Except when you add in late fees (which don't exist with Netflix), a nearly unlimited selection, the ability to nearly always get new releases as soon as they come out**, and none of the inconvenience of driving someplace to take your movies back. Who hasn't been sitting on the sofa at 10:30 on a cold winter night when they have to make the decision of whether or not $4 in late fees is a good deal in exchange for not having to trek out to the cold ass car.
Uhh.. I have a lawyer on retainer. I run a business. It's pretty-much a necessity. If they confiscate equipment, i'd go buy more, then sic my attorney on them. end of story.
So many people here are just willing to bend over and take nine inches of government fear-fucking... seriously... the point everyone is making is they won't open their WiFi because somebody COULD do something illegal, and if so, the FBI *COULD* catch them, and then the FBI *MAY* follow-up on the case and it *MIGHT* lead to them paying you a visit.
Wow. Why don't you just surrender the rest of your rights immediately.
Anyone here from New Hampshire? Does "Live Free or Die" ring a bell?
First of all, you make it sound like they'd throw me in Gitmo. They wouldn't. They would question, I would answer. If they confiscated equipment, i'd buy more. Oh well.
And where exactly did you read I was suggesting someone seek "ISP type protections?" Please point that out to me. I believe the only example I used is Starbucks WiFi. As far as i know, Starbucks isn't an ISP and doesn't claim protection from the DMCA & other legislation.
I find it funny that you're so scared that the Gov't might THINK you're doing something wrong that you don't do things that are entirely within your legal right to do. That's a little funny to me. I imagine you always setting your cruise at 3/4 the actual speed limit, and paying your taxes every year by March 15th....
In addition to your pricing issues, which another poster has pointed out, I've gotta say that I'm highly surprised that only 5% of your "business documents" use/contain any VBA logic. In my pond, I see a MUCH higher ratio, probably close to 50:50. That right there is enough to completely write-off OOo & Star.
Ya know, I agree that the "10 kinds of people.." joke is played-out, but not nearly, not NEARLY as much as the Gore "invented the internet" crap. Seriously, people, 7 years ago the fact that you mis-understood and mis-understood a very simple (and accurate) point was at least somewhat forgivable. I mean, it was a sure sign of stupidity, but you can't blame a dog for being a dog...
But now, nearly a decade later, when the ACCURATE quotes are available in mere seconds via a Google search, it just makes you look positively brain dead. You do realize that you only have the "invented the internet" phrase burned into your brain because you were impressionable enough to buy what the BushCo people were selling you. Don't you feel a little bit.. slimy.. knowing that you're just a tool for the Bush campaign?
It's not illegal to have a connection thru which child porn, or fraud, or anything, passes--it's illegal to be the one VIEWING the porn or DEFRAUDING the websites...
I mean, do you see criminal prosecution of Starbucks whenever someone does something illegal on their wifi connection while slurping down lattes? Keep simple access logs, and viola, you're protected.
There's still that pesky issue of "burden of proof" that falls on the FBI or whoever...
Just because their chips are made by AMD or Intel doesn't mean they're using off-the-shelf parts.
I mean, the government doesn't have factories that produce fighter jets either, but when was the last time you rode in an American Airlines B-2 Stealth Bomber?
There's no reason to believe that Intel or AMD isn't building a separate line of milspec chips. It might not be true, but it certainly wouldn't be anomalous.
The real story for those here who care to see it, is that there's a huge population of people for whom Linux is not mutually exclusive from Windows.
People who can love linux without hating Microsoft. People who can objectively use the best tool for the job.
I'm a web developer. On any project save for.Net, it's obvious that the LAM* stack is the best server-side technology, and just as obvious (in my personal case) that Windows is the best environment for my dev box.
The largest of the online poker rooms are publicly traded companies with market caps in billions of pounds.
These sites make an absurd amount of cash. It's truly exceptional. It's easy to underestimate it. Millions of dollars an hour in revenue, just rolling in as rake. Cheating would be rocking the boat and it just doesn't make sense.
This is really an example of a true free market. Regulation isn't needed because the dynamics of the marketplace keep it honest. In fact, this disproves your point as the cheating was discovered! An imbalance ocurred in the marketplace and the market reacted to heal itself.
As I'm sure somebody has said.. Poker is a game of SKILL not a game of CHANCE.
There is a very simple test..
Football fans know the top 20 football players, it's a game of skill. Baseball fans know the top 20 baseball players, it's a game of skill. Poker fans know the top 20 poker players, it's a game of skill.
See the pattern? Now, tell me:
Name the top 20 craps players in the world Name the top 20 slots players in the world Name the top 20 roulette players in the world.
Yes, poker has an element of luck: You can often get your money in with the best hand early on in a hand, only to have your opponent improve his hand as the hand plays out. But there are techniques to mitigate that, computing pot and implied odds and determine the Expected Value of a given bet.
