Everything in moderation. Having to learn the new tech fad of the week, month or half year on a regular basis is very repetitive and is NOT the mental joyride you may think it is.
Some folks would like to simply DO their jobs without having to take personal time to conastantly keep up to date with whatever frivolous new product or "paradigm" some big software company wants to push on us. IT in many ways is like being a hamster running on a wheel. No matter how fast you run you stay in the same place.
You need to care because at some point Europe's system is going to collapse. So all those workers over there who are sucking the productivity out of their region's economy are going to see their precious government backed pensions, free healthcare and education vanish when those economies collapse. Such a thing is not unthinkable. Already I read in the NYTimes about how museums in Europe who used to get nearly 100% government funding are now getting cut off because European governemnts just can't afford it anymore and there's limit to how much you can tax a person.
Are you even aware of how powerful the unions are in the entertainment industry? For even the little people such as camera men, key grips...etc? Here's a hint.
Don't ever sell yourself short like that again. You're capable of many amazing things simply because you are a human being. You simply need the confidence and drive and you can achieve almost anything you want.
There is no forced contract with EverQuest. You don't want to agree to the contract? Fine. Then you don't get to play the game. No one is putting a gun to your head and telling you to click the Yes button. You make a concious decision to agree to the contract each time you play the game. Its a VIDEO GAME, how you could even arrive at the concept of a "forced contract" in order to play is simply amazing.
Maybe the DMCA should be updated to also include interfering with the IT centric business process of a corporation. That would make things like what ShowEQ and BNETD do illegal and leave no doubt as to their activities.
Then the folks who pay to play these games can get back to their fun without having to worry about as many cheaters as there are now.
Not everyone is a programmer. Some folks recognize the value of good proprietary software that does what it says it will do and comes at a reasonable price.
Remember, software licenses aren't grounds for holy wars for most folks.
Actually the connection is both are in the IT industry and in one industry its bad to have the same name as another company. It actually is possible for people to mistake the telecom company for the computer manufacturer.
Not to mention that the telecom would indirectly benefit from Apple Inc's advertising...etc.
Oh good grief. Are you that anal? You said in another post that you are not in the habit of dismissing people outhand, but now you've done it twice. First to the other guy and now to me. When you have real life discussions do you just wave people off if they don't follow the standard form of convseration that you have setup in your own mind? Or is it just a cop out? Someone who erks you in that tiny way couldn't possibly have any valid points to discuss could they?
It just sounds too convienent. You don't want to truly discuss anything so you find very insignificant reasons to ignore what other people say. If you truly don't want to talk about something, why you post to a web forum such as Slashdot is beyond me. Its not like I am some random troll posting l33t sp34k, hurling obsceneties or ACSII art in response to what you write. Furthermore the point of discussion should not be reduced to simply aiming to change the point of view, opinion or thinking of the other person. If you can't discuss something without such an alterior motive then quit discussing anything at all. But I guess whatever standards of conversation you have just can't be met by us poor minded simple folk who simply cannot resist advertising. Did it EVER occur to you that I never meant that you said people work 80 hours a week, but that I was just pointing out that most people work a lot less? And you're the one talking about hitting reply and ranting without thinking? Pot, kettle. Kettle, pot.
So whats the main benefit other than saving money from your resistance to runaway consumerism. Is it mainly that you can now look down on others as they shop? Do you tour malls now just so you can feel better about yourself over all the things you aren't buying now?
Not many people spend 80hours a week at work. The average is closer to 40. And RIMS are a quality of life enhancement for some groups of people. Different cultures have different items that they use to display status. For WASPs, its the big house and an elegantly understated luxury vehicle. For innercity minorities, its a big ostentatious car with huge rims. To each his own.
I guess the core of it all is that the desire to display your status, whatever that status may be, is a primal urge that not many can or want to deny. I don't see how your life is made any better by resisting.
