The article explains that:
"Likewise, Vista's increases have come at the expense of Windows XP and Windows 2000, both of which have dropped in usage since January. Windows XP, for instance, accounted for 85.02% of all machines that month but was down to 81.94% in June. Windows overall total has remained flat, ranging between 90.01% and 90.46% through the first six months of the year."
You DID read the article before posting didn't you? Oh wait, I almost forgot, this is Slashdot.
2 days ago I read on slashdot:
Rude Awakening wrote with a PC World article, saying that XP sales will actually be higher next year than they were in 2007. Despite Vista's release, Microsoft admitted this week that it expects the previous version of its operating system to make up a larger percentage of its OS sales in 2008.
Next year, XP sales will be coming at the expense of Vista.
Clinton believed they were there, because at the time Saddam was refusing to let UN inspectors do their job. By the time Bush had invaded, the UN inspectors had already been in and found nothing.
Actually, Clinton and Bush both new that Saddam had chemical and biological weapons because the USA sold them to him (http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0908-08.h tm). However, what they did not know is if he still had them at the time of the invasion (although best guess is Bush did know that Saddam did not have them anymore), where they were, and if they were degraded to the point that they were no longer weaponizable.
Not defending Bush, I didn't vote for him, but I am tired of this WMD crap also.
Personally, the reason I don't get any nintendo machines these days is because of the endless Mario and Zelda remakes. The original NES came out when I was in first grade. Now, I'm almost 30 and have been playing these games virtually my entire life.
This is absolutely correct. I'm 40 and haven't played video games in a while until I started reliving my childhood thru MAME. After getting into MAME, I've been looking at new video games and have learned that with very few exceptions, the "new" games are the games I played when I was a kid, except with better graphics.
Actually, go to http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/underground/ and you will see (very well referenced) that the American education system is designed to fail on purpose. John Gatto's book, Underground History of American Education is free at the site.
Re:Patent Business Model
on
Patents Don't Pay
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
I'd guess that patents are not useless. They may not earn money, but they probably generate a high return in cost avoidance due to lack of competition.
Hemp might be good, but here in rural Indiana, I get 50lbs of feed corn for $9, yeast costs about $1, propane about $2. So, for $12, I can drink about 4 gallons of corn.
Obviously, your politicians think you constituents want lower gas prices instead of a clean lake front. And as they're calculating professionals, they're probably right.
As a resident of Indiana and a Citizen of the USA, I know for a fact my politicians don't give a rats butt about what I or anyone in the state/country want. They only wish to increase their power and get re-elected.
They'll vote once, and tell the masses that they voted on both sides of the issue. They'll send out two mailers, one stating that they upgraded refinery capacity to lower gas prices and created new jobs. The other, if they think you are an environmentalist, will say that the expansion will meet the already tough federal water pollution guidelines.
For those that did not RTFA, which is everyone here but me, the article said "The refinery will still meet federal water pollution guidelines."
I sure don't trust hand-tools to be exactly the size claimed. They're probably reasonably close, but I wouldn't be terribly surprised to find say some tool that is really a 2-inch tool relabeled and sold as a 5cm one, despite it really being 5.08cm
That's why when going to the hardware store to by a 2-inch tool, I pull out my super duper ultra calibrated caliper to ensure that it is exactly 2 inches! I do this because it is really easy to slide an exactly 2 inch wrench onto an exactly 2 inch bolt.
Cell phones and VOIP are only making POTS a thing of the past for people who have good cell or internet service in their house.
If I had mod points left, I'd mod that as funny. Good VOIP and good cell coverage provide convenience and cost savings, not quality. Unfortunately the general acceptance of low quality alternatives only ensures that low quality becomes the norm.
There was a time when military tech was fueled by unlimited money, and the benefits trickled to the civilian market. Then the cold war ended and we found that unlimited money meant unlimited waste. The free market is pretty good at coming up with solutions to problems that the military had problems with.
Compare 1980s camping gear with the field gear the military had (may still have). Civilian tents and backpacks were lighter and better. Same for sleeping bags. Ever seen those tear-offs they use on NASCAR windshields, the military just started (within the last 5 years) looking at those for helicopters.
