Why is Chernobyl, the benchmark for Really Bad Engineering, always trotted out any time people start talking about nuclear stuff?
Look: Chernobyl melted because the technicians actively disabled every safety interlock on the plant, because the safety interlocks were installed by Georgian farm boy conscripts and were therefore interfering with power generation. It did not melt because nuclear energy is bad and scary.
You say you're not one of those people who freak out when they hear the word nucular, but isn't that just what you're doing?
For the record, I don't think nuclear rockets in the atmosphere are a good idea. But a safed nuclear rocket being launched into LEO, and then lit up there? No problem.
"I wish kids were as amazed by computers as I was at that age."
How amazed are you at airplanes? Or cars? Or telephones?
Each of these technologies are revolutionary wonders that captured peoples' imaginations, and then became routine.
See also the steam engine, sanitation, forks, fire, and the wheel.
Apathetic children are not new. Expose them to amazing things, and see what sticks.
If they're interested in 3D modeling, by God teach them! Give 'em a book, a class, ANYTHING. Don't just let them say "Woo! That was neat! Wish I could do that!" Engage them.
"I enjoyed learning about computers and playing around and finding out how they ticked. It scares me that NO ONE will know how soon as Windows does NOT really allow you to know. Everything is behind a shroud of secrecy and hard to find registry settings that are buried in deep trees of information."
That's exactly the same argument that people who know how to tune carburetors use to decry how modern automotive electronics are the death of shade tree mechanics.
Somebody better tell these kids who have somehow figured out how to mod the CRAP out of their cars. I might not like the aesthetic very much, but the spirit I can definitely get behind.
Things are different now than they were 20 years ago. Guess what: That ain't gonna change. Kids aren't getting stupider, they're just getting more press.
"Take a look at ATT's stock price and market share; the same thing is going to happen to these vendors who rely on customer ignorance and proprietary lock-ins to turn a profit."
Which mobile vendors don't? I'd LOVE to do business with them. Unfortunately, there's no tooth fairy, and there's no reputable mobile phone vendor.
In the cellular phone oligopoly uh I mean market, the problem is the opposite.
The engineers have installed a bunch of cool features, but the marketing departments haven't figured out how to extract tremendous piles of money from their captive audiences for them.
I agree. When there are testable hypotheses (as in science), all beliefs are certainly not equally valid.
However, in literature, philosophy, and religion, it's a lot harder to make that argument. These topics arguably do not have an Objective Right or Wrong, and I don't believe that anybody's opinion is on its face more or less valid than anybody else's.
"They spend too much time with engineering, and like to tell customers how the new microprocessor has a much wider front-side bus, or how their new piece of software supports dual-core systems, without really telling the customer how that will improve business processes or increase efficiency."
That's because the overwhelming majority of PC "advances" WON'T improve business processes or increase efficiency. If the marketroids can't just drown the customer in buzzwords, they have nothing to sell.
Re:Congratulations Tivo! Only took 4 years to copy
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TiVo to Go Released
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You forgot somewhere in step 2 when ReplayTV went out of business.
"FWIW beside OTA ATSC you won't be seeing non-directTV stb HDTV tivo standalones if they DONT start doing cablecard or other route which could be fatal, eventually, imho."
Page fault. Acronym overload. Paint your screen blue and reboot your computer.
I really think we're coming at the same conclusion from different sides.
You argue that it's misleading to call something "subjective" (which some people use as a code word for "unknowable") when we don't understand it Perfectly. I agree completely. However, I think it's also misleading to call something "objective" (which some people use as a code word for "I Know the Truth") as a way to halt discussion on the topic. (For instance, the hackneyed Objectivist argument: "A is A, therefore men pursue value and women are value. This is an incontrovertible fact, writ large on the fabric of the Universe.")
Reality IS real. Our understanding of that reality is imperfect. It is our responsibility to strive for a more perfect understanding. How does that sit with you?
Objective reality exists, of course. Neither you nor I can apprehend it perfectly though, since we have five senses and meaty brains.
I'd argue that, given sufficient time and technology, we can apprehend any facet of reality to an arbitrarily good approximation.
Is Einstein's theory of relativity objective Truth? Certainly not. It's a useful model that predicts some behaviors of the universe, and does not account for others. Is Ayn Rand's philosophy Good? I don't know. Some people find it useful, I find it insipid. Who is Right? I'm certainly not wise enough to make that judgement for anybody other than my self.
It's not solipsism to admit and embrace one's limitations. It is, of course, part of the human condition to challenge those limitations and expand our abilities...but one first must know what those limitations are.
Re:What other products have this capability?
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TiVo to Go Released
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· Score: 1
Is ReplayTV still in business? I thought they went under...
"It kind of flies in the face of their open philosophy to not let the device itself change."
That's silly, if the change is to a state that is against their philosophy.
Can one not tolerate intolerance, and still be tolerant? Of course. Can one embrace change, and still hew to some basic principles? Absolutely. Your argument is absurd.
Slashdot Mirror
Ever heard of the Sun?
Why is Chernobyl, the benchmark for Really Bad Engineering, always trotted out any time people start talking about nuclear stuff?
Look: Chernobyl melted because the technicians actively disabled every safety interlock on the plant, because the safety interlocks were installed by Georgian farm boy conscripts and were therefore interfering with power generation. It did not melt because nuclear energy is bad and scary.
You say you're not one of those people who freak out when they hear the word nucular, but isn't that just what you're doing?
For the record, I don't think nuclear rockets in the atmosphere are a good idea. But a safed nuclear rocket being launched into LEO, and then lit up there? No problem.
