"Corporations very much enjoy their petty domestic monopolies" - especially global!
"it gives them profits and permits them stagnation" - plenty of it. Wait, they still will want more profit (greed first), so they will further research how to offer you yet cheaper stuff for your money. Not always bad, neither always good.
"God forbid they be forced to compete with the rest of the world" - yep, they come into country, buy potent competitor and dominate there, too. That's global. But that's not competition. That's not market in action.
"So goods are produced at lower cost" - true. But guy correctly notes, that decision about price for these goods is not that much based on cost, especially with players merging and growing global (less competition): greed and profit sucking goes beyond countries and destroys former meaning of country boundaries, leading to experimental state of global system. Middle class as we know it? Being washed out, head over heels to survive - will it succeed?
"and labor quality goes up" - no. Price wins, not the competence of better labor nor quality of product.
"But because of this increase in quality, fewer workers are needed internationally" - because of automation of cheap replication, yes. Craftsmanship? Unneeded. Research and development? Military and governmental or under hood of profit making superpowers, as long as they need yet to compete.
"But all poor people can buy more than they ever have before" - buy what product? Electronics with failing capacitors or exploding batteries? Pressure of cost on quality is at highest.
"So in a sense we're getting what we always wanted" - not so sure of that sudden happiness.
"So, while I can understand why the vendor might feel the need for 'defensive' pricing, that doesn't match up well for me when we are supposedly partnering and their services were sold under that umbrella." - if there is competing market for such services, it is very likely, that pricing is more-less reflecting value of provider's offering, and not that defence stance itself. I am working in that field, and partnering is exactly what I feel doing, and solving your problems with my expertise, so you don't have remaining problems, hopefully.
As to variation of price ($75 - $150), among other things, it might deal with what services company can provide with - like for one our client, that has several Unix based flavors deployed, some unique, specific software running there and suppliers/experts of that software often not even having presence in our country, I guess higher end pricing OF OUR CAPABILITIES to help does reflect value and is well justified. Obviously, we have to walk extra miles for being ABLE to help, but, I believe, it is worth it for client in the end.
"That single hourly rate for any onsite work just leaves a bad taste in my mouth" - well, but keep in mind, even if you do not call particular month, we must be prepared and alive all that time to answer, when you will be calling. Need to remember your IT situation and specifics, to choose solutions properly, integrate them into your environment. Of course, distribution of clients and their problems in time helps balance system, still, personnel at hand must be sufficient to handle both peaks and lows of demand. For more complicated client we have agreement for fixed amount of hours per month, then extra hours can be had, say, 10% premium, evening-weekend 50%.
At the end of the month I put down report for client, listing hours and jobs performed. Less formal, paperwork-negotiation stuff in the process, the better. Mutual trust is very important, and I do not hesitate even making friends with people working in those client companies, not sure every company would find it good practice, but I guess, it is best, there can be made out of it: partnering, respect and friendship. It is sad to hear you mentioning getting bad taste from the single price, but could you think of that extra, you think, you are worthlessly spending, just like of tip, you willingly leave to waiter for his service partnering at your dinner? Money is important, but not the most important, at least here.
My point would begin from rising very similar lesson of Firefox: does recommending this product makes sense? It must be mostly deployed on the Windows platform, where IE is very well integrated, and has most of the sites targeted at - then what is the very idea for alternative to occur?
Idea might be bringing back competition and flexibility, fun and more open future for use, for computing itself. More, than just senseless consuming.
We must be well aware, that Linux, and Ubuntu in particular as good contemporary example, is carrying very similar message of being accessible (FREE!), flexible (if needed), competitive (would you want copy to try), and so on. It is alternative and fun way of computing, and remaining doubts are hidden in rare occasions, where it, unfortunately, cannot deliver.
Role of posting guy is quite important: he is guru for the crowd, looking for help, and can introduce them to the worlds, where they well might need competent guidance. Conversion rate of 25% alone is speaking about certain abilities and potential. HOWEVER: my way would be less agressive - I would provide with dual boots, to allow both - curiosity and opportunity for alternative to shine and persuade, and yet preserve safe former environment "compatibility" for the case. Otherwise, effort of introducing alternative is as good thing, as having alternative.
