"'We're able to view just everything that they do,' Bill Diggins, U.S. chief for the Verizon Wireless marketing initiative, told an industry conference earlier this year.
All I have to say is that guy better have a huge jock strap. The size of his balls must be staggering to make a comment like that.
Windows is not intended to be used in life-critical situations such as medical hardware or nuclear reactor control.
I totally agree. However, this, to me, is the main question: Why in the FUCK would these devices be connected in ANY way, shape, or form, to the INTERNET in the first place??!?!? That's just asking for it, no way around it. It's stupid, careless, and shouldn't be allowed under any circumstance (barring VPN via a WIRE and ONLY when absolutely necessary). We're dealing with people's health and lives here, and this is a totally preventable situation.
I can understand the issue with USB drives, but there need to be policies in place that prevent the use of them unless absolutely required.
Admittedly I tend to only read the tech related news sites but they all picked up on the same thing....
Windows 8 on a desktop just doesn't make any sense.
Yes, it was definitely taken out of context. He was only referring to using the Metro interface with a mouse, and I totally agree with him. It is really, REALLY bad trying to deal with Metro when you can't use a touchscreen.
First of all, I haven't kept up on EV technology as much as I probably should (ergo, please bear that in mind if I write something completely stupid...and please correct me). That said, to me, it doesn't seem that the connector should even be the real issue. What I think would be more meaningful would be for auto manufacturers to decide on some kind of standard to tell the charger how it wants its electricity. What comes to mind is possibly some kind of autonegotion mechansim between the charger and vehicle to determine voltage/amps/phase or whatever (I'm certainly no EE). The plug itself would seem to be less important, and, as someone mentioned below, various adapters could even be used (I'd think manufacturers would WANT a connector standard...at least if they had any foresight whatsoever). I think this way manufacturers could use whatever batteries they want (and even use totally different battery technologies in future vehicles as they become available)...just be able to talk to the "pump" to tell it what the specs are in regard to charging any given vehicle. Yeah, the stations would cost a bit more with the additional electronic components, but if EVs took off, the price drop for these devices would be insane (think of the number of gas (petrol) pumps you pass every day). Economies of scale would kick in almost immediately. And I really think some kind of auto-negotiating standard would be a huge step in the right direction, because the the startup costs of charging stations will be high (at first, anyway), but I think more station owners would be willing to make the investment if they knew they wouldn't have to rip and replace when the next generation of EV battery technology came along. The whole plug type thing just seems silly...the cost of dealing with varying plugs would seem to be absolutely minuscule compared to everything else. But, leave it to world governments to create issues out of the little stuff while ignoring the bigger issues (and lets be honest, many/most politicians only understand technology as far as their mobile phones and accompanying wall warts will allow).
Here's my workaround to the market not completing downloads and not installing them even if they appear to have successfully downloaded.
1) back all the way out of the Market
2) Go to Settings --> Applications --> Manage Applications
3) Click on the "All" tab at the top
4) Wait a couple of minutes, and then find "Market" in the list (list isn't always in order, so it can be hard to find if you have a lot of apps)
5) Click "Market"
6) If the "Force Stop" button isn't grayed, click it to force the Market app to end
7) Click the "Clear Data" button
8) Re-launch the Market app, click "Agree", and try it again.
I know it's stupid, but it does work about 90% of the time. If not, rinse and repeat.
He's just bitching because the people who pay 90% of the taxes get a few breaks here and there.
Actually, he was using it as a metaphor, but that's beside the point.
Apparently, if you're part of the small percentage of the population who actually keep the country running, you shouldn't get any special treatment. That's his idea of "fairness".
And this is the real issue of all of this...the word "fairness". What exactly does it mean to be fair? The fact of the matter is that while there are indeed many lazy people out there, the real point is that people are NOT equal. This is caused by a variety of reasons, but I think we can agree that a few people were born with certain abilities that are more "valuable" in the market. But, that does not mean they are harder workers or even necessarily deserve to be paid more. They are lucky to be able to use their innate qualities and intellect for monetary gain that the average person is unable to do (yes...unable is the correct word). As far as I'm concerned, the mentally handicapped man who works in our packing department works just as hard (if not harder) than our company president. Is it fair that he makes barely over minimum wage while the president has a huge house and five cars? No, it's not fair, but it's reality, and this is exactly why people who are able to earn higher incomes should help to pay for the welfare of those less fortunate, both legally and ethically.
