Huntn
May 3, 10:26 AM
I can tell you that a lot of stuff manufactured in the US is still using the old units. We Canadians, supposedly metric, get to live with it. We don't make our own paint cans, so we buy a gallon of paint. But... we can't label it as a gallon so it's sold as a 3.79 litre can. Same thing for beer. We buy it in 331ml, or 347ml units (or something like that).
Best of all.... When Environment Canada calls for a -5� day I crank the thermostat up to 69 and think about roasting a 3kg chicken with 1/2lb of potatoes, in an oven set at 375. When I bought the chicken the supermarket had a sale on in the deli. Buy 1/2 lb of sliced roast beef, and get 100gs of potato salad free.
I'll drive 10 km to visit my friend who lives in a 1200sq/ft house. It's nice, they have a view since they are 300m(etres) up the bluff. They can see Five Mile Creek, which is at least 25km away. Except if it's storming. We can storms here with winds of at least 100kph and that will drop an inch or two of rain. On the mainland, the Fraser river, which is over 2200 km long, can rise 10, 12, even 15 feet in the spring melt. The flow is an astronomical number of cubic feet per minute, and it gotta be moving at a 15-20kph easy. Though sometimes they do quote that figure in cubic metres per minute (264 gallons).
I have both imperial and a metric socket wrench kits. I've assembled BBQs that had both. You can tell which parts came from the US, and which didn't. IKEA is always metric. Lawnmowers are typically Imperial. My camera gear is both. (Tripod sockets are 1/4 or 1/8 inch coarse threads. Lighting stands use metric allen keys, unless they are US made.)
So to my American Cousins. Just switch already and get it over with! Make life easier for every one else in the world, 'kay!?! Eh?
I don't even bother with calculating fuel economy any more. The official measurement is litres/100km, but I still think in MPG, but buy fuel in litres. But I know that our Smart car has an 8 gallon tank.
Lord, lol! :D
Best of all.... When Environment Canada calls for a -5� day I crank the thermostat up to 69 and think about roasting a 3kg chicken with 1/2lb of potatoes, in an oven set at 375. When I bought the chicken the supermarket had a sale on in the deli. Buy 1/2 lb of sliced roast beef, and get 100gs of potato salad free.
I'll drive 10 km to visit my friend who lives in a 1200sq/ft house. It's nice, they have a view since they are 300m(etres) up the bluff. They can see Five Mile Creek, which is at least 25km away. Except if it's storming. We can storms here with winds of at least 100kph and that will drop an inch or two of rain. On the mainland, the Fraser river, which is over 2200 km long, can rise 10, 12, even 15 feet in the spring melt. The flow is an astronomical number of cubic feet per minute, and it gotta be moving at a 15-20kph easy. Though sometimes they do quote that figure in cubic metres per minute (264 gallons).
I have both imperial and a metric socket wrench kits. I've assembled BBQs that had both. You can tell which parts came from the US, and which didn't. IKEA is always metric. Lawnmowers are typically Imperial. My camera gear is both. (Tripod sockets are 1/4 or 1/8 inch coarse threads. Lighting stands use metric allen keys, unless they are US made.)
So to my American Cousins. Just switch already and get it over with! Make life easier for every one else in the world, 'kay!?! Eh?
I don't even bother with calculating fuel economy any more. The official measurement is litres/100km, but I still think in MPG, but buy fuel in litres. But I know that our Smart car has an 8 gallon tank.
Lord, lol! :D
marksman
Apr 25, 11:10 AM
No, he said "the info circulating". "THE" info includes the info about the database.
The question specifically asked about Apple tracking this person. That is the question he was answering.
The question specifically asked about Apple tracking this person. That is the question he was answering.
Popeye206
Apr 5, 03:34 PM
Allowing this, Apple would have set a presidence, so yes, I understand why Apple asked for this to be stopped... Tomorrow company 'x' would be releasing their JB app. Adobe will be releasing Flash on to Cydia LOL.
