Obviously nobody has heard of "Forever 21." The fashion industry's biggest problem right now is IP theft -- you talk to any of the young, creative designers that are moving things forward, and they will tell you about how all of their designs are being ripped off by mall stores.
The Slashdot crowd may find this hard to believe, but you should be glad that the megacorps in our industry work to protect the IP of the industry's creative people. Fashion is a perfect example of the corporate machine deciding that theft is a better business plan... Perhaps the exact opposite of a "model for IP reform"!
Citigroup didn't buy the highway operator - it was Citi Infrastructure Partners. This is a fund that is probably comprised of high net worth individuals, pensions, and other large investors from all over the world. This is also entirely separate from Citi as a bank; if Citigroup were to be deemed insolvent, and have its assets sold, Citi Infrastructure Partners would simply detach itself from the parent (this is currently happening with Lehman Brothers' various funds - if anyone wants a VC fund, it's currently up for grabs).
Where'd you read this info, by the way? I'd be interested to know if there's a news source that provided you with this incorrect analysis. There are a lot of reasons to hate these banks - and Citigroup is one of the worst of them - but that isn't the case here.
You know, I didn't even think about this. Excellent point... I wonder, however, if the bureaucracy involved in obtaining a grant offsets any gains created by it; also, one has to wonder how much of these licensing programs are set up to benefit large record labels above all others. Perhaps a much simpler, pan-European system that is a bit more fair would offer greater incentives for artists, even though a small minority would lose access to grants? Hmm.
Needs more research before any real answer can be determined...
collecting societies in smaller European countries fear that they will lose out to larger rivals, potentially restricting the development of new music.
Umm... so artists will say "gosh, now that it's so simple for us to figure out how to set up pan-European licensing for our music, we're just going to have to stop making music"?? Where do these people get such wacky ideas?! Artists worldwide really need to start paying for their own, artist-focused lobby... Too bad most of them are broke, and the ones with money spend it on frivolous nonsense...
You DO realize that most Americans are employed by small- and medium-sized businesses, right? If you are only looking for employment at large firms, you are buying into that horrible myth that the Fortune 500 = American Business.
God could this article be ANY MORE MISLEADING? eBay is buying Verisign Payment Services, which offers software that connects merchant accounts to websites. This represents only 3-4% of Verisign's overall revenues.
Verisign is a MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR COMPANY. What sort of moron would piece together "eBay buys Verisign" from the news reports?! We really need to do something about people doing rapid-fire posts on Slashdot just to see their name / their company's news website in lights. Totally ridiculous.
The user interfaces for these things completely suck. Anyone remember that retarded "rotary dial" interface on the 3650? Yeah, well, here's more from the same people who brought you that piece of crap...
O'Reilly handles distribution and printing for No Starch Press...
Re:Other places to put solar cells...
on
Solar-powered Handbag
·
· Score: 5, Informative
in the windows of cars parked in the sun, powering anti-theft alarms
The Mercedes E series offers a solar panel sunroof, which operates the car A/C on a sunny day. Personally, I think that's a far better application of solar power...
But can you get Hermés, LVMH et al to license
on
Solar-powered Handbag
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
Women buy handbags because they look cool (see: Birkin bag phenomenon, Kate Spade, etc). The trick with this is getting it licensed by these players for their future fashions... Is it even possible? I could see this being sold as a "premium" feature, for a "special solar edition" version of the bags in their line, or something like that...
I have dealt with people at Microsoft in the past, and found that their problem is not with their engineers or with the guys in the trenches, but with the business development guys. Seriously, how many of them does it take to screw a lightbulb? It's pathetic... So much schmoozing and nonsense, no focus on real results - everyone is always trying to get that one big deal, not focusing on the incremental stuff that is vital to actual innovation taking place.
The best thing Microsoft could do is make a statement that they will stop issuing statements, and let their work/products speak for themselves... Which they can totally do, as evidenced by the tremendous amount of innovation seen in Office 12, for example...
I think you're mistaken... BetaNews tends to be the ones who get ripped off. In fact, BetaNews and C|Net had a very bitter fight a while back over C|Net lifting stories off their site without credit. It's a small group of dedicated guys who run BetaNews; as such, it's almost offensive that you would accuse them of stealing from - of all the places you could have accused - Slashdot. Hate to break it to you, but by the time something hits Slashdot, it has already made several laps around the world of "those in the know."
Search being the new search? Seriously; these online search engines haven't improved much in the past 5 years (yes, it's been 5 years since Google started growing by leaps and bounds, became the Yahoo default, and amazed us all...).
What makes this argument less true with every day is that, for any business sufficiently worth doing, the software IS your business. Of course, if you are content to simply run a little mom-and-pop thing, go right on ahead and buy the software off the shelf. But if you want to make big money off big ideas, regardless of industry, your software is your competitive advantage.
