"Internet Explorer is an integrated part of the Windows operating system."
well, that all depends. Microsoft swore up and down at first that it wasn't and that you could take it out without screwing up the computer. And comparing Internet Explorer to the Mac Finder is a horrible analogy.
Explorer (not necessarily Internet Explorer) is an integrated part of the OS. But you can run windows without the browser. You cannot run the mac without the finder.
now is this no email because they don't want people spending that much time writing emails? or they don't want people downloading and/or sending email anonymously from a machine (ie downloading an email client or using Outlook Express)?
and what if you use hotmail or even access your Exchange email through the browser window? is that permitted?
Can you write email through the browser or is that against the rules?
When WAP 2.0 goes towards XHTML 1.0, this whole discussion will be pretty useless.
Agreed, WML got hyped way out of proportion, but at the same time, what people don't understand is that cHTML and i-Mode has a unique position in that it was created in a monopolized vaccuum where most of the users don't have landline connections and there is only one telco and that's owned by the government. WAP was able to bridge lots of hurdles, from different governments to different standards.
XHTML 1.0 will make it much easier to create wireless services, plus will have the ability to support all of the images, sounds, movies, etc. that we've been hyped to expect.
"The next major version of WAP, a protocol for providing Internet-based data services on mobile phones, will complete a migration to XHTML (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language) and TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) as the foundation of the technology, which will make it easier for developers to write WAP applications, said Michael Short, director of international affairs and strategy at BTCellnet, in Slough, England, and a member of the WAP Forum board of directors."
"The group, which has more than 580 member companies and hosted about 700 delegates here, is also making progress toward enabling additional
services on WAP devices, according to Scott Goldman, chief executive officer of the WAP Forum. In addition to animation, streaming media, and music downloads, WAP will display color graphics, provide location-specific content, and allow users to synchronize information with personal information manager software on a desktop PC in a remote location."
what about asking your friend to set up a PO Box in the nearest large city that's on the acceptable list, have him tell them to forward any mail that comes in from that account to his home address.
after this, UPS the package to the PO Box in the major city and pay for the shipping to get there.
reminds me of the movie gattica when they're trying to solve the murder mystery and since they have genetic information on all of the employees and all of the people in the world (I guess) they're able to figure out who should be there and who shouldn't be there due to stuff like hair, dead skin, finger nails clippings, etc. in the keyboard.
makes you think how much you shed while being huddled above your keyboard staring too intently on the monitor on your desk...
Just something that stuck out.
<P>
<i>
"U.S. crporations should have more than one purpose. They also owe something to their workers and the communities in which they operate, and they should sometimes sacrifice some profit for the sake of making things better for their workers and communities."
<P>
This noble sentiment fails to take into account the proprietary and predatory nature of the contemporary global corporation. These companies have only one purpose. They are run by coalitions of analysts, stockholders, investors and executives whose overriding mission is to mass-market products, dominate markets and -- in the end -- maximize profits. There isn't a single CEO of a major corporation who wouldn't get fired in a flash if he or she decided to forego profits in favor of workers or community.
</i>
<P>
I think they do. Just looking at the.com companies in my sector, their top priorities are 1. to maximize utilization of their employees, but 2. recognize that their employees are their greatest asset and that they must find, inspire, and retain employees.<P>
example: "Shortage and Potential Loss of Professionals<BR>
Our business is labor intensive, and our success depends, in large part, on
identifying, hiring, training and retaining professionals. These professionals
must have skills in consulting, strategy, technology, creative design and
marketing. If a significant number of our current employees or any of our key
project managers leave, we may be unable to complete or retain existing
projects or bid for new projects of similar scope and revenue. Even if we
retain our current employees, our senior management must continually recruit
talented professionals in order for our business to grow. There is currently a
shortage of qualified personnel in the IT services market, and this shortage is
likely to continue. We compete intensely for qualified personnel with other
companies. If we cannot attract, motivate and retain qualified professionals,
our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely
affected."<P>
.com companies need to inspire their employees, and lately there has been lots of effort to get these new and booming companies and their now paper-rich CEO's to start donating money to charities.
<P>
articles such as <a href="http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,38 510,00.html">Newman's Own Philanthropy Plan</a><BR>
<a href="http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,383 39,00.html">Dems Donate Leftover Wires</a>, and even<BR>
<a href="http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282, 38043,00.html">MOnsanto to Offer Free Rice Tech</a><P>
technology companies are becoming more and more aware of their responsibility in both treating their employees well in addition to their responsibility to the global state of affairs. They realize that good PR, whether it has to do with their financial returns or their charitable gifts, are likely to increase their public image and thusly their financial returns.<P>
I think the trend is already starting and gathering steam...
