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Comment Re:Quit (Score 2) 424

by Siberwulf (#38282320) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Getting a Grip On an Inherited IT Mess?
First step would be to evaluate everything as posted above.

Then build a Action Priority Matrix. It'll help you fit together an action plan and block out time for what appears to be major projects. It also allows you to get some Quickies done to show management you're the right guy to keep doing the job.

http://www.showingnaturally.com/ActionPriorityMatrix.png

Submission + - Howto Get Rural Broadband?

Submitted by
DefconAlpha
DefconAlpha writes: "I am a software developer living in Tennessee. I telecommute from home, and very soon i will have several other employees working with me out of my home. We routinely have to deal with downloading and uploading large files to our servers and using SSH to several different machines at once. Also, i live in a semi-rural part of Tennessee, but this hasn't been an issue until recently.

When i bought my house some four years ago, i had stipulated in the formal offer that i would only buy the house if i could get broadband cable access. I spoke with the representatives of said cable company and since they provide it to my next door neighbors, they indicated it would be no problem getting service to my house. I didn't get this in writing, so it really doesn't help me now. I signed the papers, moved into my house and then the cable company backed out citing that they would have to run new lines and we were in a different county and they could not provide access to me. I had to then resort to a rural forced-not-a-monopoly DSL provider that can only give me 1.5Mbit / 256Kbit service for more money than most people would believe possible.

Now, the same cable provider has offered 60Mbit cable to my neighbors. This is now enough that i really want to upgrade to something that will continue to meet federal broadband standards after January 1. I am desperate enough that i have resorted to asking my neighbors within line of sight if they will allow me to pay for their internet if i can throw a directional wireless link to their home. The cable company refuses to run more lines to my house, citing costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars to 'rework' the fiber network near my house so that they can extend it. Also, since i live in a different county than the franchise allows, they outright refuse to offer any service.

To be fair, the neighbors that have the service are also in the foreign county and so far as i can tell, they are operating more or less illegally in my county. So if you are going to go, go all out. I think i have a lot of options to get the service, but i don't know which way to approach the topic in a sensible and non-abrasive manner. For instance, i have direct line of sight to several of the poles that carry the line, so if i could install a cable modem and access point into a weather proof box on the pole i could throw the signal to my house from 600 feet away or so. I am also willing to have a pole installed in the far corner of my land and use a wireless link from there. I could sell the house i just recently remodeled or even approach the Tennessee Regulatory Authority about the shady business practices of this cable company.

I just want fast internet at home. My neighbors have it, my property is no more than across the street from them, so how do i get it? Has anyone else had to solve this issue before?"

Submission + - Wow Computers from First Street? (mywowcomputer.com) 1

Submitted by Keyslapper
Keyslapper writes: My folks are in their 60's and are on the lookout for a new computer. Being on a fixed income, they're trying to be very careful about spending that kind of money, so they've sent me a few links to check out for them.

The one thing I can't get any real useful information on is the "Wow Computer" by First Street [http://www.mywowcomputer.com/]. Google turns up nothing but reviews and infomercial style testimonials about how "Wow changed my life". Unsolicited reviews or reports of personal experiences are very hard to find.

The company was founded as "Technobrands" in 1988, and the BBB gives them an A- with 31 complaints (all apparently resolved), 22 of which are related to product or service issues. This is all I can find so far.

The systems look very impressive on the website, boasting a reasonable spec list and a Linux based OS — which one isn't made entirely clear.

The website makes a lot of promises and markets hard to the elderly, even using AARP to peddle them. If it weren't for AARP pushing them, I'd say it smacks of an elderly ripoff. Still, I need to know if anyone on /. has seen these systems in action, and how usable are they for older folks? How reliable are they? When there are problems, how responsive is First Street / Technobrands?

Comment Re:Or maybe they just aren't selling as well (Score 1) 118

by Siberwulf (#35743308) Attached to: Dearth of New Nintendo Games Could Indicate Wii 2
I'll ignore the pun part.

The last sentence here is probably the biggest thing for me. I got bored of the party games. They were cute at first, but I wanted a game I could sink my teeth into. Something that took 60+ hours to get through. I beat MP3 in what.. 19 hours? Really? 5 nights of gaming for $60? It felt like a ripoff at that point. I wanted something like FF13, Elder Scrolls, hell... anything would have done. Zelda was cool. I love zelda. It was again...too short and shallow.

I won't be hopping on the Wii2 bandwagon until I can see they have games with meat on their bones. Something epic needs to be there for my gamer tastes..

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I've noticed several design suggestions in your code.

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