Now, the ideal situation would be to have no regulation and an unlimited ability for anyone to create physical connections from anywhere to anywhere else. This, unfortunately, won't work in the (current) real world, because of all the physical limitations on wiring between locations.
Note that your argument applies equally well in favor of busses and against automobiles. Do you really mean to argue against automobiles? -russ
You sound almost like you're arguing that monopolies are good and lead to lower prices... which I'm sure you don't mean.
I'm arguing that the big bugaboo -- monopolies -- are almost never seen in the marketplace. The vast majority of the monopolies in your life have been created by government. The market doesn't sustain monopolies for very long. The theory that capitalist economies tend toward bigger and bigger businesses consolidating into one monopoly is simply wrong. -russ
Regulation, at least in it's early stages, can often benefit an industry and thereby its' consumers.
I think you actually believe that this is generally true! In this context, the government has already screwed up the telecommunications market, so fiddling with the existing regulations is probably a good idea. Better, though, would be no regulations (other than the usual "thou shalt not steal" and "thou shalt not bear false witness.") -russ
Um.... and what happens when somebody comes along who can charge less than the minimum price and still make a profit? Their competition is good for the consumer, but will be outlawed. Basically, this is anti-consumer and pro-producer legislation. The Canadian legislature is contemplating screwing the Canadian citizen. But why should that surprise anybody? -russ
Um.... if you regulate them, then you create monopolies. The problem is not monopolies per se, but is instead monopoly prices. If they don't charge monopoly prices (reduced production -> higher demand for less product -> unmet demand but more profit), then there's no problem with a monopoly. Alcoa was a monopoly, but they just kept lowering their prices. This angered their competitors so much that they lobbied Congress to investigate their "monopoly practices". But monopolies aren't regulated to protect the would-be competitors, but instead consumers. -russ
This is what the Public Software Fund does. Write up a bounty and pledge some amount for it. If nobody will do it for that amount of money, talk your friends into pledging more money.... until somebody decides it's enough to write the code. -russ
I would threaten violence, myself, and I'm a Quaker pacifist! Actually, much safer would be to shut off their network access. If they can't keep their machine clean, why should it be allowed in public? -russ
Cool stuff, eh? Check out http://pygps.org/#mapview. I'm using it to create a GIS layer of all the abandoned ROWs in New York State. I have almost all of the adirondacks covered, courtesy of Kudish's Railroads of the Adirondacks. You simply MUST purchase this book if you have any interest in old railroads in and around the adirondacks. If you're ever in the North Country (Potsdam), bring your bike and I'll show you some great rides. http://russnelson.com/
Cute. Did you know about the Kissena Corridor? It used to be a railbed many years ago. Then the tracks were pulled up, and it was railbanked. Yes, over a hundred years ago, and except for a school and a few apartment buildings, the right-of-way is still intact.
And then there's the LIMP (Long Island Motor Parkway), which has been preserved in Queens, destroyed in Nassau, and kept as a powerline ROW and/or roads in Suffolk. -russ
Okay, so it's not so much discovery as rediscovery, but an industrial archaeologist like myself can find all sorts of interesting railroad remains using mapper.acme.com or my interface to the same data mapview. I like to play "spot the hidden trolley" north of Canandaigua, or south of Minneto. -russ
I ask myself that from time to time: why do I bother to put so much work into OSI? But there are enough people who respect the "open source" name, and who look to us for guidance on it, that I am enheartened. Of course, *you* are not likely to be one of those people, but so what? -russ
You presume that Linus is correct in saying that BK is the best SCM. It was the best for the way he wanted to work, but that's no surprise since lm wrote it that way. Why did he do that and yet not make it open source? Because he wanted to make money off Linus's use of BK. Yes, he's coat-tail riding. -russ
Redistribution of wealth is the whole point of taxation.
Not really. The whole point of taxation is to fund projects where the public gain exceeds the public cost, but the private cost exceeds the private gain. In other words, those things which no individual will do, but which benefit the public. Or, in other words, a hell of a lot less than any government is doing today. -russ
Slashdot Mirror
Sure. Because Microsoft is losing its monopoly, his point is not true. It will take a few more years, but lose it they will.
-russ
Now, the ideal situation would be to have no regulation and an unlimited ability for anyone to create physical connections from anywhere to anywhere else. This, unfortunately, won't work in the (current) real world, because of all the physical limitations on wiring between locations.
Note that your argument applies equally well in favor of busses and against automobiles. Do you really mean to argue against automobiles?
-russ
You sound almost like you're arguing that monopolies are good and lead to lower prices... which I'm sure you don't mean.
