If http://www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml/ wasnt bad enough to push the stress limits of an already completely fucked up education system, lets throw in some wild theories about whats causing stress in todays children. Maybe it isnt "homework" but the straight from school to the factory education model we use to teach children today. I've had the unfortunate experience of working as a corrections officer and a factory worker, and I can tell you that there are frightening similiarities between the three. The problem that is well known about the education system is its inability to let children accel at their own pace, when in fact, all the current system does is keep the smartest right in line with the dumbest. At least back in the day before political correctness, the dumb ass of the class was left way behind and the rest were forced to rise to an artificial standard... today we have "No Child Left Behind".... I cant wait for the re-runs "Ow my Balls"...
3 states who's yearly budget is under review are looking for ways to drive down existing IT costs by threatening to pass legislation that will get them huge discounts on Operating System and Office Software.........
But where in the world is this Web 2.0 taking place in the rest of the world? Perhaps in small shops, but certainly not throughout any enterprise or even close to being ingrained as a solution in any major IT firm that I know of. In fact, the IT industry has gone the opposite road from "intuitive and creative" and has wrapped itself around the "software axle".... making policy based on software instead of choosing software that is intuitive to policy. Irregardless of why this has happened, it has happened, and I dont see any corporate CIO or mid level manager coming to accept the wonder widget that bob from accounting replacing the application they foolishly purchased from slick willy the software sales guy.
Thats making a huge assumption that the NSA or any other organisation relies heavily on "one particular encryption mechanism" to transmit information. The industry has moved its focus away from relying on more powerful encryption schemes to more difficult to intercept transmition methods such as http://www.laser2laser.co.nz/laser_products.htm . There is no particular piece of the puzzle that makes a network or data more secure. Believing this is a major "shake up" or is going to cause a "major reaction" shows a lack of understanding about security on the part of the person making the speculation.
Now that NWN2 is under the Atari/Infogrames umbrella, you can kiss the future of NWN2 good bye.
I love the NWN2 Alpha version I bought for $59, hopefully the beta wont be sold as an expansion, and oh boy will I be excited when I'm done "pay testing" and can buy the real version of the game!
Ok. So... lemme see if I get this properly. Lets say... Napster, instead of Microsoft, made this product. And lets say that Napster expected every music manufacturer to provide some sort of arbitrary identifier to make music "non transferable"... how soon do you think Napster would be burried in a sea of litigation? Now, does this not seem like something that "enables pirating by design"? Isnt that what Napster got smacked with? "Enabling and encouraging people to pirate" while making money off of the "medium" by advertising. Substitute "advertising revenue" with "product sales revenue" and I fail to see the difference.
Well, that and they arent a multi-billion dollar corporation that not only wipes its ass with anti-monopoly legislation and court rulings, but forces those same governments to eat that shit covered toilet paper by "passing the costs" right back to them... the consumer... the government... lolcakez....
Woah! Thank God you woke me up just in time! I almost hit a telephone pole. My hero.
I have no doubt that there is little good that will come for Novel from their dealings with M$, I'm just talking the hypothetical.
I dont have any great examples of how this could happen, but if the adage is true "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer" then it could be a very good move for Microsoft to hand pick a flavor of Linux and "support it" in an attempt to draw an audiance of Linux users/enthusiasts into the realm where their IP reigns supreme. M$ has proven, even by "giving away" their software, they INCREASE their market share through simple exposure (does the anti-trust lawsuit ring a bell?). Bottom line, people are going to pick software because it works and how well it interoperates into their environment.
Hrm. Here is a what if scenario.
What if Microsoft decides to not go the legal route, and instead starts developing software that helps interoperate Linux to windows, but only through a mechnism that is Novel specific? For example:
Novel sells SUSE v25, that is "Windows Enabled", aka comes with that "bonus cd" that contains a propietary software that makes its Linux boxes "just work" with windows systems? For example, whatif you can run some direct x applications almost natively on SUSE because of what Microsoft has done? Now lets say that MCSE also has a subcomponent for SUSE support?
