We don't see too many problems with the machines for transactions, but for longer operations, like batches and reprograms, they tend to fail.

We also deal with a lot of vendors, so some phone systems work if they are set up properly, but most aren't are are not configurable, like Vonage.

You'd need an isolation network for every single business in the US (10's of millions, IIRC).

Also, the current IP solutions are SSL encrypted. Also PIN based transactions have an even higher encryption on them. The PIN Pads have a specific key attached to them so they will only work with the current backend. If you switch processors, you have to switch PIN pads as well.

Another problem, the IP terminals a quite a bit more expensive. $200-$300 for dialup, $500-$600 for IP. (If you're paying more, you're being robbed!)

IP terminals do exist. The problem: merchants typically aren't savy enough to first, set up an IP network and second, request an IP terminal.

We have to do a lot of discovery on our end to provide the right solution.

Also, the IP terminals are fairly "dumb". The OS is very minimal and it only makes outbound connections. You can't really administer them remotely; it's all through the machine interface.

You can throw away your dial-up credit card machines then. We are starting to see telcos switch to SIP trunking. Credit Card machines are very sensitive, even more so than fax, which causes them to flake out across a SIP trunk. We already can't sell dial-up terminals to people using DSL or VoIP (Vonage, Time Warner) because the terminals just can't handle it.

When I opened my Party Pack last night, my wife's reaction to almost everything in it was "WTF!".

We are still going all out for the party, just for the sake of irony.

I'm not too well versed in Cocoa development. I pushed some code that should have been in a separate thread into GCD, which requires you to use a block. All in all, I had to add an include, 1 line of code and a closing bracket.

Apple has made some seriously cool stuff here.

I won't name names, but one of our competitors does this. The down side, they over-inflate their prices to the customers to compensate for 6 digit salaries for sales people. They are lucky to be in a business where they can pull this off because of the complexity of pricing, but as with any market, the margins get thinner and thinner and they just won't last.

I've always kept it simple. A 3-4 letter prefix designating which site the computer is at, followed by the serial number of the computer. If you want to store more information, just create a simple database using the code as the ID.

If you are that afraid of them doing something wrong, it better be in the contract you sign with them with all of the penalties plainly laid out.

I would much rather have the IT Admin in house, but then again, I'm an IT Admin. We have to sit in a weird spot in the company. We have to learn all of the dirty secrets. If someone is divulging secrets, we are the ones that have to pull up their email records and browser history.

I take that responsibility very seriously. You have to find someone that takes it seriously, too.

I primarily program using Ruby on Rails. When I started, it was with an Eclipse based IDE. I then jumped to Netbeans when their support for RoR matured. Now it's all (gvim/mvim), a command line and git.

For Java work, I stick with Netbeans, since hand building a Java project from scratch can be a lot of work.

Without a doubt, Handbrake will do the job. I used it on an Ubuntu box in tandem with a Mac OS X box to rip my entire DVD collection.

http://handbrake.fr/

I only encountered one problem, with the third disc of the Monty Python Fly Circus set.

My O2 is running OpenBSD, now. Too bad I can't get the latest versions of IRIX. It was pretty impressive what that little O2 could do.

My Octane does a pretty good job of holding the carpet down.

I see people hang a pair of plastic testicles from the back of their trucks.

That might man your netbook up a bit.

Then I say kill it... ActiveX scares me, and it would be nice to have a more open solution.

Pardon my ignorance, but what ActiveX components are left? Vista and 7 have moved away from Windows Update in the browser and that's the only one I could think of.

I guess Flash is ActiveX, but they also distribute a non-activex version with Firefox, Safari, etc al. use.

Why no just kill ActiveX? Flash, Javascript, Silverlight... they all seem capable of the job.