Frequently Answered Articles (FAArt)

Journal heironymouscoward's Journal: Frequently Answered Articles (FAArt) 1

Journal by heironymouscoward on Tuesday February 24, 2004 @01:23PM

I've decided that about 80% of Slashdot articles can be answered with just a few standard comments and although trying to get a perfect 24/24* is fun, it's not going to get me any more money, sex, or vacation.

Therefore in the interests of saving time and effort that can better be spent on discovering new ways of flossing the cat, I present the first International Slashdot FAArt.

Article: "So and so has a new anti-spam solution"
Answer: so long as there are viruses and trojans there will be zombied PCs that can send spam. The only way to eliminate spam is to eliminate all security loopholes in the OS. Feasibility: 0%, approximately.

Article: "Such and such has released a new product XYZ".
Answer: Boring. Who cares? This is not news, it'd be news if for six months nothing new was released. "End of Technology? Have we reached the top of the curve?"

Article: "More job losses as XYZ corp outsources its complaints department".
Answer: Read up on basic economics. Moving work to where it's done cheaper is always better for all concerned. Every IT job lost in the US creates several new jobs in non-IT sectors in the US thanks to cheaper technology. Besides, job churn in the US simply dwarfs any job migrations.

Article: RIAA/Napster/iTunes
Answer: (a) the physical CD is long redundant. Audio DVDs? Sure. (b) the firms making the most money from iTunes, as from the rest of Net commerce, are the credit card companies. (c) Apple has the legit digital music sewn up.

Article: Microsoft/anything
Answer: Microsoft, despite having more money than they seem to know what to do with, is tied to a dead business model. Read up on technology curves, and the estimable Heironymous' Law. It does not matter how powerful you are, you cannot force the world to buy your products when working equivalents are free and freely available. Tick tock.

I'll leave it here for now. Feel free to add your suggestions to the Slashdot FAArt.

(*)24/24 is the mystical state in which your last 24 comments have all rated 5. When this happens, your Slashdot account turns into a mysterious spaceship and transports you to Venus. My high score is 14. Note to self: stop taking the blue pills.

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