(Disclaimer. I'm a consultant onsite at a Fortune 100 company.)
First, it's not my choice.:-)
Second, none of the really powerful CAD packages run on Linux. Most of the workers here are ME's and EE's. I'm talking about CAD drawings that'll take a multiprocessor HPUX box with 4G of RAM to its knees.
Third, there's management fear. Fear of the unknown.
Fourth, the whole accounting group has unbeleiveably complex macros written in 123 and Excel. The cost of transitioning 50,000 people to free software (converting macros, user training) is magnitudes above the expense of paying MS or Lotus an annual fee.
Fifth, there is an expense in transitioning from one system to another. It's not just about the price of the software.
Sixth, the whole help/support staff would have to be retrained. Since there aren't flashy certifications in free software (or dern few of them), most people wouldn't think it's a worthy goal. Most employers, if you say, "I _wrote_ product X" wouldn't care. If you said, "I'm certified in Product X," you'd probably get the job.
Seventh, free software is a pretty nice solution, but it's another tool in the toolbox, not/the/ tool.
Eighth, did I already mention that it's not my choice? There is a groundswell toward linux building here, but it'll likely take the attrition of the older employees before it becomes the standard.
Many users don't have a choice as to what email system is being used. It's some corporate mandate, or one company gave the best licensing, or integrates, or does feature X best...
or some company VP got a really tasty fishing junket in the Bahamas, courtesy the software/hardware vendor, and THAT'S the basis for choosing that product.
Don't just flame folks for using Outlook. Some have no choice.
"You may reproduce and distribute, in executable form only, programs which you create using the Software without additional license or fees, subject to all of the conditions in this statement." I think that means you can't redistribute Borland widgets in your program, without paying them some fee, which sounds fair.
There is no magic ratio. The real metric here is response time, how many back-logged calls there are, the amount of slack time the help desk personnel have.
Some metrics: * the phone should be answered by a person before the fourth ring * no customer should be placed on hold, but at least should not wait in a queue * the help desk people should have some slack time, and be able to duck away from their desk without coordinating with co-workers (like bathroom breaks) * level 3 people should be allowed to automate/fix as much as they want, because every simplified task there gives the helpdesk more time
You might also contact some 911 or emergency coordinators, as they've got similar problems, but they're not really allowed to place a call on hold.
I was in Calcutta for 2 weeks in January (was actually over the Atlantic when the clock went from 1999 to 2000), and was surpised at the number of internet shops I saw.
Several of the hotels (free restrooms!) had internet shops in some little room tucked off to the side (near the barber and the gift boutique), half of which seemed to be permanently inhabited by Mauruari types. (cultural joke) Several British chain-type bookstores had 2-4 internet terminals available for a modest hourly fee. I also saw a few street stalls that were internet access points, which were really 1-3 computers with modems. I think the fees were in 10 minute blocks.
The prices were pretty competitive with US prices -- except that everyone there was getting paid in Rupees. About 40:1, so the 800 Rs/month ($20 U.S.) average worker salary wouldn't cover anything. Phone service is terrible (government monopoly), and T1 prices, which I looked at, are heavily taxed and tariffed, to the point beyond reason. (About 8x U.S. T1 prices)
The interesting thing is that most Indian web sites I use are sited in the U.S., even though many are in Hindi or Bengali or Tamil -- so their primary audience is clearly not native English speakers.
We're experiencing this problem because it's the first time we've really tried to store information for long periods of time,/and cared that we got a verbatim copy./
10,000 years past? Word of mouth. Stories handed down from one generation to the other. Want a copy? Listen and remember. Copy quality? As good as your memory. Portability? As far as word travels.
5,000 years past? Stone tablets, paintings, and the like. Want a copy? Make it yourself. Copy quality? As good as your talent. Portability? Can it be carried?
1,000 years past? Paper, but acid-free by accident, and not design. Want a copy? Hire a scribe, or us a printing press. Copy quality? As good as your proofreader. Portability? As far as the traders can sell.
Now? Binary format on varying media. Want a copy? Needs some special hardware. Copy quality? Perfect. Portability? Speed o' light, anywhere, anytime.
My vote goes to clean water and modern sewage transports.
