Although I don't see Java on the client being any different than it used to be; maybe a little better, but not compared to alternatives (or maybe I just haven't payed much attention to Java client technology). But in any case, Java on the server is alive and well, doing better than ever. I think the arrival of lightweight alternatives to EJB's is making Java development a lot smoother than it has been.
Take a look at tools like Spring and Hibernate, for example. J2EE is no longer as cumbersome as it used to be. These new developments make Java equally useful as many of the alternatives, if not more useful for many types of server-side software. Web services is also helping making Java a very viable option on the server side, since you remain flexible in your choices for what software interoperates with your web services.
I've thought about this, too; having a huge widescreen vs having two monitors. The main advantage two (or more) monitors have, other than price, is that you can maximize windows to a single monitor. That's a really small advantage, though, and something that could be done in software with a wide-screen (maximize to half the screen, rather than the whole screen).
If you watch video, the widescreen is probably going to be better. But, I do like watching video/TV in one monitor and being able to work in another monitor. Also, with my dual monitor setup, I have a KVM on only one monitor, so that the machine connected to both monitors is always available (second set of keyboard/mouse as well). If I add another KVM for the second monitor, it could be even more interesting.
Re:Why go back to the CLI
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GTK+ TTY Port
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· Score: 1
Now you can develop *one* GTK app, and deploy it everywhere, cheap. I think that's pretty neat.
I think it is very cool. I've actually thought about creating something like this myself (though never gave it any serious thought). I'm one of those guys who misses the days when everything was text mode and user interfaces were lightning quick.
This gives more value to the GTK+ toolkit and gives people more incentive to use it. I hope we start seeing a lot of TTY ports. Personally, I'd like to see a TTY version of Evolution.
I used to have a program that would convert gif/jpegs to ANSI text (with colors). It actually worked pretty well, though I think it only used character 219 and the other block characters (176-178). I'm sure something like this could be implemented.
What I do these days, is order slower low-power CPU's (~1 GHz Durons which are like $35 a piece). Then I use a copper heatsink that uses an 80mm fan (Thermalright SLK-800 for $35 was the last one I bought, a very good heatsink). I use nothing but quiet fans in my systems, the loudest being the one that is on the CPU heatsink, but that is muffled more than the case fans, so I don't hear it. 80mm fans can be quiet while still producing enough air flow. I've got quiet, stable systems even when my room is at temps of 85F.
Oh btw, I've had a few 486 CPU's, and none of them had a heatsink (one of them was 66 MHz). I've got a Pentium II 266 which only has a heatsink on it (though I've got good case fans). I can take that thing out to the garage and run it in extreme heat during the summer, and it runs fine.
I agree, though, that CPU manuafactures should focus a little more on making low-power desktop processors. There is Via with its C3's (you can run with only a heatsink), but supposedly those don't perform well at all. Maybe the market for low-power desktop processors just isn't there with everyone looking at MHz ratings. Though when it comes to portable devices low-power is very important.
If you want to relax then stop drinking caffeine and sugary drinks. You'll sleep better at night and thus will feel better at work, no need to take caffeine to wake you up due to lack of sleep the night before.
Very true. I used to drink coffee and soda, now I have completely quit. I have plenty of energy, I am active all day long, and I have no problems getting 7-9 hours of sleep at night. I don't find myself nodding off in the middle of the day anymore, either.
As for meditation, I have tried it on and off, and find the results to be very subtle. I'm trying to get back into it again, meditating in the morning before going to work, and in the evening at some point. A book I recommend is "Journey of Awakening" by Ram Dass. The way he presents his ideas makes it very accessible to most of us. Even if you don't end up doing any meditation, the first chapter of the book gives great insight into life in general.
Get over it. Go find some cheapass case. Almost all of them have nice rolled edges these days. SAve the money for more RAM, a good power supply, better motherboard, etc. It's a case.
