Wednesday, May 24, 2006
What's the purpose of a model number?
Two orders of Dell Latitude D610 laptops within a few months of each other. I get different video cards. First batch had ATI, second has integrated Intel. What is the point of a model number if the hardware keeps changing? A lot of vendors do this, and it really makes things difficult for open source users what want to know "what should I buy that works with open source software?"
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Words from the Past - Still True?
"...the Internet is taking away our power every day..."
Bill Gates - http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/cases/exhibits/17.pdf
"My nightmare scenario is that the Web grows into a rich application platform in an operating system-neutral way...How should we extend the Web? At a high level, this is very clear. We should support all the key internet standards and become key suppliers of Internet technologies to all comers. In parallel, we should be extending the web with as many Microsoft technologies as possible, even if we have to modify those technologies in ways not intended by their designers."
Internal Microsoft Memo - http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/cases/exhibits/21.pdf
Bill Gates - http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/cases/exhibits/17.pdf
"My nightmare scenario is that the Web grows into a rich application platform in an operating system-neutral way...How should we extend the Web? At a high level, this is very clear. We should support all the key internet standards and become key suppliers of Internet technologies to all comers. In parallel, we should be extending the web with as many Microsoft technologies as possible, even if we have to modify those technologies in ways not intended by their designers."
Internal Microsoft Memo - http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/cases/exhibits/21.pdf
Monday, May 08, 2006
Spyware and Recovering Old Systems
I hate spyware. I spent the good part of today cleaning up a users workstation. It is amazing how this stuff gets into a system and hides. I was ready to wipe and re-install.
Also, had fun today pulling an old server out of storage to see if I could recover data from ten years ago. One volume was dead, but the important stuff was alive. I had to set up a client for the server software, which was not fun. When I finally provided them with a working client program, they had no idea what their old passwords were. They did eventually find them. It was also good that someone was around who still remembered how to use the old system.
Also, had fun today pulling an old server out of storage to see if I could recover data from ten years ago. One volume was dead, but the important stuff was alive. I had to set up a client for the server software, which was not fun. When I finally provided them with a working client program, they had no idea what their old passwords were. They did eventually find them. It was also good that someone was around who still remembered how to use the old system.
