I use a Mac, I have no need for third-party spyware hunters or virus protection. Windows users have accepted this whole battle-against-spyware thing as an integral part of the computing experience. While I believe that this is unavoidable given Windows' market share, a hassle-free virus-free zero-paranoia computing environment is possible.
Last time I checked, not all executables in Vista need to have an age-appropriateness rating. This means that participation in this whole ESRB-rating-encoded-thing is entirely voluntary, which I expect all the big players to follow. How does this impact Indies, who still don't need ESRB ratings and can still run fine on Vista?
If you're large enough that you're selling from the shelves of Wal Mart, then perhaps you *should* invest in an ESRB rating so you can be mainstreamed.
Can we not register the device's serial number against the user's account, such that when I call in to report a stolen phone they can blacklist that S/N and share the blacklist with all other US carriers? Street crime and muggings are generally not international, so the odds of a thief being able to turn a profit locally is slim if the phone they just stole is useless.
Dead in what sense? Dead as in practically nobody buys/plays it anymore? If so, the DC has been dead for a long time, the corpse rotted, and now you're just digging up bones.
If you mean dead in the sense that *really nobody* is playing, then no, the DC is still alive... but so is the SNES and Genesis, if you want to count the absurdly small minority that still play with their old consoles.
I find your suggestion of using the command line for a "simple user" to be somewhat retarded. Ease-of-use is end-to-end, not isolated to one section of the experience. However easy your player is to use, if the user cannot grok how to install the damned thing, it's of no use to them.
If all the laymen of the world start using Macs then we will see this type of software moving towards the Macs. There is simply no stopping a large of number of very determined people from accessing your machine, so long as you leave it on the net. I for one, as a Mac user, hope the majority of the world stays oblivious to the joys of the Mac:P
I know other posters have already pointed out that you can in fact record the bitrate of a DVI port quite easily, even at 1080p, I would like to add that it only takes one to break the system. One lone guy with the means and willingness to build the hardware and rip movies, and the nature of the internet will take care of the rest.
Piracy prevention in this day and age is like a balloon, as soon as there is a single hole, no matter how small, the system on the whole is screwed.
Let's go back to your original argument regarding cultural differences, which I will summarize in points below. If I'm not being fair in this summary, correct me:
Western families are more likely to communicate with the police in a ransom-based child abduction.
I have anecdotal evidence that they do. What do you have? Have there even been enough well-publicized ransom-based abductions in the US in the last decade for there to be an effective comparison?
The West invokes a stronger "protect the children!" response than the East.
Have you seen an extensive amount of Asian news coverage? Televised parliamentary debate? I have, and I find that point to be absurd. I have seen the media circus around abductions, both in the USA and in Taiwan, and I can safely say that the basic "think of the children!" meme is always there in BOTH countries. The kind of commentary expressed by people on both sides of the ocean follow very very similar topics. After all, we are all human, and we all care for our children (evidently not the abductors, heh).
An example of the strong "protect the children!" response is the lack of child prostitution in the West as compared Asia, where it is a significant enough tourist attraction.
True in some countries, not true in Taiwan. This point is a select number of small areas in Asia, and it is extremely regrettable that it is an issue at all. Nevertheless, my point stands, as you're talking about a different geography, one where child prostitution is even on the radar of social ills. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Americans don't get all up in arms about child porn and other such things, but it would be a mistake to claim that most Asians do not.
You keep looking for cultural differences to explain my example, but nothing you have brought up is relevant. Are there cultural differences between Taiwan and the US? Of course. Are child abductions for profit more prevalent in Taiwan because of them? No, it is not a major contributing factor. You seem to present a lot of "known" cultural differences simply based on your own perception of Asians. What are your qualifications? Have you lived in Asia for an extended period of time? Are you an Asian immigrant?
Not to mention that, now that the income disparity has lessened dramatically over the last decade or so, abductions are now rare. I have absolutely no doubt that the massive drop in kidnappings has everything to do with the fact that the average income is now $28000 instead of $500, and that there are now social welfare systems (including public health) in place.
