A few years ago, all the Radio Shacks in Canada were changed into mini "Circuit Cities," branded as "The Source - By Circuit City" - They were the same size as a Radio Shack, but under the Circuit City brand. I wonder what will happen to them...
Are you CRAZY, man? This is Slashdot. No one reads the articles. Next you'll be expecting people to spell correctly and know the difference between "your" and "you're."
Leaving aside for a minute the (huge) political issues of buying a "French" plane, isn't there the very practical issue that a lot of airports aren't equipped to handle the 380's bulk? Wouldn't look good if the president's plane couldn't land in Billings or wherever.
Somehow I can't imagine that re-locating an entire factory right across Europe makes economic sense if lower wage bills are the only attraction.
If you're engaged in high-tech manufacturing, often it is entirely wages. A manufacturer like Dell has probably already wrung every nickel they can out of the manufacturing processes, from just-in-time manufacturing to pressuring suppliers to energy efficiencies and on it goes. What's left to cut so they can compete with Lenovo, HP and all the rest? Wages.
Correct, but keep in mind this paradigm does not just apply to unskilled labour. "Skilled" jobs such as programming, tech support, design etc. also naturally seek jurisdictions were labour costs are lower.
I don't really understand your reply. Imagine there's a school with 100 students in a developing nation. The government can either spend $1000 on laptops, or $1000 on a pair of shoes for each kid so the kids can walk to school, a roof for the school so classes can continue when it rains, and pencils and notebooks so students can practice their alphabet. Which do you think will have a bigger impact on education in that nation? That's what I'm talking about...
My reaction is the same as the first time I heard about this "PC." Why would these impoverished nations spend $100 per machine, when what the kids need are books, pencils and a roof on their school so classes aren't cancelled - Or shoes, so they can walk to school in the first place. If we in the west want to make a difference, instead of buying a $250 PC-toy at Wal-Mart we should give our $100 to a charity that can help with some of the above issues and stop worrying about whether they ran Windows or Linux or used the wrong flavour of WiFi.
Bullshit you don't have Fox. I'm in Winnipeg and we've got Fox. Yours probably comes from Seattle
You really need to spend a few minutes doing reading and research before you post (and do some proofreading of your bad grammar and drop the crass tone - It makes you sound less intelligent).
I'm in Vancouver, and I have Shaw's "Classic Cable" package. It doesn't have Fox, and I've never watched Fox.
defending the impoverished nation of Saudi Arabia which exemplifies our traditions of freedom and democracy.
Again, I'm forced to reply with a puzzled "huh?"
By protecting Saudi Arabia, the west was protecting its oil source and the Arab world was protecting the sacred lands of Mecca and Medina. If Saudi Arabia had fallen to Iraq, the west's economies would have crashed like a house of cards.
Irrelevant? It was probably the reason that desert storm happened.
You think Desert Storm all boiled down to a false accusation about babies in incubators?
You need to head down to your library and crack a few history books. Like the rise of Al Qaeda, Desert Storm also largely boiled down to issues with Saudi Arabia, not babies in incubators.
The decision by the U.S. and its allies to fight the Iraqi invasion had as much to do with preventing an attack on Saudi Arabia, a nation of considerable importance owing to its oil reserves, as it did with liberating Kuwait itself. The rapid success of the Iraqi army had brought it within easy striking distance of the Hama oil fields, one of Saudi Arabia's largest. Iraqi control of these fields as well as Kuwait and Iraqi reserves would have given it control of the majority of the world's reserves.
Well, thanks for the irrelevant lesson in propaganda, I guess, but I never brought up incubators or killing babies. I'll only quote sources I trust, like Amnesty International, or the United Nations - And those sources tell me the Iraqis did some Pretty Bad Stuff when they invaded Kuwait.
They invaded another sovereign nation - That should be your first evidence, if nothing else...
How does the U.S. justify its involvement in the Iraq -vs- Kuwait situation versus it's support of Israel in the Israel -vs- Palestine situation?
Because when Iraq invaded Kuwait their invading forces raped women and children. Kuwait`s Sheikh was shot and killed and his body was placed in front of a tank and run over. AFAIK, Arafat was never run over by a tank.
It's important to remember that Operation Desert Storm, while US-led, was in fact an international coalition, sanctioned by the UN that included forces and logistical support from the Arab world.
