Is that it is even possible to be politically neutral, when in reality attempting to be neutral will always land you in a catch-22 situation. Ask China what they think of the.tw extension. Is it politically neutral from their view? No. Would taking the extension away be politically neutral either? No.
That's certainly true. I guess it is erroneous to assume that everyone using the internet feels oppressed by their government and is out "seeking truth." Even when confronted with new information, humans are still subject to confirmation bias. Hence a good chunk of internet users seek out information which reinforces their particular point of view rather than challenges it. Will they even notice if their internet is censored? Probably not.
It's interesting that a lot of fiction scenarios assumed that the global network would be completely decentralized.. and therefore not subject to anyone's control. This utopian illusion is fading away.. because in reality the global network is just a series of cables, and yes, they pass over political borders.
I think it is pretty inevitable that the global network we take for granted is going to change drastically, as every country attempts to enforce their particular political and moral stance on the information passing over their borders into their country. It is quite likely that in the not too distant future the internet will be quite a different experience from continent to continent, nevermind from one country to another.. it's already happening..
That's kind of what microsoft does though--copy other ideas and then market them until they stick. Windows (copied from Mac, Amiga), Internet Explorer, the zune, heck even direct3D, you name it...
The problem with trying to get comics respected is the complete social naivity of the biggest demograph of those who read comics.
My GF loves graphic novels, especially works by Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, etc.. The other day she randomly walked into a comic store the other day and picked up a manga. There's something genuinely creepy being a girl in a store full of guys looking at drawings of oversexualized underage females. I had to explain to her that while there is some pretty incredible manga out there, Sturgeon's law aptly applies. It's hard to sort through all the crap, even if you are genuinely open-minded.
Later, I introduced her to some classic Osamu Tezuka (the Buddha series) which she couldn't put down.
In a way there is nothing new here. For example if you do a search in YouTube for a particular subject, you will end up stumbling upon a user who is related to whatever interest you are searching. This is just the next step in organizing information on the internet.
What I could see this ultimately leading to is an entire new category of search websites that "edit" the internet for interesting and relevant content, not unlike the above. Do you like the way a certain editor (or group of editors) filters the information on the internet? Then you will end up using their site for your web searches.
What strikes me most interesting is that Google uses a set of rules in determining what it displays when queried. These rules can be changed depending on where in the world you are located, altering the results of your query. When information is passed through a set of human hands how will human bias filter into the equation? How do humans determine what is useful and what is useless information?
In the end this will not be a substitute for google, merely an additional reference.
To be fair, the price for new consoles has often been quite high. The 3do and PSX were both in the $600+ range when they first hit the market, and we are talking prices from the mid 90's. Newer consoles cost $500 but give them a couple years and they will drop in price. (They also include things like hard drives, networking, web browsing etc.)
About your first point, off topic, also interesting as we started seeing ports of 3d games between platforms the console games used not only lower resolutions, but sometimes different 3d processes altogether (a la PSX).
Slashdot Mirror
Is that it is even possible to be politically neutral, when in reality attempting to be neutral will always land you in a catch-22 situation. Ask China what they think of the .tw extension. Is it politically neutral from their view? No. Would taking the extension away be politically neutral either? No.
That's certainly true. I guess it is erroneous to assume that everyone using the internet feels oppressed by their government and is out "seeking truth." Even when confronted with new information, humans are still subject to confirmation bias. Hence a good chunk of internet users seek out information which reinforces their particular point of view rather than challenges it. Will they even notice if their internet is censored? Probably not.
Amusing.. Series of tubes
It's interesting that a lot of fiction scenarios assumed that the global network would be completely decentralized.. and therefore not subject to anyone's control. This utopian illusion is fading away.. because in reality the global network is just a series of cables, and yes, they pass over political borders. I think it is pretty inevitable that the global network we take for granted is going to change drastically, as every country attempts to enforce their particular political and moral stance on the information passing over their borders into their country. It is quite likely that in the not too distant future the internet will be quite a different experience from continent to continent, nevermind from one country to another.. it's already happening..
*covers ears* Don't say that word! Suffice to say, is one of the words the Knights of Ni cannot hear!
That's kind of what microsoft does though--copy other ideas and then market them until they stick. Windows (copied from Mac, Amiga), Internet Explorer, the zune, heck even direct3D, you name it...
Thanks Microsoft, but as I value my online privacy, I'll stick with Scroogle instead.
Don't forget to reuse the ~15 frames of animation of the disembowelment roughly about 2-3 times per episode along with the screaming.
The problem with trying to get comics respected is the complete social naivity of the biggest demograph of those who read comics. My GF loves graphic novels, especially works by Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, etc.. The other day she randomly walked into a comic store the other day and picked up a manga. There's something genuinely creepy being a girl in a store full of guys looking at drawings of oversexualized underage females. I had to explain to her that while there is some pretty incredible manga out there, Sturgeon's law aptly applies. It's hard to sort through all the crap, even if you are genuinely open-minded. Later, I introduced her to some classic Osamu Tezuka (the Buddha series) which she couldn't put down.
In a way there is nothing new here. For example if you do a search in YouTube for a particular subject, you will end up stumbling upon a user who is related to whatever interest you are searching. This is just the next step in organizing information on the internet. What I could see this ultimately leading to is an entire new category of search websites that "edit" the internet for interesting and relevant content, not unlike the above. Do you like the way a certain editor (or group of editors) filters the information on the internet? Then you will end up using their site for your web searches.
What strikes me most interesting is that Google uses a set of rules in determining what it displays when queried. These rules can be changed depending on where in the world you are located, altering the results of your query. When information is passed through a set of human hands how will human bias filter into the equation? How do humans determine what is useful and what is useless information? In the end this will not be a substitute for google, merely an additional reference.
To be fair, the price for new consoles has often been quite high. The 3do and PSX were both in the $600+ range when they first hit the market, and we are talking prices from the mid 90's. Newer consoles cost $500 but give them a couple years and they will drop in price. (They also include things like hard drives, networking, web browsing etc.) About your first point, off topic, also interesting as we started seeing ports of 3d games between platforms the console games used not only lower resolutions, but sometimes different 3d processes altogether (a la PSX).