>>>>>"He just kept saying "But Vista's the latest and bestest program..."
>>I'm sure he wanted the "bestest". I'll tell you what's annoying - reading people who semi-quote others by dumbing down their language to make them look incompetent or clueless... I maintain that if you lie about "how" they said something... >>>
No need. He really talks like that. He also says things like, "I stopped by but youse weren't home."
Because if they don't upgrade, then in another year or two the 10.4 OS that came with their PowerMac will no longer be able to run various programs (like the eventual Firefox 4). It's forced obsolescence.
Some of us prefer to continue the desktops and laptops we have now, even if they are old, because they still work. But the way Apple operates, that's simply impossible to do. You get left behind. PPC users get left behind. PALM users get left behind.
>>>The number of people who want/need their speech protected by the first amendment is similarly small.
Way to miss the point. Since the problem is so *small* (3%) all that is needed is a *minor* fix to the exiting system, such as extending Medicare to include those on the welfare program. And leave the other 97% of Americans alone.
To take-over EVERYBODY'S healthcare to solve such a trivially-small problem (3%) is ridiculous.
The other reason you can't take a picture of an electron is because photons of light are larger than the thing you are trying to image. Also you misquoted the uncertainly principle. It says you CAN find the precise location of an electron, but not its momentum. Or vice-versa find its momentum, but not position.
Actually I pulled it out of a Biology textbook left-over from my BIO 101. Perhaps you ought to try reading a biology text sometime, because the definition is clear - the moment a mammal becomes fertile they cease to be a child and become an adult.
>>>They can put their kids in private school or they can home school.
It's difficult for poor or middle-income parents to afford private school when they are being socked with a $5000 government school tax every year. That's the whole point behind making them *temporarily* exempt from the tax - so they have an extra 5000 in their pockets which they can spend on private or home schooling. (Or even a different government school. I have a friend who thought the local govt school was crap, so they paid tuition to attend the govt schoolin the next district.)
Once these kids are grown-up, the parents go back to paying their annual contribution towards the government school. Which means they are still doing their part to help society as a whole.
The government screws-up everything it touches. Look at the Cash-for-Clunkers program - many dealers voluntarily decided "we're done" because they're not getting paid their ~$4000 per car allowance. And also the clunker-cars were *destroyed*. Why? Why weren't they recycled for their parts? Stupid, stupid, stupid. And not environmentally-friendly.
And then there's the government-run schools which are horrible. The government-run post office is bankrupt, and yet the private companies like FedEx and UPS are booming. Government-run interstates are collapsing (literally in the case of the Minneapolis' bridge). And government-run Amtrak is also nearly bankrupt.
And the war. The government can't even win. Why the heck would I want I want to have this kind ineptitude controlling my body, and deciding whether or not I get my broken are fixed, or my prostate examined, or whatever. We're not just talking about messed-up schedules, but ME, myself, and I. I have an inalienable right to control my body, and Washington wants to take-away that right and hand-it-over to bureaucrats that don't give a damn. I might as well step into a time machine and sell myself to a Southern Plantation, because if this program passes, that's what I will be.
Pass. They'll just frak it up like they frak-up everything else.
Read my signature. The problem is small (3%) therefore all we need is a small solution, like extending Medicare to Welfare or Food Stamp recipients, and leave the other 97% of Americans alone. To have a wholesale takeover by a government monopoly to fix such a small (3%) problem is bass-backwards, illogical, and flat-out ridiculous.
You fell for Lincoln's 1863 speech, but in 1862 he said, "If banning slavery would save the union, I would do it. If keeping slavery would save the union, I would do it." He didn't care either way. The war was about one side wanting a strong central government with high protective tariffs, and the other side wanting a weak central government because they were being hurt by the tariffs (it's hard to sell cotton when your government is jacking-up the prices).
It's somewhat akin to if the European Union announced, "We're taxing all wool at 50%," and the UK and Ireland and Iceland seceded because they were fed up, and then the EU attacked.
>>Bet you use them damn socialaized roads without a qualm
Why should he feel a qualm? He pays the same ~$1.00 per gallon toll that everyone else pays. Libertarians support user fees, where you pay if you use something, and don't pay if you don't. Roads are an excellent example. Ditto the post office.
>>> due to long waiting lists...despite the undoubted issues with our system, we live longer than Americans
Oh really?
