Actually, eBay will only remove feedback by a court order (unless it fits into one of their special circumstances, ie, vulgar, or gives personal information).
I think SquareTrade should also have the ability to charge the other party for the mediation. Why should *I* have to pay to try to mediate an issue because the other person was a jerk and exploited the feedback system?
eBay should be held accountable for some of this crap. It's against policy to exploit the feedback system, or use feedback extortion. Yet any report of it gets you a form email stating they will look into it, and you will never know the result, so don't ask. The feedback stands, and nothing changes. Nice policy, how about some ENFOREMENT!
Agreed, the amount of "crap" I've had to deal with regarding eBay's horrible feedback system is a joke. I am a seller on eBay and I'm quickly approaching 5000 feedback and 97% rating. I received an email last week from a guy who said: "your feeback is horrible, why don't you do ebay and everyone a favor and leave"
Now, when *I* was in school a 97% was still an A, and a fairly high A at that. Yes, I have about 130 negs, but the fact I have over 5000 positives means nothing. eBay touts their feedback system as THE measurement to rate buyers and sellers. BUT, they offer no policing of their system. Since they claim it is a "public forum" they refuse to remove it unless it's vulgar. I contacted my attorney because I have several negs that are just blatant lies. Bottom line, I can't sue them for loss of business because I have to PROVE I lost business (and emails from people saying that they didn't buy because of my feedback is not considered proof). It has to be a measured amount. I can *TRY* to sue for loss of reputation and defamation. Again, it has to be done in their jurisdiction (which I think is total BS), and it will cost me about $1000 EACH to every TRY. Because of the BS feedback (many retalitory because they didn't complete the transaction or whatnot), I lost my powerseller status, so I lost ANY support, and I lost the cash back bonuses I got with being a powerseller, and any of the contests I might have won (I won the Grow Your Business contest for 2003)
Actually, the number of eBay buyers who used PayPal are more like 80-90% I am a big seller on eBay, and I know that over 95% of my customers pay via PayPal.
PayPal can easily screw over buyers as much as sellers. More buyers may take hits, but sellers take the BIG hits. I know several buyers who have been scammed for $20-$50. They learn from it, and know how to avoid it next time. As a seller, there is little I can do to avoid the types of fraud I have to deal with. Last year, I lost over $2000 to PayPal for their BS policies.
eBay owns PayPal, and yet many of their policies directly conflict. For instance. eBay allows you to sell items you do not have (ie Pre-Orders for Games, Videos, and the like). PayPal states that the item must be in hand to sell. To further urge this, for a seller to be covered by their seller protection they have to ship the item within 7 days (originally was "within a reasonable time", which I won a judegement against them on a pre-order issue when the judge decided that since I shipped it the DAY it was released it qualified for their "reasonable time" policy. It shortly there-after changed to 10 days, and now 7 days). Many times I have shipped an item a day or two before it's release only to have the person file a complaint while it's in transit. Since it was shipped after the 7-day window, PayPal will give them their money back, regardless if it arrives or not.
I have one lady who I just filed suite against because she received the item, then decided that it took too long and filed a complaint for non-received goods. I replied and showed delivery confirmation. Since it was shipped after the 7 day window she got her money back. She contact me and said she's pay for the item ONLY, but refused to pay shipping. I reminded her that purchasing on eBay is a legallying binding contract and she agreed to pay for the item AND shipping. She told me to f-off. Since she lives in my town, I filed suite against her.
The problem with these things is that to file suite , even in small claims court, it's another $30-$50 just to file (which you are allowed to add to the amount to collect), and if they do not live in your area, it costs quite a bit more to have it moved to their jurisdiction and things. It will cost me an average of $100 EACH ($35 file fee, and $65 xfer fee) PLUS any attorney fees to try to recover the funds. Key of course is TRY.
THEN... Then you get the "you have been the recipient of potentially fraudulant funds". That's PayPal's scam to essentially STEAL your money. They REFUSE to answer ANY questions regarding HOW or WHY the funds were potentially fraudulant. They refuse to tell you what happened to the funds, or give you any chance to recover them. More often than not, they are outside any window for recovery at all. I had one yesterday actually. PayPal took $382 from my account and said it was potentially fraudulant. The transaction was from Oct 2004. Ironically enough, it was my father sending me money for my mother's Xmas gifts. So I KNOW the owner, I know the account. The funds came from his balance, not from a bank xfer that may not have gone through. Not from a credit card that might have been charged back. The money had been in his account for months before sending to me. He was not notified in any way/shape or form about it. They refused to speak to him, and I have reiceved no communication from my account manager. Sometimes if I bitch enough I will get a "courtesy refund". The sound of which makes me want to strangle the guy. "Courtesy" ?!?! They make is sound as if they are doing me a HUGE favor. THEN they hold it against you in the future, "You're received several courtesty refunds already, we cannot issue any further."
I am part of 5 seperate class action lawsuits against PayPal. If you check various complaint sites available on the web, including BBB they have well over a million complaints (vs eBay's less than half that yet 2-3 times the user base). eBay has it's issues, but they do not nearly directly impact, and so closely resemble blantent theft and deception as PayPal.
I've read everyone shouting "boycott, boycott!" Personally, I'm weak, and I enjoy playing Blizzard games and I'll probably be getting it. At the same time, though, everyone is stating that it won't make a difference to Blizzard.
There are enough copies of BnetD around, and the fact that for some reason FSGS isn't shut down that no one needs to buy Warcraft 3. Everyone get hacked/cracked/copied/pirated copies. They may not care that people aren't buying their game, but when they see that thousands and thousands of people are playing their game and haven't paid for it. Then they may take notice.
Like others, I have purchased damn near every game Blizzard made. I usually get a copy of it, play it, and if I like it, I will then shell out the cash for it. I am a programmer, and I believe that people should get paid for good work. I also believe that large companies flexing and trying to snuff out "competition" while hiding behind laws meant to protect them from piracy need put down.
From http://www.madgrfx.com/warforge.html Site Down
As a result of the bnetd.org shutdown and our own usage of the source, we've elected to shutdown this site pending a resolution of the matter. Read more on slashdot here. Or read more on k5 here. Please note Blizzard has not contacted us.
