I think your statement should read: "More people have been killed with religion as a justification, then because some kid learned to aim and shoot with a mouse."
Unless you believe that God exists, and really did speak to these people, and actually did tell them to go and kill and plunder, claiming religion is the cause of strife is putting the cart in front of the horse.
Also, since religion has been around longer than video games, it would be no surprise that more activity related to religion has taken place.
Do you suppose these people who advocate linux as a desktop will ever realize that *nixes are multi-user, and desktop needs are primarily single-user?
One major reason why linux will never be the OS of choice for gaming is the relatively inefficient GUI, with a definite divide between the OS and the window manager. Since the electronic entertainment industry is bigger than Hollywood, it follows that desktop choice will be influenced by gaming performance, just as people bought VCRs and DVD and CD players because they maximized entertainment options. Consumers see more benefit in VCRs, DVDs, and CDs than in alternative formats, despite the benefits of the alternatives.
Windows, or some other single-user OS will probably continue to dominate the market, as long as the platform facilitates gaming. Linux and other Unixs will never capture the entertainment software market as long as the GUI is divorced from the hardware in favor of a client-server arrangement, IMHO. Despite rhetoric and wishful thinking, no OpenGL implementation under linux can hold a candle to the perfomance delivered under Windows. This is not an issue with drivers or card makers, but with the underlying structure of the respective OSs.
There is no pressing need for my grandmother to maintain a multi-user environment if all she plans on doing is writing email and surfing the web. Likewise, there is little incentive to administer a multi-user domain at home when little Suzie and Bobby are just surfing porn, sharing MP3s, playing shooters, and IMing each other. As long as PCs are cheap enough for everyone to afford their own CPU, multi-user systems will remain in the business and hobbyist realms.
Enough with the perennial "Linux is ready" BS, it is not "ready," never will be, and is not supposed to be, a desktop. It is akin to arguing that busses are finally "ready" to replace cars.
Flame on.
Unreal is claustrophobic, whereas the Tribes series is outside on immense maps. You can just go out and ski if you get bored, while in Unreal, there is little more than a cramped arena and narrow halls to run around in.
The Tribes series has vehicles for hauling your compatriots to the enemy base, and turrets for reinforcing defenses, and mines for defense and intrusion detection. There are different classes, and the ability to hide and heal yourself inthe enemy base.
I like the Unreal series, but the Tribes series is better, with the same intense combat inside enemy bases, mixed with strategy and tactical elements.
Now those I can agree with. Mr Andreessen's list are the comments I expect to hear from people who don't really know how to use a computer, they just like sounding cool.
There is no such thing as "full and accurate documentation." As development progresses, changes to design docs are made. Doc writers need finished software to ensure the docs match the product, and we all know that there is no such thing as completed software.
In addition, the whole point of open source is so license owners can make changes to the code to otpimize the product for their purposes. Unless there is an effort to adequately document these modifications, and to incorporate the doc changes into the product docs as the code changes are incorporated, there is not going to be "full and accurate documentation." In other words, as the software evolves, the docs need to evolve simultaneously, and anyone who has ever worked on a complex software package knows, doc writers are the last to know about code changes, and often, the product is quite complex, making "full and accurate" documentation very difficult if it hasn't been consistently maintained from the get-go.
If open source software is going to be a major factor in the world, it won't be a result of superior documentation.
The sheer volume of software for Windows is staggering. There is an acceptable percentage of that software library which is of high quality. There is not the staggeringly high volume of software available for any *nix. Of the available software, a certain percentage is clearly well-executed. *nix loses because the well-executed apps aren't useful to a very large customer base. MS Office is a remarkable package, that does many things very well. OpenOffice is an attempt to copy that. It is a pale shadow of what it aspires to be.
How many games are released each year utilizing the cutting edge graphical abilities of *nix's? None? Could it be that any of the *nix's are poorly suited to single-user computing? Is it possible that multi-user OS's have their place, but that place isn't necessarily in front of everyone who needs or wants a computer?
I can tell you right now, there is no way I would use the X window system to play a graphically intensive game. The X windowing system is very inefficient because of the way it is implemented. There is too much overhead and clunkiness to do a competitive job when compared to single-user systems like Windows.
