Firefox is a great browser - the extensions and skins available let me make it work exactly like I want it to.
They're feeling the heat from IE7, and loaded v2 up with many of the features I already had using some extensions. But not everyone wants the extras...
So I say on to FF devs:
Less equals more, remove the bloat and bring back our lightweight, secure browser and let us customize it how we want it to be.
MOHAA, the original. Online, I know the maps by heart, the weapons like they were my own, and there are still people out there who play for fun.
Tribes 2 - reinstalling this game after a few months of inactivity allows me to make a pot of coffee while the updates download and install. Then by the time my brew is done, and I've had a cup - I've found something else to do and uninstall the game.
NES - Zelda. The original RPG... in the gold cart. Just because I remembered which bush I can burn for the 100 rupees doesn't indicate I'm a geek. Now that posted it on slashdot - I've proven it.
And, anything by Sid Meyers or Maxis. Civ (any number) or SimCity (any number) make me happy. And killing off sims in your pool... what could relieve stress faster? Those little tombstones are just so cute.
it's a catch 22 - do you destroy the drive so your data can't be read from your defunct drive, or do you send it in and hope the facility you ship it to erases the drive well enough after they referb it to prevent your data from being shipped to someone else?
Answer - use disk encryption or at least file level encryption strong enough to make the take next to impossible to read your tax files or pr0n stash.
CD Charger? Last time I checked around, it was called a CD Changer, as in "changes CDs for you"...
I dunno, but this guy writing this article seems like a pissy whiner. "Pioneer didn't contact me... I'll never buy from them ever." It seems that Pioneer is making a pretty good iPod interface. I'm impressed they've maintained the same bus throughout the years... I could still plug my 12 disc CHANGER into a new head unit... along with this iPod adapter.
---from Pioneer Electronics ---
* Text Information Display
Song/album titles, artist names, and track length -- memorized by connected iPod -- are conveniently displayed on the monitor or headunit display. This capability also permits multiple "search" functions, making it a snap to find a song to play back.
* Multiple "Search" Functions
Just like looking for files stored on a PC, iPod-recorded songs may be sorted according to registered playlists, genres, artists, or albums to ensure easy access to each music file.
* Repeat Playback
The Repeat Playback function offers two options -- repeat playing of a particular song or playback of all tunes from a specified playlist.
* "Shuffle Songs" Function for Random Playback
Everybody's favorite option for mixing things up, Shuffle Songs randomly plays the songs in the iPod music library. Every song is a pleasant surprise, and the more files that are stored in the iPod, the greater the surprise.
The installer is on a DVD.iso and weighs in at 2.5GB Using FireFox MS requires you to allow a Java download utility to maintain the download. Prepair for screen resizings.
Looks like Microsoft is using Akamai for distribution, so it should be fast globaly.
The general computer users are either 1. forced to use Windows by company or government job 2. Don't want to switch because their software will no longer function.
If you've got kids in the house - they want to play games and use programs available freely on the net. It's an unfortunate fact of life that most of these programs are developed soley (soulessly?) for windows only.
I'm converting though... my daughter's PC will stay windows for a while until I can get educational / entertainment software working - but the rest are running some sort of *nix distro. I'll admit it was easier than I remembered it a few years ago. With Ubuntu or Kubuntu making installation of software as easy as seach, click, install.
My laptop provided by my company is next... I'll run Outlook in citrix.
In a collocation facility that used to allow customer to rack their own gear... yeah, how ever bad the rack looks in your imagination at this point - double that. Now we strongly suggest they allow us to do it the first time, or we shut them down and do it over - and it typically takes about 150% more time.
I can appreciate the neat and clean wiring/racking job - for a full 48u rack with 1U servers and network gear- expect about 15-25 hours of labor to get all the systems installed and wired. This is assuming redundant power, redundant network, KVM, and management connections.
Or you could just let the customer throw it in, and they'll have it plugged in before lunch time. But it'll look like crap, have hotspots, crimped wires and fiber, overloaded PDUs, and nothing labeled.
Then they expect it to stay up and running for 3-5 years like that.
Customers like 24/7/365 support - and they're willing to pay for it. Cisco doesn't always handle the support for every Cisco installation. There are 3rd parties who support other company's infrastructure. If their network is already Cisco, and you're looking to go VoIP - CCM is the logical step. Especially if your infrastructure support teams already have Cisco support.
There is also the fact that Cisco is an established product with established performance and support record. Granted you have to pay for it... but you're not betting on a distributed support team of people who don't have a building, arn't traded on the stock market, and may just disappear next week.
I know it's a lame sense of insecurity - look at apache, and all the other really great OSS in use by companies today. Give Asterik some time and it'll be accepted as ready for prime-time software.
