I'd say it does make them safer, but that still doesn't make them safe.
However, just like there are fines/penalties for driving unsafely, maybe there should be a fine for unsafe driving on the information superhighway. Charge 'em $50 every time they open an attachment containing a virus.
No, I'm not serious about that. At least I don't think I am.
OK, maybe I'm just slow, but I'm having trouble understanding what a "static movie" is. Are we talking a movie where nothing is moving -essentially a background?
I'd agree except for the simple fact that I could order any of these products for anyone anywhere, and send it to them myself. Fedex/UPS/etc will just charge me accordingly.
And of course you then bare all responsibility, legal and financial.
If their scapegoat of a reason is about warranty laws, etc, across countries, well that's very stupid response.
So they should just ignore the laws and don't ever set foot in those countries? And hope those countries don't have nice extradition terms.
Sure they take a fee, but just charge that to the company.
And by the time you add all those extra charges, you end up having to charge more than the market will pay. That's good business?
They really do have no good reason.
I couldn't disagree more. Many good reasons have been given.
Does anyone really think companies won't sell their products in another country if they can make a buisiness case (ie. profit) for doing so?
Those must be the non-greedy companies we keep talking about.
One that has been mentioned many time is warranties/returns/repairs. Its all pretty straightforward with a book, not so with electronics. Especially with a 3rd party involved (do you go to Sony or Amazon for a replacement or repair?).
Also consider that different countries have different requirements for electronics with regard to saftey, EM noise/transmission and legality. When it comes to export/import restrictions, books aren't much of a problem (for most countries), but electronics are a whole different game.
Another factor is that Amazon, like Apple with respect to its iMusic store, is acting as a middle man. They often have to abide by limitations made in their agreement with the manufacturer, who may have their own international channels/agreements/partnerships they don't want to have cannibalized.
What about the company that shipped it? What did that company have to go through in order to make that shipment seem to happen so effortlessly? How much time and $$ have they spent checking into shipping options, researching applicable international laws....?
I'm no expert in this field by any stretch of the imagination, but I can see the jump in overhead costs associated with going international. Then you have to either be able to swallow those costs by selling a large enough volume, or charge more which will also affect viability. It all depends on the available market.
With regard to local websites carrying only a subset of items, or having higher prices, I have to say the bulk of your post explains exactly why this is so.
Particularly with regard to posted prices being higher, I guess I generally assumed that took into account all the "extra costs" you mentioned, plus the cost of maintaining a international presence.
What if instead of jumping off the shelf, your laptop overheated and started a fire which destroyed everything you owned and killed your sister as she slept in the next room?
That's at least a bit more likely than the "impossible" scenario you presented.
Do schools primarily buy textbooks to teach writing?
Textbooks and computers are both tools that can be used to teach a wide array of topics. If you're only going to use computers to teach about computers its a waste of valuable resources (IMO).
By easier and easier to keep going do you mean essentially requiring a trip to a mechanic with the insanely expensive computer-based diagnostics system to do even the simplest of diagnostics and adjustments?
Yeah, that's easier.
If they really wanted to make it easier they'd include a standard communications port on-board and sell the software to run the diagnostics on any capable PC.
Of course it helps that words like "horsepower" are somewhat self-defining. One horsepower is roughly the power of one horse. You don't need to know what particular horse or the official definition to have an idea of what it means based on the name.
Then take something like bluetooth. What do blue teeth have to do with anything other than maybe bad hygiene?
AFAIK it doesn't happen the way you're describing. I've never heard of the IRS requiring receipts for anything other than purchases/expenses that are deducted from your taxes -which for individuals usually isn't much (interest on mortgage payments being the big one).
But its not. What if I cancel my subscription? How do I prove i downloaded any given song while I had the legit subscription? There are many more ways of obtaining legal mp3's than via a subscription service and CD ownership (non-subscription services like Apple's). How long do I need to keep those receipts?
The part that bothers me the most is the idea that I have to prove all mp3's in my possesion are legit. Shouldn't the burdon of proof be on the RIAA (or legit copywrite owner) to prove what I have in my possession is infringing?
To bring it into the relm of "hardware", it doesn't matter how often a given article is stolen, if I have one of said items in my possession without proof of ownership that does not prove me guilty of theft.
You can force them to add code if they signed an agreement to do so.
When Java came along, MS had a choice. Ignore Java and hope it didn't erode their middleware market (potentially weaking the Windows stranglehold on PCs), or jump on the Java bandwagon.
