Maybe you need letterhead. Oh, I've got an Internet connection, and plenty of places have seals and official logos online. The quality isn't great, but hey - it's a fax, right?
Maybe you need a phone number. Oh, I've gota phone I can sit by and pretend to be whoever I want when I answer it.
What was it Kevin Mitnick said about social engineering?
What we need is a set of remote control devices, so you can set up a fleet...
A few destroyers, a few subs, and an aircraft carrier....
With the carrier you could launch remote control helicopters, and possibly even a plane.
Who wants to set up the launch ramp, and, more importantly, the tail-hook mechanism for catching model planes without tearing them apart?
Of course, an aircraft carrier would need to be the size of a desk at minimum, but at that size, you could have all kinds of fun. Get some micro RC cars and mod 'em to look like Jeeps to drive around on the deck...
You could even have a transport ship and carry a few of the Mini-Rovers set up as tanks...
Now, perhaps Bill is a bit overzealous in his statements, but it's a combination of bad questions and bad answers.
Bill said the don't release new products for bug fixes, and they don't. They release patches and service packs for that. He never said they don't fix bugs, and he was never asked.
His percentages are probably right - If I find a bug in some MS software, I might to a search for it on the Microsoft Support Center, or I might just let it go. I wouldn't call Microsoft to report it. Do you call them when you find what you think is a bug?
Saying that it's frequently user error probably comes from the support centers as well. Plenty of vendors and ISPs are happy referring people to MS because it's not something they support, and Microsoft probably will. I'm sure a large percentage of their calls are new users who just aren't familiar with the programs or interface, and call complaining about errors they cause through ignorance. I am not saying those people are stupid, they just haven't learned yet.
Macs used to come with a nice thick manual telling you about files, folders, windows, menus, and more. It also had two tutorials for people who hadn't used computers. Those things have been lost because "everyone uses computers" which makes learning the new systems harder. Windows XP has a "Learn XP" link on the desktop of XP Home on a Dell I purchased recently.
As for complaining about bugs being "cool" I think Bill has taken the word too far. "En vogue" perhaps, but I think it's a product of the problem - there are either a substantial quantity of reproducible bugs, or a quantity of reproducible design/function flaws that make using the programs hard. Maybe both.
Also, the "Executive Summary" is a vicious twisting of Bill's words. The truth in the article is sufficient for me. My summary goes this way: - Users calling support often don't know what they are doing. - New releases aren't for bug fixes. (Repeat a few times for full effect. - Not many people are reporting bugs. - Bill's interpretation of why people complain about bugs is very unique.
Hopefully you will look past any ill will you harbor toward Microsoft or Bill himself and see the interview is poorly executed, and that is as much to blame for the responses as Bill himself is.
-- Think for yourself. If people spent as much time learning as they do criticizing because someone else did...
The problem with the home directory being the desktop is it goes against the filing metaphor. In the truest use of the desktop metaphor, the only things on the desktop should be what you are working on right now.
Apple originally had the best system for this, and it was lost in Mac OS X. You could drag files out of their respective "filed" locations on to the desktop to work with them, and when you were finished, there was a "Put Away" command (Command-Y for you OS 9 and lower users) that would return the file to it's original location.
Put Away really helped the Desktop metaphor by simplifying filing tasks and allowing the Desktop to fulfill its intended function. Unfortunately, it wasn't well documented or pushed in any way, and it was lost.
Returning to the home/desktop issue, if you were to make the Desktop the home directory, clutter becomes a more difficult issue. If I have stuff on the Desktop, I can move it into my directory to organize it, clearing my Desktop for other stuff. If my Desktop is my home directoy, I am always exposed to the filing system of my design - much like always keeping a filing cabinet open in the real world.
The biggest problem the Desktop/Filing metaphor faces, in my opinion, is the inability to leave it. We don't usually keep filing cabinets on our desks, but we can't leave our desktop, so we have to. Microsoft tucked it all under Start in Windows XP, which is simply a clumsy way to make it look more organized while actually adding layers of inconvenience to the interface. My Documents used to be on the Desktop. This is as close to a valid implementation of a filing system metaphor as possible, and they decided it was better under the Start menu.
The Filing metaphor suffers greatly from the lack of transparency in applications. Plenty of different groups have tried to produce an Open Document Architecture (ClarisWorks, Apple's OpenDoc, Microsoft's OLE) that allows you to create a new document and then determine it's contents, but getting people on board was difficult because no one could guarantee the supremacy of their products when it was completely possible to have two different companies software interact. Making software on the basis of cost and quality didn't appeal to many (j/k) so that died quietly... OLE is only really alive within Microsoft's own Office suite.
