Has Yahoo been more innovative than Google in the past few years? Perhaps not. Has Yahoo been more innovative than Google in the past 10 years? Well that's obvious.
All I know is that I've been using maps.yahoo.com, yp.yahoo.com, movies.yahoo.com, etc. for countless years before I'd even heard of Google.
Outside of Yahoo/Google, babelfish.altavista.com was great. Of course Yahoo owns it now, but I'm speaking for the original creation.
What I'm trying to say is that you'd think from reading posts around here that all Google does is fabulously original things while Yahoo copies it all. That's just not true.
By the way, I can view a traffic overlay on Yahoo Maps now. Cool!
As for buying companies to get your technology, Google bought Dejanews and then provided the same service (in a now-worse interface). If memory serves, they also bought their blogging product (and jumped on that fad).
An agent (CSA) runs on all endpoints and checks them for AV, firewall, OS patches, etc.
Does it support Macs, Linux, and BSD? I would be surprised if it did. Though I guess you don't need AV and such with non-Windows machines, but some sort of visibility into these systems would be nice.
There is very few end-user software out there that makes a legitimate effort to support all platforms. Though actually, Cisco's VPN client does a pretty good job. They have Windows, Mac, and Linux versions.
Unfortunately, it kind of needs to be done if they're going to make any money off it. The first buy is because a lot of work went into making the software, the monthly fee is necessary to maintain the servers, pay the GMs, etc., and the expansion packs cost money for the same reason the main software does.
I think this is because they structure their pricing so that the initial media pays for the development and the monthly fee pays for servers, bandwidth, support, etc.
I would rather they just charged more per month and included the game development costs in the monthly fee. Then give away the core game itself for free electronically.
Or, even better, give people the choice: buy the game and pay less per month, or get the game free but pay more per month. And if people decide they are going to stick with the game and like it, give them the option of paying a flat $40 to go down to the cheaper monthly pricing.
Carl
Is it worth trying Anarcy Online?
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· Score: 2, Interesting
I've always been curious about AO but I never have any desire to pay much for Massive Multiplayer games after Everquest. To me, it is ridiculous that they make you pay for the original game media and then ALSO charge you a monthly fee! And then keep grabbing for your money with expansion packs, ugh.
So anyway, since AO is free for 14 days is it worth giving it a shot? I played EQ for a couple years, was addicted to it, got depressed by my "/played" and quit it one day. I've been playing a bit of Planetside lately because that's only $10 to download, but I doubt I'll keep it up much longer. It gets rather boring and repetitive. Is AO "EQ in space"? Or is it more interesting?
veto stuff from Congress (which with a Libertarian president, would probably be absolutely everything that comes across his or her desk)
...and they can, in turn, override that veto. Buzz.
But overriding vetos is harder than passing legislation, if I remember correctly from junior high. So it would still make some sort of difference, even if it is only a delay.
appoint a Cabinet, Supreme Court judges, etc.
The president nominates, and then the nomination has to be approved... by the senate. So, in all actuality, the senate does the appointing. Buzz.
Then how did Reagan get conservative justices appointed at all in the 80's with a Democratic congress? By your definition it should have been impossible. Buzz back.
Imagine, just for a moment, that a libertarian manages to get elected as president (extremely unlikely, of course, but bear with me... please imagine an undetectable voting machine malfunction in the electoral college.) Of course, this new president has a democratic/republican congress. Exactly how much do you think he or she could get accomplished?
The answer is not zero, as you stated. The president can:
veto stuff from Congress (which with a Libertarian president, would probably be absolutely everything that comes across his or her desk)
appoint a Cabinet, Supreme Court judges, etc.
Pardon prisoners (I've never understood why the President has the power to do this but anyway...). Imagine a Libertarian president pardoning every single non-violent drug offender. That would clear up a lot of room in our prisons for real criminals!
..and that is why boycotts rarely work. Most people simply don't care about how their products are made, as long as they are cheap and satisfy their needs. That is why abuse of corporate power continues to occur, and will occur under a Libertarian rule - boycotts are simply ineffective.
It sounds to me like the real problem is public apathy. I doubt that's something that can be fixed politically.
