There is only ONE THING that you left out of this equation. GREED. If someone found a new big gold mine and it produced that well, they would buy enormous amounts of bling, waste it on women, fast cars, servants, etc.
Let's replace gold with NBA contract. Someone got an NBA contract and it produced so well, they bought enormous amounts of bling, wasted it on women, fast cars, servants, big houses, etc. Every time someone gets a bigger NBA (or whatever sport) contract, they waste it, and it affects the world economy zero on the downswing as you indicate.
Greed will override deflation EVERY SINGLE TIME. When was the last time you saw a corporation rake in the bucks and then use it to lower prices? Let's see - the biggest corporate gains in WORLD HISTORY - the recent profits of Exxon/Mobil - have you noticed gasoline prices going down since they made so much money? Did they return to $1 a gallon gasoline, or did gasoline simply continue going higher?
Point made - greed trumps gold every single time.
Let's address "interest rates would be insanely volatile." Countrywide, anyone? Have you even LOOKED at adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs)? The interest rates on them are INSANELY VOLATILE. People refinance a small home from $1400 a month and then get into a fixed mortgage for 50% more - $2100 a month - for a SMALL HOME. For 99% of the markets, $2100 a month is a LOT of money.
Add greed in - "points" which is a nice way of saying "you pay us for the privilege of borrowing, PLUS interest," attorney fees; closing costs, fees, fees, fees EVERYWHERE.
When money is backed by gold, it only means that inflation goes up very slowly, until you throw in greed. If money IS gold, then guess what? Inflation can STILL happen - 1849 gold rush for instance - things were priced at TODAY'S prices in dollars there, but elsewhere, fairly stable. Inflation happens regardless of gold backing or not, but gold backing will for the most part keep things more stable. Without it, you end up with hyper-inflation like at the end of WWII in Germany - a wheelbarrow of money for a loaf of bread. That was WITHOUT gold backing for the money. WITH gold backing - gas at 19 per gallon in 1970. WITHOUT gold backing in 1973 gasoline had doubled, then quadrupled. In 1979 gasoline hit $1 per gallon. In less than a decade, oil moved up 5x, where it had been relatively stable with gold backing the money. Gold backed money makes a society more stable, plain and simple, without it (like now), you end up with volatility.
Actually this is completely false. Many STATE and FEDERAL agencies may have this requirement, as they don't want to get sued for wrongful termination, but here is how MOST places actually do this:
I'll give you an example from my own life. I used to own a business where we used lots of machinery - saws, etc. One of the requirements in all of the hiring documents was that you could not be using drugs, and if anything on the banned substances list were found via a drug test, you a) weren't going to get hired, and b) you could be required to take a drug test if certain criteria were witnessed. Employee A applied and was provisionally hired by me, pending drug testing results. I had known employee A for several years. Two weeks later (and apparently multiple tests of the sample later) results came back - bingo - out the door in about 30 seconds.
If there are specific requirements regarding drug & alcohol use written into job descriptions, it is easy as pie to get rid of them if these things are spelled out. Now STATE employees are very hard to get rid of even for poor job performance because many governmental agency HR departments are terrified of wrongful termination suits. Spell it out, no problem.
If you think drug and alcohol use is fine, that is your prerogative. However, I can assure you that impaired judgment is NOT okay in all situations. Programming - who knows - might depend on the individual. Using heavy machinery, driving a vehicle, what have you - I can assure you that it's not.
Someone did think of children - their own. Daylight savings time does not save energy, quite the contrary. One of the largest INCREASES is in gasoline consumption. The reason for the DST extension is simple - increase in shopping - hence those who own businesses & oil make more - and so do their children benefit.
Add to the fray the changing from winter to summer mix (and back at the end of DST) and you have a recipe for charging more for oil. Anyone have gasoline over $3 a gallon where they are right now? And all this BEFORE the Iran conflict with England. The oil companies switch mixtures and "clean" their tanks in the process, every March and every fall. March prices rise through April due to "less supply" but the same demand. The reality is the gasoline goes through at the same rate. It's all supply/demand *on paper.*
September brings Labor Day and "increased travel" for that holiday in the US, but prices CONTINUE to rise after that, due to switching the mix again. Add to that more shopping (more daylight DOES mean more shopping) and lo and behold it's all about the money. What else can we expect from a government that lets the President veto bills from the House and Senate because he wants to keep the Iraq war going, when less than 19% of the US supports the war? Definfitely fed up - but this move is STRICTLY over money.