As for credit card debt, yes that is a problem. But its more endemic of people simply being uneducated about their finances. Financial skills aren't taught in schools, amazingly some parents would resent this as it would make them look dumb when it comes to matters of money and how to handle it properly so you do not go into debt. But when you have parents who have rented for the past 20 years and are in debt themselves, what could they possibly have to teach their children about finances other than bad habits anyway?
If you are responsible financially however, and do not get yourself into debt, or you happen to make or have a lot of money then what is wrong with being a particularly consumptive individual? I actually like commercials, well the good ones at least. Many times I write to companies telling them their commercials are effective and got me to buy their product.
I live in Boston, its my hometown. I still want a car. Public transit sucks no matter what city/country it is. Simply having to deal with other people who may not have the best hygenic habits is enough to convice me of the value of a car. As for TV and radio, if you don't listen to either then what do you do with your time? Read? I read a hell of a lot myself, mainly eBooks on my...PalmPilot... but after a while reading gets well boring. And I'm a fast reader myself. I just finished Dune: The Butlerian Jihad in 4 days. 4 working days that is. But I do enjoy a good television show. As for music, yes I have hundreds of my own MP3's but even such a collection gets stale after a while and I want to hear whats new, and for that I need a radio. Thats why I've delayed getting an MP3 Player for so long, I was waiting for them to include an FM tuner in one. (The Odessy 1000 MP3 Player in case you're wondering.)
Lastly, I actually like being connected to popular culture. It gives you common ground for discussions with a wide range of people. I know folks like you, and frankly they're weird. I consider myself pretty anti-social but there's limits. I guess you and I could discuss curent events and politics, as I do with a smart guy in my office but after a while that gets boring. Most people don't read the same books so discussing what books we've read won't help much. If we can't talk about what you saw on TV or heard on the radio then there won't be much discussion. Then again you might favor that. More power to you. So what do you discuss with your friends?
Whats wrong with consumerism? What if you don't like doing anything other than being a consumer? I like being able to buy the things I like. Am I supposed to feel guilty about that now?
Our military expenditures allow us to remain a fully free nation without having to form various humilating coalition arraingements, such as the EU, just for security and strenght.
Re:The net is infrastructure...
on
The Wireless City
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
Power companies, health care, and telephone service are private interprises. What makes the internet so special that it should be any different?
Yes it is too far. Whats the point of giving them sympathy? I don't care if they simply shoplifted from a candy store. If they're in prison they need to know that prison sucks, is bad and to not do something that will get them sent there again.
And what the heck is wrong with prison rape? Its a great punishment.
There is no way any human can know of all the cities around the world. What is so significant about Twente that an American should be charged with knowledge of its existence? Could you proivde us stupid Yanks with a list perhaps of other cities that are wholly insignificant yet that we should know about in order to please Europeans like yourself who happen to have an over-inflated sense of self worth?
Hee hee, ha ha. But some of us actually do fully use our PDA's. To me the biggest barrier to wider acceptance is the input method. I find that those who have PDA's with built in keyboards use them more and need less help then those who are stuck solely with Grafitti. You can blame Palm for that, they simply did not do anything to improve Grafitti after the first version.
I'm glad you're getting such full usage out of your Palm but do yourself a favor. Upgrade to a model with a rechargeable battery. This AAA stuff is insane. Just put an extra charger in your bookbag/briefcase and you're good to go.
You can get a PDA with a built in keyboard these days you know. Either the Sony Clie's or the Handspring Treo's. I just checked out a Treo that my friend will be getting. Its one of the cellphone comobs. The keyboard works really well. Almost makes me want one instead of my Kyocera 6135 PalmOS Smartphone.
Smartphone PDA's, whether they are Kyocera Smartphones, Samsung Smartphones or PocketPC Smartphones, ensure that your PDA is always with you.
