This salesdouche says "Prizes and competition are critical to building a healthy sales culture."
If "building a healthy sales culture" means "encourage salespeople to treat the customer as a mark" (as commissions tend to do), then I vote for an unhealthy sales culture.
I have yet to meet a single person who claims to want a third party who is willing to get off his ass and actually participate IN ANY PARTY AT ALL.
I bet that you have, but you may not know it.
Don't like who the Democratic Party nominates? Get involved. Don't like Republican candidates? Get involved.
I'm not sure what you're recommending here. Do you mean get involved to make sure that the Dems or Reps nominate candidates that you like? If so, that's beside the point because it does nothing to break out of the two party system.
About a third of eligible voters actually bother to vote in presidential elections. More like a tenth in other elections, and fewer in primaries. The number of people who volunteer or make contributions is microscopic. The number of people who show up at party functions is close to zero.
All true, but it's pretty easy to understand why -- it seems pointless.
If you're not willing to participate in either of the two existing parties, you won't participate in a third one.
Baloney. Lots of people don't participate with either the Dems or the Reps because they feel that both parties are beyond redemption, and therefore the election process itself is beyond redemption. That has to do with a sense of hopelessness, not laziness. I'll bet that if any party, mainstream or otherwise, could provide a sense that they genuinely want to and are capable of making a real difference, you'd see an amazing amount of participation.
I don't know -- I've replaced the OS on it myself, so I do my own updates and pay zero attention to over-the-air updates. I consider that a feature, personally. I hate automatic updates, especially for operating systems.
Well, "plenty" was incorrect (that's what I get for not keeping up with the latest models!) Of the mainstream manufacturers, LG is still making high-end phones with replaceable batteries (such as the G5 and V20), but even their newest models no longer have replaceable batteries.
That sucks big-time. I guess I'll be sticking with the used market for the foreseeable future.
Stop buying phones from your provider -- that's a sucker's game. Also, if you do basic research before purchasing a phone, you can ensure that it has all of the features that you want.
while guaranteeing no improperly cast votes due to user error.
No matter what system is used, this is something that can never be guaranteed. There will always be user error.
The trick is to keep the error rate low enough that it doesn't affect the outcome of elections -- something that can be easily accomplished with paper ballots.
Elections are a spectator sport around here, complete with viewing parties, we need our information now dammit!
This. I think this is one of the largest factors for why our elections aren't terribly trustworthy.
We need to have a 24 hour national holiday for voting day, not staggered by time zones. No counting of votes until voting day is over. Also, a media blackout on election coverage (and ads) during that 24 hours.
Do you not remember the 2000 election and the "hanging chads"? I am still all for paper ballots, but they are not without issue.
The "hanging chad" thing is an issue, but a very minor one. It was blown all out of proportion by the politics of that particular election.
There is no scheme that is perfect, but paper ballots, even with their issues, are much more trustworthy than electronic voting machines. At least with paper ballots, if there's a problem then it is usually obvious to everybody.
Perhaps I should say "flawed" instead. When people who are responsible with their money are punished for it, that seems like a flaw. The effect of the existing system is to draw people into the debt system. I have been told time and time again that I should get credit cards solely to boost my credit score. In my view, getting credit when none is needed is not exactly the most financially responsible of actions.
I do understand why things are this way. It's just a shame that it comes with such downsides.
(iOS isn't even a serious option as long as it forces users to use Apple's repository)
This, and the other locked-down things in iPhones, are what keeps me from even beginning to consider them. That said, there are a lot of people who consider these things to be desirable features.
The bottom line is that you and I are not the iPhone's target market, but I'm glad that there are products for those other people nonetheless.
Edge-to-edge display? Why? Your hand will be covering some of it.
I've seen a number of edge-to-edge displays on people's phones now, and I had the same reaction. I don't see how they improve anything at all, but I do see how they could be a bit of a pain in the butt.
I'm not tired of it -- I just ignore it. Just because new versions come out doesn't mean I am obligated to pay attention to them, let alone actually upgrade. My approach is the same as my approach to desktop machines once they reached maturity: pay no attention to new models until the one that I'm using now doesn't work for me any more. Then I'll look at what's on the market.
Electronic voting machines are a huge security problem, and there's no clear way to fix the situation. Everyone needs to stop using them until/unless they can be made secure.
Yes, I got that impression. But lots of people use the term in a more casual way, and might say "track" when they mean "scan the headlines every morning".
Slashdot Mirror
Because I've more-or-less given up on the ability of the mainstream movie industry to make movies that are actually great anyway.
This salesdouche says "Prizes and competition are critical to building a healthy sales culture."
If "building a healthy sales culture" means "encourage salespeople to treat the customer as a mark" (as commissions tend to do), then I vote for an unhealthy sales culture.
We've known this for many years. It's why the first thing I do with any mailreader is disable HTML.
I use Tiny Tiny RSS for this, but there are other solutions as well.
I have yet to meet a single person who claims to want a third party who is willing to get off his ass and actually participate IN ANY PARTY AT ALL.
