I'd say you'd have more luck with a CD-R than a USB key - remember, Win98 (first edition) had barely any USB support so you'd still need to take drivers, same as a bootable DVD.
I'd say:
Adaware Spybot S&D puTTY (for getting to your own box) Firefox/Thunderbird (replace IE/Outlook) AVG antivirus FDISK (for retrieving MBRs etc) WinXP SP2/2000 SP4 (that's gonna need a CD-R) Fixes for a few common viruses
Yeah, no shit, I just took a double-take at the $800 and thought "why would she pay that to have an old Win98 box fixed instead of buying a new machine AND A FUCKING ROUTER?"
Yeah, I kinda get the idea that the "Digital Doctor" is more likely to be one of those people who do reviews of "excellent software like Gator" than a SysAdmin.
I guess I am [or we Slashdotters are] so far removed from Joe AOL user that we can't even fathom what took him 10.5 hours or why the user didn't just buy a router and re-install instead of screwing around for over a week.
My friend and I were thinking of setting up a PC building/fixing business, but were worried about there being enough customers. I think this article just goes to prove that Microsoft will be keeping us in business for years to come!
Anyone not using an el cheapo $30 hardware firewall is crazy, I really believe the ISPs should be giving these out with the cable modems - although then they'll lose their money with the "multiple user accounts".
I know people who use ZoneAlarm and ICS instead of paying $30 for a fscking router!
As far as Avast goes, what's the process monitoring like - I currently use NAV2003 and it sucks, it slows down boot so much, and the process monitoring is turning my 2.5GHz Athlon into a P166!
How's it compare to AVG - which was next on my list to try (as we use McAffee at work, and it catches nothing).
I think we need to implement something about Slashdotting, like you cannot post an article unless you're prepared to mirror the site/software you're talking about.
Or maybe Slashdot should offer a small amount of space to mirror sites, then/. can/. themselves!
How about a list of open Windows boxes we can use as FTP servers?;)
wxWidgets is free [unlike Qt] on all platforms - UNIX, Windows, Mac, embedded, and uses native widgets.
Oh and the screenshots look crap, if you're going to post screenshots, at least make sure there's some recognisable widgets in them, not just something that like it was drawn in Illustrator.
I used to work at an Acorn dealership, we attended a tradeshow and someone wanted a SCSI card fitted to their RiscPC.
So I fitted it, then we both realised the computer was still on, so I then even more stupidly removed the card, with the computer still on!
All the while, RISC OS was still chugging along.
I turned the machine off, fitted the card properly, connected up his new scanner and the customer left a happy man!
Moral or the story: the Acorn Podule Bus is one hardy piece of kit, as was that Castle SCSI card!
As an aside, there is actually an AGP graphics card for the RiscPC, and if you have a problem flashing the firmware, it is actually RECOMMENDED that you hotswap it before re-flashing!
1. This is a Thoroughbred-B core AthlonXP, so it's not even as fast as the later Barton core AthlonXP's, so clued-up people will still buy XP's instead of Sempr0ns.
2. They've upped the rating to reflect that it's competing with a Celeron not a Pentium4, e.g. what used to be a 2400+ to compete with a 2.4GHz P4, is now a 2800+ to compete with a 2.8GHz Celeron (which is about the same as a 2.4GHz P4).
This renaming will convice AOL users that these chips are now faster than the XP's they are actually slower than!
3. I'm sticking with my 2600+ Mobile Barton @ 2.51GHz, the next upgrade will be Athlon64 FX;o)
Ouch, you got the 2800+M - that's the 72w one that doesn't overclock at all well, basically identical to the regular Barton.
You should have saved some money and got the 45w 2600+ and OC'd it to 2.5GHz, or the 35w 2400+ @ 2.4GHz...
I mean they left out the best players (and probably the only ones/.'ers are interested in) the iRiver iHP-140 and Rio Karma - Hell they even left out the Archos range!
The funny thing is, this Trolltech idiot doesn't realise that if there was an OSS GUI kit (like Qt) then there would be OSS Windows development, and it would [probably] be usable on Linux as well, thus promoting GPL development as a side-effect.
I really think they're making up excuses for not making a non-commercial/GPL Windows version, just to force people to buy the software.
Of course, they won't be able to get the message out to many, as the average hobby-developer won't be able to afford to learn using Qt (they don't even have an educational license anymore AFAIK).
What's worse is that the non-commercial Qt that comes with the book doesn't have a PyQt to go with it as the Riverbank guys are stick-in-the-muds like Trolltech!
The Qt/PyQt that comes with BlackAdder is about as close as you can get to non-commercial Py/Qt, but that's $80+ and crippled (and is Python-only) and non-distributable.
