Meaning it will allow for easy replacement of the rechargeable battery, not require proprietary vendor lock-in formats (ACC), and use generic cables/interfaces/devices to extend the use of the product? SIGN ME UP!
Apple's dominance in iPods is the exact same scenario as to why Leopard won't replace WinXP or WinVista -- the sheeple are resistant to change, and are comfortable with what they have.
After 10+ years of windows, I know its vulnerabilities and weaknesses, and have developed behaviours on how to compensate. Also, I know how to fix most Windows problems (stability complaints are way overstated IMHO). Leopard might be very good -- even better than WinVista -- but what added features will improve my quality of life? Help me jusitfy buying a new (overpriced, rigidly configured) PC? Help me with a leanring curve? Guarantee me backwards compatibility with all my older windows apps/files/features/hardware?
As for iPod dominance, I like my iPod mini and when it (eventually) dies, I'll probably replace it with another iPod. As long as Apple remains price competitive with equivalent brands, and I've had a good iPod experince, why waste time doing careful incremental analysis of the marketplace? 2-3 years ago NO ONE had anything equivlaent. Now that ipods dominate the market, why should i buy a 'me too' brand if they can't offer significantly better price or features?
People don't change their habits for a incremental, minor improvement all other things being equal.
Its a complete straw-man argument, designed to draw attention towards videogames. Macrovision is a company that usually makes copy protection for DVDs if I recall correctly! I'm trying to figure out their angle here...probably trying to define a 'new' market for their products.
Think of it -- does a 'casual' TV view only watch 15 mins a day? An insipid network sitcom is at minimium a 30min commitment. I think the average adult in North America watches ~ 2hrs of TV a day. What's happening is 'gamers' are directing their attention to a more interactive, creative medium. This makes the networks scared. This survey is intended to reinforce this paranoia.
Trendspotters know network tv is in trouble, and has been for years. But its no satellite/cable that's a threat...its the internet, and computer games.
I suspect if we gradually extrapolated each genre farther and farther back we would end up with Pong, or maybe Nethack. Although I agree with all 3 progenitors, I think the examples I provided differ in two ways: a) widespread popularity and accessibility (e.g. the best game no one plays doesn't earn cultural noterity), and b) optimium balance of graphics and gameplay; maximising the capabilities available at the time.
Yes Wolfenstein predates Doom, but there is a significant improvement in all aspects -- plot, level design, graphics, audio, strategy, complexity, atmosphere/mood, etc, between the two.
The gameplay of X-Com was seen in Laser Squad, except X-Com leveraged the early 90s alien paranoia (X-Files anyone?) with a dark recession era fatalism that permates the game. The world view w/ base building, research, and incremental improvement of the enemy is also helps differentiate the game.
Elite was very good too for its day, but Wing Commander offered up a deeper plot w/ voice acting, a more cohesive campaign mode, and better graphics.
I still play a game of Angband (aka Rogue, aka Nethack) from time to time, but its no Diablo2.
The early 1990s were clearly the best for innovation and gaming, on ALL platforms -- but particularly the PC.
SimCity. Civilization I and II. Masters of Orion. Panzer General. X-Com. Wing Commander, Ultima 6 & 7. Doom. Tie Fighter. Dune 2. Warcraft. Not only were these games are very playable, but they defined genres unto themselves. The height of creativity.
Most games today are incremental improvements upon those original gems. I am disappointed with the lack of solid turn-based games in recent years (Advance Wars on the DS notwithstanding), but most of the rest of those genres are doing well -- FPSes, RTSes, first person RPGs, etc.
A more appropriate Heinline quote (paraphrased from memory):
"The society that values the artist over the plumber merely because art is more noble, has neither good art nor good plumbing."
Just a reminder that Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) went Unilaterally Declared Independence (UDI) in the mid-70s by the ruling white elites, resulting in a decade+ of sanctions. Although the 'white man's burden' was certainly a part of it, there was a strong sense among the British, white, educated governing party that the country would go to pot immediately upon the instituation of popular democracy w/o historical context or a learning process.
