>>>it should not be the providers responsibility to cater to your individual whim
Why not? *Other* providers cater to my whim. My car provider lets me add or subtract features. My cellphone provider lets me choose $5 a month, $100 a month, or multiple levels in between. My kitchen provider lets me choose a $300 basic refrigerator or a $3000 deluxe refrigerator. And on and on and on.
Why shouldn't my internet provider act exactly the same way?
You see "no" cities? Not even one? Pu-leeze. Hong Kong is a city, approximately the same size as New York. Why on earth should a place the size of NYC be compared to the 2500-mile-wide federations Canada, Australia, Russia, or USA? That's what I meant when I said comparing a pumpkin to a pea.
Although if you want a truly accurate scale, it's more akin to Disney's Epcot Center versus the period at the end of this sentence. Illogical.
You should compare regions that are the same in size.
I didn't realize the BBC was optional. I thought the "license" aka Tax was mandatory. Also the BBC tends to be... um, sensationalist. And biased. Read here:
There are two paths a person may take on the way to death:
- spend hundreds of thousands trying to gain a few extra pointless months & bankrupt the family in the process - accept death and pass away quietly
I choose the latter. As did Pope John Paul who set an excellent example (imho). By the way, there is a free market in the health system - it involves paying CASH for all your expenses, same as you do when you buy a car or buy a TV. The problem is that most people will happily laydown $30,000 for an SUV, but when they need a heart transplant, suddenly they think that's wrong. How very odd.
Why do people think $30,000 is too much to pay for a heart, but reasonable for a car and gladly lay down the money for a shiny piece of metal? Talk about messed-up priorities.
IMHO healthcare should be more like food stamps - you get help if you need help - if you don't need help, you don't get the stamps.
You mean you pay $15 a month direct-billed, and another $50 or $60 a month in paycheck taxes to support the initial installation & ongoing administration. That's a total of around $70 a month in *real* cost to your wallet.
I never said anything about Email. I discussed a banner ad that sits at the top of your screen while you're browsing. I've used Netzero and that's not onerous at all. If those ads bother you, don't take the free service. It's simple. (Did I really need to explain that? It seems so obvious.)
I know it's a pain to be stuck behind 56k. It's only been 11 months since I abandoned 56k and upgraded to 750k DSL, but new technologies take time to propagate across the continent - 30 years for telephone and about 50 years for electricity. It's only been about 9 years since broadband first started being offered to residential consumer, so please be patient.
Also, the U.S. is not doing badly when compared to other continental federations. You could be a lot worse off; you could be in Australia or Russia:
(1) CANADA - 1.93 (2) UNITED STATES/ EUROPEAN UNION (virtual tie) - 1.38 and 1.31 respectively (3) AUSTRALIA - 1.18 (4) CHINA - 0.27 (5) RUSSIA - 0.10
Perhaps THAT'S what the FCC should be mandating. They already mandate that Comcast and other cable companies must provide "limited" cable television. Perhaps the FCC should also mandate "family friendly" tiers to these monopolies.
Also I don't agree that people don't want the filtering. It just never occurred to them that it was possible, due to technological ignorance about filters. (It's hard to ask for something you did not know exists.)
(0) A tiny country the size of Rhode Island, and not worthy of comparison to the USA, EU, Russia, or any other continent spanning federations. (0) A city; cities shouldn't be listed. (1) CANADA - 1.93 (2) UNITED STATES/ EUROPEAN UNION (virtual tie) - 1.38 and 1.31 respectively (3) AUSTRALIA - 1.18 (4) CHINA - 0.27 (5) RUSSIA - 0.10
There. The USA is not doing bad at all once you compare it to other federations the same freakin' size as the 2500-mile-wide USA. That's playing fair. ----- P.S. I apologize if I offended anyone. That's not my intent. But I think comparing pumpkins (continental federations) to peas (city-states) is silly. We should compare like-to-like (pumpkins to pumpkins) which means one continent-sized federation versus other continent-sized federations.
>>>"free" radio and tv are not free, they are supported by ad revenue
i.e. Paid by corporations.
