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User: Macka

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  1. Re:Don't bet on it. on Debate Over Evolution Will Soon Be History, Says Leakey · · Score: 1

    Also agreed. The mind of a bigot only shrinks if you shine more light on it.

  2. Re:HP should buy them on RIM May Need To Write Off $1 Billion In Inventory · · Score: 1

    There is nothing great about it. I have both an iPhone and a BB, and the BB email client is clunky, slow, and unintuitive by comparison. I can't even file an email on the BB into any folder I like without getting a support bod at work to enable that folder first. I hate it, and wish I could junk the thing.

  3. Re:Fine, I'll bite on Ask Slashdot: Why Not Linux For Security? · · Score: 2

    You can add whatever you want to your own copy of a Linux based product, but adding it to someone else's copy is a different matter entirely. How successful you are depends on the security of the chosen distribution channel and package management. That comes down to implementation. Apple implemented this well, and google have not. Simple as that. It has very little to do with the underlying technology.

  4. Re:A week? on Who's Pirating Game of Thrones, and Why? · · Score: 1

    What a boring show that was. I gave up on it after the first episode, and I was previously a huge SG fan.

  5. Re:Interesting technology on Microsoft-Funded Startup Aims To Kill BitTorrent Traffic · · Score: 1

    Really? Then you must be deliberately sticking your head in the sand. Probably 50% of my friends, work colleagues and family will freely admit to downloading media from BitTorrent, or sites like Pirate Bay. Some of them very frequently. If the people I know are representative of the wider population, then this is happening on a very large scale. There really is no excuse for it any more. The majority of films and music are available online from several legal online sources.

  6. Re:Puppet is old school, check out Salt on Ask Slashdot: How Do You Install Ubuntu On 30 Laptops and Keep Them In Sync? · · Score: 1

    Different approach my ass. Having just spent 30 mins scanning the site and reading the tutorials I don't see what's all that different to Puppet. On the contrary, the functionality and concepts look strikingly similar, albeit with different terminology, syntax and style. To my eye this looks like a Puppet rip off, though there was a noticeable lack of documentation on how Salt handles run time errors; whether it supports true resource dependency graphing as Puppet does; or even if it has a Puppet style dry-run (noop) mode.

  7. Re:Configuration management + install server on Ask Slashdot: How Do You Install Ubuntu On 30 Laptops and Keep Them In Sync? · · Score: 1

    Cobbler (with preseed) I'd agree with. But Puppet and Foreman, for 15-30 laptops is a bit overkill don't you think.

  8. In the land of the blind... on Kim Jong-Il Was an "Internet Expert" · · Score: 1

    ...the one-eyed man is King.

    Or maybe that should be blindfolded.

  9. Re:Virtualbox was always my favorite on VMware, a Falling Giant? · · Score: 1

    OpenVZ is not the same as the rest. It takes the host O/S and creates skinny containers from it that appear as individual systems; but that's not the same as "virtualization" in this context. You can't run an alternate O/S using OpenVZ.

  10. Re:Thoughts on OCFS on Which OSS Clustered Filesystem Should I Use? · · Score: 1

    What you actually said was:

    Has anybody here on Slashdot had any experience with one or more of these clustered file systems?

    .. and OCFS2 was not on that list. From the rest of your reply it seemed to me that you were confused about the capabilities of OCFS2. My apologies.

    The rest of my comments, WRT mdadm etc, we're not related to clustering, or sharing direct attached raid devices between systems - because as others have also said, I don't think that a cluster best suits your requirements. Unless of cause you just want to do it for the fun of it, in which case go for it.

  11. Re:Bad Dog. Wrong Tree! on Which OSS Clustered Filesystem Should I Use? · · Score: 1

    Or alternatively you back everything off to tape (rotating sets) and store them in a fireproof safe.

