Apart from the sales reps who will want this device to try to convince their non-technical customers that they (the sales reps) are the real digital superheros of this information age, only a few executives with big egos and no sense of self worth will find a real use for this device.
Why not innovate a little bit beyond the mouse. Were this a PC-card touch-pad that could sit in one hand and be controlled by my thumb, I might be interested. [Note to self: send patent application for PC-card thumb pad device ASAP, or find rich industrialist who will pay me $50 for the idea.]
It's just a mouse. I've used nothing but a laptop for four years now, and I have learned to be very efficient with keyboard shortcuts and my stick mouse. For your typical data pusher (I won't insult any gamers or casual surfers by suggesting that a mouse is useless), that's all you really need. The mouse is really only useful when the tab stops are not set well, or when you don't know your shortcut menus.
So to me, this is a notch on a manufacturer's belt, or a trophy piece for a gadget freak. Dang, give me a gyroscopic bluetooth wristband that will respond to my hand movements--then you'll be talking innovation. [Second note to self: Stop posting all of your potential money-making ideas through my comments on Slashdot.]
"Has developed" is the right term. This process was in the news originally over a year ago, and the proof of concept has been functional for longer than that.
I agree that you cannot rely only on the nature side of the nature vs. nurture debate. I do believe it fair, however, to acknowledge that men and women are different by nature. Our response to these differences is what is determined by nurture.
Our differences go far beyond hormones and socity's expectations. Our physiologies, albiet very similar, are distinct. Neurological structures vary between males and females, as do muscular-skeleto structures.
Why deny the differences? Why not learn to celebrate them?
Absolutely poor. Free music? That costs the industry next to nothing. Let them pay people for the time it took to rebuild their machines, or for the cost associated with buying a restoration CD from the vendor.
Others are right in that a majority of digiots out there will keep buying Sony, but the time will come when we will have fair use once again, even if it means we need to rise up and take it!
I believe you are projecting exactly the kind of personal bias you decry. There will always be some who make a bad name for the rest, but please look at the rest of us as individuals, and not as some vague group. Stereotyping is bad only when it is based on false information; here I express concern that your catergorization is based on some bad experiences or some negative report on the evening news.
For the last four months, I've been trying to figure out which of my children (I have eight of them under the age of 13) have been disassembling furniture, unscrewing outlet covers, and getting into all sorts of mischief (read: anything that once was screwed together was suddenly screw-less). I must admit I was surprised when I learned that it was my five year old daughter, but I took that situation as an opportunity to better my understanding of her.
The next week, when we bought two new computer desks that needed assembly, I had her help me. She placed and tightened every screw for the project save for the one I did at the beginning to get her started. I tightened them further, but she did it all.
If you knew my socio-political views, you would already have categorized me as one of those a-holes you cannot stand, but yet my actions do not fit your stereotype. One of the tenets of my faith is "raise up a child in the way he [he/she] should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Many see that quote and assume it speaks only of religious indoctrination. Whereas I deeply desire that my children discover the joys of my faith (not religion), I also understand it to refer to each child's natural bent or direction. It is very clear that my five year old daughter has mechanical leanings, so it is my responsibility to help her develop those skills. I have one son who has all the markings of a sports jock, another who is emotional and prefers to read, and yet another who has no interest in sports or interpersonal relationships--he only cares about avian life. Were I to take my bird-loving boy and direct him to be a sheet metal worker, because that is a common career in my extended family, I would do him and this world a disservice.
Now, I am sure there will be points where we would not agree, but I'll let you be wrong without calling you all sorts of names if you'll do the same for me. That's right, you can say I am wrong--it's no skin off my nose. If there is one thing I hope I'm teaching all of my children it is this: their sense of value in this life should not come from the opinions of others.
[One final (and personal) note regarding your signature. My God may have died nailed to a tree, but he isn't dead anymore! I've seen him change lives. When is the last time Thor (my assumption based on your signature) did that?]
