I see the start of another round of self promotion for personal gain at the expense of everyone else.
MLM on Usenet, the "free not a scam" iPod deals, and now "pleZ view my video".
Effects on slashdot? We will all have to suffer through the almost on topic, almost related to the forum and some what mediocre comments that might add to the experience to the topic at hand from people would not normally post that low level of material but will now do it for the extra link exposure to their video. This extra motivation to post dribble is just like the users that are trying to up their post count on blogs that prominently show your "member since date" and your "total post count" next to every post you make. Nothing like a person with 12864 posts in 6 months to a bargain deal blog or a fan site and 99% of them are 3 words or less.
I can understand your position on that because I have done my taxes by hand for years but there is nothing wrong with using some software. There is software out there that allows you to run the show and fill in the blanks but it only does the calculations and basic sanity checks for you. Far easier then paper and pencil and still allow you to call the shots and methodically go through the forms as you would by hand. TaxSlayer is one of them (unless they have changed recently), really really basic and very little coaching but gets it done. These types of software are more of an aid and not a complete DIY kit or guide for those that have no idea what they are doing. I use TaxAct myself but I still like to look at a 8.5x11 1040A and the official IRS documents to follow along with it if I need them.
Yes YMMV. It is globbed in with a other potential deductions that must exceed 2% of your adjusted gross income before it even can be considered. "Job Expenses and Certain Miscellaneous Expenses" on the Schedule A is the section it is under.
I find it hard to believe that no keyboard is better then having one. Why are we all still using keyboards on computers then?
I've used for some length of time just about every model of Blackberry made starting with the 5810. I've always preferred the models with a full keyboard. I don't know how long it takes to get used to not having one but far more time then I want to spend. I can live with T9 or predictive text on my cell phone because only because I do not use it as often.
I have read the Paypal horror stories. I still have and use it though but with caution. I set up a bottom of the line free checking account at a local bank and use if for nothing but Paypal. I even have a Visa attached to my Paypal account but that Visa is a debit card from the same checking account. When I want to buy something, I transfer money to that bank from my real bank or make a local deposit with just enough to cover the cost and then use Paypal. I guess my thinking is if I'm going to be buying stuff from FleaBay, I might as well use a Paypal account instead of sending money orders like I used to do in the past. I only buy a few things a year so maybe that is why I have not experienced an issue yet.
On that note, I may be back here next week with my own horror story about Paypal and saying the same thing as you are now.
An OEM copy of Windows is licensed for a very specific computer (legal snafu). That OEM copy is more then likely a disk image that will only work on that specific model line of computer the OEM license was for (technical snafu). I can see no other way around this unless you specifically bought a Windows OEM license from Apple designated specifically for your Mac or you have something in a site wide license agreement.
But how much of this "cost" is self induced by the record industry itself? Payola, ticket master, law suits, lobbying, Harry Fox? (or who knows how many other licensing and reproductions agencies) and I'm sure there are many more.
The RIAA wants to only have to promote (or make successful) several different people per genre of music per year. That way they can concentrate the spending on those select few and get a better return on investment. There will always be a few new young good looking female pop singers to fill the void but there will NEVER be more then just a few regardless of the current talent pool. Music and entertainment in general thrives off of the bandwagon effect, not who is actually talented or not. Use Carrie Underwood as an example. She would not be making music right now if it was not for the in your face recognition she got from American Idol. There are 100's just like her that will never make it and it has nothing to do with lack of talent. The entire entertainment industry revolves around this concept. I blame this on human nature and the industry inner working itself. I view a politians rise to higher positions in a similar manner.
If you want variety, you will have to seek it out yourself in or out of the traditional RIAA sanctioned methods and not have it handed to you by the radio and television stations.
I never actually participated in their discussion groups. I see it as a case of giving the users too much freedom and the corporate side was taking heat. Maybe the users views did not meet or match those of advertisers/news source/Yahoo in general, or there really was a few jackass trolls ruining it for everyone.
I remember back in early/mid 90's, arguing with some guys on Usenet about commercial postings. Unsolicited messages were not a problem back then but people saw it coming. He claimed that all companies large and small would eventually turn to Usenet because it was free advertising and possibly used for constructive discussions about the company and products. I thought that companies would reject the idea because of the uneasiness of having no control of the feedback and it is there for all to see like it or not. The Microsoft groups are working out well to this day but typically you do not see companies getting involved in any type of forum that they do not control the mute button for. Obviously, Yahoo has the mute button in this situation and they used it.