And now they have Mugabe.
Economy in ruins, widespread corruption and murder and famine... glad they got those colonialists out!
As a secular atheist (raised strict roman catholic) I understand and appreciate your view; i share it most days. However, its a bit of a harsh view if you don't consider religion in a greater context...its a method of explaining a mystery, is a fundamental part of ever society and evolves in progressive pattern over time.
E.g. 1. primitive man sees fire. its powerful and burns and cooks and seems alive. there must be a fire god to control such a force. Animisim is the earliest form of 'religion'. We've seen evidence even that some mammals have death rituals or burial experiences. it is an inate character of being a higher lifeform on this planet.
2. social man realises that everything can't have a god or be alive. also societal structure is influencing the thinking process. thus pantheon of gods with 'spheres' of influence and/or portfolios become vogue. Polythesim. Greeks, Romans, Native Americans, etc...
3. polythesim, while being a great backdrop to mythologies and legends, has a distinctly human soap-operaish quality. religion starts to seem mundane and strays from its roots of explaining the unexplainable. also, primitive concepts of systems theory and interconnected relationships suggest some unifying force(s). thus we have the rise of monotheism -- zorastrianism, buddism, judaism, christianity, etc.
4. monotheism begins to be supplanted by more advanced schools of logic, philosophy, and science. and one does not necessarily exclude/negate the other, at least not obviously yet.
In a world where over 50% of the population goes to sleep hungry, and less than that have access to running water, electricity or a telephone, you probably expect too much. These paradigm shifts take not years, decades, or centuries, but millenia.
Sweden was a Great Power for a short period of time. All the nordic states, baltic states, 'poland', and russia to a large extent were under their sway. Sweden couldn't maintain the empire and began a slow decline, but at the time was a significant power in the world.
17th Century: Sweden/Ottoman Empire/Spain (in their respective spheres)
18th Century: France
19th Century: Britain
20th Century: USA
21st Century: China?
I can't necessarily see China succeeding on the level of the previous empires, though, due to their foreign dependencies for resources, oil, and markets. Still, its got the size and if distribution of wealth improves they might create their own market...
Besides, they had their empire from about 1500 BC to 500 AD.;)
I agree on both your counts -- i like RC Cola, and rarely pay from brand-name electronics (knowing its all usually manufactured in the same facotry).
Advertising is targetted at our passive decision making abilities, not our rational mind. Early TV advertisements attempted to convince the consumer to buy something through rational arguments... but it was a losing condition, as people are naturally distrusful of salesmen (as they should be). Modern advertising (post 1967) all focuses on 'experience', feelings, emotional response... areas where rational thought are absent. When you're watching TV or a movie, your rational centres in the brain shut down for the most part...we really are drones a la the matrix.;)
Computers and electronics are a notoriously difficult market to sell in, because the consumers are so educated and so pragmatic. I'll spend days researching and collecting opinions on an LCD purchase for my home PC, but when it comes time to buy a drink at the newspaper stand....5 second decision to pick a coke (unless I have a prior brand preference).-
Based on some media studies I read in university sociology courses (~ 10 years ago), the aggregate effect long term of advertising is most important.
We all know that advertising for high-end products are to plant a 'need' -- thing cars, drug companies, etc...something we don't need. But most retail advertising is more subtle, with more modest expectations. They want to establish brand conciousness, the need will come later.
Example: I need to buy toothpaste. I go to the store, and see 10-20 brands. OMG how do I make a decision!?! Oh thank goodness, Crest/Aquafresh/Colgate is there...i'll take that reliable, dependable brand name.
Most people of Gen-X or later are cynical enough to 'tune out' advertising and recognise it for what it is. However, when given a choice, we'll still take Coke over RC Cola, Tide over Generic Brand, or Sony over Chinageneric.
