Sunday, February 13, 2005
Why Do KVM's Cost So Much, and Other Strange Computer Questions!
Posted by Jon Westfall in "OFF-TOPIC" @ 05:54 AM
I consider myself a pretty geeky guy. I know a lot about computers, yet have some questions I've always wondered about. Since its Sunday morning, and some of us are probably procrastinating our "honey-do" lists or our own weekend projects, I figured I'd throw out a few questions that have always baffled me, and see if anyone has a good answer!
1. Ok, anyone who has ever priced KVM's (Keyboard-Video-Mouse switches) knows that these things can cost a bunch of money, and the cabling can outcost the unit at times (For example, a company I do work with purchased an 8-port KVM (2 terminal capable) for $199, and then purchased 8 sets of cables for $30 each). But why? A KVM is a pretty simple thing, and while I'm not electrical engineer, I really can't fathom it takes too much programming or circuitry to switch my I/O from one set of ports to another...
2. About a year ago, I began working with a web hosting business as their technical manager. Its a small company, so I'm usually called in for either really big problems, or to work on the Red Hat linux box (As the other tech. really doesn't know Linux that well). Upon "inheriting' this Red Hat 7.3 box, I quickly found that someone had removed the "shutdown" and "reboot" commands, forcing me to go old-school and use Init to accomplish these tasks. Can anyone offer me a good reason why they'd ever remove these commands from a box that only an administrator would ever have shell access to?
3. In Windows 3.1, we had a program called "Recorder" (Anyone remember it?) that allowed you to record macros. Anyone know why Microsoft removed it from Windows 95 and up? Was I the only person who used it ;)
So there are my 3 twisted strange questions - feel free to answer mine or post your own. Perhaps we can unravel the mysteries of the computing universe. :D
1. Ok, anyone who has ever priced KVM's (Keyboard-Video-Mouse switches) knows that these things can cost a bunch of money, and the cabling can outcost the unit at times (For example, a company I do work with purchased an 8-port KVM (2 terminal capable) for $199, and then purchased 8 sets of cables for $30 each). But why? A KVM is a pretty simple thing, and while I'm not electrical engineer, I really can't fathom it takes too much programming or circuitry to switch my I/O from one set of ports to another...
2. About a year ago, I began working with a web hosting business as their technical manager. Its a small company, so I'm usually called in for either really big problems, or to work on the Red Hat linux box (As the other tech. really doesn't know Linux that well). Upon "inheriting' this Red Hat 7.3 box, I quickly found that someone had removed the "shutdown" and "reboot" commands, forcing me to go old-school and use Init to accomplish these tasks. Can anyone offer me a good reason why they'd ever remove these commands from a box that only an administrator would ever have shell access to?
3. In Windows 3.1, we had a program called "Recorder" (Anyone remember it?) that allowed you to record macros. Anyone know why Microsoft removed it from Windows 95 and up? Was I the only person who used it ;)
So there are my 3 twisted strange questions - feel free to answer mine or post your own. Perhaps we can unravel the mysteries of the computing universe. :D
