In working for the government, we are routinely forced to use GSA for purchases. GSA is often far higher than the open market price. As a GSA contract is often good for over a year, prices that were good for a Core2 system last year are painful today. Modern systems aren't even available without circumventing GSA.
GSA was intended for cutting grass and painting buildings, not IT purchases.
I feel I need to respond to the parent and several of the other mostly absurd policies presented here. As a user on the short end of the stick, I feel a few results need to be pointed out.
First, let me start with the good. A forced VPN is an excellent idea for laptops. Their wireless connectivity will often be used in airports or other places where open wireless is the only option. Having an encrypted transmission going through the corporate firewall can only be a good thing.
Now the worst: "Policies also restrict the user from installing software that isn't deployed via SMS." If you intend to use this at all, you will have to heavily tailor the policies for different users. Developers will need one, or often multiple compilers installed, as well as tools for every piece of the development process like Java runtimes and Cygwin or Rendermonkey and model loaders depending on their job at the time. Content creators may need to add arbitrary plug-ins for software that the company may only own one or two copies of. Modelers may need Pro-E on one machine and Maya on another. Look at who your users are and consider what they need before forming a network policy.
A company exists to get a job done in order to make money, not to have perfectly secure useless little clone computers.
I agree, no more messing with new species. My part of America is overrun by fireants, kudzu, airborne termites, and killer bees. With all these import animal and plants, do you think we want to add packs of hunting LIONS the list?
All the same, it's nice to know that the majority actually has some say in what their children see nowadays. It's been awhile since anything but evolution has been tolerated publicly funded institutions.
Would a science movie that actually presented facts on both sides be tolerated by either party? Probably not, but it would be an interesting test.
and for multiple needs, multiple computers?
on
Less Might Be More
·
· Score: 1
It was a bit odd to move out of the dorm and start paying utilities. When I realized that power was costing over $1000 a year, I started paying a bit of attention to electricity usage. I didn't go out and buy low-power equipment though, it kind of just happened this way.
I have an old PPro 200 that was given to me serving as my web/file server. Since I don't expect to be slashdotted anytime, it's plenty powerful enough and only draws 8-15 watts sitting in the corner.
My main computer I put together four years ago. Athlon 750, 496mb ram, four harddrives, etc. Draws a fair bit of power, but plenty of speed for normal work and I don't leave it on all the time.
Then there's a computer I put together to watch movies. Since the current bare minimum for mpeg-4 playback seems to be 500MHz and climbing, I went ahead and made it a Athlon XP 2200+. Due to unforseen events (hey, UT2004 if really fun, I've got to be able to play this) It now also has a Radeon 9800 Pro. Guessing by the heat comming from the vents, I'd guess that it draws 80 watts while IDLE. This one is only on when I need it to be.
On another note, I'd love to play with putting together true low power systems, but that's pending a bit of money. Transmedia has a 533MHz that doesn't require a fan, that would be nice to hook up to the TV, but I'm not convinced that it could pull the load of playing videos.
Any comments on big chip makers being able to market low power chips? GE's been doing that awhile with light bulbs and the embedded market often cares more about power than speed. I just haven't seen Dell step up to the plate.
I don't know if you've noticed those "weigh stations" you pass while you're on the interstate? Trucks are required to pay additional taxes by the weight of their cargo.
True, my parents discribe Birmingham of the 50s and 60s (US, not UK) as being a dark sploch as seen from the air. I'd hazard a guess that light reaching the surface has gone up, not down, since then. I'm sure other steel cities have seen the same since pollution laws took effect.
*sigh* normally I can leave all the bitter cynics in the Linux debates and read fun stuff in the game section. So, ever tried games for entertainment?
My brother and his friends have becore rabid DDR fans, however since they live in a dorm, they have their own equipment.
He brought it home for new years and we took it to our church of all places for a new years party. I assure you, far more girls tried it than guys.
Now, I'm not too fond of the game. I'm so massively coordinated that I routinely walk into door frames, but I'll try anything for awhile.
One last thing. (flameing I suppose) If you're *not* a freak among otaku, how do you know about girls obsessing over little known anime characters like Yaoi?