Well, first of all Usenet is structured and generally of more scientific nature. There is one Usenet, and very organized tree structure for every leaf of this tree (even local Usenet servers are better understood as holders of particular local branches), with quite expressive status/nature of leaf (say, "alt." for least regulated). There are also higher expectations to speak about particular case on very particular branch. Whereas forums are more relaxed in what particular rules are practiced on particular forum/gathering, they can overlap in goals and even copy content from each other, thus accumulating their "own" knowledgebases, fake interaction, that actually happened somewhere else.
Appearance of the forums is also not bound by scientific approaches: you are not expecting funny avatars or tons of smilies' fashion etc. on Usenet, but well[...,] tolerate it on forums.
My opinion is very close to that of other commenting here: two are strong at their essentials, and fill particular needs. I would remind, for illustration, two poles meeting together in the form of FAQs, periodically posted in otherwise free flowing newsgroups, as we used to know them, or sticky topics in todays forums.
However, original question is not so silly, as some might suggest. As more of the accumulated and expressed knowledge is ordered and made searchable/accessible, needs to communicate shift from general knowledge discovery towards either realtime-realcase helplines or just personal expression (and sympathy-antipathy excercising) channels. Wikis can't cover every current case, or help less ordered stuff, but more general communication can - thus it does help to expect forums to be those realtime-growing, case-centered or expression-centered medium further. And, of course, frequency of particular case repeating should suggest move to the FAQ/wiki world. It is worth noting, how phenomenons like YouTube or Flickr, or MySpace spin-off from more traditional communication channels/forms by finding their niche at either being disposed towards particular media or style of expression.
Anyway, current abilities to communicate over wherever in the world and on multitude of subjects, they are amazing and worth attention. It cannot avoid making influence to other capabilities of mankind, no less.
Exact statement - my child, too, could not get creativity nor interoperability from several contemporary Hotwheels - it is cheap (kept expensive) plastic junk, how somebody is expected to believe it is anything more?
possibly have lost the ability to enjoy the simplicity of non-technology based entertainment
Not true. Being games/toys addict and having some children around to care for and observe, I must admit, that it is LEGO Mindstorms, that is still awaiting for the prime time on the shelf, when great idea-based games like Ligretto, Zicke Zacke Huehnerkacke, Zapp Zerapp, Cluedo, Die Siedler von Catan, Lego, Lasy, Abalone, Pusher are all played constantly, Quercetty is another manufacturer, that is trusted and admired here. You just have to let them experience other worlds, do they still have this ability, are their parents, friends, whatever capable of introducing them to real stuff?
OTOH, Dreamcast is very appreciated console for them (and me), and I see no proper replacement for it yet.
I guess, main qualities for the perfect game/toy are simplicity, exciting idea, manufacturing quality, and yet ability to create that tense, competing (or, probably, different) atmosphere, still provide opportunity to experience phenomena of socializing around it.
Speaking particularly about Mattel - they should be having hard time, as they have been very detached fom those goals (commerce is not about them).
Support goes to intel today - even, if we love catchers-up, it takes two for perfect market games. Then, if intel feels in bad position this evening - let's wish them strength to carry on. They DO deliver, there's no doubt about it. As does AMD, we need two, both are much appreciated...
Can't Win98 run further on this hardware? Seems like the most likely end for those stations, that didn't seen support comparable to XP SP2, anyway. No big value for Linux here, actually.
The problem is, new steady state for Earth (that suffers dramatic increase of another input performed by non-theoretical man inside the system) is likely to be where man is punished so badly, that is willingly or forcefully abandoning his formerly normal activities.
Sun provided Earth with energy for a long, long time. This energy was captured and accumulated in certain important degree.
Today, man is looking out for more and more of it (energy), largely to make more and more of shorter lifespan stuff in China, also to satisfy increasing standard daily-comfort-set for expanding participants of global well-being. This wealth is not diamonds and gold - it is very prosaic, material; manufacturing and using this ever growing mass of shorter lifespan comfort tools is accompanied with releasing significant increase of formerly accumulated energy.
