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Wasn't this an announcement from the manufacturer?
Perhaps Microsoft has decided they need to make money instead of doing loss leaders.
Perhaps Microsoft has decided they need to make money instead of doing loss leaders.
To make money, you have to sell product.
Microsoft have been selling expensive products for years now. They were never a price oriented company.
Ok, I'll give you that. But now they're competing in a commodity market. Microsoft doesn't really understand competitive, commodity markets.
They will be pushing Microsoft Office and other "solutions" as a reason to buy their more expensive tablets, as well as integration with Exchange and whatever other crappy product they can think of.
We all seen it before. How many people continue using IIS ?
They will be pushing Microsoft Office and other "solutions" as a reason to buy their more expensive tablets, as well as integration with Exchange and whatever other crappy product they can think of.
I don't disagree as that seems to be how Microsoft has marketed their products over the last bunch of years
I think RIM is demonstrating quite nicely that what consumers want is stuff that isn't what businesses want. And the consumer market is actually quite a bit bigger than the corporate one.
Unfortunately, Microsoft often still sees the world as about being able to access Office and Exchange. And I'm betting far more people don't need that than do in this market -- for me personally, I have no use for that, but I've no doubt that for some people the ability to get their company email or access the TPS report from home is absolutely critical.
I think when Microsoft comes to terms with the fact that a shocking amount of people don't need Office and Exchange, they might figure out what features they should be putting into tablets.
Microsoft have been selling expensive products for years now. They were never a price oriented company.
MS never had to be price oriented, they held a monopoly on consumer and enterprise desktops, and had a pretty good market share of servers. To the point where competitors effectively had to be free to compete, not because of technical superiority but because of how the market was stacked against them.
The trouble for MS is it doesn't have that lead in the mobile space. Its now forced, whether it acknowledges it or not to compete on:
Cost and UI matter to regular consumers, Cost and Technical Merit (maybe including a bit of UI as it relates to funcationality rather than prettiness/bragging rights) matter to techies.
MS's problem is the first group aren't going to be impressed with Notro compared to Apple or Android, especially if the devices are going to cost significantly more. The second group remember enough about MS's business practices from the 90's and 00's as to be warey of accepting them.
There is another possibility, maybe it's not the MS license knocking up the price, ASUS might not be expecting big sales from these devices and so are hoping to cover R&D costs with a smaller number of sales by bumping up the unit price?
They were never a price oriented company.
This is not true at all. Nearly all markets Microsoft entered they underpriced, usually a lot. Operating systems, server
software, office suites, you name it — MS products were always cheaper than the then incumbent. What MS always
did was to establish a proprietary lock-in by embracing, extending and extinguishing existing standards, so that they
could avoid lowering prices — software having fat margins, former incumbents would underprice MS once they lo
I don't know, I paid $40 for DOS 6 when games were $50, I'd say that's cheap, especially since it came with DoubleSpace. Most people aren't Microsoft's customers, they're Asus and Dell and HP customers. I doubt that more than $10 went to MS when you bought a computer. Enterprise customers are their customers, not you. Now, Office seems expensive unless you put it next to Photoshop are worse, SAS.
You're confusing them with Apple. Apple computers are way more expensive than Windows computers, but Apples are percieved to be higher quality. I just don't see how MS can sell a tablet at a higher price than an iPad and expect anyone to buy them. Folks buy Apple to be kewl and show off how much money they have, you can't say that about MS.
Look how the Zune flopped, and it wasn't as expensive as an iPod. There's no way anyone is going to be willing to pay more for a Windows computer than an Apple computer.
Meanwhile, when I get a tablet it will be a cheap Android. Apples cost too much and Windows has too few features compared to kubuntu.
Folks buy Apple to be kewl and show off how much money they have, you can't say that about MS.
Do you honestly believe that the majority of people that buy Apple products...do so as a status symbol?? I know that is the often quoted opinion on
I mean, I own a few apple products. I have an old iphone 3gs, and am likely to going to get the new iPhone 5. but I dunno what a status symbol that is. I mean, it spends most of the time in my pocket, and honestly, when you whip one out...well, it is no big deal as that so many other people out there have them...it is kind of a commodity phone. I'd dare say any smart phone these days is pretty much a commodity object, and seems most people out there have one.
As for a mac computer....well, I do have a macbook pro I bought myself last xmas...but that stays largely at home..I bought it for some stills and video production I wanted to do with my gift I gave myself this year...a Canon 5D3.
Sure, these are both $$$ things...but, I got them because they were perceived to me as being the best I could get for my money I could afford...for some things I wanted to do. Best tool for the job and all.
But really...I don't think that many people even notice if you pull out an Apple product....to most people I think...it is just another "phone", or "laptop" or "tablet".....I don't perceive any social stigma related to them by anyone that pulls them out these days. Does anyone else really see it that way?
I mean, I don't give anyone a sideways glance really if they pull out a computer, smartphone or tablet....today those are all just commodity type gear IMHO....
Do you honestly believe that the majority of people that buy Apple products...do so as a status symbol?? I know that is the often quoted opinion on
I'm not knocking the hardware or those that purchase it, but status is absolutely a part of the decision to go with Apple devices. It's much the same as having a nice car versus an old yet reliable Ford Pinto. People want features, reliability, and the "look". Apple offers all 3, and I know it was a factor in *my* purchase. I can be honest with myself, too.
Perhaps Microsoft has decided they need to make money instead of doing loss leaders.
Have you seen the price of a full retail copy of Windows? It's almost as much an iPad...
I like this plan.
Bye Bye, Microsoft.
Don't start bolting your chairs to the floor just yet. It's probably just an early tantalizer that they release while they work out the kinks. I would be surprised if you couldn't get a 7" Windows 8 tablet in Q4 2013. The real question is whether they'll be able to release a tablet that can compete with the iPad in the $500-$600 range.
I would be surprised if you couldn't get a 7" Windows 8 tablet in Q4 2013.
By then it will be up against an iPad3 mini. It would have to be seriously cheap to win that battle.
Yeah, they'll probably have to ship Windows for free on the low-end 7" tablets.
I wonder if Microsoft has failed to realize that in terms of profit the OS is essentially a front-end for the app store and plans to make money on both the OS and on app sales, analogous to a mall owner charging entrance.
I wonder if Microsoft has failed to realize that in terms of profit the OS is essentially a front-end for the app store and plans to make money on both the OS and on app sales, analogous to a mall owner charging entrance.
Except they're going to have to charge a lot more money then. Even though Apple gets around $1.2B out of iTunes (for all iTunes sales - apps, music, movies, books), a lot of that is plowed back into servers and into credit card transaction payments (developers are paid out before, but expen
Bye Bye, Microsoft.
Now there is a prediction never made on Slashdot before. Why don't you go all the way out on the limb and declare next year to be "The Year Of Linux on Desktops"?
No, you have it all wrong.
Now it will be annoying Microsoft fanbois talking about how 2013 will be "The Year of The Windows Mobile Device."
Which we know will never happen, Apple and Android/Linux own that market.
Bye Bye, Microsoft.
Now there is a prediction never made on Slashdot before. Why don't you go all the way out on the limb and declare next year to be "The Year Of Linux on Desktops"?
No, but has been the "decade of unix (now predominantly linux) based mobile devices" so far. Microsoft has been losing on this front, since, well, forever, but the success of the iPhone and Android cemented that fate.
So you get software no one likes in hardware no one would pay for. That sounds like a recipe for success.
So you get software no one likes in hardware no one would pay for. That sounds like a recipe for success.
The hardware isn't THAT bad. It's just not particularly great. People would probably pay for the hardware if it had a more reasonable price point.. I'm thinking around $300. You can't fix windows RT without replacing it, though.
I'm not sure how MS expects to compete here. Every competitor in this field charges $0 for the OS. MS is selling ONLY an OS. I guess they expect hardware manufacturers to eat the cost? It would be a little intriguing if RT and Windows 8 were binary level compatible, but they're not - they just look similar.
Every competitor in this field charges $0 for the OS
Well, kinda. Most Android manufacturers are already paying MS $15/device for a promise not to sue. Paying $15/device to actually get an OS might be worth it. And, sure, you can get the Android software after release for free, but to have access to the under-development versions you need to pay Google. You also need to pay Google if you want to ship their apps. Plus you need to pay your developers to get Android ported to your device, and to keep drivers up to date as kernel interfaces change if you want to allow users to upgrade. Customisation also costs money if you want to differentiate your product at all.
So you get software no one likes in hardware no one would pay for. That sounds like a recipe for success.
MS Office outsells any other retail software product you can name.
It is the tail that wags the dog. Currently holding 11 out of the top 25 slots at Amazon.com alone. Home and Student for the PC will typically rank 1 or 2 anywhere you look.
People buy office because they think they have to. Little trolls like you feed the fear. People don't buy it because they actually like it.
It's still "software no one likes".
If you really want to use Windows, you need to pay up for the privilege. I think it's too cheap; they should start these Windows tablets at $2000. I'm sure millions of people will be lining up to buy these things.
(Hopefully Steve is reading this.)
(Mod up...)
(Hopefully Steve is reading this.)
Nope, he is dead.
Oh, you meant the other Steve.
Nope, he is a zombie.
No he isn't. Zombies go around looking for brains.
This isn't Apple
If you really want to use Windows, you need to pay up for the privilege.
Even though you meant it in jest, there's actually something to that. There's something that Microsoft brings to the table that no one else can really say. They have an overwhelming majority presence in the business end-user arena. End-user business software runs on Microsoft, period. To be able to seamlessly untether them from the heavier form factors is a value that neither Apple nor Google can offer.
Right now if I want to deliver mobile solutions to the end-user I have to compromise with HTML5/JavaSc
The price difference is probably in the MS software license. IIRC, the OEM license cost for Windows CE in the late 90s was $50. I imagine Windows RT is around $100.
Compare that with Google who pays YOU to run Android.
This all pencils out. Everyone wants Microsoft Windows on a tablet. They're already lining up for it. It's Windows -- the same interface, the same applications, compatibility with all the Microsoft back end processes, and all documents of any type made by Microsoft products will open on it. Regular security releases and bug fixes will keep it in great shape, and Internet Explorer is a joy to use. For all that, of course people will be willing to pay a premium price for the product. This isn't arrogance, it's due recognition of our own excellence. We've owned the desktop for decades; this obviously means we have a superior product.
Additionally, charging a higher price creates a mindset of a premium product. Charging a price competitive with those made-in-China boxes running not-Windows will make us seem as useless as them. People are willing to pay for excellence.
(Please mod this funny so I don't lose all faith in humanity...)
Sadly, I think you're perfectly right about some of that. Windows 8's UI is built for a tablet, so it can look and function the same everywhere (ideally). There are still sites that only work on IE, and they mostly show up in the corporate world, where IE still reigns supreme. Anything non-Microsoft is a loose cannon, that you can't just expect to connect with all the existing legacy software from the 90s.
All together, corporate managers will say that the extra cost for the Windows tablets (and Windows desk
Unless they've backed down on Active Directory on Windows RT, Team corporate IT is going to avoid these things like the plague unless specifically forced by user demand...
I figure any company with a concern for managed tablet access to Windows will just buy iPads and leverage their virtualization for VDI.
Well, here's the thing: Nobody I know buys anything but the cheapest iPad. So for the majority of those customers would compare any tablet against that price and fearure set.
A 15.6" 1080p 16:9 screen is nice. 14" is pushing it. 13.3 gets annoying. 10.1 is fucking ridiculous, aren't Windows 8 tablets meant to be productivity devices? Why the hell do they all (including the MS surface) have stretched out 16:9 screens that are awful for doing any real work in landscape mode with a keyboard attached?
Apple are the only ones who understand this, which is why all Apple laptops except the 11.6" Macbook Air (I guess it needed to be wide enough for the keyboard to fit, and even 11.6" 16:9 is nowhere as ridiculous as 10.1" 16:9) come with 16:10 screens, the ONLY manufacturer that I know of who still sell 16:10 laptops.
Take these prices with a grain of salt though, OEMs have a habit of pricing products rather hopefully before cutting prices to the point where stuff sells. I guess a Windows license costs a bit more than Google apps/Google Play license + Microsoft tax on Android devices (ALL major Android tablet and phone makers except Motorola and Sony pay Microsoft for every Android device they sell). But Android tablets with similar specs from Lenovo etc. are selling for $300 and even less with cash backs etc. A mid range Win RT tablet should be available for $400-450 in the market.
I've used Windows 8. It's not that great. Nobody will pay extra for it despite what the consultants told you. Your "surface" will be a loss leader designed to gain market share or it will simply fail. Thank you for your attention.
Mr. ColdWaterOfRealityMan
"Pull the wool over your own eyes!" -- J.R. "Bob" Dobbs