Microsoft tried a different tactic to start handle the Application problem - the "New" submenu on the Contextual menu. While some people put this to good use, its placement and function was difficult for some to grasp, especially with many users having difficulty with the the nebulous nature of the contextual menu. The New submenu can be a great tool, but it take time to get used to it, and many forego the learning curve in favor of the Start button, which houses all your programs.
Anyway, I'm rambling now, so I'll stop. Basically, I think using home as the desktop would cause more confusion for the typical user, as it breaks the separation of filing and working. While this may not be a problem for Joe SuperUser, it could seriously impair average users.
Also, how do you handle multiple desktops? Will they have the same content? If you have too many files in your home directory to be displayed on the Desktop, will a scroll bar appear? Will you be forced to open a windowed copy of your home directory to conveniently browse it while other windows are open, or will you have to minimize everything? Will the desktop contents flow around docks?
While an information broker should be responsible for their actions to some extent, I think the killer should be held responsible, and that nothing should dimish the clarity of that matter.
As I said with the Shatner interview, the responses are held to the quality fo the questions. Not to malign the questions, some were good, some were funny. But Dave make his living making one person's serious into another person's stupidity.
Was he offered questions on the socio-political implications of war with Iraq? Was he offered questions on the education system, pressing moral concerns, or religious preferences. No.
And so, his answers were in kind with the questions.
No hacks, no unpublished APIs. The only beta SW running in OS X I have is Navigator (Chimera), Safari, and X11. I leave nearly everything where Apple put it, because it doesn't bother me to do so.
I'm connecting with an AirPort card. I have Atlanta as the closest city. I have Time Sync and Software Update's Auto-Check disabled. I have one user, who logs in automatically. The user icon is the half of an orange. I had no Sharing services running at the time. I have a single LaserJet 4 specified in my Print Center. I have my root user enabled.
I use Mail for mail. Address Book for addresses. iCal for a calendar. iTunes for music. Safari for web, with Chimera s backup. Sherlock for some searches, and Text Edit for most of my simple writing. I use Terminla to connect to an HP-UX box at work. I use a VPN connection with Internet Connect sometimes, but not during the update. I have primarily generic US settings.
My Trash was empty. My battery indicator is set to Percent. I have the Day of Week showing in the Menu Clock. My sound was on. I have the Developer Tools installed, but don't really use them.
Does it bother me that something changed? Yes. Am I worried about hosing my machine with the next update? No. Have I sworn of Macs forever? Much to Microsoft's dismay, no.
Pismo is what I had my glitches with. I haven't had any issues that I've noticed prior. It took a damn long time to install this update, though. Only changes I've made to mine were 512 MB RAM and an AirPort card.
most of the important OS bits are tucked away in hidden directories that prevent people from seeing them unless they really want to (opening Terminal, which is buried in Utilited in Applications) and then they can't make changes to much of it until they Open NetInfo Manager (also in Utilities), authenticate, enable the root user, specify a password, and then sudo or su to root. If you want to screw up the OS, you have to try.
As for applications, I couldn't say. I keep most everything Applications because there's little need for me to move it, and I'm not trying to hide anything on my Mac.
I'm a big Mac fan, personally. None of my failures were catastrophic. I haven't shutdown since the upgrade, so I can't speak to the clock issue, but the Dock was quite unusual - it was OS-install fresh for me. Everything was in the proper places (sort-of reply to above posts about friggin with the OS) - I keep iCal, Safari, and Terminal in my Dock and they were all missing. Maybe I'm just lucky.
As I mentioned, the changes were more annoyances than failures. I've been quite happy with Macs throughout history, even with the IIsi's sound glitch, the PowerBook 190's power connector, the PB 1400's CD-ROM faces (Three of they have broken, two for me, one for a friend). The difference between my Macs and my PCs is my Macs have never had serious failures. I've lost drives, RAM, processors, motherboards, and modems on my PCs (RAM was cheap, though) and the worst I've done with my Macs is buying bad RAM and a broken LCD from shipping.
I've unintentionally stepped on all three PowerBooks I've owned (maybe I should be more careful) and none of them have broken for failed for it. I actually stepped out of bed on my Pismo - full weight on the closed computer - and it didn't even wake up.
