Sure, it may be insensitive, but it's just good business sense. Or are you a socialist?
Bill O'Reilly, is that you? Sean? Rush?
Jesus, I hate this kind of bullshit. You're either with us or with the enemy. Either you support outsourcing or you're a commie.
So, the author of the parent post is not only a xenophobe but a socialist as well? To reject outsourcing as currently practiced is to reject capitalism in general?
Nice broad brush stroke buddy, but it doesn't fly. Your analysis of situation is based on an idealistic text book "free market" which does not exist in the real world. There are no free markets. There are trading agreements, treaties, immigration laws, manipulated currency valuations, etc. all of which are politicized, contrived and not influenced by magical "invisible hand of the market". These factors render your simplistic analysis and conclusions useless.
It's kind of funny. Back in the sixties, it was the ultra liberals and socialists who were the overly idealistic utopians. Today, it's the no-libertarians who stick their head in the sand when comes to reality. They regurgitate garbage written by the CATO institute then stand back and look at you indignantly as if you are an idiot not to see the gospel truth in their brilliant remarks. If you disagree, you're a commie.
I'm aware of all of the issues you cited. What I don't understand is what any of that has to do with the point I was trying to make. That is, I simply asserted that McDonalds and Burger King were poor examples of a "typical small business" and gave a couple other examples that I think were more representative of a typical small business. That's all. I didn't claim that my examples were proof that smaller companies were better or worse than large companies, only that characterizing McDonalds as typical small business was tenuous at best.
Perhaps you were reading too much into what I was saying.
What? No they're not. They work as excellent examples to prove your point -- in an anecdotal way -- that working for a large company is superior to working for a small company. Not that I agree you on that point, but my examples are very representative of small businesses in the US. Large franchises, regardless of the level of corporate involvement, are very poor examples of typical small businesses.
Comparing unskilled labor is rather meaningless, because neither large nor small companies pay much above the minimum wage.
Correct. But that's exactly what you did when you compared McDonalds to Google.
By the way, you may be right that the local McDonalds franchise owner gets to set wages and benefits (though I doubt it), but he damn sure doesn't set the price of a Big Mac and he pays a fixed price for his supplies. So, in effect, wages are dictated to him. It's not like he can go to a second supplier to drive down his costs so he can offer benefits that other McDonalds don't. That, among many other factors, makes running a McDonalds far different than the average small business.
Anyway, before this turns into an endless pissing match, let me say that I have worked for both large and small companies and prefer that latter. My experience with small companies does not match your characterization. I have many friends that are small business owners and they offer good salaries and benefits to their employees. I also have a number of friends who work in IT who deliberately quit working for large companies, became independent contractors and are far happier/wealthier as a result.
Burger King or McDonald's is a perfect example of a small business.
Huh? Are you serious?
Those have to be the absolute worst examples of small businesses because, well, they're not small businesses. They are local outlets of huge corporations. Pay scales, work rules and benefits are not determined by the local franchise owner. They are dictated by the corporation.
A perfect example of a small business would be a small construction contractor, a small, privately operated, tax accounting office or a family-run restaurant.
If you are going to argue that big corporations treat employees better than small businesses at least compare a real small business to a large corporation. Comparing McDonalds to Google is comparing two large corporations and therefore does not serve your argument.
Is anyone else surprised at how Flash has become the new standard for video distribution?
For ten years MS, Apple and Real have been fighting to make their proprietary streaming solutions the default for the internet. They have failed and I'm glad.
I'm no fan of Flash, but I'm sick to death of having to have all three of these media players installed. I'm sick of having to update them all time. I'm sick of browser plugins that don't work. I'm sick of content that will only work with WMP on Windows. I'm sick of having to "choose a player" when I visit a site, asking my connection speed, asking me to register for premium content and on and on.
And I'm not alone. You're average user doesn't want to and often doesn't know how to download, update and install this stuff. They don't know what number to type when it asks them about connection speed. Content providers are sick of it, too. They are inundated with constant complaints and support emails from people who can't see the video. So, the said "screw you Apple, screw you MS, screw you Real, were gonna use Flash".
