I am sick of getting 100,000 irrelevnt hits & then doing dozens of narrowing searches, only to find that the word & phrase hits are all in different paragraphs or even unrelated articles on the same page.
Iran's BTU/capita is about 1/4th of the U.S., & its GDP/capita is about 1/4th of the U.S. (CIA World FactBook via "Bottomless Well" by Peter Huber & Mark Mills).
Personal Opinion: Deregulation has put emphasis on quarterly profits, not on reserve capacity of both power plants and the grid.
Congress only "works" an average of 3 days a week or less. Some heads in Washington need some knocks.
China is growing products & services as their engineering graduates do more and more original work, instead of copying.
At some point China will need to enforce copyrights, trademarks and patents so that their local inventive products can be sold on the world market...without copycats in the U.S., EU and elsewhere.
Relevant facts to date:
Right now Assignee companies of U.S. issued patents in China total 2400 or so, which isn't very many, but it is growing.
Almost 7000 U.S. patents have been issued to people residing in China. One can assume far more patents are submitted in China but never have foreign applications.
China graduates more engineers, mathemeticians and scientists every year than the U.S.
Will it go smoothly, soon, or be diligent in giving foreign patent holders the same rights as Chinese patent holders? I doubt it.
2,350 hits for search string: "boron fusion"
229 for "boron fusion" funded
8 hits for search string: "boron fusion" funded Bussard & relates to a Wikipedia overview.
Wikipedia then speaks of the groups doing this research and development under "Current research" which goes way beyond what Bussard noted in the article.
Searching on them can turn up interesting work.
Bo
OK, so the temperature is either going up or going down, or going up and will soon go down, or going down & will soon go up.
The QUESTION: Can the collective world do anything, and then WILL the collective world societies do anything of consequence?
The Pundits & Politicos in the U.S. & E.U. may wring hands, put on dour and earnest faces, make proclomations and AGREE on ACTION!
But try telling, persuading or cajoling China, India, Indonesia, South America and Africa to alter their pollution output (particularly soot and CO2).
GOOD LUCK FOLKS!
The best we might hope for are a couple of quick moderately large size volcanic eruptions to cool the planet for a couple decades to give us a chance to change other countries actions. But then China, et al, will just have reason to continue as is and delay reductions in pollution.
I look for continued posturings & isolated governmental "resolutions". Oh, but wait, the U.N. can issue orders to its members, & maybe now with a new administration in "control" they can negotiate the U.S. into paying for everyone elses nappy messes. Yeah, and if you believe that, you have to be ready for the next civil war.
Cingular & T-Mobile customer service people can't even explain how to set up a Bluetooth capable phone to get low speed internet access to a laptop (believe me I tried with these people).
Then the website help areas are, not surprisingly, NO HELP. Out of date instructions, etc.
The average customer service person is someone young, out of work, lacking skills, not very motivated, and probably making $10/hr and figuring on 'moving out & up' fast, and not interested in learning.
If "NEXT GENERATION" cellular service is coming, the providers better rethink their personnel training, help files, web sites, etc. or the uptake will be slow.
If users of all types, just say "Windows XP is good enough for what I do", then MS can say what it will and VISTA will not sell to the people who really don't need VISTA.
There are still oodles of Win98 and Win2000 customers out there (& I have it on an old laptop as backup...works wonderfully fine).
Is a good video worth $10 or $20, just because it cost $120 million to make with Tom Cruise? What if all DVD copies were sold via eBay or Amazon each day via auction? After the initial 2-4 week release, how much would a DVD sell for, a download sell for, then after 6 months? Once media is "old", why should it still be worth 'new' pricing of $10-$20. Ever see the 'old' stock reduced at Barnes and Noble to $4, yet it is 'new' and unused.
If materials are priced at the auction market price for whatever delivery medium and format desired at a given date in time, then might not the artists and their managers receive the highest value for their work?
What happens if a user just wants to access a work one time for one day or one week, and would pay $1, and access the work only on a web site? That might be less expensive than driving to the library.
All these things might occur, but they will require the artists and their managers to find a way to maximize exposure in the 21st century and use 21st century methods to distribute to suit the desires of the buyers at a price the buyers will pay. There will always be people who borrow books, tapes, CDs, DVDs, and digital files, and that has gone on since the time of Christ, and no borrower commonly paid a fee. Should he?
The expectation that any work of artistic merit has an inherent value is false. Price a book at $100 and put paper covers on it, and you will be lucky to sell a few. If it is a good book, a few more. If it seems to be a classic in the making, a bit more will be sold. As a leather bound book $200 may be fair. Make it available in digital form and put 100 copies up for auction each day, and they will sell for different prices.
If the author also "gives" the legitimate buyer private access to extra content over time, might that cement more of a relationship that drives "value" between buyer and seller? Will that make a $3 video or $1 book worthwhile, as opposed to trying to find and download for free? Will the 95% of the artists that never get "contracts" or "publishers" or "studios" to back them see this as a way of self-promotion, allowing them to earn a wage?
