As far as I know, most every switch vendor sells gigabit copper ports, and the spec runs over Cat 5/Cat 5e wire as a rule, no Cat6 required.
My personal experience with fiber has been that it's lovely stuff when you need to avoid EM interference or go farther than 300 meters, but dust on the connections can be a big problem. The idea of fiber to the desktop with users constantly plugging in and removing SC patch cords gives me fits of anxiety.
Although now that I read the article a bit more closely, it doesn't seem at all clear that the fiber is going to each and every desktop as lowlypeon seems to imply. My guess is these 16000 computers will actually get gigabit copper NICs and the backbone will be fiber.
I'm not all that excited about biodiesel because of the methanol needed to produce it. But I'm interested in a system that burns straight vegetable oil [greasel.com].
Thanks MB, I actually wasn't aware of the distinction between Biodiesel (mixed or 100% vegetable oil) and vehicles running off of waste grease. The actual implementations I've seen have run waste oil but the owners called them biodiesel.
Biodiesel is one alternative energy means that I think has real potential. Apparently there's all sorts of new grants available for folks wanting to get involved.
Just don't try to start that french fry grease up on a cold morning.
According to boxofficmojo.com, Spider-Man spent $50 million on marketing to Attack of the Clones' $25 million. Doesn't sound like Spider-Man was lacking in a hype budget. Looks like the production budget for Spider-Man was higher than AotC by $15 million as well.
I'm inclined to agree. Out of these last few episodes, there hasn't been nearly so much exposition on the "mythology" as I would have liked or expected.
Verizon launches what it calls a 3G network
Daniel Terdiman - www.the451.com
Verizon Wireless says it has begun rolling out its third-generation wireless
network and that about 20% of its US subscribers will be covered. But the
company expects that most subscribers who upgrade to the network will use it
to get a 40-60Kbps connection for their laptops or PDAs, a scenario that
falls far short of the wireless industry's hype about what 3G is supposed to
deliver.
For months, a public relations battle has been raging among several of the
major US wireless carriers over who would be the first to upgrade to 3G.
Verizon, Sprint PCS, Cingular and AT&T Wireless have all said publicly that
they would be - or are - the first, and that their competitors are lagging
far behind.
But as the carriers argue over who is first, and whether cdma2000 is
superior to WCDMA or GPRS, they have begun to shy away from promising
super-fast networks capable of running the complex, multimedia applications
that will bring them billions of dollars in revenues. It used to be that
handset manufacturers blamed the carriers for not having the networks to
match the technological progression of the new handsets. Now, instead of
promising transmission speeds in excess of 2Mb, the carriers are trying to
get customers excited with talk of speeds of 144Kbps. Even more troubling,
they are beginning to point the finger at the handset makers when explaining
why the 3G multimedia killer app is still so far from reality.
Verizon's version of 3G - the Verizon Express Network - is a cdma2000 1XRTT
network. The upgrade will, at least initially, cover about 20% of the US,
with concentrations in the Northeast US, as well as in and around Silicon
Valley and Salt Lake City, Utah (site of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games). The
company says it should be able to cover about 50% of subscribers by the end
of 2002. Verizon is saying its network will top off at 144Kbps.
In the early stages, Verizon expects very few of its subscribers to upgrade.
The advantage of a 1XRTT network, explains company spokesperson Jeffrey
Nelson, is that it is forward- and backward-compatible and will allow
existing Verizon subscribers to continue using their current handsets. But
without upgrading to a 3G phone - and Verizon is pushing a Kyocera model as
its phone of choice - users would not be able to take advantage of the
higher speeds.
Further, most of the subscribers who upgrade will do so in order to use
their handsets as modems for their laptops or PDAs. As such, Verizon is also
pitching a Sierra Wireless card to offer this functionality. Users paying at
least $35 for a monthly Verizon wireless plan would have to pay $300 for the
card, $80 for the Kyocera phone and then $30 a month extra in service
charges just to able to use the 3G network. And even then, Verizon promises
transmission speeds of only 40-60Kbps, equivalent to what former Ricochet
wireless modem customers had before Ricochet's parent, Metricom, died last
year. Says Nelson of customers' expectations for complex 3G multimedia
applications: "This is a reality check right from the get-go..All that ooh
ahh stuff belongs in convention halls. We're after customers now with
realistic expectations from the service."
