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Comment: Re:Could it be (Score 1) 255

People use USB. Daily. If they have some kind of computer, they will most likely have either some kind of dongle that connects them to their mobile internet, a mouse that uses it, a thumbdrive or other storage device.

People use USB devices, that doesn't mean they use USB directly. Most people have that all setup for them at work. I have no idea what the actual numbers are, but I bet we would both be surprised at the number of people who have never inserted a USB device or cable into their computer. And even if they have they may not know it is called USB. They just plug it in to the only place that it fits.

Then there are laptops which have everything the average person needs. All the neighbors I know on my street have laptops.

As for blu-ray, it still pales to regular DVDs every place I see them sold, and the average viewer seems to be moving toward streaming. Blu-Ray is for people who care about Blu-Ray...

Comment: Re:I hope this is far better than Apache Solr (Score 1) 24

by jockm (#46375779) Attached to: Spark Advances From Apache Incubator To Top-Level Project

So do you judge every Apache project this way? Are Apache, Tomcat, Commons, Batik, CouchDB, etc etc etc all crap until proven otherwise because of Solr? Apache is a collection of projects, maintained by different people.

And not to trash your friend's company, but he picked a technology without trying it out yet? Then that company had bigger problems that Solr. Nor would I judge Solr by that story (I have never used Solr, nor am I involved with it in any way).

Comment: Re: Why single out Whole Foods? (Score 1) 794

by jockm (#46373991) Attached to: Whole Foods: America's Temple of Pseudoscience

It is interesting, I just went out and tried to research if this was true or not. All I could find was sites asserting the same thing as you, but no one that cited a source. Again I am not saying one thing or another, but I would love to see actual research — or at the very least numbers.

The sources also vary between saying Celery Juice and celery powder. Like you (I am trying to pick on you) they say that celery is high in nitrates, but don't actually compare the nitrates in celery to the nitrates in the regular way in curing. No mention is given to factors that might affect how the nitrates are imparted between the two ways.

Maybe it is all a scam, lord knows we have enough of those in how food is marketed; but I am not seeing the data to make an informed decision.

Comment: Re:Why single out Whole Foods? (Score 1) 794

by jockm (#46373765) Attached to: Whole Foods: America's Temple of Pseudoscience

I can't (and won't) speak to other reasons why one might avoid nitrates, but they are a migraine trigger for some people — for example my mother. So there are reasons for avoiding them.

Now as for your claim that "despite the fact that bacon made this way can actually have higher nitrate concentrations than bacon made with curing salt" you got any proof for that. I have no idea about the veracity of that claim, but it would be nice to see where you got the information.

Comment: Re:32 bit? (Score 4, Insightful) 122

by jockm (#45126217) Attached to: Imagination Tech Announces MIPS-based 'Warrior P-Class' CPU Core

It depends what you are doing. I don't think anyone is making servers or desktops out of this, and even with recent forays into 64bit ARM (Apple's A7 for example) 32 bit is far from dead. That being said MIPS64 has been around for quite a while, so I don't think it will be a problem to adapt to it at some point in the future.

Comment: Re:Why Pay for Hulu? (Score 2) 48

by jockm (#44276451) Attached to: Hulu Not For Sale, Time Warner May Join

Now I am not condoning (or condemning, for that matter) Hulu, but I thought the point of Hulu+ was that you got access to extra shows, a larger backcatalog, and the ability to watch on devices. That is worth nothing to you? There are other (legal) ways to watch TV shows without commercials, some of which — like iTunes — will cost you much more.

So I can see a place in the market for what Hulu+ is offering

Comment: Re:Outsourcing (Score 4, Insightful) 641

by jockm (#44177217) Attached to: Things That Scare the Bejeezus Out of Programmers

First off there is a difference between Outsourcing, and Offshoring, which is what I think you are really referring to. Secondly I have yet to find a country where you can higher a programmer for $4160/year ($2/hr * 40 hours * 52 weeks). Yes I know this is 1) The internet, and 2) Slashdot, and 3) I am replying to an AC, but hyperbole just makes it easier to dismiss what you say.

Like everything, there are upsides and downsides to both Outsourcing, and Offshoring. I am a consultant, which means that every single one of my clients has decided to outsource some or all of their work. However because I am domestic, that makes it OK?

It is far better to ask why are they outsourcing? I once worked with a company that decided to move QA to india. The reason had nothing to do with cost savings, but had everything to do with having two teams 12.5 hours apart (well sometimes 13.5, daylight savings). The point wasn't cost savings by offshoring, but to streamline development, and for them it worked. If you look at the world of VisualFX, many of the larger companies are setting up divisions all around the globe so they can have work the "follows the sun".

And then there are companies that do it for the wrong reasons. The think it will save them money, and it can, though not as much as you seem to think (or likely the people whose kneejerk reaction got you to a 5, Insightful at the time of writing this). If you just throw work over the fence, don't provide oversight, don't show that you care, then you are going to get the horror stories you hear about. I've seen that reality too, I have been paid a lot to fix messes like that.

You can outsource and/or offshore for the right reasons, or the wrong reasons. It can be a boon, or it can be disastrous. There are no universal absolutes here. The term you used is too big, too general, and you too — seemingly — misinformed to make a blanket good/bad statement.

Also how would "outsourcing" be a result of technology betraying you? Technology is a tool. Tools don't have to assure you a standard of living, that is a societies job.