Like I said, lazy people do take advantage of the system. But, having nothing to help the poor is morally wrong. Any system will have its flaws and we should try to mitigate them. But in this case, the flaws do not outweigh the necessity of welfare...not by a long shot.
Just an FYI...From the Mozilla website:
"The Mozilla Foundation is a California non-profit corporation exempt from federal income taxation under IRC 501(c)3. Donations are tax deductible for U.S. citizens. For donors outside of the United States, please consult with your tax advisor about whether your donation will be tax deductible."
This is why companies need to fight piracy. If not, they will lose the ability to sell any product.
I'd argue this. Competition is what scares these companies to death (and primarily for them, potential competition). Piracy might be one piece of the problem for them, but as far as I see it, they have a much larger issue: value. People will pay for something if its value is greater than or equal to the price. Think of Blu-Ray. To many, the value of having a copy of a movie was not the $25-$35+ the movie companies were charging for them at first. But, as is usually the case, the price came down over time, and now people are buying them for $15-20, or maybe $25 for a new release. Also, players are selling much better. It's true that those did come down in price as well, and it's hard to determine if the price of players dropping caused the price of the media to drop, or vice versa. However, I have talked to a lot of people about this, and from what I have been told, and I do agree, is that people couldn't justify paying an extra $10-20 per movie just to have the hi-def. In other words, they would have bought the player if the discs cost about the same as DVDs. So, basically, prices went down, sales went up, and value stayed the same.
Software, however has a completely different problem, even though it still stems directly from value. 10-15 years ago, if you wanted to do high end photo editing, Photoshop was the only real game in town. As time progressed, so did technology, and programmers were able to write photo editors with much more ease, and distribution of software matured. No longer did someone with a large program have to pay a company to do CD stamping, box design, etc. Now we even have quite good OSS to do many of the same things (GIMP, obviously). So, now the value of any particular piece of software is declining due to competition, not to piracy. Professional photographers, I promise you, will still shell-out for a legitimately licensed copy of Photoshop. If they don't need something quite like that but still want support, maybe they buy Paint Shop Pro or the like. GIMP is for those who want the freebie (don't get me wrong--if it was a closed product, it would sell at a decent price, assuming it is as well known as it is now).
So, I guess I just see it as simple economics, and piracy is nothing more than a barely discernible blip on the radar. What has changed the game is competition, but some companies just want to whine about pirates who cost them practically nothing in lost sales (maybe increase sales in a try-before-you-buy way). They are trying to scare the competition out of the marketplace in order to keep the value of their products high, because once you have multiple options for doing the same kind of thing, the value of all programs in the group begins to fall off a cliff do to competition. Seems pretty simple to me. Play the piracy card, scare away new entrants to the market, keep the value of your stuff high, and you have it made.
If you leave your AP unsecured like a dumbass you get EVERYTHING you deserve.
This isn't about open APs...this is about SSID broadcast traffic only. You can have a rather secure wireless network and still have it broadcasting its name.
Well, in a way, Vista was absolutely fantastic for Microsoft. It's like having a few million people pay you for the "privilege" of alpha testing your code, telling you it sucks, and then letting you know what they REALLY want. That's brilliant! Plus, after you've pissed so many people off and have tons of people waiting/begging/pleading for an upgrade (hey, being a monopoly has advantages, right?), all you have to do is provide a product that is only slightly better than XP, and the masses will worship you like you like a god, forking out large sums for this miracle you have bestowed upon them. They had no where to go but up! And, to be fair, Windows 7 is probably the best desktop OS Microsoft has produced. All of this adds up to a HUGE paycheck for the sweaty bald guy, and with many more to come.