In my case I have the Kyocera 6135. Its a PalmOS Smartphone. I'm eagerly awaiting the 7135. Anyways, its become indispensible to me now. I use it to keep all my contacts/phone numbers handy. I have about 400 stored in my Addressbook. My Datebook is filled with repeating items that all have alarms. My ToDo list makes sure I get things done. My MemoPad is what I scribble any note I need onto.
Then there's the software. A TON of eBooks. AvantGo is used for reading dozens of news papers on the go. I have weather programs, IRC apps, and a lot more. I couldn't do without my PalmPilot now. Paper planners disgust me. I can't carry one of those around everywhere! Plus there's no instant searching of what I would have in there and it doesn't do anything other than what its made to do.
I can understand people not wanting to carry around a cell phone AND a PDA, but when youre cell phone IS your PDA you really have no excuse, thus you get more use out of it.
And yes it works excellently as a cellphone. Clear calls, long battery life and easy to use interfaces. Reliability is tops as well.
Your kneejerk reaction to his decision to patent his idea is a most unfortunate and immature one. First of all, a biotech company is not an IT company or an internet startup. You can't start them in your garage. You need lots of expensive equipment and expensive highly trained professionals to work with it in the labs. You must also run testing trials, many of them which are also expensive. All of this takes money. Not millions, but billions.
Now I know in the Fantastic Land of Slashdot that making money is always a bad thing, but at some point one has to grow up and become an adult about things and approach them with some measure of maturity.
Furthermore, where the hell have you been for the past 50 years? You didn't think money and greed were factors in the field of science? Money and greed are a factor in EVERY industry. There is no "innocent" industry left. I'm also not fond of the idea that someone who brings us such a great discovery should only have it attributed to him, and not also make a fortune. If somone comes up with something that could cure thousands of ailments and help billions, then he desereves a very large fortune indeed.
Slashdot Mirror
Everything in moderation. Having to learn the new tech fad of the week, month or half year on a regular basis is very repetitive and is NOT the mental joyride you may think it is.
Some folks would like to simply DO their jobs without having to take personal time to conastantly keep up to date with whatever frivolous new product or "paradigm" some big software company wants to push on us. IT in many ways is like being a hamster running on a wheel. No matter how fast you run you stay in the same place.
You need to care because at some point Europe's system is going to collapse. So all those workers over there who are sucking the productivity out of their region's economy are going to see their precious government backed pensions, free healthcare and education vanish when those economies collapse. Such a thing is not unthinkable. Already I read in the NYTimes about how museums in Europe who used to get nearly 100% government funding are now getting cut off because European governemnts just can't afford it anymore and there's limit to how much you can tax a person.
Recruiting, sales, real estate, finance, law.......etc
Are you even aware of how powerful the unions are in the entertainment industry? For even the little people such as camera men, key grips...etc? Here's a hint.
DAMN POWERFUL
Don't ever sell yourself short like that again. You're capable of many amazing things simply because you are a human being. You simply need the confidence and drive and you can achieve almost anything you want.
Being afraid to try is being afraid to live.
There is no forced contract with EverQuest. You don't want to agree to the contract? Fine. Then you don't get to play the game. No one is putting a gun to your head and telling you to click the Yes button. You make a concious decision to agree to the contract each time you play the game. Its a VIDEO GAME, how you could even arrive at the concept of a "forced contract" in order to play is simply amazing.
Maybe the DMCA should be updated to also include interfering with the IT centric business process of a corporation. That would make things like what ShowEQ and BNETD do illegal and leave no doubt as to their activities.
Then the folks who pay to play these games can get back to their fun without having to worry about as many cheaters as there are now.
Not everyone is a programmer. Some folks recognize the value of good proprietary software that does what it says it will do and comes at a reasonable price.
Remember, software licenses aren't grounds for holy wars for most folks.
Actually the connection is both are in the IT industry and in one industry its bad to have the same name as another company. It actually is possible for people to mistake the telecom company for the computer manufacturer.
Not to mention that the telecom would indirectly benefit from Apple Inc's advertising...etc.
