I don't happen to like SUVs, but in my opinion only the large truck-based ones pose a substantial danger to other road users.
The Escape arguably less capable (in terms of ground clearance, 4wd cleverness, and suspension goodness) than your average Subaru station wagon. It is sold to people who think sitting high up in the air is a good idea when driving a small vehicle.
Monopolies are only bad insofar as they unduly restrict peoples' choices. You're still free to not buy stuff from Apple, so there's no real restriction in choice. One of the choices you make when you buy from Apple is "Our stuff works really well with our stuff. If you want to use other stuff, you might consider something else."
Apple has, what? Less than 20% of the portable player market? But people still buy their music in droves at the iTMS? Sounds like they've got a good product, but hardly a monopoly.
Note: I think the iTMS is a bad deal too, and I won't use it. Other people disagree. Note that everybody involved is free to do so.
Apple is trying to build good products. Virgin is trying to use legal machinations to limit the value of Apple's investment in building good products. Apple good. Virgin bad.
What you think sucks is probably what I want to watch.
I don't give a damn about track and field, but just TRY to watch a reasonable amount of coverage for cycling.
Same with the winter olympics. They should change it to the "Figure Skating and Snow Skiing World Championships", because that's all you ever see. More bobsled. More luge. More biathlon.
In this particular instance of "vertical monopoly", there are DOZENS of other music players and online music stores. How does this particular monopoly infringe consumer choice?
I'm an iPod owner, and that hasn't infringed my choice to tell all the online music vendors to go screw.
Virgin's making a money-grab. Apple is not a monopoly in any meaningful sense of the term (except for the fact that they seem to be the only firm employing good industrial designers).
How about finding the best available solution considering the time and budget available?
Good engineers deliver. Great engineers come in on time and under budget.
What you propose is fine for "It never really needs to work" academia, but not acceptable for engineers who actually have to produce functioning hardware.
Why would I buy that thing, only to have no applications to run on it?
Maybe it runs Java. Maybe it runs Symbian. Oh good...now I've got four programs I can download for it. Groovy.
Smartphones that don't run PalmOS are, to me, not very smart. I've got all the functionality I want on my Visor, and until a phone can replicate that I'm stuck with two devices.
Why is it only the Republicans and the Democrats that are always on every ballot? Because it's the Republicans and Democrats who get to choose who's on the ballots.
The "third parties" (and the fact that we group six or seven parties into one slot and call them "third parties" is instructive) have to spend all their time and effort just GETTING ON THE BALLOT, and have nothing left to actually campaign in every single precinct (the way the Reps and Dems don't have to, because everybody theoretically knows what they "stand for").
So. Until we overhaul the voting system (instant runoff ballots) third parties will continue to be irrelevant. My vote doesn't matter.
Yes, I honestly think my vote is irrelevant. Since I live in Texas (which WILL go to Bush) my voice is irrelevant. Dumbass.
"democratic republic" is clear and accurate. "democracy" is misleading and inaccurate.
We are NOT a democracy. We the People (theoretically) appoint leaders who make the decisions. Some states/counties have true democratic features (IE the ability to directly vote on the laws) but that's the exception, not the rule here in the US.
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Not all SUVs are body-on-frame murdermobiles.
I don't happen to like SUVs, but in my opinion only the large truck-based ones pose a substantial danger to other road users.
The Escape arguably less capable (in terms of ground clearance, 4wd cleverness, and suspension goodness) than your average Subaru station wagon. It is sold to people who think sitting high up in the air is a good idea when driving a small vehicle.
Have you seen the Escape? It's a little bigger than a Suzuki Samurai, but not much.
It's a small, poorly designed, uncomfortable vehicle. I'll take a WRX any day.
You mean Real Geeks are waiting for the Neuros to ship.
And getting handtrucks to schlep it around.
OK, that's cool. I read Canterbury Tales and hated that too.
Fair enough. : )
Could somebody please explain why Hyperion was so well-liked? I feel like I missed something.
"Here's a dozen disjointed, over-long stories, tied together by an ambiguous and too-short ending. Thanks for your time."
I just really didn't get it...
