I don't know anything about this submarine (though I did RTFA), so I'm puzzled by its design. You mean to tell me that these things aren't made to be radio-controlled? That once the cable connecting it to the mother ship is cut, it's bye-bye Charlie? That's silly for a multi-million dollar piece of equipment. These folks should learn from NASA about redundant control / communication systems.
...could we create superhumans by rigorously teaching children all these different tricks...
Reminds me of an older martial arts movie in which a teacher plants a small tree, then tells a small child to jump over it day in, day out, and as the tree and the child grow, the child is able to jump really high into the air.
...and make private companies accountable as well. Say what you will, I haven't had much trouble from government agencies so far when it comes to disclosing my SSN to anyone they shouldn't have, or without my permission. I'd me much more worried about all those credit reporting bureaus like Experian, whom neither did I ask to collect my data, nor to sell it to anyone pretending to be my employer or creditor. Those firms should be held accountable to at least the same level as the government institutions.
Think about it. If the government wasn't already careful in protecting your personal data, there wouldn't be a need for the credit bureaus.
You made that point in your first message. I countered, showing that the overall increase in cycles is small compared to the disk I/O time per message. You haven't shown a counter-example to disprove my point.
Don't have data to do so yet. I am in the process of implementing a solution and testing it. As soon I know whether this is feasible or not, I'll let you know what my real-world solution was, and how it stacked up. Might be another couple of weeks, though.
Yes, I am sure that most ISPs with a million mail users have only one system doing all the work.
No, they have multiple systems doing the work. And sometimes even that isn't enough.
Furthurmore, your point 3 contradicts this point - if an ISP can offer scanning as as service then they have the cycles to do it.
No. Like I said, for a large user base this is not a trivial amount of CPU time. If enough users pay for the service, it pays for the cost of buying additional hardware to implement the feature.
The ISP are not made of freely available cash and CPU cycles, you know. If customers pay for something, it gets put in. Otherwise, where are you going to get the money for it?
An analogy: if I come to your house and dump a large pile of stinking garbage on your front lawn (and you don't catch me), are you at fault for this problem? No. However, who is going to have to solve the problem? You are.
I think an even better analogy would be, if I decide to pull a prank and place an order for pornographic (or something else you'd find offensive, say a free sample of Viagra) and have it delivered to your house, are you gonna blame the courier dropping it at your doorstep?
Yes, ISPs do in part share blame for the current SPAM problem in that ISPs don't shut down known spammers.
I disagree. I don't believe the problem can be stopped on the on-ramp to the 'net, as spammers are getting more and more difficult to trace, thanks to the ever-growing presence of open relays among other reasons.
What is so wrong about placing the burden on the end user, anyway? If they are stupid enough, they deserve to feel the pain. People need to learn the basics, and "Don't open attachments" should be one of them.
JUST RUN A DAMN VIRUS SCANNER ON THE FREAKING EMAIL SERVER!
No, for several reasons.
1) Yes, it does cost CPU cycles. Especially if you multiply that by the amount of users you have on your system (say, oh, a few million). Especially if you consider how many "popular" domains you host (prestige-wise or userbase-size-wize). Especially if you consider that some viruses/trojans don't search your addressbook for a list of valid addresses, but instead generate dictionary attacks, 99% of which don't hit valid users' mailboxes, but put a strain on your system nevertheless.
2) Some providers are constantly/frequently/sometimes accused of being too intrusive in monitoring their users' activity (including email traffic). Funny how when you try to cater to one group of people and implement a hands-off, non-invasive approach, you automatically incur the wrath of the opposition.
3) Some providers give the option of virus-scanning as a value-added service. If a customer chooses not to pay for such service, why should you force it down their throats?
4) Just like the OS is not at fault here, neither are the ISPs. What's next, you're gonna blame SPAM on the ISPs instead of on the spammers? Blame shooting deaths on gun manufacturers instead of on the cowboy mentality and/or lack of common sense?
I am no cellular or Wi-Fi expert, but it seems like security is something to consider when mulling over this question. My Wi-Fi network is secured by me, but the cellular network, being a public/private venture, seems to lack the ability for personal protection.
One thing to keep in mind is that while you may not have control over the security of the cellular network on the individual level, any form of snooping on such networks is illegal and carries stiff penalties. Besides, isn't increased security one of the reasons why analog cellphones are going out of use in favor of digital ones?
