There are some benefits to renting even if more expensive long run: 1. It can be easier to fully deduct the rental as an ongoing operation expense. A computer purchase might have to be treated as a capital expense and probably depreciated over serveral years. 2. Depending on the terms of your contract, you might not be fully liable if a disaster (hurricane, tornado, flood) destroys your rented computers. 3. Again, depending on the terms of your contract, if the BSA or sheriff's office raids you and takes the rented computers, it might not be your problem, you rent another batch and keep on working.
In my previous job I had to support customers with multi-petabyte databases on SQL Server 2008 and Oracle 10R2/11R2. SQL Server is significantly easier to install and manage. The tools to perform administrative operations such as creating new databases, doing database backups, profiling database server activity, measuring performance are much easier to work with on SQL Server.
SQL Server pricing also works out to less than half what Oracle charges per socket. Last time I priced it out, Oracle came to around $20,000 per socket and SQL Server was under $10,000 per socket.
IMO the only advantage that Oracle has is better high end scalability on very large database servers: multi-petabyte, > 64 core and > 128 spindles/flash drives.
Supposedly SQL Server 2010 has significantly narrowed that scalability gap, but I left the company before they switched.
What I recommend to my customers is: Databases with small transaction volumes and few concurrent connections: MySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQL Server free edition Medium databases with moderate transaction volumes (10GB to 1TB): PostgreSQL or SQL Server Large database with high transaction volumes (1TB to 100TB): PostgreSQL (if you have inhouse DBA with optimization experience) or SQL Server Very large database (100TB to 10PT): SQL Server if performance requirements can be met with mid-sized hardware (up to 8 sockets, 64 cores), otherwise Oracle Girnourmous databases (>10PT): Oracle if performance requirements can be met with large-sized hardware (8 to 32 sockets) or using the extremely costly Oracle Exadata custom database hardware stack, otherwise one of the specialty databases such as Teradata
Your systems would be statistically safer. The probability of any given XP system being attacked by this exploit after the disclosure is much higher than the probability before the disclosure.
Yes, this exploit was probably being used by a limited number of people before hand, but now it is being used by 10x as many script kiddies. Overall, systems running XP are much worse off because of what Ormandy did.
The patch installs an update to a toolbar that you must have already installed. The patch is not available if you don't have the browser toolbar already installed.
I worked for a while for a company that makes software for modern slot machines. Each state and indian reservation has different rules, but in the one we wrote software for it works almost like a roll of scratch-off lottery tickets.
When developing a new game, the company decides on the payout, for example, 95%, which means that on average, out of every $1 played, the company pays out 95 cents back to the players. The company then decides on the prize distribution, for example (not a real game distribution, just an example): Count Prize Payout Amount 387,251 0 0 10,000 1 10,000 2,000 5 10,000 500 25 12,500 200 200 40,000 30 1,000 30,000 15 5,000 75,000 3 30,000 90,000 1 100,000 100,000
400,000 136,231 367,500 Total
So out of 400,000 games played of $1 each, the casino is paying out $367,500 and making $32,500 profit. The prizes are randomized and the resulting distribution inspected to make it is distributed appropriately.
The prize distribution is saved in a central casino database. Every time a play happens, while the graphics or reels are moving, the machine talks to the central server over a secure network and requests the next available prize. The server finds the next prize in the the list, marks it as played, and sends it to the machine. If it is a win, lights flash, bells ring, etc.
Casinos in general want big jackpots, as loud and as attention getting as possible, since it gets more players to play longer. They have no interest in cheating you out out of big prize, since they are making money on average every time you play. Their interest is to keep you putting in money into the machine as long as possible, and they do that by having jackpots as often as they have calculated they should do it.
LSI has something similar with their FastPath and CacheCade features, which create hybrid storage systems that are transparent to the operating system.
For example Adaptec MaxIQ on quite a few of their controllers, which lets you add an Intel X25-E to your existing raid array. It transparently uses the SSD as a cache for the most frequently used data.
I have implemented one of these systems. Many of the newer slot machines have been getting results from a central database for at least a decade. The results typically are generated from a few days to a few weeks in advance, which lets the casino confirm the payout percentages before making the gameset go live.
