jp.jpg (13389 bytes)

CHAOS MANOR MAIL

A SELECTION

Mail 126 November 6 - 12, 2000

read book now

HOME

VIEW

MAIL

Columns

BOOK Reviews

emailblimp.gif (23130 bytes)mailto:jerryp@jerrypournelle.com

CLICK ON THE BLIMP TO SEND MAIL TO ME

The current page will always have the name currentmail.html and may be bookmarked. For previous weeks, go to the MAIL HOME PAGE.

FOR THE CURRENT VIEW PAGE CLICK HERE

If you are not paying for this place, click here...

IF YOU SEND MAIL it may be published; if you want it private SAY SO AT THE TOP of the mail. I try to respect confidences, but there is only me, and this is Chaos Manor. If you want a mail address other than the one from which you sent the mail to appear, PUT THAT AT THE END OF THE LETTER as a signature.

I try to answer mail, but mostly I can't get to all of it. I read it all, although not always the instant it comes in. I do have books to write too...  I am reminded of H. P. Lovecraft who slowly starved to death while answering fan mail. 

Day-by-day...
Monday -- Tuesday -- Wednesday -- Thursday -- Friday -- Saturday -- Sunday
 
atomz search

Search: type in string and press return.

 

or the freefind search

 
   Search this site or the web        powered by FreeFind
 
  Site search Web search


Boiler Plate:

If you want to PAY FOR THIS there are problems, but I keep the latest HERE. I'm trying. MY THANKS to all of you who sent money.  Some of you went to a lot of trouble to send money from overseas. Thank you! There are also some new payment methods. I am preparing a special (electronic) mailing to all those who paid: there will be a couple of these. I am also toying with the notion of a subscriber section of the page. LET ME KNOW your thoughts.
.

If you subscribed:

atom.gif (1053 bytes) CLICK HERE for a Special Request.

If you didn't and haven't, why not?

If this seems a lot about paying think of it as the Subscription Drive Nag. You'll see more.

Highlights this week:

  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  

Search: type in string and press return.

 

LAST WEEK                                                               NEXT WEEK

line6.gif (917 bytes)

 
This week:

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

TOP

Monday  November 6, 2000

Grinding out the column

 

 

TOP

 

This week:

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

TOP

Tuesday, November 7, 2000

Election Day

Column is done.

Jerry,

If you don't want to install Citrix MetaFrame, but you have to have encryption, you can also use an SSH2 server and tunneling (port forwarding).

You get OpenSSH for free with Linux or OpenBSD, but you can also buy VShell for Windows NT/2000 from Van Dyke Technologies. VShell is an SSH2 server that allows local and remote port forwarding, shell access, and SFTP.

You can run the Terminal Server client on your local machine, and running a SSH2 client (like Van Dyke Technologies' SecureCRT), you can port forward the connection to the Terminal Server. This works really well, and you have an encrypted connection! You can even dial in, and using compression, achieve respectable performance.

The Van Dyke Technologies' web site can be found at www.vandyke.com .

Gary A. Lucero glucero@swcp.com 

Thanks. Clearly there's a lot I don't know about this area of computing. The days when anyone could know it all are long gone...

Just finished your latest column on Terminal Server and had a couple of comments.

"However, the Citrix folks have come up with the craziest license-activation scheme I've ever seen. Basically, you have to go to its website, type in a bunch of numbers off your CD case and from the Licensing Agent (which gets installed as part of the MetaFrame installation process), input them into a Web form, then write down more numbers that the website spits back at you, and type them into said Licensing Agent. There are at least two iterations of that. This is the one gaping flaw in an otherwise technically impressive product, and I hope that it sees its way through to fixing it. "

It was so crazy that MS adopted pretty much the same approach for W2K Terminal Server. Of course, with Citrix you only have to worry about licenses on a few servers but with W2K, you get to have licenses on every client plus a special license server (at least is does not have to be dedicated). For major customers with Select and Enterprise agreements, you get a license key that never runs out (although you do have to pay for the licenses used). For other customers, they have to get license paks that are only good for a set number of licenses. That wouldn't be too bad except that client licenses have a way of getting "lost". For example, if you reformat a client, te existing license is lost and it gets a new license. You don't actually need a new license so you reclaim the old license by contacting MS, talking to a support person, and getting a replacement license pak. They encourage you to "overbuy" so that you can batch up your lost licenses and only do it once a month or so (a great way to pump up revenues). Many older thin clients (including early CE clients from MS don't grok client licenses at all and consume a new license each time they are started. It makes kind of impractical to continue using them which is kind of hard on the "save money with thin clients" program. Even though we are a Select client, this nonsense is a big reason I'm waiting until I convert all my clients to W2K Pro where the TSE license is integral to the OS. The other reason is that an NT4 client is licensed for NT TSE but not W2K TSE.

"Then we tried to run IE, and ... Nothing. "

This is a well-known problem. Check out www.thethin.net  for lots of tips and tricks. There are lots of gotchas waiting although they tend to be bigger issues when servers have lots of users. You'll never notice most of the issues on your server.