I'm arguing that the big bugaboo -- monopolies -- are almost never seen in the marketplace. The vast majority of the monopolies in your life have been created by government. The market doesn't sustain monopolies for very long. The theory that capitalist economies tend toward bigger and bigger businesses consolidating into one monopoly is simply wrong.
-russ
Regulation, at least in it's early stages, can often benefit an industry and thereby its' consumers.
I think you actually believe that this is generally true! In this context, the government has already screwed up the telecommunications market, so fiddling with the existing regulations is probably a good idea. Better, though, would be no regulations (other than the usual "thou shalt not steal" and "thou shalt not bear false witness.")
-russ
You don't seem to get it. I've never heard of Alcoa,
And you say that *I* don't seem to get it??
-russ
Um .... and what happens when somebody comes along who can charge less than the minimum price and still make a profit? Their competition is good for the consumer, but will be outlawed. Basically, this is anti-consumer and pro-producer legislation. The Canadian legislature is contemplating screwing the Canadian citizen. But why should that surprise anybody?
-russ
Um .... if you regulate them, then you create monopolies. The problem is not monopolies per se, but is instead monopoly prices. If they don't charge monopoly prices (reduced production -> higher demand for less product -> unmet demand but more profit), then there's no problem with a monopoly. Alcoa was a monopoly, but they just kept lowering their prices. This angered their competitors so much that they lobbied Congress to investigate their "monopoly practices". But monopolies aren't regulated to protect the would-be competitors, but instead consumers.
-russ
This is what the Public Software Fund does. Write up a bounty and pledge some amount for it. If nobody will do it for that amount of money, talk your friends into pledging more money .... until somebody decides it's enough to write the code.
-russ
You mean like the Public Software Fund?
-russ
"I'm a poopy-head"
-- Michelle Delio, 10 May 2005
I would threaten violence, myself, and I'm a Quaker pacifist! Actually, much safer would be to shut off their network access. If they can't keep their machine clean, why should it be allowed in public?
-russ
Cool stuff, eh? Check out http://pygps.org/#mapview. I'm using it to create a GIS layer of all the abandoned ROWs in New York State. I have almost all of the adirondacks covered, courtesy of Kudish's Railroads of the Adirondacks. You simply MUST purchase this book if you have any interest in old railroads in and around the adirondacks. If you're ever in the North Country (Potsdam), bring your bike and I'll show you some great rides. http://russnelson.com/
Cute. Did you know about the Kissena Corridor? It used to be a railbed many years ago. Then the tracks were pulled up, and it was railbanked. Yes, over a hundred years ago, and except for a school and a few apartment buildings, the right-of-way is still intact.
And then there's the LIMP (Long Island Motor Parkway), which has been preserved in Queens, destroyed in Nassau, and kept as a powerline ROW and/or roads in Suffolk.
-russ
Okay, so it's not so much discovery as rediscovery, but an industrial archaeologist like myself can find all sorts of interesting railroad remains using mapper.acme.com or my interface to the same data mapview. I like to play "spot the hidden trolley" north of Canandaigua, or south of Minneto.
-russ
Hehe, I'm just kidding about the last one.
-russ
I ask myself that from time to time: why do I bother to put so much work into OSI? But there are enough people who respect the "open source" name, and who look to us for guidance on it, that I am enheartened. Of course, *you* are not likely to be one of those people, but so what?
-russ
Every good idea gets reversed engineered.
Nonsense. You mean this: Every good secret gets reverse engineered.
-russ
You presume that Linus is correct in saying that BK is the best SCM. It was the best for the way he wanted to work, but that's no surprise since lm wrote it that way. Why did he do that and yet not make it open source? Because he wanted to make money off Linus's use of BK. Yes, he's coat-tail riding.
-russ
Noproblemheygladyoulikedit.
-russ
That makes "redistributing" have no meaning, because then if I purchse something I am redistributing. Silly soupdevil.
-russ
Redistribution of wealth is the whole point of taxation.
Not really. The whole point of taxation is to fund projects where the public gain exceeds the public cost, but the private cost exceeds the private gain. In other words, those things which no individual will do, but which benefit the public. Or, in other words, a hell of a lot less than any government is doing today.
-russ
Mod the parent of this one up! "Moron" is just SO insightful. It takes a huge amount of intelligence to call someone a moron.
-russ
"President Rodham".
Try gpsd and gpsbabel. Or for that matter, use the ancient gd2, which still works even on the newest Garmin models.
-russ
No, really. DRM is Digital Restrictions Management.
-russ