I didn't care for Chicago, either. I think Rich Jeni put it best: Chicago was founded by people who said "You know, I like the corruption, crowding, and pollution here in New York, but it's just not cold enough. Let's move west."
And even among the state universities, you get a lot of good schools. Berkeley is the flagship university for the University of California system and is a top school. Ditto Michigan. You also get a lot of public universities that have great programs, like engineering at Purdue, which is generally considered a top-5, if not top-3, engineering school in the US.
Another factor is that a larger percentage of people tend to attend universities, at least among countries where students and/or their families have to pay a substantial portion of their tuition/expenses. When the money for school is coming out of your own pocket, you tend to be more serious. The US has its degree factories and party schools, of course, but I don't think it's the only nation with these.
Trivia time: in the late 1800s and early 1900s a phrase common in the US was "don't spit, remember the Johnstown Flood". Try saying that today and you get the strangest looks...
I work for a company that does medical publishing. Our data is used by many medical professionals in highly-stressful, quick-paced environments. If we mess something up, it can kill people.
And if our IT staff had the same intelligence, competence, and vision as our management team, we'd kill over 10,000 people a week.
It's not in YRO because in the UK we don't have rights, enshrined in a constitutional document, as do the people in the US.
Oh... wait a minute. This just in: Neither do the people in the United States, apparently. This appears to have expired somtime between Nov 2000 and Sept 2001.
Uh, don't tell that to a taxpayer who lived here during the New Deal or a citizen with a German last name in the run up to WWI. Those rights were in the kitty a LONG time ago.
The way society makes progress is that when people have preferences or dislikes, they make them known.
No. The way society makes progress is from actions, not words.
And actually, if you look in history at those who did change societies for the better, it was never the reformer shouting at the top of his lungs. More often than not, it was the nerd/geek wondering why X happened or how to do Y better. The prototype for the person who improves lives is neither an angel being holy nor a child loudly decrying what he doesn't like; the prototype is a dog sniffing at a series of strange smells.
(With deep apologies to H.L. Mencken for what I am sure is a poor misquote of his prose.)
OS X has made some serious technical advances, but the usability of the system has seriously slid downhill from OS9. A real missed opportunity for Apple, as much as for anyone else.
Really? Wow, I have to disagree with this. I've been a Mac owner since the System 7 days and I have been programming on Unix longer than I'd care to admit, but my own experience is quite different. There are one or two things that I missed when I moved from OS 9 to OS X.1, but to give you an idea, I spent about ten seconds thinking hard of just what the heck they were. I guess I really don't miss them too much.
The other week my dad gave back an old Mac (beige G3) that I was thinking of using for games for the kids. I'd completely forgotten how primitive OS 9 is. In some ways it's amazing how far they were able to take the old operating system that first shipped in 1984, but the stretch marks were obvious.
From personal experience, I think the slide into corporate oblivion starts when the first MBAs join the company.
I can't argue with that.
An MBA is literally training on how not to be a human being. Business schools rob students of their humanity, and teach them only to worship short term profits.
You assume that there is the humanity to rob in the first place. I went to a university with a top-ten business school and while there were some intelligent people with actual personalities and senses of humor there, most were drones before they ever went into a business class. They listened to the same music, saw the same movies and tv shows, and read the same books as everyone else. One of them reading Wilde or listening to college radio or quoting Monty Python was a nine-days wonder.
... which must be why Toyota is expanding their US plants.
Last week I spoke with a recruiter about a new job opportunity. It's with a company that does "rural-sourcing", where the outsourcing is done in a lower-cost city in the US. They have offices in Oklahoma City, Indianapolis, Columbus O, etc. Apparently the cost of doing business overseas is rising, and given a few other factors, have now become high enough that rural-sourcing is becoming a really viable option.
If Apple is so great, why are they having to push all this advertising?
Uuuuhhhh..... yeah. Look, man, I'm by no means a fan of marketing, but this statement makes you either a troll, an idiot, or both. Or do you think they can just make their products, tell no one about it, and expect the world to magically just KNOW what they're doing and throw flipping great wadges of cash at the doors of 1 Infinite Loop?
Because if you really believe that, I hope you work for my employer's competitors.
until the mac (and accessories) costs as little as the pc, and
until the mac plays ALL the games that i can play on the pc, and
I don't give one stinking fart what anyone thinks of the mac. nor will i for a second consider even getting one.
