IBM killed OS/2 by making it VERY easy to run Windows apps under it. As a direct result of that, noone bothered developing applications for the OS/2 platform.
Fucking companies never learn from their mistakes. This is going to result in the same "success" for Apple. People will be excited to be able to dual boot OS/X and Windows. Except all of their applications will be in Windows. So everytime they need to "use" the computer they will boot in Windows. Everytime the want to "play" with it they may boot into OS X. This will result in people spending 90% of their time in Windows and 10% (if even that) in OS X. This will result in Apple just being an "expensive" PC maker that will eventually kill them or knock them back into their niche.
I know alot of people disagree with me - but before you just immediately jump down my throat I BEG you to look at the history of OS/2. If that is too old for your taste, look at Linux now. Please do not get me wrong - I AM a fan of Linux. However, why do you suppose it has failed to catch on so far? Its a better platform, drivers are finally available (in most cases, not all), and where is the software? No major companies are developing because people just "boot" into Windows to get work done and switch to Linux to play. I know, YOU (or I) do not. But your joe-sixpack typical user does.
I've said it before (and been modded down) and will say it again: Worst. Idea. Ever.
So, before you mod me down or immediately jump down my throat and you tell me how this now allows you to run Photoshop, I offer you this: I provided you two instances (OS/2 and Linux) where this approach (with allowing Windows to remain an "easy" out) has failed. Please explain to me why I am wrong - or better yet. Show me another example where this worked.
During that time - church was often the center for learning, knowledge, and religion. Contrast that to today when churchs advoate a head-in -the-sand type mentality towards science.
After I re-read your post and then my response - I wanted to appologize. I've since read your response to my post and I hope you have the chance to read this. Not as an excuse, but an explanation - I've had a few days with a person at work who (for whatever reason) has been very confrontational and its kinda put me on the defensive all around.
Please take this as my appology. I should not have jumped down your throat. I read your post and mistakingly lumped you in with a segment of the religious right that usually has undertones that your post did not.
For whatever its worth - I am sorry and I respect your opinion.
We have the same essential urges. But what makes us human is the capacity not to bash in someone's skull when they really piss us off,
So I suppose that is why our country reacted so calmly and rationally when we were attacked on 9/11? Or why war does not happen? Or why there is no fighting in the middle east or Africa? Oh - and no violent crime?
not to eat to the point of becoming morbidly obese
Good thing THAT is not a problem in this country...
and (in this case) not to go stare at pics/vids of porn whenever we feel sexual drives. Ah yes, another good point. Its a good thing us human-not-animal creatures always behave better than those "animals", eh?
My point, and I think the point that many others here are trying to make, is that we DO have these base urges and to deal with them we must first acknowledge them as: 1) Naturally occuring, and 2) Inevitable. I am not saying that sitting around watching pr0n all day is a good thing - but it obviously fulfills a purpose for some people. In one respect, I agree with you. As human's we have an ability that other creatures do not - reason and rational thinking. However, we must also understand that these other urges we have are the result of millions of years of evolution as survival instinct. We have to apply reason and ethics to problems to come to some sort of a workable solution. Far sweeping "bans" on what some people consider a problem can often be worse than the initial situation. Just look at how great prohibition worked out...
I think that Microsoft (as are other American companies) is being treated alittle harshly in the EU on account of our current administration's foreign policy. That being said, I am not saying that NOTHING needs to be done to deal with the monopoly that Microsoft created for itself and now abuses regularly.
My point is the following: If our country (the US) dealt properly with this problem during OUR anti-trust case with them, we they would not be in the situation they are in now. A good description of what happened can be found here. A brief excerpt:
The DOJ, now under the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush, announced on September 6, 2001 that it was no longer seeking to break up Microsoft and would instead seek a lesser antitrust penalty.
Our country was about to deal with the problem appropriately. The current administration, in its typical short-sighted knee-jerk response opted to step in and give them a slap on the wrist. Fastforward 5 years and Microsoft is facing the same problem again - this time they are at the mercy of other countries where anti-American sentiment (probably rightly so) is running high. Plain and simply - they are going to take a beating and it all could have been avoided if Dubbya let things run their natural course here. If he had, MS would likely be two profitable companies, neither of which would be in trouble overseas.
Good, if other countries can do it cheaper, better for all involved. Besides, the US should be moving to a service-providing country - they have the highest per-capita incomes anyway.
