1. You assume switching credit cards and shutting down an old account is easy and consequence free. Closing a credit card account impacts your credit. Some banks use visa or mastercard as their vendor for credit and debit cards.
2. Visa and Mastercard are the big players. You assume switching from them won't impact your ability to do business with companies that only accept one or the other.
3. With nothing to require them to disclose, what real pressure is there for them to disclose? Why should they when it could cost them business to do so?
4. Should market pressure be the only thing between us and how a company treats us? If the market as a whole did not care that a company killed puppies, should we allow that company to continue to do so?
5. There's no reason to suspect that in this mythical "the market" you refer to, there would be someone who does tell you what you need to no.
6. There is no "market" that is pure and free of all regulation. This is like saying "communism works in theory".
This actually impacted me. I live in NY, and was contacted my my credit card company. They informed me I was getting a new card, that visa and mastercard said there was a breach - but were not required to report who had compromised my credit card number. "At least they tell us there is a breach". This right here is why "the market" is insufficient protection for consumer rights. We need a law requiring credit card companies to disclose businesses that compromise data.
The real issue is the profanity, not what he did. If the headline had read "school expels student for swearing in class" there would be no technological boogie man to focus attention on. There would only be the issue itself: a student is being denied an education because he used a word the principal didn't like.
This. If the goal is spiritual and personal - then you really need to cultivate the self control to avoid using a gadget at all. I've gone on long flights and consciously chose to avoid listening to my ipod or watching the in flight tv/movies. However if the goal is stopping the annoyance of other people on their phones, then it would need to explicitly have that aim and be flight long. Noise canceling headphones are great for ambient noise, but do nothing to cancel out variable noises like conversations. This is another reason (on top of security theater) that trains are so much nicer than planes - they often have a quiet car.
There are claims that the need for organs dictates when and if executions take place (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304724404577298661625345898.html):
"Officials repeatedly make announcements every few years, but they don't appear to have a solid plan in place," said Sarah Schafer, a Hong Kong-based China researcher for Amnesty International.
The dependence on prisoners for their organs influences the timing of executions in China and in many cases bars inmates from the ability to appeal their death sentences, she said. While such appeals are rare in China, prisoners sometimes get a reprieve on death sentences, enabling them to escape execution.
If he had posted that video on Facebook, it would have changed your comment to read: "26,404 likes", which tells a very different story indeed. For either a politician or a corporation (or any entity really), FB let's you control the message. The only exception is if the traffic is too high for your team of censors to keep up: http://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/the-best-facebook-comments-from-the-kansas-abortio.
It seems that everyday something new comes out about poor service, censorship, or price gouging. No mobile company is excepted, which makes "I'll leave you for a company that treats its customers better" an ultimately empty threat. Is there space for competition here? Do we need to advocate public interest laws and industry regulation?
Here's my story. I went through the TOTALLY-HEALTHY scanner that has no negative effects whatsoever, then was still felt up. Thankfully it was only above the belt. It was enough to turn me off flying except when that was the only viable option, which I have actively worked to avoid.
I'd have to give Facebook some pretty big props for giving you access despite being dead. Amazing what you can accomplish with php and a bit of elbow grease.
A very good point. So the question is, "How much theater are we buying for the price of letting people recruited through pizza box ads touch our genitals?"
This. Given the lack of transparency on the lists we know about (like no-fly lists), and the role of facebook in providing info to various government agencies, wouldn't retaliation of some kind for popular and troublesome questions be a concern?
I wouldn't ask the second question unless I had numbers showing it HAS dropped off a cliff, otherwise you might undermine your point. The first question could be framed a bit better too: "Is it right to touch US citizens all over their body - regardless of how young they are - in the name of security theater?".
We do have another alternative, as unlikely a road to victory as it may seem. We can create a PR storm targeting the company using twitter and other social networks to call a company out on its privacy violating ways. Even a year ago I would have ignored the various online petitions and such as not having actual power. But the recent victories against Bank of America and Verizon have really got me thinking. Perhaps if a company is big enough or the violation flagrant enough to garner some buzz, there is a way to punish companies for misbehavior.
