Once, a US delegation visited a Soviet collective farm. Before the visit the farmers were rounded up and instructed to answer "we have enough and have excess" to any question. So when the deputies arrived they started the questioning:
--How is the situation with crops? -- We have enough and have exess
--What is the situation with diary products?-- We have enough and have exess
--And what about meat? -- We have enough and have exess
--So many excesses, what to you do with them? -- We eat them and there is not enough.
...2599 children. Even this number is mostly meaningless as: (a) it was measured in Russia, which is pretty far from Chernobyl, while Belarus and Ukraine were the most affected; (b) thyroid cancer is only a fraction of medical problems one can get after exposure. Those who died were not the only ones who suffered.
Despite your failing argument about radiation-related health issues, I completely side with you about the need to kill the coal plants. They pollute, which creates greenhouse effect, as well as a stack of health hazards on their own. Modern nuclear plants can be built in a safe manner, with automatic shutdown-contain functions if something goes wrong.
I have done a few VOIP calls from Google Gmail/Voice recently, and it's pretty solid. All you need is a PC. Sprint might disallow VOIP calls from a smartphone but from a PC it is trivial.
My parents have poor reception both at work and in their mountain home. With Google Voice on the same number they will have a stable VOIP alternative any time they are in the vicinity of a WIFI. T-Mobile was going to introduce VOIP-over-WIFI on some Android phones, but AT&T-mobile might extinguish those plans.
Looks like Sprint is the only less-evil major provider left after T-mobile is eaten. I will have to seriously consider them for my next contract, even though they are on CDMA and have rather weak coverage.
"Bulverism is a logical fallacy in which, rather than proving that an argument is wrong, a person instead assumes it is wrong, and then goes on to explain why the other person held that argument."
Hmm.... tough one. You are kind of right. On the other hand, I was not trying to "prove that an argument is wrong", just wanted to point out that this was a paid advertisement, sponsored by Microsoft. "Microsoft is Great" -- how can I argue against this? Why would I want to?
I never stated that the OP was biased, although it is very obvious. Arguing against "Good job Microsoft, for taking care of the internet." would be futile -- it is an expression of emotion, not a statement. My point was that the OP is not being sincere, like an advertiser who does not care much about his ads being honest, as long as they pull the suckers in.
I also wanted the readers to know that lately there has been a pattern of "first posts", which have been heavily slanted pro-microsoft, like there is a PR person hired by Microsoft. Fortunately, just found some proof, so I don't have to look like a jack-ass:
http://linux.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2044296&cid=35537262
I think this shows that Microsoft cares about the internet. It's not really Microsoft's problem, but they still help to solve it. Fact is, you cannot change stupid people and they will get their computers infected no matter what. Windows 7 is just as secure as Mac OSX or Linux, but it's the users what is the problem. Good job Microsoft, for taking care of the internet.
This is the second time in the last week that Microsoft PR people make first post on Slashdot. This time it is a little less obvious, so most of you fell for it. I cannot (don't have time) to find their previous "first post" about how Microsoft is great.
So dear OP, I do not know what form of incentive or compensation you get from Microsoft, but botnets are REALLY Microsoft's problem, and so is MAC and so is Linux. Good day.
And I know of Russians that regret that the communist state fell.
That is irrelevant to anything that have been said. Any regime change will have "many people who regret". When Nazi Germany fell, I bet the majority of Germans regretted too. People who were in power or well-placed, but could not adapt as well to the new regime will always regret, by definition. This has nothing to do with the fact that Stalin committed mass murder with casualties far exceeding WW2 losses.
And all that before we even discuss what regime replaced the Communism in Russia: state riches going into someone's pocket, extreme poverty, crime, state-controlled crime, no human rights, corrupt government. Every nation deserves its leaders, and Russia is a glaring example of that.
He actually mentioned "certain areas the Cuban government uses for propaganda purposes", didn't he? So what do your "people that have worked there" actually know? I mean how can one find out about "death-squads" unless he or someone he knows disappeared? How could your friends find out for sure that death-squads do not exist? Did your fiends also mention they could hire a prostitute for a dinner? I bet they liked it there, but unfortunately their story is not indicative of the local population who are not there on a business trip.
Now tell me this, what does it take to stay in power as a "president" for 50 years? Let me help you: takes a lot of fear, a good propaganda and an even better enforcement machine. I lived in place with a similar government, so I know what I am talking about... not "been there on a business trip" -- lived there.
As for the Cuban government, it's not perfect, but it's not a "dictatorship" under the common meaning of the word nowadays.
