The only reason I have a Linksys router is for its small size, low power consumption (compared to older hardware), low heat output, simple interface, and support. I rarely touch the interface and only use the support for upgrades (maybe 1-2 times a year). I basically bought the router for the hardware.
I know we want to keep things pure, but that's not realistic. For all we know, there is life on Mars or maybe there isn't. Of course, we don't know either way until we have searched most everywhere and double examined everything. But by that time, we may have people there. We may have semi-permanent structures in place. At such a point, what is contamination and what is necessary cost of exploration and other interests? Here on earth, we can't agree on what to do with the space we have already ruined, but we are altering/ruining many spaces fast.
Many posts have been made about mining, speeding up colonization, sending people as soon as possible, etc. If we want to open Mars up, we have to live with the fact that it may not be a sanctuary. Economic interests will supersede scientific ones; traditionally the later serve the former (whether we like it or not). If we need space on Mars, it will be taken. If we need to mine, holes will be made.
I can just imagine people complaining about the defilement of Mars someday. Right now that seems absurd, but we are just beginning this endeavor. Who knows where it is really going.
Why does anyone (I mean the majority of Windows users) need Windows 64bit? So far, 64bit computing doesn't really apply to the masses. The newest ATI card is more applicable than a jump in addressable memory. Bringing 64-bit Windows to market sounds like it would just be expensive at this point with little immediate return. The AMD 64bit offerings don't require it. So is there really a big market yet among consumers for this?
Mandrake seems to really market the user, not the server. Redhat is really turning the other way (towards servers and coporate interests, as they have said). I think, as other posters have mentioned, this is really a case of a Redhat/Fedora exile for servers, which are not usually the desktop anyway.
The landmines in the DMZ between North/South Korea was one reason that the USA declined to join the accords. However, I have heard that South Korea is under control of the landmines and is actively removing them.
The USA is still out of the banning treaty of course, and the Pentagon has srecommended that this remain the case.
I always considered several important things for grammar and spelling:
1) Correctness is considerate of the receiving party. When you don't take the time to correct your mistakes, the other party has to interpret the errors. Similar to giving a bad link to some geeks. Serious and/or frequent mistakes generally infer that you didn't take the time to check. One thing that the words "formal" and "professional" imply is adequate preparation.
2) It encourages communication. Proper grammar and spelling simply make for easier reading. Easier reading can mean easier understanding.
3) Lack of polish is lack of polish. You should be able to polish something and all employers will look for this ability in some way. Sure you can hack, but can you create a mature build? You are good at talking to people, but can you make the big sale? Again, when one mentions formal and professional settings, they imply that there should be preparation and polish.
Your comment is very insightful. Tracking humans right now seems far off, but why not? If you have to wear the apron and the management has a right to know where and what you are doing in the store (even under surveillance) than this seems perfectly legal. And the first people to be tagged will be those who work for lower wages at major retailers. Those who probably have lower education and cannot afford to protest.
Eventually this philosophy can be applied to anything. For example, tickets, smartcards, passports, security badges, animals, etc. could have RFID tags. Sure right now the privacy advocates are going nuts over warehouse applications, but the future is obvious.
I am sure some sci-fi author has predicted a future where all employees wear barcodes. Did they ever think we would find something better?
Technology is great, but we need to be careful when we start using it on our fellow human beings. Do unto others and all.
In fact, the Xbox is the only popular console in recent memory that has an x86 chip. The Nintendo 64 and Playstation series (as mentioned), have all sported MIPS architectures. The Dreamcast and previous SEGA consoles were (Hitachi SH)RISC.
MIPS is used in routers (especially high-end, like from Cisco), broadband/wireless adaptors, TV's, and TV set-tops.
MIPS is commonly taught to CS / programming students to introduce them to assembly and applied architecture concepts. A common and short book for the beginner is "Introduction to RISC Assembly Language Programming" by John Waldron. It uses the SPIM emulator.
