Nothing has been this big of a threat to the desktop monopoly since Java.
How does Java control my disk drive? No...I mean at the driver level. How does Java move data through my PCI bus and out the network card?
I'll answer: it doesn't. Java still needs an operating system to run with somekind of interface between the BIOS, CPU, and other resources. Java is not yet on a desktop bios that I know of and if it is, it certainly doesn't support the number of devices that Windows does. Wash, rinse, and repeat for Flash, Silverlight, Flex, AJAX, or just about any other similar architecture. They aren't operating systems. None of them can talk to my bios or be a substitute for Windows, Linux, OSX, or other OSes.
Hence, no threat to the desktop monopoly. You still need an OS. And right now, that OS is most decidedly a Microsoft product for the vast majority of people (+xbox +phones +cars +zune +). As long as that continues, the desktop monopoly will remain intact.
But...Linden Labs can *still* track the transactions via your user accounts.
They know 10,000 LBs went from you to Joe Hacker, don't they? They also know where those LBs went after Joe Hacker got his hands on them. And so on and so forth.
Point is: The Lindenbucks can always be tracked and followed. If they money supply is "hacked", it should be obvious and known within minutes.
You link to a BBC article about "possible" mass famine on a world-wide scale....and then suggest the US would be susceptible to somekind of famine?
I have to ask: are you serious?
Say what you want about Ron Paul but your statement can't stand. The US - with all of those middle states (great for ag, btw) - and you insinuate we are going to starve to death? Seriously. There is almost zero chance of that happening. Why? I am glad you asked.;)
If there is one thing the US has plenty of - it's farmland. Land to grow things on. Land that, right now, the government pays you NOT to farm. Yes, you read that correctly...the US government still has the CRP Program And it's not some small program. Each state has their own version but the premise is basically the same: govt pays you not to farm your land. We have this program for a lot of different reasons but that's not the point. The point is, if you opened up the spigots and started growing as much as you could, we'd be up to our eyeballs in food. There is that much land in the USA. The question is: will you have a society in place that can deliver it to people?
Methinks you also need to read some US History and understand one of the things we've always been great at: Agriculture. Ever hear of John Deere? Or George Archer and John Daniels (Archer-Daniels Midland)? How about Texas Agriculture and Mechanical University (TX A&M)? The US are experts at producing food. We will be the last ones to starve in a worldwide famine of anykind.
It's not ALL companies as you state in your post. Regulations requiring e-mail archives are only for publicly traded companies (ie: on the stock exchanges). Private companies have no such requirement.
But doesn't Linden Labs, exclusively, control their currency?
ie: like the US Treasury and Fed Reserve system for "creating" money, Linden Labs is the UST/Fed for their world. Don't they know - with exact precision - where each and every Linden dollar is?
Imagine how much fraud you could eliminate if our own Govt could track every single dollar in the world, along with the history of that dollar (where it has been, what transactions it did, etc). Of course, we would never allow that in the 1st world....but in 2nd life? I would expect them to do that.
So, why aren't they? It seems, in a way, they've lost control of the very economy they created.
Walmart is one of the most efficient retail operators in the world. Bar none. Efficiency in the retail space equates to managing your inventory. And Walmart are MASTERS at that. Don't you read case studies on Walmart IT? While the company does have it's problems, IT, efficiency, and inventory management are not among them. Calling them inefficient is just....well....wrong.
Yes, but the premise I was making made the example relevant. Of course I know Rand's character was fictional but the character was there to demonstrate the relationship between business and the state.
Don't you remember WHY Reardon was in the courts in the first place? Because his competitors complained that his product was better than theirs.
It's one of the oldest strategies out there. If your competitor is beating you with their offerings, then you find a nice friend (the govt) to help make it more difficult for them. Hopefully, the govt will not take up this cause as M$ is already a convicted monopolist, themselves.
From Ayn Rand's Reardon character to the latest round in the ongoing SCO saga, the courts have ALWAYS been used by lesser competitors to slow down/stop/hassel the competition.
Maybe with an income tax return, but we'll see when the time comes.