We all love and admire Blizzard games. The last thing we intended was to hurt Blizzard or bnetd in any way. We are just fans.
See you on battle.net when WC3 goes retail, Warforge team
Also http://www.clan519.com/creed/war3 gives permission errors. Both sites are currently down.
To be honest, there is very little of what is classified as "fine art" that makes me "oooh" or "aaah". But when a friend of mine showed me a picture that he'd been working for months on, I was in awe. It was simple, a violin, a cobblestone street, and a street light. But though it, you could see emotion, and feeling.
I read a couple people's responses that say that you can't portray feeling and the "data" is souless. What's the difference to looking at a print of a painting then? People pay decent money for prints of famous pics, what's the difference?
In some aspects I can see how digital art would be easier. One word, UNDO. In some ways, it may also be cheaper. Take the things that matter though, style, creativity, focus, and skill. You must have all of those for ANY kind of art, digital, or not. Why is digital set apart? It's not classic... Give it a few years, I have no doubt that in 10 years there will be as many flat screen displays showing digital pictures, as there are frames with paint.
If nothing else, I have seen very little digital art that looked like someone threw up on a canvas, and called it art. I think the hardest part in digital art is creating realism. Much harder to pull off on a computer.
Okay, we don't want to deal with the spam, but the spammers are covered by the First Amendment. I have heard a rumor for quite some time about wanting to charge people for e-mail. I think that spam should be charged. Keep the opt-out stuff, and they have the right to send it to us, but they have to pay $.15 per spam. Like stated before, cheaper than postage, and the government gets a chunk of money. With as much spam that goes around, that should aleviate the national debt in no time in the US.
-Dizzy
"What goes around, comes around... And around... And around."
-"The JVC D-VHS deck, which should be available around May, will sell for approximately $2,000, while blank media will cost between $10 and $15."
Not only that, but you must factor in the cost of HDTV which is about another $2000. Now, in my make believe world, $4000 for a VCR and TV isn't so bad, but in the REAL world, $2000 for a HDTV may not be so bad, but for a VCR it's outrageous! Then if I paid $15 for all the blank tapes I own, there's another $2000 easy!
-"(HDTV) set that protects high definition content from being copied"
Now how long before it protects ANY copyrighted things from being copied. Then every channel will claim that all their shows are copyrighted and therefor cannot be copied since they are broadcast over the digital network. So, can't record from the TV and you can buy movies for cheaper than you can buy a blank tape, so what's the point?
I think it's just stupid to come out with something geared towards a specific market (HDTV owners) when that market is so small. Wouldn't that be bad business? Or is this another one of those, "We CAN do it, but WILL we do it?" In my opinion they probably ran across the idea/technology and make a press release to see if it would be feasible and to check out public opinion. Well here's mine, "Don't bother, it'll be another Divx Player, neat concept, but a flop."
In 3 or 4 years, I can see the digital TV market growing rapidly in which case something like this would be a better idea (not really a good idea mind you). Work out the bugs, get us 8hrs on a 4hr tape. Now, I remember 3 years ago when 1.2gig was standard in computers, now we have 24gig standard and we went from PII 266mhz to P4 1.5ghz. So, let's do the math. In 3 years we have 20 times the storage capacity standard, so in another 3 years we'll have 480gigs standard in our 8.4ghz machines. Now, if a 75gig drive will hold 30min we can have 190min of this uncompressed on our drives. But that of course doesn't take in account any other technological breakthroughs that might happen.
Companies these days really need to think a bit, "should we" needs to go along with "could we". (Jurassic Park Syndrome - We can, therefore we will... And make a stupid investment)
I see one viable use for this technology, digital video editing. They will have the money, HD capacity, and the need for something like this. But even for them, is it usable? Can you record that media onto a tape for distributing? How do you send a 1min commercial that is 2.5gig to get it run on TV?
I will agree with you that this technology has amazing potential.
Think short term. Yeah, I can back up my 60gig of MP3s on 20cds instead of the 70 that I use now.
Think consumer. Use those mini-cds in digital cameras. You can still make small cameras that can take incredible pictures because there is all kinds of space. CD-Players, you can have the Beetle's Anthology on a few CDs, you have have 230min of music on one CD. MP3 Players, Yeah, GIGs on one CD! Okay, heaven!
Think future. Want to talk potential, here's one for you. Expand this technology to DVDs. They already hold 4.6gig of data, okay, drop in the greyscale technology and we are looking at nearly 14gig! Let's think about that, 14gig. Star Wars Saga on one DVD. Or even better, imaging that in a digital video camera. Oh yeah, that sounds nice.
Now of course there are always problems and possible flops. Zip drives started out nicely, and have tapered off since CDs and burners/rewriters have become so cheap. Come on, you can get a 50cd spindle at Best Buy for $20, but Zip Disks have been $8-10 a piece for what, going on two years? How about the SuperDisk? Great concept, good potential, 120meg (more than the zip disk) on a 3.5 disk AND it'll read the older disks so it's a replacement drive, not an additional one. To me, sounded good, but then again, I had to buy a new drive, and the media was too expensive, again $10 a pop. Zip disks were already out, and you could pick up a decent burner for $250 then (twice the cost of the SuperDisk drive, but burners get you 6 times the space and media is cheap) So, too little, too late.
Now we have this greyscale technology. Is it realistic, or just someone saying "we CAN do it" but never do. Six months ago I read about a drive that boasts over 6gig of storage on a translucent CD using neon technology. Sounds neat, which will come out first? They boast 1.9gig storage with this new greyscale technology, but we already have DVD technology that CAN hold 4.6gig. They claim only firmware upgrades are needed for this to work, I'll believe it when I see it. What'll new drives run with all the enhanced speed, $500, $600? Software?? What software will support this? Or should I say, how much will TDK be selling it for? They have to make all their money for their great discovery somewhere, what $2-300 a pop for the software? Where does their bottom line come into play, they are a business afterall.
Here is what *I'D* like to see:
1: Decide on a DVD writing format so that regular DVD players can read them (like CDR have)
2: Have DVD-R drives come down to a reasonable price. $600 wouldn't be outrageous for a DVD-R drive that'll write standard DVDs.
