"ADS-B is slowly superseding the ground-based radar systems that have been used for decades" ... until the aircraft decides to become "uncooperative" and turns the darn thing off -- at which point, this (and any beacon/transponder-based system) becomes instantly useless.
Which is why you'll see ADS-B augment, but never completely replace old fashioned search radar anytime soon.
So many great quotes from his Spock character, so expertly delivered. I've (obviously) always been partial to the one in my sig. It is sadly relevant to his demise too (vis-à-vis smoking).
This isn't about raw storage; it's about an appliance that *just works* (for a long time, in my case). I've had my ReadyNAS NV (pre-Netgear, Infrant version) up and running 24/7 since March of 2006. It never, ever crashes. Administration (when rarely required) is quick & brainless. It cost 700 bucks back then (no drives). Along with my IBM Thinkpad, that's the best computing money I've ever spent.
If I would have built a DIY version, it probably would have needed rebuilding (software-wise) 3 times by now, largely due to my own propensity to keep messing with it.
Oh, I have got plug the ReadyNAS proprietary "X-RAID" feature, too: slap in an extra drive, and the array auto-expands to fill that drive. Zero-config, instant upgrades!
They're selling in spite of (and now because of) folks like me.
Yep, I was one of those haters when the service came out, but I'm a Steam convert. There's just too much to like. Crazy low prices during sales + the almost instant gratification factor = lots of impulse buys. I find myself visiting the steampowered.com site to check out the current deals.
Sure, you won't be lending out discs anymore, but you won't be losing/damaging them either. OTOH, you get easy access to your old games for as long as Steam sticks around (the only possible catch, I suppose).
I'd never played the Mass Effect series before, then saw them on sale on Steam. Picked up ME1 for 5 bucks! (ME2 is currently $24.) That's a LOT of entertainment per $.
Don't hold your breath. Although the Federal Desktop Core Config (FDCC) only mandates *security settings* for federal gov't XP/Vista machines, many IT PHBs have taken it as a mandate to USE Windows for the desktop environment. Hard to blame them, if you just go by the title of the program. I mean, where's the Linux FDCC, or the Mac version? Oh, that's right... they don't exist (yet).
Add to that the fact that AD, Exchange, SharePoint, OCS (among others) are de-facto standards across the DoD, and you can see where that leaves us for desktop machines. Not impossible to integrate alternative OS's, just very difficult; and nearly impossible to reap all those "MS-unique features" from your Windows servers w/out Windows/IE/Outlook/OCS on the other end.
I think it's safe to say that vendor lock-in has been achieved.
Regarding the Addonics AD44MIDE2CF fit, it would be nice if all laptop HD bays were so easily accessible as the one pictured on the Addonics site, but sadly, that's not the case for my machine (IBM T42) and many other laptops.
My system uses a little caddy & external cover that you must fasten to the HD, then the whole assembly slides into the side of the system. I know many Dells are like this, too (usually w/just the cover, not the caddy).
Since the AD44MIDE2CF does not have the same dimensions and screw holes as a normal HD, it will not attach to the caddy, and therefore cannot be easily slid into place. That's why I glued the adapter to the caddy, lining up the pins so they'd sit exactly where they would on a normal HD. Now, the whole thing can still be easily swapped out. Come to think of it, without the caddy (like on those Dells), I'd be completely hosed.
The Addonics CF-IDE adapter seems like a good idea (and it is for many, I'm sure), but I hope this serves as a warning for any other Googlers who are interested in the same solution I've got. It's not exactly plug & play.
And you're probably right about the voltage not being a deciding factor in TFA, but (at least in the case of the Transcend cards) it has some bearing on the DMA mode, so it may be worth the author's time to investigate it.
I know I've been absolutely certain in years past that technical issue a,b,c couldn't possibly have been caused by factors x,y,z... only to have to eat crow later.
I wonder how often voltage (5V vs. 3.3V) is a factor in UDMA problems...
Like the previous poster, I use a Transcend CF card to run XP and Ubuntu on a laptop.
I recently "upgraded" to the 16GB 300x version, since it was supposed to run at UDMA5. I wrote the review here.
Short story: According to Transcend, the card has to run at 3.3V in order to run in UDMA5 mode. I'm also using that Addonics 2-card CF-to-IDE adapter, and it doesn't offer voltage choices, so I'm stuck at 5V and the slower speeds -- auto-detected at UDMA4 in XP and UDMA2 in Ubuntu.
