the business model on iOS is quite fair, and much better than any real-world business model available. Only 30% goes to distribution/retail costs? Wow!
They had a ludicrous business model, built on cloud city.
To be fair, a good publisher does add value to a book in the form of an editor and marketing. When self-publishing it can be even harder to show your work to have value, meaning that you probably will only sell a tiny fraction of what you would have sold through a publisher. For that to work, the publisher has to have some risk (time/wages of editing and such) so that any extra expenditure for marketing can make sense. They take their cut because they front the risk. Then they sell the book for a few dollars, the wholesaler/distributor takes their cut, customs+taxes take their cut and the retailer takes his cut. The publisher is probably making a few dollars per copy in profit, and the author half as much. The rest gets split between a number of people.
Of course, if the publisher himself handles the e-book distribution he has effectively cut the wholesaler, customs and retailer out of the equation, and may be cheating on sales tax as well. He sells the book for $10 and makes twice as much profit per copy as he used to. Not through the lower cost of production, but rather through selling the book more expensive (while the customer could get it less expensive)
Well, the 6 per 100.000 in china is an official average statistic. I won't wager anything on that number being near correct. In fact I could easily believe the actual number to be much closer to the USA, even higher.
I'd wager that your devil's advocate note is at least partially correct (that factory workers who make a living wage might have a lower suicide rate than the national average), but I also have a sneaking suspicion that the official statistics may be doctored somewhat. Looking at stats for Singapore (10), Hong Kong (15) and India (10) it seems that China's numbers don't fit very well in. Japan (24) and South Korea(31) are both ridiculously high.
..let's not forget that Foxconn has a few workers(total number of employees is over 920.000). Even if working conditions were absolutely great and the suicide rate was the same as the USA average (around 11 per 100.000 inhabitants) then we should be expecting around 100 suicides per year from Foxconn workers. Chinese suicide numbers (official ones at least) are lower, or 6 per 100.000 people, so then we would be looking at 55 suicides per year by Foxconn workers.
The big suicide thing that came up around Foxconn was about 18 suicide attempts over the course of 10 months. That is not to say that there weren't any other suicides by Foxconn workers somewhere (the company is spread out over a few countries), but it isn't this amazing wave of suicides like the press whipped up.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying everything is hunky-dory over there. I don't know the full details though, but I know that Apple isn't the only company to buy from Foxconn. Hopefully some of those companies demand ethical sources of electronic components. That would be the biggest incentive to improve working conditions.
sorry to burst your bubble (well, actually, not really) but is that what you have seen for Android phones? You know, the ones that can't upgrade from 1.6 to 2..
Pedophiles aren't known for their amazing ninja powers, are they? Isn't the general pedo more of a sad and pathetic loser in relatively bad shape with a broken self image? What about a family pedo?
What I'm saying is: wouldn't it have been more sensible to ring the doorbell and say "Mr. Doe, come with us. You are under arrest on suspicion of downloading child pornography". What do they expect? some kind of pedo clan, all armed to the teeth and ready to round-house kick Swat team heads off their bodies?
America.... the Taliban don't hate you because of your freedoms, they hate you because you won't teach them these advanced techniques of messing with the general public! Shock and Awe, surprise and fear.... Nobody expects the ICE/SWAT. Surprise is our main weapon, surprise and fear. Our two main weapons are.... (you get the idea..)
Online delivery? So the internet IS a series of tubes! The secret is out!!! It's all a conspiracy to keep the online delivered groceries out of our hands!!!!!
Or are they talking about online ordering and old fashioned 'guy on a van brings food to your home' ?
Apple is obviously amazing! I mean, how else would it get free publicity for a possible upgrade to almost each object they sell?
Don't get me wrong, I like their hardware and use some of it, but the hardware is NOTHING compared to their marketing... (well, actually their hardware/software solutions ARE extremely good in most cases, but posts in almost all blogs and newspapers over what will probably be an incremental upgrade... madness)
yeah, but Joss seems to have no problem with killing off characters and then not bringing them back, and generally only bringing people back when the actual bringing back is likely to cause more mayhem...
1: Trust is not the same as blind faith (trust can be subject to provisos, and is based on knowledge and understanding of motives) 2: Also, science encourages doubt. 3: Adding to that, most people know the basics of logic and/or maths. Many complex phenomena need to be explored and verified through horrendously complex methodology which can then explained through simpler logic, analogies and visualisation. If that logic adds up then blind faith is not needed.
