Well, if you get enough parents together, it shouldn't be such a load.
Except that "enough parents" constitutes a group. Groups attract those with an agenda. And you're back to GP's square one.
So how about we all get together and decide on a system of rules to govern the decision makers in the group? Some collection of articles or something that would limit their ability to do anything but serve the members of the group, and leave all possible remaining power and rights with the actual group members? We could even make some sort of rules that would punish them if they got caught taking bribes or intentionally harming the group. You think something like that would do it?
That's what the iPod and iPhone did. That's what Jonny Ive's design has done. I find it hilarious that people talk up all these competitors (Nokia, RIM, LG, Samsung, and Palm for the iPhone, and Creative, Microsoft, for the iPod), and say how they now offer better features and hardware than the Apple products they wish to "kill." They forget that before Apple even broke those markets wide open, NONE of those companies made jack SHIT.
Right... that's why the iPhone is oh so successful in all markets, worldwide, and nobody in Japan or the EU had a phone that they would consider better. The truth is that those companies make great products, and companies like Nokia are still the market leaders. The iPhone/iPod/iTouch/iMac ARE fads in the US. They're also pretty good products. But they're not revolutionary or clearly technologically ahead of the competition. They also aren't "driving" a lot of markets; they've had a hell of a time trying to make inroads into Japan, and I don't think they'll pull it off.
Where was the Zune before the iPod?
I had an Archos jukebox years before the iPod came out. Mine was 5 GB and hard-drive based when everyone else was looking at 128 MB mp3 players with shitty interfaces. Mine had user replaceable lithium AA-sized batteries and I could use any software I wanted to manage my library. I could even synch the archos with multiple PCs and not worry about DRM or anything else designed to stop me from using it the way I wanted to. Then the iPod came out and the US consumer bent over for vendor lock-in. YAY APPLE!!!!!
Where was the Storm or Pre before the iPhone? Where was any of all this sudden innovation in hardware design before Apple made their mark?
Apple's innovation is in UI and marketing. None of their products are revolutionary from an engineering standpoint, it's just that their competition really, really sucks.
The competitors play catch-up because they lack the vision to lead. They are too busy resting on their laurels and squeezing every last dime out of the consumer.
True, at least in the US market. Americans still think $0.25/text message is a fair price.
If Apple costs more (and I'm not necessarily convinced one way or another), I'm willing to pony up to support a company that has the balls to lead, because in the long run we're all the better for it.
The whole tech industry and the consumers who use their products owe a huge debt of gratitude to Apple for lighting a massive bonfire under the collective asses of all the industry competitors. No other company in the past decade has done more to set a fierce competitive landscape in the realm of hardware, software, and product design.
So, you're willing to pay more money to their brand because you feel their company has done right by you and/or society? One point for Ballmer.
If it weren't for Apple we'd still be stuck with shitty Windows Mobile on 2" tiny non-touchscreen devices that looked uglier than a crack-addled stepmom on an alcohol binge.
Archos was years ahead of Windows Mobile, and should've taken the spot Apple did to lead the market. Unfortunately, Archos has no recognizable marketing skills.
Better question, did these boys launch the balloon near any airports or frequently used air space? Did the balloon enter controlled, restricted, or uncontrolled airspace? Was it legal in their area? For all we know they had NOTAMs...
I'd guess a balloon this small wouldn't be an issue for many engines, but something like an air intake could be a serious problem. And don't laugh at the thought of that, I once saw a small bird get sucked into one.
In our country, yellow light time is solely determined by the maximum revenue on the road the light is installed on. It's determined by reaction time, stopping distance and the maximum speed.
This seems crazy to me. Perhaps the speed limit of the road should be reduced, or the amber light lengthened,...
I'm waiting for the proof that American cities are reducing yellow/amber light duration to increase the revenue of these cameras. We already saw it in Italy, and I strongly suspect this to be the case in many cities I've been to. How can you have a road with a 45 mph speed limit and a 1.5-second yellow light? Assuming an alert driver with a 200 ms reaction time to move his foot to the brake and press it all the way, 1300ms for a complete stop is woefully inadequate at the given speed limit (66 feet per second). An average driver needs ~135 feet to stop a vehicle, and that's with aggressive braking.
When atheists claim hegemony over the intellectual realm.
If Christians can claim supreme dominance and ownership of a country simply because they make up 80% of a democracy, why can't non-believers claim ownership over the sciences because we make up a similar majority? Likewise with high IQs.
Oh, right, because Christians are Right and they have Truth on their side. Speaking of arrogance...
People bitched when FireWire was added; now they're bitching because it's going away.
FireWire isn't going away. Apple stopped including FireWire on their MacBook, but it's still on the MacBook Pro. This is to force everyone who needs FireWire to buy the MacBook Pro instead... I think somebody in marketing would call it a competitive advantage?
