.....But then by going the fuel cell route, you completely eliminate energy efficiency gains........
That may be, but efficiency isn't always the most important. If a motorist on a cross country trip has to stop for a long time, (more than 15 min) each time the car needs a charge, that will never work. To drive an average weight car the same distance as a tank of gas will today, takes at least 300Kwh. That means even to charge is up in an hour would require a 300 KW powers supply! The average house can draw about 45KW before the main breaker pops.
The bottom line is: Even if a battery driven car can go 300 miles on a single charge (none can yet so far as I know) such a car is a step backward from what is available in showrooms today. A fuel cell, efficiency be damned, is the only way, now or in the future, to make a vehicle equivalent to what we have today, that is driven purely by electricity and therefore totally zero emissions.
You still have to figure out how to pump enough energy into such a battery in about the time it takes to fill up a gas tank. For commuting and shopping around home, a plug in, overnight charger should work, but when on a trip that will not do.
Some have proposed exchangeable standardized batteries to get around this problem. That would only work if all batteries were owned and maintained by the energy providers who would also collect the road taxes. Otherwise a motorist might get an almost worn out battery for the new one that came with the car.
Most likely, electric cars powered by fuel cell/ultracapacitor packs would give us the best solution. The hydrogen for these could be made by whatever sources of electricity were the best for a region or a country.
.....If your city doesn't like car air pollution why not ban or fine them?......
So then in a city of a million 10 to 20% decide simply NOT pay such an outrageous fine. Will they put up to 200,000 people in jail? You have to be realistic about it. The reason traffic fines work is because they are small and people can avoid them by being obedient to the law. Levying a fine on everybody wouldn't work even in the most draconian dictatorship, let alone a democracy. A fine on everybody or a large class of people is normally called a tax. If a tax is too large and levied on almost everybody, people will simply ignore it. The reason income taxes work is because they are extracted gradually via payroll deductions. If the IRS tried to collect thousands of $$$ from everybody on April 15, they wouldn't have such success.
.....For the ISP to do otherwise is fraud. If the ISP enters multiple contracts and it cannot fulfill them all (over-subscribes) that is fraud on the part of the ISP.......
Many businesses do this and it is not necessarily fraud. Most utilities are based on average use. I everybody flushes their toilet at once, the water pressure drops. After an earthquake or events such as 911, the phone system is overloaded and likely there will be no dial tone. Airlines and Hotels over-book. Like many utilities, the Internet utility has to be laid out for normal use throughout the day. Maybe, some of the ISPs skimp on this. In my experience, our DSL seems to max out at the contracted level at all times. I understand that cable Internet is a shared service and can vary considerably, depending on traffic. My daughter has cable and it was MUCH faster late at might and almost as slow as our present DSL at peak times.
.....some ISP's" want you to surf the web, check your email, and play online games.......
Isn't that all that the vast majority of people who don't surf to/. or similar sites want? Maybe those who want to do more than that should get a special account from their ISP that lets then do that and also costs more? Running a torrent server is no different than running any other server. Those running servers of any sort on the Internet SHOULD pay significantly more than Mom or Pop who want to just get email from the grandchildren or check their favorite news and weather sites.
What ISPs must be prevented from doing is filtering based on content or where the ordinary user gets that content.
If running any sort of server cost significantly more, illegal file sharing would also greatly diminish, easing the pressure if ISP's to add more capacity. A basic, low cost account could allow unlimited downloading, but charge a steep premium for uploading large amounts of data, especially to a large variety of different addresses. This would also give those with infected spambot systems a good incentive to clean up their spam-spewing computers. Anyone willing to pay more, would not be subject to such filtering, but have a truly symmetrical connection to the Internet, at whatever speed they could afford. All Internet users simply are not equal and one size fits all is not such a good idea.
....the citizens won't just have more copies of the constitution to wave around - they'll have guns.......
The sad thing is that the more citizens turn to unloving and violent ways, including the USE of, not the possession of guns, the more incarcerated or even dead citizens we'll have. The US has one of the highest percentages of people in prison, of any nation on the planet. We pile law on top of law, yet more and more people are not keeping the ten simple laws the supreme Government of the Universe, God Himself, handed personally to humanity. These ten are condensed into one law of love with two inseparable components; one, to love God and two, to love each other.
