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User: Tourney3p0

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  1. Re:Just Upgrade on Exploits Circulating for Latest Windows Holes · · Score: 2, Insightful

    How exactly is Windows 2000 "out of date" by any standard except the date it was released? Windows XP is horrid compared to Windows 2000. Very few people I know have "upgraded" to Windows XP from Windows 2000. It's easier and cheaper to open the case and remove a stick of ram. Install a Yoshi's Island skin, and you have instant 2000->XP upgrade. Mentalities such as yours are why you need a 3 Ghz P4 and 512 MB of RAM just to open Microsoft Word in less than 30 seconds.

  2. Re:MS better watch their back on Mac OS X Running on Non-Apple Hardware · · Score: 1
    You can buy a Mac Mini for $499. So... what high cost of entry?

    I think they meant high cost of entry for a machine that doesn't absolutely scrape the bottom of the barrel in performance.

  3. Re:Random thoughts on Apple on Mac OS X Running on Non-Apple Hardware · · Score: 1

    Would it benefit Ferrari in the long run to have every ghetto curb filled with Ferrari's? No, it wouldn't. While Ferrari I'm sure makes a hefty profit on each car, there's no way they could build their cars at a cost that would make it reasonable for everyone to be able to afford one. The whole comparison of Macs to Ferraris is stupid. It's more like Macs are Ford and PC's are Chevy. Ooh, my econo-shitbox does this.. Yeah, but MY econo-shitbox does THIS.

  4. Re:It's this simple... on Internet Explorer 7 To Be XP Only · · Score: 1
    Except you're wrong.

    Windows XP offers absolutely nothing over Windows 2000. The only people who see a benefit of Windows XP are RAM manufacturers.

    If people truly want the Windows XP experience without the hassle of upgrading from Windows 2000, all they have to do is shut their machines down and remove a stick or two of RAM.

    This has nothing to do with Windows 2000 being a legacy OS with no useful purpose. This is all about Microsoft knowing that their operating systems have reached a plateau, and this is the only way to force people to upgrade.

  5. Re:What are you smoking? on Internet Explorer 7 To Be XP Only · · Score: 1
    Any corporations that are using 2k are usine IE for internal pages This is a false premise, and it invalidates the rest of your rant.

    If your theory were true, I might be inclined to agree with you.

  6. Re:In the year 2000... (and 9) on Jan 2009 Deadline for HDTV Cutoff · · Score: 1

    Oh, but I know what you're thinking: "But HyperChicken, I need my PS3/Xbox360/Revolution". So hook them up to a monitor. Actually I was thinking, "That's pretty dumb. Why would I buy a dedicated ~21 inch monitor for a console when I could just use my newly-available ~50 inch screen as a dedicated monitor?" No argument on the book thing.

  7. Re:pre sp1 on Windows Infected in 12 Minutes · · Score: 1
    If the average user can't be bothered to go to the effort of obtaining a service pack on CD (or downloading it and burning it to one themselves, for that matter), what makes you think they'd take up such an offer? That's certainly valid. Perhaps Microsoft and leading computer distributors such as Dell, Gateway, HP, etc strike up a deal that allows the manufacturers to send updated "System Restore" disks on Microsoft's dime. I don't think the financial obligation should rest on HP's shoulders just because Microsoft messed up.

    Or perhaps upon installation, users could be given the choice: "Do you want to disallow all network traffic except for Update sites until updates are complete?" with a nice little disclaimer as to why this is a good or bad idea.

    I can't really say that I have the answers, but something should be done. It's not fair for regular users that have to reload using their pre-SP disks in a vicious cycle, and it's not fair to the techies that continuously have to fix it.. especially since people typically call the "nice cousin that knows about computers" before they call tech support or a paid technician.

  8. Re:pre sp1 on Windows Infected in 12 Minutes · · Score: 1

    I see your point. Now all you have to do is get my grandmother to fork out a couple hundred bucks because her Windows XP pre-sp1 disc is outdated, and everything is fine. I'm sure she, and the millions of computer users like her, will be fine with it.

  9. Re:pre sp1 on Windows Infected in 12 Minutes · · Score: 1
    It's absolutely nothing like comparing it to an ancient version of Redhat.

    It's probably a safe bet that most computers have been coming with Windows XP since 2001. A very significant number of these computers came with a version of Windows XP with no service packs. How many average computer users do you know that are going to go through the effort of obtaining the latest Service Packs on a CD?