Since we are talking in the context of smartphones, we should compare smartphone developer licenses, and not others. Apple vs Apple not Apple vs Lemon.
You can nit-pick it all you want. $99 is nothing for a quality program like what Apple offers to developers. Plus, you can still get the SDK for free. You can still develop for free. It's just if you want "in" on the AppStore and other resources, you pay. So... again... what's the beef?
Since we are talking in the context of smartphones, we should compare smartphone developer licenses, and not others. Apple vs Apple not Apple vs Lemon.
You can nit-pick it all you want. $99 is nothing for a quality program like what Apple offers to developers. Plus, you can still get the SDK for free. You can still develop for free. It's just if you want "in" on the AppStore and other resources, you pay. So... again... what's the beef?
LagunaSol
Apr 25, 09:04 AM
Maybe you could shed some light on this for me before I switch to a Droid. They don't track me.
LOL at Android users naive enough to think their "free" OS, funded by targeted advertising, isn't collecting user data.
LOL at Android users naive enough to think their "free" OS, funded by targeted advertising, isn't collecting user data.
suwandy
Sep 15, 06:13 PM
So, how is MacShrine perceived in the rumor community? Do they have a sufficiently good track record for us to say, "this is it - the Merom MBP is finally coming", or is this likely to be just another rehash of all the Core2Duo MBP hype/frustration going around?
Reliable or not, I guess this is a good news for many of us waiting for the C2D MBP. If it proved reliable, I think MacRumors should pay more attention to check their updates in the future. ;)
I was about to think of that as "another crappy site?" but then I thought, hey, everyone have their own sources that you could never imagine, like one of the posts right before Sept 12th event claiming to know the entire agenda, and he's pretty accurate, no?
Reliable or not, I guess this is a good news for many of us waiting for the C2D MBP. If it proved reliable, I think MacRumors should pay more attention to check their updates in the future. ;)
I was about to think of that as "another crappy site?" but then I thought, hey, everyone have their own sources that you could never imagine, like one of the posts right before Sept 12th event claiming to know the entire agenda, and he's pretty accurate, no?
justinLONG
Mar 29, 10:56 PM
I would not want to work in an american plant that manufactured apple products. could you imagine that?. there would probably be an apple union i'd have to join. :eek:
siderealxxx
May 6, 05:11 AM
Any chance of a PPC to ARM bridge for OS9?!
:D
:D
sam10685
Jul 30, 01:31 AM
I think it's real. No signs of photoshopping and the pic was taken in an elevator :D
massive sign's of photoshopping. the light on the phone doesn't match.
massive sign's of photoshopping. the light on the phone doesn't match.
slu
May 7, 03:37 PM
There will be a free version of mobileme, if only to save people having to register for a free AIM account to video conference on the new iPhoneHD.
You know, this makes a ton of sense.
You know, this makes a ton of sense.
HecubusPro
Sep 15, 11:23 PM
I think you should go get your prostate checked.
Next time I go in for a physical, I'll make sure to get it checked out, after the MBP w/C2D becomes available. I am beginning to get up there in years. :)
Next time I go in for a physical, I'll make sure to get it checked out, after the MBP w/C2D becomes available. I am beginning to get up there in years. :)
bigbossbmb
Jul 22, 06:46 PM
i'm still baffled why nobody's answered my question. anyone with a g5 powermac upgrade to an off the shelf video card yet?
i wonder about video card compatibility because i don't see a single driver on nvidia or ati for mac. and the specifications for the 1900 xfx and nvidia 7950 both don't even list mac compatibility. this is really making me think twice about buying from apple.
anyone please help??
It is definitely more difficult to find video cards for g5 powermacs. If ATI or Apple carry the card you want, then you're just find and it's very easy. I bought an X800 and swapped out my 9600xt for Aperture. Works great and was very easy to install.
Hopefully with the intel machines it will be easier to find cards, but it will depend on Apple. It is really up to them.
