"the "ecosystem" needed to support a high-tech company likely couldn't be found outside California"
"few Canadians in finance and management could wrap their head around the idea"
Our inventors and innovators don't get the recognition and rewards they deserve because we fear anything new, and don't embrace it until it has been proven successful someplace else. That is painfully obvious today, and judging from the article, was true thirty years ago. Take a look at the inventions and people that are being mentioned in this forum as examples of Canadian successes. The vast majority may have been concieved in Canada, but needed to go elsewhere to achieve success.
That's the reason the US is kicking the rest of the world's ass in nearly every category. The US says "Work hard, come up with something new and if other people like it, you will reap the rewards". Canada says "If you somehow manage to raise your head above everyone else, you will be rewarded with a higher tax rate, lawsuits from unions and be forced to conform to hiring policies based on skin colour, not ability". Is it any wonder our innovators leave for greener pastures?
Actually, guns are made to accelerate a small chunk of metal to very high speeds and do so repeatedly as consistently as possible, thus ensuring accuracy. In some cases (such as the MP5) they are designed to eject spent casings and load new ones as well. Killing people and deer are only two of many possible interesting uses.
I'm glad this report calls the entries 'stories' because that's exactly what they are, certainly not news. News usually has a factual component, a vital ingredient missing here. A better title would have been "25 bits of propaganda that people didn't want to listen to the first time around, but we feel a need to call attention to (because we know what's best for you)".
I think I like this one the best: #17: Clear Channel Monopoly Draws Criticism. Underreported? Ignored? Jeez - they've been hitting us over the head with this one all year. What kind of crack are these guys smoking?
Milo: (reading form the guide) "The Vanishing Liberal: A beast which once thundered across the American Scene in mighty herds. Recently hunted to near extinction. Must be an old guide. They seem to be all over the place now. They propagate like rabbits and they're harder to stamp out than cockroaches. Maybe we need to extend the season...
[rantmode] I am so sick of hearing this - and I don't even live in the States. Look - an election has a certain set of rules, which are clearly spelled out for both the candidates and the citizens. According to those rules, Gore lost and Bush won. Gore admitted as much, and stated his support for those rules in his concession speech. Face the facts. Gore lost and Bush won. You may not like the result, and you may not like the system but please find something else to whine about. This dead horse has been beaten badly enough. [/rantmode] There. I feel better now.
The recent Lord of the Rings movies has swung our interests from sci-fi to fantasy. The Star Wars and Star Trek franchises have focused our imaginations on sci-fi for the past twenty-odd years, but now we're getting bored of them. The LOTR movies come along, they're new and very well done, they tell a great story, and so we start focusing on fantasy instead. In a few years, after the LOTR hubbub has settled down, when someone comes out with a great new sci-fi movie, one that either tells a new story or re-casts an old one in a different light, we will swing back to sci-fi.
"the choice of desktop between KDE, Gnome, IceWM etc, is not one that a former windows user, even a fairly technically competent one, is going to able to make an informed choice on"
Picking your window manager or desktop environment is easy. What so hard about:
1. Picking KDE/Gnome/Enlightenment/IceWM... from the login menu 2. Clicking on the icon in the lower left corner to see what programs are available (if it's there) 3. Clicking on the icons to see what they do. 4. Trying a few right-clicks to see what happens. 5. Deciding which one you like.
IMHO a far greater problem facing new users is figuring out what software they need. Many free software projects do a terrible job of representing themselves to the user community. When a user visits a program's web site, they want to find out if that software will fit their needs. If the features and capabilities are not spelled out clearly, the user may go elsewhere, or assume that his only option is commercial software.
Incidentally, just because she didn't tell one segment of a subculture, doesn't mean she hasn't jumped. Not everyone hangs out, or even cares about, the boards you frequent.
The "peace in our time" strategy has proven ineffective time and time again. Those who refuse to learn from history are condemmed... Ah forget it.
Negotiating or placating unreasonable or fanatical people just doesn't work. That's why cops carry guns. Not making enemies is a good start, but it is foolishness for a goverment (or an individual) to trust the good graces of a fanatic with people's lives.
* For those that didn't catch the historical reference, in 1938 (?) the current prime minister of England, Neville Chaimberlain, travelled to Germany to negotiate for peace. He brokered a deal and returned to England, proclaiming that there will be 'peace in our time'. Of course, World War II started shortly after.
Ugh. Micropayments were a bad idea back in the dot-com days where they were concieved, and they're still a bad idea today. People won't visit sites where they are going to be (literally) nickel-and-dimed to death. People don't want yet another financial account to keep track of, yet another critical login to remember.
Even if one of these schemes manages to attract an appreciable following, large enough to be noticed by the credit card companies, then what? All it would take is a simple policy change to put them out of business. Maybe $50 gets unlimited sub-$5.00 transactions per month, or something like that. The whole micropayment concept is necessitated by the desire to avoid high transaction fees on credit card payments. Once the credit card companies wake up and provide a plan tailored for the smaller retailer, the entire micropayment industry disappers. Perhaps it will take a micropayment company that looks like it is on the verge of real success to do it, but as soon as they attract the attention of the big boys, they will be wiped out, pretty much overnight.
