similar problem here, too, sucks doesn't it? I have wondered why the distro makers or distro clone resellers don't offer an image of their LAST release with all the patches applied. New releases just mean a lot more broken stuff and bugs. Seems like as soon as you finally get a distro installed and patched and working fairly well they stop supporting it. Maybe some of them do, but I haven't run into it (really could be just me, but haven't seen it), and being on dialup again, it's just too hard to keep trying this or that huge distro to see what works better. You certainly can't go by fans reviews on the net, because every distro is the worst or best depending on what you read.. They just don't get it on how absurd it is today to try and keep a multi gig installation patched, let alone try to participate in bug reporting, etc over a dialup connection. I don't even do full installs anymore, I try to pare them down severely right at install time, just to limit patching as much as possible. I used to try and do some bug reports too, sheesh, it takes a long long time to work through some of these bugtraq menu systems and sites. Just isn't worth it unless it's your only hobby.
I actually like two of the more utilitarian car designs of the past, the jeep you mentioned and the VW beetle. Mass produced, nothing fancy at all, basic transportation, both now collectables. And still nice rides if you have one in decent shape for that matter. Whereas a lot of newer cars now leave me going "look, another four door white whocaresmobile!" they all look the same "wind tunnel rules" same to me kinda sorta, very little distinguishing pazazz to them. I can't see 40 years from now very many of them being collectable or holding their value. Granted, quite a lot of tech advances and modern creature comforts in newer cars, just talking about designs now in the "normal" price range of things, not high end.
This is pretty neat. Sort of OT but still neat. Made me get a chuckle anyway how stuff happens sometimes with no explanation. Anyway, the exact time frame I was reading this from your post "Wish we had such a system in the US. Congresspersons have stated that they don't read most of the bills they vote on."..I was listening to a radio talkshow and the dude talking was referencing this.
Look at Red Hat. I'll use them for an example but it could be any number of linux distros or companies. I was a happy camper, joe home user, willingly paying full price for a boxed set with an actual dead trees manual. That and up2date and the mailing list and search engines was more than adequate to keep me computing without having to constantly fool with stuff, I have no desire to do that anyway. I want to use the computer, not marry the thing. I got other work and hobbies. At 60$ it wasn't too bad, and I had a minimum (all that was needed, at least with the 7 series which I still think was *great*) support structure. Now, using FC4, RH gets ZERO money from me. None, nada, zilch. their "enterprise" stuff is just way way too high for joe home user, so never even thought about it, nor do I want to run a clone. I want the real deal from a company I know will be around for a long time, at least then I did.
That was their decision, not mine. I was looking for a linux that would be supported with professional patches and upgrades and that would last for something more than a few months. Now,I have to re install more than once a year (No, fedora legacy don't cut it, I tried it, it's a nice theory) and run a little past too bleeding edge for me to be practical, as I am NOT a developer.. Yes, they are profitable, but then again, perhaps if they had just kept doing what they were doing, offering both a somewhat home-suitable desktop and corporate environment packages, they might be making MORE money then they are now. We'll never know now, because they said FU to the home user, blatantly and loudly.
And this is one reason why Ubuntu is taking over, and why it happened so quickly, they, unlike the vast bulk of professional linux distros, willingly and realistically realised that the home desktop is a HUGE market, and will be for the forseeable future. Red Hat could have owned that space, they were that close too, they certainly had both the mindshare and the coding and infrastructure head-start, yet they chose not to, their call, but watch as the other guys creep up and start taking "the enterprise" away from them as well in a few short years. It's going to happen, too, just watch.
Some companies emphasize top to bottom, others bottom to top, to me, it makes more sense if you want to be a really big and profitable player, to work BOTH ends towards the middle. In business this is called establishing vertical integration. Cover all your bases, especially if you are already large enough to justify the staff and infrastructure expansion. They are both huge markets, so why limit yourself? And how about all the "tiny" enterprise out there, folks who have companies with just a few employees? that's a huge "middle" market that most of the big players could give a squat about too. nuts! It's almost the same product once you get down to it. Look at Dell, got about all the bases covered. Doesn't hurt them near as I can see. Yes, two-three somewhat different markets, well, that's only sort of true, look at successful car companies, they make both tiny commuter cars and pickups and really large work trucks, and it doesn't seem to hurt them any to have more business does it? And it's a hedge against one market segment going south on you, you haven't put all your eggs in one basket.
Say what ya want, but this is one thing MS "gets". I personally despise that company, but will give them some props for marketing decisions. If there's a dollar there staring you in the face, and a potential customer is saying "gimmee", then go ahead and give the customer something for that dollar.
For the first year or so,sure, some big problems, all profound changes always have a difficult transition period. I certainly wouldn't dispute that. Then they would get the message after a few suits got suited back down to size and lost a bit of their pompous egofied arrogance and unreal expectations about things, and write and release better code. Society would adapt, we've certainly adapted to larger changes than that. There is and would still be a huge demand for code, that wouldn't go away, so the ones who really wanted to suceed would get to business and just do it. Yes, the marginal players and wannabes and those just coasting along would probably fail. So what?? Who cares in the long run? 100 years from now do want to still be in a state of perpetual buggy beta ware?? Hasn't this gotten just a tad old? Isn't a half century hand holding and using legal training wheels like the no warranties-FU joe consumer perpetual whine-ware enough for this so called "industry" to be treated like a real industry? How much more time do you need to lose the diapers anyway? Got any hints? Never? really? if so, then why exactly should consumers pay much of anything for these "products", if they are by the creators own default admission, crapware, not even good enough for the most basic of warranties? Why is this worth serious money again then?