I've got a 9600XT for sale if anyone wants one :D
i wonder about video card compatibility because i don't see a single driver on nvidia or ati for mac. and the specifications for the 1900 xfx and nvidia 7950 both don't even list mac compatibility. this is really making me think twice about buying from apple.
anyone please help??
It is definitely more difficult to find video cards for g5 powermacs. If ATI or Apple carry the card you want, then you're just find and it's very easy. I bought an X800 and swapped out my 9600xt for Aperture. Works great and was very easy to install.
Hopefully with the intel machines it will be easier to find cards, but it will depend on Apple. It is really up to them.
I've got a 9600XT for sale if anyone wants one :D
err404
Apr 5, 04:06 PM
The problem is that people want to think of an iPhone as a PC. They apply PC analogies and logic. However the reality is that the cell industry has more in common with appliances or consoles. It's traditionally a heavily curated environment.
Apple: Start with a "restricted" system and open it up to allow for PC like advantages. (The App Store is an example of this)
Google: Start with an "open" system and lock it down to meet carrier needs and leverage the advantages of curation. (The Google Market place is an example of this)
Apple: Start with a "restricted" system and open it up to allow for PC like advantages. (The App Store is an example of this)
Google: Start with an "open" system and lock it down to meet carrier needs and leverage the advantages of curation. (The Google Market place is an example of this)
gnasher729
May 6, 01:37 AM
There's no way that Apple is gonna switch to ARM for their Mac lines when it already took them a decade to make the transition from IBM to Intel processors.
You know how long it takes me to create an ARM version of my code on the Mac App Store?
Two minutes.
Now, OSX Lion is coming, and it appears to contain the beginnings of a convergence and consolidation between iOS and OSX. If we try to imagine where those OS's will be, say, 3 years out (and the hardware as well), by THAT time, it may be as simple as flipping a switch and hey-presto, you're on an ARM device without missing a beat...
What makes you think that ARM implies iOS? Apple had a version of MacOS X running on x86 processors four years before Intel processors were released. I'd bet that Apple has a version of Snow Leopard and Lion running on PowerPC (which they don't sell, just to make sure all code stays portable) and a version running on ARM (which is actually a lot easier than PowerPC).
This is the biggest load of ************ I have ever seen on this site. Why would Apple redesign everything in their notebooks to make this switch? What is gained by switching?
Cost - ARM chips are really cheap. Battery life - they don't take any power at all. Want an MBA with 20 hours battery life?
You know how long it takes me to create an ARM version of my code on the Mac App Store?
Two minutes.
Now, OSX Lion is coming, and it appears to contain the beginnings of a convergence and consolidation between iOS and OSX. If we try to imagine where those OS's will be, say, 3 years out (and the hardware as well), by THAT time, it may be as simple as flipping a switch and hey-presto, you're on an ARM device without missing a beat...
What makes you think that ARM implies iOS? Apple had a version of MacOS X running on x86 processors four years before Intel processors were released. I'd bet that Apple has a version of Snow Leopard and Lion running on PowerPC (which they don't sell, just to make sure all code stays portable) and a version running on ARM (which is actually a lot easier than PowerPC).
This is the biggest load of ************ I have ever seen on this site. Why would Apple redesign everything in their notebooks to make this switch? What is gained by switching?
Cost - ARM chips are really cheap. Battery life - they don't take any power at all. Want an MBA with 20 hours battery life?
hotrock3
Mar 30, 01:49 AM
Well, the percentage of suicides is a lot smaller in Foxconn employees than in the US population.
wired had an article about this a couple months back. The suicide rate at the Foxconn plant is lower than the suicide rate in the rest of the Chinese population (possibly lower even than in the US, I can't remember the article exactly).
by mass rates you mean lower than the national average? :rolleyes:
I'm glad that there are people out there who did the research to find out if it was really that bad compared to other places like I did.
I hope you know that cell phones emit radiation.
