The base configuration may be adequate for some users, but many (including myself) want more:
(1) video ram (64MB) may be inadequate for the
next release of OS X.
(2) base memory (256MB) is inadequate, even
for casual users who will not shut down
running applications, only minimize them.
(3) Apple could have lowered the base-line cost
further by incorporating a 3.5" hard disk
rather than a slower, lower capacity 2.5"
laptop HD.
(4) Bluetooth and WiFi should have been included
in the base-line package. Use of a cheaper
3.5" HD could have made this fiscally doable.
(5) the sealed case is a serious drawback to
anyone wishing to perform their own upgrades
and/or servicing.
That said, Apple has lower the cost of some desired upgrades. The inclusion of Firewire is rarely seen on any standard Wintel box (NIH syndrome), while Apple has embraced the USB/USB2 standard. And, of course, there is the best commercially successful *nix-based client OS on the market today, OS X.
You, sir, have succinctly vocalized the basis for my conspiracy theory...
To wit:
The 1st Dubya administration streamlined entry into the USA of Saudi nationals with the State Department's "VISA Express" program.
The Saudi embassy in Washington (DC) pulled more than $30M USD in cold cash from Riggs Bank between 01/00 and 01/2002, which they have not accounted for. (Riggs was fined.)
While all US aircraft were grounded just after 9-11-2001, the Saudi's (with Dubya's approval) chartered aircraft to evacuate more than 200 Saudi nationals from US soil.
At a time of increased concerns about terrorists entering the USA, Dubya insists on amnesty for millions of illegal aliens. The influx of illegal aliens entering the USA has gone up by 40% after 9-11-2001, in spite of "tighter" border security.
The potential for extremely adverse outcome of a terrorist attack on USA chemical and nuclear facilities is high, yet neither chemical or nuclear facilities have been required to adhere to any codified improvements in security. Here in Metro DC, there are still hazardous material tankers that roll on the railroad tracks within blocks of the US Capitol.
Dubya illegally diverted funds earmarked for the war & reconstruction in Afghanistan ($750M USD) for the ramp-up to the war in Iraq. And only 02% of the $80B USD earmarked for reconstruction in Iraq has been spent, all while Iraqi's become increasingly agitated over the poor conditions there & the lack of jobs.
Finally, Dubya still claims that everything is a-okay on on-track on the war in Iraq. Enough troops were sent to "win the war" but not to "win the peace". The entire Iraqi army was dismissed en mass (and w/o pay), rather than vetting those troops for loyalty to the old regime. The (predictable) outcome was total bedlam, with rioting and looting of everything from government offices to hospitals to museums. Most of the massive stores of military hardware and munitions were never secured and/or destroyed. Pretty short-sighted, considering the use to which these materials have been put subsequently.
In allowing the armed resistance so much time to organize after the fall of Saddam's regime, the Bush administration has virtually guaranteed that there will be no "unified" democratic Iraq -- it will fracture along regional and religious lines, with the distinct possibility of civil war. The old axiom of "Divide and conquer" comes to mind. No doubt, the oil companies that Dubya and Cheney represent will have an easier go with negotiating better deals with smaller and more vulnerable client states.
Okay, so a MSFT Windows computer mounted in the cockpit of a commercial airplane DOESN'T concern you?
Boeing is starting the roll-out of wireless internet access (satellite) on some of their aircraft in 2005. And those pilots sitting behind LOCKED cockpit doors WILL NOT be surfing the internet for p0rn, you say?
Right-'O!
And when that computer gets a nasty virus, the BSOD will not affect any aircraft operations?
Think I will stay away from any of these new autos (Lexus & BMW come to mind), as well as commercial aircraft...
but certainly entirely predictable action by MSFT. As they continue to use DRM to lock-down their OS and Apps Suite, at some point the legit commercial users will be effected in a HUGE way.
If you think about the effect of bad/wrong upgrades had on 50,000 client computers at the British Ministry of Health was just stupidity/ ignorance on the part of their 3rd party support provider, consider the effect when MILLIONS of MSFT's legit users cannot stay on-line long enough for their Updates on-line.
The present legal environment in the USA does seem to preclude any guilt or responsibility on MSFT's part for releasing buggy/vulnerable software. CIO's and CTO's are going to be hung out to dry when their corporate networks go down, and they are in a 3-4 hour MSFT support que for some resolution.
The same problem that is readily apparent to
any/.er about the USPTO exists within the
FDA, the SEC, etcetera.
The massive push to (a) de-regulate industry
and (b) fund government oversight organizations
through user fees has totally skewed the
relationship between government and industry.
More "user fees" means more money for government
agencies that they have not been getting from
the Congress. IMHO, this is also a big part of
the reason why the US government appears to
function on behalf of industry instead of its
citizens. The USA's democracy has devolved into
a "government by, of, and for the corporations"
instead of "the people".
Hate the rich? Why, not at all. You have to find some admiration for the (maybe) 2% of the USA's taxpayers that have usurped democracy. The current neocon Federal government has been very busy stripping resources from the middle class, who bear the heaviest tax burden, and putting those resources into the pockets of the rich. In what manner, might you ask?
(1) battle over forcing USA wages down...
The influx of illegal aliens has gone WAY UP
since 9-11-2001, in spite of "increased
border security". Employers hiring these
aliens don't pay taxes for them, don't pay
medical benefits for them, and often don't
even pay minimum wages. The social costs
(Medicare/Medicaid) are borne mostly by the
middle class AT THE STATE level (not Feds).
The number of H1-B and L-1 visas issued have
gone WAY UP since 9-11, not down. Even the
AMA has shut down medical teaching colleges
because it is cheaper to import doctors (and
nurses) than it is to subsidize the training
of USA citizens.
(2) battle over medical costs...
The structure of HMO's in the USA is largely
as non-profit organizations, yet their primary
task of providing medical care has been
usurped by the profit motive -- bonuses for
the administrators for denying medical care.
By definition, HMO's are now oxymorons.
The tax structure favors the large drug
manufacturers -- they get to charge the
highest prices in the world for their USA
customers, all while benefiting from Federal
funding in research, and tax breaks for their
massive ad campaigns for new drugs. Dubya's
making re-importation of USA manufactured
drugs due to "quality control" is a joke
(on USA taxpayers and patients). The new
neocon initiatives for tort reform have more
to do with protecting the interests of the
new-age robber barons than of holding down
medical costs.
