What if not everyone wants to learn about computers? What about the kids who just want to write--start a blog, say--or fire up a paint program and teach themselves graphic design?
"Sure, kid, GIMP sucks for painting, but at least you'll learn about computers!"
That's a formula for turning proto-Rothkos into Charles Mansons.
...if you want to help economically disadvantaged people--be they in Appalachia, Detroit, central Africa, or the West Bank--is to give them the tools they need to integrate into wider society.
With that in mind, and assuming you're targeting first two of the above: I'd give them Windows. Make sure they know how to word process in Wordpad, and, crucially, how to use email and IM. The rest will come on its own. Kids are naturally curious, and don't usually need much encouragement to explore the internet and start creating profiles on MySpace or what have you. Indulge them.
(Incidentally, that's also why a $100 cellphone would be a much better use of resources than MIT's $100 laptop, but I digress.)
Have you seen this study (and the spate of related studies that came out around the same time)? The links on the right there also make for an interesting read.
Viscosity has nothing to do with it. Chop out that little bit, you'll be right: "Warmer sea leads to... more energy."
As for the "surprise," I think they just didn't want to jump to the obvious conclusion that warmer seas cause stronger hurricanes. For example, one theory could have been weaker hurricanes, but more often. Just a guess, though.
I agree. Selective abortion is illegal, and in fact China's government is trying to change cultural attitudes towards women so as to reduce its incidence. You don't even have to read Lonely Planet to learn more; see here, for example.
Oh please. I'm as capitalist as they come. If you think Frommer's travel guides and the Economist are mouthpieces for the Chinese Communist Party, I'm afraid you're beyond "reeducation."
What the hell? That's just so outright wrong, I don't even know where to begin. Just so no one gets misled by your specious assertions, I'm going to link a starting point for your education. To summarize, the sex ratio isn't due to infanticide; it's a combination of (a) selective abortion, and (b) parents choosing to have another child after having a daughter, because they want a son. Don't even try to pretend like neither of these happen here in the West (though not as extensively, I'll grant you).
I've got friends from Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong whom I met in college. Having grown up in Ohio, living and talking with people with different perspectives really enlightened me as to what life is actually like for Chinese citizens today. I also happen to read a lot, and pay attention to a diverse set of media. I find The Economist particularly illuminating--read the articles in that section, and you can come away with a pretty good sense of what it's like to live in China.
BTW, what makes you think I hate America? I do know enough about China to know that I'd prefer to live here in New York, where the culture is much more tolerant. And thanks for "foe"-ing me for daring to challenge your preconceptions of China. How open-minded of you.
Rather than use policy and statistics refute your egregiously false (and borderline racist) conception of Chinese culture, I'll just point you to some resources so that you can begin to correctyourignorance, if you so desire.
I dunno. How much do you get for stuffing your aging parents in "retirement communities" where they can be conveniently forgotten?
(Before you ask--yes, Chinese people really do consider us barbaric for our cultural idiosyncracies. And killing infant girls really isn't pervasive in modern China, even in rural areas, regardless of whatever uninformed drivel Microsoft-NBC is spewing today. Gain some perspective, please.)
Insightful? Hardly. Believe it or not, China isn't some kind of Orwellian nightmare where everything you say or write is monitored by truncheon-dragging thugs, or by brains cloistered in the Ministry of Thoughtcrime, for that matter. Nowadays, you could parade around downtown Shanghai yelling "Down with the Party!" and people would care about as much as people in New York care about the drunk guy on the subway prophesizing the return of Jesus. Don't get me wrong--China's certainly no paradise for dissenting voices, but then, neither was America in the '60s and '70s. Frankly, I think you have a better chance of being spied on by the government today in America than you would in China.
That's not to excuse the ongoing horrors perpetrated by the Chinese government. But I'd really like to know where this popular conception comes from, of China as equivalent to North Korea or Zimbabwe.
And he owned an apartment at the San Remo, and he served as an economic advisor to John Kerry's campaign, and he's on the record saying he doubts Mac users tend to be Republicans, and he spent his youth dropping acid, listening to hippie music, and going on spiritual journeys to India. Crucify him!
Since Steve Jobs is about as liberal as they come, it only stands to reason that Bill Gates must be a raging rightist. Surely, then, Gates pulled some strings behind the scenes to get his buddy George W. Bush elected President. So you see, it all comes back to one man, and that man is Steve Jobs.
Not that I necessarily disagree with you, but how about parents who discipline their child with a hickory stick? Once upon a time, such corporal punishment was socially acceptable, and their children turned out fine. But given the context of today's culture ("progress," as you put it) a child subjected to regular canings probably wouldn't grow up to function so well in normal human civilization.