Unfortunately, comfort expectations themselves tend to increase, and almost every person would try to extend and protect comfort, he could achieve. Also, mobility, global tendencies in todays world blur former boundaries of who was capable to have what. The same, not long before poor, China is increasingly serving world to get in return chance to convert nearly each fourth human being into consumer of certain sort. Not much against that, principally, but we have to be very careful and insightful to run all this process so, that mankind wouldn't be sorry after a while. People have quite developed brain and elaborated communication tools - all this could be useful.
As a footer note: reading article I was kicked by this idea, that if melting ice is very first and noticable problem to overcome, perhaps focusing on how to protect this very certain geographically and physically stuff could give us time to think over all the other concerns.
1. Delightful professional, simple and competent to the max, of best technical readings. What an evening.
2. Whassup with supa techies, that they can't present question in readable form? Scrollbars? But, why? Get some respect for yourself, coolest of geeks. Or are you punks? Everybody hangs around here, don't you realise?
3. It is special pleasure to see high target professional working at the company, product(s) of which you personally admire. I'm probably old, too sensitive, but feelings, they are, nevertheless, REAL. Good and further best of luck, Opera!
This must be typical agressive exploiting company, that makes more money by having less ethics. And since they are just nameless subcontractors, they keep divide from things Western, and appear as "just useful" there.
> No thanks. Never again. You had your chance and it will NEVER come again.
you are wrong, as only way for humanity to evolve to (if that chosen instead of killer-greed alternative) is bringing community common sense on top over selfishness. It might then well remind those ancient forms, other poster illustrates with, just achieved another way with much better media - after all, spiral is not uncommon form for evolution.
Funny nonsense, besides: this happens in country, that is still ruled by sole "communist party". iPods would NOT be made there, if that party wouldn't allow for that to happen.
"There is no job that is America's God-given right anymore." - Carly Fiorina
separately on this, because it deserves own in business making world.
Tom Peters, idol AND guru in business teaching is using that sentence as one of most illustrative ones. And there is NO reason to not pay attention to that. Why? Because move and change are brand new, brand killing qualities. They are vivid. They are live.
There is no God-given right. If you can dig it, you COULD be next winner.
Thank you, for your impressive details in the forming picture - for me, stranger, she was THE person behind will to merge. Which she, mainly, must have been.
HP feels corporate needs rather well - wasn't Compaq right about that, when acquired? IBM is respectable coloss - but does every body is in need for colosses? No. For something solid, and yet accessible. Period. This is what HP delivers - bigger corporate needs, I am serving, are rather happy with HP/Cisco - THAT's right! But, boy, so they become irresponsible! You couldn't get trough the walls - no response back, no noticeable interest in END-USER. Disaster ahead.
And then, not to forget, there still remains DIGITAL behind, this widely admired techno-legend. Romantics and idealists of technically concerned crowd. Fiorina, be proud - you were right, fine woman. We here are proud for your bravety turning right.
Yep, it comes down to quality and consistency of professional knowledge. In those circumstances, your note about, actually, introducing to market pool of cheap and poor skills is insightful. Very similar can be said about flood of "made in china" products - main thing, that makes consumer try it, is damn cheap price. And, unless there is institute, that controls and intercepts risks (my Mac mini has china sticker, but there is little risk), it is risk, that consumer takes on himself in both cases: he is likely to find those offers were just waste of money.
OTOH, there *is* possibility to hire outsourced professional and benefit from ratio of his level and cost of living at his place of residence! Being located in Eastern part of Europe, I have had experience of successful collaboration with U.S. enterprise. It can work, BUT generally there is much more for it, than supposing you find overseas the same, just cheaper - no, overall you don't. That must have been, what Apple learned, and rather payed for dropping those risks.
Slashdot Mirror
"Corporations very much enjoy their petty domestic monopolies" -
especially global!
"it gives them profits and permits them stagnation" - plenty of it. Wait, they still will want more profit (greed first), so they will further research how to offer you yet cheaper stuff for your money.
Not always bad, neither always good.
"God forbid they be forced to compete with the rest of the world" - yep, they come into country, buy potent competitor and dominate there, too. That's global. But that's not competition. That's not market in action.
