In all cases I faced so far, 355/113 provides a simple and nice approximation.
Uhhhh... that gives 3.1415929204.
The first 6 decimal places (141592) are correct, but that's it. Seeing as how you've memorized 6 digits anyway (355/113), why not just go for the gold and memorize the first 6-10 digits of pi anyway? I've got 3.1415926535 in my head... not that I EVER use it:P
If 10 major ISPs decide tomorrow to do a "little favor" to Bing (God forbid), this would immediately and effectively hurt Google - massively.
Aw hellllll no. They'd do a GIANT favor to Google in many ways. As one, there would be MILLIONS of extremely pissed off customers. Also, the issue of net neutrality would immediately become the most pressing global issue on record. It would make the Deepwater Horizon fucku^H^H disaster look like a note in the margin of history. Furthermore, there's a high likelihood that a great portion of those pissed off customers would be lawmakers and FCC chairmen.... see where this is going?
It'd be wonderful for the shit to hit the fan in such a way that ISP's would be forced into net neutrality by some means (millions of angry customers in that case), but I don't see it happening. The history of the internet, over time anyway, will become just that, and the corporations that literally own the internet as we know it will take a giant shit all over the RFC's that were designed in good faith for the usability of all in the name of increased profits.
....But that's the world we live in. Maybe we'll come to like it some day.
If you can't RTFM and figure out how to configure the hardware... you're not a Systems Administrator. You're a server admin, or a lab rat.
I very likely could. I've gone from clueless to fully functional on all sorts of applications through simple RTFM and sample setup maneuvers, but when it comes down to it, I think it makes the most sense to leave the network stuff to the network admins and the server stuff to the server admins. While I suppose you could be right---I've never heard an "official" definition of "Systems Administrator"---I've long considered "Network" Administrators to be the ones that handle, set up, and maintain the physical and logical aspects of network layout and connectivity, whereas "Systems" Administrators handle, set up, and maintain the payload that goes on that network (e.g. servers, desktops, printers, embedded devices, and sometimes VoIP hardware). I apologize if I've offended you, but I consider "server admin" to be a subset of my skills, and am far more capable than a "lab rat," though I admit I do highly enjoy testing things in a lab.
I can set up static routes and have routed traffic between two networks and so on, but my point is that I'm not an expert at it. In a pinch I can get the job done, but I'd rather someone who understands routing, VLANing and so on more fundamentally than I do perform the configuration rather than myself, because I would trust that person's skill set more than my own.
That said---and much like IPv6 vs IPv4---I've read plenty of documents and book chapters that detail the more sophisticated aspects of networking, but I have found them all to be lacking somewhere as I still don't understand what I'm actually doing when I attempt to configure real or virtual network hardware in a test environment; It just works. If you can point out a guide that explains VLANing to someone who is completely ignorant on the subject (for example, I don't understand how you can configure a switch port to be VLAN X, or just tagged, or what the difference there is, or when/how/what the difference is between VLAN settings on a switch port VS. on a NIC, and on and on), I would really like to see it, but I've never come across it yet, and I'd be quite grateful.
...for that matter, and speaking of IPv6, if you can similarly point out instruction for how it works targeted at someone who has a good functional understanding of IPv4, that'd be spiffy too. Similarly, everything I've tried to read simply doesn't explain things well enough and doesn't compare or contrast to IPv4 analogs.
The HORROR THRILLER that will SCARE your IT department ALL THE WAY TO THE BASEMENT!
________________________
The NETWORK HUB from HELL! ________________________
Network frames will be MANGLED. Packets will be DROPPED. User programs will be KILLED. Connections... will... DIE!
"I've never seen the racks blink that color before... What the hel----*RING*-----What do you mean 'Address Conflict'? No, no, don't kill it with Task Manager, just----Oh... my... God..."
It's going to be the ARP STORM of a lifetime.
Written and directed by Uwe Boll.
"I needed more phone jacks in my cubicle so I just brought this old box from home and^H^H^H^H
Based on my experience, at least 80% of the home routers in use still have the default credentials unchanged since they were unpacked. That's a lot of the population vulnerable.
