Well, if an innovative company has too much cash in the bank . . . you would think that they would invest it in new technology R&D projects, instead of building luxury cubicles.
In the case of Apple, they could invest in new Cloud, Cognitive and IoT technologies!
On second thought, maybe those luxury cubicles aren't so a bad investment, after all, compared with the alternatives.
From a population of 400,000 people, what they did is a notable achievement.
What is notable, is that 400,000 people live there at all. Iceland is not the most hospitable of environments to live. Yes, beautiful landscapes, nice toasty hot springs baths . . . but humans also need other basic things, like food and shelter in order to survive.
I believe that the Icelanders survived there through a combination of two things: Intelligence and Cooperation. When confronted with problems . . . the best thing humans can do, is to use their minds. We don't have hard shells, or poisonous bites, or anything else that adapts us to a specific environment . . . but we have our brains, which enables us to adapt to all environments.
As to Cooperation . . . 10,000 years ago, there used to be a running joke on Slashdot that said, "Imagine a Beowulf of these!" Humans can survive best, when they cooperate with each other.
We would like to thank you for your donation to our DNA database project! This has enabled us to refute claims, that your DNA could be found in the mouths of Oxford University pigs.
Unfortunately, further analysis of your DNA data has proved that you are, in fact, John Wilkes Booth, the guy who shot Abraham Lincoln, or somebody.
Of course, we would all like to see a peaceful solution to this problem. But if you want to go down in a hail of bullets . . . I can recommend a Vodafone store in the High Street of Westminster (which is a pseudo-UK-city near Hursley).
. . . or, never mind . . . the Vodafone folks will never be there when you need them.
About 10,000 years ago, in Honors US History in High School, in scenic New Jersey . . . I had a teacher who we called "Smiling Jane". The 1800's in the US were full of nasty stuff, like children losing arms while trying to couple trains, the US Calvary giving smallpox infected blankets to Indians ("Casino Indians", not "Out-Sourcing Indians") . . . and if you get hungry for a hamburger during class . . . "The Jungle", from Upton Sinclair will transform your ideal of a Big Mac into a pile of weevils and maggots. At any rate, good old "Smiling Jane" would flash a rack of teeth during these lectures, that would put most of Hollywood to shame.
Put the absolute epitome, was her description of the "Molly Maquires":
In case you are too lazy to read the article, or didn't have Honors US History in goddamned New Jersey, the big mining monopolies created "mining towns" for poor immigrants (H1Bs?). They were not paid in US cash, but in "script" that could only be used in the stores . . . owned by the monopoly. Sound like Microsoft, anyone?
Smiling Jane flashed her rack during all of this.
At any rate, some of the enslaved created a group called the "Molly Maquires . . . they would relieve a foreman or a manager from his head, and dump it somewhere. A lot of these heads ended up in jars in the windows of funeral parlors, with the note, "Do you know whose head this is?"
Back to "Smiling Jane" . . . she went to a funeral in Eastern Pennsylvania, and told the funeral director her tale. The Director answered:
"Oh, yes, we still have some unclaimed heads in the cellar . . . would you like to see them . . . ?"
A fellow student suggested to me that we should beg, borrow or steal a black Cadillac, drive to the town, and scream, "Show us your heads!"
Getting back on topic, GE executives who rake in millions, while producing nothing of value . . . could in my opinion end up in a funeral parlor in Eastern Pennsylvania.
Well, if you burn USA flags . . . while waving Mexican flags at an anti-Trump protest . . . I don't think you are doing anything to help Hillary or Bernie.
Totally the opposite . . . this just pours oil on the fire and fans the flames of Trump xenophobia.
A long time ago . . . the Deutsche Telekom . . . the parent of T-Mobile, was privatized. The "Talking Heads" on television pitched this as the greatest opportunity as a stock for the "common people". Inexperienced investors lapped it up and bragged about how much they had "earned" by investing in that stock.
About a year later, the stock had tanked to less than half of offering value.
If you inquired to those braggarts, on how their "super investment" in Deutsch Telekom was doing . . . smoke would come out of their ears, like in an old "Loony Tunes" flick.
So my take on this . . . if they are giving away stock, it is not anything that has long term value. Folks, especially business types, do not give anything valuable for free.
I, for one, welcome our IoT overlords! If not Nest, then the next naked attempt to cash in on as much personal data as they can get away with extracting!
Windows 10 telemetry is the Top of the Pops in that area at the moment. Not even Microsoft employees can tell you what the are collecting, and what they use the data for.
