Bill started the foundation in 1994, when he was solidly still at Microsoft in a very hands-on position, and stayed there for a rather long time.
Giving it out with an eyedropper at the time. When he left as CEO he gave more of it away. Could be he had more time to see where to put it. He certainly took it out of the mouths of a lot of companies and employees by bundling their software's functionality into Windows and giving it away free.
You have idiot politicians supervising idiot bureaucrats who supervise idiot workers carrying out idiot policies upon idiot people who accept it without question. Anybody who does question it is a real threat to the idiots who are only smart enough to protect their own jobs, not the country.
Those idiot politicians fly more often than you, unless you are an airline pilot.
The bureaucrats do what they are ordered, no more, no less.
The people are effectively cattle. When they moo the politicians look to see which way they are facing, pass something and go back into their huddles.
Want better, more effective security? Replace bureaucrats with imaginative professionals, then back them when they make their inevitable goof - they're human, after all - because if they get sacked then it's back to bureaucrats.
I think that the music industry is already grossly overvalued and would not be a wise investment. The US Government on the other hand that would be a valuable investment if they could just find a way to buy them off in bulk. Lets do the math. 1 Prez, 1 VP, Chief of Staff, Secretary of state ect, Cabinet lets round that to 65 for ease 100 Senators 435 House of Rep As of January 2009, a total of 3,200 Fed Judges So we have about 4,000 monkeys to buy. Per year Average salary is probably around 180k. So we will offer them 10x the amount per year or 1.8 Million per worker. For only 7.2 Billion per year I think I could effectively own the entire federal government. I think google can swing that.
I think the Oil Industry has already done it. Now that GWB is out, does anyone see taxing Big Oil for Windfall Profits?
You know, I wonder about this sometimes. Despite the epic saga which is Microsoft, Bill Gates actually seems like the kind of guy who wants to make the world a bit better (for instance, see Project Tuva). If I was a man with a hundred billion dollars, I'd have no qualms spending half of that to make several very real and important problems in the world simply "go away."
Political backpressure shouldn't be a problem no matter what you do, since with that much cash you could easily buy the government along with whatever else you want to buy.
Do keep in mind that Bill developed a conscience after departing the helm of Microsoft. Doing good works after being a ruthless business man (to accumulate a vast fortune) is a time-honored tradition, usually something to do with trying to polish a turd.. I mean legacy.
Depends on your point of view. Dissident speech instills terror in the minds of authority.
As evidenced throughout North Africa, Middle East and even China, at the moment. Yup. Those tyrants are very wary of anyone who so much as utters a disparaging wort about their cousin having a bad go with the local constabulary.
I'll take two lumps, please. Sweets to the sweet I always say.
Well, this is certainly the finest pat-down, X-Ray scan, cavity search and bowl of hot grits down the shorts I've ever experienced at SFO! I feel like flying every week!
... that parents are buying their children (who clearly aren't yet older enough to understand financial responsibility) expensive pieces of technology so that they don't actually have to parent or spend time with their children. IMO it's becoming far to common place for parents to sit their children in front of a TV or video game so that they don't have to keep them occupied. Who told them parenting wasn't hard work?
Problem is most parents don't have a PhD from Parenting University. Junior or little Miss popped out and Mum and Dad have been on a running treadmill ever since, with scarcely a moment to see into the Crystal Ball of the future, to see what mischief their progeny will be up to next. Parents can use a little help from companies. Particularly where there is a sort of precedent.
I'm not saying Apple hasn't been somewhat irresponsible for making it so easy to run up bills but a class action lawsuit is a little extreme for something that the parents are equally, if not more responsible for.
Roll this back about 10 years and it's kids texting an added $5,000 to their parents mobile phone.
Perhaps is nothing more than whether a service should by default be enabled or not.
I'm a great one for a loud outburst of swearing every time I get a new computer with Microsoft Office on it, because I have to spend hours going through and turning off all the enabled by default options which I hate (and they are so clever at hiding the on/off buttons for.)
Where a purchasing ability is enabled by default, I can see that being a problem, particularly when they can't possibly be convincingly daft enough to believe kids won't have their hands on these devices and have access.
I can't really say Apple is doing anything wrong here. They have not only the option to disable said purchases available, they also went the extra step of modifying their password handling. Seems just like another case of stupid parenting to me.
Yes... but have you ever had a child in a public school? A child who is failing? Who do you blame? Parents or school?
I'm just glad to hear that all of the crimes against victims have been solved and the perpetrators brought to justice, giving the DOJ time to focus on victimless "crimes" like online poker.
At least I assume that's what happened.
Well, they did finally convict that notorious master criminal Barry Bonds (of acting like an a**, if nothing else.)
Have you ever knowingly used performance enhancing drugs while playing online poker?
Compared to their responsible FUD which is much better.
Business as usual between business and government - business sells based upon MOU and promises they'll weasel around, while government rarely goes back to review the contract.
Not too hard to build, with a weather balloon and a modified Webcam.