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The Healthy Living Summit was incredible!
I met a lot of amazing people, learned a lot about the blog world and realized that I have A LOT more to learn than I ever imagined.
I anticipate big blog changes in the very near future to keep up with all the very beautiful and unique blog designs I discovered over the weekend.
Until I actually figure out how to make those changes, I will press on with my plain ol' wordpress hosted site.
Ok, enough with the technological jargon and on to the fun stuff!
The Summit began with a very cool cocktail party at Reading Terminal Market.
The market after hours was the perfect spot to try some new cocktails, eat trendy appetizers, and meet and greet fellow blogging friends.
The only drawbacks to the spread were the very, very miniature plates.
But I still managed to fill mine to the brim. Twice.
I also enjoyed a cocktail made from chia seeds that was fruity but not to sweet and had the added bonus of healthy Omega 3's.
Never heard of Chia?
Well, surely you remember Chia Pets?
Those very seeds are the one and the same that offer scads of health benefits beyond having a grassy likeness of Garfield in your kitchen window.
Like a true party animal, I was exhausted by 10 PM and headed back to the hotel to dive into bed and enjoy a little Four Weddings on TLC at the recommendation of the Canadians.
Unbeknownst to me, the rest of the blogosphere was waking up at 5AM to run a quick 14 miles before the days events.
Um, I relished my crisp hotel linens until about two seconds before breakfast. I figured I was being pro-actively healthy by ensuring I got plenty of sleep. At least, that's what I'm telling myself. Good thing I was all rested up, though, because breakfast was awesome and there were lots of cool sponsors and goodies to check out.
Attune foods sponsored the breakfast and they put out an amazing spread that included fresh fruit, yogurt, and a variety of Uncle Sam cereals.
I kept things light with some greek yogurt and fruit + coffee.
Oh, attune. How I love you. Is this not the cutest spoon and napkin place setting ever?
Breakfast really is my happy hour.
Except when it's followed by work. That significantly lessens the joy of the experience.
In the morning, I attended a great workshop about recipe development.
Hopefully all of the cool tips I got will translate into recipes that will be clearer and easier for you to recreate! I also attended a panel on how to handle negative comments, which, um, isn't a problem for me since I'm pretty sure that my loyal fan base (my mom) won't be writing any hostile and slanderous content in the comment section any time soon.
Even though I was still riding the happy wave from breakfast, I was pretty excited about lunch which included the freshest, heartiest bread on the planet.
As in, the grain for this bread was ground yesterday and baked that morning.
I'm not normally a bread or even sandwich person, but I think Great Harvest has converted me. They use simple ingredients without long lists of chemicals, additives, or conditioners and did I mention it's the best bread I've ever had? There may be spontaneous weekend trips to Philly just to grab a few loaves of this satisfying sandwich maker.
Lunch also included a salad bar with crisp lettuce, big, bright cherry tomatoes, and crunchy cucumbers.
In preparation for the Summit, I prepared a big batch of Sunbutter Crunch Balls to share with all my new blogger friends and they turned out to be a big hit!
You can check out some really cool people enjoying them here, here, and here.
Thanks Kath, Hilary, and Meghann for sharing the love!
I also brought Kath a bottle of Dogfish Head Midas Touch since she often blogs about her love of craft brews.
She immediately put it on ice (the water carafe) and had a tasting right at the table!
Photo courtesy: Kath
Photo courtesy: Kath
You can see more beer imbibing pics here and here.
After lunch, we learned about the Flexitarian Diet and the power of action mantras.
My mantra: Be light. Be strong. Feel Power.
It gets me through a tough run and also won me a copy of the Flexitarian Diet Book. I donated the book to one of the Canadians who happens to be a registered dietician. Apparently they do eat more than maple syrup in Canada.
Speaking of the Canadians, me and my roommates joined them for dinner at a rustic, little Italian joint called Osteria.
Hilary from HungryHealthyHilary scouted this place from an episode of Best Thing I Ever Ate. That's a girl after my own heart.
My first impression?
This place was perfection.
Relaxed atmosphere, low lighting, tables made from distressed wood, fresh bread, and good wine.
I needed a little help from the waiter to decipher the menu, but I ultimately decided on the day's special which consisted of a variety of grilled vegetables in a "special sauce." It included ruby-red beets, corn, golden beets and green beans topped with spicy arugula and mixed greens. The special sauce was very light and fruity.
I especially appreciate that my vegetarian salad was served on a big pig shaped carving board. Fancy!
After dinner, we trekked it to Trader Joes's where I picked up some honey apple butter, dark chocolate covered espresso beans, freeze-dried bananas and chocolate coconut water.
I was a little sad to say goodbye after the Quaker Oatmeal Breakfast on Sunday,
but felt better when I got home and looked at all of my free loot.
I don't think I'll have to go grocery shopping for a month!
But you know I will 'cuz I love me some food shopping!

subset: commoncrawl


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So you have a question? Have you looked to see if it is already answered somewhere? Delete all of this if you still have a question to ask!
FAQ - http://www.conquerclub.com/eticket/index.php
Instructions - http://www.conquerclub.com/public.php?m ... tructions1
Rules - http://www.conquerclub.com/public.php?mode=rules
Community Guidelines - viewtopic.php?t=7785
I love the game risk which this is based on i cannot wor out the settinhs to create a game where u pick your own place where to place your first country as they are already placed, also as to deployment of troops everrytim i try andd deplo 1 oe 2 troops they all seem to go in the one spot hmmm i sound dumb lol i kknow any help would be good


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SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Navy opposes state restrictions on an explosives and sonar training program off the Southern California coast that critics fear will threaten whales and other sea mammals, state regulators were told Friday.
Adding more conditions will reduce the realism and scope of the training, Alex Stone, who directs the Navy program, testified before the California Coastal Commission.
Stone also said he believes the program has sufficient protections for sea life — an argument disputed by environmentalists who packed the meeting.
The Navy estimates that the proposed training program, scheduled to begin next January, will kill 130 animals and cause hearing loss in 1,600 over five years.
"We think these are underestimates," Michael Jasny with the Natural Resources Defense Council told the commissioners.
The Navy's testing area encompasses 120,000 nautical square miles of the Pacific off the Southern California coast and includes a corridor between the state and Hawaii, among other areas.
The commission's staff has recommended that approval be contingent on a list of conditions. They include requiring that the Navy create safety zones that would guarantee no high-intensity sonar activity near marine sanctuaries and protected areas and in spots that experience a high concentration of blue, fin and gray whales seasonally. The staff says a kilometer from shore should also be off-limits to protect bottlenose dolphins.
The commission set out similar conditions to the Navy in 2007 and 2009, but the Navy refused to accept them both times.
The commission sued the Navy over the matter, leading to a preliminary injunction in 2008, though then-President George W. Bush gave an exemption for the training. The U.S. Supreme Court later overturned the lower court's decision.
Jasny's organization and three dozen others say they want the Navy to avoid important habitat for vulnerable species, including endangered blue and fin whales, beaked whales, and migrating gray whales. They also want the Navy to not use sonar training and underwater detonations at night, when marine mammals are extremely hard to detect. And they want the Navy to be required to use its own acoustic monitoring network to help detect marine mammals.
They also say that from May through October ships should slow to 10 knots in areas with baleen whales, to avoid hitting them.
Scientists say there is still much to be learned about how much sonar activity affects marine animals. Studies have shown some species such as beaked whales may be adversely affected by some forms.