It is common knowledge that Castro was not a dictator in power from 1959 to 2008, but a rightfully self-appointed "president".
It is also common knowledge in Cuba that they have best education, best healthcare and the best rule of proletariat. This is also the main reason why the Internet is a big no-no -- it is only best while Cubans believe it.
Wrong day!
on
Happy Pi Day
·
· Score: 1, Insightful
Thus, you can only use the advertised speed for no more than 45 minutes a day, given you do not use the internet at all during the remaining 23.26 hours.
For some reason, after each merger and acquisition the outcome would always be renamed AT&T. The company changed hands so many times, the name is the only thing that's left if the former Bell company. [ATT History]
True. I had a Dell laptop where mic did not work properly under XP, but when I installed Ubuntu it still did not work. Do not get sidetracked, Dell is the real enemy here!
We will lose the Internet as we know (knew?) it if NN is not achieved.
and then
I just hope that if things get too bad, the intellectuals that actually make the internet work will fork it and relieve it of its bureaucratic ailments
You made two contradicting statements in the adjoined sentences. The net outcome is 0, because they cancel each other:
NN implies that the internet will be controlled by a huge bureaucratic machine, called the FCC. It will be expensive and inefficient. Out of boredom (and at our expense) they will write 100's of moronic rules that and suck even more of our money to enforce them. Just as an example, the FCC surcharge on the telephone line is a hefty 30% of what the line would cost by itself. The same will happen to the internets + new income taxes to fund the new bigger, fatter FCC. Weekly, they will invent a new idiotic internet regulation that we will discuss here, on Slashdot.
"....and relieve it of its bureaucratic ailments"? Really? More bureaucracy to relieve us of "bureaucratic ailments"?
"blueprint for libraries of the future"???? How about my home computer as the "libary of the future"? It costs exactly ZERO money to build that, while the convenience factor is sky-high compared to this abomination.
Ah, what, don't want it to be too convenient? Will infringe on the bookstore business? How about you take the gazillion dollars dumped on this library and award it to writers/e-publishers instead, maybe pro-rated per online interest in their books.
I frequently feel that the centralized commie approach to books is better for culture and literacy.
I'm tired of snotty atheists pretending that governments officially espousing atheism have never committed crimes against humanity in the name of atheism. See: The Soviet Union.
No, we did it in the name of Communism. Exploitation of the working class by the rich had to stop. Workers and farmers all over the world will follow our example and revolt against the class of oppressors to establish the rule of the working class.
Religion is a tool in the hands of the rich, it is used to brainwash the masses and teach them to obey their masters, it has to go.
If you are not with Bolsheviki, you are against the people and need to be tried and sentenced. You are guilty upon being accused, because if you were innocent you would not be accused in the first place.
Everything we did was done in the name of Communism and Dominance of the Working Class. Nothing about atheism -- you must be mistaken. Please check your references.
This was best said by Victor Tsoy, leader of rock band Kino. Despite being insanely popular, his music was never published by the Soviet Union state-controlled music industry. He died in a car accident at age 28, under suspicious circumstances.
when asked to do something morally wrong such as killing innocent citizens.
He exposed the killing of innocent citizens, this should count for more than simply refusing the orders. This is a political crime, not military, as they are trying to frame it.
You have been mentally conditioned by a monopoly with deep pockets to associate "windows" with their brainchild. Think about it, they were the last ones to introduce a windowing graphical interface.... and called it windows? Do you honestly believe that no one used the term "windows" before they trademarked it? The windows-base gui already long existed on Amiga, Mac, and ah, yes X-Windows.
So if I were to bribe/pressure trademark office to give me a trademark for Automobile, 20 years from now people will say "Nonsense, when you say "automobile" in the car context, you always mean Shompol's Discount Used Auto"
Windows 3.1 wasn't either. Only much later did they merge the windows GUI with DOS (which is an operating system). It's not a big deal now, 20 years later, but it was back then, when people called the graphical thing a with generic term "windows" (yes, it used to be generic).
Things you get away with when you havea monopoly and deep deep pockets...
Except for the first few years Windows was not an OS!!! Windows was a "windowing add-on". Not to mention they were last on the market to introduce windows.
It's more like switching from horse-drawn carriage to automobile and trademarking "Automobile", then going after competitors with infringement lawsuits.
You are right, but the revenue statistics you are asking for are right there, in the same article:
Today, PC gaming generates 43% of the total gaming revenue. The next closest platform is the Wii, which generated 24% of the total gaming revenue in 2009. And the PC share is growing – by 2013, the forecast is that PC gaming will represent 56% of the total pie.
