I graduated with a Political Science degree, intending to go to law school after a short hiatus. I went to work for a computer reseller and moved into their training branch. That experienced gave me the skills to go into web and database work. Then I went back and got a Masters in Computer Information Systems.
In chatting with other poli sci grads, I found that a suprising number work in computer fields...
Don't let anyone fool you - poli sci is a worthless degree...
Less choice! Yippee! Why don't they just start passing out the soma and spoon feeding us corporate-filtered news and entertainment instead trying to pretend that what they are doing is really in our best interest?
What he fails to mention is that your preferences are going to be supplemented by paying clients of the personalized services. Sure, your personal area network devices might suggest a nearby restaurant, but you can bet that the restaurant suggested has paid for its favorable placement...
And, even more disturbing, do we want corporations, governments, and more nefarious organizations knowing all about us? Who's to say that data theives, terrorists, over-zealous law enforcement, etc, won't divine ways to steal information about us and use it in ways that are not to our advantage? What if our data suggests we are not supportive of the current regime? Might party appartichs use that info to subvert our influence, attempt to change our minds, or silence us if we become too vocal? What if we want to strike back at tyranny, either corporate or federal through boycotts, protests, our other extreme means in the future? Our prefences, from book selections, to taverns, to affliations might rat us out and lead the protectors of such organizations against us, even before we've raised a finger. Our data is ours; the good of profiling does not outwiegh the potential evil.
I work closely with SBC in the carrier I work for. There are many reasons why the Bells will be cautious before destroying competitors. THe main reason is long distance. In order for the ILECs to get 271 Relief, the granting of long distance rights in a certain state, they have to prove beyond a doubt that competition is thriving in the local market. SBC had to jump through tons of hoops in order to get that Relief in Texas and Oklahoma. Now, if you drive down I-44 and I-35 from Tulsa to Dallas, you are assualted with something like 15 local phone companies like Birch Telecom and Valor and Gabriel and a host of others. All the Baby Bells want into the long distance market; they are not going to jeopardize that by crushing a DSL provider. Maybe in the future when 271 Relief is long since granted, this may be an issue. For now it is merely posturing.
Most OC's are set-up with a protect circuit by design. Though I work for a telecom, I am not very familar with how it works, but I believe that the protect circuit can take the traffic if the the main fails for whatever reason. An incomplete answer but maybe that will spark someone else to reply with more accurate information.
Why do feel the need to jab Oklahoma? There are a lot of narrow-minded and intolerant people in New York and LA too but there was no need to mention them b/c we always feel like they're so cosmopolitan and open...
Don't read much news, do you? When reporting an issue the reporter should get both sides of a story if possible. The school had nothing they cared to say on the matter, hence no comment. Obviously Katz said he was from/. and the secretary hadn't heard of it...A slight, subtle jab at the school for being backwards
Have you ever been bullied? If so, I doubt you would make that statement. And the article said the dad was too poor to afford a lawyer, so in most places he could not afford a private school.
I can completely empathize with the kid; high school was a terrible environment for anyone who was not part of a certain crowd. Our school system is destroying creativity and freedom of expression. I think homeschooling is a good alternative for now. What we really need are good alternative schools for the gifted. I discovered my city had one attached to a respected private college after I had graduated from high shcool. Charter schools should be able to fill this role in many areas if their backers understand what they can accomplish. Letting the bright and creative teach themselves in a safe, condusive environment would save a lot of people's lives, both literally and metaphorically.
There are 2 problems which we have already seen: high cost of entry and economy of scale.
In order to get a market that will buy your product in this arena you have to have promotions, marketing, polish and rub, horse and pony shows.
