You are welcome. Anytime. (You might want to a see doctor to get your A reattached.)
I suppose by "left-wing propaganda / conspiracy theories" you mean their reporting on Iraq etc.
I simply advise you that there really is a war over there, people getting killed and everything (I know. It doesn't look like ti from here.). And it does look like the folks who took us there weren't thinking very clearly about how it would go, how much it would cost, or even why we should go there in the first place.
I think that if you talk to some military people or even just read a respectable newspaper or two you will find that Frontline's reporting has been pretty accurate compared to contemporaneous accounts by other organizations (although this may be the result of a conspiracy of left-wing nut jobs.)
Actually what you referenced isn't particularly damning or new to most people on Slashdot. It is accurate though Unlike Penn and Teller) and it explains how Walmart has used IT to incredible advantage over their customers and suppliers. I suggest you read the sections that address union busting, employee privacy issues, strategy of locating Walmarts, and the effects they have on the local community (some positive, and some negative.)
I am happy your eyes have been opened though. and that you have found some more reliable sources of information than Penn and Teller. Keep up the good work!
"What incentive would people have to learn skills and work in a more demanding, higher stress job? "
AC's post is ridiculous. Working at these places is a numbing treadmill that would be very difficult for anyone to get off of if they did not have the advantages most slashdoters have probably had.
The most stressful job I have ever had was working at Costco (pretty similar to Walmart, I'm sure.) I took the job as a early morning job during a dry period in my consulting career that coincided with one of those all too humbling "life transitions" (divorce.)
They treat their employees as a disposable commodity. They are probably better to their employees than Walmart (and certainly pay better.) None the less, every day working there was a painful, stressful, insulting, slog. They didn't give a damn about people's potential or their education, training, or capabilities. It was just all about warm bodys moving heavy shit around etc. Get hurt? Too bad. There are other folks who want the job.
Working as a web experience consultant for a major worldwide corporation and the associated stress (and 10 times the pay) is far less stressful.
One look at the YouTube video confirms that Penn and Teller have no interest in examining the Walmart issue.
Might I suggest http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walm art/ as a more reputable source?
There are so many things wrong and destructive about Walmart that it's hardly worth trying to communicate them.
If you can't see it, it can only be because you don't want, or are incapable of believing it.
Thanks for the information, Whiney Mac Fanboy. Initially I found your information hard to believe, but my reservations were put to rest when I read the quality blog you cite (which is is published by the prestigious Internet.)
Hdustinbing.wordpress.com is way more reliable than Roughly Drafted because its peer reviewed, right? Either way, I'm sure you know its a reliable source since . . . maybe, you're the author? or something? Couldn't tell, there isn't much of that sort of information at the site. Hdustinbing is probably is too concerned with getting the news out to include that sort of info (or facts.)
Actually I find roughly drafted interesting to read. I can't vouch for the technical sophistication of Roughly Drafted in this article. The technical details of both this article and the/. commentary are beyond me. I'll assume that the article is at least partially the fruit of an embarrassing (for Roughly Drafted) April fools joke. But it does appear that iPods are running on a subset of the kernal that powers OSX. That is interesting.
If you think its drivel, its probably because you are not interested in and/or don't understand the strategic aspects of product design, development, integration, and production. You read the article and see it as drivel because it is incorrect in a technical sense and it mistakenly cites an April Fools joke (that is funny.)
In fact it is NOT a TECHNICAL article. It is a STRATEGY article. It is examines and alludes to the way Apple is using an array of standardized but flexible parts--the kernel, OS, SW, hardware, etc. to stay nimble in the marketplace and reinforce its talent for creating a system of reliable products that fit into the lives of real people (the broad majority of people, not necessarily slashdotters.) Those people are willing and happy to buy these products. Why? Because of their utility and relevance to their lives which they see as tremendously valuable. Meanwhile this allows Apple to make an oversized profit.
That healthy profit margin causes some to have great resentment toward Apple. But more importantly it is the result of an enviable strategic plan that has been well executed. Roughly Drafted (Daniel Eran Dilger) has a talent for understanding strategic plans and explaining them (even if he is a well recognized, confessed, and unrepentant Apple fanboy.) This is what makes RD interesting for me.
Yeah, I'll say.
Unfortunately the typical american long ago lost all critical reasoning skills. These days I am disgusted to see even scientists are falling for a tarted up, 21st century version "perpetual Motion machines" debunked in the 19th century!
The next thing you know they'll be claiming the existence of a new type of electron wave, or something!
What? . . . Doh!
I'm guessing the licensing fee is so they can be "official partners" of Apple with the right to uses certain Apple protected catch phrases and logos in ads and packaging.
Wrong,
There are a variety of synergistic efficiencies with electric vehicles. Regenerative braking turns otherwise wasted energy back into electricity for re-use rather than throwing it away as heat. Thats why the Ford Escape hybrid gets better milage in the city than on the highway. Lighter power plant and no brakes means the car weighs less. Since the car weighs less you need less power and lighter wheels and suspension. Lower Rolling resistance wheels can be used (which are lighter. Lower power means lighter power plant . . . Repeat a few times. etc.
Power generation is centralized and therefore more efficient.
Oh and by the way, these cars are quiet.
Whats the efficiency of making hydrogen at a nuclear power plant where otherwise wasted hi temperatures and electricity (you can't turn off the reator at night) are used to gennerate essentially free hydrogen? And how do we factor the cost of refinery pollution and oil spills (I'll take a hydrogen spill, thank you.)
