Press or say one to speak with a representative in english...
One
When you hear the option you are calling about you may say it at any time. If you are calling about a billing problem, say billing. If you are calling about a technical issue, say technical. If you are calling about new service, say new customer. If you are...
Billing
Bloody hell that's plain bad scripting. While the reco engine does sound duff (or rather: the setup & tuning for the specific business purpose is duff), there's *no* excuse for this kind of rubbish, and they are orthogonal problems.
What you've got there is a reco system poorly shoehorned onto the same logic as a simple DTMF IVR - "System reads out the options & possible response values; user responds with the chosen key"
If you want a *better* example, go call the iPod tech support line (it's TuVox behind the scenes - there's examples at that URL, and note that that's all synthetic speech, not recorded). Or sign up for sharedealing with T Rowe Price, which is IBM Websphere Voice Server (actually, that example's a couple of years old now, but it's still miles better).
(Disclaimer: I am a member of the IBM Contact Centre Competency, but am not speaking for my employer)
No, it's a problem with the business analyst. Although if the IVR config is not as per requirements (and survives testing), then someone needs shooting.
(why yes, I *am* a Contact Centre specialist, with a specific interest in speech self-service)
You give your invention to the public in exchange for getting a time limited (and unlike copyrights patent time limits havn't exactly spiraled out of control) monopoly on the invention.
True, the time limit hasn't been as problematic as for copyrights. However, relative to the purpose, the time limit has spiraled out of control.
The pace of technological change has significantly shrunk the commercially viable time period of any given IT innovation, particularly in software. For all useful purposes, the Patent monopoly is 'for all time' as by the time it expires, few people will be using the Patented innovation for anything beyond legacy support.
So regardless of whether SW Patents are effectively patents on algorithms (and therefore should not be Patentable), they are not fit for declared purpose.
Twelve hundred children an hour die, largely in said world, and mostly preventable deaths. (Source: UNICEF). That's things like malnutrition, lack of access to clean water, etc...
No offense meant, but can you imagine how much we shouldn't care what kind of operating system these countries are using? There are bigger problems to worry about.
Yes. I can also imagine how much we should care about how ill-informed idiots such as yourself stereotype the entire third world as being a homogenous mass of famine video fodder, and make self-important assumptions that the order of technology adoption of every country should mirror that of the industrialised nations.
Large areas of the third world (yes, even much of Africa) will achieve real practical benefits from OLPC, just as they do from mobile telephony (much cheaper to build a ubiquitous mobile infrastructure than a fixed line one). All while you're patronisingly deciding what they should consider necessity and what luxury.
And the worst bit? This is brought up every time there's an OLPC story, and you're still not understanding it.
Re:Social hack - use "bullfight" for "speed trap".
on
Is Your GPS Naive?
·
· Score: 1
Some of us actually *do* drive the speed limit. I sure do. Not necessarily because I think the limits/laws are just, but I'll be damned if I'm giving any more of my money to the State or my damned insurance agent. And I plan my trips accordingly.
Interestingly, since getting my TomTom, I'm finding that I drive the limit much more than I used to. Why? Because being there at a *predictable* time is much more important than being there at an *early* time. People generally respond better to predictability because then they can plan their time.
And when I know what time I'm going to be there driving normally, you discover that driving like my trousers are on fire gets me there (on a 2 - 4 hour journey) all of 10 minutes earlier. 20 if I'm lucky. So for all that risk and stress, I'm not even gaining that much. So why not just set off 10 minutes earlier?
Siebel (well, OK, eaten by Oracle - I'll give you that one, even though you meant "embraced by Microsoft")
Salesforce.com
Teradata
SAS
Aprimo
SAP
Amdocs
Unica
...off the top of my head. Not to mention stuff like Websphere Voice Server and CELM, which are just scarily good (health warning: both produced by my employer, but I've seen both of them in action and they each blew me away), and aren't getting embraced any time soon.
My most common grouse is that the key is Open Standards, not Open Source. If MSOffice and OS products conform to a open standard and anyone can develop applications that cleanly interoperate with them, the playing field will be level. There will be many vendors, some playing at the Open Sources and some in Free Software, some closed and for-profit players. Without leveling the playing field one can not see how Open Source is going to win. But what do I know.
Well of course it is. Everyone should have the choice whether to buy BSD licensed SW, locked proprietory SW, or any point in between, based simply on a price/functionality balance. And companies should have the choice for every application they release to license it the way they want, which also goes into the buying decision mix.