What they did was jump on the bandwagon and try to tip it over. They signed an agreement to include Java technology, and instead included something that wasn't quite Java. That kept them from being left out in the cold, but also allowed them to weaken Java.
My impression was that the lower court said Microsoft agreed to include a JVM and didn't. Sun says MS can meet the terms of their agreement by including Sun's JVM since they didn't have their own. The court said OK Microsoft, do it so you're not in breech of contract.
Then the appeals court essentially says, don't worry about it Microsoft. If you don't wan't to live up to your agreement with Sun, you don't have to. At least not until the trial actually takes place.
Anyway, that's my non-legal-expert, biased view of things.
I know this is now redundant, but there are several other factors.
1) The economy
2) The recording industry is releasing less new stuff.
3) For years, a large fraction of CD purchases have been from people replacing vinyl and tape albums with CDs. That source of sales is slowing down as people complete their "oldies" collections.
But if you listen to the RIAA tell the story, its all about P2P.
Yes, it is very simple. Apple caught up. The Mac Faithful beleive it, the PC faithful believe it, but the extremists on both sides want to put their spin on it to make the other side look bad.
Not to pick on you, but one of the things that bothers me the most about this whole thread is people causually tossing out accusations that Apple lied. Funny thing is, nobody actually states specifically what they think is a lie.
Slashdot Mirror
I'd say it does make them safer, but that still doesn't make them safe.
However, just like there are fines/penalties for driving unsafely, maybe there should be a fine for unsafe driving on the information superhighway. Charge 'em $50 every time they open an attachment containing a virus.
No, I'm not serious about that. At least I don't think I am.
OK, maybe I'm just slow, but I'm having trouble understanding what a "static movie" is. Are we talking a movie where nothing is moving -essentially a background?
I'd agree except for the simple fact that I could order any of these products for anyone anywhere, and send it to them myself. Fedex/UPS/etc will just charge me accordingly.
And of course you then bare all responsibility, legal and financial.
If their scapegoat of a reason is about warranty laws, etc, across countries, well that's very stupid response.
So they should just ignore the laws and don't ever set foot in those countries? And hope those countries don't have nice extradition terms.
Sure they take a fee, but just charge that to the company.
And by the time you add all those extra charges, you end up having to charge more than the market will pay. That's good business?
They really do have no good reason.
I couldn't disagree more. Many good reasons have been given.
Does anyone really think companies won't sell their products in another country if they can make a buisiness case (ie. profit) for doing so?
Those must be the non-greedy companies we keep talking about.
Why can't they ship electronics?
There are many possible reasons.
One that has been mentioned many time is warranties/returns/repairs. Its all pretty straightforward with a book, not so with electronics. Especially with a 3rd party involved (do you go to Sony or Amazon for a replacement or repair?).
Also consider that different countries have different requirements for electronics with regard to saftey, EM noise/transmission and legality. When it comes to export/import restrictions, books aren't much of a problem (for most countries), but electronics are a whole different game.
Another factor is that Amazon, like Apple with respect to its iMusic store, is acting as a middle man. They often have to abide by limitations made in their agreement with the manufacturer, who may have their own international channels/agreements/partnerships they don't want to have cannibalized.
No problem for your friend.
What about the company that shipped it? What did that company have to go through in order to make that shipment seem to happen so effortlessly? How much time and $$ have they spent checking into shipping options, researching applicable international laws....?
I'm no expert in this field by any stretch of the imagination, but I can see the jump in overhead costs associated with going international. Then you have to either be able to swallow those costs by selling a large enough volume, or charge more which will also affect viability. It all depends on the available market.
Why is that?
Because by doing that you and the forwarder assume much of the legal and financial responsibility.
For example, if it was illegal to export some item from the US to your country, it is the you and the forwarder who are responsible, not Thinkgeek.
With regard to local websites carrying only a subset of items, or having higher prices, I have to say the bulk of your post explains exactly why this is so.
Particularly with regard to posted prices being higher, I guess I generally assumed that took into account all the "extra costs" you mentioned, plus the cost of maintaining a international presence.
What if instead of jumping off the shelf, your laptop overheated and started a fire which destroyed everything you owned and killed your sister as she slept in the next room?
That's at least a bit more likely than the "impossible" scenario you presented.
What's going to be fun is how they interpret their current results after appearing on /. Talk about skewing the curve!
One other point.