The idea for these contests is to let a fresh set of eyes solve a problem while saving money. For profit companies and individuals waste money, but someone is usually held "sort of" accountable, with government, waste is rewarded by a larger budget next year.
But who gets to define what is ethical or not? Ethics are like morals, they are somewhat relative and there are a lot of 'grey areas'.
Despite religious differences (or lack of religion) there are actions that every culture has deemed unethical/wrong. When dealing with these issues, right is right, wrong is wrong, and the grey areas are caused by moral cowardice.
When I leave my curtains open, I am not inviting you to look into my bedroom. If my wife is wearing a skirt, she is not inviting you to put a camera under her skirt to take a picture. When the Best Buy customer asks the psuedo-IT guy to remove spyware from his computer, he is not asking to have all his files looked at, read, and copied.
In all three of my examples, nobody is actually hurt, no monetary damage has been done, but a violation of privacy occurred. Privacy is a universal right that only unethical people and politicians try to take from you.
So to answer your question, who gets to define what is ethical, we do.
I have an HSA, and pay cash for my medical needs, the bills are routinely 50% of what they would be without insurance. How do I know, I call and ask (for routine needs) what the bill would be with insurance and ask if there is a cash discount.
Currently, it's only available directly from the manufacturer, and at prices that will likely make it prohibitive for all but the wealthiest home owners
If a homeowner is so concerned about snooping/hacking from some kid down the street, they should be using wired networks and corded phones, not perfect, but requires a little more effort.
IF we've learned anything from the Sopranos, a criminal on the other hand, should be meeting face to face with an intermmediary, and using phrases like "that problem with our friend."
I am frum the National Bank of Nijeria, after providing your name, social security number, bank acount number, and routin information, pleaze instal the attached file so that we may check your securitee settings. Pleaze disreagard all mispelings an gramer mistakes in this email, we were forced to outsource securty email to another countries to save you money and provide the best service that you are familar with us.
The thing that stops thieves is that whole "youll go to jail if you do this" thing.
I disagree, if the person is a thief then they have broken the law and already risked jail. A potential thief may be deterred by jail, but not an actual thief.
I mean how easy is it for a waiter to copy down your credit card number when he goes back to run it?
What stops most waiters from copying your card number is honesty. Despite what the 24-hour news channels would have you believe, most people are honest, even when nobody is looking. On the other hand, the waiter that is a thief may or may not copy your number, just as they may or may not steal another waiter's tips. Thieves like most people, find something that works for them and then stick with it.
I'm going to fully expect them to continue to let the constitution crumble and civil liberties die.
NEWS FLASH: The constitution crumbled long ago. As for the bill of rights, only one (Amendment 3) is not being abused.
For those not familiar with Amendment 3, it states "No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."
Hell, I'd bet $5 that not more than a dozen Congressmen/Senators have even read the constitution (We know the President hasn't read it), but they outlawed internet gambling, and I have no desire to go to jail.
Let's weaken the gene pool some more. We already have people living to reproductive age with characteristics that 50 years ago nature would have 'selected against'.
Posts like the one above always make me laugh because the poster always assumes they are part of the strong, smart, or whatever desired characteristic. Take your timeline back 1000 years, maybe your current traits would have been selected against.
Have you ever gotten sick and taken an antibiotic, required stitches, or maybe have a broken bone in childhood? Then no reproduction for you because you cheated. Those minor health problems today could have killed you if it were not for modern medicine
Did you ever catch the flu? In 1918 you'd be dead.
This is also the attitude that corrupts people in power, they think they are better and know more than everyone else.
The biggest failure of the tests were the answer choices! Because writing skills are so poor, the majority of the tests had at least a few questions and answers which didn't say what the professor thought they said. As a student, I often had to choose between what I knew he meant and what he actually said.
In a previous life, I wrote thousands of questions for standardized tests. What I have found to be the biggest problem in four-choice multiple choice tests is that the test-writer often develops three distractors that are so poor that nearly any student can eliminate one or two without any knowledge of the question.
Many times I look at my daughters tests that she brings home and without reading the question, can pick the correct answer.
If a teacher develops his/her own multiple choice tests, at least make them 6-choice tests. Add an "E - All of the above" and a "F - None of the above" to every question. That also aids in making a more random answer key - before writing a single question, roll a 6-side die once for each question, record the results, write the questions distractors and answers, put the answer where indicated by the roll of the die.
