Your fees alone do not cover the cost of the shows, the shows make money through advertisements. If they can't show you ads, either you'll have to pay more for cable or the show will be cancelled.
But I wanted to comment on something else. This is the perfect distribution method for sci-fi type shows. Most sci-fi shows focus so much on series-long plotlines, super character development, and re-emerging incidences, that if you haven't watched EVERY episode, you quite honestly don't have any clue what's going on. I have thoroughly enjoyed BSG, but that's only because I've seen all the episodes. It will lose the semi-casual viewers if it continues on this path.
I suggest it look to a very successful show, such as 24, on how to keep viewers. 24, although its events occur all in one day, does an excellent job of retaining viewers that tune in in the middle of the season because it only has 1 or 2 plotlines that run the entire course of the season. 1 or 2 plotlines that span 2-3 episodes, and a plotline or two that begins and ends within each episode.
The Scifi genre needs to either accept itself for what it is, a niche market, or make the small sacrifices necessary to make the genre appealling to more people.
P.S. I love the fact I haven't had to listen to one mention of photon torpedos, aft shields, wormholes, or the space-time continuum in BSG.
We've all heard about how artists are not compensated for their music adequately. How does artist's compensation work for these subscription plans? Is the money split evenly over the entire collection? If so, I'd be pissed if I was Metallica and had to share revenue equally with Clay Aikins.
The problem isn't too many fronts, it's a lack of surprise and innovation. Microsoft is what it is today by making smart business decisions and capitalizing on the arrogance of others (and, as we know, quite a few illegal monopolistic practices). Steve Jobs isn't going to let Microsoft just take the iPod market. Sony and Nintendo know that Microsoft *is* a competitor and need to hold onto their game devs to compete. Google realizes that MS can develop a search engine too, and has begun to make its site the be-all end-all of information gathering on the net. The way google maps works with its yellow pages search is brilliant.
The problem isn't too many fronts. The problem is that other businesses have caught onto Microsoft's previously deceptively brilliant business strategy. Microsoft has never innovated products, they've always been a business strategest company. When they can't outthink their competitors at a higher, business level, their products lag behind. The only thing new here is that Microsoft hasn't figured out a way to kill its competition through non-competitive means. That doesn't mean they won't, however.
On the other hand, I went with a super-discount HD box (about $700 for a 42" rear projection). What's the catch? it's 1080i and 480p. Yeah, so I can't really tell the difference between 480p and 720p, but supposedly the 720p stations (only ABC and ESPN) aren't supposed to be as good a quality.
That said, exactly what is the functional difference between being on the board and owning 10% of the company anyway?
Well, let's see. As a 10% shareholder, you just get 10% voting power on anything that is voted on in proxies. You don't really get much if the shares are common, non-preferred shares. As a director, you get an additional retainer/salary which takes the form of cash, stock, or stock options, and depending on the size of the company can be quite large (anywhere from $25k to $1 million) per year. Further, you must attend 75% of meetings (a requirement that sometimes isn't enforced) and there are generally anywhere from 4 to 16 meetings per year. You also help with the main decisionmaking of the company. For example, it's probably the Board of directors who approve any major plans for the company, such as if Nintendo should become a software-only type company such as Sega, or if Nintendo should acquire other companies, etc. Further, Directors are responsible for overseeing the company (making sure financial audits are carried out and check out, setting the CEO's pay). As a director, you need to be re-elected every few years by the shareholders, however there's things in this process that make it not really an election (basically, your votes don't matter). You also, being tied to the company, have many more restrictions on when and how you may divest, buy and sell shares.
As someone else said - if you can't do that, there's a problem.
Please everyone, read the above post and take it to heart. If you're a 10 on the tech side, but communicate what you know to non-tech people very poorly, you're not as good at your job as someone who's an 8 and great at communicating ideas.
Sounds like you don't even have an ipod. Further, since you don't want a $400 phone (newsflash: if you pay $200 for a phone with a new contract, it's worth probably about $400) that means you're not interested in having a phone that can play mp3's.
The toaster-oven idea really is the holy grail of mobile devices. Don't compare it to software toaster-oven (say, Mozilla suite) because I don't have to physically carry around Firefox, Sunbird, and Thunderbird.
We've learned that there *is* a sweet spot for DRM.