"You don't need large, obnoxious ads to get people to buy your stuff."
The problem is that many a business will not apply that thinking, because the way most businesses operate is to try the path of cheapest, most profit, short-term thinking. After all, it is easier (and already established in marketing minds) to try flashy ads rather than simple text that is contextual similar to your search. Never mind this is a new medium which began as text and thrives off it. Nevermind users surf the Internet with a keyboard and mouse. Conventional wisdom holds true that people will look even when its obviously an ad just to see. While we all say we hate ads, we also are surrounded by them. Our rantings are ignored because we also tend to not buy into those flashy ads anyway.
Building market and mindshare (like Google's) or being innovative to get in that position (like Google), is not the first option for most businesses. The average investor wants returns as soon as possible. Generally, people are late to the game and try to invest when they think their money will come back quickly.
When a business says it is investing in $TECHNOLOGY, $NEW_PRODUCT, or $IDEA, many an investor will think their money is being passed along or redirected without their hand. Investors don't want to pay for research or company growth. Nobody does, but particularly those fast thinking investors.
Sure its all about money, but most people want their money now, because time can be worth a lot of money. So Flash is perfect because it is doesn't need marketshare or innovation to make you look. Most businesses are working hard to get your dollar, not your respect.
1) You take it apart (literally the backwards approach, though if you have the time it works).
2) Read the documentation, learn how to use it, and work with it. (Still will not show you everything, especially with well encapsulated components. And when was the last time documentation, even Google, answered all your questions?).
3) Build something similar (a variant, clone, emulator, etc.)
The experience of programming your own components cannot be substituted. Bad, but passable analogy: Building a house vs. repairing a house. In the former, you experience the though process; in the latter, you adapt your thought process (to some degree).
Also, I think once you see all the work and brilliance that has gone into software you take for granted, you are motivated to build something once with the intention of reuse. To be a forward thinker you have to understand what has gotten us this far and what has to change to get us farther. Experience with what the wheel is made of and why, not necessarily rebuilding it, can provide you with these perspectives.
"you can almost guarantee the government will require car-owners to buy these units out of their own pockets."
Ultimately, where else does the money come from? (A: Those who can be taxed, those who have money, those who can afford to own things like a car). Even if the tourists have to pay for it, it's still a waste of money.
Funny how the brave enjoy freedom and those who live in fear let it slip so quickly. It seems like in times of fear the government just steps in and plays the role of being brave for us. Just like a Big Brother.
A lot of people only know how to use applications. For them, the application's interface is the program - that is what they see, know, and understand. The operation of the machine is summed up in that interaction.
In a school environment, you have to look at the practical picture. What are you trying to achieve by working with these programs? Are you teaching examples of GUI driven tools, the effectiveness of slideshow presentations, how to type, etc? Most of these courses are designed to teach students how to use their computer. This often translates into "how to do task-x with y-program on a computer".
Since Powerpoint is the widespead example and definition of a slideshow app, it seems logical to use Powerpoint and not another program. Forcing one app over another shows a lack of understanding on the institution's part (try not to blame the teacher) if the end result is the same. If students learn how to make slideshow presentations effectively, isn't that the goal? If this is Microsoft Office training, the end result is not entirely the same. Also, there are technicalities with different apps which might make the teacher exert more effort just to accomodate a few students. I am not saying this is bad/good, but I can understand wanting to do things one way, even with sacrifices.
It all depends on what the goals of the course actually are, vs. the specifics of how to reach the goals. Too many institutions and teachers are hung up about the "how" and stress formula or rule compliance to achieve their goals. In essence, they have lost the purpose of education - not conformity, but developement (i.e. improvement). OTOH, some teachers have found the extreme opposite.
Frankly, national governments in countries which have education branches should embrace open source. No reason why OpenOffice cannot be improved a little (a few less bugs, maybe a few more features) by government funds at least. The pay off is software which has no license fees and can be easily extended and ported. The software could be used in other places like libraries and government offices as well.
