I doubt they'll learn from this. I just tried to post on their forum using a bugmenot account, because I'm lazy. My IP now appears to be banned for eternity for this action.
Oh well, I have a zen mp3 player that I actually like. Maybe tomorrow I'll call them and bitch about not being able to get support and see what they say.
Mass transit as a solution to DWI in New Mexico?Even if mass transit was "the" solution to the DWI problem (it isn't), mass transit is only efficient when you have a lot of people in the same general geographic area.
New Mexico is the 5th largest US state in size, but the 36th in population. Outside of Albuquerque and Santa Fe (which already have mass transit), it's mostly NOTHING. Ranches, cattle, forests, etc. There's 42 Acres of land per person in New Mexico. Exactly what type of mass transit system is going to work in this situation?
I wasn't going to reply to this, I hoped someone else would. In the interest of correctness, it's important to point out that AC's post claiming that a/31 is not a network is somewhat misleading, if not outright incorrect.
Any networking device that supports RFC3021 can be configured to use a/31 network mask./31 networks are generally used for point-to-point WAN links.
Management of your IP space is extremely important, if you are working in an environment that has more than a few sites/divisions/business units, etc. There is a lot of good information available about IP network design. Overall, the guiding principle is this:
Reasonably estimate how many hosts will ever exist on a subnet, and use the RFC1918 netblock size that will best handle the hosts, and predicted expansion.
For example, don't use 10.0.0.0/8 for your local LAN if you only have 20 machines. Decisions like this will come back to haunt you, especially if your organization starts developing a need to have routed links to vendors/remote sites/etc.
With CIDR you can easily slice and dice your IP subnets allocations into correctly sized networks for the intended purpose. In very large enterprises, I've used 172.16/12 blocks broken down into/24s (or larger) for campus or business units, and 192.168.x.x/25-31 blocks for WAN links, point to point, etc.
10/8 is something we stay away from, due to so many bad vendor documents that suggest that 10/8 is the preferred way to configure everything. A good example is MS Windows server clustering. Following the MS config documentation "to the letter" will result in the cluster blackholing 10/8. The documentation that accompanys this product instructs the user to configure the "cluster hearbeat" network connection (generally 2 hosts) using 10.0.0.0 with a Class A subnet mask. This means that the clustered servers will *never* be able to talk to any other host using a 10-net address. Digging a little further into the maze of MS documentation one will find articles on proper IP address allocation for hearbeat connections, but the MCSE Rocket Scientists that I deal with apparently didn't read past page 1. They decided that because the heartbeat was a "private" network they could just go ahead and allocate any IP range, and it would not affect the server's ability to communicate. DOH!
Anyway, in general, if you concentrate on efficiently allocating your private IP space you will have far fewer headaches in the future. I've heard plenty of stories about people having to re-engineer idiotically designed 10/8 networks, but I can't ever recall hearing someone complain about how hard it is to fix a routed 192.168/24 network.
10Mbps were supposed to be the EOL for ethernet.
Where are we now? 10Gbps is getting to be deployed.
Actually, if you look at GigE and 10GigE under the covers, you'll find that there is a lot of similarity to the token-passing technology employed by FDDI and Token Ring. Half-Duplex Ethernet hit a dead end at 100Mbs.
FWIW, I agree with you on the importance of Ethernet. Token-Ring and FDDI, while being proven technologies, never offered the "bang for the buck" that switched Ethernet did.
If you're trying to move from a "pure" OS position directly into an "IP routing and switching only" type of job, you'll probably find it difficult. Especially in today's job market.
I run a corporate Network support group that handles LAN/WAN technology, and my staff of 8 is mostly people who have started out as sysadmins and developed their networking skills along the way. The value this background brings is that their general OS and application knowlege allows them to troubleshoot beyond typical "Layer 2/3" problems. It also provides a more open interaction with our sys admins, who do not have routing and switching expertise. We do have several router geeks who focus on our IP routing and LAN/WAN switching infrastructure, but it's the folks with the mix of general OS and specific networking skills that keeps our DBA, progammer, and system administration customers happy.