Example of Failed DRM: Circuit City's DIVX format which totally stunk. It was too restrictive and too expensive when compared with DVD's.
Example of Successful DRM: Macrovision on VHS. Supposedly stopped you from copying tapes, but you could buy two high-end VCR's that were able to bypass the macrovision. This is when I stopped buying VHS tapes and just became a renter.
I say DRM's fine for rental features, but if you expect me to purchase something you better not cripple it. Apple's iTunes DRM is closest to that sweet spot. 90% of users never run into DRM problems with it, but it is still there.
At the end of the day though, we have alternatives (radio vs mp3s). The only one that concerns me is the TV Broadcast Flag/DRM coupled with movie DRM leaves no real video entertainment alternative.
But I don't think extreme DRM will last. At some point, some exec will come along and remove all DRM, see the company's success skyrocket and be hailed as a genius. Then everyone will copy him. The last 20 years have been the most consumer-hostile movement by industries (Music/TV Provider/Movie) I've seen. And they're proving they're more stubborn than the software industry which has generally cut back on their insanely-complicated-and-broken software activation systems.
In Short: It'll be a rocky 10 years, but DRM won't last. Especially with people in other countries continually breaking it.
It's time for the blog script/application writers to fight back. Should have a "ban list" to ban any link that contains or redirects to a site with "poker" "gambling" or "XXX" in the title.
Wouldn't this be much much more effective with less negative repercussions?
There is no right of children to buy adult entertainment. None.
Are parents paying attention to what their kids play?
Nope.
So, everyone who doesn't understand what I'm getting at, write your congressman the following letter:
Dear Mr. Congressman,
I'm a shitty parent who does not pay attention to what my kid does. Instead of me actually admitting I have no interest in my child's intellectual/social/physical development, I'd rather just blame something else. Please ban video games, and while you're at it please ban sex ed classes because we shouldn't be teaching kids how to have sex anyways. Also, no one should be able to know how a gun works or how the holocaust happened, because they might replicate what happened in their daily lives. To prevent a holocaust from happening right now, please ban video game violence.
Google's in California, and California's employment laws are much more lenient. I believe any wages earned cannot be forfeited and you're free to work at any competitor. That's why many executives have non-compete severances packages, so that they don't get their severance package if they "compete." Thus motivation not to compete. Severance packages are not earned until the non-compete agreement has been fulfilled.
You hit on something I didn't realize, but completely missed it yourself as well...
Tivo's current customers? If they aren't making a profit for TiVo, why would they make one for Apple? Besides, Apple presumably will want to introduce something like the iTunes Music Store for HD video. This will require H.264 [apple.com] for efficient content delivery. Current TiVo hardware can't handle this. Presumably, current TiVo owners will be looking to upgrade in the next few years to a DVR with HD capability. Why shouldn't it be an Apple instead of a TiVo?
Ding ding ding! To buy music from the iTMS, you have to have a computer. Apple's missing out on selling to non-computer savvy people. It's also missing out on selling to people who don't have good speakers connected to their computers.
What about enabling TiVo devices to purchase music from the iTMS? Suddenly, Tivo's customers are profitable to Apple where they weren't to TiVo.
Sounds like he knows what it means. He was not malicious in his actions. Let me give you an example...
You get into a fight with someone, and you win. To make him regret fighting you, you pick up a nearby small rock and throw it into his face. He goes blind in that eye and sues you.
In the second situation, you and your friend are roughhousing as normal, and he throws a small rock at you and accidentally hits you in the eye and blinds you.
They are both "intentional", but have very different circumstances and thus deserve significantly different punishments. He was neither trying to hurt Apple with his actions, nor was he trying to profit from this. He was just stupid.
I'm not saying let him off with a $1 penalty, because then the only lesson he would have learned is that there are no repurcussions for his actions. However, I hope this isn't a life-changing mistake, because it's an easy mistake to fall into.
From the Employment contract on 9/20/99. Doesn't appear to have been updated. Aside from all the "fringe" benefits executives get, Carly will get:
2x Base Salary
2x Target Bonus
50% vesting of all options
100% vesting of all restricted stock and stock units.
Not bad.
However, I remember hearing one time that Carly had gotten rid of her employment contract, meaning she'd get none of the above benefits. Still I'll bet they cut her a nice severance package to make up for that. We should be able to find out exactly what her severance package was/is in their next Q or proxy statement.
Google's success is also their own undoing, just like Microsoft.
In this case, people are viewing Google as ubiquitous, just like Windows. People use google to search for things, and only google. So, if someone goes to google and searches for a specific type of handbag, it's ingenuous for google to tell them "Nah, go here".
I understand the courts' logic, even if it is completely and utterly wrong. There are alternatives to Google, and it's not difficult to switch like it is with Windows.
* Who, exactly, would do the picking? Based on what criteria? And who would decide that person/organization actually was a good choice to pick an alternative?
Me.
Nah. But seriously, someone should develop a "starter" linux. It doesn't need high-end administration tools. It just needs a very simple install and self-diagnostics (hopefully something better than Windows solution: reinstall). Also, should come bundled with just Thunderbird, Firebird, OOffice, Media Player, iTunes-like thing, Gaim, a Picasa-type product, PDF Viewer, and maybe Skype.
It should come with a buttload of drivers, all *installed by default*. I know this is an anti-linux idea at its core, but I think the two biggest pains for the average computer user are a) crashes and b) driver hunting.
Ideally, 90% of peripherals should "just work".
Do all that, and put it in a big pink bow, and you'll get more users trying it out. Oh, that and include a really freaking fun single/multi player game on there with a shortcut to it right on the friggin desktop. Do what MSFT has done for years: use games to sell your unnecessasry crap.
I'm done with football/baseball games until they come up with one of the following
1) A way to make it play more realistic and less video-gameish. sega was better at this than EA is.
2) A way to make 4 player (or 2 players on the same team) actually fun. It stinks.
For now, I'm still playing NHL. Damn 4 player NHL games are fun. Nothing like watching an entire team get checked at once. Switching players is a little insane tho:D
Having used Dish Network's PVR, it's a POS. PLEASE Tivo, license your software and do what you do best, making a good UI. Don't try to control the game, you've already lost.
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Your fees alone do not cover the cost of the shows, the shows make money through advertisements. If they can't show you ads, either you'll have to pay more for cable or the show will be cancelled.
But I wanted to comment on something else. This is the perfect distribution method for sci-fi type shows. Most sci-fi shows focus so much on series-long plotlines, super character development, and re-emerging incidences, that if you haven't watched EVERY episode, you quite honestly don't have any clue what's going on. I have thoroughly enjoyed BSG, but that's only because I've seen all the episodes. It will lose the semi-casual viewers if it continues on this path.
I suggest it look to a very successful show, such as 24, on how to keep viewers. 24, although its events occur all in one day, does an excellent job of retaining viewers that tune in in the middle of the season because it only has 1 or 2 plotlines that run the entire course of the season. 1 or 2 plotlines that span 2-3 episodes, and a plotline or two that begins and ends within each episode.
The Scifi genre needs to either accept itself for what it is, a niche market, or make the small sacrifices necessary to make the genre appealling to more people.
P.S. I love the fact I haven't had to listen to one mention of photon torpedos, aft shields, wormholes, or the space-time continuum in BSG.
We've all heard about how artists are not compensated for their music adequately. How does artist's compensation work for these subscription plans? Is the money split evenly over the entire collection? If so, I'd be pissed if I was Metallica and had to share revenue equally with Clay Aikins.
The problem isn't too many fronts, it's a lack of surprise and innovation. Microsoft is what it is today by making smart business decisions and capitalizing on the arrogance of others (and, as we know, quite a few illegal monopolistic practices). Steve Jobs isn't going to let Microsoft just take the iPod market. Sony and Nintendo know that Microsoft *is* a competitor and need to hold onto their game devs to compete. Google realizes that MS can develop a search engine too, and has begun to make its site the be-all end-all of information gathering on the net. The way google maps works with its yellow pages search is brilliant.
The problem isn't too many fronts. The problem is that other businesses have caught onto Microsoft's previously deceptively brilliant business strategy. Microsoft has never innovated products, they've always been a business strategest company. When they can't outthink their competitors at a higher, business level, their products lag behind. The only thing new here is that Microsoft hasn't figured out a way to kill its competition through non-competitive means. That doesn't mean they won't, however.
On the other hand, I went with a super-discount HD box (about $700 for a 42" rear projection). What's the catch? it's 1080i and 480p. Yeah, so I can't really tell the difference between 480p and 720p, but supposedly the 720p stations (only ABC and ESPN) aren't supposed to be as good a quality.
