ePub isn't just a bare open format. It's also a vehicle for DRM. Once you introduce this DRM, then you need a special decoder. That special decoder then needs to be available to the customer. At that point, you have to worry about Apple as a gatekeeper.
The idea of selling stuff directly to the customer only works so long as it's in a format that Apple already can deal with.
Even THAT is entirely dependent on Apple and could change at any moment.
What "Apple's doing" versus what "MS is possible of doing".
Pie in the sky tinfoil conspiracy theories are less meaningful than what's actually being done.
Microsoft was unable to completely kill off alternative browsers because it's an open platform. They certainly tried but in the end, that last 1% of the market can still choose to use Opera or Netscape. That allows a kernel of competition to remain in place and later grow into something more relevant.
Microsoft never made itself a gate keeper like Apple has done.
No matter how much you whine and get all "high and mighty" and "snooty" about it, it's really hard to argue against a 10x improvement in encoding speed when the target device doesn't really benefit from any of the "advantages" of the more computationally complex format.
Why bother re-doing something badly. Just air the original, or take your own stab at the genre. The market doesn't really need more copies of the same stuff. All that does is just waste money and dilute the marketplace.
Although the original seems to be jumping the shark at the moment...
No. It's not a "tiny niche market". There's sci-fi everywhere on all of the other channels. That's why "SciFi" itself is so worthless. The sum total of the other channels are more interesting when it comes to the content that should be SciFi Channel's Forte.
No. It's still a natural monopoly. Someone still has to own the conduit where the cables sit and do the work to wire everything up.
That entity willing to lay the cable is going to end up with ownership of it. Anything else comes into conflict with GOP notions of corporate private property. This is something that has been in conflict with the individual for a VERY LONG TIME in America. This isn't just a new thing. This goes back to the beginning of large corporations in America.
The DRM that comes with PC gaming on Windows is just plain annoying.
That was actually one think that Loki had in it's favor. They had PC ports that were minus the annoying DRM.
It's too bad that LGP decided to implement DRM of their own. It's even sadder that I've never cared to buy anything they're offering. Whining about piracy really won't help.
It's far more likely that Loki was driven out of business by dealing with Electronic Arts and the fact that Linux desktop software was just getting started at the time. People like to dredge Loki up as an example and then neglect how very long it's been since then.
Loki was a porting house and had the same problems as any porting house including those for Macs.
Sure there is security and not wanting your stuff "published" or otherwise "shared".
If you don't have squat, then DropBox is pretty pointless in an age where multi-gigabyte portable devices are cheap and plentiful and available at Walmart and Target.
It's not like a drag & drop copy operation is terribly complicated. (although in this day and age it's hard to tell what some people will claim)
> some people obviously have zero ideas about basic physics and how wifi works and just how much more expensive a wireless network its when compared to wired one.
It's almost as if these conspicuous consumers like to brag about their willful ignorance while denigrating anyone with a clue or more interesting requirements.
Wireless networking is highly problematic for a number of reasons. Those problems disappear once you use a proper network.
A situation that may be tolerable for a self-centered early adopter may not scale to hundreds or thousands of seats.
The idea that corporations should go wireless because that's the only way that some Apple devices can connect just demonstrates how poorly suited Apple products are for business or "serious work" in general.
"I've followed our glorious cult leader over the cliff. Now deal with me."
Slashdot Mirror
If your rationale for whatever you are doing ever includes the herd, then it's FULL OF FAIL.
Whether or not doing your own thing corresponds to what the herd does (or not) should entirely be a matter of coincidence.
The far better question is why is he fixating on the "millionaire" thing when it is something that you didn't even bring up. It's a total red herring.
Most people don't become millionaires. This is especially true for the corporate drones that the other guy seems to want to elevate so much.
If anyone is perpetrating the "billionaire propaganda" it's that other guy.
...yeah and most of those companies are the sort where you wonder how they possibly manage to get anything done or produce anything useful.
Quite often, they end up ultimately dependent on corporate welfare and bailouts to keep from imploding under their own weight.
Not quite.
ePub isn't just a bare open format. It's also a vehicle for DRM. Once you introduce this DRM, then you need a special decoder. That special decoder then needs to be available to the customer. At that point, you have to worry about Apple as a gatekeeper.
The idea of selling stuff directly to the customer only works so long as it's in a format that Apple already can deal with.
Even THAT is entirely dependent on Apple and could change at any moment.
Just look at your own choice of words...
What "Apple's doing" versus what "MS is possible of doing".
Pie in the sky tinfoil conspiracy theories are less meaningful than what's actually being done.
Microsoft was unable to completely kill off alternative browsers because it's an open platform. They certainly tried but in the end, that last 1% of the market can still choose to use Opera or Netscape. That allows a kernel of competition to remain in place and later grow into something more relevant.
