but at least when it comes to Army IT guys, anyone that went to school after 2005 is a coin-toss.
The dumbing down of specialist fields has been ongoing as the military has switched from custom hardware to COTS (Common/Commercial Off The Shelf) systems. This really accelerated in 2003 and the transformation was almost complete by 2005. Troubleshooting down to the component level and resoldering circuit boards was standard procedure in the old days. Soldiers had to really understand how their systems worked and how they interacted with other things. As the equipment has gotten smarter, the requirements for the soldier have decreased.
I watched the knowledge base drain away while I was in the military. I spent my final three years as an instructor/subject-matter-expert (Brigade level) for all things IT and satellite communications. Every year, the students were less and less prepared for the training. This applied especially to my students from a communications career field. This was expected when it came to my students from non-IT careers, but in the end, the students that should have been the most well prepared for my classes did no better that those that had never seen a satellite dish before.
I spent an additional two years as a contractor in Afghanistan. I did everything from convoys out to remote FOBs to troubleshoot and repair systems, to training, to theater wide Tier-3/Engineering Level satellite support. I worked with hundreds of contractors at all levels and over 95% of them were veterans. The quality of work/knowledge level was a complete crapshoot. There were many that I dealt with that should have been fired or at least not had their contract renewed. One of them was my boss(gross negligence/mismanagement), the other was a CCNP that couldn't even create a basic NAT configuration for a 2800 series router(fired for reasons unrelated to his lack of technical competence). There were the occasional superstars (my replacement boss). There was everything in between.
In the end, I honestly see very few advantages to hiring veterans other than that they have a higher chance of being on time/early than a non-veteran. I see a distinct disadvantage in hiring anyone that was a First Sergeant or Sergeant Major(Don't worry, the ones you need to worry about will let you know they were one). Those are the ones most likely to have internalized the military and demand that those around them do the same.
I had this issue back in 2002 on Sprint. My solution was to run a background ping process with 1-byte packets. This kept my connection from stalling out. The disadvantage is that your 3G modem and WiFi will never enter low-power states. So your battery life will suffer as a result.
On the same note, my web browsing greatly benefits from running all my web traffic through a SSH tunnel with compression enabled. When you are dealing with a sub-48kbit GPRS connection that ramps ping times into the 100+ second range (not a typo) and 50% packet loss with high traffic usage, it becomes necessary. (For those wondering, Afghanistan)
Here in some places (but not enough) of the U.S. we have two, sometimes three different internet companies to choose from.
FTFY
Thanks. I happen to live one of those places. The ONLY option here is AT&T 3.5mbps ADSL. Other possibilities are an AT&T EDGE(No VZW coverage here) connection that averages somewhere around 20kbps or satellite. No thanks (this coming from someone that makes a living repairing and fielding enterprise SATCOM systems).
I am fortunate enough that I was able to switch over to AT&T Business Class DSL(No bandwidth caps) for LESS than I was paying for the same AT&T Residential DSL. I get excellent SNRs and am often on FastPath because of that, but AT&T refuses to bump me up to 6mbps. That is even after explaining that I don't care if I actually get 6mbps. I will settle for whatever my modem trains at above 3.5mbps considering my primary motivator is a 768k upload versus a 384k upload and the price difference is less than $3/month.
The truth of the matter is that the Army generally has the least amount of fuckups when it comes to communications. This is because the Army curriculum is VERY methodical and almost reads like a checklist (in fact, we often use checklists and cut-sheets).
I'm not saying the Army is any more intelligent than any other branch. We have some really dumb people. The Army trains so that the dumbest kid on the block can do the job perfectly, every time.
I didn't get the e-mail myself(or maybe I did, I'm on leave so I have not checked it in weeks), but this is an example of the kind of tests that the Army should do. Not telling MWR, good idea. It not only gives them an opportunity to see the response of troops, but an opportunity to see the response of MWR to this kind of threat.
What I think the Army will find most surprising(or not!) is the apparent lack of use of the AKO Webmail system, it sucks, hard.//SPC Wood, Active Duty
Before this takedown notice no one really gave two shits about the video. Now, EVERYONE wants to see it to see what the deal is. The best part, this was not intended. This is someone stepping out of their bounds and not going through the Public Affairs Office.
