As an "IT Manager" I get 2-10 calls a day from people trying to sell me toner cartridges. The usual pitch goes something like this:
"Hello Mr. Smith, my name is Todd and I'm calling from ABC products. We develop our own high tech toner cartridges and they are the best on the market. What I'd like to do is send you a cartridge; at no cost to you, so can you can see our quality product."
I know of a client who actually went along with it, and they were shipped a pallet of these things and billed for like $2,100.
Anyway...I have always found that genuine HP cartridges are the best value. We buy so many of them, we only pay a few bucks more than the imitations. Plus, even my users can tell when we've put a imitation cartridge in, instead of the genuine HP toner.
the superior cache and memory speed of the P4 I'd have thought would have influenced the speed difference more than a simple clock calculation. 26 * 166 nearly is 3GHz
Just because you put a 300hp motor in a 150hp car doesn't mean the car will do 240mph when before it only did 120mph.
If you hadn't upgraded the bus etc on the newer systems, it wouldn't be very fast. Otherwise we'd all be using 3.06GHz 386SX's
Their long distance service is horrendously expensive, so we only use them for the circuits.
McLeod USA used to re-sell the SBC service around here. With them getting in the way, it was horrible. But lately, SBC has been doing 'buy-backs' and we're getting better pricing that McLeod gave us (Which was much better than what SBC originally offered)
SBC around here used to be Ameritech, and Michigan Bell before that.
a corporation that already has its own state-mandated telephone monopoly is... "interesting" to say the least. Those of us who dislike government monopolies are left hoping
I tell ya what. Start your own stinkin' phone company.
What if Realplayer had clips on their website, and you couldn't view them without the geniune realplayer software?
MSN should be able to block non-IE browsers if they want. It's a free country. Until you become a rich and powerful corporation that is.
In either case...
I've noticed many Linux browsers over the last 2-3 years having trouble with Hotmail and MSN web sites. Mostly just fonts, and other display anomolays. I didn't think it was somethig MS would have been doing on purpose though.
Atlanta-based access provider EarthLink (Quote, Company Info) on Tuesday announced it would shut down call center operations in four U.S. cities and lay off about 1,300 employees as part of a cost-cutting move.
With its dial-up subscriber base dwindling, the nation's third largest ISP said it would close its entire call center operations in Dallas, Texas; Sacramento, Calif.; and Seattle, Wash. Additionally, a tech support and customer service center in Pasadena, Calif. would also be shuttered in the latest belt-tightening move.
"We estimate the streamlining of our call centers will reduce annualized operating expenses by more than $20 million," the company said in a brief statement.
MSN's service (at least in my area) is pretty fast and I never get busy signals. I also leave the connection on 24/7 and experience very few disconnections.
The MSN software stinks though. MSN Explorer is a waste.
If it's not ISV certified it doesn't do you much good, as for as a workstation goes.
From Ace's Hardware:
When you look at the typical price ($4000-$6000) of a workstation built by one the big OEM's you might ask yourself why you or anyone would pay such a premium for a workstation.
In fact if you take a sneak peek at the benchmarks further you will see that a high-end PC, based upon a 1400MHz Athlon, can beat these expensive beasts in several very popular workstation applications like AutoCAD (2D), Microstation.
Yes, it is possible that you are better served by a high-end PC, assembled by a good local reseller. Still, there are good reasons to consider an OEM workstation.
Most of the time, a workstation is purchased for one particular task, and sometimes to run one particular application. Compaq, Dell and Fujitsu Siemens have special partnerships with the ISV's (Independent Software Vendor) who develop the most important workstation applications. In close co-operation with these ISV's, they verify if the workstation is capable of running each application stablely and fast. In other words, you can ask the OEM whether or he and the ISV can guarantee that your favorite application runs perfectly on the OEM's workstation. ISV certification is indeed one of the most critical factors that distinguishes a workstation from a high-end desktop.
Secondly, it is harder to assemble a good workstation than a high-end PC. Typically, a PC is built for the highest price/performance. A lot of hardware with an excellent price/performance ratio comes with drivers which do not adhere strictly to certain standards such as the PCI and AGP standards. Even if this kind of hardware might comprise stability in very rare cases, it is unacceptable for a workstation.
Last but not least, workstations come with high-end SCSI harddisks and OpenGL videocards which are seldom found in high-end PC's. Workstations are shipped with ECC (Error Checking and Correction code) memory and can contain 2GB to 4GB memory. High-end PC's typically ship with non-ECC memory and are - in practice - limited to 512MB (i815 chipset) - 2GB (AMD760).
I can keep all my files on CD-R's, CD-RW's, or DVD-R's.
(not including MP3's movies etc stuff I can always get again)
Hell I could keep them on Zip's if it weren't for some graphics I want to save.
Just back up your data, you can reinstall your programs and OS later. tarball your project files and burn them to a CD. Most project will fit on a CD assuming you're not a photographer.
How long does it take a Walmart PC to compile the Linux kernel?
What is the slowest part(s) of the XBox? disk? Video? Network? CPU?