Apparently you can use it to power a PC, too, so given the right kernel support, you could prolly use a BT-based video acquisition board with this. I'll find out shortly, downloading ISO now:)
I used to have the same problem. I have a cheap KVM switch that does serial mice, but not PS/2. I shared the kbd and monitor between windows and linux, but each machine had a separate mouse. What a pain. But what to do?
I ended up using VNC between the two, then moved on to running an X server on the windows box and bringing up linux windows there, then finally started using terminal services + rdesktop, and have been hunky-dory ever since. I don't have to use an inferior mouse with the machine I use less (windows), I get the full desktop experience for both platforms (albeit with limited color depth in windows), and the only time I have to physically switch to windows is when I do any multimedia stuff, like playing a movie.
The problem with this, is that if the power goes off while you're away for a couple days, the fan will drain the batteries flat (bad for the batteries, but not dangerous).
If he's like me and leaves the computer on while away (and doesn't connect the serial cable from the UPS to the computer), doesn't really matter:)
This brings me to a question... and I'll admit I haven't researched it much... what UPS-monitoring software have people been successful in using under Linux, and which UPS's did it work with?
Aaaight, here's a train of thought... deep-sea fish / animals in a self-sustaining biosphere... deep-sea implies depths where natural light doesn't reach... introducing it might disrupt the biosphere, breaking the self-sustenance chain (i.e. kill off some plants, fish, whatever)... to prevent that, you'd have to wrap it in light-proof material... that sort of takes away from enjoying the experience...
Unless all the elements of your high-pressure biosphere are light-proof... or in their absence, you genetically modify them yourself... sounds like a project that's not quite worth the effort;(
Generally speaking, I am surprised to see how negative Slashdotters are to new technology, especially before knowing much about how it works.
I don't think it's being negative. We're being suspicious/precisely/ because of not knowing how it works. A lot of us are programmers. A lot of us are sysadmins. Some are both. Some of us have previously had to design automatons and know that there can't be an eventuality in the system that isn't accounted for, otherwise the system might enter a condition in which its behavior would be undetermined and might not recover. We don't know what side-effects that might introduce. We do know, though, that such systems are not easy to design, and not knowing all the details of the system we have the right to be suspicious, IMHO.
You can be sure of one thing, though -- I won't be in the first, or even the second wave of people trying out that technology, or any other technology, for that matter, that either puts my life at risk or is expensive. Heck, I'm driving my fifth car now but first one with ABS, and I'm not all that convinced that I like it. There are times I wish I could disable it, but I don't know how the car would react to me pulling the ABS relay / fuse out, and I don't want to find out first-hand.
I started as a sysadmin many years ago and was competent at it but my heart wasn't in it. It felt static to me. I suppose that's what maintenance is in the end, if you're good at it: routine.
It all depends on where you work. I was a programmer for a year and a half, and realized that the programming I was doing was static and routine, and moreover, there was no way spice it up due to constraints imposed by higher-ups outside of the institution (for the lack of a better word). The job became mundane to me, and I did not feel very motivated to do much (I still did what I was supposed to, but I had to pretty much force myself to do it).
Enter a job offer for a system admin at a young, growing company with a lot of potential. I always wanted to be a sysadmin (figured that out before college, and reinforced my belief once there), so I jumped at the opportunity. Due to the fact that the company was growing, fellow admins and I had the chance to engineer and re-engineer a lot of the facets of the backend infrastructure. Three years later we're still at it, making it better and better every day, and only now is the momentum slowing down somewhat. We're trying new things here, redesigning things there, trying to improve the systems, make them more efficient, resiliant to various problems and so forth. Yes, there's maintenance involved, and yes, maintenance can get tedious, as I've experienced several times now.
One great aspect of my work at the company (and this will chime in with what someone already mentioned) is being involved with programmers. What that does for me is make me realize I'm not the only one who's using the systems, and I can't set guidelines and parameters arbitratily, but have to work with them instead, have to find common ground, have to search for solutions that work for both sides -- give a little here, take a little there, start over elsewhere etc. Gives a whole new perspective of what the machines mean to other people. Since I consider myself to be a people's person, and since I've been on both sides of the fence, this doesn't phase me as much as it would your run-of-the-mill BOFH (though I/do/ get protective of my machines sometimes and yell obscenities). Quite the opposite, adds dimension and improves my understanding of things. In the end, I feel accomplished (and proud) when I see that my work makes that of others easier,/and/ that my systems still run at optimum performance/and/ don't compromise security (hey, we all know how programmers code, right?:) ). I feel my work is done.
