If they really wanted to reduce dependence, they could go bio-diesel which can be run in diesel vehicles right now! You can take the grease waste from restaurants and turn it into fuel instead of having to have it processed into other waste or illegally dumped. But THAT would make common sense.
It doesn't matter how *green* something really is in practice (although ethanol has been touted as a green alternative for some time). It's ALL political--including global warming. My actual (sarcastically put) point was that the media wants to attribute EVERYTHING to be caused by global warming (or the now more politically correct "global climate change") even when it's just due to good old market forces.
Yes, but see the *reason* that it's due to climate change we started requiring ethanol in our gasoline and so the price of corn went up which forced the farmers to change crops.
Just like the game where you make almost any food sound nutritional, you can make anything caused by global climate change!
It's that sort of circular logic that makes the world go round!:D
This reminds me of the people that complain about oil rigs in the environment and yet they create some of the best fishing areas around for the same reason. The rigs become a reef environment.
Well if you had comprehended the reading asignment;-) you would have seen:
"State and federal environmental officials approved the use of the Redbirds and other cars for artificial reefs in Delaware and elsewhere because they said the asbestos was not a risk for marine life and has to be airborne to pose a threat to humans."
When I read the title, "Adobe Photoshop CS4 Will Be 64-Bit For Windows Only" it sounded like it will ONLY run on 64-bit computers with Windows. Which sounds crazy that they would limit their market to 64-bit Windows Vista. But after you read the article and comments, it will be able to run on 32-bit computers also. There are 32-Bit macs, aren't there? (I realize the 64-bit is especially useful in all things graphic that take up a lot of memory.)
Perhaps a better title would have been, "64-Bit Macs Snubbed by Photoshop CS4"
What happens if your employee copies a bunch of MP3's to the PC, since they like to listen to music.
Most employees can probably do that unless it's locked down so tight they don't have access to windows media. Most companies don't do that because they may have their own company programs and training videos they want the employees to view. And then, if the employee has a USB drive you'd better remove the sound card because there are certainly portable apps that can just run it from there.
It's called personal responsiblity. I don't think most people are saying let the users go wild and install any software they want. But if they're dumb enough to install something illegal (MP3s, last time I looked, are not inherently illegal) they should be held responsible. When companies are proscuted is when BSA comes in and finds MS Office on EVERYONE's computer and they can only produce a license for one. (I don't think the RIAA would even bother with this as most companies DO restrict usage of P2P applications so no sharing would be available.)
But it does remind me of an BOFH (true story) that had the computers so locked down (Win95 days) you could not access Windows Explorer (aka File Explorer then) to try and keep users from installing or using rogue programs. (In fact I seem to remember, Win95 was actually on a server and his users had to log in to it.) Thank goodness I wasn't under his section. But my section taught department computer classes to get employees up to speed which is how we heard about what he was doing. Of course it made the computers unstable as hell....
Banning demonstrations are also a form of censorship, and another form that the US engages in. Search for "free speech zones" for a better understanding.
Last time I looked, people could stand in front of the US capital and spew all the crap they want. No one runs them over with tanks.
Free speech zones != banning a demonstration. It's keeping the demonstrators from disrupting the rights of others who attend whatever convention is being protested. It keeps attendees safe from physical harm. Too many times, demonstrations turn into riots. And I get really tired of seeing a few people run things for everyone by disrupting a college speaker. They don't so much care about getting their point across, but to diallow the speaker from exercising his or her right to speak. You disagree with the speaker, fine, but that shouldn't give you the right to disrupt other people's right to hear what that person has to say.
I'm not so much worried about them getting the computers, I'm sure there will be groups set up to donate equipment. But will it be used or just resold? How many of these families will actually use the equipment? There's money, even in the poorer communities. But will it be spent on educational items or the latest footwear?
These are the communities who, when the weather is extrodinarily hot, will get free window unit ACs donated to them, then turn around and sell them when the weather cools down. Because they know someone will hand more out when the weather gets hot again.
