While this is an interesting example I think it misses an important difference; the self destructive behavior that is typically associated with addiction. If you had been unable to keep your eyes closed, and as a result had caused yourself permanent blindness, which you were aware of in advance, then your starting to get the feel of addiction. It is more than inconvenience or difficulty.
When people talk about addiction, they aren't talking about a strong desire to do something. They are talking about a prolonged longing or desire that, to them, is irresistible. The diagnosis for alcoholism in the 50's was death. There were no known effective cures or treatments. Relapses were inevitable even from people who felt determined to resist, and exhibited a great amounts of will power in other areas of their lives.
Sex, drugs, food and so on can all be equally addictive. I've known people with anorexia, that haven't lived though the experience. If you can have an addiction to not having food, you can have an addiction to almost anything. However....
Repercussions are one of the only things that causes people to seek help. They have to get to a point where they are willing to seek out assistance to deal with problems they OBVIOUSLY cannot solve themselves.
I think this is where people get confused. Admitting to having an addiction isn't a way to shift the blame, it is accepting responsibility. Your saying, "Yes, I have a problem I have to take care of." Remember what they said at the end GI-JOE: "Knowing is Half the Battle."
...before you link the electrodes to your head, as you wouldn't want to be contaminated by GPL and have to release all your dirty little secrets!
Then they will all know how paranoid you are!
While this is true, electrcity generated by a turbine engine is much more effeciant at doing things like sitting in a power plant running at full speed than the traditional stop and start of the good ole piston engine. Then switching to methanol or another alternative fuel would allow us to take advantage of the allready implace power grid as the distribution mechinism and would aliviate the distrubution problems associate with alternitive fuels.
As far as eliminating private vechial owner ship, I think we'd have a better chance at enchanting broomsticks to fly than eliminating the private ownership of the car.
It seems that the nature of Open Source, at least on the surface, is counter to the capitalist model. Since the company doesn't have a technological advantage, they will be subject to perfect competition. Being closed allows the company to maintain a technical advantage.
Why then invest in Open Source? What are the advantages to this model of business from an investment standpoint? Are there disadvantages from an investor's standpoint? How do you weigh those?
In other news, Australians past a new 'future crimes act' which will make it illegal to purchase video cameras, audio recording devices, or pants that would be too tight if you were to put them on.
I agree with your first statement that Microsoft would launch a product where they think they could make money. But my question is will the Linux platform ever be a place for Microsoft to make money?
There is no doubt in my mind they would sell a few copies. I think they might be able to sell enough right now to cover their development/marketing costs. So why don't they do it? Oppertunity cost. For every copy of Office they sell on Linux they lose a sale on the Windows platform + the lisencing cost of windows. This would be a net loss.
The argument that "They did it for Mac" doesn't hold water for me either. The reason they did it for Mac was to fight the anti-trust argument. That has always been the interest in keeping Apple breathing for MS. I don't think MS ever saw Apple as a direct threat...or at least not one they couldn't control. However, I think they do look at Linux this way. And I doubt you'll see them do anything to further the acceptance of Linux platform. Ever.
MS uses two central tactics. Monopolize and squeeze out. Embrace and destroy. Monopolize and squeeze out works great for the Mac office because they are takeing viable revenu streams away from other office competitors. They aren't going to take one nickel from anyone with MS office on Linux. Nor will they succeed in stopping one line of Open Source code for Open Office....
Now, they might use the embrace and destroy method for the ODF. Implement it, badly, and talk about the weakness of the ODF for supporting features that a REAL word processor need. Poof. There goes ODF. Personally, every time I see MS makeing a desicion not to support ODF I cheer...Open Office certianly won't have problems reading Word documents. Why would I care that Word won't do ODF?
As I'm reading though the comments on games I realized something that people are missing. Games, are art; the first breed of truly interactive art. And as such, people are required to interact with it in order to make it successful. This interaction necessitates people to play for it to be fully realized. If you made a video game that had no relevance to the people playing games, and as such it never got played, the art would never be fully realized.
Remember, jazz, blues, rock...all these were considered low brow art forms, because the people judging them didn't have the understanding of cultural context. They couldn't make valid assessments of the expression of the art form. People who don't understand computers and religious conservatives? I don't think the ignorant and the bigoted are the right people to judge a genera that has produced some of the most shocking anti-cultural messages of our time.
