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post #81 of 99
2/6/11 at 2:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Logisticaldron View Post

Sure, it's all relative, but your comments seems to imply that Americans* are less aware of politics than other countries has no merit. The US is huge in a vast numbers of ways, for better or for worse, so a Nigerian who is aware of the US' head offcials doesn't mean he's smarter or more "political" than a US citizen who doesn't about the Nigerian government. Same goes for other areas, like entertainment. Around the world US entertaIners meld with that nation's entertainers. Only a few countries have successful make the cross over into e US mainstream and that seems to correlate to a similar language and culture.

* As in the only country that has word America in it, not referring to the Western hemisphere.

It's impossible to make valid blanket statements about something like this because you're really talking about a vast range of individuals in any country, some politically aware and others not so much. There is this perception, though, that there's a typical American who is rather disinterested in politics that do not directly impact on the US and who have a rather insulated, faulty notion of what goes on outside of the US. There is this impression that some give that if it doesn't involve the US, it's not worth bothering over.

Sadly, I do think that in any country you have a vast number of otherwise intelligent people who are politically out to lunch. They are easily manipulated and believe a lot of outrageous baloney because a lack of knowledge and understanding of the ways of the world can lead to believing what they would otherwise sense immediately does not add up. It's hard to get people to pay attention unless they think it's important to them on a very basic level. It's all just so much detail and best ignored. Ignorance is the greatest threat to a properly functioning democratic system.

In any case, this is not the place for this stuff. Sorry for the digression.

Bring on the new iPad. I'll be waiting to buy one and get rid of a rather frustrating netbook. The sooner the better.
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post #82 of 99
2/6/11 at 2:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hypercommunist View Post

um, there is another possibility, apparently difficult for Americans (or as I like to call them, Great Satan-ers) to conceive:

People outside the US know more about the rest of the world, where "rest of the world" does not mean "the USA"

Ps seriously I love the States - it's fascinating and rich in history - but there's no question it's gotta be the most self-absorbed place on earth

As a 69-year-old product of the USA, I'd have to agree with this, but must add that the cause for this national narcissism hasn't been identified yet. I have my hypothesis, having to do with commercial entertainment which I've seen develop over the last several decades along with the rise of narcissism, but it really is off-topic.

More on-topic is the cure for the disease. The reason I follow the Apple story (but only since they started doing mobile seriously) is that we are seeing the re-emergence of citizen control over information and knowlege. Peer to peer worldwide communication will, I hope, eventually make all of us, even Americans, have a global, cosmopolitan outlook.

You wouldn't know this watching the Fox News of today, or the antics of the Tea Party or the whining liberals not getting Their Way, but these phenomena are so strident because they are reactions to cultural evolutionary progress.

In other words, the more President Obama talks about the U.S. taking a cooperative place among the community of nations, the more the reactionaries will be crowing like roosters about "American exceptionalism."

But the more people communicate with ubquitous, always-on global internet, the harder it will be for the me-first isolationists to prevail. So bring it on, Apple, RiM, Google, Wikipedia--anything that increases communication of knowledge and breaks up the monopolies of ideology, which can be traced back to the Indo-European takeover in 2000 BCE.

And that is where check/cheque comes from, when the Aryans in India developed chess out of the Harappan board games, then sent it to their cousins the Iranians, who handed over to the Arabs, then the Moors, who brought it Spain. It's all about the Persian 'shah mat,' which finally became 'checkmate.' When you write a cheque, you are placing your funds in the bank -- oops, banque -- in 'check' for that amount.

Like I said above, it's a slow news day.

Edit:
Quote:
Originally Posted by rtm135 View Post

enough with the off-topic meta-discussion already. nobody cares about how words are spelled in other countries. talk about apple stuff or GTFO.

Check, you're right. Back to NFC, if Apple can package a system like they did with FaceTime, and maybe use NFC to set up Bluetooth instantly between two devices, or some other such wild feature, it would increase their unstoppability. Which is what I would like to see happen, and so bury the phoney open-closed argument.
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post #83 of 99
2/6/11 at 3:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flaneur View Post

As a 69-year-old product of the USA, I'd have to agree with this, but must add that the cause for this national narcissism hasn't been identified yet. I have my hypothesis, having to do with commercial entertainment which I've seen develop over the last several decades along with the rise of narcissism, but it really is off-topic.

