Great point. I guess the question becomes "How many people buying the web programming/design services would have a clue about that"?
My uncle is a developer and has written code for the Mac, Newton, Windoze, and many other devices/operating systems. Once he said to me "Programmers are the next Doctors and Lawyers. Everyone will need one, and the programmers will be able to charge what they want because the rest of the people do not understand what they are doing". While I thought this was a maligned viewpoint, I understood it. Some of the people that do this for a living will be honest and provide a good service. The rest of them will take advantage, and have been for quite some time now.
For sooo many years mac users (and linux...and whatever non-M.S. platform you use) have felt the frustration of not having the same level of application choice. Companies develop where the money is, and that was in the big windows market.
So, the web designer says to the company looking for the site: "Hey...what customers do you want to reach?"
Company: All of them! (typical)
Designer: All of them? Okay...lets take a look at the possible conditions under which you can view a web site. You can have this generic looking site that will distinguish you from this peanut in that the peanut isn't on the screen, and it is dumbed down enough to be viewed by everyone. That's cheap. You can have this terrific looking site, but for every different scenario that you want someone to be able to view it under, it will cost an additional 'X' dollars. Or...you can develop for M.S., get 85% of the potential viewers, and have it cost the original quote"
Any time I have to power cycle a piece of equipment 3 times per day so that it will perform correctly, I put it in the ass-munching category. I'd take consistant, reliable service out of my current service over 3 megabits worth of powercycling.
They need to catch a hint allright...that it's not okay for them to provide crap service because they have a monopoly. This is why I am moving to DSL (yipee!)
I am not sure where you get these figures. I work in the printing industry, and most printers have a difficult time staying in business. Printing companies are in the top 5 for types of businesses that fail, and I believe they are number 2 behind restaurants.
Of course they are in it for the profit, and they could sell less ad space, but why would they? That's like asking a car dealership to sell fewer cars. One thing the newspapers have done well is keep the newsstand price affordable, and that is a big part of the increase in ads over the last many years.
Yes...but unfortuantely we are dealing with a government controlled entity in the schools. They have an opportunity at an early age to influence the way we think.
I am not really spouting conspiracy theory here. I agree that finding effective ways of teaching logic, critical thinking, and statistical reasoning are important. In the end, most people will be the sheep that they are and listen to the radio...watch the TV, etc., and be right where they are now.
I don't propose to know what the exact right answer is. I kinda like the not for profit idea, but it would be sooooo difficult to execute!
While this article is very true, what else can we do? Do we give control of the news media to the government? Not in my lifetime, I hope. We criticize other governments, ie. Cuba and Afghanistan for filtering news and distributing the propaganda they want their citizens to hear. Do we want to be subject to this more than we already are?
Do we make news organizations strictly non-profit groups? Would this work in the T.V. and radio markets? If the stations were making no money running news, would they bother, or just re-run Seinfeld episodes so we could hear about "nothing". Easier to do in the print and internet larket, but still not easy. Those entities need to make enough money to keep the presses running and the data lines live.
In the end, news as a free market entity means that we can all get it. If it weren't for advertisers in a newspaper, the cover price would be quite significantly more than $.50 or so. It may be manipulated by corporate America to a certain extent, but it is also flowing with idealistic people that want to tell us something. Until we can come up with a cheap system that doesn't need sponsorship or government intervention, this might be the best system on the planet.
Ezekiel 25:17 From: Pulp Fiction Soundtrack Performed by: Samuel L. Jackson Written by: Quentin Tarantino
The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish, and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and goodwill, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down on thee with great vengence and furious anger, those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is The Lord when I lay my vengence upon thee.
Bang, Bang...you're dead. What's wrong with this picture?
...and have been quite vocal about it here (and been modded down into hades;), I don't think the problem is the sales getting hurt. More to the point it is people ignoring the laws surrounding the distribution of the product.
I have and will continue to feel that it isn't right to do this. That aside, it seems to me that the best way to step forward both for the industry and the consumer is for the record companies to provide this music for download at a reduced price. This could save people significant dollars. When considering the retail market, most of the cost is not in making the product, but in bringing the product to you.
Once the CDs no longer have to be made and trucks no longer need to run around the country in order to get music in our hands we will be able to see savings. No more inflated retail rents, electricity bills, payroll and health benefits to pay. Sounds good to me. This doesn't even start to cover the amount spent in advertising dollars.
