People do not have a problem with change, they have a problem with the "unknown" that typically comes with change. What causes unknowns? Many things, lack of communication or understanding, (either intentional or unintentional) or your own personal concerns that the person that made the change does not relate to.
Statistics are like bikinis, what they reveal is suggestive but what they hide is crucial. According to that study, 92% of those 62% had medical bills in excess of $5000. It does not break it down to how much over $5000. I wonder how many of those people also had credit card debt above $5000 and a balance on a car loan greater than $5000. I don't know what the criteria is for filing bankruptcy but I bet it is more than $5000 in medical bills.
Here are some numbers (references at the bottom). Again, just statistics..
1) About one-third of the families owed an entire year's salary on their credit cards. 2) Seventy-percent of Americans live from paycheck to paycheck. 3) The average credit card debt for people ages 45 to 64 is $6,094. 4) Seventy-five percent of credit card holders have maxed out at least one credit card in the last year. 5) Total U.S. credit card debt is 866 billion--more than $9,000 per family, up from $2,966 in 1990. 6) One-in-five workers making $100,000 or more live paycheck to paycheck. 7) The typical family filing for bankruptcy in 1997 owed more than one and a half times its annual income in short-term, high-interest debt. 8) not related but interesting.. In 1968, consumers' total credit debt was $8 billion (in current dollars). Now the total exceeds $880 billion.
With all of that being said, I can see how adding a sudden medical bill to your exiting debt would be a burden. Is that medical bill alone though that caused it? Was it the 4% reduction in your paycheck? Maybe the "straw that broke the camel back" but still one of many pieces of straw.
The problem with one site charging an access fee and another not charging is that no one will pay when they can get something similar for free. Unless more sites or at least a critical mass work together, any charging plans won't work. The fact that everyone knows this purposed charging model won't work by itself indicates to me that there is more than likely some collusion going on with other major news players and we will hear similar announcements from others soon as well. If there was no secret talks, maybe his FY10 implementation date is testing the waters to see if the others will follow without technically working with directly with them to game the system. Newspaper publishers had talks about doing the same thing earlier this year. See here and here for details.
I've never done any studies or analysis of what people like and why but it seems a lot of people like something after hearing more often and if someone else likes it or if it is trendy. Think about it, teens twenty years ago were listening to 80's music and loving it. Why aren't teens listening to 80's music now? If Eddie Grant's Electric Avenue was good and a number one hit then, shouldn't it be good and a popular hit now? Did humans somehow evolve and now naturally like some other type of music? The trend makes something "good" in pop music. How does the music industry take advantage of this? Pick a few artists to promote (get them interviews, guest appearances on popular tv shows, special contests with soda makers etc...). The music industry can only promote so many dumb blonds or a limited amount of any genre at a time. The music did not find the diamond in the rough with many of these stars, they promoted them to that position. Those artists would have the same talent with or without the music industries blessing. With less involvement of the music industry,the trendy part would change but I don't think the there would be a lack or good quality music. People might have to figure out what they consider good for themselves and not let the music industry do it for them.
The problem no one else will not be able to publish it at the Apple store because more than likely, Apple will reject it because of a similar app already exists. This creates an odd situation where the first person to convert any GPL piece of software and put it on the the app store will be the only one to decide the price and controlls for that binary. Imagine some more popular GPL software going this route, Firefox on the Apple store by John Smith and selling for $3.99. No one else can create a binary from that source and distribute it because the distribution path is closed once the first person does it because of Apples criteria. Strange situation that IMHO, does NOT fit the spirit of the GPL. If the apps store was open or there were other distribution channels for the platform, then it is 100% within the spirit of the GPL.
is instead using your product as a draw for customers so that they can sell them older, battered, dirty and maybe malfunctioning versions of your product that you make no money out of.
That is FUD. They offer a 100% replacement warranty if a used game does not work and some places will give 100% credit for a few days on a different used game.
Not only were you listening to "Money" on Track 2 but you could probably also faintly here "Speak to Me" on track 1 at the same time through the bleed through.