I purchased a 3' long 12 outlet strip from wal-mart for $25. Outlets are spaced about 2" apart. It handles everything except for the massive wallwarts without blocking the next outlet.
Ya know, to be honest, I would have no problems with ISPs placing P2P protocols in the bulk category for QoS on their end. This would ensure that other traffic has priority and no one would really be affected that much. The problem I have with Comcast is the method they use to essentially block P2P by forging RST packets.
Then again, I would be perfectly happy paying $100 a month for a 2/2 connection with no limitations. It would be much better than the $60/month I pay for a 5/512k with a 50GB cap($3/GB after), weekly outages, and rollercoaster pings(Gotta love having no other broadband provider available). I don't even use P2P (NNTP FTW).
My name is so common that you won't find a damn thing about me on the internet unless you do a full "firstname middlename lastname" search. Even then, there is only one hit.
I don't know the validity of the patent nor do I know if it was a submarine patent, so I can't comment on that aspect.
While the ban would have severe financial impact on most of the magnetic storage industry, if not the entire economy, this could be the real kick in the pants that SSD's need. This has the potential massively increase density and lower costs of SSD's in a very short timeframe. If they can cram 16GB on a SDHC card(Due January 08), imagine how much storage they could put in a 3.5" or even a 1.8" SSD.
That said, this ban will not be enacted. The federal government will not allow a ban on imports of magnetic HDDs. Not only because of the financial devastation it has the potential to cause, but because it would severely inconvenience the government as well. Remember the whole BlackBerry patent suit?
Check out Phantom Canyon Pass near Colorado Springs. Beautiful, but scary (No guard rails, very narrow at points, 100' drops). At night in Colorado Springs, if the sky isn't orange, you can see maybe 10-20 stars. When on the pass at night the entire sky is filled with them(You are on the western side of Pike's Peak, so the mountains block all the light from the cities to the east). Unfortunately, I never took any night-time photos of the pass. I'll make a point of it next time I drive the pass, but that won't be until May, when I move back to Colorado Springs.
I say discontinue it. It will take YEARS for the penny to go out of circulation. Even then, you can still have things priced the same and only round up at the checkout.
Yup, just make sure you start off the call with "This is not an emergency, I am testing to see if 911 works on my phone." They are generally polite as long as you are and get straight to the point.
My storage and speed requirements are what prompt me to replace hard drives.
I use a 200GB 8MB Cache SATA drive as my system drive. That will get replaced within six months with a 16MB cache 320GB or larger drive. Since I am a gamer, my games only(literally, it is mapped to C:\Games) drive is a 150GB Raptor.
For storage, I have a 2TB Array(8x WD 320GB RE 8MB Cache) on a separate fileserver. I use the HighPoint RocketRaid 2320 controller for it and have been very happy with it. (Great Linux support, E-mail alerts to my cell phone and gmail if any problems occur) I have been so happy with the performance of the fileserver, than I am building another separate fileserver(Well, that and I only have 60GB free on it). Using 8x Seagate 7200.10 16MB Cache drives and the HighPoint RocketRaid 2320. Critical data(about 8GB) is mirrored on my main machine, the fileserver, and DVD. All other data is considered expendable. Another data protection mechanism I use is that the only method of writing through the array is from the fileserver itself. File permissions are set to deny write access to all data on the array from any user except myself. I have an upload directory on the system drive whose folder structure mirrors the array's. I simply drop the files I want to upload in the appropriate folder, and execute my move script from my SSH session. This means that the only way for a virus or malicious user to mess with my data is to know my username and password or know the root password.
Slashdot Mirror
but at least when it comes to Army IT guys, anyone that went to school after 2005 is a coin-toss.
The dumbing down of specialist fields has been ongoing as the military has switched from custom hardware to COTS (Common/Commercial Off The Shelf) systems. This really accelerated in 2003 and the transformation was almost complete by 2005. Troubleshooting down to the component level and resoldering circuit boards was standard procedure in the old days. Soldiers had to really understand how their systems worked and how they interacted with other things. As the equipment has gotten smarter, the requirements for the soldier have decreased.
I watched the knowledge base drain away while I was in the military. I spent my final three years as an instructor/subject-matter-expert (Brigade level) for all things IT and satellite communications. Every year, the students were less and less prepared for the training. This applied especially to my students from a communications career field. This was expected when it came to my students from non-IT careers, but in the end, the students that should have been the most well prepared for my classes did no better that those that had never seen a satellite dish before.