It's eliminated the plague, other diseases, and raised quality of life more than anything. People without electricity (meaning half the world) benefit from nothing electronic. But having clean water for use, and a way of getting rid of waste that doesn't contaminate someone else has done more than rockets, transistors, electricity, or anything else. Clean water is a necessity before you can have medical advances.
Actually, it's sales taxes and tariffs that are oppressive. The rich (and corporations) will spend a far, far smaller percentage of their income on sales taxes and tariffs, whilst the poor pay a greater percentage -- mostly since the poor don't have the money to buy anything that's non-essential.
The only fair choice: income tax. The more you make, the more you pay. What about flat taxes where everyone pays the same amount? These are typically "income only" taxes, which exclude all money coming in from investments and the like. Under the last 17% flat tax I saw pitched, Steve Forbes would have paid nothing.
Oh, gee, but high taxation of the rich stifles investment and innovation. Here's a rude wake-up. Bush just advocated something like a 33.6% maximum for the highest tax bracket. Few people realize that in the 1950's, the highest tax bracket in the US was around 80%. In short, the government bled the rich dry. *sarcasm* And gee, the 1950's sure were a miserable time for industry. There was soo little innovation and industrial expansion during that time. *end sarcasm* The rationale was, after the first few hundred thousand a year, you've definitely got enough to live comfortably, and Uncle Sam gets the rest. (Can anyone out there not live really well on $1,000/day?)
I am not affiliated Lotus corporation. I just have to support it on Unix and NT. I just grabbed SP6 and tried it with Notes, and here's my answer:
SP6 requires you to have Admin rights to open a TCP port higher than 1023. That means things like IRC, NFS, Ingres, SNA, Lotus Notes, and hundreds of other things are affected.
Since there's that "magic" number of 1023 in there, I think it's more likely a programmer gaffe than a "Let's Sock it To Them" attitude from Microsoft. Lotus Notes uses port 1352 to communicate. There's an RFC that lists all the services, but most of you can `more/etc/services` to get a fair listing of TCP ports, and get an idea of which ones are affected.
Anyway, it's not just a Lotus vs. Microsoft problem.
True. Good point. So I guess you need to set it up correctly so that if someone is making calls, they can see the log/number of locked out accounts and bad attempts, and maybe some change indicator. The change indicator would be nice, as in how many lockouts in the past 10 minutes, hour, day....
Or, lock them for 5 or 10 minutes as someone else suggested, but still have someone call people, as time and resources permit. Being hands-on never hurts business.
The speed can't be that high. You've got to wait until the end of a sentence -- and possibly longer, to get a translation. I imagine it'll be more like listening to someone translate in one ear, much like is already done at international meetings, the U.N....
Still. First step! Ya' have to step somewhere to get anywhere.
Several great ideas there, but I'd go one further. You can even make the password lockouts semi-permanent after 5-10 tries. A customer representative of the hospital calls the customer. "Hi, we noticed you were having some problems getting in. Can we help you?"
You're then free to authenticate the customer to unlock the account, the customer gets a warm and fuzzy about the attention and hand-holding, and you get a magnitude greater security.
I think it actually is the RIAA's fault. Their bottom line is, "We're losing money on this MP3 thing!" No mention is made of increased fan base (all the people like me who won't shell out $15 + tax to gamble on what the rest of the album is like), or of the likelyhood that increased exposure = more likely sales. One friend loaned me a CD chock full of MP3's that were all the albums of his favorite band. I'd heard their airplayed songs, and didn't like those, but quite liked many, many others. Result? I'm actually considering buying a couple of CD's (first time in 2 or 3 years). Why? I've heard the entire album. Something I can't do in the store, on the radio, or over the 'Net.
The point of releasing an album with one good song IS to maximize profits. There's no time spent tweaking or writing anything else on the album. Several songs I've heard were good, but were mixed poorly, or at the wrong tempo, or needed a little restructuring to make them hits. I'm not questioning the musicians or composers skills -- I'm questioning the rationale behind releasing a one-hit album. If you've got only one good song in your repetoire, pull a LaFace Productions trick, and sell it to someone else. It'll be a bigger hit on a multi-hit album. (Paula Abdul, for example.)
The point of the RIAA is to maximize profits -- not increase fan base or artist exposure. If it were, then the RIAA's companies would provide poor quality (like AM radio quality) MP3's for download to help promote the album.