I think this was a neat test by Amazon. They're becoming a huge storefront, but in the transaction side, they're losing touch with their users. How much will users pay for a DVD? Will making a DVD $2 cheaper lead to more sales? Instead of making 30% off the top and getting 1000 sales, will making 20% of the top and giving the consumer a 10% discount lead to 2000 sales?
Just like Amazon sent out a notice for users to test out their new navigation before it went live to get feedback, I think this is a great way for Amazon to get feedback. In addition to conducting the test, afterwards they gave EVERYONE the discount?
I see nothing wrong with this, in fact I see it as an ethical way to do product pricing testing and usability testing.
licensing for the decryption
hardware/driver problems
financial problems causing engineers to quit
etc.
instead of ranting on/. about the situation, why not have/. ask? this is hardly the way to get a legal product to market so that you can either purchase it or bootleg it or rant about how it's not open source.
why assume that it's vaporware and merely a publicity stunt? maybe they're just having problems and their PR person was instructed to say it will be out shortly.
maybe you're reading some of your own subconscious into those texts because I didn't pick up the incest part, nor did I think that there was a racist problem in Cryptonomicon.
and btw, socialogical is sociological, from socio- logia (latin)
oh, and Heinlin wrote non-perverted sci-fi? what about the sexual explots of Lazarus Long, who had sex with his mother as well as all of his sisters?
If I remember correctly, Stranger in a Strange Land was about 40% sex, 90% of which was out of marriage, 50% of which was between blood relatives.
excuse me, but how is a link to more information any different than the "links" I put into my thesis when I referenced other information or cited information from another book? just because clicking on the link actually takes you to the information in question, it doesn't differ in concept that any normal in-line citation.
"textbooks linked to spreadsheets (for lab section) and Mathematica (for lecture section)"
yea, what's the difference between linking or having an appendix with all of this information at the end of the book?
please explain to me how this is any more successful than the practice of simply writing a story?
and just because it's different doesn't make it any better. it simply makes it different.
And an e-book doesn't have to be "open-published", and e-book is just another book that is distributed electronically.
oh, and no, open publishing is not any more creative. again, it's just different. Just because 2000 people created it doesn't mean that it's any more creative than if one person created it. It's simply that 2000 people created it. More hands in the kitchen doesn't always end up in a better meal, just more messy hands doing stuff that they're not always the best equiped to do.
And younger consumers are buying Harry Potter books in droves. Hmmm, when you stop to think about it, who's name do you recognize first? Harry Potter (a fictional character) or Eggers (a real live author)?
And why does informal, anti-hype, and experimental have to represent the web and interactive sensibility? Anti-hype... hmmm, is there a reason why racist and anti-semetic sites about on the internet? Informal... is there a reason why one of the most documented reactions on the internet is the flame? Experimental... is there a reason why the biggest group of users on the internet use AOL as their ISP and Microsoft as their OS?
he fullfilled his personal responsibility in the matter.
1. he commented on the patent and attempted to talk sense
2. he should sign the document because they don't even need him to sign it to move forward with it.
he fulfilled his moral obligations in trying to pursuade the employer to look twice at the document, but by not signing it, he will creating a bigger problem for himself within the organization.
if you think it's broad and that they won't change their minds and reword the document, that's not your fault. sign the document and let them pay the lawyers to try to uphold something that will probably be refuted.
sign it and don't think twice about it.
just because they put in a patent application and it gets granted doesn't mean that it won't get refuted by competitors and that there won't be a big legal battle. that's the price that companies that are engaging in these battles have to pay.
sign it (and maybe start looking for smarter companies)
Forgive me for asking, but within a multi-national , billion dollar conglomerate, who answers the phones? who reads the documents that get presented? who proofs and edits the documents? who actually reads the documents and determines whether there will be interest and will be able to recoup the costs in printing?
hint: chances are, you're one of them.
human beings are the ones filling these functions, not faceless machinated artificial intelligences.
people like my ex-girlfriend. people like a good friend of mine. (both of whom work as editors for big publishing houses)
yes, they have a say in deciding whether a publication goes to print. no, they're not all that in favor of e-books, but so what? it's not like they have this huge secret conspiracy in changing or upholding some archane design to put out only a certain type of writing that forwards their goals at controlling the political and socio-economic future of the civilized world.
