I'll echo the previous posters, lock your room door even if you are only going to the next room and only for a moment.
If you are going to have a bike, don't use a cheap combination lock like your high school gym class. Thru-hardened locks are harder to cut (with bolt cutters) than case-hardened, but thru-hardened can be broken by freezing with freon then shattering with hammer blow(s). Personally, I suggest $60 or more for a motorcycle-quality lock as a good idea. A round key lock (like a cola vending machine) is said to be almost impossible to pick.
If you have a car, many radios can take a 4-digit security code. If stolen, the radio is useless. Use this feature. Make the thief input all 9999 codes to piss him off. Keep your tapes and CDs in your room when not in use, and make sure they are only *_copies_*.
As for the laptop, I can only suggest removable storage to protect your term papers, etc. One school I attended (Ohio State, 1984-1985 year) have me *_one_* lockable dresser drawer, put your backup media and CDs here. A side benefit is you can protect from untrustworthy roommates as well as outsiders.
Also, if you see someone prop open a door to your building, say, during homecoming weekend, wait until they walk away (or don't, if you're bold) and remove the prop.
I bought the 120 GB Western Digital EIDE hard drive at Circuit City a couple of weeks ago (Cincinnati, OH area). It *_was_* $119.99 before rebates, $39.99 after rebates.
Since Micro Center had a sale on that drive that week for $99.99, CC honored it. And I still got to apply for the rebates. Now it's $99.99 before rebates, $19.99 after. 120 GB for $20? Yeah, I'm satisfied. Definitely.
And DivX was a freaking disaster. I'm glad the market took care of them.
I have heard that people believe something about the third time they hear it, so:
The local newspaper's computer columnist and the local TV "consumer affairs" reporter are always quick to point out the latest phishing scams. ISPs have a vested interest in stopping spam, viruses (or virii) and spyware, some are already taking steps to educate users. Can we get mail-order and big-box stores to raise awareness too (a booklet in the box or a video tutorial on the hard drive) for people to read ("because we care")?
The best way to educate people is probably one friend to another. I've helped a couple of people with spyware problems. I tell them how to avoid getting virii (or viruses), spyware and spam (and that spam offers are bogus). If they are hearing this for the third or fourth time, they are more likely to think, "this guy matches what I've been hearing from other sources. He knows his stuff. I should pay more attention so I'm not cheated."
But we see a new generation of net users every few years, so educating people can never stop. I'm ready to do my part, are you?
Any chance that Microsoft will submit a "doctored" videotape like they did in the antitrust suit, and then say "Sorry, that was the incorrect doctored videotape"?
And is there such a thing as a 'correct' doctored videotape?
I can only hope this will raise the intelligence of the average user.
Stupid question: why can't someone put a short tutorial on firewalls or ports in the "readme" file, and write SP2's install routine so it cannot be bypassed? (Okay, most people will just close Notepad or Wordpad or whatever, but a few people *_will_* actually read the readme).
This reminds me of an old problem with my ISA SoundBlaster 32 PNP (not an AWE 32). "If you test the wavetable chip with the included testing software, the wavetable chip may play random sounds and otherwise 'go nuts'". The only way to stop this is to cut the computer's power. This is a problem that is easily fixed. Go into CMOS Setup [explain how] and look for an option called "decoupled refresh" or "split refresh". This feature is commonly found on computers with eight or sixteen 30-pin SIMM or SIPP sockets. This feature must remain off for your SoundBlaster's wavetable chip to work.
Would it have *_KILLED_* them to say this? Nothing complicated, really. But it would have saved me 10+ hours and returning my first Sound Blaster to the store.
In the present case, just a short paragraph explaining the difference between solicited bits (browser requests a web page, etc.) and unsolicited bits, which can occasionally cause "undesirable effects" (browser redirected to pr0n sites, other BAD SHIT) to happen. Many common programs (games, AOL signon, P2P programs, whatever) require you to open certain ports, and it is perfectly safe for you to do so. So open them.
If a program you don't recognize wants to access the Net, it could be part of Windows or software you have purchased, or part of a rogue program that will harm your computing experience. See microsoft.com/commonprograms/whatever, or consult your computer's manufacturer or your software's documentation. If you are able to access the net, you can also try one of the numerous anti-spyware web sites.
Nothing overly technical, lengthy or scary. No need to explain the difference between TCP, UDP, and ICMP packets. Just like there was no need to explain the NMI (non-maskable interrupt) problem that plagued my SoundBlaster (before I turned decoupled refresh to "off"). Just telling me how to enter CMOS Setup and turn it off would have been fine.
