Since both of the new chips are pin-compatible with the current Dragonball EZ chip, it should be possible to upgrade. However, I don't think the chip is socketed, so unless you're handy with a soldering iron, you shouldn't try it. There will almost certainly be third parties willing to do the job for you, like the ones currently offering 8 meg Palm V upgrades...
The "Heir to the Empire" series by Roger Zelazny, was quite good. Great villains, good usage of the established characters, and a bit more backgroud from the "null period" of pre-episode 4 that Lucas has staked out for himself... Several of the new "Rogue Sqaudron" books, about Wedge Antilles and Rogue Squadron, were written by Aaron Allston, one of my favorite authors.
I used to read stories like those mentioned in the article when I was younger. Most of them turned out not to be very prescient at all. The important question we need to ask ourselves is, "Why?" Why haven't we developed a society where computers and machines do everything for us? Is it cost? No, if we wanted it badly enough, cost wouldn't stand in our way. Lack of technology? God, no, we have everything we need to wire our entire lives. Why haven't we gone this route, then?
Simple. People don't want to live like that. Technology will never ever drive the life of the common person. We simply don't want it that way, and never will, despite what the doomsayers predict. We are, first and foremost, physical creatures.
So what good, then, technology? Why all the gewgaws? What can we predict about the future of technology in relation to the common person?
Simple. Technologies will be embraced by the common person only when they become simple enough to easily comprehend.
But, what about all those VCRs blinking 12:00? Well, what about them? A VCR only needs to display the correct time if it is going to be programmed, and most people don't use that function of VCRs. They just pop in a tape and hit Play or Record. Simple.
Take console games. The Sony PlayStation has sold millions of units here and in Japan. The Sega Dreamcast sold over 300,000 units the first weekend it was available. Why? Because they are no-brainers to use. Pop in a CD, turn the thing on. Simple.
Take the Pilot. A computer, yes. Infinitely programmable, but simple to use and easy to program for. Most users will get everything they want from the device out-of-the-box. If a user wants to learn how to download new apps from the web and install them, it's not difficult to do so. The Pilot's simplicity made it a success, and the designers have gone on to make the Visor, which I think is an even simpler design.
What about computers? Are they any different? Yes, because they aren't dedicated like the gadgets mentioned above. A computer can do ANYTHING at all - properly programmed. But a computer out of the box doesn't come programmed to do very much. In order for it to do what the common person wants it to do, the common person must be able to buy software for it, install that software, and learn how to use it. Bingo - orders of magnitude more complex than most other gadgets.
But a computer is worth the investment of time. And computers that are specifically designed, built and programmed to make the above procedure as simple as possible will succeed.
This is why I can't understand the Slashdotters who claim that making Linux easier would "dumb it down". "I had to spend 6 months learning how to unzip tarballs, create executables, learning to grep and awk and configure X! If I had to do it, then by God, everyone else had better, too!" They view deliberate attempts at computer simplification, like the iMac, as wimpburger computers suitable only for newbies.
And what has that attitude gotten us? I recently read a quote from someone who noted that his original 1984 Macintosh could boot up and have his email for him in seconds. That's no longer possible with todays computers, certainly not PCs. Why? Because we've piled technology after technology onto them without attempting to simplify the design in the process. The result? Computers that are difficult to use and crash often.
Computers have managed to penetrate households because they are so useful that people are willing to put up with the shortcomings. But only when these shorcomings are eliminated will computers become as ubiquitous as the TV.
Does delcaring another group "Slashdotted" use up Slashdot's action token, or is it a free action?
I personally wouldn't have any outgoing arrows on Slashdot - it doesn't directly control anything. I like the special, though, and the fact that power rises when controlled by the Network.
Steve Jackson Games also publishes a rather nifty RPG called GURPS. You can download a free, completely playable 32-page version of GURPS (called GURPS Lite) at http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/lite. And I just so happen to have some support material for GURPS Lite on my own web page at http://home.austin.rr.com/darkbox/gu rpslit.htm. Happy gaming!
I think a better way to phrase this question (so that it doesn't instigate a Gnome/KDE war) is, "When do you see Gnome getting some sort of threading capability, like that which makes the Be operating system so integrated?"
Is it really necessary to be so paranoid? We, the users, still remember the atrocities inflicted on us by Microsoft. Most of us are still suffering those atrocities.
