The bigger mess is for an on-line retailer to keep track of sales taxes rates for every state, county, and municipality in the country. That's right, even the local governments are cashing in on sales tax, making it all more complex.
At least the consumer knows the sales tax for his or her area.
If governments want to collect sales tax for interstate commerce, then the government should maintain a database of these tax rates. Then, they should build an application with an API that retailers could query to return the sales tax rates for a transaction between two points.
I don't mean one just for California either. You get into the mess where each state has it's own API's. This would need to be one application for any location.
Asking each and every on-line retailer to build a system like this themselves and keep track of current tax rates is unfeasible, repetitive, and just plain stupid. This would put most small on-line shops out of business, and make the entrance level price for upstarts far out of reach.
To quote Steven Sinofsky, the author of the msdn blog article linked in the OP:
"we don't know anything about how you use the product. the data is our customer experience improvement program. it is anonymous and opt-in. there is a very clear privacy policy in place with regards to this data."
Actually, your logic is a bit flawed. The article states that the usage dipped by 11% between Windows Vista and Windows 7. Claiming that 89% of people still use it would only be true if 100% of the people used it with Windows Vista.
It seems that MS intentionally omits the actual usage. Instead, they only show the change in usage between Windows Vista and Windows 7. This data is useless in deciding whether or not the start bar is needed. I'm guessing they intentionally left out the starting figures, because the Windows 7 usage was still over 50%.
They touched a bit on whether or not the creations could be customized. The article stated that the build value was higher regardless of whether or not customization was possible. This is why they used Ikea products, non-alterable, and lego structures, alterable.
For an comparison to open source software projects, it would be interesting to see the perceived values of the two pre-built items, one which as configurable, and one which is not. For example, a pre-built piece of furniture made from pieces which could be reconfigured to produce a modified structure, versus a pre-built structure with pieces that were permanently joined together.
This is something that is considered by people choosing to rent or buy something. Like an apartment in which you are not allowed to paint the walls. Even if an end user of a software product does not contribute to the build, there is value in knowing the end user may hire someone to make alterations on his or her behalf.
That being said, this study is spot on. Putting your own blood, sweat, and tears into any project increases its value, at least to you.
Exactly the same reason why I use Mutt for e-mail. Bye bye font families, colors, variants, and sizes. Bye bye embedded images, iframes, etc..
Now, if I can only get people to copy and paste text from application error messages. My customers prefer to take a screen shot, paste it into a Word document, save it, then attach the word doc within an e-mail. Then I have to save the attachment and open with libreoffice, just so I can finally read a one line error message like, "rsync connection reset by peer".
I had a similar train of thought while reading the article. Although, I was thinking of a painful present. If I understand correctly, a user has full control over his or her timeline. Here is the quote from Zuckerberg, "You have complete control of everything on your Timeline,".
The idea is to show the important, or happy, parts of your life. While reading the article, I was thinking about a the son of a relative that just died. If you look at his profile now, all you see is sadness. This is because the content is sorted in a descending chronological order. He is a better man than that. A timeline would show you when volunteers showed up to help him rebuild his business that was destroyed by fire, or a photo of the first dollar he made thereafter, or his wedding day.
As a person, each of us is more than our immediate past. As I see it, the timeline allows you to say who you are as a whole. So, you can showcase when you were married, or your first child was born, or the last fishing trip you took with your uncle before he passed away. This is certainly better than only showing the past four weeks when you lost your job, lost your dog, got a divorce, and got a DUI.
Fair enough. Honestly, I don't like 99% of the interface changes they make, but I think the timeline looks very promising and innovative. The concept of being able to weight you posts to display information in a non-chronological order just makes sense to me. I can't think of any recent web projects I've done that didn't need a way for the client's data entry folks to provide a custom sort order.
I agree with you about moving the mouse and triggering popups. Also, the AJAX loading of more comments and messages makes it almost impossible to click on links on the bottom of the page. If you have an account, go into your messages and try to click on Archived in the footer. You can't, whether using the Page Down button, or the mouse, as soon as you reach the bottom off the page it loads more messages. You cannot click the link until you've reached the end of the message list.
