Do customers in China pay $10 USD or would it be lower since their incomes are lower? If so, then what's to stop an American player from signning up as a customer in China via a proxy (human or digital) and then connect to the servers?
I remember a while back there was an article on Slashdot about how PoE can become an universal power standard. While there are different plugs and voltages used around the world, PoE has a standard jack. Sure PoE is low powered but with miniaturization, many of our devices can be powered off of PoE. With VoIP driving the spread of PoE, I hope this will build momentum in making the prediction come true. Imagine going to another country and needing to bring just a CAT 5 cable instead of a power adapter.
Sure, it's a good idea. And I really don't mind there being more competition in the market, but isn't CafePress already doing this with all sorts of apparel and other easily printable goods? In addition, isn't Stamps.com already doing this with stamps. And aren't there a number of sites that do this with photographs?
Yes, yes, but Amazon.com already patented that and doing business on the Internet in general.
I'm not a CEO, but:
"HP's management team and business units will remain in their current form, with the restructuring mainly focusing on the workforce, said the source, who declined to further delve into the effect of the layoffs in each division.
The source noted none of the existing executives on the management team will be re-assigned to new posts, but members may be added to the team."
That doesn't make a lot of sense to me. So now you have 15,000 less people to lead/manage but you still have the same number of executives and managers. That seems to create a very top heavy structure and those tend to fall over both in the management world and the engineering world.
The more cynical side of me tells me that the execs and managers have more pull so would put up more of a fight if laid off. I'm sure the top level execs know the middle level ones at personal level so found it harder to laid them off. Instead, the little peons on the bottom who they barely know or care about can fend for themselves.
HP Services has roughly 65,000 employees, but analysts are predicting HP will lop off only about 8 percent here because the company is working on edging out IBM Global Services, EDS and Accenture for corporate contracts.
"We estimate that HP has roughly 20,000 salespeople, with the majority in (enterprise server group) and Services, and that CEO Hurd is likely to look to streamline the organization, moving away from HP's current 'matrixed' selling organization to focus on more direct accountability," Sacconaghi said.
I really hate the word "accountability" when used in isolation. From my experience, if accountability is the only method being used to solve problems, people start playing politics and the blame game. Bueraucracy goes through the roof and everything has to be documented in case the problem doesn't get solved. You end up spending more time covering your ass than solving the problem. You also end up taking a toll on teamwork.
It seems to me that their current strategy is to lower costs so they can lower their margins to compete. Not a bad plan but there are other avenues. I know at my company, we're more than willing to pay more for better service and reliability. The initial contract cost isn't the only factor. We have to think about the cost of downtime.
Noncritical research and development (R&D) could also be impacted, analysts suggest.
HP's R&D spending is nearly $1 billion higher than all of its relevant competitors combined, according to an independent benchmarking analysis done by Sacconaghi's firm. The comparison was designed to mirror the one that Hurd has professed as his method for bringing costs back into line.
"We suspect that Hurd might be able to lower HP's annual $3.5 billion in R&D by $250 (million)-$500 million through the elimination of non-core projects, Sacconaghi said.
So they're going to gut the thing that made HP great in the first place. I don't know what they consider non-critical R&D but a lot of innovations aren't obviously useful at first. Didn't a division of HP invent the optical mouse? I wonder if that was considered critical at the time.
Again, I'm not a CEO. I'm all for making an organization more efficient but I wonder if they're making the right cuts. It's sad to see the "Grey Lady of the Silicon Valley", the engineers' corporation get hacked to pieces.
I think a good solution for these folks is to sell them this bundle: 1. A CD that boots and automatically formats your hard drive. 2. A Knoppix CD.
Tell them to put the first CD in once. Afterwards just boot off the 2nd CD. Modify Knoppix so that it will save all your personal files to the now formatted hard drive and would only start programs off the Knoppix CD.
the forces of computing darkness to obtain the username and password of every registered SpreadFirefox user, as well as any other optional information that users may have provided, including: real name, web site URL, e-mail address, IM screename, and home address
No worries. All that means is some geek in a Dr. Doom custom might show up at other nerds' parents' home looking for the comic book convention being held in the basement.
Or look at it this way, if OS/2 grew into something like Windows, IBM might not have supported Linux. Linux without IBM is definitely possible but IBM certainly contributed a lot to Linux both financially, legally, and technologically.
Linux is now the #2 threat to Microsoft after economic conditions. In an ironic, karma kind of way, Microsoft's underhanded ways hurt them more. If it was just OS/2, Microsoft might not have to worry about a competitor and a new way of developing software that could render its business model obselete. It's also hard to imagine Apache and all the other open source software without Linux, thought it is entirely possible. I know open source started before Linux. But the threat to Microsoft wouldn't be the same without Linux. Linux wouldn't be where it is without IBM. IBM might not have helped if OS/2 wasn't undermined by Microsoft. Karma.
