Why is this modded funny? It is actually insightful.
What is the largest number a person can adequately represent? I actually believe that 30K might be on the high side of that estimation. Right now, a Representative in the House isn't beholden to anyone other than the special interest groups. The Special Interest Groups only need to focus on 435 people currently. If they had to spread their $ around to more people, the amount they could offer each would be much less and more easily overcome by a small band of normal constituents.
I actuall see no problem with more representation, currently we're getting less and less. You tell me, do you feel adequately represented by anyone, let alone by your congress critter?
There will always be Vote Fraud, because there will always be humans involved.
I'm not sure what scares me more, that either nobody counts the votes (automatic) or that people(manually) count the votes. What I'd like to see, is a double double balloting system, two ballots printed, each with both an encrypted vote, which is automatically scanned / counted by machines and human readable form. When discrepancies seem to creep in they can tally both sets of ballots using both automatic and human counters and make sure that all four counts line up, two encrypted and two human readable on two separate sets of ballots. We can even use four different sets of counters, to eliminate counter fraud.
There is no excuse for something like what is being described in the article happening, ever. Ron Paul not getting any votes... oops sorry, he actually did get votes. I don't trust the results at all when shit like this happens.
... if what you say is true. Here's the part that makes OpenMoko flawed (again assuming it is accurate)....
"you are the root user"
This makes it a great "GEEK" thing, but normal users (bless their hearts) will screw it up.
What most geeks forget is that they are geeks, not normal people (bless their hearts). Being a geek is seriously not "normal". Being a geek, there are things I like to do that my wife would never do. She is not a geek. She doesn't even know what root is, or what that really means. I can assure you that if my wife had anything with root, she'd either wouldn't use it (too hard, complex, not user friendly etc) or really screw it up.
This has been the long term problem with Linux, and many other Geek toys. And unlike other people, I don't look down upon non-geeks because they don't understand that one can buy an MP3 player for less than iPOD that has more of everything. They don't care if they don't want to use it, because it is too complex.
And the geek market is much much smaller than the market for "normal" people(bless their hearts).
OpenMoko may end up being a geek's best friend. Normal people (bless their hearts) just want a _____ that works, easily. We as geeks tend to look down upon anything that isn't a bitch to get working, and thus establishing our geek cred when we finially get it to work.
"That's funny, since Fortune Magazine apparently has MS rated as the 12th most admired company nationwide."
I'm sure that classifying Hillary Clinton as one of the most admired women in the world might also be true, in spite of the fact that she is loathed by so many. This is called "Polarizing" and has nothing to do with the merits of either viewpoint.
This is the problem with XOR logic that so prevails our culture. I'm sorry, but MS is both well admired and well loathed. Because it is one (loathed / admired) doesn't mean it isn't the other as well.
Greedy Corporations are Government sanctioned entities. They are nothing more than legal constructs of the Gov't, and help facilitate the swindling on behalf and for the Gov't.
The problem with our system of justice (western democratic justice) is that it doesn't allow for the beating the crap out of someone who really deserves it, when the law won't deal with them effectively. It is always "poor innocent cyber squatter" this that and the other thing. What is needed is a bit of Frontier Justice, like described above.
I can think of a few other types that need more of this... Spammers would be near the top. So would that tinycity URL guy, GNAA, Goatse, and most of the other pointless trolls.
This world needs to kick the shit out of the asshats more. Western Justice does nothing to protect us from the likes of these villains.
First mistake is assuming you can educate enough of the people to make it not profitable. Second mistake is assuming education itself can cure self serving nature. The whole point of these types of crime is that it feeds upon peoples desire to maximize profit / savings.
Do people really think that they can buy Photoshop for $99 when it is sold everywhere else for $299? or Vista Super Delux for $49.95 when there is no such product? Most people know when they're about to be had, but they have this override switch in their brain that tells them that this is the "exception".
I'm sorry, but I have little sympathy for people being had by Nigerian, Online Pharmaceutical, Sexy Girl, Cheap Software scams.
