Re:That was actually surprisingly good article
on
The Cost of the iPod
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· Score: 3, Interesting
He's got a point. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out what an iPod costs to make, within a margin of error, of course.
That's not the point. Apple is a public company and has a duty to disclose to its' owners what the profit margins are on various products. That's pretty standard. If Apple doesn't disclose the margin of their primary product to their shareholders, I also wouldn't touch the company. In fact, it may even be an SEC violation.
I also make my living writing software using MS products. However my home windows installation has decided to say I am not genuine anymore.
God forbid you've run across a (annoying) bug. I'm sure you've never written a line of code with a bug in it. But if you have, I hope your customers don't respond like this:
But this is enough for me to tell them to kiss my big hairy american ass.
Imagine a world without email, websites or DNS, no internet or intranet; cell phone probably wouldn't work, some of them wouldn't even turn on; hell his cable tv would be iffy, and a lot of TV/Movie/Photography production and editing ends up being touched by a Mac somewhere along the line; and his TiVo would be definately a no-go. No Tv, No DVD's, No Porn!
I try every day to imagine that, and I hope that there's still somewhere on the planet that is like what you describe.
But, I still doubt that Joe Six-Pack would freak out. He'd just buy the products with no OSS in them. No big deal at all. In fact, companies would start selling all of the gadgets you describe with "CERTIFIED NO OSS" logos on them. Nobody would care, and humanity would really be only a tiny bit inconvenienced for a bit. Hell, people didn't get upset about Hurricane Katrina. If those people can have their whole lives washed away with no government assistance and still not pick up a gun, I really doubt that a lack of a TIVO will inspire anything other than a trip to Blockbuster Video.
By suggesting that DICK Cheney is a terrorist, you have proven that you hate freedom and you hate America, and you want to help the terrorists. Enjoy your stay in "Gitmo", you anti-American bastard!
It's all so ridiculous... I don't know if I should laugh or cry.
If you still think you can make a difference, then good for you. I'd like to think I'm a bit more realistic. I'm planning on living on a boat, actually. The world can be in the middle of WW3, and the Bush can proclaim himself King, and I just won't care.
Unfortunately, these charts only chart the new MMORPG's. There are other ones that have been around longer and are quite large: OGame and Kingdom Of Loathing to name a few. Hell, OGame alone has well over a million players worldwide, and in many, many different langugages.
Dude, it's not the government, it's the people. Most people in the US are too stupid to not believe the government propoganda about a "terrorist" behind every bush. I don't think that there's anything that can be done about it. The stupid people who buy into all of this bullshit are in the majority, and they tend to out-breed those of us who understand what's going on.
I don't know about you, but I'm tired of it, and I'm saving up to leave.
What kind of nutbag would get pissed off enough about software patents to revolt? Sure, the US has problems, but even as a software developer, I can safely say that software patents are nowhere near any of the real problems we have.
What's your point? Yes, we are all accustomed to using Windows. That makes the reality of "switching" to Linux of Mac difficult and expensive. Your point is irrelevant, if you have to make a decision based on business (money and time) as opposed to idealism (freeeedom).
My point is that for the cost of a Windows license ($100), the thing has to pretty much install and configure itself to make it worth the trouble to switch. Besides, our most important apps don't run on Linux, so it's really a moot point. $100-$200/machine makes using Windows, as a business decision, pretty much a no-brainer. It's cheap enough that any hassle, whatsoever, is really a waste of time and money.
I think I understand pretty well. I own a business that relies on Windows completely (and I rely on that business completely). In no way am I worried about this. In the Grand Scheme of things, I'm more worried about getting hit by lightning. Yeah, what is described *could* happen, but is so insanely unlikely, that it's not worth worrying about.
However, this will definitely cause Linux desktop adoption to increase, there is NO way around that.
I agree, but it'll only help by a *tiny* amount. Most people will just pony up and buy copies where they're lacking (I know that I will if I have to). A few of the poorest of the poor consumers (after all, a copy of Windows is less than most people's monthly cell phone bill... it's cheap) will try Linux, and out of that, a tiny fraction will stick (as has been Linux's history). Windows' price is not nearly enough to make Linux worth the trouble for the vast majority of people (me included).