While I agree that a fuel cell is bettr than a ICE, I would be interested in anythng that speeds the conversion to a hydrogen economy.
Slashdot Mirror
You are welcome. Anytime. (You might want to a see doctor to get your A reattached.) I suppose by "left-wing propaganda / conspiracy theories" you mean their reporting on Iraq etc. I simply advise you that there really is a war over there, people getting killed and everything (I know. It doesn't look like ti from here.). And it does look like the folks who took us there weren't thinking very clearly about how it would go, how much it would cost, or even why we should go there in the first place. I think that if you talk to some military people or even just read a respectable newspaper or two you will find that Frontline's reporting has been pretty accurate compared to contemporaneous accounts by other organizations (although this may be the result of a conspiracy of left-wing nut jobs.)
Actually what you referenced isn't particularly damning or new to most people on Slashdot. It is accurate though Unlike Penn and Teller) and it explains how Walmart has used IT to incredible advantage over their customers and suppliers. I suggest you read the sections that address union busting, employee privacy issues, strategy of locating Walmarts, and the effects they have on the local community (some positive, and some negative.) I am happy your eyes have been opened though. and that you have found some more reliable sources of information than Penn and Teller. Keep up the good work!
AC's post is ridiculous. Working at these places is a numbing treadmill that would be very difficult for anyone to get off of if they did not have the advantages most slashdoters have probably had.
The most stressful job I have ever had was working at Costco (pretty similar to Walmart, I'm sure.) I took the job as a early morning job during a dry period in my consulting career that coincided with one of those all too humbling "life transitions" (divorce.)
They treat their employees as a disposable commodity. They are probably better to their employees than Walmart (and certainly pay better.) None the less, every day working there was a painful, stressful, insulting, slog. They didn't give a damn about people's potential or their education, training, or capabilities. It was just all about warm bodys moving heavy shit around etc. Get hurt? Too bad. There are other folks who want the job. Working as a web experience consultant for a major worldwide corporation and the associated stress (and 10 times the pay) is far less stressful.
Frontline
at
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walm art/
One look at the YouTube video confirms that Penn and Teller have no interest in examining the Walmart issue. Might I suggest http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walm art/ as a more reputable source?
There are so many things wrong and destructive about Walmart that it's hardly worth trying to communicate them.
If you can't see it, it can only be because you don't want, or are incapable of believing it.
Thanks for the information, Whiney Mac Fanboy. Initially I found your information hard to believe, but my reservations were put to rest when I read the quality blog you cite (which is is published by the prestigious Internet.) Hdustinbing.wordpress.com is way more reliable than Roughly Drafted because its peer reviewed, right? Either way, I'm sure you know its a reliable source since . . . maybe, you're the author? or something? Couldn't tell, there isn't much of that sort of information at the site. Hdustinbing is probably is too concerned with getting the news out to include that sort of info (or facts.)
If you think its drivel, its probably because you are not interested in and/or don't understand the strategic aspects of product design, development, integration, and production. You read the article and see it as drivel because it is incorrect in a technical sense and it mistakenly cites an April Fools joke (that is funny.)
In fact it is NOT a TECHNICAL article. It is a STRATEGY article. It is examines and alludes to the way Apple is using an array of standardized but flexible parts--the kernel, OS, SW, hardware, etc. to stay nimble in the marketplace and reinforce its talent for creating a system of reliable products that fit into the lives of real people (the broad majority of people, not necessarily slashdotters.) Those people are willing and happy to buy these products. Why? Because of their utility and relevance to their lives which they see as tremendously valuable. Meanwhile this allows Apple to make an oversized profit.
That healthy profit margin causes some to have great resentment toward Apple. But more importantly it is the result of an enviable strategic plan that has been well executed. Roughly Drafted (Daniel Eran Dilger) has a talent for understanding strategic plans and explaining them (even if he is a well recognized, confessed, and unrepentant Apple fanboy.) This is what makes RD interesting for me.
Yeah, I'll say. Unfortunately the typical american long ago lost all critical reasoning skills. These days I am disgusted to see even scientists are falling for a tarted up, 21st century version "perpetual Motion machines" debunked in the 19th century! The next thing you know they'll be claiming the existence of a new type of electron wave, or something! What? . . . Doh!
I'm guessing the licensing fee is so they can be "official partners" of Apple with the right to uses certain Apple protected catch phrases and logos in ads and packaging.
Wrong, There are a variety of synergistic efficiencies with electric vehicles. Regenerative braking turns otherwise wasted energy back into electricity for re-use rather than throwing it away as heat. Thats why the Ford Escape hybrid gets better milage in the city than on the highway. Lighter power plant and no brakes means the car weighs less. Since the car weighs less you need less power and lighter wheels and suspension. Lower Rolling resistance wheels can be used (which are lighter. Lower power means lighter power plant . . . Repeat a few times. etc. Power generation is centralized and therefore more efficient. Oh and by the way, these cars are quiet.
Whats the efficiency of making hydrogen at a nuclear power plant where otherwise wasted hi temperatures and electricity (you can't turn off the reator at night) are used to gennerate essentially free hydrogen? And how do we factor the cost of refinery pollution and oil spills (I'll take a hydrogen spill, thank you.) While I agree that a fuel cell is bettr than a ICE, I would be interested in anythng that speeds the conversion to a hydrogen economy.