If you want catastrophic software failures, how about the three times NT 4.0 has just stopped recognizing keyboards for me, or the two times Win 2K decided not to make it through boot anymore?
Signals are prevented from "spreading" - by encryption. Just as water pipes are metered and pulling water from before the meter is illegal, watching satellite "before the meter" is illegal. Should it be? That's not the question, as it already is.
If Monstano had managed to develop some DNA encryption scheme so only their plants could use their new crop design, and someone created an enzyme capable of using it, they would have been in violation.
Personally making a decoder probably shouldn't be illegal - it becomes a question of time and effort; just as I could make a toaster, but the time involved isn't worth it. As for selling it, I would disagree with you. It's not the signal that you pay for, it's the decryption - which whether we like it or not, it currently protected.
320GB? How do you figure? I can put 1000 songs on my 5GB iPod, so that works out to 160GB - a drive size iTunes Feedback system, and hopefully they weill release a patch.
I imagine that doubling the size of the array that iTunes uses would slow down the application substantially - the ID3's are loaded into memory for quick browsing - especially on older machines. Hopefully the iTunes with a fix will auto-switch up to a higher array length when needed so iTunes only takes the performance hit if needed.">easily obtainable today.
If you are nearing the 32,000 song limit, indeed, complain to Apple through the iTunes Feedback system, and hopefully they weill release a patch.
I imagine that doubling the size of the array that iTunes uses would slow down the application substantially - the ID3's are loaded into memory for quick browsing - especially on older machines. Hopefully the iTunes with a fix will auto-switch up to a higher array length when needed so iTunes only takes the performance hit if needed.
While I don't think it's a terrible thing to create software and hardware to illegally use satellite TV, I do think that it should be against the law to actually use them.
It's a good thing that we don't have a DMCA-style piece of legislation for weapons, or any person who has PVC pipes, potatos and hairspray in their house could be brought up on charges.
If we assume people are criminals because they have the tools to commit a crime, everyone with hands should be locked up to provent potential fist-fights. Every person over 21 should be held for potential public drunkeness. Every eighteen-year-old in the US should be arrested for the possibilty of providing cigarettes to minors. And every car owner should be thrown in jail for possible vehicular manslaughter.
Not that I'm approving of breaking the law. But the DMCA is the same mentality as suing McDonald's for dropping coffee in your lap. It's saying that you aren't capable of not doing these things without intervention; hat anyone would drop coffee in their lap if there was no label; that anyone would steal satellite services if they knew how; that anyone with a gun will surely commit murder.
If we have become so weak as a people to no longer be able to stop ourselves from any activities, then we need more legislation than the DMCA. But, as long as we are capable of rational thought, we should be held accountable for our actions, not our thoughts.
Nah, everyone will be required to use a Suitcase Car - it will remove the need for on-street parking, opening up additional lanes. Also, in traffic you can just get up and walk.
1. Rendevous probably wouldn't come into play - it's really system-to-system.
2. The device to device communication could be especially useful when recovering a failed disk - no overhead on the controller. This, though, would require the devices themselves be better than mere drives, driving the cost up.
3. Unfortunately - without drives with actual FireWire interfaces (all externals use FW-IDE bridges, the Oxford 911 being the fastest at 50MB/s, 35MB/s sustained) the true potential of FireWire will remain untapped. Perhaps as we move to Serial-ATA and away from the standard parallel IDE, manufacturers will be prompted to offer FireWire drives as well.
Additional possibilities: Think of a trimmed-down Xserve RAID with FireWire instead of Fibre Channel - it would be able to take advantage of the bandwidth of FireWire and still maintain (?) affordability for low-to-mid range businesses looking for large high-speed external storage.
Slashdot Mirror
I've got a fax machine...
Maybe you need letterhead.
Oh, I've got an Internet connection, and plenty of places have seals and official logos online. The quality isn't great, but hey - it's a fax, right?
Maybe you need a phone number.
Oh, I've gota phone I can sit by and pretend to be whoever I want when I answer it.
What was it Kevin Mitnick said about social engineering?
What we need is a set of remote control devices, so you can set up a fleet...
A few destroyers, a few subs, and an aircraft carrier....
With the carrier you could launch remote control helicopters, and possibly even a plane.
Who wants to set up the launch ramp, and, more importantly, the tail-hook mechanism for catching model planes without tearing them apart?
