Transistor degradation such as gate-oxide breakdown and hot-electron effects will effect transistor performance.
Ugh.... It's "affect".... But that's not the issue here.
Wikipedia transistor degradation if you'd like
like this? You should start an article, don't you think?
Technically, what you are telling me is that my parents server, a machine bought in 1999, should be extremely slow. It's been running 24/7 for the last 5 years or so. (Same thing for my dads laptop, which was bought in 2000, IIRC... but that one doesn't run 24/7, but at least a couple of hours a day)
I'm not saying it doesn't degrade, I'm not an electrical engineer, but if it does, the effects are insignificant. If it slows down 0.0001% (number pulled from somewhere very dark), it simply doesn't matter.
If you actually want to know, you'd do the research, if you refuse to believe it, you won't, there's really not much I can do beyond that.
This is not about belief. You asserted something, and I asked you some evidence. You said, wikipedia it, but there is no article. Google does have some interesting links, but nothing that I can comprehend. Where is the article for the layman, stating that after (for example) 5 years with moderate usage, his computer will run at about 25% of original performance? Not everyone is an electrical engineer, and I cannot asses such things.
but that doesn't explain why my Dell laptop fell apart after two years and my macbook pro is going strong after four.
I'm not the guy claiming that hardware degrades, but longevity of hardware is mostly a matter of luck. I tried explaining that above to another poster too.
I don't know if a comparably priced Dell/HP etc would still be working, though FWIW my Compaq bought at the same time died utterly three years ago
It most likely would. Up until January 2007, I ran a Fujitsu-Siemens P-III 600MHz with 512Meg RAM as my primary laptop. It started to physically fall apart and that's why I replaced it. The hardware itself was fine. Anyway, I bought that laptop second hand from the company I left (which was Fujitsu Siemens) in December 2004, to that's a full 2 years in my possesion. That laptop had already served someone else for about 4 to 5 years. (P-III 600MHz was released when? Fall 1999?)
Before this long-lived laptop I owned a iBook G3 600MHz/640Meg RAM. It died after three years of usage due to logic board failure. Since Apple had already announced the Intel switch, I was not going to invest in a new iBook G4. Oh, and for the record: I treated my iBook like my firstborn and the Fujitsu-Siemens thrown in my backpack more than once.
All I want to say: longevity is just a matter of luck....
(Oh, and another one: my dad uses to this day is P-III 733MHz Dell which he bought new in, no idea... 2000? (We did upgrade the RAM and the harddisk though)
Hardware degrades. It has nothing to do with the OS and no, the component quality in a macbook is *not* that much better than what you'd find in a high-end laptop. I guarantee you its NOT running as well as the first day you bought it, you just can't admit it to yourself. No CPU, RAM, harddrive, etc etc etc is going to run as well as it did after four years of usage
As a dumpster diver, I can tell you that it's pretty much always the software. The hardware is usually 100% operational...
Now components might fail (fans, harddisks, powersupplies are quite typical), but hardware doesn't decay at all in the way you describe.
I am a programmer by trade too. I just recently landed a job as a Linux Admin. I'm finally out of Windows-hell. I learnt this stuff by necessity, and I cannot understand Windows admins that say it's can't be done. Actually, it infuriates me.... I can do it, and I have written on comments on slashdot with pretty good instructions on how to do it. It really is just a matter of setting ACLs of folders and/or registry entries of the offending apps. (Of course, if I do that, I get snarky replies that "Windows is 'oh-so-easy'"... well no, that's not the point...) No "Run As" required. Sure, that allows the user to break offending apps, but that is the least of your worries.
What is sad, is that this is slashdot... a place where people should actually know what they talk about.
Anyway, thanks for your post.... It's great to know one is not alone;-)
Let me translate what you just said: "You can have any OS you want, as long as it's Linux."
I beg to differ. You can also take any of the BSDs or OpenSolaris. Most of these get the same software that Linux does. Remember why Stallman wants you to call it GNU/Linux? Because pretty much everything Linux distributions are built on are GNU + the Linux kernel.
When users are not administrators to their box, that solves most of the problems right there.
I've been saying this on slashdot (and in real life) for ages and I know it to be true from personal experience.... Yet everybody keeps telling me that people need to run Admin or otherwise WinXP breaks. Pfffff...
