The problem is that someone could be coerced to vote a certain way, and would be required to show proof. Currently, that is impossible.
"Show me your receipt showing a vote for XXX or else..."
"How 'bout I show you my badge. It says FBI. I regret to inform you that you have committed a federal crime, punishable with FEDERAL TIME. You have the right to remain silent..."
See guys, that is why we have laws. To enforce punishment when people do bad things. This whole argument is suspect. It is no different than saying that we should not let people walk down the streets with money because it is just giving muggers an opportunity.
The whole "we're giving criminals a chance" argument is invalid in America. If you want to control your populace utterly and make sure they vote a certain way, may I humbly suggest many of the stellar totalitarian regimes that exsist worldwide. They have some great work opportunities.
You might need to learn understand, that here, IN AMERICA, we don't restrict the freedoms of our citizens because those freedoms MIGHT be abused (current administration excluded). That is why you can buy a shotgun at a Wal-Mart. That is why they don't outlaw chewing gum like they do in Singapore (its messy to clean, so IT IS OUTLAWED, it is criminal to own it).
We prefer to arrest people AFTER THEY HAVE COMMITTED A CRIME. I know, it's all new fangled, and hard to wrap your head around, but it is the way we do things 'round here. Y'all got that?
B) More importantly, in my opinion, is the fact that the more money the government controls the more powerful it becomes---and a government which is too powerful is something to be feared. IMHO, most of the posters on Slashdot lack a healthy fear of the government. The government is the ultimate monopoly---one that can arbitrarily increase its income, has a large standing army, and can come in at any time and take away your freedom.
The more money and power the government has, the more people rely on it, the more it will control our lives. Once the government gets too large and people become too reliant then not even democracy will help since those in power can simply use that reliance to defeat anyone who wishes to change things.
So what would you say about the hegemony of twenty or so multinational corporations, all of them having cash flows in excess of many, many governing bodies of the world, and each one being run by a single board that had nothing but expansionists plans and a dictated statement that said that "morals don't ever come into the equation when profit is on the line." What would you say about that? Wouldn't you say that it was a bit of a power struggle at the top, and the little man just works the machine?
Would that also qualify that corporations are, in a sense, something that "will control your lives"? And NOT A GOOD THING (TM)?
Would you also agree that said economic power could, in fact, in your own words, simply use that reliance to defeat anyone who wishes to change things.?
Corporations, as they stand right now, and their current track record of using unscrupulous, unfair, illegal, and anti-competetive practices are not doing ANY BETTER WHATSOEVER THAN THE US GOV'T AND ITS CURRENT ATTACK TIRADES.
I would prefer the power be vested in the people, instead of the protected institutions, thank you very much.
Saying that we must get rid of the governments influence is not even addressing the core issue.
Re:Oh please, way to pat yourself on the back...
on
Bobby Fischer Found
·
· Score: 1
Also, the NFL gives IQ tests, and if someone is genuinely stupid, they probably won't be drafted. Big Dumb Guy is sorta an act for jocks.
Wrong.
I personally cover my pro football team a lot. Talk to them in the locker rooms.
They are some that I am certain have to concentrate to breathe.
Hey I know you are making the argument that Pro Athletes have some dim bulbs in their ranks, but honestly, think about these scenarios where they look like geniuses:...could you stab a man to death in the back of a limosine and get away with it? You'd have to be pretty smart to do that......or run a cop over the hood of your car and never spend a night in jail? Genius! Legal genius!...or deal cocaine while you are a high profile face and making a million dollar salary in the NFL, and get away with it for a few years... now that takes brains to pull off.
