I think the point of the article is to illustrate that he's pulling his hair out wondering why SpaceX and other up-and-coming space organizations are reinventing the wheel. He's saying rockets are hugely inefficient for moving matter into orbit and you'd get more bang-for-the-buck by inventing something new (i.e. a space plane, a space elevator, or even a simple stairway to heaven).
every browser should rely on the codecs installed on the OS
If browsers rely on OS codecs, then distributions of Linux would need to license H.264 and other proprietary codecs. The fact that these codecs are encumbered by patents (making them non-free) makes this an unlikely scenario.
Or would you, as a user, prefer to deal with purchasing licenses for every computer you want to install a particular codec onto? I doubt you would want this burden, so why suggest that Linux distributions should bare it?
Really... the winning solution (for users) is for a codec that is not encumbered by patents to become the de-facto standard. By enabling H.264 in Chrome on Microsoft platforms, Microsoft is trying to make a patent encumbered codec the de facto standard so that it (meaning Microsoft) can collect licensing fees in the future.
If you don't want some kind of information to be made public, don't post it on the Internet. Even if all your privacy settings are selected correctly in Facebook (so only friends can see your posts), there is no guarantee that one of your friends won't "re-tweet" (or whatever the kids are calling it these days) your personal information.
most albums contain mostly junk-and-filler these days
Good bands have maybe 1-2 songs on their albumn that sucks. NiN, Tool, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Erasure, Depeche Mode, New Order come to mind (for myself) as bands I can actually listen to the whole CD of.
Wow... I never realized that those SIX bands were responsible for MOST ALBUMS that are released THESE DAYS.
Dammit, fool. Reading comprehension, much? And nowhere did my previous post make any indication of the type of music that I actually listen to (custom Pandora stations, by the way).
Pledges. I personally favor pledges. Ask people what they want, let them choose their favorite art and artists, give feedback, participate, put their money in escrow, produce the stuff.
Kickstarter.com is my *current* favorite "Pledge-based" business website for funding creative projects.
Now they just need to realise that people don't really buy singles any more...
I've never bought anything on iTunes or any of the other online music stores, but I'm pretty sure the business model for those is to sell singles for about $0.99 each and "albums" for about $9.99 each.
I'm pretty sure - since most albums contain mostly junk-and-filler these days - the individual songs that are popular end up selling very well.
I voted for him after voting for Republican presidential candidates for so many years.
Vote early and vote often. There are other offices where power is controlled in the government. The US Constitution, in fact, requires that the president not be able to enact any sort of change (except maybe declaring war for a year or two) without support of his Congress.
The Congress during the past two years, despite being Democrat majority, has been hugely influenced by obstructionist Republicans.
At the end of the day... these stalemates in Congress benefit the people because they prevent any sort of rapid change. The government, spurred by slow change, has done pretty well over the last two hundred years. Leave rapid change for businesses and individuals.
Returning to the point of Net Neutrality... it's not the "big fish to fry" right now and if there are negative implications on end users I'd encourage you to support "Pro-Net Nuetrality" Congressman for the next decade or two until legislation can be enacted that smacks down Comcast and the other evil network MegaCorporations.
You would rely on the staff at any retailer to help you make buying decisions? How quaint!
You actively avoid shopping at brick-and-mortar stores that find it valueable to pay somebody $8/hr to prevent theft? How idealistic!
How does that feel? Does it hurt that I dismissed your reasons to avoid shopping at Best Buy? I hope it did after you insulted me for choosing to occasionally patronize the big blue technology warehouse.
more manufacturer stores, bypassing the generic middlemen. E.g., Apple.
Point of clarification... Apple is a manufacturer store with huge mark-ups. Apple is probably the best example of Veritical Integration that exists right now. They combined their hardware with their software and sell it all through their own stores.
I don't think retailers are going anywhere, though. Best Buy and Amazon are necessary. Apple is a very special niche. Manufacturers like HP and Samsung aren't opening up their own stores anytime soon. And I bet sales at Sony's stores pale in comparison to the volume Sony moves through generic retailers.
It'd be interesting to see how Dell and Microsoft do very their own internal sales forces compared to their sales through "the generic middlemen".
Stores can no longer use tricks to get me to spend my money there, and I'm okay with that.
I actually bought an iPod case at Best Buy the other day for $11 knowing it was available on Amazon for $7. The brick-and-mortar shopping experience is still worth it if I want something now or doing what to worry about paying for shipping (usually I buy *more* than I need at Amazon for small purchases to qualify for free shipping).
At the end of the day, the customer wins. The best stores win. And crappy stores lose. This is a good thing.