And finally, science attempts to create predictions. Predictions can generally be tested. Some easily and others not so easily. Scientists then make predictions as to how electronics can be made to work and then put that specialist knowledge into practice by making something complex like a GPS satellite and GPS receivers THAT WORK.
Many of us nerds here think we know how a computer works, but we don't (or most of us don't). Not down below certain levels of abstraction, at least (miniaturizing processors needs more than hand-laying copper wires onto a ceramic plate). That doesn't mean that computers work on faith... AND it proves the effectiveness of materials scientists and scientists who have worked on theories regarding electronics.
what about google showing what input the algorithm had for it to give this output?
Algorithms generally don't make stuff up, I'm guessing that maybe, just maybe, some people have been calling that man a scoundrel, a con man and a fraud. THOSE people would then be responsible for their words, because unless he IS a con man, then calling him one is defamation
Yeah, and the Tesla battery pack weighs around 450 kilos (about 1000lbs). And costs U$ 36000 (yes, that's 36 thousand US dollars) Unless there was some sort of lease system and an automatic quick change system (park your car over the sensor, battery packs get changed) then changing battery packs is not a viable option.
...and one of the reasons they used their track, and track driving for this range estimate is that the Tesla is marketed as a... wait for it... sports car. Furthermore, the Tesla is based on a VERY popular car used for track days. The verdict is that the Tesla is not very good at fulfilling its intended purpose and will give an owner who wants to play on a track less than an hours enjoyment, provided that he brings the car to the track on the back of a lorry and takes it out that way too. So, if the car is driven hard, then range goes down. That's just normal. What makes it so bad for the Tesla is that topping up the tank takes the rest of the day.
Drive to track - 50 miles Drive from track - 50 miles
That's almost half the Tesla's range at economic driving speeds. That leaves maybe 25-30 miles of trackday fun.
Drive normally (and normal in a sports car is not te same as normal in a minivan) and range will probably not be 250 miles to begin with. Batteries also degrade pretty fast. All in all, the Tesla is probably great fun, looks great, but isn't even practical as a sports car.
not only that, but in track use you are likely to have a higher average speed than 55 miles an hour, meaning that your time of playing around is mighty limited if you don't actually live ON the track. Driving there and home again is a no-go. Heck, only being able to drive on the track for just around 50 minutes would suck! The fuel sucking monsters like the Ford GT can be refueled in minutes, the Tesla takes hours (and hours and hours)
I hope alternative fuels get worked out so that they become usable, but so far they're far off. Tesla's biggest problem, IMO, is that they are really selling the car as something it's not. As a runabout with Elise handling it may work (a second or third car for taking scenic but short rides on country roads). As a sportscar it's not so brilliant. Heck, it might be beaten by a bicycle in a cross country race...
I can't imagine that his brain will just suddenly stop getting ideas and solving problems in new ways. Retire as CEO, sure. But he will either come in a couple of days a week or start doing some interesting home projects. That's my hope, anyway.
Burt Rutan has made a real contribution to human knowledge and understanding. He has also been an inspiration to quite a few of us in many different fields.
...because, as we all know, there is NO market for MP3 players.
At least not for brown ones
The Zune wasn't really bad (it wasn't that good either) but the early defining feature seemed to be the fecal color... that seemed to stick in people's minds.
nahhhh Tablets are fun and cool (if done well) but they have yet to prove their usefulness. When or if they do that then we can agree that the form factor is here to stay
I think that "go the way of the netbook" might also refer to the razor thin margins on netbooks. Not a very profitable market to be in. Fighting for the scraps in a race to the bottom is unlikely to be a winning strategy.
Slashdot Mirror
the business model on iOS is quite fair, and much better than any real-world business model available. Only 30% goes to distribution/retail costs? Wow!
They had a ludicrous business model, built on cloud city.
To be fair, a good publisher does add value to a book in the form of an editor and marketing. When self-publishing it can be even harder to show your work to have value, meaning that you probably will only sell a tiny fraction of what you would have sold through a publisher. For that to work, the publisher has to have some risk (time/wages of editing and such) so that any extra expenditure for marketing can make sense.
They take their cut because they front the risk.
