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Bandwidth costs Gosh, I'm confused. We've all read about the over-building of fiber networks and how buying up that excess capacity can be such a bargain. DSL prices are heading downward, and while cable hasn't followed yet, it probably will. And yet we have some providers acting as though bandwidth is scarce and trying to get companies like Google to share their costs:


Title Date Comments
Is Microsoft about to shoot itself in the foot (or even its head) with Windows 8?   2011 09  2011/09/30 RonCam
- That's a serious question. I don't claim to have an answer, of course, but I do think the answer very well could be 'Yes'. Windows 7 was released in October of 2009 and supposedly Windows 8 ('the biggest overhaul since Windows 95', according to some) will be coming out in 2012. That's just three years - well, six if you count poor Vista as a precursor to Windows 7. To a slightly befuddled consumer who has heard all about the growing pains of Vista and the peripheral and application incompatibilities that still vex Win 7 to at least some degree, it might look like Microsoft is throwing out a botched attempt too replace XP and is trying again with Windows 8. -
What does Apple's $29.99 operating system pricing signify?   2011 08  2011/08/06 John
- Much has been made of Apple's new price for its operating system: $29.99 is so close to free that (for many people, at least) it is almost unnoticeable. This low price is often contrasted with Microsoft's rather pricier offering of Windows 7. -
The future is in the essence of the iPad   2011 08  2011/08/09 AndrewSmallshaw
- If we had the iPad ten years ago, there would be no such thing as a 'Personal Computer' today. Businesses would still have expensive servers, of course, but bus -
The Electric electorate   2011 07 
- In my insular little world, I'm a bit of a loon. Compared to my peers, I'm radically liberal - "way out there", as they often say while pointing an index finger at their temple and waving it in a slow circle. -
401K for sole proprietors   2005 12 
- In the U.S., many employers offer 401K plans, but until recently, a sole proprietor could not set up their own tax deferred plan without a fair amount of complication and paperwork. That's changed, but there are still many resources on the web that will tell you that you can't have a 401K without incorporating. -
Google Earth Street View   2007 06  2011/10/14 bchopper
- I'm sorry. The ACLU will probably want their card back, but I just don't see cameras as a privacy problem. -
Linux sucks, windows is better than linux   1997-2004 
- OK, we've all heard it: Linux is too hard, Linux sucks, Windows is easier than Linux, yadda, yadda. -
Use and Abuse of /usr/local/bin   2000 01 
- It starts when some poor soul has written a script to do some thing or another, and happens to mention that it was called "/usr/bin/whatever". Of course the hapless poster usually had no real reason to mention its path, that was just an accident, or it appeared in some other script that was being posted for examination. No matter, the damage is done, for immediately some defender of the faith is going to chide the poster and sanctimoniously inform them that the proper place for home grown scripts is /usr/local/bin. In some cases, that's all the poor person gets: whatever the question originally was is forgotten and only the placement issue is discussed. -
Product Review: Staples One Touch Stapler   2005 12  2011/08/26 anonymous
- A few months later, this stapler jammed up - I don't mean the staples jammed, I mean the whole thing just jammed up and wouldn't work. -
Video Gaming and Ethics   2008 11  2011/06/23 TonyLawrence
- Does the video gaming industry have an ethical obligation to produce less violent and/or addictive content? -
Pricing the Hidden Costs of Unix, Linux, and Windows   2003 08 
- Total cost of ownership for Unix, Linux, and Windows: Analyst firms have been releasing total cost of ownership calculations for leading operating systems, with Linux and Windows neck-in-neck for the low end, and Unix numbers somewhere up in the stratosphere. The question is, will standard TCO measurements still be relevant as we move into an impending era of utility, on-demand, and grid computing? -
Text vs. Binary Data formats   2003 10 
- When I'm doing some project that requires storing and retrieving data, I usually have a mental argument about how to structure the files. Should I use flat text, or some binary format (typically Perl dbm files)? The answer almost always should be "flat text", but old habits die hard. -
 