Computers should make life easier, and simplify complex tasks. That is the reason we have them. Insisting that computers SHOULD be hard to use is totally missing the point of the benefit of computers.
Should a layperson have to take classes on legal research to use an online legal resource? Or should the interface of an online legal resource simplify the details of the search, in the interest of being more convenient than a brick-and-mortar library?
Why doesn't Google require the user to enter SQL commands for all searches? Perhaps because they realized that the power of a computer could make searching for information easy and fast.
Unix programmers arguably write the crappiest user interfaces known to man. I guess that's a flame.
All of the head developers at Unix shops I've worked in had an aversion to establishing a common look and feel to their apps. They saw nothing wrong with de facto mandating that new users required extensive training to learn to use their apps, taking no pride in simplifying tasks for the user. Does that make them better, making a computer complicate the job rather than simplify and accelerate the workflow? What do you suppose prospective customers thought, when between our product and a competing product that required far less user training and administration?
You are still not understanding. Hungarian notation is for the programmer. It simply helps the programmer know what kind of data is in the variable. It is solving the problem of trying to remember what kind of variable this is, so you can remember what methods act upon it and what methods are available, as well as its scope.
You can't eliminate scope issues by declaring or initializing variables near where they are used in every case, nor is that necessarily desirable. Consider a variable that stores a user's window background color preference. Since the data the variable stores is relatively static, there is no need to initialize the variable by querying the user or reading a config file each time it is used. Simply access methods that return its value, as needed. When modifying the accessor methods, the scope is denoted in the variable name, so remembering the name is easier, as is identifying the scope of the variable if, God forbid, you are working on someone else's code, or code you haven't worked on in a while.
C++ programmers commonly use object-oriented techniques, but most C++ programmers use pointers to objects, which is not an OOP concept or technique, as far as I understand it. Certainly C++ was not solely designed for 100% adherence to OOP principles. It merely incorporates OOP principles and techniques into a known language. If your goal is to code entirely in OOP, you SHOULD use a language with this as a basis, not C++. Not everyone sees usefulness in restricting themselves to OOP-only coding.
Hungarian notation isn't used only with C++. It applies to any language that has variables. Don't use it, no-one cares. But once you start using it, you see the value, IMHO.
You're missing the point of Hungarian notation. You don't use it in For loops. You use it so next month, when you (or more importantly, a colleague) are trying to debug a function you barely remember writing, you can determine the scope and type of m_strID at a glance, not confusing it with strID or m_intID. The C++ compiler doesn't need it, Microsoft didn't invent it, but it was someone at Microsoft who found it a good idea worth passing on. You don't have to use it. But saying you are smarter than someone who uses it is silly and ignorant.
Do you have any clue how large Antarctica is? Your assumption that the base at McMurdo reports the weather just fine is like saying the weather report for LA is sufficient to accurately predict weather conditions on a flight from Miami to Seattle.
I mean, take two identical software products, but make on run slower than the other. Ask users to tell you which product they like better. The faster product will win every time. This is why Java is a bad idea for most projects.
Ask 100 *nix software engineers which version of the software users will prefer, and at best one quarter will give the correct answer, one quarter will either say it doesn't matter to the user, or the user will prefer the slower one because they know it must be doing a lot of work if it is that slow, and the remaining half will question why you want to know, didn't you read the man page? This is why Sun is not as successful as Microsoft. There is no appreciation of the user in a *nix world. Projects are for the developers to work on, and if the marketing flacks can get people to buy it, well, we were right all along then.
Their 3D desktop demo is cute and all, but there are already packages that let you do this. And my desktop is already 3D. I have one window on top of another as we speak. If they could procreate in that position, Sun might have something. Sure, I can't turn my window around to see the backside, but why would I want to, other than idle curiosity? And why would I pay for the ability to see the backside of a window, when I can't really use it in that manner? Is this 3D desktop for high school detention halls, where kids need something to keep their mind occupied while they kill time? I certainly don't see how adding useless features results in a more productive work force. But that's just me. I'm no underwear gnome, I guess.
