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steve2470
steve2470's Journal
steve2470's Journal
March 5, 2012
Microsoft released a dubious press release today to promote its entry into cloud computing. The company makes the sketchy claim that cloud computing will create 14 million jobs worldwide by 2015. Considering the fact that cloud computing is a consolidation technology that is used to fire IT staffs and centralize their efforts into a larger framework run by someone else, you have to assume at least 28 million jobs will be lost in the process. And that only assumes a two-to-one downsizing ratio. It could be worse.
So, who is Microsoft kidding? Who believes this rubbish?
Let's start with the false premise that, somehow, the ever-so-efficient cloud computing is going to create jobs rather than replace jobs. Does this make any sense to anyone? Cloud computing is like a merger between two companies, only it's a merger between hundreds of corporate IT departments. Whenever a merge happens, the redundancies are eliminated. So what is Microsoft trying to pull here? Is it trying to make itself look like some good-guy job creator?
It gets a little annoying when so-called "job creation" numbers fail to take into account the fact that many jobs are replaced and destroyed. There is no net gain in jobs with cloud computing. Zero. Why would there be? It's a methodology designed to eliminate jobs using the efficiencies of centralized services.
Microsoft study claims cloud computing will create 14 million jobs worldwide by 2015
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2401151,00.asp?google_editors_picks=trueMicrosoft released a dubious press release today to promote its entry into cloud computing. The company makes the sketchy claim that cloud computing will create 14 million jobs worldwide by 2015. Considering the fact that cloud computing is a consolidation technology that is used to fire IT staffs and centralize their efforts into a larger framework run by someone else, you have to assume at least 28 million jobs will be lost in the process. And that only assumes a two-to-one downsizing ratio. It could be worse.
So, who is Microsoft kidding? Who believes this rubbish?
Let's start with the false premise that, somehow, the ever-so-efficient cloud computing is going to create jobs rather than replace jobs. Does this make any sense to anyone? Cloud computing is like a merger between two companies, only it's a merger between hundreds of corporate IT departments. Whenever a merge happens, the redundancies are eliminated. So what is Microsoft trying to pull here? Is it trying to make itself look like some good-guy job creator?
It gets a little annoying when so-called "job creation" numbers fail to take into account the fact that many jobs are replaced and destroyed. There is no net gain in jobs with cloud computing. Zero. Why would there be? It's a methodology designed to eliminate jobs using the efficiencies of centralized services.
March 5, 2012
Internet rules and laws: the top 10, from Godwin to Poe
An old article from 2009 but still a goodie 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/6408927/Internet-rules-and-laws-the-top-10-from-Godwin-to-Poe.html
1. Godwin’s Law
The most famous of all the internet laws, formed by Mike Godwin in 1990. As originally stated, it said: "As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1." It has now been expanded to include all web discussions.
It is closely related to the logical fallacy “reductio ad Hitlerum”, which says “Hitler (or the Nazis) liked X, so X is bad”, frequently used to denigrate vegetarians and atheists.
Common Godwin's Law appearances include describing women's rights campaigners as “feminazis”, comparing the former US President George W Bush to Hitler, or saying Barack Obama's proposed healthcare reforms are the new Holocaust.
*end of excerpt*
More at link above, enjoy !
March 5, 2012
LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Florida farmworkers and their supporters are staging a fast outside Publix Super Markets headquarters in Lakeland.
The fast organized by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers started Monday and will last through Saturday.
The coalition wants Publix to join a program that supports pay increases for tomato pickers and prevents human rights violations against farmworkers.
Whole Foods Market, McDonald's and other larger corporate buyers of Florida tomatoes have joined the program.
Fla. farmworkers stage fast outside Publix headquarters
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-bc-fl--farmworkers-publix,0,3465878.storyLAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Florida farmworkers and their supporters are staging a fast outside Publix Super Markets headquarters in Lakeland.
The fast organized by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers started Monday and will last through Saturday.
The coalition wants Publix to join a program that supports pay increases for tomato pickers and prevents human rights violations against farmworkers.
Whole Foods Market, McDonald's and other larger corporate buyers of Florida tomatoes have joined the program.
March 5, 2012
Russian cops violently break up Putin protest
Source: AP
(AP) MOSCOW - Riot police on Monday broke up an opposition protest contesting Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's victory in Russia's presidential election, arresting dozens of participants, including prominent opposition leaders.
The police action followed a rally in downtown Moscow that drew about 20,000 protesters angry over a campaign slanted in Putin's favor and reports of widespread violations in Sunday's ballot.
The big rally went on peacefully, but hundreds of police in full riot gear violently dispersed several hundred protesters who had vowed to stay on the iconic Pushkin Square in downtown Moscow until Putin steps down.
Police moved quickly to put out the protests, apparently fearing that it could act as a catalyst for bigger opposition action.
Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57390842/russian-cops-violently-break-up-putin-protest/
March 5, 2012
Excessive speculation in the oil futures market may be costing you 15 percent or more at the gas pump and playing a "significant" role in rising gasoline prices, according to a joint letter from 68 members of Congress that ABC News has obtained.
The joint letter, which cites a recently updated report by the St. Louis Federal Reserve titled "Speculation in the Oil Market," urges immediate action by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to install caps on the biggest traders on Wall Street, preventing them from controlling unusually large positions in the oil futures trading market.
The Reserve's report called "Speculation in the oil market," which was just updated in February 2012, concluded there are two main factors for large price swings at the gas pump.
It says "global demand shocks," such as those caused by turmoil in the Middle East, "account for the largest share of oil price fluctuations."