What are the implications? Do the levels of various ions in the air impact human health in any way? How do they differ in cities vs suburbs vs the countryside?
They matter today. I am on the cusp of switching from Linux exclusively to Linux and Mac. I need to be able to edit videos easily, and none of the solutions linux offers have the stability and ease of use found on mac equivalents. I also want to be able to easily mix quality soundtracks on my own - again - the mac wins. I also have an HD webcam for a webshow I've been working on - no matter what program I try on linux I always get choppy lower res playback. Linux is fantastic for web development, and its great to watch media on. But for creating quality media - it just isn't the right tool for the job currently. Hopefully one day it will be.
I wonder if we could get a sense of who was boycotting out of some rough total? Or get a sense by geographic region/school affiliation. It would be fascinating.
A show like this has a promising premise, would be interesting to people who know who Wil Wheaton is, and builds off Felicia Day's experience/audience/appeal. Its a smart move. Plus Wil is a genuinely nice guy whose interactions with fans are hilarious and warm (http://thebloggess.com/2012/03/wil-wheatons-house-i-am-in-you/). I hope this succeeds.
Agreed. I didn't major in Computer Science myself (a mix of pyschology, philosophy and other subjects made up my degree). I was able to get my first job by trading on work I'd done in the FOSS community. Rather than going for another degree of any sort - go for experience and build a portfolio. A lot of programming jobs these days ask to see code you've written. If you have a slick portfolio page, a well written project on github, or have submitted patches to a FOSS project related to the job you want - you are giving yourself an edge over someone with a seemingly more relevant degree. Also, don't be afraid to sell the value of having a non-related degree. With an unusual background you will bring novel problem-solving tools to the table.
Why do we need to compromise? There is a clear need out there for a language with the simple syntax of python, and the speed of c. The People(tm) want a fast, clean, beautiful language. It is this desire that has lead to efforts like http://nimrod-code.org/, which I think are promising and hope mature (and gain great third party support). Because right now, there are use cases where you want the speed of c/c++, but don't want the hassle of writing in c/c++.
It seems like from a strategic point of view, regardless of how valid the patents are, Facebook is in a much stronger position:
As to Yahoo’s core business — investors consider it almost entirely worthless.
And let’s not forget: Facebook could also sue right back, which it very well might do. Or, perhaps, cut off agreeable ties that have aided Yahoo in recent years.
Slashdot Mirror
This actually impacted me. I live in NY, and was contacted my my credit card company. They informed me I was getting a new card, that visa and mastercard said there was a breach - but were not required to report who had compromised my credit card number. "At least they tell us there is a breach". This right here is why "the market" is insufficient protection for consumer rights. We need a law requiring credit card companies to disclose businesses that compromise data.
The real issue is the profanity, not what he did. If the headline had read "school expels student for swearing in class" there would be no technological boogie man to focus attention on. There would only be the issue itself: a student is being denied an education because he used a word the principal didn't like.
T-Rex would be as bad at dancing as boxing or pushups.
This. If the goal is spiritual and personal - then you really need to cultivate the self control to avoid using a gadget at all. I've gone on long flights and consciously chose to avoid listening to my ipod or watching the in flight tv/movies. However if the goal is stopping the annoyance of other people on their phones, then it would need to explicitly have that aim and be flight long. Noise canceling headphones are great for ambient noise, but do nothing to cancel out variable noises like conversations. This is another reason (on top of security theater) that trains are so much nicer than planes - they often have a quiet car.
If he had posted that video on Facebook, it would have changed your comment to read: "26,404 likes", which tells a very different story indeed. For either a politician or a corporation (or any entity really), FB let's you control the message. The only exception is if the traffic is too high for your team of censors to keep up: http://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/the-best-facebook-comments-from-the-kansas-abortio.
