You mis-understood. I said 'give' me your SELinux box. Not make it available online. Physical access opens far more avenues of attack, like plugging in to the PCI-E buss and reading all the memory for example. Securing a device against unchecked, unlimited physical access is probably impossible at least until we get quantum cryptography figured out.
>Nobody can hack your machine because he could examine it
Who said just examine it? When you give someone something they can modify it. You seem to have virtual and physical constructs confused.
At some point very early on, one of the/. boys deleted the sql table with the user names or passwords, don't remember which. You can't seem to find anything about it these days.
Give me a running SELinux box with your data on it and it's likely I'll hack it.
The issue here is they are then handing it to the end user, possibly the criminal end user who can then poke and prod at it endlessly. The other issue is the 'state' doesn't have limitless money in making it work, see:'the lowest bidder'.
It's likely some group of researchers will find a way to break it quickly, and publish a paper on it. A group of technically inclined 'criminals' will turn the research in to a sell-able kit. Then actual criminals with $1500 (or whatever) will buy one. See credit card skimmers for an example.
> It is all about employers having to scrap drug testing because drugs are suddenly legal to use.
WTF are you going on about? You can be fired for smoking cigarettes, which if you're over 18 is perfectly legal. Your entire post is pretty nonsensical.
First off, on what planet to people keep their PCs for 10 years? It's more like 3... at the most; for both home and business.
Not sure what industry you're working in but I'd have to say the fantasy is yours in this case, Most businesses these days keep their systems as long as possible, six year old computers are common. For most use cases it makes no sense to upgrade every 3 years. Most computers are simply more powerful then the average user needs, by far. Proper maintenance, like keeping the computer free of dust, and a maintained UPS lets most computers last for many years. After mainboards when to solid caps their failure rate has been significantly reduced in desktops. Laptops are the most likely to be replaced due to heat and impact related deaths.
>The idea that you would separate 32 and 64 bit programs into 2 folders was just plain messy.
I don't understand why microsoft did 64-bit the way they did, weird shit. The odd system of SysWow64 and Program Files x86. They should have made a Program Files x64 and System64 and had the operating system give nasty messages if any 32/64 bit stuff ended up in the wrong place. Most linux distributions added a/lib64 to deal with issues like this.
>In W7 deleting or copying files is slower than XP or 2000.
I've not noticed it so bad in W7, Vista was a dog in deleting files. Had folders that took 10 to 20 times longer to delete in Vista (tested the same hard drive and files on xp and vista to prove the effect).
>W7's Computer logs are slow as molasses
You're right on, what the hell is up with this taking so long : /
Where is it written that Microsoft must force users of one device category to use the same interface as a completely different device category, no matter how flawed it is for that device?
In their actual address.
Microsoft Corporation One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052-7329
It's endemic, there is no way to get rid of The One Ring that is Microsoft without throwing the whole thing in magma.
I'd also have to add that everyone is a fucktard in one way or another. In verbal communication we get instant feedback on when we are fucking up. Take for example someone saying this sentence in a crowd of jews.
"Hello everyone, how are we doing today. That Hitler was a great guy. I think we should kill all the jews."
At about the Hitler point of the sentence the icy death stares and grunts would probably stop him. The person gets the 'this shit is going bad' effect immediately.
It's pretty easy to see the same unfold offline too, take any group that follows a leader without giving him any critical feedback and it won't take long for the leader to become a total asshat.
Slashdot, unsurprisingly has a large number of users in enterprise or computer support, so a lot us aren't speaking as home users.
That said, Win8 'core' is just fine as you state. It's the endless hours of phone calls we will receive from users not knowing WTF is going on with their Win8 interface we forsee. Without Metro, Windows 8 is pretty much Win7SE. If there was a way to dump Metro behavior I do not believe I'd have any reservations on not using it in the enterprise. That said, business is not looking forward for all the needed retraining on the desktop so MS can push some tablets. These businesses will be staying with Windows 7, and are likely not developing Metro apps.
Windows 7 continued with the completely botched start menu implementation from Vista.