(3) battle over New Deal social programs...
Dubya's "faith-based" social programs are
being engineered as a replacement for (not
an adjunct to) the New Deal social programs.
Neocons support the wild expenditures of
the Bush administration because it (a)
generates new opportunities for war profits,
and (b) increases the Federal deficit to the
point that ALL New Deal social programs go
on the cutting block.
(4) battle over "hearts and minds"...
Dubya and the neocons care not one whit about
foreign "hearts and minds", only those that
directly affect their continued "right" to
govern (and bleed the taxpayers). Dr. Rice
was quoted early in the 1st administration
that Saddam did not represent a threat to
the USA and did not have WMD. The tragedy
of 9-11 quickly altered that assessment.
Massive (and highly repetitive) propaganda
spewed forth, and suddenly Saddam WAS the
fountainhead of all evel, instead of the
Saudi/Wahhabist Al-Queda. Even AFTER it
was determined that there were no WMD in
Iraq (1,400 KIA, 10,000 WIA, $180 B USD
later), the very same propaganda is still
being released. And now we know that Federal
money has been used to influence USA public
opinion over (a) the war, (b) the drug bill,
(c) tax code, and (d) Social Security. It
IS propaganda, and IT IS NOT necessarily
the truth (, but repeated enough times, it
might be mistaken for the truth.)
I could spend more time expounding on other points along the same vein, but you should get the general idea. So, on returning to your point that the rich DO pay more in taxes, I have to say: they don't pay nearly enough for the accrued be
Try selling that line of cow huey to the Nepalese, the Tibetans, or the Taiwanese (, or before that, to the Vietnamese, or before that to the Indians).
Today's PRC does maintain a low profile when it comes to international aggression, if only to placate and numb people like you. The Maoist "insurrection" in Nepal has been attributed to "home-grown rebels" in most of the press, because the interests of the multi-national corporations are at risk. The PRC does make use of proxies in their international aggression -- North Korea comes to mind. Their underlying foreign policy would appear to be "create turmoil and upset the balance of power, because out of this strife comes new opportunities". Nuclear and missile technology proliferation has done wonders for their interests in South Asia and the Middle East.
When the USA abruptly cancelled the creation of a PRC/HK-owned seaport in Long Branch, CA, one angry PRC general stood before the Politburo and threatened to nuke Los Angeles. Of course, this didn't make it into most of the world's news channels because of overriding financial interests (trade and emerging markets).
I would recommend that you do a bit more back- ground reading on the PRC and what shennanigans they have been up to before making too many quick judgement calls. Try investigating, for example, the seaports that PRC/HK have built to control the Panama Canal. There is power in knowledge, and the PRC is not just a big fluffy panda...
I had a long association with a small regional ISP called "EROLS" that provided great service. At first, after they were gobbled up by a larger ISP, there was no discernable difference in the quality of the services they offered.
Then there was a surge of new subscribers, and it quickly became apparent that they had done little to improve their bandwidth -- busy signals, slow connections, unexplained hang-ups all pointed to severe over-subscription.
When the spammers began their flood of crap in ernest, the ISP's response was not to filter out the spam or block ranges of IP addresses. Instead, they changed their ToS to limit connect times and hours per month for their loyal customers. Needless to say, I left this ISP, but AFAIK, they still have done nothing to keep
the spammers in check.
BTW: This ISP is pretty large, having coverage
in all of New England and the Mid-Atlantic
states.
Another (national) ISP that I subsequently tried had the annoying habit of dropping connections. Their CS department will verbally acknowledge that they have modified their posted ToS, but will never provide hardcopy or email in that regard. They advertise heavily, and are IMHO grossly over-subscribed. While they did offer some control over spammers, email messages were frequently delayed by 8 to 24 hours. Copper will even drop annual subscribers that exceed their monthly usage limits more than once -- a policy that they do not post anywhere.
Until such time that the "Baby Bells" upgrade their infrastructure to provide decent DSL service, many USA internet users are stuck with dial-up ISPs that abuse their subscribers.
By playing ball with the EU and paying their fine, Microsoft improves their image in Europe, making way for the REAL END-RUN around F/OSS. MSFT will spread enough "love" around the EU MPs
to make EU software patents happen, at which point they can tie all F/OSS development up in lawsuits. MSFT is just spending their "love" wisely.
What Bush did with this directive was to use a tenuous moral rationale (executions and wars still proceed, so death is not the moral issue). Effectively, Dubya has raised the (monetary) bar for entry into stem cell research to allow only the mega-pharacutical companies to compete, not unlike making re-importation of USA-manufactured drugs (for lower cost) illegal. Only the big drug companies will profit.
What California has done is to create a "hothouse" environment in which small start-up companies can compete with the "big boys". I think this is a very good thing. (Of course, Dubya comes off as the corporate whore he is, but that's my opinion.)
did not fake the interview and response from National Security Advisor Dr. Condi Rice when questioned about Iraq's danger to the world from WMD that was made much prior to 9-11-2001.
She was (essentially) quoted as saying that Saddam was not a threat, and that he did not have WMD. Yet, less than 24 hours after 9-11 happened (according to a credible report from Richard Clarke), all effort was expended on trying to link Saddam Hussein to 9-11-2001.
Subsequent to the USA's invasion of Iraq (based upon the TWIN LIES of WMD and links to Al-Queda), the rationale for going to war there has been on shifting sands -- currently to bring democracy to the Iraqi people (even if it kills them all).
The very cozy ties between the Bush familiy and the Saudis may prove to be the most substantive reason for the Bush-Iraqi War. George H.W. Bush did not crush Saddam when he had the chance. His son has executed the necessary follow-up war to eliminate the single greatest threat to Saudi/ Wahhabist hegenomy in the Middle East - a secular OPEC military power run by a madman.
This is only an effort to justify what has become a top-to-bottom Bush directive since first taking office in 2001. Secrecy for secrecy's sake. If a potential press release has not been vetted by the appointed "political officers" for the department, that press release gets squashed. What the USA Patriot Act (I) and subsequent directives have done is to raise the secrecy bar (to cover their political message) for all information. This is why government whistleblowers now are threatened with criminal charges (and some have gone to jail), rather than just having problems with their (1) annual review or (2) keeping their job.