"So goods are produced at lower cost" - true. But guy correctly notes, that decision about price for these goods is not that much based on cost, especially with players merging and growing global (less competition): greed and profit sucking goes beyond countries and destroys former meaning of country boundaries, leading to experimental state of global system. Middle class as we know it? Being washed out, head over heels to survive - will it succeed?
"and labor quality goes up" - no. Price wins, not the competence of better labor nor quality of product.
"But because of this increase in quality, fewer workers are needed internationally" - because of automation of cheap replication, yes.
Craftsmanship? Unneeded. Research and development? Military and governmental or under hood of profit making superpowers, as long as they need yet to compete.
"But all poor people can buy more than they ever have before" - buy what product? Electronics with failing capacitors or exploding batteries? Pressure of cost on quality is at highest.
"So in a sense we're getting what we always wanted" - not so sure of that sudden happiness.
intelligent about worthy sacrifices, good reading for a geek ;-)
QOTD: "Even the Statue of Liberty shaves her pits."
"So, while I can understand why the vendor might feel the need for 'defensive' pricing, that doesn't match up well for me when we are supposedly partnering and their services were sold under that umbrella." - if there is competing market for such services, it is very likely, that pricing is more-less reflecting value of provider's offering, and not that defence stance itself. I am working in that field, and partnering is exactly what I feel doing, and solving your problems with my expertise, so you don't have remaining problems, hopefully.
As to variation of price ($75 - $150), among other things, it might deal with what services company can provide with - like for one our client, that has several Unix based flavors deployed, some unique, specific software running there and suppliers/experts of that software often not even having presence in our country, I guess higher end pricing OF OUR CAPABILITIES to help does reflect value and is well justified. Obviously, we have to walk extra miles for being ABLE to help, but, I believe, it is worth it for client in the end.
"That single hourly rate for any onsite work just leaves a bad taste in my mouth" - well, but keep in mind, even if you do not call particular month, we must be prepared and alive all that time to answer, when you will be calling. Need to remember your IT situation and specifics, to choose solutions properly, integrate them into your environment. Of course, distribution of clients and their problems in time helps balance system, still, personnel at hand must be sufficient to handle both peaks and lows of demand. For more complicated client we have agreement for fixed amount of hours per month, then extra hours can be had, say, 10% premium, evening-weekend 50%.
At the end of the month I put down report for client, listing hours and jobs performed. Less formal, paperwork-negotiation stuff in the process, the better. Mutual trust is very important, and I do not hesitate even making friends with people working in those client companies, not sure every company would find it good practice, but I guess, it is best, there can be made out of it: partnering, respect and friendship. It is sad to hear you mentioning getting bad taste from the single price, but could you think of that extra, you think, you are worthlessly spending, just like of tip, you willingly leave to waiter for his service partnering at your dinner? Money is important, but not the most important, at least here.
My point would begin from rising very similar lesson of Firefox: does recommending this product makes sense? It must be mostly deployed on the Windows platform, where IE is very well integrated, and has most of the sites targeted at - then what is the very idea for alternative to occur?
Idea might be bringing back competition and flexibility, fun and more open future for use, for computing itself. More, than just senseless consuming.
We must be well aware, that Linux, and Ubuntu in particular as good contemporary example, is carrying very similar message of being accessible (FREE!), flexible (if needed), competitive (would you want copy to try), and so on. It is alternative and fun way of computing, and remaining doubts are hidden in rare occasions, where it, unfortunately, cannot deliver.
Role of posting guy is quite important: he is guru for the crowd, looking for help, and can introduce them to the worlds, where they well might need competent guidance. Conversion rate of 25% alone is speaking about certain abilities and potential. HOWEVER: my way would be less agressive - I would provide with dual boots, to allow both - curiosity and opportunity for alternative to shine and persuade, and yet preserve safe former environment "compatibility" for the case. Otherwise, effort of introducing alternative is as good thing, as having alternative.
And are they putting Apple logo, too?
