And what's wrong with Twinkies and Devil Dogs? As long as you supplement your "pop-trash" with some meaningful caloric content (to play off your trite analogy) some light-hearted fun will serve you well.
I too have noticed this explosion of expert punditry. It's the sign of the times, I guess. Whenever something happens in traditional media, they haul out these half-ass lawyers, retired generals, publisher barons, etc. to tell us what is really happening. Half of the time these jokers don't have a clue.
The same thing happens on Slashdot. You have a lot of kids brushing up their essay skills by submitting some "thoughtful" prose. I am amazed by the amount of drivel that makes it into this forum. It's the same thing for the newsgroups too, so I guess it's par for the course.
The skill that will be paramount in our lives is discerning what information is plausibly accurate. Those proficient and who possess a knack for wading through the reems of fluff will be in demand. The rest will suffer from the Infoclypse or Cyberglut, whatever John Katz (Prime Poser #1) has called it this week.
You can try and hide if you want to, but you will be found out eventually. Check out that loser big-wig tech guy who got caught by the FBI trying to hook up with a 13 year old girl. He did his damnedest to remain anonymous to no avail. Accountability for your actions isn't such a bad thing. It's called being a respsonible person.
Can you imagine what would have happened if the internet had been around during the Revolutionary War? We would have had a bunch of Anonymous Cowards ranting about some Declaration of Independence in a forum somewhere only to be dismissed. Sometimes you have to put yourself on the front line if you want to be taken seriously.
Re:Mars Trilogy Didn't Grab Me
on
Antarctica
·
· Score: 1
You know something, I agree with you 100%. I am so tired of being told what is a seminal work. Neuromancer, I thought, was nothing to get all worked up about. But since William Gibson allegedly inventered the term cyberspace, everyone gets all wet and drops accolades like they're going out of style.
I'm currently reading Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson and I've finally found a "cyberpunk" novel deserving of its praise. I can't wait to read the next 100 pages. While reading Neuromancer and attempting to read Red Mars, I never quite got that feeling.
Mars Trilogy Didn't Grab Me
on
Antarctica
·
· Score: 1
I tried reading the first of the Trilogy and I quit after getting to around page 200. Boy was it a chore to even get that far. I don't know how it won a Hugo.
If I had to use one word to describe the book it would be pedantic. Stanley, in an overwrought quest to give his characters distinct personalities reached new heights in minutiae. Page after nauseating page of character development left me in a catatonic state of boredom.
Stanley was so unimaginative that he describes his characters as being less than enthused when they get to within spitting distance of Mars. They were the first people to ever reach Mars, for crying out loud!!! Show a little excitement why don't you ?!?
I usually respect the opinions of geekdom but I think most people "like" this book because they think they have to to keep their geek cards from being revoked.
I agree with you 100%. I feel embarrased for Microsoft after reading that article.
Keep in mind that Microsoft is venturing into uncharted waters now. They are dealing with a community that they have no idea how to handle, hence awkward attacks such as this. This is clearly designed to key the clueless middle managers in their fold.
Unfortunately for Microsoft, they are dealing with a force that cannot be stopped. They are dealing with a force that cannot be intimidated or bought. They are dealing with a force that is demanding freedom.
I totally agree that the responsible way to implement patches is ONE AT A TIME. This assumes that the organization gives a rat's ass about QA. Unfortunately, in this era of Microsoft computing where software is disseminated by the Seattle code-slingers, we have been lulled into a sense of complaceny. "QA ? Why bother checking the patches? Microsoft has already done that for us."
We've seen where that mindset has taken us. The growth of Linux and alternative OS's are a reactionary outgrowth of rational people protesting against this mindset. Microsoft may have poisoned the mindset of some middle managers and middling media people, but they have surely set in motion events which will ultimately break their hegemonic hold on the industry.
I'm saddened that such a "respected" webzine such as ZDNET has stooped to such lows. It's a saddening harbinger of what this new-medium media will bring forth in the future. Want a favorable review? Just donate some software. Want a favorable "unbiased study" ? Just donate some hardware and software. Want "ubiased analysis" from "independent economists"? Just send them on an all paid junket.