Microsoft won its unique position because we didn't realize that putting one operating system in such a dominant position would give the company making that OS such control over how we use our computers. We know better now. I'd be more than willing to wager that once Microsoft finally falls, we won't see another operating system, API, or document format with that kind of dominance again in our lifetimes.
Should we abhor GOOD software and the companies that make it because "they might become another Microsoft"? Isn't that akin to punishing someone for something they MIGHT do, rather than what they actually have done? Talk about your chilling effect.
The BeOS is the closest thing to the perfect desktop OS going right now. The company is small, and has done everything in their power to make the OS easy to develop and program for - shy of releasing the OS source. Are you seriously saying that because they haven't done this one thing, their agenda is similar to Microsoft's?
Exactly! Linux is NOT a desktop OS right now, no matter how hard everyone tries to make it look like one! BeOS IS a desktop OS, and since it is POSIX compliant, can run a whole bunch of the command-line tools that people like about Linux! When (if ever) Linux gets it's act together as a desktop OS, I might consider switching. If and when I ever want to set up a webserver, I'll go back to Linux. Until then, BeOS is the OS that gets my programming support.
Yep - Timothy Zahn fixes this in his "Heir to the Empire" series by not only realizing Leia as a fully-trained, smart, and strong female Jedi but by also giving us another strong female character in the form of Mara Jade, a Force-trained assassin known as the Emperor's Hand. Groovy stuff. I need to read those books again.
The original script included a scene where Anakin tells Padme he will marry her someday. I'm glad Lucas cut it, as it would have been a very difficult scene to pull off for any child actor.
I personally think this is a good movie. Not a great movie, but a good movie. One worth watching, and certainly worth paying to see in the theaters.
But it does have a problem. This problem does not stem from annoying sidekicks, underdeveloped characters or child actors. The problem this movie has is that it was released way too late. Nothing in this world could possibly live up to sixteen years worth of anticipation.
I have no doubt that Episode II will end up being a much better movie than Episode I - not only because it will deal with "cooler" stuff, but because it will only have to live up to 2 1/2 year's worth of anticipation after the "disappointment" of Episode I.
If you don't have a Pilot and want to compare the original Graffiti with this input system, you can try out a Java-based demo of Graffiti at:
http://www.palm.com/products/input/index.html
My take: while this secondary system is FAST, it will take lots of memorization before you can use it without a crib sheet, and you'll never be able to use it without looking at the pad. Graffiti isn't perfect, but neither is this, the quest for the perfect pen input system continues...
Just wanted to pipe up and say that I've been very pleased with Time Warner's Road Runner service here in Austin. We called and ordered the service and were told exactly what hardware we needed to have in the computer. The technician came out on the day and at the time scheduled and quickly got us connected. Setting up email, web browsing and newsgroups was painless. My Quake2 pings are in the 60s, my wife's Ultima Online pings are in the 70s.
Now for the kicker. We recently got a hub so that we could network our two computers together and I wanted to get both computers access to the cable line. I called Road Runner sales (not support, now, SALES) and was quickly set up for an additional IP address. The salesman also quickly walked me through resetting my modem and setting up the second computer. Can you imagine that? The SALESMAN knew how to set up a second IP address.
I now have two powerful computers on a LAN that both have God's own internet connection. I have pulled 40+ meg downloads on one computer without my wife even noticing on the other. My friends (all of whom also have cable modem access) and I throw files back and forth at 500k+ per sec. It's Nirvana, people.
Important note: these two did NOT just "seek death" - if they had, they would have simply committed suicide. They sought to kill as many as they could FIRST and THEN commit suicide - and I do believe that they would have been deterred from doing so if they thought someone else at the school might be armed.
The population of Denmark was roughly 5,250,000 in 1997 (source: The Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, http://www.um.dk/). Absolutely no offense meant, but we have cities bigger than your entire country. Couple this with the fact that the police in our country have NO legal obligation to help anyone (source: Taking Aim At Gun Control, Myth Seven, http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/guns/aiming.html) and the result is a country where you are much better off finding a way to protect yourself than relying on someone else to protect you.
Imagine for just a moment that you are a seriously disturbed individual about to go over the edge. Imagine that you regularly think about acquiring an assault weapon, walking into a public place and shooting as many people as you can.