Ebay has always scared me a bit, because you just don't know who you're dealing with. However your suggestions are certainly a good place to start. It will not ever solve the problem because the problem is human nature.
It always amazes me the effort criminals use to commit crimes. However, I finally realized what the issue is and it comes right back down to supply and demand.
The demand for legal use of the skills required to pull this off, is already saturated with the supply of legal workforce, so the criminal moves to a more lucrative marketplace, the black market. When applying the same skill level and effort of his legal counterparts, the criminal maximizes his/her profit potential by moving to a marketplace that has much lower supplies.
The only thing that can counter act this phenomenon is making getting caught extremely expensive, thus driving up the "cost" of the black marketplace. I suggest to you, that financial or incarceration penalties are not nearly enough to drive the markets to unprofitability, that it requires something more costly and more effective....
I'll leave the particulars up everyone else to ponder.
First Step, set a realistic budget. Second Step, trim 10% off the budget.
Third Step, start making a list of items you need in an office.
Fourth Step, take your list, and strip out all the things you "want" but aren't really needs.
Fifth step, add all your wants to the second list and add on.
Then start by taking your budget and prioritizing your needs, and wants, finding less expensive but suitable options for items you need/want but are too pricey. The gold plated air cushioned chair is a combination of need (a chair) and want (gold plating / air cushioning).
"Which means that a phone manufacturer can make the choice of a faster CPU + lower battery life, or a slower CPU + 3D accelerator + higher battery life."
But what if I want a faster CPU, 3D Accelerator AND lower battery life, HUH???
You're missing the odd, even version theory, products with odd numbers tend to suck more than ones with even numbers.
However, word is out that MS has released a patch for IE6 which crashes the computer running XPSP2, in almost all circumstances. I suspect this was done on purpose to get people to Vista and/or IE 7.
Yes, Microsoft has a fix, but it requires hacking the registry. Read the warning message in the KB article and tell me if that is something the average user is willing to attempt?
First off, let me agree with you that CMS isn't the answer to every question.
I can see three types of dynamic contents. Server side, client side, and client/server. CMS provides Server Side Dynamic content; adjusting content based upon a variety of factors. Client Side is what I call Flash and Java applications, where a program is sent to the client and the client runs the program, and the server has no part in the experience other than sending the program.
Then there is the client/server dynamic, where client interacts with a program, program sends data back to a server, which updates the client with additional data, which changes the programed responses.
My question is this, if a server sends a application embedded in a Webframe, at what point is it an application and no longer a Web Document. Remember, that HTTP (port 80) is HyperText transfer, not application execution environment.
Now with things like AJAX related technology I realize that the web is increasingly becoming more of a standardized API for application deployment. Perhaps this is the level of Dynamic you're speaking of.
I don't think Dreamweaver spews out anything close to "pretty", as people who use Dreamweaver are not designers. Dreamweaver is what people who graduate from MySpace use to create web pages.
Dreamweaver sucks, because it gives a false impression that people are "designing" anything.
I train people in using the CMS, and I teach them to type everything they want in Notepad (windows) or similar and paste into the text area, and use the online editor (CMS editor) to make changes. And the sites I manage, I use a tool to clean up the MSWORD splash. Then I beat them over the head and say "Do Not Paste Directly From MS Word!"
If they want to (must) paste Word Documents, I make them buy Adobe Acrobat Pro (or use OO.org) and save it in PDF which is then posted as a link.
Slashdot Mirror
Why is this modded funny? It is actually insightful.
What is the largest number a person can adequately represent? I actually believe that 30K might be on the high side of that estimation. Right now, a Representative in the House isn't beholden to anyone other than the special interest groups. The Special Interest Groups only need to focus on 435 people currently. If they had to spread their $ around to more people, the amount they could offer each would be much less and more easily overcome by a small band of normal constituents.
I actuall see no problem with more representation, currently we're getting less and less. You tell me, do you feel adequately represented by anyone, let alone by your congress critter?
Bush Clinton Bush Clinton ..... its all the same ... Republicrats and Demicans
What's the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.
There will always be Vote Fraud, because there will always be humans involved.
