Last year I was hired as a consultant to "untie the IT mess" for a manufacturing company that made really BIG stuff. They couldn't figure out the little stuff though, such as computers. The IT Director was this goober that was stuck in the 60s (and even dressed like it). It was a paying gig, so I bit my lip and went on.
First day in, they took me to the "computer room". I kid you not, there was a 10Mbps hub suspended from the CAT5 cables coming out of the patch panel! I didn't realize they were being specific when they said "untie"!
The room was peaking 85 degrees, the only place I could sit was straddling the server (no kidding) which was a large clone tower about 5 years old running Windows 98. Unbelievable was the server...125 people connected to this Win98 box. There were 10 hard drives in this thing, each with a different share password--their idea of security.
The place was a fire hazard from all of the papers and just junk from every box, piece of software, etc they'd ever purchased. They couldn't have ever thrown anything away! And I mentioned it was a manufacturing company, right? Right outside the office was the welding shop. So it smelled great! And ever so often the exhaust fan would start and blow all of the papers all over the place.
The IT Director said, "Hey, it's worked for this long...why change it?"
This link shows the website of a community that put together a coop so they could provide DSL service to the people living in their subdivision. I think the tricky part are the government regulations involved.
If the government subsidized small shops, we'd all pay for it through taxes. Do you want to send your money to a small shop that has a mediocre concept, can't compete, or just isn't smart enough to know when to hang it up.
It's not everyone's right to be successful. It's just everyone's right to have the same OPPORTUNITY to be successful. The government (by subsidizing) cannot be expected to guarantee success. If you can't let go of that game concept long enough to get a real job then maybe there are some other psychological issues at work here. Get a paying job, pay taxes, and contribute to society! If you're into medical research or something altruistic besides freakin' games, then maybe I'd be OK with a grant, but COME ON--GAMES?
I make too much money doing this to have it regulated! Regulation would shrink my consulting rates! And I make too much money cleaning up after idiots who can't find their ass in the dark.
I say "HELL NO!" to regulation. Buyer beware, just like in consumer electronics. Industry certs and comp sci degrees will do the trick for business.
Put all your CD's in the carousel, go to Starbucks, and when you return, this device will have connected over the Internet to CDDB, catalogued all CDs in the carousel (including artwork) and ripped them on the hard drive inside. Then you can play them on your home stereo system.
http://www.escientconvergence.com/fireball.htm
Or try the cheaper alternative....
http://athome.compaq.com/showroom/static/ipaq/musi c_center.asp
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Last year I was hired as a consultant to "untie the IT mess" for a manufacturing company that made really BIG stuff. They couldn't figure out the little stuff though, such as computers. The IT Director was this goober that was stuck in the 60s (and even dressed like it). It was a paying gig, so I bit my lip and went on. First day in, they took me to the "computer room". I kid you not, there was a 10Mbps hub suspended from the CAT5 cables coming out of the patch panel! I didn't realize they were being specific when they said "untie"! The room was peaking 85 degrees, the only place I could sit was straddling the server (no kidding) which was a large clone tower about 5 years old running Windows 98. Unbelievable was the server...125 people connected to this Win98 box. There were 10 hard drives in this thing, each with a different share password--their idea of security. The place was a fire hazard from all of the papers and just junk from every box, piece of software, etc they'd ever purchased. They couldn't have ever thrown anything away! And I mentioned it was a manufacturing company, right? Right outside the office was the welding shop. So it smelled great! And ever so often the exhaust fan would start and blow all of the papers all over the place. The IT Director said, "Hey, it's worked for this long...why change it?"
This link shows the website of a community that put together a coop so they could provide DSL service to the people living in their subdivision. I think the tricky part are the government regulations involved.
If the government subsidized small shops, we'd all pay for it through taxes. Do you want to send your money to a small shop that has a mediocre concept, can't compete, or just isn't smart enough to know when to hang it up. It's not everyone's right to be successful. It's just everyone's right to have the same OPPORTUNITY to be successful. The government (by subsidizing) cannot be expected to guarantee success. If you can't let go of that game concept long enough to get a real job then maybe there are some other psychological issues at work here. Get a paying job, pay taxes, and contribute to society! If you're into medical research or something altruistic besides freakin' games, then maybe I'd be OK with a grant, but COME ON--GAMES?
I make too much money doing this to have it regulated! Regulation would shrink my consulting rates! And I make too much money cleaning up after idiots who can't find their ass in the dark. I say "HELL NO!" to regulation. Buyer beware, just like in consumer electronics. Industry certs and comp sci degrees will do the trick for business.
Put all your CD's in the carousel, go to Starbucks, and when you return, this device will have connected over the Internet to CDDB, catalogued all CDs in the carousel (including artwork) and ripped them on the hard drive inside. Then you can play them on your home stereo system. http://www.escientconvergence.com/fireball.htm Or try the cheaper alternative.... http://athome.compaq.com/showroom/static/ipaq/musi c_center.asp