Why buy it new if you can buy it used? Good question. Used books are yet another competitor that is crowding into traditional Borders sales territory. But, TTBOMR, the entire dollar value of the online used book market is still about 1/30th of the online new book market. That is barely on Borders' screen right now. Pulling customers from Amazon is a higher priority. But they will get to it sooner or later.
I make another prediction: within 10 years, if Borders is still in business, you will be able to order a used book through them at their B&M store. They will cultivate a stable of online used book dealers to supply them. This, BTW, is a natural continuation of the strategy implied in TFA - offer every book every way that Amazon can, plus coffee. If Amazon sells online, Borders will sell online; if Amazon sells used books, Borders will sell used books.
A further prediction: What they will NOT do is buy or trade used books at B&M stores. ( A few isolated stores might do it, but it will not be corporate policy ) This is because they are a very control-from the-top type of corporation. They pay their clerks little more than minimum, and severely restrict the decisions that employees can make. ( I recall a clerk once telling me that they received directions from corporate about which books were to go in which display windows. ) But buying books from customers requires lots of on-the-spot decision making, and tht is incompatible with their corporate culture.
The reason Borders partnered with Amazon in the first place was because they couldn't come up with a good enough web site on their own. What has changed since that time? I think their greed is overcoming their common sense here, as Amazon is going to be hard to compete with. What has changed is that Amazon got a whole lot bigger than Borders expected.
If one presumes that Borders is trying to go head-to-head with Amazon, then it looks bad. But Borders has spent billions upgrading their B&M stores in the last decade or so. ( Remember when a B&M bookstore was 2000 sq ft with no coffee and a much smaller selection? ) Borders is trying to get some of the online crowd into B&M stores. Borders will be delighted if their online sales break even, or even operate at a small loss.
I predict that we will see Border's web site saying: You can order this book and it will be delivered in x days, OR you can drive y miles and have it today!
You would think the legal case could also be made to hold Microsoft liable for stolen personal information, illegal charges to credit cards, raided bank accounts, etc., when known but unpatched (i.e. no patch available) exploits to their software allow people's computers to be compromised. Which leads us to the inevitable conclusion that the folks who make and interpret laws have no fucking clue as to what the net really is.
These bots could be greatly limited with proper tweaking of liability laws. Under current laws, if I leave a pool or a car unsecured and somebody else gets injured or killed, I can be found totally or partially liable. But if I leave my computer unsecured and someone else uses it to cause harm to third parties, I'm in the clear.
Seriously, this is a technology whose time has come. Persuading elderly drivers to give up their cars is difficult, and the baby boom generation is putting a lot of people in that situation in the next decade or two.
Counting vulnerabilities seems like a very silly way to gauge security. It seems like a truer test would be to set up a machine (or rather, a statisically significant bunch of machines) and measure the average time to system compromise. Even this technique has its flaws... That's a good start, but it ends up measuring the product of the OS vulnerability and the number of attacks on it. Even if all contestants were equal, windows would appear worse because more attacks will be made on it than any other OS.
A more accurate measurment might be: average time to system compromise / number of attacks.
TFA is way too complex. There are much simpler ways to handle the problem. The oxygen levels in many major cities are below 18% already. Just let CO2 levels keep going up, this will push oxygen percentages down a tad more, and we have no more computer fires.
Thanks, but this is more complex. The Byzantine Generals problem deals with data that is discrete, and often binary. The traffic problem deals with data that is continuous.
In other words, in the Byzantine Generals problem, if A != B then B is a different class of data form A. In the traffic problem, A and B may be in the same class - and treated as (A+B)/2 - or they may be different as in the generals problem.
I hope everybody's cell phone has a 3-axis accelerometer.
Deducing acceleration from location has one of two problems: either it is precise enough to constitute proof of speeding ( which will lead to deliberate non-participation ) or it is not precise enough for that in which case accurate values for acceleration cannot be calculated. As my OP says, speed data needs to be deliberately fuzzy. But acceleration values must be very precise.
