Posts by Doug Glass

Holden McGroin

I'm Coming!! Well, I'm getting on a plane, No, I mean I'm booking a flight on a jerk. I mean I'm ... oh forget it.

"Nothing From Nothing Leaves Nothing"

Oh yeah right, 90% of 5% of the market is just not a sales position to be proud of, or whatever the market share is for $1,000 units.. But the 90% figure looks good in board meetings and this tact has been used for years by marketing people to make themselves look good.

"Why yes sir, we've cornered the market on fly paper sales in Northern Alaska. And we're soon to achieve a 92.3% market share for sales of baseball bats in Outer Mongolia."

Oh Good Idea

In 1,000 years you'll need a special degree to be able to "read" the things. Something similar to those capable of reading Egyptian tomb writing. But, we all need a reason to exist and making the world's longest surviving optical disk is one path to take.

Of course in 1,000 years all data will be fed directly to the brain so all things "optical" will be obsolete which means mechanical optical readers will likewise be obsolete.

All this assumes there is a human race in 1,000 years. We keep trying to force extinction upon ourselves and by then may have finally succeeded.

"in the year 2525 ......", Zager and Evans

Oxymorons

"Business ethics"

Write it down, read it, study it, say it aloud and don't act surprised when it happens. Microsoft is a large multinational corporation and they're all cut from the same mold.

Why is this ever a surprise?

@Alfonso Garcia-Patiño Barbolani

Nothing at all, if you're of a mind to favor form over substance. But if all it does is what the US auto makers did for so long (add more chrome, more colors, and more hype) you'll eventually end up in a financial death spiral.

The average consumer today is too savvy to keep buying glossy junk.

Well, everybody but the AG of South Carolina apparently.

Ode To Johnny

Get your contracts out boys and girls and read the fine print, what you'll find is there is no guaranteed "career path" no matter what anybody may have told you. What, No contract? Well, guess what, you are at the mercy of the company.

If you're going to stay with the company and take their money, do their work and go home at quittin' time. If you're going to whine and carp, get out ... go elsewhere. They're just buying your soul one day at a time and with that you owe them the work. Or, in the immortal words of Johnny Paycheck you can always tell them to "Take this job and shove it".

I love retirement. Only took me about 30 minutes to get my soul back and I sold it daily for 32 years, You just have to make up your mind that all you're doing is "makin' 8" (hours/day) and your life will be a lot easier/

Doughnuts

If your coppers like doughnuts as much as those in the USofA, there'd a-been 15 trampled guests with jackboot prints on their backs. Maybe even a killin' or two.

And of course stoopid is a stoopid does. He must have left facebook with all the defaults in place. If you're going to be dumb; you'd better be tough.

The Real Poop

Stevie J called his mamma first but she told him to stop whining and grow up. So he called Bill G. (you remember him, he gave Apple $5M to stay alive) but Bill was out being a good guy so he then called the Microsoft receptionist. The dear lady just didn't know what to do so she transferred him.

Poor old Stevie J is just a basketball being passed hand to hand while they decide what they'll do as the ad campaign continues.

Classic corporate clown act.

Nothing New

Just plain old "Cut-throat Competition" with a new name.

Per Wikipedia, "Cut-throat competition, also known as destructive or ruinous competition, refers to situations when competition results in prices that do not chronically or for extended periods of time cover costs of production, particularly fixed costs. This may arise in secularly declining or "sick" industries with high levels of excess capacity or where frequent cyclical or random demand downturns are experienced."

Sick? Well, yeah.

<yawn>

BFD

The Surgeon's Lament

"The operation was a success, unfortunately the patient died."

Of course Windows 7 is, and ever shall be, a success; so was Vista. I know that because uncle Stevie Wondermonkey said so.

WhY Are There Questions?

The decision to stay with IE6 is almost universally a non IT one. In other words, the ill informed, ill educated, highly [over]paid corporate suits who still print all their emails for later reading are in charge and making the decisions.

And it's not likely to change any time soon.

@Chris C ... and ....

... If you're going to be dumb; you'd better be tough.

Current Law

Current law is whatever the courts decide; therefore, legal action is appropriate and should be welcomed by all. That is unless the courts are corrupt but that's a whole 'nother story.

The thieves among us are all up in arms and I can understand their torment; their free ride is about to end. Looks like all the money from all the legitimate buyers is providing all the power needed to halt the stealing. Ever wonder where the money comes from? It comes from those who [foolishly?] plop down their hard earned pay for the [grossly overpriced] product.

I fail to see the problem. If those who do this downloading are so sure of their rights and position, don't worry. Just walk into any local store, bypass paying simply and walk out with the music. I mean, you're right...right? If what you do is legal and just over the internet then that same practice is legal and just everywhere...right? Right. You try this and you'll find out who's tight and who's not.

And filtering the illegal stuff is no problem ... really. Just block the transmission of all file types that are music related or seem to be music related. Simple. No big deal and it's works pretty well. Until someone figures out how to bypass the block but that's why we have IT staff so it'll just be a game of cat and mouse which petty theft always has been.