This is just one more brick in the wall that Bush & Co. have erected between the oversight of government and the rights of the people to know what their government is doing. Look (for example) at the Bush administration's response was to (1) the initial formation of the 9-11 commission, and then (2) providing all requested information in a timely manner. It is a pretty sad state of affairs when Congressional oversight committees are given the cold shoulder by the Executive branch -- and under Bush's reign this has happened repeatedly.
IMHO, the Bush administration represents (in the absolute worst way) the erosion of democracy in the USA. It neither started with the USA Patriot Act (I), nor will it end with the end of the second Bush term. Bureaucracies have a tendency abide by the physical law of the conservation of energy. The inertia right now is toward a more secretive government that is unresponsive to the will of the poeple (as opposed to the will of the corporations).
Slightly OT, but does anyone out there in/.land know of any FOIA inquiries regarding the total Executive branch expenditures aimed at the flood of propaganda that has hit the 4th estate to promote Bush administration "agendas"?
But of course. MSFT sees an opportunity to (1) lock in customers (2) ease DRM concerns, and (3) increase profits. The increased use of broadband, as well as public acceptance of internet-based services (GMail, Google Desktop, etc.) provides a nexus for MSFT's roll-out of an internet-based subscription for all of their applications (MSO) as well as email and storage.
Small businesses will have to choose between slow security updates, steep prices, and probable incompatabilities between versions of their MS products, and an on-line subscription that gives them rapid application updates, better security, and (for now) a lower TCO. All-encompassing trust and faith in MSFT for the health and stability of my small business, versus reliance upon that evil "communistic" F/OSS platform that "might" just get shot down by the SCO Group, or by Microsoft's software patents.
Microsoft DOES have a plan, and a real money- maker, but it may not be such a great deal for those businesses that (ultimately) find they are being held hostage.
Consider: The MSFT vs US DoJ anti-monopoly case was dragged on by MSFT until a new AG and different political party took power -- then MSFT (apparently) wrote their own penalty for their misdeeds.
Consider: MSFT has been using SCO Group as a proxy to fend off advances in market share and "hearts and minds" from the F/OSS crowd. SCO doesn't have a case (that they can prove), so they plead with the courts for more time and more code to try and "pull a rabbit out of their hat". While I have no doubt (IANAL) that IBM can successfully and conclusively fight SCO Group's legal gambits, the onus of FUD delays wider adoption of F/OSS, which gives MSFT more breathing room. (Any/.ers NOT see a connection between SCO's lame attempts to cripple F/OSS, MSFT's blatent IP threats against GNU/linux, and the long delay in the EU's final decision AGAINST software patents?)
The axiom that "in America, you are innocent until proven guilty" may have been true at some point, but not these days. The **AA now uses the Feds (DoJ) AND the courts to go after proported file-sharers. Risk a long, drawn out court case that bleeds your resources dry, or pony up to an admission of guilt in trade for reduced charges?
The American judicial system has completely suborned by the rich and powerful, who even if the case they present is spurious, can evoke submission of the innocent by dragging out their case in court. MSFT has used this tactic on numerous occasions in court, dragging the trial out until the outcome is moot (eg. MSFT vs Sun).
That said, one of the states most deeply involved in corporate rights over the peoples' rights has been Utah (and in the guise of (R) Senator Hatch. IMHO, a corporate whore of the worst sort. (Well, he actually has a lot of company these days.)
Isn't there a possibility that a well organized crime ring would go to Verisign for their signed authority? If the CA is included in the browser, the DNS cache poisoned, and the URL spoofed, how would the end-user know any difference?
HP has finally embraced the "SCO Method"
of corporate financial governance -- "in
a period of shrinking market share, go
after your customers".
HP used to be an icon of the high tech
industry, with a well-respected name in
everything from scientific instruments
to servers to calculators to printers.
Look at how far they have fallen. If the
shareholders and the Board of Directors
don't fire Carly Fiorina, they will all
be out of a job within 3 years. (And at
that point, Fiorina will have preserved
her "perfect" record managing respected
high tech companies.)
The Bush administration, early on (check the video footage of Condi Rice in "F9-11"), knew with some certainty that Saddam DID NOT HAVE WMD. After the still-secret Cheney Energy Commission meetings, and immediately after 9/11/2001, any/all possible excuses were to be dredged up to justify the invasion of Iraq. Considering (1) the ties between the Bush family and the Saudi royal family, (2) the numerous ties between the Bush administration and the energy sector, and (3) the pre-9/11/2001 ties between the USA energy sector and the Taliban, any self-respecting conspiracy theorist would at least consider the possibility that the 9/11 attack was (A) sponsered by the Saudi government, (B) was sanctioned by a Bush "inner circle", and (C) carried out to reinforce Bush's hold on power (to carry out Saudi wishes) -- the deposing of Saddam Hussein who represented the single greatest threat to the hegenomy of the Saudi royal family.
The US Dept. of State instituted the "Visa Express" program specifically to allow the easy egress of Saudi nationals into the USA. If you think back to the early days of the CIA (actually the OSS), there is a strong resemblence between the OSS and the formation of Al-Queda. Al-Queda should be more properly viewed as the OSS of the Saudi government, but with enough "plausible deniability" for the Saudi royal family to continue to debach in Europe's playgrounds. The Bush administration would like to convey the image of a slightly "hayseed" organization, but their policy papers and roadmap have been carefully crafted by the neo-conservative think tanks for more than a decade. Newt Gingrich's "Contract With America" was the first scrimmage -- think NFL here, and not Junior Varsity.
This is why there has been no "exit strategy" publically pronounced for the war in Iraq, and why the Iraqi war has been (purposefully) run so badly -- the real goal is not democracy in Iraq, but of civil war and fragmentation that the Wahhabists (Al-Queda) can take advantage of. What the Saudis want, and what the Bush team want dovetail very neatly in the Iraqi conflict. Carving Iraq into competing spheres of influence is better for American energy interests. It actually even suits the Turks, who will briefly see an autonomous Kurdistan that will be crushed between Turky, the Saudis, and the Iranians.
