Yes, most Bitcoins advocates' knowledge about economics, as evidenced by your link, is about as in depth as someone who watched a 90 minute Hollywood movie about it.
Bitcoin is silly, and it's not worth any more of my time to explain why.
The chart showing that most Bitcoin activity is coming from ex-Soviet countries was interesting, though. Some people never learn.
Not much difference, really. We're using the same OS. We're using the same hardware, usually, and whatever we need to purchase is absurdly cheap (cheaper than it was 10 years ago). We rely on the Internet as much as we did then: it's important, but not mission-critical (because it's unreliable). Our industry-specific applications still suck. Networking is identical, but a bit faster.
I think that people who get some kind of pleasure out of these things are creepy.
That being said, I lost my last phone because the usb port died (got worn out), so I sprung for the wireless charging gadget for my current phone (HTC 8X Windows) so my USB port on my current phone doesn't wear out, as well.
Now why a standard product announcement is on Slashdot is another question...
That doesn't fix the problem that I was describing. Gentoo needs to be perpetually updated, as well, actually *increasing* the complexity and headache and expertise required to get stuff done.
No, the 12 year old MS OS is still working just fine. Of course, I'll be forced to update all of my systems soon, but once every 12 years or so is more than reasonable, and I don't consider a once-every-12-years upgrade cycle to be burdensome at all.
. If it is FOSS, then the consumer becomes a de-facto owner and gets to decide when, if at all, they upgrade, what they upgrade, any training schedules thereby incurred and so on. In other words, they get to plan when to budget for changes in computing environments.
Now, that's a bit of an exaggeration there. If it's FOSS, AND you're in a large organization with lots of expensive manpower or lots of money that can manage their own versions of whatever software we're talking about, then sure, MAYBE you have that kind of control. In all reality, most people and organizations can't operate on their own schedule for FOSS upgrades because it is very likely that something will break if not updated properly. In reality, I'm happily running a 12 year old MS OS on all of my boxes with modern applications running on top of it. It would be impossible to run a 12 year old FOSS OS with modern applications.
What you're describing is generally the duty of the router in non-enterprise settings. You should invest $50 and get a good (non-Apple) router that can do what you want.
This whole Bitcoin thing and everything associated with it is an ongoing circus made up of different kinds of idiots. Idiots who don't understand that Bitcoin is the most non-anonymous "currency" in existence. Idiots who don't understand that Bitcoin is completely unusable as any kind of legitimate business transaction because the value fluctuates wildly. Idiots who don't understand that the Internet is completely non-anonymous. Idiots who don't understand economics 101.
Bitcoin, to me at least, is a lot like Sarah Palin: Unbelievably stupid and something nobody should waste time with, but like a car wreck, something we can't stop watching in utter disbelief.
Why would anybody want to use this service? Why not just use PC's, which can be gotten for next-to-free in thrift stores or refurbished equipment resellers, everywhere?
But it's disappointing, because Bitcoin represents everything that us nerds reading slashdot should like: It's a mix of cryptography, freedom of speech, computing, networking, finance, economics, and even politics. Most of us here dig that stuff.
Speak for yourself. One of the founding principles of geekdom that I learned from geeks much older and much smarter and much wiser than me, and that I still believe wholeheartedly in is: KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Bitcoin fails KISS, spectacularly.
Bitcoin is a laughably complex solution that's looking for a problem. It's a Rube Goldberg contraption. It's much more complex than any other payment system, it's value as a currency is wildly unstable, it's prone to all sorts of technical and security problems, and it's insanely un-private.
The whole thing is a load of garbage or a brilliant performance art piece, depending on how you look at it.
There's no room in business for humor. No good business person makes a decision without calculating their potential profit and loss (or risk/benefit, if you prefer those terms). If you don't understand it, I'd hazard to guess that you've never been involved in senior business decisions for a multimillion dollar company.
Actually, that's what I do every day. You, on the other hand, have no idea what you're talking about.
On a more related note, he's running a charity designed to give money away, you moron. There is no profit/loss decision to be made.