If you want the PyQt for Windows DLL's though, try here (the support files for BA!):
wxWidgets has a huge following because it is truly cross-platform, with the same [free] licensing.
I would be using Qt/PyQt if it had a non-commercial (or preferably GPL) Windows license, but for now I'm stuck with wxPython - which really isn't as nice as Qt, although sometimes looks better due to native LnF.
I don't see the point of having GPL Linux *and Mac* versions without Windows, just because of the lame excuse "well Windows isn't GPL", it really bugs me, I don't want to write free software that won't work on Windows (and I'm far from a M$ advocate).
MacOSX isn't OSS, it's proprietary Apple stuff that they hacked on top of an OSS OS, so come up with another excuse TT....
And before anyone mentions the non-commercial Qt with the book - that is a very limited version (personal use, non-ditributable), doesn't work with PyQt, and is out-of-date already.
Don't use UPS!
I shipped a few computers from the UK to US when I moved to California.
They arrived in a right state - basically one of the very heavy-duty steel cases was buckled - actually looked like it had been jumped on (footprint!)
A SCSI HD was trashed (magnetic problems, or jolts?) a CD-ROM was smashed, a plastic case was smashed....
An try getting money out of them (my stupid office admin didn't get insurance!)
I actually brough a computer and laptop with me on the plane after that!
But back to the rack issue - have you thought of a Shuttle Mini-ATX - they have 200W PSU's that are auto-switching.
Also, any decent PSU should be 115/220 switchable.
Slashdot Mirror
Yeah, you got that right - JEdit blows!
It's the slowest piece of #$@% I've ever seen - startup time, GUI responsiveness....
And the horrid UI "theme".
Mind you, a vi user recommending a text editor doesn't install much confidence.
nano or NEdit, that's what you want - jees, even XEmacs is better!
Did anyone else read that as "A Solution for Corals Reefs in Perl"?
I thought it was some chaos simulator in Perl.
The release of this trilogy is going to make sales of dual layer DVD burners skyrocket!
;-)
I hope they have $10 media by then
I'd say you'd have more luck with a CD-R than a USB key - remember, Win98 (first edition) had barely any USB support so you'd still need to take drivers, same as a bootable DVD.
I'd say:
Adaware
Spybot S&D
puTTY (for getting to your own box)
Firefox/Thunderbird (replace IE/Outlook)
AVG antivirus
FDISK (for retrieving MBRs etc)
WinXP SP2/2000 SP4 (that's gonna need a CD-R)
Fixes for a few common viruses
Yeah, no shit, I just took a double-take at the $800 and thought "why would she pay that to have an old Win98 box fixed instead of buying a new machine AND A FUCKING ROUTER?"
Yeah, I kinda get the idea that the "Digital Doctor" is more likely to be one of those people who do reviews of "excellent software like Gator" than a SysAdmin.
I guess I am [or we Slashdotters are] so far removed from Joe AOL user that we can't even fathom what took him 10.5 hours or why the user didn't just buy a router and re-install instead of screwing around for over a week.
My friend and I were thinking of setting up a PC building/fixing business, but were worried about there being enough customers. I think this article just goes to prove that Microsoft will be keeping us in business for years to come!
"Other than that bosses (even ones with PhDs) are stupid."
/. crows I expect, the Suits are the enemy, and they regularly have no clue.
Think you miss-typed there, I think you meant "*especially* ones with PhDs".
I know exactly how you feel - as does most of the
Jees my boss has like 2 PhD's, admittedly from some crappy US university, but Hell, he can barely even make the coffee in the morning!
I agree completely (just posted just this!)
Anyone not using an el cheapo $30 hardware firewall is crazy, I really believe the ISPs should be giving these out with the cable modems - although then they'll lose their money with the "multiple user accounts".
I know people who use ZoneAlarm and ICS instead of paying $30 for a fscking router!
As far as Avast goes, what's the process monitoring like - I currently use NAV2003 and it sucks, it slows down boot so much, and the process monitoring is turning my 2.5GHz Athlon into a P166!
How's it compare to AVG - which was next on my list to try (as we use McAffee at work, and it catches nothing).
1. buy $30 Netgear/Linksys router
2. backup important files to USB drive or something
3. format, re-install '98, windows update
4. install AV/Spybot/Adaware
Shouldn't have taken any "Tech" 48 hours.
Definitely a problem between chair and mouse.
Yeah, no sh1t!
/. can /. themselves!
;)
I think we need to implement something about Slashdotting, like you cannot post an article unless you're prepared to mirror the site/software you're talking about.
Or maybe Slashdot should offer a small amount of space to mirror sites, then
How about a list of open Windows boxes we can use as FTP servers?
wxWidgets is free [unlike Qt] on all platforms - UNIX, Windows, Mac, embedded, and uses native widgets.
