Does VOIP count as cutting your landline? I just installed a VOIP-only Asterisk solution at work, and I am using the exact same setup here at home*. While I count as in the over 30 crowd, I have a cell phone, but I don't always carry it.
I think that POTS is dead, and just does not know it. There is a use to VOIP at home, and cell while you are away from home.
*(Now if I could just find a good FXO solution for my Asterisk Unslung NSLU2 at home... No, not for regular POTS.)
This is three successive postings in which you have demonstrated that you don't have the slightest clue what you're talking about. Why not quit while you're behind?
Because it is with postings like this I get flamed with informative answers, and then I am not so far behind. Slashdot is a great resource for that. Morso than many other places out there. You just have to know how to get people to answer you.
You have a good point. I remember something about brandz and dtrace for linux though.
Solaris does have those powerful features that Linux does not, but I find myself often having to install extra GPL'ed tools for solaris from sunfreeware, and I personally feel that those tools should be there from the start. But you are right, there are some things that it has that are superior to the current state of Linux.
show me someone else who has 48 drives in their case. Sun is King of I/O on the IBM sponsored x86 platform.
But here you are talking hardware, not software. The parent article is about Solaris, not sun Boxes, which are close enough to other enterprise boxes. Yes, they are different. But so are others in their own ways.
I thought you could already use DTrace on Linux, and if they GPL their stuff, it will all be ported to Linux. The article says that it would be hard, but you know it would happen. I don't really see them having a separate code base alongside linux. I think it would be rapidly absorbed, and then you would have Sun Linux. And all other flavours with similar kernels and tools if it was fully GPLed. And again, then no advantage after going GPL to them.
Sun is hemmoraging cash. Their hardware is fairly standard (in an enterprise way) and all the functionality of Linux has jumped ahead of Solaris... So what do they have to offer? Nothing. I can't see what they can do in this regard to gain back market share. making a "better linux" than Linux is not it.
There are probably other paths that they can take that would be more effective than this one. But I don't know what they are.
How do you know your doctor doesn't know what he's talking about when he prescribes your kid lithium. Or when you go for eye surgery can you compare results if he does 80% worse work then the competition? True free market capitalism is as unrealistic as true benevolent communism.
The efficencies of a free market will nto negate the need to profit and the only way you can price match in that system is to reduce quality. Every system has flaws.
While the free market is profit motivated, it also spurs competition. Competition produces better services or products for lower prices. When a monopoly exists, then quality is reduced. If a single health care provider produces lower quality service, they get fewer customers, and reduced profits. Thus, competition keeps services in check.
You can argue the causation/correlation argument with an Economist, of which I am not. Apparently they see a causal link. But your opinion on the data may vary.
I think it is amazing how the USA has gone from being perhaps the most admired country on the planet - say after the 2nd world war, to one of the least admired - say now - in barely a single generation. Quite an achievement.
Externally, looking in I agree with this statement. I think that the systemic problems in the US right now stem from the fact that the US has begun moving away from a free market system such as it was originally founded upon. The US has begun moving away from personal liberties upon which it was also founded. And finally, the political system in the US is structured to realistically allow for only a 2 party system (as no other parties can compete effectively) and because of this, it is difficult to enact any real change.
The sad irony is that the "patriots" in the US should be wrapping themselves in the constitution, and not the flag. I am disappointed as a Canadian, where I live in a non Constitutional Republic, and I feel that I have more freedoms than my neighbors to the South. Realistically, it should not be this way.
However it is not possible with a free market, since that will charge customers whatever they still can pay and will let those that cannot pay die or live with problems that could be fixed. At the same time, hugely expensive treatments will be available for those that have the money and single wealthy individuals will be saved instead of hundreds without money.
Health care in the US is not free market, it is heavily regulated. Because of these regulations, the costs of health care in the US are IIRC, 2.5 times higher than anywhere else in the world. Health care costs the most in the US out of anywhere in the world, and the US spends the most out of any country on health care, but does not get the benefits of those costs. So, a true free market system would actually be better than what is currently in place, because competition would allow a decrease in prices for consumers seeking treatment.
Having said that, in most cases health care is a form of market failure as those who are unable to afford it cannot get it, so in that case, it can be warranted to have a system in place to correct for a failure.
Technology cannot. The system is broken from the implementation. I wish I had the reference material with me, but as explained in this TTC Course on Economics the American system is set up to charge too much for services. The professor of those lectures recommends the German system over all other popular systems for being most efficient and manageable. He also suggests that the Canadian system is broken (which I use) but it is not currently as badly broken as the US system.
Technology is not a solution for all problems. In this case, the underlying system and procedures are flawed, and technology will not fix those problems.