Braid (the leading title this year) is supposedly good. It has won awards for its gameplay. The first time I came across Braid was at last year's Penny Arcade Expo in Boston and the person talking about it had good things to say.
I'm not sure what the end goal of a capitalistic society is. We're technologizing ourselves out of jobs,
There are two arguments and I think it comes from the two basic ideologies so I'll call a spade-a-spade.
Republicans cry out that new improvements are ALWAYS possible. The next obvious frontier to conquer is space. It will take lots of effort from lots of people to develop that industry. Think of it like the 1800s when they were building the railroads.
Democrats cry out that there is no work for those without the skills necessary to make the new improvements called for by the first group. They say that the state should provide various types of support so unskilled people can enjoy their lives. Notability, efforts are made to ensure the elderly are respected (a noble virtue) and the children of unskilled parents have a chance to break the cycle.
In any case... to boil it down and leave you with a simple conclusion... The purpose of capitalism is to maintain a skilled workforce. Think of it this way: Capitalism isn't "complete" until every member of the workforce has a value skill that allows them to contribute in a meaningful way to society. This will never happen, so you don't have to worry about capitalism ever being completed.
I know you're kidding, but when nobody can agree on what to do about taxes, unemployment, and the economy-at-large, it's nice to see that at least everybody can join together against the advertising industry.
When anyone announces their next-generation console, the scramble is on.
Historically it has been a 7-year cycle. The Wii came out in 2006. That places the Wii 2 (Electric Bugaloo) somewhere in 2013.
I still play my Wii, though I'm a casual gamer who generally avoids one-player games. Right now Kirby's Epic Yarn is getting a small bit of my attention. I'm caught between thinking it's a fun, simple game and the realization that it was designed for 8-year-olds (note: I'm 28). In any case, it's enjoyable. That's all video games need to achieve... if people have a good time playing them, then mission accomplished.
If you have enough money, you no longer have to try.
I'm not sure I think this is a bad thing. The whole idea of "retirement" is that you've worked hard enough that you no longer need to work.
The trouble is when people are spending money that they didn't do any meaningful work to earn. Thought, if mommy and daddy have worked so hard that they can afford to let you cheat your way through school at least their wealth is being redistributed. I guess the thing to be weary of is what happens once the cheaters get high-ranking positions in the business or political world. That's when the entire economic system turns to shit.
Is their any way keeping track of the cheaters and blacklisting them from ever managing any sizable projects or organizations?
Dell started to offer something like Ubuntu as a Windows alternative across a decent proportion of its range
I have a Dell Mini8 system that came with Ubuntu. I really like it for portability, but will attest to the fact that Dell installed their own derivative of Ubuntu on there because (for whatever reason) the icon that runs Firefox is a shiny blue orb.
They must have rushed the thing through QA because there are useful (not necessary) system configuration option screens whose window-size is (a) taller than the screen, and (b) not resizable. This effectively means that I can never click the "Okay" button at the bottom of those screens to confirm whatever config change that I wanted to make.
Small things like this are an example that Dell's commitment to Linux is not as mature as the community would like it to be.
Is this a patent on invention? With an illustration showing a man reading the newspaper while a light bulb appears in his thoughts, I conclude that this 1993 invention has successfully cornered the market for all new ideas until it expires.
a citizen had planted the device on the car of a US Senator
In the spirit of a more Free and Open Government, I'd like to propose attaching one of these to all vehicles used by our Congress. Then to be transparent broadcast the coordinates to an Internet site where the public can find out where its representatives are. I believe this would demonstrate that America is a safe and secure nation.
men are allowed to go topless more places than women
States which permit toplessness for both sexes include the California coast, including Black's Beach and Santa Cruz, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, New York, Ohio, and Texas.
Well, that's the point. Cultures that think pictures of women who are "clad" (which is just a fancy word for "wearing clothes") are very probably suppressing their women.
I would stop short of saying that women in these cultures are abused or mistreated because I don't know the situation. But my impression is that making them adhere to a particular dress code is denying them a basic human right.
On the other hand, forcing "Western" values on Libya doesn't seem all that fair either. So let them be free to make rules for their own people and what businesses like bit.ly or vb.ly run afoul of those rules then let them pay the consequences.
Slashdot Mirror
I think the point of the article is to illustrate that he's pulling his hair out wondering why SpaceX and other up-and-coming space organizations are reinventing the wheel. He's saying rockets are hugely inefficient for moving matter into orbit and you'd get more bang-for-the-buck by inventing something new (i.e. a space plane, a space elevator, or even a simple stairway to heaven).
every browser should rely on the codecs installed on the OS
If browsers rely on OS codecs, then distributions of Linux would need to license H.264 and other proprietary codecs. The fact that these codecs are encumbered by patents (making them non-free) makes this an unlikely scenario.
