One of the boys wielded a baseball bat which he used to beat the man to death.... in related news, sales of the special Louisville "Kushnir Krusher" Sluggers are expected to more than double this year.
Well, at the lower price, they're not just games any longer - they fall into the "impulse buy" area, same as dvds for $5 a pop - something you pick up along with the groceries, as opposed to "shopping for".
They also become something that, instead of buying an expensive title and having your friends all bug you for it, they each get their own copy. Again, market expanded.
Plus, when you're trying to cater to those outside the traditional market, you're not going to get them to pop for $50/game when they're not avid gamers, just someone looking for something to blow some time away. They'll enjoy a tetris clone a lot more than a WoW.
At this point I'm convinced that the only solution is a worldwide series of gory murders of spam kings with "death to spammers" written on the walls at the crime scenes in the spammers' blood.
Someone beat you to it...
As described
here or here.
Be pretty hard to get a murder conviction... after all, there are literally MILLIONS of people with a motive... I can picture it now... the jury is deliberating, and says "the spammer got his skull crushed in... sounds like he got off too lightly, dah?"
Companies don't want higher profit margins - they want higher profits. The two are NOT the same.
Think about it - at $25 a pop, someone who gets into the habit of buying one a week is going to spend more over the course of a year ($1,350.00) than someone who buys one every month at $50 a pop ($600.00).
Plus you'll get all those who won't spend $50.00, but will spend $25.00.
A lot of people will look at something and go "$50.00 - it's overpriced." then "$25.00 - gee, I'll take 4... two for me, one for my kid, one for a present for that upcoming birthday...
Charge less - more than make it up in volume.
At the lower price point, you end up growing your potential market. Plus, you end up weakening your competitors by stealing sales from them.
As a developer/retailer/manufacturer/distributor, which would you rather have - $4 a pop over 10x as much sales, or $10 a pop over 1/10 the sales?
The inflation argument doesn't hold. For the last 2 decades, electronics has been constantly deflationary. I can buy a 27" colour TV for under $200, with a MUCH better picture.
Same with computers - the $400 computer today is worlds ahead of the $4000 computer a decade ago.
Same with the components... ram, chips, optical drives --- all cheaper.
It costs less than a buck to press a dvd nowadays.
Nintendo's not just going to lower the price of the console - they're lowering the price of the games as well:
FTFA:
may be easier to create new software for, and Post thinks third-party game publishers "are responding favorably to the lower-cost publishing environment for the Wii."
TRANSLATION: "Lower-cot publishing environment" == "lower licensing fees" + "fewer resources to develop each title"
If they're able to cut the price of a game down to $20-$25 bucks (
$4 per-unit license
$4 game developer/publisher
$4 manufacturing costs
$ distribution chain
$4 retailer
... they'll do 5 things:
take a huge bite out of the underground market for chip mods/pirate games
beat the crap out of the competition
get rid of game rentals - why rent when for $20 you can own?
more than make up the $$$ on volume
developers/publishers also get a much larger market, as the games become impulse buys. At $20, every game becomes a million-unit seller.
After all, with a console at $150, and games at $20-$30 a pop, it's the no-brainer buying decision.
At $50 - $70 a game, people think twice, 3, 10 times before they buy... at $20, they'll buy one a week.
... except that you obtained the original code by theft, and theft doesn't get you a license to distribute. You forgot thet the GPL is a form of copyright, and theft of copyrighted materials doesn't give you any rights.
The GPL is quite clear that if you can't lawfully distribute, you can't distribute, period. Since you didn't acquire your copy lawfully, you can't distribute it - you're fencing stolen materials.
Scenario: I write some code and sell it to company A, under a GPL license. At the same time, I give them all copies, including the source and all backups, so they are the only ones with a copy. They decide NOT to distribute it further. Later on, someone else swipes a copy and tries to distribute it. Does he have a license to distribute under the GPL? No, because he never had the right to copy. The right to copy under the GPL is given to the recipient, who can then pass it on to others.
