begin oe_protect.scr
Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
> I'm going on vacation for several days, so I thought I'd post some articles I
> found this morning. I think they explain why stupidity, greed and innocence
> of the average customer (sheep/"cattle effect") have led us to this
> ambitious drive for independence (Freedom for the customer).
>
> Politicians just don't get IT
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
>| The president replied that he does use "the Google" (his words) on
>| occasion to "pull up maps" -- "I forgot the name of the program, but
>| you get the satellite ..." -- for viewing his ranch.
>|
>| This exchange has prompted chuckles among techies and non- across the
>| Internets -- another famous reference by Bush from 2004. (More
>| troubling to me in that CNBC interview is Bush's admission that he
>| will not use e-mail: "I don-t e-mail, because of the different
>| record requests that can happen to a president.")
> `----
>
> http://weblog.infoworld.com/techwatch/archives/008606.html
>
>
> Also yesterday:
>
> BBC abandons science
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
>| BBC TV's venerable science flagship, Horizon, has had a
>| rough ride as it tries to gain a new audience. It's been
>| accused of "dumbing down".
> `----
>
> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/27/bbc_horizon/
>
I do wonder if this isn't related to having abandoned a generation of
kids to not learning maths or science. So many science departments at
universities are closing, and kids are opting for easy a-levels. GCSEs
have become such a complete joke that people are talking about o-levels
again, and also talking about removing course-work from assessment, at
least in maths to begin with, before moving to the other subjects.
Fundamentally, if you don't educate the kids, then you end up with a
nation of young idiots.
Frankly, I've similar concerns with the "new" Dr Who series, which was,
for me, far too focussed on romance (aren't there enough romantic dramas
already?), and too little on some attempt at science-fiction with at
least a degree of credibility. I appreciate that it's intended to be a
"family" show, but surely that would suggest that the romance has no
real place in it at all - unless you want to abandon the male audience
who're unlikely to find it all that interesting?
I heard some similar remarks about a new series called "Torchwood"
today, which again, seems to be pushing the same pseudo-science route,
around a similar model to the X-files. Lots of cult/witchcrafty kind of
stuff, plenty of romance, zero science.
>
> DRM madness makes being legal difficult
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
>| When will the big players in the industry get it right? When
>| will they understand that the only way you can actually beat
>| piracy is by giving customers a feasible option that is
>|
>| 1 - financially viable
>| 2 - not fuelled by an insane DRM policy
> `----
>
> http://www.seopher.com/articles/drm_madness_makes_being_legal_difficult
A long time ago, monopoly-based businesses lost sight of the "customer
is always right" ethos, and replaced it with "the customer is always
locked in to me". DRM is a clear product of the second line of
thinking. It's a market manipulation on a shocking scale.
--
| Mark Kent -- mark at ellandroad dot demon dot co dot uk |
You can't evaluate a man by logic alone.
-- McCoy, "I, Mudd", stardate 4513.3
|
|