Amazon was the first because they were around when the number of.com's was measured in the thousands, maybe even hundreds. But you put 100 different companies in Amazons shoes in that point in time and I bet that the large majority of them would implement a similar feature. That makes the patent fail the "is it obvious" test.
No, consulting does not scale. You can try to argue this, but you're wrong. Once a company has all of their consultings billing 2500 hours a year at the market rate, the only way they can make more money is by hiring more consultants. End of story. Consultants are SELLING TIME. Time is constant. GM, for example, can sell more cars with the same workforce by ramping up robotics or cutting operation time. Even a web dev firm can sell more websites by building stellar code-generation tools. But when you're billing Jim out at $120/hr and he's booked solid for 2500 hrs a year, you're done. He can't bill two clients for the same hour. No amount of investment or process refinement can get more $ out of Jim. You have to hire another body.
Joel Spolsky has written elegantly on this topic. Along with about 2000 other people. Consulting doesn't scale. Period.
I appreciate the clarification, but it doesn't much change my original point: My best guess is that at least a small majority of people on this website espouse the idea that 'software is information and information wants to be free.' I've seen that position quite a bit.
And I still don't agree with the FSF position.. If any traditional software company had to ship their source w/ every copy of their product it would be all over the net. People would modify it illegally and compile it and distribute it. The company would be put out of business.
Unless I'm continuing to misunderstand--and i think i get it, you've explained it very well--the FSF position is incompatible with a company that wishes to produce software and sell a license to use it. It completely destroys that business model. All you'd be able to sell is consulting and support.
That would KILL the software business as we know it. Consulting and support DO NOT SCALE. The max revenue a company can make consulting is $hourly_rate * $consultants * billable_hours, similar with support contracts. Compare that to selling a software license that has near zero incremental cost.
Note that I said the "FSF Malarkey that all CODE should be given away free" not that all SOFTWARE should be given away. And correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it the position of the FSF that closed-source code is morally wrong? That all code should be open sourced and given away?
Millions, nay Tens of Millions of people give Microsoft and their products "the time of day." People who have no dogmas or political agendas when it comes to computing. People who just see a computer and its software as a tool to get their desired job done. And not just MBA or Administration types, but also millions of software developers and network administrators and such.
I don't think Windows is perfect, but I also don't think OSX is perfect nor do I think that Linux or any flavor of Unix is perfect. I do think that the O^n usefulness of the Windows install base provides so much opportunity that it ends up offering the most value to businesses and consumers.
And with regard to their "self serving" ways... many on slashdot are anti-business or at least anti-corporation. They adopt the FSF malarkey that all code should be given away free. I put food on my family's table by developing software and the notion that it should be given away free just misses the mark. Market-based economics can bring out the best in innovation, which is why America has some of the highest paid and most productive workers in the world.
Slashdot is full of idealistic college students and 20-somethings (of which I am a part) who think that corporations are "evil" and that we should all wear birkenstocks and eat crunchy granola and spend our days writing software that solves a problem that's already been solved on a Windows platform and then give it away for free just so we can say we fought the good fight. It's naive. Say what you want about Microsoft, but that company, and the efforts of billg have made THOUSANDS of people millionaires and probably a handful of billionaires, too. Many of those people took that money and started their own software companies solving their own unique, novel problems, and on their own hiring employees and fueling the economy and probably making a lot of those people millionaires, too, who perpetuate it.
Business is good for all of us. Economic success and security is good for America.
Wow, I wouldn't be actually TELLING people this. According to Netcraft, IIS usage has surged recently while Apache use has retracted. The overwhelming majority of these servers are secure and stable.
Your problems are more an indication of YOUR abilities than of IIS.
I can install Apache in 5 minutes with more open holes than a cheerleader after the homecoming game. It doesn't make the software insecure.
Interesting that you say I'm "brain dead" considering you're the one who feels a person is incapable of looking at available evidence and testimony and making their own informed decision. Not to mention your singulary relience on the judgement of the system that's certainly capable of getting it wrong.
I'm sure you think OJ is innocent, too?
I'm sure you won't reply to this as even YOU have to know now that you're on the wrong side of this one, bro. But good luck. I look forward to it:)
Slashdot Mirror
Except when you add in late fees (which don't exist with Netflix), a nearly unlimited selection, the ability to nearly always get new releases as soon as they come out**, and none of the inconvenience of driving someplace to take your movies back. Who hasn't been sitting on the sofa at 10:30 on a cold winter night when they have to make the decision of whether or not $4 in late fees is a good deal in exchange for not having to trek out to the cold ass car.