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The Institute communicates its scientific and educational information in a number of ways. One major outlet is peer-reviewed publications and reports. Cary Institute staff regularly publish in the best-rated journals in their respective fields.
Export 47 results:Sort by: Author Title [ Type] Year
Filters: Author is McDonnell, M.J. [Clear All Filters]
Vegetation Dynamics Along Utility Rights-of-Way: Factors Affecting the Ability of Shrub and Herbaceous Communities to Resist Invasion by Trees, vol. 347. 1993.
Status and future of ecosystem science - Cary Conference 1985. Millbrook, NY: , 1987, p. 23.,
A Reference Guide and Bibliography to the Ecology and Natural Resources of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Second Edition. Millbrook, NY: , 1997.,
Permanent Forest Reference Plot System: Pelham Bay Park and Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx, New York. Volume 1. Protocol for Establishing Permanent Forest Reference Plots. 1990, p. 71.,
Permanent Forest Reference Plot System: Pelham Bay Park and Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx, New York. Volume 3. Protocol for Establishing Permanent Forest Reference Plots. 1990, p. 50.,
Permanent Forest Reference Plot System: Pelham Bay Park and Van Cotlandt Park, Bronx, New York. Volume 2. Data Entry and Analysis. 1990, p. 122.,
Long-term ecological studies: an illustrated account of their design, operation, and importance to ecology. Millbrook, NY: , 1986, p. 38.,
Influence of vegetation structure and landscape configuration on woody seed predation along powerline corridors. 1993, p. 129-141.,
The ecology and natural resources of New York City: a bibliography. Millbrook, NY: , 1991, p. 43.,
Urban-rural ecological gradients: a new perspective for urban forestry", C. Kolin and M. Barratt (eds.). p. 22-24, 1995., "
Beyond design with nature". p. 6-8, 1993., "
Journal Article
Soil characteristics of oak stands along an urban-rural gradient", J. Environ. Qual., vol. 24, p. 516-526, 1995., "
Restoration and management of a hardwood-hemlock forest in New York City", Restor. Manage. Notes, vol. 7, p. 36-37, 1989., "
Old field vegetation height and the dispersal pattern of bird-disseminated woody plants", Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, vol. 113, p. 6-11, 1986., "
Observations on the reproductive biology of Phytolacca americana L. (Phytolaccaceae)", Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, vol. 10, p. 380-383, 1983., "
Nitrogen cycling processes and soil characteristics in an urban versus rural forest", Biogeochemistry, vol. 5, p. 243-262, 1988., "
Managing urban woodlands: a challenge for the 1990's", Garden, vol. 11, p. 3-4, 1987., "
Litter decomposition and nitrogen cycling processes along an urban-rural land use gradient", Urban Ecosyst., vol. 1, p. 117-131, 1997., "
Heavy metal accumulations in forest soils along an urban-rural gradient in southern New York", Water Air Soil Pollut., vol. 57-58, p. 797-807, 1991., "
Forty-eight years of canopy change in a hardwood-hemlock forest in New York City", Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, vol. 116, p. 52-64, 1989., "
Forest-landscape structure along an urban-to-rural gradient", Prof. Geogr., vol. 47, p. 159-168, 1995., "
Forest vegetation along an urban-rural gradient in the New York City metropolitan area: patterns and relationships to ecosystem processes", Transactions of the Linnean Society of New York, vol. 10, p. 79-99, 2007., "
Exposing an urban ecology straw man: critique of Ramalho and Hobbs", Trends in Ecology and Evolution, vol. 27, p. 255-256, 2012., "
Evolution and future of urban ecological science: ecology in , of , and for the city", Ecosystem Health and Sustainability, vol. 2, no. 7, p. e01229, 2016., "


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Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' actions this offseason might suggest a lack of confidence in head coach Jason Garrett.
But Jones' words say something different.
In a video posted at the team's official website (via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram), Jones indicated the utmost confidence in Garrett.
"However he comes up with how he wants to design how the offense runs, coupled with the fact that we've made the changes defensively and with special teams, I'm going to be excited about it," Jones said. "We've got the right man putting this together in Jason Garrett."
Of course, Jones has also effectively stripped Garrett's play-calling authority, and nudged his brother out the door, while changing defensive coordinators and special teams coaches, among others.
They're still looking to fill two spots on the offensive staff (running backs and tight ends coaches), but Jones said Garrett has plenty of time.
"I want him to work through, from my perspective, work through his interviews, sit down with how his staff might meld together, think about some of the philosophy, which is a part of this as well, because certain coaches could bring a certain addition to the kind of thinking that goes on back there with game plans and play-calling," Jones said. "So all of that leads me to say, 'No, I don't have a timeframe.' "
All of it leads us to say, Garrett needs to work carefully, because every appearance is that his footing is far from secure.


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The Saratogian (http://www.saratogian.com)
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Anyone who has hung a picture on the wall knows the surest way to tell whether it's straight is to step back and look at it with some distance.
If it's askew you'll know it right away. I do that sometimes with our crooked world, step back and just stare, hoping I'll see how it got that way. I had one of those "aha" moments recently while trolling the various news sites in an effort to stay informed.
There's a site called The Daily Beast that offers links to hundreds of articles and columns and one of them caught my eye; it told young people that "rebound sex" is a great thing. While I'm sure most of you know this, rebound sex is the act of jumping in bed with everyone and anyone right after a bad break-up. It adheres to the old adage, "the best way to get over someone is to get under someone."
Let me start by saying what other people do with their sex lives and bodies is none of my business: To each his own. What set my blood to boiling was what this writer did to mislead young people, especially college-age women.
She started by quoting a University of Missouri study that concluded, while rebound sex is certainly real and on the rampage, young people should be wary. Why? Because people who bounce from strangers bed to strangers bed to dull the pain of a bad breakup, don't heal themselves and this behavior, and I'm quoting now, "signified a lack of recovery and inability to move on." That's not me saying it, that's right from the researchers in Missouri. Fair enough.
You'd think so, but not for the writer for The Daily Beast. She didn't buy any of it, so she sought out an alternative view from a sex therapist and another person with the title of "sex educator." They boldly extolled the virtues of having sex with strangers as often as you like, saying it can be liberating and healing. One of them pointing out that sex releases endorphins much like jogging. So, the only difference is sex is suppose to be more fun. We'll ignore the fact that jogging rarely produces STDs or babies nine months later.
I know it's at this point of my column that anyone under 30 will roll their eyes and think I'm going to give some kind of high-handed "daddy lecture to the youngins" out there. I'm not.
Let's be intellectually honest for a moment. I'm a journalist and if I spent 10 minutes on Google I could find "experts" on any subject who support almost any position. If you don't believe me go look at what some people think about The Holocaust.
What troubles me is someone in their teens or 20s may stumble on the same article I saw and get the idea that placing no value on yourself is a good thing. And let's not lie to ourselves, that is what you are doing. If there's no dating, no dinners, if the person doesn't even really have to know your name to see you naked, you are placing zero value on yourself. You can dress it up as self-empowerment and sexual freedom all you want, but what you're saying to the world, male or female, is "you can have this for free."
Before someone hits the nearest bar and picks up the first pretty face to glance their way, they might want to look at the book "Why Gender Matters" by Leonard Sax. A practicing clinical psychiatrist, Sax talks in there about the litany of young women who end up on the couch in his office with severe depression and low self-esteem, many of them casualties of this hookup culture. Many thought it would be fun but it left them feeling empty in the end.
One last thing and it comes in the form of a question. If you are in a committed relationship with someone for years and it ends, what does it say about you, your ex and the time and energy you put into that relationship if you immediately discard it like yesterday's newspaper?
Having a long-term relationship end is a lot like a death, and the healing process takes time. Not to mention the fact that there are sharks out there just cruising in the water for emotionally damaged people who are vulnerable right after a bad break-up. They come dressed as friends but sometimes they've seen your relationship on the brink of failure and have just been waiting to pounce. A real friend offers you an ear to listen and cup of coffee, not a foot massage.
Like I've said, it's your body, do what you like with it. Just know I and lots of people think you are unique, interesting and when it comes to courtship, totally worth the effort. You should too.
John Gray is a news anchor on WXXA-Fox TV 23 and ABC'S WTEN News Channel 10. His column is published Wednesdays in The Saratogian. Email firstname.lastname@example.com.