Do you know what H2 and O2 are? Hint: They're not petroleum products.
They're also really, really good rocket fuel.
Why would they bother with customer service when they can just acquire all their competitors?
SBC is the devil. They're everything that's bad about the Old Phone Company, only with more clout and no judicial oversight.
No, I'm just trying to figure out what he was trying to say.
Did he hate TV?
"I wish kids were as amazed by computers as I was at that age."
How amazed are you at airplanes? Or cars? Or telephones?
Each of these technologies are revolutionary wonders that captured peoples' imaginations, and then became routine.
See also the steam engine, sanitation, forks, fire, and the wheel.
Apathetic children are not new. Expose them to amazing things, and see what sticks.
If they're interested in 3D modeling, by God teach them! Give 'em a book, a class, ANYTHING. Don't just let them say "Woo! That was neat! Wish I could do that!" Engage them.
Lemme pick a nit.
"I enjoyed learning about computers and playing around and finding out how they ticked. It scares me that NO ONE will know how soon as Windows does NOT really allow you to know. Everything is behind a shroud of secrecy and hard to find registry settings that are buried in deep trees of information."
That's exactly the same argument that people who know how to tune carburetors use to decry how modern automotive electronics are the death of shade tree mechanics.
Somebody better tell these kids who have somehow figured out how to mod the CRAP out of their cars. I might not like the aesthetic very much, but the spirit I can definitely get behind.
Things are different now than they were 20 years ago. Guess what: That ain't gonna change. Kids aren't getting stupider, they're just getting more press.
"Take a look at ATT's stock price and market share; the same thing is going to happen to these vendors who rely on customer ignorance and proprietary lock-ins to turn a profit."
Which mobile vendors don't? I'd LOVE to do business with them. Unfortunately, there's no tooth fairy, and there's no reputable mobile phone vendor.
In the cellular phone oligopoly uh I mean market, the problem is the opposite.
The engineers have installed a bunch of cool features, but the marketing departments haven't figured out how to extract tremendous piles of money from their captive audiences for them.
I agree. When there are testable hypotheses (as in science), all beliefs are certainly not equally valid.
However, in literature, philosophy, and religion, it's a lot harder to make that argument. These topics arguably do not have an Objective Right or Wrong, and I don't believe that anybody's opinion is on its face more or less valid than anybody else's.
"Isn't the point of playing an instrument actually playing it yourself?"
The point of playing music is to express yourself. Different artists use different media to do that.
What's the problem?
Apple is not a monopoly.
"95% of what people need are covered by these 'mini-suites'.."
Which is why MS works so hard to make sure that they're not compatible with MS Office, which is The Standard.
"They spend too much time with engineering, and like to tell customers how the new microprocessor has a much wider front-side bus, or how their new piece of software supports dual-core systems, without really telling the customer how that will improve business processes or increase efficiency."
That's because the overwhelming majority of PC "advances" WON'T improve business processes or increase efficiency. If the marketroids can't just drown the customer in buzzwords, they have nothing to sell.
You forgot somewhere in step 2 when ReplayTV went out of business.
Get back to me when all required maintenance can be done without a keyboard. And you have a reliable TV listing system.
Until then, TiVo is well worth the price.
"FWIW beside OTA ATSC you won't be seeing non-directTV stb HDTV tivo standalones if they DONT start doing cablecard or other route which could be fatal, eventually, imho."
Page fault. Acronym overload. Paint your screen blue and reboot your computer.
"Whoever will bring a TV set here can choose: me or him."
Did that ultimatum make sense at the time, or was your roommate fond of the shrooms?
I had trouble justifying it as well. However, I'm being won over by the really, really good UI and the TivoToGo feature.
Maybe MythTV will be polished enough to be my next DVR, but for now, TiVo is well worth the price.
"GUI: Path to enlightenment or straight-jacket?"
Tool, with advantages and disadvantages. Why is this hard to understand...
I really think we're coming at the same conclusion from different sides.
You argue that it's misleading to call something "subjective" (which some people use as a code word for "unknowable") when we don't understand it Perfectly. I agree completely. However, I think it's also misleading to call something "objective" (which some people use as a code word for "I Know the Truth") as a way to halt discussion on the topic. (For instance, the hackneyed Objectivist argument: "A is A, therefore men pursue value and women are value. This is an incontrovertible fact, writ large on the fabric of the Universe.")
Reality IS real. Our understanding of that reality is imperfect. It is our responsibility to strive for a more perfect understanding. How does that sit with you?
Objective reality exists, of course. Neither you nor I can apprehend it perfectly though, since we have five senses and meaty brains.
I'd argue that, given sufficient time and technology, we can apprehend any facet of reality to an arbitrarily good approximation.
Is Einstein's theory of relativity objective Truth? Certainly not. It's a useful model that predicts some behaviors of the universe, and does not account for others. Is Ayn Rand's philosophy Good? I don't know. Some people find it useful, I find it insipid. Who is Right? I'm certainly not wise enough to make that judgement for anybody other than my self.
It's not solipsism to admit and embrace one's limitations. It is, of course, part of the human condition to challenge those limitations and expand our abilities...but one first must know what those limitations are.
Is ReplayTV still in business? I thought they went under...
Fee fi fo fum...I smell an objectivist, yo.
"It kind of flies in the face of their open philosophy to not let the device itself change."
That's silly, if the change is to a state that is against their philosophy.
Can one not tolerate intolerance, and still be tolerant? Of course. Can one embrace change, and still hew to some basic principles? Absolutely. Your argument is absurd.