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Bill Joy For New National CTO Post?
Posted by
CmdrTaco
on Thu Nov 06, 2008 09:22 AM
from the yeah-that'll-happen dept.
from the yeah-that'll-happen dept.
jddeluxe writes "In an article in today's NY Times, John Doerr of Kleiner-Perkins proffered up Bill Joy's name when queried by Barack Obama for a recommendation for the position of Chief Technology Officer of the Unites States which Obama has promised to create and that the country is overdue to have.
I think that's a brilliant idea, and while you're at it, have the FCC report to him as well, why don't you?" If Bill is unavailable, I'll throw my hat in the ring, although I'm holding out for Secretary of Tubes.
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US CTO Choice Down To a Two-Horse Race 237 comments
theodp writes "Barack Obama apparently didn't return CmdrTaco's call. BusinessWeek reports that the choices for the first US CTO have narrowed, and it's now a two-horse race between Padmasree Warrior, Cisco's CTO, and Vivek Kundra, who holds the same title for the Government of the District of Columbia. Two very different resumes — which would you advise Obama to pick?" I just know I was #3 on the list.
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vi (Score:5, Funny)
We will fight! (Score:5, Funny)
Under Bill, vi will be the national standard. Yeah!!!
There will be a revolt! We, the Emacs revolutionary council, will take up arms and fight to the death!
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Re:We will fight! (Score:5, Funny)
isn't there a key board shortcut for that?
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Re:We will fight! (Score:5, Funny)
i think its:
ctrl-meta-shift-r alt-ctrl-p ctrl-' alt-meta-1 shift-2
then recomplie without perl extensions.
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Re:vi (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:vi (Score:5, Funny)
Under Bill, vi will be the national standard. Yeah!!!
If you ask me Bram Moolenaar would be an IMprovement over Bill.
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Or... (Score:5, Funny)
Secretary of the Internet. [xkcd.org]
Isn't he the pessimist? (Score:5, Interesting)
I seem to recall Bill Joy having some decidedly pessimistic and even luddite attitudes towards future tech, but it's been so long since he's been in the news that I don't remember now what. Paranoid about nanotech, I think, for starters.
About time (Score:5, Insightful)
No need (Score:5, Insightful)
We don't need a national CTO. We can make our own technology decisions without the government telling us what to do.
Re:No need (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:No need (Score:5, Informative)
That's a flat out lie, mod parent down.
The community reinvestment act was passed during the Carter Administration, and has nothing to with the FACT that lenders made unqualified loans KNOWING IN ADVANCE that those loans would be bundled and sold so that the originator was no longer directly on the hook for the potential (probable) loss.
Deregulation allowed these criminals to get away with this.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/01/conservatives-seek-to-shi_n_131020.html [huffingtonpost.com]
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Re:No need (Score:5, Insightful)
You dolt.
The government has millions of computers, and you don't want someone to set policy? Look at what the mindless, out of control, dead in a ditch projects have cost us.
They're not setting policy FOR YOU, nitwit-- for the government. DO what you want. Let someone put reason into executive branch decision making in government IT!!
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Re:I'd rather see someone involved in Free Softwar (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:I'd rather see someone involved in Free Softwar (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't think RMS would even take it. Being in government requires adherence to a set of principles that many people end up finding reduces their ability to be principled. As an example, RMS would be required to back, in public, copyright law policies that he in private would vehemently disagree with. I just don't see RMS doing that, he's too much of a man of principle.
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Re:I'd rather see someone involved in Free Softwar (Score:5, Insightful)
I just don't see RMS doing that, he's too much of a man of principle.
It goes beyond that. Certain people define themselves as opposition, as being not-the-man, and as such are uncomfortable in any position of authority, even if their principles were in no way being challenged.
These people serve a valuable role in society, but it is not within the corridors of power.
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Re:I'd rather see someone involved in Free Softwar (Score:5, Funny)
He prefers to commune with the wild beastes. I'm pretty sure RMS is sasquatch.
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Re:I'd rather see someone involved in Free Softwar (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:I'd rather see someone involved in Free Softwar (Score:5, Interesting)
Bill Joy is also the guy who keeps warning of the end of the world if we don't stop developing various technologies. He wrote a number of articles and did a bunch of interviews about the world turning to gray goo if we don't kill nanotech research, how computers and weapons will kill us all, etc.
He started work on a self-sufficient, solar powered sailboat, presumably his form of a bomb shelter for the coming techpocolypse.
Basically, he has turned in to a crazy old coot.
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Re:I'd rather see someone involved in Free Softwar (Score:5, Insightful)
This thread points out the problem of anointing one person as CTO. Hate to say it but this is one of those things that might do better with a board, not a leader. That is to say that while there may be a judge, it's the jury that counts. Using one man is not enough, even the SCOTUS has nine. When it's important enough to do something, it's important enough to do it right. RMS should probably be on the jury, along with other notable technology evangelists.
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Re:I'd rather see someone involved in Free Softwar (Score:5, Funny)
Hear Hear...
A board of 7. must have a mix of OSS and Closed source experts, as well as hardware experts.
Experts... not some guy that was CTO for some corperation, I want people that are either leaders in IT technology, or people that made a difference.. Being able to Code or design is a requirement for the position. too many time I have seen CTO's that were promoted from the Sales department.
Oh wait ,that will never happen... because it would be fair and balanced.
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Re:I'd rather see someone involved in Free Softwar (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't know how to break this to you but the position of National CTO isn't quite as important as the role of SCOTUS. Upholding the laws and constitutional freedoms of the citizenry is much more important than what IM client government employees wil be allowed to use.
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Re:I'd rather see someone involved in Free Softwar (Score:5, Funny)
I nominate Ray Kurzweil.
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Re:Bill Joy's terrorist connection (Score:5, Interesting)
You mean this? [wired.com]
"I am no apologist for Kaczynski. His bombs killed three people during a 17-year terror campaign and wounded many others. One of his bombs gravely injured my friend David Gelernter, one of the most brilliant and visionary computer scientists of our time. Like many of my colleagues, I felt that I could easily have been the Unabomber's next target. Kaczynski's actions were murderous and, in my view, criminally insane. He is clearly a Luddite, but simply saying this does not dismiss his argument; as difficult as it is for me to acknowledge, I saw some merit in the reasoning in this single passage. I felt compelled to confront it."
Bill Joy doesn't sound that out of line. If you're going to confront terrorists, you need to understand their doctrine and motivation so that you can discredit the entire philosophy, rather than just turn them into martyrs.
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Re:While we're at it (Score:5, Funny)
My president (and Fox News) has taught me that it's more important that Americans "feel" secure than actually be secure. He just doesn't get that. You gotta listen to your gut on these things. He's too much of a thinker. Probably socialist, too.
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