By the way, if you you were going to overthrow the US government from the inside, what better way to insure the loyalty of the military but to fully engage them in a "meat-grinder" of a foreign conflict. Those soldiers most likely to waver in their support of the President will keep getting sent on dangerous and foolish missions, or else subjected to "friendly fire". At some point, the vetting process will have been completed, and the troops will be ready for their next target, the American people (again).
If you take a look at the nonsensical spending programs of the Bush administration, versus the apparent (and touted) terrorist threats, you begin to see a pattern of total disregard for the possibility of additional terrorist action in the USA. Hundreds of billions spent on the war in Iraq, and a hundred billion spent on a non-working anti-missile defense system, while the USA's borders and seaports continue to be largely unguarded. (Just recently, a group of Chinese were captured in the Port of LA while escaping from a cargo container. They could just as easily have been Al-Queda or Hezbolah or North Koreans with a nuclear device, ready to go.) No, the spending patterns of this Bush administration do not match the needs for greater homeland security. Nor do the policies of the Bush administration match those same needs. It boils down to this: 9/11 was a blip on the radar screen that justified a high level of secrecy within the Bush administration, including the war in Iraq and the USA Patriot Act (I). One has been used to justify the abject & total r
Ever wonder why so many of the telcos that were encouraged to lay fiber optic cable went tits-up? Or why there is so much more "dark" fiber than "lit" fiber? Or if just maybe there was a secret deal between MS and the DoJ (anti-monopoly settlement) to make||leave holes in their OS for the Feds? Or where all that cash from the 2004 election really went (like into propaganda to push thru the US public media outlets?)
The FBI's "CARNIVORE" project was dropped because they don't need it anymore. Between all the security holes in MS OS / IE, the major spyware "vendors", an dnew technology like Google's "Desktop Search", the FBI (under the aegis of the DHS & USA Patriot Act (I)) can reach right thru the internet onto your desktop.
Business interests dictate total compliance with whatever the Bush administration wants, and the Bush administration does what is best for their corporate contributors. The USA today is little more that a hollow shell of the robust democracy that it used to be. Eisenhower's dark warning about the military-industrial complex didn't go nearly far enough. The USA may now properly be considered a government of "Corporate National Socialism". No more.
FWIW, I ripped the 4200 RPM 60 GB HD out of my 15" PowerBook about 1 year ago, and replaced it with a 7200 RPM 60 GB Hitachi (HK7K series). It was pretty expensive (nearly $200 USD), but the computer has been quite a bit more responsive. And BTW, neither the battery power drain nor the heat have been appreciably affected -- the same power saving technology works with the HK7K disk.
From other posts here, there is a large, slow moving (quiet) fan in the Mini. Use of an adapter to put a 10K RPM 3.5 inch disk in should not require a new fan - it may run more frequently and at a somewhat higher speed (more noise). I might be somewhat more concerned about the output of the power brick, as well as any internal terminal for supplying the power a 3.5 inch disk would require. Perhaps just another mod to make, while we're at it?
My parents told me to save for my old age, but it sure looked like I was going to get my ass shot off in a faraway jungle, so I ignored them.
Someone told me to go to work for a big company, but those big companies switched to 401Ks, turned their kited stock into toilet paper, raided their pension funds with the help of the courts, and began shipping all their jobs offshore.
Someone told me to invest my money in the financial sector, but the savings&loan companies were Ponzi schemes, the stock brokers were peddling bad paper, and the mutual funds were busy churning stock for the admin fees.
Somebody told me to buy US Treasury bonds, but the Feds are spending money like drunken sailors, and the $550B USD they had in their hands in 2001 has turned (already) into $2.5T USD of debt for my children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren to pay.
The only people I see that are really doing better in the good old USA are the rich, the powerful, and the shills that help spread their BS propaganda.
Lies, damn lies, and statistics. Short of spiking the water supply and stealing votes, just exactly how did this idiot icon of the 1890's robber baron era ever get (re-)elected?
9-11 : the terrorists are coming, let me spend
your money on BS like ABM.
TAXES: way too high - let me give your money
to the rich so they can hire more
illegal domestic help for that new
vacation home in the Hampshires.
WMD : the WMD is coming, let me invade Iraq.
SS : the sky is falling, let me help the
stock brokers pick you pockets.
WTF! I am really tired of shoveling the BS
that keeps rolling downhill onto me.
The last confirmed payout for "reporter integrity" is $240K USD. Considering: (1) the general state of the USA economy, (2) there are holiday bills to be paid, and (3) Dubya's push to lower wages, that $240K may represent a high point.
BTW: The fee is a really a private
negotiation between the "John"
and the "Hooker", so YMMV.
Verisign exercises a lot of power - between managing.com and their CA business. They have already aptly demonstrated that they cannot be trusted to comply with ICANN, so ICANN should let them have it. Right between the eyes.
Verisgn should be barred from bidding on management of the.net TLD, in spite of support from MSFT and IBM. In fact, ICANN should be looking for a new manager for the.com TLD as well. When does their contract for the.com TLD expire, anyway?
Slashdot Mirror
And so the jury is still out on the Mac Mini.
...
The base configuration may be adequate for some
users, but many (including myself) want more:
(1) video ram (64MB) may be inadequate for the
next release of OS X.
(2) base memory (256MB) is inadequate, even
for casual users who will not shut down
running applications, only minimize them.
(3) Apple could have lowered the base-line cost
further by incorporating a 3.5" hard disk
rather than a slower, lower capacity 2.5"
laptop HD.
(4) Bluetooth and WiFi should have been included
in the base-line package. Use of a cheaper
3.5" HD could have made this fiscally doable.
(5) the sealed case is a serious drawback to
anyone wishing to perform their own upgrades
and/or servicing.
That said, Apple has lower the cost of some
desired upgrades. The inclusion of Firewire
is rarely seen on any standard Wintel box
(NIH syndrome), while Apple has embraced the
USB/USB2 standard. And, of course, there is
the best commercially successful *nix-based
client OS on the market today, OS X.
Decisions, decisions
You, sir, have succinctly vocalized the basis ...
...)
for my conspiracy theory
To wit:
The 1st Dubya administration streamlined entry
into the USA of Saudi nationals with the State
Department's "VISA Express" program.
