Google was able to add an extremely loud "Ahhh Shit!!!!" and "...but, Judge...!!??" to their new 'layered' sounds database, coincidentally matching the co-ordinates of the court house where the recent hearings took place...
"...where broadcast would be more appropriate and efficient"
If this means airwaves, same as TV, sure. Why not, since the whole thing is one big info-mercial swamp already. Otherwise, it also means guaranteed next -packet delivery, without any pauses, resends, spinning cursors. And the internet is not going to deliver that, sorry.
"First question: is Microsoft buying articles (under the table, big advertiser offers an interview with CEO, business journalist bites)?
Does M S N B C mean nothing to you...? I mean, you can't be the big advertising client (briber) and the big media company (bribee) at the same time, right? There's nobody to bribe and no one to be bribed by, after all. One network puts something into the pipe, and since all the others are sucking from the same teat, it gets picked up, reprocessed and sent over the side again.
"Mythhh-tur Balmy, er...ballme... I mean BALLER - (shit) - Mr. B A L (hey, foushgate, LL or just L?) BALLMER will be available for short one-on-ones at the end of Q1, so get in line now or face egg on your face come end of April!"
"Second question: Why do they feel the need for publicity now?"
Those that can...do. Those that can't - well, they find someone, anyone, to listen to them (see #1) and they start spewing FUD.
If the US govt. says they 'just' put a dozen nations on a piracy blacklist, what it really means is that a dozen nations have been on said list for some time now, allowing the US govt. to harvest statistics, map patterns, etc.
Saying this just went into effect is BS. I'd bet it's been a working list for at least the last year or three. The only reason a 'statement' is released is to keep two or more politically driven hot-button issues in sync in the public mind.
Google Earth: From Space to Your Face...and Beyond
By Mark Aubin, Software Engineer, Google Earth
Would you believe the inspiration for Google Earth was a photo flipbook?
It was 1996 and I was working at Silicon Graphics (SGI), which was then on the verge of releasing "InfiniteReality" -- hardware for the Onyx workstation that enables people to create graphics with extraordinarily realistic texture. Our goal was to produce a killer demo to show off the new texturing capabilities to maximum advantage. During a brainstorming session, someone passed around the great Charles and Ray Eames book, POWERS OF TEN -- A Flipbook, and suggested that our demo move through imagery the way the book does. After discussing a number of possibilities, we decided that we would start in outer space with a view of the whole Earth, and then zoom in closer and closer.
We'd begin by heading toward Europe, and then, when Lake Geneva came into view, we'd zero in on the Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps. Dipping down lower and lower, we'd eventually arrive at a 3-D model of a Nintendo 64, since SGI designed the graphics chip it uses. Zooming through the Nintendo case, we'd come to rest at the chip with our logo on it. Then we'd zoom a little further and warp back into space until we were looking at the Earth again.
We called this demo "Space-to-Your-Face." And after showing it literally thousands of times to people all around the world, it's clear to me that we are universally fascinated with seeing our world from this perspective. During one school group demo, the teachers actually jumped up from their chairs and started pointing to places on the screen as we "flew" over the globe. They were ecstatic. The one comment we kept hearing: I've got to have this for my classroom!
Only a few years later, advances in computer and internet technology made it possible to deliver high-resolution imagery at sufficient speeds to enable a fluid flythrough on a standard PC anywhere in the world. So I decided to leave SGI and team up with a few others to found Keyhole, where we launched the first digital globe product to stream nearly unlimited, high-quality 3-D imagery over the Internet. In October of 2004, Google acquired Keyhole and Google Earth was born - bringing the kind of content previously available only in government and industry research labs to people everywhere.
And the story doesn't end there. Once people started using Google Earth, they started asking questions. Good ones. For instance: Why are some parts of the globe blurry, and others crystal clear? Where do you get your imagery? And how often do you update it?
