I actually tried out both tablets in the store (Ipad2 versus Asus Transformer) and I have to admit I eventually sided with the Transformer. It has a much nicer looking front end interface and the web browser seemed to work better (which will likely be my primary use). I also liked the fact that I could get Linux going on the Asus EEE Pad as well and the overall hardware wasn't as tightly restricted. Maybe in the future if I'm bored of Android, I can go full out for Linux. My recommendation? If you like flexibility I would definitely get the Android 3.1 based tablets. If you want something simple then an Ipad2. In many ways this is like the difference between a Mac and a PC. I suspect in the following years the Android will probably win out via sheer flexibility as how the X86/Win machines have won out in the personal computing market.
Canada uses a Heavy Water reactor that seems to be fairly fail safe as the Heavy Water is required to sustain the reaction. If the reactor overheats, the Heavy Water in theory would boil off and that would effectively stop the reaction. Last I recall thou, the biggest problem was that the CANDU reactors are very expensive but they are very safe.
I've actually done a fair bit of research on the subject and concluded that VDI's are a good solution in standard office environments after testing it out on actual equipment. Where VDI's fail are in any graphics / video or multimedia intensive environments where it isn't possible to transport enough data to the Terminals for it to work correctly on most gigabit networks. An extremely inexpensive solution is to use Oracle's VirtualBox along with the RDP support. Then buy set-top atom boxes and configure them with Linux as thin clients. It's pretty amazing to see an Atom set-top box running Linux Xwindows that automatically starts Rdesktop off an SD card. If you use the VirtualBox's customized version of Rdesktop you can get remote USB as well. Oh and be sure to use SSD drives on your Virtualization server. Your may have a massive multicore CPU but most folks forget to account that HD's and even Raid systems can't easily handle commands from a large group of clients. Even then I would highly suggest you do your research before even attempting such a project because there are small driver instabilities in VirtualBox for example that can cause issues if you misconfigure them which will crash the entire server. The reason why it hasn't been implemented yet? I suspect that's because most IT will not spend the months to research and test as I have. Plus many organizations are resistant to change in computing models.
They didn't dump a Core-i into a machine when they first appeared because it didn't work for them as a whole - battery life, heat management, cost (to manufacture) were just too high.
Unfortuantely that statement is completely false! Sony released their Z11 series i7 laptops in EARLY 2010. These are not your run of the mill store bought Windows laptops either when they come in at nearly $2000 or more at the time. They are custom built, carbon fiber / aluminum shells assembled in the USA or Japan instead of China.
I own one and all I can say is Apple can't hold a feather to this laptop:
3.3lb with roughly 4 hour battery
(My power meters note that the i7 core can idle between 11-13 watts, you can't get much lower than that and it beat my modern Core 2 Duo Sony Laptop by a few watts, this is overall system use!)
1080p 13 inch widescreen panel. (I don't think anyone really uses such a fine resolution panel. I opted for a 1600x900 instead because I suspect that might be too small! But amazing tech nevertheless)
256 GB raid 0 SSD.
Switchable Intel GMA (built into i7 core) and Nvidia GT 330M 1 GB ram (This is why it's so efficient with power on idle)
Blue-Ray Drive (Expensive but I don't see that in any apple laptop...)
Large copper based heatsink and fan. Since this system was designed to cool an i7 and Nvidia core under full load. In idle use which just has the i7 in idle and the Intel GMA core which is built in, it's actually very quiet. About as loud as a laptop HD which it lacks.
So yes, you definitely don't know what you're talking about. I looked at various laptops and came up with this one after 2 months of research. If money isn't an issue, there's no laptop like it in the 13 inch category with it's weight class. Sony is one of the few companies that pushes their engineering to the limits. Apple's laptops on the other hand are more commonplace consumer items now.
I honestly think the problem with UPS is that it out-sources its deliveries to third party shipping companies versus doing the actual deliveries with their own fully paid staff. I recall in my area, they consistently had some of the worst service and most likely to be damaged packages. I still remember the time where their third party delivery company attempted delivery at 2am in the morning according to the UPS website! Truth was they didn't bother and just scratched in some random time to look as if they had made first attempt. Too bad whoever did it didn't know the difference between am and pm! Eventually Purolator in my area took over the thrid party shipping for UPS and things have been better than the literally back of a warehouse trucking company. Although I suspect Purolator handles their own packages with higher priority than UPS.
This is why UPS's results tend to be unpredictable. It depends on which third party company UPS hired which can range from decent to horrific. I find that is probably the reason why results vary.
If you're in Canada, you're also likely to have discovered that UPS has the worst brokerage fee of any shipping company as well which is why if possible I try to avoid them as much as possible. I mean when you charge $20 brokerage for paying $5 of taxes at the border it makes you wonder why UPS!?