And the kids love it. They type "YouTube" into Yahoo search and click the Play button on their favorite video. No fuss. No muss. Nothing to download. Instant gratification. The kids don't give two shits about the quality. It's simple and it works.
That's why Flash is the new standard in video streaming.
"In short, if there isn't a direct payoff to me, then fuck it."
100% self-centered, selfish, shortsighted and proud of it. Nice. I could deal with that if you didn't follow it with this:
"Just like you can't argue the Savior's sacrifice with an atheist, you can't use extinction to argue with us; we just don't care."
I'm guessing that the Savior you are referring to is Jesus Christ. His teachings are all about selflessness and sacrifice. Your attitude towards your fellow man and all of God's creations indicate you know nothing of his teachings.
Did you ever think that maybe your kids or your kid's kids might like to walk in a redwood forest or swim with some dolphins you selfish, shortsighted fuckwad?
By the way, who modded this stupid redneck and faux Christian up to a five anyway?
Okay. So how does one determine if there is any abuse going on? This monitoring is being done without any judicial oversight by a secret federal police agency. In other words, who, exactly, is policing the the secret federal police?
Answer: Nobody is. Therein lies the problem with your logic.
Another way to look at this would be to apply the same principle to the NSA that you have applied to the citizenry. If the NSA has demonstrable probable cause for all their surveillance, why not simply obtain a warrant as the constitution dictates? I mean, heck, if they are not doing anything illegal, they have nothing to worry about, right?
What's good for the goose is good for the gander, right?
Something where I can just plug in a jack and go? Ideally, I'd like a "hole" in my dashboard the size of my iPod where I just stick in the iPod and it plays.
There are quite a few systems and adaptors available. Here's a list:
For the record, I was referring only to personal regret, not might-keep-you-from-getting-a-job regret.
Those oh-so-sexy, just-over-the-asscrack tattoos look great on twenty year old skin. However, they are unattractive on thirty-five year old skin and downright gross on over-fifty skin. That's the type of regret I'm talking about.
Similarly, certain types of pictures of yourself that seem cool, sexy or funny as a teenager, might be a little embarrassing if they are still circulating on the internet when you are middle aged.
This has nothing to do with being closed-minded, judgmental or being a fascist. It's just the natural course of things. Your perspective changes as you age. It happens to everyone. It'll happen to you. That's why it's a bad idea to do permanent things when you are young.
Get drunk, get stoned, get naked, be irresponsible. That's what being young is all about. Just don't photograph it and put it on the internet.
In about ten years, there will be millions of regretful twenty- and thirty-somthings, particularly women. The regret will be tied to two things: pictures on MySpace and tattoos. Both are permanent. Both seem cool/sexy at eighteen and both are neither at thirty.
I'm thankful that the trends of my youth involved only bad haircuts and cheesy clothing.
For millionth time, we have someone repeating the convergence myth:
"Apple's Ipod boom can hardly be sustained unless it can head off competition from PDAs and smartphones that can pack music players along with a host a other functions."
You usually hear this argument from the executives of cell phone companies. They really want it to be true, but it's not.
The notion that everyone would prefer a single device that "does it all" rather than several devices that do one thing really well is flawed. The problem is that the elements that make for a good music player, a good cell phone, a good handheld game box or a good contact manager are different. If you try to cram them all into one device with a universal interface, the product sucks. It's like someone trying to sell you a combination toaster, microwave, coffee machine and ice cream maker. Wouldn't that be great?! No, it would suck.
For all the crap they have crammed into cell phones (email, web browsers, cameras, music players, games, etc.), how many people actually use those functions? PDA's have never gained widespread acceptance because they try to do it all and most PDA's have far better UI's than your average cell phone.
No doubt, the cell phone manufacturers will integrate music players into their phones. And, just like all other non-phone features they've built into over the past few years, they will be used once and then ignored. Quickly people will discover that their phone battery performance goes to hell if they use it as a music player. They'll discover that poorly placed, tiny navigation keys crammed next to a phone keypad make navigating to songs a nightmare. They'll give up. Then they'll go buy a dedicated mp3 player.
