Lucky buggers (Pakistanis I mean); I just spent an hour on You Tube and noticed my brain rot accelerated. Yet I go back, occasionally, for more. I guess it's like needing to look at your shit in the bowl before flushing; unpleasant yet necessary to check-in occasionally.
Now I'm glad he did since Rails is a pretty nice idea, and it demolished the Java world I hated so much. The man's a serial framework hater. Look out Python community.
He says he's not looking for pity but I can't help feeling sorry for him; he's tired, clearly in pain and has just put up a public career suicide note.
'So what to do? Let's give these kids these little green computers. That will do it! That will solve the poverty problem and everything else, for that matter. Does anyone but me see this as an insulting "let them eat cake" sort of message to the world's poor?'
What a simpleton; a binary, one dimensional thinker. Or more likely, as has been pointed out many times, a low-life baiter.
Dvorak needs to get out more. He'll find that there are huge numbers of impoverished people in the world for whom basic food necessity has been taken care of who will benefit from the OLPC model
Or take this:
'Of course, it might be a problem if there is no classroom and he can't read. The literacy rate in Niger is 13 percent, for example. Hey, give them a computer! And even if someone can read, how many Web sites and wikis are written in SiSwati or isiZulu?'
Does he actually think that the OLPC will used by children without classrooms, that the educationalists in those countries are completely stupid? Does he think the supply of sites in SiSwati or isiZulu will stay static if the potential readership (demand) in those languages increases? And quoting the literacy rate for an entire population, rather than school children, is insults us, the readers of his nonsense.
The most depressing part of this story is that magazine and web-site editors will give space to a tech pundit to pontificate on development and education matters. Couldn't they find an expert that that field?
The EU and the Euro were created to fight the United States' financial power and the US dollar's financial power, respectively
Actually the EU was formed to created an integrated political and economic space to prevent future European wars (by creating prosperity and roughly equal wealth amongst nations). The Euro was created to reduce trans-border costs, improve European mobility, increase trade between member states and, yes, to present the US dollar with a competitor (in which is has been very successful).
Does anyone even pay attention to Airbus vs. Boeing?
Yes the WTO does. It's the largest case the WTO has ever dealt with. It was the EU that brought the complaint to the WTO. Presumably they feel they have a winnable case.
The old "EU xxx has an incredible anti-American bias" is just a flight of fancy.
The EU legal architecture lays down regulations, directives, decisions, recommendations and opinions. These secondary legislative artifacts constitute what is effectively EU law; all member states laws (and constitutions) are subservient to them and are required to enforce them.
The issue isn't about patience or cooperation or waffle or being a dick - it's about legalities and business.
Webber wrote "What makes this especially puzzling is that you are undermining the
economic model that you rely on for your own products"
i.e. "play the game Jamie, play the game....don't rock the cute little scam we've set up"
From the Fermilab directoes comment, "Fermilab has designed, built, assembled and delivered nine 43-foot (13-meter) quadrupole magnet assemblies to CERN"
No, 43 feet is 13.10644098438738472930 meters, give or take.
I don't know of any formal, empirical studies on the matter but from my own experience of using ever larger monitors (with a corresponding increase in resolution to get more information overall on the screen) I find my productivity has indeed increased.
This all depends on the type of work you do of course. In my case, if I'm looking at web sites a 24" monitor (my current) makes no difference over a 17" monitor because I'm not relating the information on one part of the screen to another.
However when I'm doing diagram based design (e.g. UML class modeling) it makes a big difference. I can effectively hold a larger amount of information in my field of view and relate more distant parts of the diagram to each other. I'm effectively able to work on a larger piece of the puzzle.
In fact |I wish I had a 30" monitor (or two monitors to give similar pixel count); then I wouldn't have to print out a Word document which I refer to when working on the class model. Unfortunately my laptop's video card won't support either.
What's the obsession with being number one, master of the world, supreme, dominant.... Small penis syndrome perhaps?
I think humanity has better things to do than spend 24/7 making "our country" #1. How about:
- ensuring our children grow up healthy, happy and well balanced
- helping people in other countries share our good fortune
- improving the environment
- building a just and equitable society
- fixing that bloody leak in the ceiling right above my desk (flat roof problems)
Don't be slaves to the politicians, industrialists and economists. Wanna be #1 is their goal which serves their interests (e.g. "my knob is bigger than yours" bragging rights at pointless G8 meetings), not yours. And don't believe for a second that their interests are the same as yours.
"Let's be realistic, who came up with [the] file, edit, view, help [menu bar]? Do you want to go back to the original Mac and think about where those interface concepts came from?"
Can someone enlighten me?
Either BG is saying Apple introduced it on the Mac MS just blindly copied it even though it was a crap idea
or
MS invented it and we think it's a great idea (yuk).
Steve Jobs must be loving this uncool reaction; the ads have hit BG right in the nuts - ouch!
Hmmm, or maybe the new MS strategy to counter Apple cool is to make uncool the new cool. Clever.
