I wonder if there is a relationship between loss of ice cap ice and drought? What I mean is, if the snow isn't replenishing an ice cap does that mean it's perceived to be melting faster? I'd be curious to know what the snow falls in Antarctica were while we were having that big drought in Australia (it didn't rain at my place for nearly two years, and I live 5 min walk from the ocean!!!). Now it's raining again (you don't really know how much you can miss the sound of rain until you haven't heard it for a while) and Antarctica seems to be getting more snow, so is there a connection?
I swim on the eastern side of Australia (north of Sydney) and for the last few years the ocean temperature has been quite cold in comparison to what (I perceive) is normal during summer, and I'm not he only person to notice. When summer is mild and the ocean is cold that's understandable, but this summer it was hot and the ocean was *still* cold. I can easily swim out 100 metres and it's about 3-5 metres deep. you expect the top metre or so to be warm and as you dive down it gets chilly, this summer all chilly. I know it's hardly scientific but it seems like *something* is going on. Maybe more ice was replaced than melted(?)
Surely other people who code in javascript have had the same issues as I do. Firebug is great but it doesn't help when you are trying to make sure your javascript works under IE. And no I don't want to buy all the proprietary Microsoft tools to debug javascript for IE and yes I do know about the javascript debug option under IE.
People are quite prepared to believe that there will be problems with any computer they might use.
Quite a reasonable assertion. It is an innovative argument and it actually hadn't occurred to me to approach people this way.
My wife is perfectly happy with her Linux install,
Is it Ubuntu also?
I tell people that they should absolutely get a hardware firewall to protect their home computers;
Agreed.
If you set up an Ubuntu system, make sure to install with two partitions, a "/" partition and a "/home".
You have described my standard set-up. My dad has been using Linux since FC2, I set his machine up this way for precisely that reason. This upgrade around I'll be installing Ubuntu as I feel it is more in line with what will keep him happy.
and strict mode will make things easier to debug."
aHahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Why it's the best thing about Javascript, writing the same code*browers different ways, and with chrome and safari Javascripting is just gonna get more and more fun. More Fun, MORE F.U.N.
The evil javascript hurts me. Evil I tells you!!!!
I suspect that the FBI will have written a linux-compatible CIPAV after the quoted incident.
Recently I read 'The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation' which noted that 9/11 investigators were shocked how behind the FBI was in terms of technological capabilities when compared to the NSA or the CIA. I was surprised to read that in many FBI offices there was only a single computer per floor!!!. However the next paragraph...
The agent phoned the FBI's Special Technologies Operations Unit for "urgent" help, expressing "the valid concern that the Unsub hackers would be 'spooked.'" But two days later the hacker, or a different one, visited the site again and "the system was able to deliver a CIPAV and the CIPAV returned data."
Perhaps the *ahem* cracker discovered the FBI's attempts to infect his machine and potentially, to put them at ease after discovering the FBI's attempt, re-visited with a machine they were capable of infecting. What data did it deliver? www.recipies.com? I know if I visited a website that failed to infect my machine I might be so inclined to gather data on what was trying to do it, especially if I was conducting nefarious activities. Seems a bit clumsy for law enforcement, but hey you're right, they probably learned, so lets move on.
Reason I bring it up is that internally the 9/11 commission came very close to recommending the FBI be disbanded but for serious smoozing from the FBI director Robert Mueller who was 'determined to save the FBI'. Instead the recommendations were for an American domestic intelligence service, like the British MI5, be set up and what resulted was The Department of Homeland Security.
Now I'm not criticising the FBI here, but, for an organisation that treated it's counter-terrorism operatives like personal assistants and clearly didn't take counter-terrorism seriously before 9/11 because it wouldn't result in the type of arrests that would get an agent promoted - this looks a lot like counter-terrorism. Also telling for what it implies...
The records also indicate that the FBI obtained court orders from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which covers foreign espionage and terrorism investigations, but the details are redacted.
