Record companies would still be useful down the road as publicists. After all, do any of us believe that Brittany made it this big on talent alone? They help certain artists onto the public radar (deserving or no).
The problem is that record companies are no longer the only mode of production and distribution. That means that they can't make artists into indentured servants. They would still be able to make money, just not all the money.
That's a great point. The recent slowdown in the entire tech sector has had a relatively small impact on the economy, historically speaking. The fraction of the tech sector of which EverQuest consists would have the same effect as a bullet moving at 100mph (or however fast a bullet moves) hitting a train going 5mph. That train is not going to be moved in any significant direction.
Still, the interest governments might have in a virtual economy would have as much to do with its lobbyists as its size.
It will also raise certain constitutional issues, since it is not clear, today, exactly who has jurisdiction over these new economies.
Don't the games already dictate the control of these economies? MMORPG game makers decide the rules of the economy according to what they think makes them enjoyable. Granted, if you are selling EverQuest items on Ebay, then you are subject to U.S. economic laws, but why would any government care about the economic activities in a virtual world, except in areas that affect their own economies? There may be an answer to this I don't see. If so, what is it?
Hopefully, anyone and everyone will be able to make refills for this sort of thing and prices go way down as a result. CD-Rs come to mind. You might even be able to get them free after the rebate from CompUSA, as with CD-Rs. Time will tell....
I posted this link in another comment above, but thought you'd be sure to see it. It basically describes a hardware problem in the TiPB that makes the internal antenna not stay in proper contact. This simple proceedure supposedly greatly improves things. Hope it works.
I like *not* having an external antenna on my TiPB. My laptop constantly goes in and out of my school bag. I prefer not having to pay extra attention to a little peice of plastic sticking out in these and other such situations.
Besides, there are ways to improve the range of the built-in card (I get great range). This discussion thread gives some interesting info.
I am not saying that I have some inside angle on what is coming from the MWNY keynote. But, why will the people interested in the keynote care about these MS announcements? I suppose there might be some, but they are hardly compelling. I already don't care, and I haven't even seen the keynote yet.
Even if the keynote is only about Jaguar, it will still be really cool. Looking forward to it...
Re:One can't measure the decadence of a nation...
on
The Almighty Buck
·
· Score: 1
There are some economic priciples that don't jive with what you seem to be trying to say. If I understand you right, you are saying that the value of the dollar is the only thing keeping the American economy afloat, and that value is artificial in terms of real worth and exclusivity.
First, it might be valueable in trade, but if that value was really artificially exclusive, people could switch right now to the deutchmark or the British pound, which are both equally stable and accepted as the dollar.
Why do you think people gather American dollars for trade? Where do you think they will spend American dollars? Even if they use those dollars just to trade with another country, there is always someone who wants to spend American dollars in the place you can really spend them: the USA. Japan was all about a positive trade balance and their economy tanked. We had a hugely negative trade balance in the 80's and 90's and did great. Most reliable evidence supports the idea that a positive or negative trade balance doesn't mean jack.
The second thing you have wrong is the use of resold imports as a measure of GDP. It's not like these imports came for free. Companies had to pay for them with something. Their markup can't be that high, or someone else would buy those imports and undersell them until the price here reflected the real value of the imports. That "something" the companies use to buy imports is the portion of the GDP that is properly reflected in the imports being resold.
Finally, the value of the dollar is determined by the same simple principle as everything else in the world: scarcity. Pretty much every major economy in the world uses a floating exchange rate for their currency, having ditched the gold standard decades ago. That, it turns out, was the real cause of unpredictable inflation. Everytime someone found a gold mine, it devalued the currency. Now the power switch to the printing press determines the value. That makes a lot more sense and we have had the most stable and sustainable inflation in the world since Voelker (sp?).
The point? US production that is added to the world economy is not artificially ballooned by an equally artificial dollar. If your arguments were true, they would apply to all of the major economies in the world and it would turn out that nobody is actually producing anything. What you call a parasitic economy is actually free trade, and the greatest thing since sliced bread, economically speaking.
Can printers be shared now with NetInfo?
on
Apple Licenses CUPS
·
· Score: 2
I have thought that you could set up a printer (even a USB printer) to be shared using NetInfo. Granted, this is the supposition of one who has never done it (but never needed to). I think it might explain how in here :
ftp://mAnuals.info.apple.comApple_Support_Area/Man uals/software/UnderstandingUsingNetInfo.PDF
I apologize if I am wrong and get people's hopes up. If I am wrong, just look at this as a fascinating document on how NetInfo works.
