Good analogy - unfortunately Playboy is losing money. The labels have a good thing going and it's going to take a pack of wild horses to drag them away from it. CD production costs are low, artists are the next best thing to free labor, and there's no competition driving down CD prices (something I think the DOJ Antitrust division should take a look at -- oops, I forgot, the DOJ no longer has an Antitrust division).
The Incumbent (Incompetent?) Local Exchange Carriers are regulated monopolies. Their ability to get new tariffs are dependent on your state Public Utilities Commission. If you have a problem with lousy service - write a letter of complaint to you PUC, copy the local phone company - you might actually get action. Unfortunately, the ILEC's view local phone service as a cash cow. They've been cutting back on customer service staff, technicians, and maintenance in order to lower expenses and raise profits. Consolidation of the industry has only accelerated this trend. Don't look for things to get any better any time soon, as the industry has already bought congress (*cough* Tauzin-Dingel bill).
If you're target market is the general population, most of your users are connecting at dial-up speeds. Flash, animations, etc. may look great in your development (LAN) environment, but take forever to download to a user's PC. Take a look at the page design at Yahoo and Google. They've taken a minimalist approach that downloads / renders fast and is still visually appealing. On the other hand, it all your users are on a intra-net, or have broadband - ignore this message.
It's a CACHE - how do you expect them to cache frequently accessed Web information without examining GET headers and responses?? Hell, if every ISP used these things, it might eliminate the slashdot effect! But wouldn't want that, would we?
The increased prevalence of antibiotic resistance is an outcome of evolution. Any population of organisms, bacteria included, naturally includes variants with unusual traits--in this case, the ability to withstand an antibiotic's attack on a microbe. When a person takes an antibiotic, the drug kills the defenseless bacteria, leaving behind--or "selecting," in biological terms--those that can resist it. These renegade bacteria then multiply, increasing their numbers a millionfold in a day, becoming the predominant microorganism.
In all of the debate, they only had one true argument, and it was a bad argument at that. Guess what that argument was? "Positive" mutations haven't been reproduced or observed in the laboratory, therefore they do not exist, therefore evolution is false. And this article is about just that.
What about antibiotic resistant bacteria? A relatively quick case of evolution in action. Obviously not a positive mutation from our viewpoint - but a positive one from the organism's viewpoint.
This would be great for a home file server. Many new homes are being built pre-wired with CAT5 (alas not my old house). Just add a big file server in the basement. With proper wiring, it can act as an answering machine / PBX, personal video recorder, music (MP3) repository, mail server, file server, etc. With RAID, you have less worries about a drive crash wiping you out (though you'll need a disaster recovery plan - flooded basements would be real bad). I've always wanted to do this! Main stumbling block is getting CAT5 wiring from the second floor (where my computers reside) to the basement.
If you win an anti-trust cases you are awarded triple damages. AOL paid $4.2 billion dollars for Netscape. If they could prove that they lost most of that value + punitive damages - all times three - we're talking about a mighty big chunk of change. It'll be interesting to see if Sun Microsystem sues them too. Microsoft has $38.2 billion on the books in cash. That makes them a tempting target for both AOL and Sun. Though odds are the outcome will take many years for the courts to decide (U.S. courts don't move in Internet time, they move in geological time).
The problem with having the Palm OS and Palm hardware divisions in the same company is channel conflict. Palm licenses the OS to Handspring, Sony, Samsung, Kyocera, HandEra, and others. They also compete with these other companies with Palm hardware. By separating, and eventually spinning off the Palm OS division, the Palm OS licensees can have confidence that the Palm hardware division will not get an unfair advantage in access to a new OS, and prioritization of new features. As for the Palm shareholders; by eliminating channel conflict, the two separate entities should have a market value greater than the current Palm. (YMMV).
Also, Palm has indicated that it does plan to transition to an ARM processor. Though I don't recall whether they've chosen TI or Motorola as their vendor.
arbitrage Attempting to profit by exploiting price differences of identical or similar financial instruments, on different markets or in different forms.
When buyers have limited information on pricing, sellers can charge a wide range of prices in different locales. As better communications and hence better pricing information becomes available, prices become more uniform. This is initially due to arbitrage (buying a commodity where it is priced low, and reselling somewhere else at a higher price). Later sellers are forced to make their prices more uniform to compete effectively.