I am not inclined to put stock into someone's commentary on Asian culture unless that person has a background in said culture. Watching CNN and following Asian Business News does not count. Being Asian, or having lived with Asians, or possessing extensive education in Asian studies, sure.
Asian political systems have, historically anyway, been very open for the poverty-stricken to turn themselves around. Government posts were based around strict entrance exams that involved both mental capability and physical strength (for most of China's history anyway). The wealth gap is enormous for most of the imperial period in Chinese history, but common-man revolutions rarely occurred, simply because doing well on an exam and going from dirt poor to cushy government job with servants was reachable by everyone.
When one removes the ability to (relatively easily) jump from poor to rich, that's when you're going to get crimes like these. People require hope, and in a hopeless environment they will do whatever they please, either as a means to even the playing field or simply an act of vengeance for perceived oppression.
I would rate *your* post +5 pandering to stereotypes as well, to assume that "cultural differences" (which usually is just the politically correct way to say "uncivilized slant-eyed brutes" whenever I've ever heard it) even matters in this case. I admit my "evidence", though it was never meant as such, is anecdotal, but considering how prevalent and worrisome the issue was at the time, I would say the majority of the country's elite felt the same pressures.
Honestly, unless you are also an Asian immigrant, I would contend that I have a far better sense of "cultural differences" between East and West. I was born and raised in a bilingual environment, lived in both the east and west, speak both English and Mandarin fluently, and I consider myself a pretty even mix of Chinese and American/Canadian cultural traditions.
So let me comment on your post from that perspective:
First, in the West there has been a concerted (and almost completely sucessful) effort to stamp out kidnapping for ransom. The penalties are steep...
And how does that matter? Don't be quick to assume that there have been no major effort to stamp out kidnapping for ransom in Taiwan. Massive undertakings have been taken, with some limited success. Oh, and by the way, we shoot kidnappers (not that I agree with it entirely, but that's the penalty of kidnapping). On the whole Asian penal systems have harsher penalties: prisoners are rarely afforded the kind of quality of life that you see in American jails, and we still shoot people in a public venue (such as a stadium), as opposed to pump them full of anesthetics till they die.
This isn't a commentary on supporting or opposing capital punishment, but rather my belief that when the wealth gap is sufficiently wide, no level of punishment or threat of punishment will deter the people from trying to even the playing field. If you and your neighbours cannot afford to eat, have corrugated aluminum over your heads, while behind a chain-link fence lies huge mansions of exorbitant excess, you will try and take it.
and typically the top echelons of the police get involved.
And they didn't in Taiwan? You try to sound diplomatic and neutral, but clearly you're biased against Asian culture and capability. Considering that the kidnapped children were always part of the rich elite, you can bet your ass that the top echelons of the police were always involved. There were nation-wide manhunts for alleged kidnappers, where absolutely no expense was spared to apprehend the criminals (and then shoot them).
Secondly, in the West - families don't typically cooperate with the kidnappers. They go to and cooperate with law enforcement authorities.
As they did in Taiwan. See my point above. Why are we assuming that an Asian family would be more likely to keep the kidnapping to themselves instead of going to the authorities? What reason do you have to make this assumption?
Thirdly, when the crime of kidnapping for ransom involves children - it invokes the 'protect the children' meme that appears much stronger in the West than in Asia. (For example, you hear tales of children in Asia being sold into chattel bondage, often sexual. Such tales are noticeable by their near complete absence in the West.)
Ooh, this is a huge can of worms. Having seen the media first-hand during this time of my life, I can say without a doubt that the "ZOMG protect the children from eeeeevil!" thing was as strong in Asia as I've seen in America. Are you trying to tell me that the Chinese culture is somehow less susceptible to the ancient "think of the children!" ploy?
Oh, and the tales of children being sold into chattel bondage, often sexual, are really not prevalent. They are equally absent in Asia as they are in the West. Keep in mind that much of Western media's portrayal of Asia is extremely negatively biased, probably for the enjoyment of people such as yourself. Why? I don't really know, but it reinforces the stereotype o
I've lived in Canada for many years now, but before then I came from Taiwan, which as a country is really not as poor as it gets in southeast Asia. I can tell you that the wealth gap certainly does matter.
