Ah yes, pick an example that Beck rarely, if ever, talks about. In the nearly one year that I've been watching Beck, he's talked about the "birther" movement maybe 3 times for a few minutes at a time. Beck as well as Larry Elder, Rush Limbaugh, and the other commentator's, could care less if the President was born in the US or not (at this point anyway). Are there questions surrounding the "certificate of birth"? Yes, especially since you can't even use that to get a passport. Has Beck spent a significant amount of time talking about it? No. His focus is on this administration and its current actions, just like Slashdot's focus was on GW Bush and his actions during that administration, but now falls largely silent on the Obama administration.
Yes, he's asking questions based on what Obama himself has said. "Look at the people I surround myself with to determine my beliefs" is what Obama said during the campaign. He then named off a bunch of liberal, moderate, and conservative people. Now, as President, he has surrounded himself with people that either call themselves communists or look to communists for their political philosophy (Anita Dunn anyone?). That doesn't sound so safe any more. So now, taking the word of the President, he's asking "Do you really believe these things?" Even during the campaign "I think that if you spread the wealth around, it's better for everybody".
If you really think that Beck is some extreme guy, then you aren't watching him, you're just watching the clips of him on YouTube. He may not be the smartest guy around (which he freely admits), but he talks to a lot of very smart people.
Why aren't you using an update server? Then you could just point the machines at that and hold the patches there until you've had a chance to test them. I've only got about 60 machines to keep track of and that's what I do. We didn't install IE7 until our CRM software (Goldmine) was compatible. I think I had to hold it back for about 2 months. Once I updated the machines, that forced our other vendor, that was writing a custom web app, to update their code ("No, I will not walk around to 40+ computers and uninstall IE7. Fix your code").
I don't test every single patch that comes through, but I also don't have 15k machines to manage. I would think, with that many machines, most, if not all, would be the same hardware, making it relatively easy to install the patch on one machine (or one group of machines), test everything, and then release it company wide if it passes the tests.
I think the biggest problem we had recently was an IE patch that caused Windows Explorer to not work properly. Every person with that problem hadn't restarted after the update. One restart later, everything was fine.
A few years ago, we had a major storm that took our power out for four days. We had (and still have) one plain old corded phone, so we never lost phone service. Most people we tried to call, though, never answered because their cordless phones didn't have power. I think it's a good idea to have a corded phone around for such emergencies.
Why, did the local companies not know there was an emergency? Seems like it would be pretty obvious that if a major storm rolls through an area and takes out the power, it's an awfully big emergency. No need to call for help (that could in fact just delay it).
Won't be long before "fraud sites" = "copyright infringement" sites. Who is behind this?
You know, an easy and proper way to handle this would be to have a governmental entity maintain a blocklist which ordinary citizens can optionally install/use/turn on/turn off (with some easy to use software).
Hahahaha! Have you ever used government software? I have. It is anything but easy to use and provides virtually no feedback when it's doing something.
Instead of a law, people should just be using the software that already exists. Spybot is very good at adding hosts entries to your system and it's updated constantly. Install that, keep it updated, and you should be fine. If some other company comes up with a better solution, people will use that instead. We don't need a law for this and we most certainly don't need the government telling ISPs that they have to block it.
I know companies like to claim that because they own the servers and the Internet connections the corporate emails travel over and get stored on, they own the "rights" to all of the employee emails as well. But to me, that's rather like an owner of an apartment complex claiming he/she can legally go through any of the tenants' physical mailboxes at will, because he/she owns the panel of mailboxes in the wall that it all gets put in!