Thes MacBook looks wonderful and I think I will be buying one, but I find it strange that they decided to eliminate the Firewire 800 port. Firewire 800 ports are standard on the 15" and 17" G4 Powerbooks.
Does anyone want to speculate on this move? I was considering getting a Firewire 800 external hard drive for doing audio and video. On paper at least, they outperform Firewire 400 drives by a good margin. It would seem that pro users would want a Firewire 800 port on pro laptop product line.
Media event for modest product updates? No way.
on
No Video iPod Coming?
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
I have no idea what will be announced at this event, but I think it's safe to assume that Thinksecret's assertion that Apple will simply announce modest updates to it's iPod, Powerbook and Power Mac product lines is highly unlikely. Apple only orchestrates these types of highly-publicized events when they are introducing a brand new or substantially different product.
I just can't see Jobs deliberately getting the media buzz going with his cryptic little invitation and then getting on stage and saying "look, here's our new 80 GB iPod and our dual-core Power Mac...oh, and one more thing...our Powerbooks have higher resolution screens".
Something new will be announced. I'd bet against a video iPod, but this event is most assuredly not for announcing product updates.
While what you say is true, it misses the point I was trying to make. Yes, unlike many bubble-era software companies, MS's stock didn't completely crater because they have, like, billions in annual revenue ode to their virtual monopoly in PC operating systems.
I did not compare MS to companies like VA Software for a reason. My point was that MS is now what IBM was in the seventies. A dull, secure place to work where financial compensation is you salary alone. Stock options are only an incentive when a company has the potential for substantial growth. Companies like ebay, Google, Yahoo and Apple have seen substantial growth over the past few years while MS has been stagnant. So, MS employees are jumping ship.
The exodus of good employees from MS and their inability to attract top talent can be easily explained. Microsoft's stock price has been flat for the last five years.
People didn't flock to Microsoft from 1990 -2000 because it was such a wonderful place to work. They went there to get rich on stock options. Working for MS now is no different than working for GM or Dupont. The massive growth phase ended five years ago and will never return.
The reason people are leaving for Google can be explained by this graph.
In the last few weeks we have witnessed the following:
-Macs moving to Intel microprocessors.
-Roger Waters reuniting with Pink Floyd.
-Michael Dell's desire to sell OS X.
Icicles are forming in hell, pigs are flying, etc. Pick your favorite trite cliche. Personally, I'm scared. I think it's time to stock the basement with canned foods.
I made no claim the opposing party was any better. I'll say it again. I'm merely pointing out hypocrisy. You seem to be reading more into it than that and doing so in a way that reveals more about your own political sensibilities than mine. Always bad to assume...so they say.
Yeah. So what. You can say that about every situation. I mean, sure, Mussolini could rise from the grave and take over. But, then again, Mussolini never claimed to be interested in keeping government out of the citizens affairs. Those in power now routinely claim that notion as one of the basic tenets of their party. Which was the point of my post...hypocrisy. Sorry you didn't get it.
Well, thank for the lesson in basic human nature. It's all so clear to me now...;-)
However, that was not exactly the point of my snide little remark. That powerful people engage in self-serving behavior is a given. But not all consistently create policy diametrically opposed to one of the bedrock tenets of their political affiliation. The point of the remark was just to point out the bazzilionth time the party in power has shown that they are unfaithful to the principles which they claim to cherish. Hypocrisy, I think it's called.
Shoot. It sounded so much better as just a snide remark...here I had to go explain myself and make it boring.
Slashdot Mirror
Norway isn't a capilalist country, the is socialist or by american standard, communist.
What a patently absurd statement. Norway is neither a socialist nor a communist state.
Sure, it may be insensitive, but it's just good business sense. Or are you a socialist?
Bill O'Reilly, is that you? Sean? Rush?
Jesus, I hate this kind of bullshit. You're either with us or with the enemy. Either you support outsourcing or you're a commie.