My favorite was taking a screen shot of the open Pegasus mail program (at full screen) and then saving it as the desktop wallpaper. The student council president, who approved the purchase of this first computer for the 2-year college's student senate, could not figure out why he could not open his messages, or close the program!
It stayed that way through the entire second semester. He even mentioned his disappointment with the computer during his final address to the senate. After he left the room, the rest of us all looked around in shock--most people figured it out rather quickly, but our poor president never used the email program all term...
Thank you for some reasoned clarity in this discussion. Other recent medical research cites that it is the prolonged exposure to sound is just as damaging (if not more so) than periodic exposure to high-decible sounds.
In short, continuous exposure to music from headphones, earbuds, or any other source prevents the cilia (tiny hair cells that vibrate from sound waves) from resting. Without that chance to rest (vibrate less), they eventually become damaged and cannot transfer sounds as well.
I've had a 50Db loss in one ear for almost 20 years (not related to headphones or concerts). One of my sons is almost totally deaf in one ear. Unfortunately, most people don't think about their hearing until it is too late.
HERE IS THE ONE PIECE OF ADVICE I HOPE ALL OF YOU WILL CONSIDER: Just take those earphones off periodically and rest your ears, just as you should get up and walk away from your computer screen to rest your eyes.
The future holds the promise that technology may eventually allow full bionic ear replacements, but what will you miss while you are waiting?
I don't intend this as a flame, but give me a break. In nearly every area of life women differ from men. This is not a bad thing (I can't imagine being married to someone like me!), but it flies in the face of a segment of society that wants to believe that all gender differences are learned behavior and have no basis in genetics (nurture over nature).
Anyone who has both sons and daughters knows they are different, no matter how hard you try to androgenize them.
We need to get over ourselves and realize that difference does not equate to inferiority.
First to market does not always predict the winner. Quite often, it is the first to market who eats all of the costs associated with breaking into a new niche while the competition waits to pounce as soon as the opportunity presents itself.
Of course, in this situation, since we're talking about format standards, it is not a clean comparison, but just because Sony will hit the market first does not mean it will win the day.
As DRM issues clamp down against fair use, I believe consumers will begin to question new technologies before they adopt them. I believe we've only seen the beginning of the DRM civil war that is brewing. I have no desire to replace my DVD collection with either format, no matter how much better the quality may be. So, for consumers, backwards compatibility is a must (and a given in this discussion).
Going forward, the real innovators will find a way to support both formats in a single device, or will develop an even newer standard that will leave both of these in the dust. At the end of the day, Blu-Ray and HDDVD will both run on Wintel boxes, even if one is not the preferred hardware of Redmond. It was not long ago when you had to run third party drive overlay software just to access hard disks that were bigger than MS-DOS could recognize. The software will make these devices available regardless of the platform. To the intelligent consumer, it comes down to an examination of the cost and the features. To the typical non-technical consumers (digiots), it will come down to whatever device the sales guy at [INSERT BIG BOX STORE NAME HERE] puts in their shopping carts.
Once upon a time I made daily visits to my local paper's online site. It was a pretty straightforward interface that allowed me to browse all of the major headlines as I scrolled down the page. Then one day, they redesigned their site, segmenting more of the content and filling the first half of the initial page load to PDF links to section covers. I bailed fast and made my way to the competing paper across the river (Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota still has two daily rags).
While not my preferred news source, it was easy to navigate and I could, once again, scroll down a single page with the primary headlines (similar to the layout here at Slashdot). Then, this year, they had to muck with things, too, and now the main online page is laid out in a fashion similar to the physical paper. I sent them a long message describing what worked with the old site, and what (imo) didn't with the new. No luck there.
I want to find information by a quick run through a page. I don't want to pay attention to call-out boxes and other areas where they place content. If it is important, give it to me in one smooth-scrolling column.
That said, I will still visit the local paper sites if there are specific things I am looking for (e.g. news on a fire in the neighborhood), or if I am completely bored out of my skull. Otherwise, I skip them entirely. If I want news, I'll either create a custom topic on Google News (news.google.com), or I'll hit one of the big network homepages to monitor developing stories.