Keep your eyes open people and continue to ask questions.
I would have to agree that tertiary should have been used. Ternary refers to things that are associated with groupings of three. A good example for all you C coders is the ternary operator ?. It's called a ternary operator because it takes the form:
expr1 ? expr2 : expr3
It deals with 3 expressions. It is not the third operator.
That was a good analogy about black people being derided for "acting white" because they don't fall into the stereotypical activities -- speaking hoodrat slang (please don't say ebonics...it's so acedemic), wearing baggy pants, etc.
You're right. People should get to know someone before making judgements. I think people lose out by not opening their minds. Whenever I meet a cutie, I time her on the inevitable "What do you do for a living?" If it happens within the first half hour, I know that I have to end the conversation gracefully and exit the scene. I much prefer it when they ask "so...what interests you?"
Your comment touched me in a way my usual cynical self does not normally allow. I could feel the pain in every word you typed, partly because you expressed so well exactly how I feel about my own life...the only thing is I don't think I was fully aware until I read your comment.
Of all the comments I have read on/., yours will stay with me...probably far longer than/.'s existence.
I can only speak for myself but I did not moderate your initial post as overrated for its religious content. I know religion is a personal topic for some so that may indeed be happening. I moderated it as overrated because I didn't think your comment wasn't overly accurate (re Galileo's alleged persecution, as pointed out by later posters) and therefore not deserving of a "positive" moderation.
I think/. has put up a good system so that the deserving comments are not drowned out by people with an axe to grind, but we are all humans so we all bring our personal biases with us when we moderate. I do think, however, that the extremists in the moderation camp tend to be outnumbered by the, well, moderates:>)
They're not talking about running java applications. They'er discussing the release of a tool to create java applications on a different (non windows) computing platform. Do you understand the difference?
Maybe the majority in any religion will be at least less than ideal for the same reason that most computer programmers are simply time-clock punchers with little understanding of their jobs -- the majority in any area of human endeavour tends to be incompetent.
My oh my. We sure are full of ourselves today aren't we. To use one of your words from a previous post, there certainly is a lot of hubris flying around here today, among other things.
Now I don't know if everyone around here is as "competent" as you,
but I don't know if I would be so presumptuous as to label the majority of mankind as incompetent.
To speak for the record, I'm one of those moderators whom you find amusing and give you fodder for your sociological musings. Yes, I moderated your initial comnment down as overrated. You appear to be one of the many/.'ers who confuse verbiage with knowledgable content. Just because you know how to fill up a couple of paragraph's doesn't mean that what you have to say is impressive. If the information isn't put together to convey a cogent and relative opionion, it may in fact be considered "incompetent":>)
I agree with person who advised you to not concern yourself with moderation. If you have something to say, say it and move on. Does it really matter what I or anyone else has to say about your comment? I have a feeling, though, that you're one of those people who posts to gauge what everyone thinks about your illuminating comments. Believe me, your comments aren't that thought-provoking.
When you have idiotic bastards on Capitol Hill trying to pass laws outlawing the burning of the flag, it's no surprise that other small-minded people in positions of authority think they can erode our rights and freedom.
I'm glad to see rebellion alive and well in the youth of today, which has been widely maligned for being more concerned about Playstations and Nokias. Raise hell kids !!!
Dumbing down technology, if measured by your arbiters AOL & Microsoft, appears to be a successful business plan. Dumbing down technology, in and of itself, isn't a bad thing. I mean, not everyone needs to know hold to put together a Beowulf cluster. At some level we're all seen as dopey by someone else.
I think exclusionary or proprietary technology is far more insedious.
Hmmm. So I guess George was an actor because of his love for the craft. Not for any secondary remunerations. Sounds like a lot of people in the Technology industry who have helped us get where we are now today. Especially the folks whose collective works and ideologies would fall broadly under the Open Source movement.
