Slashdot Mirror

It's easy to make a lot of money if you don't pay the proper taxes.

Sounds like a great reason to lower taxes then. I'd rather make a lot of money for a lot of people, than pay "proper" taxes.

Well yes, you are right. And tax rates would go lower if it wasn't possible to offshore money to evade the taxes. Well ,at least for most of us. Obviously the 0% rate some outfits are seeing now would go up.

But whatchya think? Some of these good folk like to make certain they don't pay taxes:

http://www.world-psi.org/en/go...

While at the same time:

http://consumerist.com/2013/10...

http://money.cnn.com/2013/10/2...

Giving them helpful hints about suckling at the government's teat.

It's a completely unsustainable ecosystem we are setting up, as the combined efforts of salary reduction for most of us are combined with tax avoidance plus directing folks to line up at the government trough so we can pay them as little as possible.

Basic math, no ologys or isms required.

Under the system, which was recommended by a task force of drone manufacturers, state regulators, airline pilots, and police in November, individuals who currently own and fly a drone have until Feb. 19 to register with the FAA.

Gee, I guess you complainers should go picket your drone manufacturers' headquarters, then, and protest at airports against pilots, too. Or maybe you can get over it. Also stop flying your toys in places they don't belong. I'm firmly convinced that every last one of you who are complaining about this are the ones responsible, and the louder you whine about it, the worse an offender you are.

You do realize that this story starts talking about Comcast, the same company that tried to charge Netflix for data that their customers were requesting? They also kicked out Netflix's caching servers from their datacenters before this. Comcast brought their problems on themselves by refusing to upgrade connections to accommodate the needs, and intentionally pushing more traffic onto the uplinks. I can't imagine how anyone would have sympathy for a company that intentionally causes over saturation of their uplinks when they have been offered free upgrades!

http://www.infoworld.com/artic...
https://gigaom.com/2014/10/28/...

http://consumerist.com/2014/02...
https://freedom-to-tinker.com/...
http://knowmore.washingtonpost...

Because the threat of the government coming in and demanding everyone install a government approved backdoor on their encrypted data is real.

Has happened, and been demanded, by democracies before...

Because the threat of the government coming in and demanding everyone install a government approved backdoor on their encrypted data is real.

That threat is the difference between "You're alive!" and "You're alive, for now!"

Epson printers come with an "ink pad", which is a sort of sponge that sops up excess ink from clearing the print heads and such.

When the ink pads are filled with ink, the printer firmware simply refuses to print - there's nothing you can do, no way to fix it or reset it. Your only recourse is to get another printer.

The printer doesn't *sense* the amount of ink in the pads, it simply calculates the amount of ink it *thinks* is in the pad, and the firmware will lock you out if it thinks it's too much.

And this can happen in the middle of a print job: the system gives you no warning or notice. Half the pages you need for your presentation tomorrow are sitting in the output tray, and the printer is junk. There is no recourse.

I've personally disassembled over a dozen Epson printers, the ink pads are never even 10% full when this happens. It's a complete scam.

Epson printers are free on Craigslist.

That's when you run a second line and bond them.

Comcast voted the 2014 "Worst Company In America"

When there is a lot of abuse, people make distracting comments, rather than trying to stop the abuse.

You want to scan a page? Replace the yellow cartridge first.

lol wut?

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction: http://consumerist.com/2013/01...

Oops...yeah...I have no idea why I lumped AT&T in there. If you're already a FiOS customer you get to keep your FiOS. They aren't running any new fiber (since 2010!!). It's done.

AT&T is really just the T-1000 of the telecom industry (wish I could link to Stephen Colbert's 2007 video but here is the general idea - http://consumerist.com/2011/03...)

You have to ask yourself how I got the facts that wrong and still got modded so high.

And it's rated 5 insightful?!

