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Clark Withholds $60 Million Pledge to Stanford
vocaljess writes: "In an op-ed piece in Friday's New York Times (which you have to register to read, blah blah blah), Netscape creator Jim Clark has announced that he will withhold $60 million he had pledged to donate to Stanford University to build a center for biomedical engineering and science. He states "I believe our country risks being thrown into a dark age of medical research. Biologists are at the threshold of the most important set of discoveries in history, and rather than teach and lead, our politicians react and follow a conservative few. This legislative action will cause the United States to miss a revolution in biology.""
Let's have a close look at the costs involved when running a Linux system.
Linux' cost consists not only of the frequent updates, which require new cdrom's to be bought if you don't have a high speed Internet connection.
Another factor in Linux' cost is its maintenance. Linux requires a *lot* of maintenance, work doable only by the relatively few high-paid Linux administrators that put themselves - of course willingly - at a great place in the market. Linux seems to be needing maintenance continuously, to keep it from breaking down.
Add to this the cost of loss of data. Linux' native file system, EXT2FS, is known to lose data like a firehose spouts water when the file system isn't unmounted properly. Other unix file systems are much more tolerant towards unexpected crashes. An example is the FreeBSD file system, which with soft updates enabled, performance-wise blows EXT2FS out of the water, and doesn't have the negative drawback of extreme data loss in case of a system breakdown.
The upcoming 'solution' to this, EXT3FS, is nothing more than an ugly hack to put journaling into the file system. All the drawbacks of the ancient EXT2FS file system remain in EXT3FS, for the sake of 'forward- and backward compatibility'. This is interesting, considering that the DOS heritage in the Windows 9x/ME series was considered a very bad thing by the Linux community, even though it provided what could be called one of the best examples of compatibility, ever. When it's about Linux, compatibility constraints don't seem to be that much of a problem for Linux advocates.
Back to Linux' cost. Factor in also the fact that crashes happen much more often on Linux than on other unices. On other unices, crashes usually are caused by external sources like power outages. Crashes in Linux are a regular thing, and nobody seems to know what causes them, internally. Linux advocates try to hide this fact by denying crashes ever happen. Instead, they have frequent "hardware problems".
The steep learning curve compared to about any other operating system out there is a major factor in Linux' cost. The system is a mix of features from all kinds of unices, but not one of them is implemented right. A Linux user has to live with badly coded tools which have low performance, mangle data seemingly at random and are not in line with their specification. On top of that a lot of them spit out the most childish and unprofessional messages, indicating that they were created by 14-year olds with too much time, no talent and a bad attitude.
I could go on and on and on, but the conclusion is clear. Linux is not an option for any one who seeks a professional OS with high performance, scalability, stability, adherence to standards, etc.
What the hell should I do?
A NEWS PIECE!
Slashdot website creator, Rob "CmdrTaco" Malda, was rushed to the hospital this afternoon after having his penis sliced off. Authorities say the accident involved Rob's penis, his computer, and an illegal computer device imported from China that was designed to stimulate the penis during cyber-sex. The authorities aren't releasing many details yet as to how it happened, but they suspect that the device malfunctioned which caused his penis to be sliced off. However, there is speculation among the Slashdot community that the Open Source Operating System "Linux" is to blame, for its faulty structure and lack of professional development. There is no word of whether there was any foul-play involved from hackers amongst the Linux community.
Here's the link to bypass NY Times registration:
C LAR.html
http://archives.nytimes.com/2001/08/31/opinion/31
slashdot editors: please make the nytimes URLs link to the page that doesn't need registration.
Here is the link to the story that you don't have to register to see
Why don't you go back and live there, then?
The costs of windows 98 and NT:
Cost 1: You have to buy it
Cost 2: Windows 98 equires frequent updates, availiable via highspeed on windowsupdate.microsoft.com. Normal users will find they have to re-run the update procedure on each machine to keep it updated. (NT Requires service pack CD-ROMS or downloading).
Cost 3: FAT is known to self destruct when programs go awry. Rather than losing a few files, this destroys your entire hard-drive and will require starting everything you have ever done on the machine that hasn't been backed up all over again. Older NT installations limited NTFS to 2 GB which is so pathetic it would be difficult to lose any large proportion of data. Newer NT installations will allow more space, similar to using ReiserFS on linux.
