I don't understand how, but installing SP2 over a fresh SP0 install of XP causes the boot process to slow down to nothing compared to SP0's boot time, but if you slipstream SP2 onto an install CD and install from there, the boot process is now just as fast as SP0's. WTF? I still don't get how such an improvement is possible, but I'm swearing by slipstreaming now...
I think that when you install a SP on an already loaded system it introduces a lot of compatibility code to keep from breaking any applications you already have installed, but with a slipstream install it doesn't.
It's the same reason a clean O/S install is a lot more stable & faster than a version upgrade (i.e. Windows 2000 > Windows XP) that compatibility code is a bad thing.
As others have pointed out, there are a massive number of fixes required for XP SP2 making it a PITA for any new deployment.
Now larger ships can slipstream these fixes into their installation source thus reducing the pain but adding the pain to build a new slipstreamed image every so often.
Of course Microsoft (and many users) will say that any new deployments should be on Vista but many many organizations don't want to run a mixed environment and many more will wait a while to see how stable Vista is (i.e. wait for Vista SP1).
The real motivation here is that Microsoft makes money from selling a Vista upgrade or when people buy a new PC with Vista, whiel they make zero money when someone uses SP3 to keep their XP going for a little while longer.
They killed Windows NT 4.0 SP7 in the ßeta process They killed Windows 2000 SP5 in the pre-ßeta stage
Given this track record of killing off Service Packs shortly before they are released, as some (including me) might suspect in an effort to drive adoption of their newer software (which makes them money unlike a service pack) I'll be extremely surprised if Windows XP SP3 is ever released.
IMO, what they are saying now is just lip service/stalling and they have already made the decision.
IMO their overdiversification is a major reason (but not the only one) for their recent decline, they definitely need to consolidate back to their core buisiness (PCs) and dump all the other crap (Printers, Networking gear, televisions, etc.)
Actually the two boxes are in different rooms, we bought our first TiVo about 3 1/2 years ago and the second in May. One is in the living room and one is in the bedroom.
As for the extra fee, we got the lifetime service plan on both units (sadly no longer available) so no monthly fee for us, as for the DishPVRs out there you pay a monthly fee for those.
Let's talk about those few features shall we:
Suggestions records shows you might want to watch when idle based on your viewing habits & preferences
The ability to transfer shows from one TiVo to another at will.
The ability to transfer shows from either TiVo to my PC for viewing or burning to DVD
The ability to transfer video files from my PC to either TiVo for viewing on TV
Additional applications including playing music or viewing photos stored on my PC
3rd party applications to do everything from streaming audio (such as Internet radio), weather reports, games, movie showtimes & more.
Ability to recieve 3rd party content over broadband (Example: Rocketboom)
All of the above are supported features available with a completely unhacked TiVo, there are a lot more choices if you are willing to hack your TiVo, most commonly used it a simple capacity upgrade by replacing the HDD with a bigger one or adding a second drive.
Finally as for the video quality, I tested that when we recently got a new TV, I'm running S-Video cables and I am unable to tell the difference between the feed directly off the Satellite box (bypassing the TiVo completely) and a TiVo program recorded on high quality. This is on a less than one year old 42" Samsung DLP TV. Now I don't doubt that there is a difference but it's not one that my eyes can discern.
The problem with Wal-Mart being the largest is that they, all by themselves control sizable portion of the retail market.
It's extremely common for companies to make special versions of products specifically tailored to Wal-Mart's specifications, probably the most visible example of this is sanitized versions of music CDs but it also occurs in other product segments.
For many companies who can't or don't want to make a special version of a product just for Wal-Mart they may opt to just make all of their product to Wal-Mart specifications.
Without a doubt, even if you never shop at Wal-Mart, they have some control over what you are able to buy.
Eh, I'm a happy customer of both Dish Network and TiVo and definitely think this is a good thing, including for consumers and even Dish Network customers.
I chose to pair a SA (Stand Alone) TiVo over a DishPVR for a multitude of reasons:
Portability, I don't have to toss it in the trash if I switch providers
Heard lots and lots of horror stories about the reliability and stablity of the DishPVRs
Better features in a TiVo
Of course I lose out too, most notably with occasional channel change mishaps that cause the wrong channel to be recorded as well as the lack of ability to record the digital stream right off the satellite.
Now I have two TiVos
I've been following this case for a while, TiVo pproached Echostar seeking to license TiVo's technology. They even left a demo unit with them (which Echostar "lost"), then Echostar amazingly came out with new DishPVRs that were cheap knockoffs of the TiVo.
