I think we should lay the blame at the feet of the United
States Government. Traditionally we have been a government that allowed a lot of
freedom and bestowed a great deal of rights on our citizens Don't you realize how wrong you are? Please think...
First, and most importantly,governments do not "bestow" rights. We are born with all the rights we will ever have, and more than we know what to do with.
People working within AT&T have, as their their inborn right, the right and ability to REFUSE to carry out actions that they know are wrong and illegal. If they do so carry out actions that they know are wrong, then they are responsible for the results. Being under pressure does not absolve one of responsibility. That should go double for corporate executives.
It is certainly the MOST common excuse in the world to say "But I had to do it!"
This is news - this level of control cannot be the initiative of only one man, which is to say that Tony Blair is only the pimple on the boil. So, the question is, what is the driving force behind all of this? Is the public is clamoring for more cameras and record snooping?
What ever happend to the ACLU? Ever since Bush and Co. came into power, they have by laying pretty low. Hardly a word about Jose Padillia. Hardly a word about the NSA wiretapping. Shouldn't the ACLU be making higher-profile protests against these kinds of actions? Or is it they simply don't get in the press anymore?
These geegaws are only an attempt to cover-over the fact that there is very little innovation in new automobiles. Advances in fuel efficiency are very minor, and automobile-related injuries and deaths are one of the worst problems in our society. Ford especially has nothing substantial to show, and Microsoft is only too happy to help them try to paper over their shortcomings.
Perhaps I am missing something, but Human Papilloma Virus is not only (primarily?) an STD. It is often passed from mother to child during birthing. It can (really!) be acquired from toilet seats. Close to 50% of adults in the US have one or more forms of HPV. Sad but true.
they've priced themselves out of the market. People will always get sick. They just can't afford to pay for the medication anymore. There is a big confusion in this thread between generic drugs and on-patent drugs. It is barely acknowleged that a new drug costs close to a billion dollars to develop (yes, these costs are seperate from the marketing) - there is no understanding what it takes to recoup these costs - and if they are not recouped, guess what - close to no new drugs.
The major drug companies have indeed hit something of a wall - the low-hanging fruit has been picked, and new advances are much more hard-won at this point. If I may use economic language: the drug industry was enjoying a much less steep marginal investment-risk curve - each million invested was much more likely to produce some profit above the million invested. Now development of each promising novel drug entity is like a new space program - and the risks are just about as high (up to including people's lives). So, to ask that a new drug, fresh from the labs and monsterous investment in testing should be sold for 50 cents a pill, is simply illogical - that is almost like asking that the space shuttle program be cancelled because the flights are too expensive and you personally cannot afford a ticket.
Ok, nowadays any corporation with a Dallas office and a NYC office probably also has a Toronto office and a London office... Each of these outside-US offices is a seperate legal entity. If so, then they would in fact be breaking copywrite law. Of course these days it is very difficult not to be breaking some law at one time or another anyway.
It's perfectly legitimate activity. There's nothing wrong or illegal with it. It doesn't violate people's civil rights...
I have heard this sort of "first order rhetoric" many times from members of the Bush regime. There seems to be a stragegy of stating the exact opposite of what something actually is, and then repeating it several times in several slightly different ways - as if saying something enough can make it seem true. It is the 180 degree contradiction that kind of scares me - I had not noticed this technique used much in the good years before Bush.
The language looks like a cross between Pascal and Java, and with a Java virtual machine, it will not be fast. If HPC is the market for this language, Sun is way off.
Performance is the first and last consideration in the HPC arena. When Fortress can be compiled to machine code, then maybe it will be considered. There are already some good parallelizing compilers for FORTRAN, which are getting better all the time.
This is a sign that Sun is coming to terms with the economics of the Free/OpenSource movement. Get your OS out there and you will make more friends, sell more hardware and services. I think Sun has the right idea, whereas HP still does not know what to do.
This reasoning is very off base. First of all, Pfizer happens to have one of the highest profit margins in the industry, but that is not really relevant...
