From what I've seen, nearly everyone has a real email account. I ran an ecommerce site for a while where I blacklisted all free email accounts as well as any email account or purchase that routed back to AOL. Those two restrictions cut the fraud down to almost nothing. I can't remember a single case where someone complained about the restriction and found they had no "real" email account they could use. A lot of people would use their work email. I did wonder if banning AOL entirely was a bit much, but I couldn't argue with the results. It elimated tens of thousands of dollars of fraud each week and cost us very in legit sales.
FWIW, I only took one day off from work after LASIK.
Something to consider here, I've read that PRK can be painful afterwards. Someone already mentioned a prescription for Vicodin. LASIK wasn't "painful" afterward, more like itchy. I had LASIK, and I didn't need anything for pain. I might have taken something like Advil, but I didn't need anything prescription for pain.
I'd rather accept the extremely low risk of complications from the eye flap (and the shorter "recovery time") then deal with "owww, my eyes!" for a week afterward. The only thing I didn't like was the doctor saying that they could peel the flap back later if anything needed to be retouched. Eww. Supposedly the flap has rebonded with the eye after six months or so, I never got an absolute answer to that one.
My $0.02 for anyone thinking about either procedure: skip the videos. I would rather not have known what was going on during each step. I would've been laying there oblivious if I hadn't watched a LASIK surgery video beforehand. Instead I was the doctor's one freak out case of the month. Ugh.
That's an excuse that could justify any serious crime.
Engineers should be required to study ethics before going off into the business world. Doctors, lawyers, and other professionals all have ethical guidelines that they are expected to follow. It should be no different for engineering professionals.
I don't understand the whole "backup copies" argument anymore. It made more sense in the days of floppies where you could look at one the wrong way and it would end up corrupted. I just can't see a rational person having two of every movie in their collection "just in case".
I agree with the benefits of a license working for both sides, but making backups is a pretty weak argument.
Yea, but that's my point. Retail doesn't have to be the end-all. The RIAA messed up by trying to continue the retail model in the face of new technology. Look where it got them. People want better distribution systems and better content. If game developers would cater to the adult crowd and use new distribution methods it could be a big boost to them.
If Rockstar (or whoever) wants to make a game that will appeal to adults then they can do so without limiting themselves for the sake of a lower rating. Find an alternative way of distributing the game (such as through the Internet) and they could even make more money on the titles since Gamestop and whoever won't be marking it up in their stores. Not only that, we wouldn't have to drive to the mall or order online and wait for the big brown truck.
I would say it doesn't work if asked. Surveys should not be exempt, nor should any of the other exemptions. If I don't want to be disturbed by organizations I have no relationship with.. then that's final.
There are still exemptions for caller ID data too. Many PBX's still send nothing, giving me an "Unavailable" on my phone. The FCC doesn't demand that phone providers offer an "Unavailable" blocking feature either. Some do, for a fee.. which is hilarious since it's their system that's defective.
Companies I have a relationship with shouldn't be allowed to solicit me with new products or services. Just because I bought something from them once upon a time doesn't mean I want to open the floodgates. I've had business with a national part of a company only to get solicited from the local part. That's not right either. I didn't have a relationship with the local entity.
We need a reliable computer interface for POTs lines so we can run a spam eliminator on it.
They could be using ColdFusion or ASP.NET (guess I should look at the site) which may be autogenerating the code of concern. Or they may have needed an IE only component they had available that was too expensive to rewrite.
You know, back when Windows based worms and viruses were more newsworthy, various government agencies recommended against using Windows. Now you're suggesting the use of development tools that work only for Windows is good design?
Standards exist, and standards should be followed. The government, above all, ought to be adhering to them.
However, if the site only works in one specific browser then the coder didn't know what he or she was doing. It's likely that this incompetent person (or team) screwed up many other aspects of the system. Having an unreliable claims system front-ending aid for such a huge disaster is only going to cause more harm.
I'm surprised that cell companies aren't doing more to prevent crap like this. Every bluetooth phone related article I see on/. is one more reason I won't be replacing my old cell with a bluetooth version.
Granted it's/. and most of what's being whined about is probably factually incorrect, intentionally misleading, or easily prevented. But still..
I'd be keeping a decent computer anyway, if I had a console or not. I usually buy a ~$150 video card every couple years or so and that keeps me current enough for even the latest games. Until just recently I had an nVidia ti4600 that was doing fine, even with Doom3.