The Saudi embassy in Washington (DC) pulled
more than $30M USD in cold cash from Riggs
Bank between 01/00 and 01/2002, which they
have not accounted for. (Riggs was fined.)
While all US aircraft were grounded just after
9-11-2001, the Saudi's (with Dubya's approval)
chartered aircraft to evacuate more than 200
Saudi nationals from US soil.
At a time of increased concerns about terrorists
entering the USA, Dubya insists on amnesty for
millions of illegal aliens. The influx of
illegal aliens entering the USA has gone up
by 40% after 9-11-2001, in spite of "tighter"
border security.
The potential for extremely adverse outcome of
a terrorist attack on USA chemical and nuclear
facilities is high, yet neither chemical or
nuclear facilities have been required to adhere
to any codified improvements in security. Here
in Metro DC, there are still hazardous material
tankers that roll on the railroad tracks within
blocks of the US Capitol.
Dubya illegally diverted funds earmarked for the
war & reconstruction in Afghanistan ($750M USD)
for the ramp-up to the war in Iraq. And only
02% of the $80B USD earmarked for reconstruction
in Iraq has been spent, all while Iraqi's become
increasingly agitated over the poor conditions
there & the lack of jobs.
Finally, Dubya still claims that everything is
a-okay on on-track on the war in Iraq. Enough
troops were sent to "win the war" but not to
"win the peace". The entire Iraqi army was
dismissed en mass (and w/o pay), rather than
vetting those troops for loyalty to the old
regime. The (predictable) outcome was total
bedlam, with rioting and looting of everything
from government offices to hospitals to museums.
Most of the massive stores of military hardware
and munitions were never secured and/or destroyed.
Pretty short-sighted, considering the use to
which these materials have been put subsequently.
In allowing the armed resistance so much time to
organize after the fall of Saddam's regime, the
Bush administration has virtually guaranteed that
there will be no "unified" democratic Iraq -- it
will fracture along regional and religious lines,
with the distinct possibility of civil war. The
old axiom of "Divide and conquer" comes to mind.
No doubt, the oil companies that Dubya and Cheney
represent will have an easier go with negotiating
better deals with smaller and more vulnerable
client states.
BTW: Thank you for getting me started again.
(Now, where DID I put that tinfoil hat
Okay, so a MSFT Windows computer mounted in the
...
cockpit of a commercial airplane DOESN'T concern
you?
Boeing is starting the roll-out of wireless
internet access (satellite) on some of their
aircraft in 2005. And those pilots sitting
behind LOCKED cockpit doors WILL NOT be
surfing the internet for p0rn, you say?
Right-'O!
And when that computer gets a nasty virus, the
BSOD will not affect any aircraft operations?
Think I will stay away from any of these new
autos (Lexus & BMW come to mind), as well as
commercial aircraft
but certainly entirely predictable action by
MSFT. As they continue to use DRM to lock-down
their OS and Apps Suite, at some point the legit
commercial users will be effected in a HUGE way.
If you think about the effect of bad/wrong
upgrades had on 50,000 client computers at the
British Ministry of Health was just stupidity/
ignorance on the part of their 3rd party support
provider, consider the effect when MILLIONS of
MSFT's legit users cannot stay on-line long
enough for their Updates on-line.
The present legal environment in the USA does
seem to preclude any guilt or responsibility
on MSFT's part for releasing buggy/vulnerable
software. CIO's and CTO's are going to be hung
out to dry when their corporate networks go down,
and they are in a 3-4 hour MSFT support que for
some resolution.
Let the Penguinista Revolution begin!
The same problem that is readily apparent to any /.er about the USPTO exists within the
FDA, the SEC, etcetera.
The massive push to (a) de-regulate industry
and (b) fund government oversight organizations
through user fees has totally skewed the
relationship between government and industry.
More "user fees" means more money for government
agencies that they have not been getting from
the Congress. IMHO, this is also a big part of
the reason why the US government appears to
function on behalf of industry instead of its
citizens. The USA's democracy has devolved into
a "government by, of, and for the corporations"
instead of "the people".
Hate the rich? Why, not at all. You have to find
...
...
...
...
some admiration for the (maybe) 2% of the USA's
taxpayers that have usurped democracy. The
current neocon Federal government has been very
busy stripping resources from the middle class,
who bear the heaviest tax burden, and putting
those resources into the pockets of the rich.
In what manner, might you ask?
(1) battle over forcing USA wages down
The influx of illegal aliens has gone WAY UP
since 9-11-2001, in spite of "increased
border security". Employers hiring these
aliens don't pay taxes for them, don't pay
medical benefits for them, and often don't
even pay minimum wages. The social costs
(Medicare/Medicaid) are borne mostly by the
middle class AT THE STATE level (not Feds).
The number of H1-B and L-1 visas issued have
gone WAY UP since 9-11, not down. Even the
AMA has shut down medical teaching colleges
because it is cheaper to import doctors (and
nurses) than it is to subsidize the training
of USA citizens.
(2) battle over medical costs
The structure of HMO's in the USA is largely
as non-profit organizations, yet their primary
task of providing medical care has been
usurped by the profit motive -- bonuses for
the administrators for denying medical care.
By definition, HMO's are now oxymorons.
The tax structure favors the large drug
manufacturers -- they get to charge the
highest prices in the world for their USA
customers, all while benefiting from Federal
funding in research, and tax breaks for their
massive ad campaigns for new drugs. Dubya's
making re-importation of USA manufactured
drugs due to "quality control" is a joke
(on USA taxpayers and patients). The new
neocon initiatives for tort reform have more
to do with protecting the interests of the
new-age robber barons than of holding down
medical costs.
(3) battle over New Deal social programs
Dubya's "faith-based" social programs are
being engineered as a replacement for (not
an adjunct to) the New Deal social programs.
Neocons support the wild expenditures of
the Bush administration because it (a)
generates new opportunities for war profits,
and (b) increases the Federal deficit to the
point that ALL New Deal social programs go
on the cutting block.
