First of all, programming is not done in Asian languages, because there is no computer language that uses an Asian language (Is there an Chinese symbol for 'printf'?). Moving past the obvious to your argument about learning English...
You could make EXACTLY the same argument about education in general... "They worked from sun-up to sun-down scrambling to shine shoes. And they had no homes. What use is education to them, except to talk to condescending tourists? Wouldn't that money and time have been better spent on permanent homes?"
The point of education is to give people the tools to raise themselves above their standing. Maybe if that shoeshine guy knew English, he could study the innumerable amount of information on the web in order to learn a better skill. Or heck, the person could order any number of textbooks (how many are printed in his particular dialect?) He would be able to read CNN to get accurate information about his government in order to help affect change.
The problem with your line of reasoning is that the needs never end. Yes, yet more money could be spent on food and shelter, but this is not a long term solution, because you've done nothing to make the people self sufficient. There simply is not enough resources (in ANY country) to take care of every individual. You have to give each individual an opportunity to better themselves through hard work. And that opporunity begins with an open flow of information.
I agree that it's enriching to learn other languages, but the reason that most of the world speaks (and is taught) multiple languages is practicality. English is the international language, so it makes sense for someone who speaks non-English to learn the "standard" language. In the US, we already speak the "standard" language, so there is no great incentive to learn another one, except for cultural purposes (as you point out).
Who is talking about civilizing? That's your own bigotry and prejudice speaking.
I'm talking about growing your economy, and bringing your country out of starvation. Wouldn't it be nice if your farmers could read the latest agricultural journals? Oh wait, they better wait until they're translated.
International business is conducted in English. Should the average citizen have the opportunity to engage in international business, or should that only be reserved for the Elite who can afford to become fluent in English?
And if you haven't noticed, most of the information on the web is in English. Is this information only "appropriate" for the rich in India? Are they only to learn "outside" information that the Elite (or the government) deems appropriate to translate?
Yes, it's easy to say "if they need it, they'll learn it", and this argument might even fly in richer countries, but something tells me that India doesn't have quite the same infrastructure for the poorest citizens to be able to access English tutoring.
Once a citizen knows English, and has access to a computer in a library, even the poorest individual has access to much of the knowledge of the world. That citizen can bypass "approved" translations (which might or might not be accurate).
No, answers like yours show how far away India is from become a world-dominant country.
When Asian countries wanted to grow their economies, did they whine that everyone wouldn't learn Asian languages? No, they learned English because they realized that international business is conducted in English.
If you want to produce Indian-language content for Indian-language people, go right ahead. But to argue that the Indian people should be closed off from the world's information until the world's information is translated is just stupid.
When I got my passport about 15 years ago, it listed everything in English and French. When I asked why, I was told that "French was the official international language". It could be that it's not "official" any more, but at the passport office at least, there is still some French momentum.
First let me say that I understand the need for computers that work in native languages.
But, it seems as if much of the point of essay is to improving the Indian economy and help them get "plugged in" to the world. If that's the goal, then it's much more important to change the education infrastructure so that the majority of the population learns English as a second language.
As the professor himself points out, most of the web is in English. Once Indians are on the web, they will still be limited in the information that they can use. Imagine the effect of citizens being able to access all the information of the web, not just information that originates in India (or is written in an Indian language).
English is the standard international language of the world (Yes, I know French is "officially" the international language, but... that's a joke). For any country that wants to break out of "third world" status, a population fluent in English is absolutely critical.
I think it's worth pointing out that every fear you listed is completely theoretical, and none are an imminent danger to you. I mean, Ebola? Come on. Do you really want to compare that risk to the Jews' situation during WW2? Even terrorism, while getting a lot of press, it incredibly unlikely to happen to a particular individual.
The only one that has any validity is maybe AIDS, and even that is not that difficult to dodge if you engage in safe behavior.
Notice how deep you have to dig in order to find something that's an immediate danger to you?
I think there is some validity to many people believing that the reason that progressive generations seem to have less happiness is exactly because there is less and less misery. It seems to be the case that humans need adversity in order to grow into well adjusted individuals.