Sony and Nintendo amongst others employ economies of scale in order to sell their products at prices that the consumer will pay. A lot of studies showed that the Playstation could not sell in an acceptable number if it cost more than they are selling it at, which is, by some accounts, a loss for Sony or at least very slim margins. They make their money on lucrative licensing and less so from accesories, etc. They are able to get by with this scheme b/c their huge size allows them to buy components at extremely discounted prices in bulk and they can leverage their facilities, talent, and marketing hordes for this project or that as needed. A new, open source project has extreme hurdles to face, but maybe just maybe they can do it.
I think I have 5 books I've bought in the last month that I haven't even cracked, and this one does sound interesting. I've heard of "I have no mouth..." is it worth reading?
I have begun to worry that intellectual property, corporations, and trade groups are stifling innovation, which has taken me full circle from being a big fan of Microsoft to a reluctant user looking for a way out. With the RIAA killing Napster or at least disemboweling it, AFTRA killing many radio recasts, and MS screwing MP3 formats on XP, the government increasingly siding with business and having an insane level of power for invading our privacy, it reallys makes me a little paranoid. But, even if you aren't paranoid, it doesn't mean they aren't after you.
Over the next 18-24 months, there will also be a lot more tightening down on copyrighted material. We are already seeing an increase in the hardware solutions advocated by groups like the RIAA, etc. The sophistication of viruses is going to forever challenge the ability of network admins and security companies to defeat them. I don't see any reason why hackers won't continue getting more devious as well. My suspicion is that there is an impending backlash against technology in the coming year or two. All it needs is 2 or 3 disasters resulting from technology mishaps, or what the media might call technology mishaps, to turn the neophyte commoners against the computerization of life. It could be something as unrelated as a bio-engineered crop that kills people; the average person who may not even surf the web yet could easily throw their hands up in the air and blame it all on technology. There's already a conservative backlash going on in politics and religion all over the world. Consider the rash of anti-globalization rallies and riots. These protesters are striking back agaisnt policies begun in the 1400s onward. They are challenging the very root of modern civilization from the Age of Discovery to today. Religious conservatives are pushing back women's rights, civil rights, and social policy back decades, and in many places, centuries (witness the Taliban in Afghanistan). I can't say that things will get worse, but with recession on the horizon, I wouldn't be surprised if they are...
There are lots of things out there that are better that no one uses: compression formats, languages, systems, cars, voting systems, etc. Its going to be a long while before HTML goes away, especially with the less sophisticated, the incidental web-happy people who make up the bulk of internet users. I would wager that a good percentage of AOL kids and geocities flunkies can code a little HTML and know enough to cut/paste/modify a Javascript into there NSYNC or Pokemon page. XML, Javascript, etc aren't going to disappear amongst the middle-brow webbies either. The only people who might be bold enough to try are the ubergeeks. Like the guy said ^ unless MS or another behemoth takes it under their wings, it would have to be damn luck to make headway. But, there are things like PHP whose rise has been nothing but astounding...
There is no doubt that Linux is very kewl, and very good to the digirati, but can be a dangerous tool for a for-profit institution. The Indrema plan was to produce a few systems and let them seed the market, which defies the whole theory behind console system, i.e. economy of scale, maximum market saturation. He would have to sell these products at a pretty high price even assuming he could get companies to pay for seals of approval. Here's the rub in that: Linux users are a fiercely independent, do-it-yourself bunch. They porbably wouldn't care 1 iota if a title was certified for the device or not. They'll probably try every combination, hack it, take it apart and rebuild within weeks of its now unlikely release. The very things that make Linux awesome are the very things that make it a terrible business strategy for most companies to undertake. Those that find the right niche, that add the right amount of value, the ones that remember what it is that keep the Linux users in the fold are the only ones who can pull it off.
