>> I've yet to see a single study, or even anyone claiming, those ads and fake news reports actually had an effect on the election
There are some people claiming this, but there's not much to it.
Fake News: Wide Reach but Little Impact, Study Suggests https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/02/health/fake-news-conservative-liberal.html
What probably did swing the election was non-fake news like Clinton's anti-Bernie and email shenanigans coming to light. That's why it's OK to get worried when news or government people talk about controlling "the narrative" - that essentially means they are more worried about voters learning about shady stuff than preventing shady stuff in the first place. (It's also why I'm not a fan of Facebook/Google/whatever trying to "improve" our discourse: once you make speech levers/filters they'll end up in the control of those already in power.)
>> the only people who'd gravitate to the type of fake news and misinformation being put out during the 2016 campaign were those already staunchly in their political corners.
Even if that's true, getting a higher percentage of "your people" to the polls is a regular and proven tactic.
If you're an indie you need the press, so why not give out your games like candy to this obsessive crowd of early adopters? (Similarly, note how many planned "leaks" there are leading up to a movie or video game release - or even traditional black fridays. Actual marketeers know how to use the obsessives to talk to their consumers.)
No, I still have Netflix because my daughter watches the cartoons, and it's ad free. My teenage sons (and me) long ago migrated to alternate sources + a lot of video games, and my wife and I watch over-the-air PBS, football and news. Once my daughter gets fully torrent aware I don't see us continuing with Netflix, but as long as it's ad free it's OK.
While we're at it, can we take the blog that styles itself as a relevant media outlet called "Fast Company"? (I was surprised that thing survived the dotcom implosion - haven't heard anything from it in 15 years.)
And 80% of the non-bot 20% is just marketing people trying to tune the system. If they kicked all those people and Bots off, they would realize that actual consumers moved to other social platforms years ago.
>> convenient products for consumers, such as sophisticated tools for managing personal finances and investment
We'll solve that bit of disruption by grinding the middle class down so that they no longer have "investments" or a need to manage their personal finances.
>> Armed robbery is not a catch and release crime nor is it considered non-violent.
Right, and that's why I was annoyed by TFA headline. A "robber" (as per the headline) could potentially be non-violent, e,g., a bike thief. An "armed robber" (as per TFA; this is someone who expressly values property above life) is the worst kind of anti-social scourge and should be thinned from the herd.
The goon was armed. Telling people he would kill them for a little money. Find him (or her), melt down his gun and toss him in the woodchipper - improve the world!
You think you are funny but you are not. Right now, I am working with a public health organization to develop a suite of apps for crappy parents that is not too far from what you just described.
>> United States voiced deep suspicion on Tuesday over Russia's pursuit of new space weapons, including a mobile laser system to destroy satellites in space
Clearly, the red-blooded Men of America cannot allow a fake laser satellite gap - open the nation's pocketbook now!!!
>> Why won’t you pay for apps, is it a matter of principle?
Not entirely sure. Maybe it's because I still view my phone as, well, a phone. As long as it does web/phone/text/email/voicerec/maps/basicnetworktroubleshooting/filesystem for free (and I still have free Google Docs subscription from back in the day), it's good enough. If I need to do any real work (beyond an email that I can voice-dictate), I'll pull out a laptop. If I really want to play any games, I'll pull out a tablet (where I do have a small collection of Steam licensed games plus a full library of emulators+ROMs).
Help me out on the flip side: what phone apps are compelling enough to buy?
Software becomes a true cash cow when it's "maintenance" or subscriptions.
However, I've still yet to find an app that I need badly enough that I'd pay $0.01 for it, so whether it's a one-time fee or a monthly fee, it won't matter because I'll never pay for it.
If it was IBM's gamble, then nothing of value was lost. If, however, the billions were invested by medical teams duped by impossible promises, then that's a different story.
(Story is paywalled and I'm too lazy to read TFA before commenting.)
Professors and teachers and proctors get to watch people taking tests to make sure they aren't cheating. Remote? A video camera and microphone is to be expected.
When you grow up, you'll learn about video conferences and industry certifications you can only take at certain test centers. So quit whining about the monitoring; if you don't like it go find a city dumb enough to try UBI and live in a cardboard box under a bridge.
And that's OK. If you don't have your own copy of Nintendo's entire library yet (and copied across multiple locations) then shame on you. And if you're one of the folks who wakes up and wants to build a Raspberry Pi ROM machine in two years, it will still be as easy as downloading Game of Thrones (i.e. trivial for anyone on SlashDot).
>> new rule would create a new process for regulating uses of asbestos, something the E.P.A. is obliged to do under a 2016 amendment to a toxic substances law...Consumer groups say the agency should be looking for ways to prohibit asbestos entirely.
So...government agency is following the law instead of random/anecdotal citizen input. Generally, I'd think this is a good thing. (If you want to entirely ban asbestos...work on passing that law instead of whining on SlashDot.)
You just made federal prison sound appealing. The number of dumbasses who buy one, stick it in their living room and "just use it as a Bluetooth speaker" is incredibly high.