Oh good grief. Are you that anal? You said in another post that you are not in the habit of dismissing people outhand, but now you've done it twice. First to the other guy and now to me. When you have real life discussions do you just wave people off if they don't follow the standard form of convseration that you have setup in your own mind? Or is it just a cop out? Someone who erks you in that tiny way couldn't possibly have any valid points to discuss could they?
It just sounds too convienent. You don't want to truly discuss anything so you find very insignificant reasons to ignore what other people say. If you truly don't want to talk about something, why you post to a web forum such as Slashdot is beyond me. Its not like I am some random troll posting l33t sp34k, hurling obsceneties or ACSII art in response to what you write. Furthermore the point of discussion should not be reduced to simply aiming to change the point of view, opinion or thinking of the other person. If you can't discuss something without such an alterior motive then quit discussing anything at all. But I guess whatever standards of conversation you have just can't be met by us poor minded simple folk who simply cannot resist advertising. Did it EVER occur to you that I never meant that you said people work 80 hours a week, but that I was just pointing out that most people work a lot less? And you're the one talking about hitting reply and ranting without thinking? Pot, kettle. Kettle, pot.
So whats the main benefit other than saving money from your resistance to runaway consumerism. Is it mainly that you can now look down on others as they shop? Do you tour malls now just so you can feel better about yourself over all the things you aren't buying now?
Not many people spend 80hours a week at work. The average is closer to 40. And RIMS are a quality of life enhancement for some groups of people. Different cultures have different items that they use to display status. For WASPs, its the big house and an elegantly understated luxury vehicle. For innercity minorities, its a big ostentatious car with huge rims. To each his own.
I guess the core of it all is that the desire to display your status, whatever that status may be, is a primal urge that not many can or want to deny. I don't see how your life is made any better by resisting.
As for credit card debt, yes that is a problem. But its more endemic of people simply being uneducated about their finances. Financial skills aren't taught in schools, amazingly some parents would resent this as it would make them look dumb when it comes to matters of money and how to handle it properly so you do not go into debt. But when you have parents who have rented for the past 20 years and are in debt themselves, what could they possibly have to teach their children about finances other than bad habits anyway?
If you are responsible financially however, and do not get yourself into debt, or you happen to make or have a lot of money then what is wrong with being a particularly consumptive individual? I actually like commercials, well the good ones at least. Many times I write to companies telling them their commercials are effective and got me to buy their product.
I live in Boston, its my hometown. I still want a car. Public transit sucks no matter what city/country it is. Simply having to deal with other people who may not have the best hygenic habits is enough to convice me of the value of a car. As for TV and radio, if you don't listen to either then what do you do with your time? Read? I read a hell of a lot myself, mainly eBooks on my...PalmPilot... but after a while reading gets well boring. And I'm a fast reader myself. I just finished Dune: The Butlerian Jihad in 4 days. 4 working days that is. But I do enjoy a good television show. As for music, yes I have hundreds of my own MP3's but even such a collection gets stale after a while and I want to hear whats new, and for that I need a radio. Thats why I've delayed getting an MP3 Player for so long, I was waiting for them to include an FM tuner in one. (The Odessy 1000 MP3 Player in case you're wondering.)
Lastly, I actually like being connected to popular culture. It gives you common ground for discussions with a wide range of people. I know folks like you, and frankly they're weird. I consider myself pretty anti-social but there's limits. I guess you and I could discuss curent events and politics, as I do with a smart guy in my office but after a while that gets boring. Most people don't read the same books so discussing what books we've read won't help much. If we can't talk about what you saw on TV or heard on the radio then there won't be much discussion. Then again you might favor that. More power to you. So what do you discuss with your friends?
Whats wrong with consumerism? What if you don't like doing anything other than being a consumer? I like being able to buy the things I like. Am I supposed to feel guilty about that now?
Mac OS X is open source "enough". Now back off you grubby lookin unshaved unwashed OSS hippie!
