We all know that banning the use of marijuana, cocaine, and other naturally-occurring drugs helped de-escalate violence.
/end sarcasm
The banning of these conflict minerals simply means that you'll leave former miners without jobs, and then they'll starve, as happened when we embargoed Iraq in the 90s, and Cuba over the last several decades. I honestly don't think there's ANY workable solution to the Congo problem.
What was wrong with using Silverlight during the last Olympics and the next Olympics? What should they be using? Flash? That's no better - still proprietary
The type of people who say I should get "real" jeans called Levis, instead of the same quality but lower priced Arizonas or Wranglers. I used to fall for that nonsense, listening to the advice of the crowd ("Levis are cool; others are not") but not anymore.
>>>Google has done it by censoring the results in their country-specific site. Bing have done it by censoring results when you search using a language form popular in mainland China. >>>
The Microsoft solution strikes me as the quick-and-dirty solution, while the Google method shows more advanced programming.
And for those that say, "Google shouldn't censor results," then you are naive. If Google did not censor, then Chinese government would block them completely and MS would quickly obtain a virtual monopoly over 1.3-billion-person market. I don't think any of us want to see that happen (again). Google is smart to take whatever market they can get in China, and as they gain influence, pressure the Chinese government (the way they pressure the US and EU) to do things the google way (open).
A better analogy is when Toyota customers bought a brand-new car, serviced the oil faithfully, but the engine died prematurely (less than 30,000 miles). Toyota blamed the customers for breaking the car and "banned" them from receiving warranty service.
That went on for five years until Toyota had thousands of unhappy customers and the full weight of the U.S. fell upon Toyota. Suddenly Toyota "unbanned" its customers and gave them the free warranty service that was originally promised at point-of-sale.
>>>So if I have a sign by the front door of my store and I write on it "No refunds for any reason", and I give you a product that doesn't do what I say it does in exchange for your money, I'm perfectly right in keeping your money when it doesn't work? >>>
No. Many Ebay sellers have tried to scam me in the manner you described. All have failed. The customer has the following recourse:
- File credit card dispute. If he returns the item, they will initiate a credit chargeback against the seller. - If he paid cash, go to court. Get refund. - Even if the seller says "as is item" that doesn't protect him if the item was represented as working, but does not. That's fraud and will result in a refund plus fines.
Nonsense. I've compared the lowest-price Macbooks and Macs versus their IBM PC equivalents, and you can typically get the equivalent PCs for $300-500 on sale.
>>>The government isn't a company. It provides service need for things to function in order for society to move.
You don't "need" a lot of the things government spend money on, like studying Monarch butterflies mating habits, or how much pig flatulence smells, or building a million-dollar bridge that leads to nowhere in particular. There's a LOT of pork that can be trimmed.
Heck I used to work for the FAA (as a visiting worker/contractor), and I couldn't help noticing that half the staff spent their days surfing the net instead of working. That's a potential 50% savings right there, without any reduction in output, just by laying-off the sloths
>>>It is absurd that my folks like in a house that is valued at $850K and they pay $300 a year in property tax (based largely on its value in 1976).
Get used to the idea that property tax is not fair. In my state my house was reassessed at $250,000, but that was back when the bubble was at its peak. The true market value is down to $150,000 and still falling..... but do you think politicians will generously refund the excess taxes? Of course not. And their lackeys called the bureaucrats refuse to let me get a reassessment even though the law says I'm entitled to one.
False. The case regarding whether WV was a legal secession from the Virginian government happened in 1870. So now we have two contradictory SCOTUS cases on the book, one from 1869 and another from 1870. One says, "No it's not okay to secede from a government you don't like," and the other says it is okay.
Contradiction in the law bugs me, especially when that contradiction comes from the same 9 sitting justices.
>>>Progressive consumption taxes are more stable than income tax, but still subject to revenue declines during a broad economic slump
This is why politicians are supposed to SAVE money during the boom times, rather than spend every dollar. If the U.S. was like China, which has a surplus rather than a debt, we'd be in a lot better shape. Our nation and/or California could make-up for the current tax shortfall by dipping into the treasury for reserve cash.
"Save for a rainy day," is not just a cute saying. It's a kernal of wisdom that politicians don't know how to obey.
A system where the government directly controls private corporations? No that's not what the poster was talking about.
He was discussing a system where Politicians say, "If you vote for me I'll give you free stuff", and thus creating a parasitic class that exist only to accept government handouts and re-elect politicians favorable to that class. More famously called "bread and circuses" in ancient Rome.
>>>.A really liberal system would accept immigrants without fear because competition would be based on capabilities alone
That would be fine if this was the 1800s or 1900s, but in a very short time (20 years; possibly less) we're going to be experiencing an energy crisis (oil shortage). This nation should be seeking to *shrink* the population not grow it, so we can better handle the coming emergency. Immigration needs to be restrained to only those who have received permission to enter.
And yes I agree with the rest of your post about the welfare state. Ancient Rome had the same problem where its population rapidly grew since the government provided access to free food and services
I honestly don't care what you speak, but "you must know both English and Spanish" should not be a requirement for a $7/hour Walmart or McDonalds job. For a high-level college-degree job, fine, but I've heard stories of people in Florida that can't get these minimum wage jobs cause they only know English, and that's ridiculous.
Just kidding. He'd likely win the Nobel War Prize. It appears President Obama is heading in the same direction with Afghanistan. Can prizes be revoked?
I'm disappointed with the fact my PowerPC Mac no longer runs anything, and the browser is so out of date it displays web garbage instead of something useful.
And it's only half as old as my IBM-compatible PC.
Not quite. Paypal banned customers from "abusing the TOS" and then kept the money, never returning it. The Microsoft deal is somewhat similar in that Microsoft is banning customers, but not returning the subscription money.
>>>There's a legal right to be able to used hacked consoles on XBox Live?
No there's a legal right to get a refund for the unused portion of the subscription. I also think you have a right to a refund for any online games that no longer operate, but the court would probably not agree (he'd say your rented the game, not own it).
The Paypal case "proved" the opposite. The Federal judge effectively nullified paypal's TOS (which said the company can keep the money of any banned customers), and he ordered them to refund money to any customer that asked for one. (I got over $50.)
>>>So, tell me - when you signed up for the subscription, did the terms you agreed to include language to the effect that if you modify your console you will be banned from the network without refund? >>>
So, tell me - which has higher precedence in a court of law? The Microsoft EULA? Or the Consumer Protection Laws which require businesses to offer a pro-rated refund when subscriptions are prematurely canceled?
Based upon the precedent set by the Paypal case, the law will be held to be supreme - and MS will be fined.
Slashdot Mirror
We all know that banning the use of marijuana, cocaine, and other naturally-occurring drugs helped de-escalate violence.
The banning of these conflict minerals simply means that you'll leave former miners without jobs, and then they'll starve, as happened when we embargoed Iraq in the 90s, and Cuba over the last several decades. I honestly don't think there's ANY workable solution to the Congo problem.
Read:
"The Last Question" by Isaac Asimov
http://www.multivax.com/last_question.html
QUESTION
Why don't streaming video sites just use plain-old MPEG2 or MPEG4 video?
What was wrong with using Silverlight during the last Olympics and the next Olympics? What should they be using? Flash? That's no better - still proprietary
The type of people who say I should get "real" jeans called Levis, instead of the same quality but lower priced Arizonas or Wranglers. I used to fall for that nonsense, listening to the advice of the crowd ("Levis are cool; others are not") but not anymore.
>>>Google has done it by censoring the results in their country-specific site. Bing have done it by censoring results when you search using a language form popular in mainland China.
>>>
The Microsoft solution strikes me as the quick-and-dirty solution, while the Google method shows more advanced programming.
And for those that say, "Google shouldn't censor results," then you are naive. If Google did not censor, then Chinese government would block them completely and MS would quickly obtain a virtual monopoly over 1.3-billion-person market. I don't think any of us want to see that happen (again). Google is smart to take whatever market they can get in China, and as they gain influence, pressure the Chinese government (the way they pressure the US and EU) to do things the google way (open).
>>>I know people who had their consoles banned for no reason and MS told them to go take a leap.
Stealing Is Our Profit
by Microsoft
(sung to the theme of MASH)
.
Through electronic net I see
Visions of monopoly,
The pains I can incur are fun,
Better than owning a gun...
That stealing is our profit,
We say screw the little shit
And we can take or leave it as we please.
The game of life is hard to play,
You're going to lose it anyway,
Just give up and do it our way;
So this is all we have to say...
That stealing is our profit,
We say screw the little shit
And we can take or leave it as we please.
The only way to win is cheat
So just bow down because you're beat
And to Microsoft give your cash
Or else you'll face our cruel cruel lash.
That stealing is our profit,
We say screw the little shits
We can take their money as we please.
.
>>>Yes, your honor, this plastic disc just all of a sudden fell apart and deteriorated into dust
Some CDs and DVDs do exactly that (internally). The mirrored foil literally rusts away. Which is why consumers have a right to back them up.
>>>Is it time for a car analogy?
A better analogy is when Toyota customers bought a brand-new car, serviced the oil faithfully, but the engine died prematurely (less than 30,000 miles). Toyota blamed the customers for breaking the car and "banned" them from receiving warranty service.
That went on for five years until Toyota had thousands of unhappy customers and the full weight of the U.S. fell upon Toyota. Suddenly Toyota "unbanned" its customers and gave them the free warranty service that was originally promised at point-of-sale.
>>>So if I have a sign by the front door of my store and I write on it "No refunds for any reason", and I give you a product that doesn't do what I say it does in exchange for your money, I'm perfectly right in keeping your money when it doesn't work?
