A problem I've found at my place of work is that MS' "easy-to-use" software lulls users into thinking that they can write a database, and spawns shitty 'contractors' who think that upsizing an access database to SQL Server is an accomplishment. THESE systems WILL crash. Frequently. I know because I spend a lot of my time at the moment re-writing them properly.
On the other hand, fewer office workers say "I know! I'll build a web-based application with MySQL to do XYZ". Applications built for linux (or even for MySQL/Apache running on Windows) are typically built by people who have more idea what they're doing. A lot of the office 'applications' I've seen were built by users or the geeky work-experience boy.
I almost exploded the other day when a manager from downstairs came up to me and said "Oh, databases are easy in Access aren't they? They're just Excel tables!", having built a wonderful little database running his corner of the business with ONE table and NO primary key.
Speaking as one of those amateurs put in an admin position, I'm glad to say that we haven't been hit by any worms yet. However, you're probably still right...
Re:How wide spread is .Net?
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The.Net framework is part of MS' regular patch releases; having checked my dad's XP Home box, the 1.1 framework is installed on it.
Or if you distribute the app on a CD you could simply include the framework on that, and check if it needs to be installed?
You could argue that the original 13 colonies became colonisers with the expansion westwards across Native American territory.
You make a good point though - if you go far back enough, England was a Roman colony, and later the Vikings, Danes and Saxons colonised it, forcing the previous tenants into Wales.
Actually, and somewhat ironically, if humanity first evolved in Africa, surely Africa is the first ever colonial power?
Congo was the personal empire of King Leopold II of Belgium, whose colonial excesses sickened Europe and led to the Belgian government seizing control of the colony from the monarch.
So even Belgium has a colonial past. But hey, so does America (war with Spain, the Philippines, anyone)?
You can remove it from the start menu with Add/Remove Windows Components, and if it's not run it won't ever bother you.
In a corporate environment I've found there's a Group Policy setting to 'Prevent Windows Messenger from being run', which prevents WM from running even if users can execute the.exe (but that's only useful if you're on an Active Directory domain; although there may be a registry setting that does the same thing if you dig around).
MSN Messenger is a different piece of software that, confusingly, installs alongside Windows Messenger (install MSN Messenger then un-install Windows Messenger, otherwise you get two very similar icons for the program). MSN Messenger can be un-installed like any other piece of software.
Confusing, yes, especially as MS don't deign to use their own Windows Messenger for their very own instant messaging server...
You can make PST files bigger than 2Gb with Outlook 2003. However, if you're connected to an Exchange Server back-end then you're no longer using PST files except maybe as a personal archive.
(That said, they're still a pain...)
Compare the dictatorships of Nazi Germany and the Stalinist CCCP with the democracies of Britain and the US during WWII. Nazi government was a mess, where each department and official vied for favour from Hitler and spent most of their time back-stabbing their rivals (a bit like my office, actually...;) ); Stalin's approach of simply shooting everyone who failed or disagreed was monstrously inefficient - also, witness the debacle of agricultural policy after the communist revolution.
Nazi Germany's reputation for efficiency was largely thanks to the pre-Nazi bureaucracy and governmental apparatus, which had been passed down from a form of parliamentary democracy.
A democracy is flexible, in that it does not rely on one individual, and is designed to be (in geek terms) fault-tolerant - if one Domain Controller goes down, the backup-DC (ie the Deputy PM / Vice President) takes charge as per standard procedures. Collaboration is possible given a greater degree of trust and openness in government, and projects can move ahead much more smoothly.
In Britain, Churchill assumed near-dictatorial powers in order to run the war (this is, btw, what inspired 1984), but this smooth transition was made possible by the democractic systems and professional civil service that were in place (and Churchill was un-ceremoniously un-elected immediately after the war).
A dictatorship is an extremely centralised model of control - a bit like a paranoid SysAdmin sitting on top of a creaking NT4 Domain Controller, refusing to give up admin rights to anyone, or document anything he ever does. When he goes, the system collapses.
I can sort of see that; in fact when painting I have one hand using the tablet and the other on the keyboard ([ and ] to control brush size, 1-0 for opacity, space to move the canvas, etc).
The one advantage of the mouse is the ability to jump to a point on the screen without going through the intervening space.