I use Upwork to hire small or complicated jobs I don't want to do myself (or hire for). I've never heard of this level of tracking.
However, I only ever do fixed project bids: if you write X by Y and it meets Z quality standard, I will give you $$$. I could give two zits if you hacked it together in two hours or it took three times as long as you thought it would as long as you hit my quality standard. Not even remotely interested in knowing what else my hires were doing with their time as long as my thing was done.
From Microsoft's site (https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/jensenh/2006/11/21/licensing-the-2007-microsoft-office-user-interface/):
"...licensing program for the 2007 Microsoft Office system user interface which allows virtually anyone to obtain a royalty-free license to use the new Office UI in a software product, including the Ribbon, galleries, the Mini Toolbar, and the rest of the user interface."
"For almost everyone, there's no catch at all. Just sign up for the license, and follow the guidelines. That's all there is to it. You can use the UI in open source projects as long as the license terms are consistent with our license. You can use it on any platform: Windows, Mac, Linux, etc. If you're an ISV, you can build and sell a set of controls based on the new Office UI. There's only one limitation: if you are building a program which directly competes with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, or Access (the Microsoft applications with the new UI), you can't obtain the royalty-free license."
>> what happened when Microsoft inflicted everyone with the ribbon
Well that was evil brilliance. Microsoft introduced the ribbon in part to stave off the challenge from open-source office projects. People grumbled but switched because the open source alternatives were really primitive back then. Microsoft then copyrighted/patented the ribbon and made it free to anyone who was developing anything BUT an office product so open source projects couldn't easily follow it. Over time, the ribbon has become a de-facto barrier to user switching because the bulk of office users are now used to it...and open source projects can't license the ribbon.
>> Old habits are hard to change is more likely the reason
Actually, I think we agree. Take a couple minutes to look up the user experience "principal of least surprise" (or "astonishment") https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_least_astonishment
In other words, the software that requires people to change the least will get used the most.
OK, I'll bite. There are at least three exceptions to this that I can think of: 1) you're applying for a top desktop support role, where you might want to list a successful Office roll-out that you designed/managed/cleaned-up-after 2) you aren't at least a 8 (or a 6 in some states) and female, and you want an entry-level receptionist/assistant job 3) you need to get your resume past a brain-dead HR department that stapled "Microsoft Office" to its "languages" requirements (in addition to C#, Ruby, etc.)
Slashdot Mirror
I'll bite.
>> I've yet to see a single study, or even anyone claiming, those ads and fake news reports actually had an effect on the election
There are some people claiming this, but there's not much to it.
Fake News: Wide Reach but Little Impact, Study Suggests
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/02/health/fake-news-conservative-liberal.html
What probably did swing the election was non-fake news like Clinton's anti-Bernie and email shenanigans coming to light. That's why it's OK to get worried when news or government people talk about controlling "the narrative" - that essentially means they are more worried about voters learning about shady stuff than preventing shady stuff in the first place. (It's also why I'm not a fan of Facebook/Google/whatever trying to "improve" our discourse: once you make speech levers/filters they'll end up in the control of those already in power.)
>> the only people who'd gravitate to the type of fake news and misinformation being put out during the 2016 campaign were those already staunchly in their political corners.
Even if that's true, getting a higher percentage of "your people" to the polls is a regular and proven tactic.
If you're an indie you need the press, so why not give out your games like candy to this obsessive crowd of early adopters? (Similarly, note how many planned "leaks" there are leading up to a movie or video game release - or even traditional black fridays. Actual marketeers know how to use the obsessives to talk to their consumers.)
No, I still have Netflix because my daughter watches the cartoons, and it's ad free. My teenage sons (and me) long ago migrated to alternate sources + a lot of video games, and my wife and I watch over-the-air PBS, football and news. Once my daughter gets fully torrent aware I don't see us continuing with Netflix, but as long as it's ad free it's OK.
>> Women's Pockets Suck
Um, yeah. Pretty sure no women were involved in writing TFA's headline.
While we're at it, can we take the blog that styles itself as a relevant media outlet called "Fast Company"? (I was surprised that thing survived the dotcom implosion - haven't heard anything from it in 15 years.)
So...why haven't you dumped them yet? Are you expecting service to get better or pricing to drop?
And 80% of the non-bot 20% is just marketing people trying to tune the system. If they kicked all those people and Bots off, they would realize that actual consumers moved to other social platforms years ago.
>> convenient products for consumers, such as sophisticated tools for managing personal finances and investment
We'll solve that bit of disruption by grinding the middle class down so that they no longer have "investments" or a need to manage their personal finances.
>> Armed robbery is not a catch and release crime nor is it considered non-violent.
Right, and that's why I was annoyed by TFA headline. A "robber" (as per the headline) could potentially be non-violent, e,g., a bike thief. An "armed robber" (as per TFA; this is someone who expressly values property above life) is the worst kind of anti-social scourge and should be thinned from the herd.
>> spate of armed robberies
The goon was armed. Telling people he would kill them for a little money. Find him (or her), melt down his gun and toss him in the woodchipper - improve the world!
You think you are funny but you are not. Right now, I am working with a public health organization to develop a suite of apps for crappy parents that is not too far from what you just described.