You sir, win the gold star for anecdotal evidence using the phrase "part of a study" - which lends credence without adding any actual support.
It seems that everyday something new comes out about poor service, censorship, or price gouging. No mobile company is excepted, which makes "I'll leave you for a company that treats its customers better" an ultimately empty threat. Is there space for competition here? Do we need to advocate public interest laws and industry regulation?
Oh I was furious, I just didn't want to compare my situation to travelers who have had agents handle their genitals.
Here's my story. I went through the TOTALLY-HEALTHY scanner that has no negative effects whatsoever, then was still felt up. Thankfully it was only above the belt. It was enough to turn me off flying except when that was the only viable option, which I have actively worked to avoid.
I'd have to give Facebook some pretty big props for giving you access despite being dead. Amazing what you can accomplish with php and a bit of elbow grease.
A very good point. So the question is, "How much theater are we buying for the price of letting people recruited through pizza box ads touch our genitals?"
This. Given the lack of transparency on the lists we know about (like no-fly lists), and the role of facebook in providing info to various government agencies, wouldn't retaliation of some kind for popular and troublesome questions be a concern?
I wouldn't ask the second question unless I had numbers showing it HAS dropped off a cliff, otherwise you might undermine your point. The first question could be framed a bit better too: "Is it right to touch US citizens all over their body - regardless of how young they are - in the name of security theater?".
We do have another alternative, as unlikely a road to victory as it may seem. We can create a PR storm targeting the company using twitter and other social networks to call a company out on its privacy violating ways. Even a year ago I would have ignored the various online petitions and such as not having actual power. But the recent victories against Bank of America and Verizon have really got me thinking. Perhaps if a company is big enough or the violation flagrant enough to garner some buzz, there is a way to punish companies for misbehavior.
What are the implications? Do the levels of various ions in the air impact human health in any way? How do they differ in cities vs suburbs vs the countryside?
They matter today. I am on the cusp of switching from Linux exclusively to Linux and Mac. I need to be able to edit videos easily, and none of the solutions linux offers have the stability and ease of use found on mac equivalents. I also want to be able to easily mix quality soundtracks on my own - again - the mac wins. I also have an HD webcam for a webshow I've been working on - no matter what program I try on linux I always get choppy lower res playback. Linux is fantastic for web development, and its great to watch media on. But for creating quality media - it just isn't the right tool for the job currently. Hopefully one day it will be.
I wonder if we could get a sense of who was boycotting out of some rough total? Or get a sense by geographic region/school affiliation. It would be fascinating.
A show like this has a promising premise, would be interesting to people who know who Wil Wheaton is, and builds off Felicia Day's experience/audience/appeal. Its a smart move. Plus Wil is a genuinely nice guy whose interactions with fans are hilarious and warm (http://thebloggess.com/2012/03/wil-wheatons-house-i-am-in-you/). I hope this succeeds.
Agreed. I didn't major in Computer Science myself (a mix of pyschology, philosophy and other subjects made up my degree). I was able to get my first job by trading on work I'd done in the FOSS community. Rather than going for another degree of any sort - go for experience and build a portfolio. A lot of programming jobs these days ask to see code you've written. If you have a slick portfolio page, a well written project on github, or have submitted patches to a FOSS project related to the job you want - you are giving yourself an edge over someone with a seemingly more relevant degree. Also, don't be afraid to sell the value of having a non-related degree. With an unusual background you will bring novel problem-solving tools to the table.
Why do we need to compromise? There is a clear need out there for a language with the simple syntax of python, and the speed of c. The People(tm) want a fast, clean, beautiful language. It is this desire that has lead to efforts like http://nimrod-code.org/, which I think are promising and hope mature (and gain great third party support). Because right now, there are use cases where you want the speed of c/c++, but don't want the hassle of writing in c/c++.
IANAL, and I am curious. Would such a retaliatory move give the customer grounds for another suit?
Because we'll finally use Alaska for its intended purpose?