The state and the Government can never be more than a reflector of the sum total of the individuals therein. In a democracy, the leaders are elected from that pool and also reflect the degree to which people respect and honor God and each other. The people who founded this nations honored and respected God and therefore each other. They wrote the guidelines down in foundational documents, such as the Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of the US. The writers of the Declaration of Independence, which came before the Constitution, clearly recognized that God, the Creator is the giver of inalienable human rights, not some Government. The authors of the Constitution had this in mind, then the spelled out some of the details this entailed. They also knew the human predisposition to selfish behavior and did a pretty good job in spelling out the boundaries this selfishness must not cross, particularly as applied to government. If people will not abide by God's law of love, then the law of the gun will take over. No piece of paper can change that.
.... God judges our sins in the context of everything we have done......
as weighed by the rules he laid down in the very beginning there in the Garden. These are summed up by the Golden Rule -- Love your neighbor like yourself.
(.....could become a primary suspect for some terrorist act in the absence of any actual evidence......)
Privacy is fundamental, because there are those everywhere, but especially in government, who don't care even a little about justice, but only about power and wealth. It's a manifestation of basic human selfishness we all share from childhood onward.
(....I have a feeling things are going to get a whole lot uglier before they get better....)
That feeling of yours is in line with a prediction that Jesus made. He said, it'll get so bad, that He will be forced to return to take over the World's Government, before humanity succeeds of wiping themselves and all life from His planet. Mankind has the WMDs to do this even now. After He takes over, it well get better, much better on THIS planet than it has ever been before.
......Forgot to ask Christ's forgiveness, even though you've led an exemplary life?.....
The rule of God's justice is simple: "The soul that sins, it shall die" (Ezekiel 18:4) It's been that way since the beginning. "....for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Genesis 2:17)
The only one that never sinned, even once was Jesus. None of us can stand before a God of perfect justice. We have all broken His rules many times. However, God invites us to mercy because Jesus suffered the justice of God on our behalf. So now every person can have mercy based on a request for that mercy from Jesus. Those who REFUSE perfect mercy, for whatever reason, mostly disbelief, can then only get what's left, namely perfect justice.
Privacy is needed only because there is evil. People who obey the law of love, need no privacy to protect them from one another. However they do need privacy from those in and out of government who do not obey the law of love. Increasingly, it seems, it is those uncaring and unloving people, who are trampling roughshod over that necessary right, despite what the founding fathers wrote into the constitution.
.....Privacy is the social boundary that the citizens agree shall not be crossed.......
Privacy and locks are needed, to protect the honest persons of integrity from those who are not as honorable, whether in government or elsewhere. Persons who are honest and obey the golden rule do not need privacy from one another, but they do need to protect themselves from others who do not. That is the only reason privacy is necessary and needs to be protected. So yes, we need privacy because evil is very real in this world.
..... can I no longer expect anything I say not to be monitored?.....
Almost 2000 years ago a man named Jesus had this to say about the privacy of our speech and the use thereof in the ultimate court of the Universe:
"For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings out good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings out evil things. But I say to you that every idle word, whatever men may speak, they shall give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned." (Matt 12:34-37)
If a good person's utterances will stand up before the highest court of all, they will most likely pass muster in any earthly court also.
Many people of course do not believe Jesus, but that is a separate issue.
......And yet, we managed to survive, didn't we?......
Indeed, the what has been called the "baby-boomer" generation and those before them, survived a lot of hazards: First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes. Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking. As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pickup on a warm day was always a special treat. We drank water from the garden hose, not from a bottle. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this. We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-aid made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because we were always playing outside, even in winter. Except when in school, we would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. We didn't mind if no one was able to reach us all day. We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem. We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computer, no Internet or chat rooms, but we had friends. We went outside and found them! Going to the movie show with friends and family was a special event. We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them. On rainy days we played board games such as checkers or monopoly. Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that! The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever. The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all. If YOU are one of them - CONGRATULATIONS!
.....Phone the hospital and tell them the number of the theatre when you enter.....
