Premier automotive audiophile / general audiophile source in N.A. They've been around since the paper catalog mail order days, and have transitioned well to the internet.
Obviously, if you are a/. reader from outside N.A. you might not have heard of them.
Capitalism as an economic system is largely Anarchical in that there is no single entity controlling economic exchange. Capitalism relies on market forces to control exchange and commerce, and works very, very well. Indeed, when one attempts to provide a central controller, Capitalism's self-order very quickly breaks down
You can see this at work in our current economic slump, caused by meddling in market forces by government agencies, and furthered by continued meddling and "bailoutism".
So, yeah, it's unrealistic to replace cars with horses NOW that we've strewn our houses and jobs all over the landscape.
No, it's always been unrealistic.
The reason that cars took off in the way they did was not just because they were more convenient. One of the main reasons the car replaced the horse was due to cleanliness. In large cities, (which already existed at the turn of the century) the pollution problem of all those animals sharing space with humans was a major major headache, and had only been getting worse as the industrial revolution took off and cities became even more crowded as people moved out of the country and into the city for work.
Motor Vehicles came along at just the right time to relieve the animal burden and speed up transportation of food and materials to the growing cities. The steam trains of the day simply could not transport enough people, food, and materials. Even if they could, once in the city all that stuff still had to be moved around. In some cases many miles across the heart of the city. Horses and Oxen could not do it.
So even then there was no going back. We had reached the limit of what beasts of burden could provide. We were at the end of that stage in our development as a species and as a society and needed to move onward and upward away from messy animals.
While it's fun to play "what if" and have nice romantic fantasies about what might have been, the fact is that things played out the way they did because they COULD NOT have played out in any other way and have our society exist as it does today. The steps we took were critically necessary that they happen WHEN and HOW they did. No other option was viable. Sorry.
Incidentally, I would have loved to have been "paddled" by my 11th grade math teacher. She was right off of her assistant teaching stint after college. The last day of school she wore this leather miniskirt... Wow. Just wow.
I care about whether we are crying because we realize we're the next species that's going to go extinct.
Then the best thing we can do is to stop meddling with our economies by trying to pass cap and trade (and other socialist, big govt. style) legislation, and freeing up our industry to devise ways to get us off this rock if and when the need to do so arises.
Currently, every single solution proposed by the high priesthood of the Unified Church of Climate Change (formerly the Church of Global Warming) has been essentially Socialism, Communism, and Fascism (not necessarily in that order). Which will (of course) utterly cripple our industry and our ability to adapt to change.
Top heavy centrally controlled monolithic organizations (AKA: Socialism, Communism, Fascism) are slow to change. Decentralized open organizations (AKA: Federalist Capitalism) are rapid adapters. GNU and OSS have taught us this. Why the GW acolytes haven't gotten this yet is beyond me.
But I wonder how police officers would react if GPS devices were surreptitiously placed on their cruisers.
I was under the impression that police cruisers in most (if not all) locales in the US have been equipped with GPS tracking for many years now. I know for a fact that the NY State trooper vehicles have them (I have an in-law who's a trooper) and I think my local township does too. From what my in-law told me, the troopers union requested the GPS devices for officer safety reasons.
From my basic understanding of the US legal system, evidence obtained improperly is considered tainted and suspect, and is thus thrown out.
Think of it this way; If the police officer in question is willing to collect evidence in a manner contrary to procedure and law, it is entirely likely that he is willing to plant or forge evidence to get a conviction.
Remember: In America, it's still "Innocent until proven guilty." no matter what one advocacy group or another might say. While I hate for a burglar to go free, we cannot assume that the defendant in this case was indeed a burglar just because the police say so. Nor can we assume the evidence wasn't forged in some manner if the police weren't even willing to follow procedure.
The judges did the right thing in tossing out the evidence, IMHO.
What is not noted in TFM is what the defense approach was. On what grounds did they protest the use of GPS tracking? Add to that the potential variances in state law and it's not shocking that we might get an opposite conclusion.
Of course, IANAL, so I could we way off here. Is NY Country Lawyer around to answer this one?
Phillips is nothing more than a populist hack who uses twisted statistics and hyperbole in his sensationalist books. While I applaud his naked ambition, I wish he wouldn't do it in a manner which so badly misinforms his target audience.
To put it another way, your numbers are wrong just like Phillips is.
Well THAT is where local government involvement comes in. As citizen members of a Co-Op you go to the town board and demand they repeal any exclusive agreements with any ISPs, thus allowing free competition. If your Co-Op is large enough it can easily represent 80-90% of the local voting populace in a small town. Only a stupid (and quickly unemployed) politician won't listen to those kinds of numbers.