Well, don't get me wrong. Not everyone lives in the US, and the number I got on the screen to call explicitly stated local business hours? Why? Don't know.... I didn't ask the guy exactly where he was.
In fact, I recommend wiping Windows* every year or two and starting with a fresh clean install anyway.
In fact, I know as a certainty that this is not needed. Lock down the machine (Limited User for everyone, including you!), install only what you need (and upgrade only if required) and Windows XP stays clean. You only log in as Admin when you need to (install something, change a setting). That happens, what? A few times a year?
The problem is that most people do not do that (and probably can't... even though running Limited User isn't hard, you need to know a few tricks) and just run Admin and install anything they can get hold on (pirated, free-with-spyware, etc, etc, etc...) without researching if it's a good product....
The nice man asked me a couple of questions ("How many PCs is this copy of Windows installed on?"), gave me a code, said "please to be having a nice day" and we were done in about five minutes.
So you were lucky enough to do this during business hours? When I did a BIOS upgrade on my brothers machine (okay, it was because I upgraded his Single Core CPU to Dual Core), I got the activation too. Except I did this in the evening and couldn't call them. So I had to come back to his place during business hours. How fun....
(Do note that the first activation is call-free, but I busted that one on day one we had the computer because.... we installed a WiFi card. Yay!)
Also condsider the following: I am an avid dumpster diver. You get plenty of P-IV 1GHz to 2GHz machines (or AMD XP in the same speed range) in dumpsters. Some of them have the license sticker on them. I have been known to put Ubuntu on them, but technically I could reuse the license, no? Well, usually I can't because I don't have the disks (Oooh, an HP/Dell/Fujitsu XP restore CD is required? Where the fuck am I going to get that?) Also, I cannot honestly reply to the question "On how many computers has this copy of Windows been installed?". How would I know, I found the damned thing in a dumpster!
Usually, I just put Ubuntu on these kind of computers before I give them away to people who are happy with a giveaway computer. It's just a hard sell, because so many people insist on Windows. (But i did have some "converts"....)
No, sorry... That is not a valid argument, because anyone knowing what they do can run Limited User in WinXP and have no problem. The model used in Vista, demotes the Administrator (who is supposed to know what he's doing) to a mere user with a password-less allow/cancel dialog.
It would be entirely possible to automate the Limited User setting,... Ask upon installation if a program is legacy (eventually with a whitelist of known legacy applications).... If yes, allow every user (ACL:Users,RWX) to the registry parts added during installation. Also, allow every user (ACL:Users,RWX) to the directory where the application has been installed...
That's it.... Really it is. Under WinXP this works with any "non-Limited User" program. Sure a user could fuck up one of these programs because they have the right to, but they can't fuck up the system... that's what matters.
XP can do what you want, and most preferably keep Admin rights away from users.... What I describe is more secure, because the rights are set at installation... not when the user is expecting and just will click Allow.
Security under XP is possible and it could be automated.... Basically, if I secure a XP machine, I follow a set of rules.... Which I already explained above. Those machines never get rooted.
anything needing a stripped-down version of windows should do fine with Win2k, and
anything else should use something more recent
I have one question for you: Why?
I need a rational explanation. XP does pretty much everything anyone wants. I can only think of one thing Vista offers that XP doesn't: DirectX10, but then I'm no gamer.
It is possible to run (almost?) everything in user-mode, without the need for every user to be administrator.
That is absolutely possible with Windows XP too. Have been doing it for years.... You only have to know how...
Re:Bad jobs? Maybe. But some people will take them
on
Even Dirtier IT Jobs
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· Score: 2, Insightful
a night shift job as bestiality porn site QA engineer?
I don't see any problems with that job.... Why so dismissive? It's not as if you're the person blowing the horse or being taken from behind by a donkey. I'd object to that, but doing some QA on perverted stuff? Pffffff....
Re:Hope it's not used by a professional...
on
Cellular Repo Man
·
· Score: 1
No, but after this has been on slashdot, a local geek could contact her and offer to do it for her. Get an old spare laptop, download royalty free music (diverse links are found in the comments) and set it up for her. I'd do that if I lived nearby.
Last time I saw one not connected to a plan it was 700++€. Just saying... My last cell phone was 35€ without a plan.... And that was already a pretty fancy phone.
