I get to work at 7 in the morning. By 8 I'm in the truck going everywhere (I program HVAC systems).
Without my Visor, I'd never get through the day. Need to know when the last time I calibrated a sensor? Look it up in the Visor.
Need to fill out my time sheet for last week? Just print a copy of my weekly calander.
What was the password to that router that I set up two years ago? Look it up in the Visor.
Opps, forgot my checkbook and need to make a deposit. Look it up in the Visor. I've been using Palm based PDAs since the Pro.
I gave my original to my son almost a year ago. He uses it to keep track of his cartoons and play games (he's 8) but I'll bet he uses it for tracking school assignments before to long. In my world, the key is to keep it on me at all times, that means a geeky belt pouch. Sometimes I wished I had to wear a sports jacket.:)
While warranties are important, they are not the end all be all of tools. Stanley (Walmart carries them) are pretty darn good tools. I work in the HVAC business now (Digital Controls Programmer) and I USE my tools, way harder than I ever did when I was in the PC business.
My set of Stanley screwdrivers has been abused in ways you wouldn't believe. Pry bar, hole punch through light gauge steel, etc. After two years, they still turn a screw just fine. It'll be another year before any of them need replacement.
That said, my PC toolkit only contains one tool that I reach for every day. The 13 in 1 ratcheting screwdriver with bit storage in the handle. All the big box stores have them. It's got a magnetic extension and a ¼ nut driver for doing sockets. That and my trusty collection of CD's fill with utilities will solve almost anything.
I am currently a programmer for an HVAC company. We use control products made by this company. http://www.kmc-controls.com/
All programming is done in BASIC. Works great. Most HVAC stuff is just IF THEN statements. KMC is due to release a web enabled interface box for their systems sometime soon. Each controller is a standalone computer with anywhere from 4 to 128 IN/OUTs. They communicate with each other using RS-485 (much more robust that 232 in high RF interference enviroments). Their high end controllers use ethernet and the BACNet protocol allowing login across the internet.
The system is designed to dial a pager, cell phone, or control computer in the event of an alarm.
--
Brice Ligget
Encode Corp.
ligget (at) attbi.com
It's the users. I've worked for years on both PC's and Macs. We regularly bring in customer PCs that have viruses. Know how many virus's I've had? Zero. Why, because I'm not stupid. Properly set up security on shares, not opening every flipping 'look at me!' email that comes across my desk. Not using a root level account for everyday use. PC's don't spread viruses, people do.
First, most 'existing' cable systems aren't paid for. They are heavily leveraged. Often two or three times. Tech and channel demands call for more frequent upgrades than the cash flow from subscribers can pay off.
Second, unless a plant is already two way, only the cheap part of the plant doesn't need to be replaced (the cable). All the stuff that makes a cable system work (amps, line extenders, fiber terminators) are incredibly expensive.
I know Exxon uses it. Came as part of the merger with Mobil. Mobil has always used it, the Exxon side was a combo of mainframe mail and Exchange. Lots of people weren't very happy with the change. But it was working rather well when I left the project.
Slashdot Mirror
The description of his activities are very misleading in the slashdot article. The ABC article is very much worth the read.
I get to work at 7 in the morning. By 8 I'm in the truck going everywhere (I program HVAC systems). Without my Visor, I'd never get through the day. Need to know when the last time I calibrated a sensor? Look it up in the Visor. Need to fill out my time sheet for last week? Just print a copy of my weekly calander. What was the password to that router that I set up two years ago? Look it up in the Visor. Opps, forgot my checkbook and need to make a deposit. Look it up in the Visor. I've been using Palm based PDAs since the Pro. I gave my original to my son almost a year ago. He uses it to keep track of his cartoons and play games (he's 8) but I'll bet he uses it for tracking school assignments before to long. In my world, the key is to keep it on me at all times, that means a geeky belt pouch. Sometimes I wished I had to wear a sports jacket. :)
While warranties are important, they are not the end all be all of tools. Stanley (Walmart carries them) are pretty darn good tools. I work in the HVAC business now (Digital Controls Programmer) and I USE my tools, way harder than I ever did when I was in the PC business. My set of Stanley screwdrivers has been abused in ways you wouldn't believe. Pry bar, hole punch through light gauge steel, etc. After two years, they still turn a screw just fine. It'll be another year before any of them need replacement. That said, my PC toolkit only contains one tool that I reach for every day. The 13 in 1 ratcheting screwdriver with bit storage in the handle. All the big box stores have them. It's got a magnetic extension and a ¼ nut driver for doing sockets. That and my trusty collection of CD's fill with utilities will solve almost anything.
I am currently a programmer for an HVAC company. We use control products made by this company. http://www.kmc-controls.com/ All programming is done in BASIC. Works great. Most HVAC stuff is just IF THEN statements. KMC is due to release a web enabled interface box for their systems sometime soon. Each controller is a standalone computer with anywhere from 4 to 128 IN/OUTs. They communicate with each other using RS-485 (much more robust that 232 in high RF interference enviroments). Their high end controllers use ethernet and the BACNet protocol allowing login across the internet. The system is designed to dial a pager, cell phone, or control computer in the event of an alarm. -- Brice Ligget Encode Corp. ligget (at) attbi.com
It's the users. I've worked for years on both PC's and Macs. We regularly bring in customer PCs that have viruses. Know how many virus's I've had? Zero. Why, because I'm not stupid. Properly set up security on shares, not opening every flipping 'look at me!' email that comes across my desk. Not using a root level account for everyday use. PC's don't spread viruses, people do.
First, most 'existing' cable systems aren't paid for. They are heavily leveraged. Often two or three times. Tech and channel demands call for more frequent upgrades than the cash flow from subscribers can pay off. Second, unless a plant is already two way, only the cheap part of the plant doesn't need to be replaced (the cable). All the stuff that makes a cable system work (amps, line extenders, fiber terminators) are incredibly expensive.
I know Exxon uses it. Came as part of the merger with Mobil. Mobil has always used it, the Exxon side was a combo of mainframe mail and Exchange. Lots of people weren't very happy with the change. But it was working rather well when I left the project.
Give this thing a firewire interface and a better FM radio than I've got on my Rio Volt. And I'll buy it. USB is just to slow for this much music.