Wait until you start connecting to your TSE server while you are on the road (either PPP or via the Internet). Certain things work poorly over a slow remote connection (browsing is a good example) but the speed is quite acceptable for most applications. Imagine using it via an 802.11b wireless network in an airport or your hotel. It's a huge step forward in ubiquitous computing. I travel frequently but almost never carry a notebook since all my work is available from almost any available client via Terminal Server. Not a great solution for a writer, but it works great for me.

Regards, Bill

Thanks!


I post this without comment:

Dear Sir/madam 

My name is Neema , I hope your doung fine. The aim of my letter ,is to ask you if you can help to extend my idea about my research paper. I got ten page to write about the Screwtape letter by C.S Lewis and I have no idea where to start and this paper is due the day before thanksgiving day. Please please if you can help to write at least 8 I'll appreciate. The situation I'm now is very diffucult and I'm willing to pay you for each page. Thank so much andGod bless you My e-mail xxx I hope to hear from you soon


For one reply see below.

 

 

 

TOP

 

This week:

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

TOP

Wednesday,

 

 

 

TOP

 

 

 

This week:

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

read book now

TOP

Thursday,

 

 

 

 

TOP

 

 

 

This week:

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

TOP

Friday, November 10, 2000

Hi!

I recently read a comprehensive test of office packages in the German C't magazine, which I think is highly respected. They tested 5 office packages on some real tasks, including DTP, long and complex document, stock analysis and some other tests.

The packages were:

Ragtime 5.5.1 MS Office 2000 SR-1 Lotus SmartSuite Millenium Edition 9.5 StarOffice 5.2 WordPerfect Office 2000 SP3

On DTP applikation, 4 page newsletter with specific formatting requirements, they found:

StarOffice 5.2 and WordPro 9.5 was far best MS Office could do the job, but not really well, and make the user insane Ragtime achieved the best result. WordPerfect was a disaster

Standard letter and mail merge was won by Lotus, followed by StarOffice, with Office not so distant third.

Complex document:

160 pages, 60 footnotes and 60 graphics, the original intent was to use a significant number of OLE-objects (like equations) but the use of OLE-object made all test candidates unstable beyond usability.

In this category StarOffice was the winner by far, with Wordpro clearly second, Ragtime third, MS Word fourth, and WordPerfect unusable. With MS Word they had a major failure, so they had to discard the document and restart. StarOffice was by far the most stable product.

On stock analysis StarOffice was best, closely followed by Excel, Quattro Pro was third and Lotus 1-2-3 fourth.

HTML Export didn't really work with any of the products.

The essential finding was that StarOffice was the most stable, and powerful of the 5 suites. It was also by far the most stable one. The help system was awful, however. Office was found to be powerful, but very messy and error prone.

The article is unfortunately in German, and paper only. C't does have some english pages with selected articles: http://www.ix.de/ct/english/ 

Regards Erik Kaffehr

I suspect one gets different results in English, but it's interesting. Thanks.

Dr. Pournelle,

IBM is selling a Back Office Suite for Linux installations that is not only a serious challenge to Microsoft, but a sweet deal for independent coders wishing access to the software in order to upgrade their skills. Lotus Domino, WebSphere, and DB2 Universal Database, all for $499. Here's a link to the story:

http://www.newsobserver.com/saturday/business/Story/243200p-231992c.html 

Don McArthur http://www.mcarthurweb.com  ************************************** "I wish I would have a tragic love affair and get so bummed out that I'd just quit my job and become a bum for a few years because I was thinking about doing that anyway." Jack Handy **************************************



A milestone (gravestone?) in computing history has been passed. The last Multics system has been shut down. I first saw this on Dan Bricklin's web log ( http://www.danbricklin.com/log/ ) and also looked for more on the Multics site ( http://www.multicians.org/general.html ).

Multics is as important as OS/360 in the history of computing, leading directly to UNIX and other important developments for computers large and small.

Edmund Hack echweb@ev1.net 

 


I think I can help.

Screwtape was the Indian Guide, presumably from Cleveland, who helped C.S. Lewis and Clark explore the Louisiana Purchase and discovered the Latte when they reached the Pacific Northwest. Clark later settled in Metropolis, where he founded a newspaper...

Stephen

No comment. None. None whatever...


Jerry and Roberta,

I just read your column on ADD and Dyslexia. Normally I tend to agree with 95% of your writings (and I've read almost all of them). However, I have personal experience which is diametrically opposed to your comments on ADD.

First, let me list my credentials.

Age 38 National Merit Scholar in High School Chemical Engineer, 15 years experience in polymer R&;D at various chemical companies. Father of 5 children ... all of which are totally different.

Both of my sons were identified as "gifted" by the local school district in first grade. Both of my sons noticed a dramatic drop in their GPA in 4th or 5th grade. >From straight A's, to an eclectic mixture of A's, through F's. We filled out some survey's on my 10 year old boy. It seemed to indicate ADD (not ADHD ... he's not hyperactive). My 14 year old looked at the surveys and said that he has all the same symptoms also. My 13 year old daughter does not have any of the symptoms. She makes straight A's, but doesn't seem to show the same creative brilliance that the 14 year old does at times.

