Oh, okay... no problem... can you fast for three months while we thaw, plant, and harvest???
~or~
Um, yeah... about that seed cache... well, uh, you see... we sort of buried it in the north pole, but we didn't really count on all the global warming stuff melting the surrounding area and like it all falling into the ocean, you know?
Ok, humans breathe in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide. Rather than remove the existing CO2, just wipe out China (the country with the highest population). End of subject. Once a few billion people are gone, the CO2 levels will drop so significantly that the problem will be solved.
Of course, I don't want to be labeled as anti-Chinese... so perhaps we could just take out the US? Or maybe all of Europe and Russia?
Hello Symantec... I'd never trust the OS manufacturer to be responsible for its security anyone, but even less so considering MS's reputation for security...
Of course... your arthritis may lead to death and armageddon may come before its available. But if you're willing to spend money, perhaps you could convince the powers that be to make the game we've all waited for for years and that, at this time, has more vaporware-of-the-year awards than any other...:)
So let me see if I get this right... they'll wait a month for normal patches, sometimes longer for some that've been well known but they either can't fix or don't see the potential risk... but in general, if a new vulnerability is found on the Wednesday after black Tuesday, they'll wait a month (at earliest) to release a patch even if an exploit is in the wild... yet when it comes to protecting their cash cow, they'll fix it right away. In other words, screw the consumer... we can just damn well wait for updates to critical vulnerabilities, but when it comes to protecting their own revenue stream, they'll fix something right away. Not sure why I would've thought they'd do any different... but it would seem they rushed to provide a "bug fix" to protect their revenue stream, but won't rush to creat "critical updates" that customers need. Amazing...
We did something similar... the building we moved into in February had only old 10Mb and coax wiring. In CA, if you run new cable, you also have to pay to demo the old cable. We decided to skip the cost and go all wireless. Basically we built a server room and ran two cables to each of 20 locations. There's an access point at each location and a spare cable to add more. Additionally, each was run with power-over-ethernet to avoid the electrical needs in the ceiling (oh yeah, all our APs are mounted in ceiling tiles). I assumed one AP for each 10 users, though we have only one SSID, so whether you're at your desk and wandering the building with your laptop, your SSID never changes, only your AP does. We have a 60K sq ft, two story building and 20 APs are handling it just fine. All clients have either laptops with 802.11b/g or USB WiFi cards (we went USB so we could use the same device/part number for a laptop or desktop and avoid opening up the systems). Our APs all have MIMO (we tested the building with one regular and one MIMO AP before moving in an buying our APs and found the MIMO APs worked MUCH better). The awesome thing is to run NetStumbler on my OQO (which is 802.11b only) and walk around the building seeing it switch to the best AP and always have full strength. The one thing we learned, though, was to watch out for portable phones. We moved 8 over with us... all were in the 2.4Ghz range... they were quickly replaced with 900Mhz phones and we've been fine since then.
I just finished reading John C. Dvorak's excellent article about forthcoming Microsoft security softwares. I've always been against paying M$ to fix their own problems, especially since they seem to do such a poor job of it. Think about the irony of Microsoft selling an operating system that is hugely susceptible to viruses, spyware, and other malware, then offering to sell you "security softwares" that will help against these very things. Wouldn't it just make more sense to fix the operating system itself? Suffice it to say that hell will need to freeze over before I buy any anti-virus, anti-spyware, or any other anti-resolve-the-holes-in-Windows add-ons from M$ themselves. I'll stick to other, 3rd party companies for now.
And here's the real kicker... what's Dell or HP's answer if you call their technical support department and they determine you have a virus or spyware? They ask you to restore to factory contents (which involves reformatting your hard drive). Now, considering that there is no perfect anti-spyware software on the market yet, what is M$'s response going to be when their own softwares can't rid your PC of viruses or spyware? They're going to ask you to re-install and format the drive in the process (note: not that this will resolve a boot record [MBR] virus).