I've got that problem too, but I left mine at default settings because A) I'm silly enough to assume my internal home network is "secure enough" from unauthorized access, and B) it's painfully hard to forget default passwords. That is, of course, unless you're in the majority population of router owners who use stock firmware (because then, of course, you can't remember "admin" to save your f*cking life).
All this talk and proof of concept though has me concerned enough though that I'll go change the creds.
This story is only a story if your Network Admin knows nothing about network admin.
Plenty of places make their sysadmins set up the network hardware, but the problem is that we're sysadmins, not network admins. It's annoying as all hell, but the fact is that plenty of businesses will forego hiring a networking expert simply because they don't think they need to.
Given a network and adequate hardware, even I can point out what an appropriate topology would be for the setup, but I just don't know how to do it. I understand the concept of VLANs, routing, DHCP relay, etc., but I just don't know how to configure the hardware. I really wish I did, too, but on the same token I'd rather spend my time and effort working on hardware and OS level stuff and just be able to tell the network guru[s] how I'd like the connectivity to play out.
...To give you an idea of my networking ignorance: In spite of the fact that I know VLAN tagging is a modification to ethernet frames themselves (i.e., I know they're a subset of 802.3), I spent god knows how long trying to forward VLAN traffic over a wireless (or 802.11) connection. It wasn't until I called the VoIP provider that I realized what foolishness I had been pursuing for the better part of an hour:-P (In retrospect, if I had gotten EoIP to work in the first place like I had planned, it should have worked)
There's a small problem centered on VLC really, really, really, extra-super-holy-fuck-it's-a-pile-of-shit sucking. Sure it "plays everything," but until they drop FFMpeg on Windows and embrace directshow or Media Foundation (and by extension, DXVA) it's going to continue to be a heaping pile of shit until the end of time. Not to mention the shitty interface. I've never gotten optical output to work correctly on it, it eats CPU, and it wasn't until just over a year ago that you could even change the volume with the mouse wheel.
Don't get me wrong, it always works, and that's important, but it lacks the polish that just about everything else including other FOSS projects like MPC-HC have had for a VERY long time.
And why Windows Media Center and not MythTV? Three reasons: DXVA, Media Center Extenders (XBox 360's are cheaper and more compact than any computer that would fit the bill, and they have a nice remote), and CableCARD support. There's no other platform that offers that set of features. Also, it's really, really slick:P
There's a bunch of reasons. First and foremost really is the sharing of TV tuners and centralized configuration brought by extending WMC rather than replicating it. Second, extenders do all the heavy lifting on the back end via DXVA and whatnot, which would mean better battery life. Also, it'll optimize any video source, no matter what it is, to run over that network connection.
It's neat stuff, but it's really waiting for a breakout to the mainstream. Windows 7 has made it vastly more powerful, but it'll be a couple more years (or Windows versions) before the average folks start digging into it... though perhaps those people will be more interested in Hulu Plus or whatever at that point:P
I've got a Viliv S5, and for what I bought it for (portable MKV/h264 playback and general nerdiness), it function[ed] well (I add the past tense because there's an issue with the Windows 7 wifi driver for it that makes it damn near impossible to stream anything). I have though for the most part stopped using it in favor of AirVideo on my iPhone. Mostly because the phone fits in my pocket. While I find myself watching a TV show or something in bed and think "Hrmmz this would look better on an iPad," I can't really justify buying one because I know I'd never use the damned thing. Hell, my boss has bought half a dozen iPads and I'm not sure that more than one or two of them get any kind of regular use... he's a bit of a fanboy. I digress.
What I'd really like to see is a tablet--any tablet--that runs any OS, be it Windows, [Insert favorite flavor here] Linux, iOS, OS X, even Windows CE or Windows Phone 7, that will act as a Windows Media Center Extender. There aren't any software MCE's currently available (other than in the bowels of Microsoft), but if I could have that experience on a tablet, when I'm away from home I can use the thing for what-the-hell-ever I please, but when I am home I can watch my entire media collection and live TV and DVR all on a single, wireless device. That would be worth $500. My guess is that Ballmer doesn't care though.
[rant] Hrm, while I'm talking about shit that won't exist in a relavant time frame, I'll say again: Perhaps we can have ISP's that solve the bandwidth problem by capping bandwidth instead of capping transfer. I love being considered as the poster boy for the problem in spite of the fact that I download shit at one fifth of my pipe's speed... in the middle of the night. Really fucking it up for everyone else, I am. [/rant]
I hear you. Those damn Linux boot loaders can be hard to get rid of.