Within seconds (the presumed latency of the mesh) the trouble spot could move 100s or 1000s of feet closer to you. That is the point of having the average repeated. As you are driving north, your car would hear about a problem spot numerous times from southbound traffic. Your car can take these reports and conclude that the trouble spot is moving.
God help you if you are following someone that thinks it would be interesting to run under the back of a large truck at 100mph, or is trying to commit suicide. That is compensated for by averaging. If there is an unsafe driver, a suicidal driver, or even a deliberate lying broadcaster, he gets averaged out. ( Actually the process is a tad more complex. A mode value calculation removes the freaks. Compare that to the average, and you know if there is a freak. )
Additionally, in the event that the system happens to actually work, what if all network connectivity were halted, blocked, or jammed? Then it devolves back to what it is like now.
I've been thinking about this one on occasion for a few years now...
The only things that need be passed along are current GPS location ( deliberately imprecise by about 20ft ), current velocity ( deliberately imprecise by about 10mph ), last 5 secs acceleration on all 3 axes and a time stamp.
The other function that a car should do is listen to the traffic going the other way and pass on an average of what it hears. ( This averaging function is crucial. It enables velocity and location to be reported without giving up evidence of speeding.
As an example: northbound traffic reports the four pieces of data. Southbound traffic listens to it and averages it. A minute or more later the southbound traffic repeats that to the northbound traffic who are soon to encounter the situatuion. It keeps repeating it - interspersed with other data about other locations - with decreasing frequency as it gets further away.
It is times like this that I wish America would switch over to a system where blank media is taxed and they don't prosecute piracy.
Why not do both?... Or most of both: tax the media and prosecute large scale piracy.
It works with books. People who illegally do large production runs of coprighted material are almost almost always prosecuted, but those who xerox a few pages - or even a whole textbook - seldom are. Prosecute the large scale copiers and the small scale copiers will be discrete. Publishers don't suffer much from the small copier.
And while there is no significant tax on paper, the intrinsic cost of it functions much like a tax.
The US book publishing business has been stable in this regard for decades.
It's already happening. TFA has a link entitled: * Sun Blamed for Warming of Earth and Other Worlds
Clicking on that link leads to text that starts with the following:
"Earth is heating up lately, but so are Mars, Pluto and other worlds in our solar system, leading some scientists to speculate that a change in the sun's activity is the common thread linking all these baking events."
I can't wait to surf Mars. With moons that close, there ought to be tidal swells that one could ride forever.
Suppose I recieve a DVD that I honestly believe is legit. And - due to my error, or someone else's error or someone else's falsehood - it is not. Or the baby- or pet- sitter makes a few copies on my machine while we're away.
So copies go out with my ID attached? No, thanks. I'll buy brand X. Or Y. But not Thompson.
A tool is supposed to do things my way. Not the manufacturer's way.
If Thompson wants to help prevent copyright infringement, there are better ways to do it, such as financial support for civil lawsuits against pirates.
This seems doomed to failure. You think comittee thinking is bad? Imagine a comittee of tens of thousands or more. Filtering good ideas out of the gibberish would be a gargantuan undertaking -- probably one that is more difficult than just thinking up your own ideas. Didn't the article say that they got some of the best minds in the business? So why would those great minds turn to a few thousand sub-mediocre minds? Given the choice, I'll take half a dozen smart people locked in a room with a whiteboard and an espresso machine over ten thousand jackasses making decisions by mob thinking.
It's interesting how in every modern war, the government that wins (assuming there is anything even vaguely like a winner) invariably puts a very small group of top military minds in charge of the war effort, even to the point of managing relevant aspects of the economy. Losers do just the opposite -- they let their legislature, congress, senate, president, chairman, corporate interests, beauracrats, and cronies make war decisions. And naturally, they either make retarded decisions or they rob the public blind at the expense of the war effort.
Comittee thinking is a disease. The bigger the comittee, the worse it gets. Human collaborative efficiency for creative works tops out at around 4 or 5 people. If you hope to invent new paradigms, you'll be hard-pressed to accomplish it with even as many a three people, and even two is pushing it Everybody here disagrees with you.
