The whole "nuclear = EVIL" indoctrination in this country has pretty much lodged itself in as a cultural meme.
They have the common mob of this country convinced that anything "nuclear" automatically means a Three Mile Island incident in their back yard every day and twice on Sundays. As a result, they put pressure on their leaders that essentially kills any and all serious funding for better/safer ways of disposing of/utilizing nuclear fuel.
Then, when you tell them that a coal-fired plant (which isn't NRC-regulated) relases more radiation into the surrounding environment than any nuclear reactor (outside of TMI/Chernobyl-type accidents), they automatically assume you're lying.
"If the rest of this thread didn't tip you off, it's an overloaded term that means fuck-all to anybody except people responsible for buying and selling software."
Actually, it's useful for selling more than software. Pretty much anyone involved in sales (of any sort) can benefit from CRM solutions.
"CRM platforms tend to do whatever the squadron of consultants who set them up tell them to"
True, but a decent vendor (and believe it or not there actually are a couple) tells it to do what the customer wants it to do.
"and tend to be enormous monstrosities to that end."
I dunno about that. Sure, some of the Oracle and Seibel stuff can. Smaller installs of CRM software, properly implemented, tend to be almost invisible, save for the impact on the bottom line.
"Now, imagine that those things were all hooked into an enormous, proprietary back-end"
Enormous? That's a judgement call.
Proprietary? Currently I deal with Goldmine CRM. They have a couple back-end options.
* MS SQL * Borland DBase * Firebird Database
Also, unsupported, I've seen people running it on Oracle as well.
Moreover, you can recover all your data out of the app with little fuss.
If you simply need a dump of contact information, you can export to a DBase file (which you can open in Excel), an Access file, text, etc.
If you need all the data, history items, attached documents, etc, you can export to an XML document and then re-import it into whatever app you need to.
Your data is yours.
However, I have seen others (like ACT!), and SalesForce where, once your data is in their system, it's theirs, and you have almost no way to recover it if you decide to move to another platform.
"a really good way of squeezing money out of customers."
After dealing with a few CRM vendors, I'm almost inclined to agree. However, I've dealt with a couple who are very upright and prefer to educate you how to do things for yourself. A couple of them are so busy with fairly advanced problems, data recovery, etc, that they'd prefer that you have the knowledge to deal with common problems.
Only if you confuse reading comprehension with actual comprehension of the underlying issues.
df > Whatthehellisthis.txt
Okay. You're someone who knows dick about command line. What does this mean?
Then, when the newb comes in with legitimate questions, but hasn't read every last syllable of 12,000-odd pages of documentation, he gets bapped with an "RTFM n00b!" instead of getting a nice, concise answer to his question that's only a couple lines longer than the obtuse reply.
"Maybe you dislike compiling things, but does that really make it a bad package management?"
Well, not to put TOO fine a point on it, YES. This is why it's so ungodly easy to break things in Gentoo if you don't know EXACTLY what you're doing. Moreover, it doesn't guard against circular dependencies (RPM, Windows DLL hell, etc). That's not package "management".
Better package management? Uh. We'll get back to you on that. Does it's work without bothering you, the end-user? SHUT UP! I'm COMPILING HERE! Newbie friendly?
GENTOO? NEWBIE-FRIENDLY? Yeah, maybe once you, the non-newbie had everything set up and idiot-proofed for him. At least until it came time to update and recompile some of the packages.
If he doesn't have the funds to fight a protracted legal battle with a large corporation then perhaps, yes, he should not so publicly criticize the corporation
NO! Because at that point, anyone with big enough pockets can simply do anything they want (up to and including making detractors disappear).
I agree with what you say about Spocko representing himself pro se. But just to shut up, simply because they have deeper pockets and might sue?
"Almost everything else petroleum is used for is either comparatively easy to replace with alternative technologies or represents a comparatively small consumption."
Yup. But in a goodly number of these cases, the extra expense of replacing the petroleum-based product is out of line.
Replacing a $0.50 product with a $2.50 product or a $5.00 product isn't necessarily good economy.
Regardless of what the "save our planet" movement would like, we still have to balance economic viability, and a host of other issues with environmental impact. We can't simply use environmental impact as the ONLY benchmark.
They hiss and spit and shun you. Because, as the movies have taught (sorry, wrong word.. CONDITIONED) them, nuclear = bad. PERIOD. All they need to figure out is how to shut down that damn "sun" thingee, and everything'll be right with the world.
So remember now. Nuclear power makes Baby Jesus cry!
A couple law firms in each state made some money, Sony expends more effort farting than it takes to make 1.5 million, and the people fucked over directly by their CRAPWARE get a shitty pittance.
Considering what a bitch and a half Sony's development tools are to use, he's probably right. It won't be worth the pain and insanity necessary to hack around the Sony tools to eke out maximum power.