For companies that *do* sell SW with a spread of licenses (IBM being a prime example), Open Standards an obvious end-game that suits them very well. And of course, it means more work for the higher value consulting analysis that determines *what* should be integrated and *why*.
(Disclaimer: I work for IBM, but have no particular inside knowledge here)
FLIGHT ATTENDANT 2 I need you to turn off your laptop, sir. It interferes with our navigational systems.
TOBY You know when you guys say that, it sounds ridiculous to most people, right?
FLIGHT ATTENDANT 2 You can't use your phone until we land, sir.
TOBY We're flying in a Lockheed eagle series L-1011. It came off the line 20 months ago and carries a Sim-5 Transponder tracking system. Are you telling me I can still flummox this thing with something I bought at Radio Shack?
Remember that by British standards, American politics is right wing, or far-right. You need to be very careful when just talking "right" and "left" or "Republican" and "Democrat" if you're comparing UK and US politics
It's also worth remembering that the two largest parties are pretty much indistinguishable in terms of most areas of policy. The main differences are in history (which is why HateMyTory has a large number of people from the last Conservative government of over 10 years ago), and level of authoritarianism, in which the two have swapped position.
Recognising the electoral maths of the First Past the Post system, we've had a headlong rush for the centre ground.
...do first graders need homework? Surely the first few grades of school are for getting the basics down, rather than attempting to cram as much as possible into the kids' heads?
Ah, I'm seeing your logical error. You're assuming that homework is about the latter, rather than the former.
My first grader son gets homework. But all it is is to read a very short, simple book - same book for a week, with slightly different comprehensions emphasis each night.
And he reads pretty much any text visible to him anyway, from subtitles on TV to comic books to roadsigns, and we support him in it. All this homework is doing is to structure this a bit, reinforcing the basics taught in the school day. Would we have done this with him anyway without the school-provided materials? Yes. Would all parents? Maybe not.
So maybe that's a part of what homework for early years schookids is for - giving their parents the structure to let them support the learning; to do what good parents do anyway.
Remember that basic literacy (and numeracy) are the key to pretty much *all* learning - that's the basics you've got to get down quickly, otherwise it's hard to progress onto *anything*.
Documents should be stored in some sort of version control system (CVS, etc).
in my opinion, that would be a microsoft killer - no doubt about it. Think of how cool it would be if you never had to think about where a document was - it just existed. If you worked on it on your laptop and then went somewhere without connectivity, it was just there, magically, on your laptop. If you went to a portal or someone else's computer, (if they have connectivity) the document is just there, magically, over the network. Back on your laptop, you wander into a network and your laptop syncs your changes.
No emailing files back and forth. No lost data.
I already have that, with Rational Portfolio Manager (one of many things RPM does is document management with global access - you just need intaweb access)
You do have to worry about merging changes (if both of us go off the network and make changes separately).
Check out -> make changes and server copy is locked -> check in. Sorted. Or just take a read-only copy.
Someone should copyright the files that the MPAA is loading as fake files and than sue the MPAA for releasing copyrighted material
And how're you going to do that, sunshine?
When, oh when will people realise that you don't actively 'copyright' anything..? The copyright comes into existence when the work is created, and automatically is the property of the creator (insert caveat here about who the creator is in 'work for hire' environments). The copyright owner may assign it elsewhere, but it is just plainly not possibly to 'copyright the files'.
You could *try* creating something bit-level identical to the files, but I don't fancy your chances at proving that you created it and therefore own the rights.
* Smart searches. The first intelligent agent software packages will emerge, allowing Net users to ask for a specific piece of information like "What is the population of Fiji?" or "How far is Saturn from the Sun?" An agent will go out on the Net , find the information, and return it without the user knowing the source.
1st results from Google:
What is the population of Fiji? Fiji -- Population: 905,949 (July 2006 Est.) https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbo ok/print/fj.html
How far is Saturn from the Sun? Saturn -- Distance From the Sun: Mean: 1427 million KM (9.539 au.) Max: 1507 million KM (10.069 au.) Min: 1347 KM (9.008 au.) According to http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/pete/Saturn.htm
My only complaint is that there is no "mid-size" desktop in Apple's lineup.
