But if all you want is to know where to find the fucking AbraCabubble then this site is fucking useless.
But, surely, to get AbraCabubble, all you need to do is wave your wand and say Abracadabra?
(This message was brought to you by the spirit of the guy who writes the editorials for The Onion, which I was channeling at the time that I wrote it.)
I bet even with this disclaimer, you'll be down-modded as a troll.
You know, this is a poser straight out of a certain module I took up last semester. My university is course extremely cyber-smitten; we have courses in (so-called) "New Media" - hypertext, cyberart and yes, "Themes in Internet Studies: Cyber Public Relations" (the module concerned), all fuelled by a 100 MBPS broadband connection and one of the world's largest wireless networks (I leave it as an exercise to the reader to figure out where my university is). This, of course, is in stark contrast to the university from which I transferred; that had about 10 terminals with satellite uplink. You had to register internet browsing slots before hand, and boy, was competition for registration intense. (The name of this university too is an exercise for the reader)
The point of the whole matter is this:- I believe I've seen both internet-rich and internet-deprived worlds. My take on it:- everything depends on your target audience. If you're addressing a geographically-spread audience, the Web is your bestest bet, period. Cheap, near ubiquitous (unless you are in North Korea or Bhutan) and accessible. But, if on the other hand, you're manufacturing, say, durable-but-cheap-plastic chopsticks with Thai engraving, it's a good idea to focus on, perhaps, ads in the Bangkok Post and fliers at Sukhumvit Soi (that's downtown Bangkok).
Note that size might not be a factor in geographical spread; while I have no idea about your candy company, a company could possibly get most of its requests from a single metropolitan area and still grow in (pecuniary) size.
Currently, accessibility is a prime argument in the case for following W3C standards. How long do you think before proprietary standards are developed for accessibility?
This was a long time back of course, but the Visvesarayya Museum (hope I got the spelling right) in Bangalore, India also ran a lot of demos on BBC Micros the last time I was there (this was `92).It was my first and only exposure to a BBC Micro; was running another Brit comp myself, the Sinclair ZX Spectrum +, which is why I remember it clearly. Any Bangaloreans out there who'd like to update this?
Not to mention Newton users of course. Haven't met any personally, but an earlier Wired article (too lazy to search for the link; deal with it) suggested that they can be more fanatical than mere Mac freaks.
So yes, it's simplistic to suggest a single unified "Apple" subculture; there's diversity (or hints of one) out here.
Actually my friend, we're waiting for your testimonial on the SM experience.
Don't laugh it out, there's some merit to this question: thinking back, just about all/.tters I've met online were seriously deprived of sex in whatever form. Of course, they happened to be computing-inclined, pale geeks, but that in itself is an odd correlation.
(Okay, so that wasn't so funny, but heck, it's almost 3 AM and I still haven't finished my paper...:-( )
Okay, so what's an "El Guappo"? Is it a new Colombian version of crack or something? Personally, I prefer the geek version; it's this website with a green theme and absolutely no pics of chicks. Honest, I have no idea why I'm addicted to this site, but boy, it feels good..!
You know, I'm a fan of 19th century thrillers myself, but aren't you going to let us know about the author's ultimate fate? Or is the ending so morbid that you'd rather not say it out loud?
You don't get your fingers crushed in a high-tech workplace by dodgy machinery, you earn a much better salary, you're not breathing dangerous toxins and you are able to afford a life.
I don't know about you pal, but even as we speak, my shoulders are aching and my knuckles hurt when I write/ lift heavy objects. The doctor has told me that it still quite isn't Repetitive Stress Injury, but that I should consider taking breaks once in a while.
Don't let passive cubicles blind you from the real physical dangers that a geek lifestyle offers.
My father recently retired from a major university here in Arizona....ASU is a wonderful example of this... As for any business, you must eventually understand that the future is already written; we are all to be temp workers.
Call it a wild guess, but did your dad just retire from Arizona State University?
But seriously, I agree; seniors passing out from the non-descript, but highly funded public university that I attend(no, not in Arizona), tell me that most coding jobs out here are on a contract basis - they hire you until their project is over. You get (or at least most of my friends get) all the usual job perks for the time period you are hired after which you start the job quest all over again (albeit in a better position, of course, surely you've networked a bit?)