1> It's not FREE MARKET failure at all. It's the free market in action.
2> Uber has the insurance coverage to back the drivers and itself in case of damages. They're not operating illegally at all - They're complying with all regulations, both business and for drivers in the areas they cover.
3> Airlines have to meet minimum safety checks and maintenance fees as part of the cost of operating in the US and are checked by the FAA. Perhaps you heard about how Southwest got caught and fined for not keeping their maintenance up to date? http://consumerist.com/2015/04...
4> Sure there are insane costs with taxi medallions - The government treats it like a tax and the cities can up the fees/reduce medallion counts or increase them whenever they need another pot of cash to buy another election. Medallions have NOTHING to do with safety they're just a way of artificially controlling the market and that's why Uber is making inroads, just like local wifi can be more nimble and cheaper than regulated internet in our cities.

Y'know, but other than that you make perfectly good points... :/

You pay for channels you don't want so you can watch the few channels you do want.

The communications director at a local cable service provider once told me the problem with ESPN: it's the most expensive channel in their entire cable lineup. They would love to separate it out and treat it a-la-carte like HBO, but their agreements don't allow for it. Either everyone gets it, or no one does. And he said everyone gets it, because whenever the feed goes out for that channel, their switchboards light up like a Christmas tree. (He also mentioned that the other channel that customers most hate to lose is Lifetime, though that's not nearly as expensive.)

It's extortion, plain and simple. Though ESPN is only partly to blame...the NFL, NBA, and NCAA are also guilty for making game broadcasting rights so pricy.

Apparently this isn't their only issue in attempting to prevent infections.

Comcast voted the 2014 "Worst Company In America".

It's interesting to note that Comcast encourages employees to abuse customers, and Comcast employees interpret that as permission to abuse Comcast.

There is an answer: Fire the Comcast CEO.

BroadbandMap.gov seems to show competition that doesn't exist as a way of fooling lawmakers, so that huge abusive corporations can limit competition.

I can't really think of any quality reason anyone would choose TSA screening as a career.

Consider the fact that some TSA employees take career advice from a pizza box.

Which behavior? Um, both Comcast and Verizon throttling Netflix unless Netflix paid a bribe, i mean, extra fee? And Verizon even kept right on throttling after being paid said 'bribe'.

I already paid Verizon to give me access to the internet (up AND down) at set speeds, they don't get to then charge the content provider that I have specifically requested content from another fee.

If there were any competition, people who were having their Netflix traffic throttled would switch to another ISP, but there aren't any other ISPs for most consumers.

He explored that solution, and it turned out to be a huge pain in the neck. Quoting Consmerist (first link in the OP):

Then there’s XO, which provides connectivity solutions for business. We confirmed with an XO sales rep that the company could, in theory, provide T1 broadband service (through CenturyLink). However, it would require that either Seth’s employer purchase the service or that Seth have a business license of his own. But even if that were possible, the cost would be exorbitant, starting at nearly $600/month with a three-year contract.

I could see his employer saying "no," and $600/month for 1.5 mbps is highway robbery.

"... despicable, deceitful and generally miserable..." You and Consumerist are too positive about Comcast. Where is dreadful, dastardly, dishonest, destructive, and demonic? And that's only the Ds.

Comcast voted the 2014 "Worst Company In America".

It's interesting to note that Comcast encourages employees to abuse customers, and Comcast employees interpret that as permission to abuse Comcast.

There is an answer: Fire the Comcast CEO.

BroadbandMap.gov seems to show competition that doesn't exist as a way of fooling lawmakers, so that huge abusive corporations can limit competition.

Even if the police make this data private, the general population will jump in to make this (and most) data such as this freely available.

Actually, there are private companies that already do this. They drive around streets and parking lots scanning people's license plates. Then they aggregate that information on a national level to resell to other companies. This data is really handy for car/truck repos, private detectives, and stalker exes.

And the information they have dwarves any information the police department has themselves. It's such a new area, it's not regulated yet.

