Lower Saxony, using T-Com. It's not like DNS is always slow. The speed fluctuates heavily; usually lookups return nearly instantaneous, but sometimes it takes fifteen seconds before the server graces me with a response. The slow periods don't usually last long, but they are noticable. This also happens when I'm using the ORSN name servers, although ORSN has a much higher tendency to be slow.
Tried it, didn't like it. Privoxy is a behemoth of less than intuitive rules and I've found it rather cumbersome to just add a regexp-based substitution that gets applied to every HTTP request I make.
Proxomitron might be ugly, but usability-wise it's lightyears ahead of Privoxy. Adding a new regexp at runtime is done within less than a minute and requires almost no training whatsoever. Privoxy, on the other hand, is less easy to configure than X.org.
I'd still be using Proxomitron, but Darwine is nowhere near as good as its Linux counterpart (which runs Proxo admirably).
But people usually know how their water supply works. They don't know how their internet connection works so when you just tell then that they get 16 Mbps they expect that to be true without qualification.
The CPU is a good example - it runs at the speed it's rated at, unless your PC is configured otherwise. SpeedStep and related technologies mean that the CPU runs slower when idle, but the CPU will run at full speed whenever you need it to.
I wouldn't complain if the ISPs made clear that they're overselling their bandwidth and neither do you get the bandwidth your connection is rated at nor are you supposed to actually use it. But if they did nobody would use their service...
Or maybe we stop overselling bandwidth? Over here, all major ISPs are selling 16,000 Kbps down and between 800 and 1,024 Kbps up (ADSL; cable isn't common in Germany). When I'm paying for 16 Mbps down I expect to be able to use 16 Mbps down - otherwise there wouldn't be much use in paying forty bucks per month for it. If the ISP prominently told me "bandwidth shared; actual bandwidth per user approximately 800 Kbps" I could understand having to be considerate of other people, but I'm buying 16 Mbps, no strings attached. If the ISP can't deliver that the fault lies on the ISP's side - they can't deliver what they sold.
If they want people to only use their bandwidth off-peak they should make a cheaper plan that's 3,000/386 from 7:00 to 21:00 and 16.000/1,024 from 21:00 to 7:00. Or they give you a dual plan where you can visit their website to switch between "low-latency mode" (low bandwidth but high priority) and "bulk transfer mode" (full bandwidth but low priority) at will.
Telling people they can't use what they pay for because you sold them something you can't provide is unreasonable. Either you tell people up front that you can't actually deliver what you advertise or you find a way of delivering it. You either have the cake or eat it, not both.
I use Adblock (never liked Adblock Plus) and Flashblock and have more than 40 domains pointing to 0.0.0.0 in my router's hosts file, including stuff like Google Analytics. Most ads I see are ads I explicitly tolerate.
Still doen't do me much good when the browser spends ten seconds trying to find out where "slashdot.org" points to.
I'd use a JavaScript blocker, but I generally tolerate JS. I'd need a blacklist-based JS blocker and for some reason there are no working ones for Firefox. Heck, I'd really like a Proxomitron workalike, which would imply that functionality.
I'm in Germany and yes, parts of the internet are slow. DNS can take ages (upwards of fifteen seconds aren't unusual on a slow day) and on slow days I seem to spend most of my waiting time between the DNS lookup and "Waiting for XYZ...". It fluctuates heavily and doesn't seem to correlate with heavy usage periods - for example, right now everything's fine even though it's sunday afternoon.
I have a great idea for a challenge: You get three days to crack AES. If you win you get five bucks (to be received in person at my home in Germany) and the title "Ruler of Cryptography" while I get exclusive access and all rights to your findings.
For the sake of completeness I'll recommend some vendors in Germany - there might be some Slashdotters who can use this info.
First the good ones:
Alternate (alternate.de) is a nice vendor. Not the cheapest, but they're trustworthy and I haven't yet had any support issues with them. They also have a nice, if limited, PC builder.
DSP Memory Distribution (dsp-memory.de) is a good source for memory, FireWire HDDs and similar things. Somewhat cheap, but they sell quality stuff. No problems so far. Definite recommendation if you're looking for MacBook (Pro) memory.