You just have an ingrained mindset over two generations now that you can't write 'good enough' code. That's become a self fulfilling prophecy. I actually think much higher of coders and the industry then they do of themselves, I think it's more than possible for them to write gooe enough code for simple basic warranties, given an incentive and some encouragement.
Tangible products aren't all perfect, not by a long shot, they fail, but industry has adapted to mandatory minimum warranties (there was a time that *didn't* apply, BTW, and "industry" said they couldn't do it then either, it was "too hard" and "impossible"), the failure rate is now low enough and acceptable enough that even with warranties they manage to "do business" and society has adjusted and adapted.. funny, huh, how that works?
Becoming "responsible" for your actions has a profound effect on behavior. Or do you dispute this? You give an entire industry a perpetual excuse carved into stony law that they will never be required to produce "good enough" stuff for a warranty, why SHAZZAM, they probably won't ever do that!
Every other business that sells a product can have a warranty, typed up bits could too, they just don't want to. IMO, if they can't/won't,then take away their patent toys, as they aren't deserved, nor do they fit the original criteria for something to be patentable either, and treat it like an artistic endeavor instead, like a typed up novel for instance, copyrights only.
As to FOSS, etc, sure,why not, if they charge money for it. Big difference between a totally free freebie and some expensive sold "product". If someone down the street hands me some widget they built and says "here, play with this, see what ya think", I know I am getting a protype, not something sold from the store, and chances are high it could be a total piece of crap, so i treat it like that, and no hard feelings to the creator if it IS crap. on the other hand, I walk into bigmart and buy something and it don't work, then I am annoyed, and they need to make it right. That's the difference. You don't walk into bigmart and buy somethinbg with two wheels and handlebars and a seat and take it home and find out it ain't a bicycle without taking it back and getting your money back. if you ride it one day and it gets 10 flats and the spokes pop out and the frame bends this is called crapware and we as consumers can see it, and take it back under warranty. But typed up bits from this oh so important "industry" we are just supposed to both accept the ten flats and bent frames, pay money for it, then get told to shove it when it's that defective? huh?
HAHAHAHA! Step to the other side of the transaction to see how *ludicrous* that is. Ya'all have had a half century, this way -> to the adult section of life.
No, personally I think it's been broken too severely and for too long a time period to be adequately fixed. I was just musing on a few of the potential fixes out there.
I am in favor of a clean wipe and reinstall. You may parse that however you wish but I think you can get my drift there.
I don't see it getting any better, any fairer, or any less corrupt with the system in place as we have it now. For all practical purposes we are living under a live ongoing coup situation, and there are too many entrenched order followers that will act according to orders rather than common sense and what is truly constitutional and allowed, to make any sort of realistic "within the system" changes possible. It hasn't happend yet since I have been watching, so I see no obvious reasons to think it will anytimte soon, either. it's just the odds, I run the odds, it's a dismal spread there based on past observable data. that's the best one can do, take data, analyse then erxtrapolate. That and the population has been totally scared-terrorized is the word- into accepting about anything they are told to do, and the mass media and public education systems are obvious propoganda arms of the established globalist fascists.
We have a slide into a modern sort of Technofeudalism, and I think it sucks.
We will not be able to "vote" any meaningful change, nor will these various public gang members or gangs ( I will not call them "parties" any longer, they are criminal gangs) willingly give up power or change to being honest.
I do not wish to have this opinion, really, but I hold it now based on all the anecdotal and observable data over the last several decades. I used to honestly believe working within the system had some decent hope, but I no longer have this viewpoint.
This is most generally speaking, I don't want to paint with too broad a brush, but for casual conversational purposes on a forum it's my viewpoint now. Any random individual or company may be totally honest and follow the letter of the laws and maintain a living and presence, but overall, no, I don't see our socio/economic/political "system" being any sort of long term ethical or practical or sustainable, and the really big over-all losers will be the honest middle class in this nation..
I think we entered what will be known to future historians as the decline of the US approximately 10-15 years ago for most purposes, and it has accelerated greatly in the last 5 years, helped along immensely by police-state tech advances, and that is going to continue. When China is the posterboy model for modern business, and US business and political interests at the top levels are falling all over themselves to relocate the bulk of their business there, and cooperate with them, etc,well.. it says a lot to me about where these folks heads are at.
Unlike a lot of people, I don't hold to "cost" as the only criteria for "doing business", nor do I think that 'business' is the most important thing in life. Yes, I know, heresy! heh. This is not a popular opinion in capitalist circles, but..I am not a classic capitalist, so that won't apply to me either. Although it may work in a cost/profits sense to some degree, it doesn't work when it comes to human rights and other social tenets. Again, my POV. I am not a classic socialist either, but that's another discussion for another time. hth
The Patent system is broken, yes, but the process for incorporation and giving legal personhood to corporations is also seriously broken. The two are intertwined. You could eliminate quite a bit of shady corporate behavior by making a human being always responsible for decisions made by a corporation, you could make incorporating a much tougher process and have it come with an automatic timeout, you could insist that corporations must incorporate in the states where they actually do business, not just delaware or nevada, and make any people associated with ownership/management of an international corporation lose their US rights as to voting, etc. Make them choose what is more important to them, US citizen, or citizen of nation x where they have their corporation set up, one or the other, *not* both, and not US if they are globalists. Then apply foreign lobbying rules and immigration/alien rules to them across the management board.