Granted, a 3G iPhone with a plan is 0€, but the plan is insanely expensive. (Like 25€/month.... No way! I get fine along with 5€/month)
Well, I won't talk about every European, but when I live, it's 1300€ for a 80m^2 apartment. If you've got kids, then you don't have space for an office. 80m^2 is large when I live, and I earn quite well.... Most have to be content with 60m^2 or less....
Frankly, I would never use a 14-15" laptop as my regular computer OR a travel computer. I never could understand the appeal. They're just too big to drag around, and at home, a desktop is better on just about every aspect
At the risk of going a bit offtopic: I do understand why people but the 15" models. I'm typing this post on one, even though I do own a netbook. The 15" or even the 17" 'desktop replacement' models do deserve their name. What I can only assume is that you are not space-constrained. Well many of us Europeans are, and the place for a desktop with big LCD screen and keyboard is something we don't want to waste. A "desktop replacement" style laptop, takes up minimal space when in its bag while giving pretty much desktop-like performance. Yes, they do lack expandability and are not very portable, but they save space when not in use. This is for the private owner.
At my former job and at the one I just started I also had these style of laptops. Usually with docking station and extra external screen. Why? Because they give the comfort of a desktop (pretty much, especially with extra screen and external mouse/keyboard), but give the ability to go to a client without changing machines.
I would also prefer a desktop, but at home, I'm space constrained. At work, my employers expect me to be able to move easily... Do you understand now why those exist?
What ever you do, don't buy a netbook with a small ssd drive in it, get one with a hard drive.
Why? I have an Asus EEE 701 4G. I have installed tons of stuff (Debian Lenny is on it), and I still have 1G free. I do not really store anything on it. Last weekend, I was in a commercial centre while my wife was at the hairdresser (damn, womens hairdressers take ages!), and I found out they had wireless. Sat down at a pub, started surf and fancied some music. No problem, tuned in on last.fm and I was a happy puppy.
Netbooks are called that way for a reason: they're netbound. If I really would have wanted to work on a document, I could have sshed it from my machine (or a normal user could use Google Docs)
I tried, oh how I tried, to get family on Linux...endless support calls later, they're all back on XP.
Well, it worked for my mom. She's been running Ubuntu for over a year. Set up her (new, built by me) machine, set up her email in Thunderbird (Which she knew form XP), set up her Thunderbird (Also known form XP, transferred bookmarks) showed her F-Spot and that's about it.
Sure, she actually doesn't do much more than email, surf and manage her digital photos, but that is exactly the point: it's up to you to assess the needs of your user and give her the tools required before they even think of it. I do this on XP too, and there my users run Limited User because I made sure everything works out of the box. (Do also note that I make sure standard applications from Linux are present on XP, it easer later migrations)
My mother in law also ran Ubuntu. Her son decided that it was no good (he's was 16 at the time, my wife is 11 years older) and reformatted it with XP. My mother in law actually wanted her "Ubuntu" back, but I told her to deal with the spoiled brat instead of me having to argue with him. No idea how her desktop is now, and I couldn't care. She has problems, she asks him.
Slashdot Mirror
Ugh.... It's "affect".... But that's not the issue here.
like this? You should start an article, don't you think?
Technically, what you are telling me is that my parents server, a machine bought in 1999, should be extremely slow. It's been running 24/7 for the last 5 years or so. (Same thing for my dads laptop, which was bought in 2000, IIRC... but that one doesn't run 24/7, but at least a couple of hours a day)
I'm not saying it doesn't degrade, I'm not an electrical engineer, but if it does, the effects are insignificant. If it slows down 0.0001% (number pulled from somewhere very dark), it simply doesn't matter.
This is not about belief. You asserted something, and I asked you some evidence. You said, wikipedia it, but there is no article. Google does have some interesting links, but nothing that I can comprehend. Where is the article for the layman, stating that after (for example) 5 years with moderate usage, his computer will run at about 25% of original performance? Not everyone is an electrical engineer, and I cannot asses such things.
I'm not the guy claiming that hardware degrades, but longevity of hardware is mostly a matter of luck. I tried explaining that above to another poster too.
It most likely would. Up until January 2007, I ran a Fujitsu-Siemens P-III 600MHz with 512Meg RAM as my primary laptop. It started to physically fall apart and that's why I replaced it. The hardware itself was fine. Anyway, I bought that laptop second hand from the company I left (which was Fujitsu Siemens) in December 2004, to that's a full 2 years in my possesion. That laptop had already served someone else for about 4 to 5 years. (P-III 600MHz was released when? Fall 1999?)
