A school district of that size can save that much in a single year on their electric bill with an intelligent HVAC system.
I don't sell HVAC systems but I've seen this happen firsthand in a school district. Proper energy management programs are critical.
85% or so of a school district budget goes directly to personnel. That piece of the budget is considering operating expense. Other operating expenses? Transportation, energy, internet, phone, etc. The other piece of the budget is capital--used for buildings, equipment over a certain threshold or life expectancy. In most states there are very strict rules and amounts of money provided for both operating budgets and capital budgets. You can't co-mingle money between the two buckets--you can't pay teachers out of capital funds for instance.
So a $2M capital purchase that saves $2M in operating expenses directly impacts a district's ability to put teachers in the classroom. Then the HVAC system is a fixed asset, depreciated over the life expectancy of the building or buildings it serves and the financial impact on the budget is lessened.
As a taxpayer you may not care about this mundane detail and only want to scream about the expense. A more proper response is to scream to your state legislature about this arcane set of rules that forces school districts to make decisions like this.
Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground
on
iPad Review
·
· Score: 1
Huh?
Because Taco doesn't think Granny can use it doesn't mean she can't. So why isn't she a target audience? Because she uses Skype? Does everyone else's grandmother need a webcam? My mother (who is a grandmother) would love this in the kitchen or on the couch. She'd love to have one of these guys to read a book while Grandpa drives. Seems like the answer to Granny's needs isn't as clear-cut as it's been made up to this point.
Second, "fancy graphic designers" don't always use Flash. There's a growing movement among graphic and web designers to use something other than Flash anyway. And there are Adobe apps for this device (see Adobe Ideas).
It's not good for business because it weighs 1.5 pounds and doesn't have run multiple IM clients at the same time? Wow...that's a shot in the dark. The lack of Office may be a problem, but the first two points in your argument are insane. In my line of business this would make a perfect impromptu presentation device for a few people as well as a wonderful traveling reference library. It sure sounds like you're completely unaware that someone other than graphic designers can use an Apple product--like maybe writers, teachers, hospital employees, etc. So this is a bunk argument too.
And to claim it's bad for homes because of a lack of multiple user accounts is ludicrous. Not everyone uses multiple user accounts at home. Heck, not every home has multiple people to need multiple accounts in the first place.
Do you have a reasonable argument yet? I just don't see one. I'm not trying to be glib or demeaning, but your arguments are hollow.
Who is the target audience? Apple fans of all ilk are a primary audience but let's be even more genera: Apple wants EVERYBODY to buy one. Apple views this as a content consumption device--buy books, movies and music and watch it on this device. They don't care if you're an 90 year old bus driver or a 15 year old student. They want you to read your next book on the iPad. Play your next game on the iPad. Listen to the next great album on the iPad. This is about media consumption.
Find a better, more well-written opinion in this thread and I'll be impressed.
iPhone users have a choice as do all smartphone users. Many iPhone users selected the iPhone knowing that they'd be locked into the App Store and the rules that apply.
Those who preach the "open is better" mantra at all costs obviously don't speak for the public. For the most part, Apple's customers seem quite happy with the iPod, the iPhone and other "closed system" devices. Sadly, Tim Bray seems to have joined this crowd and has done so without critical evaluation of Android.
As you pointed out, Google needs to make advances in phone technology to win--not copy nor denigrate the choices other manufacturers have made. If they feel they have a superior alternative to RIM, Apple or WinMO then let customers speak. So far, RIM and Apple lead the pack.
The whole cash-value concept for computers or furniture almost never works. First, if each employee picks their own furniture then what happens when someone leaves the company? Does the new guy get new furniture or is he stuck with the prior set? Second, mismatched office furniture doesn't make it a better place to work--it just promotes individuality. There are other ways to help folks feel comfortable at work.
I've worked in places that avoided the cube farm. I've worked in cube farms. I've had oceanfront offices and lived life out of a briefcase. I can tell you that of the bunch, some of the best environments I've worked in had cubes. It had nothing to do with furniture and everything to do with culture.