After playing civilization, I understand the war in the Middle East. Its not that we can't find alternative fuel, its that if China and the Soviets, didn't have oil, they could never wage a successful long term war required to topple western powers. It is tactical. I'm sure a lot of people playing civ have made this same realization.
GTA is another great example. Ask the question, "What the world would be like with out opportunity to make money legitimately?" Couple the result with few repercussions of our actions and you get and ugly world. You can try to imagine it, but with GTA you can experience it. Just like movies like A Clock Work Orange are graphic, yet high brow, GTA asks as relevant questions as the modern music and media establishment....it is just that people don't like what we are asking.
Why had no one gotten the point? Just like he says he identifies with the president, and thinks with his gut and not his mind...doesn't mean he believes it. Is it possible that an article about how easy it is to deface the Wikkipieda ended up being an experiment in an extreme case of how resistant to this type of attack it is?
Yes certain articles have to be watched and monitored. Yes he was able to put incorrect information on there. But in a few days, after the article is fixed, there will be an article on Wikkipedia about how he tried to prove that it was venerable, the adjustments the editors made, and the details of the end result.
The government also issued the following statment:
"It is also not the place of the newspapers or media to abuse their position to take support, or take aggressive and critical stanaces that will undermine confidance of local or community busineses, forgien governments, or celebrities. As such, we will be changing the name of Newspapers to the more appropriate name Blankpaper. You'll be able to by this blank paper at any store and write whatever you want on it as long as you don't show it to anyone else. The End."
I think you have a good point here. It's not just the fact that OSS is lacking a Quicken look-a-like that keeps people from switching. However, there are many such markets that OSS will have to expand into eventually.
The problem with fiscial software is that the domain experience might be largely lacking on the part of open source developers in this area. I work at a Fortune 500 company that does finical transaction software and would love to under take a project like this to raise visibility and help the developers here continue to sharpen their skills via the code review process.
And that's the real beauty of OSS and while it will continue to expand. This is why they talk about commoditization of software development, and the elimination of the shrink wrap product. We need continued discussion on where it is lacking to encourage developers to expand the scope!
The "Magic Hand" of the market place will only work if providing certian features create a larger consumer surplus. Problem is that people aren't aware of the issue, and no individual, or small subset will be able to influence the market to offset the legal costs. Unless the world gets more educated about these issues as a whole, there will be no market driven shift.
40 Miles accross? Heck, a 40 square mile section of Seattle has 70+ Starbucks. (Just check google maps.) Of course at 40 Degrees Kelvin I would expect their insulative mug sales would be though the roof!
-Todd
~Wow, those pants would go great with Foot Loops(TM).
I'm just waiting for someone from the state of Washington to come and arrest me for getting shot.
After all I clearly enabled the person with the gun to commit an illegal action.
If I wasn't standing in the way of the bullet he would of never been able to assult me.
-Todd
>Nuclear disarmament is like that scene in that Van Dam movie.. where they both have a gun pointed at the other's head. You'd have to be a fucking idiot to put your gun down first.
The only difference here, is not only are they holding a gun to your head, they are holding a gun to the head of everyone you have ever met. And of course you are doing the same thing. Not to mention if you pull the trigger, they will pull the trigger too.
Suddenly it seems more crazy not to start makeing consesions...
To make a note on the forestry idea..... to produce the amount of fuel needed to run the entire country you're talking about a logging and burning project that would place carbon into the air and remove from the forest billions of tons of decaying wood which is a vital piece of the forest ecology. Neither of which is really a viable option.
As far as the economy and why we pay athletes millions of dollars and farms nothing it's because our system works on the premise of scarcity and capital. Those with scarce resources that are desired by many, such as the ability to dunk the basketball from the free-throw line are going to make more than the folks who can drive a tractor. No natural disaster would change that.
What you're really talking about though is a shift away from a system where the people with capital maintain the privilege. We need scientists and researches to maintain ownership of their ideas, but not exclusivity of their use. (Let their value be negotiated on an open market.) The Open Source Movement is the first real viable example of how much we would benefit economically from this model. Look at the billions in opportunity cost we have saved because of the cooperation on the Apache project. Ask Oracle where they would be without it.