Why are you surprised?
Monopolies are only bad insofar as they unduly restrict peoples' choices. You're still free to not buy stuff from Apple, so there's no real restriction in choice. One of the choices you make when you buy from Apple is "Our stuff works really well with our stuff. If you want to use other stuff, you might consider something else."
Apple has, what? Less than 20% of the portable player market? But people still buy their music in droves at the iTMS? Sounds like they've got a good product, but hardly a monopoly.
Note: I think the iTMS is a bad deal too, and I won't use it. Other people disagree. Note that everybody involved is free to do so.
Apple is trying to build good products. Virgin is trying to use legal machinations to limit the value of Apple's investment in building good products. Apple good. Virgin bad.
What you think sucks is probably what I want to watch.
I don't give a damn about track and field, but just TRY to watch a reasonable amount of coverage for cycling.
Same with the winter olympics. They should change it to the "Figure Skating and Snow Skiing World Championships", because that's all you ever see. More bobsled. More luge. More biathlon.
If you're not a bit paranoid, you don't know very much about security.
In this particular instance of "vertical monopoly", there are DOZENS of other music players and online music stores. How does this particular monopoly infringe consumer choice?
I'm an iPod owner, and that hasn't infringed my choice to tell all the online music vendors to go screw.
Virgin's making a money-grab. Apple is not a monopoly in any meaningful sense of the term (except for the fact that they seem to be the only firm employing good industrial designers).
And press releases are always the unvarnished truth.
It doesn't say, for instance, that the lawyer wasn't asked to demand the surrender of the katie.com domain. It just says they didn't try to buy it.
Microsoft has to stop abusing their monopoly power, yes.
Apple and IBM are getting along fine right now.
And, despite Virgin's claim, Apple is no more a monopoly than I am. They're being ridiculous.
Looks like hell froze over about 30 years ago.
http://www.egpws.com/
This is the upgrade. Hell's gettin' colder!
How about finding the best available solution considering the time and budget available?
Good engineers deliver. Great engineers come in on time and under budget.
What you propose is fine for "It never really needs to work" academia, but not acceptable for engineers who actually have to produce functioning hardware.
Stick it, buttpipe.
JUST KIDDING!
So what makes you think it's crippled? I mean, apart from the fact that it runs Windows...
Er, 802.11b is the most common wireless networking protocol out there. To my knowledge, there's no such thing as 802.11 with no (a/b/g/i) suffix.
So you might want to slow your roll and do your homework.
So should the intellectual property lawyers.
And since it's already simple, and it already does what the poster described, what is the problem?
Well designed objects can be feature rich and simple to use.
Why would I buy that thing, only to have no applications to run on it?
Maybe it runs Java. Maybe it runs Symbian. Oh good...now I've got four programs I can download for it. Groovy.
Smartphones that don't run PalmOS are, to me, not very smart. I've got all the functionality I want on my Visor, and until a phone can replicate that I'm stuck with two devices.
It's called a power button. Look into it.
I've only got one vote, and no money. Why would any politician give me the time of day?
Why is it only the Republicans and the Democrats that are always on every ballot? Because it's the Republicans and Democrats who get to choose who's on the ballots.
The "third parties" (and the fact that we group six or seven parties into one slot and call them "third parties" is instructive) have to spend all their time and effort just GETTING ON THE BALLOT, and have nothing left to actually campaign in every single precinct (the way the Reps and Dems don't have to, because everybody theoretically knows what they "stand for").
So. Until we overhaul the voting system (instant runoff ballots) third parties will continue to be irrelevant. My vote doesn't matter.
Yes, I honestly think my vote is irrelevant. Since I live in Texas (which WILL go to Bush) my voice is irrelevant. Dumbass.
"democratic republic" is clear and accurate. "democracy" is misleading and inaccurate.
We are NOT a democracy. We the People (theoretically) appoint leaders who make the decisions. Some states/counties have true democratic features (IE the ability to directly vote on the laws) but that's the exception, not the rule here in the US.
So, you and the politicians are redefining words, but it's people like me who are engaging in word-play?
I think you're mistaken. Sorry.