I think the way to accomplish this is to vote with our dollars. Don't buy any more music. Write a letter here and there to the record companies stating that you would buy music if it weren't so expensive and that you will be looking forward to signing up for their download service.
Just leave your tracking device on and hit every strip club in the world...or make sure you get caught at one of her friend's houses.
This is the sack-less man's dream! My friends that avoid their girls for weeks before the she gives up would get to kill the covert ops and get right down to some good old fashioned bachelor fun!
Of course, I am mostly hooked...so I could only live vicariously through them.
I realize this...it was just a well known example. If you had ever worked in the food industry (I don't know if you have), you would know that 99.9% of the people that ask for cola ask for Coke. That is where the example gets it's feed from. It's also why if you work in an establishment that serves Pepsi, the staff must be trained to inform the customers that the restaurant serves Pepsi and not coke.
Anyways...like I said, it is just an illustrative example. No need to get all technical. What do you think this is...Slashdot? Oh...
Shouldn't you be comparing selling used CDs and DVDs to used books? Is it not different to take a product from it's medium, put it into a new medium and resell it?
Wouldn't your example be like taking a book, reprinting it with a different cover and selling it? Or maybe scannig it into a document and distributing it as a.pdf file over the net as you saw fit?
You know, you have a great point. Last week I was looking for something and when I didn't find it on E-bay I went looking for options as far as other online auction sites go. There really are none that compete.
E-Bay has the brand, almost akin to Coke in the net auction sense. What I was wondering is if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Is there room for 2? How can we improve upon the current situation? 2 ideas I had...although they may not be the most popular, were to either have the site run for charitable purposes by an organisation such as the Salvation Army. People could donate products for auction to benefit the organization and get the tax bennies, or just pay the fee to the organisation for running the site and have the profits doing good work in the community. The other idea I had was to have the site run by the government. It would bring up the possibility of sales tax, for good or for bad, and potentially regulate international sales, again for good or for bad. The money could be used for just about any government program and could be a good step towards lower taxes in other areas. Then again it could become a useless government run agency...helping the IRS put the S in service...that kind of thing.
One thing I absolutely love on the net is the chance to go someplace like Amazon, E-bay, or www.thewantad.com and find something oscure that I am looking for.
I have always been someone that likes to buy good stuff, but it's not always economically feasible. Of course, buying a great couch online from Oregon isn't the best idea when you live in New England, but these types of sites are there if you want to do it.
The strength of this scenario is that it is exactly the type of marketplace the net is suited for..com everything might have overloaded people with the notion that get online and you will find piles of useless companies that don't belong there, but it never really hit the sites like e-bay hard.
I guess I am saying I am a big fan of this, whether it be books or anything else. It's a great form of recycling when one man's junk becomes another's treasure.
In truth, it's only more addictive than heroine until you reach your skill level. I manage to beat it on Monarch level every few games, Regent frequently, and Chieftain and Warlord aren't much of a challenge. Unfortunately for me, I just couldn't beat the top 2 levels. I got bored of trying and went on to the next thing. Warhammer:)
"The more you tighten your grip, the more star systems will slip through your fingers."
- Princess Leah, a long time ago and far, far away...
There is always someone smarter than you...unless you are Jason Isaacs in Armageddon and get to be "pretty much the smartest man on the planet". Trying to lock down a civilization will only ever work for a short period.
Whatever causes us to complain about laws and/or rules in th U.S., we do have it pretty great in comparison.
Playing Chess, spades, cribbage, etc. online is just as addictive. My 65yo neighbor spends her entire life in her office playing solitare.
On the otherside, when I was on the chess team in H.S., I played 2-3 hours per day. Nobody complained about it, maybe because the graphics weren't as good.
There are many things that can be done to stimulate thnking in the game community, and many things that are better for just blowing off steam. Trying to compare quake to chess and go, or even a more modern game like Warhammer 40k isn't a good comparison. Different games use different skills...but all use skills to play well.
Seeing schools promote games is good. It's a fun way to think. Some games like Warhammer and Warhammer 40k even offer multiple aspects for development. First, the models have to be assembled and painted, then the rule books have to be read and understood, and then that understanding has to be applied to a high level of strategic thinking. I think this sort of thing would reap huge benefits if it were embraced by more families and communities. Don't like the genre? Use civil war minis and reconstruct some historical battles. See if you can beat General Lee. Heck, a kid might even voluntarily pick up a history book to learn more about it...ie. reading the historical excerpts in Civ III.