(4) battle over "hearts and minds"
Dubya and the neocons care not one whit about
foreign "hearts and minds", only those that
directly affect their continued "right" to
govern (and bleed the taxpayers). Dr. Rice
was quoted early in the 1st administration
that Saddam did not represent a threat to
the USA and did not have WMD. The tragedy
of 9-11 quickly altered that assessment.
Massive (and highly repetitive) propaganda
spewed forth, and suddenly Saddam WAS the
fountainhead of all evel, instead of the
Saudi/Wahhabist Al-Queda. Even AFTER it
was determined that there were no WMD in
Iraq (1,400 KIA, 10,000 WIA, $180 B USD
later), the very same propaganda is still
being released. And now we know that Federal
money has been used to influence USA public
opinion over (a) the war, (b) the drug bill,
(c) tax code, and (d) Social Security. It
IS propaganda, and IT IS NOT necessarily
the truth (, but repeated enough times, it
might be mistaken for the truth.)
I could spend more time expounding on other
points along the same vein, but you should
get the general idea. So, on returning to
your point that the rich DO pay more in taxes,
I have to say: they don't pay nearly enough
for the accrued be
What a hoot!
...
Try selling that line of cow huey to the Nepalese,
the Tibetans, or the Taiwanese (, or before that,
to the Vietnamese, or before that to the Indians).
Today's PRC does maintain a low profile when it
comes to international aggression, if only to
placate and numb people like you. The Maoist
"insurrection" in Nepal has been attributed to
"home-grown rebels" in most of the press, because
the interests of the multi-national corporations
are at risk. The PRC does make use of proxies
in their international aggression -- North Korea
comes to mind. Their underlying foreign policy
would appear to be "create turmoil and upset
the balance of power, because out of this strife
comes new opportunities". Nuclear and missile
technology proliferation has done wonders for
their interests in South Asia and the Middle East.
When the USA abruptly cancelled the creation of
a PRC/HK-owned seaport in Long Branch, CA, one
angry PRC general stood before the Politburo
and threatened to nuke Los Angeles. Of course,
this didn't make it into most of the world's
news channels because of overriding financial
interests (trade and emerging markets).
I would recommend that you do a bit more back-
ground reading on the PRC and what shennanigans
they have been up to before making too many
quick judgement calls. Try investigating, for
example, the seaports that PRC/HK have built
to control the Panama Canal. There is power
in knowledge, and the PRC is not just a big
fluffy panda
Amen to that!
I had a long association with a small regional
ISP called "EROLS" that provided great service.
At first, after they were gobbled up by a larger
ISP, there was no discernable difference in the
quality of the services they offered.
Then there was a surge of new subscribers,
and it quickly became apparent that they had
done little to improve their bandwidth -- busy
signals, slow connections, unexplained hang-ups
all pointed to severe over-subscription.
When the spammers began their flood of crap
in ernest, the ISP's response was not to filter
out the spam or block ranges of IP addresses.
Instead, they changed their ToS to limit connect
times and hours per month for their loyal
customers. Needless to say, I left this ISP,
but AFAIK, they still have done nothing to keep
the spammers in check.
BTW: This ISP is pretty large, having coverage
in all of New England and the Mid-Atlantic
states.
Another (national) ISP that I subsequently tried
had the annoying habit of dropping connections.
Their CS department will verbally acknowledge
that they have modified their posted ToS, but
will never provide hardcopy or email in that
regard. They advertise heavily, and are IMHO
grossly over-subscribed. While they did offer
some control over spammers, email messages were
frequently delayed by 8 to 24 hours. Copper
will even drop annual subscribers that exceed
their monthly usage limits more than once --
a policy that they do not post anywhere.
Until such time that the "Baby Bells" upgrade
their infrastructure to provide decent DSL
service, many USA internet users are stuck with
dial-up ISPs that abuse their subscribers.
By playing ball with the EU and paying their
fine, Microsoft improves their image in Europe,
making way for the REAL END-RUN around F/OSS.
MSFT will spread enough "love" around the EU MPs
to make EU software patents happen, at which
point they can tie all F/OSS development up
in lawsuits. MSFT is just spending their "love"
wisely.
What Bush did with this directive was to use a
tenuous moral rationale (executions and wars
still proceed, so death is not the moral issue).
Effectively, Dubya has raised the (monetary) bar
for entry into stem cell research to allow only
the mega-pharacutical companies to compete, not
unlike making re-importation of USA-manufactured
drugs (for lower cost) illegal. Only the big
drug companies will profit.
What California has done is to create a
"hothouse" environment in which small start-up
companies can compete with the "big boys".
I think this is a very good thing. (Of course,
Dubya comes off as the corporate whore he is,
but that's my opinion.)
did not fake the interview and response from
National Security Advisor Dr. Condi Rice when
questioned about Iraq's danger to the world
from WMD that was made much prior to 9-11-2001.
She was (essentially) quoted as saying that
Saddam was not a threat, and that he did not
have WMD. Yet, less than 24 hours after 9-11
happened (according to a credible report from
Richard Clarke), all effort was expended on
trying to link Saddam Hussein to 9-11-2001.
Subsequent to the USA's invasion of Iraq (based
upon the TWIN LIES of WMD and links to Al-Queda),
the rationale for going to war there has been on
shifting sands -- currently to bring democracy
to the Iraqi people (even if it kills them all).
The very cozy ties between the Bush familiy and
the Saudis may prove to be the most substantive
reason for the Bush-Iraqi War. George H.W. Bush
did not crush Saddam when he had the chance.
His son has executed the necessary follow-up war
to eliminate the single greatest threat to Saudi/
Wahhabist hegenomy in the Middle East - a secular
OPEC military power run by a madman.
I did I pay way too much for that $50 DVD
...
player I got that was made in China?
If the Chinese win a reprieve from the WTO,
maybe my next DVD player wil be free - just
bundled with a movie 3-pack from MGM
Unfortunately, TFA is a bunch of cow huey.
/.land
This is only an effort to justify what has
become a top-to-bottom Bush directive since
first taking office in 2001. Secrecy for
secrecy's sake. If a potential press release
has not been vetted by the appointed "political
officers" for the department, that press release
gets squashed. What the USA Patriot Act (I)
and subsequent directives have done is to raise
the secrecy bar (to cover their political message)
for all information. This is why government
whistleblowers now are threatened with criminal
charges (and some have gone to jail), rather than
just having problems with their (1) annual review
or (2) keeping their job.
