| Wednesday,
Subj: Aerostats in Iraq
They're a little bigger than the balloon-deployed
sensors the Legion and the Spartans use in _The Prince_, but...
http://www.strategypage.com/fyeo/howtomakewar/default.asp?target=HTINTEL.HTM
INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS: Aerostats Replace UAVs in Iraq
Rod Montgomery==monty@sprintmail.com
Wow!
Hi Jerry,
I've been reading with some amusement and sharing of
your troubles with the Mac and figured this hint page may help a bit with
getting it onto the network a bit easier. I myself made the switch last
January and to be honest, I'll never willingly go back, my G4 has been the
most stable machine I have owned in 25 years of computers. My life was
easier for the switch as I didn't have an existing windows network to try
and link into. Hope this helps and thanks for all the interesting stories, I
go back to Byte columns from the early 80s and I've always enjoyed your
approach and take on the computer world at large. Be well!
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20031126092056370 And
that being said, www.macosxhints.com
is always full of neat little tricks, workarounds and undocumented features.
David Hathaway
davidh@electricmail.com
The Electric Mail Company
Dogbert: Has your electronic mail system made you more
efficient? Dilbert: In a way... Now I'm getting ignored at the speed of
light. -- Scott Adams
Barring the initial crash that none of us
can figure out, we have had no problems with the Mac itself (well too much
beach ball, but that's also something else, see the column); it's
connectivity that has been the difficulty. And we think we have a good
handle on that.
Dr. Pournelle,
I live in Texas. I wasn't born here, but "got here as
soon as I could." Now I want to leave.
I recommend parents who have their kids in public
school get Roberta's reading program ASAP if
they want to get into college. It's never too late to start.
In today's email headlines from the NY Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/03/national/03HOUS.html?th
(free subscription required, but you knew that, for your other readers)
there is a great article on why Texas Public School education sucks
(especially in Houston). The much bally-hooed TAKS (Texas Assessment of
Knowledge and Skills) and TAAS (Texas Assessment of Academic Skills) which
the President has based No Child Left Behind on for the nation is blown out
of the water. Children aren't taught to read, spell, or develop vocabulary
very well, and in high school, reading skills even drop.
I've written you before that I have two of my children
in private school where reading is taught via phonics beginning before
kinder. My kids get 20 spelling words assigned each week and have to know
what they mean and use them in sentences.
I have one child in public high school. The San
Antonio Education board couldn't agree on a Algebra I book, so they decided
to "make it up as they go." The lessons they came up with basically teach to
the TAKS requirements. Is there a more blatant "teaching the test" scenario.
Each class, the students would get a Xeroxed sheet. They had no idea of
where they were heading during the year until they got their sheets. The
potential math "geeks" couldn't even work ahead if they wanted to. There
won't be many rocket scientist coming from here.
David A. Kickbusch
Sorry to hear things have come to that.
The school system seems designed to be certain there will be plenty of
people to work at McDonalds and Wal-mart.
Hi, Jerry, I thought I would point this out, since you
seem to worry that nothing is made in America anymore.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/02/business/02ECON.html
Thanks for your Blog. I enjoy it very much.
JimRinaldo
I have probably been unclear. It isn't
that we don't manufacture things, but that there are so many fewer
manufacturing jobs. That is called efficiency and productivity increase but
--
There are also critical industries that
have been exported and we are losing the ability to do those things. Part of
this is due to the sorry state of education in this country.
Think of this comment and letter as a
marker for a full essay when I am not so severely under deadlines.
Jerry,
My company is engaged in an effort to bring technology
to Uganda, and this is of a lot of interest to us. I’m not sure if it will
be to you, but I thought I would let you know, just in case.
http://travel.discovery.com/convergence/uganda/uganda.html
Tracy
What an interesting set of readers I have!
Jerry,
You wrote: > That Mac version exists although I am not
sure it will run in modern > Macs; they would need the speech synthesis and
the program was written in SuperCard.
Just this morning, I noted that the MacCentral web
site had an article yesterday
http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/
2003/12/01/supercard/index.php?redirect=1070353441000 > that
summarized the announcement that SuperCard had been updated for Mac OS 10.3
Panther.
I would expect then that once you managed to covert
those floppies to CD format that Roberta's program would run just fine under
the new version of SuperCard.
Open nets...