Thank you for the link...it was an insightful read. I guess I can see both sides of the issue. Yes, robotic missions are more efficient economically, logistically, etc. If nothing else though, I do think we need to at least maintain the ability to do manned-flights. I go back to the Hubble thing...it's had the life it has had due to being serviced by astronauts. Could the work have been done via remote controlled robot? Possibly, but then again maybe not...it's hard to say. Ultimately, as long as the research, science, and discoveries continue to accelerate, whether the data is collected by man or machine is really irrelevant. Heck, we know how use the retiring shuttles, so why not keep them around for occasional use? There is nothing terribly wrong with them other than the cost of launching the things, but this has to be cheaper than designing and building a new ship from the ground up. It's just too bad we pumped so much cash into something that will probably never get anywhere near a launch pad.
Well, personally, I'm thrilled they're trying to keep NASA alive. We know so many things today--that we really take for granted--that are a direct result of the space program. Just consider the wealth of knowledge and understanding we've gained through Hubble alone.
Don't get me wrong...the commercialization of space is important, and a great deal of good science and useful applications are sure to come from the private sector. I just think the government should help do some of the necessary "heavy lifting" due to the huge cost of space travel. Sorry, but no private company(s) I can think of is going to be able to pump a few billion dollars a year into an exploratory space program, while, for the government, it's not that much of a problem. Besides, would it really be all that difficult of a mind exercise to consider diverting a tiny fraction of the funding for the wonderful wars we are currently involved in to learn to build a decent, well-directed space program?
Being one who is about as far left of the aisle as a person can be, I applaud these Republicans for this amendment. I know their reasons are, oh, pork-ish. However, I'm able to overlook that for, in this case, the ends just may justify the means.
The sad reality is that most people are put-off by anything scientific. I sometimes wonder if the lack of interest has anything to do with lack of intelligence. Science uses some technical terms, and you have to be able to understand ideas and concepts in detail. Many people can't (or don't want to) do this, maybe because it takes them longer to figure things out. So, they resort to the pseudo-news and other things that require little thought.
Unfortunately (and I think we all pretty much realize this), the average IQ of Slashdotters is probably about 25 points higher than society's average, and, if true, would surely cause us to gravitate to the sciences.
I certainly won't hold my breath, but they ought to sell them for a few cents on the dollar and donate the money to NASA, where funds get cut constantly, and a few million dollars goes a fairly long way.
But the current administration would probably piss it away to the DoD....idiots.
Dammit! I get a decent idea going, and then I remember the fuckers who are running this joint.
When it comes to schools, they seem to do a good job of knowing what websites are positive and negative towards education...
From my own experience of 12 years of school plus 4 years of college (at a number of different schools), I feel as though the schools you are referring to are part of a small minority. However, certain bandwidth hog sites do need to either be blocked or throttled, simply to keep the data flowing to everyone else.
Blocking based on content (excluding porn, of course), however, seems to be unreasonable. If students have extra time, why shouldn't they use the Internet for recreational purposes? Impose a time limit for Internet usage, or something like that. But, certainly, don't censor it. That sets an absolutely terrible example for the students.
They will certainly not get into trouble for the purchase of stolen goods, and if they do, any reasonable judge would automatically acquit them.
The key word being reasonable. With all of the stupidness in the judicial system, these so-called "reasonable" judges seem to be getting harder to come by.
Except that the price might very well drop significantly after the company profits wildly the first year or two and reservations start to decline. Once they have all of the equipment/vehicles/etc., they just need to charge enough to break-even with a little profit on top. An inexpensive space trip would keep tons of people signing up. Not that a trip to space is going to be cheap anytime soon, but $100,000-$300,000 is a lot different than $5,000,000 or more.
Perhaps the long-term strategies of Fiorina and the short-term management of Hurd have paid off. A joint effort...
I agree with your comment, but I think there is another element to it. Fiorina actually had some decent ideas, but no one in the company liked her, so the execution of her strategies suffered. Good ideas, but couldn't get the job done. Hurd is taking the pieces and putting the puzzle together, so to speak. Plus, he doesn't come across as having the arrogant "I'm better than you" attitude Fiorina seemed to have. That attitude will cripple a company, and it showed when HP employees were dancing in the halls when Carly was canned.
Slashdot Mirror
And how do you pronounce it yourself?
It's pronounced "meem". That's the only way I've ever heard it pronounced, and even by Dawkins himself.
"'We're able to view just everything that they do,' Bill Diggins, U.S. chief for the Verizon Wireless marketing initiative, told an industry conference earlier this year.