...with explicit instructions to ignore the porn, anti-company propaganda, and other contraband they find in your accounts;)
See Napster thread.
on
What Free Cable?
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
People don't want to hear about how they are morally or ethically wrong about something. As far as they are concerned, that's your opinion and not based on fact or reality.
I made a similar point regarding Napster yesterday. Someone went as far as comparing music theft on Napster to the life of Jesus Christ.
Knocking...my...head...into...the...wall...
Yesterday taught me one thing. If people can find a way in their brain to justify an act, they will change their perception from it being "wrong" to "well, why shouldn't I? Who am I REALLY hurting?"
check out crime rate statistics in states like NH and Maine, where owning a handgun is easy. They are soooo much lower than in other states where it takes an act of congress to get one.
Fortunately for the New Hampshire crime rates, they don't count what Jeb did with his sister-mother;)
I am incredulous to anyone comparing copyright infringement on Napster to such an event. I never said the Boston Tea Party, anything Jesus did, or the freeing of the slaves was legal at the time. Actually, I did not discuss it at all.
I merely questioned the sanity of someone that wanted to compare copyright infringement to events of that magnitude. Oh, and fancy phrases will not candy-coat the ENORMOUS magnitude of difference there is in claiming to OWN a human, to feed or not, violate sexually or not, let live or not, to STEALING music. Music theft is what I would term petty. It is stupid.
I also never claimed to AGREE with the copyright laws. All I claimed was that they ARE laws, and stated that the correct way around the problem was to get the law changed!!! Breaking the law is NOT going to get it done. Wake up.
Slashdot Mirror
Great point. I guess the question becomes "How many people buying the web programming/design services would have a clue about that"?
My uncle is a developer and has written code for the Mac, Newton, Windoze, and many other devices/operating systems. Once he said to me "Programmers are the next Doctors and Lawyers. Everyone will need one, and the programmers will be able to charge what they want because the rest of the people do not understand what they are doing". While I thought this was a maligned viewpoint, I understood it. Some of the people that do this for a living will be honest and provide a good service. The rest of them will take advantage, and have been for quite some time now.
http://www.securityfocus.com/
For sooo many years mac users (and linux...and whatever non-M.S. platform you use) have felt the frustration of not having the same level of application choice. Companies develop where the money is, and that was in the big windows market.
So, the web designer says to the company looking for the site: "Hey...what customers do you want to reach?"
Company: All of them! (typical)
Designer: All of them? Okay...lets take a look at the possible conditions under which you can view a web site. You can have this generic looking site that will distinguish you from this peanut in that the peanut isn't on the screen, and it is dumbed down enough to be viewed by everyone. That's cheap. You can have this terrific looking site, but for every different scenario that you want someone to be able to view it under, it will cost an additional 'X' dollars. Or...you can develop for M.S., get 85% of the potential viewers, and have it cost the original quote"
Company: Do that. THat sounds good!
And that is the world we live in!
Any time I have to power cycle a piece of equipment 3 times per day so that it will perform correctly, I put it in the ass-munching category. I'd take consistant, reliable service out of my current service over 3 megabits worth of powercycling.
They need to catch a hint allright...that it's not okay for them to provide crap service because they have a monopoly. This is why I am moving to DSL (yipee!)
I am not sure where you get these figures. I work in the printing industry, and most printers have a difficult time staying in business. Printing companies are in the top 5 for types of businesses that fail, and I believe they are number 2 behind restaurants.
Of course they are in it for the profit, and they could sell less ad space, but why would they? That's like asking a car dealership to sell fewer cars. One thing the newspapers have done well is keep the newsstand price affordable, and that is a big part of the increase in ads over the last many years.
Yes...but unfortuantely we are dealing with a government controlled entity in the schools. They have an opportunity at an early age to influence the way we think.
I am not really spouting conspiracy theory here. I agree that finding effective ways of teaching logic, critical thinking, and statistical reasoning are important. In the end, most people will be the sheep that they are and listen to the radio...watch the TV, etc., and be right where they are now.
I don't propose to know what the exact right answer is. I kinda like the not for profit idea, but it would be sooooo difficult to execute!