Also...and I have to give credit that this came from elsewhere, are they going to FILTER the internet? What happens when mom comes home and finds junior checking out the porn on the free internet? They'll have the civil libertarians on them if they try to censor things. The concern I have always when the government hands you a tasty "free" carrot, is that there will always be the ability to control what they want you to see.
We don' need municipal wi-fi anymore than we need another freakin' light rail train (er, I mean "trolly").
AKA: The DANGER TRAIN! LOL! (or less familiar, the Wham Bam Tram)
(Houston Rail has a bad reputation of accidents considering the small distance it goes downtown to the medical center and on to the Reliant Center. I think they quit counting after they reached 100 in 2005. And not all are the auto drivers' fault. When you see where the rails go it's no wonder--at one point in the medical center, a left turn lane for cars is ON THE TRACKS. Good thing there's so many hospitals nearby!)
As a native Houstonian, so I think I can speak knowledgeably about this. The fact that Earthlink was willing to cough up $5 million to get out of a contract should tell you something. Obviously they realized this would be money losing proposition. Unfortunately, trust Houston to ignore the problems in other cities and plow ahead anyway. And yes, Earthlink defaulted, but that money now belongs to the taxpayers. It could be MUCH better used--such as hiring more police and fire personnel--than handing out "free" access at taxpayer expense.
Putting these bubbles in "low income" areas makes absolutely no sense, unless they plan to also put in computers or some sort of cybercafe. Most of the people living there are not going to be sporting lap tops. And if they have a computer they're unlikely to have a wireless modem. They'll expect to be given one for free though. These are not nice parts of town. I used to live (briefly) not far from area highlighted on the map in the story. If you stand outside at night (not advisable), you very often hear gunfire. A murdered prostitute was found in the field across from the condos I lived in. Lots of drug dealing. This is not indicative of Houston--it has plenty good areas. I make this point in that if they do set up any sort of computer kiosk places in areas like this, it's going to have to have 24 hour security.
Most of the people taking advantage of this are going to be small-medium businesses who will be milking the free bandwidth, not lower income families. Houston libraries already have computers and internet access, this will give others the ability to bring their own computer--but again, I wouldn't in these areas of town. I think this is going to be a colossal waste of tax payer money.
Usually I find the LAST people to suspect are the cleaning folks. They know they're going to be the first ones scrutinized if something comes missing! However, often the security guards are contracted out and the company they work for doesn't always screen them. I've seen a lot of cases where these guards have criminal backgrounds.
The only problem I had with thieves was a company I contracted for (wine and alcohol distrib). I left a 6-pack of Diet coke in the fridge the first day and it was gone the next. My manager apologized, saying she forgot to tell me not to leave anything in there because the night shift raided the refrigerator. Had I been working their longer than a few days, it would have been time to break out the old brownie with the chocolate ex-lax recipe. What really got me was no one in management seemed to care that if their night shift would steal from other employees, how much hooch and other things were walking out of there?
Ironically, their slogan at that time was "McK_____ People Care!"
Since there is no groundswell of outrage from people who are providing bandwidth to their neighbors - unwittingly or not - you have to assume that the "victims" here are the ISPs: Comcast, Time-Warner and the like. That guy who checks his email or the weather using "free" wireless is, in their eyes, $50 a month in lost revenue. Not that they could possibly influence legislators in a state like Maryland, of course...
Good point. I was wondering...And just WHO is going to report them? The same neighbor who doesn't know enough to secure his/her router is going to realize that a) someone is using their bandwidth and/or b) who that person is?
I'm not even sure the cable company could know unless they lie in wait and catch the person red-handed or the person was a regular "customer".
And so the question comes up, why are we even buying voting machines from a company bought up by a Venezuela company that has been linked with Hugo Chávez?
Smartmatic was a little-known firm with no experience in voting technology before it was chosen by the Venezuelan authorities to replace the country's elections machinery ahead of a contentious referendum that confirmed Mr. Chávez as president in August 2004.
Seven months before that voting contract was awarded, a Venezuelan government financing agency invested more than $200,000 into a smaller technology company, owned by some of the same people as Smartmatic, that joined with Smartmatic as a minor partner in the bid.
