"...the seller has no choice but to pay the monopoly price"
Ummm Walmart sells HP, Sony, Perry Ellis (under the United brand), Nintendo, and just about any other high end, middle and low end brand for just about every product they sell.
Give ANY example where these same products are cheaper ANY where else. Oh and if you can find an obscure example Walmart beats it by 3%!
Their "monopoly" has hardly created a market for higher prices and cheap goods. If anything, their buying power has been a huge win for the consumer when shopping at large retail chains - Circuit City and Best Buy (two companies that do VERY well) don't hold to candle to competing products.
business taxes local option sales tax paycheck deductions
Look, I said it perfectly in the parent - if you are small - you are saying at the first sign of competition that you won't/can't compete! Good riddance with that attitude.
Ever heard of promotions?
How about offering classes? Fashion classes Pharmaceutical education/blood/heart monitoring/Cholesterol
I would challenge you to prove me wrong that fewer than 80% of the taxes generated are new taxes.
A previous post mentioned infrastructure - well that's a fact of nature. Businesses by the dozens locate near WalMarts and come to town and MOVE near them. They provide a mini economy of their own.
The new Walmart in my town added 38 MILLION a year to the tax base - usually does when one moves to town - prevents taxes from being raised.
As for the little guy that is claimed "to be put out of business by Walmart" - I say - if you can't take the heat - get out the kitchen.
Walmarts are cleaner, cheaper, and better staffed and employ more people than the US government now! Do they have problems yes - some of the problems you mentioned? possibly. But your statements are FUD and some of them untrue.
As I said, it's sounds crazy but yes - I DO think Apple could pull it off.
Apple could have also offered a pre counterweighted base that maybe had extra ports or a media reader built in. Possibly even an iPod dock. - They could have offered these as upgrades at an extra cost - but also to those didn't feel comfortable with my idea.
It is bizarre (but so are the trolls on Macrumors)
I never said my idea sounded kosher - but I think it a necessary step. The goal of this iMac wasn't to make something as thin as possible it was mainly done for weight.
I posted this in my journal topic about this:
I read a figure that the shipping weight difference between the 20" [new] iMac vs the 20"[old] iMac was like $16 in the total course of distribution.
So, honestly... think about that - bluetooth modules cost Apple about the same. $15 to implement. Technically the weight alone vs the counterweight measures from the previous model could have gotten us an integrated bluetooth module. And then again, even this cost could be reduced if they didn't have to make a slot for a bluetooth module to go, just have it built in.
Reducing distribution costs has a lot more effect than just adding a step for the consumer - it can also yield cost savings that in turn make more features possible for the same buck.
I do agree with you, there will most likely be swing arms that will have a dome as a base and an optical drive (firewire) in that base.
That said, it STILL will be additional cost. We had a very ergonomic and versatile implementation that gave us these features before.
I think a lot of people have gotten me wrong - that I hate this design and that I'm ratting on Apple. From a design point - it just isn't as revolutionary. Getting 1 1/2 year old processors and a 2 1/2 year old technology wise video card isn't forward to me. The serail ATA and memory is being touted as a feat - the g5 REQUIRES THESE ELEMENTS. It was a mattr of putting them in or redesigning the core! [That makes them bonuses by nature not by design]
One thing that was mentioned at Expo Paris that isn't mentioned in this article:
The design was carefully thought out to save weight. [and therefore shipping/distribution costs] The previous sunflower design was costing almost as much as an eMac (with a heavy CRT) to ship because the base needed to be counterweighted. This was a "design flaw" of the sunflower iMac.
I had proposed something like this to maintain the sunflower design - which I believe to be one of the most unique electronic designs of the decade.
What a lot of people don't understand about the new unit is that with the stand - this unit actually takes up a little more depth than the eMac and carries NO side to side rotation - like the swingarm from the previous design did. If you add in this element - it actually takes up 40% more deskspace. One must have all of that area clear on the desktop to turn the display. [new iMac is much more static]
"... and if science Research & Development funding can be stimulated with a positive DoE report (due soon), it might be an interesting rebirth"
When someone says that progress depends on funding it scares me. This is one of the most vaporsearch/vapordev discoveries in history. There have fabrication after fabrication and pseudodiscovery after pseudodiscovery.