Yeah, "I know how to stop spam - set up open relays! Only they aren't open relays! And the spammers never know! They'll never know! Because we don't tell them! So they never know! And they keep trying to send spam, and it doesn't work! My sides hurt, I am giddy with inspiration!"
No, you are giddy from lack of oxygen. That is similar to letting people steal from you, so you can catch theives the next time they steal from you. Kind of stupid, if you think about it for a second or two. A much better idea would be to block open relays, and automatically block emails with random chars, Viagra, or "Remember me?" as a subject. Maybe include the words mortgage, pay, party, naked, sluts, girls, offer, free, special,........., in the block list.
Seriously, who sends a legitamite email that has the word Viagra in the subject? Not even Viagra salesmen, I'll bet.
You won't have the same number of people working on each branch as there was prior to the fork, since the team is split. Hence, there won't be as much progress made in a given time frame as there would be if there was no fork. Ergo, why use Open Source if it just allows headaches down the road anyway? Proprietary software at least is driven by customer demand, not developer preferences.
And who said linux was easy to use? Guess according to you we should all use Windows or Macs because linux is not as easy to use, right? Photoshop is pretty easy to use if you learn it, but it ain't no Mac Paint if that's what you're looking for.
Well, if your business is dependent on an Open Source project like a web server of database management system, and there are no major improvements for several years because the project teams forked several times in those years, reducing the developers on any one project to just a handful, you might start thinking that proprietary software sounds better. Software firms update or die, they doesn't just founder along at half-speed for years.
Why? If i decide to stop supporting my software, I sure as hell am not going to let you start profiting from it without an ounce of investnment on your part.
I think the only regulation would be of companies offering telephone service, regardless of the transmission medium. The "reason" the feds regulate telephone companies is mainly to ensure a robust system is always available to all citizens. Imagine if only rich corporations could afford telephones. Without regulation, that would be an acceptable scenario.
I think his point is the side that sets the terms of the peace agreement can afford to be magnanimous, and assert that the war was good for no-one. Just because there is a victorious side in a war does not mean the victors have to think of themselves as "winners," as if there was some sort of prize that could make up for the loss of life on both sides.
The minimum wage is the US varies from state to state and by industry/job, but it is ~$5.50 US. Average rent on a mediocre/poor studio apartment in most US cities is ~$500 US. After taxes, a person making minimum wage in the US takes home ~$600 US per month. However, the average person making minimum wage will get most of the money they pay in income taxes back in a refund, if they can do their taxes properly, which in that income bracket is quite easy - no investments, assets">
etc. to comlicate things.
AQre you suggesting that Japanese culture is identical to US culture? I find this hard to believe. Japanese games for the Japanese gamer sell terribly here, for the most part, because most Americans would rather actually go out and date rather than play a dating sim. Most Americans are more comfotable with excessive violence and blood in their games. Our social structure is much less restrictive. American society is not the same as japanese society, even if you think it is. And that is only comparing Japan to the US. DO you really think hat the US is unique inthe world, and the Japanese are exactly like every non-US society?
Many Americans speak Spanish, Italian, Greek, Somali, Hindi, Urdu, Chinese, Japanese, etc. You may be unaware of it, but Americans are from all over the world, and a large number are from places that don't have English as a national language.
Re:US is not socialist? Sez who!
on
Linux in 2004?
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· Score: 1
Socialist government is more than increased gov't spending. Socialist systems the world over heavily tax their citizens, maintain strict control over the behavior of business, and typically control the infrastructure, such as communications, transportation, natural resources, and power generation and distribution. So the USA isn't a socialist government pretending it isn't, it isn't a socialist government. Do a little research before posting, and your comments will contain much more truth and much less misinformed opinion.
You must have been incredibly inefficient before this if you more than doubled you productivity while watching the kids. Oh, you mean the performance metric you quoted wasn't based on any documented baseline, but rather on nebulous "metrics?" Why am I not surprised?
Your company doesn't think you are worth the expense of providing a work space. That cost is passed on to you, so your salary now has to provide a workspace, as well as pay your bils, feed and cliothe your family, and pay for a home and a vehicle. You choose to see this as "empowerment," whatever that means in this case. Does the term "pollyanna" mean anyting to you?
