I'm fairly certain when no one bittorents these movies, the MPAA will credit it to a) advances in DRM, or b) creating a big budget 3D theatre experience that can't be recreated at home. In reality, it will be because a hole in the space time continuum will be ripped open through the collasal gravity well of SUCK.
Lawyers are mercenaries. The fight dirty and want to win. Prosecutors become defenders (or vice versa, albeit more rarely). They fight for who pays them. Obama is probably picking a strong attorney who knows how to win in court. This appointment is not necessarily an endorsement of a political position or even his personal beliefs.
Natives in Canada are treated by far better over the course of our nation's history than they have ever been treated in the US. And for the oversights and bad judgement shown in the past, our parliament has been addressing these issues over the past several years -- most recently providing significant settlements for those affected by aboriginal schooling.
Nunavut is a territory set up specifically to address issues of self government for the Innu. Its probably a territory larger than any US state (maybe Texas is bigger).
I'd be willing to compare and contrast Canadian vs American native policies any day of the week.
As for complete freedom of the press...care to enlighten us as to what's lacking?
The fact that your comment is modded as insightful is a sad statement on the effectiveness of moderation points IMHO.
I think bringing Lala Ward back as some jaded, vicious, maniacal time lord bitter at having been jilted by the Doctor would be an AWESOME plot arc. Not sure if she'd play the part again, but it would bring some gravitas to the pantheon of villans for the Doctor.
There's a few reasons Mac could do this. First, they're primarily a desktop operating system with stand alone apps. Sandboxing applications isn't the end of the world when looked at in isolation. Alos, their market share at the time was extremely small, with limited 3rd party software support. Much easier to support. Second, they moved from a proprietary framework to a BSD based operating system so they were essentially adapting to a tried/true product.
Microsoft, however, owns 90% (i'm guessing 98%+) of the corporate desktop space. Enterprise applications. Clustered applications. Outlook. MS Office. These dekstops are integrated to server applications that also run Microsoft products. SQL Server. Exchange. Sharepoint. its all an extension of the windows space. To create a sandboxed strategy and execute upon it, would be almost impossible. Their market share dictates slow, incremental steps in between generations. Look how long it took them to get to an NFTS based file system!
Anyone who thinks Microsoft should be moving faster, doesn't have an enterprise view. Look how slowly
other products and vendors progress their technology. Solaris. IMS. DB2. Oracle.
I don't see Microsoft losing the corporate desktop space anytime soon, but they're losing the retail battle (mainly due to some clever market by Apple) and it stings them. Microsoft's counter-campaigns have been extremely weak IMHO which has bolstered the impresseion that Mac OS > Vista.
Only if your wife is a shallow materialistic person. If you *deceive* your wife into thinking its something that its not, then YOU are the materialistic shallow person, but if you explain to her the advantage of a laboratory manufactured diamond it becomes a conversation piece, and something to be proud about.
Its a nature vs nuture argument, and I sure as hell hope its nuture that determines sexual orientation. here's why -- if its *nature*, it opens a can of worms re: mutation, 'unnatural', poison, etc. "He's gay because he has a genetic deficiency!" And now we open the nasty line of thinking around 'cures' and 'treatments'.
Trust me, if it is ever conclusively proven that 'teh ghey' is environmentally determined and that its a mutation -- you'll see a whole new interest in investments in biotech and medical engineering. For all the wrong reasons.
I have played WoW for several years now, and am impressed with how you have managed to integrate a backstory into the game setting, but not make it necessary for gameplay. Its there if players take an interest in it, but if they just want to go into a dungeon and kill things that's okay too.
I have a question regarding the plot and how stories are driven. Is this a game setting that is established by committee? is there a single source or individual who has final say over plot elements? Do you have a vision of the story that tracks several years out from the present? (e.g. you're planning 1-2-3 expansions ahead, you know where you're going?).
- HDTV broadcasts alot of stuff for free, or for minimal monthly subscriptions.