If the screen is the same resolution, then you don't gain much with the extra bit of size, as you're just scaling the pixels up.
Come on. That is absolutely the lamest excuse I have ever heard for comparing video screen sizes. I know you are trying to prove a point but think about what you just stated. I do not know many people that only a 9in television in their homes (NTSC is the same resolution on a 9in TV as it is on a 36 inch TV, 1080 is the same 1080 on every size HDTV). My new cell phone has a screen that is about 0.3 inches in diagonal larger then my old one. It makes a huge difference. Some people value a slightly larger screen for watching video instead of a slightly smaller unit. I use a PSP for video and music on the go. If I want something small and do not want to lug around the PSP, I use my old RCA Lyra MP3 player I got on clearance for $30 a few years ago. To each his own.
No. I do not form opinions on things based on the selective wording or placement of words in a sentence. The fact that the parent comment noting the implied comment was moderated to +5 insightful and the amount of replies that my original comment asking why it was interpreted that way, kind of shows that no ones else's opinion was changed by that potential implied wording either.
If so many people point out and make a note that they thought other people would be fooled by some potentially implied wording, who is left that was actually fooled by it?
How or why did you interpet that comment as an attempt to prove wrong doing? I read that comment and came to the same conclusion you did, it was more then likely for protection purposes.
Okay, well people have negotiated deals and bartered since the cave man days. That is a far cry from the current state of the MIR system that exists in the market place now.
As I understand it, in the perfect world, manufacturers offer either the retailer or the consumer money back for items they already negotiated terms on for stock that is not moving well. An example, BestBuy purchases 1000 model X washing machines. After 2 months only 5 are sold. An agreement is worked out between themselves to stimulate some sales of the product. This agreement may include manufacturer to BB rebates, manufacturer to consumer rebates, reduced prices and clearance etc. This helps the manufacturer by moving stock and depending on the terms that BB got the products, may prevent that stock from being sent back to the manufacturer.
What I see with the current state of the system is simply and purely an advertising gimmick. There is no way 90% of all computer stuff at all retailers is "moving slow" and immediate action needs to be taken. Almost all computers sold by retailers in the past 10 years have multiple rebates involved. Hardly a minor stock issue or the case of a slow moving product that requires direct consumer MIY's to resolve.
Well, first impressions are lasting impressions. Maybe a little unfair but if I had one dealing with a company and that dealing was obviously very bad, I have nothing else to base my opinion on. There are a lot of things a person can assume based on one personal experience as well. I recently took my car to the dealer to have some major work completed under warranty (engine block replacement). When I got it back, it had a terrible and loud vibration from idle all the way to 4000 rpm (very obvious to anyone near or in the car), there was antifreeze all over the transmission which smelled as it slowly burned off (another very obvious problem), and there was a large cosmetic cover (about 2 sq feet) that sits on top of the engine that was missing. These problem are very obvious issues. Sound, smell, for one and the missing parts? Does the mechanic or anyone in the shop not realize there was a huge plastic cover laying around in the work area and no one thought, wow, I wonder where that goes? I actually got a new cover when I returned the car for a second time to correct those issues so the original one obviously disappeared.
Maybe these are the signs of a single bad mechanic at the dealership but IMHO, these problems indicate a lack of good supervision or lack of any type of quality assurance program at this specific dealer. There may be excellent mechanics at that same facility as well. Without some type of checklist or quality assurance system in place, you are basically forced to take your chances and suffer through the bad ones as well. Same with your Geek Squad example. You are stuck taking your chances and hoping for the best. Not a game I like to play.
Some places that were heavily into rebates are starting to get away from them, BestBuy is one that is moving away. IMHO, those companies just starting will eventually learn what the others before them now know. There are some short term benefits for the retailers but for the long haul, consumers get used to it across the similar stores selling the similar products with similar rebates and then the consumers finally get frustrated enough and move along.
An example is most electronics retailers had rebates on anything related to computers but not on car and home stereos and not on appliances. Now that just about everyone is doing rebates on computer stuff, that trend should start to go away as the competitive advantage is over shadowed by the consumer frustration and the other products will start getting them. I assume at some point, you may even start to see clothes and food with mail-ins attached, auto parts and tools have already started doing it. Places like JCWhittney and Harbor Freight are doing it and others are catching on. Oh, a new market segment we can prey on!
