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User: russg

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  1. Re:Single shop most likely on Single Verizon IP Address Used For Hundreds of Windows 7 Activations · · Score: 1

    OEM computers can have Windows licenses burned on the ROMs. This means, as long as you install with the OEM media and the key matches that install, you don't need any license key during installation. Otherwise its just freaking magic.

  2. /. is not what it was, but then again it never was :-).

    I miss the .bruce.perens/bruce.perens/bruce.perens./ wars.. and the "information wants to be wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide" guy :-). And who could forget sig11's "will the real Bruce Perens please stand up" ?

    But Tim Potter (old Samba Team member) and I loved the trolls :-).

    Jeremy.

    Indeed, and the many times we were able to push over servers simply by sharing some news.
    Back when the /. effect was invented.

  3. Companies and people should get with the times on Ask Slashdot: Would You Take a Pay Cut To Telecommute? · · Score: 1

    I've telecommuted for years and the company I work for now encourages it. Fact is, I rarely speak with another employee in my division that doesn't work from home even all the managers I know work from home I'm flat out amazed that anyone thinks they would have communications problems. For small groups you can use IM or anyone remember IRC? Hell I used IM and IRC when I was in the office. The team is always on the IRC channel so quick bits are easy and you get to use the hive mind on things very rapidly.

    In general I prefer that people schedule a time on my calendar to talk to me. Too often when I worked in an office, people would just "pop by" and waste an hour of my time I had intended to use otherwise. Being home also makes taking international meetings a bit more palatable. Nothing like taking a meeting in you PJs.

    Those that say that working from home means your job can be done elsewhere need to wake up! Your job can be done elsewhere regardless! You compete on a world talent market and you shouldn't forget that.

    I do work more but I can also leave @ 5pm to go do fun stuff too.

  4. Send em a bill via lawsuite on US Gov't Mistakenly Shuts Down 84,000 Sites · · Score: 1

    I'd say that anyone wrongly losing revenue should pursue recourse for that issue. I work with very larger organizations and in many cases a loss of service is a "billable" offense. Obviously the provider in this case was not at fault. I'm not a fan of lawsuits but this is the type of case that should be taken up. It is these big brother activities that lawsuits are good at handling but I'm sure DHS is protected as made men and all that.

    DNS TTLs cause a small oops to become a long and painful oops that doesn't readily clear itself up due to DNS servers around not obeying the TTL and flushing on time.

    I really don't know why this ticks me off so much but it does.

  5. Re:Cisco Vs. HP on HP Accuses Cisco of Diverting Data Center Standard · · Score: 1

    Obviously you don't manage or work on a larger network if you are logging into a CLI to do your job. You should have been replaced a long time ago for not automating the work. You first complain that HP modeled after Cisco now you complain that multiple vendor CLIs would be a pain? Make up your mind which side you are selling. I work on the largest networks in the world and, really, they are easy to manage with the appropriate software and automation even with diversity in vendors. Cisco has decent routers and switches but the rest of their crap is, well, crap.

    I love to see you justifying not applying security updates because the router/switch is on the internal side. Isn't it well known that the majority of the attacks come from inside? Didn't you read about the Aurora attacks? Ask Google and the others impacted by Aurora if they think its ok to let vulnerabilities go because they are on the "inside". Ok, I'll stop laughing now..

  6. Re:Cisco Vs. HP on HP Accuses Cisco of Diverting Data Center Standard · · Score: 1

    If you have a Cisco device that has been up for 800 days it is only because you have ignored security issues and not patched. Cisco is just doing what Cisco does to keep other vendors locked out. You say that Cisco "just works"? Well that's because you ignorantly drink from the cup that is Cisco and likely only use their proprietary protocols.

    In any case, you are far better served by having diverse infrastructure components running open protocols than by using one manufacturer. I have insight into some of the largest corporate networks in the world and the most resilient of them will have networking gear from almost every major vendor running open protocols. This keeps competition in place for cost control and the diverse ecosystem isn't universally impacted by any one vendors security issues at the moment.

