Microsoft has become like the old IBM. Sell 'reasonably' priced clients, sell lockins to powerful servers to get your work done, 'innovate' exceptionally pricey hardware... But then, there is their XBox division. Hmm...
Hahaha..... its trickle-down economics all over again.
Listen, trickle down works. But the problem is too little trickles down too late to the people who need it the most. Just like Larry, everyone needs a source of capital to sustain them. Not a labor-for-hire job. A source of capital. This used to be land for most people in the not-too-distant past. No more. Once personal capital (brain and muscles) diminishes, people are done for.
Poor design killed this man. If you don't think so, consider... the car knew the driver didn't have his hands on the wheel for 37 minutes. Then why is it still doing the driving for him?. It had about 37 minutes to come to a slow, safe stop with blinkers and headlights flashing and horns blaring. Instead, Autopilot kept driving and eventually made the wrong decision that killed this man!
Before people start mumbling 'Darwin Awards', consider this: your daughter may be the next passenger in a Tesla. Or a Tesla may T-bone you, not a semi-trailer, next time.
"In the early days of our microprocessor business, Intel needed to enforce its patent rights against various companies including United Microelectronics Corporation, Advanced Micro Devices, Cyrix Corporation, Chips and Technologies, Via Technologies, and, most recently, Transmeta Corporation. Enforcement actions have been unnecessary in recent years because other companies have respected Intel’s intellectual property rights."
Actually, enforcement became unnecessary as most were driven out of the chip business, or out of business entirely.
How can application developers help undermine such rent-seeking behavior on the application side? Are cross-OS, cross-instruction-set fat-binaries a thing?
Yes - the proprietary webMethods Flow language has a visual editor where you use flowcharts to program. Note, programs don't exactly look like flowcharts - just rectangles with lines between them. Programs are stored as XML files on disk. At runtime, the XML is mapped to Java operations.
>> they're not going to magically free us from the materials, goods, and services we need that are produced and provided by others. > Nor will any sort of automation, so we'll all have jobs, yes?
No. Automation is going to free those with capital from the old requirement of paying for labor. But it's not going to free recently laid-off workers from their requirements of food, clothing and shelter.
Yes, I was around for the laser printer. Its neat. But its not a means of producing anything essential for most people. Sure, you can print a movie ticket or boarding pass - if you pay for toner, paper and electricity. Ditto with robots, 3D printers, self-driving cars -- everyone will have one. Its not going to be something people pay you for.
As I pointed out, there's now a dangerous lack of diversity in personal capital sources. Unless you have fruit picking robots and an orchard, or manufacturing robots and a mini-factory, just possessing robots (or drones, or any commoditized tech) is going to be like owning a telephone - you'll need it (sort of); but you won't earn an income from it.
To save, you need an income. Income requires capital. No capital, no income.
Earlier, people typically had several reliable forms of capital -- land (or access to the sea), cattle, personal labor. With free inputs (sun, wildlife, rain); self-repairing/replicating machines (animals, seeds); additional sources of labor (family), this generated both income and additional capital.
Then came specialization -- cobbler, weaver, potter, bard. They still had capital (workshops, tools, training) and personal labour. In addition, most had some land.
Now we have pure-play 'jobs' -- barbers, baristas, researchers, coders -- where other forms of capital have disappeared, only personal labor remains. Forget capital, even the potential of creating capital is disappearing (eg, coder jobs with IP assignment clauses).
When personal labor is also comprehensively devalued by automation, what remains? How many robotech/coder jobs can a planet sustain?
I think we must diversify our personal sources of capital! Not jobs or money. Capital. Whether a part-share on a farm, a personal craft sold on Etsy, apps, songs, a backyard cabbage patch:)
You may support or oppose Trump, but learn this from him!:)
They can only do so because Google and Apple are siding with app developers to the detriment of their real customers. Don't know why (perhaps app-revenue/payment intermediation)
Ideally, an app should only get what personal / calendar / address-book / call/message history / microphone / photo information I specify. I shouldn't have to hack my phone, or buy a second phone, to do this.
Wait until true personal agency reaches computing - when your device has both the integrity and the smarts to divine and execute your intent, do the necessary account setup, data entry and transaction execution. Then it will cost nothing (in terms of user time and effort) to use Amazon instead of Jet.com, or Lyft instead of Uber.