If the history of technology is any guide, however, it's unlikely that the battle between cable modems and DSL will be won on technical merits...Ultimately, this battle will be won and lost on mundane issues like price and quality of service.
Truer words have never been written.
Broadband is beginning to take off and speaking as someone who makes his living from using the resources on the internet, it's about time!
For most rational people the value of downloading Netscape in 5 or 10 minutes will be secondary to the relationship your broadband carrier establishes with you as a customer. How do they respond to problems? How flexible are they with with regard to how you use your broadband? Are they knowledgable about the product?
Most of these questions will be answered based on where you live and what your previous relationships are with these broadband carriers. Have you been satisfied with your current cable service? Is your telcomm responsive to your phone line problems.
I have had serious problems with my cable company (Cablevision). From their unresponsiveness to someone illegally billing their services to my account (had to get my my congressman on them) to their inability to offer a la carte programming (in process of going to satellite programming). As a result, I decided to go with DSL. I couldn't be happier with the service. I am paying $10 a month more than comparable cable service and haven't had one problem. I've found my provider (Bell Atlantic) to be very helpful and responsive.
This obviously isn't rocket science. The companies that build relationships with their customers will retain them. Even in the face of a supposedly superior product. While the article was topical and timely, I think the penultimate paragraph could have been fleshed out a bit to emphasize this more clearly.
I apologize if I offended you but I meant gay in the sense of being wack or corny. I certainly wasn't referring to anyone's sexuality. I'm sure you've heard the term gay used in that context.
Having said that, I admit that perhaps I should have used a different word as it is a bit ambiguous.
I'm happy to see that the gee-whiz factor is alive and well on the other side of the Atlantic. It warms the cockles of the heart.
I'm reminded of the children's encyclopedia set I grew up with as a child in the 70's. It was an old Funk & Wagnall set replete with stories and photos from the 50's and 60's of kids flying to school with backpack jets, hovercraft cars bypassing clogged, land-based traffic, "interactive" tv's where you could order pizzas (sound familiar ?) and shop, videophones to see your loved ones with bed face, and a whole host of other goodies that were going to change everyone's lives immeasurably.
As each new technological innovation is introduced, we are inevitably told how our lives will benefit and change "in ways we haven't thought of yet". We find ourselves being led by the technological pied pipers to the so-called promised land. Once the initial euphoria dies down, however, people tend to do what people know how to do best -- get practical.
Did anyone seriously think putting a hydrogen fuel cell on little Johnnie's back just to get him to school 5 minutes earlier was really a good idea? Did we really need to issue everyone a pilot's license just so they could get to work? Probably not. But hey, it was fun to imagine, wasn't it!
The same thing will happen with this connectivity, internet, and virtual euphoria. People will extract what they really need and put it to use. The rest will become, well, virtual candy. Wiring the populace and creating virtual cities may or may not happen as envisioned in the article. Some of the proposed applications may come to fruition. Some may not (Fire dept phoning apt to wake people from burning building ?)
Hopefully, one of the side effects of the gee whiz euphoria regarding connectivity and the internet will be applications that will actually help people.
We didn't have to sit in the back of the bus, use different bathrooms, or go to horrible black-only schools.
"Horrible black-only schools" have a fine history of preparing black youth. If you spent more time doing research on black history and less time on looking for an excuse to whup some white kid's ass, you would probably be more familiar with quality black institutions of higher learning.
As it stands, you're probably one of those "lucky" black kids who go to an "integrated" school where you are ignored. More than likely, you struggle with feelings of inadequacy because you
(a) don't fit in (b) feel that your fellow students patronize you (c) can't compete with the majority of the (white)kids
You probably also don't see anything wrong with affirmative action either. White doesn't make it right. You'll learn that eventually.
Slashdot Mirror
And what's wrong with Twinkies and Devil Dogs? As long as you supplement your "pop-trash" with some meaningful caloric content (to play off your trite analogy) some light-hearted fun will serve you well.
Amen brother.
