As I have watched this situation unfold, I keep thinking of something I read once. "A wise (powerful?) man keeps his friends close and his enemies closer." I tried Machiavelli, and Sun Tzu but can't quite find it. If Google is bringing them readers who will click on ads, then they are a friend and should be kept close, or in the loop. If Google is truly breaking their business model the choices are even clearer. Quit whining and lure Google into the castle, close the door and win; or just go to war and destroy Google. If the old media have not the sense to do the first and have no way to do the second, then it sounds like their power is gone. If Google is actually doing something wrong, the newspapers should be able to win in court, since they have not had a successful lawsuit, that I am aware of, then Google is not out of bounds.
I just do not understand the pathetic behavior of the old media. (And yes, my major was Bus. Adm)
Actually, if you read the rest of my posts, you would see that I specified the "Preview My Profile" tool to someone else who asked. My main proficiency is networking, and rescuing people's computers from their owner's actions and lack of planning. Being up on the latest quirk in social networking has nothing to do with my hardware/software/coding/radio protocol abilities. As a matter of fact, I spend so much time fixing other people's stuff some of my own problems are collecting dust in the office. Facebook is a small diversion for a busy geek. Part of the point of my original post is the fact that I should not have to spend a week trying to undo and reset what a "play" site has done.
I started by setting everything, under applications and privacy to "Me Only" and then used "Settings|Privacy|Manage|Preview My Profile" to see what my friends would see. That has been the biggest help. Of course some info never went up in the first place. I did not care how much facebook nagged, I never put my relationship status, or political views or several other things up.
I next changed a few settings to "Friends" I think only my Profile Picture and Add As Friend are set to Everyone. Even "Posts by Friends" is set to "Me Only." I also split my friends into 4 different lists and use the "Customize" to choose which list sees what. Long, tedious, and confusing, but hopefully I am safe from stalkers and can still have fun with my family!
I have spent the best part of the week trying to adjust my facebook profile to some level of discreteness that I am comfortable with. Have been very unhappy with the "all or nothing" choices, and have started just simply deleting content. I feel a little better, because now I am sure the settings will get some fine-tuning.
I recently got my droid, and found the Google Maps fascinating. I most certainly cannot watch the screen even in the cradle while driving, but I found it to be a great tool for trip planning. I make service calls all over my county, and checking the map before I go does help.
However, the best use I got from the device was last month on an out of state trip. I programmed in the location, got directions, studied the route, tried an alternative route to skip certain expressway construction, listened to the audio and used Google Earth to see the landmarks and destination from street level. Did *all* that before I started the trip. When I did get slightly off track once, a quick reference to the device helped me back on track quickly. Made the 850 journey as easy as the morning drive to my office.
Like all technology, these devices have their place.
To give you an example, if I run a bank, and the government says, you have to lend money to joe, and I know Joe can't afford it, and will probably foreclose, I don't just "do it and blame the government when joe forecloses", I set the interest rate on ALL my customers a little higher to ensure that when Joe forecloses I'm not bankrupt.
While that is truly good business, the problem with these bad-from-the-get-go mortgages is:
1. Banks A, B, C and D "make" 25 mortgages this week.
2. Next week all 100 of these mortgages are sold to a broker of "Mortgage Backed Securities."
3. Broker E stacks the 100 items in a neat 10 x 10 block and slice them against the grain, creating 100 new units with a little slice of each of the 100 old units in it.
4. Broker E sells these new derivatives to 100 investment banks and pension funds.
5. When 10 percent of the original mortgagees stop paying, instead of four banks having to cover a few bad loans, the damages is spread as widely as possible to create as much havoc as we have seen.
True fiscal conservatism (close to hiding the money under the mattress) is likewise too extreme, but when handling a highly volatile substance (these "neutron loans") some caution would have been a much better plan of action.
I cannot believe that I am going to say this, but, I am old enough to remember main frames. You do not want to go there. When I read about "cloud computing" I see and hear "main frames." This was incredibly not fun, not easy, very fragile, and no matter how hard the administrator worked, always inconvenient. When we were first able to have our apps and data locally we were so excited! Finally we had some control over our productivity and time. It is not just that the data is stored elsewhere, but that if any little thing goes wrong, you are cut off. Period. Down time was huge.
