A new laptop built by my company is turned on during a plane flight and used to edit documents. The laptop battery explodes. The plane crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside.
Now, should we initiate a recall?
Take the number of laptops in the field (A) multiply it by the probable rate of failure (B) then multiply the result by the average out of court settlement (C). A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of the recall, we don't do one.
As the +5 poster above said first and foremost be frugal (but not tight). Have a budget and keep a list of what you spend your money on (in a spreadsheet, on a notepad etc). Keeping a list gives you more money in some magical way I'm not sure how.
If you don't know what to invest your money in then put it in government bonds while you learn. Bonds are simple and extremely safe. Basically you can expect around 5% return (paid in cash at regular intervals) which you can then either spend or reinvest back into bonds. Don't just give it to someone to invest for you.
Finally read some stuff about investing and keep a very open mind but a tight fist. I highly recommend stuff about/by Warren Buffet. The only stuff he's written himself is essays to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders which makes pretty dense reading. But a clever chap by the name of Lawrence Cunningham has compiled them into a book called "The Essays of Warren Buffet: Lessons for Corporate America". Don't be put off by the title. It is a thin book and very easy and entertaining to read. It is also the best book on investing I have ever read.
Go with whatever site you want I don't think anybody will care. I think quitting his day to day responsibilities (or not being aware of them in the first place) to give his money to the less fortunate is the least good use of Bills time and money that there is. Bill (and Microsoft) could do far more good for the world (for the worlds richest AND poorest in one fell swoop) by making their OS better, more efficient and more interoperable.
Just adhering to open standards(e.g. document formats) would make all of the world far wealthier (including the poor) than than would giving a fraction of the monopoly money to the poor.
Another (small) example of how they could save everyone more money than they could possibly give away. Installing new hardware or updating drivers on Windows (even in Windows Vista current beta!) has way too many steps and has pathetic options:
1. "Can Windows connect to Windows update to search for software?" Most ppl get the drivers from the manufactures site. Also while it gives u a "Yes, now and every time I connect a device" it doesn't give you a "No, not now and not at any time I connect a device". After picking "No, not at this time" we get the option:
2. "Automatic (recommended)" vs. "...list or specific location(Advanced)". Seems to give us the option of pointing straight to the correct driver right? Fraid not, after picking "...list or specific location" :
3. "Search for best driver" (Wouldn't that have been "Automatic" in the last step?) or "Don't search, I will choose". Selecting "Don't search, I will choose" should let us point straight to the correct driver right? Fraid not:
4. "Show compatible hardware" tick box and "Have disk". Clicking "Have disk" brings up floppy disk drive as the default location, even if the PC/laptop doesn't have a floppy drive !!! No drivers come on floppy disk anymore and haven't for years. This should have been fixed by first version of Windows XP at the latest ! Even when drivers did come on a floppy they are usually out of date (as they are with CDs) so new ones need to be downloaded anyway. Woe betide if you left a floppy disk in the drive because the computer has to mount it and look at it before bringing up the "Browse" button.
5. Finally we can click "Browse" and are able to point to the right damned driver.
Five steps but should have been two !
Fixing this little problem alone would probably directly save hundreds of millions (if not billions) of dollars a year world wide (for businesses, governments, charities, individuals you name it) and would save much more indirectly. Windows is on just about every damn desktop in the world. Saving just a minute per year per PC when installing hardware represents a massive amount of money/wealth !
Obviously it's great that Bill is doing this at all but still not as good as focussing on what he is relatively best at. I don't think he's in control of his ego.
Go with whatever site you want I don't think anybody will care.
I think quitting his day to day responsibilities (or not being aware of them in the first place) to give his money to the less fortunate is the least good use of Bills time and money that there is. Bill (and Microsoft) could do far more good for the world (for the worlds richest AND poorest in one fell swoop) by making their OS better, more efficient and more interoperable.
Just adhering to open standards(e.g. document formats) would make all of the world far wealthier (including the poor) than than would giving a fraction of the monopoly money to the poor.