He is honestly afraid to speak his opinions about literature, religion, etc. and that's a fate far worse than any I can imagine; to not be able to speak his mind freely among his peers.
All right, let's put it in perspective.
Vietnam generation: In fear of being drafted to die in a war they don't understand.
WW/II or WW/I generation: In real danger of the entire world being taken over by a madman. Or worse fears if you happened to be Jewish in Europe.
First part of 1900s: Real fear of contracting disabling Polio. Did you know all the churches in the US rang their bells when the cure was announced? That's how much fear people lived with. Or how about the Smallpox epidemics? Those were fun. How about life before antibiotics? Do you realize how little fear of disease you have compared to previous generations?
Any time in Europe before the 20th century: Real danger of your country being invaded by its neighbors.
Eastern Europe in 1945: An iron curtain descending over the rights of individuals (talk about 1984!)
Being black in the South during the 40s-50s.
Being black in the South during Slavery.
So let's compare that to your situation: Negative side: You have some minor, temporary overreactions by some teachers. Positive side: You are getting a free education. Your opportunities have never been more limitless with student loans available to put you into almost any college. You live in the richest country in the world, with the greatest freedoms (occasion blips notwithstanding). You have access to the most advanced health care in the world.
Still think your life is as hard as previous generations? Please. That's not to say that things are always easy, or that there aren't challenges, but keep some perspective. Things can -- and have been -- far, far worse.
First of all, let me apologize for making a flippant cheap shot. I know that there is not an acceptable open source alternative for doing video editing, and I'm sure Slashdot would use one if there was.
I guess my comment wasn't aimed so much at Slashdot but at people who think that Linux is the answer to all problems, and to make them start thinking that applications are more important than operating systems for getting work done. Again, I understand that my point was very subtle and buried in that comment.:)
Heh... "similar to those of much of his generation - uncertainty, doubt, fear"...versus other generations, which grew up with certainty and confidence.
More evidence that the current generation is one of the most spoiled in history. No generation has ever had it easier. But perhaps that's why there is such uncertainty and doubt. Without any sort of meaningful, obvious struggle, how do you know what needs to be accomplished?
OK, I'll take the plunge. I read the first two chapters.
Maybe it gets better after the first two chapters, but they seemed to me like the ramblings of a guy with no direction in life. I mean, "do we each see the same color" is not particularly earth-shattering, highly original philosophy. I guess I find people with laser-focus direction much more interesting, because (agree or disagree), I can learn something from their point of view.
It might be just me, since I've never been able to relate to the shallow, coffee-house, ponytail, "Whoa man, I never thought about the sky being orange!" crowd.
It's hard to judge a book by two chapters, but it just didn't grab me.
Personally, I thought the guy was saying to look up the plethora of linux security sites, not to look up the word plethora.
LOL! Oops... I think you're right. Still, the placement of the "quick go look it up" is next to the PLETHORA (in all scream-caps), and I hadn't read the "linux security sites" at that point in the sentence, so I think most computer language parsers would back me up on my interpretation.:)
Errr... no, it doesn't e-mail you, but Win/98 has a big ol' "Windows Update" function right on the start menu. Click it, and it tells you when you have important updates to install (particularly security updates). It also lets you download new features. Click the button and boom! Instant update.
And I haven't checked it out, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did have a mailing list to tell you when important updates are available.
You do realize that "Hey! You have the source code; you can fix it yourself! Isn't that cool?!" is not an acceptable answer to a client when they complain about a security problem?
Consultant: "Well, it might appear to be a problem, but it's not really since Linux is never considered to have a stable release."
Customer: "What???"
Consultant: "No! No! You're not looking at it the right way. Linux is in perpetual beta, so it's not really a problem you're experiencing, it's just feedback in the beta cycle!
...that whenever a Linux security problem comes up (in ANY of the Linux packages, in ANY state of development), we will immediately see a headline in Slashdot about it?
Well, first I should say that I don't really care about market tracking that much. I'm just not that paranoid ("Diana, get your gun. The marketing police are trying to break down the door!"). I just opt out when I find out.
Second of all, they probably will just get a slap on the wrist and who cares? As long as they stop, I'm happy. I should point out that the women suffered no real financial damages.