The XBOX unit functions well as a desktop computer for general usage, email, web browsing, etc. The total cost of the unit with keyboard, mouse, and parts came to 383.72 dollars. However, it is not as cost effective or as easy as using a general PC obtainable from almost anywhere for the same purpose. The technical merit of soldering the usb to XBOX controller wires as well as installing the mod chip are beyond the technical skills of most. In short if you already have an XBOX and want to tinker/need a computer and have no fear of the possibility of ruining your unit then this is a viable solution. However, as a general replacement to a desktop pc, the XBOX is not nearly as userfriendly or cost effective as a 200 dollar pc from walmart.
As for the XBOXes as a cluster I have to admit that I obtained better results than I had predicted. This was in part due to that the XBOX has a 100 Mbps Ethernet card and I was told they had only a 10 Mpbs card. I recompiled the Linux kernel 2.4.20 on a single node took 48 mins 30 sec. Using distcc the process was cut down to 20 mins. This represented a 2.4 times out of 3.0 speedup. Not to bad for the 3 nodes.
I've had some users at work who (knowingly or not) install 50 different toolbars on their workstations.
They are sometimes hard to uninstall and can cause serious problems. It's fun to try and fix IE when it causes an Illegal Operation the second you start it.
Toolbars = Evil
I'd force everyone to use Mozilla but there's still a few problems with it.
Myself, along with all the other organisms on this earth, piss and shit all over. It evaporates (the liquid parts, at least) and then it condenses in clouds, precipitates back down....
I'm making one when I get home
on
Potato Bazookas
·
· Score: 5, Informative
My mom would never let me build one when I lived at home, so now's my chance. AND, I'll be prosecuted as an adult, and possibly an 'American Terrorist'
Where are the IN SOVIET RUSSIA posts?
on
Tetris AI System
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· Score: 3, Funny
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As an "IT Manager" I get 2-10 calls a day from people trying to sell me toner cartridges. The usual pitch goes something like this:
"Hello Mr. Smith, my name is Todd and I'm calling from ABC products. We develop our own high tech toner cartridges and they are the best on the market. What I'd like to do is send you a cartridge; at no cost to you, so can you can see our quality product."
I know of a client who actually went along with it, and they were shipped a pallet of these things and billed for like $2,100.
Anyway...I have always found that genuine HP cartridges are the best value. We buy so many of them, we only pay a few bucks more than the imitations. Plus, even my users can tell when we've put a imitation cartridge in, instead of the genuine HP toner.
My biggest complaint with Linux is that the desktops lack the refinement of CDE - CDE was designed, KDE and Gnome evolved
Guess what Sun is using for their interface now?
GNOME 2.0 Desktop for the Solaris[tm] Operating Environment
Ain't that a bitch?
the superior cache and memory speed of the P4 I'd have thought would have influenced the speed difference more than a simple clock calculation. 26 * 166 nearly is 3GHz
Just because you put a 300hp motor in a 150hp car doesn't mean the car will do 240mph when before it only did 120mph.
If you hadn't upgraded the bus etc on the newer systems, it wouldn't be very fast. Otherwise we'd all be using 3.06GHz 386SX's
Every version of OS X I have used has had the problem where you have to resize the monitor every time you boot it up...
My license plate is dirty?
I have a colored or tinted over over it?
I don't HAVE a plate
I borrow my friends plate
etc etc
Please pity the poor newbie who religiously follows the instructions in the book but fails to read until the end.
On the other hand, pity the newbie who cracks a book open and starts setting a server up page-by-page.
Abuse, although not incredibly recent, was a pretty good game, side-scroller in the era of Doom/Quake
Download it and try it out. Now only if Crack Dot Com had released Golgotha....
Great service, great support.
We've got a T1 and ISDN circuit from them
Their long distance service is horrendously expensive, so we only use them for the circuits.
McLeod USA used to re-sell the SBC service around here. With them getting in the way, it was horrible. But lately, SBC has been doing 'buy-backs' and we're getting better pricing that McLeod gave us (Which was much better than what SBC originally offered)
SBC around here used to be Ameritech, and Michigan Bell before that.
a corporation that already has its own state-mandated telephone monopoly is... "interesting" to say the least. Those of us who dislike government monopolies are left hoping
I tell ya what. Start your own stinkin' phone company.
They've also came out with a sweet-ass XServe RAID
What if Realplayer had clips on their website, and you couldn't view them without the geniune realplayer software?
MSN should be able to block non-IE browsers if they want. It's a free country. Until you become a rich and powerful corporation that is.
In either case...
I've noticed many Linux browsers over the last 2-3 years having trouble with Hotmail and MSN web sites. Mostly just fonts, and other display anomolays. I didn't think it was somethig MS would have been doing on purpose though.
eBay will grow even more.....
"They plan to educate their customers about recordable CDs and USB pen drives as replacements."
1. Stop selling floppy drives
2. Start selling pen drives
3. PROFIT!!
They've got 3 call centers now instead of 7.
Basically, you'll NEVER get through to them now.
20% of their workforce has just been laid off.
