That's an interesting point. I was thinking it had more to do with a constitutional mandate for free interstate commerce, but my eyes tended to glaze over if/when that subject ever came up in constitution discussions in school.:-)
My guess is that people are growing less antagonistic to the idea of charging tax on internet sales as the novelty wears off, and web-order companies are less fragile than they were perceived to be even 5 years ago. But there's still the logistical problem of tracking and assessing the correct taxes for every state, county, & city, not to mention international sales.
I can't remember the reason why a mail-order (or web-order) outfit doesn't have to collect sales tax based on the location of the *company*, though. That would shake things up quite a bit (for better or for worse)!
Of course, that would also be tragic. But compare the numbers of deaths caused by illness in young people, to the number of auto accidents, and I think auto accidents will stand out more as something that ought to be actively avoided.
The OP was comparing the # of auto-related deaths to the *total* # of deaths. Death is inevitable, obviously, but there are ways to put it off for a while.
The difference between dying in an auto accident and dying from pneumonia or cancer, is that auto accidents occur without warning, and affect people at *any* age, regardless of their health situation. Was I sad when my grandparents passed away? Of course, but at 90+ years of age, it was hardly what I'd call a tragic death. The same could not be said if my wife or kids were killed in an auto accident.
Well, you basically answered my question, and I'll answer yours. This report specified *Information* Technology, not just tech in general. Not exactly a new revelation to most/. readers, but I suppose it's a nice pat on the back.
OTOH, I was originally looking at this from an IT-centric point of view, in that I was left wondering "Well of course IT has been increasing worker productivity. What else *could* make people more efficient?" Completely forgetting that there are other industries besides those that manipulate data all day long.:-)
FWIW, I had no problem installing TaxCut on my linux (Kubuntu) box using WINE. Granted, I won't actually be *using* it on my computer for our actual tax filing, since my wife does our taxes on her computer, which runs WinXP. But it was one of the smoothest.exe installs I've done under Wine, and it seemed to start up and run just fine.
Probably via landline power. But it's very likely that that landline power supply a)is intermittant and/or b)doesn't reach to the nearest cell tower, which is often located on a hill outside town.
I would probably clarify the situation now that a large number of folks can comprehend me.
Of course, that's assuming that we're relatively any closer to comprehending "God" & his creative processes than humans were X years ago.
One could also argue that our definition of "God" has changed as our understanding of our world has grown. We keep upping the standard, so to speak. So that's why we never seem to meet God 'in-person' like we'd like. Or if we do, we don't realize/appreciate it as much as we would have previously expected.
Why do so many people assume these are targeted toward rural villages in Africa? There are a *lot* of people in this world that don't live in highly-industrialized USA, Europe, or eastern Asia, but DO have access to the basic necessities of life, and could make very good use of these devices.
Besides, since these laptops are not being *given* away, who would buy these for the village in your example, if not the warlord himself? The competing warlord from the next village down the road?
Judges have shot down the use of red-light cameras in Minneapolis because of the inability of the cameras to *prove* that it was the owner of the car (who gets the ticket) that drove through the light. This seems to me a very similar situation, with the same problems.
The company now uses Linux in the data center of its current Web presence but had some trepidation with the idea of expanding it a much larger operation.
"To think about using it pervasively, we were very concerned about it," she said. The larger Web operation would have "significantly higher legal exposure."
I don't disagree with you about those who are truly obsessed with the fantasy. But this guy's project is different, in that it actually does serve a function. Others spend mega-bucks on custom woodwork, and they're deemed perfectly 'normal' (albeit with too much money on their hands, IMHO). The Star Trek bridge is widely recognized, and its focal point has always been the giant viewscreen, which makes it a very clever theme for a home theater. Now, if he dresses up in uniform and has pretend conversations with videos of aliens on his 'viewscreen', that's another matter entirely!
Ah, yes, the Star Trek "experience", which broke down about 2 minutes into the presentation when I saw it in '98. As an IT guy myself, nothing brought the suspension of disbelief to a halt faster than having a 20th-century IT worker being paged, and seeing him run onto the set (wearing khakis, button-down shirt - you know, the present-day standard techie uniform) to reboot the computer under the 'transporter controller' podium. Sad!
Slashdot Mirror
That's an interesting point. I was thinking it had more to do with a constitutional mandate for free interstate commerce, but my eyes tended to glaze over if/when that subject ever came up in constitution discussions in school. :-)
My guess is that people are growing less antagonistic to the idea of charging tax on internet sales as the novelty wears off, and web-order companies are less fragile than they were perceived to be even 5 years ago. But there's still the logistical problem of tracking and assessing the correct taxes for every state, county, & city, not to mention international sales.