Fellow Taiwanese feel free to disagree - but as a child over there I was constantly being protected, my father having worked for one of the larger multi-nationals with an Asian presence in the 80s. Daily you would hear news of kidnappings, children being snatched on their way to their fancy private schools; chauffeurs, butlers, maids, and servants selling out their employers and helping in kidnappings, extortions, and other crimes.
I went to a fairly exclusive private school that taught mostly the children of foreign execs stationed in the country, and also the high-level Chinese that worked under them. All of our parents were paranoid about our security to the extreme. At many points it wasn't a matter of *if* someone makes an attempt to kidnap your child, but *when*. It wasn't the greatest of times to be a wealthy parent, though as a kid I never really felt threatened - I was probably too young to understand.
Then I came to Canada and that turned upside down. I can't remember the last time a kidnapping happened in Canada that was driven by the ransom - usually it's some sick f--- getting his jones on molesting little girls, not an organized group out to steal from the rich.
The difference? Canada has well-established social security. The average income is extremely high compared to most Asian countries, there is health care and welfare. In Taiwan (at the time) there was no health coverage *at all* for those who were not privately insured, almost no social assistance at all, and the wealth difference between the majority, still toiling for pennies in unsafe factories, vs. the newly-minted elite that was being quickly created by American investment, was massive.
America isn't quite at that point, but I get the distinct impression that the gap is widening. If it continues, we will reach a point where the majority of the country is unable to afford the necessities of life. Then the violence will start.
(1) They control what hardware their OS will run on
Of course they do. As another poster mentioned, Apple is a hardware company - I see nothing evil or abusive about ensuring that OSX only runs on Apple hardware. It is also crucial to their reputation as a company that OSX only runs on supported hardware - Apple has seen the gigantic can of worms that MS opened by allowing OEM hardware on Windows. They want their system to be stable and speedy, without legacy HW support bloating, and controlling your hardware is the best way to do it.
(2) They often tried (though not recently) to control what OS(es) will run on their hardware
They have? Please provide a source for this. They've even gone as far as to make a click-and-play way to get Windows running on your machine, and they've done absolutely nothing to stop other flavors of 'nix from running on their hardware.
(3) They tried to control who/what could put songs on their iPods
No they haven't. Apple has made no attempts to stop third-party software from interfacing with their iPods. Hell, you can use it like a USB drive if you wanted to. Simply because they do not officially SUPPORT such a method does not mean that they've "tried to control" it. Sheesh, you're acting like anyone who doesn't go out of their way to support third parties is controlling their platform. iTunes remains the best way to get music onto an iPod (IMHO anyway), and Apple has engineered the end-to-end download-to-iPod experience - why would they officially support otherwise not-as-slick ways to organize your music?
(4) They are trying to control what software can be Applied to their iPhones
This is true, though I suspect it's less to do with Apple and more to do with Cingular (and other carriers). If the platform was open we'd see massive Skype usage off the iPhone, and the carriers can't have any of that now can they? Personally I'm disappointed, but not surprised. The bigger surprise (and disappointment) is the inability to have mp3 ringtones. What is this, 2003?
That's the parent's whole point! Nobody should care about the iPhone. It doesn't do anything that hasn't already been done by the likes of Motorola, Samsung, Nokia and a dozen other companies, including Apple itself.
Since when has Apple ever been about doing things that others cannot? The iPod doesn't have any functionality that other mp3 players don't have, Macs don't have any real hardware that your average PC doesn't have already... The secret sauce for Apple is usability and fashion/style. They took bland, boring mp3 players, and made it cool to use and wear. They took clunky laptops and made it sleek and sexy. They are doing the exact same to cell phones. Technically there is nothing the iPhone does that the vast majority of smartphones cannot - but the iPhone looks slick, it looks like it'll be a joy to use, and it'll be cool as hell to have it.
Which, in the end is exactly where they want to be. Why sell bargain-basement hardware for low margins when you can hook the self-proclaimed elite that are willing to pay a premium for ease of use and cool bling factor?