Indeed, when I worked in a movie theatre, we had doctors come all the time. They would alert us of their presence and seat number. We sometimes did get calls for them and simply called them to the good old-fashioned wired phone of the theatre. On a few occasions the doctor hurriedly left. AFAIK, most places of business still use traditional phones that are available for emergencies.
......It was certainly not intended to allow Joe Sixpack to wander around the US with a firearm tucked underneath his jacket......
It says "the right of the PEOPLE to bear arms shall not be infringed". It doesn't say the right of the "militia", army, government, corporations etc, but "people". Maybe in your eyes and many other liberals, "Joe Sixpack" doesn't come under the classification of people. If "people" doesn't mean ordinary humans, than what does it mean? Maybe you and the other liberals ought to look up the meaning of the word "people" in the dictionary.
I agree that guns should be controlled in some way. However to properly do that, the constitution should be amended, rather than just ignoring and violating what it plainly states. If simple words don't have a straight forward meaning any longer, then we are all in big trouble. Let those who are in favor of prohibition or curtailing guns, begin a campaign to change the constitution, rather than violating it.
Is Chicago in the USA? If it is, doesn't the US constitution say something about the right to bear arms? Does the US constitution not apply in Chicago?
.....Don't the reasons you are using to defend Apple also apply to Vista?....
They do indeed. However MS cannot possibly test even all the basic hardware from all the manufacturers of PC. Apple only has to test their own complete systems. The various makers of software and hardware add-ons have to ensure that their products work with only a much more limited number of Macs. The bottom line of all this is that Macs will always be more reliable than others. There are simply not as many variations and therefore chances for things to go wrong.
.....Now, all of a sudden, their sacred cow isn't working like they say it should......
So far NOBODY here at/. or elsewhere AFAIK, has come up with any major bugs in the new Mac OS that are not connected in some way with third party hardware or software incompatibilities. The firewall issue is a irrelevant for most users, since a router/NAT box with a built in firewall sits between most home computers and the Internet these days. The firewall in Tiger was also turned off by default. Just as with VISTA, many Mac users will get the new OS with their new computer for Christmas and not experience problems until they attempt to install programs that are supposed to "enhance" or in other ways mess with the system.
.....And yet Microsoft would be vilified for similar issues.....
Yes, but only by those who are ignorant about computers, but unwilling to admit that. I have not heard of any problems with Leopard for those who did a clean install or bought a new Mac. If you get a computer with VISTA installed or erase the HD and then install VISTA it will also be largely trouble free. Apple has to test only their own products. If the OS works with those, their job is done. Anyone who has installed other people's hardware or software needs to get a fix from them, not blame Apple if their third party stuff doesn't work with the new OS. Until such a fix is available, it is best to stick with the older OS that works.
....Apple has proved that *anyone* can generate a crappy OS release.......
If you buy a new Mac with Leopard or erase and install on your old Mac, you will not have problems. The BSOD so many a nattering about is caused by incompatible system additions by third parties. There may also be incompatible drivers for user installed hardware. No manufacturer of anything can test every possible thing a user may do with their product. Anyone who upgrades to a new OS, takes the chance that it may not work with the older third party hardware or software.
.....Hey, why should the government be above the law if I may not?..... The government MAKES the law. You have to obey. Governments are allowed to do lots of things the people are forbidden to do. Printing money and making of atomic bombs are only two such things.
.....Incidentally, I'd be interested in how anyone defines "suspect" in this context........
Anyone that the government doesn't like for some reason or no reason. Since all Governments are run by people, it would some person in that Government who is ambitious or was paid off by someone rich/powerful/ambitius. May the 'suspect' is innocent, maybe not, but that can be irrelevant.
.....the DA will prosecute you if you are caught using a hack to bypass their DRM.......
The only place Apple is using DRM is their iTumes/iPod fair play system. The purpose of DRM is to thwart copying of copyrighted material. Companies that have attempted to use the DMCA for other purposes, such as locking phones or printers have been consistently rules against by the courts. OSX doesn't use any DRM to prevent its use for any purpose. It is protected by copyright law however.
