Well then they need to check some more. Internet Exploder is deader than a doornail here (Windows Server 2003 Enterprise, SP1) and I don't have those programs. Heck, this is a totally new install as I needed to reset my configuration to baseline for some new beta tests. How it's supposed to detect the patch when I can't even get to Windows Update in the first place (either in IE or Help & Support) is problematic, at best.
BTW, this isn't the first time this has happened either. The October update last year did the same damn thing, i.e. dead IE. I had to wait for them to update the patch that was defective, zap the hard drive, reinstall and patch with working patches. Stupid. Just give me the damned patch!
The only saving grace is that I only use IE for testing, my local sites that use ActiveX, and Windows Update. Otherwise, it's Firefox or Opera.
I couldn't have put it better. While I pretty much define über-nerd (my first machine was an IBM-360 at age 10, okay?), I see as you said it. The Linux community does have to make that choice. Grandma, heck not even (my) Dad who's another techno-geek, is going to have a clue what to do in that situation except pick up the phone and yell for me to come on over. I expect that and I expect it online as well. Personally, I expect the Linux community to lean more to the latter of your two choices unless someone steps forward. Stallman and others don't seem to encourage any other attitude. I love open source, I don't like the attitude of the leaders that engender it.
If you really want to get banned, try and discuss security issues with Linux and especially Linux applications. Woof! Been there, done that, burned the fraggin' t-shirt.
Actually I've been anwering support questions most of my life and I don't find it a PITA at all. Guess I'm real weird but I'm not the only one by far. The difference is approach. Not only do I answer the question but I show/tell the user how to find that answer (manual, page, etc.) be it regulations, computer or electronics related, whatever. You need to teach them, to borrow from an earlier posting, how to fish (that information), not just hand them the fish. Above all, explain why as you go as well.
Actually I've been giving free tech support online for a couple of decades now covering the broad spectrum of hardware, software, web development, database, security, etc. I find it rewarding in and of itself. If you are unwilling to do so, let those of us who like this kind of 'work', and there are quite a few out there, do so without the offensive n00b and RTFM comments.
And I must respectfully disagree. While a laudable goal, perhaps, there is the time constraint. It can take years to learn all the aspects of any version of *nix as I well know, being an old Unix hand from the '70's and BSD from the '80's. I spent the last twenty years helping people in the various hardware, Amiga, Windows, and yes, even ten of those in the Linux Forums on CompuServe. I compare the attitude of what my fellows and I did there with what I see in the various Linux discussion forums out there, and especially the attitude, and I just want to reach through the screen and choke someone. There is no excuse for this kind of attitude or treatment. Period. If you are unwilling to help your fellow members of the communities you belong to, keep your mouth shut rather than abuse them. I also see this as a failure of the moderators, if any, in these various forums.
I won't even get into the state of documentation. I'm not wearing my asbestos underwear.
Actually I've been doing it for years since the middle betas of Windows 2000. The worst thing that has ever happened is that I have to do either a Windows Update or go to a manufacturer's site for drivers that I don't have here on CD, DVD or one of my storage hard drives.
Given how often I reconfigure systems for beta work, that's a plus here and one of the few things that earn MS a gold star. Not as nice as AutoConfig for the Amiga, but close enough.
Oh, I agree. Having talked to many a sysadmin over the years, it is all too rare. And I still think it comes down to the fact that there were legal consequences to high command if I allowed any activities against Navy security and ADP regulations; something you won't see in the 'real' world, for now. It'll come as these new regulations start getting enforced with real fines.
As for the mage part, well Mom's and anthropologist and I typed all here papers. I sort of got interested in the subject and given my habit of reading everything that isn't nailed shut (and I'll be looking for the claw hammer if it is;-), I'm pretty well read on the subject. Interesting but pretty useless, IMNSHO, although I can also say that about a good part of my economics degree program as well.
Bzzzt! Wrong answer, minus five. A Slashdot poll does not a cross-section of the statistical universe make. No participatory poll of self-selected individuals, especially from such a limited segment of the overall population does. Sorry.
OTOH (I'm also an economist, we always say that;-), I have a feeling, and that's all it is, that it is representative if not over represented for those that actually read the damned things (as I do).