If you're a student you might find a good deal at Unimall (unimall.de). Nice prices and they partner with Apple so you can even get BTO Macs with a big rebate. Only for students, teachers and the like.
Now for a problem case:
Norsk IT (norskit.com) is usually one of the cheaper vendors, but their support is abysmal. I had lots of "fun" returning an ASUS mainboard that came DOA. Avoid.
Tab Mix Plus can save tabs. I use it with Fx 3.0.1 under Leopard. You won't get a compatible version from addons.mozilla.org, but there's a dev build that works.
What? Hold the horses, here! There is something to be learned from Slashdot? And here I thought it was a place for over-opinionated (and often bored) tech folks committing the equivalent of mental masturbation.
To slash someone in hockey means to have nonsensical homoerotic episodes with them, usually accompanied by bad dialogue. If the ref sees you do it, it's a two minute minor penalty.
That's genius! In fact, we should connect all devices to the internet, from little robots to buses to ovens. And we create a VR world as a representation of the internet. In order to navigate this world we'd develop little avatars or "Navigators" who run around and interact with semi-sentient programs and each other. Of course there will still be malware, so I think we should use unptched security holes in the Navigator protocol (which viruses will also have to use) to allow Navigators to attack and even delete other programs (like viruses). We could use small terminals to store the Navigators when we don't need them online... the form factor could be called Portable Terminal or something like that.
That's an extremely good concept and I wonder why nobody had that idea before.
Don't use normal paper. Normal paper doesn't last as long as the stuff thes used centuries ago. Look into which kinds of paper have the highest longevity. With the right paper and ink you could possibly save data and have it survive for 250 years.
How is billing by the second creative? Innovative, okay; Microsoft has already established that applying existing concepts to one's product constitutes an innovation... But creative? That's a pretty standard feature for landlines (at least in the more developed parts of the world) so I don't really think someone had to work his brain too hard to come up with applying it to mobile phones.
Hmm. Judging from how this usually goes that would mean that Metallica is actually the main bad guy. Are. you know what I mean. Also, if this goes anything like a Final Fantasy game, Metallica will destroy the planet at least once (but don't worry, the world will be completely fine after the battle).
Let's make a Slashdot analogy: Microsoft has been trolling for quite some time. They're still doing it, but recently they started making insightful comments as well. But even if they only made genuinely useful contributions to every discussion every new post from them would still start at -1 because of all the bad karma they've accumulated over the years.
We simply assume that Microsoft is being evil again because in the past this assumption has usually been the most accurate one.
I dunno. Linux seems to do not that bad on the server market with a small number of distros dominating (and little fluctuation in which ones do). The embedded market loves Linux. True, it doesn't fare that well on the desktop market, but here we see a few distros dominating, as well.
Most users aren't even really affected by the forking going on. They use Ubuntu, Fedora or OpenSUSE and when they start really learning Linux they might wander off to Debian, CentOS or even Gentoo. Most minor distros don't get any media attention and are simply obscure. Distros like STD are very much welcome by the people who actually have to need for them but unknown to those who don't.
And I don't really think that someone who builds his own DSL derivative to make a Linux-based game console would improve the quality of Fedora or Ubuntu if he didn't have the choice of making his own distro. His motivation is completely different and he might not even get to participate.
Also, the GPL has nothing to do with distros whatsoever. After all, what about BSD? There's OpenBSD, FreeBSD, NetBSD, TrustedBSD, DragonflyBSD, M0n0wall, PicoBSD, DesktopBSD, BSDeviant, FreeSBIE, pfSense... Either they relicensed 386BSD while I wasn't looking or the GPL isn't quite at fault.
The balkanization of distros comes from the fact that you can take the kernel and freely combine it with other software as you see fit. If you really want to stop that you'd have to use Windows-style integration where the Linux kernel automatically includes GNOME and Apache httpd so that people won't be able to build their own distributions without those. Or you simply don't release the source to the kernel and only offer it in one single package with the software you dictate. Which would be a bit counterproductive in an Open Source project.
It might also help to occasionally read up on bands you refuse to listen to. Example: Within Temptation released the music video to their song "Ice Queen" and I happened to come across it. From the tacky animated band logo to the pseudo-tough band member scenes the whole video was like a big sign reading "We're a bunch of posers who like to pretend they're an actual band". I immediately decided to ignore those jokers from then on.
