It may be my friend, but from the article . ..
The Golden Shield project was started in 1998. The first part of the project lasted three years, completed in 2006. 2006 - 1998 = 3. This is truthiness if I ever saw it.
I have yet to see a case where a national boycott on a country ever worked. We call them sanctions when they're on a national scale. I confess they've never been totally effective on their own, but it is a strong level of pressure against a government and would be exceptionally bad for a country who's economy relies so strongly on trade and manufacturing such as China.
. . . most companies don't "win" twice in a row in the console market (so far, only Sony's done that with the PS1 and PS2) . .. Got to disagree with you here - NES and SNES.
. . . it would be nice, for once, to see capitalism actually work in that something that really is better would succeed in the market . .. In fact I think we will see capitalism work (just as it did with Macintosh and Betamax). Capitalism does not mean the best survive, that's survival of the fittest. Capitalism means that the products capable of generating CAPITAL (not capitals, in case (pun intended) you were confused) survive. PCs beat/are beating Macs because a) they were/are cheaper and b) there was/is more software for them. Therefore people are willing to pay their hard-earned cash for a PC but it takes either a certain type of person (graphic/video design) or a person with more money than sense ("It's so white and shiny!") to purchase a Mac. Beta suffered from price/no porn so the consumers voted again with their wallets and VHS survived. Blu-ray's price is definitely holding it back in the current marketplace, regardless of studio support.
Also, while Blu-Ray may have more studio support, I haven't seen many blockbuster titles (on either format, to be fair). It's going to take the release of a must-buy to get either format a good foothold. Sony just had Casino Royale which definitely bolstered its sales and we have the Ultimate Matrix trilogy coming up for HD-DVD and then Blu-Ray a few months down the road.
This war is far from over, but you can't discount the capitalistic drive to get the most for your money. At the moment, Blu-Ray does not represent this bright future.
I would say that "Catan" on 360 will be just the boardgame "Settlers of Catan" and we'll be nickelled and dimed for the Seafarers, Cities and Knights and possibly even for 6 player support (although there's no reason not to have that in the first place).
. . . she didn't authorize a huge charge to send her a fresh one . .. Not quite how it is/was. The DVR she had was rented from us. She took it back to a distribution center because it wasn't working and picked up a new one. The charge was the replacement cost of the old box (any user caused damage is not covered by the company).
Actually, we had a similar call at this center once - guy calls in, regular issue but midway through the call he says "holy crap, I've got to go, there's a fire" and disappears without hanging up the phone. Agent doesn't know what to do, turns and tells one of our "witty" support people what's on the go, he replies . . . "roll her a fire truck".
Of course we also have to deal with "the tech stole my laptop", "the tech slept with my 18 year old daughter" and the state police calling looking for tech # 12387 because he's wanted in connection with 2 rape/murders.
It's a rewarding job, but not without it's challenges:S
. . . having worked for a time as customer support for an extremely large company, is simply how many people actually DO lie . . . Amen, brother. Everybody thinks they know what's wrong and how it needs to be fixed so they call in with the most unlikely story which will result in the fix they think they need (in our case, a technician visit). Often it's as simple as standby button accidentally hit but because you start from a lie (and of course we have to presume the customer is telling the truth) it takes forever to fix a simple problem.
My favorite story? A missus called in losing it about a $625 charge on her account for a DVR. She said she'd returned it because it would no longer turn on and we had replaced it for her - nothing was said about a charge. I made a call to our distribution center . . . the official line was "fluid damage". What had actually happened was the box was rank with cat urine - whether this had happened before or after it broke, nobody knows.
Trying to delicately explain this to a crazy cat lady? Difficult.
Then I don't want to see any more smart aleck replies, GO TO HELL. And if there ARE any more smart aleck replies, he'll send you to a detention center for 14 days . . .
I don't think it's just "used to". To the best of my knowledge, the US is still one of (if not THE) largest arms exporters in the world.
There is a certain amount of good to be said for not interfering in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation, but selective interference doesn't get you any friends.
China's approach seems to be "we'll sell you whatever you want", without any moral implications whatsoever. It may not fit in with Western sensibilities, but as you said it does get the short term desired effect.
To be perfectly clear (in case I wasn't before) I don't think China will ever invade Nigeria et al; simply look to them (and former satellite states of the CCCP) for oil rather than the Middle Easta and OPEC.
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I agree totally with your second post. Nothing disputed whatsoever.
Worldwide that was indeed the case, but NA was still Nintendoland.
Quick, without using Google, what does VHS stand for?
Yeah, that's what I thought.
My advice?
Get a new investment banker.
No, he meant the Republic of China. Click the so kindly provided link and learn about countries that exist outside the 48 contiguous states.
Yes, despite what you've been taught, they do exist.
Also, while Blu-Ray may have more studio support, I haven't seen many blockbuster titles (on either format, to be fair). It's going to take the release of a must-buy to get either format a good foothold. Sony just had Casino Royale which definitely bolstered its sales and we have the Ultimate Matrix trilogy coming up for HD-DVD and then Blu-Ray a few months down the road.
This war is far from over, but you can't discount the capitalistic drive to get the most for your money. At the moment, Blu-Ray does not represent this bright future.
I would say that "Catan" on 360 will be just the boardgame "Settlers of Catan" and we'll be nickelled and dimed for the Seafarers, Cities and Knights and possibly even for 6 player support (although there's no reason not to have that in the first place).
It's hard to tell, so just in case you're serious . . .
JAPANESE attack on Pearl Harbour
Microsoft is also obviously aligned Lawful Evil (despite what my sig may say :P).
Actually, we had a similar call at this center once - guy calls in, regular issue but midway through the call he says "holy crap, I've got to go, there's a fire" and disappears without hanging up the phone. Agent doesn't know what to do, turns and tells one of our "witty" support people what's on the go, he replies . . . "roll her a fire truck".
:S
Of course we also have to deal with "the tech stole my laptop", "the tech slept with my 18 year old daughter" and the state police calling looking for tech # 12387 because he's wanted in connection with 2 rape/murders.
It's a rewarding job, but not without it's challenges
My favorite story? A missus called in losing it about a $625 charge on her account for a DVR. She said she'd returned it because it would no longer turn on and we had replaced it for her - nothing was said about a charge. I made a call to our distribution center . . . the official line was "fluid damage". What had actually happened was the box was rank with cat urine - whether this had happened before or after it broke, nobody knows.
Trying to delicately explain this to a crazy cat lady? Difficult.
Also classic Fred Penner and Sharon, Lois & Bram tunes!
Where would we be as a nation without "Skinamarinky-dinky-dink"?(sp?)
I'm not sure, but not as many Americans as it takes to screw up an Iraq exit policy. (Zing!)
Not only is the Canadian film industry doing well, Stargate is filmed here!
Just in case you couldn't tell - the first two seasons consist entirely of them going to planets that look like backwoods BC.
I presume you just watched V For Vendetta?
Apologies for feeding the troll.
I don't think it's just "used to". To the best of my knowledge, the US is still one of (if not THE) largest arms exporters in the world.
There is a certain amount of good to be said for not interfering in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation, but selective interference doesn't get you any friends.
China's approach seems to be "we'll sell you whatever you want", without any moral implications whatsoever. It may not fit in with Western sensibilities, but as you said it does get the short term desired effect.
To be perfectly clear (in case I wasn't before) I don't think China will ever invade Nigeria et al; simply look to them (and former satellite states of the CCCP) for oil rather than the Middle Easta and OPEC.