Maybe someone will come up with a foolproof radar and AA missile combo or a stealth missile platform that can be maneuvered close enough to a carrier group to sink most of it.
The DON is trying to develop a radar system to prevent Chinese subs from sinking an aircraft carrier. This shows the threat is real, not the radar countermeasure.
China is trying to develop an ICBM to sink a carrier battle group.
Yes, what we need is a more violent video game in Germany. If anyone doesn't agree with us, we will make them wear a gold star on their clothing so that we can identify the pacifists, and if they fail to play a more violent game, then we will put them in camps and show them the level of violence that Germany is famous for. This will be the final solution to the lack of violence in German video games.
Slashdot Mirror
Not defending Bush, I didn't vote for him, but I am tired of this WMD crap also.
Actually, go to http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/underground/ and you will see (very well referenced) that the American education system is designed to fail on purpose. John Gatto's book, Underground History of American Education is free at the site.
I'd guess that patents are not useless. They may not earn money, but they probably generate a high return in cost avoidance due to lack of competition.
Sorry, I thought I was at http://homedistiller.org/
They'll vote once, and tell the masses that they voted on both sides of the issue. They'll send out two mailers, one stating that they upgraded refinery capacity to lower gas prices and created new jobs. The other, if they think you are an environmentalist, will say that the expansion will meet the already tough federal water pollution guidelines.
For those that did not RTFA, which is everyone here but me, the article said "The refinery will still meet federal water pollution guidelines."
Compare 1980s camping gear with the field gear the military had (may still have). Civilian tents and backpacks were lighter and better. Same for sleeping bags. Ever seen those tear-offs they use on NASCAR windshields, the military just started (within the last 5 years) looking at those for helicopters.
The idea for these contests is to let a fresh set of eyes solve a problem while saving money. For profit companies and individuals waste money, but someone is usually held "sort of" accountable, with government, waste is rewarded by a larger budget next year.
When I leave my curtains open, I am not inviting you to look into my bedroom. If my wife is wearing a skirt, she is not inviting you to put a camera under her skirt to take a picture. When the Best Buy customer asks the psuedo-IT guy to remove spyware from his computer, he is not asking to have all his files looked at, read, and copied.
In all three of my examples, nobody is actually hurt, no monetary damage has been done, but a violation of privacy occurred. Privacy is a universal right that only unethical people and politicians try to take from you.
So to answer your question, who gets to define what is ethical, we do.
IF we've learned anything from the Sopranos, a criminal on the other hand, should be meeting face to face with an intermmediary, and using phrases like "that problem with our friend."
I am frum the National Bank of Nijeria, after providing your name, social security number, bank acount number, and routin information, pleaze instal the attached file so that we may check your securitee settings. Pleaze disreagard all mispelings an gramer mistakes in this email, we were forced to outsource securty email to another countries to save you money and provide the best service that you are familar with us.
For those not familiar with Amendment 3, it states "No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."
Hell, I'd bet $5 that not more than a dozen Congressmen/Senators have even read the constitution (We know the President hasn't read it), but they outlawed internet gambling, and I have no desire to go to jail.
Have you ever gotten sick and taken an antibiotic, required stitches, or maybe have a broken bone in childhood? Then no reproduction for you because you cheated. Those minor health problems today could have killed you if it were not for modern medicine
Did you ever catch the flu? In 1918 you'd be dead.
This is also the attitude that corrupts people in power, they think they are better and know more than everyone else.
Many times I look at my daughters tests that she brings home and without reading the question, can pick the correct answer.
If a teacher develops his/her own multiple choice tests, at least make them 6-choice tests. Add an "E - All of the above" and a "F - None of the above" to every question. That also aids in making a more random answer key - before writing a single question, roll a 6-side die once for each question, record the results, write the questions distractors and answers, put the answer where indicated by the roll of the die.
China is trying to develop an ICBM to sink a carrier battle group.
Yes, what we need is a more violent video game in Germany. If anyone doesn't agree with us, we will make them wear a gold star on their clothing so that we can identify the pacifists, and if they fail to play a more violent game, then we will put them in camps and show them the level of violence that Germany is famous for. This will be the final solution to the lack of violence in German video games.