The way to look at it though is that the Casino does not care if you win big. In fact, the casino likes big jackpots, the bigger the better, because they more than make up for in the the extra attention they get. More attention = More players = More dollars played
They win a certain percent of every dollar played. The more dollars that get played the more they win.
Humans or their direct ancestors have been dying all over the earth for hundreds of thousands of years. Pick any square mile pretty much anywhere but Antartica and chances are there is someone buried there in the last 200,000 years. Big deal.
Newer slot machine systems have multiple machines withdrawing results from a central ticket pool. The ticket pools are generated days or weeks in advance. At time of generation the casino specifies what kind of payout percentage they want, and verify it on generation. They actually specify exactly how many results there will be at each prize levels. For example: 9700 - no win 200 - 4x prize 80 - 8x prize 15 - 20x prize 4 - 50x prize 1 - 200x prize
After the pool is generated the system verifies there are no statistical anomalies and then makes it available for playing.
Newer machines do not get full banks, and they don't generate a random result at the time you press a button, they grab a pre-generated one. This is true for systems used in Washington state and Florida, I would expect it to be similar in Nevada.
Like the parent said, the casino does not care if you win. They actually like winning to be a huge event with lots of fanfare, it motivates other players. They make known profit from every generated ticket pool.
I grew up in Cuba, a communist country. In school we were taught that it was the right and moral thing to turn your parents in if you heard them talking against the government.
Slashdot Mirror
There are some benefits to renting even if more expensive long run:
1. It can be easier to fully deduct the rental as an ongoing operation expense. A computer purchase might have to be treated as a capital expense and probably depreciated over serveral years.
2. Depending on the terms of your contract, you might not be fully liable if a disaster (hurricane, tornado, flood) destroys your rented computers.
3. Again, depending on the terms of your contract, if the BSA or sheriff's office raids you and takes the rented computers, it might not be your problem, you rent another batch and keep on working.
In my previous job I had to support customers with multi-petabyte databases on SQL Server 2008 and Oracle 10R2/11R2. SQL Server is significantly easier to install and manage. The tools to perform administrative operations such as creating new databases, doing database backups, profiling database server activity, measuring performance are much easier to work with on SQL Server.
SQL Server pricing also works out to less than half what Oracle charges per socket. Last time I priced it out, Oracle came to around $20,000 per socket and SQL Server was under $10,000 per socket.
IMO the only advantage that Oracle has is better high end scalability on very large database servers: multi-petabyte, > 64 core and > 128 spindles/flash drives.
Supposedly SQL Server 2010 has significantly narrowed that scalability gap, but I left the company before they switched.
What I recommend to my customers is:
Databases with small transaction volumes and few concurrent connections: MySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQL Server free edition
Medium databases with moderate transaction volumes (10GB to 1TB): PostgreSQL or SQL Server
Large database with high transaction volumes (1TB to 100TB): PostgreSQL (if you have inhouse DBA with optimization experience) or SQL Server
Very large database (100TB to 10PT): SQL Server if performance requirements can be met with mid-sized hardware (up to 8 sockets, 64 cores), otherwise Oracle
Girnourmous databases (>10PT): Oracle if performance requirements can be met with large-sized hardware (8 to 32 sockets) or using the extremely costly Oracle Exadata custom database hardware stack, otherwise one of the specialty databases such as Teradata
Your systems would be statistically safer. The probability of any given XP system being attacked by this exploit after the disclosure is much higher than the probability before the disclosure.
Yes, this exploit was probably being used by a limited number of people before hand, but now it is being used by 10x as many script kiddies. Overall, systems running XP are much worse off because of what Ormandy did.
The patch installs an update to a toolbar that you must have already installed. The patch is not available if you don't have the browser toolbar already installed.
I worked for a while for a company that makes software for modern slot machines. Each state and indian reservation has different rules, but in the one we wrote software for it works almost like a roll of scratch-off lottery tickets.
