If you honestly believe moderation on Slashdot is worthless and a waste of time you ought to try reading some other "social news" site. They all suck worse than Slashdot.
Not a few early Amnesty activists think that it has been taken over by ferociously anti-American elements, who are willing to overlook even more heinous deeds in full-on dictatorships and focus more on criticizing the US.
Source? I always put it down to political opportunism: Amnesty must think it has more of a chance of genuinely changing the United States (or any of its allies that also receive Amnesty criticism) than of changing say... China.
In the USA it takes 60% to break a filibuster, and we like it that way. Filibusters are "anti-democratic" yes, but in our non-proportional representation system they block narrow majorities in the Senate from enforcing their will on narrow minorities.
The problem is that Senate elections work in such a way that 60% majorities are extremely uncommon.
The whole point of netbooks was supposed to be that they *weren't* PC's, they were consumer electronics devices.
First law of consumer electronics: Every single-purpose gadget eventually becomes a PC as Moore's Law allows it to acquire sufficient computing power. Corrolary: PCs mutate into new forms based on consumer-electronics devices as Moore's Law allows them to miniaturize further.
Well it turns out that keeping applications on "the cloud" sucks, and people actually want to have real software on their own machine. So the netbooks had to cope with that demand.
Personally I think the Linux ones just don't sell as well because people are stupid and xenophobic. If my mom can use Linux, anyone can.
Naw, you're making the false assumption that managers won't just hire other technologically incompetent managers out of good will towards fellow members of the Brotherhood of Pointy-Haired Bosses.
There was a time when that was a lot less of a problem, since Doom II looked like crap compared to Quake (and games based on the Quake engine), and then when you had Quake II games the old Quake I started to look like crap by comparison. Nowadays improvements are a lot more incremental. I've even played some ~10 year old games recently and while you can tell a difference, they're not exactly visually offensive either.
To add some more perspective, I recently bought "Psychonauts" for $10 on Steam. This is 1/6 the price of a large-scale, big-budget game bought new. In fact, it remains 1/3 what I paid for a "classic" (ie: reduced price due to sales volume) copy of "Assassin's Creed". Yet it contains many times more variety and gameplay value.
Anyone want to explain why I should purchase new big-budget video games?
Well part of it was that Microsoft bought out RARE, which used to produce many of the most brilliant, off-the-wall games for Nintendo systems.
Then there's the fact that Nintendo seems to have decided to focus on shoveling out Wii Do Shit instead of updating and innovating their core circle of titles.
It could be circumvented if all companies based in X country had to hire people within X country, but even then it would just become regional, the east might be $25, but the west might become more lax in it's regulations, allowing more people to work, drop it down to $20, people from the east who don't qualify there, move to the west, people in the east refuse to go lower than $25, so the east companies outsource to the west, people lose jobs, move to the west as well.
Right, except that the difference between $20/hour and $25/hour is actually small enough that the corresponding regional economies can adjust without a massive drop in the standard of living, unlike the difference between $1/hour and $25/hour.
Everyone starts wanting more and more money, quiting their job at $12 an hour, going for the $16 an hour, then $20, $25... the companies that were giving you $16, go "fuck this shit" and look outside of the country, the more those numbers rise, the more companies look outside, why give someone $25 an hour to do the same as someone else is willing to take $4, what makes you special? cause you just leased a new car, therefore you are a more valuable employee?
Well, according to the scenario you've set up, $25/hour is the market price, so the company can pay it or do without.
The problem is that there are roughly 3 different things called "the left", and between each of them almost everyone can find something to dislike.
1) The economic left that supports better regulation of business (aka: sane regulations) and a social safety-net for ordinary people. Plutocrats hate this one. 2) The social left that wants to legalize marijuana and gay marriage. Religious fundamentalists hate this one. 3) The foreign-policy left who think the West, the USA, and related allies should appease the Muslim world or even side with it against its enemies. Foreign-policy realists hate this bunch, not least because they've made being against the Iraq War synonymous with being pro-Jihad.
What I'm saying is that if the people in favor of protecting the economy and the citizenry from crashes and poverty could dissociate themselves from the crazy protesters who wave Hizballah flags around and the potheads who think hemp solves all problems, those sane people would have a much easier time at the polls.
I've made some of the same observations about the academic programming-languages field as you have, and I was wondering: got any advice on what to do for someone who actually likes inventing and implementing real languages?
Actually in Mondragon in the Basque country they have worker-cooperatives working as a corporate structure, but everyone else who tries it seem to behave like dumb hippies by overemphasizing the "worker-owned" bit and leaving the "business" to rot.
...are all a bunch of child molestors and rapists (in my opinion). It is my belief, that Scientologists have gay sex with children on a daily basis and are the people behind nearly all that is evil in the world!
As a Jew, I take offense to the notion that anyone can supplant my people as the #1 target of paranoid conspiracy theories! Even the Time Cube guy targets us, and I won't let you ruin that.
Slashdot Mirror
If you honestly believe moderation on Slashdot is worthless and a waste of time you ought to try reading some other "social news" site. They all suck worse than Slashdot.
Not a few early Amnesty activists think that it has been taken over by ferociously anti-American elements, who are willing to overlook even more heinous deeds in full-on dictatorships and focus more on criticizing the US.
Source? I always put it down to political opportunism: Amnesty must think it has more of a chance of genuinely changing the United States (or any of its allies that also receive Amnesty criticism) than of changing say... China.