>>>
No. Many Ebay sellers have tried to scam me in the manner you described. All have failed. The customer has the following recourse:
- File credit card dispute. If he returns the item, they will initiate a credit chargeback against the seller.
- If he paid cash, go to court. Get refund.
- Even if the seller says "as is item" that doesn't protect him if the item was represented as working, but does not. That's fraud and will result in a refund plus fines.
Nonsense. I've compared the lowest-price Macbooks and Macs versus their IBM PC equivalents, and you can typically get the equivalent PCs for $300-500 on sale.
>>>The government isn't a company. It provides service need for things to function in order for society to move.
You don't "need" a lot of the things government spend money on, like studying Monarch butterflies mating habits, or how much pig flatulence smells, or building a million-dollar bridge that leads to nowhere in particular. There's a LOT of pork that can be trimmed.
Heck I used to work for the FAA (as a visiting worker/contractor), and I couldn't help noticing that half the staff spent their days surfing the net instead of working. That's a potential 50% savings right there, without any reduction in output, just by laying-off the sloths
>>>It is absurd that my folks like in a house that is valued at $850K and they pay $300 a year in property tax (based largely on its value in 1976).
Get used to the idea that property tax is not fair. In my state my house was reassessed at $250,000, but that was back when the bubble was at its peak. The true market value is down to $150,000 and still falling..... but do you think politicians will generously refund the excess taxes? Of course not. And their lackeys called the bureaucrats refuse to let me get a reassessment even though the law says I'm entitled to one.
False. The case regarding whether WV was a legal secession from the Virginian government happened in 1870. So now we have two contradictory SCOTUS cases on the book, one from 1869 and another from 1870. One says, "No it's not okay to secede from a government you don't like," and the other says it is okay.
Contradiction in the law bugs me, especially when that contradiction comes from the same 9 sitting justices.
>>>Progressive consumption taxes are more stable than income tax, but still subject to revenue declines during a broad economic slump
This is why politicians are supposed to SAVE money during the boom times, rather than spend every dollar. If the U.S. was like China, which has a surplus rather than a debt, we'd be in a lot better shape. Our nation and/or California could make-up for the current tax shortfall by dipping into the treasury for reserve cash.
"Save for a rainy day," is not just a cute saying. It's a kernal of wisdom that politicians don't know how to obey.
A system where the government directly controls private corporations? No that's not what the poster was talking about.
He was discussing a system where Politicians say, "If you vote for me I'll give you free stuff", and thus creating a parasitic class that exist only to accept government handouts and re-elect politicians favorable to that class. More famously called "bread and circuses" in ancient Rome.
>>>.A really liberal system would accept immigrants without fear because competition would be based on capabilities alone
That would be fine if this was the 1800s or 1900s, but in a very short time (20 years; possibly less) we're going to be experiencing an energy crisis (oil shortage). This nation should be seeking to *shrink* the population not grow it, so we can better handle the coming emergency. Immigration needs to be restrained to only those who have received permission to enter.
And yes I agree with the rest of your post about the welfare state. Ancient Rome had the same problem where its population rapidly grew since the government provided access to free food and services
I honestly don't care what you speak, but "you must know both English and Spanish" should not be a requirement for a $7/hour Walmart or McDonalds job. For a high-level college-degree job, fine, but I've heard stories of people in Florida that can't get these minimum wage jobs cause they only know English, and that's ridiculous.
President Bush?
Just kidding. He'd likely win the Nobel War Prize. It appears President Obama is heading in the same direction with Afghanistan. Can prizes be revoked?
I'm disappointed with the fact my PowerPC Mac no longer runs anything, and the browser is so out of date it displays web garbage instead of something useful.
And it's only half as old as my IBM-compatible PC.
Not quite. Paypal banned customers from "abusing the TOS" and then kept the money, never returning it. The Microsoft deal is somewhat similar in that Microsoft is banning customers, but not returning the subscription money.
>>>There's a legal right to be able to used hacked consoles on XBox Live?
No there's a legal right to get a refund for the unused portion of the subscription. I also think you have a right to a refund for any online games that no longer operate, but the court would probably not agree (he'd say your rented the game, not own it).
The Paypal case "proved" the opposite. The Federal judge effectively nullified paypal's TOS (which said the company can keep the money of any banned customers), and he ordered them to refund money to any customer that asked for one. (I got over $50.)
>>>So, tell me - when you signed up for the subscription, did the terms you agreed to include language to the effect that if you modify your console you will be banned from the network without refund?
>>>
So, tell me - which has higher precedence in a court of law? The Microsoft EULA? Or the Consumer Protection Laws which require businesses to offer a pro-rated refund when subscriptions are prematurely canceled?
Based upon the precedent set by the Paypal case, the law will be held to be supreme - and MS will be fined.
P.S. Is 20 gig hard drive too small?