They've got: - The "small little HTPC wanna-be" in the MacMini - The "Small Office Server" in the MacPro - The "Integrated to heck" iMac
I already have an LCD (or want to upgrade separately) so the iMac is out. They need a lower end MacPro (or some other machine) to sit in the middle between the iMac and the MacPro.
Yeah, I thought like that for a wee while. Then I realised - the iMac is way faster (compared to normal desktop needs) than even the higher end of the old PowerMac lines (I've consistently bought the 2nd top of the range since the PMs were introduced), and it has a video out, and supports dual-head usage.
When I upgrade this G4 dualie, it'll be a 20" iMac I go for, using one of the monitors I have here to continue my dual-headed goodness.
Harry's eyes - Everyone seems to dwell on the fact he has his mothers eyes. I don't know how, but I think it's important.
It is - JK has said so. But not how.
Voldemort's means of return - in Goblet of Fire, Voldemort uses Harry's blood to overcome the magic protection instilled by Lilly's sacrifice. When Harry mentions this to Dumbledore, his expression suggest an almost victorious feeling, and his response (I don't remember the exact wording) suggests that there may have been a trap of some kind in there.
You may recall how Granny Weatherwax beat the Vampyres[sic]?
It's also probably worth pointing out that Mozart's contemporary society was a great deal more scatalogical than present day US mores would permit. By our standards, Mozart would have been vulgar and loutish. But so would everyone else, probably right up to the Emperor.
If you want to criticise Schaffer's play, do so on the basis of the calumny in the central thesis and treatment of Salieri.
Mozart in the original would be of use only to an academic --- How do you read his notation? What instruments was he writing for? --- and so on.
I'd agree with you if you were talking pre-C16th. But with a small number of exceptions (trumpet being one - the valved instrument was very new at the time, and pianos weren't built to carry over a large symphony orchestra), Mozart's available instrumentation was at most marginally different to the resources of a chamber orchestra today, and his notation is near as dammit the same.
Even reading his handwritten notation is pretty easy by comparison - you don't get any of the scratchings out and revisions of many composers. Mozart seemed to have it all there in his head in finished form, and it was all a matter of just writing it down, so the first draft is the same quality as most composers' fair copy. Makes the rest of us green with envy, btw.
... giving a tremendous market advantage to local farmers who produce food in smaller amounts and with less impact on the environment.
Do you have any idea of how much fuel is used by family farms? I do. Tractors, combines, farm trucks , irrigation wells: all use a lot of fuel. A good percentage of farming expenses come from fuel costs so anything that inflates fuel costs would tend to drive more family farmers out of the business and leave it to the big conglomerates who get savings on the scale of their operations.
Obviously it's different where you are, but here in the UK, agricultural diesel is taxed differently (much lower) than diesel for road transport purposes. It's not available at most fuel stations (you need to live in the country...), and it's dyed red to finger the cheats.
Slashdot Mirror
Bloody hell that's plain bad scripting. While the reco engine does sound duff (or rather: the setup & tuning for the specific business purpose is duff), there's *no* excuse for this kind of rubbish, and they are orthogonal problems.
What you've got there is a reco system poorly shoehorned onto the same logic as a simple DTMF IVR - "System reads out the options & possible response values; user responds with the chosen key"
If you want a *better* example, go call the iPod tech support line (it's TuVox behind the scenes - there's examples at that URL, and note that that's all synthetic speech, not recorded). Or sign up for sharedealing with T Rowe Price, which is IBM Websphere Voice Server (actually, that example's a couple of years old now, but it's still miles better).
(Disclaimer: I am a member of the IBM Contact Centre Competency, but am not speaking for my employer)
No, it's a problem with the business analyst. Although if the IVR config is not as per requirements (and survives testing), then someone needs shooting.
(why yes, I *am* a Contact Centre specialist, with a specific interest in speech self-service)
The pace of technological change has significantly shrunk the commercially viable time period of any given IT innovation, particularly in software. For all useful purposes, the Patent monopoly is 'for all time' as by the time it expires, few people will be using the Patented innovation for anything beyond legacy support.
So regardless of whether SW Patents are effectively patents on algorithms (and therefore should not be Patentable), they are not fit for declared purpose.
Yes. I can also imagine how much we should care about how ill-informed idiots such as yourself stereotype the entire third world as being a homogenous mass of famine video fodder, and make self-important assumptions that the order of technology adoption of every country should mirror that of the industrialised nations.