Indeed. I've been using SYSLINUX and COM32 for some time now and I love them to pieces. They make NTLDR, and, to a lesser extent, the Windows Boot Manager, look like kids' toys.
The cost of the software isn't the issue, it's the cost of delivering your applications on that platform that is the issue.
That thing kinda gets me thinking... Wouldn't it be possible to run ActiveX inside of an IE Frame on top of another browser? Probably not a later version of IE, which is a shame, but it'd be neat if you could migrate the default browser up and then whitelist in all the broken shit to a frame running on the older rendering engine via group policy or something. That'd be nice I think, but from what I've experienced, IE is easier to deploy and manage (at the moment, at least) than any other browser when considering group policy, and MS won't support side by side installs... funny considering that whole WinSXS platform they've got going;)
Rumor has it that if the hacker can find the MAC controller address for the NIC card in the ATM machine, he can use specially crafted TCP/IP protocol and also expose your SSN number.
My iPhone drops a *lot* of calls - at least a few every day (whether I'm at home, at a client or on the road).
My iPhone drops calls a lot too, it seems. Which is extremely ironic seeing as how I have an AT&T femtocell.
However, from my experience with other AT&T phones and other AT&T customers, I've been seeing that, more often than not, it's really just this damn phone that drops calls, regardless of network conditions. Coverage is another story, but I find that their coverage in the greater Cleveland area is fine. Out in the boondocks is another story, but overall their service is okay.
I'll laugh my ass off, though, if the iPhone comes to Verizon and it drops calls constantly. If it doesn't, I'll be pissed that, for some reason, every other phone manufacturer can handle weaker coverage but Apple can't.
...Though I guess that would make sense. What else would you expect from a mobile phone that's not manufactured or designed by a company that, quite frankly, isn't known for producing quality mobile phones for decades.
if you include teenagers in the mix, it jumps to... well, pretty much every adult male I've ever met who isn't lying.
You probably mean ephebophilia is more common. It's a bit saddening that there are people out there who would literally equate a 40 year old man that wants to nail Miley Cyrus with a 40 year old man that wants to nail a 5 year old.
Either way, I imagine that it's a bit of a Gaussian type of curve instead of something like a 1 in 25 figure. Through my late teens and early twenties, I've had different friends of different ages that all had their upper and lower limits, and each was different. It's kinda neat how after they all hit 23 or so, the upper limit rises dramatically;)
- the actual start menu not being hidden away under “Programs>”.
If you want a list of programs to pick from, install Windows 98, or make a shortcut (har har) to your programs folder.
If you want a hierarchical menu that you can dive through to get to nearly any corner of the operating system's configuration, common functions, or most frequently used programs, click the Windows orb (yes, yes, that's what it's called now, and nobody knows what the hell the "windows orb" is).
Couldn't they just start making driver signatures verify with the hardware they support instead of the OS?
That's a really, really bad idea.
Drivers are for hardware, yes, but they're also for software too. As soon as you switch to that type of signature verification model, you lose the ability to load drivers for virtual hardware, like ImDisk. Microsoft's iSCSI initiator is also a virtual mass storage driver, and that wouldn't work either.
There's probably a gazillion other examples, but generally speaking, driver and software signing as it's currently implemented is working well enough for most things. It's just a shame it's so god damned expensive to get a driver signature or code signing certificate for something like a small FOSS project.
that wouldn't differentiate two people sharing the same PC
I've got a fair number of shared machines behind my NAT, each with identical user agents and IP addresses. The whole cookie thing is more likely, because from agents and IP's, I would appear as one highly mobile individual with a lot of personas;)
With respect to seeing leftover cookies on web browsers when using a shared PC, it really, really saddens me that people just don't understand that I like my web browser the way it is, and I highly dislike having to log out of your shit and back into my own when I sit down at my desk. I created a "Guest" account many years ago (albeit a machine admin, just a settings thing, not a security one) for my friends and family to use when they wanted to use my computer, but rather than doing so they'd simply sit at my desk and start messing with all my shit, especially in the web browser. To this day, when I occasionally do work on shared computers that are used in a home setting (shared computers in a non-domain setting are actually worse, IMHO), I find it's about 50/50 right now as to seeing a machine with single or multiple OS logon accounts.