... oops sorry, he actually did get votes. I don't trust the results at all when shit like this happens.
I'm not sure what scares me more, that either nobody counts the votes (automatic) or that people(manually) count the votes. What I'd like to see, is a double double balloting system, two ballots printed, each with both an encrypted vote, which is automatically scanned / counted by machines and human readable form. When discrepancies seem to creep in they can tally both sets of ballots using both automatic and human counters and make sure that all four counts line up, two encrypted and two human readable on two separate sets of ballots. We can even use four different sets of counters, to eliminate counter fraud.
There is no excuse for something like what is being described in the article happening, ever. Ron Paul not getting any votes
"how about just getting a wireless router, instead?"
Because he's a cheap bastard?
... if what you say is true. Here's the part that makes OpenMoko flawed (again assuming it is accurate) ....
"you are the root user"
This makes it a great "GEEK" thing, but normal users (bless their hearts) will screw it up.
What most geeks forget is that they are geeks, not normal people (bless their hearts). Being a geek is seriously not "normal". Being a geek, there are things I like to do that my wife would never do. She is not a geek. She doesn't even know what root is, or what that really means. I can assure you that if my wife had anything with root, she'd either wouldn't use it (too hard, complex, not user friendly etc) or really screw it up.
This has been the long term problem with Linux, and many other Geek toys. And unlike other people, I don't look down upon non-geeks because they don't understand that one can buy an MP3 player for less than iPOD that has more of everything. They don't care if they don't want to use it, because it is too complex.
And the geek market is much much smaller than the market for "normal" people(bless their hearts).
OpenMoko may end up being a geek's best friend. Normal people (bless their hearts) just want a _____ that works, easily. We as geeks tend to look down upon anything that isn't a bitch to get working, and thus establishing our geek cred when we finially get it to work.
This thread is to suggest who should be considered best drummer ....
I nominate Neal Peart from RUSH
... for those that failed in the first one.
I must be getting old, I'm sounding like the people I despised when I was younger.
"something I thought windows already did (and if it doesn't, there's really no excuse for it not to) - but that's far from foolproof."
... and grandmas ... and CEOs. Besides, If you make something foolproof (VISTA) only fools will use it.
Windows is made for fools
"That's funny, since Fortune Magazine apparently has MS rated as the 12th most admired company nationwide."
I'm sure that classifying Hillary Clinton as one of the most admired women in the world might also be true, in spite of the fact that she is loathed by so many. This is called "Polarizing" and has nothing to do with the merits of either viewpoint.
This is the problem with XOR logic that so prevails our culture. I'm sorry, but MS is both well admired and well loathed. Because it is one (loathed / admired) doesn't mean it isn't the other as well.
Well, that's a start! :-D
Greedy Corporations are Government sanctioned entities. They are nothing more than legal constructs of the Gov't, and help facilitate the swindling on behalf and for the Gov't.
Other than that, I'd agree.
"For some reason or other the Gov't and people in general frown on swindling."
Gov't has a monopoly on swindling and can't afford the competition.
"How can Linden Labs set up a safety net to catch things like this?"
How about starting by getting a FIRST LIFE!
I have very little sympathy for people who have bad things happen to them when doing something stupid.
In the words of the Dread Pirate Roberts ... "To the Pain"
"What do you think; is it time to cut off the record industry?"
Yes. And if I might suggest where to cut them; just south of the beltline.
The problem with our system of justice (western democratic justice) is that it doesn't allow for the beating the crap out of someone who really deserves it, when the law won't deal with them effectively. It is always "poor innocent cyber squatter" this that and the other thing. What is needed is a bit of Frontier Justice, like described above.
... Spammers would be near the top. So would that tinycity URL guy, GNAA, Goatse, and most of the other pointless trolls.
I can think of a few other types that need more of this
This world needs to kick the shit out of the asshats more. Western Justice does nothing to protect us from the likes of these villains.
Um, you're not thinking creatively enough. Might I suggest a freelance team similar to
:-D
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0084967/
First mistake is assuming you can educate enough of the people to make it not profitable. Second mistake is assuming education itself can cure self serving nature. The whole point of these types of crime is that it feeds upon peoples desire to maximize profit / savings.
