Wouldn't it be interesting if a new life form were discovered and when Curiosity beamed all the info it had collected back to earth only then do we find out that the way this newly discovered life form proliferates was through transmission, of any form or vehicle, of it's "data". So, by transmitting that data back here, Curiosity has introduced that new life form to Earth. Then, of course, the new colony can be defeated/undone wholly by someone unawares swallowing the entire colony. ModDown ModDown -K

*ack* you've screwed up my streak now.

People subscribe to stuff (software) all the time. How many folks pay for WoW? How many businesses pay "annual maintenance" which akin to a subscription.

As for folks liking FOSS, it's still there. If FOSS was that good*, MS would not sell as much as they do.

*I'm an old *nix guy. I ~do~ dig FOSS, when it's appropriate. Currently, MS Office is the defacto standard in the business world.

I know it's cool to gripe about MS and Bill Gates. I prefer to waste my time on other things. And, I've ~never~ been accused of being cool.

How did Apple sneak that one out. They're like ninjas!

Amazon won't pay taxes, they'll just collect them from you and me. WE will be the ones paying those taxes...

gone for the Wii

Bill Clinton didn't say this.

In reading over this, it seems harsh. It is not my intent to be harsh. I get to deal with this type of interaction fairly regularly where I work. I think it is an opportunity to talk openly about some of the struggles IT has with providing responsive, responsible support to our customers.

A couple of observations:

* You're right: The server is not owned or managed by them
* You bought something and put it in place without explicitly consulting IT
* The box is going to travel on a network that ~is~ owned by IT
* There are lots of other nodes on that network that may be affected by yours
* You're asking IT to support something they were unable to plan for

You're not an ordinary Joe if you're installing/connecting all those pieces of the puzzle. However, it's a bit presumptuous to think IT needs to conform to your personal requests without prior knowledge of your intent. As for running it up the chain, you may tread lightly. My current CIO would smack the request down pretty quickly and would probably demand that you remove your unauthorized IT device from ~his~ network.

Looking forward to reading some of the other responses.

Walmart made a splash a few month back with their new post paid family mobile plan. They touted their service as riding on T-Mobile's gear. I wonder if AT&T will want to keep this in place. If they do, how will it affect the WMart plans?

I have been on an el cheapo plan or quite a while. Will AT&T eventually jack my rates? Time will tell I suppose. I, for one, will be keeping an eye on how this develops over time. It may be time to jump to a regional carrier like Cellular South.

The whole story is just a bunch of hot air...

Whether that map is electronic (GPS) or not (origami), maps can be out-of-date or just plain wrong. Nattrass said. "A map in that case may have been a lifesaver for them." Not so. If they had a GOOD/ACCURATE map, it could have been a lifesaver. Had they a map from 100 years ago, it would have been useless.

I'm a geek (non-uber). I seek to be uncool. I don't care to be what the world wants. Read a different way: Who cares what others think. IMO

It won't be anonymous when Assange gets the /. leaks...

$25 / year. Easy to use. Easy to share. My 70 y/o dad harasses me on a regular basis when we'll post new photos. Currently have 10k+ pics online. Back up of our Flickr is Carbonite. -K