OSX will not easily install on older Macs either, but there are hack jobs available to allow this, as well as installation in non-Mac PCs. These hacks do not copy anything and therefore do NOT violate copyright, but supply extra instructions which fool the installer into working with alien hardware. EULAs are not binding and do not apply. It would be foolish for Apple to prosecute hackers for merely installing a legally purchased OSX on their white box, home-assembled computers. Only if someone tries to commercialize their hacks, Apple would likely send their legal dogs after such persons.
It is not likely that Joe or Jane User would install a non-supported OS. Most OS sales, including VISTA are pre-installed by computer makers. Generally, only/. technical people bother to install OS into existing equipment.
.....who like the OS but they can't stand the prohibitive price of the computer.......
The computer and its software go together as one, just as the car and its engine. The computer industry is the only one, where all but Apple ship fragmented goods. No other consumer good is sold without ALL parts critical to its operation.
Refrigerators come with a compressor. Customers aren't expected to be able to mix and match compressors, shelves, doors and other parts from other manufacturers. Washers come with the agitator and drum as well as the timers needed to control the wash jobs. Dryers come with a heating element and blower. Toasters come with a power cord and plug.
Apple makes an appliance for the masses called a computer, that, like all other appliances, comes complete, tested and ready for action. When a customer has a problem, Apple can support their product much more easily because they intimately know the complete product. For other computer manufacturers, there is often the blame game, as to whether the problem lies in the hardware or the software. Apple cannot and will not play this game, to the detriment of their customers. That's why Consumer Reports consistently rates Apple higher than other computer makers in customer satisfaction.
.....Most people do. How many of these people would be willing to pay a little bit more for OSX than they do for Windows?......
Many people would just pirate the OS making one of the great advantages of OSX go away, namely no tiresome install codes and calling home to Microsoft every three CPU cycles to make sure the OS is "genuine".
Why is it so hard to understand that hardware and software comprise a tightly coupled "system" that would be destroyed if Apple let their OSX be used in the same manner that Windows is used? Apple doesn't sell hardware or software, they sell a WORKING, reliable and complete computing solution.
Honda doesn't make it easy for people, to install their Honda engines in their Yugo, do they?
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.....But then by going the fuel cell route, you completely eliminate energy efficiency gains........
That may be, but efficiency isn't always the most important. If a motorist on a cross country trip has to stop for a long time, (more than 15 min) each time the car needs a charge, that will never work. To drive an average weight car the same distance as a tank of gas will today, takes at least 300Kwh. That means even to charge is up in an hour would require a 300 KW powers supply! The average house can draw about 45KW before the main breaker pops.
The bottom line is: Even if a battery driven car can go 300 miles on a single charge (none can yet so far as I know) such a car is a step backward from what is available in showrooms today. A fuel cell, efficiency be damned, is the only way, now or in the future, to make a vehicle equivalent to what we have today, that is driven purely by electricity and therefore totally zero emissions.
.....And even if those problems are solved......
You still have to figure out how to pump enough energy into such a battery in about the time it takes to fill up a gas tank. For commuting and shopping around home, a plug in, overnight charger should work, but when on a trip that will not do.
Some have proposed exchangeable standardized batteries to get around this problem. That would only work if all batteries were owned and maintained by the energy providers who would also collect the road taxes. Otherwise a motorist might get an almost worn out battery for the new one that came with the car.
Most likely, electric cars powered by fuel cell/ultracapacitor packs would give us the best solution. The hydrogen for these could be made by whatever sources of electricity were the best for a region or a country.
.....If your city doesn't like car air pollution why not ban or fine them?......
So then in a city of a million 10 to 20% decide simply NOT pay such an outrageous fine. Will they put up to 200,000 people in jail? You have to be realistic about it. The reason traffic fines work is because they are small and people can avoid them by being obedient to the law. Levying a fine on everybody wouldn't work even in the most draconian dictatorship, let alone a democracy. A fine on everybody or a large class of people is normally called a tax. If a tax is too large and levied on almost everybody, people will simply ignore it. The reason income taxes work is because they are extracted gradually via payroll deductions. If the IRS tried to collect thousands of $$$ from everybody on April 15, they wouldn't have such success.
.....For the ISP to do otherwise is fraud. If the ISP enters multiple contracts and it cannot fulfill them all (over-subscribes) that is fraud on the part of the ISP.......
