My (very large) organization has Sharepoint installed and it is worthless. I can never find what I need (even stuff that I have put there). Nobody uses it except admin people who are told to use it.
This is typical Microsoft software that is buggy, has a lousy user interface but is sold to the clueless drones who run most IT departments and they love it because it is easy to administer but it is worthless for any actual work.
This is typical of large dinosaur organizations. They are slowly dying and being replaced by more agile competitors. Sharepoint is only a symptom of the problem. I am happy to see large dinosaur organizations adopt Sharepoint. It will help move these organization to a better place (the graveyard). Don't ever go to work for an organization that uses Sharepoint. It is a sign of terminal bureaucratic rot.
I don't know where you've been but the WSJ has had a bizarre right wing corporate bias as long as I have been reading it (about 45 years). I don't subscribe any more as I can only take so much of their bullshit but I do check in with it regularly for the entertainment value.
Why are people obsessed with cocaine use? This is a victimless crime. We would be much better off to just tax it and make it legal. Much better for the countries that consume it. Much better for the countries that produce it. Also, we could stop the drug wars which do produce real victims.
Switzerland does not require citizens to have assault rifles in their homes.
It does permit soldiers and reservists to keep their rifles in their homes provided they are locked up. They have ammunition in sealed tins. Because of problems (primarily suicides) with this arrangement, reservists are being encouraged to deposit their rifles in their local armoury for safekeeping. The Swiss policy has nothing to do with personal protection. It is about maintaining a standing army against foreign invaders. This hasn't happened in 500 years or so but they are ready.
Every weekend it's common to see soldiers going off for training with their rifles. They usually take the excellent Swiss trains. However, they don't have ammunition so it's very safe for everyone.
You seem to be under the same cowboy delusion that sold us an easy win in Iraq 'with flowers for the liberators'. Your appalling lack of geopolitical (not to mention military) knowledge is remarkable but unfortunately all too common in the US.
It's not 'access to information'. Lobbyists write the bills for congress and then they pay congress to pass the bills. It really is all about the money. Ordinary voters don't have a chance to compete.
Putting the information about this corrupt process online will help transparency by giving us more details but it shouldn't be a shock to anyone to see how the system works. It also won't stop the corruption. Congresscritters will not vote to cut of their own lobbyist funding.
Thanks for this informative post. I had some vague idea of what a CAL was so my question was part serious and part to point out the oddity of the idea that you should have to pay extra to use the software 'more' which just doesn't happen in the Linux world.
Unfortunately, the track record of big companies expanding into new fields is very poor. One could argue that Microsoft has never been successful in any business where it couldn't leverage its OS monopoly. I think the Skype purchase by eBay was just a bunch of corporate bozos with too much money who thought they were geniuses just because they got lucky once.
To get some idea of the real cost to build a phone with touchscreen, WiFi, motion sensor, camera, triband EDGE, MP3/4 player, plus a few extra features link memory card slot, dual SIM slots, FM radio, etc. take a look at this phone. It's available new in single unit quantities for $110 and is probably close to the real cost to build an iPhone. The retail phone prices quoted by the phone companies are grossly inflated to make you think you are getting something pricy. http://www.scophone.com/product_1147.html
You clearly don't understand how the US health care system works. The price of a procedure is really determined by how flashy and high-tech and specialized it is and by the political pull you have in congress to maintain a high price... not by the underlying cost or training required to do the procedure.
Most procedures in US medicine are obscenely over-compensated. This is why we have the highest cost (and lowest quality) health care in the developed world.
One recent example... A friend had a ski accident and needed an MRI scan of her spine. In France cost Euro 300. In the US this would cost $ thousands.
This was essentially the calculation Ford made with the Pinto and the exploding gas tanks.
They figured out that it would be more expensive to fix the tanks than to pay off the people who were burned when the tanks ruptured and burned.
They got tripped up, however, when they were sued and they jury learned of this calculation... que the punitive damages which they designed to tip the calculation in favor of the plaintiff. Ford lost big time (and still had to fix the gas tanks).
I can't believe that people use WinCE for a real world application that requires security and reliability. The morons who built these systems are reaping the reward for their ignorance.
Unfortunately, I purchased a Michelin GPS device (950T) which is based on WinCE. It's truly a piece of shite from the underlying hardware (slow), to the WinCE (slow and frequent crashes) to the Michelin GPS software (absolutely terrible user interface).
I would love to be able to hack this hardware to install Linux and some decent GPS software but haven't found anything.
DamnSmallLinux is great for Linux you can boot from a stick but Sugar is educational software and DSL does not have any of the Sugar programs or server components.
OLPC is an educational project, not a computer project.
When I was in high school (1965... I'm really old) I bought a reel to reel tape recorder (Sony) and made copies of my friends records (old vinyl 12 LP records). This was considered 'fair use' then and it probably would be now, also. The Internet just expands my network of friends willing to share their records.
