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User: duffman

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  1. Re:Sorry dude on Hyperreality: The U.S-China Standoff · · Score: 1

    Uh, the F-8 is the chinese designator. It is not the same as a US F-8. The chinese F-8 is the same as a MIG-21.

  2. War stories on When Is Exchange Inappropriate For The Enterprise? · · Score: 2

    Well, here is how the good ol US Air Force does it: I work at a base that has ~5500 users. We support them on 7 exchange servers -- this seems to handle the load reasonably well. However, an organization called AFCERT sends us security advisories on an almost daily basis -- patches and alerts to the newest holes that are discovered in both the exchange servers and the clients. This has been such an enormous task to keep up with that the AF went a step further and invested in a suite of SMS servers (in the old "throw more money at the problem until it disappears" mentality). This "enterprise solution" has caused nothing but repeated headaches for us here and I would personally like to see them give up on this system and start over with Solaris systems. However, the AF likes to have everything "standardized", which I guess means that if it's broken at one base, it should be broken at all bases. So we are forced to accept a standardized solution that is less than optimal. The costs are staggering:

    7 Exchange servers -- $15,000 each
    5 SMS servers -- $15,000 each
    2 WINS servers -- $4,000 each
    MS software licenses -- don't know but it's a lot -- 7 server licenses, 5500 client licenses
    Norton Antivirus for exchange -- 7 licenses
    Norton Antivirus for workstations -- 5500 licenses


    We also have a few UNIX boxes that perform other functions around the base -- web servers and traffic analyzers, firewalls, etc. They are extremely reliable and give us no problems. M$ is an expensive, un-necessary solution. The problem is, no one knows UNIX (except for us, of course). Smart people are hard to find, and thus, the AF must accept a solution that the dummies can administer (and trust me, you'd be surprised at how poorly some of us do it). Anyhow, that's just my experience with exchange. Fight the schmucks that want it.

    I apologize for how your tax dollars are being squandered. I am at the position where I have no say in the matter. Please write your congressman/woman and let them know how pissed you are.

  3. one hit wonders on Ask Metallica About Napster · · Score: 1

    Here's another question:

    How many of us have rushed out and bought a new CD by their favorite band, or a new CD that has that one great song on it, only to be disappointed by the rest of the CD? Napster allows users to "preview" the CDs that they are interested in before actually purchasing them, which is no doubt a common practice (I do it all the time). This helps prevent me plunking down $15-$20 for a CD that I'm not sure that I'll like. My question is this: Do you think that it is a bad thing for people to be able to be able to "preview" an album through methods like Napster before they buy the album? Or should they have to take it on faith that the album doesn't suck? How can we be sure that we are purchasing a quality product, other than the few songs we hear on the radio? Napster provides a convenient method for us to do so risk free.

  4. uh, what? on Gateway Linux Microserver · · Score: 1

    Mine's faster. $700 for:

    Dual 400s, 128 Megs of ram, 18Gig hard drive...

    Linux has all the room and horsepower it will need (for the next few months at least ... till they come out with a dual Athlon board).

    Now there's an open source idea. Take the OpenPIC architecture and design a dual or *jizz* QUAD Athlon board.

    You'd have my $$$.

  5. implants on Bionic Implants Stimulate Muscle Contractions · · Score: 0

    Radio controlled people. Cool. I'm gonna build a transmitter and drive some people around. "Get me a beer." "Wash my car." "Recompile my kernel..." The possibilities are endless.

  6. Re:Smirk..Snicker.. on MTV Hacker Saga Gets Worse · · Score: 1

    Yeah.

    "Let's make up a bunch of bullshit and dupe MTV, then blame them for sensationalist reporting."

    Not MTV's fault for reporting what they thought was real, IMHO. More their fault for believing what was told to them by a guy who can't even spell "trying" right.

    Heh. Nice try shamrock. I'm not buying it like the rest of the herd.

  7. Re:If you guess, you make a "G" out of "u" and "es on Linux in the Military · · Score: 1

    I am in the military. Hate me for it if you want. I am proud to be in. I like what I do. I am not a killer, rather, I am a computer specialist, and a linux advocate. I come to work every day, and I like to think that what I do gives people like you (and everyone else at /.) the right, the FREEDOM to say what you want, even if you say that you disagree with what I do. That's cool...it gives our society the balance that it needs. Rock on and keep writing.

  8. Re:If you guess, you make a "G" out of "u" and "es on Linux in the Military · · Score: 1

    I am in the military. Hate me for it if you want. I am proud to be in. I like what I do. I am not a killer, rather, I am a computer specialist, and a linux advocate. I come to work every day, and I like to think that what I do gives people like you (and everyone else at /.) the right, the FREEDOM to say what you want, even if you say that you disagree with what I do. That's cool...it gives our society the balance that it needs. Rock on and keep writing.

  9. Re:Should GPL smash the third-world? on Linux in the Military · · Score: 1

    someone watches too much tv. ^^

  10. Re:Should GPL prohibit use of code to KILL people? on Linux in the Military · · Score: 1

    How about used by people who stop killing, for example the military? The military in the past decade has been involved in more peacekeeping missions than conflicts/wars. As far as I know so far from my experience as a communications and information officer at a military installation, linux is not used in any current "weapon" system. Unix, however, is used in command and control computer & information systems, as well as on the SIPRNET.

    I admit that my views are biased because I am part of one of the organizations in question, so take this for what it's worth. However, I don't see how modifying the GPL would hav any significant impact on the current computer operations that the US military (or any other military) takes part in -- because there are other OS's that the military can (and will) use to accomplish the mission.

    Just my 2 cents.