Obviously my analogy was off. But it's also clear that your personal opinions and perspective has strayed from the point of my analogy.
I was comparing two companies to two "countries:" Israel - an official state with financial, military, and strong international backing (the US).
Palestine - an unofficial state that desperately fights to gain credibility and power.
Regardless of the surrounding region, which may or may not have any international clout (see the UN voting record for an example), Israel's physical size is not the issue. The issue is the fact that Palestinians fight with suicide bombs and Molotov cocktails while Israel fights with tanks and helicopters. If Israel wanted, they could do some terribly nasty stuff and end the whole thing. If Palestine wanted, they...well, they couldn't end the whole thing. No more than Mozilla can singlehandedly destroy Microsoft. It takes a lot of support from bigger players, spreading FUD (from either side), and using the diplomatic/political/evangelical process to win supporters.
It's not that bad of an analogy for someone to decide I'm a troll.
Microsoft is the one with the solid foundation and history, financial backing, and support from outside group (companies, countries, organizations).
Mozilla has reasonable claims to why you should use their browser, but they dont't have the resources and history to be taken as seriously. They are doing a phenomenal job of getting there, but there is much work to be done.
It's not a perfect analogy - but then, you're free to suggest a more appropriate analogy. I completely expected to get modded flamebait or off-topic for even bringing that up. But I don't understand why you think my post was even remotely "troll."
No kidding... you may not like having those features disabled, but calling them a "security vulnerability" is like shouting "terrorist" because you don't like what someone else says.
There are plenty of sites that go to great lengths to turn off functionality like copy, back button, print, etc. When a major corporation does it, suddenly it's a risk?
Google can only offer that information because they can employ DRM.
"When my company started putting "Best Viewed in Firefox/Mozilla" on the intranet . I knew that the browser wars are over."
1. That's very 1997 of you. Good job. 2. The browser wars are not over; that's like claiming that Palestine has suddenly won the conflict over Israel. (Yes, I did just compare Microsoft to Israel and Mozilla to Palestine. Politics aside, I think their positions are similar.) 3. Your company is, at most, a drop in the ocean compared to the [steadily declining] number of IE users out there. You might have fifty users on Firefox, or you might have ten thousand.
It comes down to a business decision. If you force software upon your employees, will they be more or less productive? Will they actually use it, or will they use the alternatives? If your company's employees come to work after checking their email in AOL on Windows 98, they might not be comfortable using Firefox. It shouldn't be that way, but not everybody moves very easily. This is the same reason why OpenOffice.org isn't more popular. Luckily for Mozilla (esp. Firefox), their product has so many advantages that people are willing to undergo the relatively painless process of switching.
For an already expensive multi-use device? Not so much. We see it all the time here on Slashdot... companies are trying to combine technologies because they believe it's the "next big thing."
If I could get a PDA the size of an iPod and with a 40GB drive, I'd do it. My Dell Axim doesn't have the storage I want and it's too big to carry everywhere.
It's amazing to me how popularity can overshadow authority on the web. Your site might be completely irrelevant, but if it's popular it will probably show up high in the search results. Google does an excellent job most of the time, but there are a few notable exceptions.
"...I've also never had a problem with forms that 'require' your email address (or name, or postal address, or even your birthday). They only get your information if you willingly give them your information."
I agree. Of course, if they really want usable, reliable information, forcing users to put something in that field is a step in the wrong direction. One of my clients doesn't seem to understand this - and then they complain that there are so many a@a.com, asdf@asdf.com, etc.
There are ways to force you to enter your actual email address - such as sending you a confirmation email or the password - but even then you can simply use a dummy account. I have one just for those purposes.
The harder you make it for people to get your product (and thereby making you money) the less they will want to bother. Another lesson my client fails to learn.
" fills a long standing void for a truly introductory book which can be read and understood by anyone in less than a month."
The book is 515 pages?!