Face it, in the NFL and other pro sports, it is not the same kind of intellectualism that normal people have. But they are intellectuals. So I would ask you this again. How many people have you stabbed to death and gotten away with it? You gotta THINK TO GET OUTTA THAT. You just CAN'T be stupid and get out of that! Admit it. They are superstars for a reason. We all just can't be that incredible, with that kind of intelligence, and a burning lack of impulse control. Not every person on this planet is going to be a superstar, and admired around the world for pulling off those Knievel like violence stunts like OJ Simpson, Mike Tyson, Ray Lewis, and our new fav, a boy that is already outmaneuvering the competition, Kobe.
Look, they are legal superstars as well as athletic.
They focus all of their mental energies on the court that counts... the county courts. And they do it with a style that no one can match.
Look, I know that there have been some concerns about all of this Radio Frequency ID tags and such, but shucks, this is just a way to get your luggage to you faster! Sure, you have to fill out a few more forms and make sure your picture is attached to the luggage as well as a copy of your national ID card number, and golly, we know that takes a little more time. Aw shucks, just look at it this way, airports are big places with lots of people, so if you lose your luggage, then we can find you that much faster!
See how easy that was? Golly gee, not hard at all, now was it? Now don't forget to place the nationality of your parents in ther little red box, okay?
Once again, thanks folks, and have fun on your flight!
Sincerely,
Bud Johnson
CEO Soaring Eagle Airlines, a subsidiary of Black Helicopter Tours, LLC.
You're right, but remember that they cannot run anything unless they have a brilliant and ingenious way to transform jpegs and boldface text into an infection.
NO ACTIVE X. That means no sneaky little programs in your system.
The open source movement is well on top of issues like this... always have been.
Also, politically speaking, the open sourcers and black hats are cousins on different sides of a moral question. Virus writers and spyware jockeys don't go out and try to attack open source. They know what they are up against. They prey on the weak.
Remember, Open Source is dragging Microsoft down on a mayonnaise sandwich budget. They know who not to mess with.
Now if we could only get Homeland Security to start talking about OUTLOOK EXPRESS, then I would dance a jig.
I thought I read somewhere that the kinds of pressures that the cable were required to have were so incredible that it surpassed the bonding strength of atoms, so with that in mind, this whole conversation is freaking ridiculous.
Guys, I love the idea, but honestly, this is a physical impossibility.
First flight of the Model 72 GRIZZLY prototype, a short take-off and landing bush plane. First flight of the Model 77 SOLITAIRE prototype, a self-launching single place sailplane. First flight of the Model 81 CATBIRD prototype, a high performance 5 place general aviation aircraft. First flight of the Model 120 PREDATOR prototype, a high performance crop duster. First flight of the Model 144 prototype, ultimately flown as a UAV. First in flight firing of the GAU-12/U25mm cannon in the Model 151 ARES jet fighter. First flight of the Model 202 BOOMERANG, Burt's unconventional high performance twin. First flight of the Model 226 RAPTOR, later flown as an RPV. First flight of the Model 281 PROTEUS, a high altitude research twin engine jet. First flight of the Model 316 SPACESHIPONE Participated in the flight testing of the following:
Beech Starship prototype (NGBA) Fairchild's Next Generation Trainer for the US Air Force (NGT) ARES, a single engine, ground support jet fighter. Pond Racer, a twin engine racing plane, designed to break the unlimited piston powered world speed record. He is the only person to have flown in the Voyager Aircraft besides Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager. Total flight time: 6950 hours in 127 fixed wing and 11 helicopters Was awarded the Ivan C. Kincheloe trophy in 1999 for his work on developmental high altitude flight testing of the model 281 Proteus
Member of the Experimental Aircraft Association Personally built and flight tested:
Model 27 Variviggen Model 61 Long-EZ Flew his Long-EZ around the world in 1997.
Still, with all that, I would still have an urge to say this when he gets in the craft...
"Son, if you screw this one up I swear the only thing you'll be flying is a plane load of rubber dog sh*t out of Hong Kong!"
Until the Chinese offer something that is unique other than their nationality, they are off the list.
Your nationality has never been a concern. This is science people. If you think that you get to make the list because of your hometown, then you have all missed completely the biggest point of expanding knowledge. Knowledge is not racist and knows no nationality.