I'm an Apple fanboy, but I have to agree with parent. MS is in a much better position to execute the whole "download on PC, watch on TV" vision. They already have Windows MCE (though the VAST majority of its users are not leveraging the DVR features of it), and the Xbox 360. The Xbox already has an excuse to be in your living room, and it's almost expected for it to make the leap into full living room entertainment device. Apple is playing catchup with AppleTV, and the damned thing doesn't even have a TV tuner.
I predict MS's IPTV is going to wipe the floor with AppleTV.
It's really as expected - our components were built to the MSRP of the car for the most part. The Hyundai Sonata was handled in Mexico, and the guys I knew in QA had no end of problems with them - their failure numbers are consistently *several times* of the components built on site where I worked (in Canada).
The usual suspects had the best parts: Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lexus. What may surprise you is the Chrysler Town & Country, the Hummer H2 (at the time, I suppose it's H3 now), Chevy Impala parts weren't so bad either.
A lot of stuff happened at that place, and is one of the main reasons I really don't like to touch the auto industry anymore. There were at least two instances while I was there where the company attempted to cover up potentially dangerous product faults in order to avoid a costly recall.
Depends on what you mean by that. I'm prepared to believe that Acer, or some of its subsidiaries, handles a significant amount of manufacturing for otherwise famous (and respected) OEM brands. That said, Acers are junk, some of those brands are not.
Having worked in manufacturing, I can say with confidence that it's *usually true* that the manufacturer can just about build anything to any quality level you desire, the only force stopping you is the almighty dollar. I worked in an auto parts plant, and we made the crappiest of parts that would die on you after a couple years to the most premium of car parts that would go on working for decades... It all depends on how much the customer is paying.
I suspect Acer, Asus, Foxconn, and any other manufacturing contractors are exactly like this. While Acer's own branded laptops are invariably crap (waaaaay too many bad experiences, ugh), I would not be surprised in the least if quality laptops are made under the same roof, for other people.
The US is smaller than Canada, but has over 10 times its population. The odds of something hitting a populated area in Canada is pretty small - it's not nearly as true for the USA. Not to mention that most of the US is quite hospitable, whereas a lot of northern Canada is just tundra - where deadly radioactive waste scattered across the frozen wastes probably won't harm all that many people. Try saying the same for radioactive waste littered all over the farms of Kansas.
"Maybe Apple could have put off the Switch after all..."
Except then I can't run Windows on my Mac, which is a huge part of the reason I bought the thing. I love OSX, but my job (and gaming...) requires me to go back to Windows from time to time.
Not only is the internet proving to be crucial for communication (we've known that for a while now)... it is quickly showing its value in preserving freedom. Never in history has the average man been given such power to influence so many, it truly levels the playing field to a large degree.
It's nice to see a company address accusations directly, without resorting to lawsuits or just more propaganda. These points were well refuted in the vid, though I would personally like to see a bit more documentation provided to show that they're not just pulling things out of their collective asses.
I wish other companies would follow this lead - transparent, straight-forward, no-BS rebuttals of claims against them. Apple, where's your rebuttal against Greenpeace?
Very true. I will extend your comment and say that advocating for your employees goes beyond benefits, it also requires the boss creating a good working environment for those he manages. I worked under two different bosses at the same company once, and one would consistently pass the buck down to his underlings whenever something went wrong, or bounce upper-management requests onto underlings with already-stressful schedules. Then there was the other one, who actively engaged in the bureaucratic BS with upper management to get his guys more reasonable work levels, who would deflect the usual inter-departmental poo-slinging away from his workers. One was much easier to work under.
I remember that once, it was close to Christmas time, and one project was somewhat behind schedule. One boss asked us to just throw in extra time, since HR wouldn't approve of overtime pay. The other fought hard with the suits and somehow got us double-time for weekend work. Going the extra mile counts - the first boss didn't cheat anyone out of anything, he just didn't fight for his guys.
Slashdot Mirror
Does his mother make his bed for him still?
I use a Mac, I have no need for third-party spyware hunters or virus protection. Windows users have accepted this whole battle-against-spyware thing as an integral part of the computing experience. While I believe that this is unavoidable given Windows' market share, a hassle-free virus-free zero-paranoia computing environment is possible.