These are completely, unrelated problems. If I create an original idea, i am free to do with it what I want -- I can discuss it, document/record it, give it away for free, protect it with copyright, secure it with encryption, etc. But the idea itself is still free, and my thought processes are (for the most part) completely legal. I can argue until the cows come home that Bush/Clinton is an idiot, the war on drugs is good/bad, Walmart rescues/destroys communities, etc -- and no one will arrest me or theaten my person.
China is attemting to disuade individual thought, overtly through force (e.g. its a police state) or _covertly_ through secret agents. The covert part is what this article is about, and why this is news worth discussing.
Which is why, someday, Disney will even re-relese Song of the South. There will be a bad quarter (or two, or three), they'll put the necessary caveats and warnings infront (e.g. do not seriously consider these historic portrayals, etc) and release it as a collector's edition for adults.
At some point, the money is just too good. In recent years, even impossible-to-get movies like The Passenger have been re-released. The profit motive rules all.
Your argument that "non-IT managers outsource to India, IT managers don't" clearly shows your lack of understanding (and respect) for management as a profession. Management does NOT mean keeping you people happy all the time; its impossible. Good management though does mean being consistent, supportive of your staff and their career growth, providing a positive work environment, and making hard decisions. It is HARDER to manage and individual's performance problem, or to selectively reduce headcount, than it is to give everyone 2 hour lunches and install a pool table in the cafeteria.
As for outsourcing...if I have a stable operations environment, solid architecture, dependable project management, reliable Q/A, and a clear product lifecycle infront of me, why WOULDN'T I outsource development if the quality was the same, I retain the source code, and I can get it for pennies on the dollar?
Polar bears? You're lucky! I've got to flush Ogopogo out of my flooded basement, and the Yeti infestation in my backyard is just getting ridiculous!
And don't even get me started on the spring Wendigo migration...
PS On a seriously note, several hundred thousand Innu and other northern native groups rely heavily upon hunting as a source of livelihood. This greatly inflates the gun ownership totals in Canada. Gun ownership in a major city like Montreal or Toronto would be a small fraction per capita of what many equivalent sized American cities would have.
It is not illegal to read about the iraq occupation, write or particpate in commentary about it, or to be politically active in opposing the war. There are some military secrets that are illegal to divulge or share, but even in those circumstances there are constitutional protections -- a legal defense, trial by jury, limitations upon potential punishment.
None of these exist in China. Closed door 'trials', inhumane punishment or execution, and essentially a government whose agents act as thought police. Its shameful we in the west trade with them, and have built up such economic dependency upon their market and resources.
You discounted the following possibility:
Software revenue > Hardware revenue.
Now, if that revenue is profitable, its much more advantageous for Apple. Hardware is a tight margin game, one of Apple's handicaps has always been that its h/w is overpriced compared to similar performance from other generic brands... IBM has gotten out of the PC market altogether, since 2-3% profit on a good year isn't worth the effort. Look at the bin of legacy Fortune 500 companies that failed to survive in the PC h/w market: Packard Bell... Amdahl...Wang...Compaq...AST...IBM.
Uncouple the h/w from the software, and Apple very well might be capable of beating Microsoft on the desktop. Think of the market -- ~95% of the PCs in the world; you can only gain market share.
I don't consider Apple a h/w or a s/w company...I consider them a 'user experience' company, which is why they like to marry the two products together. The 'user experience' can be frustratingly patronising from time to time, but they get it right more often than wrong.
Slashdot Mirror
Meaning it will allow for easy replacement of the rechargeable battery, not require proprietary vendor lock-in formats (ACC), and use generic cables/interfaces/devices to extend the use of the product? SIGN ME UP!
(proud ipod mini owner, but hate trolls)
Apple's dominance in iPods is the exact same scenario as to why Leopard won't replace WinXP or WinVista -- the sheeple are resistant to change, and are comfortable with what they have.
