Regulating Big Tech: Hillsdale Opinion
A well-thought article. What's your take? Unfettered, unlimited control subject to the inherent biases and prejudices of their Boards? Government micromanagement and stiff enforcement of busting up monopolies? Somewhere in the middle - if such a thing even exists?
https://www.galtsgulchonline.com/post...
The quote from Adam Smith- 'in a competitive economy', does that mean 'there must be competition', or the potential for competition?
The question is partly answered by the example of the Power Ventures company, the use of intermediaries. Existing law prevents competition, except by replication, which cannot work. So, yes the first step is to wipe out the existing laws that prevent competitiors entering as described.
I am a professor of economics. A market to be effective needs competition. As competition decreases the benefits of the market for the consumer decrease as well... until it becomes a monopoly where the consumer has little or no choice. As is the case in social media extremely concentrated industry dominated by very few players.
The idea of portability of your information you post on social media and the response you receive is a great solution. But one could easily see why the dominant players would not want that.
There is a principle in economics "Government may sometimes improve market outcomes" clearly there is a case for government to create content portability thereby increasing competition in social media and improving market outcomes and the benefits derived by the consumers.
Really interesting solution.
The big question, however, how do you instill moral ethics in any business, corporation, government or people. It's not like moral ethics aren't clearly defined...it's common sense.
I think this is what happens when truth, history and the attainment of the conscious mind are prohibited.
It is clear that there are those that conspire against the conscious human race.
Now if you post child porn, the government will come after you.
I was thinking of this. When a company is successful over time, it is inevitable that it'll assume larger market share which is the goal.
Think of Microsoft the way Gates ran it. The problem was that it forced customers to use its products and there was no alternative.
Now MS degraded to the level that it'll rewrite Edge to favor Google's Chrome which is a shameful capitulation by Nadella.
Actually, I view this as a positive move. Microsoft's heavy-handedness in the Browser game is legendary, and the biggest problem is that until Edge, their browsers were technical crap. That they forced Netscape Navigator out of business due to their unethical (and illegal) business practices still doesn't sit well with me. Add to that their reliance on Microsoft-only technologies like ActiveX and Silverlight (both utter disasters) over industry standards like JavaScript and now HTML 4 and all I could say was good riddance. I can't tell you how many times in the past 20 years of my professional life I've been hosed by a Microsoft update to their browser.
I also view Nadella in a much more positive light than any of his predecessors - especially Balmer. Nadella is finally understanding that an integrated digital community where everyone gets along is much better than constantly butting heads with regulatory bodies such as the EU and the Sherman Antitrust Act. Their recent moves to play nicely with the Linux community with Microsoft Office and even SQL Server and C# have been a welcome breath of fresh air after Balmer's intransigence. Of course much of that might have to do with the way Microsoft is getting slaughtered in the mobile device space and their recognition that if they don't clean up their act, they're going to go the way of IBM - whom they put out of business.
Now there is the very valid point that all this is doing it transferring more power to Google, which I agree is worrisome. But with Opera and Firefox out there as well, I'm hoping that this introduces more IEEE compliance and competition into the field rather than less, but we'll see. The big key will be to see if Bing (Microsoft's search engine) remains in the field, because it is really the only major competitor to Google's. If that dies, then we really will just be seeing a frightening transfer of power to Google.
MS was the original monp-u-la-tor and hasn't innovated a single thing. Macs were completely superior in every way, particularly any measure of productivity, but people kept putting up with MS until finally after IBM helped them develop a real OS (OS/2), did Windows NT emerge as a non-segmented memory, pretend multi-tasking pile of crap. Now since Windows 7, PCs can pretty much do anything Macs can, but Macs could do it 30 years ago.
Jobs was an idiot about some things, and Jean Louis Gassee was a real moron. Do you know that Apple had a Mac OS that would run on a regular PC back in the 1980s, and Gassee killed it after it was complete?
Now Gates is trying to buy a place in heaven with philanthropy and politics he never practiced.
