Recent Posts

7826

Developer's Corner / Re: Virtualization to Create Single EXEs from Mixed Assemblies

« Last post by 40hz on April 15, 2011, 04:03 AM »

Hey! Renegade's got a new avatar. Like it!

Thx for the heads up too!

7827

Living Room / Re: Old Computer Ads - This is way cool!

« Last post by 40hz on April 15, 2011, 03:54 AM »

@40hz:
Not if they trademarked the term "personal computer" like they would today!

-zridling (April 15, 2011, 03:45 AM)

Very true.

After a while I seem to remember Apple qualified that comment and started calling it something like "the first generally available personal computer" or "the first personal computer you can actually go out and buy" after many in the early PC community took issue with their original claim.
 

7828

Living Room / Re: When Growing Online Pressures Backfire

« Last post by 40hz on April 15, 2011, 03:40 AM »

That deserves to be on one of those office demotivational posters.

-nudone (April 15, 2011, 03:04 AM)

It actually from Tracy Kidder's book Soul of A New Machine. It was attributed to a manager in the design team responsible for developing Data General's first 32-bit minicomputer back in the late 70s.



(Some really good insights to be found in Kidder's book. Right up there with Fred Brooks's The Mythical Man-Month; Gerry & Dani Weinberg's On the Design of Stable Systems; and just about anything by Tony Demarco. Good story and a fun read too! )

7829

Living Room / Re: Salaries of Charity CEOs

« Last post by 40hz on April 15, 2011, 03:06 AM »

My GF and I always check the financial reports (and ratios) of any charity before we contribute. Our general rule of thumb is: no more than 15% of the total intake should be used for administrative purposes (i.e. salaries, expenses, communications, fundraising activities, etc.). At least 85% of all contributions should go directly to the cause.

Any activity has expenses associated with it. Charities are no different. But we like them to be kept withing reasonable limits. We have no use for so-called charities that spend 50% or 60% of the contributions they receive on salaries and overhead.

7830

Living Room / Re: When Growing Online Pressures Backfire

« Last post by 40hz on April 15, 2011, 02:49 AM »

Erm, yes. It was a revelation to my young idealistic naive unemployed self that the real world works on the principle of "just good enough". And quite right too; otherwise nothing would ever be "completed".

I wish I'd accepted this fundamental truth at an earlier age.

-nudone (April 15, 2011, 02:26 AM)

+1 w/nudone.

"Not everything worth doing is worth doing well" was the hardest work lesson I ever had to learn.

7831

Living Room / Re: What's your approach to this help desk procedure issue?

« Last post by 40hz on April 14, 2011, 03:50 PM »

I do still prefer the option of auto-generated tickets and have found that in a good number of cases I don't actually need to change too much about the original ticket, only add additional info.

-JavaJones (April 14, 2011, 03:42 PM)

If you have savvy users who understand much of the tech they're using, having them generate their own support tickets should work out very well. If that's the case with where you are - go for it!

I've never been that lucky.

7832

Living Room / Re: What's your approach to this help desk procedure issue?

« Last post by 40hz on April 14, 2011, 03:30 PM »

How do you feel about this level of access for individual users?

-JavaJones (April 13, 2011, 06:23 PM)

I think it's a great idea that seldom works well in the real world.

IMO most client generated ticket systems are mainly put in place for public relations purposes rather than for practical reasons. They're often nothing more than a fancy in-box. In most places, a client generated ticket does little more than act as a call tag for a technician.

It's then given to a helpdesk technician for triage. The tech needs to:

• contact the client
• get the client's story
• extract additional or missing information about the problem
• tentatively identify and classify what the real problem is
• edit the original ticket so that it's actually usable by support staff
• assign the request a priority code
• formally place it in the support queue

In short, someone still needs to talk to the client first before they can correctly enter the support request on the system. So it's generally immaterial, from a support perspective, whether the original ticket was client-generated or not. All support requests need to be reviewed.

7833

General Software Discussion / Re: ARS reviews Linux Gnome 3.0

« Last post by 40hz on April 14, 2011, 07:25 AM »

Been using Xfce since 3.something.
Never looked back, and I keep finding good reasons why...

-Edvard (April 14, 2011, 12:12 AM)

+1! I prefer a lighter desktop myself. But that was thanks to #! (CrunchBang ) and their choice of Openbox for their default desktop. The fact that much of my personal tech is also showing signs of age could also have a lot to do with it.

#! has an XFCE version as well. But after using both for a while, I find myself with a 'slight but definite' preference for Openbox. Which seems to suggest it's not so much which desktop manager gets used as it does how well it's been implemented and tweaked for a specific distro.