Or would you, as a user, prefer to deal with purchasing licenses for every computer you want to install a particular codec onto? I doubt you would want this burden, so why suggest that Linux distributions should bare it?
Really... the winning solution (for users) is for a codec that is not encumbered by patents to become the de-facto standard. By enabling H.264 in Chrome on Microsoft platforms, Microsoft is trying to make a patent encumbered codec the de facto standard so that it (meaning Microsoft) can collect licensing fees in the future.
If you don't want some kind of information to be made public, don't post it on the Internet. Even if all your privacy settings are selected correctly in Facebook (so only friends can see your posts), there is no guarantee that one of your friends won't "re-tweet" (or whatever the kids are calling it these days) your personal information.
most albums contain mostly junk-and-filler these days
Good bands have maybe 1-2 songs on their albumn that sucks. NiN, Tool, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Erasure, Depeche Mode, New Order come to mind (for myself) as bands I can actually listen to the whole CD of.
Wow... I never realized that those SIX bands were responsible for MOST ALBUMS that are released THESE DAYS.
Dammit, fool. Reading comprehension, much? And nowhere did my previous post make any indication of the type of music that I actually listen to (custom Pandora stations, by the way).
Pledges. I personally favor pledges. Ask people what they want, let them choose their favorite art and artists, give feedback, participate, put their money in escrow, produce the stuff.
Kickstarter.com is my *current* favorite "Pledge-based" business website for funding creative projects.
Now they just need to realise that people don't really buy singles any more...
I've never bought anything on iTunes or any of the other online music stores, but I'm pretty sure the business model for those is to sell singles for about $0.99 each and "albums" for about $9.99 each.
I'm pretty sure - since most albums contain mostly junk-and-filler these days - the individual songs that are popular end up selling very well.
if YouTube goes WebM IE and Safari will have no choice but to support it as well.
All of a sudden the cost Google incurred when it bought YouTube makes a lot of sense.
Add this to the Google TV platform and YouTube could actually be considered a *cheap* acquisition.
This doesn't sound like a lot of money to develop a system that seems like it would be fairly novel and revolutionary.
I voted for him after voting for Republican presidential candidates for so many years.
Vote early and vote often. There are other offices where power is controlled in the government. The US Constitution, in fact, requires that the president not be able to enact any sort of change (except maybe declaring war for a year or two) without support of his Congress.
The Congress during the past two years, despite being Democrat majority, has been hugely influenced by obstructionist Republicans.
At the end of the day... these stalemates in Congress benefit the people because they prevent any sort of rapid change. The government, spurred by slow change, has done pretty well over the last two hundred years. Leave rapid change for businesses and individuals.
Returning to the point of Net Neutrality... it's not the "big fish to fry" right now and if there are negative implications on end users I'd encourage you to support "Pro-Net Nuetrality" Congressman for the next decade or two until legislation can be enacted that smacks down Comcast and the other evil network MegaCorporations.
You would rely on the staff at any retailer to help you make buying decisions? How quaint!
You actively avoid shopping at brick-and-mortar stores that find it valueable to pay somebody $8/hr to prevent theft? How idealistic!
How does that feel? Does it hurt that I dismissed your reasons to avoid shopping at Best Buy? I hope it did after you insulted me for choosing to occasionally patronize the big blue technology warehouse.
more manufacturer stores, bypassing the generic middlemen. E.g., Apple.
Point of clarification... Apple is a manufacturer store with huge mark-ups. Apple is probably the best example of Veritical Integration that exists right now. They combined their hardware with their software and sell it all through their own stores.
I don't think retailers are going anywhere, though. Best Buy and Amazon are necessary. Apple is a very special niche. Manufacturers like HP and Samsung aren't opening up their own stores anytime soon. And I bet sales at Sony's stores pale in comparison to the volume Sony moves through generic retailers.
It'd be interesting to see how Dell and Microsoft do very their own internal sales forces compared to their sales through "the generic middlemen".
Stores can no longer use tricks to get me to spend my money there, and I'm okay with that.
I actually bought an iPod case at Best Buy the other day for $11 knowing it was available on Amazon for $7. The brick-and-mortar shopping experience is still worth it if I want something now or doing what to worry about paying for shipping (usually I buy *more* than I need at Amazon for small purchases to qualify for free shipping).
At the end of the day, the customer wins. The best stores win. And crappy stores lose. This is a good thing.
