I agree with the sentiment. While I think the war is just (Saddam was never going to disarm completely and voluntarily), the diplomatic failure lies in not having a broader base of support for military action.
If you think about it, however, there may be a silver lining to this cloud. France and others have stated that if Iraq were to use chemical/biological weapons, that would change things completely and bring them in on the side of the U.S. That provides a powerful incentive for Saddam not to use these weapons - by not doing so he keeps France, Germany and Russia on his side in calling for an end to hostilities. The bottom line, however, is that we don't need those countries' military support, but if they help prevent the use of chemical/biological weapons, that's OK by me...
The point about Open Source code verification being stronger due to people in different locations checking the code is a particularly good one. We "supposedly" have code reviews within my IS department, but since they're being done by other members of the programming team, there's a personal familiarity there that undermines truly independent analysis. Too often, code is simply scanned over and rubber-stamped rather than thoroughly reviewed.
As the economy looks to ramp back up again over the next year, consolidation among hardware/software companies should accelerate in 2003. Just like IBM bought Rational recently, there are probably going to be more big acquisitions coming up. Anybody's guess as to who's next? My bet is Sun...
I think the interesting point of comparison would be to see how the system requirements might change under a Linux setup. This article lists a 800mhz CPU, for example. Under Linux, could you get away with significantly less than that? I've got a 300mhz AMD K6-2 that I'd love to find some use for...
Re:First war post!
on
Strike on Iraq
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· Score: 5, Insightful
My personal pet peeve is the "name" that each channel has, like Countdown Iraq, Zero Hour, Showdown With Saddam, etc. It's the friggin' news, and we know it's about Iraq, OK? No need to try to establish a "brand" here...
Exactly - all you need to do is bloat R&D expenses, or route marketing through a shell company at a bogus rate, etc. There a zillion ways to rake in the $$$ without hitting the threshold.
Think about it - basically, if an application became a runaway hit, the vendor would only reap a portion of the proceeds. I like the way the article says that "The purchasers are very excited about this." Of course they would be - if a product takes off and becomes more desirable (because everybody else is using it), chances are that it will be available for free in a short time! What a bargain!
Hmmm... now what's that old saying about something being too good to be true...
Strictly speaking, that's not necessarily needed on a BOD. What is needed are people with sound business and organizational acumen, who can challenge the executives and ensure that the interests of shareholders are being served.
Then I trust you don't buy any imported goods that were formerly made here in the good ole U S of A, do you? Like TV's, radios, electrical cords, clothes, shoes, etc.? What's happening here is the swinging of the pendulum - during the go-go 90's, any loser who could spell HTML could get an "IS" job with a kickin' salary, attracting more labor into the market as a result.
I particularly like the "In America, we hire Americans. We don't sublet to another country to save money and backstab our own people." People in manufacturing have been facing for decades what is only now starting to affect IT workers - there's a whole world out there aiming to compete on the world stage. Are you ready???
Thank goodness for technology...
on
Beer and Bluetooth
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· Score: 4, Funny
Now, the rest of the pub can intervene to help prevent egregious cases of "beer goggling".
Please notice year this game was released. Please notice hardware it runs - just 64KB of RAM!
Hey, back then that was a decent amount of memory - my Atari 400 came with 8K, and it cost $200 and two weeks in the shop to go all the way up to 16K. It just goes to show how importance elegance of code used to be...
That reputation will only be built by latching onto a highly visible project in more than just name. It would be interesting, for example to have a client built around a project like Gutenberg that somehow restricts the content shared to legitimate project material. That way people and organizations could adopt Freenet without worrying about the content...
Further proof that there is no more pathetic existence than that of the creators of television commercials. Whether people fast-forward through them or not, the lasting impression is the same...
Meanwhile, Saddam Hussein and his band of adventurers are standing beside the Tomb of the Unknown Gulf War I Soldier, reading a crumbling old book that they found alongside:
we have barred the gates... can hold them off long if... horrible... suffer... They are coming. We cannot get out. Drums, drums, drums... they are coming."