My goodness Mr Crawler; what a terribly presumptuous nature you have! No, "according to my view" Apple is not "that company in dizzying heights". Apple is just another desktop computer peddler (but much prettier).
But you repeat and make my point. As I said there were indeed alternatives yet people bought Wintel. As I said many people like them.
But people can only buy what is available; a choice between different turds. Given Microsoft's wealth, talent and power (i.e. which Apple does not have) they could have made available to the world something far better, the computing experience should not be what it is today, which is mediocre. Microsoft always follow. Imagine if they actually lead. Imagine what the world would be like (hmm, maybe not).
One last thing, "Microsoft has never controlled the hardware industry". Never? Certainly not in the early days, and they don't "control" it now, but it would be very naive to think they don't have a huge influence on hardware as part of the Wintel axis.
They haven't done anything illegal (except be a monopoly). They've sold zillions of copies of products, although there are alternatives; so I guess people do like them.
However, my feeling towards Microsoft is disappointment. A company with such deep pockets and undoubted engineering talent could have pushed the world of computing to dizzying heights. They could have made the experience of technology beautiful for hundreds of millions of people.
Instead they've made the world an ugly place. Microsoft, you have wasted your life in pursuit of the mediocre.
When was simplicity ever in? Walk into any mass market gizmo store (such as Dixons in the UK) or department store or car showroom, where the average person buys stuff and you'll see a smooth curve of increasing complexity over the past 30 years. I can never remember a time when things were made more simple. Every iPod generation becomes more feature laden. Same with BMW's, toasters and shaving razors. It's only at the very narrow high end (e.g. top flight audio equipment) that products remain simple to use.
Simplicity was only ever in with an aesthetic elite (more power to them) with pockets deep enough to pay for less-is-more goods. The great mass of humanity have always had to settle for embellished crap.
Democracy has one fundamental flaw - the average voter is an utter moron. However I take the Winston Churchill line - Democracy is the worst form of government except all the others.
It's ridiculous, you spend hours reading and reflecting on the issues, you balance the pros and cons and take an weighted aggregate view in deciding which way to vote. And what happens on polling day? The cretin behind you in the line cancels out all your efforts by voting for X because X's party was the one to make the last minute robocall he received.
So, to improve matters, would it be possible to construct a test to determine if a voter is sufficiently well versed with the issues to make a rational, informed, decision? If one is too lazy or too thick to understand the issues it would be better to bar that person from voting.
I don't see a moral objection to this, only a practical one; how to formulate such a test. What is dubious is excluding felons from voting. Why? Don't they live in the country?
I knew Seagate was in league with the devil. Did you know that Seagate is an anagram of Teageas, the ancient Norse name for Lord of Darkness? Seagate should be ashamed of themselves putting the security of our nation, myself and my loved ones ones at risk. And for what? Sheer corporate greed - the bastards.
And while we're at it let's all stop using SSL and the like. Anyone who continues to do so is clearly a terroristic pedophile and may be gunned down in cold blood; better safe than sorry I say.
Doesn't matter which came first. The more relevant question is is there a vicious circle, or causal path, from game to real world violence. I don't know of any emperical evidence but from my own experince of receiving external stimuli (e.g. motion pictures, music, still images) I find it very easy to take seriously the hypothesis that stimuli, including video games does alter behavior, possibly as far as violence. Ever noticed how your driving habits change depending on the music you're listening to? The carpenters makes me want to torch everyone around me.
Slashdot Mirror
Lucky buggers (Pakistanis I mean); I just spent an hour on You Tube and noticed my brain rot accelerated. Yet I go back, occasionally, for more. I guess it's like needing to look at your shit in the bowl before flushing; unpleasant yet necessary to check-in occasionally.
He says he's not looking for pity but I can't help feeling sorry for him; he's tired, clearly in pain and has just put up a public career suicide note.
Well at least he's refreshingly specific in his hatred.
Zed, please don't beat me up; I'm a vegetarian and wear glasses. What's a DDR pad?
Big deal; my three year old son smears his pooh on my monitor. I have high hopes for him as an artist.
What a simpleton; a binary, one dimensional thinker. Or more likely, as has been pointed out many times, a low-life baiter.
Dvorak needs to get out more. He'll find that there are huge numbers of impoverished people in the world for whom basic food necessity has been taken care of who will benefit from the OLPC model
Or take this:
Does he actually think that the OLPC will used by children without classrooms, that the educationalists in those countries are completely stupid? Does he think the supply of sites in SiSwati or isiZulu will stay static if the potential readership (demand) in those languages increases? And quoting the literacy rate for an entire population, rather than school children, is insults us, the readers of his nonsense.The most depressing part of this story is that magazine and web-site editors will give space to a tech pundit to pontificate on development and education matters. Couldn't they find an expert that that field?
Sell MSFT, buy stock in high-end office chair manufactures.
The EU and the Euro were created to fight the United States' financial power and the US dollar's financial power, respectively
Actually the EU was formed to created an integrated political and economic space to prevent future European wars (by creating prosperity and roughly equal wealth amongst nations). The Euro was created to reduce trans-border costs, improve European mobility, increase trade between member states and, yes, to present the US dollar with a competitor (in which is has been very successful).