All I have to say is that guy better have a huge jock strap. The size of his balls must be staggering to make a comment like that.
Windows is not intended to be used in life-critical situations such as medical hardware or nuclear reactor control.
I totally agree. However, this, to me, is the main question: Why in the FUCK would these devices be connected in ANY way, shape, or form, to the INTERNET in the first place??!?!? That's just asking for it, no way around it. It's stupid, careless, and shouldn't be allowed under any circumstance (barring VPN via a WIRE and ONLY when absolutely necessary). We're dealing with people's health and lives here, and this is a totally preventable situation.
I can understand the issue with USB drives, but there need to be policies in place that prevent the use of them unless absolutely required.
Delivered at exactly the wrong time, this can induce an arrhythmia.
No kidding. That asystole arrhythmia is a real bitch.
Admittedly I tend to only read the tech related news sites but they all picked up on the same thing.... Windows 8 on a desktop just doesn't make any sense.
Yes, it was definitely taken out of context. He was only referring to using the Metro interface with a mouse, and I totally agree with him. It is really, REALLY bad trying to deal with Metro when you can't use a touchscreen.
Time to fire up the old Nook Color and make a purchase.
First of all, I haven't kept up on EV technology as much as I probably should (ergo, please bear that in mind if I write something completely stupid...and please correct me). That said, to me, it doesn't seem that the connector should even be the real issue. What I think would be more meaningful would be for auto manufacturers to decide on some kind of standard to tell the charger how it wants its electricity. What comes to mind is possibly some kind of autonegotion mechansim between the charger and vehicle to determine voltage/amps/phase or whatever (I'm certainly no EE). The plug itself would seem to be less important, and, as someone mentioned below, various adapters could even be used (I'd think manufacturers would WANT a connector standard...at least if they had any foresight whatsoever). I think this way manufacturers could use whatever batteries they want (and even use totally different battery technologies in future vehicles as they become available)...just be able to talk to the "pump" to tell it what the specs are in regard to charging any given vehicle. Yeah, the stations would cost a bit more with the additional electronic components, but if EVs took off, the price drop for these devices would be insane (think of the number of gas (petrol) pumps you pass every day). Economies of scale would kick in almost immediately. And I really think some kind of auto-negotiating standard would be a huge step in the right direction, because the the startup costs of charging stations will be high (at first, anyway), but I think more station owners would be willing to make the investment if they knew they wouldn't have to rip and replace when the next generation of EV battery technology came along. The whole plug type thing just seems silly...the cost of dealing with varying plugs would seem to be absolutely minuscule compared to everything else. But, leave it to world governments to create issues out of the little stuff while ignoring the bigger issues (and lets be honest, many/most politicians only understand technology as far as their mobile phones and accompanying wall warts will allow).
Here's my workaround to the market not completing downloads and not installing them even if they appear to have successfully downloaded.
1) back all the way out of the Market
2) Go to Settings --> Applications --> Manage Applications
3) Click on the "All" tab at the top
4) Wait a couple of minutes, and then find "Market" in the list (list isn't always in order, so it can be hard to find if you have a lot of apps)
5) Click "Market"
6) If the "Force Stop" button isn't grayed, click it to force the Market app to end
7) Click the "Clear Data" button
8) Re-launch the Market app, click "Agree", and try it again.
I know it's stupid, but it does work about 90% of the time. If not, rinse and repeat.
He's just bitching because the people who pay 90% of the taxes get a few breaks here and there.
Actually, he was using it as a metaphor, but that's beside the point.
Apparently, if you're part of the small percentage of the population who actually keep the country running, you shouldn't get any special treatment. That's his idea of "fairness".
And this is the real issue of all of this...the word "fairness". What exactly does it mean to be fair? The fact of the matter is that while there are indeed many lazy people out there, the real point is that people are NOT equal. This is caused by a variety of reasons, but I think we can agree that a few people were born with certain abilities that are more "valuable" in the market. But, that does not mean they are harder workers or even necessarily deserve to be paid more. They are lucky to be able to use their innate qualities and intellect for monetary gain that the average person is unable to do (yes...unable is the correct word). As far as I'm concerned, the mentally handicapped man who works in our packing department works just as hard (if not harder) than our company president. Is it fair that he makes barely over minimum wage while the president has a huge house and five cars? No, it's not fair, but it's reality, and this is exactly why people who are able to earn higher incomes should help to pay for the welfare of those less fortunate, both legally and ethically.