So let's make sure the full picture is laid out for us: first you pay around $300 for Windows. After installation, you spend 4 hours of your time getting all the latest updates from Windows Update (let's be conservative and say you're worth $25/hour... so that's another $100.00). Then you pay another say $100 for Microsoft security software. Then you get a virus or spyware. After 2 hours of trying to fix it yourself (another $50.00), you call Microsoft technical support at $75.00 per hour. After two hours (another $150), you're still infected. So they ask you to re-install (and format the drive which wipes out all your personal data). So $700.00 later you're right back where you started. I'll bet this isn't factored into the "true cost of Windows" or their "Get the FUD" campaign. And all this time M$ wonders why people are shifting to Linux in droves. Linux is free. With Linux you could (though aren't as likely to) arrive at the exact same place... re-installing and losing all your data, but at least you didn't flush $700.00 down the toilet on the way.
Riddle me this, though... how is it that an operating system who's source code is closed off to the world remains so easily afflicted (through viruses, spyware, etc) while Linux, whose source code is publicly available to all, remains largely affliction free?
But in the end, I opted for a "both" approach. If I'm going to do a cluster, I usually do it for applications, so I'll build it out in an N+1 style so I can easily add more resources to the cluster. If uptime is the concern and not horse-power, I'll simply make things as redundant as possible with drives, power supplies, RAID, etc.
"OQO announced a long overdue update to their Model 01 ultrapersonal computer earlier today. As its name suggests, the new model 01+ isn't the Model 02 we've been waiting for (that's due out next year we hear), but it is a solid upgrade and comes with 512MB of RAM, a 30GB hard drive, USB 2.0, a 1GHz processor, an internal speaker, and a 5-inch, 800 x 480 LCD screen. The Model 01+ we've been playing with definitely feels like a significant improvement over the original -- for starters, it's much snappier and just feels easier to use -- but it almost makes you wish they'd been able to release the 01 with these specs in the first place (we'll cut them slack since it was a first-gen product and just be happy that they got it right this time)."
So take this and some other news and do the math. Transmeta is officially out of the CPU market. OQO uses Transmetas. Where does that leave OQO? Well, the thought is that they might have some reserves... perhaps they bought up some of Transmetas final stock... but for a future device (as Engadget alluded to), they would be wise to switch to a CPU that will be around for a bit of the future... what that is is anyone's guess, but it would make sense to build their next device, if there is one, on a different CPU. I don't think they're in any jeopardy of being Osborned, anymore than Palm is regarding the 650 if people plan to wait 3 or 4 months for the 700.
Before mine were, and I simply restated what Engadget said... that they've been looking forward to this and they're looking forward to yet another device. I'm looking forward to one to. Details, however, neither Engadget nor myself gave...
Wouldn't be the first time I did something that turned someone off.:)
The site wasn't built to look good in a full browser. Its not xhtml or anything else. In fact, it doesn't use any CSS at all. It was built to render quickly and well on mobile devices, not desktops. Perhaps I'll update it in the future, however I'll need to learn a lot more about web programming before I do and for now I have plenty of other stuff to do. Your opinions are duly noted.
Perhaps I mis-read the older emails from OQO. Perhaps they only upgraded the radio/antenna. I thought they said it went from 802.11b to 802.11b/g, though. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. Perhaps the b/g was in the future. My NDA wasn't for testing anything new. It was signed before they presented me with their product roadmap as we were looking for a corporate purchase. I was told about the updated Model 01 and that there would be another device to follow a few months later. The unit I demo'd was an original Model 01. They were trying to sell us existing Model 01's and offer free upgrades to the yet to than be released Model 01+ and offered excellent discounts for upgrades to a future Model 02. The original Model 01 we tested had such poor radio performance that we gave up on OQO for the time being and decided to wait for a second generation device.
I demo'd one of their 01 models a few months back and signed a nice NDA that prevented me from discussing this newer Model 01. What's missed in the announcement is that the older, original 01's also got a free wifi antenna upgrade and from 802.11b to 802.11b/g. This change was emailed out about 2 or 3 months ago when OQO Ebay'd a charity OQO, but this means that the 01+ now has the extra RAM & disk storage, plus USB 2.0, but *also* an upgraded radio. Many, many people had complained about poor, directional issues with the original 802.11b radio/antenna.