I was being sarcastic with the 'I wonder if they have a Linux version' remark I was just surprised that the FBI now happens to be using spyware, like technology now means something to the FBI, so I did a quick search and sure enough Director Mueller spells it out for us with this paragraph...
Today, our mission has changed dramatically and our budget reflects this change. For FY 2005 the FBI is requesting a total of $5.1 billion, an increase of about $525 million over the FY 2004 enacted level. This includes net increases totaling $324.6 million and 948 new positions, 307 of which are agents. Approximately 44 percent of the funding is allocated to counterterrorism and counterintelligence-or about $2.2 billion and 12,466 positions. Compared to FY 2001, this represents more than double the amount of funding and equates to an 80 percent increase in the number of people devoted to the counterterrorism and counterintelligence missions.
Seems to me the Director Mueller (to his credit) has instigated a seismic shift in the way the FBI operates internally. But "foreign espionage and terrorism investigations" isn't that the DOHS responsibility? "terrorism investigations" that doesn't imply the FBI's priority is necessarily arrests. So I'm wondering perhaps we are looking at a turf war between the DOHS and the FBI? I bet those missing 632 pages are an interesting read, especially since the article focuses on 'law enforcement' activities of the FBI spyware.
I doubt there is just one type of government spyware out there, if i
I use pseudonyms as a barrier between me and Identity Theft, because facebook, myspace all look like vectors for Identity theft to me. Using a fake identity can't be a bad thing when people are inclined to steal it.
Unfortunately, our institutions are yet to realise that protecting privacy by educating people about using encryption is a good first step to reducing fraud related behaviour. Until that happens, the bad guys have the advantage.
Simply put, the authorities have related encryption to illicit activities instead of a set of basic tools that people can use to protect themselves on line. In terms of protecting ourselves people are often encouraged into the worst sets of behaviour, so we haven't even done the basics now, let alone 10-15 years time. I predict more scams in the future.
No problem right? They were taking weekly backups and taking them off site. Well... Turns out that in the process of moving the backups to the secretary's computer, he was also preventing that data from being backed up. Essentially, the backups were only backing up 1/2 the data.
So in other words the "I.T Guy" didn't test the restore procedures which validate the backups were actually *working* as they should have been. Lucky your dad he was smart enough to have his own redundancy, but luck isn't good enough when it comes to backups, planning and testing! testing! testing! The "I.T guy" missed billable time and failed his client because he wasn't thorough. same old story, unfortunately.
And it would be smart to store the key/passphrase on paper in a safe, in case you get hit by a bus and your partner/assistant urgently needs a client's file. IANAL.
The banks (I worked in) did it by storing half of a key in two safes, two different managers have access to their particular safe. Each is asked to enter their half of the key when it's required (get's them involved in the data's ownership too). No one actually knows the entire key.
It's a function of the role to have appropriate access. YMMV
Does this work for you? I've never tried this and I think I like the approach, how do people react? Do they stay with the Linux install?
I am constantly asked by people to help them with their computers but I just don't want to fix windows problems anymore, even re-installing presents hours of time if the windows box is to be built and patched properly. Even then there is no guarantee that the user won't end up in the same situation they were in before.
That's how to do it? Nowhere did I find something about restricted-extras.
I so feel your pain. I stopped using Windows about 10 years ago, I just couldn't bare it anymore. I observed many of the same issues as you have mentioned over the years. Graphics cards, this or that hardware dvd's, flash on 64 bit, wine for games, yes problems I eventually solved, but not without effort on my part. I have installed Linux for friends, Fedora which I use was a disaster for them - Ubuntu much better. Personally I am trying to identify, understand and resolve issues such as these. I think the key word is 'Usability', and in that respect Ubuntu does represent the apex of usability for the small cross section of people I have introduced to Linux. In my experience I'm happy to say improvement's have been identifiable once resolved. Sure, not all the way but incrementally better and if it wasn't noticeable, I would have gone back to windows too. Release early, release often is a good thing.
You and I know Linux is better, but unless we express that to a new user effectively they won't care.
