I wouldn't worry about it too much. When the population becomes low enough big corporations will simply spin off a few companies to manufacture consumers.
It was completely predictable though. We have a large segment of the population that won't pay 99 cents for a song. There was no way they were going to pay anything if there was anything resembling a free alternative. I have to admit I'm prone to go for free too, if it is legal and not overly inconvenient.
There might be a second battle where various providers will offer their services for the least advertising. If they can prove a big enough audience advertisers will still pay big bucks for the spots. It happened in radio. Of course radio suddenly found itself competing with a newer more immersive media, so maybe not.
I set it on the seat of my truck where it ended up covered by some papers. Later I set a wood box there. That might not have done it, but the vibration of driving on less than perfect roads certainly did. The screen was crushed in the middle.
All of that could have been avoided if I hadn't gotten out of the habit of keeping it in its case. But the case that came with it was awkward, so I took it out often and sometimes forgot to take it with me.
Will the iPad be sturdier? I think so, but wouldn't want to put it through a similar test just to find out. The Kindle screen is softer and less protected than most of the newer touch screens on phones, but the increased size of the iPad will counter that to some unknown degree.
Conclusion, buy a good protective case that is easy to use and unlikely to be left behind.
I recently destroyed my kindle, so I've been paying close attention the iPad's potential as an ebook reader.
I agree with most people that it won't be as good an ebook reading gadget as some of the specialized products out there, for various reasons.
It does have one thing going for it that I haven't seen anywhere else. It will work with both Amazon, and Barns and Noble via announced apps. Plus there will be the iBook store which will also allow you to add DRM free ePub books to the mix.
Does anyone know of another ebook reader that will have as large a selection of books and prices to choose from? For competition's sake I hope the big online sellers will come out with something for Android based tablets too.
Because, seriously, who cares how perfect the gadget is if you can't get the books you want?
So, then look into the Zune HD. Creative's Plaszma also looks promising. The point was that there are great PDA's out there. They just aren't called PDA's anymore.
I'm kind of tired of "this is just a that without the widget." It was an obvious exaggeration when it was first used. Now it's just parrot speak.
Actually the iPod Touch makes and excellent PDA. The Zune HD probably does too. I haven't played with it. I'm guessing there are several other options out there, even an Android one.
It's not that good PDA's went away, they just morphed into PDA style apps on more capable devices. Of course most of those devices are cellphones. Luckily not all of them are.
One of the great weaknesses of our system is that it is polarized into two dominant parties. Every movement or ideology that want's a fighting chance is forced to sleep in the same house with every relative, in-law, and squatter.
Liberals or Conservatives, the only thing holding them together is their fear of the other party.
On the internet, and without a neutral referee, declaring yourself the winner is just declaring the argument lost with a bit of arrogance thrown in.
The purpose of an argument is to convince or prove. The only win is when the other side suddenly discovers that what you've been saying is what they meant to say from the beginning, or would have said if they had possessed all the facts.
For some reason people always seem to forget that apple is really a hardware company that happens to have an OS.
For some reason people keep arguing about Apple being a hardware company, or Apple being a software company. Why? Probably because if they aren't one or the other then it is almost impossible to make a direct comparison between them and other computer related companies. Apple still operates the way early computer companies did. They provide the whole package. The hardware isn't just so they can sell software. The software isn't just so they can sell hardware.
They care about their software. After the ooh shiny shock wears off, this is what keeps a Mac user coming back. They care about the hardware. Besides the shiny factor, without good hardware your software runs like crap.
Apple makes computers the way most companies make electronics devices. Heck, they make them exactly like they make their iPod. Or more accurately, the iPod was a natural extension of thier business model to the mp3 market. Make the whole product. Control the complete user experience.
The only real argument is why Apple does these things. The evil Apple advocates will tell you it is pure corporate greed. The pro Apple fans will tell you it's to provide the best possible product. I say it's some of both. After all, I rarely have a single motive for the things I do, and I'm just one person. A corporation's motives are probably a bit more complicated.
And yes, I use a Mac. For me it is currently the best choice among imperfect choices. And yes, I occasionally take a poke at Windows users. Or did. Of course I put up with my fare share of pokes about being a Mac users in a Windows IT department too. Fortunately no one I worked with (including myself) every felt a need to hate another person or group of people simply because they liked or advocated a particular computer
By my highly unscientific and unsubstantiated count, the number of highly vocal (postal?) pro-apple and anti-apple slashdotters are about equal.
