As a fellow nethack player I have to say the idea of permadeath is the one thing that has scared the people I idle in IRC with away from the game. Sure you can savescum if you want but in general the idea that you work so hard for things is ridiculous. Me, I'll never forget the day I was killed by my own kitten as I was 4 steps away from my chaotic alter ready to offer the amulet to my god. This sort of challenge/result, whilst hilarious, destroys the game play for people who don't get it.
I was sort of thinking something along these lines when I caught the GPs post.
I work in an 'IT shop' (what the hell does that mean anyway) in so far as most of my lusers are savvy, and the remote ones..... anyhow, giving my users the chance to have free reign of what they install would be LETHAL to the business. As it is they can install almost any software they want. Two things apply here: first, if I catch them with pirated software nothing short of 4 chocolate doughnuts will stop me from exacting my retribution. Secondly, if they wish to buy software it has to come through the IT department with the usual justifications required (same applies to hardware).
This method works quite well because the users can't just go and buy the latest (Mac) hardware for their job, but still have admin control over their machines. I control the perimeter as well as the file servers, email systems and backups, users have free control of their machines.
That all seems to be early, but it's disjointed and I haven't had my coffee yet. My point is that letting the users have free reign is fine so long as you have control between you and the money. And yes my users sometimes bring their own personal hardware in, but the company isn't liable for it and they know so.
Because SMS'ing in traffic is always a great idea... (says the bloke who witnessed a traffic collision today from someone doing just that in a < 10kph traffic jam)
Well, to plug the old company (note that I left because I didn't like them so my opinion isn't biased towards them), Border Express out here in.au do quite good. I'm not saying they've got their shit together completely (none of the companies do - that's why we have insurance) but they certainly had it together better than the other big ones I worked with (namely the Toll and StarTrack people).
To continue on my off topic discussion and blatant plug of a company, I am well aware that each company does its own thing. FedEx (or Australian Air Express) have a very specific main-business and they are good at this main business. Most freight companies haven't worked this out yet and are trying to be all things at once.
I take it by the zip code reference that you're American. Out here, if you do enough Consignments (I think the number we used to use was 20 per week) then software is given (or maybe leased...) with your own rates and support etc.
Then again like all proprietary software it's not that good.....
Think that rambling passage discussed what I wanted to.
That sort of thing is actually really common in transport and freight management. At least out here in Aus where almost every system had some sort of DOS application in there...
We used to have two help desk people for the entire nations employee's (bout 400 people), and those two help desk people could ID any person who called up by voice alone... just an example from the other end of the spectrum. I might have hated working a hell desk but I prided myself on being good at it.
Pity this AC got a -1 for it, so I'll whore up a bit of my Karma to restate the point:
"Don't forget, there's always PC-BSD for the Linux users - simple, point'n'click installer, etc."
This isn't really flamebait, or trolling. The current trend for Linux users (especially Ubuntu users) is exactly that, sure they have the power of the command line but most everything is done through $package_manager via the GUI. To draw slightly on my own experience, my IRC channel has around 40 people in it, so yes it is a small number and not really viable for this sort of analysis. The entirety of the channel (not including myself) runs Ubuntu or Windows, and whenever we get into a discussion about how best to do things, the discussion invariably leads to "go to x menu and click y". It's easier, hell it might even be faster, but the fact remains that most users (Linux and Windows alike nowdays) are looking for a simple "point'n'click installer"
PC-BSD gives them that, and it's a nice, stable, and solid system.
Besides which if anyone wants to argue that FreeBSD isn't up to the task, let's get some Mac fanboys in here to tell us about their favourite OS.
All that aside, of the two tests in the article, was the Linux guys one actually done properly? Look at all his notes down the bottom, different compilers, different code bases, bleeding edge kernel? Sure there are no major points between 2.6.24 and 2.6.25-xxxx but everyone refines their code slightly, I'd be surprised if there wasn't a slight performance review.
But ultimately, who cares, so long as the OS I select for the job works...