I know this doesn't help you now, but like your business, for the users at this stage of Linux's lifecycle understanding their requirements is what I have found drives satisfaction. It's not easy to get right, and requires attention to detail. I don't care about what *I* miss out on - but I a pay lot of attention to what you and others say about their experiences because I want to learn about what works and what I have to pay attention to.
You are right, users don't care, and condescending motherhood statements just don't cut it. Even expressing to users that linux is better doesn't help. A users reaction when they use a Lunix distribution should be 'wow, this is solid, oh yeah, I can see how I do x task' they must know it's better. You have nailed it with DVD's, but flash on 64bit and wine compatibility layer for windows programs are also big issues. The Linux community has it work cut out for it especially when the other guy is in a position to undermine those efforts (understandable that they are trying to maintain their market share) so all we can do is stick to our strengths and build on those. Acceptance will not be easy, so sharing the kind of experiences you have pointed out are vital to building that acceptance. Sharing them is perhaps the most powerful thing you can do because that is how, in time, they get fixed.
In business speak we can refer to it as 'overcoming objections', the open source community is still learning which one's are important.
An OS should allow people freedom.
You know our community rambles on about freedom all the time and it is an important point. But the point is missed on users who actually want *comfort*. That's why in some respect it's ok for Linux distributions to *copy* what Linux and OS-X does, because they are the basics that make people feel comfortable when they use a computer. Freedom is the *luxury* that most users cannot afford. The pressures of day to day life means 'I have to do this on the computer now and it has to work'. Most geeks have two or three or more computers - most people have one and it *has* to work as expected.
There are some catch 22 situations out there but I do think that, slowly, the ability to deliver those 'comfort' levels has become easier. Linux is not as comfortable as Windows or OS-X but because the software has it's *own* freedom, it's closing the gap.
Sorry if I sound belligerent (I don't mean to), but I'm in a business that is JUST like what Linux is going through.
The flipside of course is that whether or not Linux is taken up en-mass is completely irrelevant. Indeed the longer it stays in the background the longer early adopters will be able to glean the benefit that the populace cannot. Cheap second hand PC's, the microsoft gravy train are all a product of the
A workspace is a completely independent desktop from another workspace that has it's own windows open
Biggest reason I can't go back to Windows, workspaces are incredibly useful. I feel lobotomised when I use windows - like suddenly all the power of the machine is no longer available to me.
Whist I use linux as my main workstations, I don't think people value freedom (until it's gone - then they complain). What they want is comfort, because Windows tends to annoy you when you use it people want to be familiar with the familiar annoyances rather than the new ones. Thus I slowly refine my ways of introducing people to Linux.
Interesting in this climate where people are trading their freedom for security people don't get freedom or security. The saying works for computers as well, now there is an irony.
There's still a big USAF black budget, and it doubled during the Bush years. The question is whether much useful is coming out.
If the US was operating the SR-71 Blackbird, an aircraft that is using 25% of it's engine power, to *cruise* at mach 3 almost 40 years ago I would have little doubt that it's replacement is at least twice as fast. One thing is for certain I doubt we will know what the actual capabilities are for another couple of decades.
This replacement aircraft is allegedly the SR-91 Aurora. I recently watched a documentary by a reporter from a Jane's Defence Weekly who showed weather satellite image of a 'doughnut on a rope' contrails starting at Groom Lake, extending across the United States, over the Pacific Ocean and out of camera range of the the satellite. The conjecture is that the aircraft has been in service for many years and powered by Pulse Detonation Engines. Estimates from an examination of the photo suggests the aircraft was moving at roughly Mach 8.
The development budget was apparently concealed in the budget for the B-2, who knows if it's true but I'd say that the existence of the SR-91(?) Aurora(?) if far more likely than little grey men. Then again who really knows anything in super secret compartmentalised spy world, I'm just a geek who'd one day like to see the technology involved.
Here are some morelinks for those interested.
Microsoft can claim to have the 'Pub with No Beer', maybe they *would* have served Microsoft VB (Victoria Bitter) at a Microsoft Pub now like so many things it's Microsoft Vapour Beer, a teasing cool beer taste - without the actual beer.