The reason that at least Americans don't grow their own tobacco and roll their own cigarrettes is the same reason that most Americans don't buy a coffee maker/espresso maker/whatever to make their own coffee drinks. In Washington state (home of Starbucks and a million smaller coffee houses), it is impossible to work somewhere with more than a couple of employees (if that) where you don't run into a LOT of people who buy one or more coffee drinks every single day, at $3-7 a pop.
It would be nearly trivial to purchase even a high-end coffee maker (or other) for the cost of less than one or two months' outlay for their daily fix, they could even have one for home, one for work, one for church, etc.
Americans have become lazy, and succumb to instant gratification. The sheer volume of coffee outlets in Washington (and other places) is a perfect testament to this. Even McDonalds sells higher end coffee (Seattle's Best). 7-11 carries Kona coffee. People come in every single day for their coffee, sometimes more than once.
People also succumb to the belief that it's cheaper to live in the city and pay for all food, when the reality is that you get significantly different food if you grow it yourself, especially organically - without pesticides - as well as your food isn't processed if you grow it yourself. It's comparing apples and halibut it's so different.
Americans (and much of the world now) believe such fallacies as you can make millions becoming a music star, actor, sports star, whatever, when the reality is that the masses pay for those elite few who comprise a minute fraction of a single percent who actually strike it rich. Instant gratification combined with the willingness of the masses to believe fallacies based upon false premises further entrench stupidity.
Americans also falsely believe that the person getting the most votes for President becomes President. Dubya disproved this TWICE in a row, losing the popular vote, yet no one does anything about it. The root cause is the same in all cases.
We're actually spending more money because DST has a specific effect (ask any retailer) - more sales. People shop more during DST, and it's an immediate noticeable increase. I notice increased sales on the web as well.
More shopping definitely means more gasoline consumption. With gas passing $3 per gallon right now, and we're in the middle of the "March cleaning cycle" - we're going to spend more money as a nation on gasoline as well, on both ends of DST.
The "March cleaning cycle" is when the oil companies switch from the winter blend to the summer blend (and again back in the fall). This empties their tanks, but gas flows out at the exact same rate. Gas prices are set on supply & demand. Smaller "supply" (tanks are empty - they measure & record this), but same rate of gas going out - EVERY SINGLE MARCH gasoline goes up. Same thing happens in September, with Labor Day kicking off the price increases. Note that we continue to have record profits from the oil companies as well.
So there are SIGNIFICANT hidden costs which some know about quite easily. Did you think it was due to OPEC raising prices that our gasoline costs more each and every year in March and September?
So instead of doing something valuable like finding killer asteroids that actually exist and have hit the world in the last 100 years, we send a mission to Mars, send up commercial satellites on government paid for shuttles?
Use the money for something useful instead of finding out the effects of sending rats into space.
This is absolutely true and D.C. is trying to get the rest of the people to become sheep and give up their rights. If no new information is being collected, no new requirements are being mandated, then exactly why is this necessary?
9-11 was cited as the reason for this in the FAQ (for those who RTFAQ) and it is complete and utter bull.
States that are trying to reject this (so far) include:
Maine (passed)
Georgia, Massachusetts, Montana, Washington, California, and Texas)
This is EXACTLY a national ID card, and we already have the right to board aircraft. The problem is that we LET D.C. regulate states! Mod parent up - this is "national security" at its worst.
Mod parent up! An honest business should sell you products at posted prices, no more, no less. If they are out, offer to subsitute. If you pay for something and they are out, substitute, issue credit, or refund. Fairly simple.
I definitely advocate using cel internet as well. Each month that I have had it, it's been worth the extra cost. The only time it wasn't worth it was finding out that Sprint doesn't let you log into Yahoo! - it's an extra cost each month. I've done the exact same thing - in fact I pre-empt the cashiers by having the page in question all ready - I've found it speeds the line up also.
Actually Wal-Mart appears to be only going after the bucks, period. Trying to sell however million compact fluorescent bulbs gives added publicity. The same goes for their $4 drugs. If you're in Wal-Mart buying the $4 drugs, you're much more likely to spend the rest of your money on other things. Most people only like going to one store instead of dozens, especially in the US where they have been conditioned.
Snapper is one of the few companies who said no and still made a profit, and good for them. Wal-Mart will only do something positive if they feel the positive publicity will help sales.
They DO have the potential to do good, but it's very sad to be able to tell a certain portion of the population in my town is headed directly for the local Wal-Mart just by the bumper stickers on the back. If Wal-Mart DID want to do good, they wouldn't run every other small business out of town when they moved in, and their penchant for doing this with price fixing is extremely well-documented. The problem is that when they do not collude with any other retail businesses directly to fix prices, they can't be nailed for price fixing. They typically take the hit when they sell products below cost, not the manufacturer, and this drives other businesses out of town. If they were in collusion they could be nailed, but since they do it all by themselves it's not considered price fixing. Loophole anyone?
Contact an attorney. They WILL be able to get ahold of Dell for certain. Not only that, but come back here and post an article on your progress. Get a petition going - Slashdot readers will sign it (online most likely) in droves. Contact PJ at Groklaw, she'll likely be interested in your story. With all of the talk of exploding batteries, you're likely to find an audience that will listen to an attorney.
True enough, BUT - have you seen the new VISA commercials? They explicitly imply that you are BAD if you use cash, because "everyone else is using VISA." Their dance routine / commercial set in a coffee shop where everyone is buying coffee and food items, expertly choreographed and everyone is flying in a rush, the one guy uses cash and it breaks everyone else's rhythm, spilling coffee everywhere, making a mess, and everyone from the employees to the customers glares at the "goober" using cash and breaking the well-oiled machine.
Less that 3% of all financial transactions in the US utilize cash. Mortgage and rent payments - go through your bank with a check. Most people pay their bills online - again - records of all the transactions everywhere. Most landlords refuse cash payment of rent because they are seen as laundering money or comitting fraud by the IRS if they do.
So you DO swipe a form of ID when you actually shop if you simply use a debit card. Post Office employees are trained to try to get you to use a debit or credit card because it results in less change errors that way, but again - every purchase *is* tracked.
In the US, it's VERY hard (not impossible) to conduct transactions without being tracked, but they *ARE* tracked if you use other than cash.
1) CFLs don't typically work well on a dimmer switch or any faulty wiring. I've found two instances of faulty wiring in my home because of constantly blowing CFLs.
2) In Washington State, many companies (Lowes, Fred Meyer) have coupons for $2 off a CFL, up to 8 per person per trip. Albertson's, Lowes, Fred Meyer, Wal-Mart, etc. sometimes have sales with bulbs running about $2 each - free light bulbs! Stock up as you only have to pay the tax on them - comes out to aobut 18 per bulb depending on local tax rates.
3) The CFL coupons are available through various electric companies nationwide - not all areas have them.
4) CFLs contain a starter just like any fluorescent bulb. This is what makes them wear out when used with a dimmer.
5) Be careful about using CFLs near infants and children. The mercury CAN cause significant health issues. CFL, dimmer at night for the night light - can add to the mercury content for a child if the light blows up.
This is the problem with having legislators rule us. They don't always check the facts or dangers but require us to obey.
With electric rates being Federally deregulated in 2008, CFLs help NOW, but when consumption drops, then the electric companies can charge just a little more for less power. Seems like a good idea until you realize you pay just as much for 1/4 the consumption. Ingenious way of raising electric rates.
It takes some doing, but it's possible to have fraudulent intent to mutilate. For instance, making a 4-legged buffalo nickel into a 3-legged (rare) variety is fraudulent. Dropping pennies in a machine at Disneyland for souvenirs is perfectly okay.
Since you're asking in curiosity, I'm responding, not flaming whatsoever.
BSD is the base that Apple's OSX is built upon, among MANY other successful BSD derivatives, so I am not speaking without knowledge here.
BSD is the base that was copied to form much of the software that the FSF has. GNU stands for "Gnu's not Unix!" which is recursive, and an "inside joke."
Basically the way it was described to me best was that Linux (not the kernel but the userspace more than anything) emulates and copies Unix, and BSD.
Think about it this way - car manufacturers often copy other models and features. Some are better, some are worse.
BSD has other (different, not better, not worse) freedoms than the GPL (which is associated most with Linux). There is the freedom to go proprietary, which many exercise. There is the freedom to interface much proprietary software with it.
BSD is typically more stable than a comparable Linux installation. This is not always the case, several people may want to mod me down, but BSD IS STABLE.
BSD also doesn't have Microsoft screaming about IP infringement. Microsoft hasn't sued Apple for it, and they CERTAINLY would go after them if they had done it, since they're the deepest pockets based upon BSD.
BSD also has many tight-knit communities, some of which offer certain things people may like.
Remember, I like BSD and Linux - have used both for some time!
Here's a great one for you. My wife and I got married a year ago.
1) Hotel closed in Bahamas due to hurricane. We changed flights to Hawaii, honeymooned there. 2) Due to a horrid set of circumstances and poor maintenance on USAIRWAYS - our flight was canceled and I think they towed the plane straight to the dump. FOUR times on & off the plane - first the lights wouldn't come on for the pilots, then warning lights wouldn't go off, etc. We went through security 3 times before we even got on a plane. 3) They sent us in a taxi to ANOTHER AIRPORT an hour away. Second flight change in a week. 4) We got to the 2nd airport - the flight we were supposed to take - snow problems. 5) USAirways & United kept booking and then unbooking us - six more times. Routed to LAX via Denver, Philly, Detroit, etc. EIGHT flight changes in a week now. 6) They FINALLY issue us tickets about 10 minutes before the flight was ready to go. 7) EXTRA SECURITY! Due entirely to them changing our flights repeatedly. 8) We arrive late in Los Angeles, only to miss our flight to Hawaii. Tickets must be re-done a NINTH time now, first night of honeymoon in hotel with bullet hole in window on 9th floor. I kid you not. 9) Next morning - tickets are re-done a 10th time. SURPRISE! Extra Security! 10) Leaving Hawaii - I kid you not - we had to go through security 3 times!
Lesson learned: Print your boarding passes from ONLINE - they NEVER have the extra security flag on them! ALWAYS keep a spare set on your person so that you can skip the extra security!!
I absolutely recomment the iGo. You can charge 2-4 devices at once, and they have models that will even power up to midrange notebooks. I have one as does my wife - and they are invaluable. Get a new cel or other device? $10 for a new tip - RadioShack and others have them in major malls, you can even buy them in airports if you lose a tip. eBay often offers them for $10 per tip from various sellers.
I even have a tip that works with my battery charger - works with AAA, AA and 9V batteries. Best present I have had in quite a long time. It's got a carrying case, takes as many different tips as you need, and works on AC (US), DC (car charger) and airline charger. It's awesome to charge up my cel between flights - ON the flight!
Actually a LOT of programs say "this is licensed under GPL V2 or any later version," or similar wording. The problem is that people do NOT think when they write down something they saw SOMEWHERE.
This isn't actually correct. With any large supply and demand pricing structure, there are always people who will pay higher than market value for a given product, and there are also people who will pay differing amounts below same market value. This means the market spans those who want to pay an additional premium to have the item earliest, and those who will purchase secondhand in order to save money.
Sony could address the former by having a special club one could join that, by paying extra, the participants could have the item earlier than launch date. There is already a thriving secondhand market, and it's hard to make money on items you have already sold in that market, it works best by those who purchase and resell secondhand goods.
Slashdot Mirror
There is only ONE THING that you left out of this equation. GREED. If someone found a new big gold mine and it produced that well, they would buy enormous amounts of bling, waste it on women, fast cars, servants, etc.
Let's replace gold with NBA contract. Someone got an NBA contract and it produced so well, they bought enormous amounts of bling, wasted it on women, fast cars, servants, big houses, etc. Every time someone gets a bigger NBA (or whatever sport) contract, they waste it, and it affects the world economy zero on the downswing as you indicate. Greed will override deflation EVERY SINGLE TIME. When was the last time you saw a corporation rake in the bucks and then use it to lower prices? Let's see - the biggest corporate gains in WORLD HISTORY - the recent profits of Exxon/Mobil - have you noticed gasoline prices going down since they made so much money? Did they return to $1 a gallon gasoline, or did gasoline simply continue going higher?
Point made - greed trumps gold every single time.
Let's address "interest rates would be insanely volatile." Countrywide, anyone? Have you even LOOKED at adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs)? The interest rates on them are INSANELY VOLATILE. People refinance a small home from $1400 a month and then get into a fixed mortgage for 50% more - $2100 a month - for a SMALL HOME. For 99% of the markets, $2100 a month is a LOT of money.
Add greed in - "points" which is a nice way of saying "you pay us for the privilege of borrowing, PLUS interest," attorney fees; closing costs, fees, fees, fees EVERYWHERE.
When money is backed by gold, it only means that inflation goes up very slowly, until you throw in greed. If money IS gold, then guess what? Inflation can STILL happen - 1849 gold rush for instance - things were priced at TODAY'S prices in dollars there, but elsewhere, fairly stable. Inflation happens regardless of gold backing or not, but gold backing will for the most part keep things more stable. Without it, you end up with hyper-inflation like at the end of WWII in Germany - a wheelbarrow of money for a loaf of bread. That was WITHOUT gold backing for the money. WITH gold backing - gas at 19 per gallon in 1970. WITHOUT gold backing in 1973 gasoline had doubled, then quadrupled. In 1979 gasoline hit $1 per gallon. In less than a decade, oil moved up 5x, where it had been relatively stable with gold backing the money. Gold backed money makes a society more stable, plain and simple, without it (like now), you end up with volatility.
Actually this is completely false. Many STATE and FEDERAL agencies may have this requirement, as they don't want to get sued for wrongful termination, but here is how MOST places actually do this:
I'll give you an example from my own life. I used to own a business where we used lots of machinery - saws, etc. One of the requirements in all of the hiring documents was that you could not be using drugs, and if anything on the banned substances list were found via a drug test, you a) weren't going to get hired, and b) you could be required to take a drug test if certain criteria were witnessed. Employee A applied and was provisionally hired by me, pending drug testing results. I had known employee A for several years. Two weeks later (and apparently multiple tests of the sample later) results came back - bingo - out the door in about 30 seconds.
If there are specific requirements regarding drug & alcohol use written into job descriptions, it is easy as pie to get rid of them if these things are spelled out. Now STATE employees are very hard to get rid of even for poor job performance because many governmental agency HR departments are terrified of wrongful termination suits. Spell it out, no problem.
If you think drug and alcohol use is fine, that is your prerogative. However, I can assure you that impaired judgment is NOT okay in all situations. Programming - who knows - might depend on the individual. Using heavy machinery, driving a vehicle, what have you - I can assure you that it's not.
Someone did think of children - their own. Daylight savings time does not save energy, quite the contrary. One of the largest INCREASES is in gasoline consumption. The reason for the DST extension is simple - increase in shopping - hence those who own businesses & oil make more - and so do their children benefit.
Add to the fray the changing from winter to summer mix (and back at the end of DST) and you have a recipe for charging more for oil. Anyone have gasoline over $3 a gallon where they are right now? And all this BEFORE the Iran conflict with England. The oil companies switch mixtures and "clean" their tanks in the process, every March and every fall. March prices rise through April due to "less supply" but the same demand. The reality is the gasoline goes through at the same rate. It's all supply/demand *on paper.*
September brings Labor Day and "increased travel" for that holiday in the US, but prices CONTINUE to rise after that, due to switching the mix again. Add to that more shopping (more daylight DOES mean more shopping) and lo and behold it's all about the money. What else can we expect from a government that lets the President veto bills from the House and Senate because he wants to keep the Iraq war going, when less than 19% of the US supports the war? Definfitely fed up - but this move is STRICTLY over money.
The reason that at least Americans don't grow their own tobacco and roll their own cigarrettes is the same reason that most Americans don't buy a coffee maker/espresso maker/whatever to make their own coffee drinks. In Washington state (home of Starbucks and a million smaller coffee houses), it is impossible to work somewhere with more than a couple of employees (if that) where you don't run into a LOT of people who buy one or more coffee drinks every single day, at $3-7 a pop.
It would be nearly trivial to purchase even a high-end coffee maker (or other) for the cost of less than one or two months' outlay for their daily fix, they could even have one for home, one for work, one for church, etc.
Americans have become lazy, and succumb to instant gratification. The sheer volume of coffee outlets in Washington (and other places) is a perfect testament to this. Even McDonalds sells higher end coffee (Seattle's Best). 7-11 carries Kona coffee. People come in every single day for their coffee, sometimes more than once.
People also succumb to the belief that it's cheaper to live in the city and pay for all food, when the reality is that you get significantly different food if you grow it yourself, especially organically - without pesticides - as well as your food isn't processed if you grow it yourself. It's comparing apples and halibut it's so different.
Americans (and much of the world now) believe such fallacies as you can make millions becoming a music star, actor, sports star, whatever, when the reality is that the masses pay for those elite few who comprise a minute fraction of a single percent who actually strike it rich. Instant gratification combined with the willingness of the masses to believe fallacies based upon false premises further entrench stupidity.
Americans also falsely believe that the person getting the most votes for President becomes President. Dubya disproved this TWICE in a row, losing the popular vote, yet no one does anything about it. The root cause is the same in all cases.
We're actually spending more money because DST has a specific effect (ask any retailer) - more sales. People shop more during DST, and it's an immediate noticeable increase. I notice increased sales on the web as well.
More shopping definitely means more gasoline consumption. With gas passing $3 per gallon right now, and we're in the middle of the "March cleaning cycle" - we're going to spend more money as a nation on gasoline as well, on both ends of DST.
The "March cleaning cycle" is when the oil companies switch from the winter blend to the summer blend (and again back in the fall). This empties their tanks, but gas flows out at the exact same rate. Gas prices are set on supply & demand. Smaller "supply" (tanks are empty - they measure & record this), but same rate of gas going out - EVERY SINGLE MARCH gasoline goes up. Same thing happens in September, with Labor Day kicking off the price increases. Note that we continue to have record profits from the oil companies as well.
So there are SIGNIFICANT hidden costs which some know about quite easily. Did you think it was due to OPEC raising prices that our gasoline costs more each and every year in March and September?
Here's what happens when airplanes are flown by a remote control:
(actual video of an Airbus320!)
The Oops List
Hit AirBus320_trees.mp4. The site won't permit hotlinking. Listen to the spectators at the end.
So instead of doing something valuable like finding killer asteroids that actually exist and have hit the world in the last 100 years, we send a mission to Mars, send up commercial satellites on government paid for shuttles?
Use the money for something useful instead of finding out the effects of sending rats into space.
MOD PARENT UP.
This is absolutely true and D.C. is trying to get the rest of the people to become sheep and give up their rights. If no new information is being collected, no new requirements are being mandated, then exactly why is this necessary?
9-11 was cited as the reason for this in the FAQ (for those who RTFAQ) and it is complete and utter bull.
States that are trying to reject this (so far) include:
Maine (passed)
Georgia, Massachusetts, Montana, Washington, California, and Texas)
This is EXACTLY a national ID card, and we already have the right to board aircraft. The problem is that we LET D.C. regulate states! Mod parent up - this is "national security" at its worst.
Mod parent up! An honest business should sell you products at posted prices, no more, no less. If they are out, offer to subsitute. If you pay for something and they are out, substitute, issue credit, or refund. Fairly simple.
I definitely advocate using cel internet as well. Each month that I have had it, it's been worth the extra cost. The only time it wasn't worth it was finding out that Sprint doesn't let you log into Yahoo! - it's an extra cost each month. I've done the exact same thing - in fact I pre-empt the cashiers by having the page in question all ready - I've found it speeds the line up also.
Actually Wal-Mart appears to be only going after the bucks, period. Trying to sell however million compact fluorescent bulbs gives added publicity. The same goes for their $4 drugs. If you're in Wal-Mart buying the $4 drugs, you're much more likely to spend the rest of your money on other things. Most people only like going to one store instead of dozens, especially in the US where they have been conditioned.
Snapper is one of the few companies who said no and still made a profit, and good for them. Wal-Mart will only do something positive if they feel the positive publicity will help sales.
They DO have the potential to do good, but it's very sad to be able to tell a certain portion of the population in my town is headed directly for the local Wal-Mart just by the bumper stickers on the back. If Wal-Mart DID want to do good, they wouldn't run every other small business out of town when they moved in, and their penchant for doing this with price fixing is extremely well-documented. The problem is that when they do not collude with any other retail businesses directly to fix prices, they can't be nailed for price fixing. They typically take the hit when they sell products below cost, not the manufacturer, and this drives other businesses out of town. If they were in collusion they could be nailed, but since they do it all by themselves it's not considered price fixing. Loophole anyone?
Contact an attorney. They WILL be able to get ahold of Dell for certain. Not only that, but come back here and post an article on your progress. Get a petition going - Slashdot readers will sign it (online most likely) in droves. Contact PJ at Groklaw, she'll likely be interested in your story. With all of the talk of exploding batteries, you're likely to find an audience that will listen to an attorney.
True enough, BUT - have you seen the new VISA commercials? They explicitly imply that you are BAD if you use cash, because "everyone else is using VISA." Their dance routine / commercial set in a coffee shop where everyone is buying coffee and food items, expertly choreographed and everyone is flying in a rush, the one guy uses cash and it breaks everyone else's rhythm, spilling coffee everywhere, making a mess, and everyone from the employees to the customers glares at the "goober" using cash and breaking the well-oiled machine.
Less that 3% of all financial transactions in the US utilize cash. Mortgage and rent payments - go through your bank with a check. Most people pay their bills online - again - records of all the transactions everywhere. Most landlords refuse cash payment of rent because they are seen as laundering money or comitting fraud by the IRS if they do.
So you DO swipe a form of ID when you actually shop if you simply use a debit card. Post Office employees are trained to try to get you to use a debit or credit card because it results in less change errors that way, but again - every purchase *is* tracked.
In the US, it's VERY hard (not impossible) to conduct transactions without being tracked, but they *ARE* tracked if you use other than cash.
Tips & tricks:
1) CFLs don't typically work well on a dimmer switch or any faulty wiring. I've found two instances of faulty wiring in my home because of constantly blowing CFLs.
2) In Washington State, many companies (Lowes, Fred Meyer) have coupons for $2 off a CFL, up to 8 per person per trip. Albertson's, Lowes, Fred Meyer, Wal-Mart, etc. sometimes have sales with bulbs running about $2 each - free light bulbs! Stock up as you only have to pay the tax on them - comes out to aobut 18 per bulb depending on local tax rates. 3) The CFL coupons are available through various electric companies nationwide - not all areas have them. 4) CFLs contain a starter just like any fluorescent bulb. This is what makes them wear out when used with a dimmer. 5) Be careful about using CFLs near infants and children. The mercury CAN cause significant health issues. CFL, dimmer at night for the night light - can add to the mercury content for a child if the light blows up.
This is the problem with having legislators rule us. They don't always check the facts or dangers but require us to obey.
With electric rates being Federally deregulated in 2008, CFLs help NOW, but when consumption drops, then the electric companies can charge just a little more for less power. Seems like a good idea until you realize you pay just as much for 1/4 the consumption. Ingenious way of raising electric rates.
Then again - pennies can be worth even more money with a picture of Mickey Mouse on them.
www.pressedpenny.com/dlmickey.php
It's actually okay to mutilate coins as long as the intent isn't fraudulent.
Pressed Penny FAQ
It takes some doing, but it's possible to have fraudulent intent to mutilate. For instance, making a 4-legged buffalo nickel into a 3-legged (rare) variety is fraudulent. Dropping pennies in a machine at Disneyland for souvenirs is perfectly okay.
I wonder what the feds think of this penny pressing site?
pressedpenny.com
What is the government definition of "bulk"?
Since you're asking in curiosity, I'm responding, not flaming whatsoever.
BSD is the base that Apple's OSX is built upon, among MANY other successful BSD derivatives, so I am not speaking without knowledge here.
BSD is the base that was copied to form much of the software that the FSF has. GNU stands for "Gnu's not Unix!" which is recursive, and an "inside joke."
Basically the way it was described to me best was that Linux (not the kernel but the userspace more than anything) emulates and copies Unix, and BSD.
Think about it this way - car manufacturers often copy other models and features. Some are better, some are worse.
BSD has other (different, not better, not worse) freedoms than the GPL (which is associated most with Linux). There is the freedom to go proprietary, which many exercise. There is the freedom to interface much proprietary software with it.
BSD is typically more stable than a comparable Linux installation. This is not always the case, several people may want to mod me down, but BSD IS STABLE.
BSD also doesn't have Microsoft screaming about IP infringement. Microsoft hasn't sued Apple for it, and they CERTAINLY would go after them if they had done it, since they're the deepest pockets based upon BSD.
BSD also has many tight-knit communities, some of which offer certain things people may like.
Remember, I like BSD and Linux - have used both for some time!
Print your boarding pass out at home - log in and do this from online - and you NEVER get the SSSS on your boarding pass!
EVER! For some reason they can't or won't do it online. Saves you hassles at the airport.
Here's a great one for you. My wife and I got married a year ago.
1) Hotel closed in Bahamas due to hurricane. We changed flights to Hawaii, honeymooned there.
2) Due to a horrid set of circumstances and poor maintenance on USAIRWAYS - our flight was canceled and I think they towed the plane straight to the dump. FOUR times on & off the plane - first the lights wouldn't come on for the pilots, then warning lights wouldn't go off, etc. We went through security 3 times before we even got on a plane.
3) They sent us in a taxi to ANOTHER AIRPORT an hour away. Second flight change in a week.
4) We got to the 2nd airport - the flight we were supposed to take - snow problems.
5) USAirways & United kept booking and then unbooking us - six more times. Routed to LAX via Denver, Philly, Detroit, etc. EIGHT flight changes in a week now.
6) They FINALLY issue us tickets about 10 minutes before the flight was ready to go.
7) EXTRA SECURITY! Due entirely to them changing our flights repeatedly.
8) We arrive late in Los Angeles, only to miss our flight to Hawaii. Tickets must be re-done a NINTH time now, first night of honeymoon in hotel with bullet hole in window on 9th floor. I kid you not.
9) Next morning - tickets are re-done a 10th time. SURPRISE! Extra Security!
10) Leaving Hawaii - I kid you not - we had to go through security 3 times!
Lesson learned: Print your boarding passes from ONLINE - they NEVER have the extra security flag on them! ALWAYS keep a spare set on your person so that you can skip the extra security!!
I absolutely recomment the iGo. You can charge 2-4 devices at once, and they have models that will even power up to midrange notebooks. I have one as does my wife - and they are invaluable. Get a new cel or other device? $10 for a new tip - RadioShack and others have them in major malls, you can even buy them in airports if you lose a tip. eBay often offers them for $10 per tip from various sellers.
I even have a tip that works with my battery charger - works with AAA, AA and 9V batteries. Best present I have had in quite a long time. It's got a carrying case, takes as many different tips as you need, and works on AC (US), DC (car charger) and airline charger. It's awesome to charge up my cel between flights - ON the flight!
Looks like Microsoft money helps ward off competing developers as well. Novell sold out - plain and simple.
Novell could have gotten large cash infusions, but instead they let Microsoft intimidate them. This is just plain wrong.
It's pretty obvious what happened from the timing of the event. I'm certain we'll see more of this in the future.
Apparently it was easier for Microsoft to buy off Novell than to fund SCO.
Actually a LOT of programs say "this is licensed under GPL V2 or any later version," or similar wording. The problem is that people do NOT think when they write down something they saw SOMEWHERE.
This is why the original BSD license failed.
I used up my mod points yesterday - mod parent up funny!
This isn't actually correct. With any large supply and demand pricing structure, there are always people who will pay higher than market value for a given product, and there are also people who will pay differing amounts below same market value. This means the market spans those who want to pay an additional premium to have the item earliest, and those who will purchase secondhand in order to save money.
Sony could address the former by having a special club one could join that, by paying extra, the participants could have the item earlier than launch date. There is already a thriving secondhand market, and it's hard to make money on items you have already sold in that market, it works best by those who purchase and resell secondhand goods.