Yes, I'm talking about all the confirmation dialogs of all types... UAC, browser plugins, file deletion, etc. It's the "conditioning to press OK" that I was talking about. I thought I was pretty clear about that and had not mentioned UAC at all.

I'll gladly answer. I'm actively using my computer doing everyday tasks, browsing web sites, reading and responding to email, writing documents, working in spreadsheets, moving files around, etc., all day long. Probably 10 hours at least. 100 pop ups would only be one every few minutes. In reality, it's much more, and they come in spurts.

Tell ya what. You keep a little pad next to your mouse, and make a check mark for each pop up you get when doing something normal, like deleting a file, or copying a directory over another (a task which can easily generate a dozen dialog boxes alone) that requires a Yes, OK , or Continue answer. See how many you get after a 10 hour day. Apparently, from your comment, you will be stunned. And you should be.

All studies analyzing security vulnerability reports or released patch sets as a measure of OS security simply prove that the researcher is a fucking idiot. It's IMPOSSIBLE to measure security in this way because you are comparing lawn tractors to jet skis. The reasons are basic: everyone that releases an OS has their own way of dealing with reports and patches. The raw data is MEANINGLESS.

It doesn't matter what anti-exploit technology is in the OS because it has been proven time and time again that no matter WHAT the warning, Users hit OK anyway. In fact, studies have shown that even when presented with a dialog that says something like "If you click OK, your computer will be infected by a virus," users STILL click OK 50% of the time. Windows is particularly bad in this regard because it is CONSTANTLY asking permission to do this, that, or the other thing. A typical work day for me I get 100-1000 requests for permission. It's no wonder users click OK all the time.

Due to "OS conditioned" user behavior, NONE of the anti-malware software out there is actually effective at preventing infection. Most can clean it up after the fact (with the drive pulled and scanned from another machine.)

Users also continue to use stupid passwords like "password", "1234", etc. no matter how much training given. Forcing complex passwords just ensures that there will be a postit on the monitor with the password, and a 100x increase in calls to the help desk to reset passwords.

The ONLY measure we REALLY have is subjective, and based on my experience, the reality is that windows users are probably 1000 times more likely to have malware on their systems.

I don't have any good solutions to this problem other than to suggest that we need security technology that actually analyzes a program's behavior, possibly simulating it by running in a mini-secure sandbox before talking to the user about it. Maybe apps could be be checked against a reputation database... Known good could be passed with no prompting thus reducing the amount of warning dialogs to the user. The current situation has proven dire however.

I was validating your comment. Way to be an ass.

All the large datacenters I've submitted RFPs to for colo space are rated at 300W / sq. foot. Of course they were all designed in the days before bladeservers existed.

It's moot. The right place for the tubing is UNDER the concrete. Not in it.

Copper is also wicked expensive if you priced it out. You are FAR better off running 2 to 3 times more super cheap PEX than copper. Copper also can't flex very much before cracking which is a big deal when you are running it to something that WILL get moved. It also subject to dielectric corrosion.

Just a few hundred feet of plastic tubing heats my entire house even when it is -25F outside. PEX tubing is used almost exclusively in modern heating and cooling coil systems (underfloor and underground.)

Copper makes sense when the application doesn't allow for long lengths of tubing when you need maximum dissipation in the minimum space. That is NOT the case here which, with the other disadvantages of copper, make it the WRONG choice in this application.

Windows because of my job. Apples weren't used there.

Ack - that should be FIRED for total incompetence...

Sighs that there is no "edit" option on posts unlike most modern forum software.

Or you can go business cable that is delivering 4x the bandwidth for the same price, and THEIR $30 IP address is 5 addresses instead of 1. No IT firm in the area is deploying DSL anymore for their small business clients due to Fairpoint.

The really sad part of this is that what is going on is EXACTLY what anyone with a clue said was going to happen. The decision makers in the PUC should all be fore for total incompetence.

