I have DSL and use a separate, more expensive, local ISP for several reasons:
better service.
no constraints on behavior--I can set up a server, do NAT, whatever I want as long as I adhere to acceptable use policy.
they offer dialup for no extra charge, so if the phone company hoses the DSL connection, there's a backup available.
More sophisticated approach to networking services. My ISP will sell me static IPs cheaply, will do domain hosting, helps with CGI stuff, offers multiple-platform support, runs an IMAP server, has webmail. All sorts of things that show they know what they're doing. I like that.
That said, they just merged with another independent in another state, and the effect on service is yet to be determined. They're not sucked up by a big corporation yet, but they had to get bigger to stay afloat.
I'm one of those MIS guys, and I support an office that does something like this using the Longview stuff mentioned in the article. PCs are in a rack down the hall, keyboards and LCD displays in work areas.
The office? A university radio station. They can't have any noise in the broadcast booths.
I agree though, that putting more of the PC at the interface end is a bit silly. Still, if the radio station wanted a live webcam in the studio or some such thing, this would make for a nice solution.
It is possibly unconstitutional for the government to dismiss the first amendment rights to assembly and speech of the protesters. One judge said it was not unconstitutional, but it is certainly debatable, and that judge's ruling may be challenged.
That doesn't even get into the way that police have denied detained people the right to defense counsel, and have strategically targeted certain groups of people for arrest while not bothering others. There are a variety of civil rights violations brewing in that mix.
I think it is absolutely shameful that the city has been able to completely trash the first amendment in the guise of "public safety." The only public who are unsafe this week in Seattle are the people getting in the way of cops. That has ranged from peaceful protesters to shoppers to reporters to innocent bystanders. Just where is the public safety threat? It's in the hands of a riot cop, that's where.
Don't forget: it is not illegal to peacefully protest in this country. The constitution is for everyone.
Finally, there most certainly is an unjust law to protest in this situation, which is analagous to that which prompted the Boston Tea Party: the city and state's imposed martial law.
And, like everybody else around here, I'm a tinkerer. I've run linux for web development, as a router, and as a desktop. I've tried GeoWorks, OS/2, most of the Windows flavors, and BeOS on PPC. I've used Slackware, RedHat, Debian, SuSE, and Caldera. I helped administer a FreeBSD server in a library. I buy or assemble a computer every few months then usually sell it after I get bored.
But nothing has proven of any lasting value until I got an iMac at home (well, okay, that FreeBSD box was pretty solid). It takes care of a lot of things that bug me: it's small, quiet, doesn't demand a lot of maintenance, makes good use of the ADSL line and it runs Netscape Communicator without a hitch for hours on end. Most Linux boxes won't even do the last part.
If it had a bit more room for more pixels and ran a terminal window with bash, it'd serve the needs of a good chunk of that/. 90% as well. Gimme emacs, gimp and apache on an iMac, and I'm not sure what else I'd need.
Sure, Apple is greedy and pushes silly proprietary ideas too far. But when they get the hardware right, it's damn impressive to see. Nobody else seems to understand the idea of a home Internet appliance. Give 'em some credit.
While stylish looking machines are fine, what really boils my blood is all the damn noise these infernal machines make. I'd love to see a reliable dB rating attached to any PC marketed out there, and make noise reduction a fundamental part of the design process.
For example, I gladly forego 7200RPM drives for 5400RPM drives which are quiet (IBM Deskstar's are great). It's a speed tradeoff, but one I readily make.
I like the look of Corel's Netwinder. I like the planned specs and the functionality of the LC. But if it's got a noisy fan and disk, I'm passing, no matter how cheap they make it.
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I have DSL and use a separate, more expensive, local ISP for several reasons:
That said, they just merged with another independent in another state, and the effect on service is yet to be determined. They're not sucked up by a big corporation yet, but they had to get bigger to stay afloat.
I'm one of those MIS guys, and I support an office that does something like this using the Longview stuff mentioned in the article. PCs are in a rack down the hall, keyboards and LCD displays in work areas.
The office? A university radio station. They can't have any noise in the broadcast booths.
I agree though, that putting more of the PC at the interface end is a bit silly. Still, if the radio station wanted a live webcam in the studio or some such thing, this would make for a nice solution.
It is possibly unconstitutional for the government to dismiss the first amendment rights to assembly and speech of the protesters. One judge said it was not unconstitutional, but it is certainly debatable, and that judge's ruling may be challenged.
That doesn't even get into the way that police have denied detained people the right to defense counsel, and have strategically targeted certain groups of people for arrest while not bothering others. There are a variety of civil rights violations brewing in that mix.
I think it is absolutely shameful that the city has been able to completely trash the first amendment in the guise of "public safety." The only public who are unsafe this week in Seattle are the people getting in the way of cops. That has ranged from peaceful protesters to shoppers to reporters to innocent bystanders. Just where is the public safety threat? It's in the hands of a riot cop, that's where.
Don't forget: it is not illegal to peacefully protest in this country. The constitution is for everyone.
Finally, there most certainly is an unjust law to protest in this situation, which is analagous to that which prompted the Boston Tea Party: the city and state's imposed martial law.
Yup. I am one of those 90%.
/. 90% as well. Gimme emacs, gimp and apache on an iMac, and I'm not sure what else I'd need.
And, like everybody else around here, I'm a tinkerer. I've run linux for web development, as a router, and as a desktop. I've tried GeoWorks, OS/2, most of the Windows flavors, and BeOS on PPC. I've used Slackware, RedHat, Debian, SuSE, and Caldera. I helped administer a FreeBSD server in a library. I buy or assemble a computer every few months then usually sell it after I get bored.
But nothing has proven of any lasting value until I got an iMac at home (well, okay, that FreeBSD box was pretty solid). It takes care of a lot of things that bug me: it's small, quiet, doesn't demand a lot of maintenance, makes good use of the ADSL line and it runs Netscape Communicator without a hitch for hours on end. Most Linux boxes won't even do the last part.
If it had a bit more room for more pixels and ran a terminal window with bash, it'd serve the needs of a good chunk of that
Sure, Apple is greedy and pushes silly proprietary ideas too far. But when they get the hardware right, it's damn impressive to see. Nobody else seems to understand the idea of a home Internet appliance. Give 'em some credit.
See
http://www.corelcomput er.com/products/linux/netwinder_gs.htm for details.
I think it's way overpriced, though I dig the design. I'm hoping the LC desktop model is cheaper.
While stylish looking machines are fine, what really boils my blood is all the damn noise these infernal machines make. I'd love to see a reliable dB rating attached to any PC marketed out there, and make noise reduction a fundamental part of the design process.
For example, I gladly forego 7200RPM drives for 5400RPM drives which are quiet (IBM Deskstar's are great). It's a speed tradeoff, but one I readily make.
I like the look of Corel's Netwinder. I like the planned specs and the functionality of the LC. But if it's got a noisy fan and disk, I'm passing, no matter how cheap they make it.