Most people are surprised to learn that we have more than one source for our imagery. We collect it via airplane and satellite, but also just about any way you can imagine getting a camera above the Earth's surface: hot air balloons, model airplanes - even kites. The traditional aerial survey involves mounting a special gyroscopic, stabilized camera in the belly of an airplane and flying it at an elevation of between 15,000 feet and 30,000 feet, depending on the resolution of imagery you're interested in. As the plane takes a predefined route over the desired area, it forms a series of parallel lines with about 40 percent overlap between lines and 60 percent overlap in the direction of flight. This overlap of images is what provides us with enough detail to remove distortions caused by the varying shape of the Earth's surface.
The next step is processing the imagery. We scan the film using scanners capable of over 1800 DPI (dots per inch) or 14 microns. Then we take the digital imagery through a series of stages such as color balancing and warping to produce the final mosaic for the entire area.
We update the imagery as quickly as we can collect and process it, then add layers of information - things like country and state borders and the names of roads, schools, and parks -- to make it more useful. This information comes from multiple sources: commerc
Whoa, that little "I could care less either way..." J O K E flew right over your pointy little head, now, didn't it..?
Shooting fish in a barrel was never that easy. Must be the seven digit UID.
Try again, boy - your Dad paid for three shots, so ask him to please re-cock that shiny air-rifle for ya' and this time remember to close only one eye.
Just the thing to start the week off right. With 40 DVDs already ripped and sitting on a 320 gb HD, I can get to work on the next few dozen, dozen and work in peace for a change:)
When Google was just first learning to crawl, it took in money by providing 'favored' links as part of otherwise standard searches done by users. Results routinely reflected hits that ranked/displayed higher simply because their owners paid for that to happen. These salted links seemed innocent enough, but anyone spending time using various search engines back then could easily spot the ringers.
Anyone that believes otherwise needs to take off the blinders:)
Middle managers are in the middle, between low level staffers and upper level Directors, VPs, etc....they don't 'manage' other managers.
"I see here on your resume that your last position was as a 'manager manager'. Right, I managed managers. I see, well, sorry, all those jobs are already filled."
If you are titled as a 'Manager' and you think your responsibility is to watch over other managers and take their info and pass it to upper levels, you are a wart on a mole, constantly being pumped full of BS and tolerated only for your myopia. Ask your Uncle, the one that got you the job - I'm sure he can explain your 'position' accurately.
"Here in the United States, Craig Newmark simply removes the post..."
Who said anything about CL US..?
That statement, coupled with a singular proclivity for instantly making this a 'US' versus 'China' debate, indicates a leading bias that can, at best, cloud any further comment. Not a very good position to speak from if one wishes to be taken seriously, sorry.
"This is a very important and serious distinction that cannot and should not be marginalized."
And the very reason the undistinguished and marginalizing quote was singled out, thank you. Now clear your head, drop the boxed-in thinking and you'll be fine.
I love riding the MagLev in Shanghai - most of the passengers are usually Japanese tourists, snapping photos of the overhead display as it reads higher and higher speeds until that magic number of 433 - running the length in 7 minutes and 20 seconds. The fun is over much too soon...
All this talk about India being so hot and ready to break onto the world stage. This kind of talk has been going on for well over a decade, and nothing's happened.
India has it's fat head firmly up it's hubristic arse. There is no way anything like this can be pulled off - check back in 2009 and see what they actually end up with...more hot air and nothing to show for it. Just like less than 20% of their MBA holders being employable. India is a waste of time - steer clear and save yourself the headaches.
"Hello, this is Norddest Airways RapidExit Request Hotline, my name is Danielle-Shawnee-Alisa-Moonshine, where do you wish to fly today?"
"Hi, eh, Moonshine, my name is Steve Jobs and I need a ticket to anywhere overseas, on the next plane out of Dodge - what've ya got?"
"Yes Sir, Mr. Jobs...let's take a look at the latest departures and see what we have - the next flight, which leaves in 42 minutes, is for Guatemala, via Houston...how does that sound?"
"...no good - anything direct?"
"Well, we do have a flight leaving in one hour and fifteen minutes for Abu Dhabi. It is an 18 hour flight with one carry-on and one hand-truck allowed only - how much cash did you intend to take with you?"
"How much cash? Are you kidding? All of it, of course!"