The way I see it, the poster about VHS vs BETA has a point, there's really not much money to be lost by choosing the wrong standard.
Even so, as long as media is avalable, why do I care if my friends have the same recorder I do? My DVD-Rs run fine on 90% of all drives and their DVD+Rs have simmilar compatability on my players.
I don't need a standard on the recording end, just on the player end.
Many of us are in a tough position here. While I don't share any copyrighted material and haven't downloaded any in years, I have in the past. Many who recieve these may have something in the past that the lawyers would find. It would be rough to end up in court and have to admit to things I did two or four years ago as a student, even though what I was currently accused of was false.
While I must agree that the CPU of this system is underpowered, I like the idea of a software programmable graphics chip. Your game needs hardware sprites? vector processing? 3d graphics pipelines? If the FPGA is large enough, you can do it.
It has been done. http://www.tweakers.net/nieuws/21019 www.p owervr.com/Release.asp?ID=38
It will run at much lower speeds than a real chip though.
maybe I dreamed this, but last I checked the RealVideo9 codec was mpeg-4 complient.
One thing I have to wonder, If I was to sent them an email with compiler flags, memory map, headers, etc; would they then send/post a binary codec for playback on my (Palm, PS2, cel-phone)?
there's no official report for 2003, but Nintendo's report from March 2002 shows GC units sold at 380,000 and GBA with 1,709,000 for the year. That's over a year ago, I wonder where this year's report is?
http://www.nintendo.com/corp/report/financialsta te ments_5-30-02.pdf
I'll try to find similar numbers for PS2 and Xbox.
Well, as long as we're mentioning FPS names:
You were killed by Net_Lag
You were killed by Yo_Mama
Yo_Mama is on a killing spree
Yo_Mama is godlike
Yo_Mama's killing spree was ended by A_Large_Yellow_Gerbil
Lan parties, gotta love'em.
As for RPGs, I made the mistake of renaming all the characters in FF VI. Right this second, I can't tell you what any of the original names are. I say something about "Silver" or "Hope" and no one has a clue what I'm talking about.
Slashdot Mirror
In working for the government, we are routinely forced to use GSA for purchases. GSA is often far higher than the open market price. As a GSA contract is often good for over a year, prices that were good for a Core2 system last year are painful today. Modern systems aren't even available without circumventing GSA. GSA was intended for cutting grass and painting buildings, not IT purchases.
I feel I need to respond to the parent and several of the other mostly absurd policies presented here. As a user on the short end of the stick, I feel a few results need to be pointed out.
First, let me start with the good. A forced VPN is an excellent idea for laptops. Their wireless connectivity will often be used in airports or other places where open wireless is the only option. Having an encrypted transmission going through the corporate firewall can only be a good thing.
Now the worst: "Policies also restrict the user from installing software that isn't deployed via SMS." If you intend to use this at all, you will have to heavily tailor the policies for different users. Developers will need one, or often multiple compilers installed, as well as tools for every piece of the development process like Java runtimes and Cygwin or Rendermonkey and model loaders depending on their job at the time. Content creators may need to add arbitrary plug-ins for software that the company may only own one or two copies of. Modelers may need Pro-E on one machine and Maya on another. Look at who your users are and consider what they need before forming a network policy.
A company exists to get a job done in order to make money, not to have perfectly secure useless little clone computers.
I agree, no more messing with new species. My part of America is overrun by fireants, kudzu, airborne termites, and killer bees. With all these import animal and plants, do you think we want to add packs of hunting LIONS the list?
All the same, it's nice to know that the majority actually has some say in what their children see nowadays. It's been awhile since anything but evolution has been tolerated publicly funded institutions.
Would a science movie that actually presented facts on both sides be tolerated by either party? Probably not, but it would be an interesting test.
It was a bit odd to move out of the dorm and start paying utilities. When I realized that power was costing over $1000 a year, I started paying a bit of attention to electricity usage. I didn't go out and buy low-power equipment though, it kind of just happened this way.
I have an old PPro 200 that was given to me serving as my web/file server. Since I don't expect to be slashdotted anytime, it's plenty powerful enough and only draws 8-15 watts sitting in the corner.
