im a suit. and a lvl 60 undead rogue. it was great when the ops guys found out i was into wow, i got some insta-credibility and im probably the last person in the office they expected to be a gamer.
no...the biggest appeal of online banking (for banks) is that banks have to employ fewer tellers and keep fewer branches open. Banks are fine with limiting their customers to a small set of designated computers. Think of how many computers you actually use to check your bank statment.....would you even log into your bank from a cheap public internet cafe? I didnt think so. Pre-registering a computer is no big inconveniece, probably no big gain either, but banks would absolutely value security over customer convenience.
My worst tormentors in High School were the nerds. The arrogant smarmy nerds, not the nice quiet ones. Why? I think it was cause I'm a girl who was at least as smart as them, and who wouldn't give them the time of day (I was into skater/stoner/goth guys, and a good sense of humor is more attractive than intelligence). Incidentally, I never was a victim of the manipulative social practices girls seem to excel at, but the boy-nerds made every AP class miserable for me. I didn't sweat it much at the time, probably cause none of the kids I wanted to be accepted by cared what the nerds thought. You just have to rise above the situation. A good come-back line is invaluable social currency.
The TV show 'Dawsons Creek' has recently launched an innnovative build-you-ouwn-cd site based on the soundtrack of the show.
(http://www.dawsonscreekcds.com)
You can customize the look, and even pick tracks based on your favorite character. I wonder if this'll take off for other shows or brands. I can just see Pepsi becoming the major distributor of Britney Spears.
Discalimer: I am NOT a fan of Dawson or Britney, but the idea of music being sold as a periphreal product of a bigger brand, rather than a brand itself is pretty interesting.
MP3 downloads are a blessing to independent artists, and a curse to major label artists. It's a bell curve of success / downloads.
Indepentent artists have been struggling against recording comanies for so long its unbelievable. back in 1999 the NYTimes did an
article on a brilliant singer/songwriter named aimee mann who took the path many an independant artist has trod and started her own label after getting dicked around by the majors.
Shes now one of the most downloaded musicians, and why should record companies complauin sice they refused to produce her in the first place?
Record companies focus on marketing, and they only produce bands that fit one of their narrow demographics.
While the fields of psychology & sociology (or atomic physicis & astronomy, or biology & psychology) model the individual level and network level indepenently, what people are searching for now is a common model, or bridge as to how the two levels of granularity relate to each other. 'The Tipping Point' is about trying to identify the point at which a phenomena goes from the individual level to the social level, and about the forces that make it happen. Its very anecdotal, not mathematical (disappointing to me) but well worth a read for the ideas it presents. It looks like 'A New Science of Networks' explores similar ideas, but in far more diverse fields. Wolframs book takes things a step further and suggests that the mathematics to describe these phenomena will come from cellular automata, but still provides mostly speculation and a bunch of observed consistencies in nature.
Another read I suggest is 'Godel Escher Bach' by Douglas R. Hofstadter for a dense but lighthearted examination of how different levels of granularity interact to produce art that is appealing, in addition to the classic examples of mathematical/computational systems, society, etc.
I also think that the concept of a media ban os flawed, but sure the judge can kick reporters out of the courtroom for not following the rules he imposes. What gets me about this situation is that fact that they differentiate so clearly between print and internet media. How hard is it to get a paper copy of the Seattle Times in Vancouver? Why should the internet be held to a different standard than the print? My guess is, that for someone to visit the Seattle times site, they must be expressly looking for a non-local perspective. Let them. Seek and ye shall find. What whould happen if the US govt didn't want people seeking international coverage of US events?
As some other people have pointed out, a 'viable' micropayments solution would involve a lot more than traking user bandwidth and billing accordingly. Micropayments have been proposed for all kinds of digital content, the price being determined by quality, bandwidth and demand. There are a few reasons micropayments havent caught on, but it boils down to the fact that its not very simple.
To offset the processing overhead on transactions of less than a dollar (even transactions of $1-$5) you need millions of them. Who handles millions of transactions? big complaies (AOL, AT&T, banks). An independant network (a la Pay Pal) would work too, but it would probably lose a lot of money before ever reaching profitable volumes.
So why havent the big companies jumped all over this?
Big companies havent taken this on cause they dont think consumers will buy it. Look at what the slashdot response has been: "i like flat fee better". In flat fee, the people who use the most get the best value. Flat fee encourages consumption. In pay-per-use models, everyone gets the same value; consumption is limited not encouraged. "Do i really want to pay $0.05 for that article? naw, i'll save up for a coke". There are creative solutions, such as identifying high-volume customers and giving them perks or discounts, but consumers dont like intricate pricing schemes (at least I dont). Its confusting and you never know how much the bill is going to be.
