"As far as Televisions go.. this really isn't the case anymore. With more and more high-end TVs taking over the market and as they continue to do so in the future, thanks in part to HDTV, there will be a brutal setup process just to turn it on and start watching any kind of TV. "
Disagree. Way to much money involved for the electronics industry not to simplify it for the average user. Right now, mostly wealthy technophiles buy this stuff. In 10 years when everyone has one, it'll be just as easy to set up as a normal TV now. Look at VCRs - compare one from '83 to one from 2000. The user-friendliness is much better.
Granted, as the new generation grows up, more comfortable with technology than the older generations, things might change - but I doubt it.
"The point is that these devices/programs are being made for just about everyone they need to adapt to everyone's skill level. In the case of software development, it doesn't make sense to create several different versions of software with different default options turned on or off. "
When I was a programmer the FIRST step was to meet several times with the end-users, get a feel for what they understood and wanted, and then to being modeling. Periodic meetings and updates with the customer was scheduled into the development process. That is not completely practical when you have millions of end-users, but you can still conduct surveys, solicit input, and read about GUI design.
Having default options for the inexpert user is definitely the way to go. I work with a bunch of scientists and engineers, most of whom are baffled by Excel functions, email configuration, and password management. They don't even know where to begin when a program starts asking about what default options they want. Let the program set the default options - users that don't want them will just hit File->Preferences and change it. The technophobe majority will just work with what is available.
Screw it, here are the three non-functioning links embedded in the previous post.
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/slides/slideset/11/ 11_193_slide.html
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/seasons_orbit.htm l
http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/intro/schmidt_02 /
The ice ages are closely correlated to changes in the earth's orbit, usually referred to as Milankovich Cycles in reference to the first proponent. These consist of a 21,000-year perihelion cycle, 41,000-year obliquity cycle, and a 100,000-year eccentricity cycle. Since they all overlap, the superimposed curve is a bit uneven, just like the climatic cycle. Slide The 100k cycle is thought to have the greatest impact on climate.
Comic shops have ALWAYS been on the brink of bankruptcy, as far as I can tell - just like every small business. The good ones (that provide customer service, sell what the customers want rather than what the owners like, and that keep up with the times) stick around.
Marvel certainly isn't in Chapter 11 now. Not that I would buy the stock.
Certain comic companies don't do well - look at Crossgen's line - not because the comics uniformly suck, but because the business was managed poorly. Others do great. It seems to be very regional - what sells in Souix Falls doesn't necessarily sell on Haight-Ashbury.
"You need to spend far less time and thought (and creativity, if you like) in understanding a 3-D chart than a buch of spreadsheets showing the raw data. This is a fact of life in the real business world. "
I disagree.
Neat toy, but who is the audience? How do you begin to meaningfully interpret 3-D data? One of the fundamentals of effective communication is to know your audience - I imagine that most people able to pay for 3D data mining (i.e. business executives) aren't going to be able to make heads or tails of this sort of presentation. Visualizing spatial relations require creative abilities, something I don't see much in the typical business manager.
I've found that many (not all!) scientists and engineers are not very good managers - they care more about their work than about budgets, invoices, other people, and marketing - and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The point of an MBA is to teach business skills - effective management (and leadership) can, to an extent, be learned.
I'm currently a scientist (private sector) and was formerly an army officer (Corps of Engineers). I saw the effects of engineers and scientists managing in the military, and I've seen it in civilian jobs as well. The leadership in the army was generally better in the sense that all the officers (theoretically) were exposed to the rudiments of leadership, but I found that most people with tech (i.e. engineering and science degrees) backgrounds were more interested in non-essential details and processes than the mission/task at hand.
Note that I'm not saying MBAs should be managing scientists - I'm saying they should Administer the Business. Technical types should manage other technical types - the only interaction a working scientist should have with the management running the business should be through the tech guy at the top of the pyramid (i.e. the senior scientist/engineer who is the tech liasion with the business side of the house). I think things work better that way.
James Lovelock is a pretty good example of an independent scientist. He began his career with NASA (back in the 60s working on Martian atmospherics) and eventually wound up largely funding his own research by designing and inventing assorted (scientific) instruments. Lovelock thinks that the planet can be treated as a superorganism, when you look at it as a whole (i.e. it exhibits biofeedback-type responses - add a moon, change the tides; add CO2 to the atmosphere, things warm up). Note that he doesn't claim the planet is aware; just that it responds to stimuli, in its own way.