Your points are all valid. However, when explaining to a layperson, I think the analogy works well. And it is hard to realistically describe a hub with car accients - even if it is more accurate - I just leave the basics in there as I said. Not perfect, but it gives people a place to start without having to learn TCP/IP
I have already downloaded them - proud to have garage band - but sadly I can't yet run the full songs through as they have too many tracks, and I have to figure out the optimization of Garage band to play them.
Did not have this problem prior, but then, I never tried this with real songs.
Has anyone else encountered the constant stoppages of garage band with these tracks?
Taking a queue from the tired phrase "information superhighway" I have always tried to describe the internet as a series of roads to people. Granted the analogy is not perfect, but it has enough things to get close:
Bandwidth - how many lanes the road supports, the wider the number of lanes, the more traffic it can support (I also illustrate transportation types - motorcycles are fast but carry little, trucks carry lots and are slow etc.)
latency - the speed limit on that section of road
Ports/firewall ports: toll booths with only specific lanes open.
Hub: a 4 way stop. Switch: a 4 way intersection with traffic lights. Router: A cloverleaf overpass - often with police (police being firewall policies).
I can use the above examples with the appropriate word "traffic" and explain how network segments are slow or faster than others. Describing the methods of connecting to the network such as a 56k modem being a pot hole filled dirt road, comparing cable internet to an express way etc.
Again, not perfect, but it gets enough of the ideas across for people to make some sense of it.
Depends on your moral view of the world. If you are more darwinian then yes, if your are not so inclined then no.
There are different classes of libertarians.
However, the difference is that Jones should not be COERCED into sharing the fish, as human nature dictates that people are actually more likely to co-operate if not coerced. Thus, Smith is more likely to get the fish out of altruism, and more likely to suffer under a coercive system. But I digress.
Meanwhile, in a competing lab, scientists have unearthed a competing technology, known in ancient times. These "plants" are rumored to absorb CO2, and unbelivably, some of them, it is rumored, are edible.
The iPhone is being released into a larger market - and it is combining a number of markets. That, and it will likely become the desired device just like the razr was. It sold like crazy, even though it is not such a great phone. 35 million to date I belive. That is a bigger market.
Good points. However, remember that the original iPod cost $399, for the 5 GB model and $499 for the 10 GB model, and everyone on slashdot was decrying how expensive and silly this thing was. No one would buy something like that! But they did.
Check out the original thread on the first iPod here on slashdot: First iPod thread.
You will note some of the criticisms are fairly familiar...
Slashdot Mirror
Does VOIP count as cutting your landline? I just installed a VOIP-only Asterisk solution at work, and I am using the exact same setup here at home*. While I count as in the over 30 crowd, I have a cell phone, but I don't always carry it.
I think that POTS is dead, and just does not know it. There is a use to VOIP at home, and cell while you are away from home.
*(Now if I could just find a good FXO solution for my Asterisk Unslung NSLU2 at home... No, not for regular POTS.)
I blame slashdot for my inabilty to reply to provide a witty retort to your comment.
Because it is with postings like this I get flamed with informative answers, and then I am not so far behind. Slashdot is a great resource for that. Morso than many other places out there. You just have to know how to get people to answer you.
You have a good point. I remember something about brandz and dtrace for linux though.
Solaris does have those powerful features that Linux does not, but I find myself often having to install extra GPL'ed tools for solaris from sunfreeware, and I personally feel that those tools should be there from the start. But you are right, there are some things that it has that are superior to the current state of Linux.
But here you are talking hardware, not software. The parent article is about Solaris, not sun Boxes, which are close enough to other enterprise boxes. Yes, they are different. But so are others in their own ways.
I thought you could already use DTrace on Linux, and if they GPL their stuff, it will all be ported to Linux. The article says that it would be hard, but you know it would happen. I don't really see them having a separate code base alongside linux. I think it would be rapidly absorbed, and then you would have Sun Linux. And all other flavours with similar kernels and tools if it was fully GPLed. And again, then no advantage after going GPL to them.
Or you could just run Linux on Sun hardware?
Sun is hemmoraging cash. Their hardware is fairly standard (in an enterprise way) and all the functionality of Linux has jumped ahead of Solaris... So what do they have to offer? Nothing. I can't see what they can do in this regard to gain back market share. making a "better linux" than Linux is not it.
There are probably other paths that they can take that would be more effective than this one. But I don't know what they are.
http://ratemds.com/
While the free market is profit motivated, it also spurs competition. Competition produces better services or products for lower prices. When a monopoly exists, then quality is reduced. If a single health care provider produces lower quality service, they get fewer customers, and reduced profits. Thus, competition keeps services in check.