Do schools primarily buy textbooks to teach writing?
Textbooks and computers are both tools that can be used to teach a wide array of topics. If you're only going to use computers to teach about computers its a waste of valuable resources (IMO).
Not that those thing aren't important, but first they need to learn:
.
Basic arithmetic
The English (or appropriate other) language.
The parts/assembly of everthing from atoms to solar systems.
Simple logic.
How to write (period).
Basic life skills (cook, do laundry, balance checkbook...).
Until every student is mastering those skills, the rest in pie-in-the-sky thinking.
By easier and easier to keep going do you mean essentially requiring a trip to a mechanic with the insanely expensive computer-based diagnostics system to do even the simplest of diagnostics and adjustments?
Yeah, that's easier.
If they really wanted to make it easier they'd include a standard communications port on-board and sell the software to run the diagnostics on any capable PC.
Of course it helps that words like "horsepower" are somewhat self-defining. One horsepower is roughly the power of one horse. You don't need to know what particular horse or the official definition to have an idea of what it means based on the name.
Then take something like bluetooth. What do blue teeth have to do with anything other than maybe bad hygiene?
I'm going to go out on a limb and say I think 90% of cars have been used in committing a crime.
Don't tell me your car has never gone over the speed limit!
AFAIK it doesn't happen the way you're describing. I've never heard of the IRS requiring receipts for anything other than purchases/expenses that are deducted from your taxes -which for individuals usually isn't much (interest on mortgage payments being the big one).
Proof should be easy
But its not. What if I cancel my subscription? How do I prove i downloaded any given song while I had the legit subscription? There are many more ways of obtaining legal mp3's than via a subscription service and CD ownership (non-subscription services like Apple's). How long do I need to keep those receipts?
The part that bothers me the most is the idea that I have to prove all mp3's in my possesion are legit. Shouldn't the burdon of proof be on the RIAA (or legit copywrite owner) to prove what I have in my possession is infringing?
To bring it into the relm of "hardware", it doesn't matter how often a given article is stolen, if I have one of said items in my possession without proof of ownership that does not prove me guilty of theft.
You can force them to add code if they signed an agreement to do so.
When Java came along, MS had a choice. Ignore Java and hope it didn't erode their middleware market (potentially weaking the Windows stranglehold on PCs), or jump on the Java bandwagon.
What they did was jump on the bandwagon and try to tip it over. They signed an agreement to include Java technology, and instead included something that wasn't quite Java. That kept them from being left out in the cold, but also allowed them to weaken Java.
My impression was that the lower court said Microsoft agreed to include a JVM and didn't. Sun says MS can meet the terms of their agreement by including Sun's JVM since they didn't have their own. The court said OK Microsoft, do it so you're not in breech of contract.
Then the appeals court essentially says, don't worry about it Microsoft. If you don't wan't to live up to your agreement with Sun, you don't have to. At least not until the trial actually takes place.
Anyway, that's my non-legal-expert, biased view of things.
I think Sun did lock down what constituted Java. That's why MS can't legally call what they did Java.
But if Microsoft were to create a JVM without a license from Sun, wouldn't they be grounded by intellectual property laws?
AFAIK, they need Sun's IP in order to create a JVM. That means they need some kind of license with Sun.
I know this is now redundant, but there are several other factors.
1) The economy
2) The recording industry is releasing less new stuff.
3) For years, a large fraction of CD purchases have been from people replacing vinyl and tape albums with CDs. That source of sales is slowing down as people complete their "oldies" collections.
But if you listen to the RIAA tell the story, its all about P2P.
Yes, it is very simple. Apple caught up. The Mac Faithful beleive it, the PC faithful believe it, but the extremists on both sides want to put their spin on it to make the other side look bad.
OK, so what results are false?
How did they cripple the hardware?
People keep making these accusatons without actually backing up what they're saying.
Its kind of like asking someone when they stopped beating their wife. There's implied wrongdoing without any evidence.
Not to pick on you, but one of the things that bothers me the most about this whole thread is people causually tossing out accusations that Apple lied. Funny thing is, nobody actually states specifically what they think is a lie.
So what, specifically, are they lying about?
I would change that to "the correct benchmarks let us know..."
Of course the only correct benchmark is to encode your mpeg, render your animation, and run your simulation on both systems.
Well, it really depnds on which mpeg we're talking about and what your settings are. It can vary anywhere from 2x real time to 1/3 real time.