The very first clause from the GPL:
1. You may copy and distribute verbatim copies of the Program's
source code as you receive it
... not "that you stole"... this clause works in conjunction with the following:
Each time you redistribute the Program (or any work based on the
Program), the recipient automatically receives a license from the
original licensor to copy, distribute or modify the Program subject to
these terms and conditions.
The GPL only covers when someone redistributes - not when someone else swipes it (which is not YOU redistributing - you've done nothing to enable them to receive a copy). There has to be a giver for you to receive a lawful license to redistribute yourself.
READ the license. The GPL has several restrictions:
If you cannot provide the source for 3 years after distribution, you cannot distribute the code.
If you cannot provide unencumbrances for any patent issues, you cannot distribute the code.
If you are in breach of the gpl (for example, you've bundled it in such a way that it links to a non-gpl product in a prohibited fashion), you cannot distribute the code
If your local laws forbid it (for example, if they prohibit distribution w/o an implied warranty of fitness), you cannot distribute the code.
If you modify it, you can't distribute it w/o also offering to distribute the modifications. In other words, if you take a binary, and hack it so it adds/removes functionality, and distribute the original source, you're in violation of the gpl
These are only some of the restrictions.
The gpl is NOT public domain.
... because theft is still theft... the type of license is immaterial at that point.
The gpl comes with obligations to the giver, which includes making the source available for 3 years from the person you got it from (NOTE: this is NOT necessarily the original developer. If you got it from Joe Blow, then Joe Blow is the one obliged, not the developer).
3. You may copy and distribute the Program (or a work based on it, under Section 2) in object code or executable form under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above provided that you also do one of the following:
a) Accompany it with the complete corresponding machine-readable source code, which must be distributed under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium customarily used for software interchange; or,
b) Accompany it with a written offer, valid for at least three years, to give any third party, for a charge no more than your cost of physically performing source distribution, a complete machine-readable copy of the corresponding source code, to be distributed under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium customarily used for software interchange; or,
c) Accompany it with the information you received as to the offer to distribute corresponding source code. (This alternative is allowed only for noncommercial distribution and only if you received the program in object code or executable form with such an offer, in accord with Subsection b above.)
The thief swipes the program, but doesn't have the source... how is he going to comply with this clause? The short answer - he can't. So he is in breach of the gpl license, and thus cannot distribute at all.
You'd be surprised at how many busineses DON'T want the source. More than a decade ago, I was giving source with my programs, and customers would lose it - either misplace the disks, or just say "don't bother". They don't want the bother. It's just more stuff to take care of - and that's why they call you in the first place - they don't want to be bothered with the extra hassle.
Judges are smart enough to sort through the smarmy eloquence and get to the truth. Lawyers actually interfere with this process by tapdancing around the truth. Just look at the crapflood from SCO and their lawyers. Does anyone believe Darl could have lasted more than a day in court by himself?
If lawyers have such a bad reputation, its because they are not willing to clean up the act of those around them. Bar associations are, by and large, a joke. Sanctions? More like "Sue me!" A better plan would be to ban professional lawyers for all cases under, say, $500,000.00, Make it like some small-claims courts, where both sides have to represent themselves w/o legal counsel, and lawyers are not allowed to represent either side. Both sides tell their beef to the judge, and the judge decides.
That was a fun car. My current vehicle comes close, but not quite....
See what I mean - a decade later, and no change. I'd have expected some improvement. After all, we've got better materials (lighter bodies, etc., should make for *some* improvement), more advances in machining tolerances and engine/powertrain design.
Last house I had to dig up the pipe was built in 1952. Copper pipe, still in fine shape - but it was sitting on top of the sewer pipe, which was full of tree roots. And that most definitely WAS the main water pipe feeding from the city shutoff valve to the basement entrance. I know because I replaced it (it was 1/2") with 3/4" type K copper pipe. Type L, being thinner, is cheaper, but can also develop pinhole leaks.