I don't follow the prices on console games, but if you wait for a while before buying the PC games the prices start falling fairly quickly. I don't buy used games just like I don't rent movies.. so, that doesn't matter much to me.
If a parent attends an R-rated movie with their child, are they "contributing to deliquency?" Because it's exactly the same circumstance.
It's not the same. The parents supervise the child at the movies. I doubt grandma watched the 14 year old play GTA. If she did.. she ruins her own case because she could've pulled the plug as soon as she found it offensive.
Seen South Park? For President we had a choice between a Walking Turd and a Douche Sandwhich. I imagine the same is true for senate races, reps and such. A representative democracy really only works if there's someone worth voting for.
XP has 2000 in one area, hands down - gaming compatibility. Great for home users, as games ARE the single largest market for home users imo.
Huh? I'm not aware of any games that don't work under Win2000. I still use Win2000 at home and have played many of the latest and greatest without any problems. I did notice that Battlefield 2 lists compatibility with only XP, but many reports indicate that it works fine under Win2000.
Now that Win2000 is being kicked to the curb by M$, I imagine they'll enforce an OS check in DirectX and cut off any DirectX updates for it going forward. That would really suck.
CD's are plenty durable, at least as much so as floppies. I can't count how many times a cheap 3 1/2" floppy's metal sleeve would bend open in the drive and get itself wedged in there. Or it'd shoot off afterwards leaving the magnetic media exposed.
Then they had a shelf life of what? Not very long. Leave a floppy on a shelf somewhere and come back for it a year later. See how many bad blocks it had. There were times when I had a huge pile of "recyclables" and couldn't find one that would format for a full 1.44MB.
A good CD though, even when it's scratched it still tends to work. I imagine they too have a shelf life but I can't say I've run into it yet. They have no moving parts, no seperate parts. Plenty durable.
Ahh, is that what happened? There was a trend about six years ago here in the Northeast where retailers and supermarkets were balking at the obscene electric rates we were paying. They went off grid and ran their generators 24/7. It sounded like it was going to be the new "big thing" and then it just simply died off. I had wondered what happened.
IBM doesn't make a whole bunch of consumer products, do they? I think the only IBM branded stuff I own are a couple of old Thinkpads. But even those.. I think they sold the rights to another company, didn't they? Consumers don't have to be able to afford their goods, other greedy international entities do.
I do not believe it is true that other countries are using more advanced technology because they are unhappy with old tech. So, depending which way you look at it, I either agree or disagree.
Americans are very happy living with their one or two generations old technology.
So it's your theory that one reason America is in decline is because we're not consumeristic enough? Should we all try to best our neighbor's home entertainment system in an effort to make America strong? That's hilarious. I'm sure the credit card companies would love that (even more).
ATSC isn't catching on very fast because NTSC satisfies people's craving for TV. Sure, ATSC offers higher resolutions.. but does it make TV better? Mildly so if you're watching to enjoy the program and not simply to admire the picture.
Same thing with n-generation phones. I'm still using an old dual-mode flip phone from the dark ages. It (gasp) can't even display graphics on its little display. It places and receives calls just fine though.
Asia and all are probably in a better place to promote newer stuff because they have less infrastructure in place, less legacy componentry to support. In Japan, if televisions are cheap because they're made in and around there.. it makes sense to toss old units for dirt cheap new units. In a country like *stan, if they didn't already have a CDMA network in place it'd be a no brainer to go GSM or whatever the "latest and greatest" is.
I think it's more a case of the rest of the world playing catch up and buying new toys.
Yes, but you miss my point. A BP (yes, border patrol) agent assumed I stole the vehicle much in the same way that a Martmart associate assumes a customer is "stealing" a photo. It's a matter of personal bias.
The absurdity is that the Martmart sales associate would be "judging" things the same way a federal officer might.
I had something like that happen at a Quebec to Vermont border crossing. I was in my early 20's driving a brand new (gasp) SUV. The US BP agent was certain I couldn't own such a vehicle. She even hesitated to accept the temporary registration and title application as proof (I hadn't registered it yet).
There's too many busy-bodies and not enough MYOB sense.
Why would Martmart even be the victim of a lawsuit? They acted on a request of a customer, if the customer ordered a reprint of a copywritten work THEY should be the guilty party. Without an absolute way of verifying copyright status it's absurd to hold Martmart responsible.