If I have ato make a choice I'd rather read someone unreasonably gush about something they love rather than someone vent spleen and name call. That is the important divide, not which computer or OS you like.
Luckily there are still a few people posting thoughtful arguments and comments. Those are a pleasure to read. Please save your mod points for them.
Why is 3cm too much for connecting stereo components?
It's not, I suppose, as long as you are content with having to stack all your items on top of each other. I'd like a little more flexibility myself. Not all stereo furniture is made equal. Besides, wires aren't really that big thing for stereos. You hook them up once every few years, typical. The wires are out of sight. I'm sure there are some people who move their stereo's every week, but the improvement in convenience would be pretty minor for most of us.
I'd imagine this will be used more for something like connecting all your stereo components together (including video switching) without connecting any wires between them, etc...
Think '3cm', the maximum coupling distance according to the article. Definitely not a stereo hookup alternative.
I'd say the most obvious use is a universal sync (and mayby charge) pad. Set your Sony camera, mp3 player, phone, etc. on the pad and it automatically syncs with the computer. Set them on top of your printer and auto transfer photos. Set them on top of your TV and auto slideshow the contents.
This is 100+ times faster than Bluetooth. It is clearly *not* designed for the same uses.
That I agree with. It's more about getting rid of contacts and connectors. No more plugging stuff in, but you still have to physically put them together.
HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THIS TO SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT A REPO IS
You tell them that it's a lot like buying music or movies on iTunes, Amazon, or whatever. Only it's free.
You start a program, it lists a bunch of software you can use. You can use a search box and some categories to try and find what you want. Read the descriptions, pick what you want, and say go. In a few minutes, TA DA, you have a new program.
And if you don't like it, well it was free. Just remove it with the same program and go get another to try.
I don't know if the other repositories are quite this simple, but Ubuntu's is.
Best leave the repository settings at default to begin with. Once they are used to using it, and start talking about not finding all the programs they where hopping for, show them how to expand on their choices.
Disclaimer: I'm an Apple user. I keep Ubuntu as a second boot, just so I'll know what's going on if they ever get good enough to make me switch, or I go broke. Whichever comes first. My definition of 'good enough' may not be yours.
Don't confuse the efficacy of the system with the stupidity of the voters. In fact, the first makes the second more obvious.
And the second is overwhelmingly more significant the any faults of the second, assuming that the system can be made to work at all.
Ideally all voters would be educated, well informed, and motivated. Parties rarely encourage anything but the last. Educated people tend to be opinionated and argumentative. A well informed person knows better to take anyone's, even a fellow party member's, statements at face value. A good voter is a headache for anyone who doesn't agree with them, party member or not.
Any system involving individuals voting on a decision is going to develop cleft points and divide into parties (or their equivalents). You might say that the reality of democracy has inherent flaws that work against the ideal of democracy. Or at least the ideal of the perfect voter. Still it's a bit better than the alternatives. People being people, there are always going to be at least a few good voters trying to keep the system running
I won't argue with that. I favor a free market as well, for pretty much the same reasons. That, and it has the word free in it.
However I disagree about people not being basicly good. I believe most people are mostly good most of the time. I submit as my evidence that any economic system works at all. Most people will abide by the rules, and a suprising number will do so even when no one is looking. Ever give back a cashier the extra change they accidently gave you?
Seems to me that all economic systems could be explained as swarm theory, and that none of them will work perfectly.
From the explanation, swarm theory says that individuals act on simple rules regardless of their understanding of the overall goals of the system. The rules result in a self organizing system. Whether we consider the rules inherently selfish isn't really important. All that matters is the result. In economics, for instance, what maters is a workable distribution of work and products. Both Communism and free market could achieve these in theory. They both fall short in reality.
Humans are not a swarm. They make decisions based on complex rules, a complex understanding of of the world, and a complex often contradictory set of goals. Any resemblance to swarm behavior is purely superficial. And here is the telling point. Ants and bees can't change their minds about what rules to follow. We can.
Which is the main reason that no economic system is ever going to be perfect, at least as long as it is based on simplistic rules. Not everyone in the system is going to agree to play by the rules. Most won't agree on the exact interpretation of the rules. Large groups will want their own rules, or at least their own subset of rules.
So, free market requires some unfreedom. Communism requires some inequalty. And though I've never studied socialism, I suspect it needs to be a bit unsocial at times.