"The idea that corporations like Viacom, Bertelsmann, or the nascent AOL/Time-Warner, have suddenly relinquished their vast cultural power and gone populist is a joke, of course. Companies that size, with their zillion-dollar firms run by zillion-dollar CEO's and global boards of directors, aren't in the business of letting Martha and Harry in Sioux City dictate taste. They're in the business of synergistic mass-marketing, which sometimes involves having to appear forward-looking, techno-savvy and interactive. "
No JK, they're not in the business of synergistic mass-marketing. They're in the business of publishing books that sell. I won't try to make the argument that they're in the business of fullfilling aspiring authors dreams, but they're also not in the business of putting themselves out of business.
Maybe one of the directors read the Cluetrain Manifesto and thought you know, maybe our business, just like encyclopedia britannica's, is in the process of being squeezed out. maybe we need to do something about it. maybe we can adapt to this newfangled thing called the internet. maybe we can lower our costs in some way and get more creative and entertaining authors by opening our distribution streams, both in terms of in-coming material and out-going documents. maybe... just maybe...
"Noting that the 11 universities are among the best in the world, he added: "They ought to seriously address this issue of intellectual property. They certainly aren't allowing students to copy books in the university library."
Yes, they do. I went to a small liberal art school that when a book was rare or very expensive, the professor would put a few copies of the book on reserve in the library. What this meant was that the student could check the book out for only 2 hrs at a time and it couldn't leave the library. What many students were encouraged to do was to make photocopies of the pages that they needed to read so that they could take the copies outside of the library, highlight and make notations, etc. (also considered fair use). They weren't reselling these photocopies, but were using the copies because of the restrictive properties of the original (out of print, extremely expensive, etc.)
Doesn't this refute Mr. King's argument?
Isn't paying $18 for a cd a restrictive property of the music industry?
And please don't say that the mp3 version of a song is just as good as the original, we all know that's not true.
Slashdot Mirror
"Internet Explorer is an integrated part of the Windows operating system."
well, that all depends. Microsoft swore up and down at first that it wasn't and that you could take it out without screwing up the computer. And comparing Internet Explorer to the Mac Finder is a horrible analogy.
Explorer (not necessarily Internet Explorer) is an integrated part of the OS. But you can run windows without the browser. You cannot run the mac without the finder.
now is this no email because they don't want people spending that much time writing emails? or they don't want people downloading and/or sending email anonymously from a machine (ie downloading an email client or using Outlook Express)?
and what if you use hotmail or even access your Exchange email through the browser window? is that permitted?
Can you write email through the browser or is that against the rules?
Agreed, WML got hyped way out of proportion, but at the same time, what people don't understand is that cHTML and i-Mode has a unique position in that it was created in a monopolized vaccuum where most of the users don't have landline connections and there is only one telco and that's owned by the government. WAP was able to bridge lots of hurdles, from different governments to different standards.
XHTML 1.0 will make it much easier to create wireless services, plus will have the ability to support all of the images, sounds, movies, etc. that we've been hyped to expect.
for more info on the WAP 2.0 and XHTML 1.0 announcement, go here...
http://www.infowo rld.com/articles/hn/xml/00/09/14/000914hnwap.xml
"The next major version of WAP, a protocol for providing Internet-based data services on mobile phones, will complete a migration to XHTML (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language) and TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) as the foundation of the technology, which will make it easier for developers to write WAP applications, said Michael Short, director of international affairs and strategy at BTCellnet, in Slough, England, and a member of the WAP Forum board of directors."
"The group, which has more than 580 member companies and hosted about 700 delegates here, is also making progress toward enabling additional services on WAP devices, according to Scott Goldman, chief executive officer of the WAP Forum. In addition to animation, streaming media, and music downloads, WAP will display color graphics, provide location-specific content, and allow users to synchronize information with personal information manager software on a desktop PC in a remote location."
what about asking your friend to set up a PO Box in the nearest large city that's on the acceptable list, have him tell them to forward any mail that comes in from that account to his home address.
after this, UPS the package to the PO Box in the major city and pay for the shipping to get there.
would that work?
is it a freeze-dried pea?
if so, it's probably from a freeze-dried instant soup container. i recently found some small carrot bits and got confused also
I guess I learn something new every day.
I never knew the significance behind the name.
thank you!
this will get moderated...
but what are you doing near your computer late at night? does it involve movies perhaps? maybe some natalie portman jpgs?
reminds me of the movie gattica when they're trying to solve the murder mystery and since they have genetic information on all of the employees and all of the people in the world (I guess) they're able to figure out who should be there and who shouldn't be there due to stuff like hair, dead skin, finger nails clippings, etc. in the keyboard.
makes you think how much you shed while being huddled above your keyboard staring too intently on the monitor on your desk...
small warning for posting fake PR
I'm sorry, I forgot to turn on html formatting. sorry in advance.