You could also reform the stock market, such as placing a time limit on holding shares between transactions, such as two years, to really make it an investment and not a speculators casino, etc. And stop allowing "daisy chaining" of corporations, make them pick a name and stick to it, not 85 corporations with slight variables all run from the same tiny office with a lawyers name on the door. Put the human beings back in responsibility, overtly and openly.
In the political process, you could make it illegal for corporations, or industrial lobbying cartel orgs, to donate any money/goods/services whatsoever to any political campaign or politician, and eliminate the profession of career politician or bureaucrat. No pensions, no lifetime career, make it ten years "government service" then back to the private sector. Then make it so no bureaucrat or politician could accept an industry position that was part of what they were regulating while in government service, and etc, i.e. no Joe FDA doofus getting out, collecting a pension, then going to work for big pharmco. This is just too obvious how this affects legislation and regulations.
There are a ton of decent theoretical "fixes" out there, most or all of which will never be implemented because the system itself is set-up and run as a large scale criminal enterprise now. It's a racket, not a government, and the transnationals control it. That is my opinion, and it's based on just watching politics and business for a long time. The US was supposed to be "we the people" not "we the faceless nameless international corporations". Real big difference there. We are Humans, not Ferengi. Making the system try to work with Ferengi rules has resulted in the overall crap we have today.
The entire system is broken, we had a nice experimental run at honest government and letting corporations try to do business without being scumbag crooks, we tried to let the political process proceed without corruption, but it's time to accept reality that it's broken completely and nothing short of a wipe and reinstall is going to "fix" it, IMO.
Commercial software sellers/leasers are in a very unique position in industry where they can call their IP a "product", treat it like that in terms of profit, yet be treated differently from a legal perspective from tangible product manufacturers. They can get patents, etc, yet are under no obligation to provide any normal consumer warranty.
I think a rather interesting case could be made by some class action involving tangible manufacturers against some software company if they have been affected because of a software exploit, etc, and had to eat the "get out of any responsibility" free card that the software manufactuers enjoy and foist upon the other companies with their protected "product". I am amazed it hasn't happened yet actually. Equal protection under the law might be an avenue to explore there. If not that then perhaps an actual change to the law might be in order to force the issue. If that becomes too scary for the intangible IP peddlers, maybe they might rethink gathering up patents and calling their offerings products. Perhaps anyway. It would be interesting to watch. ACME hardware widgets vs ACME software widgets in other words. Paraphrased and slangified - "Judge, I have to provide a warranty for my widgets, why doesn't this guy? He calls it a product, it's got patents connected to it, money changed hands, we got pwned because of this patented product, so WTF is up with that "no warranty" action?"
What do you think of web-based applications (office and etc, etc) and do you have any thoughts on going in that direction and having them integrated with the Opera browser?
way cool! I almost bought one a few years ago, it was sitting on a lot for 1200$, and I had the cash on me. Hemmed and hawed, went home. Few days later I decided to go back, by then the guy had decided to keep it and already had the side doors painted for his car lot, he was going to use it as a parts runner vehicle.
Another real good one, less mileage but lots more "truck" was the early 70's datsun diesel half ton. I think it got close to 40 MPG though but would haul a lot for a small truck. Girl friend I had a while back had one, I used it a lot, tough as nails, easy fuel sippin'.
Which internet is he talking about? Really, what is the actual data premise here? He's just plain *nuts*. This is a manufactured non issue it's so obvious. I'm stuck on dialup at home. Once a month or so I treat myself to a little browsing at the public library in "town" which has some sort of broadband, I do not know the exact connection they use but it supports roughly a dozen machines simultaneously surfing away.
It is MUCH faster surfing at the library, even on their older machines, that's why I consider it a "treat". Click a link, POOF 0 RAMA it's there and loaded and you can browse. On dialup it's mash link, hang around, slowly text part of page appears, then later on images sort of show up. No comparison. Now how about streaming media content, even just lowly flash animations on dialup? Shoutcast and etc? Videos? I'm limited to a few of the audio stations at the eXtreme lower bitrates, and even then it makes surfing at the same time almost unbearable unless images are turned off, etc. Online videocasts are play a bit then *buffer, buffer, buffer*, play, buffer, and etc. Mostly buffer. Just forget any full downloading of anything interesting if it's more than a few megs, just ain't worth it. My computer's nights are already taken up with just keeping a modestly full operating system patched and updated. Where does this "doesn't matter" part come into play?
From my POV, I can't wait until some sort of decent affordable broadband is offered in the hinterlands. Until then I really appreciate having *any* connection, but a scosh better connection speed would be *sweet*.
Might be a good idea for it (your scenario) to happen sooner rather than later, why we still have a slim chance of rebuilding the manufacturing sector.
