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Comment: the real story here (Score 0) 137

by spirit_fingers (#43503789) Attached to: Blackstone Drops Dell Bid, Cites Declining PC Market

The aside about IBM exiting the x86 server business has me wondering. Perhaps the "International Business Machines" corporation needs to change its name to the "International Software as Services" corporation. Or how about the "American Software as Services" corporation? I prefer the acronym generated by that name.

Comment: Re:err on the side of safety (Score 1) 758

by spirit_fingers (#42485457) Attached to: Anti-GMO Activist Recants

By "normal food" I assume you mean non-GMO food. Normal food has centuries of history behind it. GMO foods are being forced upon us by corporations seeking profits without benefit of our being certain that they are at least as safe as their non-GMO counterparts. The benefit of the kind of certainty garnered from generations of human consumption have been denied us by the short term greed of companies seeking to make a fast buck.

Comment: self contradictory (Score 1) 758

by spirit_fingers (#42482515) Attached to: Anti-GMO Activist Recants

I find this interesting in Mr. Lynas's statement:

"As an environmentalist, and someone who believes that everyone in this world has a right to a healthy and nutritious diet of their choosing..."

I agree with his mission statement. In fact, it's best argument for the labeling of GMO foods there is. But until GMO foods are labeled as such, people won't know what diet they're choosing. Let GMOs be labeled and give people the real choices they have a right to.

Comment: More Metro on PCs than tablets (Score 2) 343

by spirit_fingers (#41536073) Attached to: Microsoft Co-founder Dings Windows 8 As 'Puzzling, Confusing'

Given Microsoft's dismal history with mobile platforms, the prospects for Surface's success seem questionable. It's entirely possible that a year or two from now the only significant installed base of Microsoft's tablet interface will be found on PCs, not tablets.

Comment: the problem with time travel (Score 1) 658

by spirit_fingers (#41518653) Attached to: If I had a time machine, I would first visit...

The big problem with time travel isn't when you'll rematerialize, but where. The planet is orbiting the sun at 18.5 miles/sec. The solar system is also traveling at 43,000 MPH. And the Milky Way galaxy is moving at 600 km/s in the direction of the constellation Hydra. So, if you climb into your time machine and jump to the same location at some point in time in the past or future, the Earth will not be at that location when you arrive. It could be millions of miles away. You and your time machine will be floating in space, or worse, on the shore of a methane ocean on Uranus. In order for a time machine to be of any practical value, beyond simply being able to travel through time, it will also need to be able to calculate the precise location of the Earth at the specific point in time you intend to travel to and have the means to rematerialize exactly at that spot.

Comment: Metro, Shmetro (Score 1) 436

by spirit_fingers (#41478965) Attached to: Even Windows 8 Users Prefer Windows 7

I'm not a huge fan of iOS, but to Apple's credit, at least they confine their tablet interface to tablets. I fail to see how Metro on a PC without a touchscreen makes anything better.

And wouldn't it make more sense for Microsoft to see if Surface Pro is a hit BEFORE they drag desktop users to Metroworld?

Comment: Re:I call BS (Score -1) 1264

by spirit_fingers (#41158547) Attached to: US Doctors Back Circumcision

We were made this way for very good reasons, even if we don't understand them.
Imagine if somebody proposed the same thing for female infants. What would be the reaction?
Leave all minors alone. Let them decide when they turn 18.

Mother Nature also made us naked, hence the need for a protective foreskin. But, like the appendix, the foreskin has become obsolete. We're better off with it off.

Comment: numbers game (Score 1) 333

by spirit_fingers (#40149991) Attached to: LG Aims To Beat Apple's Retina Display

The new LG display is a prime example of technology marketing by the numbers. Japanese hi-fi manufacturers popularized this approach in the 70s and 80s. They hyping the numbers in their products' specifications, implying, but not actually demonstrating, superior performance. Historically, this has worked very well for consumer electronics sales. People ate it up then and still do. This is just more of the same from LG. Having a pixel density of 440 PPI is totally meaningless in terms of real world experience, but it sure sounds impressive on paper. They'll sell them by the bushel.

Comment: FB is going down. Hard. (Score 4, Interesting) 191

Facebook is caught between a rock and a hard place with regard to user privacy. They already take a lot of flack from users who don't like what they perceive as Facebook's lax privacy protection. Facebook can't simply dilute it further without risking a flood of protest from its users. It can't afford that. That's not to mention the various state and federal privacy regulations already in place that will also constrain them.

Oh, and don't count out Google+ as competition just yet. Google isn't going to declare defeat in the social media space any time soon. They recently completely revamped the Google+ interface and have shown that they're in it for the long haul. They will be waiting for Zuckerberg & Co. to stumble and give users an excuse to jump ship. I suspect they won't have to wait long.

Of course, the investors will be howling for Facebook to bring in the numbers, especially now that GM has announced yesterday that they are cancelling all of their advertising on FB due to its lack of effectiveness. You can bet that move has caught the attention of every other large advertiser. Facebook is in trouble. They have very little maneuverability to enhance their revenue stream and a lot of pressure to do so. Something's got to give and I predict it will not be pretty for either FB's bottom line or their stock price.

If you look like your driver's license photo -- see a doctor. If you look like your passport photo -- it's too late for a doctor.

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