In return, the government agency was given a 28 percent stake in the smaller company and a seat on its board, which was occupied by a senior government official who had previously advised Mr. Chávez on elections technology. But Venezuelan officials later insisted that the money was merely a small-business loan and that it was repaid before the referendum.
With a windfall of some $120 million from its first three contracts with Venezuela, Smartmatic then bought the much larger and more established Sequoia Voting Systems, which now has voting equipment installed in 17 states and the District of Columbia.
In a different age and under a different president (Jimmy Carter), the FCC chairman could simply pick up his phone & ask his buddy in the white house to apply Antitrust Legislation to the Comcast monopoly..... thereby breaking apart the cable tv and internet arms into competing forces..... as was done with AT&T.
Yeah THAT really showed them...they've had a tough time of it ever since...oh wait.
So what were all the issues we read about after Leopard came out? And Mac has even LESS excuses because your using their hardware. Windows has a lot more configurations to deal with. And with most major Linux distros you can find a list of known hardware that works and which ones are known not to work. With Windows you're best bet is when you're computer is outfitted with the latest, brand name hardware. In Linux, you're best off with a computer that's a year or more older to have a chance that someone's updated the drivers.
I don't know how it's logical saying a flat tax would bankrupt the government. That doesn't make sense. 13% isn't fixed in stone. For the US it may be 10%, it may be 15%. I'm sure they know roughly how much American's make and therefore what % would pay the bills. It would not replace every tax (unfortuantely)--I'm sure congress still wants it's death tax, gas tax, sin tax, sales tax. It would replace the income tax and having to filling out tons of confusing forms every April 15th. About the only "deductions" I can see are for # of dependents, handicap, etc.
And if they want to raise the tax a % you're going to have a LOT more Americans asking, "Why?" Right now the bottom 50% of the taxpayers pay something like 5% of the tax burden. We've got people who don't PAY anything out in taxes expecting rebates when they're given. They don't care when the government spends more money because it's being spent on them.
You shouldn't have to have a lousy collection system (Russia's real problem is the Russian Mafia runs everything) to have a simplified and truely fair tax system. I expect we would collect more in taxes also as people wouldn't be running around trying to find shelters.
While I respect Mr. Novick's trying to slog onto Slashdot yesterday (I suspect most politicos don't know which end of a mouse is up) it's pretty clear that we would disagree on many things. When a politician starts talking about "tax cuts for the rich" and "tax fairness" I hold tight to my wallet.
It comes down to consent. Think of it as an extended form or Opt-in. Unless you specifically say you want your parts to go to someone else, they stay with you.
Also, they're making big $$$ over selling these parts, so it's not just a matter of helping people. And since money's involved, who's to say the parts they're selling are transplant quality.
Yes, I was a bit surprised to suddenly see an answer to one of my questions!...if he's actually slogging through/. I'll give him bonus points for that! I don't think most politicos even know anything beyond email...maybe.
Not so, Russia instituted a 13% flat rate on income in 2001 and other former Soviet countries have followed.
I don't know why you jumped to the conclusion that I supported the FAIR tax. I wanted to know what HE thought. I asked the question in the most straightforward and unbiased manner possible. Unlike a lot of people, I didn't couch my personal feelings on a subject--pollitians love that--you tip your hand and they spoon-feed you what you want to hear.
Actually, because you asked, I HATE the so-called FAIR tax. By the time you add it on to city/state taxes (you know those aren't going anywhere) it will be a 30% tax on goods. I also don't believe for a minute that because companies are saving money (via having to deal with payroll taxes(!?)) they're going to graciously turn around and lower their prices! Ha! I think it will lead to black marketing and there is no real way to have a cut-off point for lower income families. I think some like it because they feel the only way to get the government to stop spending so much is if people see how much is actually coming out of their pockets. Me, I think it would just turn into a VAT-type tax, rolled into the price, like in the UK. And I haven't seen their taxes going down.
A flat tax would be a lot more sensible than the mess we have now (of course a lot of accountants and tax lawyers lobby against it because a whole industry--theirs--would be largely out of business.)