On a side note, it would be interesting to see how TV stations scramble to adjust their content, since you can read about most of the general news they report hours or days before their telecasts.
You're on the right track here. Try to quanitfy how much more efficient you will be if you can offload the common tasks on an administrative support person. If you are not already capturing detailed time data, do so. Take that in, letting management know you are spending x hours per period/month/year on task a, task b, task c, etc. on tasks that normally can be handled by other personnel. Then pull out typical job descriptions for such junior roles (many State employment sites list common job titles and associated duties) and show them how much money they can save by hiring the jr-level staffer. Of course, make sure you clearly define what you will be doing with all of your "extra" time, but that should get you on the right path.
I probably would not have run down this rabbit trail expcept for recent news that hints that the world's tallest building may have activated an old fault line.
Ever see a pop can with a small hole in it? I mean, do they really have a clue what might happen if they provide a channel for deep magma flows to rise? Sure, it's a little sci-fi doomsday scenario, but I'd hate to be the one who signed off on the risk assessment for this project.
Scientist 1: Hey, Jimmie, remember that movie we saw when we were kids? The one where they go to the center of the earth?
Scientist 2: Sure, why'dya ask?
Scientist 1: I got this reasearch grant and I thought we could drill down to see if those giant mushrooms were real.
1) Document everything. I've had coworkers who thought being asked to document their processes and procedures meant they would soon be canned. If you document your processes, you can pass them off to other team members when you tire of them, so you can move on to bigger and better problems.
2) Talk out loud when working with users. It was a habit I got into while doing field service. Explain what you are doing while you are doing it and a) the users may learn something, and b) it lets them know you're not related to Nick Burns (SNL). By taking the time to explain things (knowing most users won't understand any of it to begin with), the users will know that you are interested (okay, some may feign interest) in their problems and the resolution. After doing this for years, I have seen many technophobic users start to come around to where they will actually try to fix a problem themselves before calling the help desk.
3) Problem always happen on Fridays just before quitting time.
I'm really looking forward to this product (hopefully in a diet version). I often fill my morning coffee mug with cold cola, and I love the combined taste. I think they'll have a winner here!
While I agree with you in principle, I do believe it fair to note that the level of difference in response times and resourse usage (the size of the gap) is significant. I have no doubt that the OO community can come to grips with this and streamline the app, but it does highlight a potential pitfall for the Open Source commnunity at large-- unless the project plan establishes specific performance levels up front, there is no specific target towards which to work. It needed not get this far before taking steps to address it.
I really don't see a need for anyone to connect to "GoogleNet" for the storage of their documents and data. The web-based suite of applications would just be the tools for creating content, and the actual storage could still be on the local/corporate LAN. That said, the development and sale of secure network storage is a venture that numerous other entities have entertained, so Google may offer that as well.
You make a good point in that an OS is required for the backbone of what Google does, but when it comes to consumer and corporate computing, Google doesn't need to sell a branded OS. Any OS, any browser, and you could have access to Google's full suite of solutions.
So, I think we are in agreement in concept. I don't want to split hairs, but I think there is a legitimate difference between Google's use of an OS and Google's creation and distribution of a client OS.
Does Google have Google OS? No.
Does Google have Google Office? No.
Does Google have free email? Yes.
Does Google have a search system? Yes
I believe these questions need some revision:
Does Google need an OS? No!That's the real beauty and the real threat of Google. Microsoft still assumes that everything needs an OS. Google is proving time and again that the OS is nothing in the long run. Google is acting on something Microsoft considered a threat 10+ years ago--that the Internet may become an OS unto itself (not in the true sense of OS, but in the sense that its platform negates the need to run a proprietary OS like Windows). Does Google have the technology to release Google Office? Yes! Blogger already shows that you don't need a client app to have a robust word processor. The same is true for spreadsheets, presentations, and messaging (which they already have). The weak link would appear to be a DB, but the deployment of a web-based database engine would not be too difficult for them. Can Google enhance it's email system to provide the functionality of Outlook? Yes. Does Google have a better search system? Yes!