I don't have multiple accounts. I don't get paid anything. I haven't run anything but Debian for ten years, with the exception of a Windows testing box and a Linux Mint installation. I don't like Facebook or MS, but that isn't the point. The point is that as soon as something is said about Facebook, the same old crap comes out in the slashdot comments, regardless of the article. Blanket statements are made about privacy, or similarities to MySpace, that have nothing to do with the article. It is tiresome to read the same crap every time, as if saying facebook is the new myspace is somehow an original clever statement. Please, it's old already.
Like the first comment, about MySpace 3.0. When did MySpace implement or plan to implement this timeline? Then there are the comments about the new timeline and privacy. The timeline does nothing more to unveil private information than facebook already does. It is as if no one actually reads the articles before posting.
Sorry for being objective enough to realize that even the bad guys could have good ideas sometimes.
That being said, I do use facebook. My clients use facebook for their businesses. I post information on there that I don't consider private. Would I like it to be different in some ways? Yes. I'm not going to make useless posts on slashdot threatening to cancel my facebook account, though.
Complaints can actually be well-founded, and those who dislike the subject of a news story are just as welcome to contribute their opinion.
My point is that there were no valid complaints. In all of the posts before mine, it was the typical knee jerk reaction. Everyone complained, but no one provided any real argument as to why. You were the first one to provide something of substance, about it being "time consuming". Although, I don't see much substance in it. You can post status updates normally, since newer items will be appear at the top unless you chose to weight them.
Zuckerberg won't read the post, but others will, and ultimately he has investors, employees, and business partners who can be rattled by widespread criticism and rejection of new functionality that's too unpleasant. If nobody talked about things they disliked, or expressed the objections you resent so vociferously, then no one would learn otherwise, and things would simply die off without an apparent cause, or stupidity would be perpetuated.
Maybe, maybe not. It is likely that they get their feedback from people posting complaints on Facebook itself. Regardless of that, with constructive complaints, the first few posts on here were a waste. In order for the system you described to work, people need to express what they like or do not like constructively.
An "ish"? This is a site for grownups, and you can use four letter words. For example, I don't care one fucking bit for your sneering tone.
Thanks for proving my point about being cool, by showing me how you can swear on-line, and suggesting I do the same.
Forcing what functionality? Giving visitors full control of what displays on their profile page? Allowing them to pick what is important? Allowing them to make posts for past events to fill in missing information?
Which of these will your friends not want? What level of detail are you referring to? There is no detail in the timeline that you cannot find already. It is just a matter of allowing users to weight their items.
How does the timeline not fit into the "connect and chat, and share pictures". Also, where did you get your statistics that this is the only thing 99% of members want. Did you forget this? http://socialtimes.com/facebook-gamers-hours-per-month_b24156
I guess you're cool on slashdot as long as you complain about everything Facebook does, regardless of whether it is good or bad. So keep complaining about how it is getting too much like MySpace, or Twitter. Keep complaining about how Facebook is further diminishing your privacy each time a new feature is added. Be sure to include some conspiracy theory. Most importantly, threaten to close your account. Then you'll be really cool.
Get over yourself. It is no secret that what you put on Facebook is not private. It is not secret that they use your data to drive targeted advertising campaigns.
You will not cancel your account, so stop threatening to. No one on here gives an ish. Zuckerberg isn't reading your slashdot post either. He doesn't give an ish. So go try your, "I swear I'll walk out of here right now!", on your girlfriend or the guy trying to sell you a used car. You may have better luck.
The timeline is innovative. It allows you to showcase the most memorable or important times of your life. It gives a better idea of who someone is than their most recent status updates. With the current interface, every post is given equal importance. Why would you complain about a new feature that allows you to give prominence to the posts that best define your life? Lastly, this is a feature that sets it apart from the other Twitter style status updates. It fixes a major flaw IMHO. FTFA: "Zuckerberg says the Timeline is “a place that you are proud to call your home.” While the current Facebook profile is completely based on showing all the latest updates, the Timeline is meant to highlight all the important updates of your life."
Slashdot Mirror
The bigger mess is for an on-line retailer to keep track of sales taxes rates for every state, county, and municipality in the country. That's right, even the local governments are cashing in on sales tax, making it all more complex.
