So if MSN cannot illegally bundle products with a loan why can the cell phone comanies still do it? They build a repayment schedule into the cost of the service for the phones. Why do you think most of them have early termination clauses in the contract
Because if you'd read the new article, you'd know Microsoft CAN do it. Microsoft misinterperted the law, and is actually offering a rebate and not a loan. As such they are not subject to the "no purchase with a loan" rule. They probably should have known this, but it appears their lawyers are a bunch of fuck-ups. The termination of the program in CA and OR is proabbaly just temporary while the work out a deal that doesn't require them to give everyone $400.
If Microsoft had wanted to they would have simply said "offer not valid in California or Oregon", but they didn't want to lose the VERY large and VERY lucrative market that is California. Microsoft is betting that most people won't bother to take advantage of the laws of the state they live in. If they're willing to take that bet, they need to be willing to accept that they're going to take the occasional loss.
Even better news is that according to the article is that you don't have to apply the rebate to a new computer like they imply in their ad, but simply have to have spent as much money as the rebate is worth (i.e. No cash back).
Personally, if I were in California I'd be getting myself a nice new jumbo sized hard drive on Microsoft.
It kept track of these blanks, and those that were only a few minutes long were judged to be commercial breaks.
Err, that should have been "It kept track of the interval between these blanks, and those that were only a few minutes long were judged to be commercial breaks". Damn proofreading.
Okay, I've never played with the Tivo, but I've been thinking about the one feature that would make this thing perfect. Digital commercial deletion. I'd love to be able to watch my favorite shows with VCR automatically skipping commercials.
I remember reading about a VCR that had this as a feature. It detected the commercials by the half second or so of blank screen that precedes the commercials. It kept track of these blanks, and those that were only a few minutes long were judged to be commercial breaks. These were auto fast forwared through by the VCR. I understand it worked pretty well except for the fact that it occasionally cut out the credits.
Now the random access of the Tivo offers the oportunity of instantly skipping the commercials instead of waiting for the fast forward. Even better, the TIVO could delete the commercials and save on disk space.
With the release of the code, I would think this would be a great open source project for someone to try. I might even consider buying a TIVO if someone got this feature working.
Ah, but it's all a moot point now that Microsoft has the prototype back. They'll send the guy a new production unit, and probably a few free samples of some other software to smooth things over for sending the NYPD to the guy's house. As they say, possession is 9/10 of the law, and right now Microsoft is in possession.
Still, I would have loved to see the look on Bill's face had the guy told the NYPD to bugger off and kept the unit.
Sure it was mildly amusing, but isn't this more fit for a quickie instead of a story all it's own. And speaking of the quickies, it's been quite a while since we've seen one.
To those criticizing Cmdr. Taco for 'hypocrisy', it helps to have a shred of facts before lighting the flamethrowers..... BTW, the ACs who were most vehement, sure showing your moral courage.
The current book reviews all may point to Fatbrain, but there is also the fact that the large lists of suggested reading all point to amazon.com
Like other readers I'm more willing to accept a simple oversight rather than hypocracy, but now that it's been pointed out, I'd really like to see it changed.
Actually, looking at the agreement in the books section, it appears to be nothing more than an amazon.com associates agreement. The amazon.com associates terms and conditions includes the following line in section 11:
Either you or we may terminate this Agreement at any time, with or without cause, by giving the other party written notice of termination.
So slashdot is under no obligation to continue to supplying links to amazon.com.
The two guys who decided to go to the press with their discovery of cold fusion before getting the research peer reviewed. Now whatever you think of their work, one giant lesson was learned about the importance of peer review before a press announcement. Since then scientists have been almost paranoid about talking to the press before an article is in review.
I don't know about you, but I can find books bundled with the slackware CD. I can also find books bundled without a CD. Try to buy a home computer (not a server) from one of the large OEM's with either Linux or no OS installed. Betcha can't do it.
Due to Microsoft's monopolistic tactics, many people were forced to buy Microsoft Windows bundled with their computer. Many people didn't want the software but were forced to take it to get their computer. If microsoft is judged to be a monopoly, what are the chances of people being able to return Windows that came bundled with their computer for a refund?
It's not like this practice of pricing the new technology higher than the existing more-expensive to produce product is a new thing. Look at the difference between casettes and CD's. Which do you think takes longer and costs more to make. I'll give you a hint, it isn't the piece of tinfoil between the two pieces of plastic.
Actually, the reason's not what you think. There has been a big tiff between Microsoft and the Legal community over the fact the MS Word just WILL NOT generate the standard form of legal footnotes. I'm not sure of the exact details, but apparently Wordperfect will generate said footnotes. As such most legal professionals choose to use Wordperfect.
It's one thing to pull out if a standard is not profitable, or not workable. It's another thing all together to pull out because you screwed the pooch in a way that is completely transparent to the users. Essentially, they'd have to say "We screwed up! Buy our new product that isn't screwed up!" When you say things like that you can expect a lawsuit.
Would parents actually do this? I think most would be willing to say that they would do it in a heartbeat. What parent wouldn't want to eliminate the chance of all the genetic diseases? Cystic fibrosis, Down's Syndrome, Hemophelia the amount of genetic diseases are staggering. If you could GUARANTEE that you child didn't have any of those, wouldn't you?
As for "improvements", the issue becomes more sticky. But I think in most cases the parents would be willing to give their children any advantage possible. Look at the prolifieration of all the products that will make your child learn more. Do you think parents wouldn't cut and paste a few genes if they thought it would turn their kid from average to Einstein, or from disabled to Carl Lewis? Many parents will do nearly anything for the good of their children. I don't think a little gene alteration would be beyond most.
Sure there are risks, but what's life without risks?
I wonder whether if a technology like this could be used to generate small regions of very concentrated sonic energy. If so, this might have industrial or chemical applications.
Or military applications. Imagine a 130 dB sound centered on your skull.
So, does this affect picture quality? I don't too many people who would be willing to use their thousand dollar LCD to emulate a $30 sound card if picture quality changes. On the other hand, if it does work, that's one less component to put in the laptop. Every little bit helps when it comes to weight and power consumption. But that's a whole new can of worms, how much power will these new LCD's require to do their sound thing? LCD's are already the largest consumer of power in a laptop, would any manufacturer be willing to increase the power consumption in order to get rid of the sound card? And while we're at it, what kind of volume can you get out of this? It didn't sound like much from the article.
No, we wouldn't have lost Polar Lander. The Mars Global Surveyor is capible as acting as a backup relay in the event of catastrophic failure in the Mars Climate Observer.
Re:It's all about widespread acceptance
on
CNN On IPv6
·
· Score: 1
Trumpet Winsock version 5.0 implements IPv6 on a Win95 / 98 platform.
Slashdot Mirror
So if MSN cannot illegally bundle products with a loan why can the cell phone comanies still do it? They build a repayment schedule into the cost of the service for the phones. Why do you think most of them have early termination clauses in the contract
Because if you'd read the new article, you'd know Microsoft CAN do it. Microsoft misinterperted the law, and is actually offering a rebate and not a loan. As such they are not subject to the "no purchase with a loan" rule. They probably should have known this, but it appears their lawyers are a bunch of fuck-ups. The termination of the program in CA and OR is proabbaly just temporary while the work out a deal that doesn't require them to give everyone $400.
If Microsoft had wanted to they would have simply said "offer not valid in California or Oregon", but they didn't want to lose the VERY large and VERY lucrative market that is California. Microsoft is betting that most people won't bother to take advantage of the laws of the state they live in. If they're willing to take that bet, they need to be willing to accept that they're going to take the occasional loss.
Even better news is that according to the article is that you don't have to apply the rebate to a new computer like they imply in their ad, but simply have to have spent as much money as the rebate is worth (i.e. No cash back).
Personally, if I were in California I'd be getting myself a nice new jumbo sized hard drive on Microsoft.
It kept track of these blanks, and those that were only a few minutes long were judged to be commercial breaks.
Err, that should have been "It kept track of the interval between these blanks, and those that were only a few minutes long were judged to be commercial breaks". Damn proofreading.
Okay, I've never played with the Tivo, but I've been thinking about the one feature that would make this thing perfect. Digital commercial deletion. I'd love to be able to watch my favorite shows with VCR automatically skipping commercials.
I remember reading about a VCR that had this as a feature. It detected the commercials by the half second or so of blank screen that precedes the commercials. It kept track of these blanks, and those that were only a few minutes long were judged to be commercial breaks. These were auto fast forwared through by the VCR. I understand it worked pretty well except for the fact that it occasionally cut out the credits.
Now the random access of the Tivo offers the oportunity of instantly skipping the commercials instead of waiting for the fast forward. Even better, the TIVO could delete the commercials and save on disk space.
With the release of the code, I would think this would be a great open source project for someone to try. I might even consider buying a TIVO if someone got this feature working.
Ah, but it's all a moot point now that Microsoft has the prototype back. They'll send the guy a new production unit, and probably a few free samples of some other software to smooth things over for sending the NYPD to the guy's house. As they say, possession is 9/10 of the law, and right now Microsoft is in possession.
Still, I would have loved to see the look on Bill's face had the guy told the NYPD to bugger off and kept the unit.
Sure it was mildly amusing, but isn't this more fit for a quickie instead of a story all it's own. And speaking of the quickies, it's been quite a while since we've seen one.
To those criticizing Cmdr. Taco for 'hypocrisy', it helps to have a shred of facts before lighting the flamethrowers..... BTW, the ACs who were most vehement, sure showing your moral courage.
