A lot of effort has been exerted lately on providing the same user experience on a web site through all web browsers. Although implementing Internet applications to target requirements of the lowest common denominator would be optimal for greater reach, like other decisions that are made where resources are scarce, the decision to continue investing more resources to strive for an optimal solution should be made after light analysis on its gains. Economists have studied an interesting phenomenon and formulated an economic law: the law of diminishing returns. This law states that the amount of additional benefit decreases with each additional quantity of resource that is applied.
The gains from sacrificing more time and effort into implementing compatibility with Internet Explorer for Mac is worthy of thought. There are several factors to consider. Adding code for compatibility may make the integrity of the system brittle. With each modification of the system, the structure and design of the software code decays. The number of people that use Internet Explorer for Mac should be compared against the total number of people who use a Mac. Then, the number of people who use a Mac relative to the number of people who use a general personal computer should be considered. Analyzing the benefit of implementing compatibility with Internet Explorer for Mac and the risk of breaking the system for all other users in an effort for a compatible solution should make the decision to discontinue support of Internet Explorer for Mac easier.
Insistence on compatibility with Internet Explorer for Mac is misguided. Microsoft, the maker of the Internet Explorer line of software, received a net income of $12 billion and ended support for Internet Explorer for Mac in 2005. Microsoft has the resources to improve compliance of Internet Explorer with Internet standards, but the company decided to discontinue the product line. Modifying a web application that is compatible with the majority of browsers, which includes Internet Explorer for Microsoft Windows, in order to gain compatibility with a single browser that is not supported by anyone is a serious misallocation of valuable resources.
Terror originates from many sources, including those who are privileged to serve the public or outraged by the government. American fixation on the belief that Arab peoples are the primary source of terrorism is very troubling and misguided. Politicians want people to believe that barring a company, which is headquartered within the United Arab Emirates, from operating US ports increases national security. This ultimately creates international tension, an environment where it is US versus them. It also makes the US highly hypocritical on its stances for free trade and international cohesion. It also has surely dispelled the illusion of a united front in the war against terror.
Although it may seem more cost-effective to focus on particular sources of harm, the nation would be best served by more generic security measures. Ethnic profiling has an inherent flaw, which can be exploited easily by people with the ability to navigate through myopic countermeasures and deliver large payloads of terror. A generic security protocol that is well implemented will protect people from threats that are foreign or domestic. Such a protocol will be effective against unknown or unexpected sources, or sources that are simply overlooked by highly targeted measures. When both are almost equally costly, a generic solution should always be preferred over one that is riddled with special cases.
Chris Kraeuter’s Otellini, Hurd, Ellison Sing Itanium’s Praises and Owen Thomas’ Intel Throws Good Money After a Bad Chip discusses the recent push among major industry players to support Intel’s Itanium line of processors. Billions of dollars have been committed to support the Itanium chip, and Intel and its partners plan on dedicating another 10 billion to the effort. It seems that Intel is facing adversity on multiple fronts. It has lost market share to AMD processors in commodity desktop computers, and industry analysts are cynical about Intel’s drive to provide high-end processors. Dedicating an additional 10 billion dollars to “mission critical computing,” which reportedly generates 28 billion dollars annually, helps Intel maintain its much needed partnerships and may also allow it to gain a foothold into an emerging market.
A book on the Lisp programming language has been made available on Paul Graham’s site. Lisp, not-so affectionately known as Lots of Infuriating Parentheses among undergraduate students, is a programming language that I have always wanted to learn but was never motivated enough to make a book purchase. Unlike most popular languages, which are either object-oriented or imperative, Lisp is a programming language under the functional programming paradigm. Exposure to the language will expand a programmer’s thought. Lisp will enhance a novice programmer’s grasp of recursion at the very least.
I have placed a copy of the book here for my convenience. Now that I have a book on Lisp, I have one less reason not to pick up Lisp.
It seems that Ford employees at the Dearborn plant are forced to eat their own dog food. According to CNNMoney.com, Ford’s management has decided to ban competitors’ vehicles from their lots. Unfortunately unlike Google employees, a majority of the production workers at Ford have little influence on the conceptual development of their products. People who work closely on a company’s product have an enhanced ability to evaluate the product and compare it against those of competitors, and if these people determine superior quality of a competitor’s product at a comparable price, then it is natural for those people to decide on a competitor’s product.
Witnessing Ford, an American automotive company, establish a totalitarian policy is very disturbing. The policy acts against free market forces: competition. It seems that Ford’s management would rather create corporate rules to establish a facade of company dedication among its workers than create an environment that encourages the company to be a more competitive force in the automotive industry.
Ford’s new policy would be more effective if it was adopted secretly by the company’s upper management. It must somehow be known to their laborers that their cars are not provided by the company as this should be an expected misconception. This will create a united front among upper management that supports their brand. Knowing that individuals who have the ability to purchase expensive luxury imports prefer a Ford will make the purchase of a Ford easier among Ford’s workers. Having the households of upper management use Ford automobiles exclusively would boost this effect.
Improving the way that Ford automobiles are perceived will further encourage its adoption among Ford’s workforce. Ford seems to have been successful in converting a portion of the market segment for individuals between the ages of 18 and 34 with their Mustang and Focus models. The Mustang has been accepted at many recent import car shows. It should not be difficult for Ford workers to be converted to Ford automobile owners, unless practices within the company discourage workers from making a Ford purchase. If workers are under the impression that the company is interested in merely shipping it without care for quality, for example, then their purchase of competitors’ products is understandable. Pride that is felt by their workers on the products that they produce should not only be something created by their marketing team. It should be heartfelt, and it shall be evidenced through their free choice to purchase a Ford vehicle and showcase it in their plants’ parking lots.
Ford’s reputation has somehow come to mean “Fix or Repair Daily” among automotive technicians. They need to drastically change its image of being unreliable or distinguish its brand from those of General Motors at the very least. How they manage their recent layoffs and how the company can portray concern about its workers will affect the opinions of many people regarding Ford Motor Company. The layoffs are another opportunity for Ford to enhance the automaker’s image.