3: Expand upon the existing DVD writing technology. (Can we do 6 or 8 gig per DVD)
4: Then once we have a good DVD standard that using the DVD capicity nicely, then we can throw in the greyscale or rainbow, or whatever technology to increase it even moreso.
5: (Doubt it'll happen but I can wish) I want to be able to copy my DVD movies! Or better yet make my own DVD movies.
Does it make sense to keep redoing a technology that will be dieing off? Companies are moving away from CDs and going to DVD. As for consumers, we can burn CDs cheap as hell now, so why would we shell out hundreds more? CDs are pennies a piece, so why would we go back 5 years to paying several dollars a cd? Yeah, reduces cd, but at 100 times the cost?
Yes, it has potential, but when applied to another technology it has much better potential. Question is? How much, when, and more importantly, will it really ever happen?
I am going to agree with you wholeheartidly. I have a friend who works at Character Builders (made Ren & Stimpy and alot of 102 Dalmations). I saw how much work was put into designing the characters. Most of the designs are still done by hand on paper, even the storyboards. The computer just makes it a bit easier to do the final production drawings. Have you ever watched an old Bugs Bunny cartoon, and noticed the off coloring of somethings? Those were always the things that were going to move or something. That was because it was done by another person, and they may not of had the EXACT matched when they did their part. With the computer doing the colors everything matches so it goes more seemlessly.
If they didn't have computers doing it people would be saying, "What's with the hookey colors and stuff? Why does it take years for Disney to put out a new animation? With computers around it shouldn't take them anytime at all!"
I can't imagine they have the time to check with every webmaster, or contact everyone needed to make sure EVERY article is completely factual. That's what newspapers are for, and even they screw up sometimes. Did you look at the site, did you check it out? It look legit to me, nice site, tons of information. You would have to do ALOT of checking to find out that it was bogus. Do you really want to research if the MP-105-D processor or the PR-964 cruise missle existed? Cut them a little slack. These guys pulled off a nice Orson Wells. Had everyone buying it, hell, the CEO of my company ordered one. About the only thing I thought strange was the COD only, but now it makes sense. No money ever changed hands, so it's not like people were getting scammed or something.
Dizzy --Everynow and then we need to see exactly how gulible and ignorant we can be.
I can easily believe that Napster users buy more CDs. How many people have rented movies and copied them? I am a HUGE movie buff. I have over 800 movies, and that's not including the copied ones. Yes, I have illegal copies, but you know what, out of my 200 some odd copies, there are MAYBE a dozen that I didn't buy as well. Just like MP3s, the copies are good, but they just can't beat an original. Of course now everything I buy is DVD and there's a HUGE difference, but the fact is that I copied the movie because I liked it and wanted it. As soon as it was available, I bought it. I love DVDs now, most the time they are on DVD the same time you can rent them. Only ones I don't have copies of are ones that they never released to own... Took a while for Hackers to be released to own, still waiting on PCU...
Sorry getting off topic. There will NEVER see them agree Napster is good for business. If you say Naptster users buy more then they'll reply that they would of bought more. If they take down Napster and a survey says that Napster encouraged CD purchasing, they'd reply saying that people are mad at them for getting Napster shut down and are boycotting them. There is no winning.
I hear that. I JUST broke 100gig (last night actually) I like to think that I have a moderate collection. More than half the MP3s are MY CDs that I bought and paid for. A quarter of them are my roommate's CDs. I think I have about 200meg of songs I got off Napster, the rest I borrowed from friends so I could have them on my computer. My computer is then hooked to the stereo in the basement where it acts as our Jukebox. Personally, I see nothing wrong with this, I love Napster because if I don't have a particular song and I can't seem to find it in the stores (we are 70s and 80s freaks and even with all the compilation CDs it's hard to find the right song) I can just jump on and download it. I WOULD of bought it and made it an MP3 myself, but I couldn't find it. Is that my fault? I don't think so. They can kiss my butt unless they make EVERY song readily available so I don't have to go onto Napster to find the songs I want.:-) Sean
I can't even remember all the times I've heard a song on the radio, loved it, then gone out to buy the album only to find that the one song I heard was the ONLY good one, or that the radio version wasn't even on the album. I would of killed for Napster then, I would of saved a fortune. Anyone remember "Anything But The Girl" their big song, Missing or something like that. It was a hidden track on the album, the rest of their music was NOTHING like that song!! I was pissed! I would of bought the single had I known...
3) somehow prevent the pirates from illegally stealing software.
The most brutally obvious answer is: "Give it away for free". Structure revenue models around other profit centers, such as service, support and hardware. Keep R&D costs under control, and base your development efforts on easily implemented open standards and community effort. ------
The problem with giving it away is just as you said. They make their money from service, support and hardware. Think about this a moment... How often does Windows crash and screw stuff up? Where's the incentive to build a working program? Would you REALLY want to pay for service everytime? Okay, Microsoft comes out with a new patch, but it costs $50 for each patch or "upgrade". Now the kicker. Windows has to have "Acme Windows" card installed to work properly. So realistically, there is still piracy, everyone steals the upgrades/patches. But we all get screwed on the service/support and the hardware needed. Unfortunatly, it works both ways, and you know if Bill Gates would of thought about it, it would require a "windows" card in every computer just to line his platinum pant pockets with more money.
Now, while I'm not a big fan of Microsoft, I do have to give them credit for their marketing. First off, big box. Well, you noticed it didn't you? How hard was it to find among the rest of the software? Secondly, you get on here, and start talking about it. So, not only is their software noticed because of it's obscenly large box (the programmer was obviously male, and designed the box himself to overcompensate for the lack of... software), but now they have a software title on slashdot. Realistically, there will probably never be a regulation of software boxes. Come on, just like everyone else, I grab a shiny box, like the overeducated chimp I am, flip it over hoping to see more pretty colors. If you cut down the size of the box, you lose all the screen shots and such on the back. How many of you honestly have never flipped the box over to check out screen shots? I don't think I've even bought software and NOT checked them out. So... In conclusion. Boxes won't change, big boxes are annoying. Let the stores deal with finding a place on the shelf for them. They know just as long as they are big and shiny, we'll always pick it up and take a look.
