Great example from just this last Tuesday. We had a SPLOST up for vote on Tuesday, it is a 1% increase in our sales tax to pay for road improvments, a new courthouse, and more jailspace.
It passed by less than 130 votes. 12% turnout. Better yet, all the belly aching by people who DIDN'T VOTE! Two of us from work who were eligible to vote in the county did, the rest did not; about 7 others.
but I think I am not, I know of no one who has bought any form of iPod who actually bought an Apple computer. Now I know a few Mac users who have iPods.
What I have seen is that they will most likely buy ANOTHER iPod. The only few who considered buying an Apple computer got immediately turned off by the price.
It is all about price points. The iPods are doing well now because they are at that magical number of being below $299 and most being $199 and under. Look where the largest iPod market is, it is that lower price range.
Meaning, if Apple can come out with other items in that range people might just stop and buy, may I suggest a media center type solution. An Apple PVR with more functionality?
Crying, maybe? Pissing someone off is more likely. Crashing that Cessna might not make you cry but I would not be surprised at a DAMN, FWORD, or similar instead.
Of course you can get really carried away in your games like this guy did over an item called Cloudsong in DAOC. Warning, don't play in public if sensitive ears are about. Sad thing is I run across people who react like this in quite a few games, especially FPS.
Well if Mars is going through what appears to be similar changes as the Earth then perhaps we need to go back and look at what we share in common, namely the sun.
Now of course with Mars we have even less history of their climate than our own but we could extrpolate from earlier photos just how much the visibile frozen material changed on the poles.
One could hope that since climate study on Mars should not be easily politicalized, at least early on, it may give us new isights into our own.
1. Any license issuing office can give you a card.
2. If you cannot afford it you will be given one.
3. They are sending buses to many places just to get people the cards.
Sorry but when I last checked there were quite a few places inside of i-285 (the loop around Atlanta) where I can go get my card if I didn't already have a license.
Yes the law is faulty but it is not an attempt to disenfranchise. The cards are FREE to those whose income means the threshold established by the Federal government for the poverty level.
YOU CAN ALSO VOTE WITHOUT ID USING A PROVISIONAL BALLOT. The bill clearly states that and puts the responsibility on the local voting agency to validate the proof.
Damn I thought talk like a pirate day was yesterday, then again your just parroting the typical BS that comes out about my state. Hell the Democrats pulled a fast one on Republicans by getting us to vote for Sonny Purdue who only flipped a before he ran for govenor.
If followed to the point of a permanent presence on the Moon we would probably also have an expanded presence in orbit.
Now the shuttle was mostly to return scientific instruments it took itself into space as well as the odd satellite. If you in space more of less permanent whats to return that would be bulky? Also the costs of returning something large, say a satellite, only to put it back need to weighed against fixing it in orbit or just replacing it.
As for resources taken from the moon, that will be an even longer period of time away that I hope someone will find a good method. it might even mean only using the mined resources in space. A lot of the knowledge we gain will either be conveyed back by transmission of the data involved or small enough to drop with any returning crew.
how many NASA engineers and others secretly cheered when Bush and Co. announced the end of the shuttle?
For too long we spent out time focused on the Shuttle instead of space itself. Everything other than a few probes was centered around the space shuttle. How much of the ISS was compromised because of the shuttle? Perhaps the original glamour of a flying space plane helped NASA but it sure turned into a Spruce Goose pretty damn quickly.
I really like this new direction. Getting the moon is the first step. While we might not reach Mars from there we never will have any chance if we just putz around in Earth orbit.
Perhaps the next habitation in space can be built on the moon. That can put the glamour back into the space age in a more practical method than a space plane.
Said chapter is further amended by striking Code Section 21-2-417, relating to form of proper identification at polls, and inserting in lieu thereof a new Code Section 21-2-417 to read as follows: 21-2-417. (a) Each Except as provided in subsection (c) of this Code section, each elector shall present proper identification to a poll worker at or prior to completion of a voters certificate at any polling place and prior to such persons admission to the enclosed space at such polling place. Proper identification shall consist of any one of the following: (1) A valid Georgia driver's license which was properly issued by the appropriate state agency; (2) A valid identification card issued by a branch, department, agency, or entity of the State of Georgia, any other state, or the United States authorized by law to issue personal identification, provided that such identification card contains a photograph of the elector; (3) A valid United States passport; (4) A valid employee identification card containing a photograph of the elector and issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the United States government, this state, or any county, municipality, board, authority, or other entity of this state;
A valid United States military identification card;, provided that such identification card contains a photograph of the elector; or (10)(6) A valid tribal identification card containing a photograph of the elector.