Nice to see someone else out there that really understands statistics. I'm with calling it an informal survey. No discussion of methodology nor are there enough data points. This one almost feels like it falls into the anecdotal category (as do many of the posts in this discussion).
Okay, so I'm weird. I do read all my EULA's and, yes, I do comply with them. Then again, as I said elsewhere today, I'm subject to audit at any time and I don't want to lose all this wonderful (and frequently not so wonderful) software that they give me to play with and keep. [If that makes me a software whore, so be it;-).]
I know, this is/. so what do you expect. Accuracy? Sheesh. I've been playing with it for a bit now as well. I'll probably never use it myself, but I have some businesses in the region that might be highly interested.
Actually it does work and fairly nicely here which was a surprise. Why a surprise? Well, the best link I can get is 31Kbps (yes, bits) and I usually only get 28Kbps and no DSL or cable in sight here. I was rather impressed.
"Users are a huge problem to work with and half the time its not technical reasons, its political."
Now you know why I don't do sysadmin work in the "real" world. I earned my sysadmin spurs in the US Navy some twenty plus years back and the politics were very clear. There were no exceptions, ever. I was not going to face a court martial for anyone, even the commanding officer, and my commanding officers from then on knew that as I made it clear from the outset. Especially since they would be right up there with me come judgement time. Any fines, as with any fines against a command (EPA, whatever) come out of their pocket as well so they had an interest here. Too bad that isn't true in the "real" (civilian) world. Then they would have a stake in the game.
So, that's where I developed my policy of no exceptions, not even myself when it comes to licensing, software installation, etc. Even on my personal machines which, due to my consulting work for various firms (MS, etc.), are subject to audit at any time. Keeps ya honest, don'tcha know;-).
That kind of background also gets you real serious about information security as well. Anything under NDA here is kept on encrypted hard drives and almost always on a totally isolated machine, of which I have several.
It really comes down to having published policies, total adherence to those policies, and no exceptions, not even for the CEO, CIO, or sysadmins. Oh yes, and regular audits and comprehensive monitoring. What with Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, and all the other legislation and regulations that have come down the pike recently, I don't think you have a choice about having a strict systems policy or strict adherence and enforcement of same. The rules/environment have changed.
I'm usually the local go-to guy for fixing ThinkPads when someone doesn't want to send it back [IBM had no problem with this] and comparing the Lenovo ThinkPads to the IBM ThinkPads, the quality of construction, design, and parts hasn't changed a bit. If anything, I think the changes, actually more along the lines of additions really, has improved the line across the board. My short list of what I recommend and buy is always topped by ThinkPads.
A line from the movie Armageddon comes to mind everytime I hear someone compare products from different companies and use the country of the corporate label on the product as some kind of justification as to why they went with, say, the "US" product. "American spacecraft, Russian spacecraft, all made from part made in Taiwan!" [probably mangled a bit.] I don't think you can even *find* a laptop made in the USA. Besides, IBM engineers and others went over to Lenovo when the hardware division was spit off. Same people, different corporation. Whoop-te-do.
Belia16 has it right. The energy saving light-bulbs are flourescents and contain mercury among other toxic chemicals. OLED's on the other hand contain platinum which isn't a toxic agent and you can be sure that it will be economically advantageous to the consumer to recycle them just as is the case with catalytic converters, which also contain platinum. This is a case of pretty much a win-win. Energy efficiency, economic incentives to recycle, an a generally more useful product all around due to its flexibility (literally!). As an economist and engineer, I like that.
From the article cited in a post above ("Measuring the Efficiency of Organic Light-Emitting Diodes"), incandescant bulbs come in about 15 l/w, current OLED's 20 l/w with the potential of reaching efficiencies of 60 l/w. Even a 33% increase in efficiency is a good start and if they can reach 400%, that's a heck of a step towards paying for these devices let alone towards conservation efforts.
Actually, this isn't anything new. I've known about it for several years now. Nice to see it finally clawing its way out of the lab though.