You know why, you missed the lead sheeting to prevent from EMP attack!;) I have a question, as an Australian:
Will the remote intelligence sites (such as the SIGINT operation out here) be receiving an increased security staffing and an overhaul, or are they purely peripheral sources? Everyone mentions "homeland" security so I am just curious as to what actually constitutes homeland in an information warfare situation.
Command (that's the apple key right?) + Q and Command + W. One thing (especially in firefox) I see a lot is users closing firefox with a Command + W, which doesn't quit the application. I have no idea why and honestly haven't looked into it, but on the resource intensive machines that my digital artists use it is a necessity to be Command+Q'ing their way out.
That said my Windows XP and my Debian Etch installation both seem to do quite well with Alt+F4 and Ctrl+W, so maybe I'm missing something.
On a related note, the first time I tried to swipe gasoline by storing it in a Styrofoam Sonic cup was messy, but an open door into a whole new kind of fun.
Oh yeah been there before. For me the big problem occurred when I set an entire table on fire in the shed when the old man wasn't home. Ah to be young again, such joys were had.
I'm curious though, what school the 10 year old goes to. Want to start sending my siblings-children there!
Ok mildly off topic but astronomy was probably the only geek thing I never did (for shame, here's my punch-card and badge)
Will the gravitational pull get worse as the sun expands, will it stay the same or could we possibly be pushed (either artificially or by said sun) away from it. All these theories seem to hinge on Terra staying x miles away from point 0 at the centre of the big shiny light in the blue room. What's stopping us just moving the planet out of the way somehow (remember, in 7 billion years we're quite probably going to have the power to move planets anyway)... just curious is all...
Coming to you this summer, from Soviet Russia, the new, the improved, the thinking-of-the-children MENSA bot overlords! With an IQ of 6,000 and a face like Norman Lovett they can read pictures better than you!
Ah... can't find anywhere else to go with that, complete as you wish. Apologies for the Red Dwarf reference.
Didn't Johnny's people lay down a plan for ISP level filtering as well? The fault here isn't on either one of the two governments as far as I can see (note I voted Liberal), so much as someone in an obscure department (child services maybe) has realised how easy it is to get porn and has decided that they don't want to raise their kids properly. Growing up I had unfettered access to the networks that were available to me and I just kept away from area's I knew I wasn't supposed to.
So on that note, and to use a certain meme "Won't anyone think of the children?" - They're not, they're just too lazy or stupid or whatever to bring their kids up properly.
Yeah that wasn't meant to troll, but I feel rather strongly about the state of the "parents" in my generation.
The running of a nation wide bank in Australia, the perimeter security for a myriad of other companies. The US Military for example (no citation available - not sure where I have the info from on that one).
But hey, BSD is dead, netcraft confirms it.
I just hope 7 gives me the same speed increase over 6 as 6 did over 5.
One of my step fathers (heh, mum got around a bit) was a sniper and he always used to tell me that you move so they can't draw a line back.
If you snipe someone in an open field and it kicks them around that's fine, because the odds of working out where you are located are small (unless there is only one or two clumps of bushes of course!). However if you snipe someone just as they walk around the corner (think the sniper chick in "Full Metal Jacket") then it isn't as hard to work out where they are. Especially if you don't move.
Same goes for a machine gun nest really, though people don't think of those as stealthy. If you don't move, then lobbing grenades or artillery becomes that much easier to target.
And they all take some liberties with the computer side of things!
As someone who trained for a year to become a Lawyer, I find Law and Order to be at least partially gratifying for the way things are put down in the show. It's not entirely accurate but it's not entirely inaccurate as well. The same applies to CSI or Numb3rs... nobody likes to sit by the geeky things so sure it's not all canon, but it puts the right spin on things.
Note I used to date a forensic scientist for the Australian police, watching a show like that with her was like listening to Bill Gates tell me how awesome Linux is ("that's not right!", "we can't do that!!!", "BULLLLLSHIT!" etc.).