This sounds almost exactly like my job. As well as running the network and websites, I help support our in-house database systems (many of which are old and creaky, but are gradually being re-written with my help and that of consultants).
Actually I like sitting in a coffee shop, so long as it's during the week (in a quiet period), and I've got nothing in particular to do. I seem to be far more creative there, maybe due to lack of home distractions.
I've actually had to do this twice - once when a Sys Admin changed departments (bizarrely enough to become an asbestos surveyor), and again when we dropped a contractor. In both cases we changed all passwords before informing them. What makes it difficult is getting all the passwords out of them first - asking them to write down all their passwords and document all their systems tends to arouse suspicion...
Then again, the ethics of management at my place are apallingly Stalinesque.
Had exactly the same - a colleague copied FF onto his desktop (a redirected folder, actually located on a server share), and then whenever he clicked or right-clicked on it, the PC locked completely.
Weird.
Assuming, of course, that there was a single Homer. My Classics professor was always of the opinion that the Illiad was a collection of orally-transmitted folk stories; possibly Homer, if he existed, was the first one to collate them into a whole.
This contrasts with Vergil, who as far as we know was real, and actually wrote the Aenead (partly because he wanted to create a Roman version of the Illiad - although the Aenead is kinda Illiad II).
Unfortunately some of us work in small businesses, where the server room doubles as a store room for asbestos waste (don't ask) and stationary - we had to fight tooth and claw to get even that little desk, and our last great victory was a £300 UPS. We don't have 40 hours to spend on this because we are expected to do other work as well.
Rule The First: PCs will always slow down / hang / crash / just plain not respond when ($time == ($home_time - 10minutes) && !empty($workload) ).
At least, that's what always seems to happen to me...
Are they on Small Business Server by any chance? Because we've been having regular errors relating to NT backup for a while now, and while it appears to work, every now and then it'll miss a backup, and the GUI is often slow and unresponsive.
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A problem I've found at my place of work is that MS' "easy-to-use" software lulls users into thinking that they can write a database, and spawns shitty 'contractors' who think that upsizing an access database to SQL Server is an accomplishment. THESE systems WILL crash. Frequently. I know because I spend a lot of my time at the moment re-writing them properly.
On the other hand, fewer office workers say "I know! I'll build a web-based application with MySQL to do XYZ". Applications built for linux (or even for MySQL/Apache running on Windows) are typically built by people who have more idea what they're doing. A lot of the office 'applications' I've seen were built by users or the geeky work-experience boy.
I almost exploded the other day when a manager from downstairs came up to me and said "Oh, databases are easy in Access aren't they? They're just Excel tables!", having built a wonderful little database running his corner of the business with ONE table and NO primary key.
Like Dreamweaver MX, you mean? That implements an option for MDI or separate windows.
Speaking as one of those amateurs put in an admin position, I'm glad to say that we haven't been hit by any worms yet. However, you're probably still right...
The .Net framework is part of MS' regular patch releases; having checked my dad's XP Home box, the 1.1 framework is installed on it.
Or if you distribute the app on a CD you could simply include the framework on that, and check if it needs to be installed?
You could argue that the original 13 colonies became colonisers with the expansion westwards across Native American territory.
You make a good point though - if you go far back enough, England was a Roman colony, and later the Vikings, Danes and Saxons colonised it, forcing the previous tenants into Wales.
Actually, and somewhat ironically, if humanity first evolved in Africa, surely Africa is the first ever colonial power?
Congo was the personal empire of King Leopold II of Belgium, whose colonial excesses sickened Europe and led to the Belgian government seizing control of the colony from the monarch.
So even Belgium has a colonial past. But hey, so does America (war with Spain, the Philippines, anyone)?
You can remove it from the start menu with Add/Remove Windows Components, and if it's not run it won't ever bother you. In a corporate environment I've found there's a Group Policy setting to 'Prevent Windows Messenger from being run', which prevents WM from running even if users can execute the .exe (but that's only useful if you're on an Active Directory domain; although there may be a registry setting that does the same thing if you dig around).
MSN Messenger is a different piece of software that, confusingly, installs alongside Windows Messenger (install MSN Messenger then un-install Windows Messenger, otherwise you get two very similar icons for the program). MSN Messenger can be un-installed like any other piece of software.
Confusing, yes, especially as MS don't deign to use their own Windows Messenger for their very own instant messaging server...
