Hey everyone,
Both Wyatt and I are teaching short courses through Brown College this year- information about the courses can be found here. If one piques your interest, email the instructor.
http://www.brown-college.org/?page=courses
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Friday, January 26, 2007
Microsoft: Stunting Global Progression
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070126/bs_nm/vista_microsoft_eu_dc
As Microsoft extends a market dominance that stemmed originally from simply stealing a product and lowering standards until it was dirt cheap, what happens to the world? If the EU doesn't step up and outright BAN Vista, what happens when the computer I am writing on can no longer even access your website?
Is the internet something you can control? Microsoft is certainly trying, and the sad thing is that the coders at Microsoft are, to put it nicely, rather pathetic. The operating system is an improvement for users immediately, but 99% of those improvements are things that MacOSX had years ago and Microsoft *finally* figured out how to code.
So what happens if one company gains control over the information highway and all of the computing industry, especially when its a company that has already proven its affinity for low standards and buggy products?
As Microsoft extends a market dominance that stemmed originally from simply stealing a product and lowering standards until it was dirt cheap, what happens to the world? If the EU doesn't step up and outright BAN Vista, what happens when the computer I am writing on can no longer even access your website?
Is the internet something you can control? Microsoft is certainly trying, and the sad thing is that the coders at Microsoft are, to put it nicely, rather pathetic. The operating system is an improvement for users immediately, but 99% of those improvements are things that MacOSX had years ago and Microsoft *finally* figured out how to code.
So what happens if one company gains control over the information highway and all of the computing industry, especially when its a company that has already proven its affinity for low standards and buggy products?
US Court System V. US Government
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/26/washington/26nsa.html?hp&ex=1169874000&en=9044950dc6386d92&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Seems like an appropriate topic for discussion.
Seems like an appropriate topic for discussion.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
First Meeting of the Semester
Hey kids, our first meeting will be this Sunday. Among the topics that anyone else wants to bring up, we'll talk about:
- The accumulation of power under George W. Bush
- Aramark food at UVA
- Increasing membership both among people who perform political actions and people who talk about issues
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Happy New Year
Happy New Year everyone! I hope your holiday break has been nice and everyone has gotten the break we all needed.
I found this article about the most egregious civil rights violations of 2006 and thought it could serve as a good future discussion material. Check it out here: The 10 most outrageous civil liberties violations of 2006. Some of this is quite infuriating and in the cases of the innocent men imprisoned and tortured, really sad and ridiculous.
Hopefully we won't see this type of thing this year.
I found this article about the most egregious civil rights violations of 2006 and thought it could serve as a good future discussion material. Check it out here: The 10 most outrageous civil liberties violations of 2006. Some of this is quite infuriating and in the cases of the innocent men imprisoned and tortured, really sad and ridiculous.
Hopefully we won't see this type of thing this year.
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