True, but I think the RIAA is guilty of crimes as well (which means I mildly advocate MP3 distribution). I've got probably 40 CD's here, bought at $12-18 per, and there's only one good song on any of them. Ya hear a good song on the radio, think, "Gee, I like the song, I think I'll buy the album." Then you discover that the entire album isn't even backwater bar band quality; the artist had one good song, and the company put out a padded CD.
That's the real crime.
Leastways, if I weren't already cynical and hadn't abandoned buying CDs altogether (jaded consumer syndrome), I'd probably listen to the MP3s. I have borrowed CD's full of MP3 from pals, and listened to them, and thought, "This sucks! Glad I didn't buy the album."
Many government officials are opposed to encryption on the grounds that it will somehow impede investigation and prevent prosecution.
I beleive this is the same feint magicians use to misdirect the audience from the real action. Currently, prosecutors must only provide phone records as evidence, and not a tape of the actual phone call. The evidence that something transpired, and not the actual "what" is all that's required. Records of wire transfers are acceptable, even if you can't seize the actual money. The classic tenets of motive and opportunity suffice, without someone having to provide a videotape of the crime. In other words, I think you can prosecute, and convict, even if you can't decrypt.
So, first, any idea what the Feds are really worried about? (It's got to be more than just Eschelon.) And second, how do we present the privacy issues to the public so that the average citizen understands what's at stake? (e.g. encryption = privacy = good thing)
Simple answer. Monitors are pathetic. Despite getting down to.22 dot pitch, they are still nowhere near as crisp and as sharp as the "old" 300 DPI printers.
It's also the paradigm of work. Think of each screen on a computer as one sheet of paper. (You folks out there with giganto monitors, multiple monitors, or virtual desktops will comment that your workspace is bigger than one sheet of paper, but we're talking about the average user.) On the average desk, you can easily arrange 8 sheets of paper to work with. Writing on one, scribbling on another, and referencing the other 6 (3 open books?) is quite easy. Now, on the average 17" monitor, try reading one thing, and referencing another. The programs don't tile/cascade well while retaining their GUI (meaning the workspace-to-toolbar ratio changes).
The modern monitor is metaphorically the old one-room-schoolhouse slate board. You do something on it, erase it, then do something else. Except that it is required to be your source of information, not just your information input.
Until we get wraparound, gigantic, 300 DPI monitors with four times the area we have now, people will continue to print things out.
It is a fun film. My wife and her colleague went with me to the local independent theater that was showing Dr. Strangelove just last week. Most there had never seen the film, and the crowd of 400 was enjoying itself.
It's also an important film as it's one of those dubious "firsts" out there. First to parody the Cold War. Dr. S was done at a moment in time where everyone was building bomb shelters, children were practicing "duck and cover" under their school desks, and everyone suddenly realized that being white and American didn't mean you would be alive tomorrow. Americans don't really mind bloodshed -- so long as it isn't in their own country. The Cold War was the first time the average American realized that not just the soldiers and people in some far-away-land could die in time of conflict.
George C. Scott plays General Buck Turgidson in Dr. S. He echoes the right-wing sentiments of 30 million Americans killed as an "acceptable loss." In this moment in time, it's hard for people to remember that their government was willing to kill millions of their own.
Anyway, rent the film. It's quite funny, though you may want to take along a dictionary to look up a few names. Buck TURGIDson? Col. Bat Guano? President Merkin MUFFley? (go look up merkin)
Patenting parts of people means making money from foolish pharmaceuticals.
So, if the company owns a DNA fragment it discovered, do they then own me? If that segment is discovered to cause some disease, do I have to get permission from that company to create a cure that modifies their fragment?
Quoting the article, "Police spokesman Pete Piringer said that because the attack did not succeed in getting access to McWee's server, there did not seem to be a crime committed."
Someone needs to remind Mr. Piringer, along with the various state legislatures, that other attempted crimes (rape, murder, robbery, burglary, etc), are all quite illegal.
The problem with most older hackers and geeks is that they have willingly allowed themselves to become stale. Only yesterday, I had a greying geek, who was probably hot stuff in the mainframe days, come to my NT workstation, and have difficulty navigating to the floppy drive. A month before that, it was another senior ex-geek, and she got hung up in why she couldn't rename the CD that was in my drive. (Hey, it's a CD -- it's read only.)