I too have noticed this explosion of expert punditry. It's the sign of the times, I guess. Whenever something happens in traditional media, they haul out these half-ass lawyers, retired generals, publisher barons, etc. to tell us what is really happening. Half of the time these jokers don't have a clue.
The same thing happens on Slashdot. You have a lot of kids brushing up their essay skills by submitting some "thoughtful" prose. I am amazed by the amount of drivel that makes it into this forum. It's the same thing for the newsgroups too, so I guess it's par for the course.
The skill that will be paramount in our lives is discerning what information is plausibly accurate. Those proficient and who possess a knack for wading through the reems of fluff will be in demand. The rest will suffer from the Infoclypse or Cyberglut, whatever John Katz (Prime Poser #1) has called it this week.
You can try and hide if you want to, but you will be found out eventually. Check out that loser big-wig tech guy who got caught by the FBI trying to hook up with a 13 year old girl. He did his damnedest to remain anonymous to no avail. Accountability for your actions isn't such a bad thing. It's called being a respsonible person.
Can you imagine what would have happened if the internet had been around during the Revolutionary War? We would have had a bunch of Anonymous Cowards ranting about some Declaration of Independence in a forum somewhere only to be dismissed. Sometimes you have to put yourself on the front line if you want to be taken seriously.
You know something, I agree with you 100%. I am so tired of being told what is a seminal work. Neuromancer, I thought, was nothing to get all worked up about. But since William Gibson allegedly inventered the term cyberspace, everyone gets all wet and drops accolades like they're going out of style.
I'm currently reading Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson and I've finally found a "cyberpunk" novel deserving of its praise. I can't wait to read the next 100 pages. While reading Neuromancer and attempting to read Red Mars, I never quite got that feeling.
I tried reading the first of the Trilogy and I quit after getting to around page 200. Boy was it a chore to even get that far. I don't know how it won a Hugo.
If I had to use one word to describe the book it would be pedantic. Stanley, in an overwrought quest to give his characters distinct personalities reached new heights in minutiae. Page after nauseating page of character development left me in a catatonic state of boredom.
Stanley was so unimaginative that he describes his characters as being less than enthused when they get to within spitting distance of Mars. They were the first people to ever reach Mars, for crying out loud!!! Show a little excitement why don't you ?!?
I usually respect the opinions of geekdom but I think most people "like" this book because they think they have to to keep their geek cards from being revoked.
I agree with you 100%. I feel embarrased for Microsoft after reading that article.
Keep in mind that Microsoft is venturing into uncharted waters now. They are dealing with a community that they have no idea how to handle, hence awkward attacks such as this. This is clearly designed to key the clueless middle managers in their fold.
Unfortunately for Microsoft, they are dealing with a force that cannot be stopped. They are dealing with a force that cannot be intimidated or bought. They are dealing with a force that is demanding freedom.
Why? Tell me why it's so funny. Do you really think it's funny or do you feel compelled to watch it as a Rite of Passage to geekdom?
I like what little of John Cleese I've seen in American movies but I haven't seen Monty Python either. I'm wondering how well it holds up today.
I totally agree that the responsible way to implement patches is ONE AT A TIME. This assumes that the organization gives a rat's ass about QA. Unfortunately, in this era of Microsoft computing where software is disseminated by the Seattle code-slingers, we have been lulled into a sense of complaceny. "QA ? Why bother checking the patches? Microsoft has already done that for us."
We've seen where that mindset has taken us. The growth of Linux and alternative OS's are a reactionary outgrowth of rational people protesting against this mindset. Microsoft may have poisoned the mindset of some middle managers and middling media people, but they have surely set in motion events which will ultimately break their hegemonic hold on the industry.
I'm saddened that such a "respected" webzine such as ZDNET has stooped to such lows. It's a saddening harbinger of what this new-medium media will bring forth in the future. Want a favorable review? Just donate some software. Want a favorable "unbiased study" ? Just donate some hardware and software. Want "ubiased analysis" from "independent economists"? Just send them on an all paid junket.