Except as provided in subsection (c) of this Code section, if an elector is unable to produce any of the items of identification listed in subsection (a) of this Code section, he or she a provisional ballot pursuant to Code Section 21-2-418 upon swearing or affirming that the elector is the person identified in the electors voter certificate. Such provisional ballot shall only be counted if the registrars are able to verify current and valid identification of the elector as provided in subsection (a) of this Code section within the time period for verifying provisional ballots pursuant to Code Section 21-2-419. Falsely swearing or affirming such statement under oath shall be punishable as a felony, and the penalty shall be distinctly set forth on the face of the statement. (c) An elector who registered to vote by mail, but did not comply with subsection (c) of Code Section 21-2-220, and who votes for the first time in this state shall present to the poll workers either one of the forms of identification listed in subsection (a) of this Code section or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of such elector. If such elector does not have any of the forms of identification listed in this subsection, such elector may vote a provisional ballot pursuant to Code Section 21-2-418 upon swearing or affirming that the elector is the person identified in the electors voter certificate. Such provisional ballot shall only be counted if the registrars are able to verify current and valid identification of the elector as provided in this subsection within the time period for verifying provisional ballots pursuant to Code Section 21-2-419. Falsely swearing or affirming such statement under oath shall be punishable as a felony, and the penalty shall be distinctly set forth on the face of the statement.
---------------------
So why not require a picture ID? I do think that the state should provide picture IDs for FREE to anyone who does not have an otherwise valid ID. That was the only real issue I had with the law.
The fraud in some recent Georgia elections drove the need for some type of voter ID. The biggest complaint were reccounts where votes would just myste
it will lend itself well to anyone wanting to pass of pornographic games on this console, provided of course they get past nintendo. Even if they don't the idea will probably end up elsewhere for just that purpose.
Sure no one forces you into a less populated area but certain jobs can only be performed there. Higher costs passed on to these location will simply come back embedded elsewhere to the higher populated areas.
On the same logic but reveresed, why should these outlying areas end up paying for mass transit solutions in the cities? Pay for special blends of fuel that are imposed region wide because people who live in high density areas drive too many cars? State funds going to pay for a "domed" entertainment complex? How about a very topical one, rebuilding a major metropolis that got flooded?
The list goes on and on. What one can claim another is freeloading on can be turned around or slightly changed to hit the accuser.
Want to apply the logic within the area itself? What about cities wanting to tax all their citizens to provide Wi-Fi? After all shouldn't those who want to or need to use wireless pay for it? There are many "other" ways to communicate.
USF serves a necessary purpose that would be hard pressed to have anyone in the private sector do profitably. That probably is the real key, when it isn't worthwhile to do privately it usually requires the government to pick up the tab. Not everyone who lives outside the beltways does so to avoid the city, some do it because their work out there is their contribution to society and in some cases is one of the primary reasons why cities are viable in the first place.
I can't count how many times each DAY that I hear and/or see someone in IT doing something they would scream at a "user" for doing.
It is plain and simple arrogance. From trash talking users to mocking auditors I see it all. Best yet is all the work done to keep users from doing something bad is amazingly and commoningly thwarted on the machines of the same IT staff.
In charge of security administation, most likely to bend the rules too.
Yeah there are good IT departments and I am not say where I work doesn't have a good one. Parts are very good but it isn't hard to find rules bent somewhere at any one time. If not for someone whose title begins with a "C" then its for someone in favor.
It doesn't help when you have so many different system types that you cannot find a single auditing company capable of covering them all. Of course it doesn't help when you don't take advantage of the opportunity SOX did provide and instead keep business as usual, just documented.
The waste has been being trapped in Earth's orbit ever since Apollo ended. We have been pissing away billions just to orbit the Earth, something we did over 40 years ago.
We are not going to get anywhere in space until we get out of orbit. Putting a permanent presence on the moon opens more opportunities than any orbital venture ever would. Other than distance the tech involved to live on the moon would be easier that staying in orbit.
as I found it to be one of the best methods of playing FPS games, especially Descent. While not perfer for other games it had a level of control and ease of control that was hard to match.
except from altitude and even then they are rarely if ever deployed in heavily contested areas. Most of the time they require large airstrips which in itself implies control over land and air of the region.