Atlanta-based access provider EarthLink (Quote, Company Info) on Tuesday announced it would shut down call center operations in four U.S. cities and lay off about 1,300 employees as part of a cost-cutting move.
With its dial-up subscriber base dwindling, the nation's third largest ISP said it would close its entire call center operations in Dallas, Texas; Sacramento, Calif.; and Seattle, Wash. Additionally, a tech support and customer service center in Pasadena, Calif. would also be shuttered in the latest belt-tightening move.
"We estimate the streamlining of our call centers will reduce annualized operating expenses by more than $20 million," the company said in a brief statement.
MSN's service (at least in my area) is pretty fast and I never get busy signals. I also leave the connection on 24/7 and experience very few disconnections.
The MSN software stinks though. MSN Explorer is a waste.
AOL on the other hand....
If it's not ISV certified it doesn't do you much good, as for as a workstation goes.
From Ace's Hardware:
When you look at the typical price ($4000-$6000) of a workstation built by one the big OEM's you might ask yourself why you or anyone would pay such a premium for a workstation.
In fact if you take a sneak peek at the benchmarks further you will see that a high-end PC, based upon a 1400MHz Athlon, can beat these expensive beasts in several very popular workstation applications like AutoCAD (2D), Microstation.
Yes, it is possible that you are better served by a high-end PC, assembled by a good local reseller. Still, there are good reasons to consider an OEM workstation.
Most of the time, a workstation is purchased for one particular task, and sometimes to run one particular application. Compaq, Dell and Fujitsu Siemens have special partnerships with the ISV's (Independent Software Vendor) who develop the most important workstation applications. In close co-operation with these ISV's, they verify if the workstation is capable of running each application stablely and fast. In other words, you can ask the OEM whether or he and the ISV can guarantee that your favorite application runs perfectly on the OEM's workstation. ISV certification is indeed one of the most critical factors that distinguishes a workstation from a high-end desktop.
Secondly, it is harder to assemble a good workstation than a high-end PC. Typically, a PC is built for the highest price/performance. A lot of hardware with an excellent price/performance ratio comes with drivers which do not adhere strictly to certain standards such as the PCI and AGP standards. Even if this kind of hardware might comprise stability in very rare cases, it is unacceptable for a workstation.
Last but not least, workstations come with high-end SCSI harddisks and OpenGL videocards which are seldom found in high-end PC's. Workstations are shipped with ECC (Error Checking and Correction code) memory and can contain 2GB to 4GB memory. High-end PC's typically ship with non-ECC memory and are - in practice - limited to 512MB (i815 chipset) - 2GB (AMD760).
Philips CD-i
Flop
And I don't want anyone else to have mine.
What if you back up something illegal?
I can keep all my files on CD-R's, CD-RW's, or DVD-R's.
(not including MP3's movies etc stuff I can always get again)
Hell I could keep them on Zip's if it weren't for some graphics I want to save.
Just back up your data, you can reinstall your programs and OS later. tarball your project files and burn them to a CD. Most project will fit on a CD assuming you're not a photographer.
Today's fun was with Internet Explorer 6
Has anyone done this yet?
Hell, is anyone even RUNNING Linux on PS2's?!
I haven't heard a single thing about it lately....
How long does it take a Walmart PC to compile the Linux kernel?
What is the slowest part(s) of the XBox? disk? Video? Network? CPU?
The XBOX unit functions well as a desktop computer for general usage, email, web browsing, etc. The total cost of the unit with keyboard, mouse, and parts came to 383.72 dollars. However, it is not as cost effective or as easy as using a general PC obtainable from almost anywhere for the same purpose. The technical merit of soldering the usb to XBOX controller wires as well as installing the mod chip are beyond the technical skills of most. In short if you already have an XBOX and want to tinker/need a computer and have no fear of the possibility of ruining your unit then this is a viable solution. However, as a general replacement to a desktop pc, the XBOX is not nearly as userfriendly or cost effective as a 200 dollar pc from walmart.
As for the XBOXes as a cluster I have to admit that I obtained better results than I had predicted. This was in part due to that the XBOX has a 100 Mbps Ethernet card and I was told they had only a 10 Mpbs card. I recompiled the Linux kernel 2.4.20 on a single node took 48 mins 30 sec. Using distcc the process was cut down to 20 mins. This represented a 2.4 times out of 3.0 speedup. Not to bad for the 3 nodes.
I've had some users at work who (knowingly or not) install 50 different toolbars on their workstations.
They are sometimes hard to uninstall and can cause serious problems. It's fun to try and fix IE when it causes an Illegal Operation the second you start it.
Toolbars = Evil
I'd force everyone to use Mozilla but there's still a few problems with it.
Myself, along with all the other organisms on this earth, piss and shit all over. It evaporates (the liquid parts, at least) and then it condenses in clouds, precipitates back down....
Old, but very sweet!
GotSpud?
Tony's page
Spudweizer
Simple Spudgun
My mom would never let me build one when I lived at home, so now's my chance. AND, I'll be prosecuted as an adult, and possibly an 'American Terrorist'
We actually need them in this article!!