There is no way you can tell what the person is mentally processing by virtue of the fact that a particular image happened to be reflected in their eye. All you can reasonably conclude is that they were facing in a particular direction. What if, for example, someone was merely staring into space, with their thoughts wandering between and betwixt something completely unrelated? Isn't that what we call daydreaming? What rational conclusion could you you possibly draw in a situation like this, and how could you refute someone's claim to the contrary?
Licensing. Now, instead of "buying" a book, which sometimes can be resold, you license it. You can't loan it to a friend, you can't copy any part of it, blah blah blah, and despite the money you've forked out for its use, the license will most likely expire at the end of the term. So essentially, you're doing little more than renting the use of the information contained in the e-book itself.
If the Linux-based UIs don't imitate first and innovate second there is little chance that Linux will considered as an option. To most users, computers are a tool - nothing more. It just needs to work. The hassle associated with switching to a new OS, especially if it requires substantial re-learning, can be a major turnoff. The first objective, then, should be an alternate environment that will be fairly comfortable, even though it's not Windows.
If the government can routinely blow 10's of billions of dollars on a war that wasn't justified, it can fork over a little extra to make sure the citizens are protected from unnessary, centralized, control over massive amounts of data on U.S. Citizens. We already KNOW ahat happens when so much data is centralized under the control of one entity- just ask almost anyone who has had their identity stolen.
Even having said all this, I think that this MATRIX idea is a waste of money. Nobody knows what a "terrorist" looks like in terms of their spending habits. It's entirely possible that there is no discernible difference. There is plenty of room, however, to flag false positives, as has already been shown with the fed's "no fly" list. Because some of the stuff I've heard is really rather rediculous, I have no inclination to trust the fed with any more data on U.S. citizens than it had before 9/11.
...is that noone has been stupid enough to even try and patent much of what might be seen as prior art- mostly because it's so damned obvious, and patenting it would involve taking ownership of something completely devoid of anything even remotely innovative. Back when poeple actually had both common sense, and a sense of appreciation for real accomplishment, they'd have been embarrassed to submit some of the patents we're seeing today.
Whenever any of these companies call to verify information, I put them on hold and take care of any possible task that might be more important (which is just about anything). By the time I get back to their call, they've always hung up. Bummer.
Surely if you know how to use Linux apps, you can most certainly find your way around the MS stuff. In a sense, you are more valuable to the employer because you have a more general understanding of the apps, the system, and how it all works. Don't employers want people that have "learned how to learn" so that they aren't stuck in such a narrowly-defined role?
People like going to bookstores as an end in itself.
I was fortunate enough to have Clinton show up at a local book store. This boggles the mind. I'm still trying to figure out why anyone would give this guy their hard-earned money, much less have him sign a book he wrote. What a way to "punish" a former president who singlehandedly turned our system of justice into a three-ring circus, and redefined the word "sex" for people the world over.
Considering the way that Congress classifies even the most mundane stuff these days, and assuming that this practice has spread (as it helps the CYA crowd) there's probably a good chance that this information really wasn't of any importance. For all we know, it could have been someone's list of Pr0n sites.
You CAN win. You just have to divorce yourself from the mentality that has somehow made it "ok" to pirate music if you happen to think it's too expensive, or if you simply don't feel like paying for it.
As long as people continue to shove money into their warchest, they can expect more of the same. This issue has almost become source of amusement- it's like the consumer public is paying the RIAA/MPAA to build a lynching platform, and to supply the rope and enforcement detail that go with it.
The solution is simple: stop buying, stop stealing, stop playing the game.
I started using OpenOffice to do some business-related stuff (for the record, I don't have any M$ software installed, save for XP). I kept encountering situations where the software would second-guess me- capitalizing the first letter of every paragraph, for example, assuming I wanted an outline every time I indented a paragraph, etc. I kept asking myself, "How could the developers be so LAME as to assume they know what I want to accomplish more than I do?" Turns out, almost all of this stuff is under the user's control, it's just all set to "on" by default. Once I changed the settings, everything worked more like I'd expect from a piece of software that's designed reasonably well (though there's still room for improvement).
I'm not so sure it's a good idea to have all this enabled by default, but then again, when you get an M$ convert that has grown used to seeing all this "let me think for you, I know better" crap, maybe it makes some sense.
One thing I've noticed is that children have boatloads of free time. Unless they're doing something dangerous, how they ultimately choose to use it relatively inconsequential. However, by adulthood, you learn that time is as much of a commodity as anything else - once it's used, it's gone. As such, you have to invest wisel to reap the maximum return on time invested. I think adults have some fear that if they embark on a new learning expedition, there will be no payoff, and hence, their time will have been wasted- time that could have been spent doing something else. The irony here is that this "something else" is often more of what is already known to work- maybe not the best, maybe not even good, but enough to get a known result. This fear can lead to stagnation, which might be perceived as an inability.