After 10+ years of windows, I know its vulnerabilities and weaknesses, and have developed behaviours on how to compensate. Also, I know how to fix most Windows problems (stability complaints are way overstated IMHO). Leopard might be very good -- even better than WinVista -- but what added features will improve my quality of life? Help me jusitfy buying a new (overpriced, rigidly configured) PC? Help me with a leanring curve? Guarantee me backwards compatibility with all my older windows apps/files/features/hardware?
As for iPod dominance, I like my iPod mini and when it (eventually) dies, I'll probably replace it with another iPod. As long as Apple remains price competitive with equivalent brands, and I've had a good iPod experince, why waste time doing careful incremental analysis of the marketplace? 2-3 years ago NO ONE had anything equivlaent. Now that ipods dominate the market, why should i buy a 'me too' brand if they can't offer significantly better price or features?
People don't change their habits for a incremental, minor improvement all other things being equal.
Its a complete straw-man argument, designed to draw attention towards videogames. Macrovision is a company that usually makes copy protection for DVDs if I recall correctly! I'm trying to figure out their angle here...probably trying to define a 'new' market for their products.
Think of it -- does a 'casual' TV view only watch 15 mins a day? An insipid network sitcom is at minimium a 30min commitment. I think the average adult in North America watches ~ 2hrs of TV a day. What's happening is 'gamers' are directing their attention to a more interactive, creative medium. This makes the networks scared. This survey is intended to reinforce this paranoia.
Trendspotters know network tv is in trouble, and has been for years. But its no satellite/cable that's a threat...its the internet, and computer games.
More like... HEADSHOT!
Aside from a few years after 1776 on one part of one particular continent, when did mankind every have such freedom?
I suspect if we gradually extrapolated each genre farther and farther back we would end up with Pong, or maybe Nethack. Although I agree with all 3 progenitors, I think the examples I provided differ in two ways: a) widespread popularity and accessibility (e.g. the best game no one plays doesn't earn cultural noterity), and b) optimium balance of graphics and gameplay; maximising the capabilities available at the time.
Yes Wolfenstein predates Doom, but there is a significant improvement in all aspects -- plot, level design, graphics, audio, strategy, complexity, atmosphere/mood, etc, between the two.
The gameplay of X-Com was seen in Laser Squad, except X-Com leveraged the early 90s alien paranoia (X-Files anyone?) with a dark recession era fatalism that permates the game. The world view w/ base building, research, and incremental improvement of the enemy is also helps differentiate the game.
Elite was very good too for its day, but Wing Commander offered up a deeper plot w/ voice acting, a more cohesive campaign mode, and better graphics.
I still play a game of Angband (aka Rogue, aka Nethack) from time to time, but its no Diablo2.
The early 1990s were clearly the best for innovation and gaming, on ALL platforms -- but particularly the PC.
SimCity. Civilization I and II. Masters of Orion. Panzer General. X-Com. Wing Commander, Ultima 6 & 7. Doom. Tie Fighter. Dune 2. Warcraft. Not only were these games are very playable, but they defined genres unto themselves. The height of creativity.
Most games today are incremental improvements upon those original gems. I am disappointed with the lack of solid turn-based games in recent years (Advance Wars on the DS notwithstanding), but most of the rest of those genres are doing well -- FPSes, RTSes, first person RPGs, etc.
A more appropriate Heinline quote (paraphrased from memory):
"The society that values the artist over the plumber merely because art is more noble, has neither good art nor good plumbing."
Just a reminder that Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) went Unilaterally Declared Independence (UDI) in the mid-70s by the ruling white elites, resulting in a decade+ of sanctions. Although the 'white man's burden' was certainly a part of it, there was a strong sense among the British, white, educated governing party that the country would go to pot immediately upon the instituation of popular democracy w/o historical context or a learning process.
And now they have Mugabe.
Economy in ruins, widespread corruption and murder and famine... glad they got those colonialists out!
Truly, a fate _worse_ than a fate worse than death for any developer.