Does anyone even pay attention to Airbus vs. Boeing?
Yes the WTO does. It's the largest case the WTO has ever dealt with. It was the EU that brought the complaint to the WTO. Presumably they feel they have a winnable case.
The old "EU xxx has an incredible anti-American bias" is just a flight of fancy.
The EU legal architecture lays down regulations, directives, decisions, recommendations and opinions. These secondary legislative artifacts constitute what is effectively EU law; all member states laws (and constitutions) are subservient to them and are required to enforce them.
The issue isn't about patience or cooperation or waffle or being a dick - it's about legalities and business.
Webber wrote "What makes this especially puzzling is that you are undermining the economic model that you rely on for your own products"
i.e. "play the game Jamie, play the game....don't rock the cute little scam we've set up"
No, 43 feet is 13.10644098438738472930 meters, give or take.
This all depends on the type of work you do of course. In my case, if I'm looking at web sites a 24" monitor (my current) makes no difference over a 17" monitor because I'm not relating the information on one part of the screen to another.
However when I'm doing diagram based design (e.g. UML class modeling) it makes a big difference. I can effectively hold a larger amount of information in my field of view and relate more distant parts of the diagram to each other. I'm effectively able to work on a larger piece of the puzzle.
In fact |I wish I had a 30" monitor (or two monitors to give similar pixel count); then I wouldn't have to print out a Word document which I refer to when working on the class model. Unfortunately my laptop's video card won't support either.
I think humanity has better things to do than spend 24/7 making "our country" #1. How about:
- ensuring our children grow up healthy, happy and well balanced
- helping people in other countries share our good fortune
- improving the environment
- building a just and equitable society
- fixing that bloody leak in the ceiling right above my desk (flat roof problems)
Don't be slaves to the politicians, industrialists and economists. Wanna be #1 is their goal which serves their interests (e.g. "my knob is bigger than yours" bragging rights at pointless G8 meetings), not yours. And don't believe for a second that their interests are the same as yours.
Rise up citizens - your destiny is in your hands.
Can someone enlighten me?
Either BG is saying Apple introduced it on the Mac MS just blindly copied it even though it was a crap idea
or
MS invented it and we think it's a great idea (yuk).
Steve Jobs must be loving this uncool reaction; the ads have hit BG right in the nuts - ouch!
Hmmm, or maybe the new MS strategy to counter Apple cool is to make uncool the new cool. Clever.
You don't get flicker with newer CFL's that have electronic ballasts (as opposed to core and coil ballasts).
But you repeat and make my point. As I said there were indeed alternatives yet people bought Wintel. As I said many people like them.
But people can only buy what is available; a choice between different turds. Given Microsoft's wealth, talent and power (i.e. which Apple does not have) they could have made available to the world something far better, the computing experience should not be what it is today, which is mediocre. Microsoft always follow. Imagine if they actually lead. Imagine what the world would be like (hmm, maybe not).
One last thing, "Microsoft has never controlled the hardware industry". Never? Certainly not in the early days, and they don't "control" it now, but it would be very naive to think they don't have a huge influence on hardware as part of the Wintel axis.
However, my feeling towards Microsoft is disappointment. A company with such deep pockets and undoubted engineering talent could have pushed the world of computing to dizzying heights. They could have made the experience of technology beautiful for hundreds of millions of people.
Instead they've made the world an ugly place. Microsoft, you have wasted your life in pursuit of the mediocre.
Simplicity was only ever in with an aesthetic elite (more power to them) with pockets deep enough to pay for less-is-more goods. The great mass of humanity have always had to settle for embellished crap.
It's ridiculous, you spend hours reading and reflecting on the issues, you balance the pros and cons and take an weighted aggregate view in deciding which way to vote. And what happens on polling day? The cretin behind you in the line cancels out all your efforts by voting for X because X's party was the one to make the last minute robocall he received.
So, to improve matters, would it be possible to construct a test to determine if a voter is sufficiently well versed with the issues to make a rational, informed, decision? If one is too lazy or too thick to understand the issues it would be better to bar that person from voting.
I don't see a moral objection to this, only a practical one; how to formulate such a test. What is dubious is excluding felons from voting. Why? Don't they live in the country?
And while we're at it let's all stop using SSL and the like. Anyone who continues to do so is clearly a terroristic pedophile and may be gunned down in cold blood; better safe than sorry I say.
Yep, after all the mainframes era is still with us isn't it?
Doesn't matter which came first. The more relevant question is is there a vicious circle, or causal path, from game to real world violence. I don't know of any emperical evidence but from my own experince of receiving external stimuli (e.g. motion pictures, music, still images) I find it very easy to take seriously the hypothesis that stimuli, including video games does alter behavior, possibly as far as violence. Ever noticed how your driving habits change depending on the music you're listening to? The carpenters makes me want to torch everyone around me.