Depends on what you consider a cheap case. I'm assuming you're talking $30-50, in which case I would disagree. I usually spend around $80-120 for a case. The last three cases I've bought were all Antec (SX830, SX635, SX1040). All three cases use basically the same design with a few differences here and there. The side doors swing open easilly. The mounting mechanism for the 5.25" drives allows for sliding them out easilly with a screwdriver. The 3.5" drive bay can be removed with a screwdriver. The power supplies are good quality. Plenty of space in the bigger cases, and fans can be swapped in and out without tools. Very easy to work on, though no mobo tray. Since all 3 cases are similar, swapping parts in and out between the three is easy.
Do you really need that many fans?
Cooling is important, yes. One advantage of having a lot of fans, is you can use many quiet fans, and have a lot of airflow with less noise.
Does it matter how easy it is to swap a motherboard?
None of my cases have a motherboard tray. I've swapped motherboards a few times, and it is a pain, and I always wished that I had a motherboard tray.
Again, if you spend some money on motherboard, far less often than with your gee-whiz case.
Most of my cases cost about the same as the motherboard I put in them. I think this a very important place to spend money, especially if you swap parts around a lot and do a lot of upgrades. You don't have to spend $300 on one, but don't totally cheap out either. Same goes for fans and heatsink; you're going to have to listen to the noise they produce, so buy accordingly. Most of these components can be reused and don't become obsolete as easilly as the actual PC components.
I'm considering buying an ibook or something similar at some point. I plan to use it for doing recordings for my band. However, I've had problems with a hard drive crashing due to the vibration (mainly from the drums), so I keep the PC in a seperate room when recording. I'm wondering if laptops will be able to handle this kind of vibration any better than PC's?
I'm also considering using a diskless workstation to do recordings (no harddrive to damage), but of course that is not as portable and would only work for my home setup.
At my college, the computer science degree was not that much different than the computer engineering degree, and the computer engineering (CEN) degree was not that much different than the electrical engineering degree.
All three of those degrees had the same core course requirements which involved a good amount of hardware and software. All three degrees required students to take Circuits 1 and 2, Electronics, Digital Logic, Digital Design, and Microprocessors. CEN and CS both had to take Computer Architecture.
I was a CEN, which I like to describe as a mix of CS and EE. I think students came out very well-rounded and could in many cases work in jobs that required any of the three degrees, regardless of which of the three degrees they got.
Well one common occurance is proxy servers setup to be identified as IE6. Though for most users this isn't really an issue.
Personally, I don't see the point in making the browser lie, and I will only identify my browser as what is (be it Phoenix, Mozilla, Opera, or Konquerer and running on Linux or *BSD). If the page doesn't render right, it's the web site's fault, the user shouldn't have to compensate for this. Though I really don't have any problems with the browsers I use on Linux. Since the release of Mozilla 1.0, things have changed, web sites are no longer IE dependant.
Because you can't *do* anything with NT other than look at it and say, "boy, that sure is an operating system."
Exactly. You want to study the file system or memory manager of an operating system? With an open source OS, just look at the source code. Certainly can't do that with NT. The point of an operating systems class is to learn the internal workings and design of operating systems (not how to use them), and Windows NT simply doesn't allow for this.
In the operating systems class I took, we studied and made modifications to the source code of Minix. Adding features to the OS gave quite a bit of insight as to how things actually work. You'll never come close to that with Windows or any other closed source OS, no matter how much you read about it.
A little anecdote: Microsoft donated a lab full of computers (with Windows NT installed) to my university for an operating systems class. They erased off NT from all those computers and replaced it with FreeBSD. Microsoft wanted the computers back, but it was too late. What, did they think they were going to teach an operating systems class using Windows NT??
Actually, I completely agree with you and I didn't use to distinguish between UNIX and Linux. But in the interest of avoiding confusion and to prevent people from having something to nitpick over, I usually say "Linux/UNIX" and occasionally "*NIX." I've even had people tell me that FreeBSD isn't UNIX and is a "UNIX-like" operating system. It would be much easier if I could just use the word "UNIX" to include it all, and have everyone understand what I'm saying. But yeah, its all really silly.
That is so witty. I never get tired of seeing someone write *nix. It never ceases to amuse me. I just love it ever so much. Please continue doing this. Thank you.