Ahhhh, I do love a good clown act and the music thieves are doing such a good job here. In one ssense it's going to be sad to see them go. But oh frellin' well. There are always politicians to watch, and of course there's Sarah Palin. Which is whole 'nother story worth watching..

Oh Goody

Maybe soon I'll have my choice of who not to buy from in place of being restricted to one bunch of corporate thieves trying to extort me.

What's Next?

I see a trend, no longer having to service your wife or significant other. Oh sorry, my bad, that's a profession already in place.

Dang, and here I was getting ready to gear up for a new profession ... the world's oldest. And well, paying for pre-boiled and pre-shelled eggs is just another way of getting f**ked by large corporations anyway.

Now if we could just mount a chicken on the counter top and get the egg's insides without the shell by jerking the chicken's neck I'd be happy. Just jerk the neck a few times and out comes the yolk and white ready for cooking. Now why does that sound so familiar? Oh well, jerking the chicken will never catch on. Too much effort required and probably too messy in the long run.

Good Idea

So long as they cite, and use, legitimate sources there's no problem. The problem will be the cop's inability to distinguish opinion from fact. But that will come out in the court case and eventually this tact will be dropped because of that very reason.

As much as I dislike their breed, lawyers do know how to do legitimate research. The police officers may, but that not being their real job are far less likely to be able to do so.

Great Idea

And it'll work if the proper homework and preparations are done. But assuming it can actually be put into operation as planned there's the burden of keeping the system "pure". Too many times proper long term followup is never planned and therefore the system drifts into total chaos. Sooner or later a local organization, for example, will be strapped for cash and opt for cheaper replacements that aren't the standard.

I hope it works, but it reeks of trying to herd cats. Theoretically possible, just isn't practical.

If you want a single source, world-wide, communication already in place and standardized use ham radio HF. We've been doing it for years and have the system in place. But, no matter how professional our communications are, we're just amateurs and so unworthy. And that's fine. I for one love a good clown act and Homeland Security provides more than enough of that.

So? What's Your Point?

They're a corporation trying to:

1. Grow the company.

2. Increase the bottom line.

3. Increase stockholder equity.

Everything else is secondary, if not tertiary or lower, so the push is to get the product on the street to get/keep the revenues flowing.

That's their nature.

Good Job Of Stating The Obvious

This is pure bullshit. All the writer is saying is people don't believe what they don't believe. That's why it's call a "Belief System".

What a waste of space; uncle Louie must be running out of sensationalism or other web crap.

Extra! Extra! Read All About It

Apple is only beginning to feel the real world. Standby Steve, the worst is yet to come.

We all would do well to invest in those companies that produce nose-wiping tissue; Apple's fanboys are just beginning to cry and the tears to come will be a veritable flood.

Good Move Amazon

Taken to the extreme, and it may not be all that extreme, this tact will work you right out of business.

"Possession of Ammunition"

Hmmm, interesting. Gotta run; gotta go get some redneck southern pine 4x4 beams to add floor supports for my magazine.

As He-Man Would Say ...

... as he raises his sword, "I have the power". And the RIAA has the power too because they have the money gotten from the vast sales to law abiding people who actually purchase the grossly overpriced product.

You want to squash the RIAA? Deny them funding by not buying the product. Hmmm, that wont work will it? The only people who want the RIAA stopped are those who steal the music and they don't provide money. Wow, that's a dead end for sure.

The Same Genuises

This is the same agency that spent millions of [1960s] dollars to develop an ink pen that would write properly in the weightlessness of space. Millions of dollars!

The Russians used a pencil.

And you wonder why these brain surgeons did what they did?

Exactly What You'd Expect ...

... from a bunch of impotent corporate suits doing their best, albeit pitiful, imitation of real people and how they think. Too bad their very best is still a laughable Microsoft "Group Think"*. The same kind of group think among the anointed at NASA that doomed the shuttle Challenger.

This crap will never do what Microsoft wants it to do, but then they'll never know it. They'll just have a celebration, congratulate themselves all over again and thereby continue the process of failure without knowing.

* In non corporate terms, "Group Think" = "Cluster F**k"

People Are Upset Because ....

... they can no longer steal in the manner in which they are accustomed. Oh well, I guess that's called "getting the business".

Sorry guys, you'll have to go do your robbery and stealing somewhere else.

Why not just pick up your oh so big bollocks and go to your friendly neighborhood music store and just walk out with what you want for free? Not willing to do that? Afraid the local coppers will nab you? Well can you imagine that. Very big talkers here as long as your cloaked in the anonymity of the internet.

... end ...

Even a Blind Man .....

... should have seen this coming.

If you're going to be dumb; you'd better be tough.

@Anonymous Hero

Holy frakk AH (nothing similar implied) you actually did your home work, stated your position and cited references. Even if one disagrees with your position (I don't) you put down all the right pieces. Rare these days when ranters and ravers seem to prevail and articles are written by largely uninformed and poorly [journalistically] educated web authors.

So? What's Your Point?

Right in line with other areas of non management.