Then they sell the book for a few dollars, the wholesaler/distributor takes their cut, customs+taxes take their cut and the retailer takes his cut. The publisher is probably making a few dollars per copy in profit, and the author half as much. The rest gets split between a number of people.
Of course, if the publisher himself handles the e-book distribution he has effectively cut the wholesaler, customs and retailer out of the equation, and may be cheating on sales tax as well. He sells the book for $10 and makes twice as much profit per copy as he used to. Not through the lower cost of production, but rather through selling the book more expensive (while the customer could get it less expensive)
Thank you.
Well, the 6 per 100.000 in china is an official average statistic. I won't wager anything on that number being near correct. In fact I could easily believe the actual number to be much closer to the USA, even higher.
I'd wager that your devil's advocate note is at least partially correct (that factory workers who make a living wage might have a lower suicide rate than the national average), but I also have a sneaking suspicion that the official statistics may be doctored somewhat. Looking at stats for Singapore (10), Hong Kong (15) and India (10) it seems that China's numbers don't fit very well in. Japan (24) and South Korea(31) are both ridiculously high.
..let's not forget that Foxconn has a few workers(total number of employees is over 920.000). Even if working conditions were absolutely great and the suicide rate was the same as the USA average (around 11 per 100.000 inhabitants) then we should be expecting around 100 suicides per year from Foxconn workers. Chinese suicide numbers (official ones at least) are lower, or 6 per 100.000 people, so then we would be looking at 55 suicides per year by Foxconn workers.
The big suicide thing that came up around Foxconn was about 18 suicide attempts over the course of 10 months. That is not to say that there weren't any other suicides by Foxconn workers somewhere (the company is spread out over a few countries), but it isn't this amazing wave of suicides like the press whipped up.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying everything is hunky-dory over there. I don't know the full details though, but I know that Apple isn't the only company to buy from Foxconn. Hopefully some of those companies demand ethical sources of electronic components. That would be the biggest incentive to improve working conditions.
sorry to burst your bubble (well, actually, not really) but is that what you have seen for Android phones? You know, the ones that can't upgrade from 1.6 to 2..
did you take several different ACCREDITED IQ tests, or are you referring to online tests which are not all created equal?
he may have taken some internet survey pretending to be an IQ test. The online tests that can be taken for free are wildly different in quality.
Pedophiles aren't known for their amazing ninja powers, are they? Isn't the general pedo more of a sad and pathetic loser in relatively bad shape with a broken self image? What about a family pedo?
What I'm saying is: wouldn't it have been more sensible to ring the doorbell and say "Mr. Doe, come with us. You are under arrest on suspicion of downloading child pornography". What do they expect? some kind of pedo clan, all armed to the teeth and ready to round-house kick Swat team heads off their bodies?
America.... the Taliban don't hate you because of your freedoms, they hate you because you won't teach them these advanced techniques of messing with the general public! Shock and Awe, surprise and fear.... Nobody expects the ICE/SWAT. Surprise is our main weapon, surprise and fear. Our two main weapons are.... (you get the idea..)
will someone mod this fella up, pls?
I have no problems with seeing possible technical reasons why this information may be useful to keep on the phone, but Apple, ENCRYPT IT!
Online delivery?
So the internet IS a series of tubes! The secret is out!!! It's all a conspiracy to keep the online delivered groceries out of our hands!!!!!
Or are they talking about online ordering and old fashioned 'guy on a van brings food to your home' ?
Apple is obviously amazing!
I mean, how else would it get free publicity for a possible upgrade to almost each object they sell?
Don't get me wrong, I like their hardware and use some of it, but the hardware is NOTHING compared to their marketing... (well, actually their hardware/software solutions ARE extremely good in most cases, but posts in almost all blogs and newspapers over what will probably be an incremental upgrade... madness)
yeah, but Joss seems to have no problem with killing off characters and then not bringing them back, and generally only bringing people back when the actual bringing back is likely to cause more mayhem...
1: Trust is not the same as blind faith (trust can be subject to provisos, and is based on knowledge and understanding of motives)
2: Also, science encourages doubt.
3: Adding to that, most people know the basics of logic and/or maths. Many complex phenomena need to be explored and verified through horrendously complex methodology which can then explained through simpler logic, analogies and visualisation. If that logic adds up then blind faith is not needed.