Look, I've been doing models of all types of systems as part of what I do for a living for over three decades now. Indeed, that was precisely what my first contract (with the Army Corps of Engineers) involved and its all been multi-disciplinary across every field of the sciences from archeology to zoology. I think I've got modeling down pat. What gets me about this whole global warming thing is that to model a system you have to understand a system. Well, we don't understand climatology. Not a week, heck frequently a day, goes by when I'm not seeing an article in one of the several hundred journals I read that adds one more cycle or process (sub-system in my way of understanding) to what is happening in our understanding of this planet. Yet, somehow, we are supposed to believe these computer models that are trotted out on a near daily basis are going to provide accurate predictions of what the climate is going to look like in, say, 100 years. I'm sorry, you can't just can't do that. Not and maintain any credibility with someone that's been there, done that, and burned the fragging t-shirt (me). Sorry.
That doesn't even begin to address other issues here. I won't even bother since it usually devolves into a pissing contest about my data is better than your data. Data is something else I know extremely well (I'm also a statistician). It's not worth the food fight.
I will say this for TFA. The US is supposedly the bad actor yet the Canadians, Europeans, and other signatories to they Kyoto Treaty have yet to meet their targets at all. Indeed, their emisssions are up across the board. Why bother to have a treaty if no one can comply with the damn thing?
Oh I wouldn't go that far. My Windows 98 was first, last, and always used for classic wargames here and it isn't worn out at all. I keep one machine configured just for that reason. True, it spends most of its time in an off condition, but the OS is still fulfilling the purpose I bought it for today. [These games will not run under an NT-based OS no matter how you fiddle with the WoW settings.]
Well that depends on the sales people. A few of the business rule packages that I came across over the years might as well have been written in predicate calculas;-). Frankly, they wouldn't have to do the writing, I do that. The chief advantage of this technique, and I've used it for the last 30+ years (even taking class notes in it), is that conflicting cases are immediately obvious if you live and breathe truth-tables, which I do. Then you take the results, put them back into "English" and give that to Sales, etc. for review and modification. Wash, spin, rinse, repeat. The nice thing is that the programming logic falls right out. Then I can get down to the serious business of designing the data structures and algorithm selection. As I said, it's just another methodology.
All my work at this level is with SMB's or, in the past, the military and government agencies. SMB's won't have a clue what you are doing anyway, usually, so moot point. The military, or at least the people I worked for, loved the technique as I could prove mathematical correctness. Lives depended on my work. The government agencies would be problematic today as they like UML/UML2, but in the past they liked mathematical correctness as well since all that work was in the medical field and again lives depended on my work.
Someday, I'll have to learn these beasts. I do have the books and tools (Rational Rose, etc.), but UML/UML2 still allows you to dig yourself into logical and mathematical traps if you aren't careful. Actually in pretty much the same way that standard flow-charting does which is why I invented my structured flow-charting technique. Still, it's the tool of the day which probably explains why I haven't taken on any projects of late [save my enterprise beta work and network security].
Actually I've been using predicate calculas for this for several decades with good results (zero bugs). UML has it's place for those that are visually oriented (which is something I'm singularly unequipped to do). And yes, almost all my stuff has been user-facing with business-rules or operational function (military). UML is a tool, like any other, that forces a methodology constraint with the hope (in this case closer to a promise) of delivering a product that actually does what it is supposed to do. Whatever works. Unfortunately GP has been confused by the usual use to which I've seen it put as well. Generally, I've rarely seen it used in-house until the last decade for the actual development process and most people don't get to see how IT is really doing their development work. FWIW, it's about time something like this was really used in the development process. I had to roll my own way back when, even down to a completely different (structured) flowcharting methodology. Goal: Product as specified with zero bugs. Thankfully I, and my various teams, was always able to deliver. Would that such tools existed back when I started.
but at the same time the Eclipse people deserve better than Sun trying to flush them out just to keep Java on a tight leash.
I'm an outsider here as I don't like Java at all but Sun has forthrightly stated, at least in the software developement publications that I read that this is no way, shape, or form their intent. They (now) openly acknowledge that Eclipse seems to be the framework/IDE of choice of the Java community (at least you people have a by God real community, too!) but they intend to provide the NetBeans IDE as an alternative to those that like it (and I know of more than a few top name developers that I read that like it).
FWIW, I take them at their word. Y'all have a nice day.
Color me impressed! While I wouldn't touch a SunRay with a ten foot pole, this is actually pretty cool and beats the stuffing out of any prior implementation I've run into before that uses Java.