    Since HP has been a big player in networking gear, blade server switching, and is likely one of the biggest suppliers of server gear in datacenters, why wouldn't you listen to them? If I use your logic then no one should listen to Cisco on this topic since the standard under debate has to do with server port virtualization/extension.

  7. NASA style command center is outdated! on Ideas For a Great Control Room? · · Score: 1

    Yawn.

    If you were trying to impress me try automating the entire thing and show how traps and triggers dispatch techs automatically. You could even show how the system "self-heals" as that is the buzz of this year.
    Having a reduced costs follow the Sun tech group with good communications and even video conference is far more effective and cost efficient than build a bunker with local staff.

    Show how you predict issues and not wait for failure.

  8. Recycle and earn some cash on What To Do With an Old G5 Tower? · · Score: 1

    Recycle the metals and earn some cash toward a some sort of replacement.

  9. General open software and hardware lags behind on Any Open Source Solutions For DIY Auto Diagnostics? · · Score: 1

    While there are many good and some great open software and hardware designs for automotive diagnostics they really lag far behind what the dealerships and mechanics that pay have to not only diagnose but adjust your car's computers.

    One of my passions is motorcycling and I have a Suzuki B-King. This bike is the ugly cousin of the insanely popular Suzuki Hayabusa. There are a handful of folks that have create designs for the hardware interface and complete software tools that let you completely control the system.
    You can watch the entire datafeed from the ECU in real time and remap the ignition timing.

    You can buy adapters pre-made or buy your own. The software is free and open too: http://macmadigan.no-ip.com/ecueditor/

    The point is that in certain areas where enthusiast and hackers have come together there are great options with enormous power for a shade-tree but depending on your make and model there may not be so much out there other than basics.

  10. The author of TFA is short sighted IMHO on Does HP + Palm = Facepalm? · · Score: 1

    HP has plans to be one of the last standing in the consolidation of technology companies.
    The patent portfolio alone is likely worth the purchase price even if it is only used defensively.
    HP likely has no plans to ONLY do devices on WebOS as diversity in business is the best way to win.
    Most everyone thinks WebOS is a great platform and has only lacked the advertising budget and deep pockets to drive it forward. The Mobile market for smart devices hasn't reached adolescence yet and HP just cheaply put themselves in a great position to be one of the last standing in the mobile market.

  11. What about candle burners and perfumes? on Apple Voiding Smokers' Warranties? · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I've worked on computers from time to time and the worst are those from people who burn candles or that seem to have way too much perfume in their home. The candles leave residue just like smoking. Oh and don't forget the fur-balls when the computer sits on the floor with a cat in the house.

    I suppose Apple will void the warranties on those folks too?

  12. Re:Justifying the Price Tag, nothing more... on F5 Fires Back On Open Source SSL Accelerator · · Score: 1

    I don't understand your argument. You want to say that the vendor used off the shelf components and imply that for this reason the application wasn't worthy of the costs? In reality the hardware is a very small cost compared to the application development and maintenance. I'm so happy that vendors have been steadily moving to commodity hardware since I date back to years when special built hardware was the norm and it was an enormous cost.

  13. Of course I could produce something similar on F5 Fires Back On Open Source SSL Accelerator · · Score: 5, Informative

    Let me first state that I over see a large deployment of F5 systems and I have compared commercial offerings in this space many times over the years. I have a deep understanding of the tools available and see the work product every day.

    Both articles are great for debate. Showing that FOSS and tools available could produce a solution that resembles a commercial product is wonderful in promoting the power and breadth of FOSS. F5's response is good but also a bit disappointing as I find they have much more than is covered in their response.

    I'm honestly surprised that F5 responded at all as there's really no comparison between the solutions for real world work loads and support. First and foremost is the thought that these are only load-balancers. The term used most appropriately today is "ADC" (Application Delivery Controller). The reason is that they not only perform load-balancing but reverse proxy cache, compression, acceleration, tuning, and in-stream logic decisions.