And the computer and the network cabling and the software. This is exactly why people should not handle personal business on their company email account. The computer you use at work is given to you for work purposes. Most companies generally allow you to do a few extra things (shopping, vacation planning, etc) during breaks and lunch, but just because they allow it, doesn't mean you can use it just like it's "yours". Your work computer is your work computer. The difference between the company and the apartment complex owner is that the company pays you to do a job. The apartment owner typically provides a place of residence in exchange for payment, so 4th amendment protections would still apply ("The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects"). Do you see workplace in there anywhere? I don't. Yes, the apartment complex owner is simply providing a storage location for your mail. You can even get as much mail as you want put into it (provided it'll all fit). Contrast that with a company that uses mailbox quotas. When you hit your limit, that's it. They are under no obligation to provide you with additional storage. The apartment complex owner isn't either if there's a box that's to big to fit in your mail box, but they generally will allow the box to be left (someone else may pick it up, but that isn't their problem). Even your workplace can search your desk for any reason (again, most won't, but they can if they want).
Per the article, which I know no one reads, the guy that made the remarks has a blog at http://simonwillison.net/
He may not have been there, but his point is that for an industry that's always trying to attract women, this is the wrong thing to do. Not to mention that even if it is culturally accepted in Taiwan, some developers may be morally opposed to this.
So we shouldn't be surprised when women don't want to enter the IT and Computer Science fields because they see it as a male dominated field. Images like these reinforce that perception. If you want more women in the field, do things that attract them. Don't trot out booth babes like it's an anime/gaming convention or a car show.
Do you really think they spend most of their time watching TV? Have you ever seen a prison inmate or one recently released? If they're in for any length of time, they work out. They work out all the time because there's nothing else to do. Even inmates can only watch so much TV before they become bored. Since they probably have to watch their back all the time and be ready for anything, they're better off working out and staying in shape.
If they were sitting watching TV all day, they wouldn't have such huge muscles. They'd be skinny little shits that are easy to take down and can't take any hits. That's obviously not the case.
After I owned this printer for the first year or so, I noticed it was quickly replaced with a newer model that uses totally different supplies, too. This is typical for HP's products these days - and becomes a real problem when you run out of a toner and want to grab a replacement locally, so you don't suffer a lot of downtime.
We have HP LaserJet 5si's at work that were made in 1998 that we can still get toner for. We had two and the one that was made in 2005 actually died before the one made in '98 (it was probably used way more than the other one). We have plenty of printers that are more than 3 years old that are showing no signs of dying and we're fully able to get toner for them.
The LaserJet 5si's have been through at least 4 generations of Windows and may even work with Vista (I haven't checked for available drivers yet). So stop talking out of your ass. Toner is the one thing that is continually made since it's where they make most of their money.
Where does it say there should be a system of interstate highways? Where does it mention the internet? Space travel?
It doesn't. It also might surprise you to know that the Interstate system was started by a private individual that received funding from private companies (hotels, restaurants, etc). It was only when the government saw what was being built and decided to take it over that all the private funding dried up and the guy that started it had to close up shop.
While the article does say that Eisenhower had the constitutional authority to build the highway system, the reason of national defense is a bit of a stretch.
The government has yet to be involved with any transportation system that makes money (Amtrak has been losing money for 40 years).
There are two problems with the Interstate system. One is that the feds funded it. The second problem, and an even greater one, is that the Interstate commerce clause has been so completely twisted that even non Interstate commerce now falls into it. WTF is up with that?
The internet, as the other poster mentioned, had its origins in the military, so at least that one is justified. Same goes for space travel, which was essentially just an extension of developing ICBMs. Of course 30 years later, we're finally seeing the beginnings of private industry involvement in space travel.
I don't drive the freeway (at least not on a regular basis). I haven't in 3.5 years (except one day a year). Yet every time I fill my gas tank, I'm paying a tax for maintenance on the freeways. Why is that? Everything else has a tax when it's bought (soda, cigarettes, etc), yet the highway system is paid for with taxes whether you use it or not.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think Obama is the savior of this country by any means. I just think it is fair to pass judgment after he has failed. I am aware of the projections though.