While this article is very true, what else can we do? Do we give control of the news media to the government? Not in my lifetime, I hope. We criticize other governments, ie. Cuba and Afghanistan for filtering news and distributing the propaganda they want their citizens to hear. Do we want to be subject to this more than we already are?
Do we make news organizations strictly non-profit groups? Would this work in the T.V. and radio markets? If the stations were making no money running news, would they bother, or just re-run Seinfeld episodes so we could hear about "nothing". Easier to do in the print and internet larket, but still not easy. Those entities need to make enough money to keep the presses running and the data lines live.
In the end, news as a free market entity means that we can all get it. If it weren't for advertisers in a newspaper, the cover price would be quite significantly more than $.50 or so. It may be manipulated by corporate America to a certain extent, but it is also flowing with idealistic people that want to tell us something. Until we can come up with a cheap system that doesn't need sponsorship or government intervention, this might be the best system on the planet.
Ezekiel 25:17
From: Pulp Fiction Soundtrack
Performed by: Samuel L. Jackson
Written by: Quentin Tarantino
The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides
by the inequities of the selfish,
and the tyranny of evil men.
Blessed is he,
who in the name of charity and goodwill,
shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness
for he is truly his brother's keeper
and the finder of lost children.
And I will strike down on thee
with great vengence and furious anger,
those who attempt to poison
and destroy my brothers.
And you will know
my name is The Lord
when I lay my vengence upon thee.
Bang, Bang...you're dead. What's wrong with this picture?
While the slashcode wouldnb't let me post the transcript...go HERE and get the whole text!
x t
http://www.intriguing.com/mp/_scripts/peasant.t
Sorry...I meant to put that in the post. Agreeable or not, it does make the music more accessible and cheaper for all.
...and have been quite vocal about it here (and been modded down into hades ;), I don't think the problem is the sales getting hurt. More to the point it is people ignoring the laws surrounding the distribution of the product.
I have and will continue to feel that it isn't right to do this. That aside, it seems to me that the best way to step forward both for the industry and the consumer is for the record companies to provide this music for download at a reduced price. This could save people significant dollars. When considering the retail market, most of the cost is not in making the product, but in bringing the product to you.
Once the CDs no longer have to be made and trucks no longer need to run around the country in order to get music in our hands we will be able to see savings. No more inflated retail rents, electricity bills, payroll and health benefits to pay. Sounds good to me. This doesn't even start to cover the amount spent in advertising dollars.
I think the way to accomplish this is to vote with our dollars. Don't buy any more music. Write a letter here and there to the record companies stating that you would buy music if it weren't so expensive and that you will be looking forward to signing up for their download service.
Anyways...it's just a thought.
Just leave your tracking device on and hit every strip club in the world...or make sure you get caught at one of her friend's houses.
This is the sack-less man's dream! My friends that avoid their girls for weeks before the she gives up would get to kill the covert ops and get right down to some good old fashioned bachelor fun!
Of course, I am mostly hooked...so I could only live vicariously through them.
I realize this...it was just a well known example. If you had ever worked in the food industry (I don't know if you have), you would know that 99.9% of the people that ask for cola ask for Coke. That is where the example gets it's feed from. It's also why if you work in an establishment that serves Pepsi, the staff must be trained to inform the customers that the restaurant serves Pepsi and not coke.
Anyways...like I said, it is just an illustrative example. No need to get all technical. What do you think this is...Slashdot? Oh...
Shouldn't you be comparing selling used CDs and DVDs to used books? Is it not different to take a product from it's medium, put it into a new medium and resell it?
.pdf file over the net as you saw fit?
Wouldn't your example be like taking a book, reprinting it with a different cover and selling it? Or maybe scannig it into a document and distributing it as a
You know, you have a great point. Last week I was looking for something and when I didn't find it on E-bay I went looking for options as far as other online auction sites go. There really are none that compete.
E-Bay has the brand, almost akin to Coke in the net auction sense. What I was wondering is if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Is there room for 2? How can we improve upon the current situation? 2 ideas I had...although they may not be the most popular, were to either have the site run for charitable purposes by an organisation such as the Salvation Army. People could donate products for auction to benefit the organization and get the tax bennies, or just pay the fee to the organisation for running the site and have the profits doing good work in the community. The other idea I had was to have the site run by the government. It would bring up the possibility of sales tax, for good or for bad, and potentially regulate international sales, again for good or for bad. The money could be used for just about any government program and could be a good step towards lower taxes in other areas. Then again it could become a useless government run agency...helping the IRS put the S in service...that kind of thing.