Personally, I don't want them to "go out of business". I like web advertising. You know why? Because without it, a lot of web services that I enjoy using would cease to exist. Having some ads that take up a minuscule part of my screen is a small price to pay for these services.
Like Slashdot? Junkbuster just makes it harder for Slashdots to exist. You might try realizing that ads are what make a lot of these things possible, and show a little more appreciation and respect./P.
When I've heard people criticize cookies, this has always been the horror story that they theorized about. My reply has always been that if someone was stupid enough to try it, they would be instantly sued by privacy groups.
Hopefully this lawsuit will have the intended effect, and he we will have a precedent set that it's illegal to do this type of tracking. Then hopefully (although I doubt it will happen) people will stop freaking about cookies.
Cookies are your friend. Cookies make web sites a whole lot simpler and more reliable.
Amazon needs to completely run Borders and Barnes & Nobles out of business to realize the price of its "future growth".
Not at all, for two reasons.
1) Amazon doesn't have to be a monopoly to be the dominant player in a space. One of the rules of branding is that it rare to have more than a 50-60% marketshare. Above that, people distrust you because they feel their choices are limited. For Amazon to be considered a winner, they only need to have the dominant marketshare.
2) But, as you point out, to justify their valuation they probably would need the entire book market. That's why Amazon doesn't care about domanating the book market, they want to dominate the web retail market. In essence, they want to be the department store (or Wal Mart) of the web. It's no coincidence that Amazon hired a lot of high-level executives from Wal-Mart. WM is incredibly efficient in their distribution systems, and it's that experience that Amazon wanted.
Bottom lines, it's not about the books. It's about product diversification.
Well, remember that fundamental business rules haven't really changed. You still have to connect products to customers. It's the communication with the customer that's changed. It's never been more direct, or less expensive to present your wares to an individual.
However, that doesn't mean you don't have to market anymore, maintain warehouses/inventory, service the customers, or whatever. Once you've decided to launch a new product line, you have to hire experts for that domain, line up suppliers, reserve inventory space, buy inventory, on and on. And when you're amazon, you can't just slap up a web page and see what happens. What will happen is that you will get a flood of orders, and Amazon has to be ready to receieve those orders. That means more servers, more customer support reps (who have to be trained on the new product, which means you have to write training manuals, etc).
Let's face it... e-commerce is just catalog mail-order, going all the way back to the original Sears catalog. The web just makes it easier to automate the ordering systems. In essence, rather than a clerk entering your order into a fulfillment system, you are entering the order directly into the fulfillment system. And instead of having to print catalogs, you can instantly see what's available.
But it still boils down to ordering from a catalog.
Eventually a lot of these companies will have to justify their valuations. Some of them are going to grow into being justified, and others aren't. If anyone is going to grow into justification, it will be Amazon because they have the branding. Some people think branding is dead, that people will just hop from site to site looking for the best deal. Some will, but I bet most won't. Never bet against the laziness of the average individual. Most won't worry about saving a few bucks when they can go to a place that's comfortable, hit one button, and the order appears on their doorstep without any fuss or trouble.
Well, I have to admit that I didn't know about this "accounting trick", although I would prefer to see the original data rather than relying on the mainstream press to report accurately.
Still, I think the point still stands. Amazon has by far the strongest brand on the web. B&N has the overhead of real stores, so the overhead advantage should go to Amazon.
Also, you're just focusing on the books. I think most would agree that just the book business would not justify the valuations, but if Amazon can truly become the department store of the web, then they could justify their price.
I mean, it's not as if Amazon has wimpy revenues. There is a lot of room for them to improve their product fulfillment and efficiency. I just don't think they are particuarly focusing on efficiency at this point; their stated short term goals are to build brand and expand their product lines.
Slashdot Mirror
Er, I never said that English should be taught to the exclusion of all other education. Obviously that would be absurd.
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First of all, programming is not done in Asian languages, because there is no computer language that uses an Asian language (Is there an Chinese symbol for 'printf'?). Moving past the obvious to your argument about learning English...
You could make EXACTLY the same argument about education in general... "They worked from sun-up to sun-down scrambling to shine shoes. And they had no homes. What use is education to them, except to talk to condescending tourists? Wouldn't that money and time have been better spent on permanent homes?"