The company I work for contracted with our offsite media vault vendor. They incinerated a few thousand backup tapes we didn't need anymore. Bonded and insured... and they let a rep from our company witness it.
Surveys have been done that show more people get more pissed off about being transferred than they do for having to sit through a menu before they speak to someone. Automated information available on many can save the customers time, which is another reason they are so popular.
Then why is it everytime I go through AT&T's IVR system, I follow the menu and input my state and the type of line I'm calling on. What's the first question the phone jockey asks me... every single time? "What state? What kind of line?"
I have to say though... after the SBC and AT&T merger - AT&T call centers are 4 billion times better, maybe even 5 billion... compared to the unionized folks SBC had. I'm a pleasent fellow and don't expect miracles - I worked helpdesk for 3 years, I know how the general public trashes call center folks - so I tend to be very professional and polite to people I call for help. SBC's folks never failed to treat me like garbage... even when I requested a manager for people transfered three times and got put on hold for 30 minutes only to be answered by "Are you still there? Hold please"
Management says - they're union, nothing we can do. If they closed those down - it would have been the best thing AT&T could have done for me.
I would agree that cable doesn't have anything worth watching. even basic has about 40-60% fluff... golf channel? Two shop at homes, about six holy rollers that I've blocked using my remote...
a la cart is the way to go, I would be happy with a couple of local network stations, some news channels, and about 5 others.
I find myself watching more entertaining stuff on the net and pbs - which I can get HD over the air for free. Now that DSL speeds are >1MB/1MB for $25/month - I'm dropping cable. I seriously don't need 8mb/256k from asshats like charter.
I'd like to think of the 700w as a good first try. Now, include better bluetooth support, more software patches, better memory management, faster processor, higher resolution screen, wifi, and (yeah I know I'm dreaming) longer battery life - and you'll have yourself a good v2.
I'm satisfied with my 700w. Given that my company paid for all of but a few bucks of the phone. My other option was a generic WinMob5 phone that many people I work with hate to the point they're trading them in on standard phones.
I'm optimistic about Palm's next try... I sure would like a PalmOS based device, but I guess I can dream.
Which is exactly why the newest conference room that was built in our building doesn't rely on the building's rather strong and well configured wireless network (which is 802.11g, and open to a DMZ network). With ethernet, power, and mics built into the desktop... we (the people execs call when stuff breaks during a meeting) won't have to bother with explaining why the one laptop with the MIMO card is farking up the room.
When there would be more that four or five laptops in the room - all would fight over connections and drop at random times - especially when you have subpar or nonstandard hardware (like those $#&$'ing MIMO or 110Mb cards... ).
Plug in, be happy. Now we just have to keep 3' ethernet cables handy...
Your computer connects to Your 6MB Cable connects to Cable Company connects to A slow or oversold internet connection
Here is a basic "How to" for calling your ISP... it sucks, and its a tad humiliating for most alpha-geeks... but sometimes we have to play by their rules to get our pr0n and warze faster.
1. Connect one PC to your cable/dsl modem (nothing else...) 2. Reboot your PC and your modem 3. Retest your speeds using a major speed test site 4. Call your ISP and explain your issue 5. Listen and follow their instructions (even if its a painful script... do it) 6. Respond with kindness and friendly responses (remember, they hold the key to escalating your issue or closing it without resolution)
Hopefully your ISP will recognize their is an issue and resolve it. Otherwise - tell them to go pound sand and move on to the next.
I have seen LOTS of decent-sized customers who are still paying for the milion-dollar loans they took out to pay for their room-sized 2 TB robot-driven tape archive system.
They made the mistake of not planning ahead. Building a scalable backup system that uses a combination of virtual tapes on a SAN and an actual ultra-high density tape library that can be upgraded to newer tape standards as the technology evolves and your data requirements increase, does take a bit of planning.
Ploppping down a few million for an archive system without considering the future and evolution of their business or technology... well, that's just silly.
Slashdot Mirror
Firefox is a great browser - the extensions and skins available let me make it work exactly like I want it to.
They're feeling the heat from IE7, and loaded v2 up with many of the features I already had using some extensions. But not everyone wants the extras...
So I say on to FF devs:
Less equals more, remove the bloat and bring back our lightweight, secure browser and let us customize it how we want it to be.
I'm a consumer - and I worked retail and tech support... so I can honestly say I've been on that side of the counter.
My hat's are off to good people who can treat me like a valued customer without the upsell shoved down my throat.
(cough... bestbuy do you want a subscription to this and that, what's your phone number, you should buy the warranty crap... cough cough)
MOHAA, the original. Online, I know the maps by heart, the weapons like they were my own, and there are still people out there who play for fun.
