You'd think with all the hype surrounding this damn thing, that Apple was acutally still a force in the computer industry, rather than the perpetual also ran they've become.
Hey, no problem, I've been increasing fustrated with the/. crown of late as well. Its nice to find another rational person in here as well.
I agree with your comment with respect to traditional conservatism versus moral conservatism as well. Its a shame that there has been such an overlap between the moral and fiscal consveratives in the American political system. Thankfully, it appears that the tide has been shifting within our traditional politial party, back toward fiscal conservatism and away from all that religious rightousness. (My appologies if you are not American...)
I don't think my new found comrade-in-arms sungui5 was saying anying to the contrairy. By raising the price of gas to fully take into account all of externalities of buring fossil fuels (polution, etc...) those who choose to buy Echos (for instance, which get ~50 MPG) would obviously pay less in the long haul than those who choose to buy say, a Ford Explorer (which get ~19 MPG on a good day). By causing the price per galllon of gas to fully reflect the true cost of a) using a scarce resource and b) showing the true cost of the use of said resource the market would force people to use less of this resouce, thus providing a market for these "alternative" fuel resources.
Could this set a precendent for the quality required for custom built software?"
Well, I work in the consulting biz, and its not like people haven't been sued for delivering, um, custom software of a questionable quality before. Usually (if you are smart), you have a set of criteria and metrics that your deliverable will have to meet in order for the contract to be considered fulfilled. Now, if you are just suing saying "my website sucks", that probably isn't specific enough to get anywhere. If you say "My contract required no pages load in more than 30 sec over a 28.8 modem on average...." you may have a case.
Hey, what do you know, I agree totally. I thought from the tone of your original post that you wanted to raise the tax on gas powered vehicles above their full cost with respect to externalities in order to make them so expensive as to completely drive them out of the market.
The EPA pollution credit system is definitely a model for this sort of thing.
Tax gas. Tax inefficient cars. Raise the pollution controlls on _gas_ powered vehicles through the roof.
Why don't you take your social engineering somewhere else? If people care about the effects of their gas powered vehicles then they will demand alternatives which will eventually become available (in fact, they will pay a premium for them). If people don't care about the effects of their gas powered vehicles, who the hell are you to say they need to get rid of them. Oh, I know, you are one of those types who knows what's best for everyone.
. Last I hear is that in order to completely pay for the road system the US would have to raise the price of gasoline to about $9 a gallon (currently at $1.5-2 a gallon).
You heard incorrectly then... have a references to back up this statement?
You cant, for example change the start button to be a kewl footprint thing or a big K.
Wow, quick, I'd better sell all my Microsoft stock before word of this gets out.
I mean, really, this probably shoots your productivity through the roof.. who would have thunk it, user configurable start button graphics. We truely live in an age of wonders.
And it will just get worse from here my friend...this could kill Linux (on the desktop) more than anything and MS knows it.
But.. but.. but.. Mozilla is open source, and everyone on/. and esr said open source will solve every problem you've ever had, and make you smell better, and more popular with the ladies..
Yeah, he's on probation which means restricted freedom, but they cannot deny him his basic rights.
Sure they can... people on probation can't buy guns, and no one seems to have a problem with that.
I'd tell Kevin if he has such a problem with the terms of his probation, he's more than free to serve out the rest of his sentence in jail... going out on probation is a privledge, not a right.
All we need is a functional micropayments infrastructure, and you'll see Piracy drop off the radar screen faster than a passenger-laden 747 flying over a US Navy anti-aircraft test range
Why would you pay for something when you can have it for free?
Can anyone say there's nothing wrong with a system where the producer of an item (music) gets only 6% from the sales of their work?
There is nothing wrong with a system where the producerof an item (music) gets only 6% from the sales of their work. No one put a gun to their head and made them sign a recording contract. How is napster any better? Then the artists gets a big fat zero.
but anyone who listened to Face Dances or I'ts Hard knew that although the tunes might become hits, but they wouldn't become classics
You know, You Better, You Bet is one of the best songs The Who ever did, despite having Kenny Jones on drums. The version on their live album From the Blues to the Bush is one of the best rock songs ever... not bad for a bunch of guys in their late 50s.
. Now your tax rate (on W only) is.005% * 12 which is MORE (percentage AND absolute) than my.05% * 1.
No, your tax rate is still.005% per item.
Doesn't the fact that lower income people spend a higher percentage of their income than higher income people also lead you to the conclusion that this is a regressive form of tax?
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You'd think with all the hype surrounding this damn thing, that Apple was acutally still a force in the computer industry, rather than the perpetual also ran they've become.
Hey, no problem, I've been increasing fustrated with the /. crown of late as well. Its nice to find another rational person in here as well.
I agree with your comment with respect to traditional conservatism versus moral conservatism as well. Its a shame that there has been such an overlap between the moral and fiscal consveratives in the American political system. Thankfully, it appears that the tide has been shifting within our traditional politial party, back toward fiscal conservatism and away from all that religious rightousness. (My appologies if you are not American...)