Although you are factually correct since a cell phone does emit non-ionizing radiation in the form of electromagnetic radiation, I think the original poster was implying that they had a distaste for ionizing radiation which is hazardous and does cause cancer in large enough doses.
wired had an article about this a couple months back. The suicide rate at the Foxconn plant is lower than the suicide rate in the rest of the Chinese population (possibly lower even than in the US, I can't remember the article exactly).
by mass rates you mean lower than the national average? :rolleyes:
I'm glad that there are people out there who did the research to find out if it was really that bad compared to other places like I did.
I hope you know that cell phones emit radiation.
Although you are factually correct since a cell phone does emit non-ionizing radiation in the form of electromagnetic radiation, I think the original poster was implying that they had a distaste for ionizing radiation which is hazardous and does cause cancer in large enough doses.
Raidersmojo
Jul 30, 07:07 AM
Iphone? I just can't see it... It will kill their ipod sales - it will be like shooting themselves in the foot. The reason is that all phones are now free with a contract - we have difficulty in having any value in our phones nowadays.. if you had a free iphone with a contract which had ipod facilities then why would you buy an ipod? It just doesnt make sense.. unless they ONLY sell it sim free. If they do bring one out then i'll certainly buy one, but I am not sure that it is such a good idea... I'd rather they produced a phone/pda hybrid like the xda - I think that this would fit better into their existing product portfolio..
or most people (like me) want to carry around one device that will do everything, I could listen to music but when I need to I'd grab it and make a call. in the future everything is going to come in one product, apple is seeing the future now and jumping in it feet first
just imagine microsoft "here is the zune! it has wifi! hey hey haaaaaaay" enter steve jobs "heres the award winning ipod...oh by the way ring ring ring it's a phone, PDA, carries files, and has bluetooth"
microsoft "well....at least we have vista!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
jobs: "when?"
microsoft "isn't the zune great!"
and how would it kill ipod sales? more than likely it would take the place of something such as the shuffle.
and they are taking away from ipod sales...yeah from themselves thats like saying the macbooks are taking sales away from the macbook pros...does it really matter? all looks the same at the quarterly report $$$$$$
if I had the iphone my way it'd have these features
able to sync to my mac with ical ect
a easy to use interface
ichat
video ichat...this could be a cool idea, the camera isn't to big on the laptops and what not, they could squeeze that into the enclosure and have mobile video chat...it'd be cool....it'd be a wholel new way to have phone sex at least :eek: :D ;)
firm feel
sexy look
and a good keypad I HATE the keypad on the razr and such
I wish they'd release a phone like the iTalk commercial, I don't like the dual flip though, have that as a normal flip phone and you are right on the money about a BA product (badass)
or most people (like me) want to carry around one device that will do everything, I could listen to music but when I need to I'd grab it and make a call. in the future everything is going to come in one product, apple is seeing the future now and jumping in it feet first
just imagine microsoft "here is the zune! it has wifi! hey hey haaaaaaay" enter steve jobs "heres the award winning ipod...oh by the way ring ring ring it's a phone, PDA, carries files, and has bluetooth"
microsoft "well....at least we have vista!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
jobs: "when?"
microsoft "isn't the zune great!"
and how would it kill ipod sales? more than likely it would take the place of something such as the shuffle.
and they are taking away from ipod sales...yeah from themselves thats like saying the macbooks are taking sales away from the macbook pros...does it really matter? all looks the same at the quarterly report $$$$$$
if I had the iphone my way it'd have these features
able to sync to my mac with ical ect
a easy to use interface
ichat
video ichat...this could be a cool idea, the camera isn't to big on the laptops and what not, they could squeeze that into the enclosure and have mobile video chat...it'd be cool....it'd be a wholel new way to have phone sex at least :eek: :D ;)
firm feel
sexy look
and a good keypad I HATE the keypad on the razr and such
I wish they'd release a phone like the iTalk commercial, I don't like the dual flip though, have that as a normal flip phone and you are right on the money about a BA product (badass)
Michaelgtrusa
Apr 5, 01:05 PM
Not surprised! Toyota should not take it!