As a secular atheist (raised strict roman catholic) I understand and appreciate your view; i share it most days. However, its a bit of a harsh view if you don't consider religion in a greater context...its a method of explaining a mystery, is a fundamental part of ever society and evolves in progressive pattern over time.
E.g. 1. primitive man sees fire. its powerful and burns and cooks and seems alive. there must be a fire god to control such a force. Animisim is the earliest form of 'religion'. We've seen evidence even that some mammals have death rituals or burial experiences. it is an inate character of being a higher lifeform on this planet.
2. social man realises that everything can't have a god or be alive. also societal structure is influencing the thinking process. thus pantheon of gods with 'spheres' of influence and/or portfolios become vogue. Polythesim. Greeks, Romans, Native Americans, etc...
3. polythesim, while being a great backdrop to mythologies and legends, has a distinctly human soap-operaish quality. religion starts to seem mundane and strays from its roots of explaining the unexplainable. also, primitive concepts of systems theory and interconnected relationships suggest some unifying force(s). thus we have the rise of monotheism -- zorastrianism, buddism, judaism, christianity, etc.
4. monotheism begins to be supplanted by more advanced schools of logic, philosophy, and science. and one does not necessarily exclude/negate the other, at least not obviously yet.
In a world where over 50% of the population goes to sleep hungry, and less than that have access to running water, electricity or a telephone, you probably expect too much. These paradigm shifts take not years, decades, or centuries, but millenia.
Sweden was a Great Power for a short period of time. All the nordic states, baltic states, 'poland', and russia to a large extent were under their sway. Sweden couldn't maintain the empire and began a slow decline, but at the time was a significant power in the world.
"I can't think of any of them that have had any sort of virus or spyware disaster in months."
If that isn't an epic example of foreshadowing, I don't know what is.
foreshadow: To present an indication or a suggestion of beforehand; presage. ex. see Slasdot post by Anonymous Coward, Tuesday June 13, @08:57AM
17th Century: Sweden/Ottoman Empire/Spain (in their respective spheres)
;)
18th Century: France
19th Century: Britain
20th Century: USA
21st Century: China?
I can't necessarily see China succeeding on the level of the previous empires, though, due to their foreign dependencies for resources, oil, and markets. Still, its got the size and if distribution of wealth improves they might create their own market...
Besides, they had their empire from about 1500 BC to 500 AD.
I agree on both your counts -- i like RC Cola, and rarely pay from brand-name electronics (knowing its all usually manufactured in the same facotry).
;)
.5 second decision to pick a coke (unless I have a prior brand preference).-
Advertising is targetted at our passive decision making abilities, not our rational mind. Early TV advertisements attempted to convince the consumer to buy something through rational arguments... but it was a losing condition, as people are naturally distrusful of salesmen (as they should be). Modern advertising (post 1967) all focuses on 'experience', feelings, emotional response... areas where rational thought are absent. When you're watching TV or a movie, your rational centres in the brain shut down for the most part...we really are drones a la the matrix.
Computers and electronics are a notoriously difficult market to sell in, because the consumers are so educated and so pragmatic. I'll spend days researching and collecting opinions on an LCD purchase for my home PC, but when it comes time to buy a drink at the newspaper stand...
Based on some media studies I read in university sociology courses (~ 10 years ago), the aggregate effect long term of advertising is most important.
.something we don't need. But most retail advertising is more subtle, with more modest expectations. They want to establish brand conciousness, the need will come later.
We all know that advertising for high-end products are to plant a 'need' -- thing cars, drug companies, etc..
Example: I need to buy toothpaste. I go to the store, and see 10-20 brands. OMG how do I make a decision!?! Oh thank goodness, Crest/Aquafresh/Colgate is there...i'll take that reliable, dependable brand name.
Most people of Gen-X or later are cynical enough to 'tune out' advertising and recognise it for what it is. However, when given a choice, we'll still take Coke over RC Cola, Tide over Generic Brand, or Sony over Chinageneric.