They look good to me.
That said, exactly what is the functional difference between being on the board and owning 10% of the company anyway?
Well, let's see. As a 10% shareholder, you just get 10% voting power on anything that is voted on in proxies. You don't really get much if the shares are common, non-preferred shares. As a director, you get an additional retainer/salary which takes the form of cash, stock, or stock options, and depending on the size of the company can be quite large (anywhere from $25k to $1 million) per year. Further, you must attend 75% of meetings (a requirement that sometimes isn't enforced) and there are generally anywhere from 4 to 16 meetings per year. You also help with the main decisionmaking of the company. For example, it's probably the Board of directors who approve any major plans for the company, such as if Nintendo should become a software-only type company such as Sega, or if Nintendo should acquire other companies, etc. Further, Directors are responsible for overseeing the company (making sure financial audits are carried out and check out, setting the CEO's pay). As a director, you need to be re-elected every few years by the shareholders, however there's things in this process that make it not really an election (basically, your votes don't matter). You also, being tied to the company, have many more restrictions on when and how you may divest, buy and sell shares.
buy one off ebay from the states.
As someone else said - if you can't do that, there's a problem.
Please everyone, read the above post and take it to heart. If you're a 10 on the tech side, but communicate what you know to non-tech people very poorly, you're not as good at your job as someone who's an 8 and great at communicating ideas.
Sounds like you don't even have an ipod.
Further, since you don't want a $400 phone (newsflash: if you pay $200 for a phone with a new contract, it's worth probably about $400) that means you're not interested in having a phone that can play mp3's.
The toaster-oven idea really is the holy grail of mobile devices. Don't compare it to software toaster-oven (say, Mozilla suite) because I don't have to physically carry around Firefox, Sunbird, and Thunderbird.
Integration is sweet. Stop the hating.
We've learned that there *is* a sweet spot for DRM.
Example of Failed DRM:
Circuit City's DIVX format which totally stunk. It was too restrictive and too expensive when compared with DVD's.
Example of Successful DRM:
Macrovision on VHS. Supposedly stopped you from copying tapes, but you could buy two high-end VCR's that were able to bypass the macrovision. This is when I stopped buying VHS tapes and just became a renter.
I say DRM's fine for rental features, but if you expect me to purchase something you better not cripple it. Apple's iTunes DRM is closest to that sweet spot. 90% of users never run into DRM problems with it, but it is still there.
At the end of the day though, we have alternatives (radio vs mp3s). The only one that concerns me is the TV Broadcast Flag/DRM coupled with movie DRM leaves no real video entertainment alternative.
But I don't think extreme DRM will last. At some point, some exec will come along and remove all DRM, see the company's success skyrocket and be hailed as a genius. Then everyone will copy him. The last 20 years have been the most consumer-hostile movement by industries (Music/TV Provider/Movie) I've seen. And they're proving they're more stubborn than the software industry which has generally cut back on their insanely-complicated-and-broken software activation systems.
In Short: It'll be a rocky 10 years, but DRM won't last. Especially with people in other countries continually breaking it.
Opera just hadn't been in a /. story for a while.
It's time for the blog script/application writers to fight back. Should have a "ban list" to ban any link that contains or redirects to a site with "poker" "gambling" or "XXX" in the title.
Wouldn't this be much much more effective with less negative repercussions?
So, everyone who doesn't understand what I'm getting at, write your congressman the following letter:
Dear Mr. Congressman,
I'm a shitty parent who does not pay attention to what my kid does. Instead of me actually admitting I have no interest in my child's intellectual/social/physical development, I'd rather just blame something else. Please ban video games, and while you're at it please ban sex ed classes because we shouldn't be teaching kids how to have sex anyways. Also, no one should be able to know how a gun works or how the holocaust happened, because they might replicate what happened in their daily lives. To prevent a holocaust from happening right now, please ban video game violence.
My logic is infallible.
All your base are belong to us.
Google's in California, and California's employment laws are much more lenient. I believe any wages earned cannot be forfeited and you're free to work at any competitor. That's why many executives have non-compete severances packages, so that they don't get their severance package if they "compete." Thus motivation not to compete. Severance packages are not earned until the non-compete agreement has been fulfilled.