Another (small) example of how they could save everyone more money than they could possibly give away: Installing new hardware or updating drivers on Windows (even in Windows Vista current beta!) has way too many steps and has pathetic options:
1. "Can Windows connect to Windows update to search for software?" Most ppl get the drivers from the manufactures site. Also while it gives u a "Yes, now and every time I connect a device" it doesn't give you a "No, not now and not at any time I connect a device". After picking "No, not at this time" we get the option:
2. "Automatic (recommended)" vs. "...list or specific location(Advanced)". Seems to give us the option of pointing straight to the correct driver right? Fraid not, after picking "...list or specific location" :
3. "Search for best driver" (Wouldn't that have been "Automatic" in the last step?) or "Don't search, I will choose". Selecting "Don't search, I will choose" should let us point straight to the correct driver right? Fraid not:
4. "Show compatible hardware" tick box and "Have disk". Clicking "Have disk" brings up floppy disk drive as the default location, even if the PC/laptop doesn't have a floppy drive !!! No drivers come on floppy disk anymore and haven't for years. This should have been fixed by first version of Windows XP at the latest ! Even when drivers did come on a floppy they are usually out of date (as they are with CDs) so new ones need to be downloaded anyway. Woe betide if you left a floppy disk in the drive because the computer has to mount it and look at it before bringing up the "Browse" button.
5. Finally we can click "Browse" and are able to point to the right damned driver.
Five steps but should have been two !
Fixing this little problem alone would probably directly save hundreds of millions (if not billions) of dollars a year world wide (for businesses, governments, charities, individuals you name it) and much more indirectly. Windows is on just about every damn desktop in the world. Saving just a minute per year per PC when installing hardware represents a massive amount of money/wealth !
Obviously it's great that Bill is doing this at all but still not as good as focussing on what he is relatively best at. I don't think he's in control of his ego.
are really good. I know Uni-ball makes them; other companies may make them I'm not sure.
I was put onto needle point pens by my History teacher in high school for writing lots of stuff quickly. The needle points require barely any force to move the pen over the paper ( ball points require a bit) so you can write much faster and also your hand doesn't get tired as quickly.
Another thing about needle point pens : the ink continues to flow even when the pen is still, which forces you to keep writing (so you don't leave a splotch) OR to take your pen off the page to think properly about what you are about to write.
I have experienced exactly what you described in the post. I was diagnosed "ADHD/WO" (ADD With Out Hyperactivity). My symptoms and those of other Adults I read about are EXACTLY what you described.
I went on medication and now I'm off it. You see I don't know to this day whether I have ADD but the medication only made me focus on the minutiae of tasks and I lost the bigger picture. "ADD" in most cases is just a characteristic. Any characteristic is advantagous sometimes and disadvantagous other times.
Long story short the posts about exercise are a good start, but the best thing I've found is having a good breakfast. I have bacon, eggs and tomatoes on toast every morning and im able to focus for most of the day even if I have a late lunch.
By the way, grill the bacon its alot tastier than fried bacon. Also put butter, sugar, pepper and salt on the tomato halves and grill them too.
But are the companies you listed mononpolies?
As far as I can understand (from financial experts' commentary) making a profit from a monopoly is like shooting fish in a barrel, whereas Telstra challenges this wisdom.
A badly run company with healthy competition deserves to go down 90%.
A badly run company with NO competition and an essential service should still turn a good profit.
You make some very good points man. All I'm saying is if you view Australia as a community something like a monopoly issue should have winners (ppl who are part of the monopoly) and losers (consumers). Instead in this case they are BOTH losing which shows something has gone very, very wrong in ADDITION to the crap service recieved by consumers.
What is even more incredible than Telstras' monopoly in Australia is its plummeting share price. It has gone from around AU$8.50 in late 1999 to around AU$4.50 today. The monopoly and the resulting lack of cost efficient broadband would be easier to take if some people (especially all the Mums and Pops the government encouraged to invest when Telstra was privatised) had at least made some money out of it.
The Australian medical community views gun related deaths as a health issue and so it is reported on from time to time in Australian medical journals. This may be a good source of unbiased (less biased?) material (albeit from another country).
One fact I remember from reading an article in a medical journal years ago is that you are twice as likely to be shot by a gun if you or someone in your household has a gun.
"Marketplace on CBC, that's a Canadian station for you Americans...".
Is the author guilty of doing to the rest of the world that which he/she is having a shot at the Americans for doing to him/her ?
There are obviously enormous economic benefits to the farmers, government and people of Brazil by powering engines with booze made from local sugar cane.
Where are the environmental benefits that were mentioned in the original slashdot post? The original article doesn't refer to the environment even once.
In fact this would surely be worse for the environment. The increase in demand for sugar cane will be met by more land clearance for agriculture (slashing and burning). Hence what was native vegetation playing its part by absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere is burned(releasing alot of CO2) and then replaced by a crop that is grown, fermented then burned as plane/car fuel in an annual cyle.
Slashdot Mirror
A new laptop built by my company is turned on during a plane flight and used to edit documents. The laptop battery explodes. The plane crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside.