Yuri Gagarin at the top of the list because he was first, not because of his nationality.
That is like saying that a high scoring home run hitter that didn't crack the top ten should make the cut because he was on a specific team. It's favoritism. Science and the facts don't show favoritism.
Stop grandstanding for the Chinese until they do something new that no one else has done yet.
So what if the boosters are made by private aerospace firms? All they are launching are toys. Toys that can take zero gravity, zero kelvin, and zero pressure. The big deal about this is about MANNING a capsule into space without a goverment doing anything but giving permits like a building inspector.
You are talking about subcontractors. Look, I understand what you are saying, but to be truthful, your +4 insightful makes no sense here.
MANNED SPACEFLIGHT. MANNED. Non-governmental pilots in space. Big deal. Real big deal considering all the cash that has washed up for NASA.
Carmack is a celebrity among geeks. We all have people we admire. Even geek tribes have leaders.
Obviously, Joe Schmo is not going to know him, but we do. It is fine that you may resent him, but you should also respect the fact that living the geek dream is something that we all aspire to doing... but for one circumstance or another, we haven't been lucky enough to do it.
So give Carmack some friggin' props for at least pressing a little bit of the envelope and being a pioneer. In a world where technology is everywhere, he is pushing the barrier. Respect that.
Personally, I have always been dissappointed my whole life that I couldn't wake up, suit up, get in the airlock, and go out and weld space stations with my hands for a living. I think all of us geeks are upset for not being born in a more advanced civilization than we already are, or not having been born with enough money to get all the education we want.
He is at least using his cash for a useful hobby. Some day there will be normal use space travel. Damn if I can't wait for those days. Think, modern commerce in space... instead of spy sattelites and weapons platforms. It sounds a whole lot better than what is going on now.
The truth is though, that as of recently, the cops have only been using DNA for some really nasty cases that they felt there was an absolute need to take care of. The kind where they say, "well, if we don't get this guy there are going to be a lot of dead grannies floating around."
Also, it might be noted that DNA has been used to get a LOT OF INNOCENT PEOPLE OUT OF PRISON. Also, if you have a defense attorney worth his salt, he would research DNA testing and beat the hell out of the state's examiner if necessary.
You know, you're right. If we don't outsource, we'll just curl up and die. We can't be competetive that way.
Just like Japan. Remember when they didn't outsource, and instead kept their businesses and focused on quality? It was the downfall of their society. Just look at them now.
Those poor Japanese and their isolationist ideas. When they didn't outsource, their society went into a tailspin. They couldn't get cheap unintelligeable services from India or cheap crap from China! What were they thinking? How were they supposed to survive? No innovation! No advancement! No chance to be a world leader in anything! Nothing. Now all that is left of that large island is just burned out neo-cities where clowns fight neo-samurai bike gangs, and the walking starving beg for the tiniest husks of dried bread and water (If only a young child could lead them out of ruin, say, by becoming the next emperor, bah, it is just a dream). If they had only opened the markets and seen what cheap worldwide labor could have done for their society, they wouldn't be the poor, pitiful, Third-World nation that only produces rice and shower flip-flops. If they only advanced their ideas to include crappy, out-of-touch world labor that can't be understood over the phone, they would have advanced robot dogs, cell phones that look like aquarium fishm, and shiny cities to live in.
But no. They isolated themselves. Even did a naval blockade. That starved em out.
I think we can all learn a lesson from Japan. This is what you get for not outsourcing./'Yamagataaaaaa!'
What are you talking about? American companies are around for one reason, and one reason only: to make money. They hire GOOD programmers in India CHEAPLY. They save money. Simple as that.
Unfortunately, that is the same attitude that killed so many companies that ended up "Wal-Mart Exclusive" brands.
Not advancing is stagnation. Stagnation is death. ANYONE NEEDING ANY BLACKSMITH WORK THESE DAYS?
