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User: dtietze

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  1. Re:I Can't Be the Only One on HP Disables VT On Some Intel Laptops · · Score: 1

    Nope. I just checked. You ARE the only one. :-)
    D.

  2. Re:So does Lenovo... on HP Disables VT On Some Intel Laptops · · Score: 1

    Yup! My brand new Z61P UA3KSGE (the model just came out in December) has the exact same issue. VMWare keeps telling me "Hey! This processor has VT support but it's disabled. Why not switch it on?". I was pretty p***ed of about this, I emailed Lenovo tech support but didn't get a response.
    So if anyone has any info about enabling it on the Z61P, I'd be interested. Since the laptop model is so new, I don't think they'll be coming out with a BIOS upgrade any time soon.

  3. Re:Still payable if TV/Radio streams firewalled? on Germany's New Internet License Fee · · Score: 1

    The news I've heard hasn't discussed businesses, per se .. not sure how the TV/radio tax is handled there in general.
    I run a business in Germany. I pay the fee for the radio in my company car. Since the PC fee will be the equivalent of the radio fee, I won't be paying extra for any of my company PCs, since I'm ALREADY paying the radio fee. Most likely, any other business which has at least one company car (and that applies to one-man-shows such as mine as well, if their car is a business expense) won't be paying extra for any of their PCs.

  4. Re:Violation of freedom on Germany's New Internet License Fee · · Score: 1

    Germany does not HAVE "state-run" broadcasters. We have public broadcasters, but they're independent and not government-run or state-run.

  5. Re:I would owe somethine like $200 / month on Germany's New Internet License Fee · · Score: 1

    Pretty sure, yes. www.gez.de is quite clear about that.
    Maybe you're confusing the higher amount with the cost for cable TV? Or ist was more than EUR 17 because it was for more than one month (e.g. quarterly payment)?

  6. Re:I would owe somethine like $200 / month on Germany's New Internet License Fee · · Score: 1

    No. That's for "radio", not for "a radio". It's for "tv" not for "a tv". Note the difference. It's not per device.

  7. Re:In Denmark, too on Germany's New Internet License Fee · · Score: 1

    You shouldn't pay for things you don't use
    Yes, you should. In this particular instance you should!

  8. Re:No One is Mentioning What the Money is Going fo on Germany's New Internet License Fee · · Score: 1
    Should I be required to fund content that I staunchly disagree with?
    Yes! That's what democracy and the principle of solidarity is all about. Why should you only be required to pay for information and opinions you agree with?

    For example, should I be forced to pay these fees or else go to jail so that the money I had originally earned and has been confiscated from me is invested in content whose goal is to convince people to create more programs to confiscate the wealth I earned from me because I am the wrongdoer for earning that wealth in the first place?
    Huh? What? Parsing error. Sentence does not compute. Who is forcing whom to confiscate your wealth? Through which programs? What????

  9. Re:Not a "license" fee on Germany's New Internet License Fee · · Score: 1

    A "license" gives you some (more or less useful) liberties for what you pay.
    Um, yes. This fee gives you the liberty to watch German public television and listen to public radio stations. It gives you (and everybody else) access to a more-or-less unbiased and uncontrolled media, free of government intervention and meddling.
    Is that not worth EUR 5 a month to you?
    Where do you get your news from?

  10. Re:Violation of freedom on Germany's New Internet License Fee · · Score: 1

    Given the very strong tendancy for the State to overspend and so need to increase tax and so to utterly mess up taxation, *the current situation is such that the State's efforts to provide these needs is counter-productive*. 1) This is not a tax.
    2) This money does not go the the government
    3) Government overspending is not an issue here.

  11. Re:This cow can be milked. on Germany's New Internet License Fee · · Score: 1

    The first thought is, why should I pay for something, regardless wether I'm using it or not.
    Solidaritätsprinzip? If only those actively using the service would pay for it, the cost for the individual wanting to use it would be prohibitively high, effectively disconnecting large parts of the general public. If you would only charge people as much as they could afford to pay, and only charged those actively consuming, the overall sum would not be enough to support freeand unbiased media. Therefore, everybody has to pay in order to make sure that a) it remains available and b) everybody has a chance to access it. The alternative would be fully commercial media producers, which are subject to outside control (more so than media are today).
    Basic supply with news only is required because of possible catastrophic event.
    Not true! Basic supply (Grundversorgung) is necessary for an informed public. If I had the choice between paying the GEZ fee and only having Fox News, I know which option *I* would choose. Would I rather have a Rupert Murdoch than the ARD? Definitely not!