PROSTATE 5-YEAR CANCER SURVIVOR RATE 100%- United States 90% - Canada 77% - United Kingdom
Hmmm. And:
UK HEALTHCARE WAITING TIMES 8 months - cataract surgery 11 months- hip replacement 12 months- knee replacement 5 months - slipped disc 5 months - hernia repair SOURCE - The BBC, May 2009
It appears to me that the British and Canadian governments are *just* as dysfunctional as the U.S. government when it comes to running programs. Like healthcare.
>>>we know how terribly private industry fails at increasing the common good
Do they? The electric and phone companies are privately-owned, and yet they appear to do a wonderful job. Ditto Intel. The machine I'm typing is about 12,000 times faster than my first computer, and look how that has transformed people's lives (on-demand music, videos, et cetera). Grocery stores bring voluminous supplies of food, and in dizzying varieties, within just a few miles of your home. (Compare tha to the Soviet Union's government-run stores which often had empty shelves.)
Private industry has done a wonderful job providing the things we need. Why? Because if they don't, they go out-of-business. There's no greater motivator than the loss of one's job.
Unless you predict the wrong future, in which case you end-up like Atari or Commodore (bankrupt).
I miss these guys. Their mission was to create powerful computers (equal to the Macs of the day), but only cost $300-400 to purchase. PCs for the masses just like VCRs and DVD players are made for the masses. It would be nice if Apple developed a subdivision with the same goal - cheap Macs that even Walmart or McDonalds workers could afford.
Bullpucky. This is planned obsolescence. Like the PowerMacs. Some of thoem are only 2 years old and yet Apple made a decision to stop syncing 10.6 with them. Why? Why abandon those users? Why abandon Palm users? An owner might have a perfectly good piece of equipment, but because Apple suddenly decides "we won't support you" they find themselves spending money on expensive upgrades.
I think it's planned. Apple knows a good way to make money is to *force* people to upgrade. Even Mickeysoft is not that dirty (and when they are, like with Vista that ran like a snail on 1/2 gig or 1 gig machines, they were excoriated).
Apple's a luxury brand for deep pockets - pure and simple.
Yes but why? Some of those PowerPCs Macs are only 2 to two-and-a-half years old. Why abandon them? See this is what annoys me about Apple - they abandon their users. An owner might have a perfectly good piece of equipment, but because Apple suddenly decides "we won't support you" they find themselves forced to expend money on expensive upgrades.
This Palm story is the same deal. Apple shouldn't be abandoning people like that. Even Mickeysoft is not that dirty.
Apple's a luxury brand for those with deep pockets.
Well let's look at history. Where the British able to break Enigma? NOPE. They had to literally steal a machine before they could read Germany's encrypted orders. So the author was correct when he said Enigma was an unbreakable code.
BUT since I don't want to waste my vote, rather than vote for the first three which I already know will lose, I vote my fourth choice which is not the best man - just the one with the best chance of winning.
It's worth noting that during the first couple presidential elections, the Congress selected the president, and they used a process very similar to Australian balloting (casting multiple votes until somebody came-out on top). It would be very easy for the States to adopt this kind of ballot.
>>>That'll just be an additional $9.95 per month rental fee
That pissed me off when Comcast did it to my TCM channel. For years I've had it "free" with my monthly service, and then suddenly they moved it to the digital tier (and without two months notice as required by law). I'm supposed to pay an extra $5/month (times three sets) to watch it. Bullshit.
This is what happens when you have a monopoly, and more importantly a government that is unwilling to regulate it. Perhaps it's time that Comcast got the treatment AT&T received in the 80s (broken-apart) and introduce choice for consumers.
>>>The States have never had control of international borders,
I know. I'm not disputing that. I'm disputing your belief that the general welfare clause gives Congress the power to do (almost) anything they please. That's not what the U.S. Constitution says. On the contrary it grants Congress only a very small list of powers (see Madison's commentary).
>>>I think the problem is people want to shout "but the Constitution doesn't say so!"
No the problem is that many of us have encountered these "checkpoints" that are not anywhere near the border (me - in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas) (my brother- in New Hampshire), and we're tired of being harassed on U.S. soil. We should be able to taking a fraking vacation without being interrogated. I don't mind answering a few questions like my name or showing my drivers license, but when an officer demands to see inside my trunk then he's crossed the line. He's committing an illegal act per the Constitution.