Large areas of the third world (yes, even much of Africa) will achieve real practical benefits from OLPC, just as they do from mobile telephony (much cheaper to build a ubiquitous mobile infrastructure than a fixed line one). All while you're patronisingly deciding what they should consider necessity and what luxury.
And the worst bit? This is brought up every time there's an OLPC story, and you're still not understanding it.
Interestingly, since getting my TomTom, I'm finding that I drive the limit much more than I used to. Why? Because being there at a *predictable* time is much more important than being there at an *early* time. People generally respond better to predictability because then they can plan their time.
And when I know what time I'm going to be there driving normally, you discover that driving like my trousers are on fire gets me there (on a 2 - 4 hour journey) all of 10 minutes earlier. 20 if I'm lucky. So for all that risk and stress, I'm not even gaining that much. So why not just set off 10 minutes earlier?
Well of course it is. Everyone should have the choice whether to buy BSD licensed SW, locked proprietory SW, or any point in between, based simply on a price/functionality balance. And companies should have the choice for every application they release to license it the way they want, which also goes into the buying decision mix.
For companies that *do* sell SW with a spread of licenses (IBM being a prime example), Open Standards an obvious end-game that suits them very well. And of course, it means more work for the higher value consulting analysis that determines *what* should be integrated and *why*.
(Disclaimer: I work for IBM, but have no particular inside knowledge here)
FLIGHT ATTENDANT 2
I need you to turn off your laptop, sir. It interferes with our navigational systems.
TOBY
You know when you guys say that, it sounds ridiculous to most people, right?
FLIGHT ATTENDANT 2
You can't use your phone until we land, sir.
TOBY
We're flying in a Lockheed eagle series L-1011. It came off the line 20 months ago
and carries a Sim-5 Transponder tracking system. Are you telling me I can still
flummox this thing with something I bought at Radio Shack?
Recognising the electoral maths of the First Past the Post system, we've had a headlong rush for the centre ground.
My first grader son gets homework. But all it is is to read a very short, simple book - same book for a week, with slightly different comprehensions emphasis each night.
And he reads pretty much any text visible to him anyway, from subtitles on TV to comic books to roadsigns, and we support him in it. All this homework is doing is to structure this a bit, reinforcing the basics taught in the school day. Would we have done this with him anyway without the school-provided materials? Yes. Would all parents? Maybe not.
So maybe that's a part of what homework for early years schookids is for - giving their parents the structure to let them support the learning; to do what good parents do anyway.
Remember that basic literacy (and numeracy) are the key to pretty much *all* learning - that's the basics you've got to get down quickly, otherwise it's hard to progress onto *anything*.
When, oh when will people realise that you don't actively 'copyright' anything..? The copyright comes into existence when the work is created, and automatically is the property of the creator (insert caveat here about who the creator is in 'work for hire' environments). The copyright owner may assign it elsewhere, but it is just plainly not possibly to 'copyright the files'.
You could *try* creating something bit-level identical to the files, but I don't fancy your chances at proving that you created it and therefore own the rights.
1st results from Google:
Fiji -- Population: 905,949 (July 2006 Est.)
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factb
Saturn -- Distance From the Sun: Mean: 1427 million KM (9.539 au.) Max: 1507 million KM (10.069 au.) Min: 1347 KM (9.008 au.)
According to http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/pete/ Saturn.htm
Evidence please..? Or are you just making this up on the basis of your own prejudices.
Ah, I think you're answering my question here. Ice shelves don't 'melt to a shelving point.' Meltwater collects at the surface, then migrates rapidly to the base, causing breakup.
Do please try to avoid the trap of your own small-scale assumptions.
When I upgrade this G4 dualie, it'll be a 20" iMac I go for, using one of the monitors I have here to continue my dual-headed goodness.
You may recall how Granny Weatherwax beat the Vampyres[sic]?
It's also probably worth pointing out that Mozart's contemporary society was a great deal more scatalogical than present day US mores would permit. By our standards, Mozart would have been vulgar and loutish. But so would everyone else, probably right up to the Emperor.
If you want to criticise Schaffer's play, do so on the basis of the calumny in the central thesis and treatment of Salieri.
Even reading his handwritten notation is pretty easy by comparison - you don't get any of the scratchings out and revisions of many composers. Mozart seemed to have it all there in his head in finished form, and it was all a matter of just writing it down, so the first draft is the same quality as most composers' fair copy. Makes the rest of us green with envy, btw.