I'm SURE that the companies/universities that are doing this research are well funded or have such active "life work" people involved that MORE funding really isn't necessary or even requested.
I'm also relatively sure that the people that are making progress in this field are keeping it mum - this will be one of the greatest discoveries of all time and will make someone very rich - and people think this is going to be just broadcast that someone contactable/killable has achieved it?
This is really great. I have been linking to songs as part of all my stories on my website - since I started it in January. My site stats show that 3 out of every 10 visitors are at least clicking on the iTunes Music Store Link. I'll now be able to see how many people are actually buying songs. I've had a few reader emails telling me that they have.
[Note that one thing the parent is not mentioning... not everyone that "signs up" is going to be able to participate - there is a case by case approval process]
I realize that 5% isn't much, but it's actually a huge percentage considering what Apple makes. [I take it that their estimated 3 profit per song has gone up]
This could be a great way for websites such as mine - who are also Apple oriented to get a tiny bit of operation revenue.
I hate banner ads - so it 's neat that I can now have a story element as part of my revenue.
I really appreciate that Apple has now made me a part of the not only the downloading process but the true sharing process. Because sharing does involve some form of compensation or benefit.:)
I hate to break it to the slashdot crowd, but people do get legitimately fired.
They also get legitmately let go do to better staffed businesses that are more tech savvy.
Other reasons tech jobs are lost:
Better quality computers
Better maintenance habits by users
More automated processes on computers
Hardware is pushed more consumer oriented (very noticeable in networking)
A lot of IT workers just don't do good jobs and have bad rapport with staff they serve
A lot of IT workers do their job for money and not for enjoyment - money & job logevity come if you enjoy what you do
Some people are actually realizing Microsoft and maintenance are not necessarily the best solution and turing to Macs or specialized devices to do work = need for less IT staff
I like how the author of the article had to get the subtle Bush bashing in the comment.
While I don't like the design of the new iMac as much as the previous one, your perspective put a new understanding of how cool this could actually be BECAUSE of it's design.
This would make a great car/minvan monitor - and in conjunction with a bluetooth keyboard and bluetooth GPS adapter a real usefultool.
You are right - computers start at $299 - but I still have my original iMac 233 from 1997. It is a very functional computer and does most everything my G5 2.0Ghz can do - that I do.
I've added a 466Mhz G4, firewire, extra memory, a faster hard drive and lots of other enhancements.
A PC from 1997 that was on the low end scale of price - could hardly be upgraded anywhere close to the moderness of this iMac from the same time.
If I buy a new iMac - you will have spent MORE than me with your $299 PCs within 7 years.
Re:FireFly & FireLite from SmartDisk / iPod
on
Portable Storage?
·
· Score: 2, Informative
For the cost of the Firefly - you might as well get the an iPod which uses the same 1.8" hard drive for about $50 more in price.
You can find 15 and 20 GB iPods for $199 to $249
You get both firewire AND USB + well... the most popular Mp3 player on the market
It also gives you solitare and breakout to boot!
My extra 2 to reply to the parent - the iPod is the smallest drive that includes both firewire and USB (that I know of) - to me there is no comparison in terms of speed and data integrity - firewire USB2.0. Firewire is MUCH faster. Also, you most likely will have to some unplugging if you have a USB device - you usually have an open firewire port.
Separation of Church and State has been GROSSLY misinterpreted by the modern judicial system at all levels.
Can you point to a modern case where the congress or even a state legislature has been successful in censuring a judge or reversing the decision?
Your point that if they were elected it would be unfair - well the currently are unelected politicians taking bribes and handing out decisions that do not mesh with the populous.
I would love to see some of the books turned into movies. I've only listened to a few of them on audio CD, but I think they are better. It just took Lucas to lay the general universe down.