"I see. Well, Mr. Jobs, there is a $75,000.00 fee for anything over 28 kilos, which must be paid at the gate, in..."
"you can't tell iPhone to do something with your voice. "
Bluetooth - simple. Earpiece bonded and VR on, I can find out the time, battery and signal strength, have it read messages to me - dial by name; redial, etc.
"but they don't put up most of the R+D costs there it is the manufacturer they outsource to that does.
Are you trying to say that the vendor for the custom processor, Intel, gifted the entire R & D bill for a chip that they can't sell to anyone else? Same for Nvidia, which developed the custom graphics processor, and Flextronics, which was responsible for developing the enclosure and tooling to produce the mechanical parts (again, all unique to the XBox)...?
Tooling costs, as one example, can stand out on a spreadsheet and are always part of the billing back to the buyer. They are carefully line-itemed, tracked and updated for the sole purpose of all non-trivial hardware related billing.
Mock-ups and prototypes cost money, and someone has to pay for them.
Testing and certification require donor boxes, which are all billed separately from the weekly unit runs coming off the assembly line.
Updates to any components are billed - running changes are billed only when they are not the fault of the manufacturer or excluded as part of a contract.
Production delays that come from the buyer which require renegotiated schedules cost money - money that the buyer has to pay if it wants production line priority over another buyer.
Pallets of expedited units that are air shipped instead of being sent surface, at the buyers request, can incur large costs and are again, the responsibility of the buyer.
Additional production teams and work shifts that are needed to meet an accelerated schedule stemming from a buyer request (hardware change, maybe?) are billed to...the buyer, of course.
The list goes on. Hardware may seem latent to those that primarily deal with software, but as they say, when your only tool is a hammer, all problems begin to look like nails.
There is no way Intel, Nvidia or Flextronics swallow **hardware** related R & D costs...initial or running.
I'll see your girlie 81 and raise you 1000
on
IT's Big Spenders
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
The text says 'top 81', then the article says 81 businesses were selected and appraised. The text labels Microsoft as being the biggest spender, at $6.58 billion, while also labeling this as 'software' related. The article points out how MS spent big on the latest XBox, which is hardware...someone needs to make up their minds. All-in-all, pretty sloppily written piece. But hey...it's a slow news day, so what the heck.
For a bit of fun perspective, China spent $136 billion on R&D in 2006.
And who could forget the Nov. 2006 study from Booze Allen Hamilton, which stated:
"R&D spending doesn't guarantee business success" - New study reveals that there is no relationship between R&D spending and sales growth, earnings, or shareholder returns.
The Booz Allen Hamilton study "Global Innovation 1000--Money Isn't Everything" analyzed the world's top 1,000 corporate research and development spenders.
It found remarkably that the pace of corporate R&D spending continues to accelerate, as many executives continue to believe that enhanced innovation is required to fuel their future growth.
Spending more doesn't necessarily mean gaining more. The study identified individual success stories. More pointedly it found no discernible statistical relationship between R&D spending levels and nearly all measures of business success, including sales growth, gross profit, operating profit, enterprise profit, market capitalization, or total shareholder return.
Booz Allen Vice President Barry Jaruzelski said: "Successful innovation demands careful coordination and orchestration both internally and externally. How you spend is far more important than how much you spend."
"...then had to sever internet connectivity to avoid leaking too much data!"
"Cap'n, we're having a wee bit 'o trouble in IT - we're leaking data down here like no one's bloody business - we may have to sever communications!"
"Scottie - is it really that bad...? Isn't there some alternative that will buy us more time??!! I need more time, dammit man!"
"Cap'n, I'm only a Star Fleet Engineer, not the Queen's magician..."
"Well, Engineer...see if you can pull a rabbit out of your ass and buy me five more minutes before you cut us off. That's all we need to make the jump, and after that you can cut your nuts off for all I care!"
"Aye, Cap'n...do me best - one shit-stained rabbit, com'n up - IT out!"
"The average yearly income for a Chinese family is less than a single license for Vista."
BS Alert - please...
The average income for a typical family actually in a position to need and maybe buy a legitimate copy of any OS is by no means a comparison with a single license for whatever version of Vista.