This is just one more brick in the wall that
Bush & Co. have erected between the oversight
of government and the rights of the people to
know what their government is doing. Look (for
example) at the Bush administration's response
was to (1) the initial formation of the 9-11
commission, and then (2) providing all requested
information in a timely manner. It is a pretty
sad state of affairs when Congressional oversight
committees are given the cold shoulder by the
Executive branch -- and under Bush's reign this
has happened repeatedly.
IMHO, the Bush administration represents (in the
absolute worst way) the erosion of democracy in
the USA. It neither started with the USA Patriot
Act (I), nor will it end with the end of the
second Bush term. Bureaucracies have a tendency
abide by the physical law of the conservation
of energy. The inertia right now is toward a
more secretive government that is unresponsive
to the will of the poeple (as opposed to the
will of the corporations).
Slightly OT, but does anyone out there in
know of any FOIA inquiries regarding the total
Executive branch expenditures aimed at the flood
of propaganda that has hit the 4th estate to
promote Bush administration "agendas"?
would be called... an ORCHESTRA!
... (sob)
FTA, a pretty slick piece of work.
I want one (at least), but I am
certain I will not find the purchase
price in my sofa cushions
(Folks ... Yes, folks we have a winner ...)
But of course. MSFT sees an opportunity to
(1) lock in customers (2) ease DRM concerns,
and (3) increase profits. The increased use
of broadband, as well as public acceptance of
internet-based services (GMail, Google Desktop,
etc.) provides a nexus for MSFT's roll-out of
an internet-based subscription for all of their
applications (MSO) as well as email and storage.
Small businesses will have to choose between
slow security updates, steep prices, and probable
incompatabilities between versions of their MS
products, and an on-line subscription that gives
them rapid application updates, better security,
and (for now) a lower TCO. All-encompassing
trust and faith in MSFT for the health and
stability of my small business, versus reliance
upon that evil "communistic" F/OSS platform that
"might" just get shot down by the SCO Group,
or by Microsoft's software patents.
Microsoft DOES have a plan, and a real money-
maker, but it may not be such a great deal for
those businesses that (ultimately) find they
are being held hostage.
...the US justice system is a cluster fsck.
/.ers NOT see
Consider: The MSFT vs US DoJ anti-monopoly
case was dragged on by MSFT until a new AG
and different political party took power --
then MSFT (apparently) wrote their own
penalty for their misdeeds.
Consider: MSFT has been using SCO Group as a
proxy to fend off advances in market share and
"hearts and minds" from the F/OSS crowd. SCO
doesn't have a case (that they can prove), so
they plead with the courts for more time and
more code to try and "pull a rabbit out of
their hat". While I have no doubt (IANAL)
that IBM can successfully and conclusively
fight SCO Group's legal gambits, the onus of
FUD delays wider adoption of F/OSS, which gives
MSFT more breathing room. (Any
a connection between SCO's lame attempts to
cripple F/OSS, MSFT's blatent IP threats against
GNU/linux, and the long delay in the EU's final
decision AGAINST software patents?)
The axiom that "in America, you are innocent
until proven guilty" may have been true at
some point, but not these days. The **AA now
uses the Feds (DoJ) AND the courts to go after
proported file-sharers. Risk a long, drawn out
court case that bleeds your resources dry, or
pony up to an admission of guilt in trade for
reduced charges?
The American judicial system has completely
suborned by the rich and powerful, who even
if the case they present is spurious, can evoke
submission of the innocent by dragging out their
case in court. MSFT has used this tactic on
numerous occasions in court, dragging the trial
out until the outcome is moot (eg. MSFT vs Sun).
That said, one of the states most deeply involved
in corporate rights over the peoples' rights has
been Utah (and in the guise of (R) Senator Hatch.
IMHO, a corporate whore of the worst sort. (Well,
he actually has a lot of company these days.)
Isn't there a possibility that a well organized
crime ring would go to Verisign for their signed
authority? If the CA is included in the browser,
the DNS cache poisoned, and the URL spoofed, how
would the end-user know any difference?
The real lesson here (IMHO, and IANAL) is that
... NOT!
while copyright infringement may be a civil
matter and not a crime, "conspiracy to commit"
IS.
The **AA now has the full weight of the US DoJ
(surely this is now an oxymoron?) behind them
in their pursuit of these IP "terrorists".
With John Ashcroft and the rest of the Bush
team fully in charge, I can finally get a good
night's sleep
HP has finally embraced the "SCO Method" of corporate financial governance -- "in a period of shrinking market share, go after your customers". HP used to be an icon of the high tech industry, with a well-respected name in everything from scientific instruments to servers to calculators to printers. Look at how far they have fallen. If the shareholders and the Board of Directors don't fire Carly Fiorina, they will all be out of a job within 3 years. (And at that point, Fiorina will have preserved her "perfect" record managing respected high tech companies.)
Amen!
The Bush administration, early on (check the video footage of Condi Rice in "F9-11"), knew with some certainty that Saddam DID NOT HAVE WMD. After the still-secret Cheney Energy Commission meetings, and immediately after 9/11/2001, any/all possible excuses were to be dredged up to justify the invasion of Iraq. Considering (1) the ties between the Bush family and the Saudi royal family, (2) the numerous ties between the Bush administration and the energy sector, and (3) the pre-9/11/2001 ties between the USA energy sector and the Taliban, any self-respecting conspiracy theorist would at least consider the possibility that the 9/11 attack was (A) sponsered by the Saudi government, (B) was sanctioned by a Bush "inner circle", and (C) carried out to reinforce Bush's hold on power (to carry out Saudi wishes) -- the deposing of Saddam Hussein who represented the single greatest threat to the hegenomy of the Saudi royal family.
The US Dept. of State instituted the "Visa Express" program specifically to allow the easy egress of Saudi nationals into the USA. If you think back to the early days of the CIA (actually the OSS), there is a strong resemblence between the OSS and the formation of Al-Queda. Al-Queda should be more properly viewed as the OSS of the Saudi government, but with enough "plausible deniability" for the Saudi royal family to continue to debach in Europe's playgrounds. The Bush administration would like to convey the image of a slightly "hayseed" organization, but their policy papers and roadmap have been carefully crafted by the neo-conservative think tanks
for more than a decade. Newt Gingrich's "Contract
With America" was the first scrimmage -- think
NFL here, and not Junior Varsity.
