I think he is a nut
To the extent he actually believes what he writes, I agree. I think Kurzweil's technique for "predicting" the future amounts to this: throw a massive amount of shit at the wall and when one speck remains, declare yourself a genius.
Don't kid yourself. The Indian education system is not such a major improvement over the US education system that it would convince bottom-line fixated CEOs to pull up stakes and move entire chunks of their company overseas. The US system isn't perfect, but in the end it turns out a ton of college graduates, and that's what counts. When Indians want a good college education, as often as not they head for a US university.
Now if American college graduates were willing to work for pennies on the dollar, outsourcing would dry up in an instant. It's that simple. Not everyone can be expected to develop a first-class mind. Some folks have got to do the shit work, and chances are those jobs will go to the people that ask the least in return.
And while we're discussing this, someone should mention a few of these simple economic facts to GWB. If I hear him say one more time that all our problems can be solved with junior colleges, I'll puke. Great, junior colleges. What, are we all going to become paralegals?
If Apple ported OS X to x86 software vendors would do the same.
I'm not so sure I agree. Vendors wouldn't waste their time porting software to a platform with no user base, and very few people would switch if there was no software.
IMO, the only way this would work is if there was a major corporate entity pushing it forward and doing a lot of the initial development -- more or less the way Apple did when moving from OS9 to OSX. And even then Apple couldn't do it alone. They had a number of major vendors on board -- Adobe and Microsoft notably. And they had a framework for easing the transition between the two platforms (Carbon). That would be a tough road for any potential porter, since there would essentially be two target markets -- folks going from Mac to this, and folks going from Windows to this.
And, of course, if there is any corporate entity that would do it, it won't be Apple. And since Apple has to give the go-ahead, I get the feeling this won't be happening.
Oh yeah... I forgot all about that. So it's starting to look like the US invaded because the documentation wasn't double-spaced and used MLA-style footnotes.
So are you suggesting that war was justified because of improper documentation? That's pretty lame, if you ask me. I'd hate to have to tell some family that their son died because Saddam wouldn't cough up a bunch of paper.
Please, music doesn't *have* to be marketed to the tune of millions of bucks. I find most of what I like on Usenet. Other folks can find a way to find new music, or would, if they were forced to.
I suspect Senator Finestein's shock is strictly rhetorical. I certainly hope it is.
The fact that it is no longer shocking is half the reason it keeps happening. Is there a bottom here? If this is not shocking, what is? If the president (any president) were to, say, dissolve Congress, would we all log onto Slashdot and say, "I can't see why anyone would be shocked by this." What if the party in power started jailing the opposition? What if they started shooting them?
The thing is, I can faintly recall a day when this absolutely would have been shocking. I don't want to ever have to tell my daughter about the time when the scenarios I mention above were viewed as shocking.
You may be right: Feinstein may be simply rolling out shock for rhetorical reasons, but frankly, I think they are damn good reasons, and I would say that those among us who are too cynical to be shocked ought to be acting like it none-the-less.
Hey dumbbell, the rest of us are looking at the industrial design which is indeed unmatched elsewhere. You must be the guy that looks at the Toyota Prius and says, "Eh, I've got the same brand of tires on my car."
For all those geeks out there that think design is not important, this is a good example of why it is. Whoever put this thing together must have wanted the fewest readers possible, which explains why he/she put tiny gray type against a gray background on the left, and tiny black type against an American flag on the right, complemented by tiny scrollbars that move the text about 2 pixels per click. I love that when you hold down the scrollbar arrows, nothing happens.
Let's hear it for the triumph of technology over substance!
Here's a scenario that has happened to me a couple times:
I download something and either a) discover that the demo is too crippled to get a real feel for whether the software is worth the money, or b) I run it the first time and then don't have time to get back to it before the demo period expires. I have been known, on such occasions to grab an illicit serial number. If I like the software, though, I buy it. I mean, really, software from small developers is so cheap, why not buy it? A couple hundred bucks can by a lot of nifty little tools, or one big bloated MS product. I'll gladly give the small guy my money. But...
If one of the above scenarios were to occur to me and the software decided to delete my home directory in response, well, I would be inclined to put a severe dent in the developer's head.
My three cents.
Re:Removing motivation to create innovative IP
on
Is IP Property?
·
· Score: 1
Wait a minute. How does it motivate an entrepeneur to keep his/her work private for 75 years after their death? Don't you think most people stop developing new stuff, oh, say 5 or 6 years after they've died?
As for corporations, I'd say IP can actually crimp their creativity. Think how much more creative a company would be if all their IP ran out in 15 years. That would be motivation to get on the ball.
The way it is currently structured, most IP laws seem to encourage only the amassing of other people's copyrights and patents.
Slashdot Mirror
I think he is a nut To the extent he actually believes what he writes, I agree. I think Kurzweil's technique for "predicting" the future amounts to this: throw a massive amount of shit at the wall and when one speck remains, declare yourself a genius.
