Its not an either/or situation though. BlandName Ltd. supplies silicon for IBM, they make money. Samsung asks them to supply them with silicon, they do, so they make even more money. Just because IBM gets silicon off them doesn't mean Samsung won't. Where, exactly is the zero-sum part?
Base material suppliers are typically selling to everybody in the industry. It doesn't matter if IBM or Samsung or AMD chips inside those consoles, its all coming from the same silicon, that's the zero-sum. For example in the LCD market, there are only 3 or 4 major panel makers. In the 20" display market, if Apple captures marketshare away from Dell, the panel manufacturer doesn't gain, because both companies use the same panel.
Yeah, IBM did win. But every time a technological war is waged between two competitors in the United States, the default winners are the companies in the Philippines and other silicon producing countries. I mean, there's probably a lot of companies with really bland names that jump for joy when this stuff happens. IBM is cashing in but I'm sure everyone along the way from basic elements to full fledged product enjoys it too.
Not really. Those "bland name" companies are supplying to pretty much everybody. It doesn't matter if IBM sells 100M chips or Samsung does, unless the industry as a whole expands it's a zero-sum game for the building block companies.
With the exception of the weird-ass tourist spot in the center where there's a building with a table inside and a line drawn exactly down the middle (where the cease-fire was signed)
I think the real solution to this mess is to nationalize the voting system. In the US every state and even every county has its own voting system, with different machines, voting dates, ballot fonts, software, etc.
No, nationalizing the voting system will only make things worse. If I don't feel my vote is being counted, it's easier for me to hold local officals accountable, than national ones.
My guess is that he nor any of his users ever got any chance to vote on any copyright law. Can't say I have. Have you? Have you ever gotten to vote on any copyright issue?
What have you done in regards to influencing copyright law? Have you held demonstrations, written to your government officials, held public discussions. The one thing politicians care more about than money is votes. Get enough like minded people together and the politicians will listen.
Hell, I never even agreed to be any citizen of any country. Show me a signature where I did. So therefore, how do any laws apply to him, or me? As far as I'm concerned, if you have no say so in the making of a law, then you have no obligation whatsoever to have to abide by it.
Great, that also means you have no protections granted by law either. No free speech, no trial, no rights.
Tell me the US version of representational democracy / republic isn't a total crock of ****....
"Democracy is the worst form of government... except for all the others that have been tried before."
Further, if you're under 18, you have no say so whatsoever. If you're over 18, your say so is generally limited to the joke of a vote. Which is nothing but a weak concession to undermine your primary right, which is the right to riot.
Yes, because rioting is a great way to rally society to your cause.... well it is a great way to get a new plasma TV at least.
* Reasonable price - Wrong
* Works properly (i.e. few bugs) - Wrong
* Is fun to play - Wrong
* Doesn't contain spyware, etc. - Wrong
From the actual Sales Data The crucial factors are: * Famous brand * Sequel * If possible BOTH * Make a poor ripoff of a good game and add more violence and vulger language
Over there, they take a longer term view and do not live and die by the quarter like they do here in the US. This is partially cultural. It's not necessarily a good thing but it is a factually true thing. They are more forgiving for this kind of financial result than investors in the US are.
I find that investors in the US are more growth oriented, rather than fixated on quarterly earnings. The entire tech bubble was based on growth expectations while ignoring quarterly losses. Even after the tech bubble burst, future earnings guidance during quarterly reports tend to have more impact on stock price than the actual quarterly results.
That's the traditional thing to do when demand outstrips your ability to supply.
Then you potentially alienate your customers, especially in a very competitive environment. "Hello Dell, not only are we not going to be able to give you enough chips to meet your orders, we're going to raise the price on you too." If that's not bad enough, because the CPU is just a part of the system, the customer is going to have to sit on a bunch of inventory (motherboards, network cards, cases) they can't build, which is going to cost them even more money.
When you are doing well enough that you are outselling your ability to produce, and you still have not yet implemented your already developed technology, you are in a very good position.
If you can't produce enough that means you can't capture additional marketshare, you alienate customers, you give the competition time to create a competing product to retain marketshare, and your manufacturing costs remain higher so your chips aren't as profitable.
This had already been translated as "Made to Measure."... If you're a native English speaker you probably think of a suit or dress. Maybe a kitchen cabinet. Some tool with human ergonomic requirements.
Unless you're a/. nerd, in which case you probably think of a pill or a pump
We are not in a state of rebellion (sadly; what's it going to take?) nor are we being invaded.
"The War on Terror" is one of ideology which has no borders. That along with the Rep. Congress giving the president wide authority means Bush can treat those opposed to the war as rebels. That is the biggest problem with this "war." The executive branch can do whatever it wants because of the blank check given to it by Congress. Congress has given up too much power, and destroyed one of the important checks on the presidency.