Let me just preface this by saying that I generally take articles by research firms with a healthy grain of salt. With that said, I wouldn't be surprised if the report is correct. Mod me down if you like but a properly administered Windows box can be as secure as Linux. I think too often we simply rely on the vendor and distributor to come out with a secure product and then never worry about it once its installed. A key factor in security is the administrator who must maintain these boxes. An out-dated Linux or Windows box is not going to be secure. An experienced administrator should be where security starts, not necessarily the product.
Finally, statistics about Linux is too generalized. I would much prefer a breakdown of Linux distributions since I'm sure some are more secure than other. A lot of exploits are found in non-kernel executables and the distribution is responsible for that. It's not all that useful to say Linux is secure or insecure since there is no one Linux distribution.
For a second there, I totally misread the headline to mean that the Canadians are so enamored with Google and it's "Do No Evil" philosophy that it granted Google a special right so that it "may break copyright". But can you blame me? Canada has always been more progressive and ahead of everyone else -- this is coming from a Texan!
That would mean 1/3 of THAT study is nonsense so only 2/3 of 1/3 of all studies are nonsense. 2/3 of 1/3 is 2/9. So really, only 2/9 of all studies are nonsense. So then 2/9 of 1/3 of all studies are nonsense. 2/9 of 1/3 is 2/27. Therefore only 2/27 of all studies are nonsense.... I suck at math so at some point, that might converge to 0 and thereby totoally invalidating the study! Since the reduction depends on the validity of the original study, we have a logical paradox!
PS - Yes, my math is probably wrong. No, I didn't RTFA. My logic is probably off too. I just wanted to see myself post.
I'm planning a later visit but thanks for the info. Someone once told me that a shuttle launch sounds like a string of dynamites going off. I can't wait to experience it. It's very beautiful and awesome in a very nerdy way.
Anyone know what the policy is for watching a shuttle launch? I wouldn't mind making a trip out there to see it before the shuttles get the axe in the future. It might be 80s technology but it was definitely a first and a workhorse. A lot of things were done with the shuttles and their crews.
Slashdot Mirror
Do customers in China pay $10 USD or would it be lower since their incomes are lower? If so, then what's to stop an American player from signning up as a customer in China via a proxy (human or digital) and then connect to the servers?
"Well, looks like Scotty got beamed up... at least I hope he did."
I remember a while back there was an article on Slashdot about how PoE can become an universal power standard. While there are different plugs and voltages used around the world, PoE has a standard jack. Sure PoE is low powered but with miniaturization, many of our devices can be powered off of PoE. With VoIP driving the spread of PoE, I hope this will build momentum in making the prediction come true. Imagine going to another country and needing to bring just a CAT 5 cable instead of a power adapter.
We can blame God for all kinds of things like hurricanes and Godzilla but it's a safe bet that we brought THAT scourge upon ourselves.
Here... Go ahead, Slashdot my File Farmer account. Got it for free.
I kid, I kid! Fine, mod me down.
Yes, yes, but Amazon.com already patented that and doing business on the Internet in general.
That doesn't make a lot of sense to me. So now you have 15,000 less people to lead/manage but you still have the same number of executives and managers. That seems to create a very top heavy structure and those tend to fall over both in the management world and the engineering world.
The more cynical side of me tells me that the execs and managers have more pull so would put up more of a fight if laid off. I'm sure the top level execs know the middle level ones at personal level so found it harder to laid them off. Instead, the little peons on the bottom who they barely know or care about can fend for themselves.
HP Services has roughly 65,000 employees, but analysts are predicting HP will lop off only about 8 percent here because the company is working on edging out IBM Global Services, EDS and Accenture for corporate contracts. "We estimate that HP has roughly 20,000 salespeople, with the majority in (enterprise server group) and Services, and that CEO Hurd is likely to look to streamline the organization, moving away from HP's current 'matrixed' selling organization to focus on more direct accountability," Sacconaghi said.
I really hate the word "accountability" when used in isolation. From my experience, if accountability is the only method being used to solve problems, people start playing politics and the blame game. Bueraucracy goes through the roof and everything has to be documented in case the problem doesn't get solved. You end up spending more time covering your ass than solving the problem. You also end up taking a toll on teamwork.
It seems to me that their current strategy is to lower costs so they can lower their margins to compete. Not a bad plan but there are other avenues. I know at my company, we're more than willing to pay more for better service and reliability. The initial contract cost isn't the only factor. We have to think about the cost of downtime.
