They actually have taken a page from Unix' book and added a lot of command-line tools that can do just about anything you'd need to. You can tie it all together with VBScript run with Windows Scripting Host.
Except, of course, that you are still stuck with a system which is outside of your control. If I tell my Linux/UNIX machine to reboot, and come back in 5 minutes, it will be done (usually), or mighty damned closed to it. I don't even have to watch it. Once I hit enter on the shutdown command (or init), it will all happen as if by magic.
Not so with Windows. On my workstation here at work, I hit reboot, and watch until it gets to the BIOS power-up screen. Then I can walk away. Same is true for every other windows machine. It will decide that the command prompt I've got running is displaying the decryption sequence for al-Qaeda's latest mastermind plan, and therefore it simply cannot reboot right now, no matter that I told it to. Not until I take the initiative and close it can it do the reboot. And that's just one example.
It will reboot when it decides it is time to reboot, and I can't stop it, but when I want it to reboot, well, that's the one time it won't do it. And let's not even get into tasks that won't die when I click End Task Now.
You can tell me all you want about how scriptable Windows is, but here's one that should help demonstrate how scriptable it isn't: How do I script the addition of a new vpn connection under Windows 2000, and make the same script work in Windows XP? Good luck with the answer, I'm still working on it after about two weeks. Of course, under any variety of UNIX, I'd have finished it in all of an hour or so (with a lunch break and a coffee break in the middle, and a bathroom trip too)./P.
Re:Firefox + Thunderbird = Mozilla?
on
Mozilla 1.7 Released
·
· Score: 5, Informative
Firefox = Browser
Thunderbird = E-Mail & News
Mozilla = Browser, Email, News, Calendar, Composer, Palm Sync, Address Book, and even the kitchen sink
Personally, I go with Mozilla, but then again, I like having all that extra functionality in one place.
Dual-mode editors à la vi went out with the Ark. Imagine if you had to press i in Word before you could type text, and had to press Esc before you could do anything else.
I don't imagine it, I do it. Oftentimes with annoying consequences. I much prefer the vi style of editing. I feel like I go a hundred times faster than any other mode.
Way to ignore the whole point of the example. Bank made an addition error. GGP's bank made an addition error, and refunded diddly squat when they screwed up. Possible addition errors resulting in similar outcomes: Applying the same check twice, turning $700 rent check into $750 rent check, applying an NSF fee to his account which was meant for somebody else's account, etc. A more basic one might be holding a deposit for two days for some reason (but not informing the customer), and still applying checks which were written based on that deposit (I've had that happen to me, too). Maybe you are getting the point now?
I've got to defend him in this case. He said an addition mistake occurred and was made by the bank. Now, if he does his part, reconciles his account monthly, etc, then he has no reason to believe that things failed to occur as he expected them to. For instance, consider this:
June 1, he has a balance of $1,200 ready to pay his bills. In fact, he even confirms with the bank that he has this much money, and no outstanding checks/debits to his account. He does so ($700 rent, $150 phone, $50 cable, $75 electric, and $200 groceries to get the whole month's staples). That means he's spent $1,175. Now, the bank does an addition error. Let's say the first check to get to the bank is the cable bill, and their error is to add a 0 at the end of the check, meaning he just paid for $500 worth of cable. Second, in comes the rent, at $700. There's $1,200 out of his account. He has made zero errors here, but he will now be hit with insufficient funds charges for the groceries, and for the electric. And the elctric company and grocery store will also add their own charges on top of it. Some companies will run checks through repeatedly until they clear, incurring further insufficient funds charges from the bank and from the company. Furthermore, the grocery store is likely to stop taking his checks because of this.
No errors on his part, the bank screwed up, but he gets hit with all the penalties. He did what he was supposed to do, what more could he do?
It's funny that you should mention Girder. I'm a programmer. I've contributed to MythTV and to HylaFAX. I grok C, perl, and PHP. I can read/write C++ Java. I can read a few others without breaking too much of a sweat. I'm working on my own code, and do web dev and net admin at work. I'm no slouch when it comes to computing.
However, Girder was what pushed me over the edge and off of Windows for good. I have a remote control and an irMan. I wanted the power button on the remote to act as a toggle (ie: if monitor is off, turn it on, and vice versa). After fighting with it for over a month, I gave up. I switched to Linux for all my home stuff, and haven't looked back. And the only thing I miss is those awesome games that Windows has. I guess I should be thanking the folks who wrote Girder. Oh, and that was with whatever version of Girder was out in Dec, 2002.