    F5's products allow you to create profiles for services that are reusable and easy to maintain. You can deliver new configurations in minutes. They also work with the major application vendors to produce proper configurations that you can use out of the box. iRules (TCL) is an awesome tool directly integrated into the product that as F5's tag line says, "With iRules you can". Even with all of the this power and robust tools you will see little or no impact on high performance applications.

    F5 also offers the community DevCentral which, in my opinion, gives back to the community in a proper FOSS style.

    I won't even go into the underlying architecture such as the TMM kernel and separate management kernel.

    F5's article does state one thing very clear and I would want to emphasis it. Humans cost far more over time than capitol expenditures.

    I believe that F5 has taken FOSS to proper pedestal in the industry. If anyone thought for one second that FOSS was toys and not to be considered for serious work loads then F5 proves them wrong. Cisco has been trying to chase F5 for years and are still nowhere near them. F5 systems are my swiss-army knife of networking and I'm proud to purchase and use them from my FOSS background but also know they save my butt every day.

  14. I'm not sure I understand how this is news. on Mixed Outcome of Texas Textbook Vote · · Score: 1

    What is news here?
    1. A state acting in its own right to govern per the wishes of its people?
    2. Free thinking and speech?
    3. Questioning everything?

    Would you like to teach children not to question theories or even supposed fact? I have this theory about cold fusion that I want to talk to you about.

    Science is based on questions.

    I would rant about states rights over the federal government but I'd take too long. Let's just say it's my business if I teach my children that Zeus is God and he'll stick a lighting bolt up your ass if you don't believe me. :)

  15. Archos 5 is my current favorite on Best Wi-Fi Portable Browsing Device? · · Score: 5, Informative

    Have a look at the Archos devices. You can pickup some of the older models with Wifi as refurbished.
    My Archos 5 is my, surf, watch movies, store data, listen to music, and play games device. The current 5 and 7 are called "Internet Media Tablets".
    With Opera as the browser and flash support its really a nice internet experience for a small device.

  16. F5 is the choice on Best Solution For HA and Network Load Balancing? · · Score: 2, Informative

    If you haven't looked at the F5 product line you should. The ability to use TCL language to write "iRules" and shear performance of even the smallest device is amazing. The devcentral.f5.com site is also great and allows you to gain from others experience. With an F5 in front the rest of the systems behind can be simple and cookie cutter with no complex setup. The F5 will handle persistence, load-balancing, and once you have your setup you can forget them for the most part.

    For the FTP server part, you just need some Linux boxes running your favorite daemon and a shared storage for the files.

    --russ

  17. Guessing what managment wants to know is harder on System Admin's Unit of Production? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Systems Administration falls into several categories.
    Projects, Service requests, Patching, and user satisfaction are a few.

    Once you have an idea of what you do, define some SLAs with your customers and the metrics are easy from there.

    Now compare your defined SLAs to the following.

    Metrics:
    Time to ticket close?
    Were the requesters satisfied?
    Projects completed in the expected time?
    Resource allocation is at what percentage?
    Don't forget to measure your ongoing education and professional development. How much should you get, are you getting it?
    Patch schedule being met?
    Availability metrics.

    Resource loads on the systems are easy and provide management nice graphs, plus they can be automated.

    My systems roll all this information up and e-mail it for me.

    While none of this is really important to us, the management teams operate almost entirely on this data. Take this as an opportunity. In some shops I've worked, management defines the metrics and they mostly are irrelevant. In your case it seems you have the rope to hang yourself so take care to present the data that is important and will help you meet your goals. As always, a good admin will automate the task but not tell anyone. :)

    --russ

  18. Re:Different results on Unreliable Linux Dumped from Crest Electronics · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Patching is done every quarter (3 months) and the patches available are applied after evaluation and testing. Just because you don't reboot after every patch does not imply you will have years of uptime. I have been supporting Linux for many years and not a year has gone by that a kernel patch didn't come out that required installation for one reason or another. Patches don't only fix security issues, they some times are used to improve performance and stability in certain enviroments.

    Patching in general and especially kernel patches are more important in "high-availability" systems.
    This patching does not mean you are taking the entire enviroment down though. Doesn't everyone run there "high-availability" systems in clusters? You simply take one node down at a time and patch.