We use a standard image on our Lenovo laptops so we don't see this problem. I have a few Lenovos at my desk for testing but the first thing I do is uninstall all of the Lenovo specific software with a few exception. The Lenovo XP load on my last T61 had 89 processes running at idle.
Leave the pots line attached to the box in the back of your house and leave a phone plugged in, things may have changed but I thought it was some type of requirement that you could still dial 911 from a phone line even if you don't have service?
I did roughly the same for about $440 after a rebate. I skimped on the CPU but spent a little more on a video card. I got full versions of Call of Juarez and Call of duty WOW included for free as well. Nothing great but it works for the games I play.
Western Digital Caviar GP WD7500AACS 750GB 5400 to 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822136150
$59.99
Our last family trip to various points in FL, we rented a car and drove down. Why put several thousand on the older family car when for $150/week, you can drive an almost brand new car of someone elses and have complete repair breakdown coverage on it and basically not have to worry about it at all.
Getting off topic here but i get a kick out of the people that use the excuse they need a nice new big car for that one or two times a year they take a family trip. You can rent a car for about $150/200 week or you can buy a new one yourself and get the comfort of thinking it will be safe and trip worthy because it is "new" for about $600 a month for 5-7 years.
I'm probably up to my 10th ipod with zero problems
Is that a good thing? Something MUST be happening that you have already had to buy 10 of them. That is one about every 9 months. If they are not breaking, what is going on there?
I believe you have thirty days to return the phone and cancel the contract without the early termination charges, which brings this back firmly into the land of whiny bitch.
I was given a TMobile BB for work purpose in the month of November a few years ago. Not the best signal at my house but it worked until April when the deciduous tress started filling in. In theory, I would have to keep paying the monthly fee or pay a cancellation charge for a now useless product.
Most suburbs I've lived in have limited service OR provide some kind of connecting service to larger neighboring systems. It seems to kind of work but never scales well. It is hard to justify the cost of adding more trips and for the buses to drive on more routes for such a small quantity of people. Sure, you can get to the local hospital or the local community college from your house but you live 3 blocks from Maple street where the bus stop is and the bus snakes around and eventually gets to your destination 30 minutes later.
I did not draw any conclusions and did not think i was putting words in your mouth. You said
if your main concern is "jobless bums" you should know that mandatory insurance isn't really protecting you from them. Unless you think $50,000 is enough to cover all your medical bills if you get seriously injured.
You said I should know that mandatory insurance is not protecting me from jobless bums and I was smoking crack if I think they did. I stated that $50K minimum is better then nothing and for the statistical average, $50K would probably be enough and at least better than nothing at all. So I feel I have a good chance that mandatory insurance is protecting me from the jobless bums. Seriously injured and 50k would not be enough.
I am far from "better off", I've had the same insurance company for over 20 years and I've added and subtract coverages based on what I think the risk is.
Some states like PA and NJ have a "no-fault" policy which is a little close to what you suggest. Your coverage is somewhat based on the package you buy regardless of the person who is actually at fault. It has advantages but some disadvantages as well.
Same advice given when buying anything ever. Some places are better than others. You often get what you pay for. If all you care about is meeting the state minimum at the lowest price possible, that is the service you may get. Shopping for insurance is like shopping for a cellular phone carrier. You have to look at more than the price per month. What coverages are you getting? What if you buy a new car? How long till you have to call and get it added to your policy and will it be covered the minute you drive it off the lot? Do you have rent a car coverage, towing? What if you rent your own car for pleasure, is that covered? What is the policy with tickets and your rate? Where or how do you file a claim? Will someone come to you or will you have to go to them?
If someone hits you and you have a good company, they will handle your claim minus your deductible which you may get back if they can settle with other persons company.
Younger drivers, people with tickets, people with credit problems blah blah blah. The insurance companies have data to indicate that these things result in more frequent payouts. I pay a very low monthly amount for what I have insured. It would not be fair for my rates to be equal to Johny who just got his license back, has a DUI, a speeding ticket and is driving a 500HP 5 ton race truck. Statistically speaking, Johny will have a much higher chance of a claim then I will therefore he should pay a higher rate. Same as people applying for credit. Those with a higher risk of default on a loan should pay higher interest rates. Are you honestly saying that you think that system is not fair?