The point of education is to give people the tools to raise themselves above their standing. Maybe if that shoeshine guy knew English, he could study the innumerable amount of information on the web in order to learn a better skill. Or heck, the person could order any number of textbooks (how many are printed in his particular dialect?) He would be able to read CNN to get accurate information about his government in order to help affect change.
The problem with your line of reasoning is that the needs never end. Yes, yet more money could be spent on food and shelter, but this is not a long term solution, because you've done nothing to make the people self sufficient. There simply is not enough resources (in ANY country) to take care of every individual. You have to give each individual an opportunity to better themselves through hard work. And that opporunity begins with an open flow of information.
--
You'll notice that I said "as a second language".
I agree that it's enriching to learn other languages, but the reason that most of the world speaks (and is taught) multiple languages is practicality. English is the international language, so it makes sense for someone who speaks non-English to learn the "standard" language. In the US, we already speak the "standard" language, so there is no great incentive to learn another one, except for cultural purposes (as you point out).
--
Who is talking about civilizing? That's your own bigotry and prejudice speaking.
I'm talking about growing your economy, and bringing your country out of starvation. Wouldn't it be nice if your farmers could read the latest agricultural journals? Oh wait, they better wait until they're translated.
International business is conducted in English. Should the average citizen have the opportunity to engage in international business, or should that only be reserved for the Elite who can afford to become fluent in English?
And if you haven't noticed, most of the information on the web is in English. Is this information only "appropriate" for the rich in India? Are they only to learn "outside" information that the Elite (or the government) deems appropriate to translate?
Yes, it's easy to say "if they need it, they'll learn it", and this argument might even fly in richer countries, but something tells me that India doesn't have quite the same infrastructure for the poorest citizens to be able to access English tutoring.
Once a citizen knows English, and has access to a computer in a library, even the poorest individual has access to much of the knowledge of the world. That citizen can bypass "approved" translations (which might or might not be accurate).
--
No, answers like yours show how far away India is from become a world-dominant country.
When Asian countries wanted to grow their economies, did they whine that everyone wouldn't learn Asian languages? No, they learned English because they realized that international business is conducted in English.
If you want to produce Indian-language content for Indian-language people, go right ahead. But to argue that the Indian people should be closed off from the world's information until the world's information is translated is just stupid.
--
When I got my passport about 15 years ago, it listed everything in English and French. When I asked why, I was told that "French was the official international language". It could be that it's not "official" any more, but at the passport office at least, there is still some French momentum.
--
First let me say that I understand the need for computers that work in native languages.
But, it seems as if much of the point of essay is to improving the Indian economy and help them get "plugged in" to the world. If that's the goal, then it's much more important to change the education infrastructure so that the majority of the population learns English as a second language.
As the professor himself points out, most of the web is in English. Once Indians are on the web, they will still be limited in the information that they can use. Imagine the effect of citizens being able to access all the information of the web, not just information that originates in India (or is written in an Indian language).
English is the standard international language of the world (Yes, I know French is "officially" the international language, but... that's a joke). For any country that wants to break out of "third world" status, a population fluent in English is absolutely critical.
--
I think it's worth pointing out that every fear you listed is completely theoretical, and none are an imminent danger to you. I mean, Ebola? Come on. Do you really want to compare that risk to the Jews' situation during WW2? Even terrorism, while getting a lot of press, it incredibly unlikely to happen to a particular individual.
The only one that has any validity is maybe AIDS, and even that is not that difficult to dodge if you engage in safe behavior.
Notice how deep you have to dig in order to find something that's an immediate danger to you?
I think there is some validity to many people believing that the reason that progressive generations seem to have less happiness is exactly because there is less and less misery. It seems to be the case that humans need adversity in order to grow into well adjusted individuals.
--
He is honestly afraid to speak his opinions about literature, religion, etc. and that's a fate far worse than any I can imagine; to not be able to speak his mind freely among his peers.
All right, let's put it in perspective.
Vietnam generation: In fear of being drafted to die in a war they don't understand.