Oh yes... He could install the ancient OS X... But keep in mind that Apple no longer provides updates for it like MS does for XP of the same vintage (not that I'm a fan of MS by any means...) Furthermore, unlike XP, he will be unable to install most modern software since nobody supports 10.1, .2, and even 10.3 support is getting quite rare.

But back to your point. Yes, you are 100% correct that the old stuff will continue to function PROPERLY, but methinks the OP REALLY meant Effectively and Securely. Paid updates from Apple are really required for that.

I'll share my perspective having used Mac's since 10.1 (everything earlier I considered unusable,) Windows since 2.0, Linux since 0.99 and a plethora of random crap before that back to about 1978.

The amount of time I have spent messing with OS issues (problems) on OS X versus Linux or XP is FAR FAR less. If I value my time at a pathetic $20/hr, I've saved the cost of OS X probably about 100 times over. Whining about the cost of OS X updates is really, in my opinion, short sighted. This doesn't even get into how much better 10.5 is to use than 10.1. There is no F-ing way I would ever go back.

Prison about rehabilitation? Hahahahahaa!!!! Not hardly. Prison (not to be confused with Jail, which is different) is about keeping the baddies away from the rest of society so we can be safe. It's about punishment. Rehabilitation is a myth. The number that are rehabilitated is so small that it would probably be the same number if you didn't put ANYONE in prison. The proof that it is about punishment and keeping people away from society is the sentencing guidelines for different crimes, such as selling drugs, rape, child porn, etc.
Not that sentencing guidelines are rational though - drug dealers usually get heavier penalties than child rapists, at least in my area.

Also a Corporate death sentence, forced liquidation with the proceeds going to the government.

Yes, fuck the investors over. You know - those fat cat investors... It's not like my retirement fund is at stake. Oh - wait. Shit. I guess it is.
(I just LOVE poorly thought out "shoot from the hip" solutions.)

Um, the guy is NOT asking for a laser printer. I'm sure he already has a laser printer and was using a label printer cause lasers suck at label printing tasks. Label printers operate quite different. Manually feeding and re-feeding and re re re re re re re re re re feeding a sheet in a laser printer, modifying the print settings for each label is NOT the answer! Don't forget the 4 hours of labor with the printer torn apart trying to get loose labels off the inside of the printer, and the costs of replacement drums you have destroyed. A laser printer for *most* common label printing tasks is using the "hammer to drive in a screw" approach.

Keep in mind that label printer label stock comes in a lot more options than laser printer label stock. Some are variable length where you can print something really short or a foot long depending on the label needed. Some have special adhesive, some are laminated. Some are thermal paper where others are thermal transfer.

The solution is a unix friendly commercial unit. What makes them unix friendly? Simple: you can get programming docs for them. Zebra's are nice and you can even print by sending XML to it. Rather than trying to get a CUPS driver, which is pretty silly for labels, you put the "driver" in the application. The thing is, printing lots of labels just isn't something traditional apps (open office) are good at (outside of the traditional "print 400 copies of the same label" or "mailmerge"). You are much better off with a quick and dirty (web?) app that sends the right formatting commands directly to the printer. You can certainly get a cups driver for many many label printers, it's just not the best thing for cups to be in the middle between the app and the printer in most label printing cases that I have run across (years ago, I worked with industrial label printers.)

Unfortunately, it is IMPOSSIBLE for any of us to answer the question because we only have the "I need a computer that uses electricity" level of detail. What exactly does he need the labels for? Shipping boxes? Equipment tags? Wires? File folders? e-stamps? Can't recommend anything without knowing how it's going to be used.

I love my 30" screen - I have another 21" next to it for IM/email that is always up. Actually running on separate systems, but Synergy makes it feel like one. As a side note, even with a dual DVI high end graphics card or TWO high end graphics cards in the same system, I find that everything slows to a crawl with 2 displays (most obvious with 3D apps.) Running a separate machine solved that problem.