Don't kid yourself. The Indian education system is not such a major improvement over the US education system that it would convince bottom-line fixated CEOs to pull up stakes and move entire chunks of their company overseas. The US system isn't perfect, but in the end it turns out a ton of college graduates, and that's what counts. When Indians want a good college education, as often as not they head for a US university.
Now if American college graduates were willing to work for pennies on the dollar, outsourcing would dry up in an instant. It's that simple. Not everyone can be expected to develop a first-class mind. Some folks have got to do the shit work, and chances are those jobs will go to the people that ask the least in return.
And while we're discussing this, someone should mention a few of these simple economic facts to GWB. If I hear him say one more time that all our problems can be solved with junior colleges, I'll puke. Great, junior colleges. What, are we all going to become paralegals?
I'm not so sure I agree. Vendors wouldn't waste their time porting software to a platform with no user base, and very few people would switch if there was no software.
IMO, the only way this would work is if there was a major corporate entity pushing it forward and doing a lot of the initial development -- more or less the way Apple did when moving from OS9 to OSX. And even then Apple couldn't do it alone. They had a number of major vendors on board -- Adobe and Microsoft notably. And they had a framework for easing the transition between the two platforms (Carbon). That would be a tough road for any potential porter, since there would essentially be two target markets -- folks going from Mac to this, and folks going from Windows to this.
And, of course, if there is any corporate entity that would do it, it won't be Apple. And since Apple has to give the go-ahead, I get the feeling this won't be happening.
Oh yeah... I forgot all about that. So it's starting to look like the US invaded because the documentation wasn't double-spaced and used MLA-style footnotes.
So are you suggesting that war was justified because of improper documentation? That's pretty lame, if you ask me. I'd hate to have to tell some family that their son died because Saddam wouldn't cough up a bunch of paper.
Please, music doesn't *have* to be marketed to the tune of millions of bucks. I find most of what I like on Usenet. Other folks can find a way to find new music, or would, if they were forced to.
If Feinstein's speeches were being written by, say, Vincente Fox, you might have a point. Otherwise, no.
I suspect Senator Finestein's shock is strictly rhetorical. I certainly hope it is.
The fact that it is no longer shocking is half the reason it keeps happening. Is there a bottom here? If this is not shocking, what is? If the president (any president) were to, say, dissolve Congress, would we all log onto Slashdot and say, "I can't see why anyone would be shocked by this." What if the party in power started jailing the opposition? What if they started shooting them?
The thing is, I can faintly recall a day when this absolutely would have been shocking. I don't want to ever have to tell my daughter about the time when the scenarios I mention above were viewed as shocking.
You may be right: Feinstein may be simply rolling out shock for rhetorical reasons, but frankly, I think they are damn good reasons, and I would say that those among us who are too cynical to be shocked ought to be acting like it none-the-less.
My 1972-adjusted two cents.
And now the killing is much more democratic.
Hey dumbbell, the rest of us are looking at the industrial design which is indeed unmatched elsewhere. You must be the guy that looks at the Toyota Prius and says, "Eh, I've got the same brand of tires on my car."
Point of fact: no film has "live" actors. That's merely a projection of light through celluloid. No similarity to the nerd Faires of which you speak.
There are whole swaths of 20th century drama with no sets. Actors don't poo poo a chance to do Thornton Wilder.
For all those geeks out there that think design is not important, this is a good example of why it is. Whoever put this thing together must have wanted the fewest readers possible, which explains why he/she put tiny gray type against a gray background on the left, and tiny black type against an American flag on the right, complemented by tiny scrollbars that move the text about 2 pixels per click. I love that when you hold down the scrollbar arrows, nothing happens. Let's hear it for the triumph of technology over substance!
Here's a scenario that has happened to me a couple times:
I download something and either a) discover that the demo is too crippled to get a real feel for whether the software is worth the money, or b) I run it the first time and then don't have time to get back to it before the demo period expires. I have been known, on such occasions to grab an illicit serial number. If I like the software, though, I buy it. I mean, really, software from small developers is so cheap, why not buy it? A couple hundred bucks can by a lot of nifty little tools, or one big bloated MS product. I'll gladly give the small guy my money. But...
If one of the above scenarios were to occur to me and the software decided to delete my home directory in response, well, I would be inclined to put a severe dent in the developer's head.
My three cents.
Wait a minute. How does it motivate an entrepeneur to keep his/her work private for 75 years after their death? Don't you think most people stop developing new stuff, oh, say 5 or 6 years after they've died? As for corporations, I'd say IP can actually crimp their creativity. Think how much more creative a company would be if all their IP ran out in 15 years. That would be motivation to get on the ball. The way it is currently structured, most IP laws seem to encourage only the amassing of other people's copyrights and patents.