Next up, I'm gonna try this single-card solution, since it has a hardware voltage switch (jumper).
Oh, yeah -- and for the purposes of mounting these CF-IDE adapters in notebooks, the Addonics is a real pain (super glue was involved), since it doesn't have the same dimensions & threaded holes as a standard 2.5" HD. According to another reviewer, the Syba addresses that.
(is SOA or SOTA a valid acronym?)
Don't know about SOTA, but SOA is already taken by Start of Authority in DNS land.
At least, that was the primary meaning of SOA (in my mind), until the damn dirty marketroids started spewing "Service Oriented Architecture" all over the place, whatever the hell that means.
Section 76.630 is the primary one:
"(a) Cable system operators shall not scramble or otherwise encrypt
signals carried on the basic service tier."
But your problem might be the next line:
"Requests for waivers of this prohibition must demonstrate either a substantial problem with theft of basic tier service or a strong need to scramble basic signals for other
reasons."
...Which doesn't make separate allowances for encrypting the basic tier, just if/because it is broadcast digitally.
and Section 76.1909 might apply:
Redistribution control of unencrypted digital terrestrial
broadcast content.
"(d) Unmarked content. Where a multichannel video programming
distributor retransmits unencrypted digital terrestrial broadcast
content that is not marked with the broadcast flag, the multichannel
video programming distributor shall not encode such content to restrict
its redistribution."
If you're willing to use a Windows box for DVR, I'll eagerly suggest BeyondTV.
I had tried all the free alternatives -- MythTV, GB-PVR, Mediaportal... none of them were particularly friendly to work with or stable, for that matter. And what good is a DVR if it crashes before it can record your shows??
IMO, the Zap2ItLabs discontinuation was one of the best sales pitches for BeyondTV. One-time software purchase, and no subscription fees. It works flawlessly with my HDHomeRun dual tuner (also highly recommended), and even came with a "free" RF remote (looks like they're still running that special at snapstream.com).
Yeah, there's no capturing encrypted signals, but I have the MOST basic cable package anyway, just to get all the major networks, plus Discovery & a few others.
Many folks (even Comcast's cable monkeys) don't realize that the cableco's must (according to FCC) transmit the rock-bottom basic cable package *in the clear* (so no special cable box is needed); you get this digital signal when you order the most basic analog package. So for 18 bucks a month, I can receive/record all the major network digital HD goodness I can stand, with commercial skipping in BeyondTV. Place shifting? No problem. It's my MPEG2 file...
My one little way of giving the Finger To The Man.
That said, the next time you walk into a casino and hear shouts and cheering (usually accompanied by smiles), go investigate where it's coming from. In my experience, it's almost always the craps table. Given, there's a learning curve beyond mindless button-pushing, but:
a. The game is actually fun, as you're riding the ups and downs with a group of other real, live people
b. You don't feel like you're being robbed by a machine
c. As others have mentioned in detail, you can play (smart) for a long time, getting good bang for your entertainment buck, and possibly walk away with considerably more than you started with
Uh, I guess you could say latitude=inspiron, in that they're both x86 machines. But if you value:
- Easily removable components, such as optical drives that pop out with the flick of a switch instead of a screwdriver
or
- "Different plastics", such as (sometimes) greatly improved form factor (both in thickness and weight)
or
- Managed hardware, which can be critical if you're deploying the same device over multiple roll-outs, and you want the guts to be *exactly* the same between buys
Only 3 of the 7 HP models listed have the "Configure PC" option.
You may have a point with regards to the other configurable models (that weren't of interest), but that obviously didn't help me much.
And I didn't find the Dell site confusing. The entire purchase took about 10 minutes, with no phone calls involved.
I just helped a friend configure/buy a Latitude D620 notebook (wouldn't typically recommend the Inspiron bricks) through the Dell website for the express reason that it DID allow so many detailed configuration options!
You can specify everything, from RAM sizes per stick and hard drive speed right down to varying partition options.
Lack of such options was *the* primary factor that pushed me away from HP or Toshiba (ugh, that was a horrid site), which mostly locked you into preconfigured models.
(FWIW -- I'd still go with Thinkpad T or Z series if budget allows.)
You don't have to go with AT&T (or whatever company owns the copper) for DSL. Another provider can be your go-to guy for all ISP services and do pass-thru billing to AT&T for use of the line.