Later I was told that they actually share my opinion of the video. That allowed them to regain a bit my of respect and I checked out one of their albums. Turns out they're not quite bad, even though as a symphonic metal band they're overly dramatic and have an unhealthy love for the word "scream" even if using it destroys a rhyme - I think that's an industry standard.
How can you make such a post without mentioning my freelance gig in front of a Mac? It took the Mac twenty minutes to copy all those references from one post to another!
I simply order from American online retailers. If you find one that offers what you want with overseas shipping you can buy cheaply without going through the hassle of entering the USA. You just have to be careful to not buy too much at once or customs will charge you. If you happen to know someone in the USA who can serve as a mail proxy you don't even need to find a retailer with worldwide shipping.
The do what? Simply wait, bend over and accept anything that comes? The emigration thing has the advantage that you can deprive the country of your tax money. There are few other ways to deny funding to totalitarianists that don't involve them putting you behind bars.
I fail to see how fatalism is supposed to achieve anything.
As I said: Europe isn't free from such nonsense, either. We're just less bad. And we don't give our politicians carte blanche as long as they keep saying "terrorism".
I readily admit tht my suggestion of moving over here and forming a vocal minority is a bit self-serving: If you come over here and generate publicity over why you came here you might really dissuade our politicians from doing more bone-headed moves. A freedom lobby would be a pretty nifty thing to have.
Yup. The terrorists have already won. It's not yet clear to which extent, but they certainly did have their way with the USA. The economy is badly damaged and will not recover as fast as before as people are becoming wary of doing business with American companies, especially when that involves sending reps over. Tourism has probably taken a hit as well; I certainly don't want to be treated like a criminal when vacationing. Much of the rest of the world agrees that the USA have become a bunch of paranoid dickheads and America's own intellectual elite is wondering whether the government is still legitimate.
Let's face it, three and a half airplanes were enough to kick the USA from "#1 Superpower and Most Important Country in the World" to "uncomfortably well-armed paranoid hegemony in decline". The terrorists have won and it's unsettling to see how much indirect damage they've done so far.
Slashdot Mirror
Lower Saxony, using T-Com. It's not like DNS is always slow. The speed fluctuates heavily; usually lookups return nearly instantaneous, but sometimes it takes fifteen seconds before the server graces me with a response. The slow periods don't usually last long, but they are noticable. This also happens when I'm using the ORSN name servers, although ORSN has a much higher tendency to be slow.
Tried it, didn't like it. Privoxy is a behemoth of less than intuitive rules and I've found it rather cumbersome to just add a regexp-based substitution that gets applied to every HTTP request I make.
Proxomitron might be ugly, but usability-wise it's lightyears ahead of Privoxy. Adding a new regexp at runtime is done within less than a minute and requires almost no training whatsoever. Privoxy, on the other hand, is less easy to configure than X.org.
I'd still be using Proxomitron, but Darwine is nowhere near as good as its Linux counterpart (which runs Proxo admirably).
But people usually know how their water supply works. They don't know how their internet connection works so when you just tell then that they get 16 Mbps they expect that to be true without qualification.
The CPU is a good example - it runs at the speed it's rated at, unless your PC is configured otherwise. SpeedStep and related technologies mean that the CPU runs slower when idle, but the CPU will run at full speed whenever you need it to.
I wouldn't complain if the ISPs made clear that they're overselling their bandwidth and neither do you get the bandwidth your connection is rated at nor are you supposed to actually use it. But if they did nobody would use their service...
Or maybe we stop overselling bandwidth? Over here, all major ISPs are selling 16,000 Kbps down and between 800 and 1,024 Kbps up (ADSL; cable isn't common in Germany). When I'm paying for 16 Mbps down I expect to be able to use 16 Mbps down - otherwise there wouldn't be much use in paying forty bucks per month for it. If the ISP prominently told me "bandwidth shared; actual bandwidth per user approximately 800 Kbps" I could understand having to be considerate of other people, but I'm buying 16 Mbps, no strings attached. If the ISP can't deliver that the fault lies on the ISP's side - they can't deliver what they sold.
