No, the idea that MS's removing a few words from its thesaurus will ultimately result in them ultimately disappearing from the language, and from the minds of people is silly and paranoid, which was the point of my post.
Think about it for a second: Do you honestly believe that if MS removes the word "idiot" from its thesaurus (the example in the story), the term will disappear from the language and people will forget the concept of an "idiot" entirely, and will suddenly consider everyone they meet fantastically competent? Of course not.
People don't use the Word thesaurus to express themselves, they use it to find lengthy synonyms that make them sound more intelligent in business letters. A thesaurus is there to jog people's memory, but not to replace it: nobody would pick a word from a thesaurus if they didn't know what it meant.
Languages mutate naturally as time goes on. Words disappear, are replaced by new ones, go in and out of fashion all the time. The idea that any thesaurus could serve as the repository of the English language, and that any company can change the minds of millions by altering it is pure paranoia. So MS's dictionary doesn't contain all the words in the English language. Compared to the Oxford English Dictionary, neither does Merriam-Webster's, Compton's or anyone else's. Big deal.
Funny, I just noticed the random quote in the bottom right corner: "I want to reach your mind -- where is it currently located?". I can tell you one thing: it's not in the Word Thesaurus.
You don't usually post information about shows, but we really need to know about this one because Hemos is going to be there and has never been to Australia.
I doubt too many people here get excited about the idea of Hemos traveling to Australia, or consider Australia sufficiently exotic that a Linuxconf would be interesting.
This is a site about Stuff that Matters, not about Hemos - please try to stay away from such narcissistic editorial crieria.
If it turns out developers can't work in a locked-down environment, companies will notice almost immediately after they start the lockdown. If in the process of maintaining the system integrity they crave so much they end up harming productivity, they themselves will have to make the decision of whether to keep the system active.
Some companies will think the time they save on maintenance is worth the productivity blow, others will change back. Developers will pick whatever work environment suits them. Basically, nothing happens - how boring.
They're not restricting anything. You can write about Fumblegrumples if you feel like it, and it's not on the Thesaurus. You just have to know what you want to say.
That's a big difference. No big brother here. Move along...
Here we are, mulling over the end of Internet appliances. Meanwhile, today's New York Times Circuits column has an article about an LG refrigerator, from LG Electronics.
Features: TV, videoconferencing. No inventory.
Price tag: About $10,000.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is just yet another example of why Internet appliances are failing. For that price, I can get a sub-zero fridge, and several high end computers, and still have money left to renovate the rest of my kitchen. No wonder these things don't catch on...
The great thing about this system is that it lets parents draw their own line for what they want their children to be able to access, rather than having to stick to a company's prespecified block list. This avoids freedom-of-speech issues and the like that have made other systems unpopular.
How much of the web do you want your kids to see? Are you concerned about hate, but not about porn? What rating level do you think counts as objectionable? Draw your own line, for your own kids.
search for signs of life sustaining environments including water...
Didn't Nasa find water on Mars several times already? How will this mission tell us anything new?
Slashdot Mirror
Think about it for a second: Do you honestly believe that if MS removes the word "idiot" from its thesaurus (the example in the story), the term will disappear from the language and people will forget the concept of an "idiot" entirely, and will suddenly consider everyone they meet fantastically competent? Of course not.
People don't use the Word thesaurus to express themselves, they use it to find lengthy synonyms that make them sound more intelligent in business letters. A thesaurus is there to jog people's memory, but not to replace it: nobody would pick a word from a thesaurus if they didn't know what it meant.
Languages mutate naturally as time goes on. Words disappear, are replaced by new ones, go in and out of fashion all the time. The idea that any thesaurus could serve as the repository of the English language, and that any company can change the minds of millions by altering it is pure paranoia. So MS's dictionary doesn't contain all the words in the English language. Compared to the Oxford English Dictionary, neither does Merriam-Webster's, Compton's or anyone else's. Big deal.
Funny, I just noticed the random quote in the bottom right corner: "I want to reach your mind -- where is it currently located?". I can tell you one thing: it's not in the Word Thesaurus.
You don't usually post information about shows, but we really need to know about this one because Hemos is going to be there and has never been to Australia.
I doubt too many people here get excited about the idea of Hemos traveling to Australia, or consider Australia sufficiently exotic that a Linuxconf would be interesting.
This is a site about Stuff that Matters, not about Hemos - please try to stay away from such narcissistic editorial crieria.
Imagine a linux-powered humanoid in a penguin costume knocking at your door...
If it turns out developers can't work in a locked-down environment, companies will notice almost immediately after they start the lockdown. If in the process of maintaining the system integrity they crave so much they end up harming productivity, they themselves will have to make the decision of whether to keep the system active.
Some companies will think the time they save on maintenance is worth the productivity blow, others will change back. Developers will pick whatever work environment suits them. Basically, nothing happens - how boring.
They're not restricting anything. You can write about Fumblegrumples if you feel like it, and it's not on the Thesaurus. You just have to know what you want to say.
That's a big difference. No big brother here. Move along...
Features: TV, videoconferencing. No inventory.
Price tag: About $10,000.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is just yet another example of why Internet appliances are failing. For that price, I can get a sub-zero fridge, and several high end computers, and still have money left to renovate the rest of my kitchen. No wonder these things don't catch on...
The great thing about this system is that it lets parents draw their own line for what they want their children to be able to access, rather than having to stick to a company's prespecified block list. This avoids freedom-of-speech issues and the like that have made other systems unpopular.
How much of the web do you want your kids to see? Are you concerned about hate, but not about porn? What rating level do you think counts as objectionable? Draw your own line, for your own kids.
search for signs of life sustaining environments including water...
Didn't Nasa find water on Mars several times already? How will this mission tell us anything new?