...and it is an important but....until you can walk into any retail outlet and see ANYTHING besides 'XP inside!" and all the peripherals saying "HP ready!!", it's still a monopoly. In my area, which has 4 stores that carry computers, I have yet to see a single instance of anything other than "XP!" attached to a computer, accessory or piece of software on the shelf.
Until that bogus hardware vendor lockin is broken, the situation will remain more or less where it is at right now. Mac might gain a scosh based on slop over from iPod sales, but linus won't except in some large businesses now and then. On the homefront, games rule, and what comes pre installed on the machine rules, and that's that.
We don't have a MICROSOFT problem, we have a Dell, Gateway, HP/Compaq, Office Depot, Walmart, Sony, Toshiba, Lenovo, etc, etc, etc problem, and it's a *big* problem, and that's why it's still a monopoly.
.....if you look at all the benefits, the trade is worth it. Trees-plants in general- are very necessary for the health of the planet over-all, and provide us with numerous useful products. Well, yes,this is obvious, but still, I wouldn't be afraid of planting more trees. Growing plants are one of the only ways we have currently to harness nuclear fusion, which is the sunshine we receive. So the question really gets to more energy-good or bad? From my perspective, more energy wins. Like where is the problem if one day we determine we have too many trees? That just means more affordable housing and furniture and paper and other forest related products like foodstuffs and biomass for energy conversion. Still a win for hoo-mannzz.
These media goons have been getting busted for price fixing and payola since the 50's, and the **&^!&%^s are still in business. Here is prima facie evidence of what the government is all about and what this fascistic/corporate business world is all about. This crap would have stopped a long time ago if the gov had chucked some high priced CEOs in jail, completely busted up some companies and let the stockholders go hang for investing with crooks. What happens is they get some fines, adjust prices to cover the fines, then back to business as usual, said business being ripping off the creative people and the consumers.
Reminds me of a certain bogus software company and it's industry guard dog hand maiden. They SUCK. They have always sucked. They make enron and worldcom and haliburton look like posterboys for business ethics.
I applaud this recent attempt by the NY attorney general, but short of actually dissolving these bogus gangster corporations, like they should because they have been proven to not be in the public interest, he won't be able to do much to stop it. That's my best guess on it. They quite literally have too much cash and too much incentive to use it to "stay in business".
...money. I don't see much mention of this important fact in the article. See this quote "We are also concerned with making sure we are (sic) understand and make use of the latest technological advances"...well, gee, how about drastically lowering prices on legit copies then? This is possible now, but they *aren't doing it*. How about making profit through volume sales by using the tech advances that have made digital copies extremely cheap to distribute? A lot of people wouldn't bother to "pirate" if the price of the cheap plastic disks or a legit download was just more reasonable. I mean significanty more reasonable, like a few dollars tops for a DVD movie for example, which they could do if they chose to. In years past, the actual manufacture of the physical media was very expensive, and there was no cheap effective way to distribute outside that method, but today? Someone needs to bust out of their Hollywood residing price structure and recognize that a dollar elsewhere is not the same as in zipcode 90210. It's extremely cheap to make dupes now, so why hasn't "the industry" responded appropriately?
They want all the economic advantages of the latest tech advances, but they don't want to pass those benefits on to their customers, nor even allow their customers the same tech or advantages. This is called gouging and people respond appropriately to it.
...simply astounding. 4 million cameras. Probably doesn't count satellite cameras either, heh. And now they are building tiny hover drones with cameras, and soon after that probably smart dust cameras. And there's no end in sight, just smaller and better tech.
It's creepy.
Government as some sort of beneficial service is not entirely correct, nor even it's first function, it is primarily a for-profit growth business and they really enjoy their monopoly. Where else can a company demand that you pay for a product, at whatever cost they determine, and you can't say no to the purchase? Outside of gangster protection rackets, I can't think of any.
seems like you could use a gradual curved mouse pad, shaped like a ski jump, that would give you the 3-D part of the interface once you left "flat and level" and moved up the slope. Your hand would still be resting on something firm, but you'd have a new interface level.
Or make the mouse have a curved back so it could easily tip-up and rest on a rounded back surface, with a slightly raised front, again, initiating the 3-D movement required
now how to do those things I'll leave to the EE guys
I use older slower modems during storms all the time. They'll stay online when a 56k craps out from line noise., plus, if they get fried, meh, another thriftstore, another 50 cents.
Oh ya, if you live rural, it's a real bother to try and find "broadband" in the US. It just ain't happening except for very expensive and very limited satellite "service". Cable is unobtanium and DSL means you have to be two miles or less from a telco box, which barely qualifies as suburban, let alone "rural". I think when/if WiMax ever gets deployed they'll be another wave of broadband adoption across the US. WiFi don't cut it either with trees and hills, etc.
..hundreds of thousands of students, tourists, technicians and businessmen spread out all over the western world. Now, run the odds of how many of them can be persuaded or are already prepared to "fight for the homeland", especially if they have relatives back home. They don't need to be in china to have web access. You'd have to blacklist the entire net to deny them access. And that's just cyber warfare, there are a number of other options available to them for assymetrical warfare.
I think once true colonization of space begins that very little if anything will be considered "trash". I would imagine most everything hauled up at expensive-per-pound will be built to be either well constructed and used for a long time or rebuildable/upgradeable or designed to be recyclable. Even various oerganic "wastes" will be reprocessed and used in space farming or energy production, liquids reclaimed for their H20 content, etc, etc. People only throw away things when they are cheap or broken now in "rich" industrialised economies, in space it will get fixed or used to build something else. Think "shanty towns" on earth now, complete communities built on "used various stuff", just in space it will be on-purpose from the beginning.