At least the consumer knows the sales tax for his or her area.
If governments want to collect sales tax for interstate commerce, then the government should maintain a database of these tax rates. Then, they should build an application with an API that retailers could query to return the sales tax rates for a transaction between two points.
I don't mean one just for California either. You get into the mess where each state has it's own API's. This would need to be one application for any location.
Asking each and every on-line retailer to build a system like this themselves and keep track of current tax rates is unfeasible, repetitive, and just plain stupid. This would put most small on-line shops out of business, and make the entrance level price for upstarts far out of reach.
To quote Steven Sinofsky, the author of the msdn blog article linked in the OP:
"we don't know anything about how you use the product. the data is our customer experience improvement program. it is anonymous and opt-in. there is a very clear privacy policy in place with regards to this data."
Actually, your logic is a bit flawed. The article states that the usage dipped by 11% between Windows Vista and Windows 7. Claiming that 89% of people still use it would only be true if 100% of the people used it with Windows Vista.
It seems that MS intentionally omits the actual usage. Instead, they only show the change in usage between Windows Vista and Windows 7. This data is useless in deciding whether or not the start bar is needed. I'm guessing they intentionally left out the starting figures, because the Windows 7 usage was still over 50%.
Please provide instructions for overclocking mine for superhero style motor reflexes.
They touched a bit on whether or not the creations could be customized. The article stated that the build value was higher regardless of whether or not customization was possible. This is why they used Ikea products, non-alterable, and lego structures, alterable.
For an comparison to open source software projects, it would be interesting to see the perceived values of the two pre-built items, one which as configurable, and one which is not. For example, a pre-built piece of furniture made from pieces which could be reconfigured to produce a modified structure, versus a pre-built structure with pieces that were permanently joined together.
This is something that is considered by people choosing to rent or buy something. Like an apartment in which you are not allowed to paint the walls. Even if an end user of a software product does not contribute to the build, there is value in knowing the end user may hire someone to make alterations on his or her behalf.
That being said, this study is spot on. Putting your own blood, sweat, and tears into any project increases its value, at least to you.
Exactly the same reason why I use Mutt for e-mail. Bye bye font families, colors, variants, and sizes. Bye bye embedded images, iframes, etc..
Now, if I can only get people to copy and paste text from application error messages. My customers prefer to take a screen shot, paste it into a Word document, save it, then attach the word doc within an e-mail. Then I have to save the attachment and open with libreoffice, just so I can finally read a one line error message like, "rsync connection reset by peer".
I had a similar train of thought while reading the article. Although, I was thinking of a painful present. If I understand correctly, a user has full control over his or her timeline. Here is the quote from Zuckerberg, "You have complete control of everything on your Timeline,".
The idea is to show the important, or happy, parts of your life. While reading the article, I was thinking about a the son of a relative that just died. If you look at his profile now, all you see is sadness. This is because the content is sorted in a descending chronological order. He is a better man than that. A timeline would show you when volunteers showed up to help him rebuild his business that was destroyed by fire, or a photo of the first dollar he made thereafter, or his wedding day.
As a person, each of us is more than our immediate past. As I see it, the timeline allows you to say who you are as a whole. So, you can showcase when you were married, or your first child was born, or the last fishing trip you took with your uncle before he passed away. This is certainly better than only showing the past four weeks when you lost your job, lost your dog, got a divorce, and got a DUI.
I already said what was innovative about the timeline. I don't need to repeat myself. You could also try reading the article for yourself.
I'm not sure why you are comparing a forum, or e-mail, or RSS to social networking.
Fair enough. Honestly, I don't like 99% of the interface changes they make, but I think the timeline looks very promising and innovative. The concept of being able to weight you posts to display information in a non-chronological order just makes sense to me. I can't think of any recent web projects I've done that didn't need a way for the client's data entry folks to provide a custom sort order.
I agree with you about moving the mouse and triggering popups. Also, the AJAX loading of more comments and messages makes it almost impossible to click on links on the bottom of the page. If you have an account, go into your messages and try to click on Archived in the footer. You can't, whether using the Page Down button, or the mouse, as soon as you reach the bottom off the page it loads more messages. You cannot click the link until you've reached the end of the message list.