Noncritical research and development (R&D) could also be impacted, analysts suggest. HP's R&D spending is nearly $1 billion higher than all of its relevant competitors combined, according to an independent benchmarking analysis done by Sacconaghi's firm. The comparison was designed to mirror the one that Hurd has professed as his method for bringing costs back into line. "We suspect that Hurd might be able to lower HP's annual $3.5 billion in R&D by $250 (million)-$500 million through the elimination of non-core projects, Sacconaghi said. So they're going to gut the thing that made HP great in the first place. I don't know what they consider non-critical R&D but a lot of innovations aren't obviously useful at first. Didn't a division of HP invent the optical mouse? I wonder if that was considered critical at the time.
Again, I'm not a CEO. I'm all for making an organization more efficient but I wonder if they're making the right cuts. It's sad to see the "Grey Lady of the Silicon Valley", the engineers' corporation get hacked to pieces.
Has anyone ever brought that to her attention? I wonder.
He was destined to go into the space exploration field.
PS - Yes, yes, I know Sun in Chinese means "grandson". Cheap joke, I know.
I think a good solution for these folks is to sell them this bundle:
1. A CD that boots and automatically formats your hard drive.
2. A Knoppix CD.
Tell them to put the first CD in once. Afterwards just boot off the 2nd CD. Modify Knoppix so that it will save all your personal files to the now formatted hard drive and would only start programs off the Knoppix CD.
Market the bundle for $15.
Profit!
No worries. All that means is some geek in a Dr. Doom custom might show up at other nerds' parents' home looking for the comic book convention being held in the basement.
Or look at it this way, if OS/2 grew into something like Windows, IBM might not have supported Linux. Linux without IBM is definitely possible but IBM certainly contributed a lot to Linux both financially, legally, and technologically.
Linux is now the #2 threat to Microsoft after economic conditions. In an ironic, karma kind of way, Microsoft's underhanded ways hurt them more. If it was just OS/2, Microsoft might not have to worry about a competitor and a new way of developing software that could render its business model obselete. It's also hard to imagine Apache and all the other open source software without Linux, thought it is entirely possible. I know open source started before Linux. But the threat to Microsoft wouldn't be the same without Linux. Linux wouldn't be where it is without IBM. IBM might not have helped if OS/2 wasn't undermined by Microsoft. Karma.
http://www.artlebedev.fr/
Check out their French site for the same pretty pictures since their English site has been Slashdotted.
Let me just preface this by saying that I generally take articles by research firms with a healthy grain of salt. With that said, I wouldn't be surprised if the report is correct. Mod me down if you like but a properly administered Windows box can be as secure as Linux. I think too often we simply rely on the vendor and distributor to come out with a secure product and then never worry about it once its installed. A key factor in security is the administrator who must maintain these boxes. An out-dated Linux or Windows box is not going to be secure. An experienced administrator should be where security starts, not necessarily the product.
Finally, statistics about Linux is too generalized. I would much prefer a breakdown of Linux distributions since I'm sure some are more secure than other. A lot of exploits are found in non-kernel executables and the distribution is responsible for that. It's not all that useful to say Linux is secure or insecure since there is no one Linux distribution.
Touche!
LOL.
For a second there, I totally misread the headline to mean that the Canadians are so enamored with Google and it's "Do No Evil" philosophy that it granted Google a special right so that it "may break copyright". But can you blame me? Canada has always been more progressive and ahead of everyone else -- this is coming from a Texan!
That would mean 1/3 of THAT study is nonsense so only 2/3 of 1/3 of all studies are nonsense. 2/3 of 1/3 is 2/9. So really, only 2/9 of all studies are nonsense. So then 2/9 of 1/3 of all studies are nonsense. 2/9 of 1/3 is 2/27. Therefore only 2/27 of all studies are nonsense.... I suck at math so at some point, that might converge to 0 and thereby totoally invalidating the study! Since the reduction depends on the validity of the original study, we have a logical paradox!
PS - Yes, my math is probably wrong. No, I didn't RTFA. My logic is probably off too. I just wanted to see myself post.
What does netcraft say?
Speaking of model trains, what do breasts and model trains have in common? They've both meant for kids but it's adults who end up playing with them.
Breasts, hackers, and model trains all in one post! It's like the Slashdot Triple Crown!
You took that statement WAY too seriously. I took as much time thinking about that facetious reply as I did typing it...
How many people uses the Intel compiler compared to other compilers? Did anyone ever suspected this before?
I say natural selection should take precedence over law and John Tierney would be the first to be executed.
I'm planning a later visit but thanks for the info. Someone once told me that a shuttle launch sounds like a string of dynamites going off. I can't wait to experience it. It's very beautiful and awesome in a very nerdy way.
Anyone know what the policy is for watching a shuttle launch? I wouldn't mind making a trip out there to see it before the shuttles get the axe in the future. It might be 80s technology but it was definitely a first and a workhorse. A lot of things were done with the shuttles and their crews.