Yep. The number of people taking my little light-hearted bit seriously *is* frightening, isn't it? I ran it by my wife before posting it. She found it funny, and I trust her judgement on such things more than I trust my own.
Debbie (my wife) is not a clueless bimbo ; she's a talented artist and an adept computer user. She's also a former Baltimore police officer who enjoys playing with guns.
I wrote exclusively about what a (geek) man might want from a woman. One of the women reading this might want to write a similar piece from her point of view. (E-mail me first to make sure it doesn't get lost in the submissions bin, okay?)
But that's enough/. contention for one day. I think I'll take Debbie out for an early supper at her favorite dress-up restaurant as soon as I finish washing the breakfast dishes. She deserves it. And besides, I love her and enjoy making her happy.
and 4: don't take any of this too seriously, especially anything between me and Nitrozac. That's a silly game, nothing more. My wife often looks over my shoulder while I'm working or chatting or whatever. She works at home, right next to me.
I have no personal experience with gay relationships so I didn't get into them in this article, but from what gay friends tell me, things are pretty much the same. Just change the wording a little. Ditto for heterosexual female geeks.;)
That may have been a Mastodon. When I was a small child, back in about 1959, the father of a friend worked for Bechtel, a construction company that built a lot of air bases and radar stations (remember the DEW line?) in Alaska, Greenland, and N. Canada. They found frozen Mastodons now and then. Ed Flavin (Sr.) brought us back some meat from one after one of his trips and we each ate a tiny slice. I don't remember how it tasted, but it was cool to eat meat that old, and it obviously didn't kill me.;)
Q:"Would this have been posted had any other company than Microsoft been running the show?"
A:Yes!
Any other high-profile company that had promoted a similar competitive event this much, had made the same claims MSN did, and had then acted in the same manner, would have opened itself up to the same criticism. The word "Microsoft" in this story is not particularly relevant.
The main reason this story is here is so that other online gamemasters can learn from the mistakes described - and not repeat them.
Um, my friend and fellow Andover employee Jeff Covey lives in Mencken's old SoWeBo neighborhood and not only participates in discussion like these but now works almost full-time with scoop on fresmeat.
Come to think of it, I used to live in that neighborhood myself, and I had both a 'puter and a modem connection to the rest of the world. Sure, it's a crappy area, but it has a certain charm to it, and a lot of the people who live there are damned decent folks who simply haven't had much of a chance in this world.
I don't think things will come to a grinding halt; even during the "horrible" 1930s depression the U.S. economy only shrank by what? 30%?
What ends "consruction booms" isn't usually a stop to the economic activity that created them, but rather a flattening of the growth curve that turns previous extrapolations sour.
Note that I do not claim to know *what* phenomenon, either economic, social or technological, will end the current computer & Internet boom, just that something or other will.
All booms end. And shortly before they do, all the people doing well during them come up with many reasons why this boom is different from all previous ones, and will continue on, unlike any that have gone before. And the people who make the "this will go on forever" predictions are always wrong. Every time.
Any number of unpredictable changes, from the sudden emergence of a new religion or attractive but dangerous social philosophy to a climatic disaster, could cause the computer and Internet industries to stop growing or even to contract.
By definition, "unpredictible" events can't be predicted. The only prognostication you can sanely make about them is that there will always be one sooner or later.
Or, don't get complacent. This universe is not a kind and gentle place. It has a strong tendency to deliver major upside-the-head smacks to anyone in it who displays too much hubris.
1. Hey! I did my research! I called people at other New Media and Tech companies and they told me their suits were now Its (pronounced like the contraction "it's" in my mind, but feel free to do it your own way) too.
2. The "no current shortage of tech workers" thought was in the Linux Journal article. Hit the link. My personal feeling is that the tech industries are in the midst of a boom similar to one driven by construction, and those always end hard! "Those who don't study history are dommed to repeat it" & all that. But I'm no smarter than any other so-called pundit and I do not claim inspiration from [your favorite deity here]. I just toss out debating points, and try not to take myself too seriously.
3. I don't care much whether or not the ASME decides online editors should be allowed to join. It doesn't affect me (or you) one way or the other. I just feel a little sad for *them* is all. There are plenty of fine associations for online journalists and editors where I'd be more at home anyway.