The same cannot be said for trucks and whatnot; in addition, those things cost much, much more to do on your own than software. FedEx and UPS have their own custom systems; if it were cheap enough, dont you think both would be developing/operating their own supersonic cargo planes? If it's cheap enough, and can give you an advantage over a competitor, than you MUST do it. Hell, in the retail example, we can say this is a large part of why Wal-Mart has been so sucessful... but I digress...
Actually, the more I think about it, the more I realize that the datapoint they are looking for isn't even the greed-induced transactions, as traders will probably be smart enough to realize the thing was created by DARPA (and thus any weird transactions can get you thrown in jail). In addition, you have to sign up through these guys, which would immediately eliminate any strange characters.
This means that there is a datapoint in this system which they find useful for plugging into the TIA system. And it isn't the weird trades, or the mass logic. There is another datapoint. Volume? Probability based on oversold/undersold futures contracts? Something really boring. To the general public, it isn't as sexy as assassination politics; to the guys at DARPA, it is gold.
Finally... a combination of defense and capitalism. I personally think this is a great idea, and want to see more exploration in our country of exotic/non-conventional financial instruments used in very creative ways.
What they are doing here is taking the futures markets and orienting them around terrorism. Great idea! Anyone who remembers the mysterious short selling on airline stocks before 9/11 knows that some strange trades always occur in the name of greed.
Many people who respond to this article are going to say "well that's dumb, how can investors predict this stuff?" - they are missing the point. The point here is to allow all sorts of stupid trades, but to notice the weird ones - the ones which eerily mirror intelligence information. If DoD manages to pull off a half-decent TIA system, then this is a very useful component.
It's great that such ideas are being pursued by the government, rather than idle chatter among economists and academics. Somewhat of a shame that all of the ignorant/stupid people out there will shout loudly enough to get this thing shut down, though...
One day you will pay one company $39.95 for flat-rate long distance.... Whenever, wherever.
Vonage currently sells VoIP service using a Cisco box for $39.95. If you had WiFI service everywhere, you could buy a WiFi router, plug in your Cisco box, plug in a phone, and have extremely ghetto "portable phone" service. With these new Cisco wireless phones and whatnot, we will fast approach true wireless VoIP.
This is where IP takes over, and voice dies. It's a good time to be Vonage, it's a GREAT time to be Cisco, and it's a horrible time to be SBC.
Slashdot Mirror
Obviously nobody has heard of "Forever 21." The fashion industry's biggest problem right now is IP theft -- you talk to any of the young, creative designers that are moving things forward, and they will tell you about how all of their designs are being ripped off by mall stores.
The Slashdot crowd may find this hard to believe, but you should be glad that the megacorps in our industry work to protect the IP of the industry's creative people. Fashion is a perfect example of the corporate machine deciding that theft is a better business plan ... Perhaps the exact opposite of a "model for IP reform"!
Citigroup didn't buy the highway operator - it was Citi Infrastructure Partners. This is a fund that is probably comprised of high net worth individuals, pensions, and other large investors from all over the world. This is also entirely separate from Citi as a bank; if Citigroup were to be deemed insolvent, and have its assets sold, Citi Infrastructure Partners would simply detach itself from the parent (this is currently happening with Lehman Brothers' various funds - if anyone wants a VC fund, it's currently up for grabs).
Where'd you read this info, by the way? I'd be interested to know if there's a news source that provided you with this incorrect analysis. There are a lot of reasons to hate these banks - and Citigroup is one of the worst of them - but that isn't the case here.
You know, I didn't even think about this. Excellent point ... I wonder, however, if the bureaucracy involved in obtaining a grant offsets any gains created by it; also, one has to wonder how much of these licensing programs are set up to benefit large record labels above all others. Perhaps a much simpler, pan-European system that is a bit more fair would offer greater incentives for artists, even though a small minority would lose access to grants? Hmm.
...
Needs more research before any real answer can be determined
And I suppose this is why they had to go back and redesign the phone with a standard keypad? Because you know, it was such a stunning success ...
collecting societies in smaller European countries fear that they will lose out to larger rivals, potentially restricting the development of new music.
... so artists will say "gosh, now that it's so simple for us to figure out how to set up pan-European licensing for our music, we're just going to have to stop making music"?? Where do these people get such wacky ideas?! Artists worldwide really need to start paying for their own, artist-focused lobby ... Too bad most of them are broke, and the ones with money spend it on frivolous nonsense ...
Umm
You DO realize that most Americans are employed by small- and medium-sized businesses, right? If you are only looking for employment at large firms, you are buying into that horrible myth that the Fortune 500 = American Business.
God could this article be ANY MORE MISLEADING? eBay is buying Verisign Payment Services, which offers software that connects merchant accounts to websites. This represents only 3-4% of Verisign's overall revenues.
Verisign is a MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR COMPANY. What sort of moron would piece together "eBay buys Verisign" from the news reports?! We really need to do something about people doing rapid-fire posts on Slashdot just to see their name / their company's news website in lights. Totally ridiculous.
The user interfaces for these things completely suck. Anyone remember that retarded "rotary dial" interface on the 3650? Yeah, well, here's more from the same people who brought you that piece of crap ...