Now imagine a society where any or all of those people may or may not have weapons of their own.
Do you see my point? It is precisely BECAUSE they know that most people in the US don't carry weapons that psychos do this! They know they will be able to simply mow down helpless citizens with impunity!
You highlighted exactly the exact wrong part of this passage in the deliberate attempt to make it look like it says something it doesn't. The pertinent part of this sentence says "The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed". This means that I have the right to own and carry a weapon. It also means that I have choose to exercise that right, I have the responsibility to use it properly.
And the person who remarked that this tragedy could have been avoided if someone besides the shooters had had a gun is ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. If you want to see what happens when the average citizen doesn't have a weapon you need look no farther than this tragedy! If guns are outlawed, it doesn't mean guns will cease to exist! It WILL mean that the average citizen WON'T be able to defend himself when someone with a gun points it in his face!
Yes, EPOC and EPOC32 have been unfairly ignored by just about everybody. Check out the Psion 5 - it's got a great keyboard, it's fully functional - and it runs DOOM. No joke.
The Psion 5: http://www.psion.com/series5/index.html
DOOM on the Psion 5: http://www.palmtop.nl/encore.html
...and start thinking about it as "the OS that most consumer products run on". If the source for that OS were fully released, it would certainly (IMHO) be worthwhile to go through and fix it.
This may, in fact, be the only way to fight the inevitability of Linux. Linux can be hard to use and doesn't have that much commercial software - but it is open and free, guarenteeing that it will survive until it DOES have ease-of-use and commercial software.
Microsoft, on the other hand, has better ease of use and more commercial software than Linux, but the complexity of the OS combined with proprietary source code ensure that its popularity has peaked. If Microsoft continues their practices, they will lose market share to Linux as soon as Linux overcomes its problems. Without market share for their OS, Microsoft will eventually be reduced to writing Linux programs to survive.
But if Microsoft concedes the OS market and releases the full source to Windows, they still win - they may no longer be making money off their OS, but their OS is still the one most people use, guarenteeing them an applications market.
Oh, please don't deny yourself this experience! I plan to bathe myself in the ambience of Star Wars and go as soon as it opens. I won't be in costume myself, but checking everyone else out is at least half the fun.
Saw a really good Boba Fett (right height and everything) when I caught the premier of Star Wars Special...
Stallman has a bug up his butt for one (1) and only one reason: Linux came along before the FSF finished HURD (the GNU kernel).
Now Linux has the spotlight. Rightfully so. Linux is a kernel, something that allows you to turn on your computer without paying another company (whether it be in Redmond or wherever) to do so. Before Linux existed, the GNU project had created several useful tools (especially GCC), but in order to use them, you still had to pay a company for a Unix kernel.
Linux eliminated that problem and grabbed the spotlight Stallman assumed would go to him once HURD was finished. Now Stallman complains that GNU is not getting the proper credit. "Linux was written with GNU tools, and you use GNU tools with Linux to create a complete system, therefore GNU is the star, not Linux! You should call it GNU/Linux or Lignux, or just GNU!"
Hogwash. It's obvious that the whole reason Stallman created the FSF was for recognition - or he would not be so sore that it's all going to Linus. Linus didn't create Linux for recognition, he just wanted to be able to turn on his damn computer.
Stallman needs to grow up. He has contributed LOTS to Open Source/Free software, and for this reason I MIGHT be willing to call my system a "Linux+GNU Tools" system. But it was Linus and Linux that freed us from Redmond, et al, and no one will ever forget that.
One of the perplexing things about this review is the fact that the reviewer was expecting a baring of the soul, or some illumination of the genius Bill Gates used to become so rich and powerful.
Why is this perplexing? Because the man has no soul and no genius. He fell ass-backwards into a string of incredibly fortunate opportunities and merely had the presence of mind to act upon them. Most of Gate's success was laid at his feet with little effort upon his part. Is it any wonder that the man has no character?
He is shrewd. And perhaps a little clever. But he didn't earn much of his power. Power granted in this manner is never respected and usually lost.
Slashdot Mirror
Since both of the new chips are pin-compatible with the current Dragonball EZ chip, it should be possible to upgrade. However, I don't think the chip is socketed, so unless you're handy with a soldering iron, you shouldn't try it. There will almost certainly be third parties willing to do the job for you, like the ones currently offering 8 meg Palm V upgrades...
