Part of the issue is privacy. If you can take the paper trail and use it to say "you" voted for candidate X, then you have violated privacy for that person.
I'm not saying that outweighs the fraud issue, rather, I am saying I can see their point.
Anonymity - for voting - is VERY highly valued here in the USA. People don't like it when other's know who they voted for.
I call bullshit. In it's purest form, Teflon is good to about 400 degrees F. I don't know how they laminate it to a frying pan but I am guessing they do so in a way that that the Teflon can not "melt" away or vaporize during the higher cooking temperatures. Is it possible that it's something OTHER than the teflon that is causing the problem? It would certainly be easier to qualify if you could provide a link supporting your assertation.
Also, if the vapors are so bad, then why don't power plants, chem plants, and other plants have to report to the EPA when they "melt" teflon due to process upsets and whatnot? It happens ALL the damn time. Every day, all over the world.
And since I spec Teflon on on many of the items I provide to these plants, I am certain I would have heard of any hazardous environmental issues related to it. Yet, this is the first time I have EVER heard anything "harmful" associated with Teflon.
Teflon is inert for MOST materials. There are a few things that make it swell but you are, mostly right. It is the most chemically inert substance I personally know of.
They may not be immortal, but they do have a ton of cash to ride things out. Change is slow. Especially for such a dominant company such as Microsoft. They will be around for the forseeable future...
And for those that don't click the link, that's $37 billion. Cash. With a "B".
The GP post was referring to Bill Gates. And Bill Gates is in America. It seems to me that the American-centric reference was appropriate.
Wait, you are right. This is slashdot. All American-centric posts should be amended to be more thoughtful of our worldwide audience. Regardless of whether it is appropriate or not.
One outlier is always present, no? I mean, we call it an outlier because it's, well...an outlier. So why can't MSFT be that outlier? Looking back over the last 20 years, I disagree with you -- I think they ARE the outlier.
"What other company makes those kinds of stats?"
Very very very few. Certainly less than 500 companies (S&P 500) and most of those have wet dreams about the numbers MSFT continues to post year after year. That's why MSFT is so important and that was the point of my previous post. MSFT is very unique. They make LOTS of money. They have low costs (relatively), and they produce a product that almost everyone has.
GM may not have been the best example because of the current news but over the last 50 years, GM has been an incredible company. And guess what? So is MSFT. Rumors of it's downfall are greatly exaggerated.
Uhh, according to my sources, Microsoft made $1.03 over its trailing 12 months (ttm - 2004). The company generates $1 BILLION cash every quarter. It has gross margins north of 60%. It just paid a large cash dividend to shareholders and there is rumors that another is on the way.
What, exactly, is impressive in your book?
MSFT is the GM of the computer world. It will NEVER go away (unless America, somehow, goes away).
"It appears that the evolutionists in Kansas are either incapable of defending their beliefs, or unwilling to try."
No, they decided that the purpose of the meetings were more for political grandstanding than to have a true debate on the merits of each case. The ID folks have a very hard time talking merits so they are seeking to change the way merits are measured. For a long while, the rest of the world has measured the merits of any debate by the scientific method. And by any reasonable application of that method, evolution has more credibility than ID. So the ID folks figured, if you can't beat them --- then change the rules. And that was why the evolutionists boycotted the debates. It has nothing to do with an unwillingness or defense of beliefs.
And for the record....I wouldn't participate either
"In Texas there is no lower limit. You can shoot someone in the back who is running away from you and is no longer on your property, as long as they stole from you and you can expect that you won't see it again if they make off with it and you would be at risk if you caught them. That's pretty much a blank check to shoot a robber in the back."
This is plain wrong. I lived in Texas and this is NOT legal. To have a justifiable shooting, the person must be in your house or attempting to break into your house while you are there. Just like other states, if you shoot someone in the back as they are trying to escape, you are breaking the law. It's the old "did you feel that your life was threatened?".
Now, having said that, I must state that there can be some loose interpretations of what constitues "trying to break into your house". But on the whole, we aren't just a bunch of gun-toting people hunter's down here. Despite what the press would have you believe, most of us in TX are just like you and me.
"I'm sorry but the gun was not invented for recreational use. It was invented as a weapon of war to maim and destroy people."
...or to make hunting a bit easier. Yea, ok, so you don't need an AR-10 to take out a deer -- but your sweeping generalization above could not go untouched. There are PLENTY of legitimate, recreational uses for guns including target practice, hunting, pest control, and others. Saying the gun was invented ONLY to kill people tells me you've never even been around a gun and are most certainly unqualified to make such an assertation.
Huh. I didn't know about the Fish aspect. That's pretty cool! You learn something new everyday.