Gee, most Americans would agree that American cars are superior to foreign offerings. I know that if you want a rear-wheel drive V8 coupe, your money is best spent on American cars. German offerings may be "better," at roughly twice to three times the cost, with no dealer support in the majority of the nation. There is no Japanese offering. If you want to talk supercars, a Corvette Z06, for less than $60K, is faster, handles better, and is easier to drive fast than anyting from Japan, Germany, and Italy, barring flagsahips like the Carrera GT and the Ferrari Enzo, which are priced so far above the Corvette it is silly, and only sell a handful each year, compared to the thousands of Corvette Z06 models produced. Where's the foreign superiority? I don't think you know anyting about cars, you just parrot back what your parents and/or friends say. Magazines like Car & Driver refuse to acknoledge the superiority of the American sports cars, even though their own articles demonstrate the fact. They want access to foreign cars, and don't want to come off sounding like foreign cars can't match American offerings, even if it is true. Some people hate American cars for the same reason some people can't wait to move away from their hometown - objective reality is not a factor, subjective perceptions are more important. If you refuse to buy American cars, how can you claim they are inferior? you have no experience in the matter.
American economy cars routinely come with bigger, more powerful engines, and a more complete interior. American luxury cars come with bigger engines, more complete interiors, and more passenger space than any foreign offering for a comparable price. American pickups are more powerful, can haul much larger loads, and are much more reliable under heavy use than any foriegn counterpart. In fact, there is not a single foriegn turbo diesel pickup sold in this country. Where is the foreign superiority? You can talk all day long about how much better your Japanese inmport is, but at the end of the day, you are either preaching to the choir or talking to a deaf ear.
American auto unions have a vested interest in the health of the comany, and ensure the employees get a fair share of the profits from the industry. If that means auto executives don't make as much money, then I say, the system works.
Your argument is flawed on a level you don't even comprehend. Domestic manufacturing is responsible for most of the brands you suggest are better because they are foreign. News flash: they are made in the US, in many cases by union workers.
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I think your statement should read: "More people have been killed with religion as a justification, then because some kid learned to aim and shoot with a mouse."
Unless you believe that God exists, and really did speak to these people, and actually did tell them to go and kill and plunder, claiming religion is the cause of strife is putting the cart in front of the horse.
Also, since religion has been around longer than video games, it would be no surprise that more activity related to religion has taken place.
Do you suppose these people who advocate linux as a desktop will ever realize that *nixes are multi-user, and desktop needs are primarily single-user?
One major reason why linux will never be the OS of choice for gaming is the relatively inefficient GUI, with a definite divide between the OS and the window manager. Since the electronic entertainment industry is bigger than Hollywood, it follows that desktop choice will be influenced by gaming performance, just as people bought VCRs and DVD and CD players because they maximized entertainment options. Consumers see more benefit in VCRs, DVDs, and CDs than in alternative formats, despite the benefits of the alternatives.
Windows, or some other single-user OS will probably continue to dominate the market, as long as the platform facilitates gaming. Linux and other Unixs will never capture the entertainment software market as long as the GUI is divorced from the hardware in favor of a client-server arrangement, IMHO. Despite rhetoric and wishful thinking, no OpenGL implementation under linux can hold a candle to the perfomance delivered under Windows. This is not an issue with drivers or card makers, but with the underlying structure of the respective OSs.
There is no pressing need for my grandmother to maintain a multi-user environment if all she plans on doing is writing email and surfing the web. Likewise, there is little incentive to administer a multi-user domain at home when little Suzie and Bobby are just surfing porn, sharing MP3s, playing shooters, and IMing each other. As long as PCs are cheap enough for everyone to afford their own CPU, multi-user systems will remain in the business and hobbyist realms.
Enough with the perennial "Linux is ready" BS, it is not "ready," never will be, and is not supposed to be, a desktop. It is akin to arguing that busses are finally "ready" to replace cars.
Flame on.