I think you missed something here. You do realize that the "return" you speak about is YOUR money in the first place, right? The govt is doing you no favors by "returning" you tax money. You still pay taxes. Your return is just the money you withheld over the year minus your tax bill. ie: return = your change from your taxes.
Methinks you meant to say "Maybe with lower taxes, but we'll see when the time comes".
People - your return means nothing. Look at the other number. That's the one that matters. And that number is "Total tax dollars paid to the IRS".
No, AMD is not trying to get a "cash advance" from it's customers.
If AMD, a Fortune 500 company, needs cash....they go to the debt markets like everyone else. It's not like this is the local loan shark here. It's Goldman Sachs. It's Citibank. It's Lehman Brothers. And trust me, they will be more than happy to help AMD find short-term cash (for a fee, of course). What do you think investment banking is?
Not to go too far OT, there was a great documentary by the same name. If you haven't seen it, rent it. It's a fascinating look at the "behind the scenes".
Yet another "war room". And like the parent, I've never heard it called anything else.
...and thus why I say that lawyers and attorneys are the scribes of our modern day world. We all have to follow the law of the land. But only those with "the knowledge" can read, write, or understand the laws. Funny how that works, huh?
Their power and wealth, as an aggregate, also support this view. They have created a system that needs THEM in order to use it. After all, without translation, it's just a bunch of nonsense that you can't understand.
And by "you", I mean everyone who isn't an attorney.
Really, it's a brilliant plan, whether intended or not.
Corporations are not people. You can't "lock them up". In fact, that is the very reason the corporation exists (among many others...)
You can fine them. You can punish them. You can even put them out of business. But you can not "lock up the corporation". You might be able to lockup the officers of said corporation and we've already seen examples of that (Enron) but those are much more specific cases of fraud than what you are alluding to.
Corporations are legal entities. But they are different legal entities than people.
Encryption = power in the online world. Power to keep everyone from seeing what you are doing.
In the real world, people use guns and deception to achieve this.
Deception (spoofing) is pretty much out on the Internet. For a variety of technical reasons. Therefore, encryption = guns in the digital world. Arm yourself and you will likely keep the privacy you deserve. If they can't see what is being transmitted, it is of little value to them.
Right now it's just too easy. No guns (encryption) means no resistance.
100% agree that the people (who are, in reality, the same as the govt) can change the rules to their liking and make things more balanced. Corporations only exist because we (the people/govt) allow them to exist.
France, for example, required it's businesses to make a 35 hr work week instead of the standard 40 hour. Why? Because they wanted to employ more people. So businesses had to comply.
Having said that, however, here in the states, workers are currently at a major disadvantage. OUR people and govt has shown very little interest in restricting what companies can and can't do with respect to employees. It's pretty much hire and fire at will.
The whole arrangement reminds me of a saying, "the upper class owns things, the middle class are the workers, and the poor are there to keep the middle class working". Harsh....but true to a certain extent.
Few people here can get 4+ weeks of vacation, long and flexible lunch hours, etc., even if they want them, without taking a disproportionately large drop in pay and giving up promotions to the go-getter with no life outside of work, so for many it's just not a real option.
Which of those types of employees do you think is more valuable to the employer?
Duh.
He who has the gold, makes the rules. And, as you would expect, the employers ALSO have certain goals in mind that they want to incent. (ie: higher level of productivity, better quality, etc.)
They pay him more and give him more promotions because of one simple reason: he's more valuable to them. He'll take 1 week vacation and be happy. You need 4 to be happy. If you want to understand things better, then look at the world through the eyes of owners. Because they are the ones making the rules. Quite simply, you work for them. And if you don't like that, then please step aside because there are 10 more people, right behind you, who will take it in an instant.
A different perspective changes things a bit, don't you think?
So, under those rules, ANY software that "phones home" is a server, right?
I mean, if it's just listening - then it's a client, waiting for data. However, if it's actively SENDING data (from an outside request), then it's a server.
The reason they say "alleged" is because you are innocent until PROVEN guilty in a court of law. Until a court of law convicts the perpetrator, there is no legal crime.