Whether you agree with it or not, this isn't the sort of thing that you hear coming from the tethered scientists that work for Xerox, GE, or USGS, or that you read about in Nature or Science.
I think Lovelock's method is a fantastic model: become your own patron.
Dead On. When I was in college {huge -over 40,000- state university, small town -under 100,000-} we wound drinking coffee and studying at *Denny's* before finals - there was no late-night alternative (other than drinking at the apartment, which we did too). They have four Starbucks' there now and 11 independent shops that didn't exist a decade ago.
Just because a big city (e.g. San Francisco) has a boatload of coffee houses doesn't do the rest of the backasswards country any good. I can get decent coffee, air conditioning, and a comfortable seat in a Starbucks almost anywhere now. I go to local places too, but I'm damned glad Starbucks is around. Kind of like the old Holiday Inn commercials - you know what you are going to get, even if it isn't perfect.
Controversial film-maker Michael Moore has welcomed the appearance on the internet of pirated copies of his anti-Bush documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 and claimed he is happy for anybody to download it free of charge.
The activist, author and director told the Sunday Herald that, as long as pirated copies of his film were not being sold, he had no problem with it being downloaded.
"I don't agree with the copyright laws and I don't have a problem with people downloading the movie and sharing it with people as long as they're not trying to make a profit off my labour. I would oppose that," he said.
In the 82nd Airborne, we use to shorten this to:
"You're only airborne until you hit the ground."
The 101st is (little tab over the eagle patch notwithstanding) not airborne, anyway - it is air assault. They haven't jumped in decades.
I'm very happy that you live in a big city. Not everyone does. In fact, many people don't. I do, now - but I've lived in smaller communities, too. Barnes and Noble CAN'T take over NYC. There are too many people. On the other hand, when a B&N or Borders moves into a smaller community, it will almost invariably squeeze out the independent stores - doesn't matter if the are good or bad - it is a matter of economics (economies of scale, improved pricing due to volume purchases, longer hours, etc). Then you have *one* place to buy your books.
What if that *one* place doesn't have what you want?
Tough shit for you, that's what.
If all you want is mainstream stuff, I guess that's fine. If you want more eclectic or controversial fare, independents are more likely to deliver.
That said, I don't have any issues with Borders or BN. I shop there. I also shop at local stores. But I don't have any delusions that small stores should be able to compete with megastores, either.
The oil industry has very little to do with IODP. They already have better proprietary data - IODP is the academic communities attempt to catch up with the oil companies.
"fact is, getting millions of people to change their desires is the biggest hurdle."
Don't forget the infrastructure. Our (USA) entire society is dependent on automobiles, gas stations, and pipelines. You can't just rekey and retool - it takes money, commitment, and time.
This isn't about oil, it is about science
on
Drilling Under the Sea
·
· Score: 4, Informative
IODP does not search for oil - it is collecting scientific data. Don't bother bringing up any conspiracy theories - the oil companies have much better proprietary data in the areas that IODP is drilling than the open-source (i.e. IODP) ocean science community will EVEER have.
IODPs previous ships (or rather, ODP, its predecessor oceandrilling.org ) were not able to drill in areas of the continental margin that might have contained oil deposists. It is actually pretty dangerous - if you hit a gas deposit, the density of the water can be reduced to the point that the ship loses bouyancy and sinks - almost instantly.
As a result of safety concerns related to this, IODP was unable to drill in some very enticing (i.e. data rich) environments. This new vessel will allow them to drill pretty much anywhere, which should greatly increase the available database. IODP research is focussed largely on earth dynamics, paleontology, paleoclimate/climate change, and stratigraphy. Oil is near the bottom of the list - as previously mentioned, the oil companies already have better data. Researchers interested in oil are typically working elsewhere.
Slashdot Mirror
"As far as Televisions go.. this really isn't the case anymore. With more and more high-end TVs taking over the market and as they continue to do so in the future, thanks in part to HDTV, there will be a brutal setup process just to turn it on and start watching any kind of TV. "
Disagree. Way to much money involved for the electronics industry not to simplify it for the average user. Right now, mostly wealthy technophiles buy this stuff. In 10 years when everyone has one, it'll be just as easy to set up as a normal TV now. Look at VCRs - compare one from '83 to one from 2000. The user-friendliness is much better.