There's an argument to be made that such practices will die out naturally, on their own--evolution as applied to social customs. But isn't it also an example of a social custom for a society, in the form of its government, to intervene and restrict a private citizen's behavior, to tell a parent "no, you can't do that"?
Yeah, but once you associate Safari with exploring the Web, that's what you remember. Do you really, honestly think Safari's no better a name than, say, Firefox?
I disagree with the parent of your post as well, but South Africa certainly ain't no shithole, and South Korea, in fact, is a damn nice place to live. You want shithole, look at central Africa.
"You're only making the association because you've heard of the product before"
Yes, but once I've heard it once, it just clicks, and sticks, because it makes sense. Besides the obvious Beach Boys reference to surfing the web, a safari also implies exploration and venturing into territories unknown. These are both very good ways the name "Safari" works for a web browser.
My point isn't that the name should tell you, with no preknowledge, what the program does. It's just that the name should fit well enough so that after you've made the link once, you'll remember it later without even trying.
Re:Ekiga? What the hell is an Ekiga?
on
Ekiga 2.0 Released
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
Jesus Christ. The eye stumbles on the acronym soup in the very first line of that description. Nobody's going to notice the phrase "audio and video calls," buried as it is among four references in only three fucking sentences to "SIP and H.323." Try this instead:
Ekiga: Bring your friends and colleagues onto your desktop with Ekiga's standards-compliant videoconferencing and audio calls. Supports all modern VoIP features of SIP and H.323.
There you go. Direct, clear, helpful. Maybe even stuff the last sentence with all the other technical descriptions in the fine print. What's not to like?
If you honestly can't connect the dots between "Safari" and exploring the web, "Dreamweaver" and content creation, "PowerPoint" and structuring presentations, "Outlook" and managing your life--then you're a hopelessly linear thinker who has no business coming up with names for products. Sorry for being blunt, but it's getting late, and it's true.
I'll agree with you that "Firefox" and "Thunderbird" are about as shitty as names can get. Interestingly, both are open source projects.
Re:ANYTHING has to be better...
on
Ekiga 2.0 Released
·
· Score: 0, Flamebait
Your interpretation is crippled by linear thinking. For example, Excel contains the word "cell," and describes what the spreadsheet (ostensibly) lets you do. Even if you don't notice it, others do--others who aren't constrained by your inability to connect dots. And frankly, lateral thinkers are the sorts of people who matter. Not you.
Slashdot Mirror
What if not everyone wants to learn about computers? What about the kids who just want to write--start a blog, say--or fire up a paint program and teach themselves graphic design?
"Sure, kid, GIMP sucks for painting, but at least you'll learn about computers!"
That's a formula for turning proto-Rothkos into Charles Mansons.
...if you want to help economically disadvantaged people--be they in Appalachia, Detroit, central Africa, or the West Bank--is to give them the tools they need to integrate into wider society.
With that in mind, and assuming you're targeting first two of the above: I'd give them Windows. Make sure they know how to word process in Wordpad, and, crucially, how to use email and IM. The rest will come on its own. Kids are naturally curious, and don't usually need much encouragement to explore the internet and start creating profiles on MySpace or what have you. Indulge them.
(Incidentally, that's also why a $100 cellphone would be a much better use of resources than MIT's $100 laptop, but I digress.)
Have you seen this study (and the spate of related studies that came out around the same time)? The links on the right there also make for an interesting read.
Viscosity has nothing to do with it. Chop out that little bit, you'll be right: "Warmer sea leads to ... more energy."
As for the "surprise," I think they just didn't want to jump to the obvious conclusion that warmer seas cause stronger hurricanes. For example, one theory could have been weaker hurricanes, but more often. Just a guess, though.
I agree. Selective abortion is illegal, and in fact China's government is trying to change cultural attitudes towards women so as to reduce its incidence. You don't even have to read Lonely Planet to learn more; see here, for example.
--
On 17 March 2006, onedotzero (926558) wrote:
"You always had a choice in the matter via the 'X-noarchive' flag" ...unless someone quotes your post in a reply.
Oh please. I'm as capitalist as they come. If you think Frommer's travel guides and the Economist are mouthpieces for the Chinese Communist Party, I'm afraid you're beyond "reeducation."
You're right. My mistake.
What the hell? That's just so outright wrong, I don't even know where to begin. Just so no one gets misled by your specious assertions, I'm going to link a starting point for your education. To summarize, the sex ratio isn't due to infanticide; it's a combination of (a) selective abortion, and (b) parents choosing to have another child after having a daughter, because they want a son. Don't even try to pretend like neither of these happen here in the West (though not as extensively, I'll grant you).
