I'm 100% dvd these days. A friend asked if I saw the president's speech last night and I said, "Is it out on DVD yet?" I can't even remember where my antenna is.
Seriously, DVDs are so much easier to use than broadcast TV. The ability to pause is wonderful. I know that TIVO can do this for you, but it seems like overkill when a DVD player costs $30.
First, let me say that I agree with the general feeling of creepitude here. It's sad that our society is involved in so many battles that it can't find the soldiers through traditional recruitment.
But the fact that this database is being proposed means that the government can't get the answers with traditional means. I realize that, as the X-Files says, The Truth Is Out There in some government database, but that doesn't mean that the Pentagon can get at it. They can't seem to get the answers they want from Social Security or the IRS, despite the ominous quality of those databases. Perhaps it's easier to slip through the cracks than it appears.
This is further proof that the layers of bureaucracy don't actually solve things. They just slow things down even more.
So while I continue to worry about 1984, I'm going to cross my fingers and hope that this is a good indication that the database culture of the government is failing.
This is very true. Consider newspapers like the Washington Times. It's not bad, but some people always believe that it was started by the Church as a covert advertising venue. The owners of the paper can slant the news the way they want. They choose the articles and they choose the facts that go in the articles.
At least with standard advertising, you know where you stand. I would be sad if we lost the old system. The ads were generally kept separate from the content. It wasn't always perfect, but ad blockers will bring about covert advertising and that seems worse to me.
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I'm 100% dvd these days. A friend asked if I saw the president's speech last night and I said, "Is it out on DVD yet?" I can't even remember where my antenna is.
Seriously, DVDs are so much easier to use than broadcast TV. The ability to pause is wonderful. I know that TIVO can do this for you, but it seems like overkill when a DVD player costs $30.
First, let me say that I agree with the general feeling of creepitude here. It's sad that our society is involved in so many battles that it can't find the soldiers through traditional recruitment. But the fact that this database is being proposed means that the government can't get the answers with traditional means. I realize that, as the X-Files says, The Truth Is Out There in some government database, but that doesn't mean that the Pentagon can get at it. They can't seem to get the answers they want from Social Security or the IRS, despite the ominous quality of those databases. Perhaps it's easier to slip through the cracks than it appears. This is further proof that the layers of bureaucracy don't actually solve things. They just slow things down even more. So while I continue to worry about 1984, I'm going to cross my fingers and hope that this is a good indication that the database culture of the government is failing.
This is very true. Consider newspapers like the Washington Times. It's not bad, but some people always believe that it was started by the Church as a covert advertising venue. The owners of the paper can slant the news the way they want. They choose the articles and they choose the facts that go in the articles. At least with standard advertising, you know where you stand. I would be sad if we lost the old system. The ads were generally kept separate from the content. It wasn't always perfect, but ad blockers will bring about covert advertising and that seems worse to me.
This is a good balanced view. I enjoy free content and I've been working now for two years. The money has to come from somewhere.