You enforce a rule that all software installs must be via a packaged script. You make sure you have some resources around that can package new versions of software on demand, after asking the user "Why do you need this?" to stop stupid stuff happening. I'm not an app packager, but our guys seem to do OK with MSI scripts that act sanely.
You setup your infrastructure so you can push out those scripts on a per user or per machine basis on demand.
When we reimage a machine, within 10 minutes of logging in a user will get everything they had on it before via advertised programs.
This also makes life much easier when it comes to an OS upgrade - you've got a per-user list of applications, and you can also handle the licencing situation much better.
...for exactly the reasons you outline. When Win2K was getting towards the end of it's life, we looked at XP. Prettier, more drivers, no real extra corporate functionality though - we'll skip XP, thanks very much. We're now at the point where 2K goes EOL and out of support, so we need to move - we're going from Win2K to Vista. On 65k desktops and laptops. Argh.
"Nobody wants a car that offers much less usability than a vehicle they can already buy"
Strong words. It's not all about usability: for example, it'll cost you 15UKP/day to drive into Central London, unless you have a hybrid or electric car. Fuel is currently 1.11UKP/litre in the UK. I spend around 150UKP/month on diesel, and I also pay annual road tax. In an electric car that can manage my daily commute plus change - around, say, 50 miles a day - I'd be saving money hand over fist in an electric vehicle. Sure, for long journeys I might use a 2nd vehicle, or god forbid public transport (!) but in a lot of urban areas electric vehicles make enormous sense.
Tesla, Volvo, Mercedes/Smart, BMW/mini, GM, Ford - they're all looking at electric versions of production vehicles right now, because they think there's commercial demand for them - and they're probably right.
There's BBC's download service (obviously DRM-ridden) and there's the BBC streaming TV service (can't really see why shouldn't be open).
This "hole" is talking about the latter.
On the plus side, we now have BBC playback in XBMC, which is amazingly cool...
...as the USB or mini-PCI device can only be attached to one device at a time.
However, they are a standard, of sorts, and new domestic wifi routers that can accept a 3G device plugged into them and share it out do exist:
http://www.3g.co.uk/PR/August2005/1925.htm
IBM now sell overpriced services sold at tremendous profit. They'd much rather have open standards that they can use, and profit from consulting you to death wrapping a service layer around them.
"Computer games doesn't affect children. If Pac-man had affect us when we were kids, we would all be running in dark rooms, swallowing magic pills and listening to repetitive electronic music nowadays..."
Kristian Wilson, Nintendo Inc, 1989.
XBox Media Center.
It's cheap, reasonably quiet (particularly if you replace the fan), it's small form factor, it has a DVD drive and usually comes with an IR remote.
I hooked this up last week: cheap original Xbox from ebay, a softmod and install from the Slayer 2.7 disk, and it's great. Does all my media playback: off my NAS, off my iTunes shares, off the internet (Apple movie trailers, bittorrent, Joox, internet radio, BBC podcasts). Also acts as upscaling DVD player. Plug into the TV and away you go...
XBMC. I hooked this up last week: cheap original Xbox from ebay, a softmod and install from the Slayer 2.7 disk, and it's great. Does all my media playback: off my NAS, off my iTunes shares, off the internet (Apple movie trailers, bittorrent, Joox, internet radio, BBC podcasts). Also acts as upscaling DVD player. Plug into the TV and away you go...
GTD is one of many ways of procrastinating the day away. You're not meant to actually *benefit* from it, it's just something you can adopt as a mini project to play with to while away the day until you get bored.
I am a PC Desktop tech. My company does not believe in SMS.
Dameware. Seriously. Install on your workstation and provided you've got admin rights on the remote box it'll remotely connect, install itself as a service, let you remote control their machine, then stop/remove the service on disconnect. Not as good as proper SMS but definitely better than being deskside.
"If you're stuck in a rut of surfing, then you need to step back a minute and declare to yourself that the large swath of time is there, and do something really neat with it."
I would, but my attention span's been fried from years of slacking off on the internet.
Seriously, the OP's right: I'd rather be busy than bored. Sure, bugger-all workload sounds great, but it's really not much better than too-much workload. The boredom/guilt's a killer.
there is no paperclip eject hole on any current mac laptops. i've not had first-hand experience of the iMacs, but I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't have one either.
probably because this is the same politician who appears on comedy programmes like "have I got news for you", and the same politician who is knocking off one of the cheeky girls...
You may argue with the law, but if you ignore it you could end up in prison. As could your CIO. Right or wrong, you'd be stupid to ignore it if you're a company that trades in the US.