I don't think my new found comrade-in-arms sungui5 was saying anying to the contrairy. By raising the price of gas to fully take into account all of externalities of buring fossil fuels (polution, etc...) those who choose to buy Echos (for instance, which get ~50 MPG) would obviously pay less in the long haul than those who choose to buy say, a Ford Explorer (which get ~19 MPG on a good day). By causing the price per galllon of gas to fully reflect the true cost of a) using a scarce resource and b) showing the true cost of the use of said resource the market would force people to use less of this resouce, thus providing a market for these "alternative" fuel resources.
Could this set a precendent for the quality required for custom built software?"
Well, I work in the consulting biz, and its not like people haven't been sued for delivering, um, custom software of a questionable quality before. Usually (if you are smart), you have a set of criteria and metrics that your deliverable will have to meet in order for the contract to be considered fulfilled. Now, if you are just suing saying "my website sucks", that probably isn't specific enough to get anywhere. If you say "My contract required no pages load in more than 30 sec over a 28.8 modem on average...." you may have a case.
Hey, what do you know, I agree totally. I thought from the tone of your original post that you wanted to raise the tax on gas powered vehicles above their full cost with respect to externalities in order to make them so expensive as to completely drive them out of the market.
The EPA pollution credit system is definitely a model for this sort of thing.
Corporations pay a disproportionately SMALL amount of taxes
Well, its stupid that we even tax corporations at all, since they just pass these costs on to the consumer.
Tax gas. Tax inefficient cars. Raise the pollution controlls on _gas_ powered vehicles through the roof.
Why don't you take your social engineering somewhere else? If people care about the effects of their gas powered vehicles then they will demand alternatives which will eventually become available (in fact, they will pay a premium for them). If people don't care about the effects of their gas powered vehicles, who the hell are you to say they need to get rid of them. Oh, I know, you are one of those types who knows what's best for everyone.
The oil companies are a much greater monopoly than what Microsoft is
Here's a hint.. mono means one. Oil companies cannot be a monopoly.
. Last I hear is that in order to completely pay for the road system the US would have to raise the price of gasoline to about $9 a gallon (currently at $1.5-2 a gallon).
You heard incorrectly then... have a references to back up this statement?
And once again, No man's life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is in session
I fail to see how ICANN, given its rather limited scope, has control over any of those 3 things.
You cant, for example change the start button to be a kewl footprint thing or a big K.
Wow, quick, I'd better sell all my Microsoft stock before word of this gets out.
I mean, really, this probably shoots your productivity through the roof.. who would have thunk it, user configurable start button graphics. We truely live in an age of wonders.
And it will just get worse from here my friend...this could kill Linux (on the desktop) more than anything and MS knows it.
/. and esr said open source will solve every problem you've ever had, and make you smell better, and more popular with the ladies..
But.. but.. but.. Mozilla is open source, and everyone on
Sure, if your time is worthless...
Sorry, eating animals in not "violence against animals"... that's what they are here for. That's like saying logging is "violence against trees"
Why? What possible reason is there for this?
Anyone else here remember when (pardon the blashpemy) aol was cool?
No, AOL was never cool. ever.
Yeah, he's on probation which means restricted freedom, but they cannot deny him his basic rights.
Sure they can... people on probation can't buy guns, and no one seems to have a problem with that.
I'd tell Kevin if he has such a problem with the terms of his probation, he's more than free to serve out the rest of his sentence in jail... going out on probation is a privledge, not a right.
It would be really nice to buy $2 md discs (at 140 megs each) and use that for mp3
Huh, why would you want to do that, when you can buy blank CD-R's for $1 and get 650 - 700 MB?
4 words:
Tragedy of the commons.
this is the ONLY way for most artists to get a chance at making any money
How are artists going to make any money by having people steal their stuff using napster and its ilk?
Anyway, I don't care either way... record companies have a right to exist, and people have the right to enter into contracts...
All we need is a functional micropayments infrastructure, and you'll see Piracy drop off the radar screen faster than a passenger-laden 747 flying over a US Navy anti-aircraft test range
Why would you pay for something when you can have it for free?
Can anyone say there's nothing wrong with a system where the producer of an item (music) gets only 6% from the sales of their work?
There is nothing wrong with a system where the producerof an item (music) gets only 6% from the sales of their work. No one put a gun to their head and made them sign a recording contract. How is napster any better? Then the artists gets a big fat zero.
but anyone who listened to Face Dances or I'ts Hard knew that although the tunes might become hits, but they wouldn't become classics
You know, You Better, You Bet is one of the best songs The Who ever did, despite having Kenny Jones on drums. The version on their live album From the Blues to the Bush is one of the best rock songs ever... not bad for a bunch of guys in their late 50s.
So, in other words, you engage in entrapment.
Since he doesn't work for the govt, or the police, it is impossible for him to engage in entrapment.
. Now your tax rate (on W only) is .005% * 12 which is MORE (percentage AND absolute) than my .05% * 1.
.005% per item.
No, your tax rate is still
Doesn't the fact that lower income people spend a higher percentage of their income than higher income people also lead you to the conclusion that this is a regressive form of tax?