Not really. If I had to guess, the C64 turns things off and on. A modern system optimizes energy performance, is variable volume or variable temperature, monitors CO2 levels to increase outside air when needed, etc. While BMS controls are overpriced relative to comparable consumer devices, $2MM would be around $500/point for a typical school.

Keep in mind the numbers likely include new sensors, actuators, and all that fun stuff...

No, I am switching to windows so I can actually find a person that will charge me $125-135/hour. I will admit though, the preferred consultant's hourly rate is $85/hour. He does "know Linux," but he thinks we are best served with windows..

Sadly, as someone who has been using Linux about as long as I have been visiting /., I am switching our servers to windows for this very reason. I cannot find consultants that can support our systems for a reasonable cost, and I don't have the time to do it myself. It is really going to kill me when I have to dump asterisk for the same reason and go with some hosted cloud BS that costs 3x per line.

Then staple at regular intervals and keep good bending radii. For the record though, if you have 2x12's 16"oc with one 2" hole and the rest 1.25" you can feed pretty good lengths of schedule 20 PVC conduit through. No more than 3 90 degree bends...

Careful with 3/4"; 1" handles multiple drops of Cat6 much better. Also... For those who have never tried pulling cable, don't let the contractor install flexible conduit.

Also HDMI extenders and matrix extenders. Haven't priced fiber matrix extenders, but anywhere you might want artwork or a TV, give at least two Cat6. An always use it just as a power source for lighting...

Another comment-- healthy service loops at the top of each drop or where you go from j-hooks/cable tray into conduit. Makes re-purposely the cables much easier.

Everyone should retire once before getting married, or at least before having kids. Retirement doesn't have to be forever, but before you are 30 some things are much easier.

I have had good cubicles most of my career, and personally prefer the collaboration. The main downside is not being able to use the speakerphone at your desk. For my role today that is not practical.

They reduce rent not capital cost. Furnishing either is the same.

If the company you work for pays $36/SF per year, would you take an office if it meant you were paid $2,000 less per year?

I appreciate software is different than engineering, but the collaboration, mentoring, and comorodory of an open office environment really helps build the business for us. While I do have an office, I would hope for more collaboration space rather than a larger workstation, although much smaller than 10' of desk space is a challenge.

Both levels need insurance, but I think you are right that the consultant needs the E&O coverage. One failure in the parallel though is time; if a bridge is built, the claim period lasts about 5-10% of its life. Same goes for most nonresidential buildings. What happens when a consultant is replaced on an account? Where does the new consultant assume liability for existing changes? Software bugs? Unpatched systems?

Technically, insurance companies never pay; they keep working down the chain of liability to get the next guy to pay.

How do you insure against hardware failures of the shrink wrap EULA washes hands of any liability? It will be a major change in the industry.

How many it consultants have Professional Liability Insurance? What would the premiums be--3-5%?!

This is going to be a big problem in the industry.

But to PDFs, they have at least incorporated conferencing and "studios" into Bluebeam. Why does PowerPoint not have a collaborative conferencing solution built in?

I was going to invest in a dual-screen presentation system for my company to simplify the process of giving reference and content at the same time in a presentation without being forced into awful split-tile powerpoints, but it was just too hard at the time.

Most people aren't graphics designers, nor are they engaging presenters. It takes having professionals to build a good deck. Barring that, dynamic mind maps (Omni Graffle on steroids) would be great for presentations... But Bluebeam is our go-to now.

A lot of different things can constitute a POS terminal today. For an iPad, you have Square, Shopify, and any number of other comparable packages. Pretty hard to eliminate an email client.

At one end of the spectrum, many of these types of systems use cellular service for their internet connection; pretty hard to lock them down at the network level as well.

The old model for these types of systems was to provide dedicated "appliances" to solve the problem. Costs were absurd, so merchants worked hard to find alternatives. It has taken about 18 years to get to this point. (Second linux project I was interested in was a POS system, back in 1997...) Not every shop has an IT guy on staff... and not all IT guys are experts at security, networking, or much more than rebooting the system when it has a problem.

Mobile Safari, and the Apple Watch OS were updated yesterday.