Interesting statement. I was just curious, which are the countries now that have a "higher per-capita income" and are service based? We (here in the US) have the highest per capita income because we are effectively robbing Peter to pay Paul (as it were). Having a service based econmy only works well for those few sitting at the top that own the corporations that are providing the "services". For the rest of the "service industry" workers - life sucks and will continue to suck worse as time goes on. Wal-mart does nothing but facilitate an all out race to the bottom.
No doubt, you are preparing to lecture me on how "they" need to get out there and get an education. I sure hope they pick the right major. If they make the horrible mistake of choosing computer science, or electrical engineering, or chemical engineering, or bio-tech, or ANYTHING else that results in the creation of some end product, they can kiss their future good-bye and head back to Wal-mart for work. I've always wondered why the HR or accounting departments rarely seem to get outsourced. I mean really, why is that? They are both providing a service that is no more than glorified data entry and processing and for all intents and purposes could be moved off shore just as easily as tech support or IT. Why, yes, that sounds like a great idea!!! THAT way, companies are REALLY focus on their core competencies! Making executive decesions and scalping money from the public for providing middle-man services!!! Does anyone other than me see this is a bad idea?
It is not that slashdot is SOOO socialist. Its that the "right wing" of your party has gone SOO far to the right that someone who was once considered a centrist (myself) looks socialist to you.
The answer lies somewhere in the middle. As a country, we'd be royally fucking ourselves if we go to a purely service based economy. We NEED to maintain something of a mix to ensure security against failure of one particular segment.
From another angle, have you ever asked yourself the question: How do you suppose a "service based" econmy turns around to produce the materials neccessary to defend ourselves during time of war? Do you plan to throw Wal-mart greeters at the enemy?
If companies are incorporating patented MS technology into their Linux distros, then why should he rule out going after them? Anybody has to assume they will if they think they have a case; it's only FUD if they do it without a case.
FUD=Fear Uncertainty Doubt
They are trying to slow the adoption of Linux in the corporate world by introducing fear of lawsuits and thus risk. Risk, in the corporation (as anywhere else) is undesirable and therefore avoided. By definition, this is FUD. They are abusing their dominate market position (again) to slow adoption of other systems (Linux) in order to compensate for problems the company is currently dealing with.
In my opinion, they should have been broken up years ago.
Have you ever used OS X? Or KDE? Or GNOME for that matter? Windows is significantly behind all of them in terms of usability features. Have you recently tried any of the open source office software? You mentioned Star Office - ever hear of open office?
I use NeoOffice (a Mac port of open office) on OS X and I've never had to look back.
I call bullshit. The day Apple abandons OS X is the day hell freezes over. They have spent gobs of money on developing it, XCode, and the entire development platform for it. Not to mention the money spent pushing the development platform, hold conferences, etc. Why in God's name would they just up and drop it because Microsoft (their archenemy AND antithises) is comming out with (WAY behind schedule mind you)a new operating system.
From the parent post:
No more incompabilities. Things are going to "just work".
I actually wonder if this person ever actually used OS X, because if they did they would realize that things that just work is already the experience offered by Apple and sought after by Mac users. I recently converted my sister from a dell to an iBook. Under her Dell, she (not computer literate mind you) never figured out how to get pictures off of her digital camera. She ended up in driver hell and nothing worked. When she got the iBook, she plugged in the camera, opened iPhoto, and immediately and easily downloaded all of her pictures. No extra drivers, no mess, nothing. Same deal with the printer.
An operating system/hardware architecture combo experience is more than just the sum of its parts.
Everyone made some really good points - so I will not rehash any of them. But to add one other concern:
Out of curiosity and after reading the claims about MS doc format compatibility, I thought I would try opening one of my 300+ page work documents. I got a java.lang.NullPointer exception just a few seconds into the operation. I left the browser open and roughly 4 minutes later it crashed Firefox and took all of my tabs with it.
People keep trying to push applications to the web calling them "ultra thin clients". I'm really not sure that the web is the place for anything but the most trivial applications. Er, to clairify, I am not saying that applications should not be able to use TCP/IP to communicate over large distances. I'm just saying that most complex software lends itself to being run locally. Another example - pigs will probably fly out of my ass before I am receptive to the idea of using personal finance software from a web service provider...
The sound is really the strangest thing. The problem is not the HDD - it is the fans that make the noise and its erie how much like dualing lightsabers it sounds;-)
I have an older Dell XPS laptop for work. It took me forever to get "used" to what sounds like a constant lightsaber battle going on inside it.