Engadget also covered this and mentioned the Model 02 that they hope to see soon. My NDA bars me from discussing this, but since Engadget spilled the beans, let's just say that I was told there'd be an "upgraded Model 01" before the end of the year and a newer Model 02 out before the end of quarter 2 next year. The Model 02 should have some significant updates including *possibly* having a different CPU instead of the Transmeta among other things. Considering the Model 01+ actually happened, I can only hope the Model 02 will be forthcoming as well.
I for one didn't get the Model 01 simply because I steer clear of the first generation of new devices like this. The unit I demo'd confirmed why I didn't buy one. The upgraded 01+ looks appealing, but I'll probably hold out for the Model 02 sometime next year. But once I get it, I'll be a happy man... I'll have a Treo 650 (Palm-based, not a Winblows version) in one pocket and my OQO in the other.:)
Let's see... sure Sony sells laptops with Intel chips and the Windows OS, *BUT*, they also sell a PS3 with a new cell processor. So let's see... their PS3 competes directly with the XBox and their processor competes directly with Intel's (while also being better and based on open standards). So, Intel & M$ have thrown their weight at the *other*, non-Sony standard. Hello??? MkFly???
Personally, I'm waiting for SCO to sue M$, then just settle and let M$ buy up SCO. Then, at least they'll own UNIX... oh, wait, SCO may not own UNIX. Well, at least they can try to own UNIX.
Just tried it... just for the sake of it... and it removed my paid-for copy of LimeWire. It also uninstalled my BitTorrent client. I must be missing something here. I understand if it wants to remove softwares that are used solely for illegal purposes, but removing paid-for software or software that has legitimate uses, such as BitTorrent?
Google is smart enough to know that there are people out there that don't live and die by the internet. If they see ads for Google, they're more likely to go to a google site when they first encounter the internet. Its like AOL is such a brand name, that many first time internet users naturally just type "AOL" into their browser. Sure, those of us that use the internet all the time won't give a Google ad a second look (except to notice that you don't normally see Google print ads), but for newbs, your grandma that just got her first Linspire PC, etc., knowing where to start is great... and knowing you can start with Google is a great place to start...
Um, actually it was a failed attempt at sarcasm (failed because it seems no one got it... think about it... if I had just downloaded gigs and gigs of porn, would I be so bold as to say so in a traceable forum?). I find it ironic that both the MPAA and RIAA come after the music and mainstream movie piraters (though mostly they go after those that are sharing the goods and not downloading them), but that they completely seem to ignore the *other* movie industry. The fact is, sad though it may be, the porn industry is one the few that's never hurting for money, lost money, suffered bankruptcies, etc. The RIAA and MPAA are always ranting about how CD and DVD prices have to go up to compensate for piracy and how much piracy hurts their industry (despite reports that show quite the contrary). You would think that if this was all a lot more than just some fluff and bunk that the porn industry would be just as anxious to pursue the pirates of their industry to protect their interests. Yet they don't...
I just spent the last month downloading gigs and gigs of porn via LimeWire. No joke, I now have over 35Gb of porn. Yet, these guys are going after the music abusers??? I don't get it...
Oh, and just in case the RIAA or MPAA or some other -AA organization sees this and wants to come after me... well I was never read my rights. Sorry. Fine away.
Never let a Microsoft employee do what a frustrated developer can do. Of course, we've had 10 years of M$ showing us more of what they can't do. Leave it to an OSS developer to fix IE.
What I really want now is a Firefox plugin that'll completely uninstall IE from my system, but still allow Windows to work. Perhaps Firefox could take over for Explorer since back in the lawsuit days, M$ claimed that removing IE would break Windows (like it wasn't broken already)
And please don't flag this as flamebait as I'm using IE and Windows right now.:(
Slashdot Mirror
Oh, okay... no problem... can you fast for three months while we thaw, plant, and harvest??? ~or~ Um, yeah... about that seed cache... well, uh, you see... we sort of buried it in the north pole, but we didn't really count on all the global warming stuff melting the surrounding area and like it all falling into the ocean, you know?
Ok, humans breathe in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide. Rather than remove the existing CO2, just wipe out China (the country with the highest population). End of subject. Once a few billion people are gone, the CO2 levels will drop so significantly that the problem will be solved. Of course, I don't want to be labeled as anti-Chinese... so perhaps we could just take out the US? Or maybe all of Europe and Russia?
