I don't think most Chinese will care. This would mostly be a boon for all the tourists and non-Chinese-speaking expats who cannot currently easily access Google search, Google Maps, Google Transit, etc. For this reason, I hope they do it.
Because they subsidize each ride in their quest for higher market share. And further, many drivers are also subsidizing the rides due to their poor understanding of the actual costs of operating a motor vehicle.
Everyone I know who's worked at the phone company and had the ability to, has listened in to phone calls. It's human nature. One telco employee I met mentioned listening to Lucille Ball's calls when he was bored. You can never expect full privacy of anything that leaves your house.
I've found that many small businesses that used to have NFC capability lost it when they did the upgrades to accept EMV (chip cards) and didn't spend the extra to also get NFC. So several places where I used to use Apple Pay no longer accept it (or any NFC).
I believe it's not just the investors who are subsidizing Uber rides. It's also the math-challenged drivers. And there seems to be excessive churn in the driver ranks, as evidenced by the increasingly abundant and aggressive recruiting ads I hear. Once drivers figure out they aren't really making money, they abandon the gig.
A not too sharp friend of mine recently started driving for Uber. He was excited to tell me he made $1000 in his first month driving part-time. So I asked him how many miles he had to drive to earn that. About 2200 miles, he said. I pointed out to him that driving a late-model car like he has costs about 50 cents per mile, including depreciation, maintenance, fuel, etc. Not to mention the self-employment and other taxes he will have to pay on his income. In fact, he didn't even realize that he would have to pay taxes or that Uber would be sending a Form 1099 to him and the IRS.
One driver told me he rents his car by the day and even driving 12 to 15 hours he often doesn't make enough to pay the daily rental fee.
I don't see how this scam can go on much longer. It shouldn't cost Uber much to just run a website and payment system, but as long as investors and drivers have to subsidize the fares to attract customers...
Although in theory someone could walk by my wallet and scan my RFID credit card and buy something*, can anyone cite a case of this actually happening?
*Actually, this can't happen because I have too many RFID cards in my wallet and they all garble each other. Some people can just touch their wallet to board a bus, for example, but I can't due to having multiple RFID cards in there.
I went to a Linux Roadshow in 1999 where many people were complaining about these exact issues. The response was that it would all be fixed in the next version. Ha! I gave up on laptop Linux long ago.
a car you could rent and then just drop it off at the airport, why hasn't this idea been thought of!
I do this all the time using the Car2Go service. You just find one on the street in your neighborhood, drive it somewhere else, and park it. Pay 41ï/minute.
I recently spotted a waiter with an iPhone in a third-world country so I went over to ask him about it. But it quickly became obvious that it was a fake. The sad thing is, I don't think the guy knew it. He said his mom paid $120 for it but it was basically unusable. You had to press real hard on the screen and the location calibration was way off (I'd played with another fake iPhone when I was in Laos and it was much better than this one). I showed him mine and the way it's supposed to work, with just a light flick of the finger.
Once I'd convinced him it was a fake, he asked me how much fakes like his go for in the U.S. I told him we don't have the fakes because you can get a new real one for $99 (with two-year contract). I ended up talking to the guy for a half-hour and it was a learning experience for both of us. But I felt bad for the guy, having spent several months' salary on a phone that barely worked (and possibly thinking that Apple makes such poor products)
Service animals aren't just seeing-eye or deaf dogs, there's a lot more there than that- and they
do actually help out in a lot of ways
Unfortunately, many people abuse this right. I know many older people, including an uncle of mine, who walk around with their "service dog" all day, when it's really just an excuse to take their dog into stores and restaurants.
Maybe the big names do, but most musicians are small fry, and the ones I know could not survive without the income from people who purchase their music. A good percentage of tour income for these people is from CD sales at the shows.
If they wish to spur interest in their music by giving away free tracks, that is their right. But no third-party has the right to give away (or sell!) a musician's music, and justify it by saying "But it's good for them."
Don't ever believe anything you read on that website, it's propaganda at best, blatant lies at the worst.
I agree. They claim to care about artists, but then they tell people to buy used CDs or use file-sharing programs, neither of which nets the artist a penny!
However, I'm sure that site will appeal to the (unfortunately overabundant here on Slashdot) crowd that wants to read any justification for their stealing.
It's possible to find plenty of good music without the help of the major labels, but it takes some work. Take a look at my current iTunes listening and you'll see very little major label involvement.
However, it does take work. I typically go to concerts several times a week, and buy most of my CDs at the shows. Most people aren't willing to devote that kind of time, so they take what the industry feeds them.
Cheap bastards will continue to buy Linux (and waste hours upon hours trying to get it to work decently) while those willing to pay extra for quality will continue to buy from Apple.
For all the talk of free/open/speech/beer/gratis/libre, most people I know who run Linux would really like to have an Apple but are just too darn cheap to cough up the money.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't think most Chinese will care. This would mostly be a boon for all the tourists and non-Chinese-speaking expats who cannot currently easily access Google search, Google Maps, Google Transit, etc. For this reason, I hope they do it.
You realize that almost all companies are losing money on their phones, so clearly they don't have much room to lower prices.
Because they subsidize each ride in their quest for higher market share. And further, many drivers are also subsidizing the rides due to their poor understanding of the actual costs of operating a motor vehicle.
Everyone I know who's worked at the phone company and had the ability to, has listened in to phone calls. It's human nature. One telco employee I met mentioned listening to Lucille Ball's calls when he was bored. You can never expect full privacy of anything that leaves your house.
