Every once in a while, my IPCop box (Celeron 533MHz, 128MB RAM, 5GB HD, running headless just doing routing to two internal subnets plus VPN when I'm out of town) would become completely unresponsive (HTTPS and SSH would time out, no Internet access). It didn't happen often, but enough to annoy the family. The only thing that would fix it was a hard reboot. I have it reboot once a week and all is well. That was a while ago (well over a year now), and it may have been a bug or quirk that has been fixed since. Either way, it's unintrusive and keeps my intranet humming along.
I had Adelphia in Cleveland, Ohio, and it was okay (not great, but respectable). For a while after Time Warner took over (while my cable modem still had a DNS name from adelphia.net), the internet connection was okay. The night my DNS name changed to rr.com (or whatever it was), it came to a screeching halt. I got rid of them real fast. The lady I was talking to when I called to disconnect asked if I had a technician come out to look at it, and I calmly and politely explained that until the switch from adelphia.net to rr.com, everything was fine and dandy. After that, it took close to 30 seconds for my "main sites" folder to open (about 20 of my web sites I visit multiple times per day/night). Now, with my new provider, it takes about 5-10. And it doesn't take forever for a normal web page to come up.
If I still had Time Warner, and I was GUARANTEED the bandwidth that I PAY FOR, then I'd have no problem. But since they can't even do that now, then my answer would be a calm and polite no.
I too work for a college help desk (as a "programmer"), but I can say that our Windows machines are locked down heavily. If that's not enough for you, we have the 24/7 security cameras (every machine has at least one camera looking at it), and all of our Windows labs are ghosted at least once per week (all logs are transferred and backed up via Syslog to a special server). As for our Sun Solaris labs, that image (FLAR) was set up by a guy who took the time to lock down his/etc directory, and I'm sure that the two people who have root on our main servers ask him questions about stuff. He's our defacto UNIX/Linux guy. In the end, I'm confident of the security of our computers, but I wouldn't use them for stuff like banking or other sensitive stuff like that. Take security with a grain of salt though, because no matter how locked down a system is, an insecure admin password or another little oversight like that will spell death to security as a whole.
I work for my school's Engineering computer department (more or less separate from the rest of the university), and our MOTD is strictly reserved for info about our computer systems (network outages, lab replacements, A/C not being turned on yet, et cetera... though one time it said Happy St. Patrick's Day). For the general event announcements, our Windows clients have text dynamically placed on the desktop - not an active desktop thing, but a program that overlays the announcements over our normal "no food drinks or smoking in the labs" desktop whenever someone logs in as part of the logon scripts. Our 3 solaris labs don't say anything... yet. That's one of my projects. We just did our Solaris 10 rollout a couple months ago, with Java Desktop (Gnome). So that will probably make my life easier than if it was done using CDE...
If your phone has bluetooth or a CompactFlash slot, you can get the adapters from Pharos (their iGPS-360 is the exact same as the one with Streets and Trips). The Bluetooth adapter runs about $100, and the CF adapter will run about $50. I've used a Pharos GPS for just over a year now, and I love it (though I use their Ostia software, not M$'s offering). You can check them out at www.pharosgps.com.
I don't know... My phone is in the next room separated by a wall and 3 computers etc., and I still get the buzzing (though to me it sounds like beeping) on my TV... I first noticed it back when I got my first GSM phone. I just ignore it, and turn the phone off at night. It works for me. If someone needs to contact me at 3:00 AM, then they can knock on my damn door (and hope that it's loud enough to wake me up).
It's a Nokia 6101 from T-Mobile in the USA. I'm pretty sure it has java capabilities (I just make phone calls and take the occasional picture) on it, but I'm thinking that a call screener would need to be built into the firmware because I think that the game is paused (software interrupt by the phone software) and the main firmware takes over to handle the call.
I have a similar problem, but it's on a scale that probably much worse. I get a SHIT-TON of calls from one number, some from another, and more recently, many from unavailable numbers. If someone wants to write this, I'll test it on my phone in a second.
As for if it can be done, I would imagine it would require some firmware hacking and/or rewriting. It would be easier from the customer standpoint on the provider end. I know that my land-line phone company offers (or is working on offering) a service which does exactly that, so it's not out of the realm of possibility, but I do agree that providers probably wouldn't do it because it would cut into their profits. But I bet that once one does it, people will start switching to them for various reasons, and soon everyone will have it.
Here's my setup currently:
WRT54G serving as my router (stock firmware - only for hardware firewall duties).