Do people really think that they can buy Photoshop for $99 when it is sold everywhere else for $299? or Vista Super Delux for $49.95 when there is no such product? Most people know when they're about to be had, but they have this override switch in their brain that tells them that this is the "exception".
I'm sorry, but I have little sympathy for people being had by Nigerian, Online Pharmaceutical, Sexy Girl, Cheap Software scams.
Ebay has always scared me a bit, because you just don't know who you're dealing with. However your suggestions are certainly a good place to start. It will not ever solve the problem because the problem is human nature.
It always amazes me the effort criminals use to commit crimes. However, I finally realized what the issue is and it comes right back down to supply and demand.
....
The demand for legal use of the skills required to pull this off, is already saturated with the supply of legal workforce, so the criminal moves to a more lucrative marketplace, the black market. When applying the same skill level and effort of his legal counterparts, the criminal maximizes his/her profit potential by moving to a marketplace that has much lower supplies.
The only thing that can counter act this phenomenon is making getting caught extremely expensive, thus driving up the "cost" of the black marketplace. I suggest to you, that financial or incarceration penalties are not nearly enough to drive the markets to unprofitability, that it requires something more costly and more effective
I'll leave the particulars up everyone else to ponder.
Tis but a flesh wound.
.... Shuddup
----
I'm not dead yet
First Step, set a realistic budget.
Second Step, trim 10% off the budget.
Third Step, start making a list of items you need in an office.
Fourth Step, take your list, and strip out all the things you "want" but aren't really needs.
Fifth step, add all your wants to the second list and add on.
Then start by taking your budget and prioritizing your needs, and wants, finding less expensive but suitable options for items you need/want but are too pricey. The gold plated air cushioned chair is a combination of need (a chair) and want (gold plating / air cushioning).
Add or delete according to budget, and priority.
"Which means that a phone manufacturer can make the choice of a faster CPU + lower battery life, or a slower CPU + 3D accelerator + higher battery life."
But what if I want a faster CPU, 3D Accelerator AND lower battery life, HUH???
You're missing the odd, even version theory, products with odd numbers tend to suck more than ones with even numbers.
However, word is out that MS has released a patch for IE6 which crashes the computer running XPSP2, in almost all circumstances. I suspect this was done on purpose to get people to Vista and/or IE 7.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/946627
Yes, Microsoft has a fix, but it requires hacking the registry. Read the warning message in the KB article and tell me if that is something the average user is willing to attempt?
First off, let me agree with you that CMS isn't the answer to every question.
I can see three types of dynamic contents. Server side, client side, and client/server. CMS provides Server Side Dynamic content; adjusting content based upon a variety of factors. Client Side is what I call Flash and Java applications, where a program is sent to the client and the client runs the program, and the server has no part in the experience other than sending the program.
Then there is the client/server dynamic, where client interacts with a program, program sends data back to a server, which updates the client with additional data, which changes the programed responses.
My question is this, if a server sends a application embedded in a Webframe, at what point is it an application and no longer a Web Document. Remember, that HTTP (port 80) is HyperText transfer, not application execution environment.
Now with things like AJAX related technology I realize that the web is increasingly becoming more of a standardized API for application deployment. Perhaps this is the level of Dynamic you're speaking of.
I don't think Dreamweaver spews out anything close to "pretty", as people who use Dreamweaver are not designers. Dreamweaver is what people who graduate from MySpace use to create web pages.
Dreamweaver sucks, because it gives a false impression that people are "designing" anything.
I train people in using the CMS, and I teach them to type everything they want in Notepad (windows) or similar and paste into the text area, and use the online editor (CMS editor) to make changes. And the sites I manage, I use a tool to clean up the MSWORD splash. Then I beat them over the head and say "Do Not Paste Directly From MS Word!"
If they want to (must) paste Word Documents, I make them buy Adobe Acrobat Pro (or use OO.org) and save it in PDF which is then posted as a link.