I do sell equipment to freight guys but most of what I sell is into gas/oil just due to geography and the businesses here (Okla/TX/KS). Seriously, I'll sell to anyone who can and wants to buy!
Here's another little nerdy fact about H2S. It's very easy to detect. H2S reacts with Lead Acetate to produce a brownish lead sulfide. So, you create a roll of lead acetate tape and then "spot" your samples onto it. If H2S is present, it will create a brownish lead sulfide which is easily visible.
The best part about it is this: H2S is the ONLY substance that reacts with lead acetate in this way. So interference and false signals are a non-issue. Brown = H2S. White = no H2S.
It will drop you for a little more than "momentarily". H2S has the capacity to kill at less than 100ppm, depending on how long your exposure is. Yes, it will make you pass out -- but you might never wake up.
It's nasty stuff and all refineries, pipelines, and other oil/gas installations are trained about H2S and it's risks. Where H2S is present in the lines, you will see many of the technicians wearing portable H2S monitors.
(BTW, I sell H2S detectors for natural gas custody transfer points. Not the portable ones I spoke about but large scale one for pipeline intersections)
Not everyone can be an expert in everything. Therefore, consultants have their place. I know they take a lot of flack but to someone who knows VERY LITTLE about a given subject, they are invaluable for filling in the gaps.
Details do matter, despite cries of "making huge deals out of everything"
"I think John von Neumann once said --- "If you can tell me exactly what it is that a machine cannot do, then I will build a machine to do exactly that!"."
Ok, I'll bite. How about a machine that loves me? Or a machine that is jealous of my children? Or a machine that is envious of my neighbor's wealth?
Just wait until they find out that they are restricted. From personal experience, my Mom got into iTunes for a while until I asked her about backups of her "online" music. She knew she could burn a CD but she was assembling a "collection" of music on her PC and that's pretty much all she wanted to do. She had zero interest in burning CD's at all - for backup or otherwise.
Her interest in iTunes promptly ended when I explained to her that if her hard drive crashes, she loses all of her purchased music. When she learned that Apple would not "replace" it or let you download it again, she finally put 2 and 2 together and figured out that she wasn't really BUYING anything at all.
I don't think the general public has any idea what DRM is and how it affects them. They will find out very soon once they actually try to USE the DRM material they purchased and they run into the everyday hassles all of us have (backups, portability, etc). Until then, however, the large media companies will continue to sell this crap. Why? Because people will put up with it.
My point is that your average user couldn't care less for all 99% of the talk on Slashdot. The original poster mentioned computing (specifically GNOME) as elitist. I was simply making the point that he's correct. All this bickering about users this and users that is irrelevant until "users" actually understand what we are talking about. And I see that happening....never.
OSS is *already* that way. Joe user
a) has no clue what "open source" means and might even be a little iffy on the meaning of "software"
b) has absolutely no clue about patents, copyrights, or anything else open software prides itself on. Yes, he's heard of them...but he couldn't distiguish between them if his life depended on it
c) could care less about ideological hatred of Microsoft
d) barely knows what the internet is, other than WWW -- and he barely knows how to use that!
If you don't think OSS is elitist, just do this: go to Wal-Mart, hang out in the parking lot and ask 100 people if they know what Linux is. I will bet you dollars to donuts that less than 3 could define it as an "operating system". And WAL-MART sells Lindows on some machines! (as I recall). You might hear a few answers that allude to computers or some abstract technology but very very very few will know what it really is.
Now, multiply and scale to American demographics. Linux, OSS, OpenOffice, and all the other free software out there is a blib on the radar screen. Very very few outside of the "IT Industry" know anything about it and the vast majority couldn't care less.
Personally, after using the Sandisk, I fail to see what is so hard about developing a simple, easy-to-use mp3 player with lots of flash memory. It installs as a drive letter so I can "drag and drop", it's backlit, and it runs on AAA (one).
I'm not a shill. Just satisfied.....and a little confused by the whole discussion.
Slashdot Mirror
Part of the issue is privacy. If you can take the paper trail and use it to say "you" voted for candidate X, then you have violated privacy for that person.
I'm not saying that outweighs the fraud issue, rather, I am saying I can see their point.
Anonymity - for voting - is VERY highly valued here in the USA. People don't like it when other's know who they voted for.
The statement actually says that overheating the pans can be deadly to birds. It says nothing about the Teflon ON the pans.
Is it possible that it's a different chemical than the Teflon that is causing the problem?