Uhh.. I have a lawyer on retainer. I run a business. It's pretty-much a necessity. If they confiscate equipment, i'd go buy more, then sic my attorney on them. end of story.
So many people here are just willing to bend over and take nine inches of government fear-fucking... seriously... the point everyone is making is they won't open their WiFi because somebody COULD do something illegal, and if so, the FBI *COULD* catch them, and then the FBI *MAY* follow-up on the case and it *MIGHT* lead to them paying you a visit.
Wow. Why don't you just surrender the rest of your rights immediately.
Anyone here from New Hampshire? Does "Live Free or Die" ring a bell?
Nitwit, fine, but I'd rather that than be a pussy that's avoiding legal activities because of how they might look...
First of all, you make it sound like they'd throw me in Gitmo. They wouldn't. They would question, I would answer. If they confiscated equipment, i'd buy more. Oh well.
And where exactly did you read I was suggesting someone seek "ISP type protections?" Please point that out to me. I believe the only example I used is Starbucks WiFi. As far as i know, Starbucks isn't an ISP and doesn't claim protection from the DMCA & other legislation.
I find it funny that you're so scared that the Gov't might THINK you're doing something wrong that you don't do things that are entirely within your legal right to do. That's a little funny to me. I imagine you always setting your cruise at 3/4 the actual speed limit, and paying your taxes every year by March 15th....
In addition to your pricing issues, which another poster has pointed out, I've gotta say that I'm highly surprised that only 5% of your "business documents" use/contain any VBA logic. In my pond, I see a MUCH higher ratio, probably close to 50:50. That right there is enough to completely write-off OOo & Star.
You've got it wrong.. it's more like:
"And I'll use the BEST OFFICE SUITE regardless of it's price"
Say what you want, there is no viable competitor right now to Office. I've used Star Office before. I've used Google Docs.
Neither of these can yet (YET) hold a candle to Office.
But I'm all for choice, so I hope they both improve several orders of magnitude over the next few dev cycles.
Ya know, I agree that the "10 kinds of people.." joke is played-out, but not nearly, not NEARLY as much as the Gore "invented the internet" crap. Seriously, people, 7 years ago the fact that you mis-understood and mis-understood a very simple (and accurate) point was at least somewhat forgivable. I mean, it was a sure sign of stupidity, but you can't blame a dog for being a dog...
But now, nearly a decade later, when the ACCURATE quotes are available in mere seconds via a Google search, it just makes you look positively brain dead. You do realize that you only have the "invented the internet" phrase burned into your brain because you were impressionable enough to buy what the BushCo people were selling you. Don't you feel a little bit.. slimy.. knowing that you're just a tool for the Bush campaign?
It's not illegal to have a connection thru which child porn, or fraud, or anything, passes--it's illegal to be the one VIEWING the porn or DEFRAUDING the websites...
I mean, do you see criminal prosecution of Starbucks whenever someone does something illegal on their wifi connection while slurping down lattes? Keep simple access logs, and viola, you're protected.
There's still that pesky issue of "burden of proof" that falls on the FBI or whoever...
Just because their chips are made by AMD or Intel doesn't mean they're using off-the-shelf parts.
I mean, the government doesn't have factories that produce fighter jets either, but when was the last time you rode in an American Airlines B-2 Stealth Bomber?
There's no reason to believe that Intel or AMD isn't building a separate line of milspec chips. It might not be true, but it certainly wouldn't be anomalous.
The real story for those here who care to see it, is that there's a huge population of people for whom Linux is not mutually exclusive from Windows.
.Net, it's obvious that the LAM* stack is the best server-side technology, and just as obvious (in my personal case) that Windows is the best environment for my dev box.
People who can love linux without hating Microsoft. People who can objectively use the best tool for the job.
I'm a web developer. On any project save for
As other have said, you've got it wrong.
The largest of the online poker rooms are publicly traded companies with market caps in billions of pounds.
These sites make an absurd amount of cash. It's truly exceptional. It's easy to underestimate it. Millions of dollars an hour in revenue, just rolling in as rake. Cheating would be rocking the boat and it just doesn't make sense.
This is really an example of a true free market. Regulation isn't needed because the dynamics of the marketplace keep it honest. In fact, this disproves your point as the cheating was discovered! An imbalance ocurred in the marketplace and the market reacted to heal itself.
No.
As I'm sure somebody has said.. Poker is a game of SKILL not a game of CHANCE.
There is a very simple test..
Football fans know the top 20 football players, it's a game of skill.
Baseball fans know the top 20 baseball players, it's a game of skill.
Poker fans know the top 20 poker players, it's a game of skill.
See the pattern? Now, tell me:
Name the top 20 craps players in the world
Name the top 20 slots players in the world
Name the top 20 roulette players in the world.