>> United States voiced deep suspicion on Tuesday over Russia's pursuit of new space weapons, including a mobile laser system to destroy satellites in space
Clearly, the red-blooded Men of America cannot allow a fake laser satellite gap - open the nation's pocketbook now!!!
>> Why won’t you pay for apps, is it a matter of principle?
Not entirely sure. Maybe it's because I still view my phone as, well, a phone. As long as it does web/phone/text/email/voicerec/maps/basicnetworktroubleshooting/filesystem for free (and I still have free Google Docs subscription from back in the day), it's good enough. If I need to do any real work (beyond an email that I can voice-dictate), I'll pull out a laptop. If I really want to play any games, I'll pull out a tablet (where I do have a small collection of Steam licensed games plus a full library of emulators+ROMs).
Help me out on the flip side: what phone apps are compelling enough to buy?
Software becomes a true cash cow when it's "maintenance" or subscriptions.
However, I've still yet to find an app that I need badly enough that I'd pay $0.01 for it, so whether it's a one-time fee or a monthly fee, it won't matter because I'll never pay for it.
Similar survey of 2016 Senate web sites
http://cybertical.com/2016-senate-cybersecurity.html
>> Six years and billions of dollars later
If it was IBM's gamble, then nothing of value was lost. If, however, the billions were invested by medical teams duped by impossible promises, then that's a different story.
(Story is paywalled and I'm too lazy to read TFA before commenting.)
Professors and teachers and proctors get to watch people taking tests to make sure they aren't cheating. Remote? A video camera and microphone is to be expected.
When you grow up, you'll learn about video conferences and industry certifications you can only take at certain test centers. So quit whining about the monitoring; if you don't like it go find a city dumb enough to try UBI and live in a cardboard box under a bridge.
And that's OK. If you don't have your own copy of Nintendo's entire library yet (and copied across multiple locations) then shame on you. And if you're one of the folks who wakes up and wants to build a Raspberry Pi ROM machine in two years, it will still be as easy as downloading Game of Thrones (i.e. trivial for anyone on SlashDot).
>> new rule would create a new process for regulating uses of asbestos, something the E.P.A. is obliged to do under a 2016 amendment to a toxic substances law...Consumer groups say the agency should be looking for ways to prohibit asbestos entirely.
So...government agency is following the law instead of random/anecdotal citizen input. Generally, I'd think this is a good thing. (If you want to entirely ban asbestos...work on passing that law instead of whining on SlashDot.)
You just made federal prison sound appealing. The number of dumbasses who buy one, stick it in their living room and "just use it as a Bluetooth speaker" is incredibly high.
I use Upwork to hire small or complicated jobs I don't want to do myself (or hire for). I've never heard of this level of tracking.
However, I only ever do fixed project bids: if you write X by Y and it meets Z quality standard, I will give you $$$. I could give two zits if you hacked it together in two hours or it took three times as long as you thought it would as long as you hit my quality standard. Not even remotely interested in knowing what else my hires were doing with their time as long as my thing was done.
From Microsoft's site (https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/jensenh/2006/11/21/licensing-the-2007-microsoft-office-user-interface/):
"...licensing program for the 2007 Microsoft Office system user interface which allows virtually anyone to obtain a royalty-free license to use the new Office UI in a software product, including the Ribbon, galleries, the Mini Toolbar, and the rest of the user interface."
"For almost everyone, there's no catch at all. Just sign up for the license, and follow the guidelines. That's all there is to it. You can use the UI in open source projects as long as the license terms are consistent with our license. You can use it on any platform: Windows, Mac, Linux, etc. If you're an ISV, you can build and sell a set of controls based on the new Office UI. There's only one limitation: if you are building a program which directly competes with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, or Access (the Microsoft applications with the new UI), you can't obtain the royalty-free license."
>> what happened when Microsoft inflicted everyone with the ribbon
Well that was evil brilliance. Microsoft introduced the ribbon in part to stave off the challenge from open-source office projects. People grumbled but switched because the open source alternatives were really primitive back then. Microsoft then copyrighted/patented the ribbon and made it free to anyone who was developing anything BUT an office product so open source projects couldn't easily follow it. Over time, the ribbon has become a de-facto barrier to user switching because the bulk of office users are now used to it...and open source projects can't license the ribbon.
e.g., https://forum.openoffice.org/en/forum/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=26031
>> Old habits are hard to change is more likely the reason
Actually, I think we agree. Take a couple minutes to look up the user experience "principal of least surprise" (or "astonishment")
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_least_astonishment
In other words, the software that requires people to change the least will get used the most.
>> if you have any office suite on your resume
OK, I'll bite. There are at least three exceptions to this that I can think of:
1) you're applying for a top desktop support role, where you might want to list a successful Office roll-out that you designed/managed/cleaned-up-after
2) you aren't at least a 8 (or a 6 in some states) and female, and you want an entry-level receptionist/assistant job
3) you need to get your resume past a brain-dead HR department that stapled "Microsoft Office" to its "languages" requirements (in addition to C#, Ruby, etc.)