Rather than a million screen scrapers each hitting various listing sites, better one screen scraper sharing the resulting data with a million video rebels. This solution would probably leave everyone happier.
Now there's just the question of who? Who is expert at spidering the web? Who likes to provide new cheap-to-free services in their quest to take over new markets. Who would love to put yet another spike into Microsoft's side by removing yet another possible revenue source for them? Who doesn't have to worry about financing such a small, cheap service alongside their already multitudes of underutilized servers and bandwidth?
Just wondering if Big Money got to them. Whenever a free alternative to a lucrative pay service disappears, one wonders if the competition just bought them out (secret deal) and killed the competing product.
Then it's just a question of who is benefiting from this the most?
I wouldn't want it. Aside from looking like an unrealistic exhibit at EPCOT (Every Person Comes Out Tired), and costing a relative fortune compared to flat land, the environmental pollutants in an urban setting far exceed rural farmland. And anyone who doesn't think the food doesn't pickup what's around it simply doesn't know plants. While this would certainly improve the air quality, and even quality of life, in dense cities, the quality of the food produced would be extremely questionable IMSO (In My Slashdot Opinion).
No. The DVR happens to be built into the cable box. If you drop the DVR, you'll have to get a cable-only box to replace it. So your bill would go down by $11.95, which is the cost of the DVR feature.
You clearly don't understand my post. My Sony widescreen tunes all normal analog, digital, and hi-def channels just fine, and I'm not currently a customer of premium scrambled channels. I could drop the DVR completely if I wanted to give up the recording capability.
The DVR is not sold as a HD Tuner ($6.95) + DVR ($11.95). That whole package is $11.95 total. Yet the included tuner only in my rental package is now charged as a separate tuner because of the DVR, charging me again for something that what was initially included in the package.
Comcast apparently agrees since they have just refunded me 6 months of separate tuner rental. This issue will come up again at that time.
It's easy to have enough broadband capacity for the entire country when they crack down on almost every use beyond simple browsing and e-mail that most people might otherwise use it for.
Got a telephone call from Comcast Internet last night. They pointed out to me that I currently have 6Mbs download service, and that I could upgrade to "blazingly faster" 8Mbs download speeds for free for the next three months. I had to drag it out of them that my current $36/month rate ($46 after 6 month promotion expires) would jump to $52/month.
I then pointed out that I had yet to get 6Mbs downloads even on testing sites that can really pump out the bits to you, and why pay more for 8MBs that I also won't get on my very congested local loop? They had no answer for that one, because Comcast had never guaranteed any level of actual service, and in fact I believe their ToS specifically denies any guaranteed level of download performance.
I have a Comcast Motorola DCT 6412-III DVR, and to say that it sucks big time compared to my 3 year old Dish DVR is an understatement. The only thing keeping me in the game right now is a highly reduced price, and the hopes of getting a Comcast TiVo box sooner, rather than later.
And while I'm at it, Comcast pulls another billing scam worth mentioning. My HD Platinum Digital Choice package is supposed to include an HD cable box. And then I can add a DVR to it for $11.95. However, when I got my first bill for the new package, I was being charged a fucking $18.90 for the DVR. How did this happen? Well they claim that the extra $6.95 is for the second cable box. It seems that when you get a DVR, this counts as your first cable box, and that the bedroom tuner that should have been included as part of your package magically becomes your second cable box, which you have to pay for!
Now, were I to ditch the DVR, then the cable only box becomes my first box, it's included in my package, and my bill goes goes down by $18.95. Yet Comcast insists they're only charging me $11.95 for the DVR. I feel you'll agree with me that this is Fraud in billing!
Hey, what about the little guy who can't afford to repay. Is debt forgiveness only for big, important players who can say, "But think of the children!"
Seems to me that if there was ever a government funded institution, it's the RIAA member companies themselves, with their ever lengthening monopoly rights over artist created media, and continuing erosion of Fair Use rights.
Bing's Rule: Don't try to stem the tide -- move the beach.
Got this fortune cookie from the Slashdot Magical Mystery Slashdot Fortune Cookie Machine for this article. Could there have been anything more appropriate today?
Considering that WGA now extends back to Office 2000 (can you believe that?!), all cracks to this Microsoft, buggy, forced upgrade, crapware are welcome!
It's a cold, unforgiving place where nothing is sacred, users turn like rabid wolves on any company that makes even the smallest error, and no prisoners are taken.
And yet Microsoft continues not only to survive, but prosper here. Someone ready to explain that one?