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similar problem here, too, sucks doesn't it? I have wondered why the distro makers or distro clone resellers don't offer an image of their LAST release with all the patches applied. New releases just mean a lot more broken stuff and bugs. Seems like as soon as you finally get a distro installed and patched and working fairly well they stop supporting it. Maybe some of them do, but I haven't run into it (really could be just me, but haven't seen it), and being on dialup again, it's just too hard to keep trying this or that huge distro to see what works better. You certainly can't go by fans reviews on the net, because every distro is the worst or best depending on what you read.. They just don't get it on how absurd it is today to try and keep a multi gig installation patched, let alone try to participate in bug reporting, etc over a dialup connection. I don't even do full installs anymore, I try to pare them down severely right at install time, just to limit patching as much as possible. I used to try and do some bug reports too, sheesh, it takes a long long time to work through some of these bugtraq menu systems and sites. Just isn't worth it unless it's your only hobby.
I actually like two of the more utilitarian car designs of the past, the jeep you mentioned and the VW beetle. Mass produced, nothing fancy at all, basic transportation, both now collectables. And still nice rides if you have one in decent shape for that matter. Whereas a lot of newer cars now leave me going "look, another four door white whocaresmobile!" they all look the same "wind tunnel rules" same to me kinda sorta, very little distinguishing pazazz to them. I can't see 40 years from now very many of them being collectable or holding their value. Granted, quite a lot of tech advances and modern creature comforts in newer cars, just talking about designs now in the "normal" price range of things, not high end.
This is pretty neat. Sort of OT but still neat. Made me get a chuckle anyway how stuff happens sometimes with no explanation. Anyway, the exact time frame I was reading this from your post "Wish we had such a system in the US. Congresspersons have stated that they don't read most of the bills they vote on." ..I was listening to a radio talkshow and the dude talking was referencing this.
...trying to confiscate the colonist's shot and powder.
Look at Red Hat. I'll use them for an example but it could be any number of linux distros or companies. I was a happy camper, joe home user, willingly paying full price for a boxed set with an actual dead trees manual. That and up2date and the mailing list and search engines was more than adequate to keep me computing without having to constantly fool with stuff, I have no desire to do that anyway. I want to use the computer, not marry the thing. I got other work and hobbies. At 60$ it wasn't too bad, and I had a minimum (all that was needed, at least with the 7 series which I still think was *great*) support structure. Now, using FC4, RH gets ZERO money from me. None, nada, zilch. their "enterprise" stuff is just way way too high for joe home user, so never even thought about it, nor do I want to run a clone. I want the real deal from a company I know will be around for a long time, at least then I did.
That was their decision, not mine. I was looking for a linux that would be supported with professional patches and upgrades and that would last for something more than a few months. Now,I have to re install more than once a year (No, fedora legacy don't cut it, I tried it, it's a nice theory) and run a little past too bleeding edge for me to be practical, as I am NOT a developer.. Yes, they are profitable, but then again, perhaps if they had just kept doing what they were doing, offering both a somewhat home-suitable desktop and corporate environment packages, they might be making MORE money then they are now. We'll never know now, because they said FU to the home user, blatantly and loudly.
And this is one reason why Ubuntu is taking over, and why it happened so quickly, they, unlike the vast bulk of professional linux distros, willingly and realistically realised that the home desktop is a HUGE market, and will be for the forseeable future. Red Hat could have owned that space, they were that close too, they certainly had both the mindshare and the coding and infrastructure head-start, yet they chose not to, their call, but watch as the other guys creep up and start taking "the enterprise" away from them as well in a few short years. It's going to happen, too, just watch.
Some companies emphasize top to bottom, others bottom to top, to me, it makes more sense if you want to be a really big and profitable player, to work BOTH ends towards the middle. In business this is called establishing vertical integration. Cover all your bases, especially if you are already large enough to justify the staff and infrastructure expansion. They are both huge markets, so why limit yourself? And how about all the "tiny" enterprise out there, folks who have companies with just a few employees? that's a huge "middle" market that most of the big players could give a squat about too. nuts! It's almost the same product once you get down to it. Look at Dell, got about all the bases covered. Doesn't hurt them near as I can see. Yes, two-three somewhat different markets, well, that's only sort of true, look at successful car companies, they make both tiny commuter cars and pickups and really large work trucks, and it doesn't seem to hurt them any to have more business does it? And it's a hedge against one market segment going south on you, you haven't put all your eggs in one basket.
Say what ya want, but this is one thing MS "gets". I personally despise that company, but will give them some props for marketing decisions. If there's a dollar there staring you in the face, and a potential customer is saying "gimmee", then go ahead and give the customer something for that dollar.