Now, should we initiate a recall?
Take the number of laptops in the field (A) multiply it by the probable rate of failure (B) then multiply the result by the average out of court settlement (C). A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of the recall, we don't do one.
As the +5 poster above said first and foremost be frugal (but not tight). Have a budget and keep a list of what you spend your money on (in a spreadsheet, on a notepad etc). Keeping a list gives you more money in some magical way I'm not sure how.
If you don't know what to invest your money in then put it in government bonds while you learn. Bonds are simple and extremely safe. Basically you can expect around 5% return (paid in cash at regular intervals) which you can then either spend or reinvest back into bonds. Don't just give it to someone to invest for you.
Finally read some stuff about investing and keep a very open mind but a tight fist. I highly recommend stuff about/by Warren Buffet. The only stuff he's written himself is essays to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders which makes pretty dense reading. But a clever chap by the name of Lawrence Cunningham has compiled them into a book called "The Essays of Warren Buffet: Lessons for Corporate America". Don't be put off by the title. It is a thin book and very easy and entertaining to read. It is also the best book on investing I have ever read.
Microsoft seems to be lacking a warm water port.
If they could just launch a Blitzkreig in the South East corner and break through......
They made a super powerful magnet light enough to take on a plane.
Go with whatever site you want I don't think anybody will care. I think quitting his day to day responsibilities (or not being aware of them in the first place) to give his money to the less fortunate is the least good use of Bills time and money that there is. Bill (and Microsoft) could do far more good for the world (for the worlds richest AND poorest in one fell swoop) by making their OS better, more efficient and more interoperable.
Just adhering to open standards(e.g. document formats) would make all of the world far wealthier (including the poor) than than would giving a fraction of the monopoly money to the poor.
Another (small) example of how they could save everyone more money than they could possibly give away. Installing new hardware or updating drivers on Windows (even in Windows Vista current beta!) has way too many steps and has pathetic options:
1. "Can Windows connect to Windows update to search for software?" Most ppl get the drivers from the manufactures site. Also while it gives u a "Yes, now and every time I connect a device" it doesn't give you a "No, not now and not at any time I connect a device". After picking "No, not at this time" we get the option:
2. "Automatic (recommended)" vs. "...list or specific location(Advanced)". Seems to give us the option of pointing straight to the correct driver right? Fraid not, after picking "...list or specific location" :
3. "Search for best driver" (Wouldn't that have been "Automatic" in the last step?) or "Don't search, I will choose". Selecting "Don't search, I will choose" should let us point straight to the correct driver right? Fraid not:
4. "Show compatible hardware" tick box and "Have disk". Clicking "Have disk" brings up floppy disk drive as the default location, even if the PC/laptop doesn't have a floppy drive !!! No drivers come on floppy disk anymore and haven't for years. This should have been fixed by first version of Windows XP at the latest ! Even when drivers did come on a floppy they are usually out of date (as they are with CDs) so new ones need to be downloaded anyway. Woe betide if you left a floppy disk in the drive because the computer has to mount it and look at it before bringing up the "Browse" button.
5. Finally we can click "Browse" and are able to point to the right damned driver.
Five steps but should have been two !
Fixing this little problem alone would probably directly save hundreds of millions (if not billions) of dollars a year world wide (for businesses, governments, charities, individuals you name it) and would save much more indirectly. Windows is on just about every damn desktop in the world. Saving just a minute per year per PC when installing hardware represents a massive amount of money/wealth !
Obviously it's great that Bill is doing this at all but still not as good as focussing on what he is relatively best at. I don't think he's in control of his ego.