I'm certain that this review was read by someone who wasn't seeking a truly introductory book. If the reviewer knows anything about networking before he starts reading, I doubt that he's able to objectively make this claim.
I like the "yes, you did receive it" part, but it's also nice to have your privacy. I turn off email notifications for just that reason. I've had clients call and ask me why their request wasn't done because they saw that I opened the email yesterday and it should only take a few minutes to do.
We use a copier and a fax machine all the time, and we're a web development firm.
We use the copier for short run copies of things like checks, statements, invoices, receipts, etc.
Every time we need to pick up an SSL certificate, it's a fax. Every time we need to verify our identity to the domain registrars, it's a fax. Every time we need to get blurry, unsolicited ads for vacation destinations, it's a fax.
Maybe your suggestion would be to use a scanner. In my experience, they're slow and require extra work once you get them on your computer; factor in the different programs on different platforms, and it's much easier to simply put the page on the glass and hit 'copy.'
There's been a lot of talk about how the video game industry is eclipsing the film industry, especially when you consider the market segment that video games are hitting. Even my wife's grandmother played The Sims.
Personally, I think that this is an unfortunate move. Very few video games have the storytelling, plot, character development, etc. that quality films do. Doom 3, which I recently completed, started off with the potential to open up into the storytelling. By the end, I was simply blasting everything away. It got kind of boring.
I too prefer that games stay games - when I'm involved, controlling the character, and reacting in my own way, it's much more engaging. I hate when movie characters do stupid things (I also hate Dude, Where's My Car?). Moving the other way - from movies to games - can be fun, though. It's like being handed the movie role and getting a chance to do something different. If the game plot isn't a direct copy of the movie plot, it's awesome. See Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast.
They would have to abandon the "shoot everything until we win" strategy and go for more of a plot. Don't leave a huge sequel door open. Don't waste my time overloading with artificial catch-phrases. Don't abandon the "art" side of filmmaking, even if it's not an "art" film.
This is his first movie script, he's 26, and he doesn't appear to have much film experience. I don't have a lot of confidence, but good luck to him.
"Published in 2002, the Rundle-Tiampo Forecast has accurately predicted the locations of 15 of California's 16 largest earthquakes this decade, including last week's tremors."
"Eleven of the 15 quakes occurred after the paper was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in Feb. 2002."
A Nobel prize should be hard to get - there are a lot of people working hard on projects that may or may not turn out with glorious, world-changing results. When someone does make a breakthrough, they should be rewarded and remembered; I think that's the point of such awards.
Now if you happen to be a super-genius with glorious ideas and world-changing abilities, then maybe you could do something faster and easier than other scientists. But you probably wouldn't be invited to all the scientist parties.
1. My college was yuppie school - and it was dominated by Natural Ice (Natty/Nasty Ice), Milwaukee's Best (the Beast), and other crappy cheap beers.
2. I don't know a lot of girls that like beer. My wife can't stand the smell of most alcohol. She does kind of like these flavored beers/malted cocktails. On our honeymoon, I introduced her to iced tea a la Long Island.
3. Most college kids don't really do the wine thing. Once you learn to like wine, it can become a very expensive taste. Personally, I limit myself to the finest wines under $15, but if I'm going for the buzz I'll settle for a $4 Inglenook. I'm sure this price range will change once I make my first trillion.
4. I use Thunderbird. It beats the hell out of Outlook.:)
Slashdot Mirror
Obviously my analogy was off. But it's also clear that your personal opinions and perspective has strayed from the point of my analogy.
I was comparing two companies to two "countries:"
Israel - an official state with financial, military, and strong international backing (the US).
Palestine - an unofficial state that desperately fights to gain credibility and power.
Regardless of the surrounding region, which may or may not have any international clout (see the UN voting record for an example), Israel's physical size is not the issue. The issue is the fact that Palestinians fight with suicide bombs and Molotov cocktails while Israel fights with tanks and helicopters. If Israel wanted, they could do some terribly nasty stuff and end the whole thing. If Palestine wanted, they...well, they couldn't end the whole thing. No more than Mozilla can singlehandedly destroy Microsoft. It takes a lot of support from bigger players, spreading FUD (from either side), and using the diplomatic/political/evangelical process to win supporters.
