Not to mention that a lot of that cost is probably really just overhead. I'm sure Google's legal deaprtment costs them a pretty penny and this $100m is just part of the total, not above and beyond.
Perhaps the reason other countries don't have to "meddle in other's affairs"" so much is because the US is doing it for them? The rest of the "free" world has pretty much outsourced the security of said "free" world to the US, so it is a little bit hypocritical to start complaining now.
Agreed. Exxon-Mobil generates billions of dollars in profits every quarter, and likely owns 100s of billions of infrastructure, while Apple has some cool toys and a couple of retail stores.
if there were no tax heavens anywhere in the world and businesses just paid what they owed like the rest of us. Sure the prices will go up but if this happened from the get go, it wouldn't be an issue. I'm annoyed with companies avoiding paying tax but then using the government system to seek protections or create laws for their benefit.
Except this isn't about companies not paying their taxes, it's about them not collecting taxes that you should pay.
The counter to that is, while you couldn't find a single trinket that wasn't made in China, the Chinese couldn't find a single Chinese manufacturer to build their high-speed train.
The Chinese can't "call in our notes" because for one, they are holding Treasury bills, not IOUs, and second, even if they could the US could just print new money to pay them off. Sure it would wreck our economy, but it would simultaneously wipe out their foreign reserves as well - the economic situation with China now is a lot like the mutual assured destruction nuclear standoff we had with the Soviets.
What I don't understand is how this helps the website much. I'm not going to click the ad no matter what, so it really doesn't matter whether I see them or not. Unless blocking by ad-block somehow reduces the page view counts for the website - how is ad-block hurting them? They get paid by the click, right, or by some formula based on page-views (I assume, I don't run a website). In either case, me viewing the page with ads but not clicking them, or me viewing the page without ads via ad-block, makes no difference to the website.
TV shows available pretty much whenever I want. I watch a 1 minute commercial (or switch to another browser tab for 1 minute), and then I get the entire episode streamed. Just as convenient as torrents.
Unless you want to watch something from last season, which Hulu won't have. I guess that's to drive you to buy the DVD, but really, who's going to get a DVD box set just so they can re-watch an episode of "The Office" the thought was funny?
But if I run two computers side-by-side to get the experience you describe, then I need two keyboards and two mice. Or a switch-box, and how is using a switch-box to change my keyboard between two computers any easier than Alt-Tabbing to a new application?
The problem is that even that shiny box you bought at the store is tied to your Steam account, at least in games like Empire: Total War, which use Steam as their DRM method.
Your comment started me wondering. Since Google AdWords links tell you the URL they are advertising, is it better for the advertiser if I just typed that URL in manually? Because I read your post to mean that you pay each time someone clicks through to your site from the Google ad (I'm not up to speed on how AdWords works, if you can't tell). So if I type the URL in manually, you still get the business, assuming I buy something, but you don't have to pay?
Yet somehow, even with a changing government, we got GPS and satellite communications, and rovers on Mars, and expeditions to Pluto. The quick answer to news about Chinese space activities is that "soon they will surpass us". How long did it take us to go from manned oribtal flight to where we are now - about 40 years? Granted, the Chinese'll do it faster because it's always easier being the second guy to do something, but it's not like they are going to make up that time in 5 years or anything - some of this stuff you just have to learn by doing, there are no shortcuts for first-hand experience. And, it's not like we are standing still - argue all you like about the relative merits, but NASA's budget is still pretty robust compared to the rest of the world's space budgets.
How many probes have the Chinese sent to the outer planets? How many rovers do they have operating on other planets? How many Earth observation satellites do they have in operation? How many Chinese nationals have flown in space? Seriously, they have a way to go still.
and this time they are not going to have a bunch of expat Germans with paper-clips on their files to bail them out. I think what is more worrying is that Iran & North Korea may well have manned space flight programs up and running before the USA does. What needs to happen is more Funding for NASA and they need someone with a lot of Political Savy running it (Like James Web in the 60's)
Granted, I haven't checked in the last hour or so, but last time I checked the US has a manned space flight program. You might have heard of it - it's called the "Space Shuttle".
Why does crap like this always get modded up?
You also can't resell a Steam game - so all your arguments about why Steam is the greatest thing ever play right into their goal of eliminating the used market.
"A Steam gift purchase is a one-time transfer--after the recipient has activated and installed the game, it is a non-refundable game in his or her Steam games collection. Also note that you may only gift new purchases--you may not transfer games you already own. That'd be like wrapping up and presenting the toaster you've used every morning for the past year."
Wow, that quote really steams me. Who are they to say that I can't gift a toaster I've used if I so choose. Seriously, the attitude that developers have about the "specialness" of software incenses me - why is software so special that it can only be rented (sorry, licensed), not owned?
I wish I had the coin to sue them over the First Sale Doctrine.
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Not to mention that a lot of that cost is probably really just overhead. I'm sure Google's legal deaprtment costs them a pretty penny and this $100m is just part of the total, not above and beyond.