Hello Symantec... I'd never trust the OS manufacturer to be responsible for its security anyone, but even less so considering MS's reputation for security...
Forget the consoles, go old school on a new PC and play Descent. It absolutely rocked. You can still find new-in-box copies on Ebay http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=ht tp%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&fkr=1&from=R8&sati tle=video+game+descent&category0=&submitSearch=Sea rch
And FWIW, it rocks on newer hardware and CPUs.
A 44 year old that plays video games? In 20 years, you'll be the best granddad of them all...
Of course... your arthritis may lead to death and armageddon may come before its available. But if you're willing to spend money, perhaps you could convince the powers that be to make the game we've all waited for for years and that, at this time, has more vaporware-of-the-year awards than any other... :)
So let me see if I get this right... they'll wait a month for normal patches, sometimes longer for some that've been well known but they either can't fix or don't see the potential risk... but in general, if a new vulnerability is found on the Wednesday after black Tuesday, they'll wait a month (at earliest) to release a patch even if an exploit is in the wild... yet when it comes to protecting their cash cow, they'll fix it right away. In other words, screw the consumer... we can just damn well wait for updates to critical vulnerabilities, but when it comes to protecting their own revenue stream, they'll fix something right away. Not sure why I would've thought they'd do any different... but it would seem they rushed to provide a "bug fix" to protect their revenue stream, but won't rush to creat "critical updates" that customers need. Amazing...
We did something similar... the building we moved into in February had only old 10Mb and coax wiring. In CA, if you run new cable, you also have to pay to demo the old cable. We decided to skip the cost and go all wireless. Basically we built a server room and ran two cables to each of 20 locations. There's an access point at each location and a spare cable to add more. Additionally, each was run with power-over-ethernet to avoid the electrical needs in the ceiling (oh yeah, all our APs are mounted in ceiling tiles). I assumed one AP for each 10 users, though we have only one SSID, so whether you're at your desk and wandering the building with your laptop, your SSID never changes, only your AP does. We have a 60K sq ft, two story building and 20 APs are handling it just fine. All clients have either laptops with 802.11b/g or USB WiFi cards (we went USB so we could use the same device/part number for a laptop or desktop and avoid opening up the systems). Our APs all have MIMO (we tested the building with one regular and one MIMO AP before moving in an buying our APs and found the MIMO APs worked MUCH better). The awesome thing is to run NetStumbler on my OQO (which is 802.11b only) and walk around the building seeing it switch to the best AP and always have full strength. The one thing we learned, though, was to watch out for portable phones. We moved 8 over with us... all were in the 2.4Ghz range... they were quickly replaced with 900Mhz phones and we've been fine since then.
I just finished reading John C. Dvorak's excellent article about forthcoming Microsoft security softwares. I've always been against paying M$ to fix their own problems, especially since they seem to do such a poor job of it. Think about the irony of Microsoft selling an operating system that is hugely susceptible to viruses, spyware, and other malware, then offering to sell you "security softwares" that will help against these very things. Wouldn't it just make more sense to fix the operating system itself? Suffice it to say that hell will need to freeze over before I buy any anti-virus, anti-spyware, or any other anti-resolve-the-holes-in-Windows add-ons from M$ themselves. I'll stick to other, 3rd party companies for now. And here's the real kicker... what's Dell or HP's answer if you call their technical support department and they determine you have a virus or spyware? They ask you to restore to factory contents (which involves reformatting your hard drive). Now, considering that there is no perfect anti-spyware software on the market yet, what is M$'s response going to be when their own softwares can't rid your PC of viruses or spyware? They're going to ask you to re-install and format the drive in the process (note: not that this will resolve a boot record [MBR] virus). So let's make sure the full picture is laid out for us: first you pay around $300 for Windows. After installation, you spend 4 hours of your time getting all the latest updates from Windows Update (let's be conservative and say you're worth $25/hour... so that's another $100.00). Then you pay another say $100 for Microsoft security software. Then you get a virus or spyware. After 2 hours of trying to fix it yourself (another $50.00), you call Microsoft technical support at $75.00 per hour. After two hours (another $150), you're still infected. So they ask you to re-install (and format the drive which wipes out all your personal data). So $700.00 later you're right back where you started. I'll bet this isn't factored into the "true cost of Windows" or their "Get the FUD" campaign. And all this time M$ wonders why people are shifting to Linux in droves. Linux is free. With Linux you could (though aren't as likely to) arrive at the exact same place... re-installing and losing all your data, but at least you didn't flush $700.00 down the toilet on the way. Riddle me this, though... how is it that an operating system who's source code is closed off to the world remains so easily afflicted (through viruses, spyware, etc) while Linux, whose source code is publicly available to all, remains largely affliction free?
they'd put in a USB or PCMCIA form factor for use in my laptop...