Rebates, some people love them, others hate them, I fall under the hate category.
The motivation behind pushing IE 7 is really the Yahoo branded version of IE 7 which is here Notice the "benefits" they offer
Optimized for Yahoo!, with:
* 2 home pages: Yahoo! & Yahoo! News
* Yahoo! Search as your default
* Yahoo! Toolbar
Any tools you use that can give Yahoo an advantage will be marketed and pushed as an advantage to you. For some people that use Yahoo as a portal, it may be useful. I have the Google toolbar installed for IE and Firefox and I use it all of the time. I installed them myself though.
So ignore it. If you do not want to ignore it, do the only thing you can do safely... slow down a bit. You can give me all of the hypothetical situations that describe how dangerous some tailgating is but you also have to consider how your driving is affected because you are constantly looking in your rear view mirror and your mind is overwhelmingly preoccupied and frustrated with the guy behind you. I got rear ended by a gap closer before, he was so occupied with preventing someone else from getting in front of him at the on ramp merge, he did not notice I was slowing down because of the traffic in front of me stopped. Of course that story does show tailing is bad but I assume that the preoccupation with something else was even worse then his tailing attempt. I am not trying to justify tailing but I do understand there is a huge range of what some drivers consider tailing.
As for actual road rage.. Not everyone is out to get you and not everyone treats driving like a game. I'll admit I tail sometimes, I'm a weaver on occasion but there is no connection between my driving and frustration at people driving around me. I just want to get where ever I am going at a speed I feel comfortable with. If I am tailing someone, I'm not making faces at them, trying to flash an ego light, or swearing at them. I do not automatically assume they are doing on purpose or even if I think they are, I don't hold it against them and I do nothing differently. I simply, think, wow, that's odd. I go about my business and when they move or I can make a move, I go around them. Plain and simple. No eye contact as I pass, no horns, no grudges, no quickly moving over in front of them. On the flip side. There is always someone out there more aggressive then me too. I give them room. I'll even speed up and pass whatever it is I am passing faster so they can move on. I have a unique situation where one of my cars headlights are extremely bright. I get flashed way too often on two lane roads and even after passing people going the same direction as me on interstate highways. Some people will even get right in behind me after I pass them and turn on their high beams for minutes. I'll flash my lights once to try to show them I acknowledge their concern but other then that, I flip up my mirror and completely ignore them. I have nothing to prove and I chalk it up as yet another person trying to "educate" me on proper driving knowing that the driver is a complete idiot. Yes, I've had the headlight aiming checked and I've noticed similar model cars as mine coming the other way and yes, they are extremely bright.
Here's an idea, let the weavers assholes be themselves. Why would you purposely close the gap or actively prevent someone from getting in front of you? If you are driving too slow for them, let them be in front of you and eventually they will do it to someone else and be gone and you can go about your own business and not have to worry about them at all. I've often wondered why people play that gap closing game myself. If someone whats to weave in and out of traffic, let them go, as others have stated, in heavy traffic, it is not an effective means of making better progress anyway. You may feel they are being unsafe and maybe this is your chance to exercise your 4000LB weight around too as an equalizer? Closing a gap and disrupting the flow of a weavers is NOT safe either. If you want to play it safe, maintain your existing speed and gap and let the weaver go about his business. The weaver is not being as safe as he could be but closing the gap is not the safest thing you could do either.
On that note... I live on a corner with a hidden intersection on a semi rural 2 lane state road. I see people pull out in front of cars all the time. One time a car pulled out in front of someone and that someone slammed on his brakes and laid on the horn until he came to a complete stop. After he came to a stop, he started yelling at the other person that pulled out in front of him as that person was driving by him in the other direction, the need for a complete stop was completely unnecessary. Hey, shit happens, get over it. Well now that he was at a complete stop and half way around a hidden corner and attempting to make his point known to a car that was no longer within hearing distance, he got rear ended by a third car coming up behind him on that hidden bend. Okay, technically he was not at fault because he got rear ended but his blatant actions had put himself in a very unsafe situation regardless of what the law states. I see a lot of people trying to be "safe" and educate other drivers on the road but in reality, they are being unsafe themselves. Just like the guy that hits his brakes when someone is tailing him. If you don't want to be tailed, move the hell over. I know a car is a big powerful glob of various metals and plastics but using that psychological power to force your driving ethics on others is NOT safe. Considering that the person is not going to change their habits because of your gap closing you have absolutely NOTHING to gain. Gee, I've been driving like a weaver for 20 years and today someone closed the gap on me. I learned a lesson and I am never going to be a weave again!