What it does offer is many possiblities for not just military operations. If these things pan out in efficiency you can bet UPS and FED Ex would want them. Let alone the possibilities of flying cruise ships!
FWIW, anything is a target for a terrorist, though preference is giving to things that don't shoot back.
Yeah I know, put in your 40 hours and go home with your check is how it is supposed to be. Guess what, that will work provided you want to forever be one who bitches about how life is so unfair.
Most successful people aren't doing 40 hours a week, they are doing 55-70 hours per week. This way they can be the "lazy" rich when they reach their 50s while you continue to toil away at your "40" err 35 hour a week job. You'll continue to do so and wonder why John down the street now lives over there with his big house and car.
Yes some executives make silly amounts of money but guess what, they are a small percentage of people who work in companies who employ less than the majority of people who do work. Big businesses grab the headlines simply because of their size but they do not drive the overall economy.
So yeah HP is laying off X-thousand jobs. Some of those may actually end up getting the kick in the pants that they needed to realize their potential. A great many, conditioned by society, will bitch and move on to the next 40 hour job repeating the cycle.
You don't have to bust your butt to be rich but your damn well going find out it is the faster way of getting there.
I have seen a few iPods where a connector is what broke the iPod. The headphone connection does not flex and that will put stress on the case as well as the connector inside. Same for the remote's connection.
Made the mistake of leaving it hooked to my belt. Of course the iPod decided it wanted to fly instead of play music. This was a 15gb model and it exploded... I have 5 pieces instead of 1! A flash based player would have probably survived better because of the weight.
I have had friends lose their minis from the arm bands while jogging and one did it on bicycle so I have little issue with some of their tests.
Then again my neighbor down the street lawnmowered his, I can't believe Apple didn't account for that possibility!
blame the next hundred years of hurricanes on the idea that we did not approve it soon enough?
Between your post and the fat american SUV post it makes me wonder if insightful is should be inCITEful here.
In other words, nothing will satisfy those who seek to blame everything either on Global Warming or America.
Uh, hurricanes have been around longer than SUVs
on
Controlling Hurricanes?
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
and Katrina happened to get so large so fast just because we hadn't had other hurricanes to bleed off the heat in the Gulf's water. What everyone seems to forget is that if Global Warming were causing more hurricanes, which it isn't as we are on or below average across the last 20 or so years, is that the number of cyclones and typhoons would have to increase as well, which they haven't.
As for the hybrid versus SUV debate. Keep your damn hybrids, veritable ecological disasters on wheels. The current generation are nothing more than marketing gimmicks.
Another article from the same site shows how studies of the Amazon river basin reveal that carbon emissions from the Amazon river are younger than previous thought http://www.physorg.com/news5471.html
Really what comes about from these articles and others is that we still don't have a complete picture. While it is great press to claim we can simulate the earth and predict things like global warming and cooling we still run into the fact we don't know all the variables. Yes man contributes but how much? Indirect methods are revealed by how land use affected CO2 emissions and absorption.
I do think that what the Earth is doing on its own in regards to CO2 emissions should not be weighed against how well we reduce our own emissions. Granted the changes in the planet may seemingly undo what we accomplish we still improve our ecosystem by reducing OUR effect on it.
Now we can expand this further by establishing easy to follow labels to show games for Windows, MAC, and even Linux.
While the sales may have been down 10% based on their numbers I do not believe it is because lack of effort. I think the numbers would be lower still if some of the more complex titles on PCs actually make it to game boxes. With the game boxes getting more powerful and support things other than games like email and movies it won't be long before some PC-only type game play moves too.
Game boxes can already save game states and that opens the door for RTS and TBS games. With a keyboard and mouse for email you could also support FPS and MMORPGs.
So while MS may think they will be helping improve PC base game sales it may only be in the short term as all their progress on game boxes are leading to a time when PCs aren't required and instead just another avenue for playing.
Slashdot Mirror
Great example from just this last Tuesday. We had a SPLOST up for vote on Tuesday, it is a 1% increase in our sales tax to pay for road improvments, a new courthouse, and more jailspace.
It passed by less than 130 votes. 12% turnout. Better yet, all the belly aching by people who DIDN'T VOTE! Two of us from work who were eligible to vote in the county did, the rest did not; about 7 others.
Having the right to vote is useless unless used.
but I think I am not, I know of no one who has bought any form of iPod who actually bought an Apple computer. Now I know a few Mac users who have iPods.
What I have seen is that they will most likely buy ANOTHER iPod. The only few who considered buying an Apple computer got immediately turned off by the price.