(PS: Remember that one of the knocks against Windows
is that it leaves far too many holes and services open and on, thus leaving
many machines and users vulnerable to exploits. Mac OS X's underlying UNIX
core has been configured by Apple to default to having most holes and
services off. It's a fundamental difference in attitude.) -- Norman Ferguson
| Dir. of Technology Services
The big problem is getting it from
floppies onto something that my Mac can read. We will be looking at this.
And I presume the old run time package will run in classic mode, but we
don't know it yet. We'll be looking into this. Any help from readers
appreciated.
Too much security can be the equivalent of
none at all.
Your time pit is almost exclusively the result of two
factors: (a) Apple's Windows integration tools aren't very good, especially
in Active Directory networks (b) You have a Windows Active Directory network
In other words, you have vendor lock-in. The competing
vendor (Apple) claims to have solved the compatibility problem, but of
course the marketing hype outstrips the reality. This is nothing new in our
industry; it's the depressing legacy of how microcomputer vendors have done
business since the late 1970s.
I would have the same amount of trouble integrating a
Windows PC into a network of multiple Macs running Apple's Directory
Service. I don't suppose that's very comforting to you...
It's very easy to get a computer up and "connected" in
terms of Internet, DHCP, web browsing, email, ftp, etc. Any
computer--Windows, Macintosh, Linux, whatever. Connectivity to a proprietary
directory service is a tougher nut to crack.
I'm glad there are people like Thursby. I wish Apple
were more honest about their Active Directory "features", and I wish
Microsoft documented AD publicly so that others could write clients for it.
And I'm really glad that you do these silly things so we don't have to; we
currently don't integrate Macs into our clients' Active Directory networks
(they're all PowerBooks which don't hook in often enough to need
integration), but if the need comes up we're definitely getting ADmitMac.
Steve Setzer
I see nothing to quarrel with. And I do
lots of silly things so you don't have to.
Subject: USB Floppy drive for new Powerbook and other
things
Dr. Pournelle:
You mention the need to import from floppy disc. There
is a very nice 3.5" USB floppy drive that I use with my iBook G4. It
supports MAC and PC formats for reading and writing but can only format a
disc as MAC on a MAC or PC on a PC. I include a link below to the drive on
the Apple web store for your convenience.
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects
/AppleStore.woa/70203/wo/
XY4A1ga15iBR3TTNnrBT5zNv7mt/2.3.0.5.10.3.42.13.0
Although you are having "fun" integrating your new
computer into an Active Directory setup, I am sure I speak for most of your
readers when I say we appreciate your efforts. For good or ill, you cannot
rightly maintain you status as an expert on computing for the masses unless
you are conversant with the major players. Today, that means Windows, Mac
and Linux. To be conversant in only one of the three leaves most people
sounding like a religious zealot instead of a highly regarded holder of
wisdom.
For reference, my home network has 3 machines behind a
router and an ADSL modem, a Win95, a Win2000 and my new Panther iBook. As a
long time Windows power user, I am also finding the MAC to have an
interesting learning curve. Things are done differently and it is much
harder to break long time habits and learn new ones than it is to learn
fresh. I have encountered enough not techie friends and relatives to know
that a non techie has an easier time learning on the MAC than Windows.
Your encounters with the need for passwords all the
time are a result of your doing many non standard things. Under Panther,
when you sign in it is at whatever level the user is. But, after a time out,
5 minutes default I think, the permissions revert to standard user. That is
good enough for most work and keeps most users from accidentally making the
machine FUBAR. It also helps protect against malicious virii and trojans
from messing around with full authority.
With much respect,
Mike Ballantine
We don't yet know if that will read the old Mac
floppies. We'll see.
Permissions reversion. Well I never. I didn't know
that...
So it's a FEATURE?
We also find that if the machine ever goes to sleep
it forgets A LOT.
The Bush Betrayal
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
ac2/wp-dyn/A20247-2003Nov28?language=printer
Republican strategists are likely to say that
libertarians and economic conservatives have nowhere else to go. Many of the
disappointed will indeed sigh a deep sigh and vote for Bush as a lesser
evil.
Rich
It is disappointing, but not astonishing. There is
no viable candidate to the right of Bush. And do you want Gephart?
Me, I find less enthusiasm every day. And the
meatgrinder continues.
Patrick Henry Was Right
Commenting on the proposed Federal Constitution:
"If we admit this consolidated government, it will be
because we like a great splendid one. Some way or other we must be a great
and mighty empire; we must have an army, a navy, and a number of things:
When the American spirit was in its youth, the language of America was
different: Liberty, Sir, was then the primary object…But now, Sir, the
American spirit, assisted by the ropes and chains of consolidation, is about
to convert this country to a powerful and mighty empire."
