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Letters
   

  February 6, 2003
  By David Joachim and Brad Shimmin


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Top 11 Ways to Make a Late Night Server Upgrade More Fun

11. Access the always unlocked PC in the HR dept., and give yourself the next day off.
10. Invite all your friends over for pizza and beer--it's an installation party!
9. Use remote software distribution and manage the entire upgrade from your living room.
8. Crank up "Jerry Lee Lewis' Greatest Hits." If "Great Balls of Fire" doesn't perk you up, it's time to go home.
7. Play "sockey" (a combination of soccer and hockey) by kicking a puck (roll of electrical tape) up and down a tile floor. (Note: This requires generously tipping the housekeeeping crew.)
6. Make your own sauna by turning off the server room air conditioning.
5. Send anonymous pizza deliveries at 3 a.m. to the homes of all the managers who said the upgrade had to be done after hours.
4. Turn out the lights in the data center, rig up a black light and wear lots of white. Funky music is mandatory, of course, but the optional fog machine is the mark of the true professional.
3. Build your own putt-putt course.
2. Pull off the raised floor tile, crawl under it and scare your co-workers in the morning.
1. Three words: Match dot com.

Thanks to Jim Armstrong, Rhett Glauser, Carol Hammond, Bob Hayes, Jeff House, Mark Jass, Nick Nielsen, K. Prewett, Mike Schepers and Shari Tisinger for their submissions.



Wi-Fi Detectors, Head to Head

We compare portable 802.11 scanners in our Real-World Labs®:

Wi-Fi Sniffer (Model WFS-1) by iDetect Technology

Pros:
• Credit-card sized

• High 'secret agent' factor



Daily Average Cost Calculator

click to enlarge
Cons:
• Not enough blinken lighten

• Hard to remove from ATM

WiFiDivRd (Model Unknown) by Large Poplar

Pros:
• Readily available

• Very flexible (depends upon type of wood)

Cons:
• Requires admonition 'You'll poke your eye out!'



Power Reader



Daily Average Cost Calculator

click to enlarge
Always ready to push technology to the edge and sometimes just a bit beyond, Network Computing readers share their 'optimized' desktops for work and play.

"I enjoy running my IBM P76 17-inch monitor at 1600x1200 and listening to Hi-Fi Internet radio while NotesBuddy keeps me informed about important messages. A fractal background with no desktop icons and a large taskbar makes my Windows ME PC ready for action." --Leo Feret





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