These aren't examples -- they're the norm. They're the median experience and skill level for new technology (meaning there's a mouse involved) for all the grey geeks I've seen.
Me? I'm 32. Old enough to have been killed in "Logan's Run", and fast approaching the artificial geek horizon.
I wish these folks would get past the myth that it's "lost revenue" if someone didn't pay for it. Multiplying the street price times the number of installed pirate copies does not equal the amount of revenue lost.
Why?
First, license discount for bulk. Second, Company X has only Y amount of dollars. If they're forced to go legal, then they'll only buy as many as they can afford, not as many as can be installed. Third, who ever pays street price for software?
If you're worried about piracy, do what the music companies have done, and charge what the local market will bear, not American price times exchange rate. (Music CDs in Europe range from $20 U.S. to $5 U.S. for the same CD.)
I was both jock and nerd in high school (14 years ago). Worst time of my life. I needed anti-depressants, 18 months of counseling, and strong support of my parents and my few friends to make it through without killing myself. Life has improved by magnitudes since then.
If your parents abuse you, Child Protective or Social Services steps in. If your co-workers harass you at work, The Law protects you. If some stranger harasses you, there are restraining orders, and stalking laws, and such, to use as a remedy.
But if your classmates treat you in a manner that is not acceptable in _any other facet of society_, it is called "part of the growing up process," or "all part of high school." I have never again seen the callous viciousness that permeated high school.
I do not, in any way, condone or sympathize with any violent actions. I do not condone, nor understand racism (especially because I am of mixed race).
But this national search for scapegoats must end. If the Internet and violent games cause behaviour like what has surfaced in Colorado, then how do we explain the actions of Ted Bundy and Ed Gein, whose killing sprees were far, far more sinister?
Slashdot Mirror
(Disclaimer. I'm a consultant onsite at a Fortune 100 company.)
:-)
/the/ tool.
First, it's not my choice.
Second, none of the really powerful CAD packages run on Linux. Most of the workers here are ME's and EE's. I'm talking about CAD drawings that'll take a multiprocessor HPUX box with 4G of RAM to its knees.
Third, there's management fear. Fear of the unknown.
Fourth, the whole accounting group has unbeleiveably complex macros written in 123 and Excel. The cost of transitioning 50,000 people to free software (converting macros, user training) is magnitudes above the expense of paying MS or Lotus an annual fee.
Fifth, there is an expense in transitioning from one system to another. It's not just about the price of the software.
Sixth, the whole help/support staff would have to be retrained. Since there aren't flashy certifications in free software (or dern few of them), most people wouldn't think it's a worthy goal. Most employers, if you say, "I _wrote_ product X" wouldn't care. If you said, "I'm certified in Product X," you'd probably get the job.
Seventh, free software is a pretty nice solution, but it's another tool in the toolbox, not
Eighth, did I already mention that it's not my choice? There is a groundswell toward linux building here, but it'll likely take the attrition of the older employees before it becomes the standard.
Many users don't have a choice as to what email system is being used. It's some corporate mandate, or one company gave the best licensing, or integrates, or does feature X best...
:-)
or some company VP got a really tasty fishing junket in the Bahamas, courtesy the software/hardware vendor, and THAT'S the basis for choosing that product.
Don't just flame folks for using Outlook. Some have no choice.
Me? I'm in a Lotus Notes shop.
"You may reproduce and distribute, in executable form only, programs which you create using the Software without additional license or fees, subject to all of the conditions in this statement." I think that means you can't redistribute Borland widgets in your program, without paying them some fee, which sounds fair.
There is no magic ratio. The real metric here is response time, how many back-logged calls there are, the amount of slack time the help desk personnel have.
Some metrics:
* the phone should be answered by a person before the fourth ring
* no customer should be placed on hold, but at least should not wait in a queue
* the help desk people should have some slack time, and be able to duck away from their desk without coordinating with co-workers (like bathroom breaks)
* level 3 people should be allowed to automate/fix as much as they want, because every simplified task there gives the helpdesk more time
You might also contact some 911 or emergency coordinators, as they've got similar problems, but they're not really allowed to place a call on hold.
