Isn't one of the big problems -- as far as most/.ers and the DoJ are concerned -- with MS is the use of bundling to further a monopoly? Is Red Hat following the Redmond Brick Road?
Basic economic theory suggests that as one gives up leisure time (that is, they work more hours), they expect higher wages. This only makes sense -- given that leisure is preferable to labor, one must be compensated to make the tradeoff.
A nasty little side effect is drug use.
Yeah, that's right. The 80s Streeters were highly paid, but didn't have a lot of time to relax or have a good time. They gave up their leisure time for more and more money.
Drug use can enhance the quality of leisure time at the expense, of course, of quality of other time. But the leisure windows were so short that the down-time from drug use normally overlapped with stressful labor hours. And drug side effects, at least in the beginning, could be passed off as stress related uckfups. ("Uckfups," of course, is a highly-technical economic term.)
In short, this is a utilitarian trade-off. The marginal utility of a dollar is low. The marginal utility of leisure time is high. Using the former to enhance the latter is good, but only for a few months at best. After that, you turn into a quivering glob of uckfup.
It's much easier to reply to the parent than to all the "but they are only aol ads" or "but they allow free *nix clients" or other people objecting to this post, so, I am.
I bring you a dictionary definition:
loss leader (lôs ldr) -- n. -- A commodity offered especially by a retail store at cost or below cost to attract customers.
AIM is, in a sense, a loss leader. They provide the service free of charge in order to get more people using the service. The ads may be only AOL ads, but they do get money when someone signs up.
AIM has another loss leaderish aspect. "Look how good this product is, and imagine how great the whole service must be!" Sure, that doesn't apply to the TiK using group (and other flavors), but it does to the geek's friends. (I'll refrain from posting the definition of "friend.") One doesn't lose the ability to "talk" with TiK using buddies when they sign up for AOL.
Oh, and my Win AIM client just put up an ad for th is page, which seems not to be an AOL site. But that has nothing to do with the idea of AIM being a loss leader.
...for people who use its product illegally. Regardless on what side one takes on the "information wants to be free" debate (or "lunacy," depending on one's point of view), it's clear that the facilitating party shouldn't be held responsible.
Sun may not be playing nicely, but it's certainly fair.
Re:Ahem.... the REAL first mouse is:
on
The First Mouse
·
· Score: 1
Oh man... I forgot Pinky and the Brain! Someone should mod me down for that.
Ahem.... the REAL first mouse is:
on
The First Mouse
·
· Score: 4
Danger Mouse. He's the greatest. He's the ace. Whenever there is danger, he'll be there!
Mighty Mouse comes in a close second, with Mickey picking up the rear.
No, I meant anti. Much like your local news showing a train wreck as the lead story,/. really enjoys posting stories that take to task (whether correctly or not) things like Napster, DeCSS, etc.
The Lazy Man's Guide to Getting Stuff Posted on /.
on
Metallica Vs. Harvard
·
· Score: 1
Road A:
(1) Find Napster article
(2) Skim quickly to make sure it's anti-Napster
(3) Click on "submit story."
Road B:
(1) Find DeCSS article.
(2) Skim quickly to make sure it's anti-DeCSS
(3) Click on "submit story."
Road C:
(1) Find Microsoft article.
(2) Skim quickly to make sure it's anti-Microsoft
(3) Click on "submit story."
Road D:
(1) Find Linux article.
(2) Find something weird, like it running on potatoes or wristwatches or being used to find aliens.
(3) Clink on "submit story."
You'll have to learn to ignore a bunch of political crap, but you'll really learn how to think. And your BS meter will be primed and ready for the real world.
I'd bet that many/. readers skip college, and even more bury themselves in the CompSci department. Get a degree in another field if you can already do the geek stuff. And get clued in more than just your OS of choice.
Route 1: Government Subsidies
(a) Buy land. Lots of it.
(b) Threaten to grow corn. Or peanuts. Or something.
(c) Wait for corn growers lobby to talk to congressman.
(d) Get nice fat check to not grow corn.
Route 2: Stop... er, Stock Option Hijacking
(a) Buy domain names. Lots of them.