I have just received my copy of republic.com but haven't started it yet. It is obvious that the author is highly biased on one side of the arguement. Sadly, like so much of the 'establishment' he is not aware of the vast possibilities for communication that the Internet brings. If you do a search for a topic on a search engine, you'll end up with a deluge of sites with radically diferent points of view, and pr0n. Chat rooms for an issue will inevitably have pro- and anti-participants. The idea that the government could demand sites carry links to opposing sites is ludicrous. Would the government insist that any group meeting of Greenpeace or Catholics Pro-Lifers have representatives of the oil industry and atheists or pro-choicers present? That would be unconstitional, as it would infringe upon the right to assembly. The Supreme Court agreed with the Boy Scouts that they did not have to violate their policies and allow a gay scout master. Why should an NRA site be required to have a link to anti-gun groups? Does that not also violate their right to free speech. You are in effect saying "You may speak freely so long as you speak as we say?" Any attempt to regualte web-speech would require wholesale regualtion of the Internet, something which the government is currently and will forever be inadequately capable of doing.
Don't you love the open-mindness of academia?
I would feel a lot better about his answers if not for the privacy (or lack thereof) clause in Passport, etc. And his evasiness is enough to make you wonder a bit as well.
Microsoft has grown too arrogant, too far from what the users want. We were dicussing the possibility of Microsoft losing ground in the corporate world in one of my grad classes recently. No one believed that anything would surpass MS in the next five years, probably not even the next ten. With schools teaching kids the Windows version of computer more and more, many will have little desire to branch out of their comfort zone later on; the vast majority of office software runs on Windows; you can send a document from one company to another and be almost positive that they can open it; etc
I think he raises good points about the diversity of Linux though. What incentive do developers have to cretea software for one distro or another when no standard exists. I believe that the computer revolution has happened in no small part to the ubiquitousness of Windows on IBM machinces taking the market leader position. You can go from you office in New York or Los Angeles, go to an office in Hong Kong, Calcutta, or Israel, sit down at a computer and use it with little or no problem. Linux seems to practically be on the verge of Balkanization at times. He was not wrong when he challenges the viability of Linux in the corporate world despite its promising advances...
Slashdot Mirror
I graduated with a Political Science degree, intending to go to law school after a short hiatus. I went to work for a computer reseller and moved into their training branch. That experienced gave me the skills to go into web and database work. Then I went back and got a Masters in Computer Information Systems.
In chatting with other poli sci grads, I found that a suprising number work in computer fields...
Don't let anyone fool you - poli sci is a worthless degree...
Less choice! Yippee! Why don't they just start passing out the soma and spoon feeding us corporate-filtered news and entertainment instead trying to pretend that what they are doing is really in our best interest?
What he fails to mention is that your preferences are going to be supplemented by paying clients of the personalized services. Sure, your personal area network devices might suggest a nearby restaurant, but you can bet that the restaurant suggested has paid for its favorable placement... And, even more disturbing, do we want corporations, governments, and more nefarious organizations knowing all about us? Who's to say that data theives, terrorists, over-zealous law enforcement, etc, won't divine ways to steal information about us and use it in ways that are not to our advantage? What if our data suggests we are not supportive of the current regime? Might party appartichs use that info to subvert our influence, attempt to change our minds, or silence us if we become too vocal? What if we want to strike back at tyranny, either corporate or federal through boycotts, protests, our other extreme means in the future? Our prefences, from book selections, to taverns, to affliations might rat us out and lead the protectors of such organizations against us, even before we've raised a finger. Our data is ours; the good of profiling does not outwiegh the potential evil.
I work closely with SBC in the carrier I work for. There are many reasons why the Bells will be cautious before destroying competitors. THe main reason is long distance. In order for the ILECs to get 271 Relief, the granting of long distance rights in a certain state, they have to prove beyond a doubt that competition is thriving in the local market. SBC had to jump through tons of hoops in order to get that Relief in Texas and Oklahoma. Now, if you drive down I-44 and I-35 from Tulsa to Dallas, you are assualted with something like 15 local phone companies like Birch Telecom and Valor and Gabriel and a host of others. All the Baby Bells want into the long distance market; they are not going to jeopardize that by crushing a DSL provider. Maybe in the future when 271 Relief is long since granted, this may be an issue. For now it is merely posturing.