This allows your Co-Op to purchase permits and land access to run wires and build a datacenter. just as if it was a regular private company, except that as local citizens you have to votes to essentially "fire" any politician who doesn't play ball and allow free market access.
That is how a capitalistic republic works, and how the lack of last-mile access to many smaller communities could be solved. All without creating yet another government monopoly.
But people ARE allowed to build their own network if they want to. It's called a Co-Op. If the local townspeople want to start a community ISP, they can do so in the PRIVATE sector by forming a Co-Op that anyone in the community can join by buying shares. That Co-Op ISP can then market for capital, hire technicians (bonus for creating local jobs without wasting tax dollars!) run lines, build a datacenter, and get started. If people REALLY want to do it, they can. There isn't a need for the government to get involved!
Of course, when the local government can opt-itself out of all the onerous and burdensome taxes and regulation they weigh down private interests with why wouldn't they? But that's just Socialism, not the free market.
this is exactly why government intervention makes sense in many cases
This is why government intervention makes NO sense at all.
Why in the world should we have to choose between funding schools (Johnny's gym jumprope) and fast internet service? The two are totally unrelated! Of course, when everything is run by the Government Monopoly Inc. (GMI) then yes, they are related because the GMI can only confiscate so much per quarter from taxpayers, so all the money must come from a single, limited pot.
However, if the schools are private and the Internet service is private then the money is limited only by the market, which means that it is practically unlimited. So in a Capitalist system Johnny gets his jumprope, and a new playground set besides, and we all get 100MB service to our homes.
Of course, in that system the local government would NOT be allowed to limit the number of ISPs servicing an area, so there would be real competition for service in that last mile. There might be a few more wires strung and/or tunnels dug to run the lines, but there would be more service, more competition, and CHEAPER PRICES.
It never fails to amaze me how many people don't understand that most of the major socio-political and economic problems we have today are directly due to the application of too much socialistic GMI and not enough application of Capitalistic Federalism. It would be funny if it wasn't so sick and sad.
If I had mod points I would mod you up. Sadly, I do not. I will settle for a hearty congratulations on an excellent post.
I would add you to my friend list, but you posted as an AC. Next time post that as yourself so I can add you to my list of wise and intelligent people.
Cheap, readily available airborne vehicles would be carnage
That, and the whole "easy access to flying vehicles for anyone including Islamic radicals = a bad thing" bit. Do we REALLY want to deal with a thousand mini-9/11's every year just so we can all have that 1950's dream of the future?
I think I'll just be happy to stay on the ground, thank you.
While all the points you make are correct, you are making the mistake of assuming that people are making a value judgment in the same manner you are. They aren't. The reason many people still pirate software/music/movies/t.v./etc is for one simple reason: THEY CAN. No value judgment, no morality play. They do it because they can, end line.
The problem with making value and morality based arguments with these folks is that your arguments fall upon deaf ears. None of that matters to them. Very often they are perfectly aware of all your arguments. They don't care. They pirate it because they can, no further argument. These folks will never be won over, they will always pirate.
THIS is the kind of piracy that any digital industry will always have to deal with. There will always be people willing to pirate simply because they can. Nothing you can do about it but accept it as a cost of doing business and move on.
I'm reminded of the xkcd comic (which I can't find right now) where the Microsoft employee is talking about a precise drunkenness ratio needed to create good software. Apparently just letting a bunch of employees have large quantities of unmetered alcohol is what led to Windows ME.:)
How about: Because the XP Source code is private property and obligating any company to give away their private property is basically theft via laws.
I'm as much of a fan of Open Source as the next guy, but Open Sourcing something MUST be a voluntary thing that a company is Free to do if they think it best. Obligating via the law is nothing short of legalized looting of IP. YOU wouldn't want to be forced, would you? Neither should Microsoft or any other company be forced. Open Source must remain VOLUNTARY if it is to continue to represent Freedom.
Ice always displaces it's volume in water. Period. The shape of the ice isn't relevant. Indeed; the largest, heaviest, "most likely to displace water" portions of an irregular ice shape will always be under water, displacing water.
Little known fact: As an iceberg melts it rolls over and over, constantly putting the heaviest largest section under water. Once that section melts enough (being exposed to the melting effects of salt water) the berg rolls over, and the top becomes the bottom and vice-versa.
Slashdot Mirror
Crutchfield.
Premier automotive audiophile / general audiophile source in N.A. They've been around since the paper catalog mail order days, and have transitioned well to the internet.
Obviously, if you are a /. reader from outside N.A. you might not have heard of them.
Not so.