So, the author of the parent post is not only a xenophobe but a socialist as well? To reject outsourcing as currently practiced is to reject capitalism in general?
Nice broad brush stroke buddy, but it doesn't fly. Your analysis of situation is based on an idealistic text book "free market" which does not exist in the real world. There are no free markets. There are trading agreements, treaties, immigration laws, manipulated currency valuations, etc. all of which are politicized, contrived and not influenced by magical "invisible hand of the market". These factors render your simplistic analysis and conclusions useless.
It's kind of funny. Back in the sixties, it was the ultra liberals and socialists who were the overly idealistic utopians. Today, it's the no-libertarians who stick their head in the sand when comes to reality. They regurgitate garbage written by the CATO institute then stand back and look at you indignantly as if you are an idiot not to see the gospel truth in their brilliant remarks. If you disagree, you're a commie.
I'm aware of all of the issues you cited. What I don't understand is what any of that has to do with the point I was trying to make. That is, I simply asserted that McDonalds and Burger King were poor examples of a "typical small business" and gave a couple other examples that I think were more representative of a typical small business. That's all. I didn't claim that my examples were proof that smaller companies were better or worse than large companies, only that characterizing McDonalds as typical small business was tenuous at best.
Perhaps you were reading too much into what I was saying.
Your other examples are rather horrible.
What? No they're not. They work as excellent examples to prove your point -- in an anecdotal way -- that working for a large company is superior to working for a small company. Not that I agree you on that point, but my examples are very representative of small businesses in the US. Large franchises, regardless of the level of corporate involvement, are very poor examples of typical small businesses.
Comparing unskilled labor is rather meaningless, because neither large nor small companies pay much above the minimum wage.
Correct. But that's exactly what you did when you compared McDonalds to Google.
By the way, you may be right that the local McDonalds franchise owner gets to set wages and benefits (though I doubt it), but he damn sure doesn't set the price of a Big Mac and he pays a fixed price for his supplies. So, in effect, wages are dictated to him. It's not like he can go to a second supplier to drive down his costs so he can offer benefits that other McDonalds don't. That, among many other factors, makes running a McDonalds far different than the average small business.
Anyway, before this turns into an endless pissing match, let me say that I have worked for both large and small companies and prefer that latter. My experience with small companies does not match your characterization. I have many friends that are small business owners and they offer good salaries and benefits to their employees. I also have a number of friends who work in IT who deliberately quit working for large companies, became independent contractors and are far happier/wealthier as a result.
Burger King or McDonald's is a perfect example of a small business.
Huh? Are you serious?
Those have to be the absolute worst examples of small businesses because, well, they're not small businesses. They are local outlets of huge corporations. Pay scales, work rules and benefits are not determined by the local franchise owner. They are dictated by the corporation.
A perfect example of a small business would be a small construction contractor, a small, privately operated, tax accounting office or a family-run restaurant.
If you are going to argue that big corporations treat employees better than small businesses at least compare a real small business to a large corporation. Comparing McDonalds to Google is comparing two large corporations and therefore does not serve your argument.
Is anyone else surprised at how Flash has become the new standard for video distribution?
For ten years MS, Apple and Real have been fighting to make their proprietary streaming solutions the default for the internet. They have failed and I'm glad.
I'm no fan of Flash, but I'm sick to death of having to have all three of these media players installed. I'm sick of having to update them all time. I'm sick of browser plugins that don't work. I'm sick of content that will only work with WMP on Windows. I'm sick of having to "choose a player" when I visit a site, asking my connection speed, asking me to register for premium content and on and on.
And I'm not alone. You're average user doesn't want to and often doesn't know how to download, update and install this stuff. They don't know what number to type when it asks them about connection speed. Content providers are sick of it, too. They are inundated with constant complaints and support emails from people who can't see the video. So, the said "screw you Apple, screw you MS, screw you Real, were gonna use Flash".