For the first year or so,sure, some big problems, all profound changes always have a difficult transition period. I certainly wouldn't dispute that. Then they would get the message after a few suits got suited back down to size and lost a bit of their pompous egofied arrogance and unreal expectations about things, and write and release better code. Society would adapt, we've certainly adapted to larger changes than that. There is and would still be a huge demand for code, that wouldn't go away, so the ones who really wanted to suceed would get to business and just do it. Yes, the marginal players and wannabes and those just coasting along would probably fail. So what?? Who cares in the long run? 100 years from now do want to still be in a state of perpetual buggy beta ware?? Hasn't this gotten just a tad old? Isn't a half century hand holding and using legal training wheels like the no warranties-FU joe consumer perpetual whine-ware enough for this so called "industry" to be treated like a real industry? How much more time do you need to lose the diapers anyway? Got any hints? Never? really? if so, then why exactly should consumers pay much of anything for these "products", if they are by the creators own default admission, crapware, not even good enough for the most basic of warranties? Why is this worth serious money again then?
You just have an ingrained mindset over two generations now that you can't write 'good enough' code. That's become a self fulfilling prophecy. I actually think much higher of coders and the industry then they do of themselves, I think it's more than possible for them to write gooe enough code for simple basic warranties, given an incentive and some encouragement.
Tangible products aren't all perfect, not by a long shot, they fail, but industry has adapted to mandatory minimum warranties (there was a time that *didn't* apply, BTW, and "industry" said they couldn't do it then either, it was "too hard" and "impossible"), the failure rate is now low enough and acceptable enough that even with warranties they manage to "do business" and society has adjusted and adapted.. funny, huh, how that works?
Becoming "responsible" for your actions has a profound effect on behavior. Or do you dispute this? You give an entire industry a perpetual excuse carved into stony law that they will never be required to produce "good enough" stuff for a warranty, why SHAZZAM, they probably won't ever do that!
Every other business that sells a product can have a warranty, typed up bits could too, they just don't want to. IMO, if they can't/won't,then take away their patent toys, as they aren't deserved, nor do they fit the original criteria for something to be patentable either, and treat it like an artistic endeavor instead, like a typed up novel for instance, copyrights only.
As to FOSS, etc, sure,why not, if they charge money for it. Big difference between a totally free freebie and some expensive sold "product". If someone down the street hands me some widget they built and says "here, play with this, see what ya think", I know I am getting a protype, not something sold from the store, and chances are high it could be a total piece of crap, so i treat it like that, and no hard feelings to the creator if it IS crap. on the other hand, I walk into bigmart and buy something and it don't work, then I am annoyed, and they need to make it right. That's the difference. You don't walk into bigmart and buy somethinbg with two wheels and handlebars and a seat and take it home and find out it ain't a bicycle without taking it back and getting your money back. if you ride it one day and it gets 10 flats and the spokes pop out and the frame bends this is called crapware and we as consumers can see it, and take it back under warranty. But typed up bits from this oh so important "industry" we are just supposed to both accept the ten flats and bent frames, pay money for it, then get told to shove it when it's that defective? huh?
HAHAHAHA! Step to the other side of the transaction to see how *ludicrous* that is. Ya'all have had a half century, this way -> to the adult section of life.
No, personally I think it's been broken too severely and for too long a time period to be adequately fixed. I was just musing on a few of the potential fixes out there.
I am in favor of a clean wipe and reinstall. You may parse that however you wish but I think you can get my drift there.
I don't see it getting any better, any fairer, or any less corrupt with the system in place as we have it now. For all practical purposes we are living under a live ongoing coup situation, and there are too many entrenched order followers that will act according to orders rather than common sense and what is truly constitutional and allowed, to make any sort of realistic "within the system" changes possible. It hasn't happend yet since I have been watching, so I see no obvious reasons to think it will anytimte soon, either. it's just the odds, I run the odds, it's a dismal spread there based on past observable data. that's the best one can do, take data, analyse then erxtrapolate. That and the population has been totally scared-terrorized is the word- into accepting about anything they are told to do, and the mass media and public education systems are obvious propoganda arms of the established globalist fascists.
We have a slide into a modern sort of Technofeudalism, and I think it sucks.
We will not be able to "vote" any meaningful change, nor will these various public gang members or gangs ( I will not call them "parties" any longer, they are criminal gangs) willingly give up power or change to being honest.
I do not wish to have this opinion, really, but I hold it now based on all the anecdotal and observable data over the last several decades. I used to honestly believe working within the system had some decent hope, but I no longer have this viewpoint.
This is most generally speaking, I don't want to paint with too broad a brush, but for casual conversational purposes on a forum it's my viewpoint now. Any random individual or company may be totally honest and follow the letter of the laws and maintain a living and presence, but overall, no, I don't see our socio/economic/political "system" being any sort of long term ethical or practical or sustainable, and the really big over-all losers will be the honest middle class in this nation..
I think we entered what will be known to future historians as the decline of the US approximately 10-15 years ago for most purposes, and it has accelerated greatly in the last 5 years, helped along immensely by police-state tech advances, and that is going to continue. When China is the posterboy model for modern business, and US business and political interests at the top levels are falling all over themselves to relocate the bulk of their business there, and cooperate with them, etc,well.. it says a lot to me about where these folks heads are at.
