I should chime in and verify this. On top of that, I had 4 (read that, FOUR) distinct interviews before they hired me...for the sales floor.
Contrast that with Bank of America's bizarre six interview process, where I just might understand the need to be reviewed by so many people (security, different departments, different locations, etc...)
I worked briefly for Best Buy (though not in their returns department) and also for CompUSA for a bit (I know...pity the fool.)
At CompUSA we never took back *any* returns until we had verified what was in the box. On top of that, we always required a drivers license or valid photo ID. I vaguely recall returning something to Best Buy once and them requiring the same information. If they are not taking that info, they are not doing their jobs correctly.
Which, in the U.S., the way some people behave, is not necessarily surprising.
According to this slightly dated segment from National Public Radio (March, 2007), yes they are. I also heard a quotation from NPR today attesting to the same, but have been unable to locate it on NPR's site.
NBC-Universal has made no secret of their desire to part company with YouTube in favor of their own service, de-emphasizing their former agreement with YouTube as "promotional."
Whether or not this means they are directly competing from a market standpoint may depend on how Google/YouTube continues dealing with copyrighted material on it's site. Hulu will no doubt have higher quality video as well as having a centralized place for high production content. Of course, that leaves little to stop other media giants from forming their own such sites to their own ends, which isn't so different from cable TV...a la carte...on demand. YouTube is probably secure as far as the market low production / user-created content goes.
Further information as well as a brief history of the interaction between NBC and YouTube can be found here.
You may be right. Even so, I don't understand who's buying all these copies of Vista. Anecdotal evidence may not be scientific, but I only know one person who's bought Vista. IT refuses to use it at work. None of my friends, acquaintances or family even seems interested in getting it, and most of them are not remotely computer savvy (or Slashdot readers.)
It looks pretty and has some extra toys, but the one friend who has it (who is computer savvy) says it still has plenty of inconsistencies. This is my problem with Windows in general from a user point of view.
Just waiting to hear tales of who's buying all these copies.
I was thinking almost exactly that. At least in regards to law enforcement, I find the all black uniforms simply serve to make them look threatening. I understand that in an encounter they don't want to give any impression of vunerability or weakness, but these people are human (most of them, anyway) and their job is to serve the public. At this rate I'd rather see (visually speaking) the military show up in their respective typical colors than cops in all black. Psychologically, that's kind of scary.
Now I'll kick back and wait for the troll to ask if I'd prefer Superman Red and Blue...
I respectfully disagree. How much time is a terrorist going to get on a flight as soon as passengers know he's a terrorist? Not enough for deal making, I reckon. And even if the terrorists do get that far, on a plane of 100-300 people, are all of them going to co-operate for potential benefits or the promise of minimizing the "cost of resistance?" Or will there be enough of them to go maverick and try to take them down, the cost be damned.
In a "pre 9/11" world, I can see your point of view, but at least for a flight of predominantly American passengers, I don't think terrorists could develop sufficient "trust" or even fear over the passengers to override what they believe could be the last few moments of their lives, regardless of what they do. The last time American flights were hijacked, they were flown into densely populated buildings in a densely populated city. I don't know what kind of deal the terrorist might have pretended to strike then, but I seriously doubt it's going to work the next time out.
My layman's understanding of gravity is that it is something like displacement; a distortion in the geometry of spacetime. If that's the case, then what would "gravitons" have to do with gravity and all? And if it's not the case, then what is the relevance of spacetime geometry in relation to gravitation?
From a layman's perspective it seems to be a lot of strong math coupled with a lot of speculation (branes, gravitons, and other particles we have no direct observational or experimental evidence of.) I mean this as no disrespect to the poster, but as an illustration of how difficult I (and many amateurs like me) find this stuff is to comprehend.
The problem with DDT is that it can have other environmental side effects that can, in the longer term, be as devastating as malaria. Poisoning the local ecosystem in an underdeveloped environment damages crucial links in the food chain, reducing the efficiency and usefulness of the biosystem.
I wish so many of the governments in such places of the world weren't so corrupt. Many of these nations have the resources to at least afford to support their population's reasonably if they'd stop being self serving powermongers and start serving their populace...and major western nations could do a lot more to put pressure on them.
Precisely. People who play Anarchy Online for free get real ads (though I've not entirely understood what they were for.) People who pay get ads for in game products and such appropriate to the game world, but not ads related to the real world. Sounds like a fair deal to me.
Remember when you could go drop $10 - $15 on a movie, and then another $5 each on something to drink, and you didn't have to watch 15 minutes of advertising before the trailers started?
Let's not forget Terminator Seeds, Agent Orange and Bovine Growth Hormone. Sure, it could all be hyperbolic, paranoid, general left-wing nutiness, but I think there's a kernel of truth in there somewhere.