Last time I checked, not all executables in Vista need to have an age-appropriateness rating. This means that participation in this whole ESRB-rating-encoded-thing is entirely voluntary, which I expect all the big players to follow. How does this impact Indies, who still don't need ESRB ratings and can still run fine on Vista?
If you're large enough that you're selling from the shelves of Wal Mart, then perhaps you *should* invest in an ESRB rating so you can be mainstreamed.
Can we not register the device's serial number against the user's account, such that when I call in to report a stolen phone they can blacklist that S/N and share the blacklist with all other US carriers? Street crime and muggings are generally not international, so the odds of a thief being able to turn a profit locally is slim if the phone they just stole is useless.
Dead in what sense? Dead as in practically nobody buys/plays it anymore? If so, the DC has been dead for a long time, the corpse rotted, and now you're just digging up bones.
If you mean dead in the sense that *really nobody* is playing, then no, the DC is still alive... but so is the SNES and Genesis, if you want to count the absurdly small minority that still play with their old consoles.
It will be interesting to see what else is under the ice.
The lost city of Ry'leh... Run everyone, C'thulhu is coming! AHHHHHHH!
I find your suggestion of using the command line for a "simple user" to be somewhat retarded. Ease-of-use is end-to-end, not isolated to one section of the experience. However easy your player is to use, if the user cannot grok how to install the damned thing, it's of no use to them.
If all the laymen of the world start using Macs then we will see this type of software moving towards the Macs. There is simply no stopping a large of number of very determined people from accessing your machine, so long as you leave it on the net. I for one, as a Mac user, hope the majority of the world stays oblivious to the joys of the Mac :P
the "God Light"...well, maybe dude got hit in the head too many times while testing his bear suit or something.
Never underestimate the powers of falling off your toilet while trying to hang up a clock. Sometimes getting hit in the head is good. ;)
Heh, UWer here too. Guess I'm not going to the Bomber next term.
As a Canadian going to a Canadian university, I demand to know which university this is that has dared offend the Gods of Guinness.
I know other posters have already pointed out that you can in fact record the bitrate of a DVI port quite easily, even at 1080p, I would like to add that it only takes one to break the system. One lone guy with the means and willingness to build the hardware and rip movies, and the nature of the internet will take care of the rest.
Piracy prevention in this day and age is like a balloon, as soon as there is a single hole, no matter how small, the system on the whole is screwed.
Let's go back to your original argument regarding cultural differences, which I will summarize in points below. If I'm not being fair in this summary, correct me:
Western families are more likely to communicate with the police in a ransom-based child abduction.
I have anecdotal evidence that they do. What do you have? Have there even been enough well-publicized ransom-based abductions in the US in the last decade for there to be an effective comparison?
The West invokes a stronger "protect the children!" response than the East.
Have you seen an extensive amount of Asian news coverage? Televised parliamentary debate? I have, and I find that point to be absurd. I have seen the media circus around abductions, both in the USA and in Taiwan, and I can safely say that the basic "think of the children!" meme is always there in BOTH countries. The kind of commentary expressed by people on both sides of the ocean follow very very similar topics. After all, we are all human, and we all care for our children (evidently not the abductors, heh).
An example of the strong "protect the children!" response is the lack of child prostitution in the West as compared Asia, where it is a significant enough tourist attraction.
True in some countries, not true in Taiwan. This point is a select number of small areas in Asia, and it is extremely regrettable that it is an issue at all. Nevertheless, my point stands, as you're talking about a different geography, one where child prostitution is even on the radar of social ills. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Americans don't get all up in arms about child porn and other such things, but it would be a mistake to claim that most Asians do not.
You keep looking for cultural differences to explain my example, but nothing you have brought up is relevant. Are there cultural differences between Taiwan and the US? Of course. Are child abductions for profit more prevalent in Taiwan because of them? No, it is not a major contributing factor. You seem to present a lot of "known" cultural differences simply based on your own perception of Asians. What are your qualifications? Have you lived in Asia for an extended period of time? Are you an Asian immigrant?