I can't remember the reason why a mail-order (or web-order) outfit doesn't have to collect sales tax based on the location of the *company*, though. That would shake things up quite a bit (for better or for worse)!
Of course, that would also be tragic. But compare the numbers of deaths caused by illness in young people, to the number of auto accidents, and I think auto accidents will stand out more as something that ought to be actively avoided.
The OP was comparing the # of auto-related deaths to the *total* # of deaths. Death is inevitable, obviously, but there are ways to put it off for a while.
The difference between dying in an auto accident and dying from pneumonia or cancer, is that auto accidents occur without warning, and affect people at *any* age, regardless of their health situation. Was I sad when my grandparents passed away? Of course, but at 90+ years of age, it was hardly what I'd call a tragic death. The same could not be said if my wife or kids were killed in an auto accident.
My college roommate and I figured that Vivaldi was the lead headbanger of the baroque period.
Well, you basically answered my question, and I'll answer yours. This report specified *Information* Technology, not just tech in general. Not exactly a new revelation to most /. readers, but I suppose it's a nice pat on the back.
:-)
OTOH, I was originally looking at this from an IT-centric point of view, in that I was left wondering "Well of course IT has been increasing worker productivity. What else *could* make people more efficient?" Completely forgetting that there are other industries besides those that manipulate data all day long.
FWIW, I had no problem installing TaxCut on my linux (Kubuntu) box using WINE. Granted, I won't actually be *using* it on my computer for our actual tax filing, since my wife does our taxes on her computer, which runs WinXP. But it was one of the smoothest .exe installs I've done under Wine, and it seemed to start up and run just fine.
Probably via landline power. But it's very likely that that landline power supply a)is intermittant and/or b)doesn't reach to the nearest cell tower, which is often located on a hill outside town.
"Cheeser" is the name of the ruler of the Wisconsin Empire.
Saw this quote on /. a while back:
"Feature freeze means that everyone has a bad feeling when they change something, almost nothing more." -- Stephan Kulow
Not if you have the properly documented invoice readily available, proving that you paid for the privilege of viewing said copyrighted work. ;-)
Where it will really get tricky is if consumers begin to copyright our invoice copies, and charge the publisher for the right to view them.
Heck, I'll just copyright my own face while I'm at it. Stop looking at me!
Of course, that's assuming that we're relatively any closer to comprehending "God" & his creative processes than humans were X years ago.
One could also argue that our definition of "God" has changed as our understanding of our world has grown. We keep upping the standard, so to speak. So that's why we never seem to meet God 'in-person' like we'd like. Or if we do, we don't realize/appreciate it as much as we would have previously expected.
Why do so many people assume these are targeted toward rural villages in Africa? There are a *lot* of people in this world that don't live in highly-industrialized USA, Europe, or eastern Asia, but DO have access to the basic necessities of life, and could make very good use of these devices.
Besides, since these laptops are not being *given* away, who would buy these for the village in your example, if not the warlord himself? The competing warlord from the next village down the road?
So we'll use their left hands, instead. Problem solved.
Do they lift and cut as they're generating all that electricity, too?
And if you'd RTFA, you'd know that Jobs addressed that very option, and why Apple concluded that it wouldn't work.
Judges have shot down the use of red-light cameras in Minneapolis because of the inability of the cameras to *prove* that it was the owner of the car (who gets the ticket) that drove through the light. This seems to me a very similar situation, with the same problems.
Sugar beets are a *huge* crop in western Minnesota (possibly the eastern Dakotas, too).
I say that those who mod you down are just jealous!
I've always wondered how do you say "fscking" out loud, anyway? "Feh-sucking"? Is that really any more polite than "fucking"?
I don't know about you, but I don't eat my sponges. And I don't clean my countertop with ground beef.
:-)
The more I think of it in that light, the more I chuckle. Hello, reality check!
Maybe they think that 2 wrongs will make a right?
Fear? Check.
Uncertainty? Check.
Doubt? Check.
Profit for MS? Check.
I don't disagree with you about those who are truly obsessed with the fantasy. But this guy's project is different, in that it actually does serve a function. Others spend mega-bucks on custom woodwork, and they're deemed perfectly 'normal' (albeit with too much money on their hands, IMHO). The Star Trek bridge is widely recognized, and its focal point has always been the giant viewscreen, which makes it a very clever theme for a home theater. Now, if he dresses up in uniform and has pretend conversations with videos of aliens on his 'viewscreen', that's another matter entirely!
Ah, yes, the Star Trek "experience", which broke down about 2 minutes into the presentation when I saw it in '98. As an IT guy myself, nothing brought the suspension of disbelief to a halt faster than having a 20th-century IT worker being paged, and seeing him run onto the set (wearing khakis, button-down shirt - you know, the present-day standard techie uniform) to reboot the computer under the 'transporter controller' podium. Sad!