As a CIO or a semi-retarded Mid level manager, would you choose a linux that "works well with windows" or a linux that doesnt (not saying that Linux without M$ blessing doesnt work with Windows, I'm just using standard linear "yes or no" type thinking common with mamanagement types in the IT world).
"a recent study made in Belgium"... a country the size of a thumbtack with free and effecient public transportation (yes, words dripping with envy) is probably not a great "model" for the societal effects of telecommuting. Probably a better topic would be "The effects of telecommuting in a Eutopian society".
"With attention to form, texture and materials, these machines are intended to make a statement about their owners, much the way an elegant wristwatch, the cut and make of a fine suit or a stylish car can suggest taste and social station."
So for the 2% of the population of the Western Nations, beige is out? Look out! I need to keep up with the Hiltons right? Thats like saying "Gold is out, people demand platinum". Yeah, rich people. For the rest of us, having a computer modern enough to get the latest games/appz running on it is good enough. Let me think, a fancy looking case, or a better fan, better video card, more ram... hrm...
As far as computers go, the rest of the world isnt going to give 2 squats about what their computers "look" like, much like people dont care what their televisions look like, as in most people put their TV's and Computers inside a peace of furniture. Silly yuppie artsy types...
The IT industry needs to take lessons from the automobile industry. Why, in 2006, with dozens of virtual meeting software solutions available (both free and not free), team work applications, secure networking, and remote desktop access does the world bother "going to the office"? I have remotely administered datacenters for years without ever having to step foot into them, yet I have to come into an office so I can sit at a computer terminal (that I could have always accessed from home via VPN). With only 1 meeting a week, I only talk to the people I want to about what I want to, and it usually is never work related, and usually occurs out of the line of site, and over top of the cubicle.
If hardware needs to be fixed or updated, I can see coming in to work. Hell, I can even see coming in to work to have "team meetings", but forcing people to drive into a cube forest, to sit for 8 hours a day, to do something they could easily do at home, and STILL have the same amount of communication options available, is rather ridiculous. Why is the IT industry so anti-technology?
I'd argue that using a virtual office is IN FACT more productive to an IT workforce. This forces you to leverage your workgroup tools, as opposed to getting up, away from your computer, email and telephone, to walk over, sit next to someone who is going to "show you something", and then proceed to talk about absolute nonsense for the next 30 mins until you get back to your desk.
"telecomutting" doesnt mean "anarchy". You can still have enforceable standards such as "logging in" at a certain time and not logging off until a certain time. As mentioned in previous posts, just because you "show up" to an office doesnt mean your working, just like sitting there staring at a wall doesnt mean your not working either.
Its hard to imagine living in a country with legalized prostitution that you could get that upset and want to go on a killing spree. While the video game may have influenced the kid into going on a "killing spree" (the voice from quake comes to mind), thats the price of freedom. I suppose Germany is on its way to banning other articles that incite violence... perhaps a crack at the Korahn and the Bible are next considering video games pale in comparison in the levels of violence that they incite.
Good point, but as you point out, format wars are the exception to the rule. I wonder how "formats" can be fit into other aspects of the economy to therefore make other "formats of cars" a non-viable solution...;-)
YES. More choices is always better. Competition is always better than no competition. Unless of course you are talking about operating systems, which we all know Micr$oft is the only solution. For everything else, competition/choices is good.
I can see it now in the US, Fingerprinting Checkpoints.... or law enforcement can take another angle and simply integrate this technology into existing DUI check points.... hence protecting the children and fighting terrorists all at the same time. Of course, fingerprinting devices, like all other devices, will be quickly defeated with simple, commercially available aids (such as acrylics) for those who really want to beat such a device. The only people this will affect are the average imperfect, trying to abide by the laws they dont understand/know exist, citizens. On a positive note, those are the ones who actually pay the fines, so kudo's for the new innovation to help make local/state/fed government more money.