Not to mention that, now that the income disparity has lessened dramatically over the last decade or so, abductions are now rare. I have absolutely no doubt that the massive drop in kidnappings has everything to do with the fact that the average income is now $28000 instead of $500, and that there are now social welfare systems (including public health) in place.
I am not inclined to put stock into someone's commentary on Asian culture unless that person has a background in said culture. Watching CNN and following Asian Business News does not count. Being Asian, or having lived with Asians, or possessing extensive education in Asian studies, sure.
A comment that I forgot to add to the above post:
Asian political systems have, historically anyway, been very open for the poverty-stricken to turn themselves around. Government posts were based around strict entrance exams that involved both mental capability and physical strength (for most of China's history anyway). The wealth gap is enormous for most of the imperial period in Chinese history, but common-man revolutions rarely occurred, simply because doing well on an exam and going from dirt poor to cushy government job with servants was reachable by everyone.
When one removes the ability to (relatively easily) jump from poor to rich, that's when you're going to get crimes like these. People require hope, and in a hopeless environment they will do whatever they please, either as a means to even the playing field or simply an act of vengeance for perceived oppression.
I would rate *your* post +5 pandering to stereotypes as well, to assume that "cultural differences" (which usually is just the politically correct way to say "uncivilized slant-eyed brutes" whenever I've ever heard it) even matters in this case. I admit my "evidence", though it was never meant as such, is anecdotal, but considering how prevalent and worrisome the issue was at the time, I would say the majority of the country's elite felt the same pressures.
Honestly, unless you are also an Asian immigrant, I would contend that I have a far better sense of "cultural differences" between East and West. I was born and raised in a bilingual environment, lived in both the east and west, speak both English and Mandarin fluently, and I consider myself a pretty even mix of Chinese and American/Canadian cultural traditions.
So let me comment on your post from that perspective:
First, in the West there has been a concerted (and almost completely sucessful) effort to stamp out kidnapping for ransom. The penalties are steep...
And how does that matter? Don't be quick to assume that there have been no major effort to stamp out kidnapping for ransom in Taiwan. Massive undertakings have been taken, with some limited success. Oh, and by the way, we shoot kidnappers (not that I agree with it entirely, but that's the penalty of kidnapping). On the whole Asian penal systems have harsher penalties: prisoners are rarely afforded the kind of quality of life that you see in American jails, and we still shoot people in a public venue (such as a stadium), as opposed to pump them full of anesthetics till they die.
This isn't a commentary on supporting or opposing capital punishment, but rather my belief that when the wealth gap is sufficiently wide, no level of punishment or threat of punishment will deter the people from trying to even the playing field. If you and your neighbours cannot afford to eat, have corrugated aluminum over your heads, while behind a chain-link fence lies huge mansions of exorbitant excess, you will try and take it.
and typically the top echelons of the police get involved.
And they didn't in Taiwan? You try to sound diplomatic and neutral, but clearly you're biased against Asian culture and capability. Considering that the kidnapped children were always part of the rich elite, you can bet your ass that the top echelons of the police were always involved. There were nation-wide manhunts for alleged kidnappers, where absolutely no expense was spared to apprehend the criminals (and then shoot them).
Secondly, in the West - families don't typically cooperate with the kidnappers. They go to and cooperate with law enforcement authorities.
As they did in Taiwan. See my point above. Why are we assuming that an Asian family would be more likely to keep the kidnapping to themselves instead of going to the authorities? What reason do you have to make this assumption?
Thirdly, when the crime of kidnapping for ransom involves children - it invokes the 'protect the children' meme that appears much stronger in the West than in Asia. (For example, you hear tales of children in Asia being sold into chattel bondage, often sexual. Such tales are noticeable by their near complete absence in the West.)
Ooh, this is a huge can of worms. Having seen the media first-hand during this time of my life, I can say without a doubt that the "ZOMG protect the children from eeeeevil!" thing was as strong in Asia as I've seen in America. Are you trying to tell me that the Chinese culture is somehow less susceptible to the ancient "think of the children!" ploy?