WW/II or WW/I generation: In real danger of the entire world being taken over by a madman. Or worse fears if you happened to be Jewish in Europe.
First part of 1900s: Real fear of contracting disabling Polio. Did you know all the churches in the US rang their bells when the cure was announced? That's how much fear people lived with. Or how about the Smallpox epidemics? Those were fun. How about life before antibiotics? Do you realize how little fear of disease you have compared to previous generations?
Any time in Europe before the 20th century: Real danger of your country being invaded by its neighbors.
Eastern Europe in 1945: An iron curtain descending over the rights of individuals (talk about 1984!)
Being black in the South during the 40s-50s.
Being black in the South during Slavery.
So let's compare that to your situation: Negative side: You have some minor, temporary overreactions by some teachers. Positive side: You are getting a free education. Your opportunities have never been more limitless with student loans available to put you into almost any college. You live in the richest country in the world, with the greatest freedoms (occasion blips notwithstanding). You have access to the most advanced health care in the world.
Still think your life is as hard as previous generations? Please. That's not to say that things are always easy, or that there aren't challenges, but keep some perspective. Things can -- and have been -- far, far worse.
--
First of all, let me apologize for making a flippant cheap shot. I know that there is not an acceptable open source alternative for doing video editing, and I'm sure Slashdot would use one if there was.
I guess my comment wasn't aimed so much at Slashdot but at people who think that Linux is the answer to all problems, and to make them start thinking that applications are more important than operating systems for getting work done. Again, I understand that my point was very subtle and buried in that comment. :)
--
Is it me, or is it a little strange that Slashdot is willing to use (and endorse!) by far the most proprietary computer product in the industry?
--
Heh... "similar to those of much of his generation - uncertainty, doubt, fear" ...versus other generations, which grew up with certainty and confidence.
More evidence that the current generation is one of the most spoiled in history. No generation has ever had it easier. But perhaps that's why there is such uncertainty and doubt. Without any sort of meaningful, obvious struggle, how do you know what needs to be accomplished?
--
OK, I'll take the plunge. I read the first two chapters.
Maybe it gets better after the first two chapters, but they seemed to me like the ramblings of a guy with no direction in life. I mean, "do we each see the same color" is not particularly earth-shattering, highly original philosophy. I guess I find people with laser-focus direction much more interesting, because (agree or disagree), I can learn something from their point of view.
It might be just me, since I've never been able to relate to the shallow, coffee-house, ponytail, "Whoa man, I never thought about the sky being orange!" crowd.
It's hard to judge a book by two chapters, but it just didn't grab me.
--
I would love to have AIX's volume manager, which has everything you want in a partition manager, and more.
Unfortunately, I think they license it from someone else (not sure who), so I don't think they can release the source code. :(
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Personally, I thought the guy was saying to look up the plethora of linux security sites, not to look up the word plethora.
LOL! Oops... I think you're right. Still, the placement of the "quick go look it up" is next to the PLETHORA (in all scream-caps), and I hadn't read the "linux security sites" at that point in the sentence, so I think most computer language parsers would back me up on my interpretation. :)
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Uh, the point of the whole thread is security breeches caused by bugs, not by incompetent security personnel.
P.S. If you think "plethora" is an advanced word, then, well, I think it's time to buy that "Power Vocabulary" course you've been eyeing.
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Errr... no, it doesn't e-mail you, but Win/98 has a big ol' "Windows Update" function right on the start menu. Click it, and it tells you when you have important updates to install (particularly security updates). It also lets you download new features. Click the button and boom! Instant update.
And I haven't checked it out, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did have a mailing list to tell you when important updates are available.
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You do realize that "Hey! You have the source code; you can fix it yourself! Isn't that cool?!" is not an acceptable answer to a client when they complain about a security problem?
--
Customer: "My security has been breeched!"
Consultant: "Well, it might appear to be a problem, but it's not really since Linux is never considered to have a stable release."
Customer: "What???"
Consultant: "No! No! You're not looking at it the right way. Linux is in perpetual beta, so it's not really a problem you're experiencing, it's just feedback in the beta cycle!
--
...that whenever a Linux security problem comes up (in ANY of the Linux packages, in ANY state of development), we will immediately see a headline in Slashdot about it?