I've always used *NIX to mean every OS that is UNIX related (as in * is a wildcard). Since Linux is not UNIX, but is UNIX-like, a lot of people will flame you for implying Linux is UNIX. So *NIX includes Linux. It includes *BSD (notice the wildcard) and OS X. It might even include Minix if you wanted it to. IIRC, UN*X was used to avoid the trademark issue. However, *NIX just means UNIX-like, and may or may not have anything to do with the trademark issue.
Believe me, trying to use a 256MB PC for real work is painful.
Hmm.. Well, I'm running here with 256MB (on a P3-650 running Win2k) and doing fine. For developing software, this is good enough. Granted I don't have a local installation of Oracle running or anything. I wouldn't mind the extra RAM, but this is quite sufficient and isn't painful at all. There are plenty of places (many of our clients) that are still doing development on much slower machines with less memory, that it makes my 256MB seem like a luxury.
My PCs at home all have 512MB PC2100 (and are much faster in general), but I don't really feel the difference coming to work. I guess it just depends on what you're using your machine for.
Though yeah, I agree, PC133 is so cheap, and DDR was cheap for a while, that 512MB isn't that costly and it should be standard. I need to get these guys to upgrade my machine, especially since it uses PC133.
I really like what Opera did with the Forward button. Do a Google search, and you can use the Forward button (or the equivalent keyboard keys) to go forwards through the search result. I just tried it on a review site and it worked on one of the reviews! It appears that Opera will allow you to use forwards on any page with a "Next" link.
I've been waiting for this feature for a long time, to the point that I've thought of writing it myself. As a simple solution, I thought about making a macro that used Mozilla's type-ahead find to click on Next. I got tired of scrolling down to the end of the page and finding and clicking the Next button over and over again.
Well, now Opera has this much needed feature, and hopefully the other browsers will copy it from them.
Back button improvement? Nah, forward button is what needs the improvement...
I like to bring up this quote in regards to using money for philantrophy:
"I am absolutely convinced that no wealth in the world can help humanity foreward, even in the hands of the most devoted worker in this cause. The example of great and pure personages is the only thing that can lead us to find ideas and noble deeds. Money only appeals to selfishness and always irresistibly tempts its owner to abuse it. Can anyone imagine Moses, Jesus or Gandhi with the moneybags of Carnegie?"
I also use a Natural Pro at work under Win2k SP3. When I press Web/Home it launches my default web browser which is Phoenix at the moment. Rather than change the settings of the buttons in Intellitype Pro, you should just be able to change your default web browser and it'll launch that.
Can't help you on the Media button thing. Mine is launching the CD player at the moment, maybe because I have an audio CD in the drive. I don't really use the buttons much, but my settings don't change. I've got the prev track and next track buttons set to switch between tasks. As for ten layers of start menu, I only have to go through one layer, as the shortcut is installed at the root of the programs menu, but you can move that anywhere you want. Try installing the latest Intellitype Pro.
I am relatively inexperienced programmer who finished college a few years ago (though have been writing code for the last 15 years). Anyways, I'm finding out exactly what you are talking about regarding specs. Many of the "bugs" we fix are not programming errors, but errors in the specs that the customer gave us--and very often things that we warned them about but they did nothing about until production. I always have a ridiculously large number of questions on what may appear to be minor details. At first I thought I was nitpicking, but this is really necessary to get things right.
I hear you.. I've been using UNIX/Linux since 1994. For my desktop, I've switched back and forth between Windows and Linux. For now, I've settled on Debian unstable for the desktop. I still use Win2k for those tasks that I haven't figured out how to do in Linux yet, or are simply better under Windows. Instead of dual-booting, I have two PCs. Though I find myself shutting down my Win2k box and only powering it up when I need it.
Every time I stop using Linux, when I come back to it I have a lot of re-learning to do. But its a comfortable environment once you get familiar with it, even though it makes you work hard to get anything done. Though I feel like I should be taking notes when using it, there's so many details that simply can't be commited to memory.
I do agree about it being difficult finding help. There are a lot of cases where man pages don't do it, and a Google search doesn't find you anything. I guess you just gotta know where to ask. I can't say I know where this is, especially for quick answers. I'd suggest going to forums that are designed to provide help, rather than general Linux discussion. Maybe Linux user groups. I've been meaning to check out the local LUG in my town.