Contractors aren't mistreated in any way. They don't get company health insurance. Big deal. They're generally paid much more than "permanent" employees. Regardless, if you can't cut it for whatever reason, then find another line of work. There's no comparison between a IT contractor for MS and a kid starving to death in some shithole in Africa, and anybody delusional enough to think so needs a swift kick in the ass.
Wow. You ARE a dick. You're whining about contractors working at Microsoft and Windows 8? This is a discussion about helping people with or without Internet access, not your own personal bitch-fest.
They might be a big player in some Asian countries, but I think their mainstream appeal is over, frankly. It seems like they've developed themselves into a corner with titles for kids and Asian stuff, exclusively. I don't know anybody that uses anything Nintendo, and I've never seen any of their current lineup of gadgets.
I don't understand why the person writing this article would choose to jump through the advertiser's hoops to deal with this problem. Install Adblock and Ghostery or something similar and forget about it.
The main cost for these retailers isn't the food/coffee they serve it's the time and space you take up as you order it and then have to wait for all the inefficiencies with cash, cards, or checks. Getting you in and out as quickly as possible is their goal. The side benefit for them is that for once their methods for saving them money also have the effect of making the experience quicker and more pleasant for you. An uncommon win-win in the world of low margin penny pinching retailers.
Oh ye of little information. No, cash, cards and (checks...? really?) are not "inefficient". What is inefficient are all of these silly fad payment systems that tack on a percentage of all transactions for their own profit. That's unacceptable in industries with already such tiny margins. There are probably a thousand new companies (like "Square") that do payments because it's a gold mine for them. Retailers and restaurateurs are not eager to give away a percentage of all sales to a payment system that provides little, if any value.
Slashdot Mirror
Yes, most Bitcoins advocates' knowledge about economics, as evidenced by your link, is about as in depth as someone who watched a 90 minute Hollywood movie about it.
Bitcoin is silly, and it's not worth any more of my time to explain why.
The chart showing that most Bitcoin activity is coming from ex-Soviet countries was interesting, though. Some people never learn.
Not much difference, really. We're using the same OS. We're using the same hardware, usually, and whatever we need to purchase is absurdly cheap (cheaper than it was 10 years ago). We rely on the Internet as much as we did then: it's important, but not mission-critical (because it's unreliable). Our industry-specific applications still suck. Networking is identical, but a bit faster.
I think that people who get some kind of pleasure out of these things are creepy.
That being said, I lost my last phone because the usb port died (got worn out), so I sprung for the wireless charging gadget for my current phone (HTC 8X Windows) so my USB port on my current phone doesn't wear out, as well.
Now why a standard product announcement is on Slashdot is another question...
That doesn't fix the problem that I was describing. Gentoo needs to be perpetually updated, as well, actually *increasing* the complexity and headache and expertise required to get stuff done.
No, the 12 year old MS OS is still working just fine. Of course, I'll be forced to update all of my systems soon, but once every 12 years or so is more than reasonable, and I don't consider a once-every-12-years upgrade cycle to be burdensome at all.
. If it is FOSS, then the consumer becomes a de-facto owner and gets to decide when, if at all, they upgrade, what they upgrade, any training schedules thereby incurred and so on. In other words, they get to plan when to budget for changes in computing environments.
Now, that's a bit of an exaggeration there. If it's FOSS, AND you're in a large organization with lots of expensive manpower or lots of money that can manage their own versions of whatever software we're talking about, then sure, MAYBE you have that kind of control. In all reality, most people and organizations can't operate on their own schedule for FOSS upgrades because it is very likely that something will break if not updated properly. In reality, I'm happily running a 12 year old MS OS on all of my boxes with modern applications running on top of it. It would be impossible to run a 12 year old FOSS OS with modern applications.
Sucks for you, but as an end user paying for Exchange, it's most certainly worth it. Exchange ain't going anywhere anytime soon.
Nothing says" irrelevant" like running on 95% of the world's computers!
What you're describing is generally the duty of the router in non-enterprise settings. You should invest $50 and get a good (non-Apple) router that can do what you want.
This whole Bitcoin thing and everything associated with it is an ongoing circus made up of different kinds of idiots. Idiots who don't understand that Bitcoin is the most non-anonymous "currency" in existence. Idiots who don't understand that Bitcoin is completely unusable as any kind of legitimate business transaction because the value fluctuates wildly. Idiots who don't understand that the Internet is completely non-anonymous. Idiots who don't understand economics 101.
