I don't mean to be a troll, but he has been known to be wrong before. He might be considered a successful businessman, but I don't consider him to be a great visionary.
Gene Roddenberry was a great visionary, but that's because he did his research by consulting with great technologists within various fields.
The bottom line for me is that I agree that there is much to be gained from the classroom experience.
If Bill is right, then we're going to see even more unemployment and layoffs in the educational area. Great!
I can't agree with Barlow's statement. I think I understand what he was trying to say, but it strikes me like he said it in an entirely inept way.
The political system is already broken. Congress is mostly owned by business. The Citizens (or the "Consumers") don't have much influence over the government.
Freedom of the press was guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. This has been eroded slowly over the years. IMHO the biggest damage to this freedom has been in the form of the megacorps. Most news (not all, but most) comes from one source.
The internet has made citizen journalism possible once again. (The definition on Wikipedia is better at explaining why this is important to a supposedly "open" society.)
And speaking of "Personal Democracy," it seems that citizen journalism would be a requirement for it to exist.
Barlow's comment sounds like he is critical of the internet as though it destroyed something valuable to our society.
From a recent PBS Newshour analysis AIR DATE: Dec. 22, 2009
Subject: How Dangerous is the Cyber Crime Threat?
JEFFREY BROWN: Well, in fact, President Obama had talked about doing this as early as May. And then there were reports that it was taking a while to fill the position or to figure out who that person would report to.
JAMES LEWIS: There's a dispute in the White House and in the administration. And I think that slowed things down. Some people think it's best to leave the Internet alone, let it be the Wild West, let it continue to have a limited role for government, and the Internet community will find its way out of this problem. I don't happen to agree. I'm not sure where Howard comes out on this, but...
JEFFREY BROWN: Don't you agree why?
JAMES LEWIS: I don't, because we have tried letting the Internet community solve this. We have tried seeing if it was a self-organizing global commons. It hasn't worked. It's just like the Wild West. Time to move in the marshals.
From a recent PBS Newshour analysis AIR DATE: Dec. 22, 2009
Subject: How Dangerous is the Cyber Crime Threat?
JEFFREY BROWN: Well, in fact, President Obama had talked about doing this as early as May. And then there were reports that it was taking a while to fill the position or to figure out who that person would report to.
JAMES LEWIS: There's a dispute in the White House and in the administration. And I think that slowed things down.
Some people think it's best to leave the Internet alone, let it be the Wild West, let it continue to have a limited role for government, and the Internet community will find its way out of this problem.
I don't happen to agree. I'm not sure where Howard comes out on this, but...
JEFFREY BROWN: Don't you agree why?
JAMES LEWIS: I don't, because we have tried letting the Internet community solve this. We have tried seeing if it was a self-organizing global commons. It hasn't worked. It's just like the Wild West. Time to move in the marshals.
If regulation becomes likely, the advertisers will say, "If you force us to control the volume of our commercials, we'll have to increase the cost of our products to offset the extra effort it will take to comply."
I not only mute commercials immediately, I leave the room or look someplace else. In addition to the annoying increase in volume, they are using bright flashing or strobe lighting effects, jamming about 5 different, still images into a second, fast motion to slow motion or the reverse, focusing on someone's nostril hair while they talk about some personal problem, tinting the sky (the PGA's favorite effect), etc, etc.
So other groups that should be called out on this are the producers and directors of the commercials. They go to school and learn about all the COOL effects that can be used and then they can't wait to use them all in a single commercial. These rookie techniques remind me of the "blink" tag or GIF animations during the early days of the net.
I bet this guy was promoted from within and never had any education to speak of in management. He sounds like some small-minded control freak that has to do something public to establish his authority.
In short, your manager/supervisor is being VERY short-sighted.
My background and degree is in management. Graduated with high honors, yada, yada, etc. I managed a group of tech writers, illustrators, a web-dev, and java programmer. The bottom line is that you, the manager, work for the people within the department for which you are responsible. Part of that responsibility means establishing an environment that the people find to be comfortable and to their liking (within reason). That means pics of their family, pets, and music. If the people are taking orders or doing support via the phone, then music might not work. But programming, writing, etc is completely acceptable. The more people like their work environment, the better they perform. That's just common sense.
Your manager is the primary reason I broke off a career in electronics/tech writing to go into management. I was sick and tired of seeing people that thought only in terms of power and control in positions of management.