What you're missing is that Google gave him no clue/hint/guide/comment/help on why he was delisted. Just tossed him off, left it to him to discover that this had happened in the first place, left it to him to figure out (guess) what the problem might be, and then only relisted him after they got around to it.
So, the guys site got hacked/modified and Goolge gave him the boot because whatever was modified, was classified as a potential cheat by Google. His site was still available on the internet, just not referenced by Google.
The site owner closing line in the linked articel:
As I said in my post to the Google Webmaster Help group, the Google policy of obscuring de-indexing decisions is harmful.
I completely disagree. Google's main business is providing useful and reliable search results. The game of cat and mouse with search engine tricks, spam reduction, spyware, viruses, adware etc is never ending betwwen those that want it and those that do not. Google gains an edge by elimating sites that do not follow some guideline. Users of Google search results get better results when Google elimates sites that do not play by their rules. Describing exactly what and where the offending material would be a great benefit to the bad guys as well. They could fine tune their practices to find out what does and does not trigger Googles defense systems.
So yeah, it sucks if your site is delisted but it also sucks when your site was hacked. It sucks for all of Google search engine users to have to wade though bogus results as well. It would also suck for Google (no business benefit) to spend time and personal resources with every single site operator that has a delisting issue. I'm sure every single one of the people that called the Google delisting hotline would deny they did anything on purpose and they would all claim they were hacked. Google personal (or anyone for that matter) doesn't know the site operator at all and has no idea if he/she is telling the truth or not. So now if Google opens up a hotline for these delisted people, they are now giving an advantage to the crooked people AND Google would be wasting even more of their time and money helping them get around the filters.
If a site requires a valid e-mail address and has an activation system and all... please take a clue and realize that maybe there's a reason for this.
I will provide a valid email address for specific web sites if the site is worth it to me (meaning that it provides a measurable benefit to me) and I determine that I might need to be contacted by an alternate means for specific issues with that site. By my own determination, if both of those conditions do not exist, I will use a fake address. If a large percentage of your sites visitors are using fake information, you are not providing enough of a benefit that people think it is worth providing real information for. Regardless of wether you or any site owner think this information is important, the user base may not.
The solution to dodging spam is to go after the spammers, not dodge their spam Let me know how that plan works out for you. I agree but in the real world, that method is by no means even remotely effective as a method to prevent spam.
Why should I risk fighting people with knives because you do not want to give up your wallet? Gee, lets look at this big picture, your wallet or my life? Maybe I'd offer them my wallet to stop beating you if it was getting to that point but I'm not going in toe to toe vs a group with weapons, most people are not as capable as Steven Seagal you know. If there is only one person and I think I can get a good clean first shot in the lower back with my shoulder, I'll go if there is more then money about to be lost. Sorry, anything other then that is not worth it. Do I feel guilty about that? No.
I imagine many here will agree with you until the day comes when they need a new battery for their iPod or they are away from a place that they can charge it and would actually like extended use.
For the consumer... A user replaceable battery is a good thing, you almost convinced me otherwise with your post but I was able to snap myself out of the reality distortion field. I've been using portable devices for decades and have yet to experience this engineering glass roof you mention with removable batteries. Swap the word iPod with cell phone or digital camera in your argument. Yeah, some battery latches break when they are dropped but think of the other 99.xx% that do not break.
Wow, a web caching company has determined that customers abandon a site that is slow.
That is not an issue for me. My highest chance of leaving is determined by when in the buying process, the site provides total price including all shipping, handling, taxes, and acceptance of coupons codes. If they need my name and address I may leave depending on if they have a shipping link or general shipping info somewhere on the site that I can reference first. I will ALWAYS leave if they require CC or payment information before providing the total price or even a hint of shipping costs. I guess they need my address prior to calculating shipping and handling charges if they do not have flat rates but a place to enter my just my zip code should be enough IMHO.
For a good example of providing a good experience is NewEgg. They includes the shipping costs right next to the product descriptions without even having to go to a cart first.
I view the delay or confusion of shipping and handling charges to be an attempt to hide a total cost or get you to get so far that they figure you will not back out. I will back out and take my business elesewhere. Almost like the the Ebay sellers that charge $20 to ship a motherboard (at least they are up front about it though).
Slashdot Mirror
I see the start of another round of self promotion for personal gain at the expense of everyone else.