IntelliUser
Nov 4, 11:49 AM
Sophos is terrible on Windows
Says who?
Says who?
.jpg "april calendar 2011 printable.")
Purdin
May 7, 12:03 PM
I personally love MobileMe and use it to sync between my iPhone, iPad, iMac, and MacBook. Now if they would only get it to sync with a PC running Exchange, it would save me also having to pay for and use Plaxo's Premium service to keep my Windows PC updated.
Has anyone figured out a work-around for the Exchange issue? I still haven't found a reason why they don't allow calendar and contact sync'ing when using Outlook with Exchange.
Has anyone figured out a work-around for the Exchange issue? I still haven't found a reason why they don't allow calendar and contact sync'ing when using Outlook with Exchange.
bloodycape
Apr 18, 03:41 PM
Yes, the interface do looks similar, but one thing most people are forgetting here is that it's not the home screens that look alike it is the Touchwiz app drawer that looks similar to the home screen, not the Touchwiz home screen.
spiralstairs
Mar 30, 09:15 PM
Don't get me wrong.. I'm excited for Lion. But I don't want a ton of iOS in my Mac OS.
I don't care what you want. Apple decides that.
I don't care what you want. Apple decides that.
Sodner
Apr 7, 09:30 AM
Ha ha! Way to go Apple!!!! Kill the competition any way you can!!
Apple is doing everyone a favor saving them from the mistake of getting a RIM tablet.
Apple is doing everyone a favor saving them from the mistake of getting a RIM tablet.
rdlink
Apr 20, 06:02 AM
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_2 like Mac OS X; en-gb) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8H7 Safari/6533.18.5)
I think Apple needs to concentrate more on improving iOS rather than adding a faster processor. Tbh I'm pretty fed up of my iPhone 4 as the is just looks boringly simple. Not everybody wants the same old os on every device. I think it's the omnia 7 next for me so I can have a change.
I agree. iOS is #1 reason why I haven't bought iPad yet - Android 3.0 looks so good on tablets that I haven't decided yet wheter to buy iPad or Android tablet. I'm not that interested in new iPhone models either, because iOS has basically looked the same since the first iPhone, and it's beginning to look very old and dated. I know it's simple to use, and for many people that's the biggest reason to choose iOS, but personally I like to try new things.
Agreed. I moved from my good ol' 3Gs to a ZTE-Blade a few months ago and have to say that despite the general black/grey colors that android apps seem to be forced to use with the UI, the 'desktop' of the phone is much more elegant and usable than the iPhone's. I'd really like to see Apple open up the API's a little more and maybe even allow us to completely swap out their homescreen for custom app based ones. It works well on the droids.
We all have our opinions, likes and dislikes. Personally, the things that you three cite are reasons why I have tried four different Android devices, and returned/sold every one of them. I, for one hope that Apple continues to march to the beat of their own drummer, and continues to go after the simpler aesthetic. Every Android device I have owned has seemed like a cheap, kludgy "Window-ized" version of the iPhone. More married to specs than to user experience. Don't get me wrong. I can geek it up with the best of 'em. But my first Mac several years ago was nothing short of a watershed moment in my computing life. It made me realize how tired I was getting of having to spend hours and hours customizing my interface just to make it usable, and tweaking my hardware to keep it running optimally (or some semblance thereof).
When I see links such as the one earlier in this forum, showing the hacks one must put in place just to make the battery on a Thunderbolt last more than half a day I shudder to think of all of the years I spent with (virtual) grease under my fingernails, and how nice it is now to just have devices that help me get through the day without having to constantly tinker under the hood.
Not to mention that the "openness" of Android allowing hardware manufacturers and carriers to conspire against subscribers has let the proverbial fox back in the henhouse.