I'd suggest doing some research. I'm reasonably sure that you can find something to confirm that a pleasant work environment enhances productivity. As long as nobody is playing AC-DC Back in Black at 11, music is completely acceptable. Mozart, Fluke, Beatles, Howlin' Wolf, even Lawrence Welk can probably relax a person to focus even more effectively on their job. And some people don't care for music while working. Maybe they need to be close to a window or tucked away in a quiet corner.
Print this comment out and leave it anonymously on your manager's desk.
Hey Manager person, take a clue from a guy who did 15 years as a manager in the medical electronic device industry and whose dept was one of the most effective, most productive in the organization (no bragging intended, just the way it was). Back off. If people want music, let them have it. Don't be a fool. Trying to control creative people and force them into some ill-conceived concept of a work environment will cause the really good talent to leave. Remember that you work for them. You are their advocate. And once you start behaving like one, you will inspire loyalty, commitment, and determination within the people that work with you.
I agree. It IS all about motivation. I've had the great privilege of working with several people from other countries (India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Africa, etc). These people are all brilliant. In each case, once they had finished high school, they came to the US because this is where real opportunity still exists. They saw the value of education as a means by which to lift themselves out of their respective environments and thereby have a chance in the world's biggest economy. And when they entered college here, they were ready for the sophomore year just after completing high school in their countries.
I remember Oprah (I'm not a fan) was criticized for contributing a girls school to a country in Africa. People felt that she betrayed the US because she did not contribute the school here. Her response was very pointed. The kids here do NOT care. They have been provided with decent educational opportunities all along and all they are concerned with are superficial things like partying, fashion, cliques, social position. They have been allowed to follow a very undisciplined, short-sighted life style. They see no need for an education.
A friend's wife teaches in one of the public schools in my city. She can not get the kids motivated because they believe that they'll be cared for by the government. So they just want to party.
Add to all this that it has become socially acceptable within some of the younger generation to NOT care. If you care, you are vulnerable. If you don't care, you are strong.
Now also add to the mix that the over-the-top greedy short term profiteering companies will probably ship their jobs to another country and it becomes really challenging to motivate kids to see the value of an education.
We don't need more time in school. We, as a country, need to change our priorities.
MS doesn't really have any motivation to do clever or creative marketing. They already dominate the market. So my guess is they take the first semi-reasonable attempt at an ad and run with it. That way they don't spend too much time or money while trying to do advertising.
But I completely agree that the video is incredibly unpleasant and the concept of a Windows 7 release party with your friends is remarkably lame.
For several (5 or 6) years, MS's stock was on a plateau (around $30). Then we hit these hard economic times and it dropped like all stocks did. But, even so, MS's stock performance hasn't been remarkable. But now, more analysts are starting to discourage buying MS.
Add to this that MS lacks focus. They act as if they can dive into any market that has the slightest detail in common with their product offerings and just take over. Here again, their performance has been weak. (Bada-bing. Bada-zune.)
And, again like so many other companies, due to the recession they've been forced to do layoffs. Now Ballmer is getting desperate.
So moving to another country (which eventually, in or near the EU, would be business-wise more hostile). Incurring additional expenses. Shaking the remaining confidence in the investors. Risking bad PR. Yeah. Brilliant!
And do you honestly think that their economic circumstances are any better than here?
And personally, I tend to think of a business' location in terms of where their support is located. And at least some of MS's support is out of India. So, as far as I am concerned, they've already started to moved away.
These business conditions are a relatively new experience to MS. They've been used to having more earnings just because of their market dominance and now they're forced to actually think creatively and innovate in both a business sense and a product design sense. Ballmer certainly doesn't have the skill to do this and neither does Gates. If the BoD was smart, they'd decide to split the company. Two or three smaller companies will allow for better focus, more efficiencies, and faster response and competitiveness. Hell, send one of the new companies over to the EU.
I see this as something like (you don't know) Jack Welch. While GE was profitable, many thought he was brilliant. He's not. He is, just like Bill Gates, an opportunist. These guys do well when the market opportunity is handed to them due to extenuating social, political, economic, and/or technological circumstances. If they ever have to think in a truly creative manner re business strategy, they are like an octopus out of water.