Many businesses do this and it is not necessarily fraud. Most utilities are based on average use. I everybody flushes their toilet at once, the water pressure drops. After an earthquake or events such as 911, the phone system is overloaded and likely there will be no dial tone. Airlines and Hotels over-book. Like many utilities, the Internet utility has to be laid out for normal use throughout the day. Maybe, some of the ISPs skimp on this. In my experience, our DSL seems to max out at the contracted level at all times. I understand that cable Internet is a shared service and can vary considerably, depending on traffic. My daughter has cable and it was MUCH faster late at might and almost as slow as our present DSL at peak times.
.....some ISP's" want you to surf the web, check your email, and play online games.......
/. or similar sites want? Maybe those who want to do more than that should get a special account from their ISP that lets then do that and also costs more? Running a torrent server is no different than running any other server. Those running servers of any sort on the Internet SHOULD pay significantly more than Mom or Pop who want to just get email from the grandchildren or check their favorite news and weather sites.
Isn't that all that the vast majority of people who don't surf to
What ISPs must be prevented from doing is filtering based on content or where the ordinary user gets that content.
If running any sort of server cost significantly more, illegal file sharing would also greatly diminish, easing the pressure if ISP's to add more capacity. A basic, low cost account could allow unlimited downloading, but charge a steep premium for uploading large amounts of data, especially to a large variety of different addresses. This would also give those with infected spambot systems a good incentive to clean up their spam-spewing computers. Anyone willing to pay more, would not be subject to such filtering, but have a truly symmetrical connection to the Internet, at whatever speed they could afford. All Internet users simply are not equal and one size fits all is not such a good idea.
....the citizens won't just have more copies of the constitution to wave around - they'll have guns.......
The sad thing is that the more citizens turn to unloving and violent ways, including the USE of, not the possession of guns, the more incarcerated or even dead citizens we'll have. The US has one of the highest percentages of people in prison, of any nation on the planet. We pile law on top of law, yet more and more people are not keeping the ten simple laws the supreme Government of the Universe, God Himself, handed personally to humanity. These ten are condensed into one law of love with two inseparable components; one, to love God and two, to love each other.
The state and the Government can never be more than a reflector of the sum total of the individuals therein. In a democracy, the leaders are elected from that pool and also reflect the degree to which people respect and honor God and each other. The people who founded this nations honored and respected God and therefore each other. They wrote the guidelines down in foundational documents, such as the Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of the US. The writers of the Declaration of Independence, which came before the Constitution, clearly recognized that God, the Creator is the giver of inalienable human rights, not some Government. The authors of the Constitution had this in mind, then the spelled out some of the details this entailed. They also knew the human predisposition to selfish behavior and did a pretty good job in spelling out the boundaries this selfishness must not cross, particularly as applied to government. If people will not abide by God's law of love, then the law of the gun will take over. No piece of paper can change that.
.... God judges our sins in the context of everything we have done......
as weighed by the rules he laid down in the very beginning there in the Garden. These are summed up by the Golden Rule -- Love your neighbor like yourself.
(.....could become a primary suspect for some terrorist act in the absence of any actual evidence......)
Privacy is fundamental, because there are those everywhere, but especially in government, who don't care even a little about justice, but only about power and wealth. It's a manifestation of basic human selfishness we all share from childhood onward.
(....I have a feeling things are going to get a whole lot uglier before they get better....)
That feeling of yours is in line with a prediction that Jesus made. He said, it'll get so bad, that He will be forced to return to take over the World's Government, before humanity succeeds of wiping themselves and all life from His planet. Mankind has the WMDs to do this even now. After He takes over, it well get better, much better on THIS planet than it has ever been before.
......Forgot to ask Christ's forgiveness, even though you've led an exemplary life? .....
The rule of God's justice is simple: "The soul that sins, it shall die" (Ezekiel 18:4) It's been that way since the beginning. "....for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Genesis 2:17)
The only one that never sinned, even once was Jesus. None of us can stand before a God of perfect justice. We have all broken His rules many times. However, God invites us to mercy because Jesus suffered the justice of God on our behalf. So now every person can have mercy based on a request for that mercy from Jesus. Those who REFUSE perfect mercy, for whatever reason, mostly disbelief, can then only get what's left, namely perfect justice.