Due to these experiences though, if I'm not at my computer, it's locked, asleep, or off. I've got 7 fully working, identical guest machines and a workbench area that doubles as a laptop setup station, and the ironic thing is that I still hear a complaint every now and then that someone can't use my computer. Oh well:-D
a very compelling platform to destroy traditional cable.
Such a platform exists, but it's in the form of RSS feed readers and automatic downloaders.
The closest thing you can get to the legitimate version of that is Windows Media Center with CableCARD hardware. Ditch the cable boxes for an HTPC and XBox 360's, and it'll cut a significant cost off the bill from leasing fees.
At least, that's what I'm gonna do once Ceton gets their act together.
Even though I'd prefer cheap/free over something that costs money, I highly prefer legitimate sources over illegitimate ones.
To get a fair price, add up the minimum amount of money you'd have to spend to get all the content you like, and let's pretend for argument's sake that you can get HBO and Showtime and Starz without having a $100+ cable package to throw it on top of.
Broadcast TV = Free, HBO/Showtime/Starz = $10/mo each, Movies = $10/mo via Netflix.
So let's say $50/month when you throw out terrestrial broadcasts' commercials because paying for them is bullshit. Now cut it in half. $25/month minimum to $50/month maximum depending on your package with a la carte options available at each tier AND... AND... you can bundle it with your internet connection and telephone line for better savings. And seeing as how Comcast owns NBC these days, it's a win/win for them.
But that would make sense and be immensely profitable, but not as profitable as the packages people pay for these days but never use so we'll never see it happen. Oh well.
[rant] While we're at it, why don't we try to get a connection that solves the bandwidth problem by selling bandwidth caps instead of transfer caps, but that would make sense too. [/rant]
Slashdot Mirror
In all cases I faced so far, 355/113 provides a simple and nice approximation.
Uhhhh... that gives 3.1415929204.
:P
The first 6 decimal places (141592) are correct, but that's it. Seeing as how you've memorized 6 digits anyway (355/113), why not just go for the gold and memorize the first 6-10 digits of pi anyway? I've got 3.1415926535 in my head... not that I EVER use it
If 10 major ISPs decide tomorrow to do a "little favor" to Bing (God forbid), this would immediately and effectively hurt Google - massively.
Aw hellllll no. They'd do a GIANT favor to Google in many ways. As one, there would be MILLIONS of extremely pissed off customers. Also, the issue of net neutrality would immediately become the most pressing global issue on record. It would make the Deepwater Horizon fucku^H^H disaster look like a note in the margin of history. Furthermore, there's a high likelihood that a great portion of those pissed off customers would be lawmakers and FCC chairmen.... see where this is going?
It'd be wonderful for the shit to hit the fan in such a way that ISP's would be forced into net neutrality by some means (millions of angry customers in that case), but I don't see it happening. The history of the internet, over time anyway, will become just that, and the corporations that literally own the internet as we know it will take a giant shit all over the RFC's that were designed in good faith for the usability of all in the name of increased profits.
....But that's the world we live in. Maybe we'll come to like it some day.
Not if there's any truth the idea that google is the new microsoft.
You must be new here. Apple is the New Microsoft(TM).
And Google just became the new Level3. Let's hope Microsoft becomes the new Cogent.
If you can't RTFM and figure out how to configure the hardware ... you're not a Systems Administrator. You're a server admin, or a lab rat.
I very likely could. I've gone from clueless to fully functional on all sorts of applications through simple RTFM and sample setup maneuvers, but when it comes down to it, I think it makes the most sense to leave the network stuff to the network admins and the server stuff to the server admins. While I suppose you could be right---I've never heard an "official" definition of "Systems Administrator"---I've long considered "Network" Administrators to be the ones that handle, set up, and maintain the physical and logical aspects of network layout and connectivity, whereas "Systems" Administrators handle, set up, and maintain the payload that goes on that network (e.g. servers, desktops, printers, embedded devices, and sometimes VoIP hardware). I apologize if I've offended you, but I consider "server admin" to be a subset of my skills, and am far more capable than a "lab rat," though I admit I do highly enjoy testing things in a lab.
