RE: OT -- 90-day limits in the financial world for downloading your data.
On Mon, 2004-11-22 at 09:12, Tilly, Lawrence wrote: > It could also be data access time. Not sure what software they're > using, but while you're doing your search you're probably tying up web > threads, worker threads in a JVM (assuming java-based application > server), database connections and cycles on the database machine. > > By limiting that to 90-day chunks they probably have a pretty good idea > of the resources you'll have tied up. If they let people pull unlimited > requests, it could have some pretty negative impact on their service. > That would not serve that customer well, nor would it look good for all > the other people trying to use it and getting poor performance. If there resources are so limited that they have to worry about 20K or 30K downloads, they really should seriously consider upgrading their computers -- Fred -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- place "[hey]" in your subject. The mass of humans on planet Earth -- regard them as the ebbing seas in the winds of change. They ebb, they flow, they know not where to go. ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss
Re: OT -- 90-day limits in the financial world for downloading your data.
On Wed, Nov 24, 2004 at 07:28:05AM -0500, Fred wrote: > If there resources are so limited that they have to worry about 20K or > 30K downloads, they really should seriously consider upgrading their > computers LiveJournal.com hosts four racks of hardware, including 7 different database clusters and something along the lines of 60 web nodes, yet for exporting data via a web interface, you are limited to only one month at a time - which is approximately this size. Load can be considerable from heavy database queries, which I assume exporting data in this manner is. Anyone who's worked with databases for a while can tell you that it's not always best to allow "SELECT * FROM foo WHERE" with no limit: there can be a lot of data in there. There's also the fact that you may be dealing with some people that have much higher numbers of transactions: dozens, or more, per day. To select 1000 records and all their associated data is not a simple task. Limiting by actual transactions is going to confuse customers, but they can limit by a time frame without too much problems on either the "too much load" or the "too confusing to users" sides. Not neccesarily the case, but "buying more computers" isn't always the solution. -- Christopher SChmidt [EMAIL PROTECTED] pgppY0Vh80rz6.pgp Description: PGP signature
Re: php ecommerce/shopping cart solution(s)?
On Tue, 2004-11-23 at 11:31, Dan Jenkins wrote: > jsf wrote: > > > It's time for me to start looking for an ecommerce/shopping cart/CC > > processing solution for my employer. MySQL/PHP is a requirement, FOSS > > or inexpensive is preferred... > > > > I'm looking now at http://www.ext-cart.com/ and I'm going to look at > > OSCommerce (though I heard that it's being abandoned or something > > recently on /. ... I'll have to check...) > > > > Anyway... recommnedations apprecaited. > > I've recently used osCommerce (though in a supervisory capacity, not too > much hands on). It looks pretty good. As to it being abandoned, that's > news to me. From what I've seen of the active community around > osCommerce, that doesn't seem likely. It appears pretty complete as is. > There's plenty of existing templates and modules for it. Even if > development stopped today (and no one else picked it up), I'd be > comfortable using it. (Open source is wonderful that way - no need to > fear being orphaned.) I currently have a heavy hitting engine for eCommerce I wrote in PHP, called ECMS(E-Commerce Management System) and is currently serving quite a few sites. http://www.hydranuke.com Contact me offline at [EMAIL PROTECTED], or call me at the number below so we can discuss the details. My system is not FOSS at this point, but we can work something out. I am constantly upgrading its capabilities and power, and it's capable of doing quite a bit now from handling your usual shopping carts to doing ticket sales for venue events. I am currently working on an extensive inventory tracking system and support for SEO. The idea is that a small business, if it wishes, can run their entire business using ECMS, as is one client is doing so at this moment. Tying site sales directly into Inventory Tracking and Forecasting will be a very powerful addition to ECMS. So it can do everything from simple "mom and pop" shopping cart operations to serious online commerce. It uses PHP to filter regular old HTML with embedded tags that it inserts content into, thus allowing full customization of the website's look and feel. Elements it creates are designed with a view of using CSS to control the appearance, thus adding to customization even more. Also, it is trivial to write a driver to any merchant gateway. If it's not the best eCommerce system anywhere, it soon will be. I have not decided to release it to Open Source yet, and I'm not sure if I will ever do that, since it's become my "cash cow". But I do work out individual deals and am very flexible. -- Fred Mitchell, HydraNuke.com E-Commerce and Hosting Solutions Whatever you want, we'll make it happen (603)557-5986 ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss
Re: OT -- 90-day limits in the financial world for downloading your data.
