box, the tech support department can turn around and say "we don't support that". If someone says they can't get it to work on a generic PC with an adaptec scsi controller, then the tech support bod can at least give them some pointers. "Have you checked the termination" etc.
Bob.
> The problem with pedantary is that you really have to be sure that you're correct.
:-)
I wasn't trying to be pedantic. My point was that I didn't think catastrophic was a good choice of word, regardless of its pedantic correctness.
catastrophic: Of, relating to, or involving a catastrophe.
catastrophe: A sudden violent change in the earth's surface; a cataclysm.
cataclysm: A devastating flood.
[from Latin cataclysmos, deluge]
I don't personally believe there was a lot to be devastated therefore I still belive it was a poor choice of words, however correct it could be argued to be.
Words lose there power when they are used for trivial things.
trivial: nobody died.
Source: Me.
catastrophe: A complete failure; a fiasco: The food was cold, the guests quarreled the whole dinner was a catastrophe.
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
When somebody uses a word to describe a spoiled dinner party, its hard to use the same word to describe a flood the size of two states on another planet and still have any hope of injecting some awe into the description.
I think catastrophe is overused.
> The problem with pedantary is that you really have to be sure that you're correct.
Yes you do. I'm sure you'll try harder next time.
Bob.
Exactly what was catastrophic about it? Did people die? Were towns washed away?
This is mars we are talking about. Impressively large flood, yes. Catastrophic flood, I don't think so. Worst case, some large rocks got moved about.
Bob.
I would be more worried about how many legs his grandkids will be walking on.
Bob.
How about a virus that makes your laptop run away, or attack you in your sleep.
Or a variation on the pyramid money schemes. Pass this email onto ten people and tomorrow morning there will be a thousand laptops on your doorstep.
Bob.
Blind date mod?
I wonder if the suit comes with a drainage tap for those that are really bad at quake or good at dating?
:-)
Bob.
A better way might have been to have a chat with the MCSE and ask them how things are set up. Take an interest in security saying you are looking for ways to make your home network secure and want to know how it is done at work. Treat someone as an expert in their field and (even if they are not) they will take it as a compliment. Treat them as an idiot and they will take offence. You don't mention if the Cisco has been set up with any access control lists. Is that how she is locking down the network? Now the MCSE is going to be on the defensive since you went to her bosses boss.
If you still feel the need to prove a point then take it as read that this is how the company wants the system to work and make imaginative use of it. Ask the admin staff to leave a printer turned on over the weekend because you want to do some work from home and may need to print some stuff out. Plug a box in after your debian firewall to do file serving and ask your boss that, since you have access to files on this machine from home, would he mind you working from home one morning while you wait for a plumber.
Most of all be subtle. The shotgun approach obviously didn't work.
Bob.
Slashdot follows Moores law.
The story repeat rate doubles every 18 months.
Bob.
Mr. Girard, the Experian spokesman, said ... "It just shows that today, even big companies can be victimized," he said. "it's a never-ending struggle against the bad guys."
___
A never-ending struggle? Think about it. It seems that Ford and Experian have an agreement so that Ford can get credit information from Experian. The only thing needed is this security ID. A "never-ending struggle" seems to suggest it took them some time for Experian to come up with this system. How did it used to work?
Ring Ring.
Experian: "Hello Experian Credit Inquiry Line, whose personal details would you like?"
Caller: "Err, I didn't say who I worked for yet."
Experian: "Sorry what company are you calling from?"
Caller: "Ford"
Experian: "Whose personal details would you like?"
Caller "Err, don't you want me to prove I work for Ford?"
Experian: "Who would pretend they worked for Ford?"
The mind boggles!!!
Bob.
Surely the primary hurdle is getting microsoft to sell you an Xbox minus OS for less then $199.
Bob.
Also if while paying for your shopping with a newfangled smartcard based cash card system, the clerk asks you to hold on a moment and disappears below the counter, at which point there is a bright flash and the sound of a flashgun recharging ... check your balance before you leave.
Bob.
If after paying for it, the Russians ask for a grid reference for your house, whatever you do, ask to confirm the exact method of delivery.
Bob.
The dvd release of The Matrix in the UK had a headbutt cut out. They couldn't be bothered to amend the directors commentary track to match so the UK R2 release doesn't have the commentary track on it.
Large hunting knife in the forehead, yes, headbutt, no.
Bob.
... to add up your shopping using dc?
Bob.
Sit with a friend in front of the TV and tell people it's a mind-control computer game.
Pity it wasn't out at the start of the month.
Bob.
I wonder if you can shine it onto the floor and jump from key to key so you can get some exercize while emailing?
Bob.
"Over the lips and past the gums,
look out dentures, here I come."
The simpsons have borrowed plenty of ideas from indiana jones. Why don't they return the complement. After all, he must be old enough now.
Bob.
Think about it. Your site has a review of windows XP and it finishes off with the conclusion that it is much better then 2000 and everyone should go out and upgrade from 2000.
Hey you just disparaged 2000 and broke your frontpage license agreement.
Bob.
... the power socked on the side of your ultra-thin laptop was fiddly.
Bob.
Also parts from all three will appear on Ebay within days.
Bob.
... is that he will embrace MP3s and then extend them with subliminal "BUY MICROSOFT SOFTWARE" messages when you play them back.
Call me paranoid but I don't want the soft voice of Bill Gates in my ear however close to the edge of perception.
Bob.