PC is 25 years old

The modern age of computing began 25 years ago when Time Magazine declared the personal computer "person of the year'. And as they said back then in commercials; "you've come a long way baby".

The commodore 64 is, along with the Apple II and the Atari XL computers, the most famous home computer. According to the 2001 edition of Guinness book of records, the C64 was the most "prolific computing device ever manufactured". During its production run from 1982 to... 1993, about 30 million (!) units were sold. To put this number in perspective, that's more than all the Macintoshes in the world.

And the PC did not begin as an offshoot of IBM but rather the gaming industry.

The original Atari was a pioneer in arcade games, home video game consoles, and personal computers, and its dominance in those areas made it the major force in the computer entertainment industry from the 1970s to the mid-1980s. The brand has also been used at various times by Atari Games, a separate company split off in 1984.

To think about how far we have come in 25 years, a mere quarter of a century, let's just look back to the original Apple computer and where Steve Jobs is today; promoting IPOD technology.

And what had been a cumbersome clunker of a a computer with 64k memory was available as a hand-held Palm Pilot.

first-gen PDAs like Palm, which could also work as text readers. Heavier than a hardcover book, they were less portable and harder to read in direct light. But it was just these complaints that sparked killer app innovation.

This is literally expansion at the speed of thought, imagine the Gutenberg Press and twenty five years later you have the Xerox.


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Independent Lieberman

Independent Lieberman says he can be now be himself
So is that an Independent Democrat or and Independent Republican? Running against Lamont he should at least be honest and run as the latter.


Also See:

Lieberman

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Mining Merger Mania

You can't tell the players without a program.
CHRONOLOGY-Key dates in Canada mining takeover wars
This is a case of globalisation of Canada's mining industry, dog eat dog captialism. Much like the current wave of steel takeovers. Canadian miners flush with cash try to buy each other out to gain a monopoly in the marketplace, leaving themselves open to hostile takeovers by foreign corporations. Ain't capitalism grand. This is more exciting than Canadian Idol. Will they won't they get the brass ring. No wagering please.

Also See:

Mining



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Home of International Terrorism

Pakistan.

The current raid on terrorists in London finds several arrested in Pakistan. The July 7 bombers in London were trainind in Pakistan. The Taliban fighting Canadian and NATO troops in Afghanistan are located in Pakistan. Terrorist members of Bin Laden Inc. /Al Qaeda operate out of Pakistan. Kashmir terrorists operate out of Pakistan. Pakistan ships nuclear technology to rogue states.

Hmmm what was that George Bush said about States that support terrorism....oh yeah Pakistan is America's new buddy in the war on terrorism. Instead of invading Iraq to bring democracy to the folks there, perhaps the US should have invaded the military dictatorship and home of International Terrorism; Pakistan. Oh yeah they couldn't Pakistan has nukes.

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Fordism In Korea

The Fordist economy of South Korea has now reached the level where that country is officially a modern capitalist economy, the workers there now have a five day work week, but it is causing them some stress as they were brought up in the command economy of a militarist based State Capitalism.

More play, less toil creates stress for some Korean families

The shorter week has come as a particular shock to older members of Korea's predominantly male work force. Mr. Kim, for instance, grew up listening to official nation-building propaganda songs with lyrics like "Let's wake up early in the morning, work hard and make a good town." School books of the day hammered home such lessons as: "I was born for reviving and rehabilitating our nation." For Koreans in their mid-forties and older, "feeling guilty, staying long hours, and not knowing how to rest is part of the legacy of Gen. Park Chung Hee," says Park Tae Gyun, a Korean-studies professor at Seoul National University. The dictator ran South Korea during nearly two decades of rapid industrialization until his assassination in 1979.

Also See

Take Time From the Boss


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Plundering Tax Payers

The Edmonton Journal reported yesterday that Big Oil in Alberta and other Alberta corporations like Telus and West Jet made increased record profits. Thanks to you and I.

That's right they would have made profits anyways, but thanks to Martin/Harper/Klein tax cuts you and I paid them out of our pockets to increase their bottom line.

Tax cuts and public private partnerships are a form of State Capitalism, the public pays for private profit.

Any trickle down effects as espoused by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation are a myth, these guys take the cash and run. They do not reinvest the money, but use it for playing the stock market.

BY THE NUMBERS

WestJet Airlines made a profit of $22.4 million after tax cuts of $11.2 million, while a $107-million tax reduction helped Telus Corp. to a $356.6-million profit.

Here's what five of the largest energy companies saved on taxes in the latest quarter:

- At Husky Energy Inc., tax cuts saved $328 million, helping earnings more than double to $978 million.

- Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. made a profit of more than $1 billion after a $438-million tax gain.