If you run: /c /t:c:\temp /q
kerbspec
You'll get the contents, and never even see the license.
I was in Calcutta for 2 weeks in January (was actually over the Atlantic when the clock went from 1999 to 2000), and was surpised at the number of internet shops I saw.
Several of the hotels (free restrooms!) had internet shops in some little room tucked off to the side (near the barber and the gift boutique), half of which seemed to be permanently inhabited by Mauruari types. (cultural joke) Several British chain-type bookstores had 2-4 internet terminals available for a modest hourly fee. I also saw a few street stalls that were internet access points, which were really 1-3 computers with modems. I think the fees were in 10 minute blocks.
The prices were pretty competitive with US prices -- except that everyone there was getting paid in Rupees. About 40:1, so the 800 Rs/month ($20 U.S.) average worker salary wouldn't cover anything. Phone service is terrible (government monopoly), and T1 prices, which I looked at, are heavily taxed and tariffed, to the point beyond reason. (About 8x U.S. T1 prices)
The interesting thing is that most Indian web sites I use are sited in the U.S., even though many are in Hindi or Bengali or Tamil -- so their primary audience is clearly not native English speakers.
We're experiencing this problem because it's the first time we've really tried to store information for long periods of time, /and cared that we got a verbatim copy./
10,000 years past? Word of mouth. Stories handed down from one generation to the other. Want a copy? Listen and remember. Copy quality? As good as your memory. Portability? As far as word travels.
5,000 years past? Stone tablets, paintings, and the like. Want a copy? Make it yourself. Copy quality? As good as your talent. Portability? Can it be carried?
1,000 years past? Paper, but acid-free by accident, and not design. Want a copy? Hire a scribe, or us a printing press. Copy quality? As good as your proofreader. Portability? As far as the traders can sell.
Now? Binary format on varying media. Want a copy? Needs some special hardware. Copy quality? Perfect. Portability? Speed o' light, anywhere, anytime.
My vote goes to clean water and modern sewage transports.
It's eliminated the plague, other diseases, and raised quality of life more than anything. People without electricity (meaning half the world) benefit from nothing electronic. But having clean water for use, and a way of getting rid of waste that doesn't contaminate someone else has done more than rockets, transistors, electricity, or anything else. Clean water is a necessity before you can have medical advances.
Actually, it's sales taxes and tariffs that are oppressive. The rich (and corporations) will spend a far, far smaller percentage of their income on sales taxes and tariffs, whilst the poor pay a greater percentage -- mostly since the poor don't have the money to buy anything that's non-essential.
The only fair choice: income tax. The more you make, the more you pay. What about flat taxes where everyone pays the same amount? These are typically "income only" taxes, which exclude all money coming in from investments and the like. Under the last 17% flat tax I saw pitched, Steve Forbes would have paid nothing.
Oh, gee, but high taxation of the rich stifles investment and innovation. Here's a rude wake-up. Bush just advocated something like a 33.6% maximum for the highest tax bracket. Few people realize that in the 1950's, the highest tax bracket in the US was around 80%. In short, the government bled the rich dry. *sarcasm* And gee, the 1950's sure were a miserable time for industry. There was soo little innovation and industrial expansion during that time. *end sarcasm* The rationale was, after the first few hundred thousand a year, you've definitely got enough to live comfortably, and Uncle Sam gets the rest. (Can anyone out there not live really well on $1,000/day?)
Tariffs and sales taxes are the wrong answer.
I am not affiliated Lotus corporation. I just have to support it on Unix and NT. I just grabbed SP6 and tried it with Notes, and here's my answer:
/etc/services` to get a fair listing of TCP ports, and get an idea of which ones are affected.
SP6 requires you to have Admin rights to open a TCP port higher than 1023. That means things like IRC, NFS, Ingres, SNA, Lotus Notes, and hundreds of other things are affected.
Since there's that "magic" number of 1023 in there, I think it's more likely a programmer gaffe than a "Let's Sock it To Them" attitude from Microsoft. Lotus Notes uses port 1352 to communicate. There's an RFC that lists all the services, but most of you can `more
Anyway, it's not just a Lotus vs. Microsoft problem.
True. Good point. So I guess you need to set it up correctly so that if someone is making calls, they can see the log/number of locked out accounts and bad attempts, and maybe some change indicator. The change indicator would be nice, as in how many lockouts in the past 10 minutes, hour, day....