Well, I hate MAC.
You are very apt using" moron" and "idiot".
I assume you don't count yourself among them.
You should hate Mac now, but not in 1987. If you hated it then, you weren't paying attention.
You can also use a VPN or Tor to block your IP address, and dns crypt to hide where you are going to.
I'm still happy with my Apple products, but that is starting to change because if Apple starts becoming more like MS, then why spend the extra bucks on Apple when MS would be just as good?
I had given in to Windows after NT, and work required me to be Windows. Then my wife needed a system for school. She is not computer literate, so I put her on Apple in ~2005. That worked well. My son ended up with her MacBook, and I wanted to teach him some coding. I bought the Apple Developer Workshop and my own Mac. When my PC finally died. I switched to that Mac that I had. Works great. Can read PC disks and manage them better than a PC. Runs Windows with VM Ware very well. Now is is aging, and no longer updatable.
THe HW gap is ridiculously wide now. A good PC is $2,500-3000. A very powerful PC is ~$5.000 (w AMD2950x or Intel 7890 etc and Nvidia). A Mac variously matching the middle PC is $10,000. I can afford any, but don't see wasting that kind of money when, one thing I want to do is run Windows on it.
If Gates had been as philanthropical with Windows as he does with his Foundation money, we'd have...
Nope, we'd still have some trying to force his will on everyone else. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has a lot of money, but they use it to try to tell other nations what to do - especially birth control.
I'll never forget the John C Dvorak article on "Power Users don't use a GUI" What a load of crap. In addition, the 68000, particularly 68020/881 and 68030 were vastly faster than the 80286/386 processors, and 68000 series math was extended precision in HW, not even single precision. It wasn't even a race. However, ass-munching liars like Dvorak would dismiss the Mac as a graphics machine, not for number crunching. Then why did the Mac use the same processors as Apollo and Sun workstations?
Funny story here... The lower management of the company I worked for spent a small fortune on a Data General Eclipse system without consulting us techies and then found out later it wouldn't do what they bought it for. Oops. They spent another fortune on an HP 1000, that we recommended, that did the job, but were still stuck with the Eclipse, which they had to hide budget-wise from upper management. Now the Eclipse had a real pretty blinky-light display so one of my coworkers suggested it be mounted right next to the HP in the computer room and we could program it to constantly run diagnostics on itself to keep the blinky-lights working like mad to look like it was an integral part of the project. When upper management visited the computer room they thought the whole thing looked really cool and, since the project was very successful, were satisfied that all was well. About a year later, another smaller project came along and one of the lower managers (whose ass we saved) asked me if I could get it to work on the Eclipse so they didn't have to buy another HP. Furthermore, I'd get a steak dinner if I could get it up in less than four months. With lots of overtime and the aid of a very sharp co-op student we got our steak dinner and the Eclipse was finally earning its keep.
I'm dead sure a $35 Raspberry PI would smoke the HP, DG and a 68000 all at the same time. The damn thing can do video transposition.
- a battery-powered robot with wheels driven by a wireless keyboard
- a Java platform displaying several drill-in fractals including the Mandelbrot set
- a video game emulator for all the old eight-bit Nintendo games
- an interface for my Ham radio for digital transmissions
Even though I'm retired, I got involved with a friend's startup company using a Pi as the processor in a railroad car wheel/axle inspection system. It collects data real time from proprietary sensor instruments (patented) as a train goes through an inspection zone at speeds up to 90mph - actually faster, but let's not press it too hard. After the train passes, the data (in standard CSV format) is transmitted via email to any desired address or you can just log on to it and collect the data manually. The low power allows these inspection sites to be placed in remote areas as long as it can reach a cell tower or a LAN. I wrote most of the code and would give more details, but it was just bought out by a multi-national corporation and I don't want to say anything that may be considered non-disclosable at this time. The funny thing is the Pi, which is the brains, is one of the least expensive components in the whole system.