Something that's probably happening within the university as well. I honestly have no idea about the hiring policy in my university, but I'll tell you this:- one of the research projects I'm deeply interested in is on hold because my supervisor's two-year contract is about to expire in December. As on date, my supervisor is also joining us (the graduating batch) in job searches.
I'm sure there's a philosophical construct for someone who says "I want x", but actually turns out to be x. Very Sixth Sense-ish, without being too Bruce Willis about it.
That said, following your example, allow me to state that I only read the comments for the Funny statements.
I don't care if I'm down-modded (Hi, Twirlip of the Mists!) to hell, but I will always treasure the day when Slashdot mods a post that calls Bill Gates as a "marketing mastermind" with an unmatchable "uncanny vision and technological sense" with a (+4, Insightful), notwithstanding his specs of course.
I'm glad you feel good about using downmod again, but looks like I'm only as Nazi as Napoleon (and too lazy to deepgoogle it). What "inverted portmanteau phrasal verb" means?
Don't hire slashdot proofreaders? You mean, I shouldnt put my karma-score on my resume? Goddamn it, don't tell me that three months' of effort is a waste!
You know, a distraction so the people with mod points will spend their points on this post, leaving them with no points for down-modding the trolls.
Okay, so I'm being a grammar nazi, but since when did the term "down-modding" enter the lexicon? Even accepting the geek abbreviation, "mod" and its verb form "modding", you can easily say, "... with no points for modding the trolls down". Why do we have to re-write grammar (and of course, spelling) with every post? It's a bit like commenting your source code, not required for compilation, but recommended for better readability.
I will let you in a dirty secret -- off the record, Nintendo, et al. aren't too concerned about importing of games (and DVDs, etc), compared to piracy.
I'm assuming you are new to the Slashdot scene, but if you're telling dirty secrets off the record about your company, don't identify yourself. The "Post Anonymously" tickbox is available for a reason.
But yes, you've raised a very valid point on region hacks. A very reasonable take.
You see, it was like this. RMS came to our (non-descript, but *very* highly funded) university a couple of months back, evangelising on copyright misuse. The lecture theater was full to the brim of course and the audience, mostly consisting of CS grads, were quite taken by his rather impressive beard and his persistent plucking of his nose. Not to debase his talent or vision, but he has some very interesting stage-habits.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks back when Steve Ballmer made a stopover at our university. The theater, this time the largest available, was again filled to the brim. The university President shared the dais with him and we all had to register for the talk with our name and university IC No. The official reason for the registration is that seats are limited, which, in any case, was a sort of valid reason; seats were booked within two days of the announcement. Needless to say, everyone (that is, from all faculties) turned up to watch him speak.
I wasn't down at Mr. Ballmer's talk, but friends tell me that it had very little to do with the stated topic "Innovation and Entreprenuership" and more to do with X-Boxes and Tablet PC's. Ballmer's shiny scalp was, I believe, impressive, but apparently the audience found the X-Boxes and Tablet PC's more interesting.
Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me that Bill Gates made a better impression on India than RMS.
Spend the money for a literacy program in the first place
Thanks, mate. It's enlightened, literate Westerners like you who need to come to India and teach us how to read, write, eat, cook, have sex and oh, log in to the net to watch (American) p0rno.
I don't care if I'm marked down as a troll, but I'm fed up with this paternalistic attitude that most posts here seem to have. You think there are no literate Indians out there? Or you think there's so little money that we can't provide for both Simputers and mass adult literacy? Does the US government stop all research until all the 33 million "food-insecure" Americans get a proper nutritious meal every day? Why do I not see any posts comparing that with Windows XP's billion dollar marketing budget?
(formely Apple Telecommunications...can you guess why they had to change their name?) has recently re-launched an unlimited download ADSL plan.
Surely, it's because the Australian Association of Apple-Growers fought against this company threatening their livelihood by making their (teenage) kids addicted to porno? The company then changed its name to reflect its eco-friendliness ("Hey apple folks, we're green; we're on your side!")?