What he is trying to say in simpler terms is that object oriented (every OS we deal with) is like playing "Go Fish" for a file because all of the icons are neatly spaced apart, and there is no real distinction between them. They all look the same to me.
"I open the folder and all I see are little boxes. Little boxes everywhere. WHICH ONE LAUNCHES THE PROGRAM!"
Look, people say that they want television on demand... but as a Tivo owner of less than a year, I will tell you straight that they don't know what they want, but as a Tivo owner, I do. They just want to watch their shows when they sit down. When the shows get there? Not an issue.
They should make channels to take the programs and run them at something like ten to twelve times as fast as normal, or put them in file format and stream them exceedingly fast similar to a network.
In a few minutes you could have it. More importantly, this solves the whole commercial skip issue. You could have custom commercials dropped in based on the person you were marketing to. Imagine they know I am a computer geek by my Tivo, and they can hit me with a custom Half-Life 2 commercial. Would I watch it? HELL YES I WOULD.
It is not like I don't want to see ads. I scan the Sunday ads for bargains. I look at the local bargain newspapers. The problem with ads is that I am seeing ads that aren't my thing. I don't care about pantyhose. I am a man. If you give me a new barbecue sauce ad, I'll watch it. If you give me ads for a new processor, YES, I'll watch it. Gimme a movie trailer. I'll watch it.
Yes, I know it is not truly "video on demand," but the network needs would be exponentially increased for a true video on demand system... it would get worse until there was packet gridlock. If you ran four channels at ten times speed, you would have the content of forty channels for four band slots. Think about all of the channels this way. Would the public care if it said please wait five minutes for delivery? Only if the TV had no way to hold programs and search for them, lying in wait. Or would they like to delete a whole slew of programs and have the Tivo pick out another ten of them for them while they were browsing? You could repeat content through the day, have a fast delvery, and still not have to drop a huge network on top of a cable system.
My issue is that I think that video on demand is overrated. I think with a hard drive on my end I don't care when I get it... I am not enough of a brat to need it "NOW! Mommy! NOW!" If you speed up television delivery, and as the hard drive TVs have already shown, that video on demand WON'T MATTER AT ALL when your system knows what you like and gives it to you in anticipation. If you think that I want to press a button and get a crystal clear movie instantly, you're wrong. I want to browse. But whether I browse on a network or in my box is irrelevant... because currently my Tivo gives me a slew of choices. There is just not that much content.
Imagine the network architecture issues when people start "browsing" video on demand, because in essence, their slapping around giant files like people slap through channels.
Sure, video on demand can be done. It just looks so cost prohibitive right now that it is insane. The only real benefit of video on demand would be for news. Then I can custom my newscast. Lose the biased reporters. As a newsman, I admit, that would rock.
Since when we now strike first for peace.
Since when our oldest international ally (France) became our biggest enemy.
Since when disagreeing with your government makes you a traitor.
Since one old sarin gas shell becomes a nation killer... and proof of WMD.
And especially since the media has become "fair and balanced."
In some other ways, seems like China has gone from exceedingly liberal (Communist) to more moderate, while the US is still that funny mix of liberal and right wing type of ideas.
And I said, who are we (yes, not all Slashdotters are from the US, but most / many are in fact from the US) to tell China what to do with their supercomputer? ----
Yes. Trust them. They have such a good track record.
Kettle, black, glass houses, and so forth...
Tianemen square, bullets in protestors, missiles over Taiwan on election day, Falon Gong, and so forth...
Slashdot Mirror
The problem is that someone could be coerced to vote a certain way, and would be required to show proof. Currently, that is impossible.
"Show me your receipt showing a vote for XXX or else..."
"How 'bout I show you my badge. It says FBI. I regret to inform you that you have committed a federal crime, punishable with FEDERAL TIME. You have the right to remain silent..."