And finally, science attempts to create predictions. Predictions can generally be tested. Some easily and others not so easily. Scientists then make predictions as to how electronics can be made to work and then put that specialist knowledge into practice by making something complex like a GPS satellite and GPS receivers THAT WORK.
Many of us nerds here think we know how a computer works, but we don't (or most of us don't). Not down below certain levels of abstraction, at least (miniaturizing processors needs more than hand-laying copper wires onto a ceramic plate).
That doesn't mean that computers work on faith... AND it proves the effectiveness of materials scientists and scientists who have worked on theories regarding electronics.
what about google showing what input the algorithm had for it to give this output?
Algorithms generally don't make stuff up, I'm guessing that maybe, just maybe, some people have been calling that man a scoundrel, a con man and a fraud. THOSE people would then be responsible for their words, because unless he IS a con man, then calling him one is defamation
true dat
as I wrote above, 450 kg, USD 36.000
Yeah, and the Tesla battery pack weighs around 450 kilos (about 1000lbs). And costs U$ 36000 (yes, that's 36 thousand US dollars)
Unless there was some sort of lease system and an automatic quick change system (park your car over the sensor, battery packs get changed) then changing battery packs is not a viable option.
...and one of the reasons they used their track, and track driving for this range estimate is that the Tesla is marketed as a... wait for it... sports car. Furthermore, the Tesla is based on a VERY popular car used for track days.
The verdict is that the Tesla is not very good at fulfilling its intended purpose and will give an owner who wants to play on a track less than an hours enjoyment, provided that he brings the car to the track on the back of a lorry and takes it out that way too.
So, if the car is driven hard, then range goes down. That's just normal. What makes it so bad for the Tesla is that topping up the tank takes the rest of the day.
Drive to track - 50 miles
Drive from track - 50 miles
That's almost half the Tesla's range at economic driving speeds.
That leaves maybe 25-30 miles of trackday fun.
Drive normally (and normal in a sports car is not te same as normal in a minivan) and range will probably not be 250 miles to begin with. Batteries also degrade pretty fast. All in all, the Tesla is probably great fun, looks great, but isn't even practical as a sports car.
not only that, but in track use you are likely to have a higher average speed than 55 miles an hour, meaning that your time of playing around is mighty limited if you don't actually live ON the track. Driving there and home again is a no-go. Heck, only being able to drive on the track for just around 50 minutes would suck! The fuel sucking monsters like the Ford GT can be refueled in minutes, the Tesla takes hours (and hours and hours)
I hope alternative fuels get worked out so that they become usable, but so far they're far off.
Tesla's biggest problem, IMO, is that they are really selling the car as something it's not. As a runabout with Elise handling it may work (a second or third car for taking scenic but short rides on country roads). As a sportscar it's not so brilliant. Heck, it might be beaten by a bicycle in a cross country race...
Can a man like Rutan really properly retire?
I can't imagine that his brain will just suddenly stop getting ideas and solving problems in new ways. Retire as CEO, sure. But he will either come in a couple of days a week or start doing some interesting home projects.
That's my hope, anyway.
Burt Rutan has made a real contribution to human knowledge and understanding. He has also been an inspiration to quite a few of us in many different fields.
...because, as we all know, there is NO market for MP3 players.
At least not for brown ones
The Zune wasn't really bad (it wasn't that good either) but the early defining feature seemed to be the fecal color... that seemed to stick in people's minds.
nahhhh
Tablets are fun and cool (if done well) but they have yet to prove their usefulness.
When or if they do that then we can agree that the form factor is here to stay
I think that "go the way of the netbook" might also refer to the razor thin margins on netbooks. Not a very profitable market to be in.
Fighting for the scraps in a race to the bottom is unlikely to be a winning strategy.
He is possibly correct.
Meanwhile, some others (notably Apple) are riding that bubble like the silver surfer and making money by the crate load.
So Microsoft's goal is NOT to make money from new tech?
Even if it is a bubble Microsoft shows its corporate vision (or lack thereof) in this.
Kind of sad because this is the same company that made the Kinect not so long ago, showing that not everybody at Microsoft lacks vision.
pfffffff
No nerd or geek can criticise another nerd's taste in science fiction if he doesn't know the basics of sci-fi.....
You're *obviously* wrong on the Firefly thing, it's just that he was MORE wrong :D
There were no sequels.
None.