And the kids love it. They type "YouTube" into Yahoo search and click the Play button on their favorite video. No fuss. No muss. Nothing to download. Instant gratification. The kids don't give two shits about the quality. It's simple and it works.
That's why Flash is the new standard in video streaming.
"In short, if there isn't a direct payoff to me, then fuck it."
100% self-centered, selfish, shortsighted and proud of it. Nice. I could deal with that if you didn't follow it with this:
"Just like you can't argue the Savior's sacrifice with an atheist, you can't use extinction to argue with us; we just don't care."
I'm guessing that the Savior you are referring to is Jesus Christ. His teachings are all about selflessness and sacrifice. Your attitude towards your fellow man and all of God's creations indicate you know nothing of his teachings.
Did you ever think that maybe your kids or your kid's kids might like to walk in a redwood forest or swim with some dolphins you selfish, shortsighted fuckwad?
By the way, who modded this stupid redneck and faux Christian up to a five anyway?
Okay. So how does one determine if there is any abuse going on? This monitoring is being done without any judicial oversight by a secret federal police agency. In other words, who, exactly, is policing the the secret federal police?
Answer: Nobody is. Therein lies the problem with your logic.
Another way to look at this would be to apply the same principle to the NSA that you have applied to the citizenry. If the NSA has demonstrable probable cause for all their surveillance, why not simply obtain a warrant as the constitution dictates? I mean, heck, if they are not doing anything illegal, they have nothing to worry about, right?
What's good for the goose is good for the gander, right?
Something where I can just plug in a jack and go? Ideally, I'd like a "hole" in my dashboard the size of my iPod where I just stick in the iPod and it plays.
r ies.html
There are quite a few systems and adaptors available. Here's a list:
http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/ipodyourcar/accesso
For the record, I was referring only to personal regret, not might-keep-you-from-getting-a-job regret.
Those oh-so-sexy, just-over-the-asscrack tattoos look great on twenty year old skin. However, they are unattractive on thirty-five year old skin and downright gross on over-fifty skin. That's the type of regret I'm talking about.
Similarly, certain types of pictures of yourself that seem cool, sexy or funny as a teenager, might be a little embarrassing if they are still circulating on the internet when you are middle aged.
This has nothing to do with being closed-minded, judgmental or being a fascist. It's just the natural course of things. Your perspective changes as you age. It happens to everyone. It'll happen to you. That's why it's a bad idea to do permanent things when you are young.
Get drunk, get stoned, get naked, be irresponsible. That's what being young is all about. Just don't photograph it and put it on the internet.
In about ten years, there will be millions of regretful twenty- and thirty-somthings, particularly women. The regret will be tied to two things: pictures on MySpace and tattoos. Both are permanent. Both seem cool/sexy at eighteen and both are neither at thirty.
I'm thankful that the trends of my youth involved only bad haircuts and cheesy clothing.
Here's how to control iTunes from the taskbar:
-In iTunes, select Edit->Preferences
-Click on the Advanced tab.
-Check the box for "Show iTunes icon in system tray"
Once enabled, right-clicking the icon in system tray gives you access to the iTunes controls.
It works for me in Windows 2000. I'm using it right now.
The Dude abides.
For millionth time, we have someone repeating the convergence myth:
"Apple's Ipod boom can hardly be sustained unless it can head off competition from PDAs and smartphones that can pack music players along with a host a other functions."
You usually hear this argument from the executives of cell phone companies. They really want it to be true, but it's not.
The notion that everyone would prefer a single device that "does it all" rather than several devices that do one thing really well is flawed. The problem is that the elements that make for a good music player, a good cell phone, a good handheld game box or a good contact manager are different. If you try to cram them all into one device with a universal interface, the product sucks. It's like someone trying to sell you a combination toaster, microwave, coffee machine and ice cream maker. Wouldn't that be great?! No, it would suck.
For all the crap they have crammed into cell phones (email, web browsers, cameras, music players, games, etc.), how many people actually use those functions? PDA's have never gained widespread acceptance because they try to do it all and most PDA's have far better UI's than your average cell phone.