If there was ever a case of blatant patent infiringement this is it, umlike the NTP/RIM debacle where a patent troll was exploiting an obviously BS patent where they didn't even make a product, in this case Echostar ripped off TiVos technology in order to compete with them.
We mustn't confuse patent reform with patent abolition, though obviously some people (certianly some/. users) believe patents should be abolished. If every company that came up with an idea could get is usurped by someone else it would only be the evil megacorps of the world that could succeed, the little guys would get destoyed before they could get a foothold in the market.
Most computer equipment is still powered by 110VAC while mearly all of it is not only capable of running on 220VAC it runs more efficiently.
At my last job we were expanding our data center and put in a small handful of 220V circuits, by hooking up our biggest servers to 220 we were able to increase our UPS runtime by almost 10% and reduce our HVAC duty cycle by a bit in the process.
BITD when I went through Compaq ASE training the instructor mentioned that some server configurations (maxed out drive bays) you only had N+1 redundant power supplies if you powered the server with 220VAC. IIRC this server had three power supplies and two were enough to keep the server running in most configurations, but with the maximum load they could only keep up if you fed them 220.
I agree Newegg rules, but sometimes you need something right away, which is why I specifically pointed out in my original post that CC is my choice for the stuff I don't buy online.
To expand on that, I probably enjoy more choice than the average person, I have a Circuit City, a Best Buy, a CompUSA and a Frys all less than 2 miles from my hourse and all within a half mile of each other (there used to be a Good Guys too before they bit the dust). Circuit City is definitely my best choice for local needs.
The "reasonable use" is helping people transfer video from a DVD they own to a portable device. Sure the MPAA would like you to buy that movie again in DRM protected format for use on your portable device but how many people on the street are going to find that reasonable.
Ahh but Best Buy isn't nearly as good as it used to be, higher prices, smaller selection, worse return policies. I gave up on Best Buy a few years ago anow now use Circuit City almost exclusively for my local (what I don't buy online) needs. Their order-online > store-pickup program is fantastic and their prices alsmost always match those of Best Buy exactly.
They will likely get a Cease & Desist letter before there is a lawsuit, if CC complies with this (they almost certianly will) there probably won't be a lawsuit.
The MPAA stands to lose a decent amount of their already declining public support if they try to lay the smackdown here to stop CC from doing something that practially every joe sixpack and their senator will think is a reasonable use. If they make a big deal of this now they may have a harder time fighting the inevitble tools that will come out to copy HD-DVD or Blu-Ray.
My prediction is that Circuit City will stop this practice by the middle of next week and it will be the last we hear of the issue.
you're comparing the fine for a single region to their world wide profits.
Well that actually makes sense. If they comply with the EU court's demands and share their technology with competition (primarily OSS projects such as SAMBA) it could affect their worldwide market.
Sounds interesting but what if you don't get the discount you want? Or maybe the reatiler doesn't gove you a discount at all?
Potentially you just wasted a byunch of peoples time, and probably a lot of the people who showed up would buy without the discount anyways since they are already there cash in hand.
Of course that would be the last time that particular retailer was approached.
In the car tuning scene "group buys" have been commion for years, though they generally don't involve people personally showing up anywhere or have anywhere close to this scale.
Actually it was a reference to the popular (almost collective) opinion among/. readers that anyone who dares to question the gospel that global warming is caused by human generated greenhouse gas emissions must be a retarded George W. Bush supporter.
FTR I am no fan of Dubya, I think he is definitely one of the worst presidents in the past 100 years, as to whether or not I'm retarded, obviously there is some debate there.
I'm prepared to be labeled a mindless republican bushite and modded down for this but..
If it currently the warmest it's been in 400 years (or the past few millenia) that means it was this warm 400 years (or a few mllenia) ago. Since obvioulsy it wasn't human generated greenhouse gasses that caused the previous temperature, it does call into question the certianty that human generated greenhouse gasses is causing the current warming.
Now if the scientists can come up with causality for the previous warming periods, such as volcanic or solar activity and we aren't experiencing the same now then that makes more of a case.
Heh, my parents ran the family like some sort of Democracy, it didn't either I or my brother well.
I at least had the foresight to realize that I was headed nowhere slowly and did something drastic, I joined the Navy, which pretty much gave me the ass-kicking I needed.
Fast forward and I have a family, a good job and a house and my brother was just fixing to move out of Mom & Dad's in his late 20s having finished college a couple years previously.