Liberals want to make the world better, Conservatives want to prevent the world from getting worse. And libertarians realize that nobody is wise enough to do either using the powers of government.
The best thing for a taxpayer to do is to comply as quickly and painlessly as possible Ok. I'll be an obedient citizen. I'll do that. Twice. Maybe a third time just for backup.
Well, I've never seen a 1040... *THUNK* ( That sound is my jaw hitting the floor. ) You have never seen your own 1040???
It's really in your best interests to understand your taxes. Let the accountant do the paperwork for taxes and offer you advice, but you should be making the final decisions about how your taxes are structured.
Ok, ok, if you're like me, you don't have the time because you're too busy running the business. At least get a second opinion from another accountant.
...every time I need to buy more (new) inventory that isn't a replacement for stuff already sold, that's not deducted from taxable earnings. Yeah, I have the same problem. It truly sucks.
A partial solution for that is to handle your own deliveries. Right now, the cost of delivering your inventory is probably added in to the cost of your inventory, and thus is not deductable. I have started picking up some of my own inventory. The vehicle and travel costs to do so are deductable, the employee who covers for you while you are gone is deductable. ( Or you stay, he travels. Still deductable. ) I don't know if that would work for you, but it transfers my inventory delivery costs from non-deductable to deductable, and makes my vacations partially deductable.
A good accountant should be able to come up with other ideas.
... a rat-hole apartment back in my business This is a great way to save money. Some of the finest businessmen I know did that. Me too.
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I make another prediction: within 10 years, if Borders is still in business, you will be able to order a used book through them at their B&M store. They will cultivate a stable of online used book dealers to supply them.
This, BTW, is a natural continuation of the strategy implied in TFA - offer every book every way that Amazon can, plus coffee. If Amazon sells online, Borders will sell online; if Amazon sells used books, Borders will sell used books.
A further prediction: What they will NOT do is buy or trade used books at B&M stores. ( A few isolated stores might do it, but it will not be corporate policy ) This is because they are a very control-from the-top type of corporation. They pay their clerks little more than minimum, and severely restrict the decisions that employees can make. ( I recall a clerk once telling me that they received directions from corporate about which books were to go in which display windows. ) But buying books from customers requires lots of on-the-spot decision making, and tht is incompatible with their corporate culture.
If one presumes that Borders is trying to go head-to-head with Amazon, then it looks bad. But Borders has spent billions upgrading their B&M stores in the last decade or so. ( Remember when a B&M bookstore was 2000 sq ft with no coffee and a much smaller selection? ) Borders is trying to get some of the online crowd into B&M stores. Borders will be delighted if their online sales break even, or even operate at a small loss.
I predict that we will see Border's web site saying: You can order this book and it will be delivered in x days, OR you can drive y miles and have it today!
These bots could be greatly limited with proper tweaking of liability laws. Under current laws, if I leave a pool or a car unsecured and somebody else gets injured or killed, I can be found totally or partially liable. But if I leave my computer unsecured and someone else uses it to cause harm to third parties, I'm in the clear.
If it's windows, we'll have the red screen of death.
At least now they won't cause accidents.
Seriously, this is a technology whose time has come. Persuading elderly drivers to give up their cars is difficult, and the baby boom generation is putting a lot of people in that situation in the next decade or two.
A more accurate measurment might be: average time to system compromise / number of attacks.
It should be right at home here.
TFA is way too complex. There are much simpler ways to handle the problem. The oxygen levels in many major cities are below 18% already. Just let CO2 levels keep going up, this will push oxygen percentages down a tad more, and we have no more computer fires.
Thanks, but this is more complex. The Byzantine Generals problem deals with data that is discrete, and often binary. The traffic problem deals with data that is continuous.
In other words, in the Byzantine Generals problem, if A != B then B is a different class of data form A. In the traffic problem, A and B may be in the same class - and treated as (A+B)/2 - or they may be different as in the generals problem.
I hope everybody's cell phone has a 3-axis accelerometer.