Education should be stressing alternatives rather than catering to the business world's trends. I understand that getting a job means you need experience in certain applications - courses for specific apps have their place. But in general education, especially requirements, the end result should be learning how to use a computer, not simply how to use $PROGRAM on a $CURRENT_YEAR computer running $OS. Sometimes these two goals are the same, but we should not assume that is always the case.
"Management absolutely forbids telecommuting, unless the employee works for another company."
Exactly. This just amazes me. What is it with shipping jobs out to another company, sometimes on the other side of the world, if you won't let your employees telecommute? There is such division between management and labor nowadays, it seems to be forcing both sides to extremes.
What is wrong with coporate America and its social environment (which seems to be polluting everything) that the things in your post are all basically true?
I think it is because we have found that capitalism is not some kind of economic salvation. It is not the perfect theory that will create a better place to live. It is just a pro-business model. It is great at making money, but poor at everything else (like taking care of people). And now that we have sold ourselves and our very lives over to this system, we are the tools of capitalism. I don't advocate its end, I advocate we control it and stop letting greed control us.
Photoshop must be one the most pirated pieces of software on earth. I can understand activation, even if it ultimately does not work. As a company (with shareholders and other minds to convince), you are compelled to do something. And if you are a member of management who has only a nebulous clue about technology and the end user in general, activation seems like the acceptable option (I don't believe Adobe was the first - users are getting used to registration/activation).
But even Adobe says this is not the same as censorship with the statement here:
"The activation process authenticates licensed users of "shrinkwrapped" products (for retail purchase) without hindering their ability to use the software the way they always have."
(emphasis added)
If this censorship is true, Adobe indeed is "hindering [the end user's] ability to use the software". I would consider this change of attitude toward their customers a more serious cause for concern than the company's bandwagon participation in activation schemes.
Obviously, the government has something to do with this (the government always seems to have a role in censorship). Interesting that end user's don't hear about it from the company or the government.
If you are going to add something to your product, it seems reasonable to inform your customer base. It's not like PS isn't in a comfortable market position. Apparently, they feel so comfortable that they don't even need to announce they are censoring content in their products.
Seems so strange that Photoshop now has sensoring - practically counter productive. A feature in 180 degree sense of the word.
"The 4th ammendment isn't being violated here because the information in question isn't "yours"
Information has value (sometimes it is time and context sensitive) - special value because it is an asset I can dictate power over. Between my bank and myself, I decide if I want to put my money there and I decide that I will trust the bank as a third party. If I don't have a right to keep information to myself and those whom I trust (trusting the government is like trusting a mob), then what right do I have? I can't hide anything that doesn't have a physical form. Essentially, I can ultimately hide nothing in the modern world. Most important things are tracked in non-physical records which I share with third parties for convenience.
Of course information originating from myself dealing only with myself is mine - its just not in a physical form. I have a right to share information to another party (say my lawyer) without sharing it with my government. If I do not, then I really only have one relationship - with my government. And it is not by choice - there are no open competitors to government (not in this market, not yet anyways). Who has all the power now? Not me, I'm just on the low end of the contract, my $INSTITUTION is in the middle, and the government is on top. The government has essentially decided, by recent leglislation, that they have a right to access my information just by their position. Well, I have right to keep my business private just by my permission.
Giving the government the legal right to information (without process, oversight, and barriers) is giving the government legal rights period. These rights happen to be mine. And I want them back.
Microcenter has had them in Sharp Notebooks. The display model looked like a very nice ultraportable (reminded me of a Toshiba Portege - wish the Portege came with one). Apparently Sony has some VAIO models with Transmeta them as well.
And never do it. If we all actually read the manual, they might become respected as sources of information (which they once were) rather than welcomings to a product.
Seriously, if you want real troubleshooting, start with your brain, the manual, and google. You will probably end up back with just your brain and maybe the manual. Maybe a fellow geek too.