If you're trying to get into a ISP or Telco NOC, you'll probably have a tough time, without demonstrable routing and telecom experience. OTOH, if you can find a corporate IT shop that supports a variety of technologies (WAN/LAN, Security/Firewalls, Internet, Data Center, etc), you can exploit you sysadmin knowlege in a networking environment. Make sure your resume highlights your relevant networking experience.
Some of my best overall Network Engineers came to me as Unix or Windows admins with a general understanding of networking, and a strong desire to learn more. We're not shy about providing training, and after 6-12 months we end up with very effective engineers who play nice with others.:-)
In my area (Eastern US) Best Buy and Home Depot are the ones that generally ask for my zip code. My usual reply is "90210".
Usually the cashier-droid just types the number in, occasionally I get a funny look. Once, I had a teenage cashier insist "That's not a real zip code!"
I assured her that it, in fact, was the real zip for Beverly Hills, CA, whereupon she turned away from me and shouted to the nearby "Returns" desk:
"HEY, 90210 IS A TV SHOW, NOT A ZIP CODE, RIGHT?!?!"
Dead silence, then most of the people in the front of the store broke up laughing. She turned red, and set a new record for getting me my change...
Let's go with your assumption that many manufacturers' IDE and SCSI drives are mechanically identical (even though some high-end SCSI drives certainly aren't). For the purposes of our discussion, it's probably ok to assume that "middle of the pack" drives use similar quality parts, regardless of the interface technology. Warranties are driven by the manufacturer predicting the failure rate of the product. This implies that the IDE warranty claim rate rate is much higher than the SCSI rate.
Ok, so if they're mechanically the same why is there a difference in the length of the warranty?
I think the biggest factor may be the physical environment. A SCSI drive is more likely to be installed in a "professional" computing environment: an engineered case, UPS/filtered power, maybe air-condition room, continuous uptime, etc. The typical IDE drive is in a cheap case, under a desk, no measurable airflow, ambient temps, power (heat) cycled regularly.
Steady-state operations tends to produce reliable computing platforms. Mass-market PCs that are used by "Joe Consumer" are the antithesis of "steady state". They're stuck under tables with cables everywhere, full of pet hair and carpet fibers, turned on/off like an appliance, etc. They're also bought from retailers that often know less about the equipment as the purchaser. Given THAT type of environment, it's a wonder that the manufacturers don't see a warranty claim rate approaching 100%.
I'm sure they know HOW to build an IDE drive that would be bulletproof in any environment, but the consumer market won't pay for it. Even if they would, the retailers would still be submitting warranty claims based on owner screw-ups, not actual equipment failures. The manufacturers' path to profit is clearly dictated by the market - cheap drive, minimal warranty. Knowledgeable customers will still seek the high-end, quality equipment,anyway.
I turfed on the html. Sorry. The message #'s are right, though...
Re:Unethical Behavior: RedWolves2's Amazon Link
on
Slack
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
I don't usually post on stuff like this. Redwolves2's posting history seemingly speaks to the "pimping Amazon to Slashdot users" angle.
My opinion is that continuously trying to hijack referral benefits away from Slashdot is not ethical, and damaging to the community as a whole.
Here in all it's naked glory is evidence that half of the most recent 24 of Redwolves2's posts are attempts to drive Amazon affiliate benefits to Redwolves2:
I got it on the first try: All Your Base Are Belong To Us.
HomeStation could easily dominate the market
on
Xbox Sequel Rumors
·
· Score: 1
I'm not really a gamer, but I got an Xbox over the holidays, and I'm impressed.
Given the currently available technology, the HomeStation is an obvious evolutionary step. WebTV, Tivo, XBOX, DVD, streamed content. All in one box, that a 4-year old could configure.
If the price to feature set ratio is right it will sell like crazy. The sheeple who make up the majority of the buying public would just go berzerk over this.
Especially if they promise that it will also be the "magic box" that people can use to receive HDTV broadcasts on their old TVs, and its release is timed with the release of more HDTV content.
Slashdot Mirror
I doubt they'll learn from this. I just tried to post on their forum using a bugmenot account, because I'm lazy. My IP now appears to be banned for eternity for this action. Oh well, I have a zen mp3 player that I actually like. Maybe tomorrow I'll call them and bitch about not being able to get support and see what they say.