Slashdot Mirror
If they really wanted to reduce dependence, they could go bio-diesel which can be run in diesel vehicles right now! You can take the grease waste from restaurants and turn it into fuel instead of having to have it processed into other waste or illegally dumped. But THAT would make common sense.
It doesn't matter how *green* something really is in practice (although ethanol has been touted as a green alternative for some time). It's ALL political--including global warming. My actual (sarcastically put) point was that the media wants to attribute EVERYTHING to be caused by global warming (or the now more politically correct "global climate change") even when it's just due to good old market forces.
Yes, but see the *reason* that it's due to climate change we started requiring ethanol in our gasoline and so the price of corn went up which forced the farmers to change crops.
:D
Just like the game where you make almost any food sound nutritional, you can make anything caused by global climate change!
It's that sort of circular logic that makes the world go round!
This reminds me of the people that complain about oil rigs in the environment and yet they create some of the best fishing areas around for the same reason. The rigs become a reef environment.
Well if you had comprehended the reading asignment ;-) you would have seen:
"State and federal environmental officials approved the use of the Redbirds and other cars for artificial reefs in Delaware and elsewhere because they said the asbestos was not a risk for marine life and has to be airborne to pose a threat to humans."
Don't forget that asbestos is a naturally made substance, not a man-made one.
And on the next Guinness commercial....
First Inventor: How do we make more money at this?
Second Inventor: I know--we'll tell them that barley is more expensive due to climate change!"
First Inventor (tapping bottles with the second): Brilliant!
Come on...baby needs a new car...
Damn, I crapped out. I hoped Google had accidentally snapped our house--I could really use 25K!
I used to have a Creepy Hand Bank! :-)
When I read the title, "Adobe Photoshop CS4 Will Be 64-Bit For Windows Only" it sounded like it will ONLY run on 64-bit computers with Windows. Which sounds crazy that they would limit their market to 64-bit Windows Vista. But after you read the article and comments, it will be able to run on 32-bit computers also. There are 32-Bit macs, aren't there? (I realize the 64-bit is especially useful in all things graphic that take up a lot of memory.)
Perhaps a better title would have been, "64-Bit Macs Snubbed by Photoshop CS4"
What happens if your employee copies a bunch of MP3's to the PC, since they like to listen to music.
Most employees can probably do that unless it's locked down so tight they don't have access to windows media. Most companies don't do that because they may have their own company programs and training videos they want the employees to view. And then, if the employee has a USB drive you'd better remove the sound card because there are certainly portable apps that can just run it from there.
It's called personal responsiblity. I don't think most people are saying let the users go wild and install any software they want. But if they're dumb enough to install something illegal (MP3s, last time I looked, are not inherently illegal) they should be held responsible. When companies are proscuted is when BSA comes in and finds MS Office on EVERYONE's computer and they can only produce a license for one. (I don't think the RIAA would even bother with this as most companies DO restrict usage of P2P applications so no sharing would be available.)
But it does remind me of an BOFH (true story) that had the computers so locked down (Win95 days) you could not access Windows Explorer (aka File Explorer then) to try and keep users from installing or using rogue programs. (In fact I seem to remember, Win95 was actually on a server and his users had to log in to it.) Thank goodness I wasn't under his section. But my section taught department computer classes to get employees up to speed which is how we heard about what he was doing. Of course it made the computers unstable as hell....
Right...not seen...except by world-wide and US media that goes down there to ask their opinion.
Check mate.
Banning demonstrations are also a form of censorship, and another form that the US engages in. Search for "free speech zones" for a better understanding.
Last time I looked, people could stand in front of the US capital and spew all the crap they want. No one runs them over with tanks.
Free speech zones != banning a demonstration. It's keeping the demonstrators from disrupting the rights of others who attend whatever convention is being protested. It keeps attendees safe from physical harm. Too many times, demonstrations turn into riots. And I get really tired of seeing a few people run things for everyone by disrupting a college speaker. They don't so much care about getting their point across, but to diallow the speaker from exercising his or her right to speak. You disagree with the speaker, fine, but that shouldn't give you the right to disrupt other people's right to hear what that person has to say.
