Microsoft, I admit defeat. I'm giving up on trying to install Service Pack 3. You guys won. I will NOT however recommend to management that we need to go to Vista. You can take that to the bank.
Worker droid status in the Zombie armies of the Internet is the ultimate fate of all of the 500 to 600 desktop Windows XP computers we use in the oilfield rental fleet. Be prepared to be spam and Trojan targeted all of you other Internet travelers. My overload refuses to buy seats of Anti-virus or any other Anti-malware software for use on the rental systems due to cost.
It should not require all of the effort I and others in the company have had to expend to make a volume license image of XP Pro work with SP3. The latest defeat is on the system that surprised me by installing SP3 without any hiccups or complaints and started running. I left this Sick Puppy running and connected to the Internet indirectly through 3 layers of routers, an external corporate firewall and one internal one. So yes it was running Windows Update, set to download, notify but not auto-install the updates.
I came into work. Checked on Sick Puppy and he had a security update for Net 1.1 set for install and another one seemingly generic to XP. Yes I should have noted the KB numbers to report here but really, why bother? I have had more trouble with Sick Puppy than I like to admit and I know its only a matter of time before another broken piece of software labeled as a "security patch" will be downloaded and not install properly.
So I've given up. To build the image we will deploy into the rental fleet, we'll take our XP SP1 volume license image with the slip-streamed SP2 files on it and update that with the required 99+ "security patches". That image will get Ghosted and will become the basis for image renewals when the desktop systems come in for maintenance. The system I've designed and have been writing the software for will do the entire process automated to the extent that we can hire monkeys to do the work of re-imaging computers, a requirement not only in our industry but hundreds, maybe thousands of others.
Computers used in the oilfield, particularly rental machines, are NOT treated nice. So when they've been out hopefully making money for our company on a daily rental basis, they get treated about as well as a Guantanamo Bay inmate. Some of them (the special purpose drill-floor computers) even get "waterboarded", power washed with a pressurized firehose even though we tell them it will cost them 20 to 30,000 dollars to pay for a damaged machine.
When these poor, unfortunate digital drones come back to the field offices to be refreshed for their next work stint, they get their hard drive wiped and re-imaged with a hopefully functional OS image with our company's proprietary application software. Hence the need for a volume licensed image that basically replaces the OEM image on the systems we bought from our neighbors in Round Rock. We run some tests on the system to verify it still works and then it gets installed on the next job site.
I considered SP3 as a way to save time in the image creation stage but whatever time savings is long gone and lost. It didn't used to be that way. Installing a Service Pack was a safe and tested way to bring a basic imaged system up to a known specification on security patches. I can't trust Service Packs from Microsoft any more and that's really sad.
Our new application software was written in Java and it runs just fine on Linux. All I needed was an excuse and now I have it. We probably won't wait for Windows 7. We weren't going to use Vista for damn sure.
From : http://community.zdnet.co.uk/
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Asus Eee PC 1000H Dissected
Tweaktown opened up their Asus Eee PC 1000H and took a look what is inside the latest Asus Eee PC.
Quote: "Eee PC 1000H is Taiwan’s version of the latest Eee PC launched by ASUS late in 2007. Since then, like a wildfire the Eee PC revolution has burned asunder all competition before it. There is literally no other genré of PC like it. However, that being said, I have to say the look and feel of the model we are looking at today is a lot different from the first Eee PC we originally exposed in all her innocence a while ago.
Today we are going to strip down a juicier, more mature model; something seductively more endowed, and covered in glossy black. No more innocent “clad in white” teeny tid-bit viewing; this is an all-black leather mistress with her whips and chains, and it took a great deal of coaxing to calm her out of her plastic glossy black briefs."
More details on Tweaktown. More Asus Eee PC 1000 News.
From : http://www.i4u.com/
Quote: "Eee PC 1000H is Taiwan’s version of the latest Eee PC launched by ASUS late in 2007. Since then, like a wildfire the Eee PC revolution has burned asunder all competition before it. There is literally no other genré of PC like it. However, that being said, I have to say the look and feel of the model we are looking at today is a lot different from the first Eee PC we originally exposed in all her innocence a while ago.
Today we are going to strip down a juicier, more mature model; something seductively more endowed, and covered in glossy black. No more innocent “clad in white” teeny tid-bit viewing; this is an all-black leather mistress with her whips and chains, and it took a great deal of coaxing to calm her out of her plastic glossy black briefs."
More details on Tweaktown. More Asus Eee PC 1000 News.
