vfrex - Slashdot User

Comment Re:It ties back to making a profit (Score 1) 373

by vfrex on Tuesday January 15, 2008 @02:49PM (#22054224) Attached to: EU Launches Yet Another Antitrust Probe Into Microsoft

The OS wouldn't have nearly the lock in without the monopoly of the office component. The office component has no reason to remain exclusive to Windows, and will do a better job of seeking markets in alternative operating systems.

Submission + - fallacy of function within Linux systems

Submitted by

Gearoid_Murphy

on Thursday July 05, 2007 @09:54AM

Gearoid_Murphy writes: "I am an admin for a beowulf processing cluster. Time and again, I am struck by the fragmented nature of the functions of these systems. There is never a coherent strategy for providing a specific function, take authentication, for example. We currently maintain several seperate indpendent systems for controlling access on authentication, one for wireless access, one for firehol trusted networks, one for nfs, a set of netgroups, nssswitch configs and pam configs. Many of these systems have considerable overlap in function (ldap and nss, for example). I would like to hear what people make of this situation. Should operating systems be prepared with coherent functions like this in mind?, are we simply observing the limitations of current operating system implementations with respect to todays complex multi-user, multi-device, multi-function systems. Is this a symptom of open source applications, which simply look after their own functions and ignore the bigger picture?, can the same be said for commercial systems?. Should there be an attempt to develop a well defined standard of functions within the context of operating systems, within which applications would provide functionality but never in a fragmented isolated way?, is this just a pipe dream?"

Submission + - The First Thing IT Managers Do in the Morning?

Submitted by on Thursday July 05, 2007 @09:50AM

An anonymous reader writes: When I was a wee-little IT Manager, I interviewed for a IT management position at an online CRM provider in San Francisco, a job I certainly was qualified for, at least on paper. One of the interviewer's questions was "What is the first thing you do when you get to work in the morning." I thought saying "Read Slashdot" wouldn't be what he was looking for — so I made up something, I'm sure, equally lame. Needless to say, I didn't get the job. But the question has stuck with me over the years. What do real IT and MIS managers do when they walk in to the office in the morning? What web sites or tools do they look at or use the first thing? Tell me. And remember, this is for posterity, so be honest.

Submission + - Cost of pollution in China (ft.com)

Submitted by

LotusMan

on Thursday July 05, 2007 @09:32AM

LotusMan writes: "The World Bank have a report named Cost of Pollution in China: Economic Estimates of Physical Damages. It shows the damage on environment cause by being the world manufacture. Here is another article from the Financial Times."

Submission + - Prettiest server room job gets the free DVR! (airshipdvr.com)

Submitted by

Abigail Hamilton

on Thursday June 21, 2007 @11:43AM

Abigail Hamilton writes: "Your firewall won't tell you who walked off with your USB drive.

If you're thinking you've got your security all locked down — uncrackable firewall, chained down, servers entombed behind lead vault doors — answer me this: Where DID that 2-GB USB thumb drive go?

MAYBE IF YOU HAD A CAMERA MONITORING THE PLACE, YOU'D BE ABLE TO FIND THE MIND-WARPED CODE MONKEY WHO WALKED OFF WITH IT!

Your ticket to REAL security is a compact video surveillance system that can give you real peace of mind by literally recording everything that happens at your desk, in your server rooms, or in, say, your garage.

GUESS WHAT? SEATTLE-BASED AIRSHIP INDUSTRIES IS GIVING ONE AWAY!

Here's the deal — though most of Airship's customers are security integrators, Airship knows that you Obsessive Compulsive Tech types can totally kick a** in this contest, and win. Just post pictures of the prettiest server room installation you've ever done. Could be your own closet, or it could be that fantastic 2,000 unit server farm you wired by hand in the Midwest. Send us pics, tell us about it. That's it. We'll pick the prettiest and you get to brag about your mad skillz until we do.

About the FREE DVR:

Hot off the assembly line, Airship DVRs are all based on H.264 hardware video compression and boast the smallest storage footprint around. The software is easy-to-use and full of customizable alarm handling, scheduling, and motion detection features as well as offering easy evidence export, a built-in user guide, and remote web access. The LD-805 model which is the First Place prize in the Airship Summer Giveaway records from up to 8 analog security cameras and stores up to 500GB of eveidence. This DVR is valued upwards of $2750.