Why does all of society have to care about what we care about?
Why? Maybe so that I don't have to sit here at 8:30 at night, working my ass off, so that I can be bitched at tomorrow when I'm 20 minutes late. Maybe so that I can be allowed to do some work when everybody else is, instead of being somewhere between a lawyer and a garbageman. So that maybe, just maybe, I can spend a relaxing weekend with my girlfriend doing things together with her, instead of worrying about something else to do with work.
Sorry, sitting here at 8:30, after being bitched at for being 20 minutes late (when everybody KNEW I was going to be staying very late today), I'm feeling kinda bitter, and this struck a nerve with me.
Ya know, I used to think the same way, until I started working where I do now. Here, we download alarm panels. Which is to say that we dial in, and send in the programming which makes the alarm panel actually know what zones to monitor, etc. It took me a while before I finally wrapped my brain around the fundamental issue: From whose perspective is the download being done? From mine, it's an upload. From the technician on the scene, it's a download. And what is the technician asking for? A download. Hence, why we use this (seemingly backwards) definition that we do.
Well, now, doesn't that depend on which branch of the Mormon church you happen to follow? As memory serves, there at least 3 or 4 branches, and only one of them has actually condemned polygamy (the more famous, known as the Church of Latter Day Saints being the one that has). In fact, as I recall, the Orthodox branch believes that polygamy is moral (and practices it), as does the Reformed branch. Or am I completely misremembering the various branches?
And, as a side note, isn't it most interesting how the Prophet at the time that the people Utah of desired Statehood received a message from God that polygamy was now against His will, and that particular epiphany came shortly after the United States Congress told the Mormons that if they continued polygamy, they would be denied statehood? I know, silly me, but I found it interesting, anyway.
Ummm, actually, that is incorrect. A perfect 128-bit symmetric cipher can not be cracked in the expected lifetime of the universe with every single atom in the universe helping you do so simultaneously. A properly implemented/used OTP is also unbreakable. Thank you for playing, please try again.
We've just started using it, and it is an absolute godsend. Faster, more reliable faxing for how we use it.
Minor issues, for us, is that the receiving end must be a fairly new fax machine for the modems we're using (and how we're using them, as Class 2.0 fax modems). Received faxes aren't happening for us yet, but that's because we want to have four fax modems working simultaneously before we turn that on, but the received faxes are really really nice. Auto-email of the received faxes, drop them into a shared IMAP folder... Beautiful setup. HylaFAX is very recommended, at least by me.
They can't get through their heads that developers generally know more about the systems they develop on than them.
He said to the SA who has had to explain how the new operator works in C++ to a C++ developer, and has had to explain how to set an environment variable in Windows NT to another C++ developer. Would you like me to continue?
And I can guarantee that I'd fire you within minutes of finding out about it. We're about to install these at work, and we have some very good reasons for doing so.
During the day we get emergency calls. Now, we don't have to ask the installers where they are, we can simply call the right one and get him to the emergency service call.
We have at least one installer that we know is stealing from us, but due to lack of tracking in every aspect of the business, can't prove it. This will help us do just that.
We have chronic issues with our installers leaving the job without collecting the money they've been told to collect. Since this will tell us when they start the car (in nearly realtime) we can go over things with them as they're pulling out of the driveway, and re-instruct them to get the damned money.
We have several installers who falsify their timesheets, but we are (again) unable to prove it. They are all supposed to be at the job sites from 7AM to 3:30PM, and they tend to arrive late and leave early. This will let us catch the ones doing this (and I don't mean arrive a 7:05, leave at 3:25, I mean arrive at 8AM, and leave at 2:45).
So, if you disabled it and were working for me, with all of those issues, I'd fire you over the phone as soon as I caught you. And I would catch you quickly, since I'd know where you're supposed to be, and that bus/taxi/whatever wouldn't be anywhere's near there.
My focus was on DVDs, and that's my failing. The same scenario plays out for any of a hundred other items anymore. The point of my little article was to show why the DMCA is wrong, not to focus on DVDs and issues with them (as I said, though, brain is shutting down). Re-read with that thought in mind, and tell me how to get the DMCA repealed. And tell me why I'm wrong, and that the DMCA is a good law. Oh, I'll start working on getting the DMCA repealed right away (and yes, I do tell people, and yes, I do send letters. None of that has done much yet).
Maybe I shouldn't reply to this, but it sounds like a sincere statement, so...