    With all the spyware and viruses these days, it's pretty much guaranteed that a reload will occur every few years, if not more often. Imagine for a moment that I have a grandmother, and she has an HP. She knows her 3 year old computer is running like crap, so she calls HP. They instruct her on how to use the System Restore disk. She now has an unpatched version of Windows XP on the internet. She has no idea what a service pack is, nor does she care. In 12 minutes, she will be infected with a few viruses.

    Redhat 7.2 is not the latest and greatest version of Linux. You can easily download the latest version of whatever distro you want.

    If you want to make it a valid comparison, convince Microsoft to begin a program where you can trade in your version of Windows XP for Windows XP + Service Pack 2 + Updates, etc.

  10. Re:improving bios could even lead us to... on Why Do We Have to Use a Floppy to Flash BIOS? · · Score: 1
    English isn't his first language. How many languages do you know? How confident are you that you wouldn't be made fun of by some prick for trying to speak your second language?


    That said, I believe he means it'd be an interesting idea to allow BIOS to control the bootloader in such a way that grub, lilo, etc wouldn't be required on the hard drive.

  11. Re:More Photos Here, Plus Other Cryptid Catfish on Grizzly-sized Catfish Caught in Thailand · · Score: 1
    I've caught plenty of 50+ pound fish, most of them catfish.

    I'm an engineer, so I'm fully aware of the technical definition of the pound. However, I also understand that if I tell my 7 year old nephew that something weighs 10 pounds, he's going to understand exactly what I mean and not ask me to specify whether or not I meant pound-mass, etc. It would be reasonable to assume that this is the same implied standard that Twain was going by.

    That said, I've caught plenty of 50+ pound fish, most of them catfish. I carry a hanging scale that goes up to 100 pounds when I fish, but it's rarely needed. I can pretty much always tell you just by looking at one of these fish how much it weighs, plus or minutes 5 pounds. I have no reason to believe that I possess some magical ability that is beyond Twain's grasp.

  12. Re:Hardwire Firewall on The 12-minute Windows Heist · · Score: 1

    Just get a standard NAT router and don't set yourself as DMZ. Unless these viruses/worms magically know how to route themselves inside your internal network, you should be fine without a firewall. Also, don't download Comet Cursor.

  13. The reason why Slashdot people don't have problems on The 12-minute Windows Heist · · Score: 1

    Most of us are behind routers/firewalls. This article isn't talking about viruses that people get by opening email attachments or going to shady porn sites. This article is talking about nimda, blaster, and worms like that which require no user intervention. That said, the vast majority of computer users have no reason to run a router and no knowledge to run a firewall. If they screw something up and call tech support, HP is going to tell them to toss in the system restore disk. If that restore disk was before the latest service pack, as soon as system restore finishes they're going to be vulnerable and apparently infected within 12 minutes. For all you people saying, "OMG they must be idiots!! I don't run a firewall and I've never been 0wned!!", you're probably behind a NAT router. Unless your router multicasts for some reason or you set yourself as DMZ, how exactly do these viruses know how to get to your client machine? Basic routing, they don't. Unless you or someone on your small personal network makes a habit of clicking on mysterious links and OK buttons, or admit failure and set yourself as DMZ, there's no reason for a personal firewall.

  14. Re:oy.... on Send Email to Utah, Go to Jail · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I used to get about 5 telemarketer calls a day. I put myself on the Do Not Call list and now I get none. I did get one a few months ago. I don't know if they simply didn't obey the do not call list, or if they got access to the list. I complained and was assured they would be dealt with. Yeah, the Do Not Call list was a really stupid idea.

  15. Re:An Open Letter on Most Americans Want Gov't To Make Internet Safer · · Score: 1

    You should maybe change it so that "the plug wires haven't been changed since 1967", or something like that. If it was blowing as much smoke from the exhaust as you say, and the oil hadn't been changed in 1967, none of this would be an issue. The oil would have all burned out long ago and the car would be sitting in the junkyard.