I'm not so much worried about them getting the computers, I'm sure there will be groups set up to donate equipment. But will it be used or just resold? How many of these families will actually use the equipment? There's money, even in the poorer communities. But will it be spent on educational items or the latest footwear?
These are the communities who, when the weather is extrodinarily hot, will get free window unit ACs donated to them, then turn around and sell them when the weather cools down. Because they know someone will hand more out when the weather gets hot again.
Also...and I have to give credit that this came from elsewhere, are they going to FILTER the internet? What happens when mom comes home and finds junior checking out the porn on the free internet? They'll have the civil libertarians on them if they try to censor things. The concern I have always when the government hands you a tasty "free" carrot, is that there will always be the ability to control what they want you to see.
We don' need municipal wi-fi anymore than we need another freakin' light rail train (er, I mean "trolly").
AKA: The DANGER TRAIN! LOL! (or less familiar, the Wham Bam Tram)
(Houston Rail has a bad reputation of accidents considering the small distance it goes downtown to the medical center and on to the Reliant Center. I think they quit counting after they reached 100 in 2005. And not all are the auto drivers' fault. When you see where the rails go it's no wonder--at one point in the medical center, a left turn lane for cars is ON THE TRACKS. Good thing there's so many hospitals nearby!)
As a native Houstonian, so I think I can speak knowledgeably about this. The fact that Earthlink was willing to cough up $5 million to get out of a contract should tell you something. Obviously they realized this would be money losing proposition. Unfortunately, trust Houston to ignore the problems in other cities and plow ahead anyway. And yes, Earthlink defaulted, but that money now belongs to the taxpayers. It could be MUCH better used--such as hiring more police and fire personnel--than handing out "free" access at taxpayer expense.
Putting these bubbles in "low income" areas makes absolutely no sense, unless they plan to also put in computers or some sort of cybercafe. Most of the people living there are not going to be sporting lap tops. And if they have a computer they're unlikely to have a wireless modem. They'll expect to be given one for free though. These are not nice parts of town. I used to live (briefly) not far from area highlighted on the map in the story. If you stand outside at night (not advisable), you very often hear gunfire. A murdered prostitute was found in the field across from the condos I lived in. Lots of drug dealing. This is not indicative of Houston--it has plenty good areas. I make this point in that if they do set up any sort of computer kiosk places in areas like this, it's going to have to have 24 hour security.
Most of the people taking advantage of this are going to be small-medium businesses who will be milking the free bandwidth, not lower income families. Houston libraries already have computers and internet access, this will give others the ability to bring their own computer--but again, I wouldn't in these areas of town. I think this is going to be a colossal waste of tax payer money.
Usually I find the LAST people to suspect are the cleaning folks. They know they're going to be the first ones scrutinized if something comes missing! However, often the security guards are contracted out and the company they work for doesn't always screen them. I've seen a lot of cases where these guards have criminal backgrounds.
The only problem I had with thieves was a company I contracted for (wine and alcohol distrib). I left a 6-pack of Diet coke in the fridge the first day and it was gone the next. My manager apologized, saying she forgot to tell me not to leave anything in there because the night shift raided the refrigerator. Had I been working their longer than a few days, it would have been time to break out the old brownie with the chocolate ex-lax recipe. What really got me was no one in management seemed to care that if their night shift would steal from other employees, how much hooch and other things were walking out of there?
Ironically, their slogan at that time was "McK_____ People Care!"
Since there is no groundswell of outrage from people who are providing bandwidth to their neighbors - unwittingly or not - you have to assume that the "victims" here are the ISPs: Comcast, Time-Warner and the like. That guy who checks his email or the weather using "free" wireless is, in their eyes, $50 a month in lost revenue. Not that they could possibly influence legislators in a state like Maryland, of course...
Good point. I was wondering...And just WHO is going to report them? The same neighbor who doesn't know enough to secure his/her router is going to realize that a) someone is using their bandwidth and/or b) who that person is?