Of all the complaints possible about Vista or 7, I don't guess the start menu was ever one of them. Not having the menu explode back and forth on small screens was rather nice.
It would be cool and all if Metro applications didn't make the desktop experience suck. Trying to move an application from a 24" screen to a 5" and to a 12" sounds really good and all in theory, but in practice different sized devices need to display information in different ways. Apple spends a lot of time making appropriate UI's, Microsoft is seemingly far behind. MS is trying to wedge an application (Windows dependent) where all that really matters is session and data.
I use it day to day, I'm not anti-microsoft and deploy a lot of there products across many sites, not a tech blogger earning money on ads, not a MS partner either. The core operating system is just fine, Windwos 7 is just fine too.
The interface sucks. People use the interface. People want to work with the interface and not around the previous 15 years of training they have had. Drivers will work just fine, unlike when Vista first came out, but most people won't notice that because the interface has changed significantly. Instead of moving users to a unified Windows interface across all devices, this may keep people on windows 7 and keep them away from trying windows 8 tablets. Only time will tell as many guesses about the iDevices have proven wrong. Apple, at least, didn't push their desktop to a touch interface.
-Much of the "hate" of Windows 8 can be attributed to 1) not liking change 2) having to relearn a new system
People do not like change because it costs energy, time, or money to do so. Even though systems change is costly people and organizations still do it because of a perceived benefit over the long term.
Take Windows 7 over Windows XP -XP is aging and does not utilize newer hardware like SSDs effectively. Many manufactures abandoned support on devices like printers and scanners (pointing at you HP) The cost of change is negated by better core hardware support though you may have worse peripheral hardware support. -XPs security model isn't great. The cost of making your applications compliant is better security. Cost of change can be high if you like your apps to run as administrator or live in legacy mode. -XPs interface is somewhat similar to 7, changes are mostly superficial, but still some training is needed to find where things have moved. -XPs application can be ran in 7 in a virtualized mode if needed. Higher memory requirements on systems running VMs -XPs operating system requirements are lower then Windows 7. -Support for XP ends April 8, 2014 (after many extensions).
Now Windows 8 vs Windows XP -Current hardware support is pretty equal, No huge differences in speed on the same computer between the two operating systems. USB3 does come natively in 8. No difference in change costs. -Windows 8 supports secure boot UEFI, this is a great benefit to some, but like any form of DRM can be abused to lock legitimate uses of hardware. A few other improvements in ASLR. Possible difference in change costs based on how the hardware is used. -Windows 8 interface, start button no longer exists, menu behaviors have changed, application behaviors have changed, significant employee and technician training is necessary. Lack of perceived user benefits for changing. Significant divergence from last 15 years of behavior. Cost of change is high. -Windows 8 no longer has XP mode. Any legacy applications will have to have an additional operating system license to run in the necessary virtual mode. Cost of change can be high depending on usage. -Windows 8 operating system requirements are similar to Windows 7. -Support for Windows 7 ends on January 14, 2020.
I've upgraded many businesses and homes from Windows XP to Windows 7, most of the time it is pretty easy as Windows 7 doesn't break many expectations that XP setup. Other then application security differences, which have mostly disappeared with better written applications over time, the user interface is just prettier.
Telling desktop users that all the benefits are for tablet users and they should just suck it up and change isn't going to make a lot of decision makers happy. These are the same decision makers that said no to vista and waited till the mess sorted it self out. These are the same decision makers that, if pissed off about windows 8, will tell people to get ipads instead. Windows 8 isn't about a better desktop, it's about Microsoft forcing their corporate will on the user yet again.
-That doesn't change the fact that Microsoft is not responsible for vendors drivers. They can only be responsible for drivers they include.
You should be a cheerleader for the Linux desktop movement.
-The fact is, touch based devices WILL be the defacto way the vast majority of users will use to access a computing device
Touch makes no sense on desktops, if you're on one right now reach out and fondle the monitor some, yea doesn't work.
To Microsoft the tablet problem is currently a nail, Windows 8 is their hammer. The desktop problem is not a nail, using a hammer where say a screwdriver is needed only makes the problem worse. Saying that one OS with a single mode of operation makes sense is about as logical as kicking your toolbox in the trash and only keeping a hammer around.