Making people do research (on the programs they run and the ports they use) could be asking too much.
But for those who are willing to learn, would it kill Microsoft to put in a short tutorial to explain it briefly but well?
I'm driving a 2001 Saturn SL2 (1901 cc DOHC 4-cylinder, with 5-speed manual transmission (gearbox), transverse engine, and FWD). It is rated at 27 MPG in the city and 38 MPG on the freeway. After 40 months and 33,000 miles, I have achieved 37.4 MPG lifetime (6.32 liters per 100 km). Conservative driving, light weight (2,501 lbs./1137 kg) and the 5-speed manual transmission have all played a part. I have no freakin' idea why the EPA issued such a low number for city mileage, that's a mystery.
Another Saturn owner told me his 1997 model, with automatic transmission, averages around 35 MPG (5.91 liters/100 km). My experience is that a lockup torque converter really helps mileage with an automatic transmission, regardless of make and model (above a certain speed, in top gear, the transmission links the engine and tires directly just like a manual tranny).
I achieve very close to my average in both city and highway driving most of the year. Cold winter weather (down to 0 degrees F in Cincinnati) and air conditioning (R134A freon) in the summer (up to 95-100 deg F here) can both reduce the mileage to the middle or lower 30 MPG range on occasion.
Driving on country roads and interstate highways (in the slow lane, say, 52 MPH or 83 km/h) has given me as high as 40 - 44 MPG, making up for lower mileage in winter and the extra load of the freon compressor (used sparingly) in the summer.
</BEGIN biased rant> I have good interior room, nice features, low pollution numbers, and 95 percent USA parts content. And some people are getting well over 300 thousand miles (480,000 km) on the original engines (lost-foam casting process). Before we talk about hybrids and other exotic solutions, consider going "back to basics" -- light weight but sturdy, small engine, good engineering and build quality, priced agressively. Over 14 million were made from 1991 - 2002, used units are coming down to the $5K to $8K range in my local market. As for mine, I'm satisfied. It's not for sale at any price. </END biased rant>
When the US President was informed that the Berlin wall was being built, the US had over 50 scenarios as to what might happen to the Soviet-occupied Eastern parts of Germany (including Berlin).
Not one of those scenarios involved building a wall.
IIRC, this outcome was so unexpected that a high-ranking general walked right into the ocean up to his knees, in FULL UNIFORM, to give the President (who was in a rowboat) the news.
Tape drives are expensive and proprietary, and few home users buy them. DVD burners and media are cheaper than tape drives and tapes ever were, and DVD compatibility (for restoring files) is improving.
DVDs give more capacity than CD-R, enough for SOHO computers (4.7 GB DVDs are about equal to a 4 GB uncompressed Travan-4, dual layer 9 GB about equal to 10 GB uncompressed TR-5).
And the "coolness" factor might get us to actually back up our systems as often as we should!
Thank you all for making me feel so young, some of the computers you mention were before my time.
I remember the VIC-20 and C64 in junior high school, but learned that I sucked at programming. The first machine I owned was a 386DX-40, 4 MB RAM, a 120 MB hard disk, and both 5.25 and 3.5 inch floppy drives, a one megabyte Diamond Speed Star, and a 14 inch monitor. I can still remember when there were 75 megs free on the hard drive.
I began upgrading almost the day I got it. Added a modem, sound card, more memory, math coprocessor, CD-ROM, better video card, tape drive. The best training I could have had for solving resource conflicts, and fixing other problems that operating systems have from time to time.
Now I have a foundation in Windows and Linux, and remove spyware from my friends' computers for money. Not bad!
Let me explain. In the summer of 1998, the Distributed.net program for Windows 3.1 wasn't released yet, and I didn't have Windows 9x. So I could either use the Distributed.net program for MS-DOS or the one for Linux.
The unitasking of MS-DOS meant I couldn't do other things at the same time. With Linux, the LILO dual booting feature meant I had nothing to lose by trying Linux. So it really worked out well.
that I went through, where I wanted to help people. I participated in RC5-64 for over a year. My power supply fan died and I didn't notice it for some time, possibly 2 weeks or more. When I replaced the fan and booted up, the power supply and video card died immediately. I continued with RC5-64, but lost motivation after a while.
