Re: Fuzzy borders and hurt feelings (Nov. 15)
Aha! It’s clear now. U.S. citizens and companies need not respect other countries’ laws.
Hey, what if citizens and companies don’t respect U.S. laws? I refer to the DMCA, Dmitry Sklyarov and his Russian (ElcomSoft).
That’s right! As clear as mud.
Conan Lear
Re: Fuzzy borders and hurt feelings (Nov. 15)
If you are going to use analogies, please get them right, rather than fostering further misconceptions about the Catholic church. The Vatican is not opposed in any way to the belief in Darwin’s Origin of the Species. The only thing that the Vatican opposes is the belief that if Darwin is right, then there is no soul and no God (what a philosophical leap!).
Catholics do not take every word in the Bible as literal truth, but rather read it in the context of the audience for which it was written and with the understanding that the lessons taught in the Bible are very personal and relevant to today’s Catholic. Having said that, the story of Adam could be interpreted (and this is my personal belief) as representative of the moment in creation that man gained his immortal soul, as opposed to the literal definition of the moment of creation.
A better analogy would have been to say the Vatican was suing Chapters for selling “The Practical Guide to Witchcraft and Magick Spells.” Your analogy only serves to lump us in on the wrong side of a contentious societal issue with the wrong group of people, which causes further prejudice and misunderstanding of Catholics.
Love your articles most days, though.
Cynthia Lebeuf
Re: Comdex panel: Outsourcing creates divisions in the enterprise (Nov. 13)
In your article “Comdex panel: Outsourcing creates divisions in the Enterprise,” St. Paul, Minn.-based Occam Group Ltd. president Ken Barnhart says, “Geeks take great pride in being right all the time. . . Business (managers) don’t care if they’re right or not, as long as they are saving money.”
I think Ken misses the point.
If geeks are not right all the time then the resulting disaster is huge (the latest disasters at “TD Canada Trust” and “Alta Vista” come to mind) while poor decisions by business managers can either result in “not as much profit as expected” or “real losses which need to run for multiple fiscal quarters before the word disaster is used”.
Neil Rieck
Bell ATS (Advanced Technical Services)
Bell Canada
Re: Gates casts a spell at Comdex opener (Nov. 12)
I just wanted to drop a quick line to say that I thoroughly enjoy your writing style on ITBusiness.ca.
I believe I’ve been reading your articles for a few months now, and your recent articles on Comdex have particularily resonated with me for some reason or another (maybe because I’ve done trade shows, maybe because I’ve done Vegas, but not both at the same time, don’t know).
Example, you’re article on Gates’ keynote was FAR better than some other generic Gates keynote I also found on ITBusiness.ca.
You have been blessed with the written word, blessed with the ability to paint the picture for us – keep up the excellent work. Now forward this to your manager so they hear this as well (but they probably already know you’re great) . . .
Steve E. Gingerich
Re: Oops! They’re doing it again (Nov. 2)
Liked your piece on Cell phone rings, etc. Re: Yahoo, the origin of this word can be found in one of Dr. Jonathon Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels stories.
In one of the countries Gulliver ends up in, horses are the intelligent beings. Kind, gentle and thoughtful, they treat Gulliver well. The “Yahoos” are a species of filthy, unkempt, surly, profane, human-like creatures. Altogether nasty and unlikable. You must have heard the phrase “don’t act like such a yahoo . . .”
I’ve often wondered why anyone would name their company after something like that. They may be taking it to mean the common spelling of the traditional cowboy expression of joy.
Kevin Reinelt