It's really like the former East German Stasi, where the operatives did not know why they were collecting data on their targets. Will we ever really know what is behind Windows 10 telemetry, and who gets what data, and what they do with it . . . ?
I doubt it.
All hail our benevolent Silicon Valley spy master overlords! HIP HIP HURRAH!
No, Leo will demand a $50 fee for handling your bag.
That is all what airlines are about these days . . . charging extra, for stuff that used to be included for free.
Heard during to safety talk, on a cheapo airline:
"If you have booked your flight with our extra security package, you will find a seat belt in your seat. Otherwise, if you wish to now have a seat belt during the flight, please contact one of our flight attendants, who can provide you with one for a token fee of $100."
"In the event that the cabin loses pressure, an oxygen mask will fall down from above. Provided, that you have paid the oxygen fee."
"When the plane crashes and falls down, burn downs and sinks into the swamp . . . please proceed to the nearest security exit. Note that passengers who have paid the extra escape fee will have preference when exiting the plane."
So there will be a ban on "new" gas powered cars. But what about older, used cars? I'm thinking the Norwegians will go the way of the Cubans, and develop ways to keep the older cars running as long as possible. In Havana, you can see running examples of the best that Detroit produced in the 50's. Ingenuity, duck tape, chewing gum and chicken wire keep them running. I'm guessing that the Norwegians can pull off that feat, as well.
Plus, the Norwegians are super cool, brave, daring and unafraid. What do you cook for Christmas dinner? Toss a frozen Butterball in the oven? Norwegians skewer a sheep's head on a pike in their backyards, and cook it with a flame thrower. Supposedly, the eyes of the critter taste the best.
I would not mess with those folks. In other news, the Norwegians have wisely invested their oil fortunes for future generations. Unlike some Gulf states, who build fancy hotel palaces.
You have a very potent combination of being both ignorant, and arrogant. And you can't even write English: " it's like saying your going to cure virus. "
Come back here when you grow up.
I've never had a high opinion of Anonymous Cowards, but it seems like you are delving to new depths.
Oh, it's not on the top of the list of their priorities. Just take a look at Microsoft's recent behavior, and it becomes crystal clear. Satya Nutella is not forcing Windows 10 down everyone's throat because he wants to annoy his customers: He is doing it because there is a clause in his contract that gives him a big bonus, if Windows 10 reaches a significant market share.
Even if that means feeding folks Windows 10 like the way a Foie Gras goose is fed.
Every variation of every possibility has been legally locked up, The message I'm getting is "Don't try profiting from anything new of we'll sue you out of existence."
Well, if you happen to work for IBM, I'm guessing it is worth your time to file a patent. They probably have some kind of compensation system where you get some dollars for a patent filed and granted. And it is probably a requirement for getting promoted to higher levels. And anyway, they probably have some of the meanest bad-assed M* F* patent attorneys from Hell working for them, who know how to push a patent through.
Now if you are some guy working alone in your garage . . . there is no way that you can compete with these professional gunfighters. You could cure cancer, and the Big Boys would find a way to block the patent.
If you ever have time to drive through the Gottard Pass tunnel, you will see a buttload of German and Dutch campers clogging the roads. No one has invented wings yet, for those critters.
My (German) girlfriend whines, moans, bitches and complains that the Swiss charge a 100€ fee for using their Autobahn. Hey, with all their tunnels, and the quality of their highways, it's a great value! Hats off to the Swiss!
Now, if they offered a Hannibal style trot over the Alps with on a elephant, hey, I'm all in . . . that would be cool!
I always tell folks . . . I have Windows 7 installed on my system. With VMware. For serious work, I use Kali Linux. But there is a bunch of management crap that I have to do, which only runs on Windows . . . but now it runs on Apples, too!
The company who I currently work for used to give us Lenovo SchtinkPads as work machines. Recently, they are now offering Apple stuff, as well. I never thought that I would be forced to leave the Windows platform.
Well, Windows 10 has done it for me. My next box is going to be an Apple.
This election is all about a couple of guys trying to kick out the political establishment. If Trump or Sanders got elected, a lot of folks living on Capitol Hill would be selling their houses. But Sanders doesn't have a chance, given Hillary's super delegates. Here's a tip for an inspiring journalist: After Hillary wins, take a look at where the super delegates and their families and friends are working. Plush government jobs.
If you don't like the Democratic [sic] Party and their rules on choosing a presidential candidate . . . well tough shit for you. It's their Party, and they can cry if they want to. The Democrats are like the kid on the block who has a real leather football and says, "It's my ball, and we play by my rules!"