I use some web-based apps, including gmail, but I am always aware of how fragile the internetwork is. I do not rely on anyone else to be there for me. I back up and duplicate and print out. After a recent total loss of buildings in a natural disaster, I was able to get back up to speed with almost no loss of data (including zillions of pictures of my cats) by replacing just the hardware. I know that might sound like an argument *for* cloud computing, but it is really just the opposite. I lost a website on a remote server in the 9/11 attack and had to use the copies of files I had saved on my home computer to rebuild it. You are responsible for your data, but if the "home computer" of the future in the cloud is a dumb terminal, where will you keep the data?
Just my $.02. Thank you for listening, and have a lovely evening.
if you want to do a job...be prepared for the environment that is there. If you work in a sewer, expect it to stink. Grow some thicker skin, and just go in and do your job.
I basically agree with you. I can deal with almost anything that happens in the work place.
Except...............
decisions being made and assignments given while the dept. sycophant is standing next to my supervisor at the urinals and I am still in the server room waiting. That is unacceptable. If you want to be in charge use your, um, "guts" for something besides recreation. Stand up and face me like a man, and quit sneaking around.
Well, when I have the oil changed in my car, the shop charges me for the oil they put in. I bought it, and I use it. Then, when I return 3000 miles later, they take back the oil, charge me for the replacement new oil, and charge me "Environmental" fees to take back the old oil. They tell me that it is the law. So, what do you think?
Yes, actually we, female slashdotters, do exist. I think the idea of a portable solar light is good. Consider the purse simply a wild-hair experiment. Sort of like microwaving lobsters. (And no, I am not guilty of that either.)
I am currently in the middle of a warranty situation with HP. One of the Evo series towers went walkabout and I have been calling and asking for help since 7 June, and finally after 10 business days, they don't count weekends, the poor field technician showed up after a 4 1/2 hour drive with only one spare part because the notes on my account were not accurate. Three days later we still did not have the unit running, and this morning I am waiting for another 90 minutes before I call on my now escalated case to see when the replacement will arrive. Why am I not holding my breath? Sorry I sound cynical, but they certainly would not allow their employee to go weeks without a functional computer!
For what it's worth. In the late 1700's when Jane Austen was creating her body of work, copying and collecting excerpts from copyrighted works was a normal pasttime. In Emma, she and Harriet were "collecting and transcribing all the riddles of every sort that she could meet with, into a thin quarto of hot-pressed paper, made up by her friend, and ornamented with cyphers and trophies." (Emma, JA, page 69) The girls wrote these out by hand, and looked in published books, newspapers, and through the family library for material to use. They also asked several neighbors if they had anything original to add to the collection.
Educated people were expected to write journals and to collect in their own handwriting thoughts and experiences they had to pass down to future generations. As early as the 1200's there were family record books handed down from Father to Son and Mother to Daughter. These contained anything that each generation felt was necessary for the education, enlightenment, and entertainment of the future generations. Check out "A History of Private Life: Revelations of the Medieval World" by Georges Duby and Phillipe Aries, Chapter 5 "Emergence of the Individual." Of course, in 1350 Tuscany there were no copyright laws, but the copying and keeping for personal use any thought or recipe or technique one encountered was considered proper. More than proper, it was the requirement of the educated classes to preserve knowledge and hence civilization.
And how many of us in our.sig files have only original thoughts and quips?
Methodology: 1) Talk to females as if they are fellow human beings and not alien invaders, 2) Treat female humans as having feelings, the exact same ones you have. 3) Include female humans in your games, plans and jokes, 4)and thereby, discover that we are fun for more than one thing, and you will succeed! (Yes, this female geek is waiting for a date!):)
>Ultimately, company's that persue such restrictive terms of employment are only shooting themselves in the foot
Very true, and very sad. My father was an Electrical Engineer, and Senior Designer at a company. At his wake, his various patents were on display, and a friend commented that we would be left well off from the revenue. I had to tell him that the company owned all the patents, they just gave the engineers pretty framed copies to hang and admire. We got zilch. That was the employment agreement. The saddest part is that the company was gone 3 years later due to mismanagement. Thousands of patents they owned from the work done by their engineering staff became unprotected. And we still got zilch.
