Monday, November 11, 2002

How Much? I'm on the Board of a local non-profit organization that works with community development credit unions (CDCUs) here in New York. The organization has been around for a little over two years and currently has a staff of two. We're planning to get that up to three by the end of the year. Earlier this year, we secured our 501(c)(3) status, and office space not that long after. So now it's time to install a computer network. Because the computers will only be used for light word processing and spreadsheet manipulation, e-mail, and rudimentary Web browsing, I wanted to set up a Linux network. HBO helped out by donating six Pentium II 266 Mhz PCs, which should do everything we want. But our Executive Director, being the responsible sort, wanted to explore all of our options. He got a bid from NPower New York (a local affiliate of NPower, an apparent non-profit front for Microsoft) for a Microsoft network. The bid included $6,700 for the server and its software licenses alone, and wouldn't have used any of the the donated computers. The bid that we received for the Linux network is about $7,000 in total. We'll be going with Linux, and I can't imagine any small business or non-profit without Microsoft-specific needs ever doing otherwise. 7:57:37 PM     What do you think? ()

What the...? Of the the 83 page views that Gnosis has received thus far today, 34 have been searches for "Karyn Bosnak" that are pointing to an entry from August 30th. Why today? 7:27:00 PM     What do you think? ()

Is John Ashcroft Both Vengeful and Incompetent? In today's New York Times we learn just how complicated criminal law can get: Mr. Malvo was sent to Fairfax, where he is to be tried in the killing of Linda Franklin, 47, an F.B.I. analyst who was shot Oct. 14 in Falls Church. Mr. Muhammad was sent to Prince William County, where he is to be tried in the Oct. 9 killing of Dean Harold Meyers, 53, in Manassas. Attorney General John Ashcroft last week ordered both men transferred to the authorities in Virginia, where there is the greatest chance of obtaining death sentences, he said. To obtain a murder conviction under Virginia law, prosecutors must convince jurors that the defendant wielded the murder weapon, in this case a Bushmaster assault rifle. But law enforcement officials say Mr. Malvo told the police that he fired the bullets that killed Mr. Meyers, Ms. Franklin and Kenneth Bridges, 53, who was shot on Oct. 11 at a gas station in Fredericksburg. Murder laws in Maryland, where both men have been charged in six killings, are more straightforward and do not require prosecutors to prove who the gunman was in each case. "It's a state case now, and we're staying out of this," said a Justice Department official. I don't what bothers me more: the blood lust behind the Justice Department's decision or their inability to see such a seemingly simple matter through. 6:54:31 AM     What do you think? ()

© Copyright 2003 Morgan N. Sandquist. Last update: 11/2/03; 10:30:52 AM.

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