In the USA it takes 60% to break a filibuster, and we like it that way. Filibusters are "anti-democratic" yes, but in our non-proportional representation system they block narrow majorities in the Senate from enforcing their will on narrow minorities.
The problem is that Senate elections work in such a way that 60% majorities are extremely uncommon.
There's a difference between having a say in the matter and being able to make the final decision.
AAHHHG! David Lynch Dune movie fans! GO AWAY! That wasn't real Dune!
This rant brought to you by people who read the book.
The whole point of netbooks was supposed to be that they *weren't* PC's, they were consumer electronics devices.
First law of consumer electronics: Every single-purpose gadget eventually becomes a PC as Moore's Law allows it to acquire sufficient computing power. Corrolary: PCs mutate into new forms based on consumer-electronics devices as Moore's Law allows them to miniaturize further.
Well it turns out that keeping applications on "the cloud" sucks, and people actually want to have real software on their own machine. So the netbooks had to cope with that demand.
Personally I think the Linux ones just don't sell as well because people are stupid and xenophobic. If my mom can use Linux, anyone can.
OH MY DEAR GOD I had no idea that Baron Harkonnen works in IT.
Naw, you're making the false assumption that managers won't just hire other technologically incompetent managers out of good will towards fellow members of the Brotherhood of Pointy-Haired Bosses.
Yeah, once she figures out how to make attractive, feminine android avatars people won't even bother with a resistance.
If the androids are (hem-hem) "fully functional", she'll have an army of human shock troops.
What about those of us who want to play actual "video game" games on the Wii?
There was a time when that was a lot less of a problem, since Doom II looked like crap compared to Quake (and games based on the Quake engine), and then when you had Quake II games the old Quake I started to look like crap by comparison. Nowadays improvements are a lot more incremental. I've even played some ~10 year old games recently and while you can tell a difference, they're not exactly visually offensive either.
To add some more perspective, I recently bought "Psychonauts" for $10 on Steam. This is 1/6 the price of a large-scale, big-budget game bought new. In fact, it remains 1/3 what I paid for a "classic" (ie: reduced price due to sales volume) copy of "Assassin's Creed". Yet it contains many times more variety and gameplay value.
Anyone want to explain why I should purchase new big-budget video games?
Excuse me, administrators, how did this HR marketroid get on Slashdot?
Well part of it was that Microsoft bought out RARE, which used to produce many of the most brilliant, off-the-wall games for Nintendo systems.
Then there's the fact that Nintendo seems to have decided to focus on shoveling out Wii Do Shit instead of updating and innovating their core circle of titles.
It could be circumvented if all companies based in X country had to hire people within X country, but even then it would just become regional, the east might be $25, but the west might become more lax in it's regulations, allowing more people to work, drop it down to $20, people from the east who don't qualify there, move to the west, people in the east refuse to go lower than $25, so the east companies outsource to the west, people lose jobs, move to the west as well.
Right, except that the difference between $20/hour and $25/hour is actually small enough that the corresponding regional economies can adjust without a massive drop in the standard of living, unlike the difference between $1/hour and $25/hour.
Everyone starts wanting more and more money, quiting their job at $12 an hour, going for the $16 an hour, then $20, $25... the companies that were giving you $16, go "fuck this shit" and look outside of the country, the more those numbers rise, the more companies look outside, why give someone $25 an hour to do the same as someone else is willing to take $4, what makes you special? cause you just leased a new car, therefore you are a more valuable employee?
Well, according to the scenario you've set up, $25/hour is the market price, so the company can pay it or do without.
Your list of netbook features reminds me of the machine Paul Atreides used for combat training.
Paul never used a machine for combat training. What are you talking about?
The problem is that there are roughly 3 different things called "the left", and between each of them almost everyone can find something to dislike.
1) The economic left that supports better regulation of business (aka: sane regulations) and a social safety-net for ordinary people. Plutocrats hate this one.
2) The social left that wants to legalize marijuana and gay marriage. Religious fundamentalists hate this one.
3) The foreign-policy left who think the West, the USA, and related allies should appease the Muslim world or even side with it against its enemies. Foreign-policy realists hate this bunch, not least because they've made being against the Iraq War synonymous with being pro-Jihad.
What I'm saying is that if the people in favor of protecting the economy and the citizenry from crashes and poverty could dissociate themselves from the crazy protesters who wave Hizballah flags around and the potheads who think hemp solves all problems, those sane people would have a much easier time at the polls.
No, of course not, that's ridiculous. Everyone knows there's just one turtle with four elephants on it. The turtle swims, because it's a turtle.
I've made some of the same observations about the academic programming-languages field as you have, and I was wondering: got any advice on what to do for someone who actually likes inventing and implementing real languages?
insanity (not the laughable kind)
Why so serious?
So we'd just have to rig the elections to make Stephen Colbert win then. Or maybe Ron Paul.
Actually in Mondragon in the Basque country they have worker-cooperatives working as a corporate structure, but everyone else who tries it seem to behave like dumb hippies by overemphasizing the "worker-owned" bit and leaving the "business" to rot.
...are all a bunch of child molestors and rapists (in my opinion). It is my belief, that Scientologists have gay sex with children on a daily basis and are the people behind nearly all that is evil in the world!
As a Jew, I take offense to the notion that anyone can supplant my people as the #1 target of paranoid conspiracy theories! Even the Time Cube guy targets us, and I won't let you ruin that.
She's not a random actress, she's a Companion.
All actresses are.