There are lots of ways to look at how to do the selling of works of expression and create value in relationships that artists need to look deeper into how to experiment and advance the state of the relationship with their supporters (buyers). It will take work. But who ever said there would be a free lunch. Making money as an artist has always been hard work, with minor exceptions.
Though I like the concept of "copyright" everyone knows that we have entered a new millenia irrevocably, and that new ways of looking at business relationships need to be analyzed. Using "copyright" to justify never lowering the price of a work below $20, even though books are "remaindered" at $1 all the time, is stupid on its face. Works have lower value over time, and in different 'formats'.
If a seller sets his price &/or terms too high and (thus) restricts the end user, his volume falls, and he makes less off his product.
My bet is that the media companies have done and are doing EVERYTHING possible to keep the "old pricing" at the top of their requirements for the sale of their products.
In the end, I predict the consumers will pay what they want to pay or not buy, and that will force prices down. Why should a person have to pay a premium for a DVD movie, once the first run week has gone by? Is a movie download going to be more than a movie ticket? Would people ultimately by more movies if the price were $3/movie?
I still think the consumer, collectively, will ultimately set the price, by whether he buys a single piece of entertainment in volume or not.
DRM is dead as far as I am concerned, because I won't buy content with it, so I have already voted. The media companies just don't know it, as they have not asked me.
We get the characteristics of all the past politicians we liked (& hated) and plug them in and then compare them against "Our Boy".
I just suspect we are not going like the megalomaniacal persons we will elect any better than the ones we have, but it will be interesting, because I can guarantee someone will or is doing it.
Slashdot Mirror
So I can safely do all my work easier in Mac OSX 10.5 ;-?
I am sick of getting 100,000 irrelevnt hits & then doing dozens of narrowing searches, only to find that the word & phrase hits are all in different paragraphs or even unrelated articles on the same page.
Bring it on NOW.
The only way is down.
The only way to stay on top is to defend all of the mountain. That is incredibly time consuming, maintaining and upgrading the fortifications.
Warren Buffet said he would not invest in Microsoft, because he couldn't understand the long term future.
Prediction: Microsoft will break itself up.
Iran's BTU/capita is about 1/4th of the U.S., & its GDP/capita is about 1/4th of the U.S. (CIA World FactBook via "Bottomless Well" by Peter Huber & Mark Mills).
Personal Opinion: Deregulation has put emphasis on quarterly profits, not on reserve capacity of both power plants and the grid.
Congress only "works" an average of 3 days a week or less. Some heads in Washington need some knocks.
So lets see. If the emperer has no clothes, and you point that out, you are guilty of...telling the truth?
Sounds like it means Trusted to Be Risky.
.doc files on my Mac.
Well, I'll just get out my "Trusty" CanOpener application (don't laugh as it works) and use it to open my
Well, forget it. Microsoft has never been much interested in security issues until after the fact.
fast, quit & enter a new field before you are, well, probably fired or maybe demoted.
Ballmer gave you the reins to run or hang by. Too bad you gave in to every limitation, every division of MS & RIAA demand.
Oh well. Experience is the best teacher.
RULES.
China is growing products & services as their engineering graduates do more and more original work, instead of copying.
At some point China will need to enforce copyrights, trademarks and patents so that their local inventive products can be sold on the world market...without copycats in the U.S., EU and elsewhere.
Relevant facts to date:
Right now Assignee companies of U.S. issued patents in China total 2400 or so, which isn't very many, but it is growing.
Almost 7000 U.S. patents have been issued to people residing in China. One can assume far more patents are submitted in China but never have foreign applications.
China graduates more engineers, mathemeticians and scientists every year than the U.S.
Will it go smoothly, soon, or be diligent in giving foreign patent holders the same rights as Chinese patent holders? I doubt it.
Balmer's idea is find something to do a Lock-IN.
Consumers DO NOT WANT TO BE LOCKED IN.
All else is BS.
2,350 hits for search string: "boron fusion" 229 for "boron fusion" funded 8 hits for search string: "boron fusion" funded Bussard & relates to a Wikipedia overview. Wikipedia then speaks of the groups doing this research and development under "Current research" which goes way beyond what Bussard noted in the article. Searching on them can turn up interesting work. Bo
Uh hmm.
I respectfully disagree that they are a drop in the bucket.
Please post the confirming data summary.
OK, so the temperature is either going up or going down, or going up and will soon go down, or going down & will soon go up.
The QUESTION: Can the collective world do anything, and then WILL the collective world societies do anything of consequence?
The Pundits & Politicos in the U.S. & E.U. may wring hands, put on dour and earnest faces, make proclomations and AGREE on ACTION!
But try telling, persuading or cajoling China, India, Indonesia, South America and Africa to alter their pollution output (particularly soot and CO2).
GOOD LUCK FOLKS!
The best we might hope for are a couple of quick moderately large size volcanic eruptions to cool the planet for a couple decades to give us a chance to change other countries actions. But then China, et al, will just have reason to continue as is and delay reductions in pollution.