I love learning, but I have the same fear. There's so MUCH to learn, and every time I decide to look at something, I find myself asking, "how will I use the knowledge I gain from this experience?" It would be great not have to worry about this, but time is limited.
I'm sure that most MBAs aren't that passionate about business, they just want to make the money.
That would help to explain the endemic cheating going on now in our universities and high schools. The educational process is merely a means to an end, regardless of how shoddy it is- as long as we get that cushy job with a nice paycheck, whether we deserve it or not.
In thinking about it, all they know is that you may have checked out a particular book. There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that you actually read it. In fact, they'd have a hard time proving that you read any of them. If merely having certain books can help with an arrest or conviction, it's time to toss in the towel and start over.
It goes to show that working conditions alone will not yield the desired results. It's the culture that will make the final determination where innovation is conerned. Quite frankly, I don't think Microsoft has that kind of culture- hell, the company's entire history is based on copying the work of others.
Ballman and Gates have quite a challenge ahead of them, as changing the culture of a company that size will not be an easy task. It may be that they even have to replace some key people who are so entrenched in the "copy and extend" mentality.
I'd say this is just the next logical step. Before, the terminals were dumb. They'll still be dumb (or relatively so), but just offer a more robust user environment.
Nice post. I agree with what you're saying. In fact, despite the cost of some software, I don't understand what entitles people to use software "even if they never would have bought it anyway." If someone never would have bought it, then they shouldn't bs using it.
The failed business model in question is the record companies' stranglehold on the music industry.
This "stranglehold" is totally imagined, and if anything, it's totally self-induced. We, the consumer public, have gotten, and will continue getting, exactly what we've been paying for. We must, because otherwise, we wouldn't continue paying for it, right? But we do. Who is really to blame for prolonging and exacerbating the copyright problem? Is it the companies who own the material, or is it our fault for continuing to fill their warchest with our money?
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There is no way you can tell what the person is mentally processing by virtue of the fact that a particular image happened to be reflected in their eye. All you can reasonably conclude is that they were facing in a particular direction. What if, for example, someone was merely staring into space, with their thoughts wandering between and betwixt something completely unrelated? Isn't that what we call daydreaming? What rational conclusion could you you possibly draw in a situation like this, and how could you refute someone's claim to the contrary?
If you were Joe CEO, what would look more impressive on your resume- that you increased profits by 70% (via outsourcing), or that revenue was flat?
Licensing. Now, instead of "buying" a book, which sometimes can be resold, you license it. You can't loan it to a friend, you can't copy any part of it, blah blah blah, and despite the money you've forked out for its use, the license will most likely expire at the end of the term. So essentially, you're doing little more than renting the use of the information contained in the e-book itself.
If U.S. scientists could harness the power of the atom, why couldn't they figure out that underground tanks LEAK?
If the Linux-based UIs don't imitate first and innovate second there is little chance that Linux will considered as an option. To most users, computers are a tool - nothing more. It just needs to work. The hassle associated with switching to a new OS, especially if it requires substantial re-learning, can be a major turnoff. The first objective, then, should be an alternate environment that will be fairly comfortable, even though it's not Windows.
If the government can routinely blow 10's of billions of dollars on a war that wasn't justified, it can fork over a little extra to make sure the citizens are protected from unnessary, centralized, control over massive amounts of data on U.S. Citizens. We already KNOW ahat happens when so much data is centralized under the control of one entity- just ask almost anyone who has had their identity stolen.
Even having said all this, I think that this MATRIX idea is a waste of money. Nobody knows what a "terrorist" looks like in terms of their spending habits. It's entirely possible that there is no discernible difference. There is plenty of room, however, to flag false positives, as has already been shown with the fed's "no fly" list. Because some of the stuff I've heard is really rather rediculous, I have no inclination to trust the fed with any more data on U.S. citizens than it had before 9/11.
...is that noone has been stupid enough to even try and patent much of what might be seen as prior art- mostly because it's so damned obvious, and patenting it would involve taking ownership of something completely devoid of anything even remotely innovative. Back when poeple actually had both common sense, and a sense of appreciation for real accomplishment, they'd have been embarrassed to submit some of the patents we're seeing today.
Whenever any of these companies call to verify information, I put them on hold and take care of any possible task that might be more important (which is just about anything). By the time I get back to their call, they've always hung up. Bummer.
Surely if you know how to use Linux apps, you can most certainly find your way around the MS stuff. In a sense, you are more valuable to the employer because you have a more general understanding of the apps, the system, and how it all works. Don't employers want people that have "learned how to learn" so that they aren't stuck in such a narrowly-defined role?