Yet another reason to control what your kids watch, I have 2 kids, one is 8 and the other is 12, shows like My Name is Earl are OK to watch, The War at Home, no freaking way. Other shows, such as Family Guy, they are allowed to watch but only if we are there with them also watching it, so we can (and we have) turn it off if it crosses the line.
With the mainstream media as you accuratly pointed out for the most part in the toilet some parents try to shield their kids from all the bad stuff, which means when they are inevitably exposed to it they are unprepared and frequently get into trouble. Antoher school of thought is to treat the kids like adults and "let them maketheir own decisions", the underlying problem there is that kids are too empowered and actually think they are on equal footing as their parents, they are never shown responsible behavior so they nearly always make irresponsible choices.
What we do is control their exposure, make it clear what the boundaries are and why they are what they are. As they demonstrate responsibility the boundaries are relaxed, as they demonstrate irresponsibility more restrictions are added.
Sorry Dad, I had a dead battery, no signal, it didn't ring, etc.
Wireless service still doesn't have the reliability for a parent to make the "you'd better answer when I call" demand.
In any case I submit that a sufficiently clever parent would merely raise their kids to actually be where they are supposed to, rather than rely on some easily defeated gizmo to parent for them.
I give Verizon plenty of credit for figuring out new ways to soak more money out of their subscribers, between disabling bluetooth features (so you will have to pay them to backup your phone book or transfer camera phone pictures) and turning off MP3 playback (so you will have to buy your music yet again from their VCast service).
Seriously, the kids will know this kind of watching is being done and will either turn off their phone or leave it behind (or ata friends house inside the "permitted area".
Then if the kids really get into trouble they won't have the option of calling for help.
Mod this offtopic but I did find it amusing that you refer to clueless MSCE when the proper acronym is MCSE (Microsoft Certifiied Systems Engineer).
Full disclousre: I happen to be an MCSE, or at least I used to be, originally certified under Windows NT 3.51, later upgraded to Windows NT 4.0, never got around to upgrading to Windows 2000 let alone Windows Server 2003. As for being clueless, when it comes to Linux that's certianly true:-)
Eh, I tend to avoid cheats (codes, whatever) until I've beaten/completed the game, after that I turn on unlimited money, god mode, whatever and then replay it again.
There are of course some eceptions to this, such as Gran Turismo license tests, after unsuccessfully attempting to pass a single test (out of more than 50) for more than 5 hours I got a game shark. It was either that or chuck the game in the trash as I could pass no further without completing the next license.
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I think that when you install a SP on an already loaded system it introduces a lot of compatibility code to keep from breaking any applications you already have installed, but with a slipstream install it doesn't.
It's the same reason a clean O/S install is a lot more stable & faster than a version upgrade (i.e. Windows 2000 > Windows XP) that compatibility code is a bad thing.
Indeed and my computer has a NIC card :-)
The sad thing is I was aware of the redundancy when I wrote it, it's just what I'm used to writing, a bad habit I started many moons ago.
As others have pointed out, there are a massive number of fixes required for XP SP2 making it a PITA for any new deployment.
Now larger ships can slipstream these fixes into their installation source thus reducing the pain but adding the pain to build a new slipstreamed image every so often.
Of course Microsoft (and many users) will say that any new deployments should be on Vista but many many organizations don't want to run a mixed environment and many more will wait a while to see how stable Vista is (i.e. wait for Vista SP1).
The real motivation here is that Microsoft makes money from selling a Vista upgrade or when people buy a new PC with Vista, whiel they make zero money when someone uses SP3 to keep their XP going for a little while longer.
They killed Windows NT 4.0 SP7 in the ßeta process
They killed Windows 2000 SP5 in the pre-ßeta stage
Given this track record of killing off Service Packs shortly before they are released, as some (including me) might suspect in an effort to drive adoption of their newer software (which makes them money unlike a service pack) I'll be extremely surprised if Windows XP SP3 is ever released.
IMO, what they are saying now is just lip service/stalling and they have already made the decision.
here is one list I found
IMO their overdiversification is a major reason (but not the only one) for their recent decline, they definitely need to consolidate back to their core buisiness (PCs) and dump all the other crap (Printers, Networking gear, televisions, etc.)
Actually the two boxes are in different rooms, we bought our first TiVo about 3 1/2 years ago and the second in May. One is in the living room and one is in the bedroom.