A similar effect happened over a hundred and fifty years ago with the invention of the telegraph (see The Victorian Internet by Tom Standage). The Internet initially allowed consumers to a) gain pricing information instantly across the world and b) order goods priced far lower than those available locally. Anecdotally, I've noticed local prices of computer parts at local retailers used to be consistently higher than on-line prices. This is no longer true, frequently I can get better buys from local retailers.
Perhaps AOL wants their own branded OS to run on set-top boxes. They own AOL ISP service, TW cable & TW RR ISP; they could use RedHat to build a customized embedded Linux to run on a cable set-top box to provide digital cable + broadband ISP (and maybe PVR) via the set-top box. But, I don't understand why they would have to own RedHat to do this. I'd expect them to just do a deal with Sci. Atl. or Motorola.
Microsoft has several problems with their business - they need to keep growing their revenue to get the stock price back up to it's pre-recession lofty valuations. In much of the developed world, the market for PC's is saturated. Even worse, people are getting off the upgrade treadmill - new machine sales are down, and XP ain't selling like it's supposed to.
So, what to do? Switch businesses to a software rental model (stream of income) and get a piece of B-to-C and B-to-B E-Commerce (preferably a big piece). In other words.NET.
But - for.NET to work, people have to trust Microsoft as an E-Commerce hub, and as an on-line repository of financial data. With all the press on security problems, Gates is watching this trust, and hence MS's chances of succeeding with.NET evaporate. That's what this "focus on security" is about.
I won't patent this - but I will contact my patent attourney regarding my idea on "The production of methane and other fuel sources as a by product of the digestion process".:-)
IMHO an on-line music service should have the following traits:
1) You register for the service (for free)
2) The service provides a wide range of music
3) Music is priced reasonably: say $1 / song.
4) The music DB is accurate, up to date, and searchable by band, performer, genre, date, etc.
5) Subscriber reviews are provided (like Amazon) and moderated (like Slashdot). You can search for music based on review content and subscriber ratings of music.
6) Music is provided in the format of your choice: MP3, Ogg Vorbis, WMA, etc.
7) Your purchase is registered with the site; once you've purchased and downloaded a song, you can download it at a later date in a different format or encoding at no additional charge.
8) You get to preview a song (listen to the first 30 seconds or so) for free.
9) You are free to play the song on any device; your computer, your CD player, your DVD, or your toaster.
10) You may burn the song onto CD's or any other devices for you own use.
11) The site provides services for music fans (e.g. marketing): info on bands, event schedules, interviews, on-line chats with bands, etc.
12) In exchange for the above, the subscriber agrees not to re-sell / re-distribute purchased songs.
This would be win-win. The labels would make money, the bands would make money and get exposure, customers would benefit. Too bad that it'll never happen.
Gates and has wife have made very large charitable donations. In particular they've given a lot of money to pay for vacinating people in poor countries against diseases that have been all but wiped out in the developed world. It's a case where they've managed to really leverage their donations to do a whole lot of good.
As for the class action settlement -- agreed, the judge saw it as the con that it was. However, in most class action suits, the lawyers make a ton of money and the consumer gets screwed a second time. If kids and schools could benefit from the settlement (and if Apple and other companies weren't damaged in the process), it would be a good outcome.
The way class action suits normally are resolved in the U.S. are as follows:
Company X illegally overcharges consumers, say one million consumers at $100 each. Class action lawyers file suit 'on behalf' of consumers. After many years, and many appeals, a settlement is reached and damages are awarded. Consumers are asked to fill out 20 pages of paperwork in order to receive a $25 off coupon the next time they make a purchase of $3000 or more from Company X. Offer good for next six months. And the class action attourneys split $25 million in fees.
Having Microsoft donate money to poor schools is a great idea -- iff it can be done in a way that that doesn't reduce competition.
Actually a good idea - the article states that it's for business disputes and does not involve a jury. In the past year Slashdot's been filled with articles on the clash between the legal world and the technological world. In all too many cases, by the time the legal system has rendered a verdict, and it's been delayed, and appealed, (and delayed some more, and appealed, and...), the whole case has become moot (DOJ vs. M$, [RI|MP]AA vs progress, patent disputes, etc.). This could be the beginning of speeding up the courts and bringing them into the 21st century (or at least the 20th century).