Moral delima, yeah, my eye. I have an extensive collection of movies (rapidly approaching 1000 movies) They include copies, originals, and DVD movies. Now, here's my question. I have friends who come over and borrow movies, so how would one loan that one out? I own the rights, therefore I should be able to loan it out. How about selling it? Is that allowed? I can already see bulk licenses for sale on eBay. How long before they are deamed illegal, or in violation of that damn Digital Act? In theory, I like the idea of being able to download a movie. Of course the only people who would benefit would be those with Cable or DSL or the like. I would have to smack anyone on a dial-up who would attempt it. Now for the moral delima. How long before the encryption is cracked, week, MAYBE two. Then what, pull the plug on the whole idea? Not so easy, once you start, you can't stop (like those damn potato chips). What about viewing on something other than my computer. I've only got a cheapo 15" monitor on my computer, but I have a 35" digital TV hook up downstairs with my DVD player. Would I be able to burn it to CD and play it in my DVD player? THAT MIGHT actually be worth paying for. Which brings me to my last thing... Anyone heard about estimated prices? Or ease of obtaining them? If they want $10 per license, and I have to get on a slow ass website and spend 15minutes filling out a form, then another 5 waiting for it to submit, then ANOTHER 10 waiting for the email with the unlock password... Hell with that! I'll spend 10min driving to media play, pay $9.99 + tax for the VHS which I can watch on any TV, loan out to friends, then another 10min driving home. I spent maybe a buck more, saved time, hassle, and it's more usable. I hope they take these things into consideration before setting prices and going about all of that, else it'll just be able DiVX. A waste of everyone's time. Neat concept, poorly excecuted.
I agree, Microsoft has had plenty of time to settle. This is the thing that bothers me though, Bill said he is positive that he will win and isn't worried, so why are there talks of settling out of court? Did some one drop something in his lap that has him worried?
Also, how exactly do they settle out of court? Do es everyone who has a copy of Windows get a free upgrade that doesn't have everything integrated and non-removable? Do we all just get money? Doubtful, so I'd like to know who the beneficiaries of this deal would be.
Re:Spread the message, brothers
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Copyrant
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You know I find it funny, I just downloaded Linux 6.2 and GNome yesterday. Let Microsoft and other keep putting restrictions on everything. Linux will prosper. Right now the only problem with it is that there isn't enough software. Well you know what, if everyone makes it too hard to write usable software for Windows, then they will write more for Linux. Or, if no one wants Windows because of all of Microsofts hassles, again, companies will realize that it's more beneficial to them to write for the other platforms. In the society today, we want more open source and, well, we just want it all. We aren't creatures of habbit who will cling to a ship that's sinking, no, when we are in danger, we move on to a better place. Let me tell you, Gnome is looking real nice about now. Secondly... The original article mentioned the "lemon laws" for cars. I think it would be nice to see lemon laws for programs. You know what, Microsoft was lose a fortune, or would be forced to actually make a working copy of Windows that does pop up the "blue screen of death" once an hour.
Now, here's the question I have. Okay, I buy a computer from... Barney's Computer Barn. Homemade, build to order. So they make an disk image that can only be used on that machine. Okay, now, what if I build my own computer. Can I buy an actual copy of Windows? Or do I again buy a crippled version? Now, realistically, if it's crippled or a full version, I can see the use of CD-Burners skyrocketing, and how long before someone makes a crack for it anyhow. I don't really condone that kind of stuff, but for Microsoft... I'll certainly make an exception. They want to screw me, I have NO qualms about screwing them. If they thought piracy was bad before, let them start those practices and see how bad it gets.
If anyone asked me for a photo of myself and a copy of my credit card, I would laugh, then report then right away. I don't think I've shopped in a real store in almost two years. I buy everything online. Yeah, it would be nice to have an online credit card of sorts, but until they come around, I'm stuck using my regular one, and my debit card. I have yet to be asked for a photo of me, or of my credit card. I have even ordered from Germany and France, and Japan a few times. I did have a few small problems where they said they were having problems verifying my card. On the back of my card I have a customer service number that I gave them. For my debit card, I gave them the phone number to my bank. I have seen more and more sites requesting "extra numbers" or the customer service numbers from the back of cards. I think that is an excellent way to go. I'm all about more security. For the record, two years purchasing online, and I've had only one fraudulant charge to my card, and they were caught. Idiots had it sent to their house. My company called me to verify since it was being sent 10 states over, and I told them no, and they contacted the authories.
First anime I ever saw was Vampire Hunter D. For the next three months I rented, borrowed, or whatever, anything anime. Battle Angel was very good, I also recommend: Irira - basicaly a young girl is an assasin, cool computers, wierd monsters, etc. Bubblegum Crisis - Kinda like the anime power rangers (but much better) Nice plot, cool weapons and toys. I also enjoy Dragonball Z, but not the cartoon network version. I like the real ones where half the violence and blood isn't cut out. Which is frightening if you see it on cartoon network and see how much violence is still in it.
Can they legally do this? I would think that would defeat the whole Free Speech thing. This is getting WAY out of hand? How can you tell people they can't say bad things about your product? If I don't like it, then I'm going to damn well say it. Here's how I look at this. If you have to outlaw people saying it's a bad product, then you already know your product sucks and need to do something about it instead of outlawing free speech and thought.
Now think about this. It's been what, 2 maybe 3 weeks since the crap hit the fan and there are already new bills being drawn up? Obviously there is some pushing from an unforseen force. Record industry maybe? I can see this getting pushed through quickly and halfassed. I'll admit it, I used Napster to get songs I wanted. It was great, when I couldn't find the song in the stores, or I only wanted ONE song, I didn't have to blow $15 on a CD, I just downloaded the ONE song I wanted. I have already contacted my rep and expressed my concern over these proposed laws. Some may joke, but look at how the world is today. You can have someone break into your house and if you hit them, or shoot them, they can legally sue you. If these pass, where will it end? It won't. That's the answer. I would think dearly before bringing a child into today's world.