As for the extra fee, we got the lifetime service plan on both units (sadly no longer available) so no monthly fee for us, as for the DishPVRs out there you pay a monthly fee for those.
Let's talk about those few features shall we:
All of the above are supported features available with a completely unhacked TiVo, there are a lot more choices if you are willing to hack your TiVo, most commonly used it a simple capacity upgrade by replacing the HDD with a bigger one or adding a second drive.
Finally as for the video quality, I tested that when we recently got a new TV, I'm running S-Video cables and I am unable to tell the difference between the feed directly off the Satellite box (bypassing the TiVo completely) and a TiVo program recorded on high quality. This is on a less than one year old 42" Samsung DLP TV. Now I don't doubt that there is a difference but it's not one that my eyes can discern.
The problem with Wal-Mart being the largest is that they, all by themselves control sizable portion of the retail market.
It's extremely common for companies to make special versions of products specifically tailored to Wal-Mart's specifications, probably the most visible example of this is sanitized versions of music CDs but it also occurs in other product segments.
For many companies who can't or don't want to make a special version of a product just for Wal-Mart they may opt to just make all of their product to Wal-Mart specifications.
Without a doubt, even if you never shop at Wal-Mart, they have some control over what you are able to buy.
Eh, I'm a happy customer of both Dish Network and TiVo and definitely think this is a good thing, including for consumers and even Dish Network customers.
I chose to pair a SA (Stand Alone) TiVo over a DishPVR for a multitude of reasons:
Of course I lose out too, most notably with occasional channel change mishaps that cause the wrong channel to be recorded as well as the lack of ability to record the digital stream right off the satellite.
Now I have two TiVos
I've been following this case for a while, TiVo pproached Echostar seeking to license TiVo's technology. They even left a demo unit with them (which Echostar "lost"), then Echostar amazingly came out with new DishPVRs that were cheap knockoffs of the TiVo.
If there was ever a case of blatant patent infiringement this is it, umlike the NTP/RIM debacle where a patent troll was exploiting an obviously BS patent where they didn't even make a product, in this case Echostar ripped off TiVos technology in order to compete with them.
We mustn't confuse patent reform with patent abolition, though obviously some people (certianly some /. users) believe patents should be abolished. If every company that came up with an idea could get is usurped by someone else it would only be the evil megacorps of the world that could succeed, the little guys would get destoyed before they could get a foothold in the market.
Most computer equipment is still powered by 110VAC while mearly all of it is not only capable of running on 220VAC it runs more efficiently .
At my last job we were expanding our data center and put in a small handful of 220V circuits, by hooking up our biggest servers to 220 we were able to increase our UPS runtime by almost 10% and reduce our HVAC duty cycle by a bit in the process.
BITD when I went through Compaq ASE training the instructor mentioned that some server configurations (maxed out drive bays) you only had N+1 redundant power supplies if you powered the server with 220VAC. IIRC this server had three power supplies and two were enough to keep the server running in most configurations, but with the maximum load they could only keep up if you fed them 220.
I agree Newegg rules, but sometimes you need something right away, which is why I specifically pointed out in my original post that CC is my choice for the stuff I don't buy online.
To expand on that, I probably enjoy more choice than the average person, I have a Circuit City, a Best Buy, a CompUSA and a Frys all less than 2 miles from my hourse and all within a half mile of each other (there used to be a Good Guys too before they bit the dust). Circuit City is definitely my best choice for local needs.
I'll bite.
The "reasonable use" is helping people transfer video from a DVD they own to a portable device. Sure the MPAA would like you to buy that movie again in DRM protected format for use on your portable device but how many people on the street are going to find that reasonable.
Ahh but Best Buy isn't nearly as good as it used to be, higher prices, smaller selection, worse return policies. I gave up on Best Buy a few years ago anow now use Circuit City almost exclusively for my local (what I don't buy online) needs. Their order-online > store-pickup program is fantastic and their prices alsmost always match those of Best Buy exactly.
They will likely get a Cease & Desist letter before there is a lawsuit, if CC complies with this (they almost certianly will) there probably won't be a lawsuit.
The MPAA stands to lose a decent amount of their already declining public support if they try to lay the smackdown here to stop CC from doing something that practially every joe sixpack and their senator will think is a reasonable use. If they make a big deal of this now they may have a harder time fighting the inevitble tools that will come out to copy HD-DVD or Blu-Ray.
My prediction is that Circuit City will stop this practice by the middle of next week and it will be the last we hear of the issue.
Disabling auto-update in Firefox 1.5 is easy enough to disable.
you're comparing the fine for a single region to their world wide profits.