BTW they're the cheapest in the UK for data. £7.50 buys you a gig of date to use within the month...The £7.50 deal excludes VOIP and, bizarrely, instant messaging
Then your £7.50 buys you a gig of data to use only as they see fit!
Data bits are simply 1's and 0's. They should be in charge of moving that data, and not deciding good data from bad data.
Slashdot Mirror
Now there's just the question of who? Who is expert at spidering the web? Who likes to provide new cheap-to-free services in their quest to take over new markets. Who would love to put yet another spike into Microsoft's side by removing yet another possible revenue source for them? Who doesn't have to worry about financing such a small, cheap service alongside their already multitudes of underutilized servers and bandwidth?
Google?
Then it's just a question of who is benefiting from this the most?
I wouldn't want it. Aside from looking like an unrealistic exhibit at EPCOT (Every Person Comes Out Tired), and costing a relative fortune compared to flat land, the environmental pollutants in an urban setting far exceed rural farmland. And anyone who doesn't think the food doesn't pickup what's around it simply doesn't know plants. While this would certainly improve the air quality, and even quality of life, in dense cities, the quality of the food produced would be extremely questionable IMSO (In My Slashdot Opinion).
You clearly don't understand my post. My Sony widescreen tunes all normal analog, digital, and hi-def channels just fine, and I'm not currently a customer of premium scrambled channels. I could drop the DVR completely if I wanted to give up the recording capability.
The DVR is not sold as a HD Tuner ($6.95) + DVR ($11.95). That whole package is $11.95 total. Yet the included tuner only in my rental package is now charged as a separate tuner because of the DVR, charging me again for something that what was initially included in the package.
Comcast apparently agrees since they have just refunded me 6 months of separate tuner rental. This issue will come up again at that time.
It's easy to have enough broadband capacity for the entire country when they crack down on almost every use beyond simple browsing and e-mail that most people might otherwise use it for.
See my post further down on why you're not paying $11.95 for your DVR, if you have a second TV hooked up with a cable box.
I then pointed out that I had yet to get 6Mbs downloads even on testing sites that can really pump out the bits to you, and why pay more for 8MBs that I also won't get on my very congested local loop? They had no answer for that one, because Comcast had never guaranteed any level of actual service, and in fact I believe their ToS specifically denies any guaranteed level of download performance.
And while I'm at it, Comcast pulls another billing scam worth mentioning. My HD Platinum Digital Choice package is supposed to include an HD cable box. And then I can add a DVR to it for $11.95. However, when I got my first bill for the new package, I was being charged a fucking $18.90 for the DVR. How did this happen? Well they claim that the extra $6.95 is for the second cable box. It seems that when you get a DVR, this counts as your first cable box, and that the bedroom tuner that should have been included as part of your package magically becomes your second cable box, which you have to pay for!
Now, were I to ditch the DVR, then the cable only box becomes my first box, it's included in my package, and my bill goes goes down by $18.95. Yet Comcast insists they're only charging me $11.95 for the DVR. I feel you'll agree with me that this is Fraud in billing!
And a much longer way from optioning a property to seeing it on the silver screen. I wouldn't be getting in line for tickets yet.
Hey, what about the little guy who can't afford to repay. Is debt forgiveness only for big, important players who can say, "But think of the children!"
I expect that this recording is out of copyright now, no thanks to Sonny Bono, who left an ugly legacy with his copyright extension act.
Seems to me that if there was ever a government funded institution, it's the RIAA member companies themselves, with their ever lengthening monopoly rights over artist created media, and continuing erosion of Fair Use rights.
Send it to Paul Birch's IFPA masters at the British record companies!
Got this fortune cookie from the Slashdot Magical Mystery Slashdot Fortune Cookie Machine for this article. Could there have been anything more appropriate today?
Internet: Really?
Considering that WGA now extends back to Office 2000 (can you believe that?!), all cracks to this Microsoft, buggy, forced upgrade, crapware are welcome!
And yet Microsoft continues not only to survive, but prosper here. Someone ready to explain that one?
The only problem is, they also come with Hugo Chavez spyware preinstalled. But he tells us, that's all right.
No, just the metrosexual Cavemen buying auto insurance.
Now that we're in control, I hereby abolish all DRM!
Never underestimate the power of 10 million low-paid Chinese.
And neither runs ActiveX, meaning IE won't go away any time soon.
And fembots!
Oops. Same thing.
10 Million more Windows crashes reported.
Of course, the question is: Who gets the blame over this. Microsoft, or Fake Steve Jobs?
Then your £7.50 buys you a gig of data to use only as they see fit!
Data bits are simply 1's and 0's. They should be in charge of moving that data, and not deciding good data from bad data.