When we were testing it in a low speed RR yard we even used a second Pi with a camera that was signaled to snap a picture of any axle that had an inspection issue. I wrote most of the camera code, including a nice GUI, which is not proprietary and was a fun project of its own.
I also wrote a nice oscilloscope program for an a/d board available for the Pi, but the a/d board is so slow it wasn't much use. The GUI came out nice, though. I didn't choose the board and I got it for free so no complaints and it was a fun project. This program isn't proprietary, either, and I may - someday- decide to map it to a faster a/d board.
I was thinking maybe I'll put a Pi to work sequencing a nice yard and garden sprinkling system with a GUI to keep it all simple. I set the Pies up so they are "headless" and don't need a monitor. I can access them using my Mac or iPad or my friends Windows systems. Fun stuff.
Edit add: Another "bonus". My friend with the startup company with the RR project had no money so I wasn't getting paid to help out and I knew that up front. I looked at it as a hobby to keep me active in my retirement. He asked what I'd like if this thing ever developed into a real saleable product. I said a stack of C-notes on my dining room table would be nice. Well, a couple of months ago he came over and dropped a stack on my dining room table. 'Nuff said, :-)
I think one of the things I like most about the Pi is its value: versatility at a very reasonable cost. I mean the thing is basically a small computer (with all the bells and whistles) for ~$30. That's pretty amazing!
These things are just amazing.
Great bargain priced technology for streaming your favorite tunes!
https://www.sidify.com/guide/play-app...
https://howtoraspberrypi.com/media-ce...
https://mediaexperience.com/raspberry...
Kodi is very mainstream.
On the HW side, you may have what you need, but I am a speaker Nazi. If you want amp/power supply/speaker help, let me know, and I'll unload on you.
I'm always interested in better sound.;^)
Our preamps are starting assembly this week for sale via the net. Gotta get that website working ;^)
Now, I'm thinking of a line array.
I do have an idea for an arbitrarily low frequency woofer. I need to build and patent it.
https://makezine.com/category/technol...
Crazy people like me are always excited to see others with crazy interests.
I have an iphone because it was given to me. It's a PITA to use sometimes. So are other brands of smart phones. But they are most of the time very good devices that assist my productivity.
For my computing needs, I buy 3-7 year old used intel/windows (usually Dell) and they work just as well as newer gear regardless of the brand. Much less expensive, too. But I have lots of experience with computers and don't need hand holding. The internet is a wealth of information for people who can learn to read the tech jargon and use a screwdriver.
Gates was a very bright entrepreneur years ago. I think he lost his way as many do when beaten down constantly by statist rubbish and government meddling. He's certainly not Howard Rourke or Hank Rearden.
Apple's way of doing things is a continual irritation on the iphone and if the service wasn't given to me, I'd be using a different smartphone; one that doesn't require me to get permission to do things from Apple because their software is in the way by design (to make more money for Apple by picking my pocket. Definitely reminds me of the feds in that respect.)
I'm not really the target market for the feds either, but I don't have a practical choice, dammit.;^)
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/...
While I agree with you on Balmer, Nadella does not strike me as someone who will protect the MS brand. I think he is selling out to Google: both companies are run by Indians. Where does loyalty lie? You be the judge.
The proper move should have been to write a browser that can compete with Chrome, not to capitulate to it. When Windows 10 was released, the biased Apple worshipping media slaughtered it. Never mind that most of the criticism was similar to toady's left's "resistance" to everything that is not violently against normal life. Windows 10 was a great software and only a goat had problems using it.
At any rate, I think that "playing nice" is not going to cut it. The opposition will not appreciate that in terms of reciprocating, but will see it as a point of weakness which it is and will take full advantage of it.
An interesting point. I know that the installation of a Chinese/Taiwanese at the head of Micron is certainly not going well for US Micron workers. And there is no question that culturally, Indians are very different than Americans.
"The proper move should have been to write a browser that can compete with Chrome, not to capitulate to it."