Now, is it fair to glob every person with a single ticket into a higher rate? Maybe not but I bet the numbers the industry has indicates a higher risk.
You know that a lot of big insurance companies will not even consider you as a customer if you have a lapse on your insurance? Yes, go to Statefarm or Allstate with a car and no insurance and try to get a policy. People that had a lapse in insurance are a higher risk. Solution, go to a small town company, get a policy and 6 months later, shop around.
I'd rather someone that hits me have $50K coverage than nothing. I guess in your world, nothing is better than $50K. I'm sure there are statistics out there somewhere but I'd assume most accidents total payout is less than $50K for medical coverage. Either way.. 50k is better than nothing. Take a look at a lot of states minimum requirements for property. Some are as low as $20k. There are a lot of cars on the road worth more than $20K. If you have a brand name insurance company of your own, they will make up the difference if someone with 20k coverage hits you and your car is worth more.
I personally have $250K and an umbrella for $2 million. I hopefully will never need it but looking at the cost of the additional coverage compared to the risk, it is worth it too me.
My retirement comment was just an example but for many people, a large % of their retirement might be a house or some other tangible property.
In middle America or the suburbs that do not have a lot of public transportation options, the actual cost of insurance is usually much cheaper than it is within a city limit. For a 10 year old car with nothing but the bare state minimum liability, a person with little to no tickets will probably pay about $20-50/month.
The bottom line: In today's day and age when transportation is required to get to and from work and other necessary services, governments have an obligation to either provide affordable transportation such as a good bus system, or to subsidize private car ownership and operations for those who are too poor to afford them.
Wow, another great idea without thinking about how to pay for it. When you say the government has an obligation, you ARE the government. There is not some sperate entity out there that has money, that money comes from the people. So how exactly to plan to pay for that in a non city area where vary few people will actually use the system? Should you cut education or a local health care initiative or rehabilitation program? Or raise taxes for everyone $20-50/month or are you another one that thinks people that make over $75K a year should pay for everything for everyone.
I am all for EVERYONE having auto insurance. I don't want you rear ending me and destroying my car and possibly hurting me and my family and then have to pay for everything myself because you are a jobless bum.
In turn, I would also like to know I can rear end you and not loose my house and retirement account paying for your bills.
Granted, people abuse the system but that would happen with or without insurance.
Accidents happen, if you can not afford insurance, please don't drive.
You have been lucky with rebates. You can NOT ignore the fact that many people have been screwed by rebates and crooked rebate houses. If you have to call, beg, and resubmit, you are already getting screwed. Many people do those extra steps and still do not get their rebates. I've had quite a few that went unpaid, called and was told to resubmit over and over until the offer expired, received a check that was already expired, was told my UPC was not valid, etc.. It happens.
I agree though, if you don't like the concept of a mail in rebate, consider not buying it or look for another product that is a "good" deal without a rebate.
I don't agree with it, just trying to come up with a theory of what the "content providers" are thinking. After reading most of the comments in this thread, I'm now leaning towards the fact that boxie might be scaring them because it could slice into conventional tv viewership. Hulu might have been viewed by some as an alternative to grab the folks that did not or could not watch conventional tv for what ever reason increasing total viewing numbers. Hulu coupled with Boxie doesn't fit that mold.
Theory... With Boxee or any type on non direct computer looking device with a keyboard and your right hand positioned on a mouse, you are less likely to click on the ads they show.
Slashdot Mirror
People do not have a problem with change, they have a problem with the "unknown" that typically comes with change.
What causes unknowns? Many things, lack of communication or understanding, (either intentional or unintentional) or your own personal concerns that the person that made the change does not relate to.
Statistics are like bikinis, what they reveal is suggestive but what they hide is crucial. According to that study, 92% of those 62% had medical bills in excess of $5000. It does not break it down to how much over $5000. I wonder how many of those people also had credit card debt above $5000 and a balance on a car loan greater than $5000. I don't know what the criteria is for filing bankruptcy but I bet it is more than $5000 in medical bills.