I've never heard anyone try to claim that Al Queda had anything to do with Iraq whatsoever
Al-Qaeda didn't have any operations in Iraq, but if Iraq hadn't invaded Kuwait their rise wouldn't have been triggered - It's a cause-effect thing:
1) Iraq invaded Kuwait
2) The West retaliated, using Saudi Arabia as its base of operations
3) The presence of "infidels" in a land (Saudi Arabia) that Bin Laden considered sacred upset him greatly
4) In large part due to this, Bin Laden wound up in Sudan, ramped up his attacks and began his campaign
If Iraq hadn't invaded Kuwait, there likely wouldn't have been a US military presence in Saudi Arabia (including female soldiers) and Bin Laden would not have had the 'inspiration' to ratchet things up to the degree he did in the 90s.
The Saudi monarch... [snip]...allow[ed] U.S. and allied forces to deploy on Saudi territory.
The deployment angered Bin Laden, as he believed the presence of foreign troops in the "land of the two mosques" (Mecca and Medina) profaned sacred soil. After speaking publicly against the Saudi government for harboring American troops, he was quickly forced into exile to Sudan.
Al Queda wouldn't exist if the U.S. didn't use the middle east as a sandbox to pursue whatever agenda they decide is important. Be it the above mentioned support of Israel, or the pursuit of the previous boogy man, "the communists".
Sorry to muddy things up with the facts, but while it's true "Al Queda" (sic) was founded in 1988, they largely exist because Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in the early 1990s. The counter-attack against Iraq was in large part staged from Saudi Arabia, home of the two most sacred sites in Islam (Mecca and Medina). Osama bin Laden was offended that Americans were in the "land of the two mosques" and strongly believed (believes) that they had profaned sacred soil. He started his attacks, and the rest is history.
If American troops (including women) hadn't wound up in Saudi Arabia in the early nineties, Bin Laden would likely have never risen to the levels he is today.
Assuming you wanted to power your fridge, furnace circuits & blower, a small TV and a microwave (and never all at the same time), how do you calculate how big of a generator you need?
Presumably storage costs will continue to increase, bandwidth costs will continue to increase, hardware costs will continue? Your statement is like you saying "I made $60,000 last year and don't 'need further.'"
Why would I want to interrupt somebody just to inform them of something like "My plane landed, will be there in 30 minutes"?
Because when they reply with "Sounds great, see you soon!" you've got confirmation that your message was received and it's not in some server queue somewhere.
But Amazon (today at least) does carry a bazillion titles and we can assume they do because they make money doing it.
Yes and no - The long tail argues that obscure books sell better now because of the long tail - But that's not really the case. Pre-Amazon if you wanted an obscure book you could still get it. The book shop just ordered it in and a week later you got it. Amazon's really no different.
What the long tail argues is that obscure books would sell better, but they're not, because people still don't know they exist. Ditto obscure music.
Will someone tell those ass-wipes in Hollyweird that they are losing valuable customers with this practice of putting in useless ads and trying to force people to watch them.
Someone did. If you put a DVD in today and it starts playing trailers 99 times out of 100 if you press menu or skip it will take you straight to the DVD menu. A few years ago you were forced to watch that crap, but generally not any more.
In our case, because iTunes works in Canada. Amazon.com has a great catalog, but won't sell you an MP3 if you don't live in the USA. "Global village" my @ss.
(And yes, I could probably set up a proxy and and a US billing address and then get a US credit card, but who the hell is going to go through that to download a few tracks by Toto?)
Employees vs. contractors is always an interesting factor in economic uncertainty times
We just had an across the board 5% layoff round at my employer. In the development arm, the people let go were all contractors. The 'permies' like me were kept because they cost less than the contractors and we'd be more expensive to lay off in terms of severance etc.
Slashdot Mirror
A few years ago, all the Radio Shacks in Canada were changed into mini "Circuit Cities," branded as "The Source - By Circuit City" - They were the same size as a Radio Shack, but under the Circuit City brand. I wonder what will happen to them...
Here's a picture of one:
http://flickr.com/photos/photofinderguy/2472113998/
was planning on using an iridium phone to blog the trip
Just 'blog the trip' on a netbook, or a PDA with a folding keyboard, then upload the content to your blog when you get home.
Those who read the article
Are you CRAZY, man? This is Slashdot. No one reads the articles. Next you'll be expecting people to spell correctly and know the difference between "your" and "you're."
