If performance is paramount, use SSD disks, and still use RAID5 or RAID6. The performance gains of RAID0 are absolutely not worth the risks in an enterprise environment.

Also if you're looking for ultimate performance, then you'll connect to the NAS via eSATA and not on the network (the Synology NAS in question has 2xeSATA ports).

I don't think a law firm is going to need such screaming fast disk access anyway.

-- Pete.

Oh, and much as I hate replying to myself, I just remembered another very handy nice feature of Synology NAS boxes, they have a nice easy-to-use mechanism to backup the contents to another Synology box over the network. This is handy in upgrading, and in an enterprise environment it's a nice way to have an up-to-date redundant solution in case the worst happens. So if you have the budget and you want to have belt-and-braces (and in a law firm I hope both of these are the case) then I'd probably recommend getting 2 boxes, and back one up to the other.

-- Pete.

I also definitely recommend Synology NAS solutions - very capable machines and the company is committed to follow-up with their software updates. You buy the NAS now, and as they release continual updates to their firmware, it just gets better and better "for free".

On the other hand, I would never recommend running a NAS with disks in RAID0 - you run a NAS to store your data and to be completely reliable, I configure my DS508 in RAID5, and if I was running in an enterprise with a DS1512+ then I would certainly consider running in RAID6. I have "lost" a disk in my RAID5, and the NAS rebuilt easily once I replaced it - but if you lose a disk in RAID0, then wave goodbye to your data. Unfortunately disks are not 100% reliable, and the speed increase means nothing as soon as you start accessing the NAS over a network.

-- Pete.

TomTom bought TeleAtlas in 2008...

-- Pete.

My flight was via Frankfurt I think - I was flying via a connecting flight, and although I'm from the UK, I didn't live there then (or now!).

-- Pete.

These structures absolutely exist...

Here's a slashdot post by myself from 2001

The links are long since broken (and I said Russia, but it could equally of been China, I wasn't 100% sure where I was), but here are links to two of the photos that I put back online recently:

• Grid lines
• Big diamond structure

-- Pete.

They're both electric car sharing efforts, and just because the one is Paris is bigger, that doesn't make it "first".

Or are you one of those people who also think that the iPod was the "first" portable mp3 player?

-- Pete.

And looking at a more recent example I've been seeing Zen Cars around Brussels recently too.

This is definitely not a "World's First"...

-- Pete.

For instance, it is often said the US has high crime rates. WRONG, the murder rate in the US vs Holland is pretty much the same.

What a load of bull - check the statistics, and you'll find the murder rate in the USA is approximately 5 times higher per capita than in the Netherlands.

• Murders in USA in total, and per 100K gives well over 5 per 100,000
• Total murders in the Netherlands (work out per 100K population, assume population of 16.5 Million gives less than 1 per 100,000)

I suggest you do some research and adjust your world view.

-- Pete.

Or playing nethack.

Or for something a little more recent and a lot less complex (and less deadly) there's Minecraft. No saves, every change to the world is changed as and when it happens - if a creeper happens to blow the front of your house apart then you're going to need to rebuild it.

Now they just need to enter an option for perma-death rather than having death just respawn you naked back on your starting square. Restart the world and it's randomly generated from scratch.

I'd love to see minecraft become more nethacky with complexity to discover, perma-death, and a very dangerous series of steps to get to some sort of objective...

-- Pete.

I'm typing on a Belgian keyboard, and I would put an accent over an E by hitting ` or first, then typing the appropriate letter - È or É both typed without caps lock - I can't imagine French keyboards being any different.

-- Pete.

First, don't visit -- not just "don't fly, but don't even visit -- the U.S. There are a lot of idiots saying this with the tone of, "If you don't like our policies, stay the **** out!", but that's not what I mean. If our country sees a significant decline in tourism, hopefully the decline in tourism revenues will help influence national policy.

This has been my approach to the USA ever since they started with the fingerprinting on entry policy. I will not travel to the USA for any purpose until they implement sane immigration policies.

Last year alone I set foot in 20 different countries in total, within Africa, Europe, and South America, and not one of them wanted fingerprints, and only third world countries wanted advance notice of travel (aka visas) - Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso...

Sorry, but I can't see myself travelling to the USA in the foreseeable future.

-- Pete.

I left the group almost 6 years ago, and they hired me back as a freelance contractor nearly 4 years ago. The trial extends to shops and businesses in the area around the towers. Pomodoro allows payment via PingPing for example. But yes - the trials are centred around Belgacom staff at the moment.

-- Pete.

I'm surprised this story is even news, I've had an RFID sticker on my phone for some time now. It is pre-paid and I can opt to receive a text message whenever I use it, so if it's used without authorization I would know immediately: PingPing

There are also other ways I can pay with my cellphone.

-- Pete.