You do realize that you are talking about Microsoft, right? They haven't written anything original in years - they have to keep buying all their good ideas from startup companies. ;)
Seriously, though, the big problem at Microsoft (and this comes from personal inside sources) is that their executive management teams don't play well when it comes to funding fights. They don't coordinate their efforts. Every division is trying to outdo their other divisions for resources instead of trying to work together and that culture has driven away a lot of good people. That's a cultural thing that Nadella is still fighting - unsucessfully.
I wouldn't put Microsoft out of the fight just yet, however. They still have their cash cow in Office and billions in cash to throw at any initiative they choose. I'm going to wait until they blow through their $10+ Billion before I make any predictions of doom. I also wouldn't discount their seats on all of the major IEEE initiatives.
"Windows 10 was a great software and only a goat had problems using it."
Uh, I've been a Microsoft Admin for 20 years and I can tell you I HATE the interface on Windows 10. Moving the logout button to the upper right-hand side of the screen when everything you use is in the bottom left? That's stupid. Charms? Give me a break! All I need is another distraction sitting on my desktop taking up compute and network resources. No, thanks! Tiles? Those are for mobile devices - not desktops. Default save is now to the "cloud" (meaning more money for Microsoft) instead of to my computer or a network share. And there's no way to change it. This costs me valuable time and clicks every hour of every day. Having to search for the app I need instead of just being able to navigate right to it? I don't need freaking crutches. And don't get me started on the constant revisions to my bread-and-butter: the Control Panel. Some Microsoft genius just can't leave this crucial administrative feature alone for one version - probably so they can justify the ongoing certification classes.
Computers are there to help facilitate getting things done (meaning applications). All Windows 10 did was put roadblocks in the way of me being productive that I didn't need. I didn't see a single feature in Windows 10 that actually made my life easier. The articles expressing criticisms like those I just cited were spot on in my opinion.
Yes, I have firsthand experience although you must abide by HR's "inclusion and diversion" guidelines.
I used to work for GE's financial arm. The nearby Insurance division was staffed exclusively by Indians. Don't know how they got away with it but is was a very stifling environment.
I stand by my statement on Windows 10.
You must be one of those who obsessed with the Start button. I simply don't share your observations. I have been using 10 since it was launched and did not regret one second of it.
To me, the beauty of a computer is not in monolithic use, but in configurable use: it is the adaptability of the UI to the specific user's needs which is an OS' greatest value. An OS has zero other function than to assist the user in running applications. Anything which detracts from that capability is a disservice to the user because it reduces efficiency and value.
You obviously found the changes beneficial to you, and that's great for you. None of the UI updates done to Windows 10 enhanced my ability to be productive, however, but actually did the contrary because they force me to use the computer in a way which doesn't make sense for my job and my needs. I wouldn't have cared that much if there was a way to configure the UI so it was most productive for my needs, but Microsoft has long been heavy-handed in demanding that everyone use the same methodology. That short-sighted and monolithic approach has long been my major bone of contention with them - especially when I can look over at all the Linux skins available (like Enlightenment) which allow the same core functionality but configure the UI to suit the user's tastes and needs. How I wish Microsoft would take a page out of that book!
Just as an aside, but I found the same experience with the Office Ribbon. Where once I could build my own ribbon with just the small icons for the tools I needed (document creation and editing which included a lot of screenshots), now it takes me 30% longer (I've actually tested and timed this) to create the same document due to all the extra clicks necessary to get to the formatting tools I need and the document default settings which I have to disable or override. (I also don't appreciate the huge icons which just take up valuable screen real estate.) I am far more productive using the inferior technology in Open Office than I am using Word because of all those kitchen sinks they threw in there which just get in the way.
"I stand by my statement on Windows 10."
Which is why you hated the criticism - not only my own but that of the magazine articles. If you choose to wear quad-colored glasses that is your prerogative. It is rather infantile, however, to criticize those of us who choose not to.
"You must be one of those who obsessed with the Start button."