I like to enjoy nature, and I do it in several ways.
I'm relatively new to the city I live in, so I like to get on my mountain bike and explore the many parks, trails and scenic routes that the city has to offer.
The beautiful scenery does not end at city limits, so I frequently find myself driving around here and there, discovering (among other things) new wineries in the process (mmmm.... wine...). This means that my car has to be in good shape, so I spend a good amount of time making sure it runs well by doing pretty much all the maintenance myself (oil changes, tune-ups, brake jobs, suspension etc.). I've always been a grease monkey, so for me it's fun (and I save money, too).
When distances get too big for a car (as in, you run into Really Large Bodies of Water), I fly (well, not myself, of course... not yet... gotta win the lottery first). Seeing how your immediate neighbors live is one thing, visiting someone across the globe is another. Needless to say, I'm only getting started in this department, as it's not a very cheap way of travel, but when I win that lottery... oh boy!
So, that's what I do in my spare time, which I don't have much left of when you subtract time spent on slashdot:)
I now feel that I have enough knowledge to replace my LAN's commercial router with an older computer I have laying around, running Linux with a customized iptables firewall.
That's kinda funny. I just went the opposite direction a few weeks ago -- had an old P-200 as my firewall, but I sprung a whopping $9.99 for a D-Link router/firewall. Why? There are a few reasons. One less machine to maintain (I have enough machines already, thank you). One less machine drawing power (yeah, electricity is included in my rent for now, but one day I'll be out on my own, so I should start getting used to downsizing now). One less machine to drain the UPS when power goes out (ugh... you'd think Niagara Mohawk would have their act together after, what, a hundred years of being in the business?).
The D-Link does everything I need it to, is stable, quiet, always on... having a dedicated computer was fun, but this is a better solution for me.
And I kind of agree with the title, too. To me, a professional is someone who not only knows a lot something, but also uses that knowledge to earn a living (e.g. a pro photographer). An amateur is a person, who does something as a hobby, as pointed out by another poster. IMHO, a shareware developer, who fits the "amateur" characteristics described by the article's author, will have a hard time earning much from their work, and most likely not enough to sustain themselves, thus falling into the amateur bin (ok ok, let's call it the "unsuccessful pro" bin, if it makes you feel better).
That issue aside, I think the author has hit a lot of nails on the head there. When I compare myself and my lofty business ideas with those of my brother-in-law, then look at where I am and where he is, there is no doubt which one of us is a pro. What amateur like me must realize is that there is a way to become pro, and Steve Pavlina outlines the stepping stones to get us on our way. Focus. Drive. Determination. Perserverance. Diversity. Research. Goals. Deadlines. Discipline. All those good things that we really don't like to do unless absolutely necessary. Try it. Find a role model. You'll see. I already have mine.
I'd moderate you as funny but I can't (posting prevents mods, and I don't have mod points anyway).
I don't have a problem with people taking lunch breaks and surfing the net while at work to momentarily take their mind off work. As you point out so well, I'm guilty of that too every now and then. But, when it starts to impact the ability of others to do work, something's gotta give. Especially when I have the upper levels of management breathing down my neck telling me that the Internet is broken.
yeah, silly you. personal internet (or any other cable provider) may not be as stupid as you think. a few months ago someone at covad (i think) was busted for doing just that:) search slashdot archives for the story. needless to say, they lost their cable modem access for violating EULA
The way I was picturing this was becoming one's own ISP of sorts, having a relatively decent uplink to the world and charging subscriptions to your network. You recruit say 5 or 20 or 50 of your neighbors, invest in a few access points, homebrew cantennas and other wireless equipment, set up your uplink, rules of the land etc. and get going. And I'm not talking about sharing one's DSL or cable internet connections, where such practices are illegal. I'm talking about a business account with a much higher cap etc., one that you're less likely to exceed even across so many people. Then you can start caching and proxying your connections, although I don't know how effective that would be, especially in terms of p2p networks. So, no unsurprising massive bills at the end of the month, no homelessness. Everyone has an unfiltered connection with no ports blocked, and as long as everyone abides by the aforementioned rules of the land, everyone's happy.
Naturally this could just as well be my geeky naivete...