It is all about price points. The iPods are doing well now because they are at that magical number of being below $299 and most being $199 and under. Look where the largest iPod market is, it is that lower price range.
Meaning, if Apple can come out with other items in that range people might just stop and buy, may I suggest a media center type solution. An Apple PVR with more functionality?
Crying, maybe? Pissing someone off is more likely. Crashing that Cessna might not make you cry but I would not be surprised at a DAMN, FWORD, or similar instead.
Of course you can get really carried away in your games like this guy did over an item called Cloudsong in DAOC. Warning, don't play in public if sensitive ears are about. Sad thing is I run across people who react like this in quite a few games, especially FPS.
http://content.ytmnd.com//100000/100051/sound.mp3
Well if Mars is going through what appears to be similar changes as the Earth then perhaps we need to go back and look at what we share in common, namely the sun.
Now of course with Mars we have even less history of their climate than our own but we could extrpolate from earlier photos just how much the visibile frozen material changed on the poles.
One could hope that since climate study on Mars should not be easily politicalized, at least early on, it may give us new isights into our own.
1. Any license issuing office can give you a card.
x t/hb244.htm
2. If you cannot afford it you will be given one.
3. They are sending buses to many places just to get people the cards.
Sorry but when I last checked there were quite a few places inside of i-285 (the loop around Atlanta) where I can go get my card if I didn't already have a license.
Yes the law is faulty but it is not an attempt to disenfranchise. The cards are FREE to those whose income means the threshold established by the Federal government for the poverty level.
YOU CAN ALSO VOTE WITHOUT ID USING A PROVISIONAL BALLOT. The bill clearly states that and puts the responsibility on the local voting agency to validate the proof.
Here it is
http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2005_06/fullte
See section 59 for the clauses about ID.
Damn I thought talk like a pirate day was yesterday, then again your just parroting the typical BS that comes out about my state. Hell the Democrats pulled a fast one on Republicans by getting us to vote for Sonny Purdue who only flipped a before he ran for govenor.
If followed to the point of a permanent presence on the Moon we would probably also have an expanded presence in orbit.
Now the shuttle was mostly to return scientific instruments it took itself into space as well as the odd satellite. If you in space more of less permanent whats to return that would be bulky? Also the costs of returning something large, say a satellite, only to put it back need to weighed against fixing it in orbit or just replacing it.
As for resources taken from the moon, that will be an even longer period of time away that I hope someone will find a good method. it might even mean only using the mined resources in space. A lot of the knowledge we gain will either be conveyed back by transmission of the data involved or small enough to drop with any returning crew.
how many NASA engineers and others secretly cheered when Bush and Co. announced the end of the shuttle?
For too long we spent out time focused on the Shuttle instead of space itself. Everything other than a few probes was centered around the space shuttle. How much of the ISS was compromised because of the shuttle? Perhaps the original glamour of a flying space plane helped NASA but it sure turned into a Spruce Goose pretty damn quickly.
I really like this new direction. Getting the moon is the first step. While we might not reach Mars from there we never will have any chance if we just putz around in Earth orbit.
Perhaps the next habitation in space can be built on the moon. That can put the glamour back into the space age in a more practical method than a space plane.
This link contains the full text version of the law as passed, the relevant section is SECTION 59.
http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2005_06/fulltex t/hb244.htm
quoted sections, those not stricken...
Said chapter is further amended by striking Code Section 21-2-417, relating to form of proper identification at polls, and inserting in lieu thereof a new Code Section 21-2-417 to read as follows:
21-2-417.
(a) Each Except as provided in subsection (c) of this Code section, each elector shall present proper identification to a poll worker at or prior to completion of a voters certificate at any polling place and prior to such persons admission to the enclosed space at such polling place. Proper identification shall consist of any one of the following:
(1) A valid Georgia driver's license which was properly issued by the appropriate state agency;
(2) A valid identification card issued by a branch, department, agency, or entity of the State of Georgia, any other state, or the United States authorized by law to issue personal identification, provided that such identification card contains a photograph of the elector;
(3) A valid United States passport;
(4) A valid employee identification card containing a photograph of the elector and issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the United States government, this state, or any county, municipality, board, authority, or other entity of this state;
A valid United States military identification card;, provided that such identification card contains a photograph of the elector; or
(10)(6) A valid tribal identification card containing a photograph of the elector.