Apparently I was not the only one, as they quickly added it back in due to overwhelming customer feedback. And they didn't even wait for another major release that's how much pushback they got. Again, this was the result of their heavy-handed, "Microsoft's way is the only way" approach. They would have been far wiser to simply put in a setting which allowed the user to pick the interface which worked better for them. I still hold out hope that they will eventually move in this direction.
Thanks to Linus Torvalds and he crew for giving me and others the freedom to choose.
I had absolutely no problem switching from XP to 10.
But then I am not an anti-MS fanatic.
What version of linux do you use and what did you do to ensure you have the right drivers for your hardware?
Don't think that I am an orthodox when it comes to software and providers. I think one reason we see things differently is that for a developer 10 may not be the best venue. I am not one, and was more than happy to try out the new platform that suited me well from the beginning.
To reply to your "criticism": at the time 10 came out, the bias of coverage was palpable. I said earlier, it was like the current animosity between right and left in the political arena. Any thinking person would see a red flag there: 10 was not nearly as bad as the reviews stated: only 1 out of 10 had a positive evaluation. As I read them it was obvious that most of them did not even try 10: they simply went with the flow against MS.
Yes, MS quickly added the Start button back which was clearly a capitulation they should not have done.
I fault MS for throwing 10 under the bus. From the beginning they went into the game as the underdog. Markets sense that and hit back hard.
Nadella is a very far cry from the ideal leader who should run MS. It is a tragedy of great companies to suffer this fate. I know what it is like: my own was subject to it recently. Nothing lasts forever.
It beats me what people adore about Chrome. It is very restricted unless you do everything as Google prescribes.
Google's abusive policies let alone the company culture that has been splashed across the media in recent months is enough to recoil from them in disgust. I am sure they have a file on me even though I try to distance myself. I hate to think that MS is turning over the field to them completely.
Uh, no. Firefox is Mozilla-based (from the original code base of Netscape Navigator). They've consistently been the most IEEE compliant browser (when they've had people to work on their code). They used to be the fastest browser, but then they started adding in a whole bunch of crap that slowed things down. I still use it for some things, but I would prefer that it go back to its less weighty and speedier core.
"It beats me what people adore about Chrome."
For a time, the appeal was two things: easy access to Gmail and speed. When first introduced, Chrome simply beat the pants off everything speed-wise. Now, their browser is a hulking beast which commonly churns up the majority of my memory - and each tab only makes it worse. The problem is that the competition isn't much better. All have become very top-heavy memory hogs. Space hogs, too.
"Google's abusive policies let alone the company culture that has been splashed across the media in recent months is enough to recoil from them in disgust."
Completely agree.
I meant that when you search with Firefox, it is Chrome "powered by Ask" that does the search, with no possibility to delete it.
When you search on Firefox the "Search with Google" appears.
I used Firefox as the default for a while then got rid of it due to this "relationship" between the two which apparently goes back to a long time.
I would never have figured that out myself.
You are such a genius!
Fortunately for everyone, along came portable devices - an area Microsoft still is playing from behind on. Android-based phones and tablets are first in market-share with Apple second. Microsoft is a very distant third and I hope it stays that way because it has forced Microsoft to open up and start to play nice. You can bet they never would have ported SQL Server or Office to Linux otherwise.
A PC and a techie came in, the techie played with the PC. Result- there was no IE, memory use was down, the operating system functioned as before.
No one was forced to buy W. But buyers were told they had to have the MS browser IE, and so were dissuaded from buying a (better) competitor.
A mistake by MS? So a low level of competence.
Deliberate? Then fraud.
On the other hand, there is "portability of data". You supply Girgle with your name, age, etc. Girgle processes that info. Work, effort, cost go into that processing so the processed info is considered property of Girgle.
The info that you gave, in the form you gave it, is whose property? Not now yours? It may be considered to be in the public domain, it is certainly not the property of Girgle.
Suppose that info which you gave away, in exchange to use Girgle, is sold, is that ok? Did you give them that right, to do anything with the info? Suppose yes you did, and now that info, processed, is used by girgle to obtain a credit card, ok? If not, then what are the limits to which that processed info can be put?
