Actually I'd encourage you to check crimerates in England from 1950's (or whatever period you're from) down to today.
You would notice that youth crimes and imprisonments have gone down, way down in the last decade or so. What does that mean? It means you old farts were considerably worse than kids today, it's just that news coverage has changed to hype up "problem with kids today".
I'd say gears of war would have been #1, if it had come out for the pc, no way am I buying an Xbox360 for just one game, even though it's such an awesome game (tried it at a mates' place, it's so sweet..) so I'll give it 5th place instead. A game that cool just begs to be on the pc platform.
In 4th place I'd put new super mario bros for the DS. It has more charm than the original, and that's surprising, I'm actually playing it, and I can see myself finishing it, that's a good game in my book. The DS really caught me by delighted surprise when I bought it last christmas, and it's a good entertainment system.
I'd put Brain training for the DS in 3rd place, it is one of the few games I actually played through (meaning I unlocked all the extra minigames and played them.. can't truly 'finish' the game)
I was lucky enough to grab a hold on a Nintendo Wii before christmas, my first console since the original nintendo, and I consider it a great piece of entertainment.
That's why in 2nd place I'm putting the rayman raving rabbids. I actually completed the game, and the only reason I can't give it the top spot is that I really only played the game through to unlock the minigames for wii parties (playing it with a few friends is so much fun), but many of the minigames are crap, however many in there are excellent, but I can't really see myself replaying the rabbids on my own (who else had problems smacking the last few rabbids in the bunnies have natural rythm?).
And first place has to go to Wii sports. At first glance, you think it's just such a simple, simple set of minigames, but each time you play it, you get a better feel for the nuances of the remote, and of all of them I enjoy tennis the most because of the tactics (and that I can yell out silly lines from prince of tennis... that's just priceless).
I've been a solid fan of the PC for years.. my current rig is an AMD 4800, 2GB RAM, x1900 vidcard, and a 30" dell LCD, and this tiny little computer from nintendo with the processing speed and pixel throughput of a fart is kicking its ass game-wise. I predict Interesting times ahead for 2007.
K.
Ok, lemme get this straight..
1) RIAA accuse this person of having illegal files on her computer.
2) research by RIAA lackeys shows that this persons computer does not have any signs of illegal files....why is this case not thrown out?
IANAL, but can you sue 'Unknown person', find a likely culprit as "person X" and then if that person didn't do it, can you say to the judge "person X knows Person Y, which might be the culprit, can we change to person Y in this suit?"
I'd think the first defense in this case is "With the evidence you have gone over, can you prove that Lindors' computer contains anything which infringes the copyright of UMG?"
I wouldn't really try to open up anything else than this at first, it's a case of mistaken identity, the hard data on the HD tells the real story, there is no incriminating evidence on that disk, and if there's nothing on the disk, then it's a case of mistaken identity and should be thrown out.
If the RIAA says it might be the sons' pc, isn't that the same as saying that she isn't guilty? Do you have to defend the son as well as the mother in a case purely against the mother? Does the RIAA get to harass anyone and everyone with an internet connection or a computer with the flimsiest of proof?
There are so many ways to defend this kind of case that the mind boggles, but I'd do it slowly but surely, only really using one angle at a time, most logical tactics first.. most judges probably think the internet is a series of tubes anyway so K.I.S.S. is the way to go.
Hmmm, you make an interesting point on human stupidity, but as the scale is slowly built up from 0.002 cents up to 100 cents, using their truths, the steps more easily clarify the meaning behind "0.002 cents", and the crux of the misconception should then become apparent, as in they will understand what the caller means, and then understand the difference.
Of course this is purely hypothetical, unless you can actually test it by having a US based verizon account, use it in Canada and then complain about the bill.
K.
Let's assume that the person just hasn't comprehended the numbers, and isn't lying.
Why can't they? because the misunderstanding is based on the known figure of $0.002 is the same as 0.002 cents, they know that figure to be true, so because they don't recognize the difference between 0.002 dollars and 0.002 cents, you have to build up from what they know is true, you sadly can't do the reverse, i.e. go from what you know to be true and incrementally prove that the final step, which proves them wrong, is true as well, because they know that what they know is the truth, so you can't prove that something they know to be true is false.. But, you can show them that what they've derived from their truth isn't true.
What do they know is true, they know that 0.002 cents is the true number. As we humans are a visual lot, we have to start with writing down the truths.
This is what I'd have asked the representative to do: 1) Write down on a piece of paper: 1KB * 0.002 cents/KB = 0.002 cents 2) Write down under it: 5KB * 0.002 cents/KB = 0.01 cents 3) Write down under that: 50KB * 0.002 cents = 0.1 cents 4) Write down under that: 500KB * 0.002 cents = 1 cent 5) Write down under that: 5,000KB * 0.002 cents = 10 cents 6) Write down under that 50,000 * 0.002 cents = 100 cents. And 100 cents = 1 dollar
Then step 7 would be to see if you can explain that 35,000 KB is less than 50,000 KB, thus your bill should be less than a dollar.
Of course, you have to verify each step to be true, and see if they would disagree at any stage. I would be very interested to know if they would actually disagree at any step, maybe step 2 would be a hard one, as you have to perhaps explain that 5*2 = 10 (and thus 5*0.002 is 0.01), but he could use a calculator to verify that, and after that it should be easy..
Slashdot Mirror
Actually I'd encourage you to check crimerates in England from 1950's (or whatever period you're from) down to today.
