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Comment Re:Shouldn't have to run oil by rail (Score 5, Interesting) 199

Back in the late 70's I used to work for the only company in Canada that manufactured very large ball valves for pipelines. We are talking in excess of 10 ton's with 42" flanges. We supplied Trans Canada Pipelines, Foothills, etc. I designed the pressure testing rig and tank for these very large units.

Know what the biggest problem was/is with pipelines? Materials used in manufacturing.

"Sour" gas vs "Sweet" gas valves (and the pipeline itself) are made of completely different materials. An "O" ring housing for example may be made from Titanium for a corrosive sour gas and Stainless Steel for sweet non corrosive gas.

More than once, on smaller valves (gate or ball, I forget now) we had to investigate why a valve failed and it was always the incorrect material. Some worker swapped a part behind QC's back thinking "no big deal, they look the same".

Perhaps traceability and manufacturing has improved (I would hope so) by now though.

On an interesting side note, the big guy's were tested at 20,000kpa, or about 2900psi. The rumor went that if there were ever a pinhole leak in one of the 3" deep welds, or porosity in the casting and you walked through it without seeing it, it would cut you in half.

Nothing is perfectly safe, but I do think a pipeline is "safer" than rail transport.

Comment Re:do tell (Score 2) 233

I used to belong to a gun club. Competitive Bull's-eye shooter here.

I've seen the top strap of a S&W model 686 (Stainless Steel 6" barrel .357 Magnum revolver) get peeled back due to an "explosion". The top of the cylinder was blown open, then the top strap was blown upwards and back.
Now a revolver is inherently stronger than an automatic in most cases, and Smith & Wesson is a well manufactured pistol, but do you know what caused it? It was caused by a squib load.
A squib load is not enough powder in the case. Lets say you were hand loading your own cartridges and you were measuring out 14 grains of powder, but instead only put 4 grains in. Now, instead of a controlled burn (which is how firearm cartridges work) you really DO have an explosion. Too much pressure, probably in excess of 50,000 PSI, way too fast. Boom goes your handgun.
So, I don't have a tinfoil hat on, but things may not always be as they seem.

Comment Re:Contact TeamViewer (Score 1) 116

I strongly recommend sending Teamviwer an email explaining your situation and perhaps asking for a little relief on the pricing.
We started using it a few years ago. I used it for "commercial purposes" on a few machines for 2 or 3 months, then contacted them about a business license. The cost was a little high, but they offered me a 40% discount, so I purchased it on the spot.

Later, after training a few employees on its use, I ran in to the single channel problem, so I called TeamViewer again and explained the situation. I upgraded to an Enterprise model that allowed 3 channels simultaneously. Again, based on the fact I had recently purchased the business class model (and if I could have seen the future I would have gone Enterprise right off the bat) they gave me an extremely nice discount.

No point in explaining all the features, you can look that up yourself, but we consider it money well spent and the point is they are very nice people to deal with, at least in my experience. One thing I will mention though, is you can set it up on your remote machines (white list connections) and forget it.

What have you got to lose? The worst they can say is "no".

Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with TeamViewer, other than the fact I purchased a corporate license.

Comment Dell 3115cn (Score 0) 381

The Dell 3115cn is an all in one color laser and I use it for home. It is not inexpensive, but has been bullet proof over the last year. Networkable, scanning, SMB, email and more. After the initial toner ran out, I purchased 3'd party "rainbow packs" and have had no issues using non Dell toner.
Now at work we use Kyocera 550's and they are tanks, but not something you would wat in your home.

Submission + - Microsoft Retiring the TechNet Subscription (microsoft.com)

ErichTheRed writes: One of the nicest perks that Microsoft offered is being retired. Microsoft has reasonably-priced "TechNet Subscriptions" which give you low-cost full access to download fully functional evaluation software. The idea is that IT people could use a product in their lab for learning or simulation purposes without having to shell out thousands for an MSDN subscription. These are being retired as of August 31st. Apparently they're trying to shift "casual" evaluation of software onto their Virtual Labs and other online offerings. If you want full evals of software, you're going to need to buy an MSDN Subscription. I know lots of people abuse their TechNet privileges, but it's a real shame that I won't just be able to pull down the latest software to replicate a customer problem, which is part of what I do on a daily basis. I guess you can mark this one as "From the one-bad-pirate-ruins-the-whole-bunch department..."