So what do you suggest? Continue to let them spend money and then take a look at it in 4 years? Or stop them completely right now before the money is spent? Considering that he has spent more money in 6 months than all previous administrations combined, I'd say it's time to stop him before he can spend anymore.
And actually, if you think this isn't the change he promised, you weren't paying attention during the campaign. Like many people (heck, even I didn't see this coming) we all assumed that when he said "change" that he meant he was going to clean things up. If you watch videos from during the campaign though, it's pretty clear that this is exactly what he was talking about. So you are getting the change that was promised, you're just not getting the change you expected.
Really? Because that's the exact opposite of what has taken place in the computer industry.
The computer industry has gone unregulated for at least 30 years and today it is one of the most open industries with the most competition anywhere. Anything computer related is constantly getting cheaper while it seems that the regulated industries keep getting more expensive. And don't tell us it doesn't cost a "fuckton" to enter the computer industry (CPUs and GPUs cost a shitload to make, yet at one point there were at least 3 CPU makers and 3 GPU makers).
Contrast that with the auto industry where, for a time, the biggest selling "feature" was the size of the fins on the car. Improvements weren't being made because 1) the govt was regulating everything and 2) competition was non existant. Once the Japanese entered the market, improvements started being made again.
Now I would agree that we need laws to prevent collusion and abusive monopolies (anti-trust laws), but I'm getting kind of tired of all the other regulations that do nothing but make things more expensive.
Would some car companies encrypt all their data? Sure. But the ones that don't would have an additional selling point, especially to people that want to work on their own cars. ODBII codes seem to be the new form of keeping people from repairing their own cars, just like they fought to make people go to the dealer some 30 years ago.
I remote into my servers too, but do you really want to drive eight miles away to diagnose a potential hardware issue, or relinquish physical control to a dedicated hardware monkey?
I already do if I'm working on a server at night and it becomes unresponsive or fails to reboot properly. Work is about 7 miles from home. If the server isn't back up within 10 mins of a restart, it's off to the office to figure out why.
During working hours the only time I need physical access to anything is when I'm changing the backup tapes...that's once a week. I do everything through RDP and VNC.
And what does DirectX 11 offer over DirectX 10, or even 9?
The first and foremost thing to mention is that no DirectX 11 class hardware actually exists at retail right now, and might not be for some time.
You sound like 3DFX when Nvidia implemented 32-bit color, but no games supported it. I guess it's a good thing we can count on attitudes like that to not survive.
Why buy a quad core CPU when so few programs can use it? Why have more than 4 GB of RAM when so few programs are 64-bit capable? Why have a 1 TB hard drive when 80 GB should be enough? The point is that it's an improvement and the hardware will catch up.
And if he had any life insurance, he just completely screwed any family he left behind. The IRS will still get their money, but no life insurance company is going to make a payout now.
Hell, his family is probably grieving even more now than they would be. Suicide, to me, is a purely selfish act. And now, his family, if he had any, will always be left with having to explain why he committed suicide instead of the much simpler answer of "He lost the battle with lung cancer". People understand that, they don't understand suicide.
Also, if you're of the socially active teenager age, its easy for parents and friends alike to know whats going on when. One of your friends comes down with the flu, they tweet about it, you know they won't be at the party. Etc etc.
If a friend comes down with the flu, I'd expect them to be staying in bed, not up using Twitter. Geez, it's not like they can't make a quick phone call to say "Hey, got the flu, can't make it tonight". Next thing you know people will be tweeting about catching on fire, expecting someone to read it and call the fire dept. Or they'll be tweeting about breaking an arm or leg instead of calling for help and getting to the hospital to get it fixed.
Yes, I know that teenagers these days find it necessary to text their every move to all their friends. I don't understand it one bit. Twitter takes attention whoring to a whole new level.
Lincoln's cabinet members told him, as he was signing the creation of WV, that what he was doing was illegal. He responded "I know it is, but for the sake of the Union, I must do it".