Such is the case with Sonic.net. I can't say enough good things about these guys. None of this "high usage" BS, amazing customer service, and an outstanding feature set, including static IP, SSH to your account, a binary Usenet feed that tops out at your line speed, etc, etc, etc.
But yes, you will pay for it; upwards of 50 rather than 30 bucks.
You got modded "Funny", but your comment holds some useful truth for anyone who might be in the market for an upgrade.
The C2D line gives you a chance to put together a fast machine on a reasonable budget with considerable room to grow.
For upgrade cycles, I can beat some of the folks who already replied -- my recent January purchase brought me into the 21st Century from a P3-800 (O/C'd to 1.1GHz, of course).
I went with the Core 2 Duo 4300, a 1.8GHz part.
- It's relatively cheap, at less than $170.
- It comes set at 9x200FSB, which means it'll overclock to the 300FSB world without super-fancy 1000+MHz RAM.
- It crosses the 3GHz mark on it's own stock cooler. With 3rd-party air cooling, I hit ~3.4Ghz by setting 9x375 (using DDR2-800 RAM).
- Almost any of the boards you put it in will be able to take a quad-core CPU; some of the better ones will hit much higher FSB's for later CPU's.
You can't ever future-proof a computer, but it's nice to be able to stretch out your investment a bit. If I can drop in a quad/octo/whatever in a few years, great!
I had the opportunity to see a small (think tabletop-sized) prototype fired at the Naval Postgrad School. The student doing the project handed us eye/ear protection, which produced a few surprised looks. But the real surprise came when they fired the thing... Yes, there was an absolutely startling, half-stick-of-dynamite-type *BOOM*!
Can't speak to the reasons behind the boom, but it was significant. I can only imagine what something 1 or 2 orders of magnitude larger would produce.
I recently got so annoyed by this that I fired off a nastygram to Comcast. Here's their canned reply.
(I call B.S., of course. If I can do real-time "normalization" with MPC, AC3filter, etc. for free, you're telling me they can't figure it out on their budgets?)
Me:
"Why is it that the commercials are about 50% louder than the regular programming content? It's bad enough that I have to pay a monthly bill to get so much advertising content, but it's even worse to have the ads shouted at me..."
Comcast:
"This problem is not unique to any one station or company. The phenomenon has a lot to do with the varying sound levels of a television program as compared to the generally consistent sound level of commercials. Broadcasters like Comcast do not turn up the sound of commercials and in fact, we go to great lengths to minimize the sometimes-jarring effect when transitioning from a program to a commercial.
In an attempt to grab viewer's attention in only 15 or 30 seconds, most commercials are produced to be dynamic and exciting. To achieve this they make the sound at a constant maximum level for the duration of the commercial. In sharp contrast, many TV programs have a wider dynamic range or in other words, they can vary from sound passages as quite as a kitten purring to loud music and bombs exploding. If the final scene before a commercial is a quieter, subtler scene, the transition to a commercial can make that commercial seem louder and sometimes even send you diving for the remote control to turn it down.
Most TV program producers attempt to "compress" the program sound to lessen the sound difference between the quite and loud scenes. In addition, Comcast and most broadcasters use sophisticated sound processors to further monitor and "even out" the volume levels. After all, it's in both the producer's and the broadcaster's interest to make the viewer's TV experience an enjoyable one. In spite of these efforts, challenges remain and occasionally the commercials still sound louder. This is particularly true for other stations, whose broadcast schedules consist of movies. Most movies are made for a movie theatre and have a wide dynamic audio range. Films specifically designed for the theatre can have sound passages ranging from quiet whispers to extremely loud passages such as bombs or heavy metal music. This can sound fine in a controlled environment like a movie theatre but when the same film is played on TV, the viewer may find it necessary to raise the volume for the quieter passages and perhaps even turn down the volume on the louder passages.
This problem has been around since the beginning of television and at Comcast we go to great lengths to correct this as much as possible. At Comcast television we are always working hard to improve the viewing experience and we thank you for your comments.Please chat back after the hour if the problem persists for a tech visit."
A SCSI 500GB drive?
Dude, I said I'd sacrifice a few points of performance, not a few hundred bucks!
I'm also gonna have to agree with Sparohok here:
"If it was a big issue, you'd be using SCSI"... that is so bogus.
For my home RAID fileserver, and many other applications, SATA is more than enough. Besides, I've seen my fair share of SCSI drives go Tango-Uniform on the job, too.
