People (such a George Bush) who defend Microsoft in the name of the free market need to remember that markets, when left free, can become decidedly unfree. This is what happened with MS. Government intervention is now required to return the OS/Word Processor/Spreadsheet/Web Browser/Media Player markets back to a free state.
They may not have one. I suspect that a fair number of Europeans are fairly upset with the USA for many reasons and that these ill feelings are spilling over into this negotiation. Microsoft may not have expected this, thinking the negotiators were going to soften up (people ususally buckle under the extreme pressure microsoft exerts). Also, the lawyers that the EU found seem smarter than the American lawyers in the DOJ in understanding this market. The EU realizes that Microsoft being a monopoly is a major problem. The Americans weren't quite convinced of this, remember all the discussion of Microsoft being a "natural monopoly" and that it had to be that way to ensure software compatability. Faced with the unexpected tenacity of the EU regulators and the fact that Microsoft would be nothing without their monopoly, they had to walk away from the table and come up with a new plan.
Next time I'd love to see the big tech companies put some money into this. With robots sponsored by Microsoft, IBM, Apple, etc. going head to head, man, that would be awsome to watch!
I've been obsessed with this idea ever since I saw a television show (maybe "Modern Marvels" on the History Channel, but I don't remember for sure) that said maglev trains could go faster than rockets. I'm not a physicist so I was having trouble figuring out if the idea was realistic. I figured that the whole ramp could be built underground to help maintain the vacuum (that would help deal with the supersonic boom problem mentioned by another poster). I also imagined that the tracks could head up a mountain, more for support for the tracks than to get extra height. The maglev track doesn't even need to provide all the lift. There could be rockets that engage once the train leaves the tunnel, to give it the last bit of thrust it needs. It seems to me that technologies such as this could finally help us achieve the dream of reusable launch vehicles. NASA sucks for putting all their money into a space station that serves no purpose than to conduct experiments that most scientists think are either a waste of time, or better done by robots. They should be working on foreword thinking technologies like this!
Yoncarzy http://www.johncrary.com "As you ramble on through life, brother, whatever be your goal -- keep your eye upon the doughnut and not upon the hole."
Speaking of Furchgott, Raymond Damadian did his research in the same building here at SUNY Downstate Medical Center as Furchgott.
For those of you who don't know, Damadian was the guy who built the first MRI and published his results in Science magazine in 1971, two years before Lauterbur!
Slashdot Mirror
Oh my God, I never knew that checking Slashdot every day was a "problem". Maybe I need treatment....
I would be really exciting if they could get McDonalds to SUPERSIZE the order!
People (such a George Bush) who defend Microsoft in the name of the free market need to remember that markets, when left free, can become decidedly unfree. This is what happened with MS. Government intervention is now required to return the OS/Word Processor/Spreadsheet/Web Browser/Media Player markets back to a free state.
They may not have one. I suspect that a fair number of Europeans are fairly upset with the USA for many reasons and that these ill feelings are spilling over into this negotiation. Microsoft may not have expected this, thinking the negotiators were going to soften up (people ususally buckle under the extreme pressure microsoft exerts). Also, the lawyers that the EU found seem smarter than the American lawyers in the DOJ in understanding this market. The EU realizes that Microsoft being a monopoly is a major problem. The Americans weren't quite convinced of this, remember all the discussion of Microsoft being a "natural monopoly" and that it had to be that way to ensure software compatability. Faced with the unexpected tenacity of the EU regulators and the fact that Microsoft would be nothing without their monopoly, they had to walk away from the table and come up with a new plan.
Intel going up against AMD hardly has the drama of a Microsoft Windows sponsored SUV battling it out with an Apple MacOS X powered ATV.
Also, next time they should definitely have some weapons, maybe some predator style hellfire missiles. Now that I'd love to watch!
Next time I'd love to see the big tech companies put some money into this. With robots sponsored by Microsoft, IBM, Apple, etc. going head to head, man, that would be awsome to watch!
I've been obsessed with this idea ever since I saw a television show (maybe "Modern Marvels" on the History Channel, but I don't remember for sure) that said maglev trains could go faster than rockets. I'm not a physicist so I was having trouble figuring out if the idea was realistic. I figured that the whole ramp could be built underground to help maintain the vacuum (that would help deal with the supersonic boom problem mentioned by another poster). I also imagined that the tracks could head up a mountain, more for support for the tracks than to get extra height. The maglev track doesn't even need to provide all the lift. There could be rockets that engage once the train leaves the tunnel, to give it the last bit of thrust it needs. It seems to me that technologies such as this could finally help us achieve the dream of reusable launch vehicles. NASA sucks for putting all their money into a space station that serves no purpose than to conduct experiments that most scientists think are either a waste of time, or better done by robots. They should be working on foreword thinking technologies like this!
Yoncarzy
http://www.johncrary.com
"As you ramble on through life, brother, whatever be your goal -- keep your eye upon the doughnut and not upon the hole."
Speaking of Furchgott, Raymond Damadian did his research in the same building here at SUNY Downstate Medical Center as Furchgott. For those of you who don't know, Damadian was the guy who built the first MRI and published his results in Science magazine in 1971, two years before Lauterbur!