Go ahead . . . vote for Hillary . . . you have no other choice.
On the Republican side of the bench . . . their Establishment is not so concerned that Trump is batshit crazy, but because he would toss out a bunch of Capitol Hill folks, as well. Yes, Trump will say it, and yes you are fired.
For all the shit they take here . . . I see the Millennials as a voice that will "just say no" to the politics as it is today.
I regularly have my Russian women consume vodka before placing their proverbial lips on my appendage . . . you read it here on the internet so it must be true.
. . . they are very difficult to get rid of. Give 'em a scorched Earth . . . they'll figure some way to survive in it.
Will a lot of folks suffer and die in the process? Hell, yeah. But there will still be some humans around who have figured out how to thrive in that environment.
People like to joke about cockroaches being the only living critter that will survive the nuclear apocalypse.
When I think of the post-nuclear apocalypse world, I see a creepy looking humanoid, munching on cockroaches.
Relax. Referring to the story posted earlier today about the Mitt Romney fake hack, maybe this one is about fake hackers not really hacking a fake hacker website . . . ?
Eh. I expect she didn't KNOW it was math and assumed it was Arabic
Well, if he was doing math, he was probably using a bunch of Greek symbols.
So imagine sending this woman to Greece. She would wig out and scream, "All the street signs and stores are labeled with terrorist speak!"
It's actually quite sad, that she could not recognize that he was doing mathematics. Nobody is asking her to classify the equation, or find the homogeneous solution, but to recognize mathematical problem solving . . . ? What did she do, skip elementary school . . . ?
Slashdot Mirror
Well, if an innovative company has too much cash in the bank . . . you would think that they would invest it in new technology R&D projects, instead of building luxury cubicles.
In the case of Apple, they could invest in new Cloud, Cognitive and IoT technologies!
On second thought, maybe those luxury cubicles aren't so a bad investment, after all, compared with the alternatives.
From a population of 400,000 people, what they did is a notable achievement.
What is notable, is that 400,000 people live there at all. Iceland is not the most hospitable of environments to live. Yes, beautiful landscapes, nice toasty hot springs baths . . . but humans also need other basic things, like food and shelter in order to survive.
I believe that the Icelanders survived there through a combination of two things: Intelligence and Cooperation. When confronted with problems . . . the best thing humans can do, is to use their minds. We don't have hard shells, or poisonous bites, or anything else that adapts us to a specific environment . . . but we have our brains, which enables us to adapt to all environments.
As to Cooperation . . . 10,000 years ago, there used to be a running joke on Slashdot that said, "Imagine a Beowulf of these!" Humans can survive best, when they cooperate with each other.
So there is your notable achievement right there.
big oil, big gas, big electricity or big (insert your favorite lobbying group here).
Big Green Energy?
Same reason they're against any type of green energy, bytheby
Oops! I guess that doesn't quite work . . .
Monty Python
Maybe the aliens aren't quite dead yet . . . they are merely resting?
Tired and shagged out after a long squawk . . . ?
Or it's intern-planetary censorship . . . their governments are blocking them from contacting us . . . ?
Your Honorable Mr. Biden,
We would like to thank you for your donation to our DNA database project! This has enabled us to refute claims, that your DNA could be found in the mouths of Oxford University pigs.
Unfortunately, further analysis of your DNA data has proved that you are, in fact, John Wilkes Booth, the guy who shot Abraham Lincoln, or somebody. Of course, we would all like to see a peaceful solution to this problem. But if you want to go down in a hail of bullets . . . I can recommend a Vodafone store in the High Street of Westminster (which is a pseudo-UK-city near Hursley).
. . . or, never mind . . . the Vodafone folks will never be there when you need them.
About 10,000 years ago, in Honors US History in High School, in scenic New Jersey . . . I had a teacher who we called "Smiling Jane". The 1800's in the US were full of nasty stuff, like children losing arms while trying to couple trains, the US Calvary giving smallpox infected blankets to Indians ("Casino Indians", not "Out-Sourcing Indians") . . . and if you get hungry for a hamburger during class . . . "The Jungle", from Upton Sinclair will transform your ideal of a Big Mac into a pile of weevils and maggots. At any rate, good old "Smiling Jane" would flash a rack of teeth during these lectures, that would put most of Hollywood to shame.
Put the absolute epitome, was her description of the "Molly Maquires":
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
In case you are too lazy to read the article, or didn't have Honors US History in goddamned New Jersey, the big mining monopolies created "mining towns" for poor immigrants (H1Bs?). They were not paid in US cash, but in "script" that could only be used in the stores . . . owned by the monopoly. Sound like Microsoft, anyone?