Most OC's are set-up with a protect circuit by design. Though I work for a telecom, I am not very familar with how it works, but I believe that the protect circuit can take the traffic if the the main fails for whatever reason. An incomplete answer but maybe that will spark someone else to reply with more accurate information.
That's why I called it a slight, subtle jab.
Why do feel the need to jab Oklahoma? There are a lot of narrow-minded and intolerant people in New York and LA too but there was no need to mention them b/c we always feel like they're so cosmopolitan and open...
Don't read much news, do you? When reporting an issue the reporter should get both sides of a story if possible. The school had nothing they cared to say on the matter, hence no comment. Obviously Katz said he was from /. and the secretary hadn't heard of it...A slight, subtle jab at the school for being backwards
Have you ever been bullied? If so, I doubt you would make that statement. And the article said the dad was too poor to afford a lawyer, so in most places he could not afford a private school.
I can completely empathize with the kid; high school was a terrible environment for anyone who was not part of a certain crowd. Our school system is destroying creativity and freedom of expression. I think homeschooling is a good alternative for now. What we really need are good alternative schools for the gifted. I discovered my city had one attached to a respected private college after I had graduated from high shcool. Charter schools should be able to fill this role in many areas if their backers understand what they can accomplish. Letting the bright and creative teach themselves in a safe, condusive environment would save a lot of people's lives, both literally and metaphorically.
How the heck is that a troll comment? Whoever mod'ed that needs to have his/her points revoked...
There are 2 problems which we have already seen: high cost of entry and economy of scale. In order to get a market that will buy your product in this arena you have to have promotions, marketing, polish and rub, horse and pony shows. Sony and Nintendo amongst others employ economies of scale in order to sell their products at prices that the consumer will pay. A lot of studies showed that the Playstation could not sell in an acceptable number if it cost more than they are selling it at, which is, by some accounts, a loss for Sony or at least very slim margins. They make their money on lucrative licensing and less so from accesories, etc. They are able to get by with this scheme b/c their huge size allows them to buy components at extremely discounted prices in bulk and they can leverage their facilities, talent, and marketing hordes for this project or that as needed. A new, open source project has extreme hurdles to face, but maybe just maybe they can do it.
Thanks! I'll check it out.
I think I have 5 books I've bought in the last month that I haven't even cracked, and this one does sound interesting. I've heard of "I have no mouth..." is it worth reading?
I have begun to worry that intellectual property, corporations, and trade groups are stifling innovation, which has taken me full circle from being a big fan of Microsoft to a reluctant user looking for a way out. With the RIAA killing Napster or at least disemboweling it, AFTRA killing many radio recasts, and MS screwing MP3 formats on XP, the government increasingly siding with business and having an insane level of power for invading our privacy, it reallys makes me a little paranoid. But, even if you aren't paranoid, it doesn't mean they aren't after you.
First day of CallieGirl's Dystopia online today at unholyrouter.com
Over the next 18-24 months, there will also be a lot more tightening down on copyrighted material. We are already seeing an increase in the hardware solutions advocated by groups like the RIAA, etc. The sophistication of viruses is going to forever challenge the ability of network admins and security companies to defeat them. I don't see any reason why hackers won't continue getting more devious as well. My suspicion is that there is an impending backlash against technology in the coming year or two. All it needs is 2 or 3 disasters resulting from technology mishaps, or what the media might call technology mishaps, to turn the neophyte commoners against the computerization of life. It could be something as unrelated as a bio-engineered crop that kills people; the average person who may not even surf the web yet could easily throw their hands up in the air and blame it all on technology. There's already a conservative backlash going on in politics and religion all over the world. Consider the rash of anti-globalization rallies and riots. These protesters are striking back agaisnt policies begun in the 1400s onward. They are challenging the very root of modern civilization from the Age of Discovery to today. Religious conservatives are pushing back women's rights, civil rights, and social policy back decades, and in many places, centuries (witness the Taliban in Afghanistan). I can't say that things will get worse, but with recession on the horizon, I wouldn't be surprised if they are...