The ability to try again with failed legislation is one of the greatest strengths of our political system, but at the same time it is one of the biggest problems.
The number of other provisions and amendments that make it through in this manner is probably staggering. The only thing that could be done to curtail this practice would be to require single-purpose bills that can't be loaded full of non-related crap. Of course, that would require a major change in our our legislative process works...
I believe there's a distinction between overwhelming people with unfamiliar terms, and expecting those who have used a technology or held a position for a long time to understand terms specific to their work and/or tools.
I've worked in computer/network support for nearly 13 years. There have always been individuals who do everything they can to learn about their work and tools, and there have always been individuals who don't want to learn anything new (they're satisfied with the old way). The majority of people in between will pick up on the appropriate terminology in time.
If you dumb down the jargon too much, you risk miseducating the person you are trying to help. I know some people who were taught that the main part of the computer was called "the big boxy thing", and they use that lingo to this very day (I cringe thinking about it).
The best we can do is to introduce the proper terminology along with a plain language definition. The problem is that most people don't do that in other areas of life. Think about how many parents used pet names for various private body parts rather than using the appropriate lingo. Such reclassifications are common, but they tend to perpetuate the lack of knowledge rather than promoting a better understanding.
As to the masses who don't know the lingo...they'll get it, eventually. As more and more things utilize computers, and until autonomous, artificially-intelligent machines are the norm, people will need to learn more about them.
Think about the development of the automobile, which was an analogy used in some other comments. Did anyone know what an automatic transmission was when the first automobiles (horseless wagons) were produced? What about overdrive? Fuel injection? ABS? 4x4? AWD? Today, most drivers would at least recognize those terms (and many more). Just give it time. Personal computing is still very new to most people. They'll get it eventually, if we techies are willing to explain what we do with the appropriate terms.
Slashdot Mirror
Apart from the sales reps who will want this device to try to convince their non-technical customers that they (the sales reps) are the real digital superheros of this information age, only a few executives with big egos and no sense of self worth will find a real use for this device. Why not innovate a little bit beyond the mouse. Were this a PC-card touch-pad that could sit in one hand and be controlled by my thumb, I might be interested. [Note to self: send patent application for PC-card thumb pad device ASAP, or find rich industrialist who will pay me $50 for the idea.] It's just a mouse. I've used nothing but a laptop for four years now, and I have learned to be very efficient with keyboard shortcuts and my stick mouse. For your typical data pusher (I won't insult any gamers or casual surfers by suggesting that a mouse is useless), that's all you really need. The mouse is really only useful when the tab stops are not set well, or when you don't know your shortcut menus. So to me, this is a notch on a manufacturer's belt, or a trophy piece for a gadget freak. Dang, give me a gyroscopic bluetooth wristband that will respond to my hand movements--then you'll be talking innovation. [Second note to self: Stop posting all of your potential money-making ideas through my comments on Slashdot.]
"Has developed" is the right term. This process was in the news originally over a year ago, and the proof of concept has been functional for longer than that.
I agree that you cannot rely only on the nature side of the nature vs. nurture debate. I do believe it fair, however, to acknowledge that men and women are different by nature. Our response to these differences is what is determined by nurture.
Our differences go far beyond hormones and socity's expectations. Our physiologies, albiet very similar, are distinct. Neurological structures vary between males and females, as do muscular-skeleto structures.
Why deny the differences? Why not learn to celebrate them?
Absolutely poor. Free music? That costs the industry next to nothing. Let them pay people for the time it took to rebuild their machines, or for the cost associated with buying a restoration CD from the vendor.
Others are right in that a majority of digiots out there will keep buying Sony, but the time will come when we will have fair use once again, even if it means we need to rise up and take it!
I believe you are projecting exactly the kind of personal bias you decry. There will always be some who make a bad name for the rest, but please look at the rest of us as individuals, and not as some vague group. Stereotyping is bad only when it is based on false information; here I express concern that your catergorization is based on some bad experiences or some negative report on the evening news.