Or, lock them for 5 or 10 minutes as someone else suggested, but still have someone call people, as time and resources permit. Being hands-on never hurts business.
The speed can't be that high. You've got to wait until the end of a sentence -- and possibly longer, to get a translation. I imagine it'll be more like listening to someone translate in one ear, much like is already done at international meetings, the U.N....
Still. First step! Ya' have to step somewhere to get anywhere.
Several great ideas there, but I'd go one further. You can even make the password lockouts semi-permanent after 5-10 tries. A customer representative of the hospital calls the customer. "Hi, we noticed you were having some problems getting in. Can we help you?"
You're then free to authenticate the customer to unlock the account, the customer gets a warm and fuzzy about the attention and hand-holding, and you get a magnitude greater security.
I think it actually is the RIAA's fault. Their bottom line is, "We're losing money on this MP3 thing!" No mention is made of increased fan base (all the people like me who won't shell out $15 + tax to gamble on what the rest of the album is like), or of the likelyhood that increased exposure = more likely sales. One friend loaned me a CD chock full of MP3's that were all the albums of his favorite band. I'd heard their airplayed songs, and didn't like those, but quite liked many, many others. Result? I'm actually considering buying a couple of CD's (first time in 2 or 3 years). Why? I've heard the entire album. Something I can't do in the store, on the radio, or over the 'Net.
The point of releasing an album with one good song IS to maximize profits. There's no time spent tweaking or writing anything else on the album. Several songs I've heard were good, but were mixed poorly, or at the wrong tempo, or needed a little restructuring to make them hits. I'm not questioning the musicians or composers skills -- I'm questioning the rationale behind releasing a one-hit album. If you've got only one good song in your repetoire, pull a LaFace Productions trick, and sell it to someone else. It'll be a bigger hit on a multi-hit album. (Paula Abdul, for example.)
The point of the RIAA is to maximize profits -- not increase fan base or artist exposure. If it were, then the RIAA's companies would provide poor quality (like AM radio quality) MP3's for download to help promote the album.
True, but I think the RIAA is guilty of crimes as well (which means I mildly advocate MP3 distribution). I've got probably 40 CD's here, bought at $12-18 per, and there's only one good song on any of them. Ya hear a good song on the radio, think, "Gee, I like the song, I think I'll buy the album." Then you discover that the entire album isn't even backwater bar band quality; the artist had one good song, and the company put out a padded CD.
That's the real crime.
Leastways, if I weren't already cynical and hadn't abandoned buying CDs altogether (jaded consumer syndrome), I'd probably listen to the MP3s. I have borrowed CD's full of MP3 from pals, and listened to them, and thought, "This sucks! Glad I didn't buy the album."
Many government officials are opposed to encryption on the grounds that it will somehow impede investigation and prevent prosecution.
I beleive this is the same feint magicians use to misdirect the audience from the real action. Currently, prosecutors must only provide phone records as evidence, and not a tape of the actual phone call. The evidence that something transpired, and not the actual "what" is all that's required. Records of wire transfers are acceptable, even if you can't seize the actual money. The classic tenets of motive and opportunity suffice, without someone having to provide a videotape of the crime. In other words, I think you can prosecute, and convict, even if you can't decrypt.
So, first, any idea what the Feds are really worried about? (It's got to be more than just Eschelon.) And second, how do we present the privacy issues to the public so that the average citizen understands what's at stake? (e.g. encryption = privacy = good thing)
I think someone at Intel watched the South Park "Pane'arium" episode too many times.
Itanium? Titanium? It offers the deprecatory "sh" prefix, all too easily.
Simple answer. Monitors are pathetic. Despite getting down to .22 dot pitch, they are still nowhere near as crisp and as sharp as the "old" 300 DPI printers.
It's also the paradigm of work. Think of each screen on a computer as one sheet of paper. (You folks out there with giganto monitors, multiple monitors, or virtual desktops will comment that your workspace is bigger than one sheet of paper, but we're talking about the average user.) On the average desk, you can easily arrange 8 sheets of paper to work with. Writing on one, scribbling on another, and referencing the other 6 (3 open books?) is quite easy. Now, on the average 17" monitor, try reading one thing, and referencing another. The programs don't tile/cascade well while retaining their GUI (meaning the workspace-to-toolbar ratio changes).