Most of the folks here have little to no understanding of the cost of Research for the pharmaceutical industry. It does indeed take several millions of dollars to identify and produce a promising compound. You folks see to think the work is all done at this point, but in fact it is just beginning. There have been estimates that the Clinical Reseach, which is to say the testing and evaluation of varying doses and regimens across various ages and populations of people - hundreds and hundreds and even tens of thousands of people - can cost upward of 800 Million Dollars. And this is before a single dollar is made in profit! The up-front cost is huge, the risk tremendous, and the profits, if and when realized can be good. A significant fraction of that profit goes directly back into research and development, as well as compensation for the risk-takers. Let's put it another way - if the government (any government) had to finance the research carried out by the major pharmaceutical companies, most of it simply would not get done. The result would be fewer drugs and drugs on the market with less testing than we see now!
Yes, it is true that patents, in effect subsidise a profitable industry - but I tend to think of the outcome as evidence that patents sometimes work - the alternatives to the present system are not likely to be as good.
Thomas
...they're lazy idiots who expect a paycheck for as little work as possible and skewing the statistics...
Please, I promise to work harder and do a better job next year. You know I'm trying, and I'm learning and I can even put in a few extra hours and maybe even on Saturday, if you think that can really make the difference...
2 in 5 is very generous. I'm almost 50 and have had 8 jobs, and in at least 4 of which of my bosses were borderline abusive. They had some smarts, but I still wonder how they got to the position that they had. I have a theory that "management by intimidation" can be pretty successful over the short term.
Mr. BMW,
My 1982 Toyota Celica Supra (L-Type) had fuel-injection and a real-time electronic MPG display. Power windows, locks, four-wheel disk brakes, 8-point adjustable seats, nice sound system - everything I ever wanted. The car got about 28MPG for me and could do 0-60 in about 9 sec.(this WAS 1982). Handled very well also. Not too shabby for about half the price of a 528.
Since they discontinued the Supra and I have gotten married I'm a Honda owner now...
This is yet another sad day for the automotive industry in the US. It is obvious that they STILL do not (want to) get it. The heart and soul of a car is the engine, and until Ford (and GM) can compete with Honda and Toyota in the engine compartment, they will continue to lose market share. It seems that wishful thinking has replaced any sort of vision at Ford. As if Microsoft junk can take the place of innovative mechnical engineering! They think that a V8 something or other with Zune will outsell a Honda Civic?! I feel bad for all those folks destined to lose their jobs. Sorry.
Thomas
My brother is a police officer, and I am pretty sure that he can get me the information I need to know about my rivals at work. There is this one guy whom I would love to get the goods on. Let's see, maybe if my brother won't get me the info, maybe one of our friends on the force - maybe if I give him that 1973 Dodge Dart in my garage that he has always wanted. Or my other friend who will probably just want cash.
Thomas
Dave,
From the research sited, they spent a good part of their time trying to find an algae species which was productive of oil. It seems that they failed, in that they cite diatoms but did not try to grow them. Given the energies needed in the biochemical pathways that produce long-chain glycerols, I think that oil productivity is likely to be much lower than 40%. With productivity lower and cost of extaction higher than the poster seems to expect, this might not be such an attractive area for investment afterall.
Thomas
The problem with algae as a biodiesel source is that algae have a very low oil content. The oil from soybeans and cannola is extracted almost directly, while any substantial percentage of the fuel value of algae in the form of oil would have to be synthesized at high cost. To simply extract oil from algae we would have to re-engineer algae to produce more oils, and even then, the gross biomass to oil ratio would likely be quite high.
The real crime here is the involvement of the innocent animals. Look, they were not hurting anyone, and certainly do not deserve to be lumped in with Todd and his sort - with their pictures even on the internet. It is a sure sign of the decadence of this country that a simple squirrel can hardly go about his day's business anymore without being caught up in a felony case.
Thomas
Mr. ActiveNick,
I am not speaking out of hate, but out of concern for the Game Developers. Why is it not obvious to you that "Games for Windows" is simply "Games for Microsoft". The developers of the games will have almost no room to establish their own brand name, and will simply disappear into a pool of low-cost labor.