Also, cities are backfitting those "modern" plastic pipes with... wait for it... good old copper pipe. Why? Because the plastic pipe breaks too easily. Example:
The current focus of our Distribution crews is the repair and replacement of the more than 3,000 polybutylene services which remain in our system. Polybutylene service connections have been leaking due to premature pipe failure and our crews have replaced approximately 3,200 polybutylene services with copper services. This is an expensive and time-consuming process; however, maintaining the integrity of the distribution system is our top priority.
Copper pipe has been in use for the transportation of water for more than 50 years. It is the most commonly used material for supplying water in residential and commercial building applications all over the world. Whether in new construction or in repair or renovation work, copper pipe is used to transport water from municipal supply lines into all preparation and all distribution systems commonly found in all homes and commercial buildings. Plastic pipe is the only other material permitted for water transportation, but notwithstanding its 25 years of availability, copper pipe is still far and away the material of choice. Copper pipe is used in approximately 80% of all plumbing applications in the United States and Canada.
Copper works, its easy to work with, and even when it fails, you can still shut it off by squeezing the pipe shut at the break with a pair of pliers. It also makes a great electrical ground, and is easily recycled. And there's no issue with plasticizers leaching into the water you drink.
I notice you said "about 25 mpg". Have you actually measured it by keeping track of the distance driven between fillups? Real-world mileage figures are usually different.
My next vehicle will be a minivan so I can fit my whole family in the car *and* my groceries and other junk. I'll still get 20+ mpg
Why do you need to haul around "other junk" all the time? Or, for that matter, the whole family *and* groceries? Make a list, plan your shopping trip beforehand, and save money on both gas and by not buying the "impulse purchases."
Save the truck for those times when ONLY a truck can do the job.
Bacterial counts in the four tap water samples varied only slightly, from 0.2 to 2.7 bacterial colonies per milliliter. In the bottled water, bacterial counts ranged from less than 0.01 to 4,900 colonies per milliliter. Six bottled waters had bacteria counts of 1,500 to 4,900 colonies per milliliter.
Even with widespread disinfection, consumer groups have raised numerous warnings about a host of different microorganisms and chemicals that have been found in bottled water. In a four-year scientific study, the NRDC tested more than 1,000 bottles of 103 brands of bottled water. The group concluded, "Although most bottled water tested was of good quality, some brands' quality was spotty." A third of the tested brands were found to contain contaminants such as arsenic and carcinogenic compounds in at least some samples at levels exceeding state or industry standards.
Another area of potential concern is the fact that no agency calls for testing of bottled water after it leaves its initial packaging plant, leaving some to wonder what happens during months of storage and transport. To begin to examine this question, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment tested 80 samples of bottled water from retail stores and manufacturers. All 80 of the samples had detectable levels of chlorine, fluoride and sodium. Seventy-eight of the 80 contained nitrate (which can cause methemoglobinemia, or blue-baby syndrome), 12 had nitrite, 53 had chloroform, 33 contained bromodichloro-methane, 25 had arsenic and 15 tested positive for lead.
Forty-six of the samples contained traces of some form of the carcinogen (and hormone disrupter) phthalate, while 12 of those exceeded federal safety levels for that chemical. According to Olson, phthalates may leach out of some plastic bottles into water. "Phthalates are not legally regulated in bottled water because of intense industry pressure," says Olson. Although Co-op America concludes that there is little evidence of a link between phthalate exposure from bottled water and any health problems, the group suggests using glass over plastic bottles as a precaution.
Further, while EPA rules specify that no confirmed E. coli or fecal coliform (bacteria that indicate possible contamination by fecal matter) contamination is allowed in tap water, the FDA merely set a minimum level for E. coli and fecal coliform presence in bottled water.
So, no contaminants from shit (human or other) allowed in tap water, just in bottled water.
Oh, except for the one between the fire hydrant and your home. You've dug that pipe out and cleaned it once or twice, right? No? And I'm glad there's a low risk of the flushing chemicals remaining in the water when it's re-connected.
The flushing chemical is just a higher concentration of what they normally use to treat the water - in my case, a surdose of chlorine. And you can eliminate it by simply letting the water stand for a bit. Easiest way - fill a jug, let it stand for an hour, then put it in the fridge.