The "Heir to the Empire" series by Roger Zelazny, was quite good. Great villains, good usage of the established characters, and a bit more backgroud from the "null period" of pre-episode 4 that Lucas has staked out for himself... Several of the new "Rogue Sqaudron" books, about Wedge Antilles and Rogue Squadron, were written by Aaron Allston, one of my favorite authors.
I used to read stories like those mentioned in the article when I was younger. Most of them turned out not to be very prescient at all. The important question we need to ask ourselves is, "Why?" Why haven't we developed a society where computers and machines do everything for us? Is it cost? No, if we wanted it badly enough, cost wouldn't stand in our way. Lack of technology? God, no, we have everything we need to wire our entire lives. Why haven't we gone this route, then?
Simple. People don't want to live like that. Technology will never ever drive the life of the common person. We simply don't want it that way, and never will, despite what the doomsayers predict. We are, first and foremost, physical creatures.
So what good, then, technology? Why all the gewgaws? What can we predict about the future of technology in relation to the common person?
Simple. Technologies will be embraced by the common person only when they become simple enough to easily comprehend.
But, what about all those VCRs blinking 12:00? Well, what about them? A VCR only needs to display the correct time if it is going to be programmed, and most people don't use that function of VCRs. They just pop in a tape and hit Play or Record. Simple.
Take console games. The Sony PlayStation has sold millions of units here and in Japan. The Sega Dreamcast sold over 300,000 units the first weekend it was available. Why? Because they are no-brainers to use. Pop in a CD, turn the thing on. Simple.
Take the Pilot. A computer, yes. Infinitely programmable, but simple to use and easy to program for. Most users will get everything they want from the device out-of-the-box. If a user wants to learn how to download new apps from the web and install them, it's not difficult to do so. The Pilot's simplicity made it a success, and the designers have gone on to make the Visor, which I think is an even simpler design.
What about computers? Are they any different? Yes, because they aren't dedicated like the gadgets mentioned above. A computer can do ANYTHING at all - properly programmed. But a computer out of the box doesn't come programmed to do very much. In order for it to do what the common person wants it to do, the common person must be able to buy software for it, install that software, and learn how to use it. Bingo - orders of magnitude more complex than most other gadgets.
But a computer is worth the investment of time. And computers that are specifically designed, built and programmed to make the above procedure as simple as possible will succeed.
This is why I can't understand the Slashdotters who claim that making Linux easier would "dumb it down". "I had to spend 6 months learning how to unzip tarballs, create executables, learning to grep and awk and configure X! If I had to do it, then by God, everyone else had better, too!" They view deliberate attempts at computer simplification, like the iMac, as wimpburger computers suitable only for newbies.
And what has that attitude gotten us? I recently read a quote from someone who noted that his original 1984 Macintosh could boot up and have his email for him in seconds. That's no longer possible with todays computers, certainly not PCs. Why? Because we've piled technology after technology onto them without attempting to simplify the design in the process. The result? Computers that are difficult to use and crash often.
Computers have managed to penetrate households because they are so useful that people are willing to put up with the shortcomings. But only when these shorcomings are eliminated will computers become as ubiquitous as the TV.
Please moderate down to -1, Flamebait. Thank you.
Does delcaring another group "Slashdotted" use up Slashdot's action token, or is it a free action?
I personally wouldn't have any outgoing arrows on Slashdot - it doesn't directly control anything. I like the special, though, and the fact that power rises when controlled by the Network.
Steve Jackson Games also publishes a rather nifty RPG called GURPS. You can download a free, completely playable 32-page version of GURPS (called GURPS Lite) at http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/lite. And I just so happen to have some support material for GURPS Lite on my own web page at http://home.austin.rr.com/darkbox/gu rpslit.htm. Happy gaming!
I think a better way to phrase this question (so that it doesn't instigate a Gnome/KDE war) is, "When do you see Gnome getting some sort of threading capability, like that which makes the Be operating system so integrated?"
Is it really necessary to be so paranoid? We, the users, still remember the atrocities inflicted on us by Microsoft. Most of us are still suffering those atrocities.