If they want people to only use their bandwidth off-peak they should make a cheaper plan that's 3,000/386 from 7:00 to 21:00 and 16.000/1,024 from 21:00 to 7:00. Or they give you a dual plan where you can visit their website to switch between "low-latency mode" (low bandwidth but high priority) and "bulk transfer mode" (full bandwidth but low priority) at will.
Telling people they can't use what they pay for because you sold them something you can't provide is unreasonable. Either you tell people up front that you can't actually deliver what you advertise or you find a way of delivering it. You either have the cake or eat it, not both.
I use Adblock (never liked Adblock Plus) and Flashblock and have more than 40 domains pointing to 0.0.0.0 in my router's hosts file, including stuff like Google Analytics. Most ads I see are ads I explicitly tolerate.
Still doen't do me much good when the browser spends ten seconds trying to find out where "slashdot.org" points to.
I'd use a JavaScript blocker, but I generally tolerate JS. I'd need a blacklist-based JS blocker and for some reason there are no working ones for Firefox. Heck, I'd really like a Proxomitron workalike, which would imply that functionality.
I'm in Germany and yes, parts of the internet are slow. DNS can take ages (upwards of fifteen seconds aren't unusual on a slow day) and on slow days I seem to spend most of my waiting time between the DNS lookup and "Waiting for XYZ...". It fluctuates heavily and doesn't seem to correlate with heavy usage periods - for example, right now everything's fine even though it's sunday afternoon.
I have a great idea for a challenge: You get three days to crack AES. If you win you get five bucks (to be received in person at my home in Germany) and the title "Ruler of Cryptography" while I get exclusive access and all rights to your findings.
For the sake of completeness I'll recommend some vendors in Germany - there might be some Slashdotters who can use this info.
First the good ones:
Alternate (alternate.de) is a nice vendor. Not the cheapest, but they're trustworthy and I haven't yet had any support issues with them. They also have a nice, if limited, PC builder.
DSP Memory Distribution (dsp-memory.de) is a good source for memory, FireWire HDDs and similar things. Somewhat cheap, but they sell quality stuff. No problems so far. Definite recommendation if you're looking for MacBook (Pro) memory.
If you're a student you might find a good deal at Unimall (unimall.de). Nice prices and they partner with Apple so you can even get BTO Macs with a big rebate. Only for students, teachers and the like.
Now for a problem case:
Norsk IT (norskit.com) is usually one of the cheaper vendors, but their support is abysmal. I had lots of "fun" returning an ASUS mainboard that came DOA. Avoid.
Tab Mix Plus can save tabs. I use it with Fx 3.0.1 under Leopard. You won't get a compatible version from addons.mozilla.org, but there's a dev build that works.
See, that's what you learn from Slashdot.
To slash someone in hockey means to have nonsensical homoerotic episodes with them, usually accompanied by bad dialogue. If the ref sees you do it, it's a two minute minor penalty.
That's genius! In fact, we should connect all devices to the internet, from little robots to buses to ovens. And we create a VR world as a representation of the internet. In order to navigate this world we'd develop little avatars or "Navigators" who run around and interact with semi-sentient programs and each other. Of course there will still be malware, so I think we should use unptched security holes in the Navigator protocol (which viruses will also have to use) to allow Navigators to attack and even delete other programs (like viruses). We could use small terminals to store the Navigators when we don't need them online... the form factor could be called Portable Terminal or something like that.
That's an extremely good concept and I wonder why nobody had that idea before.
Don't use normal paper. Normal paper doesn't last as long as the stuff thes used centuries ago. Look into which kinds of paper have the highest longevity. With the right paper and ink you could possibly save data and have it survive for 250 years.
How is billing by the second creative? Innovative, okay; Microsoft has already established that applying existing concepts to one's product constitutes an innovation... But creative? That's a pretty standard feature for landlines (at least in the more developed parts of the world) so I don't really think someone had to work his brain too hard to come up with applying it to mobile phones.
So you say we're still on the first CD?
Hmm. Judging from how this usually goes that would mean that Metallica is actually the main bad guy. Are. you know what I mean. Also, if this goes anything like a Final Fantasy game, Metallica will destroy the planet at least once (but don't worry, the world will be completely fine after the battle).
Let's make a Slashdot analogy: Microsoft has been trolling for quite some time. They're still doing it, but recently they started making insightful comments as well. But even if they only made genuinely useful contributions to every discussion every new post from them would still start at -1 because of all the bad karma they've accumulated over the years.