Dell Powerconnect 3324 doing all the work
2 Linksys 5 port switches (one in the entertainment center, one in the bedroom)
P3 933 serving as my web server/sftp over ssh2 server/windows domain controller
Centrino laptop running Gentoo (almost)
Athlon 64 3700+ running XP Pro for games
Sempron 2500+ serving up my 700+ GB of files (no fancy RAID yet)
2 Xboxes (both modded)
1 PS2
1 Xbox 360
1 PSP
And all this for a single college student in a one bedroom apartment! The cold is never an issue in here...
I just thought about this one too. Not sure if it's the same across the pond, but I've heard that utilities charge you less for their service in the middle of the night, etc. Not sure how they measure that or if it's true, or if it's just something that my parents made up, but it can't hurt to do stuff in the middle of the night (or put stuff on a timer).
Don't use the A/C and wear a coat; use low power light bulbs (or get those flourescent ones that cost more but use less energy), get used to a not as hot shower, and since you'll be in a house, buy your beer (not sure if it has a different name across the pond) by the keg instead of cases/at the pub. As someone else said, don't get a land-line phone if you all have cell phones. Basic internet access if you're gonna be on campus a lot (I only have a 1.5Mbps connection at my place and I don't even notice it because I'm on campus at least 12 hours a day).
Lower power computers too. Use laptops or desktops with good power settings (Pentium M's speedstep technology, Athlon 64's Cool and Quiet, etc.).
Also, buy generic food and stuff like that. I personally prefer Kroger (the supermarket I shop at) brand to some name brands.
I picked up one of these things when Doom 3 came out (there were a couple mail in rebates, and it looked interesting enough to spend a few bucks on). The standard keyset is really comfortable. As for the custom keysets, they're slick looking, but unless you really want to re-learn the keyboard every time you get a new game and they make a keyset for it, then you're just as good off saving your money or putting that money toward a good Logitech (or other good brand - I'm only familiar with Logitech) keyboard and spending a few minutes customizing the controls to your liking.
I think my mini-fridge was the only one in my dorm that was powered by an Intel Pentium 4 Processor, and sported a 5"x4" sticker to that effect. My brother's VCR is running on a Gigabyte motherboard, my friend's TV has an Athlon 64 inside, my old CRT is powered by Intel Centrino Mobile Technology, and, believe it or not, my guitar case has a Dual BIOS and PCI-Express.
Though a sticker will never touch my Xaser III, I'll put at least a CPU sticker on a cheap case (Sempron sticker on a $20 case for my example, and some day maybe I'll throw a Pentium III sticker on that case).
I think I'll put a Windows sticker on my shredder. I like that. I have one hanging around somewhere...
I don't know how f*cked up your network is, but I have yet to reset my routers since I updated the firmware over a year ago... This includes a Microsoft Wireless G router, a Linksys WRT54G, and a Linksys BEFW11S4 (I think).
As for Linksys not being high quality, just look at what it says under Linksys... That's all the proof you need that they're good... Well, that's all the proof I need at least...
Perhaps the problem is not the router, but the client NICs or WiFi cards, or bad cables. I've had more than my fair share of problems due to faulty cables or shitty NICs...
The only thing as a CSE student that pops out at me is Artificial Intelligence-related courses. Though if you ask me, the best way learn how to do something is by doing it (assuming you have taken the entry-level courses like C, etc). I'm doing an internship (co-op) right now that will help me in at least three classes I have to take still.
Also, just thinking and re-reading, some language classes would be handy. Though the elementary school english about nouns/verbs/etc will help, you'll need more if it's to process natural language.
Another thing is some data structures classes. One project in one of my data structures classes dealt with the computer making up a sentance based on a template (the "grammar") and the stuff to plug into the template (the dictionary). You're looking at the exact opposite but with a difficult to define "grammar" and a huge dictionary.
Plus anything that would help you in implimentation in software such as database usage, etc.
Just saw this while reading the page/. linked to. This is official.
http://www.pro-g.co.uk/news/nid/1307/
$299 for core package. $399 for better package.
I personally haven't tried it, but Pharos GPS (www.pharosgps.com) offers a pay service such as this for their GPS units. I just bought one for a trip and I love the unit. Their software does leave a few things to be desired (more up-to-date maps; I was driving in the middle of a field according to their Ostia software, and they put my house on the wrong side of a cross street), but I've found it to be overall accurate. I've personally never tried it, but I thought I'd throw it out there. My GPS unit from them (to connect to my iPaq) was about $200USD plus tax and extended warranty. Their traffic service I think is about $60/year and requires an internet connection. Good luck dude.