  12. Re:No One is Mentioning What the Money is Going fo on Germany's New Internet License Fee · · Score: 1

    One wonders if those stations were not supported by compulsory payments, would they continue to be able to operate?
    We need free and public broadcasting and information channels. Any form of either regulation (tax through the government) or free market forces will lead to control over programming content. If we want to keep a fair and -- more or less -- unbiased media the only way to finance that is through a system which is beyond government control (which the German GEZ is) and which is not dependent upon pandering to the public opinion in order to retain viewing and subscription figures.
    Also -- news and media also need to be accessible by the not-so-well-off people for whom the cost of a subscription-based model (rather than a flat prce payed by everyone) would be prohibitive.
    D.

  13. Re:Bugmenot link? on Helping Surfers Sidestep Site Registration · · Score: 1

    You don't need a FF extension. BugmeNot provides a "Bookmarklet" which you can simply drag to your toolbar folder and click on to open a small BugMeNot window. The advantage is that it's no depenent upon the extensions API or any extension maintainer. Look for "Bugmenot Bookmarklet" on their homepage.
    I've been happily using that for quite some time now.
    D.

  14. Re:I'll be unpopular and say web filtering is good on Unlock Internet or Risk Losing Staff? · · Score: 2

    If deliverables are late, then it's YOUR job, as a manager, to motivate your people to keep their commitments and complete their project work. If the deliverables are late, then people browsing MySpace is a symptom, not the cause, of the problem. If you block Internet access people will spend time staring out of the window, go on smoking breaks, spend long hours on the toilet, whatever.
    If you can't motivate your team to produce on time, then you certainly can't force them to do that by taking away their Internet access.
    There's PLENTY of research indicating that the freedom to "goof off", to spend time on other things, INCREASES productivity. If your people are letting deadlines slip and spending their time unproductively, it's not the fault of the thing they spend their time on.

  15. Re:economic question on Stuart Cohen Predicts Office for Linux · · Score: 1

    so that would be a reason for MS Not to implement MSoffice4linux ... that's shooting their own foot ?
    You're referring to the possible decline in Windows sales. So, in the short term, probably yes. OTOH, to the extent that a Linux shift is already taking place, in the long run they may be gaining a market for Office rather than losing an incentive to keep using Windows. And what better way to show that you're not perpetuating an Office+OS monopoly, which keeps getting MS into hot water all over the place?
    But, heck. What do I know? I'm just some IT consultant guy who's been running Linux for ages.

  16. Re:economic question on Stuart Cohen Predicts Office for Linux · · Score: 1

    Uh, really? I'd like to see this backed up by more than just the words of a Linux user. Can you > quote a serious source for this?
    Well -- since I don't know what you would consider a "serious source", and since a credible source would most likely also automatically have to be a "Linux user" (thereby ruled out), this automatically leads to an argument of semantics which I can only lose (even if only through lack of time/patience).
    So, no. I can't. I take my information, in addition to personal experience, from keynotes to developer conferences, for example. Since you would discredit those as either "Linux users" or not "serious", I won't even bother.

  17. Re:economic question on Stuart Cohen Predicts Office for Linux · · Score: 2

    Well -- maybe you're not running Linux for only the short-sighted economic (read: pennypinching) reasons, but because it's an incredibly stable and robust system, which supports more media devices out-of-the-box than Windows?
    And maybe you're forced to use MS office applications (due to investment in macros, templates, interchange with partners, etc.) -- reasons which have a very direct impact on your income? And maybe in fact MS Office is the last thing tying you to Windows?
    Just a thought....

  18. Re:I'm really trying to like Rails, but... on Major Security Hole Found In Rails · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    I agree. I recently built my first major Django site ( http://www.trogger.de/ -- shameless plug!) and used that project to learn Python and Django. All along I was really enjoying myself (as opposed to all the previous J2EE development that I've done) and felt incredibly productive.
    This is, of course, in part due to the Python language, with its dynamic features and the way it just "feels" right. But a large part was also the way the Django guys just 'get it'. I like their ORM. The database structures they generate make sense to me. I prefer developing an OO programming model abstraction and having that mapped to the database, rather than having the database introspected and then developing against the results. Django's way just feels more natural to me.
    The recent release of Django 0.95 was a major effort and an important milestone. Judging from the roadmap, Django 1.0 will be excellent.

