My fiance was just recently part of an educational theatre program to teach teenagers and adults about AIDS and STDs, and they used one phrase so often it seemed like a new word: "HIV,-the-virus-that-causes-AIDS". Every time someone would ask them about can you get AIDS from this, or from that, the answer was about "HIV,-the-virus-that-causes-AIDS".
True as this is, it's not always a good thing: That Xupiter thing is compatible enough to install itself on a Win98 machine, but incompatible enough to crash the system each time IE starts. Which just means more pc fix-up work for me....
I consider myself a Republican, but I'm going to say something against the party line - the free market does NOT solve all ills!
If you think what we have now is a free market, you're way off. That one choice you've got in your small town? Odds are it's a state-sanctioned monopoly. I'd also consider it safe to guess that the state has delegated some of its own powers to this monopoly. Powers such as eminent domain or price-fixing. It's quite likely that this monopoly has its hands in tax law, too, encouraging your legislators to set up license fees and levies against prospective competition, while bargaining for tax breaks.
With the rules set up to favor the "one choice", is it so hard to see why there aren't more choices?
And for all the lip service Republicans pay to the free market, they're as bad as anyone in perpetuating this mercantilism-in-free-market-clothing system we've got now. Not that the Democrats are any better. They thrive on the same status quo, while paying lip service to a different ideal.
IANAL, but my daily radio listening includes a certain consumer champion.
As others have said, the burden of providing documentation is (or, at least, should be) on the telco.
That said, you don't want to leave this unanswered, even if you have the technical right to do so. They put a charge on your card, you dispute, they trash your credit, it just becomes an ugly mess, not that it isn't already.
If you were here in the US, I'd recommend going to the state office in charge of regulating the telco's legal monopoly status. I'm just going to have to guess that your city, province, or other branch of government has a similar office. Your library (or local politician's office) should be helpful here.
Now, the regulators probably won't leap into action right away, but when you tell the telco about the complaint, they should be a bit more willing to listen.
It's all a matter of timing. I've made a nice bit of pocket change cleaning spyware and viruses for my non-technical friends. A friend whose computer has just been saved from uselessness can be very open to the idea of trying Firefox...
Just about every office I've worked at so far has a certain number of menial computer jobs that are unique to the job setting. And many of these menial jobs have been passed off to the secretary. And many times I've been asked to come up with a little push-button application, macro, script, batch file, or something, just to make the job easier.
And as a software developer, there's just no way a completely closed system is going to work for me....
I like the general idea. And my first thought reading the/. summary was about how phone companies used to own even our phones, and that's changed to where they only own up to the box.
I'm curious about practicality, though. It's very easy to see how this already works in some apartment complexes. It's even easily conceivable in condominiums and certain neighborhoods where a neighborhood association is already involved in managing the group buying power.
On the other hand, I live in a neighborhood without such an association. And with our city government, there's about an equal chance of this thing being run really right, or really, really wrong.
And I know some folks out between cities, for whom the "last mile" may really be several miles.
So, how would I go from just owning up to the box on the outside wall to having a share in ownership of a neighborhood pipeline?
How do you reach this conclusion, that many revenue streams==conservatism==entrenched attitudes?
Take the New York Times, for example. Revenue from advertising, classifieds, subscriptions, sidewalk sales, and now, subscription services on their web site.
I would also be inclined to say that they've got an "entrenched" attitude. Government regulations on the news media are just fine, even welcome, as long as they don't apply to the printing press media. Also, they managed to wrangle the NY city government into eminent-domaining a fine piece of property for their new HQ.
But I would definitely not call their politics "conservative", not by a long shot.
It's the people that make the company. As long as Google continues to hire people that share the views of its original managers, you need not fear the doom of a change in politics.
And I'd put to you that it's not either conservatism or liberalism that needs to be feared, but rather, lobbyistism. And I think it's just a bit late for that.
The "evil-ness" of PayPal is mostly in terms of eBay and PayPal turning a blind eye to the fraud others have committed using their web site. On the one hand, they say that they're just "establishing a marketplace", and what goes on in that marketplace is up to the merchants and customers.
On the other hand, let's say I set up a flea market on my land. I need to lay down at least some basic rules, both to protect the customers and the merchants, and above all my own reputation. Even if the owner isn't doing any fraud himself, who wants to visit a flea market that's ridden with pickpockets?
The major factor that switched me over to online bill-pay from checks-and-stamps was learning that my bill-pay service would agree to go to bat for me in case of any issues. Just having someone agree in a contract to stand in my corner is a powerful incentive to trust.
Right now, you've got to jump through way too many hoops with eBay to convince them that a fraud has actually happened before they'll even consider opening up an investigation. If GBuy takes a more customer-oriented approach, I see two results: 1) Success for GBuy, as the demand for a safe online marketplace shifts their way 2) Fiscal pressure for eBay to actually deal with the issue, or lose their customer base. In its own way, I'd say this is probably better pressure than any lawsuit threats, or outcries from consumer protection experts.
If they're more concerned with covering their own butts than covering their customers, it'll be just the same old same old. If, on the other hand, they put time and energy into protecting their customers, they'll find themselves pretty well protected.
Slashdot Mirror
Doesn't the Constitution guarantee the right to arm bears?
But I hear there are only 50 Wiis to leave your lover....
My fiance was just recently part of an educational theatre program to teach teenagers and adults about AIDS and STDs, and they used one phrase so often it seemed like a new word: "HIV,-the-virus-that-causes-AIDS". Every time someone would ask them about can you get AIDS from this, or from that, the answer was about "HIV,-the-virus-that-causes-AIDS".
True as this is, it's not always a good thing: That Xupiter thing is compatible enough to install itself on a Win98 machine, but incompatible enough to crash the system each time IE starts. Which just means more pc fix-up work for me....
No can do, I'm getting married soon.
Really, is it just me, or does this sound like a Leisure Suit Larry title?
No need.
Snakes that think in Soviet Russian find YOU!
(And I can't believe I just stooped so low as to make that joke...)
Not only that, but that weight you've lost may just be due to changes in gravity.
On the up-side, your relative-to-the-univese age us just a little but younger, now.
Personally, I prefer dip-on-a-chip. Especially Ranch. Mmmmm, chips....
I consider myself a Republican, but I'm going to say something against the party line - the free market does NOT solve all ills!
If you think what we have now is a free market, you're way off. That one choice you've got in your small town? Odds are it's a state-sanctioned monopoly. I'd also consider it safe to guess that the state has delegated some of its own powers to this monopoly. Powers such as eminent domain or price-fixing. It's quite likely that this monopoly has its hands in tax law, too, encouraging your legislators to set up license fees and levies against prospective competition, while bargaining for tax breaks.
With the rules set up to favor the "one choice", is it so hard to see why there aren't more choices?
And for all the lip service Republicans pay to the free market, they're as bad as anyone in perpetuating this mercantilism-in-free-market-clothing system we've got now. Not that the Democrats are any better. They thrive on the same status quo, while paying lip service to a different ideal.
IANAL, but my daily radio listening includes a certain consumer champion.
As others have said, the burden of providing documentation is (or, at least, should be) on the telco.
That said, you don't want to leave this unanswered, even if you have the technical right to do so. They put a charge on your card, you dispute, they trash your credit, it just becomes an ugly mess, not that it isn't already.
If you were here in the US, I'd recommend going to the state office in charge of regulating the telco's legal monopoly status. I'm just going to have to guess that your city, province, or other branch of government has a similar office. Your library (or local politician's office) should be helpful here.
Now, the regulators probably won't leap into action right away, but when you tell the telco about the complaint, they should be a bit more willing to listen.
I'm afraid I'll have to get my kid "enhanced" just so he can keep up in school.
Not to worry. With the way the powers that be seem to be bent on lowering school standards, you just might be called on to "de-enhance" your kid, instead.
Yeah, but you have to admit. Wouldn't a supersonic reptile just be awesome?
...when they devise something that's sharper than the tongue of an angry woman.
And when they do, I want to be somewhere far, far away.
No, the hard part is that people don't care.
It's all a matter of timing. I've made a nice bit of pocket change cleaning spyware and viruses for my non-technical friends. A friend whose computer has just been saved from uselessness can be very open to the idea of trying Firefox...
Ow! Now we see the violence inherent in the system!
Just about every office I've worked at so far has a certain number of menial computer jobs that are unique to the job setting. And many of these menial jobs have been passed off to the secretary. And many times I've been asked to come up with a little push-button application, macro, script, batch file, or something, just to make the job easier.
And as a software developer, there's just no way a completely closed system is going to work for me....
Just read the article. Now all we need is light sabers to really have fun with these things!
Which rule is "Don't talk about fight club"?
Only as long as you keep it away from the Lysol....
Thanks, now I have the mental image of a spam filter with sinus problems. Ewwww...
I like the general idea. And my first thought reading the /. summary was about how phone companies used to own even our phones, and that's changed to where they only own up to the box.
I'm curious about practicality, though. It's very easy to see how this already works in some apartment complexes. It's even easily conceivable in condominiums and certain neighborhoods where a neighborhood association is already involved in managing the group buying power.
On the other hand, I live in a neighborhood without such an association. And with our city government, there's about an equal chance of this thing being run really right, or really, really wrong.
And I know some folks out between cities, for whom the "last mile" may really be several miles.
So, how would I go from just owning up to the box on the outside wall to having a share in ownership of a neighborhood pipeline?
God has a weird sense of humor.
No kidding!
How else do you explain the duck-billed platypus?
How do you reach this conclusion, that many revenue streams==conservatism==entrenched attitudes?
Take the New York Times, for example. Revenue from advertising, classifieds, subscriptions, sidewalk sales, and now, subscription services on their web site.
I would also be inclined to say that they've got an "entrenched" attitude. Government regulations on the news media are just fine, even welcome, as long as they don't apply to the printing press media. Also, they managed to wrangle the NY city government into eminent-domaining a fine piece of property for their new HQ.
But I would definitely not call their politics "conservative", not by a long shot.
It's the people that make the company. As long as Google continues to hire people that share the views of its original managers, you need not fear the doom of a change in politics.
And I'd put to you that it's not either conservatism or liberalism that needs to be feared, but rather, lobbyistism. And I think it's just a bit late for that.
But whose eyes?
I vote for Irish eyes. Because when Irish eyes are smiling...
The "evil-ness" of PayPal is mostly in terms of eBay and PayPal turning a blind eye to the fraud others have committed using their web site. On the one hand, they say that they're just "establishing a marketplace", and what goes on in that marketplace is up to the merchants and customers.
On the other hand, let's say I set up a flea market on my land. I need to lay down at least some basic rules, both to protect the customers and the merchants, and above all my own reputation. Even if the owner isn't doing any fraud himself, who wants to visit a flea market that's ridden with pickpockets?
The major factor that switched me over to online bill-pay from checks-and-stamps was learning that my bill-pay service would agree to go to bat for me in case of any issues. Just having someone agree in a contract to stand in my corner is a powerful incentive to trust.
Right now, you've got to jump through way too many hoops with eBay to convince them that a fraud has actually happened before they'll even consider opening up an investigation. If GBuy takes a more customer-oriented approach, I see two results:
1) Success for GBuy, as the demand for a safe online marketplace shifts their way
2) Fiscal pressure for eBay to actually deal with the issue, or lose their customer base. In its own way, I'd say this is probably better pressure than any lawsuit threats, or outcries from consumer protection experts.
If they're more concerned with covering their own butts than covering their customers, it'll be just the same old same old. If, on the other hand, they put time and energy into protecting their customers, they'll find themselves pretty well protected.