Welch's management philosophies and business strategies are finally being proven wrong; short-sighted and inept. (Note that Welch had started up a massive PR machine prior to his departure.) His constant attempts to improve the bottom line by acquisitions were foolish. And re his management philosophies; what an idiot!!! (I apologize. But it's appropriate to say having been exposed to his influence.) Immelt was stuck with cleaning up Welch's mess. (ie, tons of debt in GE Capital). But now Immelt is hard-pressed to think creatively to get the ship back on course. Nardelli (also GE) is another example with the remarkable job of screwing up Home Depot. And the bozos at GM another. (Although, in their defense, our culture conspired against them to some degree. How can you sell smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles to a country filled with Bubba's that just want bigger pickup trucks and SUVs with more power and towing capacity?)
Anyhow Ballmer is just one more in this series of loony toons.
So go ahead, Monkey Boy. Move. But first, do another little dance. I think I'll call it the "Desperation Dance."
One more to consider. I haven't tried this product yet but will soon. NOTE: It ain't free. It's based on Java. But it's less expensive and if they keep the package trim and secure, that's fine by me. I just don't want to deal w/A-D'oh-be anymore.
I've had several CFLs burn out within a matter of 3 or 4 months. The others I'm using seem to be lasting. I don't mind the longer warm up time or the fact that they've been over-hyped re performance (gee, what a surprise!). I would appreciate better quality after spending $4 or more per bulb.
April Fool ...er, oh that was yesterday?
on
Linux Needs Critics
·
· Score: 1
First of all, I can see that the m$ trolls are out in force trying to press everyone's hot buttons.
It's more than a little obvious how wrong this is. As has been pointed out already, the cost of the MS Vista OS is already rolled into the cost of the computer (aka, ms tax). If MS Vista is not the OS you want, you should not have to pay to have the MS OS that you DO want. Especially since it's still available, ie XP. The cost of the OS has already been applied to the product. The fact that the retailer was stupid enough to pre-install Vista knowing how much people have spurned it is evidence of their own short-sighted ignorance. They should have to eat that extra cost of labor to remove Vista and install XP. And if MS is forcing them to bundle, then this suit is even more justified.
Further, the original intent is to purchase a new computer, not a new OS. MS is trying to force people to switch to Vista and this is just another attempt. The customer should choose which OS (if any) they would like installed.
If I'm going to buy a new computer and the only way the computer can be purchased is with win-D'ohs already installed, I will not buy it unless they discount the cost of the OS, the labor to install the OS, and the cost of all the paper work they must do to satisfy MS's requirements. Otherwise I buy a computer somewhere else.
The car analogy that was used is not appropriate. When someone wants to buy a new car, they go looking for the most recent production-year cars. If they'd rather have an older model, they can easily get last years models by buying a used car. They aren't being forced to buy the recent production year. And by the way, they don't have to pay full price for the older car. Maybe nobody should have to pay full price for an old OS.
This worn-out OS bundling strategy proves once more just how worried MS is. Now they're just desperate.
Thanks for the insight. I'll be sure to avoid that term in the future. The point I was hoping to make was that there is a group of people that follow the trends (ie, that emphasize materialism and purely consumptive behavior) as if they are addicted. They appear as though they would be lost without that sense of being connected to the crowd that assigns status based on what you own, wear, or drive. These are the people that do not demonstrate any desire to understand how to manage their finances because it would mean having to fore go their purchases. Old descriptives for this group were something like "yuppie" or "dink." But typically, the attitude is one that as long as they can buy all their stuff, they're happy. And don't bother them with real world problems or issues. I guess I could have referred to them as superficial.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't mean to be a troll, but he has been known to be wrong before. He might be considered a successful businessman, but I don't consider him to be a great visionary.
Gene Roddenberry was a great visionary, but that's because he did his research by consulting with great technologists within various fields.
The bottom line for me is that I agree that there is much to be gained from the classroom experience.
If Bill is right, then we're going to see even more unemployment and layoffs in the educational area. Great!
I haven't tried it yet, but this looks promising. It isn't free, but it also doesn't seem as pricey as Adobe.
Qoppa Software [ http://www.qoppa.com/index.html ]
I can't agree with Barlow's statement. I think I understand what he was trying to say, but it strikes me like he said it in an entirely inept way.
The political system is already broken. Congress is mostly owned by business. The Citizens (or the "Consumers") don't have much influence over the government.
Freedom of the press was guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. This has been eroded slowly over the years. IMHO the biggest damage to this freedom has been in the form of the megacorps. Most news (not all, but most) comes from one source.