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Every once in a while, my IPCop box (Celeron 533MHz, 128MB RAM, 5GB HD, running headless just doing routing to two internal subnets plus VPN when I'm out of town) would become completely unresponsive (HTTPS and SSH would time out, no Internet access). It didn't happen often, but enough to annoy the family. The only thing that would fix it was a hard reboot. I have it reboot once a week and all is well. That was a while ago (well over a year now), and it may have been a bug or quirk that has been fixed since. Either way, it's unintrusive and keeps my intranet humming along.
I had Adelphia in Cleveland, Ohio, and it was okay (not great, but respectable). For a while after Time Warner took over (while my cable modem still had a DNS name from adelphia.net), the internet connection was okay. The night my DNS name changed to rr.com (or whatever it was), it came to a screeching halt. I got rid of them real fast. The lady I was talking to when I called to disconnect asked if I had a technician come out to look at it, and I calmly and politely explained that until the switch from adelphia.net to rr.com, everything was fine and dandy. After that, it took close to 30 seconds for my "main sites" folder to open (about 20 of my web sites I visit multiple times per day/night). Now, with my new provider, it takes about 5-10. And it doesn't take forever for a normal web page to come up.
If I still had Time Warner, and I was GUARANTEED the bandwidth that I PAY FOR, then I'd have no problem. But since they can't even do that now, then my answer would be a calm and polite no.
I too work for a college help desk (as a "programmer"), but I can say that our Windows machines are locked down heavily. If that's not enough for you, we have the 24/7 security cameras (every machine has at least one camera looking at it), and all of our Windows labs are ghosted at least once per week (all logs are transferred and backed up via Syslog to a special server). As for our Sun Solaris labs, that image (FLAR) was set up by a guy who took the time to lock down his /etc directory, and I'm sure that the two people who have root on our main servers ask him questions about stuff. He's our defacto UNIX/Linux guy. In the end, I'm confident of the security of our computers, but I wouldn't use them for stuff like banking or other sensitive stuff like that. Take security with a grain of salt though, because no matter how locked down a system is, an insecure admin password or another little oversight like that will spell death to security as a whole.
That must be why when I map a drive on my home network it defaults to Z: (or the last one available on my box).
I work for my school's Engineering computer department (more or less separate from the rest of the university), and our MOTD is strictly reserved for info about our computer systems (network outages, lab replacements, A/C not being turned on yet, et cetera... though one time it said Happy St. Patrick's Day). For the general event announcements, our Windows clients have text dynamically placed on the desktop - not an active desktop thing, but a program that overlays the announcements over our normal "no food drinks or smoking in the labs" desktop whenever someone logs in as part of the logon scripts. Our 3 solaris labs don't say anything... yet. That's one of my projects. We just did our Solaris 10 rollout a couple months ago, with Java Desktop (Gnome). So that will probably make my life easier than if it was done using CDE...
If your phone has bluetooth or a CompactFlash slot, you can get the adapters from Pharos (their iGPS-360 is the exact same as the one with Streets and Trips). The Bluetooth adapter runs about $100, and the CF adapter will run about $50. I've used a Pharos GPS for just over a year now, and I love it (though I use their Ostia software, not M$'s offering). You can check them out at www.pharosgps.com.
I don't know... My phone is in the next room separated by a wall and 3 computers etc., and I still get the buzzing (though to me it sounds like beeping) on my TV... I first noticed it back when I got my first GSM phone. I just ignore it, and turn the phone off at night. It works for me. If someone needs to contact me at 3:00 AM, then they can knock on my damn door (and hope that it's loud enough to wake me up).
It's a Nokia 6101 from T-Mobile in the USA. I'm pretty sure it has java capabilities (I just make phone calls and take the occasional picture) on it, but I'm thinking that a call screener would need to be built into the firmware because I think that the game is paused (software interrupt by the phone software) and the main firmware takes over to handle the call.
I have a similar problem, but it's on a scale that probably much worse. I get a SHIT-TON of calls from one number, some from another, and more recently, many from unavailable numbers. If someone wants to write this, I'll test it on my phone in a second.
As for if it can be done, I would imagine it would require some firmware hacking and/or rewriting. It would be easier from the customer standpoint on the provider end. I know that my land-line phone company offers (or is working on offering) a service which does exactly that, so it's not out of the realm of possibility, but I do agree that providers probably wouldn't do it because it would cut into their profits. But I bet that once one does it, people will start switching to them for various reasons, and soon everyone will have it.
Here's my setup currently:
WRT54G serving as my router (stock firmware - only for hardware firewall duties).