Unlike a lot of people, I don't hold to "cost" as the only criteria for "doing business", nor do I think that 'business' is the most important thing in life. Yes, I know, heresy! heh. This is not a popular opinion in capitalist circles, but..I am not a classic capitalist, so that won't apply to me either. Although it may work in a cost/profits sense to some degree, it doesn't work when it comes to human rights and other social tenets. Again, my POV. I am not a classic socialist either, but that's another discussion for another time. hth
The Patent system is broken, yes, but the process for incorporation and giving legal personhood to corporations is also seriously broken. The two are intertwined. You could eliminate quite a bit of shady corporate behavior by making a human being always responsible for decisions made by a corporation, you could make incorporating a much tougher process and have it come with an automatic timeout, you could insist that corporations must incorporate in the states where they actually do business, not just delaware or nevada, and make any people associated with ownership/management of an international corporation lose their US rights as to voting, etc. Make them choose what is more important to them, US citizen, or citizen of nation x where they have their corporation set up, one or the other, *not* both, and not US if they are globalists. Then apply foreign lobbying rules and immigration/alien rules to them across the management board.
You could also reform the stock market, such as placing a time limit on holding shares between transactions, such as two years, to really make it an investment and not a speculators casino, etc. And stop allowing "daisy chaining" of corporations, make them pick a name and stick to it, not 85 corporations with slight variables all run from the same tiny office with a lawyers name on the door. Put the human beings back in responsibility, overtly and openly.
In the political process, you could make it illegal for corporations, or industrial lobbying cartel orgs, to donate any money/goods/services whatsoever to any political campaign or politician, and eliminate the profession of career politician or bureaucrat. No pensions, no lifetime career, make it ten years "government service" then back to the private sector. Then make it so no bureaucrat or politician could accept an industry position that was part of what they were regulating while in government service, and etc, i.e. no Joe FDA doofus getting out, collecting a pension, then going to work for big pharmco. This is just too obvious how this affects legislation and regulations.
There are a ton of decent theoretical "fixes" out there, most or all of which will never be implemented because the system itself is set-up and run as a large scale criminal enterprise now. It's a racket, not a government, and the transnationals control it. That is my opinion, and it's based on just watching politics and business for a long time. The US was supposed to be "we the people" not "we the faceless nameless international corporations". Real big difference there. We are Humans, not Ferengi. Making the system try to work with Ferengi rules has resulted in the overall crap we have today.
The entire system is broken, we had a nice experimental run at honest government and letting corporations try to do business without being scumbag crooks, we tried to let the political process proceed without corruption, but it's time to accept reality that it's broken completely and nothing short of a wipe and reinstall is going to "fix" it, IMO.
Commercial software sellers/leasers are in a very unique position in industry where they can call their IP a "product", treat it like that in terms of profit, yet be treated differently from a legal perspective from tangible product manufacturers. They can get patents, etc, yet are under no obligation to provide any normal consumer warranty.
I think a rather interesting case could be made by some class action involving tangible manufacturers against some software company if they have been affected because of a software exploit, etc, and had to eat the "get out of any responsibility" free card that the software manufactuers enjoy and foist upon the other companies with their protected "product". I am amazed it hasn't happened yet actually. Equal protection under the law might be an avenue to explore there. If not that then perhaps an actual change to the law might be in order to force the issue. If that becomes too scary for the intangible IP peddlers, maybe they might rethink gathering up patents and calling their offerings products. Perhaps anyway. It would be interesting to watch. ACME hardware widgets vs ACME software widgets in other words. Paraphrased and slangified - "Judge, I have to provide a warranty for my widgets, why doesn't this guy? He calls it a product, it's got patents connected to it, money changed hands, we got pwned because of this patented product, so WTF is up with that "no warranty" action?"
What do you think of web-based applications (office and etc, etc) and do you have any thoughts on going in that direction and having them integrated with the Opera browser?
way cool! I almost bought one a few years ago, it was sitting on a lot for 1200$, and I had the cash on me. Hemmed and hawed, went home. Few days later I decided to go back, by then the guy had decided to keep it and already had the side doors painted for his car lot, he was going to use it as a parts runner vehicle.
Another real good one, less mileage but lots more "truck" was the early 70's datsun diesel half ton. I think it got close to 40 MPG though but would haul a lot for a small truck. Girl friend I had a while back had one, I used it a lot, tough as nails, easy fuel sippin'.
In the US I can think of only one like that with similar mileage, the old VW Rabbit diesel pickup. Pretty rare now, you don't see many of them.
Which internet is he talking about? Really, what is the actual data premise here? He's just plain *nuts*. This is a manufactured non issue it's so obvious. I'm stuck on dialup at home. Once a month or so I treat myself to a little browsing at the public library in "town" which has some sort of broadband, I do not know the exact connection they use but it supports roughly a dozen machines simultaneously surfing away.
It is MUCH faster surfing at the library, even on their older machines, that's why I consider it a "treat". Click a link, POOF 0 RAMA it's there and loaded and you can browse. On dialup it's mash link, hang around, slowly text part of page appears, then later on images sort of show up. No comparison. Now how about streaming media content, even just lowly flash animations on dialup? Shoutcast and etc? Videos? I'm limited to a few of the audio stations at the eXtreme lower bitrates, and even then it makes surfing at the same time almost unbearable unless images are turned off, etc. Online videocasts are play a bit then *buffer, buffer, buffer*, play, buffer, and etc. Mostly buffer. Just forget any full downloading of anything interesting if it's more than a few megs, just ain't worth it. My computer's nights are already taken up with just keeping a modestly full operating system patched and updated. Where does this "doesn't matter" part come into play?