I find it interesting that you assume my job doesn't require me to have internet at home, along with a huge number of other false assumptions about me. I also find it interesting that you assume everybody works at an office because you do. If you're not at an office you must be unemployed! I'm afraid it is about your time for you to move to your retirement community and put up the 'stay off my lawn' signs. Age has narrowed your world view and cemented your ideology.
I have internet access at work, I have internet access at home, it is the same connection. I research new technologies and products on the internet, I also watch movies and read slashdot on the same internet connection. I can RDP to my work from my phone. My company pays for my internet ( as in 'my' literally). Luckily I don't live in a shithole city and we have decent internet speeds so I don't have to go to the library to do my business. This gives me far more time to finish my work rather then travel, which allow me more time with the kids. So again... why do I need high speed internet access at home????
You are also making false assumptions about businesses being able to get high speed internet where they need it. I consult for a natural gas supply company, since they carry a large amount of a volatile product the location is just outside of the city they have very limited internet options. No cable service, no DSL service, no T1 service, poor wireless reception. The fixed wireless they use has spotty service due to the fact that the tower height is limited by airport regulations. This whole business internet thing you espouse is not a magic answer all.
The cable company I worked for spent millions of dollars on lobbying against a proposition for cities to build their own fiber internet. This was at the same time they did not upgrade the main city in questions cable from a hybrid dialup cable system to a two way hybrid fiber coax system. They spent more money lobbying for laws to forbid competition rather then fix the system so it would be unnecessary for the city to even try in the first place. You already pay an internet tax, you just don't realize it. It's just to a private corporation who gives poor service and lower speeds for the same price. Because of the way right of way laws are setup there will generally be two competitors in most locations, cable and telephone, who quickly equalize at a price/speed point.
Wake up and come in to the 21st century, please help bring the rest of America with you. I would hate for the Europeans and Asians to say America who? at the beginning of the 22nd.
Uhh, people 150 years ago got along without power just fine, but life is much easier now with it. You will find in the future that places won't even have a number to call, you just do everything via the website. Businesses exist like that now, but they are fewer in number then ones that have a line to call.
You seem to neglect the a major point which is, if you don't know how to use the internet good luck getting a fucking job. Ya, even though a lot of people waste their time in that shithole of a place called facebook, a huge number of us don't. We are busy reading, researching, writing, watching videos of things other then peoples cats.
Why take a 19th century view on a 21st century world. Libraries are shrinking, or at least turning in to places where people go to use the internet. More and more books will lose the paper and gain an E. In your post you don't really talk about how you afford these jaunts across the country, but most people require jobs that pay money to take trips. Keeping that high paying job is going to require more and more knowledge on the employees part. You can keep the attitude that it's your employers duty to keep training you, right up to the point you're replaced.
I'm not sure where you're from, but where I was raised in Iowa farming operations have been technologically integrated for quite some time. There are two kinds of farms, the kind of farm that became technologically integrated and bought up everybody around them, and the farm that went out of business (to be fair there is a third kind, where they grew a non-typical crop for local sale at a higher price). A small farm is inefficient, the machine costs eat away any profits. A large farm is expensive, but the huge equipment costs can be spread over 10's of thousands of acres. Remote sensing stations can back temperature, soil moisture and rainfall levels so you can plow and plant at the optimal time. Disease and pest monitoring maps can show you when and where to spray. All these together give you an estimate of your yields.
You are right, the family farm is going (has gone) away, but not for the reason you've listed. Government influence or not huge farms are more efficient allowing lower cost per bushel. I postulate that subsidies have kept smaller grain farms around for far longer then without. If your crop fails the government currently pays you for it. The government fixes the price of corn and soy, keeping the biggest farms from dropping the price below affordability.
Farming was high-tech in the 80's when I still lived on one. GPS and computer controls were being implemented that far back. These days it's pretty amazing. Things like fertilizer being dispensed based on a GPS map of the soil. The farmer just fills the machine and drives.