Not to say you couldn't do all of that yourself from scratch. (This is Linux after all!) But that's a huge amount of work, so it's a much better strategy to find something that meets your needs 90% of the way and customize from there.

-----------------

The article makes it sound as though GNOME 3.0 is super stable and ready to go, so it makes me wonder if Ubuntu will be using it in their eminent Ubuntu 11.4 release..

-Deozaan (April 13, 2011, 12:12 AM)

It will likely be in their repositories. But last I heard, Shuttleworth & Co, are totally committed to using Unity as the default desktop starting with release 11.4, aka Natty Numnutz Narwhal.

Most people outside Canonical seem to think this is a 'very bad' idea.

-40hz (April 13, 2011, 08:12 AM)

Unity looks very much like GNOME 3.0 to me. At least from screenshots and videos alone, they seem very similar to me.

-Deozaan (April 14, 2011, 04:04 AM)

Hope not! I tried Unity and didn't like it at all. I really thought they crossed the line between "simplified" and "dumbed-down" in its current version.

If I want to ride a training-wheel equipped bicycle while handcuffed and wearing a straitjacket I can always buy something from Apple. At least that way I'll get bragging rights with the Cappuccino Computing Cabal that hogs the tables over at my local Barnes & Noble.

7834

Living Room / Re: Thoughts on switching to IPv6

« Last post by 40hz on April 13, 2011, 06:16 PM »

It's going to be interesting to see what happens to ISPs that hand out free routers (like most of them in the UK). If they suddenly have to provide their whole infrastructure with new routers there will be a lot of bankruptcies but if they don't offer free routers there will either be a massive shift around ISPs by customers looking for a freebie or all ISPs will have to start charging!

-Carol Haynes (April 12, 2011, 07:08 PM)

Don't know about the UK, but over in the USA I'm guessing the ISP/Telcos will offer free routers  - BUT - use that as an excuse to kick you off your unlimited DSL plan if you have one. That's what AT&T did if you took them up on their iPhone4 discount and had unlimited internet on your old contract.

I'm also guessing the new residential routers will have IPv6 only on the WAN side. Or at least initially. Good ol' IPv4/NAT will continue to rule the roost on the LAN side for many more years until the world's governments finally force everything onto IPv6. Which they eventually will. Because once that happens, an IP address can be permanently assigned to people and devices. Just like a social security number or VIN on a motor vehicle - each address is unique and registered. No more anonymity.

At which point it become possible to enforce surveillance and control over all network activity - with only as much privacy as our politicos care to grant us.

(This isn't 'tinfoil hat' stuff BTW. It's already being seriously discussed.)  

7835

Living Room / Re: Old Computer Ads - This is way cool!

« Last post by 40hz on April 13, 2011, 05:42 PM »

And the BS was already starting way back then:



(Love that "we invented" comment. Must have been shocking news to MITS with their Altair!)

7836

Living Room / Cat & Dolphin Make Friends

« Last post by 40hz on April 13, 2011, 05:17 PM »

Great video. Why can't we all get along?

 

7837

Developer's Corner / Re: Partial (corrupted) downloads from a server (Not a valid win32 application etc)

« Last post by 40hz on April 13, 2011, 05:11 PM »

This makes me wonder whether it may be some kind of in-between ISP caching. I know someone else mentioned that. Very hard to say indeed.

It's also important to note we may be looking at 2 separate but related issues. On one side certainly there are occasional/intermittent transfer issues, as seen with the PNG issue pointed out earlier in this thread. These would also be likely at the root of, or at least involved in, the reason the installer download problems are occurring. So that issue certainly seems to need investigation and resolution if possible, and it seems that can only be either server-side or at some link in-between since it was reproduced simultaneously on multiple distant systems with (presumably) different Internet providers.
*
*
*

-JavaJones (April 13, 2011, 03:31 PM)

Was this happening before the servers went over to VMs?

7838

Living Room / Re: Old Computer Ads - This is way cool!

« Last post by 40hz on April 13, 2011, 12:02 PM »

The famous IBM 'Alice' ad? Awesome find!

Forgot about how much fun those old PC ads were.

I liked the Wind in the Willows style artwork that PC Connection used to do.

7839

Living Room / Re: Downloadsquad shutting down - Another one bites the dust

« Last post by 40hz on April 13, 2011, 09:19 AM »

^Anyplace but Windows Secrets I hope. 

7840

General Software Discussion / Re: ARS reviews Linux Gnome 3.0

« Last post by 40hz on April 13, 2011, 08:12 AM »

Hoping Tuxman or 40hz has some play time with one of their distros this month to try it out.