...which still suggests that your claims of "smaller niche" and "the future of it is dead" are far-fetched. More than that, this statistics covers dollar sales, but neglects a tremendous share of free and pirated games on PCs that dollar sales do not account for. Absolute majority of gaming is happening on PCs, the and those who figure out how to milk this phenomenon will be most successful. And the proof to that is right there in the article:
It’s interesting to see that the growth in PC gaming revenue is predicted to come from the newer business models – subscription and online transactions.
I don't even want to know what those are, but WOW did make Blizzard filthy rich.
Slashdot Mirror
--How is the situation with crops? -- We have enough and have exess
--What is the situation with diary products?-- We have enough and have exess
--And what about meat? -- We have enough and have exess
--So many excesses, what to you do with them? -- We eat them and there is not enough.
...2599 children. Even this number is mostly meaningless as: (a) it was measured in Russia, which is pretty far from Chernobyl, while Belarus and Ukraine were the most affected; (b) thyroid cancer is only a fraction of medical problems one can get after exposure. Those who died were not the only ones who suffered.
Despite your failing argument about radiation-related health issues, I completely side with you about the need to kill the coal plants. They pollute, which creates greenhouse effect, as well as a stack of health hazards on their own. Modern nuclear plants can be built in a safe manner, with automatic shutdown-contain functions if something goes wrong.
I have done a few VOIP calls from Google Gmail/Voice recently, and it's pretty solid. All you need is a PC. Sprint might disallow VOIP calls from a smartphone but from a PC it is trivial.
Looks like Sprint is the only less-evil major provider left after T-mobile is eaten. I will have to seriously consider them for my next contract, even though they are on CDMA and have rather weak coverage.
Hmm.... tough one. You are kind of right. On the other hand, I was not trying to "prove that an argument is wrong", just wanted to point out that this was a paid advertisement, sponsored by Microsoft. "Microsoft is Great" -- how can I argue against this? Why would I want to?
And while we are on the subject, here's a link for you: http://developers.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2042408&cid=35523144
I also wanted the readers to know that lately there has been a pattern of "first posts", which have been heavily slanted pro-microsoft, like there is a PR person hired by Microsoft. Fortunately, just found some proof, so I don't have to look like a jack-ass: http://linux.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2044296&cid=35537262
Thank you! I just gave up my mod points, unfortunately.
I think this shows that Microsoft cares about the internet. It's not really Microsoft's problem, but they still help to solve it. Fact is, you cannot change stupid people and they will get their computers infected no matter what. Windows 7 is just as secure as Mac OSX or Linux, but it's the users what is the problem. Good job Microsoft, for taking care of the internet.
This is the second time in the last week that Microsoft PR people make first post on Slashdot. This time it is a little less obvious, so most of you fell for it. I cannot (don't have time) to find their previous "first post" about how Microsoft is great.
So dear OP, I do not know what form of incentive or compensation you get from Microsoft, but botnets are REALLY Microsoft's problem, and so is MAC and so is Linux. Good day.
And I know of Russians that regret that the communist state fell.
That is irrelevant to anything that have been said. Any regime change will have "many people who regret". When Nazi Germany fell, I bet the majority of Germans regretted too. People who were in power or well-placed, but could not adapt as well to the new regime will always regret, by definition. This has nothing to do with the fact that Stalin committed mass murder with casualties far exceeding WW2 losses.
And all that before we even discuss what regime replaced the Communism in Russia: state riches going into someone's pocket, extreme poverty, crime, state-controlled crime, no human rights, corrupt government. Every nation deserves its leaders, and Russia is a glaring example of that.
Awesome! Instant 30% insurance discount for Christians, 60% for Ancient Greeks (on-the-spot smiting bonus)!
Now tell me this, what does it take to stay in power as a "president" for 50 years? Let me help you: takes a lot of fear, a good propaganda and an even better enforcement machine. I lived in place with a similar government, so I know what I am talking about... not "been there on a business trip" -- lived there.
As for the Cuban government, it's not perfect, but it's not a "dictatorship" under the common meaning of the word nowadays.
It is common knowledge that Castro was not a dictator in power from 1959 to 2008, but a rightfully self-appointed "president".
It is also common knowledge in Cuba that they have best education, best healthcare and the best rule of proletariat. This is also the main reason why the Internet is a big no-no -- it is only best while Cubans believe it.
22/7 should be the Pi day!