About the contest

Airship Summer Giveaway contest is open to all "Systems Integrators and [even self-described] IT mavericks".

The contest, which is accepting entries now through September 1, is simple. Anyone who has installed one or more systems in a server room is eligible to send up to 6 photos of his or her "best-looking wiring, cabling, and/or rack-mount arrangement job."

Full contest details and information about how to submit entries are available at airshipdvr.com/summer_giveaway.php.

About Airship DVR systems

Airship DVR systems feature field-proven OEM-grade software, high-resolution real-time recoding, and cutting-edge H.264 hardware compression at a price that beats the competition by 26% to 71%.

This means that the average small business can afford a system which records enough high-resolution frames to provide a clear image of a suspect after a security event. And, large entities fighting for survival in a competitive marketplace can install or upgrade video security at a cost that allows them to preserve resources they need for business development and other important priorities.

About Airship

Airship Industries, located in Bellevue, WA on Seattle's Eastside, is a software development house with expertise in systems design and hardware compression. Since 2003, Airship hardware and software has been successfully deployed under industry-giant OEM brand names in enterprise environments from museums to casinos.

Leveraging its experience developing solutions for these demanding environments, The company seeks to expand the security video market by making high-quality DVR solutions and the latest technology accessible to more users across the market segments.

The key to Airship's low pricing is cutting out the usual markup on hardware components.

"Independent systems builders and integrators can source out the parts to build their own systems, and can buy them at the same prices we pay," said Victor Huang, Airship's CEO. "We offer them a stable, compatible, performance-tested combination of components without the big markup.

"Our profit center is our software, which has been used in many enterprise environments for the past few years under big-league brand names. We just add the hardware in so we can guarantee a consistent, high-quality user experience."

To sweeten the pot, Airship offers resellers no-phone-tree customer service, excellent warranties, free shipping, and a 30-day money-back guarantee on all systems.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

Visit http://www.airshipdvr.com/summer_giveaway.php for complete information"

Submission + - Nanostructured materials empower energy advances

Submitted by

eeJones

on Wednesday June 20, 2007 @03:12PM

eeJones writes: "Recent developments at the Center for Nanostructure Characterization and Fabrication at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Georgia aim to change the face of energy generation at both a micro and macro level. Both technology advancesone for hydrogen converters and the other for energy harvestinginvolve use of nanofabricated materials whose structure is critical to improved energy efficiency. http://www.electronicproducts.com/ShowPage.asp?Fil eName=olrc01.jun2007.html"

Submission + - A new layout for internal combustion engines

Submitted by zero_offset on Wednesday June 20, 2007 @02:14PM

zero_offset writes: A certain sector of the geek world is into cars and motorcycles, and what could be more newsworthy and exciting than a whole new layout for the internal combustion engine? The NEVIS Engine Company has taken on a task that The Red Herring describes as downright Sisyphean: reinventing the venerable internal combustion engine to dramatically improve efficiency and reduce emissions. We've heard that claim before, but this engine, using the new "Bortone cycle," is a complete re-think of the typical four-stroke piston-in-cylinder internal combustion process. They are claiming twice the efficiency of a standard Otto cycle engine. Their prototype is producing 250 HP at 2000 RPM from a 1 liter 2-cylinder setup, so yes, it runs. A detailed description is available on the Technology Overview page, but be sure to hit their images page and step through the pictures in order: watching the person assemble the engine step-by-step helps clarify how it works.

24-hour Test Drive of PC-BSD 285

Posted by Zonk on Tuesday June 19, 2007 @04:11PM from the might-get-a-few-reluctant-IT-folks-on-board dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Ars Technica has a concise introduction to PC-BSD, a FreeBSD derivative that emphasizes ease of use and aims to convert Windows users. The review describes the installation process, articulates the advantages of PC-BSD,and reveal some of the challenges that the reviewer faced along the way. From the article: 'In the end, I would suggest this distribution to new users provided they had someone to call in case of a driver malfunction during installation. I would also recommend PC-BSD to seasoned Unix users that have never tried using FreeBSD before and would prefer a shallower learning curve before getting down to business.'"

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