If that's the case, then why are 15 out of the 27 reviews for the RE2 posted as "Excellent"?
In fact, Newegg is absolutely littered with thousands upon thousands of reviews from people who return to rave about their new toys... a bit to the extreme, actually.
Go see how many HUNDREDS have come back to the site to post about their shiny new floppy drives, for crap's sake.
Back to the point -- 15/27 is still bad (esp. after reading the comments about failure) compared to the competition.
I'm in the market for one of these -- SATA 500, to match an existing RAID array. Unfortunately, these benchmark numbers just don't tell the whole story. While WD's 500GB RE2 has some of the best stats on the charts, the reliability reviews (at least on Newegg) are dismal. Sadly, this matches with my own experiences with WD.
I'll gladly sacrifice a few percentage points of performance if it means increased reliability, especially when we're talking HD's. I already don't trust the things farther than I can throw 'em (thus the RAID-5).
Dude, did you learn nothing from BSG?
When the Cylons attack, all the XP/Linux2.6 users will be screwed. It'll just be us non-networked FreeDOS users holding the line for humanity!
I've been surprised (but less so, these days) at how often both managers and techs are convinced that the only way to fix a problem or upgrade capabilities is to spend more money. It wouldn't be so irritating if the organization were already fully utilizing its existing resources... but that's rarely the case.
I'm thinking specifically of back-end server or software assets here. "We need widget X to do that!" Really? Have you done *any* research on the matter? If so, you may have found a way to fulfill that capability with current resources. But hey, that takes effort. And it's so much easier just to fall for an advertisement or salse pitch and throw money at the problem.
I bought my CF-based MXP 100 from e.digital http://www.edig.com/techsupport.php#mxp over two years ago, and it's a voice-recognition player. Of course, to have it add that meta data, you must use their software to U/L the files into the device. And with a USB 1.1 connection, that's just not worth my time. Instead, I use a CF card reader & just write straight to the card.
Slashdot Mirror
Eg, a large country like the USA will not have much coverage of primary radar deep inside it's borders.
Fortunately for the USA, you are wrong:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J...
Consider it a lesson learned from 9/11.
"ADS-B is slowly superseding the ground-based radar systems that have been used for decades"
... until the aircraft decides to become "uncooperative" and turns the darn thing off -- at which point, this (and any beacon/transponder-based system) becomes instantly useless.
Which is why you'll see ADS-B augment, but never completely replace old fashioned search radar anytime soon.
So many great quotes from his Spock character, so expertly delivered. I've (obviously) always been partial to the one in my sig. It is sadly relevant to his demise too (vis-à-vis smoking).
This isn't about raw storage; it's about an appliance that *just works* (for a long time, in my case). I've had my ReadyNAS NV (pre-Netgear, Infrant version) up and running 24/7 since March of 2006. It never, ever crashes. Administration (when rarely required) is quick & brainless. It cost 700 bucks back then (no drives). Along with my IBM Thinkpad, that's the best computing money I've ever spent.
If I would have built a DIY version, it probably would have needed rebuilding (software-wise) 3 times by now, largely due to my own propensity to keep messing with it.
Oh, I have got plug the ReadyNAS proprietary "X-RAID" feature, too: slap in an extra drive, and the array auto-expands to fill that drive. Zero-config, instant upgrades!
They're selling in spite of (and now because of) folks like me.
Yep, I was one of those haters when the service came out, but I'm a Steam convert. There's just too much to like. Crazy low prices during sales + the almost instant gratification factor = lots of impulse buys. I find myself visiting the steampowered.com site to check out the current deals.
Sure, you won't be lending out discs anymore, but you won't be losing/damaging them either. OTOH, you get easy access to your old games for as long as Steam sticks around (the only possible catch, I suppose).
I'd never played the Mass Effect series before, then saw them on sale on Steam. Picked up ME1 for 5 bucks! (ME2 is currently $24.) That's a LOT of entertainment per $.
Don't hold your breath. Although the Federal Desktop Core Config (FDCC) only mandates *security settings* for federal gov't XP/Vista machines, many IT PHBs have taken it as a mandate to USE Windows for the desktop environment. Hard to blame them, if you just go by the title of the program. I mean, where's the Linux FDCC, or the Mac version? Oh, that's right... they don't exist (yet).