Slashdot Mirror
You setup your infrastructure so you can push out those scripts on a per user or per machine basis on demand.
When we reimage a machine, within 10 minutes of logging in a user will get everything they had on it before via advertised programs.
This also makes life much easier when it comes to an OS upgrade - you've got a per-user list of applications, and you can also handle the licencing situation much better.
...for exactly the reasons you outline. When Win2K was getting towards the end of it's life, we looked at XP. Prettier, more drivers, no real extra corporate functionality though - we'll skip XP, thanks very much. We're now at the point where 2K goes EOL and out of support, so we need to move - we're going from Win2K to Vista. On 65k desktops and laptops. Argh.
Strong words. It's not all about usability: for example, it'll cost you 15UKP/day to drive into Central London, unless you have a hybrid or electric car. Fuel is currently 1.11UKP/litre in the UK. I spend around 150UKP/month on diesel, and I also pay annual road tax. In an electric car that can manage my daily commute plus change - around, say, 50 miles a day - I'd be saving money hand over fist in an electric vehicle. Sure, for long journeys I might use a 2nd vehicle, or god forbid public transport (!) but in a lot of urban areas electric vehicles make enormous sense.
Tesla, Volvo, Mercedes/Smart, BMW/mini, GM, Ford - they're all looking at electric versions of production vehicles right now, because they think there's commercial demand for them - and they're probably right.
There's BBC's download service (obviously DRM-ridden) and there's the BBC streaming TV service (can't really see why shouldn't be open).
This "hole" is talking about the latter.
On the plus side, we now have BBC playback in XBMC, which is amazingly cool...
...now, remind me again why Apple would want you to be able to freely stream music to your iPhone, rather than buy it from iTunes?
...as the USB or mini-PCI device can only be attached to one device at a time. However, they are a standard, of sorts, and new domestic wifi routers that can accept a 3G device plugged into them and share it out do exist: http://www.3g.co.uk/PR/August2005/1925.htm
So it's bad when ISPs do this, but OK when Google does it?
+3 insightful? For this shite? Jesus wept.
View OpenGL content embedded in PDFs. For fucks sake.
IBM now sell overpriced services sold at tremendous profit. They'd much rather have open standards that they can use, and profit from consulting you to death wrapping a service layer around them.
Best post this week, thanks!
"Computer games doesn't affect children. If Pac-man had affect us when we were kids, we would all be running in dark rooms, swallowing magic pills and listening to repetitive electronic music nowadays..." Kristian Wilson, Nintendo Inc, 1989.
Don't ever breed.
XBox Media Center. It's cheap, reasonably quiet (particularly if you replace the fan), it's small form factor, it has a DVD drive and usually comes with an IR remote. I hooked this up last week: cheap original Xbox from ebay, a softmod and install from the Slayer 2.7 disk, and it's great. Does all my media playback: off my NAS, off my iTunes shares, off the internet (Apple movie trailers, bittorrent, Joox, internet radio, BBC podcasts). Also acts as upscaling DVD player. Plug into the TV and away you go...
XBMC. I hooked this up last week: cheap original Xbox from ebay, a softmod and install from the Slayer 2.7 disk, and it's great. Does all my media playback: off my NAS, off my iTunes shares, off the internet (Apple movie trailers, bittorrent, Joox, internet radio, BBC podcasts). Also acts as upscaling DVD player. Plug into the TV and away you go...
GTD is one of many ways of procrastinating the day away. You're not meant to actually *benefit* from it, it's just something you can adopt as a mini project to play with to while away the day until you get bored.
Dameware. Seriously. Install on your workstation and provided you've got admin rights on the remote box it'll remotely connect, install itself as a service, let you remote control their machine, then stop/remove the service on disconnect. Not as good as proper SMS but definitely better than being deskside.
I would, but my attention span's been fried from years of slacking off on the internet.
Seriously, the OP's right: I'd rather be busy than bored. Sure, bugger-all workload sounds great, but it's really not much better than too-much workload. The boredom/guilt's a killer.
there is no paperclip eject hole on any current mac laptops. i've not had first-hand experience of the iMacs, but I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't have one either.
...then all you need to do is make it mobile and you can "borrow" any hardware you like. I wouldn't say no to an angry industrial robot arm...
There, fixed that for you
probably because this is the same politician who appears on comedy programmes like "have I got news for you", and the same politician who is knocking off one of the cheeky girls...
You may argue with the law, but if you ignore it you could end up in prison. As could your CIO. Right or wrong, you'd be stupid to ignore it if you're a company that trades in the US.
Best. Comment. Ever.