What I really want to know is what "tbray" sees as the next google. Now that he is inside he surely must have a different perspective on what could be dislodging/game changing for the mammoth company.
I think everything matches here except that Mr. Donley capitalizes "F"acebeook. The comment in question has these as lowercase, which has already been mentioned.
Can anyone comment on which site is best? I recognize this might lead to more traffic on your site, but it would help to understand why one would use rentacoder over getafreelancer...
Since capitalism elucidates turrets in some people, I'll add that what I'm driving at is competition breeds innovation and quality. If one library adds functionality another doesn't have, then it will add it, and in the process, improve on it. Awesome!
If we all did this I'm not sure how much hacker news would get read. I especially value the point about inspirational books becoming means for vicarious success. The true litmus test of something intending to be motivational would be whether or not it can change behavior.
This is also a reminder that for those struggling during this recession, it would go a long way if those who are not reached out to help. That way we don't need to rely on ever more inefficient gov't programs trying to help. Private charity is good for the giver and receiver (most of the time).
Because near-term job creation is the government's job, right? If this were such a good idea, it would have been privately funded. It's nice to know I'll be paying for another state's rail system for years to come
Fresh perspective from inside the GFW. The picture painted reminds me of V for Vendetta. Censors monitoring everything. A government stretched thin to protect its hold over the people.
How could outsiders help from home?
Cost != Price. Although I have no affiliation to publishers and do sometimes think the prices are too high, downloading content made for individual sale is stealing. Estimating the cost to the publisher or author is irrelevant. It's amazing people can rationalize stealing by the impact that stealing has on the original owner. That's not why we don't steal. The reason why we don't steal is because we want to promote a society that consistently provides new and improved products and services at prices the market determines as fair. Stealing dis-incentivizes producers from producing because they know they won't get rewarded for their work.
Wow, the gun jumped twice in one day by two separate individuals... I really hope this is just controlled leakage by apple. Otherwise the Gustapo are on their way...
I honestly don't see the value proposition either. Oh wait. That's because Steve hasn't taken the stage yet to show us that Apple has created something of value that we didn't know we wanted until we were shown. Some call this fanboyism. It's really just creativity at its best. Creating new things to make life better. That's what apple does, and they are handsomely rewarded for it.
This closed world is close to possible with control, which is exactly what Apple has achieved with the iPhone. They limit which apps make it on, and which content can be displayed. I do not doubt that sooner than later Apple will offer filtering for internet, and will package it in an appealing way (security). It seems foolish now, but just wait.
The principle of setting expectations low or not setting them at all (officially) can apply to startups as well as large corporations. Startups that fail often try to please too many people (web developer opens biz to build more websites and applications only to realize that different markets need different expertise, only to let people down, etc.).
Google is not going to de-censor search results in China. China doesn't back down from the private sector and Google knows that the sheer volume of people in China will result in positive cash flow regardless of the results censorships. They have no financial motivation to face up to the empire and as buzz dies down they'll have little political/social threat either.
The typos in this article really kill it for me.</complaint>
Valid points about lowering prices in industries with middle-men, but this is hardly a Robin Hood argument (steal from the reach with force who stole from the poor with force) as no force is involved beyond simple market forces of supply and demand.
Actually, we'd see even lower prices across all of these categories if there were less regulation protecting the incumbents and less overall dollars in circulation causing inflation.
Is there any concern over more privacy being in the hands of google with a new product like this? They are on a slippery slope and are about to understand everything about us.
His main premise, that government student loans are co-signed by the government and students resulting in the distortion of demand, is spot on. Demand = Need + Purchasing Power. With the Purchasing Power of the government at students' backs, schools would see that they needed to raise prices to keep supply at the same level.
Very interesting article. Just like most things, this could be very good or very bad depending on how it is used. Seems like the human body is the most advanced breakthrough of all time. Can a computer chip augment that?