Second, FYI, a T1 isn't a lot of bandwidth and it doesn't take much to saturate it.
Third, I work for a rather small company, know virtually all the people, and I know the limitations of our office's infrastructure. I expect others to know them too, because they've been told time and time again. I have better things to do than to throttle users. Hunting them down like animals gets the point across better, faster, and reduces the percentage of repeat offenders.
Fourth, people need to get their priorities straight. Workplace is for work, not play. If you want to play music while you work, bring a CD player, or a hard drive with your MP3s. And I'm sure you don't need those RH9 ISOs right this very damn second. They can wait.
I don't really understand why it's any different from metering electricity consumption
You're right, it's not. Then again, if you're used to getting something for free (or at a relatively low cost), it hurts when you start paying more:) (Yes, I'm spoiled in that regard, both when it comes to electricity as well as internet -- I got both for free and unrestricted in college, then I moved to the "real world", where electricity was still free and unlimited (included in rent), but internet was not; $50/month for cable internet was a significant expense; I dread the thought of moving into my own house and having to pay for both!)
a concept history shows humans willing to accept... provided it's at reasonable rates
I don't expect my electricity bill to be subsidized by neighbors who use less electricity that me... nor do I expect to subsidize neighbors who use more bandwidth than me
If all ISP's adopt similarly priced metering plans that are reasonable, I don't expect very many people would see that as a roadblock. In fact, I'd expect a lot of people to see it as a break, since people who don't engage in a lot of file-transfering (via P2P or other methods) ought to see their rates decline substantially.
Myself included. As I posted in another reply, I'd be perfectly willing to jump to either an unlimited plan with p2p filtered, but I won't hold my breath. Crux of the argument is, I don't think any potential plans that our beloved ISPs may have in store for us will be reasonable. Utility companies (and ISPs are slowly joining the ranks) have (again) a history of not dropping prices, or doing so for very short periods of time citing "other previously unforseen costs". It's all about the bottom line. Either unlimited rates go up so that you pay for your neighbor's net usage; or tiered metered rates go into effect, heaviest users (e.g. kids on kazaa, pr0n swappers) bail because the cost is too high, rates go up across the tiers to compensate for lost business.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't know anything about this submarine (though I did RTFA), so I'm puzzled by its design. You mean to tell me that these things aren't made to be radio-controlled? That once the cable connecting it to the mother ship is cut, it's bye-bye Charlie? That's silly for a multi-million dollar piece of equipment. These folks should learn from NASA about redundant control / communication systems.
You know, I'm not sure. For some reason I'm tempted to say that it's one of Bruce Lee's movies, but I'm not positive.
...could we create superhumans by rigorously teaching children all these different tricks...
Reminds me of an older martial arts movie in which a teacher plants a small tree, then tells a small child to jump over it day in, day out, and as the tree and the child grow, the child is able to jump really high into the air.
Monitoring is one thing... disclosing (selling) my private information without my knowledge (e.g. SSN, buying habits) is another.
Hey, if you're gonna make a profit off me, at least share the proceeds!
...and make private companies accountable as well. Say what you will, I haven't had much trouble from government agencies so far when it comes to disclosing my SSN to anyone they shouldn't have, or without my permission. I'd me much more worried about all those credit reporting bureaus like Experian, whom neither did I ask to collect my data, nor to sell it to anyone pretending to be my employer or creditor. Those firms should be held accountable to at least the same level as the government institutions.
Think about it. If the government wasn't already careful in protecting your personal data, there wouldn't be a need for the credit bureaus.
You made that point in your first message. I countered, showing that the overall increase in cycles is small compared to the disk I/O time per message. You haven't shown a counter-example to disprove my point.
Don't have data to do so yet. I am in the process of implementing a solution and testing it. As soon I know whether this is feasible or not, I'll let you know what my real-world solution was, and how it stacked up. Might be another couple of weeks, though.
No, they have multiple systems doing the work. And sometimes even that isn't enough.
No. Like I said, for a large user base this is not a trivial amount of CPU time. If enough users pay for the service, it pays for the cost of buying additional hardware to implement the feature.
The ISP are not made of freely available cash and CPU cycles, you know. If customers pay for something, it gets put in. Otherwise, where are you going to get the money for it?
I think an even better analogy would be, if I decide to pull a prank and place an order for pornographic (or something else you'd find offensive, say a free sample of Viagra) and have it delivered to your house, are you gonna blame the courier dropping it at your doorstep?