Oh, and the tales of children being sold into chattel bondage, often sexual, are really not prevalent. They are equally absent in Asia as they are in the West. Keep in mind that much of Western media's portrayal of Asia is extremely negatively biased, probably for the enjoyment of people such as yourself. Why? I don't really know, but it reinforces the stereotype o
I've lived in Canada for many years now, but before then I came from Taiwan, which as a country is really not as poor as it gets in southeast Asia. I can tell you that the wealth gap certainly does matter.
Fellow Taiwanese feel free to disagree - but as a child over there I was constantly being protected, my father having worked for one of the larger multi-nationals with an Asian presence in the 80s. Daily you would hear news of kidnappings, children being snatched on their way to their fancy private schools; chauffeurs, butlers, maids, and servants selling out their employers and helping in kidnappings, extortions, and other crimes.
I went to a fairly exclusive private school that taught mostly the children of foreign execs stationed in the country, and also the high-level Chinese that worked under them. All of our parents were paranoid about our security to the extreme. At many points it wasn't a matter of *if* someone makes an attempt to kidnap your child, but *when*. It wasn't the greatest of times to be a wealthy parent, though as a kid I never really felt threatened - I was probably too young to understand.
Then I came to Canada and that turned upside down. I can't remember the last time a kidnapping happened in Canada that was driven by the ransom - usually it's some sick f--- getting his jones on molesting little girls, not an organized group out to steal from the rich.
The difference? Canada has well-established social security. The average income is extremely high compared to most Asian countries, there is health care and welfare. In Taiwan (at the time) there was no health coverage *at all* for those who were not privately insured, almost no social assistance at all, and the wealth difference between the majority, still toiling for pennies in unsafe factories, vs. the newly-minted elite that was being quickly created by American investment, was massive.
America isn't quite at that point, but I get the distinct impression that the gap is widening. If it continues, we will reach a point where the majority of the country is unable to afford the necessities of life. Then the violence will start.
(1) They control what hardware their OS will run on
Of course they do. As another poster mentioned, Apple is a hardware company - I see nothing evil or abusive about ensuring that OSX only runs on Apple hardware. It is also crucial to their reputation as a company that OSX only runs on supported hardware - Apple has seen the gigantic can of worms that MS opened by allowing OEM hardware on Windows. They want their system to be stable and speedy, without legacy HW support bloating, and controlling your hardware is the best way to do it.
(2) They often tried (though not recently) to control what OS(es) will run on their hardware
They have? Please provide a source for this. They've even gone as far as to make a click-and-play way to get Windows running on your machine, and they've done absolutely nothing to stop other flavors of 'nix from running on their hardware.
(3) They tried to control who/what could put songs on their iPods
No they haven't. Apple has made no attempts to stop third-party software from interfacing with their iPods. Hell, you can use it like a USB drive if you wanted to. Simply because they do not officially SUPPORT such a method does not mean that they've "tried to control" it. Sheesh, you're acting like anyone who doesn't go out of their way to support third parties is controlling their platform. iTunes remains the best way to get music onto an iPod (IMHO anyway), and Apple has engineered the end-to-end download-to-iPod experience - why would they officially support otherwise not-as-slick ways to organize your music?
(4) They are trying to control what software can be Applied to their iPhones
This is true, though I suspect it's less to do with Apple and more to do with Cingular (and other carriers). If the platform was open we'd see massive Skype usage off the iPhone, and the carriers can't have any of that now can they? Personally I'm disappointed, but not surprised. The bigger surprise (and disappointment) is the inability to have mp3 ringtones. What is this, 2003?
That's the parent's whole point! Nobody should care about the iPhone. It doesn't do anything that hasn't already been done by the likes of Motorola, Samsung, Nokia and a dozen other companies, including Apple itself.
Since when has Apple ever been about doing things that others cannot? The iPod doesn't have any functionality that other mp3 players don't have, Macs don't have any real hardware that your average PC doesn't have already... The secret sauce for Apple is usability and fashion/style. They took bland, boring mp3 players, and made it cool to use and wear. They took clunky laptops and made it sleek and sexy. They are doing the exact same to cell phones. Technically there is nothing the iPhone does that the vast majority of smartphones cannot - but the iPhone looks slick, it looks like it'll be a joy to use, and it'll be cool as hell to have it.