- upscaling DVD players, they're not perfect but offer a nice compromise
- i made the reference to 'good enough'. if you're a videophile that wants 1080p then go and buy it!
I just get the sense that, like alot of other people, the 'must have a complete collection!' attitude towards DVDs was a one time thing. VHS tapes wore out, DVDs were a huge upgrade in terms of quality and longevity. Bluray offers only a quality upgrade, but at a higher price point right now. Its a good replacement strategy moving forward, but I doubt they can recapture the DVD market they way the DVD introduction did from VHS tape.
You improve your P/E ratio, ultimately meaning that your dividends get spread across a smaller pool of stocks...makes the stocks more valuable as a blue chip commodity, raising their price. its a good strategy when you're taking a long view, and don't anticipate any future rapid growth.
The $40b is controlled by the board of directors, and ultimately belongs to the shareholders. its not a funny money fund. Ultimately the best use of the $ is to improve the shareholder's value.
I'm on the flip side of this. I have over 200 DVDs collected over the past decade. I'm at a point in my life where the chance of me going back and watching some of these movies is approaching zero (even though i really liked them at the time!). So now, facing a blue ray dvd player...its pretty meaningless to me. Aside from being able to play my existing dvd collection, and be able to play the occasional blu ray disc rental...I have no intention of repurchasing or rebuilding my collection.
They've got several big problems. 1) DVDs are good enough. 2) Cost of bluray significantly higher than the alternatives. 3) People have been burned on the 'ultra special director's cousins' first wife's cut' with extras you never watch. just the movie please.
Its more of an incremental replacement technology, if there's any expectation of a bluray spending boom, they're sadly mistaken.
I'm a big fan of stock options. I think more executives and senior management should be granted these options.
However, i think the exercise date should be set 10-20 years in the future. If they were good strategic leaders, they're going to make a killing. If they sacrificed long term potential for short term gain, they'll get nothing.
I'm willing to bet someone with stock options set 20 years in the future wouldn't close the labs. If nothing else, its long gamble that the lab might invent some revolutionary technology that can be licensed.
One theory about the uncanny valley is that its a self preservation instinct kicking in. In terms of breeding partners, we make thousands of miniscule evaluations of fellow human beings on a subconscious level...is the partner healthy? strong? intelligent? Clear skin is a sign of health. Body symmetry is a good indicator of physical suitability and fitness.
The uncanny valley is a triggering of this 'avoid!' response. The closer to human something looks, the more finely tuned our instincts get triggered... no point in evaluating a fake giraffe on these grounds. Movement is a big way we identify things, so a moving image is more likely to trigger this response as well.
Children are a good indicator fo this; they aren't socialised to be 'polite', they just know something 'isn't right'. If you have kids you'll understand...they have to be taught to supress the fear/fright response to the first physically deformed person they meet.
The amusing thing to me is that the upwards trend for Apple finally occured once they migrated to the Intel platform, and provided a dual-boot capability.
I also don't 'get' these numbers. I work in a large company (40,000+ employees). We refresh our desktops every 3+ years. We do not support Macs in our network in any fashion. Most other companies I've dealt with operate similarly.
Most importantly, is this a continuing trend or a statistical blip?
I've seen Itzhak Perlman play at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and he had a bit where he demonstrated the difference between his favorite Stradivarius and another, modern made violin. Dramatic difference.
I'm sure if you picked another top quality make of violin, especially a historical model such as an Amati, and contrasted it side-by-side it would by a much closer comparison. But I was convinced instantly of the 'quality' of the Stradivarius.
Congress and the Clinton administration was purusing a more aggressive foreign policy with Iraq due to a perceived threat and this policy was initially continued by teh Bush Administration. I believe the divergence comes when Bush selectively uses favourable intelligence to pursue a war in Iraq vs balancing the weight of contrary evidence. Whether his subordinates were filtering information to the decision makers, or were selected with the objective of doing this as part of a great policy I will leave to historians to figure out.
I do know, however, that Colin Powell has spoken out and said he would not have supported the presentation to the UN had he known the sum of intelligence available to date. I suspect his resignation from the 2nd term office was a personal decision on his part to separate himself from the foreign policy he helped propagate.