Dell Powerconnect 3324 doing all the work
2 Linksys 5 port switches (one in the entertainment center, one in the bedroom)
P3 933 serving as my web server/sftp over ssh2 server/windows domain controller
Centrino laptop running Gentoo (almost)
Athlon 64 3700+ running XP Pro for games
Sempron 2500+ serving up my 700+ GB of files (no fancy RAID yet)
2 Xboxes (both modded)
1 PS2
1 Xbox 360
1 PSP
And all this for a single college student in a one bedroom apartment! The cold is never an issue in here...
I just thought about this one too. Not sure if it's the same across the pond, but I've heard that utilities charge you less for their service in the middle of the night, etc. Not sure how they measure that or if it's true, or if it's just something that my parents made up, but it can't hurt to do stuff in the middle of the night (or put stuff on a timer).
Chris
Don't use the A/C and wear a coat; use low power light bulbs (or get those flourescent ones that cost more but use less energy), get used to a not as hot shower, and since you'll be in a house, buy your beer (not sure if it has a different name across the pond) by the keg instead of cases/at the pub. As someone else said, don't get a land-line phone if you all have cell phones. Basic internet access if you're gonna be on campus a lot (I only have a 1.5Mbps connection at my place and I don't even notice it because I'm on campus at least 12 hours a day).
Lower power computers too. Use laptops or desktops with good power settings (Pentium M's speedstep technology, Athlon 64's Cool and Quiet, etc.).
Also, buy generic food and stuff like that. I personally prefer Kroger (the supermarket I shop at) brand to some name brands.
I picked up one of these things when Doom 3 came out (there were a couple mail in rebates, and it looked interesting enough to spend a few bucks on). The standard keyset is really comfortable. As for the custom keysets, they're slick looking, but unless you really want to re-learn the keyboard every time you get a new game and they make a keyset for it, then you're just as good off saving your money or putting that money toward a good Logitech (or other good brand - I'm only familiar with Logitech) keyboard and spending a few minutes customizing the controls to your liking.
I think my mini-fridge was the only one in my dorm that was powered by an Intel Pentium 4 Processor, and sported a 5"x4" sticker to that effect. My brother's VCR is running on a Gigabyte motherboard, my friend's TV has an Athlon 64 inside, my old CRT is powered by Intel Centrino Mobile Technology, and, believe it or not, my guitar case has a Dual BIOS and PCI-Express. Though a sticker will never touch my Xaser III, I'll put at least a CPU sticker on a cheap case (Sempron sticker on a $20 case for my example, and some day maybe I'll throw a Pentium III sticker on that case). I think I'll put a Windows sticker on my shredder. I like that. I have one hanging around somewhere...
I don't know how f*cked up your network is, but I have yet to reset my routers since I updated the firmware over a year ago... This includes a Microsoft Wireless G router, a Linksys WRT54G, and a Linksys BEFW11S4 (I think).
As for Linksys not being high quality, just look at what it says under Linksys... That's all the proof you need that they're good... Well, that's all the proof I need at least...
Perhaps the problem is not the router, but the client NICs or WiFi cards, or bad cables. I've had more than my fair share of problems due to faulty cables or shitty NICs...
The only thing as a CSE student that pops out at me is Artificial Intelligence-related courses. Though if you ask me, the best way learn how to do something is by doing it (assuming you have taken the entry-level courses like C, etc). I'm doing an internship (co-op) right now that will help me in at least three classes I have to take still.
Also, just thinking and re-reading, some language classes would be handy. Though the elementary school english about nouns/verbs/etc will help, you'll need more if it's to process natural language.
Another thing is some data structures classes. One project in one of my data structures classes dealt with the computer making up a sentance based on a template (the "grammar") and the stuff to plug into the template (the dictionary). You're looking at the exact opposite but with a difficult to define "grammar" and a huge dictionary.
Plus anything that would help you in implimentation in software such as database usage, etc.
If you look closely, it's a different page. Read more closely and register Mr. Anonymous Coward.
Just saw this while reading the page /. linked to. This is official.
http://www.pro-g.co.uk/news/nid/1307/
$299 for core package. $399 for better package.
I personally haven't tried it, but Pharos GPS (www.pharosgps.com) offers a pay service such as this for their GPS units. I just bought one for a trip and I love the unit. Their software does leave a few things to be desired (more up-to-date maps; I was driving in the middle of a field according to their Ostia software, and they put my house on the wrong side of a cross street), but I've found it to be overall accurate. I've personally never tried it, but I thought I'd throw it out there. My GPS unit from them (to connect to my iPaq) was about $200USD plus tax and extended warranty. Their traffic service I think is about $60/year and requires an internet connection. Good luck dude.