Companies and universities have budgets that include extra "hot-spare" equipment and staff. They can better absorb the costs of extra wear and tear. I hope they help these distributed computing projects out.
There was a bright side, however. I wanted to do other things (surfing, e-mail, etc.) while running distributed.net, so I decided to try Linux. It had better multitasking than Windows, very noticeable on my slow K5-166. I've been happy with Linux ever since (dual-booting w/Win98).
IIRC, some years ago, tourists with a camcorder in Washington DC accidentally captured some bad guys getting away from a crime while taping monuments, statues, etc. on their vacation. When they realized this, they gave the videocassette to a TV station in Washington, DC.
Police demanded not only the part of the tape that aired on the local news, but also any other footage that didn't air. Police surrounded the TV station and wouldn't let anybody leave. (Is that kidnapping or illegal detention? Doesn't matter, everybody knows the laws don't apply to police./end rant)
Eventually a court ruled the police demand was not allowed.
Anybody remember this incident? John Ashcroft seems to have amnesia.
Also, quoting the article: "An apology is too much to ask for." Not if we stick together and demand it! You bring the torches, I'll bring some pitchforks!
Why would I use Windows? Like a lot of slashdotters, because I have to, and *_only_* because I have to. Quickbooks for Windows at work (IE only, ActiveX).
I'm using my K5-166, with 96 Megs of RAM, since my Athlon CPU died. My K5 system takes forever to boot. While copying files (or downloading them), everything grinds to a halt.
Part of this is the slower IDE drive and cable. Can you use the 80-pin cables? I can copy files from my SCSI-CD/RW much faster than copying from my IDE CD-ROM.
Part of this is Windows, the multitasking just sucks. For that I gently recommend Linux, at least for surfing, downloading, and some light office tasks. The multitasking is just better. One new application doesn't make everything slow down so dramatically as under Windows (you notice it more with slower machines).
Sorry to hear about the long copy times, I have the same problem right now.
My ISP, ZoomTown (Cincinnati Bell) is planning to block users found to be infected starting Friday, 08/22. If they block you, you can only visit half a dozen anti-virus sites (and no e-mailing) until you clean up your act.
Inconsiderate users don't mind causing other people problems, but when they can't surf and have no e-mail anymore, it will get their attention and make them reconsider.
A year or so ago, I read some light speculation that router capabilities would be built into the cable modem box or the ADSL (high speed over phone line) box.
Personally, I'm using a nice Netgear router on my home box. My ISP is using "Brightmail" from Cloudmark to stop e-mail virii like SoBig. I couldn't be happier.
What happens when a rich country (like USA) frequently sells extra power to a poor country (say, Mexico) and the poor country cannot afford to pay?
What if the poor country sets up "dirty" generating stations that pollute a lot in order to be the lowest cost producer?
What happens if the electric generating industry is corrupt in either country (Enron)?
Do the other countries have good safe equipment with proper switching, failsafes and extra transmission lines? Sharing power on a millisecond's notice is nice, but it only works when everyone maintains their equipment well. If one country loses the trust of the others, nobody will have any incentive to maintain their lines well.
And larger grids mean that larger failures can occur. Each country might need to generate double or triple the amount that it needs to power its neighbors (and on a millisecond's notice). This is cost prohibitive.
In Soviet Russia, I don't think this would make any more sense than it does here. But we would just shrug our shoulders, and, behind closed doors, shake our heads and chuckle in disbelief about it.
Never mind, that's what I'm doing about it in the USA.
In Soviet Russia... the secret police take you away in the middle of the night and kill you with no collateral damage whatsoever!!!/Yakov Smirnoff voice: "What a Country!!!"/end Yakov Smirnoff voice
In Soviet Russia... the secret police take you away in the middle of the night and kill you with no collateral damage whatsoever!!!/Yakov Smirnoff voice: What a country!!!/end Yakov Smirnoff voice
"gzip -d" and tar (or untar) rarely work for me. The cryptic error messages don't help (only one method of compression? Five years now, and I never would have guessed it from the error messages. Indeed, I never knew this.)
I won't rename the file's extension to make gzip or untar work. They say computer should work for me, not the other way around. With the "Windows look and feel" it seems I am closer to the ideal.
I'll try to find those linzip-type things now, thanks.
Slashdot Mirror
Imagine a beowulf cluster... never mind.
I'll echo the previous posters, lock your room door even if you are only going to the next room and only for a moment.