A Windows XP Home OEM version (that my local computer store will sell along with a power cable) is $100. For me, that's certainly not worth spending more than maybe an hour dicking around with a PC to get it to the same level of usefulness that I had before. Last time I tried Linux, it took me about 4 hours just to get any kind of basic functionality.
What you're talking about is simply not likely to happen. Companies don't just cutting off their customers for no good reason. If you buy into this kind of logic, you REALLY should not also own a cell phone, a land line telephone, or use electricity. ANY of these things could be cut off at any time (but are as likely to be cut off for no reason as your copy of Windows would be). Get a grip, and welcome to the 21st century.
Don't create a movement to get people to abandon religion. That is just subversive.
You're right. Attempting to convince people to abandon their fear, ignorance and hatred thinly disguised as "religion" is "subversive". It makes them harder to control.
Are you drunk? What did I "lie" about, exactly? When did I say that I never debated about anti-trust shit on slashdot?
Besides, I really have never seen a MS "anti-trust" story in which more than a handful of brave individuals who invariable get modded down try to argue that "anti-monopoly" laws are wrong. Instead, the posts invariably ignore the fact that "anti-monopoly" laws are in fact, punishing a company for being too successful and earned their status, and instead are more like your post: people pointing their fingers at MS yelling "they broke the law!!".
But what's funny is that we could debate forever on the validity of the DMCA or other IP laws, but that would have no impact on whether the poor slob convicted received their punishment. Only in the cases like Microsoft is avoiding paying levied fines even an option.
Oh, what a crock of shit. Every time there's a story about somebody getting convicted of stealing software/music/whatever, the Slashdot Mind screams about how unfair their "punishment" is. Stealing software is not bad. Being too successful is bad. Wow. Buddy, you really shouldn't skip your meds...
I'm glad you think so. Would you mind making up a font for me to use, please? Even though it's not worth anything, I'll still say "thanks" in advance. When you're done with that, just email it over. Please make it a TTF. Thanks!
I love it how The Slashdot GroupThink questions the validitiy and constitutionality of laws such as the DMCA, copyright laws, IP laws, etc., but when it comes down to anti-trust laws, there is NO debate, whatsoever, and people such as yourself continually just parrot "They broke the law! They broke the law!". Nice.
I live in a small town in which almost no matter where I go, there's an open WAP somewhere. Sometimes it's the official free city wireless network, but just as often, it's a private person's wide open router. I haven't paid for personal Internet service in a year or so now, and it's only getting easy (Win XP makes it ridiculously simple).
A smart company (or individual) doesn't re-invent the wheel just for the hell of it. Right now, MS doesn't have anything that will do what you're talking about cheaply and easily. I could also make my own paperclips if I wanted to, but I'd just rather buy them. It's cheaper and easier.
They don't sell WAP's, or software that runs WAP's, actually. I'm betting that they DO have lots and lots of Windows desktops running Office and servers running Exhcnage and SQL Server throughout the company, though. Consider doing just a tiny bit of background checking before you troll.
Actually, it does have an impact for me as well. I've been playing nothing but OGame for the past few months, and I'm buying the "premium" service which is a whopping $3/month. That's $36/year I'm paying for games right now. That's less than one PS2 title. But, once the PS3 becomes available, I'll have to indulge. MMOG's are great, but they're no replacement for a slick, twitch-action console game.
As gearheads say, "there's no replacement for displacement". No matter what the technology is, you're never going to get any kind of bass out of teenie tiny speakers crammed into a teenie tiny laptop case. They just can't move enough air to get good sound quality, especially bass. Speakers on laptops, in my opinion, are pretty much just good for alert beeps and blips. That's all I expect out of them. Anything more than that (like watching a movie), and a $5 pair of headphones from the drugstore will do much, much better.
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He's got a point. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out what an iPod costs to make, within a margin of error, of course.