Except as provided in subsection (c) of this Code section, if an elector is unable to produce any of the items of identification listed in subsection (a) of this Code section, he or she a provisional ballot pursuant to Code Section 21-2-418 upon swearing or affirming that the elector is the person identified in the electors voter certificate. Such provisional ballot shall only be counted if the registrars are able to verify current and valid identification of the elector as provided in subsection (a) of this Code section within the time period for verifying provisional ballots pursuant to Code Section 21-2-419. Falsely swearing or affirming such statement under oath shall be punishable as a felony, and the penalty shall be distinctly set forth on the face of the statement.
(c) An elector who registered to vote by mail, but did not comply with subsection (c) of Code Section 21-2-220, and who votes for the first time in this state shall present to the poll workers either one of the forms of identification listed in subsection (a) of this Code section or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of such elector. If such elector does not have any of the forms of identification listed in this subsection, such elector may vote a provisional ballot pursuant to Code Section 21-2-418 upon swearing or affirming that the elector is the person identified in the electors voter certificate. Such provisional ballot shall only be counted if the registrars are able to verify current and valid identification of the elector as provided in this subsection within the time period for verifying provisional ballots pursuant to Code Section 21-2-419. Falsely swearing or affirming such statement under oath shall be punishable as a felony, and the penalty shall be distinctly set forth on the face of the statement.
---------------------
So why not require a picture ID? I do think that the state should provide picture IDs for FREE to anyone who does not have an otherwise valid ID. That was the only real issue I had with the law.
The fraud in some recent Georgia elections drove the need for some type of voter ID. The biggest complaint were reccounts where votes would just myste
it will lend itself well to anyone wanting to pass of pornographic games on this console, provided of course they get past nintendo. Even if they don't the idea will probably end up elsewhere for just that purpose.
Sure no one forces you into a less populated area but certain jobs can only be performed there. Higher costs passed on to these location will simply come back embedded elsewhere to the higher populated areas.
On the same logic but reveresed, why should these outlying areas end up paying for mass transit solutions in the cities? Pay for special blends of fuel that are imposed region wide because people who live in high density areas drive too many cars? State funds going to pay for a "domed" entertainment complex? How about a very topical one, rebuilding a major metropolis that got flooded?
The list goes on and on. What one can claim another is freeloading on can be turned around or slightly changed to hit the accuser.
Want to apply the logic within the area itself? What about cities wanting to tax all their citizens to provide Wi-Fi? After all shouldn't those who want to or need to use wireless pay for it? There are many "other" ways to communicate.
USF serves a necessary purpose that would be hard pressed to have anyone in the private sector do profitably. That probably is the real key, when it isn't worthwhile to do privately it usually requires the government to pick up the tab. Not everyone who lives outside the beltways does so to avoid the city, some do it because their work out there is their contribution to society and in some cases is one of the primary reasons why cities are viable in the first place.
I can't count how many times each DAY that I hear and/or see someone in IT doing something they would scream at a "user" for doing.
It is plain and simple arrogance. From trash talking users to mocking auditors I see it all. Best yet is all the work done to keep users from doing something bad is amazingly and commoningly thwarted on the machines of the same IT staff.
In charge of security administation, most likely to bend the rules too.
Yeah there are good IT departments and I am not say where I work doesn't have a good one. Parts are very good but it isn't hard to find rules bent somewhere at any one time. If not for someone whose title begins with a "C" then its for someone in favor.
It doesn't help when you have so many different system types that you cannot find a single auditing company capable of covering them all. Of course it doesn't help when you don't take advantage of the opportunity SOX did provide and instead keep business as usual, just documented.
The waste has been being trapped in Earth's orbit ever since Apollo ended. We have been pissing away billions just to orbit the Earth, something we did over 40 years ago.
We are not going to get anywhere in space until we get out of orbit. Putting a permanent presence on the moon opens more opportunities than any orbital venture ever would. Other than distance the tech involved to live on the moon would be easier that staying in orbit.
who is in charge.
as I found it to be one of the best methods of playing FPS games, especially Descent. While not perfer for other games it had a level of control and ease of control that was hard to match.