Smiling Jane flashed her rack during all of this.
At any rate, some of the enslaved created a group called the "Molly Maquires . . . they would relieve a foreman or a manager from his head, and dump it somewhere. A lot of these heads ended up in jars in the windows of funeral parlors, with the note, "Do you know whose head this is?"
Back to "Smiling Jane" . . . she went to a funeral in Eastern Pennsylvania, and told the funeral director her tale. The Director answered:
"Oh, yes, we still have some unclaimed heads in the cellar . . . would you like to see them . . . ?"
A fellow student suggested to me that we should beg, borrow or steal a black Cadillac, drive to the town, and scream, "Show us your heads!"
Getting back on topic, GE executives who rake in millions, while producing nothing of value . . . could in my opinion end up in a funeral parlor in Eastern Pennsylvania.
...and probably Mexican. They're Mexican, aren't they?
Well, if you burn USA flags . . . while waving Mexican flags at an anti-Trump protest . . . I don't think you are doing anything to help Hillary or Bernie.
Totally the opposite . . . this just pours oil on the fire and fans the flames of Trump xenophobia.
A long time ago . . . the Deutsche Telekom . . . the parent of T-Mobile, was privatized. The "Talking Heads" on television pitched this as the greatest opportunity as a stock for the "common people". Inexperienced investors lapped it up and bragged about how much they had "earned" by investing in that stock.
About a year later, the stock had tanked to less than half of offering value.
If you inquired to those braggarts, on how their "super investment" in Deutsch Telekom was doing . . . smoke would come out of their ears, like in an old "Loony Tunes" flick.
So my take on this . . . if they are giving away stock, it is not anything that has long term value. Folks, especially business types, do not give anything valuable for free.
I, for one, welcome our IoT overlords! If not Nest, then the next naked attempt to cash in on as much personal data as they can get away with extracting!
Windows 10 telemetry is the Top of the Pops in that area at the moment. Not even Microsoft employees can tell you what the are collecting, and what they use the data for.
It's really like the former East German Stasi, where the operatives did not know why they were collecting data on their targets. Will we ever really know what is behind Windows 10 telemetry, and who gets what data, and what they do with it . . . ?
I doubt it.
All hail our benevolent Silicon Valley spy master overlords! HIP HIP HURRAH!
Microsoft is not based in Silicon Valley.
Will Leo expect a $10 tip for carrying my bags?
No, Leo will demand a $50 fee for handling your bag.
That is all what airlines are about these days . . . charging extra, for stuff that used to be included for free.
Heard during to safety talk, on a cheapo airline:
"If you have booked your flight with our extra security package, you will find a seat belt in your seat. Otherwise, if you wish to now have a seat belt during the flight, please contact one of our flight attendants, who can provide you with one for a token fee of $100."
"In the event that the cabin loses pressure, an oxygen mask will fall down from above. Provided, that you have paid the oxygen fee."
"When the plane crashes and falls down, burn downs and sinks into the swamp . . . please proceed to the nearest security exit. Note that passengers who have paid the extra escape fee will have preference when exiting the plane."
"Enjoy your flight!"
They can't just show up in Redmond and go "hey assholes, open up"
Well, that strategy did seem to work with Goatse.
Not that the Internet needs any more of that.
So there will be a ban on "new" gas powered cars. But what about older, used cars? I'm thinking the Norwegians will go the way of the Cubans, and develop ways to keep the older cars running as long as possible. In Havana, you can see running examples of the best that Detroit produced in the 50's. Ingenuity, duck tape, chewing gum and chicken wire keep them running. I'm guessing that the Norwegians can pull off that feat, as well.
Plus, the Norwegians are super cool, brave, daring and unafraid. What do you cook for Christmas dinner? Toss a frozen Butterball in the oven? Norwegians skewer a sheep's head on a pike in their backyards, and cook it with a flame thrower. Supposedly, the eyes of the critter taste the best.
I would not mess with those folks. In other news, the Norwegians have wisely invested their oil fortunes for future generations. Unlike some Gulf states, who build fancy hotel palaces.
You can't fucking cure cancer, it's like saying your going to cure virus. Cancer is not like polio, you can't make a vaccine for it.
Stop being a fucking idiot.
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/pages/hpv-human-papillomavirus-vaccine.aspx
. . . you were saying . . . ?
You have a very potent combination of being both ignorant, and arrogant. And you can't even write English: " it's like saying your going to cure virus. "
Come back here when you grow up.
I've never had a high opinion of Anonymous Cowards, but it seems like you are delving to new depths.