If you are going to have a bike, don't use a cheap combination lock like your high school gym class. Thru-hardened locks are harder to cut (with bolt cutters) than case-hardened, but thru-hardened can be broken by freezing with freon then shattering with hammer blow(s). Personally, I suggest $60 or more for a motorcycle-quality lock as a good idea. A round key lock (like a cola vending machine) is said to be almost impossible to pick.
If you have a car, many radios can take a 4-digit security code. If stolen, the radio is useless. Use this feature. Make the thief input all 9999 codes to piss him off. Keep your tapes and CDs in your room when not in use, and make sure they are only *_copies_*.
As for the laptop, I can only suggest removable storage to protect your term papers, etc. One school I attended (Ohio State, 1984-1985 year) have me *_one_* lockable dresser drawer, put your backup media and CDs here. A side benefit is you can protect from untrustworthy roommates as well as outsiders.
Also, if you see someone prop open a door to your building, say, during homecoming weekend, wait until they walk away (or don't, if you're bold) and remove the prop.
I bought the 120 GB Western Digital EIDE hard drive at Circuit City a couple of weeks ago (Cincinnati, OH area). It *_was_* $119.99 before rebates, $39.99 after rebates.
Since Micro Center had a sale on that drive that week for $99.99, CC honored it. And I still got to apply for the rebates. Now it's $99.99 before rebates, $19.99 after. 120 GB for $20? Yeah, I'm satisfied. Definitely.
And DivX was a freaking disaster. I'm glad the market took care of them.
I have heard that people believe something about the third time they hear it, so:
The local newspaper's computer columnist and the local TV "consumer affairs" reporter are always quick to point out the latest phishing scams. ISPs have a vested interest in stopping spam, viruses (or virii) and spyware, some are already taking steps to educate users. Can we get mail-order and big-box stores to raise awareness too (a booklet in the box or a video tutorial on the hard drive) for people to read ("because we care")?
The best way to educate people is probably one friend to another. I've helped a couple of people with spyware problems. I tell them how to avoid getting virii (or viruses), spyware and spam (and that spam offers are bogus). If they are hearing this for the third or fourth time, they are more likely to think, "this guy matches what I've been hearing from other sources. He knows his stuff. I should pay more attention so I'm not cheated."
But we see a new generation of net users every few years, so educating people can never stop. I'm ready to do my part, are you?
Any chance that Microsoft will submit a "doctored" videotape like they did in the antitrust suit, and then say "Sorry, that was the incorrect doctored videotape"?
And is there such a thing as a 'correct' doctored videotape?
I can only hope this will raise the intelligence of the average user.
Stupid question: why can't someone put a short tutorial on firewalls or ports in the "readme" file, and write SP2's install routine so it cannot be bypassed? (Okay, most people will just close Notepad or Wordpad or whatever, but a few people *_will_* actually read the readme).
This reminds me of an old problem with my ISA SoundBlaster 32 PNP (not an AWE 32). "If you test the wavetable chip with the included testing software, the wavetable chip may play random sounds and otherwise 'go nuts'". The only way to stop this is to cut the computer's power. This is a problem that is easily fixed. Go into CMOS Setup [explain how] and look for an option called "decoupled refresh" or "split refresh". This feature is commonly found on computers with eight or sixteen 30-pin SIMM or SIPP sockets. This feature must remain off for your SoundBlaster's wavetable chip to work.
Would it have *_KILLED_* them to say this? Nothing complicated, really. But it would have saved me 10+ hours and returning my first Sound Blaster to the store.
In the present case, just a short paragraph explaining the difference between solicited bits (browser requests a web page, etc.) and unsolicited bits, which can occasionally cause "undesirable effects" (browser redirected to pr0n sites, other BAD SHIT) to happen. Many common programs (games, AOL signon, P2P programs, whatever) require you to open certain ports, and it is perfectly safe for you to do so. So open them.
If a program you don't recognize wants to access the Net, it could be part of Windows or software you have purchased, or part of a rogue program that will harm your computing experience. See microsoft.com/commonprograms/whatever, or consult your computer's manufacturer or your software's documentation. If you are able to access the net, you can also try one of the numerous anti-spyware web sites.
Nothing overly technical, lengthy or scary. No need to explain the difference between TCP, UDP, and ICMP packets. Just like there was no need to explain the NMI (non-maskable interrupt) problem that plagued my SoundBlaster (before I turned decoupled refresh to "off"). Just telling me how to enter CMOS Setup and turn it off would have been fine.
