Does anyone know what they're using for the system infrastructure (Server farms, EBPP suite, Database engine)?
As for EBPP itself, it is a HUGE cost savings for the biller, as they send their billing database to the EBPP provider or to their own EBPP system, and then all the bills are available online, at which point the customers can pay directly online via credit card or bank drafts.
Some makers of EBPP software suites include Novazen, Netscape, who have direct database integration, and eDocs and BlueGill, whose software essentially amounts to a print-stream parser.
My new ISP uses Solaris and Linux internally, so it's not hard to find a geek there who can help me out. This is an advantage of dealing with a small ISP. I signed up with them for my sDSL Service, and they were kind enough to hook me up with dialup while my DSL was delayed at the switch. This was good, because my former ISP (one of those 3 NT boxes and a terminal server in a rack sorts of ISPs) couldn't seem to make reverse DNS function consistently... and my 6 month contract was up.
My new ISP is even going so far as to set up the static address block that I requested, on my dialup, so I can just hop over to the DSL when it becomes available. And they use Linux.
That's pretty accurate... My geek wife and I have been known to geek out hard, and have fights ocer who gets to admin the server.
There are some wonderful advantages to having (and being) a pet geek. The downside? Who gets the toys? (hence the second techie income to pay for them) We had to purchase TWO PalmPilots when we got them. And so on.
For those of you not paying attention to the Sun briefing, and the technical literature on how this works, it's not a JavaStation, it's not an X-terminal, and it's not a device for the home. So get the actual information and quit comparing it to one.
There are very distinct advantages to a system such as SunRay, and the "Hot Desk" portion is a key part of it.
The fact that all sessions live on a central system is the neat part. you can have a power outage knock out the entire building. The NOC, since it is on backup power, will stay alive. When power returns, so do the sessions. Users are happy. IT tech gets to go home at a sane hour, drink $BEVERAGE, and enjoy the company of their $SO. Reduced stress among your geeks is a good thing.
Smart card capability. You don't know how many times I've wished I could have my desktop available when elsewhere in the building. (without smartcards, you'd have to lug the actual terminal about, since the auth key is MAC-based) This is what distinguishes the SunRay from a dumb term with good graphics.
NOTHING FOR THE USER TO BREAK. Short of driving a semi over it or launching it off the top of the building (or otherwise physically abusing it), there's not a whole lot that can go wrong at the user end. Anyone in IT support can appreciate this. The less I have to see users who break their computers, the happier I get, and the earlier I get to go home. A relaxed and rested Manuka is a happy Manuka, much less inclined to strangle his cow-orkers.
Many users have gotten used to their PC's, and can't quite wrap their minds around this concept of not being able to break their machine. Increased productivity alone will pay for these units, and reduced support costs are money in the bank, not to mention the reduced drain on electricity and cooling resources.
Our particular environment has our developers using $4000 PC's and expensive X server software for NT to access a Unix box, to write code. This makes no sense. The beancounters and IT people agree. Especially since upgrading to a faster system only involves putting a bigger machine in the chilly room downstairs, not running all over the place migrating user data for weeks, whilst listening to the users complain all day long.
I called our Sun reseller first thing this morning to see about getting some eval units.
Additional bonus: it looks cool, and you can now get USB Sun keyboards. My PC at home can look for a Type 6 hanging off of it RSN.
Educating people - paying attention to schools and dumping way more money into them than we do now - is the correct and only solution. Education is definitely the answer, but not necessarily by throwing more money at at. There's a reason the democrats keep shooting down education plans that would actually work... If the voting public were more educated, a lot of the democratic vote would evaporate in favor of groups and parties who actually support personal freedoms. Anyone in government who professes to support "less government" is lying through their teeth.
If you want to effect change, get out and take your voice to the polling booth. We'll have that opportunity once again here in the US this coming November in many cases, and next November for everyone.
On a side note, once again, what makes it OK to verbally abuse someone the way these idiots do, online, when if you did it in person, you'd probably get clocked? Not a real good way to get your point across.
For all you ignorant americans out there, Canada has more tech jobs per capita than the US does... And that's DESPITE the brain drain to the south side of the border.
Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft has published a fix for the problem.
Here's Sun's equally predictable response
How does FW-1 and VPN-1 confine you to NT? Our office has been running FW-1 on a SparcStation 5 for quite some time...