I've got an AIW Radeon 7500. The card is nice, but I'm catching hell with the Win2k drivers. Video capture doesn't work, its a known issue (actually, I almost got it working now, gotta test it out). The newest drivers cause frequent blue screens/freezes/reboots, I have to use the older drivers.
I'm thinking of using my old AIW 128 in my Linux machine alongside a Geforce2. I plan to do dual monitors, and hopefully in Linux I can do this and use the TV tuner (this wasn't possible in Win2k, TV wouldn't work in multi-monitor mode).
Hmmm.. Not so sure a Dell/Gateway will be any better. You'll probably just end up with a CPU that is running a bit hot (though probably stable) if you get a Dell/Gateway. Here are some things you can do:
Get a large enough case. At least enough for two fans in the back (though one 92mm wouldn't be bad either). I got an Antec SX830 ($80) which allows 3 80mm fans in the front and 2 in the back (and their newer cases have a fan on the side next to your PCI cards). I didn't use the 300 watt PSU, and instead got a 350W PSU (Enermax Whisper). If your fans are slowing down from CPU draw sounds like you need a more powerful PSU (I've never heard of this happening so I dunno).
Never plug your fans into the motherboard headers, power them directly from the PSU. Especially the CPU fan. Motherboard headers have the tendency to go bad, especially when your fan is drawing a good amount of current.
Get a CPU heatsink that uses a 80mm fan. I've used a Swiftech MCX462 which is expensive but good. My choice these days would be a Thermalright SLK-800 or SK7. Proper application of silver thermal compound is a must, lookup how to do this before you do so (Arctic Silver's website has a good description).
Buy all low power fans. I use a bunch of 80mm Panaflo's (Low Output, 24cfm, 21dBA). If you already have a bunch of loud fans, there is a way to use 5 or 7 volts instead of 12V to power the fans, make them run slower and quieter.
Try to eliminate any blockages in air flow such as IDE cables in the way, PCI cards that could be placed lower, etc. You can place your drives higher so that the heat from them doesn't get blown over your CPU, though that can cause you to hear the drives more, so its a bit of a trade-off.
If your CPU's multiplier is unlocked and you don't care about speed, you can underclock it if necessary. If its not unlocked, you can underclock the FSB, but that may be too much of a performance hit.
Put the PC on the floor, rather on the desk. You'll hear it more if its at ear-level. Also, try to put it in a place where some of the sound gets blocked.
If you do choose to go the watercooling route (not a bad idea), there are some easy ways of doing this. Look at Swiftech's Q-Power which is a water-cooled case that has everything setup for you and cost only a little more than their kit mentioned in this article. Koolance has some good products too.
Finally, take a look at www.overclockers.com, which is a great site even for non-overclockers. It is a good general computer hardware site as well as a great source for information on cooling. A lot of the information I just provided can be found in detail here.
I've done most of the things I mentioned above. I can still hear my PC, but it is very quiet and runs cool and stable (I got an Athlon T-Bird 1.4GHz which is known to run hot). I never turn it off, I leave it on even when I go to sleep.
Maybe for computer/electrical engineering, but not for more traditional engineering (such as civil). My dad is a civil engineer, and he is at the height of his career at age 55. This is because he's become an expert at what he does, there is a shortage of civil engineers, and civil engineer does not really change much.
I'm a comp eng in my mid 20's. I recognize the fact that I might not be able to do this forever and am planning for it. And I'm even lucky to have a job. But hey, experience is a plus. I think the same principle holds, become an expert and you are worth more. But its harder in this field as its constantly changing. Ah well.
My cousins in India are telling me to move there for work. I can't imagine it, that would be moving backwards (I'm a total American). As long as I have a job I can laugh at the thought.
One day, I went into work and tried to login and it told me my account was disabled. Turns out my account had been configured incorrectly or something. Still, its a bit scary when you've only been working for 3 months and all of a sudden your account is disabled.
I haven't tried this yet, but I've heard the Knoppix is capable of installing Debian and autoconfigures most things. A painless Debian installation from what I've read. It does set your default Language to German, but that is pretty easy to fix.