The performance of the easily destroyed FAT is higher than NTFS, leaving you with the decision: Performance or safety?
Cost 4: You cannot use a partition of larger than 2 GB with any older microsoft operating system. You also cannot use a hard drive larger than 64 GB without updates for most microsoft operating systems coming off the shelves right now. When it comes to windows compatibility constraints don't seem to be that much of a problem, since you just have to keep buying new software.
Cost 5: Crashes happen so often in windows that there are many photographs of downed outdoor signs running the OS. No one really knows what causes them, or else such a huge public problem would have been fixed. These crashes cost advertisers in lost "eyeball time".
Cost 6: The learning curce for someone going from CPM or DOS to windows is enormous. You have to live with a poor and difficult to use GUI which is known to randomly do different things [try dragging files about one day]. On top of that by using windows you are likely to spam slashdot with "use a real UNIX rather than Linux" like a 12 year old with too much time, the worst attitude, the talent of a gnat, and the experience of a know-it-all-but-never-done-it.
I'd go on but the conclusion is clear, Windows is not an option for people seeking a professional OS with anything whatsoever.
I am going to withold $100,000,000 that I planned to
give someday.
What a piker!
Destroy with complete impunity? I wonder if YOU would have had the chance to answer that when you were first conceived. For once, try to think of what it would be like if YOU were on the receiving end. This is both selfish and typical of the attitudes on this site.
this news OLD. Which isn't really what the word 'news' means.
I've seen this attitude so many times I'll bite.
I'll head to Europe... but I'll be taking my share of the high tech stuff with me. The people who want to create a Christian Sharia can do so with the technology it creates. Historically, that's the dark ages of Europe, although I'm sure we can find it in our hearts to let you live at least as well as the Amish today.
But no TV or radio or telephones, damn it, because there's nothing in the Good Book about electrons. No remote power generation, no internal combustion engines, no antibiotics.
This sounds harsh, but we're not the ones who are trying to make this an "all or nothing" proposition.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. -- H L Mencken
Possibly because of the restrictive immigration and work-permit rules. And the increased competition to get into selected EU countries. It's getting harder to get in.
I'm impressed that I read a /. post on this subject that didn't bash Bush on his supposed illiteracy or intelligence or moral questioning (if they were so smart, why aren't they president?), or ignore the important questions like why we HAVE to use a certain type of stem cell. Very well put post, I wish it could be modded up...
Do not listen to this one... he is not with us...
Hmmmm. I've ben to the UK, and they are "ahead" in cell phones in as much as they are all GSM, no old analog system left (or maybe none was deployed, thus the quick uptake on the newer system). It was also nice that they run their GSM at about 900Mhz so it works through walls and plants and stuff way better then here. Land line phones didn't seem any more advanced. Did you notice differently?
They didn't seem any more advanced in PDAs, in fact I think I saw fewer PDAs there then here (that was about two years ago though). So what seemed more advanced when you were there?
TVs didn't seem a bit different, but I didn't spend any real amount of time watching them, I was out at the pubs. The beer there I can state is clearly more advanced then ours. So how did their TV seem more advanced then ours?
For all practical purposes, we invented and built up the computer as we know it today. And darn it, we know how they work. Our strength lies in our engineers, hackers, Microsoft programmers, etc. The Japanese and Europeans may have their PDAs, dedicated set-top boxes, and cell phones with video screens, but we have a love affair with our 4,500 lb. turbocharged 5.9L V10 computer. As long as some of our script kiddies eventually grow out that larval stage, we'll be the kings of computers.
For those who can afford to pay for it, yes. That's not much of a "system".
So when murder becomes legal, your enemies can hunt you down and kill you without retribution. Sounds good, doesn't it?
Morality and order keeps society in balance and places priority on the sanctity of life and that order, whether or not you want to believe it.
Why does our public transportation system suck ? Blame the automobile industry. Why would they want people to pay X to ride a bus around when they REALLY SHOULD have their own auto (with all the associated wear and tear/etc.)..