I've started on a kit to build an astronomy camera, by converting a color web cam to (more sensitive) B&W. Everything else is just software.
There's a video of someone sending up a video camera on a balloon, which shows just how much atmosphere there is to look through, with haze of water vapor, etc., on youtube (can't do the look up here) which was pretty neat. What's missing is some kind of stability (add gyros?)
Shouldn't we be developing AI to use two? I mean, we have two eyes (most of us, condolences to those who do not, no disrespect intended) and we recognize objects, dept of field and rates of change within three dimensions, using them.
This one comes in via Word. MS released a security update this week that installs an Office add-in that scans 2003, 2007 & 2010 Office docs for malicious code. Hopefully MS's efforts will prevent the next Adobe security hole.
I've always assumed Word Processor was not the same as Compiler or Interpreter. Shows just what a marvelous world it is when your Word documents aren't even documents at all, but full environments of their own.
Generally THIS is why I don't use Word at home - I use a Word Processor which is a Word Processor and nothing more.
Not so much that the US has really declined as the rest of the world has caught up.
When I see even North Koreans have cell phones (ok, they're probably reissued japanese discards on a closed network) I'm thinking there's getting to be less difference based upon location.
I think that to say "Facebook will be the worlds largest bank" is about as accurate as saying "Farmville will be the world's largest agricultural business".
Or - Facebook owned mostly by Mark Zuckerberg.
After yesterday's news about the Ceglia case and the way Zuckerberg has been diluting his share, if he ends up with 16%, he'll end up with far less than that.
Slashdot Mirror
Bill started the foundation in 1994, when he was solidly still at Microsoft in a very hands-on position, and stayed there for a rather long time.
Giving it out with an eyedropper at the time. When he left as CEO he gave more of it away. Could be he had more time to see where to put it. He certainly took it out of the mouths of a lot of companies and employees by bundling their software's functionality into Windows and giving it away free.
Does this report honestly surprise anybody?
You have idiot politicians supervising idiot bureaucrats who supervise idiot workers carrying out idiot policies upon idiot people who accept it without question. Anybody who does question it is a real threat to the idiots who are only smart enough to protect their own jobs, not the country.
Those idiot politicians fly more often than you, unless you are an airline pilot.
The bureaucrats do what they are ordered, no more, no less.
The people are effectively cattle. When they moo the politicians look to see which way they are facing, pass something and go back into their huddles.
Want better, more effective security? Replace bureaucrats with imaginative professionals, then back them when they make their inevitable goof - they're human, after all - because if they get sacked then it's back to bureaucrats.
I think that the music industry is already grossly overvalued and would not be a wise investment.
The US Government on the other hand that would be a valuable investment if they could just find a way to buy them off in bulk.
Lets do the math.
1 Prez, 1 VP, Chief of Staff, Secretary of state ect, Cabinet lets round that to 65 for ease
100 Senators
435 House of Rep
As of January 2009, a total of 3,200 Fed Judges
So we have about 4,000 monkeys to buy. Per year
Average salary is probably around 180k. So we will offer them 10x the amount per year or 1.8 Million per worker.
For only 7.2 Billion per year I think I could effectively own the entire federal government.
I think google can swing that.
I think the Oil Industry has already done it. Now that GWB is out, does anyone see taxing Big Oil for Windfall Profits?
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
You know, I wonder about this sometimes. Despite the epic saga which is Microsoft, Bill Gates actually seems like the kind of guy who wants to make the world a bit better (for instance, see Project Tuva). If I was a man with a hundred billion dollars, I'd have no qualms spending half of that to make several very real and important problems in the world simply "go away."
Political backpressure shouldn't be a problem no matter what you do, since with that much cash you could easily buy the government along with whatever else you want to buy.
Do keep in mind that Bill developed a conscience after departing the helm of Microsoft. Doing good works after being a ruthless business man (to accumulate a vast fortune) is a time-honored tradition, usually something to do with trying to polish a turd .. I mean legacy.
I don't know why Microsoft haven't a decade ago. Unless it would just be such an obvious target for Antitrust types...
Depends on your point of view.
Dissident speech instills terror in the minds of authority.
As evidenced throughout North Africa, Middle East and even China, at the moment. Yup. Those tyrants are very wary of anyone who so much as utters a disparaging wort about their cousin having a bad go with the local constabulary.
I'll take two lumps, please. Sweets to the sweet I always say.
>_>
Well, this is certainly the finest pat-down, X-Ray scan, cavity search and bowl of hot grits down the shorts I've ever experienced at SFO! I feel like flying every week!
Terror Alert Elevated from Plaid to Paisley
nab scuffle throw-down hammer-lock vulcan-death-grip
Ahhh, nooooooo! I was sincere! Really!
... that parents are buying their children (who clearly aren't yet older enough to understand financial responsibility) expensive pieces of technology so that they don't actually have to parent or spend time with their children. IMO it's becoming far to common place for parents to sit their children in front of a TV or video game so that they don't have to keep them occupied. Who told them parenting wasn't hard work?