 
Kerio Connect Mailserver
 
 
Linux|Unix vs. Mac   2006 10  2010/01/20 anonymous
- Why I usually recommend Macs even though very few people have ever paid a lick of attention. -
Capitalism vs. communism   2003 11 
- I tell you all this because Linux is a pot luck supper, and folks like Microsoft and SCO are restaurant owners. -
Should 'halt' call 'shutdown'?   2006 02 
- Usage of halt vs. reboot and shutdown. Should traditional commands be perverted to prevent naive users from damaging systems? -
Life is not Fair   2005 12 
- From a secular point of view, it would be surprising if life were fair: fairness is a human concept and a human invention. -
Chrome OS on Vmware Fusion   2009 11 
- A look at Chrome OS in VmWare - basically, this is Linux in kiosk mode - the only apparent app is the browser. -
Windows vs. Unix - the forgotten facts   2005 10 
- Any typical computer user today (user, not administrator) is just as helpless at the console of a Windows domain server as they would be at any Linux or Unix server. Anyone who actually has some experience in their 'normal' OS and knows what they want to accomplish will fumble their way through the foreign server with just about the same difficulty whether they are a Unix geek trying to set up Windows 2003 Server or a Windows admin setting up RedHat AS: they both will have troubles, but they both probably will succeed. -
Retainers   2005 12 
- I suggest setting the retainer amount approximately equal to a third of what you'd ordinarily expect to bill in a year. So, if your typical client uses twenty hours of service, set the retainer to be equal to six or seven hours, and discount their hourly rate approximately 33%. -
Setting hourly rates for Consultants and service providers   2005 12 
- If you are doing anything that includes an hourly or daily rate, you may be unsure of where to set your price. -
Tired and stressed   2006 01 
- Greedy employers demand more and more while offering less, and even those who would like to offer reasonable working conditions are themselves stressed. -
Flyback needs more than ease of use   2007 11 
- Time Machine is not "just" rsnapshot. First, on the tech side, it uses hard links for directories and metadata that identifies a files lineage. It's also much faster than plain old rsnapshot. -
Troubleshooting Skills   2005 07 
- For at least some of the people asking 'dumb' questions, they may have little choice, or rather this may be their deliberate choice because they know from bitter experience that they can't do much better no matter how they try. -
Viruses and Unix   2005 10 
- I was in a meeting last week where a customer was exploring switching from a Unix platform to Windows. Of course one thing mentioned in favor of the Unix platform was the lessened threat from viruses, but someone brought up the old 'popularity' argument: if Unix were as popular as Windows, it would have just as many virus problems. -
The future of biometrics in business   2009 08 
- Biometric scanning will increase - it's an obvious way to decrease crime and increase security. -
The dumbing down of technology   2002 10 
- People do stupid things. We've all heard the stories of the guy who tried to force multiple floppies into his computer, the cd-less laptop user who wanted to hook up his stereo boom box to install software and more. The stories are sometimes funny, sometimes almost tragic in their implications of technological helplessness. -
Why Microsoft should fear Chrome OS, Linux and Apple   2009 12  2011/04/20 TonyLawrence
- The big question is how Microsoft will fare if Chrome OS and Apple's rumored iTablet (whatever they finally call it) become popular. -
New Comment Policy   2009 11  2009/12/18 francois
- We had to switch to partially moderaed comments here because of some really nasty people. Gosh I hated doing that! -
Fear and Loathing of Chrome OS?   2009 11  2009/12/23 TonyLawrence
- I can certainly understand some people feeling threatened by that sort of thing and I can also appreciate that there is a definite loss of control when moving away from our traditional -
Answer the bleeping email   2009 10 
- Yeah, I know - I should not hold my breath. Communicating with large companies can be nearly impossible. -
I don't WANT the Internet to forget!   2009 10 
- Wouldn't we all be better off if we stopped pretending that we are perfect or even close to it? -
Wicked Smaht   2009 10  2010/04/10 anonymous
- I did end up happy, but that had nothing to do with being smart. -
Let's NOT have a revolution   2009 10  2010/04/23 TonyLawrence