Here's some food for thought (and I admit that this may be a philosophically weak argument, but I've yet to find anybody to help debate this and make it better), and in particular, this is a basis for some sort of morality (yes, an attempt at a universal right and wrong, good and evil, etc).
When a person is born into this world, that person has a fixed amount of time until death. That person is then able to trade their time (eventually) for stuff which is either desired or needed, such as food, shelter, entertainment, etc. In our society, we tend to use money to represent the value of said time (quite literally, time is money). Yes, there is much more to this, and I need to write it all down someday, but this summary will do for this discussion.
Now, where does this idea tie in with the discussion? Well, anything which takes time from me without giving me back something that I value equally could be considered to be wrong or evil. For instance, if somebody steals $20 from me, then I have lost the time it took me to earn that $20, and it cannot be recovered. Hence, stealing is wrong in this system.
Now, put it in terms of the DMCA and the limitations which are placed on those subject to its rule. I buy a DVD with the expectation that I will be able to enjoy the contents on that DVD. I have equipment which is sufficient to allow me to do so (to wit: A computer equipped with a DVD-ROM drive), and so this would seem to be a reasonable expectation. I bring it home, pop it in, and find out that, for no better reason than I choose to use Linux (instead of Windows), I am unable to play the contents of this media.
Now, nobody will give me a refund on this opened DVD. The best I can do is exchange it for... the same DVD. Which I can't use. However, fortunately for me, other people have found themselves in the same boat. And they have the smarts to be able to figure out how to make this work. Unfortunately, the DMCA makes it illegal for them to tell me this information.
Under the DMCA, it is very possible for me to find myself out the money for a DVD which I might actually enjoy. Somebody has stolen some time from me, and I have no recourse. Now, before you tell me to use Windows, keep in mind that I must buy Windows, somehow, some way. Which means that I am out even more time. Or a stand-alone DVD player, which has the same issue.
The DMCA steals from me the ability to help others make use of the items which they have rightfully purchased with their time.
Now, for the counter-argument: The DMCA is meant to stop mass copyright infringement as has been enabled by the internet. I'll simply point out that mass infringers are already convictable under other laws. The DMCA gives no other benefits to help prevent actual infringment. None. It only allows producers of content to steal from me (and yes, they are stealing my time, by virtue of requiring potentially pricy extras that I may not already have to enjoy what they produce).
Gah, it's getting late here, and my brain is shutting down as I type this (I think the first part is more coherent than the second part). Thoughts from you?
Actually, I did not want to get a reply back asking me how great such a service might be someday for my children. As for being a eunuch, I suppose that's true, but it's by choice. I don't even want the risk of making babies. Don't like 'em, and wish they'd be left at home all the time.
Thank you! Here's a copy of the email I just sent to her:
----- Hello. My name is Michael Pedersen, and I am a systems administrator by profession, technical support for my friends and family, and programmer for my own personal needs.
I am also an ex-Belkin customer. Prior to today, I felt confident in being able to recommend Belkin to anybody who might have a need for any of the products which Belkin sells. In fact, I have bought a fair number of the products myself for my own usage.
However, I have just now found out about the Belkin Router with Parental Controls. This will redirect my browser immediately to the Belkin website, and if I choose not to click a button on it, redirect my browser every 8 hours until I -=DO=- click a button.
This is unacceptable to me. I already have enough issues with spam in my emailbox, and these sorts of tactics would be used by spammers (and would-be spammers) to collect email addresses and any other information they can get. As such, my immediate reaction would be to close the window, and hope that I wasn't about to be spammed.
Now, Belkin has resorted to using their tactics. I don't need more advertising of products for which I have no use (I have no children, no desire to be a father, and no chance (medically speaking) of becoming one). But Belkin sees fit to interrupt my time to push an ad in my face.
I would say that I'm sorry, but I'm not. I'm livid. I have bought the last Belkin product I will ever buy. And I will tell everybody I know to refuse them as well.
Sorry, but I have to throw my two cents in here. I've been helping my Dad work out a web site for the union he's in (I love him to death, but damn... how hard is it to make a freaking tag?), and there was one major issue before I did some work.
Hey, would you mind dropping me an email? Right now, I need something like Nvu, and would be willing to donate some time to make it happen (if this project can accept community involvement, you've got some right here). My email is m dot pedersen at icelus dot org.
Robert Half, my experience was so-so, and not RHI's fault. The client never gave me the training I needed (and they knew I needed before hiring me), so I lost the job after about 2 months. No hard feelings there.
