American school culture - reflective of the culture at large - is composed of a majority of lunkheads who fear what they don't understand - which is the majority of what their senses convey to them. This is why democracy is a stupid idea.
I fly constantly, come back through US Customs at least once per month, have done so for over 4 years now. I have a Saudi visa on my passport and am back and forth to Qatar and Dubai as well as all over Europe. Not once has a Customs official ever done anything but say "Welcome home" upon my return to the US. Don't worry about it.
This is nothing new - God knows that if their goofy filtering thingy WORKS, I'll give them large dollars to use it across the board. I grow more bored than I would have thought possible by the rehashing over the years since the Internet became ubiquitous about how "personalized web pages" and filtered news was going to make us all more narrow-minded. IMHO, quite the opposite has happened as the vistas of exploration have opened even further.
But when I've made a decision about some piece of nonsense that I've already filtered from my world, like, say, neo-Nazi propaganda, I can safely say that never seeing it again in no way limits my social health or narrows my views in detrimental ways.
So whether or not focused shopping choices is a hot-button issue for you (in which case you require a calmer environment, some soothing music and a talky-doctor), the fact remains that all of animal development is a constant screen of environmental factors for the few that are useful, interesting or attractive or good to eat.
Filter away, please - that's why I read slashdot and the Wall Street Journal, but not Moveon.org - I've already filtered and will continue to do so to improve what is in front of me and eschew all that sucks.
You know what I got for Xmas? I walked out of a client meeting 3000 miles away from my CEO, and he called me on my cellphone to tell me my job was evaporating in a whiff of disinvestment.
I agree with Ray - to wit, good book, solid observational work bleeding into theoretical, and a book I intend to read more deeply and more closely than many others that grab my interest. I too have long awaited Steven's book, and now that I have it, and have read through a good chunk of it, I find his point of view to be a refreshing affirmation, but not startling. I promise to read it thoroughly, as I respect his work to date, and am always willing to entertain the prospect of something of new shining insight under the sun. The methodologies outlined already have pointed me in some solid, promising new directions. Bravo! We should all aspire to such fine acts of creative construction in our lifetimes.
Unless the industry forces people to buy new compliant CD players, free file swapping is going to be around for a while. A friend of mine sent me the link to a site www.popnuvo.com that claim artists can still get compensated for music being free online. very interesting. their music was, strangely, excellent. another slant I guess
You give an enormous amount of credit to the Federal government's abilities to effectively regulate business. The power of governments in general is on the wane, and this trend will only continue. Add to that the fact that in many instances antitrust measures have not done much to harm the companies they were intended to punish, but have most definitely screwed up service delivered to the end user while jacking prices up (Witness the idiotic breakup of telecoms in the US into the Baby Bells.)
Any Microsoft breakup will only end up costing end users more money, while increasing the chances for system foulups. THAT unfortunately will be the end result.
General history tells us that before any of the changes government is trying to force onto Bill's little company ever take place, it is more than likely that market forces and innovation from someone else's garage, will eat away at the supposedly invincible monolith.
Wasting our tax dollars on fighting Microsoft is about on par on the Obstinate Futility Index with Congress pumping more money into fighting the War on Drugs. It sounds so good to the Average Upset Joe (tho the constituencies being pandered to may be different), but in the end is just sheer old-fashioned nonsense.
Slashdot Mirror
Self-ware A.I. will consistently vote Libertarian.
American school culture - reflective of the culture at large - is composed of a majority of lunkheads who fear what they don't understand - which is the majority of what their senses convey to them. This is why democracy is a stupid idea.
I fly constantly, come back through US Customs at least once per month, have done so for over 4 years now. I have a Saudi visa on my passport and am back and forth to Qatar and Dubai as well as all over Europe. Not once has a Customs official ever done anything but say "Welcome home" upon my return to the US. Don't worry about it.
This is nothing new - God knows that if their goofy filtering thingy WORKS, I'll give them large dollars to use it across the board. I grow more bored than I would have thought possible by the rehashing over the years since the Internet became ubiquitous about how "personalized web pages" and filtered news was going to make us all more narrow-minded. IMHO, quite the opposite has happened as the vistas of exploration have opened even further.
But when I've made a decision about some piece of nonsense that I've already filtered from my world, like, say, neo-Nazi propaganda, I can safely say that never seeing it again in no way limits my social health or narrows my views in detrimental ways.
So whether or not focused shopping choices is a hot-button issue for you (in which case you require a calmer environment, some soothing music and a talky-doctor), the fact remains that all of animal development is a constant screen of environmental factors for the few that are useful, interesting or attractive or good to eat.
Filter away, please - that's why I read slashdot and the Wall Street Journal, but not Moveon.org - I've already filtered and will continue to do so to improve what is in front of me and eschew all that sucks.
You know what I got for Xmas? I walked out of a client meeting 3000 miles away from my CEO, and he called me on my cellphone to tell me my job was evaporating in a whiff of disinvestment.
Have I read the book? I've done little else for the past 2 days. And am finally being forced to sleep so I can get a proposal written in the morning.
I agree with Ray - to wit, good book, solid observational work bleeding into theoretical, and a book I intend to read more deeply and more closely than many others that grab my interest. I too have long awaited Steven's book, and now that I have it, and have read through a good chunk of it, I find his point of view to be a refreshing affirmation, but not startling. I promise to read it thoroughly, as I respect his work to date, and am always willing to entertain the prospect of something of new shining insight under the sun. The methodologies outlined already have pointed me in some solid, promising new directions. Bravo! We should all aspire to such fine acts of creative construction in our lifetimes.
Unless the industry forces people to buy new compliant CD players, free file swapping is going to be around for a while. A friend of mine sent me the link to a site www.popnuvo.com that claim artists can still get compensated for music being free online. very interesting. their music was, strangely, excellent.
another slant I guess
You give an enormous amount of credit to the Federal government's abilities to effectively regulate business. The power of governments in general is on the wane, and this trend will only continue. Add to that the fact that in many instances antitrust measures have not done much to harm the companies they were intended to punish, but have most definitely screwed up service delivered to the end user while jacking prices up (Witness the idiotic breakup of telecoms in the US into the Baby Bells.)
Any Microsoft breakup will only end up costing end users more money, while increasing the chances for system foulups. THAT unfortunately will be the end result.
General history tells us that before any of the changes government is trying to force onto Bill's little company ever take place, it is more than likely that market forces and innovation from someone else's garage, will eat away at the supposedly invincible monolith.
Wasting our tax dollars on fighting Microsoft is about on par on the Obstinate Futility Index with Congress pumping more money into fighting the War on Drugs. It sounds so good to the Average Upset Joe (tho the constituencies being pandered to may be different), but in the end is just sheer old-fashioned nonsense.