On Wed, 2004-11-24 at 07:37, Christopher Schmidt wrote: > On Wed, Nov 24, 2004 at 07:28:05AM -0500, Fred wrote: > > If there resources are so limited that they have to worry about 20K or > > 30K downloads, they really should seriously consider upgrading their > > computers > > LiveJournal.com hosts four racks of hardware, including 7 different > database clusters and something along the lines of 60 web nodes, yet for > exporting data via a web interface, you are limited to only one month at > a time - which is approximately this size. > > Load can be considerable from heavy database queries, which I assume > exporting data in this manner is. Anyone who's worked with databases for > a while can tell you that it's not always best to allow "SELECT * FROM > foo WHERE" with no limit: there can be a lot of data in there. Of course. For one particular client who wanted real time stats updates for his Affiliate module, I had to tell him that's unrealistic. So, stats are updated nightly instead. But that's all a matter of database design. I cache certain data in tables that would otherwise overwhelm a SELECT * query. Proper use of indices also becomes critical. Affiliates do demand a lot of data viewed in different ways, and it can be a challenge at times. > There's also the fact that you may be dealing with some people that have > much higher numbers of transactions: dozens, or more, per day. To select > 1000 records and all their associated data is not a simple task. There is that for sure, considering this is a business account. > Limiting by actual transactions is going to confuse customers, but they > can limit by a time frame without too much problems on either the "too > much load" or the "too confusing to users" sides. > > Not neccesarily the case, but "buying more computers" isn't always the > solution. Of course not. But smart DB design. caching often-accessed data, and distributed loading techniques, etc. can make all the difference. Just that I expect large banks such as Bank of America, etc. to be able to afford the expertise and resources to do this. I've worked in Credit Card processing for a while in the past, and the sheer data requirements are *enormous*. What it terabytes per minute, or terabytes per second? I forget. The resources involved with just a single credit card purchase is mind-boggling, considering it has to go through the merchant's account through a central routing system like First Data to your individual account at your financial institution, and back again, all within seconds. And yet it works so darn well we don't even notice it -- it is technology that has folded almost seamlessly into the background. Same can be said for stock trading, even more so. Thousands of dollars are flipped between trader's accounts within milliseconds. I've gotten into long nasty debates over stock trading -- many people are unwilling to see this as the zero-sum game for what it is. When you purchase 1000 shares of CSCO at $20 a share, $20,000 goes from your account to the accounts of the traders/investors your bought the shares from. When you then sell CSCO later at $15 a share in panic, you have to find -- or the system does -- $15,000 from the accounts of other traders willing to deal with you. Money then goes from their accounts to yours. And the hardnosed fact is the time scales of how long you hold onto CSCO does not change the zero-sum nature. I've seen stocks of other companies plummet from hundreds of dollars a share to just mere pennies. Or so-called "blue-chip" stocks crumble into dust. Trading is not for the faint of heart, and it would be sheer folly to base one's retirement plans off the stock market, though many do. Few have the time or the skills to watch their money that closely, and good luck if you think a financial adviser will do it for you. Well, I'm getting extremely divergent from the topic here, so I'd better quit now while I'm ahead... :-/ -- Fred -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- place "[hey]" in your subject. The mass of humans on planet Earth -- regard them as the ebbing seas in the winds of change. They ebb, they flow, they know not where to go. ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss
Re: OT -- 90-day limits in the financial world for downloading your data.
On Nov 24, 2004, at 07:28, Fred wrote: If there resources are so limited that they have to worry about 20K or 30K downloads, they really should seriously consider upgrading their computers Ah, mergeritis. See, your local bank with 10,000 customers might be OK with keeping a meg of data online for you and sifting through it for what you want to see. That's ten gigs of reliable online storage - not too bad. Then your bank gets bought by another bank which gets bought by another bank until there are three banks in the country, each with a hundred million customers. Then the bank has a hundred terabyte database to keep online and search through. Others have mentioned the follies of doing this with current technology - it's expensive and very hard. So they don't. Then they can offer better rates than the local banks because they've just axed the IT/customer service budget. So more people dump the local banks because all they see is rates. The government refers to this as productivity. -Bill Bill McGonigle, Owner Work: 603.448.4440 BFC Computing, LLC Home: 603.448.1668 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cell: 603.252.2606 http://www.bfccomputing.com/Text: [EMAIL PROTECTED] AIM: wpmcgonigleSkype: bill_mcgonigle ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss
Re: OT -- 90-day limits in the financial world for downloading your data.