I don't have multiple accounts. I don't get paid anything. I haven't run anything but Debian for ten years, with the exception of a Windows testing box and a Linux Mint installation. I don't like Facebook or MS, but that isn't the point. The point is that as soon as something is said about Facebook, the same old crap comes out in the slashdot comments, regardless of the article. Blanket statements are made about privacy, or similarities to MySpace, that have nothing to do with the article. It is tiresome to read the same crap every time, as if saying facebook is the new myspace is somehow an original clever statement. Please, it's old already.
Like the first comment, about MySpace 3.0. When did MySpace implement or plan to implement this timeline? Then there are the comments about the new timeline and privacy. The timeline does nothing more to unveil private information than facebook already does. It is as if no one actually reads the articles before posting.
Sorry for being objective enough to realize that even the bad guys could have good ideas sometimes.
That being said, I do use facebook. My clients use facebook for their businesses. I post information on there that I don't consider private. Would I like it to be different in some ways? Yes. I'm not going to make useless posts on slashdot threatening to cancel my facebook account, though.
Nothing here worth replying to. Thanks. Good luck social networking with your magic marker.
Complaints can actually be well-founded, and those who dislike the subject of a news story are just as welcome to contribute their opinion.
My point is that there were no valid complaints. In all of the posts before mine, it was the typical knee jerk reaction. Everyone complained, but no one provided any real argument as to why. You were the first one to provide something of substance, about it being "time consuming". Although, I don't see much substance in it. You can post status updates normally, since newer items will be appear at the top unless you chose to weight them.
Zuckerberg won't read the post, but others will, and ultimately he has investors, employees, and business partners who can be rattled by widespread criticism and rejection of new functionality that's too unpleasant. If nobody talked about things they disliked, or expressed the objections you resent so vociferously, then no one would learn otherwise, and things would simply die off without an apparent cause, or stupidity would be perpetuated.
Maybe, maybe not. It is likely that they get their feedback from people posting complaints on Facebook itself. Regardless of that, with constructive complaints, the first few posts on here were a waste. In order for the system you described to work, people need to express what they like or do not like constructively.
An "ish"? This is a site for grownups, and you can use four letter words. For example, I don't care one fucking bit for your sneering tone.
Thanks for proving my point about being cool, by showing me how you can swear on-line, and suggesting I do the same.
Forcing what functionality? Giving visitors full control of what displays on their profile page? Allowing them to pick what is important? Allowing them to make posts for past events to fill in missing information?
Which of these will your friends not want? What level of detail are you referring to? There is no detail in the timeline that you cannot find already. It is just a matter of allowing users to weight their items.
How does the timeline not fit into the "connect and chat, and share pictures". Also, where did you get your statistics that this is the only thing 99% of members want. Did you forget this? http://socialtimes.com/facebook-gamers-hours-per-month_b24156
I guess you're cool on slashdot as long as you complain about everything Facebook does, regardless of whether it is good or bad. So keep complaining about how it is getting too much like MySpace, or Twitter. Keep complaining about how Facebook is further diminishing your privacy each time a new feature is added. Be sure to include some conspiracy theory. Most importantly, threaten to close your account. Then you'll be really cool.
Get over yourself. It is no secret that what you put on Facebook is not private. It is not secret that they use your data to drive targeted advertising campaigns.
You will not cancel your account, so stop threatening to. No one on here gives an ish. Zuckerberg isn't reading your slashdot post either. He doesn't give an ish. So go try your, "I swear I'll walk out of here right now!", on your girlfriend or the guy trying to sell you a used car. You may have better luck.
The timeline is innovative. It allows you to showcase the most memorable or important times of your life. It gives a better idea of who someone is than their most recent status updates. With the current interface, every post is given equal importance. Why would you complain about a new feature that allows you to give prominence to the posts that best define your life? Lastly, this is a feature that sets it apart from the other Twitter style status updates. It fixes a major flaw IMHO. FTFA: "Zuckerberg says the Timeline is “a place that you are proud to call your home.” While the current Facebook profile is completely based on showing all the latest updates, the Timeline is meant to highlight all the important updates of your life."