Slashdot Mirror
But, surely, to get AbraCabubble, all you need to do is wave your wand and say Abracadabra?
I bet even with this disclaimer, you'll be down-modded as a troll.
;-)
You know, this is a poser straight out of a certain module I took up last semester. My university is course extremely cyber-smitten; we have courses in (so-called) "New Media" - hypertext, cyberart and yes, "Themes in Internet Studies: Cyber Public Relations" (the module concerned), all fuelled by a 100 MBPS broadband connection and one of the world's largest wireless networks (I leave it as an exercise to the reader to figure out where my university is). This, of course, is in stark contrast to the university from which I transferred; that had about 10 terminals with satellite uplink. You had to register internet browsing slots before hand, and boy, was competition for registration intense. (The name of this university too is an exercise for the reader)
The point of the whole matter is this:- I believe I've seen both internet-rich and internet-deprived worlds. My take on it:- everything depends on your target audience. If you're addressing a geographically-spread audience, the Web is your bestest bet, period. Cheap, near ubiquitous (unless you are in North Korea or Bhutan) and accessible. But, if on the other hand, you're manufacturing, say, durable-but-cheap-plastic chopsticks with Thai engraving, it's a good idea to focus on, perhaps, ads in the Bangkok Post and fliers at Sukhumvit Soi (that's downtown Bangkok).
Note that size might not be a factor in geographical spread; while I have no idea about your candy company, a company could possibly get most of its requests from a single metropolitan area and still grow in (pecuniary) size.
Currently, accessibility is a prime argument in the case for following W3C standards. How long do you think before proprietary standards are developed for accessibility?
This was a long time back of course, but the Visvesarayya Museum (hope I got the spelling right) in Bangalore, India also ran a lot of demos on BBC Micros the last time I was there (this was `92).It was my first and only exposure to a BBC Micro; was running another Brit comp myself, the Sinclair ZX Spectrum +, which is why I remember it clearly. Any Bangaloreans out there who'd like to update this?
IANABrit, and hate to spoil the joke, but is the pun is on the word 'floppy'?
Not to mention Newton users of course. Haven't met any personally, but an earlier Wired article (too lazy to search for the link; deal with it) suggested that they can be more fanatical than mere Mac freaks.
So yes, it's simplistic to suggest a single unified "Apple" subculture; there's diversity (or hints of one) out here.
Actually my friend, we're waiting for your testimonial on the SM experience.
Don't laugh it out, there's some merit to this question: thinking back, just about all /.tters I've met online were seriously deprived of sex in whatever form. Of course, they happened to be computing-inclined, pale geeks, but that in itself is an odd correlation.
(Okay, so that wasn't so funny, but heck, it's almost 3 AM and I still haven't finished my paper...:-( )
Okay, so what's an "El Guappo"? Is it a new Colombian version of crack or something? Personally, I prefer the geek version; it's this website with a green theme and absolutely no pics of chicks. Honest, I have no idea why I'm addicted to this site, but boy, it feels good..!
And to think I was about to bow before your (presumably) heightened sense of irony. God I must be reading/seeing too much Brit comedy these days. :-|
You know, I'm a fan of 19th century thrillers myself, but aren't you going to let us know about the author's ultimate fate? Or is the ending so morbid that you'd rather not say it out loud?
I don't know about you pal, but even as we speak, my shoulders are aching and my knuckles hurt when I write/ lift heavy objects. The doctor has told me that it still quite isn't Repetitive Stress Injury, but that I should consider taking breaks once in a while.
Don't let passive cubicles blind you from the real physical dangers that a geek lifestyle offers.
Call it a wild guess, but did your dad just retire from Arizona State University?
But seriously, I agree; seniors passing out from the non-descript, but highly funded public university that I attend(no, not in Arizona), tell me that most coding jobs out here are on a contract basis - they hire you until their project is over. You get (or at least most of my friends get) all the usual job perks for the time period you are hired after which you start the job quest all over again (albeit in a better position, of course, surely you've networked a bit?)