I disagree. I don't believe the problem can be stopped on the on-ramp to the 'net, as spammers are getting more and more difficult to trace, thanks to the ever-growing presence of open relays among other reasons.
What is so wrong about placing the burden on the end user, anyway? If they are stupid enough, they deserve to feel the pain. People need to learn the basics, and "Don't open attachments" should be one of them.
JUST RUN A DAMN VIRUS SCANNER ON THE FREAKING EMAIL SERVER!
No, for several reasons.
1) Yes, it does cost CPU cycles. Especially if you multiply that by the amount of users you have on your system (say, oh, a few million). Especially if you consider how many "popular" domains you host (prestige-wise or userbase-size-wize). Especially if you consider that some viruses/trojans don't search your addressbook for a list of valid addresses, but instead generate dictionary attacks, 99% of which don't hit valid users' mailboxes, but put a strain on your system nevertheless.
2) Some providers are constantly/frequently/sometimes accused of being too intrusive in monitoring their users' activity (including email traffic). Funny how when you try to cater to one group of people and implement a hands-off, non-invasive approach, you automatically incur the wrath of the opposition.
3) Some providers give the option of virus-scanning as a value-added service. If a customer chooses not to pay for such service, why should you force it down their throats?
4) Just like the OS is not at fault here, neither are the ISPs. What's next, you're gonna blame SPAM on the ISPs instead of on the spammers? Blame shooting deaths on gun manufacturers instead of on the cowboy mentality and/or lack of common sense?
Please.
I am no cellular or Wi-Fi expert, but it seems like security is something to consider when mulling over this question. My Wi-Fi network is secured by me, but the cellular network, being a public/private venture, seems to lack the ability for personal protection.
One thing to keep in mind is that while you may not have control over the security of the cellular network on the individual level, any form of snooping on such networks is illegal and carries stiff penalties. Besides, isn't increased security one of the reasons why analog cellphones are going out of use in favor of digital ones?
Apparently you can use it to power a PC, too, so given the right kernel support, you could prolly use a BT-based video acquisition board with this. I'll find out shortly, downloading ISO now :)
I used to have the same problem. I have a cheap KVM switch that does serial mice, but not PS/2. I shared the kbd and monitor between windows and linux, but each machine had a separate mouse. What a pain. But what to do?
I ended up using VNC between the two, then moved on to running an X server on the windows box and bringing up linux windows there, then finally started using terminal services + rdesktop, and have been hunky-dory ever since. I don't have to use an inferior mouse with the machine I use less (windows), I get the full desktop experience for both platforms (albeit with limited color depth in windows), and the only time I have to physically switch to windows is when I do any multimedia stuff, like playing a movie.
The problem with this, is that if the power goes off while you're away for a couple days, the fan will drain the batteries flat (bad for the batteries, but not dangerous).
:)
If he's like me and leaves the computer on while away (and doesn't connect the serial cable from the UPS to the computer), doesn't really matter
This brings me to a question... and I'll admit I haven't researched it much... what UPS-monitoring software have people been successful in using under Linux, and which UPS's did it work with?
A lot of mileage for a joke post, no? :-)
:)
D'oh! And I put so much effort into making sure my arguments were well thought-out...
Aaaight, here's a train of thought... deep-sea fish / animals in a self-sustaining biosphere... deep-sea implies depths where natural light doesn't reach... introducing it might disrupt the biosphere, breaking the self-sustenance chain (i.e. kill off some plants, fish, whatever)... to prevent that, you'd have to wrap it in light-proof material... that sort of takes away from enjoying the experience...
;(
Unless all the elements of your high-pressure biosphere are light-proof... or in their absence, you genetically modify them yourself... sounds like a project that's not quite worth the effort
Generally speaking, I am surprised to see how negative Slashdotters are to new technology, especially before knowing much about how it works.
/precisely/ because of not knowing how it works. A lot of us are programmers. A lot of us are sysadmins. Some are both. Some of us have previously had to design automatons and know that there can't be an eventuality in the system that isn't accounted for, otherwise the system might enter a condition in which its behavior would be undetermined and might not recover. We don't know what side-effects that might introduce. We do know, though, that such systems are not easy to design, and not knowing all the details of the system we have the right to be suspicious, IMHO.