Then buy a second-gen Shuffle, they're still being sold. No-one is forcing you to get the new one, you know...
Would you people please stop trying to argue like this? It gets old and it looks dumb. Nobody is arguing that they're being forced to purchase this product, they're making comments about its design in the comments section of a slashdot article about the design of this product.
Or, to put things in your terms for you: Nobody is forcing you to read these comments, you know.
Yeah, it's pretty sad that they had to mess with such a good formula. It's definitely turned into The Religious Channel... SyFy is The Wrestling Channel, and TLC is The Building and Making Over Stuff Channel. And who can forget all of those News channels? Newspeak is propagating faster than anyone ever imagined.
Scratch that, newspeak is propagating a little slower than one great author imagined.
Awesome! I didn't even know about Universe until you mentioned this. I'm afraid it'll suck, but at least I have more SG to look forward to. Looks like they'll be wrapping up Atlantis with a DVD, too.
If you're comparing a point-and-shoot camera to an old SLR and don't like the response time, the simple answer is to get a DSLR and make it a fair comparision. They start in the $500 range...
I bought my SLR for $100 at Sears. It worked great and produced beautiful pictures for two decades. I'm not coughing up $500 for a camera. Guess that makes me an old fart.:-)
Nothing wrong with that unless you're spending a lot of money to scan and convert to digital or spending a ton on film... I prefer my digital workflow and processing, and knowing I can experiment with whatever I want and not worry about the cost of the film. To me, the faster post-processing, instant "developing", really cheap film, and 500-exposure rolls (memory cards) justify the price.
Agreed, but I think this whole article and discussion is supposed to be referring to consumer point and shoots. My brother recently purchased a digicam for my mother. It had a whopping 12 megapixels, and even noise ninja can't make an ISO 400 shot look halfway decent. IIRC, the sensor is a tiny 1".
Nikon really pushed ahead ahead with awesome high ISO/low noise performance with the D300, and blew the roof off the competition with the D700 and D3. They knew most photogs didn't need more than 6-10 megapixels, and what really mattered were speed, focus, high iso, low noise, etc. The SLR market has this pretty well figured out and has for a while, but the uneducated consumer (consumer market) is just starting to realize it.
His complaint is nothing... we should be discussing Macs here. I have a MacBook Pro. Which version, you ask? Why, the early 2008 model... Which one, you ask? The one with 15.4" display and a Penryn processor. As opposed to the MBP with the black keyboard or the all black MBP with the black keyboard.
If you're a computer programmer, it's a good assumption that you like using computers. If you're a rifleman, it's a good assumption that you like killing people. Generalizations are valid when they correctly apply to 90% of the group specified.
No, this is where your idiocy shines through. If you're a rifleman, it's a good assumption that you are capable of killing people. Of course the American driver kills more people than the American rifleman, but that's a different story. The point here is that only the psychopaths enjoy killing, and they are definitely the most efficient killers. There's nothing wrong with that. Most psychopaths never join the military, but the military is about the only organization that can properly utilize them to help our society.
It is society's job to properly control the military and ensure that they are only allowed to kill when it is the right thing to do. And America's [recent] track record is relatively good.
The latter is the only case of "rape" I ever personally knew of in the military, and the young man was acquitted when the full story came out. She was crying rape to cover up for cheating on her fiance.
I was summoned to the ticket counter by United when they discovered a spare laptop battery in my checked luggage. I was forced to bring it with my carry-on instead.
I saw a 7' Cat 5e cable for $30 at my local Staples last week... Luckily I didn't buy it in the store! When I got home I found I could buy it for HALF that price online. I think next time, though, I'll splurge on the Monster gold-plated Ethernet cables instead.
apolitical news? You poor, brainwashed pinko socialist. Just the other day I was watching my Fair and Balanced News, and they told me how all you crazy euros watch biased, State-Run News, and how you're being indoctrinated to grow up to be little Stalins. They went on to explain that you watch porn during dinner with your family, the morning cartoons encourage children to get abortions as soon as they can, and honest, fun, violent programs are censored.
No, sir, I think you are the one being misled.
I personally fear the day when a political organization controls a major media outlet, channel, or news service. Thank God that can never happen in the Good Ole USA with our free market competition and vigilant citizens.
... or unless it's the only way to get around your ISP's attempts at blocking and throttling P2P. Maybe the ISPs will figure out that interfering with users' activity actually costs them more in the long run?
Slashdot Mirror
Well, if you get enough parents together, it shouldn't be such a load.
Except that "enough parents" constitutes a group. Groups attract those with an agenda. And you're back to GP's square one.