See guys, that is why we have laws. To enforce punishment when people do bad things. This whole argument is suspect. It is no different than saying that we should not let people walk down the streets with money because it is just giving muggers an opportunity.
The whole "we're giving criminals a chance" argument is invalid in America. If you want to control your populace utterly and make sure they vote a certain way, may I humbly suggest many of the stellar totalitarian regimes that exsist worldwide. They have some great work opportunities.
You might need to learn understand, that here, IN AMERICA, we don't restrict the freedoms of our citizens because those freedoms MIGHT be abused (current administration excluded). That is why you can buy a shotgun at a Wal-Mart. That is why they don't outlaw chewing gum like they do in Singapore (its messy to clean, so IT IS OUTLAWED, it is criminal to own it).
We prefer to arrest people AFTER THEY HAVE COMMITTED A CRIME. I know, it's all new fangled, and hard to wrap your head around, but it is the way we do things 'round here. Y'all got that?
Thanks for the argument though.
Intentionally Overengineered.
B) More importantly, in my opinion, is the fact that the more money the government controls the more powerful it becomes---and a government which is too powerful is something to be feared. IMHO, most of the posters on Slashdot lack a healthy fear of the government. The government is the ultimate monopoly---one that can arbitrarily increase its income, has a large standing army, and can come in at any time and take away your freedom.
The more money and power the government has, the more people rely on it, the more it will control our lives. Once the government gets too large and people become too reliant then not even democracy will help since those in power can simply use that reliance to defeat anyone who wishes to change things.
So what would you say about the hegemony of twenty or so multinational corporations, all of them having cash flows in excess of many, many governing bodies of the world, and each one being run by a single board that had nothing but expansionists plans and a dictated statement that said that "morals don't ever come into the equation when profit is on the line." What would you say about that? Wouldn't you say that it was a bit of a power struggle at the top, and the little man just works the machine?
Would that also qualify that corporations are, in a sense, something that "will control your lives"? And NOT A GOOD THING (TM)?
Would you also agree that said economic power could, in fact, in your own words, simply use that reliance to defeat anyone who wishes to change things.?
Corporations, as they stand right now, and their current track record of using unscrupulous, unfair, illegal, and anti-competetive practices are not doing ANY BETTER WHATSOEVER THAN THE US GOV'T AND ITS CURRENT ATTACK TIRADES.
I would prefer the power be vested in the people, instead of the protected institutions, thank you very much.
Saying that we must get rid of the governments influence is not even addressing the core issue.
Also, the NFL gives IQ tests, and if someone is genuinely stupid, they probably won't be drafted. Big Dumb Guy is sorta an act for jocks.
Wrong.
I personally cover my pro football team a lot. Talk to them in the locker rooms.
They are some that I am certain have to concentrate to breathe.
Hey I know you are making the argument that Pro Athletes have some dim bulbs in their ranks, but honestly, think about these scenarios where they look like geniuses:
Face it, in the NFL and other pro sports, it is not the same kind of intellectualism that normal people have. But they are intellectuals. So I would ask you this again. How many people have you stabbed to death and gotten away with it? You gotta THINK TO GET OUTTA THAT. You just CAN'T be stupid and get out of that! Admit it. They are superstars for a reason. We all just can't be that incredible, with that kind of intelligence, and a burning lack of impulse control. Not every person on this planet is going to be a superstar, and admired around the world for pulling off those Knievel like violence stunts like OJ Simpson, Mike Tyson, Ray Lewis, and our new fav, a boy that is already outmaneuvering the competition, Kobe.
Look, they are legal superstars as well as athletic.
They focus all of their mental energies on the court that counts... the county courts. And they do it with a style that no one can match.
Shhhh!
/flaming spear goes through chest
You'll wake the Farscape fans! If you keep talking about it the-
If I remember how the Morlocks acted, they pretty much went topside, stole, and ate the Eloi.
I don't know if I could stomach a MSN employee.