"While I somehow doubt you are a 'Conservative Republican', you do realize the document was written in 1994? Just like Bush 'faked' the Iraq WMD stuff in 1998, two years before he was elected so Congress would pass the Iraq Liberation Act, now he's being blamed for a 1994 (purported) anti-terrorism manual?
You libs are too much."
While i agree tying this document directly to Bush's foreign policy is a non-starter, I have to counter your claim re: WMD. Between Hans Blix's investigations in Iraq (inconclusive at best) and the CIA's complete refute of the Nigerian uranium story, W Bush's Iraq policy was based on false evidence used to mislead supporters.
...which is the reason why smart developers should always find ways to get onto new projects, and avoid base/support work whenever possible.
Just remember, the code you're given to support is not junk because your predecessors were idiots, its because they weren't given the time to do it properly. Or they survived ~1,000 change requests. Etc.
/Sad but true//Anyone think outsourcing development to 2nd world nations is going to improve anything other than cost? CMM level 4 *my ass*.
WHile I agree the lack of static-dungeons is a huge plus for roguelikes, it also eliminates any meaningful plot driven action. I realise that WoW's quest structure is fairly simple, but this is to maintain the casual nature of the game with an incremental reward structure. As well, there IS lore driving alot of ingame activity, it's just not integral... if you want to understand more, there's quest chains you can pursue, NPCs you can talk to, online resources to read...or you can ignore them and just kill orcs.
I like both types of games. But comparing one with another isn't very fair; they have different focus. In some cases a Prius is a great car (reliable, efficient, eco-friendly) and in other cases a Ford Explorer is essential (strong engine for towing, storage capacity, durability).
Slashdot Mirror
I'm fairly certain when no one bittorents these movies, the MPAA will credit it to a) advances in DRM, or b) creating a big budget 3D theatre experience that can't be recreated at home. In reality, it will be because a hole in the space time continuum will be ripped open through the collasal gravity well of SUCK.
Lawyers are mercenaries. The fight dirty and want to win. Prosecutors become defenders (or vice versa, albeit more rarely). They fight for who pays them. Obama is probably picking a strong attorney who knows how to win in court. This appointment is not necessarily an endorsement of a political position or even his personal beliefs.
Natives in Canada are treated by far better over the course of our nation's history than they have ever been treated in the US. And for the oversights and bad judgement shown in the past, our parliament has been addressing these issues over the past several years -- most recently providing significant settlements for those affected by aboriginal schooling.
Nunavut is a territory set up specifically to address issues of self government for the Innu. Its probably a territory larger than any US state (maybe Texas is bigger).
I'd be willing to compare and contrast Canadian vs American native policies any day of the week.
As for complete freedom of the press...care to enlighten us as to what's lacking?
The fact that your comment is modded as insightful is a sad statement on the effectiveness of moderation points IMHO.
I think bringing Lala Ward back as some jaded, vicious, maniacal time lord bitter at having been jilted by the Doctor would be an AWESOME plot arc. Not sure if she'd play the part again, but it would bring some gravitas to the pantheon of villans for the Doctor.
There's a few reasons Mac could do this. First, they're primarily a desktop operating system with stand alone apps. Sandboxing applications isn't the end of the world when looked at in isolation. Alos, their market share at the time was extremely small, with limited 3rd party software support. Much easier to support. Second, they moved from a proprietary framework to a BSD based operating system so they were essentially adapting to a tried/true product.
Microsoft, however, owns 90% (i'm guessing 98%+) of the corporate desktop space. Enterprise applications. Clustered applications. Outlook. MS Office. These dekstops are integrated to server applications that also run Microsoft products. SQL Server. Exchange. Sharepoint. its all an extension of the windows space. To create a sandboxed strategy and execute upon it, would be almost impossible. Their market share dictates slow, incremental steps in between generations. Look how long it took them to get to an NFTS based file system!
