Hmm, if that's true, explain to me how the price of a loaf of bread at this chain has a different price at each outlet in each city. Hmmm, the same chain stores 5 miles apart charge different prices. Hmmmmm. They know the demographics of the people coming into each individual store and they know their specific spending habits at the stores. Hmmmmmm.
No duh. I don't think they care about me specifically. They track us as a group and determine how to manipulate prices that way. I just refuse to be part of the group being tracked.
Lest anyone think my message is off-topic, consider what happens when corporations know what products to pitch to you, how to effectively pursuade you and what your price-point is. They are optimizing their methods to squeeze as much money from you as possible. Sure they've always tried to do that, but now they have the tools to be precise. Before there was much more guesswork involved.
Oh, but don't worry, since Sept. 11 it is has been determined to be your patriotic duty to spend, spend, spend. If your credit history isn't active, well, you must be a commie.
The more companies know about us, the more they can charge for their products. Example: a national grocery store implements a "membership card" system and tracks what I buy. Pretty soon is knows exactly how much it can raise the price of a loaf of french bread before people will stop buying it. Next thing you know, my 79 cent loaf costs $1.39 and I'm supposed to feel lucky when they sometimes offer a special membership price of $1.10. Uh huh.
Oh, and that situation isn't so hypothetical in my neighborhood.
I'll ignore your off-topic argument (straw-man as my logic instructor used to say) and give more reaction...
I'm a big time lover of first-person shooters. Detractors note the games are tremendously violent. I've wondered if I was dulled to the violence. But the description of the prostitute assault shocks even me. There are extremes even I cannot support. I now have no problem with the idea of requiring age limits on games. It won't keep adult games from kids (nothing will), but it will send a stronger statement to borderline parents who buy games for their kids if the parent is asked for an I.D. at the register. We have ratings for movies, why not for computer games (which are more compelling and personally involving than static film).
Silly rabbit... I know a hoard of people running Pentiums w/16 or 32MB RAM because they literally cannot afford anything greater (and in fact their PCs were donated to them). Office 95 runs OK and Office 97 is bearable if you've never seen a modern computer and thus don't realize you have crud. But of course you don't need Office 97 unless you want to export to HTML.
Office 2000 is absurd and later renditions are just even more bloated. Hell, I have a P3 800Mhz and I run Office 97 because it loads a second or two faster. So take your FUD claims elsewhere.
Linux is a godsend for people stuck on older PCs if they have a techie to help them.
Exactly. Anyone who's heard anything about the case knows the goverment has been screwing the Indians out of billions of dollars (er, actually we don't know how much $$$ because of the ulta super crappy record keeping). The white man is still sticking it to 'em. It is an extreme disgrace.
I do not believe LAN parties are on the rise. When your buddies all have DSL or cable, you meet online. It's so much more difficult to physically gather at a house that:
has enough room for people and equipment
can be occupied by noisy people until 6 a.m. without annoyed wives, children or parents
is a close drive for all attendees
has a willing host to go through the ordeal every month
I have no stomach for webmasters that complain they can't go on because their userbase is too small. Either you believe in and enjoy the site you publish, or you do not. If you close due to lack of interest then your little project was just to massage your ego. You have to be prepared to forge onward regardless of how many people are listening.
There are two exceptions:
Your site is based chiefly around user-to-user interaction, e.g., message boards. What would/. be without people talking?
Your site is profit-driven. Webmasters who close because they couldn't recoup their costs don't get an exception - they're not dedicated to their mission. Forging a web site is often about personal loss.
Nononono... you're thinking that the average person with dial-up access has two phone lines. They don't. Most people share 1 line for voice and data because the Internet is just not that important.
So... the cost savings disappear. They are paying for one phone line *and* the cable modem access.
Plus, if they wouldn't normally subscribe to cable TV (there are such people), then they are paying for basic cable TV access too. Someone could easily look at the cost of cable Internet as $70-90/month.
A $1.50 extra per week would only, if your math and logistics are correct, allow them to break even. To turn a decent profit they have to charge more than customers are willing to pay. Most people consider $40/month too much (I pay $50) and that's why cable and DSL have not "taken off."
The first FSP was "Midi Maze" on the Atari ST. Up to 15 machines networked via midi cables. Each person was represented by a 3D smiley face - running around (well, floating) in a maze. It included a map editor too.
Most web sites don't have meta tags, but most web designers do want their clients to see impressive hit counts in their traffic reports. Ummm, so who thinks web designers are going to take the time and trouble to add a feature that will decrease traffic?
Gosh now that my competitors are all charging for access, I'll have no trouble rising to popularity with my free pages.
Wouldn't this crazy scheme lead to a resurgence in quality hobbyist web sites? You know, the type created at home a couple years ago that have now all sold out to companies like OSDN/VA Linux?
I want those 60 seconds of my life back. When will a real trailer be released? I'll gladly endure viewing a clip containing Jar Jar if the rest of the trailer has substance and elicits at least a modicum of excitement and suspense. This EP2 trailer makes me want to work in my cubicle all day.
Disappointed - spoilers
on
Review: K-PAX
·
· Score: 2
-- Spoilers --
Jeff Bridges has two expressions in the film: "amazed" and "intrigued."
Kevin Spacey only directly cures one patient. The others are cured via events we don't see. How droll. This could have been *the* focus of the film.
The blue jay was computer generated. WHY?!? Real birds just too darn expensive? Hey, if I had known I would have invited Hollywood into my backyard.
Jeff Bridge's son should not have been introduced until the point where Spacey sees the photo in Jeff's house. This would have been the one surprise in the film and been a turning point in our understanding of Jeff's character. Sigh.
A psychologist would never invite a patient to his house. That was just stupid.
The entire film is spent watching Spacey's grin and listening to his "you humans" commentary. That's it. That's all. I was hoping for so much more. Jeff's "Starman" had more.
I imagine the/. crowd would be more impressed with some sort of custom t-shirt, but there you go..."
Forget about it. I was promised a Google shirt, but was never sent one. I tipped them to a number of usability problems with Google, from the logo not linking to their front page, to the << span pages >> arrows jumping you 10 pages at a time instead of the implied 1. Oh well.
You just proved our point. Your definition of good and evil are not my definitions. So either I do not exist and you dictate reality for those who do exist, or moral relativism is true.
Slashdot Mirror
Hmm, if that's true, explain to me how the price of a loaf of bread at this chain has a different price at each outlet in each city. Hmmm, the same chain stores 5 miles apart charge different prices. Hmmmmm. They know the demographics of the people coming into each individual store and they know their specific spending habits at the stores. Hmmmmmm.
No duh. I don't think they care about me specifically. They track us as a group and determine how to manipulate prices that way. I just refuse to be part of the group being tracked.
Lest anyone think my message is off-topic, consider what happens when corporations know what products to pitch to you, how to effectively pursuade you and what your price-point is. They are optimizing their methods to squeeze as much money from you as possible. Sure they've always tried to do that, but now they have the tools to be precise. Before there was much more guesswork involved.
Oh, but don't worry, since Sept. 11 it is has been determined to be your patriotic duty to spend, spend, spend. If your credit history isn't active, well, you must be a commie.
The more companies know about us, the more they can charge for their products. Example: a national grocery store implements a "membership card" system and tracks what I buy. Pretty soon is knows exactly how much it can raise the price of a loaf of french bread before people will stop buying it. Next thing you know, my 79 cent loaf costs $1.39 and I'm supposed to feel lucky when they sometimes offer a special membership price of $1.10. Uh huh.
Oh, and that situation isn't so hypothetical in my neighborhood.
Does the CD look any different after you take it out of the microwave? The photos presumably only show the CD while it's being cooked.
I am not saying off-topic = straw man. However, your post is another good example of a straw man argument.
I'll ignore your off-topic argument (straw-man as my logic instructor used to say) and give more reaction...
I'm a big time lover of first-person shooters. Detractors note the games are tremendously violent. I've wondered if I was dulled to the violence. But the description of the prostitute assault shocks even me. There are extremes even I cannot support. I now have no problem with the idea of requiring age limits on games. It won't keep adult games from kids (nothing will), but it will send a stronger statement to borderline parents who buy games for their kids if the parent is asked for an I.D. at the register. We have ratings for movies, why not for computer games (which are more compelling and personally involving than static film).
I guess it goes without saying that we all believe games should allow us to "bash and kill a prostitute for money after having sex with her."
Silly rabbit... I know a hoard of people running Pentiums w/16 or 32MB RAM because they literally cannot afford anything greater (and in fact their PCs were donated to them). Office 95 runs OK and Office 97 is bearable if you've never seen a modern computer and thus don't realize you have crud. But of course you don't need Office 97 unless you want to export to HTML.
Office 2000 is absurd and later renditions are just even more bloated. Hell, I have a P3 800Mhz and I run Office 97 because it loads a second or two faster. So take your FUD claims elsewhere.
Linux is a godsend for people stuck on older PCs if they have a techie to help them.
Start using "Office for Linux" and you buy into the sinister upgrade cycle. Your computer will never be fast enough for the latest version of Office.
Exactly. Anyone who's heard anything about the case knows the goverment has been screwing the Indians out of billions of dollars (er, actually we don't know how much $$$ because of the ulta super crappy record keeping). The white man is still sticking it to 'em. It is an extreme disgrace.
There are two exceptions:
Nononono... you're thinking that the average person with dial-up access has two phone lines. They don't. Most people share 1 line for voice and data because the Internet is just not that important.
So... the cost savings disappear. They are paying for one phone line *and* the cable modem access.
Plus, if they wouldn't normally subscribe to cable TV (there are such people), then they are paying for basic cable TV access too. Someone could easily look at the cost of cable Internet as $70-90/month.
A $1.50 extra per week would only, if your math and logistics are correct, allow them to break even. To turn a decent profit they have to charge more than customers are willing to pay. Most people consider $40/month too much (I pay $50) and that's why cable and DSL have not "taken off."
The first FSP was "Midi Maze" on the Atari ST. Up to 15 machines networked via midi cables. Each person was represented by a 3D smiley face - running around (well, floating) in a maze. It included a map editor too.
Most web sites don't have meta tags, but most web designers do want their clients to see impressive hit counts in their traffic reports. Ummm, so who thinks web designers are going to take the time and trouble to add a feature that will decrease traffic?
Gosh now that my competitors are all charging for access, I'll have no trouble rising to popularity with my free pages.
Wouldn't this crazy scheme lead to a resurgence in quality hobbyist web sites? You know, the type created at home a couple years ago that have now all sold out to companies like OSDN/VA Linux?
Every year there is an effort in Congress to discontinue the penny. I'm all for the Internet saving my handy pocket-size Lincoln portraits.
I want those 60 seconds of my life back. When will a real trailer be released? I'll gladly endure viewing a clip containing Jar Jar if the rest of the trailer has substance and elicits at least a modicum of excitement and suspense. This EP2 trailer makes me want to work in my cubicle all day.
I imagine the /. crowd would be more impressed with some sort of custom t-shirt, but there you go..."
Forget about it. I was promised a Google shirt, but was never sent one. I tipped them to a number of usability problems with Google, from the logo not linking to their front page, to the << span pages >> arrows jumping you 10 pages at a time instead of the implied 1. Oh well.
So how much will these trinkets fetch on Ebay?
Not at all. Read my post again. I included that possibility by saying "and you dictate reality for those who do exist."
But anyhow, you use the term "standard." A standard implies acceptance through wide-spread use. That is NOT the same thing as a moral truth.
You think charging people to use their ATM card will push us toward a cashless society? Umm, there are so many things wrong with that idea.
You just proved our point. Your definition of good and evil are not my definitions. So either I do not exist and you dictate reality for those who do exist, or moral relativism is true.