The US is interested in itself. Nothing more. Why do you think our TV industry (VHS/NTSC) isn't compatible with the rest of the world (PAL) ? Whe6y do you think regional encoding came to be ?
Control. They want us to see the drivil that they want us to see, nothing more.
UPS Sucks
You are right.
You see, in Europe we have the bratwurst und beer.
In fact, überbratwurst and überbeer, both making us extremly powerful and clever.
The great success of bratwurst and beer lead me to change my very own philosophical theories. I now think that the übermensch stage and be achieved by consuming sufficently large amounts of überbratwurst and überbeer.
The bratwurst in the UK has of course slightly lower quality, but they aren't a real part of Europe anyway.
I even heard rumors that there are scientists working at a ultra secret project: the construction of a bratwurst driven warp drive.
WTW: Warp The Wurst !
I think he was referring to IQ points.
I'd say they were both the same and totally redundant.
I'm afraid that your post is also redundant, as your rant has been stated many times before. But, until these bozos get it through their heads, keep on ranting.
Give us a frigging break!
If you want to read the article, play according to the rules of the website. Register!
bash$
No, it sucks because of the low population density. You don't exactly see "suburbs" in much of Europe.
Thanks. I've had the same opinion but couldn't have done a better job putting it into words.
One thing - GSM cell phones these days in europe come with all sorts of PDA-like features - mine's got calendar/appointments/memo/calculator/minesweeper/
address book. And a wap browser I never use...
And it's "old" - a siemens M35. It's water resistant and shock resistant too, which is nice (I've dropped it countless times with no ill effects, only to have the display get a "dead row" when I left it out in the summer sun for 5 hours one morning...)
The lack of PDAs could be because the cell phones fill in most of that functionality - in fact, all PDA manufacturer's european/japanese models seem to be integrating cell phones, and vice-versa.
PAL TV has higher resolution and better colour fidelity than NTSC, but flickers more - NTSC is 60Hz, PAL 50Hz. It's perceptible enough that most americans feel uncomfortable after an hour or two watching PAL.
Belief in a god, christian or otherwise, does not imply sane morality - the people I know with the best thought-out moral framework are atheists - they know just how much life matters, because they beleive they've only got one shot and no afterlife to look forward to.
Although I would agree that Europe is ahead in mobile communications technology and TV and the like (as is Japan...those 3G phones are schweet) I would point out that they also have a lot of monopolies and pay a lot more for their services than we do. If the US had only one PCS technology deployed instead of 3 we probably wouldn't be so far behind...but then the prices also probably wouldn't be so low.
"Where quality is like a dead stinking rat - you just can't miss it."
There was an analogue network, but GSM has been available for about 5 years, plus two of the networks now have GPRS available.
A lot of CDMA phones (esp Nokia's) have that. I assume in part because Nokia already devloped it for the EU market. My friend with a Nokia didn't use any of it (other then storing phone numbers).
I can see some advantage to that. I was worried that my "GSM-1900" Nokia had gotten destroyed a few years ago when it (and I) accidentally fell into a hot tub. Actually a not-so-hot-tub at that moment. However after letting it dry all night it was pretty much OK for the next two years (until Sprint switched to CDMA). The vibrating battery decided to "do it's thing" about a half dozen times that night. I was sure it was destroyed, but it was OK too.
The same integration is happening here too, but I only know one person that has one. At least they are now smaller then a PDA plus the phone, at least in most cases.
Hmmm, I'm not sure that counts as being more advanced. I think it is just because they tied the scan freq to the AC freq (not surprising, we did too). So they got a different set of tradeoffs.
I do own one set of PAL DVDs, and they don't seem to make me uncomfortable, but I guess I'm getting a 60Hz physical refresh, with only 50Hz of new frames spread over it (it only looks odd for long smooth shots, like panning shots following walking).
It's because American consumers aren't as quick to blow their money and these gadgets as they are in Europe.
Hmm, $50 for a mobile phone at 10 cents a text message means that even 10 yearolds have them. SMS is much more conveienent then email. And when you are happy to go and tip $30-40 on a meal in a resturant, its hardly "blowing your money".