No offense to Cory, Mark, Tim, or anyone else who switches but these guys are crusaders. Cory particularly bashes anything mainstream--rejects it because others have embraced it.
Here's why Ubuntu and any other Linux distribution is inferior to my OSX install:
Lack of cohesive or consistent user interface conventions: ever notice every Linux app looks and behaves differently? Not all OSX apps are perfect, but largely they are more consistent than Linux. Not only that, but I rarely have to install any additional libraries to make something work.
Lack of easy installation packages: yeah I hear the arguments coming. Still, I shouldn't have to search far and wide for compatible packages with all the required libraries or packages for my distribution. Better yet, I shouldn't have to compile anything!
I can still run *NIX apps I feel like playing around with. I wanted to try Ruby on Rails...so I did. Does that mean I want to compile my own Office app or tinker around trying to get a music player to work like I expect? Hell no! Experiments are one thing. Office apps are another.
Now Cory can moan all he wants about DRM and his precious EFF but iTunes works well for me. I don't mind paying $10 for an album I would otherwise pay $15 at a store to purchase. I don't mind being restricted to sharing it among 5 friends or only playing it on an iPod. I didn't by universal rights to the music. I bought it for reasonable personal use. I understood that when I bought it. I didn't buy it and expect my computer to work differently than anyone else's computer.
Contrary to popular belief, the personal decisions these pundits make really may not matter one ounce to most of us.
There's no law against outsourcing! Outsourcing isn't "evading US minimum wage" or OSHA. It's not bypassing any rules. If Apple had a sweatshop in the US where employees worked for less than minimum wage or in unsafe conditions then they'd be guilty of your accusations. Otherwise it's just emotional tripe.
It may be a poor decision for a variety of reasons but please don't make statements that simply are not true.
They're not talking about the license fee for the OS. Apple makes money when someone buys the products that rely on the OS--.MAC, software, and iPods for instance. Sure iPods work with Windows, but once hooked on the OS the user is more likely to buy into the Apple experience.
So even if someone is running a pirated copy of OSX, Apple is most likely still making dough.
Seems to be working for Apple as far as I see. Not everyone owns an iPod or buys music from the iTMS but enough people seem to like it. I like it. It's easy and convenient.
I've yet to have a need to transfer Apple's DRM'd music to another computer. If I did I'd probably just plug my iPod in and listen to it there. I don't have an innate need to give everyone my music so that's not a problem.
So you see, there are people like me--lots of them--that like the experience Apple provides. I have no *urge* to buy music from Microsoft and put it on my iPod. If I did I probably would not own an iPod anyway.
That's the point...most iPod owners aren't interested in Microsoft's offerings anyway. So why should Apple make it work? We don't care.
No sweat...just a happy customer really. It's rare these days that I buy a product that does what I expect it to do. Goodlink really delivered for me at a price I could afford.
I use Good Technologies for my mobile users and so far it's been golden. It gives us a choice of devices and carriers, provides over-the-air provisioning, and performs like a champ.
BTW, Good has licensed the intellectual property from NTP so they should be OK.
Should Microsoft actually manage to acquire RedHat they would have more than a slight problem on their hands.
First, the question quickly becomes, "What do we do with this?" Do they kill it, embrace it, let it stand on its own? Those are management questions that will take years to answer much like the way the same questions are lingering for all of their ERP acquisitions (AXAPTA, Great Plains, etc.).
Second, if they decide to integrate it, develop it or otherwise keep RedHat Linux alive they face all of the challenges of dealing with the various licenses and requirements imposed by Linux. They can't simply swipe code and keep moving. They've already used a variety of open-source code so this is a non-issue.
Finally, they would face no-less serious competition in the server market than they already face. With many other server operating systems to choose from, eliminating one will only lead to another challenger rising. Perhaps it would be IBM as suggested or Novell or the Fedora folks.
Who knows what this means if anything but I promise that it won't result in anything but heartache for the boys from Redmond.