Any business that can be invalidated by a policy change by a larger, competing institution is not, in the long term, viable.
Mozilla can't patent tabbed browsing because they didn't invent it. I remember 'way back when I first started using the Internet - about the time when Andresson was leaving NCSA to start Netscape, Yahoo! had a tilde in the url, and we had to shovel the packets around by hand - by hand I tell you! - that I downloaded and tested a web browser with tabbed windows. I thought it was called Browser Shark, or something like that. Google can't seem to remember it. I thought the tabs were great and it took several years for that feature to be replicated by a surviving browser.
Yup - and when Sherron Watkins (look it up) stuck her neck out to try to warn Ken Lay, she was trying to advance her career. Criminal intent - all through the organization. Uh-huh.
Your post exposes your bias and bigotry better than anything I could ever write. You're makeing this easy.
>Corporations have no ethics or morals. Enron should illustrate that, if nothing prior did to you.
What an ignorant statement. That one ranks up there with 'blacks are lazy' and 'women are stupid'. Demonstrably untrue for anyone with two neurons to rub together.
The Enron fiasco was perpetrated by an small number of people who happened to control large sums of money. To smear the rest of the company with their dishonesty is sheer ignorance. The fact is that a large company like Enron has people of all types working for it, good and otherwise.
There are also many companies that use their resources to help charitible causes. Here are two for your consideration: http://www2.canadiantire.ca/CTengl ish/foundation.h tml http://www.timhortons.com/english/content_221 2.htm l
I'm sure you can find more if you look. So much,for the 'evil corporation' routine.
For every Slashbot complaining that ClearChannel wrecked 'their' radio station, there is about, oh a couple million (or so) people tuning in to those stations (of their own free will) and patronizing the advertisers. To remedy this horrible situation, the Slashbots propose - wait for it - more government regulation! After all - the poor, huddled masses out there can't possibly be expected to make their own decisions on what to listen to, can they?
If Micheal and his flock don't like what they hear on the radio, they can choose another channel, or better yet, start their own. If what they say is true and there indeed is a large group of dissatisfied radio listeners out there, they will tune in and the station will be economically viable. If not, they can chip in to cover the operating costs and play whatever they want.
Like that'll happen. It's a lot easier to keep posting petulant bleatings on Slashdot than to put your money where your mouth is.
Slashdot Mirror
See: flies; sugar, salt
Read the article.
"the "ecosystem" needed to support a high-tech company likely couldn't be found outside California"
"few Canadians in finance and management could wrap their head around the idea"
Our inventors and innovators don't get the recognition and rewards they deserve because we fear anything new, and don't embrace it until it has been proven successful someplace else. That is painfully obvious today, and judging from the article, was true thirty years ago. Take a look at the inventions and people that are being mentioned in this forum as examples of Canadian successes. The vast majority may have been concieved in Canada, but needed to go elsewhere to achieve success.
That's the reason the US is kicking the rest of the world's ass in nearly every category. The US says "Work hard, come up with something new and if other people like it, you will reap the rewards". Canada says "If you somehow manage to raise your head above everyone else, you will be rewarded with a higher tax rate, lawsuits from unions and be forced to conform to hiring policies based on skin colour, not ability". Is it any wonder our innovators leave for greener pastures?
Actually, guns are made to accelerate a small chunk of metal to very high speeds and do so repeatedly as consistently as possible, thus ensuring accuracy. In some cases (such as the MP5) they are designed to eject spent casings and load new ones as well. Killing people and deer are only two of many possible interesting uses.
Domain name squatter are the scum of the earth. Really. They're worse than spammers.
I think I like this one the best:
#17: Clear Channel Monopoly Draws Criticism.
Underreported? Ignored? Jeez - they've been hitting us over the head with this one all year. What kind of crack are these guys smoking?
Milo: (reading form the guide) "The Vanishing Liberal: A beast which once thundered across the American Scene in mighty herds. Recently hunted to near extinction. ...
Must be an old guide. They seem to be all over the place now. They propagate like rabbits and they're harder to stamp out than cockroaches. Maybe we need to extend the season
[rantmode]
I am so sick of hearing this - and I don't even live in the States. Look - an election has a certain set of rules, which are clearly spelled out for both the candidates and the citizens. According to those rules, Gore lost and Bush won. Gore admitted as much, and stated his support for those rules in his concession speech. Face the facts. Gore lost and Bush won. You may not like the result, and you may not like the system but please find something else to whine about. This dead horse has been beaten badly enough.
[/rantmode]
There. I feel better now.
Gatling Linux?