Anyone who thinks Microsoft should be moving faster, doesn't have an enterprise view. Look how slowly other products and vendors progress their technology. Solaris. IMS. DB2. Oracle.
I don't see Microsoft losing the corporate desktop space anytime soon, but they're losing the retail battle (mainly due to some clever market by Apple) and it stings them. Microsoft's counter-campaigns have been extremely weak IMHO which has bolstered the impresseion that Mac OS > Vista.
Only if your wife is a shallow materialistic person. If you *deceive* your wife into thinking its something that its not, then YOU are the materialistic shallow person, but if you explain to her the advantage of a laboratory manufactured diamond it becomes a conversation piece, and something to be proud about.
Its a nature vs nuture argument, and I sure as hell hope its nuture that determines sexual orientation. here's why -- if its *nature*, it opens a can of worms re: mutation, 'unnatural', poison, etc. "He's gay because he has a genetic deficiency!" And now we open the nasty line of thinking around 'cures' and 'treatments'.
Trust me, if it is ever conclusively proven that 'teh ghey' is environmentally determined and that its a mutation -- you'll see a whole new interest in investments in biotech and medical engineering. For all the wrong reasons.
Chilly Willy is suing for defamation.
I have played WoW for several years now, and am impressed with how you have managed to integrate a backstory into the game setting, but not make it necessary for gameplay. Its there if players take an interest in it, but if they just want to go into a dungeon and kill things that's okay too.
I have a question regarding the plot and how stories are driven. Is this a game setting that is established by committee? is there a single source or individual who has final say over plot elements? Do you have a vision of the story that tracks several years out from the present? (e.g. you're planning 1-2-3 expansions ahead, you know where you're going?).
Ummmm....ok.
Instead of have 4 shitty Chrystler Neons performing badly, Microsoft is selling them and buying one BMW. Which one looks shinier?
- HDTV broadcasts alot of stuff for free, or for minimal monthly subscriptions.
- upscaling DVD players, they're not perfect but offer a nice compromise
- i made the reference to 'good enough'. if you're a videophile that wants 1080p then go and buy it!
I just get the sense that, like alot of other people, the 'must have a complete collection!' attitude towards DVDs was a one time thing. VHS tapes wore out, DVDs were a huge upgrade in terms of quality and longevity. Bluray offers only a quality upgrade, but at a higher price point right now. Its a good replacement strategy moving forward, but I doubt they can recapture the DVD market they way the DVD introduction did from VHS tape.
You improve your P/E ratio, ultimately meaning that your dividends get spread across a smaller pool of stocks...makes the stocks more valuable as a blue chip commodity, raising their price. its a good strategy when you're taking a long view, and don't anticipate any future rapid growth. The $40b is controlled by the board of directors, and ultimately belongs to the shareholders. its not a funny money fund. Ultimately the best use of the $ is to improve the shareholder's value.
I'm on the flip side of this. I have over 200 DVDs collected over the past decade. I'm at a point in my life where the chance of me going back and watching some of these movies is approaching zero (even though i really liked them at the time!). So now, facing a blue ray dvd player...its pretty meaningless to me. Aside from being able to play my existing dvd collection, and be able to play the occasional blu ray disc rental...I have no intention of repurchasing or rebuilding my collection.
They've got several big problems. 1) DVDs are good enough. 2) Cost of bluray significantly higher than the alternatives. 3) People have been burned on the 'ultra special director's cousins' first wife's cut' with extras you never watch. just the movie please.
Its more of an incremental replacement technology, if there's any expectation of a bluray spending boom, they're sadly mistaken.
It that's 7 months of uptime -- given the pitching a tent analogy -- I can think of something else that's blue instead of screens.
I'm a big fan of stock options. I think more executives and senior management should be granted these options. However, i think the exercise date should be set 10-20 years in the future. If they were good strategic leaders, they're going to make a killing. If they sacrificed long term potential for short term gain, they'll get nothing. I'm willing to bet someone with stock options set 20 years in the future wouldn't close the labs. If nothing else, its long gamble that the lab might invent some revolutionary technology that can be licensed.