MobileOptimized
But in the end, I opted for a "both" approach. If I'm going to do a cluster, I usually do it for applications, so I'll build it out in an N+1 style so I can easily add more resources to the cluster. If uptime is the concern and not horse-power, I'll simply make things as redundant as possible with drives, power supplies, RAID, etc.
From: http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000847060621/
Quote:
"OQO announced a long overdue update to their Model 01 ultrapersonal computer earlier today. As its name suggests, the new model 01+ isn't the Model 02 we've been waiting for (that's due out next year we hear) , but it is a solid upgrade and comes with 512MB of RAM, a 30GB hard drive, USB 2.0, a 1GHz processor, an internal speaker, and a 5-inch, 800 x 480 LCD screen. The Model 01+ we've been playing with definitely feels like a significant improvement over the original -- for starters, it's much snappier and just feels easier to use -- but it almost makes you wish they'd been able to release the 01 with these specs in the first place (we'll cut them slack since it was a first-gen product and just be happy that they got it right this time)."
So take this and some other news and do the math. Transmeta is officially out of the CPU market. OQO uses Transmetas. Where does that leave OQO? Well, the thought is that they might have some reserves... perhaps they bought up some of Transmetas final stock... but for a future device (as Engadget alluded to), they would be wise to switch to a CPU that will be around for a bit of the future... what that is is anyone's guess, but it would make sense to build their next device, if there is one, on a different CPU. I don't think they're in any jeopardy of being Osborned, anymore than Palm is regarding the 650 if people plan to wait 3 or 4 months for the 700.
Nope... not me. Engadget's comment(s)
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000847060621/
Before mine were, and I simply restated what Engadget said... that they've been looking forward to this and they're looking forward to yet another device. I'm looking forward to one to. Details, however, neither Engadget nor myself gave...
Wouldn't be the first time I did something that turned someone off. :)
The site wasn't built to look good in a full browser. Its not xhtml or anything else. In fact, it doesn't use any CSS at all. It was built to render quickly and well on mobile devices, not desktops. Perhaps I'll update it in the future, however I'll need to learn a lot more about web programming before I do and for now I have plenty of other stuff to do. Your opinions are duly noted.
Perhaps I mis-read the older emails from OQO. Perhaps they only upgraded the radio/antenna. I thought they said it went from 802.11b to 802.11b/g, though. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. Perhaps the b/g was in the future. My NDA wasn't for testing anything new. It was signed before they presented me with their product roadmap as we were looking for a corporate purchase. I was told about the updated Model 01 and that there would be another device to follow a few months later. The unit I demo'd was an original Model 01. They were trying to sell us existing Model 01's and offer free upgrades to the yet to than be released Model 01+ and offered excellent discounts for upgrades to a future Model 02. The original Model 01 we tested had such poor radio performance that we gave up on OQO for the time being and decided to wait for a second generation device.
Ah, my young padawan learner... you must learn to read before you mis-quote. What I said was:
... not that it *is* an open standard...
"based on open standards"
Remember, even a fool is esteemed wise when he keeps his mouth shut...
I demo'd one of their 01 models a few months back and signed a nice NDA that prevented me from discussing this newer Model 01. What's missed in the announcement is that the older, original 01's also got a free wifi antenna upgrade and from 802.11b to 802.11b/g. This change was emailed out about 2 or 3 months ago when OQO Ebay'd a charity OQO, but this means that the 01+ now has the extra RAM & disk storage, plus USB 2.0, but *also* an upgraded radio. Many, many people had complained about poor, directional issues with the original 802.11b radio/antenna.