For the last four months, I've been trying to figure out which of my children (I have eight of them under the age of 13) have been disassembling furniture, unscrewing outlet covers, and getting into all sorts of mischief (read: anything that once was screwed together was suddenly screw-less). I must admit I was surprised when I learned that it was my five year old daughter, but I took that situation as an opportunity to better my understanding of her.
The next week, when we bought two new computer desks that needed assembly, I had her help me. She placed and tightened every screw for the project save for the one I did at the beginning to get her started. I tightened them further, but she did it all.
If you knew my socio-political views, you would already have categorized me as one of those a-holes you cannot stand, but yet my actions do not fit your stereotype. One of the tenets of my faith is "raise up a child in the way he [he/she] should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Many see that quote and assume it speaks only of religious indoctrination. Whereas I deeply desire that my children discover the joys of my faith (not religion), I also understand it to refer to each child's natural bent or direction. It is very clear that my five year old daughter has mechanical leanings, so it is my responsibility to help her develop those skills. I have one son who has all the markings of a sports jock, another who is emotional and prefers to read, and yet another who has no interest in sports or interpersonal relationships--he only cares about avian life. Were I to take my bird-loving boy and direct him to be a sheet metal worker, because that is a common career in my extended family, I would do him and this world a disservice.
Now, I am sure there will be points where we would not agree, but I'll let you be wrong without calling you all sorts of names if you'll do the same for me. That's right, you can say I am wrong--it's no skin off my nose. If there is one thing I hope I'm teaching all of my children it is this: their sense of value in this life should not come from the opinions of others.
[One final (and personal) note regarding your signature. My God may have died nailed to a tree, but he isn't dead anymore! I've seen him change lives. When is the last time Thor (my assumption based on your signature) did that?]
My favorite was taking a screen shot of the open Pegasus mail program (at full screen) and then saving it as the desktop wallpaper. The student council president, who approved the purchase of this first computer for the 2-year college's student senate, could not figure out why he could not open his messages, or close the program!
It stayed that way through the entire second semester. He even mentioned his disappointment with the computer during his final address to the senate. After he left the room, the rest of us all looked around in shock--most people figured it out rather quickly, but our poor president never used the email program all term...
I wonder if anyone ever told him.
>;}
Thank you for some reasoned clarity in this discussion. Other recent medical research cites that it is the prolonged exposure to sound is just as damaging (if not more so) than periodic exposure to high-decible sounds.
In short, continuous exposure to music from headphones, earbuds, or any other source prevents the cilia (tiny hair cells that vibrate from sound waves) from resting. Without that chance to rest (vibrate less), they eventually become damaged and cannot transfer sounds as well. I've had a 50Db loss in one ear for almost 20 years (not related to headphones or concerts). One of my sons is almost totally deaf in one ear. Unfortunately, most people don't think about their hearing until it is too late.
HERE IS THE ONE PIECE OF ADVICE I HOPE ALL OF YOU WILL CONSIDER:
Just take those earphones off periodically and rest your ears, just as you should get up and walk away from your computer screen to rest your eyes.
The future holds the promise that technology may eventually allow full bionic ear replacements, but what will you miss while you are waiting?
I don't intend this as a flame, but give me a break. In nearly every area of life women differ from men. This is not a bad thing (I can't imagine being married to someone like me!), but it flies in the face of a segment of society that wants to believe that all gender differences are learned behavior and have no basis in genetics (nurture over nature).
Anyone who has both sons and daughters knows they are different, no matter how hard you try to androgenize them.
We need to get over ourselves and realize that difference does not equate to inferiority.
The vast majority of men experience their primary arousal from visual sources.
While some women may peruse pornographic images, they are more likely to prefer text based accounts and descriptions.
I do not remember the source, but the use of the Internet to access pornography is growing across all age and gender demographics.