It's not that bad of an analogy for someone to decide I'm a troll.
Why? I was just looking for a decent analogy.
Microsoft is the one with the solid foundation and history, financial backing, and support from outside group (companies, countries, organizations).
Mozilla has reasonable claims to why you should use their browser, but they dont't have the resources and history to be taken as seriously. They are doing a phenomenal job of getting there, but there is much work to be done.
It's not a perfect analogy - but then, you're free to suggest a more appropriate analogy. I completely expected to get modded flamebait or off-topic for even bringing that up. But I don't understand why you think my post was even remotely "troll."
No kidding... you may not like having those features disabled, but calling them a "security vulnerability" is like shouting "terrorist" because you don't like what someone else says.
There are plenty of sites that go to great lengths to turn off functionality like copy, back button, print, etc. When a major corporation does it, suddenly it's a risk?
Google can only offer that information because they can employ DRM.
"When my company started putting "Best Viewed in Firefox/Mozilla" on the intranet . I knew that the browser wars are over."
1. That's very 1997 of you. Good job.
2. The browser wars are not over; that's like claiming that Palestine has suddenly won the conflict over Israel. (Yes, I did just compare Microsoft to Israel and Mozilla to Palestine. Politics aside, I think their positions are similar.)
3. Your company is, at most, a drop in the ocean compared to the [steadily declining] number of IE users out there. You might have fifty users on Firefox, or you might have ten thousand.
It comes down to a business decision. If you force software upon your employees, will they be more or less productive? Will they actually use it, or will they use the alternatives? If your company's employees come to work after checking their email in AOL on Windows 98, they might not be comfortable using Firefox. It shouldn't be that way, but not everybody moves very easily. This is the same reason why OpenOffice.org isn't more popular. Luckily for Mozilla (esp. Firefox), their product has so many advantages that people are willing to undergo the relatively painless process of switching.
For cell phones? I completely agree with you.
For an already expensive multi-use device? Not so much. We see it all the time here on Slashdot... companies are trying to combine technologies because they believe it's the "next big thing."
If I could get a PDA the size of an iPod and with a 40GB drive, I'd do it. My Dell Axim doesn't have the storage I want and it's too big to carry everywhere.
Surely you can find better ways to spend your time than trolling on the Internet.
Or stuck in a disposal.
It's amazing to me how popularity can overshadow authority on the web. Your site might be completely irrelevant, but if it's popular it will probably show up high in the search results. Google does an excellent job most of the time, but there are a few notable exceptions.
Yeah, I took the training wheels away from my kid when he went made his first billion and went IPO. They grow up so fast.
"...I've also never had a problem with forms that 'require' your email address (or name, or postal address, or even your birthday). They only get your information if you willingly give them your information."
I agree. Of course, if they really want usable, reliable information, forcing users to put something in that field is a step in the wrong direction. One of my clients doesn't seem to understand this - and then they complain that there are so many a@a.com, asdf@asdf.com, etc.
There are ways to force you to enter your actual email address - such as sending you a confirmation email or the password - but even then you can simply use a dummy account. I have one just for those purposes.
The harder you make it for people to get your product (and thereby making you money) the less they will want to bother. Another lesson my client fails to learn.
What - it fell of a truck from 1983, 1987, and 1994?
"...has unanimously passed a law..."
How come they never pass any laws posthumously?
" fills a long standing void for a truly introductory book which can be read and understood by anyone in less than a month."
The book is 515 pages?!
I'm certain that this review was read by someone who wasn't seeking a truly introductory book. If the reviewer knows anything about networking before he starts reading, I doubt that he's able to objectively make this claim.