Good documentation is the best kind of tech support - the information is distributed to those who need it. And who says the manual is the only form of distributed support? A website with updates to the manual in electronic format, a forum, and some good FAQ's and tutorials can handle loads of support 24/7 at the customer's speed.
If companies actually sought to educate their customers with information rather than brands, product lines, buzzwords, and marketing hype, their products could reach their potential. There is no easier and fundamental step to educating users desiring to solve an issue than good documentation. This is especially true with technical, computer-oriented things. When I get a product, I want raw information in a format I can read and browse fairly quickly. And details. Hide them in the back so people feel safe if you must, but put them somewhere.
In fact, bad documentation may actually promote sub-par tech support. If the majority of questions are basic and could have been put in the first page of the manual, why waste any money on someone with a clue? Why even train the staff you have? Why not use scripts if they resolve the most common and simplest questions? From an MBA's standpoint, if the majority of callers ask the same basic questions, there is no reason to alter the very poor and all to common tech support model of scripting, basic or no training, and possibly even outsourcing.
Tech support often fails because information is unnaturally scarce. Chat, phone, and email.
"What should be illegal is selling generated, known to be false, addresses"
I agree, but how can you determine these conditions in court? I mean, surely this will get rid of the real idiots, but for the serious ones they will just generate new ways around this. It seems this would be a losing game for both sides - except for the lawyers of course.
What we might want to try is private or non-commercial (personal, whatever) email addresses which cannot be sold. Not a do-not-email list. Instead, register with the domain of the address and mark that address as personal use and not to be sold. Distributing the addresses (typing them to domains) means there is no one list to check. It makes things harder for spammers or anyone selling addresses - that's the idea.
Also, we would have to allow anyone to check the list. But we could do it like you do credit cards - if the address is real or fake or personal, it gets rejected. If the address is real, fake, or not marked as personal, it gets a greenlight. In this way, the system actually checks nothing except whether an address is on the list - spammers cannot tell if an address is active or not, only if it is illegal or not. Of course, big business would never stand for this. We would need to buy half of congress and the white house ourselves.
Perhaps ISP's could enforce this personal address system to the benefit of their customers and even register their addresses as personal by default.
"We supported ReiserFS at MP3.com..."
-Michael Robertson
Are there other familiar places that use(d) ReiserFS?
By the way, great tag at the bottom of the article:
"Copyright (C) 2004 Lindows.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
Lindows.com is not endorsed by or affiliated with Microsoft Corporation in any way - in fact, we don't even really like them because they are suing us.
It might be broken, exploited, less sophisticated, and maybe even not as convenient as IM, but it's still at least as ubiquitous. Also, IM has a lot of conventions which make it often times (not all times) less professional or even communicative. For example, IM stresses ways to shorten words but not necessarily make things anymore clear (or more developed). It's a lot like a phone in many ways. And sure we use the phone a lot - to varying degrees of success.
Email is just becoming a mainstay of many people's life. And it is very accessible - it really is like electronic mail (it has many mail conventions) and people seem to respond to its simplicity well. Also, the art of writing a coherent sentence, proof reading it, and then choosing a better word or phrase is much more suited to email.
I just hope I didn't prove my ignorance of these things in this post;)
"Internet users spent an average of three hours and 37 minutes per month using Internet applications."
I don't mean to badger at statistics without seeing their complete methodology, but many people just leave their IM client connected. And don't WMP and RealPlayer phone home? So it seems hard to hold to numbers without specifying an activity which can more easily be linked with HCI time.
The truth is that IM and music players probably are the big draw for most people, which is the conclusion in article title ("Instant Messaging and Media Players are Primary Internet Applications"). Of course, hasn't the Internet always been a majority of activity not directly related to a web browser? Is this news, or a new (more realistic) perspective?
Slashdot Mirror
The only reason I have a Linksys router is for its small size, low power consumption (compared to older hardware), low heat output, simple interface, and support. I rarely touch the interface and only use the support for upgrades (maybe 1-2 times a year). I basically bought the router for the hardware.