And yes, I've dug up pipes from 50 years ago, they're fine inside. The deposits (mostly grit that got through the filters at the treatment plant - usually sand particles) are harmless to your health, unlike the
... and my old motorcycle could out-accelerate, out-brake, AND out-corner your POS Ford on a LOT less gas. Oh, and it cost a lot less, as well - left more money in the pocket for "amusement".
... or will people just go "oh, well" and organize more prayer meetings for lower gas prices?
(Gas guzzler's prayer: "Oh Lord, I asked you last week to help me out by giving me the winning lottery numbers. I promised to tithe back, not just 10%, but 20%... but you didn't listen. So how about you make it up to me by lowering gas prices so I can keep on driving my 12mpg SUV, because I SO love that truck, and if I don't drive it, nobody can see the Honk If You Love Jesus bumper sticker when I cut them off in traffic, and the Flying Spaghetti Monster and the Terr'rists will have won.")
The reason why these analogies and indeed this whole line of thinking is bullshit, is because the medical industry has a monopoly on treatment. Only doctors can provide prescription medication, only approved parties can manufacture these drugs. Until this changes, the doctors have no grounds for complaining about their patients.
Whoa... today's biggest health problems are related to OVER-EATING and SMOKING - two things that doctors do NOT have a monopoly on. The cure for both is simple - don't stick stuff in your mouth that doesn't belong there!
No meds required! No prescriptions required! No monopoly on treatment!
Besides, whether its doctors, coders, or whoever, we all have the right to complain about customers who are a royal PITA, who don't make even the minimal effort to help themselves, who waste everyone's time, who just seem to suck the energy out of any room they enter...
Real fuel economy hasn't gone down in 2 decades, once you factor in the shift from cars to SUVs in the US.
There's no excuse to produce non-commercial vehicles that get 9mpg in the city in "real life", or even 14mpg "rated".
If you REALLY wanted energy independence, step 1 is to get rid of the mini-vans, Jeeps, the "cross-over" vehicles, and the "look I've got SO MUCH horsepower" crap. If it can't do at least 20mpg city/30mpg highway, just melt it down for scrap.
For all this "extra work", bottled water STILL ends up with more bacteria 2 weeks later than ordinary tap water, as well as more contaminants. There are a ton of regulations governing the purity of the water you drink from the tap - none of which apply after its bottled and sold to you.
As for the "pipes that haven't been clean in 50 years", I don't know where you live, but the pipes here are flushed on a regular basis. It's not a hard process - they just dump some extra chlorine into the system, open the fire hydrant at the end of the loop and let it run. This removes any "dead zones". Also, if you've ever done any home plumbing, you'd know that even 50-year-old copper pipe is in decent shape inside, after decades of attack by chlorine, ozone, and good old H2O.
And if you're concerned about energy consumption, there's a lot more energy consumed trucking that water all over the place, as well as in the manufacture of the bottles, etc., than in just pumping it through the muni pipes. And most water bottles end up in the dump (the blue-tinted ones are harder to recycle anyway).
They're everywhere http://www.ewg.org/news/story.php?id=4830, they help explain the huge decline in male fertility over the last 50 years, and we'll have to phase them out if we want to reduce the cancers they cause.
In related news, we have a few doctors who have refused to continue treating patients who won't take measures to help themselves - specifically, to eat less, and stop smoking.
A century ago, people died younger because of the predations of illnesses, malnutrition, and wars. Now its lifestyle, urban violence, and accidents.
Penn and Teller found some idiots who couldn't tell the difference between bottled/storebought/filtered and tap. Good for them.
ummm... you do know that both Dasani (Coca-Cola) and Aquafina (PepsiCo) ARE tap water...???
So the tap water is probably actually better, because it probably has less bacteria than the bottled water that's been sitting stagnant in a warehouse... (1/3 of tested samples had more bacteria than fresh tap water).
I use the "Sorry, I don't do Windows" line... it works enough that one of my sisters is now seriously looking at a Mac after her last malware drive-by.