  12. Re:Thoughts on OCFS on Which OSS Clustered Filesystem Should I Use? · · Score: 2

    How is this an answer to your question? You identified 3 cluster filesystem types that protect against hardware loss by distributing the data over a cluster of systems - but OCFS2 isn't like that. It's a filesystem that's designed to provide concurrent shared access to a filesystem by a cluster of servers, which in combination with a HA framework can provide a platform that applications can use to protect against node failure, not disk failure. With OCFS2 you still have to make the storage highly available with a RAID solution plus manage concurrent connectivity via a SAN, iSCSI, etc. So unfortunately this is not an answer to your question at all. The filesystem types you've identified would do what you want, but they're also expensive for a home solution because you have to throw more computers at the problem to increase redundancy and performance.

    Have you considered using software RAID (mdadm) on Linux instead of a hardware RAID controller? It has a useful feature that allows you to grow existing raid volumes by adding more disks. Maybe combine that with a small UPS to allow your system to shutdown gracefully in the event of a power failure. Alternatively, if you want to stick with a hardware solution have you taken a look at Drobo? I have no personal experience with Drobo, but from what I've read their proprietary RAID solution allows you to grow your array by just popping new disks in or increase capacity by replacing existing disks with larger ones on the fly. They have a couple of different models that can scale to 16TB. Best of luck with your search.

  13. Re:There are actual lists ya know on Ask Slashdot: GNU/Linux Laptops? · · Score: 1

    Not one x86_64 laptop is certified on that list.

  14. Re:#1 tool on Essential Open Source Tools For Windows Admins · · Score: 1

    Last update for those unixutils tools was 8 years ago. I hope there are no nasty security bugs lurking in there or you've just compromised your entire estate.

  15. Re:Azure on Windows Server 8 Is A Radical Departure From Previous Releases · · Score: 1

    Last time I checked my eyeballs didn't work very well with objects. They handle text perfectly well though. Seriously, you're missing the point. The command line is for running commands and eyeballing text output. Bash functions perfectly for this. It's also perfect for writing small quick scripts that do simple tasks. If I need to do something ore complicated that requires an OO approach, then I have python or ruby to play with. Use the right tool for the job.

  16. Re:Proof of Intelligent Design on New Skeleton Finds May Revamp History of Human Evolution · · Score: 1

    That's because creationist Christianity (usually evangelical) is a cult. It's not recognised as such by most because it's become so main stream; but any religious sect that preaches absolutes (e.g. the bible is inerrant) and is blind to any other way of thinking is a cult.

  17. Comparing Ubuntu to Red Hat on Monthly Ubuntu Releases Proposed · · Score: 1

    I'm not familiar with how Ubuntu package and push their software. Do you get everything inc the kitchen sink with each crank of the wheel whether you want it or not? Red Hat, in between major/minor releases bundle up new RPMs into errata. An errata may contain one or more RPM packages that are tested/required to be installed together, and they're delineated into three types, prefixed with:

    RHBA - Red Hat Bugfix Advisory
    RHSA - Red Hat Security Advisory
    RHEA - Red Hat Enhancement Advisory

    In our production environment, we avoid anything that's an enhancement (too risky) and consider each bugfix and security errata to see if it's application to our builds, and whether we want to install them or not, and whether the fixes would warrant a new QA effort (time consuming and costly). We're not forced to, nor are we forced to take each point release in turn if we don't want either. That's the way it should be done.

         

  18. Yeah right .. on Osama Bin Laden Reported Dead, Body In US Hands · · Score: 1

    And oh so bloody convenient. I'm with hairyfeet on this one, though we're never going to know as they quickly dumped the corpse at sea. I've long believed that he copped it pretty early on in the campaign. But announcing his death at that point would have muted the ire of public opinion, and that didn't suit the political aspirations of the war mongering neo loony right in US government at that time. Much better to have his ghostly presence live on as a target for public hatred. Now, with the coffers empty and US dollars needed at home to try and right the economy, and with continuing loss of US soldier lives, it's the right time to announce his death. Something the government had to do in order to claim victory. But there are no pictures; a body quickly and conveniently disposed of in such a manner that it can never be recovered, and no evidence that can be ratified by an independent third party. This whole scenario is a work of fiction, now that the US government have decided it's the right time to kill him off.

