Related analogy: actions of POPULATIONS of people (crowds/mobs) are predictable but individuals are not. This ties into the fossil fuel debate but I'm too lazy to pursue that thought at the moment...
The idea that people will someday have flying cars sounds wonderful; a lot of movies even make it look like it could work. Apart from the many humorous (and accurate) statements made about this topic already, there are plenty of other real reasons why this will NEVER happen.
I have a commercial pilot's license with single and multi-engine and instrument endorsements, along with Advanced and Instrument Ground Instructor ratings...I never quite finished my Flight Instructor certification. To obtain these licenses and ratings took over $30,000 and several years of instruction to obtain (BTW - I'm not rich, I pumped gas at a SoCal airport for years to pay for this). To get the most basic of pilot's licenses (private pilot) still costs at least $5,000.
After investing all this money, a private pilot's license only gives you the ability to fly in VFR (Visual Flight Rules, or clear) conditions. Most of us want to get around, even when it's cloudy or raining...but you can't fly in these conditions without an Instrument rating, which costs a bundle more. Believe me, obtaining an instrument rating is NOT an easy thing to do for most people, and doesn't give you the ability to fly in ALL weather conditions. Mother nature will humble you (or kill you) if you think you can.
A monkey can be taught the mechanics of flying an aircraft. However, it takes more than just stick and rudder skills to fly an aircraft SAFELY and EFFECTIVELY. The individual areas of knowledge required to fly are fairly straightforward:
> Simple mechanical knowledge of flying
> Meteorology
> Airspace knowledge (what flight operations are allowed in each category of airspace)
> FARs (Federal Aviation Regulations)
> Communications
> Flight planning and navigation
> Instrument flight rules
>...and the list goes on and on
Anyone can learn each of these constituent pieces of knowledge. However, NOT everyone can put all this knowledge together to operate an aircraft safely and effectively. A good analogy in the technology world in terms of a complex task/career might be a web developer or web programmer. The creation of a complex web site like Amazon.com (or Slashdot) takes a lot of different skills to pull off effectively. At the same time, almost anyone can pick up the basic pieces behind it:
> HTML and scripting
> Database creation/tuning
> Programming
> Graphic design and UI
> Professional writing/communication skills
> Sales and marketing
>...and on and on
As most of you know, putting this all together into an effective "package" is not easy. This is why programmers all groan when friends and business people we work with tell us they're "web developers" too. After all, they have the latest version of Front Page and created their very own web site! The notion that any Joe Schmo will be able to safely pilot their own flying car sounds as silly to professional pilots as non-programmers re-creating Slashdot all by themselves does to professional web developers and programmers.
Whoever says everything can be "engineered" into some foolproof flying car technology does not know what goes into building and operating a machine that flies. Even if such a machine COULD be built, it would be far too expensive to purchase or operate for anyone but the super-wealthy. Even then, it would not provide a compelling cost/benefit ratio. The most basic of new four-seat aircraft, a Cessna 172, costs around $150,000 to purchase (close to $200,000 with a full avionics suite). Even a clapped-out 1969 model STILL costs between $30,000 and $50,000, depending on how it's equipped. The mission a 172 is ideally designed for is flights of 50 to 400 miles, at a cost per HOUR of around $100 to operate. If the most basic of existing aircraft costs this much for such a mission, imagine what it would cost to create a "foolproof" flying car that anyone
Both IE and Firefox allow you to select whether they are the "default" browser...here's how to set either one (BTW - I'm using Win2k with Outlook 2002 SP1; I imagine the following should work for you under XP).
Make sure you have EITHER Firefox OR IE open, NOT BOTH.
In Firefox (0.9.2):
Tools > Options > General
You should see a "Default Browser" pane with a checkbox and a "check now" button. The "check now" button opens a dialog telling you whether Firefox is your default browser or not. CHECK the checkbox and click "ok." Next, start (or restart) Outlook. Outlook should now launch Firefox when clicking hyperlinks in your e-mail.
For some reason, when I open links from Outlook e-mail, it opens a "Locate Link Browser" dialog box just before launching Firefox. I haven't bothered to figure out how to stop this, it's probably an easy hack.:)
If for some reason you HAVE to switch back to IE...
In Internet Explorer (IE 6.0):
Tools > Internet Options > Programs
In the Internet Options dialog, select the "Programs" tab. At the bottom, you should see a checkbox that says something like "Internet Explorer should check to see if it is the default browser." Check this box, click "OK" and then start (or restart) Outlook.
Voila, you're back to IE.
= = = = =
Note how similar the point-click-point process is...the Firefox team obviously had the IE UI in mind.
