Advice

[tinyjo]

Reading my friends page this evening, I find myself in a particularly advice giving mood for some reason. I don't know. I'm doing my best to restrain myself as it's my policy to try to avoid giving advice unless I'm being asked for it (generally or specifically is fine). But it got me wondering. What advice would you give me? It can be about anything. Is there anything you feel the urge to ask my advice on?

Comments

[sdn.livejournal.com]

i want to get a decent laptop for home use. i am using a pc at work and currently have a pc at home (which is a piece o' junk). we get dell discounts at work. can you tell me what model i should get? i am not into loads of bells and whistles i won't use.

also, tell me something about yourself i might find interesting.

I have a question!

[shepline.livejournal.com]

Why do you have a Digital/ID for signing your emails? And should I get one? If so, how do I get one?

Re: I have a question!

[tinyjo.livejournal.com]

I have to admit that I partly decided to get digital signing because I'm a geek and it seemed like a good thing, but I do also believe it's worth having.

Basically, the point of the certificate I have is so that you can guarentee that mail you recieve from my address really comes from me. The process for getting a personal certificate is not actually that rigourous - IIRC, you just have to prove that you, the applicant, actually control the mail address the certificate is for - but I think that it's at least a start for trusted communication. If you want a more rigourous process (where they check that the person controlling the mail account is actually called what they say they are) you can pay, but I'm not that much of a geek.

You can also use digital signing for encryption of your messages, but I tend not to, because I feel it would give me a potentially false sense of security. Email communication is just not secure and it's important to remember that.

As to whether you should get one, I'd say that to get one of the type I have is basically cost free, so it's worth it. It will allow you to use encryption if you ever feel you need it and the more people start to use this sort of thing as a matter of course, the more we can begin to trust email as a method of communication.

I got mine from http://www.thawte.com - I can't remember exactly where on their site, but look for personal email certificates.

[tinyjo.livejournal.com]

Dell are actually pretty good as far as I know. I don't use one of their laptops personally but collegues at work do (they seem to be our preferred supplier) and have said good things about them. Their only downside tends to be price, so if you've got a discount then definitely look seriously at what they've got.

I've had no problems with my current laptop (a Toshiba) and it performs as advertised, but I have realised over my years of laptop use that I didn't choose very well at the time.

Basically, I went for DVD over portability (I couldn't get both for the price at the time). I've realised since then that I almost never use the DVD player but if I'd got a slimmer lighter model I could have taken my laptop with me much more than I do now, where it tends to be a desktop replacement. I take it to different rooms in my house but it doesn't make it out and about very much. So my major advice would be to think very carefully about how you will use the machine and what trade-offs you want to make before you buy. And to get lots of RAM, but I say that about every computer purchase - there's nothing more annoying than waiting for things to load.

[tinyjo.livejournal.com]

also, tell me something about yourself i might find interesting.

I'm a sceptic, in the philosophical sense. Or in a philosophical sense, anyway. I was particularly fascinated by the philosophy of Berkley, where he talked about the fact that we can't *know* about stuff that comes to us through our senses really. I also liked the beginning of Decartes meditations, although the way he brings God in sucks.

One of the things I like about religion is that the fact that it's a matter of faith is right out there in front, rather than being hidden and unknown as it is for most issues.

just give me some advice

[cleanskies.livejournal.com]

I'm really not fussy about what about.

Re: just give me some advice

[tinyjo.livejournal.com]

Ooh, it's like being asked to say something - my mind has gone blank!

How about "Try to do fewer things at once." Not advice I manage to follow myself very often, but I do try.

Re: I have a question!

[shepline.livejournal.com]

Got one!

I'll email you later and see if I've got it set up correctly! ^__^

Re: I have a question!

[sparkymark.livejournal.com]

Thanks for mentioning thawte: I've been staring at the S/MIME standards for a few days preparing for an interview next week, but playing with an example certificate from thawte has made things easier.