Tribes 2 - reinstalling this game after a few months of inactivity allows me to make a pot of coffee while the updates download and install. Then by the time my brew is done, and I've had a cup - I've found something else to do and uninstall the game.
NES - Zelda. The original RPG... in the gold cart. Just because I remembered which bush I can burn for the 100 rupees doesn't indicate I'm a geek. Now that posted it on slashdot - I've proven it.
And, anything by Sid Meyers or Maxis. Civ (any number) or SimCity (any number) make me happy. And killing off sims in your pool... what could relieve stress faster? Those little tombstones are just so cute.
fplanque.net seems to be fqued...
Probably fud anyway, but hey - I like to read rumor mongering too.
it's a catch 22 - do you destroy the drive so your data can't be read from your defunct drive, or do you send it in and hope the facility you ship it to erases the drive well enough after they referb it to prevent your data from being shipped to someone else?
Answer - use disk encryption or at least file level encryption strong enough to make the take next to impossible to read your tax files or pr0n stash.
CD Charger? Last time I checked around, it was called a CD Changer, as in "changes CDs for you"...
I dunno, but this guy writing this article seems like a pissy whiner. "Pioneer didn't contact me... I'll never buy from them ever." It seems that Pioneer is making a pretty good iPod interface. I'm impressed they've maintained the same bus throughout the years... I could still plug my 12 disc CHANGER into a new head unit... along with this iPod adapter.
---from Pioneer Electronics ---
* Text Information Display
Song/album titles, artist names, and track length -- memorized by connected iPod -- are conveniently displayed on the monitor or headunit display. This capability also permits multiple "search" functions, making it a snap to find a song to play back.
* Multiple "Search" Functions
Just like looking for files stored on a PC, iPod-recorded songs may be sorted according to registered playlists, genres, artists, or albums to ensure easy access to each music file.
* Repeat Playback
The Repeat Playback function offers two options -- repeat playing of a particular song or playback of all tunes from a specified playlist.
* "Shuffle Songs" Function for Random Playback
Everybody's favorite option for mixing things up, Shuffle Songs randomly plays the songs in the iPod music library. Every song is a pleasant surprise, and the more files that are stored in the iPod, the greater the surprise.
I'd love to... but since her school is 100% PC, I think I'd be doing her a disservice.
Ten years ago, she'd have labs full of macs and apple products... but Apple screwed up and lost them too.
The installer is on a DVD .iso and weighs in at 2.5GB
Using FireFox MS requires you to allow a Java download utility to maintain the download. Prepair for screen resizings.
Looks like Microsoft is using Akamai for distribution, so it should be fast globaly.
The general computer users are either
1. forced to use Windows by company or government job
2. Don't want to switch because their software will no longer function.
If you've got kids in the house - they want to play games and use programs available freely on the net. It's an unfortunate fact of life that most of these programs are developed soley (soulessly?) for windows only.
I'm converting though... my daughter's PC will stay windows for a while until I can get educational / entertainment software working - but the rest are running some sort of *nix distro. I'll admit it was easier than I remembered it a few years ago. With Ubuntu or Kubuntu making installation of software as easy as seach, click, install.
My laptop provided by my company is next... I'll run Outlook in citrix.
No doubt, jeeves. I've been there, done that.
In a collocation facility that used to allow customer to rack their own gear... yeah, how ever bad the rack looks in your imagination at this point - double that. Now we strongly suggest they allow us to do it the first time, or we shut them down and do it over - and it typically takes about 150% more time.
I can appreciate the neat and clean wiring/racking job - for a full 48u rack with 1U servers and network gear- expect about 15-25 hours of labor to get all the systems installed and wired. This is assuming redundant power, redundant network, KVM, and management connections.
Or you could just let the customer throw it in, and they'll have it plugged in before lunch time. But it'll look like crap, have hotspots, crimped wires and fiber, overloaded PDUs, and nothing labeled.
Then they expect it to stay up and running for 3-5 years like that.
well written and on topic... wtf are you doing on /.?
Com'on admins, you should have stayed up late to approve this one... it's ITLAPD, there is nothing else important.
/. didn't have this on their front page this morning when arrived at work.
I'm so ashamed
Sigh...
Sorry for the redundancy in my subject line.
Customers like 24/7/365 support - and they're willing to pay for it. Cisco doesn't always handle the support for every Cisco installation. There are 3rd parties who support other company's infrastructure. If their network is already Cisco, and you're looking to go VoIP - CCM is the logical step. Especially if your infrastructure support teams already have Cisco support.
There is also the fact that Cisco is an established product with established performance and support record. Granted you have to pay for it... but you're not betting on a distributed support team of people who don't have a building, arn't traded on the stock market, and may just disappear next week.