Family farms really don't exist any more, it's mostly large commercial entities farming huge areas or gigantic CAFOs.
Um, the issue you are stating here really has nothing to do with the question in the article. In general Americans are fat and happy (very fat indeed). Many of these other countries are coming from a generation that may have starved to death if they didn't push as hard as they could. Also, American culture doesn't award eduction these days, cool is better then smart. There are plenty of groups here that have what I would call an anti-education stance. School cannot fix culture, no matter how much you go to it... Well, I could be wrong. We could try a system of taking the kids from their parents at birth and raising them in public school systems... That might do some kind of trick.
Maybe not 4 month, but 4 hours for sure. Avoiding work during the hottest times is based in antiquity. It's only the modern excess of energy that allows us to be busy little ants 24/7.
Everybody talks about the school having A/C, what about the buses? Even here in Texas our buses didn't have A/C. At the end of May and beginning of September it sucked. I cannot possibly imagine it in August when exceptional temperatures can peak at 115F.
For others to read here is an short article about the costs of retrofitting a school.
>Schools should be and are where you go ot be taught what humans know.
WTF? What a small, in the box way of thinking. Everywhere, everyday is where you go to learn what humans know. Teaching logical thinking skills starts the day a child is born, not the first day of school. School barely scratched the surface of civil and criminal law, working with my father during the summers left me with a far more expansive education then even the advanced classes could have taught on the subject (business was highly regulated).
Then saying their statistically less likely to care would be the best way to put it. Care is really the wrong word; the biggest problem with poor people is they don't have an education. It is difficult to convey to your children what you do not have yourself. Thus, uneducated parents are likely to continue the cycle of uneducated children.
Slashdot Mirror
You mis-understood. I said 'give' me your SELinux box. Not make it available online. Physical access opens far more avenues of attack, like plugging in to the PCI-E buss and reading all the memory for example. Securing a device against unchecked, unlimited physical access is probably impossible at least until we get quantum cryptography figured out.
>Nobody can hack your machine because he could examine it
Who said just examine it? When you give someone something they can modify it. You seem to have virtual and physical constructs confused.
At some point very early on, one of the /. boys deleted the sql table with the user names or passwords, don't remember which. You can't seem to find anything about it these days.
Give me a running SELinux box with your data on it and it's likely I'll hack it.
The issue here is they are then handing it to the end user, possibly the criminal end user who can then poke and prod at it endlessly. The other issue is the 'state' doesn't have limitless money in making it work, see:'the lowest bidder'.
It's likely some group of researchers will find a way to break it quickly, and publish a paper on it. A group of technically inclined 'criminals' will turn the research in to a sell-able kit. Then actual criminals with $1500 (or whatever) will buy one. See credit card skimmers for an example.
> It is all about employers having to scrap drug testing because drugs are suddenly legal to use.
WTF are you going on about? You can be fired for smoking cigarettes, which if you're over 18 is perfectly legal. Your entire post is pretty nonsensical.
First off, on what planet to people keep their PCs for 10 years? It's more like 3... at the most; for both home and business.
Not sure what industry you're working in but I'd have to say the fantasy is yours in this case, Most businesses these days keep their systems as long as possible, six year old computers are common. For most use cases it makes no sense to upgrade every 3 years. Most computers are simply more powerful then the average user needs, by far. Proper maintenance, like keeping the computer free of dust, and a maintained UPS lets most computers last for many years. After mainboards when to solid caps their failure rate has been significantly reduced in desktops. Laptops are the most likely to be replaced due to heat and impact related deaths.
I agree with many of the things you say, though
>The idea that you would separate 32 and 64 bit programs into 2 folders was just plain messy.
I don't understand why microsoft did 64-bit the way they did, weird shit. The odd system of SysWow64 and Program Files x86. They should have made a Program Files x64 and System64 and had the operating system give nasty messages if any 32/64 bit stuff ended up in the wrong place. Most linux distributions added a /lib64 to deal with issues like this.
>In W7 deleting or copying files is slower than XP or 2000.