T U/Agetec-ASCII-Sphere-360.html
3 60.html (product information from former seller)
The ASCIISphere was a version which existed for the PS2 playstation
http://playstation.video-game-store.info/B00001ZU
Some information on this controller,
http://www.mindflux.com.au/products/spacetec/sorb
Old review.
http://www.joy-stick.net/reviews/other/orb360.htm
Closest to current support you can get, as in enthusiast who moved it to XP/2000
http://www.planethardware.com/spaceorb/
http://www.tastel.com.au/bpl/price_broadband.html
I bet I can do that in a day or two just patching a game? Or am I reading it wrong?
using chips from the Atom Chip Corporation
http://atomchip.com/_wsn/page4.html
I am sure Dianetics is involved here somewhere.
except from altitude and even then they are rarely if ever deployed in heavily contested areas. Most of the time they require large airstrips which in itself implies control over land and air of the region.
What it does offer is many possiblities for not just military operations. If these things pan out in efficiency you can bet UPS and FED Ex would want them. Let alone the possibilities of flying cruise ships!
FWIW, anything is a target for a terrorist, though preference is giving to things that don't shoot back.
for a long long time.
Yeah I know, put in your 40 hours and go home with your check is how it is supposed to be. Guess what, that will work provided you want to forever be one who bitches about how life is so unfair.
Most successful people aren't doing 40 hours a week, they are doing 55-70 hours per week. This way they can be the "lazy" rich when they reach their 50s while you continue to toil away at your "40" err 35 hour a week job. You'll continue to do so and wonder why John down the street now lives over there with his big house and car.
Yes some executives make silly amounts of money but guess what, they are a small percentage of people who work in companies who employ less than the majority of people who do work. Big businesses grab the headlines simply because of their size but they do not drive the overall economy.
So yeah HP is laying off X-thousand jobs. Some of those may actually end up getting the kick in the pants that they needed to realize their potential. A great many, conditioned by society, will bitch and move on to the next 40 hour job repeating the cycle.
You don't have to bust your butt to be rich but your damn well going find out it is the faster way of getting there.
I have seen a few iPods where a connector is what broke the iPod. The headphone connection does not flex and that will put stress on the case as well as the connector inside. Same for the remote's connection.
Made the mistake of leaving it hooked to my belt. Of course the iPod decided it wanted to fly instead of play music. This was a 15gb model and it exploded... I have 5 pieces instead of 1!
A flash based player would have probably survived better because of the weight.
I have had friends lose their minis from the arm bands while jogging and one did it on bicycle so I have little issue with some of their tests.
Then again my neighbor down the street lawnmowered his, I can't believe Apple didn't account for that possibility!
blame the next hundred years of hurricanes on the idea that we did not approve it soon enough?
Between your post and the fat american SUV post it makes me wonder if insightful is should be inCITEful here.
In other words, nothing will satisfy those who seek to blame everything either on Global Warming or America.
and Katrina happened to get so large so fast just because we hadn't had other hurricanes to bleed off the heat in the Gulf's water. What everyone seems to forget is that if Global Warming were causing more hurricanes, which it isn't as we are on or below average across the last 20 or so years, is that the number of cyclones and typhoons would have to increase as well, which they haven't.
As for the hybrid versus SUV debate. Keep your damn hybrids, veritable ecological disasters on wheels. The current generation are nothing more than marketing gimmicks.
and I bet their other division has Duke Nukem ready to ship by then too.
An article from earlier in the year attests to how land use can affect if it will act as a sink or source. http://www.physorg.com/news3857.html
Another article from the same site shows how studies of the Amazon river basin reveal that carbon emissions from the Amazon river are younger than previous thought http://www.physorg.com/news5471.html
Really what comes about from these articles and others is that we still don't have a complete picture. While it is great press to claim we can simulate the earth and predict things like global warming and cooling we still run into the fact we don't know all the variables. Yes man contributes but how much? Indirect methods are revealed by how land use affected CO2 emissions and absorption.
I do think that what the Earth is doing on its own in regards to CO2 emissions should not be weighed against how well we reduce our own emissions. Granted the changes in the planet may seemingly undo what we accomplish we still improve our ecosystem by reducing OUR effect on it.
Sort of.
Now we can expand this further by establishing easy to follow labels to show games for Windows, MAC, and even Linux.
While the sales may have been down 10% based on their numbers I do not believe it is because lack of effort. I think the numbers would be lower still if some of the more complex titles on PCs actually make it to game boxes. With the game boxes getting more powerful and support things other than games like email and movies it won't be long before some PC-only type game play moves too.
Game boxes can already save game states and that opens the door for RTS and TBS games. With a keyboard and mouse for email you could also support FPS and MMORPGs.
So while MS may think they will be helping improve PC base game sales it may only be in the short term as all their progress on game boxes are leading to a time when PCs aren't required and instead just another avenue for playing.