Privacy is needed only because there is evil. People who obey the law of love, need no privacy to protect them from one another. However they do need privacy from those in and out of government who do not obey the law of love. Increasingly, it seems, it is those uncaring and unloving people, who are trampling roughshod over that necessary right, despite what the founding fathers wrote into the constitution.
.....Privacy is the social boundary that the citizens agree shall not be crossed.......
Privacy and locks are needed, to protect the honest persons of integrity from those who are not as honorable, whether in government or elsewhere. Persons who are honest and obey the golden rule do not need privacy from one another, but they do need to protect themselves from others who do not. That is the only reason privacy is necessary and needs to be protected. So yes, we need privacy because evil is very real in this world.
..... can I no longer expect anything I say not to be monitored?.....
Almost 2000 years ago a man named Jesus had this to say about the privacy of our speech and the use thereof in the ultimate court of the Universe:
"For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings out good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings out evil things. But I say to you that every idle word, whatever men may speak, they shall give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned." (Matt 12:34-37)
If a good person's utterances will stand up before the highest court of all, they will most likely pass muster in any earthly court also.
Many people of course do not believe Jesus, but that is a separate issue.
......And yet, we managed to survive, didn't we?......
Indeed, the what has been called the "baby-boomer" generation and those before them, survived a lot of hazards:
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.
As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a pickup on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose, not from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-aid made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because we were always playing outside, even in winter.
Except when in school, we would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.
We didn't mind if no one was able to reach us all day.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computer, no Internet or chat rooms, but we had friends. We went outside and found them! Going to the movie show with friends and family was a special event.
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them. On rainy days we played board games such as checkers or monopoly.
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.
If YOU are one of them - CONGRATULATIONS!
.....Phone the hospital and tell them the number of the theatre when you enter.....
Indeed, when I worked in a movie theatre, we had doctors come all the time. They would alert us of their presence and seat number. We sometimes did get calls for them and simply called them to the good old-fashioned wired phone of the theatre. On a few occasions the doctor hurriedly left. AFAIK, most places of business still use traditional phones that are available for emergencies.
......It was certainly not intended to allow Joe Sixpack to wander around the US with a firearm tucked underneath his jacket......
It says "the right of the PEOPLE to bear arms shall not be infringed". It doesn't say the right of the "militia", army, government, corporations etc, but "people". Maybe in your eyes and many other liberals, "Joe Sixpack" doesn't come under the classification of people. If "people" doesn't mean ordinary humans, than what does it mean? Maybe you and the other liberals ought to look up the meaning of the word "people" in the dictionary.
I agree that guns should be controlled in some way. However to properly do that, the constitution should be amended, rather than just ignoring and violating what it plainly states. If simple words don't have a straight forward meaning any longer, then we are all in big trouble. Let those who are in favor of prohibition or curtailing guns, begin a campaign to change the constitution, rather than violating it.
......Yeah, just not in Chicago.......
Is Chicago in the USA? If it is, doesn't the US constitution say something about the right to bear arms? Does the US constitution not apply in Chicago?
.....Don't the reasons you are using to defend Apple also apply to Vista?....
They do indeed. However MS cannot possibly test even all the basic hardware from all the manufacturers of PC. Apple only has to test their own complete systems. The various makers of software and hardware add-ons have to ensure that their products work with only a much more limited number of Macs. The bottom line of all this is that Macs will always be more reliable than others. There are simply not as many variations and therefore chances for things to go wrong.
.....Now, all of a sudden, their sacred cow isn't working like they say it should......
/. or elsewhere AFAIK, has come up with any major bugs in the new Mac OS that are not connected in some way with third party hardware or software incompatibilities. The firewall issue is a irrelevant for most users, since a router/NAT box with a built in firewall sits between most home computers and the Internet these days. The firewall in Tiger was also turned off by default. Just as with VISTA, many Mac users will get the new OS with their new computer for Christmas and not experience problems until they attempt to install programs that are supposed to "enhance" or in other ways mess with the system.
So far NOBODY here at
.....And yet Microsoft would be vilified for similar issues.....