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Although I don't see Java on the client being any different than it used to be; maybe a little better, but not compared to alternatives (or maybe I just haven't payed much attention to Java client technology). But in any case, Java on the server is alive and well, doing better than ever. I think the arrival of lightweight alternatives to EJB's is making Java development a lot smoother than it has been.
Take a look at tools like Spring and Hibernate, for example. J2EE is no longer as cumbersome as it used to be. These new developments make Java equally useful as many of the alternatives, if not more useful for many types of server-side software. Web services is also helping making Java a very viable option on the server side, since you remain flexible in your choices for what software interoperates with your web services.
I've thought about this, too; having a huge widescreen vs having two monitors. The main advantage two (or more) monitors have, other than price, is that you can maximize windows to a single monitor. That's a really small advantage, though, and something that could be done in software with a wide-screen (maximize to half the screen, rather than the whole screen).
If you watch video, the widescreen is probably going to be better. But, I do like watching video/TV in one monitor and being able to work in another monitor. Also, with my dual monitor setup, I have a KVM on only one monitor, so that the machine connected to both monitors is always available (second set of keyboard/mouse as well). If I add another KVM for the second monitor, it could be even more interesting.
Now you can develop *one* GTK app, and deploy it everywhere, cheap. I think that's pretty neat.
I think it is very cool. I've actually thought about creating something like this myself (though never gave it any serious thought). I'm one of those guys who misses the days when everything was text mode and user interfaces were lightning quick.
This gives more value to the GTK+ toolkit and gives people more incentive to use it. I hope we start seeing a lot of TTY ports. Personally, I'd like to see a TTY version of Evolution.
How I'm supposed to run gimp with this thing?
I used to have a program that would convert gif/jpegs to ANSI text (with colors). It actually worked pretty well, though I think it only used character 219 and the other block characters (176-178). I'm sure something like this could be implemented.
What I do these days, is order slower low-power CPU's (~1 GHz Durons which are like $35 a piece). Then I use a copper heatsink that uses an 80mm fan (Thermalright SLK-800 for $35 was the last one I bought, a very good heatsink). I use nothing but quiet fans in my systems, the loudest being the one that is on the CPU heatsink, but that is muffled more than the case fans, so I don't hear it. 80mm fans can be quiet while still producing enough air flow. I've got quiet, stable systems even when my room is at temps of 85F.
Oh btw, I've had a few 486 CPU's, and none of them had a heatsink (one of them was 66 MHz).
I've got a Pentium II 266 which only has a heatsink on it (though I've got good case fans). I can take that thing out to the garage and run it in extreme heat during the summer, and it runs fine.
I agree, though, that CPU manuafactures should focus a little more on making low-power desktop processors. There is Via with its C3's (you can run with only a heatsink), but supposedly those don't perform well at all. Maybe the market for low-power desktop processors just isn't there with everyone looking at MHz ratings. Though when it comes to portable devices low-power is very important.
If you want to relax then stop drinking caffeine and sugary drinks. You'll sleep better at night and thus will feel better at work, no need to take caffeine to wake you up due to lack of sleep the night before.
Very true. I used to drink coffee and soda, now I have completely quit. I have plenty of energy, I am active all day long, and I have no problems getting 7-9 hours of sleep at night. I don't find myself nodding off in the middle of the day anymore, either.
As for meditation, I have tried it on and off, and find the results to be very subtle. I'm trying to get back into it again, meditating in the morning before going to work, and in the evening at some point. A book I recommend is "Journey of Awakening" by Ram Dass. The way he presents his ideas makes it very accessible to most of us. Even if you don't end up doing any meditation, the first chapter of the book gives great insight into life in general.
Get over it. Go find some cheapass case. Almost all of them have nice rolled edges these days. SAve the money for more RAM, a good power supply, better motherboard, etc. It's a case.
Depends on what you consider a cheap case. I'm assuming you're talking $30-50, in which case I would disagree. I usually spend around $80-120 for a case. The last three cases I've bought were all Antec (SX830, SX635, SX1040). All three cases use basically the same design with a few differences here and there. The side doors swing open easilly. The mounting mechanism for the 5.25" drives allows for sliding them out easilly with a screwdriver. The 3.5" drive bay can be removed with a screwdriver. The power supplies are good quality. Plenty of space in the bigger cases, and fans can be swapped in and out without tools. Very easy to work on, though no mobo tray. Since all 3 cases are similar, swapping parts in and out between the three is easy.