Oh and the screenshots look crap, if you're going to post screenshots, at least make sure there's some recognisable widgets in them, not just something that like it was drawn in Illustrator.
When I read that quickly I thought it said your boss dropped a COPPER down a flight of stairs, which I was going to give him rep for ;o)
I used to work at an Acorn dealership, we attended a tradeshow and someone wanted a SCSI card fitted to their RiscPC.
So I fitted it, then we both realised the computer was still on, so I then even more stupidly removed the card, with the computer still on!
All the while, RISC OS was still chugging along.
I turned the machine off, fitted the card properly, connected up his new scanner and the customer left a happy man!
Moral or the story: the Acorn Podule Bus is one hardy piece of kit, as was that Castle SCSI card!
As an aside, there is actually an AGP graphics card for the RiscPC, and if you have a problem flashing the firmware, it is actually RECOMMENDED that you hotswap it before re-flashing!
Yup, they do 50-page reviews full of marketing speak and they feature so many banner ads that they can only fits about five words onto the page!
I wish they'd do an RSS feed (or other text-only version) that would consist of just the single page of about 80 words worth reading in their reviews!
1. This is a Thoroughbred-B core AthlonXP, so it's not even as fast as the later Barton core AthlonXP's, so clued-up people will still buy XP's instead of Sempr0ns.
;o)
2. They've upped the rating to reflect that it's competing with a Celeron not a Pentium4, e.g. what used to be a 2400+ to compete with a 2.4GHz P4, is now a 2800+ to compete with a 2.8GHz Celeron (which is about the same as a 2.4GHz P4).
This renaming will convice AOL users that these chips are now faster than the XP's they are actually slower than!
3. I'm sticking with my 2600+ Mobile Barton @ 2.51GHz, the next upgrade will be Athlon64 FX
Ouch, you got the 2800+M - that's the 72w one that doesn't overclock at all well, basically identical to the regular Barton. You should have saved some money and got the 45w 2600+ and OC'd it to 2.5GHz, or the 35w 2400+ @ 2.4GHz...
Nah, your replacement would be able to read Hindi...
You're bitching to him about using buzzwords and you're recommending GMail?!
I mean they left out the best players (and probably the only ones /.'ers are interested in) the iRiver iHP-140 and Rio Karma - Hell they even left out the Archos range!
Oh, they all play Ogg BTW....
....with a nice Macro virus, should teach 'em a lesson.
The funny thing is, this Trolltech idiot doesn't realise that if there was an OSS GUI kit (like Qt) then there would be OSS Windows development, and it would [probably] be usable on Linux as well, thus promoting GPL development as a side-effect. I really think they're making up excuses for not making a non-commercial/GPL Windows version, just to force people to buy the software. Of course, they won't be able to get the message out to many, as the average hobby-developer won't be able to afford to learn using Qt (they don't even have an educational license anymore AFAIK).
What's worse is that the non-commercial Qt that comes with the book doesn't have a PyQt to go with it as the Riverbank guys are stick-in-the-muds like Trolltech!
The Qt/PyQt that comes with BlackAdder is about as close as you can get to non-commercial Py/Qt, but that's $80+ and crippled (and is Python-only) and non-distributable.
If you want the PyQt for Windows DLL's though, try here (the support files for BA!):
http://www.smga3000.com/thekompany/BAdemo/
wxWidgets has a huge following because it is truly cross-platform, with the same [free] licensing.
I would be using Qt/PyQt if it had a non-commercial (or preferably GPL) Windows license, but for now I'm stuck with wxPython - which really isn't as nice as Qt, although sometimes looks better due to native LnF.
I don't see the point of having GPL Linux *and Mac* versions without Windows, just because of the lame excuse "well Windows isn't GPL", it really bugs me, I don't want to write free software that won't work on Windows (and I'm far from a M$ advocate).
MacOSX isn't OSS, it's proprietary Apple stuff that they hacked on top of an OSS OS, so come up with another excuse TT....
And before anyone mentions the non-commercial Qt with the book - that is a very limited version (personal use, non-ditributable), doesn't work with PyQt, and is out-of-date already.
Argh, rant over!
Don't use UPS! I shipped a few computers from the UK to US when I moved to California. They arrived in a right state - basically one of the very heavy-duty steel cases was buckled - actually looked like it had been jumped on (footprint!) A SCSI HD was trashed (magnetic problems, or jolts?) a CD-ROM was smashed, a plastic case was smashed.... An try getting money out of them (my stupid office admin didn't get insurance!) I actually brough a computer and laptop with me on the plane after that! But back to the rack issue - have you thought of a Shuttle Mini-ATX - they have 200W PSU's that are auto-switching. Also, any decent PSU should be 115/220 switchable.
Oh come on, they just have to! ;o)