When developing a new game, the company decides on the payout, for example, 95%, which means that on average, out of every $1 played, the company pays out 95 cents back to the players. The company then decides on the prize distribution, for example (not a real game distribution, just an example):
Count Prize Payout Amount
387,251 0 0
10,000 1 10,000
2,000 5 10,000
500 25 12,500
200 200 40,000
30 1,000 30,000
15 5,000 75,000
3 30,000 90,000
1 100,000 100,000
400,000 136,231 367,500 Total
So out of 400,000 games played of $1 each, the casino is paying out $367,500 and making $32,500 profit. The prizes are randomized and the resulting distribution inspected to make it is distributed appropriately.
The prize distribution is saved in a central casino database. Every time a play happens, while the graphics or reels are moving, the machine talks to the central server over a secure network and requests the next available prize. The server finds the next prize in the the list, marks it as played, and sends it to the machine. If it is a win, lights flash, bells ring, etc.
Casinos in general want big jackpots, as loud and as attention getting as possible, since it gets more players to play longer. They have no interest in cheating you out out of big prize, since they are making money on average every time you play. Their interest is to keep you putting in money into the machine as long as possible, and they do that by having jackpots as often as they have calculated they should do it.
LSI has something similar with their FastPath and CacheCade features, which create hybrid storage systems that are transparent to the operating system.
For example Adaptec MaxIQ on quite a few of their controllers, which lets you add an Intel X25-E to your existing raid array. It transparently uses the SSD as a cache for the most frequently used data.
Even More Plan (requires a contract): Unlimited Talk - $59.99
Even More Plus Plan (no contract): Unlimited Talk - $49.99
How does a typical gigabit ethernet cabling installation compare to the same network using fiber cabling in terms of power usage?
It is fairly easy to delete.
/s/b index.dat
1) Open a command prompt, go to your user directory where index.dat is located, and search for the index.dat file:
cd %userprofile%
dir
2) Open your task manager (press Ctrl-Shift-Esc or right click on task bar). Kill the explorer.exe process.
3) Go back to your command prompt. Delete the file that you found in step 1.
4) Start explorer again, by typing explorer.exe in the command prompt.
BTW, this method is the easiest way to delete or modify all sorts of files that the explorer shell locks while running, without requiring a reboot.
I strongly recommend trying an expresso martini.
Some micro-organisms use a cellular motor that has rotating parts. It is used to rotate flagella around in order to propel the organism.
You mean like interns at hospitals have been doing for pretty much forever? Gotta tell my intern friend that she is a time traveler.
I have implemented one of these systems. Many of the newer slot machines have been getting results from a central database for at least a decade. The results typically are generated from a few days to a few weeks in advance, which lets the casino confirm the payout percentages before making the gameset go live.
The way to look at it though is that the Casino does not care if you win big. In fact, the casino likes big jackpots, the bigger the better, because they more than make up for in the the extra attention they get. More attention = More players = More dollars played
They win a certain percent of every dollar played. The more dollars that get played the more they win.
Visual Studio 2005 has multi-threaded builds, can take advantage of multiple CPUs. Give it a spin, it has many improvements over 2003.
Besides for a large part of 800 million hindus, the staple diet is vegetables and dairy. They are doing just fine.
Sure it does, you just need to restart the explorer so it will re-read the registry, log out and log back in. Works for me, Windows XP SP2.
Humans or their direct ancestors have been dying all over the earth for hundreds of thousands of years. Pick any square mile pretty much anywhere but Antartica and chances are there is someone buried there in the last 200,000 years. Big deal.
Newer slot machine systems have multiple machines withdrawing results from a central ticket pool. The ticket pools are generated days or weeks in advance. At time of generation the casino specifies what kind of payout percentage they want, and verify it on generation. They actually specify exactly how many results there will be at each prize levels. For example:
9700 - no win
200 - 4x prize
80 - 8x prize
15 - 20x prize
4 - 50x prize
1 - 200x prize
After the pool is generated the system verifies there are no statistical anomalies and then makes it available for playing.
Newer machines do not get full banks, and they don't generate a random result at the time you press a button, they grab a pre-generated one. This is true for systems used in Washington state and Florida, I would expect it to be similar in Nevada.
Like the parent said, the casino does not care if you win. They actually like winning to be a huge event with lots of fanfare, it motivates other players. They make known profit from every generated ticket pool.
I grew up in Cuba, a communist country. In school we were taught that it was the right and moral thing to turn your parents in if you heard them talking against the government.