I'm sorry to say that "Jurassic Park" was a bastardization of the book even if Michael Crichton was involved. The book posed John Hammond as much more selfish and greedy than the movie. There was a missing t-rex, aviary, raptor escape, river raft scene, Hammond's death, etc. Even the heart of the book's ending was just dead wrong in the movie.
Now that said, the film turned out very well but it might have well been called something other than "Jurassic Park." Still I prefer the book.
Deviating from a book isn't always bad...as others have pointed out.
While making an impression is important, having a "big name" degree is not as cracked up as it is made to be. Others here have suggested getting real experience in a co-op program. That is probably the most important thing to look for in a school. Schools with good partnerships can provide you with real-world experience which will open more doors.
Almost as important however is the which path within the IT world do you want to pursue. If you're looking to do more than code then finding a school with an IT department within a school of business might be helpful. If you want to specialize in graphics then look for a school with a good program involving fine arts or engineering.
So don't get downhearted about being at a so-called "second-tier" school if that school offers unique or interesting paths to follow.
I went to a small state school and my first job was at a Fortune 50 company! I've transformed that into a very good upper management job at a well-known international company in less than 10 years.
To bash something for being as partisan as yourself is quite a fantastic leap of judgment.
As a matter of fact I do read the DrudgeReport and it is not unbiased. Few organizations really are unbiased--bias is what reporting is mostly about today. In the case of the DrudgeReport it was fueled primarily by leaks from the conservative movement and as such has right-leaning tendencies. Nothing wrong with that at all--just isn't my taste.
My biases tend to make the DrudgeRETORT more entertaining and a better read. Your biases may push you toward the REPORT. So be it.
Now if you want to talk about partisan politics look no further than your own labels. It's this kind of mean-spirited debate that has fueled this most-concerning divide in our country. If you want to really discuss flip-flopping we can talk about our candidates. You say it's indecision while I say I'd rather have someone who can admit when he's wrong and made a mistake. I prefer someone who can listen to arguments and perhaps even change his opinion after a reasonable debate. I do not like a course of action that considers only one point of view and leaves no room for dissent. One candidate would have you think that there is only one answer to every question when we each know there often are many. You boil this quite complicated matter down to simple labels and name-calling. Is this what our national debate has been reduced to?
Supporting WMA isn't in Apple's best interest. Controlling the format means controlling royalties. If Apple licenses FairPlay they make money from those who use it. If Apple supports WMA then they make money only on iPods and not their intellectual capital that is FairPlay. You suggest supporting WMA will sell more iPods which I counter because WMA doesn't really help sell any music devices today. The standard is MP3 which the iPod already supports.
Before blindly jumping on this guy's bandwagon run over to BoingBoing to read about how this guy started ripping people off on eBay and newsgroups starting in 2002. You may think twice before buying a shirt or contributing to his legal defense.
While I don't think this is an appropriate use of the law, this guy is surely no angel. Terrorist? No way, but he doesn't sound like a real nice fellow.
People that already have this critter will buy it. Apple has tremendous brand loyalty and plenty of folks pick up replacements and upgrades like the new iPod. I've done so twice now.
There's something horrific that occurs here: this community tends to view itself as representative of the consumer base as a whole when in fact it is not. Granted, it is a varied group but tends to be much more technical than the average Joe. So to say that it's not going to sell because of an inflexible format may represent a portion of the Slashdot community but that is a very small portion of the world-at-large. Obviously the general population of people shopping for portable players like the iPod or they wouldn't have sold as many as they have. Slashdot readers, contrary to popular opinion, still only represent a very small piece of the global economy.
I've received lots of small portraits of past presidents and other dignitaries as payment for my services. They're always green so when I get duplicates I burn them as they make a nice starter for the fireplace.
Seriously, I've traded programming for nice original paintings.
The problem with the EFF's collective sharing proposal is that it leaves artists no choice. Their stance is that we create this system similar to radio where artists collect their checks from some organization like BMI or ASCAP. Those who do not participate in this system basically are out of luck. It offers no protection for those people--essentially you either do as they say or your hard work is fair game for everyone else.