As for the company, well they got the stuffing beat out of them but I feel that they are knocking the dust off their pants and and getting back into the game (same with HP in the server market, IMNSHO). The new hardware is very nice and back on my short list which it hasn't been for a looooong time and while you won't get me near Java, period, Solaris 10 is sweet. Glad to see them back.
Slashdot Mirror
Because I play in the enterprise space these days for Microsoft and others.
BTW, this isn't the first time this has happened either. The October update last year did the same damn thing, i.e. dead IE. I had to wait for them to update the patch that was defective, zap the hard drive, reinstall and patch with working patches. Stupid. Just give me the damned patch!
The only saving grace is that I only use IE for testing, my local sites that use ActiveX, and Windows Update. Otherwise, it's Firefox or Opera.
I couldn't have put it better. While I pretty much define über-nerd (my first machine was an IBM-360 at age 10, okay?), I see as you said it. The Linux community does have to make that choice. Grandma, heck not even (my) Dad who's another techno-geek, is going to have a clue what to do in that situation except pick up the phone and yell for me to come on over. I expect that and I expect it online as well. Personally, I expect the Linux community to lean more to the latter of your two choices unless someone steps forward. Stallman and others don't seem to encourage any other attitude. I love open source, I don't like the attitude of the leaders that engender it.
If you really want to get banned, try and discuss security issues with Linux and especially Linux applications. Woof! Been there, done that, burned the fraggin' t-shirt.
Actually I've been anwering support questions most of my life and I don't find it a PITA at all. Guess I'm real weird but I'm not the only one by far. The difference is approach. Not only do I answer the question but I show/tell the user how to find that answer (manual, page, etc.) be it regulations, computer or electronics related, whatever. You need to teach them, to borrow from an earlier posting, how to fish (that information), not just hand them the fish. Above all, explain why as you go as well.
Actually I've been giving free tech support online for a couple of decades now covering the broad spectrum of hardware, software, web development, database, security, etc. I find it rewarding in and of itself. If you are unwilling to do so, let those of us who like this kind of 'work', and there are quite a few out there, do so without the offensive n00b and RTFM comments.
I won't even get into the state of documentation. I'm not wearing my asbestos underwear.
Given how often I reconfigure systems for beta work, that's a plus here and one of the few things that earn MS a gold star. Not as nice as AutoConfig for the Amiga, but close enough.
As for the mage part, well Mom's and anthropologist and I typed all here papers. I sort of got interested in the subject and given my habit of reading everything that isn't nailed shut (and I'll be looking for the claw hammer if it is ;-), I'm pretty well read on the subject. Interesting but pretty useless, IMNSHO, although I can also say that about a good part of my economics degree program as well.
OTOH (I'm also an economist, we always say that ;-), I have a feeling, and that's all it is, that it is representative if not over represented for those that actually read the damned things (as I do).
Nice to see someone else out there that really understands statistics. I'm with calling it an informal survey. No discussion of methodology nor are there enough data points. This one almost feels like it falls into the anecdotal category (as do many of the posts in this discussion).
Okay, so I'm weird. I do read all my EULA's and, yes, I do comply with them. Then again, as I said elsewhere today, I'm subject to audit at any time and I don't want to lose all this wonderful (and frequently not so wonderful) software that they give me to play with and keep. [If that makes me a software whore, so be it ;-).]
I know, this is /. so what do you expect. Accuracy? Sheesh. I've been playing with it for a bit now as well. I'll probably never use it myself, but I have some businesses in the region that might be highly interested.
Actually this 'fanbois' perfers Mahjonng ;-).
Actually it does work and fairly nicely here which was a surprise. Why a surprise? Well, the best link I can get is 31Kbps (yes, bits) and I usually only get 28Kbps and no DSL or cable in sight here. I was rather impressed.
Now you know why I don't do sysadmin work in the "real" world. I earned my sysadmin spurs in the US Navy some twenty plus years back and the politics were very clear. There were no exceptions, ever. I was not going to face a court martial for anyone, even the commanding officer, and my commanding officers from then on knew that as I made it clear from the outset. Especially since they would be right up there with me come judgement time. Any fines, as with any fines against a command (EPA, whatever) come out of their pocket as well so they had an interest here. Too bad that isn't true in the "real" (civilian) world. Then they would have a stake in the game.