Slashdot Mirror
As a fellow nethack player I have to say the idea of permadeath is the one thing that has scared the people I idle in IRC with away from the game. Sure you can savescum if you want but in general the idea that you work so hard for things is ridiculous. Me, I'll never forget the day I was killed by my own kitten as I was 4 steps away from my chaotic alter ready to offer the amulet to my god. This sort of challenge/result, whilst hilarious, destroys the game play for people who don't get it.
I was sort of thinking something along these lines when I caught the GPs post.
I work in an 'IT shop' (what the hell does that mean anyway) in so far as most of my lusers are savvy, and the remote ones..... anyhow, giving my users the chance to have free reign of what they install would be LETHAL to the business. As it is they can install almost any software they want. Two things apply here: first, if I catch them with pirated software nothing short of 4 chocolate doughnuts will stop me from exacting my retribution. Secondly, if they wish to buy software it has to come through the IT department with the usual justifications required (same applies to hardware).
This method works quite well because the users can't just go and buy the latest (Mac) hardware for their job, but still have admin control over their machines. I control the perimeter as well as the file servers, email systems and backups, users have free control of their machines.
That all seems to be early, but it's disjointed and I haven't had my coffee yet. My point is that letting the users have free reign is fine so long as you have control between you and the money. And yes my users sometimes bring their own personal hardware in, but the company isn't liable for it and they know so.
Because SMS'ing in traffic is always a great idea... (says the bloke who witnessed a traffic collision today from someone doing just that in a < 10kph traffic jam)
OffTopic (mods feel free to prove my point):
.au do quite good. I'm not saying they've got their shit together completely (none of the companies do - that's why we have insurance) but they certainly had it together better than the other big ones I worked with (namely the Toll and StarTrack people).
Well, to plug the old company (note that I left because I didn't like them so my opinion isn't biased towards them), Border Express out here in
To continue on my off topic discussion and blatant plug of a company, I am well aware that each company does its own thing. FedEx (or Australian Air Express) have a very specific main-business and they are good at this main business. Most freight companies haven't worked this out yet and are trying to be all things at once.
I take it by the zip code reference that you're American. Out here, if you do enough Consignments (I think the number we used to use was 20 per week) then software is given (or maybe leased...) with your own rates and support etc.
Then again like all proprietary software it's not that good.....
Think that rambling passage discussed what I wanted to.
A/S.
That sort of thing is actually really common in transport and freight management. At least out here in Aus where almost every system had some sort of DOS application in there...
We used to have two help desk people for the entire nations employee's (bout 400 people), and those two help desk people could ID any person who called up by voice alone... just an example from the other end of the spectrum. I might have hated working a hell desk but I prided myself on being good at it.
Pity this AC got a -1 for it, so I'll whore up a bit of my Karma to restate the point:
"Don't forget, there's always PC-BSD for the Linux users - simple, point'n'click installer, etc."
This isn't really flamebait, or trolling. The current trend for Linux users (especially Ubuntu users) is exactly that, sure they have the power of the command line but most everything is done through $package_manager via the GUI. To draw slightly on my own experience, my IRC channel has around 40 people in it, so yes it is a small number and not really viable for this sort of analysis. The entirety of the channel (not including myself) runs Ubuntu or Windows, and whenever we get into a discussion about how best to do things, the discussion invariably leads to "go to x menu and click y". It's easier, hell it might even be faster, but the fact remains that most users (Linux and Windows alike nowdays) are looking for a simple "point'n'click installer"
PC-BSD gives them that, and it's a nice, stable, and solid system.
Besides which if anyone wants to argue that FreeBSD isn't up to the task, let's get some Mac fanboys in here to tell us about their favourite OS.
All that aside, of the two tests in the article, was the Linux guys one actually done properly? Look at all his notes down the bottom, different compilers, different code bases, bleeding edge kernel? Sure there are no major points between 2.6.24 and 2.6.25-xxxx but everyone refines their code slightly, I'd be surprised if there wasn't a slight performance review.
But ultimately, who cares, so long as the OS I select for the job works...
You know why, you missed the lead sheeting to prevent from EMP attack! ;) I have a question, as an Australian:
Will the remote intelligence sites (such as the SIGINT operation out here) be receiving an increased security staffing and an overhaul, or are they purely peripheral sources? Everyone mentions "homeland" security so I am just curious as to what actually constitutes homeland in an information warfare situation.