No doubt, the cell phone manufacturers will integrate music players into their phones. And, just like all other non-phone features they've built into over the past few years, they will be used once and then ignored. Quickly people will discover that their phone battery performance goes to hell if they use it as a music player. They'll discover that poorly placed, tiny navigation keys crammed next to a phone keypad make navigating to songs a nightmare. They'll give up. Then they'll go buy a dedicated mp3 player.
Thes MacBook looks wonderful and I think I will be buying one, but I find it strange that they decided to eliminate the Firewire 800 port. Firewire 800 ports are standard on the 15" and 17" G4 Powerbooks.
Does anyone want to speculate on this move? I was considering getting a Firewire 800 external hard drive for doing audio and video. On paper at least, they outperform Firewire 400 drives by a good margin. It would seem that pro users would want a Firewire 800 port on pro laptop product line.
I have no idea what will be announced at this event, but I think it's safe to assume that Thinksecret's assertion that Apple will simply announce modest updates to it's iPod, Powerbook and Power Mac product lines is highly unlikely. Apple only orchestrates these types of highly-publicized events when they are introducing a brand new or substantially different product.
I just can't see Jobs deliberately getting the media buzz going with his cryptic little invitation and then getting on stage and saying "look, here's our new 80 GB iPod and our dual-core Power Mac...oh, and one more thing...our Powerbooks have higher resolution screens".
Something new will be announced. I'd bet against a video iPod, but this event is most assuredly not for announcing product updates.
While what you say is true, it misses the point I was trying to make. Yes, unlike many bubble-era software companies, MS's stock didn't completely crater because they have, like, billions in annual revenue ode to their virtual monopoly in PC operating systems.
I did not compare MS to companies like VA Software for a reason. My point was that MS is now what IBM was in the seventies. A dull, secure place to work where financial compensation is you salary alone. Stock options are only an incentive when a company has the potential for substantial growth. Companies like ebay, Google, Yahoo and Apple have seen substantial growth over the past few years while MS has been stagnant. So, MS employees are jumping ship.
The exodus of good employees from MS and their inability to attract top talent can be easily explained. Microsoft's stock price has been flat for the last five years.
People didn't flock to Microsoft from 1990 -2000 because it was such a wonderful place to work. They went there to get rich on stock options. Working for MS now is no different than working for GM or Dupont. The massive growth phase ended five years ago and will never return.
The reason people are leaving for Google can be explained by this
graph.
In the last few weeks we have witnessed the following:
-Macs moving to Intel microprocessors.
-Roger Waters reuniting with Pink Floyd.
-Michael Dell's desire to sell OS X.
Icicles are forming in hell, pigs are flying, etc. Pick your favorite trite cliche. Personally, I'm scared. I think it's time to stock the basement with canned foods.
I made no claim the opposing party was any better. I'll say it again. I'm merely pointing out hypocrisy. You seem to be reading more into it than that and doing so in a way that reveals more about your own political sensibilities than mine. Always bad to assume...so they say.
Cheers.
It could be worse.
Yeah. So what. You can say that about every situation. I mean, sure, Mussolini could rise from the grave and take over. But, then again, Mussolini never claimed to be interested in keeping government out of the citizens affairs. Those in power now routinely claim that notion as one of the basic tenets of their party. Which was the point of my post...hypocrisy. Sorry you didn't get it.
It's really that simple.
;-)
Well, thank for the lesson in basic human nature. It's all so clear to me now...
However, that was not exactly the point of my snide little remark. That powerful people engage in self-serving behavior is a given. But not all consistently create policy diametrically opposed to one of the bedrock tenets of their political affiliation. The point of the remark was just to point out the bazzilionth time the party in power has shown that they are unfaithful to the principles which they claim to cherish. Hypocrisy, I think it's called.
Shoot. It sounded so much better as just a snide remark...here I had to go explain myself and make it boring.
I'm so glad that the "keep-the-government-out-of-people's-lives" party is in power.
Interesting. I did not know that about the copyright laws. I definitely noticed the way he got political after losing the anti-trust battle.