Specifically, my reasoning is that this would mitigate the safety concerns raised by people who would be willing to go outside of safe operating conditions on the principle of earning back the (potential) loss of the vehicle on revenue earned due to commercial activities, which is the default mindset of hobbyist users.

Is it really only a safety concern?

There is also a privacy concern with drones, especially commercial drones. Take a look at the private plate scanning industry that recently sprouted up for instance.

I will never trust for-profit educational institutions:

For-Profit Colleges Under Investigation

Corinthian Colleges Employee: âoeWe Work For The Biggest Scam Company In The World"

Screw U: How For-Profit Colleges Rip You Off

How For-Profit Colleges Target Military Veterans (and Your Tax Dollars)

"Humans are not machines. Many of them come to hate their jobs beyond the point they can bear, ..." It must be very painful to work for the most obviously abusive company in the United States. Comcast is the 2014 "Worst Company In America" Comcast's X1 Platform Might Have "National Known Issue" Stopping It From Actually Working Comcast abuse

They beat out EA and Monsanto?!?

"Humans are not machines. Many of them come to hate their jobs beyond the point they can bear, ..." It must be very painful to work for the most obviously abusive company in the United States. Comcast is the 2014 "Worst Company In America" Comcast's X1 Platform Might Have "National Known Issue" Stopping It From Actually Working Comcast abuse

They beat out EA and Monsanto?!?

"Humans are not machines. Many of them come to hate their jobs beyond the point they can bear, ..." It must be very painful to work for the most obviously abusive company in the United States.

Comcast is the 2014 "Worst Company In America"

Comcast's X1 Platform Might Have "National Known Issue" Stopping It From Actually Working

Comcast abuse

"Humans are not machines. Many of them come to hate their jobs beyond the point they can bear, ..." It must be very painful to work for the most obviously abusive company in the United States.

Comcast is the 2014 "Worst Company In America"

Comcast's X1 Platform Might Have "National Known Issue" Stopping It From Actually Working

Comcast abuse

Comcast is the 2014 "Worst Company In America"

Comcast's X1 Platform Might Have "National Known Issue" Stopping It From Actually Working

Comcast abuse

Comcast is the 2014 "Worst Company In America"

Comcast's X1 Platform Might Have "National Known Issue" Stopping It From Actually Working

Comcast abuse

Here's a case that almost resulted in a Darwin award:

http://consumerist.com/2014/12...

Comcast is the most obviously abusive company in the United States. Stories:

Comcast is the 2014 "Worst Company In America".

Comcast's X1 Platform Might Have "National Known Issue" Stopping It From Actually Working.

Comcast abuse

Comcast is the most obviously abusive company in the United States. Stories:

Comcast is the 2014 "Worst Company In America".

Comcast's X1 Platform Might Have "National Known Issue" Stopping It From Actually Working.

Comcast abuse

Valve did this same thing in 2007 with keys to The Orange Box bought from Thailand, which were considerably cheaper. They were very up front about it, they showed the Thai box packaging which clearly stated in English that this was not to be used outside of Thailand, etc.

There was a bit of blowback, and some hemming and hawing like we're seeing here, but ultimately it wasn't a big deal. Whether or not you agree with it, most people knew they were basically cheating by buying a cheap key from a shady foreign website, and they got busted for it (although they weren't out much money because, you know, cheap)

Honestly, when you're buying software you have to agree to the terms or else you don't buy it and you don't get to have it. Yes, if you think this is a dick move from Ubisoft then you're perfectly within your rights to avoid buying their products anymore. But don't think that they're the only ones who do this. Or have the right/ability to do this. And don't think this gives you some sort of right to pirate their games. Or that they had better give you what you want or else you'll pirate their games. You're wrong.

I've seen nonsense about inductance and capacitance. And then it'll be stranded. Oy.

Most people are using it to make a permanent connection in their homes with stranded wire... so endurance, fatigue, corrosion are all non-issues. I would wager a very high sum of money that double-blind testing would result in no perceptible difference.