You would notice that youth crimes and imprisonments have gone down, way down in the last decade or so. What does that mean? It means you old farts were considerably worse than kids today, it's just that news coverage has changed to hype up "problem with kids today".
The dude's reply history seems suspiciously full of comments touting MS as excellent in every way.
It's a M$-mole, move along people.
K.
...can anyone tell me why the post has removed the paragraphs in my reply?? I'm posting this in firefox.
I'd say gears of war would have been #1, if it had come out for the pc, no way am I buying an Xbox360 for just one game, even though it's such an awesome game (tried it at a mates' place, it's so sweet..) so I'll give it 5th place instead. A game that cool just begs to be on the pc platform. In 4th place I'd put new super mario bros for the DS. It has more charm than the original, and that's surprising, I'm actually playing it, and I can see myself finishing it, that's a good game in my book. The DS really caught me by delighted surprise when I bought it last christmas, and it's a good entertainment system. I'd put Brain training for the DS in 3rd place, it is one of the few games I actually played through (meaning I unlocked all the extra minigames and played them.. can't truly 'finish' the game) I was lucky enough to grab a hold on a Nintendo Wii before christmas, my first console since the original nintendo, and I consider it a great piece of entertainment. That's why in 2nd place I'm putting the rayman raving rabbids. I actually completed the game, and the only reason I can't give it the top spot is that I really only played the game through to unlock the minigames for wii parties (playing it with a few friends is so much fun), but many of the minigames are crap, however many in there are excellent, but I can't really see myself replaying the rabbids on my own (who else had problems smacking the last few rabbids in the bunnies have natural rythm?). And first place has to go to Wii sports. At first glance, you think it's just such a simple, simple set of minigames, but each time you play it, you get a better feel for the nuances of the remote, and of all of them I enjoy tennis the most because of the tactics (and that I can yell out silly lines from prince of tennis... that's just priceless). I've been a solid fan of the PC for years.. my current rig is an AMD 4800, 2GB RAM, x1900 vidcard, and a 30" dell LCD, and this tiny little computer from nintendo with the processing speed and pixel throughput of a fart is kicking its ass game-wise. I predict Interesting times ahead for 2007. K.
Ok, lemme get this straight.. 1) RIAA accuse this person of having illegal files on her computer. 2) research by RIAA lackeys shows that this persons computer does not have any signs of illegal files. ...why is this case not thrown out?
IANAL, but can you sue 'Unknown person', find a likely culprit as "person X" and then if that person didn't do it, can you say to the judge "person X knows Person Y, which might be the culprit, can we change to person Y in this suit?"
I'd think the first defense in this case is "With the evidence you have gone over, can you prove that Lindors' computer contains anything which infringes the copyright of UMG?"
I wouldn't really try to open up anything else than this at first, it's a case of mistaken identity, the hard data on the HD tells the real story, there is no incriminating evidence on that disk, and if there's nothing on the disk, then it's a case of mistaken identity and should be thrown out.
If the RIAA says it might be the sons' pc, isn't that the same as saying that she isn't guilty? Do you have to defend the son as well as the mother in a case purely against the mother? Does the RIAA get to harass anyone and everyone with an internet connection or a computer with the flimsiest of proof?
There are so many ways to defend this kind of case that the mind boggles, but I'd do it slowly but surely, only really using one angle at a time, most logical tactics first.. most judges probably think the internet is a series of tubes anyway so K.I.S.S. is the way to go.
Hmmm, you make an interesting point on human stupidity, but as the scale is slowly built up from 0.002 cents up to 100 cents, using their truths, the steps more easily clarify the meaning behind "0.002 cents", and the crux of the misconception should then become apparent, as in they will understand what the caller means, and then understand the difference. Of course this is purely hypothetical, unless you can actually test it by having a US based verizon account, use it in Canada and then complain about the bill. K.
Let's assume that the person just hasn't comprehended the numbers, and isn't lying.
Why can't they? because the misunderstanding is based on the known figure of $0.002 is the same as 0.002 cents, they know that figure to be true, so because they don't recognize the difference between 0.002 dollars and 0.002 cents, you have to build up from what they know is true, you sadly can't do the reverse, i.e. go from what you know to be true and incrementally prove that the final step, which proves them wrong, is true as well, because they know that what they know is the truth, so you can't prove that something they know to be true is false.. But, you can show them that what they've derived from their truth isn't true.
What do they know is true, they know that 0.002 cents is the true number. As we humans are a visual lot, we have to start with writing down the truths.
This is what I'd have asked the representative to do:
1) Write down on a piece of paper: 1KB * 0.002 cents/KB = 0.002 cents
2) Write down under it: 5KB * 0.002 cents/KB = 0.01 cents
3) Write down under that: 50KB * 0.002 cents = 0.1 cents
4) Write down under that: 500KB * 0.002 cents = 1 cent
5) Write down under that: 5,000KB * 0.002 cents = 10 cents
6) Write down under that 50,000 * 0.002 cents = 100 cents. And 100 cents = 1 dollar
Then step 7 would be to see if you can explain that 35,000 KB is less than 50,000 KB, thus your bill should be less than a dollar.
Of course, you have to verify each step to be true, and see if they would disagree at any stage. I would be very interested to know if they would actually disagree at any step, maybe step 2 would be a hard one, as you have to perhaps explain that 5*2 = 10 (and thus 5*0.002 is 0.01), but he could use a calculator to verify that, and after that it should be easy..
K.