More on-topic is the cure for the disease. The reason I follow the Apple story (but only since they started doing mobile seriously) is that we are seeing the re-emergence of citizen control over information and knowlege. Peer to peer worldwide communication will, I hope, eventually make all of us, even Americans, have a global, cosmopolitan outlook.

You wouldn't know this watching the Fox News of today, or the antics of the Tea Party or the whining liberals not getting Their Way, but these phenomena are so strident because they are reactions to cultural evolutionary progress.

In other words, the more President Obama talks about the U.S. taking a cooperative place among the community of nations, the more the reactionaries will be crowing like roosters about "American exceptionalism."

But the more people communicate with ubquitous, always-on global internet, the harder it will be for the me-first isolationists to prevail. So bring it on, Apple, RiM, Google, Wikipedia--anything that increases communication of knowledge and breaks up the monopolies of ideology, which can be traced back to the Indo-European takeover in 2000 BCE.

And that is where check/cheque comes from, when the Aryans in India developed chess out of the Harappan board games, then sent it to their cousins the Iranians, who handed over to the Arabs, then the Moors, who brought it Spain. It's all about the Persian 'shah mat,' which finally became 'checkmate.' When you write a cheque, you are placing your funds in the bank -- oops, banque -- in 'check' for that amount.

Like I said above, it's a slow news day.

Edit:


Check, you're right. Back to NFC, if Apple can package a system like they did with FaceTime, and maybe use NFC to set up Bluetooth instantly between two devices, or some other such wild feature, it would increase their unstoppability. Which is what I would like to see happen, and so bury the phoney open-closed argument.

Nice post. I agree with you all the way.
Been using Apples since 1978 and Macs since 1984
Long on AAPL so biased. Strong advocate for separation of technology and politics on AI.
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Been using Apples since 1978 and Macs since 1984
Long on AAPL so biased. Strong advocate for separation of technology and politics on AI.
Reply
post #84 of 99
2/6/11 at 3:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stourque View Post

Would that be 4 US oz or imp oz?
40 imp oz = 1 imp quart
32 US oz = 1 US quart
4 pints per quart
4 quarts per gallon so
160 imp oz = 1 imp gallon
128 US oz = 1 US gallon
100 imp gallons = 120 US gallons
and to confuse some more
3.8 liters = 1 US gallon
4.5 litres = 1 imp gallon

I think I need a beer.


I need a beer.

Too complicated - I was just kidding... 'when in Rome' and all that ... I just ask for a '22 oz frosty mug' now and forget the word 'pint' (I think that is actually a net gain)
Been using Apples since 1978 and Macs since 1984
Long on AAPL so biased. Strong advocate for separation of technology and politics on AI.
Reply
Been using Apples since 1978 and Macs since 1984
Long on AAPL so biased. Strong advocate for separation of technology and politics on AI.
Reply
post #85 of 99
2/6/11 at 3:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post

Xoom, we hardly knew ye.....

Oh come off it. Honeycomb looks very impressive, and a huge leap over the current version of iOS for the iPad. As we know nothing about iOS 5, it's absurd in the extreme to proclaim the death of the xoom.

And besides, one need only look at the current Android phone sales to see that it's doing rather well for itself now. Rather better than iOS in fact.
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post #86 of 99
2/6/11 at 3:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carmissimo View Post

Sadly, right about now, many Americans are reading this and asking, who's Harper.

That's not sad, it's just reality. America is a far more important country than Canada is and it's merely common sense that politicians from the USA would be better known than politicians from Canada.

I'm not really dissing on Canada (besides Quebec of course, I don't like that place), but it is not a world super power and not many people around the world take any big interest in who gets elected in Canada.

Everybody knows Apple and most people know who Steve Jobs is. Do you think that many people can name who is the head of Samsung or Motorola or RIM? Would you blame them for not knowing that?
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post #87 of 99
2/6/11 at 4:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post

That's not sad, it's just reality. America is a far more important country than Canada is and it's merely common sense that politicians from the USA would be better known than politicians from Canada.