That's not the point. Apple is a public company and has a duty to disclose to its' owners what the profit margins are on various products. That's pretty standard. If Apple doesn't disclose the margin of their primary product to their shareholders, I also wouldn't touch the company. In fact, it may even be an SEC violation.
I also make my living writing software using MS products. However my home windows installation has decided to say I am not genuine anymore.
God forbid you've run across a (annoying) bug. I'm sure you've never written a line of code with a bug in it. But if you have, I hope your customers don't respond like this:
But this is enough for me to tell them to kiss my big hairy american ass.
For everyone else, perhaps looking into the feasibility of switching (to either) is in order?
Nah, it's not worth the trouble to save a hundred bucks or two.
Imagine a world without email, websites or DNS, no internet or intranet; cell phone probably wouldn't work, some of them wouldn't even turn on; hell his cable tv would be iffy, and a lot of TV/Movie/Photography production and editing ends up being touched by a Mac somewhere along the line; and his TiVo would be definately a no-go. No Tv, No DVD's, No Porn!
I try every day to imagine that, and I hope that there's still somewhere on the planet that is like what you describe.
But, I still doubt that Joe Six-Pack would freak out. He'd just buy the products with no OSS in them. No big deal at all. In fact, companies would start selling all of the gadgets you describe with "CERTIFIED NO OSS" logos on them. Nobody would care, and humanity would really be only a tiny bit inconvenienced for a bit. Hell, people didn't get upset about Hurricane Katrina. If those people can have their whole lives washed away with no government assistance and still not pick up a gun, I really doubt that a lack of a TIVO will inspire anything other than a trip to Blockbuster Video.
By suggesting that DICK Cheney is a terrorist, you have proven that you hate freedom and you hate America, and you want to help the terrorists. Enjoy your stay in "Gitmo", you anti-American bastard!
It's all so ridiculous... I don't know if I should laugh or cry.
If you still think you can make a difference, then good for you. I'd like to think I'm a bit more realistic. I'm planning on living on a boat, actually. The world can be in the middle of WW3, and the Bush can proclaim himself King, and I just won't care.
Unfortunately, these charts only chart the new MMORPG's. There are other ones that have been around longer and are quite large: OGame and Kingdom Of Loathing to name a few. Hell, OGame alone has well over a million players worldwide, and in many, many different langugages.
Dude, it's not the government, it's the people. Most people in the US are too stupid to not believe the government propoganda about a "terrorist" behind every bush. I don't think that there's anything that can be done about it. The stupid people who buy into all of this bullshit are in the majority, and they tend to out-breed those of us who understand what's going on.
I don't know about you, but I'm tired of it, and I'm saving up to leave.
What kind of nutbag would get pissed off enough about software patents to revolt? Sure, the US has problems, but even as a software developer, I can safely say that software patents are nowhere near any of the real problems we have.
What's your point? Yes, we are all accustomed to using Windows. That makes the reality of "switching" to Linux of Mac difficult and expensive. Your point is irrelevant, if you have to make a decision based on business (money and time) as opposed to idealism (freeeedom).
My point is that for the cost of a Windows license ($100), the thing has to pretty much install and configure itself to make it worth the trouble to switch. Besides, our most important apps don't run on Linux, so it's really a moot point. $100-$200/machine makes using Windows, as a business decision, pretty much a no-brainer. It's cheap enough that any hassle, whatsoever, is really a waste of time and money.
I think I understand pretty well. I own a business that relies on Windows completely (and I rely on that business completely). In no way am I worried about this. In the Grand Scheme of things, I'm more worried about getting hit by lightning. Yeah, what is described *could* happen, but is so insanely unlikely, that it's not worth worrying about.
However, this will definitely cause Linux desktop adoption to increase, there is NO way around that.
I agree, but it'll only help by a *tiny* amount. Most people will just pony up and buy copies where they're lacking (I know that I will if I have to). A few of the poorest of the poor consumers (after all, a copy of Windows is less than most people's monthly cell phone bill... it's cheap) will try Linux, and out of that, a tiny fraction will stick (as has been Linux's history). Windows' price is not nearly enough to make Linux worth the trouble for the vast majority of people (me included).