Don't you remember the Dreamcast web server. The article actually linked to the server on a Dreamcast.
I know we want to keep things pure, but that's not realistic. For all we know, there is life on Mars or maybe there isn't. Of course, we don't know either way until we have searched most everywhere and double examined everything. But by that time, we may have people there. We may have semi-permanent structures in place. At such a point, what is contamination and what is necessary cost of exploration and other interests? Here on earth, we can't agree on what to do with the space we have already ruined, but we are altering/ruining many spaces fast.
Many posts have been made about mining, speeding up colonization, sending people as soon as possible, etc. If we want to open Mars up, we have to live with the fact that it may not be a sanctuary. Economic interests will supersede scientific ones; traditionally the later serve the former (whether we like it or not). If we need space on Mars, it will be taken. If we need to mine, holes will be made.
I can just imagine people complaining about the defilement of Mars someday. Right now that seems absurd, but we are just beginning this endeavor. Who knows where it is really going.
Why does anyone (I mean the majority of Windows users) need Windows 64bit? So far, 64bit computing doesn't really apply to the masses. The newest ATI card is more applicable than a jump in addressable memory. Bringing 64-bit Windows to market sounds like it would just be expensive at this point with little immediate return. The AMD 64bit offerings don't require it. So is there really a big market yet among consumers for this?
Mandrake seems to really market the user, not the server. Redhat is really turning the other way (towards servers and coporate interests, as they have said). I think, as other posters have mentioned, this is really a case of a Redhat/Fedora exile for servers, which are not usually the desktop anyway.
I agree, Mandrake is very nice.
The landmines in the DMZ between North/South Korea was one reason that the USA declined to join the accords. However, I have heard that South Korea is under control of the landmines and is actively removing them.
The USA is still out of the banning treaty of course, and the Pentagon has srecommended that this remain the case.
You can find the USA's ICBL status for 2003 here.
Many countries' status can be viewed at ICBL.org.
I always considered several important things for grammar and spelling:
1) Correctness is considerate of the receiving party. When you don't take the time to correct your mistakes, the other party has to interpret the errors. Similar to giving a bad link to some geeks. Serious and/or frequent mistakes generally infer that you didn't take the time to check. One thing that the words "formal" and "professional" imply is adequate preparation.
2) It encourages communication. Proper grammar and spelling simply make for easier reading. Easier reading can mean easier understanding.
3) Lack of polish is lack of polish. You should be able to polish something and all employers will look for this ability in some way. Sure you can hack, but can you create a mature build? You are good at talking to people, but can you make the big sale? Again, when one mentions formal and professional settings, they imply that there should be preparation and polish.
Your comment is very insightful. Tracking humans right now seems far off, but why not? If you have to wear the apron and the management has a right to know where and what you are doing in the store (even under surveillance) than this seems perfectly legal. And the first people to be tagged will be those who work for lower wages at major retailers. Those who probably have lower education and cannot afford to protest.
Eventually this philosophy can be applied to anything. For example, tickets, smartcards, passports, security badges, animals, etc. could have RFID tags. Sure right now the privacy advocates are going nuts over warehouse applications, but the future is obvious.
I am sure some sci-fi author has predicted a future where all employees wear barcodes. Did they ever think we would find something better?
Technology is great, but we need to be careful when we start using it on our fellow human beings. Do unto others and all.
In fact, the Xbox is the only popular console in recent memory that has an x86 chip. The Nintendo 64 and Playstation series (as mentioned), have all sported MIPS architectures. The Dreamcast and previous SEGA consoles were (Hitachi SH)RISC.
MIPS is used in routers (especially high-end, like from Cisco), broadband/wireless adaptors, TV's, and TV set-tops.
MIPS is commonly taught to CS / programming students to introduce them to assembly and applied architecture concepts. A common and short book for the beginner is "Introduction to RISC Assembly Language Programming" by John Waldron. It uses the SPIM emulator.