Bitcoin, to me at least, is a lot like Sarah Palin: Unbelievably stupid and something nobody should waste time with, but like a car wreck, something we can't stop watching in utter disbelief.
Why would anybody want to use this service? Why not just use PC's, which can be gotten for next-to-free in thrift stores or refurbished equipment resellers, everywhere?
This just in: Most people are selfish assholes! News at 11!
That's not fair to them, but that is how their business is structured.
Wow. Way to displace blame for your own dick-ish behavior!
"I'm not an ass. It's the business model!"
But it's disappointing, because Bitcoin represents everything that us nerds reading slashdot should like: It's a mix of cryptography, freedom of speech, computing, networking, finance, economics, and even politics. Most of us here dig that stuff.
Speak for yourself. One of the founding principles of geekdom that I learned from geeks much older and much smarter and much wiser than me, and that I still believe wholeheartedly in is: KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Bitcoin fails KISS, spectacularly.
Bitcoin is a laughably complex solution that's looking for a problem. It's a Rube Goldberg contraption. It's much more complex than any other payment system, it's value as a currency is wildly unstable, it's prone to all sorts of technical and security problems, and it's insanely un-private.
The whole thing is a load of garbage or a brilliant performance art piece, depending on how you look at it.
I'm so glad that Bitcoin is such a simple solution to the complexity of cash!
Users? Profits? Bah!
As everybody knows the important question to ask about tech companies is... how much are stupid investors willing to pay for it...?
There's no room in business for humor. No good business person makes a decision without calculating their potential profit and loss (or risk/benefit, if you prefer those terms). If you don't understand it, I'd hazard to guess that you've never been involved in senior business decisions for a multimillion dollar company.
Actually, that's what I do every day. You, on the other hand, have no idea what you're talking about.
On a more related note, he's running a charity designed to give money away, you moron. There is no profit/loss decision to be made.
Contractors aren't mistreated in any way. They don't get company health insurance. Big deal. They're generally paid much more than "permanent" employees. Regardless, if you can't cut it for whatever reason, then find another line of work. There's no comparison between a IT contractor for MS and a kid starving to death in some shithole in Africa, and anybody delusional enough to think so needs a swift kick in the ass.
Wow. You ARE a dick. You're whining about contractors working at Microsoft and Windows 8? This is a discussion about helping people with or without Internet access, not your own personal bitch-fest.
Wow, that's a real dick thing to assume. If you're kidding, you should probably say so.
The Smartphone and Tablet industry will take care of the shutting-down-Dell part in due time.
My business runs on computers, not toys. People will need actual PC's for a long time to come. Very few people need gadgets.
They might be a big player in some Asian countries, but I think their mainstream appeal is over, frankly. It seems like they've developed themselves into a corner with titles for kids and Asian stuff, exclusively. I don't know anybody that uses anything Nintendo, and I've never seen any of their current lineup of gadgets.
I'd be surprised too, as the Tea Baggers tend to think that climate change is some kind of made up science (Yale Climate Change Study).
I don't understand why the person writing this article would choose to jump through the advertiser's hoops to deal with this problem. Install Adblock and Ghostery or something similar and forget about it.
The main cost for these retailers isn't the food/coffee they serve it's the time and space you take up as you order it and then have to wait for all the inefficiencies with cash, cards, or checks. Getting you in and out as quickly as possible is their goal. The side benefit for them is that for once their methods for saving them money also have the effect of making the experience quicker and more pleasant for you. An uncommon win-win in the world of low margin penny pinching retailers.
Oh ye of little information. No, cash, cards and (checks...? really?) are not "inefficient". What is inefficient are all of these silly fad payment systems that tack on a percentage of all transactions for their own profit. That's unacceptable in industries with already such tiny margins. There are probably a thousand new companies (like "Square") that do payments because it's a gold mine for them. Retailers and restaurateurs are not eager to give away a percentage of all sales to a payment system that provides little, if any value.
Why do all of the Right Wingers use the "shoving down our throats" analogy? It's strange how many times that is parroted among the tin foil hat crowd.