The courts should be requiring the municipalities to install the last mile cable, not the cable companies. The courts shouldn't be forcing any company to share the infrastructure they've built. Notice that you have no choice over what water, electric, or gas company you use. I know I wouldn't like it if some court said "You have to let brand X use the infrastructure that you spent millions of dollars building".
This is the real problem and it's the reason why you're phone and cable companies are determined by what city you live in, at least in California. The only real competition is satellite.
I've rented 4 apparetments in 3 states in the past 8 years. Every one specifically allowed "Pizza box" sized satalite receivers in the lease.
The problem isn't that they don't allow it (they usually have to), the problem is that many apartments do not have an unobstructed view of the southern sky. I know at least two people at work that have this problem.
Satellite is great if you own or rent a house and can get a clear view of the southern sky (not usually a problem on a house).
Our local cable company is TimeWarner. When we switched our tv to DishNetwork, I actually had no problem calling them up and telling them I wanted to cancel the cable TV and keep the Internet service. They sent someone out to put a filter on the line and that was that.
Comcast seems to be pretty crappy. TimeWarner is wonderful in comparison. I am glad TimeWarner took over in my area.
I think it's because the first movies came out in the 70's and 80's aimed at the PG-13 market, and we didn't have major release movies showing endless hordes getting mowed down in the style of Tarentino or Rodriguez back then. Heck, the PG-13 didn't even exist at the time, and a R rating would have probably made Star Wars stillborn. As far as I can recall, the first three movies were completely bloodless. Pretty sure all of them were, come to think of it.
ROTS is the one and only Star Wars movie to ever receive a PG-13 rating. It's also the only one whose acronym is perfect for it and the rest of the prequels.
Slashdot Mirror
Ah yes, pick an example that Beck rarely, if ever, talks about. In the nearly one year that I've been watching Beck, he's talked about the "birther" movement maybe 3 times for a few minutes at a time. Beck as well as Larry Elder, Rush Limbaugh, and the other commentator's, could care less if the President was born in the US or not (at this point anyway). Are there questions surrounding the "certificate of birth"? Yes, especially since you can't even use that to get a passport. Has Beck spent a significant amount of time talking about it? No. His focus is on this administration and its current actions, just like Slashdot's focus was on GW Bush and his actions during that administration, but now falls largely silent on the Obama administration.
Yes, he's asking questions based on what Obama himself has said. "Look at the people I surround myself with to determine my beliefs" is what Obama said during the campaign. He then named off a bunch of liberal, moderate, and conservative people. Now, as President, he has surrounded himself with people that either call themselves communists or look to communists for their political philosophy (Anita Dunn anyone?). That doesn't sound so safe any more. So now, taking the word of the President, he's asking "Do you really believe these things?" Even during the campaign "I think that if you spread the wealth around, it's better for everybody".
If you really think that Beck is some extreme guy, then you aren't watching him, you're just watching the clips of him on YouTube. He may not be the smartest guy around (which he freely admits), but he talks to a lot of very smart people.
Why aren't you using an update server? Then you could just point the machines at that and hold the patches there until you've had a chance to test them. I've only got about 60 machines to keep track of and that's what I do. We didn't install IE7 until our CRM software (Goldmine) was compatible. I think I had to hold it back for about 2 months. Once I updated the machines, that forced our other vendor, that was writing a custom web app, to update their code ("No, I will not walk around to 40+ computers and uninstall IE7. Fix your code").
I don't test every single patch that comes through, but I also don't have 15k machines to manage. I would think, with that many machines, most, if not all, would be the same hardware, making it relatively easy to install the patch on one machine (or one group of machines), test everything, and then release it company wide if it passes the tests.
I think the biggest problem we had recently was an IE patch that caused Windows Explorer to not work properly. Every person with that problem hadn't restarted after the update. One restart later, everything was fine.
A few years ago, we had a major storm that took our power out for four days. We had (and still have) one plain old corded phone, so we never lost phone service. Most people we tried to call, though, never answered because their cordless phones didn't have power. I think it's a good idea to have a corded phone around for such emergencies.