I like the "yes, you did receive it" part, but it's also nice to have your privacy. I turn off email notifications for just that reason. I've had clients call and ask me why their request wasn't done because they saw that I opened the email yesterday and it should only take a few minutes to do.
People don't always respect your time.
We use a copier and a fax machine all the time, and we're a web development firm.
We use the copier for short run copies of things like checks, statements, invoices, receipts, etc.
Every time we need to pick up an SSL certificate, it's a fax. Every time we need to verify our identity to the domain registrars, it's a fax. Every time we need to get blurry, unsolicited ads for vacation destinations, it's a fax.
Maybe your suggestion would be to use a scanner. In my experience, they're slow and require extra work once you get them on your computer; factor in the different programs on different platforms, and it's much easier to simply put the page on the glass and hit 'copy.'
"...look at the simple office copying machine..."
coughcoughBizHubcoughcough
I love those commercials.
There's been a lot of talk about how the video game industry is eclipsing the film industry, especially when you consider the market segment that video games are hitting. Even my wife's grandmother played The Sims.
Personally, I think that this is an unfortunate move. Very few video games have the storytelling, plot, character development, etc. that quality films do. Doom 3, which I recently completed, started off with the potential to open up into the storytelling. By the end, I was simply blasting everything away. It got kind of boring.
I too prefer that games stay games - when I'm involved, controlling the character, and reacting in my own way, it's much more engaging. I hate when movie characters do stupid things (I also hate Dude, Where's My Car?). Moving the other way - from movies to games - can be fun, though. It's like being handed the movie role and getting a chance to do something different. If the game plot isn't a direct copy of the movie plot, it's awesome. See Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast.
They would have to abandon the "shoot everything until we win" strategy and go for more of a plot. Don't leave a huge sequel door open. Don't waste my time overloading with artificial catch-phrases. Don't abandon the "art" side of filmmaking, even if it's not an "art" film.
This is his first movie script, he's 26, and he doesn't appear to have much film experience. I don't have a lot of confidence, but good luck to him.
I thought it sucked, but it seems to be pretty popular around my office.
I don't know about that. I usually take my time getting to work, and then speed home (but not at 120mph)
It does say...
"Published in 2002, the Rundle-Tiampo Forecast has accurately predicted the locations of 15 of California's 16 largest earthquakes this decade, including last week's tremors."
"Eleven of the 15 quakes occurred after the paper was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in Feb. 2002."
A Nobel prize should be hard to get - there are a lot of people working hard on projects that may or may not turn out with glorious, world-changing results. When someone does make a breakthrough, they should be rewarded and remembered; I think that's the point of such awards.
Now if you happen to be a super-genius with glorious ideas and world-changing abilities, then maybe you could do something faster and easier than other scientists. But you probably wouldn't be invited to all the scientist parties.
There should at least be contact information - author email addresses, websites, etc. to hunt them down. If all else fails, use Google to find it.
Is this a hard concept?
I prefer this, which I found on a service provider I was looking at...
Q: I can't send email. What are the servers and settings I need to use?
A: Please email support@someisp.com for the setup information. We do not post this information on our public website.
1. My college was yuppie school - and it was dominated by Natural Ice (Natty/Nasty Ice), Milwaukee's Best (the Beast), and other crappy cheap beers.
:)
2. I don't know a lot of girls that like beer. My wife can't stand the smell of most alcohol. She does kind of like these flavored beers/malted cocktails. On our honeymoon, I introduced her to iced tea a la Long Island.
3. Most college kids don't really do the wine thing. Once you learn to like wine, it can become a very expensive taste. Personally, I limit myself to the finest wines under $15, but if I'm going for the buzz I'll settle for a $4 Inglenook. I'm sure this price range will change once I make my first trillion.
4. I use Thunderbird. It beats the hell out of Outlook.
Lois: Peter, you're drunk again!
Peter: No I'm not. I'm just tired from staying up all night drinking.
They also list Firefox .9 as the latest version. The article was clearly written a while back... that's all.