Cool - as long as you admit that the app store does not encourage hobbyist programmers. And FYI, even we can develop stuff that's useful. Here's one I wrote for Android that I personally use every day: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bhagwad.projects . It's something that many iOS users have asked me to develop but I've had to say no to.
End result: Customers are not getting to use an app that does something useful and is free.
FYI, a cup of coffee costs less than 10 cents in India (which is where I live). We're talking about about 1000 cups of coffee every year for no tangible benefit since I get the same for free on Google Play.
It may seem less, but I have this thing against throwing money away when I don't have to....
And when you give up coding, do you continue to pay $99 a year merely for the privilege of having your apps there? I work as a writer in India and earn around $10,000 a year which is a pretty good standard of living in that country.
Why, oh why would you choose to do that when you could have your apps on Google Play for free?
I mean, it costing less (according to you) isn't the same as it costing nothing! And I don't agree it costs less either.
I program as a hobby. And I can't afford $99 a year for free apps that I code once and forget about. I may even stop coding after a few years, so why should I keep paying? So I'm an exclusive Android developer (though I wanted to develop for iOS. The costs were just too high). I pay $25 once for the Google Play listing and that's it.
Umm...Apple already charges developers for merely listing their apps - $99 a year. That's HUGE and more than covers all the stuff you talked about - hosting, bandwidth etc.
They don't need to do this. They're just being greedy dicks.
The difference with Android is that regular users can get their apps from elsewhere and developers can offer an alternative sales channel. I'll agree with your assertion the day Apple provides a "install from unknown sources" checkbox (off by default if you wish).
Those who don't know that "Terrizm" is just an excuse to justify censorship, please raise your hands. Governments are thrilled that they've found this convenient boogyman to scare people with and demand conformity.
Yes, personally while I feel that all the examples you gave above would be pretty stupid to teach to kids, parents have the right to teach them those things if they want. A huge and overwhelmingly large percent of parents "force" their kids to learn things without giving them a choice. That's kind of the privilege of being a parent.
Good points. The main difference in a democracy though is that people like you have an impact on what the government does. You're raising your voice against overseas wars. So are many others in the US. And through that you're able to somewhat change what the government does. There's feedback. At least at some level what the American people feel and think about what their country is doing, matters.
In a dictatorship, there is literally no hope for course correction. Power vests permanently with someone who isn't accountable. While the US has done bad stuff, it is held accountable by its own people. That might not be as effective as one wants, but it does provide a check mechanism.
Your point is valid only if dictatorships do not do the above things. I didn't ask whether or not democratic governments are perfect. I asked whether they're better than dictatorships.
Dictatorships not only do all of the above, they do it more frequently, more openly and they do far worse as well.
Again - modded down comments are still visible if one chooses to read them. And that makes all the difference in the world. Mod points preserve choice. Censorship doesn't.
Moderation on slashdot allows me to ignore stuff. It doesn't remove it. Everything is still there to see. I fully support moderation as long as people still have the option to see stuff that was downmodded.
Since when did dictatorships suddenly have the same moral standing as democratic countries? I mean on the one hand you want democratic control over the Internet. And on the other you want participants who themselves are not democratic...something's missing here.
While I dislike many things about the US's control over the Internet, I would choose them over the UN in a heartbeat. It's a question of the lesser evil.
Depends on how high up it is. I'm pretty sure that if you try and shoot an airplane out of the sky saying it was flying over your property, there will be consequences. You probably don't own an infinite amount of height above your property.
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Cool - as long as you admit that the app store does not encourage hobbyist programmers. And FYI, even we can develop stuff that's useful. Here's one I wrote for Android that I personally use every day: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bhagwad.projects . It's something that many iOS users have asked me to develop but I've had to say no to.
End result: Customers are not getting to use an app that does something useful and is free.
How is this in any way a good thing?
FYI, a cup of coffee costs less than 10 cents in India (which is where I live). We're talking about about 1000 cups of coffee every year for no tangible benefit since I get the same for free on Google Play.
It may seem less, but I have this thing against throwing money away when I don't have to....
And when you give up coding, do you continue to pay $99 a year merely for the privilege of having your apps there? I work as a writer in India and earn around $10,000 a year which is a pretty good standard of living in that country.
Why, oh why would you choose to do that when you could have your apps on Google Play for free?
I mean, it costing less (according to you) isn't the same as it costing nothing! And I don't agree it costs less either.
I program as a hobby. And I can't afford $99 a year for free apps that I code once and forget about. I may even stop coding after a few years, so why should I keep paying? So I'm an exclusive Android developer (though I wanted to develop for iOS. The costs were just too high). I pay $25 once for the Google Play listing and that's it.
I also have to buy a mac which sucks harder.
For a living, I'm a writer.
Umm...Apple already charges developers for merely listing their apps - $99 a year. That's HUGE and more than covers all the stuff you talked about - hosting, bandwidth etc.
They don't need to do this. They're just being greedy dicks.
The difference with Android is that regular users can get their apps from elsewhere and developers can offer an alternative sales channel. I'll agree with your assertion the day Apple provides a "install from unknown sources" checkbox (off by default if you wish).
How exactly does Google "sell you to others"? And you trust AT&T more than Google?
As opposed to your telcos monitoring it now. Question is - who do you trust more?
Apple just doesn't have to offer a competing browser in the app store.
Then let them allow regular users to install software from third party sources please.
Those who don't know that "Terrizm" is just an excuse to justify censorship, please raise your hands. Governments are thrilled that they've found this convenient boogyman to scare people with and demand conformity.
That will indeed suck. But I'll take the money nonetheless :)
Those rights do not include being taught the truth. Being kept physically safe yes - being taught bullshit...not so much.
Yes, personally while I feel that all the examples you gave above would be pretty stupid to teach to kids, parents have the right to teach them those things if they want. A huge and overwhelmingly large percent of parents "force" their kids to learn things without giving them a choice. That's kind of the privilege of being a parent.
I think he has a point. I'm an atheist and even I think that parents should be allowed to teach their kids whatever the the hell they want.
Jeez imagine Google redirecting a domain to google.com. Conspiracy!
They said the same thing about patent wars.
Good points. The main difference in a democracy though is that people like you have an impact on what the government does. You're raising your voice against overseas wars. So are many others in the US. And through that you're able to somewhat change what the government does. There's feedback. At least at some level what the American people feel and think about what their country is doing, matters.
In a dictatorship, there is literally no hope for course correction. Power vests permanently with someone who isn't accountable. While the US has done bad stuff, it is held accountable by its own people. That might not be as effective as one wants, but it does provide a check mechanism.
Your point is valid only if dictatorships do not do the above things. I didn't ask whether or not democratic governments are perfect. I asked whether they're better than dictatorships.
Dictatorships not only do all of the above, they do it more frequently, more openly and they do far worse as well.
Again - modded down comments are still visible if one chooses to read them. And that makes all the difference in the world. Mod points preserve choice. Censorship doesn't.
Careless it may have been, but it was a legal comment. Even according to Indian laws.
Moderation on slashdot allows me to ignore stuff. It doesn't remove it. Everything is still there to see. I fully support moderation as long as people still have the option to see stuff that was downmodded.
Since when did dictatorships suddenly have the same moral standing as democratic countries? I mean on the one hand you want democratic control over the Internet. And on the other you want participants who themselves are not democratic...something's missing here.
While I dislike many things about the US's control over the Internet, I would choose them over the UN in a heartbeat. It's a question of the lesser evil.
Try and provide falsification conditions for your statement. What would it take for you to feel that Google genuinely isn't evil?
Do explain. Pleeeeeeeeeeez!
Depends on how high up it is. I'm pretty sure that if you try and shoot an airplane out of the sky saying it was flying over your property, there will be consequences. You probably don't own an infinite amount of height above your property.