On 10/8/2011 2:41 AM, Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> On 08/10/2011 05:39 AM, Darren New wrote:
>> On 10/7/2011 20:43, Jim Henderson wrote:
>>> Sounds *so* familiar. Another reason to use Linux. ;)
>>
>> How the hell would that help?
>
> Seconded.
>
>> What helped was getting him off dial-up so I could talk to him at the
>> same time he's on the net, *and* connect into his computer remotely.
>
> I bought some hardware that lets me remotely connect to my grandparent's
> PC. (Unless, you know, the problem I'm trying to troubleshoot IS the
> Internet connection...)
>
Sounds like the nForce chipset bug, where the "internet security" 
feature built in seemed to have the basic function, when turned on (and 
you can't turn it off short of uninstalling the whole security manager), 
seemed to be to slow the connection, cause packet errors, and prevent 
you successfully downloading anything over a few megs in size. Took me 
months to figure out that the problem wasn't the damn patch panels I put 
in the wall, to connect the two rooms, for my network, but the damn 
"internet security" on the motherboard of the computer that had the problem.

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On 08/10/2011 08:38 PM, Darren New wrote:
> On 10/8/2011 2:41, Orchid XP v8 wrote:
>> I bought some hardware that lets me remotely connect to my
>> grandparent's PC.
>
> Why do you need that? All that sort of thing is built into Windows.

Really? So how do I create an encrypted video connection to the target 
machine, while at the same time preventing anybody else from doing the same?

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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On 08/10/2011 10:44 PM, Jim Henderson wrote:

> Had a lab full of machines that the power went out in once (electricians
> doing a power upgrade).  We shut everything down properly, they did some
> work, we powered everything up, and then they started their actual work
> and threw the main breaker.
>
> Half the Windows machines wouldn't boot.  All the *nix and NetWare
> machines (and AS/400s et al) booted more or less without any issue at all.

Now I'm puzzled. Why the heck would that happen? Last time we had a 
power cut at work, all 50 desktop PCs booted back up just fine afterwards...

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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On Sun, 09 Oct 2011 01:32:08 +0100, Orchid XP v8 wrote:

> On 08/10/2011 08:38 PM, Darren New wrote:
>> On 10/8/2011 2:41, Orchid XP v8 wrote:
>>> I bought some hardware that lets me remotely connect to my
>>> grandparent's PC.
>>
>> Why do you need that? All that sort of thing is built into Windows.
> 
> Really? So how do I create an encrypted video connection to the target
> machine, while at the same time preventing anybody else from doing the
> same?

Remote Desktop + password.

Jim

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On Sun, 09 Oct 2011 01:33:11 +0100, Orchid XP v8 wrote:

> On 08/10/2011 10:44 PM, Jim Henderson wrote:
> 
>> Had a lab full of machines that the power went out in once
>> (electricians doing a power upgrade).  We shut everything down
>> properly, they did some work, we powered everything up, and then they
>> started their actual work and threw the main breaker.
>>
>> Half the Windows machines wouldn't boot.  All the *nix and NetWare
>> machines (and AS/400s et al) booted more or less without any issue at
>> all.
> 
> Now I'm puzzled. Why the heck would that happen? Last time we had a
> power cut at work, all 50 desktop PCs booted back up just fine
> afterwards...

We never actually figured out why so many of the Windows machines in the 
lab failed to boot.  They were older HP servers (this was circa 
2001/2002).  In the end, the Windows engineers ended up rebuilding the 
systems; they were lab systems after all.

All I remember is those of us who handled systems other than the Windows 
systems found it amusing that the Windows stuff was so fragile and the 
other stuff just rolled with it.

Jim

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On 08/10/2011 10:17 PM, Jim Henderson wrote:
> On Sat, 08 Oct 2011 16:10:16 +0100, Orchid XP v8 wrote:
>
>>> Try installing Notepad on Windows without installing Windows
>>> Networking.
>>>
>>> Oh, you can't do that.  Why?  Because Windows Networking is an
>>> integrated component of the operating system.
>>>
>>> Guess what - it's also an integrated component of GNOME, because
>>> interoperability matters.
>>
>> The irony is, you actually /can/ uninstall Windows networking (and even
>> the TCP/IP protocol). And Notepad still works. :-P
>
> Not if you try to save to a networked drive.

OK. But I don't actually want to do that, so I don't care.

Likewise, if I install GTK+ but not Samba, I can't save to a networked 
drive. But since I'm not trying to do that, it's irrelevant.