Keep your eyes open people and continue to ask questions.
I would have to agree that tertiary should have been used. Ternary refers to things that are associated with groupings of three. A good example for all you C coders is the ternary operator ?. It's called a ternary operator because it takes the form:
expr1 ? expr2 : expr3
It deals with 3 expressions. It is not the third operator.
Tertiary, like secondary, deals with position.
That was a good analogy about black people being derided for "acting white" because they don't fall into the stereotypical activities -- speaking hoodrat slang (please don't say ebonics...it's so acedemic), wearing baggy pants, etc.
You're right. People should get to know someone before making judgements. I think people lose out by not opening their minds. Whenever I meet a cutie, I time her on the inevitable "What do you do for a living?" If it happens within the first half hour, I know that I have to end the conversation gracefully and exit the scene. I much prefer it when they ask "so...what interests you?"
Wow.
/., yours will stay with me...probably far longer than /.'s existence.
Your comment touched me in a way my usual cynical self does not normally allow. I could feel the pain in every word you typed, partly because you expressed so well exactly how I feel about my own life...the only thing is I don't think I was fully aware until I read your comment.
Of all the comments I have read on
Thank you.
I can only speak for myself but I did not moderate your initial post as overrated for its religious content. I know religion is a personal topic for some so that may indeed be happening. I moderated it as overrated because I didn't think your comment wasn't overly accurate (re Galileo's alleged persecution, as pointed out by later posters) and therefore not deserving of a "positive" moderation.
/. has put up a good system so that the deserving comments are not drowned out by people with an axe to grind, but we are all humans so we all bring our personal biases with us when we moderate. I do think, however, that the extremists in the moderation camp tend to be outnumbered by the, well, moderates :>)
I think
They're not talking about running java applications. They'er discussing the release of a tool to create java applications on a different (non windows) computing platform. Do you understand the difference?
Maybe the majority in any religion will be at least less than ideal for the same reason that most computer programmers are simply time-clock punchers with little understanding of their jobs -- the majority in any area of human endeavour tends to be incompetent.
/.'ers who confuse verbiage with knowledgable content. Just because you know how to fill up a couple of paragraph's doesn't mean that what you have to say is impressive. If the information isn't put together to convey a cogent and relative opionion, it may in fact be considered "incompetent" :>)
My oh my. We sure are full of ourselves today aren't we. To use one of your words from a previous post, there certainly is a lot of hubris flying around here today, among other things.
Now I don't know if everyone around here is as "competent" as you,
but I don't know if I would be so presumptuous as to label the majority of mankind as incompetent.
To speak for the record, I'm one of those moderators whom you find amusing and give you fodder for your sociological musings. Yes, I moderated your initial comnment down as overrated. You appear to be one of the many
I agree with person who advised you to not concern yourself with moderation. If you have something to say, say it and move on. Does it really matter what I or anyone else has to say about your comment? I have a feeling, though, that you're one of those people who posts to gauge what everyone thinks about your illuminating comments. Believe me, your comments aren't that thought-provoking.
When you have idiotic bastards on Capitol Hill trying to pass laws outlawing the burning of the flag, it's no surprise that other small-minded people in positions of authority think they can erode our rights and freedom.
I'm glad to see rebellion alive and well in the youth of today, which has been widely maligned for being more concerned about Playstations and Nokias. Raise hell kids !!!
I have always admired Senator McCain. Now I have another reason to do so.
will it require Solomonic ruling or a Solomonesque ruling?
In the interests of fairness, I feel it is my duty to say that you are right and everyone else is wrong.
Dumbing down technology, if measured by your arbiters AOL & Microsoft, appears to be a successful business plan. Dumbing down technology, in and of itself, isn't a bad thing. I mean, not everyone needs to know hold to put together a Beowulf cluster. At some level we're all seen as dopey by someone else.
I think exclusionary or proprietary technology is far more insedious.