I spent an additional two years as a contractor in Afghanistan. I did everything from convoys out to remote FOBs to troubleshoot and repair systems, to training, to theater wide Tier-3/Engineering Level satellite support. I worked with hundreds of contractors at all levels and over 95% of them were veterans. The quality of work/knowledge level was a complete crapshoot. There were many that I dealt with that should have been fired or at least not had their contract renewed. One of them was my boss(gross negligence/mismanagement), the other was a CCNP that couldn't even create a basic NAT configuration for a 2800 series router(fired for reasons unrelated to his lack of technical competence). There were the occasional superstars (my replacement boss). There was everything in between.
In the end, I honestly see very few advantages to hiring veterans other than that they have a higher chance of being on time/early than a non-veteran. I see a distinct disadvantage in hiring anyone that was a First Sergeant or Sergeant Major(Don't worry, the ones you need to worry about will let you know they were one). Those are the ones most likely to have internalized the military and demand that those around them do the same.
I had this issue back in 2002 on Sprint. My solution was to run a background ping process with 1-byte packets. This kept my connection from stalling out. The disadvantage is that your 3G modem and WiFi will never enter low-power states. So your battery life will suffer as a result.
On the same note, my web browsing greatly benefits from running all my web traffic through a SSH tunnel with compression enabled. When you are dealing with a sub-48kbit GPRS connection that ramps ping times into the 100+ second range (not a typo) and 50% packet loss with high traffic usage, it becomes necessary. (For those wondering, Afghanistan)
Here in some places (but not enough) of the U.S. we have two, sometimes three different internet companies to choose from.
FTFY
Thanks. I happen to live one of those places. The ONLY option here is AT&T 3.5mbps ADSL. Other possibilities are an AT&T EDGE(No VZW coverage here) connection that averages somewhere around 20kbps or satellite. No thanks (this coming from someone that makes a living repairing and fielding enterprise SATCOM systems).
I am fortunate enough that I was able to switch over to AT&T Business Class DSL(No bandwidth caps) for LESS than I was paying for the same AT&T Residential DSL. I get excellent SNRs and am often on FastPath because of that, but AT&T refuses to bump me up to 6mbps. That is even after explaining that I don't care if I actually get 6mbps. I will settle for whatever my modem trains at above 3.5mbps considering my primary motivator is a 768k upload versus a 384k upload and the price difference is less than $3/month.
"I had one. Returned it. I prefer my phones to not have sharp corners."
You seriously expected a phone called a Razr and in the commercial had it falling and sticking into a piece of metal to NOT have sharp corners?
Could someone please point out the SSD they compare to in the article?
The truth of the matter is that the Army generally has the least amount of fuckups when it comes to communications. This is because the Army curriculum is VERY methodical and almost reads like a checklist (in fact, we often use checklists and cut-sheets).
I'm not saying the Army is any more intelligent than any other branch. We have some really dumb people. The Army trains so that the dumbest kid on the block can do the job perfectly, every time.
I didn't get the e-mail myself(or maybe I did, I'm on leave so I have not checked it in weeks), but this is an example of the kind of tests that the Army should do. Not telling MWR, good idea. It not only gives them an opportunity to see the response of troops, but an opportunity to see the response of MWR to this kind of threat.
//SPC Wood, Active Duty
What I think the Army will find most surprising(or not!) is the apparent lack of use of the AKO Webmail system, it sucks, hard.
I should clarify my position. I doubt the cybercommand will be annoyed at all that their recruiting video is now "HOT STUFF."
Before this takedown notice no one really gave two shits about the video. Now, EVERYONE wants to see it to see what the deal is. The best part, this was not intended. This is someone stepping out of their bounds and not going through the Public Affairs Office.
I purchased a 3' long 12 outlet strip from wal-mart for $25. Outlets are spaced about 2" apart. It handles everything except for the massive wallwarts without blocking the next outlet.
I have a slightly different approach:
-Tan combat boots
-Tan webbed belt
-Tan t-shirt
-ACU Pattern Pants
-ACU Pattern shirt
-Beret
Never seems to stop me from entering "executive" meetings.
I've only changed my style once in six years. I used to have black boots, black belt, brown t-shirt, and BDU pants and shirt.