Capitalism as an economic system is largely Anarchical in that there is no single entity controlling economic exchange. Capitalism relies on market forces to control exchange and commerce, and works very, very well. Indeed, when one attempts to provide a central controller, Capitalism's self-order very quickly breaks down
You can see this at work in our current economic slump, caused by meddling in market forces by government agencies, and furthered by continued meddling and "bailoutism".
No, it's always been unrealistic.
The reason that cars took off in the way they did was not just because they were more convenient. One of the main reasons the car replaced the horse was due to cleanliness. In large cities, (which already existed at the turn of the century) the pollution problem of all those animals sharing space with humans was a major major headache, and had only been getting worse as the industrial revolution took off and cities became even more crowded as people moved out of the country and into the city for work.
Motor Vehicles came along at just the right time to relieve the animal burden and speed up transportation of food and materials to the growing cities. The steam trains of the day simply could not transport enough people, food, and materials. Even if they could, once in the city all that stuff still had to be moved around. In some cases many miles across the heart of the city. Horses and Oxen could not do it.
So even then there was no going back. We had reached the limit of what beasts of burden could provide. We were at the end of that stage in our development as a species and as a society and needed to move onward and upward away from messy animals.
While it's fun to play "what if" and have nice romantic fantasies about what might have been, the fact is that things played out the way they did because they COULD NOT have played out in any other way and have our society exist as it does today. The steps we took were critically necessary that they happen WHEN and HOW they did. No other option was viable. Sorry.
just posting to strip an erroneous mod.
Incidentally, I would have loved to have been "paddled" by my 11th grade math teacher. She was right off of her assistant teaching stint after college. The last day of school she wore this leather miniskirt... Wow. Just wow.
I care about whether we are crying because we realize we're the next species that's going to go extinct.
Then the best thing we can do is to stop meddling with our economies by trying to pass cap and trade (and other socialist, big govt. style) legislation, and freeing up our industry to devise ways to get us off this rock if and when the need to do so arises.
Currently, every single solution proposed by the high priesthood of the Unified Church of Climate Change (formerly the Church of Global Warming) has been essentially Socialism, Communism, and Fascism (not necessarily in that order). Which will (of course) utterly cripple our industry and our ability to adapt to change.
Top heavy centrally controlled monolithic organizations (AKA: Socialism, Communism, Fascism) are slow to change. Decentralized open organizations (AKA: Federalist Capitalism) are rapid adapters. GNU and OSS have taught us this. Why the GW acolytes haven't gotten this yet is beyond me.
I was under the impression that police cruisers in most (if not all) locales in the US have been equipped with GPS tracking for many years now. I know for a fact that the NY State trooper vehicles have them (I have an in-law who's a trooper) and I think my local township does too. From what my in-law told me, the troopers union requested the GPS devices for officer safety reasons.
From my basic understanding of the US legal system, evidence obtained improperly is considered tainted and suspect, and is thus thrown out.
Think of it this way; If the police officer in question is willing to collect evidence in a manner contrary to procedure and law, it is entirely likely that he is willing to plant or forge evidence to get a conviction.
Remember: In America, it's still "Innocent until proven guilty." no matter what one advocacy group or another might say. While I hate for a burglar to go free, we cannot assume that the defendant in this case was indeed a burglar just because the police say so. Nor can we assume the evidence wasn't forged in some manner if the police weren't even willing to follow procedure.
The judges did the right thing in tossing out the evidence, IMHO.
What is not noted in TFM is what the defense approach was. On what grounds did they protest the use of GPS tracking? Add to that the potential variances in state law and it's not shocking that we might get an opposite conclusion.
Of course, IANAL, so I could we way off here. Is NY Country Lawyer around to answer this one?
Not to be a "nooge" or anything, but you pretty much DID buy an oversized PDA. An X31 is a remarkably primitive laptop by today's standards.
You're quoting a Wikipedia article about the nutcase Kevin Phillips? And we're supposed to take you seriously?
ROFL!
Kevin Phillips is wrong about everything.
Phillips is nothing more than a populist hack who uses twisted statistics and hyperbole in his sensationalist books. While I applaud his naked ambition, I wish he wouldn't do it in a manner which so badly misinforms his target audience.
To put it another way, your numbers are wrong just like Phillips is.
Well THAT is where local government involvement comes in. As citizen members of a Co-Op you go to the town board and demand they repeal any exclusive agreements with any ISPs, thus allowing free competition. If your Co-Op is large enough it can easily represent 80-90% of the local voting populace in a small town. Only a stupid (and quickly unemployed) politician won't listen to those kinds of numbers.
This allows your Co-Op to purchase permits and land access to run wires and build a datacenter. just as if it was a regular private company, except that as local citizens you have to votes to essentially "fire" any politician who doesn't play ball and allow free market access.