The USA does have cheap fuel - albeit crap cars and crap mpg, and a few good TV progras (most are crap though). THats about it really.
Hmmmm. I've ben to the UK, and they are "ahead" in cell phones in as much as they are all GSM, no old analog system left (or maybe none was deployed, thus the quick uptake on the newer system). It was also nice that they run their GSM at about 900Mhz so it works through walls and plants and stuff way better then here. Land line phones didn't seem any more advanced. Did you notice differently?
GSM phones work at two frequencies - 900MHz and 1800MHz (the US is 1900MHz). There was a large analog infrastructure, but this has gone (or will be gone very shortly). The reasons for this have been rehashed here several times, but in the UK the caller pays for the call which has lead to something like >80% of the population with a mobile. Mobile numbers are obviously mobile numbers too - in the UK they start with 07, compared to 01 or 02 for land lines, and 08 and 09 for special rates (from free to expensive). In the US I believe that the owner of the cellphone has to pay a proportion if people call. I know the reasons, but it always comes as a surprise to Europeans when they find this out.
I'm not sure about landline phones either - I can't think of any obvious way that they are different. Ditto PDAs.
TV in the UK is available in widescreen (if you get digital signals via satellite or cable). I don't know if that is the case in the US.
Our pubs are infinitely more advanced, and so is the beer. How do you drink that stuff over there?
1) I'm running a little short on cash guys. This downturn is really putting a hurting on my lifestyle.
2) I'm a little pissed that the government won't fund all the reserach for my next wave of VC investments. How can a guy like me make money if we actually have to fund our own research? It's soooo much easier to have the Universities do it.
Really, I thought that private money could be used for ANY stem cell research (not just the 60 lines). This just doesn't make any sense.
The US is interested in itself. Nothing more. Why do you think our TV industry (VHS/NTSC) isn't compatible with the rest of the world (PAL) ? Whe6y do you think regional encoding came to be ?
Umm, if you want to bash the U.S., go ahead but get your facts straight. The following countries use NTSC: BAHAMAS, BARBADOS, BERMUDA, BOLIVIA, BURMA, CAMBODIA, CANADA, CHILE, COLOMBIA, COSTA RICA, CUBA, DOMINICAN REP, ECUADOR, EL SALVADOR, GREENLAND, GUAM, GUATEMALA, HONDURAS, JAMAICA, JAPAN, KOREA SOUTH, MEXICO, NETH ANTILLES, NICARAGUA, PANAMA, PERU, PHILIPPINES, PUERTO RICO, ST KITTS, SAMOA, SURINAM, TAIWAN, TRINIDAD & TOBAGO, USA, VENEZUELA
I'd say that includes a lot of the rest of the world. NTSC was developed in the 30's for B&W display. The next version of NTSC was designed for color the early 50's and was constrained by the need to be backwards comaptible with existing NTSC B&W televisions. Meanwhile Europe, with a smaller installed base of B&W TVs, was free to design better (and incompatible) color standards.
So TV standards are really other countries deciding to incompatible with the U.S., not the other way around.
Like so many technologies, the first implementation is not always the best, and the U.S. tends to be one of the first countries to roll out a new technology. This plus the fact that the FCC tends to strongly support backward compatibility in new technologies with older standards, often makes the U.S. appear technologically backwards. On the other hand, in how many other countries would you still be able to use a 50 year old TV set or a 16 year old cell phone?
The conversion from film (24frames/s) to ntsc(60 fields/s) then to pal (50 fields/s) means there's a stutter every second on long pans.
One of the reasons I buy the US versions of DVDs when I can.
I'm suprised this got modded up so quickly with clearly trollish leanings 'Could be a pretty damn fast trip to third-world status,' but I'll bite.
The United States weighs in at 9,529,063 sq km. The entire landmass of the European continent is 10,360,000 sq km, host to over twenty countries. Organizing technologies when your entire country is smaller than the state of California is generally easier. This is particularly important for things like making large scale mass transit feasable and telecommunications systems. The US invested billions in the 70s into road infastructure, but in towns with castles and cobble roads, adding such a system would be ineffective. Hence, the move to public transportation.
