Re:The Internet as a business
on
The End of Free
·
· Score: 3, Informative
The original statement, back in 1984, was "On the one hand information wants to be expensive,... On the other hand, information wants to be free," The "information wants to be expensive" part is important to understanding what "information wants to be free" really means.
> I believe the catholic church held a similar view when the > Gutenburg press came out. They argued that the general public > would not understand the scriptures and would take parts of it > out of context.
> Aw come on, let's be brutally honest here - GG of any commonwealth country is a ceremonial position.
That is not correct. The Governor General has a significant amount of power, and is an integral part of the government. In principle the Governor General is the most powerful person in Canada. Just because those powers are rarely used in an overt way does not mean that they do not exist.
> Do you skip oil changes for your car because they cost $30?
Yes, people do skip oil changes, and fluid checks, and other preventative maintenance on their vehicles. How many people actually check their tyre pressure every week? It is quite common for people to drive their cars until something goes wrong, and then deal with the problem instead of taking it into the garage every three months or so.
The proposal is not much different from existing family plans. Multiple devices share data and voice plans in some way. It should not be that difficult to have multiple devices attached to the same data plan.
Very true, but sadly the profit motive is more-or-less the same everywhere. The real hope is that governments will start regulating ISPs and data stream providers.
The temperature of space is 2.7 kelvin, the temperature of the cosmic microwave background radiation. Getting the temperature below that would require some form of active cooling.
NASA launches several balloon missions every year. They are cheaper than space telescopes, but they have some severe limitations, such as very short life spans and size-mass restrictions. Sometimes you get more science per dollar spent by flying a telescope in space.
Also, infrared instruments usually need to be actively cooled, which means that the spacecraft needs a supply of coolant, such as liquid nitrogen. The coolant usually runs out long before anything on the spacecraft breaks down. So, the lifespans of space-based infrared telescopes tend to be limited by the amount of coolant that can be stored onboard. Sofia does not have that problem because it can refill its tanks every time it finished flying.
The water on the surface of 24 Themis does not have to come from within the asteroid, it can be created through surface chemistry between the solar wind and the surface of the asteroid. The process is similar what has been proposed to explain some of the water layer found on the surface of the Moon. In essence, the water on the asteroid is being continually created. Water that is lost is replaced through chemical reactions over time.
Do you really expect every parent to talk with every store owner about what their children can and cannot buy? Setting laws is one of the ways that societies govern themselves. Societies that fail to govern themselves tend to get washed away in a tide of sociopaths.
WRONG. Families do not exist as self-contained units isolated outside of the rest of society. They never have and they probably never will. In the real world people interact with each other and there needs to be rules governing that interaction in order to prevent anarchy. Societies that do not govern themselves tend to end up like Somalia or your favourite war zone---which are not places that most of us want to live. We (as a society) do have a responsibility to ensure that children grow up in an environment that is conducive to them learning to be functioning members of society. The world does not own you anything, including free rein to do whatever you like.
The insurance industry has a rule of thumb that one human life is worth $1,000,000.00. I suspect that the actual number they use varies considerably depending on the circumstances.
> Richard Branson believes he should be compensated for losses caused by > an act of god? What a pretentious dick!
It is fine with me if he wants to be compensated for an act of God. However, the being responsible for the act of God should be paying the compensation, not the British government.
Unfortunately the world is so interconnected that the failures do not just destroy themselves, they put me at risk to. It is a lot like driving. If I drive badly I am as much of a threat to you as I am to myself.
That is fine if you do not care about the human population that depends on these seas and lakes. The reality is that when natural resources run out or fail like this the civilizations that grew up around them usually collapse. I don't know about you, but I like civilization and do not want to see it collapse.
The people who pointed out that the Aral Sea was headed for a disaster were dismissed as fear-mongers and chicken littles at the time. Given that the environmental movement was proven to be correct then, why dismiss it now?
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The original statement, back in 1984, was "On the one hand information wants to be expensive, ... On the other hand, information wants to be free," The "information wants to be expensive" part is important to understanding what "information wants to be free" really means.
> I believe the catholic church held a similar view when the
> Gutenburg press came out. They argued that the general public
> would not understand the scriptures and would take parts of it
> out of context.
And that is exactly what happened.
> What part of 'constitutional crisis' do you fuckheads not
> understand?
> ENGLISH, MOTHERFUCKER! DO YOU SPEAK IT?
Yawn...
> Aw come on, let's be brutally honest here - GG of any commonwealth country is a ceremonial position.
That is not correct. The Governor General has a significant amount of power, and is an integral part of the government. In principle the Governor General is the most powerful person in Canada. Just because those powers are rarely used in an overt way does not mean that they do not exist.
> Do you skip oil changes for your car because they cost $30?
Yes, people do skip oil changes, and fluid checks, and other preventative maintenance on their vehicles. How many people actually check their tyre pressure every week? It is quite common for people to drive their cars until something goes wrong, and then deal with the problem instead of taking it into the garage every three months or so.
Just because you do not understand how something is done does not mean that it cannot be done.
The proposal is not much different from existing family plans. Multiple devices share data and voice plans in some way. It should not be that difficult to have multiple devices attached to the same data plan.
No, asking for it is very capitalist. Providing it is what goes against the very ideas of capitalism.
Very true, but sadly the profit motive is more-or-less the same everywhere. The real hope is that governments will start regulating ISPs and data stream providers.
Just because you are not paranoid does not mean that no-one is out to get you.
I suspect that there may be more going on in this case than the article says.
According to the OED the plural of forum is forums. Fora is only use when referring to Roman public spaces.
Like Kansas and Texas?
The temperature of space is 2.7 kelvin, the temperature of the cosmic microwave background radiation. Getting the temperature below that would require some form of active cooling.
NASA launches several balloon missions every year. They are cheaper than space telescopes, but they have some severe limitations, such as very short life spans and size-mass restrictions. Sometimes you get more science per dollar spent by flying a telescope in space.
Also, infrared instruments usually need to be actively cooled, which means that the spacecraft needs a supply of coolant, such as liquid nitrogen. The coolant usually runs out long before anything on the spacecraft breaks down. So, the lifespans of space-based infrared telescopes tend to be limited by the amount of coolant that can be stored onboard. Sofia does not have that problem because it can refill its tanks every time it finished flying.
Yes, we have incisors to open twinkie packages.
The water on the surface of 24 Themis does not have to come from within the asteroid, it can be created through surface chemistry between the solar wind and the surface of the asteroid. The process is similar what has been proposed to explain some of the water layer found on the surface of the Moon. In essence, the water on the asteroid is being continually created. Water that is lost is replaced through chemical reactions over time.
Do you really expect every parent to talk with every store owner about what their children can and cannot buy? Setting laws is one of the ways that societies govern themselves. Societies that fail to govern themselves tend to get washed away in a tide of sociopaths.
WRONG. Families do not exist as self-contained units isolated outside of the rest of society. They never have and they probably never will. In the real world people interact with each other and there needs to be rules governing that interaction in order to prevent anarchy. Societies that do not govern themselves tend to end up like Somalia or your favourite war zone---which are not places that most of us want to live. We (as a society) do have a responsibility to ensure that children grow up in an environment that is conducive to them learning to be functioning members of society. The world does not own you anything, including free rein to do whatever you like.
The insurance industry has a rule of thumb that one human life is worth $1,000,000.00. I suspect that the actual number they use varies considerably depending on the circumstances.
> Richard Branson believes he should be compensated for losses caused by
> an act of god? What a pretentious dick!
It is fine with me if he wants to be compensated for an act of God. However, the being responsible for the act of God should be paying the compensation, not the British government.
Unfortunately the world is so interconnected that the failures do not just destroy themselves, they put me at risk to. It is a lot like driving. If I drive badly I am as much of a threat to you as I am to myself.
That is fine if you do not care about the human population that depends on these seas and lakes. The reality is that when natural resources run out or fail like this the civilizations that grew up around them usually collapse. I don't know about you, but I like civilization and do not want to see it collapse.
The people who pointed out that the Aral Sea was headed for a disaster were dismissed as fear-mongers and chicken littles at the time. Given that the environmental movement was proven to be correct then, why dismiss it now?