Sure, I'd like to see IOS continue to evolve and wow us with a few revolutionary changes. But, IMO following the Android model is not the way to go. To each his own, I suppose.
I think Apple needs to concentrate more on improving iOS rather than adding a faster processor. Tbh I'm pretty fed up of my iPhone 4 as the is just looks boringly simple. Not everybody wants the same old os on every device. I think it's the omnia 7 next for me so I can have a change.
I agree. iOS is #1 reason why I haven't bought iPad yet - Android 3.0 looks so good on tablets that I haven't decided yet wheter to buy iPad or Android tablet. I'm not that interested in new iPhone models either, because iOS has basically looked the same since the first iPhone, and it's beginning to look very old and dated. I know it's simple to use, and for many people that's the biggest reason to choose iOS, but personally I like to try new things.
Agreed. I moved from my good ol' 3Gs to a ZTE-Blade a few months ago and have to say that despite the general black/grey colors that android apps seem to be forced to use with the UI, the 'desktop' of the phone is much more elegant and usable than the iPhone's. I'd really like to see Apple open up the API's a little more and maybe even allow us to completely swap out their homescreen for custom app based ones. It works well on the droids.
We all have our opinions, likes and dislikes. Personally, the things that you three cite are reasons why I have tried four different Android devices, and returned/sold every one of them. I, for one hope that Apple continues to march to the beat of their own drummer, and continues to go after the simpler aesthetic. Every Android device I have owned has seemed like a cheap, kludgy "Window-ized" version of the iPhone. More married to specs than to user experience. Don't get me wrong. I can geek it up with the best of 'em. But my first Mac several years ago was nothing short of a watershed moment in my computing life. It made me realize how tired I was getting of having to spend hours and hours customizing my interface just to make it usable, and tweaking my hardware to keep it running optimally (or some semblance thereof).
When I see links such as the one earlier in this forum, showing the hacks one must put in place just to make the battery on a Thunderbolt last more than half a day I shudder to think of all of the years I spent with (virtual) grease under my fingernails, and how nice it is now to just have devices that help me get through the day without having to constantly tinker under the hood.
Not to mention that the "openness" of Android allowing hardware manufacturers and carriers to conspire against subscribers has let the proverbial fox back in the henhouse.
Sure, I'd like to see IOS continue to evolve and wow us with a few revolutionary changes. But, IMO following the Android model is not the way to go. To each his own, I suppose.
Stella
Apr 5, 03:20 PM
Again... I don't think Apple should have let this fly. It was a bad call by Toyota to encourage such a thing as JB'g to the general public. Not cool, and it's not for everyone.
As for the developers license, I didn't say smart phone companies... I said developer programs. Adobe has one. Oracle, MS, many do and they are way more expensive than $99.
Allowing this, Apple would have set a presidence, so yes, I understand why Apple asked for this to be stopped... Tomorrow company 'x' would be releasing their JB app. Adobe will be releasing Flash on to Cydia LOL.
Since we are talking in the context of smartphones, we should compare smartphone developer licenses, and not others. Apple vs Apple not Apple vs Lemon.
As for the developers license, I didn't say smart phone companies... I said developer programs. Adobe has one. Oracle, MS, many do and they are way more expensive than $99.
Allowing this, Apple would have set a presidence, so yes, I understand why Apple asked for this to be stopped... Tomorrow company 'x' would be releasing their JB app. Adobe will be releasing Flash on to Cydia LOL.
Since we are talking in the context of smartphones, we should compare smartphone developer licenses, and not others. Apple vs Apple not Apple vs Lemon.
CalBoy
May 5, 02:27 PM
Sorry it took so long to respond to this; I assure you it took only a second to Google (this is just the first result I found):
http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/pays-off.html
All of that is about the private sector switching to save money on their bottom line, something which I already mentioned should happen (and will without intervention).