Unreal is claustrophobic, whereas the Tribes series is outside on immense maps. You can just go out and ski if you get bored, while in Unreal, there is little more than a cramped arena and narrow halls to run around in. The Tribes series has vehicles for hauling your compatriots to the enemy base, and turrets for reinforcing defenses, and mines for defense and intrusion detection. There are different classes, and the ability to hide and heal yourself inthe enemy base. I like the Unreal series, but the Tribes series is better, with the same intense combat inside enemy bases, mixed with strategy and tactical elements.
Now those I can agree with. Mr Andreessen's list are the comments I expect to hear from people who don't really know how to use a computer, they just like sounding cool.
There is no such thing as "full and accurate documentation." As development progresses, changes to design docs are made. Doc writers need finished software to ensure the docs match the product, and we all know that there is no such thing as completed software.
In addition, the whole point of open source is so license owners can make changes to the code to otpimize the product for their purposes. Unless there is an effort to adequately document these modifications, and to incorporate the doc changes into the product docs as the code changes are incorporated, there is not going to be "full and accurate documentation." In other words, as the software evolves, the docs need to evolve simultaneously, and anyone who has ever worked on a complex software package knows, doc writers are the last to know about code changes, and often, the product is quite complex, making "full and accurate" documentation very difficult if it hasn't been consistently maintained from the get-go.
If open source software is going to be a major factor in the world, it won't be a result of superior documentation.
The sheer volume of software for Windows is staggering. There is an acceptable percentage of that software library which is of high quality. There is not the staggeringly high volume of software available for any *nix. Of the available software, a certain percentage is clearly well-executed. *nix loses because the well-executed apps aren't useful to a very large customer base. MS Office is a remarkable package, that does many things very well. OpenOffice is an attempt to copy that. It is a pale shadow of what it aspires to be.
How many games are released each year utilizing the cutting edge graphical abilities of *nix's? None? Could it be that any of the *nix's are poorly suited to single-user computing? Is it possible that multi-user OS's have their place, but that place isn't necessarily in front of everyone who needs or wants a computer?
I can tell you right now, there is no way I would use the X window system to play a graphically intensive game. The X windowing system is very inefficient because of the way it is implemented. There is too much overhead and clunkiness to do a competitive job when compared to single-user systems like Windows.
Computers should make life easier, and simplify complex tasks. That is the reason we have them. Insisting that computers SHOULD be hard to use is totally missing the point of the benefit of computers. Should a layperson have to take classes on legal research to use an online legal resource? Or should the interface of an online legal resource simplify the details of the search, in the interest of being more convenient than a brick-and-mortar library? Why doesn't Google require the user to enter SQL commands for all searches? Perhaps because they realized that the power of a computer could make searching for information easy and fast.
The swastica was a symbol of good luck for more than just the Hindu.
Unix programmers arguably write the crappiest user interfaces known to man. I guess that's a flame. All of the head developers at Unix shops I've worked in had an aversion to establishing a common look and feel to their apps. They saw nothing wrong with de facto mandating that new users required extensive training to learn to use their apps, taking no pride in simplifying tasks for the user. Does that make them better, making a computer complicate the job rather than simplify and accelerate the workflow? What do you suppose prospective customers thought, when between our product and a competing product that required far less user training and administration?
You are still not understanding. Hungarian notation is for the programmer. It simply helps the programmer know what kind of data is in the variable. It is solving the problem of trying to remember what kind of variable this is, so you can remember what methods act upon it and what methods are available, as well as its scope. You can't eliminate scope issues by declaring or initializing variables near where they are used in every case, nor is that necessarily desirable. Consider a variable that stores a user's window background color preference. Since the data the variable stores is relatively static, there is no need to initialize the variable by querying the user or reading a config file each time it is used. Simply access methods that return its value, as needed. When modifying the accessor methods, the scope is denoted in the variable name, so remembering the name is easier, as is identifying the scope of the variable if, God forbid, you are working on someone else's code, or code you haven't worked on in a while. C++ programmers commonly use object-oriented techniques, but most C++ programmers use pointers to objects, which is not an OOP concept or technique, as far as I understand it. Certainly C++ was not solely designed for 100% adherence to OOP principles. It merely incorporates OOP principles and techniques into a known language. If your goal is to code entirely in OOP, you SHOULD use a language with this as a basis, not C++. Not everyone sees usefulness in restricting themselves to OOP-only coding. Hungarian notation isn't used only with C++. It applies to any language that has variables. Don't use it, no-one cares. But once you start using it, you see the value, IMHO.