Of course, an aircraft carrier would need to be the size of a desk at minimum, but at that size, you could have all kinds of fun. Get some micro RC cars and mod 'em to look like Jeeps to drive around on the deck...
You could even have a transport ship and carry a few of the Mini-Rovers set up as tanks...
Maybe I'm going too far...
Now, perhaps Bill is a bit overzealous in his statements, but it's a combination of bad questions and bad answers.
Bill said the don't release new products for bug fixes, and they don't. They release patches and service packs for that. He never said they don't fix bugs, and he was never asked.
His percentages are probably right - If I find a bug in some MS software, I might to a search for it on the Microsoft Support Center, or I might just let it go. I wouldn't call Microsoft to report it. Do you call them when you find what you think is a bug?
Saying that it's frequently user error probably comes from the support centers as well. Plenty of vendors and ISPs are happy referring people to MS because it's not something they support, and Microsoft probably will. I'm sure a large percentage of their calls are new users who just aren't familiar with the programs or interface, and call complaining about errors they cause through ignorance. I am not saying those people are stupid, they just haven't learned yet.
Macs used to come with a nice thick manual telling you about files, folders, windows, menus, and more. It also had two tutorials for people who hadn't used computers. Those things have been lost because "everyone uses computers" which makes learning the new systems harder. Windows XP has a "Learn XP" link on the desktop of XP Home on a Dell I purchased recently.
As for complaining about bugs being "cool" I think Bill has taken the word too far. "En vogue" perhaps, but I think it's a product of the problem - there are either a substantial quantity of reproducible bugs, or a quantity of reproducible design/function flaws that make using the programs hard. Maybe both.
Also, the "Executive Summary" is a vicious twisting of Bill's words. The truth in the article is sufficient for me. My summary goes this way:
- Users calling support often don't know what they are doing.
- New releases aren't for bug fixes. (Repeat a few times for full effect.
- Not many people are reporting bugs.
- Bill's interpretation of why people complain about bugs is very unique.
Hopefully you will look past any ill will you harbor toward Microsoft or Bill himself and see the interview is poorly executed, and that is as much to blame for the responses as Bill himself is.
--
Think for yourself. If people spent as much time learning as they do criticizing because someone else did...
that's some DAMN NICE voice quality. There are some "bubbling" problems, still, but there are variations in tone and pitch.
The problem with the home directory being the desktop is it goes against the filing metaphor. In the truest use of the desktop metaphor, the only things on the desktop should be what you are working on right now.
Apple originally had the best system for this, and it was lost in Mac OS X. You could drag files out of their respective "filed" locations on to the desktop to work with them, and when you were finished, there was a "Put Away" command (Command-Y for you OS 9 and lower users) that would return the file to it's original location.
Put Away really helped the Desktop metaphor by simplifying filing tasks and allowing the Desktop to fulfill its intended function. Unfortunately, it wasn't well documented or pushed in any way, and it was lost.
Returning to the home/desktop issue, if you were to make the Desktop the home directory, clutter becomes a more difficult issue. If I have stuff on the Desktop, I can move it into my directory to organize it, clearing my Desktop for other stuff. If my Desktop is my home directoy, I am always exposed to the filing system of my design - much like always keeping a filing cabinet open in the real world.
The biggest problem the Desktop/Filing metaphor faces, in my opinion, is the inability to leave it. We don't usually keep filing cabinets on our desks, but we can't leave our desktop, so we have to. Microsoft tucked it all under Start in Windows XP, which is simply a clumsy way to make it look more organized while actually adding layers of inconvenience to the interface. My Documents used to be on the Desktop. This is as close to a valid implementation of a filing system metaphor as possible, and they decided it was better under the Start menu.
The Filing metaphor suffers greatly from the lack of transparency in applications. Plenty of different groups have tried to produce an Open Document Architecture (ClarisWorks, Apple's OpenDoc, Microsoft's OLE) that allows you to create a new document and then determine it's contents, but getting people on board was difficult because no one could guarantee the supremacy of their products when it was completely possible to have two different companies software interact. Making software on the basis of cost and quality didn't appeal to many (j/k) so that died quietly... OLE is only really alive within Microsoft's own Office suite.
Microsoft tried a different tactic to start handle the Application problem - the "New" submenu on the Contextual menu. While some people put this to good use, its placement and function was difficult for some to grasp, especially with many users having difficulty with the the nebulous nature of the contextual menu. The New submenu can be a great tool, but it take time to get used to it, and many forego the learning curve in favor of the Start button, which houses all your programs.