- My more right leaning readers won't like what he has to say - but you haven't liked what I've said about this either, so that's nothing new. -
Playing god   2009 10  2010/04/09 anonymous
- Computers have changed a lot. Storage is basically unlimited and processing power is beyond anything you could comprehend. I finally have enough resources at my disposal that I can actual create sentience. -
I am always right - aren't you?   2009 09 
- I've read a lot of your stuff and it exudes an I'm always right and I know more than you feel to it. -
Brave new world   2009 08 
- Computers were going to liberate us, relieve us from drudge work, make us all wealthy. While someof that has come true, computers have also widened income disparity, pushing some people out of good paying jobs. -
Security vs. Convenience   2009 07 
- Sure, if you want to completely destroy your security -
Unscientific America   2009 07 
- I felt that both of these were strongly biased, exhibited obvious prejudice and were also very shallow and unstatisfying. -
The Looting of America   2009 07 
- This book attempts to explain our economic problems primarily by using the analogy of fantasy baseball -
Apple should kill the beast before it grows teeth   2009 06 
- Apple needs to take security more seriously - but they don't seem to. Are they really that dumb? -
Don't touch   2009 05 
- If someone removes their A/V program or Microsoft Word because they don't understand why they are installed, I guess that could make for a bad day. But are people really that clueless? -
Electronic Representation   2009 03 
- It really doesn't matter if you are a life long Democrat or a life long Republican, it doesn't matter if you like Obama's Presidency or not: there's a lot to be angry about and we feel powerless. -
Time to pony up   2009 03  2011/04/11 BigDumbDinosaur
- When I was young, I was much more conservative than I am now. I believed strongly in capitalism and would have reacted angry to any suggestion of socialized medicine. -
Tax those S.O.B. executives   2009 03 
- Tax those damn bank executives 100 percent on those bonuses they 'earned' while destroying our economy! -
Phone revolution   2009 03  2011/11/02 AngelaM
- The feature that attracts me the most is the one number for all phones -
I'm seeing red and spitting blood   2009 03 
- I saw the news this morning about AIG getting ready to pay out $100 million in bonuses and I am seeing red -
Too big to fail? Why do we allow that?   2009 03 
- Why do we even allow too big to fail? If you are too big to fail, you are too big to exist. -
Wolfram Alpha - Incredible!   2009 03 
- AI search in May? I doubt it. I don't even begin to belief Wolfram's hype. Not going to happen - someday, but not yet. -
I hate my job   2009 03 
- Hating your job: My UPS driver got here early today. I was surprised because I expected that the big snowstorm would make him late, so I asked him about it. He laughed and said he'd be late enough getting other places. He said a lot of drivers weren't available today and that he was loaded up with other people's routes - he didn't expect to finish before midnight. -
Windows could die soon! Isn't life GRAND?   2009 02 
- Don't you just want to hug everyone you see and shout 'YES! It's finally happening! The Beast of Redmond is wounded - our salvation is near!' ? I sure do. -
 
 
Kerio Control Firewall
 
 
Recession and Service Businesses   2009 02 
- Are service businesses really recession proof this time? -
Microsoft Fans can be touchy   2009 02 
- Bill Gates is no hero to me and releasing mosquitos upon and unsuspecting audience didn't change that. -
Bailouts, Taxes, Stimuli   2009 02 
- I'm not on board with stimulus unless it is done intelligently to promote things we need. -
Why Microsoft will fail   2009 02 
- Vista is the end of line for Microsoft - well, not really but they have crossed the line of common sense. -
Stupid is as stupid does and I've done plenty of stupid   2009 01 
- Defending my honor - sort of. I don't consider myself an expert or a guru or anything close - so what? -
Do you absolutely need Anti-Virus (even on Windows)?   2008 12 
- Do you absolutely need to run Anti-Virus software (even on Windows)? -
Apple in the Enterprise   2008 12 
- Apple will enter business the same way PC's did - because individual users want them even if IT does not. -
When did taxes become a dirty word?   2008 12 
- Is this the world you want? Crumbling bridges and roads, inferior schools, mentally unstable people wandering the streets? -
California Proposition 8   2008 12 
- I'm outraged that people think they can vote away other folks rights -


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