From my POV, I can't wait until some sort of decent affordable broadband is offered in the hinterlands. Until then I really appreciate having *any* connection, but a scosh better connection speed would be *sweet*.
Might be a good idea for it (your scenario) to happen sooner rather than later, why we still have a slim chance of rebuilding the manufacturing sector.
dang zogger, use the preview button...sheesh,,,lotta typos... most sorry
...and it is an important but....until you can walk into any retail outlet and see ANYTHING besides 'XP inside!" and all the peripherals saying "HP ready!!", it's still a monopoly. In my area, which has 4 stores that carry computers, I have yet to see a single instance of anything other than "XP!" attached to a computer, accessory or piece of software on the shelf.
Until that bogus hardware vendor lockin is broken, the situation will remain more or less where it is at right now. Mac might gain a scosh based on slop over from iPod sales, but linus won't except in some large businesses now and then. On the homefront, games rule, and what comes pre installed on the machine rules, and that's that.
We don't have a MICROSOFT problem, we have a Dell, Gateway, HP/Compaq, Office Depot, Walmart, Sony, Toshiba, Lenovo, etc, etc, etc problem, and it's a *big* problem, and that's why it's still a monopoly.
.....if you look at all the benefits, the trade is worth it. Trees-plants in general- are very necessary for the health of the planet over-all, and provide us with numerous useful products. Well, yes,this is obvious, but still, I wouldn't be afraid of planting more trees. Growing plants are one of the only ways we have currently to harness nuclear fusion, which is the sunshine we receive. So the question really gets to more energy-good or bad? From my perspective, more energy wins. Like where is the problem if one day we determine we have too many trees? That just means more affordable housing and furniture and paper and other forest related products like foodstuffs and biomass for energy conversion. Still a win for hoo-mannzz.
These media goons have been getting busted for price fixing and payola since the 50's, and the **&^!&%^s are still in business. Here is prima facie evidence of what the government is all about and what this fascistic/corporate business world is all about. This crap would have stopped a long time ago if the gov had chucked some high priced CEOs in jail, completely busted up some companies and let the stockholders go hang for investing with crooks. What happens is they get some fines, adjust prices to cover the fines, then back to business as usual, said business being ripping off the creative people and the consumers.
Reminds me of a certain bogus software company and it's industry guard dog hand maiden. They SUCK. They have always sucked. They make enron and worldcom and haliburton look like posterboys for business ethics.
I applaud this recent attempt by the NY attorney general, but short of actually dissolving these bogus gangster corporations, like they should because they have been proven to not be in the public interest, he won't be able to do much to stop it. That's my best guess on it. They quite literally have too much cash and too much incentive to use it to "stay in business".
They want all the economic advantages of the latest tech advances, but they don't want to pass those benefits on to their customers, nor even allow their customers the same tech or advantages. This is called gouging and people respond appropriately to it.
Doesn't your friend automatically own the copyright to whatever he wrote? How can they just take it?
...simply astounding. 4 million cameras. Probably doesn't count satellite cameras either, heh. And now they are building tiny hover drones with cameras, and soon after that probably smart dust cameras. And there's no end in sight, just smaller and better tech.
It's creepy.
Government as some sort of beneficial service is not entirely correct, nor even it's first function, it is primarily a for-profit growth business and they really enjoy their monopoly. Where else can a company demand that you pay for a product, at whatever cost they determine, and you can't say no to the purchase? Outside of gangster protection rackets, I can't think of any.
seems like you could use a gradual curved mouse pad, shaped like a ski jump, that would give you the 3-D part of the interface once you left "flat and level" and moved up the slope. Your hand would still be resting on something firm, but you'd have a new interface level.
Or make the mouse have a curved back so it could easily tip-up and rest on a rounded back surface, with a slightly raised front, again, initiating the 3-D movement required
now how to do those things I'll leave to the EE guys
I use older slower modems during storms all the time. They'll stay online when a 56k craps out from line noise., plus, if they get fried, meh, another thriftstore, another 50 cents.
Oh ya, if you live rural, it's a real bother to try and find "broadband" in the US. It just ain't happening except for very expensive and very limited satellite "service". Cable is unobtanium and DSL means you have to be two miles or less from a telco box, which barely qualifies as suburban, let alone "rural". I think when/if WiMax ever gets deployed they'll be another wave of broadband adoption across the US. WiFi don't cut it either with trees and hills, etc.
..hundreds of thousands of students, tourists, technicians and businessmen spread out all over the western world. Now, run the odds of how many of them can be persuaded or are already prepared to "fight for the homeland", especially if they have relatives back home. They don't need to be in china to have web access. You'd have to blacklist the entire net to deny them access. And that's just cyber warfare, there are a number of other options available to them for assymetrical warfare.
I think once true colonization of space begins that very little if anything will be considered "trash". I would imagine most everything hauled up at expensive-per-pound will be built to be either well constructed and used for a long time or rebuildable/upgradeable or designed to be recyclable. Even various oerganic "wastes" will be reprocessed and used in space farming or energy production, liquids reclaimed for their H20 content, etc, etc. People only throw away things when they are cheap or broken now in "rich" industrialised economies, in space it will get fixed or used to build something else. Think "shanty towns" on earth now, complete communities built on "used various stuff", just in space it will be on-purpose from the beginning.