I would love to see the rise of the republic back to glory but now they have to fight a new threat - rogue terrorists who benefitted from the Empire's 30 year dominance.
More bounty hunter action.
I would also like to see more technical history added in. Like; how to construct a lightsaber, what crystal is used to power it, is it a telescoping antenna?
"[DISCLAIMER: this is not a troll; I am a liberal]."
The disclaimer alone made the/. article a troll.
It's good information, but I fail to see the insight in adding the political commentaries that the liberal/democratic/. editors pick up and then preach back to the choir.
[DISCLAIMER: this is not a troll; I am a moderate republican].
I definitely think they should be and that there should be term limits of say 10 years. This way you would get 3 presidential terms.
Judges have become "in control" in this country - changing the law and bastardizing it's interpretations. The majority also are behind the times and understand very little about modern era politics/technology/social issues.
If someone that got sued by the RIAA came to slashdot and created a website to help with legal funds I wonder how much the/. crowd would raise for them?
Are we just talkers or can we each put a dollar where our mouths are?
I would think a donation thread and an advice thread WOULD help win a case against them.
Simple manufacturing, plowing, or bucket-hauling are not "complex thought".
This is of course your opinion.
I think it pretty complex to understand agriculture, to create a pulley and lever system for water, or to manufacture an effective weapon. Math can be abstract as well. If "a native" shows you an isoceles triangle and shows you the importance of the two right angles as they relate to a process - he doesn't have to get out a calculator - you just do it - as he has shown you.
They may actually be planning to litigate to delay the competition.
I hate to sound like the typical Apple Basher - but once the PSP comes out and has a healthy list of titles, Nintendo is dead - their new DS is ugly and doesn't do half of the PSP. It's only lead at the moment is base and game selection.
"Language is the uniting factor in society because it is the basis for complex thought"
No, I can learn how to make a gun, plow a field, fetch water from a well from an Asian person with whom I have no common language - almost as easily as I could with an English speaking person.
I posted previously to this topic that it's all about the willingness of the people to learn,and the access to information that they are willing to subject themselves to is what forms thought and intelligence.
Access to information and the willingness to acquire information shapes how you think.
This tribe has no access to information and is therefore secluded (in thought and potential for creative thought). Creative thought EXPLODED upon the advent of the printing press - and actually before that with monk transcription.
You could say it takes language to be able to assemble the ability to access information, but I don't see that.
I can't quite understand from the/. article if the author is relating all this to intelligence or not. I do believe that willingness to learn is what creative thinking is about.
Actually, the cells in these batteries ARE replaceable - they are common double AA's. (It has been disputed they may not be, but I have actually taken a G4 battery apart - rechargeable Lithium Ion Batteries) I wish they'd make the casing easier to split apart though.
"What movie lost the most money for its investors?"
I'd actaully like to know that myself. It used to be Ishtar, then it was WaterWorld. I, Robot may take its place if it doesn't get another 50 million before leaving theaters.
We're talking about what you hate personally. It's what you hate that we all hate equally.
I think the consensus here is definitely on:
Battlefield Earth
Most of the movies in the IMDB Bottom 100 are bad movies - on purpose. Some of those movies in the list are B Movies and some never saw nationwide release... I hardly see how they can even be included.
A very obvious omission - one that I didn't see by scrolling through all of this quickly and that i couldn't spot on the bottom 100 is:
I have a preproduction Griffin RadioShark, they only a few days from shipping.
The unit I have works PERFECTLY and is the FASTEST way to switch from AM to FM that I know of. You can have AM and FM mixed in with each other in your presets and you can timeshift record.
I too usually listen to AM - I have been wanting such a product for a very long time.
Griffin will finally deliver VERY soon. They've had a number of problems with manufacturer getting the internals right.
Slashdot Mirror
"...the seller has no choice but to pay the monopoly price"
Ummm Walmart sells HP, Sony, Perry Ellis (under the United brand), Nintendo, and just about any other high end, middle and low end brand for just about every product they sell.