Certainly, in the US there is much disagreement about what 3G really is and
who is providing it. Last year, Sprint PCS said it would be the first to
unveil 3G in the US. Then AT&T Wireless said its GPRS networks had been
first. Earlier this month, Sprint PCS once again announced that it will be
the first when it rolls out its network this summer. Now, Verizon claims it
is first. Cingular Wireless, of course, says Verizon is exaggerating, and
claims its own 2.5G service is akin to Verizon's 3G: "Today's announcement
by Verizon essentially provides the same service that Cingular has been
providing customers in a number of markets since August of last year," says
Cingular spokesperson Monica Mears. "Cingular currently offers this 2.5G
service to consumers in [six states]."
It's all still hype. When the wireless industry began to talk in colorful
terms about the incredible applications that would soon be available on 3G
handsets, it was attempting to justify the billions and billions of dollars
its member carriers had invested in network upgrades. Clearly, no US carrier
has gotten anywhere near what has been promised. Although a 50Kbps wireless
connection for a laptop is a nice offering for a former Ricochet customer,
it is hard to see how anyone else is going to be impressed.
I would expect they'll use some sort of user or MAC-based authentication, with a VPN client if they're smart.
Starbucks' MobileStar network didn't take hold for well enough for me to see any 2600-style articles about the service, but I'm assuming everything was fed through a proxy server, which would likely mean no encryption.
Using an encrypted VPN wouldn't be so hard for each of these clients, but you run into the problems of clueless users and serious computational muscle needed at the aggregation point for all these VPNs.
RSA security has released a scheme for introducing floating keys to WEP's encryption, something which would strengthen the security quite a bit. They're saying it can be implemented through firmware upgrades in the access points and driver upgrades for most cards.
If this takes hold in a big way, I'm having a hard time imagining people adopting 802.11a outside of the enterprise space.
802.11b seems suffficient for most applications which might have a net pipe upstream rather than direct local connections to servers.
I expect we won't see people using 802.11a equipment to take advantage of the promised 54Mbits (more like 10 to 25 in practive and at a shorter range than 802.11b) until the 802.11g spec gets finalized. 802.11g will create a compatibility layer between 802.11a and 802.11b, which occupy seperate spectrum space.
I'm remembering some laserdisc game that I used to play where you piloted an F14 and took out planes/tanks as you flew along.
It was incredibly expensive and a sitdown machine. I was absolutely addicted.
Was it... "Lock-On" or something like that? Too bad it's not in the list. It must be a different format than Dragon's Lair/Space Ace since there was more real-time control of the jet rather than just actions taken at certain story tree points.
Because his boss will then know that he is considering leaving the company, which may put his job in jeopardy, especially these days.
Certainly framing it in terms of an ultimatum is unwise. Perhaps the best approach is talking as though the relocation were contingent upon telecommuning rather than having further employment being contingent upon telecommuting.
And hey, if you're job's shaky enough that you can't discuss options with your boss, you should be circulating resumes anyhow.
"I could look for a new job closer to where I want to move but I do like the work that I am doing and I like the direction that the company is going."
I think that pretty much sums up what you should be saying to your boss.
You can throw in some rhetoric about how it's cheaper for the company in the long run since you won't be taking up space, but I think sharing your relocation plans with your boss is the best way to go about it.
Simple, honest. Why make it complex?
-carl
Contradiction in terms?
on
eBay Beats DMCA
·
· Score: 2, Flamebait
In talking to some lawyer friends
Isn't this an oxymoron?
(My dad's a lawyer, and he taught me to love a good lawyer joke. YMMV.)
Slashdot Mirror
As far as I know, most every switch vendor sells gigabit copper ports, and the spec runs over Cat 5/Cat 5e wire as a rule, no Cat6 required.
My personal experience with fiber has been that it's lovely stuff when you need to avoid EM interference or go farther than 300 meters, but dust on the connections can be a big problem. The idea of fiber to the desktop with users constantly plugging in and removing SC patch cords gives me fits of anxiety.
Although now that I read the article a bit more closely, it doesn't seem at all clear that the fiber is going to each and every desktop as lowlypeon seems to imply. My guess is these 16000 computers will actually get gigabit copper NICs and the backbone will be fiber.
I'm not all that excited about biodiesel because of the methanol needed to produce it. But I'm interested in a system that burns straight vegetable oil [greasel.com].
Thanks MB, I actually wasn't aware of the distinction between Biodiesel (mixed or 100% vegetable oil) and vehicles running off of waste grease. The actual implementations I've seen have run waste oil but the owners called them biodiesel.