>> Plus, installing Windows isn't a 4GB download.
>
> Installing Windows + applications is a lot more than 4 GB.  With the
> caching done on my Win7 VM, it sure seems to have downloaded 4+ GB of
> updates since installed, too.

Seriously?

The Windows XP CD holds less than 650 MB of data. (It's a CD.) Service 
Pack 3 is only a few hundred MB, last I checked. Most individual updates 
are a few KB to maybe a dozen MB. I would be /greatly/ surprised if you 
need to download more than 1 GB.

Applications? Well, yeah, that could be arbitrarily large, depending on 
what applications you want...

>>>> Me and my dad tried updating OpenSUSE one time. After several days of
>>>> hell, we decided never to attempt this ever again.
>>>
>>> It's a shame you didn't come over to the forums and ask for some help.
>>
>> Wouldn't that require me to figure out how to display IPv6 so that
>> Firefox works again?
>
> No.
>
> You have a Windows machine, do you not?

Not in the same building, no.

I mean, I guess I could have set something up. It's just frustrating 
when all you're trying to do is a default install or whatever, and that 
isn't working.

> Your problem is a lack of knowledge.  That can be corrected.  If you go
> into using Linux thinking it's going to be exactly like Windows, you're
> doomed to fail before you even boot the machine.
>
> Newsflash:  Linux is NOT Windows.  It doesn't work like Windows.  It
> doesn't feel like Windows.  Why?  BECAUSE IT ISN'T FREAKING WINDOWS!!!

And, uh, what do you base this assertion on?

You make it sound like I used Linux for five minutes, couldn't work it, 
and gave up. That's not what happened at all!

> Software isn't perfect.  No matter which platform it is, it isn't going
> to be perfect.

Funny, I could have sworn Mac OS was perfect...

> You have to be willing to take some time to learn how the
> system works, rather than just try it and lament "it's hard".

You make it sound like I've made no attempt to do so.

I can work Linux. I can usually make it do what I want it to do. I 
pointed out one specific issue: installing stuff tends to be a 
dependency nightmare. Which is true. I don't see how that makes me an idiot.

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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>>> Why do you need that? All that sort of thing is built into Windows.
>>
>> Really? So how do I create an encrypted video connection to the target
>> machine, while at the same time preventing anybody else from doing the
>> same?
>
> Remote Desktop + password.

Now how do you /encrypt/ that?

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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On 10/8/2011 14:17, Jim Henderson wrote:
> On Sat, 08 Oct 2011 16:10:16 +0100, Orchid XP v8 wrote:
>
>>> Try installing Notepad on Windows without installing Windows
>>> Networking.
>>>
>>> Oh, you can't do that.  Why?  Because Windows Networking is an
>>> integrated component of the operating system.
>>>
>>> Guess what - it's also an integrated component of GNOME, because
>>> interoperability matters.
>>
>> The irony is, you actually /can/ uninstall Windows networking (and even
>> the TCP/IP protocol). And Notepad still works. :-P
>
> Not if you try to save to a networked drive.

But that's a stupid argument. Notepad still works even without networking if 
you don't try to use networking. Linux doesn't, because everything assumes 
it's there.

On the other hand, Linux still works if you uninstall graphics drivers, and 
Windows (and Notepad) fall over.

> Installing Windows + applications is a lot more than 4 GB.

Windows hasn't fit on less than a DVD in quite some time. I think the base 
install is a 3.5G DVD image or so. Not counting Office and such.

> Which is why having a community to ask questions of (including 'is there
> a pre-built package for 'x'', surprisingly enough) is a good thing.

Does anyone else miss the good old days when it was possible to use a 
computer based on the instructions it came with, without having to have a 
live connection open to the people who wrote the software you're using? 
Where you could buy a book, and read the book, and then use in all its 
details the software the book described?

-- 
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   How come I never get only one kudo?

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>> Which is why having a community to ask questions of (including 'is there
>> a pre-built package for 'x'', surprisingly enough) is a good thing.
>
> Does anyone else miss the good old days when it was possible to use a
> computer based on the instructions it came with, without having to have
> a live connection open to the people who wrote the software you're
> using? Where you could buy a book, and read the book, and then use in
> all its details the software the book described?

<raise hand>

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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On Sun, 09 Oct 2011 01:45:29 +0100, Orchid XP v8 wrote:

>>>> Why do you need that? All that sort of thing is built into Windows.
>>>
>>> Really? So how do I create an encrypted video connection to the target
>>> machine, while at the same time preventing anybody else from doing the
>>> same?
>>
>> Remote Desktop + password.
> 
> Now how do you /encrypt/ that?

It's RDP.  It's already *encrypted*.

Jim

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