I call bullshit. In it's purest form, Teflon is good to about 400 degrees F. I don't know how they laminate it to a frying pan but I am guessing they do so in a way that that the Teflon can not "melt" away or vaporize during the higher cooking temperatures. Is it possible that it's something OTHER than the teflon that is causing the problem? It would certainly be easier to qualify if you could provide a link supporting your assertation.
Also, if the vapors are so bad, then why don't power plants, chem plants, and other plants have to report to the EPA when they "melt" teflon due to process upsets and whatnot? It happens ALL the damn time. Every day, all over the world.
And since I spec Teflon on on many of the items I provide to these plants, I am certain I would have heard of any hazardous environmental issues related to it. Yet, this is the first time I have EVER heard anything "harmful" associated with Teflon.
Can you please elaborate?
Teflon is inert for MOST materials. There are a few things that make it swell but you are, mostly right. It is the most chemically inert substance I personally know of.
Just a minor clarification.
It's not a problem for guys like you and me. But once my mom tries this and has to reinstall Windows. Watch out. That is one pissed off customer.
And all to stop music piracy.
They may not be immortal, but they do have a ton of cash to ride things out. Change is slow. Especially for such a dominant company such as Microsoft. They will be around for the forseeable future...
And for those that don't click the link, that's $37 billion. Cash. With a "B".
The GP post was referring to Bill Gates. And Bill Gates is in America. It seems to me that the American-centric reference was appropriate.
Wait, you are right. This is slashdot. All American-centric posts should be amended to be more thoughtful of our worldwide audience. Regardless of whether it is appropriate or not.
Don't you get it? This is America. Where talking out of your ass is an art form.
We see this everyday. Some call it bullshit. Others call it spin. Regardless of what is actually is, it's destructive.
What is surprising is that more don't call this stuff out like you did. I wish that happened more.
One outlier is always present, no? I mean, we call it an outlier because it's, well...an outlier. So why can't MSFT be that outlier? Looking back over the last 20 years, I disagree with you -- I think they ARE the outlier.
"What other company makes those kinds of stats?"
Very very very few. Certainly less than 500 companies (S&P 500) and most of those have wet dreams about the numbers MSFT continues to post year after year. That's why MSFT is so important and that was the point of my previous post. MSFT is very unique. They make LOTS of money. They have low costs (relatively), and they produce a product that almost everyone has.
GM may not have been the best example because of the current news but over the last 50 years, GM has been an incredible company. And guess what? So is MSFT. Rumors of it's downfall are greatly exaggerated.
Uhh, according to my sources, Microsoft made $1.03 over its trailing 12 months (ttm - 2004). The company generates $1 BILLION cash every quarter. It has gross margins north of 60%. It just paid a large cash dividend to shareholders and there is rumors that another is on the way.
What, exactly, is impressive in your book?
MSFT is the GM of the computer world. It will NEVER go away (unless America, somehow, goes away).
"It appears that the evolutionists in Kansas are either incapable of defending their beliefs, or unwilling to try."
No, they decided that the purpose of the meetings were more for political grandstanding than to have a true debate on the merits of each case. The ID folks have a very hard time talking merits so they are seeking to change the way merits are measured. For a long while, the rest of the world has measured the merits of any debate by the scientific method. And by any reasonable application of that method, evolution has more credibility than ID. So the ID folks figured, if you can't beat them --- then change the rules. And that was why the evolutionists boycotted the debates. It has nothing to do with an unwillingness or defense of beliefs.
And for the record....I wouldn't participate either
"In Texas there is no lower limit. You can shoot someone in the back who is running away from you and is no longer on your property, as long as they stole from you and you can expect that you won't see it again if they make off with it and you would be at risk if you caught them. That's pretty much a blank check to shoot a robber in the back."
This is plain wrong. I lived in Texas and this is NOT legal. To have a justifiable shooting, the person must be in your house or attempting to break into your house while you are there. Just like other states, if you shoot someone in the back as they are trying to escape, you are breaking the law. It's the old "did you feel that your life was threatened?".
Now, having said that, I must state that there can be some loose interpretations of what constitues "trying to break into your house". But on the whole, we aren't just a bunch of gun-toting people hunter's down here. Despite what the press would have you believe, most of us in TX are just like you and me.
"I'm sorry but the gun was not invented for recreational use. It was invented as a weapon of war to maim and destroy people."
...or to make hunting a bit easier. Yea, ok, so you don't need an AR-10 to take out a deer -- but your sweeping generalization above could not go untouched. There are PLENTY of legitimate, recreational uses for guns including target practice, hunting, pest control, and others. Saying the gun was invented ONLY to kill people tells me you've never even been around a gun and are most certainly unqualified to make such an assertation.
" I find it weird that Americans are so "anti-communism" as if its an evil thing. It's not that bad at all!"