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From what I've seen, nearly everyone has a real email account. I ran an ecommerce site for a while where I blacklisted all free email accounts as well as any email account or purchase that routed back to AOL. Those two restrictions cut the fraud down to almost nothing. I can't remember a single case where someone complained about the restriction and found they had no "real" email account they could use. A lot of people would use their work email. I did wonder if banning AOL entirely was a bit much, but I couldn't argue with the results. It elimated tens of thousands of dollars of fraud each week and cost us very in legit sales.
FWIW, I only took one day off from work after LASIK.
Something to consider here, I've read that PRK can be painful afterwards. Someone already mentioned a prescription for Vicodin. LASIK wasn't "painful" afterward, more like itchy. I had LASIK, and I didn't need anything for pain. I might have taken something like Advil, but I didn't need anything prescription for pain.
I'd rather accept the extremely low risk of complications from the eye flap (and the shorter "recovery time") then deal with "owww, my eyes!" for a week afterward. The only thing I didn't like was the doctor saying that they could peel the flap back later if anything needed to be retouched. Eww. Supposedly the flap has rebonded with the eye after six months or so, I never got an absolute answer to that one.
My $0.02 for anyone thinking about either procedure: skip the videos. I would rather not have known what was going on during each step. I would've been laying there oblivious if I hadn't watched a LASIK surgery video beforehand. Instead I was the doctor's one freak out case of the month. Ugh.
They may not have the technical knowledge to understand exactly what it is they're asking for.
I suspect that most of them got to where they are through unethical means, so they're probably a lost cause anyway.
That's an excuse that could justify any serious crime.
Engineers should be required to study ethics before going off into the business world. Doctors, lawyers, and other professionals all have ethical guidelines that they are expected to follow. It should be no different for engineering professionals.
Not quite.
Analog broadcast is on its way out. Digital broadcast is here to stay.
I don't understand the whole "backup copies" argument anymore. It made more sense in the days of floppies where you could look at one the wrong way and it would end up corrupted. I just can't see a rational person having two of every movie in their collection "just in case".
I agree with the benefits of a license working for both sides, but making backups is a pretty weak argument.
If you've got a widescreen you can chop the black bars on the top and bottom of the show. It doesn't sound like much, but it makes a difference.
So that the next guy to sue the company for the same reason has no idea if he's getting a good settlement or not.
Yea, but that's my point. Retail doesn't have to be the end-all. The RIAA messed up by trying to continue the retail model in the face of new technology. Look where it got them. People want better distribution systems and better content. If game developers would cater to the adult crowd and use new distribution methods it could be a big boost to them.
Why are we all assuming that this is bad?
If Rockstar (or whoever) wants to make a game that will appeal to adults then they can do so without limiting themselves for the sake of a lower rating. Find an alternative way of distributing the game (such as through the Internet) and they could even make more money on the titles since Gamestop and whoever won't be marking it up in their stores. Not only that, we wouldn't have to drive to the mall or order online and wait for the big brown truck.
This could open a whole new genre in gaming, no?
I would say it doesn't work if asked. Surveys should not be exempt, nor should any of the other exemptions. If I don't want to be disturbed by organizations I have no relationship with.. then that's final.
There are still exemptions for caller ID data too. Many PBX's still send nothing, giving me an "Unavailable" on my phone. The FCC doesn't demand that phone providers offer an "Unavailable" blocking feature either. Some do, for a fee.. which is hilarious since it's their system that's defective.
Companies I have a relationship with shouldn't be allowed to solicit me with new products or services. Just because I bought something from them once upon a time doesn't mean I want to open the floodgates. I've had business with a national part of a company only to get solicited from the local part. That's not right either. I didn't have a relationship with the local entity.
We need a reliable computer interface for POTs lines so we can run a spam eliminator on it.
You know, back when Windows based worms and viruses were more newsworthy, various government agencies recommended against using Windows. Now you're suggesting the use of development tools that work only for Windows is good design?
Standards exist, and standards should be followed. The government, above all, ought to be adhering to them.
I agree that this topic is a bit geek-extreme.
However, if the site only works in one specific browser then the coder didn't know what he or she was doing. It's likely that this incompetent person (or team) screwed up many other aspects of the system. Having an unreliable claims system front-ending aid for such a huge disaster is only going to cause more harm.
I'm surprised that cell companies aren't doing more to prevent crap like this. Every bluetooth phone related article I see on /. is one more reason I won't be replacing my old cell with a bluetooth version.