Apparently if you want any form of DVD-Audio out, DRM has to be in place first, so that's not so much a Creative thing. Frankly, I don't see much value here above a Soundblaster Live anyway, for the mainstream user.
Slashdot Mirror
If you think about it, however, there may be a silver lining to this cloud. France and others have stated that if Iraq were to use chemical/biological weapons, that would change things completely and bring them in on the side of the U.S. That provides a powerful incentive for Saddam not to use these weapons - by not doing so he keeps France, Germany and Russia on his side in calling for an end to hostilities. The bottom line, however, is that we don't need those countries' military support, but if they help prevent the use of chemical/biological weapons, that's OK by me...
the cad! He needs to grow that mustache further out to the sides, so he can twist it as he cackles with maniacal glee...
The point about Open Source code verification being stronger due to people in different locations checking the code is a particularly good one. We "supposedly" have code reviews within my IS department, but since they're being done by other members of the programming team, there's a personal familiarity there that undermines truly independent analysis. Too often, code is simply scanned over and rubber-stamped rather than thoroughly reviewed.
As the economy looks to ramp back up again over the next year, consolidation among hardware/software companies should accelerate in 2003. Just like IBM bought Rational recently, there are probably going to be more big acquisitions coming up. Anybody's guess as to who's next? My bet is Sun...
I wasn't thinking so much about video editing per se as straightforward PVR duty... any thoughts on that?
Just as long as some flaky broadcaster doesn't inadvertently launch an airstrike, that is!
I think the interesting point of comparison would be to see how the system requirements might change under a Linux setup. This article lists a 800mhz CPU, for example. Under Linux, could you get away with significantly less than that? I've got a 300mhz AMD K6-2 that I'd love to find some use for...
My personal pet peeve is the "name" that each channel has, like Countdown Iraq, Zero Hour, Showdown With Saddam, etc. It's the friggin' news, and we know it's about Iraq, OK? No need to try to establish a "brand" here...
'Lectric Funeral! 'Lectric Funeral!
Think about it - basically, if an application became a runaway hit, the vendor would only reap a portion of the proceeds. I like the way the article says that "The purchasers are very excited about this." Of course they would be - if a product takes off and becomes more desirable (because everybody else is using it), chances are that it will be available for free in a short time! What a bargain!
Hmmm... now what's that old saying about something being too good to be true...
Strictly speaking, that's not necessarily needed on a BOD. What is needed are people with sound business and organizational acumen, who can challenge the executives and ensure that the interests of shareholders are being served.
"Dude! There's a huge f--king cockroach hanging in my kitchen, generating the following output..."
I particularly like the "In America, we hire Americans. We don't sublet to another country to save money and backstab our own people." People in manufacturing have been facing for decades what is only now starting to affect IT workers - there's a whole world out there aiming to compete on the world stage. Are you ready???
Now, the rest of the pub can intervene to help prevent egregious cases of "beer goggling".
At the least they could start a new category for these stories "Web Blunders", so we can put them on ignore...
Remember, non-descript conformity is the foundation of a happy, productive workforce. Bring back the beige brick!
Hey, back then that was a decent amount of memory - my Atari 400 came with 8K, and it cost $200 and two weeks in the shop to go all the way up to 16K. It just goes to show how importance elegance of code used to be...
/me ducks
No wonder his back is sore, carrying all that loot!
That reputation will only be built by latching onto a highly visible project in more than just name. It would be interesting, for example to have a client built around a project like Gutenberg that somehow restricts the content shared to legitimate project material. That way people and organizations could adopt Freenet without worrying about the content...
Silly me - I thought this was a story about some nerd getting stuck at 3rd base with his equally nerdy girlfriend...
Further proof that there is no more pathetic existence than that of the creators of television commercials. Whether people fast-forward through them or not, the lasting impression is the same...
Well, at least they possibly used a spellchecker...
Apparently if you want any form of DVD-Audio out, DRM has to be in place first, so that's not so much a Creative thing. Frankly, I don't see much value here above a Soundblaster Live anyway, for the mainstream user.