I can imagine the ad
You can get it going on a patent attack, You can get it defending an anti-trust case, You can get it throwing a chair! About as satisfying as you will get dealing with Microsoft, Microsoft Vapour Beer! You can get it alienating your customers, you can get it alienating your partners, you can get it alienating your employees, matter o' fact, we're alienated now, Microsoft Vapour Beer!
It's irrelevant about the way democracy is attacked. If it is attacked anywhere in the world then it is undermined. As long as we have lobbying dollars interfering with the democratic process democracy everywhere is attacked.
When the establishment in first world democracies attack third world democracies to protect their own "interests" they also attack their own citizens democratic interests. Now our economic influence is waning we find our own democratic constructs under attack by our own legislators intent on comforting us and making us feel secure.
Democracy is never safe, or pretty. It was paid for in blood. The internet is just like another democratic nation that also needs our protection lest it be used as a tool to suppress us all.
Slashdot Mirror
I swim on the eastern side of Australia (north of Sydney) and for the last few years the ocean temperature has been quite cold in comparison to what (I perceive) is normal during summer, and I'm not he only person to notice. When summer is mild and the ocean is cold that's understandable, but this summer it was hot and the ocean was *still* cold. I can easily swim out 100 metres and it's about 3-5 metres deep. you expect the top metre or so to be warm and as you dive down it gets chilly, this summer all chilly. I know it's hardly scientific but it seems like *something* is going on. Maybe more ice was replaced than melted(?)
Surely other people who code in javascript have had the same issues as I do. Firebug is great but it doesn't help when you are trying to make sure your javascript works under IE. And no I don't want to buy all the proprietary Microsoft tools to debug javascript for IE and yes I do know about the javascript debug option under IE.
I'm not a Troll, Hrumph!!!
Quite a reasonable assertion. It is an innovative argument and it actually hadn't occurred to me to approach people this way.
Is it Ubuntu also?
Agreed.
You have described my standard set-up. My dad has been using Linux since FC2, I set his machine up this way for precisely that reason. This upgrade around I'll be installing Ubuntu as I feel it is more in line with what will keep him happy.
Thank you for your well considered thoughts.
Oh, it wasn't directed at you. I mean Wired, you'd think they would know their audience a bit better.
Indeed. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, in carefully monitored and regulated doses. -- Thanks for the link
aHahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Why it's the best thing about Javascript, writing the same code*browers different ways, and with chrome and safari Javascripting is just gonna get more and more fun. More Fun, MORE F.U.N.
The evil javascript hurts me. Evil I tells you!!!!
Do know evil.
You know what they say 'if you travel far enough you will meet yourself'
Recently I read 'The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation' which noted that 9/11 investigators were shocked how behind the FBI was in terms of technological capabilities when compared to the NSA or the CIA. I was surprised to read that in many FBI offices there was only a single computer per floor!!!. However the next paragraph...
Perhaps the *ahem* cracker discovered the FBI's attempts to infect his machine and potentially, to put them at ease after discovering the FBI's attempt, re-visited with a machine they were capable of infecting. What data did it deliver? www.recipies.com? I know if I visited a website that failed to infect my machine I might be so inclined to gather data on what was trying to do it, especially if I was conducting nefarious activities. Seems a bit clumsy for law enforcement, but hey you're right, they probably learned, so lets move on.
Reason I bring it up is that internally the 9/11 commission came very close to recommending the FBI be disbanded but for serious smoozing from the FBI director Robert Mueller who was 'determined to save the FBI'. Instead the recommendations were for an American domestic intelligence service, like the British MI5, be set up and what resulted was The Department of Homeland Security.
Now I'm not criticising the FBI here, but, for an organisation that treated it's counter-terrorism operatives like personal assistants and clearly didn't take counter-terrorism seriously before 9/11 because it wouldn't result in the type of arrests that would get an agent promoted - this looks a lot like counter-terrorism. Also telling for what it implies...