  19. Re:Adsense's Biggest Flaw... on Google Releases Analysis of Click-Fraud Detection · · Score: 4, Informative

    "Google does not even allow you to ignore clicks and impressions from your own IP for testing" - Not true!
    There is a "debug" parameter you can add to your AdSense snippet which will make ads show up but not make impressions or clicks count. I got this info from Google support when I asked them about exactly this issue.
    Simply add the following to your AdSense Javascript parameters: google_adtest="on";
    For more info, see http://www.gidnetwork.com/b-5.html (no, this is not my site).

  20. Re:Single Malt - obviously a man with taste on CmdrTaco becomes An Old(er) Man · · Score: 1
    Hey - Talisker is my favourite as well. Good choice! Although the "Ardbeg Uigedail" (sp?) ist also quite nice. A lot richer and more pleasing than the regular Ardbeg. For The Balvenie - have you tried the Double Wood? Very nice. Still, Talisker is the one I always return to.

    I have an unopened 1973 Glenrothes in my collection which I daren't open, for fear of being disappointed.

    Dan.

  21. Re:Design problems with the article on The Surprising Truth About Ugly Websites · · Score: 1
    My thoughts exactly.
    Plus -- the same width restriction for the article is in the print CSS as well. The result? What could have printed on one-and-a-half pages actually prints over a bit more than a third of the width of FIVE pages.
    Damn, I *hate* this kind of thing (for longer printing rant, please see http://blog.go4teams.com/?p=11 ).

    Dan.

  22. Huh? on Linux Growth Doesn't Offset NetWare Decline · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Say what? The decline is plummeting? If the decline is plummeting - does that mean that sales are increasing? Is this a posh double negative?

    Dan.
    Remember - Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.

  23. Re:XML database on Sneak Peek at IBM 'Viper' DB2 Release · · Score: 1
    Try Infonyte DB: http://www.infonyte.com/

    No, I'm not related to them.

    Dan.

  24. Re:France is out of control. on EU Claims Internet Could Fall Apart Next Month · · Score: 2, Informative
    All of the things the US "have invented and brought to the world" ? OK - let's go through your list, shall we?

    Phones - Johann Philipp Reis, Germany. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Reis

    Cars - Gottlieb Daimler, Germany. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottlieb_Daimler

    The use and control of electricity - Alessandro Volta, Italy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessandro_Volta

    e=mc2 - Albert Einstein. Germany/Switzerland. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_einstein

    Food not spoiling (refridgeration) - Linde, Germany (among others, also many inventors from the U.S.). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrigerators

    Planes - Clement Ader, France. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clement_Ader ; Karl Jatho, Germany. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroplane

    ... and the list goes on. Sorry to burst your bubble.

    Dan.

  25. Re:Let me tell you something about us Americans... on EU Claims Internet Could Fall Apart Next Month · · Score: 1
    Are you kidding??? You must be!

    I've SEEN many of the "electrification" efforts in the States. Sorry, but the way many houses are wired up (across the street, along the road, aboveground, slapped together with bailing wire and sticky tape) is just mindboggling. My neighbour's braindamaged son wouldn't pass shop class with that kind of shoddy work. In contrast, have you SEEN European (e.g. German) standard cabling, electrification, cable TV networks? Underground, sensibly connected, well-maintained, documented, etc.

    And the power grid? Do we really have to draw your attention to the frequent brown-outs and blackouts across the States? Or the massive power failure in New York last year (or the year before?), where a crappy and non-redundant power grid which couldn't handle a power surge was the DIRECT cause of the problem? Have you seen comparisons to Europe's power grid, and explanations why this kind of massive failure simply cannot happen here? Because we've got redundant connections within and across countries, etc.?

    And the phone network? Where it can cost more to call your neighbour down the street than your relative in another state - just because he's with a different "baby Bell"? And where it's next to impossible to reach someone on his mobile phone in the middle of bloody Silicon Valley? I've had better phone connections to the backwater areas of South Africa than I've ever had to California.

    I'm sorry, but I'm sitting here just laughing my ass off. If THAT's really the BEST you can do, then the States have a heck of a lot of catching up to do.

    I'll grant you that the US are really a VERY big place, with large rural areas, sparsely inhabited, which can be extremely challenging to connect to. But the standards I've seen in urban areas (and not even the poorest areas, but downtown S.F., Philadelphia, or Palo Alto), where it would be a breeze to fix, are SO bad, it's amazing that so many of your cities even HAVE electricity.

    Dan.