Systems are a major part of the equation on 'Wall St.'. The systems are immense, and viewed as a tool to control costs, and increase profits. There are many influencers in the equation: employees, regulators, customers, partners, competitors etc. If there was a positive cost/benefit analysis to support it, you would get what you want. My previous comments may seem like those of a conspiracy theorist, but actually, my views come from roughly 10 years of experience training on Wall St. and working at the biggest financial institutions in Boston. Put more simply, money is the name of the game, and it's the only game in town. Customer convenience and service is provided as a function of some cost/benefit analysis. -- FREePHILE We are 'Open' for Business Free and Open Source Software http://www.freephile.com (978) 270-2425 If you are smart enough to know that you're not smart enough to be an Engineer, then you're in Business. ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss
Re: Linux for DEC/Compaq/HP Alpha?
On Wed, 2004-11-24 at 11:56 -0500, Rodent of Unusual Size wrote: > -BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- > > I have a couple of Alphas I'd like to put Linux on. However, AFAIK > Red Hat discontinued their Alpha support around V6.2, and I'm not > in tune enough with any other distros to know what's there. Debian ISO's for the Alpha are available on http://www.linuxiso.org. > Anyone around who's got Linux on an Alpha and can recommend the > best way to go? Debian is always the best way to go :-P C-Ya, Kenny signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part
Re: Linux for DEC/Compaq/HP Alpha?
Once upon a time the guy regarded by some as "Mr. Alpha Linux" was a lurker on this channel. Jay? Are you there? ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss
Re: Linux for DEC/Compaq/HP Alpha?
> Anyone around who's got Linux on an Alpha and can recommend the > best way to go? Gentoo works well on Alpha. A few people here at HP work (both officially and un-officially) to keep it running. -- Bob Bell ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss
Linux appliance?
Here's a query direct from a German relative when he heard that I know something about Linux: [my mother] is dying to be able to use the Internet, but is very afraid of computers. At home she cannot even correctly use her cell phone or Funktelefon. Isn't there a simple little Idiot-proof LINUX- Systeme bootable from something like an e-prom which cannot be invaded by viruses, trojans, dialers, spyware, etc? (Sort of like the old ATARI-PC?). That would be a super sales hit for our parents, in fact a "business idea." Don't you think so? I herewith establish my claim as being first with this idea. Any recommendations? ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss
Re: Linux appliance?
On Wed, Nov 24, 2004 at 07:40:23PM -0500, Michael ODonnell wrote: > > Here's a query direct from a German relative when he > heard that I know something about Linux: > > [my mother] is dying to be able to use the Internet, but is > very afraid of computers. At home she cannot even correctly > use her cell phone or Funktelefon. Isn't there a simple > little Idiot-proof LINUX- Systeme bootable from something > like an e-prom which cannot be invaded by viruses, trojans, > dialers, spyware, etc? (Sort of like the old ATARI-PC?). > That would be a super sales hit for our parents, in fact a > "business idea." Don't you think so? I herewith establish > my claim as being first with this idea. > > Any recommendations? heh, "Audrey" from 3Com. -- Linux/Open Source. Your base belongs to you, free, forever. Idealism: "Realism applied over a longer time period" http://www.scaled.com/projects/tierone/ http://kinz.org>http://kinz.org http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/2763> http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/2763 Jeff Kinz, Emergent Research, Hudson, MA. ~ ~ ~ ~ ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss
Re: Linux appliance?