Do you really need that many fans?
Cooling is important, yes. One advantage of having a lot of fans, is you can use many quiet fans, and have a lot of airflow with less noise.
Does it matter how easy it is to swap a motherboard?
None of my cases have a motherboard tray. I've swapped motherboards a few times, and it is a pain, and I always wished that I had a motherboard tray.
Again, if you spend some money on motherboard, far less often than with your gee-whiz case.
Most of my cases cost about the same as the motherboard I put in them. I think this a very important place to spend money, especially if you swap parts around a lot and do a lot of upgrades. You don't have to spend $300 on one, but don't totally cheap out either. Same goes for fans and heatsink; you're going to have to listen to the noise they produce, so buy accordingly. Most of these components can be reused and don't become obsolete as easilly as the actual PC components.
Pretty good shock resistence
I'm considering buying an ibook or something similar at some point. I plan to use it for doing recordings for my band. However, I've had problems with a hard drive crashing due to the vibration (mainly from the drums), so I keep the PC in a seperate room when recording. I'm wondering if laptops will be able to handle this kind of vibration any better than PC's?
I'm also considering using a diskless workstation to do recordings (no harddrive to damage), but of course that is not as portable and would only work for my home setup.
At my college, the computer science degree was not that much different than the computer engineering degree, and the computer engineering (CEN) degree was not that much different than the electrical engineering degree.
All three of those degrees had the same core course requirements which involved a good amount of hardware and software. All three degrees required students to take Circuits 1 and 2, Electronics, Digital Logic, Digital Design, and Microprocessors. CEN and CS both had to take Computer Architecture.
I was a CEN, which I like to describe as a mix of CS and EE. I think students came out very well-rounded and could in many cases work in jobs that required any of the three degrees, regardless of which of the three degrees they got.
Well one common occurance is proxy servers setup to be identified as IE6. Though for most users this isn't really an issue.
Personally, I don't see the point in making the browser lie, and I will only identify my browser as what is (be it Phoenix, Mozilla, Opera, or Konquerer and running on Linux or *BSD). If the page doesn't render right, it's the web site's fault, the user shouldn't have to compensate for this. Though I really don't have any problems with the browsers I use on Linux. Since the release of Mozilla 1.0, things have changed, web sites are no longer IE dependant.
Because you can't *do* anything with NT other than look at it and say, "boy, that sure is an operating system."
Exactly. You want to study the file system or memory manager of an operating system? With an open source OS, just look at the source code. Certainly can't do that with NT. The point of an operating systems class is to learn the internal workings and design of operating systems (not how to use them), and Windows NT simply doesn't allow for this.
In the operating systems class I took, we studied and made modifications to the source code of Minix. Adding features to the OS gave quite a bit of insight as to how things actually work. You'll never come close to that with Windows or any other closed source OS, no matter how much you read about it.
A little anecdote:
Microsoft donated a lab full of computers (with Windows NT installed) to my university for an operating systems class. They erased off NT from all those computers and replaced it with FreeBSD. Microsoft wanted the computers back, but it was too late. What, did they think they were going to teach an operating systems class using Windows NT??
Actually, I completely agree with you and I didn't use to distinguish between UNIX and Linux. But in the interest of avoiding confusion and to prevent people from having something to nitpick over, I usually say "Linux/UNIX" and occasionally "*NIX." I've even had people tell me that FreeBSD isn't UNIX and is a "UNIX-like" operating system. It would be much easier if I could just use the word "UNIX" to include it all, and have everyone understand what I'm saying. But yeah, its all really silly.
That is so witty. I never get tired of seeing someone write *nix. It never ceases to amuse me. I just love it ever so much. Please continue doing this. Thank you.
I've always used *NIX to mean every OS that is UNIX related (as in * is a wildcard). Since Linux is not UNIX, but is UNIX-like, a lot of people will flame you for implying Linux is UNIX. So *NIX includes Linux. It includes *BSD (notice the wildcard) and OS X. It might even include Minix if you wanted it to. IIRC, UN*X was used to avoid the trademark issue. However, *NIX just means UNIX-like, and may or may not have anything to do with the trademark issue.