It has nothing to do with being sued or not. It has to do with one of the founding principles of our country: innocent until proven guilty.
Being arrested is not the same as being convicted. Big big difference.
If you want to make a living being a musician, then you are an idiot if you do not understand what you are doing, with respect to contracts.
I 100% understand what you are saying about musicians being musicians and not being MBA's. But if they are going to try and make a living at it, don't you think some time should be spent on HOW to do that? Part of being a paid musician is "running the business" and if you ignore the business aspect of your music, then you will get whatever comes to you. Same for lawyers, doctors, or any other "professional" working on their own.
Nobody expects MBA's. But to bury your head in the sand, saying "I am a musician. I don't know anything about finance/contracts/business" is asking for trouble. That's all I meant with my post.
I have lots of friends who fall into this category. They want to make a living playing music but can't be bothered to learn the basics about how to do that. They seem to think that as long as they play -- it will all work out. Except that is rarely does. Naivete will get you killed in the real world, despite having lofty goals of everybody working together for the best solution. In many cases, you'll find the other guy sitting across the table is NOT working for your interests so you have to protect yourself.
Knowledge and education is the only way to do that.
I don't know if I've ever seen a more confused example of profits and revenues.
Profit is what you earn - above all of your costs.
Revenue is the total amount you take in (ie: the gross)
If you pay them out of profits, that's easy. Because you have to MAKE profit first. If you have to pay them out of revenues, that's easy too. Because you have to take money in before you can pay them. It's the fees/payments/costs you have to pay no matter what that you have to watch out for. And I suspect, most of these costs you outline are done in that manner.
Perhaps not knowing the difference contributes to these idiots entering into these contracts in the first place?
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Nothing has been this big of a threat to the desktop monopoly since Java.
How does Java control my disk drive? No...I mean at the driver level. How does Java move data through my PCI bus and out the network card?
I'll answer: it doesn't. Java still needs an operating system to run with somekind of interface between the BIOS, CPU, and other resources. Java is not yet on a desktop bios that I know of and if it is, it certainly doesn't support the number of devices that Windows does. Wash, rinse, and repeat for Flash, Silverlight, Flex, AJAX, or just about any other similar architecture. They aren't operating systems. None of them can talk to my bios or be a substitute for Windows, Linux, OSX, or other OSes.
Hence, no threat to the desktop monopoly. You still need an OS. And right now, that OS is most decidedly a Microsoft product for the vast majority of people (+xbox +phones +cars +zune +). As long as that continues, the desktop monopoly will remain intact.
For Tivo users, the actual names is "Hooked: Illegal Drugs and how they got that way". It is an ongoing series.
I agree with the parent, however. Very very informative about the history of our drug war.
But...Linden Labs can *still* track the transactions via your user accounts.
They know 10,000 LBs went from you to Joe Hacker, don't they? They also know where those LBs went after Joe Hacker got his hands on them. And so on and so forth.
Point is: The Lindenbucks can always be tracked and followed. If they money supply is "hacked", it should be obvious and known within minutes.
You link to a BBC article about "possible" mass famine on a world-wide scale....and then suggest the US would be susceptible to somekind of famine?
;)
I have to ask: are you serious?
Say what you want about Ron Paul but your statement can't stand. The US - with all of those middle states (great for ag, btw) - and you insinuate we are going to starve to death? Seriously. There is almost zero chance of that happening. Why? I am glad you asked.
If there is one thing the US has plenty of - it's farmland. Land to grow things on. Land that, right now, the government pays you NOT to farm. Yes, you read that correctly...the US government still has the CRP Program And it's not some small program. Each state has their own version but the premise is basically the same: govt pays you not to farm your land. We have this program for a lot of different reasons but that's not the point. The point is, if you opened up the spigots and started growing as much as you could, we'd be up to our eyeballs in food. There is that much land in the USA. The question is: will you have a society in place that can deliver it to people?
Methinks you also need to read some US History and understand one of the things we've always been great at: Agriculture. Ever hear of John Deere? Or George Archer and John Daniels (Archer-Daniels Midland)? How about Texas Agriculture and Mechanical University (TX A&M)? The US are experts at producing food. We will be the last ones to starve in a worldwide famine of anykind.