  16. Should be interesting on U.S. Offers Glimpse at Manhattan Project Facility · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I live about half a mile from the Y-12 facility. Some guys from work and I got together to tour their place a few weeks ago to view their network infrastructure. They've got a HUGE room full of Crays. It was pretty loud in there, as to be expected. One of the less polite of the guys I was with had the nerve to ask one of their network admins what he made.. 37 grand and no benefits, because very few of them actually work for Y-12. That was a surprise. From what I saw, most everything there is AMD and Nvidia. Their preferred Linux is SuSE for some reason.. to each their own I suppose. For anyone who may want to make the trip, drop me a line and I'll let you know of some other interesting things to do around here. For anyone bringing their family, there's a park (Commerce Park, I think it's called) right next to Y-12 with a nice little picnic/fishing area. I'm rambling.

  17. Re:Big Ed's Pizza on U.S. Offers Glimpse at Manhattan Project Facility · · Score: 1

    I can vouch for the awesomeness that is Big Ed's Pizza. I'm living in Oak Ridge right now, but I grew up in Clinton.. Big Ed's house was about a quarter mile from where I lived. It was a sad day when he passed.

  18. Re:Speculation FTL on Google Scholar: Not Ready for Prime Time? · · Score: 1

    I've noticed that as well. Earlier I was tinkering around with sockets, just getting a simple remote connectivity program working. Could this be the end of the secure shell project as we know it?

  19. Re:politically incorrect on Study Links Genetic Diseases to Intelligence · · Score: 1
    Oh yeah, the term "black" was so much more accurate to use when describing the group of Americans with African ancestry. Or "negro": black in French or Spanish -- that's so much better!
    Exactly! I can't believe people call me "white". I mean, I'm obviously more of a pale tan. Possibly a pinkish at times. And freckles, oh the freckles! The nerve of people to call me white..
  20. Re:Quality - naaaaa... on Ditching Microsoft Could Save Education Millions · · Score: 1

    This is absolutely the case.

    I used to work for a K-12 school system's technology department. We were looking into a trouble ticket database solution, which would be fairly trivial to write from scratch but our business was not software development. I found several open source options online, then downloadeded and installed each one to show to my boss.

    One in particular interested her. The meeting ended like this:

    Her: "This is exactly what we need! How much is it?"
    Me: "It's free, and open source. So we can quickly add any features that aren't yet.."
    Her: "Wait, wait.. we can't use this if we're not paying for it. What if something breaks?"
    Me: "If something breaks, we can easily look through the code and fix it. Or we can email the author and ask him to look at it. I already emailed him and he said he'd be glad to help us if we have any problems."
    Her: "Ask him if he'll sell it to us for $10,000"

    End of the story, we didn't go that route.. we ended up buying a turnkey Windows solution for 18 grand. It was much more elaborate than we needed, and after I left the job they ended up writing their own in about half an hour.

  21. What about the children? on Comcast Thinks About Stopping Zombies · · Score: 5, Funny

    Won't someone please think of the zombie child processes?

  22. What about legitimate zombies? on Comcast Thinks About Stopping Zombies · · Score: 5, Funny

    This clearly violates the right to maintain your own SCO-attack zombie.

  23. Nothing wrong with Dell on Innovators vs Copiers: HP vs Dell · · Score: 2

    We buy probably 5 servers and 500 computers a year. When I first started this particular job, we bought IBM. Service was good but we had a high rate of failure on the hard drives, and there was a lot of proprietary stuff. Then we switched to Gateway. The hardware was great, but we didn't like the 8 month turnaround on hardware. During the Gateway phase, we bought HP Printers (Deskjet 890's to be exact). Out of the thousand or so we bought, maybe a dozen made it through their warranty period. And if you went more than a week without using your ink, you may as well put in a new cartridge because the other one is ruined. Then we started buying Dell. The Maxtor hard drives they supply tend to die more than we'd like, but we have a pre-imaged replacement the next day. I think out of the few thousand we've bought, we may have replaced a couple of motherboards as well. Top notch support for the corporate customer, which is where they make their money. Although I have to admit, we got a new rep a few months ago and he doesn't seem at all interested in helping us out. He gave us a price quote a few days ago that was higher than if we priced it on their website, and this was buying it in bulk of 500. I think we'll try building our own next.

  24. Re:I'm no mechanic, but... on Technology Makes New Cars Too Expensive to Fix · · Score: 1

    Why does it matter if the Corvette still uses a pushrod 350? It gets 30 miles per gallon for a v8 with 350 horsepower, and the base Chevy 350 it's based on is one of the most reliable motors ever. The technology is in the intake and fuel injection, not the block. Spending millions toward R&D for a new product would serve only to drive up prices for the initial product, then drive up repair costs.