Microsoft won its unique position because we didn't realize that putting one operating system in such a dominant position would give the company making that OS such control over how we use our computers. We know better now. I'd be more than willing to wager that once Microsoft finally falls, we won't see another operating system, API, or document format with that kind of dominance again in our lifetimes.
Should we abhor GOOD software and the companies that make it because "they might become another Microsoft"? Isn't that akin to punishing someone for something they MIGHT do, rather than what they actually have done? Talk about your chilling effect.
The BeOS is the closest thing to the perfect desktop OS going right now. The company is small, and has done everything in their power to make the OS easy to develop and program for - shy of releasing the OS source. Are you seriously saying that because they haven't done this one thing, their agenda is similar to Microsoft's?
Exactly! Linux is NOT a desktop OS right now, no matter how hard everyone tries to make it look like one! BeOS IS a desktop OS, and since it is POSIX compliant, can run a whole bunch of the command-line tools that people like about Linux! When (if ever) Linux gets it's act together as a desktop OS, I might consider switching. If and when I ever want to set up a webserver, I'll go back to Linux. Until then, BeOS is the OS that gets my programming support.
Yep - Timothy Zahn fixes this in his "Heir to the Empire" series by not only realizing Leia as a fully-trained, smart, and strong female Jedi but by also giving us another strong female character in the form of Mara Jade, a Force-trained assassin known as the Emperor's Hand. Groovy stuff. I need to read those books again.
I'll have to agree with this. We've never seen a female Jedi. I can think of no reason, save Lucas' own sexism.
The original script included a scene where Anakin tells Padme he will marry her someday. I'm glad Lucas cut it, as it would have been a very difficult scene to pull off for any child actor.
I personally think this is a good movie. Not a great movie, but a good movie. One worth watching, and certainly worth paying to see in the theaters.
But it does have a problem. This problem does not stem from annoying sidekicks, underdeveloped characters or child actors. The problem this movie has is that it was released way too late. Nothing in this world could possibly live up to sixteen years worth of anticipation.
I have no doubt that Episode II will end up being a much better movie than Episode I - not only because it will deal with "cooler" stuff, but because it will only have to live up to 2 1/2 year's worth of anticipation after the "disappointment" of Episode I.
If you don't have a Pilot and want to compare the original Graffiti with this input system, you can try out a Java-based demo of Graffiti at:
http://www.palm.com/products/input/index.html
My take: while this secondary system is FAST, it will take lots of memorization before you can use it without a crib sheet, and you'll never be able to use it without looking at the pad. Graffiti isn't perfect, but neither is this, the quest for the perfect pen input system continues...
Just wanted to pipe up and say that I've been very pleased with Time Warner's Road Runner service here in Austin. We called and ordered the service and were told exactly what hardware we needed to have in the computer. The technician came out on the day and at the time scheduled and quickly got us connected. Setting up email, web browsing and newsgroups was painless. My Quake2 pings are in the 60s, my wife's Ultima Online pings are in the 70s.
Now for the kicker. We recently got a hub so that we could network our two computers together and I wanted to get both computers access to the cable line. I called Road Runner sales (not support, now, SALES) and was quickly set up for an additional IP address. The salesman also quickly walked me through resetting my modem and setting up the second computer. Can you imagine that? The SALESMAN knew how to set up a second IP address.
I now have two powerful computers on a LAN that both have God's own internet connection. I have pulled 40+ meg downloads on one computer without my wife even noticing on the other. My friends (all of whom also have cable modem access) and I throw files back and forth at 500k+ per sec. It's Nirvana, people.
Important note: these two did NOT just "seek death" - if they had, they would have simply committed suicide. They sought to kill as many as they could FIRST and THEN commit suicide - and I do believe that they would have been deterred from doing so if they thought someone else at the school might be armed.
The population of Denmark was roughly 5,250,000 in 1997 (source: The Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, http://www.um.dk/). Absolutely no offense meant, but we have cities bigger than your entire country. Couple this with the fact that the police in our country have NO legal obligation to help anyone (source: Taking Aim At Gun Control, Myth Seven, http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/guns/aiming.html) and the result is a country where you are much better off finding a way to protect yourself than relying on someone else to protect you.
Imagine for just a moment that you are a seriously disturbed individual about to go over the edge. Imagine that you regularly think about acquiring an assault weapon, walking into a public place and shooting as many people as you can.