I don't think it's being negative. We're being suspicious
You can be sure of one thing, though -- I won't be in the first, or even the second wave of people trying out that technology, or any other technology, for that matter, that either puts my life at risk or is expensive. Heck, I'm driving my fifth car now but first one with ABS, and I'm not all that convinced that I like it. There are times I wish I could disable it, but I don't know how the car would react to me pulling the ABS relay / fuse out, and I don't want to find out first-hand.
I started as a sysadmin many years ago and was competent at it but my heart wasn't in it. It felt static to me. I suppose that's what maintenance is in the end, if you're good at it: routine.
/do/ get protective of my machines sometimes and yell obscenities). Quite the opposite, adds dimension and improves my understanding of things. In the end, I feel accomplished (and proud) when I see that my work makes that of others easier, /and/ that my systems still run at optimum performance /and/ don't compromise security (hey, we all know how programmers code, right? :) ). I feel my work is done.
... until the next day :)
It all depends on where you work. I was a programmer for a year and a half, and realized that the programming I was doing was static and routine, and moreover, there was no way spice it up due to constraints imposed by higher-ups outside of the institution (for the lack of a better word). The job became mundane to me, and I did not feel very motivated to do much (I still did what I was supposed to, but I had to pretty much force myself to do it).
Enter a job offer for a system admin at a young, growing company with a lot of potential. I always wanted to be a sysadmin (figured that out before college, and reinforced my belief once there), so I jumped at the opportunity. Due to the fact that the company was growing, fellow admins and I had the chance to engineer and re-engineer a lot of the facets of the backend infrastructure. Three years later we're still at it, making it better and better every day, and only now is the momentum slowing down somewhat. We're trying new things here, redesigning things there, trying to improve the systems, make them more efficient, resiliant to various problems and so forth. Yes, there's maintenance involved, and yes, maintenance can get tedious, as I've experienced several times now.
One great aspect of my work at the company (and this will chime in with what someone already mentioned) is being involved with programmers. What that does for me is make me realize I'm not the only one who's using the systems, and I can't set guidelines and parameters arbitratily, but have to work with them instead, have to find common ground, have to search for solutions that work for both sides -- give a little here, take a little there, start over elsewhere etc. Gives a whole new perspective of what the machines mean to other people. Since I consider myself to be a people's person, and since I've been on both sides of the fence, this doesn't phase me as much as it would your run-of-the-mill BOFH (though I
I like to enjoy nature, and I do it in several ways.
:)
I'm relatively new to the city I live in, so I like to get on my mountain bike and explore the many parks, trails and scenic routes that the city has to offer.
The beautiful scenery does not end at city limits, so I frequently find myself driving around here and there, discovering (among other things) new wineries in the process (mmmm.... wine...). This means that my car has to be in good shape, so I spend a good amount of time making sure it runs well by doing pretty much all the maintenance myself (oil changes, tune-ups, brake jobs, suspension etc.). I've always been a grease monkey, so for me it's fun (and I save money, too).
When distances get too big for a car (as in, you run into Really Large Bodies of Water), I fly (well, not myself, of course... not yet... gotta win the lottery first). Seeing how your immediate neighbors live is one thing, visiting someone across the globe is another. Needless to say, I'm only getting started in this department, as it's not a very cheap way of travel, but when I win that lottery... oh boy!
So, that's what I do in my spare time, which I don't have much left of when you subtract time spent on slashdot
Yeah, let's just hope they don't use any SCO source code this time :)
j/k
I now feel that I have enough knowledge to replace my LAN's commercial router with an older computer I have laying around, running Linux with a customized iptables firewall.
That's kinda funny. I just went the opposite direction a few weeks ago -- had an old P-200 as my firewall, but I sprung a whopping $9.99 for a D-Link router/firewall. Why? There are a few reasons. One less machine to maintain (I have enough machines already, thank you). One less machine drawing power (yeah, electricity is included in my rent for now, but one day I'll be out on my own, so I should start getting used to downsizing now). One less machine to drain the UPS when power goes out (ugh... you'd think Niagara Mohawk would have their act together after, what, a hundred years of being in the business?).
The D-Link does everything I need it to, is stable, quiet, always on... having a dedicated computer was fun, but this is a better solution for me.
And I kind of agree with the title, too. To me, a professional is someone who not only knows a lot something, but also uses that knowledge to earn a living (e.g. a pro photographer). An amateur is a person, who does something as a hobby, as pointed out by another poster. IMHO, a shareware developer, who fits the "amateur" characteristics described by the article's author, will have a hard time earning much from their work, and most likely not enough to sustain themselves, thus falling into the amateur bin (ok ok, let's call it the "unsuccessful pro" bin, if it makes you feel better).