The question is if the government mandated the metric system for EVERYTHING, from speed limits on the roads to the measurements on a box of Betty Crocker brownies. Many of these things won't actually lead to any increased economic efficiency because certain products can only be produced locally (say weather reports) and consumed locally. The cost of these industries switching would be quite expensive with no real economic gain because the products and services can't be exported or imported.
Is that wink a small admission of how silly your system really is? :) Sure, the math was simple, but how meaningful are all these crazy fractions? If I actually had to try and picture what these fractions represent, I'd want to convert the denominator into a multiple of 10 first in order to try and picture it. I might note that twice 48 is roughly 100, so I know we're dealing with a bit over 26%. Other fractions could prove more difficult. With the metric system, you never have to do this. You're always dealing with base-10, which is something we all understand and can picture, without having to memorise particular fractions and what they represent.
No the wink was just to say that 1) I would use a calculator, and 2) even if I couldn't, multiplying fractions is not hard at all.
Well, we could certainly argue that international communication would be a LOT simpler if there was only one language � and it would be! However, the reality is, we have a world with not only a diversity of language, but a diversity of culture, and the two are intricately linked. That makes the world a very interesting place, and being able to speak multiple languages would be a wonderful skill to have when travelling and engaging in other cultures. People are generally proud of their heritage, culture and language, and there aren't too many people suggesting the world should lose all of that richness in the interest of conformity. (Well, there are such people, but I think we can agree they're generally pretty scary.)
This is off topic, but language is but one part of culture. Customs, celebrations, and even measures, are all marks of a culture. In the process of colonization and free trade, we've actively destroyed many languages, customs, celebrations, and measures. I think we typically don't consider the loss of a measurement system to be too catastrophic because of the many conveniences that can be had from uniformity. But the same is true for language as well. I think the real reason we tend to gloss over measures is because they are typically easier to learn than a new language. Anthropologically speaking, however, they are very valuable in exploring a culture.
What is different about the US that it can't do likewise? I honestly find it perplexing. Be honest now� Is it because the French invented it?
Ultimately I think it comes down to the fact that the US is one of the few countries that had a great deal of popular sovereignty determine the outcome of whether or not we should switch to the metric system. Most other countries enacted policy through a quiet parliamentary action that was later carried out by agencies or at a time when most people weren't active in politics. Still others had theirs done at the point of a gun.
In the US there are a lot of veto points in the legislative process, making any significant change hard to do. Americans also tend not to have a great deal of respect for the sciences (scientific literacy is appallingly low) so it makes it a tougher pitch to the everyday person. Then there's also the issue that to most it's a solution for a problem that doesn't exist; why should they care about a measurement system when the one they are using right now is working for them?
You're not stepping out onto the moon this time. Just about every other country on the planet (and there are quite a few of them!) have gone before you, and it worked out just fine. Sure, it takes some time, but not as long as you might like to imagine. Let me come back to my own experience� I was born in the 70s, around the time Australia was just starting to transition to the metric system. The older folk may well have had a difficult time with it, but if so I was blissfully unaware of it. I came to learn what an inch was, since most rulers had inches on one side and mm/cm on the other, and people still, to this day, casually talk about their height in feet and the weight of newborn babies in pounds. (Yes, some old habits die hard.) But these sort of things are the exceptions. The transition to metric was so efficient, I, as a first generation growing up with it, didn't even notice there was a transition happening.
Seriously, you should be looking to Australia and other countries with successful transitions and learning from them, instead of just perpetuating all these fanciful stories of how terrible it's going to be to change.
The issue goes beyond just the prescribed time period to shift, however. As I mentioned above, there are a lot of infrastructure concerns. Not to mention that Australia in the 1970s was 13 million people, or about 24 times smaller than the current US population. The only other countries that were on this scale were India and China when they transitioned, and both had much less infrastructure and an already illiterate population that could be trained from the ground up.
Any realistic transition for the US would take decades.
http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/pays-off.html
All of that is about the private sector switching to save money on their bottom line, something which I already mentioned should happen (and will without intervention).