SORRY! Just asking.
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Well, first I should say that I don't really care about market tracking that much. I'm just not that paranoid ("Diana, get your gun. The marketing police are trying to break down the door!"). I just opt out when I find out.
Second of all, they probably will just get a slap on the wrist and who cares? As long as they stop, I'm happy. I should point out that the women suffered no real financial damages.
Personally, I don't want them to "go out of business". I like web advertising. You know why? Because without it, a lot of web services that I enjoy using would cease to exist. Having some ads that take up a minuscule part of my screen is a small price to pay for these services.
Like Slashdot? Junkbuster just makes it harder for Slashdots to exist. You might try realizing that ads are what make a lot of these things possible, and show a little more appreciation and respect./P.
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When I've heard people criticize cookies, this has always been the horror story that they theorized about. My reply has always been that if someone was stupid enough to try it, they would be instantly sued by privacy groups.
Hopefully this lawsuit will have the intended effect, and he we will have a precedent set that it's illegal to do this type of tracking. Then hopefully (although I doubt it will happen) people will stop freaking about cookies.
Cookies are your friend. Cookies make web sites a whole lot simpler and more reliable.
--
Amazon needs to completely run Borders and Barnes & Nobles out of business to realize the price of its "future growth".
Not at all, for two reasons.
1) Amazon doesn't have to be a monopoly to be the dominant player in a space. One of the rules of branding is that it rare to have more than a 50-60% marketshare. Above that, people distrust you because they feel their choices are limited. For Amazon to be considered a winner, they only need to have the dominant marketshare.
2) But, as you point out, to justify their valuation they probably would need the entire book market. That's why Amazon doesn't care about domanating the book market, they want to dominate the web retail market. In essence, they want to be the department store (or Wal Mart) of the web. It's no coincidence that Amazon hired a lot of high-level executives from Wal-Mart. WM is incredibly efficient in their distribution systems, and it's that experience that Amazon wanted.
Bottom lines, it's not about the books. It's about product diversification.
--
Well, remember that fundamental business rules haven't really changed. You still have to connect products to customers. It's the communication with the customer that's changed. It's never been more direct, or less expensive to present your wares to an individual.
However, that doesn't mean you don't have to market anymore, maintain warehouses/inventory, service the customers, or whatever. Once you've decided to launch a new product line, you have to hire experts for that domain, line up suppliers, reserve inventory space, buy inventory, on and on. And when you're amazon, you can't just slap up a web page and see what happens. What will happen is that you will get a flood of orders, and Amazon has to be ready to receieve those orders. That means more servers, more customer support reps (who have to be trained on the new product, which means you have to write training manuals, etc).
Let's face it... e-commerce is just catalog mail-order, going all the way back to the original Sears catalog. The web just makes it easier to automate the ordering systems. In essence, rather than a clerk entering your order into a fulfillment system, you are entering the order directly into the fulfillment system. And instead of having to print catalogs, you can instantly see what's available.
But it still boils down to ordering from a catalog.
Eventually a lot of these companies will have to justify their valuations. Some of them are going to grow into being justified, and others aren't. If anyone is going to grow into justification, it will be Amazon because they have the branding. Some people think branding is dead, that people will just hop from site to site looking for the best deal. Some will, but I bet most won't. Never bet against the laziness of the average individual. Most won't worry about saving a few bucks when they can go to a place that's comfortable, hit one button, and the order appears on their doorstep without any fuss or trouble.
--
Well, I have to admit that I didn't know about this "accounting trick", although I would prefer to see the original data rather than relying on the mainstream press to report accurately.
Still, I think the point still stands. Amazon has by far the strongest brand on the web. B&N has the overhead of real stores, so the overhead advantage should go to Amazon.
Also, you're just focusing on the books. I think most would agree that just the book business would not justify the valuations, but if Amazon can truly become the department store of the web, then they could justify their price.
I mean, it's not as if Amazon has wimpy revenues. There is a lot of room for them to improve their product fulfillment and efficiency. I just don't think they are particuarly focusing on efficiency at this point; their stated short term goals are to build brand and expand their product lines.
--