>>>There is little if any opportunity for the "free" internet provider to recoup the costs
Sure there is! You've never used NetZero or Juno I assume? They provide free internet through advertising along the top 20% of your screen. There's also the example of TV websites which provide free access to 24, CSI, Heroes, et cetera but pay for that cost through 30 second ads every ten minutes. The "free" internet would be paid in a similar fashion.
Disagree strongly. Licensing means I have to ask permission to post my "Nudist Beach" website featuring naked people from age 1 to age 99, and the answer from politicians will be no; no; no.
Filtering is better because it still allows to publish my website, and if you don't want to see it, you can turn on the filter while not blocking my (or my users) free speech/expression.
You are correct! Look at this list of Christian ISPs. They have names like Integrity, Internet Safety, Safeplace.net. The only question is: Are they widely available, or am I still stuck with the Verizon/Comcast duopoly?
>>>apart from perhaps boosting the USA's dismal record in internet access,
The USA is no worse-off (approximately 6 Mbit/s) than the EU (same) or the Russian Federation (7 Mbit/s, and a lot better than Canada, Australia, or China (4, 4, and 2 Mbit/s).
I agree 100% with your reasoning. But it's still flawed. Why? Because free internet occupying former channels 51 to 69 were to be paid by the *corporations* not the government. Just like free radio and free tv today.
Although given that internet is dirt cheap ($15 for DSL, and $7 for Dialup), I do question whether it's really necessary to make free service. Who cannot afford to pay either $15 or $7 for internet access?
>>>Others simply asked the FCC not to take on such a major project as the transition between analog and digital television transmissions looms.
The DTV transition is almost complete. It will be a done deal on February 18 with a few minor issues to work-out during March, and then the FCC will be free to regulate the free internet service in channels 52-69 (the sold off spectrum).
>>>The internet access would have had some level of filtering, to which privacy groups took exception
So what? Free broadcast television has filtering as well, to bring it down to "PG" level, so I don't see what the issue is here. If you want raunchy stuff, you upgrade to pay TV or pay internet that is not censored.
>>>Bush administration objected to forcing requirements on the winners of the spectrum auction
I don't know why. We already force requirements onto other lessees of the PUBLIC spectrum, such as forcing tv stations to air educational programs, or cellphone operators to provide 911 tracing. The Corporations don't own the airwaves; they are merely leasing them from the People of the United States. If the collective "landlords" want to impose certain requirements for use of their property, so be it.
Maybe this is why my former adviser suggested I go into teaching at the college level. He said when he quit industry and became a professor his pay was cut 40%, but he found his new job much more enjoyable.
Ahhh. That clears things up. My boss has a different printer.
But it still doesn't explain why tables I create in Word 97 sometimes devolve into just a string of words (no table) in Word 2003. A table shouldn't just disappear like that, regardless of which printer I am using.
I just finished a book by Lee Smolin (physicist) in which he argues that Physics has not advanced since circa 1980. No new discoveries have been found since that time, even though thousands of physicists have been creating grandiose equations.
He compares this current period (1980-2008) to the Middle Ages when scientists wasted time calculating how many Angels can dance on the head of a pin. A lot of effort and number-crunching and elaborate equation-massaging which signifies nothing.
He said what Physics needs is another paradigm shift, like when Newton declared there are no such thing as "perfect heavenly bodies" - that all matter is the same. Until that happens, we will be stuck in a kind of limbo.
Heat pumps are better for a whole house, but if you want to do spot heating where you only heat the TV room (where we spend most of our day) plus maybe the kitchen, individual electric heaters will have heat pumps beat.
Slashdot Mirror
>>>it should not be the providers responsibility to cater to your individual whim
Why not? *Other* providers cater to my whim. My car provider lets me add or subtract features. My cellphone provider lets me choose $5 a month, $100 a month, or multiple levels in between. My kitchen provider lets me choose a $300 basic refrigerator or a $3000 deluxe refrigerator. And on and on and on.
Why shouldn't my internet provider act exactly the same way?