The title makes it sound as if Gateway is selling off a subsidiary, when in fact they are going to be a RESELLER of Cobalt's products. Come on guys.
You're reading WAY too much into the title...
Gateway - Cow computer company
To Sell - is going to sell
Cobalt Systems - Systems made by Cobalt Networks
How fscking complicated is that?
Mmmm, glowing green lights...
If Cobalt was really cool, they'd use blue LEDs instead.
Does anyone know what they're using for the system infrastructure (Server farms, EBPP suite, Database engine)?
As for EBPP itself, it is a HUGE cost savings for the biller, as they send their billing database to the EBPP provider or to their own EBPP system, and then all the bills are available online, at which point the customers can pay directly online via credit card or bank drafts.
Some makers of EBPP software suites include Novazen, Netscape, who have direct database integration, and eDocs and BlueGill, whose software essentially amounts to a print-stream parser.
My new ISP uses Solaris and Linux internally, so it's not hard to find a geek there who can help me out. This is an advantage of dealing with a small ISP. I signed up with them for my sDSL Service, and they were kind enough to hook me up with dialup while my DSL was delayed at the switch. This was good, because my former ISP (one of those 3 NT boxes and a terminal server in a rack sorts of ISPs) couldn't seem to make reverse DNS function consistently... and my 6 month contract was up.
My new ISP is even going so far as to set up the static address block that I requested, on my dialup, so I can just hop over to the DSL when it becomes available. And they use Linux.
Java...Ick! Yuck! Ptui! Don't even get me started on Java-Script.
... Which has absolutely nothing to do with Java.
Um, ITYM "pitfalls". Pratfalls are comic elements.
My upgrade path from Palm Pro involves a HandSpring unit.
That's pretty accurate... My geek wife and I have been known to geek out hard, and have fights ocer who gets to admin the server.
There are some wonderful advantages to having (and being) a pet geek. The downside? Who gets the toys? (hence the second techie income to pay for them) We had to purchase TWO PalmPilots when we got them. And so on.
Wrong. you still need to admin the PC.
It's called a lease. I expect that includes the server.
It *does* work with terminal server. Just put the metaframe software on the SunRay server. Just like it says in the briefings and the docs.
There are very distinct advantages to a system such as SunRay, and the "Hot Desk" portion is a key part of it.
Many users have gotten used to their PC's, and can't quite wrap their minds around this concept of not being able to break their machine. Increased productivity alone will pay for these units, and reduced support costs are money in the bank, not to mention the reduced drain on electricity and cooling resources.
Our particular environment has our developers using $4000 PC's and expensive X server software for NT to access a Unix box, to write code. This makes no sense. The beancounters and IT people agree. Especially since upgrading to a faster system only involves putting a bigger machine in the chilly room downstairs, not running all over the place migrating user data for weeks, whilst listening to the users complain all day long.
I called our Sun reseller first thing this morning to see about getting some eval units.
Additional bonus: it looks cool, and you can now get USB Sun keyboards. My PC at home can look for a Type 6 hanging off of it RSN.
These devices are specifically NOT designed to operate over high-latency communications circuits.
Much, much finer resolution aerial imagery has been available for decades. What's the big deal about a 1m satellite?
Educating people - paying attention to schools and dumping way more money into them than we do now - is the correct and only solution. Education is definitely the answer, but not necessarily by throwing more money at at. There's a reason the democrats keep shooting down education plans that would actually work... If the voting public were more educated, a lot of the democratic vote would evaporate in favor of groups and parties who actually support personal freedoms. Anyone in government who professes to support "less government" is lying through their teeth.
If you want to effect change, get out and take your voice to the polling booth. We'll have that opportunity once again here in the US this coming November in many cases, and next November for everyone.
That was at CMU, not MIT. More here.
So how many people posted to their favourite nerd news site, claiming FIRST PING !!!!!!!!!!!?
E-mail wasn't invented until almost a decade later.
On a side note, once again, what makes it OK to verbally abuse someone the way these idiots do, online, when if you did it in person, you'd probably get clocked? Not a real good way to get your point across.
For all you ignorant americans out there, Canada has more tech jobs per capita than the US does... And that's DESPITE the brain drain to the south side of the border.
I always thought that was a high-tech weather barrier put up by the Ministry of the Environment to keep all that hot weather south of the border.