The current book reviews all may point to Fatbrain, but there is also the fact that the large lists of suggested reading all point to amazon.com
Like other readers I'm more willing to accept a simple oversight rather than hypocracy, but now that it's been pointed out, I'd really like to see it changed.
Actually, looking at the agreement in the books section, it appears to be nothing more than an amazon.com associates agreement. The amazon.com associates terms and conditions includes the following line in section 11:
Either you or we may terminate this Agreement at any time, with or without cause, by giving the other party written notice of termination.
So slashdot is under no obligation to continue to supplying links to amazon.com.
A operating system named after an often errant WWII era Nazi rocket. I propose the next major OS be named Hindenberg.
As I recall, over here in the states they had a contest on NPR to suggest names for the first three planets discovered. (Orbiting a pulsar)
The names that "won" by virtue of being submitted the most were:
"Moe", "Larry", "Curly"
Two words for ya: Pons and Fleschman.
The two guys who decided to go to the press with their discovery of cold fusion before getting the research peer reviewed. Now whatever you think of their work, one giant lesson was learned about the importance of peer review before a press announcement. Since then scientists have been almost paranoid about talking to the press before an article is in review.
It's the same as claiming a car is 300 HP, when the only time it get to 300 HP is when you inject Nitrous Oxide in the cylinders. The problem is:
1) Getting the prosecutor to understand.
2) Getting the prosecutor to care.
It's a fairly clear-cut case of Fraud, at least in my opinion.
From the Graphon.com web page:
> Join us November 15-19 Comdex Fall '99 Las Vegas, Nevada
> Microsoft Partners Pavilion Booth # 121 in L5142
I don't know about you, but I can find books bundled with the slackware CD. I can also find books bundled without a CD. Try to buy a home computer (not a server) from one of the large OEM's with either Linux or no OS installed. Betcha can't do it.
Due to Microsoft's monopolistic tactics, many people were forced to buy Microsoft Windows bundled with their computer. Many people didn't want the software but were forced to take it to get their computer. If microsoft is judged to be a monopoly, what are the chances of people being able to return Windows that came bundled with their computer for a refund?
It's not like this practice of pricing the new technology higher than the existing more-expensive to produce product is a new thing. Look at the difference between casettes and CD's. Which do you think takes longer and costs more to make. I'll give you a hint, it isn't the piece of tinfoil between the two pieces of plastic.
Actually, the reason's not what you think. There has been a big tiff between Microsoft and the Legal community over the fact the MS Word just WILL NOT generate the standard form of legal footnotes. I'm not sure of the exact details, but apparently Wordperfect will generate said footnotes. As such most legal professionals choose to use Wordperfect.
It's one thing to pull out if a standard is not profitable, or not workable. It's another thing all together to pull out because you screwed the pooch in a way that is completely transparent to the users. Essentially, they'd have to say "We screwed up! Buy our new product that isn't screwed up!" When you say things like that you can expect a lawsuit.
Network Solutions Inc., the principal registrar of names ending in .com, doesn't control or
monitor the millions of names it approves
Then why is Network Solutions currently being sued for restricting the registration of so called "dirty" domains?
Would parents actually do this? I think most would be willing to say that they would do it in a heartbeat. What parent wouldn't want to eliminate the chance of all the genetic diseases? Cystic fibrosis, Down's Syndrome, Hemophelia the amount of genetic diseases are staggering. If you could GUARANTEE that you child didn't have any of those, wouldn't you?
As for "improvements", the issue becomes more sticky. But I think in most cases the parents would be willing to give their children any advantage possible. Look at the prolifieration of all the products that will make your child learn more. Do you think parents wouldn't cut and paste a few genes if they thought it would turn their kid from average to Einstein, or from disabled to Carl Lewis? Many parents will do nearly anything for the good of their children. I don't think a little gene alteration would be beyond most.
Sure there are risks, but what's life without risks?
I wonder whether if a technology like this could be used to generate small regions of very concentrated sonic energy. If so, this might have industrial or chemical applications.
Or military applications. Imagine a 130 dB sound centered on your skull.
So, does this affect picture quality? I don't too many people who would be willing to use their thousand dollar LCD to emulate a $30 sound card if picture quality changes.
On the other hand, if it does work, that's one less component to put in the laptop. Every little bit helps when it comes to weight and power consumption.
But that's a whole new can of worms, how much power will these new LCD's require to do their sound thing? LCD's are already the largest consumer of power in a laptop, would any manufacturer be willing to increase the power consumption in order to get rid of the sound card?
And while we're at it, what kind of volume can you get out of this? It didn't sound like much from the article.
No, we wouldn't have lost Polar Lander. The Mars Global Surveyor is capible as acting as a backup relay in the event of catastrophic failure in the Mars Climate Observer.
Trumpet Winsock version 5.0 implements IPv6 on a Win95 / 98 platform.