Actually the Coca-Cola machines would charge less as the temperature increased

I've had good luck with the Motorola SB6141 DOCSIS 3.0 modem. (The SB6121 is apparently an obsolete model.) Eventually DOCSIS 3.1 modems will be available.

It took me an estimated 9 hours of communicating with Comcast representatives to get Comcast to bill at the advertised rate, instead of far more than Comcast advertises. This is what works: Call the Comcast executive offices at 215-640-8960. Be very polite and logical, but insistent.

Don't check your internet access speed with Speedtest.net. Apparently that web site always reports the advertised rate, the connection rate, not the data delivery rate. DSLReports Speed Test shows that I get one-seventh the speed Comcast advertises.

Comcast was the 2014 Worst Company In America.

Comcast has apparently found that most people don't spend the many hours Comcast makes it necessary to protest over-billing.

It's interesting to me that Comcast apparently expects employees to abuse customers, and Comcast employees hear that as permission to abuse Comcast, also.

Apparently the U.S. government no longer protects the people, but just allows any abuse that will make the rich richer, or allow the violent to be more violent.

I agree, you're the first one besides myself I've seen mention this.
They have already been used to present evidence of corporate wrong doings.

1 example.
http://consumerist.com/2012/01... [consumerist.com]

Yes, they are a force multiplier for people against both public and private sector corruption, criminality, violence, and tyranny.

That's why unelected bureaucrats creating regulations with the force and criminal penalties of a Federal felony are an unconstitutional abomination and a clear assault on individual freedom and civil rights, plus accomplishing further destruction of the separation of powers between the Executive and Legislative branches of the US government.

Strat

I agree, you're the first one besides myself I've seen mention this.
They have already been used to present evidence of corporate wrong doings.

1 example.
http://consumerist.com/2012/01...

WalMart's already wised up, and changed the rules. Now it only applies to items on Amazon SOLD BY Amazon. No more marketplace sellers.

http://consumerist.com/2014/11...

Start with http://consumerist.com/

It’s a big jump to communism for a couple of lousy hotels. Shame them into better behavior or out of business. Either way, the market’s working properly in this case.

It's a business account, you should have a business support line.

So you'd call and they could switch you to an unblocked IP, or initiate deblacklisting on your behalf? I'm literally laughing so hard I gotta wipe my eyes.

THIS IS COMCAST! Go look up their position in the "most hated companies in America" list. They earned that status. I spent over four hours on the phone with them over the weekend persuading them to make a 2-minute fix to their own MPLS network that they caused with an ill-considered routing change.

You lie down with dogs, you'll get up with fleas.

2.58 million people are still paying AOL for their email address. It sounds like you have a very biased circle. Looking through my contact list, I see several family and friends with optimum, comcast, and verizon email addresses.

Let me correct you slightly on this, since we continue to hear this excuse as the reason people keep their ancient AOL addresses.

roughly 2.58 million men will not stand up to their wives who refuse to believe they can actually change an email address, and thus simply find life easier to pay someone for that privilege.

You switch jobs. You move to a new house across town. Or even to a new state. Sometimes even a new country. Shit happens in life. You deal with it. Clearly this is one aspect where women simply can't.

And yes, it is rather pathetic. I'd also consider 2.58 million low enough to be insignificant in the overall schema of things. I'd also label Facebook to be the new AOL, so it also explains where most of that ignorance with email went. Facebook could become the kiddie porn center of the universe, and there will still be hundreds of millions of people who refuse to believe they can have their email any other way. The new generation is as ignorant as the AOL one.

2.58 million people are still paying AOL for their email address. It sounds like you have a very biased circle. Looking through my contact list, I see several family and friends with optimum, comcast, and verizon email addresses.

Location data and contact/address data are sensitive yet inextricably linked to how people use trackers (also known as cell phones and other portable electronic devices). Whether the device conveys GPS coordinates, can be tracked to a remarkably small area via cell tower triangulation, or unknown (to the user) parties get the information from a proprietor (such as Apple), the privacy loss inherent in ordinary tracker operation makes it impossible to "avoid storing sensitive data on the phone".