Command (that's the apple key right?) + Q and Command + W. One thing (especially in firefox) I see a lot is users closing firefox with a Command + W, which doesn't quit the application. I have no idea why and honestly haven't looked into it, but on the resource intensive machines that my digital artists use it is a necessity to be Command+Q'ing their way out.
That said my Windows XP and my Debian Etch installation both seem to do quite well with Alt+F4 and Ctrl+W, so maybe I'm missing something.
Just so long as the OS/2 fan boys stay away.....
What all three of them? Damn and I thought the restraining orders would help :(
I'm curious though, what school the 10 year old goes to. Want to start sending my siblings-children there!
Tanks :)
And I thought that the Underhanded C Contest would never have come in handy......
Ok mildly off topic but astronomy was probably the only geek thing I never did (for shame, here's my punch-card and badge)
Will the gravitational pull get worse as the sun expands, will it stay the same or could we possibly be pushed (either artificially or by said sun) away from it. All these theories seem to hinge on Terra staying x miles away from point 0 at the centre of the big shiny light in the blue room. What's stopping us just moving the planet out of the way somehow (remember, in 7 billion years we're quite probably going to have the power to move planets anyway)... just curious is all...
Coming to you this summer, from Soviet Russia, the new, the improved, the thinking-of-the-children MENSA bot overlords! With an IQ of 6,000 and a face like Norman Lovett they can read pictures better than you!
Ah... can't find anywhere else to go with that, complete as you wish. Apologies for the Red Dwarf reference.
Not true. You can convince someone to install the Ethernet plug with the right time and motivation.
Didn't Johnny's people lay down a plan for ISP level filtering as well? The fault here isn't on either one of the two governments as far as I can see (note I voted Liberal), so much as someone in an obscure department (child services maybe) has realised how easy it is to get porn and has decided that they don't want to raise their kids properly. Growing up I had unfettered access to the networks that were available to me and I just kept away from area's I knew I wasn't supposed to.
So on that note, and to use a certain meme "Won't anyone think of the children?" - They're not, they're just too lazy or stupid or whatever to bring their kids up properly.
Yeah that wasn't meant to troll, but I feel rather strongly about the state of the "parents" in my generation.
My $0.02 AU, Ignore at will.
The running of a nation wide bank in Australia, the perimeter security for a myriad of other companies. The US Military for example (no citation available - not sure where I have the info from on that one).
But hey, BSD is dead, netcraft confirms it.
I just hope 7 gives me the same speed increase over 6 as 6 did over 5.
One of my step fathers (heh, mum got around a bit) was a sniper and he always used to tell me that you move so they can't draw a line back.
If you snipe someone in an open field and it kicks them around that's fine, because the odds of working out where you are located are small (unless there is only one or two clumps of bushes of course!). However if you snipe someone just as they walk around the corner (think the sniper chick in "Full Metal Jacket") then it isn't as hard to work out where they are. Especially if you don't move.
Same goes for a machine gun nest really, though people don't think of those as stealthy. If you don't move, then lobbing grenades or artillery becomes that much easier to target.
I routinely wiped the database via the website at a place I used to work at, and detailed the process every time.
Two years later and I see that the database is still attackable via anyone with a copy of "Advanced SQL Injection" and an hour spare.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.
Well obviously I never finished!
And they all take some liberties with the computer side of things!
As someone who trained for a year to become a Lawyer, I find Law and Order to be at least partially gratifying for the way things are put down in the show. It's not entirely accurate but it's not entirely inaccurate as well. The same applies to CSI or Numb3rs... nobody likes to sit by the geeky things so sure it's not all canon, but it puts the right spin on things.
Note I used to date a forensic scientist for the Australian police, watching a show like that with her was like listening to Bill Gates tell me how awesome Linux is ("that's not right!", "we can't do that!!!", "BULLLLLSHIT!" etc.).
My $0.02 AU, Ignore at will