From back in the day, when I was working IT Support in a chemical plant,
I have an "official" IBM 80386 Memory Expansion hard hat.
My current laptop is a dual function unit. Not only is it Thinkpad,
it's also a 10000-watt UPS, specifically an APC Smart-UPS 10000.
Mass transit as a solution to DWI in New Mexico?Even if mass transit was "the" solution to the DWI problem (it isn't), mass transit is only efficient when you have a lot of people in the same general geographic area.
New Mexico is the 5th largest US state in size, but the 36th in population. Outside of Albuquerque and Santa Fe (which already have mass transit), it's mostly NOTHING. Ranches, cattle, forests, etc. There's 42 Acres of land per person in New Mexico. Exactly what type of mass transit system is going to work in this situation?
I wasn't going to reply to this, I hoped someone else would. In the interest of correctness, it's important to point out that AC's post claiming that a /31 is not a network is somewhat misleading, if not outright incorrect.
/31 network mask. /31 networks are generally used for point-to-point WAN links.
Any networking device that supports RFC3021 can be configured to use a
http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3021.txt
Management of your IP space is extremely important, if you are working in an environment that has more than a few sites/divisions/business units, etc. There is a lot of good information available about IP network design. Overall, the guiding principle is this:
/24s (or larger) for campus or business units, and 192.168.x.x /25-31 blocks for WAN links, point to point, etc.
Reasonably estimate how many hosts will ever exist on a subnet, and use the RFC1918 netblock size that will best handle the hosts, and predicted expansion.
For example, don't use 10.0.0.0/8 for your local LAN if you only have 20 machines. Decisions like this will come back to haunt you, especially if your organization starts developing a need to have routed links to vendors/remote sites/etc.
With CIDR you can easily slice and dice your IP subnets allocations into correctly sized networks for the intended purpose. In very large enterprises, I've used 172.16/12 blocks broken down into
10/8 is something we stay away from, due to so many bad vendor documents that suggest that 10/8 is the preferred way to configure everything. A good example is MS Windows server clustering. Following the MS config documentation "to the letter" will result in the cluster blackholing 10/8. The documentation that accompanys this product instructs the user to configure the "cluster hearbeat" network connection (generally 2 hosts) using 10.0.0.0 with a Class A subnet mask. This means that the clustered servers will *never* be able to talk to any other host using a 10-net address. Digging a little further into the maze of MS documentation one will find articles on proper IP address allocation for hearbeat connections, but the MCSE Rocket Scientists that I deal with apparently didn't read past page 1. They decided that because the heartbeat was a "private" network they could just go ahead and allocate any IP range, and it would not affect the server's ability to communicate. DOH!
Anyway, in general, if you concentrate on efficiently allocating your private IP space you will have far fewer headaches in the future. I've heard plenty of stories about people having to re-engineer idiotically designed 10/8 networks, but I can't ever recall hearing someone complain about how hard it is to fix a routed 192.168/24 network.
Actually, if you look at GigE and 10GigE under the covers, you'll find that there is a lot of similarity to the token-passing technology employed by FDDI and Token Ring. Half-Duplex Ethernet hit a dead end at 100Mbs.
FWIW, I agree with you on the importance of Ethernet. Token-Ring and FDDI, while being proven technologies, never offered the "bang for the buck" that switched Ethernet did.
If you're trying to move from a "pure" OS position directly into an "IP routing and switching only" type of job, you'll probably find it difficult. Especially in today's job market.
:-)
I run a corporate Network support group that handles LAN/WAN technology, and my staff of 8 is mostly people who have started out as sysadmins and developed their networking skills along the way. The value this background brings is that their general OS and application knowlege allows them to troubleshoot beyond typical "Layer 2/3" problems. It also provides a more open interaction with our sys admins, who do not have routing and switching expertise. We do have several router geeks who focus on our IP routing and LAN/WAN switching infrastructure, but it's the folks with the mix of general OS and specific networking skills that keeps our DBA, progammer, and system administration customers happy.