MLM on Usenet, the "free not a scam" iPod deals, and now "pleZ view my video".
Effects on slashdot? We will all have to suffer through the almost on topic, almost related to the forum and some what mediocre comments that might add to the experience to the topic at hand from people would not normally post that low level of material but will now do it for the extra link exposure to their video.
This extra motivation to post dribble is just like the users that are trying to up their post count on blogs that prominently show your "member since date" and your "total post count" next to every post you make. Nothing like a person with 12864 posts in 6 months to a bargain deal blog or a fan site and 99% of them are 3 words or less.
I can understand your position on that because I have done my taxes by hand for years but there is nothing wrong with using some software. There is software out there that allows you to run the show and fill in the blanks but it only does the calculations and basic sanity checks for you. Far easier then paper and pencil and still allow you to call the shots and methodically go through the forms as you would by hand. TaxSlayer is one of them (unless they have changed recently), really really basic and very little coaching but gets it done. These types of software are more of an aid and not a complete DIY kit or guide for those that have no idea what they are doing. I use TaxAct myself but I still like to look at a 8.5x11 1040A and the official IRS documents to follow along with it if I need them.
Yes YMMV.
It is globbed in with a other potential deductions that must exceed 2% of your adjusted gross income before it even can be considered. "Job Expenses and Certain Miscellaneous Expenses" on the Schedule A is the section it is under.
I find it hard to believe that no keyboard is better then having one. Why are we all still using keyboards on computers then?
I've used for some length of time just about every model of Blackberry made starting with the 5810. I've always preferred the models with a full keyboard. I don't know how long it takes to get used to not having one but far more time then I want to spend. I can live with T9 or predictive text on my cell phone because only because I do not use it as often.
I have read the Paypal horror stories. I still have and use it though but with caution. I set up a bottom of the line free checking account at a local bank and use if for nothing but Paypal. I even have a Visa attached to my Paypal account but that Visa is a debit card from the same checking account. When I want to buy something, I transfer money to that bank from my real bank or make a local deposit with just enough to cover the cost and then use Paypal. I guess my thinking is if I'm going to be buying stuff from FleaBay, I might as well use a Paypal account instead of sending money orders like I used to do in the past. I only buy a few things a year so maybe that is why I have not experienced an issue yet.
On that note, I may be back here next week with my own horror story about Paypal and saying the same thing as you are now.
I think it is more the monoculture angle then it is security through obscurity. Any slight change from the default and you may not become a victim.
An OEM copy of Windows is licensed for a very specific computer (legal snafu). That OEM copy is more then likely a disk image that will only work on that specific model line of computer the OEM license was for (technical snafu). I can see no other way around this unless you specifically bought a Windows OEM license from Apple designated specifically for your Mac or you have something in a site wide license agreement.
But how much of this "cost" is self induced by the record industry itself?
Payola, ticket master, law suits, lobbying, Harry Fox? (or who knows how many other licensing and reproductions agencies) and I'm sure there are many more.
The RIAA wants to only have to promote (or make successful) several different people per genre of music per year. That way they can concentrate the spending on those select few and get a better return on investment. There will always be a few new young good looking female pop singers to fill the void but there will NEVER be more then just a few regardless of the current talent pool. Music and entertainment in general thrives off of the bandwagon effect, not who is actually talented or not. Use Carrie Underwood as an example. She would not be making music right now if it was not for the in your face recognition she got from American Idol. There are 100's just like her that will never make it and it has nothing to do with lack of talent. The entire entertainment industry revolves around this concept. I blame this on human nature and the industry inner working itself. I view a politians rise to higher positions in a similar manner.
If you want variety, you will have to seek it out yourself in or out of the traditional RIAA sanctioned methods and not have it handed to you by the radio and television stations.
I never actually participated in their discussion groups. I see it as a case of giving the users too much freedom and the corporate side was taking heat. Maybe the users views did not meet or match those of advertisers/news source/Yahoo in general, or there really was a few jackass trolls ruining it for everyone.
I remember back in early/mid 90's, arguing with some guys on Usenet about commercial postings. Unsolicited messages were not a problem back then but people saw it coming. He claimed that all companies large and small would eventually turn to Usenet because it was free advertising and possibly used for constructive discussions about the company and products. I thought that companies would reject the idea because of the uneasiness of having no control of the feedback and it is there for all to see like it or not. The Microsoft groups are working out well to this day but typically you do not see companies getting involved in any type of forum that they do not control the mute button for. Obviously, Yahoo has the mute button in this situation and they used it.