Problem is most parents don't have a PhD from Parenting University. Junior or little Miss popped out and Mum and Dad have been on a running treadmill ever since, with scarcely a moment to see into the Crystal Ball of the future, to see what mischief their progeny will be up to next. Parents can use a little help from companies. Particularly where there is a sort of precedent.
I'm not saying Apple hasn't been somewhat irresponsible for making it so easy to run up bills but a class action lawsuit is a little extreme for something that the parents are equally, if not more responsible for.
Roll this back about 10 years and it's kids texting an added $5,000 to their parents mobile phone.
Lets toss money at this team of lawyers to save our children
You mean, let's point this team of lawyers at Apple and see if they can draw money out of them and then possibly share the remaining 30% with us.
Perhaps is nothing more than whether a service should by default be enabled or not.
I'm a great one for a loud outburst of swearing every time I get a new computer with Microsoft Office on it, because I have to spend hours going through and turning off all the enabled by default options which I hate (and they are so clever at hiding the on/off buttons for.)
Where a purchasing ability is enabled by default, I can see that being a problem, particularly when they can't possibly be convincingly daft enough to believe kids won't have their hands on these devices and have access.
I can't really say Apple is doing anything wrong here. They have not only the option to disable said purchases available, they also went the extra step of modifying their password handling. Seems just like another case of stupid parenting to me.
Yes... but have you ever had a child in a public school? A child who is failing? Who do you blame? Parents or school?
There is a logic here, but it escapes me.
Would you like to buy a cookie for your pet?
o_o
It's a really good cookie!
O_o
With chocolate and stuff!
O_O
Your pet will wuv oo!
@_@
You bought a cookie!
It was nummy!
Your pet wuvs oo!
Buy another?
@_@
Yay! Your pet weally, weally wuvs oo!
[repeat n times]
Thanks for buying all the cookies for your very happy pet!
Charging $483.75 to account.
+_+
....of being wary of geeks bearing gifts?
Be wary of rifts among geeks.
Alors! There ees a wooden rabbit outside le gate?!?
I'm just glad to hear that all of the crimes against victims have been solved and the perpetrators brought to justice, giving the DOJ time to focus on victimless "crimes" like online poker.
At least I assume that's what happened.
Well, they did finally convict that notorious master criminal Barry Bonds (of acting like an a**, if nothing else.)
Have you ever knowingly used performance enhancing drugs while playing online poker?
I mean no offense, but as a student of history, aren't FUD and Microsoft synonymous?
This FUD got Google dragged before the US Senate, so it's pretty newsworthy.
Yeah, it's not like the House where just about anybody can get dragged before it.
>It calls Microsoft's FUD 'irresponsible.'
Compared to their responsible FUD which is much better.
Business as usual between business and government - business sells based upon MOU and promises they'll weasel around, while government rarely goes back to review the contract.
Since when is 95,000 feet of altitude in "space?"
Not much water vapor up there, almost as good as space. :)
Not too hard to build, with a weather balloon and a modified Webcam.
I've started on a kit to build an astronomy camera, by converting a color web cam to (more sensitive) B&W. Everything else is just software.
There's a video of someone sending up a video camera on a balloon, which shows just how much atmosphere there is to look through, with haze of water vapor, etc., on youtube (can't do the look up here) which was pretty neat. What's missing is some kind of stability (add gyros?)
Shouldn't we be developing AI to use two? I mean, we have two eyes (most of us, condolences to those who do not, no disrespect intended) and we recognize objects, dept of field and rates of change within three dimensions, using them.
This one comes in via Word. MS released a security update this week that installs an Office add-in that scans 2003, 2007 & 2010 Office docs for malicious code. Hopefully MS's efforts will prevent the next Adobe security hole.
I've always assumed Word Processor was not the same as Compiler or Interpreter. Shows just what a marvelous world it is when your Word documents aren't even documents at all, but full environments of their own.
Generally THIS is why I don't use Word at home - I use a Word Processor which is a Word Processor and nothing more.
Not so much that the US has really declined as the rest of the world has caught up.
When I see even North Koreans have cell phones (ok, they're probably reissued japanese discards on a closed network) I'm thinking there's getting to be less difference based upon location.
In Soviet Russia game box tracks YOU!
oh, wait, in Capitalist USA game box tracks you, too...
I did expect the Spanish Inqueisiton!
Let's back WAY up.
Facebook as a BANK?!
How wrong is THAT?
"FaceBook. The bank that Likes you."
I think that to say "Facebook will be the worlds largest bank" is about as accurate as saying "Farmville will be the world's largest agricultural business".
Or - Facebook owned mostly by Mark Zuckerberg.
After yesterday's news about the Ceglia case and the way Zuckerberg has been diluting his share, if he ends up with 16%, he'll end up with far less than that.
I'm waiting for what follows Facebook, thanks.
Was convicted of Fraud before and tried to do this same thing in 2003. I have serious doubts to any validity of this.
certainly does cast a shadow, but who is to say this wasn't entirely on the up and up?
Judge and jury, I expect.