In Canada the postal equivalent is CanadaPost and I've always found their service to be great. Their post offices also tend to close late which makes it easy to grab a parcel after work. I imagine the USPS is very similar.
I'm a former LU Computer Science student and still active in the clubs there as alumni. All I can say is that LU's WiFi protection policy is a complete LIE. Look at it this way folks, a cellphone puts out at least 1 watt of power which is 1000 milliwatts. A typical wifi router puts out a measly 20 milliwatts. I should know, my blackberry phone has the power to buzz speaker systems wirelessly at times. If a lot of kids and adults carry cellphones, shouldn't we be more worried about the higher power systems? If anything I suspect kids are getting sick because well it's school... Most kids are happier with no school. Happier = Healthier (well short term anyhow until you have no education and can't survive in the modern world) Sheesh dumb parents...
Another point, we did a quick wifi survey of the University and guess where there's an obvious wifi point? Right in the administration offices where the president resides! Truth is, I think the president banned wifi because they didn't want to spend the money to implement WiFi or the associated bandwidth needs. If he actually believed the health issue why the heck would he put a WiFi point in his own administration office? Somewhat a hypocrite no? Anyhow, President Gilbert was highly disliked by staff and students and many are happy to see him go into retirement this year.
I think maybe this writer totally missed the point of SSDs. SSDs are not about space but are about speed. If you've ever had a chance to use a high performance SSD, the experience is awesome. Everything loads and unloads smoothly. You have none of the delays related to standard hard drives that do affect your experience with an operating system. Also in a laptop SSDs bring silence and a physical reliability that you just can't get in a standard hard drive. I suspect SSDs will fill their own space in the market with mechanical HDs being reduced to storage or backup drives.
I have tried many routers over the years but some of the best I've used were the ones supported by the custom Tomato firmware. The WRT54G series Linksys routers or the Asus WL-500 routers work extremely well. The best way to test a wireless router's ability is to see if it can survive torrents. I find the ones that can with stability to be powerful enough to even handle routing an entire small office's internet activity.
D-Link is some of the worst consumer wireless routers I have ever used in my life. I have friends with disaster stories as well. D-Link often cheaps out leaving essential stability components out or they overpower their wifi chip to the point that there's a real risk of it melting down. I would never recommend them.
A recent router out on the market that's very good is the Netgear WND3700 (Dual-Band Wifi). Unfortunately like most good things in life, it isn't cheap.
I am Canadian myself, I suspect this will not come to pass. I mainly blame the US Media lobbying groups for pressing the Canadian Government into the current situation. No sane government would want this law as it seems to do a better job of upsetting the public than benefiting them. I suspect this law keeps coming up as a way for the government to show the worldly powers that they are trying to do something while realizing at the same time that it's going to keep getting shot down. In some ways Canada got lucky. Although we have this nasty blank disk tax, after seeing how the DMCA ended up being used in the US, our Consumer rights groups sprung into action / panic to the law.
I am reminded of a show I saw about the printed word. They clearly pointed out that any advanced civilization in history has always permitted the free flow and non-restricted sharing of literature. The ones with problems restricted / limited or even destroyed works. I wonder in time what the difference of not having a DMCA equivalent in Canada will compare to the US?
For anyone that plans on using this CPU as a workstation or light server chip, this is the best way to go. I recently priced an Asus M4A785TD-V EVO motherboard and it's only an amazing $120. (Comes complete with a built in low powered graphics card too) Pair that with this Phenom X6 and ECC ram and you have an amazingly great value Virtualization or Parallel rendering system. This chip is probably overkill for consumers and gamers but for the folks who can use it, it's an amazing steal.:) In any event, I work for a small company and so far AMD's proven to be the best value for light servers. Intel's primary best designs and strengths are in the Laptop market where they make advanced chips but on the Desktop I still find AMD to be great.
Er, actually even the cheapest AMD motherboards support ECC. ie Asus M4A785TD-V EVO which on NewEgg lists for $114 and even has a built in video card if you're going to use it as a workstation system instead of a gaming system. It's one of the reasons why I pick AMD for workstations and server whitebox builds... They're hard to beat.:)
First of all is it just me or did folks forget that the phone was lost in a bar in another country according to the last article I read on this issue. I always thought that what you did in another country would fall under their laws. In any case, I suspect what is actually going on is Apple is investigating if Gizmodo actually stole the phone. If it turns out they only bought something that was stolen in another country I don't think there's much legal president on it. Besides, the press, "Apple jails Reporter who bought a stolen Iphone." probably really isn't something Apple wants to be known for. If anything it seriously tarnishes your product image. I suspect Apple is not directly involved for this reason but requesting an investigation to be sure. If it turns out Gizmodo did steal the iPhone directly then yes, they will be in trouble but I suspect in the long run, nothing will come from this and after the investigation, all the computer hardware will be returned.