This is why there has been no "exit strategy"
publically pronounced for the war in Iraq, and
why the Iraqi war has been (purposefully) run so
badly -- the real goal is not democracy in Iraq,
but of civil war and fragmentation that the
Wahhabists (Al-Queda) can take advantage of.
What the Saudis want, and what the Bush team
want dovetail very neatly in the Iraqi conflict.
Carving Iraq into competing spheres of influence
is better for American energy interests. It
actually even suits the Turks, who will briefly
see an autonomous Kurdistan that will be crushed
between Turky, the Saudis, and the Iranians.
By the way, if you you were going to overthrow the
US government from the inside, what better way to
insure the loyalty of the military but to fully engage them in a "meat-grinder" of a foreign conflict. Those soldiers most likely to waver in their support of the President will keep getting sent on dangerous and foolish missions, or else subjected to "friendly fire". At some point, the vetting process will have been completed, and the troops will be ready for their next target, the American people (again).
If you take a look at the nonsensical spending
programs of the Bush administration, versus
the apparent (and touted) terrorist threats,
you begin to see a pattern of total disregard
for the possibility of additional terrorist
action in the USA. Hundreds of billions spent
on the war in Iraq, and a hundred billion spent
on a non-working anti-missile defense system,
while the USA's borders and seaports continue to
be largely unguarded. (Just recently, a group
of Chinese were captured in the Port of LA while
escaping from a cargo container. They could
just as easily have been Al-Queda or Hezbolah
or North Koreans with a nuclear device, ready to
go.) No, the spending patterns of this Bush
administration do not match the needs for greater
homeland security. Nor do the policies of the
Bush administration match those same needs. It
boils down to this: 9/11 was a blip on the radar
screen that justified a high level of secrecy
within the Bush administration, including the
war in Iraq and the USA Patriot Act (I). One
has been used to justify the abject & total
r
Ever wonder why so many of the telcos that were
encouraged to lay fiber optic cable went tits-up?
Or why there is so much more "dark" fiber than
"lit" fiber? Or if just maybe there was a secret
deal between MS and the DoJ (anti-monopoly
settlement) to make||leave holes in their OS for
the Feds? Or where all that cash from the 2004
election really went (like into propaganda to
push thru the US public media outlets?)
The FBI's "CARNIVORE" project was dropped because
they don't need it anymore. Between all the
security holes in MS OS / IE, the major spyware
"vendors", an dnew technology like Google's
"Desktop Search", the FBI (under the aegis of the
DHS & USA Patriot Act (I)) can reach right thru
the internet onto your desktop.
Business interests dictate total compliance
with whatever the Bush administration wants,
and the Bush administration does what is best
for their corporate contributors. The USA today
is little more that a hollow shell of the robust
democracy that it used to be. Eisenhower's
dark warning about the military-industrial
complex didn't go nearly far enough. The USA
may now properly be considered a government of
"Corporate National Socialism". No more.
FWIW, I ripped the 4200 RPM 60 GB HD out
...)
of my 15" PowerBook about 1 year ago, and
replaced it with a 7200 RPM 60 GB Hitachi
(HK7K series). It was pretty expensive
(nearly $200 USD), but the computer has
been quite a bit more responsive. And BTW,
neither the battery power drain nor the
heat have been appreciably affected -- the
same power saving technology works with the
HK7K disk.
From other posts here, there is a large, slow
moving (quiet) fan in the Mini. Use of an
adapter to put a 10K RPM 3.5 inch disk in
should not require a new fan - it may run more
frequently and at a somewhat higher speed (more
noise). I might be somewhat more concerned
about the output of the power brick, as well
as any internal terminal for supplying the
power a 3.5 inch disk would require. Perhaps
just another mod to make, while we're at it?
(Damn, I want one of these Mac Minis
My parents told me to save for my old age,
but it sure looked like I was going to get
my ass shot off in a faraway jungle, so I
ignored them.
Someone told me to go to work for a big
company, but those big companies switched
to 401Ks, turned their kited stock into
toilet paper, raided their pension funds
with the help of the courts, and began
shipping all their jobs offshore.
Someone told me to invest my money in the
financial sector, but the savings&loan
companies were Ponzi schemes, the stock
brokers were peddling bad paper, and the
mutual funds were busy churning stock for
the admin fees.
Somebody told me to buy US Treasury bonds,
but the Feds are spending money like drunken
sailors, and the $550B USD they had in their
hands in 2001 has turned (already) into $2.5T
USD of debt for my children and grandchildren
and great-grandchildren to pay.
The only people I see that are really doing
better in the good old USA are the rich, the
powerful, and the shills that help spread
their BS propaganda.
Lies, damn lies, and statistics. Short of
spiking the water supply and stealing votes,
just exactly how did this idiot icon of the
1890's robber baron era ever get (re-)elected?
9-11 : the terrorists are coming, let me spend
your money on BS like ABM.
TAXES: way too high - let me give your money
to the rich so they can hire more
illegal domestic help for that new
vacation home in the Hampshires.
WMD : the WMD is coming, let me invade Iraq.
SS : the sky is falling, let me help the
stock brokers pick you pockets.
WTF! I am really tired of shoveling the BS
that keeps rolling downhill onto me.
The last confirmed payout for "reporter
integrity" is $240K USD. Considering:
(1) the general state of the USA economy,
(2) there are holiday bills to be paid,
and (3) Dubya's push to lower wages,
that $240K may represent a high point.
BTW: The fee is a really a private
negotiation between the "John"
and the "Hooker", so YMMV.
Verisign exercises a lot of power - between .com and their CA business. They
.net TLD, in spite of .com TLD as well. When does their .com TLD expire, anyway?
managing
have already aptly demonstrated that they
cannot be trusted to comply with ICANN, so
ICANN should let them have it. Right between
the eyes.
Verisgn should be barred from bidding on
management of the
support from MSFT and IBM. In fact, ICANN
should be looking for a new manager for
the
contract for the
Just my rapidly depreciating $00.02 worth.