Offer to help him out if he brings his PC to your house
Definitely works.
They figure its easier for YOU to come over to their place than it is for them to:
unplug everything
bring it to your place
set it up
wait while you fix it
unplug everything
bring it back home
set it up
... because they don't value YOUR time as highly as they value THEIR time.
I've seen systems sit on the floor for half a year in other people's homes, inoperable, because people are too lazy to bring them over, so they use this as an excuse to buy a new one...
Wait long enough, and those systems become yours for free. Great for spare parts.
Slashdot Mirror
Well, at the lower price, they're not just games any longer - they fall into the "impulse buy" area, same as dvds for $5 a pop - something you pick up along with the groceries, as opposed to "shopping for".
They also become something that, instead of buying an expensive title and having your friends all bug you for it, they each get their own copy. Again, market expanded.
Plus, when you're trying to cater to those outside the traditional market, you're not going to get them to pop for $50/game when they're not avid gamers, just someone looking for something to blow some time away. They'll enjoy a tetris clone a lot more than a WoW.
Be pretty hard to get a murder conviction ... after all, there are literally MILLIONS of people with a motive ... I can picture it now ... the jury is deliberating, and says "the spammer got his skull crushed in ... sounds like he got off too lightly, dah?"
Companies don't want higher profit margins - they want higher profits. The two are NOT the same.
Think about it - at $25 a pop, someone who gets into the habit of buying one a week is going to spend more over the course of a year ($1,350.00) than someone who buys one every month at $50 a pop ($600.00).
Plus you'll get all those who won't spend $50.00, but will spend $25.00.
A lot of people will look at something and go "$50.00 - it's overpriced." then "$25.00 - gee, I'll take 4 ... two for me, one for my kid, one for a present for that upcoming birthday ...
Charge less - more than make it up in volume.
At the lower price point, you end up growing your potential market. Plus, you end up weakening your competitors by stealing sales from them.
As a developer/retailer/manufacturer/distributor, which would you rather have - $4 a pop over 10x as much sales, or $10 a pop over 1/10 the sales?
Same with computers - the $400 computer today is worlds ahead of the $4000 computer a decade ago.
Same with the components ... ram, chips, optical drives --- all cheaper.
It costs less than a buck to press a dvd nowadays.
FTFA:
TRANSLATION: "Lower-cot publishing environment" == "lower licensing fees" + "fewer resources to develop each title"
If they're able to cut the price of a game down to $20-$25 bucks (
... they'll do 5 things:
- take a huge bite out of the underground market for chip mods/pirate games
- beat the crap out of the competition
- get rid of game rentals - why rent when for $20 you can own?
- more than make up the $$$ on volume
- developers/publishers also get a much larger market, as the games become impulse buys. At $20, every game becomes a million-unit seller.
After all, with a console at $150, and games at $20-$30 a pop, it's the no-brainer buying decision.At $50 - $70 a game, people think twice, 3, 10 times before they buy ... at $20, they'll buy one a week.
The GPL is quite clear that if you can't lawfully distribute, you can't distribute, period. Since you didn't acquire your copy lawfully, you can't distribute it - you're fencing stolen materials.
Scenario: I write some code and sell it to company A, under a GPL license. At the same time, I give them all copies, including the source and all backups, so they are the only ones with a copy. They decide NOT to distribute it further. Later on, someone else swipes a copy and tries to distribute it. Does he have a license to distribute under the GPL? No, because he never had the right to copy. The right to copy under the GPL is given to the recipient, who can then pass it on to others.
The very first clause from the GPL:
... not "that you stole" ... this clause works in conjunction with the following:
The GPL only covers when someone redistributes - not when someone else swipes it (which is not YOU redistributing - you've done nothing to enable them to receive a copy). There has to be a giver for you to receive a lawful license to redistribute yourself.These are only some of the restrictions. The gpl is NOT public domain.