Give ANY example where these same products are cheaper ANY where else. Oh and if you can find an obscure example Walmart beats it by 3%!
Their "monopoly" has hardly created a market for higher prices and cheap goods. If anything, their buying power has been a huge win for the consumer when shopping at large retail chains - Circuit City and Best Buy (two companies that do VERY well) don't hold to candle to competing products.
Yes,
business taxes
local option sales tax
paycheck deductions
Look, I said it perfectly in the parent - if you are small - you are saying at the first sign of competition that you won't/can't compete! Good riddance with that attitude.
Ever heard of promotions?
How about offering classes?
Fashion classes
Pharmaceutical education/blood/heart monitoring/Cholesterol
I would challenge you to prove me wrong that fewer than 80% of the taxes generated are new taxes.
A previous post mentioned infrastructure - well that's a fact of nature. Businesses by the dozens locate near WalMarts and come to town and MOVE near them. They provide a mini economy of their own.
"Walmart systematically ruins local economies"
That's the troll statement of the day.
The new Walmart in my town added 38 MILLION a year to the tax base - usually does when one moves to town - prevents taxes from being raised.
As for the little guy that is claimed "to be put out of business by Walmart" - I say - if you can't take the heat - get out the kitchen.
Walmarts are cleaner, cheaper, and better staffed and employ more people than the US government now! Do they have problems yes - some of the problems you mentioned? possibly. But your statements are FUD and some of them untrue.
As I said, it's sounds crazy but yes - I DO think Apple could pull it off.
Apple could have also offered a pre counterweighted base that maybe had extra ports or a media reader built in. Possibly even an iPod dock. - They could have offered these as upgrades at an extra cost - but also to those didn't feel comfortable with my idea.
It is bizarre (but so are the trolls on Macrumors)
... think about that - bluetooth modules cost Apple about the same. $15 to implement. Technically the weight alone vs the counterweight measures from the previous model could have gotten us an integrated bluetooth module. And then again, even this cost could be reduced if they didn't have to make a slot for a bluetooth module to go, just have it built in.
I never said my idea sounded kosher - but I think it a necessary step. The goal of this iMac wasn't to make something as thin as possible it was mainly done for weight.
I posted this in my journal topic about this:
I read a figure that the shipping weight difference between the 20" [new] iMac vs the 20"[old] iMac was like $16 in the total course of distribution.
So, honestly
Reducing distribution costs has a lot more effect than just adding a step for the consumer - it can also yield cost savings that in turn make more features possible for the same buck.
I do agree with you, there will most likely be swing arms that will have a dome as a base and an optical drive (firewire) in that base.
That said, it STILL will be additional cost. We had a very ergonomic and versatile implementation that gave us these features before.
I think a lot of people have gotten me wrong - that I hate this design and that I'm ratting on Apple. From a design point - it just isn't as revolutionary. Getting 1 1/2 year old processors and a 2 1/2 year old technology wise video card isn't forward to me. The serail ATA and memory is being touted as a feat - the g5 REQUIRES THESE ELEMENTS. It was a mattr of putting them in or redesigning the core! [That makes them bonuses by nature not by design]
One thing that was mentioned at Expo Paris that isn't mentioned in this article:
The design was carefully thought out to save weight. [and therefore shipping/distribution costs] The previous sunflower design was costing almost as much as an eMac (with a heavy CRT) to ship because the base needed to be counterweighted. This was a "design flaw" of the sunflower iMac.
I had proposed something like this to maintain the sunflower design - which I believe to be one of the most unique electronic designs of the decade.
What a lot of people don't understand about the new unit is that with the stand - this unit actually takes up a little more depth than the eMac and carries NO side to side rotation - like the swingarm from the previous design did. If you add in this element - it actually takes up 40% more deskspace. One must have all of that area clear on the desktop to turn the display. [new iMac is much more static]
"... and if science Research & Development funding can be stimulated with a positive DoE report (due soon), it might be an interesting rebirth"
When someone says that progress depends on funding it scares me. This is one of the most vaporsearch/vapordev discoveries in history. There have fabrication after fabrication and pseudodiscovery after pseudodiscovery.