It's not native but it works. I don't want to get into the debate about file formats but I will tell you the experience with an iPod is far superior to any other player I've tried--perhaps good enough to switch formats.
Slashdot Mirror
A school district of that size can save that much in a single year on their electric bill with an intelligent HVAC system.
I don't sell HVAC systems but I've seen this happen firsthand in a school district. Proper energy management programs are critical.
85% or so of a school district budget goes directly to personnel. That piece of the budget is considering operating expense. Other operating expenses? Transportation, energy, internet, phone, etc. The other piece of the budget is capital--used for buildings, equipment over a certain threshold or life expectancy. In most states there are very strict rules and amounts of money provided for both operating budgets and capital budgets. You can't co-mingle money between the two buckets--you can't pay teachers out of capital funds for instance.
So a $2M capital purchase that saves $2M in operating expenses directly impacts a district's ability to put teachers in the classroom. Then the HVAC system is a fixed asset, depreciated over the life expectancy of the building or buildings it serves and the financial impact on the budget is lessened.
As a taxpayer you may not care about this mundane detail and only want to scream about the expense. A more proper response is to scream to your state legislature about this arcane set of rules that forces school districts to make decisions like this.
Huh?
Because Taco doesn't think Granny can use it doesn't mean she can't. So why isn't she a target audience? Because she uses Skype? Does everyone else's grandmother need a webcam? My mother (who is a grandmother) would love this in the kitchen or on the couch. She'd love to have one of these guys to read a book while Grandpa drives. Seems like the answer to Granny's needs isn't as clear-cut as it's been made up to this point.
Second, "fancy graphic designers" don't always use Flash. There's a growing movement among graphic and web designers to use something other than Flash anyway. And there are Adobe apps for this device (see Adobe Ideas).
It's not good for business because it weighs 1.5 pounds and doesn't have run multiple IM clients at the same time? Wow...that's a shot in the dark. The lack of Office may be a problem, but the first two points in your argument are insane. In my line of business this would make a perfect impromptu presentation device for a few people as well as a wonderful traveling reference library. It sure sounds like you're completely unaware that someone other than graphic designers can use an Apple product--like maybe writers, teachers, hospital employees, etc. So this is a bunk argument too.
And to claim it's bad for homes because of a lack of multiple user accounts is ludicrous. Not everyone uses multiple user accounts at home. Heck, not every home has multiple people to need multiple accounts in the first place.
Do you have a reasonable argument yet? I just don't see one. I'm not trying to be glib or demeaning, but your arguments are hollow.
Who is the target audience? Apple fans of all ilk are a primary audience but let's be even more genera: Apple wants EVERYBODY to buy one. Apple views this as a content consumption device--buy books, movies and music and watch it on this device. They don't care if you're an 90 year old bus driver or a 15 year old student. They want you to read your next book on the iPad. Play your next game on the iPad. Listen to the next great album on the iPad. This is about media consumption.
Find a better, more well-written opinion in this thread and I'll be impressed.
iPhone users have a choice as do all smartphone users. Many iPhone users selected the iPhone knowing that they'd be locked into the App Store and the rules that apply.
Those who preach the "open is better" mantra at all costs obviously don't speak for the public. For the most part, Apple's customers seem quite happy with the iPod, the iPhone and other "closed system" devices. Sadly, Tim Bray seems to have joined this crowd and has done so without critical evaluation of Android.
As you pointed out, Google needs to make advances in phone technology to win--not copy nor denigrate the choices other manufacturers have made. If they feel they have a superior alternative to RIM, Apple or WinMO then let customers speak. So far, RIM and Apple lead the pack.
The whole cash-value concept for computers or furniture almost never works. First, if each employee picks their own furniture then what happens when someone leaves the company? Does the new guy get new furniture or is he stuck with the prior set? Second, mismatched office furniture doesn't make it a better place to work--it just promotes individuality. There are other ways to help folks feel comfortable at work.
I've worked in places that avoided the cube farm. I've worked in cube farms. I've had oceanfront offices and lived life out of a briefcase. I can tell you that of the bunch, some of the best environments I've worked in had cubes. It had nothing to do with furniture and everything to do with culture.