150,000,000,000 GB * 8 (bits/Byte) / 15,000,000 (bits/s) / 60 (sec/min) / 60 (min/hour) / 30 (days/month)= 0.74 hours a day
Thus, you can only use the advertised speed for no more than 45 minutes a day, given you do not use the internet at all during the remaining 23.26 hours.
For some reason, after each merger and acquisition the outcome would always be renamed AT&T. The company changed hands so many times, the name is the only thing that's left if the former Bell company. [ATT History]
True. I had a Dell laptop where mic did not work properly under XP, but when I installed Ubuntu it still did not work. Do not get sidetracked, Dell is the real enemy here!
We will lose the Internet as we know (knew?) it if NN is not achieved.
and then
I just hope that if things get too bad, the intellectuals that actually make the internet work will fork it and relieve it of its bureaucratic ailments
You made two contradicting statements in the adjoined sentences. The net outcome is 0, because they cancel each other:
NN implies that the internet will be controlled by a huge bureaucratic machine, called the FCC. It will be expensive and inefficient. Out of boredom (and at our expense) they will write 100's of moronic rules that and suck even more of our money to enforce them. Just as an example, the FCC surcharge on the telephone line is a hefty 30% of what the line would cost by itself. The same will happen to the internets + new income taxes to fund the new bigger, fatter FCC. Weekly, they will invent a new idiotic internet regulation that we will discuss here, on Slashdot.
"....and relieve it of its bureaucratic ailments"? Really? More bureaucracy to relieve us of "bureaucratic ailments"?
Ah, what, don't want it to be too convenient? Will infringe on the bookstore business? How about you take the gazillion dollars dumped on this library and award it to writers/e-publishers instead, maybe pro-rated per online interest in their books.
I frequently feel that the centralized commie approach to books is better for culture and literacy.
I'm tired of snotty atheists pretending that governments officially espousing atheism have never committed crimes against humanity in the name of atheism. See: The Soviet Union.
No, we did it in the name of Communism. Exploitation of the working class by the rich had to stop. Workers and farmers all over the world will follow our example and revolt against the class of oppressors to establish the rule of the working class.
Religion is a tool in the hands of the rich, it is used to brainwash the masses and teach them to obey their masters, it has to go.
If you are not with Bolsheviki, you are against the people and need to be tried and sentenced. You are guilty upon being accused, because if you were innocent you would not be accused in the first place.
Everything we did was done in the name of Communism and Dominance of the Working Class. Nothing about atheism -- you must be mistaken. Please check your references.
This was best said by Victor Tsoy, leader of rock band Kino. Despite being insanely popular, his music was never published by the Soviet Union state-controlled music industry. He died in a car accident at age 28, under suspicious circumstances.
Victor Tsoy (leader of the rock band Kino), Peaceful Night
when asked to do something morally wrong such as killing innocent citizens.
He exposed the killing of innocent citizens, this should count for more than simply refusing the orders. This is a political crime, not military, as they are trying to frame it.
So if I were to bribe/pressure trademark office to give me a trademark for Automobile, 20 years from now people will say "Nonsense, when you say "automobile" in the car context, you always mean Shompol's Discount Used Auto"
X Windows isnt an operating system
Windows 3.1 wasn't either. Only much later did they merge the windows GUI with DOS (which is an operating system). It's not a big deal now, 20 years later, but it was back then, when people called the graphical thing a with generic term "windows" (yes, it used to be generic).
Things you get away with when you havea monopoly and deep deep pockets...
Except for the first few years Windows was not an OS!!! Windows was a "windowing add-on". Not to mention they were last on the market to introduce windows. It's more like switching from horse-drawn carriage to automobile and trademarking "Automobile", then going after competitors with infringement lawsuits.
Today, PC gaming generates 43% of the total gaming revenue. The next closest platform is the Wii, which generated 24% of the total gaming revenue in 2009. And the PC share is growing – by 2013, the forecast is that PC gaming will represent 56% of the total pie.
...which still suggests that your claims of "smaller niche" and "the future of it is dead" are far-fetched. More than that, this statistics covers dollar sales, but neglects a tremendous share of free and pirated games on PCs that dollar sales do not account for. Absolute majority of gaming is happening on PCs, the and those who figure out how to milk this phenomenon will be most successful. And the proof to that is right there in the article:
It’s interesting to see that the growth in PC gaming revenue is predicted to come from the newer business models – subscription and online transactions.
I don't even want to know what those are, but WOW did make Blizzard filthy rich.