To be honest, I find the older generation tends to enjoy material on paper more than the younger generation who is more use to reading information on computer screens. Heck, I'm the only IT Tech for my company and I print far less than anyone else I know in the office. You would think that the computer expert on site would burn through more paper but that is simply not the case. I suspect with the coming of usable E-paper and more advanced tablet and display technologies that we will one day find ourselves relying less on paper. In the meantime, he has a point. I mean if you make cars for a living would you encourage people to buy less cars? It's like saying computers are bad for the environment (they are) but buy less so I can be out of a job! As for those who would argue paper is less green, the electronics unfortunately are not much better. Either way still has it's environmental impacts.
I run IT for a small company of around 60 computers and to the best of my knowledge I haven't seen a breach in 2 years since I've taken over. It's NOT that difficult. Here's how you do it:
1. Disable or discourage people from browsing the Internet with IE. Use SeaMonkey, FireFox or some other safer browser. 2. Use at least a simple NAT firewall to the Internet. No computer including the servers should be exposed to the Internet. If need be forward the necessary ports into your servers but no computer should be fully exposed to the Internet. 3. Use a good viral scanner and keep your workstation's windows updated with patches. You don't need to be right up to date but if you're still using service pack 1 for windowsXP that's a BAD sign. 4. Use a spam / viral scanner to protect your mail system. 5. Make sure users do not have ADMINISTRATOR access on any system including their own workstations. Yes, it can be a pain because then you have to install any customized applications but at least they won't install a virus on their own system. 6. Make it clear in the company policy that you're not suppose to visit porn or questionable sites. It's rare that official sites have viruses and that installation of software is an admin only privilage.
Most modern viruses aren't as clever as the ones I recall from my DOS days. They typically exploit major bugs in IE, expect Administrator access, require a user dumb enough to install it or use ancient bugs in systems Administrators have neglected to patch in years. While nothing is foolproof, after seeing how well things have run for me in years, I suspect you're not up to speed on one or more of these points.
I watched an interesting show on how Google operates and their conclusion was that Google's business is based on "Trust". Unlike many organizations, Google is in business because we trust that they will work and operate to keep our data as safe as they can. It is something that a vast majority of the public including myself takes for granted because so far they haven't messed up badly. According to Google, China was caught hacking their systems, stealing IP and personal user data. If this keeps going on the way it does, then Google can't keep the trust of the public and it might mean the downfall of their company. (I can't use Google because China keeps hacking in and stealing my data.)
Originally Google went into China because when you really think about it, filtering users from content does not betray this idea of "Trust". Your data is still safe but China stepped over the line when they started hacking into Google.
The best way for Google to leave China which is likely what they are now planning to do is to drop the filtering. This generates good will with the remaining users. China is correct in that Google is pushing Western ideals however in many ways this is China's fault to begin with. If China hadn't hacked Google to begin with this whole mess would not have started.
I personally don't see a huge problem with China filtering searches. It's their own country and their own rules. Admittedly this goes against freedom of speech (a democratic idea) but China's pretty far from a democracy. Hopefully someday, their public will realize that it is something valuable enough to fight for but for now it doesn't seem to be the case. However hacking your business partner is far from acceptable.
I have used WiFi for many years now and have had to explain to many folks that 2.4Ghz is a unlicensed free for all band for the most part. There are hundreds of different devices that can use that frequency which results in obvious conflicts. Even worse early N based routers sucked up 2 channels and some were known for disabling Wifi G routers. The solution? Use Wifi A also known as 5Ghz. The particular band Wifi A uses was dedicated for the most part for WiFi. The result virtually NO interference. The trade-off is shorter working distance due to higher frequency but most folks don't need that MUCH range in reality. I'm highly disappointed Wifi A didn't become the standard. Originally it didn't because it cost more and was considered business class WiFi. Sadly, it's what high density population areas should be using. I was lucky enough to get a Linksys WRT55AG v2 (firmware updated triband router Wifi A B G) before Linksys stopped making it as my home access point. Nowadays your best bet is an expensive dual band N router. The difference? Well my WiFi A router has never lost a single connection in 3 years of useage even when transferring huge 10GB files over Wifi short of a power outtage. G has never been that stable.