Slashdot Mirror
Actually, eBay will only remove feedback by a court order (unless it fits into one of their special circumstances, ie, vulgar, or gives personal information).
I think SquareTrade should also have the ability to charge the other party for the mediation. Why should *I* have to pay to try to mediate an issue because the other person was a jerk and exploited the feedback system?
eBay should be held accountable for some of this crap. It's against policy to exploit the feedback system, or use feedback extortion. Yet any report of it gets you a form email stating they will look into it, and you will never know the result, so don't ask. The feedback stands, and nothing changes. Nice policy, how about some ENFOREMENT!
Agreed, the amount of "crap" I've had to deal with regarding eBay's horrible feedback system is a joke. I am a seller on eBay and I'm quickly approaching 5000 feedback and 97% rating. I received an email last week from a guy who said:
"your feeback is horrible, why don't you do ebay and everyone a favor and leave"
Now, when *I* was in school a 97% was still an A, and a fairly high A at that. Yes, I have about 130 negs, but the fact I have over 5000 positives means nothing. eBay touts their feedback system as THE measurement to rate buyers and sellers. BUT, they offer no policing of their system. Since they claim it is a "public forum" they refuse to remove it unless it's vulgar. I contacted my attorney because I have several negs that are just blatant lies. Bottom line, I can't sue them for loss of business because I have to PROVE I lost business (and emails from people saying that they didn't buy because of my feedback is not considered proof). It has to be a measured amount. I can *TRY* to sue for loss of reputation and defamation. Again, it has to be done in their jurisdiction (which I think is total BS), and it will cost me about $1000 EACH to every TRY. Because of the BS feedback (many retalitory because they didn't complete the transaction or whatnot), I lost my powerseller status, so I lost ANY support, and I lost the cash back bonuses I got with being a powerseller, and any of the contests I might have won (I won the Grow Your Business contest for 2003)
Actually, the number of eBay buyers who used PayPal are more like 80-90% I am a big seller on eBay, and I know that over 95% of my customers pay via PayPal.
PayPal can easily screw over buyers as much as sellers. More buyers may take hits, but sellers take the BIG hits. I know several buyers who have been scammed for $20-$50. They learn from it, and know how to avoid it next time. As a seller, there is little I can do to avoid the types of fraud I have to deal with. Last year, I lost over $2000 to PayPal for their BS policies.
eBay owns PayPal, and yet many of their policies directly conflict. For instance. eBay allows you to sell items you do not have (ie Pre-Orders for Games, Videos, and the like). PayPal states that the item must be in hand to sell. To further urge this, for a seller to be covered by their seller protection they have to ship the item within 7 days (originally was "within a reasonable time", which I won a judegement against them on a pre-order issue when the judge decided that since I shipped it the DAY it was released it qualified for their "reasonable time" policy. It shortly there-after changed to 10 days, and now 7 days). Many times I have shipped an item a day or two before it's release only to have the person file a complaint while it's in transit. Since it was shipped after the 7-day window, PayPal will give them their money back, regardless if it arrives or not.
I have one lady who I just filed suite against because she received the item, then decided that it took too long and filed a complaint for non-received goods. I replied and showed delivery confirmation. Since it was shipped after the 7 day window she got her money back. She contact me and said she's pay for the item ONLY, but refused to pay shipping. I reminded her that purchasing on eBay is a legallying binding contract and she agreed to pay for the item AND shipping. She told me to f-off. Since she lives in my town, I filed suite against her.
The problem with these things is that to file suite , even in small claims court, it's another $30-$50 just to file (which you are allowed to add to the amount to collect), and if they do not live in your area, it costs quite a bit more to have it moved to their jurisdiction and things. It will cost me an average of $100 EACH ($35 file fee, and $65 xfer fee) PLUS any attorney fees to try to recover the funds. Key of course is TRY.
THEN... Then you get the "you have been the recipient of potentially fraudulant funds". That's PayPal's scam to essentially STEAL your money. They REFUSE to answer ANY questions regarding HOW or WHY the funds were potentially fraudulant. They refuse to tell you what happened to the funds, or give you any chance to recover them. More often than not, they are outside any window for recovery at all. I had one yesterday actually. PayPal took $382 from my account and said it was potentially fraudulant. The transaction was from Oct 2004. Ironically enough, it was my father sending me money for my mother's Xmas gifts. So I KNOW the owner, I know the account. The funds came from his balance, not from a bank xfer that may not have gone through. Not from a credit card that might have been charged back. The money had been in his account for months before sending to me. He was not notified in any way/shape or form about it. They refused to speak to him, and I have reiceved no communication from my account manager. Sometimes if I bitch enough I will get a "courtesy refund". The sound of which makes me want to strangle the guy. "Courtesy" ?!?! They make is sound as if they are doing me a HUGE favor. THEN they hold it against you in the future, "You're received several courtesty refunds already, we cannot issue any further."
I am part of 5 seperate class action lawsuits against PayPal. If you check various complaint sites available on the web, including BBB they have well over a million complaints (vs eBay's less than half that yet 2-3 times the user base). eBay has it's issues, but they do not nearly directly impact, and so closely resemble blantent theft and deception as PayPal.
I've read everyone shouting "boycott, boycott!" Personally, I'm weak, and I enjoy playing Blizzard games and I'll probably be getting it. At the same time, though, everyone is stating that it won't make a difference to Blizzard.
There are enough copies of BnetD around, and the fact that for some reason FSGS isn't shut down that no one needs to buy Warcraft 3. Everyone get hacked/cracked/copied/pirated copies. They may not care that people aren't buying their game, but when they see that thousands and thousands of people are playing their game and haven't paid for it. Then they may take notice.
Like others, I have purchased damn near every game Blizzard made. I usually get a copy of it, play it, and if I like it, I will then shell out the cash for it. I am a programmer, and I believe that people should get paid for good work. I also believe that large companies flexing and trying to snuff out "competition" while hiding behind laws meant to protect them from piracy need put down.
-Dizzy
From http://www.madgrfx.com/warforge.html
Site Down
As a result of the bnetd.org shutdown and our own usage of the source, we've elected to shutdown this site pending a resolution of the matter. Read more on slashdot here. Or read more on k5 here. Please note Blizzard has not contacted us.