It's not ALL companies as you state in your post. Regulations requiring e-mail archives are only for publicly traded companies (ie: on the stock exchanges). Private companies have no such requirement.
But doesn't Linden Labs, exclusively, control their currency?
ie: like the US Treasury and Fed Reserve system for "creating" money, Linden Labs is the UST/Fed for their world. Don't they know - with exact precision - where each and every Linden dollar is?
Imagine how much fraud you could eliminate if our own Govt could track every single dollar in the world, along with the history of that dollar (where it has been, what transactions it did, etc). Of course, we would never allow that in the 1st world....but in 2nd life? I would expect them to do that.
So, why aren't they? It seems, in a way, they've lost control of the very economy they created.
Walmart is large, but it is horribly inefficient
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
Walmart is one of the most efficient retail operators in the world. Bar none. Efficiency in the retail space equates to managing your inventory. And Walmart are MASTERS at that. Don't you read case studies on Walmart IT? While the company does have it's problems, IT, efficiency, and inventory management are not among them. Calling them inefficient is just....well....wrong.
Yes, but the premise I was making made the example relevant. Of course I know Rand's character was fictional but the character was there to demonstrate the relationship between business and the state.
Don't you remember WHY Reardon was in the courts in the first place? Because his competitors complained that his product was better than theirs.
While fictional, it is very appropriate.
Those who can, do. Those who can't....litigate.
It's one of the oldest strategies out there. If your competitor is beating you with their offerings, then you find a nice friend (the govt) to help make it more difficult for them. Hopefully, the govt will not take up this cause as M$ is already a convicted monopolist, themselves.
From Ayn Rand's Reardon character to the latest round in the ongoing SCO saga, the courts have ALWAYS been used by lesser competitors to slow down/stop/hassel the competition.
Maybe with an income tax return, but we'll see when the time comes.
I think you missed something here. You do realize that the "return" you speak about is YOUR money in the first place, right? The govt is doing you no favors by "returning" you tax money. You still pay taxes. Your return is just the money you withheld over the year minus your tax bill. ie: return = your change from your taxes.
Methinks you meant to say "Maybe with lower taxes, but we'll see when the time comes".
People - your return means nothing. Look at the other number. That's the one that matters. And that number is "Total tax dollars paid to the IRS".
No, AMD is not trying to get a "cash advance" from it's customers.
If AMD, a Fortune 500 company, needs cash....they go to the debt markets like everyone else. It's not like this is the local loan shark here. It's Goldman Sachs. It's Citibank. It's Lehman Brothers. And trust me, they will be more than happy to help AMD find short-term cash (for a fee, of course). What do you think investment banking is?
There is no conspiracy here. Please move along.
Not to go too far OT, there was a great documentary by the same name. If you haven't seen it, rent it. It's a fascinating look at the "behind the scenes".
Yet another "war room". And like the parent, I've never heard it called anything else.
Don't forget "number of nautical miles traveled" somewhere in your calcs.
It makes a substantial difference where the inflection point is.
...and thus why I say that lawyers and attorneys are the scribes of our modern day world. We all have to follow the law of the land. But only those with "the knowledge" can read, write, or understand the laws. Funny how that works, huh?
Their power and wealth, as an aggregate, also support this view. They have created a system that needs THEM in order to use it. After all, without translation, it's just a bunch of nonsense that you can't understand.
And by "you", I mean everyone who isn't an attorney.
Really, it's a brilliant plan, whether intended or not.
Correlation does not equal causation.
I'll tell you what additional "nifty" stuff you'd get: nothing.
If you think Iraq is stopping them from spending money, then you need to start paying attention and understanding the federal deficit.
Corporations are not people. You can't "lock them up". In fact, that is the very reason the corporation exists (among many others...)
You can fine them. You can punish them. You can even put them out of business. But you can not "lock up the corporation". You might be able to lockup the officers of said corporation and we've already seen examples of that (Enron) but those are much more specific cases of fraud than what you are alluding to.