On Wed, Nov 24, 2004 at 07:40:23PM -0500, Michael ODonnell wrote: > > Here's a query direct from a German relative when he > heard that I know something about Linux: > > [my mother] is dying to be able to use the Internet, but is > very afraid of computers. At home she cannot even correctly > use her cell phone or Funktelefon. Dare I ask? What is a Funktelefon? ;-) > Isn't there a simple > little Idiot-proof LINUX- Systeme bootable from something > like an e-prom which cannot be invaded by viruses, trojans, > dialers, spyware, etc? (Sort of like the old ATARI-PC?). > That would be a super sales hit for our parents, in fact a > "business idea." Don't you think so? I herewith establish > my claim as being first with this idea. > > Any recommendations? Sure... boot knoppix from CD. But she'll need a writable disk partition for storing mail related files, which introduces some (probably minute) measure of vulnerability. And, not being very familiar with knoppix, I'm not sure how you would have it automatically mount her home directory, except perhaps by custom-modifying the iso image an editing the fstab. The Knoppix people are pretty clever though; there is probably already a way to do it... I just never needed to know what it was. -- Derek D. Martinhttp://www.pizzashack.org/ GPG Key ID: 0xDFBEAD02 -=-=-=-=- This message is posted from an invalid address. Replying to it will result in undeliverable mail. Sorry for the inconvenience. Thank the spammers. pgpfscHPhL2RQ.pgp Description: PGP signature
Re: Linux appliance?
On Nov 24, 2004, at 20:30, Derek Martin wrote: But she'll need a writable disk partition for storing mail related files, which introduces some (probably minute) measure of vulnerability. And, not being very familiar with knoppix, I'm not sure how you would have it automatically mount her home directory, except perhaps by custom-modifying the iso image an editing the fstab. If you're modifying the fstab already, put a noexec mount option in there. It'll reduce the set of vulnerabilities to the ones that can get root and force a remount with exec. Of course, Knoppix 20041124 ships with remote-root compromises we don't know about yet - the flip side of this CD-R is that you *can't* completely update the OS if you need to. The last time I built a linux appliance, I had the boot scripts read updates from the hard drive into the root ramdisk (RAM is cheaper than cleaning up Mom's computer). The updates were downloaded daily. Of course, then you need that update mechanism and you have to maintain the update server and eventually the whole darn thing is updates if you don't reissue a CD on a regular basis. -Bill Bill McGonigle, Owner Work: 603.448.4440 BFC Computing, LLC Home: 603.448.1668 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cell: 603.252.2606 http://www.bfccomputing.com/Text: [EMAIL PROTECTED] AIM: wpmcgonigleSkype: bill_mcgonigle ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss
Re: OT -- 90-day limits in the financial world for downloading your data.
On Wed, 2004-11-24 at 10:57, Bill McGonigle wrote: ... > See, your local bank with 10,000 customers might be OK with keeping a > meg of data online for you and sifting through it for what you want to > see. That's ten gigs of reliable online storage - not too bad. > > Then your bank gets bought by another bank which gets bought by another > bank until there are three banks in the country, each with a hundred > million customers. Yep. This is exactly what happened. My accounts were initially at *BankBoston* -- remember them? Then they got bought out or merged with Fleet, and now Fleet has been consumed by Bank of America. I find this all very annoying, but what can I do? I suppose I can close down all my accounts and sign up with a local bank -- only to see them bought out by Bank of America or another Really Hugh Institution a year later. Sigh. Maybe I should go offshore and set up a bank for the rest of us. Oh, but the IRS would just love that! :-) -- Fred -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- place "[hey]" in your subject. The mass of humans on planet Earth -- regard them as the ebbing seas in the winds of change. They ebb, they flow, they know not where to go. ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss
Re: OT -- 90-day limits in the financial world for downloadingyour data.
Try a credit union. Fred wrote: > > On Wed, 2004-11-24 at 10:57, Bill McGonigle wrote: > ... > > See, your local bank with 10,000 customers might be OK with keeping a > > meg of data online for you and sifting through it for what you want to > > see. That's ten gigs of reliable online storage - not too bad. > > > > Then your bank gets bought by another bank which gets bought by another > > bank until there are three banks in the country, each with a hundred > > million customers. > > Yep. This is exactly what happened. My accounts were initially at > *BankBoston* -- remember them? Then they got bought out or merged with > Fleet, and now Fleet has been consumed by Bank of America. > > I find this all very annoying, but what can I do? I suppose I can close > down all my accounts and sign up with a local bank -- only to see them > bought out by Bank of America or another Really Hugh Institution a year > later. > > Sigh. > > Maybe I should go offshore and set up a bank for the rest of us. Oh, but > the IRS would just love that! :-) > > -- > Fred -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- place "[hey]" in your subject. > The mass of humans on planet Earth -- regard them as the ebbing > seas in the winds of change. They ebb, they flow, they know not > where to go. > > ___ > gnhlug-discuss mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss -- IBA #15631 ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss
