It may be "alright" when you buy it, but after a few years it won't be. Then you get the wonderful repair costs, where it's not uncommon to end up paying more for repairs over a few years than you paid for the initial car.
Borrowing money at a low interest rate (with inflation factored in, it's a NEGATIVE real-interest rate, meaning that they're LOSING money by you borrowing) to get a higher quality vehicle that will last for a long time and has a warranty to cover repairs is perfectly fine as long as you're not a moron and don't borrow too much (though most people who would borrow too much have also destroyed their credit and cannot qualify for those low interest rates). Some people appreciate having something with up to date features, a warranty to avoid unexpected costs and hassles, better fuel economy and performance, and significantly higher resale value when they go to buy their next car.
Apparently though you're of the "car is a toaster" mentality where as long as it physically runs, you view them all as "equal" and thus can't see paying more than the absolute minimum for one. I'm curious though, what do you spend your money on? People like you generally have some non-essential hobby or interest that they spend money on and think that you spending your money on X unnecessary thing is OK because you like it, but if someone else spends money on Y unnecessary thing, well that's just foolish.
I'm confused - are you saying stupid mobs are following smart people in resisting President Messiah or are you trying to make the laughable claim that President Messiah is actually "smart"?
So you approve of an unfair society where people are given things that they did not earn by having it forcefully taken from someone who did earn it? Call me crazy, but doesn't the dictionary define that sort of behavior as "theft"?
Also, I find it horribly ironic that you talk about the evil "greedy" people, yet you fail to see the greed in thinking you should get something that you didn't earn.
Most of the apps are simply puzzle games (tower defense, angry birds, etc) and there's so many free ones out there (those games are nothing but time killers when you're bored, they're not actual entertainment) that no, they're not worth buying or at most paying more than a dollar for. As for other things, such as Swiftkey? No, because while it may be an awesome keyboard, it's not like it allows me to shit gold, thus it's not SO much better than the stock keyboard (or Swype, which was free) to pay $5 for it. Tasker was the one exception - I paid the $6.50 or whatever for it because it does something that nothing else does - it lets me program my phone and make it do all sorts of things it couldn't do beforehand.
Well, to a degree I can understand why. I grab just about every free app of the day, but they are almost never something I would pay for (even Swiftkey). I know many people who are like that because while the app may be great, at a normal price of $5+ there's no way in hell I'm buying it - but give it away for free and sure, I'll take it.
Yup. Paypal wants to pretend to be a bank, yet they claim the right to seize (and freeze) the assets of any customer that they choose. I came across a primarily web-based gun company recently that states that they will not take Paypal because they don't want to risk Paypal deciding "guns are evil!" and seizing the money that was supposed to be sent to the company.
Well Android just flat out has more features for one. Hell, a lot of the "new" features that Apple has added to iOS 4 and the rumored improvements to iOS 5 are just added what Android already has, such as the drop down notification / task bar. Then there's physical features of phones (varying screen sizes to suit your tastes, physical keyboards, memory cards to expand storage, replaceable batteries). I also really enjoy the rapid pace of Android development - the frequency at which new features are added is just amazing, not to mention the large number of custom ROMS if you choose to go that path.
Android is plenty "polished". Speaking from a hardware perspective, I find HTC makes the highest quality phones (I also think HTC's Sense UI is the best skin if you're not using stock Android). I work in IT and I honestly have more people asking me "How do I do *fill in basic function*?" on iPhone's than on Android phones - I myself actually find Android much more intuitive, especially with the tap-and-hold to "right-click". I also love that your paid apps, contacts, settings and such can all be seamlessly synced to your Google account so when you do a restore or buy a new phone, everything is quickly restored with no hassle. On the very rare occasion I've had an issue with the phone (I think only once, MAYBE twice in the year and a half I've been using Android), it was due to an app I installed and removing it or doing a system restore fixed the problem with no hassle. Apps are also updated VERY frequently since they do not have the long approval process that Apple forces on developers, so if there is a bug in an app it is usually fixed quite quickly (in some cases I've seen an update pushed out less than 24 hours after the last one).