The gpl comes with obligations to the giver, which includes making the source available for 3 years from the person you got it from (NOTE: this is NOT necessarily the original developer. If you got it from Joe Blow, then Joe Blow is the one obliged, not the developer).
http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html
The thief swipes the program, but doesn't have the source ... how is he going to comply with this clause? The short answer - he can't. So he is in breach of the gpl license, and thus cannot distribute at all.
You'd be surprised at how many busineses DON'T want the source. More than a decade ago, I was giving source with my programs, and customers would lose it - either misplace the disks, or just say "don't bother". They don't want the bother. It's just more stuff to take care of - and that's why they call you in the first place - they don't want to be bothered with the extra hassle.
Judges are smart enough to sort through the smarmy eloquence and get to the truth. Lawyers actually interfere with this process by tapdancing around the truth. Just look at the crapflood from SCO and their lawyers. Does anyone believe Darl could have lasted more than a day in court by himself?
That's WAAAY too complicated. Sounds like somethng a lawyer would dream up ...
Shakespeare said it best:
Here's a bunch more lawyer quotes http://www.power-of-attorneys.com/funny_lawyer_jok es.asp?type_ID=2&page=1
If lawyers have such a bad reputation, its because they are not willing to clean up the act of those around them. Bar associations are, by and large, a joke. Sanctions? More like "Sue me!" A better plan would be to ban professional lawyers for all cases under, say, $500,000.00, Make it like some small-claims courts, where both sides have to represent themselves w/o legal counsel, and lawyers are not allowed to represent either side. Both sides tell their beef to the judge, and the judge decides.
See what I mean - a decade later, and no change. I'd have expected some improvement. After all, we've got better materials (lighter bodies, etc., should make for *some* improvement), more advances in machining tolerances and engine/powertrain design.
The Brita filters leave an awful aftertaste. Even with a new cartridge. I threw out the jug and 2 unused cartridges because the taste was so bad.
Cheaper and easier to just fill a container with tap water, let it stand for a bit to get rid of the chlorine or ozone, than chill it in the fridge.
If you need to "jazz up" the taste a bit, add a bit of fruit juice - 20%-50%. Less sweetening/bloating than 100% fruit juice.
Last house I had to dig up the pipe was built in 1952. Copper pipe, still in fine shape - but it was sitting on top of the sewer pipe, which was full of tree roots. And that most definitely WAS the main water pipe feeding from the city shutoff valve to the basement entrance. I know because I replaced it (it was 1/2") with 3/4" type K copper pipe. Type L, being thinner, is cheaper, but can also develop pinhole leaks.
Also, cities are backfitting those "modern" plastic pipes with ... wait for it ... good old copper pipe. Why? Because the plastic pipe breaks too easily. Example:
http://www.ci.redding.ca.us/water/distrib.html
Copper pipe - more than 80% of all homes:
http://www.copperkeytools.com/historyplumbing.asp
Copper works, its easy to work with, and even when it fails, you can still shut it off by squeezing the pipe shut at the break with a pair of pliers. It also makes a great electrical ground, and is easily recycled. And there's no issue with plasticizers leaching into the water you drink.
I notice you said "about 25 mpg". Have you actually measured it by keeping track of the distance driven between fillups? Real-world mileage figures are usually different.
Why do you need to haul around "other junk" all the time? Or, for that matter, the whole family *and* groceries? Make a list, plan your shopping trip beforehand, and save money on both gas and by not buying the "impulse purchases."
Save the truck for those times when ONLY a truck can do the job.
Oh, for fuck sake - I'm dealing with someone who's too stupid to google ...
Bottled water and bacteria counts can be WAY over what's allowed in tap water:
So, no contaminants from shit (human or other) allowed in tap water, just in bottled water.
The flushing chemical is just a higher concentration of what they normally use to treat the water - in my case, a surdose of chlorine. And you can eliminate it by simply letting the water stand for a bit. Easiest way - fill a jug, let it stand for an hour, then put it in the fridge.