Good point
There are lots of things out there that are better that no one uses: compression formats, languages, systems, cars, voting systems, etc. Its going to be a long while before HTML goes away, especially with the less sophisticated, the incidental web-happy people who make up the bulk of internet users. I would wager that a good percentage of AOL kids and geocities flunkies can code a little HTML and know enough to cut/paste/modify a Javascript into there NSYNC or Pokemon page. XML, Javascript, etc aren't going to disappear amongst the middle-brow webbies either. The only people who might be bold enough to try are the ubergeeks. Like the guy said ^ unless MS or another behemoth takes it under their wings, it would have to be damn luck to make headway. But, there are things like PHP whose rise has been nothing but astounding...
There is no doubt that Linux is very kewl, and very good to the digirati, but can be a dangerous tool for a for-profit institution. The Indrema plan was to produce a few systems and let them seed the market, which defies the whole theory behind console system, i.e. economy of scale, maximum market saturation. He would have to sell these products at a pretty high price even assuming he could get companies to pay for seals of approval. Here's the rub in that: Linux users are a fiercely independent, do-it-yourself bunch. They porbably wouldn't care 1 iota if a title was certified for the device or not. They'll probably try every combination, hack it, take it apart and rebuild within weeks of its now unlikely release. The very things that make Linux awesome are the very things that make it a terrible business strategy for most companies to undertake. Those that find the right niche, that add the right amount of value, the ones that remember what it is that keep the Linux users in the fold are the only ones who can pull it off.
Haha
I have just received my copy of republic.com but haven't started it yet. It is obvious that the author is highly biased on one side of the arguement. Sadly, like so much of the 'establishment' he is not aware of the vast possibilities for communication that the Internet brings. If you do a search for a topic on a search engine, you'll end up with a deluge of sites with radically diferent points of view, and pr0n. Chat rooms for an issue will inevitably have pro- and anti-participants. The idea that the government could demand sites carry links to opposing sites is ludicrous. Would the government insist that any group meeting of Greenpeace or Catholics Pro-Lifers have representatives of the oil industry and atheists or pro-choicers present? That would be unconstitional, as it would infringe upon the right to assembly. The Supreme Court agreed with the Boy Scouts that they did not have to violate their policies and allow a gay scout master. Why should an NRA site be required to have a link to anti-gun groups? Does that not also violate their right to free speech. You are in effect saying "You may speak freely so long as you speak as we say?" Any attempt to regualte web-speech would require wholesale regualtion of the Internet, something which the government is currently and will forever be inadequately capable of doing. Don't you love the open-mindness of academia?
I would feel a lot better about his answers if not for the privacy (or lack thereof) clause in Passport, etc. And his evasiness is enough to make you wonder a bit as well. Microsoft has grown too arrogant, too far from what the users want. We were dicussing the possibility of Microsoft losing ground in the corporate world in one of my grad classes recently. No one believed that anything would surpass MS in the next five years, probably not even the next ten. With schools teaching kids the Windows version of computer more and more, many will have little desire to branch out of their comfort zone later on; the vast majority of office software runs on Windows; you can send a document from one company to another and be almost positive that they can open it; etc I think he raises good points about the diversity of Linux though. What incentive do developers have to cretea software for one distro or another when no standard exists. I believe that the computer revolution has happened in no small part to the ubiquitousness of Windows on IBM machinces taking the market leader position. You can go from you office in New York or Los Angeles, go to an office in Hong Kong, Calcutta, or Israel, sit down at a computer and use it with little or no problem. Linux seems to practically be on the verge of Balkanization at times. He was not wrong when he challenges the viability of Linux in the corporate world despite its promising advances...