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Journal Journal: I still can't believe I'm this old. 12

I've been 35 for almost a month now. I'm working at a place with linux-only guys, who think that the best solution is always free software. I feel like the old unix dude with the suspenders who still reads a.s.r. I feel ancient, as I've worked with big iron, or at least medium iron since my first job, and the guys who work in the IT department here are used to virtualization on intel platforms (so, machines considered big for their time, but not SPARCs or RISC machines).

Comment Re:Wells Fargo (Score 1) 359

I'm going to third, or fourth Wells Fargo. They've really cleaned up their act from a decade ago. I think it's partially because they've eaten so many small banks that they've got the process down. I've had nothing but pleasant bank employees and no hassles since the bank we were at got taken over by Wells, and I'm not a "big-time" customer, I have a paycheck auto-deposited and a small savings account (which I opened ONLINE without having to go to any of the tens of locations within my 25-mile radius).

Key was pretty awful when we had them, especially their online banking. TCF's bill pay is extraordinarily horrible, from what I remember (we'd set up recurring mortgage payments through it, and they'd come out at seemingly random times of the month, most of the times late) but we'd have Bank of America again, now that there are branches closer to us than New Mexico.

Comment Re:eBook pricing (Score 1) 437

I wonder when the first Android ereader with e-ink will show up.

Ya heard of something called "nook"? Runs AndroidOS, has e-ink. I have one which is registered, etc. I have a friend who has one which isn't because he doesn't live in a country where B&N is selling the device, or providing service. I've gotten epubs from B&N, from sources online, and from my library. Yes, many of them are DRM'ed, but meh. So is most of my iTunes library. That doesn't keep me from consuming the music, it won't keep me from consuming books, either.

Comment Re:eBook pricing (Score 1) 437

I'd say O'Reilly, except that when they sell their e-books, if there's more than one format listed (which I've run across a couple of titles which only have a pdf version), there's almost always a mobi version (and an epub, and now a DAISY version) and sometimes an apk.

Then again, I have a nook, and enjoy not emailing myself pdfs and text files. I tried the sony readers, and they were ... well, sony interfaces. I tried the kindle, but I don't need my e-reader to have a keyboard 100% of the time. I tried the nook, and the interface was much simpler, without the space taken up with a keyboard. I enjoy carrying around multiple O'Reilly titles without having to remember to lift with my legs, not with my back.

Comment Re:MonoTouch? (Score 1) 347

Can I write in Java an app that will run on every desktop and mobile?

only if you distribute it with your own developer-locked-in version of java. (I have fond memories of java version 2.something.{our lead developer's name} for the software written for one version of solaris on specific hardware with specific os patches.)

Image

The Real 'Stuff White People Like' Screenshot-sm 286

Here's an interesting and funny look at 526,000 OkCupid users, divided into groups by race and gender and all the the things each groups says it likes or is interested in. While it is far from being definitive, the groupings give a glimpse of what makes each culture unique. According to the results, white men like nothing better than Tom Clancy, Van Halen, and golfing.

Comment Re:So in order to Not Track Me properly (Score 1) 346

The problem isn't requiring Google or others to get consent with a link at the bottom of each page pointing to a 30-page legal agreement. The problem is people have no idea what those agreements mean.

You mean like that 30-page EULA for each and every piece of software you buy that no one reads? Yeah, yeah, I agree to give you my first born child. *clicks Agree*

Comment Re:I've never gotten it (Score 1) 579

Perhaps because the things other companies make are utter shit in comparison, even taking into account the things Apple might leave out that you would like?

Yes. This. A million times. I'm required to use a windows pc for work, and I'm almost homicidal at the end of the week with the little things that work on my mac (at home) which absolutely don't on my work machine.

It's not even that I consciously agree with everything the mac does, just that when my mac does something stupid, there's some logic to why it does it, and when I use windows, the logic is all sideways. Don't get me started on linux. It acts like the schizophrenic child of frankenstein it is. Saying it's better than a windows box is like saying having one leg on fire is better than being entirely on fire.

Personally, I'm thinking the apple tv looks like finally a usable product, and would be 100% worth buying if it did one little more thing. Hulu. (Although right now, I'm using understudy with front row to do hulu and netflix, so there's no reason to go out today and blow $100.)

The ipod revamp is pretty sweet, the nano looks like a nice interface, the "all clickwheel" shuffle looks usable, and at $50, a nice entry-level device. The 4.2 announcement to bring more usability to the ipad is pretty sweet, too. All in all, a nice presentation.

Yes, I've drunk the kool-aid. But my mac has ksh, so it's all good.

Comment Re:Not really... (Score 1) 122

I'm sorry, but I'm 38 and I've been following computer and technology acronyms since 1981. And all those damn cellphone terms just make my head hurt.

Welcome to my world. I'm an IP admin in a wireless telecom company. I thought everyone had abandoned telnet years ago, but it's alive and kicking in telecom.

Comment Re:that's why (Score 1) 762

and I liked my Saturn (35 mpg, manual) until I got a TDI New Beetle (45-50 mpg, also manual). (Yes, I'm a chick, yes, that was a chick car, but it has nice low-end torque, and powered me through Colorado's snow up and down Monument Hill just fine.)

Of course, this is the US, and diesels are rare. The husband and I were watching a Top Gear episode where the three hosts were doing a single-tank-of-gas race. All of their cars got more than 50 mpg, and I'm pretty sure they were all diesels (Jeremy chose a Jag twin-turbo 12-cyl, iirc, because he didn't think that he could get the 750 miles on one tank and wanted to run out close to his house). I want those cars over here! Screw the 24-30 mpg we usually get, I want the cars that are 45-55 mpg STANDARD.

Comment Re:No but you have to give them access before you (Score 1) 432

They never claimed anything that sounded like damage. In fact, their claim of damage is like suing the neighbor kids for $50,000 because they hit your window with a rock and it didn't leave a mark.

I know it's almost against /. religion to actually read the article, but this is quoted from the fine article:

Childs may also have to cover the city's US $900,000 bill, spent on trying to regain control of its network. A hearing on financial penalties is set for August 13.

$900k in "damages" based on the bill the city had to pay to get their network back under control.

Comment Re:Bayonet Point Oxygen? (Score 1) 136

From TFA:

She must also pay $4,800 in restitution

She probably worked in the office which was not attached to the warehouse/plant. I can't imagine bottles of oxygen exploding would cause that little damage. What happened to work avoidance through a meeting on your outlook calendar? geez. if she knew that trick, she'd still have a job. and not have a criminal record.

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