Before this long-lived laptop I owned a iBook G3 600MHz/640Meg RAM. It died after three years of usage due to logic board failure. Since Apple had already announced the Intel switch, I was not going to invest in a new iBook G4. Oh, and for the record: I treated my iBook like my firstborn and the Fujitsu-Siemens thrown in my backpack more than once.
All I want to say: longevity is just a matter of luck....
(Oh, and another one: my dad uses to this day is P-III 733MHz Dell which he bought new in, no idea... 2000? (We did upgrade the RAM and the harddisk though)
As a dumpster diver, I can tell you that it's pretty much always the software. The hardware is usually 100% operational...
Now components might fail (fans, harddisks, powersupplies are quite typical), but hardware doesn't decay at all in the way you describe.
So, allow me to say: [citation needed]
You beat me to it.... Mods, below you'll find one of my posts saying the same thing. Feel free to mod redundant :-)
Web-monkey? :-P
I am a programmer by trade too. I just recently landed a job as a Linux Admin. I'm finally out of Windows-hell. I learnt this stuff by necessity, and I cannot understand Windows admins that say it's can't be done. Actually, it infuriates me.... I can do it, and I have written on comments on slashdot with pretty good instructions on how to do it. It really is just a matter of setting ACLs of folders and/or registry entries of the offending apps. (Of course, if I do that, I get snarky replies that "Windows is 'oh-so-easy'"... well no, that's not the point...) No "Run As" required. Sure, that allows the user to break offending apps, but that is the least of your worries.
What is sad, is that this is slashdot... a place where people should actually know what they talk about.
Anyway, thanks for your post.... It's great to know one is not alone ;-)
I beg to differ. You can also take any of the BSDs or OpenSolaris. Most of these get the same software that Linux does. Remember why Stallman wants you to call it GNU/Linux? Because pretty much everything Linux distributions are built on are GNU + the Linux kernel.
Finally...
I've been saying this on slashdot (and in real life) for ages and I know it to be true from personal experience.... Yet everybody keeps telling me that people need to run Admin or otherwise WinXP breaks. Pfffff...
Well, don't get me wrong. Not everyone lives in the US, and the number I got on the screen to call explicitly stated local business hours? Why? Don't know.... I didn't ask the guy exactly where he was.
In fact, I know as a certainty that this is not needed. Lock down the machine (Limited User for everyone, including you!), install only what you need (and upgrade only if required) and Windows XP stays clean. You only log in as Admin when you need to (install something, change a setting). That happens, what? A few times a year?
The problem is that most people do not do that (and probably can't... even though running Limited User isn't hard, you need to know a few tricks) and just run Admin and install anything they can get hold on (pirated, free-with-spyware, etc, etc, etc...) without researching if it's a good product....
So you were lucky enough to do this during business hours? When I did a BIOS upgrade on my brothers machine (okay, it was because I upgraded his Single Core CPU to Dual Core), I got the activation too. Except I did this in the evening and couldn't call them. So I had to come back to his place during business hours. How fun....
(Do note that the first activation is call-free, but I busted that one on day one we had the computer because.... we installed a WiFi card. Yay!)
Also condsider the following: I am an avid dumpster diver. You get plenty of P-IV 1GHz to 2GHz machines (or AMD XP in the same speed range) in dumpsters. Some of them have the license sticker on them. I have been known to put Ubuntu on them, but technically I could reuse the license, no? Well, usually I can't because I don't have the disks (Oooh, an HP/Dell/Fujitsu XP restore CD is required? Where the fuck am I going to get that?) Also, I cannot honestly reply to the question "On how many computers has this copy of Windows been installed?". How would I know, I found the damned thing in a dumpster!
Usually, I just put Ubuntu on these kind of computers before I give them away to people who are happy with a giveaway computer. It's just a hard sell, because so many people insist on Windows. (But i did have some "converts"....)
No, sorry... That is not a valid argument, because anyone knowing what they do can run Limited User in WinXP and have no problem. The model used in Vista, demotes the Administrator (who is supposed to know what he's doing) to a mere user with a password-less allow/cancel dialog.
It would be entirely possible to automate the Limited User setting,... Ask upon installation if a program is legacy (eventually with a whitelist of known legacy applications).... If yes, allow every user (ACL:Users,RWX) to the registry parts added during installation. Also, allow every user (ACL:Users,RWX) to the directory where the application has been installed...