There was a state of rebellion during the US Civil War, which is why Lincoln could get away with it.
He also did it illegally since he did so without the support of Congress. That is the problem with wartime, the laws get thrown out the window in the name of security.
he only time the US was invaded was during the War of 1812, and HC was not suspended.
It was suspended during the war of 1812 for "enemy aliens"
Since the report was recently released (yesterday), I wonder if the US' ranking includes the fact that habeas corpus has more or less been abolished for any US citizen that the president deems to be an "enemy combatant"??
Since when is suspending habeas corpus something new, Lincoln and Roosevelt did it. And given how Congress has given a blank check and assigned much of its power to the president, it may not even be unconstitutional.
I hate to tell you, but I doubt very much our language and social skills are considerably better than those of, say, fourteenth century Europe. Our communication capabilities are MUCH better though, along with our life expectancies and quality of life. Why? Because of a great deal more scientific knowledge.
That's the point. Humans are social creatures, the foundation of civilization is based on communication and social interaction. I agree math is an important tool that helps society, but it is not essential.
That is a) totally missing the point, and b) if you think math is overrated, go back and be a cave man. We'd be nowhere technologically without math. That's everything from measuring lumber for your house, to the signal processing needed for you to post on slashdot.
Overrated/underrated... compared to what? Communication, language, social skills have far more impact on civilization than math.
How many guys do you know that can recite PI to the 100th place and swoon at the thought of the Pythagorean Theorem proven geometrically are going to turn on that red hot number at the end of the bar?
They have numbers in bars?! I'm not sure about "turning it on" whatever that means, but I'd probably be able to factor it and recite it as a multiple of pi.
It's a sad state of affairs when a video game is more appealing than real life. It says something about their lives and about how there's not much interesting out there for these people.
MMOs are more appealing than real life because they cut out a lot of the most boring parts, offer real-time feedback and encouragement (wouldn't it be nice to get a little xp earned indicator when you complete a TPS report), put you in scenarios where you feel like a hero, and package it in small consumable chunks of time. Sure it might take a few days of grind to level up in a game, but compare that to months of grind to "level up" in your job.
What's with this interest in companies trying to rent games to people instead of selling them?
Because many people prefer renting over buying. Personally, most games I would prefer to rent than buy. There are very few games that I expect to play for many years, for the most part I will play through a game, then sell it on ebay. Renting makes more sense for games that you will play through only a few times.
How many more reasons is the gaming industry going to come up with to push gamers to piracy?
How many more reasons will copyright infringers cite to rationalize piracy. If a game is not available the way you want it, how about just skipping it? What urgent need is there to play a game no matter what?
EA is creating a gaming monoculture. The 'risky' (read: innovative) games are killed off in case they offend, and it's all about churning out high yield, low quality products. EA doesn't care about extending a game's life, they just care about making a sequel.
Innovative games are out there, they just don't have the widespread appeal of mainstream games, hence they are lost in the noise. Customers don't necessarily want innovation, they want fun, and EA makes games that are fun for the masses. There's plenty of room for indy developers to make games (I just picked up DEFCON for example) Just because unique games aren't available at retail stores doesn't mean they aren't being made.
I think the parent poster brings up a good point here, in that many of the comments on this article so far that have been in opposition to GM foods have failed to cite any specific examples
If you have to cite a specific problem, it's too late.
If you're going to talk about some mysterious bad voodoo that GM foods have perpetrated on the unsuspecting populace, at least take the 5 minutes required to google it and provide some citations. Just saying "oh well, you know, GM foods are pretty bad and can do some nasty stuff" isn't going to convince anyone or make for a constructive debate.
In what sense is food 'delicate'? Certainly an industrial product can be toxic, but food is not an exceptional case. In fact, we should expect our bodies to be more tolerant of food and water pollution than of other vectors.
Food poses a larger threat because we expect interact with it so closely. There are plenty of toxic chemicals around the house, but for the most part we don't expect to place them directly into our bodies.
After all, you've got a million years of evolution behind you, ensuring that your gullet can tolerate the half-rotted carcass you found lying on the jungle floor.
But none of those million years were we exposed to some of the chemicals/proteins/etc that are being geneticly engineered into foods. Although I think the outrage of some against bioengineered food is unjustified, there are definately risks that need to be thoroughly evaluated.
Slashdot Mirror
Base material suppliers are typically selling to everybody in the industry. It doesn't matter if IBM or Samsung or AMD chips inside those consoles, its all coming from the same silicon, that's the zero-sum.
For example in the LCD market, there are only 3 or 4 major panel makers. In the 20" display market, if Apple captures marketshare away from Dell, the panel manufacturer doesn't gain, because both companies use the same panel.
Not really. Those "bland name" companies are supplying to pretty much everybody. It doesn't matter if IBM sells 100M chips or Samsung does, unless the industry as a whole expands it's a zero-sum game for the building block companies.