Like I said, lazy people do take advantage of the system. But, having nothing to help the poor is morally wrong. Any system will have its flaws and we should try to mitigate them. But in this case, the flaws do not outweigh the necessity of welfare...not by a long shot.
Just an FYI...From the Mozilla website: "The Mozilla Foundation is a California non-profit corporation exempt from federal income taxation under IRC 501(c)3. Donations are tax deductible for U.S. citizens. For donors outside of the United States, please consult with your tax advisor about whether your donation will be tax deductible."
This is why companies need to fight piracy. If not, they will lose the ability to sell any product.
I'd argue this. Competition is what scares these companies to death (and primarily for them, potential competition). Piracy might be one piece of the problem for them, but as far as I see it, they have a much larger issue: value. People will pay for something if its value is greater than or equal to the price. Think of Blu-Ray. To many, the value of having a copy of a movie was not the $25-$35+ the movie companies were charging for them at first. But, as is usually the case, the price came down over time, and now people are buying them for $15-20, or maybe $25 for a new release. Also, players are selling much better. It's true that those did come down in price as well, and it's hard to determine if the price of players dropping caused the price of the media to drop, or vice versa. However, I have talked to a lot of people about this, and from what I have been told, and I do agree, is that people couldn't justify paying an extra $10-20 per movie just to have the hi-def. In other words, they would have bought the player if the discs cost about the same as DVDs. So, basically, prices went down, sales went up, and value stayed the same.
Software, however has a completely different problem, even though it still stems directly from value. 10-15 years ago, if you wanted to do high end photo editing, Photoshop was the only real game in town. As time progressed, so did technology, and programmers were able to write photo editors with much more ease, and distribution of software matured. No longer did someone with a large program have to pay a company to do CD stamping, box design, etc. Now we even have quite good OSS to do many of the same things (GIMP, obviously). So, now the value of any particular piece of software is declining due to competition, not to piracy. Professional photographers, I promise you, will still shell-out for a legitimately licensed copy of Photoshop. If they don't need something quite like that but still want support, maybe they buy Paint Shop Pro or the like. GIMP is for those who want the freebie (don't get me wrong--if it was a closed product, it would sell at a decent price, assuming it is as well known as it is now).
So, I guess I just see it as simple economics, and piracy is nothing more than a barely discernible blip on the radar. What has changed the game is competition, but some companies just want to whine about pirates who cost them practically nothing in lost sales (maybe increase sales in a try-before-you-buy way). They are trying to scare the competition out of the marketplace in order to keep the value of their products high, because once you have multiple options for doing the same kind of thing, the value of all programs in the group begins to fall off a cliff do to competition. Seems pretty simple to me. Play the piracy card, scare away new entrants to the market, keep the value of your stuff high, and you have it made.
this, this, this and this!
If you leave your AP unsecured like a dumbass you get EVERYTHING you deserve.
This isn't about open APs...this is about SSID broadcast traffic only. You can have a rather secure wireless network and still have it broadcasting its name.
Famous last words...
...until you start seeing the "FCC be damned" ad varieties. GoDaddy FTW!
Well, in a way, Vista was absolutely fantastic for Microsoft. It's like having a few million people pay you for the "privilege" of alpha testing your code, telling you it sucks, and then letting you know what they REALLY want. That's brilliant! Plus, after you've pissed so many people off and have tons of people waiting/begging/pleading for an upgrade (hey, being a monopoly has advantages, right?), all you have to do is provide a product that is only slightly better than XP, and the masses will worship you like you like a god, forking out large sums for this miracle you have bestowed upon them. They had no where to go but up! And, to be fair, Windows 7 is probably the best desktop OS Microsoft has produced. All of this adds up to a HUGE paycheck for the sweaty bald guy, and with many more to come.