Its amazing that this hasnt happened more often. I would imagine that running a "Windows Game" on linux isnt in violation of most EULA's that come with todays games. Of course, it would seem pointless to alienate a customer base that solves this technical problem on their own (without having to spend time and money porting your product to another platform), but stranger things have happened.
I wonder if it would be legal to revoke someones liscence or CD-KEY for playing a game developed and liscenced for Windows on a Linux platform (therefore violating the EULA)?
"In 10 to 20 years we'll be able to pharmacologically turn sleep off."
Wow! Right around that time I should be able to stay awake behind the wheel of my flying car powered by a comercially available fusion generator!
In 10-20 years, everything will be great!
Hopefully. NASA is washed up, tied up in red tape to the point where we need to rely on the space agency of a former communist country to do all the real work in space exploration. Perhaps the emergence of private sector investors can lead the way in space exploration / space transit. Let NASA do what NASA has become known for, and thats scientific research, not space travel (perhaps it once was, but anyone needing to put anything into space knows its cheaper to do it from Russia/Kyrzig).
NASA like all government agencies go from doing one thing well (which it is designed for) to only spending money well and doing everything else in a piss poor fashion.
When IT budgets reach a certain point, TCO is less of a concern and liability/blameability is more important. Open Source databases can handle pretty much anything, and there is no lack of expertise in these database systems on the market (for hire). Most large companies want a phone number to call when the crap hits the fan, and they also want to know that these companies have been around for a long time, and will be around for a long time. Most CIO's dont care that everything you need to know is on google, unless you can call google and a google technician will fix the problem over the phone, or in person due to a lavish platinum support contract.
Can CIO's be the big problem in the world?
Slashdot Mirror
If http://www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml/ wasnt bad enough to push the stress limits of an already completely fucked up education system, lets throw in some wild theories about whats causing stress in todays children. Maybe it isnt "homework" but the straight from school to the factory education model we use to teach children today. I've had the unfortunate experience of working as a corrections officer and a factory worker, and I can tell you that there are frightening similiarities between the three. The problem that is well known about the education system is its inability to let children accel at their own pace, when in fact, all the current system does is keep the smartest right in line with the dumbest. At least back in the day before political correctness, the dumb ass of the class was left way behind and the rest were forced to rise to an artificial standard... today we have "No Child Left Behind".... I cant wait for the re-runs "Ow my Balls"...
3 states who's yearly budget is under review are looking for ways to drive down existing IT costs by threatening to pass legislation that will get them huge discounts on Operating System and Office Software .........
But where in the world is this Web 2.0 taking place in the rest of the world? Perhaps in small shops, but certainly not throughout any enterprise or even close to being ingrained as a solution in any major IT firm that I know of. In fact, the IT industry has gone the opposite road from "intuitive and creative" and has wrapped itself around the "software axle".... making policy based on software instead of choosing software that is intuitive to policy. Irregardless of why this has happened, it has happened, and I dont see any corporate CIO or mid level manager coming to accept the wonder widget that bob from accounting replacing the application they foolishly purchased from slick willy the software sales guy.
I think "Cops" has just got a new more entertaining angle...
Thats making a huge assumption that the NSA or any other organisation relies heavily on "one particular encryption mechanism" to transmit information. The industry has moved its focus away from relying on more powerful encryption schemes to more difficult to intercept transmition methods such as http://www.laser2laser.co.nz/laser_products.htm . There is no particular piece of the puzzle that makes a network or data more secure. Believing this is a major "shake up" or is going to cause a "major reaction" shows a lack of understanding about security on the part of the person making the speculation.
Now that NWN2 is under the Atari/Infogrames umbrella, you can kiss the future of NWN2 good bye. I love the NWN2 Alpha version I bought for $59, hopefully the beta wont be sold as an expansion, and oh boy will I be excited when I'm done "pay testing" and can buy the real version of the game!