I'm SURE that the companies/universities that are doing this research are well funded or have such active "life work" people involved that MORE funding really isn't necessary or even requested.
I'm also relatively sure that the people that are making progress in this field are keeping it mum - this will be one of the greatest discoveries of all time and will make someone very rich - and people think this is going to be just broadcast that someone contactable/killable has achieved it?
This is really great. I have been linking to songs as part of all my stories on my website - since I started it in January. My site stats show that 3 out of every 10 visitors are at least clicking on the iTunes Music Store Link. I'll now be able to see how many people are actually buying songs. I've had a few reader emails telling me that they have.
... not everyone that "signs up" is going to be able to participate - there is a case by case approval process]
:)
[Note that one thing the parent is not mentioning
I realize that 5% isn't much, but it's actually a huge percentage considering what Apple makes. [I take it that their estimated 3 profit per song has gone up]
This could be a great way for websites such as mine - who are also Apple oriented to get a tiny bit of operation revenue.
I hate banner ads - so it 's neat that I can now have a story element as part of my revenue.
Some examples:
Is It A Sin To Buy A Mac Devil Inside ~ INXS
How To Avoid An Auction Scam Without Really Trying eBay ~ Weird Al Yankovic
What Kon Man!Confunkshunizeya ~ Con Funk Shun
I really appreciate that Apple has now made me a part of the not only the downloading process but the true sharing process. Because sharing does involve some form of compensation or benefit.
I hate to break it to the slashdot crowd, but people do get legitimately fired.
They also get legitmately let go do to better staffed businesses that are more tech savvy.
Other reasons tech jobs are lost:
Better quality computers
Better maintenance habits by users
More automated processes on computers
Hardware is pushed more consumer oriented (very noticeable in networking)
A lot of IT workers just don't do good jobs and have bad rapport with staff they serve
A lot of IT workers do their job for money and not for enjoyment - money & job logevity come if you enjoy what you do
Some people are actually realizing Microsoft and maintenance are not necessarily the best solution and turing to Macs or specialized devices to do work = need for less IT staff
I like how the author of the article had to get the subtle Bush bashing in the comment.
While I don't like the design of the new iMac as much as the previous one, your perspective put a new understanding of how cool this could actually be BECAUSE of it's design.
This would make a great car/minvan monitor - and in conjunction with a bluetooth keyboard and bluetooth GPS adapter a real usefultool.
I hope 3rd parties do follow your suggestions.
You are right - computers start at $299 - but I still have my original iMac 233 from 1997. It is a very functional computer and does most everything my G5 2.0Ghz can do - that I do.
I've added a 466Mhz G4, firewire, extra memory, a faster hard drive and lots of other enhancements.
A PC from 1997 that was on the low end scale of price - could hardly be upgraded anywhere close to the moderness of this iMac from the same time.
If I buy a new iMac - you will have spent MORE than me with your $299 PCs within 7 years.
For the cost of the Firefly - you might as well get the an iPod which uses the same 1.8" hard drive for about $50 more in price.
... the most popular Mp3 player on the market
You can find 15 and 20 GB iPods for $199 to $249
You get both firewire AND USB + well
It also gives you solitare and breakout to boot!
My extra 2 to reply to the parent - the iPod is the smallest drive that includes both firewire and USB (that I know of) - to me there is no comparison in terms of speed and data integrity - firewire USB2.0. Firewire is MUCH faster. Also, you most likely will have to some unplugging if you have a USB device - you usually have an open firewire port.
Those are some good points, but ...
Separation of Church and State has been GROSSLY misinterpreted by the modern judicial system at all levels.
Can you point to a modern case where the congress or even a state legislature has been successful in censuring a judge or reversing the decision?
Your point that if they were elected it would be unfair - well the currently are unelected politicians taking bribes and handing out decisions that do not mesh with the populous.