The Finite
Slashdot Mirror
Record companies would still be useful down the road as publicists. After all, do any of us believe that Brittany made it this big on talent alone? They help certain artists onto the public radar (deserving or no).
The problem is that record companies are no longer the only mode of production and distribution. That means that they can't make artists into indentured servants. They would still be able to make money, just not all the money.
Man, is there anything you can't learn on /.? Thanks :)
That's a great point. The recent slowdown in the entire tech sector has had a relatively small impact on the economy, historically speaking. The fraction of the tech sector of which EverQuest consists would have the same effect as a bullet moving at 100mph (or however fast a bullet moves) hitting a train going 5mph. That train is not going to be moved in any significant direction.
Still, the interest governments might have in a virtual economy would have as much to do with its lobbyists as its size.
Quote from abstract:
It will also raise certain constitutional issues, since it is not clear, today, exactly who has jurisdiction over these new economies.
Don't the games already dictate the control of these economies? MMORPG game makers decide the rules of the economy according to what they think makes them enjoyable. Granted, if you are selling EverQuest items on Ebay, then you are subject to U.S. economic laws, but why would any government care about the economic activities in a virtual world, except in areas that affect their own economies? There may be an answer to this I don't see. If so, what is it?
Hopefully, anyone and everyone will be able to make refills for this sort of thing and prices go way down as a result. CD-Rs come to mind. You might even be able to get them free after the rebate from CompUSA, as with CD-Rs. Time will tell....
Link
I posted this link in another comment above, but thought you'd be sure to see it. It basically describes a hardware problem in the TiPB that makes the internal antenna not stay in proper contact. This simple proceedure supposedly greatly improves things. Hope it works.
I like *not* having an external antenna on my TiPB. My laptop constantly goes in and out of my school bag. I prefer not having to pay extra attention to a little peice of plastic sticking out in these and other such situations.
Besides, there are ways to improve the range of the built-in card (I get great range). This discussion thread gives some interesting info.
What happens when you mix RDF and EverCrack? I guess we'll find out.... hehehehehe
I am not saying that I have some inside angle on what is coming from the MWNY keynote. But, why will the people interested in the keynote care about these MS announcements? I suppose there might be some, but they are hardly compelling. I already don't care, and I haven't even seen the keynote yet. Even if the keynote is only about Jaguar, it will still be really cool. Looking forward to it...
There are some economic priciples that don't jive with what you seem to be trying to say. If I understand you right, you are saying that the value of the dollar is the only thing keeping the American economy afloat, and that value is artificial in terms of real worth and exclusivity.
First, it might be valueable in trade, but if that value was really artificially exclusive, people could switch right now to the deutchmark or the British pound, which are both equally stable and accepted as the dollar. Why do you think people gather American dollars for trade? Where do you think they will spend American dollars? Even if they use those dollars just to trade with another country, there is always someone who wants to spend American dollars in the place you can really spend them: the USA. Japan was all about a positive trade balance and their economy tanked. We had a hugely negative trade balance in the 80's and 90's and did great. Most reliable evidence supports the idea that a positive or negative trade balance doesn't mean jack.
The second thing you have wrong is the use of resold imports as a measure of GDP. It's not like these imports came for free. Companies had to pay for them with something. Their markup can't be that high, or someone else would buy those imports and undersell them until the price here reflected the real value of the imports. That "something" the companies use to buy imports is the portion of the GDP that is properly reflected in the imports being resold.
Finally, the value of the dollar is determined by the same simple principle as everything else in the world: scarcity. Pretty much every major economy in the world uses a floating exchange rate for their currency, having ditched the gold standard decades ago. That, it turns out, was the real cause of unpredictable inflation. Everytime someone found a gold mine, it devalued the currency. Now the power switch to the printing press determines the value. That makes a lot more sense and we have had the most stable and sustainable inflation in the world since Voelker (sp?).
The point? US production that is added to the world economy is not artificially ballooned by an equally artificial dollar. If your arguments were true, they would apply to all of the major economies in the world and it would turn out that nobody is actually producing anything. What you call a parasitic economy is actually free trade, and the greatest thing since sliced bread, economically speaking.
I have thought that you could set up a printer (even a USB printer) to be shared using NetInfo. Granted, this is the supposition of one who has never done it (but never needed to). I think it might explain how in here : ftp://mAnuals.info.apple.comApple_Support_Area/Man uals/software/UnderstandingUsingNetInfo.PDF
I apologize if I am wrong and get people's hopes up. If I am wrong, just look at this as a fascinating document on how NetInfo works.
The Finite