Now imagine a society where any or all of those people may or may not have weapons of their own.
Do you see my point? It is precisely BECAUSE they know that most people in the US don't carry weapons that psychos do this! They know they will be able to simply mow down helpless citizens with impunity!
You highlighted exactly the exact wrong part of this passage in the deliberate attempt to make it look like it says something it doesn't. The pertinent part of this sentence says "The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed". This means that I have the right to own and carry a weapon. It also means that I have choose to exercise that right, I have the responsibility to use it properly.
And the person who remarked that this tragedy could have been avoided if someone besides the shooters had had a gun is ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. If you want to see what happens when the average citizen doesn't have a weapon you need look no farther than this tragedy! If guns are outlawed, it doesn't mean guns will cease to exist! It WILL mean that the average citizen WON'T be able to defend himself when someone with a gun points it in his face!
Yes, EPOC and EPOC32 have been unfairly ignored by just about everybody. Check out the Psion 5 - it's got a great keyboard, it's fully functional - and it runs DOOM. No joke.
The Psion 5: http://www.psion.com/series5/index.html
DOOM on the Psion 5: http://www.palmtop.nl/encore.html
...and start thinking about it as "the OS that most consumer products run on". If the source for that OS were fully released, it would certainly (IMHO) be worthwhile to go through and fix it.
This may, in fact, be the only way to fight the inevitability of Linux. Linux can be hard to use and doesn't have that much commercial software - but it is open and free, guarenteeing that it will survive until it DOES have ease-of-use and commercial software.
Microsoft, on the other hand, has better ease of use and more commercial software than Linux, but the complexity of the OS combined with proprietary source code ensure that its popularity has peaked. If Microsoft continues their practices, they will lose market share to Linux as soon as Linux overcomes its problems. Without market share for their OS, Microsoft will eventually be reduced to writing Linux programs to survive.
But if Microsoft concedes the OS market and releases the full source to Windows, they still win - they may no longer be making money off their OS, but their OS is still the one most people use, guarenteeing them an applications market.
One rarely reads such carefully crafted, well-written humor. It was humor, wasn't it? God knows I laughed...
Oh, please don't deny yourself this experience! I plan to bathe myself in the ambience of Star Wars and go as soon as it opens. I won't be in costume myself, but checking everyone else out is at least half the fun.
Saw a really good Boba Fett (right height and everything) when I caught the premier of Star Wars Special...
Stallman has a bug up his butt for one (1) and only one reason: Linux came along before the FSF finished HURD (the GNU kernel).
Now Linux has the spotlight. Rightfully so. Linux is a kernel, something that allows you to turn on your computer without paying another company (whether it be in Redmond or wherever) to do so. Before Linux existed, the GNU project had created several useful tools (especially GCC), but in order to use them, you still had to pay a company for a Unix kernel.
Linux eliminated that problem and grabbed the spotlight Stallman assumed would go to him once HURD was finished. Now Stallman complains that GNU is not getting the proper credit. "Linux was written with GNU tools, and you use GNU tools with Linux to create a complete system, therefore GNU is the star, not Linux! You should call it GNU/Linux or Lignux, or just GNU!"
Hogwash. It's obvious that the whole reason Stallman created the FSF was for recognition - or he would not be so sore that it's all going to Linus. Linus didn't create Linux for recognition, he just wanted to be able to turn on his damn computer.
Stallman needs to grow up. He has contributed LOTS to Open Source/Free software, and for this reason I MIGHT be willing to call my system a "Linux+GNU Tools" system. But it was Linus and Linux that freed us from Redmond, et al, and no one will ever forget that.
Er? Those were all English words, but that sentence didn't make any sense.
One of the perplexing things about this review is the fact that the reviewer was expecting a baring of the soul, or some illumination of the genius Bill Gates used to become so rich and powerful.
Why is this perplexing? Because the man has no soul and no genius. He fell ass-backwards into a string of incredibly fortunate opportunities and merely had the presence of mind to act upon them. Most of Gate's success was laid at his feet with little effort upon his part. Is it any wonder that the man has no character?
He is shrewd. And perhaps a little clever. But he didn't earn much of his power. Power granted in this manner is never respected and usually lost.