I bet that you have, but you may not know it.
Don't like who the Democratic Party nominates? Get involved. Don't like Republican candidates? Get involved.
I'm not sure what you're recommending here. Do you mean get involved to make sure that the Dems or Reps nominate candidates that you like? If so, that's beside the point because it does nothing to break out of the two party system.
About a third of eligible voters actually bother to vote in presidential elections. More like a tenth in other elections, and fewer in primaries. The number of people who volunteer or make contributions is microscopic. The number of people who show up at party functions is close to zero.
All true, but it's pretty easy to understand why -- it seems pointless.
If you're not willing to participate in either of the two existing parties, you won't participate in a third one.
Baloney. Lots of people don't participate with either the Dems or the Reps because they feel that both parties are beyond redemption, and therefore the election process itself is beyond redemption. That has to do with a sense of hopelessness, not laziness. I'll bet that if any party, mainstream or otherwise, could provide a sense that they genuinely want to and are capable of making a real difference, you'd see an amazing amount of participation.
I don't know -- I've replaced the OS on it myself, so I do my own updates and pay zero attention to over-the-air updates. I consider that a feature, personally. I hate automatic updates, especially for operating systems.
I am running the latest Android, though.
Well, "plenty" was incorrect (that's what I get for not keeping up with the latest models!) Of the mainstream manufacturers, LG is still making high-end phones with replaceable batteries (such as the G5 and V20), but even their newest models no longer have replaceable batteries.
That sucks big-time. I guess I'll be sticking with the used market for the foreseeable future.
Stop buying phones from your provider -- that's a sucker's game. Also, if you do basic research before purchasing a phone, you can ensure that it has all of the features that you want.
Apple would say "yep. Usually true. But we're the phones most people want".
They may say that, but judging by sales figures, they'd be wrong.
Other than feature phones, then yes, only an Apple fan *can* say their phone is still working fine.
Pure BS. My Android phone is over four years old, and is working just fine.
There are still plenty of high-end phones that have easily replaceable batteries.
With the exception of USENET, all of those services are alive and very healthy.
while guaranteeing no improperly cast votes due to user error.
No matter what system is used, this is something that can never be guaranteed. There will always be user error.
The trick is to keep the error rate low enough that it doesn't affect the outcome of elections -- something that can be easily accomplished with paper ballots.
Elections are a spectator sport around here, complete with viewing parties, we need our information now dammit!
This. I think this is one of the largest factors for why our elections aren't terribly trustworthy.
We need to have a 24 hour national holiday for voting day, not staggered by time zones. No counting of votes until voting day is over. Also, a media blackout on election coverage (and ads) during that 24 hours.
And paper ballots.
So it could be solved, but it is a significant effort and most people wouldn't understand it.
And a lot of people would understand it just fine, but it still requires an unacceptable amount of blind faith that it's been implemented properly.
by voting for some quixotic can't-possibly-win third-party candidate, on the theory that that will somehow change things.
So, what do you suggest people do when neither party is remotely acceptable to them? Not vote?
why the fuck just 2 parties while at it...
For one simple reason: the two parties want it that way, and work together to ensure it stays that way.
Do you not remember the 2000 election and the "hanging chads"? I am still all for paper ballots, but they are not without issue.
The "hanging chad" thing is an issue, but a very minor one. It was blown all out of proportion by the politics of that particular election.
There is no scheme that is perfect, but paper ballots, even with their issues, are much more trustworthy than electronic voting machines. At least with paper ballots, if there's a problem then it is usually obvious to everybody.
Perhaps I should say "flawed" instead. When people who are responsible with their money are punished for it, that seems like a flaw. The effect of the existing system is to draw people into the debt system. I have been told time and time again that I should get credit cards solely to boost my credit score. In my view, getting credit when none is needed is not exactly the most financially responsible of actions.
I do understand why things are this way. It's just a shame that it comes with such downsides.
(iOS isn't even a serious option as long as it forces users to use Apple's repository)
This, and the other locked-down things in iPhones, are what keeps me from even beginning to consider them. That said, there are a lot of people who consider these things to be desirable features.
The bottom line is that you and I are not the iPhone's target market, but I'm glad that there are products for those other people nonetheless.
Edge-to-edge display? Why? Your hand will be covering some of it.
I've seen a number of edge-to-edge displays on people's phones now, and I had the same reaction. I don't see how they improve anything at all, but I do see how they could be a bit of a pain in the butt.
I'm not tired of it -- I just ignore it. Just because new versions come out doesn't mean I am obligated to pay attention to them, let alone actually upgrade. My approach is the same as my approach to desktop machines once they reached maturity: pay no attention to new models until the one that I'm using now doesn't work for me any more. Then I'll look at what's on the market.
This is just a standard corporate pissing contest, which has no actual meaning to anyone else.
Electronic voting machines are a huge security problem, and there's no clear way to fix the situation. Everyone needs to stop using them until/unless they can be made secure.
Yes, I got that impression. But lots of people use the term in a more casual way, and might say "track" when they mean "scan the headlines every morning".