Here are some numbers (references at the bottom). Again, just statistics..
1) About one-third of the families owed an entire year's salary on their credit cards.
2) Seventy-percent of Americans live from paycheck to paycheck.
3) The average credit card debt for people ages 45 to 64 is $6,094.
4) Seventy-five percent of credit card holders have maxed out at least one credit card in the last year.
5) Total U.S. credit card debt is 866 billion--more than $9,000 per family, up from $2,966 in 1990.
6) One-in-five workers making $100,000 or more live paycheck to paycheck.
7) The typical family filing for bankruptcy in 1997 owed more than one and a half times its annual income in short-term, high-interest debt.
8) not related but interesting.. In 1968, consumers' total credit debt was $8 billion (in current dollars). Now the total exceeds $880 billion.
With all of that being said, I can see how adding a sudden medical bill to your exiting debt would be a burden. Is that medical bill alone though that caused it? Was it the 4% reduction in your paycheck? Maybe the "straw that broke the camel back" but still one of many pieces of straw.
http://www.filingforbankruptcyonline.com/stats.html
http://www.money-101.com/50plusreasons/50-reasons-money-101-collection-personal-finance-statistics
The problem with one site charging an access fee and another not charging is that no one will pay when they can get something similar for free. Unless more sites or at least a critical mass work together, any charging plans won't work. The fact that everyone knows this purposed charging model won't work by itself indicates to me that there is more than likely some collusion going on with other major news players and we will hear similar announcements from others soon as well. If there was no secret talks, maybe his FY10 implementation date is testing the waters to see if the others will follow without technically working with directly with them to game the system.
Newspaper publishers had talks about doing the same thing earlier this year. See here and here for details.
I've never done any studies or analysis of what people like and why but it seems a lot of people like something after hearing more often and if someone else likes it or if it is trendy. Think about it, teens twenty years ago were listening to 80's music and loving it. Why aren't teens listening to 80's music now? If Eddie Grant's Electric Avenue was good and a number one hit then, shouldn't it be good and a popular hit now? Did humans somehow evolve and now naturally like some other type of music? The trend makes something "good" in pop music. How does the music industry take advantage of this? Pick a few artists to promote (get them interviews, guest appearances on popular tv shows, special contests with soda makers etc...). The music industry can only promote so many dumb blonds or a limited amount of any genre at a time. The music did not find the diamond in the rough with many of these stars, they promoted them to that position. Those artists would have the same talent with or without the music industries blessing. With less involvement of the music industry,the trendy part would change but I don't think the there would be a lack or good quality music. People might have to figure out what they consider good for themselves and not let the music industry do it for them.
The problem no one else will not be able to publish it at the Apple store because more than likely, Apple will reject it because of a similar app already exists. This creates an odd situation where the first person to convert any GPL piece of software and put it on the the app store will be the only one to decide the price and controlls for that binary. Imagine some more popular GPL software going this route, Firefox on the Apple store by John Smith and selling for $3.99. No one else can create a binary from that source and distribute it because the distribution path is closed once the first person does it because of Apples criteria. Strange situation that IMHO, does NOT fit the spirit of the GPL. If the apps store was open or there were other distribution channels for the platform, then it is 100% within the spirit of the GPL.
is instead using your product as a draw for customers so that they can sell them older, battered, dirty and maybe malfunctioning versions of your product that you make no money out of.
That is FUD. They offer a 100% replacement warranty if a used game does not work and some places will give 100% credit for a few days on a different used game.
Not only were you listening to "Money" on Track 2 but you could probably also faintly here "Speak to Me" on track 1 at the same time through the bleed through.
We use a standard image on our Lenovo laptops so we don't see this problem. I have a few Lenovos at my desk for testing but the first thing I do is uninstall all of the Lenovo specific software with a few exception. The Lenovo XP load on my last T61 had 89 processes running at idle.