And the only reason you had to charge 'only 125RMB for TL w/docs was because that is the tipping point for where they wave you off and walk another few meters and pay 5 rmb for the disc only, instead.
And for all those shaking their heads 'yeah, of course' when someone mentions pirate versions on the street... Those are for the middle-school kids, english teaching wankers and tourists. Any business with an IT staff has at least one application server crammed with everything you have otherwise pay for out on the street.
As for adoption of Vista - the hawkers are having a hard time getting anyone interested and many IT departments aren't even bothering with a roll-out plan as of yet...if ever.
MS only has the govt. to count on, as they just last year twisted arms to make it a 'rule' that all new complete computer systems must have an OS installed (duh...Windows), or they can't be sold via the legitimate retail pipe.
To avoid the OS tax & lock-in, all you have to do is walk in and have a custom system pieced together on the spot, and all the software you want is 'service' (gifted).
Slashdot Mirror
Google was able to add an extremely loud "Ahhh Shit!!!!" and "...but, Judge...!!??" to their new 'layered' sounds database, coincidentally matching the co-ordinates of the court house where the recent hearings took place...
"How do you build an advertising economy when the number can't be trusted?"
You don't - You don't even try. You clear your pointy little head, take the hint and work on another model...simple.
"...where broadcast would be more appropriate and efficient"
If this means airwaves, same as TV, sure. Why not, since the whole thing is one big info-mercial swamp already. Otherwise, it also means guaranteed next -packet delivery, without any pauses, resends, spinning cursors. And the internet is not going to deliver that, sorry.
"First question: is Microsoft buying articles (under the table, big advertiser offers an interview with CEO, business journalist bites)?
Does M S N B C mean nothing to you...? I mean, you can't be the big advertising client (briber) and the big media company (bribee) at the same time, right? There's nobody to bribe and no one to be bribed by, after all. One network puts something into the pipe, and since all the others are sucking from the same teat, it gets picked up, reprocessed and sent over the side again.
"Mythhh-tur Balmy, er...ballme... I mean BALLER - (shit) - Mr. B A L (hey, foushgate, LL or just L?) BALLMER will be available for short one-on-ones at the end of Q1, so get in line now or face egg on your face come end of April!"
"Second question: Why do they feel the need for publicity now?"
Those that can...do. Those that can't - well, they find someone, anyone, to listen to them (see #1) and they start spewing FUD.
Let's be a bit more honest about this 'list', ok?
If the US govt. says they 'just' put a dozen nations on a piracy blacklist, what it really means is that a dozen nations have been on said list for some time now, allowing the US govt. to harvest statistics, map patterns, etc.
Saying this just went into effect is BS. I'd bet it's been a working list for at least the last year or three. The only reason a 'statement' is released is to keep two or more politically driven hot-button issues in sync in the public mind.
"BusinessWeek is reporting on a new submarine cable system that will link South East Asia directly with the USA."
I'm in southern China, and the way I heard it was "...a new submarine cable system that will link the USA directly with South East Asia."
Google Earth: From Space to Your Face...and Beyond
By Mark Aubin, Software Engineer, Google Earth
Would you believe the inspiration for Google Earth was a photo flipbook?
It was 1996 and I was working at Silicon Graphics (SGI), which was then on the verge of releasing "InfiniteReality" -- hardware for the Onyx workstation that enables people to create graphics with extraordinarily realistic texture. Our goal was to produce a killer demo to show off the new texturing capabilities to maximum advantage. During a brainstorming session, someone passed around the great Charles and Ray Eames book, POWERS OF TEN -- A Flipbook, and suggested that our demo move through imagery the way the book does. After discussing a number of possibilities, we decided that we would start in outer space with a view of the whole Earth, and then zoom in closer and closer.
We'd begin by heading toward Europe, and then, when Lake Geneva came into view, we'd zero in on the Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps. Dipping down lower and lower, we'd eventually arrive at a 3-D model of a Nintendo 64, since SGI designed the graphics chip it uses. Zooming through the Nintendo case, we'd come to rest at the chip with our logo on it. Then we'd zoom a little further and warp back into space until we were looking at the Earth again.