Hmm, I wonder if the reason for this is Intel is scared of Globalfoundaries? If I'm not mistaken, the folks who bought the foundry from AMD are the same folks who are building in Dubai. You know the place where money flows like water and they're willing to waste billions to build custom islands? If that's the case, it is possible that AMD could be ramping up their production and process dramatically which would negate any gains Intel has. AMD also seems to have a more market friendly history with other companies than Intel has. Perhaps this is Intel's attempt to gain a monopoly before their ship sinks?
I could be wrong but wasn't Google trying to buy Yahoo as well but got stopped by the regulators because then google would be considered too big? Nice to see that the door swings both ways. If you ask me Yahoo is the one that really got hurt in all this. I guess the lesson is never get in between two giants battling it out.;)
If most normal users can't be even bothered to setup WiFi WPA correctly what's the hope of logging 2 years worth or data? And where exactly are you going to log the 2 years worth of data?? What happens if a power surge blows up your device? If it's logged over the Internet then there's going to be bottleneck somewhere which will flood your supposedly stressed out network. Personally I think this requirement is a joke and I hope the folks who vote on this will realize this won't work. Protect the children? You know if you're going to be this anal how about just banning the Internet for kids until they're old enough? Myself I didn't use the Internet until University simply because it didn't exist yet. Maybe it'll teach kids that there's other more reliable sources than the Internet. (Like books?)
This seems like it has some potential. Hopefully it will make it out of the lab considering how many times I've seen the promise of amazing technology only to find that eventually it isn't practical or has some sort of manufacturing limitation. Oh, and while you're at it, when you do create this "new technology" don't riddle it with DRM issues.
I think folks are forgetting one important point. The reason why I like Google is that their search engine works extremely well. In fact, how often does google search find what you're looking for? Plus the fact that the service is "free" and paid for by relevant advertising is great. I don't see Microsoft giving you free software now do I? Nor does Microsoft's software always work as well as they claim it does. Sure Google probably collects a huge amount of information but so does the government. You have to trust someone and so far Google has shown that it hasn't breached that trust. A standard rule in life is to initially trust someone until it's been broken once. Then it's an all out war. You can't be paranoid of everyone that's new. It just stops changes.
If anything I think this is just proof that companies that would force the money out of you and steal everything you have are afraid of Google just because it's not doing the same and winning the hearts of the public. Nice try but I don't think this will work.
I don't think I agree with this article. Think about what being "nice" means. It means people like you in the office because you help everyone INCLUDING management. Being "nice" doesn't mean you're competent unfortunately. Maybe the article should have been being "competent". Problem is it isn't always clear who's "competent".
Still, I recall reading articles that being both "nice" and "competent" will eventually lead to good things in most cases. It was true in my case. I went from helpdesk call center to head IT operations in a small non-profit. It was a long and tough path but who am I to complain when I meet folks in worse situations than I was in.
In the end, I think the secret is to stick to what you love regardless of pay, and to be patient. It might take forever but at least you tried is my beliefs. Worked for me eventually.
I suspect this recession will probably make it a bit harder for IT folks to find jobs. My take on this? I graduated during the Dot-Com Bust in 2000 in a place that barely has IT jobs. Years later I finally have a good head IT job of a small company. My advice? Don't ever stop learning your trade in IT. IT is something that always changes and as soon as you stop, you get old. Polish your social skills even if it means working in basic Tech Support. I know some of you hate people but guess what, computers are there for people and not an end to itself.
Personally, I think a lot of people believe that they'll be rich in IT. Hardly. IT can be difficult, frustrating and complicated but in the end I think you need to ask yourself, is it something you like doing? If not leave the trade. No money in the world is worth killing yourself over it. Myself, I'd still be in IT even if it didn't pay much or wasn't shiny. For me it's just life and probably why I eventually after years worked myself into something nice. =)
Don't forget that Linksys isn't the only Linux compatible router on the market. Other companies such as Asus, Buffalo and others make routers that work with Linux based custom firmware and in some cases use more powerful hardware. So if you're going to boycott you still have options.
I wonder if anyone realizes that most normal supercars are huge gas guzzlers. The Tesla Roadster is efficient. So even IF it needs coal power to charge the batteries, I suspect that's better than a huge gas guzzler engine. So while it's not perfectly clean, it's probably better to have our rich drive electrics than gas. The other interesting fact to point out is Tesla blew a mere 55 million according to the company to develop their car. The other large 3 automakers I suspect couldn't develop a car for that cheap considering how long it's taking their volt to come out. Seems to me that if you're going to throw away 25 billion to the car industry which in North America appears to just flush money down the drain (nice private jets guys), you might want to give a little to a company that's actually trying to innovate cheaply even in hard times. I mean seriously government has funded worse stuff with more money. (Stock bailout money anyone?)