Corporations are legal entities. But they are different legal entities than people.
Encryption = power in the online world. Power to keep everyone from seeing what you are doing.
In the real world, people use guns and deception to achieve this.
Deception (spoofing) is pretty much out on the Internet. For a variety of technical reasons. Therefore, encryption = guns in the digital world. Arm yourself and you will likely keep the privacy you deserve. If they can't see what is being transmitted, it is of little value to them.
Right now it's just too easy. No guns (encryption) means no resistance.
100% agree that the people (who are, in reality, the same as the govt) can change the rules to their liking and make things more balanced. Corporations only exist because we (the people/govt) allow them to exist.
France, for example, required it's businesses to make a 35 hr work week instead of the standard 40 hour. Why? Because they wanted to employ more people. So businesses had to comply.
Having said that, however, here in the states, workers are currently at a major disadvantage. OUR people and govt has shown very little interest in restricting what companies can and can't do with respect to employees. It's pretty much hire and fire at will.
The whole arrangement reminds me of a saying, "the upper class owns things, the middle class are the workers, and the poor are there to keep the middle class working". Harsh....but true to a certain extent.
Few people here can get 4+ weeks of vacation, long and flexible lunch hours, etc., even if they want them, without taking a disproportionately large drop in pay and giving up promotions to the go-getter with no life outside of work, so for many it's just not a real option.
Which of those types of employees do you think is more valuable to the employer?
Duh.
He who has the gold, makes the rules. And, as you would expect, the employers ALSO have certain goals in mind that they want to incent. (ie: higher level of productivity, better quality, etc.)
They pay him more and give him more promotions because of one simple reason: he's more valuable to them. He'll take 1 week vacation and be happy. You need 4 to be happy. If you want to understand things better, then look at the world through the eyes of owners. Because they are the ones making the rules. Quite simply, you work for them. And if you don't like that, then please step aside because there are 10 more people, right behind you, who will take it in an instant.
A different perspective changes things a bit, don't you think?
So, under those rules, ANY software that "phones home" is a server, right?
I mean, if it's just listening - then it's a client, waiting for data. However, if it's actively SENDING data (from an outside request), then it's a server.
Children yes. But don't forget the retarded also.
We like to cook them up, too.
The reason they say "alleged" is because you are innocent until PROVEN guilty in a court of law. Until a court of law convicts the perpetrator, there is no legal crime.
It has nothing to do with being sued or not. It has to do with one of the founding principles of our country: innocent until proven guilty.
Being arrested is not the same as being convicted. Big big difference.
If you want to make a living being a musician, then you are an idiot if you do not understand what you are doing, with respect to contracts.
I 100% understand what you are saying about musicians being musicians and not being MBA's. But if they are going to try and make a living at it, don't you think some time should be spent on HOW to do that? Part of being a paid musician is "running the business" and if you ignore the business aspect of your music, then you will get whatever comes to you. Same for lawyers, doctors, or any other "professional" working on their own.
Nobody expects MBA's. But to bury your head in the sand, saying "I am a musician. I don't know anything about finance/contracts/business" is asking for trouble. That's all I meant with my post.
I have lots of friends who fall into this category. They want to make a living playing music but can't be bothered to learn the basics about how to do that. They seem to think that as long as they play -- it will all work out. Except that is rarely does. Naivete will get you killed in the real world, despite having lofty goals of everybody working together for the best solution. In many cases, you'll find the other guy sitting across the table is NOT working for your interests so you have to protect yourself.
Knowledge and education is the only way to do that.
I don't know if I've ever seen a more confused example of profits and revenues.
Profit is what you earn - above all of your costs.
Revenue is the total amount you take in (ie: the gross)
If you pay them out of profits, that's easy. Because you have to MAKE profit first. If you have to pay them out of revenues, that's easy too. Because you have to take money in before you can pay them. It's the fees/payments/costs you have to pay no matter what that you have to watch out for. And I suspect, most of these costs you outline are done in that manner.
Perhaps not knowing the difference contributes to these idiots entering into these contracts in the first place?