Deducing acceleration from location has one of two problems: either it is precise enough to constitute proof of speeding ( which will lead to deliberate non-participation ) or it is not precise enough for that in which case accurate values for acceleration cannot be calculated. As my OP says, speed data needs to be deliberately fuzzy. But acceleration values must be very precise.
God help you if you are following someone that thinks it would be interesting to run under the back of a large truck at 100mph, or is trying to commit suicide. That is compensated for by averaging. If there is an unsafe driver, a suicidal driver, or even a deliberate lying broadcaster, he gets averaged out. ( Actually the process is a tad more complex. A mode value calculation removes the freaks. Compare that to the average, and you know if there is a freak. )
Additionally, in the event that the system happens to actually work, what if all network connectivity were halted, blocked, or jammed? Then it devolves back to what it is like now.
I've been thinking about this one on occasion for a few years now...
The only things that need be passed along are current GPS location ( deliberately imprecise by about 20ft ), current velocity ( deliberately imprecise by about 10mph ), last 5 secs acceleration on all 3 axes and a time stamp.
The other function that a car should do is listen to the traffic going the other way and pass on an average of what it hears. ( This averaging function is crucial. It enables velocity and location to be reported without giving up evidence of speeding.
As an example: northbound traffic reports the four pieces of data. Southbound traffic listens to it and averages it. A minute or more later the southbound traffic repeats that to the northbound traffic who are soon to encounter the situatuion. It keeps repeating it - interspersed with other data about other locations - with decreasing frequency as it gets further away.
It works with books. People who illegally do large production runs of coprighted material are almost almost always prosecuted, but those who xerox a few pages - or even a whole textbook - seldom are. Prosecute the large scale copiers and the small scale copiers will be discrete. Publishers don't suffer much from the small copier.
And while there is no significant tax on paper, the intrinsic cost of it functions much like a tax.
The US book publishing business has been stable in this regard for decades.
It's already happening. TFA has a link entitled: * Sun Blamed for Warming of Earth and Other Worlds
Clicking on that link leads to text that starts with the following:
"Earth is heating up lately, but so are Mars, Pluto and other worlds in our solar system, leading some scientists to speculate that a change in the sun's activity is the common thread linking all these baking events."
I can't wait to surf Mars. With moons that close, there ought to be tidal swells that one could ride forever.
I don't know if he is right, but someone pleae mod him 'interesting', at least.
Suppose I recieve a DVD that I honestly believe is legit. And - due to my error, or someone else's error or someone else's falsehood - it is not. Or the baby- or pet- sitter makes a few copies on my machine while we're away.
So copies go out with my ID attached? No, thanks. I'll buy brand X. Or Y. But not Thompson.
A tool is supposed to do things my way. Not the manufacturer's way.
If Thompson wants to help prevent copyright infringement, there are better ways to do it, such as financial support for civil lawsuits against pirates.
You must be new here. Gamers will shell out whatever it takes to get the fastest processor.
It only can happen after the pilot flips a switch.
RTFA - it's often smaller particles, and there is a lot more of it.
It's really in your best interests to understand your taxes. Let the accountant do the paperwork for taxes and offer you advice, but you should be making the final decisions about how your taxes are structured.
Ok, ok, if you're like me, you don't have the time because you're too busy running the business. At least get a second opinion from another accountant.
...every time I need to buy more (new) inventory that isn't a replacement for stuff already sold, that's not deducted from taxable earnings. Yeah, I have the same problem. It truly sucks.A partial solution for that is to handle your own deliveries. Right now, the cost of delivering your inventory is probably added in to the cost of your inventory, and thus is not deductable. I have started picking up some of my own inventory. The vehicle and travel costs to do so are deductable, the employee who covers for you while you are gone is deductable. ( Or you stay, he travels. Still deductable. ) I don't know if that would work for you, but it transfers my inventory delivery costs from non-deductable to deductable, and makes my vacations partially deductable.
A good accountant should be able to come up with other ideas.
... a rat-hole apartment back in my business This is a great way to save money. Some of the finest businessmen I know did that. Me too.