Nah, my girlfriend loves pr0n as much as I do :p
You can make PST files bigger than 2Gb with Outlook 2003. However, if you're connected to an Exchange Server back-end then you're no longer using PST files except maybe as a personal archive. (That said, they're still a pain...)
Compare the dictatorships of Nazi Germany and the Stalinist CCCP with the democracies of Britain and the US during WWII. Nazi government was a mess, where each department and official vied for favour from Hitler and spent most of their time back-stabbing their rivals (a bit like my office, actually... ;) ); Stalin's approach of simply shooting everyone who failed or disagreed was monstrously inefficient - also, witness the debacle of agricultural policy after the communist revolution.
Nazi Germany's reputation for efficiency was largely thanks to the pre-Nazi bureaucracy and governmental apparatus, which had been passed down from a form of parliamentary democracy.
A democracy is flexible, in that it does not rely on one individual, and is designed to be (in geek terms) fault-tolerant - if one Domain Controller goes down, the backup-DC (ie the Deputy PM / Vice President) takes charge as per standard procedures. Collaboration is possible given a greater degree of trust and openness in government, and projects can move ahead much more smoothly.
In Britain, Churchill assumed near-dictatorial powers in order to run the war (this is, btw, what inspired 1984), but this smooth transition was made possible by the democractic systems and professional civil service that were in place (and Churchill was un-ceremoniously un-elected immediately after the war).
A dictatorship is an extremely centralised model of control - a bit like a paranoid SysAdmin sitting on top of a creaking NT4 Domain Controller, refusing to give up admin rights to anyone, or document anything he ever does. When he goes, the system collapses.
I can sort of see that; in fact when painting I have one hand using the tablet and the other on the keyboard ([ and ] to control brush size, 1-0 for opacity, space to move the canvas, etc). The one advantage of the mouse is the ability to jump to a point on the screen without going through the intervening space.
Err... YOU try painting with a keyboard.
You mean like %Program Files%?
Tab completion - haha, I feel incredibly stupid, I never even noticed that it had been added to XP (I just assumed it wasn't since 2k didn't have it)!
This sounds almost exactly like my job. As well as running the network and websites, I help support our in-house database systems (many of which are old and creaky, but are gradually being re-written with my help and that of consultants).
Actually I like sitting in a coffee shop, so long as it's during the week (in a quiet period), and I've got nothing in particular to do. I seem to be far more creative there, maybe due to lack of home distractions.
I've actually had to do this twice - once when a Sys Admin changed departments (bizarrely enough to become an asbestos surveyor), and again when we dropped a contractor. In both cases we changed all passwords before informing them. What makes it difficult is getting all the passwords out of them first - asking them to write down all their passwords and document all their systems tends to arouse suspicion... Then again, the ethics of management at my place are apallingly Stalinesque.
Had exactly the same - a colleague copied FF onto his desktop (a redirected folder, actually located on a server share), and then whenever he clicked or right-clicked on it, the PC locked completely. Weird.
Assuming, of course, that there was a single Homer. My Classics professor was always of the opinion that the Illiad was a collection of orally-transmitted folk stories; possibly Homer, if he existed, was the first one to collate them into a whole. This contrasts with Vergil, who as far as we know was real, and actually wrote the Aenead (partly because he wanted to create a Roman version of the Illiad - although the Aenead is kinda Illiad II).
VR porn brings up a lot of interesting questions. For instance: is it illegal to make and pimp out a VR model of a 15 year old?
Unfortunately some of us work in small businesses, where the server room doubles as a store room for asbestos waste (don't ask) and stationary - we had to fight tooth and claw to get even that little desk, and our last great victory was a £300 UPS. We don't have 40 hours to spend on this because we are expected to do other work as well.
Rule The First: PCs will always slow down / hang / crash / just plain not respond when ($time == ($home_time - 10minutes) && !empty($workload) ). At least, that's what always seems to happen to me...
Had exactly the same problem with with Firefox/Acrobat Viewer today. Log off/on cleared it.
That's exactly the situation we've got on SBS, especially with AD and Exchange backups. Hopefully the forthcoming SBS SP1 will fix it.
Are they on Small Business Server by any chance? Because we've been having regular errors relating to NT backup for a while now, and while it appears to work, every now and then it'll miss a backup, and the GUI is often slow and unresponsive.