Slashdot Mirror
As I have watched this situation unfold, I keep thinking of something I read once. "A wise (powerful?) man keeps his friends close and his enemies closer." I tried Machiavelli, and Sun Tzu but can't quite find it. If Google is bringing them readers who will click on ads, then they are a friend and should be kept close, or in the loop. If Google is truly breaking their business model the choices are even clearer. Quit whining and lure Google into the castle, close the door and win; or just go to war and destroy Google. If the old media have not the sense to do the first and have no way to do the second, then it sounds like their power is gone. If Google is actually doing something wrong, the newspapers should be able to win in court, since they have not had a successful lawsuit, that I am aware of, then Google is not out of bounds.
I just do not understand the pathetic behavior of the old media. (And yes, my major was Bus. Adm)
Thank you
Always knew Santa had to have *all* the cool toys!
Actually, if you read the rest of my posts, you would see that I specified the "Preview My Profile" tool to someone else who asked. My main proficiency is networking, and rescuing people's computers from their owner's actions and lack of planning. Being up on the latest quirk in social networking has nothing to do with my hardware/software/coding/radio protocol abilities. As a matter of fact, I spend so much time fixing other people's stuff some of my own problems are collecting dust in the office. Facebook is a small diversion for a busy geek. Part of the point of my original post is the fact that I should not have to spend a week trying to undo and reset what a "play" site has done.
Nice riff on Princess Bride.
yep, you got that right.
So, you don't see anything at all? Not even a list of friends or my profile pic? Cool! I win!
I started by setting everything, under applications and privacy to "Me Only" and then used "Settings|Privacy|Manage|Preview My Profile" to see what my friends would see. That has been the biggest help. Of course some info never went up in the first place. I did not care how much facebook nagged, I never put my relationship status, or political views or several other things up.
I next changed a few settings to "Friends" I think only my Profile Picture and Add As Friend are set to Everyone. Even "Posts by Friends" is set to "Me Only." I also split my friends into 4 different lists and use the "Customize" to choose which list sees what. Long, tedious, and confusing, but hopefully I am safe from stalkers and can still have fun with my family!
Hope this helps.
that's what I meant by not insulting family and friends. it is all or nothing.
I have spent the best part of the week trying to adjust my facebook profile to some level of discreteness that I am comfortable with. Have been very unhappy with the "all or nothing" choices, and have started just simply deleting content. I feel a little better, because now I am sure the settings will get some fine-tuning.
Just for fun:
http://www.facebook.com/pertelote
And this is after I have locked down as much as I can without insulting my family and classmates.
I recently got my droid, and found the Google Maps fascinating. I most certainly cannot watch the screen even in the cradle while driving, but I found it to be a great tool for trip planning. I make service calls all over my county, and checking the map before I go does help.
However, the best use I got from the device was last month on an out of state trip. I programmed in the location, got directions, studied the route, tried an alternative route to skip certain expressway construction, listened to the audio and used Google Earth to see the landmarks and destination from street level. Did *all* that before I started the trip. When I did get slightly off track once, a quick reference to the device helped me back on track quickly. Made the 850 journey as easy as the morning drive to my office.
Like all technology, these devices have their place.
Congratulations!
While that is truly good business, the problem with these bad-from-the-get-go mortgages is:
1. Banks A, B, C and D "make" 25 mortgages this week.
2. Next week all 100 of these mortgages are sold to a broker of "Mortgage Backed Securities."
3. Broker E stacks the 100 items in a neat 10 x 10 block and slice them against the grain, creating 100 new units with a little slice of each of the 100 old units in it.
4. Broker E sells these new derivatives to 100 investment banks and pension funds.
5. When 10 percent of the original mortgagees stop paying, instead of four banks having to cover a few bad loans, the damages is spread as widely as possible to create as much havoc as we have seen.
True fiscal conservatism (close to hiding the money under the mattress) is likewise too extreme, but when handling a highly volatile substance (these "neutron loans") some caution would have been a much better plan of action.