I know for fact that it distracts me and people around me in a professional setting. I'm sure that it would also distract people in the class room.
So now we have the rule that all laptops, except mine will be allowed in the classroom. Or is that all laptops except the noisy ones? What is noisy? Does the screen brightness bother anyone? We'll need a rule to handle that too.
I'm of the opinion that its just easier to say no laptops.
Shut up. This is a good thing. Many people need to use Windows for work, and this lets do that. Whilst giving them the good stuff at home. Many people like to play computer games that aren't photshop.
I see your point and can appreciate where you are comming from. However, in this case, semantics are important. People do not need to use Windows at work, they are required to. The longer you allow someone to use a crutch, the longer they will use it - even if it is not really necessary anymore.
My problem with this is the same problem that other people (and myself) have with the Wine project on Linux (I have nothing but good stuff to say about Wine in terms of its technical merit - my problem with it is social).
Just think though, they could use the same opening song - it'll be great!:)
"Sumbudy saaaaaaaaaaaaavee meee!"
Seriously though, pretty much everyone on Slashdot made good points about this - I do not really have anything to add. Lucas has completely lost me and in the process of doing so corrupted my fond childhood memories of those movies. I think I'll sit this one out.
As with most MS development tools, the application that he put together fits into a particular framework. If you actually need to develop something that MS did not think of in advance - good luck.
Realizing that this is off topic and I'll probably get modded down for countless reasons, I'll take the bait.
Yes, I mean Kerry, who voted for the war and then voted against it. I'll avoid the obvious (and easier) statement that would talk about how our nation (and thus Kerry) was lied to and misled. Instead, I'll focus on a peron's analysis of past choices, acknowledgement of making a mistake, correcting it, and moving on. Afterall, hindsight is 20/20.
The problem with Dubbya is that he is stupid. Worse yet, he's stupid and bullheaded. He has NEVER acknowledged or attemted to correct ANY mistakes that his administration has made. He blindly marches on day after day down the same path invoking his good christian rightousness as justification for his choices. "Stay the course.", says Dubbya. Contrast that with Kerry who will reevalute a situation and make a different choice with more information.
So, if by flip flopper you mean - "A person with critical thinking abilities" - I'll take the flip flopper any day.
While I definately see your point - "they" is not really a fair term to use. There are "those" of us here in the US who thinks that the current administration sucks and voted for "the other guy" (read Gore/Kerry) both times.
Absent, of course, are any details as to how they will accomplish it when they are the party out of power in Congress.
Interesting question, I'm glad SOMEBODY asked it. I suspect that "they'll" pay for it using some of the 6.9 BILLION dollars per month that we are currently spending between Iraq and Afganistan. Do the math. We are currently flushing ALOT of money down the crapper each month for a war that we should not have started to begin with.
The real competitors for the Mac Mini are the Xbox 360 & PS3, not Media Centre.
It depends on the market. The 14 year old whose sole purpose in life is to blow people up in Halo will want nothing to do with Mac Mini. 14 years ago I was that kid (Doom though, not Halo). Eventually, that kid grows up, puts the console away, and eventually wants something different.
Regardless, the XBox360 does not support HDDVD or Blue Ray, the PS3 is not out yet, and I do not think that either gaming console functions as a PVR out of the box. To compare the Mac Mini to a gaming console is not an apples to apples comparioson.
Wake me when the radical Islamic world demonstrates... -tolerance of others -respect for others -respect for human life..."Western civilization" has only been out of the grips of madness and poor civilization for a very short time itself..."
We have? Wake ME up when the radical Christian world (which is very much a part of western civ, especially here in the US) demonstrates... -tolerance for others (listen to how they view liberals on the their talk shows) -respect for others (see above comment) -respect for human life (They are VERY anti-abortion but PRO war and PRO death penalty. That makes sense how???)
All that being said, all Christians (just as all Muslims) are not radical. You can not label an entire society (both mid-eastern and western) as a radical group.
However, in both cases, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
I suspect that at some point they plan on "anchoring" it in space using some sort of high altitude space station. The problem to solve then would be keeping the station in geosyncronous orbit over the right point on earth (which is largely possible with existing technology).
Slashdot Mirror
IBM killed OS/2 by making it VERY easy to run Windows apps under it. As a direct result of that, noone bothered developing applications for the OS/2 platform.