You need to read up on history. Nothing like the cold war to bring back some bad memories.
No, but I wondered why they were cracking down on British Telecom. Hong Kong / British Telecom. Seemed to make sense to me.
Huh. I didn't know about the Fish aspect. That's pretty cool! You learn something new everyday.
I do sell equipment to freight guys but most of what I sell is into gas/oil just due to geography and the businesses here (Okla/TX/KS). Seriously, I'll sell to anyone who can and wants to buy!
Here's another little nerdy fact about H2S. It's very easy to detect. H2S reacts with Lead Acetate to produce a brownish lead sulfide. So, you create a roll of lead acetate tape and then "spot" your samples onto it. If H2S is present, it will create a brownish lead sulfide which is easily visible.
The best part about it is this: H2S is the ONLY substance that reacts with lead acetate in this way. So interference and false signals are a non-issue. Brown = H2S. White = no H2S.
It will drop you for a little more than "momentarily". H2S has the capacity to kill at less than 100ppm, depending on how long your exposure is. Yes, it will make you pass out -- but you might never wake up.
It's nasty stuff and all refineries, pipelines, and other oil/gas installations are trained about H2S and it's risks. Where H2S is present in the lines, you will see many of the technicians wearing portable H2S monitors.
(BTW, I sell H2S detectors for natural gas custody transfer points. Not the portable ones I spoke about but large scale one for pipeline intersections)
Not everyone can be an expert in everything. Therefore, consultants have their place. I know they take a lot of flack but to someone who knows VERY LITTLE about a given subject, they are invaluable for filling in the gaps.
Details do matter, despite cries of "making huge deals out of everything"
"I think John von Neumann once said --- "If you can tell me exactly what it is that a machine cannot do, then I will build a machine to do exactly that!"."
Ok, I'll bite. How about a machine that loves me? Or a machine that is jealous of my children? Or a machine that is envious of my neighbor's wealth?
No, machines can't do EVERYTHING.
Just wait until they find out that they are restricted. From personal experience, my Mom got into iTunes for a while until I asked her about backups of her "online" music. She knew she could burn a CD but she was assembling a "collection" of music on her PC and that's pretty much all she wanted to do. She had zero interest in burning CD's at all - for backup or otherwise.
...not for long though.
Her interest in iTunes promptly ended when I explained to her that if her hard drive crashes, she loses all of her purchased music. When she learned that Apple would not "replace" it or let you download it again, she finally put 2 and 2 together and figured out that she wasn't really BUYING anything at all.
I don't think the general public has any idea what DRM is and how it affects them. They will find out very soon once they actually try to USE the DRM material they purchased and they run into the everyday hassles all of us have (backups, portability, etc). Until then, however, the large media companies will continue to sell this crap. Why? Because people will put up with it.
You just made it.
My point is that your average user couldn't care less for all 99% of the talk on Slashdot. The original poster mentioned computing (specifically GNOME) as elitist. I was simply making the point that he's correct. All this bickering about users this and users that is irrelevant until "users" actually understand what we are talking about. And I see that happening....never.
OSS is *already* that way. Joe user
a) has no clue what "open source" means and might even be a little iffy on the meaning of "software"
b) has absolutely no clue about patents, copyrights, or anything else open software prides itself on. Yes, he's heard of them...but he couldn't distiguish between them if his life depended on it
c) could care less about ideological hatred of Microsoft
d) barely knows what the internet is, other than WWW -- and he barely knows how to use that!
If you don't think OSS is elitist, just do this: go to Wal-Mart, hang out in the parking lot and ask 100 people if they know what Linux is. I will bet you dollars to donuts that less than 3 could define it as an "operating system". And WAL-MART sells Lindows on some machines! (as I recall). You might hear a few answers that allude to computers or some abstract technology but very very very few will know what it really is.
Now, multiply and scale to American demographics. Linux, OSS, OpenOffice, and all the other free software out there is a blib on the radar screen. Very very few outside of the "IT Industry" know anything about it and the vast majority couldn't care less.
Just a recommendation for a book on this subject (and others). It's quite a fascinating read and is oh-so-relevant for those conversing in "bubbles"
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds.
I've had one that did this for over a year now.
Personally, after using the Sandisk, I fail to see what is so hard about developing a simple, easy-to-use mp3 player with lots of flash memory. It installs as a drive letter so I can "drag and drop", it's backlit, and it runs on AAA (one).
I'm not a shill. Just satisfied.....and a little confused by the whole discussion.
Why doesn't he just pay the $1? I'd just pay the settlement and admit a "mistake in judgement". Then I'd go back to doing what I did.