Add to that the fact that AD, Exchange, SharePoint, OCS (among others) are de-facto standards across the DoD, and you can see where that leaves us for desktop machines. Not impossible to integrate alternative OS's, just very difficult; and nearly impossible to reap all those "MS-unique features" from your Windows servers w/out Windows/IE/Outlook/OCS on the other end.
I think it's safe to say that vendor lock-in has been achieved.
Regarding the Addonics AD44MIDE2CF fit, it would be nice if all laptop HD bays were so easily accessible as the one pictured on the Addonics site, but sadly, that's not the case for my machine (IBM T42) and many other laptops.
My system uses a little caddy & external cover that you must fasten to the HD, then the whole assembly slides into the side of the system. I know many Dells are like this, too (usually w/just the cover, not the caddy).
Since the AD44MIDE2CF does not have the same dimensions and screw holes as a normal HD, it will not attach to the caddy, and therefore cannot be easily slid into place. That's why I glued the adapter to the caddy, lining up the pins so they'd sit exactly where they would on a normal HD. Now, the whole thing can still be easily swapped out. Come to think of it, without the caddy (like on those Dells), I'd be completely hosed.
The Addonics CF-IDE adapter seems like a good idea (and it is for many, I'm sure), but I hope this serves as a warning for any other Googlers who are interested in the same solution I've got. It's not exactly plug & play.
And you're probably right about the voltage not being a deciding factor in TFA, but (at least in the case of the Transcend cards) it has some bearing on the DMA mode, so it may be worth the author's time to investigate it.
I know I've been absolutely certain in years past that technical issue a,b,c couldn't possibly have been caused by factors x,y,z... only to have to eat crow later.
I wonder how often voltage (5V vs. 3.3V) is a factor in UDMA problems...
Like the previous poster, I use a Transcend CF card to run XP and Ubuntu on a laptop. I recently "upgraded" to the 16GB 300x version, since it was supposed to run at UDMA5. I wrote the review here.
Short story: According to Transcend, the card has to run at 3.3V in order to run in UDMA5 mode. I'm also using that Addonics 2-card CF-to-IDE adapter, and it doesn't offer voltage choices, so I'm stuck at 5V and the slower speeds -- auto-detected at UDMA4 in XP and UDMA2 in Ubuntu.
Next up, I'm gonna try this single-card solution, since it has a hardware voltage switch (jumper).
Oh, yeah -- and for the purposes of mounting these CF-IDE adapters in notebooks, the Addonics is a real pain (super glue was involved), since it doesn't have the same dimensions & threaded holes as a standard 2.5" HD. According to another reviewer, the Syba addresses that.
Don't know about SOTA, but SOA is already taken by Start of Authority in DNS land.
At least, that was the primary meaning of SOA (in my mind), until the damn dirty marketroids started spewing "Service Oriented Architecture" all over the place, whatever the hell that means.
Sorry, pet peeve. I'll shut up now.
All the relevant rules are here: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_04/47cf r76_04.html
...Which doesn't make separate allowances for encrypting the basic tier, just if/because it is broadcast digitally.
Section 76.630 is the primary one:
"(a) Cable system operators shall not scramble or otherwise encrypt signals carried on the basic service tier."
But your problem might be the next line:
"Requests for waivers of this prohibition must demonstrate either a substantial problem with theft of basic tier service or a strong need to scramble basic signals for other reasons."
and Section 76.1909 might apply: Redistribution control of unencrypted digital terrestrial broadcast content.
"(d) Unmarked content. Where a multichannel video programming distributor retransmits unencrypted digital terrestrial broadcast content that is not marked with the broadcast flag, the multichannel video programming distributor shall not encode such content to restrict its redistribution."
EFF has lots of good info, as usual: http://www.eff.org/IP/pnp/cablewp.php
and the rest, I leave to you and Google.
If you're willing to use a Windows box for DVR, I'll eagerly suggest BeyondTV.
I had tried all the free alternatives -- MythTV, GB-PVR, Mediaportal... none of them were particularly friendly to work with or stable, for that matter. And what good is a DVR if it crashes before it can record your shows??
IMO, the Zap2ItLabs discontinuation was one of the best sales pitches for BeyondTV. One-time software purchase, and no subscription fees. It works flawlessly with my HDHomeRun dual tuner (also highly recommended), and even came with a "free" RF remote (looks like they're still running that special at snapstream.com).
Yeah, there's no capturing encrypted signals, but I have the MOST basic cable package anyway, just to get all the major networks, plus Discovery & a few others.