Why, did the local companies not know there was an emergency? Seems like it would be pretty obvious that if a major storm rolls through an area and takes out the power, it's an awfully big emergency. No need to call for help (that could in fact just delay it).
Won't be long before "fraud sites" = "copyright infringement" sites. Who is behind this?
You know, an easy and proper way to handle this would be to have a governmental entity maintain a blocklist which ordinary citizens can optionally install/use/turn on/turn off (with some easy to use software).
Hahahaha! Have you ever used government software? I have. It is anything but easy to use and provides virtually no feedback when it's doing something.
Instead of a law, people should just be using the software that already exists. Spybot is very good at adding hosts entries to your system and it's updated constantly. Install that, keep it updated, and you should be fine. If some other company comes up with a better solution, people will use that instead. We don't need a law for this and we most certainly don't need the government telling ISPs that they have to block it.
I know companies like to claim that because they own the servers and the Internet connections the corporate emails travel over and get stored on, they own the "rights" to all of the employee emails as well. But to me, that's rather like an owner of an apartment complex claiming he/she can legally go through any of the tenants' physical mailboxes at will, because he/she owns the panel of mailboxes in the wall that it all gets put in!
And the computer and the network cabling and the software. This is exactly why people should not handle personal business on their company email account. The computer you use at work is given to you for work purposes. Most companies generally allow you to do a few extra things (shopping, vacation planning, etc) during breaks and lunch, but just because they allow it, doesn't mean you can use it just like it's "yours". Your work computer is your work computer. The difference between the company and the apartment complex owner is that the company pays you to do a job. The apartment owner typically provides a place of residence in exchange for payment, so 4th amendment protections would still apply ("The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects"). Do you see workplace in there anywhere? I don't. Yes, the apartment complex owner is simply providing a storage location for your mail. You can even get as much mail as you want put into it (provided it'll all fit). Contrast that with a company that uses mailbox quotas. When you hit your limit, that's it. They are under no obligation to provide you with additional storage. The apartment complex owner isn't either if there's a box that's to big to fit in your mail box, but they generally will allow the box to be left (someone else may pick it up, but that isn't their problem). Even your workplace can search your desk for any reason (again, most won't, but they can if they want).
Yes, because smaller monopolies are so much better than large ones. See GTE, Pacific Bell, and SBC for perfect examples.
Per the article, which I know no one reads, the guy that made the remarks has a blog at http://simonwillison.net/
He may not have been there, but his point is that for an industry that's always trying to attract women, this is the wrong thing to do. Not to mention that even if it is culturally accepted in Taiwan, some developers may be morally opposed to this.
So we shouldn't be surprised when women don't want to enter the IT and Computer Science fields because they see it as a male dominated field. Images like these reinforce that perception. If you want more women in the field, do things that attract them. Don't trot out booth babes like it's an anime/gaming convention or a car show.
Do you really think they spend most of their time watching TV? Have you ever seen a prison inmate or one recently released? If they're in for any length of time, they work out. They work out all the time because there's nothing else to do. Even inmates can only watch so much TV before they become bored. Since they probably have to watch their back all the time and be ready for anything, they're better off working out and staying in shape.
If they were sitting watching TV all day, they wouldn't have such huge muscles. They'd be skinny little shits that are easy to take down and can't take any hits. That's obviously not the case.
If you really need to text, pull over, send the text, then start back up.
Isn't New York one of those places where if you're even in your car, on the side of the road and on the phone, they'll still give you a ticket?
After I owned this printer for the first year or so, I noticed it was quickly replaced with a newer model that uses totally different supplies, too. This is typical for HP's products these days - and becomes a real problem when you run out of a toner and want to grab a replacement locally, so you don't suffer a lot of downtime.
This is typical with everybody, not just HP.