/. and most of what's being whined about is probably factually incorrect, intentionally misleading, or easily prevented. But still..
Granted it's
It works out for some of us.
I'd be keeping a decent computer anyway, if I had a console or not. I usually buy a ~$150 video card every couple years or so and that keeps me current enough for even the latest games. Until just recently I had an nVidia ti4600 that was doing fine, even with Doom3.
I don't follow the prices on console games, but if you wait for a while before buying the PC games the prices start falling fairly quickly. I don't buy used games just like I don't rent movies.. so, that doesn't matter much to me.
It's not the same. The parents supervise the child at the movies. I doubt grandma watched the 14 year old play GTA. If she did.. she ruins her own case because she could've pulled the plug as soon as she found it offensive.
Seen South Park? For President we had a choice between a Walking Turd and a Douche Sandwhich. I imagine the same is true for senate races, reps and such. A representative democracy really only works if there's someone worth voting for.
Huh? I'm not aware of any games that don't work under Win2000. I still use Win2000 at home and have played many of the latest and greatest without any problems. I did notice that Battlefield 2 lists compatibility with only XP, but many reports indicate that it works fine under Win2000.
Now that Win2000 is being kicked to the curb by M$, I imagine they'll enforce an OS check in DirectX and cut off any DirectX updates for it going forward. That would really suck.
CD's are plenty durable, at least as much so as floppies. I can't count how many times a cheap 3 1/2" floppy's metal sleeve would bend open in the drive and get itself wedged in there. Or it'd shoot off afterwards leaving the magnetic media exposed.
Then they had a shelf life of what? Not very long. Leave a floppy on a shelf somewhere and come back for it a year later. See how many bad blocks it had. There were times when I had a huge pile of "recyclables" and couldn't find one that would format for a full 1.44MB.
A good CD though, even when it's scratched it still tends to work. I imagine they too have a shelf life but I can't say I've run into it yet. They have no moving parts, no seperate parts. Plenty durable.
Ahh, is that what happened? There was a trend about six years ago here in the Northeast where retailers and supermarkets were balking at the obscene electric rates we were paying. They went off grid and ran their generators 24/7. It sounded like it was going to be the new "big thing" and then it just simply died off. I had wondered what happened.
IBM doesn't make a whole bunch of consumer products, do they? I think the only IBM branded stuff I own are a couple of old Thinkpads. But even those.. I think they sold the rights to another company, didn't they? Consumers don't have to be able to afford their goods, other greedy international entities do.
I do not believe it is true that other countries are using more advanced technology because they are unhappy with old tech. So, depending which way you look at it, I either agree or disagree.
So it's your theory that one reason America is in decline is because we're not consumeristic enough? Should we all try to best our neighbor's home entertainment system in an effort to make America strong? That's hilarious. I'm sure the credit card companies would love that (even more).
ATSC isn't catching on very fast because NTSC satisfies people's craving for TV. Sure, ATSC offers higher resolutions.. but does it make TV better? Mildly so if you're watching to enjoy the program and not simply to admire the picture.
Same thing with n-generation phones. I'm still using an old dual-mode flip phone from the dark ages. It (gasp) can't even display graphics on its little display. It places and receives calls just fine though.
Asia and all are probably in a better place to promote newer stuff because they have less infrastructure in place, less legacy componentry to support. In Japan, if televisions are cheap because they're made in and around there.. it makes sense to toss old units for dirt cheap new units. In a country like *stan, if they didn't already have a CDMA network in place it'd be a no brainer to go GSM or whatever the "latest and greatest" is.
I think it's more a case of the rest of the world playing catch up and buying new toys.
Yes, but you miss my point. A BP (yes, border patrol) agent assumed I stole the vehicle much in the same way that a Martmart associate assumes a customer is "stealing" a photo. It's a matter of personal bias.
The absurdity is that the Martmart sales associate would be "judging" things the same way a federal officer might.
I had something like that happen at a Quebec to Vermont border crossing. I was in my early 20's driving a brand new (gasp) SUV. The US BP agent was certain I couldn't own such a vehicle. She even hesitated to accept the temporary registration and title application as proof (I hadn't registered it yet).
There's too many busy-bodies and not enough MYOB sense.
Why would Martmart even be the victim of a lawsuit? They acted on a request of a customer, if the customer ordered a reprint of a copywritten work THEY should be the guilty party. Without an absolute way of verifying copyright status it's absurd to hold Martmart responsible.