This quoted and discussed in a very good essay by Ryan
McMaken on lewrockwell.com. See http://www.lewrockwell.com/mcmaken/mcmaken93.html
Mike Juergens mjcom99@hotmail.com
John Randolph had much the same thing to say. Now
had we not been capable of becoming an empire, we might not have been able
to resist incursions. Herman Kahn speculated that Empire was the natural
state of mankind and the natural size of an Empire was to expand until it
came against another Empire able to resist it.
I don't know. The Republic as Patrick Henry and
John Randolph would have understood it is very long gone.
============================================
Subject: maglev
http://news.yahoo.com/news?
tmpl=story2&cid=562&u=/ap/20031
202/ap_on_hi_te/japan_maglev_2&printer=1
Japan's Maglev Train Sets Speed Record Tue Dec 2, 8:52
AM ET Add Technology - AP to My Yahoo!
TOKYO - A magnetically levitated Japanese train raced
to a new record Tuesday, topping its own record set just last month.
The experimental maglev set the world's top speed for
a train, clocking 361 mph in a test run in Yamanashi Prefecture (state),
west of Tokyo, Central Japan Railway Co., which is carrying out the
experiments, said in a statement.
Jim
Fascinating. Thanks
=================
Subject: Too much security can be the equivalent of
none at all
The subject line comes from your response to an email.
I found this discussion to be quite funny and quite true.
http://www.asktog.com/columns/058SecurityD'ohlts.html
Bob
And it can't be said too often. Any scheme people
won't use is useless.
===================
On Mac Software
Jerry-
Check out GraphicConverter. I have found it invaluable
for converting Mac graphics to Windows graphics (e.g., .wmf). Simple to use,
cheap, works properly >99% of the time and essential if you want to create
some graphics on the Mac and then move it to the windows side, (which I do
frequently). I like the reminder system they use to get frequent users to
pay up: there is a 30 second delay on startup if you use the application
beyond the trial period. Annoying enough to prompt one to pay up, but not
actually crippling the product. They recently relaunched their web site:
http://www.lemkesoft.de/en/index.htm
The single most useful program I have on my iBook is
Mathematica 5.0, which in my experience is somewhat better behaved on the
Mac than on Windows. But just try to get a Mathematica graphic generated on
the Mac into a Word document on a PC. Ouch! GraphicConverter to the rescue.
if one exports the graphic in PICT format and then uses GraphicConverter to
convert it to .wmf, then Bob's your uncle. If you don't happen to know about
this particular pathway through the twisty maze, you are in for a long
search to get that sucker converted. Attached is an example. You don't need
to buy Mathematica to look at the example, although you will need it to
actually execute the code. You can get Mathreader for free at:
http://www.wri.com/products/mathreader/
Stephen Belknap
Thanks!
I have a tonne of mail recommending various
programs for the Mac. All useful. I can't post it all but I'll get to some.
Mr. Pournelle,
When dealing with Mac OS X, it is best to remember
that it is based on BSD. In other words, it is a UNIX system.
What is the best way to integrate a *nix system (such
as Linux and BSD) into a MS-Windows network? SAMBA. The good thing about
Panther is that SAMBA is already built in. No 3rd-party application is
necessary.
Don't take my word for it - read how Apple says to
approach your problem:
http://www.apple.com/server/macosx/windows_services.html
If you continue to rely only on MS-Windows gurus who
approach it from an AD (Active Directory) perspective, you will continue to
have problems and will probably never be satisfied. You need to consult with
*nix gurus who know how to work with SAMBA: http://samba.org/ .
It should take less than half an hour to get it
working the way you describe wanting it to work. That's how long it takes me
to set up workstations (including OS X) using SAMBA.
Good luck.
Darren
Well, I'd suppose Roland knows something about
UNIX, as does Dan. The problem here is that what worked with OS X 10.2 may
not be quite the ticket for 10.3. In any event, if it takes a UNIX wizard to
connect a Mac to an existing network, that says something important.
===========================
Subject: Large portions of your readership would not
like this article
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2003/0312.bergen.html
Laurie Mylroie: The Neocons' favorite conspiracy
theorist.
By Peter Bergen
Ash
Well, that's possibly true. On the other hand, the
chief advocate for the Washington Monthly is Carville, who is, uh, well not
always reliably non-partisan.
The general thesis is that there were no WMD in
Iraq, and Iraq wasn't really trying to attack the US; was no threat, and was
suitably deterred, and we had no need to invade for our own protection.