I was being sarcastic with the 'I wonder if they have a Linux version' remark I was just surprised that the FBI now happens to be using spyware, like technology now means something to the FBI, so I did a quick search and sure enough Director Mueller spells it out for us with this paragraph...
Seems to me the Director Mueller (to his credit) has instigated a seismic shift in the way the FBI operates internally. But "foreign espionage and terrorism investigations" isn't that the DOHS responsibility? "terrorism investigations" that doesn't imply the FBI's priority is necessarily arrests. So I'm wondering perhaps we are looking at a turf war between the DOHS and the FBI? I bet those missing 632 pages are an interesting read, especially since the article focuses on 'law enforcement' activities of the FBI spyware.
I doubt there is just one type of government spyware out there, if i
I wonder if they have a Linux version?
Damn!! you've revealed my true identity [shakes fist]!!!!
Dood!!!The banks (I worked in) did it by storing half of a key in two safes . The managers boss knows the combination.
I use pseudonyms as a barrier between me and Identity Theft, because facebook, myspace all look like vectors for Identity theft to me. Using a fake identity can't be a bad thing when people are inclined to steal it.
Unfortunately, our institutions are yet to realise that protecting privacy by educating people about using encryption is a good first step to reducing fraud related behaviour. Until that happens, the bad guys have the advantage.
Simply put, the authorities have related encryption to illicit activities instead of a set of basic tools that people can use to protect themselves on line. In terms of protecting ourselves people are often encouraged into the worst sets of behaviour, so we haven't even done the basics now, let alone 10-15 years time. I predict more scams in the future.
So in other words the "I.T Guy" didn't test the restore procedures which validate the backups were actually *working* as they should have been. Lucky your dad he was smart enough to have his own redundancy, but luck isn't good enough when it comes to backups, planning and testing! testing! testing! The "I.T guy" missed billable time and failed his client because he wasn't thorough. same old story, unfortunately.
The banks (I worked in) did it by storing half of a key in two safes, two different managers have access to their particular safe. Each is asked to enter their half of the key when it's required (get's them involved in the data's ownership too). No one actually knows the entire key.
It's a function of the role to have appropriate access. YMMV
Does this work for you? I've never tried this and I think I like the approach, how do people react? Do they stay with the Linux install?
I am constantly asked by people to help them with their computers but I just don't want to fix windows problems anymore, even re-installing presents hours of time if the windows box is to be built and patched properly. Even then there is no guarantee that the user won't end up in the same situation they were in before.
I so feel your pain. I stopped using Windows about 10 years ago, I just couldn't bare it anymore. I observed many of the same issues as you have mentioned over the years. Graphics cards, this or that hardware dvd's, flash on 64 bit, wine for games, yes problems I eventually solved, but not without effort on my part. I have installed Linux for friends, Fedora which I use was a disaster for them - Ubuntu much better. Personally I am trying to identify, understand and resolve issues such as these. I think the key word is 'Usability', and in that respect Ubuntu does represent the apex of usability for the small cross section of people I have introduced to Linux. In my experience I'm happy to say improvement's have been identifiable once resolved. Sure, not all the way but incrementally better and if it wasn't noticeable, I would have gone back to windows too. Release early, release often is a good thing.
I know this doesn't help you now, but like your business, for the users at this stage of Linux's lifecycle understanding their requirements is what I have found drives satisfaction. It's not easy to get right, and requires attention to detail. I don't care about what *I* miss out on - but I a pay lot of attention to what you and others say about their experiences because I want to learn about what works and what I have to pay attention to.
You are right, users don't care, and condescending motherhood statements just don't cut it. Even expressing to users that linux is better doesn't help. A users reaction when they use a Lunix distribution should be 'wow, this is solid, oh yeah, I can see how I do x task' they must know it's better. You have nailed it with DVD's, but flash on 64bit and wine compatibility layer for windows programs are also big issues. The Linux community has it work cut out for it especially when the other guy is in a position to undermine those efforts (understandable that they are trying to maintain their market share) so all we can do is stick to our strengths and build on those. Acceptance will not be easy, so sharing the kind of experiences you have pointed out are vital to building that acceptance. Sharing them is perhaps the most powerful thing you can do because that is how, in time, they get fixed.