Doesn't sound too tasty.
(Reeally chipper video display)
Hi folks!
Look, I know that there have been some concerns about all of this Radio Frequency ID tags and such, but shucks, this is just a way to get your luggage to you faster! Sure, you have to fill out a few more forms and make sure your picture is attached to the luggage as well as a copy of your national ID card number, and golly, we know that takes a little more time. Aw shucks, just look at it this way, airports are big places with lots of people, so if you lose your luggage, then we can find you that much faster!
See how easy that was? Golly gee, not hard at all, now was it? Now don't forget to place the nationality of your parents in ther little red box, okay?
Once again, thanks folks, and have fun on your flight!
Sincerely,
Bud Johnson
CEO Soaring Eagle Airlines, a subsidiary of Black Helicopter Tours, LLC.
You're right, but remember that they cannot run anything unless they have a brilliant and ingenious way to transform jpegs and boldface text into an infection.
NO ACTIVE X. That means no sneaky little programs in your system.
The open source movement is well on top of issues like this... always have been.
Also, politically speaking, the open sourcers and black hats are cousins on different sides of a moral question. Virus writers and spyware jockeys don't go out and try to attack open source. They know what they are up against. They prey on the weak.
Remember, Open Source is dragging Microsoft down on a mayonnaise sandwich budget. They know who not to mess with.
Now if we could only get Homeland Security to start talking about OUTLOOK EXPRESS, then I would dance a jig.
I thought I read somewhere that the kinds of pressures that the cable were required to have were so incredible that it surpassed the bonding strength of atoms, so with that in mind, this whole conversation is freaking ridiculous.
Guys, I love the idea, but honestly, this is a physical impossibility.
Around here we follow the rules of physics.
The pilot's resume-
Flight Experience:
First flight of the Model 72 GRIZZLY prototype, a short take-off and landing bush plane.
First flight of the Model 77 SOLITAIRE prototype, a self-launching single place sailplane.
First flight of the Model 81 CATBIRD prototype, a high performance 5 place general aviation aircraft.
First flight of the Model 120 PREDATOR prototype, a high performance crop duster.
First flight of the Model 144 prototype, ultimately flown as a UAV.
First in flight firing of the GAU-12/U25mm cannon in the Model 151 ARES jet fighter.
First flight of the Model 202 BOOMERANG, Burt's unconventional high performance twin.
First flight of the Model 226 RAPTOR, later flown as an RPV.
First flight of the Model 281 PROTEUS, a high altitude research twin engine jet.
First flight of the Model 316 SPACESHIPONE
Participated in the flight testing of the following:
Beech Starship prototype (NGBA)
Fairchild's Next Generation Trainer for the US Air Force (NGT)
ARES, a single engine, ground support jet fighter.
Pond Racer, a twin engine racing plane, designed to break the unlimited piston powered world speed record.
He is the only person to have flown in the Voyager Aircraft besides Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager.
Total flight time: 6950 hours in 127 fixed wing and 11 helicopters
Was awarded the Ivan C. Kincheloe trophy in 1999 for his work on developmental high altitude flight testing of the model 281 Proteus
Member of the Experimental Aircraft Association
Personally built and flight tested:
Model 27 Variviggen
Model 61 Long-EZ
Flew his Long-EZ around the world in 1997.
Still, with all that, I would still have an urge to say this when he gets in the craft...
"Son, if you screw this one up I swear the only thing you'll be flying is a plane load of rubber dog sh*t out of Hong Kong!"
Until the Chinese offer something that is unique other than their nationality, they are off the list.
Your nationality has never been a concern.
This is science people. If you think that you get to make the list because of your hometown, then you have all missed completely the biggest point of expanding knowledge. Knowledge is not racist and knows no nationality.
Yuri Gagarin at the top of the list because he was first, not because of his nationality.