We all love and admire Blizzard games. The last thing we intended was to hurt Blizzard or bnetd in any way. We are just fans.
See you on battle.net when WC3 goes retail,
Warforge team
Also http://www.clan519.com/creed/war3 gives permission errors. Both sites are currently down.
To be honest, there is very little of what is classified as "fine art" that makes me "oooh" or "aaah". But when a friend of mine showed me a picture that he'd been working for months on, I was in awe. It was simple, a violin, a cobblestone street, and a street light. But though it, you could see emotion, and feeling.
I read a couple people's responses that say that you can't portray feeling and the "data" is souless. What's the difference to looking at a print of a painting then? People pay decent money for prints of famous pics, what's the difference?
In some aspects I can see how digital art would be easier. One word, UNDO. In some ways, it may also be cheaper. Take the things that matter though, style, creativity, focus, and skill. You must have all of those for ANY kind of art, digital, or not. Why is digital set apart? It's not classic... Give it a few years, I have no doubt that in 10 years there will be as many flat screen displays showing digital pictures, as there are frames with paint.
If nothing else, I have seen very little digital art that looked like someone threw up on a canvas, and called it art. I think the hardest part in digital art is creating realism. Much harder to pull off on a computer.
Okay, we don't want to deal with the spam, but the spammers are covered by the First Amendment. I have heard a rumor for quite some time about wanting to charge people for e-mail. I think that spam should be charged. Keep the opt-out stuff, and they have the right to send it to us, but they have to pay $.15 per spam. Like stated before, cheaper than postage, and the government gets a chunk of money. With as much spam that goes around, that should aleviate the national debt in no time in the US.
-Dizzy
"What goes around, comes around... And around... And around."
-"The JVC D-VHS deck, which should be available around May, will sell for approximately $2,000, while blank media will cost between $10 and $15."
Not only that, but you must factor in the cost of HDTV which is about another $2000. Now, in my make believe world, $4000 for a VCR and TV isn't so bad, but in the REAL world, $2000 for a HDTV may not be so bad, but for a VCR it's outrageous! Then if I paid $15 for all the blank tapes I own, there's another $2000 easy!
-"(HDTV) set that protects high definition content from being copied"
Now how long before it protects ANY copyrighted things from being copied. Then every channel will claim that all their shows are copyrighted and therefor cannot be copied since they are broadcast over the digital network. So, can't record from the TV and you can buy movies for cheaper than you can buy a blank tape, so what's the point?
I think it's just stupid to come out with something geared towards a specific market (HDTV owners) when that market is so small. Wouldn't that be bad business? Or is this another one of those, "We CAN do it, but WILL we do it?" In my opinion they probably ran across the idea/technology and make a press release to see if it would be feasible and to check out public opinion. Well here's mine, "Don't bother, it'll be another Divx Player, neat concept, but a flop."
In 3 or 4 years, I can see the digital TV market growing rapidly in which case something like this would be a better idea (not really a good idea mind you). Work out the bugs, get us 8hrs on a 4hr tape. Now, I remember 3 years ago when 1.2gig was standard in computers, now we have 24gig standard and we went from PII 266mhz to P4 1.5ghz. So, let's do the math. In 3 years we have 20 times the storage capacity standard, so in another 3 years we'll have 480gigs standard in our 8.4ghz machines. Now, if a 75gig drive will hold 30min we can have 190min of this uncompressed on our drives. But that of course doesn't take in account any other technological breakthroughs that might happen.
Companies these days really need to think a bit, "should we" needs to go along with "could we". (Jurassic Park Syndrome - We can, therefore we will... And make a stupid investment)
I see one viable use for this technology, digital video editing. They will have the money, HD capacity, and the need for something like this. But even for them, is it usable? Can you record that media onto a tape for distributing? How do you send a 1min commercial that is 2.5gig to get it run on TV?
I will agree with you that this technology has amazing potential.
Think short term. Yeah, I can back up my 60gig of MP3s on 20cds instead of the 70 that I use now.
Think consumer. Use those mini-cds in digital cameras. You can still make small cameras that can take incredible pictures because there is all kinds of space. CD-Players, you can have the Beetle's Anthology on a few CDs, you have have 230min of music on one CD. MP3 Players, Yeah, GIGs on one CD! Okay, heaven!
Think future. Want to talk potential, here's one for you. Expand this technology to DVDs. They already hold 4.6gig of data, okay, drop in the greyscale technology and we are looking at nearly 14gig! Let's think about that, 14gig. Star Wars Saga on one DVD. Or even better, imaging that in a digital video camera. Oh yeah, that sounds nice.
Now of course there are always problems and possible flops. Zip drives started out nicely, and have tapered off since CDs and burners/rewriters have become so cheap. Come on, you can get a 50cd spindle at Best Buy for $20, but Zip Disks have been $8-10 a piece for what, going on two years? How about the SuperDisk? Great concept, good potential, 120meg (more than the zip disk) on a 3.5 disk AND it'll read the older disks so it's a replacement drive, not an additional one. To me, sounded good, but then again, I had to buy a new drive, and the media was too expensive, again $10 a pop. Zip disks were already out, and you could pick up a decent burner for $250 then (twice the cost of the SuperDisk drive, but burners get you 6 times the space and media is cheap) So, too little, too late.
Now we have this greyscale technology. Is it realistic, or just someone saying "we CAN do it" but never do. Six months ago I read about a drive that boasts over 6gig of storage on a translucent CD using neon technology. Sounds neat, which will come out first? They boast 1.9gig storage with this new greyscale technology, but we already have DVD technology that CAN hold 4.6gig. They claim only firmware upgrades are needed for this to work, I'll believe it when I see it. What'll new drives run with all the enhanced speed, $500, $600? Software?? What software will support this? Or should I say, how much will TDK be selling it for? They have to make all their money for their great discovery somewhere, what $2-300 a pop for the software? Where does their bottom line come into play, they are a business afterall.
Here is what *I'D* like to see:
1: Decide on a DVD writing format so that regular DVD players can read them (like CDR have)
2: Have DVD-R drives come down to a reasonable price. $600 wouldn't be outrageous for a DVD-R drive that'll write standard DVDs.
