At least then I would have someone whom I could ask what the hell it meant. As it is, there are icons in some of the cars I've been it that I'm pretty sure no one understands.
Interesting spin. You're comparing Soyuz failures in the 1960's to NASA's failures in 1986 and 2003. Not one person has been injured during a manned Soyuz launch since the 1971 and there have been no in-flight failures since 1975. The modern Soyuz is far safer than the shuttle and has demonstrated it with a almost 40 years of spotless performance.
My car's interior is the worst example of that. Thanks to the internationalization of the automobile industry (and having no set standards), every control in my car (and many others) is now identified by an icon instead of a label. And many of the icons make no sense whatsoever. So every time I get in a new rental car, I have to figure out whether I'm turning on the heater or the windshield wipers with this control, or what the mysterious smiley-face-looking button does. They build a $20000+ car and can't spring for a few lousy labels in the local language?!?
Probably because big business didn't have a good enough REASON to go to the moon. The recent launch of SpaceShipOne and the Virgin Galactic enterprise was done because the combination of the X Prize and the money to be made on space tourism actually justifies the cost of the endeavor. If a company thought they could make trips to the moon worth the cost of developing and building the infrastructure to do it, you can bet they would pass a plodding and inefficient NASA in a New York minute.
And, considering NASA has been relying on private contractors to build their vehicles for years, it seems a little suspicious that they would suddenly come out against private contractors when they want to move to the next logical step and actually launch the vehicle they built (and hence steal NASA's big PR moment).
The Russians manage to save money, launch a lot of missions, AND they still have a safety record that dwarfs NASA's. Maybe we should ask them how to do it.
Because their bureaucracy has done such an excellent job in the last 35 years of getting us back to the moon, to Mars, etc. and delivering on all the multitude of other promises they've made via decades of press releases and computer animation.
And who knew that a Google employee and FOSS advocate would bad-mouth MS at a Linux conference?!?!? When I read this I was so shocked that I dropped my monocle AND did a spit-take! That's the fourth monocle I've broken this week.
According to historical reports, it tasted like chicken...a chicken eaten by a skunk which then died, rotted, and was in turn eaten by a vulture, digested, and shit out onto a pile of dog feces. In other words, it tasted pretty much like a modern McDonalds burger.
It's true that it's definitely getting better, particularly in Ubuntu. But even now, it doesn't take much digging beneath the hood before you have to resort to the command line. In the last version of Ubuntu I used (admittedly not the most recent), I had to edit the Xorg config file to get dual monitor support and proper screen resolutions, for example (I understand that newer versions support resolution changes in the GUI, not sure about dual monitor). For most conventional uses and setups, the GUI is probably enough now. But even Ubuntu is still just a GUI kludge sitting on top of a kernal that's built for the command line.
In all fairness, Windows used to be the same way (had to still go out to DOS to get some things done right). But that was over 10 years ago. I can't remember the last time I had to open up a console in Windows for anything other than a novelty ("Hey, it's still there!").
The U.S. has set limits on donations too, but it doesn't do any good. Big money just finds ways around the law. For example, a company and individual can only donate x amount of dollars, but they can easily bypass the law, by indirectly donating much more with a fundraiser. So, though I can only legally donate $2500 to a campaign, I can also sponsor a $2500-a-plate fundraising dinner for a candidate, invite all my friends and employees, and raise as much money as I want. I could even give all my buddies $2500 in cash beforehand, as long as I don't stipulate that it's for buying a place at the dinner. That's just one of the many ways that a corporation can buy a candidate (I can also promise a candidate x number of new jobs in his district if he plays ball, sponsor an "independent" media campaign that gives him free advertising, etc.)
Republicans ALWAYS support big business over the consumer. They may not get as much big $ from Hollywood, but there are loads of other big industries with IP and patent interests who certainly *do* pay them. So I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for them to come out batting for the little guy. Good luck finding someone from either party who won't side with the RIAA/MPAA thugs at every opportunity.
Public opinion won't change it either. With both Republicans and Democrats supporting the RIAA and big business, who are angry voters going to turn to to, the Whigs?
The only thing that will ever change this is if the big media companies stop bribing one or both of the parties.
If I was a bazillionaire I would be too busy with my harem and skiing on huge piles of cash to care. And if I wanted to piss off the gaming community, I would just give Uwe Boll an unlimited credit line and tell him to go nuts.
There is also a reflexive defensiveness in the FOSS community that tends to scare aware any but the hardiest. Check out any post on/. that dares criticize GIMP's horrid UI, or points out how intimidating Linux's continued reliance on the command line is to the average user--then watch the series of flames that follow even these benign criticisms. Now imagine trying to offer contructive criticism to a group of people who are even MORE dedicated to Linux and FOSS than even the average/. user. I would rather walk into the meanest bar in Boston with a "Red Sox Suck!" t-shirt on than to post even a slight criticism of the existing kernal on lklm. It's WAY too personal for those guys.
I'll tell you what my grandfather said on his deathbed 20 years ago. "Kid," he said. "Never trust a Wilson brother to give you advice on your telecommunications needs." I've heeded those words ever since.
Slashdot Mirror
At least then I would have someone whom I could ask what the hell it meant. As it is, there are icons in some of the cars I've been it that I'm pretty sure no one understands.
Still no aliens. Keeping vigilant.