If the screen is the same resolution, then you don't gain much with the extra bit of size, as you're just scaling the pixels up.
Come on. That is absolutely the lamest excuse I have ever heard for comparing video screen sizes. I know you are trying to prove a point but think about what you just stated. I do not know many people that only a 9in television in their homes (NTSC is the same resolution on a 9in TV as it is on a 36 inch TV, 1080 is the same 1080 on every size HDTV). My new cell phone has a screen that is about 0.3 inches in diagonal larger then my old one. It makes a huge difference. Some people value a slightly larger screen for watching video instead of a slightly smaller unit. I use a PSP for video and music on the go. If I want something small and do not want to lug around the PSP, I use my old RCA Lyra MP3 player I got on clearance for $30 a few years ago. To each his own.
No.
I do not form opinions on things based on the selective wording or placement of words in a sentence. The fact that the parent comment noting the implied comment was moderated to +5 insightful and the amount of replies that my original comment asking why it was interpreted that way, kind of shows that no ones else's opinion was changed by that potential implied wording either.
If so many people point out and make a note that they thought other people would be fooled by some potentially implied wording, who is left that was actually fooled by it?
How or why did you interpet that comment as an attempt to prove wrong doing? I read that comment and came to the same conclusion you did, it was more then likely for protection purposes.
Okay, well people have negotiated deals and bartered since the cave man days. That is a far cry from the current state of the MIR system that exists in the market place now.
As I understand it, in the perfect world, manufacturers offer either the retailer or the consumer money back for items they already negotiated terms on for stock that is not moving well. An example, BestBuy purchases 1000 model X washing machines. After 2 months only 5 are sold. An agreement is worked out between themselves to stimulate some sales of the product. This agreement may include manufacturer to BB rebates, manufacturer to consumer rebates, reduced prices and clearance etc. This helps the manufacturer by moving stock and depending on the terms that BB got the products, may prevent that stock from being sent back to the manufacturer.
What I see with the current state of the system is simply and purely an advertising gimmick. There is no way 90% of all computer stuff at all retailers is "moving slow" and immediate action needs to be taken. Almost all computers sold by retailers in the past 10 years have multiple rebates involved. Hardly a minor stock issue or the case of a slow moving product that requires direct consumer MIY's to resolve.
Well, first impressions are lasting impressions. Maybe a little unfair but if I had one dealing with a company and that dealing was obviously very bad, I have nothing else to base my opinion on. There are a lot of things a person can assume based on one personal experience as well. I recently took my car to the dealer to have some major work completed under warranty (engine block replacement). When I got it back, it had a terrible and loud vibration from idle all the way to 4000 rpm (very obvious to anyone near or in the car), there was antifreeze all over the transmission which smelled as it slowly burned off (another very obvious problem), and there was a large cosmetic cover (about 2 sq feet) that sits on top of the engine that was missing. These problem are very obvious issues. Sound, smell, for one and the missing parts? Does the mechanic or anyone in the shop not realize there was a huge plastic cover laying around in the work area and no one thought, wow, I wonder where that goes? I actually got a new cover when I returned the car for a second time to correct those issues so the original one obviously disappeared.
Maybe these are the signs of a single bad mechanic at the dealership but IMHO, these problems indicate a lack of good supervision or lack of any type of quality assurance program at this specific dealer. There may be excellent mechanics at that same facility as well. Without some type of checklist or quality assurance system in place, you are basically forced to take your chances and suffer through the bad ones as well. Same with your Geek Squad example. You are stuck taking your chances and hoping for the best. Not a game I like to play.
How recent is "something we have to do now"?
Some places that were heavily into rebates are starting to get away from them, BestBuy is one that is moving away. IMHO, those companies just starting will eventually learn what the others before them now know. There are some short term benefits for the retailers but for the long haul, consumers get used to it across the similar stores selling the similar products with similar rebates and then the consumers finally get frustrated enough and move along.
An example is most electronics retailers had rebates on anything related to computers but not on car and home stereos and not on appliances. Now that just about everyone is doing rebates on computer stuff, that trend should start to go away as the competitive advantage is over shadowed by the consumer frustration and the other products will start getting them. I assume at some point, you may even start to see clothes and food with mail-ins attached, auto parts and tools have already started doing it. Places like JCWhittney and Harbor Freight are doing it and others are catching on. Oh, a new market segment we can prey on!