Granted, as the new generation grows up, more comfortable with technology than the older generations, things might change - but I doubt it.
"The point is that these devices/programs are being made for just about everyone they need to adapt to everyone's skill level. In the case of software development, it doesn't make sense to create several different versions of software with different default options turned on or off. "
When I was a programmer the FIRST step was to meet several times with the end-users, get a feel for what they understood and wanted, and then to being modeling. Periodic meetings and updates with the customer was scheduled into the development process. That is not completely practical when you have millions of end-users, but you can still conduct surveys, solicit input, and read about GUI design.
Having default options for the inexpert user is definitely the way to go. I work with a bunch of scientists and engineers, most of whom are baffled by Excel functions, email configuration, and password management. They don't even know where to begin when a program starts asking about what default options they want. Let the program set the default options - users that don't want them will just hit File->Preferences and change it. The technophobe majority will just work with what is available.
People still use punch cards. Isn't cheap, either: Punch card sales
Simpson's did it.
Winux
Although the machine does look a bit like a Port-a-let.
This matrix concept is clearly inferior to the Jump to Conclusions mat.
One. People are not wearing enough hats.
Two. Matter is energy.
Back in the day we referred to this as an AND circuit.
01
000
101
Sounds like a Very Original Book.
Screw it, here are the three non-functioning links embedded in the previous post./ 11_193_slide.html
m l
2 /
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/slides/slideset/11
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/seasons_orbit.ht
http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/intro/schmidt_0
The ice ages are closely correlated to changes in the earth's orbit, usually referred to as Milankovich Cycles in reference to the first proponent. These consist of a 21,000-year perihelion cycle, 41,000-year obliquity cycle, and a 100,000-year eccentricity cycle. Since they all overlap, the superimposed curve is a bit uneven, just like the climatic cycle. Slide The 100k cycle is thought to have the greatest impact on climate.
Here's a brief overview of these cycles
There are, of course, a host of other factors that influence climate - for example, episodes of warming related to methane releases.
Thermal
Comic shops have ALWAYS been on the brink of bankruptcy, as far as I can tell - just like every small business. The good ones (that provide customer service, sell what the customers want rather than what the owners like, and that keep up with the times) stick around.
Marvel certainly isn't in Chapter 11 now. Not that I would buy the stock.
Certain comic companies don't do well - look at Crossgen's line - not because the comics uniformly suck, but because the business was managed poorly. Others do great. It seems to be very regional - what sells in Souix Falls doesn't necessarily sell on Haight-Ashbury.
"You need to spend far less time and thought (and creativity, if you like) in understanding a 3-D chart than a buch of spreadsheets showing the raw data. This is a fact of life in the real business world. " I disagree.
Neat toy, but who is the audience? How do you begin to meaningfully interpret 3-D data? One of the fundamentals of effective communication is to know your audience - I imagine that most people able to pay for 3D data mining (i.e. business executives) aren't going to be able to make heads or tails of this sort of presentation. Visualizing spatial relations require creative abilities, something I don't see much in the typical business manager.
I've found that many (not all!) scientists and engineers are not very good managers - they care more about their work than about budgets, invoices, other people, and marketing - and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The point of an MBA is to teach business skills - effective management (and leadership) can, to an extent, be learned.
I'm currently a scientist (private sector) and was formerly an army officer (Corps of Engineers). I saw the effects of engineers and scientists managing in the military, and I've seen it in civilian jobs as well. The leadership in the army was generally better in the sense that all the officers (theoretically) were exposed to the rudiments of leadership, but I found that most people with tech (i.e. engineering and science degrees) backgrounds were more interested in non-essential details and processes than the mission/task at hand.
Note that I'm not saying MBAs should be managing scientists - I'm saying they should Administer the Business. Technical types should manage other technical types - the only interaction a working scientist should have with the management running the business should be through the tech guy at the top of the pyramid (i.e. the senior scientist/engineer who is the tech liasion with the business side of the house). I think things work better that way.
James Lovelock is a pretty good example of an independent scientist. He began his career with NASA (back in the 60s working on Martian atmospherics) and eventually wound up largely funding his own research by designing and inventing assorted (scientific) instruments. Lovelock thinks that the planet can be treated as a superorganism, when you look at it as a whole (i.e. it exhibits biofeedback-type responses - add a moon, change the tides; add CO2 to the atmosphere, things warm up). Note that he doesn't claim the planet is aware; just that it responds to stimuli, in its own way.