And this isn't the only case. The whole uproar with Obama's friend who was arrested - that too was an illegal search. It's an illegal act to enter a private home without warrant, or probable cause* or permission. Each one of those officers should be placed on one-year suspension without pay. This bullshit needs to stop and it needs to stop NOW.
Otherwise we might stop talking about the "land of the free" but instead "the land of the Congresses' serfs".
* * (The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that phone calls from neighbors are Not probable cause, due to the potential for harassment by angry neighbors against people they dislike. Probable cause can only be established by the officer on the scene, with his own eyes.)
No. They're not even allowed to enter your car or look inside your trunk, unless they have probable cause (like hearing someone scream for help). Any officer who tries to enter your car is committing a crime.
Nice thought, but I've been there and done that. I've used alternative OSes like Atari OS, Commodore 64/GEOS (number 1 computer of its time) and AmigaOS (best OS ever made IMHO), only to discover that everyone else was saying, "We use IBM PC. Do you? No? Then you're not only weird, but also not hired."
I even paid $30 to obtain Netscape Navigator 4, after trying the Free IE4 that came with Win98 and hating it. I decided I'd rather pay for quality than use free crap. But it doesn't matter. Every alternative I've ever supported eventually went bankrupt. One man doesn't make a difference when the other ~1,000,000,000 humans are buying Windows.
I've been resisting the Intel and MS Tidal Wave for over 20 years and I'm tired. I can't win.
Slashdot Mirror
>>>>>"He just kept saying "But Vista's the latest and bestest program..."
>>I'm sure he wanted the "bestest". I'll tell you what's annoying - reading people who semi-quote others by dumbing down their language to make them look incompetent or clueless... I maintain that if you lie about "how" they said something...
>>>
No need. He really talks like that.
He also says things like,
"I stopped by but youse weren't home."
>>>Do you have any clue at all what the size "D" even means?
Yeah. Looks like this. That's about what size Miley's chest is - http://www.taylorplasticsurgery.com/breast_augmentation.jpg
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/More-OpEd-Contributors/The_truth_behind_the_Census_Bureaus_insurance_figure.html
http://www.businessword.com/index.php?/weblog/comments/2640/
Because if they don't upgrade, then in another year or two the 10.4 OS that came with their PowerMac will no longer be able to run various programs (like the eventual Firefox 4). It's forced obsolescence.
Some of us prefer to continue the desktops and laptops we have now, even if they are old, because they still work. But the way Apple operates, that's simply impossible to do. You get left behind. PPC users get left behind. PALM users get left behind.
>>>The number of people who want/need their speech protected by the first amendment is similarly small.
Way to miss the point. Since the problem is so *small* (3%) all that is needed is a *minor* fix to the exiting system, such as extending Medicare to include those on the welfare program. And leave the other 97% of Americans alone.
To take-over EVERYBODY'S healthcare to solve such a trivially-small problem (3%) is ridiculous.
The other reason you can't take a picture of an electron is because photons of light are larger than the thing you are trying to image. Also you misquoted the uncertainly principle. It says you CAN find the precise location of an electron, but not its momentum. Or vice-versa find its momentum, but not position.
Actually I pulled it out of a Biology textbook left-over from my BIO 101. Perhaps you ought to try reading a biology text sometime, because the definition is clear - the moment a mammal becomes fertile they cease to be a child and become an adult.
>>>They can put their kids in private school or they can home school.
It's difficult for poor or middle-income parents to afford private school when they are being socked with a $5000 government school tax every year. That's the whole point behind making them *temporarily* exempt from the tax - so they have an extra 5000 in their pockets which they can spend on private or home schooling. (Or even a different government school. I have a friend who thought the local govt school was crap, so they paid tuition to attend the govt schoolin the next district.)
Once these kids are grown-up, the parents go back to paying their annual contribution towards the government school. Which means they are still doing their part to help society as a whole.
The government screws-up everything it touches. Look at the Cash-for-Clunkers program - many dealers voluntarily decided "we're done" because they're not getting paid their ~$4000 per car allowance. And also the clunker-cars were *destroyed*. Why? Why weren't they recycled for their parts? Stupid, stupid, stupid. And not environmentally-friendly.