(b) Threaten to steal games. Or other programs. Or something.
(c) Wait for game developers to complain to bosses.
(d) Get nice fat stock options for not stealing stuff.
Route 3: Tin Cup
(a) Buy tin cup.
(b) Threaten to wallow in your own filth outside of a nice department store.
(c) Wait for department store to smell you.
(d) Get nice fat wad of $100s for not scaring the customers.
Only if the suit has validity -- but that is simply to recompense the harmed people. See "accountability."
One should be expected to be held responsible for harm caused by one's actions and by one's words; however, the government should take not be taking neither your liberty nor your property. Reimbursing those you have harmed is what accountability is all about.
Freedom of speech does not make speech free in the sense that it comes without responsibility. Speech is to be free from government action, not all action.
The First Amendment protects our right to say what we wish. It does not mean that we are to be held unaccountable for our words, but simply that we will not have our liberty or possesions taken away because of it. If you organize a "sick-out" and your employer finds out who you are, expect to be fired. If you complain about a company's product, the company has every right to track you down and convince you that the product is good -- they are also protected by the 1st -- but that doesn't mean you have to listen.
Before anyone (else) claims that your right to free speech is being eroded, ask yourself from where you derive your right to unaccoutably.
I wonder if, because one finds Slashdot to be morally and economically reprehensible, Katz and the editors who allow him to post his fascist drivel would have no problem if that person were to lay a DoS attack on the site.
Slashdot Mirror
Isn't one of the big problems -- as far as most /.ers and the DoJ are concerned -- with MS is the use of bundling to further a monopoly? Is Red Hat following the Redmond Brick Road?
Where would the Internet be without him?
Basic economic theory suggests that as one gives up leisure time (that is, they work more hours), they expect higher wages. This only makes sense -- given that leisure is preferable to labor, one must be compensated to make the tradeoff.
A nasty little side effect is drug use.
Yeah, that's right. The 80s Streeters were highly paid, but didn't have a lot of time to relax or have a good time. They gave up their leisure time for more and more money.
Drug use can enhance the quality of leisure time at the expense, of course, of quality of other time. But the leisure windows were so short that the down-time from drug use normally overlapped with stressful labor hours. And drug side effects, at least in the beginning, could be passed off as stress related uckfups. ("Uckfups," of course, is a highly-technical economic term.)
In short, this is a utilitarian trade-off. The marginal utility of a dollar is low. The marginal utility of leisure time is high. Using the former to enhance the latter is good, but only for a few months at best. After that, you turn into a quivering glob of uckfup.
Does anyone else think it's really silly to complain about luddites in a cyber-column?
But if it takes a loss for the year, they make you pay, by siphoning tax dollars you should have kept in the first place. See http://www.nationalre vie w.com/comment/comment092700b.shtml for more on the USPS.
It's much easier to reply to the parent than to all the "but they are only aol ads" or "but they allow free *nix clients" or other people objecting to this post, so, I am.
I bring you a dictionary definition:
loss leader (lôs ldr) -- n. -- A commodity offered especially by a retail store at cost or below cost to attract customers.
AIM is, in a sense, a loss leader. They provide the service free of charge in order to get more people using the service. The ads may be only AOL ads, but they do get money when someone signs up.
AIM has another loss leaderish aspect. "Look how good this product is, and imagine how great the whole service must be!" Sure, that doesn't apply to the TiK using group (and other flavors), but it does to the geek's friends. (I'll refrain from posting the definition of "friend.") One doesn't lose the ability to "talk" with TiK using buddies when they sign up for AOL.
Oh, and my Win AIM client just put up an ad for th is page, which seems not to be an AOL site. But that has nothing to do with the idea of AIM being a loss leader.
Why would MS release X-Box but not Halo? Wouldn't it make sense to just wait?
An article about the claim "I took the initiative in creating the Internet" can be read here. The author is a columnist for Wired.
There's an article about it here. I assume it originally ran in Wired, because the author of the article is a Wire columnist.
http://www.whattheheck.com/ebay/algore. html
...for people who use its product illegally. Regardless on what side one takes on the "information wants to be free" debate (or "lunacy," depending on one's point of view), it's clear that the facilitating party shouldn't be held responsible.