That is how a capitalistic republic works, and how the lack of last-mile access to many smaller communities could be solved. All without creating yet another government monopoly.
But people ARE allowed to build their own network if they want to. It's called a Co-Op. If the local townspeople want to start a community ISP, they can do so in the PRIVATE sector by forming a Co-Op that anyone in the community can join by buying shares. That Co-Op ISP can then market for capital, hire technicians (bonus for creating local jobs without wasting tax dollars!) run lines, build a datacenter, and get started. If people REALLY want to do it, they can. There isn't a need for the government to get involved!
Of course, when the local government can opt-itself out of all the onerous and burdensome taxes and regulation they weigh down private interests with why wouldn't they? But that's just Socialism, not the free market.
This is why government intervention makes NO sense at all.
Why in the world should we have to choose between funding schools (Johnny's gym jumprope) and fast internet service? The two are totally unrelated! Of course, when everything is run by the Government Monopoly Inc. (GMI) then yes, they are related because the GMI can only confiscate so much per quarter from taxpayers, so all the money must come from a single, limited pot.
However, if the schools are private and the Internet service is private then the money is limited only by the market, which means that it is practically unlimited. So in a Capitalist system Johnny gets his jumprope, and a new playground set besides, and we all get 100MB service to our homes.
Of course, in that system the local government would NOT be allowed to limit the number of ISPs servicing an area, so there would be real competition for service in that last mile. There might be a few more wires strung and/or tunnels dug to run the lines, but there would be more service, more competition, and CHEAPER PRICES.
It never fails to amaze me how many people don't understand that most of the major socio-political and economic problems we have today are directly due to the application of too much socialistic GMI and not enough application of Capitalistic Federalism. It would be funny if it wasn't so sick and sad.
Wisely said sir.
If I had mod points I would mod you up. Sadly, I do not. I will settle for a hearty congratulations on an excellent post.
I would add you to my friend list, but you posted as an AC. Next time post that as yourself so I can add you to my list of wise and intelligent people.
Cheers!
That, and the whole "easy access to flying vehicles for anyone including Islamic radicals = a bad thing" bit. Do we REALLY want to deal with a thousand mini-9/11's every year just so we can all have that 1950's dream of the future?
I think I'll just be happy to stay on the ground, thank you.
Not all of us. I've already gotten a first post. And it was a topical and insightful (modded +5!) First Post. So there. :P
Here's a better shot.
Still don't wanna see the Chi-Coms coming at me in one of those.
You mean, like this one?
I dunno, the thought of the Red Chinese flying one of those sounds rather daunting.
You're over-thinking the issue.
While all the points you make are correct, you are making the mistake of assuming that people are making a value judgment in the same manner you are. They aren't. The reason many people still pirate software/music/movies/t.v./etc is for one simple reason: THEY CAN. No value judgment, no morality play. They do it because they can, end line.
The problem with making value and morality based arguments with these folks is that your arguments fall upon deaf ears. None of that matters to them. Very often they are perfectly aware of all your arguments. They don't care. They pirate it because they can, no further argument. These folks will never be won over, they will always pirate.
THIS is the kind of piracy that any digital industry will always have to deal with. There will always be people willing to pirate simply because they can. Nothing you can do about it but accept it as a cost of doing business and move on.
It sucks, but such is life.
Please don't use the word "fingering" in a thread about gay people. It makes for some uncomfortable mental imagery.
Scratch that.
Found it!
I'm reminded of the xkcd comic (which I can't find right now) where the Microsoft employee is talking about a precise drunkenness ratio needed to create good software. Apparently just letting a bunch of employees have large quantities of unmetered alcohol is what led to Windows ME. :)
Is that anything like a hive of scum and villainy?
How about: Because the XP Source code is private property and obligating any company to give away their private property is basically theft via laws.
I'm as much of a fan of Open Source as the next guy, but Open Sourcing something MUST be a voluntary thing that a company is Free to do if they think it best. Obligating via the law is nothing short of legalized looting of IP. YOU wouldn't want to be forced, would you? Neither should Microsoft or any other company be forced. Open Source must remain VOLUNTARY if it is to continue to represent Freedom.
Nope.
Ice always displaces it's volume in water. Period. The shape of the ice isn't relevant. Indeed; the largest, heaviest, "most likely to displace water" portions of an irregular ice shape will always be under water, displacing water.
Little known fact: As an iceberg melts it rolls over and over, constantly putting the heaviest largest section under water. Once that section melts enough (being exposed to the melting effects of salt water) the berg rolls over, and the top becomes the bottom and vice-versa.