- Suncor Energy Inc.'s taxes dropped $419 million, helping the company make a profit of $1.2 billion.

- Imperial Oil, Canada's largest energy company, saved a $110 million in taxes on the way to a $837 million profit.

And if they didn't get tax cuts these guys would find other ways of avoiding paying taxes ( such as setting up income trusts), unlike you and I who have no choice.How the US super-rich 'dodge' taxes

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Sexually Transmitted Cancer

This is scary; a transmittable form of cancer that is genetic and acts as a parasite. It originated in an ancient wolf and now is being passed from dog to dog.

There is a type of cancer, called CTVT (canine transmissible venereal tumor) which is transmitted mainly through sexual contacts, but may also be passed on as a dog bites, sniffs or licks the tumor-affected areas, say scientists and vets from University College London (UCL). The cancer is rarely fatal and goes away after three to nine months - however, it is present in the dog long enough for it to pass it on to other dogs.Cancer Spreads From Dog To Dog


Currently it is only occuring in dogs, however considering that STD's (sexually transmitted diseases) are common amongst humans such as genital herpes, gives us pause. If a STC was to occur in humans it would be a an epidemic like AIDs.

Prevention is simple but remains controversial because of moralists. First the
need for use of condoms, which moralists countinue to condemn because its use along with other forms of contraception allow for us to have sex for pleasure (which is the real reason they oppose it, claiming sex is only for procreation). Second failure to teach sex education/sexuality awareness in public schools starting at a young age.

With dogs its understandable that sexually transmitted cancer would spread its not like you can teach an old dog new tricks, with humans and diseases such as AIDS and other STD's this is not the case. Use of condoms as well as effective public sex education decrease the spread of disease.

However as long as conservative moralists oppose any teachings that sex is fun, sex is healthy and sex is not just for procreation we can expect that STDs and possibly a STC will continue to spread because abstinence does NOT work, never has, and because abstience based sex education is a failure.


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Zionist Fascism

This appeal to authoritarianism and censorship smacks of fascism;

Frank Dimant, the Vice President of B’nai Brith Canada has called on the police and the federal government to ban, or crack down on pro-Hezbollah demonstrations. “The streets of Canada will not be taken over by radical Islamic forces supporting terrorist activities,” he said Wednesday. “B’nai Brith Canada will do its utmost to ensure that Canadians will not be intimidated by these terrorist sympathizers.”

Yep criticism of Israel will NOT be tolerated in tolerant Canada.

Label your political opponents as terrorists and demand the State lock them away.

Zionism once again shows its rotten roots in right wing nationalism.

Jewish libertarians, anarchists, and socialists need to denounce B'nai Brith for the fascists they are.

Thanks to Joseph Lavoie for this.



Also See:

Israel

Lebanon

Zionism

Anarchism


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Kinsella Is Demented

Blogs are a vanity press for the demented, some say.
Warren Kinsella blogs. Therefore he is demented. Hey he said it. Since he did not attribute the source of this made up quote, it must be from his-self, since his favorite comment is to call bloggers he disagrees with 'morons' and 'demented'. Vanity thy name is Kinsella.



Thanks to the three headed dog for this.

Also See:

Kinsella



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Van Allen Belt

RIP Rocketman. Before there were rocket jockeys, astronauts, there were the rocketeers, who were space scientists. Van Allen was one of them. And like Goddard and Parsons was central in the development of space rocketry. He was an inspiration when I was young and reading about space exploration.

James A. Van Allen, the physicist who made the first major scientific discovery of the early space age, the Earth-circling radiation belts that bear his name, and sent spacecraft instruments to observe the outer reaches of the solar system, died Wednesday in Iowa City. He was 91.

James A. Van Allen; Discovered Earth's Radiation Belts

Remembering James Van Allen
With Van Allen as scientist, Werner Von Braun as rocket builder, and William Pickering as spacecraft builder, Explorer 1 became the U.S. first successful space mission, and that simple spacecraft’s detection of the Van Allen Belts is remembered as the first major scientific discovery in space. At that dawn of the Space Age, the nature of space exploration was already apparent: It always leads to unexpected discoveries about our universe and the processes that shape our environment.

Nurture Iowa's future Van Allens
He was part of a remarkable generation of American scientists and engineers who are passing from the scene, amid evidence too-few replacements are in the pipeline.Van Allen was admired not only as a pioneer of space exploration but also as a dedicated professor who maintained contact with undergraduates long after his prestige would have allowed him to concentrate solely on research. And he chose to do his life's work at a university in his home state, just 50 miles from his hometown.

Click to enlarge >

Celebrating Success
From left, William H. Pickering, James Van Allen, and Wernher von Braun -- the three men responsible for the success of Explorer 1, America's first satellite, launched January 31, 1958. Credit: NASA

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