Just something that stuck out. .com companies in my sector, their top priorities are 1. to maximize utilization of their employees, but 2. recognize that their employees are their greatest asset and that they must find, inspire, and retain employees.<P>
8 510,00.html">Newman's Own Philanthropy Plan</a><BR>
3 39,00.html">Dems Donate Leftover Wires</a>, and even<BR>
, 38043,00.html">MOnsanto to Offer Free Rice Tech</a><P>
<P>
<i>
"U.S. crporations should have more than one purpose. They also owe something to their workers and the communities in which they operate, and they should sometimes sacrifice some profit for the sake of making things better for their workers and communities."
<P>
This noble sentiment fails to take into account the proprietary and predatory nature of the contemporary global corporation. These companies have only one purpose. They are run by coalitions of analysts, stockholders, investors and executives whose overriding mission is to mass-market products, dominate markets and -- in the end -- maximize profits. There isn't a single CEO of a major corporation who wouldn't get fired in a flash if he or she decided to forego profits in favor of workers or community.
</i>
<P>
I think they do. Just looking at the
example: "Shortage and Potential Loss of Professionals<BR>
Our business is labor intensive, and our success depends, in large part, on
identifying, hiring, training and retaining professionals. These professionals
must have skills in consulting, strategy, technology, creative design and
marketing. If a significant number of our current employees or any of our key
project managers leave, we may be unable to complete or retain existing
projects or bid for new projects of similar scope and revenue. Even if we
retain our current employees, our senior management must continually recruit
talented professionals in order for our business to grow. There is currently a
shortage of qualified personnel in the IT services market, and this shortage is
likely to continue. We compete intensely for qualified personnel with other
companies. If we cannot attract, motivate and retain qualified professionals,
our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely
affected."<P>
.com companies need to inspire their employees, and lately there has been lots of effort to get these new and booming companies and their now paper-rich CEO's to start donating money to charities.
<P>
articles such as <a href="http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,3
<a href="http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,38
<a href="http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282
technology companies are becoming more and more aware of their responsibility in both treating their employees well in addition to their responsibility to the global state of affairs. They realize that good PR, whether it has to do with their financial returns or their charitable gifts, are likely to increase their public image and thusly their financial returns.<P>
I think the trend is already starting and gathering steam...
I think this was a neat test by Amazon. They're becoming a huge storefront, but in the transaction side, they're losing touch with their users. How much will users pay for a DVD? Will making a DVD $2 cheaper lead to more sales? Instead of making 30% off the top and getting 1000 sales, will making 20% of the top and giving the consumer a 10% discount lead to 2000 sales?
Just like Amazon sent out a notice for users to test out their new navigation before it went live to get feedback, I think this is a great way for Amazon to get feedback. In addition to conducting the test, afterwards they gave EVERYONE the discount?
I see nothing wrong with this, in fact I see it as an ethical way to do product pricing testing and usability testing.
since when is /. the vaporware police?
/. about the situation, why not have /. ask? this is hardly the way to get a legal product to market so that you can either purchase it or bootleg it or rant about how it's not open source.
maybe they ran into unforseen problems such as:
licensing for the decryption
hardware/driver problems
financial problems causing engineers to quit
etc.
instead of ranting on
why assume that it's vaporware and merely a publicity stunt? maybe they're just having problems and their PR person was instructed to say it will be out shortly.
actually, what about something so simple as cd-rom's that are scratch-proof?
sorry, not Stranger in a Strange Land, but "To Sail Beyond the Sunset"
Stranger was the last one I read... kinda had it on the brain
and btw, socialogical is sociological, from socio- logia (latin)
oh, and Heinlin wrote non-perverted sci-fi? what about the sexual explots of Lazarus Long, who had sex with his mother as well as all of his sisters?
If I remember correctly, Stranger in a Strange Land was about 40% sex, 90% of which was out of marriage, 50% of which was between blood relatives.
excuse me, but how is a link to more information any different than the "links" I put into my thesis when I referenced other information or cited information from another book? just because clicking on the link actually takes you to the information in question, it doesn't differ in concept that any normal in-line citation.
"textbooks linked to spreadsheets (for lab section) and Mathematica (for lecture section)"
yea, what's the difference between linking or having an appendix with all of this information at the end of the book?
"now consider cross linking those disciplines..."
I think you need to stop drinking koolaid.
so if I create a music library and allow duplication that is not as good quality as the original and only digital, is that permissable?