A lot of places in PA use tar and small gravel over the old asphalt, it seems like a decent compromise.
Leave the pots line attached to the box in the back of your house and leave a phone plugged in, things may have changed but I thought it was some type of requirement that you could still dial 911 from a phone line even if you don't have service?
I did roughly the same for about $440 after a rebate. I skimped on the CPU but spent a little more on a video card. I got full versions of Call of Juarez and Call of duty WOW included for free as well. Nothing great but it works for the games I play.
Western Digital Caviar GP WD7500AACS 750GB 5400 to 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822136150
$59.99
OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2P10664GK - Retail
Item #: N82E16820227298
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LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS30 - OEM
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HEC 6K28BBX585 Black 0.8mm SECC Steel MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case 585W Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16811121004
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ASUS M3N78-VM AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8200 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813131318
$72.99
AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz Socket AM2+ 95W Dual-Core black edition Processor Model AD775ZWCGHBOX - Retail
Item #: N82E16819103300
$58.99
XFX GS250XYDFC GeForce GTS 250 512MB Core Edition 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814150357
$134.99
Our last family trip to various points in FL, we rented a car and drove down. Why put several thousand on the older family car when for $150/week, you can drive an almost brand new car of someone elses and have complete repair breakdown coverage on it and basically not have to worry about it at all.
Getting off topic here but i get a kick out of the people that use the excuse they need a nice new big car for that one or two times a year they take a family trip. You can rent a car for about $150/200 week or you can buy a new one yourself and get the comfort of thinking it will be safe and trip worthy because it is "new" for about $600 a month for 5-7 years.
I'm probably up to my 10th ipod with zero problems
Is that a good thing?
Something MUST be happening that you have already had to buy 10 of them. That is one about every 9 months. If they are not breaking, what is going on there?
I believe you have thirty days to return the phone and cancel the contract without the early termination charges, which brings this back firmly into the land of whiny bitch.
I was given a TMobile BB for work purpose in the month of November a few years ago. Not the best signal at my house but it worked until April when the deciduous tress started filling in. In theory, I would have to keep paying the monthly fee or pay a cancellation charge for a now useless product.
If you don't like this article, don't read and reply to it. It is that simple. Nobody's forcing you to participate in the this discussion.
Most suburbs I've lived in have limited service OR provide some kind of connecting service to larger neighboring systems. It seems to kind of work but never scales well. It is hard to justify the cost of adding more trips and for the buses to drive on more routes for such a small quantity of people. Sure, you can get to the local hospital or the local community college from your house but you live 3 blocks from Maple street where the bus stop is and the bus snakes around and eventually gets to your destination 30 minutes later.
I did not draw any conclusions and did not think i was putting words in your mouth. You said
if your main concern is "jobless bums" you should know that mandatory insurance isn't really protecting you from them. Unless you think $50,000 is enough to cover all your medical bills if you get seriously injured.
You said I should know that mandatory insurance is not protecting me from jobless bums and I was smoking crack if I think they did. I stated that $50K minimum is better then nothing and for the statistical average, $50K would probably be enough and at least better than nothing at all. So I feel I have a good chance that mandatory insurance is protecting me from the jobless bums. Seriously injured and 50k would not be enough.
I am far from "better off", I've had the same insurance company for over 20 years and I've added and subtract coverages based on what I think the risk is.
Some states like PA and NJ have a "no-fault" policy which is a little close to what you suggest. Your coverage is somewhat based on the package you buy regardless of the person who is actually at fault. It has advantages but some disadvantages as well.
Same advice given when buying anything ever. Some places are better than others. You often get what you pay for. If all you care about is meeting the state minimum at the lowest price possible, that is the service you may get. Shopping for insurance is like shopping for a cellular phone carrier. You have to look at more than the price per month. What coverages are you getting? What if you buy a new car? How long till you have to call and get it added to your policy and will it be covered the minute you drive it off the lot? Do you have rent a car coverage, towing? What if you rent your own car for pleasure, is that covered? What is the policy with tickets and your rate? Where or how do you file a claim? Will someone come to you or will you have to go to them?