I think Microsoft is a pretty good counter-example to this Libertarian argument.
How? OK, the LP is in charge and they do nothing about Microsoft ever again. What bad things will happen that government interference could have prevented? Remember, Apple and Linux are still around.
Similarly, in the Libertarian worldview, why is "Big Government" bad, while "Big Corporations" are fine. Ideally power shouldn't be centralized, but if it is going to be centralized somewhere, shouldn't it be in an institution that is directly accountable to the people, i.e. the Government?
Speaking for myself personally, that's easy. If I decide to boycott the government, by refusing to pay Social Security for instance, someone will eventually show up at my house with a gun to make me do it or send me to prison.
But I am perfectly free to boycott McDonald's, Mitsubishi, Exxon, or whatever company I choose.
I think it's funny that there will be thousands of people out there in November passionately voting for John Kerry because they think Bush is bad for the environment... then they'll drive away in their Mitsubishi car. Mitsubishi is one of the worst contributors in the world to rain forest destruction.
You seem to have forgotten the LP position. It's rather ironic that you postulate about a viable 3rd party, then continue the 2-party mindset in your post.
Anyway, here are the LP positions:
Gay Rights: strongly against the marriage amendment.
Abortion Rights: generally pro-choice, though there could be exceptions the way I see it. The LP believes that you can do anything you want as long as you do not harm anyone else, so as usual it comes down to whether you believe a zygote or fetus or whatever is a person or not.
Gun Control: 2nd amendment, plain and simple. That would be letting the Assault Weapons Ban expire, according to your example.
Taxes: Drastically reduce government spending and cut or eliminate taxes wherever possible, for everyone equally.
Stem Cells: I'm not really educated well enough on this one to say. Maybe a good question for Badnarik!
Third parties also gain in less inflammatory ways when they receive more votes. It helps them receive campaign funding from the federal government, for one.
The Libertarian Party has qualified for federal funding in the past, but has turned it down. It is against their principles to accept government handouts. It also proves to me that they are serious about living up to their principles (how many other politicians do you know that would ever turn down perfectly legal money?).
There's no reason why the libertanian candidate can't win - but saying "Pot should be legal" and "there should be no regulation with no middle ground" (which is what that party is perceived to stand for) won't win it. They need to do better.
The LP position on drug legalization is simply an application of their principles. This is how all political parties are supposed to be, right?
For everyone's benefit, here is the LP's Statement of Principles, from my membership card:
We hold that all individuals have the right to exercise sole dominion over their own lives, and have the right to live in whatever manner they choose, so long as they do not forcibly interfere with the equal right of others to live in whatever manner they choose.
Italics are from original, not added.
It is left as an exercise to the reader to apply above principles to various current issues, such as the aforementioned drug legalization, gay marriage, social security, universal health care, gun control, etc.
I think what you are really saying above is that the LP is too principled to win. Only wishy-washy centrists are able to win major political elections. I don't disagree, but I will still proudly vote LP this November and in every other election I can get my hands on, and feel happy that I voted for a candidate that matches my viewpoint exactly.
Okay, a little off-topic ranting there, but I can't help it!
I know very little about electronics. Can someone explain to me why computers and electronics can't simply run directly on AC? Why always the DC conversion?
Every electronic doodad I can think of has an AC/DC adapter. It's not just an issue with computers.
And it would be nice to get rid of those bulky AC/DC power bricks too...
I think System of a Down started their popularity rise on the Internet. I remember seeing them all over the old Audiogalaxy, consistently ranked very highly, yet I had never heard of them or any of their songs. Then a year or so later they got really big in the world outside the Internet...
really, the best route for anyone wanting to listen to music is to stick to more independent material--there's enough good stuff out there to last you several lifetimes.
Cool, let me know which independent bands are as good as The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, U2, REM, Neil Young, etc.
Most of the independent stuff I've heard has been mediocre, so I look forward to discovering which of it can make me forget my White Album or Dark Side of the Moon CDs!
Can you name a good company helpdesk? One that is as good as say a BSD or Debian mailing list?
Cisco. At least a couple years ago; I haven't dealt with them much lately. But their TAC (Technical Assistance Center) was outstanding.