Since I pretty well believe that too, said so at the time, and have seen no
reason to change my mind, perhaps not so many of the readership here will be
dismayed as you seem to think.
From my view it no longer matters whether we ought
to have gone in there, other than to learn lessons about making war in the
future. We're there, and running out without doing anything is likely to
leave us a lot worse off than we were before we went in. We are, in my
judgment, already worse off than before. We have large debts, and the money
that might have been invested in energy independence is now being used to
shore up Iraq.
It was hardly a shock that the neo-conservatives
would see Iraq as a threat, and believe that invading Iraq would make the
world a better place. They may even be right although so far the evidence is
contradictory. It may be worth looking into why they had such views, but
again, I am not convinced that Carville and his supporters are the best
sources for that information. Still, there are interesting points about the
article, and thanks. But I would be astonished if any one person were as
influential as this article makes her...
=======================
Subject: Why do so few remember the Laws of War apply
to us?
Dr. P,
While I may be taking an unpopular position (relative
to other folks in the U.S.), there is a very significant reason why rounds
designed to cause massive tissue damage (such as the "APLP" round described
in the Army Times article) are not (and should not be) issued to military
personnel.
We have long-standing treaty obligations which, in
accumulation, are the "Laws of War" which we claim to honor. One of those
venerable agreements states quite clearly: "The Contracting Parties agree to
abstain from the use of bullets which expand or flatten easily in the human
body, such as bullets with a hard envelope which does not entirely cover the
core or is pierced with incisions".
If we renege on standards which we have vowed for
generations to uphold, we throw away any credibility we might have had in
claiming moral superiority. The pertinent question becomes "Which inviolable
ideals is the United States really unwilling to violate when respecting the
ideal becomes a hindrance?"
BTW, this is also why that battalion commander
*needed* to be relieved of his command for leading his men in violating the
standards for treatment of POWs -- most especially for the purpose of
"protecting his soldiers". Unpleasant as it may sound, soldiers are
expendable, and expending their lives is the price we pay to preserve the
ideals which have made the United States so great.
Sincerely,
William Clardy
p.s. My apologies to Sean Long for misunderstanding
his comments regarding the battalion commander mentioned above.
Full metal jacket...
=========================
Subject: About SAMBA
Dr. P,
One possible reason for the significant difference in
SMB network (a.k.a. "Windows Networking") behavior between Mac OS X 10.2 and
10.3 is that the version of SAMBA included changed from 2.2.something to
3.0. SAMBA 3 includes a lot of explicitly experimental support for Active
Directory networking, and was just barely out of beta status when Panther
was being finalized for release.
Sincerely,
William Clardy
Interesting.
=============================
News from Francis Hamit:
Dear Jerry:
I've established "The Fight For Copyright" blog at
www.blog.forwriters.com , a
site which is worth investigating on its own because they give FREE blogs
to writers. (Free-one of my favorite things). Working towards getting
the web page set up by next month and working on Paypal and Amazon Honors
and other systems. These take a while because of the security features.
Anyway, the URLs for this blog are:http://thefightforcopyright.forwriters.org
and
http://forwriters.org/thefightforcopyright/
That article I sent you last week is already there and
I will be adding a six parter shortly. However I really want to encourage
other people to add their comments. And to link to it if they want. More
anon.
Regards, Francis Hamit
Thanks
Hi Jerry:
What is your opinion about this article?
http://starcraft-version1.tripod.com/Part-1-elephants.htm
Regards,
Der Voron
I have little disagreement. Elephants are smart. We
thought so when we started Footfall.
But
Jerry,
As a big game hunter and keen observer of animals
including the elephant, and student of the major and various minor arcana of
hunting, I can tell you that the article on elephant as earth's other
intelligent species is just not so.
It starts off badly and goes down hill. For example
rhino see very badly, but they have highly developed scent and hearing
capabilities. Blinding one is not a big deal.
The article is a collection of fairy tales and Disney
nature.
Jim Dodd 21st Century Safaris
I do know that my cousin George who was curator of
mammals at San Diego Zoo and who started the San Diego wild animal park
always thought elephants were about the most intelligent critters he worked
with other than Chimps.
But I am hardly an expert. And I don't think I
could bring myself to shoot big game even though I understand the market and
ecological issues. I don't mind that the Mali Mali rangers do what they have
to do to keep the place going properly (if that still exists in the new
South Africa) but I am glad I don't have to do it.
Just So stories are always fun.
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