This is no accident. When societies face the combination of nonfree software (both in OS and programs people are encouraged to install later), devices that are as close to always-on as is possible for mobile computing, and a userbase as persistently distracted away from focusing on their civil liberties as most tracker users are (no thanks to sites like /. which carry stories like these without any ethical critique to go alongside the corporate-written stockprice-sensitive spin) results like these are the outcome. Add to that the unethical ways in which trackers are made (such as Apple turning a blind eye to the environment in China or expoiting workers at Pegatron even worse than at Foxconn but Apple is certainly not alone in any of this) and you have an ugly recipe for abuse from end-to-end. Many thanks to people including Richard Stallman for compiling useful information about all of this and for his many years of warning people against nonfree software.

I saw it on Consumerist first: NY Hotel Fines Brides And Grooms $500 For Each Negative Review Posted By Their Wedding Guests by Ashlee Kieler

I wish that were true. It sure looks like the US funds a vast majority of drug marketing, though.

But for completeness sake, here's some counterpoints.

Hey, he was just making it east for the customer to stay with Comcast and not make the mistake of going to another provider.

http://consumerist.com/2014/07...

Nah, I think the local government should review the contract to confirm that the provider is meeting their obligations. If they are not, then a simple contract cancellation due to non-performance of the provider should be all it takes to clean up the mess.

LOL, you must be new to this country.

Verizon received tax breaks from the New Jersey government of $2.1 billion in 1994, in exchange for a promise that every household in the state would have 45Mbps symmetrical fiber by 2015 (50% of them by 2004).

Verizon then donated heavily to the political powers of NJ, and was released from their promise with no penalty.

Who's the parasite again?

Hrm. I'm glad someone is finally stepping up to confront the assholishness of the credit card processors and their crazy fees. But I just voted for Walmart in the Worst Company in America tourney at http://consumerist.com/tag/wci.... I'm starting to think I should have picked Abercrombie & Finch instead.

Yup, the government should step in when private industry is either unwilling or unable to provide essential services at a reasonable cost, the keywords being essential and reasonable.

The reverse sadly is true today. Local governments, likely under the influence of paid lobbyists working for existing corporate/telco interests, are actively writing laws to block the spread of broadband. Read for yourself the story of how the Kansas Legislature is trying to stop Google Fiber from expanding in Kansas.

Best part is: the Senate bill states that the goal is to

"encourage the development and widespread use of technological advances in providing video, telecommunications and broadband services at competitive rates; and ensure that video, telecommunications and broadband services are each provided within a consistent, comprehensive and nondiscriminatory federal, state and local government framework."

http://www.wired.com/wiredente...

And Google Fiber is already having positive effects on their cable competition:

http://consumerist.com/2013/01...

http://www.pcworld.com/article...

It's a pump and dump from the inside. Dice wants out so they're trying to pump up the cash value of the site as much as possible, and cash value = advertisers. Who cares if the sucker they unload it onto loses their shirt when they find out the advertisers won't pay for ads on a site nobody uses.

Just for giggles, I loaded up The Consumerist for the first time in years. Years ago it was a respectable community with tens if not hundreds of comments on its posts. Then they went and completely wrecked their comment system. Today? The top post on page one has NINE comments. Out of 18 posts, there are 8 with ZERO comments.

Slashdot: THIS IS YOUR FUTURE. Nobody will click 45% of your stories!

Now true, they're a special case since they don't do advertising, so nobody cares if nobody has a reason to ever click through their story to read the comments, but it's proof that it has happened before and it WILL happen again if Slashdot continues on this path. By destroying the comment system Slashdot won't just decimate their pageviews, they'll obliterate them. The only way they'd be able to try to get people to click through to the story page is if they disabled the original article links in the main page, and that will completely ruin them as a news aggregator.