Slashdot Mirror
Related analogy: actions of POPULATIONS of people (crowds/mobs) are predictable but individuals are not. This ties into the fossil fuel debate but I'm too lazy to pursue that thought at the moment...
The idea that people will someday have flying cars sounds wonderful; a lot of movies even make it look like it could work. Apart from the many humorous (and accurate) statements made about this topic already, there are plenty of other real reasons why this will NEVER happen.
...and the list goes on and on
...and on and on
I have a commercial pilot's license with single and multi-engine and instrument endorsements, along with Advanced and Instrument Ground Instructor ratings...I never quite finished my Flight Instructor certification. To obtain these licenses and ratings took over $30,000 and several years of instruction to obtain (BTW - I'm not rich, I pumped gas at a SoCal airport for years to pay for this). To get the most basic of pilot's licenses (private pilot) still costs at least $5,000.
After investing all this money, a private pilot's license only gives you the ability to fly in VFR (Visual Flight Rules, or clear) conditions. Most of us want to get around, even when it's cloudy or raining...but you can't fly in these conditions without an Instrument rating, which costs a bundle more. Believe me, obtaining an instrument rating is NOT an easy thing to do for most people, and doesn't give you the ability to fly in ALL weather conditions. Mother nature will humble you (or kill you) if you think you can.
A monkey can be taught the mechanics of flying an aircraft. However, it takes more than just stick and rudder skills to fly an aircraft SAFELY and EFFECTIVELY. The individual areas of knowledge required to fly are fairly straightforward:
> Simple mechanical knowledge of flying
> Meteorology
> Airspace knowledge (what flight operations are allowed in each category of airspace)
> FARs (Federal Aviation Regulations)
> Communications
> Flight planning and navigation
> Instrument flight rules
>
Anyone can learn each of these constituent pieces of knowledge. However, NOT everyone can put all this knowledge together to operate an aircraft safely and effectively. A good analogy in the technology world in terms of a complex task/career might be a web developer or web programmer. The creation of a complex web site like Amazon.com (or Slashdot) takes a lot of different skills to pull off effectively. At the same time, almost anyone can pick up the basic pieces behind it:
> HTML and scripting
> Database creation/tuning
> Programming
> Graphic design and UI
> Professional writing/communication skills
> Sales and marketing
>
As most of you know, putting this all together into an effective "package" is not easy. This is why programmers all groan when friends and business people we work with tell us they're "web developers" too. After all, they have the latest version of Front Page and created their very own web site! The notion that any Joe Schmo will be able to safely pilot their own flying car sounds as silly to professional pilots as non-programmers re-creating Slashdot all by themselves does to professional web developers and programmers.
Whoever says everything can be "engineered" into some foolproof flying car technology does not know what goes into building and operating a machine that flies. Even if such a machine COULD be built, it would be far too expensive to purchase or operate for anyone but the super-wealthy. Even then, it would not provide a compelling cost/benefit ratio. The most basic of new four-seat aircraft, a Cessna 172, costs around $150,000 to purchase (close to $200,000 with a full avionics suite). Even a clapped-out 1969 model STILL costs between $30,000 and $50,000, depending on how it's equipped. The mission a 172 is ideally designed for is flights of 50 to 400 miles, at a cost per HOUR of around $100 to operate. If the most basic of existing aircraft costs this much for such a mission, imagine what it would cost to create a "foolproof" flying car that anyone
Hmmm...that's weird. Hey, I tried :) Good luck!
Both IE and Firefox allow you to select whether they are the "default" browser...here's how to set either one (BTW - I'm using Win2k with Outlook 2002 SP1; I imagine the following should work for you under XP).
:)
Make sure you have EITHER Firefox OR IE open, NOT BOTH.
In Firefox (0.9.2):
Tools > Options > General
You should see a "Default Browser" pane with a checkbox and a "check now" button. The "check now" button opens a dialog telling you whether Firefox is your default browser or not. CHECK the checkbox and click "ok." Next, start (or restart) Outlook. Outlook should now launch Firefox when clicking hyperlinks in your e-mail.
For some reason, when I open links from Outlook e-mail, it opens a "Locate Link Browser" dialog box just before launching Firefox. I haven't bothered to figure out how to stop this, it's probably an easy hack.
If for some reason you HAVE to switch back to IE...
In Internet Explorer (IE 6.0):
Tools > Internet Options > Programs
In the Internet Options dialog, select the "Programs" tab. At the bottom, you should see a checkbox that says something like "Internet Explorer should check to see if it is the default browser." Check this box, click "OK" and then start (or restart) Outlook.
Voila, you're back to IE.
= = = = =
Note how similar the point-click-point process is...the Firefox team obviously had the IE UI in mind.