As far as feeling ornery today, you're not alone. So am I - as you probably noticed.;)
Oops! I knew that. Sometimes when you're trying to type at the speed of thought you screw up. Thanks for noting the mistake. Correction made.
We can discuss the exact excesses of French Monarchs later; Lou the 16th may have been agreat guy, but last I heard he didn't turn Versailles into public housing and cut off funds to his horde of freeloading nobles and cut taxes on the workers or anything like that; he was just *nicer* about ripping off the peasants than his predecessors had been.
Besides, as you all probably figured out, I was thinking about the Mel Brooks pastiche, not real French kings.;-)
I've had the same thought. Do you think long-time free-lance writers who are also self-employed limo drivers are considered prime credit risks? Not exactly!
- Robin "roblimo" Miller "Low-rent trailer trash and proud of it!"
Yes, we've already had Alan Cox (check the "interviews" section read what he had to say. Great stuff!) RMS will be here before long - he's already agreed to do it. We just need to set a date. And plenty of other excellent people will be along in due course.
I (sigh) suppose we'll be forced to do a Linus interview at some point. I hesitate only because *everybody* does Linus interviews, and most of them get posted on Slashdot and we all read them. Can't we let the poor man alone to write code and have some time with his family and do whatever it is he does at Transmeta?;-)
Make sure you check our special "surprise" interview guest(s) the week after next. You will be shocked and amazed and delighted. I know I was when they offered themselves up to us. It's going to be one of the most fun, most crazy, but also most meaningful and on-topic (for Slashdot, at least) pieces we've ever done.
Who told you?;) Seriously, my mother *was* in the Army in WWII (journalist for Stars & Stripes) and she always claimed she once smoked a cigar with Gen. G.S. Patton Jr. in Sicily "to be polite" while she was interviewing him.
Now everybody moderate this into oblivion, okay?;-0
Johan, the Jane's editor, agrees with you. That's why he's soliciting comments from Slashdot readers - and is going to write a whole new article based on them that'll run alongside the original clueless piece. This is a great exercise in showing the difference between "official" thinking (which generated the original story) and the "grass roots, hands on" style of thinking common among Slashdot readers (and authors and editors too, come to think of it).
I wondered myself, then decided he/she must have meant 1.3, because OpenLinux 2.3 does a pretty decent job of detecting video cards. I almost called, but decided "Naahhh....." I'll save Andover's long distance money for more important stories.
BTW, the conclusion of my own (I think it was the first ever) "journalist has a rough time installing Linux" story was: find a local LUG and get help. I took my own advice, and not only learned a lot about Linux, but also met a bunch of great people, many of whom now work for Andover in one capacity or another.
I changed it to "years." But yes, the Internet had its 30th birthday a few weeks ago. I first logged on to a DARPAnet terminal in 1972. And even then there were jokes about how some Unix commands were anti-Christian.
Well, I'm logged on to @home right now, using Netscape Communicator 4.61 in Linux. And for my national dialup ISP I use (as I always have) Primenet/GlobalCenter, which still gives me a Unix shell and server-resident Lynx when I'm in the mood - for well under $20 per month - and the few times I've needed tech support from them over the years I've gotten smart, helpful people.
We pick from the highest-moderated questions *at the time we choose them*, which is generally between noon and 4 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday. After that, moderators can still score questions up or down, but it's too late. I think this is what you're seeing here.
When we promise a busy interview subject that we'll only ask "X" number of questions, some are going to be left out. Another factor is that these interviews are some of the longest stories we run on Slashdot, and can easily get out of hand if we don't put *some* limit on them.
Now, specifics: two out of the three questions you asked were duplicated in essence, if not in exact wording, by others, and were answered. One, about why computer books cost so much, was a good, but other questions from other people were also good.
We are getting a huge (and growing) response to these interviews. You simply need to accept the fact that not all questions are going to get passed on, and no matter which ones we (Slashdot editors) select, *someone* is going to feel left out.
- Robin
PS - my personal favorite questions don't always get forwarded, either. Such is life.