Here's why Ubuntu and any other Linux distribution is inferior to my OSX install:
Now Cory can moan all he wants about DRM and his precious EFF but iTunes works well for me. I don't mind paying $10 for an album I would otherwise pay $15 at a store to purchase. I don't mind being restricted to sharing it among 5 friends or only playing it on an iPod. I didn't by universal rights to the music. I bought it for reasonable personal use. I understood that when I bought it. I didn't buy it and expect my computer to work differently than anyone else's computer.
Contrary to popular belief, the personal decisions these pundits make really may not matter one ounce to most of us.
There's no law against outsourcing! Outsourcing isn't "evading US minimum wage" or OSHA. It's not bypassing any rules. If Apple had a sweatshop in the US where employees worked for less than minimum wage or in unsafe conditions then they'd be guilty of your accusations. Otherwise it's just emotional tripe.
It may be a poor decision for a variety of reasons but please don't make statements that simply are not true.
They're not talking about the license fee for the OS. Apple makes money when someone buys the products that rely on the OS--.MAC, software, and iPods for instance. Sure iPods work with Windows, but once hooked on the OS the user is more likely to buy into the Apple experience.
So even if someone is running a pirated copy of OSX, Apple is most likely still making dough.
Seems to be working for Apple as far as I see. Not everyone owns an iPod or buys music from the iTMS but enough people seem to like it. I like it. It's easy and convenient.
I've yet to have a need to transfer Apple's DRM'd music to another computer. If I did I'd probably just plug my iPod in and listen to it there. I don't have an innate need to give everyone my music so that's not a problem.
So you see, there are people like me--lots of them--that like the experience Apple provides. I have no *urge* to buy music from Microsoft and put it on my iPod. If I did I probably would not own an iPod anyway.
That's the point...most iPod owners aren't interested in Microsoft's offerings anyway. So why should Apple make it work? We don't care.
No sweat...just a happy customer really. It's rare these days that I buy a product that does what I expect it to do. Goodlink really delivered for me at a price I could afford.
I found Good to be much less expensive than Blackberry Enterprise Server overall.
Also, Good has already licensed the IP from NTP so no worries at this point on that.
I use Good Technologies for my mobile users and so far it's been golden. It gives us a choice of devices and carriers, provides over-the-air provisioning, and performs like a champ.
BTW, Good has licensed the intellectual property from NTP so they should be OK.
Should Microsoft actually manage to acquire RedHat they would have more than a slight problem on their hands.
First, the question quickly becomes, "What do we do with this?" Do they kill it, embrace it, let it stand on its own? Those are management questions that will take years to answer much like the way the same questions are lingering for all of their ERP acquisitions (AXAPTA, Great Plains, etc.).
Second, if they decide to integrate it, develop it or otherwise keep RedHat Linux alive they face all of the challenges of dealing with the various licenses and requirements imposed by Linux. They can't simply swipe code and keep moving. They've already used a variety of open-source code so this is a non-issue.
Finally, they would face no-less serious competition in the server market than they already face. With many other server operating systems to choose from, eliminating one will only lead to another challenger rising. Perhaps it would be IBM as suggested or Novell or the Fedora folks.
Who knows what this means if anything but I promise that it won't result in anything but heartache for the boys from Redmond.
I'm sorry to say that "Jurassic Park" was a bastardization of the book even if Michael Crichton was involved. The book posed John Hammond as much more selfish and greedy than the movie. There was a missing t-rex, aviary, raptor escape, river raft scene, Hammond's death, etc. Even the heart of the book's ending was just dead wrong in the movie.
Now that said, the film turned out very well but it might have well been called something other than "Jurassic Park." Still I prefer the book.
Deviating from a book isn't always bad...as others have pointed out.
I believe that's "meTunes."
While making an impression is important, having a "big name" degree is not as cracked up as it is made to be. Others here have suggested getting real experience in a co-op program. That is probably the most important thing to look for in a school. Schools with good partnerships can provide you with real-world experience which will open more doors.