Thank you for the link...it was an insightful read. I guess I can see both sides of the issue. Yes, robotic missions are more efficient economically, logistically, etc. If nothing else though, I do think we need to at least maintain the ability to do manned-flights. I go back to the Hubble thing...it's had the life it has had due to being serviced by astronauts. Could the work have been done via remote controlled robot? Possibly, but then again maybe not...it's hard to say. Ultimately, as long as the research, science, and discoveries continue to accelerate, whether the data is collected by man or machine is really irrelevant. Heck, we know how use the retiring shuttles, so why not keep them around for occasional use? There is nothing terribly wrong with them other than the cost of launching the things, but this has to be cheaper than designing and building a new ship from the ground up. It's just too bad we pumped so much cash into something that will probably never get anywhere near a launch pad.
Well, personally, I'm thrilled they're trying to keep NASA alive. We know so many things today--that we really take for granted--that are a direct result of the space program. Just consider the wealth of knowledge and understanding we've gained through Hubble alone.
Don't get me wrong...the commercialization of space is important, and a great deal of good science and useful applications are sure to come from the private sector. I just think the government should help do some of the necessary "heavy lifting" due to the huge cost of space travel. Sorry, but no private company(s) I can think of is going to be able to pump a few billion dollars a year into an exploratory space program, while, for the government, it's not that much of a problem. Besides, would it really be all that difficult of a mind exercise to consider diverting a tiny fraction of the funding for the wonderful wars we are currently involved in to learn to build a decent, well-directed space program?
Being one who is about as far left of the aisle as a person can be, I applaud these Republicans for this amendment. I know their reasons are, oh, pork-ish. However, I'm able to overlook that for, in this case, the ends just may justify the means.
The sad reality is that most people are put-off by anything scientific. I sometimes wonder if the lack of interest has anything to do with lack of intelligence. Science uses some technical terms, and you have to be able to understand ideas and concepts in detail. Many people can't (or don't want to) do this, maybe because it takes them longer to figure things out. So, they resort to the pseudo-news and other things that require little thought.
Unfortunately (and I think we all pretty much realize this), the average IQ of Slashdotters is probably about 25 points higher than society's average, and, if true, would surely cause us to gravitate to the sciences.
I certainly won't hold my breath, but they ought to sell them for a few cents on the dollar and donate the money to NASA, where funds get cut constantly, and a few million dollars goes a fairly long way.
But the current administration would probably piss it away to the DoD....idiots.
Dammit! I get a decent idea going, and then I remember the fuckers who are running this joint.
When it comes to schools, they seem to do a good job of knowing what websites are positive and negative towards education...
From my own experience of 12 years of school plus 4 years of college (at a number of different schools), I feel as though the schools you are referring to are part of a small minority. However, certain bandwidth hog sites do need to either be blocked or throttled, simply to keep the data flowing to everyone else.
Blocking based on content (excluding porn, of course), however, seems to be unreasonable. If students have extra time, why shouldn't they use the Internet for recreational purposes? Impose a time limit for Internet usage, or something like that. But, certainly, don't censor it. That sets an absolutely terrible example for the students.
They will certainly not get into trouble for the purchase of stolen goods, and if they do, any reasonable judge would automatically acquit them.
The key word being reasonable. With all of the stupidness in the judicial system, these so-called "reasonable" judges seem to be getting harder to come by.
Here's a link for those of you who may not get it. I should have included it originally. Sorry.
...duck and cover.
Well, I guess the truth hurts.
Except that the price might very well drop significantly after the company profits wildly the first year or two and reservations start to decline. Once they have all of the equipment/vehicles/etc., they just need to charge enough to break-even with a little profit on top. An inexpensive space trip would keep tons of people signing up. Not that a trip to space is going to be cheap anytime soon, but $100,000-$300,000 is a lot different than $5,000,000 or more.
Perhaps the long-term strategies of Fiorina and the short-term management of Hurd have paid off. A joint effort...
I agree with your comment, but I think there is another element to it. Fiorina actually had some decent ideas, but no one in the company liked her, so the execution of her strategies suffered. Good ideas, but couldn't get the job done. Hurd is taking the pieces and putting the puzzle together, so to speak. Plus, he doesn't come across as having the arrogant "I'm better than you" attitude Fiorina seemed to have. That attitude will cripple a company, and it showed when HP employees were dancing in the halls when Carly was canned.