You're missing the point of Hungarian notation. You don't use it in For loops. You use it so next month, when you (or more importantly, a colleague) are trying to debug a function you barely remember writing, you can determine the scope and type of m_strID at a glance, not confusing it with strID or m_intID. The C++ compiler doesn't need it, Microsoft didn't invent it, but it was someone at Microsoft who found it a good idea worth passing on. You don't have to use it. But saying you are smarter than someone who uses it is silly and ignorant.
Do you have any clue how large Antarctica is? Your assumption that the base at McMurdo reports the weather just fine is like saying the weather report for LA is sufficient to accurately predict weather conditions on a flight from Miami to Seattle.
I mean, take two identical software products, but make on run slower than the other. Ask users to tell you which product they like better. The faster product will win every time. This is why Java is a bad idea for most projects.
Ask 100 *nix software engineers which version of the software users will prefer, and at best one quarter will give the correct answer, one quarter will either say it doesn't matter to the user, or the user will prefer the slower one because they know it must be doing a lot of work if it is that slow, and the remaining half will question why you want to know, didn't you read the man page? This is why Sun is not as successful as Microsoft. There is no appreciation of the user in a *nix world. Projects are for the developers to work on, and if the marketing flacks can get people to buy it, well, we were right all along then.
Their 3D desktop demo is cute and all, but there are already packages that let you do this. And my desktop is already 3D. I have one window on top of another as we speak. If they could procreate in that position, Sun might have something. Sure, I can't turn my window around to see the backside, but why would I want to, other than idle curiosity? And why would I pay for the ability to see the backside of a window, when I can't really use it in that manner? Is this 3D desktop for high school detention halls, where kids need something to keep their mind occupied while they kill time? I certainly don't see how adding useless features results in a more productive work force. But that's just me. I'm no underwear gnome, I guess.
Yeah, "I know how to stop spam - set up open relays! Only they aren't open relays! And the spammers never know! They'll never know! Because we don't tell them! So they never know! And they keep trying to send spam, and it doesn't work! My sides hurt, I am giddy with inspiration!"
No, you are giddy from lack of oxygen. That is similar to letting people steal from you, so you can catch theives the next time they steal from you. Kind of stupid, if you think about it for a second or two. A much better idea would be to block open relays, and automatically block emails with random chars, Viagra, or "Remember me?" as a subject. Maybe include the words mortgage, pay, party, naked, sluts, girls, offer, free, special, ........., in the block list.
Seriously, who sends a legitamite email that has the word Viagra in the subject? Not even Viagra salesmen, I'll bet.
You won't have the same number of people working on each branch as there was prior to the fork, since the team is split. Hence, there won't be as much progress made in a given time frame as there would be if there was no fork. Ergo, why use Open Source if it just allows headaches down the road anyway? Proprietary software at least is driven by customer demand, not developer preferences.
And who said linux was easy to use? Guess according to you we should all use Windows or Macs because linux is not as easy to use, right? Photoshop is pretty easy to use if you learn it, but it ain't no Mac Paint if that's what you're looking for.
Well, if your business is dependent on an Open Source project like a web server of database management system, and there are no major improvements for several years because the project teams forked several times in those years, reducing the developers on any one project to just a handful, you might start thinking that proprietary software sounds better. Software firms update or die, they doesn't just founder along at half-speed for years.
Why? If i decide to stop supporting my software, I sure as hell am not going to let you start profiting from it without an ounce of investnment on your part.
I think the only regulation would be of companies offering telephone service, regardless of the transmission medium. The "reason" the feds regulate telephone companies is mainly to ensure a robust system is always available to all citizens. Imagine if only rich corporations could afford telephones. Without regulation, that would be an acceptable scenario.
I think his point is the side that sets the terms of the peace agreement can afford to be magnanimous, and assert that the war was good for no-one. Just because there is a victorious side in a war does not mean the victors have to think of themselves as "winners," as if there was some sort of prize that could make up for the loss of life on both sides.