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I actually tried out both tablets in the store (Ipad2 versus Asus Transformer) and I have to admit I eventually sided with the Transformer. It has a much nicer looking front end interface and the web browser seemed to work better (which will likely be my primary use). I also liked the fact that I could get Linux going on the Asus EEE Pad as well and the overall hardware wasn't as tightly restricted. Maybe in the future if I'm bored of Android, I can go full out for Linux. My recommendation? If you like flexibility I would definitely get the Android 3.1 based tablets. If you want something simple then an Ipad2. In many ways this is like the difference between a Mac and a PC. I suspect in the following years the Android will probably win out via sheer flexibility as how the X86/Win machines have won out in the personal computing market.
Canada uses a Heavy Water reactor that seems to be fairly fail safe as the Heavy Water is required to sustain the reaction. If the reactor overheats, the Heavy Water in theory would boil off and that would effectively stop the reaction. Last I recall thou, the biggest problem was that the CANDU reactors are very expensive but they are very safe.
I've actually done a fair bit of research on the subject and concluded that VDI's are a good solution in standard office environments after testing it out on actual equipment. Where VDI's fail are in any graphics / video or multimedia intensive environments where it isn't possible to transport enough data to the Terminals for it to work correctly on most gigabit networks. An extremely inexpensive solution is to use Oracle's VirtualBox along with the RDP support. Then buy set-top atom boxes and configure them with Linux as thin clients. It's pretty amazing to see an Atom set-top box running Linux Xwindows that automatically starts Rdesktop off an SD card. If you use the VirtualBox's customized version of Rdesktop you can get remote USB as well. Oh and be sure to use SSD drives on your Virtualization server. Your may have a massive multicore CPU but most folks forget to account that HD's and even Raid systems can't easily handle commands from a large group of clients. Even then I would highly suggest you do your research before even attempting such a project because there are small driver instabilities in VirtualBox for example that can cause issues if you misconfigure them which will crash the entire server. The reason why it hasn't been implemented yet? I suspect that's because most IT will not spend the months to research and test as I have. Plus many organizations are resistant to change in computing models.
They didn't dump a Core-i into a machine when they first appeared because it didn't work for them as a whole - battery life, heat management, cost (to manufacture) were just too high.
Unfortuantely that statement is completely false! Sony released their Z11 series i7 laptops in EARLY 2010. These are not your run of the mill store bought Windows laptops either when they come in at nearly $2000 or more at the time. They are custom built, carbon fiber / aluminum shells assembled in the USA or Japan instead of China.
I own one and all I can say is Apple can't hold a feather to this laptop:
3.3lb with roughly 4 hour battery
(My power meters note that the i7 core can idle between 11-13 watts, you can't get much lower than that and it beat my modern Core 2 Duo Sony Laptop by a few watts, this is overall system use!)
1080p 13 inch widescreen panel. (I don't think anyone really uses such a fine resolution panel. I opted for a 1600x900 instead because I suspect that might be too small! But amazing tech nevertheless)
256 GB raid 0 SSD.
Switchable Intel GMA (built into i7 core) and Nvidia GT 330M 1 GB ram (This is why it's so efficient with power on idle)
Blue-Ray Drive (Expensive but I don't see that in any apple laptop...)
Large copper based heatsink and fan. Since this system was designed to cool an i7 and Nvidia core under full load. In idle use which just has the i7 in idle and the Intel GMA core which is built in, it's actually very quiet. About as loud as a laptop HD which it lacks.
So yes, you definitely don't know what you're talking about. I looked at various laptops and came up with this one after 2 months of research. If money isn't an issue, there's no laptop like it in the 13 inch category with it's weight class. Sony is one of the few companies that pushes their engineering to the limits. Apple's laptops on the other hand are more commonplace consumer items now.
I honestly think the problem with UPS is that it out-sources its deliveries to third party shipping companies versus doing the actual deliveries with their own fully paid staff. I recall in my area, they consistently had some of the worst service and most likely to be damaged packages. I still remember the time where their third party delivery company attempted delivery at 2am in the morning according to the UPS website! Truth was they didn't bother and just scratched in some random time to look as if they had made first attempt. Too bad whoever did it didn't know the difference between am and pm! Eventually Purolator in my area took over the thrid party shipping for UPS and things have been better than the literally back of a warehouse trucking company. Although I suspect Purolator handles their own packages with higher priority than UPS.
This is why UPS's results tend to be unpredictable. It depends on which third party company UPS hired which can range from decent to horrific. I find that is probably the reason why results vary.