Fucking companies never learn from their mistakes. This is going to result in the same "success" for Apple. People will be excited to be able to dual boot OS/X and Windows. Except all of their applications will be in Windows. So everytime they need to "use" the computer they will boot in Windows. Everytime the want to "play" with it they may boot into OS X. This will result in people spending 90% of their time in Windows and 10% (if even that) in OS X. This will result in Apple just being an "expensive" PC maker that will eventually kill them or knock them back into their niche.
I know alot of people disagree with me - but before you just immediately jump down my throat I BEG you to look at the history of OS/2. If that is too old for your taste, look at Linux now. Please do not get me wrong - I AM a fan of Linux. However, why do you suppose it has failed to catch on so far? Its a better platform, drivers are finally available (in most cases, not all), and where is the software? No major companies are developing because people just "boot" into Windows to get work done and switch to Linux to play. I know, YOU (or I) do not. But your joe-sixpack typical user does.
I've said it before (and been modded down) and will say it again: Worst. Idea. Ever.
So, before you mod me down or immediately jump down my throat and you tell me how this now allows you to run Photoshop, I offer you this: I provided you two instances (OS/2 and Linux) where this approach (with allowing Windows to remain an "easy" out) has failed. Please explain to me why I am wrong - or better yet. Show me another example where this worked.
1) Insert CD ... Linux"
2) "Welcome to
3) ???
4) Solved!
During that time - church was often the center for learning, knowledge, and religion. Contrast that to today when churchs advoate a head-in -the-sand type mentality towards science.
After I re-read your post and then my response - I wanted to appologize. I've since read your response to my post and I hope you have the chance to read this. Not as an excuse, but an explanation - I've had a few days with a person at work who (for whatever reason) has been very confrontational and its kinda put me on the defensive all around.
Please take this as my appology. I should not have jumped down your throat. I read your post and mistakingly lumped you in with a segment of the religious right that usually has undertones that your post did not.
For whatever its worth - I am sorry and I respect your opinion.
To break this up into pieces:
We have the same essential urges. But what makes us human is the capacity not to bash in someone's skull when they really piss us off,
So I suppose that is why our country reacted so calmly and rationally when we were attacked on 9/11? Or why war does not happen? Or why there is no fighting in the middle east or Africa? Oh - and no violent crime?
not to eat to the point of becoming morbidly obese
Good thing THAT is not a problem in this country...
and (in this case) not to go stare at pics/vids of porn whenever we feel sexual drives.
Ah yes, another good point. Its a good thing us human-not-animal creatures always behave better than those "animals", eh?
My point, and I think the point that many others here are trying to make, is that we DO have these base urges and to deal with them we must first acknowledge them as: 1) Naturally occuring, and 2) Inevitable. I am not saying that sitting around watching pr0n all day is a good thing - but it obviously fulfills a purpose for some people. In one respect, I agree with you. As human's we have an ability that other creatures do not - reason and rational thinking. However, we must also understand that these other urges we have are the result of millions of years of evolution as survival instinct. We have to apply reason and ethics to problems to come to some sort of a workable solution. Far sweeping "bans" on what some people consider a problem can often be worse than the initial situation. Just look at how great prohibition worked out...
I think that Microsoft (as are other American companies) is being treated alittle harshly in the EU on account of our current administration's foreign policy. That being said, I am not saying that NOTHING needs to be done to deal with the monopoly that Microsoft created for itself and now abuses regularly.
My point is the following: If our country (the US) dealt properly with this problem during OUR anti-trust case with them, we they would not be in the situation they are in now. A good description of what happened can be found here. A brief excerpt:
The DOJ, now under the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush, announced on September 6, 2001 that it was no longer seeking to break up Microsoft and would instead seek a lesser antitrust penalty.
Our country was about to deal with the problem appropriately. The current administration, in its typical short-sighted knee-jerk response opted to step in and give them a slap on the wrist. Fastforward 5 years and Microsoft is facing the same problem again - this time they are at the mercy of other countries where anti-American sentiment (probably rightly so) is running high. Plain and simply - they are going to take a beating and it all could have been avoided if Dubbya let things run their natural course here. If he had, MS would likely be two profitable companies, neither of which would be in trouble overseas.
Good, if other countries can do it cheaper, better for all involved. Besides, the US should be moving to a service-providing country - they have the highest per-capita incomes anyway.