Leaving aside for a minute the (huge) political issues of buying a "French" plane, isn't there the very practical issue that a lot of airports aren't equipped to handle the 380's bulk? Wouldn't look good if the president's plane couldn't land in Billings or wherever.
Somehow I can't imagine that re-locating an entire factory right across Europe makes economic sense if lower wage bills are the only attraction.
If you're engaged in high-tech manufacturing, often it is entirely wages. A manufacturer like Dell has probably already wrung every nickel they can out of the manufacturing processes, from just-in-time manufacturing to pressuring suppliers to energy efficiencies and on it goes. What's left to cut so they can compete with Lenovo, HP and all the rest? Wages.
Correct, but keep in mind this paradigm does not just apply to unskilled labour. "Skilled" jobs such as programming, tech support, design etc. also naturally seek jurisdictions were labour costs are lower.
you ever been to developing country?
Yes, most recently Belize and Guatemala.
I don't really understand your reply. Imagine there's a school with 100 students in a developing nation. The government can either spend $1000 on laptops, or $1000 on a pair of shoes for each kid so the kids can walk to school, a roof for the school so classes can continue when it rains, and pencils and notebooks so students can practice their alphabet. Which do you think will have a bigger impact on education in that nation? That's what I'm talking about...
My reaction is the same as the first time I heard about this "PC." Why would these impoverished nations spend $100 per machine, when what the kids need are books, pencils and a roof on their school so classes aren't cancelled - Or shoes, so they can walk to school in the first place. If we in the west want to make a difference, instead of buying a $250 PC-toy at Wal-Mart we should give our $100 to a charity that can help with some of the above issues and stop worrying about whether they ran Windows or Linux or used the wrong flavour of WiFi.
Bullshit you don't have Fox. I'm in Winnipeg and we've got Fox. Yours probably comes from Seattle
You really need to spend a few minutes doing reading and research before you post (and do some proofreading of your bad grammar and drop the crass tone - It makes you sound less intelligent).
I'm in Vancouver, and I have Shaw's "Classic Cable" package. It doesn't have Fox, and I've never watched Fox.
http://www.shaw.ca/en-ca/ProductsServices/Television/Cable/ClassicCable.htm
The U.S. protecting sacred land
Can you read? I said the west was protecting their oil, the Arab world (who were part of the coalition) were protecting Mecca and Medina.
You believe everything Fox tells you don't you?
Huh?? Look at my username. I live in VANCOUVER. No Fox here. Never even seen them. I mostly watch the CBC.
defending the impoverished nation of Saudi Arabia which exemplifies our traditions of freedom and democracy.
Again, I'm forced to reply with a puzzled "huh?"
By protecting Saudi Arabia, the west was protecting its oil source and the Arab world was protecting the sacred lands of Mecca and Medina. If Saudi Arabia had fallen to Iraq, the west's economies would have crashed like a house of cards.
Irrelevant? It was probably the reason that desert storm happened.
You think Desert Storm all boiled down to a false accusation about babies in incubators?
:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_storm
You need to head down to your library and crack a few history books. Like the rise of Al Qaeda, Desert Storm also largely boiled down to issues with Saudi Arabia, not babies in incubators.
From
The decision by the U.S. and its allies to fight the Iraqi invasion had as much to do with preventing an attack on Saudi Arabia, a nation of considerable importance owing to its oil reserves, as it did with liberating Kuwait itself. The rapid success of the Iraqi army had brought it within easy striking distance of the Hama oil fields, one of Saudi Arabia's largest. Iraqi control of these fields as well as Kuwait and Iraqi reserves would have given it control of the majority of the world's reserves.
is a good lesson in propaganda
Well, thanks for the irrelevant lesson in propaganda, I guess, but I never brought up incubators or killing babies. I'll only quote sources I trust, like Amnesty International, or the United Nations - And those sources tell me the Iraqis did some Pretty Bad Stuff when they invaded Kuwait.
They invaded another sovereign nation - That should be your first evidence, if nothing else...
Just keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep at night. And babies were removed from incubators right
What the heck are you talking about? Who said anything about babies and incubators?
Here's a good short article on the topic, with full references including the UN and Amnesty international, as well as cites of eyewitness reports:
http://www.indict.org.uk/crimedetails.php?crime=Kuwait
How does the U.S. justify its involvement in the Iraq -vs- Kuwait situation versus it's support of Israel in the Israel -vs- Palestine situation?