Believe me, trying to use a 256MB PC for real work is painful.
Hmm.. Well, I'm running here with 256MB (on a P3-650 running Win2k) and doing fine. For developing software, this is good enough. Granted I don't have a local installation of Oracle running or anything. I wouldn't mind the extra RAM, but this is quite sufficient and isn't painful at all. There are plenty of places (many of our clients) that are still doing development on much slower machines with less memory, that it makes my 256MB seem like a luxury.
My PCs at home all have 512MB PC2100 (and are much faster in general), but I don't really feel the difference coming to work. I guess it just depends on what you're using your machine for.
Though yeah, I agree, PC133 is so cheap, and DDR was cheap for a while, that 512MB isn't that costly and it should be standard. I need to get these guys to upgrade my machine, especially since it uses PC133.
I really like what Opera did with the Forward button. Do a Google search, and you can use the Forward button (or the equivalent keyboard keys) to go forwards through the search result. I just tried it on a review site and it worked on one of the reviews! It appears that Opera will allow you to use forwards on any page with a "Next" link.
I've been waiting for this feature for a long time, to the point that I've thought of writing it myself. As a simple solution, I thought about making a macro that used Mozilla's type-ahead find to click on Next. I got tired of scrolling down to the end of the page and finding and clicking the Next button over and over again.
Well, now Opera has this much needed feature, and hopefully the other browsers will copy it from them.
Back button improvement? Nah, forward button is what needs the improvement...
I like to bring up this quote in regards to using money for philantrophy:
"I am absolutely convinced that no wealth in the world can help humanity foreward, even in the hands of the most devoted worker in this cause. The example of great and pure personages is the only thing that can lead us to find ideas and noble deeds. Money only appeals to selfishness and always irresistibly tempts its owner to abuse it. Can anyone imagine Moses, Jesus or Gandhi with the moneybags of Carnegie?"
--Albert Einstein
I also use a Natural Pro at work under Win2k SP3. When I press Web/Home it launches my default web browser which is Phoenix at the moment. Rather than change the settings of the buttons in Intellitype Pro, you should just be able to change your default web browser and it'll launch that.
Can't help you on the Media button thing. Mine is launching the CD player at the moment, maybe because I have an audio CD in the drive. I don't really use the buttons much, but my settings don't change. I've got the prev track and next track buttons set to switch between tasks. As for ten layers of start menu, I only have to go through one layer, as the shortcut is installed at the root of the programs menu, but you can move that anywhere you want. Try installing the latest Intellitype Pro.
I am relatively inexperienced programmer who finished college a few years ago (though have been writing code for the last 15 years). Anyways, I'm finding out exactly what you are talking about regarding specs. Many of the "bugs" we fix are not programming errors, but errors in the specs that the customer gave us--and very often things that we warned them about but they did nothing about until production. I always have a ridiculously large number of questions on what may appear to be minor details. At first I thought I was nitpicking, but this is really necessary to get things right.
I hear you.. I've been using UNIX/Linux since 1994. For my desktop, I've switched back and forth between Windows and Linux. For now, I've settled on Debian unstable for the desktop. I still use Win2k for those tasks that I haven't figured out how to do in Linux yet, or are simply better under Windows. Instead of dual-booting, I have two PCs. Though I find myself shutting down my Win2k box and only powering it up when I need it.
Every time I stop using Linux, when I come back to it I have a lot of re-learning to do. But its a comfortable environment once you get familiar with it, even though it makes you work hard to get anything done. Though I feel like I should be taking notes when using it, there's so many details that simply can't be commited to memory.
I do agree about it being difficult finding help. There are a lot of cases where man pages don't do it, and a Google search doesn't find you anything. I guess you just gotta know where to ask. I can't say I know where this is, especially for quick answers. I'd suggest going to forums that are designed to provide help, rather than general Linux discussion. Maybe Linux user groups. I've been meaning to check out the local LUG in my town.