As for battery life, it all depends on the phone. Newer phones are getting better battery life due to improvements in the power management functions of the OS, as well as "low power" modes where it disabled unnecessary features (you can control what) to help extend your battery life once it's down to a certain point (say 1/3 battery left). Phones with larger screens do use more battery, as does having 4G running on a 4G phone - but again, you can get phones with varying screen sizes. Then there are extended batteries available or extra batteries at very low cost if you feel that it's not lasting long enough.
My first Android phone was an Evo 4G and I recently traded up to an Evo 3D and the speed and battery life improvements were amazing (my record on the battery on the Evo 3D is a bit over 27 hours on one charge). Since I tether my phone (via free tethering apps), it recharges my phone much more often than I would usually plug it in so I do not track my battery life too often. I know when I had an iPhone 3GS that I had horrible battery life if I would text with 3G turned on - the same things that kill battery on any phone apply across the board though.
I don't think iPhone's are "junk" - I just think that Apple has gotten extremely lazy with their development and that they aren't adding many new features or keeping up with the level of features on Android phones. If you've got more questions, I'm more than happy to answer them.
So, to recap, you don't consider the following to be a "negative experience":
1) Antenna issues that are a manufacturer defect and when pointed out, the manufacturer blames you for "holding it wrong"
2) A device where (unless you modify it and violate your warranty) you cannot install anything that the manufacturer doesn't pre-approve of
3) A device where by the time it comes out (for the current and upcoming generation), it is already several months behind the competitors technologically yet they charge the same (or higher) price for it
4) A device where to be able to even turn on the phone and use it the first time, you must connect it to a computer first running a specific program
Pretty sure that Lord Jobs already said that the iPhone 5 will 100% NOT be 4G due to 4G decreasing battery life (the only claim to superiority the iPhone still has over Android phones). The other specs improvements you listed would merely bring the iPhone 5 (coming out in the fall) up to par with Anrdoid phones that have been on sale for a couple months already. As someone who has owned both iPhone's and Android phones, I cannot comprehend why anyone would still buy an iPhone. But that's just my opinion.
No, it's not. Those with fully functioning brains will change and purchase products from other companies - those who are dumb enough to put up with Apple's shit deserve every extra penny that they lose (this applies to all industries). I bought an iPhone 3GS when they came out because at the time it was the best smartphone - a year later I canceled my AT&T contract, sold the iPhone on ebay, and bought an Evo 4G on Sprint (now upgraded to an Evo 3D) and I'm continually happier and happier that I switched OS's.
Actually, since Apple takes 30% of what you charge, they'd have to raise their prices on iOS by 42.857% to make the same money that they did before Apple began this campaign of general asshattery. Companies that are on both iOS and Android need to raise their prices and then undertake a cooperative ad campaign about how you have to pay 43% more if you use iOS because Steve Jobs is a greedy bastard.
Though, it is amusing to see how as Android market share keeps growing and iOS has stagnated Apple changes to bullshit like this and suing everyone to try to increase profits.
Actually, we don't have control. They choose who runs for elected and they control the voting process - so they can easily rig it (hell, they even get to draw voting districts to manipulate how elections turn out). When less than half the country even bothers to vote anymore because they've realized that they have no control over politicians, you can't say shit about what "the majority" want. If I recall correctly, something like 30% of the US voting age population votes....so that means that only 15.01% of the voting age population has to support something for it to be crammed down everyone else's throat.
And that's exactly why I've lost hope for the future (not that I know much about Breivik).....because if you try to do anything to fix how fucked up things have become, you'll be branded a lunatic / terrorist by the media and their government masters. Better to shoot yourself (or if you're banned from owning a gun, another form of suicide) and deprive the bastards of a bit of slave labor to fill their coffers.
Easier? I don't know about that. Seeing as how political parties get to control who runs for primaries as well as who gets nominated to actually run for office from said primaries, we have almost no control over who we are able to vote for. However (not saying anyone necessarily SHOULD do it), if a few of them were killed it would make their successors for the next few decades be a lot more careful about screwing over citizens. Let's put it this way - when I was younger, my dog bit my dad's hand....so my dad punched him in the face - the dog was REAL friendly for the next several weeks for fear of being punched again.
Troll, troll, troll. Normal injuries (broken bones and such) do NOT cost much at all. Hell, major surgeries only cost a few thousand typically after your insurance covers it's part. If you made choices that cause you to not have insurance or to live paycheck to paycheck, that's YOUR damn fault - no one else's. Just because you want someone else to pay your medical bills for you doesn't mean you have to lie about how much normal stuff costs.
Goddammit, I'm undoing my mod points for this. First off, why the hell would they need surgery for a broken arm? It's a simple "set the bone and apply a cast" routine. If they needed surgery because they somehow ridiculously mangled themselves, well no shit it's going to cost more.
As for what what you should do? If your kid broke their arm on the monkey bars, they obviously weren't swinging on them and were not using them as they are intended - so make sure your kid knows that they will only use them as intended or will be in serious trouble. You teach them to be more careful and if they can't handle using the monkey bars, then they shouldn't use them.
The complaints about the BBC licensing fee is that you have to pay for it even if you don't want it. It's akin to if my car came with a satellite radio in it, me being forced to pay the monthly fee even if I never wanted to listen to satellite radio.
I pirate videos that I want to try before I buy (my 400+ movie collection that I've purchased will be great support of my try before I buy philosophy if I ever end up in court). The only time I torrent video games is if 1) it's a really old game you can't find anywhere else or 2) the company wants to dick me with absurd DRM - sorry, but that last one is a principled stand. I was happy just boycotting DRM until I had a discussion with a rep from a game developer who flat out lied to me about the DRM in a game to try to con me to buy a game I otherwise wouldn't....so now I say screw it, I'll pirate their game since they won't get a cent from me anyways.
But multiplayer is where the most fun is and it's great to see game developers starting to spend time on that aspect. Multiplayer isn't just the normal deathmatch, capture the flag etc. It now has roleplaying elements like leveling and adjusting your game classes and characters to fit your playing style.
All of which boils down to the fact that it's still prepubescent little shits who have no life who rape you the second you purchase the game and go online. You may think that "multiplayer is where the most fun is", but those of us who were gaming back when you weren't even old enough to use a keyboard generally despise it and hate the current trend of 30 minutes of single player and then repetitive multiplayer.
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It may be "alright" when you buy it, but after a few years it won't be. Then you get the wonderful repair costs, where it's not uncommon to end up paying more for repairs over a few years than you paid for the initial car.
Borrowing money at a low interest rate (with inflation factored in, it's a NEGATIVE real-interest rate, meaning that they're LOSING money by you borrowing) to get a higher quality vehicle that will last for a long time and has a warranty to cover repairs is perfectly fine as long as you're not a moron and don't borrow too much (though most people who would borrow too much have also destroyed their credit and cannot qualify for those low interest rates). Some people appreciate having something with up to date features, a warranty to avoid unexpected costs and hassles, better fuel economy and performance, and significantly higher resale value when they go to buy their next car.
Apparently though you're of the "car is a toaster" mentality where as long as it physically runs, you view them all as "equal" and thus can't see paying more than the absolute minimum for one. I'm curious though, what do you spend your money on? People like you generally have some non-essential hobby or interest that they spend money on and think that you spending your money on X unnecessary thing is OK because you like it, but if someone else spends money on Y unnecessary thing, well that's just foolish.
Did it myself.
I'm confused - are you saying stupid mobs are following smart people in resisting President Messiah or are you trying to make the laughable claim that President Messiah is actually "smart"?
So you approve of an unfair society where people are given things that they did not earn by having it forcefully taken from someone who did earn it? Call me crazy, but doesn't the dictionary define that sort of behavior as "theft"?
Also, I find it horribly ironic that you talk about the evil "greedy" people, yet you fail to see the greed in thinking you should get something that you didn't earn.
So, Dr., do you follow your own advice and drive around a 10+ year old rust bucket?
Most of the apps are simply puzzle games (tower defense, angry birds, etc) and there's so many free ones out there (those games are nothing but time killers when you're bored, they're not actual entertainment) that no, they're not worth buying or at most paying more than a dollar for. As for other things, such as Swiftkey? No, because while it may be an awesome keyboard, it's not like it allows me to shit gold, thus it's not SO much better than the stock keyboard (or Swype, which was free) to pay $5 for it. Tasker was the one exception - I paid the $6.50 or whatever for it because it does something that nothing else does - it lets me program my phone and make it do all sorts of things it couldn't do beforehand.