Agreed. More importantly, the motivation behind this is entirely profit driven. It's not that there isn't enough food grown in the world to feed the whole population. It's economics and environment (OMG they are related!) as well as global politics that allow famine and hunger to persist in locations throughout the world.
If political climates could be stabilized, and the national interests of major producers could more effectively deliver food to these countries until they are able to establish as much food self-sufficiency as their arable land would allow, this would be a much more difficult sell.
One thing the 20th century has taught us is that corporations are not to be trusted with the safety, health and well-being of the world.
People are still better judges of opportunity and environment than machines. I do not disagree that unmanned machines can be extremely effective at both ends of the cost spectrum (Mars Rovers, Cassini/Huygens), but the machines have to wait for instructions and we have to wait for data. A human could make snap decisions based on live observation that could yield results the machines are incapable of.
Imagine if sifting through the data of someplace the Mars Rover had been a year and a half ago we discovered something extraordinary that merits further investigation. If the Mars Rover is well on from the site, or perhaps no longer functioning, we would have to send another probe to collect more data. A person might pick up on such a discovery much more quickly.
That said, I acknowledge that we are still in the realm of speculation to some degree as there has been significantly more unmanned planetary research than manned, and it has been quite successful.
It leaves me to wonder if there are any good Linux Wikis out there that explain things like the boot process clearly and simply, largely without all the technical language and recursive definitions. There's plenty of man pages for those who can parse them, but as far as getting more users to Linux, I'd think this would be quite helpful.
It may not bring "the average user", but it may help the curious yet non-power user be a little less afraid of Linux on the desktop.
For myself, I think I could surf such pages for hours =D
Slashdot Mirror
You mean like contracts for the American Military Industrial Complex?
Damn...I had mod points 2 days ago.
+1 Righteous Declaration
Or, to quote Dick Cavett:
"There's so much comedy on television. Does that cause comedy in the streets?"
I'm a huge Harlan Ellison fan, but I think you nailed it on the head. Both "Balance..." and "Doomsday..." are much better episodes than "City..."
...
Lubrication.
I should chime in and verify this. On top of that, I had 4 (read that, FOUR) distinct interviews before they hired me...for the sales floor.
Contrast that with Bank of America's bizarre six interview process, where I just might understand the need to be reviewed by so many people (security, different departments, different locations, etc...)
Or maybe I'm just living in interesting times...
I worked briefly for Best Buy (though not in their returns department) and also for CompUSA for a bit (I know...pity the fool.)
At CompUSA we never took back *any* returns until we had verified what was in the box. On top of that, we always required a drivers license or valid photo ID. I vaguely recall returning something to Best Buy once and them requiring the same information. If they are not taking that info, they are not doing their jobs correctly.
Which, in the U.S., the way some people behave, is not necessarily surprising.
My fancy setup consists of a fairly inexpensive video card with an S-Video cable connecting my computer to my TV.
Presto...Television, via my computer, on my TV.
And it looks good, too.
... is NBC trying to create a "Youtube Killer" ?According to this slightly dated segment from National Public Radio (March, 2007), yes they are. I also heard a quotation from NPR today attesting to the same, but have been unable to locate it on NPR's site.
NBC-Universal has made no secret of their desire to part company with YouTube in favor of their own service, de-emphasizing their former agreement with YouTube as "promotional."
Whether or not this means they are directly competing from a market standpoint may depend on how Google/YouTube continues dealing with copyrighted material on it's site. Hulu will no doubt have higher quality video as well as having a centralized place for high production content. Of course, that leaves little to stop other media giants from forming their own such sites to their own ends, which isn't so different from cable TV...a la carte...on demand. YouTube is probably secure as far as the market low production / user-created content goes.
Further information as well as a brief history of the interaction between NBC and YouTube can be found here.
You may be right. Even so, I don't understand who's buying all these copies of Vista. Anecdotal evidence may not be scientific, but I only know one person who's bought Vista. IT refuses to use it at work. None of my friends, acquaintances or family even seems interested in getting it, and most of them are not remotely computer savvy (or Slashdot readers.)
It looks pretty and has some extra toys, but the one friend who has it (who is computer savvy) says it still has plenty of inconsistencies. This is my problem with Windows in general from a user point of view.
Just waiting to hear tales of who's buying all these copies.
I was thinking almost exactly that. At least in regards to law enforcement, I find the all black uniforms simply serve to make them look threatening. I understand that in an encounter they don't want to give any impression of vunerability or weakness, but these people are human (most of them, anyway) and their job is to serve the public. At this rate I'd rather see (visually speaking) the military show up in their respective typical colors than cops in all black. Psychologically, that's kind of scary.
Now I'll kick back and wait for the troll to ask if I'd prefer Superman Red and Blue...
I respectfully disagree. How much time is a terrorist going to get on a flight as soon as passengers know he's a terrorist? Not enough for deal making, I reckon. And even if the terrorists do get that far, on a plane of 100-300 people, are all of them going to co-operate for potential benefits or the promise of minimizing the "cost of resistance?" Or will there be enough of them to go maverick and try to take them down, the cost be damned.
In a "pre 9/11" world, I can see your point of view, but at least for a flight of predominantly American passengers, I don't think terrorists could develop sufficient "trust" or even fear over the passengers to override what they believe could be the last few moments of their lives, regardless of what they do. The last time American flights were hijacked, they were flown into densely populated buildings in a densely populated city. I don't know what kind of deal the terrorist might have pretended to strike then, but I seriously doubt it's going to work the next time out.
And here's where I get completely confused.
My layman's understanding of gravity is that it is something like displacement; a distortion in the geometry of spacetime. If that's the case, then what would "gravitons" have to do with gravity and all? And if it's not the case, then what is the relevance of spacetime geometry in relation to gravitation?
From a layman's perspective it seems to be a lot of strong math coupled with a lot of speculation (branes, gravitons, and other particles we have no direct observational or experimental evidence of.) I mean this as no disrespect to the poster, but as an illustration of how difficult I (and many amateurs like me) find this stuff is to comprehend.
I can't argue that.
Though that's a lesson that's been present since long before the 20th century.
The problem with DDT is that it can have other environmental side effects that can, in the longer term, be as devastating as malaria. Poisoning the local ecosystem in an underdeveloped environment damages crucial links in the food chain, reducing the efficiency and usefulness of the biosystem.
I wish so many of the governments in such places of the world weren't so corrupt. Many of these nations have the resources to at least afford to support their population's reasonably if they'd stop being self serving powermongers and start serving their populace...and major western nations could do a lot more to put pressure on them.
It's picking up slowly but surely, but will probably never have the ridership of NY, London, Moscow, etc...=D
I know it's the exception rather than the rule, but you've never ridden the Los Angeles Subway, I see.
Precisely. People who play Anarchy Online for free get real ads (though I've not entirely understood what they were for.) People who pay get ads for in game products and such appropriate to the game world, but not ads related to the real world. Sounds like a fair deal to me.
Remember when you could go drop $10 - $15 on a movie, and then another $5 each on something to drink, and you didn't have to watch 15 minutes of advertising before the trailers started?
I don't go to the cinema much anymore...
As do copyrights. Don't they Disney? DON'T THEY?
The poster's may not have been verbatim charges against Monsanto, but read here, here, here, here, here and here. And if that's not enough, add this and this.
Let's not forget Terminator Seeds, Agent Orange and Bovine Growth Hormone. Sure, it could all be hyperbolic, paranoid, general left-wing nutiness, but I think there's a kernel of truth in there somewhere.
In other words: "Give up! Accept it! It's the New World Order, comrade, and you don't get a say."
In Soviet Democracy Montsanto feeds YOU
Agreed. More importantly, the motivation behind this is entirely profit driven. It's not that there isn't enough food grown in the world to feed the whole population. It's economics and environment (OMG they are related!) as well as global politics that allow famine and hunger to persist in locations throughout the world.
If political climates could be stabilized, and the national interests of major producers could more effectively deliver food to these countries until they are able to establish as much food self-sufficiency as their arable land would allow, this would be a much more difficult sell.
One thing the 20th century has taught us is that corporations are not to be trusted with the safety, health and well-being of the world.
People are still better judges of opportunity and environment than machines. I do not disagree that unmanned machines can be extremely effective at both ends of the cost spectrum (Mars Rovers, Cassini/Huygens), but the machines have to wait for instructions and we have to wait for data. A human could make snap decisions based on live observation that could yield results the machines are incapable of.
Imagine if sifting through the data of someplace the Mars Rover had been a year and a half ago we discovered something extraordinary that merits further investigation. If the Mars Rover is well on from the site, or perhaps no longer functioning, we would have to send another probe to collect more data. A person might pick up on such a discovery much more quickly.
That said, I acknowledge that we are still in the realm of speculation to some degree as there has been significantly more unmanned planetary research than manned, and it has been quite successful.
It leaves me to wonder if there are any good Linux Wikis out there that explain things like the boot process clearly and simply, largely without all the technical language and recursive definitions. There's plenty of man pages for those who can parse them, but as far as getting more users to Linux, I'd think this would be quite helpful.
It may not bring "the average user", but it may help the curious yet non-power user be a little less afraid of Linux on the desktop.
For myself, I think I could surf such pages for hours =D