The recent Lord of the Rings movies has swung our interests from sci-fi to fantasy. The Star Wars and Star Trek franchises have focused our imaginations on sci-fi for the past twenty-odd years, but now we're getting bored of them. The LOTR movies come along, they're new and very well done, they tell a great story, and so we start focusing on fantasy instead. In a few years, after the LOTR hubbub has settled down, when someone comes out with a great new sci-fi movie, one that either tells a new story or re-casts an old one in a different light, we will swing back to sci-fi.
"the choice of desktop between KDE, Gnome, IceWM etc, is not one that a former windows user, even a fairly technically competent one, is going to able to make an informed choice on"
... from the login menu
Picking your window manager or desktop environment is easy. What so hard about:
1. Picking KDE/Gnome/Enlightenment/IceWM
2. Clicking on the icon in the lower left corner to see what programs are available (if it's there)
3. Clicking on the icons to see what they do.
4. Trying a few right-clicks to see what happens.
5. Deciding which one you like.
IMHO a far greater problem facing new users is figuring out what software they need. Many free software projects do a terrible job of representing themselves to the user community. When a user visits a program's web site, they want to find out if that software will fit their needs. If the features and capabilities are not spelled out clearly, the user may go elsewhere, or assume that his only option is commercial software.
Incidentally, just because she didn't tell one segment of a subculture, doesn't mean she hasn't jumped. Not everyone hangs out, or even cares about, the boards you frequent.
Negotiating or placating unreasonable or fanatical people just doesn't work. That's why cops carry guns. Not making enemies is a good start, but it is foolishness for a goverment (or an individual) to trust the good graces of a fanatic with people's lives.
* For those that didn't catch the historical reference, in 1938 (?) the current prime minister of England, Neville Chaimberlain, travelled to Germany to negotiate for peace. He brokered a deal and returned to England, proclaiming that there will be 'peace in our time'. Of course, World War II started shortly after.
Left-wing, hand-wringing hysteria in a can. Plus it saves the users the terrible bother of making up their own minds.
Ugh. Micropayments were a bad idea back in the dot-com days where they were concieved, and they're still a bad idea today. People won't visit sites where they are going to be (literally) nickel-and-dimed to death. People don't want yet another financial account to keep track of, yet another critical login to remember.
Even if one of these schemes manages to attract an appreciable following, large enough to be noticed by the credit card companies, then what? All it would take is a simple policy change to put them out of business. Maybe $50 gets unlimited sub-$5.00 transactions per month, or something like that. The whole micropayment concept is necessitated by the desire to avoid high transaction fees on credit card payments. Once the credit card companies wake up and provide a plan tailored for the smaller retailer, the entire micropayment industry disappers. Perhaps it will take a micropayment company that looks like it is on the verge of real success to do it, but as soon as they attract the attention of the big boys, they will be wiped out, pretty much overnight.
Any business that can be invalidated by a policy change by a larger, competing institution is not, in the long term, viable.
Mozilla can't patent tabbed browsing because they didn't invent it. I remember 'way back when I first started using the Internet - about the time when Andresson was leaving NCSA to start Netscape, Yahoo! had a tilde in the url, and we had to shovel the packets around by hand - by hand I tell you! - that I downloaded and tested a web browser with tabbed windows. I thought it was called Browser Shark, or something like that. Google can't seem to remember it. I thought the tabs were great and it took several years for that feature to be replicated by a surviving browser.
That says more about you than the content that you're apparently afraid of.
Evidence? How about Slashdot? Plenty of mental scarring here. ;-)
The fewer of those scumbags we have left, the better. They're just as bad as spammers, perhaps worse.
Your post exposes your bias and bigotry better than anything I could ever write. You're makeing this easy.
What an ignorant statement. That one ranks up there with 'blacks are lazy' and 'women are stupid'. Demonstrably untrue for anyone with two neurons to rub together.
The Enron fiasco was perpetrated by an small number of people who happened to control large sums of money. To smear the rest of the company with their dishonesty is sheer ignorance. The fact is that a large company like Enron has people of all types working for it, good and otherwise.
There are also many companies that use their resources to help charitible causes. Here are two for your consideration:l ish/foundation.h tml1 2.htm l
http://www2.canadiantire.ca/CTeng
http://www.timhortons.com/english/content_22
I'm sure you can find more if you look. So much ,for the 'evil corporation' routine.
If Micheal and his flock don't like what they hear on the radio, they can choose another channel, or better yet, start their own. If what they say is true and there indeed is a large group of dissatisfied radio listeners out there, they will tune in and the station will be economically viable. If not, they can chip in to cover the operating costs and play whatever they want.
Like that'll happen. It's a lot easier to keep posting petulant bleatings on Slashdot than to put your money where your mouth is.
24.
Angel.
Umm, that's about it.
A person's opinion on whether or not an industry is dead depends on that person's capacity for innovative thinking, vision and imagination.
An innovative person will see new things that have yet to be made and conclude that there is life left.
A person without imagination will not see these things and will conclude that the industry is dead.
Not sure about cool, but if you shaved yourself bald and put the barcode at the base of your skull, a lot of gamers would probably find it amusing.