Slashdot Mirror
I wouldn't worry about it too much. When the population becomes low enough big corporations will simply spin off a few companies to manufacture consumers.
Darn. Does that mean all this ranting and arguing was for nothing? The judge didn't even consult us before making his decision? Can we sue for that?
Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
Judging from your tag line the responses you are getting here are how people typically react to you.
Seven years later?
It was completely predictable though. We have a large segment of the population that won't pay 99 cents for a song. There was no way they were going to pay anything if there was anything resembling a free alternative. I have to admit I'm prone to go for free too, if it is legal and not overly inconvenient.
There might be a second battle where various providers will offer their services for the least advertising. If they can prove a big enough audience advertisers will still pay big bucks for the spots. It happened in radio. Of course radio suddenly found itself competing with a newer more immersive media, so maybe not.
I set it on the seat of my truck where it ended up covered by some papers. Later I set a wood box there. That might not have done it, but the vibration of driving on less than perfect roads certainly did. The screen was crushed in the middle.
All of that could have been avoided if I hadn't gotten out of the habit of keeping it in its case. But the case that came with it was awkward, so I took it out often and sometimes forgot to take it with me.
Will the iPad be sturdier? I think so, but wouldn't want to put it through a similar test just to find out. The Kindle screen is softer and less protected than most of the newer touch screens on phones, but the increased size of the iPad will counter that to some unknown degree.
Conclusion, buy a good protective case that is easy to use and unlikely to be left behind.
I recently destroyed my kindle, so I've been paying close attention the iPad's potential as an ebook reader.
I agree with most people that it won't be as good an ebook reading gadget as some of the specialized products out there, for various reasons.
It does have one thing going for it that I haven't seen anywhere else. It will work with both Amazon, and Barns and Noble via announced apps. Plus there will be the iBook store which will also allow you to add DRM free ePub books to the mix.
Does anyone know of another ebook reader that will have as large a selection of books and prices to choose from? For competition's sake I hope the big online sellers will come out with something for Android based tablets too.
Because, seriously, who cares how perfect the gadget is if you can't get the books you want?
So, then look into the Zune HD. Creative's Plaszma also looks promising. The point was that there are great PDA's out there. They just aren't called PDA's anymore.
I'm kind of tired of "this is just a that without the widget." It was an obvious exaggeration when it was first used. Now it's just parrot speak.
Except nobody makes a decent PDA any more...
Actually the iPod Touch makes and excellent PDA. The Zune HD probably does too. I haven't played with it. I'm guessing there are several other options out there, even an Android one.
It's not that good PDA's went away, they just morphed into PDA style apps on more capable devices. Of course most of those devices are cellphones. Luckily not all of them are.
One of the great weaknesses of our system is that it is polarized into two dominant parties. Every movement or ideology that want's a fighting chance is forced to sleep in the same house with every relative, in-law, and squatter.
Liberals or Conservatives, the only thing holding them together is their fear of the other party.
On the internet, and without a neutral referee, declaring yourself the winner is just declaring the argument lost with a bit of arrogance thrown in.
The purpose of an argument is to convince or prove. The only win is when the other side suddenly discovers that what you've been saying is what they meant to say from the beginning, or would have said if they had possessed all the facts.
For some reason people keep arguing about Apple being a hardware company, or Apple being a software company. Why? Probably because if they aren't one or the other then it is almost impossible to make a direct comparison between them and other computer related companies. Apple still operates the way early computer companies did. They provide the whole package. The hardware isn't just so they can sell software. The software isn't just so they can sell hardware.
They care about their software. After the ooh shiny shock wears off, this is what keeps a Mac user coming back. They care about the hardware. Besides the shiny factor, without good hardware your software runs like crap.
Apple makes computers the way most companies make electronics devices. Heck, they make them exactly like they make their iPod. Or more accurately, the iPod was a natural extension of thier business model to the mp3 market. Make the whole product. Control the complete user experience.
The only real argument is why Apple does these things. The evil Apple advocates will tell you it is pure corporate greed. The pro Apple fans will tell you it's to provide the best possible product. I say it's some of both. After all, I rarely have a single motive for the things I do, and I'm just one person. A corporation's motives are probably a bit more complicated.