In business speak we can refer to it as 'overcoming objections', the open source community is still learning which one's are important.
You know our community rambles on about freedom all the time and it is an important point. But the point is missed on users who actually want *comfort*. That's why in some respect it's ok for Linux distributions to *copy* what Linux and OS-X does, because they are the basics that make people feel comfortable when they use a computer. Freedom is the *luxury* that most users cannot afford. The pressures of day to day life means 'I have to do this on the computer now and it has to work'. Most geeks have two or three or more computers - most people have one and it *has* to work as expected.
There are some catch 22 situations out there but I do think that, slowly, the ability to deliver those 'comfort' levels has become easier. Linux is not as comfortable as Windows or OS-X but because the software has it's *own* freedom, it's closing the gap.
The flipside of course is that whether or not Linux is taken up en-mass is completely irrelevant. Indeed the longer it stays in the background the longer early adopters will be able to glean the benefit that the populace cannot. Cheap second hand PC's, the microsoft gravy train are all a product of the
I think the term is "Brand Recognition".
Excellent point. googleing 'install linux now' got me this link.
Biggest reason I can't go back to Windows, workspaces are incredibly useful. I feel lobotomised when I use windows - like suddenly all the power of the machine is no longer available to me.
Whist I use linux as my main workstations, I don't think people value freedom (until it's gone - then they complain). What they want is comfort, because Windows tends to annoy you when you use it people want to be familiar with the familiar annoyances rather than the new ones. Thus I slowly refine my ways of introducing people to Linux.
Interesting in this climate where people are trading their freedom for security people don't get freedom or security. The saying works for computers as well, now there is an irony.
If the US was operating the SR-71 Blackbird, an aircraft that is using 25% of it's engine power, to *cruise* at mach 3 almost 40 years ago I would have little doubt that it's replacement is at least twice as fast. One thing is for certain I doubt we will know what the actual capabilities are for another couple of decades.
This replacement aircraft is allegedly the SR-91 Aurora. I recently watched a documentary by a reporter from a Jane's Defence Weekly who showed weather satellite image of a 'doughnut on a rope' contrails starting at Groom Lake, extending across the United States, over the Pacific Ocean and out of camera range of the the satellite. The conjecture is that the aircraft has been in service for many years and powered by Pulse Detonation Engines. Estimates from an examination of the photo suggests the aircraft was moving at roughly Mach 8.
The development budget was apparently concealed in the budget for the B-2, who knows if it's true but I'd say that the existence of the SR-91(?) Aurora(?) if far more likely than little grey men. Then again who really knows anything in super secret compartmentalised spy world, I'm just a geek who'd one day like to see the technology involved. Here are some more links for those interested.
UFO's are a useful intelligence construct to hide the existence of spy planes.
Why are you laughing?
Microsoft can claim to have the 'Pub with No Beer', maybe they *would* have served Microsoft VB (Victoria Bitter) at a Microsoft Pub now like so many things it's Microsoft Vapour Beer, a teasing cool beer taste - without the actual beer.
I can imagine the ad
You can get it going on a patent attack, You can get it defending an anti-trust case, You can get it throwing a chair! About as satisfying as you will get dealing with Microsoft, Microsoft Vapour Beer! You can get it alienating your customers, you can get it alienating your partners, you can get it alienating your employees, matter o' fact, we're alienated now, Microsoft Vapour Beer!
Building a geologically stable containment facility would be a responsible thing to implement before considering new Nuclear power plants.
Whenever you get set-up well in a game you save. Let's just hope these guys used that good practise when it came to their prize money
When the establishment in first world democracies attack third world democracies to protect their own "interests" they also attack their own citizens democratic interests. Now our economic influence is waning we find our own democratic constructs under attack by our own legislators intent on comforting us and making us feel secure.
Democracy is never safe, or pretty. It was paid for in blood. The internet is just like another democratic nation that also needs our protection lest it be used as a tool to suppress us all.