Well that actually makes sense. If they comply with the EU court's demands and share their technology with competition (primarily OSS projects such as SAMBA) it could affect their worldwide market.
Sounds interesting but what if you don't get the discount you want? Or maybe the reatiler doesn't gove you a discount at all?
Potentially you just wasted a byunch of peoples time, and probably a lot of the people who showed up would buy without the discount anyways since they are already there cash in hand.
Of course that would be the last time that particular retailer was approached.
In the car tuning scene "group buys" have been commion for years, though they generally don't involve people personally showing up anywhere or have anywhere close to this scale.
Actually it was a reference to the popular (almost collective) opinion among /. readers that anyone who dares to question the gospel that global warming is caused by human generated greenhouse gas emissions must be a retarded George W. Bush supporter.
FTR I am no fan of Dubya, I think he is definitely one of the worst presidents in the past 100 years, as to whether or not I'm retarded, obviously there is some debate there.
I'm prepared to be labeled a mindless republican bushite and modded down for this but..
If it currently the warmest it's been in 400 years (or the past few millenia) that means it was this warm 400 years (or a few mllenia) ago. Since obvioulsy it wasn't human generated greenhouse gasses that caused the previous temperature, it does call into question the certianty that human generated greenhouse gasses is causing the current warming.
Now if the scientists can come up with causality for the previous warming periods, such as volcanic or solar activity and we aren't experiencing the same now then that makes more of a case.
Heh, my parents ran the family like some sort of Democracy, it didn't either I or my brother well.
:)
I at least had the foresight to realize that I was headed nowhere slowly and did something drastic, I joined the Navy, which pretty much gave me the ass-kicking I needed.
Fast forward and I have a family, a good job and a house and my brother was just fixing to move out of Mom & Dad's in his late 20s having finished college a couple years previously.
But I think wer'e getting offtopic now.
Yet another reason to control what your kids watch, I have 2 kids, one is 8 and the other is 12, shows like My Name is Earl are OK to watch, The War at Home, no freaking way. Other shows, such as Family Guy, they are allowed to watch but only if we are there with them also watching it, so we can (and we have) turn it off if it crosses the line.
With the mainstream media as you accuratly pointed out for the most part in the toilet some parents try to shield their kids from all the bad stuff, which means when they are inevitably exposed to it they are unprepared and frequently get into trouble. Antoher school of thought is to treat the kids like adults and "let them maketheir own decisions", the underlying problem there is that kids are too empowered and actually think they are on equal footing as their parents, they are never shown responsible behavior so they nearly always make irresponsible choices.
What we do is control their exposure, make it clear what the boundaries are and why they are what they are. As they demonstrate responsibility the boundaries are relaxed, as they demonstrate irresponsibility more restrictions are added.
I can picture it now:
Why didn't you answer when I called you?
Sorry Dad, I had a dead battery, no signal, it didn't ring, etc.
Wireless service still doesn't have the reliability for a parent to make the "you'd better answer when I call" demand.
In any case I submit that a sufficiently clever parent would merely raise their kids to actually be where they are supposed to, rather than rely on some easily defeated gizmo to parent for them.
I give Verizon plenty of credit for figuring out new ways to soak more money out of their subscribers, between disabling bluetooth features (so you will have to pay them to backup your phone book or transfer camera phone pictures) and turning off MP3 playback (so you will have to buy your music yet again from their VCast service).
Seriously, the kids will know this kind of watching is being done and will either turn off their phone or leave it behind (or ata friends house inside the "permitted area".
Then if the kids really get into trouble they won't have the option of calling for help.
Sounds like a great plan to me.
Mod this offtopic but I did find it amusing that you refer to clueless MSCE when the proper acronym is MCSE (Microsoft Certifiied Systems Engineer).
Full disclousre: I happen to be an MCSE, or at least I used to be, originally certified under Windows NT 3.51, later upgraded to Windows NT 4.0, never got around to upgrading to Windows 2000 let alone Windows Server 2003. As for being clueless, when it comes to Linux that's certianly true :-)
Eh, I tend to avoid cheats (codes, whatever) until I've beaten/completed the game, after that I turn on unlimited money, god mode, whatever and then replay it again.
There are of course some eceptions to this, such as Gran Turismo license tests, after unsuccessfully attempting to pass a single test (out of more than 50) for more than 5 hours I got a game shark. It was either that or chuck the game in the trash as I could pass no further without completing the next license.