Gives new meaning to the term "Tourist Trap"
Somebody isn't getting any.
No, nationalizing the voting system will only make things worse. If I don't feel my vote is being counted, it's easier for me to hold local officals accountable, than national ones.
Sure you can -> .
(Magnified for easier viewing)
What have you done in regards to influencing copyright law? Have you held demonstrations, written to your government officials, held public discussions. The one thing politicians care more about than money is votes. Get enough like minded people together and the politicians will listen.
Great, that also means you have no protections granted by law either. No free speech, no trial, no rights.
"Democracy is the worst form of government... except for all the others that have been tried before."
Yes, because rioting is a great way to rally society to your cause.... well it is a great way to get a new plasma TV at least.
Hey, slashdot Nerd!!
* Reasonable price - Wrong
* Works properly (i.e. few bugs) - Wrong
* Is fun to play - Wrong
* Doesn't contain spyware, etc. - Wrong
From the actual Sales Data
The crucial factors are:
* Famous brand
* Sequel
* If possible BOTH
* Make a poor ripoff of a good game and add more violence and vulger language
I find that investors in the US are more growth oriented, rather than fixated on quarterly earnings. The entire tech bubble was based on growth expectations while ignoring quarterly losses. Even after the tech bubble burst, future earnings guidance during quarterly reports tend to have more impact on stock price than the actual quarterly results.
Then you potentially alienate your customers, especially in a very competitive environment.
"Hello Dell, not only are we not going to be able to give you enough chips to meet your orders, we're going to raise the price on you too." If that's not bad enough, because the CPU is just a part of the system, the customer is going to have to sit on a bunch of inventory (motherboards, network cards, cases) they can't build, which is going to cost them even more money.
If you can't produce enough that means you can't capture additional marketshare, you alienate customers, you give the competition time to create a competing product to retain marketshare, and your manufacturing costs remain higher so your chips aren't as profitable.
Unless you're a
"The War on Terror" is one of ideology which has no borders. That along with the Rep. Congress giving the president wide authority means Bush can treat those opposed to the war as rebels. That is the biggest problem with this "war." The executive branch can do whatever it wants because of the blank check given to it by Congress. Congress has given up too much power, and destroyed one of the important checks on the presidency.
He also did it illegally since he did so without the support of Congress. That is the problem with wartime, the laws get thrown out the window in the name of security.
It was suspended during the war of 1812 for "enemy aliens"
Since when is suspending habeas corpus something new, Lincoln and Roosevelt did it. And given how Congress has given a blank check and assigned much of its power to the president, it may not even be unconstitutional.
That's the point. Humans are social creatures, the foundation of civilization is based on communication and social interaction. I agree math is an important tool that helps society, but it is not essential.
Overrated/underrated... compared to what? Communication, language, social skills have far more impact on civilization than math.
They have numbers in bars?! I'm not sure about "turning it on" whatever that means, but I'd probably be able to factor it and recite it as a multiple of pi.
MMOs are more appealing than real life because they cut out a lot of the most boring parts, offer real-time feedback and encouragement (wouldn't it be nice to get a little xp earned indicator when you complete a TPS report), put you in scenarios where you feel like a hero, and package it in small consumable chunks of time. Sure it might take a few days of grind to level up in a game, but compare that to months of grind to "level up" in your job.
Because many people prefer renting over buying. Personally, most games I would prefer to rent than buy. There are very few games that I expect to play for many years, for the most part I will play through a game, then sell it on ebay. Renting makes more sense for games that you will play through only a few times.
How many more reasons will copyright infringers cite to rationalize piracy. If a game is not available the way you want it, how about just skipping it? What urgent need is there to play a game no matter what?
Innovative games are out there, they just don't have the widespread appeal of mainstream games, hence they are lost in the noise.
Customers don't necessarily want innovation, they want fun, and EA makes games that are fun for the masses.
There's plenty of room for indy developers to make games (I just picked up DEFCON for example) Just because unique games aren't available at retail stores doesn't mean they aren't being made.
It's more entertaining than most broadcast TV.
Culture is the United States' biggest export. It's not necessarily through breakthrough innovation, but rather, through the embrace and extend model.
If you have to cite a specific problem, it's too late.
Uncontrolled introduction of GM product into the food supply - http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/starguid.html
Allergic reaction caused by GM food - http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8347
It's not about GM being bad, its about having proper controls in place.
Food poses a larger threat because we expect interact with it so closely. There are plenty of toxic chemicals around the house, but for the most part we don't expect to place them directly into our bodies.
But none of those million years were we exposed to some of the chemicals/proteins/etc that are being geneticly engineered into foods. Although I think the outrage of some against bioengineered food is unjustified, there are definately risks that need to be thoroughly evaluated.
Go buy World of Warcraft, install it on your computer, and join the online sensation before we all murder you.