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SOMERSET, Ky. (WKYT) - What started as a tip from one of his friends, police say, soon led to a much bigger discovery.
Tonight a former Somerset city employee now faces federal charges after police say they found many images and videos of child pornography in his home.
Somerset police and FBI agents arrested Eric Whitson, 35, on Wednesday afternoon at his Cooper Drive home following a two-week joint investigation.
According to police a male adult friend noticed what he believed to be a video camera installed in Whitson's bathroom, "positioned in an inappropriate place"
That complaint led to a search warrant being executed at the assistant parks director's home. According to police that search uncovered a hidden camera in the bathroom.
According to Kentucky state law, it is illegal to take video surveillance of an individual in a place of "expected privacy" such as a bathroom or bedroom.
Officers and detectives also searched through hours of VHS tapes, DVDs, and CD-ROMs and found images suspected to be child pornography.
Whitson is charged with; Promotion of Child Pornography, Receipt of Child Pornography. He is being held without bond at the Laurel County Jail where he declined WKYT's request for an interview.


text:
Today wasn't much different. This morning I took Oliver to lacrosse and then to watch the Williams - Amherst football game with a bunch of alums, while Mr C took Eleanor shopping with him. I was determined to have some time with my girl when she woke from her nap. We headed out to Coco's for a cupcake and as it was post-nap, she was a very happy little girl.
All through the drive she asked if we were going to Coco's house so it's not surprising she kept asking, "Where's Coco?" while eating the cupcake.
Why does she keep turning around? Workmen were hanging holiday decorations on the street lights. Fascinating stuff, if you're two.
EDITED to change video to a MUCH shorter version.


text:
Stock futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 rising 0.4 percent. The Dow Jones futures were up 0.2 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.4 percent at 4:15 a.m. ET.
Expectations that U.S. politicians were closer to a deal to avoid a looming "fiscal cliff" of steep tax hikes and spending cuts that could hurt the U.S. economy enabled European shares to rise on Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street.
Continue Reading Below
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> was up by 0.4 percent at 1,137.30 points.
Hopes of a "fiscal cliff" deal grew on Monday night as President Barack Obama made a counter-offer to Republicans that included a major change in position on tax hikes for the wealthy, according to a source familiar with the talks.
The Bank of Japan was also set to ease monetary policy this week and consider adopting a 2 percent inflation target no later than in January, sources said, responding to pressure from next Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for stronger efforts to beat deflation.
American International Group Inc raised $6.45 billion from the sale of its remaining stake in AIA Group Ltd in Asia's second-largest block sale ever, exiting a business the U.S. insurer started nearly 100 years ago.
A U.S. judge on Monday denied Apple Inc's request for a permanent injunction against Samsung Electronics' <005930.KS> smartphones, depriving the iPhone maker of key leverage in the mobile patent wars.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc's Mexican affiliate routinely used bribes to open stores in desirable locations, according to a New York Times investigation published Monday, which cites 19 instances of the retail giant paying off local officials.
Electronic trading firm Knight Capital Group is considering two competing acquisition offers following a board meeting on Monday that included presentations from suitors Getco Holding LLC and Virtu Financial LLC, sources familiar with the talks said.
* Major U.S. companies reporting results include software group Oracle and investment bank Jefferies .
* The Dow Jones industrial average rose 100.38 points, or 0.76 percent, to 13,235.39. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index advanced by 16.78 points, or 1.19 percent, to 1,430.36, its highest close since October 22. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 39.27 points, or 1.32 percent, to 3,010.60.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta/Chris Pizzey, London MPG Desk, +44 (0)207 542-4441)


text:
Randall Cobb
Offseason begins.
List a bunch of up and coming players in the league. There are the obvious players (RG3, Luck, etc.), but what about some of the lesser known players.
Here are a few who I think are up and coming:
Dennis Pitta, TE Baltimore
Paul Kruger, OLB, Baltimore
Jacquizz Rodgers, RB, Atlanta
Vontaze Burfict, LB, Cincinnati
I think these players (and many more) stepped up and will continue their upward trend. They played parts in their respective teams' success. I hope the Jets find a few of these guys to help improve the team.
Randall Cobb
Tim tebow. Wait does the CFL count?
Bernard Price - the ravens backup rb
bryce brown - eagles back up rb
- brown needs to stop fumbling the ball but I tell you what when I see these two guys run the ball you can not deny the talent is there. Eventually I think both of these guys will be somebody's #1 rb.
Justin blackmon - as soon as he had qb who can somewhat throw the ball he started putting up huge numbers
Mo wilk - had to do it
Going to respectfully disagree with Jacquuz. I believe he was under 3.5ypc and he is too pint size IMO to be an every down back.
LB Bobby Wagner
LB KJ Wright
RB Robert Turbin
CB Richard Sherman
Way to derail the thread.
RB - Alfred "The Butler" Morris. Overshadowed by RG3.
SS - Harrison Smith.
T.Y. Hilton
Harrison Smith
Here is a homer(but accurate) pick. He's not necessarily young anymore, but Marshall Yanda may be one of, if not the best, Guards in football.
Cecil Shorts
Kroy Biermann (not really up and coming, but he had a terrific season well under the radar)
Luke Kuechly (people were saying he was the safest pick in last year's draft, and I think we saw why)
Stevie Brown
Geno Atkins (dude's a ****ing stud, but is now the NFL's worst kept secret)
Bruce Carter (was beastin' before his injury)


text:
buying hot sauce can be like buying wine...
you can get drawn in by the label
you can get a recommendation from a person you know
you can get it because it is available to you
Speedy's Hot Sauce
super cool label
it has the wonderful balance of flavor and fire
and it is easy to purchase
I will have to place another order soon!
which brings me to a short tangent...
does hot sauce need to be refrigerated after it is opened?
it is my understanding that it should be
I was thinking that someone needs to develop a small cooling unit about the size of a medicine cabinet
too often the none hot sauce user in the house complains about all of the hot sauces in the fridge
so.... problem solved
an attractive wall unit that nicely holds a rational variety of sauces
like a spice race for things that need to be kept cold
it sounds like a Kramer-ism
sort of like my notion that there is no need for men's socks to go higher than the ankle
unless you are wearing shin guards
catholic school girls can hang onto the knee high look
considered going for some low hanging fruit and displaying a foxy little vegas style thing dressed in some catholic school girl tarten
instead... the red hot chilli peppers who wrote the anthem; Catholic School Girls Rule
too bad it is a myth


text:
The goal of the LBJ Express project is to relieve severe congestion on 13 miles of Interstate Highway I-635 (LBJ) from just west of I-35E (near Luna Road) to just east of United States Highway (US) 75 (near Greenville Ave.), and south on I-35E from I-635 to Loop 12.
On Sept. 4, 2009, TxDOT officials executed a comprehensive development agreement (CDA) with the LBJ Infrastructure Group to design, construct, finance, operate and maintain the 13-mile LBJ-635 corridor in Dallas County.
On May 7, 2009, TxDOT held a public hearing concerning the disclosure of financial information for the LBJ-635 Comprehensive Development Agreement. The public hearing summary and analysis is now available for review.
Project Partnerships
On Feb. 26, 2009, the Texas Transportation Commission conditionally awarded the LBJ Express project to LBJ Infrastructure Group, which will finance, design, construct, operate and maintain the 13-mile corridor for 52 years.
LBJ Infrastructure Group (formerly LBJ Development Partners) will rebuild the LBJ-635 corridor using an innovative new design, enabling the new highway to be constructed while minimizing the need for additional right of way.
The project is now known as the LBJ Express. Visit the LBJ Express website for up-to-date construction and lane closure information.
The project will be completed after a maximum 5-year construction period. The New LBJ will feature the following improvements:
Managed Toll Lanes
Managed toll lanes feature the movement of traffic at a faster, more reliable speed (50 mph) by adjusting the toll rate up and down as the number of vehicles increases or decreases respectively.
Motorists will have a choice of either using the managed toll lanes or remaining on the improved and rebuilt free main lanes.
Project Information
Related Links
Contact Us
TxDOT Dallas District
P.O. Box 133067
Dallas, TX 75313-3067
(214) 320-4480
Copyright 2017
Texas Department of Transportation
All Rights Reserved
Privacy & Security Policy
125 East 11th Street • Austin, Texas 78701


text:
Apr 22, 2013
From staff reports
University Communications and Marketing (UCM) has produced a teaser trailer announcing a new marketing campaign for Ohio University slated to debut in the fall.
"I am pleased to announce that UCM is currently developing a new promotional campaign for Ohio University," said Renea Morris, executive director of UCM. "It is a key part of our ongoing efforts to elevate the OHIO brand and will include new television commercials as well as print advertisements and Web components. Our goal is to both enhance admissions recruitment efforts and build on the sense of pride that our current students, faculty, staff and alumni have in Ohio University."
The newly released video is intended to announce that the campaign is being developed without revealing too much ahead of the official launch.
"We want to build awareness that our new marketing campaign is coming soon," Morris explained. "We thought it might be fun to create a teaser trailer—in the tradition of Hollywood movies—to give the University community a glimpse into our upcoming promotional efforts."
UCM is currently developing television commercials and other creative elements for the campaign. The department plans to host a special event for the University community this fall to unveil the new projects.