I know it's a lame sense of insecurity - look at apache, and all the other really great OSS in use by companies today. Give Asterik some time and it'll be accepted as ready for prime-time software.
YoTank introduces a new line of military-grade digital audio player cases that can withstand "a RPG or mortar shell explosion 85 percent of the time."
I honest doubt they've even tested these... but hey, who's going to argue with them when they survive a mortar shell and their iPod doesn't?
The company I work for contracted with our offsite media vault vendor. They incinerated a few thousand backup tapes we didn't need anymore. Bonded and insured... and they let a rep from our company witness it.
Perhapse you didn't rtfa and see the pretty screenshots.
/.'er - carry on.
You must be an experienced
Surveys have been done that show more people get more pissed off about being transferred than they do for having to sit through a menu before they speak to someone. Automated information available on many can save the customers time, which is another reason they are so popular.
Then why is it everytime I go through AT&T's IVR system, I follow the menu and input my state and the type of line I'm calling on. What's the first question the phone jockey asks me... every single time? "What state? What kind of line?"
I have to say though... after the SBC and AT&T merger - AT&T call centers are 4 billion times better, maybe even 5 billion... compared to the unionized folks SBC had. I'm a pleasent fellow and don't expect miracles - I worked helpdesk for 3 years, I know how the general public trashes call center folks - so I tend to be very professional and polite to people I call for help. SBC's folks never failed to treat me like garbage... even when I requested a manager for people transfered three times and got put on hold for 30 minutes only to be answered by "Are you still there? Hold please"
Management says - they're union, nothing we can do. If they closed those down - it would have been the best thing AT&T could have done for me.
I would agree that cable doesn't have anything worth watching. even basic has about 40-60% fluff... golf channel? Two shop at homes, about six holy rollers that I've blocked using my remote...
a la cart is the way to go, I would be happy with a couple of local network stations, some news channels, and about 5 others.
I find myself watching more entertaining stuff on the net and pbs - which I can get HD over the air for free. Now that DSL speeds are >1MB/1MB for $25/month - I'm dropping cable. I seriously don't need 8mb/256k from asshats like charter.
I'd like to think of the 700w as a good first try. Now, include better bluetooth support, more software patches, better memory management, faster processor, higher resolution screen, wifi, and (yeah I know I'm dreaming) longer battery life - and you'll have yourself a good v2.
I'm satisfied with my 700w. Given that my company paid for all of but a few bucks of the phone. My other option was a generic WinMob5 phone that many people I work with hate to the point they're trading them in on standard phones.
I'm optimistic about Palm's next try... I sure would like a PalmOS based device, but I guess I can dream.
Which is exactly why the newest conference room that was built in our building doesn't rely on the building's rather strong and well configured wireless network (which is 802.11g, and open to a DMZ network). With ethernet, power, and mics built into the desktop... we (the people execs call when stuff breaks during a meeting) won't have to bother with explaining why the one laptop with the MIMO card is farking up the room.
When there would be more that four or five laptops in the room - all would fight over connections and drop at random times - especially when you have subpar or nonstandard hardware (like those $#&$'ing MIMO or 110Mb cards... ).
Plug in, be happy. Now we just have to keep 3' ethernet cables handy...
Your computer
connects to
Your 6MB Cable
connects to
Cable Company
connects to
A slow or oversold internet connection
Here is a basic "How to" for calling your ISP... it sucks, and its a tad humiliating for most alpha-geeks... but sometimes we have to play by their rules to get our pr0n and warze faster.
1. Connect one PC to your cable/dsl modem (nothing else...)
2. Reboot your PC and your modem
3. Retest your speeds using a major speed test site
4. Call your ISP and explain your issue
5. Listen and follow their instructions (even if its a painful script... do it)
6. Respond with kindness and friendly responses (remember, they hold the key to escalating your issue or closing it without resolution)
Hopefully your ISP will recognize their is an issue and resolve it. Otherwise - tell them to go pound sand and move on to the next.
Somehow, I don't think enough spammers got in trouble.
Yeah, lets meet them at the bike racks at 3... we'll show 'em.
So if you make some good games - people buy them. Lots of people buy them and sales go up?
Hrm.. interesting. Why hasn't anyone thought of that before?
I have seen LOTS of decent-sized customers who are still paying for the milion-dollar loans they took out to pay for their room-sized 2 TB robot-driven tape archive system.
They made the mistake of not planning ahead. Building a scalable backup system that uses a combination of virtual tapes on a SAN and an actual ultra-high density tape library that can be upgraded to newer tape standards as the technology evolves and your data requirements increase, does take a bit of planning.
Ploppping down a few million for an archive system without considering the future and evolution of their business or technology... well, that's just silly.