We talked to a psychiatrist, and obtained a prescription to Ritalin for my 10 year old boy. The results were nothing short of dramatic. He is now making straight A's and normally finishes his work in class. Before Ritalin he always had what seemed to be an excessive amount of homework.

Based on this success, we obtained a prescription for my 14 year old (sophomore in high school). We noticed the same dramatic results. He made straight A's while taking mostly Advanced Placement classes. This is the first time he's made straight A's since 4th grade. We noticed the same decrease in school work which had to be done at home ... he's completing many assignments in class. One a more important note, we no longer fight about grades and homework.

One the day of his first pill, Matt noticed that he had been reading a book for 3 straight hours. He's never done that before. He also commented that he feels more focused and he went ahead and cleaned his room without being told to.

Obviously this is not a statistically valid sample set. However, I note the following data.

Before Ritalin homework grades were a mixture of A's and zeros. The zeros were usually due to forgetting to turn in the work, or forgetting to do the work. This forgetfulness was especially vexing when they would find the perfectly completed paper crumpled in their backpack. In many cases they would only complete the front page, and forget to do the problems on the back. After Ritalin the "forgetfulness" seems to have ceased.

Test grades do not seem to have changed much. They were typically A's and B's before Ritalin.

If there is a personality change I don't see it. Of course, I see the boys in the evening when the short acting drug has worn off.

All of their teachers have commented that they tend to pay attention and focus better.

The dramatic drop in GPA in the 4th grade may coincide with the switch from verbal to written instruction and response. They responded well to verbal, highly interactive teaching environments. They don't do so well when the teacher tells them to turn to page 15 and work problems 1-25. Fourth grade is also the time in which teachers refuse to take late assignments.

OTHER DATA

I am working in technical service. My job requires the ability to handle constant interruptions... customers call and expect me to quickly diagnose and suggest solutions to their problem. I may be just as ADD as my sons but I've gravitated to a career where the ability to switch tasks quickly is a benefit.

Most of our sales reps (another job which is very non-linear) have children who are ADD.

The most obvious ADHD child I've met is the son of an obviously ADHD father. He prefers the term, "high bandwidth." He's a double diamond Amway dealer ... highly successful financially. He commented that at a recent Amway Diamond dealers meeting ... everyone's son was on Ritalin. 100% is significantly higher than the 25% of students who seem to be on medication. Amway seems to be a career path which doesn't require focus, and instead rewards those who can jump from task to task each time the phone rings.

CONCLUSION

Ritalin has been a wonder drug for my two sons. It is helping them cope with the public school system.

NEXT STEP

Can you think of a way to test the effect of Ritalin on creativity? Being able to focus is a great way to finish your calculus homework, but are you losing the ability to do creative design work?

 Jim Coffey  jim.coffey@solvay.com  "Destiny is my choice, not by chance"

Check out our new web site; http://www.solvaypolymers.com 

I have never supposed that no one is helped by Ritalin; I do think that the number of kids being given that stuff is far higher than the number who need it. I also wonder if a better education system might produce different results. 


Dear Dr. Pournelle,

I checked the link on violent reading. Since I taught myself to read, starting with Chic Young's _Blondie_ comic strip and Mother's help, I must be a terribly violent citizen. I am addicted to Dagwood sandwiches, and indebted to the _Blondie_ radio show for pointing out that the sides were to be sewn up with spaghetti and the sandwich cemented with peanut butter to keep the ingredients from falling out. As a violent subversive, my avocation is selling genuine imitation snake oil to people that believe presentations like the one described in the link.

regards,

William L. Jones wljones@dallas.net


I'm in the process of completing a paper that shows bats use predictive modeling in their flight planning. That has some interesting implications for autonomous vehicle design. Most artificial systems drink from the fire-hose of sensory input and try to make sense of it in real-time. On the other hand, advanced invertebrates and most vertebrates seem to live in a world model that they use to plan things, and they update that model using carefully selected and filtered input, almost like scientists conducting experiments. That means their world models have to be either 4-dimensional from the start, or they have to be able to simulate the future and the outcome of motor actions a _lot_ faster than real-time. In a brain with neurons that complete their computations in about 10 msec. Is this suggesting where AI went off the track a long time ago? Yep. So how does the brain store or build a 4 dimensional manifold in a way that neighborhoods are preserved--given that the brain appears to be 2 or 2.5 dimensional? There appears to be something really strange going on.

Cheers,

-- --- Harry Erwin, PhD, Computational Neuroscientist (modeling bat behavior) and Senior SW Analyst and Security Engineer. CV and papers available at: < http://mason.gmu.edu/~herwin/CV.htm >


 

 

 

 

TOP

 

 

This week:

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

TOP

Saturday,

OFF TO COMDEX

 

 

TOP

 

 

This week:

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

read book now

TOP

Sunday, November 12, 2000

COMDEX

 

 

  TOP

 

 

birdline.gif (1428 bytes)