That is like saying that a high scoring home run hitter that didn't crack the top ten should make the cut because he was on a specific team. It's favoritism. Science and the facts don't show favoritism.
Stop grandstanding for the Chinese until they do something new that no one else has done yet.
Look, I think you are missing the point.
This is a private MANNED flight.
So what if the boosters are made by private aerospace firms? All they are launching are toys. Toys that can take zero gravity, zero kelvin, and zero pressure. The big deal about this is about MANNING a capsule into space without a goverment doing anything but giving permits like a building inspector.
You are talking about subcontractors. Look, I understand what you are saying, but to be truthful, your +4 insightful makes no sense here.
MANNED SPACEFLIGHT. MANNED. Non-governmental pilots in space. Big deal. Real big deal considering all the cash that has washed up for NASA.
Carmack is a celebrity among geeks. We all have people we admire. Even geek tribes have leaders.
Obviously, Joe Schmo is not going to know him, but we do. It is fine that you may resent him, but you should also respect the fact that living the geek dream is something that we all aspire to doing... but for one circumstance or another, we haven't been lucky enough to do it.
So give Carmack some friggin' props for at least pressing a little bit of the envelope and being a pioneer. In a world where technology is everywhere, he is pushing the barrier. Respect that.
Personally, I have always been dissappointed my whole life that I couldn't wake up, suit up, get in the airlock, and go out and weld space stations with my hands for a living. I think all of us geeks are upset for not being born in a more advanced civilization than we already are, or not having been born with enough money to get all the education we want.
He is at least using his cash for a useful hobby. Some day there will be normal use space travel. Damn if I can't wait for those days. Think, modern commerce in space... instead of spy sattelites and weapons platforms. It sounds a whole lot better than what is going on now.
Damn you innovators! Damn you all!
The truth is though, that as of recently, the cops have only been using DNA for some really nasty cases that they felt there was an absolute need to take care of. The kind where they say, "well, if we don't get this guy there are going to be a lot of dead grannies floating around."
Also, it might be noted that DNA has been used to get a LOT OF INNOCENT PEOPLE OUT OF PRISON. Also, if you have a defense attorney worth his salt, he would research DNA testing and beat the hell out of the state's examiner if necessary.
You know, you're right. If we don't outsource, we'll just curl up and die. We can't be competetive that way.
Just like Japan. Remember when they didn't outsource, and instead kept their businesses and focused on quality? It was the downfall of their society. Just look at them now.
Those poor Japanese and their isolationist ideas. When they didn't outsource, their society went into a tailspin. They couldn't get cheap unintelligeable services from India or cheap crap from China! What were they thinking? How were they supposed to survive? No innovation! No advancement! No chance to be a world leader in anything! Nothing. Now all that is left of that large island is just burned out neo-cities where clowns fight neo-samurai bike gangs, and the walking starving beg for the tiniest husks of dried bread and water (If only a young child could lead them out of ruin, say, by becoming the next emperor, bah, it is just a dream). If they had only opened the markets and seen what cheap worldwide labor could have done for their society, they wouldn't be the poor, pitiful, Third-World nation that only produces rice and shower flip-flops. If they only advanced their ideas to include crappy, out-of-touch world labor that can't be understood over the phone, they would have advanced robot dogs, cell phones that look like aquarium fishm, and shiny cities to live in.
But no. They isolated themselves. Even did a naval blockade. That starved em out.
I think we can all learn a lesson from Japan. This is what you get for not outsourcing.
What are you talking about? American companies are around for one reason, and one reason only: to make money. They hire GOOD programmers in India CHEAPLY. They save money. Simple as that.
Unfortunately, that is the same attitude that killed so many companies that ended up "Wal-Mart Exclusive" brands.
Not advancing is stagnation. Stagnation is death. ANYONE NEEDING ANY BLACKSMITH WORK THESE DAYS?
What he is trying to say in simpler terms is that object oriented (every OS we deal with) is like playing "Go Fish" for a file because all of the icons are neatly spaced apart, and there is no real distinction between them. They all look the same to me.