Making people do research (on the programs they run and the ports they use) could be asking too much.
But for those who are willing to learn, would it kill Microsoft to put in a short tutorial to explain it briefly but well?
I'm driving a 2001 Saturn SL2 (1901 cc DOHC 4-cylinder, with 5-speed manual transmission (gearbox), transverse engine, and FWD). It is rated at 27 MPG in the city and 38 MPG on the freeway. After 40 months and 33,000 miles, I have achieved 37.4 MPG lifetime (6.32 liters per 100 km). Conservative driving, light weight (2,501 lbs./1137 kg) and the 5-speed manual transmission have all played a part. I have no freakin' idea why the EPA issued such a low number for city mileage, that's a mystery.
Another Saturn owner told me his 1997 model, with automatic transmission, averages around 35 MPG (5.91 liters/100 km). My experience is that a lockup torque converter really helps mileage with an automatic transmission, regardless of make and model (above a certain speed, in top gear, the transmission links the engine and tires directly just like a manual tranny).
I achieve very close to my average in both city and highway driving most of the year. Cold winter weather (down to 0 degrees F in Cincinnati) and air conditioning (R134A freon) in the summer (up to 95-100 deg F here) can both reduce the mileage to the middle or lower 30 MPG range on occasion.
Driving on country roads and interstate highways (in the slow lane, say, 52 MPH or 83 km/h) has given me as high as 40 - 44 MPG, making up for lower mileage in winter and the extra load of the freon compressor (used sparingly) in the summer.
</BEGIN biased rant> I have good interior room, nice features, low pollution numbers, and 95 percent USA parts content. And some people are getting well over 300 thousand miles (480,000 km) on the original engines (lost-foam casting process). Before we talk about hybrids and other exotic solutions, consider going "back to basics" -- light weight but sturdy, small engine, good engineering and build quality, priced agressively. Over 14 million were made from 1991 - 2002, used units are coming down to the $5K to $8K range in my local market. As for mine, I'm satisfied. It's not for sale at any price. </END biased rant>
When the US President was informed that the Berlin wall was being built, the US had over 50 scenarios as to what might happen to the Soviet-occupied Eastern parts of Germany (including Berlin).
Not one of those scenarios involved building a wall.
IIRC, this outcome was so unexpected that a high-ranking general walked right into the ocean up to his knees, in FULL UNIFORM, to give the President (who was in a rowboat) the news.
I see DVD burners replacing tape drives.
Tape drives are expensive and proprietary, and few home users buy them. DVD burners and media are cheaper than tape drives and tapes ever were, and DVD compatibility (for restoring files) is improving.
DVDs give more capacity than CD-R, enough for SOHO computers (4.7 GB DVDs are about equal to a 4 GB uncompressed Travan-4, dual layer 9 GB about equal to 10 GB uncompressed TR-5).
And the "coolness" factor might get us to actually back up our systems as often as we should!
Thank you all for making me feel so young, some of the computers you mention were before my time.
I remember the VIC-20 and C64 in junior high school, but learned that I sucked at programming. The first machine I owned was a 386DX-40, 4 MB RAM, a 120 MB hard disk, and both 5.25 and 3.5 inch floppy drives, a one megabyte Diamond Speed Star, and a 14 inch monitor. I can still remember when there were 75 megs free on the hard drive.
I began upgrading almost the day I got it. Added a modem, sound card, more memory, math coprocessor, CD-ROM, better video card, tape drive. The best training I could have had for solving resource conflicts, and fixing other problems that operating systems have from time to time.
Now I have a foundation in Windows and Linux, and remove spyware from my friends' computers for money. Not bad!
On a related note, one of my old teachers used to say "The wages of sin is death, but the hours can't be beat."
/Nelson Muntz' voice:
/end Nelson Muntz' voice
"Haa --- Haa !!!"
Let me explain. In the summer of 1998, the Distributed.net program for Windows 3.1 wasn't released yet, and I didn't have Windows 9x. So I could either use the Distributed.net program for MS-DOS or the one for Linux.
The unitasking of MS-DOS meant I couldn't do other things at the same time. With Linux, the LILO dual booting feature meant I had nothing to lose by trying Linux. So it really worked out well.
that I went through, where I wanted to help people. I participated in RC5-64 for over a year. My power supply fan died and I didn't notice it for some time, possibly 2 weeks or more. When I replaced the fan and booted up, the power supply and video card died immediately. I continued with RC5-64, but lost motivation after a while.