You are describing crappy admins and crappy managers.
Precisely. I wish everyone did their jobs competently. I also wish for world peace. I don't expect either to happen any time soon.
I don't work for companies managed by such people.
Not everyone has that luxury.
From names like Novell, Microsoft and CA.
Aren't these companies all known to suck? I don't know about Novell, but certainly Microsoft and CA. You probably saw bad experiences with these companies because they are known to be lousy. I, on the other hand, have seen some quite successful projects with companies like Sun and Cisco.
They SHOULD be hiring a top gun of their own, paying him an absolute shitload to stay and make sure he is comfortable and happy.
I completely agree, but what SHOULD happen often doesn't. Humans in general just aren't too bright. And eventually you get sick of complaining, or searching for The Perfect Company to work for (near your house).
It all comes down to the admin. Many a time, I have achieved things that OEM's, vendors and previous "admins" have claimed to be "impossible". Often figuring out how to do it within minutes, which can be pretty embarassing for the ex admin.
I do not disagree. Often though, companies discourage such homegrown solutions because:
What's realistic for one admin, might be unrealistic for another.
So what happens when the admin with the homegrown solution leaves the company? Hopefully they trained others on their solution, but we all know that can be wishful thinking. Maybe the solution is "unrealistic" for other admins to support.
Never underestimate the value of a phone number to companies. Management types get all warm and fuzzy knowing there's a phone number that can be called for problems/questions/blame.
OpenBSD does make sense in small business situations, but for the enterprise it does not. Dealing with 25 different openbsd machines with a text-based PF config on each does not sound fun to me. Yeah I'm sure you could script some pretty cool central management out of it all, but that's not realistic for most places.
But... Checkpoint is a huge pain, I agree. It is arguably the most bloated software product in history. That's why I recommend Netscreen -- the nice management of Checkpoint with rock-solid hardware reliability and performance.
Netscreen does the "little things" that Checkpoint doesn't. Like scheduled DNS resolution for objects in a firewall policy. (Nope, Checkpoint doesn't do that).
And since Netscreen is one box, you don't deal with firewall/OS seperation issues.
It takes me hours to set up a Checkpoint on a Sun, or Nokia, or whatever (upgrade and lock down the OS, then install & upgrade Checkpoint and do the voodoo for the management station, as well as the licensing).
It takes me 30 minutes or less to get a Netscreen going. Boot it, upgrade the whole thing (5 minutes), configure via http or ssh, and done. I could do it in 10-15 minutes if I took the time to come up with a config template that I could just paste in.
Oh, that's the other beauty of Netscreen - TEXT CONFIG. Ever look at the "config" of a Checkpoint? A nightmare mishmash of.c files that are not very human parseable. Netscreen? You can see everything the machine is doing in a 4k text file.
You can also instantly get weather ("weather burbank" or "weather 91506"), maps ("map 1060 w. addison chicago"), yellow pages ("91506 in n out"), and more.
Slashdot Mirror
Why do you hate Southwest? I really like them.
I don't like your outlook on life.
Carl
Has Yahoo been more innovative than Google in the past few years? Perhaps not. Has Yahoo been more innovative than Google in the past 10 years? Well that's obvious.
All I know is that I've been using maps.yahoo.com, yp.yahoo.com, movies.yahoo.com, etc. for countless years before I'd even heard of Google.
Outside of Yahoo/Google, babelfish.altavista.com was great. Of course Yahoo owns it now, but I'm speaking for the original creation.
What I'm trying to say is that you'd think from reading posts around here that all Google does is fabulously original things while Yahoo copies it all. That's just not true.
By the way, I can view a traffic overlay on Yahoo Maps now. Cool!
As for buying companies to get your technology, Google bought Dejanews and then provided the same service (in a now-worse interface). If memory serves, they also bought their blogging product (and jumped on that fad).
Carl
Maps (maps.yahoo.com)
Movie reviews (movies.yahoo.com)
Froogle (shopping.yahoo.com)
Webmail (mail.yahoo.com)
And they have an IM client rumored.
Who's copying whom?
When Google starts streaming music you can officially call them Yoogle.
At least when Yahoo rolls something out it doesn't stay in "Beta" status indefinitely.