One theory about the uncanny valley is that its a self preservation instinct kicking in. In terms of breeding partners, we make thousands of miniscule evaluations of fellow human beings on a subconscious level...is the partner healthy? strong? intelligent? Clear skin is a sign of health. Body symmetry is a good indicator of physical suitability and fitness.
The uncanny valley is a triggering of this 'avoid!' response. The closer to human something looks, the more finely tuned our instincts get triggered... no point in evaluating a fake giraffe on these grounds. Movement is a big way we identify things, so a moving image is more likely to trigger this response as well.
Children are a good indicator fo this; they aren't socialised to be 'polite', they just know something 'isn't right'. If you have kids you'll understand...they have to be taught to supress the fear/fright response to the first physically deformed person they meet.
He's extremely cunning too.
The amusing thing to me is that the upwards trend for Apple finally occured once they migrated to the Intel platform, and provided a dual-boot capability.
I also don't 'get' these numbers. I work in a large company (40,000+ employees). We refresh our desktops every 3+ years. We do not support Macs in our network in any fashion. Most other companies I've dealt with operate similarly.
Most importantly, is this a continuing trend or a statistical blip?
I've seen Itzhak Perlman play at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and he had a bit where he demonstrated the difference between his favorite Stradivarius and another, modern made violin. Dramatic difference.
I'm sure if you picked another top quality make of violin, especially a historical model such as an Amati, and contrasted it side-by-side it would by a much closer comparison. But I was convinced instantly of the 'quality' of the Stradivarius.
Congress and the Clinton administration was purusing a more aggressive foreign policy with Iraq due to a perceived threat and this policy was initially continued by teh Bush Administration. I believe the divergence comes when Bush selectively uses favourable intelligence to pursue a war in Iraq vs balancing the weight of contrary evidence. Whether his subordinates were filtering information to the decision makers, or were selected with the objective of doing this as part of a great policy I will leave to historians to figure out.
I do know, however, that Colin Powell has spoken out and said he would not have supported the presentation to the UN had he known the sum of intelligence available to date. I suspect his resignation from the 2nd term office was a personal decision on his part to separate himself from the foreign policy he helped propagate.
"While I somehow doubt you are a 'Conservative Republican', you do realize the document was written in 1994? Just like Bush 'faked' the Iraq WMD stuff in 1998, two years before he was elected so Congress would pass the Iraq Liberation Act, now he's being blamed for a 1994 (purported) anti-terrorism manual? You libs are too much."
While i agree tying this document directly to Bush's foreign policy is a non-starter, I have to counter your claim re: WMD. Between Hans Blix's investigations in Iraq (inconclusive at best) and the CIA's complete refute of the Nigerian uranium story, W Bush's Iraq policy was based on false evidence used to mislead supporters.
...which is the reason why smart developers should always find ways to get onto new projects, and avoid base/support work whenever possible.
/Sad but true //Anyone think outsourcing development to 2nd world nations is going to improve anything other than cost? CMM level 4 *my ass*.
Just remember, the code you're given to support is not junk because your predecessors were idiots, its because they weren't given the time to do it properly. Or they survived ~1,000 change requests. Etc.
You picked the wrong 1980s sci-fi film to reference. is much more appropriate.
"You have 4 more seconds to comply...3...2...1. Lethal force authorized!!!"
WHile I agree the lack of static-dungeons is a huge plus for roguelikes, it also eliminates any meaningful plot driven action. I realise that WoW's quest structure is fairly simple, but this is to maintain the casual nature of the game with an incremental reward structure. As well, there IS lore driving alot of ingame activity, it's just not integral... if you want to understand more, there's quest chains you can pursue, NPCs you can talk to, online resources to read...or you can ignore them and just kill orcs.
I like both types of games. But comparing one with another isn't very fair; they have different focus. In some cases a Prius is a great car (reliable, efficient, eco-friendly) and in other cases a Ford Explorer is essential (strong engine for towing, storage capacity, durability).