Ad blocking users will not magically start clicking ads because someone coerces them into disabling their ad blocker.
Content providers should really focus their efforts where there is at least the possibility they will benefit from the effort. In this case, not only will unblocking ads lower the overall "quality" of the eyeballs on the ads, but it will piss off consumers. Smart.
I just looked at completed listings on ebay and I see plenty of DROIDs that have sold for anywhere from $400 to $620 (don't ask me why anyone would pay more than the retail price), so it's not as if you are stuck with the phone and its cost if you decide to bolt to another company.
If you don't like the vendor lock-in that comes with a CDMA phone then nobody is stopping you from using AT&T or T-Mobile. Verizon is not a monopoly.
I think you're allowed out of your contract if you move out of the service area, but I'm not sure of that.
They aren't relating the ETF directly to the phone you buy, but they are relating it to the class of phone you buy; the $350 fee only applies to "advanced devices."
Thank you for understanding that when I said you save X amount that I wasn't claiming Verizon was losing X amount. It just comes out of their markup.
Nobody that I know of has been forced into a cell phone contract. Rather, those of us that have contracts have been persuaded into it which works because, as you point out, there is such strong demand for the latest and greatest.
For that particular phone it is completely relevant. If you go into a store and ask them for a DROID with no contract that is the price.
They do have cheaper phones where the math would be more in their favor and they also have more expensive phones where the math would swing more to your favor.
Who said I accept the cost is $560? I said they charge you $560. Don't like the price? Don't pay it.
Must trash your phone? Don't even own it? That's just stupid. I might switch to another carrier, but I could still sell the phone, so don't go screaming the sky is falling.
Net neutrality has nothing to do with wireless providers locking down phones. I don't like it either, but don't confuse the issue.
I'm assuming by open market you meant free market. I hate to break it to you, but this is the free market at work. The carriers have ETFs and locked handsets because consumers by and large put up with it.
None of this is to say that these companies don't do some pretty sleazy things. For example, having ETFs that didn't prorate was dirty for sure, but if you don't like how Verizon is doing business then go with a company like Cricket that doesn't require contracts and will let you unlock your phone if you want to leave them. You do have choices.
The article isn't so much about targeted advertising as it is how the user's data is obtained. What the article actually says is we don't want to be tracked across multiple sites. It doesn't mention targeted advertising using data acquired on a single site.
Why don't they sell keyboards without these stupid windows-keys?
Because the windows keys are really, really useful?
Glad you like them. People like Xtense and I would just like to be able to buy a new keyboard that suits us. Nobody is saying it has to be one way or the other.
I totally agree with you. For me the Windows keys change the feel of the keyboard too much to ignore. I have Model M's at home and work running through USB adapters because nobody sells 101-key USB keyboards. The Customizer keyboard is still available in a 101-key setup but not with USB. Anyway, as long as I can use my Model M's I'll be happy.
My roommate bought an HP dv9535us last weekend and paid $1349. It has a 17" WXGA display. To get a 17" display from apple you have to pay a minimum of $2799. Let's compare:
HP Apple OS Vista Home Premium OS X CPU 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo RAM 2GB DDR2 2GB DDR2 Hard Drive 160GB SATA (5400rpm) 160GB SATA (5400rpm) Display 17" WXGA 17" WSXGA Graphics Intel X3100 (shared RAM) GeForce 8600M GT 256MB Optical Drive DVD+/-R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW DVD+/-R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW Weight 7.7lbs 6.8lbs
Both have built-in wireless, webcams and audio. The HP has a built-in fingerprint reader.
Even worse, RAID 0 and JBOD give you anti-redundancy. With either of those options if a single disk dies you lose everything on all drives. So the set will be 1/n as reliable as a single disk where n is the number of disks in the set.
I would never use RAID 0 or JBOD. It's just begging for trouble.
The problem is I don't like virtual desktops either. I just want each program to manage it's own windows. I know many people hate that idea because "that's the job of the window manager," but I like all the windows to become visible when I give the program focus and I like being able to arrange the windows and have them move around in lockstep when I move the program window.
If all programs with multiple documents used SDI you'd have to have inumerable virtual desktops or else you'd never get anything done. I do understand that plenty of people disagree with me and I respect their opinion, but I do take solace in the fact that many people also agree with me.
That would be really nice, but the bigger issue to me is the SDI interface. Unfortunately, the GIMP guys don't like MDI so the GIMP is destined to stay splashed all across the screen in 5 different windows all getting in the way of one another forever (unless something has changed that I'm not aware of). As a result I keep using Photoshop for most things even though the GIMP is so powerful.
I run a site that sells mp3s. It is currently evolving from it's original purpose as a tiny site dedicated to a few bands into a site where any band can sell their own mp3s and merch. The problem is that transaction fees for a credit card are 2-3% plus $0.25 - $0.35. You can't offer mp3s for 39 cents and make any money. In my situation, my worst case scenario is that a customer will buy only a single mp3 for $1.00. That makes the transaction fees take away about 33% of your profit. Then you have to take what's left and split it between the band and the service provider.
We sell plain old (high quality) mp3s. We offer the same protection on our mp3s that you probably already have on your CDs. None. We figure if your willing to sell a standard, unprotected CD, there is no reason not to sell a standard, unprotected mp3.
Sounds similar to my experience with WD. I can't stand them anymore but a buddy still loves them and thinks it's really strange that mine always die. I switched to Seagate a couple years ago because of their 5-year warranty and have been happy ever since with no problems (but I'm still paranoid enough to run RAID 1).
While we both have experienced abnormal failure rates for our respective drives, I certainly look at Seagate's warranty as a good thing, not bad. WD, Maxtor and Hitachi all dropped their warranties on retail drives from 3 years to 1. That doesn't inspire confidence. Seagate increased from 3 to 5. That tells me they have confidence in their drives and they care about their customers.
I agree with some of the sentiment expressed in the parent. Gorillas period are generally not nice though. It's insane that those things were granted patents in the first place, so in this case I am firmly behind Blockbuster.
After much research I bought an IBM Model M (from the silver logo era) from http://www.clickykeyboards.com/. I liked it so much I bought a second one for the office. The only problem I had was when I upgraded to a modern USB KVM. I even performed a simple mod on the PCB to allow it to work with the KVM and I've been cruising ever since. The info for the mod is at http://www.geocities.com/jszybowski/keyboard/.
I agree completely. New version... Updated anti-spam features. Seems a lot more reasonable than hypothesizing that spammers are removing him based on bounces.
If a spammer gets a 0.01% conversion he considers it a successful campaign. When someone uses the shotgun method to that extreme I just don't see how they're really gonna care a whole about bounces.
I suppose it's possible, but highly improbable. I think someone was asleep at the wheel when they let this one slip through.
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Ad blocking users will not magically start clicking ads because someone coerces them into disabling their ad blocker.
Content providers should really focus their efforts where there is at least the possibility they will benefit from the effort. In this case, not only will unblocking ads lower the overall "quality" of the eyeballs on the ads, but it will piss off consumers. Smart.
I think it should prorate faster too. There's no sense in having to pay $120 to break your contract at the 23 month mark.
Now that's a reasonable argument. Although they also have phones that cost more than $560, so it goes both ways.
I just looked at completed listings on ebay and I see plenty of DROIDs that have sold for anywhere from $400 to $620 (don't ask me why anyone would pay more than the retail price), so it's not as if you are stuck with the phone and its cost if you decide to bolt to another company.
If you don't like the vendor lock-in that comes with a CDMA phone then nobody is stopping you from using AT&T or T-Mobile. Verizon is not a monopoly.
I think you're allowed out of your contract if you move out of the service area, but I'm not sure of that.
They aren't relating the ETF directly to the phone you buy, but they are relating it to the class of phone you buy; the $350 fee only applies to "advanced devices."
Exactly. Companies are in business to make money.
Thank you for understanding that when I said you save X amount that I wasn't claiming Verizon was losing X amount. It just comes out of their markup.
Nobody that I know of has been forced into a cell phone contract. Rather, those of us that have contracts have been persuaded into it which works because, as you point out, there is such strong demand for the latest and greatest.
For that particular phone it is completely relevant. If you go into a store and ask them for a DROID with no contract that is the price.
They do have cheaper phones where the math would be more in their favor and they also have more expensive phones where the math would swing more to your favor.
Who said I accept the cost is $560? I said they charge you $560. Don't like the price? Don't pay it.
Must trash your phone? Don't even own it? That's just stupid. I might switch to another carrier, but I could still sell the phone, so don't go screaming the sky is falling.
Net neutrality has nothing to do with wireless providers locking down phones. I don't like it either, but don't confuse the issue.
I'm assuming by open market you meant free market. I hate to break it to you, but this is the free market at work. The carriers have ETFs and locked handsets because consumers by and large put up with it.
None of this is to say that these companies don't do some pretty sleazy things. For example, having ETFs that didn't prorate was dirty for sure, but if you don't like how Verizon is doing business then go with a company like Cricket that doesn't require contracts and will let you unlock your phone if you want to leave them. You do have choices.
I'm not saying whether $560 is fair or not, but that's the price, so the new ETF still enables you to give yourself an instant $10 discount.
I have no idea how much the phone costs VZW, but I'm with you... I would never pay that much.
At least on AT&T when you are on suspension the contract clock pauses. You simply move your contract end date out by the length of your suspension.
Using the DROID as an example:
The DROID with no contract is $560.
Math with the current termination fee:
$200 for the phone +
$175 to immediately break your contract =
$375 (You save $185 over the no-contract price)
Math with the new termination fee:
$200 for the phone +
$350 to immediately break your contract =
$550 (You save $10 over the no-contract price)
Either way you save more than simply buying the phone without a contract. The new fee is high, but I can understand their reasoning.
The article isn't so much about targeted advertising as it is how the user's data is obtained. What the article actually says is we don't want to be tracked across multiple sites. It doesn't mention targeted advertising using data acquired on a single site.
I use esc-backspace to delete whole words. Others have already mentioned it, but I also love ctrl-r to bring up your command history.
Why don't they sell keyboards without these stupid windows-keys?
Because the windows keys are really, really useful?
Glad you like them. People like Xtense and I would just like to be able to buy a new keyboard that suits us. Nobody is saying it has to be one way or the other.
I totally agree with you. For me the Windows keys change the feel of the keyboard too much to ignore. I have Model M's at home and work running through USB adapters because nobody sells 101-key USB keyboards. The Customizer keyboard is still available in a 101-key setup but not with USB. Anyway, as long as I can use my Model M's I'll be happy.
My roommate bought an HP dv9535us last weekend and paid $1349. It has a 17" WXGA display. To get a 17" display from apple you have to pay a minimum of $2799. Let's compare:
HP Apple
OS Vista Home Premium OS X
CPU 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo
RAM 2GB DDR2 2GB DDR2
Hard Drive 160GB SATA (5400rpm) 160GB SATA (5400rpm)
Display 17" WXGA 17" WSXGA
Graphics Intel X3100 (shared RAM) GeForce 8600M GT 256MB
Optical Drive DVD+/-R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW DVD+/-R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW
Weight 7.7lbs 6.8lbs
Both have built-in wireless, webcams and audio. The HP has a built-in fingerprint reader.
The Mac has better specs, but not $1450 better.
Even worse, RAID 0 and JBOD give you anti-redundancy. With either of those options if a single disk dies you lose everything on all drives. So the set will be 1/n as reliable as a single disk where n is the number of disks in the set.
I would never use RAID 0 or JBOD. It's just begging for trouble.
The problem is I don't like virtual desktops either. I just want each program to manage it's own windows. I know many people hate that idea because "that's the job of the window manager," but I like all the windows to become visible when I give the program focus and I like being able to arrange the windows and have them move around in lockstep when I move the program window.
If all programs with multiple documents used SDI you'd have to have inumerable virtual desktops or else you'd never get anything done. I do understand that plenty of people disagree with me and I respect their opinion, but I do take solace in the fact that many people also agree with me.
That would be really nice, but the bigger issue to me is the SDI interface. Unfortunately, the GIMP guys don't like MDI so the GIMP is destined to stay splashed all across the screen in 5 different windows all getting in the way of one another forever (unless something has changed that I'm not aware of). As a result I keep using Photoshop for most things even though the GIMP is so powerful.
I run a site that sells mp3s. It is currently evolving from it's original purpose as a tiny site dedicated to a few bands into a site where any band can sell their own mp3s and merch. The problem is that transaction fees for a credit card are 2-3% plus $0.25 - $0.35. You can't offer mp3s for 39 cents and make any money. In my situation, my worst case scenario is that a customer will buy only a single mp3 for $1.00. That makes the transaction fees take away about 33% of your profit. Then you have to take what's left and split it between the band and the service provider.
We sell plain old (high quality) mp3s. We offer the same protection on our mp3s that you probably already have on your CDs. None. We figure if your willing to sell a standard, unprotected CD, there is no reason not to sell a standard, unprotected mp3.
Sounds similar to my experience with WD. I can't stand them anymore but a buddy still loves them and thinks it's really strange that mine always die. I switched to Seagate a couple years ago because of their 5-year warranty and have been happy ever since with no problems (but I'm still paranoid enough to run RAID 1).
While we both have experienced abnormal failure rates for our respective drives, I certainly look at Seagate's warranty as a good thing, not bad. WD, Maxtor and Hitachi all dropped their warranties on retail drives from 3 years to 1. That doesn't inspire confidence. Seagate increased from 3 to 5. That tells me they have confidence in their drives and they care about their customers.
I agree with some of the sentiment expressed in the parent. Gorillas period are generally not nice though. It's insane that those things were granted patents in the first place, so in this case I am firmly behind Blockbuster.
After much research I bought an IBM Model M (from the silver logo era) from http://www.clickykeyboards.com/. I liked it so much I bought a second one for the office. The only problem I had was when I upgraded to a modern USB KVM. I even performed a simple mod on the PCB to allow it to work with the KVM and I've been cruising ever since. The info for the mod is at http://www.geocities.com/jszybowski/keyboard/.
Writing for Internet Explorer these days is challenging.
I agree completely. New version... Updated anti-spam features. Seems a lot more reasonable than hypothesizing that spammers are removing him based on bounces.
If a spammer gets a 0.01% conversion he considers it a successful campaign. When someone uses the shotgun method to that extreme I just don't see how they're really gonna care a whole about bounces.
I suppose it's possible, but highly improbable. I think someone was asleep at the wheel when they let this one slip through.