I've found that many small businesses that used to have NFC capability lost it when they did the upgrades to accept EMV (chip cards) and didn't spend the extra to also get NFC. So several places where I used to use Apple Pay no longer accept it (or any NFC).
Worth saving because I like having it be light outside until after 20:00 for as long as possible.
I believe it's not just the investors who are subsidizing Uber rides. It's also the math-challenged drivers. And there seems to be excessive churn in the driver ranks, as evidenced by the increasingly abundant and aggressive recruiting ads I hear. Once drivers figure out they aren't really making money, they abandon the gig.
A not too sharp friend of mine recently started driving for Uber. He was excited to tell me he made $1000 in his first month driving part-time. So I asked him how many miles he had to drive to earn that. About 2200 miles, he said. I pointed out to him that driving a late-model car like he has costs about 50 cents per mile, including depreciation, maintenance, fuel, etc. Not to mention the self-employment and other taxes he will have to pay on his income. In fact, he didn't even realize that he would have to pay taxes or that Uber would be sending a Form 1099 to him and the IRS.
One driver told me he rents his car by the day and even driving 12 to 15 hours he often doesn't make enough to pay the daily rental fee.
I don't see how this scam can go on much longer. It shouldn't cost Uber much to just run a website and payment system, but as long as investors and drivers have to subsidize the fares to attract customers...
No you couldn't. Requests were usually a scam. We would just match up a request with a song that was set to be played anyway.
Although in theory someone could walk by my wallet and scan my RFID credit card and buy something*, can anyone cite a case of this actually happening?
*Actually, this can't happen because I have too many RFID cards in my wallet and they all garble each other. Some people can just touch their wallet to board a bus, for example, but I can't due to having multiple RFID cards in there.
I went to a Linux Roadshow in 1999 where many people were complaining about these exact issues. The response was that it would all be fixed in the next version. Ha! I gave up on laptop Linux long ago.
a car you could rent and then just drop it off at the airport, why hasn't this idea been thought of!
I do this all the time using the Car2Go service. You just find one on the street in your neighborhood, drive it somewhere else, and park it. Pay 41ï/minute.
Taiwan is still a province of the ROC.
Right. Even their license plates say "åç£çoe" (Taiwan Province).
At Macworld Expo, several companies were selling iPhone-compatible gloves. Good thing I live in an area where these are not needed.
True, it all adds up. But still, people in the U.S. (and most other developed countries, I suspect) don't buy fake iPhones.
I recently spotted a waiter with an iPhone in a third-world country so I went over to ask him about it. But it quickly became obvious that it was a fake. The sad thing is, I don't think the guy knew it. He said his mom paid $120 for it but it was basically unusable. You had to press real hard on the screen and the location calibration was way off (I'd played with another fake iPhone when I was in Laos and it was much better than this one). I showed him mine and the way it's supposed to work, with just a light flick of the finger.
Once I'd convinced him it was a fake, he asked me how much fakes like his go for in the U.S. I told him we don't have the fakes because you can get a new real one for $99 (with two-year contract). I ended up talking to the guy for a half-hour and it was a learning experience for both of us. But I felt bad for the guy, having spent several months' salary on a phone that barely worked (and possibly thinking that Apple makes such poor products)
Could you make me a silent refrigerator first?
I was given a tour of a GTE central office many years ago. There was a Dymo label on the #1 EAX console that said something like:
Call 303-499-7111 every morning and set system time
I asked the switchman if he did that. He said "Nah, I just set it to my watch."
No they won't. The "Cingular" name will be gone in a matter of weeks. Welcome to "AT&T Wireless".
Unfortunately, many people abuse this right. I know many older people, including an uncle of mine, who walk around with their "service dog" all day, when it's really just an excuse to take their dog into stores and restaurants.
While I'm a big fan of trains, I don't see them as any less susceptible to terrorism.
In fact, it's easier to blow up some track in the middle of nowhere as the train passes over than it is to plan and execute the downing of a plane.
Artists make a shitload of money on concerts
Maybe the big names do, but most musicians are small fry, and the ones I know could not survive without the income from people who purchase their music. A good percentage of tour income for these people is from CD sales at the shows.
If they wish to spur interest in their music by giving away free tracks, that is their right. But no third-party has the right to give away (or sell!) a musician's music, and justify it by saying "But it's good for them."
I agree. They claim to care about artists, but then they tell people to buy used CDs or use file-sharing programs, neither of which nets the artist a penny!
However, I'm sure that site will appeal to the (unfortunately overabundant here on Slashdot) crowd that wants to read any justification for their stealing.
So true! I attended a talk he gave at LinuxWorld last August and was shocked that he was actually quite intelligent and well-spoken.
I had truly assumed he was an ignoramus, based on his writing style.
Rob, you said at that time that Slashdot is like a bunch of people talking at the local pub, so spelling and grammar isn't important.
But if you go to the pub and someone there is constantly speaking with poor grammar, you still judge him negatively because of it.
However, it does take work. I typically go to concerts several times a week, and buy most of my CDs at the shows. Most people aren't willing to devote that kind of time, so they take what the industry feeds them.
Cheap bastards will continue to buy Linux (and waste hours upon hours trying to get it to work decently) while those willing to pay extra for quality will continue to buy from Apple.
For all the talk of free/open/speech/beer/gratis/libre, most people I know who run Linux would really like to have an Apple but are just too darn cheap to cough up the money.