The modern monitor is metaphorically the old one-room-schoolhouse slate board. You do something on it, erase it, then do something else. Except that it is required to be your source of information, not just your information input.
Until we get wraparound, gigantic, 300 DPI monitors with four times the area we have now, people will continue to print things out.
It is a fun film. My wife and her colleague went with me to the local independent theater that was showing Dr. Strangelove just last week. Most there had never seen the film, and the crowd of 400 was enjoying itself.
It's also an important film as it's one of those dubious "firsts" out there. First to parody the Cold War. Dr. S was done at a moment in time where everyone was building bomb shelters, children were practicing "duck and cover" under their school desks, and everyone suddenly realized that being white and American didn't mean you would be alive tomorrow. Americans don't really mind bloodshed -- so long as it isn't in their own country. The Cold War was the first time the average American realized that not just the soldiers and people in some far-away-land could die in time of conflict.
George C. Scott plays General Buck Turgidson in Dr. S. He echoes the right-wing sentiments of 30 million Americans killed as an "acceptable loss." In this moment in time, it's hard for people to remember that their government was willing to kill millions of their own.
Anyway, rent the film. It's quite funny, though you may want to take along a dictionary to look up a few names. Buck TURGIDson? Col. Bat Guano? President Merkin MUFFley? (go look up merkin)
Patenting parts of people means making money from foolish pharmaceuticals.
So, if the company owns a DNA fragment it discovered, do they then own me? If that segment is discovered to cause some disease, do I have to get permission from that company to create a cure that modifies their fragment?
Saw this, oh, ten years ago in Popular Science. The main "use" back then was finding people buried in rubble after a major event [e-quake].
Anyway, this ought to improve the dating scene. Now you can find out if they're breathing from across the room.
Quoting the article, "Police spokesman Pete Piringer said that because the attack did not succeed in getting access to McWee's server, there did not seem to be a crime committed."
Someone needs to remind Mr. Piringer, along with the various state legislatures, that other attempted crimes (rape, murder, robbery, burglary, etc), are all quite illegal.
The problem with most older hackers and geeks is that they have willingly allowed themselves to become stale. Only yesterday, I had a greying geek, who was probably hot stuff in the mainframe days, come to my NT workstation, and have difficulty navigating to the floppy drive. A month before that, it was another senior ex-geek, and she got hung up in why she couldn't rename the CD that was in my drive. (Hey, it's a CD -- it's read only.)
These aren't examples -- they're the norm. They're the median experience and skill level for new technology (meaning there's a mouse involved) for all the grey geeks I've seen.
Me? I'm 32. Old enough to have been killed in "Logan's Run", and fast approaching the artificial geek horizon.
I wish these folks would get past the myth that it's "lost revenue" if someone didn't pay for it. Multiplying the street price times the number of installed pirate copies does not equal the amount of revenue lost.
Why?
First, license discount for bulk.
Second, Company X has only Y amount of dollars. If they're forced to go legal, then they'll only buy as many as they can afford, not as many as can be installed.
Third, who ever pays street price for software?
If you're worried about piracy, do what the music companies have done, and charge what the local market will bear, not American price times exchange rate. (Music CDs in Europe range from $20 U.S. to $5 U.S. for the same CD.)
I was both jock and nerd in high school (14 years ago). Worst time of my life. I needed anti-depressants, 18 months of counseling, and strong support of my parents and my few friends to make it through without killing myself. Life has improved by magnitudes since then.
If your parents abuse you, Child Protective or Social Services steps in. If your co-workers harass you at work, The Law protects you. If some stranger harasses you, there are restraining orders, and stalking laws, and such, to use as a remedy.
But if your classmates treat you in a manner that is not acceptable in _any other facet of society_, it is called "part of the growing up process," or "all part of high school." I have never again seen the callous viciousness that permeated high school.
I do not, in any way, condone or sympathize with any violent actions. I do not condone, nor understand racism (especially because I am of mixed race).
But this national search for scapegoats must end. If the Internet and violent games cause behaviour like what has surfaced in Colorado, then how do we explain the actions of Ted Bundy and Ed Gein, whose killing sprees were far, far more sinister?