And until you are willing to pay money for quality software and hardware, you aren't in Apple's target market. While Apple has had a few quality issues, like any manufacturer in any industry, overall their quality is pretty high. The hardware lasts. My old 6500, in the course of nine years of heavy use, had a Quantum hard drive fail after five years, a bearing go in a fan after six, and the Apple monitor just died. My Performa 631-CD still has all the original equipment after 11 years and still runs fine. My wife's old original iMac still runs OS X (though it's no speed demon, I'll grant you). Yes, we have upgraded since then, but by choice, not because we had to.
And just what accessories are you talking about? All Macs come with USB and Firewire ports, and I've rarely seen something . Do you mean a clunky old PS/2 keyboard? 1997 called, they want their standards back.
If you want to play games, fine, then the Mac isn't for you. I use mine for iLife, web surfing, e-mail, development, and the weekly multiplayer Neverwinter Nights on family game night. While you might be able to build a cheap box, my time is limited because of job and family; the cost of building and maintaining my own box, and keeping Windows secure and running infection-free, would cost me too much of my time.
Slashdot Mirror
Another factor is that a larger percentage of people tend to attend universities, at least among countries where students and/or their families have to pay a substantial portion of their tuition/expenses. When the money for school is coming out of your own pocket, you tend to be more serious. The US has its degree factories and party schools, of course, but I don't think it's the only nation with these.
These storms are so strong,
How strong are they?
They could actually make Al Gore move.
Thank you, slashdot! Tip your waitress! Help her back up!
Hm, was Peter Gabriel anywhere near the area?
Weapons of Flapjack Destruction.
And if our IT staff had the same intelligence, competence, and vision as our management team, we'd kill over 10,000 people a week.
Uh, don't tell that to a taxpayer who lived here during the New Deal or a citizen with a German last name in the run up to WWI. Those rights were in the kitty a LONG time ago.
No. The way society makes progress is from actions, not words.
And actually, if you look in history at those who did change societies for the better, it was never the reformer shouting at the top of his lungs. More often than not, it was the nerd/geek wondering why X happened or how to do Y better. The prototype for the person who improves lives is neither an angel being holy nor a child loudly decrying what he doesn't like; the prototype is a dog sniffing at a series of strange smells.
(With deep apologies to H.L. Mencken for what I am sure is a poor misquote of his prose.)
Um, one hour later they'll want to run it again? </OLD_JOKE>
I don't. I've seen how dumb large organizations can be.
Funny, from what I've seen, they seem to be the ones making the decisions in this corporation ...
Really? Wow, I have to disagree with this. I've been a Mac owner since the System 7 days and I have been programming on Unix longer than I'd care to admit, but my own experience is quite different. There are one or two things that I missed when I moved from OS 9 to OS X.1, but to give you an idea, I spent about ten seconds thinking hard of just what the heck they were. I guess I really don't miss them too much.
The other week my dad gave back an old Mac (beige G3) that I was thinking of using for games for the kids. I'd completely forgotten how primitive OS 9 is. In some ways it's amazing how far they were able to take the old operating system that first shipped in 1984, but the stretch marks were obvious.
I can't argue with that.
You assume that there is the humanity to rob in the first place. I went to a university with a top-ten business school and while there were some intelligent people with actual personalities and senses of humor there, most were drones before they ever went into a business class. They listened to the same music, saw the same movies and tv shows, and read the same books as everyone else. One of them reading Wilde or listening to college radio or quoting Monty Python was a nine-days wonder.
Last week I spoke with a recruiter about a new job opportunity. It's with a company that does "rural-sourcing", where the outsourcing is done in a lower-cost city in the US. They have offices in Oklahoma City, Indianapolis, Columbus O, etc. Apparently the cost of doing business overseas is rising, and given a few other factors, have now become high enough that rural-sourcing is becoming a really viable option.
Because if you really believe that, I hope you work for my employer's competitors.
And just what accessories are you talking about? All Macs come with USB and Firewire ports, and I've rarely seen something . Do you mean a clunky old PS/2 keyboard? 1997 called, they want their standards back.
If you want to play games, fine, then the Mac isn't for you. I use mine for iLife, web surfing, e-mail, development, and the weekly multiplayer Neverwinter Nights on family game night. While you might be able to build a cheap box, my time is limited because of job and family; the cost of building and maintaining my own box, and keeping Windows secure and running infection-free, would cost me too much of my time.
You learned spelling and grammar from tenured teachers, right? Because I'd say that your left is pretty stupid as well.
"That isn't cancer, Mrs. Jones, we've redefined it as a sniffle."
Yes, you need to say "Bernie Ecclestone, you and your Euroweenies got out-teched by NASCAR!"
Sorry, but I am still pretty bitter about this.
The difference is, I can decide not to attend other F1 events. How many managers and IT people are allowed to decide to get rid of Windows?