So, that's where I developed my policy of no exceptions, not even myself when it comes to licensing, software installation, etc. Even on my personal machines which, due to my consulting work for various firms (MS, etc.), are subject to audit at any time. Keeps ya honest, don'tcha know ;-).
That kind of background also gets you real serious about information security as well. Anything under NDA here is kept on encrypted hard drives and almost always on a totally isolated machine, of which I have several.
It really comes down to having published policies, total adherence to those policies, and no exceptions, not even for the CEO, CIO, or sysadmins. Oh yes, and regular audits and comprehensive monitoring. What with Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, and all the other legislation and regulations that have come down the pike recently, I don't think you have a choice about having a strict systems policy or strict adherence and enforcement of same. The rules/environment have changed.
A line from the movie Armageddon comes to mind everytime I hear someone compare products from different companies and use the country of the corporate label on the product as some kind of justification as to why they went with, say, the "US" product. "American spacecraft, Russian spacecraft, all made from part made in Taiwan!" [probably mangled a bit.] I don't think you can even *find* a laptop made in the USA. Besides, IBM engineers and others went over to Lenovo when the hardware division was spit off. Same people, different corporation. Whoop-te-do.
Belia16 has it right. The energy saving light-bulbs are flourescents and contain mercury among other toxic chemicals. OLED's on the other hand contain platinum which isn't a toxic agent and you can be sure that it will be economically advantageous to the consumer to recycle them just as is the case with catalytic converters, which also contain platinum. This is a case of pretty much a win-win. Energy efficiency, economic incentives to recycle, an a generally more useful product all around due to its flexibility (literally!). As an economist and engineer, I like that.
Actually, this isn't anything new. I've known about it for several years now. Nice to see it finally clawing its way out of the lab though.
That doesn't even begin to address other issues here. I won't even bother since it usually devolves into a pissing contest about my data is better than your data. Data is something else I know extremely well (I'm also a statistician). It's not worth the food fight.
I will say this for TFA. The US is supposedly the bad actor yet the Canadians, Europeans, and other signatories to they Kyoto Treaty have yet to meet their targets at all. Indeed, their emisssions are up across the board. Why bother to have a treaty if no one can comply with the damn thing?
Oh I wouldn't go that far. My Windows 98 was first, last, and always used for classic wargames here and it isn't worn out at all. I keep one machine configured just for that reason. True, it spends most of its time in an off condition, but the OS is still fulfilling the purpose I bought it for today. [These games will not run under an NT-based OS no matter how you fiddle with the WoW settings.]
All my work at this level is with SMB's or, in the past, the military and government agencies. SMB's won't have a clue what you are doing anyway, usually, so moot point. The military, or at least the people I worked for, loved the technique as I could prove mathematical correctness. Lives depended on my work. The government agencies would be problematic today as they like UML/UML2, but in the past they liked mathematical correctness as well since all that work was in the medical field and again lives depended on my work.
Someday, I'll have to learn these beasts. I do have the books and tools (Rational Rose, etc.), but UML/UML2 still allows you to dig yourself into logical and mathematical traps if you aren't careful. Actually in pretty much the same way that standard flow-charting does which is why I invented my structured flow-charting technique. Still, it's the tool of the day which probably explains why I haven't taken on any projects of late [save my enterprise beta work and network security].
Just my $0.02
I'm an outsider here as I don't like Java at all but Sun has forthrightly stated, at least in the software developement publications that I read that this is no way, shape, or form their intent. They (now) openly acknowledge that Eclipse seems to be the framework/IDE of choice of the Java community (at least you people have a by God real community, too!) but they intend to provide the NetBeans IDE as an alternative to those that like it (and I know of more than a few top name developers that I read that like it).
FWIW, I take them at their word. Y'all have a nice day.
As for the company, well they got the stuffing beat out of them but I feel that they are knocking the dust off their pants and and getting back into the game (same with HP in the server market, IMNSHO). The new hardware is very nice and back on my short list which it hasn't been for a looooong time and while you won't get me near Java, period, Solaris 10 is sweet. Glad to see them back.