(this is just a question, not a statement)
again, I'm questioning the restrictive properties of the original as the reasons for not-perfect-quality copies
please explain to me how this is any more successful than the practice of simply writing a story?
and just because it's different doesn't make it any better. it simply makes it different.
And an e-book doesn't have to be "open-published", and e-book is just another book that is distributed electronically.
oh, and no, open publishing is not any more creative. again, it's just different. Just because 2000 people created it doesn't mean that it's any more creative than if one person created it. It's simply that 2000 people created it. More hands in the kitchen doesn't always end up in a better meal, just more messy hands doing stuff that they're not always the best equiped to do.
And younger consumers are buying Harry Potter books in droves. Hmmm, when you stop to think about it, who's name do you recognize first? Harry Potter (a fictional character) or Eggers (a real live author)?
And why does informal, anti-hype, and experimental have to represent the web and interactive sensibility? Anti-hype... hmmm, is there a reason why racist and anti-semetic sites about on the internet? Informal... is there a reason why one of the most documented reactions on the internet is the flame? Experimental... is there a reason why the biggest group of users on the internet use AOL as their ISP and Microsoft as their OS?
I think you've lost touch with the populace.
gotta love recursive statements.
he fullfilled his personal responsibility in the matter.
1. he commented on the patent and attempted to talk sense
2. he should sign the document because they don't even need him to sign it to move forward with it.
he fulfilled his moral obligations in trying to pursuade the employer to look twice at the document, but by not signing it, he will creating a bigger problem for himself within the organization.
thusly, sign it.
if you think it's broad and that they won't change their minds and reword the document, that's not your fault. sign the document and let them pay the lawyers to try to uphold something that will probably be refuted.
sign it and don't think twice about it.
just because they put in a patent application and it gets granted doesn't mean that it won't get refuted by competitors and that there won't be a big legal battle. that's the price that companies that are engaging in these battles have to pay.
sign it (and maybe start looking for smarter companies)
House of Leaves...
who wrote it, where can I get it, etc.?
I just searched for it on Amazon, but I'm not sure if that's what's being referenced.
Forgive me for asking, but within a multi-national , billion dollar conglomerate, who answers the phones? who reads the documents that get presented? who proofs and edits the documents? who actually reads the documents and determines whether there will be interest and will be able to recoup the costs in printing?
hint: chances are, you're one of them.
human beings are the ones filling these functions, not faceless machinated artificial intelligences.
people like my ex-girlfriend. people like a good friend of mine. (both of whom work as editors for big publishing houses)
yes, they have a say in deciding whether a publication goes to print. no, they're not all that in favor of e-books, but so what? it's not like they have this huge secret conspiracy in changing or upholding some archane design to put out only a certain type of writing that forwards their goals at controlling the political and socio-economic future of the civilized world.
"The idea that corporations like Viacom, Bertelsmann, or the nascent AOL/Time-Warner, have suddenly relinquished their vast cultural power and gone populist is a joke, of course. Companies that size, with their zillion-dollar firms run by zillion-dollar CEO's and global boards of directors, aren't in the business of letting Martha and Harry in Sioux City dictate taste. They're in the business of synergistic mass-marketing, which sometimes involves having to appear forward-looking, techno-savvy and interactive. "
No JK, they're not in the business of synergistic mass-marketing. They're in the business of publishing books that sell. I won't try to make the argument that they're in the business of fullfilling aspiring authors dreams, but they're also not in the business of putting themselves out of business.
Maybe one of the directors read the Cluetrain Manifesto and thought you know, maybe our business, just like encyclopedia britannica's, is in the process of being squeezed out. maybe we need to do something about it. maybe we can adapt to this newfangled thing called the internet. maybe we can lower our costs in some way and get more creative and entertaining authors by opening our distribution streams, both in terms of in-coming material and out-going documents. maybe... just maybe...
remember, that director is human just like you.
"Noting that the 11 universities are among the best in the world, he added: "They ought to seriously address this issue of intellectual property. They certainly aren't allowing students to copy books in the university library."
Yes, they do. I went to a small liberal art school that when a book was rare or very expensive, the professor would put a few copies of the book on reserve in the library. What this meant was that the student could check the book out for only 2 hrs at a time and it couldn't leave the library. What many students were encouraged to do was to make photocopies of the pages that they needed to read so that they could take the copies outside of the library, highlight and make notations, etc. (also considered fair use). They weren't reselling these photocopies, but were using the copies because of the restrictive properties of the original (out of print, extremely expensive, etc.)
Doesn't this refute Mr. King's argument?
Isn't paying $18 for a cd a restrictive property of the music industry?
And please don't say that the mp3 version of a song is just as good as the original, we all know that's not true.