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US No Longer Technology King
An anonymous reader writes to tell us that according to a recent report from the World Economic Forum the US has lost the leading spot for technology innovation. The new reigning champ is now apparently Denmark with other Nordic neighbors Sweden, Finland and Norway all claiming top spots as well. "Countries were judged on technological advancements in general business, the infrastructure available and the extent to which government policy creates a framework necessary for economic development and increased competitiveness."
I for one... aaaaahhhhh, nevermind.
I'm sure the RIAA and/or MPAA and/or Microsoft are to blame for this somehow.
At least we know how to make missiles and $1 million terrorism response vans in the USA. Thank God for our advanced technology.
It all comes down to quality, and at Fjord, quality is job 1.
US tech leadership is NOT dead! It's just pining for the Fords!
Who the fu...
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"Let me tell you a little story about a man named Sh! Sh! even before you start. That was a pre-emptive "sh!" Now, I have a whole bag of "sh!" with your name on it."
What?
We're trying to. That's the whole point of exporting those nutjobs. Toxic waste to China, Jehovah's Witnesses to the UK.
When India and China go to the moon could they please check on the flag we left up there? It's been almost fourty years now....
PM me when they get to Mars.
So in other words... never?
My sister-in-law's father likes to drag them inside when they come to the door and 'tell them about my faith'. He doesn't give them a chance to say much and _they_ are the ones stuck listening to what they don't want to hear. :-)
Awesome furniture, accessories and cabinetry in Santa Rosa, CA: http://humanity-home.com/
Oh no you've done it now. Here's a t list of the replies you are about to get http://fstdt.com/top100.asp
Australian running a company that does C# / C++ / Java / SQL / Python / Mathematica
Have you been to New York? It's a happening place. The city that never sleeps. Ergo, some of us have much better things to do than tootle around on the Internets all day long. In fact, the web is onthing more than a poor man's electronic ripoff of New York. (City.)
In Korea only old people welcome overlords...
The nordic countries all have long, cold winters. Most people spend this time in front of their PC playing games and surfing porn. This creates huge bandwidth demands and drives innovation. There is also much of the competitive spirit in these young lads, and the challenge of having the most porn spurs them ever onwards. Of course, to avoid getting in trouble off their parents, they spend a bit of time here and there inventing new CPU designs, producing innovative mobile phones and other high-brow stuff, but in the end it's just porn.
Do it yourself, because no one else will do it yourself. [beta blockade 10-17 Feb]
if we used the fastest TVGs and ICEs they have in the EU - it would still take about 7 hours to take a train from Seattle (where I live) to San Francisco - the nearest big city (assuming 300 KPH and slowing down for the occasional towns/crossings).
As Pretzeldent Bush would say..."You forgot Portland!"
...as long as it remains Plow King.
The neutrality of this sig is disputed.
They're rejection Christianity and Science!
The country is *literally* going to hell in a hand basket!
I always knew we were going to hell, but I was hoping for a ferrari, or maybe a hover craft. But a hand basket, I never say that coming.
Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
India is in 4th place? Ever been to India? A huge percentage of the population have never used anything as technologically advanced as a toilet. I mean not even an outhouse - they go right outside.
Government of India recently announced plans to outsource "retrieval of excreta" to American corporations. The vegetarian food taken by Indians translate to fiber rich excreta which can be recycled by American multinationals to baby food, chicken feed and other add ons for the North American market.
US Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce termed the bilateral agreement as historic and got a gift of selected excreta from the Indian parliaments. After taking a taste of the sample he went on to discuss the relative merits of excreta from Indian Lok Sabha members and American Senators.
Ooh, "What is France?", Alex.
I wish I had some moderation points to mod you funny. As I do not, I will comment.
The problem with the US (and to a lesser extent other countries) government supply chain is the fear of the unfamiliar. The rule of the game is that if you supply something familiar which brings out that warm cosy feeling in the congresscritter you succeed. The Humvee is nothing, but a life sizes copy of a badly designed glorified monstertruck toy which American kids have imprinted in their psyche over the first 10 years of their life. It brings out warm fuzzy feeling in the congresscritter and he is reluctant to approve an unfamiliar weird looking design for mass purchase. The same is happening in the UK which keeps buying Landrovers instead of proper vehicles, despite the govt being lambasted into bits by the press. After all the Landy is something which in the UK (if you are past that certain age) you are supposed to love and cherish regardless of how badly does it suck. Russia is no different with Sukhoi scraping money off other projects to work on the Berkut just because it looks weird and keeps not getting the funding it deserves.
The situation is similar in large corporations. Presenting something new and revolutionary to the board is usually a career death. In fact there is a whole niche for highly payed professionals in the R&D of large corps that specialises in presenting the unfamiliar in a familiar way.
And here is where IMO the crucial difference between the US (and UK for that matter) and Scandinavian countries is. The scandinavian countries are currently benefiting from breaking the familiarity circle in their corporation boards and government. By either threatening to put or putting in place mandatory equality legislation and quotas on women in corporate boards and elected assemblies they created a temporary condition where you can present something less familiar to the board (or the parliamentcritters) and survive. This advantage is temporary and will decrease over time. It will never fade fully as do we like it or not we are not create equal and women like different things from men. But it will not be anywhere near what it is now in 10 years time.
So coming back to your rant - if you want that changed you should vote Clinton.
Cheers,
Baker's Law: Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it
http://www.sigsegv.cx/
Damn, you got me. There goes my secret identity as superwhittlerman