Gas Prices Spiked By Speculators, Congressmen Claim
http://news.yahoo.com/gas-prices-spiked-speculators-congressmen-claim-064713484--abc-news.htmlExcessive speculation in the oil futures market may be costing you 15 percent or more at the gas pump and playing a "significant" role in rising gasoline prices, according to a joint letter from 68 members of Congress that ABC News has obtained.
The joint letter, which cites a recently updated report by the St. Louis Federal Reserve titled "Speculation in the Oil Market," urges immediate action by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to install caps on the biggest traders on Wall Street, preventing them from controlling unusually large positions in the oil futures trading market.
The Reserve's report called "Speculation in the oil market," which was just updated in February 2012, concluded there are two main factors for large price swings at the gas pump.
It says "global demand shocks," such as those caused by turmoil in the Middle East, "account for the largest share of oil price fluctuations."
March 5, 2012
The team behind Google's Chrome browser received a high accolade recently, after the German government named Chrome as the most secure web browser.
The announcement came in the form of a best security practices guideline from Germany's Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), and it emphasized how Chrome was the best browser around today so far as security standards are concerned.
The BSI particularly praised Chrome's anti-exploit sandbox technology - the feature which alienates the browser from the rest of the operating system, thus preventing any malicious web based elements from infecting other crucial components of the host OS.
In addition, the silent update mechanism as well as the built in Adobe Flash components were also termed by the BSI as rather impressive for ensuring online security for users.
*end of excerpt*
This article is almost a month old but I thought the information was useful.
Google Chrome is Most Secure Web Browser, German Government Says
http://www.itproportal.com/2012/02/07/google-chrome-most-secure-web-browser-german-government-says/#ixzz1llox8M9TThe team behind Google's Chrome browser received a high accolade recently, after the German government named Chrome as the most secure web browser.
The announcement came in the form of a best security practices guideline from Germany's Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), and it emphasized how Chrome was the best browser around today so far as security standards are concerned.
The BSI particularly praised Chrome's anti-exploit sandbox technology - the feature which alienates the browser from the rest of the operating system, thus preventing any malicious web based elements from infecting other crucial components of the host OS.
In addition, the silent update mechanism as well as the built in Adobe Flash components were also termed by the BSI as rather impressive for ensuring online security for users.
*end of excerpt*
This article is almost a month old but I thought the information was useful.
March 5, 2012
In early November 2010, as the Federal Reserve began to weigh whether the nation's biggest financial firms were healthy enough to return money to their shareholders, a top regulator bluntly warned: Don't let them.
"We remain concerned over their ability to withstand stress in an uncertain economic environment," wrote Sheila Bair, the head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., in a previously unreported letter obtained by ProPublica.
The letter came as the Fed was launching a "stress test" to decide whether the biggest U.S. financial firms could pay out dividends and buy back their shares instead of putting aside that money as capital. It was one of the central bank's most critical oversight decisions in the wake of the financial crisis.
"We strongly encourage" that the Fed "delay any dividends or compensation increases until they can show" that their earnings are strong and their assets sound, she wrote. Given the continued uncertainty in the markets, "we do not believe it is the right time to allow transactions that will weaken their capital and liquidity positions."
Reckless: The Inside Story of How the Banks Beat Washington (Again)
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/03/reckless-the-inside-story-of-how-the-banks-beat-washington-again/253883/?google_editors_picks=trueIn early November 2010, as the Federal Reserve began to weigh whether the nation's biggest financial firms were healthy enough to return money to their shareholders, a top regulator bluntly warned: Don't let them.
"We remain concerned over their ability to withstand stress in an uncertain economic environment," wrote Sheila Bair, the head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., in a previously unreported letter obtained by ProPublica.
The letter came as the Fed was launching a "stress test" to decide whether the biggest U.S. financial firms could pay out dividends and buy back their shares instead of putting aside that money as capital. It was one of the central bank's most critical oversight decisions in the wake of the financial crisis.
"We strongly encourage" that the Fed "delay any dividends or compensation increases until they can show" that their earnings are strong and their assets sound, she wrote. Given the continued uncertainty in the markets, "we do not believe it is the right time to allow transactions that will weaken their capital and liquidity positions."
March 5, 2012
Bill Nye: How to Talk to an Alien
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March 5, 2012
President Shimon Peres on Monday praised US President Barack Obama's speech to the AIPAC annual policy conference, saying he had offered the maximum support for Israel that an American president could possibly offer.
Peres told Army Radio that Obama made clear that the "security of Israel is a national American interest." He added that it would be preposterous to expect Obama to give a timetable for possible military action against Iran.
"I don't expect someone to say when they will do this, and when they will do that, not us or them. It's not done," Peres stated. "He didn't talk about dates, but he spoke about actions," the president added.
Peres said that he appreciated that Obama refrained from giving Israel instructions, or even giving the appearance that he was telling Israel what to do.
Peres: Obama showed maximum support possible for Israel
http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=260500President Shimon Peres on Monday praised US President Barack Obama's speech to the AIPAC annual policy conference, saying he had offered the maximum support for Israel that an American president could possibly offer.
Peres told Army Radio that Obama made clear that the "security of Israel is a national American interest." He added that it would be preposterous to expect Obama to give a timetable for possible military action against Iran.
"I don't expect someone to say when they will do this, and when they will do that, not us or them. It's not done," Peres stated. "He didn't talk about dates, but he spoke about actions," the president added.
Peres said that he appreciated that Obama refrained from giving Israel instructions, or even giving the appearance that he was telling Israel what to do.
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