From your perspective and Microsoft's, yes. Not from the perspective of non-MS developer's/publisher's though.
It's not like you buy your premium horse armor for 415 points, but Microsoft still has to keep $3.40 in escrow to cover the "value" of your unspent points.
But if 6 months down the line you then buy some 85 point item from a non-MS developer/publisher, MS does have to give that remaining $3.40 (or some fraction thereof) to that developer/publisher. So in a sense, they do need to keep it "in escrow", since they need to be able to pay the non-MS developer/publisher you bought your item from.
DSL maybe, and maybe this isn't true everywhere, but FIOS offers TV and phone in addition to internet. So FIOS would have the same reason to oppose Netflix as Comcast.
While I too did not read the entire thing, if you'd finished reading that paragraph you'd have seen that the guy did address such issues.
Obviously if the rental car agency was negligent in the maintenance of one of its vehicles and that negligence led to the accident, they might be liable — but not simply if their customer did something reckless over which they had no control (which would be analogous to an ISP subscriber committing a copyright infringement that the ISP didn't know about).
And you know why we're getting this stupid idea? Because of the American Public's obsessive opposition to a proper gas tax. Grow a pair, and start to accept that a gas tax is the simplest, most obvious way to fund the highway system. And if anyone's worried that trucks will be driven into the ground because of inordinate gas prices, you could even have a tiered system at the pump, where someone who purchases 100 gallons in one block pays a different tax than someone who purchases 5 gallons. But this approach is the single worst way of getting people to fund the maintenance of the roads. And anyone who complains about this better first look in the mirror to check whether you are willing to support paying for infrastructure to begin with. Because the reason this is even considered is that a gas tax is demonstrated political suicide.
You seem to be of the opinion that all motor vehicles use gasoline. Or maybe you think alternative fuel vehicles are a passing fad. At any rate, some people are expecting a drop in the number of gas-using vehicles on our roads, but not a drop in the number vehicles on our roads. Maybe the proposal from TFA is not the solution to the problem of funding our roads as less and less people are using gasoline, but your solution is even less useful.
You've expressed that you're no more evolved than two dogs humping in the backyard.
And what, exactly, is wrong with two (or more) consenting adults, who are taking proper safety precautions, having sex? Note, "my religion says it's bad" is not a valid answer.
And you think that is sophistication.
Curiously, that's not the kind of vibe I got from it.
He shouldn't be allowed to sign a contract that involves math in any way whatsoever.
You mean like for a car or house loan?
When I bought my car, I knew I was going to pay more over the life of the loan I was getting vs if I had just bought the car outright. Unfortunately, that wasn't something I was able to afford. And I couldn't just wait till I had saved up enough to buy it outright because I still needed a car during that time. So I signed.
For some people, a computer may fall within the list of items that are needed but cannot afford to be saved up for. I suppose it could be argued that for something as cheap as a computer, no one should be in a position where they need to get a loan to buy one, but it sounds more like you are dismissing the concept of loans entirely rather than for items that you consider cheap.
Depends. What's the contract say that the Wyoming couple signed when they rented the computer, and are there any laws that supersedes any contract language that would allow such actions?
If they are legally in the clear... ok, maybe they're still dumb because now who's going to rent from them knowing they may be spied on at any moment?
Except that knowing something specific about, say, a murder case is not the same thing as knowing what the fuck murder is. What occurred here with the judge being briefed on some java terms seems to be the latter.
While I appreciate the reasoning behind such laws, and probably wouldn't want them changed because of the few who may then end up being coerced into working 8 straight hours without a lunch break, being told that "I must eat lunch around this specified time" still elicits a feeling of being back in high school.
How much would you actually pay to get a 20-year DVD player?
I don't know how to answer that question because I don't know what the average life expectancy of a DVD player is.
But I have an original NES that still works, and power surges not-withstanding, I expect to continue to work. There may be other expected reasons for it to fail that I cannot think of at this time, but my point is that unless I am aware of the fact that a device contains parts that are expected to wear out with use, and how long those parts are expected to last for, I would expect that device to essentially last forever.
My apologies, I did not realize we were talking about people with just 1 eye. I was talking about how 2 eyes are used to convey depth through the use of parallax, and whether looking at the "real" world, or a 3DS screen, the concept is the same.
We really don't understand how the brain processes images. The fact that significant portions of the population get headaches, or don't see the effects at all should be a clear sign of that.
The only thing that that is a "clear sign of" is that people's eyes are not a fixed distance apart. If your eyes are closer together or further apart than the 3DS was designed for, then yeah, the technology may not work properly for you.
it works by faking you out to see something that isn't there.
Um, no. It works by displaying one image to one eye and a different image to your other eye. Exactly the same way your eyes see the "real" world.
Don't get me wrong though, I'm not saying it isn't "fake 3D", it just isn't fake for the reason you're claiming.
what I really want to know is if the same people who are fooled by this 3D tech are the same group of people who get fooled by seeing ghosts?
Do I detect a hint of sour grapes? Because comparing people who claim to see ghosts with people that this technology works for just does not make sense. I'm sorry it doesn't work for you, but seeing something that isn't there this isn't.
Can a procedurally generated page be protected by copyright?
IANAL, but as I understand it, facts (the search results themselves) cannot be copyrighted. The layout of those facts, as well as the placement of the Google logo, search textbox, etc, might be copyrightable.
Right, because once things change, they can never go back. Ever. We are forever stuck with the outcome of that war and must abide by it for the rest of our lives.
Why? This is a frightening trend in our society where people equate getting away with it as doing nothing wrong. If people were driving away with truckloads then we're talking thousands in groceries.
I think you missed the part where OP said the ones driving off with "thousands in groceries" (the "bad apples" OP called them) should be dealt with.
If it had been a car dealership and they were driving away with cars would you feel differently?
Considering how they appear to feel regarding thousands in groceries, no, I do not think they would feel differently about thousands in automobiles. However, I suspect they would feel differently from how you are trying to portray them as feeling.
She probably understood your motivation, but what was she to do? Call up a few other stores and find out what they were charging for the item? I suppose she could call her manager over and you eventually work your way up/across the chain of command until you get the person who set the prices...
If there is a price difference between what is on the shelf and what the computer rang it up as, I'd say the computer probably has the more up-to-date price. That doesn't mean they get to list one price on the shelf, but ring it up as a higher price. That'd likely fall under false advertising. But I don't think there's any issues with having an "unannounced sale" for lack of a proper term.
Yet I'm exposed to tickets and presumed guilt in every case involving my vehicle.
<government>
It's not guilt, it's an administration fee. You are responsible for the actions performed with your possessions, even if you are not the one who performed the action.
</government>
What's even funnier is that these metric superiority trolls will do a quick 180 (see, gasp, a non-metric unit again!) when it comes time for them to argue over whether customers are getting full value when marketing uses a Metric Gigabyte (1GB=1,000,000,000 bytes) instead of a "Real Gigabyte" (1Gibibyte=1,073,741,824 bytes) when stating the capacity of storage media.
Loved the entire rest of the post, but I just had to bring something up here. Since computers operate in base 2 and not base 10, I'm not sure that arguing for base 2 counting for HDD sizes and base 10 counting for real world lengths/weights/etc counts as contradictory. Wouldn't it sorta be like saying that a 12 fingered alien species arguing for the use of base 10 when dealing with humans is "doing a 180"?
Slashdot Mirror
The transaction is done at that point
From your perspective and Microsoft's, yes. Not from the perspective of non-MS developer's/publisher's though.
It's not like you buy your premium horse armor for 415 points, but Microsoft still has to keep $3.40 in escrow to cover the "value" of your unspent points.
But if 6 months down the line you then buy some 85 point item from a non-MS developer/publisher, MS does have to give that remaining $3.40 (or some fraction thereof) to that developer/publisher. So in a sense, they do need to keep it "in escrow", since they need to be able to pay the non-MS developer/publisher you bought your item from.
DSL maybe, and maybe this isn't true everywhere, but FIOS offers TV and phone in addition to internet. So FIOS would have the same reason to oppose Netflix as Comcast.
Obviously if the rental car agency was negligent in the maintenance of one of its vehicles and that negligence led to the accident, they might be liable — but not simply if their customer did something reckless over which they had no control (which would be analogous to an ISP subscriber committing a copyright infringement that the ISP didn't know about).
And you know why we're getting this stupid idea? Because of the American Public's obsessive opposition to a proper gas tax. Grow a pair, and start to accept that a gas tax is the simplest, most obvious way to fund the highway system. And if anyone's worried that trucks will be driven into the ground because of inordinate gas prices, you could even have a tiered system at the pump, where someone who purchases 100 gallons in one block pays a different tax than someone who purchases 5 gallons. But this approach is the single worst way of getting people to fund the maintenance of the roads. And anyone who complains about this better first look in the mirror to check whether you are willing to support paying for infrastructure to begin with. Because the reason this is even considered is that a gas tax is demonstrated political suicide.
You seem to be of the opinion that all motor vehicles use gasoline. Or maybe you think alternative fuel vehicles are a passing fad. At any rate, some people are expecting a drop in the number of gas-using vehicles on our roads, but not a drop in the number vehicles on our roads. Maybe the proposal from TFA is not the solution to the problem of funding our roads as less and less people are using gasoline, but your solution is even less useful.
You've expressed that you're no more evolved than two dogs humping in the backyard.
And what, exactly, is wrong with two (or more) consenting adults, who are taking proper safety precautions, having sex? Note, "my religion says it's bad" is not a valid answer.
And you think that is sophistication.
Curiously, that's not the kind of vibe I got from it.
He shouldn't be allowed to sign a contract that involves math in any way whatsoever.
You mean like for a car or house loan?
When I bought my car, I knew I was going to pay more over the life of the loan I was getting vs if I had just bought the car outright. Unfortunately, that wasn't something I was able to afford. And I couldn't just wait till I had saved up enough to buy it outright because I still needed a car during that time. So I signed.
For some people, a computer may fall within the list of items that are needed but cannot afford to be saved up for. I suppose it could be argued that for something as cheap as a computer, no one should be in a position where they need to get a loan to buy one, but it sounds more like you are dismissing the concept of loans entirely rather than for items that you consider cheap.
Seriously, how dumb is this company?
Depends. What's the contract say that the Wyoming couple signed when they rented the computer, and are there any laws that supersedes any contract language that would allow such actions?
If they are legally in the clear... ok, maybe they're still dumb because now who's going to rent from them knowing they may be spied on at any moment?
how are you going to tell a hooker from an undercover cop looking to fill her quota for "patronizing a prostitute" tickets?
Don't ask her for sex for money, ask if she'd like to star in a pornographic film with you.
Remember kids, prostitution bad, pornography first amendment protected speech.
Except that knowing something specific about, say, a murder case is not the same thing as knowing what the fuck murder is. What occurred here with the judge being briefed on some java terms seems to be the latter.
Your state laws may not allow that option.
While I appreciate the reasoning behind such laws, and probably wouldn't want them changed because of the few who may then end up being coerced into working 8 straight hours without a lunch break, being told that "I must eat lunch around this specified time" still elicits a feeling of being back in high school.
How much would you actually pay to get a 20-year DVD player?
I don't know how to answer that question because I don't know what the average life expectancy of a DVD player is.
But I have an original NES that still works, and power surges not-withstanding, I expect to continue to work. There may be other expected reasons for it to fail that I cannot think of at this time, but my point is that unless I am aware of the fact that a device contains parts that are expected to wear out with use, and how long those parts are expected to last for, I would expect that device to essentially last forever.
We really don't understand how the brain processes images. The fact that significant portions of the population get headaches, or don't see the effects at all should be a clear sign of that.
The only thing that that is a "clear sign of" is that people's eyes are not a fixed distance apart. If your eyes are closer together or further apart than the 3DS was designed for, then yeah, the technology may not work properly for you.
it works by faking you out to see something that isn't there.
Um, no. It works by displaying one image to one eye and a different image to your other eye. Exactly the same way your eyes see the "real" world.
Don't get me wrong though, I'm not saying it isn't "fake 3D", it just isn't fake for the reason you're claiming.
what I really want to know is if the same people who are fooled by this 3D tech are the same group of people who get fooled by seeing ghosts?
Do I detect a hint of sour grapes? Because comparing people who claim to see ghosts with people that this technology works for just does not make sense. I'm sorry it doesn't work for you, but seeing something that isn't there this isn't.
This should mostly answer that. Only thing it doesn't list is the processor speed for the 3DS.
Can a procedurally generated page be protected by copyright?
IANAL, but as I understand it, facts (the search results themselves) cannot be copyrighted. The layout of those facts, as well as the placement of the Google logo, search textbox, etc, might be copyrightable.
After a bankruptcy, the new holders of the servers can do anything they please with the data on the boxes.
You mean like how when a physical storage place goes bankrupt?
While an awkward way of looking at it, it could be said that omitting the return address hides who you, the recipient, are communicating with.
Right, because once things change, they can never go back. Ever. We are forever stuck with the outcome of that war and must abide by it for the rest of our lives.
We should reward people for being honest now?
IANAP, but from what I can recall from Psychology 101, positive reinforcement does appear to be better than negative reinforcement.
Why? This is a frightening trend in our society where people equate getting away with it as doing nothing wrong. If people were driving away with truckloads then we're talking thousands in groceries.
I think you missed the part where OP said the ones driving off with "thousands in groceries" (the "bad apples" OP called them) should be dealt with.
If it had been a car dealership and they were driving away with cars would you feel differently?
Considering how they appear to feel regarding thousands in groceries, no, I do not think they would feel differently about thousands in automobiles. However, I suspect they would feel differently from how you are trying to portray them as feeling.
She probably understood your motivation, but what was she to do? Call up a few other stores and find out what they were charging for the item? I suppose she could call her manager over and you eventually work your way up/across the chain of command until you get the person who set the prices...
If there is a price difference between what is on the shelf and what the computer rang it up as, I'd say the computer probably has the more up-to-date price. That doesn't mean they get to list one price on the shelf, but ring it up as a higher price. That'd likely fall under false advertising. But I don't think there's any issues with having an "unannounced sale" for lack of a proper term.
Erm, not sure I see the link between being a pilot and returning later to pay for something you forgot or couldn't pay for at the time.
Yet I'm exposed to tickets and presumed guilt in every case involving my vehicle.
<government>
It's not guilt, it's an administration fee. You are responsible for the actions performed with your possessions, even if you are not the one who performed the action.
</government>
Yes, I dislike it too.
Serious question. If someone "cries wolf" too often, why shouldn't they eventually be disallowed from suing others?
Of course, maybe what Righthaven is doing doesn't count as "crying wolf", in which case, my question becomes a hypothetical.
What's even funnier is that these metric superiority trolls will do a quick 180 (see, gasp, a non-metric unit again!) when it comes time for them to argue over whether customers are getting full value when marketing uses a Metric Gigabyte (1GB=1,000,000,000 bytes) instead of a "Real Gigabyte" (1Gibibyte=1,073,741,824 bytes) when stating the capacity of storage media.
Loved the entire rest of the post, but I just had to bring something up here. Since computers operate in base 2 and not base 10, I'm not sure that arguing for base 2 counting for HDD sizes and base 10 counting for real world lengths/weights/etc counts as contradictory. Wouldn't it sorta be like saying that a 12 fingered alien species arguing for the use of base 10 when dealing with humans is "doing a 180"?