  19. Re:Why not post intel's response? on Oracle Claims Intel Is Looking To Sink the Itanic · · Score: 1

    The reason may have an element of FUD to it, but the consequences aren't. People don't buy computers to just sit there running an O/S, and the majority of HP-UX Itanium builds I used to be involved with were commissioned to run Oracle. So this is going to hit HP Itanium sales hard and HP Itanium customers even harder.

    Oracle seem to be getting more ruthless in recent times. They aren't playing very nice with Red Hat either as they've killed off support for ASMLib and OCFS2 on RHEL 6. Clearly an attempt to force customers wanting Oracle RAC clusters on Linux off RHEL onto Oracle's own Red Hat clone. Small wonder that Red Hat have reciprocated by making it harder for Oracle to get a free ride on the work Red Hat put into the kernel.

  20. Smart phone categories on Android Passes iPhone In US Market Share · · Score: 1

    Personally I think it's pushing it to classify RIM's BlackBerry as a smart phone. I have both an iPhone 4 and a company Blackberry given to me for work. The Blackberry is a clunky unwieldy toy compared to the iPhone with a fraction of the capability. I use it as little as I can possibly get away with.

  21. Re:Time to move to a repository system? on Android Holes Allow Secret Installation of Apps · · Score: 1

    I still think a better solution is to make it impossible to write malicious software in the first place

    If it was that easy it would have been done already.

    Maybe an in-between solution is for Google to vet apps that request more sensitive permissions.

    And how do you determine if an app is going to request sensitive permission without umm, vetting it in the first place? Chicken and egg situation there mate.

    Perhaps another step is to make it so that by default the app asks for the more sensitive permissions but the user has to confirm them individually

    So you have a situation where the app is constantly asking the user for confirmation before doing things, kind of like how MS Vista used to do. We all know how well that was received.

    I guess that Apple obviously thought this through properly before they released their product. Maybe Google should eat some humble pie and just emulate what Apple have done.

  22. Re:Well, duh on Americans Less Healthy, But Outlive Brits · · Score: 1

    I heard once that London Irish rugby club used to get theirs shipped direct from Dublin because it was better than the stuff the UK distributors had.

    It is a little extra special when it's fresh. If you're ever in Dublin visit the Guinness Museum at the Guinness brewery. At the end of the tour make sure you visit the Museum bar and sample a few jars. It's a real treat :)

  23. Re:Well, duh on Americans Less Healthy, But Outlive Brits · · Score: 1

    Fizzy pap? How can you say that - there's nothing fizzy about draught guinness. The old conditioned bottled guinness you so fondly wax over was fizzy. It had no head and the bubbles were very much part of the drink. I remember it too as a young man, and my great grandmother (who lived to about 93) used to drink half a guiness 'n black (blackcurrent) every day and swore by it.

    But the whole point of modern draught guinness is that the bubbles are designed to be tiny, foamy and slowly rise to the surface to form a nice creamy head. There are no bubbles left in the body of the drink once it's settled. It's just smooth black silky goodness.

    The "guinness cold" pint is just an option; an advertising gimmick applied to a number of brand ales and beers.

  24. Re:Well, duh on Americans Less Healthy, But Outlive Brits · · Score: 1

    No it's not: "Ireland" is exactly that. It's not called Southern Ireland or anything else that describes it as part of a whole - just "Ireland".

    Northern Ireland may be on the same land mass and have the word "Ireland" in it, but today it's part of the UK, not Ireland. Different currency - GBP not the Euro. Different road signs - Miles not Kilometers, etc. And Guinness originates from Dublin, Ireland.
           

  25. Re:When to say enough? on Americans Less Healthy, But Outlive Brits · · Score: 1

    Exactly. Were you cold, miserable, broke, jealous, hungry, scared or have anxiety attacks before you were born? Nope, and that'll be what it's like after you're dead too. Nothing to worry about at all.