I would love to see some of the books turned into movies. I've only listened to a few of them on audio CD, but I think they are better. It just took Lucas to lay the general universe down.
I would love to see the rise of the republic back to glory but now they have to fight a new threat - rogue terrorists who benefitted from the Empire's 30 year dominance.
More bounty hunter action.
I would also like to see more technical history added in. Like; how to construct a lightsaber, what crystal is used to power it, is it a telescoping antenna?
"[DISCLAIMER: this is not a troll; I am a liberal]."
/. article a troll.
/. editors pick up and then preach back to the choir.
The disclaimer alone made the
It's good information, but I fail to see the insight in adding the political commentaries that the liberal/democratic
[DISCLAIMER: this is not a troll; I am a moderate republican].
I definitely think they should be and that there should be term limits of say 10 years. This way you would get 3 presidential terms.
Judges have become "in control" in this country - changing the law and bastardizing it's interpretations. The majority also are behind the times and understand very little about modern era politics/technology/social issues.
If someone that got sued by the RIAA came to slashdot and created a website to help with legal funds I wonder how much the /. crowd would raise for them?
Are we just talkers or can we each put a dollar where our mouths are?
I would think a donation thread and an advice thread WOULD help win a case against them.
Simple manufacturing, plowing, or bucket-hauling are not "complex thought".
This is of course your opinion.
I think it pretty complex to understand agriculture, to create a pulley and lever system for water, or to manufacture an effective weapon. Math can be abstract as well. If "a native" shows you an isoceles triangle and shows you the importance of the two right angles as they relate to a process - he doesn't have to get out a calculator - you just do it - as he has shown you.
Who says they aren't going to "use the patent"?
They may actually be planning to litigate to delay the competition.
I hate to sound like the typical Apple Basher - but once the PSP comes out and has a healthy list of titles, Nintendo is dead - their new DS is ugly and doesn't do half of the PSP. It's only lead at the moment is base and game selection.
"Language is the uniting factor in society because it is the basis for complex thought"
No, I can learn how to make a gun, plow a field, fetch water from a well from an Asian person with whom I have no common language - almost as easily as I could with an English speaking person.
I posted previously to this topic that it's all about the willingness of the people to learn,and the access to information that they are willing to subject themselves to is what forms thought and intelligence.
Access to information and the willingness to acquire information shapes how you think.
/. article if the author is relating all this to intelligence or not. I do believe that willingness to learn is what creative thinking is about.
This tribe has no access to information and is therefore secluded (in thought and potential for creative thought). Creative thought EXPLODED upon the advent of the printing press - and actually before that with monk transcription.
You could say it takes language to be able to assemble the ability to access information, but I don't see that.
I can't quite understand from the
Actually, the cells in these batteries ARE replaceable - they are common double AA's. (It has been disputed they may not be, but I have actually taken a G4 battery apart - rechargeable Lithium Ion Batteries) I wish they'd make the casing easier to split apart though.
See an xray here
"What movie lost the most money for its investors?"
I'd actaully like to know that myself. It used to be Ishtar, then it was WaterWorld. I, Robot may take its place if it doesn't get another 50 million before leaving theaters.
We're talking about what you hate personally. It's what you hate that we all hate equally.
... I hardly see how they can even be included.
I think the consensus here is definitely on:
Battlefield Earth
Most of the movies in the IMDB Bottom 100 are bad movies - on purpose. Some of those movies in the list are B Movies and some never saw nationwide release
A very obvious omission - one that I didn't see by scrolling through all of this quickly and that i couldn't spot on the bottom 100 is:
Heman: Masters Of The Universe (Live Action)
I have a preproduction Griffin RadioShark, they only a few days from shipping.
The unit I have works PERFECTLY and is the FASTEST way to switch from AM to FM that I know of. You can have AM and FM mixed in with each other in your presets and you can timeshift record.
I too usually listen to AM - I have been wanting such a product for a very long time.
Griffin will finally deliver VERY soon. They've had a number of problems with manufacturer getting the internals right.