One thing I absolutely love on the net is the chance to go someplace like Amazon, E-bay, or www.thewantad.com and find something oscure that I am looking for.
.com everything might have overloaded people with the notion that get online and you will find piles of useless companies that don't belong there, but it never really hit the sites like e-bay hard.
I have always been someone that likes to buy good stuff, but it's not always economically feasible. Of course, buying a great couch online from Oregon isn't the best idea when you live in New England, but these types of sites are there if you want to do it.
The strength of this scenario is that it is exactly the type of marketplace the net is suited for.
I guess I am saying I am a big fan of this, whether it be books or anything else. It's a great form of recycling when one man's junk becomes another's treasure.
I dunno. How long before the folks in Cali start to get up in arms about being subject to your internet transmission waves. They could cause cancer!
Maybe if they just ban the waves from public places....
LOL...HS was 13 years ago...so those things didn't exist yet. I meant played 2-3 hours with a person sitting across from me.
Once I got bored of Starcraft, and later Civ III, I don't play many video games.
In truth, it's only more addictive than heroine until you reach your skill level. I manage to beat it on Monarch level every few games, Regent frequently, and Chieftain and Warlord aren't much of a challenge. Unfortunately for me, I just couldn't beat the top 2 levels. I got bored of trying and went on to the next thing. Warhammer :)
"The more you tighten your grip, the more star systems will slip through your fingers."
- Princess Leah, a long time ago and far, far away...
There is always someone smarter than you...unless you are Jason Isaacs in Armageddon and get to be "pretty much the smartest man on the planet". Trying to lock down a civilization will only ever work for a short period.
Whatever causes us to complain about laws and/or rules in th U.S., we do have it pretty great in comparison.
Playing Chess, spades, cribbage, etc. online is just as addictive. My 65yo neighbor spends her entire life in her office playing solitare.
On the otherside, when I was on the chess team in H.S., I played 2-3 hours per day. Nobody complained about it, maybe because the graphics weren't as good.
There are many things that can be done to stimulate thnking in the game community, and many things that are better for just blowing off steam. Trying to compare quake to chess and go, or even a more modern game like Warhammer 40k isn't a good comparison. Different games use different skills...but all use skills to play well.
Seeing schools promote games is good. It's a fun way to think. Some games like Warhammer and Warhammer 40k even offer multiple aspects for development. First, the models have to be assembled and painted, then the rule books have to be read and understood, and then that understanding has to be applied to a high level of strategic thinking. I think this sort of thing would reap huge benefits if it were embraced by more families and communities. Don't like the genre? Use civil war minis and reconstruct some historical battles. See if you can beat General Lee. Heck, a kid might even voluntarily pick up a history book to learn more about it...ie. reading the historical excerpts in Civ III.
...with explicit instructions to ignore the porn, anti-company propaganda, and other contraband they find in your accounts ;)
People don't want to hear about how they are morally or ethically wrong about something. As far as they are concerned, that's your opinion and not based on fact or reality.
I made a similar point regarding Napster yesterday. Someone went as far as comparing music theft on Napster to the life of Jesus Christ.
Knocking...my...head...into...the...wall...
Yesterday taught me one thing. If people can find a way in their brain to justify an act, they will change their perception from it being "wrong" to "well, why shouldn't I? Who am I REALLY hurting?"
check out crime rate statistics in states like NH and Maine, where owning a handgun is easy. They are soooo much lower than in other states where it takes an act of congress to get one.
;)
;)
Fortunately for the New Hampshire crime rates, they don't count what Jeb did with his sister-mother
(just kidding...
I am not making that comparison.
I am incredulous to anyone comparing copyright infringement on Napster to such an event. I never said the Boston Tea Party, anything Jesus did, or the freeing of the slaves was legal at the time. Actually, I did not discuss it at all.
I merely questioned the sanity of someone that wanted to compare copyright infringement to events of that magnitude. Oh, and fancy phrases will not candy-coat the ENORMOUS magnitude of difference there is in claiming to OWN a human, to feed or not, violate sexually or not, let live or not, to STEALING music. Music theft is what I would term petty. It is stupid.
I also never claimed to AGREE with the copyright laws. All I claimed was that they ARE laws, and stated that the correct way around the problem was to get the law changed!!! Breaking the law is NOT going to get it done. Wake up.