I'm not really dissing on Canada (besides Quebec of course, I don't like that place), but it is not a world super power and not many people around the world take any big interest in who gets elected in Canada.

Everybody knows Apple and most people know who Steve Jobs is. Do you think that many people can name who is the head of Samsung or Motorola or RIM? Would you blame them for not knowing that?

On the other hand, you'd think that people might be interested in the politics and leadership of a bordering country.

I am an American but find it sad that younger Americans have no sense of geography or current events outside their local community. We have created a very insular culture that makes it increasingly difficult for the US to be seen as the world leader.
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post #88 of 99
2/6/11 at 7:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flaneur View Post

As a 69-year-old product of the USA, I'd have to agree with this, but must add that the cause for this national narcissism hasn't been identified yet. I have my hypothesis, having to do with commercial entertainment which I've seen develop over the last several decades along with the rise of narcissism, but it really is off-topic.

Have you read Christopher Lasch's The Culture of Narcissism (1979)? Amazing book. The basic thesis (diagnosis?) has held up very well over 30 years.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flaneur View Post

But the more people communicate with ubquitous, always-on global internet, the harder it will be for the me-first isolationists to prevail.

I hope you're right, but I think the individual narcissism seen so often on Facebook and YouTube (which may or may not have anything to do with America-firstism) has deep roots in enlightenment ideology and the culture of capitalism, especially corporate capitalism.
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post #89 of 99
2/6/11 at 7:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kotatsu View Post

Oh come off it. Honeycomb looks very impressive, and a huge leap over the current version of iOS for the iPad. As we know nothing about iOS 5, it's absurd in the extreme to proclaim the death of the xoom.

I haven't played with it, of course, but from what I read about Android 3.0 it sounds awfully fiddly, possibly appealing to techies more than the average user. This is already the main difference between Android & iOS and I suspect it is just going to become more pronounced. Android 3.0 is the first release where google is out ahead of apple, but I bet this isn't in a good way, and google is best off channeling Microsoft of the 1990s, imitating Apple while outflanking them on hardware support / range of price points.
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post #90 of 99
2/6/11 at 7:16pm
By the way, tomorrow, Monday Feb 7, Tom Ashbrook's 2nd hour on his show "On Point" will be on what he is calling "iPad fever." It's from WBUR Boston, carried on many NPR stations, available online, starts at 10 AM Eastern time. If you haven't heard his show, he's great at keeping a good conversation going between guests and call-in listeners.
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post #91 of 99
2/6/11 at 7:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hypercommunist View Post

Have you read Christopher Lasch's The Culture of Narcissism (1979)? Amazing book. The basic thesis (diagnosis?) has held up very well over 30 years.

Sounds good, I'll check it out -- thanks.

Edit: Just read about this book on Wikipedia and I am wondering what the heck I was doing in 1979 that was so important that I missed it. Thanks again.
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post #92 of 99
2/6/11 at 9:48pm
--deleted--
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post #93 of 99
2/6/11 at 9:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hypercommunist View Post

I hope you're right, but I think the individual narcissism seen so often on Facebook and YouTube (which may or may not have anything to do with America-firstism) has deep roots in enlightenment ideology and the culture of capitalism, especially corporate capitalism.

Again to get back on topic, what we've seen in the last three years since the iPhone is the relentless drive for ubiqitous connectivity of all kinds, in which this latest NFC business is one more example, the computer in your pocket now replacing the coin of the realm and becoming a portal to your finances.

Even though I haven't read Lasch's book, I can see what you're saying through the lens of (that Canadian) McLuhan, who traced the rise of the individual in the modern sense to the printed book, i.e., the lonely reader becoming an equal to the lonely author who's informing him. It was this amplification of the reasoning individual that produced the Enlightenment, democracy, capitalism, etc.

What we have going on now seems to be the exact reversal of the radical individuation produced by the printed book. Now the person is defined by her/his embeddedness in a planetary nervous system.
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post #94 of 99
2/7/11 at 3:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by penchanted View Post

On the other hand, you'd think that people might be interested in the politics and leadership of a bordering country.

I am an American but find it sad that younger Americans have no sense of geography or current events outside their local community. We have created a very insular culture that makes it increasingly difficult for the US to be seen as the world leader.