Rebates, some people love them, others hate them, I fall under the hate category.
Notice the "benefits" they offer
Any tools you use that can give Yahoo an advantage will be marketed and pushed as an advantage to you. For some people that use Yahoo as a portal, it may be useful. I have the Google toolbar installed for IE and Firefox and I use it all of the time. I installed them myself though.
So ignore it. If you do not want to ignore it, do the only thing you can do safely... slow down a bit. You can give me all of the hypothetical situations that describe how dangerous some tailgating is but you also have to consider how your driving is affected because you are constantly looking in your rear view mirror and your mind is overwhelmingly preoccupied and frustrated with the guy behind you. I got rear ended by a gap closer before, he was so occupied with preventing someone else from getting in front of him at the on ramp merge, he did not notice I was slowing down because of the traffic in front of me stopped. Of course that story does show tailing is bad but I assume that the preoccupation with something else was even worse then his tailing attempt. I am not trying to justify tailing but I do understand there is a huge range of what some drivers consider tailing.
As for actual road rage.. Not everyone is out to get you and not everyone treats driving like a game. I'll admit I tail sometimes, I'm a weaver on occasion but there is no connection between my driving and frustration at people driving around me. I just want to get where ever I am going at a speed I feel comfortable with. If I am tailing someone, I'm not making faces at them, trying to flash an ego light, or swearing at them. I do not automatically assume they are doing on purpose or even if I think they are, I don't hold it against them and I do nothing differently. I simply, think, wow, that's odd. I go about my business and when they move or I can make a move, I go around them. Plain and simple. No eye contact as I pass, no horns, no grudges, no quickly moving over in front of them. On the flip side. There is always someone out there more aggressive then me too. I give them room. I'll even speed up and pass whatever it is I am passing faster so they can move on. I have a unique situation where one of my cars headlights are extremely bright. I get flashed way too often on two lane roads and even after passing people going the same direction as me on interstate highways. Some people will even get right in behind me after I pass them and turn on their high beams for minutes. I'll flash my lights once to try to show them I acknowledge their concern but other then that, I flip up my mirror and completely ignore them. I have nothing to prove and I chalk it up as yet another person trying to "educate" me on proper driving knowing that the driver is a complete idiot. Yes, I've had the headlight aiming checked and I've noticed similar model cars as mine coming the other way and yes, they are extremely bright.
Here's an idea, let the weavers assholes be themselves. Why would you purposely close the gap or actively prevent someone from getting in front of you? If you are driving too slow for them, let them be in front of you and eventually they will do it to someone else and be gone and you can go about your own business and not have to worry about them at all.
I've often wondered why people play that gap closing game myself. If someone whats to weave in and out of traffic, let them go, as others have stated, in heavy traffic, it is not an effective means of making better progress anyway. You may feel they are being unsafe and maybe this is your chance to exercise your 4000LB weight around too as an equalizer? Closing a gap and disrupting the flow of a weavers is NOT safe either. If you want to play it safe, maintain your existing speed and gap and let the weaver go about his business. The weaver is not being as safe as he could be but closing the gap is not the safest thing you could do either.
On that note... I live on a corner with a hidden intersection on a semi rural 2 lane state road. I see people pull out in front of cars all the time. One time a car pulled out in front of someone and that someone slammed on his brakes and laid on the horn until he came to a complete stop. After he came to a stop, he started yelling at the other person that pulled out in front of him as that person was driving by him in the other direction, the need for a complete stop was completely unnecessary. Hey, shit happens, get over it. Well now that he was at a complete stop and half way around a hidden corner and attempting to make his point known to a car that was no longer within hearing distance, he got rear ended by a third car coming up behind him on that hidden bend. Okay, technically he was not at fault because he got rear ended but his blatant actions had put himself in a very unsafe situation regardless of what the law states. I see a lot of people trying to be "safe" and educate other drivers on the road but in reality, they are being unsafe themselves. Just like the guy that hits his brakes when someone is tailing him. If you don't want to be tailed, move the hell over. I know a car is a big powerful glob of various metals and plastics but using that psychological power to force your driving ethics on others is NOT safe. Considering that the person is not going to change their habits because of your gap closing you have absolutely NOTHING to gain. Gee, I've been driving like a weaver for 20 years and today someone closed the gap on me. I learned a lesson and I am never going to be a weave again!