Go with whatever site you want I don't think anybody will care. I think quitting his day to day responsibilities (or not being aware of them in the first place) to give his money to the less fortunate is the least good use of Bills time and money that there is. Bill (and Microsoft) could do far more good for the world (for the worlds richest AND poorest in one fell swoop) by making their OS better, more efficient and more interoperable. Just adhering to open standards(e.g. document formats) would make all of the world far wealthier (including the poor) than than would giving a fraction of the monopoly money to the poor. Another (small) example of how they could save everyone more money than they could possibly give away: Installing new hardware or updating drivers on Windows (even in Windows Vista current beta!) has way too many steps and has pathetic options: 1. "Can Windows connect to Windows update to search for software?" Most ppl get the drivers from the manufactures site. Also while it gives u a "Yes, now and every time I connect a device" it doesn't give you a "No, not now and not at any time I connect a device". After picking "No, not at this time" we get the option: 2. "Automatic (recommended)" vs. "...list or specific location(Advanced)". Seems to give us the option of pointing straight to the correct driver right? Fraid not, after picking "...list or specific location" : 3. "Search for best driver" (Wouldn't that have been "Automatic" in the last step?) or "Don't search, I will choose". Selecting "Don't search, I will choose" should let us point straight to the correct driver right? Fraid not: 4. "Show compatible hardware" tick box and "Have disk". Clicking "Have disk" brings up floppy disk drive as the default location, even if the PC/laptop doesn't have a floppy drive !!! No drivers come on floppy disk anymore and haven't for years. This should have been fixed by first version of Windows XP at the latest ! Even when drivers did come on a floppy they are usually out of date (as they are with CDs) so new ones need to be downloaded anyway. Woe betide if you left a floppy disk in the drive because the computer has to mount it and look at it before bringing up the "Browse" button. 5. Finally we can click "Browse" and are able to point to the right damned driver. Five steps but should have been two ! Fixing this little problem alone would probably directly save hundreds of millions (if not billions) of dollars a year world wide (for businesses, governments, charities, individuals you name it) and much more indirectly. Windows is on just about every damn desktop in the world. Saving just a minute per year per PC when installing hardware represents a massive amount of money/wealth ! Obviously it's great that Bill is doing this at all but still not as good as focussing on what he is relatively best at. I don't think he's in control of his ego.
Windows Vista?
are really good. I know Uni-ball makes them; other companies may make them I'm not sure. I was put onto needle point pens by my History teacher in high school for writing lots of stuff quickly. The needle points require barely any force to move the pen over the paper ( ball points require a bit) so you can write much faster and also your hand doesn't get tired as quickly. Another thing about needle point pens : the ink continues to flow even when the pen is still, which forces you to keep writing (so you don't leave a splotch) OR to take your pen off the page to think properly about what you are about to write.
I have experienced exactly what you described in the post. I was diagnosed "ADHD/WO" (ADD With Out Hyperactivity). My symptoms and those of other Adults I read about are EXACTLY what you described.
I went on medication and now I'm off it. You see I don't know to this day whether I have ADD but the medication only made me focus on the minutiae of tasks and I lost the bigger picture. "ADD" in most cases is just a characteristic. Any characteristic is advantagous sometimes and disadvantagous other times.
Long story short the posts about exercise are a good start, but the best thing I've found is having a good breakfast. I have bacon, eggs and tomatoes on toast every morning and im able to focus for most of the day even if I have a late lunch.
By the way, grill the bacon its alot tastier than fried bacon. Also put butter, sugar, pepper and salt on the tomato halves and grill them too.
Let me know if any of this helps.
But are the companies you listed mononpolies? As far as I can understand (from financial experts' commentary) making a profit from a monopoly is like shooting fish in a barrel, whereas Telstra challenges this wisdom. A badly run company with healthy competition deserves to go down 90%. A badly run company with NO competition and an essential service should still turn a good profit.
You make some very good points man. All I'm saying is if you view Australia as a community something like a monopoly issue should have winners (ppl who are part of the monopoly) and losers (consumers). Instead in this case they are BOTH losing which shows something has gone very, very wrong in ADDITION to the crap service recieved by consumers.
What is even more incredible than Telstras' monopoly in Australia is its plummeting share price. It has gone from around AU$8.50 in late 1999 to around AU$4.50 today. The monopoly and the resulting lack of cost efficient broadband would be easier to take if some people (especially all the Mums and Pops the government encouraged to invest when Telstra was privatised) had at least made some money out of it.
The Australian medical community views gun related deaths as a health issue and so it is reported on from time to time in Australian medical journals. This may be a good source of unbiased (less biased?) material (albeit from another country). One fact I remember from reading an article in a medical journal years ago is that you are twice as likely to be shot by a gun if you or someone in your household has a gun.
"Marketplace on CBC, that's a Canadian station for you Americans...". Is the author guilty of doing to the rest of the world that which he/she is having a shot at the Americans for doing to him/her ?
There are obviously enormous economic benefits to the farmers, government and people of Brazil by powering engines with booze made from local sugar cane. Where are the environmental benefits that were mentioned in the original slashdot post? The original article doesn't refer to the environment even once. In fact this would surely be worse for the environment. The increase in demand for sugar cane will be met by more land clearance for agriculture (slashing and burning). Hence what was native vegetation playing its part by absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere is burned(releasing alot of CO2) and then replaced by a crop that is grown, fermented then burned as plane/car fuel in an annual cyle.