These are completely, unrelated problems. If I create an original idea, i am free to do with it what I want -- I can discuss it, document/record it, give it away for free, protect it with copyright, secure it with encryption, etc. But the idea itself is still free, and my thought processes are (for the most part) completely legal. I can argue until the cows come home that Bush/Clinton is an idiot, the war on drugs is good/bad, Walmart rescues/destroys communities, etc -- and no one will arrest me or theaten my person.
China is attemting to disuade individual thought, overtly through force (e.g. its a police state) or _covertly_ through secret agents. The covert part is what this article is about, and why this is news worth discussing.
Agree 100%.
Which is why, someday, Disney will even re-relese Song of the South. There will be a bad quarter (or two, or three), they'll put the necessary caveats and warnings infront (e.g. do not seriously consider these historic portrayals, etc) and release it as a collector's edition for adults.
At some point, the money is just too good. In recent years, even impossible-to-get movies like The Passenger have been re-released. The profit motive rules all.
Your argument that "non-IT managers outsource to India, IT managers don't" clearly shows your lack of understanding (and respect) for management as a profession. Management does NOT mean keeping you people happy all the time; its impossible. Good management though does mean being consistent, supportive of your staff and their career growth, providing a positive work environment, and making hard decisions. It is HARDER to manage and individual's performance problem, or to selectively reduce headcount, than it is to give everyone 2 hour lunches and install a pool table in the cafeteria.
As for outsourcing...if I have a stable operations environment, solid architecture, dependable project management, reliable Q/A, and a clear product lifecycle infront of me, why WOULDN'T I outsource development if the quality was the same, I retain the source code, and I can get it for pennies on the dollar?
Polar bears? You're lucky! I've got to flush Ogopogo out of my flooded basement, and the Yeti infestation in my backyard is just getting ridiculous!
And don't even get me started on the spring Wendigo migration...
PS On a seriously note, several hundred thousand Innu and other northern native groups rely heavily upon hunting as a source of livelihood. This greatly inflates the gun ownership totals in Canada. Gun ownership in a major city like Montreal or Toronto would be a small fraction per capita of what many equivalent sized American cities would have.
Don't get your hopes up -- the follow-up article is about the 'Borg launching a legal challenge...
Based on some anecdotal experiecne I need update your hypothesis -- you can only MAKE 9 babies with 9 women in 1 month.
Hey, come on, the last time they attempted a prequel series (Enterprise) things worked out really, really well!
Hello? Anyone there?
(insert crickets chirping.wav here)
It is not illegal to read about the iraq occupation, write or particpate in commentary about it, or to be politically active in opposing the war. There are some military secrets that are illegal to divulge or share, but even in those circumstances there are constitutional protections -- a legal defense, trial by jury, limitations upon potential punishment.
None of these exist in China. Closed door 'trials', inhumane punishment or execution, and essentially a government whose agents act as thought police. Its shameful we in the west trade with them, and have built up such economic dependency upon their market and resources.
You discounted the following possibility:
Software revenue > Hardware revenue.
Now, if that revenue is profitable, its much more advantageous for Apple. Hardware is a tight margin game, one of Apple's handicaps has always been that its h/w is overpriced compared to similar performance from other generic brands... IBM has gotten out of the PC market altogether, since 2-3% profit on a good year isn't worth the effort. Look at the bin of legacy Fortune 500 companies that failed to survive in the PC h/w market: Packard Bell... Amdahl...Wang...Compaq...AST...IBM.
Uncouple the h/w from the software, and Apple very well might be capable of beating Microsoft on the desktop. Think of the market -- ~95% of the PCs in the world; you can only gain market share.
I don't consider Apple a h/w or a s/w company...I consider them a 'user experience' company, which is why they like to marry the two products together. The 'user experience' can be frustratingly patronising from time to time, but they get it right more often than wrong.