Which, in the end is exactly where they want to be. Why sell bargain-basement hardware for low margins when you can hook the self-proclaimed elite that are willing to pay a premium for ease of use and cool bling factor?
I'm an Apple fanboy, but I have to agree with parent. MS is in a much better position to execute the whole "download on PC, watch on TV" vision. They already have Windows MCE (though the VAST majority of its users are not leveraging the DVR features of it), and the Xbox 360. The Xbox already has an excuse to be in your living room, and it's almost expected for it to make the leap into full living room entertainment device. Apple is playing catchup with AppleTV, and the damned thing doesn't even have a TV tuner.
I predict MS's IPTV is going to wipe the floor with AppleTV.
It's really as expected - our components were built to the MSRP of the car for the most part. The Hyundai Sonata was handled in Mexico, and the guys I knew in QA had no end of problems with them - their failure numbers are consistently *several times* of the components built on site where I worked (in Canada).
The usual suspects had the best parts: Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lexus. What may surprise you is the Chrysler Town & Country, the Hummer H2 (at the time, I suppose it's H3 now), Chevy Impala parts weren't so bad either.
A lot of stuff happened at that place, and is one of the main reasons I really don't like to touch the auto industry anymore. There were at least two instances while I was there where the company attempted to cover up potentially dangerous product faults in order to avoid a costly recall.
Depends on what you mean by that. I'm prepared to believe that Acer, or some of its subsidiaries, handles a significant amount of manufacturing for otherwise famous (and respected) OEM brands. That said, Acers are junk, some of those brands are not.
Having worked in manufacturing, I can say with confidence that it's *usually true* that the manufacturer can just about build anything to any quality level you desire, the only force stopping you is the almighty dollar. I worked in an auto parts plant, and we made the crappiest of parts that would die on you after a couple years to the most premium of car parts that would go on working for decades... It all depends on how much the customer is paying.
I suspect Acer, Asus, Foxconn, and any other manufacturing contractors are exactly like this. While Acer's own branded laptops are invariably crap (waaaaay too many bad experiences, ugh), I would not be surprised in the least if quality laptops are made under the same roof, for other people.
Disclaimer: I am Canadian.
The US is smaller than Canada, but has over 10 times its population. The odds of something hitting a populated area in Canada is pretty small - it's not nearly as true for the USA. Not to mention that most of the US is quite hospitable, whereas a lot of northern Canada is just tundra - where deadly radioactive waste scattered across the frozen wastes probably won't harm all that many people. Try saying the same for radioactive waste littered all over the farms of Kansas.
"Maybe Apple could have put off the Switch after all..."
Except then I can't run Windows on my Mac, which is a huge part of the reason I bought the thing. I love OSX, but my job (and gaming...) requires me to go back to Windows from time to time.
Not only is the internet proving to be crucial for communication (we've known that for a while now)... it is quickly showing its value in preserving freedom. Never in history has the average man been given such power to influence so many, it truly levels the playing field to a large degree.
It's nice to see a company address accusations directly, without resorting to lawsuits or just more propaganda. These points were well refuted in the vid, though I would personally like to see a bit more documentation provided to show that they're not just pulling things out of their collective asses.
I wish other companies would follow this lead - transparent, straight-forward, no-BS rebuttals of claims against them. Apple, where's your rebuttal against Greenpeace?
Very true. I will extend your comment and say that advocating for your employees goes beyond benefits, it also requires the boss creating a good working environment for those he manages. I worked under two different bosses at the same company once, and one would consistently pass the buck down to his underlings whenever something went wrong, or bounce upper-management requests onto underlings with already-stressful schedules. Then there was the other one, who actively engaged in the bureaucratic BS with upper management to get his guys more reasonable work levels, who would deflect the usual inter-departmental poo-slinging away from his workers. One was much easier to work under.
I remember that once, it was close to Christmas time, and one project was somewhat behind schedule. One boss asked us to just throw in extra time, since HR wouldn't approve of overtime pay. The other fought hard with the suits and somehow got us double-time for weekend work. Going the extra mile counts - the first boss didn't cheat anyone out of anything, he just didn't fight for his guys.