3: Expand upon the existing DVD writing technology. (Can we do 6 or 8 gig per DVD)
4: Then once we have a good DVD standard that using the DVD capicity nicely, then we can throw in the greyscale or rainbow, or whatever technology to increase it even moreso.
5: (Doubt it'll happen but I can wish) I want to be able to copy my DVD movies! Or better yet make my own DVD movies.
Does it make sense to keep redoing a technology that will be dieing off? Companies are moving away from CDs and going to DVD. As for consumers, we can burn CDs cheap as hell now, so why would we shell out hundreds more? CDs are pennies a piece, so why would we go back 5 years to paying several dollars a cd? Yeah, reduces cd, but at 100 times the cost?
Yes, it has potential, but when applied to another technology it has much better potential. Question is? How much, when, and more importantly, will it really ever happen?
I am going to agree with you wholeheartidly. I have a friend who works at Character Builders (made Ren & Stimpy and alot of 102 Dalmations). I saw how much work was put into designing the characters. Most of the designs are still done by hand on paper, even the storyboards. The computer just makes it a bit easier to do the final production drawings. Have you ever watched an old Bugs Bunny cartoon, and noticed the off coloring of somethings? Those were always the things that were going to move or something. That was because it was done by another person, and they may not of had the EXACT matched when they did their part. With the computer doing the colors everything matches so it goes more seemlessly.
If they didn't have computers doing it people would be saying, "What's with the hookey colors and stuff? Why does it take years for Disney to put out a new animation? With computers around it shouldn't take them anytime at all!"
Diz
I can't imagine they have the time to check with every webmaster, or contact everyone needed to make sure EVERY article is completely factual. That's what newspapers are for, and even they screw up sometimes.
Did you look at the site, did you check it out? It look legit to me, nice site, tons of information. You would have to do ALOT of checking to find out that it was bogus. Do you really want to research if the MP-105-D processor or the PR-964 cruise missle existed?
Cut them a little slack. These guys pulled off a nice Orson Wells. Had everyone buying it, hell, the CEO of my company ordered one. About the only thing I thought strange was the COD only, but now it makes sense. No money ever changed hands, so it's not like people were getting scammed or something.
Dizzy
--Everynow and then we need to see exactly how gulible and ignorant we can be.
I can easily believe that Napster users buy more CDs. How many people have rented movies and copied them? I am a HUGE movie buff. I have over 800 movies, and that's not including the copied ones.
Yes, I have illegal copies, but you know what, out of my 200 some odd copies, there are MAYBE a dozen that I didn't buy as well. Just like MP3s, the copies are good, but they just can't beat an original. Of course now everything I buy is DVD and there's a HUGE difference, but the fact is that I copied the movie because I liked it and wanted it. As soon as it was available, I bought it. I love DVDs now, most the time they are on DVD the same time you can rent them. Only ones I don't have copies of are ones that they never released to own... Took a while for Hackers to be released to own, still waiting on PCU...
Sorry getting off topic. There will NEVER see them agree Napster is good for business. If you say Naptster users buy more then they'll reply that they would of bought more. If they take down Napster and a survey says that Napster encouraged CD purchasing, they'd reply saying that people are mad at them for getting Napster shut down and are boycotting them. There is no winning.
Sean
I hear that. I JUST broke 100gig (last night actually) I like to think that I have a moderate collection. More than half the MP3s are MY CDs that I bought and paid for. A quarter of them are my roommate's CDs. I think I have about 200meg of songs I got off Napster, the rest I borrowed from friends so I could have them on my computer. My computer is then hooked to the stereo in the basement where it acts as our Jukebox. :-)
Personally, I see nothing wrong with this, I love Napster because if I don't have a particular song and I can't seem to find it in the stores (we are 70s and 80s freaks and even with all the compilation CDs it's hard to find the right song) I can just jump on and download it. I WOULD of bought it and made it an MP3 myself, but I couldn't find it. Is that my fault? I don't think so. They can kiss my butt unless they make EVERY song readily available so I don't have to go onto Napster to find the songs I want.
Sean
I can't even remember all the times I've heard a song on the radio, loved it, then gone out to buy the album only to find that the one song I heard was the ONLY good one, or that the radio version wasn't even on the album.
I would of killed for Napster then, I would of saved a fortune. Anyone remember "Anything But The Girl" their big song, Missing or something like that. It was a hidden track on the album, the rest of their music was NOTHING like that song!! I was pissed! I would of bought the single had I known...
3) somehow prevent the pirates from illegally stealing software.
The most brutally obvious answer is: "Give it away for free". Structure revenue models around other profit centers, such as service, support and hardware. Keep R&D costs under control, and base your development efforts on easily implemented open standards and community effort.
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The problem with giving it away is just as you said. They make their money from service, support and hardware. Think about this a moment...
How often does Windows crash and screw stuff up? Where's the incentive to build a working program? Would you REALLY want to pay for service everytime? Okay, Microsoft comes out with a new patch, but it costs $50 for each patch or "upgrade". Now the kicker. Windows has to have "Acme Windows" card installed to work properly.
So realistically, there is still piracy, everyone steals the upgrades/patches. But we all get screwed on the service/support and the hardware needed. Unfortunatly, it works both ways, and you know if Bill Gates would of thought about it, it would require a "windows" card in every computer just to line his platinum pant pockets with more money.
Now, while I'm not a big fan of Microsoft, I do have to give them credit for their marketing.
First off, big box. Well, you noticed it didn't you? How hard was it to find among the rest of the software? Secondly, you get on here, and start talking about it. So, not only is their software noticed because of it's obscenly large box (the programmer was obviously male, and designed the box himself to overcompensate for the lack of... software), but now they have a software title on slashdot.
Realistically, there will probably never be a regulation of software boxes. Come on, just like everyone else, I grab a shiny box, like the overeducated chimp I am, flip it over hoping to see more pretty colors. If you cut down the size of the box, you lose all the screen shots and such on the back. How many of you honestly have never flipped the box over to check out screen shots? I don't think I've even bought software and NOT checked them out.