And then there's the government-run schools which are horrible. The government-run post office is bankrupt, and yet the private companies like FedEx and UPS are booming. Government-run interstates are collapsing (literally in the case of the Minneapolis' bridge). And government-run Amtrak is also nearly bankrupt.
And the war. The government can't even win. Why the heck would I want I want to have this kind ineptitude controlling my body, and deciding whether or not I get my broken are fixed, or my prostate examined, or whatever. We're not just talking about messed-up schedules, but ME, myself, and I. I have an inalienable right to control my body, and Washington wants to take-away that right and hand-it-over to bureaucrats that don't give a damn. I might as well step into a time machine and sell myself to a Southern Plantation, because if this program passes, that's what I will be.
Pass. They'll just frak it up like they frak-up everything else.
Read my signature. The problem is small (3%) therefore all we need is a small solution, like extending Medicare to Welfare or Food Stamp recipients, and leave the other 97% of Americans alone. To have a wholesale takeover by a government monopoly to fix such a small (3%) problem is bass-backwards, illogical, and flat-out ridiculous.
You fell for Lincoln's 1863 speech, but in 1862 he said, "If banning slavery would save the union, I would do it. If keeping slavery would save the union, I would do it." He didn't care either way. The war was about one side wanting a strong central government with high protective tariffs, and the other side wanting a weak central government because they were being hurt by the tariffs (it's hard to sell cotton when your government is jacking-up the prices).
It's somewhat akin to if the European Union announced, "We're taxing all wool at 50%," and the UK and Ireland and Iceland seceded because they were fed up, and then the EU attacked.
>>>>>I'm a fairly hard core libertarian
>>Bet you use them damn socialaized roads without a qualm
Why should he feel a qualm? He pays the same ~$1.00 per gallon toll that everyone else pays. Libertarians support user fees, where you pay if you use something, and don't pay if you don't. Roads are an excellent example. Ditto the post office.
>>> due to long waiting lists...despite the undoubted issues with our system, we live longer than Americans
Oh really?
PROSTATE 5-YEAR CANCER SURVIVOR RATE
100%- United States
90% - Canada
77% - United Kingdom
Hmmm. And:
UK HEALTHCARE WAITING TIMES
8 months - cataract surgery
11 months- hip replacement
12 months- knee replacement
5 months - slipped disc
5 months - hernia repair
SOURCE - The BBC, May 2009
It appears to me that the British and Canadian governments are *just* as dysfunctional as the U.S. government when it comes to running programs. Like healthcare.
>>>we know how terribly private industry fails at increasing the common good
Do they? The electric and phone companies are privately-owned, and yet they appear to do a wonderful job. Ditto Intel. The machine I'm typing is about 12,000 times faster than my first computer, and look how that has transformed people's lives (on-demand music, videos, et cetera). Grocery stores bring voluminous supplies of food, and in dizzying varieties, within just a few miles of your home. (Compare tha to the Soviet Union's government-run stores which often had empty shelves.)
Private industry has done a wonderful job providing the things we need. Why? Because if they don't, they go out-of-business. There's no greater motivator than the loss of one's job.
Easy. Just ditch them all. You don't need a schedule to follow that paradigm. Oh wait. They already *are* ditching them all. Hmmm.
I for one can't wait until this "government school scheduling program"
is applied to my government-run healthcare system to schedule patients.
Yay?
Unless you predict the wrong future, in which case you end-up like Atari or Commodore (bankrupt).
I miss these guys. Their mission was to create powerful computers (equal to the Macs of the day), but only cost $300-400 to purchase. PCs for the masses just like VCRs and DVD players are made for the masses. It would be nice if Apple developed a subdivision with the same goal - cheap Macs that even Walmart or McDonalds workers could afford.
(cough)
Bullpucky. This is planned obsolescence. Like the PowerMacs. Some of thoem are only 2 years old and yet Apple made a decision to stop syncing 10.6 with them. Why? Why abandon those users? Why abandon Palm users? An owner might have a perfectly good piece of equipment, but because Apple suddenly decides "we won't support you" they find themselves spending money on expensive upgrades.
I think it's planned. Apple knows a good way to make money is to *force* people to upgrade. Even Mickeysoft is not that dirty (and when they are, like with Vista that ran like a snail on 1/2 gig or 1 gig machines, they were excoriated).
Apple's a luxury brand for deep pockets - pure and simple.