Whether you agree with it or not, this isn't the sort of thing that you hear coming from the tethered scientists that work for Xerox, GE, or USGS, or that you read about in Nature or Science.
I think Lovelock's method is a fantastic model: become your own patron.
Dead On. When I was in college {huge -over 40,000- state university, small town -under 100,000-} we wound drinking coffee and studying at *Denny's* before finals - there was no late-night alternative (other than drinking at the apartment, which we did too). They have four Starbucks' there now and 11 independent shops that didn't exist a decade ago.
Just because a big city (e.g. San Francisco) has a boatload of coffee houses doesn't do the rest of the backasswards country any good. I can get decent coffee, air conditioning, and a comfortable seat in a Starbucks almost anywhere now. I go to local places too, but I'm damned glad Starbucks is around. Kind of like the old Holiday Inn commercials - you know what you are going to get, even if it isn't perfect.
Yeah, but wait till he crashes...
Simpson's Did It. (the episode where Bart gets a tattoo).
From the Sunday Herald (link at end of article):
Controversial film-maker Michael Moore has welcomed the appearance on the internet of pirated copies of his anti-Bush documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 and claimed he is happy for anybody to download it free of charge. The activist, author and director told the Sunday Herald that, as long as pirated copies of his film were not being sold, he had no problem with it being downloaded.
"I don't agree with the copyright laws and I don't have a problem with people downloading the movie and sharing it with people as long as they're not trying to make a profit off my labour. I would oppose that," he said.
Sunday Herald
"I really don't know why people perpetuate the myth that NASA is a branch of the military"
Probably because the pilot (and mission commanders) are inevitably military (Air Force) - plus DoD/Air Force has a "Space Command".
http://www.peterson.af.mil/hqafspc/
BTW, I'm answering your question, not implying that I agree with "the myth".
In the 82nd Airborne, we use to shorten this to: "You're only airborne until you hit the ground." The 101st is (little tab over the eagle patch notwithstanding) not airborne, anyway - it is air assault. They haven't jumped in decades.
Drive this Smart car and you can just nose in: Smart Car--
The Lies of Christopher Hitchens (...The guy who wrote The Lies of Michael Moore )
I'm very happy that you live in a big city. Not everyone does. In fact, many people don't. I do, now - but I've lived in smaller communities, too. Barnes and Noble CAN'T take over NYC. There are too many people. On the other hand, when a B&N or Borders moves into a smaller community, it will almost invariably squeeze out the independent stores - doesn't matter if the are good or bad - it is a matter of economics (economies of scale, improved pricing due to volume purchases, longer hours, etc). Then you have *one* place to buy your books.
What if that *one* place doesn't have what you want?
Tough shit for you, that's what.
If all you want is mainstream stuff, I guess that's fine. If you want more eclectic or controversial fare, independents are more likely to deliver.
That said, I don't have any issues with Borders or BN. I shop there. I also shop at local stores. But I don't have any delusions that small stores should be able to compete with megastores, either.
The oil industry has very little to do with IODP. They already have better proprietary data - IODP is the academic communities attempt to catch up with the oil companies.
"fact is, getting millions of people to change their desires is the biggest hurdle."
Don't forget the infrastructure. Our (USA) entire society is dependent on automobiles, gas stations, and pipelines. You can't just rekey and retool - it takes money, commitment, and time.
IODP does not search for oil - it is collecting scientific data. Don't bother bringing up any conspiracy theories - the oil companies have much better proprietary data in the areas that IODP is drilling than the open-source (i.e. IODP) ocean science community will EVEER have.
IODPs previous ships (or rather, ODP, its predecessor oceandrilling.org ) were not able to drill in areas of the continental margin that might have contained oil deposists. It is actually pretty dangerous - if you hit a gas deposit, the density of the water can be reduced to the point that the ship loses bouyancy and sinks - almost instantly.
As a result of safety concerns related to this, IODP was unable to drill in some very enticing (i.e. data rich) environments. This new vessel will allow them to drill pretty much anywhere, which should greatly increase the available database. IODP research is focussed largely on earth dynamics, paleontology, paleoclimate/climate change, and stratigraphy. Oil is near the bottom of the list - as previously mentioned, the oil companies already have better data. Researchers interested in oil are typically working elsewhere.