Interesting statement. I was just curious, which are the countries now that have a "higher per-capita income" and are service based? We (here in the US) have the highest per capita income because we are effectively robbing Peter to pay Paul (as it were). Having a service based econmy only works well for those few sitting at the top that own the corporations that are providing the "services". For the rest of the "service industry" workers - life sucks and will continue to suck worse as time goes on. Wal-mart does nothing but facilitate an all out race to the bottom.
No doubt, you are preparing to lecture me on how "they" need to get out there and get an education. I sure hope they pick the right major. If they make the horrible mistake of choosing computer science, or electrical engineering, or chemical engineering, or bio-tech, or ANYTHING else that results in the creation of some end product, they can kiss their future good-bye and head back to Wal-mart for work. I've always wondered why the HR or accounting departments rarely seem to get outsourced. I mean really, why is that? They are both providing a service that is no more than glorified data entry and processing and for all intents and purposes could be moved off shore just as easily as tech support or IT. Why, yes, that sounds like a great idea!!! THAT way, companies are REALLY focus on their core competencies! Making executive decesions and scalping money from the public for providing middle-man services!!! Does anyone other than me see this is a bad idea?
It is not that slashdot is SOOO socialist. Its that the "right wing" of your party has gone SOO far to the right that someone who was once considered a centrist (myself) looks socialist to you.
The answer lies somewhere in the middle. As a country, we'd be royally fucking ourselves if we go to a purely service based economy. We NEED to maintain something of a mix to ensure security against failure of one particular segment.
From another angle, have you ever asked yourself the question: How do you suppose a "service based" econmy turns around to produce the materials neccessary to defend ourselves during time of war? Do you plan to throw Wal-mart greeters at the enemy?
If companies are incorporating patented MS technology into their Linux distros, then why should he rule out going after them? Anybody has to assume they will if they think they have a case; it's only FUD if they do it without a case.
FUD=Fear Uncertainty Doubt
They are trying to slow the adoption of Linux in the corporate world by introducing fear of lawsuits and thus risk. Risk, in the corporation (as anywhere else) is undesirable and therefore avoided. By definition, this is FUD. They are abusing their dominate market position (again) to slow adoption of other systems (Linux) in order to compensate for problems the company is currently dealing with.
In my opinion, they should have been broken up years ago.
Have you ever used OS X? Or KDE? Or GNOME for that matter? Windows is significantly behind all of them in terms of usability features. Have you recently tried any of the open source office software? You mentioned Star Office - ever hear of open office?
I use NeoOffice (a Mac port of open office) on OS X and I've never had to look back.
I call bullshit. The day Apple abandons OS X is the day hell freezes over. They have spent gobs of money on developing it, XCode, and the entire development platform for it. Not to mention the money spent pushing the development platform, hold conferences, etc. Why in God's name would they just up and drop it because Microsoft (their archenemy AND antithises) is comming out with (WAY behind schedule mind you)a new operating system.
From the parent post:
No more incompabilities. Things are going to "just work".
I actually wonder if this person ever actually used OS X, because if they did they would realize that things that just work is already the experience offered by Apple and sought after by Mac users. I recently converted my sister from a dell to an iBook. Under her Dell, she (not computer literate mind you) never figured out how to get pictures off of her digital camera. She ended up in driver hell and nothing worked. When she got the iBook, she plugged in the camera, opened iPhoto, and immediately and easily downloaded all of her pictures. No extra drivers, no mess, nothing. Same deal with the printer.
An operating system/hardware architecture combo experience is more than just the sum of its parts.
Everyone made some really good points - so I will not rehash any of them. But to add one other concern:
Out of curiosity and after reading the claims about MS doc format compatibility, I thought I would try opening one of my 300+ page work documents. I got a java.lang.NullPointer exception just a few seconds into the operation. I left the browser open and roughly 4 minutes later it crashed Firefox and took all of my tabs with it.
People keep trying to push applications to the web calling them "ultra thin clients". I'm really not sure that the web is the place for anything but the most trivial applications. Er, to clairify, I am not saying that applications should not be able to use TCP/IP to communicate over large distances. I'm just saying that most complex software lends itself to being run locally. Another example - pigs will probably fly out of my ass before I am receptive to the idea of using personal finance software from a web service provider...
Thank you for the complements.
;-)
The sound is really the strangest thing. The problem is not the HDD - it is the fans that make the noise and its erie how much like dualing lightsabers it sounds
I have an older Dell XPS laptop for work. It took me forever to get "used" to what sounds like a constant lightsaber battle going on inside it.
I know for fact that it distracts me and people around me in a professional setting. I'm sure that it would also distract people in the class room.