I've not noticed it so bad in W7, Vista was a dog in deleting files. Had folders that took 10 to 20 times longer to delete in Vista (tested the same hard drive and files on xp and vista to prove the effect).
>W7's Computer logs are slow as molasses
You're right on, what the hell is up with this taking so long : /
Where is it written that Microsoft must force users of one device category to use the same interface as a completely different device category, no matter how flawed it is for that device?
In their actual address.
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052-7329
It's endemic, there is no way to get rid of The One Ring that is Microsoft without throwing the whole thing in magma.
I'd also have to add that everyone is a fucktard in one way or another. In verbal communication we get instant feedback on when we are fucking up. Take for example someone saying this sentence in a crowd of jews.
"Hello everyone, how are we doing today. That Hitler was a great guy. I think we should kill all the jews."
At about the Hitler point of the sentence the icy death stares and grunts would probably stop him. The person gets the 'this shit is going bad' effect immediately.
It's pretty easy to see the same unfold offline too, take any group that follows a leader without giving him any critical feedback and it won't take long for the leader to become a total asshat.
"Germany was initially only limited to their own immediate neighborhood in Europe back in World War 2, right? How did that work out last time?"
Last I checked they lost?
>
"I do not know with what weapons World War 3 will be fought, but World War 4 will be fought with sticks and stones." Einstein, Albert
I also think that the chinese just built their first carrier. I would expect many more after they learn from the first one they built.
Slashdot, unsurprisingly has a large number of users in enterprise or computer support, so a lot us aren't speaking as home users.
That said, Win8 'core' is just fine as you state. It's the endless hours of phone calls we will receive from users not knowing WTF is going on with their Win8 interface we forsee. Without Metro, Windows 8 is pretty much Win7SE. If there was a way to dump Metro behavior I do not believe I'd have any reservations on not using it in the enterprise. That said, business is not looking forward for all the needed retraining on the desktop so MS can push some tablets. These businesses will be staying with Windows 7, and are likely not developing Metro apps.
Windows 7 continued with the completely botched start menu implementation from Vista.
Of all the complaints possible about Vista or 7, I don't guess the start menu was ever one of them. Not having the menu explode back and forth on small screens was rather nice.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/products/lifecycle
Seems extremely unlikely as it would cause lawyers and governments everywhere to get interested in their behavior.
It would be cool and all if Metro applications didn't make the desktop experience suck. Trying to move an application from a 24" screen to a 5" and to a 12" sounds really good and all in theory, but in practice different sized devices need to display information in different ways. Apple spends a lot of time making appropriate UI's, Microsoft is seemingly far behind. MS is trying to wedge an application (Windows dependent) where all that really matters is session and data.
I use it day to day, I'm not anti-microsoft and deploy a lot of there products across many sites, not a tech blogger earning money on ads, not a MS partner either. The core operating system is just fine, Windwos 7 is just fine too.
The interface sucks. People use the interface. People want to work with the interface and not around the previous 15 years of training they have had. Drivers will work just fine, unlike when Vista first came out, but most people won't notice that because the interface has changed significantly. Instead of moving users to a unified Windows interface across all devices, this may keep people on windows 7 and keep them away from trying windows 8 tablets. Only time will tell as many guesses about the iDevices have proven wrong. Apple, at least, didn't push their desktop to a touch interface.
-Much of the "hate" of Windows 8 can be attributed to 1) not liking change 2) having to relearn a new system
People do not like change because it costs energy, time, or money to do so. Even though systems change is costly people and organizations still do it because of a perceived benefit over the long term.
Take Windows 7 over Windows XP
-XP is aging and does not utilize newer hardware like SSDs effectively. Many manufactures abandoned support on devices like printers and scanners (pointing at you HP) The cost of change is negated by better core hardware support though you may have worse peripheral hardware support.
-XPs security model isn't great. The cost of making your applications compliant is better security. Cost of change can be high if you like your apps to run as administrator or live in legacy mode.
-XPs interface is somewhat similar to 7, changes are mostly superficial, but still some training is needed to find where things have moved.
