Working a car is quite simple. Unlock the door, put the key in the ignition, make sure you put it in reverse when you want to back up, et cetera.
Working a browser is quite simple. Click on the nice little icon on your desktop, type a url in the address bar, and hit that nifty back button if you want to get to the webpage you were just at.
Working on a car is a little more difficult. Can you take care of all the maintanence of you car? Change the oil? Go for some duel exhaust? How about change the brakes?
Working on a browser is a little more difficult. Do you know how to change your default homepage? Can you delete cookies (much less configure which ones you want and which you don't)? And what the hell is with that Advanced Tab?
Sure, the parent to my orignal post did not specifically mention the word *on*. But I felt that it was implied in the context of his point. All I was trying to say is that people have different areas of knowledge. Just because *he* can easily do whatever he wants with is browser, doesn't mean everyone can. *Just* like not everyone builds a custom hot rod.
Wake up folks, know how to operate your browser. You can work an answering machine, a VCR, and an automobile, why not a web browser?
Do you realize how much of The General Public you have eliminated here? I can think of plenty people who would have trouble with answering machines and vcrs, let alone doing something as simple as changing your own oil (!?!?!).
Human beings tend to strive towards efficiency. Everyone knowing how to build a car is inefficient. We contract the work out to People Who Know What They Are Doing so we can do other things with our valuable time. The technology sector doesn't seem to be that different.
First things first. Canada is a REALLY BIG PLACE. You do not backpack across Canada. I know that Australia is a big place (a whole continent in fact...), and the US has a decent size, but Canada is in a whole different ballpark. Think of Australia. Now think of another 1/5 of Australia. Stick them together, and you get a bit closer to Canada's size. Canada is nearly 10/million/ square kilometres of land, sprawling across 7 seperate time zones. It's a big place to walk across:).
Naturally, the size of Canada dwindles roughly to that of a medium pizza if you discount all the uninhabated/under ice portions.
On a serious note though, I find it interesting that people seem to be pointing out a good bit of cultural activities and sites as well as 'geek' ones.
I see your point, and to some extent I agree -- however, our hold on free speech is becoming increasingly tenuous. After having seen first-hand websites with vaguely anti-american, pro-terrorism sentiments be shut down under the PATRIOT act and associated "homeland defense" laws, I'm having an increasingly difficult time trusting the US government to "respect" the average citizen's right to free speech.
Just keep in mind that the U.S. is a free and open society -- by that I mean we live in a system of checks and balances. I *WANT* my head of the Department of Homeland Defense to want to eliminate terrorism by any means possible. The beauty is, I can also rely on other groups -- voters, media, Political Parties -- to keep him in check. So the solution generally tends to fall in the middle.
Think of Egypt now. Who/what is the check for this censorship? Slim to none. So their policies tend to be more extreme.
Only 1% of the U.S.'s federal budget is spent on foreign aid, and a lot of that is military aid (particularly to Israel). What percentage does the federal government spend on defence?
According to whitehouse.gov in 2002, national defense was 3.4% of the GDP
The USA spent a similar amount on its war in Iraq.
If you want to really know how much we have spent/are spending on the war in Iraq, try this article on CNN. At $20 mil to get the ball rolling and $2 mil a month afterwards, The Original Yama would have us believe that this war has been going on for 80 months.
(I realize this may be off the original topic, but I can't tolerate an error of this magnitude)
Slashdot Mirror
Is your dad European?
Working a car is quite simple. Unlock the door, put the key in the ignition, make sure you put it in reverse when you want to back up, et cetera.
Working a browser is quite simple. Click on the nice little icon on your desktop, type a url in the address bar, and hit that nifty back button if you want to get to the webpage you were just at.
Working on a car is a little more difficult. Can you take care of all the maintanence of you car? Change the oil? Go for some duel exhaust? How about change the brakes?
Working on a browser is a little more difficult. Do you know how to change your default homepage? Can you delete cookies (much less configure which ones you want and which you don't)? And what the hell is with that Advanced Tab?
Sure, the parent to my orignal post did not specifically mention the word *on*. But I felt that it was implied in the context of his point. All I was trying to say is that people have different areas of knowledge. Just because *he* can easily do whatever he wants with is browser, doesn't mean everyone can. *Just* like not everyone builds a custom hot rod.
Do you realize how much of The General Public you have eliminated here? I can think of plenty people who would have trouble with answering machines and vcrs, let alone doing something as simple as changing your own oil (!?!?!). Human beings tend to strive towards efficiency. Everyone knowing how to build a car is inefficient. We contract the work out to People Who Know What They Are Doing so we can do other things with our valuable time. The technology sector doesn't seem to be that different.
Naturally, the size of Canada dwindles roughly to that of a medium pizza if you discount all the uninhabated/under ice portions.
On a serious note though, I find it interesting that people seem to be pointing out a good bit of cultural activities and sites as well as 'geek' ones.
Your main game for the x-box is also on all three consoles now, so why buy an x-box at all?
Just keep in mind that the U.S. is a free and open society -- by that I mean we live in a system of checks and balances. I *WANT* my head of the Department of Homeland Defense to want to eliminate terrorism by any means possible. The beauty is, I can also rely on other groups -- voters, media, Political Parties -- to keep him in check. So the solution generally tends to fall in the middle.
Think of Egypt now. Who/what is the check for this censorship? Slim to none. So their policies tend to be more extreme.
According to whitehouse.gov in 2002, national defense was 3.4% of the GDP
If you want to really know how much we have spent/are spending on the war in Iraq, try this article on CNN. At $20 mil to get the ball rolling and $2 mil a month afterwards, The Original Yama would have us believe that this war has been going on for 80 months.
(I realize this may be off the original topic, but I can't tolerate an error of this magnitude)