So... In conclusion. Boxes won't change, big boxes are annoying. Let the stores deal with finding a place on the shelf for them. They know just as long as they are big and shiny, we'll always pick it up and take a look.
Moral delima, yeah, my eye.
I have an extensive collection of movies (rapidly approaching 1000 movies) They include copies, originals, and DVD movies. Now, here's my question. I have friends who come over and borrow movies, so how would one loan that one out? I own the rights, therefore I should be able to loan it out. How about selling it? Is that allowed? I can already see bulk licenses for sale on eBay. How long before they are deamed illegal, or in violation of that damn Digital Act?
In theory, I like the idea of being able to download a movie. Of course the only people who would benefit would be those with Cable or DSL or the like. I would have to smack anyone on a dial-up who would attempt it.
Now for the moral delima. How long before the encryption is cracked, week, MAYBE two. Then what, pull the plug on the whole idea? Not so easy, once you start, you can't stop (like those damn potato chips).
What about viewing on something other than my computer. I've only got a cheapo 15" monitor on my computer, but I have a 35" digital TV hook up downstairs with my DVD player. Would I be able to burn it to CD and play it in my DVD player? THAT MIGHT actually be worth paying for. Which brings me to my last thing...
Anyone heard about estimated prices? Or ease of obtaining them? If they want $10 per license, and I have to get on a slow ass website and spend 15minutes filling out a form, then another 5 waiting for it to submit, then ANOTHER 10 waiting for the email with the unlock password... Hell with that! I'll spend 10min driving to media play, pay $9.99 + tax for the VHS which I can watch on any TV, loan out to friends, then another 10min driving home. I spent maybe a buck more, saved time, hassle, and it's more usable. I hope they take these things into consideration before setting prices and going about all of that, else it'll just be able DiVX. A waste of everyone's time. Neat concept, poorly excecuted.
My $.02 worth.
I agree, Microsoft has had plenty of time to settle. This is the thing that bothers me though, Bill said he is positive that he will win and isn't worried, so why are there talks of settling out of court? Did some one drop something in his lap that has him worried?
Also, how exactly do they settle out of court? Do es everyone who has a copy of Windows get a free upgrade that doesn't have everything integrated and non-removable? Do we all just get money? Doubtful, so I'd like to know who the beneficiaries of this deal would be.
You know I find it funny, I just downloaded Linux 6.2 and GNome yesterday. Let Microsoft and other keep putting restrictions on everything. Linux will prosper. Right now the only problem with it is that there isn't enough software. Well you know what, if everyone makes it too hard to write usable software for Windows, then they will write more for Linux. Or, if no one wants Windows because of all of Microsofts hassles, again, companies will realize that it's more beneficial to them to write for the other platforms. In the society today, we want more open source and, well, we just want it all. We aren't creatures of habbit who will cling to a ship that's sinking, no, when we are in danger, we move on to a better place. Let me tell you, Gnome is looking real nice about now. Secondly... The original article mentioned the "lemon laws" for cars. I think it would be nice to see lemon laws for programs. You know what, Microsoft was lose a fortune, or would be forced to actually make a working copy of Windows that does pop up the "blue screen of death" once an hour.
Now, here's the question I have. Okay, I buy a computer from... Barney's Computer Barn. Homemade, build to order. So they make an disk image that can only be used on that machine. Okay, now, what if I build my own computer. Can I buy an actual copy of Windows? Or do I again buy a crippled version? Now, realistically, if it's crippled or a full version, I can see the use of CD-Burners skyrocketing, and how long before someone makes a crack for it anyhow. I don't really condone that kind of stuff, but for Microsoft... I'll certainly make an exception. They want to screw me, I have NO qualms about screwing them. If they thought piracy was bad before, let them start those practices and see how bad it gets.
My $.01
If anyone asked me for a photo of myself and a copy of my credit card, I would laugh, then report then right away. I don't think I've shopped in a real store in almost two years. I buy everything online. Yeah, it would be nice to have an online credit card of sorts, but until they come around, I'm stuck using my regular one, and my debit card. I have yet to be asked for a photo of me, or of my credit card. I have even ordered from Germany and France, and Japan a few times. I did have a few small problems where they said they were having problems verifying my card. On the back of my card I have a customer service number that I gave them. For my debit card, I gave them the phone number to my bank. I have seen more and more sites requesting "extra numbers" or the customer service numbers from the back of cards. I think that is an excellent way to go. I'm all about more security. For the record, two years purchasing online, and I've had only one fraudulant charge to my card, and they were caught. Idiots had it sent to their house. My company called me to verify since it was being sent 10 states over, and I told them no, and they contacted the authories.
First anime I ever saw was Vampire Hunter D. For the next three months I rented, borrowed, or whatever, anything anime. Battle Angel was very good, I also recommend: Irira - basicaly a young girl is an assasin, cool computers, wierd monsters, etc. Bubblegum Crisis - Kinda like the anime power rangers (but much better) Nice plot, cool weapons and toys. I also enjoy Dragonball Z, but not the cartoon network version. I like the real ones where half the violence and blood isn't cut out. Which is frightening if you see it on cartoon network and see how much violence is still in it.
Can they legally do this? I would think that would defeat the whole Free Speech thing. This is getting WAY out of hand? How can you tell people they can't say bad things about your product? If I don't like it, then I'm going to damn well say it. Here's how I look at this. If you have to outlaw people saying it's a bad product, then you already know your product sucks and need to do something about it instead of outlawing free speech and thought.
Now think about this. It's been what, 2 maybe 3 weeks since the crap hit the fan and there are already new bills being drawn up? Obviously there is some pushing from an unforseen force. Record industry maybe? I can see this getting pushed through quickly and halfassed. I'll admit it, I used Napster to get songs I wanted. It was great, when I couldn't find the song in the stores, or I only wanted ONE song, I didn't have to blow $15 on a CD, I just downloaded the ONE song I wanted. I have already contacted my rep and expressed my concern over these proposed laws. Some may joke, but look at how the world is today. You can have someone break into your house and if you hit them, or shoot them, they can legally sue you. If these pass, where will it end? It won't. That's the answer. I would think dearly before bringing a child into today's world.