Of course, in this situation, since we're talking about format standards, it is not a clean comparison, but just because Sony will hit the market first does not mean it will win the day.
As DRM issues clamp down against fair use, I believe consumers will begin to question new technologies before they adopt them. I believe we've only seen the beginning of the DRM civil war that is brewing. I have no desire to replace my DVD collection with either format, no matter how much better the quality may be. So, for consumers, backwards compatibility is a must (and a given in this discussion).
Going forward, the real innovators will find a way to support both formats in a single device, or will develop an even newer standard that will leave both of these in the dust. At the end of the day, Blu-Ray and HDDVD will both run on Wintel boxes, even if one is not the preferred hardware of Redmond. It was not long ago when you had to run third party drive overlay software just to access hard disks that were bigger than MS-DOS could recognize. The software will make these devices available regardless of the platform. To the intelligent consumer, it comes down to an examination of the cost and the features. To the typical non-technical consumers (digiots), it will come down to whatever device the sales guy at [INSERT BIG BOX STORE NAME HERE] puts in their shopping carts.
Once upon a time I made daily visits to my local paper's online site. It was a pretty straightforward interface that allowed me to browse all of the major headlines as I scrolled down the page. Then one day, they redesigned their site, segmenting more of the content and filling the first half of the initial page load to PDF links to section covers. I bailed fast and made my way to the competing paper across the river (Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota still has two daily rags). While not my preferred news source, it was easy to navigate and I could, once again, scroll down a single page with the primary headlines (similar to the layout here at Slashdot). Then, this year, they had to muck with things, too, and now the main online page is laid out in a fashion similar to the physical paper. I sent them a long message describing what worked with the old site, and what (imo) didn't with the new. No luck there. I want to find information by a quick run through a page. I don't want to pay attention to call-out boxes and other areas where they place content. If it is important, give it to me in one smooth-scrolling column. That said, I will still visit the local paper sites if there are specific things I am looking for (e.g. news on a fire in the neighborhood), or if I am completely bored out of my skull. Otherwise, I skip them entirely. If I want news, I'll either create a custom topic on Google News (news.google.com), or I'll hit one of the big network homepages to monitor developing stories. On a side note, it would be interesting to see how TV stations scramble to adjust their content, since you can read about most of the general news they report hours or days before their telecasts.
You're on the right track here. Try to quanitfy how much more efficient you will be if you can offload the common tasks on an administrative support person. If you are not already capturing detailed time data, do so. Take that in, letting management know you are spending x hours per period/month/year on task a, task b, task c, etc. on tasks that normally can be handled by other personnel. Then pull out typical job descriptions for such junior roles (many State employment sites list common job titles and associated duties) and show them how much money they can save by hiring the jr-level staffer. Of course, make sure you clearly define what you will be doing with all of your "extra" time, but that should get you on the right path.
Ever see a pop can with a small hole in it? I mean, do they really have a clue what might happen if they provide a channel for deep magma flows to rise? Sure, it's a little sci-fi doomsday scenario, but I'd hate to be the one who signed off on the risk assessment for this project.
Scientist 1: Hey, Jimmie, remember that movie we saw when we were kids? The one where they go to the center of the earth?
Scientist 2: Sure, why'dya ask?
Scientist 1: I got this reasearch grant and I thought we could drill down to see if those giant mushrooms were real.
Scientest 2: Sure, I'm in.
Did you think they'd really want to abduct all the lesser minds out there?
1) Document everything. I've had coworkers who thought being asked to document their processes and procedures meant they would soon be canned. If you document your processes, you can pass them off to other team members when you tire of them, so you can move on to bigger and better problems. 2) Talk out loud when working with users. It was a habit I got into while doing field service. Explain what you are doing while you are doing it and a) the users may learn something, and b) it lets them know you're not related to Nick Burns (SNL). By taking the time to explain things (knowing most users won't understand any of it to begin with), the users will know that you are interested (okay, some may feign interest) in their problems and the resolution. After doing this for years, I have seen many technophobic users start to come around to where they will actually try to fix a problem themselves before calling the help desk. 3) Problem always happen on Fridays just before quitting time.