Well, to a degree I can understand why. I grab just about every free app of the day, but they are almost never something I would pay for (even Swiftkey). I know many people who are like that because while the app may be great, at a normal price of $5+ there's no way in hell I'm buying it - but give it away for free and sure, I'll take it.
I know people who do it one better - they check it out of the library for free and then rip it.
Yup. Paypal wants to pretend to be a bank, yet they claim the right to seize (and freeze) the assets of any customer that they choose. I came across a primarily web-based gun company recently that states that they will not take Paypal because they don't want to risk Paypal deciding "guns are evil!" and seizing the money that was supposed to be sent to the company.
Well Android just flat out has more features for one. Hell, a lot of the "new" features that Apple has added to iOS 4 and the rumored improvements to iOS 5 are just added what Android already has, such as the drop down notification / task bar. Then there's physical features of phones (varying screen sizes to suit your tastes, physical keyboards, memory cards to expand storage, replaceable batteries). I also really enjoy the rapid pace of Android development - the frequency at which new features are added is just amazing, not to mention the large number of custom ROMS if you choose to go that path.
Android is plenty "polished". Speaking from a hardware perspective, I find HTC makes the highest quality phones (I also think HTC's Sense UI is the best skin if you're not using stock Android). I work in IT and I honestly have more people asking me "How do I do *fill in basic function*?" on iPhone's than on Android phones - I myself actually find Android much more intuitive, especially with the tap-and-hold to "right-click". I also love that your paid apps, contacts, settings and such can all be seamlessly synced to your Google account so when you do a restore or buy a new phone, everything is quickly restored with no hassle. On the very rare occasion I've had an issue with the phone (I think only once, MAYBE twice in the year and a half I've been using Android), it was due to an app I installed and removing it or doing a system restore fixed the problem with no hassle. Apps are also updated VERY frequently since they do not have the long approval process that Apple forces on developers, so if there is a bug in an app it is usually fixed quite quickly (in some cases I've seen an update pushed out less than 24 hours after the last one).
As for battery life, it all depends on the phone. Newer phones are getting better battery life due to improvements in the power management functions of the OS, as well as "low power" modes where it disabled unnecessary features (you can control what) to help extend your battery life once it's down to a certain point (say 1/3 battery left). Phones with larger screens do use more battery, as does having 4G running on a 4G phone - but again, you can get phones with varying screen sizes. Then there are extended batteries available or extra batteries at very low cost if you feel that it's not lasting long enough.
My first Android phone was an Evo 4G and I recently traded up to an Evo 3D and the speed and battery life improvements were amazing (my record on the battery on the Evo 3D is a bit over 27 hours on one charge). Since I tether my phone (via free tethering apps), it recharges my phone much more often than I would usually plug it in so I do not track my battery life too often. I know when I had an iPhone 3GS that I had horrible battery life if I would text with 3G turned on - the same things that kill battery on any phone apply across the board though.
I don't think iPhone's are "junk" - I just think that Apple has gotten extremely lazy with their development and that they aren't adding many new features or keeping up with the level of features on Android phones. If you've got more questions, I'm more than happy to answer them.
So, to recap, you don't consider the following to be a "negative experience":
1) Antenna issues that are a manufacturer defect and when pointed out, the manufacturer blames you for "holding it wrong"
2) A device where (unless you modify it and violate your warranty) you cannot install anything that the manufacturer doesn't pre-approve of
3) A device where by the time it comes out (for the current and upcoming generation), it is already several months behind the competitors technologically yet they charge the same (or higher) price for it
4) A device where to be able to even turn on the phone and use it the first time, you must connect it to a computer first running a specific program
Pretty sure that Lord Jobs already said that the iPhone 5 will 100% NOT be 4G due to 4G decreasing battery life (the only claim to superiority the iPhone still has over Android phones). The other specs improvements you listed would merely bring the iPhone 5 (coming out in the fall) up to par with Anrdoid phones that have been on sale for a couple months already. As someone who has owned both iPhone's and Android phones, I cannot comprehend why anyone would still buy an iPhone. But that's just my opinion.
IIRC, the only companies that make more money than Apple today are governments.