    How often do you patch your systems?

  19. Re:Different results on Unreliable Linux Dumped from Crest Electronics · · Score: 1

    How about the people inside your network? That firewall won't do you any good for attacks that come from the inside. Those weak links you are leaving behind give the proper assailant ample room to rule you. You can believe what you like but it is your butt on the line when the management team wants to know why you decided that the patch wasn't important. Hey, it's your job.
    --russ

  20. Future of appliances on Unreliable Linux Dumped from Crest Electronics · · Score: 1

    One of my personal beliefs is that problems like the ones stated in this article is the primary driving force behind the boom in the appliance market. Small to middle size businesses do not have the IT resources and sometimes no expertise to setup complex applications and maintain them.

    For these reasons this market segment is turning to the black box appliance vendors to solve their problems. It is basically outsourcing your IT department. You no longer need to understand the technology and you don't have to worry because in the end you simply tighten the rope around the vendors throat when things don't work.

    This is the slow death of the old IT world. Too many wannabe IT Guru's get in to IT shops without knowledge of how to properly maintain and manage complex systems. They may be some of the best minds in the tecnical field but without experience and/or training in systems management they tend to fail as the business grows.

    I see it regularly when the company I work for acquires a small business. We review the IT shop and find little to no documentation, no proceedure, and no plan for the future. Just fly by the seat of your pants sweating midnights at the keyboard trying to figure out what went wrong when they applied that patch before testing it.

    This story isn't about Linux or Windows, it is about good administrators and bad. Folks need to learn that an Admininistrator is much more than a keyboard jockey. Thoughtfulness, grace and cover your ass back up/out plans rule the day!

    --russ

  21. Re:Different results on Unreliable Linux Dumped from Crest Electronics · · Score: 1

    Exactly how many patches do you apply in your nice secure enviroment?
    Really, I always laugh when people claim up times for more than two to three months. All the systems under my management are patched every quarter and some times faster if the vunerability is significant enough.

    I'm not trying to flame you, really. I favor stable and secure systems over up time.
    Remember to test those patches on your dev system before migrating it to the production system as well.
    --russ

  22. Re:Define enterprise on SSH Claims Draw Open Source Ire · · Score: 1

    RSA SecureID is the system that OpenSSH had problems with, and continues to have problems with.
    We continue to evaluate new releases as they come out.

  23. Define enterprise on SSH Claims Draw Open Source Ire · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Not that I'm defending SSH, but it really depends on what specifically you are speaking of when it comes to comparing the offering of OpenSSH and SSH Communications. The two products are fairly similiar for base installs and function about the same. The problems with OpenSSH come into play in the enterprise when you want to manage the SSH installs globally or integrate the SSH server with other products.

    Two examples from my own experience. We attempted integration with RSA and OpenSSH had significant problems that we had to resolve and in the end we could not resolve the final problem which was a session would hang after exiting the shell if the session was authenticated using the RSA PAM module.

    The other example is related to distribution and configuration managment. We have started using SSH communications central management center to distribute new versions of Tectia server as well as centrally manage the configuration for Tectia/ssh. This has reduced our management overhead considerably. This is an "enterprise" feature.

    --russ

  24. This couldn't happen to us? on Korean Mozilla Binaries Infected · · Score: 1, Insightful

    When Security companies and security experts write or say anything derogatory about Linux/OSS security everyone jumps on them. When corroborating news comes out OSS people deny or try to explain it away as an aberration and not the norm.

    And I thought part of the OSS religion was diligence and persistence in security. M$ are the ones that deny the problem exists and do nothing about it right? Well, RIGHT?

    The emperor has no clothes!
    --russ

  25. A good portable solution on Laptops, Headless Servers and KVMs? · · Score: 1

    Go purchase a LCD KVM, such as the ones herer http://www.i-techcompany.com/. Take it out of the rack mount system and you have a kvm device that is roughly the same size as a laptop and you are on your way to mobile wonderland. --russ