I think if micropayments ever catch on, it wont be bandwidth-based and it wont be content-based.
Piracy still is wrong. O'Reilley, in his essay, makes a clear distiction between piracy ( making an illegal copy of content for profit ) and sharing ( giving someone a copy for free ). Making copys of a CD and selling them in eBay is piracy, and already able to be prosecuted. Sharing files over kazaa is more like copying a tape for your friend, not illegal and not immoral. Piracy = bad, Sharing = good. Got it?
He also states that there are real business opportunities for music publishers to participate in online sharing and make money from it. Wherever there is gobs of supply and gobs of demand someone has to bring the two together, regulate quality, etc. Sharing means free publicity and free distribution, which are costs usually incurred to reach the consumer. Plus people have consistently paid extra for the newer, prettier, hyped-up version of anything.
Listen, we are consumers in a capitalist economy. We are not supposed to consume 'nicely' or 'morally' ( although that can be strong form of protest when enough people act together ) we are supposed to consume 'rationally' and coorporations are supposed to take advantage of that by offering us good products at a fair price at a convenient location. Consumers are using new channels to obtain music because the music industry is not offering them those things.
Just because the music publishers are not acting quickly enough to gain my business online does not mean I should forsake my music listening. I spend a lot of time online and enjoy listening to new bands ive heard about. I dont feel morally obligated to buy the CD, but I often do because its still easier than spending time hunting down songs and ripping one myself.
'Morality' and 'major labels' do not even belong in the same sentence.
Agreed. Though I'm not the "chick-idenitified" either I did find myself dropping several less-than-subtle hints about diamonds when my boyfriend and I starting talking about marriage. Honestly though, I was more concerned with the meaning than the rock. "Diamonds are Forever" is one of the marketing slogans ever -- if you want to avaoid diamonds make sure that you are able to replace that meaning somehow. Heirloom stones - like your grammas emeralds, or designing/making the ring yourself (yes there are places that let you do that!) are pretty good tactics. It made me happy to know that my boyfriend spend so much time and energy (if not money) creating a ring just for me.
Slashdot Mirror
im a suit. and a lvl 60 undead rogue. it was great when the ops guys found out i was into wow, i got some insta-credibility and im probably the last person in the office they expected to be a gamer.
no...the biggest appeal of online banking (for banks) is that banks have to employ fewer tellers and keep fewer branches open. Banks are fine with limiting their customers to a small set of designated computers. Think of how many computers you actually use to check your bank statment.....would you even log into your bank from a cheap public internet cafe? I didnt think so. Pre-registering a computer is no big inconveniece, probably no big gain either, but banks would absolutely value security over customer convenience.
the title says it all.
My worst tormentors in High School were the nerds. The arrogant smarmy nerds, not the nice quiet ones. Why? I think it was cause I'm a girl who was at least as smart as them, and who wouldn't give them the time of day (I was into skater/stoner/goth guys, and a good sense of humor is more attractive than intelligence). Incidentally, I never was a victim of the manipulative social practices girls seem to excel at, but the boy-nerds made every AP class miserable for me. I didn't sweat it much at the time, probably cause none of the kids I wanted to be accepted by cared what the nerds thought. You just have to rise above the situation. A good come-back line is invaluable social currency.
The TV show 'Dawsons Creek' has recently launched an innnovative build-you-ouwn-cd site based on the soundtrack of the show. (http://www.dawsonscreekcds.com) You can customize the look, and even pick tracks based on your favorite character. I wonder if this'll take off for other shows or brands. I can just see Pepsi becoming the major distributor of Britney Spears. Discalimer: I am NOT a fan of Dawson or Britney, but the idea of music being sold as a periphreal product of a bigger brand, rather than a brand itself is pretty interesting.
MP3 downloads are a blessing to independent artists, and a curse to major label artists. It's a bell curve of success / downloads. Indepentent artists have been struggling against recording comanies for so long its unbelievable. back in 1999 the NYTimes did an article on a brilliant singer/songwriter named aimee mann who took the path many an independant artist has trod and started her own label after getting dicked around by the majors. Shes now one of the most downloaded musicians, and why should record companies complauin sice they refused to produce her in the first place? Record companies focus on marketing, and they only produce bands that fit one of their narrow demographics.