I can set up static routes and have routed traffic between two networks and so on, but my point is that I'm not an expert at it. In a pinch I can get the job done, but I'd rather someone who understands routing, VLANing and so on more fundamentally than I do perform the configuration rather than myself, because I would trust that person's skill set more than my own.
That said---and much like IPv6 vs IPv4---I've read plenty of documents and book chapters that detail the more sophisticated aspects of networking, but I have found them all to be lacking somewhere as I still don't understand what I'm actually doing when I attempt to configure real or virtual network hardware in a test environment; It just works. If you can point out a guide that explains VLANing to someone who is completely ignorant on the subject (for example, I don't understand how you can configure a switch port to be VLAN X, or just tagged, or what the difference there is, or when/how/what the difference is between VLAN settings on a switch port VS. on a NIC, and on and on), I would really like to see it, but I've never come across it yet, and I'd be quite grateful.
...for that matter, and speaking of IPv6, if you can similarly point out instruction for how it works targeted at someone who has a good functional understanding of IPv4, that'd be spiffy too. Similarly, everything I've tried to read simply doesn't explain things well enough and doesn't compare or contrast to IPv4 analogs.
A hub?
THIS SUMMER
NO CARRIER
Based on my experience, at least 80% of the home routers in use still have the default credentials unchanged since they were unpacked. That's a lot of the population vulnerable.
I've got that problem too, but I left mine at default settings because A) I'm silly enough to assume my internal home network is "secure enough" from unauthorized access, and B) it's painfully hard to forget default passwords. That is, of course, unless you're in the majority population of router owners who use stock firmware (because then, of course, you can't remember "admin" to save your f*cking life).
All this talk and proof of concept though has me concerned enough though that I'll go change the creds.
This story is only a story if your Network Admin knows nothing about network admin.
Plenty of places make their sysadmins set up the network hardware, but the problem is that we're sysadmins, not network admins. It's annoying as all hell, but the fact is that plenty of businesses will forego hiring a networking expert simply because they don't think they need to.
:-P (In retrospect, if I had gotten EoIP to work in the first place like I had planned, it should have worked)
Given a network and adequate hardware, even I can point out what an appropriate topology would be for the setup, but I just don't know how to do it. I understand the concept of VLANs, routing, DHCP relay, etc., but I just don't know how to configure the hardware. I really wish I did, too, but on the same token I'd rather spend my time and effort working on hardware and OS level stuff and just be able to tell the network guru[s] how I'd like the connectivity to play out.
...To give you an idea of my networking ignorance: In spite of the fact that I know VLAN tagging is a modification to ethernet frames themselves (i.e., I know they're a subset of 802.3), I spent god knows how long trying to forward VLAN traffic over a wireless (or 802.11) connection. It wasn't until I called the VoIP provider that I realized what foolishness I had been pursuing for the better part of an hour
Very nice, but in the absence of a software WMC extender, it's still lacking a game breaking feature :(
Heck you could even use vlc
There's a small problem centered on VLC really, really, really, extra-super-holy-fuck-it's-a-pile-of-shit sucking. Sure it "plays everything," but until they drop FFMpeg on Windows and embrace directshow or Media Foundation (and by extension, DXVA) it's going to continue to be a heaping pile of shit until the end of time. Not to mention the shitty interface. I've never gotten optical output to work correctly on it, it eats CPU, and it wasn't until just over a year ago that you could even change the volume with the mouse wheel.
:P
Don't get me wrong, it always works, and that's important, but it lacks the polish that just about everything else including other FOSS projects like MPC-HC have had for a VERY long time.
And why Windows Media Center and not MythTV? Three reasons: DXVA, Media Center Extenders (XBox 360's are cheaper and more compact than any computer that would fit the bill, and they have a nice remote), and CableCARD support. There's no other platform that offers that set of features. Also, it's really, really slick
There's a bunch of reasons. First and foremost really is the sharing of TV tuners and centralized configuration brought by extending WMC rather than replicating it. Second, extenders do all the heavy lifting on the back end via DXVA and whatnot, which would mean better battery life. Also, it'll optimize any video source, no matter what it is, to run over that network connection.