Carl
Does it support Macs, Linux, and BSD? I would be surprised if it did. Though I guess you don't need AV and such with non-Windows machines, but some sort of visibility into these systems would be nice.
There is very few end-user software out there that makes a legitimate effort to support all platforms. Though actually, Cisco's VPN client does a pretty good job. They have Windows, Mac, and Linux versions.
Carl
I think this is because they structure their pricing so that the initial media pays for the development and the monthly fee pays for servers, bandwidth, support, etc.
I would rather they just charged more per month and included the game development costs in the monthly fee. Then give away the core game itself for free electronically.
Or, even better, give people the choice: buy the game and pay less per month, or get the game free but pay more per month. And if people decide they are going to stick with the game and like it, give them the option of paying a flat $40 to go down to the cheaper monthly pricing.
Carl
So anyway, since AO is free for 14 days is it worth giving it a shot? I played EQ for a couple years, was addicted to it, got depressed by my "/played" and quit it one day. I've been playing a bit of Planetside lately because that's only $10 to download, but I doubt I'll keep it up much longer. It gets rather boring and repetitive. Is AO "EQ in space"? Or is it more interesting?
Carl
But overriding vetos is harder than passing legislation, if I remember correctly from junior high. So it would still make some sort of difference, even if it is only a delay.
appoint a Cabinet, Supreme Court judges, etc.
The president nominates, and then the nomination has to be approved... by the senate. So, in all actuality, the senate does the appointing. Buzz.
Then how did Reagan get conservative justices appointed at all in the 80's with a Democratic congress? By your definition it should have been impossible. Buzz back.
Carl
The answer is not zero, as you stated. The president can:
veto stuff from Congress (which with a Libertarian president, would probably be absolutely everything that comes across his or her desk)
appoint a Cabinet, Supreme Court judges, etc.
Pardon prisoners (I've never understood why the President has the power to do this but anyway...). Imagine a Libertarian president pardoning every single non-violent drug offender. That would clear up a lot of room in our prisons for real criminals!
Carl
It sounds to me like the real problem is public apathy. I doubt that's something that can be fixed politically.
Carl
How? OK, the LP is in charge and they do nothing about Microsoft ever again. What bad things will happen that government interference could have prevented? Remember, Apple and Linux are still around.
Carl
Speaking for myself personally, that's easy. If I decide to boycott the government, by refusing to pay Social Security for instance, someone will eventually show up at my house with a gun to make me do it or send me to prison.
But I am perfectly free to boycott McDonald's, Mitsubishi, Exxon, or whatever company I choose.
I think it's funny that there will be thousands of people out there in November passionately voting for John Kerry because they think Bush is bad for the environment... then they'll drive away in their Mitsubishi car. Mitsubishi is one of the worst contributors in the world to rain forest destruction.
Carl
Anyway, here are the LP positions:
Gay Rights: strongly against the marriage amendment.
Abortion Rights: generally pro-choice, though there could be exceptions the way I see it. The LP believes that you can do anything you want as long as you do not harm anyone else, so as usual it comes down to whether you believe a zygote or fetus or whatever is a person or not.
Gun Control: 2nd amendment, plain and simple. That would be letting the Assault Weapons Ban expire, according to your example.
Taxes: Drastically reduce government spending and cut or eliminate taxes wherever possible, for everyone equally.
Stem Cells: I'm not really educated well enough on this one to say. Maybe a good question for Badnarik!
Carl
The Libertarian Party has qualified for federal funding in the past, but has turned it down. It is against their principles to accept government handouts. It also proves to me that they are serious about living up to their principles (how many other politicians do you know that would ever turn down perfectly legal money?).
Carl
The LP position on drug legalization is simply an application of their principles. This is how all political parties are supposed to be, right?
For everyone's benefit, here is the LP's Statement of Principles, from my membership card:
We hold that all individuals have the right to exercise sole dominion over their own lives, and have the right to live in whatever manner they choose, so long as they do not forcibly interfere with the equal right of others to live in whatever manner they choose.
Italics are from original, not added.