text:
WASHINGTON — John Kerry was the center of attention during his first Cabinet meeting as secretary of state. A White House photo shows him speaking, hands outstretched and eyes wide open as President Obama looked on.
Off in the corner, barely visible, was another man. His hand was over his mouth as he leaned back and listened. That man, overshadowed as ever, was Kerry's younger brother, Cameron.
Throughout his life, Cam, as his friends call him, has been devoted to his older brother's political career, helping him run his campaigns and advising on matters big and small.
During a fund-raiser in 2004, Kerry supporters printed up a giant banner emblazoned with, "Cameron Kerry for First Brother."
Now, Cameron is briefly on closer-to-equal footing — and making history, even if for only a few weeks. As general counsel at the Department of Commerce, he recently became acting secretary of the department while waiting confirmation of a new nominee, marking the first time two brothers are serving at the same time in a presidential Cabinet.
"I have to say, two Kerrys are even better than one," Vice President Joe Biden said in a statement to the Globe.
The history-making move is also proving that, well, having two Secretary Kerrys can get quite confusing.In the Commerce Department, where officialdom prohibits first name usage, staffers have started referring to John Kerry as "the other Secretary Kerry." When appointments are made at the White House Mess, they now have to specify which Secretary Kerry the reservation is for – and, when paying, Cameron Kerry has been tempted to simply say, "Just put it on his tab."
Last week, Cameron and John Kerry both signed off on a diplomatic cable to be sent to missions overseas that house employees of both the Commerce and State Departments. The cable said, in all caps, it was from "Secretary Kerry and Acting Secretary of Commerce Kerry."
"Which is going to confuse the hell out of some people in missions abroad," Cameron Kerry said.
But beyond marking a historical footnote, the dual appointments highlights the journey of two brothers, whose relationship has evolved from political debates around the family dining room table to, now, debates inside the West Wing of the White House.
The brothers are studies in both similarities and contrasts. Close your eyes, and you could mistake one for the other, with their similarly halting speech. But Cameron is like a less pronounced version of John. His face is not as angular, his curly hair is not as groomed.
John went to Yale, Cameron went to Harvard; John is Catholic, while Cameron converted to Judaism when he married his wife in 1983. Having spent formative years abroad while their father was a diplomat, the brothers have been known to speak in French when they didn't want those around them to know what they were saying.
"I think everyone respects Cameron as a quiet, thoughtful person," said Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin. "Not that John's noisy but he's certainly the more outgoing. Cameron's more of a ponderer."
The only time Cameron Kerry publicly weighed running for office was in 2006, when Galvin was considering running for governor and Kerry began laying the groundwork for a secretary of state campaign.
'Look, I am proud to be John's brother. I don't feel that fully defines me, and I'm confident enough in my own abilities.'
"When [Galvin] decided he was going to stay put, I felt like as the younger brother of a sitting senator, I couldn't run against an incumbent," Kerry said.
There have been siblings in powerful federal positions before, of course. President John F. Kennedy named his brother, Robert, to be attorney general. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles's younger brother Allen ran the CIA in the 1950s — making them a more powerful brotherly duo than the Kerrys — but the CIA director was not a Cabinet position. The Kerrys are still a first for brothers leading Cabinet departments.
Cameron spent much of his career as a lawyer at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, the high-powered Boston-based law firm. Then, in 2009, he was named as the Commerce Department's general counsel, the agency's third-ranking position.
His attendance at the Cabinet meeting in February came when he represented the agency at the meeting. On June 1, Cameron was named acting secretary, triggering a "Congratulations, Mr. Secretary" phone call from his brother.
But the position is likely to be shortlived. Obama's nominee, Hyatt Hotel heiress Penny Pritzker, has so far had a smooth confirmation process and a vote by the full Senate could come soon.
As a result, Kerry is not getting too comfortable in his new office. The reception area outside of it still features a large photo of the previous acting secretary, Rebecca Blank. The inside is sparse, with only a few family photos around his desk (along with a large sword inscribed with his name, a gift from the Qatar attorney general that he has used to cut cakes).
Once a permanent commerce secretary is confirmed, Kerry plans to go back to being the agency's general counsel.
The brothers' respective offices are several blocks from each other, with the White House in the middle. Cameron said they keep in frequent touch; his brother texts him photos from around the globe, such as the one John sent him from the Brandenburg Gate.
"When we found ourselves in our first Cabinet meeting earlier this year, I was again reminded of how proud our parents would've been of all he's achieved," John Kerry said.
Obama made a "big deal" about the fact that the brothers were together, and after the Cabinet meeting ended, the brothers walked out of the West Wing, stopping to "take it all in," said their long time friend, Alan Solomont, who talked later with Cameron about the Cabinet meeting.
Cameron, who at 62 is seven years younger than his brother, has been involved in his brother's political career since its inception.
After John Kerry returned from his naval service in the Vietnam War, he famously testified against the conflict in a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In the back of the room sat 19-year-old Cameron. When John Kerry launched a congressional campaign shortly after, Cameron Kerry helped run it.
During that 1972 campaign, Cameron was arrested the night before the Democratic primary for breaking into the basement of the building that housed the headquarters of both Kerry and one of his primary rivals. After finding Cameron and another campaign worker near the building's phone system, police arrested the pair on charges of breaking and entering.
Stripped across the front page of the Lowell Sun was a headline, "Kerry Brother Arrested in Lowell 'Watergate.' " The Kerrys then and now have said that they were set up, with an anonymous call coming in minutes earlier threatening to cut the Kerry campaign's phone lines the day before get-out-the vote efforts. Charges against Cameron Kerry were later dropped.
Cameron says he does not mind being overshadowed by his older brother.
"Look, I am proud to be John's brother," Cameron Kerry said. "I don't feel that fully defines me, and I'm confident enough in my own abilities and relationships that I don't feel that that's anything to be ashamed of."
Nonetheless, as Cameron Kerry wrote in an e-mail, "He'll still be Secretary Kerry long after people stop calling me that."Matt Viser can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
No dummy.
Obviously the growth from 2 to 3 Macs would be an increase of 50%.
The only logical answer is Apple sold 5 Macs to business as opposed to 3 last quarter.
Nah. It's just a few more "freelancers", who hope you can do a couple of jobs off elance, and then get a sweet tax deduction for your "business" computer.
Damn beat me to this by a !nternet month (and hour)
We've got them at work. I think the main reason is that they run Unix. Having a hip cool laptop back when a lot of founding employees were younger was a bonus. Over time though a lot of drawbacks appear. They're expensive, they're expensive to support (seriously, IT can't even install new hard disks, and newer models don't even have replaceable batteries), they've had hardware problems, there are full disk encryption headaches, and the IT staff has fewer people who understand something other than window
Heh, its ironic - I'm currently sat in an office where all the computers (a dozen or so) are Macs - iMac 27" to be precise.
The irony is that they are all running Windows 7, not one is running OSX. Business owner bought them because they looked cool, but the business is a
The irony is that they are all running Windows 7, not one is running OSX. Business owner bought them because they looked cool, but the business is a
Apple doesn't mind. Do the developers mind?
Ive heard the sentiment "but the hardware is better". I usually explain that there isnt any fairy dust that they sprinkle on the Seagate drives (Dell uses Seagate as well), Foxconn motherboards (again, dell uses foxconn), Hynix RAM, nVidia Graphics, or Intel processor to make it more durable; so if theres any "durable" theyre paying for, its for a really really nice, $1500 case.
Translation: Hope these businesses don't want actual enterprise support from Apple. Rude awakenings to ensue.
As if there were no rude awakenings to ensue when trying to get "enterprise support" from Dell, Microsoft, and Symantec.
Enterprise support is a joke. If you don't have an IT staff capable of supporting the hardware and software you're buying... you're doing it wrong.
Yes and no. If your capable it staff figured out that something specific which is needed and should work really does not work and that it is a problem of the preinstalled software/hardware then it if a difference if you are put trough to the "did you check it is plugged in" customer phone support, which will file a case which will rot in the depths of their database unless 10000 other customers have the same problem, or if you actually have a support contract.
I've had no problems getting same day engineer callouts to replace parts in enterprise systems from Dell - the difference is, Dell offers enterprise orientated options, Apple does not. And the Dell systems weren't expensive in comparison either.
Actually, Apple does have enterprise support options: You just have to know where to look [apple.com] (and don't let the "server" page name fool you - OS support sits right at the top of the page).
That exactly shows what's wrong with Apple support: It doesn't support the laptops. If an IMac breaks, they'll come and fix it, if you have the right level of Apple Care. But for a Macbook (Pro), you can't get that level of service, you're expected to bring it to the shop. 90% of the Mac's where I work (including mine) are laptops. They are really nice machines. Until they break. (Which some will, if you have several hundred users).
Never mind a corporation.
You can be a single person shop or even an individual and get better support options from Dell than what's available from Apple.
It's another one of those things where Apple simply doesn't bother to offer a product. You're expected to adapt to the way that Apple does thing and you are expected to like it and not complain.
Here's an example of the different levels of support that we got from Apple and from Dell when a machine failed in the university lab where I used to work:
Dell sent out a technician to fix it. He brought spare parts with him, and fixed it on the spot. We weren't paying for an expensive support contract - just the standard support Dell gives to large customers - so it sometimes took a day or two before they sent someone out. The machine was out of action for a day or two, and a technician had to spend about 10 minutes on the phone to get it repaired.
Apple kept us on hold or about half an hour, before telling us that we had to take the machine to the nearest Apple Authorised Reseller. The nearest one to Swansea was in Cardiff, which is about an hour and a half's drive away (city centre to city centre), plus a little walk at each end since you couldn't park near the shop in Cardiff. The would then send it to their repair centre, who would take up to three weeks to fix it. Once it was fixed, it had to be collected from there. Machine was out of action for three weeks, and it effectively took an entire day of technician time (two round trips to another city with the machine) to get it fixed.
Somewhat strangely, Mac owned by individuals bought through the Higher Education store got much better support. They sent out a box the next day, you put the broken machine in it, and a day or two later it returned working (normally - I had one experience where it took them a month to admit that they'd lost it, then two attempts to send me a working replacement). For some parts, they send the replacement out, and you put the old one in the box and send it back with the courier when it arrives.
For what you pay Apple for a three year support contract which requires you to send the machine in or bring it in, you get onsite service for the same period from pretty much any other vendor. I live on a one-lane road in the back of beyond and HP sent a technician to work on my laptop even though I'm three hours away from the place from which they sent him. Of course, he did actually manage to break the laptop further, but Apple is capable of doing the same thing and I should probably thank him because I ended up getting a better one as a replacement.
Which is why this is such a big story. Apple made a jump like this while having sub-par service and expending absolutely ZERO effort at marketing to corporations. They even quit making the XServe and XServe RAID. So why the jump in sales?
So why the jump in sales?
I would presume for the same reason that businesses installed Windows servers in droves - the mid-level managers had the machines at home. They assumed that they could thus understand the servers themselves, because no dysfunctional middle manager can have his underlings knowing more than he does.
So, "I have a Mac at home, I should have one at the office. My underlings should have what I have (but with a smaller hard drive and LCD panel)".
Just a guess based on the last go-around.
Being an employee of a major corporation, I'd offer a different theory. I've watched us go from no-Macs to maybe 100 Macs in the past quarter. It has nothing to do "I have a Mac at home". It has everything to do with iOS development. iPhones and iPads are now supported devices in the enterprise. We can now receive our corporate email on iOS devices, where previously this was restricted to BlackBerry devices.