From : http://www.i4u.com/
MacIntosh case can proceed
A former Strait-area man facing 43 charges for allegedly molesting boys in the 1970s was correctly extradited from India last June, a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge has ruled.
That means Ernest Fenwick MacIntosh can expect his preliminary hearing to go ahead Oct. 7 on all of those charges unless his lawyer appeals Justice Frank Edwards’s decision.
Mr. MacIntosh is charged with multiple counts of gross indecency and indecent assault involving nine Nova Scotia boys in the 1970s. He was released on $60,000 bail in April and is living in Halifax Regional Municipality. Mr. MacIntosh’s lawyer tried last month to get most of the charges against his client dropped.
Brian Casey argued that the Indian court extradited the 64-year-old without sufficient evidence to support most of the charges, which meant Mr. MacIntosh might be facing charges other than those for which he had been extradited.
But Justice Edwards said Mr. Casey had misinterpreted a portion of the extradition treaty.
Any concerns about the evidence that the Indian court used to decide whether to extradite Mr. MacIntosh should have been brought up at that time, Justice Edwards said in his decision.
"It is not my role to determine what evidence India would require."
According to extradition laws, an accused cannot be prosecuted for any offences he was not brought back to face unless he consented to his extradition.
A July 2006 certificate of authentication asks that Mr. Mac-Intosh be extradited on all 43 counts. The request for extradition from July 2005 also asks that the accused be returned to Canada to face all of those charges.
"Extradition was requested for 43 charges and extradition was granted," Justice Edwards said in the decision. "Moreover, as I have already noted, MacIntosh consented to the extradition."
Mr. MacIntosh co-operated with authorities so he could have "time to wind up his affairs in India prior to his surrender."
The Port Hawkesbury Crown attorney working on the case said he agrees with the judge’s decision.
"We think it was an appropriate decision, and now that (the judge) has made the decision, we are ready to proceed to the preliminary inquiry," Richard MacKinnon said.
For one of Mr. MacIntosh’s alleged victims, this is a tentative step forward in a process that has already taken more than 10 years.
The RCMP laid charges against Mr. MacIntosh in 1995. The former hockey executive for the junior B Strait Pirates had moved to India a year earlier.
He was not brought back to Canada until last spring.
"(You) expect our (legal) system to deal with things in a reasonably timely fashion, but it’s such a long, drawn-out process that it’s really difficult for the victims," said one of the complainants, who is now in his 40s. "So when I say I’m cautiously optimistic, (it’s because) we’ve made some major gains in this process. But we’ve had some major setbacks."
The man said that learning the case will go to the preliminary hearing stage has helped him regain some confidence in the legal system. His faith was shaken in April after Mr. MacIntosh was granted bail.
The complainant said he decided to talk about the alleged abuse to prevent it from happening to others and to increase awareness of the problem.
Nokia Map Loader 2.0 now available and with built-in online store
Nokia has put up Map Loader 2.0 on their betalabs, this latest version incorporates an in-built online store where a user will be able to purchase and download traffic information, city guide licenses, and navigation direct to their mobile phone. There is even no need for activation just simple download and you are then ready to explore anywhere you wish.
The Nokia Map Loader 2.0 is a personal computer app for Microsoft Windows XP and Vista, and as long as your mobile phone is connected with the PC Suite you will be able to transfer the traffic information and maps to your mobile.
Nokia says: “The new “Services” tab will let you browse through Drive*, Drive&Walk*, Traffic* and City Guides before deciding what to buy. In addition, the clear and easy to understand graphical representation will show what region is covered by the license. You will see exactly what you buy before buying.
Selecting “Guides” will let you browse through City Guides and Multimedia Guides from all over the world. Selecting one will show you information on the contents and you can download them directly to your device. It has never been so easy to find the right guide for your destination.”
The new Nokia online store accepts payment via credit card, and the license will be set to the customer directly after receiving payment, and you will receive conformation via email.
Source – slashphone
ASUS-Lamborghini ZX1 Smart Phone
ASUS and Lamborghini unveil the ASUS-Lamborghini ZX1 PDA phone. The ASUS-Lamborghini ZX1 PDA phone has already won the prestigious iF Communication Design Awards 2008.
The ASUS-Lamborghini ZX1 has a carbon fiber back panel and features a joystick on the front embedded in the Lamborghini logo.
Features of the Lamborghini ZX1 include HSDPA, Windows Mobile 6.1, 2.8 inch screen, 3MP camera, GPS, WiFi, TI OMAP CPU, and 256MB Flash and 128MB SDRAM.