While the fields of psychology & sociology (or atomic physicis & astronomy, or biology & psychology) model the individual level and network level indepenently, what people are searching for now is a common model, or bridge as to how the two levels of granularity relate to each other. 'The Tipping Point' is about trying to identify the point at which a phenomena goes from the individual level to the social level, and about the forces that make it happen. Its very anecdotal, not mathematical (disappointing to me) but well worth a read for the ideas it presents. It looks like 'A New Science of Networks' explores similar ideas, but in far more diverse fields. Wolframs book takes things a step further and suggests that the mathematics to describe these phenomena will come from cellular automata, but still provides mostly speculation and a bunch of observed consistencies in nature. Another read I suggest is 'Godel Escher Bach' by Douglas R. Hofstadter for a dense but lighthearted examination of how different levels of granularity interact to produce art that is appealing, in addition to the classic examples of mathematical/computational systems, society, etc.
I also think that the concept of a media ban os flawed, but sure the judge can kick reporters out of the courtroom for not following the rules he imposes. What gets me about this situation is that fact that they differentiate so clearly between print and internet media. How hard is it to get a paper copy of the Seattle Times in Vancouver? Why should the internet be held to a different standard than the print? My guess is, that for someone to visit the Seattle times site, they must be expressly looking for a non-local perspective. Let them. Seek and ye shall find. What whould happen if the US govt didn't want people seeking international coverage of US events?
As some other people have pointed out, a 'viable' micropayments solution would involve a lot more than traking user bandwidth and billing accordingly. Micropayments have been proposed for all kinds of digital content, the price being determined by quality, bandwidth and demand. There are a few reasons micropayments havent caught on, but it boils down to the fact that its not very simple. To offset the processing overhead on transactions of less than a dollar (even transactions of $1-$5) you need millions of them. Who handles millions of transactions? big complaies (AOL, AT&T, banks). An independant network (a la Pay Pal) would work too, but it would probably lose a lot of money before ever reaching profitable volumes. So why havent the big companies jumped all over this? Big companies havent taken this on cause they dont think consumers will buy it. Look at what the slashdot response has been: "i like flat fee better". In flat fee, the people who use the most get the best value. Flat fee encourages consumption. In pay-per-use models, everyone gets the same value; consumption is limited not encouraged. "Do i really want to pay $0.05 for that article? naw, i'll save up for a coke". There are creative solutions, such as identifying high-volume customers and giving them perks or discounts, but consumers dont like intricate pricing schemes (at least I dont). Its confusting and you never know how much the bill is going to be. I think if micropayments ever catch on, it wont be bandwidth-based and it wont be content-based.
Piracy still is wrong. O'Reilley, in his essay, makes a clear distiction between piracy ( making an illegal copy of content for profit ) and sharing ( giving someone a copy for free ). Making copys of a CD and selling them in eBay is piracy, and already able to be prosecuted. Sharing files over kazaa is more like copying a tape for your friend, not illegal and not immoral. Piracy = bad, Sharing = good. Got it? He also states that there are real business opportunities for music publishers to participate in online sharing and make money from it. Wherever there is gobs of supply and gobs of demand someone has to bring the two together, regulate quality, etc. Sharing means free publicity and free distribution, which are costs usually incurred to reach the consumer. Plus people have consistently paid extra for the newer, prettier, hyped-up version of anything. Listen, we are consumers in a capitalist economy. We are not supposed to consume 'nicely' or 'morally' ( although that can be strong form of protest when enough people act together ) we are supposed to consume 'rationally' and coorporations are supposed to take advantage of that by offering us good products at a fair price at a convenient location. Consumers are using new channels to obtain music because the music industry is not offering them those things. Just because the music publishers are not acting quickly enough to gain my business online does not mean I should forsake my music listening. I spend a lot of time online and enjoy listening to new bands ive heard about. I dont feel morally obligated to buy the CD, but I often do because its still easier than spending time hunting down songs and ripping one myself. 'Morality' and 'major labels' do not even belong in the same sentence.
Agreed. Though I'm not the "chick-idenitified" either I did find myself dropping several less-than-subtle hints about diamonds when my boyfriend and I starting talking about marriage. Honestly though, I was more concerned with the meaning than the rock. "Diamonds are Forever" is one of the marketing slogans ever -- if you want to avaoid diamonds make sure that you are able to replace that meaning somehow. Heirloom stones - like your grammas emeralds, or designing/making the ring yourself (yes there are places that let you do that!) are pretty good tactics. It made me happy to know that my boyfriend spend so much time and energy (if not money) creating a ring just for me.