A Windows XP Home OEM version (that my local computer store will sell along with a power cable) is $100. For me, that's certainly not worth spending more than maybe an hour dicking around with a PC to get it to the same level of usefulness that I had before. Last time I tried Linux, it took me about 4 hours just to get any kind of basic functionality.
What you're talking about is simply not likely to happen. Companies don't just cutting off their customers for no good reason. If you buy into this kind of logic, you REALLY should not also own a cell phone, a land line telephone, or use electricity. ANY of these things could be cut off at any time (but are as likely to be cut off for no reason as your copy of Windows would be). Get a grip, and welcome to the 21st century.
Don't create a movement to get people to abandon religion. That is just subversive.
You're right. Attempting to convince people to abandon their fear, ignorance and hatred thinly disguised as "religion" is "subversive". It makes them harder to control.
Youre right.... And that's still too expensive for real retailers (such as myself) to consider using.
Are you drunk? What did I "lie" about, exactly? When did I say that I never debated about anti-trust shit on slashdot?
Besides, I really have never seen a MS "anti-trust" story in which more than a handful of brave individuals who invariable get modded down try to argue that "anti-monopoly" laws are wrong. Instead, the posts invariably ignore the fact that "anti-monopoly" laws are in fact, punishing a company for being too successful and earned their status, and instead are more like your post: people pointing their fingers at MS yelling "they broke the law!!".
But what's funny is that we could debate forever on the validity of the DMCA or other IP laws, but that would have no impact on whether the poor slob convicted received their punishment. Only in the cases like Microsoft is avoiding paying levied fines even an option.
Oh, what a crock of shit. Every time there's a story about somebody getting convicted of stealing software/music/whatever, the Slashdot Mind screams about how unfair their "punishment" is. Stealing software is not bad. Being too successful is bad. Wow. Buddy, you really shouldn't skip your meds...
I'm glad you think so. Would you mind making up a font for me to use, please? Even though it's not worth anything, I'll still say "thanks" in advance. When you're done with that, just email it over. Please make it a TTF. Thanks!
They're breaking the law.
I love it how The Slashdot GroupThink questions the validitiy and constitutionality of laws such as the DMCA, copyright laws, IP laws, etc., but when it comes down to anti-trust laws, there is NO debate, whatsoever, and people such as yourself continually just parrot "They broke the law! They broke the law!". Nice.
I live in a small town in which almost no matter where I go, there's an open WAP somewhere. Sometimes it's the official free city wireless network, but just as often, it's a private person's wide open router. I haven't paid for personal Internet service in a year or so now, and it's only getting easy (Win XP makes it ridiculously simple).
A smart company (or individual) doesn't re-invent the wheel just for the hell of it. Right now, MS doesn't have anything that will do what you're talking about cheaply and easily. I could also make my own paperclips if I wanted to, but I'd just rather buy them. It's cheaper and easier.
They don't sell WAP's, or software that runs WAP's, actually. I'm betting that they DO have lots and lots of Windows desktops running Office and servers running Exhcnage and SQL Server throughout the company, though. Consider doing just a tiny bit of background checking before you troll.
don't find it so farfetched that Microsoft might have at least a slight bias towards wanting their employees to use their own products,
You're right... but as somebody mentioned earlier, which Windows-based WAP's should they be using...?
Actually, it does have an impact for me as well. I've been playing nothing but OGame for the past few months, and I'm buying the "premium" service which is a whopping $3/month. That's $36/year I'm paying for games right now. That's less than one PS2 title. But, once the PS3 becomes available, I'll have to indulge. MMOG's are great, but they're no replacement for a slick, twitch-action console game.
As gearheads say, "there's no replacement for displacement". No matter what the technology is, you're never going to get any kind of bass out of teenie tiny speakers crammed into a teenie tiny laptop case. They just can't move enough air to get good sound quality, especially bass. Speakers on laptops, in my opinion, are pretty much just good for alert beeps and blips. That's all I expect out of them. Anything more than that (like watching a movie), and a $5 pair of headphones from the drugstore will do much, much better.