You applied for a passport, can government sell the passport with your info to anyone? It was voluntary, you did not have to have that passport. Is ID info property in the sense that software or writing created from effort is property?
I ask, anyone who cares to elaborate, please do so from the viewpoint of Objectivism, not anarchy, or even state why you think Objectivism is wrong here.
We voluntarily enter into an agreement with Girgle when we sigh up. Read the terms of the agreement. When (as an adult), you accept and acknowledge the terms of the agreement, you are entering into a contract. That is the case with so many other things we sign up for. We do it voluntarily and many complain about it later and claim ignorance because they have not read the terms of the agreement. I did and accept the results.
I also am free from M$S and have the option to not be tracked as I surf and use the net.
The world is full of choices, but are tethered when the government interferes. The government dictates that my doctor (for example) records my information on a public database. He and I have no choice. That is also the price I pay for being forced to use public healthcare as I have no other alternative for medical treatments/care.
There are a couple of immature, cowardly militant conservatives here who can't control their emotions. Sometimes they blow up with irrational personal accusations in addition to the mindless 'downvoting'. It's not a matter of "popularity", but mindless resentment by a few. They lack basic objectivity, speculating in their own minds what they imagine "must be". They lash out mindlessly, often without even understanding what they are 'downvoting', and don't care -- they are harboring festering personal grudges that never made any sense to begin with, and it doesn't take much to set them off into a bulk 'downvoting' spree.
As for the "Girgle" scenarios, when you provide personal information such as a credit card number to someone for a specific purpose it does not become their property (or in the public domain) to do whatever they want to with it. They are also responsible for securing it so that it is not stolen. The form in which they keep it for their own internal legitimate purposes is proprietary, but its proper use is not unlimited, either in selling it or neglecting to protect it.
But the problem is wider than that. Organizations such as google, facebook and NSA are stalking people and gathering information they have no right to at all, and aggregating it in massive databases kept hidden from the public with no way to even challenge misrepresentations.
Google and facebook routinely spy on what you are doing even when it is not at their own websites -- look at the cookies they store on your computer as IDs by which to track you; and look in the firefox extension NoScript to see how often they show up as para-sites running java programs to collect information from connections to other websites.
Google routinely invades your privacy by monitoring what you do on your own computer or cell phone, along with where you are, misappropriating your property to gather and send the information back to its home planet. That is built into all versions of its android operating system and its apps no matter what OS they are running on. NSA routinely monitors and collects whatever it wants in its massive data bases as information passes through the internet. NSA also has access to the data accumulated by others. What all these organizations collect is aggregated with what they already have to build up massive dossiers on everyone.. All of them are lying and misleading us about what they are doing.
The solution is to recognize property rights, formulating new specific definitions in law as required to apply to new technology as it develops. Instead, we hear an increasing clamor for "regulation" in which government bureaucracy controls private companies without regard to either their or citizens' property rights (or freedom of speech). The "progressive solution" is statism replacing a system of limited government that exists to protect the rights of the individual under objective law with "progressive" control by politically elite government "experts" making up their own rules to "regulate", not prevent and punish, the violation of your rights.
They make rules easily achievable by existing players that only nominally protect consumers, and make working arrangements so complex that operating costs go up, that is accepted by the industry as the regulator okays or supports price increases.
On top of that all the rules serve to make start-up costs very high thus squelching competition.
Yes, the proper approach is to confirm, change and enforce as needed legislation to define and protect property rights of big and small players.
Private people can get in private associations and start their own companies. I do not, however, think that government should intervene and bust up the companies that already exist.
Of course, personally, I do not make that much use of computers; I do not even have, at this time, a working cellphone; my phone is a landline, rotary dial. As to personal information, I have long held to the policy that if you do not want something to be seen by everybody in the United States, don't put it on the Internet.
We as free people need to be responsible for our own lives, otherwise we will eventually be subject to the dictum of our government/leaders. I choose freedom.