That's it.... Really it is. Under WinXP this works with any "non-Limited User" program. Sure a user could fuck up one of these programs because they have the right to, but they can't fuck up the system... that's what matters.
XP can do what you want, and most preferably keep Admin rights away from users.... What I describe is more secure, because the rights are set at installation... not when the user is expecting and just will click Allow.
Security under XP is possible and it could be automated.... Basically, if I secure a XP machine, I follow a set of rules.... Which I already explained above. Those machines never get rooted.
I have one question for you: Why?
I need a rational explanation. XP does pretty much everything anyone wants. I can only think of one thing Vista offers that XP doesn't: DirectX10, but then I'm no gamer.
That is absolutely possible with Windows XP too. Have been doing it for years.... You only have to know how...
I don't see any problems with that job.... Why so dismissive? It's not as if you're the person blowing the horse or being taken from behind by a donkey. I'd object to that, but doing some QA on perverted stuff? Pffffff....
That's what checksums are for....
No, but after this has been on slashdot, a local geek could contact her and offer to do it for her. Get an old spare laptop, download royalty free music (diverse links are found in the comments) and set it up for her. I'd do that if I lived nearby.
Google is your friend for metric conversions: 861 square feet. That's essentially a two-bedroom apartment (+bathroom, small kitchen & living room).
Last time I saw one not connected to a plan it was 700++€. Just saying... My last cell phone was 35€ without a plan.... And that was already a pretty fancy phone.
Granted, a 3G iPhone with a plan is 0€, but the plan is insanely expensive. (Like 25€/month.... No way! I get fine along with 5€/month)
Well, I won't talk about every European, but when I live, it's 1300€ for a 80m^2 apartment. If you've got kids, then you don't have space for an office. 80m^2 is large when I live, and I earn quite well.... Most have to be content with 60m^2 or less....
At the risk of going a bit offtopic: I do understand why people but the 15" models. I'm typing this post on one, even though I do own a netbook. The 15" or even the 17" 'desktop replacement' models do deserve their name. What I can only assume is that you are not space-constrained. Well many of us Europeans are, and the place for a desktop with big LCD screen and keyboard is something we don't want to waste. A "desktop replacement" style laptop, takes up minimal space when in its bag while giving pretty much desktop-like performance. Yes, they do lack expandability and are not very portable, but they save space when not in use. This is for the private owner.
At my former job and at the one I just started I also had these style of laptops. Usually with docking station and extra external screen. Why? Because they give the comfort of a desktop (pretty much, especially with extra screen and external mouse/keyboard), but give the ability to go to a client without changing machines.
I would also prefer a desktop, but at home, I'm space constrained. At work, my employers expect me to be able to move easily... Do you understand now why those exist?
Why? I have an Asus EEE 701 4G. I have installed tons of stuff (Debian Lenny is on it), and I still have 1G free. I do not really store anything on it. Last weekend, I was in a commercial centre while my wife was at the hairdresser (damn, womens hairdressers take ages!), and I found out they had wireless. Sat down at a pub, started surf and fancied some music. No problem, tuned in on last.fm and I was a happy puppy.
Netbooks are called that way for a reason: they're netbound. If I really would have wanted to work on a document, I could have sshed it from my machine (or a normal user could use Google Docs)
An iPhone is cheap? Since when?!?
Well, it worked for my mom. She's been running Ubuntu for over a year. Set up her (new, built by me) machine, set up her email in Thunderbird (Which she knew form XP), set up her Thunderbird (Also known form XP, transferred bookmarks) showed her F-Spot and that's about it.
Sure, she actually doesn't do much more than email, surf and manage her digital photos, but that is exactly the point: it's up to you to assess the needs of your user and give her the tools required before they even think of it. I do this on XP too, and there my users run Limited User because I made sure everything works out of the box. (Do also note that I make sure standard applications from Linux are present on XP, it easer later migrations)
My mother in law also ran Ubuntu. Her son decided that it was no good (he's was 16 at the time, my wife is 11 years older) and reformatted it with XP. My mother in law actually wanted her "Ubuntu" back, but I told her to deal with the spoiled brat instead of me having to argue with him. No idea how her desktop is now, and I couldn't care. She has problems, she asks him.