I've often thought about letting patient futures be a tradable commodity. i.e. "Oh, that's a great idea that guy or company came out with. I'm going to put $200 bucks and buy a share of that idea."
The value of the shares is the use price someone pays to use the idea, which the scientist receives for payment. It would make markets and manufacturing perfectly competitive, and split out the R&D departments to separate businesses that sell 'ideas.' I think this would work particularly well with the pharmaceutical industry, as the drugs that would help our society the most would have the most fiscal backing, instead of the ones that will have the highest profit margin. Then the drug companies could stop complaining that it is SO expensive to research new drugs while spending more on advertising than on R&D.
See, all the more reason for a robotic one. They are even less picky than the real ones. Spreads the love around to the hair metal bands that just will not die.
Slashdot Mirror
When people talk about addiction, they aren't talking about a strong desire to do something. They are talking about a prolonged longing or desire that, to them, is irresistible. The diagnosis for alcoholism in the 50's was death. There were no known effective cures or treatments. Relapses were inevitable even from people who felt determined to resist, and exhibited a great amounts of will power in other areas of their lives.
Sex, drugs, food and so on can all be equally addictive. I've known people with anorexia, that haven't lived though the experience. If you can have an addiction to not having food, you can have an addiction to almost anything. However....
Repercussions are one of the only things that causes people to seek help. They have to get to a point where they are willing to seek out assistance to deal with problems they OBVIOUSLY cannot solve themselves.
I think this is where people get confused. Admitting to having an addiction isn't a way to shift the blame, it is accepting responsibility. Your saying, "Yes, I have a problem I have to take care of." Remember what they said at the end GI-JOE: "Knowing is Half the Battle."
If it was more about family and friends then killing an animal, I would think you would use something slightly less lethal; like a camera for example.
...before you link the electrodes to your head, as you wouldn't want to be contaminated by GPL and have to release all your dirty little secrets! Then they will all know how paranoid you are!
As far as eliminating private vechial owner ship, I think we'd have a better chance at enchanting broomsticks to fly than eliminating the private ownership of the car.
Wait...what's that? I think...yes I think it is...Angels are signing....
Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah, Hallelujah........
Why then invest in Open Source? What are the advantages to this model of business from an investment standpoint? Are there disadvantages from an investor's standpoint? How do you weigh those?
In other news, Australians past a new 'future crimes act' which will make it illegal to purchase video cameras, audio recording devices, or pants that would be too tight if you were to put them on.
First prize is your own wooden club! -Todd Put down the sig, and step away from the computer.
"Who is this warrior with pecs like melons and knees of fringe?"
There is no doubt in my mind they would sell a few copies. I think they might be able to sell enough right now to cover their development/marketing costs. So why don't they do it? Oppertunity cost. For every copy of Office they sell on Linux they lose a sale on the Windows platform + the lisencing cost of windows. This would be a net loss.
The argument that "They did it for Mac" doesn't hold water for me either. The reason they did it for Mac was to fight the anti-trust argument. That has always been the interest in keeping Apple breathing for MS. I don't think MS ever saw Apple as a direct threat...or at least not one they couldn't control. However, I think they do look at Linux this way. And I doubt you'll see them do anything to further the acceptance of Linux platform. Ever.
MS uses two central tactics. Monopolize and squeeze out. Embrace and destroy. Monopolize and squeeze out works great for the Mac office because they are takeing viable revenu streams away from other office competitors. They aren't going to take one nickel from anyone with MS office on Linux. Nor will they succeed in stopping one line of Open Source code for Open Office....
Now, they might use the embrace and destroy method for the ODF. Implement it, badly, and talk about the weakness of the ODF for supporting features that a REAL word processor need. Poof. There goes ODF. Personally, every time I see MS makeing a desicion not to support ODF I cheer...Open Office certianly won't have problems reading Word documents. Why would I care that Word won't do ODF?
-Todd
-Todd
Remember, jazz, blues, rock...all these were considered low brow art forms, because the people judging them didn't have the understanding of cultural context. They couldn't make valid assessments of the expression of the art form. People who don't understand computers and religious conservatives? I don't think the ignorant and the bigoted are the right people to judge a genera that has produced some of the most shocking anti-cultural messages of our time.