I use some web-based apps, including gmail, but I am always aware of how fragile the internetwork is. I do not rely on anyone else to be there for me. I back up and duplicate and print out. After a recent total loss of buildings in a natural disaster, I was able to get back up to speed with almost no loss of data (including zillions of pictures of my cats) by replacing just the hardware. I know that might sound like an argument *for* cloud computing, but it is really just the opposite. I lost a website on a remote server in the 9/11 attack and had to use the copies of files I had saved on my home computer to rebuild it. You are responsible for your data, but if the "home computer" of the future in the cloud is a dumb terminal, where will you keep the data?
Just my $.02. Thank you for listening, and have a lovely evening.
I basically agree with you. I can deal with almost anything that happens in the work place.
Except...............
decisions being made and assignments given while the dept. sycophant is standing next to my supervisor at the urinals and I am still in the server room waiting. That is unacceptable. If you want to be in charge use your, um, "guts" for something besides recreation. Stand up and face me like a man, and quit sneaking around.
Thank you for your time.
A mega-mug of crushed ice filled with Diet Coke, and a doughnut, or that extra special cold pizza stashed behind something in the frig. Hello World!
Probably more than Tolkien made......
Well, when I have the oil changed in my car, the shop charges me for the oil they put in. I bought it, and I use it. Then, when I return 3000 miles later, they take back the oil, charge me for the replacement new oil, and charge me "Environmental" fees to take back the old oil. They tell me that it is the law. So, what do you think?
I just want a ringside seat with popcorn and beverage of choice!
Beauty is in the eye or mind of the beholder. :)
Yes, actually we, female slashdotters, do exist. I think the idea of a portable solar light is good. Consider the purse simply a wild-hair experiment. Sort of like microwaving lobsters. (And no, I am not guilty of that either.)
I am currently in the middle of a warranty situation with HP. One of the Evo series towers went walkabout and I have been calling and asking for help since 7 June, and finally after 10 business days, they don't count weekends, the poor field technician showed up after a 4 1/2 hour drive with only one spare part because the notes on my account were not accurate. Three days later we still did not have the unit running, and this morning I am waiting for another 90 minutes before I call on my now escalated case to see when the replacement will arrive. Why am I not holding my breath? Sorry I sound cynical, but they certainly would not allow their employee to go weeks without a functional computer!
For what it's worth. In the late 1700's when Jane Austen was creating her body of work, copying and collecting excerpts from copyrighted works was a normal pasttime. In Emma, she and Harriet were "collecting and transcribing all the riddles of every sort that she could meet with, into a thin quarto of hot-pressed paper, made up by her friend, and ornamented with cyphers and trophies." (Emma, JA, page 69) The girls wrote these out by hand, and looked in published books, newspapers, and through the family library for material to use. They also asked several neighbors if they had anything original to add to the collection.
.sig files have only original thoughts and quips?
Educated people were expected to write journals and to collect in their own handwriting thoughts and experiences they had to pass down to future generations. As early as the 1200's there were family record books handed down from Father to Son and Mother to Daughter. These contained anything that each generation felt was necessary for the education, enlightenment, and entertainment of the future generations. Check out "A History of Private Life:
Revelations of the Medieval World" by Georges Duby and Phillipe Aries, Chapter 5 "Emergence of the Individual." Of course, in 1350 Tuscany there were no copyright laws, but the copying and keeping for personal use any thought or recipe or technique one encountered was considered proper. More than proper, it was the requirement of the educated classes to preserve knowledge and hence civilization.
And how many of us in our
Methodology: :)
1) Talk to females as if they are fellow human beings and not alien invaders,
2) Treat female humans as having feelings, the exact same ones you have.
3) Include female humans in your games, plans and jokes,
4)and thereby, discover that we are fun for more than one thing, and you will succeed! (Yes, this female geek is waiting for a date!)
Well said.
That really is the main point.
He's just jealous because the voices are talking to us!
:P~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>Ultimately, company's that persue such restrictive terms of employment are only shooting themselves in the foot
Very true, and very sad. My father was an Electrical Engineer, and Senior Designer at a company. At his wake, his various patents were on display, and a friend commented that we would be left well off from the revenue. I had to tell him that the company owned all the patents, they just gave the engineers pretty framed copies to hang and admire. We got zilch. That was the employment agreement. The saddest part is that the company was gone 3 years later due to mismanagement. Thousands of patents they owned from the work done by their engineering staff became unprotected. And we still got zilch.
pertelote
http://pertelote.crosswinds.net