Biodiesel is one alternative energy means that I think has real potential. Apparently there's all sorts of new grants available for folks wanting to get involved.
Just don't try to start that french fry grease up on a cold morning.
Gah. that's boxofficemojo.com.
here and here
According to boxofficmojo.com, Spider-Man spent $50 million on marketing to Attack of the Clones' $25 million. Doesn't sound like Spider-Man was lacking in a hype budget. Looks like the production budget for Spider-Man was higher than AotC by $15 million as well.
Didn't Grant Morrison already use that date to better effect in his _The Invisibles_ comic?
Although, come to think of it, his narrative fell apart at crunch time as well.
This article on Salon talks about how bad a job Chris Carter's done in wrapping up loose ends.
I'm inclined to agree. Out of these last few episodes, there hasn't been nearly so much exposition on the "mythology" as I would have liked or expected.
-carl
PetsWarehouse.com wants to Kill the President.
Very nice "lickable" image components up there, guys.
At least they made it to Solaris!
I had all kinds of trouble googling for info on a "T-bird tester" until I figured out it was actually a T-Berd...
From PayPalWarning.com...
PayPal, Inc.
11128 John Galt Blvd
Omaha, NE 68137
Subdivision planners reading Ayn Rand, apparently...
-carl
Verizon launches what it calls a 3G network
Daniel Terdiman - www.the451.com
Verizon Wireless says it has begun rolling out its third-generation wireless
network and that about 20% of its US subscribers will be covered. But the
company expects that most subscribers who upgrade to the network will use it
to get a 40-60Kbps connection for their laptops or PDAs, a scenario that
falls far short of the wireless industry's hype about what 3G is supposed to
deliver.
For months, a public relations battle has been raging among several of the
major US wireless carriers over who would be the first to upgrade to 3G.
Verizon, Sprint PCS, Cingular and AT&T Wireless have all said publicly that
they would be - or are - the first, and that their competitors are lagging
far behind.
But as the carriers argue over who is first, and whether cdma2000 is
superior to WCDMA or GPRS, they have begun to shy away from promising
super-fast networks capable of running the complex, multimedia applications
that will bring them billions of dollars in revenues. It used to be that
handset manufacturers blamed the carriers for not having the networks to
match the technological progression of the new handsets. Now, instead of
promising transmission speeds in excess of 2Mb, the carriers are trying to
get customers excited with talk of speeds of 144Kbps. Even more troubling,
they are beginning to point the finger at the handset makers when explaining
why the 3G multimedia killer app is still so far from reality.
Verizon's version of 3G - the Verizon Express Network - is a cdma2000 1XRTT
network. The upgrade will, at least initially, cover about 20% of the US,
with concentrations in the Northeast US, as well as in and around Silicon
Valley and Salt Lake City, Utah (site of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games). The
company says it should be able to cover about 50% of subscribers by the end
of 2002. Verizon is saying its network will top off at 144Kbps.
In the early stages, Verizon expects very few of its subscribers to upgrade.
The advantage of a 1XRTT network, explains company spokesperson Jeffrey
Nelson, is that it is forward- and backward-compatible and will allow
existing Verizon subscribers to continue using their current handsets. But
without upgrading to a 3G phone - and Verizon is pushing a Kyocera model as
its phone of choice - users would not be able to take advantage of the
higher speeds.
Further, most of the subscribers who upgrade will do so in order to use
their handsets as modems for their laptops or PDAs. As such, Verizon is also
pitching a Sierra Wireless card to offer this functionality. Users paying at
least $35 for a monthly Verizon wireless plan would have to pay $300 for the
card, $80 for the Kyocera phone and then $30 a month extra in service
charges just to able to use the 3G network. And even then, Verizon promises
transmission speeds of only 40-60Kbps, equivalent to what former Ricochet
wireless modem customers had before Ricochet's parent, Metricom, died last
year. Says Nelson of customers' expectations for complex 3G multimedia
applications: "This is a reality check right from the get-go..All that ooh
ahh stuff belongs in convention halls. We're after customers now with
realistic expectations from the service."