Dr. Gene Ray, Cubic and Wise Above God.
Ok. So... lemme see if I get this properly. Lets say... Napster, instead of Microsoft, made this product. And lets say that Napster expected every music manufacturer to provide some sort of arbitrary identifier to make music "non transferable"... how soon do you think Napster would be burried in a sea of litigation? Now, does this not seem like something that "enables pirating by design"? Isnt that what Napster got smacked with? "Enabling and encouraging people to pirate" while making money off of the "medium" by advertising. Substitute "advertising revenue" with "product sales revenue" and I fail to see the difference. Well, that and they arent a multi-billion dollar corporation that not only wipes its ass with anti-monopoly legislation and court rulings, but forces those same governments to eat that shit covered toilet paper by "passing the costs" right back to them... the consumer... the government... lolcakez....
Woah! Thank God you woke me up just in time! I almost hit a telephone pole. My hero. I have no doubt that there is little good that will come for Novel from their dealings with M$, I'm just talking the hypothetical.
I dont have any great examples of how this could happen, but if the adage is true "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer" then it could be a very good move for Microsoft to hand pick a flavor of Linux and "support it" in an attempt to draw an audiance of Linux users/enthusiasts into the realm where their IP reigns supreme. M$ has proven, even by "giving away" their software, they INCREASE their market share through simple exposure (does the anti-trust lawsuit ring a bell?). Bottom line, people are going to pick software because it works and how well it interoperates into their environment.
Hrm. Here is a what if scenario. What if Microsoft decides to not go the legal route, and instead starts developing software that helps interoperate Linux to windows, but only through a mechnism that is Novel specific? For example: Novel sells SUSE v25, that is "Windows Enabled", aka comes with that "bonus cd" that contains a propietary software that makes its Linux boxes "just work" with windows systems? For example, whatif you can run some direct x applications almost natively on SUSE because of what Microsoft has done? Now lets say that MCSE also has a subcomponent for SUSE support? As a CIO or a semi-retarded Mid level manager, would you choose a linux that "works well with windows" or a linux that doesnt (not saying that Linux without M$ blessing doesnt work with Windows, I'm just using standard linear "yes or no" type thinking common with mamanagement types in the IT world).
"Novell is left behind. " Will Kirk Cameron play the CEO of Novell?
It was right around the time this device was discovered that Dick Chenney appeared.... Coincidence?!?
"a recent study made in Belgium"... a country the size of a thumbtack with free and effecient public transportation (yes, words dripping with envy) is probably not a great "model" for the societal effects of telecommuting. Probably a better topic would be "The effects of telecommuting in a Eutopian society".
"With attention to form, texture and materials, these machines are intended to make a statement about their owners, much the way an elegant wristwatch, the cut and make of a fine suit or a stylish car can suggest taste and social station." So for the 2% of the population of the Western Nations, beige is out? Look out! I need to keep up with the Hiltons right? Thats like saying "Gold is out, people demand platinum". Yeah, rich people. For the rest of us, having a computer modern enough to get the latest games/appz running on it is good enough. Let me think, a fancy looking case, or a better fan, better video card, more ram... hrm... As far as computers go, the rest of the world isnt going to give 2 squats about what their computers "look" like, much like people dont care what their televisions look like, as in most people put their TV's and Computers inside a peace of furniture. Silly yuppie artsy types...
