[prev] [thread] [next] [lurker] [Date index for 2006/10/28]
I'm visiting a customer. I want to merge a few changes (mine and theirs) in the code. I do so, and we leave the office to test the thing (which is done outdoors, don't ask). We run it, and I notice that the merge must be wrong. I look again at their source files, which are on a USB disk-on-key. I get garbage listings, with a special bonus of "missing block" errors from vi which helpfully suggested to do a "recovery" from swap files (which were also on the USB key). I don't know what was merged with what and where, but there's no way to find out now, is it? WHY do I have to manually mount/umount these fucking things, and why is silently corrupting my files a reasonable way to enforce this wonderful policy? I also wonder why isn't there a standard file system for these wonderful devices. I think there's one for CDs (ISO 9660 or some such, the one isoinfo(8) knows about - you know, the program with "The user interface really sucks" at the BUGS section of it's man page), and USB keys are younger than CDs. It would help me a lot at the same trip, where only one USB key (apparently formatted as FAT) actually worked across Linux, Windows NT and XP. Copying files gets trickier as time goes by. -- The fastest way to be done with dinner is to NOT clean the kitchen. If you don't, a mess builds up. To make dinner you have to work through the dirty pans, cutting off the dried on spaghetti, and melting the hardened peanut butter. But eventually you will eat dinner. And STILL the fastest way to be done with dinner is to NOT clean the kitchen.
Generated at 20:01 on 07 Nov 2006 by mariachi 0.52