:P
It's neat stuff, but it's really waiting for a breakout to the mainstream. Windows 7 has made it vastly more powerful, but it'll be a couple more years (or Windows versions) before the average folks start digging into it... though perhaps those people will be more interested in Hulu Plus or whatever at that point
No, it doesn't fill the Tablet PC niche;
Ain't that the truth.
I've got a Viliv S5, and for what I bought it for (portable MKV/h264 playback and general nerdiness), it function[ed] well (I add the past tense because there's an issue with the Windows 7 wifi driver for it that makes it damn near impossible to stream anything). I have though for the most part stopped using it in favor of AirVideo on my iPhone. Mostly because the phone fits in my pocket. While I find myself watching a TV show or something in bed and think "Hrmmz this would look better on an iPad," I can't really justify buying one because I know I'd never use the damned thing. Hell, my boss has bought half a dozen iPads and I'm not sure that more than one or two of them get any kind of regular use... he's a bit of a fanboy. I digress.
What I'd really like to see is a tablet--any tablet--that runs any OS, be it Windows, [Insert favorite flavor here] Linux, iOS, OS X, even Windows CE or Windows Phone 7, that will act as a Windows Media Center Extender. There aren't any software MCE's currently available (other than in the bowels of Microsoft), but if I could have that experience on a tablet, when I'm away from home I can use the thing for what-the-hell-ever I please, but when I am home I can watch my entire media collection and live TV and DVR all on a single, wireless device. That would be worth $500. My guess is that Ballmer doesn't care though.
[rant]
Hrm, while I'm talking about shit that won't exist in a relavant time frame, I'll say again: Perhaps we can have ISP's that solve the bandwidth problem by capping bandwidth instead of capping transfer. I love being considered as the poster boy for the problem in spite of the fact that I download shit at one fifth of my pipe's speed... in the middle of the night. Really fucking it up for everyone else, I am.
[/rant]
...SYSLINUX....COM32...NTLDR... Windows Boot Manager...
The what now? ...the age of the 1-click iPad has begun. There is a reason for its success...
My Lawn! You BASTARD!
I hear you. Those damn Linux boot loaders can be hard to get rid of.
Indeed. I've been using SYSLINUX and COM32 for some time now and I love them to pieces. They make NTLDR, and, to a lesser extent, the Windows Boot Manager, look like kids' toys.
The cost of the software isn't the issue, it's the cost of delivering your applications on that platform that is the issue.
That thing kinda gets me thinking... Wouldn't it be possible to run ActiveX inside of an IE Frame on top of another browser? Probably not a later version of IE, which is a shame, but it'd be neat if you could migrate the default browser up and then whitelist in all the broken shit to a frame running on the older rendering engine via group policy or something. That'd be nice I think, but from what I've experienced, IE is easier to deploy and manage (at the moment, at least) than any other browser when considering group policy, and MS won't support side by side installs... funny considering that whole WinSXS platform they've got going ;)
Rumor has it that if the hacker can find the MAC controller address for the NIC card in the ATM machine, he can use specially crafted TCP/IP protocol and also expose your SSN number.
My iPhone drops a *lot* of calls - at least a few every day (whether I'm at home, at a client or on the road).
My iPhone drops calls a lot too, it seems. Which is extremely ironic seeing as how I have an AT&T femtocell.
However, from my experience with other AT&T phones and other AT&T customers, I've been seeing that, more often than not, it's really just this damn phone that drops calls, regardless of network conditions. Coverage is another story, but I find that their coverage in the greater Cleveland area is fine. Out in the boondocks is another story, but overall their service is okay.
I'll laugh my ass off, though, if the iPhone comes to Verizon and it drops calls constantly. If it doesn't, I'll be pissed that, for some reason, every other phone manufacturer can handle weaker coverage but Apple can't.
...Though I guess that would make sense. What else would you expect from a mobile phone that's not manufactured or designed by a company that, quite frankly, isn't known for producing quality mobile phones for decades.
if you include teenagers in the mix, it jumps to... well, pretty much every adult male I've ever met who isn't lying.
You probably mean ephebophilia is more common. It's a bit saddening that there are people out there who would literally equate a 40 year old man that wants to nail Miley Cyrus with a 40 year old man that wants to nail a 5 year old.