This is complete and utter bullshit.
We have HP LaserJet 5si's at work that were made in 1998 that we can still get toner for. We had two and the one that was made in 2005 actually died before the one made in '98 (it was probably used way more than the other one). We have plenty of printers that are more than 3 years old that are showing no signs of dying and we're fully able to get toner for them.
The LaserJet 5si's have been through at least 4 generations of Windows and may even work with Vista (I haven't checked for available drivers yet). So stop talking out of your ass. Toner is the one thing that is continually made since it's where they make most of their money.
Where does it say there should be a system of interstate highways? Where does it mention the internet? Space travel?
It doesn't. It also might surprise you to know that the Interstate system was started by a private individual that received funding from private companies (hotels, restaurants, etc). It was only when the government saw what was being built and decided to take it over that all the private funding dried up and the guy that started it had to close up shop.
http://www.hacer.org/report/2009/05/us-president-obama-neo-marxist-by-larry.html
While the article does say that Eisenhower had the constitutional authority to build the highway system, the reason of national defense is a bit of a stretch.
The government has yet to be involved with any transportation system that makes money (Amtrak has been losing money for 40 years).
There are two problems with the Interstate system. One is that the feds funded it. The second problem, and an even greater one, is that the Interstate commerce clause has been so completely twisted that even non Interstate commerce now falls into it. WTF is up with that?
The internet, as the other poster mentioned, had its origins in the military, so at least that one is justified. Same goes for space travel, which was essentially just an extension of developing ICBMs. Of course 30 years later, we're finally seeing the beginnings of private industry involvement in space travel.
I don't drive the freeway (at least not on a regular basis). I haven't in 3.5 years (except one day a year). Yet every time I fill my gas tank, I'm paying a tax for maintenance on the freeways. Why is that? Everything else has a tax when it's bought (soda, cigarettes, etc), yet the highway system is paid for with taxes whether you use it or not.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think Obama is the savior of this country by any means. I just think it is fair to pass judgment after he has failed. I am aware of the projections though.
So what do you suggest? Continue to let them spend money and then take a look at it in 4 years? Or stop them completely right now before the money is spent? Considering that he has spent more money in 6 months than all previous administrations combined, I'd say it's time to stop him before he can spend anymore.
And actually, if you think this isn't the change he promised, you weren't paying attention during the campaign. Like many people (heck, even I didn't see this coming) we all assumed that when he said "change" that he meant he was going to clean things up. If you watch videos from during the campaign though, it's pretty clear that this is exactly what he was talking about. So you are getting the change that was promised, you're just not getting the change you expected.
Really? Because that's the exact opposite of what has taken place in the computer industry.
The computer industry has gone unregulated for at least 30 years and today it is one of the most open industries with the most competition anywhere. Anything computer related is constantly getting cheaper while it seems that the regulated industries keep getting more expensive. And don't tell us it doesn't cost a "fuckton" to enter the computer industry (CPUs and GPUs cost a shitload to make, yet at one point there were at least 3 CPU makers and 3 GPU makers).
Contrast that with the auto industry where, for a time, the biggest selling "feature" was the size of the fins on the car. Improvements weren't being made because 1) the govt was regulating everything and 2) competition was non existant. Once the Japanese entered the market, improvements started being made again.
Now I would agree that we need laws to prevent collusion and abusive monopolies (anti-trust laws), but I'm getting kind of tired of all the other regulations that do nothing but make things more expensive.
Would some car companies encrypt all their data? Sure. But the ones that don't would have an additional selling point, especially to people that want to work on their own cars. ODBII codes seem to be the new form of keeping people from repairing their own cars, just like they fought to make people go to the dealer some 30 years ago.
I remote into my servers too, but do you really want to drive eight miles away to diagnose a potential hardware issue, or relinquish physical control to a dedicated hardware monkey?