If you're trying to get into a ISP or Telco NOC, you'll probably have a tough time, without demonstrable routing and telecom experience. OTOH, if you can find a corporate IT shop that supports a variety of technologies (WAN/LAN, Security/Firewalls, Internet, Data Center, etc), you can exploit you sysadmin knowlege in a networking environment. Make sure your resume highlights your relevant networking experience.
Some of my best overall Network Engineers came to me as Unix or Windows admins with a general understanding of networking, and a strong desire to learn more. We're not shy about providing training, and after 6-12 months we end up with very effective engineers who play nice with others.
Good Luck!
In my area (Eastern US) Best Buy and Home Depot are the ones that generally ask for my zip code. My usual reply is "90210".
Usually the cashier-droid just types the number in, occasionally I get a funny look. Once, I had a teenage cashier insist "That's not a real zip code!"
I assured her that it, in fact, was the real zip for Beverly Hills, CA, whereupon she turned away from me and shouted to the nearby "Returns" desk:
"HEY, 90210 IS A TV SHOW, NOT A ZIP CODE, RIGHT?!?!"
Dead silence, then most of the people in the front of the store broke up laughing. She turned red, and set a new record for getting me my change...
Let's go with your assumption that many manufacturers' IDE and SCSI drives are mechanically identical (even though some high-end SCSI drives certainly aren't). For the purposes of our discussion, it's probably ok to assume that "middle of the pack" drives use similar quality parts, regardless of the interface technology. Warranties are driven by the manufacturer predicting the failure rate of the product. This implies that the IDE warranty claim rate rate is much higher than the SCSI rate.
Ok, so if they're mechanically the same why is there a difference in the length of the warranty?
I think the biggest factor may be the physical environment. A SCSI drive is more likely to be installed in a "professional" computing environment: an engineered case, UPS/filtered power, maybe air-condition room, continuous uptime, etc. The typical IDE drive is in a cheap case, under a desk, no measurable airflow, ambient temps, power (heat) cycled regularly.
Steady-state operations tends to produce reliable computing platforms. Mass-market PCs that are used by "Joe Consumer" are the antithesis of "steady state". They're stuck under tables with cables everywhere, full of pet hair and carpet fibers, turned on/off like an appliance, etc. They're also bought from retailers that often know less about the equipment as the purchaser. Given THAT type of environment, it's a wonder that the manufacturers don't see a warranty claim rate approaching 100%.
I'm sure they know HOW to build an IDE drive that would be bulletproof in any environment, but the consumer market won't pay for it. Even if they would, the retailers would still be submitting warranty claims based on owner screw-ups, not actual equipment failures. The manufacturers' path to profit is clearly dictated by the market - cheap drive, minimal warranty. Knowledgeable customers will still seek the high-end, quality equipment,anyway.
I turfed on the html. Sorry. The message #'s are right, though...
I don't usually post on stuff like this. Redwolves2's posting history seemingly speaks to the "pimping Amazon to Slashdot users" angle.
i d=4447040 i d=4445470 i d=4426834 i d=4426775 i d=4424239 i d=4420982 i d=4416765 i d=4411581 i d=4409864 i d=4404197 i d=4375345
My opinion is that continuously trying to hijack referral benefits away from Slashdot is not ethical, and damaging to the community as a whole.
Here in all it's naked glory is evidence that half of the most recent 24 of Redwolves2's posts are attempts to drive Amazon affiliate benefits to Redwolves2:
http://books.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=42004&c
http://books.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=42004&c
http://books.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=42014&c
http://books.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=42014&c
http://books.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=41395&c
http://books.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=41811&c
http://books.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=41392&c
http://books.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=41789&c
http://books.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=41393&c
http://books.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=41660&c
http://books.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=40460&c
I got it on the first try: All Your Base Are Belong To Us.
I'm not really a gamer, but I got an Xbox over the holidays, and I'm impressed. Given the currently available technology, the HomeStation is an obvious evolutionary step. WebTV, Tivo, XBOX, DVD, streamed content. All in one box, that a 4-year old could configure. If the price to feature set ratio is right it will sell like crazy. The sheeple who make up the majority of the buying public would just go berzerk over this. Especially if they promise that it will also be the "magic box" that people can use to receive HDTV broadcasts on their old TVs, and its release is timed with the release of more HDTV content.