And yes, I use a Mac. For me it is currently the best choice among imperfect choices. And yes, I occasionally take a poke at Windows users. Or did. Of course I put up with my fare share of pokes about being a Mac users in a Windows IT department too. Fortunately no one I worked with (including myself) every felt a need to hate another person or group of people simply because they liked or advocated a particular computer
By my highly unscientific and unsubstantiated count, the number of highly vocal (postal?) pro-apple and anti-apple slashdotters are about equal.
If I have ato make a choice I'd rather read someone unreasonably gush about something they love rather than someone vent spleen and name call. That is the important divide, not which computer or OS you like.
Luckily there are still a few people posting thoughtful arguments and comments. Those are a pleasure to read. Please save your mod points for them.
It's not, I suppose, as long as you are content with having to stack all your items on top of each other. I'd like a little more flexibility myself. Not all stereo furniture is made equal. Besides, wires aren't really that big thing for stereos. You hook them up once every few years, typical. The wires are out of sight. I'm sure there are some people who move their stereo's every week, but the improvement in convenience would be pretty minor for most of us.
Think '3cm', the maximum coupling distance according to the article. Definitely not a stereo hookup alternative.
I'd say the most obvious use is a universal sync (and mayby charge) pad. Set your Sony camera, mp3 player, phone, etc. on the pad and it automatically syncs with the computer. Set them on top of your printer and auto transfer photos. Set them on top of your TV and auto slideshow the contents.
That I agree with. It's more about getting rid of contacts and connectors. No more plugging stuff in, but you still have to physically put them together.
You tell them that it's a lot like buying music or movies on iTunes, Amazon, or whatever. Only it's free.
You start a program, it lists a bunch of software you can use. You can use a search box and some categories to try and find what you want. Read the descriptions, pick what you want, and say go. In a few minutes, TA DA, you have a new program.
And if you don't like it, well it was free. Just remove it with the same program and go get another to try.
I don't know if the other repositories are quite this simple, but Ubuntu's is.
Best leave the repository settings at default to begin with. Once they are used to using it, and start talking about not finding all the programs they where hopping for, show them how to expand on their choices.
Disclaimer: I'm an Apple user. I keep Ubuntu as a second boot, just so I'll know what's going on if they ever get good enough to make me switch, or I go broke. Whichever comes first. My definition of 'good enough' may not be yours.And the second is overwhelmingly more significant the any faults of the first
preview, preview, preview... sigh
Don't confuse the efficacy of the system with the stupidity of the voters. In fact, the first makes the second more obvious.
And the second is overwhelmingly more significant the any faults of the second, assuming that the system can be made to work at all.
Ideally all voters would be educated, well informed, and motivated. Parties rarely encourage anything but the last. Educated people tend to be opinionated and argumentative. A well informed person knows better to take anyone's, even a fellow party member's, statements at face value. A good voter is a headache for anyone who doesn't agree with them, party member or not.
Any system involving individuals voting on a decision is going to develop cleft points and divide into parties (or their equivalents). You might say that the reality of democracy has inherent flaws that work against the ideal of democracy. Or at least the ideal of the perfect voter. Still it's a bit better than the alternatives. People being people, there are always going to be at least a few good voters trying to keep the system running
I won't argue with that. I favor a free market as well, for pretty much the same reasons. That, and it has the word free in it.
However I disagree about people not being basicly good. I believe most people are mostly good most of the time. I submit as my evidence that any economic system works at all. Most people will abide by the rules, and a suprising number will do so even when no one is looking. Ever give back a cashier the extra change they accidently gave you?
Seems to me that all economic systems could be explained as swarm theory, and that none of them will work perfectly.
From the explanation, swarm theory says that individuals act on simple rules regardless of their understanding of the overall goals of the system. The rules result in a self organizing system. Whether we consider the rules inherently selfish isn't really important. All that matters is the result. In economics, for instance, what maters is a workable distribution of work and products. Both Communism and free market could achieve these in theory. They both fall short in reality.
Humans are not a swarm. They make decisions based on complex rules, a complex understanding of of the world, and a complex often contradictory set of goals. Any resemblance to swarm behavior is purely superficial. And here is the telling point. Ants and bees can't change their minds about what rules to follow. We can.
Which is the main reason that no economic system is ever going to be perfect, at least as long as it is based on simplistic rules. Not everyone in the system is going to agree to play by the rules. Most won't agree on the exact interpretation of the rules. Large groups will want their own rules, or at least their own subset of rules.
So, free market requires some unfreedom. Communism requires some inequalty. And though I've never studied socialism, I suspect it needs to be a bit unsocial at times.