I already do if I'm working on a server at night and it becomes unresponsive or fails to reboot properly. Work is about 7 miles from home. If the server isn't back up within 10 mins of a restart, it's off to the office to figure out why.
During working hours the only time I need physical access to anything is when I'm changing the backup tapes...that's once a week. I do everything through RDP and VNC.
And what does DirectX 11 offer over DirectX 10, or even 9?
The first and foremost thing to mention is that no DirectX 11 class hardware actually exists at retail right now, and might not be for some time.
You sound like 3DFX when Nvidia implemented 32-bit color, but no games supported it. I guess it's a good thing we can count on attitudes like that to not survive.
Why buy a quad core CPU when so few programs can use it? Why have more than 4 GB of RAM when so few programs are 64-bit capable? Why have a 1 TB hard drive when 80 GB should be enough? The point is that it's an improvement and the hardware will catch up.
And if he had any life insurance, he just completely screwed any family he left behind. The IRS will still get their money, but no life insurance company is going to make a payout now.
Hell, his family is probably grieving even more now than they would be. Suicide, to me, is a purely selfish act. And now, his family, if he had any, will always be left with having to explain why he committed suicide instead of the much simpler answer of "He lost the battle with lung cancer". People understand that, they don't understand suicide.
Also, if you're of the socially active teenager age, its easy for parents and friends alike to know whats going on when. One of your friends comes down with the flu, they tweet about it, you know they won't be at the party. Etc etc.
If a friend comes down with the flu, I'd expect them to be staying in bed, not up using Twitter. Geez, it's not like they can't make a quick phone call to say "Hey, got the flu, can't make it tonight". Next thing you know people will be tweeting about catching on fire, expecting someone to read it and call the fire dept. Or they'll be tweeting about breaking an arm or leg instead of calling for help and getting to the hospital to get it fixed.
Yes, I know that teenagers these days find it necessary to text their every move to all their friends. I don't understand it one bit. Twitter takes attention whoring to a whole new level.
Lincoln's cabinet members told him, as he was signing the creation of WV, that what he was doing was illegal. He responded "I know it is, but for the sake of the Union, I must do it".
Ya know, you could just, oh, I don't know, redirect it in your hosts file to 127.0.0.1. That worked just fine for me when I had their service.
Geezus, the things slashdotters will complain about.
The courts should be requiring the municipalities to install the last mile cable, not the cable companies. The courts shouldn't be forcing any company to share the infrastructure they've built. Notice that you have no choice over what water, electric, or gas company you use. I know I wouldn't like it if some court said "You have to let brand X use the infrastructure that you spent millions of dollars building".
This is the real problem and it's the reason why you're phone and cable companies are determined by what city you live in, at least in California. The only real competition is satellite.
I've rented 4 apparetments in 3 states in the past 8 years. Every one specifically allowed "Pizza box" sized satalite receivers in the lease.
The problem isn't that they don't allow it (they usually have to), the problem is that many apartments do not have an unobstructed view of the southern sky. I know at least two people at work that have this problem.
Satellite is great if you own or rent a house and can get a clear view of the southern sky (not usually a problem on a house).
Our local cable company is TimeWarner. When we switched our tv to DishNetwork, I actually had no problem calling them up and telling them I wanted to cancel the cable TV and keep the Internet service. They sent someone out to put a filter on the line and that was that.
Comcast seems to be pretty crappy. TimeWarner is wonderful in comparison. I am glad TimeWarner took over in my area.
I think it's because the first movies came out in the 70's and 80's aimed at the PG-13 market, and we didn't have major release movies showing endless hordes getting mowed down in the style of Tarentino or Rodriguez back then. Heck, the PG-13 didn't even exist at the time, and a R rating would have probably made Star Wars stillborn. As far as I can recall, the first three movies were completely bloodless. Pretty sure all of them were, come to think of it.
ROTS is the one and only Star Wars movie to ever receive a PG-13 rating. It's also the only one whose acronym is perfect for it and the rest of the prequels.