Certainly, in the US there is much disagreement about what 3G really is and
who is providing it. Last year, Sprint PCS said it would be the first to
unveil 3G in the US. Then AT&T Wireless said its GPRS networks had been
first. Earlier this month, Sprint PCS once again announced that it will be
the first when it rolls out its network this summer. Now, Verizon claims it
is first. Cingular Wireless, of course, says Verizon is exaggerating, and
claims its own 2.5G service is akin to Verizon's 3G: "Today's announcement
by Verizon essentially provides the same service that Cingular has been
providing customers in a number of markets since August of last year," says
Cingular spokesperson Monica Mears. "Cingular currently offers this 2.5G
service to consumers in [six states]."
It's all still hype. When the wireless industry began to talk in colorful
terms about the incredible applications that would soon be available on 3G
handsets, it was attempting to justify the billions and billions of dollars
its member carriers had invested in network upgrades. Clearly, no US carrier
has gotten anywhere near what has been promised. Although a 50Kbps wireless
connection for a laptop is a nice offering for a former Ricochet customer,
it is hard to see how anyone else is going to be impressed.
Calling this network "3G" is pure marketroid hype.
r 494921.html>Reuters</A> article breaking it down.
Verizon is claiming they'll offer up to 144kbps throughput, which will work out to provide real-world speeds of 20-30k.
Here's a <A href=http://www.forbes.com/newswire/2002/01/28/rt
Is this one of the Planar monitors which also has a TV tuner? I'm thinking of getting one of their 17-19" monitors as a CRT/TV replacement.
IF the viewing angle is reasonable. Is this realistic you think?
I haven't found a showroom for Planar's stuff, which is a shame. I'm really close to trying them out.
I would expect they'll use some sort of user or MAC-based authentication, with a VPN client if they're smart.
Starbucks' MobileStar network didn't take hold for well enough for me to see any 2600-style articles about the service, but I'm assuming everything was fed through a proxy server, which would likely mean no encryption.
Using an encrypted VPN wouldn't be so hard for each of these clients, but you run into the problems of clueless users and serious computational muscle needed at the aggregation point for all these VPNs.
RSA security has released a scheme for introducing floating keys to WEP's encryption, something which would strengthen the security quite a bit. They're saying it can be implemented through firmware upgrades in the access points and driver upgrades for most cards.
-carl
If this takes hold in a big way, I'm having a hard time imagining people adopting 802.11a outside of the enterprise space.
802.11b seems suffficient for most applications which might have a net pipe upstream rather than direct local connections to servers.
I expect we won't see people using 802.11a equipment to take advantage of the promised 54Mbits (more like 10 to 25 in practive and at a shorter range than 802.11b) until the 802.11g spec gets finalized. 802.11g will create a compatibility layer between 802.11a and 802.11b, which occupy seperate spectrum space.
-carl
And exactly how smutty is the Sims Hot Date expansion? Personally, I'm hoping for Leisure Suit Larry-ultra.
Maybe we can get the Linux community to create a Leather Goddesses of Phobos 3-d game.
...it included an 802.11b wireless bridge, we could do away with cabling altogether :)
Actually, 3com's talking about incorporating 802.11 and bluetooth into the thing shortly.
Gotta be fully buzzword-compliant, you know.
I'm remembering some laserdisc game that I used to play where you piloted an F14 and took out planes/tanks as you flew along.
It was incredibly expensive and a sitdown machine. I was absolutely addicted.
Was it... "Lock-On" or something like that? Too bad it's not in the list. It must be a different format than Dragon's Lair/Space Ace since there was more real-time control of the jet rather than just actions taken at certain story tree points.
Because his boss will then know that he is considering leaving the company, which may put his job in jeopardy, especially these days.
Certainly framing it in terms of an ultimatum is unwise. Perhaps the best approach is talking as though the relocation were contingent upon telecommuning rather than having further employment being contingent upon telecommuting.
And hey, if you're job's shaky enough that you can't discuss options with your boss, you should be circulating resumes anyhow.
-carl
"I could look for a new job closer to where I want to move but I do like the work that I am doing and I like the direction that the company is going."
I think that pretty much sums up what you should be saying to your boss.
You can throw in some rhetoric about how it's cheaper for the company in the long run since you won't be taking up space, but I think sharing your relocation plans with your boss is the best way to go about it.
Simple, honest. Why make it complex?
-carl
In talking to some lawyer friends
Isn't this an oxymoron?
(My dad's a lawyer, and he taught me to love a good lawyer joke. YMMV.)
Somebody mod this guy up, please. People need to know.
"Why do we always hurt the ones we love?
Why, Banjo, WHY?!"
-carl