>>>When I look at it, I see no cities above us,
You see "no" cities? Not even one? Pu-leeze. Hong Kong is a city, approximately the same size as New York. Why on earth should a place the size of NYC be compared to the 2500-mile-wide federations Canada, Australia, Russia, or USA? That's what I meant when I said comparing a pumpkin to a pea.
Although if you want a truly accurate scale, it's more akin to Disney's Epcot Center versus the period at the end of this sentence. Illogical.
You should compare regions that are the same in size.
I didn't realize the BBC was optional. I thought the "license" aka Tax was mandatory. Also the BBC tends to be... um, sensationalist. And biased. Read here:
http://www.aim.org/guest-column/media-bias-at-the-bbc/
There are two paths a person may take on the way to death:
- spend hundreds of thousands trying to gain a few extra pointless months & bankrupt the family in the process
- accept death and pass away quietly
I choose the latter. As did Pope John Paul who set an excellent example (imho). By the way, there is a free market in the health system - it involves paying CASH for all your expenses, same as you do when you buy a car or buy a TV. The problem is that most people will happily laydown $30,000 for an SUV, but when they need a heart transplant, suddenly they think that's wrong. How very odd.
Why do people think $30,000 is too much to pay for a heart, but reasonable for a car and gladly lay down the money for a shiny piece of metal? Talk about messed-up priorities.
IMHO healthcare should be more like food stamps - you get help if you need help - if you don't need help, you don't get the stamps.
Would you rather live to 120 as a plantation slave in the south, or 70 as a freeman in the north?
I'd choose the latter.
You mean you pay $15 a month direct-billed, and another $50 or $60 a month in paycheck taxes to support the initial installation & ongoing administration. That's a total of around $70 a month in *real* cost to your wallet.
Governments love to hide the real costs.
I never said anything about Email. I discussed a banner ad that sits at the top of your screen while you're browsing. I've used Netzero and that's not onerous at all. If those ads bother you, don't take the free service. It's simple. (Did I really need to explain that? It seems so obvious.)
I know it's a pain to be stuck behind 56k. It's only been 11 months since I abandoned 56k and upgraded to 750k DSL, but new technologies take time to propagate across the continent - 30 years for telephone and about 50 years for electricity. It's only been about 9 years since broadband first started being offered to residential consumer, so please be patient.
Also, the U.S. is not doing badly when compared to other continental federations. You could be a lot worse off; you could be in Australia or Russia:
(1) CANADA - 1.93
(2) UNITED STATES/ EUROPEAN UNION (virtual tie) - 1.38 and 1.31 respectively
(3) AUSTRALIA - 1.18
(4) CHINA - 0.27
(5) RUSSIA - 0.10
Perhaps THAT'S what the FCC should be mandating. They already mandate that Comcast and other cable companies must provide "limited" cable television. Perhaps the FCC should also mandate "family friendly" tiers to these monopolies.
Also I don't agree that people don't want the filtering. It just never occurred to them that it was possible, due to technological ignorance about filters. (It's hard to ask for something you did not know exists.)
When I look at this I see:
(0) A tiny country the size of Rhode Island, and not worthy of comparison to the USA, EU, Russia, or any other continent spanning federations.
(0) A city; cities shouldn't be listed.
(1) CANADA - 1.93
(2) UNITED STATES/ EUROPEAN UNION (virtual tie) - 1.38 and 1.31 respectively
(3) AUSTRALIA - 1.18
(4) CHINA - 0.27
(5) RUSSIA - 0.10
There. The USA is not doing bad at all once you compare it to other federations the same freakin' size as the 2500-mile-wide USA. That's playing fair. ----- P.S. I apologize if I offended anyone. That's not my intent. But I think comparing pumpkins (continental federations) to peas (city-states) is silly. We should compare like-to-like (pumpkins to pumpkins) which means one continent-sized federation versus other continent-sized federations.
>>>"free" radio and tv are not free, they are supported by ad revenue
i.e. Paid by corporations.
>>>There is little if any opportunity for the "free" internet provider to recoup the costs
Sure there is! You've never used NetZero or Juno I assume? They provide free internet through advertising along the top 20% of your screen. There's also the example of TV websites which provide free access to 24, CSI, Heroes, et cetera but pay for that cost through 30 second ads every ten minutes. The "free" internet would be paid in a similar fashion.