My main computer I put together four years ago. Athlon 750, 496mb ram, four harddrives, etc. Draws a fair bit of power, but plenty of speed for normal work and I don't leave it on all the time.
Then there's a computer I put together to watch movies. Since the current bare minimum for mpeg-4 playback seems to be 500MHz and climbing, I went ahead and made it a Athlon XP 2200+. Due to unforseen events (hey, UT2004 if really fun, I've got to be able to play this) It now also has a Radeon 9800 Pro. Guessing by the heat comming from the vents, I'd guess that it draws 80 watts while IDLE. This one is only on when I need it to be.
On another note, I'd love to play with putting together true low power systems, but that's pending a bit of money. Transmedia has a 533MHz that doesn't require a fan, that would be nice to hook up to the TV, but I'm not convinced that it could pull the load of playing videos.
Any comments on big chip makers being able to market low power chips? GE's been doing that awhile with light bulbs and the embedded market often cares more about power than speed. I just haven't seen Dell step up to the plate.
I don't know if you've noticed those "weigh stations" you pass while you're on the interstate? Trucks are required to pay additional taxes by the weight of their cargo.
True, my parents discribe Birmingham of the 50s and 60s (US, not UK) as being a dark sploch as seen from the air. I'd hazard a guess that light reaching the surface has gone up, not down, since then. I'm sure other steel cities have seen the same since pollution laws took effect.
*sigh* normally I can leave all the bitter cynics in the Linux debates and read fun stuff in the game section. So, ever tried games for entertainment?
My brother and his friends have becore rabid DDR fans, however since they live in a dorm, they have their own equipment.
He brought it home for new years and we took it to our church of all places for a new years party. I assure you, far more girls tried it than guys.
Now, I'm not too fond of the game. I'm so massively coordinated that I routinely walk into door frames, but I'll try anything for awhile.
One last thing. (flameing I suppose) If you're *not* a freak among otaku, how do you know about girls obsessing over little known anime characters like Yaoi?
Ok, I'm done now.
General Motors BUILDS rail engines.
The way I see it, the poster about VHS vs BETA has a point, there's really not much money to be lost by choosing the wrong standard.
Even so, as long as media is avalable, why do I care if my friends have the same recorder I do? My DVD-Rs run fine on 90% of all drives and their DVD+Rs have simmilar compatability on my players.
I don't need a standard on the recording end, just on the player end.
Many of us are in a tough position here. While I don't share any copyrighted material and haven't downloaded any in years, I have in the past. Many who recieve these may have something in the past that the lawyers would find. It would be rough to end up in court and have to admit to things I did two or four years ago as a student, even though what I was currently accused of was false.
While I must agree that the CPU of this system is underpowered, I like the idea of a software programmable graphics chip. Your game needs hardware sprites? vector processing? 3d graphics pipelines? If the FPGA is large enough, you can do it.
p owervr.com/Release.asp?ID=38
It has been done.
http://www.tweakers.net/nieuws/21019
www.
It will run at much lower speeds than a real chip though.
maybe I dreamed this, but last I checked the RealVideo9 codec was mpeg-4 complient.
One thing I have to wonder, If I was to sent them an email with compiler flags, memory map, headers, etc; would they then send/post a binary codec for playback on my (Palm, PS2, cel-phone)?
It could work.
there's no official report for 2003, but Nintendo's report from March 2002 shows GC units sold at 380,000 and GBA with 1,709,000 for the year. That's over a year ago, I wonder where this year's report is?
a te ments_5-30-02.pdf
http://www.nintendo.com/corp/report/financialst
I'll try to find similar numbers for PS2 and Xbox.
Well, as long as we're mentioning FPS names: You were killed by Net_Lag You were killed by Yo_Mama Yo_Mama is on a killing spree Yo_Mama is godlike Yo_Mama's killing spree was ended by A_Large_Yellow_Gerbil Lan parties, gotta love'em. As for RPGs, I made the mistake of renaming all the characters in FF VI. Right this second, I can't tell you what any of the original names are. I say something about "Silver" or "Hope" and no one has a clue what I'm talking about.