Yes, poker has an element of luck: You can often get your money in with the best hand early on in a hand, only to have your opponent improve his hand as the hand plays out. But there are techniques to mitigate that, computing pot and implied odds and determine the Expected Value of a given bet.
The problem is that more of our crimes today are committed by criminals.
Amazon was the first because they were around when the number of .com's was measured in the thousands, maybe even hundreds. But you put 100 different companies in Amazons shoes in that point in time and I bet that the large majority of them would implement a similar feature. That makes the patent fail the "is it obvious" test.
No, consulting does not scale. You can try to argue this, but you're wrong. Once a company has all of their consultings billing 2500 hours a year at the market rate, the only way they can make more money is by hiring more consultants. End of story. Consultants are SELLING TIME. Time is constant. GM, for example, can sell more cars with the same workforce by ramping up robotics or cutting operation time. Even a web dev firm can sell more websites by building stellar code-generation tools. But when you're billing Jim out at $120/hr and he's booked solid for 2500 hrs a year, you're done. He can't bill two clients for the same hour. No amount of investment or process refinement can get more $ out of Jim. You have to hire another body.
Joel Spolsky has written elegantly on this topic. Along with about 2000 other people. Consulting doesn't scale. Period.
I appreciate the clarification, but it doesn't much change my original point: My best guess is that at least a small majority of people on this website espouse the idea that 'software is information and information wants to be free.' I've seen that position quite a bit.
And I still don't agree with the FSF position.. If any traditional software company had to ship their source w/ every copy of their product it would be all over the net. People would modify it illegally and compile it and distribute it. The company would be put out of business.
Unless I'm continuing to misunderstand--and i think i get it, you've explained it very well--the FSF position is incompatible with a company that wishes to produce software and sell a license to use it. It completely destroys that business model. All you'd be able to sell is consulting and support.
That would KILL the software business as we know it. Consulting and support DO NOT SCALE. The max revenue a company can make consulting is $hourly_rate * $consultants * billable_hours, similar with support contracts. Compare that to selling a software license that has near zero incremental cost.
Note that I said the "FSF Malarkey that all CODE should be given away free" not that all SOFTWARE should be given away. And correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it the position of the FSF that closed-source code is morally wrong? That all code should be open sourced and given away?
You're right. That's why my 3ghZ P4 totally outperforms my 1.6GhZ Core2Duo. ....oh, wait....
You missed one important part...
Millions, nay Tens of Millions of people give Microsoft and their products "the time of day." People who have no dogmas or political agendas when it comes to computing. People who just see a computer and its software as a tool to get their desired job done. And not just MBA or Administration types, but also millions of software developers and network administrators and such.
I don't think Windows is perfect, but I also don't think OSX is perfect nor do I think that Linux or any flavor of Unix is perfect. I do think that the O^n usefulness of the Windows install base provides so much opportunity that it ends up offering the most value to businesses and consumers.
And with regard to their "self serving" ways... many on slashdot are anti-business or at least anti-corporation. They adopt the FSF malarkey that all code should be given away free. I put food on my family's table by developing software and the notion that it should be given away free just misses the mark. Market-based economics can bring out the best in innovation, which is why America has some of the highest paid and most productive workers in the world.
Slashdot is full of idealistic college students and 20-somethings (of which I am a part) who think that corporations are "evil" and that we should all wear birkenstocks and eat crunchy granola and spend our days writing software that solves a problem that's already been solved on a Windows platform and then give it away for free just so we can say we fought the good fight. It's naive. Say what you want about Microsoft, but that company, and the efforts of billg have made THOUSANDS of people millionaires and probably a handful of billionaires, too. Many of those people took that money and started their own software companies solving their own unique, novel problems, and on their own hiring employees and fueling the economy and probably making a lot of those people millionaires, too, who perpetuate it.
Business is good for all of us. Economic success and security is good for America.
Well Said.
+1
Software Raid Sucks.
Next Question?
Wow, I wouldn't be actually TELLING people this. According to Netcraft, IIS usage has surged recently while Apache use has retracted. The overwhelming majority of these servers are secure and stable.
Your problems are more an indication of YOUR abilities than of IIS.
I can install Apache in 5 minutes with more open holes than a cheerleader after the homecoming game. It doesn't make the software insecure.
Interesting that you say I'm "brain dead" considering you're the one who feels a person is incapable of looking at available evidence and testimony and making their own informed decision. Not to mention your singulary relience on the judgement of the system that's certainly capable of getting it wrong.
:)
I'm sure you think OJ is innocent, too?
I'm sure you won't reply to this as even YOU have to know now that you're on the wrong side of this one, bro. But good luck. I look forward to it
Loser.
Oh please. It didn't stop 99% of people here from proclaiming MSFT a monopoly before the ruling was passed-down.
If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck...