Out of curiosity, if these asshats were to actually have their wet dream come true...what sort of recourse would us regular users have? How far would these changes reach? Would it just screw over whoever was stuck with that particular ISP, or would it affect the entire net?
More importantly, are there any laws or government bodies that we can bring into effect on our side to make sure this kind of crap never happens?
Next time he does that, I suggest you tell him that HE ruined his own business and his kids can blame him for being a shoddy merchant who can't follow a simple merchant account agreement.
I would be very careful in trying to sleuth out by non-web means who is personally behind all of this. A lot of people seem to believe that these businesses have some pretty heavy mafia connections, so the best thing to do is to bring it to the Attorney General's attention and let the state pursue.
But you see there are quite a lot of intelligent geeks here who want to TRY something out RISK FREE (which means not giving a CC#) before they make a purchasing decision. I can't even imagine how many potential buyers they lost with this press release just because they asked for that.
And what if the system malfunctions and you are unable to get to the hospital in time and someone dies?
Yeah, worst case scenario, but a liability nonetheless. The reason this system won't be accepted is because the current system is one based on trust and legal consequences. You purchase/lease the car with the expectation that it starts whenever you want it to. Even if there is a problem with the billing system of your credit card company or bank, or with the company who maintains the payment records for your car.
They are assuming some amount of risk by letting you make your payments over a period of time and in return they tend to get more money than if you paid it all up front. That is how the system has always worked, and thats how it will continue to work because not enough people will be stupid enough to lose their end of that bargain.
And I'd then love to break the empty bottle over these religious fanatics' heads. Only then might they understand what it is like to force your view on someone else.
Perhaps the most frustrating part of this, is that they are trying to say "oh look, ID is part of science too!", and then COMPLETELY refuse to examine it and argue it based on the underlying foundation of science...the Scientific Method.
I mean...isn't that like going into a courtroom and saying "Your Honor...my client is innocent, and we're basing our case off of some completely different set of laws that do not apply to our current legal system as well as our belief that he is innocent."
If you want to argue that your view is part of the system, at least discuss/view/analyze it within the paradigm of the system!
But of course that will never happen, because as soon as anyone attempts to do that (as every scientist today thrills in doing) the argument falls completely apart.
God, its like arguing with an autistic kid who will keep being the same way no matter what you say to them. If we ever do manage to colonize another planet, I hope to god (whoops) that logical beings will be able to create a society free of religion.
I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with people who have religious beliefs and don't try to force them on others...I'm just saying its high time that those who believe in science and do not have religious beliefs set up their own society. Makes you wonder what would happen if you took two societies from scratch, and had one made up of these ID fanatics and another with atheist/agnostic scientists, where each would end up in a century.
Well, I won't argue a trip to the moon today vs a space elevator or something, but I don't think you can honestly say that NASA's trip to the moon back then needed an answer. At least not in hindsight.
Look at all of the scientific developments that have arisen because of that first trip. I daresay we wouldn't even be able to conceive a space elevator today if we hadn't taken one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind.
Please mod parent up. I'm so sick of whining "Why are they doing X instead of ignoring all their interests, talents, and passions and trying to cure AIDS?"
Parent is exaclty right, this isn't like a video game where you just focus your society's scientific developments towards aids research. In real life people have different interests and goals, and not everybody sees their destiny as curing AIDS.
And who knows what developments a quest to outerspace could unearth that might be relevant to AIDS! Remember, science and technology do not evolve in a linear fashion. Don't believe me? Just watch any of James Burke's Connections series.
Now...if you want to make an argument about a government aiming in one direction and not another, perhaps you should be discussing their budgets for the alotted programs. Of course you run into the same issue which is that a government cannot simply devote all its resources to one endeavor. Just like any proper investment, you need to DIVERSIFY FOR MAXIMUM GAINS WITH MINIMUM RISKS.
Excellent questions, and you hit on what I think is potentially the real goal of the cable companies in this.
You see, if you think you will be getting a discount on what you pay now think again, unless you only watch one or two channels.
Any more than that and I'm sure the prices will quickly eclipse that of your old bundled cable bill. In addition, I'm sure there will be "service fees" for the unbundling which will be tacked onto everbodies bill. With a la carte pricing, prices will only be increasing, and i'm sure it will be fairly drastic increases at that.
Isn't Mediawise the company who ran those HILARIOUS print ads in The Onion? It was a series of three, basically parodying GTA by giving How Tos for killing a cop, using and beating to death a prostitute, and dealing drugs. The ads were so funny that I called to try to figure out if they were for a GTA game, or something else because I couldn't imagine a company like Mediawise would put out something that would cater so much to the gaming crowd in a way that would HURT their message.
As I was looking at the comments about this guy in his previous MS related story today, someone made the claim that his webpage is full of ads and simply is trying to spam. What follows is my copy/paste response which I'm sure people who haven't dared check out his site yet will be interested in reading:
"Please mod parent down...he asserts that the linked website in question is devoid of original content and full of adverts when in fact IT IS NOT!
I know many of you will not want to verify to increase his traffic...but for god sakes...the guy doesn't even have any banner ads on his site. Hell, he doesn't even have any Google Ad Words!!!
Its actually quite an informative site (even though it looks like it was coded in the early 90's), with just about zero advertising (in a quick scan of the page I could not find ANY ads whatsoever). As for original content....its a biography site...what kind of original content were you looking for there exactly?"
Please mod parent down...he asserts that the linked website in question is devoid of original content and full of adverts when in fact IT IS NOT!
I know many of you will not want to verify to increase his traffic...but for god sakes...the guy doesn't even have any banner ads on his site. Hell, he doesn't even have any Google Ad Words!!!
Its actually quite an informative site (even though it looks like it was coded in the early 90's), with just about zero advertising (in a quick scan of the page I could not find ANY ads whatsoever). As for original content....its a biography site...what kind of original content were you looking for there exactly?
You know, before you go ahead and attack the guy, is whats happening with his link scam really more important than the admittedly interesting stories he has on occasion posted?
I mean, this isn't like Roland who linked to the story on his ad supported blog rather than directly to the article. At least this guy has the common curtesy link directly.
And people have said that he changes his homepage a lot, I've just seen the George Harrison one, can someone please post some evidence to the contrary?
I mean, I love a good old-fashioned pitchfork and torch rally on Slashdot as good as the next guy, but I'm wondering if this guy is the right target for it.
"So on top of all the typical moral concerns this subject raises, in the days when we're as much technology as human being, what will be the complications when our complex implants' OS gives us the equivalent of the BSOD?"
Doesn't that acronym kind of answer your own question?
I think they are part of the same problem. It used to be you could buy lets say....a space set, and get a lot of useful bricks that could be used in lots of other ways, so you did not need to buy a huge number of space sets. Now because of all the specialized parts, there are less generic ones, hence you need to purchase more.
Which I'm sure goes hand in hand with the raised prices.
"Oddly enough swearing at the voice recognition software also helps. Telling the system at FedEx to "Give me a Damn person," will drop you a customer representative. And it feels good."
Interestingly enough you could also just calmly say "representative" and get put promptly through to one as well...but whatever helps you with your anger management issues I guess.
I find this is similar to how most company phone systems already work. For example, note how for some reason it takes 10 minutes to get through to a tech support person, but it is almost instantaneous when you pick the Sales and New Service option. Gee...wonder why that is...
Well, what I usually do is go through the Sales line, and ask to be transferred directly to a tech person. Often times it helps me skip the queue entirely.
Please point out where in my original post I said the suppliers were selling their products at a loss. I wasn't implying that MS is getting such a discount as to cause problems with the suppliers. What I was saying is that their Exec. VP Operations or Supply or w/e will be negotiating a wholesale cost below the normal wholesale price. This is because of the clout MS has in their industry.
This really isn't any different then from how Wal-Mart does things. You don't think they are able to offer "Every Day Low Prices" because they pay standard wholesale do you? In fact, their execs are KNOWN for the crazy stories of how brutal they can be to industries to get them to lower their prices for them (think RFID manufacturers).
What I'm wondering though is what effect on the loss does the negotiating ability of the MS Exec in charge of negotiating prices for these parts have.
You can't calculate exactly how much MS is losing based on retail pricing of individual parts. If you think they are paying what some analyst asking for a quote would pay, you gotta be nuts. The reason those guys get such high salaries is because of how low they are able to negotiate the price.
As another posted already pointed out, the reason this is starting to become necessary (especially for MMORPGs) is because of the vicious cycle of games requiring higher budgets to compete on graphics/marketing. In addition, the MMORPGs in particular have a subscriber plateau they tend to reach where the number of new players (read: additional revenue streams) tapers off, at which point it starts getting more expensive to add and maintain new content. Now, this is dealt with in part with Expansion Packs, but then you have the shareholders to please as well, and they always demand more money.
What I think will eventually happen is that eventually it will cause the industry (or part of it) to implode. The smaller developers will eventually be on a more even playing field as development tools become more powerful and cheaper. Its scary how much this is becoming like Hollywood, it really is. Of course its comforting to know there will always be those in the Indie world (developers/directors) who blindside us with amazing work for cheap.
"Their publicists are getting a fat check on this one."
Actually, to clarify a bit as someone who is in advertising and knows a fair bit about how publicists are paid...they typically don't get paid based on the specific hype they generate, since its really a crap shoot. Rather, there services are retained for what is usually a set fee (which may or may not include performance incentives).
I know you were just using a figure of speech, but just though I'd give an insightful little nugget about them. So yes, a Slashdot story is a good hit, but the publicist won't be getting a bonus just because of Slashdot.
Slashdot Mirror
More importantly, are there any laws or government bodies that we can bring into effect on our side to make sure this kind of crap never happens?
Yeah, worst case scenario, but a liability nonetheless. The reason this system won't be accepted is because the current system is one based on trust and legal consequences. You purchase/lease the car with the expectation that it starts whenever you want it to. Even if there is a problem with the billing system of your credit card company or bank, or with the company who maintains the payment records for your car.
They are assuming some amount of risk by letting you make your payments over a period of time and in return they tend to get more money than if you paid it all up front. That is how the system has always worked, and thats how it will continue to work because not enough people will be stupid enough to lose their end of that bargain.
And I'd then love to break the empty bottle over these religious fanatics' heads. Only then might they understand what it is like to force your view on someone else.
Perhaps the most frustrating part of this, is that they are trying to say "oh look, ID is part of science too!", and then COMPLETELY refuse to examine it and argue it based on the underlying foundation of science...the Scientific Method.
I mean...isn't that like going into a courtroom and saying "Your Honor...my client is innocent, and we're basing our case off of some completely different set of laws that do not apply to our current legal system as well as our belief that he is innocent."
If you want to argue that your view is part of the system, at least discuss/view/analyze it within the paradigm of the system!
But of course that will never happen, because as soon as anyone attempts to do that (as every scientist today thrills in doing) the argument falls completely apart.
God, its like arguing with an autistic kid who will keep being the same way no matter what you say to them. If we ever do manage to colonize another planet, I hope to god (whoops) that logical beings will be able to create a society free of religion.
I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with people who have religious beliefs and don't try to force them on others...I'm just saying its high time that those who believe in science and do not have religious beliefs set up their own society. Makes you wonder what would happen if you took two societies from scratch, and had one made up of these ID fanatics and another with atheist/agnostic scientists, where each would end up in a century.
Look at all of the scientific developments that have arisen because of that first trip. I daresay we wouldn't even be able to conceive a space elevator today if we hadn't taken one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind.
Parent is exaclty right, this isn't like a video game where you just focus your society's scientific developments towards aids research. In real life people have different interests and goals, and not everybody sees their destiny as curing AIDS.
And who knows what developments a quest to outerspace could unearth that might be relevant to AIDS! Remember, science and technology do not evolve in a linear fashion. Don't believe me? Just watch any of James Burke's Connections series.
Now...if you want to make an argument about a government aiming in one direction and not another, perhaps you should be discussing their budgets for the alotted programs. Of course you run into the same issue which is that a government cannot simply devote all its resources to one endeavor. Just like any proper investment, you need to DIVERSIFY FOR MAXIMUM GAINS WITH MINIMUM RISKS.
You see, if you think you will be getting a discount on what you pay now think again, unless you only watch one or two channels.
Any more than that and I'm sure the prices will quickly eclipse that of your old bundled cable bill. In addition, I'm sure there will be "service fees" for the unbundling which will be tacked onto everbodies bill. With a la carte pricing, prices will only be increasing, and i'm sure it will be fairly drastic increases at that.
"Please mod parent down...he asserts that the linked website in question is devoid of original content and full of adverts when in fact IT IS NOT!
I know many of you will not want to verify to increase his traffic...but for god sakes...the guy doesn't even have any banner ads on his site. Hell, he doesn't even have any Google Ad Words!!!
Its actually quite an informative site (even though it looks like it was coded in the early 90's), with just about zero advertising (in a quick scan of the page I could not find ANY ads whatsoever). As for original content....its a biography site...what kind of original content were you looking for there exactly?"
I know many of you will not want to verify to increase his traffic...but for god sakes...the guy doesn't even have any banner ads on his site. Hell, he doesn't even have any Google Ad Words!!!
Its actually quite an informative site (even though it looks like it was coded in the early 90's), with just about zero advertising (in a quick scan of the page I could not find ANY ads whatsoever). As for original content....its a biography site...what kind of original content were you looking for there exactly?
I mean, this isn't like Roland who linked to the story on his ad supported blog rather than directly to the article. At least this guy has the common curtesy link directly.
And people have said that he changes his homepage a lot, I've just seen the George Harrison one, can someone please post some evidence to the contrary?
I mean, I love a good old-fashioned pitchfork and torch rally on Slashdot as good as the next guy, but I'm wondering if this guy is the right target for it.
Doesn't that acronym kind of answer your own question?
Which I'm sure goes hand in hand with the raised prices.
Specialized bricks are what is killing Lego!
There, we may all go on with trying to catch up with all the new stories that just appeared...which are dated several hours ago.
I mean, thats cool that he's setting a balloon flight record, but what does the fact that he has lots of money have to do anything?
Its like.....oh look, I'm doing this incredibly cool thing, and by the way did you know I'm filthy rich?!
Interestingly enough you could also just calmly say "representative" and get put promptly through to one as well...but whatever helps you with your anger management issues I guess.
Well, what I usually do is go through the Sales line, and ask to be transferred directly to a tech person. Often times it helps me skip the queue entirely.
This really isn't any different then from how Wal-Mart does things. You don't think they are able to offer "Every Day Low Prices" because they pay standard wholesale do you? In fact, their execs are KNOWN for the crazy stories of how brutal they can be to industries to get them to lower their prices for them (think RFID manufacturers).
You can't calculate exactly how much MS is losing based on retail pricing of individual parts. If you think they are paying what some analyst asking for a quote would pay, you gotta be nuts. The reason those guys get such high salaries is because of how low they are able to negotiate the price.
Not for long now though you insensitive clod!
What I think will eventually happen is that eventually it will cause the industry (or part of it) to implode. The smaller developers will eventually be on a more even playing field as development tools become more powerful and cheaper. Its scary how much this is becoming like Hollywood, it really is. Of course its comforting to know there will always be those in the Indie world (developers/directors) who blindside us with amazing work for cheap.
Actually, to clarify a bit as someone who is in advertising and knows a fair bit about how publicists are paid...they typically don't get paid based on the specific hype they generate, since its really a crap shoot. Rather, there services are retained for what is usually a set fee (which may or may not include performance incentives).
I know you were just using a figure of speech, but just though I'd give an insightful little nugget about them. So yes, a Slashdot story is a good hit, but the publicist won't be getting a bonus just because of Slashdot.