I'm not even sure the cable company could know unless they lie in wait and catch the person red-handed or the person was a regular "customer".
All your votes are belong to us....
And so the question comes up, why are we even buying voting machines from a company bought up by a Venezuela company that has been linked with Hugo Chávez?
U.S. Investigates Voting Machines' Venezuela Ties
In a different age and under a different president (Jimmy Carter), the FCC chairman could simply pick up his phone & ask his buddy in the white house to apply Antitrust Legislation to the Comcast monopoly..... thereby breaking apart the cable tv and internet arms into competing forces..... as was done with AT&T.
Yeah THAT really showed them...they've had a tough time of it ever since...oh wait.
So what were all the issues we read about after Leopard came out? And Mac has even LESS excuses because your using their hardware. Windows has a lot more configurations to deal with. And with most major Linux distros you can find a list of known hardware that works and which ones are known not to work. With Windows you're best bet is when you're computer is outfitted with the latest, brand name hardware. In Linux, you're best off with a computer that's a year or more older to have a chance that someone's updated the drivers.
I don't know how it's logical saying a flat tax would bankrupt the government. That doesn't make sense. 13% isn't fixed in stone. For the US it may be 10%, it may be 15%. I'm sure they know roughly how much American's make and therefore what % would pay the bills. It would not replace every tax (unfortuantely)--I'm sure congress still wants it's death tax, gas tax, sin tax, sales tax. It would replace the income tax and having to filling out tons of confusing forms every April 15th. About the only "deductions" I can see are for # of dependents, handicap, etc.
And if they want to raise the tax a % you're going to have a LOT more Americans asking, "Why?" Right now the bottom 50% of the taxpayers pay something like 5% of the tax burden. We've got people who don't PAY anything out in taxes expecting rebates when they're given. They don't care when the government spends more money because it's being spent on them.
You shouldn't have to have a lousy collection system (Russia's real problem is the Russian Mafia runs everything) to have a simplified and truely fair tax system. I expect we would collect more in taxes also as people wouldn't be running around trying to find shelters.
While I respect Mr. Novick's trying to slog onto Slashdot yesterday (I suspect most politicos don't know which end of a mouse is up) it's pretty clear that we would disagree on many things. When a politician starts talking about "tax cuts for the rich" and "tax fairness" I hold tight to my wallet.
It comes down to consent. Think of it as an extended form or Opt-in. Unless you specifically say you want your parts to go to someone else, they stay with you.
Also, they're making big $$$ over selling these parts, so it's not just a matter of helping people. And since money's involved, who's to say the parts they're selling are transplant quality.
Thanks for the feedback--I was starting to feel like I was drinking from a firehose anyway.
Funny...we have one of those here too! :)
Yes, I was a bit surprised to suddenly see an answer to one of my questions! ...if he's actually slogging through /. I'll give him bonus points for that! I don't think most politicos even know anything beyond email...maybe.
Not so, Russia instituted a 13% flat rate on income in 2001 and other former Soviet countries have followed.
I don't know why you jumped to the conclusion that I supported the FAIR tax. I wanted to know what HE thought. I asked the question in the most straightforward and unbiased manner possible. Unlike a lot of people, I didn't couch my personal feelings on a subject--pollitians love that--you tip your hand and they spoon-feed you what you want to hear.
Actually, because you asked, I HATE the so-called FAIR tax. By the time you add it on to city/state taxes (you know those aren't going anywhere) it will be a 30% tax on goods. I also don't believe for a minute that because companies are saving money (via having to deal with payroll taxes(!?)) they're going to graciously turn around and lower their prices! Ha! I think it will lead to black marketing and there is no real way to have a cut-off point for lower income families. I think some like it because they feel the only way to get the government to stop spending so much is if people see how much is actually coming out of their pockets. Me, I think it would just turn into a VAT-type tax, rolled into the price, like in the UK. And I haven't seen their taxes going down.
A flat tax would be a lot more sensible than the mess we have now (of course a lot of accountants and tax lawyers lobby against it because a whole industry--theirs--would be largely out of business.)
Okay Bill, you can go back to your charity work now....