The internet has made citizen journalism possible once again. (The definition on Wikipedia is better at explaining why this is important to a supposedly "open" society.)
And speaking of "Personal Democracy," it seems that citizen journalism would be a requirement for it to exist.
Barlow's comment sounds like he is critical of the internet as though it destroyed something valuable to our society.
These beavers are awesome! Look at all the highways they built as well. It even looks like it's been industrialized. Oh, wait a minute.... http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Beaver+Dam,+WI&sll=58.271526,-112.253623&sspn=0.010675,0.030899&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Beaver+Dam,+Dodge,+Wisconsin&ll=43.476093,-88.837166&spn=0.117841,0.247192&t=h&z=12
I get the impression that this is a debate between optimists and pessimists; ie, is the glass half empty or half full?
Personally, I'm with the optimists on this one.
From a recent PBS Newshour analysis AIR DATE: Dec. 22, 2009
Subject: How Dangerous is the Cyber Crime Threat?
JEFFREY BROWN: Well, in fact, President Obama had talked about doing this as early as May. And then there were reports that it was taking a while to fill the position or to figure out who that person would report to.
JAMES LEWIS: There's a dispute in the White House and in the administration. And I think that slowed things down. Some people think it's best to leave the Internet alone, let it be the Wild West, let it continue to have a limited role for government, and the Internet community will find its way out of this problem. I don't happen to agree. I'm not sure where Howard comes out on this, but...
JEFFREY BROWN: Don't you agree why?
JAMES LEWIS: I don't, because we have tried letting the Internet community solve this. We have tried seeing if it was a self-organizing global commons. It hasn't worked. It's just like the Wild West. Time to move in the marshals.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/july-dec09/cyber_12-22.html
Subject: How Dangerous is the Cyber Crime Threat?
JEFFREY BROWN: Well, in fact, President Obama had talked about doing this as early as May. And then there were reports that it was taking a while to fill the position or to figure out who that person would report to.
JAMES LEWIS: There's a dispute in the White House and in the administration. And I think that slowed things down.
Some people think it's best to leave the Internet alone, let it be the Wild West, let it continue to have a limited role for government, and the Internet community will find its way out of this problem.
I don't happen to agree. I'm not sure where Howard comes out on this, but...
JEFFREY BROWN: Don't you agree why?
JAMES LEWIS: I don't, because we have tried letting the Internet community solve this. We have tried seeing if it was a self-organizing global commons. It hasn't worked. It's just like the Wild West. Time to move in the marshals.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/july-dec09/cyber_12-22.html
If regulation becomes likely, the advertisers will say, "If you force us to control the volume of our commercials, we'll have to increase the cost of our products to offset the extra effort it will take to comply."
I not only mute commercials immediately, I leave the room or look someplace else. In addition to the annoying increase in volume, they are using bright flashing or strobe lighting effects, jamming about 5 different, still images into a second, fast motion to slow motion or the reverse, focusing on someone's nostril hair while they talk about some personal problem, tinting the sky (the PGA's favorite effect), etc, etc.
So other groups that should be called out on this are the producers and directors of the commercials. They go to school and learn about all the COOL effects that can be used and then they can't wait to use them all in a single commercial. These rookie techniques remind me of the "blink" tag or GIF animations during the early days of the net.
I bet this guy was promoted from within and never had any education to speak of in management. He sounds like some small-minded control freak that has to do something public to establish his authority.
In short, your manager/supervisor is being VERY short-sighted.
My background and degree is in management. Graduated with high honors, yada, yada, etc. I managed a group of tech writers, illustrators, a web-dev, and java programmer. The bottom line is that you, the manager, work for the people within the department for which you are responsible. Part of that responsibility means establishing an environment that the people find to be comfortable and to their liking (within reason). That means pics of their family, pets, and music. If the people are taking orders or doing support via the phone, then music might not work. But programming, writing, etc is completely acceptable. The more people like their work environment, the better they perform. That's just common sense.
Your manager is the primary reason I broke off a career in electronics/tech writing to go into management. I was sick and tired of seeing people that thought only in terms of power and control in positions of management.