;)
Either way, I imagine that it's a bit of a Gaussian type of curve instead of something like a 1 in 25 figure. Through my late teens and early twenties, I've had different friends of different ages that all had their upper and lower limits, and each was different. It's kinda neat how after they all hit 23 or so, the upper limit rises dramatically
Please name one of these tasks, Pentium D is such a crap design I would love to know what it does do well.
I've got a Pentium D in my HTPC. It randomly bluescreens extremely well!
I used to worry about having a 3 inch dick until I found girls like them that wide!
And you'll do us all the favor of telling us where these women may be found???
=)
- the actual start menu not being hidden away under “Programs>”.
If you want a list of programs to pick from, install Windows 98, or make a shortcut (har har) to your programs folder.
If you want a hierarchical menu that you can dive through to get to nearly any corner of the operating system's configuration, common functions, or most frequently used programs, click the Windows orb (yes, yes, that's what it's called now, and nobody knows what the hell the "windows orb" is).
Couldn't they just start making driver signatures verify with the hardware they support instead of the OS?
That's a really, really bad idea.
Drivers are for hardware, yes, but they're also for software too. As soon as you switch to that type of signature verification model, you lose the ability to load drivers for virtual hardware, like ImDisk. Microsoft's iSCSI initiator is also a virtual mass storage driver, and that wouldn't work either.
There's probably a gazillion other examples, but generally speaking, driver and software signing as it's currently implemented is working well enough for most things. It's just a shame it's so god damned expensive to get a driver signature or code signing certificate for something like a small FOSS project.
that wouldn't differentiate two people sharing the same PC
I've got a fair number of shared machines behind my NAT, each with identical user agents and IP addresses. The whole cookie thing is more likely, because from agents and IP's, I would appear as one highly mobile individual with a lot of personas ;)
:-D
With respect to seeing leftover cookies on web browsers when using a shared PC, it really, really saddens me that people just don't understand that I like my web browser the way it is, and I highly dislike having to log out of your shit and back into my own when I sit down at my desk. I created a "Guest" account many years ago (albeit a machine admin, just a settings thing, not a security one) for my friends and family to use when they wanted to use my computer, but rather than doing so they'd simply sit at my desk and start messing with all my shit, especially in the web browser. To this day, when I occasionally do work on shared computers that are used in a home setting (shared computers in a non-domain setting are actually worse, IMHO), I find it's about 50/50 right now as to seeing a machine with single or multiple OS logon accounts.
Due to these experiences though, if I'm not at my computer, it's locked, asleep, or off. I've got 7 fully working, identical guest machines and a workbench area that doubles as a laptop setup station, and the ironic thing is that I still hear a complaint every now and then that someone can't use my computer. Oh well
I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy
a very compelling platform to destroy traditional cable.
Such a platform exists, but it's in the form of RSS feed readers and automatic downloaders.
The closest thing you can get to the legitimate version of that is Windows Media Center with CableCARD hardware. Ditch the cable boxes for an HTPC and XBox 360's, and it'll cut a significant cost off the bill from leasing fees.
At least, that's what I'm gonna do once Ceton gets their act together.
fair (think ~$5 per month)
Too low.
Even though I'd prefer cheap/free over something that costs money, I highly prefer legitimate sources over illegitimate ones.
To get a fair price, add up the minimum amount of money you'd have to spend to get all the content you like, and let's pretend for argument's sake that you can get HBO and Showtime and Starz without having a $100+ cable package to throw it on top of.
Broadcast TV = Free, HBO/Showtime/Starz = $10/mo each, Movies = $10/mo via Netflix.
So let's say $50/month when you throw out terrestrial broadcasts' commercials because paying for them is bullshit. Now cut it in half. $25/month minimum to $50/month maximum depending on your package with a la carte options available at each tier AND... AND... you can bundle it with your internet connection and telephone line for better savings. And seeing as how Comcast owns NBC these days, it's a win/win for them.
But that would make sense and be immensely profitable, but not as profitable as the packages people pay for these days but never use so we'll never see it happen. Oh well.
[rant]
While we're at it, why don't we try to get a connection that solves the bandwidth problem by selling bandwidth caps instead of transfer caps, but that would make sense too.
[/rant]