You hit on something I didn't realize, but completely missed it yourself as well...
Tivo's current customers? If they aren't making a profit for TiVo, why would they make one for Apple? Besides, Apple presumably will want to introduce something like the iTunes Music Store for HD video. This will require H.264 [apple.com] for efficient content delivery. Current TiVo hardware can't handle this. Presumably, current TiVo owners will be looking to upgrade in the next few years to a DVR with HD capability. Why shouldn't it be an Apple instead of a TiVo?
Ding ding ding! To buy music from the iTMS, you have to have a computer. Apple's missing out on selling to non-computer savvy people. It's also missing out on selling to people who don't have good speakers connected to their computers.
What about enabling TiVo devices to purchase music from the iTMS? Suddenly, Tivo's customers are profitable to Apple where they weren't to TiVo.
Apple, duh!
deliberately harmful;
Sounds like he knows what it means. He was not malicious in his actions. Let me give you an example...
You get into a fight with someone, and you win. To make him regret fighting you, you pick up a nearby small rock and throw it into his face. He goes blind in that eye and sues you.
In the second situation, you and your friend are roughhousing as normal, and he throws a small rock at you and accidentally hits you in the eye and blinds you.
They are both "intentional", but have very different circumstances and thus deserve significantly different punishments. He was neither trying to hurt Apple with his actions, nor was he trying to profit from this. He was just stupid.
I'm not saying let him off with a $1 penalty, because then the only lesson he would have learned is that there are no repurcussions for his actions. However, I hope this isn't a life-changing mistake, because it's an easy mistake to fall into.
Somehow...
I seriously doubt the submitter should be credited with the voice of all money/brains in the U.S.
I'm sure that won't be the *only* way to identify the chips, it will just make it lots easier.
"Hey, this batch of 500 chips have incorrect RFID tags, we should check them out".
From the Employment contract on 9/20/99. Doesn't appear to have been updated. Aside from all the "fringe" benefits executives get, Carly will get:
2x Base Salary
2x Target Bonus
50% vesting of all options
100% vesting of all restricted stock and stock units.
Not bad.
However, I remember hearing one time that Carly had gotten rid of her employment contract, meaning she'd get none of the above benefits. Still I'll bet they cut her a nice severance package to make up for that. We should be able to find out exactly what her severance package was/is in their next Q or proxy statement.
I read that as "she doesn't read."
Google's success is also their own undoing, just like Microsoft.
In this case, people are viewing Google as ubiquitous, just like Windows. People use google to search for things, and only google. So, if someone goes to google and searches for a specific type of handbag, it's ingenuous for google to tell them "Nah, go here".
I understand the courts' logic, even if it is completely and utterly wrong. There are alternatives to Google, and it's not difficult to switch like it is with Windows.
* Who, exactly, would do the picking? Based on what criteria? And who would decide that person/organization actually was a good choice to pick an alternative?
Me.
Nah. But seriously, someone should develop a "starter" linux. It doesn't need high-end administration tools. It just needs a very simple install and self-diagnostics (hopefully something better than Windows solution: reinstall). Also, should come bundled with just Thunderbird, Firebird, OOffice, Media Player, iTunes-like thing, Gaim, a Picasa-type product, PDF Viewer, and maybe Skype.
It should come with a buttload of drivers, all *installed by default*. I know this is an anti-linux idea at its core, but I think the two biggest pains for the average computer user are a) crashes and b) driver hunting.
Ideally, 90% of peripherals should "just work".
Do all that, and put it in a big pink bow, and you'll get more users trying it out. Oh, that and include a really freaking fun single/multi player game on there with a shortcut to it right on the friggin desktop. Do what MSFT has done for years: use games to sell your unnecessasry crap.
I'm done with football/baseball games until they come up with one of the following
:D
1) A way to make it play more realistic and less video-gameish. sega was better at this than EA is.
2) A way to make 4 player (or 2 players on the same team) actually fun. It stinks.
For now, I'm still playing NHL. Damn 4 player NHL games are fun. Nothing like watching an entire team get checked at once. Switching players is a little insane tho
Having used Dish Network's PVR, it's a POS. PLEASE Tivo, license your software and do what you do best, making a good UI. Don't try to control the game, you've already lost.
People *still* talk about Duke Nuke'm Forever.