I look for continued posturings & isolated governmental "resolutions". Oh, but wait, the U.N. can issue orders to its members, & maybe now with a new administration in "control" they can negotiate the U.S. into paying for everyone elses nappy messes. Yeah, and if you believe that, you have to be ready for the next civil war.
Too darn many instructions (Moto was vapid) are simply not there or wrong.
Been there done that.
Customer service people are really not interested when I call.
Cingular & T-Mobile customer service people can't even explain how to set up a Bluetooth capable phone to get low speed internet access to a laptop (believe me I tried with these people).
Then the website help areas are, not surprisingly, NO HELP. Out of date instructions, etc.
The average customer service person is someone young, out of work, lacking skills, not very motivated, and probably making $10/hr and figuring on 'moving out & up' fast, and not interested in learning.
If "NEXT GENERATION" cellular service is coming, the providers better rethink their personnel training, help files, web sites, etc. or the uptake will be slow.
If I want security, I will be in a noisy open Jeep at 50 mph discussing the secrets with the other person I am communicating with.
If users of all types, just say "Windows XP is good enough for what I do", then MS can say what it will and VISTA will not sell to the people who really don't need VISTA.
There are still oodles of Win98 and Win2000 customers out there (& I have it on an old laptop as backup...works wonderfully fine).
I've already heard one attorney talking about this. Can't be the only one.
What no one has leaked yet is where "Zune" really (secret here) came from!
Zune = Zebra (as in a horse designed by a committee) & a Tune (as in "Microsoft will own everying.")
Uh, hmmm.
How about borrowing the CDs & DVDs?
Yeah, geesh, I guess it probably is NOW ILLEGAL TO LOAN a VCR tape, CD or DVD, and it can only get worse.
Anyone who reads all 5 pages of that article is going to learn more than just one new valuable thing.
Is a good video worth $10 or $20, just because it cost $120 million to make with Tom Cruise? What if all DVD copies were sold via eBay or Amazon each day via auction? After the initial 2-4 week release, how much would a DVD sell for, a download sell for, then after 6 months? Once media is "old", why should it still be worth 'new' pricing of $10-$20. Ever see the 'old' stock reduced at Barnes and Noble to $4, yet it is 'new' and unused.
If materials are priced at the auction market price for whatever delivery medium and format desired at a given date in time, then might not the artists and their managers receive the highest value for their work?
What happens if a user just wants to access a work one time for one day or one week, and would pay $1, and access the work only on a web site? That might be less expensive than driving to the library.
All these things might occur, but they will require the artists and their managers to find a way to maximize exposure in the 21st century and use 21st century methods to distribute to suit the desires of the buyers at a price the buyers will pay. There will always be people who borrow books, tapes, CDs, DVDs, and digital files, and that has gone on since the time of Christ, and no borrower commonly paid a fee. Should he?
The expectation that any work of artistic merit has an inherent value is false. Price a book at $100 and put paper covers on it, and you will be lucky to sell a few. If it is a good book, a few more. If it seems to be a classic in the making, a bit more will be sold. As a leather bound book $200 may be fair. Make it available in digital form and put 100 copies up for auction each day, and they will sell for different prices.
If the author also "gives" the legitimate buyer private access to extra content over time, might that cement more of a relationship that drives "value" between buyer and seller? Will that make a $3 video or $1 book worthwhile, as opposed to trying to find and download for free? Will the 95% of the artists that never get "contracts" or "publishers" or "studios" to back them see this as a way of self-promotion, allowing them to earn a wage?
There are lots of ways to look at how to do the selling of works of expression and create value in relationships that artists need to look deeper into how to experiment and advance the state of the relationship with their supporters (buyers). It will take work. But who ever said there would be a free lunch. Making money as an artist has always been hard work, with minor exceptions.
Though I like the concept of "copyright" everyone knows that we have entered a new millenia irrevocably, and that new ways of looking at business relationships need to be analyzed. Using "copyright" to justify never lowering the price of a work below $20, even though books are "remaindered" at $1 all the time, is stupid on its face. Works have lower value over time, and in different 'formats'.
Can't afford the downtime.
If a seller sets his price &/or terms too high and (thus) restricts the end user, his volume falls, and he makes less off his product.
My bet is that the media companies have done and are doing EVERYTHING possible to keep the "old pricing" at the top of their requirements for the sale of their products.
In the end, I predict the consumers will pay what they want to pay or not buy, and that will force prices down. Why should a person have to pay a premium for a DVD movie, once the first run week has gone by? Is a movie download going to be more than a movie ticket? Would people ultimately by more movies if the price were $3/movie?
I still think the consumer, collectively, will ultimately set the price, by whether he buys a single piece of entertainment in volume or not.
DRM is dead as far as I am concerned, because I won't buy content with it, so I have already voted. The media companies just don't know it, as they have not asked me.
We get the characteristics of all the past politicians we liked (& hated) and plug them in and then compare them against "Our Boy".
I just suspect we are not going like the megalomaniacal persons we will elect any better than the ones we have, but it will be interesting, because I can guarantee someone will or is doing it.