Anyway, I'm rambling now, so I'll stop. Basically, I think using home as the desktop would cause more confusion for the typical user, as it breaks the separation of filing and working. While this may not be a problem for Joe SuperUser, it could seriously impair average users.
Also, how do you handle multiple desktops? Will they have the same content? If you have too many files in your home directory to be displayed on the Desktop, will a scroll bar appear? Will you be forced to open a windowed copy of your home directory to conveniently browse it while other windows are open, or will you have to minimize everything? Will the desktop contents flow around docks?
Like I said a minute ago, I'll stop.
And think, the DMCA will become the most popular piece of legislation in existance - at least on slashdot.
And CowboyNeal is the most popular man alive!
Perhaps CoffeePlease could be OK for now with something simpler.
Set up NetBoot on the Macs, and export the file system from whereever the hell you want.
It isn't the perfect solution, but it might just get you what you need in the meantime.
While an information broker should be responsible for their actions to some extent, I think the killer should be held responsible, and that nothing should dimish the clarity of that matter.
There was the TV movie "The Pirates of Silicon Valley"
Unfortunately, the main characters weren't typical programmers, but there was some reality mixed in there...
I was going to say that you don't put money into your machine, as the parent suggests, but then I thought about my PC...
As I said with the Shatner interview, the responses are held to the quality fo the questions. Not to malign the questions, some were good, some were funny. But Dave make his living making one person's serious into another person's stupidity.
Was he offered questions on the socio-political implications of war with Iraq? Was he offered questions on the education system, pressing moral concerns, or religious preferences. No.
And so, his answers were in kind with the questions.
I wasn't aware they were originally developed for that - learn new things...
My grandmother spent time in a hyperbaric chamber after cancer treatments over a year ago.
As for treating the loss of a limb, maybe it's the wording...
No hacks, no unpublished APIs. The only beta SW running in OS X I have is Navigator (Chimera), Safari, and X11. I leave nearly everything where Apple put it, because it doesn't bother me to do so.
I'm connecting with an AirPort card. I have Atlanta as the closest city. I have Time Sync and Software Update's Auto-Check disabled. I have one user, who logs in automatically. The user icon is the half of an orange. I had no Sharing services running at the time. I have a single LaserJet 4 specified in my Print Center. I have my root user enabled.
I use Mail for mail. Address Book for addresses. iCal for a calendar. iTunes for music. Safari for web, with Chimera s backup. Sherlock for some searches, and Text Edit for most of my simple writing. I use Terminla to connect to an HP-UX box at work. I use a VPN connection with Internet Connect sometimes, but not during the update. I have primarily generic US settings.
My Trash was empty. My battery indicator is set to Percent. I have the Day of Week showing in the Menu Clock. My sound was on. I have the Developer Tools installed, but don't really use them.
Does it bother me that something changed? Yes. Am I worried about hosing my machine with the next update? No. Have I sworn of Macs forever? Much to Microsoft's dismay, no.
Why me, then? I don't know. Maybe I wasn't holding my mouth right.
Pismo is what I had my glitches with. I haven't had any issues that I've noticed prior. It took a damn long time to install this update, though. Only changes I've made to mine were 512 MB RAM and an AirPort card.
most of the important OS bits are tucked away in hidden directories that prevent people from seeing them unless they really want to (opening Terminal, which is buried in Utilited in Applications) and then they can't make changes to much of it until they Open NetInfo Manager (also in Utilities), authenticate, enable the root user, specify a password, and then sudo or su to root. If you want to screw up the OS, you have to try.
As for applications, I couldn't say. I keep most everything Applications because there's little need for me to move it, and I'm not trying to hide anything on my Mac.
I'm a big Mac fan, personally. None of my failures were catastrophic. I haven't shutdown since the upgrade, so I can't speak to the clock issue, but the Dock was quite unusual - it was OS-install fresh for me. Everything was in the proper places (sort-of reply to above posts about friggin with the OS) - I keep iCal, Safari, and Terminal in my Dock and they were all missing. Maybe I'm just lucky.
As I mentioned, the changes were more annoyances than failures. I've been quite happy with Macs throughout history, even with the IIsi's sound glitch, the PowerBook 190's power connector, the PB 1400's CD-ROM faces (Three of they have broken, two for me, one for a friend). The difference between my Macs and my PCs is my Macs have never had serious failures. I've lost drives, RAM, processors, motherboards, and modems on my PCs (RAM was cheap, though) and the worst I've done with my Macs is buying bad RAM and a broken LCD from shipping.