I've got friends from Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong whom I met in college. Having grown up in Ohio, living and talking with people with different perspectives really enlightened me as to what life is actually like for Chinese citizens today. I also happen to read a lot, and pay attention to a diverse set of media. I find The Economist particularly illuminating--read the articles in that section, and you can come away with a pretty good sense of what it's like to live in China.
BTW, what makes you think I hate America? I do know enough about China to know that I'd prefer to live here in New York, where the culture is much more tolerant. And thanks for "foe"-ing me for daring to challenge your preconceptions of China. How open-minded of you.
Rather than use policy and statistics refute your egregiously false (and borderline racist) conception of Chinese culture, I'll just point you to some resources so that you can begin to correct your ignorance, if you so desire.
I dunno. How much do you get for stuffing your aging parents in "retirement communities" where they can be conveniently forgotten?
(Before you ask--yes, Chinese people really do consider us barbaric for our cultural idiosyncracies. And killing infant girls really isn't pervasive in modern China, even in rural areas, regardless of whatever uninformed drivel Microsoft-NBC is spewing today. Gain some perspective, please.)
Insightful? Hardly. Believe it or not, China isn't some kind of Orwellian nightmare where everything you say or write is monitored by truncheon-dragging thugs, or by brains cloistered in the Ministry of Thoughtcrime, for that matter. Nowadays, you could parade around downtown Shanghai yelling "Down with the Party!" and people would care about as much as people in New York care about the drunk guy on the subway prophesizing the return of Jesus. Don't get me wrong--China's certainly no paradise for dissenting voices, but then, neither was America in the '60s and '70s. Frankly, I think you have a better chance of being spied on by the government today in America than you would in China.
That's not to excuse the ongoing horrors perpetrated by the Chinese government. But I'd really like to know where this popular conception comes from, of China as equivalent to North Korea or Zimbabwe.
And he owned an apartment at the San Remo, and he served as an economic advisor to John Kerry's campaign, and he's on the record saying he doubts Mac users tend to be Republicans, and he spent his youth dropping acid, listening to hippie music, and going on spiritual journeys to India. Crucify him!
So what? Open source is all about copying other people's hard work. It's part of what makes it great.
Since Steve Jobs is about as liberal as they come, it only stands to reason that Bill Gates must be a raging rightist. Surely, then, Gates pulled some strings behind the scenes to get his buddy George W. Bush elected President. So you see, it all comes back to one man, and that man is Steve Jobs.
Not that I necessarily disagree with you, but how about parents who discipline their child with a hickory stick? Once upon a time, such corporal punishment was socially acceptable, and their children turned out fine. But given the context of today's culture ("progress," as you put it) a child subjected to regular canings probably wouldn't grow up to function so well in normal human civilization.
There's an argument to be made that such practices will die out naturally, on their own--evolution as applied to social customs. But isn't it also an example of a social custom for a society, in the form of its government, to intervene and restrict a private citizen's behavior, to tell a parent "no, you can't do that"?
Yeah, but once you associate Safari with exploring the Web, that's what you remember. Do you really, honestly think Safari's no better a name than, say, Firefox?
I disagree with the parent of your post as well, but South Africa certainly ain't no shithole, and South Korea, in fact, is a damn nice place to live. You want shithole, look at central Africa.
"You're only making the association because you've heard of the product before"
Yes, but once I've heard it once, it just clicks, and sticks, because it makes sense. Besides the obvious Beach Boys reference to surfing the web, a safari also implies exploration and venturing into territories unknown. These are both very good ways the name "Safari" works for a web browser.
My point isn't that the name should tell you, with no preknowledge, what the program does. It's just that the name should fit well enough so that after you've made the link once, you'll remember it later without even trying.
I prefer the other interpretation. :-)
If you honestly can't connect the dots between "Safari" and exploring the web, "Dreamweaver" and content creation, "PowerPoint" and structuring presentations, "Outlook" and managing your life--then you're a hopelessly linear thinker who has no business coming up with names for products. Sorry for being blunt, but it's getting late, and it's true.
I'll agree with you that "Firefox" and "Thunderbird" are about as shitty as names can get. Interestingly, both are open source projects.
Your interpretation is crippled by linear thinking. For example, Excel contains the word "cell," and describes what the spreadsheet (ostensibly) lets you do. Even if you don't notice it, others do--others who aren't constrained by your inability to connect dots. And frankly, lateral thinkers are the sorts of people who matter. Not you.