-zridling (April 12, 2011, 10:55 PM)

Got it on the schedule. Although at the rate I'm going it will probably be around mid-May before I can really sit down and give it some serious attention. In the meantime, I'm hoping some of the limitations the ArsTechnica article mentioned are only temporary issues that will get resolved by the time I load it up. Gnome lets you do little enough to customize it already.

GNOME 3, codename "Pointless waste of space". What's up with the humongous widgets and the insane amount of wasted space in the different windows?

-Lashiec (April 12, 2011, 07:18 PM)

Couldn't agree more. That excess padding has got to get fixed.

The article makes it sound as though GNOME 3.0 is super stable and ready to go, so it makes me wonder if Ubuntu will be using it in their eminent Ubuntu 11.4 release..

-Deozaan (April 13, 2011, 12:12 AM)

It will likely be in their repositories. But last I heard, Shuttleworth & Co, are totally committed to using Unity as the default desktop starting with release 11.4, aka Natty Numnutz Narwhal.

Most people outside Canonical seem to think this is a 'very bad' idea.

(Note: IMO they also need to lose those release names. Totally bogus. It stopped being clever 11 names back with Dapper Drake.)

 

7841

General Software Discussion / Re: What the hell is OpenCandy?

« Last post by 40hz on April 12, 2011, 06:08 PM »

Sorry to bail on you 40Hz, but I thought maybe we should hush on the tangent...before we bother the adults... 

-Stoic Joker (April 12, 2011, 05:39 PM)

D'accord. Was about to suggest the same. 

7842

General Software Discussion / Re: What the hell is OpenCandy?

« Last post by 40hz on April 12, 2011, 05:38 PM »

Wonder if the gun ownership ratio made those statistics better...or worse.

-40hz (April 12, 2011, 02:20 PM)

Has no impact on it what so ever actually. How much coastline does CT have? We have well over 1,000 miles; over half of the drugs smuggled into the US come right through FL (remember Miami Vice? ...Yeah that's right here in FL).

-Stoic Joker (April 12, 2011, 03:43 PM)

Approximately 618 miles bordering some of the most well-to-do communities in the United States. We're no strangers to the drug traffickers around here. People who want drugs can easily afford to buy them.

I wouldn't be surprised if the lion's share of what came in through FL hits the distribution network and ends up on the streets around here. We're less than 50 miles from NYC where I live, so it's just a hop, skip, and a jump to the Big Apple. My area has lots of private beaches, wooded areas, small police departments, and quiet secluded neighborhoods with neighbors who tend to mind their own business and not be overly curious about what's going on next door - as long as there's no gunfire or screams to be heard.

I understand the Feds just did yet another major roundup of dealers last week.

7843

Living Room / Re: Downloadsquad shutting down - Another one bites the dust

« Last post by 40hz on April 12, 2011, 03:31 PM »

After following her antics for years, I've since given up on reconciling what Ms. Huffinton says she believes with much of what she does as a business owner. I'm afraid she really has come to think she knows all the right answers.

7844

General Software Discussion / Re: What the hell is OpenCandy?

« Last post by 40hz on April 12, 2011, 02:20 PM »

@SJ - Note: this is how it works in CT at least. It may be different where you live.

-40hz (April 12, 2011, 08:04 AM)

Yeah, I'm in the south ... Our version of the "Three Step Rule" is never be more that Three Steps away from your gun...   (Seriously) The last stats I saw on the news for FL was 1 in 10 for armed license holders ... And I think half the other 9 just do it anyway.

-Stoic Joker (April 12, 2011, 12:06 PM)

Approximate number of inmates sentenced and awaiting execution order for a capital offense ( i.e. all legal appeals other than executive clemency currently exhausted).

Florida.        400
Connecticut.   10

Actual executions since the 1976 reinstatement of capital punishment through year-end 2010:

Florida.         69
Connecticut.    1

Hmm...

Wonder if the gun ownership ratio made those statistics better...or worse.  

7845

Developer's Corner / Re: Partial (corrupted) downloads from a server (Not a valid win32 application etc)

« Last post by 40hz on April 12, 2011, 01:26 PM »

Wonder if this is somehow related to the stalled picture upload problem you'll occasionally encounter during forum posting. If so, then it's definitely a server rather than a client-side issue.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that there was an issue with certain php download scripts that retrieved the requested file from a mysql database and were responsible for corrupted downloads. Had something to do with buffer settings iirc.

Can't find it now of course. Anybody else remember seeing that?

7846

Living Room / Re: Wear Looser Clothing to Avoid Losing Energy During the Day

« Last post by 40hz on April 12, 2011, 08:46 AM »

@app103- ROFLMFAO!