:)
Engadget also covered this and mentioned the Model 02 that they hope to see soon. My NDA bars me from discussing this, but since Engadget spilled the beans, let's just say that I was told there'd be an "upgraded Model 01" before the end of the year and a newer Model 02 out before the end of quarter 2 next year. The Model 02 should have some significant updates including *possibly* having a different CPU instead of the Transmeta among other things. Considering the Model 01+ actually happened, I can only hope the Model 02 will be forthcoming as well.
I for one didn't get the Model 01 simply because I steer clear of the first generation of new devices like this. The unit I demo'd confirmed why I didn't buy one. The upgraded 01+ looks appealing, but I'll probably hold out for the Model 02 sometime next year. But once I get it, I'll be a happy man... I'll have a Treo 650 (Palm-based, not a Winblows version) in one pocket and my OQO in the other.
http://blog.mobileoptimized.com/
http://mobileoptimized.com/
Let's see... sure Sony sells laptops with Intel chips and the Windows OS, *BUT*, they also sell a PS3 with a new cell processor. So let's see... their PS3 competes directly with the XBox and their processor competes directly with Intel's (while also being better and based on open standards). So, Intel & M$ have thrown their weight at the *other*, non-Sony standard. Hello??? MkFly???
Personally, I'm waiting for SCO to sue M$, then just settle and let M$ buy up SCO. Then, at least they'll own UNIX... oh, wait, SCO may not own UNIX. Well, at least they can try to own UNIX.
Just tried it... just for the sake of it... and it removed my paid-for copy of LimeWire. It also uninstalled my BitTorrent client. I must be missing something here. I understand if it wants to remove softwares that are used solely for illegal purposes, but removing paid-for software or software that has legitimate uses, such as BitTorrent?
Try to bring it up in Firefox and you get a blank screen... :(
Google is smart enough to know that there are people out there that don't live and die by the internet. If they see ads for Google, they're more likely to go to a google site when they first encounter the internet. Its like AOL is such a brand name, that many first time internet users naturally just type "AOL" into their browser. Sure, those of us that use the internet all the time won't give a Google ad a second look (except to notice that you don't normally see Google print ads), but for newbs, your grandma that just got her first Linspire PC, etc., knowing where to start is great... and knowing you can start with Google is a great place to start...
PDA & Smartphone Optimized Sites
Replacing my laptop with a Treo
Um, actually it was a failed attempt at sarcasm (failed because it seems no one got it... think about it... if I had just downloaded gigs and gigs of porn, would I be so bold as to say so in a traceable forum?). I find it ironic that both the MPAA and RIAA come after the music and mainstream movie piraters (though mostly they go after those that are sharing the goods and not downloading them), but that they completely seem to ignore the *other* movie industry. The fact is, sad though it may be, the porn industry is one the few that's never hurting for money, lost money, suffered bankruptcies, etc. The RIAA and MPAA are always ranting about how CD and DVD prices have to go up to compensate for piracy and how much piracy hurts their industry (despite reports that show quite the contrary). You would think that if this was all a lot more than just some fluff and bunk that the porn industry would be just as anxious to pursue the pirates of their industry to protect their interests. Yet they don't...
I just spent the last month downloading gigs and gigs of porn via LimeWire. No joke, I now have over 35Gb of porn. Yet, these guys are going after the music abusers??? I don't get it...
Oh, and just in case the RIAA or MPAA or some other -AA organization sees this and wants to come after me... well I was never read my rights. Sorry. Fine away.
PDA & Smartphone Optimized Sites
Replacing my laptop with a Treo
Never let a Microsoft employee do what a frustrated developer can do. Of course, we've had 10 years of M$ showing us more of what they can't do. Leave it to an OSS developer to fix IE.
:(
What I really want now is a Firefox plugin that'll completely uninstall IE from my system, but still allow Windows to work. Perhaps Firefox could take over for Explorer since back in the lawsuit days, M$ claimed that removing IE would break Windows (like it wasn't broken already)
And please don't flag this as flamebait as I'm using IE and Windows right now.
PDA & Smartphone Optimized Sites
Replacing my laptop with a Treo
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/08/3 1/1418226&tid=229
:)
PDA & Smartphone Optimized Sites
Replacing my laptop with a Treo