I've got an AIW Radeon 7500. The card is nice, but I'm catching hell with the Win2k drivers. Video capture doesn't work, its a known issue (actually, I almost got it working now, gotta test it out). The newest drivers cause frequent blue screens/freezes/reboots, I have to use the older drivers.
I'm thinking of using my old AIW 128 in my Linux machine alongside a Geforce2. I plan to do dual monitors, and hopefully in Linux I can do this and use the TV tuner (this wasn't possible in Win2k, TV wouldn't work in multi-monitor mode).
Hmmm.. Not so sure a Dell/Gateway will be any better. You'll probably just end up with a CPU that is running a bit hot (though probably stable) if you get a Dell/Gateway. Here are some things you can do:
Get a large enough case. At least enough for two fans in the back (though one 92mm wouldn't be bad either). I got an Antec SX830 ($80) which allows 3 80mm fans in the front and 2 in the back (and their newer cases have a fan on the side next to your PCI cards). I didn't use the 300 watt PSU, and instead got a 350W PSU (Enermax Whisper). If your fans are slowing down from CPU draw sounds like you need a more powerful PSU (I've never heard of this happening so I dunno).
Never plug your fans into the motherboard headers, power them directly from the PSU. Especially the CPU fan. Motherboard headers have the tendency to go bad, especially when your fan is drawing a good amount of current.
Get a CPU heatsink that uses a 80mm fan. I've used a Swiftech MCX462 which is expensive but good. My choice these days would be a Thermalright SLK-800 or SK7. Proper application of silver thermal compound is a must, lookup how to do this before you do so (Arctic Silver's website has a good description).
Buy all low power fans. I use a bunch of 80mm Panaflo's (Low Output, 24cfm, 21dBA). If you already have a bunch of loud fans, there is a way to use 5 or 7 volts instead of 12V to power the fans, make them run slower and quieter.
Try to eliminate any blockages in air flow such as IDE cables in the way, PCI cards that could be placed lower, etc. You can place your drives higher so that the heat from them doesn't get blown over your CPU, though that can cause you to hear the drives more, so its a bit of a trade-off.
If your CPU's multiplier is unlocked and you don't care about speed, you can underclock it if necessary. If its not unlocked, you can underclock the FSB, but that may be too much of a performance hit.
Put the PC on the floor, rather on the desk. You'll hear it more if its at ear-level. Also, try to put it in a place where some of the sound gets blocked.
If you do choose to go the watercooling route (not a bad idea), there are some easy ways of doing this. Look at Swiftech's Q-Power which is a water-cooled case that has everything setup for you and cost only a little more than their kit mentioned in this article. Koolance has some good products too.
Finally, take a look at www.overclockers.com, which is a great site even for non-overclockers. It is a good general computer hardware site as well as a great source for information on cooling. A lot of the information I just provided can be found in detail here.
I've done most of the things I mentioned above. I can still hear my PC, but it is very quiet and runs cool and stable (I got an Athlon T-Bird 1.4GHz which is known to run hot). I never turn it off, I leave it on even when I go to sleep.
Maybe for computer/electrical engineering, but not for more traditional engineering (such as civil). My dad is a civil engineer, and he is at the height of his career at age 55. This is because he's become an expert at what he does, there is a shortage of civil engineers, and civil engineer does not really change much.
I'm a comp eng in my mid 20's. I recognize the fact that I might not be able to do this forever and am planning for it. And I'm even lucky to have a job. But hey, experience is a plus. I think the same principle holds, become an expert and you are worth more. But its harder in this field as its constantly changing. Ah well.
My cousins in India are telling me to move there for work. I can't imagine it, that would be moving backwards (I'm a total American). As long as I have a job I can laugh at the thought.
One day, I went into work and tried to login and it told me my account was disabled. Turns out my account had been configured incorrectly or something. Still, its a bit scary when you've only been working for 3 months and all of a sudden your account is disabled.
I haven't tried this yet, but I've heard the Knoppix is capable of installing Debian and autoconfigures most things. A painless Debian installation from what I've read. It does set your default Language to German, but that is pretty easy to fix.
Personally, I used LordSutch.com ISOLINUX mini-ISO image and had no problems.