Hmmm. So I guess George was an actor because of his love for the craft. Not for any secondary remunerations. Sounds like a lot of people in the Technology industry who have helped us get where we are now today. Especially the folks whose collective works and ideologies would fall broadly under the Open Source movement.
If the history of technology is any guide, however, it's unlikely that the battle between cable modems and DSL will be won on technical merits...Ultimately, this battle will be won and lost on mundane issues like price and quality of service.
Truer words have never been written.
Broadband is beginning to take off and speaking as someone who makes his living from using the resources on the internet, it's about time!
For most rational people the value of downloading Netscape in 5 or 10 minutes will be secondary to the relationship your broadband carrier establishes with you as a customer. How do they respond to problems? How flexible are they with with regard to how you use your broadband? Are they knowledgable about the product?
Most of these questions will be answered based on where you live and what your previous relationships are with these broadband carriers. Have you been satisfied with your current cable service? Is your telcomm responsive to your phone line problems.
I have had serious problems with my cable company (Cablevision). From their unresponsiveness to someone illegally billing their services to my account (had to get my my congressman on them) to their inability to offer a la carte programming (in process of going to satellite programming). As a result, I decided to go with DSL. I couldn't be happier with the service. I am paying $10 a month more than comparable cable service and haven't had one problem. I've found my provider (Bell Atlantic) to be very helpful and responsive.
This obviously isn't rocket science. The companies that build relationships with their customers will retain them. Even in the face of a supposedly superior product. While the article was topical and timely, I think the penultimate paragraph could have been fleshed out a bit to emphasize this more clearly.
I apologize if I offended you but I meant gay in the sense of being wack or corny. I certainly wasn't referring to anyone's sexuality. I'm sure you've heard the term gay used in that context.
Having said that, I admit that perhaps I should have used a different word as it is a bit ambiguous.
Thanks.
I'm happy to see that the gee-whiz factor is alive and well on the other side of the Atlantic. It warms the cockles of the heart.
I'm reminded of the children's encyclopedia set I grew up with as a child in the 70's. It was an old Funk & Wagnall set replete with stories and photos from the 50's and 60's of kids flying to school with backpack jets, hovercraft cars bypassing clogged, land-based traffic, "interactive" tv's where you could order pizzas (sound familiar ?) and shop, videophones to see your loved ones with bed face, and a whole host of other goodies that were going to change everyone's lives immeasurably.
As each new technological innovation is introduced, we are inevitably told how our lives will benefit and change "in ways we haven't thought of yet". We find ourselves being led by the technological pied pipers to the so-called promised land. Once the initial euphoria dies down, however, people tend to do what people know how to do best -- get practical.
Did anyone seriously think putting a hydrogen fuel cell on little Johnnie's back just to get him to school 5 minutes earlier was really a good idea? Did we really need to issue everyone a pilot's license just so they could get to work? Probably not. But hey, it was fun to imagine, wasn't it!
The same thing will happen with this connectivity, internet, and virtual euphoria. People will extract what they really need and put it to use. The rest will become, well, virtual candy. Wiring the populace and creating virtual cities may or may not happen as envisioned in the article. Some of the proposed applications may come to fruition. Some may not (Fire dept phoning apt to wake people from burning building ?)
Hopefully, one of the side effects of the gee whiz euphoria regarding connectivity and the internet will be applications that will actually help people.
We didn't have to sit in the back of the bus, use different bathrooms, or go to horrible black-only schools.
"Horrible black-only schools" have a fine history of preparing black youth. If you spent more time doing research on black history and less time on looking for an excuse to whup some white kid's ass, you would probably be more familiar with quality black institutions of higher learning.
As it stands, you're probably one of those "lucky" black kids who go to an "integrated" school where you are ignored. More than likely, you struggle with feelings of inadequacy because you
(a) don't fit in
(b) feel that your fellow students patronize you
(c) can't compete with the majority of the (white)kids
You probably also don't see anything wrong with affirmative action either. White doesn't make it right. You'll learn that eventually.
It's the gay script kiddie way of saying elite.