So how about we all get together and decide on a system of rules to govern the decision makers in the group? Some collection of articles or something that would limit their ability to do anything but serve the members of the group, and leave all possible remaining power and rights with the actual group members? We could even make some sort of rules that would punish them if they got caught taking bribes or intentionally harming the group. You think something like that would do it?
That's what the iPod and iPhone did. That's what Jonny Ive's design has done. I find it hilarious that people talk up all these competitors (Nokia, RIM, LG, Samsung, and Palm for the iPhone, and Creative, Microsoft, for the iPod), and say how they now offer better features and hardware than the Apple products they wish to "kill." They forget that before Apple even broke those markets wide open, NONE of those companies made jack SHIT.
Right... that's why the iPhone is oh so successful in all markets, worldwide, and nobody in Japan or the EU had a phone that they would consider better. The truth is that those companies make great products, and companies like Nokia are still the market leaders. The iPhone/iPod/iTouch/iMac ARE fads in the US. They're also pretty good products. But they're not revolutionary or clearly technologically ahead of the competition. They also aren't "driving" a lot of markets; they've had a hell of a time trying to make inroads into Japan, and I don't think they'll pull it off.
Where was the Zune before the iPod?
I had an Archos jukebox years before the iPod came out. Mine was 5 GB and hard-drive based when everyone else was looking at 128 MB mp3 players with shitty interfaces. Mine had user replaceable lithium AA-sized batteries and I could use any software I wanted to manage my library. I could even synch the archos with multiple PCs and not worry about DRM or anything else designed to stop me from using it the way I wanted to. Then the iPod came out and the US consumer bent over for vendor lock-in. YAY APPLE!!!!!
Where was the Storm or Pre before the iPhone? Where was any of all this sudden innovation in hardware design before Apple made their mark?
Apple's innovation is in UI and marketing. None of their products are revolutionary from an engineering standpoint, it's just that their competition really, really sucks.
The competitors play catch-up because they lack the vision to lead. They are too busy resting on their laurels and squeezing every last dime out of the consumer.
True, at least in the US market. Americans still think $0.25/text message is a fair price.
If Apple costs more (and I'm not necessarily convinced one way or another), I'm willing to pony up to support a company that has the balls to lead, because in the long run we're all the better for it.
The whole tech industry and the consumers who use their products owe a huge debt of gratitude to Apple for lighting a massive bonfire under the collective asses of all the industry competitors. No other company in the past decade has done more to set a fierce competitive landscape in the realm of hardware, software, and product design.
So, you're willing to pay more money to their brand because you feel their company has done right by you and/or society? One point for Ballmer.
If it weren't for Apple we'd still be stuck with shitty Windows Mobile on 2" tiny non-touchscreen devices that looked uglier than a crack-addled stepmom on an alcohol binge.
Archos was years ahead of Windows Mobile, and should've taken the spot Apple did to lead the market. Unfortunately, Archos has no recognizable marketing skills.
(EVEN BIGGER SECRET: If you're dumb, slow, and lazy, a degree won't help you.)
Better question, did these boys launch the balloon near any airports or frequently used air space? Did the balloon enter controlled, restricted, or uncontrolled airspace? Was it legal in their area? For all we know they had NOTAMs...
I'd guess a balloon this small wouldn't be an issue for many engines, but something like an air intake could be a serious problem. And don't laugh at the thought of that, I once saw a small bird get sucked into one.
Awesome links, thanks very much for all the information. I think I'm going to go yellow light hunting/timing this week.
In our country, yellow light time is solely determined by the maximum revenue on the road the light is installed on. It's determined by reaction time, stopping distance and the maximum speed.
Fixed that for you.
This seems crazy to me. Perhaps the speed limit of the road should be reduced, or the amber light lengthened, ...
I'm waiting for the proof that American cities are reducing yellow/amber light duration to increase the revenue of these cameras. We already saw it in Italy, and I strongly suspect this to be the case in many cities I've been to. How can you have a road with a 45 mph speed limit and a 1.5-second yellow light? Assuming an alert driver with a 200 ms reaction time to move his foot to the brake and press it all the way, 1300ms for a complete stop is woefully inadequate at the given speed limit (66 feet per second). An average driver needs ~135 feet to stop a vehicle, and that's with aggressive braking.
"it perpetually frustrates organized religion"
When atheists claim hegemony over the intellectual realm.
If Christians can claim supreme dominance and ownership of a country simply because they make up 80% of a democracy, why can't non-believers claim ownership over the sciences because we make up a similar majority? Likewise with high IQs.
Oh, right, because Christians are Right and they have Truth on their side. Speaking of arrogance...
People bitched when FireWire was added; now they're bitching because it's going away.
FireWire isn't going away. Apple stopped including FireWire on their MacBook, but it's still on the MacBook Pro. This is to force everyone who needs FireWire to buy the MacBook Pro instead... I think somebody in marketing would call it a competitive advantage?