Interesting spin. You're comparing Soyuz failures in the 1960's to NASA's failures in 1986 and 2003. Not one person has been injured during a manned Soyuz launch since the 1971 and there have been no in-flight failures since 1975. The modern Soyuz is far safer than the shuttle and has demonstrated it with a almost 40 years of spotless performance.
My car's interior is the worst example of that. Thanks to the internationalization of the automobile industry (and having no set standards), every control in my car (and many others) is now identified by an icon instead of a label. And many of the icons make no sense whatsoever. So every time I get in a new rental car, I have to figure out whether I'm turning on the heater or the windshield wipers with this control, or what the mysterious smiley-face-looking button does. They build a $20000+ car and can't spring for a few lousy labels in the local language?!?
Probably because big business didn't have a good enough REASON to go to the moon. The recent launch of SpaceShipOne and the Virgin Galactic enterprise was done because the combination of the X Prize and the money to be made on space tourism actually justifies the cost of the endeavor. If a company thought they could make trips to the moon worth the cost of developing and building the infrastructure to do it, you can bet they would pass a plodding and inefficient NASA in a New York minute.
And, considering NASA has been relying on private contractors to build their vehicles for years, it seems a little suspicious that they would suddenly come out against private contractors when they want to move to the next logical step and actually launch the vehicle they built (and hence steal NASA's big PR moment).
The Russians manage to save money, launch a lot of missions, AND they still have a safety record that dwarfs NASA's. Maybe we should ask them how to do it.
Because their bureaucracy has done such an excellent job in the last 35 years of getting us back to the moon, to Mars, etc. and delivering on all the multitude of other promises they've made via decades of press releases and computer animation.
Splendid idea, just splendid!
And who knew that a Google employee and FOSS advocate would bad-mouth MS at a Linux conference?!?!? When I read this I was so shocked that I dropped my monocle AND did a spit-take! That's the fourth monocle I've broken this week.
Web developers and gui programmers aren't real code monkeys. You can tell because they actually give a shit about the end user.
That hardly seems fair...associating innocent monkeys with coders.
Oh just great, you mentioned DiVX. Now I have to spit on my brand new carpet. Thanks buddy.
Spanish men are used to being pursued by beasts.
One is smelly, dirty, and awful to look at. The other isn't located in New York.
According to historical reports, it tasted like chicken...a chicken eaten by a skunk which then died, rotted, and was in turn eaten by a vulture, digested, and shit out onto a pile of dog feces. In other words, it tasted pretty much like a modern McDonalds burger.
It's true that it's definitely getting better, particularly in Ubuntu. But even now, it doesn't take much digging beneath the hood before you have to resort to the command line. In the last version of Ubuntu I used (admittedly not the most recent), I had to edit the Xorg config file to get dual monitor support and proper screen resolutions, for example (I understand that newer versions support resolution changes in the GUI, not sure about dual monitor). For most conventional uses and setups, the GUI is probably enough now. But even Ubuntu is still just a GUI kludge sitting on top of a kernal that's built for the command line.
In all fairness, Windows used to be the same way (had to still go out to DOS to get some things done right). But that was over 10 years ago. I can't remember the last time I had to open up a console in Windows for anything other than a novelty ("Hey, it's still there!").
EA presents "World of Warcraft 2010," with minor improvements.
EA also announces that servers for "World of Warcraft 2008" and earlier will no longer be supported. So upgrade today!
The U.S. has set limits on donations too, but it doesn't do any good. Big money just finds ways around the law. For example, a company and individual can only donate x amount of dollars, but they can easily bypass the law, by indirectly donating much more with a fundraiser. So, though I can only legally donate $2500 to a campaign, I can also sponsor a $2500-a-plate fundraising dinner for a candidate, invite all my friends and employees, and raise as much money as I want. I could even give all my buddies $2500 in cash beforehand, as long as I don't stipulate that it's for buying a place at the dinner. That's just one of the many ways that a corporation can buy a candidate (I can also promise a candidate x number of new jobs in his district if he plays ball, sponsor an "independent" media campaign that gives him free advertising, etc.)
Republicans ALWAYS support big business over the consumer. They may not get as much big $ from Hollywood, but there are loads of other big industries with IP and patent interests who certainly *do* pay them. So I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for them to come out batting for the little guy. Good luck finding someone from either party who won't side with the RIAA/MPAA thugs at every opportunity.
Public opinion won't change it either. With both Republicans and Democrats supporting the RIAA and big business, who are angry voters going to turn to to, the Whigs?
The only thing that will ever change this is if the big media companies stop bribing one or both of the parties.
If I was a bazillionaire I would be too busy with my harem and skiing on huge piles of cash to care. And if I wanted to piss off the gaming community, I would just give Uwe Boll an unlimited credit line and tell him to go nuts.
There is also a reflexive defensiveness in the FOSS community that tends to scare aware any but the hardiest. Check out any post on /. that dares criticize GIMP's horrid UI, or points out how intimidating Linux's continued reliance on the command line is to the average user--then watch the series of flames that follow even these benign criticisms. Now imagine trying to offer contructive criticism to a group of people who are even MORE dedicated to Linux and FOSS than even the average /. user. I would rather walk into the meanest bar in Boston with a "Red Sox Suck!" t-shirt on than to post even a slight criticism of the existing kernal on lklm. It's WAY too personal for those guys.
And if you're going to spend so much on a PR campaign, at least spring for Owen.
I'll tell you what my grandfather said on his deathbed 20 years ago. "Kid," he said. "Never trust a Wilson brother to give you advice on your telecommunications needs." I've heeded those words ever since.