And yes, I've dug up pipes from 50 years ago, they're fine inside. The deposits (mostly grit that got through the filters at the treatment plant - usually sand particles) are harmless to your health, unlike the
... and my old motorcycle could out-accelerate, out-brake, AND out-corner your POS Ford on a LOT less gas. Oh, and it cost a lot less, as well - left more money in the pocket for "amusement".
I stand corrected. How does $5/gallon sound?
(Gas guzzler's prayer: "Oh Lord, I asked you last week to help me out by giving me the winning lottery numbers. I promised to tithe back, not just 10%, but 20% ... but you didn't listen. So how about you make it up to me by lowering gas prices so I can keep on driving my 12mpg SUV, because I SO love that truck, and if I don't drive it, nobody can see the Honk If You Love Jesus bumper sticker when I cut them off in traffic, and the Flying Spaghetti Monster and the Terr'rists will have won.")
No meds required! No prescriptions required! No monopoly on treatment!
Besides, whether its doctors, coders, or whoever, we all have the right to complain about customers who are a royal PITA, who don't make even the minimal effort to help themselves, who waste everyone's time, who just seem to suck the energy out of any room they enter ...
Real fuel economy hasn't gone down in 2 decades, once you factor in the shift from cars to SUVs in the US.
There's no excuse to produce non-commercial vehicles that get 9mpg in the city in "real life", or even 14mpg "rated".
If you REALLY wanted energy independence, step 1 is to get rid of the mini-vans, Jeeps, the "cross-over" vehicles, and the "look I've got SO MUCH horsepower" crap. If it can't do at least 20mpg city/30mpg highway, just melt it down for scrap.
For all this "extra work", bottled water STILL ends up with more bacteria 2 weeks later than ordinary tap water, as well as more contaminants. There are a ton of regulations governing the purity of the water you drink from the tap - none of which apply after its bottled and sold to you.
As for the "pipes that haven't been clean in 50 years", I don't know where you live, but the pipes here are flushed on a regular basis. It's not a hard process - they just dump some extra chlorine into the system, open the fire hydrant at the end of the loop and let it run. This removes any "dead zones". Also, if you've ever done any home plumbing, you'd know that even 50-year-old copper pipe is in decent shape inside, after decades of attack by chlorine, ozone, and good old H2O.
And if you're concerned about energy consumption, there's a lot more energy consumed trucking that water all over the place, as well as in the manufacture of the bottles, etc., than in just pumping it through the muni pipes. And most water bottles end up in the dump (the blue-tinted ones are harder to recycle anyway).
Plus, last I heard, copper and cast-iron water pipes don't have issues with phthalates leeching from the plastic water bottles. You know, those plastics that contaminate the water in the bottle, your peanut butter, etc., 6 types of which have already been permanently banned in Europe http://www.eiatrack.org/reg_alerts/regulatory_aler t_detail.php?id=882 because of their effects http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/newscience/oncompou nds/phthalates/phthalates.htm.
They're everywhere http://www.ewg.org/news/story.php?id=4830, they help explain the huge decline in male fertility over the last 50 years, and we'll have to phase them out if we want to reduce the cancers they cause.
In related news, we have a few doctors who have refused to continue treating patients who won't take measures to help themselves - specifically, to eat less, and stop smoking.
A century ago, people died younger because of the predations of illnesses, malnutrition, and wars. Now its lifestyle, urban violence, and accidents.
ummm ... you do know that both Dasani (Coca-Cola) and Aquafina (PepsiCo) ARE tap water ...???
So the tap water is probably actually better, because it probably has less bacteria than the bottled water that's been sitting stagnant in a warehouse ... (1/3 of tested samples had more bacteria than fresh tap water).
I use the "Sorry, I don't do Windows" line ... it works enough that one of my sisters is now seriously looking at a Mac after her last malware drive-by.
Offer to help him out if he brings his PC to your house
Definitely works.
They figure its easier for YOU to come over to their place than it is for them to:
I've seen systems sit on the floor for half a year in other people's homes, inoperable, because people are too lazy to bring them over, so they use this as an excuse to buy a new one ...
Wait long enough, and those systems become yours for free. Great for spare parts.