Companies and universities have budgets that include extra "hot-spare" equipment and staff. They can better absorb the costs of extra wear and tear. I hope they help these distributed computing projects out.
There was a bright side, however. I wanted to do other things (surfing, e-mail, etc.) while running distributed.net, so I decided to try Linux. It had better multitasking than Windows, very noticeable on my slow K5-166. I've been happy with Linux ever since (dual-booting w/Win98).
IIRC, some years ago, tourists with a camcorder in Washington DC accidentally captured some bad guys getting away from a crime while taping monuments, statues, etc. on their vacation. When they realized this, they gave the videocassette to a TV station in Washington, DC.
/end rant)
Police demanded not only the part of the tape that aired on the local news, but also any other footage that didn't air. Police surrounded the TV station and wouldn't let anybody leave. (Is that kidnapping or illegal detention? Doesn't matter, everybody knows the laws don't apply to police.
Eventually a court ruled the police demand was not allowed.
Anybody remember this incident? John Ashcroft seems to have amnesia.
Also, quoting the article: "An apology is too much to ask for." Not if we stick together and demand it! You bring the torches, I'll bring some pitchforks!
Why would I use Windows? Like a lot of slashdotters, because I have to, and *_only_* because I have to. Quickbooks for Windows at work (IE only, ActiveX).
I'm using my K5-166, with 96 Megs of RAM, since my Athlon CPU died. My K5 system takes forever to boot. While copying files (or downloading them), everything grinds to a halt.
Part of this is the slower IDE drive and cable. Can you use the 80-pin cables? I can copy files from my SCSI-CD/RW much faster than copying from my IDE CD-ROM.
Part of this is Windows, the multitasking just sucks. For that I gently recommend Linux, at least for surfing, downloading, and some light office tasks. The multitasking is just better. One new application doesn't make everything slow down so dramatically as under Windows (you notice it more with slower machines).
Sorry to hear about the long copy times, I have the same problem right now.
a Beowulf cluster of these!!!
(someone had to say it)
Will Microsoft apply? Will their products pass the certification tests?
Come on, we're all wondering.
My ISP, ZoomTown (Cincinnati Bell) is planning to block users found to be infected starting Friday, 08/22. If they block you, you can only visit half a dozen anti-virus sites (and no e-mailing) until you clean up your act.
Inconsiderate users don't mind causing other people problems, but when they can't surf and have no e-mail anymore, it will get their attention and make them reconsider.
Any other ISPs doing this?
A year or so ago, I read some light speculation that router capabilities would be built into the cable modem box or the ADSL (high speed over phone line) box.
Personally, I'm using a nice Netgear router on my home box. My ISP is using "Brightmail" from Cloudmark to stop e-mail virii like SoBig. I couldn't be happier.
What happens when a rich country (like USA) frequently sells extra power to a poor country (say, Mexico) and the poor country cannot afford to pay?
What if the poor country sets up "dirty" generating stations that pollute a lot in order to be the lowest cost producer?
What happens if the electric generating industry is corrupt in either country (Enron)?
Do the other countries have good safe equipment with proper switching, failsafes and extra transmission lines? Sharing power on a millisecond's notice is nice, but it only works when everyone maintains their equipment well. If one country loses the trust of the others, nobody will have any incentive to maintain their lines well.
And larger grids mean that larger failures can occur. Each country might need to generate double or triple the amount that it needs to power its neighbors (and on a millisecond's notice). This is cost prohibitive.
In Soviet Russia, I don't think this would make any more sense than it does here. But we would just shrug our shoulders, and, behind closed doors, shake our heads and chuckle in disbelief about it.
Never mind, that's what I'm doing about it in the USA.
In Soviet Russia... the secret police take you away in the middle of the night and kill you with no collateral damage whatsoever!!! /Yakov Smirnoff voice: /end Yakov Smirnoff voice
"What a Country!!!"
In Soviet Russia... the secret police take you away in the middle of the night and kill you with no collateral damage whatsoever!!! /Yakov Smirnoff voice: /end Yakov Smirnoff voice
What a country!!!
"gzip -d" and tar (or untar) rarely work for me. The cryptic error messages don't help (only one method of compression? Five years now, and I never would have guessed it from the error messages. Indeed, I never knew this.)
I won't rename the file's extension to make gzip or untar work. They say computer should work for me, not the other way around. With the "Windows look and feel" it seems I am closer to the ideal.
I'll try to find those linzip-type things now, thanks.