-XPs application can be ran in 7 in a virtualized mode if needed. Higher memory requirements on systems running VMs
-XPs operating system requirements are lower then Windows 7.
-Support for XP ends April 8, 2014 (after many extensions).
Now Windows 8 vs Windows XP
-Current hardware support is pretty equal, No huge differences in speed on the same computer between the two operating systems. USB3 does come natively in 8. No difference in change costs.
-Windows 8 supports secure boot UEFI, this is a great benefit to some, but like any form of DRM can be abused to lock legitimate uses of hardware. A few other improvements in ASLR. Possible difference in change costs based on how the hardware is used.
-Windows 8 interface, start button no longer exists, menu behaviors have changed, application behaviors have changed, significant employee and technician training is necessary. Lack of perceived user benefits for changing. Significant divergence from last 15 years of behavior. Cost of change is high.
-Windows 8 no longer has XP mode. Any legacy applications will have to have an additional operating system license to run in the necessary virtual mode. Cost of change can be high depending on usage.
-Windows 8 operating system requirements are similar to Windows 7.
-Support for Windows 7 ends on January 14, 2020.
I've upgraded many businesses and homes from Windows XP to Windows 7, most of the time it is pretty easy as Windows 7 doesn't break many expectations that XP setup. Other then application security differences, which have mostly disappeared with better written applications over time, the user interface is just prettier.
Telling desktop users that all the benefits are for tablet users and they should just suck it up and change isn't going to make a lot of decision makers happy. These are the same decision makers that said no to vista and waited till the mess sorted it self out. These are the same decision makers that, if pissed off about windows 8, will tell people to get ipads instead. Windows 8 isn't about a better desktop, it's about Microsoft forcing their corporate will on the user yet again.
-That doesn't change the fact that Microsoft is not responsible for vendors drivers. They can only be responsible for drivers they include.
You should be a cheerleader for the Linux desktop movement.
-The fact is, touch based devices WILL be the defacto way the vast majority of users will use to access a computing device
Touch makes no sense on desktops, if you're on one right now reach out and fondle the monitor some, yea doesn't work.
To Microsoft the tablet problem is currently a nail, Windows 8 is their hammer. The desktop problem is not a nail, using a hammer where say a screwdriver is needed only makes the problem worse. Saying that one OS with a single mode of operation makes sense is about as logical as kicking your toolbox in the trash and only keeping a hammer around.
I find it interesting that you assume my job doesn't require me to have internet at home, along with a huge number of other false assumptions about me. I also find it interesting that you assume everybody works at an office because you do. If you're not at an office you must be unemployed! I'm afraid it is about your time for you to move to your retirement community and put up the 'stay off my lawn' signs. Age has narrowed your world view and cemented your ideology.
I have internet access at work, I have internet access at home, it is the same connection. I research new technologies and products on the internet, I also watch movies and read slashdot on the same internet connection. I can RDP to my work from my phone. My company pays for my internet ( as in 'my' literally). Luckily I don't live in a shithole city and we have decent internet speeds so I don't have to go to the library to do my business. This gives me far more time to finish my work rather then travel, which allow me more time with the kids. So again... why do I need high speed internet access at home????
You are also making false assumptions about businesses being able to get high speed internet where they need it. I consult for a natural gas supply company, since they carry a large amount of a volatile product the location is just outside of the city they have very limited internet options. No cable service, no DSL service, no T1 service, poor wireless reception. The fixed wireless they use has spotty service due to the fact that the tower height is limited by airport regulations. This whole business internet thing you espouse is not a magic answer all.
The cable company I worked for spent millions of dollars on lobbying against a proposition for cities to build their own fiber internet. This was at the same time they did not upgrade the main city in questions cable from a hybrid dialup cable system to a two way hybrid fiber coax system. They spent more money lobbying for laws to forbid competition rather then fix the system so it would be unnecessary for the city to even try in the first place. You already pay an internet tax, you just don't realize it. It's just to a private corporation who gives poor service and lower speeds for the same price. Because of the way right of way laws are setup there will generally be two competitors in most locations, cable and telephone, who quickly equalize at a price/speed point.