So, what you're saying is that if I don't like how something looks, acts, etc, I should just STFU, not care about fixing it, and drink the Apple Kool-Aid?
Just bow down to the All-Knowing Interface gods?
Sorry, that's the stupidest non-answer I've heard in a while.
"by the harm done to the moviemakers -- not by the gain made by the offender."
What harm?
Can they actually prove that anyone who downloaded the movie would have actually bought the fucking things on tape or DVD in the first place? Can they actually prove that some of the poor, taste-free bastards DIDN'T go out and buy afterwards?
Oh wait. This is America. You don't need proof anymore. Unprovable accusations will suffice.
Sorry, but with a little careful management, even an XP machine is relative-proof.
My grandfather, for instance. He's had his Gateway cowbox for about 4 years now. I had to reinstall it once, after the hard drive gave out on it. And, due to my crazy work/school schedule I've seen it about 5 times in the last 4 years. Each time I just go in, make sure the AV, antispyware stuff, and software firewall are up to date. Cleanup is usually nonexistant.
While I agree with this to a certain extent, we start running into issues like we do with "hate crimes".
Do you REALLY give a shit why a criminal does something?
If I kill you, does it matter that I:
A) Just felt a deep-seated need to kill SOMETHING B) Found out you shagged my wife and decided to remove both your heads with Mr..45 C) Needed drug money and killing you was faster than arguing you into handing over your wallet D) Decided to kill you because of your race/nationality/creed/sexual orientation/social-strata/etc
In all cases, you're dead.
In all cases, I should be punished accordingly for murder/manslaughter.
Does it REALLY matter what in at least one of the cases, it might have been other than a DIRECT personal motivation?
Slashdot Mirror
The whole "nuclear = EVIL" indoctrination in this country has pretty much lodged itself in as a cultural meme.
They have the common mob of this country convinced that anything "nuclear" automatically means a Three Mile Island incident in their back yard every day and twice on Sundays. As a result, they put pressure on their leaders that essentially kills any and all serious funding for better/safer ways of disposing of/utilizing nuclear fuel.
Then, when you tell them that a coal-fired plant (which isn't NRC-regulated) relases more radiation into the surrounding environment than any nuclear reactor (outside of TMI/Chernobyl-type accidents), they automatically assume you're lying.
For trouble-ticketing?
OMFG. If you're doing trouble-ticketing, Heat just IS the app for you to be using.
Yeah, there's a couple add-ons for various CRM programs that do some trouble-ticketing, but they're sorta poor-mans helpdesk.
Question, which CRM app are you using?
"If the rest of this thread didn't tip you off, it's an overloaded term that means fuck-all to anybody except people responsible for buying and selling software."
Actually, it's useful for selling more than software. Pretty much anyone involved in sales (of any sort) can benefit from CRM solutions.
"CRM platforms tend to do whatever the squadron of consultants who set them up tell them to"
True, but a decent vendor (and believe it or not there actually are a couple) tells it to do what the customer wants it to do.
"and tend to be enormous monstrosities to that end."
I dunno about that. Sure, some of the Oracle and Seibel stuff can. Smaller installs of CRM software, properly implemented, tend to be almost invisible, save for the impact on the bottom line.
"Now, imagine that those things were all hooked into an enormous, proprietary back-end"
Enormous? That's a judgement call.
Proprietary? Currently I deal with Goldmine CRM. They have a couple back-end options.
* MS SQL
* Borland DBase
* Firebird Database
Also, unsupported, I've seen people running it on Oracle as well.
Moreover, you can recover all your data out of the app with little fuss.
If you simply need a dump of contact information, you can export to a DBase file (which you can open in Excel), an Access file, text, etc.
If you need all the data, history items, attached documents, etc, you can export to an XML document and then re-import it into whatever app you need to.
Your data is yours.
However, I have seen others (like ACT!), and SalesForce where, once your data is in their system, it's theirs, and you have almost no way to recover it if you decide to move to another platform.
"a really good way of squeezing money out of customers."
After dealing with a few CRM vendors, I'm almost inclined to agree. However, I've dealt with a couple who are very upright and prefer to educate you how to do things for yourself. A couple of them are so busy with fairly advanced problems, data recovery, etc, that they'd prefer that you have the knowledge to deal with common problems.
Only if you confuse reading comprehension with actual comprehension of the underlying issues.
df > Whatthehellisthis.txt
Okay. You're someone who knows dick about command line. What does this mean?
Then, when the newb comes in with legitimate questions, but hasn't read every last syllable of 12,000-odd pages of documentation, he gets bapped with an "RTFM n00b!" instead of getting a nice, concise answer to his question that's only a couple lines longer than the obtuse reply.
"Maybe you dislike compiling things, but does that really make it a bad package management?"