... do/you/ know how to ensure every bit of data is cleaned off your phone at the flash level?
No, but Apple does (so do others); they could easily bake this functionality into their devices.
But ignore this for a moment, shall we? The plain fact of the matter is most phones are just not that interesting. A factory reset is enough for the vast majority of users.
Yes, that's more likely, perhaps with one or two modifications: (a) a robotic picking system (loads package on drone automatically) (b) land-based drones not aerial (c) multiple drones per base truck
I am deeply skeptical about aerial drones because (a) apartments, (b) residences have boundaries. They may be visible (like fences and gates), but they exist for a purpose. Would anyone like a cargo drone with six propellers whirring close to their children's heads? Perhaps children who are playing with their own drone in the backyard? Further, Amazon is sure to be followed by other shopping sites and third party logistics providers - all with their own drones crossing residential boundaries willy-nilly.
So maybe I don't want drones in my backyard. How does Amazon know a drone is permitted to deliver to an address? One way is to match the billing address to the shipping address. But that means gifts are excluded and must be delivered manually.
Drones executing rural deliveries, launched from some sort of 'base truck' a human drives to a central location to launch and monitor multiple drones. That's pretty much the only use case for drone delivery.
Of course, a fully functional delivery system is symmetrical -- you can send stuff _back_ using the same channel. The base truck should also accept the farmer's *own* drone returning a non-functional item to Amazon.
Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft has become like the old IBM. Sell 'reasonably' priced clients, sell lockins to powerful servers to get your work done, 'innovate' exceptionally pricey hardware... But then, there is their XBox division. Hmm...
??? What do you mean?
Hahaha..... its trickle-down economics all over again.
Listen, trickle down works. But the problem is too little trickles down too late to the people who need it the most. Just like Larry, everyone needs a source of capital to sustain them. Not a labor-for-hire job. A source of capital. This used to be land for most people in the not-too-distant past. No more. Once personal capital (brain and muscles) diminishes, people are done for.
Poor design killed this man. If you don't think so, consider ... the car knew the driver didn't have his hands on the wheel for 37 minutes. Then why is it still doing the driving for him?. It had about 37 minutes to come to a slow, safe stop with blinkers and headlights flashing and horns blaring. Instead, Autopilot kept driving and eventually made the wrong decision that killed this man!
Before people start mumbling 'Darwin Awards', consider this: your daughter may be the next passenger in a Tesla. Or a Tesla may T-bone you, not a semi-trailer, next time.
"In the early days of our microprocessor business, Intel needed to enforce its patent rights against various companies including United Microelectronics Corporation, Advanced Micro Devices, Cyrix Corporation, Chips and Technologies, Via Technologies, and, most recently, Transmeta Corporation. Enforcement actions have been unnecessary in recent years because other companies have respected Intel’s intellectual property rights."
Actually, enforcement became unnecessary as most were driven out of the chip business, or out of business entirely.
How can application developers help undermine such rent-seeking behavior on the application side? Are cross-OS, cross-instruction-set fat-binaries a thing?
Yes - the proprietary webMethods Flow language has a visual editor where you use flowcharts to program. Note, programs don't exactly look like flowcharts - just rectangles with lines between them. Programs are stored as XML files on disk. At runtime, the XML is mapped to Java operations.
Visit Japan. Ã)
Bezos is getting older.
>> they're not going to magically free us from the materials, goods, and services we need that are produced and provided by others.
> Nor will any sort of automation, so we'll all have jobs, yes?
No. Automation is going to free those with capital from the old requirement of paying for labor. But it's not going to free recently laid-off workers from their requirements of food, clothing and shelter.
Yes, I was around for the laser printer. Its neat. But its not a means of producing anything essential for most people. Sure, you can print a movie ticket or boarding pass - if you pay for toner, paper and electricity. Ditto with robots, 3D printers, self-driving cars -- everyone will have one. Its not going to be something people pay you for.
As I pointed out, there's now a dangerous lack of diversity in personal capital sources. Unless you have fruit picking robots and an orchard, or manufacturing robots and a mini-factory, just possessing robots (or drones, or any commoditized tech) is going to be like owning a telephone - you'll need it (sort of); but you won't earn an income from it.
