Tuesday, November 7th, 2006
As the desktop computing world moves more toward high-quality virtualization, arguments about OS X versus Linux versus Windows seem to do little more than waste breath. Those in the know can set up systems with all three running at the same time. Each system can do what it does best. The actual operating system is little more than an application you can kick off when you need to perform some task or test some software. Check out my fatty Ubuntu box with VMWare.
Of course, if you’d like to run OS X you’ll probably want Apple hardware. I feel that most of the “I can’t afford a Mac” arguments are disingenuous. Sure, you can point out specific examples where there are significant price differences (hello macbook pro), but after considering the full price of that Windows white-box (Virus signature subscriptions, software licenses for things that just aren’t included in Windows) I’d say just about everyone can afford a Mac. Why don’t people just say “I don’t like Apple because people that buy them are pretentious” or whatever the real reason is.
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Monday, October 23rd, 2006
Those of you who have tasted Vegemite may be thrilled by this recent import restriction. According to this news.com.au article Vegemite was not banned because of the rancid taste, but because
Vegemite contains folate, which in the US can be added only to breads and cereals
Never underestimate the ability of bureaucracies to push out logically absurd yet wildly popular rules. Goooooo government.
UPDATE:
Ok, Kelly called shenanigans on this one, Vegemite wasn’t really banned. Snopes confirmed it for me.
Posted in Economics | Comments Off
Thursday, June 16th, 2005
Driving in the Northern Virginia ‘burbs can be a competitive adventure. Often described as the rat-race, wave after wave of commuters herk-and-jerk their way down our increasingly crowded roadways. Who likes sitting in traffic? Even those that enjoy driving wish they could safely arrive at their destination more quickly.
I have a preferred route when travelling to and from work, but if the lights or traffic just aren’t going my way I can make a turn and take an alternate route. WTOP graces us with traffic and weather together on the 8’s so we can intellegently choose the best route. Getting home faster is good for me, but it helps other people too.
I have very little concern about the commute time of random strangers, but my actions help them get home more quickly. I see congestion and I follow my own interest – but in doing that I get out of the way for others. I help distribute traffic more evenly. My little car makes very little impact on the average travel time of the DC Metro commuter, but a whole lot of people making decisions impacts traffic greatly. Out of the chaos of all those individuals comes a strange sort of organization. If the roads and number of commuters stayed the same, could a well-intentioned bureaucrat do a better job directing traffic than all the self-motivated individuals?
Those who stayed awake in Economics 101 will recognize this as yet another example of the “invisible hand”, an idea introduced by Adam Smith in his keystone book The Wealth of Nations. Could he be right? Even though we are selfish and greedy could we be inadvertently helping society?
Posted in Economics, Opinion | 2 Comments »