Perhaps the reason other countries don't have to "meddle in other's affairs"" so much is because the US is doing it for them? The rest of the "free" world has pretty much outsourced the security of said "free" world to the US, so it is a little bit hypocritical to start complaining now.
Wow, and over 38,000 people "liked" the article, according to their Facebook counter.
Nope, they are going defy skeptics like you and defiantly put out a good tablet.
I'm guessing that has more to do with the heat coming off all that tarmac than it does with the aircraft themselves.
Because government regulation, which Obama is in charge of, has a lot to do with whether something is a good investment or not.
I just assumed that it meant the screen was made from the retinas of baby seals and bunny rabbits. Or maybe ex-Foxconn factory workers.
Agreed. Exxon-Mobil generates billions of dollars in profits every quarter, and likely owns 100s of billions of infrastructure, while Apple has some cool toys and a couple of retail stores.
if there were no tax heavens anywhere in the world and businesses just paid what they owed like the rest of us. Sure the prices will go up but if this happened from the get go, it wouldn't be an issue. I'm annoyed with companies avoiding paying tax but then using the government system to seek protections or create laws for their benefit.
Except this isn't about companies not paying their taxes, it's about them not collecting taxes that you should pay.
The counter to that is, while you couldn't find a single trinket that wasn't made in China, the Chinese couldn't find a single Chinese manufacturer to build their high-speed train.
If you read the post, he was talking about spending that is being used to kill health care reform, not actual health care spending.
The same way painting your car red makes it go faster.
So it does then. As any policeman approaching his ticket quota can tell you, red cars are faster than other colors.
I'm just curious how they came up with the 570x number - as opposed to say, 565x or 593x.
The Chinese can't "call in our notes" because for one, they are holding Treasury bills, not IOUs, and second, even if they could the US could just print new money to pay them off. Sure it would wreck our economy, but it would simultaneously wipe out their foreign reserves as well - the economic situation with China now is a lot like the mutual assured destruction nuclear standoff we had with the Soviets.
Jeez man, stop giving them ideas.
What I don't understand is how this helps the website much. I'm not going to click the ad no matter what, so it really doesn't matter whether I see them or not. Unless blocking by ad-block somehow reduces the page view counts for the website - how is ad-block hurting them? They get paid by the click, right, or by some formula based on page-views (I assume, I don't run a website). In either case, me viewing the page with ads but not clicking them, or me viewing the page without ads via ad-block, makes no difference to the website.
TV shows available pretty much whenever I want. I watch a 1 minute commercial (or switch to another browser tab for 1 minute), and then I get the entire episode streamed. Just as convenient as torrents.
Unless you want to watch something from last season, which Hulu won't have. I guess that's to drive you to buy the DVD, but really, who's going to get a DVD box set just so they can re-watch an episode of "The Office" the thought was funny?
But if I run two computers side-by-side to get the experience you describe, then I need two keyboards and two mice. Or a switch-box, and how is using a switch-box to change my keyboard between two computers any easier than Alt-Tabbing to a new application?
The problem is that even that shiny box you bought at the store is tied to your Steam account, at least in games like Empire: Total War, which use Steam as their DRM method.
I have a friend that "Photoshops with The GIMP" but I think he does that one to tweak the Adobe fans in our circle of friends.
So does he "Bring out the GIMP" when he's getting ready to work?
Your comment started me wondering. Since Google AdWords links tell you the URL they are advertising, is it better for the advertiser if I just typed that URL in manually? Because I read your post to mean that you pay each time someone clicks through to your site from the Google ad (I'm not up to speed on how AdWords works, if you can't tell). So if I type the URL in manually, you still get the business, assuming I buy something, but you don't have to pay?
How many probes have the Chinese sent to the outer planets? How many rovers do they have operating on other planets? How many Earth observation satellites do they have in operation? How many Chinese nationals have flown in space? Seriously, they have a way to go still.
and this time they are not going to have a bunch of expat Germans with paper-clips on their files to bail them out. I think what is more worrying is that Iran & North Korea may well have manned space flight programs up and running before the USA does. What needs to happen is more Funding for NASA and they need someone with a lot of Political Savy running it (Like James Web in the 60's)
Granted, I haven't checked in the last hour or so, but last time I checked the US has a manned space flight program. You might have heard of it - it's called the "Space Shuttle". Why does crap like this always get modded up?
You also can't resell a Steam game - so all your arguments about why Steam is the greatest thing ever play right into their goal of eliminating the used market.
"A Steam gift purchase is a one-time transfer--after the recipient has activated and installed the game, it is a non-refundable game in his or her Steam games collection. Also note that you may only gift new purchases--you may not transfer games you already own. That'd be like wrapping up and presenting the toaster you've used every morning for the past year."
Wow, that quote really steams me. Who are they to say that I can't gift a toaster I've used if I so choose. Seriously, the attitude that developers have about the "specialness" of software incenses me - why is software so special that it can only be rented (sorry, licensed), not owned? I wish I had the coin to sue them over the First Sale Doctrine.