Our military expenditures allow us to remain a fully free nation without having to form various humilating coalition arraingements, such as the EU, just for security and strenght.
Power companies, health care, and telephone service are private interprises. What makes the internet so special that it should be any different?
Yes it is too far. Whats the point of giving them sympathy? I don't care if they simply shoplifted from a candy store. If they're in prison they need to know that prison sucks, is bad and to not do something that will get them sent there again.
And what the heck is wrong with prison rape? Its a great punishment.
There is no way any human can know of all the cities around the world. What is so significant about Twente that an American should be charged with knowledge of its existence? Could you proivde us stupid Yanks with a list perhaps of other cities that are wholly insignificant yet that we should know about in order to please Europeans like yourself who happen to have an over-inflated sense of self worth?
So basically you guys go light on your criminals so that you can feel better about yourselves at night?
Hee hee, ha ha. But some of us actually do fully use our PDA's. To me the biggest barrier to wider acceptance is the input method. I find that those who have PDA's with built in keyboards use them more and need less help then those who are stuck solely with Grafitti. You can blame Palm for that, they simply did not do anything to improve Grafitti after the first version.
I'm glad you're getting such full usage out of your Palm but do yourself a favor. Upgrade to a model with a rechargeable battery. This AAA stuff is insane. Just put an extra charger in your bookbag/briefcase and you're good to go.
You can get a PDA with a built in keyboard these days you know. Either the Sony Clie's or the Handspring Treo's. I just checked out a Treo that my friend will be getting. Its one of the cellphone comobs. The keyboard works really well. Almost makes me want one instead of my Kyocera 6135 PalmOS Smartphone.
Naw. I personally wouldn't want to trust a secretary with personal information. Plust a secretary can't be with you 24/7 like a PDA can be.
.... to make sure its also a cellphone.
Smartphone PDA's, whether they are Kyocera Smartphones, Samsung Smartphones or PocketPC Smartphones, ensure that your PDA is always with you.
In my case I have the Kyocera 6135. Its a PalmOS Smartphone. I'm eagerly awaiting the 7135. Anyways, its become indispensible to me now. I use it to keep all my contacts/phone numbers handy. I have about 400 stored in my Addressbook. My Datebook is filled with repeating items that all have alarms. My ToDo list makes sure I get things done. My MemoPad is what I scribble any note I need onto.
Then there's the software. A TON of eBooks. AvantGo is used for reading dozens of news papers on the go. I have weather programs, IRC apps, and a lot more. I couldn't do without my PalmPilot now. Paper planners disgust me. I can't carry one of those around everywhere! Plus there's no instant searching of what I would have in there and it doesn't do anything other than what its made to do.
I can understand people not wanting to carry around a cell phone AND a PDA, but when youre cell phone IS your PDA you really have no excuse, thus you get more use out of it.
And yes it works excellently as a cellphone. Clear calls, long battery life and easy to use interfaces. Reliability is tops as well.
Why, so puny geeks like you don't have to feel wimpy compared to the big jocks who get all the girls?
Your kneejerk reaction to his decision to patent his idea is a most unfortunate and immature one. First of all, a biotech company is not an IT company or an internet startup. You can't start them in your garage. You need lots of expensive equipment and expensive highly trained professionals to work with it in the labs. You must also run testing trials, many of them which are also expensive. All of this takes money. Not millions, but billions.
Now I know in the Fantastic Land of Slashdot that making money is always a bad thing, but at some point one has to grow up and become an adult about things and approach them with some measure of maturity.
Furthermore, where the hell have you been for the past 50 years? You didn't think money and greed were factors in the field of science? Money and greed are a factor in EVERY industry. There is no "innocent" industry left. I'm also not fond of the idea that someone who brings us such a great discovery should only have it attributed to him, and not also make a fortune. If somone comes up with something that could cure thousands of ailments and help billions, then he desereves a very large fortune indeed.