If you're in Canada, you're also likely to have discovered that UPS has the worst brokerage fee of any shipping company as well which is why if possible I try to avoid them as much as possible. I mean when you charge $20 brokerage for paying $5 of taxes at the border it makes you wonder why UPS!?
In Canada the postal equivalent is CanadaPost and I've always found their service to be great. Their post offices also tend to close late which makes it easy to grab a parcel after work. I imagine the USPS is very similar.
I'm a former LU Computer Science student and still active in the clubs there as alumni. All I can say is that LU's WiFi protection policy is a complete LIE. Look at it this way folks, a cellphone puts out at least 1 watt of power which is 1000 milliwatts. A typical wifi router puts out a measly 20 milliwatts. I should know, my blackberry phone has the power to buzz speaker systems wirelessly at times. If a lot of kids and adults carry cellphones, shouldn't we be more worried about the higher power systems? If anything I suspect kids are getting sick because well it's school... Most kids are happier with no school. Happier = Healthier (well short term anyhow until you have no education and can't survive in the modern world) Sheesh dumb parents...
Another point, we did a quick wifi survey of the University and guess where there's an obvious wifi point? Right in the administration offices where the president resides! Truth is, I think the president banned wifi because they didn't want to spend the money to implement WiFi or the associated bandwidth needs. If he actually believed the health issue why the heck would he put a WiFi point in his own administration office? Somewhat a hypocrite no? Anyhow, President Gilbert was highly disliked by staff and students and many are happy to see him go into retirement this year.
I think maybe this writer totally missed the point of SSDs. SSDs are not about space but are about speed. If you've ever had a chance to use a high performance SSD, the experience is awesome. Everything loads and unloads smoothly. You have none of the delays related to standard hard drives that do affect your experience with an operating system. Also in a laptop SSDs bring silence and a physical reliability that you just can't get in a standard hard drive. I suspect SSDs will fill their own space in the market with mechanical HDs being reduced to storage or backup drives.
I have tried many routers over the years but some of the best I've used were the ones supported by the custom Tomato firmware. The WRT54G series Linksys routers or the Asus WL-500 routers work extremely well. The best way to test a wireless router's ability is to see if it can survive torrents. I find the ones that can with stability to be powerful enough to even handle routing an entire small office's internet activity.
D-Link is some of the worst consumer wireless routers I have ever used in my life. I have friends with disaster stories as well. D-Link often cheaps out leaving essential stability components out or they overpower their wifi chip to the point that there's a real risk of it melting down. I would never recommend them.
A recent router out on the market that's very good is the Netgear WND3700 (Dual-Band Wifi). Unfortunately like most good things in life, it isn't cheap.
I am Canadian myself, I suspect this will not come to pass. I mainly blame the US Media lobbying groups for pressing the Canadian Government into the current situation. No sane government would want this law as it seems to do a better job of upsetting the public than benefiting them. I suspect this law keeps coming up as a way for the government to show the worldly powers that they are trying to do something while realizing at the same time that it's going to keep getting shot down. In some ways Canada got lucky. Although we have this nasty blank disk tax, after seeing how the DMCA ended up being used in the US, our Consumer rights groups sprung into action / panic to the law. I am reminded of a show I saw about the printed word. They clearly pointed out that any advanced civilization in history has always permitted the free flow and non-restricted sharing of literature. The ones with problems restricted / limited or even destroyed works. I wonder in time what the difference of not having a DMCA equivalent in Canada will compare to the US?
For anyone that plans on using this CPU as a workstation or light server chip, this is the best way to go. I recently priced an Asus M4A785TD-V EVO motherboard and it's only an amazing $120. (Comes complete with a built in low powered graphics card too) Pair that with this Phenom X6 and ECC ram and you have an amazingly great value Virtualization or Parallel rendering system. This chip is probably overkill for consumers and gamers but for the folks who can use it, it's an amazing steal. :) In any event, I work for a small company and so far AMD's proven to be the best value for light servers. Intel's primary best designs and strengths are in the Laptop market where they make advanced chips but on the Desktop I still find AMD to be great.
Er, actually even the cheapest AMD motherboards support ECC. ie Asus M4A785TD-V EVO which on NewEgg lists for $114 and even has a built in video card if you're going to use it as a workstation system instead of a gaming system. It's one of the reasons why I pick AMD for workstations and server whitebox builds... They're hard to beat. :)
First of all is it just me or did folks forget that the phone was lost in a bar in another country according to the last article I read on this issue. I always thought that what you did in another country would fall under their laws. In any case, I suspect what is actually going on is Apple is investigating if Gizmodo actually stole the phone. If it turns out they only bought something that was stolen in another country I don't think there's much legal president on it. Besides, the press, "Apple jails Reporter who bought a stolen Iphone." probably really isn't something Apple wants to be known for. If anything it seriously tarnishes your product image. I suspect Apple is not directly involved for this reason but requesting an investigation to be sure. If it turns out Gizmodo did steal the iPhone directly then yes, they will be in trouble but I suspect in the long run, nothing will come from this and after the investigation, all the computer hardware will be returned.
