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Hungary Uses iPad To Draft New Constitution
An anonymous reader writes "Hungary is drafting its new constitution on, believe it or not, an iPad. Jozsef Szajer, a Hungarian politician and member of the European Parliament, wrote an enthusiastic blog post last week detailing how he's using Apple's tablet device to flesh out Hungary's new constitution, the country's first since 1949. Not only is Szajer using the iPad to churn out new constitutional drafts, but he's also using it to review new draft proposals. Apparently all aspects of the new Hungarian constitution are being vetted via the iPad in one form or another."
I hear in Romania they use a ouija board and crystal ball
For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
This is such a non-story apple plug. Fuck you slashdot, bring real news back.
BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
Try drafting one with a bird feather dipped in ink you made yourself, written on lamb skin, freehand.
Hell, try just copying one that way.
...is the authoritarian tendency of both platforms.
Attitudes make the difference between Space and Time: we want to MAX our temporal, and MIN our spatial extension.
They have mostly been living without one since the overthrow of communism there in '89. I just wonder what took them so long.
This guy's iPad just became one of the world's top hacking targets.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Dear Steve Jobs, How do we remove the line, "sent from my Ipad" from our new constitution? No, seriously :(
-Jozsef
Unfortunately you are quite right, it is going to be short. To paraphrase one slogan of the current right-wing government the constitution is supposed to fit on a beer coaster. They do this to eliminate the checks and balances provided by the constitutional court.
Attitudes make the difference between Space and Time: we want to MAX our temporal, and MIN our spatial extension.
Did you miss the memo? Slashdot editors have been replaced by:
wget -r http://www.google.com/search?q=apple -O - | grep -v bad | post_article.pl
PlusFive Slashdot reader for Android. Can post comments.
There's an app for that....
So what? Might as well say, modern technology is used to draft constitution for all the relevance this has to anything.
How many important things have been done on a variety of computers? How many more have been done with pen and paper?
Is this the new thing? To be a brand whore every chance you get?
Yeah ... everyone's bored to death over these iCheerleading news stories that are simply variations of X [did something fairly normal] ON AN iPAD!
The only one that'd vaguely raise any interest from me now would be the one that goes:
Hey guys! Look! I just took a dump! ON AN iPAD!
Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. - Ambrose Bierce
can we all now shut up about how tablets are for consumption of media?
How many stories have we seen where artists, writers, musicians, and other creative types are using tablet devices for creation of content?
Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
Some people in some countries are actually very interested in the original draft of their constitution, and the medium on which it was documented. Some people rather compare it to shit.
The real news will be on June 30th when Apple wants a 30% cut of Hungary's GDP.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/19/AR2011021902399.html
You might want to actually READ the one in the U.S. for an answer to that. Specifically Article V, Amendment.
http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Article5
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
Apple is claiming ownership of 30% of Hungary, and demanding future payments of 30% of GDP.
Support SETI@home
Yeah ... everyone's bored to death over these iCheerleading news stories that are simply variations of X [did something fairly normal] ON AN iPA
Yeah, we're all really sick of it, that's why damn near all of the Apple stories in the last few days only have >300 comments. You can almost hear the crickets chirping.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
Actually we do have a constitution, formally it's the one from 1949 - though for all practical purposes and intents, it's a new one as it was thoroughly modified after the fall socialism (communism wasn't there since the '50s, but this distinction may be too fine for most /. readers).
This one being written is... well, it's mostly a publicity stunt for the current governig party that got such overwhelming majority (a once in a lifetime chance) that it can modify the constitution and can ignore everyone else.
Real life is overrated.
But they've got that new iConstitution app...
If you've never been modded as "flamebait" or "troll," you've never tried to argue a minority viewpoint here!
They do this to eliminate the checks and balances provided by the constitutional court.
That being the case, what exactly is the point in having the constitution in the first place?
The constitution sets out the powers of the various units of government. Clearly there is a point to doing so, whether those powers ae vast or limited.
The US constitution doesn't explicitly say that the court system can rule on the constitutionality of laws. At one time it was very much up to debate as to whether it could or not. Would there be a point in explicitly saying that it could? Would there be a point in explicitly saying that it couldn't? Clearly there would be a point in doing so either way, as it would make the position definite instead of leaving it open for future debate. The fact that one path has fewer checks and balances doesn't make it pointless - making it clear that there are no checks on your power is often the intended point.
To summarise the summary of the summary: people are a problem. ~ h2g2
"iPad is just a toy."
"It's for consumption, not creation."
"No one is going to buy an iPad when a netbook can do 10x for 1/3 the price."
"Apple controls everything you can do on an iPad."
"All the Android tablets coming out this Summer (2010) will be cheaper and more powerful, no one is going to buy an iPad."
"Who's going to buy a small, underpowered iPad with a capacitive screen when they can buy a full-powered Windows TabletPC and run all their desktop software?"
"Meh, they should have released a touchscreen Mac OS X computer."
You'd think this would be the most shocking news story to hit Slashdot in 2011, it completely contradicts everything the commenters have been saying for just short of 1 year now.
For the rest of us, it would have actually been news had it been an Android tablet.
Don't worry though, geeks are exceptionally good at compartmentalization to avoid having to actually resolve their cognitive dissonance. They are always right, so when reality contradicts them, they simply call reality "stupid" and just keep on pretending they are right, problem solved!
All the above still applies. There are spectacular examples of using the completely wrong tool for the job by people in the world. Just like I could use an iPad to hammer a nail into the ground.
In other words, "I'm right. Reality is stupid and wrong."
Why is the iPad the "completely wrong tool for the job"? Because you say so? Does the iPad have a screen? Check. Keyboard? Check. Word processing software? Check.
The problem is that it's not the right tool *for you*. But geeks are always right, so what's the right tool for them is the Right Tool for everyone, and anyone who disagrees is stupid.
How many typos were made during writing?
How long did it take to write?
What's the maximum typing speed?
How were the ergonomics? Does the typer's wrists or back hurt?
iPads can use physical keyboards, and some cases even have bluetooth keyboard integrated. But what does any of this matter? What matters is if those statistics were too high for *him*, not for *you*. There are other factors to take into consideration as well. The iPad is instant-on, is always with him, far more portable than even a netbook, and doesn't need to rest on a surface. Clearly, some people (15 million in 2010, a few million so far this year, and in the tens of millions throughout the year) disagree with you.
But that's the rub. They disagree with you. Therefore, they are stupid. Any example contrary to your opinion is stupidity, and thus you needn't rethink the list I first put out, which you laughably claimed "all the above still applies." None of the above applies. Some of them may still apply *to you*. You may think it's a toy, or you may prefer a netbook, TabletPC (oh, btw, Apple has sold more iPads in nine months than the TabletPC has sold since its inception), or wished that Apple released a touchscreen Mac, but, like I'm trying to get you to understand, a lot of people disagree with you.
And that's why I jokingly say this must be the biggest news story of the year here, it contradicts so many deeply held opinions that are treated as universal fact.