TekSystems, AeroTek, and the Maxim Group (same parent company), though, almost drove me out of the IT field. I was having a hard time getting an IT job of anything but helpdesk. I'd put out my resume at the usual spots, listing my skills, and every week or so, I'd get a call from them stating that the fit was almost perfect, but did I have skill X, since they didn't see it on my resume? Of course, I never did. But after a good bout with depression over how obviously no companies wanted to hire me (fed by having a lot of calls like that, followed by one more from them which said they were going to forward my resume on to the client and then a callback to ask for skill X again which I again didn't have and a change of heart by the jerkoff at AeroTek), and nearly leaving the field that day, I told them to never ever call me again. I'm just grateful that they have honored that request.
ACK! Oh god not them! I had so many bad experiences with them that I almost left the fricking field entirely. After I realized that the problem was them, and not me, I told them to never call me again for any reason. Thank god they've done so.
Slashdot Mirror
They actually have taken a page from Unix' book and added a lot of command-line tools that can do just about anything you'd need to. You can tie it all together with VBScript run with Windows Scripting Host.
Except, of course, that you are still stuck with a system which is outside of your control. If I tell my Linux/UNIX machine to reboot, and come back in 5 minutes, it will be done (usually), or mighty damned closed to it. I don't even have to watch it. Once I hit enter on the shutdown command (or init), it will all happen as if by magic.
Not so with Windows. On my workstation here at work, I hit reboot, and watch until it gets to the BIOS power-up screen. Then I can walk away. Same is true for every other windows machine. It will decide that the command prompt I've got running is displaying the decryption sequence for al-Qaeda's latest mastermind plan, and therefore it simply cannot reboot right now, no matter that I told it to. Not until I take the initiative and close it can it do the reboot. And that's just one example.
It will reboot when it decides it is time to reboot, and I can't stop it, but when I want it to reboot, well, that's the one time it won't do it. And let's not even get into tasks that won't die when I click End Task Now.
You can tell me all you want about how scriptable Windows is, but here's one that should help demonstrate how scriptable it isn't: How do I script the addition of a new vpn connection under Windows 2000, and make the same script work in Windows XP? Good luck with the answer, I'm still working on it after about two weeks. Of course, under any variety of UNIX, I'd have finished it in all of an hour or so (with a lunch break and a coffee break in the middle, and a bathroom trip too)./P.
Personally, I go with Mozilla, but then again, I like having all that extra functionality in one place.
Nah, it's more like copy con versus Windows 95 :)
I don't imagine it, I do it. Oftentimes with annoying consequences. I much prefer the vi style of editing. I feel like I go a hundred times faster than any other mode.
Way to ignore the whole point of the example. Bank made an addition error. GGP's bank made an addition error, and refunded diddly squat when they screwed up. Possible addition errors resulting in similar outcomes: Applying the same check twice, turning $700 rent check into $750 rent check, applying an NSF fee to his account which was meant for somebody else's account, etc. A more basic one might be holding a deposit for two days for some reason (but not informing the customer), and still applying checks which were written based on that deposit (I've had that happen to me, too). Maybe you are getting the point now?
I've got to defend him in this case. He said an addition mistake occurred and was made by the bank. Now, if he does his part, reconciles his account monthly, etc, then he has no reason to believe that things failed to occur as he expected them to. For instance, consider this:
June 1, he has a balance of $1,200 ready to pay his bills. In fact, he even confirms with the bank that he has this much money, and no outstanding checks/debits to his account. He does so ($700 rent, $150 phone, $50 cable, $75 electric, and $200 groceries to get the whole month's staples). That means he's spent $1,175. Now, the bank does an addition error. Let's say the first check to get to the bank is the cable bill, and their error is to add a 0 at the end of the check, meaning he just paid for $500 worth of cable. Second, in comes the rent, at $700. There's $1,200 out of his account. He has made zero errors here, but he will now be hit with insufficient funds charges for the groceries, and for the electric. And the elctric company and grocery store will also add their own charges on top of it. Some companies will run checks through repeatedly until they clear, incurring further insufficient funds charges from the bank and from the company. Furthermore, the grocery store is likely to stop taking his checks because of this.
No errors on his part, the bank screwed up, but he gets hit with all the penalties. He did what he was supposed to do, what more could he do?