Then buy a second-gen Shuffle, they're still being sold. No-one is forcing you to get the new one, you know...
Would you people please stop trying to argue like this? It gets old and it looks dumb. Nobody is arguing that they're being forced to purchase this product, they're making comments about its design in the comments section of a slashdot article about the design of this product.
Or, to put things in your terms for you: Nobody is forcing you to read these comments, you know.
Yeah, it's pretty sad that they had to mess with such a good formula. It's definitely turned into The Religious Channel... SyFy is The Wrestling Channel, and TLC is The Building and Making Over Stuff Channel. And who can forget all of those News channels? Newspeak is propagating faster than anyone ever imagined.
Scratch that, newspeak is propagating a little slower than one great author imagined.
Awesome! I didn't even know about Universe until you mentioned this. I'm afraid it'll suck, but at least I have more SG to look forward to. Looks like they'll be wrapping up Atlantis with a DVD, too.
If you're comparing a point-and-shoot camera to an old SLR and don't like the response time, the simple answer is to get a DSLR and make it a fair comparision. They start in the $500 range...
I bought my SLR for $100 at Sears. It worked great and produced beautiful pictures for two decades. I'm not coughing up $500 for a camera. Guess that makes me an old fart. :-)
Nothing wrong with that unless you're spending a lot of money to scan and convert to digital or spending a ton on film... I prefer my digital workflow and processing, and knowing I can experiment with whatever I want and not worry about the cost of the film. To me, the faster post-processing, instant "developing", really cheap film, and 500-exposure rolls (memory cards) justify the price.
Agreed, but I think this whole article and discussion is supposed to be referring to consumer point and shoots. My brother recently purchased a digicam for my mother. It had a whopping 12 megapixels, and even noise ninja can't make an ISO 400 shot look halfway decent. IIRC, the sensor is a tiny 1".
Nikon really pushed ahead ahead with awesome high ISO/low noise performance with the D300, and blew the roof off the competition with the D700 and D3. They knew most photogs didn't need more than 6-10 megapixels, and what really mattered were speed, focus, high iso, low noise, etc. The SLR market has this pretty well figured out and has for a while, but the uneducated consumer (consumer market) is just starting to realize it.
You're right and it is absurd. We should follow their model and establish monopolies on burning this common plant and properly tap this market.
His complaint is nothing... we should be discussing Macs here. I have a MacBook Pro. Which version, you ask? Why, the early 2008 model... Which one, you ask? The one with 15.4" display and a Penryn processor. As opposed to the MBP with the black keyboard or the all black MBP with the black keyboard.
If you're a computer programmer, it's a good assumption that you like using computers. If you're a rifleman, it's a good assumption that you like killing people. Generalizations are valid when they correctly apply to 90% of the group specified.
No, this is where your idiocy shines through. If you're a rifleman, it's a good assumption that you are capable of killing people. Of course the American driver kills more people than the American rifleman, but that's a different story. The point here is that only the psychopaths enjoy killing, and they are definitely the most efficient killers. There's nothing wrong with that. Most psychopaths never join the military, but the military is about the only organization that can properly utilize them to help our society.
It is society's job to properly control the military and ensure that they are only allowed to kill when it is the right thing to do. And America's [recent] track record is relatively good.
The latter is the only case of "rape" I ever personally knew of in the military, and the young man was acquitted when the full story came out. She was crying rape to cover up for cheating on her fiance.
I was summoned to the ticket counter by United when they discovered a spare laptop battery in my checked luggage. I was forced to bring it with my carry-on instead.
I saw a 7' Cat 5e cable for $30 at my local Staples last week... Luckily I didn't buy it in the store! When I got home I found I could buy it for HALF that price online. I think next time, though, I'll splurge on the Monster gold-plated Ethernet cables instead.
... ...
a...
apolitical news? You poor, brainwashed pinko socialist. Just the other day I was watching my Fair and Balanced News, and they told me how all you crazy euros watch biased, State-Run News, and how you're being indoctrinated to grow up to be little Stalins. They went on to explain that you watch porn during dinner with your family, the morning cartoons encourage children to get abortions as soon as they can, and honest, fun, violent programs are censored.
No, sir, I think you are the one being misled.
I personally fear the day when a political organization controls a major media outlet, channel, or news service. Thank God that can never happen in the Good Ole USA with our free market competition and vigilant citizens.
Reason #58 I still have you listed as a friend.
You made a little mistake... you didn't yell loudly, beat your chest, and say it in a more confident manner. You'll never get modded up this way!
Actually, if god = that which created man, evolution = god.
Perhaps you meant to say "even evolution/god is not perfect"?
... or unless it's the only way to get around your ISP's attempts at blocking and throttling P2P. Maybe the ISPs will figure out that interfering with users' activity actually costs them more in the long run?