Wow! That means mice have just as much brain power as most politicians! Herbert the lab mouse for president!
I'm really looking forward to this product (hopefully in a diet version). I often fill my morning coffee mug with cold cola, and I love the combined taste. I think they'll have a winner here!
While I agree with you in principle, I do believe it fair to note that the level of difference in response times and resourse usage (the size of the gap) is significant. I have no doubt that the OO community can come to grips with this and streamline the app, but it does highlight a potential pitfall for the Open Source commnunity at large-- unless the project plan establishes specific performance levels up front, there is no specific target towards which to work. It needed not get this far before taking steps to address it.
I really don't see a need for anyone to connect to "GoogleNet" for the storage of their documents and data. The web-based suite of applications would just be the tools for creating content, and the actual storage could still be on the local/corporate LAN. That said, the development and sale of secure network storage is a venture that numerous other entities have entertained, so Google may offer that as well.
You make a good point in that an OS is required for the backbone of what Google does, but when it comes to consumer and corporate computing, Google doesn't need to sell a branded OS. Any OS, any browser, and you could have access to Google's full suite of solutions.
So, I think we are in agreement in concept. I don't want to split hairs, but I think there is a legitimate difference between Google's use of an OS and Google's creation and distribution of a client OS.
I believe these questions need some revision:
Does Google need an OS? No!That's the real beauty and the real threat of Google. Microsoft still assumes that everything needs an OS. Google is proving time and again that the OS is nothing in the long run. Google is acting on something Microsoft considered a threat 10+ years ago--that the Internet may become an OS unto itself (not in the true sense of OS, but in the sense that its platform negates the need to run a proprietary OS like Windows).
Does Google have the technology to release Google Office? Yes! Blogger already shows that you don't need a client app to have a robust word processor. The same is true for spreadsheets, presentations, and messaging (which they already have). The weak link would appear to be a DB, but the deployment of a web-based database engine would not be too difficult for them.
Can Google enhance it's email system to provide the functionality of Outlook? Yes.
Does Google have a better search system? Yes!
The reason I think these will be universal? They're just like real patients with one big exception: THEY DON'T HAVE LAWYERS!
The ability to try again with failed legislation is one of the greatest strengths of our political system, but at the same time it is one of the biggest problems.
The number of other provisions and amendments that make it through in this manner is probably staggering. The only thing that could be done to curtail this practice would be to require single-purpose bills that can't be loaded full of non-related crap. Of course, that would require a major change in our our legislative process works...
I believe there's a distinction between overwhelming people with unfamiliar terms, and expecting those who have used a technology or held a position for a long time to understand terms specific to their work and/or tools. I've worked in computer/network support for nearly 13 years. There have always been individuals who do everything they can to learn about their work and tools, and there have always been individuals who don't want to learn anything new (they're satisfied with the old way). The majority of people in between will pick up on the appropriate terminology in time. If you dumb down the jargon too much, you risk miseducating the person you are trying to help. I know some people who were taught that the main part of the computer was called "the big boxy thing", and they use that lingo to this very day (I cringe thinking about it). The best we can do is to introduce the proper terminology along with a plain language definition. The problem is that most people don't do that in other areas of life. Think about how many parents used pet names for various private body parts rather than using the appropriate lingo. Such reclassifications are common, but they tend to perpetuate the lack of knowledge rather than promoting a better understanding. As to the masses who don't know the lingo...they'll get it, eventually. As more and more things utilize computers, and until autonomous, artificially-intelligent machines are the norm, people will need to learn more about them. Think about the development of the automobile, which was an analogy used in some other comments. Did anyone know what an automatic transmission was when the first automobiles (horseless wagons) were produced? What about overdrive? Fuel injection? ABS? 4x4? AWD? Today, most drivers would at least recognize those terms (and many more). Just give it time. Personal computing is still very new to most people. They'll get it eventually, if we techies are willing to explain what we do with the appropriate terms.