Well, not to put TOO fine a point on it, YES. This is why it's so ungodly easy to break things in Gentoo if you don't know EXACTLY what you're doing. Moreover, it doesn't guard against circular dependencies (RPM, Windows DLL hell, etc). That's not package "management".
Better package management? Uh. We'll get back to you on that.
Does it's work without bothering you, the end-user? SHUT UP! I'm COMPILING HERE!
Newbie friendly?
GENTOO? NEWBIE-FRIENDLY? Yeah, maybe once you, the non-newbie had everything set up and idiot-proofed for him. At least until it came time to update and recompile some of the packages.
Pardon my sarcarstic laughter here.
If he doesn't have the funds to fight a protracted legal battle with a large corporation then perhaps, yes, he should not so publicly criticize the corporation
NO! Because at that point, anyone with big enough pockets can simply do anything they want (up to and including making detractors disappear).
I agree with what you say about Spocko representing himself pro se. But just to shut up, simply because they have deeper pockets and might sue?
*Decks a Nazi out*
*CRACK*
"Shit! My back went again!"
'Nuff said.
Read about when it was built.
Mid to late 60's.
When did the whole "nuclear is Satan" cult start? Mid to late 70's?
In the last 25 years or so, people have been getting the "nuclear means bomb, period" indoctrination?
"Almost everything else petroleum is used for is either comparatively easy to replace with alternative technologies or represents a comparatively small consumption."
Yup. But in a goodly number of these cases, the extra expense of replacing the petroleum-based product is out of line.
Replacing a $0.50 product with a $2.50 product or a $5.00 product isn't necessarily good economy.
Regardless of what the "save our planet" movement would like, we still have to balance economic viability, and a host of other issues with environmental impact. We can't simply use environmental impact as the ONLY benchmark.
saying "I have a bomb" on an airplane.
They hiss and spit and shun you. Because, as the movies have taught (sorry, wrong word.. CONDITIONED) them, nuclear = bad. PERIOD. All they need to figure out is how to shut down that damn "sun" thingee, and everything'll be right with the world.
So remember now. Nuclear power makes Baby Jesus cry!
Just look at the wonderful job they did deregulating their power systems. ...
DOH!
Maybe because those other manufacturers are sacrificing too much weight for durability. It's VERY rare to see a badly built Thinkpad line.
I was in the Army. I learned that you NEVER volunteer information (kinda ironic after I volunteered to sign up...)
Anyhoo, I'm not going to give the martians another ingredient on their list for "To Serve Man".
A couple law firms in each state made some money, Sony expends more effort farting than it takes to make 1.5 million, and the people fucked over directly by their CRAPWARE get a shitty pittance.
Considering what a bitch and a half Sony's development tools are to use, he's probably right. It won't be worth the pain and insanity necessary to hack around the Sony tools to eke out maximum power.
If you really want the shitty code on my website, be my guest.
Just don't be surprised if I laugh at you.
So, what you're saying is that if I don't like how something looks, acts, etc, I should just STFU, not care about fixing it, and drink the Apple Kool-Aid?
Just bow down to the All-Knowing Interface gods?
Sorry, that's the stupidest non-answer I've heard in a while.
"by the harm done to the moviemakers -- not by the gain made by the offender."
What harm?
Can they actually prove that anyone who downloaded the movie would have actually bought the fucking things on tape or DVD in the first place?
Can they actually prove that some of the poor, taste-free bastards DIDN'T go out and buy afterwards?
Oh wait. This is America. You don't need proof anymore. Unprovable accusations will suffice.
Of course, I'm from Chicago. The dead regularly climb out of the ground to vote up here...must be something in the water...
Okay, not too long ago, they were saying that spam accounts for HALF of all e-mail traffic.
According to the math, you're not saying it accounts for ALL mail traffic (plus some)?
Okay, fuck that. I renounce the use of e-mail.
The problem is, it still sucks.
Sorry, but with a little careful management, even an XP machine is relative-proof.
My grandfather, for instance. He's had his Gateway cowbox for about 4 years now. I had to reinstall it once, after the hard drive gave out on it. And, due to my crazy work/school schedule I've seen it about 5 times in the last 4 years. Each time I just go in, make sure the AV, antispyware stuff, and software firewall are up to date. Cleanup is usually nonexistant.
While I agree with this to a certain extent, we start running into issues like we do with "hate crimes".
.45
Do you REALLY give a shit why a criminal does something?
If I kill you, does it matter that I:
A) Just felt a deep-seated need to kill SOMETHING
B) Found out you shagged my wife and decided to remove both your heads with Mr.
C) Needed drug money and killing you was faster than arguing you into handing over your wallet
D) Decided to kill you because of your race/nationality/creed/sexual orientation/social-strata/etc
In all cases, you're dead.
In all cases, I should be punished accordingly for murder/manslaughter.
Does it REALLY matter what in at least one of the cases, it might have been other than a DIRECT personal motivation?