Prodigy was the first big online service to try monthly "flat rate" pricing instead of charging by the hour/minute, the first to run banner ads, the first to try what we now call e-commerce, and the first to offer a pictorial, Web-like user interface.
The Source and Compuserve (and others) were around before Prodigy, but Prodigy was the first to try marketing the idea of going online to people who weren't already computer hobbyists.
The two problems with your (yes, I know it's facetious) plan, Duncan, are 1) somebody is going to check your story with at least one or two other sources before it runs, and 2) even if the story is posted on the fly and edited "live" online in a hurry instead of behind the scenes, the same way Slashdot code is also often edited on the live site, you run a significant risk of getting crucified by other Slashdot readers over your contribution to it. This is a rough forum. It doesn't always give you what you want. Current case is a fine example. I don't think Mr. Sands got either the story or the reaction he wanted.
Slashdot Mirror
Debbie (my wife) is not a clueless bimbo ; she's a talented artist and an adept computer user. She's also a former Baltimore police officer who enjoys playing with guns.
I wrote exclusively about what a (geek) man might want from a woman. One of the women reading this might want to write a similar piece from her point of view. (E-mail me first to make sure it doesn't get lost in the submissions bin, okay?)
But that's enough /. contention for one day. I think I'll take Debbie out for an early supper at her favorite dress-up restaurant as soon as I finish washing the breakfast dishes. She deserves it. And besides, I love her and enjoy making her happy.
- Robin
A Clue: this article is listed under our "It's funny. Laugh" topic. Sure, there's truth in it, but please try not to take it too seriously.
- Robin
- Robin
- Robin
That may have been a Mastodon. When I was a small child, back in about 1959, the father of a friend worked for Bechtel, a construction company that built a lot of air bases and radar stations (remember the DEW line?) in Alaska, Greenland, and N. Canada. They found frozen Mastodons now and then. Ed Flavin (Sr.) brought us back some meat from one after one of his trips and we each ate a tiny slice. I don't remember how it tasted, but it was cool to eat meat that old, and it obviously didn't kill me. ;)
A:Yes!
Any other high-profile company that had promoted a similar competitive event this much, had made the same claims MSN did, and had then acted in the same manner, would have opened itself up to the same criticism. The word "Microsoft" in this story is not particularly relevant.
The main reason this story is here is so that other online gamemasters can learn from the mistakes described - and not repeat them.
- Robin "roblimo" Miller
Come to think of it, I used to live in that neighborhood myself, and I had both a 'puter and a modem connection to the rest of the world. Sure, it's a crappy area, but it has a certain charm to it, and a lot of the people who live there are damned decent folks who simply haven't had much of a chance in this world.
- Robin
What ends "consruction booms" isn't usually a stop to the economic activity that created them, but rather a flattening of the growth curve that turns previous extrapolations sour.
Note that I do not claim to know *what* phenomenon, either economic, social or technological, will end the current computer & Internet boom, just that something or other will.
All booms end. And shortly before they do, all the people doing well during them come up with many reasons why this boom is different from all previous ones, and will continue on, unlike any that have gone before. And the people who make the "this will go on forever" predictions are always wrong. Every time.
Any number of unpredictable changes, from the sudden emergence of a new religion or attractive but dangerous social philosophy to a climatic disaster, could cause the computer and Internet industries to stop growing or even to contract.
By definition, "unpredictible" events can't be predicted. The only prognostication you can sanely make about them is that there will always be one sooner or later.
Or, don't get complacent. This universe is not a kind and gentle place. It has a strong tendency to deliver major upside-the-head smacks to anyone in it who displays too much hubris.
- Robin
2. The "no current shortage of tech workers" thought was in the Linux Journal article. Hit the link. My personal feeling is that the tech industries are in the midst of a boom similar to one driven by construction, and those always end hard! "Those who don't study history are dommed to repeat it" & all that. But I'm no smarter than any other so-called pundit and I do not claim inspiration from [your favorite deity here]. I just toss out debating points, and try not to take myself too seriously.
3. I don't care much whether or not the ASME decides online editors should be allowed to join. It doesn't affect me (or you) one way or the other. I just feel a little sad for *them* is all. There are plenty of fine associations for online journalists and editors where I'd be more at home anyway.