I've unintentionally stepped on all three PowerBooks I've owned (maybe I should be more careful) and none of them have broken for failed for it. I actually stepped out of bed on my Pismo - full weight on the closed computer - and it didn't even wake up.
If you want catastrophic software failures, how about the three times NT 4.0 has just stopped recognizing keyboards for me, or the two times Win 2K decided not to make it through boot anymore?
Signals are prevented from "spreading" - by encryption. Just as water pipes are metered and pulling water from before the meter is illegal, watching satellite "before the meter" is illegal. Should it be? That's not the question, as it already is.
If Monstano had managed to develop some DNA encryption scheme so only their plants could use their new crop design, and someone created an enzyme capable of using it, they would have been in violation.
Personally making a decoder probably shouldn't be illegal - it becomes a question of time and effort; just as I could make a toaster, but the time involved isn't worth it. As for selling it, I would disagree with you. It's not the signal that you pay for, it's the decryption - which whether we like it or not, it currently protected.
320GB? How do you figure? I can put 1000 songs on my 5GB iPod, so that works out to 160GB - a drive size iTunes Feedback system, and hopefully they weill release a patch.
I imagine that doubling the size of the array that iTunes uses would slow down the application substantially - the ID3's are loaded into memory for quick browsing - especially on older machines. Hopefully the iTunes with a fix will auto-switch up to a higher array length when needed so iTunes only takes the performance hit if needed.">easily obtainable today.
If you are nearing the 32,000 song limit, indeed, complain to Apple through the iTunes Feedback system, and hopefully they weill release a patch.
I imagine that doubling the size of the array that iTunes uses would slow down the application substantially - the ID3's are loaded into memory for quick browsing - especially on older machines. Hopefully the iTunes with a fix will auto-switch up to a higher array length when needed so iTunes only takes the performance hit if needed.
While I don't think it's a terrible thing to create software and hardware to illegally use satellite TV, I do think that it should be against the law to actually use them.
It's a good thing that we don't have a DMCA-style piece of legislation for weapons, or any person who has PVC pipes, potatos and hairspray in their house could be brought up on charges.
If we assume people are criminals because they have the tools to commit a crime, everyone with hands should be locked up to provent potential fist-fights. Every person over 21 should be held for potential public drunkeness. Every eighteen-year-old in the US should be arrested for the possibilty of providing cigarettes to minors. And every car owner should be thrown in jail for possible vehicular manslaughter.
Not that I'm approving of breaking the law. But the DMCA is the same mentality as suing McDonald's for dropping coffee in your lap. It's saying that you aren't capable of not doing these things without intervention; hat anyone would drop coffee in their lap if there was no label; that anyone would steal satellite services if they knew how; that anyone with a gun will surely commit murder.
If we have become so weak as a people to no longer be able to stop ourselves from any activities, then we need more legislation than the DMCA. But, as long as we are capable of rational thought, we should be held accountable for our actions, not our thoughts.
From Intel's Site:
Intel® Pentium® M Processor
does this mean they overclocked a 166 Pentium to 1.6 GHZ?!
Intel will start pushing what they call:
The GigaFLOP Myth
For those who missed it, this was humor.
Perhaps someone in marketing was too heavily influenced by the Butterfly?
Nah, everyone will be required to use a Suitcase Car - it will remove the need for on-street parking, opening up additional lanes. Also, in traffic you can just get up and walk.
Looks like time to go mud running. :)
Interesting Thought.
1. Rendevous probably wouldn't come into play - it's really system-to-system.
2. The device to device communication could be especially useful when recovering a failed disk - no overhead on the controller. This, though, would require the devices themselves be better than mere drives, driving the cost up.
3. Unfortunately - without drives with actual FireWire interfaces (all externals use FW-IDE bridges, the Oxford 911 being the fastest at 50MB/s, 35MB/s sustained) the true potential of FireWire will remain untapped. Perhaps as we move to Serial-ATA and away from the standard parallel IDE, manufacturers will be prompted to offer FireWire drives as well.
Additional possibilities:
Think of a trimmed-down Xserve RAID with FireWire instead of Fibre Channel - it would be able to take advantage of the bandwidth of FireWire and still maintain (?) affordability for low-to-mid range businesses looking for large high-speed external storage.
All sorts of possibilities.