Slashdot Mirror
Good analogy - unfortunately Playboy is losing money. The labels have a good thing going and it's going to take a pack of wild horses to drag them away from it. CD production costs are low, artists are the next best thing to free labor, and there's no competition driving down CD prices (something I think the DOJ Antitrust division should take a look at -- oops, I forgot, the DOJ no longer has an Antitrust division).
The Incumbent (Incompetent?) Local Exchange Carriers are regulated monopolies. Their ability to get new tariffs are dependent on your state Public Utilities Commission. If you have a problem with lousy service - write a letter of complaint to you PUC, copy the local phone company - you might actually get action. Unfortunately, the ILEC's view local phone service as a cash cow. They've been cutting back on customer service staff, technicians, and maintenance in order to lower expenses and raise profits. Consolidation of the industry has only accelerated this trend. Don't look for things to get any better any time soon, as the industry has already bought congress (*cough* Tauzin-Dingel bill).
If you're target market is the general population, most of your users are connecting at dial-up speeds. Flash, animations, etc. may look great in your development (LAN) environment, but take forever to download to a user's PC. Take a look at the page design at Yahoo and Google. They've taken a minimalist approach that downloads / renders fast and is still visually appealing. On the other hand, it all your users are on a intra-net, or have broadband - ignore this message.
And I'm sure that the labels will forward at least 0.000000000000001% of any Webcast fees to the artist. Hell, they earned it!
It's a CACHE - how do you expect them to cache frequently accessed Web information without examining GET headers and responses?? Hell, if every ISP used these things, it might eliminate the slashdot effect! But wouldn't want that, would we?
How 'bout a copy of Battlefield Earth that self-destructed before you watched it. I'd pay some bucks for that ...
Found an article that nicely describes antibiotic resistance and evolution:
From the FDA Web site The Rise of Antibiotic Resistant Infections:
The increased prevalence of antibiotic resistance is an outcome of evolution. Any population of organisms, bacteria included, naturally includes variants with unusual traits--in this case, the ability to withstand an antibiotic's attack on a microbe. When a person takes an antibiotic, the drug kills the defenseless bacteria, leaving behind--or "selecting," in biological terms--those that can resist it. These renegade bacteria then multiply, increasing their numbers a millionfold in a day, becoming the predominant microorganism.
In all of the debate, they only had one true argument, and it was a bad argument at that. Guess what that argument was? "Positive" mutations haven't been reproduced or observed in the laboratory, therefore they do not exist, therefore evolution is false. And this article is about just that.
What about antibiotic resistant bacteria? A relatively quick case of evolution in action. Obviously not a positive mutation from our viewpoint - but a positive one from the organism's viewpoint.
And I'd pay money for these so-called services because ... ???
This would be great for a home file server. Many new homes are being built pre-wired with CAT5 (alas not my old house). Just add a big file server in the basement. With proper wiring, it can act as an answering machine / PBX, personal video recorder, music (MP3) repository, mail server, file server, etc. With RAID, you have less worries about a drive crash wiping you out (though you'll need a disaster recovery plan - flooded basements would be real bad). I've always wanted to do this! Main stumbling block is getting CAT5 wiring from the second floor (where my computers reside) to the basement.
The Linksys BEFSR41 (Router/NAT/Firewall) let's you set the WAN MAC address to anything that you want. It's listed under advanced options.
Theres always the Mission Impossible solution.
See here.
Everyone knows that Dexter's grandfather discovered Free Energy.
If you win an anti-trust cases you are awarded triple damages. AOL paid $4.2 billion dollars for Netscape. If they could prove that they lost most of that value + punitive damages - all times three - we're talking about a mighty big chunk of change. It'll be interesting to see if Sun Microsystem sues them too. Microsoft has $38.2 billion on the books in cash. That makes them a tempting target for both AOL and Sun. Though odds are the outcome will take many years for the courts to decide (U.S. courts don't move in Internet time, they move in geological time).
The problem with having the Palm OS and Palm hardware divisions in the same company is channel conflict. Palm licenses the OS to Handspring, Sony, Samsung, Kyocera, HandEra, and others. They also compete with these other companies with Palm hardware. By separating, and eventually spinning off the Palm OS division, the Palm OS licensees can have confidence that the Palm hardware division will not get an unfair advantage in access to a new OS, and prioritization of new features. As for the Palm shareholders; by eliminating channel conflict, the two separate entities should have a market value greater than the current Palm. (YMMV).