We called this demo "Space-to-Your-Face." And after showing it literally thousands of times to people all around the world, it's clear to me that we are universally fascinated with seeing our world from this perspective. During one school group demo, the teachers actually jumped up from their chairs and started pointing to places on the screen as we "flew" over the globe. They were ecstatic. The one comment we kept hearing: I've got to have this for my classroom!
Only a few years later, advances in computer and internet technology made it possible to deliver high-resolution imagery at sufficient speeds to enable a fluid flythrough on a standard PC anywhere in the world. So I decided to leave SGI and team up with a few others to found Keyhole, where we launched the first digital globe product to stream nearly unlimited, high-quality 3-D imagery over the Internet. In October of 2004, Google acquired Keyhole and Google Earth was born - bringing the kind of content previously available only in government and industry research labs to people everywhere.
And the story doesn't end there. Once people started using Google Earth, they started asking questions. Good ones. For instance: Why are some parts of the globe blurry, and others crystal clear? Where do you get your imagery? And how often do you update it?
Most people are surprised to learn that we have more than one source for our imagery. We collect it via airplane and satellite, but also just about any way you can imagine getting a camera above the Earth's surface: hot air balloons, model airplanes - even kites. The traditional aerial survey involves mounting a special gyroscopic, stabilized camera in the belly of an airplane and flying it at an elevation of between 15,000 feet and 30,000 feet, depending on the resolution of imagery you're interested in. As the plane takes a predefined route over the desired area, it forms a series of parallel lines with about 40 percent overlap between lines and 60 percent overlap in the direction of flight. This overlap of images is what provides us with enough detail to remove distortions caused by the varying shape of the Earth's surface.
The next step is processing the imagery. We scan the film using scanners capable of over 1800 DPI (dots per inch) or 14 microns. Then we take the digital imagery through a series of stages such as color balancing and warping to produce the final mosaic for the entire area.
We update the imagery as quickly as we can collect and process it, then add layers of information - things like country and state borders and the names of roads, schools, and parks -- to make it more useful. This information comes from multiple sources: commerc
Whoa, that little "I could care less either way..." J O K E flew right over your pointy little head, now, didn't it..?
Shooting fish in a barrel was never that easy. Must be the seven digit UID.
Try again, boy - your Dad paid for three shots, so ask him to please re-cock that shiny air-rifle for ya' and this time remember to close only one eye.
Just the thing to start the week off right. With 40 DVDs already ripped and sitting on a 320 gb HD, I can get to work on the next few dozen, dozen and work in peace for a change :)
When Google was just first learning to crawl, it took in money by providing 'favored' links as part of otherwise standard searches done by users. Results routinely reflected hits that ranked/displayed higher simply because their owners paid for that to happen. These salted links seemed innocent enough, but anyone spending time using various search engines back then could easily spot the ringers.
:)
Anyone that believes otherwise needs to take off the blinders
What... They give whiteboards away where you live...?
The carbon footprint of one marker alone is a day's pay to most waiters.
Let me get this straight - millions of R & D monies and we have a 'simulated' mouse brain to show for it.
I can simulate a mouse brain on a whiteboard, with only two colors of markers, leaving 1/2 the white space. Can I get funds for that...?
Middle managers are in the middle, between low level staffers and upper level Directors, VPs, etc....they don't 'manage' other managers.
"I see here on your resume that your last position was as a 'manager manager'. Right, I managed managers. I see, well, sorry, all those jobs are already filled."
If you are titled as a 'Manager' and you think your responsibility is to watch over other managers and take their info and pass it to upper levels, you are a wart on a mole, constantly being pumped full of BS and tolerated only for your myopia. Ask your Uncle, the one that got you the job - I'm sure he can explain your 'position' accurately.
"Here in the United States, Craig Newmark simply removes the post..."
Who said anything about CL US..?
That statement, coupled with a singular proclivity for instantly making this a 'US' versus 'China' debate, indicates a leading bias that can, at best, cloud any further comment. Not a very good position to speak from if one wishes to be taken seriously, sorry.
"This is a very important and serious distinction that cannot and should not be marginalized."
And the very reason the undistinguished and marginalizing quote was singled out, thank you. Now clear your head, drop the boxed-in thinking and you'll be fine.
"Members are told to click a button to report any 'misconduct' by other users."
Ah, right - same as Craig's List and....and...and...on & on. How is this a problem?
In someone's weak mind, maybe - in reality, no.
I love riding the MagLev in Shanghai - most of the passengers are usually Japanese tourists, snapping photos of the overhead display as it reads higher and higher speeds until that magic number of 433 - running the length in 7 minutes and 20 seconds. The fun is over much too soon...
So, when Leopard w/TimeMachine hits, this backup heat will be covered and everyone can get on with life...? Finally :)
All this talk about India being so hot and ready to break onto the world stage. This kind of talk has been going on for well over a decade, and nothing's happened.
India has it's fat head firmly up it's hubristic arse. There is no way anything like this can be pulled off - check back in 2009 and see what they actually end up with...more hot air and nothing to show for it. Just like less than 20% of their MBA holders being employable. India is a waste of time - steer clear and save yourself the headaches.
"Hello, this is Norddest Airways RapidExit Request Hotline, my name is Danielle-Shawnee-Alisa-Moonshine, where do you wish to fly today?"
"Hi, eh, Moonshine, my name is Steve Jobs and I need a ticket to anywhere overseas, on the next plane out of Dodge - what've ya got?"
"Yes Sir, Mr. Jobs...let's take a look at the latest departures and see what we have - the next flight, which leaves in 42 minutes, is for Guatemala, via Houston...how does that sound?"
"...no good - anything direct?"
"Well, we do have a flight leaving in one hour and fifteen minutes for Abu Dhabi. It is an 18 hour flight with one carry-on and one hand-truck allowed only - how much cash did you intend to take with you?"
"How much cash? Are you kidding? All of it, of course!"
"I see. Well, Mr. Jobs, there is a $75,000.00 fee for anything over 28 kilos, which must be paid at the gate, in..."
"No problem! - Book it!"
"you can't tell iPhone to do something with your voice. "
Bluetooth - simple. Earpiece bonded and VR on, I can find out the time, battery and signal strength, have it read messages to me - dial by name; redial, etc.
Go back under yon rock, rezeller...
"a closed device that you cannot install applications on"
2 mejavaJAVA JAVAjavaJ2me java JAVAJAVAjavaJ2mejavaJAVA JAVAjavaJ2mejavaJAVAJAVAjavaJ2mejavaJAVA JAVAjavaJ2mejava JAVAJAVAjava J2mejavaJAVA JAVAjavaJ2mejavaJAVAJAVAjavaJ2me javaJAVAJAVAjavaJ2mejavaJAVA JAVAjavaJ2mejavaJAVA JAVAjavaJ2mejavaJAVAJAVAjavaJ2mejavaJAVA JAVAjavaJ2mejavaJAVAJAVAjavaJ2me javaJAVA JAVA java J2me java JAVAJAVA javaJ2me java JAVA
JAVAjavaJ2me javaJAVAJAVA javaJ2mejavaJAVAJAVA javaJ2mejavaJAVAJAVAjava J2mejavaJAVA JAVAjavaJ2me javaJAVAJAVA javaJ2mejavaJAVA JAVAjavaJ2mejavaJAVAJAVAjavaJ2mejavaJAVA JAVAjavaJ2me javaJAVAJAVA javaJ2mejavaJAVA JAVAjavaJ2mejavaJAVA JAVAjavaJ2mejavaJAVAJAVAjavaJ2mejavaJAVAJAVAjavaJ
Are you trying to say that the vendor for the custom processor, Intel, gifted the entire R & D bill for a chip that they can't sell to anyone else? Same for Nvidia, which developed the custom graphics processor, and Flextronics, which was responsible for developing the enclosure and tooling to produce the mechanical parts (again, all unique to the XBox)...?
- Tooling costs, as one example, can stand out on a spreadsheet and are always part of the billing back to the buyer. They are carefully line-itemed, tracked and updated for the sole purpose of all non-trivial hardware related billing.
- Mock-ups and prototypes cost money, and someone has to pay for them.
- Testing and certification require donor boxes, which are all billed separately from the weekly unit runs coming off the assembly line.
- Updates to any components are billed - running changes are billed only when they are not the fault of the manufacturer or excluded as part of a contract.
- Production delays that come from the buyer which require renegotiated schedules cost money - money that the buyer has to pay if it wants production line priority over another buyer.
- Pallets of expedited units that are air shipped instead of being sent surface, at the buyers request, can incur large costs and are again, the responsibility of the buyer.
- Additional production teams and work shifts that are needed to meet an accelerated schedule stemming from a buyer request (hardware change, maybe?) are billed to...the buyer, of course.
The list goes on. Hardware may seem latent to those that primarily deal with software, but as they say, when your only tool is a hammer, all problems begin to look like nails.There is no way Intel, Nvidia or Flextronics swallow **hardware** related R & D costs...initial or running.
The text says 'top 81', then the article says 81 businesses were selected and appraised. The text labels Microsoft as being the biggest spender, at $6.58 billion, while also labeling this as 'software' related. The article points out how MS spent big on the latest XBox, which is hardware...someone needs to make up their minds. All-in-all, pretty sloppily written piece. But hey...it's a slow news day, so what the heck.
For a bit of fun perspective, China spent $136 billion on R&D in 2006.
And who could forget the Nov. 2006 study from Booze Allen Hamilton, which stated:
"R&D spending doesn't guarantee business success" - New study reveals that there is no relationship between R&D spending and sales growth, earnings, or shareholder returns.
The Booz Allen Hamilton study "Global Innovation 1000--Money Isn't Everything" analyzed the world's top 1,000 corporate research and development spenders.
It found remarkably that the pace of corporate R&D spending continues to accelerate, as many executives continue to believe that enhanced innovation is required to fuel their future growth.
Spending more doesn't necessarily mean gaining more. The study identified individual success stories. More pointedly it found no discernible statistical relationship between R&D spending levels and nearly all measures of business success, including sales growth, gross profit, operating profit, enterprise profit, market capitalization, or total shareholder return.
Booz Allen Vice President Barry Jaruzelski said: "Successful innovation demands careful coordination and orchestration both internally and externally. How you spend is far more important than how much you spend."
I pfft in your general direction!
"...then had to sever internet connectivity to avoid leaking too much data!"
"Cap'n, we're having a wee bit 'o trouble in IT - we're leaking data down here like no one's bloody business - we may have to sever communications!"
"Scottie - is it really that bad...? Isn't there some alternative that will buy us more time??!! I need more time, dammit man!"
"Cap'n, I'm only a Star Fleet Engineer, not the Queen's magician..."
"Well, Engineer...see if you can pull a rabbit out of your ass and buy me five more minutes before you cut us off. That's all we need to make the jump, and after that you can cut your nuts off for all I care!"
"Aye, Cap'n...do me best - one shit-stained rabbit, com'n up - IT out!"
"The average yearly income for a Chinese family is less than a single license for Vista."
BS Alert - please...
The average income for a typical family actually in a position to need and maybe buy a legitimate copy of any OS is by no means a comparison with a single license for whatever version of Vista.
And the only reason you had to charge 'only 125RMB for TL w/docs was because that is the tipping point for where they wave you off and walk another few meters and pay 5 rmb for the disc only, instead.
And for all those shaking their heads 'yeah, of course' when someone mentions pirate versions on the street... Those are for the middle-school kids, english teaching wankers and tourists. Any business with an IT staff has at least one application server crammed with everything you have otherwise pay for out on the street.
As for adoption of Vista - the hawkers are having a hard time getting anyone interested and many IT departments aren't even bothering with a roll-out plan as of yet...if ever.
MS only has the govt. to count on, as they just last year twisted arms to make it a 'rule' that all new complete computer systems must have an OS installed (duh...Windows), or they can't be sold via the legitimate retail pipe.
To avoid the OS tax & lock-in, all you have to do is walk in and have a custom system pieced together on the spot, and all the software you want is 'service' (gifted).