Measurements of the ZX1 are 115.6 x 59.4 x 13.2mm.
There is no pricing and shipping information yet available.
Via the Asus site.
The Asus-Lamborghini ZX1 is sure some competition for the upcoming Tag Heuer Meridiist.
From : http://www.i4u.com/
Nvidia video: No quad-core chip needed for extreme PC
Nvidia has posted a video that involves the new GTX 280 chip,
overclocking, lots of liquid nitrogen, and the Nvidia labs. Oh, and no
quad-core processor. Get the point?
overclocking, lots of liquid nitrogen, and the Nvidia labs. Oh, and no
quad-core processor. Get the point?
"A lot of people believe you need an Intel
quad-core or Intel quad-core Extreme to build an extreme PC," says the
post by "Steffee" on the Nvidia Web site. "Today I'm going to build a gaming PC using the Intel Core 2 Duo. That's duo. Got that? Duo, two cores."
I think the point the blogger is trying to make is that the test system has only has two cores, though I could be mistaken.
Here's an excerpt from the blog: "Think you need a quad-core CPU for
an extreme gaming PC with impressive 3DMark Vantage numbers and gaming
performance?...I overclocked and hyper-cooled an SLI gaming rig using
two of our latest and greatest GPUs--GeForce GTX 280...and a sub-$200
CPU."
Intel, of course, has a different take on this. "Most of what people
do today with their computers requires powerful processors. Examples of
processor-intensive applications include: creating content,
viewing/editing high definition video, using social media sites, office
tools, downloading music, and editing photos," Intel said in a
statement.
In the test, the blogger uses an NForce 790i Ultra SLI motherboard, Intel core 2 duo E8400, in addition to the GTX 280 graphics card.
With the single GTX 280 board, the score is a 3DMark Vantage "X4796."
Then the blogger (an Nvidia employee) takes a hike to the Nvidia
lab. "Now we're going to take a field trip to Nvidia labs to do some
serious overclocking," she says. After adding what seems to be
prodigious amounts of liquid nitrogen and adding another GTX 280 SLI
board, the 3DMark score jumps to "X10,282."
Intel could respond (which it hasn't) by saying that the E8400 is
not a slow processor: it runs at 3.0GHZ and has 6MB of cache. And
overclocked with liquid nitrogen, it would probably get some pretty
good scores too. And then, of course, it might be simpler to just get a
quad-core Extreme CPU.
In the test, the Nvida GTX 280 core clock was overclocked to 727MHz
and the shader to 1458MHz. The core clock is normally 602MHz and the
shader clock 1296MHz.
System specifications:
--2× NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 graphics cards running in SLI nForce 790i Ultra SLI motherboard
--Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 CPU
--4 GB SLI-ready Corsair DDR3 memory
--PC Power and Cooling TurboCool 1200W power supply
--Windows Vista 32-bit operating system
Mac clone maker ventures onto Apple's server turf
June 20, 2008 (Computerworld)
The Florida Mac clone maker that first attracted attention in April unveiled knock-offs of Apple Inc.'s Xserve servers yesterday.
Psystar Inc., which made headlines two months ago when it introduced Intel-based computers able to run a modified version of Apple's Mac OS X,
started selling its OpenServ systems Thursday. The servers, which
closely resemble Apple's rack-mounted Xserve, come in two
configurations: the 1U-format 1100 and the 2U-format 2400.
Although the base price of the less-expensive OpenServ 1100 is $1,599,
when tricked out with an unlimited-client version of Mac OS X 10.5
Server to better match the Xserve's specifications, the price tag is
$2,624.99 — about 12.5% less than the $2,999 Apple charges.
The base OpenServ models feature a quad-core Intel Xeon processor
that runs at 2.5 GHz, 4GB of RAM and a 750GB hard drive. The four drive
bays of the 1100 and the six in the $1,999 2400 can be filled with up
to 4TB or 6TB of disk storage space, respectively.
Apple's
stock Xserve comes with a quad-core 2.8-GHz Xeon CPU, 2GB of memory and
a relatively small 80GB drive. The 1U-format server sports three drive
bays, which can hold up to 3TB of storage.
"We want to serve
the entire market, not just the mainstream or niches, but everyone,"
Christian Infante, director of sales and marketing for the Doral,
Fla.-based company, said in a statement yesterday. "We want to offer a
relevant product for every user, regardless of their needs."
Although the Mac OS X end-user license agreement bans its use on
non-Apple hardware, the company has taken no known legal action against
Psystar.
From : http://www.computerworld.com/action/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)