Oh, it's not on the top of the list of their priorities. Just take a look at Microsoft's recent behavior, and it becomes crystal clear. Satya Nutella is not forcing Windows 10 down everyone's throat because he wants to annoy his customers: He is doing it because there is a clause in his contract that gives him a big bonus, if Windows 10 reaches a significant market share.
Even if that means feeding folks Windows 10 like the way a Foie Gras goose is fed.
Every variation of every possibility has been legally locked up, The message I'm getting is "Don't try profiting from anything new of we'll sue you out of existence."
Well, if you happen to work for IBM, I'm guessing it is worth your time to file a patent. They probably have some kind of compensation system where you get some dollars for a patent filed and granted. And it is probably a requirement for getting promoted to higher levels. And anyway, they probably have some of the meanest bad-assed M* F* patent attorneys from Hell working for them, who know how to push a patent through.
Now if you are some guy working alone in your garage . . . there is no way that you can compete with these professional gunfighters. You could cure cancer, and the Big Boys would find a way to block the patent.
If you ever have time to drive through the Gottard Pass tunnel, you will see a buttload of German and Dutch campers clogging the roads. No one has invented wings yet, for those critters.
My (German) girlfriend whines, moans, bitches and complains that the Swiss charge a 100€ fee for using their Autobahn. Hey, with all their tunnels, and the quality of their highways, it's a great value! Hats off to the Swiss!
Now, if they offered a Hannibal style trot over the Alps with on a elephant, hey, I'm all in . . . that would be cool!
I always tell folks . . . I have Windows 7 installed on my system. With VMware. For serious work, I use Kali Linux. But there is a bunch of management crap that I have to do, which only runs on Windows . . . but now it runs on Apples, too!
The company who I currently work for used to give us Lenovo SchtinkPads as work machines. Recently, they are now offering Apple stuff, as well. I never thought that I would be forced to leave the Windows platform.
Well, Windows 10 has done it for me. My next box is going to be an Apple.
Can it vacuum/do dishes/iron my shirt?
Can it walk up stairs . . . ? I live in a house that is spread over four floors. I don't want anything that I would need to schlepp up stairs.
Hmmm . . . maybe a Dalek . . . ?
This election is all about a couple of guys trying to kick out the political establishment. If Trump or Sanders got elected, a lot of folks living on Capitol Hill would be selling their houses. But Sanders doesn't have a chance, given Hillary's super delegates. Here's a tip for an inspiring journalist: After Hillary wins, take a look at where the super delegates and their families and friends are working. Plush government jobs.
If you don't like the Democratic [sic] Party and their rules on choosing a presidential candidate . . . well tough shit for you. It's their Party, and they can cry if they want to. The Democrats are like the kid on the block who has a real leather football and says, "It's my ball, and we play by my rules!"
Go ahead . . . vote for Hillary . . . you have no other choice.
On the Republican side of the bench . . . their Establishment is not so concerned that Trump is batshit crazy, but because he would toss out a bunch of Capitol Hill folks, as well. Yes, Trump will say it, and yes you are fired.
For all the shit they take here . . . I see the Millennials as a voice that will "just say no" to the politics as it is today.
I regularly have my Russian women consume vodka before placing their proverbial lips on my appendage . . . you read it here on the internet so it must be true.
Read?
GIFs or JPGs, or it never happened.
. . . and they made a fortune, by shorting the companies, before they released their reports.
. . . they are very difficult to get rid of. Give 'em a scorched Earth . . . they'll figure some way to survive in it.
Will a lot of folks suffer and die in the process? Hell, yeah. But there will still be some humans around who have figured out how to thrive in that environment.
People like to joke about cockroaches being the only living critter that will survive the nuclear apocalypse.
When I think of the post-nuclear apocalypse world, I see a creepy looking humanoid, munching on cockroaches.
McCockroaches, indeed.
"Would you like some fries with your roaches?"
Relax. Referring to the story posted earlier today about the Mitt Romney fake hack, maybe this one is about fake hackers not really hacking a fake hacker website . . . ?
Eh. I expect she didn't KNOW it was math and assumed it was Arabic
Well, if he was doing math, he was probably using a bunch of Greek symbols.
So imagine sending this woman to Greece. She would wig out and scream, "All the street signs and stores are labeled with terrorist speak!"
It's actually quite sad, that she could not recognize that he was doing mathematics. Nobody is asking her to classify the equation, or find the homogeneous solution, but to recognize mathematical problem solving . . . ? What did she do, skip elementary school . . . ?