Disagree strongly. Licensing means I have to ask permission to post my "Nudist Beach" website featuring naked people from age 1 to age 99, and the answer from politicians will be no; no; no.
Filtering is better because it still allows to publish my website, and if you don't want to see it, you can turn on the filter while not blocking my (or my users) free speech/expression.
You are correct! Look at this list of Christian ISPs. They have names like Integrity, Internet Safety, Safeplace.net. The only question is: Are they widely available, or am I still stuck with the Verizon/Comcast duopoly?
http://christianity.about.com/od/practicaltools/tp/christianisps.htm
>>>apart from perhaps boosting the USA's dismal record in internet access,
The USA is no worse-off (approximately 6 Mbit/s) than the EU (same) or the Russian Federation (7 Mbit/s, and a lot better than Canada, Australia, or China (4, 4, and 2 Mbit/s).
I agree 100% with your reasoning. But it's still flawed. Why? Because free internet occupying former channels 51 to 69 were to be paid by the *corporations* not the government. Just like free radio and free tv today.
Although given that internet is dirt cheap ($15 for DSL, and $7 for Dialup), I do question whether it's really necessary to make free service. Who cannot afford to pay either $15 or $7 for internet access?
>>>Others simply asked the FCC not to take on such a major project as the transition between analog and digital television transmissions looms.
The DTV transition is almost complete. It will be a done deal on February 18 with a few minor issues to work-out during March, and then the FCC will be free to regulate the free internet service in channels 52-69 (the sold off spectrum).
>>>The internet access would have had some level of filtering, to which privacy groups took exception
So what? Free broadcast television has filtering as well, to bring it down to "PG" level, so I don't see what the issue is here. If you want raunchy stuff, you upgrade to pay TV or pay internet that is not censored.
>>>Bush administration objected to forcing requirements on the winners of the spectrum auction
I don't know why. We already force requirements onto other lessees of the PUBLIC spectrum, such as forcing tv stations to air educational programs, or cellphone operators to provide 911 tracing. The Corporations don't own the airwaves; they are merely leasing them from the People of the United States. If the collective "landlords" want to impose certain requirements for use of their property, so be it.
People still read?
Point: If you want to reach the most number of people, use video because they are addicted to video & avoid reading like it was a plague.
I assume you mean 30 kilobyte/s not 30 kilobit/s?
Anyway, I downloaded the .ogg file from the original summary and it was only ~400 megabytes and plays in VLC Player. That's only 4 hours download.
Maybe this is why my former adviser suggested I go into teaching at the college level. He said when he quit industry and became a professor his pay was cut 40%, but he found his new job much more enjoyable.
Ahhh. That clears things up. My boss has a different printer.
But it still doesn't explain why tables I create in Word 97 sometimes devolve into just a string of words (no table) in Word 2003. A table shouldn't just disappear like that, regardless of which printer I am using.
Well there are different types of sex.
I know some women who will swear that old "man-based" sex is passe' and that machine-sex is the way to go.
I just finished a book by Lee Smolin (physicist) in which he argues that Physics has not advanced since circa 1980. No new discoveries have been found since that time, even though thousands of physicists have been creating grandiose equations.
He compares this current period (1980-2008) to the Middle Ages when scientists wasted time calculating how many Angels can dance on the head of a pin. A lot of effort and number-crunching and elaborate equation-massaging which signifies nothing.
He said what Physics needs is another paradigm shift, like when Newton declared there are no such thing as "perfect heavenly bodies" - that all matter is the same. Until that happens, we will be stuck in a kind of limbo.
"That's soooo depressing."
- Marvin the Paranoid Android
I don't want to be just a robot that serves the computers. If my life is that unimportant than I might as well turn Amish and become a farmer.
You sure are a pessimistic person.
What you are essentially saying is that our government is headed towards bankruptcy & there's nothing the Congress can do to stop it.
Heat pumps are better for a whole house, but if you want to do spot heating where you only heat the TV room (where we spend most of our day) plus maybe the kitchen, individual electric heaters will have heat pumps beat.