Many folks (even Comcast's cable monkeys) don't realize that the cableco's must (according to FCC) transmit the rock-bottom basic cable package *in the clear* (so no special cable box is needed); you get this digital signal when you order the most basic analog package. So for 18 bucks a month, I can receive/record all the major network digital HD goodness I can stand, with commercial skipping in BeyondTV. Place shifting? No problem. It's my MPEG2 file...
My one little way of giving the Finger To The Man.
I agree with you 100%.
That said, the next time you walk into a casino and hear shouts and cheering (usually accompanied by smiles), go investigate where it's coming from. In my experience, it's almost always the craps table. Given, there's a learning curve beyond mindless button-pushing, but:
a. The game is actually fun, as you're riding the ups and downs with a group of other real, live people
b. You don't feel like you're being robbed by a machine
c. As others have mentioned in detail, you can play (smart) for a long time, getting good bang for your entertainment buck, and possibly walk away with considerably more than you started with
Of course, YMMV.
Uh, I guess you could say latitude=inspiron, in that they're both x86 machines. But if you value:
... then you'd better go Latitude.
- Easily removable components, such as optical drives that pop out with the flick of a switch instead of a screwdriver
or
- "Different plastics", such as (sometimes) greatly improved form factor (both in thickness and weight)
or
- Managed hardware, which can be critical if you're deploying the same device over multiple roll-outs, and you want the guts to be *exactly* the same between buys
I'm talking about this:9 57-321957-64295-321838-89315.html
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF04a/321
Only 3 of the 7 HP models listed have the "Configure PC" option.
You may have a point with regards to the other configurable models (that weren't of interest), but that obviously didn't help me much.
And I didn't find the Dell site confusing. The entire purchase took about 10 minutes, with no phone calls involved.
I just helped a friend configure/buy a Latitude D620 notebook (wouldn't typically recommend the Inspiron bricks) through the Dell website for the express reason that it DID allow so many detailed configuration options!
You can specify everything, from RAM sizes per stick and hard drive speed right down to varying partition options.
Lack of such options was *the* primary factor that pushed me away from HP or Toshiba (ugh, that was a horrid site), which mostly locked you into preconfigured models.
(FWIW -- I'd still go with Thinkpad T or Z series if budget allows.)
You don't have to go with AT&T (or whatever company owns the copper) for DSL. Another provider can be your go-to guy for all ISP services and do pass-thru billing to AT&T for use of the line.
Such is the case with Sonic.net. I can't say enough good things about these guys. None of this "high usage" BS, amazing customer service, and an outstanding feature set, including static IP, SSH to your account, a binary Usenet feed that tops out at your line speed, etc, etc, etc.
But yes, you will pay for it; upwards of 50 rather than 30 bucks.
You got modded "Funny", but your comment holds some useful truth for anyone who might be in the market for an upgrade.
The C2D line gives you a chance to put together a fast machine on a reasonable budget with considerable room to grow.
For upgrade cycles, I can beat some of the folks who already replied -- my recent January purchase brought me into the 21st Century from a P3-800 (O/C'd to 1.1GHz, of course).
I went with the Core 2 Duo 4300, a 1.8GHz part.
- It's relatively cheap, at less than $170.
- It comes set at 9x200FSB, which means it'll overclock to the 300FSB world without super-fancy 1000+MHz RAM.
- It crosses the 3GHz mark on it's own stock cooler. With 3rd-party air cooling, I hit ~3.4Ghz by setting 9x375 (using DDR2-800 RAM).
- Almost any of the boards you put it in will be able to take a quad-core CPU; some of the better ones will hit much higher FSB's for later CPU's.
You can't ever future-proof a computer, but it's nice to be able to stretch out your investment a bit. If I can drop in a quad/octo/whatever in a few years, great!
I had the opportunity to see a small (think tabletop-sized) prototype fired at the Naval Postgrad School. The student doing the project handed us eye/ear protection, which produced a few surprised looks. But the real surprise came when they fired the thing... Yes, there was an absolutely startling, half-stick-of-dynamite-type *BOOM*!
Can't speak to the reasons behind the boom, but it was significant. I can only imagine what something 1 or 2 orders of magnitude larger would produce.
I recently got so annoyed by this that I fired off a nastygram to Comcast. Here's their canned reply.
(I call B.S., of course. If I can do real-time "normalization" with MPC, AC3filter, etc. for free, you're telling me they can't figure it out on their budgets?)