Yes, but only by those who are ignorant about computers, but unwilling to admit that. I have not heard of any problems with Leopard for those who did a clean install or bought a new Mac. If you get a computer with VISTA installed or erase the HD and then install VISTA it will also be largely trouble free. Apple has to test only their own products. If the OS works with those, their job is done. Anyone who has installed other people's hardware or software needs to get a fix from them, not blame Apple if their third party stuff doesn't work with the new OS. Until such a fix is available, it is best to stick with the older OS that works.
....Apple has proved that *anyone* can generate a crappy OS release.......
If you buy a new Mac with Leopard or erase and install on your old Mac, you will not have problems. The BSOD so many a nattering about is caused by incompatible system additions by third parties. There may also be incompatible drivers for user installed hardware. No manufacturer of anything can test every possible thing a user may do with their product. Anyone who upgrades to a new OS, takes the chance that it may not work with the older third party hardware or software.
.....lawsuits are not a valid business plan.....
/. user. You should copyright, patent, or trademark it!
Hey that sounds like an excellent sig for a
.....Hey, why should the government be above the law if I may not?.....
The government MAKES the law. You have to obey. Governments are allowed to do lots of things the people are forbidden to do. Printing money and making of atomic bombs are only two such things.
.....Latest one got 15000 attendants....
Really, out of about 80 million Germans? Wow, what a turnout!
.....Incidentally, I'd be interested in how anyone defines "suspect" in this context........
Anyone that the government doesn't like for some reason or no reason. Since all Governments are run by people, it would some person in that Government who is ambitious or was paid off by someone rich/powerful/ambitius. May the 'suspect' is innocent, maybe not, but that can be irrelevant.
.....the DA will prosecute you if you are caught using a hack to bypass their DRM.......
/. technical people bother to install OS into existing equipment.
The only place Apple is using DRM is their iTumes/iPod fair play system. The purpose of DRM is to thwart copying of copyrighted material. Companies that have attempted to use the DMCA for other purposes, such as locking phones or printers have been consistently rules against by the courts. OSX doesn't use any DRM to prevent its use for any purpose. It is protected by copyright law however.
OSX will not easily install on older Macs either, but there are hack jobs available to allow this, as well as installation in non-Mac PCs. These hacks do not copy anything and therefore do NOT violate copyright, but supply extra instructions which fool the installer into working with alien hardware. EULAs are not binding and do not apply. It would be foolish for Apple to prosecute hackers for merely installing a legally purchased OSX on their white box, home-assembled computers. Only if someone tries to commercialize their hacks, Apple would likely send their legal dogs after such persons.
It is not likely that Joe or Jane User would install a non-supported OS. Most OS sales, including VISTA are pre-installed by computer makers. Generally, only
.....who like the OS but they can't stand the prohibitive price of the computer.......
The computer and its software go together as one, just as the car and its engine. The computer industry is the only one, where all but Apple ship fragmented goods. No other consumer good is sold without ALL parts critical to its operation.
Refrigerators come with a compressor. Customers aren't expected to be able to mix and match compressors, shelves, doors and other parts from other manufacturers. Washers come with the agitator and drum as well as the timers needed to control the wash jobs. Dryers come with a heating element and blower. Toasters come with a power cord and plug.
Apple makes an appliance for the masses called a computer, that, like all other appliances, comes complete, tested and ready for action. When a customer has a problem, Apple can support their product much more easily because they intimately know the complete product. For other computer manufacturers, there is often the blame game, as to whether the problem lies in the hardware or the software. Apple cannot and will not play this game, to the detriment of their customers. That's why Consumer Reports consistently rates Apple higher than other computer makers in customer satisfaction.
.....Most people do. How many of these people would be willing to pay a little bit more for OSX than they do for Windows?......
Many people would just pirate the OS making one of the great advantages of OSX go away, namely no tiresome install codes and calling home to Microsoft every three CPU cycles to make sure the OS is "genuine".
Why is it so hard to understand that hardware and software comprise a tightly coupled "system" that would be destroyed if Apple let their OSX be used in the same manner that Windows is used? Apple doesn't sell hardware or software, they sell a WORKING, reliable and complete computing solution.
Honda doesn't make it easy for people, to install their Honda engines in their Yugo, do they?