We simply assume that Microsoft is being evil again because in the past this assumption has usually been the most accurate one.
I dunno. Linux seems to do not that bad on the server market with a small number of distros dominating (and little fluctuation in which ones do). The embedded market loves Linux. True, it doesn't fare that well on the desktop market, but here we see a few distros dominating, as well.
Most users aren't even really affected by the forking going on. They use Ubuntu, Fedora or OpenSUSE and when they start really learning Linux they might wander off to Debian, CentOS or even Gentoo. Most minor distros don't get any media attention and are simply obscure. Distros like STD are very much welcome by the people who actually have to need for them but unknown to those who don't.
And I don't really think that someone who builds his own DSL derivative to make a Linux-based game console would improve the quality of Fedora or Ubuntu if he didn't have the choice of making his own distro. His motivation is completely different and he might not even get to participate.
Also, the GPL has nothing to do with distros whatsoever. After all, what about BSD? There's OpenBSD, FreeBSD, NetBSD, TrustedBSD, DragonflyBSD, M0n0wall, PicoBSD, DesktopBSD, BSDeviant, FreeSBIE, pfSense... Either they relicensed 386BSD while I wasn't looking or the GPL isn't quite at fault.
The balkanization of distros comes from the fact that you can take the kernel and freely combine it with other software as you see fit. If you really want to stop that you'd have to use Windows-style integration where the Linux kernel automatically includes GNOME and Apache httpd so that people won't be able to build their own distributions without those. Or you simply don't release the source to the kernel and only offer it in one single package with the software you dictate. Which would be a bit counterproductive in an Open Source project.
It might also help to occasionally read up on bands you refuse to listen to. Example: Within Temptation released the music video to their song "Ice Queen" and I happened to come across it. From the tacky animated band logo to the pseudo-tough band member scenes the whole video was like a big sign reading "We're a bunch of posers who like to pretend they're an actual band". I immediately decided to ignore those jokers from then on.
Later I was told that they actually share my opinion of the video. That allowed them to regain a bit my of respect and I checked out one of their albums. Turns out they're not quite bad, even though as a symphonic metal band they're overly dramatic and have an unhealthy love for the word "scream" even if using it destroys a rhyme - I think that's an industry standard.
But I still won't touch "Ice Queen".
How can you make such a post without mentioning my freelance gig in front of a Mac? It took the Mac twenty minutes to copy all those references from one post to another!
I simply order from American online retailers. If you find one that offers what you want with overseas shipping you can buy cheaply without going through the hassle of entering the USA. You just have to be careful to not buy too much at once or customs will charge you. If you happen to know someone in the USA who can serve as a mail proxy you don't even need to find a retailer with worldwide shipping.
I think this deserves an Informative.
The do what? Simply wait, bend over and accept anything that comes? The emigration thing has the advantage that you can deprive the country of your tax money. There are few other ways to deny funding to totalitarianists that don't involve them putting you behind bars.
I fail to see how fatalism is supposed to achieve anything.
As I said: Europe isn't free from such nonsense, either. We're just less bad. And we don't give our politicians carte blanche as long as they keep saying "terrorism".
I readily admit tht my suggestion of moving over here and forming a vocal minority is a bit self-serving: If you come over here and generate publicity over why you came here you might really dissuade our politicians from doing more bone-headed moves. A freedom lobby would be a pretty nifty thing to have.
Mail. Order. YEAH! (With no apologies to Steve Ballmer.)
Yup. The terrorists have already won. It's not yet clear to which extent, but they certainly did have their way with the USA. The economy is badly damaged and will not recover as fast as before as people are becoming wary of doing business with American companies, especially when that involves sending reps over. Tourism has probably taken a hit as well; I certainly don't want to be treated like a criminal when vacationing. Much of the rest of the world agrees that the USA have become a bunch of paranoid dickheads and America's own intellectual elite is wondering whether the government is still legitimate.
Let's face it, three and a half airplanes were enough to kick the USA from "#1 Superpower and Most Important Country in the World" to "uncomfortably well-armed paranoid hegemony in decline". The terrorists have won and it's unsettling to see how much indirect damage they've done so far.