The record industry needs to get a better business model. They could have been making lots of money from Internet distribution if they hadn't adopted the 'kill the Internet' strategy. By coming up with innovative ways to sell stuff over the Internet they could be way ahead of the curve. Instead they are just pissing everyone off and digging a big hole. Meanwhile 'unauthorized' copies are proliferating, making it harder to charge anything for digital music.
Seriously, lots of people use Excel as a database and they generate a lot of errors since random flying fingers can generate errors which are impossible to find... and don't even get me started on pivot tables...
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This is typical Microsoft software that is buggy, has a lousy user interface but is sold to the clueless drones who run most IT departments and they love it because it is easy to administer but it is worthless for any actual work.
This is typical of large dinosaur organizations. They are slowly dying and being replaced by more agile competitors. Sharepoint is only a symptom of the problem. I am happy to see large dinosaur organizations adopt Sharepoint. It will help move these organization to a better place (the graveyard). Don't ever go to work for an organization that uses Sharepoint. It is a sign of terminal bureaucratic rot.
I don't know where you've been but the WSJ has had a bizarre right wing corporate bias as long as I have been reading it (about 45 years). I don't subscribe any more as I can only take so much of their bullshit but I do check in with it regularly for the entertainment value.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat_bomb
Why are people obsessed with cocaine use? This is a victimless crime. We would be much better off to just tax it and make it legal. Much better for the countries that consume it. Much better for the countries that produce it. Also, we could stop the drug wars which do produce real victims.
It does permit soldiers and reservists to keep their rifles in their homes provided they are locked up. They have ammunition in sealed tins. Because of problems (primarily suicides) with this arrangement, reservists are being encouraged to deposit their rifles in their local armoury for safekeeping. The Swiss policy has nothing to do with personal protection. It is about maintaining a standing army against foreign invaders. This hasn't happened in 500 years or so but they are ready.
Every weekend it's common to see soldiers going off for training with their rifles. They usually take the excellent Swiss trains. However, they don't have ammunition so it's very safe for everyone.
You seem to be under the same cowboy delusion that sold us an easy win in Iraq 'with flowers for the liberators'. Your appalling lack of geopolitical (not to mention military) knowledge is remarkable but unfortunately all too common in the US.
Putting the information about this corrupt process online will help transparency by giving us more details but it shouldn't be a shock to anyone to see how the system works. It also won't stop the corruption. Congresscritters will not vote to cut of their own lobbyist funding.
Thanks for this informative post. I had some vague idea of what a CAL was so my question was part serious and part to point out the oddity of the idea that you should have to pay extra to use the software 'more' which just doesn't happen in the Linux world.
Thanks so much. I love Doctor Who and I have seen this episode but forgot about CAL. It all makes sense now.
What's a CAL? Why do I need them? How many do I need? Why do they cost money?
Unfortunately, the track record of big companies expanding into new fields is very poor. One could argue that Microsoft has never been successful in any business where it couldn't leverage its OS monopoly. I think the Skype purchase by eBay was just a bunch of corporate bozos with too much money who thought they were geniuses just because they got lucky once.
You can read the book free this web site. http://www.george-orwell.org/1984
To get some idea of the real cost to build a phone with touchscreen, WiFi, motion sensor, camera, triband EDGE, MP3/4 player, plus a few extra features link memory card slot, dual SIM slots, FM radio, etc. take a look at this phone. It's available new in single unit quantities for $110 and is probably close to the real cost to build an iPhone. The retail phone prices quoted by the phone companies are grossly inflated to make you think you are getting something pricy. http://www.scophone.com/product_1147.html
Most procedures in US medicine are obscenely over-compensated. This is why we have the highest cost (and lowest quality) health care in the developed world.
One recent example... A friend had a ski accident and needed an MRI scan of her spine. In France cost Euro 300. In the US this would cost $ thousands.
They figured out that it would be more expensive to fix the tanks than to pay off the people who were burned when the tanks ruptured and burned.
They got tripped up, however, when they were sued and they jury learned of this calculation... que the punitive damages which they designed to tip the calculation in favor of the plaintiff. Ford lost big time (and still had to fix the gas tanks).
I can't believe that people use WinCE for a real world application that requires security and reliability. The morons who built these systems are reaping the reward for their ignorance.
US soldiers are not above firing on US citizens. One well known incident is known as 'Kent State'... there are others.
I only have one thought...
I would love to be able to hack this hardware to install Linux and some decent GPS software but haven't found anything.
http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK
OLPC is an educational project, not a computer project.
If you read further, you will see the the trolls are still going strong.
The record industry needs to get a better business model. They could have been making lots of money from Internet distribution if they hadn't adopted the 'kill the Internet' strategy. By coming up with innovative ways to sell stuff over the Internet they could be way ahead of the curve. Instead they are just pissing everyone off and digging a big hole. Meanwhile 'unauthorized' copies are proliferating, making it harder to charge anything for digital music.
They blew this whole 'Internet' thing big time.
Don't talk to the cops!
Seriously, lots of people use Excel as a database and they generate a lot of errors since random flying fingers can generate errors which are impossible to find... and don't even get me started on pivot tables...