To be honest, I find the older generation tends to enjoy material on paper more than the younger generation who is more use to reading information on computer screens. Heck, I'm the only IT Tech for my company and I print far less than anyone else I know in the office. You would think that the computer expert on site would burn through more paper but that is simply not the case. I suspect with the coming of usable E-paper and more advanced tablet and display technologies that we will one day find ourselves relying less on paper. In the meantime, he has a point. I mean if you make cars for a living would you encourage people to buy less cars? It's like saying computers are bad for the environment (they are) but buy less so I can be out of a job! As for those who would argue paper is less green, the electronics unfortunately are not much better. Either way still has it's environmental impacts.
I run IT for a small company of around 60 computers and to the best of my knowledge I haven't seen a breach in 2 years since I've taken over. It's NOT that difficult. Here's how you do it:
1. Disable or discourage people from browsing the Internet with IE. Use SeaMonkey, FireFox or some other safer browser.
2. Use at least a simple NAT firewall to the Internet. No computer including the servers should be exposed to the Internet. If need be forward the necessary ports into your servers but no computer should be fully exposed to the Internet.
3. Use a good viral scanner and keep your workstation's windows updated with patches. You don't need to be right up to date but if you're still using service pack 1 for windowsXP that's a BAD sign.
4. Use a spam / viral scanner to protect your mail system.
5. Make sure users do not have ADMINISTRATOR access on any system including their own workstations. Yes, it can be a pain because then you have to install any customized applications but at least they won't install a virus on their own system.
6. Make it clear in the company policy that you're not suppose to visit porn or questionable sites. It's rare that official sites have viruses and that installation of software is an admin only privilage.
Most modern viruses aren't as clever as the ones I recall from my DOS days. They typically exploit major bugs in IE, expect Administrator access, require a user dumb enough to install it or use ancient bugs in systems Administrators have neglected to patch in years. While nothing is foolproof, after seeing how well things have run for me in years, I suspect you're not up to speed on one or more of these points.
I watched an interesting show on how Google operates and their conclusion was that Google's business is based on "Trust". Unlike many organizations, Google is in business because we trust that they will work and operate to keep our data as safe as they can. It is something that a vast majority of the public including myself takes for granted because so far they haven't messed up badly. According to Google, China was caught hacking their systems, stealing IP and personal user data. If this keeps going on the way it does, then Google can't keep the trust of the public and it might mean the downfall of their company. (I can't use Google because China keeps hacking in and stealing my data.)
Originally Google went into China because when you really think about it, filtering users from content does not betray this idea of "Trust". Your data is still safe but China stepped over the line when they started hacking into Google.
The best way for Google to leave China which is likely what they are now planning to do is to drop the filtering. This generates good will with the remaining users. China is correct in that Google is pushing Western ideals however in many ways this is China's fault to begin with. If China hadn't hacked Google to begin with this whole mess would not have started.
I personally don't see a huge problem with China filtering searches. It's their own country and their own rules. Admittedly this goes against freedom of speech (a democratic idea) but China's pretty far from a democracy. Hopefully someday, their public will realize that it is something valuable enough to fight for but for now it doesn't seem to be the case. However hacking your business partner is far from acceptable.
I have used WiFi for many years now and have had to explain to many folks that 2.4Ghz is a unlicensed free for all band for the most part. There are hundreds of different devices that can use that frequency which results in obvious conflicts. Even worse early N based routers sucked up 2 channels and some were known for disabling Wifi G routers. The solution? Use Wifi A also known as 5Ghz. The particular band Wifi A uses was dedicated for the most part for WiFi. The result virtually NO interference. The trade-off is shorter working distance due to higher frequency but most folks don't need that MUCH range in reality. I'm highly disappointed Wifi A didn't become the standard. Originally it didn't because it cost more and was considered business class WiFi. Sadly, it's what high density population areas should be using. I was lucky enough to get a Linksys WRT55AG v2 (firmware updated triband router Wifi A B G) before Linksys stopped making it as my home access point. Nowadays your best bet is an expensive dual band N router. The difference? Well my WiFi A router has never lost a single connection in 3 years of useage even when transferring huge 10GB files over Wifi short of a power outtage. G has never been that stable.