"You don't need large, obnoxious ads to get people to buy your stuff."
The problem is that many a business will not apply that thinking, because the way most businesses operate is to try the path of cheapest, most profit, short-term thinking. After all, it is easier (and already established in marketing minds) to try flashy ads rather than simple text that is contextual similar to your search. Never mind this is a new medium which began as text and thrives off it. Nevermind users surf the Internet with a keyboard and mouse. Conventional wisdom holds true that people will look even when its obviously an ad just to see. While we all say we hate ads, we also are surrounded by them. Our rantings are ignored because we also tend to not buy into those flashy ads anyway.
Building market and mindshare (like Google's) or being innovative to get in that position (like Google), is not the first option for most businesses. The average investor wants returns as soon as possible. Generally, people are late to the game and try to invest when they think their money will come back quickly.
When a business says it is investing in $TECHNOLOGY, $NEW_PRODUCT, or $IDEA, many an investor will think their money is being passed along or redirected without their hand. Investors don't want to pay for research or company growth. Nobody does, but particularly those fast thinking investors.
Sure its all about money, but most people want their money now, because time can be worth a lot of money. So Flash is perfect because it is doesn't need marketshare or innovation to make you look. Most businesses are working hard to get your dollar, not your respect.
How do you learn how something works?
1) You take it apart (literally the backwards approach, though if you have the time it works).
2) Read the documentation, learn how to use it, and work with it. (Still will not show you everything, especially with well encapsulated components. And when was the last time documentation, even Google, answered all your questions?).
3) Build something similar (a variant, clone, emulator, etc.)
The experience of programming your own components cannot be substituted. Bad, but passable analogy: Building a house vs. repairing a house. In the former, you experience the though process; in the latter, you adapt your thought process (to some degree).
Also, I think once you see all the work and brilliance that has gone into software you take for granted, you are motivated to build something once with the intention of reuse. To be a forward thinker you have to understand what has gotten us this far and what has to change to get us farther. Experience with what the wheel is made of and why, not necessarily rebuilding it, can provide you with these perspectives.
"you can almost guarantee the government will require car-owners to buy these units out of their own pockets."
Ultimately, where else does the money come from? (A: Those who can be taxed, those who have money, those who can afford to own things like a car). Even if the tourists have to pay for it, it's still a waste of money.
Funny how the brave enjoy freedom and those who live in fear let it slip so quickly. It seems like in times of fear the government just steps in and plays the role of being brave for us. Just like a Big Brother.
A lot of people only know how to use applications. For them, the application's interface is the program - that is what they see, know, and understand. The operation of the machine is summed up in that interaction.
In a school environment, you have to look at the practical picture. What are you trying to achieve by working with these programs? Are you teaching examples of GUI driven tools, the effectiveness of slideshow presentations, how to type, etc? Most of these courses are designed to teach students how to use their computer. This often translates into "how to do task-x with y-program on a computer".
Since Powerpoint is the widespead example and definition of a slideshow app, it seems logical to use Powerpoint and not another program. Forcing one app over another shows a lack of understanding on the institution's part (try not to blame the teacher) if the end result is the same. If students learn how to make slideshow presentations effectively, isn't that the goal? If this is Microsoft Office training, the end result is not entirely the same. Also, there are technicalities with different apps which might make the teacher exert more effort just to accomodate a few students. I am not saying this is bad/good, but I can understand wanting to do things one way, even with sacrifices.
It all depends on what the goals of the course actually are, vs. the specifics of how to reach the goals. Too many institutions and teachers are hung up about the "how" and stress formula or rule compliance to achieve their goals. In essence, they have lost the purpose of education - not conformity, but developement (i.e. improvement). OTOH, some teachers have found the extreme opposite.
Frankly, national governments in countries which have education branches should embrace open source. No reason why OpenOffice cannot be improved a little (a few less bugs, maybe a few more features) by government funds at least. The pay off is software which has no license fees and can be easily extended and ported. The software could be used in other places like libraries and government offices as well.