>>>dropped support for syncing with PowerPC Mac
Yes but why? Some of those PowerPCs Macs are only 2 to two-and-a-half years old. Why abandon them? See this is what annoys me about Apple - they abandon their users. An owner might have a perfectly good piece of equipment, but because Apple suddenly decides "we won't support you" they find themselves forced to expend money on expensive upgrades.
This Palm story is the same deal. Apple shouldn't be abandoning people like that. Even Mickeysoft is not that dirty.
Apple's a luxury brand for those with deep pockets.
>>>if he thinks Enigma was unbreakable.
Well let's look at history. Where the British able to break Enigma? NOPE. They had to literally steal a machine before they could read Germany's encrypted orders. So the author was correct when he said Enigma was an unbreakable code.
WE NEED AUSTRALIAN BALLOTING. Then we could pass votes like this, without feeling like we "wasted" our vote on no-name politicians:
(1) Harry Browne - Libertarian
(2) Chuck Baldwin - Constitution
(3) Ted Weill - Reform
(4) McCain - R
(5) ---
BUT since I don't want to waste my vote, rather than vote for the first three which I already know will lose, I vote my fourth choice which is not the best man - just the one with the best chance of winning.
It's worth noting that during the first couple presidential elections, the Congress selected the president, and they used a process very similar to Australian balloting (casting multiple votes until somebody came-out on top). It would be very easy for the States to adopt this kind of ballot.
>>>That'll just be an additional $9.95 per month rental fee
That pissed me off when Comcast did it to my TCM channel. For years I've had it "free" with my monthly service, and then suddenly they moved it to the digital tier (and without two months notice as required by law). I'm supposed to pay an extra $5/month (times three sets) to watch it. Bullshit.
This is what happens when you have a monopoly, and more importantly a government that is unwilling to regulate it. Perhaps it's time that Comcast got the treatment AT&T received in the 80s (broken-apart) and introduce choice for consumers.
I for one can't wait until this "government school scheduling program"
is applied to my government-run healthcare system to schedule patients.
Yay?
>>>The States have never had control of international borders,
I know. I'm not disputing that. I'm disputing your belief that the general welfare clause gives Congress the power to do (almost) anything they please. That's not what the U.S. Constitution says. On the contrary it grants Congress only a very small list of powers (see Madison's commentary).
>>>I think the problem is people want to shout "but the Constitution doesn't say so!"
No the problem is that many of us have encountered these "checkpoints" that are not anywhere near the border (me - in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas) (my brother- in New Hampshire), and we're tired of being harassed on U.S. soil. We should be able to taking a fraking vacation without being interrogated. I don't mind answering a few questions like my name or showing my drivers license, but when an officer demands to see inside my trunk then he's crossed the line. He's committing an illegal act per the Constitution.
And this isn't the only case. The whole uproar with Obama's friend who was arrested - that too was an illegal search. It's an illegal act to enter a private home without warrant, or probable cause* or permission. Each one of those officers should be placed on one-year suspension without pay. This bullshit needs to stop and it needs to stop NOW.
Otherwise we might stop talking about the "land of the free" but instead "the land of the Congresses' serfs".
*
* (The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that phone calls from neighbors are Not probable cause, due to the potential for harassment by angry neighbors against people they dislike. Probable cause can only be established by the officer on the scene, with his own eyes.)
No. They're not even allowed to enter your car or look inside your trunk, unless they have probable cause (like hearing someone scream for help). Any officer who tries to enter your car is committing a crime.
P.S.
>>>he was making fun of you for calling it itunes.com.
I just checked. That is a valid address. So I'm not really sure what's so funny about using it for illustrative purposes.
Nice thought, but I've been there and done that. I've used alternative OSes like Atari OS, Commodore 64/GEOS (number 1 computer of its time) and AmigaOS (best OS ever made IMHO), only to discover that everyone else was saying, "We use IBM PC. Do you? No? Then you're not only weird, but also not hired."
I even paid $30 to obtain Netscape Navigator 4, after trying the Free IE4 that came with Win98 and hating it. I decided I'd rather pay for quality than use free crap. But it doesn't matter. Every alternative I've ever supported eventually went bankrupt. One man doesn't make a difference when the other ~1,000,000,000 humans are buying Windows.
I've been resisting the Intel and MS Tidal Wave for over 20 years and I'm tired. I can't win.