Braid (the leading title this year) is supposedly good. It has won awards for its gameplay. The first time I came across Braid was at last year's Penny Arcade Expo in Boston and the person talking about it had good things to say.
I'm not sure what the end goal of a capitalistic society is. We're technologizing ourselves out of jobs,
There are two arguments and I think it comes from the two basic ideologies so I'll call a spade-a-spade.
Republicans cry out that new improvements are ALWAYS possible. The next obvious frontier to conquer is space. It will take lots of effort from lots of people to develop that industry. Think of it like the 1800s when they were building the railroads.
Democrats cry out that there is no work for those without the skills necessary to make the new improvements called for by the first group. They say that the state should provide various types of support so unskilled people can enjoy their lives. Notability, efforts are made to ensure the elderly are respected (a noble virtue) and the children of unskilled parents have a chance to break the cycle.
In any case... to boil it down and leave you with a simple conclusion... The purpose of capitalism is to maintain a skilled workforce. Think of it this way: Capitalism isn't "complete" until every member of the workforce has a value skill that allows them to contribute in a meaningful way to society. This will never happen, so you don't have to worry about capitalism ever being completed.
I know you're kidding, but when nobody can agree on what to do about taxes, unemployment, and the economy-at-large, it's nice to see that at least everybody can join together against the advertising industry.
When anyone announces their next-generation console, the scramble is on.
Historically it has been a 7-year cycle. The Wii came out in 2006. That places the Wii 2 (Electric Bugaloo) somewhere in 2013.
I still play my Wii, though I'm a casual gamer who generally avoids one-player games. Right now Kirby's Epic Yarn is getting a small bit of my attention. I'm caught between thinking it's a fun, simple game and the realization that it was designed for 8-year-olds (note: I'm 28). In any case, it's enjoyable. That's all video games need to achieve... if people have a good time playing them, then mission accomplished.
If you have enough money, you no longer have to try.
I'm not sure I think this is a bad thing. The whole idea of "retirement" is that you've worked hard enough that you no longer need to work.
The trouble is when people are spending money that they didn't do any meaningful work to earn. Thought, if mommy and daddy have worked so hard that they can afford to let you cheat your way through school at least their wealth is being redistributed. I guess the thing to be weary of is what happens once the cheaters get high-ranking positions in the business or political world. That's when the entire economic system turns to shit.
Is their any way keeping track of the cheaters and blacklisting them from ever managing any sizable projects or organizations?
Dell started to offer something like Ubuntu as a Windows alternative across a decent proportion of its range
I have a Dell Mini8 system that came with Ubuntu. I really like it for portability, but will attest to the fact that Dell installed their own derivative of Ubuntu on there because (for whatever reason) the icon that runs Firefox is a shiny blue orb.
They must have rushed the thing through QA because there are useful (not necessary) system configuration option screens whose window-size is (a) taller than the screen, and (b) not resizable. This effectively means that I can never click the "Okay" button at the bottom of those screens to confirm whatever config change that I wanted to make.
Small things like this are an example that Dell's commitment to Linux is not as mature as the community would like it to be.
Is this a patent on invention? With an illustration showing a man reading the newspaper while a light bulb appears in his thoughts, I conclude that this 1993 invention has successfully cornered the market for all new ideas until it expires.
with each link they lose billions and billions of dollars.
And if there are millions of links, Google should be justified in charging them Trillions of dollars. Right?
For example, "poor aunt sally slipped while out racing dogs". Er, wait...
"poor uncle sam saw your first umbrella coming kindly into nine goats"
I think I have a new "throwaway password"!
a citizen had planted the device on the car of a US Senator
In the spirit of a more Free and Open Government, I'd like to propose attaching one of these to all vehicles used by our Congress. Then to be transparent broadcast the coordinates to an Internet site where the public can find out where its representatives are. I believe this would demonstrate that America is a safe and secure nation.
men are allowed to go topless more places than women
States which permit toplessness for both sexes include the California coast, including Black's Beach and Santa Cruz, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, New York, Ohio, and Texas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topfreedom#United_States
Well, that's the point. Cultures that think pictures of women who are "clad" (which is just a fancy word for "wearing clothes") are very probably suppressing their women.
I would stop short of saying that women in these cultures are abused or mistreated because I don't know the situation. But my impression is that making them adhere to a particular dress code is denying them a basic human right.
On the other hand, forcing "Western" values on Libya doesn't seem all that fair either. So let them be free to make rules for their own people and what businesses like bit.ly or vb.ly run afoul of those rules then let them pay the consequences.
Won't anybody stop this insanity and think of the adults who crave link-shortened pictures of "a scantily clad lady with some bottle in her hand"?