The IT industry needs to take lessons from the automobile industry. Why, in 2006, with dozens of virtual meeting software solutions available (both free and not free), team work applications, secure networking, and remote desktop access does the world bother "going to the office"? I have remotely administered datacenters for years without ever having to step foot into them, yet I have to come into an office so I can sit at a computer terminal (that I could have always accessed from home via VPN). With only 1 meeting a week, I only talk to the people I want to about what I want to, and it usually is never work related, and usually occurs out of the line of site, and over top of the cubicle. If hardware needs to be fixed or updated, I can see coming in to work. Hell, I can even see coming in to work to have "team meetings", but forcing people to drive into a cube forest, to sit for 8 hours a day, to do something they could easily do at home, and STILL have the same amount of communication options available, is rather ridiculous. Why is the IT industry so anti-technology? I'd argue that using a virtual office is IN FACT more productive to an IT workforce. This forces you to leverage your workgroup tools, as opposed to getting up, away from your computer, email and telephone, to walk over, sit next to someone who is going to "show you something", and then proceed to talk about absolute nonsense for the next 30 mins until you get back to your desk. "telecomutting" doesnt mean "anarchy". You can still have enforceable standards such as "logging in" at a certain time and not logging off until a certain time. As mentioned in previous posts, just because you "show up" to an office doesnt mean your working, just like sitting there staring at a wall doesnt mean your not working either.
Its hard to imagine living in a country with legalized prostitution that you could get that upset and want to go on a killing spree. While the video game may have influenced the kid into going on a "killing spree" (the voice from quake comes to mind), thats the price of freedom. I suppose Germany is on its way to banning other articles that incite violence... perhaps a crack at the Korahn and the Bible are next considering video games pale in comparison in the levels of violence that they incite.
Good point, but as you point out, format wars are the exception to the rule. I wonder how "formats" can be fit into other aspects of the economy to therefore make other "formats of cars" a non-viable solution... ;-)
YES. More choices is always better. Competition is always better than no competition. Unless of course you are talking about operating systems, which we all know Micr$oft is the only solution. For everything else, competition/choices is good.
I can see it now in the US, Fingerprinting Checkpoints.... or law enforcement can take another angle and simply integrate this technology into existing DUI check points.... hence protecting the children and fighting terrorists all at the same time. Of course, fingerprinting devices, like all other devices, will be quickly defeated with simple, commercially available aids (such as acrylics) for those who really want to beat such a device. The only people this will affect are the average imperfect, trying to abide by the laws they dont understand/know exist, citizens. On a positive note, those are the ones who actually pay the fines, so kudo's for the new innovation to help make local/state/fed government more money.
Its amazing that this hasnt happened more often. I would imagine that running a "Windows Game" on linux isnt in violation of most EULA's that come with todays games. Of course, it would seem pointless to alienate a customer base that solves this technical problem on their own (without having to spend time and money porting your product to another platform), but stranger things have happened. I wonder if it would be legal to revoke someones liscence or CD-KEY for playing a game developed and liscenced for Windows on a Linux platform (therefore violating the EULA)?
The girl who told you she only slept with 1 or 2 guys... ;-)
"In 10 to 20 years we'll be able to pharmacologically turn sleep off." Wow! Right around that time I should be able to stay awake behind the wheel of my flying car powered by a comercially available fusion generator! In 10-20 years, everything will be great!
Hopefully. NASA is washed up, tied up in red tape to the point where we need to rely on the space agency of a former communist country to do all the real work in space exploration. Perhaps the emergence of private sector investors can lead the way in space exploration / space transit. Let NASA do what NASA has become known for, and thats scientific research, not space travel (perhaps it once was, but anyone needing to put anything into space knows its cheaper to do it from Russia/Kyrzig). NASA like all government agencies go from doing one thing well (which it is designed for) to only spending money well and doing everything else in a piss poor fashion.
When IT budgets reach a certain point, TCO is less of a concern and liability/blameability is more important. Open Source databases can handle pretty much anything, and there is no lack of expertise in these database systems on the market (for hire). Most large companies want a phone number to call when the crap hits the fan, and they also want to know that these companies have been around for a long time, and will be around for a long time. Most CIO's dont care that everything you need to know is on google, unless you can call google and a google technician will fix the problem over the phone, or in person due to a lavish platinum support contract. Can CIO's be the big problem in the world?