As a result, internal corporate applications are being developed in iOS. The iPad in particular is attractive as a business tool. Carrying one to a corporate meeting is as easy as carrying a notebook, and the company doesn't even have to pay for the hardware because many people already bring their own to work.
Since Apple has created a situation where you can only develop for iOS on OSX, voila, we have a large number of OSX machines by necessity.
Dell support has been okay. They will send a person out same day to replace most things.
Most support that we use is provided by a 3rd party contract now. If they end up supporting Macs too then it will not matter what type of machines we have.
4.5% of 100,000,000 is 45,000,000. 66% of 10,000,000 is 6,600,000. My PC numbers are obviously low and my mac numbers exaggerated, but you get the point.
Factor up or down as you like, but 66% growth in Macs just isn't the same.
If you read the article and look at the charts, you'll see they state only percentages and no actual raw numbers to evaluate on our own.
This is an interesting change. At my former employer, they piloted a program to allow developers to develop on a Linux box rather than a Windows one, but it was not utilized by many and the desktop team found the support too painful for their taste.
Now looking at a different article from TFA: http://blogs.computerworld.com/18330/apples_mac_steals_windows_enterprise_sales [computerworld.com]
"What's driving the growth? Wolf writes, "Notwithstanding its premium prices compared with Windows PCs, the Mac should continue to grow faster than the PC market, propelled by the halo effects now emanating from the iPod, iPhone and iPad along with the international rollout of Apple Stores. The cost of ownership is emerging to be another key factor. Square Group chief, Darren King, notes, "Total cost of ownership (TCO) for a Mac vs a comparable Wintel device over 3-4 years is actually lower!" Think about that."
"Eight out of 10 organizations said they are "more likely to allow more users to deploy Macs as their enterprise desktops" in 2010-2011, up from 68 percent in the 2009 survey," the researchers said."
It's interesting that the coming decade might herald, rather than the switch we might have anticipated to Linux desktops (following the Year of Linux on the Desktop of course), a switch to desktop autonomy and self-governance at work.
"Total cost of ownership (TCO) for a Mac vs a comparable Wintel device over 3-4 years is actually lower!" Think about that."
I'm sure this varies drastically based on company size and requirements of the employees. If you were going high-end anyway, then the capital outlay difference is far lower. If the users are virus-magnets, then even expensive hardware may pay for itself in short order.
But for a big company with many lower-end users and the virus situation under control, it's hard for me to understand how TCO could be lower - though 3-4 years is a long time to make up a few hundred bucks.
But yeah, if I were setting up a bunc
"Total cost of ownership (TCO) for a Mac vs a comparable Wintel device over 3-4 years is actually lower!" Think about that."
That's just an Apple variant of the usual Microsoft marketing drivel against Linux... None of it is based on facts of any kind. My bullshit filter also goes off when anyone says "think about that" after producing some very vague and unsubstantiated numbers.
To borrow a line from Fats Domino, ain't that a shame that
Apple Enterprise does exist. It's much smaller than Apple Education, but it's not exactly tiny. Sure, the territories are quite vast, but it appears they're covering it very well. Between channel sales and direct, the numbers being put down by Apple are quite impressive. I'd guess the majority of the bump here is from the channel. That part of the organization is well funded and extremely well supported. The management there is strong and willing to do what it takes. The direct sales organization is newly reorganized as of about a year ago. It appears that reorganization is doing well under the new leadership, and they have been aligned under the VP for channel sales. This was obviously a good move for Apple.
As for Enterprise Support, it also exists. I don't know a lot about the structure of it, but I do know whenever I called for support, it was very good. I've had changes made to software, replacement hardware, and always a friendly and knowledgeable person on the phone instead of just a screen reader. Apple's support is impressive. You have to pay for it, but most good things are that way.
To borrow a line from Fats Domino, ain't that a shame that
Some of us were happy about that, too. I was a Mac user when they promised us Copland. I was using BeOS when they suggested they would use that. And now we (well, you) are stuck with a bastardized, bloated version of NeXTStep which ruined everything good about its interface.
And now we (well, you) are stuck with a bastardized, bloated version of NeXTStep which ruined everything good about its interface.
Probably written using Windows. The interface for NeXTStep was/is not that great. It might have been great at the time, but comparing it to OSX of today is stupid. To use a car analogy, that is like comparing a car engine from the 1960's to today. The advances outweigh the simplicity. The "in my day everything was better" is the war cry of those who can't or won't adapt. I am so sick of that argument. If your PREFERENCE is to use an interface that looks like 1997, then by all means you still can use GNUste
So Mr. Jobs, do you plan on replacing it with a rack mountable mini with redundant power supplies or can I slap a sticker on my poweredge and call it a mac? The alternative is the fancy imacs everyone loves get tossed to ebay come the next refresh cycle, and I'm not the only one with a headache from this [appleopenletter.org].
I don't think y'all understand that Steve don't care.
Amen to that. I don't have experience with AD integration but even with an all-Mac network we still have all sorts of problems with Mac OS X Server (AFP processes maxing out to 1000's of % of CPU usage, Apple's own apps being very IO heavy, etc). In my experience Apple don't care about the enterprise market, and for all the hype, Mac OS X server can't do (well) most of the things Apple say it can. I've used OS X Server and Xserve since 2003, and for anything more than a small install I don't recommend it.
So, as I'm at one of the few enterprises that actually has an Apple Rep
We've been told no more xServes, as they're convinced that everyone would be fine with either a MacPro mounted sideways (which doesn't have the same density per RU, or a bunch of minis (you can get shelves for 'em
I tried asking about when they'd release an i7 mini.
I know of a very very large cable company in the US that is allowing its managers and engineers a choice between PCs and Macs. The Macs are doing very well in the company, especially among the engineers.
I think Google also has this option between Mac,Windos, and Linux.
As for enterprise support, what does that mean for desktops/laptops? What does Dell or HP offer in that area that Apple doesn't. If it breaks, send it to them after IT looks at it. The only difference I think is that with Apple, if you have
Right now I'm dealing with an HP Script Monkey. It's taken me almost a week of back and forth. The last update I got from them indicates the SM ignored or failed to understand the update I made to the ticket the day before.
Script Monkeys are everywhere.
In general business I think what you're seeing is mac desktops then Windows/*nix in the server room.
As for Apple themselves they have likely developed their own server for their datacenter. I wouldn't be surprised to see something like what Google uses, a custom board, DC power supply etc... since Apple already has the experience in designing hardware.
and for that you have to have a corporate contract, buy the expensive corporate brand computers and the warranties. same $$$ as a Mac in the end
Is that a troll question, as in rhetorically expecting an answer in the negative?
Mac OS X has ACL built in:
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=2005050120073947 [macworld.com]
Without knowing the specifics, I'll still explain why this study is a folly.
Let's say that 95% of all computers that where sold to businesses last comparable period where PCs (conservative guess).
Let's say, just for example that a total of 100 million computers where sold last comparable period.
That would mean 95 million PCs, 5 million macs.
If we apply the above percentages, this would mean that 99.275 million PCs where sold.
This would mean that 8.3 million macs where sold.
This would mean a total of 107.575
Exactly. Talking about "growth" like it's meaningful is ridiculous when you're already starting at near-complete dominance. There's not much room to grow there, whereas a competitor which doesn't have much marketshare has pretty much nowhere to go but up.
Basically, this article is someone trying to manipulate data to make Apple look (disproportionately) good rather than accurately inform. Go figure.
More interesting is the figure for growth in the government segment - 155.6% isn't shabby growth there, either...
I agree, IT hates Apple. Not because it's Apple, but it's because they don't understand it much like they don't understand Linux. What they tend to not understand is that Windows is the one doing things differently, not LInux or Mac. Oh and there aren't any policy wizards.
Secondly, the reason users in corporate environments like Apple is because IT doesn't understand Apple. That means that you don't have to deal with silly, overbearing policies that make your computer run slow and stop you from using your applications until you call the Helpdesk who opens a ticket that will be addressed within 8 hours. Heck the best bit of news I got was the news that I could have my own Linux box at work and that IT wouldn't support it.
The worst thing that could happen to Apple is that IT start to love them. Then your Mac desktop would end up as unusable as the Windows desktop you currently have.
Good! Only problem is, they should have sacked him a LOT sooner....
IMO, there's really NO excuse for spending money to change out a system that's proven to work efficiently for people in a company. This isn't about "Microsoft vs. Linux" or anything else. It's just simple math. If you spend money on your infrastructure, it should always be towards quantifiable improvements (often/usually involving upgrading an existing system that works, vs. ripping it out and starting over with something else).
I remember years ago.... a couple of my friends had jobs at Ralston Purina (long before their merger with Nestle Corp.). They were one of the firms in town that used OS/2 extensively, with Lotus Notes for email. The story I heard is, the C.E.O. wound up getting "wined and dined" by salespeople from Microsoft, including giving him a fancy titanium golf club/driver under his hotel room bed as a gift, to get him to switch the company to Microsoft Exchange.
Well, the switchover was hugely expensive, and they wound up with not only no new functionality for the end-users, but MORE problems than before in certain circumstances. (There were things the administrative assistants could do with their boss's calendars/schedules in Notes that weren't possible anymore as "delegates" in Outlook/Exchange, as I recall them saying.) Additionally, as Notes allowed more UI customization than Outlook/Exchange did, it caused them some issues with things they'd developed in-house for OS/2 and Notes in the past (like kiosks they had set up with very simplified screens with, say, 4 or 6 buttons displayed on them that could be tapped to do very specific things like viewing one calendar of events, or checking one public information type mailbox).
Ultimately, I suppose it worked out for the better for them in the long-run, only because IBM wound up pretty much dumping OS/2 support. But that wasn't a factor back when this changeover was done.
You just know you fucked up when migrating away from Lotus Notes results in a worse experience.
My mom is in IT at John Deere and just this year she's having to learn how to support Macs now. As I understand it, it's only being used by some of the employees and not any of the servers. Deere is a pretty big international corporation, and they're taking Macs more seriously.
"in the beginning", I was the one corporate Mac user (by special agreement/dispensation/employment agreement with the CEO.) Then a couple of Macs were purchased for specific projects, plus a couple other 'favorite sons' got a Mac. Once the senior leadership (including the CIO and COO) actually -tried them-, they decided that the convenience/ease of use of the software platform, along with the reliability of the hardware, was A Good Thing. So the corporate policy was still "No Macs", but they became in some respects a status simple at the VP level. Then the CFO said "no Macs". But with a significant number of VPs advocating for the Mac (including the ability to connect to the corporate Exchange server, and the ability to run corporate Windows-only applications through virtualization), is likely to result a re-look in the "no Macs" policy. A big part of that is that the hardware's lasting a lot longer. If a Dell breaks in 2 years and a Mac lasts 4, and the price for SIMILARLY EQUIPPED machines is relatively close, then the Total Cost Of Ownership argument for Macs is a strong one.
But we're talking about 20 machines in a 500 person company, so Mac penetration here is not very strong. The level of interest at the VP and senior tech staff level remains high. And typically that's what I've seen in several other companies; the 'desire for Macs' is particularly strong in the senior technical ranks. In my case specifically, and in the case of others I've talked to, it's a combination of ease-of-use for everyday tasks, hardware reliability, and the lack of IT controls and interference (e.g. corporate-injected software updates that crash your machine in the middle of working or worrying about the latest crop of vulnerabilities.) Also for many of us, the Unix underpinnings provides a lot of capabilities for tools we grew up with (e.g. grep, chmod, EMACS, etc) that are often highly productive alternatives to the Windows way of doing things.
Matter cannot be created or destroyed, nor can it be returned without a receipt.