Submission + - Canadians get 2yr cell phone contracts. (torontosun.com)

QA writes: Canadians will soon be able to cancel their wireless contracts after two years without paying any cancellation fees and travel with their phones without fear of returning home to a shocking data-roaming bill.
The CRTC's new wireless code, unveiled Monday, will apply to all new contracts for cellphones and other personal mobile devices beginning Dec. 2.
Canadians will be able to cancel their wireless contracts after two years without paying any cancellation fees, even if they've signed on for a longer term.
"Every day, Canadians rely on wireless devices while in their homes, at their jobs, at school or travelling abroad," CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais said in a release. "The wireless code will contribute to a more dynamic marketplace by making it possible for Canadians to discuss their needs with service providers at least every two years."

Among the other provisions in the code is a $50/month cap on data overage charges, and a $100/month cap on international data roaming charges.
Wireless consumers will be able to return their cellphones within 15 days and specific usage limits if they're unhappy with their service, and will be able to have their cellphones unlocked after 90 days, or immediately if they pay for the device in full. The code does not regulate the amount a carrier can charge to unlock a phone.

Consumer advocates welcomed the rules as a much-needed change to the wireless industry.
"We're glad to have it after all these years," said John Lawford, executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, which participated in the CRTC's proceedings.

Comment The drastic discounts make sense now. (Score 1) 151

I recently purchased around 50k in Dell servers. Sat on the fence awhile and my rep kept discounting and discounting. Original configurations added up to about 65k, (self configured on the website was much higher). He wanted that end of quarter sale very badly.
As well, I recently investigated Dells new AppAssure backup software. They bought out the original company in Feb I believe. Long story short, I paid 48% of the original quote which was 12k for 7 server / 100 workstation licenses.

I wonder if the push is on to get those end of quarter results up to enhance earnings for a potential sale?

Comment 55 in April (Score 0) 330

Mid 30's for me, so 20 years ago.Last 5 years has been company phone. Yes, they pay, and it's unlimited everything....but....

BEWARE: Once you accept the yoke of a company cell, you are fucked. As a sysadmin I am "on call" 24/7 and thats NOT counting any hardware that might email me with a problem, although that is very rare. Sure, sure, I get paid for my time (only fair) but money is not everything.

Submission + - Your Advice?

QA writes: Our company has recently purchased a ‘SAP like” software suite. This thing will have its tentacles in every aspect of our operation eventually.

After reading the hardware requirements (24 pages) I realized we were in trouble. Long story short, had to order 5 servers. 2 app servers, a DB2 server, storage / backup server, domain controller / primary server. All servers running Windows Server 2008 RC2 except my NX 300 which is running Storage Server 2008.
The DC / Primary, and DB2 servers are both Dell 720’s, dual RAID cards (RAID 10) with enough cores and goodies to last a few years, 15k drives etc. The app servers are 210’s nicely outfitted, the backup is the NX300, 8TB, 4 cores, etc.

Company currently has an old PowerEdge acting as a fileserver. 30 workstations, few laptops.
Currently setup as a WORKGROUP. Must be turned in to a DOMAIN for the software to even install.

I haven’t done this on my own before, although I’ve been involved in the past. So I have some questions and the “hire someone” option is on the table, however I’ve received 2 very high quotes as the firms involved can $mell blood. 25k? Must be joking. From what I have read, and remember, this is not too difficult, but very time consuming.

So the servers are in place and given the proper roles, other than the DC of course. I have a very nice Peplink Dual Wan router in place, 2 x 48 port managed GB switch’s, new CAT5e or better in the entire building, all workstations running W7 Pro, etc etc. All workstations and copiers have static IP’s.

I’ve just finished a couple books on the subject, but that’s not as good as experience.

So, I would like to leave the email alone (ISP POP server), I would like to leave the printing alone as the majority of users are on 1 or 2 of our 3 enterprise level copiers that do SMB, email, etc.

There are quite a few shares from workstation to workstation (workgroup remember) but i can move those files to the new server as I must move quite a few files from old server to new anyway.

The domain will be .local as our proper domain and website are co-located elsewhere.
Should I let the new Domain Controller do DHCP and DNS? Take the job away from the router? Or not required really? When I promote my new DC anything I should watch out for? Adding users, permissions?

To me, it sort of looks fairly straight forward really, but of course I’m aware that 1 click could mean the difference between being successful, or a reinstall of the entire OS on the DC.

Thanks
Space

Submission + - What Is The Future Of Space Travel? (zidbits.com)

LovesYou writes: "The use of chemical based rockets to leave our planet and explore space is a dead end technology. It’s old, outdated and it’s extremely inefficient. Certainly we have discovered or improved upon newer technology in these last 60 years, right?

We'll explore exotic technology that includes using solar wind to sail amongst the stars, using nuclear bombs to approach light speed, and even dabbling with technology that exploits loopholes in the laws of physics which NASA has recently been experimenting with."

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