Something that's probably happening within the university as well. I honestly have no idea about the hiring policy in my university, but I'll tell you this:- one of the research projects I'm deeply interested in is on hold because my supervisor's two-year contract is about to expire in December. As on date, my supervisor is also joining us (the graduating batch) in job searches.
I'm sure there's a philosophical construct for someone who says "I want x", but actually turns out to be x. Very Sixth Sense-ish, without being too Bruce Willis about it.
That said, following your example, allow me to state that I only read the comments for the Funny statements.
I don't care if I'm down-modded (Hi, Twirlip of the Mists!) to hell, but I will always treasure the day when Slashdot mods a post that calls Bill Gates as a "marketing mastermind" with an unmatchable "uncanny vision and technological sense" with a (+4, Insightful), notwithstanding his specs of course.
Coming up next: Pigs that fly.
I'm glad you feel good about using downmod again, but looks like I'm only as Nazi as Napoleon (and too lazy to deepgoogle it). What "inverted portmanteau phrasal verb" means?
Don't hire slashdot proofreaders? You mean, I shouldnt put my karma-score on my resume? Goddamn it, don't tell me that three months' of effort is a waste!
Okay, so I'm being a grammar nazi, but since when did the term "down-modding" enter the lexicon? Even accepting the geek abbreviation, "mod" and its verb form "modding", you can easily say, "... with no points for modding the trolls down". Why do we have to re-write grammar (and of course, spelling) with every post? It's a bit like commenting your source code, not required for compilation, but recommended for better readability.
I'm assuming you are new to the Slashdot scene, but if you're telling dirty secrets off the record about your company, don't identify yourself. The "Post Anonymously" tickbox is available for a reason.
But yes, you've raised a very valid point on region hacks. A very reasonable take.
Incidentally, I'm reminded of a certain web-based discussion forum that started its subscription system with PayPal only.
Gosh, how fast people can forget.
Lemme guess, he now wants to use the DMCA to remove his phone number from /.?
You see, it was like this. RMS came to our (non-descript, but *very* highly funded) university a couple of months back, evangelising on copyright misuse. The lecture theater was full to the brim of course and the audience, mostly consisting of CS grads, were quite taken by his rather impressive beard and his persistent plucking of his nose. Not to debase his talent or vision, but he has some very interesting stage-habits.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks back when Steve Ballmer made a stopover at our university. The theater, this time the largest available, was again filled to the brim. The university President shared the dais with him and we all had to register for the talk with our name and university IC No. The official reason for the registration is that seats are limited, which, in any case, was a sort of valid reason; seats were booked within two days of the announcement. Needless to say, everyone (that is, from all faculties) turned up to watch him speak.
I wasn't down at Mr. Ballmer's talk, but friends tell me that it had very little to do with the stated topic "Innovation and Entreprenuership" and more to do with X-Boxes and Tablet PC's. Ballmer's shiny scalp was, I believe, impressive, but apparently the audience found the X-Boxes and Tablet PC's more interesting.
Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me that Bill Gates made a better impression on India than RMS.
Thanks, mate. It's enlightened, literate Westerners like you who need to come to India and teach us how to read, write, eat, cook, have sex and oh, log in to the net to watch (American) p0rno.
I don't care if I'm marked down as a troll, but I'm fed up with this paternalistic attitude that most posts here seem to have. You think there are no literate Indians out there? Or you think there's so little money that we can't provide for both Simputers and mass adult literacy? Does the US government stop all research until all the 33 million "food-insecure" Americans get a proper nutritious meal every day? Why do I not see any posts comparing that with Windows XP's billion dollar marketing budget?
Oh wait. This is about bloddy Indians, isn't it.
India already has a lot of pollution control mechanisms. Plastic bags are banned in many Indian smalltowns. Delhi's buses are court-mandated to run on LPG alone.
There are a lot of implementation issues yes, but the pollution problem is getting serious attention in India nowadays.
Isn't it supposed to be able to climb stairs as well?
Surely, it's because the Australian Association of Apple-Growers fought against this company threatening their livelihood by making their (teenage) kids addicted to porno? The company then changed its name to reflect its eco-friendliness ("Hey apple folks, we're green; we're on your side!")?