"A lot"? What else, other than online? Online is a fraction of actual console sales, so you can happily discard those as still have meaningful numbers. So what else is being omitted?
It is like an old joke about during the Space Race during the Cold war. The Americans spent millions of dollars to create a pen that can work in 0 gravity. while Soviet Russia just use a pencil.
Hmm... so a world in which 50% of people own 1% of the wealth, in a system set up to virtually guarantee their inability to move up in society, is *better* than the alternatives? Wow...
but I don't think I'm really very rare as many of my friends are the same, or almost the same case.
Or you tend to hang out with people who are similar to you.
Seriously, when it comes to this stuff, your "gut" is probably wrong. The statistics tell the real truth, and the truth is that for most people, "pulling themselves up by their bootstraps" is simply not possible thanks to things like poor health and poor education, making it virtually impossible for them to get a leg up.
Well, I have a household income of >$110,000 (CAD), and I'm perfectly happy with the government taking some portion of this wealth and redistributing it. In exchange, I get a universal healthcare system (allowing everyone, including me, to ensure they're in good health), a strong, universal education system and relatively cheap (compared to the US) post-secondary education, financial support for the poor (which my family made use of at rougher times during my childhood)... I'm sure I could go on. To me, this is worth the sacrifice. *shrug*
Sooo... the top 1% possess 50% of the wealth, yet pay 30% of the taxes. And you're complaining about this? Sounds like they're making out like bandits to me.
Does it make things fair that the poorest 50% pay 1% of the taxes ?
No. It just means they aren't being doubly screwed. After all, if the poorest 50% possess 1% of the wealth, but paid more than 1% of the taxes, that would imply that the tax rate for the poor is higher than that for the rich.
Of course, this is assuming your initial assumption is true, which isn't entirely clear, given that the rich tend to have undo influence in the system, allowing them to push for tax breaks and loopholes which benefit them. Further, the rich can afford a high-end accountant who knows how to efficiently work the system, unlike a poor person who *might* be able to afford to go to the local H&R Block.
(2) get back a Republican Congress so we can run budget surplusses again.
Holy crap... what universe did you come from and when did you arrive? Perhap you weren't paying attention to the last 6 years of republican congressional control? Or did you subconsciously blank out the work of said congress which flipped the US from having a massive surplus to having the largest deficit in history? Are you truly *that* deluded?
I gotta second this. It combines the beauty of Smalltalk's object model (late binding, extensive use of introspection, etc) and syntax (*simple*) with the speed of C. Far better than the monstrosity that is C++.
So $200 savings, roughly... not bad. Then again, for that extra $200, you get:
* No subscription fees. * The ability to play other media (eg, DivX, etc) than what you record. * A built-in music jukebox supporting whatever formats you want, as well as integrated CD ripping. * Integration of emulators (I use this a *lot*). * Expandability for adding more tuners and storage as required. * Unrestricted access to all recordings, and integrated transcoding capability. * Integrated DVD playback, burning, and ripping. * An easy-to-use web interface for scheduling recordings and viewing TV listings.
I'm sure I could go on and on. It's certainly worth the extra $200 for me.
Of course, it is a lot more difficult to initially set up, so in this regard, TiVo clearly wins. But now that my system is up, I haven't had to tweak it at all. It just works. *shrug* But, YMMV, of course.
*Far* more? Really? I can build a capable Myth system for $500. How much does your Tivo plus a monthly subscription (I don't believe lifetimes are available anymore) for, say, 3 years run you?
However, I don't remember covering this particular algorithm. (I never took the advanced algorithms class though.)
Interesting. I know, in my degree program, numerical methods were a required course. In it, we covered all sorts of numerical methods, including estimation techniques such as Newton-Raphson's, and also delved into computing error, how to handle error, etc. But, as I say, it *really* depends on the degree program...
I only wish I understood how it worked. I know nothing about what a "Newton-Raphson iteration" is.
As an aside, is an excellent illustration of the value of a real computing science degree (assuming you take it at an institution where they actually expect you to learn math, numerical methods, etc).
Over the life of a system, thirty really isn't that bad. I mean, I recently counted that I have just a tad under one hundred ps2 games (not a single one of them a sports game).
Step number one to becoming a more useful, pleasant member of society: realizing not everyone in the world is like you.
Guess what: you're abnormal. No, really. I don't know *anyone* with anywhere near 30 PS2 games, let alone *100*.
And what company is going to deploy Linux just so it can virtualize Windows? Why wouldn't they save the time and expertise (and finger pointing) and just deploy Windows as the host and Windows as the guest?
People who want a stable subtrate operating system on which they can deploy their Windows services? Think about it. A stable underlying OS allows you to stop worrying about the actual servers and focus on the VMs. This means you can do things like hot VM fail-over, for higher availability. Seems like a big win to me.
Not to mention developers who might want a Linux box as their core OS while they do Windows development. Or those doing cross-platform work.
They see the XBox starting to MAKE money in the next 2 years,
Actually, this isn't what the article says. It only claims that the E&D division *as a whole* will be in the black. It seems likely that the Xbox divion will continue to lose money, but at a slower rate, offset by improvements in other areas.
Slashdot Mirror
"A lot"? What else, other than online? Online is a fraction of actual console sales, so you can happily discard those as still have meaningful numbers. So what else is being omitted?
It is like an old joke about during the Space Race during the Cold war. The Americans spent millions of dollars to create a pen that can work in 0 gravity. while Soviet Russia just use a pencil.
How is it that this stupid urban legend is still floating around?
There is one flaw to this idea, what is the incentive to earn more than $110,000?
Because I want a house, car, money for vacations, and whatever else I want. How is this not obvious?