Almost as important however is the which path within the IT world do you want to pursue. If you're looking to do more than code then finding a school with an IT department within a school of business might be helpful. If you want to specialize in graphics then look for a school with a good program involving fine arts or engineering.
So don't get downhearted about being at a so-called "second-tier" school if that school offers unique or interesting paths to follow.
I went to a small state school and my first job was at a Fortune 50 company! I've transformed that into a very good upper management job at a well-known international company in less than 10 years.
To bash something for being as partisan as yourself is quite a fantastic leap of judgment.
As a matter of fact I do read the DrudgeReport and it is not unbiased. Few organizations really are unbiased--bias is what reporting is mostly about today. In the case of the DrudgeReport it was fueled primarily by leaks from the conservative movement and as such has right-leaning tendencies. Nothing wrong with that at all--just isn't my taste.
My biases tend to make the DrudgeRETORT more entertaining and a better read. Your biases may push you toward the REPORT. So be it.
Now if you want to talk about partisan politics look no further than your own labels. It's this kind of mean-spirited debate that has fueled this most-concerning divide in our country. If you want to really discuss flip-flopping we can talk about our candidates. You say it's indecision while I say I'd rather have someone who can admit when he's wrong and made a mistake. I prefer someone who can listen to arguments and perhaps even change his opinion after a reasonable debate. I do not like a course of action that considers only one point of view and leaves no room for dissent. One candidate would have you think that there is only one answer to every question when we each know there often are many. You boil this quite complicated matter down to simple labels and name-calling. Is this what our national debate has been reduced to?
To be "fair and balanced" I prefer Rogers Cadenhead's Drudge Retort.
Supporting WMA isn't in Apple's best interest. Controlling the format means controlling royalties. If Apple licenses FairPlay they make money from those who use it. If Apple supports WMA then they make money only on iPods and not their intellectual capital that is FairPlay. You suggest supporting WMA will sell more iPods which I counter because WMA doesn't really help sell any music devices today. The standard is MP3 which the iPod already supports.
Damn...I didn't know it required XP. You're right it doesn't support ME or 98. I'm using Win2K and iTunes right now...dumbass.
Before blindly jumping on this guy's bandwagon run over to BoingBoing to read about how this guy started ripping people off on eBay and newsgroups starting in 2002. You may think twice before buying a shirt or contributing to his legal defense.
While I don't think this is an appropriate use of the law, this guy is surely no angel. Terrorist? No way, but he doesn't sound like a real nice fellow.
People that already have this critter will buy it. Apple has tremendous brand loyalty and plenty of folks pick up replacements and upgrades like the new iPod. I've done so twice now.
There's something horrific that occurs here: this community tends to view itself as representative of the consumer base as a whole when in fact it is not. Granted, it is a varied group but tends to be much more technical than the average Joe. So to say that it's not going to sell because of an inflexible format may represent a portion of the Slashdot community but that is a very small portion of the world-at-large. Obviously the general population of people shopping for portable players like the iPod or they wouldn't have sold as many as they have. Slashdot readers, contrary to popular opinion, still only represent a very small piece of the global economy.
I've received lots of small portraits of past presidents and other dignitaries as payment for my services. They're always green so when I get duplicates I burn them as they make a nice starter for the fireplace.
Seriously, I've traded programming for nice original paintings.
The problem with the EFF's collective sharing proposal is that it leaves artists no choice. Their stance is that we create this system similar to radio where artists collect their checks from some organization like BMI or ASCAP. Those who do not participate in this system basically are out of luck. It offers no protection for those people--essentially you either do as they say or your hard work is fair game for everyone else.
I for one find it immensely better than the efforts by fellow Trek star Leonard Nimoy. Have you guys heard The Hobbit Song?
Any hopes of a guest appearance by David Hasselhoff?
You can play Ogg files in iTunes with a plugin:
http://www.illadvised.com/~jordy/
It's not native but it works. I don't want to get into the debate about file formats but I will tell you the experience with an iPod is far superior to any other player I've tried--perhaps good enough to switch formats.