Yeah, and nobody ever wanted to use AOL, right?
There is some competition ... No Starch
O'Reilly handles distribution and printing for No Starch Press...
in the windows of cars parked in the sun, powering anti-theft alarms
...
The Mercedes E series offers a solar panel sunroof, which operates the car A/C on a sunny day. Personally, I think that's a far better application of solar power
Women buy handbags because they look cool (see: Birkin bag phenomenon, Kate Spade, etc). The trick with this is getting it licensed by these players for their future fashions ... Is it even possible? I could see this being sold as a "premium" feature, for a "special solar edition" version of the bags in their line, or something like that ...
I have dealt with people at Microsoft in the past, and found that their problem is not with their engineers or with the guys in the trenches, but with the business development guys. Seriously, how many of them does it take to screw a lightbulb? It's pathetic ... So much schmoozing and nonsense, no focus on real results - everyone is always trying to get that one big deal, not focusing on the incremental stuff that is vital to actual innovation taking place.
... Which they can totally do, as evidenced by the tremendous amount of innovation seen in Office 12, for example ...
The best thing Microsoft could do is make a statement that they will stop issuing statements, and let their work/products speak for themselves
I think you're mistaken ... BetaNews tends to be the ones who get ripped off. In fact, BetaNews and C|Net had a very bitter fight a while back over C|Net lifting stories off their site without credit. It's a small group of dedicated guys who run BetaNews; as such, it's almost offensive that you would accuse them of stealing from - of all the places you could have accused - Slashdot. Hate to break it to you, but by the time something hits Slashdot, it has already made several laps around the world of "those in the know."
"I am the man," says Kaminsky.
Search being the new search? Seriously; these online search engines haven't improved much in the past 5 years (yes, it's been 5 years since Google started growing by leaps and bounds, became the Yahoo default, and amazed us all ...).
What makes this argument less true with every day is that, for any business sufficiently worth doing, the software IS your business. Of course, if you are content to simply run a little mom-and-pop thing, go right on ahead and buy the software off the shelf. But if you want to make big money off big ideas, regardless of industry, your software is your competitive advantage.
... but I digress ...
The same cannot be said for trucks and whatnot; in addition, those things cost much, much more to do on your own than software. FedEx and UPS have their own custom systems; if it were cheap enough, dont you think both would be developing/operating their own supersonic cargo planes? If it's cheap enough, and can give you an advantage over a competitor, than you MUST do it. Hell, in the retail example, we can say this is a large part of why Wal-Mart has been so sucessful
"DirectX9 - For More Then Just Gamers?"
...
Surely the headline meant more than? And I thought this was a place for nerds
BoardMatch: board relationship management
Does Doom 3 support it?
Okay, what about the trailer video?
Check out their new RAZR V3 as well ...
And why design a chip? Can't it design itself.
.. Chip Design YOU!
...
In Soviet Russia
Sorry, had to
The idea that you'll pay a price directly reflective of the cost of goods is ludacris.
Wrong channel.
Actually, the more I think about it, the more I realize that the datapoint they are looking for isn't even the greed-induced transactions, as traders will probably be smart enough to realize the thing was created by DARPA (and thus any weird transactions can get you thrown in jail). In addition, you have to sign up through these guys, which would immediately eliminate any strange characters.
This means that there is a datapoint in this system which they find useful for plugging into the TIA system. And it isn't the weird trades, or the mass logic. There is another datapoint. Volume? Probability based on oversold/undersold futures contracts? Something really boring. To the general public, it isn't as sexy as assassination politics; to the guys at DARPA, it is gold.
The $6.4 Trillion Dollar Question: What IS it?
Finally ... a combination of defense and capitalism. I personally think this is a great idea, and want to see more exploration in our country of exotic/non-conventional financial instruments used in very creative ways.
...
What they are doing here is taking the futures markets and orienting them around terrorism. Great idea! Anyone who remembers the mysterious short selling on airline stocks before 9/11 knows that some strange trades always occur in the name of greed.
Many people who respond to this article are going to say "well that's dumb, how can investors predict this stuff?" - they are missing the point. The point here is to allow all sorts of stupid trades, but to notice the weird ones - the ones which eerily mirror intelligence information. If DoD manages to pull off a half-decent TIA system, then this is a very useful component.
It's great that such ideas are being pursued by the government, rather than idle chatter among economists and academics. Somewhat of a shame that all of the ignorant/stupid people out there will shout loudly enough to get this thing shut down, though
One day you will pay one company $39.95 for flat-rate long distance .... Whenever, wherever.
Vonage currently sells VoIP service using a Cisco box for $39.95. If you had WiFI service everywhere, you could buy a WiFi router, plug in your Cisco box, plug in a phone, and have extremely ghetto "portable phone" service. With these new Cisco wireless phones and whatnot, we will fast approach true wireless VoIP.
This is where IP takes over, and voice dies. It's a good time to be Vonage, it's a GREAT time to be Cisco, and it's a horrible time to be SBC.