What you're missing is that Google gave him no clue/hint/guide/comment/help on why he was delisted. Just tossed him off, left it to him to discover that this had happened in the first place, left it to him to figure out (guess) what the problem might be, and then only relisted him after they got around to it.
So, the guys site got hacked/modified and Goolge gave him the boot because whatever was modified, was classified as a potential cheat by Google. His site was still available on the internet, just not referenced by Google.
The site owner closing line in the linked articel:
As I said in my post to the Google Webmaster Help group, the Google policy of obscuring de-indexing decisions is harmful.
I completely disagree.
Google's main business is providing useful and reliable search results. The game of cat and mouse with search engine tricks, spam reduction, spyware, viruses, adware etc is never ending betwwen those that want it and those that do not. Google gains an edge by elimating sites that do not follow some guideline. Users of Google search results get better results when Google elimates sites that do not play by their rules. Describing exactly what and where the offending material would be a great benefit to the bad guys as well. They could fine tune their practices to find out what does and does not trigger Googles defense systems.
So yeah, it sucks if your site is delisted but it also sucks when your site was hacked. It sucks for all of Google search engine users to have to wade though bogus results as well. It would also suck for Google (no business benefit) to spend time and personal resources with every single site operator that has a delisting issue. I'm sure every single one of the people that called the Google delisting hotline would deny they did anything on purpose and they would all claim they were hacked. Google personal (or anyone for that matter) doesn't know the site operator at all and has no idea if he/she is telling the truth or not. So now if Google opens up a hotline for these delisted people, they are now giving an advantage to the crooked people AND Google would be wasting even more of their time and money helping them get around the filters.
I'm all for Googles decision on this one.
Who gives a shit about karma, post what you feel, not what you think others want to hear. This concept should apply to more then just slashdot.
If a site requires a valid e-mail address and has an activation system and all... please take a clue and realize that maybe there's a reason for this.
I will provide a valid email address for specific web sites if the site is worth it to me (meaning that it provides a measurable benefit to me) and I determine that I might need to be contacted by an alternate means for specific issues with that site. By my own determination, if both of those conditions do not exist, I will use a fake address. If a large percentage of your sites visitors are using fake information, you are not providing enough of a benefit that people think it is worth providing real information for. Regardless of wether you or any site owner think this information is important, the user base may not.
The solution to dodging spam is to go after the spammers, not dodge their spam
Let me know how that plan works out for you.
I agree but in the real world, that method is by no means even remotely effective as a method to prevent spam.
Why should I risk fighting people with knives because you do not want to give up your wallet? Gee, lets look at this big picture, your wallet or my life? Maybe I'd offer them my wallet to stop beating you if it was getting to that point but I'm not going in toe to toe vs a group with weapons, most people are not as capable as Steven Seagal you know. If there is only one person and I think I can get a good clean first shot in the lower back with my shoulder, I'll go if there is more then money about to be lost. Sorry, anything other then that is not worth it. Do I feel guilty about that? No.
I imagine many here will agree with you until the day comes when they need a new battery for their iPod or they are away from a place that they can charge it and would actually like extended use.
For the consumer... A user replaceable battery is a good thing, you almost convinced me otherwise with your post but I was able to snap myself out of the reality distortion field. I've been using portable devices for decades and have yet to experience this engineering glass roof you mention with removable batteries. Swap the word iPod with cell phone or digital camera in your argument. Yeah, some battery latches break when they are dropped but think of the other 99.xx% that do not break.
I use it all of the tame and I thank it works greet.
Wow, a web caching company has determined that customers abandon a site that is slow.
That is not an issue for me. My highest chance of leaving is determined by when in the buying process, the site provides total price including all shipping, handling, taxes, and acceptance of coupons codes. If they need my name and address I may leave depending on if they have a shipping link or general shipping info somewhere on the site that I can reference first. I will ALWAYS leave if they require CC or payment information before providing the total price or even a hint of shipping costs.
I guess they need my address prior to calculating shipping and handling charges if they do not have flat rates but a place to enter my just my zip code should be enough IMHO.
For a good example of providing a good experience is NewEgg. They includes the shipping costs right next to the product descriptions without even having to go to a cart first.
I view the delay or confusion of shipping and handling charges to be an attempt to hide a total cost or get you to get so far that they figure you will not back out. I will back out and take my business elesewhere.
Almost like the the Ebay sellers that charge $20 to ship a motherboard (at least they are up front about it though).