Hmm, I wonder if the reason for this is Intel is scared of Globalfoundaries? If I'm not mistaken, the folks who bought the foundry from AMD are the same folks who are building in Dubai. You know the place where money flows like water and they're willing to waste billions to build custom islands? If that's the case, it is possible that AMD could be ramping up their production and process dramatically which would negate any gains Intel has. AMD also seems to have a more market friendly history with other companies than Intel has. Perhaps this is Intel's attempt to gain a monopoly before their ship sinks?
I could be wrong but wasn't Google trying to buy Yahoo as well but got stopped by the regulators because then google would be considered too big? Nice to see that the door swings both ways. If you ask me Yahoo is the one that really got hurt in all this. I guess the lesson is never get in between two giants battling it out. ;)
If most normal users can't be even bothered to setup WiFi WPA correctly what's the hope of logging 2 years worth or data? And where exactly are you going to log the 2 years worth of data?? What happens if a power surge blows up your device? If it's logged over the Internet then there's going to be bottleneck somewhere which will flood your supposedly stressed out network. Personally I think this requirement is a joke and I hope the folks who vote on this will realize this won't work. Protect the children? You know if you're going to be this anal how about just banning the Internet for kids until they're old enough? Myself I didn't use the Internet until University simply because it didn't exist yet. Maybe it'll teach kids that there's other more reliable sources than the Internet. (Like books?)
This seems like it has some potential. Hopefully it will make it out of the lab considering how many times I've seen the promise of amazing technology only to find that eventually it isn't practical or has some sort of manufacturing limitation. Oh, and while you're at it, when you do create this "new technology" don't riddle it with DRM issues.
I think folks are forgetting one important point. The reason why I like Google is that their search engine works extremely well. In fact, how often does google search find what you're looking for? Plus the fact that the service is "free" and paid for by relevant advertising is great. I don't see Microsoft giving you free software now do I? Nor does Microsoft's software always work as well as they claim it does. Sure Google probably collects a huge amount of information but so does the government. You have to trust someone and so far Google has shown that it hasn't breached that trust. A standard rule in life is to initially trust someone until it's been broken once. Then it's an all out war. You can't be paranoid of everyone that's new. It just stops changes.
If anything I think this is just proof that companies that would force the money out of you and steal everything you have are afraid of Google just because it's not doing the same and winning the hearts of the public. Nice try but I don't think this will work.
I don't think I agree with this article. Think about what being "nice" means. It means people like you in the office because you help everyone INCLUDING management. Being "nice" doesn't mean you're competent unfortunately. Maybe the article should have been being "competent". Problem is it isn't always clear who's "competent".
Still, I recall reading articles that being both "nice" and "competent" will eventually lead to good things in most cases. It was true in my case. I went from helpdesk call center to head IT operations in a small non-profit. It was a long and tough path but who am I to complain when I meet folks in worse situations than I was in.
In the end, I think the secret is to stick to what you love regardless of pay, and to be patient. It might take forever but at least you tried is my beliefs. Worked for me eventually.
I suspect this recession will probably make it a bit harder for IT folks to find jobs. My take on this? I graduated during the Dot-Com Bust in 2000 in a place that barely has IT jobs. Years later I finally have a good head IT job of a small company. My advice? Don't ever stop learning your trade in IT. IT is something that always changes and as soon as you stop, you get old. Polish your social skills even if it means working in basic Tech Support. I know some of you hate people but guess what, computers are there for people and not an end to itself. Personally, I think a lot of people believe that they'll be rich in IT. Hardly. IT can be difficult, frustrating and complicated but in the end I think you need to ask yourself, is it something you like doing? If not leave the trade. No money in the world is worth killing yourself over it. Myself, I'd still be in IT even if it didn't pay much or wasn't shiny. For me it's just life and probably why I eventually after years worked myself into something nice. =)
Don't forget that Linksys isn't the only Linux compatible router on the market. Other companies such as Asus, Buffalo and others make routers that work with Linux based custom firmware and in some cases use more powerful hardware. So if you're going to boycott you still have options.
I wonder if anyone realizes that most normal supercars are huge gas guzzlers. The Tesla Roadster is efficient. So even IF it needs coal power to charge the batteries, I suspect that's better than a huge gas guzzler engine. So while it's not perfectly clean, it's probably better to have our rich drive electrics than gas. The other interesting fact to point out is Tesla blew a mere 55 million according to the company to develop their car. The other large 3 automakers I suspect couldn't develop a car for that cheap considering how long it's taking their volt to come out. Seems to me that if you're going to throw away 25 billion to the car industry which in North America appears to just flush money down the drain (nice private jets guys), you might want to give a little to a company that's actually trying to innovate cheaply even in hard times. I mean seriously government has funded worse stuff with more money. (Stock bailout money anyone?)