Education should be stressing alternatives rather than catering to the business world's trends. I understand that getting a job means you need experience in certain applications - courses for specific apps have their place. But in general education, especially requirements, the end result should be learning how to use a computer, not simply how to use $PROGRAM on a $CURRENT_YEAR computer running $OS. Sometimes these two goals are the same, but we should not assume that is always the case.
For those who don't know, Meccano was basically Erector in the US. It was first established as toys in the UK at the beginning of the last century.
"Management absolutely forbids telecommuting, unless the employee works for another company."
Exactly. This just amazes me. What is it with shipping jobs out to another company, sometimes on the other side of the world, if you won't let your employees telecommute? There is such division between management and labor nowadays, it seems to be forcing both sides to extremes.
What is wrong with coporate America and its social environment (which seems to be polluting everything) that the things in your post are all basically true?
I think it is because we have found that capitalism is not some kind of economic salvation. It is not the perfect theory that will create a better place to live. It is just a pro-business model. It is great at making money, but poor at everything else (like taking care of people). And now that we have sold ourselves and our very lives over to this system, we are the tools of capitalism. I don't advocate its end, I advocate we control it and stop letting greed control us.
Photoshop must be one the most pirated pieces of software on earth. I can understand activation, even if it ultimately does not work. As a company (with shareholders and other minds to convince), you are compelled to do something. And if you are a member of management who has only a nebulous clue about technology and the end user in general, activation seems like the acceptable option (I don't believe Adobe was the first - users are getting used to registration/activation).
But even Adobe says this is not the same as censorship with the statement here:
"The activation process authenticates licensed users of "shrinkwrapped" products (for retail purchase) without hindering their ability to use the software the way they always have."
(emphasis added)
If this censorship is true, Adobe indeed is "hindering [the end user's] ability to use the software". I would consider this change of attitude toward their customers a more serious cause for concern than the company's bandwagon participation in activation schemes.
Obviously, the government has something to do with this (the government always seems to have a role in censorship). Interesting that end user's don't hear about it from the company or the government.
If you are going to add something to your product, it seems reasonable to inform your customer base. It's not like PS isn't in a comfortable market position. Apparently, they feel so comfortable that they don't even need to announce they are censoring content in their products.
Seems so strange that Photoshop now has sensoring - practically counter productive. A feature in 180 degree sense of the word.
"The 4th ammendment isn't being violated here because the information in question isn't "yours"
Information has value (sometimes it is time and context sensitive) - special value because it is an asset I can dictate power over. Between my bank and myself, I decide if I want to put my money there and I decide that I will trust the bank as a third party. If I don't have a right to keep information to myself and those whom I trust (trusting the government is like trusting a mob), then what right do I have? I can't hide anything that doesn't have a physical form. Essentially, I can ultimately hide nothing in the modern world. Most important things are tracked in non-physical records which I share with third parties for convenience.
Of course information originating from myself dealing only with myself is mine - its just not in a physical form. I have a right to share information to another party (say my lawyer) without sharing it with my government. If I do not, then I really only have one relationship - with my government. And it is not by choice - there are no open competitors to government (not in this market, not yet anyways). Who has all the power now? Not me, I'm just on the low end of the contract, my $INSTITUTION is in the middle, and the government is on top. The government has essentially decided, by recent leglislation, that they have a right to access my information just by their position. Well, I have right to keep my business private just by my permission.
Giving the government the legal right to information (without process, oversight, and barriers) is giving the government legal rights period. These rights happen to be mine. And I want them back.
Microcenter has had them in Sharp Notebooks. The display model looked like a very nice ultraportable (reminded me of a Toshiba Portege - wish the Portege came with one). Apparently Sony has some VAIO models with Transmeta them as well.
You can find some retail Transmeta systems at Transmetazone.com.
And never do it. If we all actually read the manual, they might become respected as sources of information (which they once were) rather than welcomings to a product.