FTFY
No, it's not. Those with fully functioning brains will change and purchase products from other companies - those who are dumb enough to put up with Apple's shit deserve every extra penny that they lose (this applies to all industries). I bought an iPhone 3GS when they came out because at the time it was the best smartphone - a year later I canceled my AT&T contract, sold the iPhone on ebay, and bought an Evo 4G on Sprint (now upgraded to an Evo 3D) and I'm continually happier and happier that I switched OS's.
Actually, since Apple takes 30% of what you charge, they'd have to raise their prices on iOS by 42.857% to make the same money that they did before Apple began this campaign of general asshattery. Companies that are on both iOS and Android need to raise their prices and then undertake a cooperative ad campaign about how you have to pay 43% more if you use iOS because Steve Jobs is a greedy bastard.
Though, it is amusing to see how as Android market share keeps growing and iOS has stagnated Apple changes to bullshit like this and suing everyone to try to increase profits.
Actually, we don't have control. They choose who runs for elected and they control the voting process - so they can easily rig it (hell, they even get to draw voting districts to manipulate how elections turn out). When less than half the country even bothers to vote anymore because they've realized that they have no control over politicians, you can't say shit about what "the majority" want. If I recall correctly, something like 30% of the US voting age population votes....so that means that only 15.01% of the voting age population has to support something for it to be crammed down everyone else's throat.
And that's exactly why I've lost hope for the future (not that I know much about Breivik).....because if you try to do anything to fix how fucked up things have become, you'll be branded a lunatic / terrorist by the media and their government masters. Better to shoot yourself (or if you're banned from owning a gun, another form of suicide) and deprive the bastards of a bit of slave labor to fill their coffers.
Easier? I don't know about that. Seeing as how political parties get to control who runs for primaries as well as who gets nominated to actually run for office from said primaries, we have almost no control over who we are able to vote for. However (not saying anyone necessarily SHOULD do it), if a few of them were killed it would make their successors for the next few decades be a lot more careful about screwing over citizens. Let's put it this way - when I was younger, my dog bit my dad's hand....so my dad punched him in the face - the dog was REAL friendly for the next several weeks for fear of being punched again.
Troll, troll, troll. Normal injuries (broken bones and such) do NOT cost much at all. Hell, major surgeries only cost a few thousand typically after your insurance covers it's part. If you made choices that cause you to not have insurance or to live paycheck to paycheck, that's YOUR damn fault - no one else's. Just because you want someone else to pay your medical bills for you doesn't mean you have to lie about how much normal stuff costs.
Goddammit, I'm undoing my mod points for this. First off, why the hell would they need surgery for a broken arm? It's a simple "set the bone and apply a cast" routine. If they needed surgery because they somehow ridiculously mangled themselves, well no shit it's going to cost more.
As for what what you should do? If your kid broke their arm on the monkey bars, they obviously weren't swinging on them and were not using them as they are intended - so make sure your kid knows that they will only use them as intended or will be in serious trouble. You teach them to be more careful and if they can't handle using the monkey bars, then they shouldn't use them.
The complaints about the BBC licensing fee is that you have to pay for it even if you don't want it. It's akin to if my car came with a satellite radio in it, me being forced to pay the monthly fee even if I never wanted to listen to satellite radio.
I pirate videos that I want to try before I buy (my 400+ movie collection that I've purchased will be great support of my try before I buy philosophy if I ever end up in court). The only time I torrent video games is if 1) it's a really old game you can't find anywhere else or 2) the company wants to dick me with absurd DRM - sorry, but that last one is a principled stand. I was happy just boycotting DRM until I had a discussion with a rep from a game developer who flat out lied to me about the DRM in a game to try to con me to buy a game I otherwise wouldn't....so now I say screw it, I'll pirate their game since they won't get a cent from me anyways.
But multiplayer is where the most fun is and it's great to see game developers starting to spend time on that aspect. Multiplayer isn't just the normal deathmatch, capture the flag etc. It now has roleplaying elements like leveling and adjusting your game classes and characters to fit your playing style.
All of which boils down to the fact that it's still prepubescent little shits who have no life who rape you the second you purchase the game and go online. You may think that "multiplayer is where the most fun is", but those of us who were gaming back when you weren't even old enough to use a keyboard generally despise it and hate the current trend of 30 minutes of single player and then repetitive multiplayer.
I say we change it to Ohio - better climate, plenty of farm land, some big industry cities, and extremely nice gun laws.
........this may finally give me a reason to do Google+