However, Girder was what pushed me over the edge and off of Windows for good. I have a remote control and an irMan. I wanted the power button on the remote to act as a toggle (ie: if monitor is off, turn it on, and vice versa). After fighting with it for over a month, I gave up. I switched to Linux for all my home stuff, and haven't looked back. And the only thing I miss is those awesome games that Windows has. I guess I should be thanking the folks who wrote Girder. Oh, and that was with whatever version of Girder was out in Dec, 2002.
"This is the story of the last of the Babylon stations. The year is 2258.
"The name of the place is Babylon5."
"Oh, and GNU Hurd was just released."
Dude, you so rock! I just about spit my drink through my thanks to that. Thank you!
Ummm, no....
Why? Maybe so that I don't have to sit here at 8:30 at night, working my ass off, so that I can be bitched at tomorrow when I'm 20 minutes late. Maybe so that I can be allowed to do some work when everybody else is, instead of being somewhere between a lawyer and a garbageman. So that maybe, just maybe, I can spend a relaxing weekend with my girlfriend doing things together with her, instead of worrying about something else to do with work.
Sorry, sitting here at 8:30, after being bitched at for being 20 minutes late (when everybody KNEW I was going to be staying very late today), I'm feeling kinda bitter, and this struck a nerve with me.
Ya know, I used to think the same way, until I started working where I do now. Here, we download alarm panels. Which is to say that we dial in, and send in the programming which makes the alarm panel actually know what zones to monitor, etc. It took me a while before I finally wrapped my brain around the fundamental issue: From whose perspective is the download being done? From mine, it's an upload. From the technician on the scene, it's a download. And what is the technician asking for? A download. Hence, why we use this (seemingly backwards) definition that we do.
And, as a side note, isn't it most interesting how the Prophet at the time that the people Utah of desired Statehood received a message from God that polygamy was now against His will, and that particular epiphany came shortly after the United States Congress told the Mormons that if they continued polygamy, they would be denied statehood? I know, silly me, but I found it interesting, anyway.
Ummm, actually, that is incorrect. A perfect 128-bit symmetric cipher can not be cracked in the expected lifetime of the universe with every single atom in the universe helping you do so simultaneously. A properly implemented/used OTP is also unbreakable. Thank you for playing, please try again.
Minor issues, for us, is that the receiving end must be a fairly new fax machine for the modems we're using (and how we're using them, as Class 2.0 fax modems). Received faxes aren't happening for us yet, but that's because we want to have four fax modems working simultaneously before we turn that on, but the received faxes are really really nice. Auto-email of the received faxes, drop them into a shared IMAP folder... Beautiful setup. HylaFAX is very recommended, at least by me.
And then, as an added bonus, spamhole could be written to watch for these email addresses. Now we've got a real email address for these bastards...
He said to the SA who has had to explain how the new operator works in C++ to a C++ developer, and has had to explain how to set an environment variable in Windows NT to another C++ developer. Would you like me to continue?
So, if you disabled it and were working for me, with all of those issues, I'd fire you over the phone as soon as I caught you. And I would catch you quickly, since I'd know where you're supposed to be, and that bus/taxi/whatever wouldn't be anywhere's near there.
My focus was on DVDs, and that's my failing. The same scenario plays out for any of a hundred other items anymore. The point of my little article was to show why the DMCA is wrong, not to focus on DVDs and issues with them (as I said, though, brain is shutting down). Re-read with that thought in mind, and tell me how to get the DMCA repealed. And tell me why I'm wrong, and that the DMCA is a good law. Oh, I'll start working on getting the DMCA repealed right away (and yes, I do tell people, and yes, I do send letters. None of that has done much yet).
Maybe I shouldn't reply to this, but it sounds like a sincere statement, so...
... the same DVD. Which I can't use. However, fortunately for me, other people have found themselves in the same boat. And they have the smarts to be able to figure out how to make this work. Unfortunately, the DMCA makes it illegal for them to tell me this information.
Here's some food for thought (and I admit that this may be a philosophically weak argument, but I've yet to find anybody to help debate this and make it better), and in particular, this is a basis for some sort of morality (yes, an attempt at a universal right and wrong, good and evil, etc).
When a person is born into this world, that person has a fixed amount of time until death. That person is then able to trade their time (eventually) for stuff which is either desired or needed, such as food, shelter, entertainment, etc. In our society, we tend to use money to represent the value of said time (quite literally, time is money). Yes, there is much more to this, and I need to write it all down someday, but this summary will do for this discussion.
Now, where does this idea tie in with the discussion? Well, anything which takes time from me without giving me back something that I value equally could be considered to be wrong or evil. For instance, if somebody steals $20 from me, then I have lost the time it took me to earn that $20, and it cannot be recovered. Hence, stealing is wrong in this system.