If someone hits you and you have a good company, they will handle your claim minus your deductible which you may get back if they can settle with other persons company.
Younger drivers, people with tickets, people with credit problems blah blah blah. The insurance companies have data to indicate that these things result in more frequent payouts. I pay a very low monthly amount for what I have insured. It would not be fair for my rates to be equal to Johny who just got his license back, has a DUI, a speeding ticket and is driving a 500HP 5 ton race truck. Statistically speaking, Johny will have a much higher chance of a claim then I will therefore he should pay a higher rate. Same as people applying for credit. Those with a higher risk of default on a loan should pay higher interest rates. Are you honestly saying that you think that system is not fair?
Now, is it fair to glob every person with a single ticket into a higher rate? Maybe not but I bet the numbers the industry has indicates a higher risk.
You know that a lot of big insurance companies will not even consider you as a customer if you have a lapse on your insurance? Yes, go to Statefarm or Allstate with a car and no insurance and try to get a policy. People that had a lapse in insurance are a higher risk. Solution, go to a small town company, get a policy and 6 months later, shop around.
I'd rather someone that hits me have $50K coverage than nothing. I guess in your world, nothing is better than $50K. I'm sure there are statistics out there somewhere but I'd assume most accidents total payout is less than $50K for medical coverage. Either way.. 50k is better than nothing. Take a look at a lot of states minimum requirements for property. Some are as low as $20k. There are a lot of cars on the road worth more than $20K. If you have a brand name insurance company of your own, they will make up the difference if someone with 20k coverage hits you and your car is worth more.
I personally have $250K and an umbrella for $2 million. I hopefully will never need it but looking at the cost of the additional coverage compared to the risk, it is worth it too me.
My retirement comment was just an example but for many people, a large % of their retirement might be a house or some other tangible property.
In middle America or the suburbs that do not have a lot of public transportation options, the actual cost of insurance is usually much cheaper than it is within a city limit. For a 10 year old car with nothing but the bare state minimum liability, a person with little to no tickets will probably pay about $20-50/month.
The bottom line:
In today's day and age when transportation is required to get to and from work and other necessary services, governments have an obligation to either provide affordable transportation such as a good bus system, or to subsidize private car ownership and operations for those who are too poor to afford them.
Wow, another great idea without thinking about how to pay for it. When you say the government has an obligation, you ARE the government. There is not some sperate entity out there that has money, that money comes from the people. So how exactly to plan to pay for that in a non city area where vary few people will actually use the system? Should you cut education or a local health care initiative or rehabilitation program? Or raise taxes for everyone $20-50/month or are you another one that thinks people that make over $75K a year should pay for everything for everyone.
I am all for EVERYONE having auto insurance. I don't want you rear ending me and destroying my car and possibly hurting me and my family and then have to pay for everything myself because you are a jobless bum.
In turn, I would also like to know I can rear end you and not loose my house and retirement account paying for your bills.
Granted, people abuse the system but that would happen with or without insurance.
Accidents happen, if you can not afford insurance, please don't drive.
You have been lucky with rebates. You can NOT ignore the fact that many people have been screwed by rebates and crooked rebate houses. If you have to call, beg, and resubmit, you are already getting screwed. Many people do those extra steps and still do not get their rebates. I've had quite a few that went unpaid, called and was told to resubmit over and over until the offer expired, received a check that was already expired, was told my UPC was not valid, etc.. It happens.
I agree though, if you don't like the concept of a mail in rebate, consider not buying it or look for another product that is a "good" deal without a rebate.
I don't agree with it, just trying to come up with a theory of what the "content providers" are thinking.
After reading most of the comments in this thread, I'm now leaning towards the fact that boxie might be scaring them because it could slice into conventional tv viewership. Hulu might have been viewed by some as an alternative to grab the folks that did not or could not watch conventional tv for what ever reason increasing total viewing numbers. Hulu coupled with Boxie doesn't fit that mold.
Theory...
With Boxee or any type on non direct computer looking device with a keyboard and your right hand positioned on a mouse, you are less likely to click on the ads they show.