FW: Euthanasia for an Eye Opener

[Chuck Swiger <cswiger@widomaker.com>]

  From: 	Charles A. Behney III[SMTP:charlesaugust@theriver.com]
  >This is a good example of how to form a cybernetic firing squad, making
  >developers kill their darlings for stock options.
  >
  >http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/8870.html
  
  Students of mythology (Jung, Campbell) tell us that
  certain 'forms' of myth, stories, urban legends will
  arise in divers cultures that are very  similar, even
  when they are not in communication with each other.
  
  This report in Wired reminds me of a similar joke, long ago
  in Mad magazine, back when trashing energy companies was
  fashionable:
  
  	Ripley's Beleive it or Nuts.
  
  	An inventor, Ralph Wiggins, has invented an 
  	automobile engine that runs on water!
  
  	However, the Hexagon corporation bought up
  	the patent, sent the inventor on an all expense
  	paid vacation to Saudi Arabia and has never
  	been heard from since.
  
  You hear the same response from some quarters when discussing
  why electric cars don't catch on - just disreguard the fact
  that the state of the art of batteries means they require a
  lot of maintenance, have limited range compared to a tank of
  gas, and have other problems [read: more expensive] compared
  to a gasoline motor. People always get the idea that it can be
  done, but it's the evil Hexagon corporation thugs that have
  such a vested interest in petroleum that they Stalinesquely
  "disappear" any competition.
  
  In this case, just disreguard the fact that Java is SLOW! I've
  tried Java, was checking Netscape every day for the first beta
  version of Netscape for Linux w/ Java, got the JDK from Sun, 
  (actually a ported to Linux version from blackdown.org) checked
  out a lot of the 'craplets' from gamelan.com - eventually broke down
  and got a Pentium Pro 200Mhz just to give the things some pizazz
  - and they're STILL sluggish as glaciers in January.
  
  
  Random bits from NTMag:
  I'll have to paraphrase, not having permission to repub:
  Microsoft is contacting companies that use the letters NT in
  domain and company names. Does Microsoft have the right of
  enforcement? **Northern Telecom** owns the US trademark to NT
  and Microsoft pays to license it from them.  Some companies
  say they'll challenge Microsoft's professed rights of
  enforcement in court.
  
  
  BTW, http://www.tiac.net/users/billg40 is great read!
  
  ("The Hexagon Corp" is from one of the "Naked Gun" movies, as is the
  Society of Petroleum Industry Leaders, SPIL)
  
  Chuck
  cswiger@widomaker.com