Hmm... so a world in which 50% of people own 1% of the wealth, in a system set up to virtually guarantee their inability to move up in society, is *better* than the alternatives? Wow...
but I don't think I'm really very rare as many of my friends are the same, or almost the same case.
Or you tend to hang out with people who are similar to you.
Seriously, when it comes to this stuff, your "gut" is probably wrong. The statistics tell the real truth, and the truth is that for most people, "pulling themselves up by their bootstraps" is simply not possible thanks to things like poor health and poor education, making it virtually impossible for them to get a leg up.
You *are* aware that a single anecdote doesn't constitute proof, right?
When dealing with socioeconomics, there will always be outliers. That would be you.
Well, I have a household income of >$110,000 (CAD), and I'm perfectly happy with the government taking some portion of this wealth and redistributing it. In exchange, I get a universal healthcare system (allowing everyone, including me, to ensure they're in good health), a strong, universal education system and relatively cheap (compared to the US) post-secondary education, financial support for the poor (which my family made use of at rougher times during my childhood)... I'm sure I could go on. To me, this is worth the sacrifice. *shrug*
Sooo... the top 1% possess 50% of the wealth, yet pay 30% of the taxes. And you're complaining about this? Sounds like they're making out like bandits to me.
Does it make things fair that the poorest 50% pay 1% of the taxes ?
No. It just means they aren't being doubly screwed. After all, if the poorest 50% possess 1% of the wealth, but paid more than 1% of the taxes, that would imply that the tax rate for the poor is higher than that for the rich.
Of course, this is assuming your initial assumption is true, which isn't entirely clear, given that the rich tend to have undo influence in the system, allowing them to push for tax breaks and loopholes which benefit them. Further, the rich can afford a high-end accountant who knows how to efficiently work the system, unlike a poor person who *might* be able to afford to go to the local H&R Block.
(2) get back a Republican Congress so we can run budget surplusses again.
Holy crap... what universe did you come from and when did you arrive? Perhap you weren't paying attention to the last 6 years of republican congressional control? Or did you subconsciously blank out the work of said congress which flipped the US from having a massive surplus to having the largest deficit in history? Are you truly *that* deluded?
I gotta second this. It combines the beauty of Smalltalk's object model (late binding, extensive use of introspection, etc) and syntax (*simple*) with the speed of C. Far better than the monstrosity that is C++.
So $200 savings, roughly... not bad. Then again, for that extra $200, you get:
* No subscription fees.
* The ability to play other media (eg, DivX, etc) than what you record.
* A built-in music jukebox supporting whatever formats you want, as well as integrated CD ripping.
* Integration of emulators (I use this a *lot*).
* Expandability for adding more tuners and storage as required.
* Unrestricted access to all recordings, and integrated transcoding capability.
* Integrated DVD playback, burning, and ripping.
* An easy-to-use web interface for scheduling recordings and viewing TV listings.
I'm sure I could go on and on. It's certainly worth the extra $200 for me.
Of course, it is a lot more difficult to initially set up, so in this regard, TiVo clearly wins. But now that my system is up, I haven't had to tweak it at all. It just works. *shrug* But, YMMV, of course.
*Far* more? Really? I can build a capable Myth system for $500. How much does your Tivo plus a monthly subscription (I don't believe lifetimes are available anymore) for, say, 3 years run you?
IOW, you want a literary version of MovieLens. You know what? So do I!
However, I don't remember covering this particular algorithm. (I never took the advanced algorithms class though.)
Interesting. I know, in my degree program, numerical methods were a required course. In it, we covered all sorts of numerical methods, including estimation techniques such as Newton-Raphson's, and also delved into computing error, how to handle error, etc. But, as I say, it *really* depends on the degree program...
However, it would be doing something.
So what you're saying is that doing the wrong thing is good, as long as it makes you "feel" better?
Have you ever heard of the term Truthiness?
I only wish I understood how it worked. I know nothing about what a "Newton-Raphson iteration" is.
As an aside, is an excellent illustration of the value of a real computing science degree (assuming you take it at an institution where they actually expect you to learn math, numerical methods, etc).
Those who expected the initial Vista release to generate a wave of hype will be sorely disappointed.
So, what, all two of them?
Over the life of a system, thirty really isn't that bad. I mean, I recently counted that I have just a tad under one hundred ps2 games (not a single one of them a sports game).
Step number one to becoming a more useful, pleasant member of society: realizing not everyone in the world is like you.
Guess what: you're abnormal. No, really. I don't know *anyone* with anywhere near 30 PS2 games, let alone *100*.
Meh, enterprise platforms like Solaris has been doing this for years. If you want to do real HA, it's a very important feature to have.
Oh snap! The classic "coward" rebuttal combined with the fearsome "frenchie" retort! Glad they teach high-level debating skills in the military...
And what company is going to deploy Linux just so it can virtualize Windows? Why wouldn't they save the time and expertise (and finger pointing) and just deploy Windows as the host and Windows as the guest?
People who want a stable subtrate operating system on which they can deploy their Windows services? Think about it. A stable underlying OS allows you to stop worrying about the actual servers and focus on the VMs. This means you can do things like hot VM fail-over, for higher availability. Seems like a big win to me.
Not to mention developers who might want a Linux box as their core OS while they do Windows development. Or those doing cross-platform work.
Well, I never said their plan would *work*. :)
It was a failure. You think Nintendo really likes being second to Sony? How about third to Microsoft?
I think they probably don't care, as long as they're raking in the dough.
They see the XBox starting to MAKE money in the next 2 years,
Actually, this isn't what the article says. It only claims that the E&D division *as a whole* will be in the black. It seems likely that the Xbox divion will continue to lose money, but at a slower rate, offset by improvements in other areas.