7847

General Software Discussion / Re: What the hell is OpenCandy?

« Last post by 40hz on April 12, 2011, 08:04 AM »

Should I be accosted at the door because of what I might do? No.

-Stoic Joker (April 11, 2011, 11:33 AM)

Yes.

The bank's security has responsibility for the safety of its customers and employees. So they have every right (and IMO obligation) to question you since youre setting foot on their property. They also have the right to bar all persons carrying weapons from entering the building, even if certain people have the legal right to carry. A gun permit only applies to your being granted the privilege (not the right - otherwise you wouldnt need a license) to have a concealed weapon when on public property. Any individual has the right to ban weapons on their own property except when they're carried by police officers when they're acting in an official capacity.

My actions are perfectly legal

Yes they are.

...But the permission you were granted is also subject to verification. Having a gun permit doesn't mean you can't be stopped or challenged. Nor does it mean you'll be permitted entry with a gun everywhere. It just means you won't be arrested by the police once it's established you're "packing."
 

------
@SJ - Note: this is how it works in CT at least. It may be different where you live.  

(Carry permit? Bank? I take it you're the guy that got stuck with making the bank deposits huh?)

7848

General Software Discussion / Re: What the hell is OpenCandy?

« Last post by 40hz on April 11, 2011, 09:39 PM »

So, Google should drop free Gmail and free search? People should pay for Windows updates? Ditch Linux entirely? Make people pay to use all web sites? Close up all standards and RFCs and make people pay royalties? Ban all ads? And while we're at it, make all free broadcasts for radio and television also pay-to-use?

There is more than just 1 business model in the industry.

-Renegade (April 11, 2011, 08:42 PM)

Agree, but I think you're overreacting to what I'm saying.

What I was commenting on was a certain sense of 'entitlement' I see creeping into a lot of discussions about software development. Almost as if there's a feeling that the simple act of creating a piece of software 'deserves' something in return.

This attitude isn't confined to software  BTW. I see the same thing in music performance and composition, which is something I'm personally involved in. But in my case, I tend to look at it the same way. (I'm the last person I'll ever claim an exception or privilege for. )

If I want to write and play the music I want to play, then I have to accept the fact I may well have to do it on my own tab if other people don't also see a value in it. Not to say I can't do what I want so long as I do something else for my main source of income. Which is what I do.

Could music be my sole source of income?

Probably...

I say that because it was in the past. But it got to the point where it became too annoying, and required too many compromises to mix business with pleasure. So I worked out a compromise with myself where I no longer insisted my work and my play be one and the same. Which allowed me to become exactly the musician I wanted to be while still covering costs and being able to eat on a fairly regular basis.

And oddly enough, the music itself got better once I re-engineered my career plan.

Since the music market is very small where I live, had I insisted on "making it pay" I probably would have ended up being forced to abandon music sooner or later. Doing it the way I did it allowed me to keep a hand in the game.

So to your point about there being more than one business model, I'll agree with you completely. But all I'm saying is that, within the range of possible business models and revenue strategies, sometimes the most obvious ones get overlooked.

 

------------------
If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again. Then quit. There's no use in being a damn fool about it. - W.C.Fields 

But people aren't just choosing not to participate, they are actively campaigning against them.  Is that right in the face of a lack of bad actions or proof of bad intent?  And if the same people go to another company in the computer industry- does that make that company evil by association, since apparently this company is evil by their association?

-wraith808 (April 11, 2011, 08:51 PM)

Like it or not, that's what's called "a reputation."

A good one is hard to earn, but easy to lose.

And it has persistence.

Most people subscribe to the notion: "Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me."

So while it's all well and good to change one's 'evil' ways and apologize, there's no guarantee you'll be given a second chance.

That's just the way it goes sometimes. Not everyone believes in redemption.

7849

General Software Discussion / Re: What the hell is OpenCandy?

« Last post by 40hz on April 11, 2011, 08:13 PM »

Costs need to be covered. People need to eat.

-Renegade (April 11, 2011, 07:35 PM)

Perhaps the best solution to that 'problem' is to write software people are actually willing to pay for?

And if that proves impossible, do something else for a living?

That's how it works with just about everything else. 

7850

General Software Discussion / Re: Graduating from essentialPIM. Need suggestions for others with these features

« Last post by 40hz on April 11, 2011, 10:33 AM »

You might want to touch bases with DonationCoder member Pierre Landry (PPLandry) and take a look at his app InfoQube over at www.InfoQube.biz

He updates InfoQube regularly and has been quite open to suggestions for features people want added.

Luck!