Sun may not be playing nicely, but it's certainly fair.
Oh man... I forgot Pinky and the Brain! Someone should mod me down for that.
Danger Mouse. He's the greatest. He's the ace. Whenever there is danger, he'll be there!
Mighty Mouse comes in a close second, with Mickey picking up the rear.
If David Letterman were to do a "Top 10 Geeks Signs Hell Is Freezing Over," he'd probably need only to look at the /. headlines.
/.!"
"OMG, Compaq may be violating GPL!!! Someone ask
"Run for the hills! Google is pimping Yahoo!"
"A private company decided not to publish DeCSS -- it's the end of free speech as we know it!"
"*Red Alert* Corporations try to make money *Red Alert*"
No, I meant anti. Much like your local news showing a train wreck as the lead story, /. really enjoys posting stories that take to task (whether correctly or not) things like Napster, DeCSS, etc.
Road A:
(1) Find Napster article
(2) Skim quickly to make sure it's anti-Napster
(3) Click on "submit story."
Road B:
(1) Find DeCSS article.
(2) Skim quickly to make sure it's anti-DeCSS
(3) Click on "submit story."
Road C:
(1) Find Microsoft article.
(2) Skim quickly to make sure it's anti-Microsoft
(3) Click on "submit story."
Road D:
(1) Find Linux article.
(2) Find something weird, like it running on potatoes or wristwatches or being used to find aliens.
(3) Clink on "submit story."
(1) Turn off computer
(2) Go to retail outlets
(3) Pay cash
... if you can afford to.
/. readers skip college, and even more bury themselves in the CompSci department. Get a degree in another field if you can already do the geek stuff. And get clued in more than just your OS of choice.
You'll have to learn to ignore a bunch of political crap, but you'll really learn how to think. And your BS meter will be primed and ready for the real world.
I'd bet that many
Route 1: Government Subsidies
... er, Stock Option Hijacking
(a) Buy land. Lots of it.
(b) Threaten to grow corn. Or peanuts. Or something.
(c) Wait for corn growers lobby to talk to congressman.
(d) Get nice fat check to not grow corn.
Route 2: Stop
(a) Buy domain names. Lots of them.
(b) Threaten to steal games. Or other programs. Or something.
(c) Wait for game developers to complain to bosses.
(d) Get nice fat stock options for not stealing stuff.
Route 3: Tin Cup
(a) Buy tin cup.
(b) Threaten to wallow in your own filth outside of a nice department store.
(c) Wait for department store to smell you.
(d) Get nice fat wad of $100s for not scaring the customers.
Why would a plaintiff with millions of dollars sue a person living paycheck to paycheck? For $200 a week?
Tell that to the shareholders of tobacco companies.
Or gun companies.
Or the motor vehicle industry.
It'll keep you out of jail (much like the Bill of Rights does for individuals, in some cases). But, in the end it'll hit you in the pocketbook.
Only if the suit has validity -- but that is simply to recompense the harmed people. See "accountability."
One should be expected to be held responsible for harm caused by one's actions and by one's words; however, the government should take not be taking neither your liberty nor your property. Reimbursing those you have harmed is what accountability is all about.
Freedom of speech does not make speech free in the sense that it comes without responsibility. Speech is to be free from government action, not all action.
The First Amendment protects our right to say what we wish. It does not mean that we are to be held unaccountable for our words, but simply that we will not have our liberty or possesions taken away because of it. If you organize a "sick-out" and your employer finds out who you are, expect to be fired. If you complain about a company's product, the company has every right to track you down and convince you that the product is good -- they are also protected by the 1st -- but that doesn't mean you have to listen.
Before anyone (else) claims that your right to free speech is being eroded, ask yourself from where you derive your right to unaccoutably.
There is an enormous difference between being arrested and fired.
I wonder if, because one finds Slashdot to be morally and economically reprehensible, Katz and the editors who allow him to post his fascist drivel would have no problem if that person were to lay a DoS attack on the site.