After playing civilization, I understand the war in the Middle East. Its not that we can't find alternative fuel, its that if China and the Soviets, didn't have oil, they could never wage a successful long term war required to topple western powers. It is tactical. I'm sure a lot of people playing civ have made this same realization.
GTA is another great example. Ask the question, "What the world would be like with out opportunity to make money legitimately?" Couple the result with few repercussions of our actions and you get and ugly world. You can try to imagine it, but with GTA you can experience it. Just like movies like A Clock Work Orange are graphic, yet high brow, GTA asks as relevant questions as the modern music and media establishment....it is just that people don't like what we are asking.
Todd
Yes certain articles have to be watched and monitored. Yes he was able to put incorrect information on there. But in a few days, after the article is fixed, there will be an article on Wikkipedia about how he tried to prove that it was venerable, the adjustments the editors made, and the details of the end result.
Document that in the encyclopedia.
---------
I've got no sig, and I feel kinda naked.
"It is also not the place of the newspapers or media to abuse their position to take support, or take aggressive and critical stanaces that will undermine confidance of local or community busineses, forgien governments, or celebrities. As such, we will be changing the name of Newspapers to the more appropriate name Blankpaper. You'll be able to by this blank paper at any store and write whatever you want on it as long as you don't show it to anyone else. The End."
The problem with fiscial software is that the domain experience might be largely lacking on the part of open source developers in this area. I work at a Fortune 500 company that does finical transaction software and would love to under take a project like this to raise visibility and help the developers here continue to sharpen their skills via the code review process.
And that's the real beauty of OSS and while it will continue to expand. This is why they talk about commoditization of software development, and the elimination of the shrink wrap product. We need continued discussion on where it is lacking to encourage developers to expand the scope!
-Todd
-Todd
-Todd
-Todd
Hey, your one of those robot dogs aren't you? -Todd
-Todd
You wanna outlaw something obscene? Then outlaw spandex in retirment communtities, not thongs on beaches.
40 Miles accross? Heck, a 40 square mile section of Seattle has 70+ Starbucks. (Just check google maps.) Of course at 40 Degrees Kelvin I would expect their insulative mug sales would be though the roof! -Todd ~Wow, those pants would go great with Foot Loops(TM).
I'm just waiting for someone from the state of Washington to come and arrest me for getting shot. After all I clearly enabled the person with the gun to commit an illegal action. If I wasn't standing in the way of the bullet he would of never been able to assult me. -Todd
>Nuclear disarmament is like that scene in that Van Dam movie.. where they both have a gun pointed at the other's head. You'd have to be a fucking idiot to put your gun down first. The only difference here, is not only are they holding a gun to your head, they are holding a gun to the head of everyone you have ever met. And of course you are doing the same thing. Not to mention if you pull the trigger, they will pull the trigger too. Suddenly it seems more crazy not to start makeing consesions...
As far as the economy and why we pay athletes millions of dollars and farms nothing it's because our system works on the premise of scarcity and capital. Those with scarce resources that are desired by many, such as the ability to dunk the basketball from the free-throw line are going to make more than the folks who can drive a tractor. No natural disaster would change that.
What you're really talking about though is a shift away from a system where the people with capital maintain the privilege. We need scientists and researches to maintain ownership of their ideas, but not exclusivity of their use. (Let their value be negotiated on an open market.) The Open Source Movement is the first real viable example of how much we would benefit economically from this model. Look at the billions in opportunity cost we have saved because of the cooperation on the Apache project. Ask Oracle where they would be without it.
I've often thought about letting patient futures be a tradable commodity. i.e. "Oh, that's a great idea that guy or company came out with. I'm going to put $200 bucks and buy a share of that idea."
The value of the shares is the use price someone pays to use the idea, which the scientist receives for payment. It would make markets and manufacturing perfectly competitive, and split out the R&D departments to separate businesses that sell 'ideas.' I think this would work particularly well with the pharmaceutical industry, as the drugs that would help our society the most would have the most fiscal backing, instead of the ones that will have the highest profit margin. Then the drug companies could stop complaining that it is SO expensive to research new drugs while spending more on advertising than on R&D.
Todd Edman
Android Ethic http://androidethic.com/