There is no problem in having citizens in the US not know who is PM in Canada but many are not well-informed about their own political system and that's a problem. I think, too, that it would be reasonable to expect that a typical US citizen would be aware of the basic political system used by other countries, like, for example, knowing enough to realize that in Canada we have a prime minister (PM) rather than a president.

For many I think the problem is that they don't see the point in being informed. In a democratic system, the average citizen is called upon to make important decisions. The more aware voters are, the more likely it is that politicians will be less likely to get away with BS. After all, it was political naivety that paved the way for Hitler's rise and the terrible conflict that followed.

To some extent, technology like the iPad has opened up the lines of communication which is a good thing but it has also led to more insular behaviour by some who seek to tune the outside world out.
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post #95 of 99
2/7/11 at 2:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kibitzer View Post

A thought about form factor and NFC. An iPhone or iPod Touch is a more convenient size to be carrying around when shopping. Not to rule out iPad 2, but let's be practical here.

For consumers the NFC in the iPad may be a bit impractical but when you think about the unplanned (or maybe really well planned) success the iPad has made in the business / enterprise market and the fact that they need to deal with the BB PlayBook in the market very soon NFC may be a really cool feature to get support from IT admins and enterprise app developers.
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post #96 of 99
2/7/11 at 2:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carmissimo View Post

There is no problem in having citizens in the US not know who is PM in Canada but many are not well-informed about their own political system and that's a problem. I think, too, that it would be reasonable to expect that a typical US citizen would be aware of the basic political system used by other countries, like, for example, knowing enough to realize that in Canada we have a prime minister (PM) rather than a president.

For many I think the problem is that they don't see the point in being informed. In a democratic system, the average citizen is called upon to make important decisions. The more aware voters are, the more likely it is that politicians will be less likely to get away with BS. After all, it was political naivety that paved the way for Hitler's rise and the terrible conflict that followed.

To some extent, technology like the iPad has opened up the lines of communication which is a good thing but it has also led to more insular behaviour by some who seek to tune the outside world out.

To me the real danger doesn't lie in the uninformed and apathetic it lies in the misinformed and overzealous.
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post #97 of 99
3/2/11 at 1:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Voight-Kampff View Post

Of course it'll be a small event. I can already tell you what the iPad 2 will bring. Go ahead and bookmark this, as I guarantee most of these are right-on:

-It'll be a little lighter and thinner.
-Exact same resolution screen.
-Dual core processor.
-512MB of RAM instead of 256MB.
-Minor iOS update.
-Front facing camera (possibly rear one too).

Like most Apple product updates, the iPad 2's biggest improvement, the camera, will just be something its predecessor should've had in the first place.

Damn I love always being right. Sometimes it boggles my mind that people try and argue with me.

Thinner and lighter? Check.
Exact same resolution? Check.
Dual core processor? Check.
Minor iOS update? Check.
Cameras? Check?

It's cute people actually thought it would be anything more than just a hardware refresh.
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post #98 of 99
3/2/11 at 2:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Voight-Kampff View Post

Damn I love always being right. Sometimes it boggles my mind that people try and argue with me.

Thinner and lighter? Check.
Exact same resolution? Check.
Dual core processor? Check.
Minor iOS update? Check.
Cameras? Check?

It's cute people actually thought it would be anything more than just a hardware refresh.

So you stated the obvious and the obvious happened. Impressive!

You may have eventually been seen as a balanced voice of reason around here had you pointed out how smug you pointing out what most expected to happen.

Try not to pull a muscle patting yourself on the back.
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post #99 of 99
3/2/11 at 4:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Logisticaldron View Post

So you stated the obvious and the obvious happened. Impressive!

You may have eventually been seen as a balanced voice of reason around here had you pointed out how smug you pointing out what most expected to happen.

Try not to pull a muscle patting yourself on the back.

For being so obvious, there sure was a lack of people agreeing with me back then. Instead, everyone was just kinda hostile toward me, trolling my post. Just like you're doing now.

I know it sucks to be wrong, but think of it as an opportunity to learn; for your mind to expand.

What's the difference between a smart man and a wise man? A smart man hates being corrected, for it means he was wrong. Yet a wise man loves being wrong, for it means he has learned.

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