Seriously, if you want real troubleshooting, start with your brain, the manual, and google. You will probably end up back with just your brain and maybe the manual. Maybe a fellow geek too.
Good documentation is the best kind of tech support - the information is distributed to those who need it. And who says the manual is the only form of distributed support? A website with updates to the manual in electronic format, a forum, and some good FAQ's and tutorials can handle loads of support 24/7 at the customer's speed.
If companies actually sought to educate their customers with information rather than brands, product lines, buzzwords, and marketing hype, their products could reach their potential. There is no easier and fundamental step to educating users desiring to solve an issue than good documentation. This is especially true with technical, computer-oriented things. When I get a product, I want raw information in a format I can read and browse fairly quickly. And details. Hide them in the back so people feel safe if you must, but put them somewhere.
In fact, bad documentation may actually promote sub-par tech support. If the majority of questions are basic and could have been put in the first page of the manual, why waste any money on someone with a clue? Why even train the staff you have? Why not use scripts if they resolve the most common and simplest questions? From an MBA's standpoint, if the majority of callers ask the same basic questions, there is no reason to alter the very poor and all to common tech support model of scripting, basic or no training, and possibly even outsourcing.
Tech support often fails because information is unnaturally scarce. Chat, phone, and email.
"What should be illegal is selling generated, known to be false, addresses"
I agree, but how can you determine these conditions in court? I mean, surely this will get rid of the real idiots, but for the serious ones they will just generate new ways around this. It seems this would be a losing game for both sides - except for the lawyers of course.
What we might want to try is private or non-commercial (personal, whatever) email addresses which cannot be sold. Not a do-not-email list. Instead, register with the domain of the address and mark that address as personal use and not to be sold. Distributing the addresses (typing them to domains) means there is no one list to check. It makes things harder for spammers or anyone selling addresses - that's the idea.
Also, we would have to allow anyone to check the list. But we could do it like you do credit cards - if the address is real or fake or personal, it gets rejected. If the address is real, fake, or not marked as personal, it gets a greenlight. In this way, the system actually checks nothing except whether an address is on the list - spammers cannot tell if an address is active or not, only if it is illegal or not. Of course, big business would never stand for this. We would need to buy half of congress and the white house ourselves.
Perhaps ISP's could enforce this personal address system to the benefit of their customers and even register their addresses as personal by default.
"We supported ReiserFS at MP3.com..." -Michael Robertson
Are there other familiar places that use(d) ReiserFS?
By the way, great tag at the bottom of the article:
"Copyright (C) 2004 Lindows.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
Lindows.com is not endorsed by or affiliated with Microsoft Corporation in any way - in fact, we don't even really like them because they are suing us.
It might be broken, exploited, less sophisticated, and maybe even not as convenient as IM, but it's still at least as ubiquitous. Also, IM has a lot of conventions which make it often times (not all times) less professional or even communicative. For example, IM stresses ways to shorten words but not necessarily make things anymore clear (or more developed). It's a lot like a phone in many ways. And sure we use the phone a lot - to varying degrees of success.
Email is just becoming a mainstay of many people's life. And it is very accessible - it really is like electronic mail (it has many mail conventions) and people seem to respond to its simplicity well. Also, the art of writing a coherent sentence, proof reading it, and then choosing a better word or phrase is much more suited to email.
I just hope I didn't prove my ignorance of these things in this post ;)
"Internet users spent an average of three hours and 37 minutes per month using Internet applications."
I don't mean to badger at statistics without seeing their complete methodology, but many people just leave their IM client connected. And don't WMP and RealPlayer phone home? So it seems hard to hold to numbers without specifying an activity which can more easily be linked with HCI time.
The truth is that IM and music players probably are the big draw for most people, which is the conclusion in article title ("Instant Messaging and Media Players are Primary Internet Applications"). Of course, hasn't the Internet always been a majority of activity not directly related to a web browser? Is this news, or a new (more realistic) perspective?