December 2006 Archives
It would be interesting if the price of food was based on caloric content. That 1000 calories in a Big Mac might cost $10 and a head of cauliflower would cost $1; the casual Snicker’s bar would become cost prohibitive and maybe kids would treasure veggies and fruit more than sweets. Or, what if everyone’s labor was valued on an even keel—that no matter what kind of work you did, if you did it in earnest and performed consistently you were guaranteed a certain standard of living. There would be no working poor and even the shop girl would have a good standard of living. Or how about education without judgement—is it possible to thoroughly educate everyone without having the quality of that education depend on personal wealth and monetary exchange?
Oh, beat me about the head and neck with a big stick so I can have digital tunes. I would have more respect for Bill Gates and Microsoft if just once they would come up with an original idea instead of adopting everything Apple. Their latest “Make That Mine” idea is the ZUNE, a semiconscious parody of the iPod. Remember the PlaysForSure? That was Microsoft’s first attempt to knock the wind out of the iPod, taking only a few crumbs from Apple’s marketshare before it totally bombed due to a completely tedious interface between player, music retailers and software. Do your own thing, Bill--it’s obvious you can’t do what Steve Jobs does (which is innovate) so be a good boy and stick with boring apps for big blue, yeah?