"I open the folder and all I see are little boxes. Little boxes everywhere. WHICH ONE LAUNCHES THE PROGRAM!"
My solution would be this:
Look, people say that they want television on demand... but as a Tivo owner of less than a year, I will tell you straight that they don't know what they want, but as a Tivo owner, I do. They just want to watch their shows when they sit down. When the shows get there? Not an issue.
They should make channels to take the programs and run them at something like ten to twelve times as fast as normal, or put them in file format and stream them exceedingly fast similar to a network.
In a few minutes you could have it. More importantly, this solves the whole commercial skip issue. You could have custom commercials dropped in based on the person you were marketing to. Imagine they know I am a computer geek by my Tivo, and they can hit me with a custom Half-Life 2 commercial. Would I watch it? HELL YES I WOULD.
It is not like I don't want to see ads. I scan the Sunday ads for bargains. I look at the local bargain newspapers. The problem with ads is that I am seeing ads that aren't my thing. I don't care about pantyhose. I am a man. If you give me a new barbecue sauce ad, I'll watch it. If you give me ads for a new processor, YES, I'll watch it. Gimme a movie trailer. I'll watch it.
Yes, I know it is not truly "video on demand," but the network needs would be exponentially increased for a true video on demand system... it would get worse until there was packet gridlock. If you ran four channels at ten times speed, you would have the content of forty channels for four band slots. Think about all of the channels this way. Would the public care if it said please wait five minutes for delivery? Only if the TV had no way to hold programs and search for them, lying in wait. Or would they like to delete a whole slew of programs and have the Tivo pick out another ten of them for them while they were browsing? You could repeat content through the day, have a fast delvery, and still not have to drop a huge network on top of a cable system.
My issue is that I think that video on demand is overrated. I think with a hard drive on my end I don't care when I get it... I am not enough of a brat to need it "NOW! Mommy! NOW!" If you speed up television delivery, and as the hard drive TVs have already shown, that video on demand WON'T MATTER AT ALL when your system knows what you like and gives it to you in anticipation. If you think that I want to press a button and get a crystal clear movie instantly, you're wrong. I want to browse. But whether I browse on a network or in my box is irrelevant... because currently my Tivo gives me a slew of choices. There is just not that much content.
Imagine the network architecture issues when people start "browsing" video on demand, because in essence, their slapping around giant files like people slap through channels.
Sure, video on demand can be done. It just looks so cost prohibitive right now that it is insane. The only real benefit of video on demand would be for news. Then I can custom my newscast. Lose the biased reporters. As a newsman, I admit, that would rock.
Strangely, those were wars. Fighting totalitarian regimes in every example.
My examples were things that the Chinese government was doing to ITS OWN CITIZENS.
Get your facts straight.
Since when does "exceedingly liberal"==Communist?
Since when we now strike first for peace.
Since when our oldest international ally (France) became our biggest enemy.
Since when disagreeing with your government makes you a traitor.
Since one old sarin gas shell becomes a nation killer... and proof of WMD.
And especially since the media has become "fair and balanced."
Or the short answer:
Since when does "exceedingly liberal"==Communist?
Oh, about since late November 2004.
In some other ways, seems like China has gone from exceedingly liberal (Communist) to more moderate, while the US is still that funny mix of liberal and right wing type of ideas.
Damn you America! Damn you and your mix of ideas!
The dragon CPU was in the Internet Cafes, but alas, all of those got shut down.
Standard Anti-American slashdot a-hole tactic.
And I said, who are we (yes, not all Slashdotters are from the US, but most / many are in fact from the US) to tell China what to do with their supercomputer?
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Yes. Trust them. They have such a good track record.
Kettle, black, glass houses, and so forth...
Tianemen square, bullets in protestors, missiles over Taiwan on election day, Falon Gong, and so forth...