Ya know, to be honest, I would have no problems with ISPs placing P2P protocols in the bulk category for QoS on their end. This would ensure that other traffic has priority and no one would really be affected that much. The problem I have with Comcast is the method they use to essentially block P2P by forging RST packets.
Then again, I would be perfectly happy paying $100 a month for a 2/2 connection with no limitations. It would be much better than the $60/month I pay for a 5/512k with a 50GB cap($3/GB after), weekly outages, and rollercoaster pings(Gotta love having no other broadband provider available). I don't even use P2P (NNTP FTW).
My name is so common that you won't find a damn thing about me on the internet unless you do a full "firstname middlename lastname" search. Even then, there is only one hit.
I don't know the validity of the patent nor do I know if it was a submarine patent, so I can't comment on that aspect. While the ban would have severe financial impact on most of the magnetic storage industry, if not the entire economy, this could be the real kick in the pants that SSD's need. This has the potential massively increase density and lower costs of SSD's in a very short timeframe. If they can cram 16GB on a SDHC card(Due January 08), imagine how much storage they could put in a 3.5" or even a 1.8" SSD. That said, this ban will not be enacted. The federal government will not allow a ban on imports of magnetic HDDs. Not only because of the financial devastation it has the potential to cause, but because it would severely inconvenience the government as well. Remember the whole BlackBerry patent suit?
Check out Phantom Canyon Pass near Colorado Springs. Beautiful, but scary (No guard rails, very narrow at points, 100' drops). At night in Colorado Springs, if the sky isn't orange, you can see maybe 10-20 stars. When on the pass at night the entire sky is filled with them(You are on the western side of Pike's Peak, so the mountains block all the light from the cities to the east). Unfortunately, I never took any night-time photos of the pass. I'll make a point of it next time I drive the pass, but that won't be until May, when I move back to Colorado Springs.
I say discontinue it. It will take YEARS for the penny to go out of circulation. Even then, you can still have things priced the same and only round up at the checkout.
No, even better, the terabyte DVDs will likely be 931GB.
Storage manufacturers use base10 to define the data sizes. Therefore, 1TB = 1,000,000,000,000 = 931GB
Still, as long as the discs start out under $30 each, I will be buying packs of 10. Even if the drive is $500.
Yup, just make sure you start off the call with "This is not an emergency, I am testing to see if 911 works on my phone." They are generally polite as long as you are and get straight to the point.
My storage and speed requirements are what prompt me to replace hard drives.
I use a 200GB 8MB Cache SATA drive as my system drive. That will get replaced within six months with a 16MB cache 320GB or larger drive. Since I am a gamer, my games only(literally, it is mapped to C:\Games) drive is a 150GB Raptor.
For storage, I have a 2TB Array(8x WD 320GB RE 8MB Cache) on a separate fileserver. I use the HighPoint RocketRaid 2320 controller for it and have been very happy with it. (Great Linux support, E-mail alerts to my cell phone and gmail if any problems occur) I have been so happy with the performance of the fileserver, than I am building another separate fileserver(Well, that and I only have 60GB free on it). Using 8x Seagate 7200.10 16MB Cache drives and the HighPoint RocketRaid 2320. Critical data(about 8GB) is mirrored on my main machine, the fileserver, and DVD. All other data is considered expendable. Another data protection mechanism I use is that the only method of writing through the array is from the fileserver itself. File permissions are set to deny write access to all data on the array from any user except myself. I have an upload directory on the system drive whose folder structure mirrors the array's. I simply drop the files I want to upload in the appropriate folder, and execute my move script from my SSH session. This means that the only way for a virus or malicious user to mess with my data is to know my username and password or know the root password.
I'll just order it from Lik....oh wait, never mind.
Does .mil count? If so, here's another!
Viral DRM, that is. Ouch.
Here ya go!h aseAntenna.html
http://eo1.gsfc.nasa.gov/new/extended/sensorWeb/p
But WOPS isn't a fun acronym.
Now, WOPRS, War on PRoprietary Software. That would be great!
Read these:o n/0,,sid26_gci560980,00.html
DirecWay info - http://www.fchorizon.com/direcway.html
STARBand info - http://searchwebservices.techtarget.com/sDefiniti
Why communications birds use Geostationary orbits - http://celestrak.com/columns/v04n07/