@Geoff Mackenzie

Typical Linux BS with blinders. If Linux is so damn good why is Windows still the MARKET PLACE leader which is the ONLY real measure of success. And it doesn't matter all the arguments about tech superiority. If you're not getting it adopted in massive numbers it's a pitiful failure. Any new product put on the market with the horrible "sales" track record of Linux would have died long ago. The only reason it doesn't die is because Linux is free and it adopters are either ultra geeky nerds or a bunch of cheap asses or both.

A handful of your friends, depending on you to make it right, in now way establishes any kind of trend. That's true for Linux adoption just like it's true for 100 pi$$ed off music thieves commenting here attempting to make a case for legalizing piracy. That's called generalization and it's a fallacy.

... end of thread ...

@Henry Wertz 1

Wrong. He's copyrighting his process which includes certain words. He has the right to do what he wants with his final product so long as it is substantially different from the original. The original PD document is still there and free to go and get by anybody who so chooses without regard to the difficulty in doing so. The PD is preserved.

Let's suppose I was once given a PD manuscript. It was poorly packaged and basically illegible. I retyped it, bound it in a home binding machine and then sold it at a local book fair. The original manuscript was untouched and still available free to any body who cared to go through the effort get it.

Get real folks, this is how business operates. I may not agree with all of it but this is within the law, Amazon and many others know that and are operating with fully legality here.

The problem is with those few people who believe everything should always be free if it is somehow related to something that is in fact free. Water is free, but bottling it or getting it to you house in pipes costs money and you are paying for the process. The same is true of air, it's totally free but every day thousands of people pay for the right to pump it into their tires at their local quickie store of choice. "Free" is a fine notion, but basically an illusion; there are no free lunches as one famous economist once said. There may be a illegal encroachments, but that is to be determined by the courts; not some disgruntle, partially informed web writer.

... end ...

@jake

Amen brother!

All corporations have three goals:

1. Grow the business.

2. Increase the bottom line.

3. Increase stockholder equity.

Everything else is either in support of those goals or it's eventually discarded. And good marketing is designed to convince the buying public they need your product more than all others because sales will ultimately define a corporation's future.

You can have the very best IT staff, the very best R&D department, the very best thinkers and the very managers. But it you're not selling your product, generally at an increasing rate, you're in a death spiral and in line to be the next General Motors style failure.

Zero Tolerance Policy

Simple ... block all music file sharing and you block the illegal sharing. Simple and cheap. Look for it, it's coming, it'll be here soon.

The recording industry has the power because they have the money. They have the money because some people will still pay outrageous prices for music. We are what we buy and all the music buyers are funding this situation.

If there is so much widespread outrage, why are the music companies still so rich? Not my money, I stopped buying music when they stopped making vinyl platters. But an awful lot of people seem to have no problem with such high prices so there you go. "We have met the enemy and he is us". Well ... not me of course.

Fail

Having returned for warranty replacement four Seagate drives in the last year, I no longer trust their drives to do anything but fail on a regular basis. They replaced the drives with refurbished ones and one of refurbished drives was one of the four failures.

I now keep their nice little shipping boxes for future returns.

These people have a long way to go to get back on top, or even near the top in my opinion; the four returned drives speak for themselves. Their products may be better but I'll never know. New drives I buy are of a different brand.

He who puts all his backup or RAID capacity in a single manufacturer is planning on disaster whether he knows it or not.

It's The Cost Stupid!

When prices drop to the level of quality DVD players, BR will catch on. And people having [large] collections of "wrong" format disks may have a bit to do with it.

Blu-ray is a great solution to a non problem promoted by a company that treats people like roaches.

How Sweet

Such clean fingernails. Their mommies must wipe them too.

Regardless Of Your Fan Stand ...

...it's always good to know a good person has survived, and hopefully will thrive. All things considered, we need the Steve Jobs of this world.

Ah Hell ....

Wipe it and install XP, or Linux ... or buy a MAC. Lots of choices

If You're Going To Be Dumb ....

... you'd better be tough. And rich.

Paris because, well, she's both already.

In Support of PETA Principles

Animals certainly have their place ... right next to the mashed potatoes. Flies and mosquitoes find an "expanded" role on the swatter as usual.

All For Naught

Google will do a hostile takeover of Microsoft in Q1 2011.

First ......

.... teach them to think for themselves. As a former, yet unrepentant, school teacher the problem for most of these people may well be lack of basic reading and comprehension skills. Not to mention math skills.

Cry Babies R Free

Are those lowlife incompetent oxygen-wasting slugs really that fucking sensitive?

Huh? What'd I Miss?

Did the recording industry buy OFCOM?

Gotta Love Microsoft

If for no other reason than the fact they do know how to lovingly treat those loyal corporate customers who have kept them in business so long.

I know my former corporation is already pulling hair and gnashing teeth over this but have decided they simply must remain loyal to the end and "keep the OEM suppliers healthy".

I so love a good clown act and these guys are just the very best.

Better Version

http://www.moller.com/skycar.htm

Hey Jeff !!

Jeff Bezos: BFD dude

Same Song; Next Verse

People will buy what's on the shelf. New products mean new prices, usually higher, and the numbness to new product price increases is rampant.

People will buy what's on the shelf.

Young, Welthier, Better Educated ...

... and still have more money that brains.