As far as feeling ornery today, you're not alone. So am I - as you probably noticed. ;)
- Robin "roblimo" Miller
We can discuss the exact excesses of French Monarchs later; Lou the 16th may have been agreat guy, but last I heard he didn't turn Versailles into public housing and cut off funds to his horde of freeloading nobles and cut taxes on the workers or anything like that; he was just *nicer* about ripping off the peasants than his predecessors had been.
Besides, as you all probably figured out, I was thinking about the Mel Brooks pastiche, not real French kings. ;-)
- Robin "it's good to be the writer" Miller
- Robin "roblimo" Miller
"Low-rent trailer trash and proud of it!"
I (sigh) suppose we'll be forced to do a Linus interview at some point. I hesitate only because *everybody* does Linus interviews, and most of them get posted on Slashdot and we all read them. Can't we let the poor man alone to write code and have some time with his family and do whatever it is he does at Transmeta? ;-)
Make sure you check our special "surprise" interview guest(s) the week after next. You will be shocked and amazed and delighted. I know I was when they offered themselves up to us. It's going to be one of the most fun, most crazy, but also most meaningful and on-topic (for Slashdot, at least) pieces we've ever done.
- Robin
- Robin
Now everybody moderate this into oblivion, okay? ;-0
- robin
- Robin "roblimo" Miller
I believe *Robin Lloyd* is female, but I take issue with your characterization of Robin as a "girl's name." My wife is *not* a lesbian. ;-)
I wondered myself, then decided he/she must have meant 1.3, because OpenLinux 2.3 does a pretty decent job of detecting video cards. I almost called, but decided "Naahhh....." I'll save Andover's long distance money for more important stories.
BTW, the conclusion of my own (I think it was the first ever) "journalist has a rough time installing Linux" story was: find a local LUG and get help. I took my own advice, and not only learned a lot about Linux, but also met a bunch of great people, many of whom now work for Andover in one capacity or another.
I couldn't help it. If you'd been in my shoes, could *you* have resisted the temptation? ;-)
I changed it to "years." But yes, the Internet had its 30th birthday a few weeks ago. I first logged on to a DARPAnet terminal in 1972. And even then there were jokes about how some Unix commands were anti-Christian.
Well, I'm logged on to @home right now, using Netscape Communicator 4.61 in Linux. And for my national dialup ISP I use (as I always have) Primenet/GlobalCenter, which still gives me a Unix shell and server-resident Lynx when I'm in the mood - for well under $20 per month - and the few times I've needed tech support from them over the years I've gotten smart, helpful people.
"Was going to get" is old - from May. "Has gotten" is new; the ceremony was held Friday.
When we promise a busy interview subject that we'll only ask "X" number of questions, some are going to be left out. Another factor is that these interviews are some of the longest stories we run on Slashdot, and can easily get out of hand if we don't put *some* limit on them.
Now, specifics: two out of the three questions you asked were duplicated in essence, if not in exact wording, by others, and were answered. One, about why computer books cost so much, was a good, but other questions from other people were also good.
We are getting a huge (and growing) response to these interviews. You simply need to accept the fact that not all questions are going to get passed on, and no matter which ones we (Slashdot editors) select, *someone* is going to feel left out.
- Robin
PS - my personal favorite questions don't always get forwarded, either. Such is life.
Prodigy was the first big online service to try monthly "flat rate" pricing instead of charging by the hour/minute, the first to run banner ads, the first to try what we now call e-commerce, and the first to offer a pictorial, Web-like user interface.
The Source and Compuserve (and others) were around before Prodigy, but Prodigy was the first to try marketing the idea of going online to people who weren't already computer hobbyists.
The two problems with your (yes, I know it's facetious) plan, Duncan, are 1) somebody is going to check your story with at least one or two other sources before it runs, and 2) even if the story is posted on the fly and edited "live" online in a hurry instead of behind the scenes, the same way Slashdot code is also often edited on the live site, you run a significant risk of getting crucified by other Slashdot readers over your contribution to it. This is a rough forum. It doesn't always give you what you want. Current case is a fine example. I don't think Mr. Sands got either the story or the reaction he wanted.