Me: "Why is it that the commercials are about 50% louder than the regular programming content? It's bad enough that I have to pay a monthly bill to get so much advertising content, but it's even worse to have the ads shouted at me..."
Comcast: "This problem is not unique to any one station or company. The phenomenon has a lot to do with the varying sound levels of a television program as compared to the generally consistent sound level of commercials. Broadcasters like Comcast do not turn up the sound of commercials and in fact, we go to great lengths to minimize the sometimes-jarring effect when transitioning from a program to a commercial.
In an attempt to grab viewer's attention in only 15 or 30 seconds, most commercials are produced to be dynamic and exciting. To achieve this they make the sound at a constant maximum level for the duration of the commercial. In sharp contrast, many TV programs have a wider dynamic range or in other words, they can vary from sound passages as quite as a kitten purring to loud music and bombs exploding. If the final scene before a commercial is a quieter, subtler scene, the transition to a commercial can make that commercial seem louder and sometimes even send you diving for the remote control to turn it down.
Most TV program producers attempt to "compress" the program sound to lessen the sound difference between the quite and loud scenes. In addition, Comcast and most broadcasters use sophisticated sound processors to further monitor and "even out" the volume levels. After all, it's in both the producer's and the broadcaster's interest to make the viewer's TV experience an enjoyable one. In spite of these efforts, challenges remain and occasionally the commercials still sound louder. This is particularly true for other stations, whose broadcast schedules consist of movies. Most movies are made for a movie theatre and have a wide dynamic audio range. Films specifically designed for the theatre can have sound passages ranging from quiet whispers to extremely loud passages such as bombs or heavy metal music. This can sound fine in a controlled environment like a movie theatre but when the same film is played on TV, the viewer may find it necessary to raise the volume for the quieter passages and perhaps even turn down the volume on the louder passages.
This problem has been around since the beginning of television and at Comcast we go to great lengths to correct this as much as possible. At Comcast television we are always working hard to improve the viewing experience and we thank you for your comments.Please chat back after the hour if the problem persists for a tech visit."
A SCSI 500GB drive?
Dude, I said I'd sacrifice a few points of performance, not a few hundred bucks!
I'm also gonna have to agree with Sparohok here: "If it was a big issue, you'd be using SCSI"... that is so bogus.
For my home RAID fileserver, and many other applications, SATA is more than enough. Besides, I've seen my fair share of SCSI drives go Tango-Uniform on the job, too.
If that's the case, then why are 15 out of the 27 reviews for the RE2 posted as "Excellent"?
In fact, Newegg is absolutely littered with thousands upon thousands of reviews from people who return to rave about their new toys... a bit to the extreme, actually.
Go see how many HUNDREDS have come back to the site to post about their shiny new floppy drives, for crap's sake.
Back to the point -- 15/27 is still bad (esp. after reading the comments about failure) compared to the competition.
I'm in the market for one of these -- SATA 500, to match an existing RAID array. Unfortunately, these benchmark numbers just don't tell the whole story. While WD's 500GB RE2 has some of the best stats on the charts, the reliability reviews (at least on Newegg) are dismal. Sadly, this matches with my own experiences with WD.
I'll gladly sacrifice a few percentage points of performance if it means increased reliability, especially when we're talking HD's. I already don't trust the things farther than I can throw 'em (thus the RAID-5).
Dude, did you learn nothing from BSG?
When the Cylons attack, all the XP/Linux2.6 users will be screwed. It'll just be us non-networked FreeDOS users holding the line for humanity!
I've been surprised (but less so, these days) at how often both managers and techs are convinced that the only way to fix a problem or upgrade capabilities is to spend more money. It wouldn't be so irritating if the organization were already fully utilizing its existing resources... but that's rarely the case.
I'm thinking specifically of back-end server or software assets here. "We need widget X to do that!" Really? Have you done *any* research on the matter? If so, you may have found a way to fulfill that capability with current resources. But hey, that takes effort. And it's so much easier just to fall for an advertisement or salse pitch and throw money at the problem.
I bought my CF-based MXP 100 from e.digital http://www.edig.com/techsupport.php#mxp over two years ago, and it's a voice-recognition player. Of course, to have it add that meta data, you must use their software to U/L the files into the device. And with a USB 1.1 connection, that's just not worth my time. Instead, I use a CF card reader & just write straight to the card.