It is left as an exercise to the reader to apply above principles to various current issues, such as the aforementioned drug legalization, gay marriage, social security, universal health care, gun control, etc.
I think what you are really saying above is that the LP is too principled to win. Only wishy-washy centrists are able to win major political elections. I don't disagree, but I will still proudly vote LP this November and in every other election I can get my hands on, and feel happy that I voted for a candidate that matches my viewpoint exactly.
Okay, a little off-topic ranting there, but I can't help it!
Carl
Mishaps & Unusual Occurrences on the Chicago "L"
Carl
p.s. Go Cubs
First I've heard of this. I'm an L.A. area resident. More info? Cite sources? URL? Thanks.
Carl
Every electronic doodad I can think of has an AC/DC adapter. It's not just an issue with computers.
And it would be nice to get rid of those bulky AC/DC power bricks too...
Carl
I own it and like it. It's got some great peaks, but much of it is frankly boring. It's just not as good as a band like Pink Floyd, in my opinion.
Carl
Carl
Cool, let me know which independent bands are as good as The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, U2, REM, Neil Young, etc.
Most of the independent stuff I've heard has been mediocre, so I look forward to discovering which of it can make me forget my White Album or Dark Side of the Moon CDs!
Carl
Cisco. At least a couple years ago; I haven't dealt with them much lately. But their TAC (Technical Assistance Center) was outstanding.
You are describing crappy admins and crappy managers.
Precisely. I wish everyone did their jobs competently. I also wish for world peace. I don't expect either to happen any time soon.
I don't work for companies managed by such people.
Not everyone has that luxury.
From names like Novell, Microsoft and CA.
Aren't these companies all known to suck? I don't know about Novell, but certainly Microsoft and CA. You probably saw bad experiences with these companies because they are known to be lousy. I, on the other hand, have seen some quite successful projects with companies like Sun and Cisco.
They SHOULD be hiring a top gun of their own, paying him an absolute shitload to stay and make sure he is comfortable and happy.
I completely agree, but what SHOULD happen often doesn't. Humans in general just aren't too bright. And eventually you get sick of complaining, or searching for The Perfect Company to work for (near your house).
Carl
I do not disagree. Often though, companies discourage such homegrown solutions because:
What's realistic for one admin, might be unrealistic for another.
So what happens when the admin with the homegrown solution leaves the company? Hopefully they trained others on their solution, but we all know that can be wishful thinking. Maybe the solution is "unrealistic" for other admins to support.
Never underestimate the value of a phone number to companies. Management types get all warm and fuzzy knowing there's a phone number that can be called for problems/questions/blame.
Carl
OpenBSD does make sense in small business situations, but for the enterprise it does not. Dealing with 25 different openbsd machines with a text-based PF config on each does not sound fun to me. Yeah I'm sure you could script some pretty cool central management out of it all, but that's not realistic for most places.
.c files that are not very human parseable. Netscreen? You can see everything the machine is doing in a 4k text file.
But... Checkpoint is a huge pain, I agree. It is arguably the most bloated software product in history. That's why I recommend Netscreen -- the nice management of Checkpoint with rock-solid hardware reliability and performance.
Netscreen does the "little things" that Checkpoint doesn't. Like scheduled DNS resolution for objects in a firewall policy. (Nope, Checkpoint doesn't do that).
And since Netscreen is one box, you don't deal with firewall/OS seperation issues.
It takes me hours to set up a Checkpoint on a Sun, or Nokia, or whatever (upgrade and lock down the OS, then install & upgrade Checkpoint and do the voodoo for the management station, as well as the licensing).
It takes me 30 minutes or less to get a Netscreen going. Boot it, upgrade the whole thing (5 minutes), configure via http or ssh, and done. I could do it in 10-15 minutes if I took the time to come up with a config template that I could just paste in.
Oh, that's the other beauty of Netscreen - TEXT CONFIG. Ever look at the "config" of a Checkpoint? A nightmare mishmash of
Carl
Just put "define" before the word, i.e. "define oracle" in the box.
Here's a tour of all the shortcuts available.
You can also instantly get weather ("weather burbank" or "weather 91506"), maps ("map 1060 w. addison chicago"), yellow pages ("91506 in n out"), and more.
Carl