Wake up and come in to the 21st century, please help bring the rest of America with you. I would hate for the Europeans and Asians to say America who? at the beginning of the 22nd.
Uhh, people 150 years ago got along without power just fine, but life is much easier now with it. You will find in the future that places won't even have a number to call, you just do everything via the website. Businesses exist like that now, but they are fewer in number then ones that have a line to call.
You seem to neglect the a major point which is, if you don't know how to use the internet good luck getting a fucking job. Ya, even though a lot of people waste their time in that shithole of a place called facebook, a huge number of us don't. We are busy reading, researching, writing, watching videos of things other then peoples cats.
Why take a 19th century view on a 21st century world. Libraries are shrinking, or at least turning in to places where people go to use the internet. More and more books will lose the paper and gain an E. In your post you don't really talk about how you afford these jaunts across the country, but most people require jobs that pay money to take trips. Keeping that high paying job is going to require more and more knowledge on the employees part. You can keep the attitude that it's your employers duty to keep training you, right up to the point you're replaced.
I'm not sure where you're from, but where I was raised in Iowa farming operations have been technologically integrated for quite some time. There are two kinds of farms, the kind of farm that became technologically integrated and bought up everybody around them, and the farm that went out of business (to be fair there is a third kind, where they grew a non-typical crop for local sale at a higher price). A small farm is inefficient, the machine costs eat away any profits. A large farm is expensive, but the huge equipment costs can be spread over 10's of thousands of acres. Remote sensing stations can back temperature, soil moisture and rainfall levels so you can plow and plant at the optimal time. Disease and pest monitoring maps can show you when and where to spray. All these together give you an estimate of your yields.
You are right, the family farm is going (has gone) away, but not for the reason you've listed. Government influence or not huge farms are more efficient allowing lower cost per bushel. I postulate that subsidies have kept smaller grain farms around for far longer then without. If your crop fails the government currently pays you for it. The government fixes the price of corn and soy, keeping the biggest farms from dropping the price below affordability.
Farming was high-tech in the 80's when I still lived on one. GPS and computer controls were being implemented that far back. These days it's pretty amazing. Things like fertilizer being dispensed based on a GPS map of the soil. The farmer just fills the machine and drives.
Family farms really don't exist any more, it's mostly large commercial entities farming huge areas or gigantic CAFOs.
Um, the issue you are stating here really has nothing to do with the question in the article. In general Americans are fat and happy (very fat indeed). Many of these other countries are coming from a generation that may have starved to death if they didn't push as hard as they could. Also, American culture doesn't award eduction these days, cool is better then smart. There are plenty of groups here that have what I would call an anti-education stance. School cannot fix culture, no matter how much you go to it... Well, I could be wrong. We could try a system of taking the kids from their parents at birth and raising them in public school systems... That might do some kind of trick.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siesta
Maybe not 4 month, but 4 hours for sure. Avoiding work during the hottest times is based in antiquity. It's only the modern excess of energy that allows us to be busy little ants 24/7.
Everybody talks about the school having A/C, what about the buses? Even here in Texas our buses didn't have A/C. At the end of May and beginning of September it sucked. I cannot possibly imagine it in August when exceptional temperatures can peak at 115F.
For others to read here is an short article about the costs of retrofitting a school.
http://burrridge.suntimes.com/8279922-417/hinsdale-high-school-district-86-reviews-costs-for-air-conditioning-electrical-work.html
In the millions, And that has nothing to do with the energy costs of the hottest time of the year.
>Schools should be and are where you go ot be taught what humans know.
WTF? What a small, in the box way of thinking. Everywhere, everyday is where you go to learn what humans know. Teaching logical thinking skills starts the day a child is born, not the first day of school. School barely scratched the surface of civil and criminal law, working with my father during the summers left me with a far more expansive education then even the advanced classes could have taught on the subject (business was highly regulated).
Then saying their statistically less likely to care would be the best way to put it. Care is really the wrong word; the biggest problem with poor people is they don't have an education. It is difficult to convey to your children what you do not have yourself. Thus, uneducated parents are likely to continue the cycle of uneducated children.