text:
I think a lot of those wall-street types would suddenly admit to everything they've done wrong if you confront them with a big enough Python...
I think a lot of those wall-street types would suddenly admit to everything they've done wrong if you confront them with a big enough Python...
Considering the amount of snake oil on Wall street, I think the python would be the one begging for mercy.
Actually, if you don't feel you understand these products, you can simply not purchase them.
There are plenty of simpler financial products out there.
The average consumer cannot understand cell phone contracts, gym membership contracts, car lease contracts, bank account terms and conditions and a whole bag of other things. So you're saying they should abstain? Hell, I cant get a parking voucher from an underground car park these days without the back of it being covered in fine print you'd need a scanning electron microscope to read.
No sir, the answer isn't to "vote with your dollar". It's to acknowledge that the entire social system is broken and massiv
Well, this is not entirely without precedent. Even the field of Physics employes this method of specifying things that are complex enough that warrant a "model" which is highly dependent on what the model chose to include or exclude. For example, in tracking satellites, you would think that you should be able to use Physics and the myriad of formulas alone to come up with the position of satellites. But because real world physics (think drag, friction, N-body G forces etc) is too hard to figure out and are
Now, think about it, how better to describe an algorithm than an actual working program?
Pseudo-code is far better for describing an algorithm than actual running code. If one uses "production" code to express an algorithm, then one has to also accept the limitations imposed by the language and programming environment.
For example, if the demonstration code takes into account the possibility of integer overflows, that check becomes part of the "official" algorithm. While this may be okay as long as the algorithm remains implemented in a single language/environment, it becomes a problem when on
Now, in addition to lawyers and accountants, you need computer programmers to invest. This smells like a racket. On the other hand, it can't get any worse than the legalese, and maybe that is the point.
When banks sell a product, structure, portfolio, etc, to each other, they are already converting the legalese into code or at least data for pre-existing code: it's the only way you can come up with an estimate of the value of the asset in question.
The python idea is great. Of course, I'm saying that becaus
This would be a fantastic idea. Not only would the rules be transparent and non-ambiguous, but the potential for experimentation and self-analysis would be incredible. Python is definitely one of the better languages to use for this, as it tends to be very readable and self-explanatory as far as programming languages go.
Sure, but it's better to have that hack disclosed in such a way that machine analysis can find it than disclosed in such a way that it only becomes evident after a corporate lawyer brings up an obscure precedent to a judge.
Ultimately, all laws and regulations could be setup to be a computer program.
What is a programming language, but a way to exactly specify algorithms and data structures? In this case, we only need the algorithm part.
Now, you'll never be able to get rid of human judgment. All the input parameters will be up in the air. But what does get you to do is focus on the assumptions you make on the numbers you put in.
The best example I can think of now is filing my taxes. I use a computer program and all my energ
A fantastic idea ! Furthermore, have it online. Furthermore, put the data that the govt gets anyway into the forms so that they're partly pre-filled. Indeed, do what we've done in Norway for a decade.
By now it's progressed to the point where I can -literally- file my taxes from my mobile phone in 15 minutes. And it takes that long only because my investments are semi-complex (i.e. some of them are foreign so don't come pre-filled)
Oh, and yeah, it does mean you know how much taxes you owe instantly, after you fill in the forms, you press "calculate taxes", and up pops the answer, none of that file paperwork, wait months for the response.
Maybe if the languages accepted are functional, and therefore logically provable without side-effects.
Is a functional programming language any more inherently reliable since you are trusting the compiler anyways? Does it effectively matter if the code can be "provably without side-effects" if you are trusting the implementation via a black box on a different level? Honest question from a noob.
Python is FOSS so there is no black box.
Well, Yeah, but to make a dollar, the code is just
Print "$1.00"
Same with Perl.
no... perl is:
print "$1.00";
watch the capital letters and semi-colons... and remember... white space is meaningless.
I stand corrected, thank you. (:
Well, Yeah, but to make a dollar, the code is just
Print "$1.00"
If you're a bank, the next step is:
Lend "$12.00 @ 5%"
If you're on Wal Street, the next step is:
Buy "10 shares"
Gotta love fractional reserve finance.
No, it was. With Python 3, it's now: print("$1.00")
Granted, various versions of Python 2 are still very much alive and kicking. As time progresses, Python 3 gradually will take over. (The only thing that could avoid this would be a code fork, and I see no sign of that.)
I realize their desire for better consistency in the language. Still, parenthesis give specificity at the cost of readability and writing speed. I think there ought to be fewer parenthesis required in programming, not more. (And no calls for Perl, please. Other parts of the language drive me nuts.)
IPython is an interactive interpreter that will allow you to skip the brackets in many cases, but you'll still need them in an script. Certain editors and IDEs have a mode that auto-complete/inserts the brackets.
The benefit of having print as a function, is that one can override it:
old_print = print
def print(*args, **kwargs):
# Do something custom, maybe filtering, time stamping
old_print(*args, **kwargs)
Using the logging module is normally a better ap
So write it in 8086 assembler then.
Or, you know, try something new and see if the risks are manageable.
Python might not exist in five years, or may become obsolete in five years.
Since the code is freely available, Python will continue to exist one way or the other. That's one of the upsides of open source. Also, Python is closer to bleeding edge than obsolete right now.
The reason I think they specify a language is that otherwise you'll see code switched to whitespace [dur.ac.uk] or brainfuck [sange.fi] before being submitted to ensure maximum confusion. Remember than most organizations who are required to disclose something do so with the intent of obfuscating that legally required information as much as
Whitespace and brainfuck are too damn elegant.Give me a properly obfuscated language like Intercal.
http://www.ofb.net/~jlm/intercal.html [ofb.net]
I say Lisp. It's timelessly irrelevant.
That's a good point to make, though I think your estimate of 5 years does little justice to Python. Regardless, the problem with NOT specifying a language is that it means I can make my own proprietary language and release that source code (and not the compiler, say).
Also, Python is open source through and through : community developed, open specs, several open source implementations. This means that even if one day 25 years from now Python is a dead language as far as practical usage goes, it will be no harder to understand and execute as it is today.
The problem with mandating a particular language(s) is that these are subject to change with time. A legal framework should stand the test of time, and thus not include requirements for "Python". Python might not exist in five years, or may become obsolete in five years.
You could say the same for English, since it changes constantly. Then again, English never had well-defined syntax or semantics in the first place...
One reference language is a far better choice than a whole slew of them. To much unnecessary flexibility just adds complexity. Even if mainstream Python went in a different direction, the legally mandated dialect would survive for that purpose.
downloaded and run by an investor, must provide the user with the ability to programmatically input the user's own assumptions regarding the future performance and cash flows from the pool assets, including but not limited to assumptions about future interest rates, default rates, prepayment speeds, loss-given-default rates, and any other necessary assumptions.'
...it is forbidden to have a straightforward sentence with less than two conjunctions.
Something that needs to be considered is the existence of so called "Filing Agents". I work for such a business.
Right now, the SEC requires companies to file documents in a specific subset of HTML, as well as (in some cases) XBRL, which is an XML-based reporting language. In some rare cases, documents are another type of XML, or even specially formatted ASCII documents (ugh).
Securities lawyers and company administrators don't want to understand the highly technical processes involved, so they outsource their technical reporting requirements to filing agents. We take care of all the nitpicky details that they don't want to consider. Looks like we'll have to learn Python as well. We've been meaning to graduate from Perl anyway, so no big deal.
Occam's Razor applied to finance: Somebody is taking advantage of somebody else for profit.
It is thus inevitable that someone will create a condition which can be best capitalized on by someone else by playing along. It is equally likely that somebody else will think that they can best capitalize on a situation by playing along, and will become a patsy. (Extrapolate this, and you have a speculation bubble.) Like plays in a chess game, those who understand what's really going on and can predict X steps ahe
Like plays in a chess game, those who understand what's really going on and can predict X steps ahead will put themselves in corresponding favorable positions.
Chess is a game where there are only two players, there is no element of chance, and both players have all available information about game state at any given time. Which makes it laughably simple compared to finance.
The whole credit default swap thing IMO looks most like an n-player iterated prisoners dilemma, except that the (n-dimensional) payoff
ECMAScript or JavaScript would be a much better language
That would be a first! Imagine, JavaScript being better than something!
If you want a constrained language, try Lua. But you'd probably have to add a math package or two.
Three terms for you: loophole, backdoor, and garbage-in/garbage-out.
Judges running wild is one thing. On the other hand, jury nullification is an important safety valve that we cannot afford to eliminate. It is marginalized, misunderstood, underused, and abused, but we'd be ultimately worse off without it.
"My name is Alan Glashwiecz, of Smoot, Sedgwick Associates. Am I correct in thinking that you are the Manfred Macx who is a director of a company called, uh, agalmic dot holdings dot root dot one-eight-four dot ninety-seven dot A-for-able dot B-for-baker dot five, incorporated?"
"Uh." Manfred blinks and rubs his eyes. "Hold on a moment." When the retinal patterns fade, he pulls on his glasses and powers them up. "Just a second now." Browsers and menus ricochet through his sleep-laden eyes. "Can you repeat the company name?"
"Sure." Glashwiecz repeats himself patiently. He sounds as tired as Manfred feels.