You can argue the causation/correlation argument with an Economist, of which I am not. Apparently they see a causal link. But your opinion on the data may vary.
Waste? Waste?! Methinks they have not thought this "brewing process" through.
Externally, looking in I agree with this statement. I think that the systemic problems in the US right now stem from the fact that the US has begun moving away from a free market system such as it was originally founded upon. The US has begun moving away from personal liberties upon which it was also founded. And finally, the political system in the US is structured to realistically allow for only a 2 party system (as no other parties can compete effectively) and because of this, it is difficult to enact any real change.
The sad irony is that the "patriots" in the US should be wrapping themselves in the constitution, and not the flag. I am disappointed as a Canadian, where I live in a non Constitutional Republic, and I feel that I have more freedoms than my neighbors to the South. Realistically, it should not be this way.
Health care in the US is not free market, it is heavily regulated. Because of these regulations, the costs of health care in the US are IIRC, 2.5 times higher than anywhere else in the world. Health care costs the most in the US out of anywhere in the world, and the US spends the most out of any country on health care, but does not get the benefits of those costs. So, a true free market system would actually be better than what is currently in place, because competition would allow a decrease in prices for consumers seeking treatment.
Having said that, in most cases health care is a form of market failure as those who are unable to afford it cannot get it, so in that case, it can be warranted to have a system in place to correct for a failure.
Technology cannot. The system is broken from the implementation. I wish I had the reference material with me, but as explained in this TTC Course on Economics the American system is set up to charge too much for services. The professor of those lectures recommends the German system over all other popular systems for being most efficient and manageable. He also suggests that the Canadian system is broken (which I use) but it is not currently as badly broken as the US system.
Technology is not a solution for all problems. In this case, the underlying system and procedures are flawed, and technology will not fix those problems.
It looks like digg is slashdotted at the moment.
Wait, does that make any sense?
Blizzard announces World of Starcraft... And a feeling as if a million nerds cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced.
Fixed! Thou art wise!
Did you notice his comment about using torrents... and that the torrents are hosted on the pirate bay?
Brillant.
Your points are all valid. However, when explaining to a layperson, I think the analogy works well. And it is hard to realistically describe a hub with car accients - even if it is more accurate - I just leave the basics in there as I said. Not perfect, but it gives people a place to start without having to learn TCP/IP
I have already downloaded them - proud to have garage band - but sadly I can't yet run the full songs through as they have too many tracks, and I have to figure out the optimization of Garage band to play them.
Did not have this problem prior, but then, I never tried this with real songs.
Has anyone else encountered the constant stoppages of garage band with these tracks?
Taking a queue from the tired phrase "information superhighway" I have always tried to describe the internet as a series of roads to people. Granted the analogy is not perfect, but it has enough things to get close:
Bandwidth - how many lanes the road supports, the wider the number of lanes, the more traffic it can support (I also illustrate transportation types - motorcycles are fast but carry little, trucks carry lots and are slow etc.)
latency - the speed limit on that section of road
Ports/firewall ports: toll booths with only specific lanes open.
Hub: a 4 way stop.
Switch: a 4 way intersection with traffic lights.
Router: A cloverleaf overpass - often with police (police being firewall policies).
I can use the above examples with the appropriate word "traffic" and explain how network segments are slow or faster than others. Describing the methods of connecting to the network such as a 56k modem being a pot hole filled dirt road, comparing cable internet to an express way etc.
Again, not perfect, but it gets enough of the ideas across for people to make some sense of it.
Depends on your moral view of the world. If you are more darwinian then yes, if your are not so inclined then no.
There are different classes of libertarians.
However, the difference is that Jones should not be COERCED into sharing the fish, as human nature dictates that people are actually more likely to co-operate if not coerced. Thus, Smith is more likely to get the fish out of altruism, and more likely to suffer under a coercive system. But I digress.
Meanwhile, in a competing lab, scientists have unearthed a competing technology, known in ancient times. These "plants" are rumored to absorb CO2, and unbelivably, some of them, it is rumored, are edible.
The iPhone is being released into a larger market - and it is combining a number of markets. That, and it will likely become the desired device just like the razr was. It sold like crazy, even though it is not such a great phone. 35 million to date I belive. That is a bigger market.
Good points. However, remember that the original iPod cost $399, for the 5 GB model and $499 for the 10 GB model, and everyone on slashdot was decrying how expensive and silly this thing was. No one would buy something like that! But they did.
Check out the original thread on the first iPod here on slashdot: First iPod thread.
You will note some of the criticisms are fairly familiar...