That issue aside, I think the author has hit a lot of nails on the head there. When I compare myself and my lofty business ideas with those of my brother-in-law, then look at where I am and where he is, there is no doubt which one of us is a pro. What amateur like me must realize is that there is a way to become pro, and Steve Pavlina outlines the stepping stones to get us on our way. Focus. Drive. Determination. Perserverance. Diversity. Research. Goals. Deadlines. Discipline. All those good things that we really don't like to do unless absolutely necessary. Try it. Find a role model. You'll see. I already have mine.
I'd moderate you as funny but I can't (posting prevents mods, and I don't have mod points anyway).
I don't have a problem with people taking lunch breaks and surfing the net while at work to momentarily take their mind off work. As you point out so well, I'm guilty of that too every now and then. But, when it starts to impact the ability of others to do work, something's gotta give. Especially when I have the upper levels of management breathing down my neck telling me that the Internet is broken.
yeah, silly you. personal internet (or any other cable provider) may not be as stupid as you think. a few months ago someone at covad (i think) was busted for doing just that :) search slashdot archives for the story. needless to say, they lost their cable modem access for violating EULA
The way I was picturing this was becoming one's own ISP of sorts, having a relatively decent uplink to the world and charging subscriptions to your network. You recruit say 5 or 20 or 50 of your neighbors, invest in a few access points, homebrew cantennas and other wireless equipment, set up your uplink, rules of the land etc. and get going. And I'm not talking about sharing one's DSL or cable internet connections, where such practices are illegal. I'm talking about a business account with a much higher cap etc., one that you're less likely to exceed even across so many people. Then you can start caching and proxying your connections, although I don't know how effective that would be, especially in terms of p2p networks. So, no unsurprising massive bills at the end of the month, no homelessness. Everyone has an unfiltered connection with no ports blocked, and as long as everyone abides by the aforementioned rules of the land, everyone's happy.
Naturally this could just as well be my geeky naivete...
First, read what EvilTwinSkippy already said.
Second, FYI, a T1 isn't a lot of bandwidth and it doesn't take much to saturate it.
Third, I work for a rather small company, know virtually all the people, and I know the limitations of our office's infrastructure. I expect others to know them too, because they've been told time and time again. I have better things to do than to throttle users. Hunting them down like animals gets the point across better, faster, and reduces the percentage of repeat offenders.
Fourth, people need to get their priorities straight. Workplace is for work, not play. If you want to play music while you work, bring a CD player, or a hard drive with your MP3s. And I'm sure you don't need those RH9 ISOs right this very damn second. They can wait.
I don't really understand why it's any different from metering electricity consumption
:) (Yes, I'm spoiled in that regard, both when it comes to electricity as well as internet -- I got both for free and unrestricted in college, then I moved to the "real world", where electricity was still free and unlimited (included in rent), but internet was not; $50/month for cable internet was a significant expense; I dread the thought of moving into my own house and having to pay for both!)
... provided it's at reasonable rates
... nor do I expect to subsidize neighbors who use more bandwidth than me
You're right, it's not. Then again, if you're used to getting something for free (or at a relatively low cost), it hurts when you start paying more
a concept history shows humans willing to accept
I don't expect my electricity bill to be subsidized by neighbors who use less electricity that me
If all ISP's adopt similarly priced metering plans that are reasonable, I don't expect very many people would see that as a roadblock. In fact, I'd expect a lot of people to see it as a break, since people who don't engage in a lot of file-transfering (via P2P or other methods) ought to see their rates decline substantially.
Myself included. As I posted in another reply, I'd be perfectly willing to jump to either an unlimited plan with p2p filtered, but I won't hold my breath. Crux of the argument is, I don't think any potential plans that our beloved ISPs may have in store for us will be reasonable. Utility companies (and ISPs are slowly joining the ranks) have (again) a history of not dropping prices, or doing so for very short periods of time citing "other previously unforseen costs". It's all about the bottom line. Either unlimited rates go up so that you pay for your neighbor's net usage; or tiered metered rates go into effect, heaviest users (e.g. kids on kazaa, pr0n swappers) bail because the cost is too high, rates go up across the tiers to compensate for lost business.