"Um." Manfred finds it, floating three tiers down an elaborate object hierarchy. It's flashing for attention. There's a priority interrupt, an incoming lawsuit that hasn't propagated up the inheritance tree yet. He prods at the object with a property browser. "I'm afraid I'm not a director of that company, Mr. Glashwiecz. I appear to be retained by it as a technical contractor with non-executive power, reporting to the president, but frankly, this is the first time I've ever heard of the company. However, I can tell you who's in charge if you want."
"Yes?" The attorney sounds almost interested. Manfred figures it out; the guy's in New Jersey, it must be about three in the morning over there.
Malice – revenge for waking him up – sharpens Manfred's voice. "The president of agalmic.holdings.root.184.97.AB5 is agalmic.holdings.root.184.97.201. The secretary is agalmic.holdings.root.184.D5, and the chair is agalmic.holdings.root.184.E8.FF. All the shares are owned by those companies in equal measure, and I can tell you that their regulations are written in Python. Have a nice day, now!" He thumps the bedside phone control and sits up, yawning, then pushes the do-not-disturb button before it can interrupt again. After a moment he stands up and stretches, then heads to the bathroom to brush his teeth, comb his hair, and figure out where the lawsuit originated and how a human being managed to get far enough through his web of robot companies to bug him.
The Street has always been full of sharks, now you want to allow snakes?
def getPerformance(self, assumptions):
"""Return performance estimates.
assumptions: dict, for keys see spec #54
How much money you will make
# BUG 91423: was sometimes giving poor results
# workaround fix is to ignore assumptions.
return "Millions and millions"
return "Millions and millions"
Shouldn't that really be:
return ("Millions", "millions")
much more pythonic that way
So rather than actually explain what the item is, they'll just build a model of what it is, and let you put in your own assumptions.
So we'll create a bunch of programming overhead, and end up with huge improvements.
Namely that iInstead of descriptions nobody reads or understands, we'll have programs nobody runs or understands.
I've got an idea, I know it might sound crazy but here it goes.
If you see someone selling a great deal, but you don't quite get what they're selling, how it works, or even why it's such a great deal, DON'T BUY IT.
We could even impose this on industry, maybe make it a legal/ethical requirement that people moving around large sums of money act with due diligence or something.
If people actually stuck to this, and only bought things that they understood and made sense to them, the companies making these confusing products that nobody understands would have to make simpler more straightforward products.
These guys need to step back, and make products that THEY understand. If the designer of the product can't figure it out, it's too confusing. If none of the potential customers can understand it, it's too confusing.
Really if they currently can't implement the description, how does documenting it in python make it any better?
Most people probably can't explain the "WHY" of a stocks movement from day to day. Are you expecting people to not buy stocks? If everyone was on the same page about financial products, we'd be pretty close to 'perfect markets' and no one would make much money. It's because so few have any idea why something is worth what it is in a market that people bother to get in to it: to make money off someone else's misunderstandings.
I've got an idea, I know it might sound crazy but here it goes. If you see someone selling a great deal, but you don't quite get what they're selling, how it works, or even why it's such a great deal, DON'T BUY IT.
It's a great idea. But the problem with it is that even if you know this stuff, it can still be a big mess because of the risks you assume. If I borrow huge sums of money to make my bets, then even a little bad luck can be disastrous. But I might not care, because it's not my money at stake. Second, most of this money is probably OPM (Other Peoples' Money). That means it's very likely that a bunch of people who don't have a clue have delegated through one means or another, their investing authority to someo
Oooh great, let's use an academic programming language for a desktop application intended to provide clarity to financial transactions.
A typical user's experience...
cd c:\Documents\ and\ Settings\AJ34320\Desktop\ Mess\Desktop\Old\ Desktop\Fucking\ SEC\
"not a directory or invalid folder"
cd \Documents\ and\ Settings\AJ34320\Desktop\ Mess\Desktop\Old\ Desktop\Fucking\ SEC\
C:\Programs Files\Python\bin\python.exe c:\Documents\ and\ Settings\AJ34320\Desktop\ Mess\Desktop\Old\ Desktop\Fucking\ SEC\bonehead.py
Or some other other functional language like that? Usually when you are trying to formulate loads of rules, it would seem that brevity and exactness of results trumps the implementation detail of performance.
> cat test.legalese
The said variable 'i' hereafter referred to as "i" shall be a variable and not of unvarying or constant except for the purposes of using the said variable within a clausal computation and shall be initially equated to 1 (one) neither less nor more and "i" shall be displayed to a third party within visual distance from the visual display device but not beyond unless further provision is granted and provided by the creator of the said work. These courses of action shall be repeated for 10 (ten) times neither more nor less withstanding any systemic error which may cause the premature termination of the said operations and includes the increment of "i" by 1 (one) in a positive monotonic uniform manner performed prior to each display to the visual display device. Upon termination of the aforementioned operational sequence the operations shall cease until recommenced upon instruction of the operator.
> glegalese test.legalese
> a.out
OK, how about if instead of providing mileage ratings that car advertisements simply had a URL to a Python program that if you entered information about your driving habits that it would come out with an MPG value for a specific car. Obviously, there would be a completely separate Python program for every single car.
Of course, 99% of the weighting would be handled by the questions "Do you drive with a lead foot?" and "Are jackrabbit starts your normal mode?" But the other 34 questions would be there as specified by the government regulation governing the production of these Python applications.
Having a model and the user gets to make up the assumptions, you are getting a traditional garbage-in, garbage-out algorithym. Any model can conform to any belief system given the "proper" inputs. Isn't this half of what the climate arguments are about? Not the code, but the assumptions being pushed into the model?
I can't imagine that this would provide the average Joe Sixpack any useful information. I would say this isn't "transparent" in any way - unless the inputs to the model were published and required to be adhered to. This would make legally binding assumptions like in 2050 there will be fewer literate people than in 2000. I'd like to see the government come up with a plan for that.
Or worse, if a fundamental assumption of the model is rising interest rates and every investor makes 100% return in five years, great. Does the ability to push out a program that says if you enter the five year interest rates as steadily rising then justify advertising that every investor will make 100% of their money?
This also reeks of the idea that if you can't read a programming language you are a second-class citizen. Richard Stallman would be proud.
I can't imagine that this would provide the average Joe Sixpack any useful information.
Joe Sixpack doesn't typically buy collateralized debt obligations. In fact, if he bought a tranche of a CDO, I think that would immediately disqualify him from his everyman status. The main customers for these sometimes obscenely complex instruments are investment firms.
Problem is, the legalese is so dense, even professional investment analysts have a hard time understanding the payout scheme. If I understand the proposal correctly, the Python code will itself authoritatively define the flow of funds from the investment vehicle. It won't simply be a model that makes predictions based on initial assumptions -- it will also "allow the use of the proposed asset-level data file that will be filed at the time of the offering and on a periodic basis thereafter". Thus given specific data about the performance of underlying assets up to any given point, the code will spit out an authoritative answer of "who gets paid what (if anything)".
Since a structured investment vehicle is essentially an algorithm wrapped in a contract, it makes sense to use a programming language to specify that algorithm. I personally like Python; but I agree with other posters who have said the regulation should ensure that other languages can be added over time.
This is not the solution. Not even close.
Companies are protected from all sorts of investor inanity by the vagueness of the public's view into their business models.
Asking a company to produce a model is asking the company to allow investors to claim that any action outside the model constitutes a violation of the promises made in the prospectus that is the model.
Adding a hold-harmless clause stating that the model is innately inaccurate is the same thing as just not producing the automated model at all.
Keep in mind people don't like computers, programs, math or finance. You have to consider that. So I've gone on Wikipedia and did a search on a computer language that produces *minimal* code.
I briefly glanced only at the first sentence from the following page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainfuck) and trimmed the first sentence for length: "The brainfuck programming language is
Laws should work like computer programs, calling the "operating system" of the Constitution and acting on the "devices" of the real world under legal jurisdiction.
The problem is that bugs will cost lives and livelihoods. And the code review will be based on the comments, which will still be written by lawyers.
There's lots I don't understand about this. This seems to me to be only valid for long term funds invested in bonds and Treasuries or something.
Isn't what these people do is change their decision making constantly with shifting criteria? Isn't the bulk of what brought the house of cards down either unknowable, in denial, or covered over with Enron type mark to market delusions?
I understand the theoretical aspect of codifying some set parameters around an invest
In fact one can't codify the derivative sham. One holds a bucket under a male bovines rectum, until one has a large enough sample of said business process, for direct analysis.
Perhaps they could figure a way to display the actual and implied lies and deceits involved in these contracts... of course that would probably end investment as we know it anyway...
XBRL [wikipedia.org] is a good idea - a global, industry standard extensible XML schema for financial information presentation, including financial statements (income statement and balance sheet).
However, this proposal is encoding a scenario-based financial forecasting model developed by management and making a private entity (meaning not a governmental body, although perhaps a public company) publish that model. That's a bit too detailed, insidery and strategy-exposing for me, and I'm all about good transparency and g
As I read this I have one semester left for my M.B.A. I am picking my classes for my final semester this week.
With this change do you think it would be worthwhile to take a class in Python during my final semester (this assumes that my University even offers such a class)?
Kill Ugly Processor Architectures - Karl Lehenbauer