Was this in WW2? I don't remember that... I think that happened quite a while prior to that, but I could be wrong...
The minimum wage is the US varies from state to state and by industry/job, but it is ~$5.50 US. Average rent on a mediocre/poor studio apartment in most US cities is ~$500 US. After taxes, a person making minimum wage in the US takes home ~$600 US per month. However, the average person making minimum wage will get most of the money they pay in income taxes back in a refund, if they can do their taxes properly, which in that income bracket is quite easy - no investments, assets"> etc. to comlicate things.
AQre you suggesting that Japanese culture is identical to US culture? I find this hard to believe. Japanese games for the Japanese gamer sell terribly here, for the most part, because most Americans would rather actually go out and date rather than play a dating sim. Most Americans are more comfotable with excessive violence and blood in their games. Our social structure is much less restrictive. American society is not the same as japanese society, even if you think it is. And that is only comparing Japan to the US. DO you really think hat the US is unique inthe world, and the Japanese are exactly like every non-US society? Many Americans speak Spanish, Italian, Greek, Somali, Hindi, Urdu, Chinese, Japanese, etc. You may be unaware of it, but Americans are from all over the world, and a large number are from places that don't have English as a national language.
Socialist government is more than increased gov't spending. Socialist systems the world over heavily tax their citizens, maintain strict control over the behavior of business, and typically control the infrastructure, such as communications, transportation, natural resources, and power generation and distribution. So the USA isn't a socialist government pretending it isn't, it isn't a socialist government. Do a little research before posting, and your comments will contain much more truth and much less misinformed opinion.
You must have been incredibly inefficient before this if you more than doubled you productivity while watching the kids. Oh, you mean the performance metric you quoted wasn't based on any documented baseline, but rather on nebulous "metrics?" Why am I not surprised? Your company doesn't think you are worth the expense of providing a work space. That cost is passed on to you, so your salary now has to provide a workspace, as well as pay your bils, feed and cliothe your family, and pay for a home and a vehicle. You choose to see this as "empowerment," whatever that means in this case. Does the term "pollyanna" mean anyting to you?
Gee, most Americans would agree that American cars are superior to foreign offerings. I know that if you want a rear-wheel drive V8 coupe, your money is best spent on American cars. German offerings may be "better," at roughly twice to three times the cost, with no dealer support in the majority of the nation. There is no Japanese offering. If you want to talk supercars, a Corvette Z06, for less than $60K, is faster, handles better, and is easier to drive fast than anyting from Japan, Germany, and Italy, barring flagsahips like the Carrera GT and the Ferrari Enzo, which are priced so far above the Corvette it is silly, and only sell a handful each year, compared to the thousands of Corvette Z06 models produced. Where's the foreign superiority? I don't think you know anyting about cars, you just parrot back what your parents and/or friends say. Magazines like Car & Driver refuse to acknoledge the superiority of the American sports cars, even though their own articles demonstrate the fact. They want access to foreign cars, and don't want to come off sounding like foreign cars can't match American offerings, even if it is true. Some people hate American cars for the same reason some people can't wait to move away from their hometown - objective reality is not a factor, subjective perceptions are more important. If you refuse to buy American cars, how can you claim they are inferior? you have no experience in the matter. American economy cars routinely come with bigger, more powerful engines, and a more complete interior. American luxury cars come with bigger engines, more complete interiors, and more passenger space than any foreign offering for a comparable price. American pickups are more powerful, can haul much larger loads, and are much more reliable under heavy use than any foriegn counterpart. In fact, there is not a single foriegn turbo diesel pickup sold in this country. Where is the foreign superiority? You can talk all day long about how much better your Japanese inmport is, but at the end of the day, you are either preaching to the choir or talking to a deaf ear. American auto unions have a vested interest in the health of the comany, and ensure the employees get a fair share of the profits from the industry. If that means auto executives don't make as much money, then I say, the system works. Your argument is flawed on a level you don't even comprehend. Domestic manufacturing is responsible for most of the brands you suggest are better because they are foreign. News flash: they are made in the US, in many cases by union workers.