But if you think Europe is so patent free and unmarred by patents, please explain the crippling situation they currently have with broadband -- in many EU countries, broadband simply isn't an option.
Ah! Yes, I knew about the call-ee pays (and in fact that land line costs are normally per call too right? it is normaly "free" in a "local calling area" here). I just hadn't really thought much about it. Of corse that would make cell phones more popular.
Yes, most cell phones here cost the person with the cell phone. There are exceptions, many systems now have the "first incoming minute free" (Sprint). Some do incoming calls free (NexTel -- maybe only with some plans). Most do cost though.
I also didn't know about all mobile numbers starting with 07. I'm not sure how important that is, but it is interesting.
Not really, there are a few HDTV stations (on-air in some places, on digital satellite for HBO, and I think Showtime). HDTV sets are not popular though. Nor are "normal" widescreen sets (which are mostly used for DVDs). There are "widescreen" broadcasts of shows on HBO, but they are normal NTSC broadcasts with black bars (-- including Band of Brothers, my TiVo is set already...)
I don't. At least not the mass market crap. The microbrews are pretty good though (some local restaurants and pubs brew their own). Even some of the "mass market microbrews" aren't bad. None of the mass market "microbrew" stuff was as nice as the the warm ale from the pubs the locally brewed stuff is as good as what I had in the UK (but not better).
Plus sometimes I visit places that stock wonderful imports.
Go ahead... I dare you to find an ICE COLD soda in London!
It can't be done.
These freaks try to serve Coke to you warm! If you order Coke in a restaurant you have to request ice, and even then they only give you TWO CUBES OF ICE!?
Ok, but get this. Besides selling warm Coke. They do not sell Mountain Dew anywhere!!!
It's hard to imagine a place on earth which does not have the Dew, but it exists in Europe. The really weird thing is that they run Mt. Dew advertisements on TV, but they've air brushed out the Dew logos and put in Pepsi. It's FREAKY!
The only explanation I could come up with is that Mt. Dew tastes even worse warm than Coke does.
The United States will never lose an edge to Europe in the tech market as long as we have plentiful stocks of ICE COLD Mountain Dew and Coca-Cola!
How do you drink that stuff over there?
We serve it cold!
(rimshot)
Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
I think learning how to grow new organs is something we(the USA) should definitely persue.
My brother's kidneys failed.
I gave him one of mine.
Have you had a family member or close friend who needed a donor organ?
Bud is shit, you should try steinlager.
NZ has GSM on vodaphone at 900 MHz.
My vodaphone works just about everywhere except the sticks and some national parks.
PAL TV has better colors and resolution.
You can even tell if a newsreader has shaved today.
- Kaos games and encryption systems developer
This is a DVD of a TV show (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), so I'm not sure it was filmed at 24fr/sec rather then slapped onto beta tape at 60fr/sec. I'm not really sure how they "film" TV shows though.
I would own the US version if there was one. It is likely I'll buy the US version when Fox, UPN, and WB settle out on who gets how much of the money from it. Then I can stop using the crappy "world" DVD player.
P.S. did you mean 24/sec to 50/sec to 60/sec? I'm watching a PAL disc on a NTSC device, not NTSC on PAL.
The US public transportation system sucks in part to the passenger trolley systems being bought by GM, for the purpose of tearing them down. GM and allies bought over 100 trolley systems. This eventually resulted in federal antitrust charges, which they were found guilty of. The judge was sympathetic and fined the companies involved $5000, and the executives responsible were fined $1 each.
-J5K
The libertarian solution to the failures of capitalism is to apply more capitalism til the failures are fixed.
Why do you think our TV industry (VHS/NTSC) isn't compatible with the rest of the world
Um, because we invented it and did it first? Same reason we have a different electrical standard? Whe you're the first place to roll something out, you're stuck with the first mistakes,too -- the second guy to do something has a better chance to get it right.
Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
The USA does have cheap fuel
I just filled up at $1.70/gal, which is probably higher than most places in the US. But I remember paying $1.50/gal about 15 years ago, so I guess things aren't exactly going to hell...
albeit crap cars and crap mpg,
My Saturn cost about $12k four years ago, and has averaged between 40-45 MPG, depending on season. It is a solid car, and hasn't needed any repairs in the (almost) 100k miles so far, just oil, tires, and plugs. It is quiet and smooth.
and a few good TV progras (most are crap though)
Most? Hmmm. Yeah, you are right there.
As far as the stem cell research goes, I think that there are too many dimwits that decide with their emotions, and poorly at that. Oooh, it's ugly, and I'm squeemish! Oooh, it's killing life. Funny, I bet few of these people have actually butchered animals for the meat they eat every day. Is that ugly? (There is no feeling quite like the first time you rip the skin off a rabbit in one big pull.) Is it killing? Yes, but so what? Living and dying is a law of nature.
Is scientific research with human cells (tissue or whatever) hurting anyone? I don't see any evidence of that. Can it help? Hell yes!
If someone can explain (without emotional crap) why this research is a detriment to the public, I would sure like to hear the reasons. If they are intelligent and compelling reasons, I could change my mind, but right now I think the reasearch should be encouraged.
A dingo ate my sig...
On a different note, this has everything to do with the movie AI (a most excellent movie, but a most stupid audience). The great question was:
If we can do it, should we?
-- Frank Hsueh, frank.hsueh@gmail.com
jackass..shouldn't you be fondling young altar boys or something?
hey doodz...let me hit j00 with a clue by 4. This is america, I have as much a right to piss my millions away as I do to give it to some (whatever you would consider) a worthy cause. What is wrong with what he did, besides the fact that you seem to have a problem with people that are financially successful (as he is)? Tell me this....what right does George W or you or your neighbor or anyone for that matter have to decide on this issue? I believe that he is just as (un?)qualified as the rest of the fuckwads in D.C. so go back to your little selfish world jackass
Pal is backwards compatible with old B&W televisions.
I read slashdot for the articles.
wasted on americans...like most everything from stanley kubrick (no, I'm not insulting the American's that GET IT, just the other ..ooh...70%)
people need to wake up. a fertilised egg has about as much life as the shit i flush down the toilet every day.
potential for life does not equal life and unless you live on air you can shut the hell up cos you're killing living beings every day.
I would point out that they also have a lot of monopolies and pay a lot more for their services than we do. If the US had only one PCS technology deployed instead of 3 we probably wouldn't be so far behind...but then the prices also probably wouldn't be so low.
I don't think that's true re cellphones. In the UK you have the choice of four real mobile phone operators and one virtual. You can get a cellphone that doesn't have a monthly fee, doesn't charge for incoming calls and has costs of less than 10c a minute for calls. That's better than anything in the US. The same is largely true for other European countries.
For 3G the number of operators gets larger yet - 5 or 6 in the UK. And rules like number portability mean you can change operator without changing phone number.
Europe has a terrifically competitive mobile phone industry, and consumers have benefited hugely.
Just my thoughts...
I think that your view of "conservatives" being good people who always support the sanctity of life is a bit limited.
Never forget that only a few decades ago "conservatives" led the support for eugenics. If you don't remember the word, feel free to look it up.
Never forget that a certain Adolph Hitler was a big booster of eugenics. People such as the mentally ill, the physically weak and certain "inferior races"(sic) found this out the hard way. After all, if you are going to select only the "best", what happens to the rejects?
Never forget that Hitler, at the time, was thought to be "conservative" and had a number of "conservative" US supporters. Among them was, apparently, Henry Ford.
Maybe this support of the sanctity of life by "conservatives" is just a latter-day attempt to atone for past excesses.
Broadband not being available has nothing to do with patents. It's to do with monopolies.
The term `conservitive' is of course a relitive term. I think my original post showed that I care about life and if I don't think it's right to kill an embryo to speed along scientific research, then I obviously don't think that its EVER OK to take an innocent life.
Thats because GE makes out refridgerators, not Lucas Electronics...
After Clark's recent billion dollar losses with the dot com crash and his $250 million yacht purchase, perhaps Clark might be backing out to satisfy his ~$10000/day lifestyle, while still saving face...
just a thought