Meanwhile it is the Microsoft brand, "look and feel", which will be the identifying signature of all the games. Microsoft will not even need to compete or buy competing developers out - or even employ them; it needs only to feed them a few crumbs from the table. Nice trick, eh?
Thomas
6 of 1, half-dozen of the other. I find I am using 2 desktops - and I seldom forget which is which:-). If you have a lot of apps like I do, you will find the menus get cluttered. -Tom
Slashdot Mirror
It is certainly the MOST common excuse in the world to say "But I had to do it!"
That would explain why my ears ring. It might even explain why we all like music so much, but not electricity.
And who is the one using disgusting language?
This is news - this level of control cannot be the initiative of only one man, which is to say that Tony Blair is only the pimple on the boil. So, the question is, what is the driving force behind all of this? Is the public is clamoring for more cameras and record snooping?
What ever happend to the ACLU? Ever since Bush and Co. came into power, they have by laying pretty low. Hardly a word about Jose Padillia. Hardly a word about the NSA wiretapping. Shouldn't the ACLU be making higher-profile protests against these kinds of actions? Or is it they simply don't get in the press anymore?
These geegaws are only an attempt to cover-over the fact that there is very little innovation in new automobiles. Advances in fuel efficiency are very minor, and automobile-related injuries and deaths are one of the worst problems in our society. Ford especially has nothing substantial to show, and Microsoft is only too happy to help them try to paper over their shortcomings.
Perhaps I am missing something, but Human Papilloma Virus is not only (primarily?) an STD. It is often passed from mother to child during birthing. It can (really!) be acquired from toilet seats. Close to 50% of adults in the US have one or more forms of HPV. Sad but true.
The major drug companies have indeed hit something of a wall - the low-hanging fruit has been picked, and new advances are much more hard-won at this point. If I may use economic language: the drug industry was enjoying a much less steep marginal investment-risk curve - each million invested was much more likely to produce some profit above the million invested. Now development of each promising novel drug entity is like a new space program - and the risks are just about as high (up to including people's lives). So, to ask that a new drug, fresh from the labs and monsterous investment in testing should be sold for 50 cents a pill, is simply illogical - that is almost like asking that the space shuttle program be cancelled because the flights are too expensive and you personally cannot afford a ticket.
Ok, nowadays any corporation with a Dallas office and a NYC office probably also has a Toronto office and a London office... Each of these outside-US offices is a seperate legal entity. If so, then they would in fact be breaking copywrite law. Of course these days it is very difficult not to be breaking some law at one time or another anyway.
A Big Hello to those of you out there missing Clippy. Just remember the secret is to bang the rocks together, guys. ...
I have heard this sort of "first order rhetoric" many times from members of the Bush regime. There seems to be a stragegy of stating the exact opposite of what something actually is, and then repeating it several times in several slightly different ways - as if saying something enough can make it seem true. It is the 180 degree contradiction that kind of scares me - I had not noticed this technique used much in the good years before Bush.
The language looks like a cross between Pascal and Java, and with a Java virtual machine, it will not be fast. If HPC is the market for this language, Sun is way off.
Performance is the first and last consideration in the HPC arena. When Fortress can be compiled to machine code, then maybe it will be considered. There are already some good parallelizing compilers for FORTRAN, which are getting better all the time.
This is a sign that Sun is coming to terms with the economics of the Free/OpenSource movement. Get your OS out there and you will make more friends, sell more hardware and services. I think Sun has the right idea, whereas HP still does not know what to do.
This reasoning is very off base. First of all, Pfizer happens to have one of the highest profit margins in the industry, but that is not really relevant...
Most of the folks here have little to no understanding of the cost of Research for the pharmaceutical industry. It does indeed take several millions of dollars to identify and produce a promising compound. You folks see to think the work is all done at this point, but in fact it is just beginning. There have been estimates that the Clinical Reseach, which is to say the testing and evaluation of varying doses and regimens across various ages and populations of people - hundreds and hundreds and even tens of thousands of people - can cost upward of 800 Million Dollars. And this is before a single dollar is made in profit! The up-front cost is huge, the risk tremendous, and the profits, if and when realized can be good. A significant fraction of that profit goes directly back into research and development, as well as compensation for the risk-takers. Let's put it another way - if the government (any government) had to finance the research carried out by the major pharmaceutical companies, most of it simply would not get done. The result would be fewer drugs and drugs on the market with less testing than we see now!