Also, Palm has indicated that it does plan to transition to an ARM processor. Though I don't recall whether they've chosen TI or Motorola as their vendor.
When buyers have limited information on pricing, sellers can charge a wide range of prices in different locales. As better communications and hence better pricing information becomes available, prices become more uniform. This is initially due to arbitrage (buying a commodity where it is priced low, and reselling somewhere else at a higher price). Later sellers are forced to make their prices more uniform to compete effectively.
A similar effect happened over a hundred and fifty years ago with the invention of the telegraph (see The Victorian Internet by Tom Standage). The Internet initially allowed consumers to a) gain pricing information instantly across the world and b) order goods priced far lower than those available locally. Anecdotally, I've noticed local prices of computer parts at local retailers used to be consistently higher than on-line prices. This is no longer true, frequently I can get better buys from local retailers.
"Mr. Eisner, the lawyers for the Shakespeare estate our on line 2. Shall I reschedule your appointment with the Victor Hugo estate lawyers?"
Perhaps AOL wants their own branded OS to run on set-top boxes. They own AOL ISP service, TW cable & TW RR ISP; they could use RedHat to build a customized embedded Linux to run on a cable set-top box to provide digital cable + broadband ISP (and maybe PVR) via the set-top box. But, I don't understand why they would have to own RedHat to do this. I'd expect them to just do a deal with Sci. Atl. or Motorola.
So, what to do? Switch businesses to a software rental model (stream of income) and get a piece of B-to-C and B-to-B E-Commerce (preferably a big piece). In other words
But - for
I won't patent this - but I will contact my patent attourney regarding my idea on "The production of methane and other fuel sources as a by product of the digestion process". :-)
IMHO an on-line music service should have the following traits:
1) You register for the service (for free)
2) The service provides a wide range of music
3) Music is priced reasonably: say $1 / song.
4) The music DB is accurate, up to date, and searchable by band, performer, genre, date, etc.
5) Subscriber reviews are provided (like Amazon) and moderated (like Slashdot). You can search for music based on review content and subscriber ratings of music.
6) Music is provided in the format of your choice: MP3, Ogg Vorbis, WMA, etc.
7) Your purchase is registered with the site; once you've purchased and downloaded a song, you can download it at a later date in a different format or encoding at no additional charge.
8) You get to preview a song (listen to the first 30 seconds or so) for free.
9) You are free to play the song on any device; your computer, your CD player, your DVD, or your toaster.
10) You may burn the song onto CD's or any other devices for you own use.
11) The site provides services for music fans (e.g. marketing): info on bands, event schedules, interviews, on-line chats with bands, etc.
12) In exchange for the above, the subscriber agrees not to re-sell / re-distribute purchased songs.
This would be win-win. The labels would make money, the bands would make money and get exposure, customers would benefit. Too bad that it'll never happen.
Gates and has wife have made very large charitable donations. In particular they've given a lot of money to pay for vacinating people in poor countries against diseases that have been all but wiped out in the developed world. It's a case where they've managed to really leverage their donations to do a whole lot of good.
As for the class action settlement -- agreed, the judge saw it as the con that it was. However, in most class action suits, the lawyers make a ton of money and the consumer gets screwed a second time. If kids and schools could benefit from the settlement (and if Apple and other companies weren't damaged in the process), it would be a good outcome.
The way class action suits normally are resolved in the U.S. are as follows:
Company X illegally overcharges consumers, say one million consumers at $100 each. Class action lawyers file suit 'on behalf' of consumers. After many years, and many appeals, a settlement is reached and damages are awarded. Consumers are asked to fill out 20 pages of paperwork in order to receive a $25 off coupon the next time they make a purchase of $3000 or more from Company X. Offer good for next six months. And the class action attourneys split $25 million in fees.
Having Microsoft donate money to poor schools is a great idea -- iff it can be done in a way that that doesn't reduce competition.
Actually a good idea - the article states that it's for business disputes and does not involve a jury. In the past year Slashdot's been filled with articles on the clash between the legal world and the technological world. In all too many cases, by the time the legal system has rendered a verdict, and it's been delayed, and appealed, (and delayed some more, and appealed, and ...), the whole case has become moot (DOJ vs. M$, [RI|MP]AA vs progress, patent disputes, etc.). This could be the beginning of speeding up the courts and bringing them into the 21st century (or at least the 20th century).