Well, first of all Usenet is structured and generally of more scientific nature. There is one Usenet, and very organized tree structure for every leaf of this tree (even local Usenet servers are better understood as holders of particular local branches), with quite expressive status/nature of leaf (say, "alt." for least regulated). There are also higher expectations to speak about particular case on very particular branch. Whereas forums are more relaxed in what particular rules are practiced on particular forum/gathering, they can overlap in goals and even copy content from each other, thus accumulating their "own" knowledgebases, fake interaction, that actually happened somewhere else.
Appearance of the forums is also not bound by scientific approaches: you are not expecting funny avatars or tons of smilies' fashion etc. on Usenet, but well[...,] tolerate it on forums.
My opinion is very close to that of other commenting here: two are strong at their essentials, and fill particular needs. I would remind, for illustration, two poles meeting together in the form of FAQs, periodically posted in otherwise free flowing newsgroups, as we used to know them, or sticky topics in todays forums.
However, original question is not so silly, as some might suggest. As more of the accumulated and expressed knowledge is ordered and made searchable/accessible, needs to communicate shift from general knowledge discovery towards either realtime-realcase helplines or just personal expression (and sympathy-antipathy excercising) channels. Wikis can't cover every current case, or help less ordered stuff, but more general communication can - thus it does help to expect forums to be those realtime-growing, case-centered or expression-centered medium further. And, of course, frequency of particular case repeating should suggest move to the FAQ/wiki world. It is worth noting, how phenomenons like YouTube or Flickr, or MySpace spin-off from more traditional communication channels/forms by finding their niche at either being disposed towards particular media or style of expression.
Anyway, current abilities to communicate over wherever in the world and on multitude of subjects, they are amazing and worth attention. It cannot avoid making influence to other capabilities of mankind, no less.
Exact statement - my child, too, could not get creativity nor interoperability from several contemporary Hotwheels - it is cheap (kept expensive) plastic junk, how somebody is expected to believe it is anything more?
possibly have lost the ability to enjoy the simplicity of non-technology based entertainment
Not true. Being games/toys addict and having some children around to care for and observe, I must admit, that it is LEGO Mindstorms, that is still awaiting for the prime time on the shelf, when great idea-based games like Ligretto, Zicke Zacke Huehnerkacke, Zapp Zerapp, Cluedo, Die Siedler von Catan, Lego, Lasy, Abalone, Pusher are all played constantly, Quercetty is another manufacturer, that is trusted and admired here. You just have to let them experience other worlds, do they still have this ability, are their parents, friends, whatever capable of introducing them to real stuff?
OTOH, Dreamcast is very appreciated console for them (and me), and I see no proper replacement for it yet.
I guess, main qualities for the perfect game/toy are simplicity, exciting idea, manufacturing quality, and yet ability to create that tense, competing (or, probably, different) atmosphere, still provide opportunity to experience phenomena of socializing around it.
Speaking particularly about Mattel - they should be having hard time, as they have been very detached fom those goals (commerce is not about them).
Support goes to intel today - even, if we love catchers-up, it takes two for perfect market games. Then, if intel feels in bad position this evening - let's wish them strength to carry on. They DO deliver, there's no doubt about it. As does AMD, we need two, both are much appreciated...
Can't Win98 run further on this hardware? Seems like the most likely end for those stations, that didn't seen support comparable to XP SP2, anyway. No big value for Linux here, actually.
"to government's around the world" - how rude...
The problem is, new steady state for Earth (that suffers dramatic increase of another input performed by non-theoretical man inside the system) is likely to be where man is punished so badly, that is willingly or forcefully abandoning his formerly normal activities.
Sun provided Earth with energy for a long, long time. This energy was captured and accumulated in certain important degree.
Today, man is looking out for more and more of it (energy), largely to make more and more of shorter lifespan stuff in China, also to satisfy increasing standard daily-comfort-set for expanding participants of global well-being. This wealth is not diamonds and gold - it is very prosaic, material; manufacturing and using this ever growing mass of shorter lifespan comfort tools is accompanied with releasing significant increase of formerly accumulated energy.
Unfortunately, comfort expectations themselves tend to increase, and almost every person would try to extend and protect comfort, he could achieve. Also, mobility, global tendencies in todays world blur former boundaries of who was capable to have what. The same, not long before poor, China is increasingly serving world to get in return chance to convert nearly each fourth human being into consumer of certain sort. Not much against that, principally, but we have to be very careful and insightful to run all this process so, that mankind wouldn't be sorry after a while. People have quite developed brain and elaborated communication tools - all this could be useful.
As a footer note: reading article I was kicked by this idea, that if melting ice is very first and noticable problem to overcome, perhaps focusing on how to protect this very certain geographically and physically stuff could give us time to think over all the other concerns.
"A GSM phone has a unique IMEI number.
- Each GSM phone has a unique SIM card with a unique SIM number."
frankly, tired right now, didn't even read post in all detail,
but: is ensuring of UNIQUE performed by some gods?
It boils down to:
1. Delightful professional, simple and competent to the max,
of best technical readings. What an evening.
2. Whassup with supa techies, that they can't present question
in readable form? Scrollbars? But, why?
Get some respect for yourself, coolest of geeks. Or are you punks?
Everybody hangs around here, don't you realise?
3. It is special pleasure to see high target professional working
at the company, product(s) of which you personally admire.
I'm probably old, too sensitive, but feelings, they are, nevertheless, REAL. Good and further best of luck, Opera!
> starve to death than they be exploited by evil Western corporations
Foxconn is the registered trade name for Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
CEO Terry Gou founded Hon Hai in 1974
Company Type Public (Taiwan)
2004:
1-Year Sales Growth 43.4%
1-Year Employee Growth 78.8%
This must be typical agressive exploiting company, that makes more money by having less ethics. And since they are just nameless subcontractors, they keep divide from things Western, and appear as "just useful" there.
> No thanks. Never again. You had your chance and it will NEVER come again.
you are wrong, as only way for humanity to evolve to (if that chosen instead of killer-greed alternative) is bringing community common sense on top over selfishness. It might then well remind those ancient forms, other poster illustrates with, just achieved another way with much better media - after all, spiral is not uncommon form for evolution.
Funny nonsense, besides: this happens in country, that is still ruled by sole "communist party". iPods would NOT be made there, if that party wouldn't allow for that to happen.
they could earn EVEN higher income, or better conditions, or BOTH, if it was about more justice in their enslaving.
And Apple, at the very least, should be expected to think different?
"There is no job that is America's God-given right anymore." - Carly Fiorina
separately on this, because it deserves own in business making world.
Tom Peters, idol AND guru in business teaching is using that sentence as one of most illustrative ones. And there is NO reason to not pay attention to that. Why? Because move and change are brand new, brand killing qualities. They are vivid. They are live.
There is no God-given right. If you can dig it, you COULD be next winner.
Thank you, for your impressive details in the forming picture - for me, stranger, she was THE person behind will to merge. Which she, mainly, must have been.
HP feels corporate needs rather well - wasn't Compaq right about that, when acquired? IBM is respectable coloss - but does every body is in need for colosses? No. For something solid, and yet accessible. Period. This is what HP delivers - bigger corporate needs, I am serving, are rather happy with HP/Cisco - THAT's right! But, boy, so they become irresponsible! You couldn't get trough the walls - no response back, no noticeable interest in END-USER. Disaster ahead.
And then, not to forget, there still remains DIGITAL behind, this widely admired techno-legend. Romantics and idealists of technically concerned crowd. Fiorina, be proud - you were right, fine woman. We here are proud for your bravety turning right.
If chevy couldn't get its job done, you could be right.
Yep, it comes down to quality and consistency of professional knowledge. In those circumstances, your note about, actually, introducing to market pool of cheap and poor skills is insightful. Very similar can be said about flood of "made in china" products - main thing, that makes consumer try it, is damn cheap price. And, unless there is institute, that controls and intercepts risks (my Mac mini has china sticker, but there is little risk), it is risk, that consumer takes on himself in both cases: he is likely to find those offers were just waste of money.
OTOH, there *is* possibility to hire outsourced professional and benefit from ratio of his level and cost of living at his place of residence! Being located in Eastern part of Europe, I have had experience of successful collaboration with U.S. enterprise. It can work, BUT generally there is much more for it, than supposing you find overseas the same, just cheaper - no, overall you don't. That must have been, what Apple learned, and rather payed for dropping those risks.