I'd suggest doing some research. I'm reasonably sure that you can find something to confirm that a pleasant work environment enhances productivity. As long as nobody is playing AC-DC Back in Black at 11, music is completely acceptable. Mozart, Fluke, Beatles, Howlin' Wolf, even Lawrence Welk can probably relax a person to focus even more effectively on their job. And some people don't care for music while working. Maybe they need to be close to a window or tucked away in a quiet corner.
Print this comment out and leave it anonymously on your manager's desk.
Hey Manager person, take a clue from a guy who did 15 years as a manager in the medical electronic device industry and whose dept was one of the most effective, most productive in the organization (no bragging intended, just the way it was). Back off. If people want music, let them have it. Don't be a fool. Trying to control creative people and force them into some ill-conceived concept of a work environment will cause the really good talent to leave. Remember that you work for them. You are their advocate. And once you start behaving like one, you will inspire loyalty, commitment, and determination within the people that work with you.
I agree. It IS all about motivation. I've had the great privilege of working with several people from other countries (India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Africa, etc). These people are all brilliant. In each case, once they had finished high school, they came to the US because this is where real opportunity still exists. They saw the value of education as a means by which to lift themselves out of their respective environments and thereby have a chance in the world's biggest economy. And when they entered college here, they were ready for the sophomore year just after completing high school in their countries.
I remember Oprah (I'm not a fan) was criticized for contributing a girls school to a country in Africa. People felt that she betrayed the US because she did not contribute the school here. Her response was very pointed. The kids here do NOT care. They have been provided with decent educational opportunities all along and all they are concerned with are superficial things like partying, fashion, cliques, social position. They have been allowed to follow a very undisciplined, short-sighted life style. They see no need for an education.
A friend's wife teaches in one of the public schools in my city. She can not get the kids motivated because they believe that they'll be cared for by the government. So they just want to party.
Add to all this that it has become socially acceptable within some of the younger generation to NOT care. If you care, you are vulnerable. If you don't care, you are strong.
Now also add to the mix that the over-the-top greedy short term profiteering companies will probably ship their jobs to another country and it becomes really challenging to motivate kids to see the value of an education.
We don't need more time in school. We, as a country, need to change our priorities.
U.S. Bank picks IBM's Lotus platform over Microsoft's SharePoint
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9138020/U.S._Bank_picks_IBM_s_Lotus_platform_over_Microsoft_s_SharePoint
MS doesn't really have any motivation to do clever or creative marketing. They already dominate the market. So my guess is they take the first semi-reasonable attempt at an ad and run with it. That way they don't spend too much time or money while trying to do advertising.
But I completely agree that the video is incredibly unpleasant and the concept of a Windows 7 release party with your friends is remarkably lame.
Smells like desperation. They can't innovate in any way except in distorting facts. Microsoft is VERY creative when it comes to lying.
For several (5 or 6) years, MS's stock was on a plateau (around $30). Then we hit these hard economic times and it dropped like all stocks did. But, even so, MS's stock performance hasn't been remarkable. But now, more analysts are starting to discourage buying MS.
Add to this that MS lacks focus. They act as if they can dive into any market that has the slightest detail in common with their product offerings and just take over. Here again, their performance has been weak. (Bada-bing. Bada-zune.)
And, again like so many other companies, due to the recession they've been forced to do layoffs. Now Ballmer is getting desperate.
So moving to another country (which eventually, in or near the EU, would be business-wise more hostile). Incurring additional expenses. Shaking the remaining confidence in the investors. Risking bad PR. Yeah. Brilliant!
And do you honestly think that their economic circumstances are any better than here?
And personally, I tend to think of a business' location in terms of where their support is located. And at least some of MS's support is out of India. So, as far as I am concerned, they've already started to moved away.
These business conditions are a relatively new experience to MS. They've been used to having more earnings just because of their market dominance and now they're forced to actually think creatively and innovate in both a business sense and a product design sense. Ballmer certainly doesn't have the skill to do this and neither does Gates. If the BoD was smart, they'd decide to split the company. Two or three smaller companies will allow for better focus, more efficiencies, and faster response and competitiveness. Hell, send one of the new companies over to the EU.
I see this as something like (you don't know) Jack Welch. While GE was profitable, many thought he was brilliant. He's not. He is, just like Bill Gates, an opportunist. These guys do well when the market opportunity is handed to them due to extenuating social, political, economic, and/or technological circumstances. If they ever have to think in a truly creative manner re business strategy, they are like an octopus out of water.
Welch's management philosophies and business strategies are finally being proven wrong; short-sighted and inept. (Note that Welch had started up a massive PR machine prior to his departure.) His constant attempts to improve the bottom line by acquisitions were foolish. And re his management philosophies; what an idiot!!! (I apologize. But it's appropriate to say having been exposed to his influence.) Immelt was stuck with cleaning up Welch's mess. (ie, tons of debt in GE Capital). But now Immelt is hard-pressed to think creatively to get the ship back on course. Nardelli (also GE) is another example with the remarkable job of screwing up Home Depot. And the bozos at GM another. (Although, in their defense, our culture conspired against them to some degree. How can you sell smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles to a country filled with Bubba's that just want bigger pickup trucks and SUVs with more power and towing capacity?)
Anyhow Ballmer is just one more in this series of loony toons.
So go ahead, Monkey Boy. Move. But first, do another little dance. I think I'll call it the "Desperation Dance."
Sniffing for DVDs sure beats sniffing for explosives.
Personally, I can't even begin to imagine the RIAA ignoring this. They are bound to whine and cry "Foul play" in... 4... 3... 2... 1...
One more to consider. I haven't tried this product yet but will soon. NOTE: It ain't free. It's based on Java. But it's less expensive and if they keep the package trim and secure, that's fine by me. I just don't want to deal w/A-D'oh-be anymore.
PDF Studio(tm) for Linux, Mac & Windows
http://www.qoppa.com/index.html
Disclaimer: If this product sucks, my apologies in advance for suggesting it.
I've had several CFLs burn out within a matter of 3 or 4 months. The others I'm using seem to be lasting. I don't mind the longer warm up time or the fact that they've been over-hyped re performance (gee, what a surprise!). I would appreciate better quality after spending $4 or more per bulb.
This post is clearly a day late.
'What is truly astonishing to the scientists is how similar these ancient creatures are to their modern-day counterparts."
Ah... maybe because radiocarbon dating sucks and they're not really 95 million years old.
GET OFF MY LAWN!!!
I agree. This never impressed me as a viable, long term strategy.
Another question comes to mind for me, however. Since there are some companies pushing for more H-1B visas, who financed this study.
First of all, I can see that the m$ trolls are out in force trying to press everyone's hot buttons.
It's more than a little obvious how wrong this is. As has been pointed out already, the cost of the MS Vista OS is already rolled into the cost of the computer (aka, ms tax). If MS Vista is not the OS you want, you should not have to pay to have the MS OS that you DO want. Especially since it's still available, ie XP. The cost of the OS has already been applied to the product. The fact that the retailer was stupid enough to pre-install Vista knowing how much people have spurned it is evidence of their own short-sighted ignorance. They should have to eat that extra cost of labor to remove Vista and install XP. And if MS is forcing them to bundle, then this suit is even more justified.
Further, the original intent is to purchase a new computer, not a new OS. MS is trying to force people to switch to Vista and this is just another attempt. The customer should choose which OS (if any) they would like installed.
If I'm going to buy a new computer and the only way the computer can be purchased is with win-D'ohs already installed, I will not buy it unless they discount the cost of the OS, the labor to install the OS, and the cost of all the paper work they must do to satisfy MS's requirements. Otherwise I buy a computer somewhere else.
The car analogy that was used is not appropriate. When someone wants to buy a new car, they go looking for the most recent production-year cars. If they'd rather have an older model, they can easily get last years models by buying a used car. They aren't being forced to buy the recent production year. And by the way, they don't have to pay full price for the older car. Maybe nobody should have to pay full price for an old OS.
This worn-out OS bundling strategy proves once more just how worried MS is. Now they're just desperate.
I think this would work really well for a group of children that hang out with a large purple dinosaur.
Thanks for the insight. I'll be sure to avoid that term in the future. The point I was hoping to make was that there is a group of people that follow the trends (ie, that emphasize materialism and purely consumptive behavior) as if they are addicted. They appear as though they would be lost without that sense of being connected to the crowd that assigns status based on what you own, wear, or drive. These are the people that do not demonstrate any desire to understand how to manage their finances because it would mean having to fore go their purchases. Old descriptives for this group were something like "yuppie" or "dink." But typically, the attitude is one that as long as they can buy all their stuff, they're happy. And don't bother them with real world problems or issues. I guess I could have referred to them as superficial.
Again, thanks for the insight.