People like going to bookstores as an end in itself.
I was fortunate enough to have Clinton show up at a local book store. This boggles the mind. I'm still trying to figure out why anyone would give this guy their hard-earned money, much less have him sign a book he wrote. What a way to "punish" a former president who singlehandedly turned our system of justice into a three-ring circus, and redefined the word "sex" for people the world over.
Considering the way that Congress classifies even the most mundane stuff these days, and assuming that this practice has spread (as it helps the CYA crowd) there's probably a good chance that this information really wasn't of any importance. For all we know, it could have been someone's list of Pr0n sites.
You CAN win. You just have to divorce yourself from the mentality that has somehow made it "ok" to pirate music if you happen to think it's too expensive, or if you simply don't feel like paying for it.
The program will be reincarnated with new spin and a new name- much like what happened with TIA.
As long as people continue to shove money into their warchest, they can expect more of the same. This issue has almost become source of amusement- it's like the consumer public is paying the RIAA/MPAA to build a lynching platform, and to supply the rope and enforcement detail that go with it.
The solution is simple: stop buying, stop stealing, stop playing the game.
Ditch plastic. Use cash.
An individual who has too much money and time on his hands....
Either that, or this is a PR move to have people see him as a visionary, which he clearly isn't, never has been, and never will be.
I started using OpenOffice to do some business-related stuff (for the record, I don't have any M$ software installed, save for XP). I kept encountering situations where the software would second-guess me- capitalizing the first letter of every paragraph, for example, assuming I wanted an outline every time I indented a paragraph, etc. I kept asking myself, "How could the developers be so LAME as to assume they know what I want to accomplish more than I do?" Turns out, almost all of this stuff is under the user's control, it's just all set to "on" by default. Once I changed the settings, everything worked more like I'd expect from a piece of software that's designed reasonably well (though there's still room for improvement).
I'm not so sure it's a good idea to have all this enabled by default, but then again, when you get an M$ convert that has grown used to seeing all this "let me think for you, I know better" crap, maybe it makes some sense.
One thing I've noticed is that children have boatloads of free time. Unless they're doing something dangerous, how they ultimately choose to use it relatively inconsequential. However, by adulthood, you learn that time is as much of a commodity as anything else - once it's used, it's gone. As such, you have to invest wisel to reap the maximum return on time invested. I think adults have some fear that if they embark on a new learning expedition, there will be no payoff, and hence, their time will have been wasted- time that could have been spent doing something else. The irony here is that this "something else" is often more of what is already known to work- maybe not the best, maybe not even good, but enough to get a known result. This fear can lead to stagnation, which might be perceived as an inability.
I love learning, but I have the same fear. There's so MUCH to learn, and every time I decide to look at something, I find myself asking, "how will I use the knowledge I gain from this experience?" It would be great not have to worry about this, but time is limited.
I'm sure that most MBAs aren't that passionate about business, they just want to make the money.
That would help to explain the endemic cheating going on now in our universities and high schools. The educational process is merely a means to an end, regardless of how shoddy it is- as long as we get that cushy job with a nice paycheck, whether we deserve it or not.
In thinking about it, all they know is that you may have checked out a particular book. There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that you actually read it. In fact, they'd have a hard time proving that you read any of them. If merely having certain books can help with an arrest or conviction, it's time to toss in the towel and start over.
It goes to show that working conditions alone will not yield the desired results. It's the culture that will make the final determination where innovation is conerned. Quite frankly, I don't think Microsoft has that kind of culture- hell, the company's entire history is based on copying the work of others.
Ballman and Gates have quite a challenge ahead of them, as changing the culture of a company that size will not be an easy task. It may be that they even have to replace some key people who are so entrenched in the "copy and extend" mentality.
I'd say this is just the next logical step. Before, the terminals were dumb. They'll still be dumb (or relatively so), but just offer a more robust user environment.
I have, but I very much dislike the idea of a piece of software dictating how I have to organize my bookmarks just so I can get my screen back.
Nice post. I agree with what you're saying. In fact, despite the cost of some software, I don't understand what entitles people to use software "even if they never would have bought it anyway." If someone never would have bought it, then they shouldn't bs using it.
The failed business model in question is the record companies' stranglehold on the music industry.
This "stranglehold" is totally imagined, and if anything, it's totally self-induced. We, the consumer public, have gotten, and will continue getting, exactly what we've been paying for. We must, because otherwise, we wouldn't continue paying for it, right? But we do. Who is really to blame for prolonging and exacerbating the copyright problem? Is it the companies who own the material, or is it our fault for continuing to fill their warchest with our money?