The question is if the government mandated the metric system for EVERYTHING, from speed limits on the roads to the measurements on a box of Betty Crocker brownies. Many of these things won't actually lead to any increased economic efficiency because certain products can only be produced locally (say weather reports) and consumed locally. The cost of these industries switching would be quite expensive with no real economic gain because the products and services can't be exported or imported.
Is that wink a small admission of how silly your system really is? :) Sure, the math was simple, but how meaningful are all these crazy fractions? If I actually had to try and picture what these fractions represent, I'd want to convert the denominator into a multiple of 10 first in order to try and picture it. I might note that twice 48 is roughly 100, so I know we're dealing with a bit over 26%. Other fractions could prove more difficult. With the metric system, you never have to do this. You're always dealing with base-10, which is something we all understand and can picture, without having to memorise particular fractions and what they represent.
No the wink was just to say that 1) I would use a calculator, and 2) even if I couldn't, multiplying fractions is not hard at all.
Well, we could certainly argue that international communication would be a LOT simpler if there was only one language � and it would be! However, the reality is, we have a world with not only a diversity of language, but a diversity of culture, and the two are intricately linked. That makes the world a very interesting place, and being able to speak multiple languages would be a wonderful skill to have when travelling and engaging in other cultures. People are generally proud of their heritage, culture and language, and there aren't too many people suggesting the world should lose all of that richness in the interest of conformity. (Well, there are such people, but I think we can agree they're generally pretty scary.)
This is off topic, but language is but one part of culture. Customs, celebrations, and even measures, are all marks of a culture. In the process of colonization and free trade, we've actively destroyed many languages, customs, celebrations, and measures. I think we typically don't consider the loss of a measurement system to be too catastrophic because of the many conveniences that can be had from uniformity. But the same is true for language as well. I think the real reason we tend to gloss over measures is because they are typically easier to learn than a new language. Anthropologically speaking, however, they are very valuable in exploring a culture.
What is different about the US that it can't do likewise? I honestly find it perplexing. Be honest now� Is it because the French invented it?
Ultimately I think it comes down to the fact that the US is one of the few countries that had a great deal of popular sovereignty determine the outcome of whether or not we should switch to the metric system. Most other countries enacted policy through a quiet parliamentary action that was later carried out by agencies or at a time when most people weren't active in politics. Still others had theirs done at the point of a gun.
In the US there are a lot of veto points in the legislative process, making any significant change hard to do. Americans also tend not to have a great deal of respect for the sciences (scientific literacy is appallingly low) so it makes it a tougher pitch to the everyday person. Then there's also the issue that to most it's a solution for a problem that doesn't exist; why should they care about a measurement system when the one they are using right now is working for them?
You're not stepping out onto the moon this time. Just about every other country on the planet (and there are quite a few of them!) have gone before you, and it worked out just fine. Sure, it takes some time, but not as long as you might like to imagine. Let me come back to my own experience� I was born in the 70s, around the time Australia was just starting to transition to the metric system. The older folk may well have had a difficult time with it, but if so I was blissfully unaware of it. I came to learn what an inch was, since most rulers had inches on one side and mm/cm on the other, and people still, to this day, casually talk about their height in feet and the weight of newborn babies in pounds. (Yes, some old habits die hard.) But these sort of things are the exceptions. The transition to metric was so efficient, I, as a first generation growing up with it, didn't even notice there was a transition happening.
Seriously, you should be looking to Australia and other countries with successful transitions and learning from them, instead of just perpetuating all these fanciful stories of how terrible it's going to be to change.
The issue goes beyond just the prescribed time period to shift, however. As I mentioned above, there are a lot of infrastructure concerns. Not to mention that Australia in the 1970s was 13 million people, or about 24 times smaller than the current US population. The only other countries that were on this scale were India and China when they transitioned, and both had much less infrastructure and an already illiterate population that could be trained from the ground up.
Any realistic transition for the US would take decades.
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