Now, put it in terms of the DMCA and the limitations which are placed on those subject to its rule. I buy a DVD with the expectation that I will be able to enjoy the contents on that DVD. I have equipment which is sufficient to allow me to do so (to wit: A computer equipped with a DVD-ROM drive), and so this would seem to be a reasonable expectation. I bring it home, pop it in, and find out that, for no better reason than I choose to use Linux (instead of Windows), I am unable to play the contents of this media.
Now, nobody will give me a refund on this opened DVD. The best I can do is exchange it for
Under the DMCA, it is very possible for me to find myself out the money for a DVD which I might actually enjoy. Somebody has stolen some time from me, and I have no recourse. Now, before you tell me to use Windows, keep in mind that I must buy Windows, somehow, some way. Which means that I am out even more time. Or a stand-alone DVD player, which has the same issue.
The DMCA steals from me the ability to help others make use of the items which they have rightfully purchased with their time.
Now, for the counter-argument: The DMCA is meant to stop mass copyright infringement as has been enabled by the internet. I'll simply point out that mass infringers are already convictable under other laws. The DMCA gives no other benefits to help prevent actual infringment. None. It only allows producers of content to steal from me (and yes, they are stealing my time, by virtue of requiring potentially pricy extras that I may not already have to enjoy what they produce).
Gah, it's getting late here, and my brain is shutting down as I type this (I think the first part is more coherent than the second part). Thoughts from you?
Actually, I did not want to get a reply back asking me how great such a service might be someday for my children. As for being a eunuch, I suppose that's true, but it's by choice. I don't even want the risk of making babies. Don't like 'em, and wish they'd be left at home all the time.
Thank you! Here's a copy of the email I just sent to her:
-----
Hello. My name is Michael Pedersen, and I am a systems administrator by profession, technical support for my friends and family, and programmer for my own personal needs.
I am also an ex-Belkin customer. Prior to today, I felt confident in being able to recommend Belkin to anybody who might have a need for any of the products which Belkin sells. In fact, I have bought a fair number of the products myself for my own usage.
However, I have just now found out about the Belkin Router with Parental Controls. This will redirect my browser immediately to the Belkin
website, and if I choose not to click a button on it, redirect my browser every 8 hours until I -=DO=- click a button.
This is unacceptable to me. I already have enough issues with spam in my emailbox, and these sorts of tactics would be used by spammers (and would-be spammers) to collect email addresses and any other information they can get. As such, my immediate reaction would be to close the window, and hope that I wasn't about to be spammed.
Now, Belkin has resorted to using their tactics. I don't need more advertising of products for which I have no use (I have no children, no desire to be a father, and no chance (medically speaking) of becoming one). But Belkin sees fit to interrupt my time to push an ad in my face.
I would say that I'm sorry, but I'm not. I'm livid. I have bought the last Belkin product I will ever buy. And I will tell everybody I know to
refuse them as well.
Previous maintainer had uploaded a copy of the union contract over three separateHTML pages, each of them 1.25 megs (thank you ever so much, MS Word!). I went in, and hand made the HTML page to contain the exact same information, but with a helluva lot less tags. The whole contract was a measly 103K (as opposed to 3.75M).
An extra K or two? Sure, go for it! What happens when it's generating an extra 3.61M of tags? For people on dial-up, that pretty badly sucks, I think.
Hey, would you mind dropping me an email? Right now, I need something like Nvu, and would be willing to donate some time to make it happen (if this project can accept community involvement, you've got some right here). My email is m dot pedersen at icelus dot org.
TekSystems, AeroTek, and the Maxim Group (same parent company), though, almost drove me out of the IT field. I was having a hard time getting an IT job of anything but helpdesk. I'd put out my resume at the usual spots, listing my skills, and every week or so, I'd get a call from them stating that the fit was almost perfect, but did I have skill X, since they didn't see it on my resume? Of course, I never did. But after a good bout with depression over how obviously no companies wanted to hire me (fed by having a lot of calls like that, followed by one more from them which said they were going to forward my resume on to the client and then a callback to ask for skill X again which I again didn't have and a change of heart by the jerkoff at AeroTek), and nearly leaving the field that day, I told them to never ever call me again. I'm just grateful that they have honored that request.
ACK! Oh god not them! I had so many bad experiences with them that I almost left the fricking field entirely. After I realized that the problem was them, and not me, I told them to never call me again for any reason. Thank god they've done so.