Because when Iraq invaded Kuwait their invading forces raped women and children. Kuwait`s Sheikh was shot and killed and his body was placed in front of a tank and run over. AFAIK, Arafat was never run over by a tank.
It's important to remember that Operation Desert Storm, while US-led, was in fact an international coalition, sanctioned by the UN that included forces and logistical support from the Arab world.
I've never heard anyone try to claim that Al Queda had anything to do with Iraq whatsoever
Al-Qaeda didn't have any operations in Iraq, but if Iraq hadn't invaded Kuwait their rise wouldn't have been triggered - It's a cause-effect thing:
...allow[ed] U.S. and allied forces to deploy on Saudi territory.
1) Iraq invaded Kuwait
2) The West retaliated, using Saudi Arabia as its base of operations
3) The presence of "infidels" in a land (Saudi Arabia) that Bin Laden considered sacred upset him greatly
4) In large part due to this, Bin Laden wound up in Sudan, ramped up his attacks and began his campaign
If Iraq hadn't invaded Kuwait, there likely wouldn't have been a US military presence in Saudi Arabia (including female soldiers) and Bin Laden would not have had the 'inspiration' to ratchet things up to the degree he did in the 90s.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Qaeda
Gulf War and the start of U.S. enmity
[snip]
The Saudi monarch... [snip]
The deployment angered Bin Laden, as he believed the presence of foreign troops in the "land of the two mosques" (Mecca and Medina) profaned sacred soil. After speaking publicly against the Saudi government for harboring American troops, he was quickly forced into exile to Sudan.
Al Queda wouldn't exist if the U.S. didn't use the middle east as a sandbox to pursue whatever agenda they decide is important. Be it the above mentioned support of Israel, or the pursuit of the previous boogy man, "the communists".
Sorry to muddy things up with the facts, but while it's true "Al Queda" (sic) was founded in 1988, they largely exist because Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in the early 1990s. The counter-attack against Iraq was in large part staged from Saudi Arabia, home of the two most sacred sites in Islam (Mecca and Medina). Osama bin Laden was offended that Americans were in the "land of the two mosques" and strongly believed (believes) that they had profaned sacred soil. He started his attacks, and the rest is history.
If American troops (including women) hadn't wound up in Saudi Arabia in the early nineties, Bin Laden would likely have never risen to the levels he is today.
Assuming you wanted to power your fridge, furnace circuits & blower, a small TV and a microwave (and never all at the same time), how do you calculate how big of a generator you need?
It has it's funding and doesn't need further
????
Presumably storage costs will continue to increase, bandwidth costs will continue to increase, hardware costs will continue? Your statement is like you saying "I made $60,000 last year and don't 'need further.'"
Why would I want to interrupt somebody just to inform them of something like "My plane landed, will be there in 30 minutes"?
Because when they reply with "Sounds great, see you soon!" you've got confirmation that your message was received and it's not in some server queue somewhere.
But Amazon (today at least) does carry a bazillion titles and we can assume they do because they make money doing it.
Yes and no - The long tail argues that obscure books sell better now because of the long tail - But that's not really the case. Pre-Amazon if you wanted an obscure book you could still get it. The book shop just ordered it in and a week later you got it. Amazon's really no different. What the long tail argues is that obscure books would sell better, but they're not, because people still don't know they exist. Ditto obscure music.
Will someone tell those ass-wipes in Hollyweird that they are losing valuable customers with this practice of putting in useless ads and trying to force people to watch them.
Someone did. If you put a DVD in today and it starts playing trailers 99 times out of 100 if you press menu or skip it will take you straight to the DVD menu. A few years ago you were forced to watch that crap, but generally not any more.
Why would I buy from iTunes?
In our case, because iTunes works in Canada. Amazon.com has a great catalog, but won't sell you an MP3 if you don't live in the USA. "Global village" my @ss.
(And yes, I could probably set up a proxy and and a US billing address and then get a US credit card, but who the hell is going to go through that to download a few tracks by Toto?)
It will never be effective. The average Joe coulden't tell you what DRM stood for let alone boycott it.
Exactly. Most people go to the iTunes store, buy music and 'put it on their iPod.' They don't know there's DRM on there, nor do they really care.
Employees vs. contractors is always an interesting factor in economic uncertainty times
We just had an across the board 5% layoff round at my employer. In the development arm, the people let go were all contractors. The 'permies' like me were kept because they cost less than the contractors and we'd be more expensive to lay off in terms of severance etc.