To save, you need an income. Income requires capital. No capital, no income.
Earlier, people typically had several reliable forms of capital -- land (or access to the sea), cattle, personal labor. With free inputs (sun, wildlife, rain); self-repairing/replicating machines (animals, seeds); additional sources of labor (family), this generated both income and additional capital.
Then came specialization -- cobbler, weaver, potter, bard. They still had capital (workshops, tools, training) and personal labour. In addition, most had some land.
Now we have pure-play 'jobs' -- barbers, baristas, researchers, coders -- where other forms of capital have disappeared, only personal labor remains. Forget capital, even the potential of creating capital is disappearing (eg, coder jobs with IP assignment clauses).
When personal labor is also comprehensively devalued by automation, what remains? How many robotech/coder jobs can a planet sustain?
I think we must diversify our personal sources of capital! Not jobs or money. Capital. Whether a part-share on a farm, a personal craft sold on Etsy, apps, songs, a backyard cabbage patch :)
You may support or oppose Trump, but learn this from him! :)
They can only do so because Google and Apple are siding with app developers to the detriment of their real customers. Don't know why (perhaps app-revenue/payment intermediation)
Ideally, an app should only get what personal / calendar / address-book / call /message history / microphone / photo information I specify. I shouldn't have to hack my phone, or buy a second phone, to do this.
Wait until true personal agency reaches computing - when your device has both the integrity and the smarts to divine and execute your intent, do the necessary account setup, data entry and transaction execution. Then it will cost nothing (in terms of user time and effort) to use Amazon instead of Jet.com, or Lyft instead of Uber.
That'll be the next wave of change.
Actually, I don't know. Could be a new car thing...
http://www.azcentral.com/story...
> Just pull back the vapor recovery collar
Bad idea - the collar is there for your health as much as the gas company's. Suggest you use another gas station instead.
Two words: Baby monitor
Ban baby monitors!
... do /you/ know how to ensure every bit of data is cleaned off your phone at the flash level?
No, but Apple does (so do others); they could easily bake this functionality into their devices.
But ignore this for a moment, shall we? The plain fact of the matter is most phones are just not that interesting. A factory reset is enough for the vast majority of users.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/busines...
"We were able to determine the relative amounts of chicken via plant filler in these samples through PCR amplification"
Anything to do with 'Systematic Inventive Thinking':
https://www.google.com/webhp?q...
This book - "Inside the Box" - is a good introduction:
http://www.insidetheboxinnovat...
Also, "Get back in the box" (haven't fully read it yet):
http://www.rushkoff.com/books/...
Yes, that's more likely, perhaps with one or two modifications:
(a) a robotic picking system (loads package on drone automatically)
(b) land-based drones not aerial
(c) multiple drones per base truck
I am deeply skeptical about aerial drones because (a) apartments, (b) residences have boundaries. They may be visible (like fences and gates), but they exist for a purpose. Would anyone like a cargo drone with six propellers whirring close to their children's heads? Perhaps children who are playing with their own drone in the backyard? Further, Amazon is sure to be followed by other shopping sites and third party logistics providers - all with their own drones crossing residential boundaries willy-nilly.
So maybe I don't want drones in my backyard. How does Amazon know a drone is permitted to deliver to an address? One way is to match the billing address to the shipping address. But that means gifts are excluded and must be delivered manually.
Drones executing rural deliveries, launched from some sort of 'base truck' a human drives to a central location to launch and monitor multiple drones. That's pretty much the only use case for drone delivery.
Of course, a fully functional delivery system is symmetrical -- you can send stuff _back_ using the same channel. The base truck should also accept the farmer's *own* drone returning a non-functional item to Amazon.
That particular statement has somehow been working out true for most of us in the last 50 years. Lets see.
All units pass. Who needs integration tests/functionality tests/load tests?
One day, a Slashdot /Soylent/The Inquirer article will point me to silver bullet tech that'll make all this wasted time worthwhile.
If space is so dazzling, and NASA that incompetent, why doesn't the private sector develop its own space program?
Do these figures instead indicate NASA is providing hidden subsidies to the private sector lined up at its feeding trough?