Microsoft never made itself a gate keeper like Apple has done.
...except I am always free to shop at a Walmart competitor.
That option does not exist in Apple's brave new world.
Walmart only makes it harder for competitors to survive. It doesn't BAN them outright.
...except you don't have to worry about whether or not your car or some cheap player from China supports rar.
A "pirate media" format can change whenever the packagers fancy changes. It doesn't have to be set in stone.
You don't use ARC any more do you? So obviously change is possible in this area.
No matter how much you whine and get all "high and mighty" and "snooty" about it, it's really hard to argue against a 10x improvement in encoding speed when the target device doesn't really benefit from any of the "advantages" of the more computationally complex format.
So is a format where parts of the file can be missing and the rest will chug along just fine.
They use such formats for "broadcast". Being able to split and join them with "split" and "cat" and use the resulting fragments is a very handy thing.
Why bother re-doing something badly. Just air the original, or take your own stab at the genre. The market doesn't really need more copies of the same stuff. All that does is just waste money and dilute the marketplace.
Although the original seems to be jumping the shark at the moment...
No. It's not a "tiny niche market". There's sci-fi everywhere on all of the other channels. That's why "SciFi" itself is so worthless. The sum total of the other channels are more interesting when it comes to the content that should be SciFi Channel's Forte.
A "Sci Fi" wishlist is a very illuminating thing.
Someone beat me to it.
Yes. It is time for SciFi to go away. They have p*ssed away anything that made them distinctive or relevant as a sci-fi speciality channel.
You're better off getting your "fix" on other networks these days.
Pay a special fee for Sci-Fi? Today's Sci-Fi? Lay off the chalk!
3% or 5% is many businesses is still enough to make accepting credit cards more trouble than they are worth.
You simply don't have to make up bogus large numbers in order to scare people. The real numbers are suitably bad.
Some establishments will even go so far and violate the merchant agreement and charge you the processing fee so they don't have to absorb it.
The poorest have no money and nothing to take. They aren't good targets either.
So does that mean that anyone with certain Jewish surnames are going to be passed over?
IOW the government needs to own the shared infastructure that depends on a physical right of way.
It's like roads.
No one here would seriously advocate all of our roads being privatized but the advocate exactly this for the information super highway.
Just imagine if you had to pay your local phone or cable monopoly for the right to get from your house to the local freeway.
No. It's still a natural monopoly. Someone still has to own the conduit where the cables sit and do the work to wire everything up.
That entity willing to lay the cable is going to end up with ownership of it. Anything else comes into conflict with GOP notions of corporate private property. This is something that has been in conflict with the individual for a VERY LONG TIME in America. This isn't just a new thing. This goes back to the beginning of large corporations in America.
It's as if Kurgan turned into Mr. Crabs!
"user interface testing" is overrated.
Now avoiding obvious bugs that impact usability is another matter.
Unity is the kind of nonsense that you end up with when you fixate on "user interface testing".
The DRM that comes with PC gaming on Windows is just plain annoying.
That was actually one think that Loki had in it's favor. They had PC ports that were minus the annoying DRM.
It's too bad that LGP decided to implement DRM of their own. It's even sadder that I've never cared to buy anything they're offering. Whining about piracy really won't help.
...on the other hand, plenty of people are making money with that sort of model these days.
You don't need to spend 50 million to make a $50 block buster title with the need to sell millions of copies of that.
OTOH, there are plenty of PC gaming failures littering the landscape. Some of us have even worked on some of them.
It's far more likely that Loki was driven out of business by dealing with Electronic Arts and the fact that Linux desktop software was just getting started at the time. People like to dredge Loki up as an example and then neglect how very long it's been since then.
Loki was a porting house and had the same problems as any porting house including those for Macs.
> there is no good reason
Sure there is security and not wanting your stuff "published" or otherwise "shared".
If you don't have squat, then DropBox is pretty pointless in an age where multi-gigabyte portable devices are cheap and plentiful and available at Walmart and Target.
It's not like a drag & drop copy operation is terribly complicated. (although in this day and age it's hard to tell what some people will claim)
> some people obviously have zero ideas about basic physics and how wifi works and just how much more expensive a wireless network its when compared to wired one.
It's almost as if these conspicuous consumers like to brag about their willful ignorance while denigrating anyone with a clue or more interesting requirements.
Use less lame devices.
Wireless networking is highly problematic for a number of reasons. Those problems disappear once you use a proper network.
A situation that may be tolerable for a self-centered early adopter may not scale to hundreds or thousands of seats.
The idea that corporations should go wireless because that's the only way that some Apple devices can connect just demonstrates how poorly suited Apple products are for business or "serious work" in general.
"I've followed our glorious cult leader over the cliff. Now deal with me."