Yes, it is true that patents, in effect subsidise a profitable industry - but I tend to think of the outcome as evidence that patents sometimes work - the alternatives to the present system are not likely to be as good.
Thomas
Please, I promise to work harder and do a better job next year. You know I'm trying, and I'm learning and I can even put in a few extra hours and maybe even on Saturday, if you think that can really make the difference...
2 in 5 is very generous. I'm almost 50 and have had 8 jobs, and in at least 4 of which of my bosses were borderline abusive. They had some smarts, but I still wonder how they got to the position that they had. I have a theory that "management by intimidation" can be pretty successful over the short term.
Mr. BMW, My 1982 Toyota Celica Supra (L-Type) had fuel-injection and a real-time electronic MPG display. Power windows, locks, four-wheel disk brakes, 8-point adjustable seats, nice sound system - everything I ever wanted. The car got about 28MPG for me and could do 0-60 in about 9 sec.(this WAS 1982). Handled very well also. Not too shabby for about half the price of a 528.
Since they discontinued the Supra and I have gotten married I'm a Honda owner now...
This is yet another sad day for the automotive industry in the US. It is obvious that they STILL do not (want to) get it. The heart and soul of a car is the engine, and until Ford (and GM) can compete with Honda and Toyota in the engine compartment, they will continue to lose market share. It seems that wishful thinking has replaced any sort of vision at Ford. As if Microsoft junk can take the place of innovative mechnical engineering! They think that a V8 something or other with Zune will outsell a Honda Civic?! I feel bad for all those folks destined to lose their jobs. Sorry.
Thomas
My brother is a police officer, and I am pretty sure that he can get me the information I need to know about my rivals at work. There is this one guy whom I would love to get the goods on. Let's see, maybe if my brother won't get me the info, maybe one of our friends on the force - maybe if I give him that 1973 Dodge Dart in my garage that he has always wanted. Or my other friend who will probably just want cash.
Thomas
Did you say "dried" biomas? I think it would not be easy (cheap) to dry vast quantities of algae, except, perhaps, maybe in the desert.
Thomas
Dave, From the research sited, they spent a good part of their time trying to find an algae species which was productive of oil. It seems that they failed, in that they cite diatoms but did not try to grow them. Given the energies needed in the biochemical pathways that produce long-chain glycerols, I think that oil productivity is likely to be much lower than 40%. With productivity lower and cost of extaction higher than the poster seems to expect, this might not be such an attractive area for investment afterall.
Thomas
The problem with algae as a biodiesel source is that algae have a very low oil content. The oil from soybeans and cannola is extracted almost directly, while any substantial percentage of the fuel value of algae in the form of oil would have to be synthesized at high cost. To simply extract oil from algae we would have to re-engineer algae to produce more oils, and even then, the gross biomass to oil ratio would likely be quite high.
The real crime here is the involvement of the innocent animals. Look, they were not hurting anyone, and certainly do not deserve to be lumped in with Todd and his sort - with their pictures even on the internet. It is a sure sign of the decadence of this country that a simple squirrel can hardly go about his day's business anymore without being caught up in a felony case.
Thomas
Mr. ActiveNick, I am not speaking out of hate, but out of concern for the Game Developers. Why is it not obvious to you that "Games for Windows" is simply "Games for Microsoft". The developers of the games will have almost no room to establish their own brand name, and will simply disappear into a pool of low-cost labor. Meanwhile it is the Microsoft brand, "look and feel", which will be the identifying signature of all the games. Microsoft will not even need to compete or buy competing developers out - or even employ them; it needs only to feed them a few crumbs from the table. Nice trick, eh?
Thomas
6 of 1, half-dozen of the other. I find I am using 2 desktops - and I seldom forget which is which :-). If you have a lot of apps like I do, you will find the menus get cluttered. -Tom