So now we have the rule that all laptops, except mine will be allowed in the classroom. Or is that all laptops except the noisy ones? What is noisy? Does the screen brightness bother anyone? We'll need a rule to handle that too.
I'm of the opinion that its just easier to say no laptops.
Shut up. This is a good thing. Many people need to use Windows for work, and this lets do that. Whilst giving them the good stuff at home. Many people like to play computer games that aren't photshop.
I see your point and can appreciate where you are comming from. However, in this case, semantics are important. People do not need to use Windows at work, they are required to. The longer you allow someone to use a crutch, the longer they will use it - even if it is not really necessary anymore.
My problem with this is the same problem that other people (and myself) have with the Wine project on Linux (I have nothing but good stuff to say about Wine in terms of its technical merit - my problem with it is social).
(which, by the looks of the 2nd link is only days away). Mac users now have a complete and working Windows solution."
Just what OS X users always wanted...
Ah yes, Smallville.
:)
Just think though, they could use the same opening song - it'll be great!
"Sumbudy saaaaaaaaaaaaavee meee!"
Seriously though, pretty much everyone on Slashdot made good points about this - I do not really have anything to add. Lucas has completely lost me and in the process of doing so corrupted my fond childhood memories of those movies. I think I'll sit this one out.
As with most MS development tools, the application that he put together fits into a particular framework. If you actually need to develop something that MS did not think of in advance - good luck.
Realizing that this is off topic and I'll probably get modded down for countless reasons, I'll take the bait.
Yes, I mean Kerry, who voted for the war and then voted against it. I'll avoid the obvious (and easier) statement that would talk about how our nation (and thus Kerry) was lied to and misled. Instead, I'll focus on a peron's analysis of past choices, acknowledgement of making a mistake, correcting it, and moving on. Afterall, hindsight is 20/20.
The problem with Dubbya is that he is stupid. Worse yet, he's stupid and bullheaded. He has NEVER acknowledged or attemted to correct ANY mistakes that his administration has made. He blindly marches on day after day down the same path invoking his good christian rightousness as justification for his choices. "Stay the course.", says Dubbya. Contrast that with Kerry who will reevalute a situation and make a different choice with more information.
So, if by flip flopper you mean - "A person with critical thinking abilities" - I'll take the flip flopper any day.
While I definately see your point - "they" is not really a fair term to use. There are "those" of us here in the US who thinks that the current administration sucks and voted for "the other guy" (read Gore/Kerry) both times.
Now that the public has done the work Bill's engineers should have done for Vista, he'll be able to sleep much better at night. /sarcasm
From the parent:
Absent, of course, are any details as to how they will accomplish it when they are the party out of power in Congress.
Interesting question, I'm glad SOMEBODY asked it. I suspect that "they'll" pay for it using some of the 6.9 BILLION dollars per month that we are currently spending between Iraq and Afganistan. Do the math. We are currently flushing ALOT of money down the crapper each month for a war that we should not have started to begin with.
Reference
The real competitors for the Mac Mini are the Xbox 360 & PS3, not Media Centre.
It depends on the market. The 14 year old whose sole purpose in life is to blow people up in Halo will want nothing to do with Mac Mini. 14 years ago I was that kid (Doom though, not Halo). Eventually, that kid grows up, puts the console away, and eventually wants something different.
Regardless, the XBox360 does not support HDDVD or Blue Ray, the PS3 is not out yet, and I do not think that either gaming console functions as a PVR out of the box. To compare the Mac Mini to a gaming console is not an apples to apples comparioson.
Wake me when the radical Islamic world demonstrates... ..."Western civilization" has only been out of the grips of madness and poor civilization for a very short time itself..."
-tolerance of others
-respect for others
-respect for human life
We have? Wake ME up when the radical Christian world (which is very much a part of western civ, especially here in the US) demonstrates...
-tolerance for others (listen to how they view liberals on the their talk shows)
-respect for others (see above comment)
-respect for human life (They are VERY anti-abortion but PRO war and PRO death penalty. That makes sense how???)
All that being said, all Christians (just as all Muslims) are not radical. You can not label an entire society (both mid-eastern and western) as a radical group.
However, in both cases, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
I suspect that at some point they plan on "anchoring" it in space using some sort of high altitude space station. The problem to solve then would be keeping the station in geosyncronous orbit over the right point on earth (which is largely possible with existing technology).
No. It makes you "irrational".